Hello, darlings. I'm sorry I couldn't update last weekend, I was in a bad place emotionally, and didn't have the mind set to write anything. I planned on updating earlier this week because I'm on medical rest until Tuesday, but then, I kept saying "i have time, I have time" :)

I hope to update next week. :)

In the meantime, thank you for your continue support. Thank you, silent readers and to my non-silent readers who review :)

You know what to do with this one. Review, alert and enjoy :)

SILVER

Chapter 26: Charlie's in.

Bella had to stay in the hospital for a few more days, her injuries weren't as bad as they first thought, but they wanted to keep an eye on her just in case. The more worrying injury was on her leg. It had been stuck under a piece of her car, and as a result, her ankle was broken, in addition to a few bruised bones that luckily didn't break.

While in the hospital, she emailed her professors, conveying her accident and her bill of health. To her surprise, her professors were very accommodating. They all told her to stay home and recover in exchange for a weekly reading summary to keep up with her classes. She had to choose her readings from the list provided in the first class of the semester. This relieved Paul as well, who was worried about his wife missing classes and falling behind.

And speaking about her husband, he barely left her side, helping her move around as much as she was allowed to. She had asked him to go home and rest, but he refused, saying that he would rest once she was out of the hospital. She didn't know he feared leaving her alone. When Charlie called him to tell him that she had been in a car accident, he thought he'd lost her. He's never been more afraid in his life.

On the other hand, Charlie was looking for the right way to ask his daughter what in the hell happened. She didn't know this, but he had asked Jake to take a look at Bella's car because he worried about her making her way to and from Seattle in that rusty old truck. Jake had said that everything was in order. So, the fact that suddenly, her truck started malfunctioning didn't make sense. She might believe he was oblivious to anything and everything, but that was not the case. He knew there were things he could not explain. He just chose not to say anything about it. But this was one too many.

He came into Bella's hospital room, surprised to find her alone and awake. Usually, Paul would be with her if she was awake.

"Hey, dad." She greeted with a smile.

"How are you feeling, kiddo?"

She shrugged. "I feel better." And she did. She no longer had a raging headache.

"Could you tell me what the hell happened?" By his intonation, Bella knew that this wasn't his regular questioning line. This was more of an 'I know what is happening, but I'm allowing you to come clean.'

"I don't know that." And she didn't know. How was she supposed to know that Edward was going to go rogue and try to kill her? She had asked Alice if she knew what Edward had been planning, and she said no. She was shocked to hear of her accident. Edward must have been changing his mind a lot or might have taken a last-minute decision. If someone knew how to evade Alice, it was him.

"Let me be clear, Bella." He started seriously. "I knew the moment you first got hurt dating that Cullen boy that there was something you weren't telling me. But I ignored it because he seemed to care about you, and you seemed happy. Then he left, you started hanging out with Jake, and everything was good. I still knew there were some things that were not possible, but I didn't question them. Then you broke up with Edward and immediately started dating Paul. I never questioned what the hell happened there because you were the happiest I had seen you, and I didn't want to ruin that. But things only got weirder. This accident is just one too many, Bella. I want the truth, and I want it now."

Bella looked at her dad in awe. He really did know more than he let on. Sometimes, she really wondered how he didn't know more. His best friends were both elders of the tribe, in into the secret of the wolves. Charlie was a police chief and smart as hell. It was really just a matter of time before he started asking questions.

Bella sighed. "Ask Billy." She said.

Charlie shook his head. "I'm asking you."

"It's not my secret to tell, dad. I'm sorry."

Charlie started getting red in the face. "Like hell, it is. If it's not yours, then whose is it?"

Paul chose that moment to come into the room.

"It's mine." He kissed Bella's forehead before offering her a small smile in greeting.

Charlie nodded. He suspected as much. "Start talking kid."

Paul shook his head. If it were only his secret, he wouldn't mind telling him because he knew Charlie would keep the secret. But as it was, it was also his packmates' secret, and he couldn't betray them like that. He had to ask for their permission first.

"It's not only my secret to tell. I must ask the other ones involved if they don't mind you knowing. But for now, you'll have to settle with knowing that even if I failed this time, I'd die before I'd let anything happen to Bella."

Bella shook her head. "Paul…" He knew what she was going to say.

"I did fail you, Bella. I should have known. I should have gone with you."

Charlie might not know the full details of everything happening, but he knew one thing. Whatever had happened was not Paul's fault.

"Son, it's neither of your faults. You couldn't have known that something was wrong with the car. You have your own responsibilities to look after here. I speak for Bella when I say that you did not fail her." Charlie walked closer to Paul and lowered his gaze to the wolf's. "You take care of her in every way possible. But you are two people, and neither can abandon their life to be constantly vigilant about the other. Accidents happen, and shit happens. That does not mean either of you fails the other."

Bella had tears in her eyes because that's what she had told Paul. Less articulated, but the message was the same. It's as if she had said she had failed Paul when he got hurt during the newborn fight.

Paul nodded, speechless. He had never had a solid male figure in his life and having Charlie support him like this was a gift. He looked away from his father-in-law and noticed Bella's tearful smile. He gave her a short nod, to which she winked.

…

…

…

After speaking with his Alpha, Billy, and Quil Sr., Paul was given the green light to tell Charlie what was happening. He already suspected some things because he's heard about the stories of La Push since he was a teenager. He never thought of them as truth because honestly, it was more likely to Charlie to see a pig fly than to think that a teenager could turn into a wolf. He knew that there was something off with the Cullens. He never truly believed the story they told everyone. Carlisle looked entirely too young, and the kids too old to be in a surrogate/adoptive/foster family. But as they kept to themselves, behaved, and did nothing wrong (until they mingled with his daughter), he let them be.

Now, Paul was confirming the stories of the reservation. Wolves, vampires, fights, eternal soulmates, etc. Bella was Paul's imprint. He thought it was a nice story, but he was more pragmatic than romantic, so that part of their culture didn't move him as much. But he could see why it had moved Bella. She was a romantic girl, idealistic no matter how smart she was. She saw the world differently. He was saddened by how much she had suffered from the supernatural world but proud to see how strong she had become.

"Let me get this straight. Cullen was a vampire, and you knew it all along?" And she willingly dated him? He should have sent her to a shrink when he had the chance.

Bella shrugged from her spot on the couch. Paul had arranged the cushions so that she could put her mend-up leg up. "I didn't love him because he was a vampire, dad. Just as I don't love Paul because he's a werewolf." She thanked her husband when he set a cup of tea on her hands. He gave another one to Charlie, and after retrieving his, he sat on the couch next to Bella.

"But… I understand the wolves. At least they're human. But a vampire…he's dead, right?" He wanted to ask so many questions about her relationship with a vampire, merely out of curiosity, and admittedly, there were questions he wanted to ask that were not appropriate to ask her.

Paul snickered, noticing Bella's annoyance at her father's questioning. He didn't rush to help her because this was hilarious, and she was the one who had the bad taste to date a vampire in the first place.

"Dad, just leave at that. There are things you don't want to know."

Charlie knew that and agreed with her. There were things a father didn't need to know about his daughter.

"I know it's very late to ask this, but you're happy with wolves and imprinting and all that, right?"

Paul laughed louder. As if anyone could force Bella to do anything she didn't want to do.

"I couldn't be happier, dad. You have nothing to worry about."

Paul thought that making a little joke wouldn't hurt anyone. He raised his cup to his mouth and mumbled (loud enough so everyone could hear him), "She definitely has nothing to complain about."

Bella choked on her own tee and blushed redder than Charlie had ever seen her. Paul smirked and winked at her, much to her horror. But Charlie was the one who surprised them both. He laughed heartily and palmed Paul's shoulder. It was definitely surreal talking to Charlie about vampires and wolves and her sexually magnificent life through her husband's innuendos.