A/N: hello everyone! Here's another one. The summary says it all, I think. Takes place after the final chapter of Twilight (but before the Epilogue), here's what happened from Charlie's point of view. Comments are LOVE, happy reading!

Disclaimer: they're not mine, I'm just playing!

An Accident Waiting to Happen

Part I: The Call

A part of me was waiting for that call.

To say I wasn't sitting by the phone from the moment she stormed out of the house would be a cruel lie. With the state she was in, it was crazy not to sit and wait for a word from her. Not that I believed her final promise to call me. Why should she, when she was so desperate to get away?

That was the part I misunderstood the most – the desperation. It hit beyond the pain her last words inflicted. Was she really so unhappy here with me? She seemed to be readjusting, and she had never complained about anything in school. Was I seeing what I wanted to see, burying my head in the sand while ignoring the obvious? Was she so miserable she wished to go back to Phoenix, to her mother? And what about that boy? Although I didn't like thinking about it, she seemed really into him. What could have happened in that one and single date they had to change it altogether?

The ironic part was that I was actually getting better ever since had she moved in. Suddenly there was a reason to go back from work each evening, not to do three double shifts a week or stay the extra hours. I still had to remind myself that every once in a while; I had been living alone for too long. And yes, we didn't spend that much time together, but I truly believed we were doing okay. Never in my wildest dreams had I believed I'd hear her speak to me like she had done, that I'd hear those horrible words again, the words her mother had spoken...

I was sitting in the dark living-room by the phone, letting the mental images wash over me. The silence was thick, dreadful, as the most horrific scenarios crossed my mind, replacing the memory of her words. Her ancient truck would take a sharp curb too fast, she would lose control on the wheel, hit a tree at the side of the road. She would be caught in a rainstorm and bump into the car ahead of her. In the deserted road, no one would be around to see her, to help her, and by the time someone would call it would be too late. The whole situation was like a ticking bomb, because a part of me knew something was bound to happen. With her, it wasn't even a matter of paternal instincts. Just plain facts.

So when the next day, or early on the third day, the loud shrill of the phone tore into my hasty slumber, I cut it off after just one ring. "Bella?" I asked urgently. I would forgive her everything, all the things she had said, if I just heard her voice.

"No, Chief Swan, this is Alice Cullen," a strange yet pleasant voice replied. My forehead cringed in confusion, my eyes narrowing ever so slightly at the sound of her last name. "I'm Edward's sister," she informed me, confirming my suspicions.

"What do you want?" I didn't mean to come out so rude, but it was – I glanced at the watch by the bedside – a bit after 5AM.

"I'm sorry to be calling you so early, but we figured you would want to know as soon as possible."

I tensed, my senses all alert. Something was wrong. "Know what?"

"Bella – "

The name made all the difference in the world. I cut her off. "Is Bella there with you? Let me talk to her."

"Yes, she's here, but I'm afraid I can't put her on the phone, sir."

I had no patience for sweet-talk and cryptic codes. I didn't need this right now. My nerves were on edge as it was. "Where are you? I'm coming to get her," I said, my legs already swinging from the side of the bed. Then I stopped. Who knew how far she'd gotten.

"We're at Phoenix."

"Did you stalk her there?" I actually wanted to ask if her brother did, but I didn't want to be too rude to her. She had nothing to do with it. She didn't hurt my only child, forced her away. She shouldn't be condemned for her brother's actions.

"No. My brother wanted to come here to talk some sense into her, to send her back to Forks. Only he was so upset, my dad insisted we'd go with him."

So Dr. Cullen was there too. That was a relief. At least the boy wasn't there alone with her. "Why can't you put her on the phone?"

She sighed. "Chief Swan – Charlie – there's no easy way to say this…"

Everything went very still. Bella was dead. That would be the next thing she'd tell me. For the last few days I avoided thinking of the worse, but now it happened. My daughter, dead. It was worse than any kind of accident I had let myself imagine. I mentally braced myself now, preparing myself for her next words.

"She found out we were here and got to our hotel. And being the clumsy girl that she is…" her voice trailed off. She laughed bitterly, fondly. "She should have watched where she was going. She fell down the stairs…"

Paralyzed from her neck down, hurt her spine. That was even worse!

I didn't even realize I had stopped listening, that she had stopped talking, until she said hesitantly, "I'd better let Carlisle explain it to you."

It didn't take more than a second before Dr. Cullen's familiar voice took over the crackling line, but it felt like much longer. "Charlie?"

"How is she?"

"She broke her leg and a few ribs when she fell. She has a minor concussion and some bruises and superficial injuries. I examined her myself. There's no reason to panic, but we just thought you'd want to know she was okay."

Something felt damp at the corner of my eyes. I was horrified to realize they were tears. The injuries he had just described to me sounded horrific, and yet… there was only one thing that mattered. "She's not… dead?"

"No, just badly injured. Nothing time cannot cure."

"Does her mother know? Maybe I should – "

"We managed to contact Renée, and she's with Bella right now."

This 'we' again. I resented it. If anything, it made me feel all left out. They were all there with her, assured of her safety, while I was left here alone in the dark, having to trust them with reassurances. I felt so useless. There was nothing I could possibly do for her in this distance. "Is your son there with her?"

"He wouldn't leave her side," was the doctor's quiet reply, almost as if he was trying to apologize for his son's behavior.

I was trying to tell myself that the rage that was burning within me wasn't justified, that it wasn't really Edward Cullen's fault that she was injured.

Only it was.

She wouldn't have run off if it wasn't for him. She wouldn't have been injured if he didn't come after her, no matter how good his intentions were. A part of me still wondered what brought it all up. Bella wasn't one to panic over things, so I didn't buy her panic over getting too deep with this guy. And I sort of believed her when she said he didn't hurt her. He didn't seem the type. He looked fairly decent when I met him, right before all hell broke loose. There was this maturity about him, almost as if he was way older than his 17 years.

Sort of like my Bella.

"Charlie? Are you still there?" Carlisle's voice pierced through my pressing thoughts.

"Which hospital is she in? I'm coming there," I said, mostly to distract myself.

"There's really no point for you to go all the way up here, Charlie."

"What are you talking about? It's my daughter!"

"Yes, but it might be better for you to stay home." He paused, hesitant. "They're keeping her heavily sedated because of the severity of her injuries. She won't even know you're there."

Although earlier I thought she might be dead, that I had already lost her, somehow this new revelation unnerved me even more.

"I promise we'll let you know as soon as there's a change in her condition."

"How long do you think she'll stay that way?"

"It's hard to tell until she's conscious. Her leg is in a cast, so that might take longer to heal, but I believe she'll be out of here in two weeks' time, perhaps three."

Although she was due for a long recovery, relief surged through me again. And now when I was somewhat more subdued, it dawned on me that I probably owed my daughter's life to the man on the other end. "Carlisle, I don't know how to thank you – if you weren't there – she could – "

"She's going to be okay, Charlie. I give you my word."

And the craziest thing was that suddenly, I believed him.