Bad Dreams (Charlie)

When Charlie hears the scream he runs for Bella's room before he's even awake. He yanks her bedroom door open to see his daughter backed against the wall; her table lamp is held high over her head, ready to be thrown (for all the good it will do her - it's still plugged into the socket). "What happened?" he demands as he automatically reaches for his holster, which he is not wearing.

"Edward!" she shrieks. "Edward Cullen was in my room!"

"What?"

"He was there!" She points at her ancient rocking chair. It is perfectly still. "He was watching me sleep!"

"Oh." Charlie exhales and flips on the light, his panic beginning to abate. Thank goodness it was nothing serious. "Kiddo, I think you were dreaming."

"I wasn't! He was right there!"

He carefully takes the lamp from her trembling hand. "Bella, I know nightmares can be really vivid-"

"I've never had nightmares!"

"-but there's no one here. You're safe." Charlie strokes her head gently, which never fails to calm her down. "Everyone knows I'd shoot on sight."

But Bella doesn't calm down this time. If anything her hyperventilation gets worse. "Dad, please, you have to believe me. He went out the window. He moved so fast. He's been acting so creepy lately-"

Charlie sighs. "The window, huh?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, okay." It's three AM and Charlie is tired, but he has never been able to stand seeing his little girl panic. He is willing to indulge her in this - though he is not getting out the fingerprinting kit.

The window is locked from the inside. There is no sign of forced entry, no smudges on the sill, no stacks of books disturbed. Nothing is out of order. He flips the latch and pushes the panes open, letting in a cool spring breeze; there's no way to climb up, and jumping out would be a twenty foot drop into raspberry bushes. "I don't see anyone, kiddo," he says wearily.

Bella's eyes are wide and her face has lost all remaining color. "But there wasn't a squeak," she says in a small voice. "It should have squeaked. Where's the squeak?"

Charlie frowns. She's right. The window has always squeaked, a tiny noise like a squirrel or a chipmunk. He's been meaning to fix it for years.

He leans close to examine the steel hinges.

They look greased.

"Daddy?"

Before he turns he schools his expression into something calm and neutral. "Bella, what did you mean when you said Edward's been acting creepy?" This is not the first time he's heard the Cullens called that.

"I told him a few weeks ago that I didn't want to hang out so much anymore," she says, still shivering in her long nightshirt. "Since then, I... I don't know. It's weird. I think he's been following me."

"Following you? Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Because... I mean, he hasn't... I can't point to anything specific. But he was in my room-"

"We don't know that for sure," Charlie says reassuringly. (None of this sounds good, but nothing will be gained by scaring her even more.) "Listen. First thing in the morning I'm paying a visit to Dr. Cullen-" which may or may not involve Charlie's shotgun "-and I'll get to the bottom of this."

Something finally overcomes the fright on Bella's face: a look of profound adolescent mortification. "No, Dad, don't do that."

"Bella-"

"I'll handle it-"

"Bella, if this boy is stalking you, that is very serious business-"

"Please don't go all Officer Swan on this, Dad. It's embarrassing."

That stings. Badly. It seems like all Charlie does these days is embarrass his daughter, and he doesn't even know how he's doing it. "Well, what do you want, then?"

Bella opens her mouth to speak... then pauses. She glances from Charlie to the window. She is caught halfway between ten and twenty years old. "Let me talk to him tomorrow at school," she says finally. "Then... you can go see Dr. Cullen the next day. But I should... I don't know, warn him first or something. Make things clearer."

Charlie resolves to be waiting at home when Bella gets off the bus. "All right. But you stay in sight of all the teachers, okay? Don't go off with him."

"I won't."

"Good." Charlie latches the window firmly, then rearranges Bella's stacks of books; if someone tries to come through there will be a loud crash. It still doesn't seem likely that anyone was really here - probably it was just a bad dream prompted by the Cullen kid's unacceptable behavior - but it's best not to take any chances. "All right. Well, I'm-"

"Can we watch a movie?" Bella tucks her hair behind her ears and can't quite meet his eyes. "Downstairs? You and me? And, um, stay in the living room?"

Charlie sleeps terribly on the recliner and he doesn't care at all. "Sure thing."