Chapter Nine: Healing

"Here you are, my dears," the waitress announced as she set down the eighth pair of cups of hot tea.

Maya thanked the woman with a smile, Bella with a nod. As another customer called for the waitress' attention and she hurried away, Bella glanced over at Maya. "How much time have we wasted now?"

Maya sighed gently and took what must have been the seventieth look at her watch. "Two hours."

"How much longer will it take him to get here?" Bella grumbled. Her companion laid a quiet hand on hers. "He's busy, Bella. You know that. He'll be here as soon as he can."

It may have been true, but it was hard to believe at the moment. Maya squeezed the lemon into Bella's tea and stirred it for her. Bella took the cup up, still sulky. "It was his idea."

Maya smiled inwardly. Did Bella believe he had enough imagination to think of it himself?

"I mean, seriously. Did he just plan all of this and then chicken out?"

Maya laid a hand on Bella's arm. "Honey…" The doors of the restaurant opened once more, and this time, Edward passed through. Bella was no longer looking up, so he met only Maya's eyes. "Will you be all right?" she asked Bella one final time, who nodded. She rubbed Bella's shoulder and got out of the booth, and exited quietly with Edward.

"What's going on?" he asked, as soon as they got out.

Maya looked around, smiling at known passersby, and led Edward further along the street before dishing. "Remember how she was going to have dinner with her father?"

"Yeah, of course."

"He's got caught up in something, and he has to be there 'til it gets cleared up."

"How long has it been?"

"Two hours."

Edward whistled. "Has he said what's delaying him?"

"No. I don't suppose you could…"

He shook his head. "It wouldn't help anything."

"I thought not." Maya sighed. "He really does love her. You know that."

"Yes."

"It's just that he doesn't know how to show it. Even his wife. "

"Ex-wife."

"Yes," Maya sighed. "I feel sorry for her. My parents don't quite like each other sometimes—they're so different, and both so set in their ways—but they always get along with each other, and they love me. But Bella—Charlie's always been about his work, and her mother just goes off and does what she wants, so nobody's really there for Bella."

Edward tightened his grip on her arm. "We're here for her now."

Maya beamed up at him. "Yes. We are."

"Evening," said a gruff voice near them.

Edward turned swiftly. "Chief Swan."

"Call me Charlie," he replied. "You've taken care of my girl and Maya long enough to have earned it. It's good to see you." He clapped Edward on the back. "So you two have been keeping Bella company while I've been working? Let me tell ya, it was a real pileup. Taking statements, nobody knew what happened. This fog. Two people sent to the hospital—cuts and bruises, but one was anemic and the other was a little old lady, so we had to make sure. And it's already been a hell of a day."

"But you didn't tell Bella anything about the accident," said Maya. She remembered that Bella had received a call at the beginning of their wait, that Charlie had been held up in something and didn't know how late he'd be. As time had passed, Bella had begun to worry that Charlie was using that as an excuse to back out of the dinner, and nothing Maya said could convince her otherwise.

"No. I didn't see any reason to. No matter what the problem is, I'm a police officer and I have to see it through. Bella knows that."

"Yes, well. It would have helped…" Bella didn't know how best to phrase what she wanted to say. She silently appealed to Edward.

"Bella might not have worried so much if she'd realized how serious the problem was," the young man said after a moment, as quietly as he could.

Charlie turned grave. "Oh. Oh, she's—" He gave a hand to Maya. "Thanks for waiting with her. I don't know what we'd do without you. Have a good night." He hurried into the diner.

The pair watched him go.

"He'll figure it out one day, won't he?" said Maya quietly.

Edward chuckled. "You'd have to ask Alice about that. But yeah, I think he'll do fine."

Inside, Bella nearly upset her cup and saucer at the sight of her father, and he nearly smothered her with a tight hug. "Been telling Maya and Ed outside. Four-way crash, just as I was about to clock in. Can you imagine. Had to stay and help it get sorted out. Otherwise I would've been here hours ago, Bel, you know that."

"Maya and Edward?" The temporary lack of oxygen hadn't affected Bella's thinking.

"Yeah. He's walking her home, I should think. Getting dark out."

Bella bolted out of her seat, but Charlie grabbed her arm. "It's ok. Maya's with him. Honey." She met his eyes. "It's okay."

At the risk of making too much of a scene, Bella bit her lip and buckled down. "They do this every time," she gritted out so only he could hear.

"Do what?"

"Go off together. I always think—I never know what to think."

Charlie watched her steadily. "So you do like Edward."

Bella laughed mirthlessly. "God, yeah, Dad! He's only my boyfriend. What did you think?"

"Well, how would I know?" he replied archly. "You don't bring him over to the house. You don't bring anyone over, come to think of it. You kids all hang out everywhere but in houses."

"Woods," said Bella, and downed the rest of her now-stone-cold tea. "There are a lot of woods. And the beach. I didn't have a lot of those in Arizona. I thought it was healthier to stay outdoors. And we go on the Quileute reservation all the time."

"Yeah, about that. Billy and I used to kid each other while we were watching you and Jacob play together, that maybe the two of you'd give us grandkids one day."

Bella choked, and hid her face in her napkin as the waitress approached with an "Everything all right?"

Bella blinked rapidly and nodded.

"Well then, do you folks just want something to wet your whistles and I can come back later, or are you ready for dinner now?"

Charlie looked to Bella, who'd recovered by now. "Yeah, I'll just have a veggie burger."

Charlie smiled. "The usual, please, Cora."

"All right." The waitress took down the orders and smiled at Bella. "And your favorite for dessert. Berry cobbler, remember? Your dad still has it. Every Thursday."

This made Bella stare at her father for a good long while after Cora had gone away. "I haven't had berry cobbler since I was seven."

"Everybody remembers you. See here"—he gestured to a thin, very bald man at the bar, nursing a beer and swiveling on his seat—"Waylan was the last Santa you saw here. I bet he made an impression."

"Butt-Crack Santa?"

They had a good laugh at that, but then Bella turned serious again. She thought she was just beginning to see… She cleared her throat. "So. Besides eat berry cobbler, what did you used to do when I wasn't here?"

"Read all your letters. Emails. Showed them to everyone. They always wanted to hear from you. You had a real bright smile when you were a kid. We used to spend all year making plans so you'd have the best time when you were here. Everybody had ideas. But then you stopped coming." Charlie looked away, biting his knuckle. After a time, he said, "Your mom and I… We were never gonna work out. I realized that a long time ago. But I didn't want to leave you. Every day I woke up here, all I could think of was when I could see you again."

Bella could feel her eyes beginning to smart. She had a habit of crying silently since she was a kid, because she always felt like her mother took it personally when she found her crying. She'd never felt the need to cry when she was with her dad. That she could remember clear enough. "Do you want me to stay?" And there, her voice cracked. "I mean, Mom's fine where she is, and she's got Phil with her. I don't need to go back until…ever." Real eloquent, she thought to herself. "She doesn't need me, I can go to a college near here…"

Charlie was watching her, with his eyes full. She trailed off. "Would you want to? Stay with me? I mean, Lord knows I don't have much to offer, I work too long and I really don't know anything about cooking or cleaning or schoolwork or, or teenagers… But if you'd stay, I'd try and change that. If you want."

Bella managed a smile. "I want my dad. That's all I'm asking."

And it was like a light went on inside him. "All right."

Meanwhile, Maya and Edward had been taking the long way back to her house. They had important matters to discuss, namely Bella, vampirism, and the mutual exclusivity of the two.

"Are you guys that serious?" Maya asked cautiously.

Edward sighed happily. "Yeah. I think so." He thought a moment. "Well. I am. She's got time to think about it. It's at least a few years until we stop looking the same age. It's not that I'd mind; I just think we'd just have a tough time, getting looked at weird for all eternity."

Maya giggled.

"And of course, she doesn't have to turn. Even though it would…really suck if she died." He stopped and scuffed at the ground. "I love her, you know. I don't want to force her into anything, especially not something as serious as immortality."

"I believe you."

"And I'm not asking you to plead my case or anything—"

"Good, because I won't."

He smiled at that. "I know what you're thinking. Well, obviously I can tell what you're thinking, but more than anything, I can predict what you're gonna say. This is something Bella has to decide for herself, without any other influence. It's just that—everyone in my family, when they met the people who ended up being their mates, they just knew. On both sides. They'd found that other half. When I met Bella, I had a feeling. When I got to know her, when you came along and helped us together, I was sure. But because I can't read her mind, I had no idea of—I still have no idea—Does she love me?" And he actually stopped and waited for a reply.

Maya shrugged. "I can't read her mind any more than you can, sorry to say. I'm pretty sure she does, but—what is it you need an idea of?"

"If it's real. On her side, that is. If it's just hormones or if we really wouldn't get along after all… I don't want her making the wrong choice if that means being with me and not being happy. I'd never want that. This is a risk. A huge risk, an investment. I understand that, and it's awful that I can't imagine what Bella's going through right now, because Carlisle never gave me the choice. But when he met Esmée, he laid it all out for her. She knew what she was getting into, and she wanted it. And they've never regretted it.

"It's not like vampires need mates, any more than people need to get married or couple up. It just helps to have someone with you. And it doesn't even really make sense for vampires to get mates, when they could have their pick of any human in all the generations. I don't need Bella, to carry on existing. In theory, eventually I could find someone who'd suit me even better than Bella. But. I don't care. I want her. I can't imagine wanting anybody but her. Ever."

Maya couldn't think of anything to say, so she just gave Edward a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, which he accepted with a low chuckle. As they walked on, Edward turned introspective, as if waiting for something. Maya waited for an explanation as to whatever the 'something' was. Finally, he turned to her and said, "Act surprised when Bella tells you tomorrow."

"Tells me what?"

"She finally had that heart-to-heart with Charlie. She's staying in Forks until further notice."

"¡Ay, gracias a Dios! He really needs her."

"I know." A sudden grin lit up Edward's face. "I told you they were gonna be fine."