Chapter 27:

Disclaimer: I own nothing


"Just a little to the left…a little more—Oh! Right there…right there! Ah, yes…" I tilted my head to the side as Charlie's nails scratched my back. His nails were just the right length needed for the job, and it was getting rid of the itch that had been bothering me forever.

"You know," he said, "you could just have done it yourself. It's still in the area where your arms could reach."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah I could, but your nails are just perfect for it…Go a little down."

He snorted, but did as I said as his fingers moved down to the lower part of my shoulder blade. I had been making sure to spend a lot of time over the past few days with Charlie—to make sure he was sane. Tomorrow was the day the Cullens arrived and the day of my MRI. I had been stressed—along with the Denalis—about the event ever since the day we talked in my room. Tanya and I talked about what was going to happen almost every night since—as I spent as much time with Charlie as I could during the day.

We had decided—with the other Denalis—it would be best if I told him today about when they would arrive. I was going to lie, of course, and add in a few details to make it convincing and make sure he wouldn't blame the Denalis for it.

Needless to say, I was pretty nervous of actually telling him. Charlie hated the Cullens with a passion unknown to man. He would gladly shoot them dead and hide the bodies in the woods the second he saw them if he could, and that, of course, was the last thing that needed to happen during the Cullens' stay in Denali.

Kate freaking out about the whole thing had taken up most of our quotients on it—especially with plots to murder. While she had calmed down after our talk, there was still the occasional comment that took up more room and it left Charlie with very little that we could still somehow manage, and I knew it was going to be big as he was, well, my dad.

A sudden pat on the middle of my back brought me out of my thoughts as Charlie stopped scratching. "There you go," he said, turning away from me on the couch to watch the TV again. He grabbed his beer off the side table and took a swig of it.

I, meanwhile, took in a breath as I calmed myself as nerves suddenly washed through my body. I closed my eyes for a second and I thought the words over again in my head, making sure I had the right ones to use that would help keep him calmer and more relaxed for the conversation.

With a slow release of the air, I turned around on the couch to face the TV as well, resting my hands in my lap. Charlie's eyes were completely focused on the screen as he lounged on the couch, still drinking from his bottle of beer in his hand.

Part of me envied him for being able to be so calm.

I took in another breath and forced out the word, "Dad."

"Yeah?" he asked without looking away from the screen.

I bit the backs of my lips. "We need to talk about something," I said.

He nodded. "Alright," he said, still not looking away from the screen. He took another drink from his beer. "Shoot."

I sighed, realizing I wouldn't have his full attention. Quickly, I reached over and snatched the remote off the cushion between us. Charlie jerked his head to me as I pressed the button, muting the TV for his attention. "It's important," I said.

A small frown began to pull on his mouth as he turned, eyeing me carefully. "What is it, Bells?" he asked. His eyes scanned me. "You aren't pregnant are you?"

I spluttered. "What? Preg—what would make you ask something like that when I am with Tanya? Who also happens to be a female?"

He gave a small shrug. "Stranger things have happened. Besides, you can't blame me for thinking the worse when it comes to my daughter. I am a dad after all." His eyes narrowed on me. "And I can't be sure that you two aren't…you know…?"

I shook my head at him, forcing down a small groan as I planted my face in my hands. "Dad…"

"I'm just saying, Bella," he continued. "You may not be a boy and Tanya may not be either, but that doesn't mean you two can't be as bad as one when it comes to sex."

Oh my god, this conversation is so not going where I meant it to.

"This is not what I wanted to talk about with you," I groaned.

He gave another shrug and took a drink of his beer. "Alright, alright, I'm listening," he said, waving his hand in the air dismissively. "However, if you are feeling the need to…talk to someone about anything that has to do with that part of—"

"Dad!"

He held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, fine," he said. He motioned with the beer in his hand as he got comfier. "What is it you wanted to talk about?"

I bit my bottom lip for a second and gave a small sigh. Saying it to him would be better fast and quick; just like pulling off a Band-Aid. "The Cullens are coming."

At first, he didn't really react as he just looked at me. The only movement he made were his eyelids as he blinked, processing the information for a moment of peace. It almost seemed like he neither breathed nor moved besides his eyelids as his brain worked, silently letting thoughts slip into his head.

My heart hammered in my chest nervously and my stomach churned, sick of the butterflies that had been flying around in it for the past few days now. I was ready to hurl them up and get them out of my system for a while; at least until my scan tomorrow.

Then, Charlie snorted and shook his head. His hand ran through his hair as a slight, humorless chuckle rumbled in his chest. "You have got to be shitting me."

My back muscles tensed as he shook his head. He set the beer down and his face went into his hands. I could see the battle in him as he tried to decide what to feel—raw irony or pure anger. The smile on his lips was sarcastic, not really true.

He ran his hands down his face as he growled, "Two years. For two years we haven't seen them while you went through this and now they're coming here. Out of all the fucking times they could show up they come here now."

I nodded stiffly. "Yes," I agreed, "I know that its horrible timing and I don't really like it myself, but there's nothing we can do about it."

He snapped his eyes up to me. "Are the Denalis really letting them near you? After everything you've been through with them, they're just gonna let them come waltzing back in?" he asked, his tone heavy and threatening.

I sighed. "They can't do much either, Dad, not without causing problems that we don't want to happen," I said.

He frowned. "What problems?"

"Family issues," I said with a shrug. "They've been close to the Cullens for a long time, and a sudden riff could be catastrophic to that bond they have with them."

He scowled. "So they're willing to risk your heart over some dumb bond?" he snarled.

I quickly shook my head. "Of course not," I insisted. "They like the idea as much as we do, but think about it, Dad. If they told the Cullens to eat dust, the Cullens would want to know the reason of the sudden change in attitude and could easily realize I was with them. Do you really want the Cullens to find out this way, or come prying later and possibly come rushing back here?"

His jaw ticked as his brown eyes blazed into mine. He took in a breath as he shook his head. "I don't want them coming at all," he growled. He took in another breath, and in a calmer voice said, "However, I do realize where you are coming from."

I nodded. "That's why the Denalis have agreed to let events play out."

He took in another breath and ran his hands over his face again before he dragged them through his hair. His fingers interlocked behind his head as he let out an exasperated sigh. He let his hands slide down his neck as he seemed to think, letting the idea roll around in his head.

Then, he turned towards me. "How did the Denalis handle the news?"

I shrugged. "Not great," I admitted. "Kate was actually demanding that they kicked them to the curb she was so pissed. She calmed down, though, after a few words of reason."

He nodded and snorted. "While I may have met Kate on the wrong foot at first, I think I have quite grown to like her—especially if she thinks that way about the Cullens."

I chuckled lightly. "She likes you too."

"Of course she would. I'm amazing."

The two of us smiled at each other. Charlie looked at the ground as he fiddled with his mustache, twisting the ends between his fingers before he asked, "When are they coming?"

"They'll be here in three days," I lied.

He nodded, not really replying as he grabbed his beer off the table and took a large drink from it, almost emptying the bottle completely from the drink. He grabbed the remote and unmuted the TV, turning his attention back to the screen as an uncomfortable silence fell between us.

I pursed my lips and ran my hand through my hair. "So…do you think you could scratch my back again?"


Charlie and I walked down the halls of the hospital, following both the nurse and doctor. I was dressed in black gym shorts with a light orange—almost peach colored—Nike tank with NIKE across the front in purple that barely allowed you to see my black sports bra under it. And, surprisingly, I didn't look insane as it was 62 degrees here in Alaska, so a lot of Alaskans were wearing shorts and t-shirts today. Of course, I was still freezing while every native Alaskan was pretty warm, but I had no choice from the restriction of metals in the MRI.

I honestly looked like I was an athlete with my sneakers to top the outfit off with. If it wasn't for my port that made a lump under the shirt or the obvious underweight problem I had, a lot of people would probably just think that I was visiting a patient here instead before I went to practice or something.

Charlie gave me a slight nudge with his shoulder. I jerked my head to the side as he offered a small smile. "You okay?" he asked.

I nodded, forcing a smile onto my face. "Yeah, I'm fine. I've done these things a hundred times before, Dad," I said, giving him a small nudge.

He nodded. "I know you just seem a little…off."

I rolled my shoulder. "Must be the excitement in destroying Kate in Call of Duty later after this is over," I said, giving a small smirk at the end.

He chuckled. "I'm sure you're practically bouncing off the walls on the inside to do that, huh?" he asked.

I smiled. "I'm not bouncing," I said. "I'm ricocheting." Charlie began to lightly chuckle as I kept the smile on my face, trying to hide the fact that he was right about me spacing out. I was nervous, really, about not just the MRI but what would happen afterwards.

The Cullens were arriving today and my emotions were all over the place with it. I couldn't decide if I was scared or just…anxious. I could physically feel myself being torn in several directions at once at the thought of seeing them again. After one and a half years of being healed from the heartbreak they gave me two years ago, I couldn't decide how things would play out, and it made me nervous as hell.

I wanted things with them to go smoothly, to be civil and not cause any riffs between the families that couldn't be repaired, but I didn't know if that was real. I had no doubt in my mind that the Cullens would figure out about my cancer—whether from someone's mind or a verbal admission from me or even a scream from a Denali—they would find out.

That I knew.

How they would react…?

I did not know.

The idea was strange to think about, really; the Cullens finding out two years after they were supposed to about my illness. They were finding out my whole story here, in Alaska, where I was in a coven of new vampires that just so happened to be their cousins. I wasn't just in that coven, though, I was completely and utterly in love with that coven just as I had been with the Cullens once.

Again, the occurrences in my life never seemed to end.

I jerked my attention to the present as we came to a stop at the MRI door. Charlie and the doctor headed to the observation room as the nurse walked into the MRI room to help me prepare. I wordlessly took off my shoes and handed them to her as I seated myself on the table.

I laid back, letting her adjust me into position with my arms above my head to give a good view of my pelvis and abdomen. She read off the usual instructions of needing to sit still during the scan that I nodded to and shut my eyes as she left.

The machine turned on and I began to be put inside of the tube as I heard the roaring get louder and louder. As I entered the machine, the simple direction of lying completely still seemed to be simply impossible as the thoughts of the Cullens, Denalis and Call of Duty ran through my head.


After the thirty minute scan and about a twenty to thirty minute drive, Charlie and I were in the Denali driveway in front of their house. The vampires immediately came outside as they heard us pull up; Tanya smiled brightly as she practically skipped down the steps to greet us.

I shut the car door behind me, still in my scanning clothes, and smiled at the blonde. "Hey," I said, wrapping my arms around her.

Tanya's lips pecked my cheek as she hugged me tightly, making sure she minded the port and her strength. "Hey," she greeted in my ear.

We pulled apart as Carmen asked, "How did the scan go?"

I shrugged as Charlie pulled my spare bag of clothes to change into from the car. "Noisy, loud, long and boring," I said. "You know, just the same as usual."

"Do you know the results yet?" Irina asked.

Charlie shut the car door and shook his head as he walked around to me with the bag. He held it out. "No," he said. "We'll know in the next twenty-four hours or so, though. The doctors are just sometimes too busy to get time to say the results or even calculate them, so it's passed down."

"Ah," Eleazer said.

Charlie nodded and set his hand on me. "You've got your extra clothes and stuff with you," he said. "I shouldn't be out too long tonight, but if I am I'll give you a call."

I nodded. "'Kay, Dad," I said.

He kissed my cheek in farewell and looked at the Denalis. "Thanks again for sticking with her," he said as he moved towards the driver's side.

Carmen smiled. "Of course, Charlie," she replied smoothly. Behind her eyes, however, I could see the slight anxiousness for him to leave before the Cullens arrived.

I wasn't the only one feeling it, then.

He nodded and gave a small wave to them in farewell as he said, "See you later." He slipped into the car as the Denalis gave small waves and nods in reply.

Charlie went into reverse, backed up, turned the wheel and then drove off down the driveway. My eyes followed him until he was out of sight around the bend and Tanya's arm wrapping around my waist distracted me. I turned my attention to the blonde next to me who smiled. "Let's get you inside," she suggested.

I nodded, feeling a sudden chill rush up my spine. "I think I'd really like that," I agreed, not arguing as she began to lead me into the Denali household with the others in tow.

As we entered the house, Carmen politely removed the bag I was carrying and set it in the living room as I asked, "Do you know what time the Cullens will arrive?"

Eleazer shook his head. "No, not specifically, anyway," he said. He cocked his head as he considered something. "We do believe they should be here in a few hours, however, no sooner."

Kate threw her arm over my shoulders. "Which is more than enough time for me to murder you in Call of Duty," she smirked.

I snorted and shrugged her arm off. "In your dreams, Kate," I said. "No one can master Call of Duty like I can."

"I'll be the judge of that."

I was about to make a retort when Eleazer spoke up. "Before that can happen, however, I think there is something else we should tell Bella first," he said calmly.

Kate pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest like a child. "What can be more important than me handing Bella her ass in Call of Duty?" she whined.

"Hey…"

He cocked his brow and then rolled his eyes, "Perhaps the fact that we shall become less…ourselves when the Cullens arrive, Kate?"

Immediately the blonde straightened and her features grew serious. "Oh," she said after a slight pause. Her hand scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. "I, uh, forgot about that part."

I furrowed my brow and looked between the vampires around me. "Forgot about what part?" I asked curiously. I was confused by her serious expression—it was Kate after all—but I was even more confused by his words of "less ourselves". What did that even mean? It wasn't like they were going to start having frat parties here.

Tanya pursed her lips, cocking her head to the side as she thought. "Bella," she began, "you already know how I react when I see others look at you…in ways I don't approve of?"

"Yes, because I usually have to hold you back from ripping a head off."

Irina smiled. "Well," she said, "when the Cullens are here, the rest of us will be reacting the same way." She cocked her head. "Our instincts that say you are our possession will be more prominent than before. Our beasts will see the Cullens as a threat to our claims from their previous one on you as a family of brothers, sisters and parents."

"Yes," Carmen agreed. She glanced at the coven leader. "Tanya will also be acting differently around you, Bella. Having Edward around along with a new batch of vampires will make her both more protective and possessive."

I glanced at the woman holding me. "So…you'll basically be trying to make sure Edward knows I'm with you now, right?" I asked.

She nodded slowly. "More or less, yes," she agreed. She tightened her hold on me with her arm. "We just wanted to warn you so you weren't surprised if we were sitting closer to you than usual or touching you more often."

I nodded in understanding. "I think I can handle that."

"Just a heads up as well," Kate said, "if the Cullens still think of you as theirs, they will most likely try to do what we do. It'll kind of be their way to subtly tell us to 'Fuck off' as they hold their claim on you. In other words, there is about to be a full out war in here."

"Way to make it sound horrible, Kate," Irina scowled.

She shook her head with a small shrug. "I'm just being blunt. I mean, come on, what are the odds that at least three fights will not break out between our covens—even if it isn't here in the house—because of it?" she asked.

The others didn't answer, making her smirk. Kate suddenly turned and stole me from Tanya's arm, wrapping hers around my shoulders again. "Anyway," she continued as if nothing happened, "it's time for you to receive your ass whooping of the day."

I pulled out of Kate's arm and went to the game console. I grabbed two controllers and chucked one in her direction that she caught flawlessly. "Put your controller where your mouth is," I said and plopped onto the ground.

Kate sniggered and flipped the controller in her hand like a gun. "With pleasure," she smirked as she sat down next to me and turned on the game.


"Die mother—Shit!"

"Bring it on! I dare you!"

"Eat lead, bunny muncher!"

"Take that, Bambi!"

We were still on our first game nearly two hours after starting. Neither of us had gotten in the lead with enough points to win and we had been working at a tie for the past half hour. Kate had already had to replace her controller twice and the one she was currently on wasn't going to last much longer either.

"Die! Die! Die!"

Needless to say, we were both getting very into it as the rest of the Denalis practically laughed their asses off around the room. Neither of us were losing our concentration, however, as we fought to get on top.

I was currently just barely in the lead and I just had to get one more—

"No!" I shouted as my person was obliterated into dust by a grenade from Kate. I hadn't even seen the grenade coming until the last second.

Kate gave a victorious whoop with a fist-pump. "Yeah! You can't win with me around, Bella! I'll kick your ass every time!"

"We are still tied, idiot."

"Not for long."

I growled and hit the buttons on my controller furiously, going for the most advanced moves I knew on the fucking game. Kate wasn't having any of it as she countered me every time, trying desperately to keep her score while she made to win again.

The two of us were so enthralled with the game we didn't even realize the others around the room had frozen until the front door slammed open. I jumped, my heart going up a tick from the sudden sound as Kate snapped her head to the side in surprise.

I couldn't see them, but I could feel them in the doorway. Down the hall, I heard Edward, his voice just as velvety as I remembered, call, "Bella?" His voice was filled with shock, desperation and curiosity all at once.

Tanya's brow furrowed in disapproval when the familiar voice of Rosalie growled for him to move. Not much sooner had I heard her voice, were the Cullens in the room. Their eyes didn't look at the Denalis who were stiff, waiting for their move, but they instead locked on me from where I was seated on the floor next to Kate and blanched.

They had arrived.