Chapter 7

Newborn Charlie

Seeing Charlie as a vampire felt strangely "normal". Aside from physical changes, such as his pale, ice cold skin and his red eyes, he seemed to still be the same Charlie.

The transformation did not seem to bother him, he asked no questions nor did he comment on what had just happened. His only concern seemed to be Renesmee.

As he got up from the bed, which he would no longer need for the rest of his "life", he looked at me, as if he was seeing me for the first time. He just stared for a while and then spoke.

"Bells, I missed most of your childhood; that is the one thing that I ever regretted. Please, don't make me regret missing Nessie's too. You know I won't hurt her."

I just looked down, as I didn't know what to say. Unfortunately, Alice could not have visions about Renesmee, so there was no way of knowing if Charlie would be a danger to her. However, Charlie was right, I couldn't just keep him away from Renesmee; we had to at least try to see how he would react to her.

Carlisle was amazed with how smooth and fast Charlie's transformation had occurred. Charlie was calm, and seemed to be in control of his actions. Maybe he would be able to control himself around Renesmee after all.

I suggested to Carlisle and Edward that we brought Renesmee to see Charlie, there were enough of us to stop Charlie if anything went wrong; besides, I could use my own power, my shield, to protect her, if there was a need to.

Edward hesitated, but he finally agreed to it, as long as Carlisle and Emmett each stood next to Charlie. Charlie started laughing at our plans to shield Renesmee from him.

"Bells, how can you even think I would hurt Nessie? That is the most insane thing that I have ever heard."

Carlisle started laughing along with Charlie and then turned to me.

"The Swan's certainly have a certain predisposition to accepting the vampire world, don't they?… I think he will be fine Bella, but I would like to take him hunting before he sees Nessie, just as a precaution."

I agreed; that seemed like a good plan. At least Charlie would not be thirsty. I figured while they were out hunting, Edward and I could prepare Renesmee to see Charlie.

Carlisle and Charlie went hunting right away. Carlisle said they would go hunting close by, so they would only be gone for a few hours. In a way, I wish I had gone, it would be interesting to see Charlie hunting for the first time, but I am sure that Carlisle would share the details later on.

Edward and I went to Renesmee's room. She was awake, playing with Rosalie. I sat on the floor right next to her. Rosalie left the room to give us some privacy.

"Nessie, honey, we need to talk about grandpa."

"Are we going to see him today?" She asked in an excited voice.

"You will." I assured her, and she smiled. "…but grandpa Charlie is a little different now."

She looked curious now. "How is he different?"

"He is more like us now. He will be around more, and he will be able to go hunting with you."

"REALLY?!" I guess I should not have made this sound so fun for her.

Then Edward quickly interrupted.

"Nessie, it is possible that grandpa is a little grumpy at first, he is new to all of this. We just want you to understand that if he gets a little moody, you may have to stay away for a little while, until he gets used to everything."

In the most confident voice, she said, "Daddy, it is grandpa, he doesn't get grumpy around me… We are going to have so much fun hunting!"

Edward just shook his head and smiled, then looked at me and whispered.

"I hope she is right, no one will be able to keep her away from Charlie."

About two hours later, Rosalie came and asked if she could take Renesmee outside to play for a little while. Rosalie communicated with Edward through her thoughts that Carlisle and Charlie were back.

Renesmee went to play with Rosalie, while Edward and I went to check on Charlie, who was with Carlisle in his study.

We walked in to Carlisle's study, and noticed that Charlie was in an excellent mood. Charlie was now wearing something that was clearly picked out by Alice, way too dressed up for Charlie.

"So, how did it go?" Edward asked, curious and eager for details.

Carlisle answered before Charlie had a chance to open his mouth.

"It went great. He is a natural… he even got lucky; his first prey was a bear... Charlie will be Emmett's new best friend."

We all laughed, including Charlie. Carlisle had told him Emmett's story on the way back to the house.

"Where is Nessie?" Charlie asked eager to see her.

Edward offered to go get Renesmee as well as the others.

When everyone came back into Carlisle's study, Jacob walked in last, holding Renesmee's hand. I rolled my eyes, knowing that was a sign of trouble.

Edward gazed at Charlie and started laughing.

"It is the wolf." Edward said, answering Charlie's unspoken question.

We all looked at Edward confused.

"Charlie was wondering what the bad smell was."

Jacob didn't look happy, but he was used to it by now.

"You don't smell so good yourself, Chief Bloodsucker." Jacob said sarcastically.

Charlie ignored Jacob's comment, giving Edward an evil look. "I am not sure what it is with you, kid; but I better not catch you reading my mind again."

Edward smiled.

Renesmee was in the back on the room, with Jacob still holding her hand. I noticed she had been trying to get to Charlie, but Jacob was holding her back.

Charlie slowly walked towards her, with Emmett and Carlisle by his side. Jasper was also there, monitoring Charlie's mood. A change in his mood would be a sign that I needed to shield Renesmee, but nothing changed. Carlisle asked Charlie if he was fine, and if he was thirsty, but everything went smoothly. Except for the fact that Jacob was overly-protective of Renesmee, and it would only be a matter of time before Charlie found out the reason for Jacob always being around. As far as Charlie knew, Jacob still had a crush on me and that is why he stuck around.

Renesmee was now talking to Charlie, holding his hand. Charlie's interaction with Renesmee was a lot like before.

Charlie had asked her how her day was, but she was more interested on how her day tomorrow would be.

"Are we going hunting tomorrow grandpa?"

Charlie looked at me curious. "She hunts?"

"Yes dad, her appetite is just like ours."

"Well Nessie, I guess we will be going hunting tomorrow."

Nessie smiled.

Jacob mumbled. "We will see about that…" But his comment was ignored.

Everyone's mood was much more relaxed now. Charlie was even making a few jokes about how Renee would probably love to be involved in everything that was happening. I shivered at the thought of Renee seeing us right now.

In the far corner of the room, I noticed Alice smiling.

She glanced at me, still smiling. "Our visitors are coming early!" We all froze in place, but for some reason, Alice was giving us the impression that something about their visit was good. I couldn't even imagine the Volturi ever being related to anything good…

"When will they be here?" Carlisle asked.

Alice, still in a good mood, said the word that I feared the most. "Tomorrow!"