Sorry I have been so long between posts. First my Computer buggered up and had to be reformatted, then everyone decided to be ill. Anyway, here's the next chapter…

23

Edward stood waiting for an answer, he couldn't read a thing from Charlie's mind at the moment, which was more than very annoying because he had heard an enormous amount since Charlie had pulled up. From his chagrin at Edward taking Bella from the car, to his worry, astonishment and anger over Edward treating Bella, to his finally recognising what he was seeing.

He had been amazed at the complexity of Charlie's mind as he processed everything he had seen since the Cullen's came to town. The man missed nothing, even if he routinely and willingly turned a blind eye to anomalies.

Small things that would mean nothing to the average person, the way Alice sometimes moved before she should to do something, the coldness of Carlisle's hand in the warm hospital even though the touch lasted less than an eighth of a second, The way Esme always bought exactly the same goods when shopping, as he had seen her four or five times in the shop. Emmett sometimes having too fast a walk, and over the months he had noticed all of their eyes, except Carlisle's, turn gold, then black then gold again.

He also had notice strange behaviour from certain members of the tribe. Sam Uley had disappeared for almost 2 weeks according to his fiancée and family and when he returned he had immediately broken up with the girl (even though they had been planning their wedding before that), he had an exceptionally high temperature but no fever, and seemed sometimes to literally shake with rage. He also had grown almost 9 inches over the last month, as he had been at least 6 feet tall before that, 9 inches was a huge growth spurt. Added to which, he was almost 19, (though lately he looked to be in his mid-twenties) he shouldn't be growing so much at that stage. The volatile temper he had displayed just before he went missing was now showing in both Jared Cameron and Paul Lahote.

Charlie had realised that they were going to turn soon; he shuddered at the thought of the old legends and hoped that the stories were exaggerated. Forks didn't need a pack of giant wolves wandering around the countryside; there were too many hikers and travellers around nowadays for them to keep out of sight for any great length of time.

The temper and volatility of new wolves was more than legendary too, in olden times when the change came over the youngsters of the tribe, the new wolves would be banished to a set of caves in a cliff face on the edge of the Quileute lands with the old Alpha until they learnt how to control the change, but with no old wolves to teach the new ones how to get under good regulation there wasn't much point in sealing them off except to protect the local population, which the folk tales said wasn't necessary. After all they were protectors of the tribe, not enemies.

Edward passed this intelligence onto the family, speaking too low and too quick for the human to hear. However bursting onto his awareness was the fact that Charlie knew he was saying something, but how he knew Edward could not tell. He did not say anything aloud about his knowledge and turned to considering Edwards request.

"Well…" he said, wiping a hand over his face in weariness, "I am not going to say yes or no." Edward frowned, why the hell could he not read the man properly? He was impatient for the reason to form in Charlie's mind so he could argue his case. "It is up to Bella." Her father continued. "If she says yes, then you have my blessing," Edward let out a breath, surprised at the very human response he gave to the speech, "however if she says no, you leave her alone, you get me son?" He was deadly serious, even though he knew that neither holy water nor stakes could hurt a vampire, he swore silently that if Edward ever hurt Bella he would find a way to hurt him in return.

Charlie sat gingerly in the chair behind the desk that Carlisle usually used. Carlisle excused himself and left the two of them to watch over Bella.

"I swear, whatever she wants." Edward said fervently, he heard Alice scoff downstairs.

{Oh yes whatever she wants, as long as it doesn't contradict what YOU want,}

{I mean it. I will do whatever is best for Bella.} He promised his sister.

{That isn't the same thing and you know it. What if Bella says she wants to change tomorrow?} he cringed, she was right. {and what about this morning? I told you not to push Bella but you had to offer her a car! When she said she didn't want it would you drop it? No you kept on pushing yourself onto her until she ran away and got herself ill!}

He cringed internally. She was right again. But then the only reason he had insisted was for her own good.

{Her own good? What did you see as her own good when you kept throwing your arm around her constantly when she obviously was uncomfortable and re-arranging all our schedules so you can sit next to her in every class? I would love to sit next to her sometimes you know; after all I have been her friend and confidant for more than half her life. She has known you almost 3 days! I think you will find Emmett, Rose and Jasper would also like to spend time with her, just because she is your mate does not mean you have exclusive possession of her time and attention.}

She was really angry. Edward wasn't too pleased himself. He remembered when Emmett was changed, it took almost 10 years before he and Rose could leave each other alone enough to interact properly with the family. He couldn't say if Esme and Carlisle were the same, they definitely weren't to start with and after Esme had conquered her thirst enough to actually feel something else; Edward had come home and 'caught' them in the middle of the living room, naked. He had quickly decided it was time he left to try a more conventional diet for a decade. You didn't need to see your parents doing that, not even vampire adopted parents, and the fact that he could read their minds made it worse.

Why then should he be the one that had to share his mate with everyone else? He smoothed her hair, once again marvelling in the texture of it. It was so soft, just like her, and a warm rich brown colour with just enough copper to make it shine in daylight.

Her lips were still too dry, the single drink of water not enough to moisten them after her body dried them out with her fever, Alice appeared at the door with a stick of something, {Lip balm.} she told him, he carefully applied it to her mouth fascinated by the way it made her lips look even more desirable.

Rose also came to the door; she had a pair of pyjamas in her hands. He looked at the dark blue satin set and then at Charlie, who blushed profusely. Without a word or thought being exchanged the two men quickly left the room so that Esme and Rose could strip Bella of her wet underthings and put something decent and comfortable on her.

"She's going to be ok you know." Alice made Charlie jump as she appeared beside him, seemingly from nowhere.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"I can see the future," she said simply, Charlie was a little sceptical of this, but then figured if he believed that one of the kids could read his mind, then what was to say that the other couldn't read the future? Suddenly Charlie's thoughts were as clear as a bell to Edward.

"She really can." He reassured the older man.

"I don't suppose you know next week's lottery numbers?" he asked.

"I do, do you want me to tell you them?" she asked. He considered it for a moment, but then shrugged and shook his head.

"No, I'm happy as I am. All I want is for Bella to get her college fund back and have enough to live on." He looked around at the house, remembering the shiny new cars the kids all seemed to drive and the brand new Mercedes that Carlisle had. "I guess you aren't short, so if she does join your family…" he looked at Edward sternly, "and I mean IF… then I guess she will be well looked after."

He chewed his moustache in a way that reminded Edward of Bella chewing her lip. Before he could put words to his sudden thought Edward cut in. "Alice, he wants to know what will happen with Renée."

Alice looked shocked, {please don't tell me that he wants her to get away with it, you know what Bella told us, that he is still in love with her.}

Edward hurried to qualify, "No, not that, he wants to know if she is out of Bella's life for good now, or will she cause trouble later?"

"That depends," Alice prevaricated. Charlie let out a sound that should only be described as a disgusted 'humph', he seemed to think Alice was unable to see the future after all. Edward projected the chief's thoughts and she frowned.

"Remember… this is all subjective. As things stand at the moment, if she does as her lawyer, David K. Lauer," Charlie was slightly impressed that she knew who Renée's lawyers were, "tells her to, then she will get a five year sentence and be out in three with good behaviour. She will immediately come looking for Bella, knowing that the bank will give her back the $18,000, and wanting to try and claim any money that is left. She will play on Bella's insecurities and good nature and make her feel guilty for not saying she had taken the money in the first place, to get her hands on it. If Bella is not a part of the family by then, she will give Renée every penny she has and will have to leave college because she won't be able to afford to stay even though she will have been awarded a full tuition scholarship. We will try and shield her, but she will refuse our help because 'you do not have to pay for my mother and her mistakes'. If Bella isn't human then there won't be a problem, because Renée will never find her. However my visions tell me that there is a huge probability that she won't do as she is advised. She will say something that offends the judge terribly and when the judge tries to tell her to be quiet and asks a question about something in the past that happened to Bella, she will attack the judge verbally and physically in temper and end up being sentenced to 10 years, extra charges of contempt of court and trying to attack the judge on the bench during the trial will be added to the theft charge. If that is the case and everything else works out as I have seen, then by the time Renée gets out Bella will be well settled into our family and we won't allow her to interfere in her life, even if she could find her, Bella will be happy and content and no matter how much Renée tries to make her feel guilty she won't succeed."

Charlie nodded, impressed. A cheer sounded from the living room. Emmett and Jasper were watching a basketball game on the TV.

"$1,000 says he scores both." Emmett said. Loudly.

"$5,000 says he misses."

"Where is Alice?"

"I'm up here with Edward and Charlie." She told them in a normal voice.

"You're on!" Emmett took the bet as soon as he knew that Jasper didn't have inside information. There was a pause and then a loud groan.

"YES! Pay up Emmett!"

"NOOO! You idiot! My grandpa could have hit that, and he would be 147 this year!" Edward laughed, Emmett had been using the same line ever since he knew him, though of course the age had increased tremendously over the last 70 years. Charlie swallowed, Edward could tell that he wasn't sure what disturbed him more, the rather bold statement of age or the level of bet as he was shocked by both.

"He's only a youngster then, my granddaddy would be 206! Hell I'm older than your grandpa." Jasper laughed.

"Was he really in the Civil War?" Charlie asked quietly.

"I was the youngest Major in the Texas Cavalry!" Jasper shouted up to him with pride. Charlie blushed, ashamed that he had been caught gossiping.

"Don't worry, Jasper doesn't mind you asking." Alice reassured him.

"I'm damn proud of the fact!" he stated.

"You all have good hearing." Charlie pointed out.

"All our senses are acute," Edward told him. "We can tell your temperature and your pulse without touching you, even your blood pressure if we just hold your wrist, we can hear sounds even dogs cannot hear and see in the dark as if it were high noon."

"About when Bella was…" he winced as he tried to draw too deep a breath, "I take it you have some medical training." He looked abashed because of his attempted interference.

"Yes Sir," Edward smiled. Esme and Rose exited the room leaving the door open for them to enter, Alice joined them as they went down the stairs to join their husbands.

"It's just, you look so young." Charlie pointed out, as they moved into the study and sat close to the couch Bella was resting on. Edward grinned wryly.

"I know, believe me I know, but I didn't have much choice in the matter." He told the man.

"You didn't choose to be a …" Charlie gesticulated.

"No, none of us here chose, most of us were dying one way or another, the other two were attacked by vampires and bitten." He admitted. Charlie winced and his thoughts ranged through the family. He felt saddened that so many young lives had been cut short and was thankful that someone was there to save them. "Actually then there's Alice, we don't know what happened to her, she has no memory of being human or being bitten so we can't say which category she falls into." Charlie was upset, he liked Alice and wished he knew how to help her.

Bella moaned Edward's name and both of them jumped up to be by her. Charlie gasped and pressed on his rib as he moved, at the last second Edward allowed her father to stand nearest to her head, even though she was calling for him. He contented himself with smoothing the blankets over her legs.

"Dad?" she opened her eyes and burst into tears, neither Charlie nor Edward knew what to do, neither of them were practised in comforting crying girls. Esme rushed back in through the door and she smoothed Bella's hair in a maternal gesture.

"Shhh, it's ok Bella go to sleep, everything will be fine in the morning." She sent her son a message and he silently made his way down stairs and sat at his piano.

He hadn't played in 55 years, luckily he was a vampire, he didn't have to worry about being out of practise, anything he had done once he could automatically do again.

For a moment he wondered if the thing would still be in tune after so long untouched, until he caught Rose's thought that she had tuned it herself the week before. He nodded a thanks in her direction.

Silence fell throughout the house as his fingers stroked the keys, playing one of his birth mother's favourite tunes. Clare de Lune's soft notes drifted up to the study. As he finished he started playing Moonlight Sonata, the phrasing of certain passages gave him inspiration. His fingers changed the notes, playing a totally different tune. One that came to him as he visualised the girl who had once again fallen asleep upstairs. Alice moved to sit beside him and her lilting voice rose above the notes, she harmonised perfectly, he segued into a bridge, the notes getting bolder but still soft.

Esme moved to sit on the stairs. Her view of the piano unobstructed as she watched her eldest son and newest vampire daughter get along so well. {A new song, it is so long since I heard him play, this is just wonderful.} He had to agree, everything suddenly seemed to be right in his life at last. Without his conscious decision the song came to a perfect end, slow, low and almost solemn. Everyone could hear the deep breathing of both Bella and her father as they slept. Carlisle quietly moved up the stairs and picked Charlie up carefully, mindful of his ribs as well as trying not to wake him. He carried him into the master bedroom and put him to bed. Then he returned to Bella and carried her up another flight to Edward's room.

Esme put a gentle hand on Edwards shoulder, the other on Alice's.

"Thank you both, that was beautiful." She told them solemnly.

"I just sang to what I saw in the future," Alice said, "The composition was all Edward."

"It's charming. Does it have a name?" Esme asked.

"Not yet."

"Is there a story to it?" she asked, a soft dreamy smile on her face. He smiled at her.

"It's… a lullaby, I suppose."

"A lullaby." She repeated, looking up the stairs where her husband was just descending. "how apt."

If he could have blushed he would have. This was exposing his feelings more than just a declaration of finding his mate. The tune had displayed his deep contentment with Bella as well as his passion.

"You should play it for her." Emmett said, Rose nodded in agreement.

"It's too soon, but please don't let that stop you playing it when she isn't here." Esme told him, he remembered her phone call earlier when he sat outside the reservation borders. She had told him something of her life and its parallels to Bella's, she tried to tell him how the girl probably felt and why she ran away.

He agreed silently, it was too soon. He would have to take it slow. Just because they were mated didn't mean that she would automatically fall right into his arms, Esme hadn't with Carlisle. It WAS possible to split from your mate and survive, it was just painful and lonelier than anyone could imagine. He dare not risk it.

He lowered the lid of the piano and made his way to his room. The antipyretics had worked fast and well, she was out of danger now. He stood by the plate glass window and watched her until she woke.