This is a short chapter, but I hope you enjoy. The next one will be longer.

Any mistakes that you see are my own.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Twilight Saga. Stephenie Meyer owns The Twilight Saga and all its characters.


My parents were friends in high school, but lost touch after they graduated and went their separate ways. Renée, my biological mother, left my dad and I when I was five years old. At the same time, Sue was grieving the loss of her husband, Harry, who died of a heart attack the week before, leaving her with three young kids to raise.

My dad tried his best at being a single father, but it wasn't until a month later that he and Sue met again. Charlie was teaching me how to ride a bike, but I was going so fast that when I hit the brake, I fell off and broke my arm. He then ran over to me, picked me up, carried me to the back of his police cruiser, and drove me to the hospital, sirens blaring. Sue was working as a nurse at the hospital and the one who was tending to me. After she put a cast on my arm, she asked my dad out on a date.

Charlie and I met Sue's kids, three-year-old Seth, five-year-old Leah, and eleven-year-old Emily, and they immediately took a liking to us, especially Seth, who used to always follow me around like a lost puppy whenever Sue and her kids came over and vice versa. Even when we were having a family outing, Seth stayed close to my side and when we moved into our new home, I would wake up every morning to find him sleeping on the floor in my room with his pillow, blanket, and whatever stuffed animal he slept with the night before. I didn't mind, though. In fact, I thought it was really cute while Emily and Leah thought it was annoyingly creepy.

I never heard from Renée since she left, but my dad told me she came back unexpectedly, only for him to serve her divorce papers so he could propose to Sue and they could get married after dating for a year. Renée didn't even bother to ask to see me and I was glad about that. When I met Sue, I knew she'd become my new mother and would never abandon me like Renée did. Sue wasn't Mother of the Year, but she did her best at raising me, as well as her own children. She and my dad even surprised me by showing me what was adoption papers signed by her. Of course, because I was still young and didn't understand what that meant, they explained it to me. Now instead of calling Sue by her name, I called her Mom because that's what she officially was.

March twenty-fifth marks the ninth anniversary of the day those men came and took our parents from us. Every year, my siblings and I do what they loved, which was fishing. Their favorite kind of fish was trout and there was a place we always went to—even as kids—that had a lot of them.

This year is different. Because Seth's in California, attending school, it'll just be us girls. But there was another thing our parents loved to do, which was visit Disneyland in Anaheim. It was always Sue's dream to go there and my dad surprised her with passes on their first wedding anniversary and they went that weekend. They went again, the weekend before school started, but this time, they brought us, and we loved it as much as they did. Since then, it became a family tradition every summer to visit Disneyland. So while Seth was bummed that he wouldn't be joining Leah, Emily, and I on our annual fishing trip, at least he'll still be marking our parents' deaths by driving down to Anaheim, with Daisy, his human girlfriend, not the duck—and whom we haven't met yet—by his side.


"Remember when you brought a guy over for Mom and Dad to meet?" I ask Emily, who just laughs.

"Oh, yeah," she says. "Dean looked very uncomfortable when he saw Dad holding a shotgun."

"At least Dad wasn't aiming it at him," Leah tells her.

"He looked like he was about to," Emily says.

It's late into the night and while the twins are asleep in one of the tents—that the boys set up while the girls watched—the adults are gathered around the fire a few feet away, the couples each cuddling together on blankets while the rest are sitting in camping chairs, reminiscing mostly about my dad, but also about Sue. While it was going to be just Leah, Emily, the twins, and I, we decided to invite some of Charlie's old colleagues on our fishing trip, including Sam and Jake, even though Charlie died before Jake got a chance to work for him. We invited the Camerons, Lahote, and Call. While Embry is on desk duty due to his diabetes, Sam still sometimes lets him out into the field as long as he's taken his insulin and has eaten a diabetic-friendly meal.

"I remember when Emily snuck us into a PG-13 movie," I smile at the memory.

"Oh, yeah," Leah grins. "Emily thought we should all do something reckless by sneaking into the theater to watch a movie that we weren't allowed to watch. When we came home that night, Mom and Dad were waiting to chew Emily's off."

"They grounded me for two weeks," Emily says, flatly. "But I don't regret doing what I did because it was better than riding a motorcycle without a license. Mom and Dad would've done more than chew my ear off if they found out little Sethy was on one."

"They'd probably kill you," I tell her.

"Or lock you up in your room and take away all your electronics," Leah adds, smirking.

"Thanks guys," Emily says, sarcastically. "I feel so much better."

We all just laugh, even Emily.

"I remember when I told Charlie that Kim and I were dating," Jared smiles before it quickly disappears. "He did not take the news well."

"Because when you told him, he was in a bad mood," Kim tells him. "And when Charlie Swan is in a bad mood…"

"You just leave him alone," we all say in unison.

"Also, I'm the only female on the force, which means every day, I'm surrounded by a lot of testosterone," Kim adds. "Charlie was always so concerned about my safety and well-being."

"In the end, he was happy for you guys," Sam says.

"But I just wish he'd been there on our wedding day," Jared's face turns sad as he gazes down at his wife. "He wasn't even there to congratulate us when we announced to everyone that we were engaged."

"In a way, he was," Kim smiles up at Jared. "He was there, watching over us, wherever we went. He still is."

I suddenly feel tears well up in my eyes. Jake pulls me tighter against him as I lay my head on his shoulder, wiping the tears away with my sweater sleeve. It seems my dad has impacted everyone who knew him, in a positive way. Not only did he help Jake get into the Police Academy, but almost everyone who are on the force today. They all even looked up to Charlie as a father figure. It took all of them a while to get back on their feet after losing their beloved Chief, as well as his wife, who was like a second mother to them.

"Did they ever catch the guy who ordered the hit on the Chief and his wife?" Paul speaks.

"You saw the report," Embry, sitting beside Paul, rolls his eyes at him. "The guy killed himself before the cops could get to him."

It's silent for a moment as we all gaze at the fire.

"Remember when Sue would come by the station with a big Tupperware container of something she made that day?" Paul asks. All the cops, except Jake, nod their heads as they remember those days.

"She always made a special batch just for me because of my diabetes," Embry adds. "The cookies were my favorite."

"She made banana bread one time," Jared says. "She said there was a secret ingredient she put in the bread that made it nutty and delicious."

"Cookie butter," Leah states.

"Huh," Jared frowns. "I would've guessed peanut butter."

"I wish I'd been there," Jake speaks. "Sue sounds like a very kind, generous woman. I would've loved to meet her."

"She was the best," Embry smiles. "I remember she got mad at me one time when she asked if I'd taken my insulin and I told her I forgot because I had so much work to do. She told me I needed to take it and even watched to make sure that I did. Now I remember to take my insulin."

"Only because I practically forced you to set an alarm so you can keep track," Sam chastises Embry. "And now every time you forget, I reduce your pay by ten percent."

"It's no wonder I'm still living with my mother," Embry mutters, a grumpy look on his face. Sam just ignores him.

"I wish Mom and Dad got to meet the twins," I glumly say. "They'd probably given me an earful about being an irresponsible sixteen-year-old by getting pregnant, but they still would've loved Charlotte and Susannah and probably even spoil them like most grandparents do."

"And they would've understood your decision to not attend college and pursue a career," Emily tells me.

"I'm actually thinking about attending college," I reveal. "I can't keep working at the diner for the rest of my life. There are better things out there."

"That's awesome," Leah beams. "What career do you want to pursue?"

"Well, I've always wanted to get into writing," I answer. "Remember when I used to write stories on my laptop?"

"I remember," Emily says. "Mom and Dad gave you your very own laptop for your tenth birthday and you'd be on it for hours. At first, we all thought you were just playing games on the Internet, but I took a sneak peak and it turns out, you were writing stories in Microsoft Word."

"Then I caught you looking and now every time you or anyone else entered the room, I'd close my laptop," I tell her. "I didn't want anyone reading my work."

"It's nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about," Emily states. "From what I saw, you were really good and I do think you should pursue a career in writing because you'd be great at it. Who knows? Maybe someday, you'll even publish your own book." Leah nods in agreement.

"Thanks," I smile at them.

It's silent again as the fire slowly starts to die down.

"Should one of us check up on the twins?" Kim, always so concerned about the safety and well-being of my girls—about any child really—asks, glancing at the tent they're sleeping in.

"They're fine," I assure her, flipping my hand. "They sleep like the dead and even if they do wake up and try to sneak off, we'll know, especially me. Nothing gets past me."

We all laugh at that.

"You know, Charlotte and Susannah consider me their superhero," Jake grins, proudly. "Because I'm out there, saving people, catching the bad guys, putting them away."

"You know, you're not the only cop in town," Sam smirks. "They consider the rest of us superheroes."

"Ah, but I'm their favorite," Jake tells him, pointing to himself.

"Of course you are," all the cops say at once.

Once the fire dies down, we decide to turn in for the night. We say good night to one another before getting into our tents (each couple is sharing one) and going to sleep.