A/N: I am alive. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! :)

It was a weird dating relationship that Rachel found herself in. She knew Emmett; she knew his personality and who he was. But there were still so many new things about him. He had new quirks, new interests, a new family.

Sometimes Rachel envied him. She wished that they could switch places. Emmett would handle the stress of meeting a whole new family far better than she was. He was more confident in his abilities, yet carefree enough to not get worked up if things didn't go just as planned. It was a trait that Rachel desperately wanted in herself; the ability to take things as they came and go with the flow. Her mother often said she was too 'Type A' for her own good. She couldn't help that she wanted everything to go well.

Just the idea of them hating her, hating her and Emmett's relationship, was quite crushing. Edward irritated her to no end, and therefore Rachel had been easily able to give up or dismiss his feelings about her and Emmett. The rest of the family…their feelings were not as easily disregarded. They were important to Emmett; people that she would spend a considerable amount of time with, and thus their opinions were important to Rachel.

Not that Edward wasn't also important to Emmett, she was sure that Bella's boyfriend was, but irritation once again helped dull Rachel's concerns. At least in part.

She'd gotten lucky by meeting Emmett's human family first. Not because it dulled the chill in her chest or the pounding heartbeat in her ears, but because it gave her hope that his new family could be just as sweet as his old one. The McCarty's had been a dream for her. They'd welcomed her into their house, as chaotic as it was, with open arms and accepted her in all her quirks and mess and downfalls. They were the ones that taught her about love and humanity. She'd gotten lucky with them and that gave her the hope that she could get lucky again.

After all, hadn't Emmett done so just by having Rosalie find him that day in the woods?

Emmett's words on the subject were expected, though not necessarily helpful. "Stop looking so stressed."

"I'm walking into a house full of vampires. How am I not going to be stressed?" Her exasperation was evident, even without her sinking into the seat a little more. If she was honest with herself, the fear of becoming dinner was low on her list compared to her other worries, so she supposed their species wasn't important. But it was a thought in the back of her head, and one that should've warranted more of her attention, so she focused on it to distract her from the other anxieties bouncing around her brain.

"If it makes you feel better, these people have way more practice around humans than I do. If you're going to worry about anyone hurting you, it should not be around these people." Emmett's chipper smile and positive tone was meant to put her ease. It did no such thing, not that she wanted to tell Emmett that. No need for the two of them to worry (not that Emmett would worry).

Rachel took a breath, "Well, that's good."

"Bella will be there?" Emmett tried again, looking more hopeful that he was being helpful. Apparently, her façade was easily seen through. Of course, it was for him. Her heart was racing a million miles a minute and she was likely hyperventilating without realizing it. She didn't know such a thing could be possible, but Dennis shared the fact when she was little and learning to swim underwater for the first time.

"Sorry, Em."

"Alright, how about this: There will probably be no fighting at this family introduction." He grinned once more, making a joke out of the fight with Jackson and Chelsea. She remembered that event well. Chelsea's words still stuck out in her head when she wore an outfit that she wasn't overly confident about. Rachel wished she could say that Chelsea had mellowed out since Emmett had been gone, not that he had asked.

In any case, vampire fights were probably not that petty. Though they were probably more deadly, so she supposed it would be a good thing that there wouldn't be any fighting. "That's a plus. Edward's not going to dissuade us anymore?"

"I didn't say that. He'll just do it quietly…or after you leave. It'll be fine." Emmett shrugged. Maybe he was also dulled to his brother's words and feelings. Or, more likely, Emmett just didn't worry about the thoughts and opinions of others like Rachel did. Maybe that part of him hadn't changed.

The large house came into view through the trees and Rachel took a deep breath. Then she remembered what Emmett had said about their hearing abilities and sick mixture of embarrassment and nerves pooled in her stomach. They'd surely know she was nervous by that. Great, their first impression of her would be that she was nervous wreck. Were there tips on how to slow one's heart? Maybe she could convince them her heartrate was always that fast….

"Cool, right?" Emmett watched her stare at the house, surely thinking that her focus was on the structure and not the people inside.

Cool wasn't the word she'd use, but she understood what he was trying to say. The house was absolutely beautiful; angular and modern in ways that Rachel had never seen in real life. It looked fancy, like a rich person's home. Should she take her shoes off on the porch? What if she had a clumsy human moment and broke something? She was pretty sure she couldn't afford the picture frames in that house, let alone a vase or a plate.

Emmett parked his jeep in the driveway, shooting her an encouraging smile. Rachel tried to return it before unbuckling her seatbelt, reminding herself not to take a deep to calm her nerves. She moved to open her door, blinking twice when it was already open. Emmett chuckled at her reaction, holding out his hand for her to take.
"One day I'll get used to that." She mumbled, rolling her eyes at herself. They hadn't even made it inside and she was already making a fool of herself. How many times could she do that in one afternoon? Perhaps she should keep count and make a game of it. She could see Henry doing that to her. Making a scoreboard to hang up on the wall or fridge…Rachel's Fumble Tracker, Rachel's Day of Shame…the names that boy would come up with would be endless.

"I hope you don't." Emmett winked, bumping her arm gently as he pulled her out of her thought spiral. "Come on, Alice is practically vibrating off the walls."

Alice. The future-seer. The one who was the most supportive of Emmett and Rachel, according to the man himself. She wanted to doubt him when he said it, but Emmett had yet to lie to her in the years she had known him.

She supposed she should've been excited, or even hopeful, about Alice's reaction. If she was excited, that meant things went well, right? Rachel probably wouldn't die, at least.

Though she'd been quite certain of it, Alice had not bombarded them the moment they walked in the door. It was nice, as it gave Rachel a moment to take everything in.

She looked around the bright space, noting just how…cozy it all felt. It wasn't what she had expected from a vampire house. What use did vampires have for little trinkets or pictures. According to Emmett, they never forgot anything. And despite his insistence that vampires didn't burn in the sun, she hadn't expected them to embrace the natural light so much. It was light and open and…a home.

Someone put time and effort into decorating the house, positioning things just right, making a guest feel like the house was cared for and lived in; making a guest feel welcome and like the Cullen's were just another normal family.

Was that intentional? Was it an act for humans who came to visit? Or was it a true act of love? Could she get lucky twice?

Rachel did not continue forward with Emmett, her resistance forcing him to stop and look back at her. Once she had his eye, she looked down to her shoes, holding one up slightly, as though he needed a further indication of what she was asking him.

"Oh, no. You're good." He easily smiled at her, like he found her question amusing. What was funny about preventing a fifteen-thousand-dollar flooring replacement bill? Did he realize how little money Rachel had in comparison to these people? Was it possible that he didn't see how expensive this stuff was? Did vampirism make everything naturally look expensive?

Emmett looked back at her and grinned, amusement gleaming in his eye. Had she said that out loud? No, she was pretty sure her mouth had stayed firmly closed.

As they ventured deeper into the house, the smell of garlic simmering in butter hit Rachel's nose. Confusion clouded her mind until she'd remembered Emmett talking about Esme cooking for her.

"I said they didn't have to cook, remember?" Rachel rose an eyebrow at him, "I thought vampires had super memory."

"We do. We also have super stubbornness." Emmett winked, holding his arm out so she could enter the kitchen first.

She rolled her eyes at him as she crossed the doorway, but smiled as she teased him, "Trust me, you don't need any more of that."

Then, she fixed her eyes on the room, or rather, the people in the room.

A beautiful, caramel haired woman was beaming at her. The spoon in her hand was quickly put down, and she approached Rachel with a kind smile that rivaled Judy's. "Rachel, welcome! We're so glad you're here."

The man behind her, a tall blond with gentle features, also gave her warm look, "I tried to rein her in, but she insisted. Bella doesn't let us cook for her enough."

Rachel took another breath, lips curving into a smile that she hoped was just as friendly and masked her nerves. They seemed like very nice people, and the names 'Carlisle' and 'Esme' popped into Rachel's head. The two surely fit the descriptions she'd received from Emmett about his new 'parents.'

Em confirmed as much, introducing them as though the meeting was no big deal. Though she supposed it wasn't a big deal to him. He knew them already.

"Well, thank you. It smells amazing." Rachel told Esme honestly, hoping that her face just felt warm from the heat of the stove and not a blush coating her cheeks. She didn't want to make things more difficult for them than she had to, especially not for Emmett. Just because he looked like he had hunted recently didn't mean that his instincts were wiped out.

"Emmett told us you liked chicken alfredo. Hopefully his memory served him well?"

Rachel eyed her boyfriend, watching as he shot her a sheepish grin. No, his Rachel instincts were quite intact. "Very well. It's one of my favorites. Homemade sauce? Is that still the only lawful option?" She asked Emmett more than Esme, and he chuckled.

Just like Judy, Esme was quick to scold her 'son', "I hope you weren't being rude to her. She can like whatever she wants."

"Except jarred alfredo sauce." Emmett nodded, looking Rachel right in the eye.

She laughed, bumping into him playfully, "You're still terrible. Got it."

"Well, hopefully it tastes good regardless. We don't use the kitchen very often." Esme looked almost embarrassed by the admission, as though Rachel would think lesser of a vampire not cooking, despite them being unsatisfied by human food.

"Can't be any worse than Em's cooking."

Emmett whined about her 'unfairness,' protesting that it 'wasn't that bad.' But Rachel shrugged, remembering far, far too many over cooked foods and burnt on messes. Hopefully Esme's cookware hadn't suffered the same fate.

"Wait a minute!" A petite girl danced into the room, followed closely by a taller male. She smiled brightly at Rachel, a giggle sounding like wind chimes leaving her mouth. "If you're going to start telling embarrassing stories about Emmett, I want to be in the room."

"Alice…." Emmett complained again, tossing his head back dramatically.

Rachel grinned though, deciding already that she liked the smaller girl. "Oh, do I have stories for you!"

"No!" Emmett nudged her, shooting her a sharp look. The room erupted in laughter, even the stoic man behind Alice breaking into a grin.

Alice just shrugged, a sweet little smirk sent his way, "You have to hunt sometime, Emmett. You can't hide Rachel forever."

He took an unnecessary breath, staring Alice down as he contemplated his next move. His golden eyes dashed over to Rachel, who was trying her best to look innocent and not laugh. "Hmm…" Emmett hummed, crossing his arms to glower at the vampire. After another second, he turned back to Rachel, "Alright, what does it take to keep you quiet?"

"A lot more than a free dinner." Rachel teased.

Emmett remembered the reference, just as she hoped he would, and he chuckled, "More expensive than Will. Damn."

"Take him for all he's got, Rachel." The other blond male drawled, a small little smile on his face. Rachel couldn't help but feel at ease then, a boost of confidence coming in as the vampires seemed to like her.

Emmett was no more appreciative of his encouragement than he was Alice's, muttering a sharp, "Shut up, Jasper." He shook his head, leaning down to Rachel to whisper, solely for the joke as everyone could hear, "Vampire brothers are just as mean as human brothers. Just so you know."

Everyone laughed, but Esme was quick to point her sauce spoon at the boys, "No fighting. Not with Rachel and Bella here."

Both boys gave a quiet, "Yes, ma'am."

"How'd you train Em to do that?" Rachel asked cheekily. She knew Judy would've been completely exasperated (but proud) to see Emmett behaving for his vampire mother.

Her boyfriend didn't appreciate the comment, giving her a shove that made her take a step off to the side to regain her balance. Alice was next to her in an instant, her icy hands on Rachel's arm to steady her. "Careful, Emmett!"

Rachel's eyes danced around the room, trying to discern if Alice was joking or not. Jasper was rigid on the other side of the room, and Esme appeared worried as well. Only Carlisle wasn't concerned, offering a gentle smile to Rachel to ease the situation.

"I'm not that breakable." She also tried to diffuse the tension, even giving Alice an encouraging smile to help convince her.

The vampire huffed but relented. "He can't break you before I get a chance to know you. That's just rude."

"What makes you think I want to break her?" Emmett tried to defend himself, to no avail.

"Well, you did almost bruise Bella's arm last week." Edward interjected, strolling into the room with Bella trailing behind. He gave Rachel a quick nod before focusing his eyes on his girlfriend, extending his arm almost as if she needed assistance walking across the ground. Rachel didn't see any injuries on Bella, though she thought Emmett had mentioned something about the girl being clumsy.

Bella and Rachel exchanged a quick greeting while Emmett once again defended his honor. Rachel glanced back at him, before giving Bella a teasing eye roll.

"It really wasn't that bad." Bella whispered, also shaking her head at what a big deal the boys were making of it.

"He could've hurt you." Edward turned on Bella then and Rachel got the slight impression that Edward was…protective. Maybe a touch too much.

"You can never be too careful." He continued and Rachel frowned slightly. She certainly hadn't said that out loud, had she? Maybe it was just a coincidence.

It seemed to be less so when Edward furrowed his brows in thought before meeting Emmett's eye. "You didn't tell her about me?"

Rachel rose an eyebrow, quickly turning back to the guilty party, who looked incredibly confused. "I did tell her about us. She knows we're vampires."

"I said about me, Emmett."

"Oh." Emmett leaned into Rachel once more, again lowering his voice, "Edward's kinda moody. Don't worry about it."

His vampire siblings, minus Edward, loved the quip, laughing hard. Even Carlisle was trying to compose himself.

Edward sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before he clarified, "About my gift, Emmett."

"See, he didn't deny it."

"Emmett!"

"Alright, alright." He held his hands up in surrender though the huge grin on his face didn't falter. Rachel couldn't help the smile she wore, not because Emmett was funny (which he was), but because it reminded her so much of their past time together. Because wasn't that just the McCarty way? Teasing the absolute crap out of your siblings, taking it way too far, then getting your butt kicked? Rachel was just waiting for step 3 to start.

"Nice to know he hasn't changed much for you, Rachel." Edward rolled his eyes.

Before Rachel could even ask how Edward knew that, Emmett had to know, "What are you thinking?"

And then all the pieces clicked.

Rachel gasped, stared wide eyed at Edward for a moment, "You can read my mind? That's your gift?"

She was just as quick to turn on Emmett, giving him the same bewildered expression, "You didn't think to tell me you live with a mind reader?"

Emmett shrugged, "I forgot."

"How do you forget?" Rachel's face fell, putting her hands on her hips.

"I don't think about it much." Emmett held his hands up again, forgetting that he was a vampire and Rachel couldn't hurt him as he backed away.

"That is true." Edward threw him a small bone. "He doesn't think about it much. The least out of any of us."

Rachel closed her eyes, sighing a bit as she shook her head. Her clammy hands rubbed her face before she eyed her clueless boyfriend again. "You really have not changed at all, have you?"

Emmett gave her a sheepish grin and a shrug.

"God help me."

Family dinners were far less chaotic at the Cullen's than at the McCarty's. Alice and Jasper did not stick around for mealtime, opting to disappear somewhere in the large house. Bella and Rachel were the only two people eating, though Emmett did steal a bite here and there "just to see how it was." Based on the way he shrugged, it was alright.

Rachel thought he was crazy. Esme and Carlisle's cooking was better than even Judy's, straight perfection in every way. She supposed it was the vampire way. Emmett seemed to be perfect at anything he did. Not that she would tell him that, of course.

"What's the plan for after lunch? Aggressive video game losses?"

Emmett chuckled, but shook his head, "No…I, uh, can't be trusted with video game controllers."

Rachel rose an eyebrow, not understanding the statement. Did Emmett get too aggressive? The house was oddly quiet. Maybe Em got too loud for them. He had said that vampires could hear better than humans.

"We've replaced three controllers already this month." Esme explained with a teasing smile. Everything clicked for Rachel then, and she also giggled at her boyfriend. It was quite a mental image.

"You're close." Edward smirked, "There's more yelling in real life."

Why did that not surprise her?

Emmett had something far different in mind after her meal. He took her around the house, quietly pointing out various rooms as they walked. Like a true tour guide, he also provided grand stories on every location they visited. The stairs: where Edward slipped on a piece of fabric Alice had laid out for sewing a new dress and bit it. Jasper and Alice's bedroom door: The one Emmett rammed his fist clean through the first week they moved into the house. Esme's favorite vase: nearly toppled by Jasper & Emmett during a fight; started the great 'no fighting in the house' rule (ironically, Carlisle almost knocked it over the very next day due to a misjudgment of how close the sleeve of his jacket was when putting it on). Esme's Garden: Sacred Land; you're only allowed to stare for 30 seconds before Esme starts twitching.

"What does she grow?" Rachel whispered, trying to count out how many seconds she had left in her head.

"Catnip."

"Emmett!" Esme's chiming laugh could be heard from upstairs, and Rachel couldn't help but join her.

"Catnip? That's what you could come up with? Losing your touch, McCarty." She giggled despite her words. In truth, it was one of the things she missed the most about Emmett and his family; how witty they were. It kept things light and fun.

Emmett shrugged, nodding Rachel along towards the infamous stairs once more. She watched the wooden stairs as they walked, trying her best not to end up like Edward. That would be her luck though.

He gestured to one of the doors he'd missed on their first lap around the second floor, "The bathroom. Don't use that shower. I have one connected to my room."

"Why can't I use that shower?" Rachel wasn't sure she wanted to know, but felt she had to ask anyway. Tens of possibilities popped into her head, from broken faucets and floods to wild animal sanctuaries.

Emmett just chuckled, his lips moving ever so slightly, though Rachel couldn't make out any of the words. Her eyebrow rose, head leaning forward as if that would magically help her hear better. For a moment, she hated her humanity, the thing that stood between her and being in the know like everyone else. She wanted to hear the gossip.

"No, Rachel," Edward called to her, finally allowing her into the conversation, "You really don't want to know."

"Did you try to tame raccoons again?" She asked Emmett, sighing as her mind replayed Emmett's last attempt. Edward appreciated the free television, chuckling when she got to the part where Emmett was nearly bit and danced around his makeshift raccoon house trying to avoid their teeth.

"He really hasn't changed for you Rachel."