Paul was getting a little obsessed with the tv show. Every night he begged for one more episode. And every night Bella promised him another when he came over the next day. The show would end, she'd go into the kitchen to get his leftovers from the fridge and he'd grab his books.

He would eat the free breakfast and lunch that the school provided all the kids of a certain income, but the leftovers he would save for right after school before he patrolled. Getting home and pulling out those leftovers was something he started looking forward to each day. Just like he looked forward to dinner at the Swans. As he quickly devoured the food, he often found himself thinking of the evening before. Something Bella had done, or her still surprisingly cutting verbal banter with him. Whoda thunk that he and Swan would become friends.

He guessed that was the word for it. He'd never really had friends who were girls before. But he liked all of Bella. That was a new thing for him. With most girls, he didn't really pay attention beyond what they looked like. With Emily and Kim, they were more like family...but not family that he felt like he needed to get to know. Leah was just one of the guys. But Bella was in a whole different category.

"Ha! Weevil is the only one who has ever out-maneuvered Veronica! That was awesome!" he crowed after watching the Winter Carnival episode.

"Well, Mac kinda did, too, when we first met her. Mac totally threw her off the trail of that horrible web site by reminding her how crappy her car was. And then she has a shiny new car at the end of the show."

"Fine, so Mac and Weevil have both out-maneuvered her. But Weevil made her feel guilty about suspecting him WHILE he was out-maneuvering her!"

"It is one of my favorite episodes. For that, and she and Jackie get to be friends. Even though they haven't felt very friendly towards one another before," Bella said while looking directly at Paul. "It's nice to think that two people who got off to such a rocky beginning could get past it."

Paul stared back at her for just a minute before looking away. Was she trying to tell him something? Was she just talking about the show? Before he could wonder about it much longer, Bella stood up to go to the kitchen as per their usual routine. Paul followed her in and collected his books while she got his leftovers from the fridge.

Paul noticed that she was even quieter than usual and wondered if he'd done something to upset her. "Bella?"

She turned and handed him the food without looking at him, and whispered, "Yeah?"

"Um- I- just- I really appreciate all this. Everything you're doing for me, I mean," Paul stammered. He wasn't used to not having the words. He wasn't used to speaking from the heart either. He was usually just about the bluster. "Being here- being here is my favorite part of every day," he said in a rush before he lost his nerve.

Bella peeked up at him as if to see if he was being genuine. A warmth had flooded through her at his words. "Mine, too," she whispered.

Paul wasn't sure exactly when it had happened, but at some point Charlie seemed to like having him around, too. And even though fathers and police were neither of his favorite types of people, he found himself happy, even looking forward to dinner conversation with the Chief of police. He liked getting slapped on the arm and called "son" by Charlie Swan. He also noticed that where Charlie had once regarded him with suspicion, especially around Bella, he seemed to look at him with-respect, maybe? Paul wasn't sure what it was, but it was clear that the chief wasn't thinking of Paul as the brown guy who got picked up for public brawling one too many times as a kid.

He knew for sure that Charlie trusted him when one night, while Bella and Paul were working on their respective essays, the Chief came quickly down the stairs looking nervous.

"Hey, kids, I just got called out. Bella, I need you to stay in the house. Lock up after me, okay?"

"Sure, Dad," she answered, but worried, "What's going on?"

"Gunshots reported. Someone is down. I'm not sure of anything yet. So, stay in the house!"

Charlie grabbed his gun belt and attached everything to it as he headed for the door. Paul got up to follow, and called to Bella, "I'll lock the front door after your Dad goes out."

As soon as they were out of sight of the kitchen, Charlie put a hand on Paul's arm. "Look, Paul, I would feel better if you could stay here with Bella until I get home or at least until I know what's going on out there. Can you do that without Bella realizing that I'm asking you to be her bodyguard? You know how pissed she gets when she thinks I'm being overprotective."

Paul nodded seriously. If only the chief knew how protected she always was. "Of course I'll stay," he promised Chief Swan who nodded his thanks to him and stepped out the front door.

Paul flipped the lock and the deadbolt behind him before returning to the kitchen.

Bella smiled at him when he walked in. "I always think it's adorable when Dad asks me to lock the doors. As if the things that go bump in the night will be slowed down by a door," she snorted and bent back over the paper she was still editing.

She was so tiny, Paul observed. It was easy to forget that she'd survived two vampire attacks, was being hunted by a third vampire, had punched a werewolf, AND been bitten by a vamp. She was way more badass than he'd ever given her sufficient credit for.

"Your Dad asked if I could stay until he gets back."

"Oh!" Bella looked surprised, then blushed. "You don't have to go to any trouble, Paul. It's bad enough you guys have to run patrols down here. You don't need to-"

"I promised your Dad already, Bella. But if you're feeling guilty, we could stay up and watch extra episodes until he gets home," he leaned in waggling his eyebrows and wearing a grin that usually got him whatever he wanted from women.

Bella was not most women. She held her ground even as Paul got closer to her, and then completely freaked him out as she took a sharp, quick breath in, grabbed on to his t-shirt and pulled him closer so they were nose to nose. She leaned forward to whisper in his ear a little sing-songy, "Oh, Paul!"

He did not know what the hell was going on right now, but what he did know was that Bella had hauled him closer when he'd been trying to use his smolder on her. As she whispered his name, he could feel her breath on his neck and dammit if he didn't have a physical reaction to it all! He quickly slipped his arms around her and pulled her close to him, standing up briefly, then sitting back down in the other chair with her now sitting in his lap. She squeaked at the suddenness of finding herself there.

"Yes, Bella?" he answered, smirking as she wiggled in his lap trying to get out. He neither helped her nor hindered her progress and tried to look very innocent in the process. She finally stopped wiggling and narrowed her eyes at him, before snaking her arms back around his neck, on to his shoulder and using him for leverage.

She didn't fall when she finally made it off his lap. Bella was most grateful for that. She tugged at her shirt to straighten it, and tossed her long hair over her shoulder before she huffed at him, "Get your paper finished. Then we can watch. We both still have school tomorrow, though, so we're not staying up too late!"

"Yes, Ma'am," Paul snarkily saluted her. She rolled her eyes at him and sat back down in her chair to finish her essay.

"They arrested him before he got to walk across the stage?" Paul yelled. "I HATE that guy!"

Bella paused the show and looked at Paul. "We can start it again when you're done throwing a tantrum."

"Press the damn button, Bella," he grouched and slumped back onto the couch.

"Only if you're sure you can behave yourself," she smiled a syrupy smile.

"Is Veronica going to be able to get him out of this?" Paul asked.

"I'll tell you what. After this episode, I'm going to go get ready for bed. I'll grab us pillows and blankets and we can watch one or MAYBE two episodes from Season 3. But only if you promise that you'll go to sleep here by midnight."

"Fine," he huffed. He wouldn't admit that he kind of liked the idea of camping out down here on the couch with her.

"Why is she back with Logan AGAIN!" Paul complained, sitting up as the first episode of Season 3 started.

Bella was in her comfy flannel sleep pants, one of Jake's old, ratty sweatshirts, and some fuzzy socks and was huddled beneath a mountain of blankets. Paul was in no way going to get the wrong idea of what was going on here. Her outfit practically screamed "Don't even think about touching me."

Bella paused the show again. "Paul, what is it you hate so much about Logan?"

"Are you kidding?"

"He has a terrible temper. He treated her badly. He gets mad when she is who she is. And his whole family was completely screwed up! What if he starts hurting her, too? Not to mention he was responsible for her getting raped!"

"So, you don't think people can be different than their parents?" she asked, with an eyebrow arched up.

Paul was about to answer when he realized what she was doing. He narrowed his eyes at her and she burst into a knowing grin. He knew people could be different than their parents. He was proof of that, wasn't he? Well, sort of. If he hadn't turned into a wolf, maybe he'd turn into a strung out druggie murderer, too. He was quick enough with his temper and his fists for either, but the wolf thing meant having Sam and Jared and the Elders always watching him and being in his head. It was a lot harder to go down that road when there was a constant parade of people checking up on him, or ordering him to calm down. Could a person change the course of their life without supernatural intervention?

Paul looked over at Bella all huddled in her nest of blankets. She had. Jake had helped coax her back into the world of the living before he became a wolf. Was it love that changed a person for the better?

Paul wrinkled his nose. He sounded like a stupid teenage girl spouting on about love conquering all. Bullshit. Love seemed to get more people INTO trouble than out of it. Like his Mom. By all accounts, she'd been okay until she met his Dad. His Dad kept his vices close, but still functioned. His Mom, once she got introduced to drugs and alcohol, couldn't control it and wasn't there to protect him when he needed it from his Dad.

"Paul?" Bella laid a cool hand on Paul's trembling arm. He looked up and realized she'd paused the show again. "Hey, are you okay? You're- um, shaking a little. Do you need to go phase?"

She was concerned about him, not worried for her own safety. Just like the day they'd first met. Then she hadn't been worried for herself. Just about Jake.

"Why don't you care if you get hurt?" he blurted out.

She quickly pulled her hand away and huddled back into the blankets.

"I don't like getting hurt," she mumbled. "I'm against pain, in fact."

"Then why are you constantly putting yourself in danger, Bella?"

"What are you talking about, Paul?" she sounded exasperated now. "I was just sitting here watching a show. How is that dangerous?"

"Because you're with me! I'M dangerous, Bella! I was sitting here shaking because I was getting furious enough to phase. It could have happened right here. There's a reason I hardly have any furniture at my house now," he added darkly.

Bella had studied actual wolf behavior when she first found out about the pack. As a result, she often used her acquired knowledge in dealing with them. If Paul had been only human, Bella might have stood in front of him where he sat on the couch to talk to him. But she needed to keep him calm, so she needed to not show herself as a threat to his wolf. That meant staying lower than him. And quiet. And not holding his gaze.

She slowly untangled herself from her blanket and slid across the couch towards Paul. She glanced at his still trembling form, but not at his eyes. She hoped she was doing the right thing and that Paul's wolf would respond more than Paul the human. Because as a human, this was a little weird. She reached him, laid herself across his lap, and moved her hair over her shoulder to bare her neck to him.

He growled, but stopped trembling, and Bella gasped as he swept her up into his arms and nipped her bared neck. She remained limp in his arms, but he let her scent and her presence calm him. When Bella felt his breathing relax and was pretty sure he was feeling more in control, she slipped her arms around his neck in a hug. "Better?" she whispered.

He couldn't speak yet. She'd just done it again. Put herself in danger to help someone else. Didn't she have any instinct for self-preservation?

"Why did you-" he tried to ask.

"Sometimes I know what people need. And if I can be the one to help, why shouldn't I? Besides, Paul. I trust you," she said quietly, still resting quietly against his chest where he was clinging to her. He squeezed her just a little tighter for a minute then loosened his grip a bit, but not enough that she thought he wanted her to move yet. Instead, he reached to the other end of the couch to grab the remote and her blanket. He started the show again and tucked the blanket around her while rearranging them both so she could stay in his arms and still see the TV.

Charlie came home around 4 AM to find his daughter sound asleep on the couch and Paul asleep on the floor next to her. Paul sat up out of his sleep. "Chief?" he said blearily.

"Go back to sleep, son. Thanks for staying," Charlie said quietly. Paul nodded and laid back down, rolling over to his side and pulling a sheet up over him.

Charlie smiled as he headed up the stairs to his own bed. If anyone had told him a couple of years ago that not only would his daughter be living with him after a 16 year absence, but that Paul Lahote would have become one of her most loyal friends, he would have asked what they were smoking. And yet Charlie was certainly grateful for the turn his life had taken. Even if he'd first had to put up with that stupid Cullen kid. Charlie couldn't be more grateful that he was gone.

He thought it was funny that these two kids seemed to be forming their friendship over homework, food, and a tv show. But he supposed there were stranger ways to become friends. The guys up at the rez seemed to be better friends to Bella than most of the Forks kids. Hanging out with the Cullens hadn't seem to have won her any bosom pals at school. Now that she'd graduated, he supposed it didn't really matter. He was just glad she was still here with him. He'd missed so many years. When Bella had invited him to sit and watch that Veronica Mars show with him while she was in the throes of depression after Edward left her in the woods, Charlie recognized it as her throwing out a lifeline. Maybe not a lifeline TO him, but her saying "come and share something with me". It was something that they had bonded over, too.

He liked that she enjoyed a show where the father and daughter shared such a strong bond and the mother was a little less dependable. He liked that the show's main character was strong despite all the horrible things that had happened to her. Charlie wished that Bella would tell him all the horrible things that she had gone through, but he didn't know how to ask without her shutting down more. And she didn't volunteer. After the episode where Veronica and her father have to testify and he learns some things about her that shock them, Charlie had haltingly said, "Bells, honey, I will love you no matter what. And any time you need to talk to me about anything, I'm here." His heart had broken a little bit as her eyes filled with tears and she nodded. Neither one of them said anything else until she got ready for bed that night. She finished washing the dishes, then hugged him and said, "I love you, Daddy," and rushed up the stairs before he could say anything back.

Charlie was glad that she's begun to surround herself in the last year with the children of his best friends, so he felt like he had a little more knowledge of where she was and what she was up to. And while Paul Lahote would never have topped his list of potential boyfriends for his daughter, he was beginning to trust his Bella's instincts on this one. They were both moving so slowly, Charlie wasn't even sure either one of them realized how much they cared about one another. Of course, he was just a 40 year old single Dad, so what did he know?

Charlie climbed into bed and as he turned out the light, he heard Bells cry out in her sleep. Those damn nightmares still hadn't quit. They didn't happen as often now, though. He was about to get up, but he heard Paul's voice murmuring to her and she quieted almost immediately. Charlie wasn't even sure if she'd woken up, but there was nothing but silence from downstairs, and Charlie trusted Paul to not take advantage of his daughter especially in that situation. Wiith his daughter's welfare assured for the moment, Charlie Swan fell asleep.