I am blown away by the response this fic is getting so far. I apologize for not talking about it sooner. I posted this fic on another website earlier this year and couldn't really address everything.

The reviews I've gotten so far are positive, and I am very excited about that. One of them was asking my why Bella would open the door, being a cop's daughter and all. I agree that it's a stupid move on her part. However, if you'll recall, she thought it was her father that had forgotten his keys, it had happened before. I hope this clears up any confusion.

If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask, in either a review or a PM.

Enjoy!

It's been two years. Two long, stressful years searching for my daughter. And nothing. There were some sightings around Washington State, but all those leads led me to nothing. But I know she's alive, I can sense it... she just has to be alive.

I will never forget that day. It was her graduation; I rushed to the ceremony as I was running late from work. I didn't even have time to go by the house and change out of my uniform and into something nicer, but I knew Bella wouldn't care. I looked for her when I got there but everyone was already seated, so after a quick survey I took a seat. The ceremony seemed to go on forever. I knew I wasn't far off seeing Bella when the valedictorian made his speech. It was the Cullen kid, Edward, he did well, but I really wanted to see my Bella walk across that stage. I was relieved when they handed out the diplomas, I had a quick thought that if Bella had taken Renee's last name then she would have been across already, but I was glad she had my last name. They called out Swan and I immediately stood up and clapped, my Bella was finally graduating and I couldn't be any more proud. They repeated her name again and I stopped clapping, where was she, she wouldn't miss this for anything. That's when I began to panic. I started looking around for her, and it seemed everyone else was too. Poor Bella she is so clumsy, she could have broken her leg on her way to the line, you never know. After seeing her nowhere I flew from the ceremony without looking back. I had to get home.

When I got there, the door was unlocked. A bad feeling overtook me, Bella always locked the door. You make changes like that when you live in a big city like Phoenix for most of your life. As I made my way inside, I could see a lamp that had been knocked down, a few frames that had fallen from their place on the wall. I called her name, but didn't get any response. I went to her room, but she wasn't there, nor was she in the bathroom. She didn't run away, her truck was still in the driveway and nothing appeared to be missing from her room.

I sat down for a while, trying to calm down, trying to get in 'cop mode', but the father in me won out and panic took over. I called the station to see if anyone had reported anything, loud noises, domestic disturbances, anything, but there was nothing. I dialled the hospital and checked there, but no one had even been admitted in the past 24 hours. I tried to recall any of Bella's friends and could only come up with one, that Weber girl. I ran up to Bella's room and searched for the girl's phone number, surely Bella had it written down somewhere. I felt bad for searching through Bella's things but I didn't have any other option. I finally found the number in Bella's organizer and called it straight away. Angela hadn't seen Bella since the previous day at school and was just as worried as I was. Bella didn't have many friends here, so I couldn't come up with anyone else except Jacob, but I didn't want to call him because if she wasn't with him then something was seriously wrong. I tried her mother, but all I got was a message that the number had been disconnected, which I thought was strange.

I couldn't hold out any longer, I had to call the Black's. Jacob was her best friend surely he would know something, anything. I talked to Jacob but all that brought about was more worry, no one on the reservation had seen Bella. But Billy assured me he would be over with Jacob and Harry soon to set up a search of the woods.

Finally switching to cop mode, I drove around town, trying to see if she was stuck anywhere. Although, that option seemed unlikely since her truck was still at home and she never went anywhere without it.

After my drive around town, I went to the station and filed a report. The guys sent alerts to the Port Angeles and Seattle police departments, it was a start. Since there was nothing more we could do for now, I went back home. Billy, Jacob and Harry were already there waiting for me.

That night, we printed out thousands of posters to hang around town, and even Port Angeles. The news would spread in no time; small towns were good for that. Harry even co-ordinated a search of the forest, he wanted to start straight away with some boys from the reservation but I made him hold off until morning, I was pretty sure Bella wouldn't go into the woods alone and there did appear to be a struggle in the house, but if she did... well they would find her tomorrow and I could stop worrying.

All that was left to do after that was to wait. It was the same speech I gave any other family that was in the same situation that I was in. I would never give that speech with such a cavalier attitude anymore. Not after hearing it myself. A week later, there was no sign of Bella in Forks, someone called and said they saw her in Port Angeles. I sped there, breaking all kinds of laws, but when I got there, there was no sign of her. All in all, there were calls from Port Angeles, Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia and Portland. Every lead I tracked ended up a dead end. There was no sign of her, either Bella had moved on quickly or she was never there in the first place. It was almost as if they knew I was coming.

As predicted, the news spread like wildfire around town after we put up the posters. Everyone would tell me that I would find her, and not to worry. They would all let me know if they heard anything. Some had family in other parts of Washington and in Oregon; and they said that they would call and alert them. It was nice, but it still hasn't brought back my baby girl.

I didn't even know who she was with, although some reports said that she had been seen with a man in his mid-thirties and a blonde girl around her age. One report said that the man was forcing both girls into the back of a car, so I hoped that it was Bella and that she wasn't alone. It was oddly comforting knowing that she wasn't alone, but I knew that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

As for Renee, I tried numerous times to reach her, but I was always met with a dead end. So I started getting suspicious, why wouldn't she answer her phone, she didn't even know that her daughter was missing. It's not like I suspected her of kidnapping Bella, but I had heard that she had married an minor league baseball player who was said to be in some obscure business, but it was never confirmed.

One night, I was over on the reservation having dinner with the Blacks and the Clearwaters. I must admit I was having fun, they were all great people. But at some point, someone mentioned something about a girl that was recently kidnapped in Seattle. I had to excuse myself and step outside for a minute, even though it was pouring down rain. As I was making my way back inside, I heard someone yelling, very panicked, so I ran. Harry was on the floor, clutching at his chest, clearly in pain. I yelled at Jacob to call 911. A few hours later, Dr. Cullen announced to Harry's wife Sue and me that Harry had not survived. Poor Sue was devastated. As I was about to leave with her to get her home, Dr. Cullen told me that if I needed anything at all to call him.

Sometime after Harry's funeral, I was alone at home, just watching tv, and I lost it. I couldn't take it anymore. My only daughter had been kidnapped and I hadn't heard anything in months, and one of my best friends was dead. I needed to get out of the house, it was too much. Being the chief of police, people were expecting me to always be calm and collected. I could be calm and collected…when the situation didn't involve a member of my family or a friend.

Remembering Dr. Cullen's words, I called him. He said he would be over soon. That's where my friendship with Carlisle and Esme began. They would invite me over to their house for dinner a few times a week, wanting to help me keep my head above the water, and it did help. I even met their children, Edward and Alice, when they came home from school on break. Alice was attending some fashion school in Seattle, and Edward was pre-med at Dartmouth on the east coast. Though he was thinking of moving back west, what with Esme's heart condition and all. They were nice kids, very well mannered, and Alice had even become a good friend to me.

Every time I would see her, Alice would always ask me questions about Bella, and if I had heard anything. She looked just as disappointed as I was sometimes. She seemed to have made Bella her friend before she even met her. Her boyfriend Jasper, who came with her to Forks from time to time, would always be there to comfort her, and me. It turned out that Jasper's cousin had gone missing too, from the East coast a year or so ago. Though his family wasn't sure if she had been taken against her will, or if she had just ran away with her boyfriend, either way we connected through our losses.

On the day of the anniversary of Bella's disappearance, the Cullens didn't leave me alone for one second, which I appreciated. Edward announced around dinner that his transfer to the University of Washington in Seattle had been confirmed, so we all celebrated that news. Carlisle offered to go and help him pack his stuff and move it back here. I offered too, saying it would be a nice distraction. Deep down inside I knew that I was missing out on the whole college experience as a parent seeing as Bella had disappeared right before. Edward accepted gratefully.

Esme was a great help as well. Her home cooked meals were comforting. As much as I liked the diner, I missed Bella's cooking. And Esme picked up on that after I told her how Bella was cooking pretty much every meal when she was there.

After Edward's move back, time flew by. Thanksgiving came and went, and before I knew it, it was my second Christmas without my daughter. Good friends that they are, the Cullens invited me over for both Christmas Eve and Christmas day. They even insisted I sleep over. I accepted, because I wasn't sure how I would handle sleeping alone in my house for that holiday again. I hadn't given up hope; Bella's presents for both Christmases were under the tree along with everyone else's. Even the Cullens got her all a little something. I couldn't help but let a tear slip out when I saw that.

"She will come back Charlie," little Alice told me with a hug, and she seemed very confident.

I hugged her back, thankful for her, but not knowing what else to say.

The months seemed to drift by without my participation in them. Without Bella it was hard to force myself to enjoy anything, the closest I came was when I was with the Cullens and on the reservation with my friends there. But every time Bella's memory would creep in and make it hard to fully enjoy myself.

All in all, I had a great support system, but I wanted my daughter back. I thought it would be years yet before anything happened. Turns out, I was wrong.

What do you think? Please review :)