Bella left before Sam woke, writing a small note to thank him for the night, and tucked it under his elbow as he slept solidly. And she gave him a small kiss on the cheek. She'd call around five to make sure he was awake for dinner.

Managing to get to Charlie's in record time, she started on dinner - everything Charlie loved. If she was going to make this as pleasant as possible after her rookie mistake last night, then it was going to be great. She didn't want Charlie mad at her.

It was five when she received a text message from Sam, wishing her a good afternoon, and that he'd be there right on time. He was going to bring some of Sue's famous desert, and the Indian woman herself, who had also been invited by Charlie. A whole family event.

Nearly three minutes later, Charlie was home and she heard him hanging up his gun belt and take off his boots from the hall. "What is that smell, Bells? It smells like my favorite lasagna!"

She had just checked on it in the oven, so that was probably why. "Sure is. So, when was Sue invited? Because when I found out I had to switch it to the larger pan." She hadn't, really. She had already baked extra because of Sam's bottomless stomach. But she was pleased to see Charlie flush.

"Thought it'd do some good. Sue told me I get… awkward over dinners with other people." Bella raised an eyebrow, a grin on her face. "Thought I told you, Bells. Sorry."

"No problem." She moved towards the pan she was currently working on. Charlie attempted to stick his finger into the batter, but she smacked his hand away. "No way, I made it, I get first taste. Besides, the raw egg will make you sick." He gave Bella a sigh. "Please be nice to Sam… He really means the world to me."

Charlie frowned, as if remembering what this big affair was all about. "I'll just ignore the fact that you slept over at his house? And that he has his own house?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "Jake was there. Why don't you ask him what happened? I didn't even make it to the opening credits before I passed out. And Kim stayed with me at the house so that I wasn't alone while Sam had to tend to an emergency on the reservation. Something about a noisy party or a campfire spotted in the woods - which is against the law. You can only have bonfires on the beach or with tribe permission."

Charlie glowered. "I still want to just scare the boy a little. Let him know he can't be getting too carried away with you. He is older."

"Sam's amazing, dad," Bella insisted. "I don't want to have him scared away."

"If he can't take an old man grumbling about him, then he shouldn't be dating my little girl. That's my job description, try to scare away the men that go after her, and make sure no one has anything but good intentions." Bella just rolled her eyes. "Don't look at me like that. When you have kids, you'll see how it is. You'd do whatever you could to make sure they were safe."

The doorbell rang at six on the dot, and Bella threw her oven mitts down before rushing to the door. Charlie was on the steps, having changed out of his uniform, and Bella flung open the door. A wide grin lit up her face as she saw Sam and the small woman, Sue. "Hey!"

"Hey," Sam greeted.

"Oh, Bella, you look nice," Sue smiled. "Is your father in there, or is he glaring at the tv?"

"He was, until I told him to change out of his uniform," Bella laughed, hugging the woman. And she was let inside, before Bella gave Sam a shy smile. "Well? Do I get a hug?"

He gave her a tight hug, but it was extremely quick, and he pulled away with a kiss to her cheek. "Sorry I wasn't awake when you left. I ended up running a bit more than usual, and-"

"It's fine," Bella said with a warm smile. "Come on in." She shut the door, letting Sam take off his jacket before she pulled him into the kitchen, where she could hear Charlie talking to Sue. Abruptly the voices stopped as Charlie spotted Sam. He looked him over, as if seeing if Sam had changed in anyway, before he gave a satisfied nod.

"Chief Swan," Sam greeted. "It's nice to meet you officially, sir."

Charlie grunted, taking Sam's hand, pulling him close for a pat on the back. But Sam's posture stiffened suddenly, and when he pulled away, she saw Sam give Charlie a nod of understanding. Ohhh… kay?

Following that exchange, despite Sam sitting beside her at the table, he was nearly as far away from her on the chair as he could get. And his hand, though laced with hers, would flex its grip every time Charlie glanced towards them.

"So, Sam, what is it you do?"

"I'm a firefighter, Chief," Sam answered with a winning smile. Bella brought her own smile towards Charlie, encouraging him to be friendly. "And in my spare time, I do some police work on the res, too. And whatever time between those two, I'm the Chief of the reservation."

Charlie raised an eyebrow in surprise, giving Bella a considering look. She shot him a warning look. "Huh… Doesn't seem like you have a lot of time on your hands."

"Not all the time, no. But it's rewarding, so I keep doing it."

"You seem to be taking the news about Bella pretty well."

"Dad," Bella warned quietly, but Charlie continued.

"If you barely have time now, what makes you think that's going to change when there's a baby around?"

Bella's glare was meant to be menacing, but Charlie ignored it.

"I plan to take as much time out of my work schedule for both Bella and the baby. If she needs me around, I'll be there. I have no plans of skipping out on her." Charlie narrowed his eyes. "And before you ask, sir, no I don't have experience with children." He gave a slow nod, but Sam quickly continued. "Except for Leah's cousin, Claire. She's about three. She hangs out with Leah when she comes down from Makah and I've had to babysit a few times." Charlie grunted. "I can change a diaper no problem."

"Do you think you'll be around long enough to change diapers?"

"I hope Bella keeps me around that long, maybe longer. But that's not my call." But she heard the nervous waver in Sam's voice and felt herself flush slightly, as she glanced to Sue, who was giving her a hopeless smile. As if to tell Bella to just hang in there, dinner would be over soon.

Charlie seemed pleased with that and dug his knife into his food, a bit more forcefully than necessary. "The last boy that came into this home broke her heart and left her in the woods. The next pitiful excuse of a man in her life abused and left her pregnant and we can't tell a soul about it until we get a good idea on how to get the bastard for it. What makes you different?"

Sam was shaking slightly, but Bella ran her thumb over his knuckles and he calmed down enough to answer. And she was pretty sure she melted with it. "I want to be able to tell you that I won't break her heart, sir. I want to be able to promise that I'll keep her happy. But I can't. I can just promise that I'll try my absolute best to do so. Even if it kills me, I'll keep her safe. And her baby. And I'll do whatever I can to put that bastard in jail for the rest of his life. I can only keep her happy as long as she is happy."

It was the sweetest thing Bella had ever heard him say. But she knew that he was telling the truth. Sam would never do anything to make her angry with him or upset. The imprint made it that way. He could never hurt her.

"Good man."

"Charlie, stop it," Sue said quietly. "You're going to upset Bella." But Bella wasn't upset by the interrogation. She was moved by Sam's words. She did her best to give Charlie a reassuring smile, but the man seemed to wince.

"Sorry, Bells."

"I'm fine, Dad."

Sam glanced to Bella and she darted her eyes to the hall quickly, a sign he should give her a minute with Charlie. "Excuse me, I'm going to head to the bathroom."

"First door on the right," Bella supplied easily. Charlie eyed him wearily, but Sam rose out of his chair, kissing Bella's head on his way to do so, and she gave her boyfriend a warm smile. As soon as the door shut, Bella turned to Charlie, glaring at him. "What did you say to him?"

"Nothing," Charlie said innocently. Too innocently, Bella decided as he reached for his beer quickly. "I think he's just terrified of me. Good to know I still install the fear of God into people. I thought I had lost it with the last one you brought home-"

"Charlie," Sue sighed.

"Terrified?" Bella whispered in outrage. "He barely even looks at me, because to me, it looks like he thinks you're going to shoot him!"

"Good," Charlie said shortly. "Then my message sunk in."

"Dad!"

"What? I'm just making sure! He's older than you by six years, Bella-"

Bella groaned, her head falling into her hands. "You broke him."

"Broke him?"

"The point of bringing him over for dinner was so you could meet Sam, you know? Get to know the real Sam, not the skittish Sam that thinks you're going to pull a gun on him in the middle of the pie."

Charlie perked up. "There's pie?"

"Charlie," Bella whined. "Please, just… I really like Sam. I really do see us together in the long run… And despite everything, I think he's able to see it too. And… I don't want to scare him away. Please just back off of him a little. He's really a great guy. Just give him a chance to prove it."

Charlie sighed. "Fine. I'll back off. But if he holds you anywhere inappropriate-"

"Dad, he's not going to grope me in the middle of the kitchen. I mean, give him a little credit." Charlie looked a little green with the image. The toilet flushed, but Bella rushed out the last few words before the door to the bathroom opened. "He wants to take down Phil just as much as you do, and he wants the best for me too. Just give him a chance."

Charlie reluctantly agreed to do so. It seemed to be opportune timing because Sam came striding out of the hall. And Bella had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She knew he could hear every word they were saying. He didn't have to look so smug about it. "We were talking about you while you were gone," Bella spoke up casually as Sam sat down. "Charlie thinks you're a bad influence."

Charlie nearly choked on his beer and Bella grinned towards her dad to let him know she was just joking. "Now, I never said that."

"That's okay, Chief. I know it'll take a lot for you to trust me," Sam said easily. "But it's time I'm willing to spend."

"You don't just date my daughter, and expect me to trust you. You have to earn it, son."

But Bella knew that Charlie loved Sam. Practically talked about him once a week when it came to something he did for the Police Department in Forks. "Just keep her happy, and we'll work on it from there."

Bella's hand found Sam's and she gave her dad and his girlfriend an easy smile. "You're lucky I'm not turning the tables and giving this talk to Sue. It reminds me that I haven't had a proper one with her yet."

Sue laughed. "Now, don't go dragging me into this. I'm just here to make sure Charlie doesn't actually pull his gun on him. And for the pie."

"I think you're all here for the pie."

"Which means you should probably start making it more."

Bella snorted as she rose to go get the dessert. "I don't think your belt loops would be able to take it, Charlie." Charlie snorted, and Sue seemed to agree.

The rest of dinner seemed to go well, with Sam relaxing and allowing himself to be a little more open for affection. It was nearly ten thirty when Sam said he had to go. Bella knew he had patrols soon, and so Sue hopped up as well. "He's my ride," she said to Charlie. After giving Charlie a sweet kiss, that made Bella more want to go "aww" out of spite than gag, Bella chewed on her lip as she looked up at Sam's towering form. But Sue was pulled into a discussion as her dad grumbled about something, leaving Bella and Sam all to themselves.

She kissed him softly, murmuring just loud enough for only Sam to hear. "I definitely don't like you wearing shirts."

"I didn't think showing up without a shirt would go over too well."

She fiddled with the collar slightly, flushing. No, Charlie would have had an aneurysm. "Please, please tell me that I get to see you soon."

Sam grinned. "Patrols at the usual time tomorrow, if you feel like showing up."

Bella found herself grinning back. "I guess I could make it." But then she groaned. "That means I can finally sleep in. This is going to be a dream."

Sam chuckled, kissing her again. This time it wasn't as chaste as before, but instead warm and made Bella feel a little flushed as a throat cleared behind them. "Don't run into any bad guys out there."

"Never," Sam grinned. But Bella caught the slightly worried grimace he gave. She had no idea what that was supposed to mean. But maybe he was just worried. It was perfectly justifiable to be worried. Even though Laurent was taken care of, Victoria hadn't shown up in a long time. And that made Bella all the more on edge. In Florida, she had been a wreck worrying that Victoria would find her with no wolves to protect her.

But he gave her one last kiss, before he dug in his pocket for his keys. "Thanks for having me over for dinner, Charlie."

"Thanks for watching the game with me," Charlie countered, his mustache still twitching like it was a live animal. "Probably the only time I'll ever get Bella to watch sports with me is when you're around."

"I don't watch any sports I can't do myself," Bella returned with a laugh. "Unless it's the Seahawks. I've watched enough of that with you to understand what is going on."

"You like the Seahawks?" Sam asked in surprise.

Bella shrugged. "Sure. Probably the only thing I actually watch. I would watch it in Florida all the time. I liked to see Washington."

Sam still seemed surprised. But Charlie just rolled his eyes. "Right then, best get home before it gets too late. Nice meeting you, Sam."

"You too, Chief," Sam returned easily. Once Sam and Sue had pulled out of the driveway, a final wave falling from Bella's hands, she glanced towards Charlie.

"Well?" she asked.

Charlie sighed. "Fine, he's alright. Brought us a guy we had been looking for that broke parole last week. If he can find some guy in the middle of the woods, I guess he can keep my daughter safe."

Bella gave Charlie a warm smile, hugging him tightly. "Only when you're at work can he keep me safe," she said quietly. "You can do it any other time."

He was blushing, she could tell, and seemed to be warmed by her words. "Yeah, well, best get to bed."

But that wasn't what was going to happen. Because just as soon as she pulled away from him, did she catch the scent of the rainy outdoors. And it made her nauseas nearly instantly. She bolted, and barely made it to the kitchen sink.

"Well, there goes my pie," Bella sighed quietly. She groaned and rested her head on her hands, leaning over the counter.

"Bells?"

"I'm okay," Bella insisted. "Just… there was like wet tree smell or something outside. And it made me feel sick. I'm fine." She started to run the water in the sink, however, to wash out the mess. "It happened this morning too."

"It did?"

"Kim almost called the doctor, but I told her it was normal," Bella said with a snort. She wiped off her face and turned to Charlie. "I called yesterday morning. She said that it'll be normal for a few more weeks." Charlie's mouth twisted up as he seemed to consider it a moment, worried. "Really, dad, I'm fine."

He sighed. "What did Sam do when he found you throwing up in his bathroom?"

Bella hesitated. "Um… well, he wasn't home, so… Kim was just there." It was a small lie. She hadn't seen him, but apparently he was home because Kim had offered to wake her… but Charlie didn't need to know that. "He works a lot."

Charlie sighed. "You know, Bells… that was a problem with your mom and I, too. She was home with you, who was a baby, and I was always working… You may not realize how much time having a baby takes, but… Sam works an awful lot, and you may not think you need him around that often, but you will." Bella swallowed. "And even if you won't work out, I won't be home all the time to help you, either."

"I know," Bella sighed.

"I know tonight was probably stressful… but what will happen if Sam's not around? What will happen if you don't have someone to help you? I'll do everything I can, Bells, you know I will, and I know Sue and Jake and all of your friends say they're going to help - and Sue and Jake probably will - but this boy has no obligation to help you out with this. A baby is a big, big responsibility. And you two just started dating."

Bella knew. She could feel the tears coming. "I really have no idea, dad," Bella admitted. "I… Mrs. Newton gave me my job back at Newton's Outfitters, but … I have absolutely no money saved up for any of this either. If it wasn't for you and Renee saving stuff up for college, I wouldn't even be able to go to school. I blew everything I had on moving back out to Florida and…" Bella hauled herself up on the counter and Charlie shifted uncomfortably as he noticed her tears. "We have no room here for a baby either. I mean, maybe for when the baby's just born, but once they start getting big enough to move around and everything… I don't know what to do. I don't even know what to do for anything. Leah said I could live with her, but there's no way I could afford to pay rent right now. And I can't live here forever. I love you, but you have a life, too. And Sam - I can't rely on Sam because Sam has a job and the guys and everything. I can't… I haven't even thought that far ahead yet. I can't do school, a job or two, and take care of a baby-"

Charlie winced, "Bells… I wasn't saying that you had to… I'm just saying that it's a lot of work. And … I want to make sure you understand that-"

"I know," Bella insisted. "I know it's a lot of work. Renee is practically a baby that I raised from the age of ten. And… I haven't even thought past Thanksgiving. I just know that I want to cook for Thanksgiving. That's all I can even focus on right now. And I don't know…I don't know what to do for Christmas, or … or past that. I'm so scared that everything is going to be a mess. That I'll mess up everything. That this baby will have just a messed up life growing up as I did living with Renee. I don't want to be a single parent. I don't think I could do it. And I can't rely on any help from Renee either because… because she still lives with him. And I can't rely on anything from you, because you have a really important job. And so does Sam. And … Sam may not even want to be with me by the end of all of this. He may decide it's too much work and bot. And I honestly have no idea if I can even do this."

"Maybe… maybe we could make it work?" Charlie offered. "I could …" He swallowed. He didn't even know, and Bella knew it. He was just grasping at straws. "While you're at school, I could stay home. And then take a night shift at the station. I hear the donuts are better then." Bella felt herself smile at Charlie's lame attempt at humor. She definitely got it from him. "And you can stay here, Bells, you always can, I… I'm sorry if you didn't think that you could-"

"I can't make you do that, Dad," Bella said quietly. "You can't do that to work. That's… I can work on something. I just.. I just need to think about it, I think. Work on something other than this coasting that I'm doing-"

"We're always here to help, Bells," Charlie promised. "We will help. Me, Billy, Sue… You have Leah, too."

"Jake, Sam… Yeah," Bella said quietly. She took a deep breath. "I'll figure something out. I just need to figure out Christmas. That's what I'm really worried about right now."

Charlie sighed. "Yeah… We'll figure it out, Bells." She hoped so. She just needed to figure out Christmas, and then maybe she wouldn't have to worry about Phil ever again. If she could somehow get Renee away from Phil, then they could expose Phil.

But she had no idea on how to do that. That meant that she'd probably had to go to Florida anyway. Just the thought made her sick and break out in a sweat. Charlie gave her a concerned look, seeing how she looked a little green. "I … I might take a bath, dad." Bella attempted to give him a smile. "If that's okay?"

"Sure thing, kiddo. Just get feeling better. Everything else will be fine."

She hoped so… But as she pushed herself off the counter, she gave Charlie a small smile. "But you like Sam?" For some reason, it was super important to her. For some reason, Charlie liking Sam meant a lot. Because with the imprint, well… Sam was pretty permanent. And even if they could break up and just be friends, even if he got attacked and died one day… heaven forbid… well, she wanted a future with Sam in it. Sam was safe. Sam was… well, he was already home to her. Sam was hers. Someone that couldn't break her heart, no matter how hard things got, because he was devoted to her. And she was wary, but already a hundred percent into him.

Charlie, however, just sighed, an insufferable sigh. "Yeah, he's a good kid, Bells. And maybe things'll be hard with a baby, maybe he won't stick around, maybe he will, but what I saw tonight was that he made you happy. Happier than I've seen you in a long time." Bella swallowed. She knew that he was talking about the depression she had gotten when Edward had left. The months she spent waiting for him to come back. "Just be careful. He's still a man, and a man only wants one thing."

Bella quirked her lips. "Pie?"

Charlie chuckled. "Sure, Bells. Pie. We can always go for more pie." She laughed quietly, kissing his cheek as she passed him.

"Night, dad!"

"Night, kiddo." She was halfway up the stairs when she heard Charlie say, almost to himself. "Happier than a damn bumblebee." Bella smiled to herself. Yeah… she felt pretty happy, compared to the last few months. Pretty happy compared to the last few years.

She had slept in for so long that she missed Charlie leaving for work, and so she just sighed as she stared at the ceiling, before grabbing the covers, hoisting them over her head and snuggling deeper into the warm bed. It was warm. But it was no where near as soft as Sam's had been. In fact, it was nothing compared to that bed. That bed had something that no bed in the world had - his scent. A faint woodsy scent, and the scent of … well, man.

She heard her phone buzz on the nightstand and ducked her arm out, not wanting to escape the warmth completely, before she slid it under the covers. The name on the screen made the covers feel much warmer than they were. Sam.

Sorry if you're not awake. But, if you are, want to get lunch? Bella checked the time, seeing that it was just half past ten. She chewed on her lip. She could do it. Shower, find something presentable, and then meet him somewhere.

She pressed reply. I'm always a sucker for food I don't have to cook. Sure. Where and when?

Sam's reply was nearly immediate. Sue's or Forks Diner? Someplace simple, someplace casual. Bella seriously loved this man.

Sue's is fine.

Say… an hour?

She'd have to get ready fast. I'll be there.

And then she took one last warm breath under the covers, before she flipped them off of her and slid out of bed to get ready.