I am so so sorry :( I didn't mean to leave it this long. Once again I struggled with this chapter :S … suffered a bit of writers block, and I'm still not 100% happy with it, but here it is anyway. I couldn't leave you waiting any longer!

I hope you enjoy it…

Chapter 19:

"Dad? What are you doing?" Bella looked wide eyed at her father and the open-paged book that he held in his grasp. She knew that book all too well; it had her life of the past year summed up in several brief excerpts. Without sounding overly dramatic, it had saved her from the realms of insanity. Bella considered it her expense-free weekly counselling session, and her father was currently reading it. "Is that my diary?"

Charlie froze, 'hand of greed half way inside the cookie jar'. His daughters face was a mixture of emotions; he could barely work her out. There was no anger their though, much to his surprise. "Yes" he finally answered; guilty as ever.

"You're reading it," she stated, feeling slightly violated over his intrusion.

"No… well, yes, but only a page. It fell open when I was moving your boxes ..." he tried to justify, not that it made him seem any less pathetic. He was blatantly reading it. "You should get one with a lock next time" he ended with a mutter.

She stared at him for a moment longer, her eyes shifting as she waited for an explanation. But she frowned as he failed to comply. "What's going on?"

He shook his head, making an attempt at a laugh, but it came out more like a raspy breath. "I'm so sorry Bellz", tears were in his eyes as he spoke.

"Sorry? For reading my diary?"

"For… everything," he swallowed hard as he quietly closed the diary shut. It was then that she noticed a shimmer down the side of his face. "Are you crying?"

"Of course not" he smiled awkwardly as he shifted on the bed. "Your old man doesn't cry" he turned his head to the side as he subtly tried to remove the trickling tear stains.

"What is it dad? Has something happened?" she asked, concerned for her fathers mental state.

He nodded back solemnly. "Something has happened Bellz, but I've been too ignorant and selfish to see it…" the crease of confusion across Bella's forehead was only accentuated at her father's words. And although it seemed obvious now that Edward had spoken to him, as promised, what was said and how Charlie had absorbed the information was very much a question mark. "You grew up" he finally added, a revelation to himself more than Bella, as he looked into her eyes with deep interest. "You're not my little girl anymore. You're making grown up decisions, forming relationships, taking control. And here I am, acting like a child".

"That's not true". No matter how much her father's behaviour had infuriated her this past month, she hated to see him like this.

"Of course it is. I acted foolishly. I let you down. I'm meant to be supportive, and yet…" he sighed a lengthily exhale. "I'm so ashamed of myself Bellz… can you ever forgive me?"

Her heart broke. "That's not even a question, dad".

He went on, determined to put things right. "You have to know, that the only thing I've ever wanted is for you to be happy, to protect you from the anguish of a broken heart. I was worried you'd get hurt, but in the process, I was the one that hurt you. I drove you away without even realising it".

"But you didn't drive me away. I'm right here" she presented herself to him.

"Yeah" a small smile lit up his face, but just as it had appeared, it left soon after, his face turning solemn. "You know when your mother, your birth mother, walked out on us, I felt like I'd been kicked in the gut, like my heart had been ripped out from my chest it hurt so badly. And here I am, doing the exact same thing to you".

"That's not true," she implored as she walked forward. Almost stumbling over the boxes as she did, until she perched herself carefully beside her father on the bed. "You didn't know. We should've been clearer, to you and to ourselves. Maybe if we'd told you how we felt, you would've understood."

"Yes, but I still should've respected you both enough to let you make your own decisions" his tone was sharp and cutting with disapproval, but only at himself.

"Dad I never expected you to just accept it, right then and there. You had every right to be upset. We both lied to you. We were selfish and thoughtless. And I'm sorry ... It all just happened so fast, it was like it snowballed out of control, and before we could even stop and think, it was too late. You have to know that I never meant for you to find out that way, and I understand if you were ashamed of me" her head slumped as she stared at her hands.

"Ashamed?" he turned at her words; it pained him to hear his daughter asking such a thing. "Never. I was just… worried".

"Of what?"

"Of life" he admitted, much to Bella's surprise. "Your mother and I, we were so in love, with our whole lives ahead of us. And then it seemed like just one day out of the blue, she walked away from me, I never even had a chance to do anything; she was already half way out the door. Any love she had for me was completely gone," bitterness laced his voice, but he forcefully tried to control himself; he was either about to cry, or growing extremely close to hitting something. "One day I had everything, the next, I was left a single working father ... Not that I regret that now of course," a small smile of fondness curved his lips. Any anger he held soon vanished.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you to be aware" he told her.

"Aware?"

"Of what could happen."

Her face scrunched up. "What are you…?" and then realization hit her hard. Plagued by fears of loneliness and insecurities; Charlie feared it could happen again. "…Esme's not going to leave you dad," insisted Bella carefully; sensing a counselling session coming on. Maybe Charlie could do with a diary as well.

"Maybe, maybe not," he too and fro'd lightly, before turning sombre in tone. "But no one knows what could happen a year from now, 5 years from now. Maybe one day she'll wake up and just, not love me anymore... it's happened once, it could happen again", but Bella simply shook her head at his reasoning. "…And then I think of you and Edward. And how detrimental that could be for you. If anything did happen, if one couple did break up, what would that mean for us as a family?"

"Is that what this is about? You're worried that if it ever went wrong, that the other couple would suffer because of it?" she summarised; trying to make sense of it.

"Yes. Because the consequence for the family would be dire… you know that I'm right Bellz, you can't deny the possibility."

She shook her head once again, smiling through disbelief. "You're right, I can't deny it," she turned to him. "You said it yourself, nobody knows what will happen 10 years from now, but I do know one thing; I've never seen anyone as in love, as Esme' is with you. And in my entire 18 years of living with you, I've never seen you so happy, and that's all because of Esme'. She loves you dad, I've seen it in her eyes. You were right what you said at the wedding. Some people just work, like puzzle pieces. And when you know, you know. It's never easy, but its not doomed to fail either. Have faith in your commitment dad, in yourself, because we all have faith in you".

"Oh Bellz…," he placed a hand to the back of her head and stroked it. "My little angel. I've never been more proud of you" the sincerity shone from his eyes; glistening like crystals.

"Likewise" she smiled back, emotion bubbling up inside of her. She was happy they were clearing the air, and after so long of facing a daily shunning from her father, his honesty was like a gift to Bella.

Charlie shook his head in return, standing to his feet. "You can't possibly be proud of me Bellz, I wouldn't have been surprised if you'd started resenting me" he informed her as he walked over towards the window; diary still in hand. He looked down to observe Edward on the driveway, still hard at work as he packed the truck with kitchen boxes.

"I've been pretty hard on him, haven't I?" he asked thoughtfully, but it came out more like a statement than a question, and earned no response from Bella, who remained on the bed staring at her hands. "I'll take that silence as a yes then".

"It doesn't matter now" she finally replied; hoping they could all just move past it.

"It matters to me" responded Charlie; eyes fixed on the drive below.

"Do you really love him?" he asked, following a bout of silence. And his head turned a fraction to look at her.

Although she felt uncomfortable, never having spoken about her feelings to her father before, her answer came out as certain as ever. "Yes".

Charlies head withdrew a little as he turned back to face the window. "Would you have preferred if I'd said no?" she asked.

"No, of course not…" her father turned around to face her. "I am happy for you Bella. And if Edward is your choice, if you really do love him, then I wont stand in your way… well, not unless a want a black eye anyway," Charlie didn't laugh out loud at that, but there was a hint of humour in his voice as he spoke.

"A black eye?" she questioned uneasily. Not entirely sure if he was joking or not.

He smiled back, handing her the diary. "It doesn't matter ... Here. You should keep it safe" he told her. And she nodded back, clutching it tightly in her grasp.

So the black cloud had finally been lifted, everything was out in the open, she'd said her piece and Charlie had said more than enough of his. If anything, Bella was slightly relieved regarding the nature of her father's feelings. He wasn't ashamed, nor disapproving of Edward; his main concern was the longevity of their life as a family. The thought of a fractured family tainted his mind. And understandably so considering his history. Like he'd said, no one would know what the future held for them, but having a little faith was a lot healthier than living in fret.

"Well, I guess we better get a move on with this lot, otherwise you're not going to be moving anywhere" smirked Charlie; his eyebrows rising as he eyed her. Picking up the box he cradled it like a baby in his arms. Half way out the door he paused, angling himself back towards her. "So are you sure you're not interested in that Jasper guy?" he asked, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips.

"Daaad" she warned him with a smile.

"Alright, he just seemed like a nice lad that's all".

"Yeah, well nice lad or not, he's not interested in me. He likes Alice" Bella proudly admitted.

"Aw really, well good for her! I was wondering when she'd find someone".

"Er, Dad, no offence, but you think way too much about our love lives," teased Bella, as she followed him out, practically hopping down each stair step as she went. "It's actually pretty creepy in fact".

"Well how else am I going to get my grandchildren?"

"Dad!" she burst in astonishment. "I'm 18!" she exclaimed with wide eyes. The thought of kids horrified her, she could barely look after herself, let alone a screaming baby.

"I know, but it doesn't hurt to think ahead" he told her as they strolled down the driveway towards the truck, which was now unoccupied as Edward had long returned to the house, before they dumped the boxes into the back of the trailer.

"You know," mused Charlie, as he turned to face his daughter; a memory popping into his mind. "I can remember when you and Alice would be playing together in the front room. I'd be tripping over your dolls and playsets while you pretended to 'marry' them… where'd the time go Bellz? I swear I just blinked my eyes, and suddenly you've both grown up into two beautiful women."

She smiled back adoringly; remembering that moment in time so clearly. "Thanks dad… I think the same about you, you know. One day, you had brown hair, the next, slightly grey" she teased.

"Alright" he laughed, "that's enough out of you". And Bella giggled as they made their way back inside the house.

…

Bella lingered silently beside the kitchen doorway, watching as Edward fumbled in the cupboards, stacking various items into boxes for easy carriage, before he scrambled up and onto his feet, stretching out his tight and aching muscles; a consequence of excessive crouching.

Spinning on his heel he came face to face with Bella, he wasn't startled, but hadn't expected to find her standing their watching him.

As she smiled at him his own face lit up, her happiness was contagious for Edward.

"Hey you" she spoke softly, running her foot along the floor side to side. She felt nervous, awkward almost, a similar sensation to how she'd felt following their first ever night together, without the consumption of alcohol involved; a sizzling of nervous excitement, raw and indescribable.

"Hey yourself" he admired her sheepishness. His body selfishly longing to touch her.

After a moment she walked forward, standing in front of him. Leaning forward on her tip toes, she met him in a short but tender kiss. He pulled back, sensing something had changed, never would she kiss him where there was a possibility of getting caught. But it was more than that, there was a colour in her cheeks that had once seemed so rare, a meaningful twinkle to her eye, and that usual sense of trepidation was nowhere to be seen. "What is it?" he studied her carefully.

She felt like the cat that had got the cream, and as she clung onto his arm, her fingers reaching down to claim his hand, she couldn't hold it in any longer. "I spoke to my dad" she told him, biting her lip after she'd said it.

"You did huh," he smiled, clutching her hand. "So what did he say?" he asked, already having guessed the answer to that one. It wasn't hard to tell by the way her face radiated with so much happiness.

Her answer came in the form of a squeal, as she lunged herself into his chest, enveloping her arms around his neck to pull herself up. Winning the lottery had nothing compared to this feeling.

Edward embraced her warmth, happiness and relief by spinning her around on the spot as she laughed; it wasn't until he came to a stop, squeezing her tight, that he noticed Charlie standing at the doorway.

For so long Edward had faced the brunt of Charlie's disapproval; the father and son bond turning into rivalry. It therefore wasn't a surprise that Edward felt cautious under Charlie's watchful eye, even with an unknowing and overjoyed Bella clinging to his neck.

But as Charlie gave Edward a silent nod, a mutual look of understanding and gratitude passing between their eyes, Edward found himself loosening up. That guarded exterior faded away, and his head bobbed back in acknowledgment.

A moment later an unvoiced Charlie walked away, a hint of a smile in his eyes as he left them alone to their embrace. Nothing needed to be said after that, they'd spoken volumes with their eyes, there was a new found respect shared between them, but above all, beyond any lingering concerns Charlie still had, their feelings were mutual regarding Bella. Her happiness was all that mattered. And if Edward was the key to Bella's happiness, then Charlie would gladly turn the handle…

A/N: Yay with me people! The cloud has been lifted! =]

Ok, so not the best chapter of all =/ Honestly, I prefer writing the earlier scenes – the sneaking around, sexual tension, light banter… I'm never very good with angst and revelations :S … but I gave it my best shot. I wanted to show a different side to Charlie, a naivety and insecure side, that maybe you wouldn't expect from a mature family man, I hope that came across and it wasn't too boring or a let down :(

From now on, expect a little more happiness from these two! This fic is quickly coming to an ennnnd! xxx

PS, I cant believe I reached over 300 reviews! You guys are amazing! Thank you so much :)