Penname: aroemmich
Title: Papa Bear
Summary: It is in his nature to protect his young. How far will Charlie go to keep Bella safe?
Disclaimer: If I owned any of this I wouldn't be spending time writing this stuff. It's all SM and Savvy.
Contest: Die, Daddy C, Die
A/N So, I know I'll never be able to live up to mums and rotting dicks again, lol, but I kinda wanted Charlie to have his moment.
If there is anything in the entire world that no one should ever question, it is the love of a father for his little girl. Every father sees his daughter as a princess, pure. A fathers entire world revolves around the happiness and safety of the girl whose entire existence has entranced him from day one.
Charlie Swan had learned things about his own daughter that he would never be able to forget. He had seen things about his daughter that he would never be able to un-see.
That was the first time the limit of Charlie's love for his only princess had ever been tested.
No, he was not upset with Isabella, well, not too much anyway. He understood that sometimes teenagers are blinded by "love" and put too much trust in the wrong people. No, he did not blame Isabella, Bella, Bells, his pride and joy. He blamed the sick fucks that toyed with her mind and body in ways that made him physically ill to think about.
See, what people fail to realize is that a fathers love for his daughter is undeniable and unbreakable. A fathers sanity, however, is not.
After the events in Arizona Charlie's love and pride for his daughter grew exponentially as he watched her navigate her through the aftermath. She was a strong, smart, and beautiful girl. She handled herself with poise and grace, sacrificing her own justice so that she could move on in peace. As his love for her grew, his grasp on sanity and reality lessened.
He wanted his justice. He wanted to collect those degenerates pounds of flesh, in the living form. He wanted to make an example of them for anyone else who may ever entertain the notion of disrespecting his daughter.
The strength of his love for Bella was the only reason he did not pursue those boys. She needed him, she wanted to live with him. He needed to be there for her.
Charlie struggled daily with dealing with the remnants of his rage. He constantly worked to push back any thoughts of the darkness that once desired to claim him. Thankfully, he was successful.
As he watched his little girl day in and day out he began to notice some subtle changes. Where she had become so sullen and closed off, she was finally coming alive again. He had some idea that it was due to the attentions of the Cullen boy, so he was concerned.
Edward Cullen had never impressed Charlie. The boy was arrogant, full of himself, and too much like his father.
Carlisle Cullen thought he was so smart. He thought he knew everything and that he was untouchable in the town of Forks and the entire state of Washington. Thing is that Charlie never got that memo. He did not fear Carlisle at all, only what Edward could do to Bella if he was as much like his father as Charlie suspected.
Carlisle wasn't the only person in this town with resources, and he lacked the foresight to know that he should watch out for his son when it comes to matters of the heart. Charlie had his people on it. He knew when Cullen was spending time driving by his house. He knew where it was headed.
At first Charlie was worried, scared even. Though as the days went by he began to see that Edward Cullen was quite taken with his daughter. After a few conversations with both Bella and Edward Charlie decided to let things take their natural course. He could see that Edward was not the asshole that his father was. Edward was learning, and Bella was teaching him.
The night that Charlie found Bella crying over Edward the darkness threatened to take him over again. Once it had been unleashed in Arizona it never went away, it just waited. He pushed at it, keeping it at bay as he consoled his daughter. She was shocked and confused by the sudden break up, and admittedly so was he.
Bella's earlier comments about his demeanor changing to suit the situation weighed heavily between them. They both knew that Carlisle was somehow involved, though Edward wouldn't confirm it.
Charlie watched as Bella grew frustrated with her attempts to reach out to Edward. She would leave for school in the mornings hopeful, and come home hopeless. Every day.
Charlie expressed his desire to speak with Carlisle but Bella made him promise that he would not push the matter. There was something there that Bella was hiding for Edward, and Charlie was fairly certain he knew what it was, but had no proof.
Any question Charlie had about Edwards feelings toward his daughter were wiped clean the day of the accident. Bella had been so close to being taken from him. His little girl, his pride and joy. She would have died that day in the parking lot of Forks High School had Edward not protected her.
He risked his own life to save hers. Charlie would be forever indebted to him.
Unfortunately Edward had suffered a few serious injuries and it would be some time before Charlie would be able to properly express his gratitude.
Charlie visited Edward a few times and, though he was unconscious, he would speak with him like a friend, like a son.
If this young man was good enough that Bella loved him, well, then Charlie would love him too. He truly felt that Edward had become a part of their family, and the amount of fatherly love he had doubled, enough to care for a son, too.
It was on a particular day of one such visit that Charlie's limits were pushed even further.
Charlie had excused himself to the bathroom adjoining Edwards room and had just finished washing his hands when he heard someone enter the other room. Instinct and years of training kicked in causing Charlie to keep his presence secret until he felt it was okay to make himself known.
He stepped closer and listened as someone was having a one-sided conversation, apparently speaking on a phone. The more he listened he was able to tell that it was Carlisle and that he was speaking with the owner of the team that Edward was supposed to have been joining.
Charlie lightly rested his ear against the door, cupping his hand to make the words clearer.
"...don't know. He was trying to save the life of some little bitch. I knew he was getting too close to her. I should have noticed and taken care of her earlier."
Charlie's free hand reflexively went to the pistol at his side.
"No, Aro. Don't worry. I will have him in PT and working out until he is as good as new. He may be out for a year, year and a half at most. No, there is no need to worry about the girl again, I will handle her. I guarantee that she will no longer be an issue when I am through with her."
Charlie did not take the threat to his daughter well at all. He also was sick of the way that Carlisle seemed to treat Edward as a possession instead of a child. The threats to Bella, coupled with his suspicion about Carlisle putting his hands on Edward, suddenly made it possible so that the blackness that Charlie had been fighting for so long won. It took over his body, mind, and soul. Everything in his vision shifted from colored to grayed.
He heard the snap of Carlisle's phone as it shut, ending the conversation. Charlie could have done it right then. He could have killed Carlisle without a second thought, but there were too many witnesses and he couldn't leave his Bella in her time of need. Or Edward.
So Charlie began plotting.
It took some time and effort, but Charlie finally decided on how he would exact his revenge.
Over the next few weeks Edward improved, and so did the frequency of Charlie's visits. Charlie wasted no opportunity to speak of Edward and Carlisle to any nurse or doctor that happened by. He was so thankful that Carlisle had raised such a fine boy, surely a testament to the man himself.
When Carlisle finally met his end no one would suspect Charlie Swan, Chief of Police, grateful father, would have any knowledge of it. Not that anyone would suspect him anyway, but the insurance was nice.
Through his own surveillance and investigating, some illegally placed phone taps that would never be found, Charlie learned that Carlisle had obtained pictures of Bella. The pictures. He was going to ruin her.
Charlie listened as Carlisle relayed his plans to plaster the pictures about town. He was planning to frame Bella. He was going to make it look like she put the pictures out there. The fact that she and the two boys were all minors meant that she would be charged with distributing child pornography. She would be registered as a sex offender.
His whole agenda was to show Edward just how badly he could fuck up his life if he wanted to. Sick fuck didn't even understand just how much he had screwed Edward up already. Not only did Charlie have to do this now to protect his daughter, he needed to protect his son.
Had the incident in Arizona not happened Charlie wasn't sure that he would have ever lost his grip on reality regarding Carlisle. But it did, and he did.
Charlie would never get his revenge on those bastards, but he learned through the grapevine that Edward had done it for him. Edward beat the shit out of that Demetri kid at some tournament or another.
Edward had done the only thing Charlie had dreamed of for so long. Now Carlisle was trying to destroy the only person that had been able to stand up for Bella. He was trying to take that away from her.
At that point Charlie could take no more. He would wait no longer. He was ready.
The next morning after Bella left for school Charlie drove himself to Carlisle's empty house. He walked around to the back, rifle in hand, and sat on the patio furniture to wait.
Charlie was an avid hunter. He hadn't had the time for it in recent years that he would have liked, but he knew how to draw out his prey. He had been stalking the Cullen house from the surrounding woods for weeks. He knew the lay out. He knew what to do. Today would be the day.
As Charlie had planned, a few hours later he had a visitor. The shots rang out, though the Cullen's had no neighbors so Charlie did not worry. He simply lowered himself back to the same chair he had been sitting in previously.
Charlie studied the bloody mess from his perch, taking pride in his marksmanship skills. He always was good under pressure. One right between the eyes and one straight through the heart. Two perfect shots.
The sun moved behind the clouds, though Charlie wouldn't notice. His vision had never quite gotten better. Everything was still gray. Except him. No, Carlisle was the only exception because he was always red. Like a target.
The rest of the day passed and Charlie listened as tires crunched the gravel at the front of the house. He smiled thinking of the reaction when he would be discovered.
He heard a car door slam shut, then listened as someone moved through the house calling his name. His cruiser was parked out front, of course he would he here somewhere.
Charlie heard the surprised voice in the kitchen that was accessible from the patio where he was currently seated. He rose to his feet, calling attention to himself. He watched as the devil himself came outside to join him.
"Charlie, why do you have a gun? What are you doing at my house?"
Charlie thumbed over his shoulder towards the carcass in the grass. "I was coming by to see you and I noticed a bear poking around back here. When I tried to scare him off he turned aggressive and I had to shoot him."
Carlisle's stunned gaze paled. He had known living in such a wooded area would entail some encounters with wildlife, but he never thought it would happen like this.
The two men crossed the rain softened ground until they were standing over the body of the large Grizzly. Charlie mentally patted his own back at the success of his baiting over the last few weeks. He had been strategically drawing the bear closer and closer, waiting until the time was right to lure the beast to the Cullen's yard.
His efforts were about to pay off.
Charlie watched as Carlisle knelt down and touched the animal, awed at its size. He could hear Carlisle speaking, but paid no attention to the words. He was too focused on pulling out his specially made weapon.
Billy Black had a stash of bear claws that the tribe used for special ceremonies. He never noticed when Charlie borrowed a few.
Charlie had taken some baking tool, a cutter he thought it was appropriately called, that belonged to Bella and had attached the bear claws to it. He had to seat the claws in metal casings, then attach those to the thin metal strips. In a stroke of genius he reinforced the item with some more metal so that it would not give when the time came to use it.
The size and shape were perfect. Just like the paw of a bear.
Carlisle never saw it coming. Charlie raised his hand in the air and brought it down swiftly, shredding the back of Carlisle's shirt and drawing five long lines of blood across his ribs.
Carlisle screamed in pain and instinctively turned to ward off the surprise attack. Charlie struck again, this time landing a blow to Carlisle's forearms when he defended himself. The force caused Carlisle to stumble backward and he landed on the body of the dead bear.
Charlie watched, calmly, as Carlisle regained his footing and tried to run. Charlie was quicker though and caught Carlisle on the side of his face. As soon as Carlisle hit the ground Charlie grabbed him and flipped his body to face upright.
Carlisle gasped for air, the fear and pain constricting his lungs. Before he could even question why this was happening he felt the sharp sting and tear of the weapon against his throat. The final blow, as it shredded his jugular.
With the blood leaving his body he watched while Charlie smeared the blood from Carlisle on to his hands and clothes.
Satisfied with his work he looked at Carlisle, seeing the light fading from his eyes. He was certain Carlisle wanted an explanation, but he would receive none. Charlie never believed in grandstanding.
Once Carlisle's body finally lay there, devoid of life, Charlie made the call. Soon there were police all over the scene.
Carlisle had made not friends during his time in Forks. The questions that normally would have been asked about the entire situation were never spoken. Charlie's word was never questioned.
Charlie's official statement would read that when he'd arrived, to once again thank Carlisle of course, he heard a commotion at the back of his house. Grabbing his shotgun he ran around to find Carlisle being attacked by a bear. Charlie immediately took the bear down when he had a clear shot. He tried to help a dying Carlisle, getting covered in blood himself as he attempted to stop the bleeding. He was a hero.
Charlie's unofficial statement was that he never understood all the hype about mama bears being so protective of their young; it's the papa bears you had better watch out for.