A/N I want to again thank everyone for reviewing. I also want to give a special shout out to You-won't-see-an-iguana-here for being the only person to review every single one of my chapters. And I know this is a little late, well, about eighteen chapters too late, but i wanted to know if you all liked the length of the chapters. I made sure to make them each more than 1,000 words but I'm still not sure if that's a good length for some of you. Let me know what you think.

CHAPTER 20

I sat through three days of my father's teeth grinding screams. We'd finally moved him back to the Cullen house after the initial scream and I'd sat in his room all three days, never leaving. I held his hand the whole time, sometimes crying dryly for the pain he was feeling. Emmett left my side only once, to hunt. It wasn't until he came back after that, on the second day, that I found that the wolves had come back with us and were still here, in the lair of the vampires. Emmett walked in from his hunt, frowning and when I asked what was wrong he told me that Edward was picking fights with the wolves.

Finally, Charlie gave one last scream and opened his eyes. He'd always been handsome in my opinion, but now, he was just like the Cullens, but older. He sat up and looked at us.

"Bella?" he asked. "What's going on?"

"You…do you remember any of it?" I asked quietly.

"I remember…the cruiser, something happened and I went down the ravine. I…I don't know how I got out but I remember floating down the river and then I just…I stopped. Then I heard this really loud howl and then I heard you Bella, you…you were pleading with me. I tried to answer, I did, I just couldn't. And I remember pain, like I've never felt before. What happened to me? Why is everything so clear? Why can I hear so well?"

"Dad, you…remember when Carlisle told you that we couldn't tell you what happened to me?" I asked, trying to work around to the answer.

He thought for a moment, "yes, what about it?"

"Well, let's just say you're allowed to know now," I replied.

His eyes went wide and I almost shuddered to see that they were red. "Okay, so…"

"Well, now you're one of us so… Dad, we're vampires," I blurted, not finding a better way to say it.

"Vampires?" he asked, skeptical.

I nodded, "yes, but we don't drink human blood like other vampires, we drink the blood of animals. Are…are you alright?" I asked.

He nodded, "yeah, it's just…I never believed in stuff like that…and now I'm one of them…but how? How am I a vampire?" he asked.

"Um, well, dad, when we found you…Carlisle said you had a few hours to live. We had to do something so I…you know how Dracula could "change" people? Well, that's what I did, I bit you and my venom changed you into a vampire. And vampires, well, we can see and hear very well, and we can run very fast and we're really strong and we're immortal."

Despite how I thought Charlie would feel, when he smiled I knew that he was okay with his new life. "Does this mean you won't leave?"

I smiled back, "well, we will eventually have to leave dad, but this time, you're going to come with us. We never have to be apart again if you don't want."

Charlie suddenly bounded from the hospital bed he'd been sitting on and was hugging me tightly. "Thank god. I don't know how I would have survived if you had left like you'd planned."

I glanced at Emmett, "um, dad…if…with this new life…you can't go back and see anyone you knew before. You're old life is over. In a month or two we'll be leaving here and probably won't be back for a long time, until everyone we know is dead."

Charlie's eyes filled with surprise and pain, "were you going to do that to me?" he asked. I nodded softly. "But, how…I'll never see Billy again?" he asked.

I smiled now. "Billy is okay, see, Jake and his friends, they aren't normal either. They aren't vampires but they aren't completely human. Billy's known about us for a long time, I don't see why you couldn't see him."

"Bella," Emmett warned.

"Oh, right," I said, remembering that Charlie was a newborn. "Dad, do you feel the thirst yet? Like a burning in your throat?"

He was staring at me, looking completely confused. "Um… no? Really, I feel find. Am I supposed to feel a burning?" he asked.

Carlisle looked between us in amazement. "A genetic lack of thirst?" he said almost to himself. "That's unbelievable."

"I don't understand," Charlie admitted, his expression matching his words.

"Newborn vampires are always really; really thirsty, meaning they have the urge to feed a lot. They have no instincts of humanity; all they want is to drink. You and Bella are the only vampires I've ever met who had no urge to feed constantly. It's almost like you're immune to it…" Carlisle explained.

"Oh, I see. Well, I don't know why we're different, but I have a feeling I'll be glad that we are!" Charlie said, letting his humor overshadow any uncertain feelings he might have.

"I've found it quite useful, especially since this lack of thirst is the reason you and I were able to stay in touch," I replied with a smile.

"Then I'm very glad for this oddity." After a silence Charlie cleared his throat, "so, what do vampires do?"

Emmett and I grinned at each other, "well, really we do whatever we want… but this particular group of vampires will be having a very special event taking place in the near future," I told him.

"Oh?" he asked, arching a brow.

I nodded, "yep, you see, the day you went missing I went to a ball with the Cullens. Almost right before Jake came and told us that you had disappeared, Emmett asked me to marry him," I said.

"Oh Bella! That's wonderful!" Charlie exclaimed, and I was a little surprised to hear that he actually sounded as though he was happy. I'd thought he'd get mad, seeing as I was still so young.

"Really? You really think so?" I asked earnestly.

"Of course! Bella, I always knew you weren't like other girls your age. You're so much more mature, so much more grown up. I've noticed how you and Emmett click so easily and I remember your mother and I, we never had that synchronization that you two obviously have. I can tell you're meant for each other, why would I want you to wait until later to get married?"

"Oh thank you daddy," I said, hugging him tightly. "I was so afraid that you'd be disapproving, that you would tell me that I couldn't marry him."

Charlie hugged me back, "you know, I think maybe, if you were still human…I think maybe I'd have a bigger problem with it. But for some reason, I don't care as much because you're a vampire. Don't ask why, I have no idea, but there it is… Anyway, have you decided on a date?"

"Um, no, we haven't talked about it at all since we got engaged. Believe it or not, we've all been really worried about you."

"Ah, that makes sense. So you don't have any ideas at all?" he asked.

"Really dad, we haven't even thought about it," I replied. "But as soon as we decide we'll tell you. Though, it's not like you won't be around anyway," I teased.

"True but you're all I have Bella, and I want to be involved."

I opened my mouth to reply, but another voice spoke before I could. "Bella isn't all you have Charlie. What about me? I suppose I'm chopped liver now?" Billy demanded from where he was in Jake's arms. Obviously his wheelchair wouldn't have made it up the steps but I still found it disconcerting and rather hilarious to see him in his son's arms like a bride.

Charlie's face broke into a grin, "Billy!" he exclaimed. Jasper made a slight movement to maneuver in between Charlie and the "fragile" human. But Charlie didn't make a move, he stood where he was. "Jake!"

"So what, I'm not important anymore?" Billy asked again.

"I…I didn't…I wasn't thinking I guess. And you aren't chopped liver, I imagine you'd taste much better than that," Charlie joked. I sensed everyone staring at him, but I was watching Jake, who went a little pale and looked at me beseechingly. "I'm joking!" Charlie burst out. "I can't even imagine eating Billy! Can you imagine how he would taste? Like an old stringy moose that was too stressed for too long."

Billy was grinning now and Emmett chuckled.

"Well I will say this for you old man, you sure do look purty!" Billy said with a wink.

"I know right!" Charlie said laughing.

"So you're alright?" Billy asked.

"Yep, right as rain. Why, have you been concerned?" Charlie asked.

"Concerned? We've all been in a state of acute worriment! The entire pack is downstairs right now, waiting to hear what's up!" Billy replied.

" 'The entire pack'? what does that mean?" Charlie asked.

Billy and Jake looked at us, "you didn't tell him about us yet?" Jake asked.

"Jake, we didn't have time! He just came back to himself a little bit ago, and then we had to explain about us and what he was now…I'm sure you would have come up in a while anyway," I replied.

"Well yeah…but…" Jake trailed off, knowing that I was right.

"Jacob, before we get to the part about you, would it be alright if we asked Charlie what happened? I mean, before he forgets all his human memories…just in case?" Carlisle asked. I wasn't the only one to stare at him in surprise. I'd never heard Carlisle ask permission like that before. He usually just did what needed to be done, no questions asked at all.

"Oh, um yeah, I guess that's kind of important huh?" Jake said, letting his humor come back, something I was glad of. We definitely didn't need a gigantic wolf bursting into being in the lair of the vampires.

"Okay, Charlie, I'm going to need you to think really hard. I know it'll be difficult, I still remember trying to bring up my own memories when I was first turned. They will probably be blurry and incoherent. But I really think it's important to know how and why your cruiser was found in that ravine…why you were found so far away, almost dead," Carlisle said.