Victoria was impatiently waiting to see Charlie. Carlisle had called her to let her know that he was awake and well, but that had been nearly a full day ago. She started planning to sneak up on them and just see if he was alright, but the hotel phone started ringing shrilly. She answered it.

"Hello?"

"I wouldn't try that if I were you." A high-pitched female voice said.

"Try what?"

"I know what you're plotting. Charlie is fine. He just needs a few more days to process what's happened. When he asks for you, we'll call you."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"Because I've already seen it happening. It will." she said and then ended the call. That female was perhaps the most frustrating creature she had met in all of her five hundred plus years. Must be the empath's wife.

Unfortunately, Victoria knew that she was trapped and would have to wait. She flopped onto the bed, burying her face in the small mountain of pillows, and not caring if she ever surfaced.

Charlie Swan was still missing from Forks. At first, everyone assumed that he simply needed some personal time due to the stress of his missing daughter. They started to suspect maybe he had gotten a lead or heard from her and took off after her without telling anyone. No one truly thought anything would have happened to Charlie.

After four days had passed since he'd even bothered to call into work, everyone was talking about his disappearance. His co-workers wondered if they should consider him a missing person.

The Chief of Police disappearing in a town as small as Forks definitely attracted attention. Word spread quickly and it was soon the talk of the town. What exactly had Bella gotten herself into?

The Quileutes debated trying to cover his tracks, but honestly, their secret wasn't the one at risk. Why bother? They certainly didn't care about protecting bloodsuckers.

The other police stopped by Charlie's house for a wellness check and found no evidence of a crime, but no evidence of Charlie either. They called or visited all of his friends and family they could think of, but the leads went nowhere.

Alice had a vision of the police deciding to call Bella's mom in Florida, and her frantically making a huge deal about her daughter and her ex-husband being missing to the media. It would get national attention. Alice knew that she would have to do everything in her power to stop that particular scenario from playing out.

"Bella, go call your mom right now. Tell her that you are safe, and Charlie is with you. She's going to ask why you sound funny and tell her you have a cold or the flu or that you swallowed a bug for all I care, just make sure that she knows both you and Charlie are safe! Do not leave her any room for doubt."

Bella stood up without another word and started dialing her mom's house. All of the vampires in the house listened in, none more anxious than the pair of Alice, and Edward, who had seen the vision in her thoughts.

"Hello?"

"Hi, mom."

"Bella?!"

"It's me."

Renee gasped, not expecting to hear Bella. "I thought you were missing! Where are you?!"

"I'm fine, mom. I'm not missing. I just left Forks. Dad's with me."

"Why?!"

"It's a long story. Edward and I-"

"I knew it!" She didn't even let Bella finish. "Why do you sound funny? What's wrong?"

"Just a cold. I'm alright, really. Actually, I'm the happiest I've ever been."

"And your dad is alright with it?" She sounded surprised.

"Not exactly, but he's going to stay with us a while and help us get settled."

"You could have called someone."

"I know, I'm sorry. It was a sudden decision."

"What got into you?" Her mother asked, and Alice's catastrophic vision disappeared just like that. She believed her.

"I just couldn't stand Forks anymore. Edward and I wanted to move away and just take online classes or something."

"Well, I can understand that. I hated Forks too. That's why I was so surprised when you said you wanted to move there. You're happy?"

"Extremely."

"And your dad is with you now?"

"He is."

"Alright. Email or call me next time? You know I love you no matter what. It wasn't the decision I would have recommended, but I know how you are once you make your mind up."

"Thanks, mom. I'll email you in a day or two."

Alice tuned Bella out while she said goodbye to her mother. "Call the police department for your dad too." She said when she hung up.

"Do you think they'll believe it's me when I sound like this?"

"Not really, but it will stop them from calling your mom again. They tried while you were on the phone with her, but thankfully she doesn't have call waiting."

"Alright." Bella called the police department and let them know that Charlie was fine and with her. That he was too tired from traveling and trying to find them to call on his own.

Thankfully, she got one of the deputies that knew her since she was a baby and although she sounded different, she answered all of his questions without hesitation and even called him by his first name, which he hadn't given over the phone. He believed her too.

Alice sighed heavily in relief and laid her head down on the counter like she had the worst headache imaginable. Truly, the weight of her responsibility did give her awful migraines sometimes, vampire or not.

Fortunately, the trouble in Forks was settled before it got any media attention. That would have potentially gotten the Volturi involved, as they frequently scanned the news for any signs of vampires not covering their tracks, particularly around where they knew covens settled.

Edward wrapped his arms around Bella and held her tightly to him just as she started to hear footsteps outside. Charlie and Jasper walked in a minute later. Bella was terrified. Jasper smiled gently at her and Edward visibly relaxed, so she did too.

"Hi everyone." Jasper said, going to tend to Alice.

"Hi." Bella said to him but looked at Charlie.

"I can't get past the red eyes." He answered, looking at her and Edward and shaking his head.

"Yours are red too."

"They are?"

"Yeah. They will turn gold eventually." Bella said.

"I thought yours used to be gold?" he asked Edward.

"They were. They will be again soon."

"Why aren't they now?"

"I drank Bella's blood when I…bit her." he answered shyly, not wanting to admit in full detail the three days he had spent high out of his mind on the nectar of his mate and his singer.

"Why didn't you try harder to talk her out of this?" Charlie didn't mean it to sound so harsh, but he did blame Edward for her fate and now his as well.

"Have you ever tried to talk Bella out of something?" Edward asked bluntly. Suddenly, Charlie understood.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that how it sounded." It's not really his fault.

"I know." Edward said. "It is my fault, but I can't regret it. I don't regret it. I am sorry about what happened to you though."

Charlie took a moment to think. "The mind reading thing?"

"Your thoughts aren't always clear to me. I think you probably have a talent similar to Bella's, but it's not fully developed yet."

"A talent to block mind readers?"

"Sort of. It's like a mental shield of some sort. We don't fully understand Bella's just yet, although she's rather skilled with it. It can block mind readers and powers like mine."

"Not Jasper."

"No, because his gift is physical, not mental."

"Or Alice."

"No, because her gift is based on your decisions, not your thoughts."

"Huh, alright. I get why you did what you did to Bella a little bit now, but why did you have to get her wrapped up in this? Why couldn't you just stay away from humans in the first place?" His fault or not, Charlie was still a little angry.

"Enough!" Bella said, some of her own newborn anger rearing its head again. "This isn't Edward's fault, dad. Victoria is the one who bit you. He did try to stay away, he tried to leave. I don't want that. This is the life I have always wanted for myself. I. chose. this. I was his from the very first second I saw him, whether he felt the same or not. There was no stopping it. I'm his."

"The mating thing again?"

"I don't know." she answered honestly.

"Still, if he hadn't associated with humans…"

"No, dad. I was never truly happy as a human. It always felt like something was missing. You saw how miserable I was coming to Forks. I didn't have any friends, the few I made never felt quite right. I've never been interested in the same things as other people. Even mom has always called me an 'old soul' because I didn't fit in places we traveled to neither. I'm happy with the Cullens. I feel like I belong. I have everything I have ever wanted. This was my destiny. You can't blame Edward when it's something I wanted for myself. Blame me if you must."

"Are you happy?"

"Incredibly. Other than the fact that you had to get wrapped up in this too. I'm sorry."

"No, I am. I'm being a jerk." Charlie said, sinking down to sit on the couch. Bella sat beside him, and Edward decided it was safe to give them some privacy, retreating upstairs to listen to music. Charlie put his arm around his daughter. "I'm just glad you're alright. Your disappearance scared me to death."

"Literally." Bella said flatly, and then they both laughed loudly, making every vampire in hearing range grin, glad that things were going better.

"Yeah, I guess I'm considered one of the undead now, huh?"

"Yep."

"I thought it would be a lot cooler, being a zombie."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Zombies aren't real."

"Yeah, well, I didn't think vampires were either until a few hours ago."

"Fair. Werewolves are too, you know. Kind of."

"Really?"

"That might be a talk for another time. There aren't any around here at least."

Charlie shook his head and really looked at Bella. "This suits you. Once your eyes aren't red anymore, I'm sure men will be lining up to fawn over you every time you go in town."

"I hope not." Bella answered, looking down at her feet. She was still shy.

Charlie laughed. "Me too. They better stay away from my daughter. Although, I guess you're much more able to defend yourself now."

"Yeah, I did quite a number on Edward when I woke up." She smiled.

"Is that so?"

"I was angry."

"I can see why."

"He tried to leave me."

"Then it sounds like he deserved it." Charlie said. "Jasper says you really are happy."

"I am, especially now that I don't have to hide things from you. I did have to call mom and fib a little though. And the police department. I told everyone that you're safe with me, but we'll have to think of something better."

"We won't ever be able to see our friends and family again, will we?"

"I'm afraid not. We've changed too much. They would know that something was up."

"Maybe I should at least call Billy and Harry and tell them that I'm moving up here to help you."

"Well…" Bella hesitated. "I hate to keep springing things on you like this, dad, but there's only one other situation you don't know about. And it involves Billy and Harry, I think."

"It does." Alice said, her and Jasper stepping into the room and sitting on the couch opposite Bella and Charlie. "Edward? You were there for the initial negotiation. We might need your help with this one."

While Edward filled both Bella and Charlie in on all of the details involving the wolves and the other Quileutes, Sam Uley was up to an investigation of his own back in Forks. He returned alone to sniff around the Cullen's house and realized that they had been there much, much more recently than they claimed, though he had suspected as much the last time he visited. While he couldn't explain it, he felt certain the Cullens had something to do with at least Bella's disappearance, if not Charlie's too.

He informed the tribal elders of his theories. Normally, they didn't interfere in any manners outside of La Push, but Charlie was as good as a Quileute as much as he had done for them and their community over the years. His and Bella's disappearances were personal and would be handled as such.

They knew that calling wouldn't do any good. Carlisle could lie to them that way. They would have to see for themselves. But where exactly had they gone off to now?

Charlie sat completely still, not breathing or even moving his eyes, which were glazed and unfocused. Edward tried to read his thoughts to no avail. Jasper sensed several different emotions, mostly shock, but didn't interfere. This, like the earlier emotional chaos, needed to be handled on his own.

"Who all is a wolf?" Bella asked, curious.

"Just Sam as far as we know this time. Although we're sure others aren't far behind." Edward answered. "It was him sniffing around the house while we all hid in the garage."

"I remember you mentioning that. I forgot to even ask about it after. Things got so chaotic."

"They did." He wrapped his arm around Bella and held her while they waited for Charlie to speak.

"You mean that I grew up right around all of this supernatural stuff and had no idea?" he finally asked.

"We've all went through great lengths to keep it hidden." Jasper said. "But yes."

"And I called myself the Chief of Police." Charlie shook his head and then started laughing hysterically. Bella shot a funny look at Jasper, who shrugged, denying any involvement.

Everyone waited patiently for him to calm down. He almost stopped laughing but risked a glance at Edward and Bella and cracked up again. "It was right under my nose!" he choked out. "I knew something wasn't right about you, Cullen! I thought it was just because I hated any boy that wanted to date my daughter, but I get it now. It was those yellow eyes." he continued to laugh, and Edward glared at Jasper, practically begging for help to settle him down, but Jasper shook his head, knowing that Charlie still had several cycles of emotions to work through.

"And Carlisle had the best reputation. People wondered if he ever slept or how he had time for his family. It's because he doesn't have to sleep! He's a vampire!"

"The reason you all look so young. The real reason all of my Quileute buddies are so damn superstitious…" he was still hysterically laughing but started to calm down a little. Jasper finally stepped in to help.

"Is this really all of the secrets?" Charlie asked. "Nothing else at all? No zombies, witches, or ghosts I should know about? Any skeletons in the closets?" he joked.

"That's it." Bella said. Edward nodded his agreement.

"Alright." Charlie said, taking a deep breath and sitting back, processing everything as best he could.

"Come on, darlin'." Jasper took Alice's hand and led her upstairs. "We have some documents to forge."

Edward and Bella both debated giving Charlie some privacy, but they knew he still had questions for them.

"Well, I have to hand it to you two. I thought you had run off and gotten married or something."

"Close enough." Bella said.

"Yeah, I guess so. What do you do with all of your time?"

"Whatever Bella wants to do. I've spent years studying, mostly music and languages. We've all been to high school and college several times."

"Is Carlisle the only one that works?"

"Yes. The younger we pretend to be, the longer we can stay somewhere. Money isn't an issue, but Carlisle loves helping others. In fact, I believe he's out looking for a job locally now."

"That explains how Forks was able to pay him so little."

"Yes, money isn't important to us. We have plenty."

"Because he's a doctor?"

"Partially. More so because Alice is able to predict the stock market and we've made years of wise investments. I promise you that Bella will never want for anything, nor will you if you'd like to join our family."

"The mind reading thing again?"

"Yes." Edward smiled. Bella absentmindedly played with her new necklace, which got Charlie's attention too. It had never been like her to wear any jewelry before, short of sometimes the ring her mom had given her, or a Quileute bracelet given to her as a gift long ago. Judging by the size of that diamond, he would never have to worry if Bella were cared for, even if they lived a thousand years.

"Exactly." Edward added, answering his thoughts. "She is my everything. She only needs to think of something and it's hers."

"Dad!" Bella exclaimed. "After all that's happened and everything we just told you about your friends, you're still worrying about me?"

"I'm your father. It's what I do." he shrugged.

She smiled. "I love you too."

Esme stepped into the room. "Charlie? I thought you might like me to show you to your room. Rosalie and I have bought some new clothes and things for you."

"My room?"

"Yes, we thought you would appreciate some privacy. I wasn't sure exactly what you would want, but we decorated it for you and stocked some basic items."

"I thought vampires didn't sleep."

"We don't. But we enjoy other activities. Reading, drawing, listening to music. Sometimes it's good to be alone with your own thoughts in your own space. You have a private bathroom as well in case you want to shower."

"A shower and some clean clothes do sound nice." He said, standing up to follow her.

Esme showed him around and he said a somewhat serious, somewhat sarcastic "Thanks, mom." with a twinkle in his eye. Esme was delighted.

Edward and Bella laughed and then retreated back to their own room, where she curled up with a new book and he admired her, happy things were at peace, at least in their home.

Victoria was frantically pacing, desperate for any information, cursing the cruel Cullens for kidnapping her potential mate. They would have been fine on their own! She could have handled things.

She threw a vase from a nearby table against the wall and smashed it into a thousand tiny pieces. Then, there was a knock on her door. She wasn't ready to face humans, so she tried to ignore it, but they persisted.

"It's Carlisle." he said quietly, but loud enough for her to hear.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, running to open the door, her face falling when she realized he was alone.

"May I come in?"

"What do you want?"

"I bring news of Charlie, and I wanted to invite you to our home the day after tomorrow to meet him. But there are some things I wanted to discuss with you first."

"Alright, you can come in." she stepped aside, opening the door all the way.

"Thank you."

"You're about to get involved with a member of my family." Carlisle stated. "I would like to know more about you."

"You don't trust me."

"I would like to." He said, smiling kindly. "Please don't take offence to my asking. It is my job to protect them."

"As their coven leader?"

"And their father." he added.

"What do you want to know?"

"Let's start with some basics. How old are you?"

"Over five hundred years."

"Why were you turned?"

"My sister was turned and wanted to bring me with her. She changed me to protect me."

"That isn't entirely unlike a few members of my family. I assume your sister is no longer living?" he asked gently.

"No. Not for a very long time." she answered sadly.

"May I ask what happened?"

"Those filthy, Italian slime. They killed her. Sometimes I wish they had killed me too."

"Ah, I've heard that before. Life is a beautiful thing though, especially now that you may have found your true mate. You have no idea what love and wonders await you."

"We'll see." she answered sarcastically. "I doubt he even wants me. I used to haunt his nightmares, you know."

"It sounds like that was something you chose to do, otherwise he wouldn't have known you existed."

"He still doesn't."

"Oh, yes he does. We told him about you. Not too much though because we want to let him meet you himself."

"What have you told him?" she asked accusingly.

Carlisle responded back in his usual calm manner. "Your name and that you're the one who bit him. Bella had to tell him about James when he asked. And I'm sorry to report that Laurent is no more."

"I figured as much. He ran across your coven trying to get the Swan girl, didn't he?"

"My newly mated son. He barely even noticed who he was killing."

"Good riddance."

Carlisle laughed. "Well, I was worried you would be upset about that one."

"No, I kind of expected it."

"Do you intend any further harm to Bella or any member of my family?"

Victoria thought a long, hard minute. "No, as long as no one threatens me or keeps me away from Charlie."

"You have my word that will not happen. Come see us the day after tomorrow just after sunset. Is there anything you require while I'm here?"

"No."

"Then it's time for me to head home. Have a good evening!" Carlisle stood and Victoria was shocked. No one had ever said such a kind sentiment to her before, though she knew it was only a common parting phrase among humans. She almost smiled.

"Thank you."

And Carlisle was gone home to his family.