I spent the rest of the afternoon with the kids. I really loved the two toddlers I was in primary care of, Lizbet and James. The two eight year olds, James' older sister Sally and the caretaker's granddaughter Claire, were shyly sweet and came over to help me with the kids when they got done with their schoolwork. Eleven year old Josh and twelve year old Rebecca were desperately trying to fit in with the older boy and girl, Bobby and Rachel, who couldn't have cared less. Bobby was sullen about not being able to help out the men and Rachel was sullen about not being able to be in a real school. You'd think after two years she'd have figured out there was no such thing as a real school anymore.

As dusk was falling, the parents were returning. A tired looking woman in her early thirties came and collected the non-family children and they headed out without much talking. I jumped when Rosalie settled next to me on the couch, offering me a glass of water. James was fast asleep in my arms, his mouth hanging open.

"So, are you figuring everyone out yet?"

I laughed and shook my head. "I'm just trying to figure out the kids, to be honest. I might need a diagram."

She chuckled and stretched out her legs in front of her. "It does take some time. Other than our family, there's the caretakers and their son and his family and then the soldiers and the two families they brought with them. I'm a little concerned the ecology of the island won't be able to fully support all of us."

I blinked. "Ecology?"

"The ecosystem here. I'm afraid that we'll kill the land since we can't afford to let it lay fallow and give it time to regenerate the necessary nutrients."

I stared at her blankly for a long moment. "Um…ok."

She sighed and sat back, clearly missing that I was confused. Alice came in then, Lizbet on her hip, and eased into a chair in front of the fireplace.

"So how were they today?"

"Not bad, but then I don't know how they are normally."

She smiled and combed her fingers through Lizbet's tangled curls. "They're not too bad normally. Somewhat excitable."

I nodded and shifted James slightly. He curled into me and started sucking his thumb. "Well, they were pretty mellow. We colored and played. Maybe next time we go on a raid we can find them some new crayons."

"That'd be nice. We'll have to put it on a list."

Rosalie got up then and disappeared into the kitchen. I could smell food cooking and noticed then that Sally had disappeared and the boys had cleared their schoolwork off the table and were setting it with plates.

"Does everyone eat together here?"

"No just the family occasionally. Really, we usually eat with everyone else in the cafeteria but the past week Mom's been too excited about Edward being here we've been eating here together since you arrived."

"Oh. So when do I meet everyone else?"

She laughed and shifted Lizbet. "Soon enough. Seth's been talking about you to the others, so they're all curious."

"Seth?"

"The soldier who met you two at the docks. He's a real sweetheart."

"Tell me about everyone."

She grinned and obliged me. The soldiers were Seth, Paul, Embry, Jared, Angela, Emily, and Leah and their leader Sam. They were all in their twenties and thirties except for Sam who was in his forties. They were from all across the country and had lost everyone in their families and their platoon, at least as far as they knew. They were certain about the other soldiers but not as much about their families. No one had been heard from since a few weeks after the infection had become more widespread.

The island's caretakers were an older couple, the Crowleys. They'd been hired a few years before the infection to keep an eye on the island. At the time, it was predominantly making sure nothing fell into too much disrepair and to stock the pantry whenever the family was coming. When the infection hit, they'd had enough forethought to stockpile the last few times they'd gone shopping and so had had a head start on the insanities. They'd called their son, Tyler, and his wife, the tired woman I'd seen earlier, Lauren. They'd come with their daughter Claire and hadn't left since. They'd had another child, a little boy, who'd gotten sick and died. He was buried in the old graveyard from the cult's days on the island.

The other family, the Blacks, had been vacationing in Maine, up from Boston, when the infection hit. They'd tried to go home to check on their friends and family but the soldiers found them stranded on the side of the road a few miles south of Portland and had brought them back with them. Billy and Sarah were quiet, hard working and helpful. Their son Jake was a lot like his father and their daughter Rachel was the teen I'd seen working hard. Their other daughter was Rebecca, the one determined to be treated like an adult.

The Clearwater's story was much the same: found by the soldiers in an attempt to reach family. No one had heard from anyone. A few times they'd tried to help people when they'd gone into town, but were never successful. They were lucky to just get back with themselves, most of the time.

By the time Alice was finished talking, dinner was ready and the men had returned. They all smelled of sweat and dirt and sunshine. It was oddly arousing. Edward caught my eye and I quickly looked away. I stood up, holding James awkwardly.

"Rosalie, should I wake him for dinner or put him down?"

"Oh, wake him for sure. If he doesn't eat now he'll wake up hungry in the middle of the night."

I nodded and shifted James in my arms. "Sweetie, time to wake up," I said softly, rubbing his back clumsily. He frowned, his face scrunching up adorably.

"No."

I laughed and sat back down, sitting him in my lap. He was warm and soft and fairly limp. "Sorry kiddo, it's time to wake up for dinner. It smells really good."

"Don't wanna."

"I know. I hate waking up, too, but I promise you can go back to sleep after, ok?"

He whined but opened his eyes. He blinked at me slowly. "Kay."

I grinned and stood up again, sitting him on my hip and walking to the table. Emmett smiled at me appreciatively and reached for his son. "Thanks."

"No problem. He's a cute kid."

He nodded and kissed James' temple affectionately. "He really is."

Everyone crowded around the table then, taking their places. It was loud and crazy as the bowls of food were passed around. It looked like a lot of canned foods again, and some fresh to balance it. I could see Rosalie's concerns as I watched the men wolf down their servings. It was a little frightening to think about the amount of food needed to feed all the people on the island.

"Tomorrow's the first of the month," Jasper said around a mouthful of mashed cauliflower. "I say we get up early and go first thing."

"Sounds good to me," Emmett agreed, shoveling in some ham. "I'll go tell the men, see what they have to say about it."

"Where are you going?" I asked curiously, nibbling on my own cauliflower.

"Into the city, see if we can get some more supplies."

"Oh. Is that an all day thing then?"

"Typically. After two years, we're having to branch out into some nearby cities. It's hard to find stuff."

I nodded and took another small bite. My mind was racing. The others were talking about what they'd been doing during the day, the men describing the clearing of another area of the island for more planting and the tending of the animals.

"I want to go," I blurted out, surprising even me.

Everyone looked at me with surprise.

"What?" Jasper finally asked.

"I want to go," I repeated. "Tomorrow. I want to go. I want to help. I can be helpful in a pinch. I rarely get caught off-guard and I'm lethal with a bat."

"B, no," Edward said quietly. "You're staying here."

"I want to go," I repeated again. "Think about it. I have no family like Jasper or Emmett. If I die, no one will miss me."

"I'd miss you," Edward muttered, stabbing at the piece of ham left on his plate.

There was a long silence at the table.

"We don't decide who goes," Emmett finally said. "Sam does. He's kind of the one in charge of the raids. He has a rotating schedule of the volunteers since we can only take a few at a time. We'll let him know and he'll decide."

I nodded with finality. "Great."

Edward's knuckles were white on his fork. The rest of the meal passed quickly. I jumped up, gathering empty plates and carrying them into the kitchen, starting the water for washing dishes. Sally joined me, smiling shyly as we washed together. The other women came in and started putting leftovers away while the men headed upstairs to the two bathrooms to take turns bathing. Personally, I felt that they should likely leave the stank so that they'd be less of a target for tomorrow but I was an unknown here so I kept my mouth shut. I wasn't sure how they'd take my two cents since some of them seemed to have an issue with my presence in the first place.

Emmett came in as we were finishing up the dishes and sidled up to me. "Sam said if you're willing, he'll take you along sometime. Not tomorrow since you're still recovering, but in the future."

I nodded. "Thanks, Emmett."

He nodded and squeezed my shoulder. He stood for a moment then sighed softly. "I'm not sure what's going on between you and Edward, but you should know, he cares a lot about you. More than anyone I've ever seen him with. The age thing doesn't bother me in the slightest and it's good to have you here. I think you'll be…interesting."

I grinned and looked up at him. "Thanks Emmett."

He nodded but didn't move. "Also, I'm sorry about last night. I'm just trying to look out for my family, you know?"

"I know. I get it, I really do. Its hard to accept the new and unknown. I just hope y'all give me a chance to prove myself."

"Deal." He nodded and winked at me as he headed out of the kitchen. Sally headed upstairs with him, chatting excitedly about something. It sounded like baby chicks.

"B, can we talk?"

I turned, startled, at Edward's voice in the kitchen doorway."Now?"

"Yes."

"I'm kind of tired," I hedged.

"Bullshit."

"It is not. I was dealing with kids all day."

"Just take a fucking walk with me. Ten minutes, I swear."

"Why?"

"Because I asked you to."

I sighed. I wasn't really all that tired, I just didn't want to talk to him. "Fine. Ten minutes."

He handed me a jacket wordlessly and I shrugged into it, studying him. He'd showered and changed. He was now wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that did absolutely nothing for him. I was kind of grateful for that: less temptation.

We walked out onto the porch, walking down the path away from the docks, further into the island. I was quiet, looking into the windows of the buildings we passed, the insides lit up by candles. Most were going out right now, an easy way to save them. There'd be more need of them in the winter when there was less sunlight.

"I'm not sure where to start but I'm afraid you'll do something stupid like run off so I'm just going to dive in. What the fuck happened this morning?" I could hear the annoyance in his voice and guessed it had likely just been building all day long.

"Nothing."

"Fuck, why won't you talk to me? Quit acting like such a kid!"

"I am a kid, Edward," I snapped. "I'm eighteen fucking years old. Surely someone else is better for you."

"That again? Is that what this is about? You don't think you're good enough for me? Why are you bringing this up now?"

I sighed. "Maybe I didn't totally believe that you'd have any options ever but now that I see you do, I'm happy to step aside."

"And what about you?" he demanded. "You think I'm going to just walk away from you? After all we went through? Fuck, if I was going to do that, if I wanted to get rid of you, I'd have taken my opportunity ages ago, B. Do you really think so little of me, to honestly believe I'd desert you?"

"Maybe? I don't know." I turned away from him, angry that I was crying now.

He grabbed my upper arms and turned me towards him. I could barely make out his face in the moonlight filtering through the trees. "I'm not leaving you. I have no intentions of leaving you now or ever, B. I don't care if you ever tell me your name. I'll have babies with an initial."

I gave him a wobbly laugh then sighed, wiping at my eyes. "No babies, remember?"

"Fuck them all, if we want a baby, we'll have one." He pulled me into a hug, stroking my hair now. I hugged him back tightly, closing my eyes and breathing in his smell. I had to admit, I preferred the smell of Clean Edward over Zombie Fighting Dirty Edward.

I hiccupped softly. "I'm sorry. I guess you could say I have abandonment issues."

"No shit. You can count on me, though. I'll never leave. You're stuck with me forever."

I looked up at him. "Promise?"

"Promise." He leaned down and kissed me lightly. "Now," he said softly "about you going on raids."

"I'm going and that's that," I interrupted him. "There's no reason for me not to."

He sighed. "Nothing I can say will change your mind?"

"Nope."

"God you're stubborn."

"You're only just now realizing this?"

He chuckled and turned us back towards the house. "No, but now is probably the first time I've really hated it."

I laughed softly and squeezed his hand.