AN: Um, yeah, if you couldn't tell from the last chapter, we're taking a big old left turn at canon here ;) Hold on tight! And thank you so much for your reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far!

Chapter 8

1 year later, July

Charlie POV
I couldn't stop my smile as I looked down at her. Her nose was scrunched in concentration, making her scattering of freckles stand out even more than usual. Her tongue peeked out just a bit as she wiggled my tie, and then a smile of triumph burst out as she patted down my lapels. "There, Daddy. You look perfect."

I probably undid all her hard work as I pulled her close for a hug, but I just couldn't help it—I was so happy she was here.

It was hard to believe that so much had happened over the past year. I never saw myself getting married again but after losing Quil and Sarah, I realized that sometimes we don't have the time to waste. I couldn't wait around for a woman who would never love me the way I loved her, and when Renee got engaged to a minor league baseball player named Phil, I was finally able to let her go. Of course, I also ran a background check on Phil and questioned Bella when she was home for the summer as well.

Tiffany Call was nothing like Renee. She was young and beautiful, but she was also responsible and down-to-earth. She had worked hard to provide for Embry, and the boy's polite and sweet nature showed what a good job she had done in raising him, even without his father in the picture.

I wasn't too shocked when she confirmed my suspicions that Quil was actually Embry's father. She admitted that he had supported them both financially until his untimely death, when Joy quickly put a stop to that.

I was angry at the thought that my cousin, a man I had looked up to all my life, was just another cheating husband and womanizing fisherman. She hadn't told Embry the truth about his father, and I honestly couldn't see how she ever would. Learning that one of his best friends was actually his brother was going to be a bitter pill to swallow.

Bella seemed happy when we announced our engagement this past Christmas, and she and Embry had always gotten along well. I did wish she could come live with us full time, but Renee didn't seem too eager to hand over custody. At least Bella told me that Phil was helping her mom keep the house running smoothly.

A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts, and I realized it was time for me to head to the altar. I kept my arm around my Bells, knowing she was probably just as nervous as I was about standing up in front of a crowd.

Tiff and I had decided to skip the whole wedding party bit, in favor of having our children stand up with us. Bella and I were going to enter from the side of the church, while Embry would walk Tiffany down the aisle to meet us.

I checked to be sure that Bells had the ring, and my breath caught when she held her hand up to show me that she was wearing it on her right ring finger for safe keeping. She had a small bouquet in her left hand, and with her pale blue dress it was too easy to picture her own wedding day, hopefully many years down the road.

I felt my face turn red as I reached the minister and looked out over the relatively full church. People from La Push filled both sides of the aisle, and all my friends from Forks were here as well. Tiffany was surprised when some of her family members drove down from Neah Bay as well, since she hadn't had much to do with them since Embry was born.

The music changed, and I sucked in a breath when I saw my bride. Tiffany was absolutely gorgeous in her white lace dress, and I was so happy that she left her long black hair flowing freely down her back. I really loved her hair. She had the sides pulled up and as she walked closer I saw that she was wearing the earrings I gave her for our one-month anniversary. She had cried at the time, and I was terrified I'd done something wrong until she told me she thought it was sweet, and that no man had ever given her anything like that.

No words were said as Embry gave me his mother's hand, but he gave me a very grown-up nod of approval as he walked over to take his place opposite Bella. Tiff was crying, and I felt my own eyes get a bit moist as well, but I was mostly feeling hopeful. This was a new start for me, with a woman who loved me and would stay with me, not go running off across the country in a few months.

I surprised Tiffany when I pulled her out on the dance floor and did more than just shuffle back and forth a bit. I'd taken a lot of ribbing from the guys at work when I signed up for dance lessons in Port Angeles, but the smile on my new wife's face let me know it was worth it.

Bella was grinning when she took her turn dancing with me. We both laughed when she kicked her shoes off and stepped up on my feet—as beautiful as she was, graceful she was not. "Are you having fun, Bells?" I asked as we danced next to Tiff and Embry.

"I am!" she smiled, but then her expression turned wistful as she looked around the room. "I just wish I could stay here with you, but I know Mom needs me too."

We finished our dance and I watched her wander off with her new step-brother to find their friends near the food tables. Bells and Embry were staying out at La Push for one night, to give me and my lovely bride an evening alone. I was enjoying married life so far this time.

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

Paul

Bella looked like an angel in her light blue dress, something Paul had never seen her in before. Bella was more of a shorts and jeans girl.

He hadn't had much time with her before the wedding, since the new Swan family was busy with preparations and rehearsals. Still, he had missed her, and he hoped to get her alone while she was in town for the summer.

Paul waited for everyone else to greet her, and then slipped up beside her with a cup of lemonade. "Here," he said, catching her attention as Embry pulled Jake and Quil further away. "I got you a drink."

Bella blushed on cue, and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ears. She'd been thinking about Paul a lot since that kiss the previous summer, but he hadn't tried to kiss her again since then. Of course, Charlie and Tiffany had kept their kids busy when Bella was home for Christmas, and they had only seen Paul when they went fishing or attended the weekly bonfire. They hadn't had any time alone.

With Bella and Embry staying at Jacob's house for the night, Paul didn't expect he'd see her much then either. Not only did he have to avoid Jake, but another Black as well. He frowned as he thought of Jake's older sister, Rachel. At fifteen, she was becoming more rebellious against her father, and Paul was the latest object of her rebellion.

She had cornered him after school one day and told him there was a lot she could teach him. He had some idea of what she was talking about, but he wasn't sure she was the best one to learn from. He knew the fallout would be phenomenal if anyone were to find out.

Paul leaned against the wall outside as Charlie and Tiffany ran to their car in a shower of bubbles and laughter, frowning as Bella followed her new brother to Billy Black's car. He finished the cigarette he'd bummed from an older boy and stood to dust his pants off before going to find Jared's family for a ride home.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Not long after his eighth grade year at school started, Paul was noticed by some of the more notable trouble makers in high school. They needed a liaison with the younger kids, and they had no idea that the last thing Paul wanted was to be a drug dealer.

They started him small—inviting him to eat at the diner, or hang out at the beach, whatever they happened to be doing at the time. They shared their cigarettes, and offered him alcohol, but he had little interest in that due to his father's influence. One night after a football game, they stumbled on Paul's hidden talent.

A group of kids were spray painting the field house with garish colors and crude cartoons. Unnoticed at first, Paul picked a corner and a can of yellow paint and proceeded to paint Spongebob on the side of the wall. He was lost in concentration and didn't notice that the others had fallen silent as they watched him work.

"That's really good, kid," the leader stated, with a heavy hand on Paul's shoulder that had him spinning to defend himself out of habit. The older boy looked at him thoughtfully, holding his hands out to show he wasn't a threat. "I think you'll be a good fit here, Lahote. We can really use someone like you."

Paul was suspicious, but he couldn't deny that it felt good to be accepted by the older kids. They kept him fed, and gave him more options for places to sleep when he needed to get away for a night. The oldest boy, Aaron, helped Paul hone his already impressive fighting skills, while slowly gaining his trust.

Jared began to pull away from Paul, at the advice of his parents and partially in fear of Paul's new 'friends.' With Embry in Forks, there was no one else he could turn to besides the juvenile delinquents he'd fallen in with. They became his family.

Charlie was called out to the convenience store on the road to La Push one evening in response to a robbery. He reviewed surveillance tape, easily recognizing some of the older kids, but he nearly fainted when he spotted a smaller boy at the edge of the group. Paul was clearly serving as look-out, and he looked extremely nervous even on the grainy footage. Charlie covered his face with his hands and wondered how he could have let things get this far.

Thinking that maybe he had been too lenient with Paul in the past, Charlie put on his cop face and headed out to round up the kids. He saved Paul for last, making a show of walking up to the front door so Tommy could see exactly what his boy had been up to.

He heard voices yelling back and forth in an odd echo of the night six years earlier when Charlie first met Paul. The only difference was, this time the law was here for the boy.

AN2: Anybody lost yet? To sum it up, Phil and Renee are married, Charlie and Tiffany are married and living in Forks. Charlie learned that Big Quil is/was Embry's father. At the end of the chapter, Bella is now fourteen and Paul is thirteen, and both are in eighth grade. Next chapter is FINALLY Paul's POV ;)