Ricochet

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

Chapter Two

It had been six years since Rosalie had gotten a glimpse of Charlie Swan. On the few occasions she had met him in the past, she always found him an affable and naturally responsible person, a loner who didn't enjoy being in big crowds or the centre of attention. It was a trait he had passed onto his daughter. Standing just shy of six feet tall, with straight brown hair and his trademark moustache, he was a good-looking man for his age.

After leaving Forks, Bella had maintained a distant relationship with her father, mainly through weekly phone calls which tapered off to once a month as the years passed. During each call Charlie would plead with Bella to come home for a visit, but she was always ready with some lame excuse prepared by Edward as to why this wasn't possible. His disappointment and devastation at the constant rejection sparked a rare compassion in Rosalie. Behind Edward and Bella's back she sent Charlie letters, copying Bella's inarticulate scrawl was easy for someone with her talents. She would add thoughtful gifts, adding a personal touch that only a beloved daughter would know, anything to ease a ravaged father's heart and keep his hope alive that his daughter did actually care.

Of course, it didn't take long for Edward and Bella to find out what Rosalie had been doing. After Bella had several puzzling conversations with Charlie, expressing his effusive thanks for the presents he had received through the post from her, and with Alice soon snitching on Rosalie after she saw her sending the gifts in a vision, there had been a major blow up in the family. Even Emmet was angry with Rosalie. She had at least expected some support from her own mate, but to her disappointment he told her to stop interfering in something which was none of her business. Emmet was tiring of the tension in the family and her obsession with Bella and her 'child.' He liked the kid, but didn't think it was doing Rosalie any good in the long term to become so attached. Carlisle had the same concerns about Esme. As far as the men in the coven were concerned, everyone needed to take a step back.

Hurt by Emmet's lack of understanding, a rift began to spread between Rosalie and her mate. A rift that only grew wider when she refused to back down. Initially Bella had been angry with the statuesque blonde about her unwanted interreference regarding Charlie, but after calming down and listening to Rosalie's reasons, Bella confessed that she was glad that she had done it. The separation from her parents was taking its toll on Bella more than she wanted to admit. She thought she could cope, and over time get used to the situation, but to her chagrin the exact opposite had happened. Becoming a mother had opened her eyes to how Charlie and Renee must be feeling, having to deal with the constant rejections from their only child. Renee was handling it better, she had Phil to distract her, but Charlie had no one.

The whole situation became a constant source of friction in the family and over time the coven branched off into two separate groups-Carlisle, Edward and Emmet on one side, with Rosalie, Bella and Esme on the other. Alice and Jasper were caught in the middle, a place that neither was comfortable with, especially the empathetic Jasper. He was affected more than most by all the chaotic emotions flying about, and in the end, it took such a toll on him, that he and Alice were forced to withdraw from the family dynamics altogether to save his sanity.

That left little CJ.

There was only so much that the women could do to protect him from all the tension, but he was an intelligent little kid, even at his young age he had picked up that the only family he had ever known was fracturing around him. And that's when Rosalie decided enough was enough. Someone was going to have to do something. And if Bella wasn't brave enough to do it, she would just have to force her hand. And right there the plan to take CJ began to form in Rosalie's mind. She knew that the possibility of being separated from her child would be the one thing that would finally drive Bella to finally make the break. If she was going to pull it off, Rosalie knew that she would need Charlie's cooperation, which meant letting him in on a few secrets, starting with the fact that he was a grandfather.

"Don't you see, Bella? You already have everything. You have a whole life ahead of you—everything I want. And you're going to just throw it away. Can't you see that I'd trade everything I have to be you? You have the choice that I didn't have, and you're choosing wrong!"

Those words were on Rosalie's mind as she watched the door slowly open to reveal Charlie Swan on the other side. The police chief looked very much like she remembered him-maybe a few extra grey strands in his hair-but remarkably not much changed. Little CJ was clinging tightly to her hand. His initial excitement at meeting his real grandfather for the first time was wearing off now he was confronted by a complete stranger.

"Its okay, CJ." Rosalie said gently. "This is Charlie. Remember I told you all about him."

"Hi." CJ mumbled shyly.

Charlie Swan's serious expression relaxed into a smile. He nodded at Rosalie, before hunkering down so he was more on CJ's level. "Hi, its nice to finally meet you, kid. I hear we share the same name."

"You're called Charlie Jacob, too?" CJ's dark brown eyes widened in surprise.

"Not quite. I'm Charlie Eugene." Charlie revealed. "Why don't you come inside?"

"K.'" CJ felt comfortable enough to let go of Rosalie's hand. He stepped inside, his curious gaze taking everything in. He spotted a picture of Bella in the hallway. It was taking during her graduation. She was standing next to Charlie, and they were smiling awkwardly at the camera. "That's Mommy!" He cried in delight.

"Yeah." Charlie said gruffly. "I was such a proud dad that day. I've got more pictures of your mommy, if you'd like to see them."

"Can I?" CJ said eagerly. He looked toward Rosalie for permission.

"Of course, you can." Rosalie brushed the long black fringe out of his eyes affectionately.

"This way, kid." Charlie led the way into the front room. A large flat screen TV dominated one corner of the room. A comfortable recliner took pride of place in front of it. CJ climbed into it, giggling when it swivelled slightly under his weight. Charlie smiled and swung the chair around, making CJ laugh even louder. His voice turned wistful as he whispered in an aside to Rosalie. "He's the mirror image of Jake at the same age."

"Yes." Rosalie agreed. "It's only during moments of repose that you get to really see Bella in him." She saw the sadness reflected in Charlie's warm brown eyes for a moment and she sighed. "You haven't spoken to Jacob Black yet?" She whispered back.

"I promised I wouldn't." Charlie frowned. "I'm not happy about it, though."

"It's up to Bella to tell Jacob Black herself." Rosalie reminded him. "It will be better coming from her."

Charlie's brow furrowed slightly, unhappy with all the subterfuge. "And she'll be here soon?" He checked.

"You can bet she's on her way." Rosalie promised. "Don't worry."

Charlie sat in his recliner, watching in thoughtful silence while Rosalie and CJ sat on the sofa, going through the old family photo albums together. It had been overwhelming for the little boy to meet his grandfather, so Charlie had taken a step back and let Rosalie take charge for a while. He didn't want CJ to feel intimidated by his presence. He knew it was going to be a slow process until the boy felt comfortable around him. Charlie was still fazed at how much CJ looked like his father. It was like he had been transported back into the past, and it was young Jacob sitting next to the beautiful blonde on the sofa.

As for Rosalie…. Charlie had never seen such a beautiful woman in his life. She was simply dazzling. He remembered Bella mentioning on a few occasions in the past that she found Rosalie intimidating, that she could be narcissistic and self-centred. But Charlie could see no evidence of that on show here. He guessed there was probably an element of jealousy in Bella's previous assessment of Rosalie. Charlie loved his daughter fiercely, but he knew her low self-esteem, just one of the many traits she had inherited from him, often clouded her judgement. It was clear that the stunning blonde had a close bond with little CJ, and it was obvious she adored him in return.

Once Rosalie had settled on her plan of action to take CJ, she had put it into motion. She had contacted Charlie out of the blue, stunning him with the news that Bella had borne a child, a son, a boy now six years old. It had taken a while for Charlie to absorb the news, let alone accept it. Rosalie had been calm and concise on the phone, answering all his questions, hiding nothing. She provided proof, sending Charlie photos of CJ and Bella together, from his birth to current age. Of course, the first thing he had done was demand to see his daughter.

Once again Rosalie had been forced to explain that this wasn't possible in the conventional sense, which led to more confessions, confessions which Charlie had trouble believing let alone understanding. That's when the anger set in. Rosalie agreed to meet with him in person, talking on the phone was no longer enough. So, over a course of several weeks, using the excuse that she needed space from the family and Emmet, she travelled to Seattle to meet up with Charlie in secret. The two of them spent many hours together talking, Rosalie offering proof to back up her claims. She opened Charlie's eyes to what had been in front of him all along. She stoically endured the gamut of his emotions-his feelings of betrayal, anger, guilt, his sadness, then finally acceptance.

Now here they all were…. waiting for the imminent arrival of his daughter and her husband. Charlie clenched his teeth whenever he thought of Edward Cullen. He hated him as much now as he ever had.

Rosalie had warned him that if Bella was coming, Edward would not let her come alone. "He is overprotective to the point of being controlling."

"He is abusive." Charlie growled.

"I care for Edward as a brother, but he's irritated me from the first moment I heard him speak." Rosalie answered honestly. "It is in his nature. He won't ever change."

Outside the house, the sound of tires making a monotonous hiss over the rain-washed tarmac caught Rosalie's attention. She tensed, her amber eyes meeting Charlie's brown ones. "They're here." She murmured.

Seconds later there was a frantic pounding on the front door. Charlie hurried to answer it, before the small boy on the sofa got too distressed. He nearly slid over in the hall in his haste to yank the door open. Bella stood on the other side, her long brunette hair rain soaked, pale face panic stricken. She was too beside herself to even greet him properly. "Is he here? Dad, is CJ here?"

"He's here." Charlie responded huskily as he stepped aside to let her enter. Bella rushed straight past him, calling CJ's name.

Of course, she wasn't alone. Behind her, like an ever-present shadow was Edward Cullen. Charlie gave him a look of pure disgust before slamming the door shut in Edward's face.

A/N-thanks for reading!