Rating/Warning(s)/Note(s): T, Shadows
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Prompt: Astray
Dialogue Flex: "I didn't come here to argue," he said.

Sue, Seth, Leah, Edward and I sat in chairs arrayed around Charlie's bed, waiting for him to wake up. Every now and then one of us would speak in a hushed whisper, but until he woke up there really wasn't much we could decide about his care. The only constant sounds were the beeping of the heart monitor and Sue and my sniffling as we tried not to cry.

After telling us about Charlie he filled us in on Sue. The tendon running over the top of her left shoulder was slightly torn, as were the ligaments in her elbow. Nothing was completely ripped, thankfully, which meant no surgery for her. What it didn't mean was no pain, though, something she remembered with a grimace every time she tried to move it. Carlisle gave her steroids to help reduce the inflammation and facilitate healing, but the combination of those, her arm still hurting, and the man she just married lying unconscious in a hospital with an inoperable brain tumor made her far more emotional than normal.

"I can take a leave of absence from school for a year," I said when the topic came around to caring for Charlie once again.

"He would hate that," Sue replied. "He's so proud of you, Bella, and Leah and Seth are here, along with all the pack."

"But he's my dad, I can't go back to school knowing he's hurting or having trouble." I felt Edward's cold fingers whisk a tear away from my cheek. Laying my head on his shoulder I breathed in his scent, taking comfort in it.

"It'll hurt him more if you drop out of school." She gave me a gentle smile. "I know you've taken care of him for years, Bella, but think how much it'll mean to him to see you graduate." Leah and Seth were nodding beside her. I knew we were at an impasse, and if Charlie were awake he'd overrule me, but I didn't think I could focus on my studies knowing he was ill. With a sigh I gave a non-committal shrug and looked back at my father.

His eyes were open, and he was glaring at me. "You are finishing school, young lady," Charlie said, his voice rough, barely discernible, and music to my ears.

"Oh, dad," I cried, throwing myself out of the chair, only to stop short and hover over him, not knowing where to hug. He didn't have any broken bones from the accident either, but I could see bruises on his arms and chest where the hospital gown didn't cover him.

"Why do you all look like you're at a funeral?" he rasped. "Or am I about to die and nobody's told me yet?"

He looked from face to face, realization dawning as he took in my wide eyes and Sue's sob. "I'm dying?"

"Not for a while yet," Carlisle said, walking through the door, bringing a scent of antiseptic with him. "But it will be sooner than any of us planned."

Charlie looked at us all, reaching out his hand to take Sue's good one. "I see." He kept his eyes on Sue. "Why? How long?"

Carlisle cleared his throat, calling Charlie's attention back to him. "Brain tumor, inoperable, depends on how fast it grows, we're predicting about another year." Charlie nodded. At first I was upset that Carlisle didn't break it to him easier, but when I thought about it I realized this was perfect. My father didn't like to beat around the bush, he wanted it straight.

Charlie nodded. "Will I be incapacitated?"

"Eventually, but there's no way to know how or how much." Carlisle scrubbed a hand over his cheek and around his chin. "I can give you guesses, predictions, but only time will tell."

"Give them to me, I won't hold you to them."

Carlisle turned to a whiteboard, flicking on a back light and began to put up pictures. "This is your MRI. You can see here the layers of your brain. Right now the mass is located in the basal ganglia, the center of your brain." He pointed to a center picture where it was plain something was different. "It affects the messages sent through your brain, which is why you blacked out." He pointed to another picture. "You can see that it's growing into your parietal and frontal lobes. Eventually this will affect your motor functions, sensations, judgment, things like that."

"Other than the headaches, will it hurt?" Charlie asked, trying to sit up so he could see better. I rushed over to help, but he waved me off.

"There's no way to know until it does." Carlisle flipped off the backlight and grabbed a chair, situating it next to my father. "What will hurt is what I have to tell you now." Charlie motioned for him to continue. "Given the accident, I have to take away your driver's license. There's no way to know if you will black out again, which makes you a danger to others."

That was the first news to really hit my father hard. "But if I can't drive…"

"You can't work either."

"Now wait just one minute…"

"I didn't come here to argue," Carlisle said, holding up a hand. "There's nothing you can say to change my mind on this. Think like a cop, Charlie, and you'll know I'm right."

"Might as well kill me now," Charlie huffed. He looked over to Sue. "Do you want an annulment? I don't think you want to take care of an invalid."

Watching Sue's reaction showed me why none of the wolf pack gave her any grief. Despite her shoulder she sat up straight, put a glare that could freeze the Amazon River on her face, pointed at my father and let him have it. "Now you listen to me, Charles Swan, and you listen good. I didn't marry you in health and for richer only. As I recall there was a in sickness and a for poorer in there as well. I knew one of us would die before the other, I've lived through that once and I can do it again. I love you, you stupid, cantankerous, stubborn man, and you can't get rid of me that easily."

"When we married I thought I was in health, although the poorer was pretty much a given," Charlie said. "I just don't want to lead you astray…"

"Astray? You're not pushing drugs on me…"

"Actually you'll probably have to do that to him," Carlisle interjected.

"You stay out of this," Charlie griped before turning back to Sue. "I can hire a nurse."

"Fine, hire a nurse, but you're not getting rid of this wife until you die, so deal with it." A tear slipped from the corner of Sue's eye, matching the one my father was trying to keep from spilling over.

"Yes, ma'am," Charlie answered, saluting her.

"Glad we've got that straightened out." She clapped her hands together, wincing in at the pain that reminded her of her hurt shoulder. "Now, it seems we have a retirement party to plan. Where's Alice?"

I had a wonderful time playing with the kids, but now I'm back! Unfortunately, I also need to judge eighteen entries for a Romance Writers of America contest. Hopefully it won't take long, but I have to dedicate tomorrow evening to it. If I can stay out of my defrosting garden, that is...