AN: This is the first fan fiction that I've ever finished, so any constructive criticism is welcome!

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just playing in her sandbox.

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I looked at the black asphalt road before me and tried to really see it. I heard the loud patter of the rain falling steadily on the cab of my truck and tried to really listen to it.

I failed.

All I could see was Charlie's shocked face and all I could hear was his splutter of surprise and then rage as his mind processed the news. The splutters turned into words. Words yelled at the top of his lungs. That was how he would react to Edward's and my engagement, I was sure.

I hoped – for Edward's sake, not mine – that he would get it over with quickly. I was well used to Charlie's temper and I knew that he would eventually accept Edward and I came as a pair – from now until the end of forever –, if not until after the wedding. Edward, on the other hand, already knew that I had – in the beginning, at least – been against marriage. I did not want Charlie to convince him to try to call off the wedding again. I would not have that.

I was outwardly (to Edward) dreading the wedding (though at the moment – faced with breaking the news to Charlie – the actual wedding wasn't looking so bad) but I had come to the unhappy conclusion that I needed it as closure.

My family and friends needed one last chance to say good-bye. I definitely owed them that.

Of course, I wasn't looking forward to the wedding any more because of that. The thought of leaving Charlie and Renée, Angela and Mike, and – as I thought the name, pain stung the numbed edges of my fractured heart – Jacob forever was still incredibly painful. But I was sure of my decision.

I chose Edward.

Along with that, I chose becoming a vampire; losing my mortality and everything human to be with him. Anything to be with him.

Maybe it would be better if I lived with the Cullens until the wedding, I thought meekly; my father's fuming face still in my mind's eye. Instead of telling Charlie in person, we could just send him a wedding invitation. But no, he would be sure to hunt me down as soon as he saw the word 'marriage' next to 'Isabella Swan'. On the other hand, maybe we would be safe since he was likely to have a heart attack and be hospitalized until after the wedding, if we were lucky. But I doubt even that would stop an angry Charlie.

"Watch that car!" The voice of an angel – my angel – pulled me from my troubled thoughts.

I blinked.

Through the rain-splattered window and past the whirring windshield wipers, I could make out a small black Mazda turning a few yards ahead of us. I wasn't going fast – my truck didn't do fast – but fast enough on the wet, slippery road that if I didn't stop soon, the right side of the vehicle would soon be crumpled.

I couldn't see through the sheets of rain if there were any passengers in the car, but either way it was probably best not to crash into it; poor, innocent little thing. It would not stand a chance next to my old monster of a truck.

"The brakes, Bella." Edward's calm voice reminded me.

I slammed my foot down.

The brakes screeched – just barely in time – as avoided collision. The Mazda turned onto the next street, without scratch or dent.

My heart was still racing. I took a deep, calming breath.

"Oops." My voice came out squeaky.

"It's all right, love," Edward squeezed my hand as I slowly eased my foot off the brake and cautiously continued to drive down the street, "I wouldn't have let you crash. And the lady was too busy talking on her cell phone to notice anything."

I nodded but my thoughts were already back with Charlie. We were just one block away.

We were there all too soon.

"Are you OK?" Edward asked as I rolled to a stop in the drive. His forehead was creased with concern.

"Yep." I made my voice as light as possible, "As long as you're with me I'll survive."

"I won't leave your side for a second," he promised, "Shall we?"

In a second he was outside my door, opening it for me and taking my hand.

We stood on the front doorstep and stared at the door for a minute.

"We'd best hurry. Charlie's heard the truck, he'll be anxious if we don't come in soon."

I sighed. "It's now or never, then."

Edward planted a brief kiss on my lips

Even as I pushed open the door, I could hear the commentary of a game coming from the other room. That was good. Charlie would be distracted and wouldn't want to be too long away from the TV.

"Bella?" he called.

"And Edward!" I announced.

I placed my shoes neatly next to the door – instead of just kicking them off as I normally would have – and wrung out my damp hair, taking my time. I was not going to be rushed into this.

"Hey Dad." I greeted him as I walked reluctantly into the living room. I tried to keep my voice casual. It would not do to arouse suspicion this early, "How's the game?"

Whoops. Big mistake. Everyone knew how much I hated sports.

Charlie turned away from the television and looked up at me, eyebrows raised. "Is everything all right?"

Dang. He noticed. So much for playing it cool. "Umm, yes. Why wouldn't it be?"

I elbowed Edward discreetly. I tried to whisper 'help' out of the corner of my mouth but couldn't do a thing without Charlie noticing. I really needed to practice ventriloquism.

Sensing my discomfort, Edward slid an arm around my waist and rubbed my hand soothingly with his thumb. Suddenly I remembered the engagement ring on my third finger. I stuffed my left hand into the pocket of my jeans, hoping Charlie hadn't noticed my clever attempt to hide the ring from sight.

"So, Edward…" Charlie made a polite attempt to make conversation, I was impressed, "How are things at home?"

"Very well, thanks, Charlie."

Charlie smiled and nodded. "Well, I'll be watching the game. I've already had lunch, so…" His tone indicated we were dismissed to go play.

We didn't move.

Charlie turned back to the television. After a few seconds, sensing no movement on our part, he craned his neck to look at us.

He looked back and forth between us suspiciously, clearly wondering why we were still standing there; weak smiles on our faces – well, my smile was weak. I'm sure Edward's smile was stunning.

"Actually, Charlie," Edward kindly took the initiative for me, "We have something we wanted to tell you." He focused his innocent gaze down on me, now.

Charlie pressed a button on the TV remote and the room was silent.

"Umm, yeah." I bit my lip, "Dad…" I was unable to look into Charlie's eyes to see if he knew what was coming. I took a deep breath. "Dad, Edward and I are engaged."

The silence following my bold statement was one of the longest I have ever had the misfortune to have to endure. It was definitely the most painful.

"Ah." That was what Charlie said.

I had just announced to my father that at eighteen, I felt well ready to marry the boy he hated – no, that was too much… it was more like strong disapproval… ever since Edward had returned in the Spring – and all he had to say to me was 'ah'! I glared murderously at my baby blue socks.

I shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot as the more-than-awkward silence continued. I was still too scared to look into Charlie's eyes.

"Well…" Charlie continued to very descriptively express his opinion on the matter.

WELL!? I wanted to scream. Well, what? Would he just get it over with already!?

Thankfully, I had the strength to contain myself.

I couldn't help myself. I shot a quick glance up at Charlie's face. He seemed to be having a kind of inner struggle to stay calm. He probably popped a blood vessel or two.

"So, erm… have you fixed a date, yet? When's the lucky day?"

I winced. I had hoped that maybe he would be too preoccupied to remember that particular detail.

"That soon?" He asked. His face was resigned.

"Well, Dad… We decided there was no real reason to delay… Alice had to get all the preparations done… But, you know Alice, she's… well…'excited' is a big understatement. So…"

"When is it, Bella? I promise I won't get mad." He was impatient now.

I examined his face carefully, wondering how much he meant what he said.

"We thought a summer wedding would be nice…" I made up excuses as I went along, "Nice… -er weather and before school starts again, you know? So about… the beginning of August or so." I blurted the last part out quickly, looking at my toes. Charlie would have had to find out sooner or later.

Now I chanced a glance at Charlie's face. The corners of his mouth were twitching ominously. Uh oh. He was like a time bomb. The last few seconds of peace were ticking away.

Suddenly a fusillade of questions was being fired at us at full speed.

"And how well have you thought this over? Do you realize exactly what marriage means; the commitment involved? Do you really think you're ready for life-long commitment? How can you know – how can you grasp what that's like – when you're so inexperienced, so young? Your whole life has been at school up until now! You may feel that you've lived a long time now, but let me tell you, life is a lot longer than it feels at eighteen!" (At this I could almost hear the chuckle that was sure to be sounding in Edward's mind.)

"I know what I'm talking about," Charlie went on at full force, obviously worried he wasn't making a good enough impression, "I did the same thing! That was your mother and I! Married straight out of high school!" He scoffed, "I was a little older, even, but still, look at what happened to that – to us! I guess it didn't end in total disaster. I mean, now she has Phil but I… I don't have…" All of a sudden he looked like a little boy; lost and alone.

"You have me." My voice was small, and I'm sure it was trembling. "You have Billy. You have Forks." The sadness in my voice disappeared. It was replaced with quivers of anger, "Besides, Edward and I aren't like you and mom, Dad. We won't be like you!" My voice had hardened now, "We know what we're doing; we've talked it over! We love each other."

"You know that's not what I meant," Charlie was flustered now, "Never… never have I regretted having you, Bella. Please, believe me on that.

"But you're leaving now." His voice shook, "You just got here, and already it's time for you to go again. Billy's not getting any younger and I don't know what I have left anymore." He took a deep, shaky breath.

"I'm only trying to say that maybe if your mother and I had waited a few years - formed a more stable relationship – we would be better parents today. We could have been a proper family. We could've met all your needs, taken better care of you…" His face crumpled. "We should have been better parents for you." I couldn't bear the sight of it; him like that, his face distorted with pain.

"Oh, Dad!"

I flung myself at him and wrapped my arms tightly around his middle. I nearly knocked him down. He had to take a step backwards and nearly tripped over the TV remote lying on the gray carpet.

"You are a great parent, Dad!" I exclaimed fiercely, all of my anger left behind me, next to Edward, "And…" I was going to reassure him, tell him I wasn't leaving forever, that I'd see him often.

I couldn't.

I could not bring myself to lie like that as Charlie stood there, looking so dejected. I had already made him feel so much pain.

My voice was thick with emotion when I spoke again. "And you know it's not because of you I'm leaving. If I didn't have to go to college and get a job, I would live near you forever. I don't want to leave you alone, Dad." Tears welled in my eyes, "I love you and I hate to see you in so much pain. But… I have Edward now. He'll take care of me."

Charlie, still red in the face, took another deep breath.

"I know, honey, I know. And I don't doubt that your love for each other is genuine and strong or that you," He nodded in Edward's direction, "will take good care of her. But you know I loved your mother, too.

"A long-lasting relationship needs a lot more than love." He said wisely. "And no offense to you, Edward," he nodded over my shoulder again, "But you've already left her once; how do I know you won't do it again? And I will not allow you to do that twice to my daughter. I can't let Bella be destroyed like that."

I knew Edward was tensed behind me. I needed to protect him; to defend him, "He won't do it again, Dad. I told you, it was a misunderstanding."

But Charlie's gaze was fixed upon Edward. I turned to look at him, too. His face was so pained; it hurt just to look at him. I longed to comfort him but I stood still.

"You're right, Charlie. You have a right to worry, to question me. But, please," His voice was weak, strained, "trust me when I say that leaving Bella was the biggest mistake I have ever made and nothing – not one thing in all of this universe – could force me to make it again. Unless, of course, she wanted me to leave her." He added hastily.

"Never." I declared harshly.

There was a short pause, in which Charlie glared some more at Edward.

"All right," He said finally, "I believe you. You won't leave Bella again.

"Now, Bella," He turned to me, put his hands on my shoulders and looked me squarely in the eyes, "I know that this is what you think will make you happy. I understand, that, I do. But is this really what you want? Just think about it a moment before you say anything, Bella. If your answer is still the same, I'll give you both my blessing and promise not to bring any of this up again."

Was this what I wanted? I asked myself for Charlie's sake.

What did I want?

I wanted Edward. I wanted him to be happy. I wanted one last chance to say good-bye to everyone and I wanted everyone to be happy. My happiness depended on that of those I loved.

A wedding would make everyone happy – in the long run, at least. Everyone but Jacob. I cringed. Now was not the time to think about him.

I looked directly into my father's eyes. He was watching me patiently. I knew if he saw a trace of indecision in my eyes he would try to call off the wedding.

"I want Edward." I spoke loud and clear and let no trace of any emotion but love taint my words. "I want to be with him. Forever."

Charlie nodded serenely.

"Congratulations, then!" He was cheery now. The worst was over. The storm had passed. He smiled his handsome, crinkly smile. "C'mere you!" He pulled me into a tight hug.

"You really don't mind then, that we - we're getting married? You're not mad?" I was so relieved that he hadn't yelled at all. And he seemed genuinely happy for us.

"All I needed was for you to tell me." His eyes twinkled, but then he turned serious again. "Marriage is not something that should be rushed into, though. I need to know that you have thought that part over. You're both so young, surely another few years wouldn't hurt?"

I opened my mouth to protest and took a step back from Charlie, but he cut me off.

"Just promise me, both of you," He averted his stern gaze to Edward for a moment, "Promise me that you'll consider waiting a little longer. What's a few years, really?"

I sighed and nodded. "We'll talk it over again, Dad. But we have already decided. Besides, Alice would have a fit if she had to wait another few years."

"Just think about it." Charlie repeated. "It couldn't hurt." He grinned widely.

I eyed him suspiciously now, "You're really happy?"

"If this is what you want,"

"It is."

"And it will make you happiest…" He continued.

"Mhm."

"Then nothing could make me happier."

He looked like he really meant it. Suddenly I was overcome with a strong wave of emotion. I had under-estimated how much he wanted me to be happy. He really only wanted what was best for me.

"So have you, erm, told your mother yet?" Charlie asked.

"Nope." I said cheerily, "You're the first to know! Aside from Edward's family, of course."

That seemed to cheer him up a little more.

"Well, Dad, we'd best be off. There's still lots of people to tell and we should probably check on Alice before she orders live doves to fly around."

Edward nodded, "I'll be very disappointed in her if the invitations haven't already been sent out."

"You'd better call your mother soon, then." Charlie said seriously.

I groaned inwardly. I was very lucky that Charlie had been so understanding. I doubted Renée wouldn't be quite so calm and quick to accept the engagement. I guess I couldn't be so lucky twice.

"Congratulations to both of you." Charlie said as he walked us to the door.

He held out his hand to Edward and shook it firmly.

Then he turned to me. He hugged me again.

"Thank you, Daddy," I whispered in his ear.

He kissed me gently on my forehead then sidestepped around me to open the door. "Don't be out too late." He warned.

"I'll be back in time to make supper," I promised.

Edward put his arm around my waist once again and led me outside. The rain had stopped. It was still cloudy, but I could almost see the warm glow of the sun snuggled behind the clouds. "Good-bye, Charlie."

Edward flashed my father a winning smile and for maybe the first time ever, Charlie smiled genuinely in return.

I felt like I was floating.