A/N: First of all, I'm sorry it took me so long, I really am sorry... But this chapter is slightly bigger than the previous chapter, so, are we good now? *puppy eyes*

Second; I need to make a leap in time here because if I write down everything I'll end up having 10654351 chapters and I don't think that would be good thing… Sorry.

Hope you'll enjoy anyway ;)

CHAPTER 21: Chief

The morning sun was beaming through the curtains, lighting up the room and Edward's features next to me. His chest was still rising and falling ever so slowly, indicating he was still asleep.

After pressing a soft kiss on his temple I got out of bed and made my way to the window, letting the April sun lighten up the entire room as I pushed the curtains open.

I took a glance outside and smiled as I realized that this might become a great day. The awful snow had only lasted for three weeks, fortunately because I hated going to work by foot and I was too scared to drive through those tick patches of snow. Edward, on the contrary, loved the white mess and he had been pouting the entire day when he got up that day only to realize the snow was gone.

I turned around, looking at the gorgeous man in my bed. Our bed. There was a slight smile on his lips and it made my lips turn into one as well.

Things had been amazing these last three months, to say at least. Everything seemed to fall into place so easily, I was wondering when my luck would be over and dark clouds would come again. But every day I woke up next to him, feeling blessed and deliriously happy.

I would never forget the day after we had made love for the first time. It had been the best day of my entire life. Not that we did anything special, we were the same two people, but in another way, we were new. We knew each other in a whole other way now and throughout those months we had only grown closer.

Oh and about our contract, about Edward moving out after receiving his first pay check, paying back and renting an own apartment? Well, it didn't quite go that way...

As his first pay check had arrived, he had been in front of our door, a bouquet of flowers in his hand and the widest grin on his face. He was so happy about it, not only because of the money but mostly because he loved his job; that much was for sure. Oh, and Suzy, well, she had been able to get Edward to spill about us on his first day and needless to say, she had been ecstatic when she found out she had been right from the start. We were perfect for each other and with those revelations kept in the back of our mind, we had realized we both wouldn't be able stand the thought of living apart or sleeping in another bed, so we just stayed the way we were though I hadn't been able to keep Edward from returning me the money I had spend on him. I had only accepted because he had been whining about it for two weeks and clearly wouldn't give in.

This whole new living situation had of course made me think, a lot. I loved Edward; that much was for sure. I wanted to move on with him, have a future with him. So for the past month I had been going back and forth on everything, seeing we had been living together for about four months now, having a relationship for, well, four as well - Let's just forget about that one horrible week in January, shall we? - and I still hadn't told my father about this situation. Hell, he didn't even know I was seeing someone, let alone he would know about our living arrangements.

Charlie had called every once in a while though, asking me how I was doing, wondering when I would visit him again. I had always told him the truth, saying I was feeling better than ever but leaving out the Edward-part.

And now I found myself really wanting to see my dad again. It had been five months, by far the biggest amount of time I hadn't seen him and he was starting to worry that I was letting him fall. I never wanted him to feel that way. Ever.

So I decided to go this weekend, with or without Edward. I still hadn't had the courage to ask him. I didn't know if he would want to go with me. I mean, parents and Edward were a tricky combination. But to be honest I didn't want to make the trip on my own. I wanted my father to know the man that changed my life and I hoped that would be enough for Edward to agree into coming with me.

EPOV

I grumbled to myself as I noticed Bella had already opened the curtains. I knew we both had to leave for work today but it was only 6AM so that left me with at least another half an hour of sleep. It's not because she couldn't sleep anymore that I had to get up already, right? Okay, not very much the behaviour of a gentleman, I know, but still.

I turned around, willing to bury my face in my pillow to block out most of the light when I noticed Bella was sitting up on our bed, looking at me with a soft smile. Did I notice a hint of nervousness there? Yep. I was almost certain she was nervous, just by the way she was slightly shifting and the way her hands were fumbling in her lap.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my voice still thick with sleep.

Please nothing mind was racing a million miles an hour, trying to figure out what could have happened. Had I done something wrong last night? Had I hurt her? She promised she would tell me if I did. Dammit why did she want to experiment that much in bed? I hadn't minded of course, I was a guy after all and experimenting had been fun, at least, until now. If I had hurt her in some way I would never forgive myself.

"I - euhm - I kind of want to ask you something," she mumbled, her eyes fixated on her hands in her lap.

"Okay." I sat up as well, taking her hands in mine, hoping to make her less nervous and force her eyes to me.

"I miss Charlie," she just said and it was enough for me to let go a relieved breath and to know where she was heading to as well. She wanted to go to Forks, visit her dad. At least I hoped she only wanted to visit and not move back all together.

"You want to visit him." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Obviously.

"Yeah."

"I won't stop you," I said, not knowing why she was so nervous about asking. I wasn't going anywhere just because she wanted to go see her dad.

"I want you to come with me." Ooh.

Meeting her father. How bad could it be? I mean, it's not like he's a cop and has a gun and will probably hate my guts. Yeah, that's right, totally cool with meeting that dude.

Bella must have sensed my sudden anxiety because she quickly turned to me, moving her hands to envelop mine this time. "Hey, don't worry.

I've got your back and if he sees how much I care for you, he'll accept you."

"He'll hate me and he'll think you're crazy for taking me in," I stated.

"I'm not going to deny that he might freak out in the beginning, but he'll come by. Just like Alice did. He only needs to get to know you and it'll all be fine."

"Oh yeah sure, get him to know me, tell him about my drug past and the fact that I've lived on the street for more than a year, that'll definitely make him love me," I huffed.

"First of all, that whole drug situation was a set-up right? Or did you lie to me?" She sounded annoyed now.

"No, I really had nothing to do with that."

"Well, there you go."

"But my criminal record doesn't mention that, so my word and even your word is worthless."

"My dad can tell whether someone is lying or not. Don't ask me how he does it, but he was always able to tell me when I was lying to him."

"Because you're a terrible liar," I said, softly snickering. It was true. She couldn't lie. I could always see right through her, even after only five months of knowing her.

"It's not only me, but other people as well."

"Okay, but it's not a lie that I've been homeless," I said, but hope was settling inside me. Maybe, just maybe...

"You're not anymore and you have a job now and you're going to be just fine. Edward, we've gone over this so many times now and you have to stop thinking you're worthless, 'cause you're not."

We were silent for a while and my mind was going in overdrive. I knew I would have to face Charlie once, at least if I wanted to keep seeing Bella and of that I was sure. So I guessed I would have to toughen up and go with her. Meet her father and in the meantime hoping that his gun wasn't loaded.

"I'll come with you," I said and the smile on her face was enough for me to be happy about this decision. She lunged herself at me and pressed her lips on mine. I snickered at her enthusiasm but quickly kissed her too.

"We should really leave if we want to make it at work on time," she mumbled against my lips.

"Only a few more seconds," I whined, not ready to let her gorgeous body leave mine.

When we had finally made it to the kitchen to eat breakfast, Bella was all chatty about her dad. Telling me stories about their relationship, stories from when she was a kid and how much she had missed him while she lived here before I came along. It warmed my heart to see her talk about him with so much passion and it made me wish I'd had this kind of a relationship with my father. In that moment I decided I would do anything to make Charlie at least like me. I would try to show him just how much Bella meant to me and that I would do anything to make her happy. I really hoped that would suffice to make me look like a good boyfriend for his daughter. I didn't even want to think what would happen if he got mad.

God please let him give me a chance.

"So, I'm going to call him when I get in the office to tell him we're coming over this weekend," Bella continued her monologue.

What?

This weekend? As in tomorrow? And a
weeked? As in two days? As in staying over? As in giving him a chance to cut my throat while I was asleep? Oh god, I was so not ready for this.

I thought she would at least give me more time to prepare my epic speech to convince her father, but no.

"Calm down, Edward, it'll be fine," she said, putting her hands on my face to calm me down again. It worked. My breathing was slowing down again.

"I'm scared," I finally admitted.

"You don't have to be," she assured me once again.

"What if he puts a restriction order on me? Because he can totally do that, since he's a cop."

"Edward," she said, rolling her eyes, "He wouldn't do that. Even if he doesn't like you right away, he's not going to make me unhappy. Hell, I'd hate him if he does that."

"See, I'm going to break you apart."

"No, you're not. God, Edward, stop being such a pessimist."

"I'm being realistic," I stated. There was a huge possibility he wouldn't like me. Hell, I wouldn't even like me if I were him.

"No, you're not," she said, her voice firm, "I've already told you, I've got your back. I won't let him take you down and I'll demand him to give you a chance because I love you."

I looked up at her. I had to see if she meant it. Her eyes were sincere and so full of love I could only agree.

"Just don't leave me when he hates me," I pleaded.

"I won't," she promised and that was enough for me to tell her to make the call

The day was passing by quickly. Too quickly. I needed more time. More time to prepare whatever I was going to say to Charlie tomorrow, more time to figure out how to approach him and how to act around the man that raised the woman I fell in love with.

Suzy had noticed my agitation very soon, just because I kept dropping books and was more distracted than ever before.

When I finally told her about our plans to go to Forks she had only guffawed and said "Oh, meeting the father-in-law, good luck with that." Yeah, thanks for the help, Suze.

Bella on the other hand was ecstatic, not only because she would see her father again but mostly because I had agreed to come with her. I hated myself for ruining her good mood but I couldn't calm down about it. I wanted Charlie to like me so badly, I needed him to like me.

"It'll be alright, Edward," Bella assured me for the umpteenth time before we went to sleep. I kept repeating that sentence over and over in my mind, hoping I would finally believe it. I never did. I guess I shouldn't have been shocked that my dreams that night were filled with angry Charlies carrying loaded guns and butcher knives.

I was not ready for this. Not at all. Okay, I didn't think I'd ever be ready, but this definitely wasn't the time yet. The entire drive I was trying to come up with something, anything, to say to Charlie because I was fairly sure that a simple 'I'm in love with your daughter' wouldn't seal the deal here. If I would have been a lawyer or a doctor on the other hand...

"Edward, are you coming?" Bella asked, probably wondering why I was still in the car even though we were already parked for about five minutes now. I couldn't move. I just couldn't. God, why was I so scared? Oh right, I could lose Bella here. Yes, enough of a reason to be petrified.

But there was no turning back anymore. We were here and I was going to face Charlie, ready or not. After a little inner pep talk I managed to step out of the car. Bella was instantly by my side, forcing my eyes into hers as she took of my hands. "He's not a monster, Edward," she said, "Give him some time and it'll all turn out just fine." By now, she had said it so many times that a little part of my brain was starting to believe her. God how I wanted to believe her.

"Bells?"

She snapped her eyes away from me and before I really registered it she had run towards the front door and had thrown her arms around her father. Charlie hugged her back in an awkward way and I could tell he wasn't such an affectionate man but of course, that didn't mean he didn't love his daughter. I could hear them having a hushed conversation while I was still nervously standing next to the car. When they finally let go of each other Bella turned her attention to me again, introducing me to her dad.

With one last sigh, I walked to them, trying to look as good as possible. I politely shook his hand and wasn't surprised by the firm hold Charlie gave me. You know what they say about first impressions? Well, I'm pretty sure I blew mine. Charlie's stern look made me fear that he already knew I was a piece of trash. And let me tell you, I've already dealt with quite a few men but no one had scared me as much as Charlie Swan.

"Let's go inside," Bella said, oblivious to what was going on between her father and me. There was a huge smile on her face and at least I was happy that she wasn't feeling nervous about this.

Everything was surprisingly easy for the next hour. No hard questions about me yet, just small talk and talking about Bella so I guess that as long we were able to postpone the conversation on who I was, we would be good.

"We kept you from fishing today, haven't we?" Bella suddenly asked Charlie, noticing the nice weather outside.

"Yeah, but I don't care. I can go fishing another day, but I don't get to see my little girl every day, don't I?"

"Maybe we could go together?" she suggested, "We don't have anything else to do so..."

Charlie hesitated for a moment but agreed to Bella's idea. I had never fished before. I just didn't see the point in staring at a little thing in the water until a fish was stupid enough to eat the worm you've put on the hook. It seemed like a waste of time to me. But of course, I wasn't going to let anyone notice that today. Today I'd be a fisherman if they wanted me to be one.

"He's always in a much better mood when he's fishing," Bella whispered in my ear as she walked passed me to get our coats. Oh yeah, good idea. Keeping the man as happy as possible before he could start hating my guts.

Charlie's fishing spot was actually a really quite, beautiful place. There were little patches of grass but there were big rocks everywhere and all of this was surrounded by trees.

Bella had told me her father liked to keep this place a secret to everyone else in town as he was convinced that it was the best spot to catch something. I was suddenly hopeful that everything with Charlie would work out fine. I mean, he had allowed me to be in his secret place... I guessed my first impression hadn't been that bad after all.

We sat down on one of the biggest rocks and I watched Bella and Charlie getting settled. Bella showed me how to work with the fishing rod and as much as I actually wanted to try it – to make a good impression and all that – I decided to keep away from the thing. Last thing I wanted to do was break one of Charlie's beloved fishing poles.

"So, I guess I'm finally allowed to ask more about you now?" Charlie said after a while, briefly looking at Bella before diverting his full attention to me. Uh-oh. Dead man sitting by the riverside.

"Dad,"Bella said, her voice a bit alarmed, "Be nice, okay?"

I was starting to shift on my rock, feeling more nervous than ever. I knew I had to speak up. Say something. I wanted to be the one to do the talking. I didn't want Bella to tell him everything. I didn't know why exactly but I wanted him to hear our story from me.

Maybe because I was afraid Bella would try to make me look better and stuff and I didn't want that. I wanted to be honest with Charlie. Not only because I knew that we wouldn't be able to fool him, but also because he deserved to know the truth about the man who was currently living with his daughter.

The moment I wanted to start talking, my entire mind went blank. Everything I had prepared in the car, every word I wanted to say was gone, like someone had turned off some switch inside my brain.

Before I allowed myself to freak out – because that wouldn't help either – I took a few deep breaths and then it hit me. I didn't need to give him a speech or ramble on about stuff; I just needed to tell him what mattered and how I felt about his daughter.

So I did. I started talking, about everything. About how I met Bella and how amazing and wonderful she had been to me, giving me a chance to start my life over again not caring about the sacrifices she had to make. I told him about my criminal record and the fact that it was based on false accusations. I told him about my family and how I had found my sister back thanks to Bella. And last but not least I told him about the way his daughter had stolen my heart and I tried to explain how much she meant to me. I tried, because I couldn't even comprehend how important she was to me.

He listened to me. He really did. Not once did he interrupt, only nodding and a weird glance every once in a while. I appreciated that he at least gave me a chance to explain everything without immediately giving me a hard time.

When I was finished I was satisfied with whatever had come out of my mouth but I was starting to feel slightly uncomfortable when he didn't say anything. Nothing. He was just staring at his fishing rod, his face blank. I could literally see the wheels in his head turning and it was killing me. It was killing me not to know what he was thinking and I could see that Bella was feeling exactly the same.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally turned towards us, looking from me to Bella and back to me. When he opened his mouth I braced myself for whatever he had to say and prayed – yes I really prayed – that I wouldn't lose Bella.

A/N: Sorry for the cliffie. Oh wait, I'm not really sorry. *angel face*

Anyway, thank you for reading and still sticking with me. I'm really startled by the response I get.

Thanks to MidnightSunSC17. She deserves an award for dealing with me and my pushiness.

REVIEW = SNEAK PEEK (I guess you'll need it this time 'round? :'D)

Oh, and one more thing: If you're interested, you can check out my other fanfic, Falling Deeply, a BxE one shot, only about 7000 words. ;) You can find it on my page :)

X Ellen