Chapter 14: Good Morning...

Disclaimer & Story Warnings: The characters and the world of the TWILIGHT UNIVERSE belong to Stephenie Meyers. The plot is mine. This story plot is rated MATURE. If you are not 18 years or older, this story is not for you. You have been warned!

Carlisle looked up from his book where he sat next to the floor to ceiling windows in his room, the curtains pulled open to allow the misty morning light to filter softly into the room. Bella sighed as she moved slightly and he smiled as he listened to her heartbeat pick up a little, letting him know she was no longer asleep but was starting to wake up. He waited patiently where he sat even though he would rather be there, with her wrapped in his arms, when she first opened her eyes. But he contented himself with knowing that would happen soon enough; he didn't want to push things too far, too quickly. Finally Bella opened her eyes and sought out his observant gaze, smiling softly when she realized he was still there.

"Morning," she said sleepily.

"Good morning, sweet Bella," he replied. He set his book down and approached the bed, sitting on the edge near her and raising a hand to sweep it over her cheek gently.

Her smile widened and she put her hand over his, then suddenly sat bolt upright and looked towards the door. "So...umm...I know my dad is the one who suggested I move in with you and your family. But I doubt he had this in mind," she said, blushing. She moved to sit next to him and snuggled into his embrace when he put his arm around her. "Did he...did he see me sleeping in here when they came back last night?" she asked, finally looking around to see if any of her things were in sight.

Carlisle chuckled and pulled her chin up with his fingers, kissing her sweetly. "My Bella, your father has approved of what is happening between us. He also knows that I would never push you into anything you were not ready for, so I doubt he would have anything to say about you sleeping in here. He knew what he was suggesting when he brought up the idea of wanting you to live here for your safety and his peace of mind." Carlisle smiled at her. "Besides, your father and Esme never came back to the house last night. In fact, I'm quite sure—according to Emmett and the Lojack setup he did last night before they left, Esme's phone is still showing her at your dad's house," he added, chuckling when her eyes widened.

"Wow! Um, is this normal? I mean, do vampires casually date people they are...they like?" she asked him, wondering whether she should be worried for her dad since she knew he had always been hung up on her mom and never really dated. Bella considered the little bit she knew about Esme and frowned as she tried to imagine whether she would be a good fit for Charlie, but as with a lot of the Cullens she really didn't know much about Esme yet to be a good judge. Just that thought made her frown deepen as she briefly thought about how much she didn't know Carlisle.

"Bella, Esme has not said anything and no one else has, but I assume you have noticed she and your father are attracted to each other," he said, looking at her for confirmation that she had noticed.

"Yeah, um, I've seen a few looks between them," she admitted.

"Well, I have to say that she has not confirmed it with any of us, but I truly believe it's become a very small world because I think they are mates, Bella." He watched her, trying to gauge her reaction to this.

"Seriously? Like, what are the odds?" she exclaimed, watching his face to make sure he wasn't joking with her. He didn't answer her except to smile and press a kiss to her lips. "So this is all really happening. I guess I don't need to worry about him so much if he's found someone too. That actually gave me some reservations, thinking that he was changing to have forever with me but would still be lonely," she admitted.

"You should have seen them both when we had that first introduction years ago. Even then, after just meeting, they seemed to gravitate toward each other. When the mating pull is felt it is strong, but it can differ with the couple. When I first laid eyes on you, I was so close to grabbing you in my arms and running out of your house and back home, here to this room," he said. He teased her lips with soft kisses in between words and then pulled away, smirking when she gave him that dazed look of longing. "But Esme, I think, instinctively knew that Charlie would need a lot more time to adjust to the truth of our existence. I have never been able to prove it, but I think when this connection takes hold we instinctively know to do whatever, to be whatever our mate needs, to not rush them. It's almost like some deep part of ourselves recognizes the limits and sticks to them for the sake of our mates' happiness."

"So what you're saying is that my dad was hot for Esme and vice versa right from the start, but she backed off and didn't do anything about her much stronger feelings because she knew that a man like my dad would need a lot more time to adjust to learning there are vampires and shapeshifters and whatnot, stuff his practical mind couldn't fathom easily?"

He laughed. "Yes, I think that was the case. But I suspect that now he is truly faced with the immensity of the coming changes, she has a need to let him know that there could be more to his life, if he allowed it, besides looking forward to never losing his daughter."

Bella was quiet for a few moments, then frowned. "I don't suppose they will choose to stay at Dad's house or in one of those cabins you guys have built on the property. I love my dad and I'm happy he has found someone, but I am his daughter and I don't want to see any of that…" she grumbled as she stood up and stretched.

Carlisle laughed but did not answer her. She went off to the bathroom to get ready for their day, leaving him with chuckling quietly behind her.

~{}~

"Edward, come hunt with me," Alice said, prancing down the stairs and tearing him away from his piano.

They exited the house and ran into the woods. Edward didn't go as fast as he was able to, being the fastest among his family. Not ten minutes into their run, as they started up a mountain, Edward veered sharply to the left and with a practiced grace he leapt to a large tree and snagged himself his favorite carnivore, a mountain lion. Alice took down the large elk that his lion had been about to pounce on.

Their thirst thoroughly satisfied, Edward buried his kill and then chose a fallen log and sat down. "Out with it, Alice," he said a bit grumpily.

"Oh, so you don't know? That's good that I've become so great at blocking you," she replied happily. She clambered onto the log and sat Indian-style facing him. "Edward, I know you are happy for Carlisle and Esme, but don't let the fact that you are now the last single one in our family get you down. I'm not going to tell you details but I promise you," she said, clasping his hand in hers, "you don't have long to wait either, okay?"

His sad smile turned upside down a little more with her words; he knew she would never lie to him. And as much as he wanted to ask her to tell him all she knew, he understood from their years together that it was best to let things happen as they should and not use such foreknowledge to speed things along. That never ended well. "Thank you, Alice," he said squeezing her hand lightly. "So about Seattle—anything Esme, Jasper, or I should know?" he asked, trying to distract himself from thoughts of his single status.

"Actually, yes. Emmett went on to Seattle with Rosalie this morning straight from their hunt. They are placing special motion sensors and such around the suite Carlisle asked us to book. I had a vision that indicated he and Bella might be better off with their own room. So to keep them safe while they are alone Emmett is doing his tech thing so you three can get a room far away on a lower floor and give Carlisle his privacy." She smirked.

"Wow, I know humans move fast and all these days, but really? So soon?" he asked, grimacing in reluctant understanding at the thought for several reasons.

Alice giggled and replied, "Not that it's any of our business but I don't see it going…that far, actually. But wouldn't you like to be able to make out with your girl—when you find her—without hearing a bunch of your family's remarks on your every move from the next room?" She quirked her brow, knowing how modest he was compared to some of his family.

He smirked and gave a chuckle. "Point taken," he replied. He was glad that Emmet would not be sticking around because years of experience reminded him how vocal Emmet could be about such situations, purely to amuse himself. "So you put us on the ground floor, right?"

~{}~

"You aren't cold, are you?" Esme asked as she snuggled up next to Charlie in his bed. He made a "hmmm" sound and held her tighter instead of actually answering. "We should probably get up sometime soon. It is morning and they will need Bella's clothes and such so she can pack for Seattle," Esme remarked a bit sadly.

"They are not leaving until tomorrow. The way Bella packs it will only take her a few minutes. So we are not leaving this bed yet," he said plainly, turning to kiss her. They made out like a couple of teenagers for a while before he pulled away to breathe and just look at her. "When should we do it? When should I be changed?" he asked, looking in her eyes, his voice a bit breathy from their kisses.

"That is something that needs to be discussed among the whole family. Obviously I would like you to be turned as soon as possible. But there are things to consider before we do that. For one, before you are turned you will have to have your human life settled. Make sure there is someone to take over your job; put out the word that you have decided to retire, maybe after coming into some money from some distant family member. We have to make sure the humans do not question that you are up and leaving. To be honest, setting up all that now would be the best way to handle things, but I'm not sure we can turn you yet anyway. We will have to rely on Alice and what she sees," Esme replied.

"You are worried about what could happen while I'm changing, while I'm defenseless for three or four days," he surmised.

"Yes, I am. During that time you could still be killed, and what if some attack happens while you are in that state? Also the control issues will be a problem for likely the first year after you wake up. The way we have always handled a new member in the family is to go away to one of our many houses we have out in the middle of nowhere, with hundreds if not thousands of miles of wilderness around and no humans to tempt you. To help you start to adjust to the scent of human blood, we slowly bring items we snatch from town—pieces of clothing and such that humans have worn—so you can start to work on your control. It's a struggle and hard for the first few years, usually," she admitted.

"So either way, Bella and I would be vulnerable. But I thought as newborns we would be very strong. Wouldn't that help in a fight if it comes to that?" Charlie asked.

"Yes and no. To have you not so fragile would help, but when you are a newborn your new instincts can overpower you very easily. Tempers flare, and they could use that to weaken you. Say we are fighting—all they would have to do is bring a few drops of human blood into the fray and you would probably lose your mind trying to get to it. You'd drop whatever you were doing and open yourself and others up to attacks because your sole focus would be the blood," she explained.

Charlie lay there quietly, his arm around this woman, a vampire he had never imagined as a part of his life until quite recently, and mulled over her words, dissecting them, accepting them. "All right. As much as I would prefer to stay here all day, we need to get up and call a meeting. We need to make some more plans and get them set in stone so we have contingencies for everything that everyone agrees to." He kissed her forehead, then got out of his bed and started getting dressed.

~{}~

"Bella! Hurry up and come down for breakfast. Charlie will be here any minute!" Alice exclaimed as she burst into Carlisle's room after knocking and hearing from Carlisle that it was safe to come in. "Esme called as they left Charlie's house with your things. Edward and Jasper are putting together a buffet for all of you humans—Charlie wants a meeting again so Billy, Harry, and Sam are on their way back this morning. They said they have time before they meet with their council at noon." She was nearly bouncing in place as she watched Bella pull on her sneakers.

"Another meeting? Don't tell me he proposed or something and that's why they didn't come back here last night," Bella asked, looking pleadingly at Alice.

"You don't want your father and Esme to be together?" Alice asked, frowning. Carlisle was trying to hold back a laugh. He knew Alice was messing with Bella by not answering her question and posing one of her own to strengthen Bella's sudden fears.

"No—I mean, that will be fine, but...my dad has been alone for a long time. I don't want him to rush into anything any more than he wants me to rush into...marriage and whatnot," she said, her eyes focused on the shoes she was tying while a blush rode up her cheeks.

Alice giggled. "Don't worry, Bella, no one has proposed. Yet," she added, winking at Bella and giving Carlisle a large smile before sweeping from the room.

"Since your father is on his way over, I wanted to ask before he got here: are you okay with moving into my bedroom?" Carlisle asked. "Will that bother you, or him? I know he is aware that this was likely but I would not like to upset him, regardless. I mean, I don't sleep, so it just makes sense really. Besides, between you and me, I would very much like to keep you to myself as much as possible." He smiled as he observed the blush that crept further down her face and neck.

"Well, it's not like you guys have a guest room. Besides, my dad wanted me to move in and you're right, you don't sleep so I might as well make use of your bed," she quipped.

Carlisle groaned and tried hard to distract his mind from the thoughts that one sentence provoked. He leaned forward and kissed her firmly but quickly on the lips and then walked away. "I'll run ahead and help them with breakfast," he said, needing to escape before he could act on his sudden urge to do dirty things to his Bella.

~{}~

Not thirty minutes later, after Jasper, Edward, Carlisle, and Emmett had taken all of Bella's boxed-up things up to her new room with Carlisle—all done in under two minutes at vampire speed—they all sat around the dining table out on the deck again. The vampires were grouped at one end, upwind from the large amounts of food the humans were dishing up and consuming.

Charlie swallowed a bit of bacon and began. "So I was talking about the future, about being changed into a vampire, with Esme—what it means for Bells and me, the timing and whatnot. She brought up a lot of good points and I think we should bring it out in the open right now, make some solid plans and contingencies for 'what-if' scenarios," he stated.

"So you want to plan the hows and whens for Bella and yourself to become vampires?" Carlisle asked, looking from Bella's slightly shocked face to that of her dad, who looked surprisingly okay with it.

"Yes, but like I said, we need contingencies in place for what our reactions to un-planned situations would be. Like if one of us gets bitten in an attack, or if we get seriously injured. We need to have plans in place so there is no panicking and everyone is protected if the worst happens," Charlie said.

Bella had to smile. He might be willing to give up the actual job of chief of police, where he was used to keeping everyone safe and things orderly, but that job would always be a part of him. She also smiled at knowing that that would be a great asset to a family of veggie vamps who tended to attract a lot of trouble. "I knew you had been told that you could change too, if and when I do. But I didn't know you had made up your mind that it was definitely going to happen," she commented. She looked at her dad and then at Esme, who smiled. Bella figured if vampires could blush, Esme would be.

"Bells, you might have noticed that I've...umm...had a bit of an attraction to Esme here," Charlie said awkwardly. "I know I've not always done so well with changes, or with things that didn't fit into my ideal of normal. But that all started to change years ago when they let me into this whole other side of our world. I've been alone as well, for a long time, but even though that is changing, I know that it is for the better. Despite all the trouble heading our way, I can't let myself fear that or be upset by it because its led me to Esme and knowing that I won't be leaving you behind only makes it easier to, well, go with it all," he said as he shifted awkwardly in his seat.

Congratulations flowed around the table, causing Charlie to grunt a few mild "thanks". Billy even shocked Charlie by saying how happy he was that his old friend had found someone after all the years he had been alone. "So, yeah. Plans—we need to make them today, before you go to Seattle," Charlie stated adamantly, looking at Carlisle again.

Carlisle turned to Bella and grasped her hand to get her attention. "No one is to be rushed, but do you have an idea of how long you would like to wait, to prepare yourself, before you are turned?" he asked her.

She looked down at their joined hands and briefly looked up at her father, who was watching her closely as well. Everyone at the table was quiet as she mulled it over, choosing her words carefully. "To be honest, I would not want to do that so soon, if it can be helped. With everything going on I understand that it would ease a few minds if my dad and I were less fragile, but honestly we could be killed either way, so I don't want the threat of death to force the issue now. Besides, Dad and I need time to set things in motion so we don't cause a stir, right?" she asked, getting nods from everyone. "If it were up to me and nothing interfered, I would like to wait a year. Have time to say goodbye to my mother, mainly, and to prepare myself. Not that I'm going to shrink away from it because of the pain I can expect. As it is now, the smell of blood makes me sick. So wrapping my mind around everything involved, I want to be settled and content with changing," she explained. She felt a bit out of her depth, like she wasn't explaining herself well.

"Well, ideally, if we can wait, we will wait. In the mean time I think we need to pick the locations where we want to spend their first year, after the conflict is over, while they adjust as newborns," Carlisle said.

"That's easy enough. Rosie and I can head up to two of our houses up in Canada, get them up to snuff and supplied before the nomads and others start arriving soon," Emmett offered.

"How does a year in the wilds of Canada sound, Bella?" Carlisle asked, still holding her hand and giving it a little squeeze.

"How wild are we talking? Will we have access to internet or anything?" she asked, smiling. "Because besides learning to hunt large animals and drink blood, I don't want to be bored. I am a city girl for the most part," she reminded him.

Before Carlisle could say a word, Emmett laughed and said, "Who said you would be bored? You'll be super temperamental and you will be closeted away from the world with your mate, Bella—there is no way you will be bored. I'm more worried about having to visit long enough to repair damages to the house; Rosie and I have the standing record for demolishing things while getting busy. But it's not as much fun having to rebuild for others, when they are still in the throws of sudden acts to full fill" he added, laughing even as Jasper smacked him upside the head.

"Emmett, really!" Esme exclaimed.

"Getting back to the subject at hand, let's figure out what we want to do in case of emergencies, if they need to be turned before we're ready," Carlisle said. He gave Emmett a stern look that said "Knock it off!" as he changed the subject to get them back on track, much to most everyone's relief.

Author's Note: Well now... don't we all just love Emmett and his big mouth? He does love to tease people lol. I hope you enjoyed this chapter... please read and review! *HUGS*