Rising Sun

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

Part Twelve

One year later;

Time went faster than Bella could ever have imagined, it was nearly September again and soon she would turn nineteen. Had she and Petey really lived with Charlie for just over a year? The months had flown by, months of peace and tranquillity. Bella was slowly beginning to believe that life could be good and that she could feel safe enough to trust that perhaps she and her brother had suffered enough and now it was their chance to bloom under the sun. Like a flower that had been starved of light to grow, Bella blossomed under the care and attention from her father and the close friendship she had made with Jacob and also Leah Clearwater. The first time she had invited Jacob and Billy to dinner had turned into such a success it had become a weekly occurrence, she loved dreaming up new recipes to impress them with and adored seeing the looks on their faces when she served up her latest masterpiece. Bella had found she had a real talent for cooking and was beginning to make tentative plans toward making a future living out of it. She had never graduated high school and so had been doing an on-line course for the last year to catch up on the schooling she had missed. Petey was in kindergarten and had already made a group of friends.

Bella was due to meet up with Jacob; they were heading to the cinema to watch the latest blockbuster. This wasn't their first trip out alone, over the past few weeks they had been spending more time together and it was now well known among their family and friends that they were unofficially dating, no one who saw them together could think otherwise. Both of them had not said it out loud but Bella had relaxed enough in Jacob's company to consider moving their friendship toward something more intimate, even though she was still apprehensive about getting closer to him physically, but she knew Jacob well enough that she trusted he wouldn't pressure her in any shape or form. He had been an absolute sweetheart over the last year, he had let her set the pace and slowly over time, the walls she had built around herself began to crumble as she allowed herself to let others in. Bella felt relaxed enough to hold hands with him when they were out together, this had been a big step forward for her considering how much she hated being touched, but feeling his warm fingers curl around hers as they strolled side by side and watching the happy smile he threw her way buoyed her up considerably, this was how it should be, the butterflies she experienced when he turned up at the door were testament to that. She had only ever read about that feeling in books and never believed it was real, but she felt it now every time she saw him. To Bella it was like she was starting again, she wanted the past to stay firmly locked away in the darkest recesses of her heart, she didn't want anything to tarnish the fragile happiness she had found in Forks.

"You look nice." Jacob grinned at her when she opened the door. Billy snorted with laughter when he saw the goofy expression on his son's face. Bella blushed and Jacob shot his father a glare, which Billy ignored completely as he rolled his chair into the house. "Sorry about the old man." Jacob sighed.

"I think I'm used to his teasing by now." Bella felt the butterflies kick off in her stomach as Jacob gave her that special look, the one that made her feel as if they were the only two people in the world.

"You do look nice, Bells." Jacob said again, keeping his voice low so his father wouldn't hear. "Really pretty."

In the past Bella would have shrugged off such a compliment and made a sarcastic comment but instead she fiddled nervously with the hem of her shirt and smiled shyly. "Thanks. You look great too. Nice shades." She gestured toward the sunglasses perched on his head.

"Jeez, I forgot about those." He chuckled and held out his hand toward her. "Ready?"

"Yeah, I just want to say goodbye to Petey, he's full of beans so expect Billy to be worn out when we get back, Charlie is already done in from entertaining him all day." Bella took Jacob's hand and towed him inside the house so they could say their goodbyes. Petey promptly ran over to his sister and grabbed hold of her legs, Max his ever present shadow, bounded after him. "You behave Petey." Bella warned him in a mock stern voice.

"I will." Petey took her seriously as Bella bent down and hugged him, kissing the top of his spikey hair before letting go. A rush of love consumed her as she looked at his eager face and she had to blink back the tears lest he see them and become anxious.

"Don't worry, Bella. We'll wear the little guy out." Billy promised as he winked at Petey.

"Speak for yourself." Charlie was sitting in his recliner, fanning himself with a newspaper. He had been playing tag with Petey and was worn out chasing him.

"You're just getting old, Chief." Billy teased him.

Charlie rolled his eyes as he turned his attention to his daughter and Jacob; he sat up straighter in the recliner and locked eyes with Jacob. "You know the rules son." He warned him. Jacob nodded; this was the same speech he got every time he took Bella out alone. "Keep your hands where they should be, open the doors for the lady and make sure you pay." He smiled suddenly as his eyes twinkled. He was only joking. He loved seeing his daughter so relaxed and happy; at one point he would never have envisioned she would recover enough to date anyone. She had overcome a lot of her fears but it was also Jacob's diligence and patience that had allowed his daughter to feel secure enough to even entertain a relationship. Charlie trusted Jacob implicitly. "Well have fun." He waved them away.

Jacob took Bella's hand again and her cheeks turned rosy. He leaned down and ruffled Petey's hair. "Look after the old men, Petey. Keep them in line if they get too excitable."

"Ay, ay Captain." Petey saluted him and giggled as he tore off and launched himself onto Billy's lap. "Tell me about the wolves." He begged. He had become obsessed with the stories about the spirit wolves, and Billy enjoyed having a captive audience for his stories.

Jacob and Bella bid them goodbye and finally left to head to the cinema.

The film had been awful; Jacob and Bella had spent most of the movie laughing at the implausible plot lines and the corny one liner's the main stars threw at each other. Jacob had eaten a whole bucket of popcorn to himself astonishing Bella as she wondered where the hell he put it all. She teased him about getting a paunch as she pointed to his rock hard abs. They were in a cheerful mood as they came out and wandered into the foyer of the cinema. "I just have to visit the little boy's room." Jacob told her. "Will you be alright here for a moment?"

"Yeah, go on." Bella smiled as she watched him hurry off to the toilets. When he was gone she stood near the entrance to the cinema and read about the upcoming features, there was a new comedy she wouldn't mind seeing, but then again the film she had just watched was more like a comedy than an action movie, it had been that awful you had to laugh. She was so absorbed in what she was reading that she didn't notice that she had attracted the attention of a group of guys. It was only when one of them whistled at her that she turned around to look.

"Hey, darling, wanna join us? We're heading out to a club." The main ringleader, who could have been about eighteen or nineteen, came up close and flung an arm around Bella's shoulders before she had a chance to evade him. All her old fears sprang up at once as he invaded her personal space, she began to panic as her eyes roamed around, looking for an escape route.

"Let go of me." She hissed at the guy as she tried to push him off.

"There's no need to be a prude." The guy's friends had swarmed around her, effectively cutting off any chance of slipping past them. Bella felt her heart rate kick up, it thundered in her ears as old memories began to invade her brain. "Come on." The guy leered. "A hottie like you shouldn't…"

"Get the fuck away from her or I'll break your face." Bella exhaled deeply as she heard Jacob's voice. He shoved his way easily past the men and grabbed hold of the guy's arm, swiftly twisting it around so it was at a painful angle. The guy cried out in pain as Jacob just as quickly let go. "Touch her or any other person like that again without their permission and I'll do more than twist your arm, asshole. I'll break it." Jacob's face was a mask of anger as he caught Bella's shaking hand in his and gently tugged her out into the fresh air.

As soon as they were outside Bella breathed in deeply. She felt better now that Jacob was there but the incident had reminded her just how vulnerable she was alone. A tear rolled down her cheek as she tried to regain control of herself. She had been so happy but now that was all spoiled again as all her old fears and anxieties built up in her stomach and chased away the butterflies leaving her stomach feeling as if it was lined with lead.

"Bells, are you okay?" Jacob ducked his head so he could look into her eyes. He felt sad when he saw the fear reflected in hers. He wanted to go back inside and pound those guys into the dirt for what they had done, but he knew the last thing Bella needed to see was him losing it. She had seen enough violence in her life from the little bits of information she had let slip over the last year. She had still not confided very much about her past, and he didn't push, he just hoped she would feel comfortable enough to tell him when she felt ready. "Come on, let's go home." He said gently as he rubbed the back of her hand with his warm fingers.

Bella bit down hard on her bottom lip and nodded. This place was tainted for her now; she knew she would never come back and see a film here again.

"How are you doing this?" Billy said in wonder as Petey beat him and Charlie yet again at cards.

Petey grinned at the two men as he yelled snap for the hundredth time. "I'm clever." He boasted.

"You sure are, buddy. I'm glad we're not playing for cash." Charlie shook his head in amusement as he dealt another set of cards. Before he had finished there was a knock at the door. He frowned and exchanged a bemused look with Billy. He wasn't expecting anyone. He sighed and got up. "I won't be a moment. You keep any eye on the little card shark." He said to Billy as he left to answer the door.

It was dark outside as evening was drawing in, Charlie opened the door and was astonished to find a cop on his doorstep. It wasn't someone he recognised and it took his eyes a moment to notice the badge on the man's jacket. "Chief Swan?" The cop asked as he stepped forward a little. He tipped his hat deferentially as he looked toward Charlie. "My name's Phil Turner, I work for the Phoenix PD." He held out his hand but Charlie made no move to shake it.

"Why are you here?" Charlie demanded coldly. He looked the officer up and down assessing him carefully. He looked about thirty, maybe slightly older; it was hard to tell in the dim light from the hall.

Phil Turner dropped his hand back to his side and hoisted his gun belt higher around his waist. "I am here on official business, sir." The sir had a sarcastic tone to it which immediately put Charlie's back up.

"And you came to my home and not to the station?" Charlie said suspiciously. "A bit far out of your way, aren't you? I ask you again, why are you here?"

"I hardly wanted to parade your personal business at the station, sir." Phil retorted, his dark brown eyes appeared cold as he took up a rigid stance.

"Personal business?" Charlie questioned, he eased the door closer to him as if putting a shield between himself and his late night visitor.

"I understand you have one Isabella Marie residing with you and she has a little boy with her." Phil pushed his wide brimmed hat back a little on his head and eyed Charlie with his cold eyes.

"What the fuck do you want with my daughter?" Charlie scowled as he leaned forward meeting Phil's cool stare with his own. Before anymore could be said the sound of running feet padding along the wooden floor could be heard, followed by the trundling of Billy's chair as he steered it.

Petey suddenly darted to Charlie's side, an excited smile on his face. Billy laughed as he caught the child up. "He beat me again, Chief. You about done here…." He paused when he noticed who the visitor was. His face paled under his tan skin as he darted a glance to Charlie. But it was Petey's reaction which startled them both; his happy expression disappeared to be replaced with one of absolute horror as he began to tremble from head to foot.

Phil Turner hunkered down to Petey's level and looked at him levelly; his voice was friendly but his eyes were ice cold as he spoke to the terrified little boy. "Hello, Peter."

Charlie saw the terrified look on the child's face and by the expression on Billy's he guessed that his oldest friend was thinking the same thing as he was. This was Petey's biological father. A cold rage rippled through Charlie as he pulled Petey back and gently pushed him toward Billy. "Go into the other room with Billy now, kiddo." He said in a low voice, trying to keep his tone calm so as not to alarm the frightened child further. He gave Billy a meaningful glance. He saw Billy nod discreetly as he picked Petey up and put him on his lap before steering his chair back into the front room.

Phil Turner stood back up; his hand strayed to his gun belt and pulled the clip back. "This could have all been done in a civilised manner, Chief Swan." He sneered as he suddenly jerked his gun from its holster and pointed it at Charlie's head.

A/N-thanks for reading!