Title: Diminished
Pairing: Charlie/Renee, Bella
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Rating: T
Word count: 500
Prompt: Picture of a dad on the floor getting sweet baby kisses.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Diminished
He chuckled at the little cherub who kept going for his nose. "You can't bite my nose sweet pea." Bella climbed over his head, as she explored her surroundings. Charlie looked forward to their playtime every evening. She was doing something new and exciting everyday.
Renee called from the kitchen, dinner was ready. He knew it probably meant cold cuts or canned soup, the usual. He brought his daughter to her high chair.
"Um...strained peas and apricots. I'll let you have that while I enjoy my grilled cheese."
He made small talk with her. Mostly, it was him talking about his day and lots of "ums" and "ohs" from her. He tried not to take it personal. She never thought anything exciting could happen in Forks.
The rest of the night was typical. He bathed Bella and got her ready for bed. Renee handed him a bottle and kissed her goodnight. He rocked his precious daughter while reading her a story. He stayed until she was soundly sleeping.
"We need to talk," was all she said.
"Sure, what's up?"
"I can't do this."
He was confused. He thought she meant the stay-at-home mom gig. He tried to help as much as possible when he was home.
"Do you want a job? I can find a babysitter, then you can get out of the house more often."
It wasn't that simple. She wanted to be gone forever, not in Forks and not married. That was how divorce was suggested. It's not you, it's me.
He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. They weren't perfect, but he loved her. Did she still love him? She wasn't acting like it. Her mind was made up.
"Bells...you can't take my baby from me. I can't live without her."
They argued back and forth. Charlie suggested Bella stay with him.
"You work all the time, you barely know how to cook or clean."
He mumbled, "Neither do you." He could figure out all the other things...for her, he would.
The week flew by, she didn't change her mind. He wanted to stop her, but was a nasty custody battle best for his baby girl?
Renee brought the last of her things down to be loaded up.
She attempted to console him and promised not to keep her from him, but that's what she was doing. "You can see her whenever you want. You're her father."
"I just have this terrible feeling in my gut. The world is crazy, you can't let her out of your sight ever."
"Stop being so dramatic. There's no such thing as the boogie man. You take your job too seriously. You never leave it."
Charlie kissed Bella's chubby cheek one last time. What would she look like the next time he saw her, would she remember him?
He waved goodbye, the ominous feelings swirled in his gut. Renee was wrong about so much. He was a cop and he knew, the boogie man was indeed real.
~Thanks for reading.
Sigh...this made me sad :(