Disclaimer:

I don't own Twilight, and as always, no copyright infringement is intended.

Author Notes:

I decided to post this Charlie chapter as a regular part of the story. I don't really like outtakes, and if the content is important enough that it enriches, clarifies or fills in the story, then it should be a part of the main story. So, the format is quite different from the rest of this, and we will return to regular formatting for the next chapter. The next chapter will cover Bella's change as well, dealing with how everyone is experiencing it.

Thank you all for your love of the story and for your response to the last chapter. I'm glad I was able to surprise some of you with where things went and how Bella's change began. I love you all so much!

Thanks as ever to my wonderful wonderful beta and dear friend, Dooba, as well as my fantastic prereaders, Divine Inspiration, PiedPiperOSIB, Drotuno and Shannon.

A couple cool things at the bottom.

THROUGH A FATHER'S EYES

Charlie Swan

I'm standing here in this room, the room my daughter shares with her husband, and I'm watching my child burn. She's burning in order to change, to change into something new, something different. She wanted this, and I had to help to keep it from starting a war. There is nothing I wouldn't do for my little girl, and if vampire life is what she wants, if it will let her be with her husband and second family forever, then yeah, I can fight even with my former best friend, to give her what she wants. I'm just glad Sam Uley understood and agreed with me, in spite of Billy's attitude. Besides, the alternative, well, yeah, hell, I sure wasn't going to let her die. But, damn, it is so hard to stand here and watch her burn.

We nearly lost her after that crazy motorcycle accident. We thought everything would be safe once those nomad vampires were gone, and we never expected a dumb accident to bring this about.

But yeah, we nearly lost her. She was so broken, and after Edward bit her to start the transformation, he had to do CPR, to keep her heart beating long enough for the venom to take over and do its thing.

So, here we are, waiting and watching. I hate seeing my little girl hurting like this, but she'll never have to feel pain again, once this is over. Thank God. They tell me that when this part is over, when she opens her eyes, and the pain will be gone, she'll be ok. She'll be strong, almost indestructible. More than that, more than anything, she might be able to see. I live for the day when my little girl can open her eyes, and see me, really see me.

Carlisle and the boy, Edward—who I've actually come to love like a son—they tell me that she won't be safe around me for a year perhaps. I don't know how I will be able to stand to wait that long to have my first exchanged look with Bella.

But I'll wait. I promised her I would wait. I promised her I'd take care of myself, eat right, stay healthy, till the day we can see each other again. Esme has promised to make me live up to that promise. Yeah, Esme, she comes off as so gentle, but she can sure be a mama bear when she gets something stuck in her mind. And apparently, my health is one of those things. Between her and Alice, I don't stand a chance!

Bella whimpers, and I see Edward flinch and grasp her hand tighter. We are united in our grief over this part of the process. Every cry, every scream, every time Bella writhes from the pain, I see Edward flinch, and I find I do the same. We have talked about this day, and I know Edward hates to see her lose her humanity, even though, at the same time, he can't wait till she is more durable, as he calls it. Knowing she will be with him forever is what makes it worthwhile to him. But for now, he and I share our pain over her pain, and it binds us even closer together.

The other family members come in and out, Edward and I never leave her side. I've taken catnaps on Edward's leather couch, but I can't really sleep much, not now, not while my baby is in such agony. I keep asking myself why I stay and watch her go through this, but seriously, I'm her father, and I can't walk away while she's in pain.

Carlisle comes in, checks her pulse, listens to her heart.

"The morphine doesn't seem to have helped," Carlisle sighs, "I had hoped—"

He trails off, watching her twist and turn in her burning. He bends down and kisses her flushed cheek. He embraces Edward, and then he stops briefly to clasp my shoulder in empathy.

"This is never easy, Charlie," he tells me, "You don't have to sit and watch this. We will tell you how her progress goes."

I look over at Edward, and I know that if he must sit through this with her, so must I. It may not help Bella, but it might help him. And, I think, maybe sharing it with him will help me, too.

He must have heard that thought, because Edward turns to glance at me, giving me a grim look, that I think is supposed to be an attempt at a smile.

"It does help me," he confirms, "I don't know how I could stand this, if I had to be alone and watch. I don't know how Carlisle did it, when he changed me."

Edward carries the burden of having been the one to start the burning. But what else could he do? She was dying; there was no other choice. We all know this. But he feels guilty for causing her this pain. I don't need Jasper's gift to tell me that. I'm a cop, and I know how to read faces. Edward is in agony, only his is agony of the heart and soul, not the agony of the burning Bella is going through.

Esme bustles into the room. She goes first to Bella, strokes her hair and murmurs words too softly for me to hear. She hugs Edward tightly, and I notice how he clings to her with the hand not holding Bella's. Esme has become a true mother to Bells, and from now on, she will be the only mother Bella has.

Suddenly, Esme turns to me, and she has that fierce mama bear look in her eyes.

"Charlie, you must eat something," she states, giving me no room for argument, "I have had Emmett barbecue some fish for you. I've baked a potato and put together a salad. You will come down with me now and eat."

"I don't want to leave her," I protest.

"Nonsense. Edward is here with her, and he will tell you if she needs you. You will eat and come right back to her. It will not make Bella's transition any easier if you make yourself ill while you wait for her."

Edward looks at me, and we exchange a shrug.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I grumble and follow mama bear down the stairs to the kitchen.

I sit on a stool at the kitchen counter, and Esme places a dish before me, heaping with food.

"I can never eat all this, Esme," I sigh, picking up my fork.

"Try," is all she will respond.

I pick at the food. It's delicious, and I think I would enjoy it, if my only child wasn't upstairs burning to death. It's hard to find pleasure in the food, knowing what is happening, knowing Edward is sitting with her alone.

Jasper walks in and looks long at me.

"I'll go sit with Edward," he says, "You don't like him being alone, do you?"

I shake my head.

"Thanks, Jasper," I sigh and turn back to my food.

Jasper moves silently out of the kitchen, and I return to my musings. I think about how my sweet, small, fragile human daughter has captivated this whole family of vampires. They have told me that they would all readily die to protect her, and I know enough to know it's true. Yet, as I think of everything that led us to this day, I can't help but be grateful for whatever force caused her to come home, and for the love this family has given her. I push away the plate of food, barely touched. Esme clucks her tongue at me, but she doesn't argue. She knows what I'm feeling. She understands and won't press me to choke down more.

Esme hands me a cup of coffee.

"Thanks, Esme," I whisper.

"It will help you get through the night. You should sleep, but I know there's no sense arguing with you right now."

I take a sip of the scalding hot liquid, set down the cup and drop my head into my hands. Esme comes to me and puts her arm around me.

"She'll be ok, Charlie," she says, "I promise you. Her heart is strong. She has the best people looking after her. She is surrounded by love. She will be ok."

Esme kisses my cheek. She has never done this before. I am touched by the gesture, but my thoughts return to my daughter.

Bella, my Bella, my daughter, my world, my life. I finish my coffee and thank Esme. I climb back to Edward's room, where he sits, exactly where he was before. Vampires sure can stay still for long periods of time, I think. I put an arm around his shoulders briefly, and then I return to my former seat. I watch my daughter burn, and I remember.

oOo

Approximately 18 months previously…

I'm sitting in my favorite chair, reclined back, a can of good old Vitamin R and the TV remote beside me on the end table. Another quiet night in Forks, Washington. There have been so many quiet nights. This is my routine, go to work, come home, eat, plop my ass in my chair and turn on the TV. Boring, lonely nights at home for a single guy.

I grumble when the phone rings, mute the TV and go to answer.

"Yeah, this is Chief Swan," I bark into the phone.

"Dad? It's me, Bella."

"Hey, honey, it's so good to hear from you," I answer, "How are you? How is school? What's going on?"

The words tumble out of my mouth. She doesn't usually call on a weeknight.

"Is anything wrong, Bells?" I ask.

"No, no, everything's good," she reassures me, "I, um, wanted to talk to you about something."

"Ok?" I answer slowly, each letter a long drawn out syllable of sound.

What's going on, I wonder. Is she calling to tell me she has a boyfriend? Is she having trouble at school? She sounds so serious and careful.

"Well, you know Mom and Phil just got married," she starts, "and Phil has to travel for his job."

"Yeah, I remember you telling me all about that," I answer.

"Well, you know, Mom would like to travel with him, but she worries about me with school and being left alone and all."

I scoff silently to myself. Bella has seemed alone in many ways, as her role has so often been that of caretaker to her mother.

"What are you getting at?" I ask.

"I want to know if I can come and live with you," she blurts it out, rushing the words together.

My heart leaps with joy. Bella and I have a good relationship, and she visits me every summer, but she hasn't actually lived with me since she was a little girl, and her mom took her away when we split up.

"Now, Dad, before you say anything," she hurries on, "It isn't just because of Phil's job. I've never lived with you, or at least not in so long that I really don't remember it. I want to have some time with you, before I graduate and go off to college. What do you think?"

"What do you think I think?" I ask, laughing, "Yes! Of course! When, how soon?"

She giggles, and the sound is music to me.

"I thought I'd come in about two weeks," she says, "Is that enough time for you to get ready to have a teenage girl in the house?"

Fuck, I think to myself. A teenage girl in the house. I'll probably be threatening all the local boys with my gun or cuffs, but I don't give a damn.

"You could be here tomorrow, and it would be enough time to get ready," I tell her.

"Thanks, Dad. I'm really looking forward to it."

"Me, too, Bells."

I think of how I've been living and waiting for this day, since the moment she moved away so many years ago.

"I'll call you with my flight info," she promises.

She blows me a kiss through the phone and is gone.

The game I had been watching holds no appeal for me after that conversation. I turn it off, toss my beer can into the recycling bin and go upstairs to look at Bella's room.

She has never complained, but there is a lot of little girl still left in this room.

"What kind of father am I?" I say aloud to the empty room.

My daughter grows up but I keep her room like she's still a little girl. I need to change that, before she gets here.

I sit on the bed and look around. There are posters on the wall of the different bands she liked as she grew up. There are a few Braille books on the shelves, some loose Braille notes on the desk. An old cassette player, which she rarely uses, now that she can download books to her laptop. There's a picture of her and me on her nightstand, and I reach to take it in my hands. I look at it for a long time, remembering so many things.

The day Bella was born was the greatest day of my life. Ah, hell, yeah, any parent thinks that, I guess. She was premature, and we were so scared. The doctors assured us she'd be ok, that the incubator was routine and would give her what she needed till she gained a little weight.

I'll never forget the day they took her out of the incubator, the day, they sat Renée and me down and gave us the news. Our beautiful daughter was blind. Too much oxygen while she was in the incubator. I cried so hard that day, tears running down my face, choking me, gasping sobs, unable to breathe. What had we done that our daughter should pay for it this way? Could we have done something different during the pregnancy?

The doctors told us repeatedly that nothing could have been done. Bella was born early, had to be in the incubator, and this was one of the potential hazards.

I cried; I raged. An eye doctor came to talk to us and painted a bleak picture of her future. I told him to get the fuck away from my girl. She was blind, but she wasn't an idiot. It didn't have to mean no future, I stormed at him. How could an eye doctor act the way he did?

We brought her home, and I started to learn. When she began to crawl, I put up baby gates on the stairs, and I padded corners of furniture. I realized these were things any parent might do. Maybe she wasn't all that different from any other child?

I vowed that as far as it was up to me, Bella would have as normal a life as I could give her. She was not less, just because she couldn't see. I would teach her how to do things. I would make sure she knew she is as much a person as anyone else. I would teach her to be independent, to believe in herself, to know that she can succeed at anything she chose.

I did research. I made calls. I learned about Braille, mobility with a white cane, tape recorders, type writers, computers later on and dozens of other ways she can accomplish things. I found hope, and I knew my daughter could succeed at anything. She was tough and stubborn, and her mom and I would never let her think she's not good enough.

I look at the picture in my hands, three-year-old Bella, standing with her first tiny white cane in her hands, looking proud of herself, me kneeling beside her. She didn't know how to use the cane yet, but the experts told us that the younger she was when she was exposed to it, the more a part of her it would become. She wandered around the house, dragging it beside her, and as I look at the picture, I smile, remembering.

I learned how to orient her and taught her to get around our neighborhood when she was old enough. I read books to her, described TV shows and movies. One summer, I drove her to Seattle everyday so she could attend a summer class to teach her daily living skills like cooking, cleaning and laundry. Good thing I did, too, because her mom was no great shakes at cooking, and as soon as Bella was old enough, she took over that job, so she and her mom wouldn't starve or die of food poisoning. She never complained though. She would shrug and make some crack about her mom just being the way she is. Bells didn't ever complain about much.

I leave her room, planning to go shopping to get more grown up bedding, paint for the walls, and whatever little things I can find to make this home her home again.

The second best day of my life will be the day she moves back to me. I've never regretted one minute of her existence, never wanted her to be anyone but who she is. I'm so proud of her, always.

oOo

I come back to myself, and I'm back in Edward's room, where my Bella is still burning.

Edward looks over at me, and there is a tiny sweet smile on his face.

"Your thoughts were beautiful pictures," he tells me, "Thank you for giving me that glimpse. Thank you for the commitment you had to make her strong. She is beautiful inside and out, and you and your ex-wife have done that."

"Bells did it herself," I object, "We just gave her the tools."

"You believed in her," he says, "I know enough now, have learned enough from Bella and from doing my own research. I know the kind of bleak picture the eye doctor gave you. I know they often still think declaring someone to be blind is like declaring that they will face a firing squad in the morning, a death sentence. Everything you did was to help make her strong and help her live up to all she could be. You gave her what she needed, Charlie. You made her into this woman I love so much."

I brush tears from my eyes, embarrassed. Sometimes, my son-in-law seems so old and wise, almost lives up to the number of years he's been alive, in some way on this earth. At other times, he seems like the 17-year-old he is physically. I love both parts of the kid, really I do. But that old wise soul thing kinda gets to me, because it almost makes me feel like a boy again. And I'm the dad; I'm the father-in-law. It's just a weird feeling sometimes.

Time passes, and Bella continues to burn. I doze in my chair, and I dream of tree houses, tandem bike rides, picnics on the beach. I dream of the day I walked her down the aisle and gave her hand into Edward's, entrusting the joy of my life to him for eternity.

She's quiet now, not crying, and it seems to make Edward nervous. He lays his head on her chest, listening to her heartbeat. He told me once that the sound of her heart was the one thing in the world that grounded and centered him.

"Carlisle," he calls out, despair in his voice.

"I'm here, son, what is it?"

"She's so quiet," Edward whispers, "She hasn't cried out in a while. I'm worried. Did I do something wrong?"

"Listen to her heart," Carlisle comforts, "It's strong, stronger even than Emmett's was. You can feel her skin is changing, growing harder. The broken bones and other injuries have healed. She will be fine."

Edward sighs, and Carlisle takes him in his arms.

"You did a good job, Edward," he says, "Don't worry so. She will come through this, and she will be strong and beautiful, and everything you ever wanted."

"She already is everything I ever wanted."

Carlisle hugs him again, nods at me and leaves the room.

Edward and I continue our vigil. Sometimes, we talk to her. Edward reads to her or sings softly to her or plays his iPod for her. He tells her often how much he loves her, how I love her, how all his family loves her. He talks to her about the future, the places they'll visit, the life they will build. He tells her how all her friends in the Pack wish her luck and are waiting for her.

It's another day, and Esme has prevailed again. She sent Emmett this time, and he threatened to carry me downstairs if I did not go peacefully. It's impossible to fear Emmett, the gentle giant that he is, Bella's Teddy. But it's also nearly impossible to refuse him. Sighing, I go down.

"You've barely eaten in two days, Charlie Swan," Esme chides me, "You need protein and carbs. Here, bacon, eggs, biscuits and fresh fruit. I did not overload you. I expect you to eat it all."

Esme does not seem to stop mothering; no matter that physically I am some years older than she. I give her a weak smile of appreciation and eat the breakfast she has prepared.

Alice comes to sit with me as I eat. Her usual bounce is missing, her natural joy dimmed, as she waits for her best friend to come out of the fire. Alice takes my hand and holds it.

"She's going to be fine," she assures me, "I've seen it, Charlie. She will be dazzling. Once you get used to the way she looks, you will think you have never seen anything or anyone more beautiful than your Bella."

"Dazzling, huh?" My voice quivers a little.

I have tried to be strong for Edward, but I'm reaching my breaking point. No father should ever have to see his child go through something like this.

"Come on, let's go back up to Bella," Alice cajoles, "Edward wants to ask me something, and you'll want to hear the answer."

We trudge up the stairs, the entire family filling in behind and around us.

"How long, Alice?" Edward asks desperately, "How much longer?"

"Not too much longer," she replies.

"Look at the clock," Edward pushes, "What do you see?"

Alice gazes at the clock a moment, her eyes fixed and staring. It doesn't seem as if she is seeing the clock anymore. Suddenly, Edward smiles.

"Ok, for the non mind readers here," Rose snaps, "What's the word?"

"Six more hours," Alice and Edward say together.

Everyone smiles. The idea that Bella must burn for six more hours is horrifying to me, but I understand that they smile because we now have an end in sight. We know when the worst will be over.

"Like I said," Alice trills, "She's going to be dazzling."

"She already is," Edward retorts.

"She always has been," he and I say in unison.

Time passes. We don't talk much. The family members flit in and out of the room more often, as the end draws near. It seems nobody wants to be far away now. Carlisle tries to get Edward to hunt, but he refuses, saying he'll wait to hunt with Bella.

I look at the clock, almost constantly. The Cullens look at me. I know that soon they will tell me I must leave. It's for my safety. It's for Bella's well-being, because the worst thing that could ever befall her would be to attack her own father.

I understand, yeah, I really do get it. But, fuck, how can I leave her to face a new life? I have always been her protector, her teacher, the one to show her and explain to her. The fact that I can't be the one this time nearly chokes me. She's my little girl; I'm daddy, strong and invincible in her eyes, yet there is nothing I can do but turn and walk away. I don't know if I can bear it.

Edward must hear my thoughts, because he turns to me and looks gravely at me.

"You will still be her Daddy," he tells me softly, "You will still be everything to her you always have been. The fact that she will be physically stronger now, does not negate or diminish the fact that you are a vital part of her life and her emotional happiness. She cannot do without you, Charlie, and neither can I. We will call you everyday, and as soon as she has her bloodlust under control, the first person she will see is you."

The family gathers around, and I feel Jasper's gift as he sends calm into the room.

"We will show her pictures," Esme promises, "We will send you pictures. We can even do web cams when she's ready."

"Yes, Charlie, technology gives us so many opportunities we would not have had in the past," Carlisle adds, "You will not be able to be in her presence for a while, but you will not be excluded from her life."

For the first time since the ordeal began, Edward releases Bella's hand. He comes to kneel beside me.

"When my human life ended," he began, "My mother and father had already died. Over the years I lived with Carlisle, he became my father, as you know. Bella often talks about how she has gained a second family, particularly a second mother and father, through our relationship. But what we have never discussed is the fact that I have a human father again. There are no words to tell you what that means to me. The times we have gone fishing, the talks we've had together, Charlie, you will never know how much that means to me."

I'm all fucking choked up now. Damn embarrassing tears in my eyes. How does this kid know exactly what to say? Yeah, I've thought of Edward as a son for a while now, but I didn't know how he felt, and how it must be for him to have a human father, a father figure who is actually old enough to be his father.

I look around the room and see all the Cullens. They are huddled together, and no one is laughing at Edward's emotional statement. Esme, Rose and Alice look like they would cry, if they could cry that is. Carlisle looks proud. The boys, Jasper and Emmett, they smile, but look proud too.

I look back at Edward.

"Thank you for giving us a chance when you learned our truth," he continues, "Thank you for getting to know us, for trusting us. Thank you most of all for supporting Bella and for giving us your blessing for our marriage."

I can't take it anymore. Two and a half days of all this intense emotion is getting to me.

"I think you'd better start calling me dad now," I tell him.

He lowers his head, just as I see the look of joy on his face.

"Thank you, I appreciate that—Dad." His words are hardly said aloud, but I hear them.

Emmett can't stand the touching moment anymore, apparently, because he lets out a goofy grin and strolls over to us.

"Me, too, please?" he jokes, "Come on, Charlie, be my dad too."

"And mine," Jasper laughs.

"And mine," the girls say together, giggling.

"I think you're stuck with the whole brood," Carlisle smiles, "I hope you don't mind, Chief."

"It just means I can give Emmett hell more than I already do," I answer.

Emmett chuckles.

The mood is lighter now.

"Thank you for all you said, Edward," I tell him, "You have given Bells a life I dreamed for her, happiness, acceptance, success, love. I'm only thankful you gave me a second chance and didn't disappear with my girl when I was such an ass back when I learned the truth. So, yeah, I thank you, you thank me. We're cool. Ok?"

He nods and returns to Bella's side. He takes her hand again, and the routine of the last two days begins again. He talks to her; he sings to her; he reads to her. I sit in my chair, watching, holding her other hand.

Throughout the time we've been waiting, the Cullens have been discussing how to handle things after Bella comes out of the transformation. They've pulled Edward away a couple times to talk to Carlisle and Jasper. He's resisted strongly, but all they have to do is to tell him it's for Bells, and he goes. When he leaves, someone else comes to take his place at her side. He's never gone for long, because this kid just cannot bear to be separated from her. I understand that.

Carlisle, in his usual polite way, asks if I want to be included in the discussions, but I tell him no. Yeah, she's my daughter, but how they handle her as a newborn vampire is a tiny bit out of my experience. Note the sarcasm. Besides, I don't feel I need to know those details. I think they could be discussing ways to control her and I just don't want to hear that crap.

Carlisle does remind me that though he is confident the venom will heal all her injuries and give her the sight she's never had in her human life, anything is possible and there's always a risk that it will not heal her eyes. We won't know till she opens those eyes in a few hours. It won't make a difference either way to me, I tell him, but I appreciate that he let me know.

So, in the meantime, I stay here, watching as the last of her human life ebbs away and leaves her a new future. Whatever that future might bring her.

When we are down to two hours, according to Alice, Carlisle comes to talk to me.

"I think you should probably go now," he says, "I know Alice has seen a certain time on the clock, but these things are unpredictable. Anything could happen to change it. We cannot take the chance of you being anywhere near when she awakens."

No, my heart and mind scream. I do not want to leave her. She is still burning, and though I can't prevent the burning, I need to be here to watch over her as it goes on. I shake my head sharply at Carlisle, but he does not budge.

"You must go, Charlie," his voice, his eyes, full of compassion, "You cannot be here if she wakes before Alice thinks. The results would be catastrophic. This is the right thing to do. You've guarded her and protected her. Let us take over now. We will care for her and make sure she will come back to you in time."

"Couldn't you just hold her back, so I can see her?" I plead.

Jasper comes over.

"We can't do that, Charlie," he looks sad and regretful, "I've told you my story. I have experience with newborn vampires, more damn experience than I like to contemplate. She will be strong. If she got away, even for a second, it could be too late. Nothing could hurt her worse than to hurt you. Trust us to handle things. This is one time when being here will not help her."

There's no stopping the tears now. I know they are right. They've talked to me about the aspects of being a newborn vampire. I know it will not be safe to stay here.

"Another thing to think about Charlie," Jasper adds, "Is that not only will she be a newborn vampire, but she will be seeing for the first time in her life. There is no way to guess how she will react to that stimulus on top of everything else. Alice can't see that at all. You must go home now."

"I will walk you out," Edward says, rising from his place near Bella.

"No, son, you wait here with her," I protest.

"She would want me to see you out," he argues, "You know she would."

I sigh and nod. I take one last look at my beautiful daughter. I lean over to touch her hair. I run my fingers over her skin, now hard as stone. I bend to kiss her, my tears falling on her face.

"I love you Bells. Always have, always will. It will never change, as long as there is breath in my body. Wake up soon and come back to us."

She twitches, her hand moves restlessly on the bed. She whimpers. I ache to stay beside her. It is nearly impossible to turn away from her when she is in pain. It goes against everything I am.

"We'll keep her safe," Carlisle says.

I kiss her again, and slowly, shoulders hunched in sorrow, I walk out of her room. I take one look back and see Esme has taken my place beside her, and Alice has taken Edward's. Carlisle leans over her, examining her again. They love her, there is no denying that.

Edward and I walk in silence down the stairs and out to my car.

"We will call you when she wakes up," he promises, "We will keep you informed through everything."

I nod. I know they will not let me linger without news.

We stop at the driver's side of the car and stare at each other. I fumble for my keys. My hands shake, and I drop them in the dirt. Edward picks them up and unlocks the door for me.

"Can you drive?" he asks, "Shall I call Sam to drive you perhaps?"

"I'm fine," I mutter.

We still stare at each other.

At last I give into the impulse and reach out to hug Edward. I pull him into my arms, and he clings to me, once again the boy, scared shitless for the safety of the woman he loves. He shakes in my arms.

"I'm scared," he admits, "What if she resents me for doing this?"

"She won't resent you, son," I am confident of this, "She wanted it, begged for it. She will be ok. She will love you for it."

"I hope you are right."

I hug him again, then release him and turn to get in the car.

"Charlie, Dad," he stops me.

"I love you," he says, "Thank you for her. Thank you for being here with me through this. Thanks for—well, for everything."

Damn kid, choking me up again.

"I love you too, kid," I murmur, "Call me as soon as you can. I'll be waiting by the phone. Tell Bella—well, you know what to tell her."

"I'll tell her," he promises, "I'll tell her everyday how much you love her."

I nod. He waits for me to get into the car.

"Get back to her, son," I admonish, "She needs you more than I do right now."

I shut the door, turn the key and wait. He gives me one more long look, and then he turns and faster than I can see, he has raced into the house. He is back with her, back with the girl who means everything in life to us both.

"Take care of my life, boy," I whisper, "Don't let her want for anything. I love you, Bells."

I pull out, turning to drive back to my empty house, where I will wait for a call for as long as it takes.

End Notes

I have created a group on Facebook, where we can discuss Seeing Bella and, well, everything else. You can find the group here: www . facebook . com /groups/288431201205652/

Please come and join us.

Also, I've been told this story has been nominated for a shimmer award. All the nominees are not up yet, but check it out anyway. www . shimmerawards . blogspot . com

The nominations for the next round of the Sunflower Awards have begun. Run over there and nominate your favorite lesser known stories and authors and get some recognition for them. www . thesunflowerawards . blogspot . com

Recs

I'd love to find some Charlie centric stories to rec to you, but I don't know of any. If you do, send them my way for future recs. In the meantime, here we go.

Lunar ascension, by nostalgicmiss

If you wished SM had resolved things for Leah and given her a happy ending too, as I did, do not miss this wonderful story. It's post BD, main character Leah, but the cullens and wolves are major characters in the story. It's great, please give it a chance.

http:/www . fanfiction . net/s/7253665/1/Lunar_Ascension

A Time to every Purpose, by im2xshy

This is an NM and beyond au in which Edward does not leave Bella. How might the story have gone without all that happened as a result of that one thing?

http:/www . fanfiction . net/s/5417694/1/A_Time_for_Every_Purpose