Thank you to ericastwilight for prereading this beast and calling me out on my annoying quirks :) This chapter is a little longer than usual, but it couldn't be helped without dragging things out a lot more than they already have been. Hope you all don't mind. The months of being unable to write at all have clearly resulted in me being a wordy writer.

Chapter 15

Of course, Edward had been proven right. By the end of the evening, as they were leaving to bring Bella to her father's house for the night, she did indeed find humor in how nervous she had been leading up to the visit with his family. They had all been warm and welcoming, even Tanya, in her own way, and she hadn't felt much like an outsider at all.

However, by eight o'clock, both Bella and Edward were feeling the effects of the lack of rest the night before. They each desperately needed some sleep. Even on the relatively short drive, she was fighting to keep her eyes open and nearly fell asleep, and Edward used the silence between them to think. He had been fairly confident that his family would like Bella, yet the fondness they'd actually shown for her took him a little by surprise, especially his sister. In the years he was with Jennifer, Tanya had indeed been cordial but that was about as far as she could manage. There was "something off about her", she said and had been so very correct.

He had to admit that he felt a stir of nervousness in his stomach when he saw Tanya approach Bella on the porch while he was playing with the kids. He'd been dreading that moment for a couple of days—that she would get the same feeling about his current girlfriend as she did about his last. Bella was perfect in his eyes, but he'd also been blind to Jennifer's faults for so long as well.

At first, it didn't appear to be going well. Bella's posture was stiff, and Tanya's expression was difficult to decipher, as it appeared to fluctuate each time he managed to sneak a glance over in that direction. Concern filled him when he caught Bella's movement as she retreated into the house and then saw a smile touch Tanya's lips. He told the kids that he would be right back and headed toward the porch, folding his arms over his chest when he reached his sister. She merely shook her head and told him to give Bella a minute or two, and she'd be fine.

Nothing fake about this girl. Tanya's words rang in his head as Bella's deep intake of breath drew him back to the present, and he glanced over to find her gazing at him sleepily.

"You're going to end up with early wrinkles if you keep thinking too hard like that," she murmured softly, and he rolled his eyes with a laugh, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just been a long day," Edward responded with an exhausted sigh as he turned onto the street where Bella's father lived—a road every kid in Forks throughout his childhood knew well. "You?"

"Same on all counts," Bella said with a tired smile, turning slightly in her seat when he slowed to stop in front of Chief Swan's house. Her eyes were downcast, staring at their joined hands but making no move to exit the car. "So, when did you want to head back home tomorrow?"

Edward watched her for a moment, his gaze lowering to her bottom lip, where she began tugging at it with her teeth. "I don't know. Maybe early afternoon, so you can have some time with your dad, and we both can catch up on some sleep?"

Bella gave a breathy chuckle and brought her eyes back up to his. "Do you think you could come by a little while before that?"

"Sure. Is there something else you'd like to do before we head back?"

"Yeah," Bella said, shifting her hand to glide her fingers between his. "I'd like my dad to meet you, as my boyfriend, at least."

"Bella," Edward answered, exhaling heavily and leaning his head against the seat. "I don't want you to feel pressured if you're not ready yet. We already talked about this. My family was overwhelming enough for you for one weekend."

Bella immediately shook her head, moving closer to kiss him gently. "I don't feel pressured. A little nervous about introducing a guy to my father, maybe. He is still the police chief, after all, and a father of an only daughter. The thought of bringing guys home has always led to a touch of high anxiety."

Edward chuckled and pressed his lips to her forehead. "As a law-abiding individual, both presently and in my youth, I think it will be fairly safe. I highly doubt that I'm the worst candidate in Forks to be bringing home to meet your father. It's not like I'm Tyler Crowley or anything."

Bella winced and slowly brought her eyes up to meet Edward's. "No, nothing could be quite that bad…again."

Edward's eyes widened, gazing at her in disbelief. They'd never really gone into great detail with Bella's dating history, but that genuinely seemed to take him by surprise. "Are you serious?"

Bella sighed heavily, clearly not proud of this revelation. "Only for like two days before Homecoming. But yeah, my dad was none too pleased when he opened the door to find Tyler on the other side. I didn't know at the time that he had busted Tyler and Eric Yorkie skipping school, drunk off their asses, in their sophomore year. He wouldn't let me out the door until I agreed to drive. Then, I ditched his ass there when I found him groping Jessica Stanley in my back seat. Needless to say, I also had my entire car deep-cleaned the next day as well."

Edward involuntarily cringed and shook his head. "Yeah, he's never been known for his tact, but how'd he get into your car?"

"Does anyone lock their doors in Forks?" Bella shot back with a quirked eyebrow, to which Edward nodded in agreement. "Anyway, he claimed he forgot something in the car, and when he didn't come back after ten minutes, I went out to make sure he was okay. He was 'okay', all right. But in my defense, I'd only been in Forks for about a month or so at the time, so I didn't know what a complete douchebag he was. I felt more badly for Mike that night, although I found pity difficult to muster when he ended up marrying her anyway."

"You and everyone else in Forks," Edward concurred with a laugh.

"Anyway," Bella began, eager to change the subject. "Will you come over tomorrow?"

Edward reached over to brush aside the hair that had fallen forward as her head tipped down, tucking it behind her ear before lifting her chin with his fingertips. "If you want me to, I will."

"I really do. Besides, I'd hate for my dad to think I had something to hide from him," Bella replied with a small laugh, but as she gazed at him, the truth in her words struck her. She didn't want to hide anything when it came to Edward, least of all from her father, which was strange in and of itself. While she hadn't been dishonest when she told Tanya that she wasn't madly in love with him yet, she also couldn't deny the truth in what she'd told Alice—she was falling and hard. There was no refuting that.

"Then I'll be here. Just let me know when," he agreed, gently guiding her lips toward his to give her a kiss goodnight, and she responded a little more eagerly than he was expecting. Her fingers laced in his hair, holding him firmly against her, and he felt the lightest tug of her teeth on his lower lip. Reluctantly, he pulled away and swallowed hard. "Bella, your father is at the door, and I highly doubt this is the sort of introduction you had in mind."

Bella turned her head to glance over her shoulder, and sure enough, there stood her dad in the doorway. She sighed and brought her gaze back to Edward, shaking her head. "No, it's really not. I'll text you when I wake up in the morning, and we can figure everything out from there."

"Sounds good," Edward replied, pecking her lips gently one more time before she turned to get out of the car. "Night, Bella."

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.

I'm awake but my brain is not. Coffee and a shower are in order, in that exact sequence, Bella texted Edward the next morning before she'd even rolled out of bed, already hearing her dad moving around downstairs. Though not surprising, since he'd always been an early riser, she knew damn well that he was down there waiting for her. He'd allowed her to bow out of a conversation the night before, noting her exhaustion, but she'd definitely seen the numerous questions in his eyes as she passed him to head upstairs to her old bedroom.

Now, with a full night's rest under her belt, she knew she was in for more than a few questions.

Bella's phone dinged a couple of minutes later as she was brushing her teeth, and she picked it up with her free hand to read.

I'm already quite a few steps ahead of you. Two little rugrats by the names of Trevor and Elijah made sure their favorite uncle was up at the crack of dawn this morning.

Bella smiled at the image his words conjured in her mind, recalling the day before, with both boys vying for Edward's attention, much to the displeasure of Emmett's daughter, Violet. The two argued that she was able to see him whenever she wanted, and they couldn't, living in Alaska. Which was definitely a valid point. However, Trevor in particular seemed overly possessive of Edward's time and attention, which was easier to understand once the reason was explained to her.

Five years previous, just before her move to Alaska, Tanya's best friend had succumbed to her battle with breast cancer, leaving her two-year-old son, Trevor, behind. With no father in the picture, she had signed over guardianship to Tanya and her husband, who adopted him shortly thereafter. While the entire family had been welcoming, no one quite knew how to explain the situation to a toddler in a way he could fully understand—except for Edward. His time in child psychology classes in college, as well as the few years of teaching at that point as well, gave him an advantage, and Trevor had formed a close bond with him through that.

Therefore, it came as no surprise that he would be anxious for every moment he could squeeze out of the day before Edward would have to leave Forks. It seemed that Elijah, on the other hand, was only being a typical seven-year-old boy, excited to spend time with his uncle, not exactly sure when the next visit would be.

Sounds like you have a busy day ahead of you, so I'll leave you to it. Let me know when you are ready to head over here.

Bella set her phone down to rinse her mouth and run a quick brush through her hair, glancing down when she heard another message come through.

Will do. Is around noon good for you?

Her eyes flickered to the clock on the screen—it was already nine. Three hours to prep Dad—and myself—for being introduced to my boyfriend for the first time since high school, and voluntarily, at that. It felt like both forever and not nearly long enough all at once.

Sounds good. Have fun and ttyl.

After opting for a quick shower first, Bella headed downstairs and to the kitchen, immediately spotting her father by the coffee pot, pouring both of them a cup. "Morning, Dad."

"Morning, sunshine," Charlie replied with a chuckle as he held out one of the mugs to her. "A shower before your caffeine fix? You wouldn't be trying to avoid your old man for any reason, now would you?"

Bella rolled her eyes and took a sip, unable to hide her smile at the taste—even after all the years on her own, her father still remembered exactly how she took her coffee. "No, Dad, I'm not avoiding you. I had a very long day yesterday, and I felt grungy. So, how have you been?"

"Nice try, Bells, but you know damn well how I'm doing. This is Forks. Even the slightest change is practically front-page news," Charlie started pointedly, sitting down across from her at the small kitchen table and leaning forward. "It's you I want to talk about. Not that I ever mind having you appear on my doorstep out of the blue, but it's just not like you. Especially not in a car that isn't your own and getting a little…intense with a man in the front seat. What's going on?"

"Nothing like pouring on the subtlety, huh, Dad?" Bella responded with an exasperated sigh, glancing up to find him gazing back at her over the rim of his coffee cup. "I've been seeing someone for a little while."

Charlie appeared to mull that over for a moment before he slowly began nodding. "Well, I would hope so, solely based on what I saw last night. What's his name?"

Bella felt her face heating more by the second, both at the additional reference to her thoughtless actions the night before in Edward's car and what she knew was just the beginning of a likely long conversation. Well, long by her father's standards, anyway—he never was much of a conversationalist. "Edward Cullen."

Charlie visibly froze, even ceasing to breathe for a few seconds before setting his cup down again, foregoing the sip he was about to take. "Cullen? Did you just say Cullen?"

She gazed at him questioningly, finding his tone very odd. She was certain that had Edward been a problem in his youth, which she honestly couldn't imagine, he would have been one of the cautionary tales she'd been told when she first moved to Forks. Even though he'd already left for college by then, his family still resided in the area, and there was always the possibility that he would return at some point. Charlie's reaction was therefore confusing to her. "Yeah, I said Cullen. Is there a problem?"

Charlie's mustache twitched as his lips pursed, and then he shook his head. "No, not really. Edward was actually a really good kid growing up, from what I can tell. Never had any major problems with him whatsoever, but the family..."

Bella sighed heavily in frustration. "Dad, please don't tell me that you're one of those judgmental people when it comes to Dr. Cullen. So, he's been married more than a few times. He's also one of the kindest people I've ever met, and so are the rest of them."

"Bella, calm down and stop being so defensive," Charlie countered, holding up his hand to stop her. "I do not have a problem with Carlisle, or his wife and family as people. Quite the opposite. It's just that the Cullens…there's been a lot that's happened over the years with them. Edward probably has quite a bit of baggage."

"Most people do. Families of any shape or form can be complicated. Look at ours," Bella said, gesturing between Charlie and herself. "My childhood wasn't exactly normal, either. Growing up most of my life in a different state from my dad."

Charlie's eyes grew sad and lowered, and she began mentally kicking herself for bringing that up. She knew damn well that he had never even remotely begun to forgive himself for not fighting her mother harder for Bella. Even more so after she'd moved to Forks because Renee's new husband had turned out to be an abusive alcoholic, and Charlie learned that he'd only been the latest in a long line of similar types of men. "I know, and I'm sorry. I just…I don't know how much you know about the Cullens or what Edward has told you, nor is it my place to share anything that he hasn't."

"I know that his father has been married five times and had four children. That came out on our second date. And I found out yesterday that his brother, Garrett, died when Edward was a kid, but it's not something he's eager to talk about in more detail yet. We haven't been together that long, and it's a topic that's obviously painful for him."

"I can imagine it is," Charlie replied softly with a nod of his head. "They aren't bad people, by any means, and I'm sure Edward is a nice kid…"

"Dad, he's twenty-seven. He's hardly a 'kid'," Bella interjected, causing Charlie to look over at her in annoyance, but she continued before he could. "Edward is a wonderful person, but we've also only been together for a few weeks. I don't expect him to spill every one of his secrets to me all at once while we are still getting to know each other, but I have no doubt that he will when he's ready. He's assured me that he will. The only reason I've brought this up so soon at all is that I've asked him to come over here before we head to Seattle to meet you as my boyfriend."

Charlie's eyes widened almost comically, and he straightened up in his chair. "But you never—"

Bella sighed and nodded, her gaze falling to her lap, where she was toying with a loose thread at the end of her sleeve. "I know, I don't usually bring guys home to meet you, and this is still really early on, but he's special. Besides, I know that if you ever found out that I came all the way out here with a boyfriend and didn't introduce him to you, especially after I'd met his family, you'd be more than a little suspicious."

"Probably," Charlie admitted, but when Bella glanced up to give him a dubious look, he leaned back and folded his arms over his chest. "Okay, yes, I would. But you're happy?"

Bella's lips quirked up into a shy smile. "Yeah, I really am."

"All right, then. Bring him around."

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Bella wasn't sure what to make of the looks being exchanged between Edward and her father as she introduced them, or even as they sat at the kitchen table making small talk. They weren't hostile at all, but there seemed to be a hint of tension there. Even the handshake as they were leaving to head back home was a little firmer than she would expect, and Edward was exceptionally quiet for the first several minutes of their drive.

As they crossed the town line, Bella reached over to touch his knee, causing him to startle slightly, but he offered her a small, apologetic smile a second later. "Edward, what's wrong?"

Edward shook his head, releasing the tight grip of one hand on the steering wheel to lower and take hold of hers. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

Bella sighed as he lifted their joined hands to press a kiss to hers before releasing it to resume his prior position. "I promised I wouldn't pressure you to talk about anything you're not ready for, and I won't, but please don't lie to me. Or tell me not to worry, because that will have the exact opposite effect. You've never mentioned having any problem with my dad any time he's been brought up in conversation. You weren't bothered in the slightest by the prospect of meeting him until the second you were inside that house and the tension became palpable. Don't tell me that's nothing."

"No, it's not," Edward admitted in a soft voice, his eyes still fixed firmly on the road. "I don't have a problem with your father, Bella. He's a great man."

"Then, what is it?" Bella asked curiously and then noticed that familiar lost, sad expression spread across Edward's features, and her heart twisted. Her mind was spinning with thoughts—her father's reaction when she'd said the name "Cullen", his odd demeanor while discussing her boyfriend and his family, the blanching of Edward's face as Charlie stood in front of him, and everything that followed. Suddenly, it clicked for her. "He's tied to the things you aren't ready to talk about yet, isn't he?"

Edward tentatively nodded and swallowed hard, then he guided the car toward the side of the road and parked, cutting the ignition. For nearly a full minute, he sat completely still, his head resting back with his eyes closed. Even his breaths were barely audible, so when he spoke again, the sound startled her almost as much as the words themselves. "Charlie was one of the responding officers when I found Garrett."

"You 'found' Garrett…as in…" Bella spoke hesitantly, almost afraid to voice what he appeared to be insinuating, and she felt her stomach bottom out when he nodded again. "Oh my god. You were just a kid."

"Three days after my tenth birthday," Edward acknowledged in a tight voice, turning his head to gaze out the window, but she had caught the tears gathering in his eyes before he could hide them.

"Edward, it's really okay if you don't want to talk about it," Bella tried to assure him, reaching over to rest her hand on his shoulder.

Edward covered it with his own, bringing it to his chest and pressing it more firmly against him, and took a deep breath before continuing. "No, it's fine. Honestly, I'm surprised that you don't know my entire family history already, having lived in Forks for any length of time. It's a pretty small town with some of the worst gossips known to man. You'd eventually find out anyway, and I'd rather have you hear it from me. Better now before things progress much further between us, and you have an out with minimal lasting effects."

"I'm not looking for an out," Bella replied firmly, hearing the anxiety in his voice build more by the second. "And I don't really pay attention to gossips and neither does my dad. Before yesterday, I only knew of Dr. Cullen by hearing his name being paged a few times in the emergency room. I was a bit accident-prone in my awkward teenage years."

"Yeah, me, too. When you grow seven inches in one summer, it tends to knock your equilibrium off a bit," Edward countered with a small grin that only lifted one corner of his mouth, and then drew in a deep breath as he felt Bella's eyes on him and began. "Obviously, in a family with four kids from as many marriages, things weren't exactly what anyone would consider 'normal', despite my dad's best efforts. He's a really good man and the best father any of us could ask for, and all of us, except for Emmett, have a better relationship with him than with our mothers. But Garrett had it the worst. Most of it happened before I was even born, so I only saw the aftereffects."

Bella watched as his hand shifted, gliding his fingers between hers and securing his hold a little more. She could feel his heart pounding beneath her palm and saw the hard bob of his Adam's apple, so whatever was churning in his mind was clearly causing him a fair amount of stress. "Edward, it's okay. You don't have to…"

Edward shook his head abruptly, cutting her off. He continued to hold onto her hand tightly, as if still worried that she would leave at any moment—which he believed was a distinct possibility. That scared him more than it should have after so little time, but he was beyond questioning that anymore. "Garrett died from a heroin overdose, and I was the only one who didn't see it coming, at least within my family."

"You were a kid. We see things through rose-colored glasses when we are children," Bella replied, feeling her own heart breaking at the sound of not only the pain of losing a sibling but the guilt also hovering beneath the surface.

"No, I just refused to see it. I may be closest to Tanya, and I love Emmett dearly, but my relationship with Garrett was different. He was my invincible hero, and he could do anything. He taught me how to ride a bike, play the guitar and piano, let me watch R-rated movies when Dad and Tanya weren't looking." Edward paused with a sad chuckle, and a single tear trailed down his cheek. "I got so angry with my father when he sent Garrett away to what I now know was rehab. I ignored his mood swings and his tremors when he was going through withdrawals if he couldn't get his fix. How he kept getting thinner and thinner. Then I walked into his room that morning."

Bella brought her free hand to his chin, turning his face toward her to look at her, and shook her head. "Edward, that's the very definition of rose-colored glasses. You saw what you wanted to see, not what was really there, but that's what kids do. You should know that better than anyone. You see it every day. There's no fault in that."

"You actually sound a lot like your dad. He said something very similar to me that day. And logically, I know that no one could have saved him except Garrett himself, but there's always that part of me that insists that I should have known or done something." Edward sighed, leaning forward to rest his forehead against Bella's, and she began gently running her fingers through his hair.

She didn't know exactly what she could say to him at that moment, so she remained silent. To tell him he was wrong would be to dismiss his feelings, but it was also agonizing to hear that even a small part of him still carried guilt for something that he had no control over. All she felt she could do for the time being was be there and comfort him as best as she could.

"I'm sorry," she heard him whisper, and she opened her eyes, pulling back a little to see him more fully. "It wasn't my intention to ruin the weekend like this. I didn't think that seeing your father again would affect me this way. It's just been a really long time."

Bella began shaking her head insistently, framing the side of his face with her hand. "You haven't ruined anything. Not for me, at least. I'm grateful that you trusted me enough to share that with me."

"Are you still sure you're not looking for an out?" Edward asked, minimally tightening his hold on her hand that he still had pressed to his chest as his eyes searched hers.

Bella answered him by meeting his lips with hers in a soft but firm kiss, pulling away slowly to gaze back at him. "I've never been more sure."

Edward closed his eyes as he felt her thumb glide across his cheek to swipe away another tear that had managed to escape, despite his best efforts. It had been so long since he'd allowed himself to delve so deep into his emotions, but with Bella, it was different. There was no intense clinical breakdown of every single feeling he had as he'd experienced with the therapist he started seeing after Garrett's death. Nor was there the passing judgment he'd felt from everyone in town, and even his former girlfriends. There was nothing but caring and compassion emanating from Bella, and she wasn't pulling away.

"Thank you," he whispered, kissing her gently before resting his forehead against her shoulder. "We really need to get off the side of the road. Would you mind driving for a bit?"

"Not at all."