A/N: Okay folks, I'm a teacher who gets the summer off, BUT I am also that teacher that teaches other teachers how to teach. I was just in Philadelphia doing a workshop and now I'm in San Diego and I had a pit stop in Vegas along the way (to which I drove from San Diego in the dead of night. Hint: That is the only sane way to do that road trip. Gah!)

BUT! I wanted to post a new chapter today for two very important reasons:

1. It's my birthday! :) Yes I am now 42 years young and I still have the mind of an 18 year old. Go figure.

2. And this is most important: IT'S THE BLUE MOON TONIGHT!
How cool is that?

So, here's the next chapter of Blue Moon. I hope y'all are enjoying it.


What a day. Harry died that morning while he was assisting my deputies and me chase whatever it was that was killing hikers. And then I had come to find out that his kids changed in to dogs.

Wolves.

I left the house before anyone could explain because I didn't want to think about my lifelong friends being killers. I couldn't bear it. I just needed to process.

Because the rez mechanics always kept the police cruisers in such good working order, the drive home was quiet which meant my mind was able to work things over a little bit. I began thinking about all the strange events over the past few weeks and months. Not just the killings, I opened the circle wider.

Bella had become very secretive and plain dishonest while she dated that Cullen boy. I hadn't quite figured out how to confront her about it and then the little jerk up and left her. Included in that was her weird run to Phoenix and her injuries that happened there; they hung like a thick mist in my mind. None of it made any sense. I just couldn't believe that a whole family—adults included—would be in on such a huge deception. So I bought it. Or, I acted like I bought it. My mind never let it go.

Then there was Billy's reaction to the whole Phoenix travesty. He was furious when Bella returned so banged up but I wouldn't entertain his accusations that the Cullens had anything to do with it; despite my misgivings. It was just too farfetched and the Quileute Elders had always been prejudice against them—irrationally so. But maybe there was some merit there. Maybe my judgment was the clouded one and they were all connected.

Then there was Jacob's infusion into Bella's life where she actually began to act human again. I was never so grateful to him and then he just left her high and dry. For weeks he just disappeared on her, leaving her almost worse than before. Billy acted strangely as well. Billy claimed that Jake was really sick, but things were being handled on the rez and not at the hospital because Dr. Cullen was employed there. But the Cullens were gone. I just put that down to superstitious legends and biases.

Then Jake showed up again and things were getting better again. If I added together all the weirdness swirling between the forests and towns of Forks and La Push, I just couldn't dismiss any of it as separate occurrences any more. It all had to be connected and I just had to figure it all out. Maybe I needed to look into Quileute history and find out why their ancestors turned into wolves. Maybe that would explain their bias against the Cullens.

Jake's car was parked in the drive way, which was good because I told him to stay with her. I just felt better when Jake was with Bella. I always thought Billy was a little too lax in his rules for Jake, but Jake was a good boy with a good heart. And Billy had it rough. I'd been overlooking Jake's under aged driving just so they could take care of themselves and get the things that they need.

I frowned when I found the front door unlocked, but I'd have to let it go. I'd give Bella the safety talk again tomorrow or next week. I took off my hat and hung my gun belt in the closet and then trudged up the stairs to check on her. I figured Jake was up there, too.

I stood there looking at my little girl in bed with what looked like a grown man. Damn, but Jake had filled out. He'd changed from that scrawny, awkward long-haired kid to—that-in a month? Yeah, he had to be in on all that weirdness. Or, steroids. This massive man asleep in my daughter's bed was more than capable of protecting her, I was sure.

But he was a man in my daughter's bed.

But, I'd told him to stay with her. And he'd lulled her to sleep, apparently. He was doing what I told him to do. I just haven't really looked at him in the past few weeks.

I tried really hard to keep my heart and mind from shifting in to over-protective father overdrive. I looked around for the details: she was under the covers and he was on top. And she had the most peaceful expression on her face; it was stillest she'd been asleep since this whole mess with the Cullen boy began. She had curled herself into Jacob's side, his protective, muscular arm wrapped around her and her head resting peacefully on his broad shoulder; I had to admit that I didn't mind the sight of that.

Unless he turned into a wolf, too.

Jacob couldn't hurt her, could he? He wouldn't kill innocent hikers, would he? I just couldn't figure out how this all fit together. Hell, how did humans turn into wolves anyway? I knew I didn't imagine that. Life would be easier if I thought I was going crazy. I was considering all this when Jake looked up at me. I could tell he was a little nervous being caught in her bed. He looked a little guilty.

"How long she been asleep?" I finally asked trying to sound casual. I forced myself to see the Jacob Black I'd always known. The good kid who was trying really hard to win my daughter's heart. I tried to see the innocence until I knew better.

"Almost three hours with no screaming at all," he replied looking a little proud of himself. "Are you just now getting home from the Clearwater's?"

"Yeah," I answered. I didn't know how to ask what I wanted to ask. But I knew that Jake would give it to me straight if I asked. I rubbed my chin and cleared my throat.

"What is it?" he asked, confirming my instincts that he'd know something was up. He was quick and his abrupt kick into adulthood after his mother's death had made him very sensitive to the moods and needs of those around him.

"Do you turn into a wolf, too?" I asked. I watched the shock cross his face followed by a hint of fear. He recovered almost instantly, replacing those with a stoic mask and his eyes flickered down to Bella.

"What makes you ask me that?" Jacob asked. He was avoiding the question, but he didn't lie to me. I could work with that.

"Because I just saw Leah and Seth Clearwater morph into a giant wolves and it occurred to me that your disappearance a few weeks ago may have been the same thing," I answered finally giving voice to some of the dots I'd connected.

"What?" Jake asked, surprised. "Leah? Really?" It did not escape me that he wasn't surprised about Seth.

"Is that a yes?" I asked.

"Look, Charlie, there is some heavy duty shit going on that I really can't talk about. I mean physically I can't because it's all a big supernatural secret. If I could, I would," Jake said. I shook my head frustrated. He still wasn't lying—just evading.

"Can you tell me if you're responsible for the dead hikers at least?" I needed something to hang on to.

"What?" he asked, a little offended. "NO!" Jake said emphatically and jiggling Bella just a bit. She stirred a little and when she settled back down she sighed. He continued a little softer. "We're chasing the ones doing that!" I let out a long breath I didn't even know I was holding. He'd answered many questions without saying much. I watched him place a kiss on the top of Bella's head before gently extracting himself from her grip. He stood up to his full height and damn that kid was tall.

"Look, Charlie, I have to go see what happened. Leah and Seth are new and the rest of the guys in the pack are going to need some help. I'll see if I can let you in on everything else, but I have to ask permission," he explained.

"Ask who?" I asked. "Tribal Elders? They know I saw that tonight. I just left before…"

"Good, that will help," Jake said moving towards the window. "I have to ask the alpha." I could tell he was trying to give me as much information as he could as indirectly as he could. "

"You can be a great asset to us, but I may have to convince some people. I have to go." He looked back over to Bella and I saw his face soften again. Something must have happened between those two because he didn't have that usual frustrated look on his face. It was goofy and almost…satisfied. "She's sleeping well so she should be good for a while." He turned to the window and slid it open. I wondered what the hell he was doing.

"You should know that Alice Cullen showed up tonight and Bella totally stood up to her." He looked over at my daughter with such pride that I knew all of this had to be connected. I was more and more convinced that Jake and his wolf, if he was one, were the best protection for Bella. I felt it in my gut. But protection from what? What were the Cullens?

"Bella basically told her to get lost and leave her alone. You would have been proud, Charlie." I nodded. I was proud. My biggest fear was that they'd come back and she'd run right back into their arms.

"When can you come back? I really need some answers, Jake."

"As soon as I can," Jake promised and out the window he went. I stepped over to look through the pane in time to see him drop his shorts at the edge of the forest. Things were getting stranger and stranger. But he never lied to me.

I believed what little he revealed.

I walked back over and looked at Bella sleeping peacefully for the first time in months. I sat down in her rocking chair. She must have done laundry because the chair was free of dirty clothes. I rocked back and forth mulling everything over in my mind. I must have been more tired than I thought because I woke up to Bella's voice.

"Dad? Charlie?" Her warm hand shook my arm.

"Yeah," I croaked, "I'm up." I stretched my stiff neck to try to work out the kink that'd developed.

She chuckled. "What are you doing in here?" she asked. "You didn't get mad at Jake, did you? I asked him to stay until I fell asleep." She looked a little guilty, too.

"Something going on there I need to know about?" I asked, watching her face. A little smile danced on her lips and a blush crept up her neck.

"I think so, but I'm not sure yet," she replied in a small, but happy voice. I was a little shocked, but pleased by her candor. "Is that going to be a problem? Are you going to go all protective now?" She peeked up at me and chewed on her bottom lip.

"No. Not if you continue to be honest with me. That's the most candid thing you've said to me in almost a year." Her brown eyes swam in unshed tears. She looked up to keep them at bay while she thought about what to say next.

"I'm sorry about that, dad," she said. "Things just got so complicated—"

"Does this have anything to do with Jake's ah…" I searched for the word he used, "his pack and how it ties to the Cullens?" Bella squeaked, her jaw dropped open, and then she consciously closed it again.

"What did Jake tell you?" she asked.

"Not much. He said he couldn't. I don't know what that means, but he never lied to me. Do you know about it?" I asked. I tried to use a kinder tone than I usually used in interrogations, but that was, in fact, what I was doing to my daughter. She backed up and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Yes, I know all about it," she finally said.

"Does it involve Edward?" I asked. She nodded. "Can you tell me?"

"I don't know if I'm allowed to." I clucked my tongue and shook my head in frustration. "I don't want to get Jake in trouble, Dad. I promise that's all it is." Her tone was pleading and I could tell that she really cared for Jake and his welfare. I couldn't be upset with her for that, as much as it frustrated me.

"And you're not afraid of him even though he's a…you know…" I couldn't say it out loud.

"No." Her tone was firm. "He protects me. I feel safe with him." She bit her lip. "And…dad, I actually feel whole again." She looked up at me and one tear slid down her cheek. "Still a little broken, but whole." My chest relaxed for the first time in months and I could feel tension leaving my shoulders.

"Well, Bells, that makes me happy. I've been worried about you for a long, long time." I choked up a little but I hoped she didn't notice. "If you tell me Jake is safe, and you continue being honest with me, I'll be patient for the answers. But I'm going to need some answers soon."

"Talk to Billy," she suggested eagerly. "And really listen this time. The bad feelings the Quileutes have for the Cullens are grounded and not unreasonable given their history." I looked at her. It didn't quite make sense to me. But she confirmed my earlier suspicion. Maybe I should know more about my friends' history. The Cullens hadn't been around that long, though. That piece didn't quite fit. But, I was actually a little proud of the fact that Bella cared enough to keep someone's secret.

I reached a hand out to her. I don't know what came over me, but she responded. She rose off her bed and came and I pulled her into a hug. I hadn't held her like this since she was a little girl. But now, wrapped up in my arms, was a young woman wearing a pair of worn sweat pants and her hair in a long braid down her back. She needed love to fill the void that boy ripped open inside her. She didn't need my judgement or anger. I was grateful to have my daughter back.

"Okay, baby," I said as we pulled apart, "I'll talk to Billy so you and Jake don't get in trouble. And you two—" I cleared my throat, "you two be…ah…responsible so you don't get in…ah…trouble." A blush screamed up the back of Bella's neck and tore across her face. She knew what I was implying.

"Dad, please don't," she said. "We are so far from that…" I could hear the sincerity in her words, but if Jake's physical growth spurt was true to form, I knew what else accompanied those muscles. I was that age once, too. "Besides," she continued, "Mom's already covered this very well." Renee would. It was the one thing I could trust her to do well. I'd bring it up later if I thought I needed to.

"Okay," I said, my voice sounding like sandpaper. "I think I'll go take a nap in my bed for a while and then go see Billy."

"Sounds good, Dad. I'll make you something good for lunch when you wake up, okay?" she said. I smiled at her.

"Don't go through too much trouble," I said. I did appreciate how she looked after me.

"I'll make some chili and let it simmer on the stove. You can just eat it when you get up."

"Sounds great, Bells," I said, standing up and stretching out the kinks in my legs and back. Sleeping in the chair did not help my normal aches and pains. But, for the first time, in a long time, I felt like I was getting closer to some honest answers.

Problem was, all those answers led to dozens more questions.

Shoot.


Leave me some Birthday love. :)
(Yes, that was a shameless plea for reviews.)