"Do you guys have any guns?" Emmett asked, toying with the crossbow on the kitchen table.
"No," Carlisle explained, "But the Quileute members do."
Emmett raised his eyes to him, "We should try to join forces. The bigger numbers the better." He glanced toward everyone else, "Have you been subject to thieves or anything worse?"
Esme and Rosalie looked at each other while Edward answered, "No."
"Our family was," he explained, "To be honest the people were becoming more of a threat than the, what do you call them, walkers?"
"People attacked your family?" Esme asked him.
Emmett nodded, "They picked the wrong family to mess with." A half-smile crossed his face but faded quickly, "Between my brothers and myself they were nuts to try to compete with us. We roughed them up a little and sent them on their way, but they came back with more supplies and armed with things we couldn't compete with."
"So what happened?" Rosalie asked him.
Emmett looked at her, "They took what they wanted. Hit my brother in the cheek with the butt of the gun and left." He shrugged, "Look all I'm saying is to be careful. There are bad people out there."
"I know." Rosalie put a hand on her cheek, "My boyfriend and his friends beat the hell out of me and left me to die. They thought I was dead weight; didn't want to split food five ways..." She shook her head, "You're lucky you found Carlisle and Esme... and Edward."
Edward glanced at her and saw the smirk on her face despite the serious nature of the conversation. He managed a grin and looked at Emmett.
"So... you two aren't a couple then?" he asked.
Rosalie and Edward looked at each other and both of them began to laugh.
"No..." Edward said immediately, putting his hands up.
"Not at all," Rosalie reiterated.
Carlisle looked at Esme and she put her hand over her mouth as she smiled. He grinned too and squeezed her knee with his hand.
"We need guns," Emmett said again, "And we should join forces with the tribe members, especially if they have supplies."
Rosalie looked at a calendar on the wall that she had been keeping up with. Emmett's eyes followed hers and saw the "X's" as each date passed.
"Tomorrow's Thanksgiving," he said, sounding it more like a question than a statement.
Rosalie nodded and Esme smiled.
"I didn't realize," she said, looking at Rosalie. "We should do something."
"We should go old school and share a big dinner with the Quileutes," Emmett said, "Establish a type of comradery over some venison..." he eyed a box of cereal on the counter, "And dry Chex Mix."
Esme snickered at his comment, but nodded. "You're right," she said, "I think that would be a great idea. The boys that came here seemed grateful for your help, Carlisle."
He saw the elated look on her face, and noted that it had been a long time since he'd seen her so excited about something.
"We could radio them and propose it," he said with a shrug. "If they'd like to."
"Talk to Sam," Edward suggested, "He seems to be the most open to those types of things. And since you're helping his wife then maybe he'll be the easiest to come around."
"I think we need something positive like this," Esme added, "It's been nothing but survival, and bloodshed and killing these things..."
"It would be a nice break from reality," Emmett went on. "And the more numbers we have on our side the better."
There was a silence that fell over them before Carlisle spoke.
"I'll talk with Sam," he said, "I don't see a reason why they wouldn't enjoy something like that. It would probably be to our benefit if we were the ones to bring the deer meat to them."
Emmett stood up where he sat, "I'll catch us a few. I normally use a rifle, but I'm no stranger to a crossbow."
"You should rest," Rosalie told him.
Emmett lifted his shirt, revealing his wound, "This is nothing anymore."
"It looks..." she made a face, noting the gruesome nature of the stitches.
"I've had worse playing football," he said, trying to downplay it. "I need to get outside. I want to hunt... contribute."
Carlisle looked at him, "You could pop the stitches if you're too active too quickly."
"It doesn't take much to pull a trigger, doc." Emmett smiled wide and flashed a wink in Rosalie's direction.
She smiled, unable to keep herself from doing so. She knew if Edward had done the same thing she would have rolled her eyes at him. Emmett, however, made her swoon every time his dimples shined through when he smiled.
Edward glanced at her and gave her a look, smiling to himself as he turned the other way.
"Alright," Carlisle said, convinced by his attitude, "If you think you're ready, then who am I to stop you. We can go hunt."
"You shouldn't put yourself in harms way out there," Emmett told him, "You're a doctor, maybe one of the only ones left. You shouldn't risk your life out in the woods."
He shrugged, but Emmett went on.
"Honestly, we need you. If I die, yeah it would suck," he laughed, "But any of you could learn to hunt. No one knows all the... medical shit that you do."
Carlisle began to laugh and shook his head.
"He's right," Edward added, "You shouldn't risk going out hunting. Emily needs you now, and Emmett did before. If not for you their lives would have been in grave danger. I'm sure your talents will be needed in the future, too."
"The two of us can go," Emmett said, looking at his other male counterpart, "You cool with that Edward?"
He nodded.
"Your lives are just as important," Esme said, not downplaying Carlisle's role in their group dynamic. While she was somewhat relieved to hear that they didn't want him out in the woods, she was just as anxious to have Edward prowling around looking for deer when there were herds of walkers and even worse people, according to Emmett. On top of it, she had grown a great liking to Emmett's contagious, happy personality. She felt he was a great addition to their group and had grown fond enough of him to truly care for his safety, as well.
"Mama bear," Emmett said with a grin, "We'll be just fine."
She wanted to protest, but could only smile. It was like a trance he was capable of putting them all in.
"Come on, Edward. Want to be my wingman out there?"
He nodded, enjoying the brotherly companionship. "Yeah."
"I'll call Sam," Carlisle said, reaching for the radio.
They were all in good spirits, and Emmett was mostly credited for that. His go-getter attitude was contagious and everyone agreed to his plans.
"Let me get you guys something warm to wear out there," Esme said, crossing through the kitchen toward the stairwell. She smiled to herself, about to take the stairs up, one by one, when she heard a faint jingling sound. Her eyes dropped toward the handle on the front door and she felt an anxiousness rise in her chest.
"Carlisle!" she whispered, waving her hand in his direction.
He hurried to her side from the kitchen, followed by everyone else.
The door knob twisted and turned, as whoever was on the other side was attempting to get in.
"Walkers?" Rosalie asked in a whisper.
"I doubt it," Carlisle said, "They aren't smart enough."
A jolt at the door as it was attempted to get pushed open made everyone step back.
"Who is it?" Rosalie called, drawing a look from everyone else.
"Quileutes?" Edward asked, looking at Carlisle.
"I don't know," he responded.
"Hello?" a female voice called.
"Who is it?" Rosalie asked again.
"We... we have supplies. Let us in... please?"
Everyone looked around at one another.
Edward rushed toward the window and peered between the boards, seeing only the back half of two people standing on the front porch.
"Who is it?" Carlisle whispered.
"Two people," he explained, "I can't see their faces but they don't look familiar. A man and a woman."
"Please..." the woman's voice was desperate. "We've been through a lot... we need help."
Carlisle looked at Esme and closed his eyes, feeling his compassion get the best of him.
"Carlisle, I wouldn't..." Emmett started, shaking his head and putting a hand on the door.
"You needed help once, too," he reminded him.
Emmett nodded and removed his hand, allowing Carlisle to do as he intended.
Everyone took a deep breath and prepared themselves for the strangers that lingered on the other side of the door.