I made it to the final round of the Naughty Heels Contest with my story, Spic N Span!! I didn't win, but got some great reviews and really enjoyed writing a one-shot. Check out my profile for the story I wrote, and don't forget to leave me some love.

http://www (dot)fanfiction (dot)net/~naughtyheelsanonymouscontest

http://www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/5488386/1/Spic_N_SpanEntry_for_NaughtyHeels_OS_Contest

Also. . .I know that I'm a jerkface and I don't update. . . .well. . ..ever. I'm sorry. I have no other excuse but that I suck it. Big time. A HUGE thanks goes out to mialuver4 for giving me the kick in the pants that I desperately needed.

DISCLAIMER: Twilight and its characters are not mine. I only wish they were.


BPOV

Meeting with Angela was wonderful. Comfortable. Stable. It was exactly what I needed.

I told her all about Mark and the accident. I even told her about the baby. It felt SO good to be able to talk about everything. Well, everything except the part about the Cullens being a family of the living dead. I kept that tidbit to myself.

She listened to me, only speaking up when she needed clarification. When I had finally gotten her up to date with my trip to Forks, I expected her to be ready to run out the door. Surely she wanted no part of me any more after all of that. Not Angela, she wanted to talk more.

We talked about my feelings for Edward, and she told me that having dreams about him for feelings for his was not cheating on my husband. I had to agree when she pointed out that Mark would not have wanted me to be alone and miserable.

I had always thought Edward was the love of my life, until he left me. Then, I was so lost. I found Mark and I knew that he was my other half. My other human half, anyway. The way I felt about Edward now was confusing. I still loved him, of that I was sure. . .but was I in love with him? I really didn't think so.

"Why not just try dating him and see where it leads, Bella?" Angela said. "You're both older and different people now. Maybe that old spark is still there. It's worth finding out. . .isn't it?"

She was right. Why not try. I had already lost everything, so if this didn't work out, I would still be fine.

We talked for a little bit longer and I laughed in my head about the heap of thanks Edward owed Angela at this point. She had convinced me to try things out with Edward and see where it went.

Still, I really felt like I needed more in my life. Just trying to date Edward wasn't going to be enough.

Angela and I parted ways with hugs and promises to get together more often since we were both in Seattle now. I really did miss her and for the first time in a long time, I had felt normal.

I made it home in time to marinate the steaks for supper and get the baked potatoes in the oven. My time with Charlie had been virtually non-existent so far and I really needed to spend some time with my Dad. I wasn't sure how long I was going to stay, so I intended to make the most of the time I had.

I can't explain it. It's not like my Dad and I were all that close, but I guess, what it all boils down to is that I needed my Daddy. After all the emotional and physical turmoil I had been through, I needed to hear him call me 'Bells.' I needed our comfortable silence, to see his eyes crinkle with that occasional smile, his satisfied belly pat after a hearty meal. . . .little things like that were Charlie's way of screaming "I LOVE YOU" without actually saying it. It was comfortable and predictable and I craved that.

I was lost in my thoughts, preparing the salad for dinner when I heard the cruiser pull into the drive. I was instantly giddy for the first time in a long time. I ran to the door and threw my arms around Charlie as soon as he crossed the threshold.

"Dad! You're home!" I shouted. . . .so much for playing it cool.

"Well, hey now, Bells. . . what's gotten into you? It's just your old man coming home from the station." Charlie looked at me with surprise as he held me at arms length.

Whatever he saw in my eyes caused his to soften as he wrapped his arms around me again and gave me a gentle hug.

"I'm just so glad to see you, Dad. I've really missed you."

"I've missed you too, Bella. So much."

WOW. That was a lot from Charlie.

"Is everything okay, Bells?"

"Yeah, Dad, I just. . . I guess. . . I just really needed my Daddy," I finished in a whisper.

Charlie hugged me even tighter, then kissed the top of my head. He cleared his throat and let go of me gently, heading over to hang up his gear. He wasn't looking at me, but I thought I heard him sniffle just a bit. It looks like the time apart had an effect on him too. One of the many reasons I really loved Charlie -- He cared so much, but was never in your face about it. He didn't hover.

Dinner passed in relative silence, just as I expected, and oddly. . .craved. When Charlie was done, he sat back in his chair and patted his belly. "Thanks for supper, Bells. That was great," he said as he stood and made his way to his recliner in the living room, most likely to spend time with his girlfriend. . .the television.

This is good. This is right. I'm okay.


I woke up the next morning refreshed. I knew I had a lot to plan out and some conversations to have with Edward, but I was in no hurry. Why not take things easy for a while? Being with Charlie was easy. Sure, I cooked, cleaned and did laundry, but for me, that was easy. It was nice to take care of someone for a change and not have a small coven of vampires hovering over me and listening to every word I said and every noise my body made.

How strange is it to know that when you fart, 7 people could hear it plain as day. I'll never get used to that. Of course, I could hear it when Charlie did it, but he wasn't exactly trying to hide it. In the living room. In his recliner. Watching television.

Now that I had this money, I hadn't really thought about what to do with any of it. As I sat in the living room with my father, thinking about what to do, I looked up at the mounted fish on the wall and had an epiphany.

"Dad, I need to run out for a bit. I'll be back before it gets too late. . .okay?"

"Sure thing, Bells. Be careful," Charlie told me as he turned his attention back to the television.

I grabbed the keys to the rental car and headed out. It only took me about 20 minutes to get to the house I was looking for in LaPush. Billy Black was Charlie's best friend and fishing buddy. The original "bromance." I knew he would be able to help me buy just the right thing.

I walked up and knocked on the front door.

"Come on in," I heard an old wizened voice call out. I opened the door and there sat Billy in his wheelchair at the dining room table.

"Bella! Is that you? Charlie said you were in town. Come over here and let me squeeze your neck, kid!"

I ran over and threw my arms around the man who was like family to me.

"It's great to see you Billy! I came to ask you a favor."

"Anything, Bella. Anything."

"I have some money, and I want to do something for Charlie. Just something to thank him for all the drama I've brought into his life."

"Now, Bella, you know your old man doesn't mind you being around. In fact, when he found out you were coming, he called me and was as giddy as a school girl."

"I know, Billy, but I still really want to do something for him, and in turn, for you too."

"What did you have in mind, Bella?"


3 hours later, Charlie and his "life partner" Billy Black were the proud owners of a 2010 TRACKER® Tournament™ V-18 Bass Fishing Boat.

"Pardon me Bella, but Charlie is going to shit."

"Would that be shitting in a good or bad way, Billy?" I laughed.

"First bad, then good," he chuckled.

Billy and I had traded in my rental car for a truck and hitched the boat to the back of it. We were heading slowly towards Forks with the first major purchase I had made. Somehow, spending that money on my Dad made my heart feel lighter. I liked it.

Billy and talked and laughed the whole way home. He told me all about Jake and his new girlfriend, and about his twin daughters who were closer to my age. It was great to spend that time with him, and it left me with a warm fuzzy feeling.

We pulled into the gravel driveway and I laid on the horn. Billy and I laughed as we waited for my Dad to come outside.

"Bells? Is that you?" he said as he ambled out onto the porch.

"Hey Dad! Yeah, it's me. Billy here and I just went on a little shopping trip. Look what we found!"

"Isabella Marie. . .what in the HELL is that?" he demanded. Okay, so we're going with the shit in a bad way first.

"Charlie, get over here and help me out of this truck so I can show you my new fishing boat!" Billy hollered at my Dad with a smile on his face.

"Your boat?" Charlie asked?

"Well. . . our 2010 TRACKER® Tournament™ V-18 Bass Fishing Boat, to be exact." Billy replied.

"Bells? What's going on?"

"Well Dad, I thought that since you and Billy have finally decided to make your love affair official, I would buy you a wedding present!" It was all I could do to not break down laughing as I said that.

"W-w-w-what?!" My dad shouted at me.

"Relax, Charlie. . .she's just having some fun at our expense. Bella bought this boat for the both of us. I'll let you have custody on the weekends."

"This is our boat? This boat right here?" Clearly, Charlie was stunned.

"No Dad, that other boat over there." He shot me a look.

"Bells, I can look past the whole life partner thing, because I know you are a smart ass, but honey. . . I can't let you spend your money on a boat."

"Dad, honestly? You really don't want this boat, because I think you DO want it in the worst way. I got this money from Mark. He loved you too, and the least I can do is honor his memory with this gift to you." I was going for the guilt trip. It worked.

"Charlie, just say thank you to the girl and go get your shit so we can go fishing!" Billy always was hilarious.

With that, Charlie huffed, turned around to head to the house, stopped, looked at me again, muttered something under his breath, and headed back into the house.

Charlie had a ball hitch on the back of the cruiser, so they hooked up the boat, looking like a bad parade, and headed out to wherever it is that they do whatever it is that they do.

For the rest of the week, if Charlie wasn't working, he was on that boat. He offered to take me out on it, but buying that thing was the closest I was ever going to come to being on it.

I busied myself around the house, cleaning, stocking the pantry, and making meals for Charlie's freezer. He wasn't any kind of cook, but he could work the microwave. If I told him how. Sometimes.

I was getting him ready for when I went back to Seattle. Seattle. That was another thing. I had thought a lot about my talk with Angela, and about what I wanted to do when I got back. I had convinced myself to try and date Edward. Thinking back to our time in High School, I realized that what we did could never really be considered "dating." We had to start somewhere, though, so that seemed as good a place as any.

I also realized that I owed a few people some apologies. I was pretty harsh to the Cullens. Not that they didn't deserve it, but I still felt a twinge of guilt when I remembered the devastation on their faces as I shouted at them. I was not, however, apologizing to Edward. In fact, I really should torment him some more. . . . and I think I know just the way to do it.

Edward Cullen, you are about to be tempted in sinful, sinful ways.