Chapter 27
It was early evening when Edward heard the police cruiser headed toward home. I was just finishing dinner and I ran my fingers through my ponytail, just to make sure it was still tamed. Aside from a few trips to the bathroom and kitchen, I'd spent the majority of my day in bed with Edward. The last thing I needed was to explain crazy, frizzy bed-head to my father, especially when I had so recently openly declared our virtuous intent to wait until our wedding night. We were still waiting, but it wouldn't look like it to Charlie and I didn't ever want to have to get into that particular discussion with him again.
I looked out the kitchen window to see Charlie climbing out of the car with a bag in his hand.
"He has your blue hoodie," Edward said quietly.
"What?" I whispered back, even though I'd heard him just fine.
"Just act natural and go with the story we already agreed to."
"That's easy for you to say. You don't have to worry about sweat dripping down your forehead when you're under interrogation," I snipped.
"You'll be fine," he tried to reassure me, but it merely caused me to roll my eyes.
His phone buzzed indicating a text message had been received just as I heard the doorknob begin to turn.
"Alice says 'volleyball.' Do you know what that means?" Edward asked.
"No idea," I shrugged as I passed by him on my way to greet Charlie.
"Hey, dad! I didn't know if you'd be home on time since it's National Mass Civil Disobedience Day and all."
Charlie chuckled, but Edward looked puzzled. "It's Charlie's name for the Fourth of July," I explained.
"Well, that's what it is. I get tired of these yahoos shooting off the illegal stuff. And doing it drunk, no less. Brainless morons… they're lucky if all they lose is a finger or get their eyebrows singed," he grumbled.
I laughed. "You see, Edward, Charlie has almost no opinion on the subject whatsoever."
"Yeah, well, make fun all you want, Bells, but one of these days, these idiots are going to cause a serious problem and then watch how fast the laws tighten up. So, you kids headed down to see the fireworks at First Beach? I have to go back on patrol or I'd be there myself. They always seem to put on a pretty good show."
"No, sir, we're going to my house to set off some M-80s and bottle rockets," Edward said with a straight face. Charlie looked at him sternly and was about to start a lecture when Edward's smile told him it was just a joke.
"So, what's in the bag?" I asked, knowing very well what was in the bag.
"Oh, yeah…" Charlie started. "I had to go down to the school yesterday about a petty theft case and Principal Greene and I were looking through the lost and found when I came across this."
He pulled my turquoise hoodie out of the bag. The sleeves had been cut off per my instructions to Edward.
"Oh, cool!" I enthused, taking the offensive shirt I really never wanted to see again in my life. "I thought this was gone for good."
"I figured you might like to have it," Charlie said nonchalantly. "So, Bella, why did you cut off the sleeves? You're usually so cold."
On the inside, I froze, but I knew I couldn't let Charlie see my reaction. I'd had Edward cut off the sleeves so Charlie wouldn't think it was the same shirt I was wearing in Vancouver that day. I hadn't thought about him asking me follow-up questions… he didn't usually, so I didn't anticipate it, although perhaps I should have planned for it in this case.
Suddenly, it came to me. In an equally nonchalant tone as his, I answered, "We were playing volleyball in gym and every time I tried to bump the ball, it would go flying in the wrong direction. People were telling me to take off my hoodie, but I was cold, so I agreed to cut the sleeves short so I could hit the ball. Well, you know me and sports… it didn't help much, but I did manage to get the ball over the net a few times…"
"Hmmph," he snorted. "Well, most people just roll up their sleeves. I guess they're your clothes, so you can do with them what you want."
"It's not like I just go around cutting up all my clothes or anything," I sassed. "I tried pushing up the sleeves, but the wristbands were too tight."
"Oh… well, I guess that makes sense," he said distantly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I made that chicken and rice you like. Want some?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Oh, yeah, sure," Charlie answered, seeming to come out of a fog. "I'm just going to wash up first."
He headed upstairs while Edward and I looked at each other with wide eyes. "Volleyball," he mumbled.
"Yeah, apparently so. That was a close one."
"That was the dictionary definition of a close one," he responded.
"So, was any of that story about working on a theft case true?" I asked, although I wasn't sure if I wanted to know or not.
"No, none of it. He made it up as an excuse to get the principal down there to open the lost and found. I think he's sort of become obsessed with this thing in Canada. I can't tell how many times he's watched that video clip, but he's really convinced that we are the people in the video."
"You know, it really bothers me that he's suspicious of us, but then again, I can't really argue that point since we ARE the people in the video. I just wish he'd move on. Everyone else has…" I grumbled.
"Well, everyone but the US and Canadian Centers for Disease Control. They started a joint task force about it."
My brow furrowed. "How do you know that?"
"Jasper and Carlisle have been watching for news. Plus there's always Alice."
"Yes, Alice. I'll have to thank her, although did she have to be so cryptic? I almost missed her meaning."
"Did you really expect something different? It's Alice!" he laughed.
We heard Charlie clomping down the stairs, so I pulled the casserole out of the oven. Just as he entered the kitchen, Edward said, "Well, I'd better get going. When Emmett barbeques, you don't want to be late."
"Oh, Bella, you're not going?" Charlie asked.
"I'll head over later when you go back to work. I'm leaving for Europe the day after tomorrow, so I thought I'd stay home and have dinner with you, if that's OK."
"OK? That's much better than OK!" Charlie turned to Edward. "That is, if you think you can spare her for a few hours."
I knew he meant it as a joke, but it still touched me that my dad was essentially asking my fiancé to share his time with me. Perhaps I was reading too much into it, but that sounded like acceptance. Maybe not approval, but I would take acceptance over anything else my father had dished out to poor Edward.
Edward nodded politely, and then put on the drama. "Although I will suffer greatly from not having her constantly at my side, I probably won't die… or at least not right away. Unless it's by Emmett's pork ribs."
We shared a laugh and I offered to walk Edward out. That's when I realized his car wasn't here. Just as I was about to say something, a horn honked in the driveway.
"Is that Alice?" Charlie called from the kitchen.
"Yes," I called back without even having checked to see if I was right. Of course it was Alice.
"I love you," Edward murmured quietly with his lips already touching mine. "I'll be back to get you when Charlie goes back to work, OK? Why don't you see if you can spend the night?"
"I'll see. Charlie will be at work all day tomorrow anyway, so I doubt he'll mind." I stood on my tiptoes to give him another kiss. "I love you, too."
We heard Charlie sigh rather loudly, which was our cue to actually part ways. "I'll be back soon," Edward promised as he went out the door.
Charlie and I had a nice talk during dinner, which was a rarity to say the least. I was hardly ever uncomfortable with my father, but our time was mostly spent in nice, companionable silence.
"Bells, I know you're just going on vacation and everything, but your… you know… your wedding will be a couple of weeks after that, and I just can't help but feel like I'm losing my little girl way too soon."
"Oh, dad…" and I started to say he wasn't losing me, but the fact of the matter was, that's exactly what would be happening. "I'm always going to be your little girl, no matter what."
I felt that was a safe statement. It was 100% true, although admittedly misleading. None of us had any idea what we might be facing in Italy. Even Alice wasn't able to say more than she thought we would all be alright. The Volturi had apparently only decided one thing, and that was they would decide Fred's, and possibly my, fate after the tests and trials were concluded.
Carlisle didn't think Aro would go back on his word to allow me to be changed on our schedule, especially since it was such a short time away, but none of us trusted Aro's word enough to feel comfortable about it, not even Carlisle. We would just have to hope for the best.
We were all equally confident that Aro didn't want me dead. Even Edward was sure of that part. The fear was that, in exchange for allowing me to live, he demand that I be changed in Volterra and force me to become a member-in-training of his elite guard. If he did that, he would gain Edward in the bargain, too, and he knew it. Aro would have a difficult time finding a way around his prior ruling, however, and we had to believe he didn't have any tricks up his sleeve that we couldn't handle as a family.
Charlie sighed, bringing me back to the moment. "I suppose so," he muttered unhappily. I had gotten so lost in my musings that I didn't remember what he was commenting about, but I just nodded, feeling reasonably sure I wasn't agreeing to stay locked in my room for the next 12 years.
"I'm gonna miss you while you're gone, and I'm gonna miss your cooking almost as much. This was a great dinner, Bells. I really appreciate all you do around here. I know I don't tell you that very often…" he trailed off.
"I know. You don't have to say it." I could feel my face flush as a result of his compliment. Then I came up with a great idea. "You know, dad, Esme loves to cook and I bet she would be thrilled to help me make up a few things for the freezer so you don't starve to death while I'm gone."
"Quit making fun of your old man," he laughed. "I know I can't make anything fancy, but I managed to feed myself before you came along and I imagine I can figure it out again. Of course, there's always the diner. When you moved here, they lost their best customer!"
"So, are you saying you miss the diner?" I teased.
"It's not so bad, but miss it? Naw… I will miss you, though…" he said somberly, and I knew he wasn't talking about food anymore.
"Aw, Charlie, you'll be fine. We'll still keep in touch. It's not like I'm going to forget my dad or something, just because I get married and go off to college." What I didn't say was that I might forget him just because I was going to become a vampire, but Edward had promised to help me remember after the change.
"I know… I guess you'd be headed off to college whether you got married or not. It's just…" his voice faded.
"It's just that you don't approve of me marrying Edward," I filled in the blank.
"I don't really approve of you ever marrying anyone!" he blurted. "No dad wants to see his baby girl go off with some guy who's not worthy of her. That's just the way it is… for all dads. But if you just have to get married at 18, I suppose you could do worse than Edward Cullen."
I burst out laughing. "Well, that's a ringing endorsement if I ever heard one!"
After we cleared the dishes, Charlie and I went into the living room, and per usual, he flipped on the TV. The local news was just wrapping up with the 7-day forecast… warm with occasional sun breaks. Typical 'summer' weather in Forks. The Mariners beat the Oakland A's, which Charlie already knew, but just hearing it seemed to make him happy all over again, and then came the top stories of the night – some warehouse was burning in the industrial area of Seattle, a dog found its way home after going missing almost three years ago, the person who caused the flash sickness in Vancouver, BC, came forward, and a high school student was suing…
I froze. I probably looked stunned, mostly because I was, but thankfully Charlie wasn't looking at me. He was staring strangely at the TV. If I didn't already know what was going through his mind, I might have asked him about his odd reaction, but as it was, I didn't want to even act like I'd heard the broadcaster's voice.
A few moments later, the national news led with the story. "Good evening. Canadian and US authorities have released new information about the June 16th flash illness in Vancouver, BC. We go to Brian Stanford, live at Riley Park in Vancouver. Brian?"
"Thanks, Pete. That's right. Someone has come forward claiming to be the person who caused the sickness, although he says he doesn't know how it happened. Randall Alan Slater, a Canadian citizen, claims to have been making a private delivery and was waiting in the park for someone to pick up the suspicious package in his possession. When they didn't come, he became curious and opened the sealed case, inadvertently releasing a fast-acting toxin of some kind. He said he was terrified and ran off before the authorities arrived, dropping the case into a dumpster about a half mile away."
They began rolling the video clip again. "When asked about the video where he seems to disappear, he said he didn't understand why it appeared that way. He did admit to dragging the young man, as you see here, and wanted to apologize to him, knowing now that he was just trying to help. Officials have asked any bystanders who left the scene before the hazardous materials teams arrived, especially the four people who went to check on Mr. Slater after the incident, to please call the hotline shown at the bottom of your screen. You may need medical treatment. Live from Riley Park in Vancouver, BC, this is Brian Stanford reporting. Back to you, Pete."
"Brian, is Mr. Slater considered a suspect at this time?" the TV anchor asked.
"At this point, Pete, he is being held for questioning. Police are still trying to determine his role, although it may prove that he was an innocent bystander as well."
"And the people who approached him, were they involved with this toxin?"
"Good question, Pete. From Mr. Slater's statement, he says he did not know the people who came to help him and thought they were, quote 'just Good Samaritans.' He did get the name of one woman who was wearing a medical ID badge, a nurse named Samantha who he described as being in her mid-30s. Police are looking for the missing nurse, and ask anyone with information to please contact the number at the bottom of the screen."
"Well, that is a very interesting update on a very puzzling mystery. Keep us posted, Brian."
As the broadcasters moved on to other news, I sat there feeling like my head might explode at any minute. I knew Charlie was going to talk as soon as his own mind stopped whirling and I so wished Edward was there not only for support, but to tell me what Charlie was thinking. I could only guess that if Edward needed to be with me right now, Alice would have sent him, which was the only relief to the tension I felt.
"Well," Charlie started, still staring at the TV, "that was interesting."
"Yeah… weird, huh," I mumbled almost unintelligibly.
"I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't like the idea of mystery chemicals that can make people sick being that close to home. And to think you were only about 50 miles from there when it happened. That's a little too close for comfort."
"Yeah, but it only traveled in the area of the park, right?" I asked, knowing it only affected the people close by, which of course was where I was at the time, but I didn't exactly think it would be a good idea to mention that part.
"Well, I suppose that's true," Charlie sighed. "I'm just glad someone came forward so we can all put this behind us now. I just hope they can find who this guy was carrying chemicals for."
I smirked a little, knowing most people already had put this behind them. Charlie was still investigating it on his own, but it sounded like he was going to put it to rest now, too.
We sat in silence for a short time, both of us engrossed in our own thoughts until we were startled by the sound of loud pops and whistling from the fireworks at the neighbors. "Well, I gotta get back to work. I'm assuming you'll be spending the night at the Cullens?"
"Is that OK with you? I don't have to, but it would be more convenient. I could be home for dinner tomorrow, since we leave the next day…" I offered.
"That'd be great, kiddo," he smiled. We both stood and shared an awkward hug. "I love you, Bells. Just don't go and forget about your old man when you… you know…"
"Wait a second. Who are you again?" I teased.
"Very funny…" he said with a little laugh. After putting on his gun belt and jacket, he was out the door.
I picked up the phone to call Edward, but before I could even dial, I saw headlights in the driveway. I ran to pull the door open and of course he was already there. We shared a hurried kiss; hurried because I needed answers.
"I'm assuming you saw the news. Who was that guy?"
"He works for the Volturi," Edward answered like it was the most obvious thing ever.
"He was human, though. They showed his picture."
"Yes, that's true. Remember Gianna?"
Then it clicked in my head. "He wants to be one of them…"
"I'm sure he will get his wish after this. There were too many questions, and even though vampires would never be implicated, the Volturi felt it was best to provide some sort of answers. Humans love a mystery, and they can't let it go unsolved. This gave them a place to start looking."
"The wrong place…" I added.
"Yes, and now they're looking for some underworld chemical weapons dealers and a made-up nurse. That was Alice's idea, by the way."
"Wait! What? The nurse? Alice knew? How long? And how did her idea become part of the plan?
He chuckled at my long line of questioning. "Alice knew when they decided to send someone in. She called Aro and asked him to add the nurse part to get you off the hook with your father. He agreed, not necessarily for your benefit, but because your father is in law enforcement. The fewer officials looking for clues, the better, especially when they're so close to the source."
"And nobody told me this?" I practically bellowed.
"I didn't know because I was here with you all day, but she told me on the way home tonight. I started to call you right away, but she said it would be better if you didn't know in advance," he shrugged.
"How on earth could it be better if I didn't know?" I yelled. "That makes no sense. I think Alice sometimes just makes this stuff up as she goes along."
"We think that all the time," he laughed, "but when we don't listen to Alice, it almost always goes badly, so we've just accepted her mysterious ways." He shook his hands in the air and made 'ghost' sounds to punctuate his sentence.
"Well, it looks like Charlie is off the trail now, so that's one worry down. He was fine with me spending the night at your house. In fact, he suggested it, but I told him I'd be home for dinner tomorrow… you know, since it might be my last one and everything."
"Oh, Bella, I don't want you worrying about things like that. It is highly unlikely that Aro will do anything to countermand his previous ruling."
I snorted. "Highly unlikely? That's not a guarantee! How am I supposed to not worry? And besides, I'm not as much worried about myself as I am about Fred and, well… all of us. Aro is going to want Fred and we already figured out a way he could easily make it happen, and we're not nearly as devious as the Volturi! Are we going to fight for Fred's freedom if it comes down to it?"
Edward thought long and hard about that. "Let's go."
"What are you thinking?" I asked as I grabbed my jacket.
"Another family meeting."
**-…-**
Shock of shocks, everyone was already sitting at the dining room table when we came in.
"You're finally here!" Alice exclaimed as if she'd been waiting for several days instead of several minutes.
"Can we finally find out why we needed this meeting?" Emmett grumbled. "Fred and I left a bitchin' game of Mario Cart for this, so it'd better be good."
"Bella brought up something interesting while we were at her house and it's something I think we've probably all thought about to some extent, but we haven't actually discussed it as a family," Edward started.
"And that is…?" Emmett said impatiently, trying to get Edward to make his point.
"Well, we've all agreed that we will do whatever it takes to make sure all nine of us live through this visit to Volterra, but what if it comes down to something like someone's freedom? Let's say Aro figures out a way to make Fred stay. Are we going to defy the Volturi and risk almost certain death to see him freed? We've all agreed this is unlikely, but what if they demand to turn Bella and keep her there? What if they offer to let us all go unharmed if Alice stays? There are so many possibilities, and I wouldn't have even thought to bring them up except that Bella reminded me that we're not as 'devious as the Volturi,'" Edward finished by making little quotation marks in the air.
Everyone looked around at each other, not sure what to say.
Fred was the first to pipe up. "If they decide to keep me, you can't risk yourselves for my freedom. I'd just stay with the Vultures until I found a chance to escape, so don't anyone try to go all heroic over me, OK?"
"They'd hunt you down, you know…" Esme murmured sadly.
"Hey, mom, give me some credit! I'd stay long enough to find out their strategies and weaknesses and then I'd literally disappear. Yeah, I'd be on the run, but they'd never catch me if I knew how to watch out for them," Fred boasted.
"I hope you're right about that," Carlisle said, "but I really hope it won't come down to that."
"They ain't keeping Alice without a fight, that's for damn sure," Jasper growled.
"I'd argue with you, but I feel the same way about Bella," Edward empathized.
"Sorry to bust in on your gloom-and-doom-fest here, Edward," Rosalie snarked, "but chances are, none of this is going to happen, so why are we all getting our panties in a bunch about nothing? If something happens, we'll deal with it like we always do."
"Rose, to be fair to Edward," Carlisle began cautiously, "these are things we should always think about. We're talking about our values and what we are and aren't willing to do, or to lose, to keep true to our beliefs, and to keep our family together. That being said, Edward, Rosalie is also right. We can't plan for every contingency, even though I'm sure Jasper is trying to."
He grinned at Jasper, who shot him a wink. Carlisle knew his son all too well.
"Thank you, Edward and Bella, for bringing your thoughts and concerns out into the open," Carlisle continued. "And as much as I think we need to discuss our values, I also think we need not react to things that haven't happened. Talking about it is always important, and the best form of preparation."
"H" Emmett snickered, causing Fred to laugh, too.
"Oh, I see what you did there," Rosalie chided her husband sarcastically. "More of your witty fascination with human bodily functions, I see. I'm so proud."
"Aw, come on, Rosie! That was a good one," he bellyached. "You gotta admit it."
"I don't 'gotta' admit anything, except that I'm married to an idiot."
"And that you love me, you gotta admit that," Emmett said as he sauntered over to his wife and wrapped his big, burly body around her. As they kissed, she managed to bop him in the back of the head, which meant all was right with their world.
**-…-**
A/N: So, we're very close to heading off to Italy. I really think I need to take a trip there myself, solely for research purposes, of course. You KNOW how dedicated I am to accuracy in storytelling.
Re: The date they found Fred – I pulled it from the Twilight Lexicon Timeline. If you think it's wrong, it's not my fault!
Hope you are enjoying the story and please review! Your comments really make me smile. A lot.