A/N: I am so sorry it has taken so long to update this fic. Real life has kicked me in the butt lately, but I am slowly regaining control! For those of you that have added this story to you favourites and to the ones who have reviewed, you have my eternal gratitude. You are a big part of why I am determined to continue this story. This chapter is not huge, but I ended it here because it felt right. The next one is much bigger and the story pace will pick up, I promise. I hope to have the next chapter up within a week or so. I don't have a beta, so please forgive my mistakes.

The usual disclaimer applies: SM owns the characters, we just love to keep talking about them!

Sue joined me as I sat on the bench, both of us looking at the sky and savouring the patches of blue. They came about far too infrequently here in Forks. It made me think of my memories of Phoenix, the beautiful blue skies, so often untainted by clouds, the searing heat burning off the bitumen roads, lazy days spent around the small pool in Renee's backyard. I could feel the cool air from the forest that surrounded the house seeping into the backyard, mixing with the warmth from the sun, caressing my skin in a familiar feeling that I associated uniquely with Forks.

"So, do you think they can survive in there without breaking the house or each other for that matter?" Sue asked me with a wry smile on her face as she nodded towards the kitchen.

"They're going to have to I guess." I replied with a wry smile of my own. "Everyone is going to have to learn to live with the changes Charlie's attack has brought on us." I winced as I said "Some will have an easier time of it than others though."

I looked at Sue, thinking about her situation. Of any of us, it is her that this affects the most. The man she loves, the man who she was going to marry, is about to become something her tribe has always seen as a monster, a mortal enemy that should be wiped off the face of the earth.

So many thoughts were running through my head in that moment, but I seized on one that had been worrying me incessantly since this all came about.

"What about you Sue? You are a member of the tribal council; so much of your life revolves around the Quileute tribe and their wellbeing. Are you sure your relationship with Charlie can withstand this? How do you really feel, are you conflicted? Do you really want a future with Charlie now that he is going to be a vampire?" The questions flowed from my mouth in a torrent, and I stopped myself with some effort.

Sue was shaking her head and looking at me with a bemused expression. "Bella, I understand you are worried and have all these questions that need answers, but at the moment, I just don't have any for you. All I can do is assure you, I love your father and I know that he loves me," she smiled ruefully as she said this "although it took him long enough to realise that, and to come to terms with the fact that I had been married to one of his best friends before he died. " She shrugged, "The rest we will have to work out as we go."

I smiled to myself as I considered that, the silence surrounding us until she continued, "Charlie and I have already overcome a lot of hurdles to get to where we are. He is a proud and loyal man, and for a while both of us have struggled with the ghost of Harry always being between us. It has only been very recently that we have resolved ourselves with the fact that what we have between us is real, something to embrace and nurture, rather than be ashamed of. Harry was a wonderful husband to me and father to our children; to Charlie he was a best friend and confidant. He, Billy and Charlie had always shared a unique friendship - something that will be cherished forever by all of them. Life changes though, if one thing is constant in this world it is that - life changes and if you are going to survive, you need to change with it, embracing it and doing everything you can with what you are given. Harry is gone now, and his friendship with Charlie will always remain a wonderful memory, but what Charlie and I have is real and in the present. Harry would want us to be happy, we both know that and I won't allow Charlie's being bitten to come between us."

I chewed on my lip as I considered everything Sue had said. If I was honest with myself, I had to admit that the intensity of her and Charlie's relationship had shocked me. It wasn't that long ago that Harry Clearwater had died, leaving a hole, I'm sure, in both their hearts. I'm certain I am not the only one who has been surprised by the depth of their feelings, and I worried they were rushing into a relationship based on mutual loss. As soon as that thought took hold in my head, I chastised myself. Who the hell was I to question anyone else's feelings just because I didn't understand them? Look at your own history Bella you hypocrite, was the thought running through my head now. I mentally shrugged to myself and decided there were far more pressing things to worry about, and since Sue seemed determined to stand by Charlie - even considering the fact that he was about to turn into one of her tribes mortal enemies, it was not for me to question her decision.

"This really is new territory for all of us, isn't it?" I said.

Sue looked at me and for a fleeting second I saw the weight of everything that has happened on her face, a shadow crossing her features that was quickly replaced with determination.

"Yep" she replied "But it's something we are all going to deal with, because of all of us, it is Charlie that is facing the biggest change of all, through no fault of his own. This has been foretold, it's going to be a huge part of the Quileute history not to mention future, and I'll be damned if I let any of my tribe make it any harder on him than it already is."

I looked at her, seeing the determination and love for my father etched on her features, and couldn't help but feel that no matter what the future held for us, we would face it together, as a family.

"Come on," Sue held her hand out to me, "we probably shouldn't make them stay in the house together without us; I have a feeling that we will be needed as the only mature adult influences here!"

I laughed, and as we got up to go inside the back door was flung open and Edward and Alice rushed outside, followed behind closely by Jacob bringing Billy out with him.

"Sorry Bella, but the house stinks!" They all chorused together and then fell about laughing at their joke. Alice was frantically fanning the air around her while spraying herself with perfumed spray while Jacob ran to the nearest scented bush and was rubbing himself all over with handfuls of its leaves.

"Gotta get the stench out of me somehow Bells!" He chortled.

Edward rolled his eyes at him and came to me, pulling me into his embrace.

"He's being melodramatic love, but he is right, with all of us in the house together, it does rather grate on our senses!"

Billy and Sue just smiled and shook their heads at them all, enjoying the relief of the tension that the laughter brought about.

"Well, I guess you are all going to have to learn to deal with it I suppose. Maybe we are all better off spending time out here in the open anyway." I said as I eyed the back door of my house. It was only barely hanging in its place, the hinges having been bent out of all proportion during their unruly departure from the kitchen.

"Oh Shit! Sorry Bells!" was Jacobs reply as he went to inspect the damage. His eyes narrowed and he pointed at Alice and Edward, "It was their fault too!"

"Yeah, yeah, Jacob, blame us all you want, it's you who can't control your bodily functions!" Was Edwards s remark as they both went to inspect the damage.

"That s ok boys, you'll find Charlie has some tools of some sort in the shed, I'm sure you can redeem yourselves and dazzle us all at the same time with your carpentry skills." Sue said and laughed as we watched the two of them race to the shed, pushing and shoving each other as they went.

"Oh god," groaned Alice, "I don't need to have my visions to see that this could end in disaster."

We all chuckled at that and Billy went over to supervise the chaos that they were bringing down on Charlie's shed.

After an hour and much arguing, the job that should have taken minutes for two supernatural beings to complete was finally done. The door was back in its rightful place, and they had even repaired the droopy steps to the house as well. Calm had returned to my backyard.

Sue, Alice and I had returned to the kitchen and left the men outside to admire their handiwork and slap each other on the backs about what a good job they had done. All of us girls rolled our eyes at them, but it was a pleasant feeling of peace that fell on us as we worked together to make sandwiches to feed the "hungry humans" as Jacob so eloquently put it.

The hours passed, and just as I was about to ask Alice if she knew what was happening, her eyes hazed over in what I knew was a vision. She blinked and then looked directly at me.

"The police have found the attack site and we will hear from them soon. They have taken the bait and believe it was an animal attack. Everything is going as it should Bella. You need to prepare, they will be here in half an hour."

I looked at Edward and then at Sue. This was it. Sue nodded at me and as she did I made a decision. I would phone Renee this afternoon and tell her the news. She would want to come here, but I would put her off, telling her about Sue and Charlie s relationship and asking her to stay away for Sue's sake. I would tell her I would come to visit her with Edward soon, that I needed time to process everything. With our relationship being as it was, that is - me being the more mature, motherly one, I was sure she would do as I asked.

I looked at Alice and she had that faraway look on her face again. "Yes Bella that will work, for the meantime anyway."

I worried about the qualification at the end there but before I could say anything further, Jacobs s phone rang.

I raised an eyebrow at him and he replied as he checked the screen to see who was calling. "What? I have access to modern technology too you know!

I smiled and Edward explained, "He doesn't have contact with the rest of the pack telepathically unless he is in wolf form. Sam and the others are with the police, so they have to use normal means of communication."

"Oh, ok. I didn't think about that." It surprised me how much I had become used to the supernatural way of things and I sighed as I thought about how much the pack and vampires alike had to be aware of how their activities appeared to humans.

Jacob had a short conversation and turned to me as he closed the phone. "Alice is right. They all bought it, and will be doing their CSI thing to determine what happened, but they all think the same thing. It was an obvious animal attack. The two deputies are leaving to come here now."

I nodded and looked at Sue. I think our faces mirrored each other s grief. We held each other s hand and sat on the living room couch while we waited for the men to arrive.

It didn't take long; the deputies came into the house and told Sue and I the news. It wasn't hard to break down and give the policemen the reactions they expected from us. They left not long after, with offers of condolence and help with anything I needed from them.

I looked at Edward with tears in my eyes as I heard the police cruiser leave the driveway for the last time ever. "Can we leave now and go to be with my father, please?"
He looked at me, then Alice, who gave him an almost imperceptible nod.

"Ok love." He looked at Sue, Billy and Jacob. "Would you all like to come now?"

They all nodded quietly and proceeded to stand.

Werewolf, Vampire, Quileute and just plain human, all stood together and made our way out to the cars, heading towards the Cullen s house and the man/vampire that had brought us all together.

A/N : Please let me know what you think!