AN: Hi All!
Thanks for waiting so patiently for updates for this one! I wanted to do justice to these characters and their experiences and that has required a bit of research.
Appreciation goes out to all who are reading, following, favouriting, and reviewing this story!
Special thanks to, DxGRAYxMAN, catgrl, twi nana, ShadowDragon2112, and jeoliverio, for reviewing last chapter!
Now for Chapter 4!
Time to shake the lemon tree just a little!
Chapter Four: Changing and Getting Acquainted.
Char's POV
When Charlie and I get upstairs, the first thing he does is check Bella's pulse.
"Oh good. She still has a heartbeat." He nods breathing a sigh of relief.
"For now, but it will stop beating a few moments before she wakes up as a vampire," I clarify gently.
He looks to be deep in thought for a few moments. "How long does that usually take?" Charlie asks.
"Typically about three days."
"So I have less than three days to get my affairs in order if I want to do this?" he confirms running his hands nervously through his hair.
"Ideally, yes. It is better for Bella if you're either far away or already changing when she wakes up. Newborn vampires can easily differentiate between a changing person and prey, but not between a living person and their next meal. She will see you as food if you or your scent are lingering nearby when she awakes," I state matter-of-factly.
"So, if I agree to this, I can never see my friends again. But if I don't, I lose my daughter?" He frowns worrying his lip between his teeth with a pensive expression.
My heart goes out to the man. It can't possibly be an easy choice. Most of us had the choice made for us. Most of us hated not having a choice in the matter. And yet, in some ways, I suspect this is much harder.
I nod. "Yes, those are your options, I'm afraid."
Charlie paces for a few moments, then sighs, having clearly come to a decision. "I've had decades with my friends by my side. But Bella's mother took her away when she was just a few months old. And aside from a month or so every summer, I haven't known my daughter until recently. I don't think my heart can take losing her again. It's probably gonna suck in a lot of ways, no pun intended, if I do this. But I need my daughter in my life. Give me a day or two to arrange things and then I'll be ready." He nods resolutely.
"Thank you, Charlie!" I cheer, unable to stop myself from hugging the man. "I know this is a huge sacrifice on your part but I can't even begin to tell you how much Bella will appreciate it. It is obvious your daughter is very fond of you."
Charlie grunts and shuffles his feet awkwardly.
I hesitate a moment before asking the question I want to ask him. "Does Bella take after her mother?"
Charlie has dark hair and his most prominent features are his nose and eyebrows. Bella's hair is a light, honey brown. More specifically, the color of Golden Grahams cereal. Her eyes are blue-green. And perhaps these things would not be so unusual if it were not for the scientific discovery my mate told me she recently made in her high school biology class while blood-typing.
Charlie and Renée both have Type O blood, it would seem, and Bella doesn't not. That makes it scientifically impossible for them both to be her parents.
My poker face either isn't very good, or Charlie as a police officer is just exceptional at reading people because he raises an eyebrow and says: "You know?"
"Not the whole story. I only know as much as Bella knows. Which is that your blood type rules you out for biological paternity. But you already know that, don't you?" I surmise.
He sighs and sits down beside Bella's peacefully-changing form on the bed. "Yeah. I found out Bella was Type A in the hospital after she was born. I confronted Renée, assuming the worst, and she just rolled her eyes at me and told me she never cheated and that if I thought long and hard I'd know what happened.
"You see...Renée and I had a friend back then who we both had a little crush on. Her name, at the time, was Anthony. She goes by Andrea now. Anyway, we had a threesome and weren't exactly careful since we were all pretty tipsy. So once Renée jogged my memory, it didn't take me long to realize who our little baby looked like
"It was the only reason I didn't fight my wife for custody when she left me. One DNA test was all it would take to lose my parental rights entirely. I thought about going to Andrea (who was still living as Anthony back then) and asking her if she'd turn her rights over so I could legally adopt Bella. But I wasn't entirely sure she would agree. There was no way to know without first telling Andrea everything. And if she decided she wanted to raise Bella, the custody battle would have been between the two of them and I'd be out in the cold.
"After Andrea fully transitioned and had all her surgeries, I was gonna come clean with her. I figured she'd be less likely to make a play for custody at that point in her new life. So I attempted to make contact a couple years ago, but I couldn't find her. I even went through a buddy of mine who was a detective in Seattle and he couldn't find her either. She just...disappeared. That's part of the reason I never told Bella.
"At first, I was waiting until she was old enough to understand. But then when Andrea disappeared, it just didn't seem fair to tell Bella when I knew the first question out of her mouth would be 'Can I meet her?'. It wasn't right to get her hopes up at that point," he concluded, looking wearier than I ever thought a healthy human being could look.
"Wow," I whisper. "That's quite a story, Charlie. And not at all what I was expecting. I think you should tell her though, once you both are vampires. Even if it's sad that Bella doesn't have an opportunity to know Andrea, she deserves the truth. And you're going to be in each other's lives forever now as vampires. Forever is a long time to sit on a secret like that, trust me."
"Yeah, I know," he grumbles. " I just hope she won't hate me."
I sit down beside my distraught future father-in-law. "I don't know her that well yet, so I can't really speak for her but Bella doesn't seem like the hating type, Charlie. You know her better than I do, do you really think she will hate you for this?"
"Probably not but I still feel hella guilty."
I smile gently. "That's understandable. But it's also understandable that Bella will probably forgive you."
"You seem like a good kid. I'm glad you're gonna be there for Bells." He grins and then his brow furrows and his expression looks thoughtful. "Charlotte...just exactly how old are you?"
I laugh. "Are you sure you actually want to know?"
"Oooh, yeah, maybe not, judging by that look. Let's just go with, old enough to know how to respect my daughter without needing a stern talking-to?"
"Don't worry, Charlie. Bella's safety, happiness, and security will be my utmost priorities forevermore," I vow solemnly.
"Glad to hear it, Kiddo. Yeah, I'm still gonna call you kiddo even if you're much older than me. Because you look like a teenager. Hope you don't mind?" he decides, pending my approval.
"I don't mind, Charlie. I can't remember my human father, but I'd have been blessed if he was even a little bit like you." I beam.
"That's real sweet, Kiddo. Real sweet indeed." He grins bashfully, his cheeks turning rosy with embarrassment.
By the time Bella is two days into her transformation, Charlie has all of his affairs in order (with our assistance) and last night, he even had himself a little "last hurrah" with his friends on the Rez. He says they barbecued and watched sports and sat around the fire drinking and laughing until the wee hours.
I guess he told Billy that Renée recently left her new husband and that Bella wants to move back to Phoenix to be there for her distraught mother. He explained to Billy that after having just gotten his daughter back, he doesn't want to be separated from her. That part, I know to be true.
So Billy now thinks that Charlie resigned from Forks PD in order to move to Phoenix and is going to get a job doing security until a spot opens up in the police department there. He also told him a friend of Renée's is helping him sell his house. So it seems like the tribe will have no reason to be suspicious of Charlie's story. And Alice confirms that we shouldn't have any issues.
Charlie said Billy seemed concerned at first about his uncharacteristic spontaneity but apparently his friend is attributing it to a midlife crisis. And Charlie was able to reassure him that if he hates it down in Phoenix, he can always come back to Washington once Bella goes away to college. That thought seems to have pacified Billy enough that he hasn't questioned it any further.
"Are you ready, Charlie?" Jasper asks him when he comes out of the washroom dressed in the outfit Alice bought for his transformation. We decided Jasper should sire him rather than me because it would be weird for me to be Charlie's sire and daughter-in-law.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Charlie nods. "You won't get carried away and drain me, will you? I know you said you've done this a million times, but I also know you said it's been a long time since you've munched on any Type O." He shrugs nervously.
"Don't worry, Chucks," Pete grins, using the awful nickname he's been insisting on calling Charlie. Charlie claims he likes it, but I don't see how. It makes him sound like a pair of Bella's shoes. "my Jasper has impeccable self-control."
"Alright then, yep, I'm ready." Charlie nods and sits down on the bed.
Jasper bites Charlie on the neck since it's closer to the heart than the wrist and the venom will spread faster.
"Are you okay, Charlie?" I ask as he goes from looking surprised to anxious to a state of pure agony.
"If by okay you mean am I prepared to grit my teeth through three days of hell, then yes, I'm fuckin' peachy." He grimaces through clenched teeth.
"Just remember, Charlie...this too shall pass," I advise as the burning takes over and he can no longer speak through the pain.
When my beautiful Bella finally awakens as a vampire, she is adorably feisty. Feral even. Her eyes open and I make sure that I am the first thing she sees. When her gaze finds me, she is up off the bed, attacking me with kisses.
"Mine! Mate!" She growls, tearing my clothes off.
I quickly subdue her, wanting her to understand immediately that as the more experienced vampire and as her sire, I am in charge. At least for the foreseeable future. When I throw her carefully back onto the bed, she whimpers and I pin her beneath me while I strip and scent her from head to toe. She is evidently much calmer and seems to be quickly regaining her senses as well as her humanity.
"What did my dad decide?" She asks, much to my surprise.
Most newborns don't have this much clarity or awareness for a long time and some never regain their human memories at all.
"He's undergoing his change as we speak. He'll be a vampire soon, just like we are." I smile, kissing her pulse points as I grasp her wrists and pin them above her head. She clearly lets me do this. As a newborn, she has more strength than I do and could easily stop me if she wanted to.
"Good. Thank you, My Mate." She nods contemplatively. "I want…"
I expect her to say that she wants to hunt, but instead, Bella surprises me yet again.
"...to touch you. Please?" She begs, looking at me with a desperation born not of bloodlust but of the lust of desire.
"You may," I consent, stripping out of my remaining clothing for her.
Bella gasps. "So beautiful," she whispers with a note of awe in her tone.
I half expect her to be afraid of my scars, but no, it would seem my mate is perfect for me in every way. Not the least of which being, she doesn't scare easily.
"I could say the same about you," I return with a radiant, slightly predatory grin. Looking her over reminds me of how blessed I truly am.
It's still barely believable to me that after all these years I've finally managed to find my mate. And gazing upon Bella...with her exquisite alabaster skin glowing radiantly; her burgundy eyes searching imploringly into my own; her lips full and sumptuous and oh so very kissable...it is a wonder that I should be so fortunate as to be graced with the sight of her beauty for the rest of our eternity.
I know I will find many other more important things to love about her besides her looks, but I have to admit, it's a pretty great place to start.
Her hands begin to explore my body and my breath catches at the very sensation of her touch. I watch, as she traces the curves and planes of my form. Parts of me that I barely pay any mind to...she lavishes with attention the likes of which I have never experienced.
Every time I have been with a girl in the past it was quick and dirty. Never this. Never this worshipful lovemaking. This beautiful experience with my new mate makes me wholly grateful for my perfect recall that I might relive this day in my mind's eye whenever I so choose.
I am quick to reciprocate Bella's touch. As her hands caress my body, mine begin to graze every inch of her perfect porcelain frame. I find joy in kissing every place my hands touch and she begins to do the same.
Soon our lips find one another's eagerly yet again and we begin kissing passionately as our hands continue their exploration. I gasp when hers find their way to where I crave them most and she parts my waiting folds quite expertly. Bella has clearly touched women before. I find myself hoping they treated her well.
My hands make their way to her chest because let's be honest, Mama loves tatas.
I grope her exquisite breasts in my happy hands, making sure to pay just the right kind of attention to her perfectly peaked nipples. Bella moans for me in a way that assures me I am doing this correctly.
Once I have her seeking friction, I flip us so that Bella is on top of me and my thigh is between her legs, allowing her to ride me. Between this action and her talented fingers probing me, it isn't long before we are screaming each other's names in blissful ecstasy.
"That was indescribable." I beam elatedly.
"Indescribably wonderful, yes?" Bella confirms hopefully.
"Most definitely." I nod vigorously, resting my hands on the sides of her face.
"You have the most expressive physiognomy Charlotte," she observes with a lopsided grin.
I raise my eyebrows in question. "I'm shocked that anyone from your era even knows the word physiognomy let alone can correctly use it in a sentence." I laugh.
Bella looks down shyly and I know if she were human she'd be blushing. "Yes, well, I read a lot of classical literature."
"I'm impressed. What is your favorite genre?" I inquire.
"Probably Victorian Gothic Romances, like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights," she decides after a brief deliberation.
"Ah yes...the Brontë sisters. I used to have first editions of those books but we were nomads for so long they didn't survive all the moving around I'm afraid." I shrug sadly.
Bella's jaw drops. "The fact you ever owned them in the first place is very impressive! First editions aren't easy to come by."
I grin. "They are when you live with someone who was born around the time they were written. Peter gave them to me. They were his mother's originally. I was devastated when they got ruined. I thought Peter would be mad but he just shrugged and said it was one less thing to keep track of."
My mate hesitates for a moment, looking unsure if she wants to ask a question.
"It's okay," I assure her. "You can ask me anything."
"Okay." She nods biting her lip. "Did you ever...I mean, in all the years you were living together...?"
"Once, yes. It was after Jasper left to protect Peter. For a long time it was just the two of us. He was mad at Jasper and hurt that he was gone. He thought maybe I could 'straighten him out' if I tried. His words, not mine. It was awkward and clumsy and it didn't really work. But I think he felt better once he knew for sure.
"In those days it would have been so much easier to be bisexual than gay. I know there are some people nowadays who think everyone is at least a bit bisexual, but if Peter is, it's like 1% maybe." I shrug.
"What about you?" she asks nonchalantly.
"I think I'm like 90/10. For me to be attracted to a guy, he has to be reasonably effeminate. Long hair, manscaping, the whole nine yards." I laugh.
"So…like Jasper?" She laughs wagging her eyebrows.
"Shhhh!" I giggle. "Pretty sure Jasper fits into everyone's orientation."
She frowns and for a second, I worry she's mad that I might have a lowkey crush on Jasper.
"Probably not a hardcore bigot like Edward." She sighs. "I can't believe I read him so wrong. I thought we were starting to be friends at least."
"Ya know, Bella...people are more than the sum total of their worst qualities. Edward isn't a bigot because he consciously chose to be one. He's a bigot because at some point in his life, someone taught him to be. Just look at how differently he treats Alice. No one ever taught him to hate Intersex people, so his view towards her is not skewed by anyone else's." I remind her gently.
"Pulling away from your friendship with him would just be detrimental to the cause. It is as his friend that you are in the best position to help him change his thinking. Not as his enemy," I add, kissing her softly on the lips.
"You really think he can change his thinking?" She frowns. "He is using his fundamental beliefs to back up his hatred. He's not gonna change his fundamental beliefs. Certainly not for me."
"Bella, believe it or not, there are plenty of gay Christians. There are plenty of Christian allies of the community too. He just needs to be reminded that no one follows every commandment in the Bible. If we did, no one could eat any fat or wear blended fabrics or trim their beards or get tattoos or swear or work on Sundays and everyone would have to be paid their wages the same day as they do the work and those are just a few examples.
"The point is, we all do things that the Bible refers to as sin. If we didn't, we wouldn't need Jesus. The entire point of Christianity is that we're all so gloriously flawed that the Son of God had to die in our place so that we would one day reach heaven.
"Jesus himself said the two most important rules to obey are to love God and to love one another. Which behavior is more loving? A committed, same-sex relationship, or Edward's bigotry? But I am not in a position to tell him any of that. Because the plain and simple truth of humanity is that people do not care what you know until they know that you care.
"Our friends who we respect and think highly of are the people we're most likely to listen to. I've never been Edward's friend but you are. That means...it is your responsibility to help him. I can't help him because he doesn't respect me. Bella, the only way to get through to Edward, is to treat him the way you want him to treat others. If anybody can do that, it's you." I encourage.
"Wow. I guess I never thought of it that way. And you know what? I think I have an idea! But first, I should probably hunt, because I'm hella thirsty!" Bella laughs. And in this moment, I really feel like a fool.
Here I am with my newborn mate who hasn't even fed yet, and I'm sitting here trying to impart life lessons. A time and a place, Charlotte. A time and a place.
"Come on!" I laugh, taking her by the hand and helping her to her feet. "Let's get you some dinner!"
AN: Okay, so, with Bella having a different biological father, I've given her a different appearance (See cover photo)
And yay! We finally introduced our MtF Trans character!
The Trans community may get some more representation in here eventually, because there are a lot of other groups I would love to give a voice to (FtMs, Non-transitioning, Non-binary, Gender non-conforming, Genderqueer, Genderfluid, Bigender {like moi, yes, I'm bisexual and bigender, I'm practically a freaking unicorn, okay? Sheesh!}, Agender, Two-Spirit, etc. the list goes on.)
See why I felt I needed to do so much research?
And since I am certainly not a transmedicalist by any means, I believe all gender identities are valid and that anyone who is not cisgender has a right to identify as part of the Trans community if they choose to.
But don't worry, we'll get into all of that more as we go along.
How do you eat an elephant, Folks?
That's right, one bite at a time!
As always, I love to hear your feedback!
Love and Blessings,
-BMW