Disclaimer: Not Mine. Do we have to go over this again?
Summary: See previous chapters.

Charlie Swan

I love my daughter, even if I'm not good at showing it.

Renee left when Bella was barely a year old, and all in all I saw her for less than two of the next sixteen years. I was nervous as all Hell when she called and asked if I minded her coming to live with me. It's a good thing that she asked over the phone, because I was doing a very undignified happy-dance at the news.

The thing was, I had no idea about living with a teenaged girl. I told everyone I knew about Bella coming, in the hopes that they could give me advice. I didn't bother asking Renee; a slab of granite could see that Bella was the parent in their relationship. In the end, all I could do was my uncertain best.

Bella takes after me the most; quiet, a need for occupation, happiest when left to our own devices, but so very passionate with our emotions. Whether it is love, grief or anything else, we feel with all that we are.

I know what most people think of me, but you don't get to be Chief of Police without serious observational skills. I knew that there was something wrong with the Cullen's, but Bella seemed so happy when she was with Edward, so I let it go, despite every instinct that screamed at me to get her as far away from them as possible.

I'm not used to failing at protecting people, but I failed Bella. The person who meant the most to me in all the world, and I failed her miserably. Leaving her in the woods was the least he did to her, and he broke far more than my daughter's heart that day.

I've seen some bad things during my years in the force, but none of it could compare to the empty look on Bella's face as Sam Uley carried her out of the woods.

I'm a cop, and a fairly peaceful man, but I had never wanted to shoot someone so badly as that moment. Edward Cullen was very lucky that he wasn't within a hundred yards of my gun.

Bella is hopeless at lying, and I knew that she wasn't automatically better after I threatened to send her to Jacksonville with Renee. Still, she seemed to be trying to recover and was actually making an effort at life. I was thrilled that Bella wanted to stay, and that Jake was slowly picking up the pieces.

I was scared out of my mind when I came home from Harry's Funeral, to find a panicking Jacob and a message saying that Alice Cullen needed her help. Bella was an adult, and had gone of her own free will, so the best I could do was call a few of my counterparts in LA and ask them to keep an eye out. I spent three hours calming Jake down, and then all I could do was sit back and worry for the next three days.

I had never been so relieved when the Cullen kids pulled up with Bella, even if the sight of HIM carrying her, half-dead and incoherent with exhaustion, gave me horrible flashbacks to the night he left her.

The first few years after Renee left, I would have taken her back in an instant, so I knew that Bella would forgive the boy for what he put her through, and there was nothing I could do about it. Encouraging her bond with Jake and making sure that Cullen knew that not everyone was as forgiving of his actions was the only thing that made me feel less helpless.

I couldn't deny her when Edward asked for my blessing, even if I did have a few misgivings, and I smiled when she asked me not to let her trip as I walked her down the isle.

I can't say I was surprised when Bella came back from her honeymoon and was promptly quarantined with some exotic sickness. If I hadn't known better, I would have sworn Bella was the lovechild of Luck and Murphy; everything bad just seemed to gravitate her way.

I was suspicious when I was introduced to Renesme. There was very little of Edward in her and a lot of Bella, and as much as I pitied the girl for her name, it was an obvious mix of Renee and Esme. Edward only met Bella two years ago, and I couldn't see Edward's "brother" naming his daughter after some lady he didn't know. Still, I didn't have any other theories, so I let it go.

When Jake turned into a Werewolf, and told me that the Cullens were vampires, I knew that there was something big going on, and that Bella was at the centre of it. I wanted to jump in and protect her, but in these cases, the fewer people that know, the better.

I could never abandon Bella, so I asked for a need-to-know basis. This is something that I can't help with, and Bella and her in-laws need to focus on whatever is coming, not feel guilty over hiding things from me.

I love my daughter, even if I'm not good at showing it, but the best I can do is let her live her life, and be there when she needs me.

twi

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A/N: I don't think Charlie got enough credit in the books. My Dad and I have a similar relationship; he wasn't there for a lot of my childhood (his job requires a lot of travel), I have a very self-sufficient personality, and we are happier going for a walk or reading in the lounge room, than talking about stuff, but that doesn't make him an indifferent parent. I always thought that Charlie loved Bella; he just wasn't sure how to show it.

As always, Reviews are very much appreciated.
Thanks, Nat.