A/N: Hello all of you lovely readers. I would highly suggest a comfie spot for this chappie, because at just over 10,200 words, it is by far the longest yet. A LOT of shh-, um, stuff in this one.
So quickly, love to my wondrous beta Jenny Cullen, and my own little Pufferfish, HammerHips, who, I think, read this chapter at least three times cuz I kept changing it. LOL! Mwah, darling.
Once again, I own nothing Twilight, and if I did, well...you'll see eventually.
Chapter 26
Bach, Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582 (arr. L. Stokowski)
BellaPOV
When Alice had first come out to get Edward and me as we eavesdropped on Charlie and Catherine, I couldn't imagine what could be so important as to pull us away from watching two newborns: one who just happened to be my father. But when we were far enough away, she and Edward had turned back to give me a smile and I thought everything would be fine, whatever Alice had seen. Then once inside the house she told me what she had seen of Charlie's ability, and how it would reach Catherine. Everything had been fine, even as Edward and Jasper ran back out moments later to make sure. Edward heard Catherine and reported back to us that they were going for a walk.
I should have known.
What felt like only minutes later, a vision had Alice bounding off the couch, Edward out the door and halfway into the yard calling me in a way that almost made me shudder.
Now, as we all trickled back to the house, Rose and Emmett were already waiting for us, Catherine still in Charlie's arms as they brought up the rear. He let her down only after Catherine insisted she was perfectly capable of walking the last few feet up to the house. I held a straight face as Charlie acquiesced, but looked none too happy about it. Only Alice, Edward, and I knew what had really happened, since Alice saw the sudden change in Charlie, and Edward heard Catherine at the last minute. The way Edward yelled my name and how I ran out the door with Alice had the rest of them following on pure alarm.
I'd thrown my shield over Edward as we ran and he let me see what Alice had seen: Charlie running wildly after the elk. The vision frightened me almost as much as the ones of Damian, seeing my Dad out of control like that. All I could think of was what might happen if he ran into a human. I was all too familiar with the possibilities and inevitabilities of newborns, but Charlie had been doing so well; I internally chastised myself for not having been more adamant that he feed beforehand. It was just a little odd telling a parent what to do, even though I'd always thought of myself in the parental role with both Renee and Charlie. However, fixing dinners, cleaning the house, doing the laundry were rather passive actions compared to demanding your own father learn how to feed on the blood of animals. The knowledge that I had in this particular situation - the knowledge of his new world - was much more than his and I should have known better.
I wouldn't let it happen again.
As we left the house, everyone knew it was it emergency by the way Edward had called my name and how Alice and I had flown out the door with him. Not knowing what Charlie would do, where he would go, I became even more afraid when Alice and Edward had stopped momentarily in the middle of the woods. I'd thrown my shield up once again, unable to keep myself from seeing what may have been happening to Charlie. At first, I was embarrassed, seeing the two of them so passionate, but when Charlie tore through her clothes and she suddenly froze underneath him, I'd thought that all the ground that had been gained over the course of the day had been lost. A mere glance from Edward to Jasper had them sprinting off again, my shield retracting, and the rest of us following.
When I saw Edward's jaw clench tightly as we were running, his pace slowing as his face crinkled in what looked like physical pain, I realized that he was not only seeing it from Catherine, but feeling something from her as well. We all heard Charlie's pleas, begging her to open her eyes, so I pushed myself to run as fast as that night we were all trying to get to the cabin. As Jasper answered Charlie's questions ahead of me, I finally broke through the trees and saw them both. Charlie rocking Catherine in his arms even as her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck made everything inside me ache for them as I held back a gasp. I caught a glimpse of the bare skin of Catherine's stomach and the tear in the back of her shirt, and I understood what Edward had been so affected by.
What had started out as a feeding frenzy had turned into something more, and Charlie's panic at Catherine's state had now turned into confusion and embarrassment at our arrival. If not for my worry for Catherine, I would've felt immensely uncomfortable at the revelation of what could have happened. But when Catherine had told him "baby steps", and then gingerly kissed him, I knew they were over the worst of it. When Charlie lifted her in his arms and she sarcastically protested, it finally registered they were going to be ok.
When we arrived back at the house and Charlie had finally put her down, Catherine quickly held together the edges of the button down she was wearing with one hand. I watched as Charlie scrutinized her first few steps, and as her hand came back to beckon his, he nearly jumped to take it. When their hands met, she glanced up at him and he brought her hand up, kissing the back of it; Catherine looked down smiling as if she were embarrassed that we were all standing around for this quick affectionate moment between her and Charlie. I stood nearly awestruck, for this was a side of Charlie I'd never seen, one that I'd never witnessed with Sue. Even I had to admit how dashing Charlie was being.
"Rose, I'm sorry about your shirt." Catherine's gaze found Rose amidst Charlie's distraction, and tugged at the button placket she was holding as she spoke. I wondered if she knew about the tear in the back of it, but it was most likely better if she didn't, so I didn't say anything and neither did anyone else.
Rose chuckled, "Catherine, if I had a dollar for every shirt Em's…" she glanced at Emmett and then back at Catherine and just smiled. "C'mon, we'll find you something else."
"I think I know just the thing," Alice chirped, skipping forward up to the patio doors.
Catherine started to follow and Charlie's slight tug on her hand as she did made her turn back to him.
"I'll be downstairs with the rest of them. If you need me." Charlie said as he walked up to her. Her eyes lifted from where their hands were holding, back up into his.
"I know. I can handle this, Chief." She smiled back to him, and went through the door with Rose and Alice following. I didn't miss the way his eyes followed her or his slightly furrowed brow as she walked away. He was still worried.
"Charlie, why don't we all go inside and talk as a family." Carlisle motioned toward the doors, and Charlie took the lead walking through them as Esme, Edward and I went in, Jasper and Emmett following. Carlisle took his place at the head of the dining room table as we filed in, Esme at his left, Jasper to his right.
"Dad, we usually have all important discussions here." I tried to explain.
"Really." It wasn't a question. "Well, I kinda figured you didn't eat at it." His pursed lips said duh, Bella.
"Here, Charlie, you can take my spot." Edward motioned to the other end of the table, taking a seat to his right and me to his left.
Emmett suddenly sat straighter in his chair with a slight grin on his face. "It's where we voted for Bella to-"
"Em!" I cut him off.
The look Charlie gave to Emmett and then to me was one I'd seen before. He just shook his head in that "I don't even want to know" kind of way until Carlisle began.
"Charlie, do you want to tell us what happened out there? How is she?"
Charlie's shoulders slumped slightly as he looked down. "I think she's better, better than she was. She had me really scared there for awhile."
"We basically know up to the point that you caught up with her after she ran. Edward and Jasper had gone out to check on you both when Alice didn't see anything and when Edward didn't hear Catherine. But something happened between the two of you. You were able to…calm her?"
"Yeah, it was…unbelievable. It has something to do with when I touch her. It makes her feel better. No, it's not just that." Charlie rubbed the back of his neck trying to find the words. "It's like she gets what's inside of me, and I get what's inside of her."
"Her thoughts?" Edward asked.
"No, not thoughts. More like…sensations. I can feel it when it comes out of me."
Carlisle stared intently at Charlie across the table. I could tell the attention was making Charlie uncomfortable and it reminded me of myself. "Charlie, tell me, can you see it?"
"See it?" He looked up at Carlisle, and then down across the tabletop again.
"Flowing from you. Does in manifest itself as anything? When Bella projects her shield, she can actually see it leave her. Do you see anything like that with Catherine?" Carlisle probed.
"Uh, no, not that I've noticed." He shook his head, leaning into his arms already resting on the table. "But I can feel it. Catherine said it's like energy moving or something, kinda like when you accidentally shock yourself on something low-voltage. Not enough to kill ya, but enough so you feel it whiz through you."
Carlisle rubbed his chin with his hand, staring down at the table. From upstairs, we could all hear Catherine politely rejecting whatever it was that Alice was suggesting she wear. I looked from Carlisle, back to Charlie and couldn't help but be a little excited. I could tell by the way he was looking down at the table he was trying to remember seeing anything.
"Dad, can you show me? I mean, can you do it to me?" I asked curiously.
After hesitating only a second, Charlie glanced up at me. "I don't know. I haven't tried to with anyone else."
I reached my hand across the table, "Here." Charlie looked at it, and then took it in both of his own. I didn't feel anything at first, but Charlie tugged my hand.
"Bells, maybe try giving the old man a hug. It's how we first, well, how it first happened." His half-grin told me he was a little bashful in asking. I stared at his face for the briefest of moments, and realized it was all I'd wanted to do since we'd found them both in the woods. I got up and walked over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck, as his arms went around my waist. I'd hadn't had time through the chaos of the last few days to tell him how much I loved him, and how thankful I was that we was here, with us, with me.
"Dad, I…" It was like a five foot wave crashing into me, a warm powerful wave but not the kind that would frighten as if a powerful current would take you under with it. It was comforting, reassuring, and I thought that perhaps if I weren't a vampire, it would have been breathtaking.
"My Bells." He said into my shoulder.
"Dad!" I tried to speak, to form coherent sentences, but I couldn't. I just wanted to feel whatever he was sending. I'd never been so sure of just how he felt about me until now.
Love.
It was unmistakable.
"I take it you're able to show Bella?" Carlisle asked from the other end of the table.
"Yep. But I didn't see anything."
I pulled out of his arms to look into his eyes, seeing the grin that was there. "Oh yeah." I answered. I smiled back and kissed his forehead before going back to my chair. I caught Edward's grin across the table.
"What?" He was staring at his folded hands, and it was then I knew he must be hearing something from upstairs.
"It seems you and Catherine have a lot in common." He said more to everyone, then just me alone.
"Edward, is she ok?" Charlie turned to him concerned.
"She is. It's still there, the anxiety, but she's keeping it in check. Rose and Alice are doing much to, uh, distract her." Edward held his grin. "She has quite the language, doesn't she Charlie."
Charlie looked around the table and I nearly giggled. "I…uh…yeah, she gets to the point on occasion, yes."
"I can hear you all, you know." Catherine's voice suddenly came from upstairs, and Emmett snorted, the rest of us holding smiles.
Charlie just grinned, folding his arms as he sat back in his chair. It was a look of pure admiration and love for the woman upstairs, and I'd never been so happy for him.
Emmett sat back in his chair, grinning over at Charlie. "Chief, I think I know one like that."
"Emmett darling, I can hear you as well." Rose voice came down to us, followed by laughter.
"I'm not saying a word." Jasper muttered, as Alice called down, "Love you too, Jazzy!" and we all couldn't help but laugh.
"Charlie, you'll have to show me this talent of yours soon, but for now we have to discuss some things." Carlisle looked across the table.
But it was Jasper who started the next line of conversation. "What we need to do first is find out if this guy had a base of operation. It's bound to hold some clues. Something tells me he wasn't just hanging out in the woods all day," he said, as Rose, Alice, and Catherine came downstairs and joined us.
"I'd say what did we miss, but…" Catherine walked up and stood next to Charlie. He turned to look at her, bringing her close with his arm. As he did, he took in her new shirt, a black Led Zeppelin t-shirt.
"Jasper, I hope you don't mind, but Alice-"
"I don't mind at all, Darlin'. Alice hardly ever let's me wear it, but it's one of my favs so promise to be gentle with it."
"My, aren't you the southern charmer. I promise to take very good care of it." She smirked back at him.
Charlie eyes lingered on the shirt. I thought he was ogling her at first, but…
"What?" Catherine busted him and his eyes flew to hers.
"You were wearing a Zeppelin t-shirt that morning. At the diner." He answered, trying to hide the smirk that was forming.
"Yeah, I was, wasn't I? It's a lucky shirt of mine." She smiled back at him. "Alice insisted I wear this one." She glanced at Alice.
"Yes I did." She winked back at Catherine. "Jaz, you don't mind. I know you don't." She took his hand in hers.
"Like I said, Catherine, not at all. I think it looks a might better on you anyway." He smiled that Jasper smile at her and Alice giggled.
I looked at Edward and him to me. I was pretty sure that we no one knew what the diner meant.
"So, where were we?" Edward set us back to task. "Jasper, you and I should be the ones to go out. Emmett, you should stay here, just in case." Edward turned to look over his shoulder at Emmett, who was standing behind Rosalie now, having let her have his seat between Esme and Edward.
"Yep, good idea." Emmett said.
"I'm coming, too. I may be able to help once we're out there." Alice posited.
"Me, too." I piped up. This was my father we were talking about.
"Well, no offense people, but I am, was, the cop. I should go with."
"Dad, there's no way…"
"Charlie, I'm afraid you're going to have to stay here. We can't let you around humans this soon, and no telling where this hunt will take the boys, and you girls." Carlisle nodded at Alice and then me.
"I'd like to help, too. After all, it was me he was after, right?" Catherine leaned closer into Charlie as she said it.
"No way, baby. If I stay, you're definitely staying." Charlie tugged at her waist playfully, and she elbowed his upper arm.
"Ow." He only half joked, rubbing his arm with his other hand.
"Bella, I think you should stay too, you can…"
"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, don't you dare start that early 20th century …
"Masen?" Catherine suddenly gasped. "Masen? Wait. Who was Masen? M-A-S-E-N?" Catherine stood up straighter turning to Edward, complete shock on her face.
"I was a Masen, yes. My human surname was Masen, until I joined Carlisle. I took on his last name, we all did, when we pretended to go to school as adopted siblings."
"Your…your father was a Masen? Where are you from, originally I mean?"
"Chicago."
"Shutthefrontdoor!" Catherine exclaimed.
Edward burrowed his eyebrows with a look of confusion as Catherine glanced down at Charlie.
"So are…you." Charlie uttered, turning up to face Catherine. At first he seemed confused, until his eyes grew wider.
"Did he have a sister?" Catherine's gaze flew back to Edward as his eyes started to dart around in thought.
"Yes. Margaret. Catherine, who is that… you? You're…"
"Holy hell." Catherine's hand flew to cover her mouth, as she looked around the table and then back at Edward. Edward eyes didn't leave Catherine's. I couldn't tell what was happening and just as I was about to throw my shield, Catherine turned to the table.
"Margaret Masen was my great-grandmother. Edward is…"
Edward stood abruptly out of his chair sending it back a good foot or so, staring at Catherine in what looked like mirrored shock, until a grin started to form. "I believe, Miss O'Hara, that makes me… your great, great, uncle."
"But…but you all died. I've seen your headstone. It was the flu or something. Grandma Mary told me stories about all of you. You, your mother and father. How Great Grandma Margaret missed you all so, even all those years after you were…dead. She named her second son after you."
"She…she did?" Catherine merely nodded in response to Edward as he ducked his head. Catherine must have been giving him thoughts or memories or something, I couldn't tell, but Edward's grin grew. "Aunt Margaret. Yes. I…I remember just a small bit of her, but she had your spunk, that much I do remember. She was quite a woman. You apparently take after her." He laughed as he said it.
"You knew her." Catherine took a step forward toward Edward, and he her, his hand reaching out as to formally introduce himself.
"Nice to meet you, um, I think that makes you my great, great, niece?" He laughed.
"I think…so." Her still-amazed eyes went to his outstretched hand, and then back up to his face, "But in my family, we give hugs when we first see each other." Catherine arms went around Edward's shoulders, her one hand on the back of his head. "My God, this is…this is unreal."
"I guess we've also figured out where you get your ability from." Edward said, looking over her shoulder at Charlie, and then me.
Catherine stepped back from him, her hands softly touching his cheeks. "Nice to meet you too, Uncle Edward." She smirked back at him.
"Well, I don't know about you all, but if I could tear up right now, I think I would." Emmett joked, and Rosalie turned to give him a look. "What, I'm serious. This is the closest I'll ever get to a family reunion."
Carlisle and Esme burst out into laughter, and I saw as he grabbed her hand, and she brought hers over his. Everyone joined in the laughter mostly because we never thought after everything of the last few weeks that we'd ever laugh again. I couldn't remember a happier time, unless Renesmee was involved.
Renesmee. I needed to call her, to tell her the good news. She would be absolutely overjoyed to know that Edward and Catherine were related. No, I needed to see her, and made the promise to go to La Push as soon as we were done searching for clues. I would call Jacob to tell him we were coming. Edward and I should go together.
"Well, I myself hate to break up this family reunion, but we should really go see if we can find anything about…" Jasper hesitated as he stood from his chair, "well, I guess you could say the vampire who brought you to us, Catherine. And while I for one am grateful for your presence here tonight, I am NOT in the slightest bit happy about how you got here. So let's go find all we can on this…Damian character. Shall we?"
Edward, Jasper, Alice, and I stood up from our chairs. Edward and I had reached the living room when we suddenly heard Jasper.
"Alice? Alice what is it?"
Edward had turned a split second before me, reaching for my waist and pulling me closer. In that same moment, Catherine inhaled sharply and Charlie reached for her arm. I had my shield over Edward before Charlie could touch her.
It was Aro, in a room, talking to a woman, but the images came in bits and pieces. Each flash had a new piece of furniture crashing into the walls of what looked like a bedroom.
"Sulpecia, we will not speak of this!" He turned and was immediately in front of her.
"Aro, I demand to go with you on this journey. I want to rid the world of them as much as you do. Look how angry they make you."
And it was gone.
But it had been Aro.
"Alice, are you alright?" Jasper held her shoulders. "Another vision. What did you see?" Jasper asked her in a soft but eager voice.
"Cath?" Charlie ran his hand from her arm down to her hand.
"Who…was that?" Catherine turned to Alice.
"Yes, I'm alright. It was Aro and…Carlisle, who's Sulpecia?" Alice turned back to the table as Carlisle stood. Charlie stood too, pulling Catherine back into him, his arms possessively around her waist.
"His mate." Carlisle answered. "What did you see, Alice?" Carlisle asked again. Alice retold the very short but revealing scene.
"There's only one them that she can be referring to." Jasper said, his hand going to Alice's cheek, as Alice pulled him closer to her.
"Wait, what? Who's Aro? And Sulwhatta?" Charlie looked from Jasper, to me and Edward, and then across the table at Carlisle.
"I'll explain everything to you Charlie, you and Catherine." Carlisle puts his hands on the top of the table, leaning forward onto them, studying its surface. Esme moved next to him, softly running her hand over his back. His eyes rose up from the table, glancing at each of us. "It looks like what we feared might explain all of this."
I noticed Edward hadn't moved, hadn't said a word, his eyes concentrating on the floor. My shield still over him, he started repeating Catherine's name, as if he was trying to call to her, until his head popped up.
"Catherine?" He called to her and she glanced over to him as well as everyone else.
"Yeah?"
"I…I can't hear you." Edward brought me forward with him as he went to stand in front of her. He was right. He couldn't hear her, and I couldn't hear her. As if just realizing Charlie's arms were still around her waist, she glanced down at them and then around the room.
"I can't hear you either. I can't hear anyone. I can only feel…Charlie." She turned to glance up at him and then back at Edward. "Hold on…" Catherine pushed his arms down and stepped away from him. "Holy shh…it's like someone just dumped me in the middle of all of you. As soon as I moved away from Charlie." She looked around the room and then at Emmett. "Wondertwin powers, huh?" She smiled and Emmett smirked back.
"Charlie, whatever you did, whatever you can do, it blocked everyone from her mind, and me from hearing her." Edward said, staring at Charlie. "When you were outside, when you were in trouble, you were holding her, weren't you?"
Charlie stared at Edward, and then pulled Catherine back to his side. "Yeah. Yeah, I was. Until I smelled that elk and then…"
"That's when you ran, and Catherine was alone. That's when I heard you, Catherine. When you said my name."
I looked from Catherine to Charlie. He was blocking everything, everything that had to do with her mind, just like I could do with my shield. Yet, he…"It's like my shield, but he's…touching her."
"Yes." Edward pulled me closer to his side.
"But why did you, Obi, hear me when Charlie said we should go find a spot?" Catherine asked.
"Obi? Nice." Emmett snorted.
Catherine stepped away again from Charlie, but kept hold of his hand. She closed her eyes, Charlie looking at her, and then Edward.
"Very funny." Edward responded.
"Well, at least you heard it." Catherine smiled back.
"Um, hello? Can someone please tell me what it is I'm actually doing?" Charlie's frustration at being out of loop was evident. I held in my laugh.
Catherine walked back into his arms, her hand on his chest. "When you hold my hand, I can feel you but it's less so, like we noticed in the woods. But I can still hear Edward. When I'm like this," she looked at Edward and then everyone else, "I can't hear a thing. It's quite…nice, actually." She smiled up at him and then rubbed her hand on his chest.
"Well, I think we have ourselves another shield in the family." Carlisle said smiling from the other end of the table.
Charlie glanced at Carlisle, then Edward, and then me. "Well, great. Now that we've figured that out, but it still doesn't tell me who this Aro guy is, who 'them' is," Charlie looked pointedly at Jasper, "and what Alice just saw that has everyone all of a sudden so nervous."
"Bella, I think you're father needs to know a few things." Of course Carlisle would state the obvious. Of course Charlie needed to know.
I looked from Carlisle to Charlie. Oh, brother. How could I tell him what I'd kept secret from him? What I had done, all the lies, the deceit, just to keep him safe…alive. Edward's subtle squeeze of my hip was his way of telling me I needed to speak. "Dad, if you don't mind hearing it from Carlisle, I think I'd rather be out of the house, no, as far away as I can get for this."
"Isabella Marie Swan…Cullen." Charlie pulled the middle-name card thing, nearly forgetting my married name.
"Dad…"
"Fine," he huffed. "Go. Carlisle here will fill me in. That doesn't mean you're getting off scott free, daughter." Catherine caught my eye as she bit her lower lip. "See, right about now, I could really use a VitaminR." Charlie said, sitting back down in the chair. Catherine went to stand behind him rubbing his shoulders in what looked like an attempt to relax him.
"Well Chief, what say you and I go for some Cougar AB+ in a few?"
"Nice, Em." I muttered.
Rose shoved against Emmett's chest and sat back down in the chair she had been in.
"Sheesh, just trying to lighten the mood a bit." Emmett said as he took the chair next to her.
"Carlisle, while you're fillin' in Charlie and Catherine, we'll go see what we can find. If what Alice just saw is any indication, then Aro knows…something. There has to be a trail. We'll call if we find anything. Alice, Edward, Bella?" Jasper took Alice's hand as they ran out the door, followed by me and Edward. I was more than glad to hurry out, because I didn't want to be anywhere near Charlie once Carlisle filled him in.
CathPOV
I moved over to the chair that Bella had been in on Charlie's left, his hand grabbing mine as it left his shoulder and I sat down. To say I sat nearly stunned would be the understatement of the year. First Edward, then Charlie and his ability, but it was Alice's vision that still bothered me. I'd seen it just as she did, and whoever Aro was, he scared the shit out of me. Long black hair, red eyes, skin as cold and dead as the rest of him, I nearly shuddered. The Cullens clearly knew who he was, especially Carlisle. Then there was Bella's reaction to whatever Carlisle was about to tell Charlie. The thoughts of those left at the table weren't exactly comforting.
Charlie is gonna freak.
I hope Bella has a good hiding place.
I wonder how Catherine will take…
Carlisle's voice pulled me away from what I was hearing in my head, starting with the history of the Volturi, his brief past with them, why he left, and the fact that they basically held dominion over the entire Vampire world. In his head, I saw glimpses of them, what looked to be the three in power: Aro, Marcus, and Caius. They looked older than dirt, scarier than all hell, and I couldn't believe Carlisle had ever been a part of…that.
Geezofuckingpeet. A whole world filled with vampires. Who knew?
But as Carlisle went on, I realized this wasn't a joke. Vampire Law was strictly upheld, and they were ruthless in their punishment. Most still hunted humans, and with this detail, flashes of Damian started to appear – his twisted face and evil smile. Charlie's words from the woods came back to me.
Bella's made it very clear that no one can ever know what we are.
My head twitched as I tried to clear the images, Charlie sensing it and tugging on my hand.
"Hey, you don't need to hear this if you don't want to. Rose can take you-"
"No. I mean yes I do. Just…just don't let go of my hand." As I said it, he scooted his chair closer to the table, his one hand holding, his other softly going over the top of mine. It helped a little, Charlie sending me what he could, but I could feel his nervousness too even though he was trying to hide it.
"Go on, Carlisle." Charlie said, looking down the table.
Carlisle hesitated. "Charlie, I need to tell you how this all started. About Bella and James. Victoria and the newborns. And the wolves."
Charlie sat up straighter as Carlisle began the story of how Bella came to know of Edward and the family, the incident with the van and how Edward had really saved her. How Bella had figured out what Edward was, and how she had once come to the house of a family of vampires all because she was in love with a boy who was just as in love with her, but who was more afraid that he would kill her. How a simple game of baseball turned into a horrific flight to save Bella. How she hadn't fallen down stairs and crashed threw a window in Phoenix, but had been chased by a vampire named James hellbent on killing her. Carlisle called him a tracker and then explained exactly what that was. How he had bit her, and Edward had sucked the venom from her to keep her human.
All the while Carlisle talked, I saw events replay in his head: Carlisle treating Bella in the hospital after the van incident, the first time she met the family and how nervous she looked, all of them in a field playing baseball until three threatening vampires came out of the woods, the Cullens' race to get to what looked like a dance studio to see Bella writhing on the floor in a pool of blood. Jasper, Alice, and Emmett ripping James apart as Carlisle and Edward tried to save Bella.
"Just…hold on a minute, ok Carlisle?" Charlie sat back in his chair, taking a deep breath, pulling my hand with his. It was a good thing Charlie couldn't see what I could. The calm that he had been giving me was gone, and I felt the confusion, the disbelief, the utter shock that was coming from him. All that surrounded by a cloud of guilt.
"Hey?" I asked, his eyes staring at the edge of the table, distant and immersed in trying to digest what he had just heard.
"There's more, Charlie." Carlisle said.
"Perhaps Charlie needs a break. Perhaps you both do. Do you want to go on a hunt and then come back and finish?" Esme offered.
He hasn't heard the half of it. Emmet's voice in my head made turn to him in surprise as he slightly shook his head. Geez, there was more?
Esme's sweet voice seemed to jar Charlie from wherever he had been. "No. No, it's ok, Esme." I looked back at Charlie, his eyes meeting mine. I wished so much at that moment I knew what he was thinking, but I could feel the shock abating, and something like concern for me beginning to take its place.
"Cath, you alright? I mean, that's was a hell of a lot of-"
"I'm fine." I lied, momentarily forgetting I couldn't lie to him.
"Yeah, right." He said, sitting up again, reaching for my forearm and holding it to his chest as he once again turned to Carlisle. "Alright, hit me with it. It can't be as bad as a vampire biting my daughter and my not knowing."
Carlisle didn't say anything at first, and I glanced across the table to see three very uncomfortable looking people whose eyes wouldn't look up. Even Emmett looked scared. Their collective thoughts were nearly the same phrase.
Uh oh.
That's when Carlisle told Charlie of Bella's birthday party, and of what happened when Edward left and they all left with him. How Edward had only wanted to keep her safe, safe from their world, safe from vampires.
Once again, the images came from Carlisle: a papercut from a present Bella was opening, Jasper unable to maintain control and flying after Bella. Edward coming home to tell the family they needed to leave Forks immediately.
Carlisle continued out loud. They would have stayed away, if it hadn't been for Edward thinking she had died cliff diving, and went to Volterra to end himself, to the Volturi to ask that they do it, since a vampire can't commit suicide unless he throws himself on a fire. How Bella, along with Alice, had arrived in the nick of time, convincing Edward that Bella was still alive, and how the Volturi only let the three of them go when Alice and Edward promised that Bella would be changed. She knew too much about them.
I didn't want to see anymore of Carlisle's memories, but I didn't know enough to stop them. Charlie evidently didn't realize that I was seeing anything, as he sat transfixed, staring at Carlisle. I looked at his hands hugging my arm and I wasn't sure who was helping who anymore, his hold getting tighter as his insides churned. Carlisle, Esme, Rose, and Emmett sat more still then I'd ever seen anyone. They looked like statues in a museum, as they waited for this part of the story to sink in, their minds concentrating on anything – sports, gardening, the latest issue of Vogue – anything to keep me out.
Charlie suddenly blinked, looking straight at Carlisle, "Where's Volterra?"
Carlisle inhaled deeply, sitting up slightly in his chair. "It's in Italy, Charlie."
"Italy? Bella went to ITALY?" Charlie suddenly stood up and started to walk the floor, his hand running over the back of his head as Carlisle remembered telling Esme what was happening and her screaming.
I didn't know what to do, and I looked across the table at Rose whose face showed concern but her mind only showed a double page spread on the latest from Prada, as she gazed back at me. I sat back in my chair, flexing my fingers in my lap until I finally folded them tightly together trying to contain my building anxiety. Charlie didn't need to worry about me too. He had enough to worry about.
"Yes. Charlie, you do understand that I would've never let anything happen to Bella. She's like our own daughter. But she was determined to leave with Alice, and there was little time."
Charlie suddenly stopped and turned back. "When he left her. She went to Italy when she told me she went to California to find him."
"You don't know how grateful we all were that she saved Edward, Charlie." Esme's comforting voice began. "She's the only one who could. If any of us had gone after him, had gone near him, he would've ended himself before we got there because he could hear us before we were even close. Bella's mind is the only one he's never been able to hear. She's the only one who could literally sneak up on him. I owe her my family, Charlie. You raised a very brave girl."
"She was a danger magnet, though, back then." Emmett smiled, looking up at me and then over to Carlisle. "Well, aren't you going to tell her about Victoria?"
"Victoria? Who's Victoria?" Charlie's hand dropped from where it had been resting behind his neck and walked back up to the table, slumping back into his seat.
"Do I even want to hear this?" He asked, his eyes going around the table. I glanced down again in my lap, trying to hide from him the swirling inside me, squeezing my eyes shut to make Carlisle's thoughts go away. I needed to get a grip.
"Cath?" Charlie's hand rubbed my upper arm and then reached for my hand, squeezing it gently in his own.
"I'm ok. Really." Again with the lie. I was such a shitty liar to begin with, but the energy flowing from me was a dead giveaway.
"Do you want to go take a walk, maybe?" Charlie suggested, and his concern was not only evident in his voice but the feeling flowing through my arm.
"No, no." I opened my eyes and glanced over at Carlisle. "Is there anymore we should know, Carlisle? Because if there is, now's the time. Just dump whatever there is. I want to know it all." It was the truth, in a way, and I summoned all the strength I could muster. I needed to face this new world if I was going to live in it.
Catherine, please just give me a sign if this is all too much for you. It's mainly about Bella, but I can see how it's affecting you. I can always tell Charlie the rest later. I just shook my head in answer to Carlisle.
Carlisle began again, describing the relationship between James, the vampire who had come after Bella, and Victoria his mate. How when they had killed James, Victoria had decided to build an army of newborns to come after the Cullens, Edward, but ultimately Bella. How they had joined forces with the wolves and defeated them all. I saw most of it through Carlisle: Victoria, her flaming red hair, the newborns racing out to attack, the wolves joining in. There were a lot more wolves than the three I'd met.
Charlie sat back in his chair again, looking like he had just been punched in the gut. "So what you're saying is, not only was there a group of vampires in Forks, but also a bunch of werewolves on the Rez where my best friend lives, and my ex-girlfriend."
My head turned sharply to Charlie at the mention of the ex-girlfriend.
"Yes. You already know about Jacob. As do you, Catherine. You met three of them that first day." Carlisle answered but I almost didn't hear it. I was still focusing on the ex-girlfriend part. I didn't remember Charlie mentioning an ex here in town, although the chances were high since he'd lived here all his life. Matter of fact, the town was probably crawling with them. The jealousy started building, rising up from my gut, until a low growl came out of me, startling me, and everyone else at the table.
Emmett and Rose actually laughed, nearly as stunned as I was. "Catherine, you don't have to worry about her. She was long gone before you even got to town." Rose's eyes met mine across the table, and I relaxed just a bit. Shit, I had just growled because I was jealous of an ex. Would the newborn pms-ing ever stop?
It was all…unbelievable. Even sitting there already a vampire myself, everything that Carlisle had told us, everything that Bella had been through, everything I had seen…it was like a dream.
Alice's vision.
I couldn't help it, as I started thinking about these Volturi, these enforcer vampires. Aro, their ruler and what I now understood to be something against the Cullens. I started to get a weird feeling, and Damian's words came back to me.
You see, Chief Swan, my initial mission was only for the woman.
What the hell did I do?
It looks like what we feared might be the cause of all this.
What they feared. What did vampires fear?
"Geez, Catherine." Charlie suddenly stood up, pulling my arm and the rest of me into his arms. "Stop thinking, for just a minute, ok. You're stirring like a kicked hornet's nest."
I snuggled further into Charlie, feeling his positive energy. I couldn't lay on him now everything that was in my head, so I concentrated on him, what he was giving me, and his ability to take away the fear. I didn't know how he could be so focused on me in the midst of everything he had just learned about his daughter.
"Charlie, why don't you go on that hunt with Emmett now?" Carlisle asked. "I'd like to talk to Catherine for a minute while you do."
I brought my head from where it had been against Charlie's chest, looking up at his face, trying to be strong. "It's ok. You go with Emmett. I'll be alright with Carlisle, Rose, and Esme for a bit." I said. He needed to run, I could feel it. He needed to hunt even more.
His lips brushed my forehead. "Are you sure?" He whispered unnecessarily.
"Yep. I'll be fine. Right Rose?" I bent my head back to find her. Rose had risen from the table and was walking over to us. She put one hand on me, and the other on Charlie's back, rubbing softly.
"Yep. Catherine and I will go paint our toes or something while you boys are out hunting." She winked at me, suddenly pulling her hands from both of us.
"Holy…that is wicked! Even I could feel it." Her eyes went from mine and up to Charlie's. "Nice." She grinned.
"Ok Charlie, let's go then while the women are still happy with us. We stay any longer and I'm sure I'll say something to change that." Emmett got up from the table and was at the patio door, opening it wide. "After you, Chief." His hand swiped out in front of him, leading Charlie out.
Charlie looked down at me once more. "Are you sure? You could come with-"
"Go!" I pushed at his chest. "No way am I breaking up a male bonding session." He smiled at me, this time with a peck on the lips.
"We won't be gone long," he said, as he and Emmett dashed out into the darkness, Emmett thinking about the cougar he was going to introduce Charlie to.
I watched them go, and the minute he was gone, I felt the monster scratching at the walls of his cage. He desperately searched for an opening, and I realized I needed a distraction.
"So Carlisle, you wanted to talk to me?" I asked with an attempt to switch gears from what was stirring again inside me.
"Only if you want to, Catherine. I am a doctor, and if you want me to answer any questions, or help in any way, I can." Carlisle patted the table in front of the empty seat next to him.
Come sit. They won't be long. His thought was reinforced by a gentle grin.
I glanced over to Rose, who was standing behind the chair she'd been sitting in next to Esme. "Emmett can find cougar faster than anyone."
I thought about Carlisle's offer, looking at the empty seat, and then turned back to gaze out the window once more. I rubbed my upper arms, trying to get rid of some creepy feeling some sense of…foreboding. The three of them were trying to keep their heads clear of any thoughts, conjuring up irrelevant images, but I could tell they each had hope that I would come join them. I knew I needed to do it. I needed to tell Carlisle what was happening, or as much as I could explain it. Even though Charlie could make it all go away with one touch, I would have to learn how to deal when Charlie wasn't around.
Like now.
So I walked over and took a seat.
"Catherine, if you want Rosalie and I to leave, we can. We can go for a run too, if you would be more comfortable with talking to Carlisle alone." Esme had such a way about her, and as I looked across the table at her, it made me miss my own mother again. Although she looked younger than me, she'd obviously been a wonderful mother to all of the Cullens.
"No, it's alright. You all know what happened to me." I answered her.
"Catherine, you can see how much better you're already doing. It's a very positive sign that you were able to overcome what you were feeling, even if it was with Charlie's help. Charlie has an amazing gift where you're concerned."
"Yes, yes he does. I'm not sure what I would have done, where I would have gone, if he hadn't caught me then. If he hadn't…" If he hadn't wrapped me in his arms and flooded me with his love.
"What you're experiencing, or have been experiencing are all classic victim responses. Even if you were still human, the feeling would be similar. Right now, they're magnified because you're a newborn. But you're doing extremely well. Just sitting here, talking to us, is a huge step. You're not being ruled by your thirst." Carlisle tried to explain.
It was true. While I was thirsty, and could easily go out and hunt, it didn't seem as important at the moment. What was important was the fact that Charlie was away, not to mention the fact that I was starting to get the feeling that there was more to Damian then just some crazed vampire stalker. I had been targeted for a reason, but what that reason was I had absolutely no clue. The nervousness grew, my hands clenching and unclenching in my lap, as I tried to hide them from the view of others.
She's still afraid.
She's doing so much better.
Perhaps I should wait until tomorrow for more of this conversation.
"It's alright, Carlisle. It's not you. It's just…" Although only looking at the floor, my eyes darted toward where the doors were.
"Charlie's not here and you're getting uncomfortable. I understand. Why don't we all go into the living room and watch some TV until the others return."
"Sure, but could we possibly make it a comedy?" I said, standing out of my chair as the others did. "Something…"
"Without vampires?" Rose joked, and I tried to grin back at her. But I couldn't stop wondering how Charlie was, if he was ok, and what the Edward, Bella, Jasper, and Alice would find. Amidst all the turmoil that had been Carlisle's revelations, I'd nearly forgotten that the others had left to find anything they could on Damian.
CharliePOV
Emmett and I had run from the house, through the woods, Emmett heading toward the mountains. The whole time I thought about all of the things that Carlisle had said, all of the shit Bella had been through, not to mention leaving Catherine behind. Even for this quick hunt, I couldn't' stand leaving her there. I'd felt her fear right as I was leaving, but I'd also heard her tell me to go. I knew she was trying to overcome what had threatened to eat her alive, but I still felt like an ass. I felt like an ass because my own daughter had been in so much danger and I hadn't seen it. I felt like an ass for leaving Catherine alone for even a second, but I knew I needed to talk to Emmett, and I knew I needed to do it alone.
In general, I just felt like an ass. Not necessarily a new feeling for me, so that was a positive.
I would deal with Bella later, and as soon as Emmett and I had our little chat, I would go back to Catherine.
We came upon two cougars at the base of the mountain, both of us taking them down before they knew what hit them. Emmett had been right. Cougars were a hell of a lot better tasting than elk, informing me of this little tidbit as we ran. He was going to make sure I had my first one tonight.
As I sucked the last drops of the one in my arms, I noticed the taste difference. Both satisfying in their own right, but the cougar had a slight edge. But something in the back of my head told me that neither one was totally right. For an instant, I wondered how human blood would compare.
Shit, what the hell was I thinking? I couldn't chow on a person's neck.
Could I?
I threw down the dead animal, licking the last drops from my lips to get that thought out of my head. I looked up to see Emmett finishing off the last of his.
"We're lucky to find two together." He said, hoisting the thing over his shoulder. "C'mon, we like to bury the things after we're done."
So I picked mine up and followed him. He dug a hole with his bare hands, dropping his and mine in and covered them back up.
"Here," he said, handing me what was a red bandanna out of his pocket. "You might want to, uh, clean up a bit. Don't worry, you'll get better at as you do it." I took the bandanna and wiped my face and neck where I felt the liquid. "You want some more? We can probably find a few elk, or maybe even get lucky and find a bear. They're my favorite." I couldn't help but chuckle at the kid's grin or his enthusiasm as I shoved the cloth into my back pocket.
"Do you mind if we have that chat first? I'm pretty set for the moment, I think. Next time, though, we'll order the bear." I tried to joke back.
"Sure. Let's you and I go find a spot. I think I know a good one."
We ran back to where we had been, Emmett leading up the side of the mountain and we came to a ledge. He took a spot across from me, lying on his side, picking at what little grass was growing there. I took a seat on an outcropping of rock.
"So, yeah. Bella. That was probably a shock." Emmett said out of the blue.
"Yeah, well Bella and I are going to have a talk later. Right now, though, I just want to…What do you know about what happened earlier today? With me and Catherine?" I figured I'd just get right to it.
"Well, from the looks of it when I got there, things had nearly…gotten out of hand." Emmett said not looking up from the piece of grass he was trying to tie in a knot.
"Yeah." I sighed, looking out over the view from where we were sitting. I didn't know what else to say.
"Look, Chief, we've all been there, especially with our mates. It's obvious that's what you and Catherine are."
"Mates?"
"Yeah, that's what they call vamp couples who belong together. I don't know, it's what they told me. I can't explain it, really, but I know that Rosie's it for me. I mean, she saved me after being chowed on by a bear. Well, saved in as much she took me to Carlisle, but I'd be dead now if she hadn't."
"Yeah, Em, but what I did out there, I know better, I'm a cop for chrissake. I mean… I was a cop." Shit, I had to stop saying that. My days of being a cop were over.
I looked down at my feet, remembering the moment when she turned to me after feeding. "Even with her lookin' at me like that, even with what…what was happening inside me…"
'It doesn't work that way, Chief. When you're a newborn, everything is on overdrive, 100 times more than what you know. You can't control it. And when you're looking at your mate, and she's looking at you, and your magic wand is just…Uh, yeah, well you know what I mean. Look, I can tell you feel guilty, and let me guess, you're kicking yourself because you think you're the same as him now, right?"
So the kid had some insight, I had to give him that much, although talking to him about this was a little…weird. He looked like he could be my son.
I glanced at Emmett and then back at the ground. "Yep, that's about it."
"It ain't like that. See, you didn't go after her out of violence. Yeah, it was mind-blowing and uncontrollable and all that. But it's not the same."
"But Emmett, see that's just it. At first, there was the same look in her eyes, and I could tell she wanted it, wanted the same thing as me. But I should've stopped, and I didn't. Not until she froze in my arms, and all the fear and confusion she was feeling, not until it hit me did I even realize…"
"Stop right there. The bottom line is she knows this. She said it herself – baby steps. I think she must've got that from Rosie, because that's what her and I…well, that's what we used to say after she told me what happened to her. With Rose, it wasn't just her fiancé, but his friends to. They all took turns."
"Yeah, I know." I said, jumping up from my seat finally, and the anger flowing through me made me want to punch something, so I drove my fist into the side of the mountain.
"Nice form, Chief." Emmett said as he sat up and moved to the edge of the ledge, his legs dangling, and looking out over the darkness.
I took a step forward and dropped on my ass next to him on the ledge.
"She killed them all." He said in nearly a whisper staring intently at something in the distance. "I swear if she hadn't, I'd have hunted down every male heir of all of them."
I could tell he meant it, in the way his shoulders were set, and his fingers dug into the rock on either side of him.
"At first, after she told me, I didn't want to touch her, afraid that I would hurt her again. I knew she didn't want to, you know, at first. But my Rose, she's a strong gal, and so is Catherine from what I can tell."
I grinned. "Yeah, she's a pistol, and that's even before she was changed. I can't imagine what the next, oh, few decades are going to be like with her. But Em…" I said, glancing over at him, "how long did it take?"
"Couple of months. But Rose didn't find me until decades after. She had time to…figure things out. I'm only telling you that because I don't know how long it will take Catherine, but the good thing is, you have eternity to get there."
"Eternity." I repeated. That was a mighty long time.
"Charlie, she loves you. You love her. If it means anything to you, I'd take bets on it not taking that long." Emmett grinned over at me and then looked back out over the trees.
Eternity with Catherine. It was so big - so much - I couldn't wrap my head around it. "I can't imagine being with anyone but her, human or otherwise." I said out loud into the wind.
"Yeah, I know that feeling, Chief."
We sat there for awhile, looking out, lost in our own thoughts. I could feel my body, even now, wanting her, her skin next to mine, to be inside her and watch her face as she came with me, just as we had that night in my bedroom. The woman who'd let me in, and somehow at the same time, wormed her way into my heart. I'd never thought I'd feel that way again. No, not again, because even with Renee it had been different. Hell, we were both young, inexperienced, and didn't know shit from shinola. What I felt for Catherine now was more, and yeah, maybe that's because of the hell we'd been through in just two weeks. But whatever it was, I now had a second chance, a second chance at love, a second chance at life, and I was not going to screw her, or it, up. But this crazed vampire shit, this newborn shit, I was going to have to be the strong one. I would have to hold back, letting her take the lead, following her down whatever path she chose, and let her know that wherever she went, however she wanted it, I would be there.
"Listen, Chief, it's gonna get better. What happened out there today with you and her, that was the newborn-ness in both of you. There's nothing you could have done, in fact, you did what most newborns could never do, and that's stopped. Edward wasn't kidding when he said we now know where Bella got her control from. She's a legend for it, you know."
He stopped suddenly and jumped to his feet, looking out across the woods. I was about to ask what he saw, when my mouth started watering, and it wasn't from an animal. I was instantly on my feet.
"Charlie. Hold your breath. Do it NOW!" Emmett commanded. Whatever it was, I could tell he meant business, so I did it. I don't know how I did it, but I did.
He flipped out his phone from his pocket. "Edward, you need to get back to the house now. I'm picking up Nessie's scent, and something tells me she's headed there."
Nessie? Holy shit.
"Where are you?" I heard Edward ask.
That wonderful, mouthwatering scent was my granddaughter, my Ness. She was out there somewhere.
"We're in the mountains." He spoke into the phone.
"Where's Catherine?" Edward sounded like he was trying to remain calm but getting jacked up by the second. I heard Bella in the background ask him what's the matter.
Catherine. Holy fuck, she was at the house.
"Emmett, you need to get me back there." It was a command, and it was said with more control than I'd ever thought I'd have in me.
"Edward, just go. I'll keep him here." He put his phone in his pocket.
"Sorry Chief, but you need to stay here, and I need to stay with you. If Nessie is going to the house, there's no way you can be near there. Carlisle, Esme, and Rose will handle Catherine."
I started to climb down the rock and Emmett had his arms around my shoulders before I made it even a step.
"Emmett, son, you need to let me go, and you need to let me go now. Don't you understand? I'm the only one that can keep her calm. Nessie may be part human, but she's my granddaughter. Catherine, on the other hand, is already messed-up enough. You throw a human in front of her…"
Emmett's grip loosened. "Chief, who's to say you're not going to go after Nessie?"
"I am, dammit! Now let me go so we can get back there!" Emmett's arms held me for a half-second longer, and then let go. I raced down the side of the mountain as he followed, and then broke into the fastest sprint ever back the way we'd come. I didn't want to think about if we didn't make it back to the house in time. I didn't want to think what might happen if Edward, Bella, Jasper, and Alice were farther away than we were. I didn't want to think at all of what Catherine might do.
Not to mention what I would do.
A/N:
*grins* OKEEDOKEE! So first, let me know in your review if you saw that coming. I mean the first thing. I mean Edward. Be honest. Cuz I thought FOR SURE someone would bring it up in a review at least 10 chapters ago.
Second, Alice's vision. *wicked grin* Theories, posterings, opinions? Hit me with them.
Third, and if there wasn't enough going for our dear sweet Cullens, enter Nessie.
Muwahaha! Thanks SO MUCH for reading...and reviewing if you so choose.