Note: I was so happy when I came home from finals and found that a bunch of people had subscribed to my story. Thank you all for putting a smile on my face, I hope to do the same. And if you like it…review, please?

I don't own any of the characters- unfortunately. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer but if you let me play with them then I promise I will put them all back where they belong……

Chapter 2

I watched Charlie take off his gun holster and hang it on the wall from the top of the stairs and I couldn't help but feel a raw emotion within me.

Love.

Over time I had learned that there were different types of love.

The love I have for Renee is the type of love a parent usually has for their child. I constantly worry about her well being and often make my own decisions based on what is best for my mother. At times she disappoints me, but at the end of the day I want nothing more than to see her happy. My mother was the only person I loved for a long time, until I moved to Forks.

Then there was Jacob, who I came to love as a friend almost instantly. He was different, and I was different too. I simply couldn't figure out why, no matter the circumstance, I feel so attached to him. I had really never thought that a man and a woman could love each other in a way that was not romantic until Jacob. I love Jacob in such a way that I cannot bear to see him in danger. When Victoria and the newborns came all I could do was wonder what I would do if, God forbid, something happen to my Jacob. I love Jacob, however, I have no romantic desire to be with him.

Romantic desire had become synonymous to one boy, almost right away. Edward Cullen. Edward's original apprehension toward me had only made me more curious about him, and once I knew him, once I really knew him, there was no turning back. They say true love is accepting another person for exactly who they are and I knew Edward and I still loved him. But our love is different from the way I love Renee and the way I love Jacob. Without Edward, I am nothing, I am devoid of any emotion, without Edward I cease to exist. Much like Renee had said when we visited Florida, Edward and I work around each other, completely aware of each other, and completely in sync. And then there is the fact that I want Edward, I really want him. I want to give myself to him but also receive him in return. Naturally though, things wouldn't be that easy for me, Edward is after all not only instinctively programmed to kill me but also from an era where a wedding happens before a bed is shared.

In that instant I remembered the ring. I was an engaged woman, and although I had promised that I wouldn't keep it a secret much longer, I couldn't bring myself to tell the fourth person that I loved.

"Bella, are you alright?" Charlie looked at me questioningly and I surfaced from my thoughts.

I nodded and made my way to the arm chair across from the sofa where he was making himself comfortable.

Charlie threw one final glance over at me and reached for the remote. As he became hypnotized by the images on the screen, I began to drown in thoughts of him.

I remembered the summers when I would come to Forks-against my will. Charlie always wanted to be a parent, always. Although he was never overbearing I knew that he loved me more than anything else and so that is how I came to love Charlie as a parent. Although I knew that Edward and Jacob would probably give up their lives for me, I knew with complete certainty that Charlie would. Our relationship was unspoken and insinuated but the bond that we had formed since I moved in with him was undeniable.

I felt myself becoming emotional. How the hell was I supposed to tell him I was getting married? The fact that I was actually worried about his reaction made it clear just how important he was. He competed with Edward for that top spot.

I became uncomfortable with my own thoughts and squirmed in my seat. Charlie pulled his attention away from the screen and glanced at me. He patted the space on the couch next to him, extending an invitation.

I moved onto the couch and sat with my side pressed into Charlie, his arm hung loosely around my shoulder and when I leaned further into him he tightened his grip on me. I felt safe.

When I was with my father I felt safe. Not because he was the Chief of Police, nor because I thought he could defend me (after all he was a mere mortal), but because he was my father and as fragile and breakable as he was, he was my blood, blood that I would soon no longer have.

The thought made me cringe. Why did it all have to be so complicated? The Montagues and the Capulets had nothing on us-mortal enemies, mythological creatures and me, Isabella Marie Swan. How the hell did I manage to get myself caught up in this?

In that moment I realized that I needed time.

I was ready to become a vampire. I was ready for pain. I was ready for immortality. I was ready to commit myself to Edward forever, however, I wasn't ready to leave Charlie behind. Charlie was the only normal functioning relationship I actually had. All I wanted was a little longer. I really couldn't imagine disappointing him the same way my mother did. It would kill him.

Time passed and my thoughts skittered around Renee, Jacob, Edward and Charlie.

Eventually the game ended and Charlie switched the TV off with the remote. He looked down at me and I looked up at him.

"Good night Bells," he murmured while patting down some of the hair on my head.

Then it just slipped out. I don't know what compelled me to say it but I couldn't help but think that it felt so right although it was so out of character for me.

"Good night daddy, I love you."

His head shot back up. He was surprised too.

I usually had trouble remembering to call him Dad, Charlie always managed to slip out, and all of a sudden I was calling him daddy. So strange, yet comforting.

The surprised expression wore off his face. He nodded and went to go turn off some lights in the kitchen leaving me alone in the room. I was overwhelmed.

I trekked upstairs and into my room, grabbing my bag of toiletries off the desk where it sat. In the bathroom as I brushed my teeth and washed my face I took slow long breaths, relaxing. I rubbed at my eyes and walked back into my room.

I wasn't surprised to find him there.

Edward was leaning against headboard and examining a picture frame on my nightstand. I ran towards the bed and dove onto it playfully. He chuckled but I erupted with laughter. I wasn't in the mood for seriousness, I just wanted to laugh and smile.

"Tell me a joke," I whispered to him still laughing.

"A joke?" he questioned in a low deep voice raising one eyebrow.

I nodded and he looked at me as if I were crazy.

"Seriously, you've been alive for like a hundred years. You should know a good joke," I said still laughing.

All of a sudden he started to laugh. Edward rarely actually laughed. Usually he was limited to half smiles and chuckles. I leaned forward intrigued as to what he would say.

"Okay. I've got a good one. What's it like to be kissed by a vampire?" He laughed as he said it and the corners of his eyes crinkled.

I scrunched up my nose half insulted and very confused. He kept laughing.

"It's a pain in the neck!"

After delivering his punch line he was laughing so hard that he had to cover his mouth with my comforter to muffle the noise.

"I didn't really think it was funny," my voice was full of confusion. This was awkward.

"It's actually pretty funny," he had stopped laughing but his face still radiated joy, "I read it on a cereal box."

"Edward, you don't eat cereal."

At that point I began to laugh and he laughed at me laughing until he had to drag us both under my covers so that Charlie wouldn't hear us. I was enjoying the moment. Edward usually didn't let his guard down.

This was one of the moments I would like to remember forever and it wasn't worth spoiling. I wouldn't tell Edward just yet.