AN: I've decided to change the title. In keeping with the theme of the books' titles, the new title is High Noon. The reason for this will be elaborated on in later chapters.

Chapter 7
Attacked

(Charlie POV)

I had made my decision three days ago. I wanted Bella to be the one to do it, if she thought she could. My back up plan would be Edward. The past two days had been filled with settling all of my affairs. One of the first things that was suggested to me, was to see an attorney in Seattle that the Cullens frequently used for documents. Jason Jenks seemed kind of shady when I first met him. It was obvious that in my former line of work, he would have definitely been someone I would have been interested in, but for a much different reason. He was a forger and counterfeiter. But he was the person whom the Cullens trusted to obtain all the documentation for their moves, and also he knew just enough about them to be a danger. This was necessary in situations like this; both sides needed dirt on the other if something went bad.

The services I required were some of the first legitimate services that Mr. Jenks had provided for the Cullens in two decades. Carlisle had told me what to expect in the first year or so of my new life; extreme thirst and the desire to do anything to quench it, including murder. I couldn't risk being around humans for at least a few months. Because of that, I granted Bella and Edward jointly full power of attorney over all of my affairs. After my transformation, we would decide what exactly to do, what story to tell my friends but more than likely they would list my home on the market and sell it. The exact lie as to where I would be at this time was still to be determined, but my family had assured me that this was the safest way to proceed. Other than my family and closest friends, no one knew how sick I really was, so I wouldn't have to lie to them saying that I had died. My favorite idea was saying I was having a midlife crisis and retired to move back to the 'old country'. Exactly which country my parents came from was still a mystery. They immigrated to the States in the early 1900's and claimed to be Austrian, but I knew of some distant cousins in Germany.

Part of me wanted to proceed with the change as quickly as possible, but Carlisle insisted that if I wanted Bella to be the one to bite me, then she had to be well fed. She was still a fairly new vampire, so there was a risk that she wouldn't be able to stop when she bit me; if she fed frequently leading up to when she would bite me, then that would lessen the chance. Edward and Carlisle would both be in the room with us when she did, and they hoped that the two of them combined would be able to stop her if she began to drink me. Man that still sounds wrong to say.

There was another reason that I wanted to go to Seattle; I wanted to see one last Mariners game before my change. I didn't care so much who they were playing, it was just a chance to share one of my passions with my family… and Jacob. Okay, that might be a little harsh, but there will always be a part of me that resents him falling in love with Nessie so young. Six of us were given a suite by Carlisle; Billy and Jacob joined Edward, Bella, Nessie, and myself. I had went down to the main concourse level to just wander around. The game didn't really matter to me; the M's were having an off year. I just wanted one last time in the ballpark.

I had been walking around for about five minutes, when I saw an absolutely stunning young woman. Her skin was brilliantly white, and she worn casual jeans and a very low cut tee shirt extremely tight fitting to her perfect frame. Her hair was long, recently permed and somewhere between red and brown. It fell in waves down to her waist. The most unusual thing about her were her eyes; never before had I seen anyone with violet eyes, but like everything else on her they were stunning. Her beauty could dwarf anyone, even Rosalie, but there was definitely something she was hiding.

"Hey handsome," the woman said in my direction.

I began looking around to see who she was talking to; it clearly couldn't be me. She was young enough to be a daughter or niece. But she pointed right at me. For the first time I noticed her hands were covered in black elbow length gloves. I gulped.

"You're silly, but really cute," she mused with a giggle. "What do you say we go back to my place?"

I wasn't sure, but I could have sworn she moaned with hunger and said 'delicious' under her breath. Something felt off here, but I couldn't place it. I decided to make small talk with her for a few minutes, and then would decline her invitation. But I secretly hoped that one of my friends might come down to give me an alibi.

"It's only the fourth inning," I said casually trying to dismiss her after a few minutes of talking about god only knows what. I saw a rage burn in her with this. She knew what I was doing, and this woman looked as if she didn't get declined very often. But I had found someone I wanted to be with in Tanya. And even thought this woman was much prettier than Tanya on a strictly physical sense, Tanya was so much more beautiful than she was.

As soon as I dismissed her invitation, she turned on her heel and stomped off. By now, I had been gone for about half an hour. I was sure that they'd start worrying if I was gone much longer. I decided to grab a beer and some nachos as a cover story for why it had taken so long. I returned to the suite by the end of the sixth.

"God Charlie, you stink," Jacob laughed as I returned. "I didn't think the smell of bloodsucker was contagious, but I guess I was wrong."

"Jacob Black!" Billy snapped at his son.

Jacob looked down at his feet in shame. "Sorry," he muttered just above a whisper in shame.

"We still have a treaty in place, and that requires us to be discreet."

"I said I was sorry," Jacob apologized again.

Edward was looking at me, and I guess he saw something in my thoughts that he found very offensive since he ran out of the suite. He was gone for about ten minutes before he returned. None of us left the suite for the rest of the game.

During the eighth inning, Nessie sat on my knee and whispered to me, "It's more fun when we play ball," adding a wink at the end.

I had seen them play yesterday. Their version of baseball couldn't compare to MLB, but it made me happy to see them having so much fun. "It won't be long before I can play too," I whispered to her, which made her smile widely.

After the game, as we walked back to the cars, I asked Jacob if he wanted to join us fishing tomorrow.

"Sounds like fun," Jacob answered. "What time?"

"About 7," Billy answered. "Charlie will be by about 7."

"Well then, I'm in."

The next day, being Saturday there was really little I could do when it came to getting stuff taken care of, so I decided to enjoy one last time fishing with Billy. Jacob came along with us, since Alice wanted to treat Renesmee to a spa day; or at least pamper Nessie with what Alice, Esme, and Rosalie could do. Billy would be the only one in the boat anchored next to us, as Jacob and I would be fly fishing one of the streams that flowed into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Since Harry died, I hadn't been fly fishing and wanted to one last time. Billy had explained to me on the way to our spot that until I wasn't a danger to humans, they could not allow me onto Quileute land but once my control was certain then I would be welcomed back just like the rest of the Cullens were after the run in with the Volturi.

We found a spot just at the mouth of a river, I don't really know which one, where the water depth changed relatively quickly. Were we were, it was about three feet deep, and it was relatively warm for the Olympic Peninsula in late September, so we were comfortable in waders. We'd been fishing for about an hour when I finally felt a bite. This sucker had to be massive; 40 or 50 pounds, maybe even more. I was worried that my line wouldn't hold, but no sooner had I felt the line go taught, did it fall slack. Sucker must not have taken the hook. "Ah, crap!" I sighed dejected. "That might had been the one to make my angling career complete."

Billy and Jacob both chuckled. "Another fish story paleface?" Billy laughed at me. I could only laugh at him in reply. Billy set his pole down and stretched his hand as far apart as he could. "I once landed a fish this big," he exaggerated.

We were all laughing now. He had used this line on me many times before, and I could only assume that Jacob had heard it too. "Let me guess," I sighed in response like always, "he got away."

Billy smiled. "Damn right. Took my rod too."

Jacob rolled his eyes, turned to me and whispered, "He only told mom that so she'd let him buy a new one." We were all laughing again.

Another minute passed and Jacob began to sniff the air. "Something's wrong," he observed noticing that the smell was completely off. One of his gifts was heightened smell in the aftermath of being a wolf. We waited for him to elaborate. "There's no fish around here; it's like they know something's wrong."

That's when I felt something cut through my waders. "Goddamn it!" I screamed as I first felt the pain. Sure, my waders were old and leaked a little bit, but I never felt anything cut me through them before. And even weirder, I didn't see a rock or anything that could cut them. I didn't know if there was a knife hidden in water that we couldn't see of what, but something got me.

The first thing I noticed was the pain; a single sharp, almost blade like feeling to whatever cut me. But it began to get warmer as time passed. Before a minute passed, I couldn't feel the coolness of the water in my right foot; that was my first clue that something was seriously wrong. But I wasn't paralyzed since I could still feel my toes, it was just that my temperature senses were ways off in one foot.

After I yelled, Jacob began to help me to shore. I could walk fine still, but it stung like hell. By the time I got my waders off, Jacob began to inspect the wound. It was clean, looking like a knife wound but there was definitely something wrong with it. It was an angry shad of red. I tried to explain it away; the low concentration of salt in the strait being responsible, but Jacob wasn't telling me something. "We've gotta get you to Carlisle," he insisted vehemently. "He'll know what to do about this."

"A knife wound?" I questioned as I examined it myself. It was about six inches long, and not very deep; in fact it looked like it had already stopped bleeding. "Why don't I just go to the clinic on the reservation, it's only about five minutes from here. And besides, it's not bleeding anymore."

"You don't get it. Charlie, I smell bloodsucker in your wound. Something bit you or something."

His words hit me like a ton of bricks. Yes, I wanted to be a vampire so I'd never have to leave my family, and could possibly spend eternity with Tanya if she wanted me, but I didn't want it like this. When whoever it would have been to bite me did, I wanted to be surrounded by my family. By now, my leg began to get uncomfortable; heat began building in it.

I walked back to where we had parked our cars. It was getting difficult, but with a little support from Jacob, it was doable. Jacob drove at speeds that would have made me want to arrest him when I was a cop, but he was doing it for a reason. My leg was growing hotter and hotter by the second; I mean it felt like it was in a blast furnace now, and worse it felt as the heat was beginning to spread up my leg. We made it to Carlisle's clinic within about fifteen minutes, but when we entered I almost collapsed. I couldn't walk any more on it. Luckily, Jacob was able to catch me before I fell.

Esme looked concerned behind the desk, but couldn't help carry me because there were a few people in the waiting room. I heard her whispering on the phone, wondering who she was calling. Bella maybe? Edward? Jacob carried me into one of the open exam rooms as quickly as we entered the lobby. Carlisle came to see me less than a minute later.

"What's wrong?" Carlisle asked as he looked at my leg. He examined the wound carefully noticing the blade-like cut just above the top of my foot.

"Something got him when we were fishing," Jacob answered, his whole shivering in rage. It looked like he wanted to run after whatever he thought it was.

"What got him? Carlisle asked again sounding upset that he couldn't see why the cut was so painful to me.

Normally, I had a high tolerance for pain and never cried, but this was almost bringing me to tears. I didn't think it was possible, but the heat had begun to spread, further up my leg, with minor heat now up to my knee. "Fire," I whispered out. That was all the volume I could get from my voice. "Fire in my right leg." I could feel my face grimacing from the discomfort I was in.

"Bloodsucker," Jacob whispered to Esme who was still behind the desk in the lobby. "One I don't know."

How'd I hear that? Bella used to joke with me that I had selective deafness, but I head a whisper down the hall through a closed door as clear as if Jacob was standing right next to me. I heard Jacob talking to Esme, hearing both sides of their conversation perfectly. What the heck happened to me?

Billy was still talking to Carlisle. The two of them looked at me in genuine horror. I could hear their muffled whispers perfectly clear, and I could decipher them with incredible clarity.

"How long's it been?" Carlisle asked, not letting his voice be heard by anyone other than Billy, and apparently me now.

I saw Billy look at his left wrist and assumed he was looking at a watch. "Maybe half hour; why?"

"Damnation!" Carlisle snapped still just barely above a whisper. "It's been too long. Even with the small amount of venom in him, there is no reversing it now. Either he lives as one of us, or I kill him to prevent it." I could clearly hear Carlisle's decisive steps as he approached me. He resumed at a level that he thought he needed to use so I could hear him, "It's a horrible choice, but I can offer you no other. I can stop the pain but it will kill you, or I can speed up the process and you'll begin your new life as one of us in a few days."

"Bella!" I struggled to shout, but it barely rose above a whisper.

Carlisle looked incredibly guilty. "Edward's coming to take you to the house. The whole family is waiting for you."

"I've gotta talk," I struggled to even get the words out of my mouth, "to Bella."

Edward ran in, at human speed, with a wheelchair. Even though it was difficult to move my head, I heard his entry perfectly clear. He lifted me with such gentleness that it felt more like floating than being carried before setting me down. He ran, no not for him but a human run, to get me outside the back door of the clinic ASAP.

I assumed that Edward already knew everything that had happened in the less than twenty seconds that he was in the clinic. We rode back the the Cullen home in complete silence, the four mile trip taking less than 10 minutes, even driving through town.

I was lost in my thoughts. Jacob, I assumed was in the back, since I felt someone else in the car who was breathing. I thought he was there to fill in the rest of the family when we got back, but I still was trying to think of how to tell them what really happened, even though I knew my course. I wanted Bella to help me. Carlisle had said that he could speed it up. What did that mean, and how could anyone speed this torture up? But all I knew is that I wished someone would help me.