Charlie woke earlier than usual; he couldn't believe that his daughter was sleeping across the hallway from him. He couldn't help but think about how his life was changing. He really didn't know the first thing about being a Dad, sure he had had a year. But that was with a baby he didn't know how to raise a teenage daughter that had already been through so much in her life. He knew that he would have to take her shopping for some cloths and get her enrolled in school.

But that might be a problem in itself; she had been homeless for 4 years, even before that he wondered if Renee had enrolled her into school. He grabbed his cell phone from his side table and called in a personal day, he didn't want to leave Bella by herself in her first day in a new environment. He quietly got up and got ready for the day, peeking in on Bella before heading downstairs to fix breakfast.

He opened his fridge door and winced at the bareness inside. Being a bachelor he really didn't cook much and his fridge reflected it. He added a trip to the grocery store on his list of things to do. He opened the cabinet door happy to find a box of pancake mix, he pulled out a couple of eggs and a slab of bacon. Turning the heat up he began to make a decent breakfast.

Bella woke up feeling better rested then she had in years, her body was comfortable and warm. She opened her eyes to pale blue walls. It didn't take long for her to remember that she was in a bedroom that Charlie said was hers. As she studied the room, she could almost imagine a yellow crib in the corner with a rocking chair, a horse mobile hanging above the crib. She slowly got out of the bed, really needing to go to the bathroom. She remembered Charlie showing her one next to his room, she grabbed her backpack and found the bathroom. She could hear her Dad down stairs, walking around.

The bathroom was decent sized, having a bathtub and a toilet. Bella gazed at herself in the mirror, she looked dirty. Her hair was tangled and filthy and she had dirt smudged on her face. She gazed at the bathtub, she wondered if Charlie would be angry if she took a shower. She had to force herself to remember that Charlie wasn't Phil, Charlie was gentle and had opened his home to her. She dug into her backpack and drew out a bottle of shampoo she had swiped from a store not too long ago.

She took off her filthy cloths, her eyes avoiding the scars that covered her arms and legs. She turned on the water, turning on the hot water on full blast. She watched as the water turned brown with all the dirt coming from her body. She applied a generous amount of shampoo on her hair and filled the air with the scent of strawberries. She stayed under the stream until the water that washed off of her was clear. Bella felt a hundred percent better as she wrapped herself in a towel and stepped out in the steam filled bathroom. She grabbed her cloths hating to put on them on her clean body.

She froze when she heard a soft knock on the door, "Bella?"

She crushed the fear that rose in her chest, "Yes?"

Charlie shifted from foot to foot, "I have some cloths here if you want something clean to wear, and after you're done, there's some breakfast on the table. I'm setting the cloths by the door if you want to wear them." Charlie set the cloths by the door and headed back down to the kitchen pausing when he heard the bathroom door open and close.

Bella looked at the cloths Charlie had brought, they were clearly his. A red long sleeve shirt, and a pair of black sweat pants that said Forks Police Department along the side. Bella laughed as she looked at herself in the mirror, the cloths hung off her small frame like a tent. She was thankful that the sweatpants had drawstring ties, or they would be falling around her ankles. She slipped on the pair of white socks and opened the bathroom door. The smell of bacon, eggs, and pancakes hit her nose like a freight train, her stomach grumbled loudly.

It had been a couple of days since she had some decent food to eat, she slipped down the stairs silently on her sock clad feet. She peered through the doorway into the kitchen, Charlie was standing with his back to her. He was dressed in a plaid shirt and jeans, she watched as he turned around, he had a cup of coffee in his hand. He calmly looked at her as he caught sight of her peering around the corner of the doorway.

"I hope you like bacon, eggs, and pancakes. I'm not much of a cook, but I can whip up a few things. I've also got milk or coffee if you want anything." Bella studied Charlie with her large eyes before entering the kitchen.

"Coffee's good" murmured Bella, looking down at the two loaded plates of food setting on the table.

Charlie poured another cup, "Sugar, milk, or both?"

"Milks fine." Charlie set the coffee in front of a plate. Bella watched as he took a seat and began to eat, he paused when she didn't make a move to set down.

"Food's getting cold, better set down and eat it"

Bella took the invitation and sat down at the table and dug into her breakfast, she quickly ate everything on the plate, until her stomach begged her to eat no more. She settled back into her seat and sipped her coffee. She had grown to love the stuff, huddled around the campfire along with other homeless people sometimes she would get lucky and someone would have an old pot and some grounds and they would share with everybody. Many a winter's night she had kept herself warm by drinking coffee, sometimes just drinking boiled water. It had gotten worse the further she had gotten North, but it was worth it to escape the sun.

Charlie was the first to talk, "I took the day off, I was thinking that we can go to Port Angeles to get some clothes for you, my cloths don't exactly fit you," he said smiling. Bella looked at the table and nodded not daring to hope for new cloths, she never had new cloths and she didn't expect Charlie would do such a thing for a complete stranger no matter if she was his daughter or not.

Charlie resisted the urge to sigh as Bella's face shut down completely. He didn't know what he had did wrong but he knew that he would have to be patient, tiny steps. He knew that she wouldn't trust him over night but he hoped that one day he will earn that honor.

-~O~-

Bella gazed around the store, she had tried a few times to swipe new clothes off the racks, but her dirty appear generally alerted the store employees just what exactly she was and they often follow her around the store, making sure that she didn't take anything. She looked at Charlie, he looked about as uncomfortable as she felt. The ride to Port Angeles had been very silent and awkward. Not that she blamed him for that, what exactly could they talk about? She had been shocked when he pulled in front of the department store, she almost opened her mouth to ask why they were here, but shut her mouth. Phil always slapped her when she asked questions, and she learn to keep her mouth shut, and she shouldn't complain, this was better than any second hand clothing shop.

Charlie cleared his throat, "Uh, see anything that you like?"

"I get to pick?" she asked, flinching when she realized that she asked a question. She took a few steps away just in case she had to make a run for it. Charlie resisted the urge to go find his ex-wife and find the scum she married when Bella backed away from him like she expected him to hit her for asking a simple question. Instead he gave her a croaked smile.

"I've been informed that I have no fashion sense, so it's your choice. Though I suggest some warm clothing, it rains a lot in Folks and there always a chill in the air."

Charlie felt success as Bella smiled at his stupid joke, before inspecting the racks picking out cloths. At every piece she picked out her eyes would glance at Charlie assessing his stance. Charlie made sure to look causal when she did this. Just as causally he grabbed a watch from a nearby display case, "Bella I have a question." As expected she immediately froze, but Charlie continued before she could do anything. "Do you want to go to school? I know that you haven't had the chance these past couple of years, but there are tutors that can help you get to the level that you need. But if you don't we can figure something else out, I won't make you do something you're not entirely comfortable with."

School, something Bella hadn't thought about in a long time, being homeless and a runaway she only thought about school whenever she saw kids playing on a playground. School used to be a safe haven for Bella, a place to escape her Mom and Phil, she wasn't like the other kids, she enjoyed going to school. And here was Charlie offering her a chance to go back, just like he offered her a home and safety, it was just almost to true to be good. She licked her lips, "I wouldn't mind going back" she said hesitantly. Charlie nodded and set the watch down before looking at the clothes in her hand.

"Well if that is the case, I think you're going to need some more cloths, can just have four outfits. Why don't you give me those you pick out a few more outfits school appropriate before we get the rest of the stuff you need."

Bella was astonished at everything that was picked out, not once did Charlie say no to anything she picked but also didn't complain on how much it cost when they finally checked out. In fact he asked if that was all she wanted. She never thought she would have so much to call her own, new clothes both for everyday and when she would eventually go to school. Charlie made sure that she got everything she needed to be comfortable in his house. Bella couldn't believe how generous he was, and some part of her warned her that there had to be a catch. He would want something in return for all this, tit for tat.

So even though Charlie seemed generous, and she would accept these items, she wouldn't let her guard down. She had to be prepared to run eventually, she could remember when she was a very young that her mom used to be like Charlie but then she met Phil. Who says that might not happen to Charlie?

Charlie thought it had been a productive afternoon, having got what everything that she needed. He didn't worry too much about the cost, he had fifteen years of money he hadn't spent on Bella that he saved, and he wasn't concerned now of what he spent.

He looked over at Bella as he drove home, he could practically see walls coming up around her. He wanted to sigh, he knew that this would a long road to get her to trust the fact that he wasn't going to hurt her. But it seemed that whenever he made a step to do this he ended up two steps back. He decided that it would do more harm if he hovered over her; he still needed to get groceries. Turning onto the Folks exit, he glanced at Bella. "I still need to go grocery shopping, so how about I drop you back off at the house and you can put away your new clothes. Unless you want to go to the store with me" he said, making sure he gave her a choice of what she wanted to do.

"The house is fine" returned Bella, she needed time to accumulate to the new situation, it was a little overwhelming. Charlie helped pack the bags into the kitchen before retreating to the grocery store in town. Glad that Bella decided to not to come, small town people loved to gossip, he had to endure the blunt of the scandal that his wife caused when he ran off with Bella. He wanted to protect her from the gossip as long as he could. Though in a small town nothing was ever kept secret for long.