Charlie POV

It was late when I left Washington after our annual training seminar. Not that that is an excuse for nearly running someone over. In my defence, she did come out of nowhere.

I didn't see her until she crashed onto my bumper, causing me to swerve and send her flying onto the road.

I stepped out of the car, flashlight in hand and moved over to where she was lying on the edge of the road.

"Miss, can you hear me."

I reached to check her pulse, it was strong. She opened her eyes. They were cloudy. There was a slight dampness on her forehead that could only be blood.

"Miss, don't move, you might have broken something."

I pulled out my phone and dialled 911

"Emergency services."

"This is Chief Swan of Forks, I need an ambulance ASAP. A young woman has been hit by a car. Potential head trauma and slight bleeding."

"Is the driver in question still present?"

"Actually, that would be me."

I gave the details of our location and waited until I heard the familiar whirl of the ambulance. As the paramedics loaded her up, I insisted on following her to the hospital

Xxx

She did not have concussion but they wanted her kept in for a few days. They were concerned about her overall health and the state of her leg. I knocked on the door. Sleepy, brown eyes met mine.

"Hey."

"Hello, I'm Charlie Swan, Chief of Police."

"I'm Bella."

"I'm sorry for running you over..."

She gave a small, tired smile. "Don't worry about it Chief. I should have been looking where I was going."

"As you're going to be stuck here for a few days is there anyone I can call? Or is there anything you need?"

"Actually, I checked into a motel in Port Angeles. Would you be able to have my things brought here?"

"I'll do it myself. Is there anyone I can call?"

"There's someone but they live in New York and I don't want to bother them."

"Well, if you change your mind, let me know."

Xxx

I went to the motel to collect her things, telling the manager that she would be checking out early. He took me to her room, where her stuff was still packed. She must have only recently arrived.

I had already felt bad enough, now I felt ten times worse.

It was lunchtime at the hospital. There was a nurse in the room conducting a blood test. It seemed they were having difficulties finding a match and wanted to keep her in longer.

Bella wasn't impressed.

"How's the patient?"

When she didn't answer, the Nurse spoke up.

"We're a little irritable today. The Doctors told us that she needs to take better care of herself."

She grimaced. "I do take care of myself."

The nurse smiled and went back to taking her samples. I watched as Bella smiled at the sight of her stuff.

Xxx

Over those few days, I had gotten into the habit of visiting Bella during my lunch hour. Billy found this amusing and claimed he wanted to meet the girl. I spoke about this with Bella.

"You don't mind?"

"Naw, I think it's sweet. I take it you don't run over many girls?"

"No you're the first and hopefully the last. So what about your parents? Surely they would want to know about you."

She paused before answering, quietly.

"My parents died when I was eleven. A drunk driver crashed into us."

I wanted to take back my question but it was too late. All I could do was say, "I'm sorry."

She gave a half-smile. "It's alright. They were great and I got by."

"Any other relatives I could call?"

She rolled her eyes. "Honestly Chief, I'm fine."

I couldn't bear the thought that this girl had no-one.

Over the next few days, I noticed she was gradually getting better and it reminded me that she would soon be moving on. Billy had arrived with Jake and he had instantly taken to her. I introduced the two and they seemed to hit it off right away.

It was there that we first started to get to know the enigma that is Bella. Over her time in the hospitable, the nurses had been trying to find a suitable match for her blood type. The first time, I had offered to leave to give her some privacy but she waved it off.

It was on one of Billy's visits that we found something.

"What have you got for me today then?"

"We've got a combo method today. It's a little something called AB negative."

AB negative? That sounded familiar. I knew I had heard about it before but couldn't place it.

"Well, that seems to be the best match. I'll arrange for you to get a supply and we'll see how you get on."

She left the room.

"So Chief, you have any family? I'd hate to think I was holding you back. "

"No, it's just me."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"It's fine. I was married. Years ago but it didn't last. Renee wanted more out of life and she felt trapped here. She left and I haven't heard from her since."

It was only later that I remembered why AB negative was so familiar. It was a very rare blood type with only one percent of the population laying claim to it.

Renee was an AB negative! It was one of the first things I found out about her all those years ago when we met. We were together a grand total of six months before we got hitched, then another three before she announced that I had trapped her and that she wanted nothing more to do with me. Now I'm wondering if her words implied more than I was too upset to acknowledge.

I decided to approach Bella about it. She was calm as I spoke.

"So I could be your daughter?"

The odds were slim but yes.

She agreed to do a test – even going as far as to have someone track Renee down in Arizona and ordering her to give a sample which was then compared to a sample of her own.

It came back positive.

The results did not encourage Renee in any form to stake a claim on Bella. Her own words were,

"I didn't want her then I don't want her now."

She had married some up and coming baseball player, ten years her junior and was quite content with her lot.

However, my sample didn't garner such results.

We weren't a match. That meant that Renee had been having an affair. She had always been flighty, but I never would have put her down as a cheater. I guess I had never known the real Renee. I doubted if anyone ever had.

However, none of this changed my feelings for Bella.

When the hospital finally discharged her, I offered her a place at mine and she accepted, offering to pay rent. I couldn't let her do that and we argued, coming to an arrangement that she would help out around the house while she recuperated and then we would discuss this again in the future.

There was something else we agreed on. We would keep the results of the paternity test a secret. Billy and Jacob would continue to believe that Bella was indeed my daughter.

Maybe you do not agree with this and for that I apologise. I suppose you could say it was my way of holding onto Bella.