A/N: Hello again friends! I had wanted to post this yesterday, but the day got away from me. Anyway, here is the continuation. I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 14: A New Life

Esme

The next several hours were pure torture; for me, and for Charlie. He moaned and writhed on the bed, and I could only hold his hand. I knew that if I tried to do anything else it would have made him really uncomfortable. Carmen had called Carlisle and Liz that we had made it; I hadn't wanted to take the time to speak to them, insisting on staying by Charlie's side.

When it was obvious that the change was going to be over soon, I exited the cottage and let Eleazer clean Charlie up and get him dressed in new clothing. As soon as I could, though, I went right back. The rest of the Denalis hovered nearby, but not close enough to scare him. Knowing how newborns could be if they felt cornered, I hadn't wanted all of them in the room with us when he woke.

I listened to his heart race. I cherished it because I knew it would be gone soon. Edward and I had talked many times about the lulling sound of our mate's heart beats; I knew it was of comfort to him as well. I focused on it, counting each beat and memorizing the way it sounded. I knew I would relive that sound for an eternity.

All too soon, though, it started to slow. One beat. Another. And then, one more. Then there was nothing but silence. I stared into his face, holding my breath. His eyes popped open and stared at me, blood-red from the change. Before I could move, though, he flipped off the bed and ran into the back wall, arms spread out beside him, a look of terror on his face. I held my hands out to him and approached slowly.

"Charlie? It's me, Esme. I'm not going to hurt you." I walked closer, very carefully and slow. If I moved too fast right now, I'd startle him and he could either attack me or run away. I couldn't let either of those scenarios happen.

He stared at me, wide-eyed. I got close enough to touch him, but I was worried about what would happen if I did. He never took his eyes off of me.

"Charlie?" I questioned, not quite touching him. I let all the love I had for him pour through my eyes, hoping he would understand what I was trying to say.

He swiftly moved his hands so they were on my cheeks, cradling my face. "Esme?" His voice had never sounded so amazing. I knew that the change would alter his voice, make it sound more beautiful, but to me it sounded like the love of my life speaking to me. That was what I focused on.

"It's me, Charlie. I'm here. I never left you. You are safe, I promise."

One of his hands left my face and went to his throat. I knew the burn he would have after being changed, so I grabbed his hand. "Let's hunt now, ok? I'll answer all the questions you have, but you need to be fed first."

He knew what I was; what we all were. But still, me telling him that he needed to hunt made his eyes go wide again. Though he didn't respond, he just let me lead him out of the cottage. I knew Tonya and her family were close, but I couldn't see them. I ignored their presence, and pulled Charlie toward the forest line, taking off toward the smell of a herd of deer.

He ran and kept up with me easily, as I knew he would. As soon as we rounded the corner of a crop of trees, though, he passed me and instinctively landed on a large buck in the center of a small clearing. He took the buck down easily, draining him. Once he was done, he tossed the animal aside, and went in search of more.

I held myself back, emotions swirling as I watched him hunt. He was messy and unpracticed, but it was still amazing to watch. After he had taken down three more deer, he turned to me, wiping blood off of his face.

"What happened?" he asked, stepping toward me but not coming close enough to touch.

"Jacob," I said, starting to explain. I told him everything that had happened; how he had his accident, how I'd had to run, how the wolves came and stopped Jacob, and how Carlisle had to bite him to keep him alive. He listened to me, clearly shocked. I took a step closer to him, his eyes waivered down to my hands, and then back up to my eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Charlie. I never wanted this to happen. I promise we never would have done this without getting your permission, or at least knowing what you wanted. I didn't want to doom you to this life as I am. I'm so sorry that I didn't stop Jacob before he hurt you." I was almost crying at that point; all of the emotion over the course of the last few days swelling up inside me.

Charlie closed the distance and put his arms around me. He hugged me almost too tight, but I didn't care. I hugged him back and silently sobbed on his shoulder. "Esme, it's ok. I know you did what you had to. I just never imagined this life."

I sobbed harder; hearing him say that was exactly what I'd been fearing. That he hadn't wanted this, but I had, as I said, doomed him to it. "I'm so sorry. I wish we'd had more time to talk through this. I would have let you go, made the others let you go! I never should have let this happen to you."

He leaned back, red eyes staring into mine. "No, Esme. That's not what I'm saying. I never thought about it because all I could think about was you. Spending time with you, getting to know you. We didn't have enough time to get to these topics, that's all."

"You-you aren't mad at me?"

He shook his head, a smile playing on his face. "No, I'm not mad. I...I love you."

I threw my arms around him again. This time, he picked me up and swirled me around, laughing with me. I kissed his cheek, his forehead, his neck, anything I could get close enough to. He leaned back and brought his lips to mine, and they seared into me. We were the same temperature now, but the heat from his kiss still left a burning feeling.

"I love you, too," I whispered, leaning way from him. "We have more to talk about, though."

His eyes widened again. "Bella? Is she ok? Did Jacob hurt her, too?"

I shook my head and told him the missing details. He looked skeptical when I told him she was with Edward in a remote cabin, but he also understood when I told him we had to keep her hidden and safe. Everyone was supposed to believe she was with him, and we couldn't exactly parade him around either.

"Will I ever see her again?" he asked as we were walking back toward the house.

"I know you will. We just have to make sure that it's safe first. Neither of us want you to hurt her, right?"

"No, of course not. I wish Renee wasn't so flakey, as Bella calls it. She should be with her mother right now, not alone with Edward."

"Edward will keep her safe, Charlie. He won't let anything happen to her." I silently fumed at myself. I had let something happen to Charlie; Edward was stronger, though. He always had been.

Charlie stopped and turned to me, putting his hand on my cheek. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter."

I kissed his palm. "Come with me. I want you to meet our friends."

I took him through the trees and into the house. They were all sitting in the living room, trying to look the least intimidating as possible, in case Charlie got concerned. He was calm on the outside, but I knew that he sensed a threat in their presence. Tonya, Kate and Irena were in the far couch, Eleazer and Carmen to the side on a separate couch. They all smiled in welcome. I led Charlie to the empty couch, sitting down and pulling him down next to me.

"Charlie, there are our friends, Tonya, Kate, Irena, Eleazer and Carmen. Guys, this is Charlie Swan." Everyone said hello, but they held back more for us to lead the conversation. I glanced at Charlie; his face was a mask of politeness. I'd see that look before. When he was working, he had a similar look. Stoic so as to not give away any emotion he was feeling.

I put my hand in his, trying to assure him. He glanced at me, but refocused on Eleazer who was leaning toward him.

"Charlie, you have a wonderful gift." My eyes shot to him. "He's a kind of shield, but like none I've ever seen before. It's almost like it's wrapped around him like a bubble." He regarded Charlie carefully. "Kate, come here for a minute. I want to test something."

Charlie leaned forward, his face remaining impassive. I smiled at him, trying to reassure him. Eleazer was the best person to be around in this circumstance. I knew he could help Charlie far better than I could, if he could trust Eleazer, that is.

Kate stood up and came over to sit next to Charlie. I shifted away from him, knowing what Kate's power was.

"Charlie, put your arm out toward Kate. She has the ability to shock people using her hands; Katie, go easy on him though. I'm not sure how this is going to work, and I don't want to hurt him. I just want to test something."

We all stared at them as Kate put her hand on Charlie's arm. Then Eleazer said, "Katie, go ahead."

None of us were prepared for what happened. As fast as Kate's look became focused, it became twisted in pain. She tore herself away from Charlie, shifting away from him on the couch. Charlie glanced around at us.

"What happened? Did you shock me? I didn't feel anything."

Kate's face only betrayed shock. "I did, but as soon as I did, I was feeling it. It felt like I was shocking myself."

Eleazer's smile was huge. "That's amazing! Charlie, you are definitely a shield, but it's almost like you are a mirror. You reflect someone's power back to themselves."

Charlie looked uncomfortable for a minute. "Is that common? The power she and I have; is that normal?"

I leaned in closer to him, he shifted so his arm was around me. "You still have a lot to learn, Charlie."

Bella

I listened to the voicemail from my mother again, for the third time. "She's in Chicago," I said to Edward. We had only been driving for a few hours, with several more to go. Mom had left me a message sometime in the middle of the night, which seemed to be her norm now, but I hadn't gotten around to listening to it yet. Always from a payphone.

Edward squeezed the hand he was holding. "It's going to be ok, love. We'll figure out a way to find her. I promise."

I sighed. Was that really necessary? What would Mom do with this situation that I was in, other than just take me away from Edward. I was already losing my father as a result of this, at least for now, I didn't want to lose Edward, too.

"I don't think she wants to be found. And honestly, that's probably best. Mom isn't good with weird."

"But you and Charlie are."

I shrugged. "Dad and I are more practical. When something is in front of us, we accept it. Mom sometimes has trouble believing her own eyes." I laughed. "She used to say that your eyes could deceive you. I never understood that."

Edward was silent then, and I was sort of glad. My mind had really been going all over the place and I really just wanted some time to think everything through. Just one month ago my life had been so different, I couldn't even imagine going back to then. Ultimately, it was better now with Edward in it. But the fear of the future did loom in front of me.

I had watched who I thought to be a friend turn into a giant wolf right in front of me. Jacob and I weren't super close or anything, but I'd known him since he was really small. We went way back, as did our parents. He was the one not, what, two or three weeks ago who was scoffing at the legends. Making light of cold ones and wolf ancestors. Now, he was a wolf and I was dating a cold one. It was almost comical.

But what was pressing me, and making me reel internally, was the fact that it had happened so easily. It took almost nothing for Jacob to shift. And it had seemed like it only took five seconds to change Charlie's life forever. My dad was one of the strongest people I knew. If a simple hand gesture from a giant wolf could hurt him that badly, what chance did I have?

Something inside me sort of churned at the thought. I was already on the edge with everything going on, and that thought absolutely terrified me. I thought back to all of the simple mistakes, clumsy errors I had made for several years. As soon as I had started to mature, I found out that I was not graceful in any way. I tripped over thin air most of the time. Mom always worried about me because I couldn't keep my footing. What would happen to me if I wasn't close to Edward and I got injured?

But then another thought hit me, which was decidedly worse than I had thought originally. What if Edward didn't want to change me? What if he preferred the soft, warm human over a cold vampire...what if that was part of the attraction?

"Everything ok, Bella?" Edward asked, squeezing my hand again.

"I thought you said you couldn't read my thoughts?" I bit my lip.

He glanced at me. "I can't. But I'm not dense enough to miss that you are thinking really hard."

I didn't want to give everything away. Not yet. I needed to really think through this train of thought first before I brought it up. "I'm ok; there's just a lot going on in my head right now."

"Do you want to talk any of it out? We have a long drive ahead of us. I'm happy to listen."

"Thank you, Edward. Not yet. I'm still figuring it all out. I'm sure I'll have questions for you at some point, though." He glanced at me, a little disappointed, and immediately I felt bad for not telling him anything. "I'm just upset about losing Charlie, that's all. I'm trying to figure out how the next year will go without him or Mom."

Edward's disappointment turned into a sad, knowing smile. "I understand, love. I don't want you to worry about the next year or so, though. I will always be here to take care of you, ok?"

The teenager in me reared its ugly head. "I don't need you to take care of me, Edward. I've been taking care of myself for years."

"No, love, that's not what I meant. I know you can take care of yourself in most ways. I just meant I'll be there to keep you safe – from the wolves or anything else we run in to. I'll also be there to make sure you have enough money to eat, have a roof over your head, that sort of thing." He glanced over at me again. "I don't want you to think you are in this by yourself, that's all."

I immediately felt bad, and apologized. He smiled at me, but turned back to the front of the car and was silent again. I went back to mulling over a decision that was playing in my mind. If I made the choice, though, that meant that Alice would see it. And then Elizabeth would jump in to discuss the decision path. Then one of them would call Edward. So, I hedged. I made sure that no decision was made.

After around 8 hours in the car, I was begging Edward to pull over and let me walk for a little bit. He turned into a small town somewhere in British Columbia so that he could pick up more food, let me use the bathroom, and give me time to walk around. I was sitting on a bench outside of a road-side diner when he walked up to me, his face grim.

"We need to adjust our course," Edward said, sitting down next to me. He handed me a bag filled with food from the diner, as well as a drink. "Alice called and if we stay on our current course, we will run into some others of our kind."

I nodded. That was his area; if he thought we should change our course, that didn't much matter to me. "That's fine. Whatever you and Alice want."

"Bella, please talk to me. What's wrong? I know you well enough to know something is going on inside your head. Please, love, I want to help."

I stared up into his darkening eyes. I had noticed enough that I knew he needed to hunt. I decided to switch the subject. "While I'm eating, why don't you go hunt? That way you'll feel better."

"I'm good. I hunted a couple days ago. It can wait until we are safely in our cabin. And don't think that you avoided having this conversation." He smirked at me, giving me a knowing look. Damn vampire memories.

I bit my lip and looked down. "I'm not ready to talk about everything yet. I told you before, I need time to settle everything in my head first. When I'm ready to talk, you are the only one I'll want to talk to. I promise." I glanced up at him, and his face was passive.

"Ok, I'm sorry for pushing you. It's just really hard to watch you look so upset."

"Yeah, Mom always did call me her open book. Can't really hide anything from anyone."

He laughed and pulled me closer to him, kissing my head. "Well, you are the only person whose thoughts I can't hear; I'd say you hide plenty from me."

After we left, Edward drove us toward Edmonton, Alberta, which would serve as our detour. It was in the middle of the night, so I really couldn't see anything. At some point, though, he stopped at a Target and grabbed some stuff so I could sleep better. I had just wandered around with him, on the edge of pure exhaustion, while he grabbed a warm blanket, two pillows, a new book and a new CD. By the time we got back to his car, I was almost asleep on my feet. I laid down in the back of the car with my new pillows and blanket and was out before he left the parking lot.

When I woke up it was early enough that the sun wasn't out yet. Edward had pulled into a gas station to fill up. I made my way outside, telling him I was going to the bathroom. After that was done, I stretched a little and glanced around the town that we were in.

We were getting gas at a station called Esso, which was right off the road. I couldn't see much, other than a faint outline of a town not too far away. I saw that we were fairly close to a rental car agency, a steakhouse and a few other buildings, though some I couldn't tell what they were. My stomach growled, and I glanced around again, hoping for an all-night fast-food restaurant or something.

"We can grab something to eat here in the mart inside," Edward said, obviously hearing my growling also. "I don't think any of the restaurants will be open yet in this small town. It's pretty early still."

We left shortly after I raided the mart to get something to eat. I wasn't sure I was quite ready to be awake yet, but I did shift to the front seat again. The only thing I was sure about was that I was ready to be out of the car forever.

We were only on the road another 8 hours before finally getting to the cabin. I had a suspicion that he had driven way faster than he should have, but we made it so I didn't really care. It was a beautiful cabin, larger than I had originally thought it would be. It looked to be single story, and probably about the size of Charlie's house. We were surrounded by trees, even arriving on a dirt road. I didn't see any kind of civilization near us at all.

"You were taken here when you were changing?" I asked him, getting out of the car.

Edward nodded, heading back to the trunk to start grabbing our bags. "We were here for a couple years until Mother and I could handle being around humans."

"It's beautiful," I said, taking it all in.

Edward smiled at me as he went into the cabin. He set our bags down in one of three back bedrooms, before going back out to the car to continue bringing in our things. We had stopped at a grocery store before we got there, and he began bringing in the bags of food. I imagined that they never thought to have food in the cabin before.

To make myself useful, I started to unpack the food, placing in inside the quaint kitchen. I noticed that the cupboards were entirely bare as I started to fill them. I was thankful that I hadn't run into spiders or rats or anything while putting everything away. It was a cabin in the woods, right? Who knew what was living in there? I was cautious, just in case.

Once the food was put away, I started to glance around. The living room was small, with only one couch and one chair. There were no tables, or desks, or lamps anywhere in the room. Edward turned on the overhead light for me, but there was simply no decoration at all. I started wandering and found that – thank god! – there was a working bathroom down the hall. I peaked in to the bedrooms, which were also very sparsely decorated. The first two only had a bed in them, and that was all.

The back bedroom, though, which was the one Edward had put our stuff in, was a totally different story. There was a four-poster bed that looked to be queen size, next to a nightstand, a desk, a bookcase and a dresser. The furniture was all old looking, but still in excellent condition. It felt as if I had walked into a new time – new era – and it was amazingly beautiful.

"Carlisle had a washing machine and dryer installed for us this morning. I'm going to put the sheets in there now. That way you don't have to sleep on anything dirty."

I nodded, not really caring much about that. "When was the last time you were here?"

"Years ago," he said, leaning against the wall of the room. "Before Rose and Emmett."

"Wow," I said, looking around before sitting down on the bed. "It's interesting that you guys have so little furniture. And nothing to eat on, or anything."

He shrugged. "As a vampire, you don't really need it. We are just as comfortable standing as we are sitting. We don't sleep...so, really, there isn't much we need." He grinned at me. "And we don't bring our food back to eat it on a table."

I smiled back at him, still just not quite myself. "I think I'll make something eat, then probably go to bed. Even though I haven't moved around a lot, I just want to get some good sleep."

He nodded and followed me out into the kitchen area. I pulled out some cereal, not really wanting to make anything, and ate quietly. When I was done, I rinsed the dish out and left it in the sink. The cabin didn't have a dishwasher, so I guess that would fall to me. I sighed and made my way to the bathroom, claiming the need for a few human minutes from Edward.

As I let the water wash over me, I realized that I may be causing him more concern by not talking to him about everything going on in my head. He was following me around the cabin, almost like he was expecting me to bolt or something. I thought about what I would say, and how I would say it as I washed everything. By the time I was done, I was ready.

Edward had other thoughts, though. When I came out of the bathroom dressed in sleep shorts and a thin tank top, he grabbed me, picking me up and spinning me until I was pressed against the wall. His mouth was urgent on mine, and for a moment I lost all coherent thought. This was unusual for Edward; normally, he would let me lead but push back too soon for my liking. He was always controlling himself. This didn't feel like control at all.

I gave myself over to the moment and enjoyed it while it lasted. I was expecting him to pull away any minute now, but he surprised me again. Instead of pulling away, he started to kiss down my neck, sucking lightly on a sensitive spot behind my ear, as I gasped for breath. He carried me effortlessly to the bedroom, setting me down carefully on the bed, crawling over me. I knew he wasn't letting his full weight rest on top of me, but it felt wonderful regardless. The evidence of his arousal was hitting just the right spot, causing my brain to go completely numb.

Eventually, though, he did pull away, resting his head on mine. My breath was ragged, trying to figure out how to function after that pleasure filled display. After a few moments to calm down, Edward pulled back slightly and smirked at me.

"I'm sorry, Bella. Your smell is heightened after a shower; I simply couldn't resist."

I laughed, kissing him softly. "I will just have to shower all the time then."

His head came to rest on my shoulder as he laughed. "You are going to be the death of me, I know it." He brought his face up again and started kissing me, without the rushed feel of the last time. His breath caused my body to go into a panic again, and I started to writhe underneath him, pulling him closer to me. I needed more friction or I was going to implode.

Then, out of nowhere, he was gone. His body was pressed against the far wall, and my body started to cool watching him. His eyes were black and he was almost panting with effort. He did at least look apologetic, though; that was something.

"I'm sorry, Edward," I said, shame filling my voice. I had pushed him too far again.

"No, Bella. It's me. I'm, um, I'm going to go hunt. Go ahead and get some sleep; I'll be back before you wake up."

I nodded, and then watched his retreating form. He closed the bedroom door, and then I rolled over staring out the window. It was too hard to see anything, but I focused on the darkness. Sleep did eventually pull me under, but only after the sadness had enveloped me.

A/N: So, some of this is normal for "book" Edward I suppose. However, remember, he had a different upbringing in my story. Just hold tight with me my friends!

Now, as to Charlie; that was just too damn fun! Midnight Sun tells us that Edward had a hard time hearing Charlie, as if he was a shield similar to Bella. So, I made up how I thought that should be once he was turned. I hope you like it!

Turning a corner here, more info and fun in the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who has been reading so far, stick with me! It's bound to get very interesting!

Thanks again go to my sister patiently reading and aiding in the story, and my wonderful beta, zombified419, who has listened to me for hours on this story!