Chapter Twenty-Three

It was a good thing that I had already bought Christmas presents, because Charlie made sure I was home by the time he came home during the week days. I would go to school and then spend the rest of the afternoon and night at home, which in the beginning didn't bother me but Charlie had told me I had to stay home. He wanted to make sure that I would be fine.

He trusted the Cullens, that much I knew, but he also was my dad and wanted to make sure that I would be safe in our own home in case anything happened. After all he had his own gun underneath his bed, a shot gun of all things, that he had taught me how to use (that was one interesting summer to say the least) in case we ever had a break in.

A part of me wanted those vampires to come close enough to the territorial line of the Cullens so that they could take care of this pesky problem once and for all. These rogue vampires must have liked the adrenaline that came with attacking humans so close to a large coven. If they didn't stand in Forks, on another coven's territory they could hunt as freely as they wanted.

It was Friday, on Monday I could go and hang out with the Cullens after school. I both hated staying away from them but also enjoyed it at the same time. I was at a standstill with my emotions, I couldn't decide which I preferred. I didn't want to decide either, because then I would think about my impending time limit upon becoming a vampire—I would want to be changed at twenty at the latest, after all Jasper had claimed that he was nineteen when he became a vampire.

So, I would have two more years if I chose to wait until I was twenty, I could go and experience some time at college if I chose to in the end.

"Bella!"

I turned my head, frowning as I got up from my bed and went out of my bedroom. I stood at the top of the staircase, "yeah, Dad?" I couldn't see him from the angle I was standing at, but I could hear him simply fine.

"Do you want to go down to the diner and get something for lunch?" I smiled at this question, next week would be Christmas. I didn't have school today, the seniors who were in the top five percent of their entire graduating class got to have Friday off, so I ended up being able to jump start my Christmas Break.

"Sure, I guess. Beats staying in," I remarked before I went into my bedroom and grabbed another one of my Parkas, this one was a simple cream hue. The fluffy deep emerald sweater was a gift from Esme—she had gone through her closet when I was over at the house one time, allowing me to look through her pile of clothes before grabbing the ones I liked.

A pair of my worn-out jeans and Target tennis shoes finished off the look, not a glamorous look but I think that Alice would allow me to leave the house without looking like a complete fashion suicide. I smiled at that, knowing that she was waiting for the day she could look through my closet and get rid of my trusty jeans I had since the summer of my freshmen year and my tennis shoes I had since the winter of my freshmen year. Until then they were safe.

Heading downstairs after I grabbed my I.D, I met Charlie by the front door. He was dressed head to toe in layers, not as many as others would have on but then again Charlie Swan was a hot natured man. He was a walking furnace, a blessing for cold natured people like me. I almost snuggled up against him but refrained myself from doing so. Instead I pulled out my trusty black sunglasses and put them back on, I didn't want to deal with people staring at me when I would be eating my lunch. They were a blessing in disguise to be honest.

The ride to the restaurant diner wasn't anything special, we didn't have the radio on and there was no small talk.

There weren't that many people that were in the establishment when we pulled into the average sized parking lot. It was a school day, so there weren't that many teenagers that were about. Maybe a few students were in the restaurant, getting something to eat before they would head off to work. I didn't know where I would work if I did work, it wouldn't surprise me if Mike had me work at his parents' outfitters store (partly to get closer to me). It wouldn't be too bad if I could get through the mental wall of anxiety that came with getting a job.

"So, what are you going to get?" I probed to Charlie as we were ushered to one of the booths in the back. Some of the gamesmen and fishermen waved hello or grunting their acknowledgement when it came to seeing Charlie. He responded with his own nod of acknowledgement to them.

Sitting down in the old wooden booth, uncomfortable to say the least, I picked up the menu that the hostess sat in front of me. I scanned through the soft drinks that were on the back of the menu while Charlie let his eyes wander over the different drinks that they provided (he never drank alcohol out in public, partly because his job but also because he wanted to be a role model for the other law enforcement men).

Charlie went to say something only for one of the college aged girl waiters to come up to us. I faintly remembered her from last year, she must have been a senior when I was a junior. Her curly sandy blonde hair was pulled up in an impressively high bun and a pen was stuck behind her ear. Her glasses gleamed from the sunlight that came through the blinds of the windows. She gave us a professional smile; she obviously wasn't one of those people that were naturally friendly. I could relate to her entirely.

"Good afternoon, what drink can I start you off with?" the girl questioned, as she pulled her pen out from behind her ear, her eyes flickering back and forth between us. Charlie ordered just a plain tea, nothing sweet, while I ordered a simple Coca-Cola. She nodded her head, "all right. I'll be back in a jiffy with those drinks for you."

She spun on her tennis shoe heels and headed towards the back of the restaurant to get the drinks. Charlie closed his menu before he sat it down, having decided what it was he was going to get to eat. Me, being a creature of habit, didn't even look down at the menu because I knew what I was going to get—it was the only thing that I ordered whenever I would come here.

"Is that boyfriend of yours coming home for the Holidays?" Charlie turned towards me, there was no distaste that was in his voice, he was merely wondering. I appreciated the fact that he was being accepting of Jasper. I couldn't imagine one person who wouldn't like him.

"He is, but he's going to spend more time with the family then me. We both agreed on it," I remarked, I didn't let him know which Holiday he would be coming home to. I hadn't heard if it was going to be actual Christmas or if it was going to be in the New Year.

Without thinking I added, "I've decided I'm going to Seattle University…I know I sent off applications to Washington State and even Florida State (Renee had practically tried to sell me on heading towards her state so that she could see me more). But I think I want to go to Seattle. It's not my favorite weather…but it's a city and I've missed the city life."

Charlie listened to me with patience, absorbing what I was telling him before the waitress came shuffling back to us with our drinks on the tray—which she balanced with practical ease.

"Here you are. Have you decided what you want to eat, or do you need a couple more minutes?"

In the background the doors to the restaurant opened once more, the bells above them jingled to let the hostess and the patrons that there were new arrivals. A baby started crying in the background, before a father stood up with the baby and headed towards the men's restroom to try and calm him down.

"We're good. I'll have the fish and chips and Bella will have the double patty cheeseburger and fries," Charlie told her, she nodded her head as she wrote down our orders before she left us again. Charlie leant back against the wooden booth and let the sun hit him for a second before he straightened up and turned his attention back towards me, studying me.

"What? Is something wrong?"

I reached my hand up nervously, my fingers brushing against my sunglasses. I knew that he didn't mind me wearing them in the past, but what if he wanted me to take them off in here? Phil had asked me to in the past when he was still dating Renee in the beginning, but after learning out about the reason I wore them he let the whole thing go. In fact, he often glared in the direction of those who would look at his stepdaughter for too long, he settled in the role of my stepdad naturally. So naturally that Renee and I had blinked in surprise, it made our hearts warm that he had joined our family and had accepted us fully.

My phone, which sat on the booth next to me began to hum, reverberating against the wooden surface of the booth. I sent Charlie an apologetic expression before I picked up my phone, intending on putting it into my purse that I had grabbed at the last second before we left the house, only for me to see that there was a text message that came from Alice.

Decided to get you an early Christmas present. Look out the window!

I frowned, before I looked out the window and sat a familiar car parking next to mine and Charlie's. It was Eleazar's car, which honestly, I still didn't know the model or make of the car, I wasn't one who was big when it came to cars. I wasn't planning on becoming a mechanic, Jacob was more likely to become one than me.

The person in the driver's seat got out, which revealed who I thought it was going to be. Jasper was getting out of the car, wearing a plain cream hued sweater and dark washed jeans. A random fashionable jacket sat on top of his sweater, I didn't want to imagine how much money the thing cost, or even how much money Eleazar's car cost—well basically I didn't want to know how much money the rich vampires in my life had because it would remind me how poor I was. Not that I was being upset about it, it just would remind me how long they were alive and how much money they had collected over the decades—for Carlisle it would be centuries.

Charlie arched his eyebrow up at me, "what? What are you looking at?" Charlie turned his head, his brown eyes landing on the car. Jasper had used some of his vampiric speed to get away from the car before he would see him. "Nice car," Charlie mumbled, apricating the car more than I did.

The doors of the restaurant opened, letting in the cool air. Some of the customers that were seated near the door wrapped their clothes tighter around them, glancing over their shoulder to see who had disrupted the warmth of the heater. They stopped their glares and instead stared transfixed at the sight of Jasper Hale coming into the restaurant for what was probably the first time in the two years—almost three years that the Cullens and Hales had lived here.

The thudding of the Alaskan boots on the linoleum floors of the restaurant were louder than anything else, even the waitress that was coming towards us with the food that had been made for us stood silently, agape at the sight of the handsome boy that was making his way to the plain jane girl, me. Her face was bright red, automatically shy at the model like teenager.

Charlie turned around when the sound of the shoes came close to us, his eyes landing on Jasper. He studied the boy in front of him before Jasper smiled brilliantly at him. "Good afternoon, Chief. Bella texted me earlier and told me where you guys were eating. I decided to surprise her by coming and joining you and your daughter. If that is all right with you?"

Charlie turned and glanced at me, before he nodded his head, "but you're sitting next to me." I would have glared at him if I were truly insulted by this, but I knew where Charlie was coming from. Jasper was my first boyfriend, and hopefully my last. Charlie didn't know that part though, didn't need to know that part.

As soon as Jasper sat down, people slowly got back to what they were doing before. The waitress took a deep breath before she made her way towards us, sitting our plates down but the plates were set in front of the wrong person. She blushed, stuttering, "I-I'm so sorry!" She went to move the plates only for her elbow to knock against Charlie's glass and send tea everywhere.

"Please forgive me! I'll get you a new drink, on the house! And some napkins!" the girl commented before she hurried off, we didn't have time to say anything. Jasper merely frowned softly; I was certain he felt bad for her. One of the negative consequences of being inhumanly handsome I suppose.

"Poor thing," Charlie mumbled, as he turned away from looking at said girl and quietly switched our plates so that we had the correct plates this time. He turned his head towards Jasper, "do you want to get something to drink? Or something to eat, it's Bella's treat."

I rolled my eyes at the joke Charlie was telling, which in return made Jasper chuckle warmly, his golden eyes flickering towards mine. Our eyes landed and stayed on each other for a moment or two before parting.

"As much as I would like to have my girlfriend buy me things, I'm fine, Charlie. I got something to eat in Seattle before I came down," Jasper assured him, and I knew that he probably was telling him the truth. He had this glow about him that seemed as though he just ate a deer or whatever the hell other forest animals there were.

"You sure?" Charlie picked up one of his 'chips' and popped it into his mouth, earning a confirmation from Jasper, it was fine.

"So, how's college been?" I asked him, a part of me wished we were both human. Jasper would be in London, for real, and studying during the day or night. He'd be in the beautiful library with the books all around him, his eyes glued to the classic books in front of him. Him eagerly taking in all the information that he could, though I knew it would never be quenched—his hunger for history.

"It's busy, to say the least. I got on the Dean's list this semester," Jasper informed us, earning a low whistle from Charlie in appreciation. "Then again, I've always been a History buff."

In the corner of my eye the waitress was rushing back towards us with the napkins and a fresh cup of tea. She didn't look at Jasper this time, instead she focused solemnly on her task before skittering away, off to another table or to the back of the restaurant so she could moan and question why she had to act the way she did whenever she would be around a hot guy. I didn't give her fault; I would have done the same exact thing if I were in her place instead.

"I wish I had the grades to go to Oxford and spend some time with you," I couldn't help but whisper, letting this college fantasy come true. Even then, if I really could have gone to Oxford, I knew Jasper would travel with me. I would get to travel and experience London while still human.

"Don't put yourself down, Bells. I think that Oxford wouldn't be prepared for you, you're too good for them," Charlie commented, his fatherly love appearing and wrapping itself around me like a wool scarf keeping the freezing snow and wind away from my neck for the time being.

"Thanks, Dad. That mean a lot." He smiled and went back to eating his fish this time, enough for Jasper to take notice and chuckle what seemed internally. Seemed kind of ironic that Charlie would be eating an English dish while he would have his daughter's boyfriend here—who was studying at Oxford now.

"Besides, it's not all that special. Just ask Carlisle, he went there."

Jasper was studying the scenery around us. The fake plants in their colorful miniature pots and the photographs of different fishing spots in Forks on the dark wooden paneled wall, they added to the old town fishery vibe. The fake fish were spread throughout the room and a real Moose head was stapled above the half wood paneled wall behind the hostess station.

I was certain Emmett would be at home here, he'd probably be the son of one of these old town hunters here in another life. He'd be wearing a plaid button up shirt, some worn out fishing boots. He'd be big, not as big as he was now, with his dimples showing and a loud laugh that could make other people laugh. Yes, I could see Emmett being right at home in this restaurant.

"I thought I heard that from somewhere, I sometimes can detect a British accent from him, is he British?"

I was surprised with the notes that Charlie was taking throughout the years when it came to Carlisle. Maybe it was because Carlisle was one of the best doctors the clinic had or maybe it was because he was my boyfriend's father now.

"He is, moved away from the U.K. a little after he had gotten his doctorate degree. It didn't take long for him to meet Esme," Jasper informed him, a soft look in his eyes. I had a feeling he was thinking of him and me, meeting each other finally. I couldn't help but smile at him when he glanced at me.

Charlie was content with the information he had received and went back to eating, Jasper pulled out his phone and began to text every now and then. From the looks on his face I could tell he was texting Alice. Who knew what that pixie like girl was telling her brother? All I knew was it was always leaving you on the edge of your seat, waiting to see what the girl would do next.

By the end of the meal, we were in the restaurant for over an hour, when I noted the clock hanging up on one of the walls. We had already paid for the meal, leaving the money on the table and writing down she could keep the change before we headed towards the front doors.

We had just opened the doors when a group of teenagers came up, their eyes landing on me and Jasper. They studied us for a moment, as though they were looking an art exhibit, an abstract one before they started muttering to themselves. They entered the restaurant without saying thank you to Jasper, having decided that they would distance themselves all entirely from us, etiquette included.

"Didn't look like any of our teenagers," Charlie noted, earning a nod from me.

They might have been in College and were heading home, having stopped to go in and get something to eat before continuing their way. They were wearing comfortable traveling clothes so that would be my guess, and judging as we passed by what looked like their car we could see that it was a California license plate, which also let us know they still had a while on the road before they would arrive home.

When we reached the truck, I turned and walked a little away with Jasper, allowing Charlie to know it wouldn't be long. He nodded his head before he got into the cruiser. The heat would take a while to kick in.

"So…are you back for good?" I whispered, making sure that Charlie couldn't hear us. The last thing that we needed was for anyone, especially Charlie to hear about what we were talking about.

Jasper shot me a smile before he nodded his head, assuring me without saying anything. Without even thinking, I threw my arms around him, which in return made him tighten his arms around me. "Are you serious? You aren't going to go back and train more? You're back here for good?"

Jasper nodded his head, again, I knew he couldn't trust himself to speak. If he said something then this moment would be gone, it would be like anything else. I felt the same exact way, we just held each other and preserved what we felt until we realized that doing this in public would be quite strange.

We pulled away and I reached my hands up, pressing my palms of my hands against his cheekbones. He peered into my eyes, the golden hues clashing together—extraordinarily little obsidian were in them, barely straining. He gulped nervously and I just kept my fingers pressed against his face.

"I love you, so much, Jasper. Now we can be together without having to worry about your bloodlust," I whispered one more, the quietness was still so sacred between us. The honking of the cruiser steering wheel horn made me almost glare at Charlie, but I knew it would be useless.

"I love you too, my Bella. You need to go, Charlie's not going to wait that much longer. Come over Christmas Eve, we'll celebrate our first Christmas with each other properly with you as an honorary Cullen."

I blushed, before nodding, allowing him to know I had heard him and accepted. I never was an honorary member of a family before. Now I was a Cullen, somewhere deep in my heart I hoped I would be one for centuries to come. Only time would tell if I would end up being able to become a true Cullen (I'd rather take the Hale last name, but I wasn't really a Hale blonde type).

All I knew was we had one obstacle we had overcome, I only prayed that we didn't have many to follow.

author's note: twilight doesn't belong to me