Rating/Warning(s)/Note(s): T, Shadows
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Prompt: Bag

Alice was flying blind. Technically, we all were since we were in a plane somewhere over the plains, but Alice was the only one frustrated. She could clearly see Aro and the guard walking to a clearing in the mountains east of Forks. What she couldn't see was us, or the wolves, or the result of the confrontation, or even my father.

"Sam, Leah and Seth are with him" Jacob said when she complained. "I called them last night."

"That doesn't help me see if he's okay, you know, or if he's going to make it through this," she huffed in annoyance.

"Then why don't you keep an eye on Marta for me?" he growled back. Marta was due in a couple weeks and the airline wouldn't let her fly. The person at the counter was close to calling the police when Edward pulled him back and told him Esme was renting a car.

"She'll be with us the day after tomorrow," Edward whispered. Esme only had to stop for gas, food and potty breaks for Marta. Other than that she could drive non-stop. It was a fast car.

"But what if she has the baby?" he asked, concern deep in his voice. He wanted to stay behind with her, but Marta insisted he fly with us so he could be with his brothers quickly.

"She won't," Alice said. "She will miss all the fun, though." That brought a smile to Jacob's face. The first since we boarded the plane in Manchester.

We were met at bag claim by Sue. Her eyes were darting everywhere, picking out the vampires that were trailing us. Carlisle walked to her and took her hand. "I'm so sorry to have brought this on your people. If we'd had any clue…"

She looked at Edward and me. "You would have done the same thing all over again." Looking back to Carlisle she added, "Those two are very much in love. Isn't that happiness what we want for all our children?"

"But at such a price? I just wish we could have avoided this unpleasantness."

"I get the feeling that Aro was looking for any excuse to attack you. You may be…" she glanced around to see if anyone else was listening, and lowered her voice as she leaned in to whisper, "what you are. We are what we are. It's been hard for us to accept the idea of good…you know whats…but we will always fight against the bad."

"How's dad?" I asked, unable to contain my concern any longer.

She grimaced. "Not great, Bella. It's affecting his appetite and vision. Food doesn't taste the same, so he's lost quite a bit of weight." A tear started to form in her eye. "He keeps telling me he doesn't want to widow me again, and I'll admit to you I'm not looking forward to burying another husband." At the last her stoic demeanor crumbled. The tear that was forming slid down her cheek, joined by many others as she hiccupped a sob. "I'd almost consider having him changed to save him, but then he'd be left a widow." I watched as she pulled her emotions under control, wiping her tears on a tissue she'd pulled from her purse. "He's expecting us. Let's get a move on. Is the luggage here yet?" Everyone allowed the subject to be changed.

With Sue driving it took much longer than normal to reach Forks. I was never so happy to fly into Port Angeles. As a result it was only an hour and a half, instead of at least five before we got home.

Sue wasn't exaggerating. If anything, she understated how my dad looked. Skin seemed to hang from his bones. He was forcing down a bowl of ice cream as if someone was trying to get him to eat gruel.

"Ice cream?" I asked, looking at the heaping bowl.

"Hey, Bells," Charlie replied, squinting as he looked to where my voice came from. "Yeah, they're making me eat this stuff. Seems I need the calories." He set the bowl aside. "It's easier to take if I let it melt, then I can just drink it down."

"Do you want to stay here or back at Carlisle's house?" Edward asked.

"Where should we be?"

"Alice says there are a lot of vampires there now. We need to talk to them. Carlisle wants me there to make sure nothing is being hidden from us." He turned me so I was facing him and tilted my chin up gently. "If you want to spend this time with your father we'd all understand."

Apparently Charlie's hearing was actually improved. "You go on over there, Bells. Sam told me some of what is going on. I remember that Aro character. If you have to make plans to keep him from bothering you in the future, you should definitely go."

I knelt down beside Charlie and wrapped my fingers around his hand. The bones felt soft in my grip. "I love you dad, you know that, right?"

He nodded and harrumphed. "I love you as well. Now go and save us from the bad vampires. Although, if I didn't know these Cullens I wouldn't believe there was such a thing as good vampires."

"We'll be back as soon as we can," I promised, hoping it wasn't a lie.

As soon as we were out of the house, Edward swung me onto his back. "We'll meet you there," he said to Carlisle before taking off at a run.'

"Is there a reason we're not riding with them?" I asked, hoping the wind didn't whip my words away.

He stopped in the middle of the woods and slid me off his back. Taking a step back, his hands on my shoulders, he looked me in the eye. "I wanted to be sure you were okay before you had to deal with a bunch of nomads and disgruntled vampires."

"I'm fine. Let's go plan what we're going to do."

His eyes narrowed as he looked at me. Whatever he was looking for he didn't find it. Straightening up, crossing his arms over his chest, he lifted an eyebrow and stared. I began to shake my head, wanting to deny I was affected by how my father looked, but I couldn't lie to him. Besides, I wasn't as strong as Sue.

"I just can't believe I'm losing him. Isn't he supposed to live until I'm at least in my forties?" Tears splashed down off the edge of my jaw. "Would he make it to my graduation, even if Aro didn't pull this?"

Edward opened his arms, and wrapped them around me after I walked into them. "Will he see me as a vampire?"

"He might. It's one of the things we're discussing tonight."

For some reason this made me cry even harder. It felt as if someone was reaching into my chest and ripping my heart in two. The largest part remained, wrapped in the arms of this man, but I could feel the other part burning, turning to ash. A keening sound rent the air. Edward's shushing made me realize it was me.

Time ceased to exist as I mourned the loss of my father, even if he wasn't gone yet. Self-recriminations surfaced in my mind. I should have spent more summers with him. I should have not gone to Dartmouth, but stayed home with him. Would it have killed me to go fishing one of the hundreds of times that he asked? Or sat with him as he watched some inane sport. Maybe I would have even enjoyed it if I'd taken the time to learn more about whatever it was he was watching.

Part of me knew Charlie would never accept this. He loved fishing because of the peace and quiet. He loved sports, true, but whenever I sat with him he changed the channel to something he thought I liked better. Even me going away to school was a dream come true for him.

And then I mourned as I finally understood the depth of the love my father felt for me. How often he sacrificed so I was happy. How often he took pleasure in my happiness.

Eventually the tears ebbed, and I found myself on Edward's lap. It was dark, night had closed over us with me completely unaware, as if the sun, too went into mourning. There was no light in this new reality, the one where my father no longer existed.

But then the moon broke through some clouds, setting Edward's skin to glowing. "I'm here," he whispered to me, answering some unspoken desire in my heart. "I'm not going anywhere."

A couple more sobs broke through, but I managed to swallow down the rest. "Better?" he asked. I nodded, although I couldn't quite yet speak.

He sighed. "Good, because it's about to get much worse."

Sorry lovelies, it's been a very busy weekend for me. I'll try to get another chapter up tomorrow, but no promises.