A shiny, silver Volvo came into view as Charlie pulled into his driveway. He smiled to himself because he knew that even though it once meant his son-in-law was at his house, it didn't share the same theories anymore. Edward had loaned Bella the Volvo so seeing in the driveway after not seeing her for twenty-four hours was a relief for him.
Chief Swan got out the police car he was driving and went and happily opened his home's front door. His earlier excitement eased a little bit once he saw that his son-in-law was sitting on the couch with his daughter. He was hoping for some father-daughter time before she completely went back with her husband and left him again.
"Edward," he said after hanging his gun up along with his jacket. "Nice to see you two here for once. I don't think I've seen either of you around. How's it going?"
"It's going good," Edward nodded after looking at Bella's face. He needed a sign that he wasn't slipping anything out prematurely.
Charlie nodded back and turned to walk into the kitchen for a snack. It wasn't exactly time for dinner yet but he hadn't eaten since lunch.
"Dad?" Bella called, half screaming his name in panic she'd miss her chance to tell him the news.
Her father turned around, looking suspiciously at her face. "Yeah, Bells?"
"I have something to tell you," she swallowed. Charlie looked at her even more suspiciously now. "It's about me...and Edward."
Edward looked at Bella and thought about holding her hand and giving her confidence. He put that thought away because he knew she needed to get the words out on her own.
Now Charlie was definitely curious. "What about you two?"
Bella noticed his tone and quickly rambled an answer. "It's nothing bad! I swear! This is a good thing."
He thought through the possibilties and stuck on a certain one. "Are you pregnant?"
The female vampire smiled at the ground, thinking of her daughter back home. It felt nice to think the word "home". But she knew her home was wherever Edward was and that made her want to smile even bigger.
However, in the moment, after that question, maybe smiling wasn't the best idea.
"Are you?"
His voice sounded urgent and before Bella could speak, Edward answered his father-in-law. "No," her husband replied. His smooth voice calming her smile to a small beam. "It's not that, Charlie."
Charlie felt a wave of relief wash over him. He may be ready to accept this marriage but he was never near ready to be a grandfather already. Nor did he think these kids were ready to be parents, either.
"He's right, Dad," Bella spoke, working on her voice and keeping happy thoughts of Renesmee from spilling out. "We're not pregnant."
For some reason she couldn't understand, Bella felt the strangest sense of deja vu. She had no idea where it came from but this conversation - or at least parts of it - seemed oddly familiar.
Charlie sat on the single chair across from his daughter and her husband. "Well, what is it? It'd be nice to hear some good news for a change."
"Well," Bella bit her lip absent-mindly. She turned to Edward for help but he just her a reassuring smile and whispered to her that she can do it. Turning back to Charlie, she continued. "I was thinking...that maybe...I should...that me and Edward, actually, should live together."
Her father stared at her. He was stunned. It didn't feel like he had enough time with her to lose her again. "That seems...sudden."
He hadn't meant for it to come out the way it had.
"Well, we're married," Bella defended. "It's bound to happen at some point."
"That's not what I meant," her father went on the offense. "Just, are you a hundred percent sure? You don't have to rush anything, you know that, right?"
"I know that," she sighed. "This was my decision. I just wanted to tell you in person before I came in with any boxes and started taking stuff out."
The eldest composed himself and leaned forward. "I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I appreciate that, both things."
Bella smiled again, happy it turned out better. Edward stood up. "I guess I'll go get some stuff ready to go. Maybe give you two a moment alone."
He leaned down and kissed his wife lightly on the head. Before she could mumble a bye, he was taking two steps at a time and gone. Bella found herself staring at the direction he left in. Charlie noticed and saw how happy she looked since she woke up. He hadn't seen her smile like that since...well, the wedding.
She turned back to her father, still beaming. "Are you really happy for us, Dad? Because I want your honest opinion. Am I really rushing this?"
"No," he shook his head. He really meant it. "I think you've always been ahead of your time and I think you've found the person you're meant to be with at a young age. I'd wish everyone to be so lucky."
Bella noticed the words of regret regarding him and her mother but decided to make the moment not turn sad and to cheer him up. "I am really, really happy, Dad. I wasn't sure about all this - Edward, the marriage" - she stopped herself from saying 'motherhood' -"but he really is a great guy. And he's helped me so much through all of this."
"I'm happy for you, baby," he replied. Charlie felt as if tears were going to come into his eyes seeing his little girl beaming like this. "Really, I am. I'm glad he's helping you. I was worried when I found out about the amesnia."
"Me, too," his daughter agreed. "I think I needed a push into the right direction, though. I didn't really want to trust anyone when I woke up with memory loss."
She chuckled and he smiled. "I think I would have felt the same way."
They both stood up and for a second, Bella was that little girl who used to come for a few weeks to stay with her father. She seemed so small and fragile, and laughing like she'd burst with happiness.
Charlie hugged her tightly, thankful he had a second chance before she left again. He was glad that this time didn't include him pushing Jacob towards her. Though it did seem as if that option was over before it began. There was also how he caught Jake and Leah holding hands the other day when he picked up some food.
Edward was in the room before either even realized it. Bella assumed her senses were off due the fact that she was having a father-daughter moment. He cleared his throat and she turned to look at him, moving further from her father as she did so. Charlie knew that was the way things were going to be very soon.
"I have to get some boxes," he stated. "There's not a lot of stuff but it'd be a lot easier if I could bring down at once."
"I have some in the basement," Charlie said to him, stepping away from his daughter and walking towards a door.
Bella walked up to Edward and leaned her head against his right arm. "How'd it go?" He whispered to his wife, kissing her on the top of her head again.
"Good," she nodded, still smiling. "It went good."
"I'm glad," he whispered into her hair, his lips still lingering in it. She wrapped her arms around her husband's waist, leaning closer to him. He responded by putting an arm around her.
Charlie came back into the room, saw the embrace between the two of them and instantly knew something changed. She was in love with Edward. Again. And she knew it, too. He wasn't sure what feelings he was expecting at seeing them like so much like a couple but he was happy to see his daughter so in love.
This is a good thing, he thought to himself. "Found a few boxes," he said, walking towards them. "How many do you need?"
"Just a couple," Edward shrugged. "Bella didn't bring much back with her when she came here, did she?"
They laughed lightly and Bella smiled again, looking between the two most important guys in her life. It was nice to see them getting along.
Edward took his arm away from Bella and took the flatened boxes from Charlie. He smiled at Bella another time then went back up the stairs. Charlie followed after, willing to help and maybe even get a few minutes along with his son-in-law.
It only took about forty minutes to get all of Bella's stuff together and then pack it neatly into the boxes laid out before them. Her stuff totaled three boxes and the backpack Alice had come over with that one day. Bella held it with her and packed special stuff of her and Edward in there.
Her husband and father came down the stairs together, laughing about something. Bella perked up and shut off the tv she'd been flipping through the channels of. She caught the end of a joke Charlie's known since she was little. It was hard to tell if Edward really found it funny or if he was laughing for her father's benefit.
"All done?"
"Yeah," Charlie said, setting his box down. "There's one more box up there. Then that's it. You're officially moved out."
"Dad," she sighed sadly. She was worried he might cry because she bet that would manage to convince her she's making the wrong choice. Somehow.
"I'm fine, Bells," he said, gaining back some of that smile he just had as he came down the steps. "Me and Edward are going to put this stuff in the car. You got your bag?"
"Yep," she nodded. She tapped the side of the couch to show where it was. "Got it right here."
The two men went outside just as she heard another girl's voice coming closer. It wasn't Alice. It sounded like...
"Bella!"
Leah waltzed into the room, a smile on her face. Bella made note of that possibly being from Jacob. "Hey, Leah."
"You're leaving?" She asked her new friend sadly. It seemed like they didn't get to know each other as well as she had hoped they might. And especially they didn't get to do it where there wasn't about eight vampires at once.
Bella nodded. "Yeah. I decided that if I'm gonna be a married woman, might as well live like a married woman." She laughed lightly.
Leah lowered her voice and leaned closer. "Does Charlie know about -?"
"No," Bella cut her off. "Not yet. I don't really know how to tell him that without telling him everything else. I was thinking maybe one at a time. But first, I need to figure out how to tell the first piece of news."
"He hasn't suspected?" Bella shook her head. "That's so weird, but good. At least he's not asking all these questions you can't answer yet."
The vampire agreed with the wolf. "Yeah, that is definitely a good thing."
But she wondered - was it really?
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Charlie was placing his box side by side with the box Edward had just put into the Volvo's trunk. Once it was in, Edward worked on his guts and called his father-in-law's name though he was right beside him. "Charlie?"
"Yeah?"
"I was thinking about taking Bella somewhere," Edward started. "Somewhere to refresh her memory a bit, I hope."
"That sounds nice," Charlie said back. "Where were you thinking of?"
"There's this little island off the coast of Rio, Isle Esme," he answered him in an excited-but-hesistant voice. "My father bought it for my mother, actually. And it's where we went on our honeymoon. Bella really loved it there, called it one of the most beautiful places she'd ever been."
Charlie had to think for a moment. Rio was far away. But what if it helped her memory? "It sounds like a really good idea, Edward."
"Really?" He wanted an honest opinion. "You really think so?"
"Yeah, I do," Charlie said, leaning against the silver car. "That was an important place for you two. Maybe something could click there." He was trying desperately hard to not think of what happened between the two of them there, on their honeymoon.
"Well," Edward begun, feeling open with his wife's father in the moment. "So far, two places have clicked for her."
Charlie whispered. "That meadow."
"She told you?"
He nodded. "Yeah, the day you took her there. She was worried about giving you any sense of false hope so she didn't want to tell you."
Edward nodded, understanding. "Well, there was there. And my bedroom. The first time she came in there, she was amazed by my music collection. I think I fell even more in love with her that she knew Claire de lune."
Charlie smiled. "Sounds like Bella. She has a thing for classics."
"That's also where she agreed to marry me there," he chuckled. Charlie looked at him, surprised. This was the first he heard of how Edward proposed. "Maybe that connected something for her, too."
"How'd you do it?" Bella's father asked his son-in-law. "Propose, I mean. I know Bella and I know she must have took some convincing, no matter how much she loves you."
"I first did it when I came back after Spring Break," Edward squinted at the sun, hoping his skin didn't have any big reactions. "Bella didn't believe I loved her so I ended up asking her to marry me. She thought I was joking."
Charlie chuckled this time. "Now that definitely sounds like my daughter."
"Yeah," Edward laughed along with him. "It took a few more times to get a yes out of her. When she did, it was the happiest moment of my life at that point. Up until our wedding day happened."
"Edward," Charlie turned to face him. "I'm trusting you to take care of my daughter. I know you love her and I know you'll say you already do take care of her. But she is very fragile at the moment. She may seem strong but I know it's killing her that she doesn't remember."
"I know," the vampire tipped his head down and kicked some rocks off the driveway before looking up again. That was a rare action for him to do. "I'm trying very hard not to push her. But at the same time, I'm trying to help her as much as she allows me to."
"That's good."
Edward nodded, liking that they got to talk - the two of them only - for once.
"Just make sure my little girl's safe, all right?"
"Always."
As if on cue, Bella and Leah stood in the doorway. From both of their expressions, Edward thought, neither of them had heard their conversation. At least not that they showed.
"You boys gonna get that last box?" Bella teased. She was definitely in a good mood. Charlie could only think of Edward to thank for that.
"Yeah," Edward answered his wife. "I'll go get that right now."
He gave one last glance to Charlie and walked to the front door, Bella lightly touching his arm as he passed and smiling at him.
Charlie stored that moment with the one he'd seen earlier in the living room in his mind as happy Bella memories.
Soon, they both were heading into the car, Charlie saying good-bye to only child again. He wondered how many times he would have to do this.
"I love you, kid," he whispered to her as he hugged Bella. "Always."
"Me, too, Dad," she mumbled. If she could have cried, she would have. "Thanks for letting me back in while I was crazy."
"Anytime," he smiled, pulling away. "I'd do it over again in a heartbeat."
It was her turn to smile as she gave him another quick hug then got into the passenger seat of Edward's slver Volvo. Charlie and Leah waved to the newlyweds as Edward pulled out of the Swan's driveway and onto the road to the Cullen house.
Bella waved one more time and they were gone. Charlie just stared after them, hoping for the best and feeling as if everything will be all right, no matter what.
xxxxxxxxxxx
Bella and Edward made way to their small cottage easily enough. Edward once again set her luggage down and lifted Bella up. She laughed and giggled as he carried her through the doorway. "Welcome home," he breathed.
"That sounds nice," she said back. She kissed him sweetly. He smiled wide.
"I have a surprise for you."
"What?"
Edward beamed bigger. "How would you like to go see where our honeymoon was?"
Bella screamed. She was so excited and hugged her tight to her. "I would love that," she said as she leaned in to kiss him another time.
A/N: I think this story is ending soon. I'm so sad about it but I have it planned in my minds and my thoughts are all leading there. There's a few more chapters left then and thanks so much for sticking with me through all this. : )