A/N - Thanks again for all the hits, reviews, alerts and favorites! I'm honoured! Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! This chapter is dedicated to Charlie!
Chapter 11 - A Day with Dad
I woke up the next day at eight o'clock. I took a quick shower, dried my hair and got dressed in a pair of jeans and a nice t-shirt.
I headed downstairs to see my dad at the stove scrabbling eggs. "Smells great, dad." I said.
"Hey, Bells. I'm pretty excited about today." He answered, though still facing the stove.
"I can see that. Thanks for breakfast." He turned and scooped out some eggs on plates for each of us. He sat down across from me. "So what's the plan for today?" I asked.
"Well, I was thinking of taking you down to the station to meet the guys. I talk about you all the time. It will be nice to prove you're real." He laughed. I was looking forward to meeting the guys. My dad's work was really important to him. It was pretty much all he had after my mom and I left.
"Sounds good."
"I'm glad you think so. Then, I was thinking of taking you down to the shooting range. Everyone should learn gun safety." He looked at me warily. "Well, what do you think?"
"I think it sounds perfect." I was willing do anything my dad had in mind. I was going to use this summer to learn about my dad and what I had missed for fourteen years.
We pulled into the station at about ten o'clock. I was a little nervous to meet the guys. I know dad's bragged, but I had no idea what they thought of me.
"You won't get to meet Heidi or Mark today because it's their day off, like it is mine. But, I'm sure you'll get to meet them some time soon."
"Okay, sounds good." I answered. That meant I only had three cops to meet. The Forks police department only had six officers because the town was so small.
I followed my dad in the door. We walked up to the front desk and were met by the receptionist. "Hey, Sue." My dad said to the Native American woman, about forty-five years old.
"Hey, Chief." She said with a warm smile. "Is this the beautiful Bella, we've heard so much about?"
I blushed. "Yes it is, and I've got her home for a whole four months." My dad answered proudly.
"That's great. Nice to meet you Bella." She said warmly.
"It's nice to meet you, too." I stuck out my hand and she took it in hers, covering both with her other hand. It was such a motherly gesture. I liked her already.
"Come on, Bells. Come meet the guys." I smiled warmly at Sue, before following my dad around the desk and back into the office. There were six desks in the large room, three along the left, and three along the right side of the room. They all faced towards the main center aisle. My dad led me to the largest desk at the back left of the room. I guess being the chief had its perks.
He wheeled up a chair from the desk beside his. "Have a seat, Bells." He sat down in his chair beside me.
I looked around the place he spent most of his time. There were papers in fairly neat stacks all over the desk. I reached forward and grabbed a hinged photo frame off of the corner of his desk. There were two photos. One was of me and my dad from when I was around four years old. It must have been taken just before my mom and I moved. The photo on the right was my high school graduation photo that I had sent him last year.
"So, this is it This is where I work." My dad said with a sigh, reclining back into his chair.
"It's great, dad." I giggled to myself. "I can't believe you keep it so neat."
"Oh, that's just because he knew you'd be coming." I turned to my right to see a young officer, maybe about twenty-five, leaning against the front of his desk. He stepped forward, extending his hand to me with a large smile on his face. "Officer Black. A pleasure to meet you, Bella."
I shook his hand lightly. "Nice to meet you, too, officer." I replied. He was Native American and had short cropped, black hair and a huge, white smile.
"You can call me Jake." He answered with a laugh.
"Okay, Jake I'm sorry I took your chair." I really didn't know what to say to him. He seemed really friendly, but I was never one for easy conversation with people I didn't know. Plus, he kept smiling at me.
"That's fine, you keep it." He answered politely.
"Yes, Bella, you keep it. This kid sits enough." My dad laughed.
"Hey. We've got company." I heard. I looked up to see to two more officers walk towards my dad's desk. The one on the left, was a older man, around his mid-fifties, with salt and pepper hair. On the right, was a young dark haired man, in his mid-thirties.
"Guys, this is my daughter, Bella. Bella, this is Sergeant Felix Robertson and Deputy Alec Barrelli." My dad introduced me proudly.
"Hey, Bella, it's so nice to finally meet you." Felix said.
"You guys, too." I said quietly.
"So, you're in college, Bella?" Jake asked, even though I was almost 100% confident that he already knew the answer to this question.
"Yes. Just finished my first year. I'm really looking forward to the break this summer." I laughed nervously.
My cell phone beeped in my coat pocket. "Excuse me." I said, looking down at my new text message. 'Seven and a half hours. We're just heading out to the diamond. Love you. E.' I couldn't help the huge smile that broke out across my face.
"Edward?" My dad said, more of a statement than a question.
"Yes." I could feel my face burning, as all three of the officers were watching me, too.
As if my dad could sense my unease, he stood up. "Okay, guys. We're heading out. We've got things to do today."
He walked around to the front of his desk. I followed behind him.
"It was nice to meet you all." I said as we were leaving.
"You, too, Bella." Jake answered.
"Yeah, Bella. Come back when you have time to hear some embarrassing stories about your dad." Alec laughed.
"Okay, okay." Charlie laughed, even though he was trying to be serious.
"See you both later." Felix said and we made it to the front desk.
"Have a good day, Chief, Bella." Sue said as we walked out the door.
"Bye, Sue." I said as we left.
We got back in the truck and my dad drove about ten minutes until we made it to what looked like an outdoor shooting range.
We both hopped out of the truck and made our way inside the hut. It had walls on three sides and was opened in the front, facing out to the targets.
My dad brought out his service weapon. "Okay, Bella. This is a .40 calibre handgun. It packs a bigger punch than the 9mm, but there's not as much recoil as the .45 calibre. The clip is loaded with fifteen shots. Okay, Bells. Put on your hearing protection." He said as he passed me what looked like large headphones.
"Now, aim at that thirty yard target. Take in a breath, let it out, take in your next breath and hold it. Gently squeeze the trigger. Don't pull it back hard. It should surprise you when it fires." My dad was saying these instructions loud, so I could hear him with my hearing protection on.
I was nervous, but excited. He passed me the gun and I held it out with shaky hands.
"I'll take the safety off." He moved the little lever down with his thumb.
"Calm down, Bells. You're doing everything right." My dad yelled so I could hear him. He was standing just behind me and to my right.
I did as he instructed, taking an extra deep breath for good measure. I squeezed off the first shot. He was right, I was surprised. The gun kicked back a little, the recoil illustrating how much power I held in my hands.
"Wow." I said, more to myself.
"Great job, Bells. You hit the target, but you were a bit high. Try it again." He sounded excited. I was happy that he was happy.
I took in another few breaths. This time, I was closer to the mark. By the fifteenth shot, and a lot of encouragement from my dad, I had managed to get one shot on the edge of the bull's eye.
My dad took the gun back from me, removing the clip and setting it down on the bench.
While my dad went to get my target for me, I bent down and picked up one of the spent casings and putting it in my pocket. Let's face it. I loved mementos.
"You did good, Bella." My dad said beaming.
"Thanks, dad. I guess I had a great teacher." I said before hugging him.
I took the target and folded it up. I couldn't wait to show it to Edward.
