The Protectors, Guardians, Whatever
AN: So this is my first Twilight story that I'm posting, so it's going to be an adventure, that's for sure. Please, review, give me feed back, tell me what you do like and don't like.
Disclaimer: I don't own it; no copyright infringement; it all belongs to Stephenie Meyer and Little, Brown; blah, blah, blah, insert more legal terms here.
Full Summary: When Charlie's sister, Penny, gets divorced, she moves back to her hometown of Forks with her two daughters, Ellie and Ari. Ellie has always brought out a different side in Bella, so she's Charlie's only hope to pull Bella out of her depression after Edward's departure in New Moon. But it's soon discovered that the Swan family is actually rather large and powerful, and a danger magnet. The Swans need to be protected, and it's up to Ellie and Bella do so. Bella's no longer a helpless human; how will this change the course of the books?
Charlie Swan was by no means an unemotional or callous man; he was just awkward. He cared for his daughter as much, if not more, than any other dad in the world, and he was tired of seeing her so hollow. He knew that there were only two people who could bring her back to life, and one he wasn't going to let get anywhere near Bella, lest he break her heart again.
So, as he watched Bella pick at her peas, he put his clean plate in the sink, picked up the cordless phone and dialed the numbers where the silver paint had been worn away from repeated use.
The phone rang twice before a female voice answered. "Doctor Penelope Swan." It said by a way of greeting.
"Penny, it's Charlie."
"Oh, hey Charlie."
"Hello sis. I guess the divorce was finalized?" He asked.
"It was, as of this afternoon. I was just about to call you and tell you that your sister was now a single woman. So why is it that you called?" Penny asked.
"Well, Pen, there's an opening at Forks Hospital after his father left," Charlie started to explain, but was cut off by his younger sister's sigh.
"Charlie, are you trying to get me to move back to Forks?" Penny asked.
"Well, yes, Pen, I am." He admitted as he moved into the living room to sit in his favorite worn chair.
"You know why I left Forks in the first place." She sighed.
"I do know, to get away from the memories of mom and dad. But, really, you just got divorced. Maybe it would be good to start over? Bring the girls out to live in the place where you grew up?" Charlie said, trying to convince her.
"I don't know, Charlie. Ellie and Ari have friends here, and it's the middle of the school year." Despite her reluctance that she hinted at while talking to her brother, Penelope Swan was actually starting to think moving back to her hometown would be a good idea. She liked the idea of getting her two daughters away from the city of Pittsburgh and into the small town of Forks, a place she loved.
"Come on, you know how friendly everyone here is, and I think it would be good for Bella to have Ellie around. You know how she brings out a different side of Bells, and that might help her get over him." Charlie pleaded, hearing Bella start to wash the dishes.
Meanwhile, Penny pulled car into the driveway of her home in a richer area of Pittsburgh, and walked in the front door were she saw her elder daughter, Ellie, reading a book on the couch. "She's still catatonic?" She asked her brother, and Ellie looked up from her book, knowing that her mother was talking about her only cousin.
"She is." Charlie sighed, starting to get a headache.
Penny, imitating her brother, also sighed.
"I'll get back to you Charlie." Penny said honestly.
"Okay." He sighed. "I'll talk to you then Penny."
"Bye-Charlie."
"Bye." Penny hit the end button on her cell phone and looked at her daughter. "Ari 's asleep?" She asked, sitting down on the couch opposite of her, not bothering to take off her lab coat or put her purse down.
"Yeah, she went to bed about an hour ago. It took forever, though, for her to get asleep." Ellie said, closing her book and switching from a laying position to a sitting position.
"I guess she's just getting used to the change. Divorce is hard on kids her age. Speaking of it, how are you?" Penny asked, worried about Ellie.
"I'm fine, mom, really. You know I've never been one to cry or get really mad and over react." Ellie insisted, yawning. While it was only six o'clock in Forks, it was ten in Pittsburgh. "I think I'm going to go to bed. I'm really tired after today. At least I don't have school tomorrow." She said, and it was, infact, a Friday.
"Hey, can I talk to you first?" Penny stopped her daughter.
"Sure, what about?" Ellie asked, sitting beside her mom with her book in her lap.
Penny took a deep breath.
"Sweetie, how would you feel about moving to Forks?" She asked, and Ellie yawned and thought about that for a moment.
"I'm up for it." She said honestly.
"Really?" Penny asked. "You wouldn't mind leaving all of your friends behind?"
"Come on, mom, it's the 21st century. There's the internet and text messages."
"If you're sure⦠Want to do some house shopping?" Penny asked.
"Sure." Ellie agreed, and they searched the internet for a home for the three of them.
They found one after an hour that had three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a garage, and was a standard log cabin style home.
Deciding to be spontaneous, they put an offer for the house in online, and hoped to hear back from the realtor by Sunday.
It was a week later and Charlie had yet to hear back from his little sister. Penny had never been forgetful, so he was worried about why she didn't call back. Eventually, he decided it was because of her recent divorce.
He was wrong, however, because she was busy transferring Ellie from her school to Forks High, buying a house, getting hired at Forks' hospital as their new surgeon, signing Ari up for preschool, and buying new furniture that would be delivered and set up at their new house.
In fact, they managed to get all of that done, and just as Charlie dismissed Penny's not replying as part of the divorce, they pulled into the drive way in Penny's Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, and Ellie jumped out of the passenger seat and ran to the front door of the Swan house, eager to see her cousin, no matter what state she was in. Ellie didn't even bother to knock; she just opened the door and embraced her cousin, who was standing in the living room.
"'ello Bella." Ellie said cheerfully. Bella turned her head and looked down at her only slightly shorter cousin.
"Ellie?" She asked, showing a little hint of emotion in her voice.
"Ellie?" Charlie asked, walking in from the kitchen, noticing his sister and niece standing in the doorway, in raincoats. "Penny? Ari?"
"Surprise." Penny said weakly, leading her younger daughter into the house as she closed the door.
"Come in." Charlie said happily.
"Hello." Bella said weakly as Ellie let go.
"For goodness' sake! You could at least show some enthusiasm!" Ellie insisted, and Bella's face relaxed from a blank mask into her normal, unexpressive face.
Ellie just had a presence that did to a person.
"What are you doing here?" Charlie asked. "Not that you're not welcome or anything." He added hastily.
"Charlie, we moved here." Penny said tentatively.
"Really?" He asked, almost smiling.
"Yes, Uncle Charlie!" Ari said in her adorable four year old voice.
"Really?" He asked, playing along with the four year old.
"Yup!" She said, popping the 'p' and almost making Bella smile.
"That's fantastic!" He cooed, his younger niece always bringing out the softer side of him.
"So where is your new house?" Bella asked stiffly, not used to conversing with other people.
"Oh, it's just northwest of the town, a short distance from the school and the hospital." Penny explained, moving into the living room and taking a seat on the one end of the couch with Ari in her lap, Ellie in the middle of the couch and Bella on the other end while Charlie sat in his chair. No one really knew what to say, so Charlie awkwardly started the conversation again.
"So, Ellie, are you starting school on Monday?"
"Yeah, I am." She nodded. "Freshman."
"Oh, that's right. You skipped a grade." Charlie cleared his throat and attempted conversation again. "So, Penny, have you talked to Billy yet?"
"Oh, no, I haven't talked to anyone yet. I was able to complete all of the paperwork back East, so we only got here around noon today, but I was planning on taking tomorrow off to be lazy and recuperate, and Sunday we'll go around town to say hello to anyone we actually like. I wonder if Lisa Stanley is still working at the bank. Maybe I can go there and then the whole town will know we moved back." Penny said, chuckling.
"Why don't the five of us go out to dinner somewhere tomorrow?" Charlie suggested. "There's the new pizza place that just opened up last month."
"Sounds good." Penny agreed, and continued talking to her brother about this and that.
Meanwhile, Ellie just observed her cousin. While Bella had always been introverted in public, she could never shut up, stay calm or stop moving when she was around Ellie. Ellie knew that, even though she had never meet Edward Cullen (she had seen him for a brief moment whenever she had flown to Phoenix and visited Bella in the hospital in March, and he once answered the phone when she called Bella) but she knew that she must have loved him a lot.
Almost too much.
So much that, now that he's gone, she left. Physically, she's there, but spiritually and mentally and emotionally, she's gone, most likely to the place where he is.
Ellie knew that she needed to change that for Bella's sake. She needed to live, and anyhow, living well is the best form of revenge.
A plan formed in Ellie's head. This was going to be good.
