I dressed and met the family downstairs. Five minutes later, I heard a car pull up. The Cullens probably heard it from miles away. I clutched Edward's hand and moved partially in front of his body. He understood what I was doing and hugged me to him.

"That's a little backward, isn't it; aren't you usually behind Edward?" Edward growled at Emmet for me and I glared at him.

"We'll explain it later. Bella had an interesting theory a little while ago." He explained for me. There was no more time for conversation as Carlisle opened the door for the Alaskan relatives. He greeted them warmly. I looked around and noticed that Charlie was hanging around at the back of the room near Alice and Jasper. He was interested, but wanted to stay out of the way. I envied him. The sisters were beautiful as all vampires were. I felt plain in comparison and wondered why in the world Edward would pick me?

"Knock it off Bella." Jasper said from the back of the room and sent me a boost of confidence. At the mention of my name, five sets of eyes focused on me. I knew immediately who Tanya was and noticed that her gaze was the most critical. I fought not to shrink back from her gaze. It wasn't that hard of a fight when she gazed warmly at Edward. He held me a little tighter.

"Bella, I'd like you to meet Tanya, Kate, Irina, Eleazar, and his mate Carmen. Everyone, this is my mate, Bella and her father Charlie." Edward motioned toward the back of the room. It was a blur to me, but Alice moved in front of Charlie and Jasper had his arms around Kate. She shocked him and her eyes were pitch black. I recognized it as the same look Edward had on my first day. Alice whisked him away as the rest of the vampires surrounded her.

"Kate, calm yourself. We don't hurt humans." Carlisle demanded.

"I can't, he smells so good; even better than Bella." She whined and continued shocking the family. Only Edward remained where he was; to keep me safe. I was also behind him now.

"If you can't control yourself, then you need to leave. Charlie is a part of the family; he's still deciding if he wants this life or not." I hadn't told them that he was leaning toward yes. It wasn't my place to say anything.

"You can overcome it if you focus really hard." Edward coached her.

"He's your singer, Kate. I recognize the signs. That's what Bella is to me. His blood calls to you, doesn't it?" She nodded.

"You have to fight it. He could be your mate, but you have to learn control. It's difficult, but you can do it." He proved a point by moving in front of him again and kissing my neck. I let him because he was also claiming me in front of Tanya.

"How do you do it, Edward? My throat feels like it's on fire. It's the worst burn I've ever felt."

"It's difficult, but you have to fight it. Bella's life has been in danger a few times." I laughed dryly.

"My instinct to protect her overrode my thirst for her blood; even when I had to suck some venom from her arm. It's impossible to stop, but when I was saving her from the change, something inside told me to stop because my mate would die if I didn't. Her cutting her finger has no effect on me anymore. If I can do it, so can you." All of the eyes in the room, including mine, were wide in shock. He'd never told me everything he was feeling when he sucked the venom from my arm. Kate came over and looked at my scar.

"Wow. I'm sorry I tried to attack your dad. I'm better behaved now." She took a good whiff of me.

"You two smell so similar, that it's actually helping me." Jasper went to get Alice. She returned cautiously with Charlie behind her. I met each of the Denali coven; surprised, though suspicious as Tanya welcomed me into the family. I would be talking with Edward when we got back to my house. I got all the information I needed when he sat down to eat dinner with me and Charlie. Her eyes widened and her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Um, Edward, what are you doing?"

"I'm eating with Bella. She asked me to."

"That's disgusting."

"It's what my mate wants and it's my job to keep her happy."

"You're not fully mated." I couldn't believe she tried again, and thank you so much for pointing out that little bit of trivia.

"We will be soon enough. We're getting married at New Year's. As you can see, Tanya, I'm completely devoted to my mate. I suggest you stop what you're doing; it's aggravating Bella."

"How could you mate with a human?"

"Ask Kate, she just did." Charlie's eyes were wide. I looked at him with a 'we'll talk about it later' look. He nodded and went back to his dinner. Thankfully, she left us alone and Edward shook his head no at Charlie and then pointed to his ears to remind him of the superior hearing in the house.

After dinner we were all gathered in the family room Edward shared my latest theory with Carlisle. He was engrossed in the story, completely fascinated by my vampire instincts in human form. Even Tanya seemed to be impressed. Eleazar looked at me for a beat and then looked at Edward.

"Can you read her mind?"

"No, and Charlie's isn't always clear unless he's thinking direct thoughts at me. Bella is immune to Aro and Jane as well."

"She will be a powerful vampire. You are lucky to have stumbled upon her merely by coincidence. She's a shield and she will be a force to reckon with after the change."

"That makes sense now." Edward mused.

"What are you talking about?"

"You have a shield around your mind to keep people out."

"Well duh, my face is expressive enough, I don't want people to know my thoughts."

"You can repel Jane, which is an attack on the mind. Kate, give it a try." Eleazar demanded. I was nervous. Kate came over against Edward's growls and touched my arm. I remembered that Jasper went down like a puppet whose strings had been cut. I was waiting for my shock, but I never came.

"That was my highest setting; didn't you feel anything?" She asked me.

"No."

"Unbelievable. Do not let Aro get her, Edward."

"I don't plan on it."

"Try Charlie." Eleazar suggested and I tensed, along with everyone else in the room, including Kate.

"It will be fine, Kate. You won't hurt him." Alice said. She moved closer to my dad just in case. She put her hand on Charlie and immediately snatched it back.

"What was that?" She asked Edward.

"Did you feel like electricity went right up your arm?" He asked; both she and Charlie nodded.

"Your body recognizes its mate. I don't know that you will be able to shock him because it goes against your instincts to protect him." I watched as she tried again, but Edward was right, she couldn't intentionally harm him. I felt slightly relieved that she knew the truth, but he wasn't out of danger yet. I knew my dad was going to want to change and I knew he was going to want Kate to do it. I was happy for him. Alice looked at me and nodded. The only thing I didn't know was when. Would it be before me, before or after the baby was born, before or after the wedding, while I was on my honeymoon? Yes, Edward and I were in for a long talk tonight; though it will probably be tomorrow after I get some rest.

"Charlie will have a gift, but it's not as prominent as Bella's. He has a partial shield since Edward can't hear every thought, but there is something else too. I just don't know what it is." Eleazar commented. I noticed that my dad and Kate moved to the far side of the room to get to know one another a little better. Kate was smart enough not to be alone with him just yet. I was glad for that; though it's not like Alice would let her get very far either. I was caught unaware by my yawn and realized I had been lying on Edward. He smiled down at me.

"You look tired. Let's go to bed. Do you want to stay here or should we go back to your house?"

"I want to go home, but I'm too tired to hang on. Let's just go upstairs. Goodnight everyone." Everyone murmured it back to me.

He carried me up the stairs because I was more accident prone when I was tired. I heard him throw up and then call Emmet to the room.

"What's up Edward?"

"Can you stay with Bella; I need to go hunt." He asked as he curled up behind me. I was drifting off to sleep and Edward lowered his voice so I couldn't hear him anyway. I knew why he was asking Emmet to stay. He didn't trust Tanya and Emmet was the one he trusted most to keep me safe when he wasn't around. I felt him kiss my head and whisper that he would be back soon, but I was almost asleep and didn't acknowledge him. He left the room calling Carlisle's name, presumably to go hunting with him so that Tanya couldn't get him alone either. Emmet sat in a chair next to the bed. I reached out my hand and he took it to give me some comfort.

The next morning, after Charlie and I ate breakfast, Edward took me back to my house while Charlie stayed behind to talk to Kate. I was equally pleased and disgusted that my dad had found a mate, so I chose not to dwell on it. He probably felt the same thing about me.

"Edward, what were Tanya's thoughts last night?"

"Well, she could smell you all over me and she was disgusted that I would eat food. She's sad that Kate and your dad have bonded and she's still alone. She's intrigued that I have actually formed a relationship with you instead of using you for sex; especially since your blood appeals to me so much. She also wants us to be happy and seeing Kate with your dad, gives her hope that there is someone out there for her. As she watched us through the night, she accepted that I am mated to you, but she doesn't like it. She was noticing the changes in me since I met you. She knows that she'll never get what she wants from me, but that doesn't mean I will trust her to be alone with you while you're still human. That's why Emmet sat with you and Carlisle went with me while I hunted."

"I figured that part out. She went through a lot of emotions last night, didn't she?"

"Jasper is going crazy between her and also with Kate and your dad."

"Is my dad safe there? Does his blood appeal to Kate like mine does to you?"

"Yes and yes. Kate wants to get to know him in private, but knows that she can't be alone with him yet. She needs to build up a tolerance. It helps that your dad already knows about us and is so understanding of that fact. He wants to know more about her too, but like you, he is private. We had the luxury of school as a filter to talk during lunch when the other human children couldn't hear us. Kate and Charlie don't have that."

"I think I already know the answer, but does he want to be changed?"

"Yes. He will wait until after the wedding to ask though, he wants you to be happy. He wants to meet his grandchild before he will be forced to stay away for a while. He's going to be changed before you, I think. He's still undecided about that part. Part of him wants to see you go first and part of him doesn't. If he goes first, he won't be around for yours. I don't think we'll be able to handle two newborns in the house at the same time."

"True, but like me, he's volunteering for it unlike the rest of you. It might help with our control. Plus, he's a cop, it's his nature to protect human life."

"We'll never know until it happens. In any case, I will be responsible for you and Kate will be responsible for your dad." He looked my body up and down.

"Personally, I hope that you have trouble re-learning to dress yourself. It will give me a reason to keep you isolated." I blushed, but crawled into his lap nonetheless.

"I knew it; you are just a horny old man." He laughed.

"The horny old man who is still a virgin?"

"And a vampire, you can't forget that." He laughed again and I relished these playful times; mostly because I was the only one who got to see them.

"I love you." I murmured against his lips. I felt myself being lowered onto the couch.

"I love you too." He said as he hovered above me. My hand wrapped around his head and pulled him down to me. I started to work on his buttons as soon as his hand landed on my waist.

"Bella, what are you doing?"

"I like your chest." I shrugged and kissed his neck. He purred. With my tongue, I felt the raised bumps of a scar. I stopped to look at it.

"Is this where Carlisle bit you?"

"Yes." He was hesitant and I decided to test a theory. I licked that piece of skin again and once again, elicited a purring sound from him. I liked this new power I had over him and his purring was having some wicked effects on me.

"I like the purring."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah, can't you tell?" He inhaled and smiled down at me.

"That particular spot on me is a little more sensitive than the rest of me; just like it is on you." To illustrate this point, he kissed and licked my scar. I was panting and wiggling against him. If it was this sensitive while I was a human, what will it like when I'm a vampire? Or is it just him?

"Stop." He looked at me with a smirk.

"Try that somewhere else on me and see if it gets the same response." I challenged. I frowned when he got off of me. He picked up my ankle to test me. It was similar, but not as strong of a reaction from me.

"Ok, enough." I panted and wiggled my finger at him. He returned to his spot above me and I smiled. He kissed me and slipped his hand underneath my shirt to feel my skin. His hand may have been ice cold, but I felt heat from his touch. I wanted to push him farther up my body, but not on the couch. We were so engrossed that we never heard the front door open.

"Bella?" Edward rolled off of me and crashed to the floor. I laughed and he scowled at me. My dad and Alice entered the room and immediately knew what we had been doing. Edward buttoned up his shirt at vampire speed, but it was still obvious we had been making out. We both looked guilty, my lips were swollen and my hair was tangled up. Edward being on the floor adjusting his clothes and my shirt partially raised didn't help us either.

"If you must do that, please keep it in your room." My dad said without looking at either one of us.

"Ok." We mumbled, embarrassed, though only one of us was able to blush, proving the point.

"We were talking…at first." I tried to make us look like more than horny teenagers.

"It's not worth it, so don't try." Edward said calmly as if getting caught making out by my dad was a regular occurrence. I gave up and slouched against the back of the couch.

"Edward, Charlie wants to talk to Bella, so let's go get them some dinner." Alice's gift of seeing the future was far better than her subtlety. Edward nodded and left with her. My dad sat on the couch next to me.

"I know exactly how you feel about Edward." I smiled, glad that he truly understands.

"Kate is amazing, though she's still struggling with the scent of my blood."

"Edward will help her; he still struggles sometimes with the scent of mine. He says it feels like someone is shoving a branding iron down his throat. He will make sure she hunts more often and the two of you won't be alone for a while."

"I figured that part out and it kind of sucks. How did you and Edward do it?"

"We sat together at lunch. We had our own table with vision seeing Alice across the room. We knew that they could hear us, but they tried to give us privacy. No one else was brave enough to sit next to us. We even started with the basics like what our favorite colors were. He'd been sneaking into my room for a few months before I was even aware of it, so that he could desensitize himself. He also liked to listen to me talk in my sleep since he can't hear my thoughts." I was smug about that and Charlie smiled.

"Dad he didn't even kiss me for almost a month after we started to get to know one another. It will be slow with you and Kate." I felt weird giving my dad relationship advice, but this is one area I had more experience in…dating a vampire.

"I've decided that I want to be changed."

"I figured you would after you met her. I'm happy for you."

"Jasper said he will help me to get my affairs in order. It won't happen until you're on your honeymoon and I've had a chance to meet my grandbaby. Kate is going to do it while Carlisle supervises. She's going to take me up to Alaska so I will be less of a threat to humans. Wait, is that why you applied to college there?"

"Yep. It also has less sunny days than here if you can believe that. Edward would be able to be out in the daytime."

"Huh, it all makes sense."

"Wait until you see a baseball game. I can't wait to play with them." He looked completely shocked.

"You? You want to play sports?"

"I want to try. It looked like so much fun."

"I love you, kid."

"I love you too, Dad. Hey, where's Kate?"

"She went hunting with Rosalie and Emmet. I'll see her again tomorrow after work. She's really great, did you know that she's older than Carlisle?"

"No, I didn't. I actually don't know much about them at all."

"Why not?"

"It's never come up and although I know it's rude, I had some prejudices against one of them for attempting to be Edward's mate on more than one occasion."

"Tanya; yes, Kate told me about that. She seems nice enough, but I don't trust her yet."

"I know how you feel; it's why Edward and I won't be alone with her. He took Carlisle hunting with him last night and Emmet stayed with me."

"I like Emmet. He's so laid back."

"I like him too; just don't threaten Rosalie and you'll be fine."

"Other than Kate, Alice is my favorite." I smiled; he's like Alice from the beginning. That was when we heard a car pull up. Edward and Alice returned with pizza and waited for me and Charlie to eat it. Afterward, I was tired and pulled Edward to my room with me. He laid on my bed while I had my human moment in the bathroom. I crawled in bed and fell asleep almost immediately. This fatigue was starting to irritate me.

After two weeks though, the baby's heartbeat could be heard by all of the vampires in the house. Two weeks after that, Tanya, Irina, Carmen and Eleazar had returned to their home in Alaska. Kate, for obvious reasons, stayed behind. My dad and she were doing great and Kate's control was enough that they were able to leave the house unaccompanied for short periods of time. Kate never pushed her limits and insisted they stay on the Cullen's property for his safety. He eagerly agreed, glad to be somewhat allowed to be un-chaperoned. I felt bad for him and tried not to flaunt it in his face that Edward and I could leave to have complete privacy without having to tell anyone where we were going. All too soon, it was time for my eight week appointment. Emmet had approached me privately and asked if he and Rosalie could come and see one of the ultrasounds sometime.

"Emmet, right now, I only feel comfortable sharing this with Edward. If I change my mind, I will let you know, ok?" He nodded and appreciated my honesty. Also, I felt that if I let them come in, then I would have to let them all in and I didn't want that. I was amazed at how much the baby had changed in four weeks. I could see little arm and leg buds and I could finally hear the heart beating.

"It's so fast."

"Yes, it is and it will stay that way for a while. The baby looks great and your body is completely healed. How are you feeling? Are you still suffering from any morning sickness? Is the fatigue better or worse? Have you noticed any physical changes?"

"Yes, I'm still tired a lot. The morning sickness seems to have passed, which I know Edward is grateful for." He squeezed my hand and nodded.

"Physically, I've got some tender areas and have cravings to be close to Edward." I blushed as I mentioned this. I also rubbed my hand across my chest to indicate where the tenderness was.

"Ah, yes, well the tenderness is normal. Don't be surprised to discover any swelling either. As for your cravings, that is also completely normal. I would simply advise that when one of these cravings hit, you find an appropriate place to satisfy them. Edward, I'm aware that you are waiting for your wedding night, and that is admirable; therefore I must insist that if Bella does anything to make you uncomfortable, then you must tell her. She needs to know what is and is not ok in your physical relationship. I would also advise you to tell her before the mood hits. Also draw limits on what you are willing to do for her physically." He nodded and I was sure that I had invented a new shade of red with the amount of embarrassment I was feeling right now. Carlisle left the room and Edward placed his cool hands on my warm face to help bring my color back to normal.

"He's right; there does need to be limits. Let's go to our meadow where we can talk about them in private." I nodded because I knew that they were both right. I've recently become aware of my irrationality and mood swings lately; mostly because Emmet likes to bring them out of me. I didn't like it and tried to keep myself in control by thinking before I react. I didn't like hurting the people I love and I didn't want to blame it on hormones.

A/N: So Charlie has a mate and finally, truly understands the depth of Edward and Bella's love. More trouble is on its way. Reviews are wanted and appreciated. Have a great day! Kelly