From Hell to Heaven
Beta/Proof reader/Advisor: Maria Vilson
Chapter 28
"Oh…This is impossible!" Phil yelled throwing the parchment he was trying to read on the table with force, finally tiring of looking at so many of them that he couldn't stand it anymore. He had read so many of them that he thought he knew more about the Quileute people than even Old Quil did.
He sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath calming himself, and then looked over at his two companions as they sat and stared at him.
"I'm sorry, can't we stop for a while…maybe pick this up again tomorrow morning? I'm beginning to see double after having my head stuck into so many of these things," Phil asked, picking up the parchment he just threw down and showing it to the two men, and then pitched it back on the table after making his point.
He knew what they were looking for was of grave importance, and he knew this was to save his step daughter, but he just couldn't take it any longer.
Besides how could he help her if he was so tired that the words began to run together? What if he missed something and he didn't want to miss anything, especially if it could help Bella.
"Phil's right, we all need to take a little break. I'll tell you what, Quil why don't you take Phil back to your house so he can get something to eat and rest. I'm used to reading these damn things so I'll stay a while longer and have Jake or one of the guys pick me up later. If I find something I'll give you a call," Billy suggested.
"You need to rest as well, Billy, it won't do any of us any good if you bypass something that could be important," Old Quil told him.
"Oh, I intend to take a break, I'll grab a cup of coffee and rest my eyes for a while then I'll get back at it. If I don't find anything before dinner time, I'll stop and you can pick me up again in the morning to start this all over again," he explained. Old Quil nodded his head.
"Alright, but don't stay too much longer old man, and everything you read you leave on the table, I'll have a look at them tomorrow just in case you've missed something," Old Quil demanded. Billy laughed heartily.
"Oh ye of little faith," Billy said with a chuckle.
"I'd rather be safe than sorry, this is my great-granddaughter we're talking about here, I won't take any chances when it comes to her," Old Quil said.
"I know old friend, I'll do as you ask. Now go, if I find anything you'll be the first to know," Billy promised.
Old Quil stood looking at his friend for a few seconds, he hated leaving him alone to do what he himself should be doing, but Phil was right, they all needed a break. They had gone through hundreds of parchments in the last eight hours without finding a single thing.
The only thing he was worrying about right now was missing something because of tired eyes, and that is why he told Billy to leave everything he read on the table.
He couldn't take the chance of Billy missing something all because he was too stubborn to admit how tired he was.
The old fool, he thought, but let him have his way. Who knows, he might just stumble over something of importance, he thought again before leaving taking Phil with him and heading back to the house as Billy did as promised.
Billy took a twenty minute break and dove back into the parchments, but this time he moved to a completely different location in the room.
He crossed the room from where the three men had been working the entire day, and from a completely different shelf he grabbed a hand full of parchments and took them back to the table where they had all worked from earlier and dove in paying special attention to each one, hoping that he wouldn't miss anything.
It was at least an hour later and Billy was just about to give up when he read something that caught his attention. He read it again to make sure it wasn't his eyes playing tricks on him, but his eyes were just fine…he'd found it!
"I've found it!" he screamed holding the parchment to the sky and laid his head back and laughed heartily. He pulled out his cell phone and called Jake.
After a few rings his son answered in a tired voice, "Dad?"
"Jake, where are you?" Billy asked in a hurried voice.
"I'm at home trying to sleep, what's wrong?" Jake asked feeling the nervousness in his father's voice.
"I need you to come get me now! I'm at the council building," he ordered.
"Dad, are you okay?" Jake asked worried.
"I'm fine, but I need a ride to Old Quil's, I think I've found something that will change all that's been going on here on the Reservation. Now get here as soon as you can Jake!" Billy said starting to lose his patience.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Jake said, feeling the weight of the last few weeks. It wasn't that he didn't care, he did, he just hadn't gotten too much rest as of late with all that's been going on, and just when he closed his eyes for some much needed rest…bam, his cell rings.
"Now!" Billy ordered knowing Jake was moving slowly and he wanted him to move his arse.
"I'm coming, God!" Jake said hitting the end button on his phone as he ran out to his truck jumping in, and then drove over to the council building where he found his dad waiting for him at the curb.
This must be more important than he had originally thought. He usually had to go in and help his dad out of wherever he was before situating him in his truck, Jake thought to himself.
He hurried out of the truck to help his dad get comfortable in the seat of his truck, before tossing his wheelchair in the bed of his truck and took off towards Old Quil's.
~xXx~
Bella raised her head and looked into Sam's worried eyes as her sobbing stopped immediately. Sam once again wiped away the tears that streaked her cheeks and nodded again, with the silent words that it would be okay.
Bella took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, continued to hold on to Sam as she pushed the door open and pulled Sam along with her to meet her father for the first time in many years.
"Bella," Charlie said in a broken voice trying not to cry, but all could see he was completely broken, and this wasn't like Charlie, he was always so strong willed around the guys, unless it came to his daughter.
She was his everything and only she could bring him to tears, which he was on the verge of at this very moment.
"Dad," Bella answered still clinging onto Sam. They had told her that the mind control thing was broken, but she still didn't know what to expect.
If what they say is true then she really didn't know her father at all, only what she had learned while talking to him on the phone when she lived with her mother, which wasn't much at all.
He looked older to Bella in some ways, it hadn't been that long ago that she had seen him, but he just looked older, she thought.
He looked as though he had a lot more gray in his hair, and the crow's feet at the edge of his eyes seemed more pronounced she thought.
He was pale looking, and she wondered if it was due to being shot in his arm and the loss of blood or if he was having a hard time dealing with what he had been through the last couple of weeks.
"Sam," Charlie said, as he acknowledged his presence.
"Charlie," Sam returned, as they all stood staring at one another not knowing where to start.
"Why don't we all take a seat," Sue offered as she moved some chairs around the room. "Bella you sit here," she said putting a chair close to Charlie.
Bella looked up at Sam not wanting to be separated from him even to sit close to her father. So Sam moved his chair next to Bella and sat down. Bella grabbed his hand immediately and Charlie noticed and so did Sue.
"Sam, why don't we go get a cup of coffee together down at the canteen, and leave Charlie and Bella to talk," she said sweetly. Bella's head jerked up to look at Sam, and Sam looked down at Bella seeing the fear in her eyes.
Sam had promised not to leave her side for even a moment unless she asked him to, and she hadn't asked him to, so he declined and stood his ground as Bella had asked him to do.
"Sam, I really need to talk to my daughter, and I think it would be best if I do it alone," Charlie pleaded. Bella tightened her grip on Sam's hand as Sam shook his head declining yet again, as Bella stood to her feet.
"Whatever you have to say can be said in front of Sam, and if he is made to leave then I leave as well," Bella told her father. The space between Charlie's eyes furrowed as he looked between Sam and his daughter.
Charlie knew Bella was Sam's imprint and he would do whatever it took to protect her, but she was no longer in danger of him now. Why wouldn't Sam leave her? Unless she or he's afraid of what I might do, Charlie thought.
Of course she was afraid, how stupid could he have been, he thought again. He had been so worried about what he was going to say to Bella that he didn't think that she would be afraid to be alone with him.
Sam was her mate, of course she'd want him near until she figured it was safe. Charlie was lost in his thoughts when Sam interrupted bringing his attention back to Sam.
"Charlie, I told Bella that I would like to reintroduce her to her father. I also told her that she truly hasn't meet the real you, so with your permission," Sam said waiting for Charlie's answer.
Charlie looked over at Sue who smiled and nodded her head to coax him to agree. Charlie nodded his head, thinking this is as good place as any to begin.
"Of course Sam, thank you," he said staring at his daughter waiting for the introduction.
"Isabella, it is my great pleasure to introduce to you for the first time in many years to your father, Charlie Swan," Sam started, and then continued.
"Charlie, as you have waited patiently for so very long to meet your little girl again, I reintroduce to you your daughter, Isabella Swan," Sam concluded.
Charlie smiled at his daughter, thinking of how beautiful she was, so grown up. How he missed her so much, how he hated missing all the things parents take for granted, like the losing of her first tooth, the excitement of her first Christmas when she was old enough to realize that Santa was on his way.
Her first day at school, her first Easter egg hunt, the list went on and on, but at the same time he wondered if she had any of those experiences living with that monster she called mother.
For in reality Renée was never a mother she was only Bella's jailer, Charlie's jailer. Keeping the two of them apart for all of his daughter's young life, and the things she did to her to get back at him were appalling. He felt all of it was his fault. His thoughts were interrupted once again as Sam began to speak.
"I told Bella how much you've missed her throughout the years. I've also told her that you've spoken to a number of people about how proud you are of her. That there's not a soul in this town that doesn't know how proud you are to call her your daughter," Sam said.
"You're right, I did miss Bella. I've really missed you Bella, but I think Sam exaggerated a little when he says I've told everyone in town about you though," Charlie said.
"Psst…please Charlie, you've told anyone that would listen about Bella, and not only once either, he's bored the town of Forks and La Push to tears with stories about you Bella, don't let him fool you," Sue said with a chuckle.
Charlie looked at Sue in shock, not believing she said that in front of his only daughter, and his face must have showed it, for it caused Sam to chuckle, and to everyone's relief so did Bella.
Charlie looked over at Bella and smiled, he loved to hear the sweetness of his daughter's voice, even if it was in the form of a chuckle, which he was very happy to hear.
Between Sue and Sam they had broken the ice, so to speak, and made it easier for them to speak to one another in somewhat of an easy way.
Charlie admitted that he didn't want things to turn out the way they did and apologized over and over again through tears that streamed down his face as he told her he didn't know what he was doing and how appalled he felt once he heard all he had done.
Bella rose from her chair and went over and sat on the side of her father's bed and picked up his hand and held it as he continued telling her everything he wanted her to hear.
He told her how much he loved and missed her and how he never knew of how her mother had treated her, that if he had known he would have come to get her and take her away from all that horror.
Sam and Sue moved to the back of the room as Bella and Charlie spoke, not wanting to interrupt their reunion, but Sam still wouldn't leave even with Sue's prompting.
He had promised he wouldn't leave Bella unless she released him to do so, and she still hadn't done that, so he stayed.
So Sue and Sam huddled in the back of the room whispering to one another and listening every now and then to what was being said between father and daughter.
Charlie couldn't apologize enough, as he told her his heart broke when her great-granddad told him of what was going on in Florida, but at the same time the happiness he felt when Old Quil told him that she was on her way home to La Push.
He told her that he felt a little off at first and when he tried to stop himself from being so jealous of Phil, which was very much out of his character considering he was very happy that Phil was there to help her when he could not be, the cloudiness just intensified in his head until he was completely lost. He just kept apologizing, until Bella finally told him to stop.
That all that had happened wasn't his fault, and after a lot of convincing Charlie smiled at his not so little girl and pulled her into his arms and hugged her for all it was worth, as both father and daughter succumbed to tears and held each other tightly within their arms.
Was it worked out? Not by a long shot, but it was a good beginning.
A/N: It will take some time for Bella and Charlie to work out their differences, but they will.
And what has Billy found? Is it a good thing or is it something they will regret…we'll see that as well in the next update…
We'll also get back to Jasper and Carlisle soon, a few things have to come into play before we get back to them…but it will be soon, I promise…thanks for reading, bigg huggs. Peggy
