Life was as normal as it could get for the Cullens. Charlie and Bella were settling in nicely and along the way, Victoria had unofficially joined the family as well, almost never being away from Charlie for more than a few minutes.

The Denalis gladly retrieved some of Bella and Charlie's belongings from Forks and shipped them to the family's new home. Bella was thrilled to be reunited with her books and music, although they were only a tiny fraction of the collection in the room she now shared with Edward. They also sent all of the photos and sentimental items, and as many of their clothes as Alice would allow them to keep. Most of their furniture, kitchen items, and things that they would no longer need were donated to a local charity.

Every day Charlie and Victoria took a long walk together and tried to understand what their future held together. Charlie had always drawn purpose from his work, and now, he wasn't required to work at all. He missed helping people and asked Carlisle a bunch of questions about the Volturi, but ultimately decided against trying to meet them or volunteer because he knew that he would never want to drink the blood of humans and harm potentially innocent people. He didn't like the idea of being the juror, jury and executioner all in one.

"I'm warming up to the idea of travel." Victoria said, holding Charlie's hand and walking at a leisurely pace along a riverbank. "Your family is nice, but it's a little too much attention for my liking."

"It is rather chaotic here, isn't it?" Charlie asked with a grin.

"Chaotic describes almost any one of them, perhaps except Carlisle and Esme."

"They're good people though."

"They are. The best. I like them." she clarified. "It's just a lot going on all the time. I think I would prefer some time off on our own."

"Me too. Especially now that I'm confident Bella really is happy and cared for."

"She is loved." Victoria answered.

She was a little jealous of Bella, growing up with a loving, although separated, family and an easy life, but it was impossible not to love her just as Charlie did the more time she spent around her.

Bella had a way of making anyone comfortable around her. She was easy to talk to, caring, and incredibly passionate about the ones she loved. She was hesitant to get close to Victoria at first, but she quickly accepted Charlie's judgement and accepted her into the family, after threatening her should she ever harm Charlie, which Victoria appreciated. She wanted Charlie safe as well.

"They will love you just the same in time, I'm sure of it." Charlie responded with a smile. "They've had a lot more time to get to know Bella. And she didn't exactly plot to kill any of them."

Victoria laughed, sensing that he was joking. He was so much more easy going than anyone she had ever spent time with before. He wasn't mean or cruel in the slightest bit, even when someone very much deserved it. She was never scared around him like she had been with James or even Laurent.

"This is nice though. Not being afraid all the time."

"You should never have to be afraid…unless you try to tackle too big of a bear or something." he added with a laugh, never one to keep the conversation too serious.

"I believe big bears are more Emmett's style."

"Definitely. Kid has a vendetta."

"Do you blame him?"

"No, not really. Although, a beautiful woman tried to kill me once and I'm not exactly hunting beautiful women." Charlie grinned and looked away, making both of them embarrassed with his compliment, but yet, they were both smiling.

They were quiet for a few minutes, but Victoria decided to continue the conversation. "My sister was the one to change me. It was an act of love. She wanted to be able to take care of me better by keeping me with her after she was changed."

She had been waiting for the right moment to tell Charlie fully about her past. They were alone and comfortable together far away from anyone else. She decided the time was right. "Unfortunately, she attracted too much attention with her hunting habits and the Volturi killed her. I spent many years wishing that they would have taken my life too." She talked more than she ever had, telling him about her few remaining human memories, her sister, James, Laurent, even her plots to kill Bella and harm Charlie what felt like a long time ago.

He listened attentively and kept quiet until she was finished. She had let go of his hand and perched herself on a low hanging tree branch overlooking the water.

When she was done, Charlie joined her and put an arm around her shoulders. "I'm glad you're here. All of those moments, they've led you here, with me." he smiled gently. He always seemed to have a smile for her and his daughter no matter what the circumstance. She loved that about him. "Although I hate to hear what you've had to endure. No one is going to mistreat you ever again. I won't let that happen."

She believed him.

Charlie continued, "I considered joining the Volturi myself. Being a vampire policeman." he laughed. "Sounds like some bad horror movie title. But I don't want to take lives, for food or for their crimes. It's not our place. I don't want anything to do with them."

"Good." she answered absolutely. "They shouldn't exist. They are an abomination."

"I get that someone has to make sure our secret is kept, but I don't know why they have to be so violent about it. It shouldn't be a death sentence."

"Not many other punishments work on vampires. You can't exactly force them to do community service or something." she said. "Or-" she cracked up laughing, surprising herself. "…give them a traffic ticket."

"And why is that so funny?"

"When I followed you while you were working those last few days, I had never paid much attention to things like cars and parking and tickets. We just travel on foot mostly. And you pulled over a man for a ticket. He was so nervous. It was hilarious. He acted like you were going to personally flog him!"

"So, you think vampires can't get traffic tickets? Because I can assure you, one ride with Edward Cullen…" Charlie shook his head.

"I'm sure they can, but would it really affect them that much? They would just eat the poor cop!" She was laughing hysterically, barely able to breathe. Charlie laughed too, imagining any one of his former co-workers pulling over a lovely lady driver just to get pulled in the car and eaten. It was awful and morbid, yet somehow hilariously unexpected.

"The Cullens wouldn't eat the cop. We wouldn't eat the cop." he corrected, somehow the fact that he had even uttered that sentenced out loud cracking him up even harder.

"No, that's where the bribes come in." she said with a smile.

"You've got a point there." he said, knowing that money meant almost nothing to the Cullens. "Have you ever eaten a cop?" he asked with a grin after a moment's pause.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she asked, teasing him. She loved the sparkle in his eye when they joked around like this. She always felt so carefree and happy with him now.

"Which type of human tastes better? Cop? Fireman? No, chef! I bet chefs would taste the best. Like fat chefs. Are they sweet?"

"I wouldn't know." she laughed. "We tried to stay on the outskirts of town when we hunted. A lot of hikers and fisherman."

Charlie's smile faltered a little, and she saw it, but she didn't comment. She knew that it still hurt him to think of her past diet. She also knew that he accepted her and that he was trying really hard to not make her uncomfortable. It meant the world to her.

"I'm glad you're willing to do this for me." he said, indicating the woods around them with an arm.

"Me too." she said. "I used to love killing. It was a sense of power. A thrill. But honestly, I wish I could take it all back. This life…it's peaceful. It's quiet…well, unless the brothers are involved."

Charlie laughed. "Emmett and Jasper, you mean. They act like big children. Edward acts…. well…over a hundred years old. Although, I suppose I should be thankful that my daughter's…. mate…is respectful and old-fashioned like her and not encouraging extreme sports and law breaking and…" he trailed off, shaking his head.

"They're fun though."

"They are."

"He's good to her."

"He is. Although I've threatened him thoroughly if he ever isn't. Bella has always been kind of quiet and mature, although I suspect they get into their own kinds of mischief when they're alone."

"I would count on it." Victoria said, remembering the way Bella and Edward would usually smile at each other or give a teasing grin when they thought no one was looking. Charlie was deliberately ignoring those sorts of interactions. There were some things a father just shouldn't know.

Victoria had wondered if she and Charlie might ever be intimate, but truthfully, she was grateful that neither of them were rushing things. Most vampire matings were intensely physical and passionate. The calmness of their mating bond suited her much better.

"Something smells good." he said, leaping off of their shared branch and chasing after some local wildlife. She followed a few steps behind, mostly observing. Charlie still needed to hunt more often than her, being a newborn. His eyes were gradually starting to turn gold and she found that she rather liked the color. She was sure that soon her own would start to change as well.

They took their time returning home after Charlie hunted. There was never any hurry to go anywhere, especially since Charlie still didn't want to be around humans just yet.

They walked in the door of the Cullen home to find it oddly quiet. There wasn't the usual chaos of vampire chess, video games or even an Alice fashion show. They didn't even hear Rosalie revving engines or using loud tools in the garage, one of her favorite activities.

The source of the silence was immediately obvious when their eyes landed on two small figures sitting on the couch, opposite Carlisle and Esme.

Everyone else appeared to be out of the house. Alice must had been able to warn them. Victoria was torn between trying to protect Charlie and trying to hide behind him. Charlie was much less skeptical.

"Ah, there they are!" the young, blond girl said, standing to her feet.

"Yes." Carlisle said. "Jane and Alec, this is Charlie and his mate Victoria. Charlie and Victoria, this is Jane and her brother Alec of the Volturi guard. They came to check in on our family."

"Coven." Alec corrected, refusing to believe that such a thing as a vampire family would exist.

"What are you doing here?" Victoria growled, patience not one of her virtues when dealing with the Volturi.

"We heard about the disappearance of Charlie and Bella Swan. We knew they were close to the Cullens and wanted to check in and offer our assistance if needed." Alec said.

"Enough! Don't act all polite to them like they didn't do anything wrong." Jane cut him off from speaking further and turning on Victoria. "Did you turn this man without covering your tracks? You knew he was one that would be missed from his town. He wasn't some low life criminal."

"You can speak to me, directly, you know." Charlie said, already immediately disliking the little girl with the glowing red eyes and definitely wanting to turn her attention away from Victoria. Charlie was on his knees in pain within seconds.

Victoria kneeled with him, trying to help him.

"Stop at once!" Carlisle shouted. "Is this how you treat friends of your masters?"

Jane immediately quit hurting Charlie and he stood back on his feet. She glared at Carlisle but respected him enough to obey his wishes.

Carlisle continued, "We are grateful for your offers of assistance. We have covered her tracks and those of my son as well. Their disappearances have been explained and their possessions packed up and moved. We haven't broken any laws. I hope that you will give your masters our thanks and well wishes. Please don't feel disrespected, but with two newborns and their tempers in our household, I would request that you please leave us be and go on your way."

"Of course." Jane said. Alec immediately rose and they walked as one to the door. "We will report our findings to our masters and give them your…well wishes. We simply needed to confirm that all members of your…family…were present and accounted for."

"Thank you." Carlisle said, shutting the door behind them the second they were out and closing his eyes tightly. "Are you alright, Charlie?"

"I'm fine. What the hell was that?"

"Jane's gift is for causing pain to others."

"I should have killed the bitch." Victoria whispered under her breath.

"No, we definitely don't want the Volturi after us." Carlisle said.

"Or else I might have done it myself." Esme whispered under her breath. Everyone still heard her, and Carlisle smiled softly at her.

"What did they really want?" Charlie asked.

"To intimidate us. They have always been worried about the size of our family. They find it hard to believe that we don't want to try to overpower them with as many talented family members as we have. They used yours and Bella's disappearance as an excuse to come and check up on us."

"I hate to cause you all any trouble." Charlie said.

"Nonsense." Esme answered.

"All is well." Carlisle said. "Thankfully, they are just empty threats. Alice saw them coming and sent everyone else away to hunt, but she saw that they wouldn't leave without confirming that you and Victoria are with us."

"Why?" Victoria asked.

"Wanting to verify our numbers." Carlisle said ominously. "The brothers are old friends of mine. They respect us too much to do anything other than scare tactics. I promise."

"You call attacking Charlie a scare tactic?"

"Unfortunately. Jane has rather violent tendencies, but she wouldn't seriously harm anyone without the brothers' permission. She is very obedient."

"Obedient?" Charlie asked. "Quite the opposite. That was an uhh- interesting power."

"Yes, physical manifestations of a vampire's powers are pretty rare. Most powers are mental. Although physical powers aren't unheard of. I know of several examples."

Alice, Jasper, Edward, and Bella came rushing into the house and Bella immediately went to Charlie's side to make sure he was alright.

Alice had seen Jane's decision to unleash her powers on Charlie. Bella immediately resolved to try to teach him how to use his mental shield if that's what he was.

"Come on, dad." Bella said, indicating for him to follow her outside.

"Why?"

"We're going to see if you really are some sort of shield like me and help you figure out how to use it. I wish we had done it sooner."

"And how exactly do we do that?" he asked, skeptically.

"Well, when I first figured mine out, I was visualizing sort of an extra field in my mind, kind of like elastic. It could stretch and contract and even be tossed aside if needed. I started practicing by doing these meditations from a book mom gave me, but I didn't have time to try it on Edward until I didn't have a choice." Bella looked scared and Edward quickly appeared behind her to wrap his arms around her and kiss her cheek.

"Never again." he said, repeating his promise from the day he changed her. The reminder calmed her considerably.

"This sounds silly." Charlie said.

"It is." Bella agreed, "but trust me."

"Alright. How do we know if it's working?"

"Well, Edward can only hear your thoughts part of the time so we know you can block him somewhat-"

"Or I'm just not thinking of anything." Charlie interrupted, making Edward laugh.

Bella continued, "So, think of something really loud and clear and then try to keep it from him."

"Think loud and clear….okay…"

"He's thinking about how much he misses a good steak." Edward said and Bella smiled. They all stood still for a few minutes, waiting. Victoria came outside to observe but kept enough of a distance to not interfere.

Charlie didn't feel as if he were making any progress. Edward slipped inside for a moment and handed Victoria a note before he took his place back at Bella's side. She laughed and walked to stand in front of Charlie. "So, I was thinking more about our conversation in the woods earlier. You know, that conversation…" she trailed off.

"Your mind is silent." Edward said with a grin to Charlie.

"Well, I didn't want you to hear those types of thoughts. They weren't inappropriate though, just…private."

"Exactly." Edward answered.

"Buuut it sounds like you already heard them from Victoria." Charlie was embarrassed.

"A few." Edward said, taking Bella's hand and heading inside. "But you can block me. I suggest you practice. I'd imagine you can block Jane's power and many others if you needed to."

Charlie agreed and remained outside with his mate. Emmett and Rosalie also returned home, and everyone settled back into their daily lives. Bella was upset that she hadn't been home to protect Charlie from Jane, but they had no way of knowing what was going to happen until a few seconds before it did. She resolved instead to teach him how to protect himself moving forward.

Charlie and Victoria had a lot to talk about after the Volturi visit. They wanted to spend more time with the Cullens, but they didn't want to risk more extensive Volturi involvement due to their growing numbers.

He hated to leave Bella behind and not spend more time with her, but Victoria assured him that they were all immortal and had all of the time in the world. Plus, they could call and visit as much as they wanted. In fact, nothing was stopping Bella and Edward from traveling with them if they wanted to.

They debated for hours, just out of the family's hearing range in the large garden outside, and finally decided that it was best that they go and explore the world on their own. This would keep both them and their family safe and allow them time to bond and get to know each other alone.

The easy part was agreeing on their decision. The hard part was how to break the news to their family, who had been so gracious to them throughout everything and would hate to see them go. They joined hands and walked inside together.

Author's Note: I have the rest of the story outlined. There will be one more chapter and an epilogue. I hated to have Jane hurt Charlie, but once I wrote it, it fit. It seemed like the best way to explore his shield a bit more. Thanks for reading!