AN: Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter! We had a couple of questions about age- this is just about six months after the last one, it's the summer before Bella's 9th birthday. Next chapter will skip ahead in the year I think, and then we'll get few more to get to Paul phasing.

If you like AH stories, I posted my TFLN contest entry "Awkward by Morning" under my We're All Human collection. It's an Emmett/Bella story with a side of Edward/Seth.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but some shirtless pics of Alex Meraz that clog up the memory on my phone. SM owns all.

Chapter 5

July

Paul

Paul was fidgeting. Strangely, for a child, he was normally still and observant, always watchful and not the least bit wasteful in his movements. Adults had mentally compared him to a predator—Old Quil thought he looked like a wolf—lying in wait for his unsuspecting prey.

But on this night, Paul was restless. He wasn't sure what exactly was bothering him, or he didn't know how to put his feelings into words.

Charlie had told him about Bella, and how she was coming to stay with her father for a month this summer. They had been fishing together, and Charlie never even noticed that Paul was quiet the rest of the day.

One thing in particular was worrying him. Bella was friends with Jacob, Quil, and Embry—Jacob was constantly calling her "his" Bells and saying how she was his best friend, or best friend who was a girl anyway. While Paul and Embry had reached a tentative peace, he still didn't have much to do with the royal brats.

"Come on, Paul, I found the football! Let's go!" Jared was standing by him, wanting to play now that he had gotten permission from his parents. The Camerons were watching the boys from their seats near the fire, still not completely trusting of the Lahote boy.

Paul started to turn, and then stopped when he saw the familiar police cruiser pull into the parking lot. He craned his neck trying to get a look at the girl that he on some level perceived as a rival, a threat to the only positive attention he had received.

He was just about to turn and follow Jared toward the water when a loud squeal caught his attention. He looked back toward the parking lot just in time to see Big Quil toss a girl into the air with a huge smile on his face. The sheer joy from the man who tended to ignore him was enough to send Paul running. He grabbed the football away from Jared and sprinted down the beach away from the fire. "Go long, Jared!"

Paul gradually relaxed as he ran out his frustrations, tossing the ball back and forth and wrestling in the waves with his closest friend. The two drew others around them, but Jared was the one who acted as a go-between, putting himself between Paul and the others.

Everything was fine until Jared's mom called the boys back over to get their food. Charlie finally spotted them and brought the much-anticipated Bella along to meet him. Paul shored up his defenses and tried not to focus on the fear he was feeling. He could do this.

His smile was genuine when Charlie greeted him like he always had, but his nerves returned full force when he laid eyes on Charlie's daughter. It was hard to miss the way Embry was hovering protectively at Bella's side, as if Paul couldn't actually be trusted not to hurt her.

Determined to prove himself, Paul straightened his back and nodded toward the girl, unsure whether he should offer to shake hands the way the grown-ups usually did. Once he looked up and met her eyes, it didn't matter.

Paul couldn't remember what he was so worried about, and why he felt threatened by her. She was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen in his whole life. He couldn't stop staring as her face turned a bright pink, even as she smiled at him shyly.

Jared's elbow brought him out of whatever trance he'd been in, and he returned her smile when she gave him a friendly wave and a quiet "hi."

Charlie looked at him with approval when he grinned back and answered with a more confident, "Hey."

They ended up walking in a group together with the Cameron family and Tiffany Call to get their food. While the adults chatted over the spread, the kids focused on finding their favorites.

Paul paid close attention when Bella slipped the barbecued ribs from her plate to Embry's, and he traded her the broccoli and cheese that his mother had given him with a disgusted look that made Bella giggle. This caught Charlie and Tiffany's attention, but they just rolled their eyes in good humor at their children's antics.

While he was distracted, Charlie had been piling extra food onto Paul's plate as well as Bella's. He looked down, surprised at the weight of his meal, then up to catch Charlie's wink. "Eat up, Paul. You're a growing boy. I need you to have your energy up so we can fish tomorrow!"

Paul stopped where he was standing, causing Jared to run into him and almost drop his plate. He ignored the complaints of his friend as he stared at Charlie in shock. He was taking Paul fishing? Even though Bella was there?

Charlie laughed as he correctly read the boy's face. "What? You didn't think I'd leave you hanging just because Bella's here, did you?"

Paul wasn't sure what to say, because that was exactly what he'd assumed. He looked over to where Bella was following Embry back to the log where their friends were already seated. Charlie's eyes turned that way as well, before he clapped his hand on Paul's shoulder and said, "I'll pick you up at eight—be ready! And tell Jared he can come along as well!"

Jared and Paul walked silently to find a seat around the fire, and Jared didn't say anything when Paul picked a spot that gave him a perfect view of Bella and the boys. Paul ate mechanically, not even noticing what he was putting in his mouth as he watched the girl interact with the kids that had tormented him at school.

Bella was seated between Jacob and Quil, while Embry sat quietly on the other side of his probable brother. Paul was intrigued when Jacob tried to reach over to snag a cookie off Bella's plate, and the girl slapped his hand away with a scowl, while handing Quil a brownie at the same time. "Jacob Black, you keep your hands on your own plate—you didn't ask me to get you anything!" she scolded him, much to the amusement of the adults looking on.

"Aww, Bells, come on. Just one cookie," he whined, sticking his lip out in a rather impressive pout that Paul was looking forward to teasing him about at a future time. He was impressed with how easily Bella handled Jacob's dramatics, and how at ease she seemed with all the boys, but especially Embry. The two shared a connection that was hard to define, but it was easy to see if one knew what they were looking for.

The sound of his name carried across the way, causing Paul's back to stiffen in defense. Jacob's head was bent close to Bella's as he whispered none-too-quietly trying to warn his friend away from the other boy.

Bella was scowling at her oldest friend, disappointed with the things he was saying about Paul. While she didn't know Paul very well at all, she didn't feel like it was appropriate for Jacob to be bad-mouthing him in the way that he was.

"Quil, trade places with me, please," she said as she stood up, leaving Jacob's mouth wide open in shock. "I need a break from Jake for a minute."

Paul's smile was matched by a quiet chuckle from Embry, and he finally relaxed from the tense stance he'd taken as he worried about Bella's reaction. Maybe the fishing trip wouldn't be so bad after all.

~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~

Charlie POV
Bella was as irritable as ever when I went in to wake her up early to go fishing. She'd tried to get it out of the night before, but Billy's girls already had plans, and Leah Clearwater was being a moody preteen who had no patience for my daughter.

She perked up a bit when we pulled up to the Camerons' house where I knew Paul was staying. Paul and Jared were sitting on one side of the porch, and I was surprised to see Embry sitting on the other side. He looked relaxed, but I wondered if Billy or Jacob had sent him along to keep an eye on things.

Bella smiled as the boys climbed in, blushing lightly when Paul and Jared both grinned back. I raised my eyebrow at Embry, and he paused before closing the door. "Is it okay if I come, Charlie? Bella asked me to last night," he said quietly, causing me to look at Bella in question.

"What?" she said defensively. "I told you I don't like to fish. He can use my pole and I can read my book." She waved a battered paperback around that I recognized as one she was reading last night before bed. I guess there was no chance of making a fisherman out of my daughter.

We parked down by the marina and walked out on the longest pier, spreading out a bit as I set out a bucket of bait and the tackle box. Bella laid a small blanket between me and Embry, settling down and losing herself in her book quite quickly.

I helped the boys bait their lines, feeling quite proud of Paul when he did his own and then helped Jared. He had come a long way from the scared, angry little boy I'd met just a few months ago. He still had a long way to go, but I hoped with friends like Jared he could pull himself up and away from his father's toxic influence. He deserved better than everything Tommy put him through.

Thinking of Tommy brought to mind my last fishing trip with Paul, just two weeks prior. I hadn't expected to see him that day, since he told me his dad was taking him to Port Angeles for the day—it was Paul's eighth birthday.

However, I'd seen him walking along the road when I came up to visit Aunt Molly, and I was frustrated to learn that Paul had woken up alone in the house, his father never making it home the night before. He'd been staying with Jared since then, but I was sure Tommy would show up again as soon as the monthly government check was due to arrive. That was all Paul was to him, a slightly inconvenient extra source of income.

Speaking of income, I thought about the trip I'd planned the next day. I had called Renee to see why she hadn't sent more clothes with Bella, and she said she just forgot. I had to bite my tongue to keep from going off on her—it wouldn't have done any good, and would have probably led to me saying something I would regret. It was better to not rock the boat.

The morning passed peacefully, if unproductively fish-wise. The kids were talking though, and that was better than a big catch any day.

Jared and Embry told Bella about their baseball team going undefeated for the season, and she told them how she had gotten nervous and hid backstage when it was time for her spring ballet recital. Renee apparently got the whole thing on tape, so I would have to ask her to send that to me sometime soon. It sounded like Bella's dance career was officially over.

We dropped the boys at their respective homes and drove out to the diner for a late lunch. After ordering our drinks, I looked across the table at my little girl, pleased to see her contented smile and sun-kissed cheeks. She really looked happy to be here.

When I asked her if she was, she smiled brighter. "I am, Daddy. I'm happy to be home."