I hung on tightly to my chair as the boat hit some swells. My stomach lurched but I kept what little was left in my stomach down. The spray was icy and I shivered when it hit me. Edward didn't even flinch. He was staring ahead at the quickly approaching island, his hair quickly becoming soaked from the spray. His jaw was tense and his knuckles were white on the controls.

I turned my attention to the island, my heart in my throat. It was bigger than I'd first though, easily large enough to host a small community. It looked pretty much uninhabited, though. I could see what looked like a few buildings on a hill overlooking the water but they were dark and somewhat hidden in the vegetation.

The boat started to slow as we got closer to an old looking dock. There were a few battered buoys tied to it to buffer the boats that were already tied up there but there was space for other boats. He tensed when he saw the boats.

"I don't recognize those boats."

I nervously licked my lips and nodded. "So now what?"

He shook his head. "I'm not sure. You want to stay here and guard the boat?"

"Fuck no."

"Ok."

He disappeared below the deck for a moment, returning with two rifles. He handed one to me before jumping out and loosely tying the boat to the dock. He offered me his hand and helped me out of the boat and onto the dock. I was shivering as we started walking.

"You know, just because I'm from Texas doesn't mean I know how to use this thing," I muttered, my teeth chattering.

"It's not for you, it's for me. You'll be reloading while I'm shooting if need be."

"Oh."

"Stop." We froze, looking around for the source of the voice. "Who are you?"

"I'm Edward. My parents own this island. I'm looking for them."

There was a long silence then we could hear rustling branches. A moment later, a big beefy man dressed in what looked like old army fatigues stepped out of the brush on a small ledge above us. He was carrying a bow and arrow and I would have laughed if he didn't look like he could kill me with his pinky. He dropped down onto the path in front of us, slinging the bow over his shoulder.

"Give me your guns."

"I don't think so."

"You'll get no further with them."

"I'll wait here if you'll go get my family."

They stared at each other, clearly sizing one another up. I sneezed, breaking their little fight.

"Bless you," muttered the man. He turned to Edward again. "Wait here."

He didn't wait for our response before he turned and disappeared around the corner. Edward turned to me, his face pale with anger and anxiety. I reached forward and squeezed his hand before leaning against the hill that the man had been standing on.

"How long do you think he'll be gone?" I murmured, my voice hoarse.

"Not long. My parents only had buildings built on this half of the building last I heard. There are just gardens and shit on the other side."

"Last you heard?"

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, shaking some of the water out of it. "I didn't exactly leave for the West Coast on the best of terms."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "So, what, you're telling me you haven't spoken to your parents in years or what?"

"Something like that." He stared up the path at the way the man had gone.

"Fuck, Edward," I sighed, staring at the ground. "So, not only were you pissed at them, they were pissed at you and you haven't spoken in how long?"

"Ten years. Well, until two years ago."

"I hate you right now."

"I know."

I looked up at him then, exhausted and past the point of caring anymore. I was tired of fighting all the time. I was tired of being cold and stinky and dirty and scared all the time. I pushed myself up and crossed the small space between us and pulled him into a hug, pressing my face against his chest. His arms tightened around me automatically and he kissed the top of my head.

"Well, what do we do if they send us away?"

"I don't know."

I nodded and turned my head, staring up the path, waiting.

We didn't have to wait long. About ten minutes after GI Joe disappeared up the path, we could hear footsteps moving towards us quickly. Edward released me and quickly pushed me behind him, shielding me from whoever was coming.

"Edward!" a woman shouted. There was a catch to her voice that spoke volumes about love and regret and fear and relief. A moment later, he staggered backwards into me slightly as a woman threw her arms around him. He dropped the rifle he was holding and held her back. I stepped back further as three men gathered around the two of them, all hugging and laughing and crying and talking over each other. GI Joe and I looked at each other uncomfortably for a moment.

"And you," the woman turned to me, tears streaming down her face "you must be Tanya. I wish…well, no time for regrets now." She pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. "I'm Esme."

"Hi…I'm not Tanya."

She stepped back from me with surprise. "No?"

"No, Mom," Edward stepped over and stood beside me. "This is B. I found her on the side of the road outside of Phoenix. We've been traveling together for a few months now."

"And Tanya?"

"She's dead."

"The baby?"

"Dead."

"Oh sweetie." She pulled him back into a hug and he sighed softly. I could see the struggle in his face as he debated what to tell her. He finally just let her hold him and attempt to comfort him.

She pulled back after a moment and smile. "Well, come in out of the wet. We've got the main house for our family and there's other's who've joined us."

"I noticed. Any vehicles?"

"Yes, but we only use them for emergencies, not that we have many."

"We've got an RV's worth of supplies on our boat."

"Supplies?"

GI Joe perked up at that. "What kind of supplies?"

"Pretty much anything and everything. Food, water, camping and fishing gear, clothes, toiletries, medicines, anything and everything we could fit inside. Gas, too."

It was like Christmas had come early. The men quickly started making arrangements to go get everything. Esme clearly wanted to keep him in her sights, but the sheer relief at just seeing him again was outweighing everything.

"Before we do anything, though," GI Joe said suddenly "we need to check them over."

"They don't…"

"No, they do, Esme," Edward's dad said quietly. "Everyone does."

"What do you need us to do?" I asked quietly.

"Strip down."

I nodded and shakily pulled my t-shirt up and off, handing it to Esme. She flushed. "You can go behind a bush, sweetie, and I'll check."

"It's fine," I mumbled. "I'll keep my underwear on."

She glanced at Edward who grinned dryly as he pulled his own t-shirt off. I plopped down on the ground and pulled off my shoes and socks, then stood up and unbuttoned my pants, pushing them down and stepping out of them. Edward did the same thing, shivering in the cold air. We stood, hugging ourselves as the others scrutinized our bodies, looking for bite marks. I turned my back at one point and pulled off my bra, letting Esme inspect my breasts. Her brow furrowed at the still fading finger sized bruises on my breasts.

"Zombie attack a week ago," I muttered. "He was a breast man apparently."

She looked up at me, startled. "You didn't get bitten, even though he had your breasts in his hands?"

"We're careful," I managed through my chattering teeth.

She nodded and handed me my shirt back. I pulled it back on grateful for the little bit of warmth that it provided. I pulled my pants back on and jammed my feet back into my boots without bothering with socks. I sneezed again and Edward shot me a worried look. One that was not missed by Esme.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded. "Fine, just a little cold or something. I think just sleeping will cure everything."

"Well, then come with me. We'll let the men unload while you get something hot inside you."

I glanced over my shoulder at Edward anxiously. He didn't see me as he retied his boots, talking logistics with the others.

"You'll be fine, I promise, though I can't guarantee the girls won't be thrilled to see you."

"Girls?"

"Edward's sisters-in-law. I'm sure he told you about them."

"We didn't talk much in detail about family. It was easier that way."

She nodded and slipped her arm around my waist as we walked. I leaned against her tiredly, reveling in her warmth and strength. She smelled good and she was comfortable in a way only women could be.

It didn't take long to walk up the path to the buildings we'd seen from the water. There were several of them, more than I had realized.

"Back in the 30's, a cult lived here," she explained as I looked around. "My mother was actually born on this island and her family left when she was 10. Carlisle and I bought the island in the 80's and spent some time getting the buildings updated and renovated. We spent nearly every summer here when the boys were growing up."

I nodded and looked around some more. There was a large main building in the middle with the other buildings surrounding it. Most of them had some kind of signage like School, Hospital, Cafeteria, Laundry and Bunkhouse. There were lots of bunkhouses.

Esme led me to the main building. It was three stories tall and looked ancient but surprisingly well-maintained. We went up the steps and she turned me for a moment. "Look at that view."

I had to admit, it was amazing. Before us the ground kind of fell away and there was a brilliant view of the ocean and Portland in the distance.

"I sit out here and drink my coffee every morning," she said softly. "Or…I did when we had coffee."

"Maybe someday you will again," I offered. "I wouldn't be surprised if Edward has some stashed on the boat."

She chuckled and pulled me inside the house.

It was warm and cozy and full of laughter and light and people. There were two women sitting in chairs in front of a large fireplace and about five children scattered around the room doing various things. Two older boys were sitting at a table doing what looked like some schoolwork, a little girl was stretched out on a couch with a book, and two toddlers were playing with toys in front of the women. Everyone looked up when we stepped in.

"Everyone, this is B. B, this is everyone." Esme beamed. "She's with Edward."

"So it was him?" asked one of the women excitedly, putting the sewing she was working on down beside her in the chair.

Esme nodded, covering her face and bursting into tears. I jumped, startled, at the sobs suddenly emanating from her. The woman jumped up and came over, wrapping her arms around Esme and hugging her, laughing.

"Esme, its fine, he's safe now that he's here."

Esme nodded and wiped her eyes. "I know, but after ten years of not knowing…" She stopped and shook herself. "Well. We have a new family member." She turned back to me and smiled. "This is Alice, Jasper's wife."

I smiled and allowed the woman to hug me tightly.

"Those are her two boys at the table, Bobby and Josh and her daughter Lizbet is on the floor there with James."

I was quickly introduced to everyone else. The other woman was Rosalie, the wife of Edward's other brother Emmett, and their children were the girl reading, Sally, and the toddler playing with Lizbet, James. I was given a brief tour of the house. The downstairs had a large common room and a couple of smaller rooms off the sides of it, one a kitchen, the others rooms that had been converted into bedrooms. The second and third floors were pretty exclusively bedrooms, with an attic above that for storage. It looked as though the three boys shared a room on the first floor, the girls were together on the second, one set of parents on each and Carlisle and Esme on the third. There were empty rooms not occupied by their family but obviously kept in case someone needed them.

"This was always Edward's room," Esme said proudly, opening the door to a room on the third floor. There was a double bed against one wall, bookshelves jammed full of books along the others, and huge windows overlooking the ocean view from the front of the house on the fourth. I noted with relief it was one of the few rooms with a fireplace. Hopefully that meant we could be warm.

I walked over to it and looked out. It had started to rain again, making everything look hazy and blurred. I could see a small trail of people carrying stuff up from the docks.

"I assume you'll be wanting to stay with him?"

I nodded, not turning around.

"I don't judge my sons behavior. Not anymore. Just…be careful. We're not ready to start bringing children into the world around here."

I nodded again. I turned then and smiled at her tiredly. "We have all kinds of preventative things on the boat. Some for everyone."

She visibly relaxed. "Would you like a bath, B?"

I laughed softly and nodded. "So much."

"We have a bathroom up here. We can't get the water terribly hot, but we can at least warm it up."

"I've had cold showers for the last two years, a lukewarm bath isn't going to bother me."

She laughed and nodded. She gave me another hug and then disappeared. I sank down on the bed then and closed my eyes. We were here and we were safe.

I was on the verge of drifting off to sleep when there was a soft tap at the door. I opened my eyes and sat up.

"Come in."

Esme stuck her head in, a tentative smile on her lips. "I've got the bath ready."

"Great, thanks." I pushed myself off of the bed and followed her down the dark hallway to the bathroom. I nearly cried with relief when I saw the large tub full or warm fragrant water.

"The shower's iffy, so we just generally use the tub. The plumbing all feeds off the little river through the island, so it's salt water. We have some collection tanks set up for rain water that we use for drinking so if you get thirsty just ask someone."

I nodded tiredly, eyeing the bathtub greedily while she kept on talking. She finally left, a small pile of towels sitting on the toilet. I stripped down quickly and settled in the tub.

The bath rivaled the awesomeness of the shower last week. It felt like it had been longer ago than that but that was it. One week. Plus, this time around, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to get attacked by zeds. Granted, I might not get pressed up against Edward naked in a shower, but that was really the only thing that didn't push this bath over the edge into epicness.

I nearly drifted off as I sat and soaked, a huge sneeze waking me up. I laughed softly at myself and sat forward, grabbing the bar of soap and a washcloth and scrubbing myself clean. I dipped my head back and washed my hair. I wished I had a razor, but only a week gone since shaving wasn't that bad, actually. I could definitely deal with it.

When I was as clean as I was going to get, I climbed out of the bath, pulling the stopper to drain it. The water that went down the drain was definitely brown with traces of red. I grimaced a bit at the fact that all that dirt and gore had been on me. I wrapped up in towels and gathered my dirty clothes in my arms before padding down the hallway to Edward's room.

I grinned happily when I saw that someone had started the fire in the fireplace. I dropped my clothes in a heap on the floor and crawled into the bed on the side nearest the fireplace, too tired to bother with the neatly folded clothing on the dresser. I left the towels wrapped around me and snuggled down under the worn blankets on the bed, closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep almost immediately.

I woke up slightly when I felt the mattress sag behind me and a warm damp body press up against my back. I shifted backwards towards it, recognizing Edward's body in an instant.

"Everything ok?" I mumbled sleepily.

"For now. Sleep."

I rolled over and snuggled close, the towel on my hair dropping to the floor. Edward's arms circled me and I automatically hitched a leg over his, pulling him ever closer.

"You're naked," he muttered, sounding vaguely surprised.

"I was too tired to get dressed."

He laughed softly and stroked my damp hair. "I wish you were well."

"Me too." I pressed a kiss against his bare chest and closed my eyes, dropping back to sleep.