Charlie Swan instantly liked Sehkhet Mariani, not because she was breathtakingly gorgeous, but because she approached everything in a manner that was semi-detached. When they first spoke, she told him all about her parents and their struggles to establish themselves before asking him about his family. She talked for the better half of the hour while she was at the station. The purpose of her visit then had been to introduce herself to the neighbors and she hadn't made his acquaintance yet. The free time the woman had gave Charlie the idea that lead to him inviting her over for dinner the first night his teenaged daughter would be joining him in Forks. Someone needed family, even if that family wasn't blood.

Isabella settled in her room when Sehkhet knocked on the door. Charlie opened it to find her standing there dressed down in jeans, hiking boots, and a heavy coat that showed signs of the weather's all around wetness. Her hair piled on top her head in a braid held in place by several pins and a ribbon the woman somehow weaved through the thick mass of hair and tied neatly into a bow around the bun. He found himself staring so long that her laughter broke him out of the trance. " I had fun with my hair this evening," She addressed the source of his interest. A blush colored his cheeks. " I saw the cruiser returned…Is the elusive daughter finally here?"

Charlie stepped aside to welcome her into the home. She noted the lack of a feminine touch, otherwise deciding that Charlie needed to update the décor to match the current decade. For a man, he kept the place fairly clean and tidy. " I heard you and Miss Bishop have been spending some time together with the local librarian, Mrs. Wathers,"

" Oh, yes. I was simply giving her an oral history of the Egyptian lands as I discovered through my extensive research through the years…She is quite the student," Kheti didn't lie, she and Allison did talk about Ancient Egypt for nearly two hours, and Mrs. Wathers, finally happy to have interested readers, joined in on the conversation with little encouragement. All in all, Kheti liked Forks and the people that inhabited it. She saw why the Cullens settled there, aside from the weather that seemed tailor made for vampires.

" I knew her grandmother when I was a boy. She was like a second mother to me," He shared warmly. " Allison spent the summers with her, and we would often go to the beach to swim. One of my childhood friends still pines after her,"

" I'll be sure to warn her," Kheti teased, half wondering if Charlie retained half the childhood friends given his position as police chief of Forks. Positions of authority often alienated people in varying manners. " To be honest, I find Allison a refreshing change from the usual people. Most people don't care about history, not like they should,"

" If only we learned to not repeat our mistakes,"

" Ah yes, but repeated mistakes are not mistakes. They are choices we willingly make," Kheti pointed out lightly, finding herself missing the closeness she once had with Enzo. Enzo and her used to talk like this all the time, until he got it in his head to overthrow the Volturi. Since then she couldn't even hold his attention long enough to remind him that she was his wife and wanted his attentions, physical and emotional. " If life gave us a manual,"

At this Charlie laughed harshly. " If only," He agreed. " Bella!" He called up the stairs.

An ivory skinned teenage girl with long brown hair and a slender form appeared at the steps. " Yes, Cha-Dad?"

The pain of being addressed by his given name instead of the honorary title of Dad flickered across Charlie's face. Kheti only noticed because she lived longer than most nations. " I want you to meet the neighbors. This is Sehkhet Mariani, she just moved in down the street," Charlie pointed to the woman with burgundy eyes, a pale tan – if that was possible, and an otherwise awe inspiring figure.

" Please call me Kheti," She moved forward past Charlie as Bella almost tripped down the steps. Kheti reached out and held her steady on the bottom step, slightly irritated at the clumsiness of this girl. She didn't let that show as she offered her hand, a hand that Bella shook. " I've heard so much about you from your father. Never heard a prouder father," The blush that praise instigated soon turned ivory skin red until Charlie cleared his throat to save Bella from answering.

Charlie glanced toward the kitchen, where a premade meal rested in the oven ready to be reheated and set out to eat. " I hope you like fish," He smiled at Bella more than Kheti as he said this, now going into the kitchen. The girl moved faster than Kheti expected to head off her father, keeping her precarious balance to the benefit of everyone present.

Lingering back to watch Isabella Swan pull out the fried fish, tossed salad, and vegetable side of green beans and peas, Kheti noted the awkwardness between father and daughter. It pained her to see the pair so distant from one another, yet she couldn't say anything. Ten minutes passed quickly in semi-awkward silence as Bella asked Sehkhet about her name. " An Egyptian American with an Italian name," Kheti agreed humorously. " I agree that it is an odd combination, but I adore Enzo,"

Bella glanced toward Charlie, as if hoping he had something to contribute to the meager conversation.

" Enzo and I met while I was vacationing in Italy," She didn't lie. She'd been traveling at the time from place to place, and Italy happened to be the area that held her interest in 1614. Enzo, at that point, wanted to leave Italy, if only to escape the Volturi's close proximity. Her age long attracted the attention of the Volturi, and as a lone vampire, the Volturi didn't bother her. She volunteered to be a historian for vampire affairs and happened to drop off a report to the Volturi three days prior before meeting Enzo for the first time. " It was love at first sight,"

" First sight?" Bella echoed skeptically.

Kheti tried to not take offense to being considered foolish by someone so young. " Well yes, first sight. The moment his eyes met mine…it was like…the world stopped spinning, and we were paralyzed, mesmerized by each other. The courtship lasted longer than I would have liked, but when he offered his hand in marriage-"

" He's old fashioned," Bella said flatly.

Charlie frowned. " Bella…"

Kheti smiled. " I suppose he is old fashioned. I liked that about him though. Still do," She sat down at the table, finding herself watching Charlie more than Bella. She remembered Charlie's relationship with Renee had been fairly short, even by mortal standards. While Charlie didn't talk about Renee, the town shared information freely if one only knew what tongue to inspire. Forks was like that – and the schools were just as small, although compared to the education I received as a child, theirs was far superior. Having the option of something other than religion, slavery, or being someone's concubine or lover changed one's perspective on living. And marriage. She considered Charlie again. " You don't need to chide her for asking honest questions…I'm an open book,"

Charlie frowned, apparently dissatisfied that Kheti would allow it. " Still-"

" I understand. Might I call you Bella?" After deflecting Charlie, Kheti watched Bella nearly take off a finger tip while chopping up fresh tomatoes to add to the salad.

The girl simply readied the food.

Kheti turned back to Charlie now, as it was clear the teenage girl did not want to talk or socialize. " Aside from old fashioned husbands, I find Forks to be very…comfortable. I haven't had comfortable in a while,"

" I'm sorry to hear that," Charlie said genuinely, biting his lip like he wanted to say something.

Before Kheti could assure him that she was perfectly okay, Bella spoke up. The cold fury echoed in her eyes. " Where is your husband, Mrs. Mariani?" Sehkhet wasn't sure whether to be upset or happy that her full married name had been used.

" He's employed in Spain at the moment," Kheti lied effortlessly. " He's an intelligence network manager. A glorified social worker in a corporate position, more or less," Another half truth.

Enzo networked with people to an end he saw fit and then discarded the connections when they became too hazardous. Since he worked in the shadows, the discarding of former allies often took the form of them being bled dry and their bodies thoroughly destroyed and then the ashes disposed of. When she first met Enzo, his choice in professions did not bother her. Since he's stepped up his obsession with the Volturi, however, he lost himself in the darkness of being a vampire. It saddened her to see him devolve. This must have reflected in her eyes because both Swans softened visibly.

" Will he be visiting you or will you be visiting him?"

" Hopefully he'll be able to give up his job altogether that causes him to travel so that he can settle down with me again," She forced a smile, no longer able to humor even herself. " Have you thought of your future, Bella?"

Bella served up three plates of evenly portioned food. The idea of eating food that tasted like dirt never appealed to Kheti, but she blended in better than most vampires by making that sacrifice. Charlie waited on that answer too as he thanked Bella for finishing what he started and then serving the food. " I don't know what I want to do yet,"

" It doesn't hurt to explore your options while you have the chance to. There is so much you can possibly do that I envy your position. If I had such freedom as you do now when I was a young girl, I would have chosen a different path myself,"

" But you won the lottery,"

" Luck engineered that," She didn't expect to win the lottery, and the money from the winnings of the 300 million jackpot would be supporting her life in Forks. Her salary from the Volturi went to her massive savings secured in the Caymen Island and Swiss banks. " And money doesn't bring happiness. It provides comfort. You have to find happiness on your own terms,"

Charlie nodded, eating the meal that he prided himself on actually cooking well. " Your mother knows how to pursue what makes her happy. You should follow her example," Charlie finally suggested gently.

The teenaged girl wasn't having any of the badgering from her father or the neighbor. She shook her head. " Mom is with Phil, where she wants to be," She answered her father firmly. " I am happy for Mom. Isn't that good enough?"

Sensing she stepped too far into the unknown with her neighbors, Kheti focused on the food before her. She briefly considered asking if she could take it with her since the conversation started to go downhill and rejected that option before it was even a real thought. " Sacrificing your own happiness for someone else's is noble but it hardly does anything for you, and while I'm sure your father is happy that you're here, he also wants you to be happy that you're here…."

" I'm happy to be here," Bella started to argue.

Charlie frowned. A part of him hated that his daughter only spent a month each summer until she was fourteen, then forced him to spend two weeks in California with her for the following three years. He knew she hated the rain and the constant cloudiness, but this was as much her home as it was his. He decided to drop the issue altogether before Sehkhet up set all of them with her idealistic views. He forced down the food, suddenly displeased that he didn't fight Renee harder on custodial rights. " I am happy you're here, Bells. Mrs. Mariani volunteered to drive you to school and pick you up for the first two weeks until Billy has your truck fixed,"

" What truck?" Bella demanded, almost pouting like a spoiled child.

" The truck that Billy sold me," Charlie answered her with a small measure of cheerfulness. " I know it's not what your mother would like you to drive, but this is Forks and you'll be living here until you choose to go back,"

Bella glanced between her father and the Egyptian beauty who stared her down without flinching. " Thank you," Whether she thanked one of them or both, neither knew.

Seeing that she volunteered for babysitting an ungrateful teenager, Kheti finally bit into the food and wished she could taste the actual flavor instead of dirt. The lack of flavor went unnoticed as she engaged both Swans in talking about Forks and its history. Charlie had plenty to stay, while Bella remained silent, as if mourning her voluntary move.