A/N: Okay this chapter is short but I don't feel bad after the mammoth chapter you got this weekend ;)

Confrontation coming soon! Hope you enjoy :)

Chapter 14 – Goodbye Charlie

As I approached the house, I saw Charlie standing out front with Billy and Jacob Black. I knew I would have to wait until they were gone. The Blacks would only bring one more complication that I did not need. Jacob and Billy were nice enough, however, I needed as few people as possible knowing that I was back. Moreover, I knew that they hated the Cullens and vampires in general and I did not need that complication. I sniffed the air carefully and smelled the repugnant smell of werewolf in the air. I looked at Jacob with amusement. All the signs were there. The moment my scent hit him, his face contorted with pain and disgust.

So quietly that only a person with enhanced hearing could perceive, he said into the night air, "What is your business here, vampire?"

I carefully disguised my voice and softly said, "Dog - I am here to collect evidence for the Volturi. I will not harm this man or any other human in this area. You have nothing to fear from me."

He looked into the woods towards my voice, after a moment relaxed his posture, and returned to the conversation. Jacob quickly pushed the conversation to an end and rushed his father away from the house. Apparently, Jacob knew of the impending fight and understood why the Volturi would be collecting evidence. He just did not realize that I was not there to observe him, but to say goodbye to my father. Once they were completely out of sight, I took a deep breath and walked out of the forest towards my father.

As I approached, Charlie froze to the step where he was standing. Everything in his body tensed. The police chief in him was reacting to sight of such an oddly dressed individual wandering out of the woods but not appearing to be lost. Once I was close enough, I slowly brought my hands up to my hood and gently lowered it. Charlie gasped in and held his breath. He began to get red from the lack of airflow.

Quickly I said, "Charlie, breathe!"

He let out the held breath and slowly took a few more before he shakily said, "Bella?"

The shock was evident on his face. After giving him a chance to get a few more breaths in, I walked towards him and carefully wrapped my arms around him. He flinched at my cold temperature, but hugged me back with what I imagined to be all the force he had.

As I held my father, I whispered, "I love you, Dad. I'm so sorry."

For a long time, Charlie held me in his arms, alternating between hugging me tightly, kissing my forehead, and looking at me with disbelief. After a moment, tears silently streamed down his face. Finally, he held me at arms length and said, "Bella, we thought… we thought we'd lost you, honey. I feel like I am dreaming again. I used to dream that you would come back and walk through the door even though I knew the chances of you being all right were almost non-existent. Eventually, though we… we had to let go and try to move on. Renee - I should call your mother."

I grabbed Charlie's arm with just enough force that he could not get loose, but not to the point where I was hurting him. Then, I said quickly, "Dad, you can't call her or tell her I'm here. She would never be able to handle it. I shouldn't even be here. I just couldn't let you think that I was dead. But Dad, you can't call Mom, she can't know."

Once he recovered from the shock, he looked at me expectantly and said, "Why, Bells? I thought you were dead. I thought I would never see you again."

I looked at Charlie and said, "Dad, I live in a very different world from the one you know. One I cannot tell you about. What you need to know is that I am safe, happy, and healthy. Beyond that, there is not much else I can say. Someday, if I can, I will explain. As to why I left, I can tell you part of that story. I left to protect myself and someone else that I care for deeply. Beyond that again, I cannot explain."

Charlie looked at me with a hard, calculating expression. He knew I was not telling him the truth but he also wasn't sure he wanted the whole story.

Finally, curiosity got the best of me and I asked him, "Dad, how much do you know about Jacob Black?"

Charlie grimaced and paled at Jacob's mention.

Finally, with a very meaningful expression, he said, "I know what they are and that they would do anything to protect their people."

I looked at him shrewdly and said, "You know WHAT they are?"

Charlie looked back at me in shock, and said, "They really couldn't hide it from me anymore when I tried to arrest one of them for a crime they didn't commit. Jacob has been their liaison since the day he phased in front of me."

He shrugged apologetically and I laughed. My father had been introduced to the world of the supernatural.

I breathed, smiled back at my father warmly, and said, "Dad, I can't tell you the whole truth but I can tell you that my world is a lot more like Jacob's than yours."

Charlie looked at me and choked out, "You don't turn into an animal, do you?"

I laughed and said, "No, Dad, I'm another class all together."

Something clicked in my father's head.

He gasped and spat out, "Cold one!"

I solemnly nodded and said, "Dad, I love you, but now you understand. I cannot be a part of your life. Just knowing what I am is risking your life. Being involved in my life would mean your death. I came here to say goodbye to you, so you wouldn't wonder anymore. I wanted to give you as much closure as I could. I know it is not enough but it is all I can do. I love you, Dad."

With that, I threw my arms around my father and hugged him gently before I turned and ran at my full speed out the door.

I barely had time to get my cloak on before I had three werewolves standing in front of me. The middle one looked at me warily and phased. I couldn't help but laugh. Jacob Black was standing in front of me in human form without a stitch of clothing on. I suppose others would find his chiseled physique alluring, but the only feeling I had was one of amusement and awkwardness.

Jacob growled at me and I said, "Do not worry about Chief Swan. I did not harm him. You may go speak to him if you like, Jacob, but you will need to block your mind from Edward if you do that. I would prefer that you not speak to him at all until I leave the area."

Jacob looked at me in complete shock. He was confused as to how I knew his name and why I had such an intimate knowledge of how he would need to stop Edward. His confusion made his lack of clothing even more comical. It was all I could do to not laugh. The only thing that kept me in check was the teeth that I knew came with his shape shifter abilities. I rather liked being in one piece and I was reasonably certain that antagonizing a werewolf was a bad idea.

Suddenly, Charlie stepped out of the darkness behind me. I had been so wrapped up in my conversation that I had not heard him approach us.

Charlie addressed the wolves and said, "Jake, don't worry about it. This vampire was here to find out about Bella. She will not harm us. Let her go back."

I turned my back on the wolves and looked at Charlie. He was holding back tears as he looked into my face. My jovial mood disappeared at the sight of my father almost in tears again.

I mouthed, "I love you," at him and then ran towards the hotel.

Returning to Forks was a bad idea. The memories were coming hard and fast and I could not handle them all. My heart was breaking into pieces all over again. I thought that nothing could hurt worse than losing Edward, but saying goodbye to all of my ties to my human life was tearing me apart. I began to realize that I had been living for my daughter. Renesmee had kept me from falling apart completely. However, now my daughter was a grown woman and she would be leaving me soon, I was going to have to really deal with everything I left behind here, finally. This was just the tip of the iceberg. I was going to have to deal with all the pain I had been holding back from losing Edward and the rest of my human life. I did not blame my daughter for my lost life, but for once, I wished that things had been different for me. I knew from what Jane told me that as an immortal there was no end, just countless years where I would have nothing to distract myself from the pain of losing the love of my life.

As the sky began to lighten, I started to force myself back into composure. Soon enough I was going to be able to let myself be overcome with the grief I was feeling, but today I was going to have to keep myself together for my daughter and my family. I would not allow my feelings to get in the way of protecting the ones I loved. Suddenly, I heard a knock on my door and Alec walked into the room. I stood up straight and became a guard of Volturi for one last time. This time not serving out justice to the outside world, but protecting Volterra from the threat from within the castle walls. I walked out the door at Alec's side, and we left the hotel to face our fates.

And the evil cliffie fairy strikes again ;)

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