Author's Note: Thank you for reading this one. While there will be conflict still, we are working to the HEA. In the mean time, here's some Papa Swan for ya.

"No. His."

Jake's words bounced around in my head, slamming about and causing one hell of a headache. I didn't bother eating dinner; I went straight to bed once I kicked Jacob out a second time. I locked my bedroom door and didn't even open it when Alice came home. She asked if I was ok. There wasn't an answer I could give her that wouldn't reignite me being furious or the tears falling.

I sat in my bed, oddly enough only on my side. Was my subconscious trying to tell me something by where I chose to sit? No, it couldn't be. I'd always sat on the right side of the bed, even when I was kid living with Charlie.

Charlie.

He would know what to do, wouldn't he? I mean, he is a dad – even if I was an adult. It wasn't as though his life's experience with the opposite sex was trouble free. My mother was challenge enough for any man. Considering that plus his status as a cop, I decided outside Alice, he might be the best person to talk to.

"Bella? Sweetheart, it's almost midnight. Are you okay?" he asked, sleep weighing heavy on his voice.

Shit. I woke him up. "Yeah, Dad. Everything is fine. I mean, enough. I talked to Edward tonight."

"What? He's back?" he questioned, his voice showing my statement woke him up fully.

"Yes. He wants me to forgive him and be with him, and Jacob is just going to hand me over to him. Can you believe that shit? I mean, he flat out told me he was on Edward's side! What kind of crap is that?" I spat it all out, not stopping for a breath or to even think of what all I was spewing out at my dad.

"Whoa, Bells. Hold on now. You sure you're okay? Do you want me to come over? Do you want to come over? I've got a few beers in the fridge and some left over pizza . . . ," he said full Dad-mode launched.

I slumped against the headboard and sighed. "No, Dad. It's late and you have work in the morning. Still, how does lunch look?"

"Lunch with your dad? You got it, Bells. What time?" He sounded shocked, but more than that, he seemed happy.

"Um, one? Is that too late?" I asked as I bit the cuticle of my nail. Those damn men were going to be the death of my hands – I'd already destroyed my nails and cuticles from the oral stress venting.

"No, that's fine. Is the diner ok?"

"That's perfect, Dad. See you then." I smiled at him even though he was on the phone. While here were other places to eat in this town, you wouldn't know it based on my father's eating habits.

"Ok, Bells. See you then and uh . . . I love you," he said with an ounce of hesitation. After all these years, he still hesitated when he said it. Nice damage my mother caused, isn't it?

"I love you, too, Dad."

Charlie smacked the ketchup bottle and gave it a light shake. The ketchup practically plopped onto his plate, right next to the steak fries he loved so much.

"Alright, let me get this straight. Edward left because he thought you were having a dream about Jake and now, after a year, he's back because he can't live without you?" Charlie asked as he capped the bottle.

"Right." I replied, taking a large bite of my sandwich.

"That's weak, Bella. What kind of dream could you have had?" he asked as he took a bite of his fries.

I gulped hard, not prepared for either the question or it coming so soon. "Um, well – God, Dad. This is too embarrassing." I closed my eyes and hoped the slight head shake would ditch the awkward.

"Too embar- oh! One of those dreams?" There was something in the way he cocked his head to the side and his brow shot up that told me he knew exactly what I was saying.

"Um, yeah. He said that at first it sounded like just a bad dream, but then there was -," I cleared my throat, "moaning and I was saying Jake's name."

Charlie closed his eyes for a brief second before he opened them again. "Give me second, Bella. I need to become the cop, not the dad."

I smiled nervously at him and waited. Sure, this was odd for me, but it had to be worse for him. Dad's never do all that well with "their daughter is having sex" conversation.

"So, did he ever ask you about these dreams? Seems to me if he loved you, he would have. I'm not expert, but there were times when you still lived with me that I thought you were having overly-active dreams, and it turns out you were dreaming about a test you had to take."

I took another bite of my lunch. "No, he never did, and that makes no sense either. Edward was always the talker, you know? He always talked about emotions. I hardly ever did. I mean, after Mom -"

"I think we both shut down emotionally after her, Bella. Or because of her. There's no harm in not being one to always speak what you feel, is there?" He took a sip of his soda and looked at me as if he was seeking permission for his words to be a shared truth.

I reached across the table and placed my hand on his. "Dad, we turned out fine. She's the train wreck."

His smile of appreciation mixed with relief. "Look, I'm just saying that there may be the chance, no matter how remote it might be, that what he interpreted as a dream about you, shall we say, 'enjoying Jake's company', might have been something completely different. When you two broke up back in high school, for that lone month, you had the worst dreams. You would wake up screaming – almost in pain. Now, the lead up to that? I thought for sure that boy was in your room and you two were doing things that he would have been shot over – if you catch my drift. You never have been one to dream normally, Bells. Jacob said you had the same kind of dreams when he was with you, too."

I laughed slightly before I looked back at my plate. "I remember that. God, I hated those dreams."

"So did I. But if you recall, you never remembered the lead up – only the scary parts."

I thought about what he said, the conversation coming to a complete stop when I did. Charlie returned to eating as I ran through what I could remember about the dreams I had after Edward left. They started the same way: Edward and I kissing, his hands roaming over my body, his kissing lighting a fire in my belly as they traveled from my lips, across my jaw, then down my neck. Then the nightmare would start. It was never the same path, but they always lead to the same place – Edward disappearing into thin air. The end was the same as it was in high school.

"Bells, all I'm saying is this. Maybe Edward's reasons aren't logical to you, but I'd wager my salary on the fact they were logical to him. Men aren't wired the same way you women are. We don't think about something for hours before acting on it. We act – then think."

"Hmph, can't you fix that? It's really annoying." I tried to laugh it off, but he was right. Every man I knew was like that.

"Sure. I'll get right on that just as soon as you women become open books and explain the shoe buying."

We both laughed and the tension was lifted. There were moments, no matter how spaced apart they were, that I understood just how alike to my father I was.

We finished our lunch with my dad filling me in on his job, fishing, and most importantly – baseball. I gave him the rest of the "Bella-Breakdown" recap and was delighted when I saw a glint of light in his eyes when I mentioned Alice.

"Really? She's back in town?" he asked casually.

"Yup. Getting married soon, too," I said as offhandedly as I could make it sound.

He smiled broadly. "Well, that is just great! Hope he knows how lucky he is. She always was like a second daughter to me."

"Really?" I asked, slightly stunned. I had to be honest. I always thought my dad had a slight crush on her.

"Sure. She was at our house often enough I could have claimed her on my taxes."

Charlie walked me to my car and gave me a hug before we said a good-bye. I knew I needed to do this more often with him and I felt guilty of my lack of spending time with him.

"Thanks for lunch, Dad."

"Anytime. Now that I've said that, don't go retreating again. I might be your dad, Bells, but given a chance, I could be your friend too." He smiled nervously at me as though his words cost him more than he was willing to wager.

"Dad, you always have been my friend," I reassured him with a smile and hug.

His arms wrapped tightly around me and he placed a small kiss on the top of my head. "Love you, Bella."

"Yeah, I love you too, Dad." I smiled against his chest and knew that for the rest of my life, things with my dad would be forever changed. For the better.

We broke from our hug and he reached for my car door to open it. "You be safe going home, that rain cloud looks like it's going to hit before you get home."

"I will. You, too," I said as I threw my purse across the seat and readied myself to get in. "Oh, Dad? Are you free for dinner Friday night?"

Charlie smiled at me, the corner of his mouth hitched up slightly. "Friday? Hmm, I might need to check my calendar – you know what a ladies man I am, Bells. I might be booked."

I laughed at his joke and shook my head. "Six-thirty, and bring beer. The Mariners are playing. Ok?"

"You got it, Bells. Be safe."

Smiling at him still, I got in my car and started it. He waited until I was on the highway before he went to his cruiser.

I thought about what Charlie said on the ride home. I would end up thinking about it for the rest of the day and well into the evening. I couldn't shake his comment that I remembered only the end of all those bad dreams – never the buildup. Why was that? What the hell was I missing? More importantly – why was it missing?

By eight o'clock, I'd given myself one hell of a headache courtesy of the conversation with Charlie merging with the thunderstorm that had been building all afternoon. I had to admit defeat. I took two ibuprofen, a bottle of water, and went to bed.

I was halfway up the stairs when I had a hint memory come to light. As quickly as the lightening was striking outside, a part of the dreams I had of Jacob flashed before me.

"Oh shit!" I almost shouted in response to the image that assaulted me. "Shit!"

JPOV

I wasn't sure if he was going to meet me – I might as well be the enemy for all he cared. But all the same, I had to try.

I'd called him after I left Bella. More like after she kicked me out. I knew she would, after what I said to her she would have been nuts to let me stay. Yet I knew it had to be said. I was on the side that was right and if that meant Edward, then so be it. I only wanted what was best for her –always. I had to admit that it wasn't me and I hated it. I'd loved her for so long and secretly hoped one day they would hit splitsville and I would finally have my chance. Once I did, it was pure heaven. While it lasted.

The thunder banged outside and the flashes of lightening were almost blinding. I started to second-guess if he would actually come out. If the tables were turned, I might have cancelled rather than risk my life to go to some dinner for what had the potential to be a tense meeting.

Curtains of rain fell heavy against the windows and I checked my watch. It was five past eight and not looking good for him showing up. I lifted my glass, repeated the water circles cross the tabletop, and tried to think of anything but the time slowly passing.

The bell above the door jangled for the first time since I'd entered the diner. I looked up to see a figure approaching my table. Water cascaded off the hood of the rain jacket before the figure pushed it off their head, leaving it hanging from the back collar.

"Hey. Sorry I'm late."

"Yeah, no worries. Who would have known the gods were going to try to drown us tonight, right?" I joked half-heartedly.

"Yeah."

I was so relieved he'd shown up, I had to snap myself out of my quasi-stunned state. "Right. Well, have a seat. We have a lot to talk about."

"Like what?" he asked, not showing that he was too willing to follow my suggestion.

I pulled my jaw tight, knowing what I was about to do was for the best – for all of us, no matter how much it killed me to do it.

"Like how to get Bella to forgive you, Edward."

End Notes: Thank you for reading! I'd love to hear from you. And I hope to not be so awful at updates.