Shooting Stars
A Twilight Fanfiction
By
Fantasy Writer'92
"How am I going to tell Bella?" thought Charlie Swan as he drove down the dirt and gravel road towards the Cullens house.
Hard to believe his little girl was already grown up and married with a child of her own at twenty. Or at least she will be turning twenty this September. Just a couple months away…
He still didn't know what to think of his son in law, Edward. Less than two years ago, that boy had broken his daughter's heart so badly when he left, that it was months before she started acting like herself again. Thanks to Jacob, Jacob Black. Oh, how he had wished that Bella and Billy's son had given it a chance. But…You can't help who you fall in love with. (He should know) Edward came back and his little girl ran back into his arms, acting like nothing ever happened. He still didn't get that, but it's her life.
Now they're married and his granddaughter Renesmee is adorable, though she has grown awfully fast with in the last year. She starting to look more now like an eight-year-old, than her true age. Charlie didn't know, but with all the "supernatural" stuff he'd been introduced to. He taken Sue Clearwater's advice and just went with it. The "Need to know" policy and all that. He just hoped that Bella wasn't too involved in her new life and its circumstances to help him out.
Of course, Charlie knew he could count on support from his friends at La Push. He still wanted Bella to be a part of it, and unfortunately that also now included Edward and his family. But Charlie figured he could use all the help he could get and by doing this. It would go a long way in improving the "Father-in-law and Son in law" relationship they had, as far as respect. Though he had to admit, Edward was a good Father to his granddaughter.
With a sigh, Charlie pulled into the driveway and shut off the car. Only to be greeted by Renesmee or Nessie as she liked to be called running towards him across the lawn while the rest of her family and Jacob (Even though Jake and Bella were just friends now. He surprisingly still stuck around, for some reason) were on the porch.
"Grandpa!" Nessie exclaimed, giving him a warm hug which he returned.
"Hi Nessie,"
"What are you doing here? Mom said you weren't coming 'til Saturday?"
"Something unexpected came up. Something I need to talk to your Mom about. Hi Bells," he said walking up to the porch and greeting everyone else.
"Hi Dad," said Bella, looking puzzled as she pulled back from their stiff hug. "You said you needed to talk to me?"
Charlie cleared his throat, "Yes, I did. It's sort of a family matter"
His daughter blinked her brown almost black eyes in surprise "Oh? Oh! Do you need it to be just us or-?"
"No, no," he said, looking around at all the Cullens and Jacob's faces. "Everyone can be know. It will be a lot easier this way, less gossip"
The Cullen "kids" chuckled, particularly the big tall muscular one. Dr. Carlisle Cullen, tried to suppress his grin, saying "I wouldn't worry about Gossip Charlie…. at least from us. Whatever you have to say will be safe"
Charlie nodded, "Thank you"
"Of Course, Charlie" Esme assured.
"So, where do you want to have this conversation Dad? Here or inside?"
"Bella, you're going to want to sit down for this one"
"Okay…." She said slowly before replying with "Follow Me," leading him inside the house to the massive living room where a large sectional couch was placed and everyone took their seat, apart from Jacob who sat on the floor next to Renesmee. "The floor's all yours Dad," Bella comment as she reached out and grasped Edward's hand.
Charlie's eyes focused on their enclosed hands for a moment. "It's nothing like that Bells, I'm not sick"
His daughter's eyes lit up, "You're not?"
Charlie shook his head. Bella let go of her husband's hand and scooted closer to the edge of the couch. "Well then…What?"
Her father took a deep breath, "You have a Sister…"
"WHAT?!" "You mean there's two Bellas running around?!" exclaimed Emmet, excitedly rubbing his hands together, thinking of all the fun they could have.
"Dad?" questioned Bella her eyes wide with surprise. "Did you and Sue-?"
"Oh no," Jacob groaned, already imagining gaining another female wolf in his pack, like her other big sister, Leah. Of course, the pup could also end up like her brother Seth or risk not turning at all since she'll only be half Quileute. Either way they were getting a new member of the family.
"No," Charlie sighed, shaking his head. "Sue knows, but we haven't-! I mean we're not-!" He wasn't explaining this right. "She's not pregnant. This happen before- before we got together"
"Dad, you're not making any sense" said Bella, trying to figure out what he was saying.
Charlie rubbed the back of his neck, as he began to sort out his words.
"Bells, I haven't always spent my time here in Forks. There was a period of my life, around Ten? Eleven years ago? I was assigned to go down to L.A. to help their Police department with a special case concerning a Drug Lord with origins and connections to people in this town and in Port Angeles. They needed someone who knew the areas around the Olympic Peninsula and an unfamiliar face"
"An unfamiliar face?" Bella echoed,
"I went undercover Bells…"
"Sweet," said Emmet, already liking where this story was going.
"Emmet!" Rosalie scolded with a light smack to the back of his head.
"Sorry Chief Swan," the big guy apologized. Charlie nodded before continuing,
"My assignment was to get close to one of the Drug Lord's more crafty informants known in the inner circle as "Scary Mary," but her real name as I would come to find out was "Mary Ashley Whitlock."
The other blond kid, Jasper Hale now had his eyebrows raised.
"Excuse me, Charlie" said Alice, with a dazzling smile. "But are you sure the last name was "Whitlock?"
The Police Chief nodded, "That's the name on the official papers according to the hospital registry where she was born in Texas. Jasper's eyes now widened to the size of quarters. "Are you alright son?" the older man asked, now concerned.
"I'll be fine," the boy's voice rasped out.
"Please continue Dad," said Bella, hoping to distract her father from Jasper's meltdown. Charlie paused for a moment and cleared his throat, before resuming his story.
"Our plan was simple: gather the entail, lure the Drug Lord into a trap, divide and conquer. I inserted myself into the gang under the alias "Victor," as a potential buyer and supplier" (Not failing to notice his daughter flinch at the name he'd chosen.)
"It worked, and over the past month I met Mary and grew closer to achieving our goal. Then came this one night when I checked on her at her apartment. She was in bad shape. For Mary didn't drink or get high "very often" according to her sober self. She was just mainly in it for the money. But still, on this night. Something was very wrong. It was an anniversary of sorts.
It was the day; Mary's own Father had sold her thirteen-year-old self into child prostitution in New Mexico"
"WHAT?!" "Oh no!" Esme gasped, instantly feeling sorry for the girl, while the others seemed to be struggling to stay put.
"Wait, and let Charlie finish," Carlisle instructed calmly, though his own emotions were otherwise.
"Thank you… I learned a lot that night. Including the real reason Mary was so loyal to the Drug Lord. It was he who bought her and gave her "Freedom" on the condition that she would work for him. Mary was currently just twenty-four years old and he had gotten her when she was nineteen. She put on a brave face but really hadn't any friends until…me.
Naturally that started making me feel guilty for what I was going to put her through. So, I started attempting to keep my distance unless I was called in to make an appearance. Mary, she wasn't having it. And I clearly underestimated her feeling for me.
She had called me up with the news of a new buyer and we were to meet at this abandoned warehouse. I was to come alone. Foolishly I followed her instructions, thinking I could handle it. There was no Buyer, it was just her and she literally pounced on me. We ended up-!" he grimaced. "Anyway the ambush happened a few days after. We caught the Drug Lord and his goons. Both in LA and here in Washington but Mary got away.
I haven't heard hide or tail about her until this Morning when the LA Police department called me. Apparently, Mary's been arrested for smuggling drugs across state lines with our ten-year-old daughter in the back of her car"
Bella winced, "I'm so sorry Dad. Are you sure she's yours? Is she okay? What's her name?"
Charlie took a breath. "According to the LA Department, when Mary was questioned about her daughter's father.
She bitterly replied it was their own Cop "Victor's". She hadn't been with anyone else since him. Luckily one of the younger Deputies I had worked with recognized my fake name and pulled out a photo of my disguise from the file records and showed it to her which she confirmed.
So, the little girl is mine. They said she's ok physically but she hasn't spoken much. As for her name? Her name is Sawyer… Sawyer Ann Whitlock"