A/N: Oh man, I am so sorry you guys! It's been ages since I've updated this story, I know, I know! I have been completely slammed with school, and I just haven't really had any spare time and energy to put into my stories. I suck, I know.

Hopefully this will make up for it...

Previously:

Bella's shoulders began to shake and I saw tears dripping from beneath her lashes. "I've ruined your future, haven't I?" she whimpered brokenly.

"Hey," I said, dipping my finger beneath her chin and bringing her eyes up to meet mine. "You are my future, Bella. This may not be the adventure we had in mind, but this is the adventure we have now, and I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Bella's beautiful brown eyes softened and I watched her mouth quiver. "I love you, Edward," she said.

"I love you too, Bella. We'll be okay, I know it. We'll be better than okay," I told her, bringing her in for a kiss.

We certainly had our work cut out for us.

And now I will begin this chapter with a point of view I have never done before, so I hope I do it justice.

Charlie POV

It was Saturday, and I was lonely. Since I'd kicked Bella out of the house, things had been awful quiet around here. The dishes were piled up in the sink with crusty and moldy leftovers taking over the fridge. I didn't even bother to eat at home now that she was gone, instead opting to order a pizza or grab some grub down at the diner. The only thing I bothered to stock the fridge with was beer.

Sitting here all alone on a Saturday, watching a football game all by myself, feeling horrible about kicking out my one and only child was not my idea of a good time. My best friend Billy and his son thought I was an idiot for making Bella leave, and I agreed with them.

But, dammit, I'd told them not to mess around in my house! I was her damn father, and I should be able to have some say in her life, shouldn't I? She'd disobeyed me and what's worse, I'd thought that Edward kid had been a good guy up until I found him in bed as naked as a jaybird with my precious baby girl.

Ridiculous. I was so angry to see my sweet little girl naked with a boy. I couldn't believe that anybody would dare to lay a hand on her under her father's roof, and I wanted to make damn sure that she knew how disrespectful that bit of business really was.

I mean, sure, maybe kicking her out while she was still in high school was rough, but a man had to have some pride, didn't he? I couldn't allow her to try and pull one over on me, no way. This was serious business, and the last thing I wanted was for her to get her heart broken like I had happen to me when Renee up and left.

That thought led me down the bitter path of memory lane, and that was the last place I wanted to be. I swigged the rest of my beer and tossed the can on the table, belching. This was bullshit; I needed Bella to come back and make this house feel like a home again.

I'd just about made up my mind to go and apologize to her when a small knock sounded on the front door. My depressed demeanor lifted and an air of authority came over me as I anticipated one of my officers coming to give me some news, but when I opened the door I saw how wrong I was.

"What are you doing here, Renee?" I asked in an unpleasant voice. I still loved this woman, but she was such a flake back when we were together. Regardless, I'd never gotten over her or how she'd left me.

It occurred to me that I hadn't been able to tell her about Bella and That-Boy-Whose-Hands-I-Wanted-to-Cut-Off, but that wasn't my fault. I'd been calling her almost every day for the past two weeks, but her phone was shut off and she didn't have a forwarding number...that was just like Renee, always a ditz.

"I came here to see you," she said softly, her eyes downcast in a look of embarrassment. My cop's curiosity was piqued now, so I opened the door wider and let her come in. I inhaled deeply as she passed, taking in the old familiar scent of jasmine and spice. This surprised me, because it was the perfume that I used to buy for her when we were together over eleven years ago. As far as I'd known, she'd stopped wearing it after she left me.

"What do you want?" I demanded after she sat down. Renee's hands were clasped in her lap and I noticed then that she wasn't wearing her engagement ring anymore. My curiosity grew even more. One of her hands came up and brushed through the long brown hair that she'd passed on to our daughter. Her blue eyes looked strained and hopeful, and I was just too confused.

"Are you here to talk about Bella?" I asked, edging back over to my chair. I watched her eyes take in the mess surrounding me: piles of discarded bills, an old stack of fishing magazines, and a coffee table covered in empty beer cans. I winced, realizing how depressing this scene looked. I reached for the remote and clicked off the television so I could train my attention on her completely.

"What? Bella? No... I'm here to talk to you," she said, her voice shaking slightly.

"About what?" I asked, surprised.

Her hands were twisted around the ribbon on her sun dress now. She refused to look at me. "I...I broke up with Phil," she reluctantly admitted.

The silence grew. I finally brought myself to inquire: "Why?"

Crickets. Tumbleweeds. Whistling empty wind.

"Because...because I realized something that shocked the living hell out of me," she grumbled, looking embarrassed again.

I groaned. I hated trying to get information out of Renee when she was being like this. "What is it, then?"

"I realized that I missed you. I've been running away from you all this time, Charlie. I've been such an idiot! I wasn't ready to be a wife and a mother so fresh out of high school, but I thought I could do it...for you. But I was wrong, and I wasn't able to be the wife that you deserved and the mother that Bella deserved. I should have told you that, but instead I ran...I just told you that it was Forks I wanted out of, but the truth was, I wanted to live a little before I settled down," she admitted in a windy gush of words.

I sat back, totally off-my-rocker stunned. What the fuck was this? "Hush...so it took you eleven fucking years to come to this realization, huh?" I finally growled. My hands gripped the armrests on my chair and I could see my knuckles whitening with the pressure.

She looked chagrined. "I know, I'm so stupid, Charlie. I just didn't really let myself think about it until Phil and I were getting closer to the wedding, you know? He kept pressuring me to pick a date and all of that, but I kept putting it off. I didn't realize what I really wanted until I went on this week-long trip to the forest to meditate and fast..." she trailed off at the murderous look on my face. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, the entire week, all I could think about or dream about was how safe and loved you always made me feel."

"So you think you can just come back after all these years and pick up where you left off?" I shouted incredulously, pushing myself up out of my chair in my anger.

She licked her lips nervously as her eyes darted up over my towering height. "I...I...please just listen to me, okay?" she pleaded, her eyes filling with tears. "I was an idiot. I was selfish and young and confused and I just needed to clear my head, but the longer I stayed away, the harder it was to swallow my pride and come back."

I slumped back into my chair, feeling the wind taken out of my angry sails at the sight of her tears. "Go on," I sighed tiredly. I brushed my hands over my eyes, trying to keep myself from the sadness I saw on her face.

"After my trip, I knew that the only thing worse than swallowing my pride and risking rejection would be spending the rest of my life alone, knowing that I'm still in love with you but that I couldn't get past my own shit to come back and try to make it work," she finished, her voice deepening with conviction.

I sighed again and looked at her. She looked completely sincere and heartbroken, but I wasn't sure I was ready to comfort her yet. "So, you think you're still in love with me?" I asked.

She nodded, her eyes showing a hint of the spark that I'd fallen in love with all those years ago. "Is it...too late?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"I don't know, Renee. I just don't know," I told her, hoping to convey the fact that I still loved her, but that I wasn't sure we could work this out after so long.

She stood up and walked over to me, her compact frame still lithe and graceful as always. I felt the familiar stir of desire that had driven me to such distraction in our youth as my eyes ran over her, taking in the sight of her breasts displayed beautifully by her red dress. Her legs were long, slender, and tanned. She smiled a little bit when my eyes returned to hers. "I've missed you, Charlie," she whispered huskily as she reached a hand out to me.

Damning myself to hell as the biggest idiot that ever walked, I reached out and gripped her hand in mine, tugging her into my lap. I buried my nose into her hair and inhaled deeply. I knew she could feel me harden in response to her scent, because she began squirming on my lap.

"Maybe we'll be okay, after all," she breathed before kissing me softly.

BPOV

A few weeks following Edward's disappointing news about quitting the team, I was spending a Saturday alone cleaning our apartment. The dishes had piled up over the course of our busy week, and the bathroom was filthy. I'd always thought Edward was a tidy soul like me, but I was apparently wrong; his clothes were piled on the bedroom floor and his sticky dishes were strewn across the living room. I huffed in irritation as I wandered around, picking up after my lovely boyfriend.

I had the music blasting through the DVD player while I cleaned, but over the noise I heard an insistent knock on the door. I crossed the living room and pulled it open, expecting my girls to be there with some silly girl day planned.

Instead, I saw my mother standing there looking completely radiant with a determined smile on her face. "Mom?" I asked, aware that I hadn't spoken to her since before this whole mess happened. "What are you doing here?"

"I brought you something," she said with a laugh. I gave her a confused look and she smiled brightly as she reached out and pulled my father into view by his ear. His face contorted in pain and embarrassment, but I noticed that he, too, looked better than I had seen him in some time.

"Dad? What's going on?" I asked. I hadn't seen or spoken to Charlie since the night he'd kicked me out, and I was completely floored to see him here now.

My mother released his ear and he stood in front of me, shuffling from foot to foot. He looked like a little boy who had been caught doing something naughty. "I came here to apologize," he grumbled under his breath.

My mouth dropped open in shock and I stepped back to let my parents into the apartment. I whispered a silent thank you up to the heavens that I was done cleaning in the main living area. I gestured to the couch and they both sat down, looking around before looking back at me. "Would you like anything to drink?" I offered, struggling to remember my manners.

"No, thank you," Renee replied with a beatific smile. She sure was happy, and I wondered why. I noticed that they were sitting on the same couch, close. Very close.

"Your dad has something to say," she informed me. I nodded dumbly and sank into the easy chair next to the television.

Charlie looked extremely uncomfortable, but he began to speak once my mom reached out and pinched him on the shoulder. "The thing is...I'm sorry for kicking you out. I shouldn't have. I reacted out of anger, and I wasn't thinking. Your mom and I want you to come back home," he said without looking at me.

I gasped, I gaped, and I looked like a dumbfounded idiot. "What? You want me to come home?" I asked, incredulous.

Charlie's head shot up and his anger flared a little. "I want you to stop this nonsense and get back on track with your future. That's what I want, young lady!" he growled.

Renee, ever the peacemaker, chimed in. "Hey, now, hey now. Let's just calm down. We need to talk about this like adults, okay?" she soothed.

I leaned back in my seat and Charlie did the same. He wouldn't look at me and I sighed miserably, my shoulders slumping as I remembered my conversation with Edward from a few weeks before. "You're right, Dad. I'm sorry. The truth is I should be the one apologizing to you. I shouldn't have done...that...in your house and I know now how disrespectful it was," I said timidly, my cheeks flushing in shame.

I looked up at him in the silence and saw both surprise and approval coloring my parents' expressions. "We're impressed," Renee said with a grin. "Who knew living on your own for a while would help you grow up so much?"

I snorted. My mother telling me how impressed she was that I was turning into a grown-up was incredibly hilarious. Charlie noticed my sarcastic expression and cut me off before I could say anything. "Remember who you're talking to," he warned with stern eyes.

Renee reached over and patted his arm, smiling at him sweetly. I felt confusion take over. "It's okay, honey. Bella's right; I haven't been the best example of mature adulthood. It just takes some of us longer than others, baby girl. I'm impressed because it took you about, oh, eleven years, two months, and four days less time than it took me to figure it all out," she said with a self-deprecating laugh.

Honey? What the hell was going on here? "Uh, what's going on here?" I asked, gesturing between the two of them to indicate their befuddling body language.

My mother blushed beautifully, completely unlike my hideous beet red blush, and looked down at her lap. My father reached over and slipped her hand into his. "Your mother and I are back together," he informed me with a confident smile on his face.

What the...? But my brain didn't even finish that thought, because the door opened and Edward came striding in.

"Honey, I'm hoooooome!" he belted in a horrible Ricky Ricardo accent as he smiled at me. My eyes widened as I tried to motion to my parents, whom he obviously hadn't noticed when he came in.

"Hello, Edward," my mother said calmly with a smile.

Edward's eyes darted to my parents in surprise. My dad looked like he wanted to kill him and my mother looked like she wanted to hug him. "Um, hi..." he said uncomfortably.

A/N: Random, innit? I really wanted to try something different with Charlie and Renee. Everyone breaks em up, but I thought it would be fun to put em back together. Thoughts? I really hope you liked it. :-/