A/N: Thanks to my amazing BETA ACEMCKEAN.
Ch POV:
Time ceased to have any meaning. My mind's ability to think seemed to increase but the concept of the passage of time was gone. It was ironic, but after a short time, the burning seemed to ease. Not that the pain was completely gone, but it seemed to be less intense. Tolerable, I guess.
Pain... I almost felt like I was used to pain. It was familiar. Pain was my reality in many forms. First the emotional. Coming home to find Renee packing her bags to leave, taking my baby girl away with her. It broke me. Renee and Bella owned my whole heart and they took it when they left. That was pain... This was uncomfortable. I got used to the numbness. I covered it with friends and fishing, and the brief glances I got into Bella's life in phone calls, letters and brief visits.
When she came to live with me the pain got better. I still mourned the loss of her mother but my baby girl was home. My heart, which I assumed was long dormant, began to beat again. People around me noticed. I smiled more and I laughed, not a chuckle or a guffaw, but I full out laughed.
Then she was gone and my life was plunged into pure night. The pain was way worse than the first time I lost her. Then I knew she was safe, the second time, I was lost. Nothing made sense and no matter what I did, I was unable to find her. I didn't know if she was even alive. That pain brought me to my knees. This was nothing.
I focused my thoughts again on my little girl. She was now a mom and those two little grand-babies of mine would know that their grandpa loves them. So would Bella. She would know that her dad loves her more than anything.
She left to protect me and her children, worried for everyone else but herself of course. But she managed to bring them into the world herself and when the chips were down she came back to her old dad. I guess I did a good job if she knew I would be there for her and the twins when this craziness started.
Craziness... Vampires and werewolves... Wow, just wow!
I felt my heart pick up speed, racing against the pain. As I focused on my body once again, I realized that the pain was gone from my extremities. My hands and feet were free from the fire. Was this going to be over soon?
I began to focus outside my body, outside my own mind.
"Charlie," I heard my name being called by someone with a tinkling bell voice. "It's Alice, Charlie. You're almost there. I need you to stay calm so Jasper is here to help with that. Bella and the twins are going to leave for a little bit, just until you've eaten."
"I've never seen a vampire with a mustache before," I heard from another voice, deep and male, with a hint of humor. I searched my brain to see if it was a voice I had heard before.
Emmett. It sounded different now, but the same too.
"Charlie, it's Carlisle. When you wake up everything is going to seem confusing and overwhelming. Try to remember that we are all here to help you. The sooner you will be able to be with Bella and the babies," Carlisle said.
I took a deep breath and listened some more.
"He seems very controlled in his thoughts," someone said.
"His emotions seem rather calm too, considering what's going on and our words seem to calm him even more," another voice said.
"Thanks, Jasper," the first voice said. "Charlie, it's Edward. Bella is anxious to see you. She really wants to be here but the twins demanded her immediate attention. Once you have fed we will get you two back together, and if you're calm enough, the twins too."
I concentrated on staying calm, and focused on the quick pounding from my heart. I almost laughed, thinking what the cardiologist would think about this. I guess my blood pressure wouldn't be an issue anymore... And the arthritis in my knees would probably be gone too.
Would I make a good vampire? I mean the only thing I was any good at before was being a cop. I wasn't a good dad, not really. I was a terrible husband, an adequate friend at best, and an okay fisherman. What would change as a vampire?
"Everything will change, Charlie," Edward said. "If you are anything like Bella you will be an incredible vampire. And Bella would disagree with you about the dad comment. She always thought you were a great dad."
Mind reader. That could be annoying, I bet. I wonder how Bella deals with it, I thought to myself... And Edward I guess.
"For you and me both Charlie. Not only can I hear the things you don't want, but I get way more that I don't like too. And I can't hear Bella. She and Jace are the only ones I can't hear," Edward answered.
I thought to myself of all the things I should say to the mindreader while my heart beat it's last beats.
I could only come up with a few.
You better take care of my girl and those babies. I may not have been able to take you out with my gun before, not that I wouldn't have tried, but if I'm as strong as the rest of you I will kick your ass if you hurt her.
He chuckled in response.
I may not be completely old fashioned but You will make an honest woman out of my daughter. I saw the rock on her finger so it means that she wants it too.
"Charlie, I want that more than anything in this world. And when you walk Bella down the aisle her every wish will be fulfilled as well," he said.
I was going to think of more things to think but that idea was wrenched from my brain as my heart took off faster than I ever though possible. I gasped in shock and pain.
"You're almost done, Charlie. Try to stay calm," Alice said.
Calm? When my heart was ready to jump out of my chest?
Then it was done. There was no magic beat. One second it was flying and then it wasn't.
I took a deep breath. What a weird feeling. It almost felt unnecessary.
"It is unnecessary," Edward said. "We just keep it up for appearances and to be able to speak."
I blew the air out and opened my eyes.
Nothing looked the same. It was all different. I brought my hand up close to examine it. Even that was different.
"Am I in the Twilight Zone?" I asked quietly.
Crap! I even sound different!
"Nope," Alice said. "This is your new reality."
I looked over at Alice. She was even cuter with these new eyes.
"Look at his eyes!" Alice gasped.
"What's the matter with my eyes?" I asked.
"Nothing. It'll be fine. Calm Alice," Carlisle said.
I was not calm. There was something wrong.
"You will tell me what is going on right now! Don not sugar coat it," I demanded.
Suddenly every person in the room started in trying to explain, and they all looked shocked about it.
"Stop!" I yelled. "Carlisle, you explain!"
They all stopped instantaneously and Carlisle cleared his throat.
"Your eyes are golden, like ours. Newborns eyes are usually red. The only other vampire born with golden eyes is Bella. Otherwise it takes months for them to change, and that's only if you are an animal drinker not a human drinker," he said.
"Why the hell would I want to drink from humans?" I asked.
"That is the usual diet of our kind. My family, and I, we're different. We live off of the blood of animals. Most of our kind have red eyes, human drinkers. Even after they stop drinking from humans, it takes months for the color to turn golden," Carlisle explained.
"Now Charlie, I think you have a power," Edward said.
"A power? Like mind reading?" I asked.
"There are many powers. Mind reading is mine. Jasper can control emotions. Alice sees the future. Kate can zap you with her fingers..." Edward explained.
"And Bella and the twins?" I asked.
"Bella is a shield. She cannot be harmed by any mental power, but there is more that Eleazar can't see, probably because of the shield. Arriel can share her thoughts with others and sees the future as well. Jace is complex but seems to be a copier and booster of other's powers," he explained quickly.
"And I can see Bella after I hunt?" I asked.
Edward and Carlisle both nodded.
"Then what's the hold up?" I asked.
"Let's get you fed, and then I want Eleazar to tell me what you have going on Charlie," Carlisle said.
"Eleazar?" I asked.
"Another friend with a gift. He senses other's gifts and can let us know what you have going on," he said.
"Well let's go eat," I said. "I need to get things back to normal. Where do we go?"
They instructed me briefly on following my instincts and told me that the Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper would be with me to keep any humans safe. Not like I had any desire to harm anyone.
They led the way out the back door into the woods and started running. Damn were they fast. There was no way I'd be able to keep up.
I started to run anyways, figuring I'd do my best. To my shock I was just as fast as any of them, if not a bit faster, I was catching up!
After I passed them I felt like I could keep going for hours. My body did not struggle for oxygen and if anything, my muscles felt better the more I ran.
"Umm Charlie," Edward called. "You might want to stop before we reach Canada."
As soon as I heard him I stopped. And I gave a new meaning to stopping on a dime. Soon the three other vampires were next to me and I knew that was my cue to start the hunt.
"What do you hear? What do you smell?" Carlisle asked.
I didn't answer but let myself follow my instincts. My instincts seemed pretty good as they led me to a small pack of deer. I just went with the flow and made a dash and grabbed the largest deer, sinking my teeth into his neck.
It was no T-bone but it was pretty good.
"Do you want another?" Carlisle asked.
"Not really. They were okay, nothing to write home about," I said.
"The herbivores never are. Now the carnivores.... They are some good eats," Emmett said.
"So where do I find me a carnivore then?" I asked.
Jasper led the way and we followed him. We came to a stop and Emmett smiled, almost devilishly and nodded for me to continue. I took a few steps forward and focused. There was a large wet thumping sound coming from the left and I took a deep breath.
That was definitely more like it!
I stalked closer to my prey, wondering briefly what it was. When he finally came into my line of sight I smiled. A bear.
Definitely smelled better than the deer.
I moved closer, the stupid bear didn't have a clue.
Before he even noticed my presence I pounced, grabbing him from behind. He was not happy with that and swatted at me. But I was too fast. I darted out of the way and chose a better angle. I launched myself from the side. He got a paw up just in time and I closed my eyes and waited for the pain. It never came. I moved again, trying to perfect my angle and decided for a head on strike.
The bear didn't have a chance. I tackled him to the ground and had my teeth in the dense fur around his neck before he could grab another breath. I sucked the rich liquid from his neck quickly savoring the taste and soothing texture as it soothed my aching throat. Once he was drained I looked up to see Carlisle, Jasper and Emmett sitting on a rock outcrop a little ways away.
"Told you he'd be a natural," Emmett said with a grin.
"That was definitely better than deer," I said, feeling pretty darn smug.
"And more fun too," Emmett said, dropping from the rock.
"That was quite the thrill," I said.
"You Swans are incredible," Carlisle said.
"How so?" I asked.
"Your control. Most newborns are frantic. Compare it to a drug addict going cold turkey, desperate for his next fix and ten times stronger than anyone else around him," Carlisle said.
"Really?" I asked.
He nodded in agreement and I thought about it.
"So I'm stronger than him?" I asked pointing to Emmett, who had at least six inches and fifty pounds of muscle on me.
"Yup," Jasper said with a wicked smile.
"Good to know," I said with a smirk.
"Wanna wrestle Pops?" Emmett asked.
"Why?" I asked.
"Fun," he answered.
I decided that a little horseplay wouldn't hurt anyone and nodded. Emmett laughed with complete glee. Obviously he enjoyed a good wrestling match. I was a little apprehensive, I mean the guy is huge!
Before I could even set myself the massive giant launched himself at me, knocking me into a tall tree, which to my surprise, gave way with a massive crack. The monstrous tree fell to the ground, taking two slightly smaller trees with it.
"So that's how it's gonna be, is it?" I said, standing and facing the grinning vampire that had just used me as an axe.
"Bring it, Pops," he said with a grin.
He used his fingers to motion me forward, but I wasn't ready for a frontal attack. My training as a police officer had made me more of a defensive specialist. Being goaded into an attack was never smart. I just smiled at him with an evil smirk and repeated the motion at him. He couldn't resist and launched himself at me. I allowed him to tackle me to the ground, but as I hit the earth I rolled back, bringing my feet up and proceeded to launch Emmett over my shoulder.
This new strength was amazing! I watched as he crashed into a tree twenty feet away, bringing it crashing down, and it was an even bigger tree than the one I had been knocked into.
I briefly pondered the poor trees fate as Emmett tried to launch himself at me again. No luck, I sidestepped his attack and he crashed into a boulder with a thud. Before he could right himself, I was on his back with both his arms pinned behind him before quickly switching to a full nelson hold.
"Crap," the behemoth vampire in my arms moaned.
"Just like Bella," I heard Jasper whisper to Carlisle.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "What's just like Bella?"
"Your control Charlie. Most newborns fight on instinct at first. There is no plan or strategy. But you had your wits about you the whole time. You didn't allow yourself to be baited into Emmett's trap and planned a way to out maneuver him," Jasper said, looking pensive.
"I have trained many vampires over the years and dealt with more newborns than I care to remember, but I have only ever seen one vampire who matches your control, Bella. And I haven't seen her fight," he said. "I only heard it and saw the aftermath. Two dead vamps and Bella still in a pristine white gown."
"So why is that?" I asked. "What makes us different?"
"It may be that Jace's venom is different. Or, perhaps it is just a Swan thing. I'd like to run some tests," Carlisle said.
"So since I'm just like Bella, can I please go and see her now?" I asked.
"I don't see why not. Your thirst appears to be under control, and I can't honestly see you as a threat to the babies as long as you remember that you are strong enough to crush rock," Carlisle said.
"Really?" I asked, looking at Carlisle in disbelief.
"Totally," he replied.
"Ummm, excuse me. Can you let go now?" Emmett said.
I looked down to see that through this whole conversation I had managed to keep the giant vampire in a full nelson.
"Sorry," I laughed as I released him.
He harrumphed and started to pout like a baby before laughing it off and demanding a rematch at a later date.
We ran at vampire speed back to the house and made our way into the tiny structure. Tiny structure... This place was at least ten square feet bigger than my house.
When we entered the back door I could hear the thrumming of two little hearts. My grandchildren were here.
"Bella," I called, anxious to see her and the babies.
"Over here," she called. I moved over to the sound of her voice. She was in the living room.
So was everyone else.
"It's a little crowded in here, Bells," I said, with a laugh.
"Everybody is worried about you with the babies here, Dad," she said with a huff.
"Are you worried?" I asked, feeling uncertain.
"I trust you, Dad," she said.
"Bella," Edward whispered.
"Oh come on! If they smelled even remotely appetizing, wouldn't the newborn be chomping at the bit, foaming at the mouth, rabid with..." she said.
"Okay, I get all the analogies," he said.
"Please," she said. It wasn't a question, almost a statement, telling him to trust her.
Is he right? Or is she? Am I a danger to my grandchildren? Carlisle says that I can crush a rock with my bare hands. Could I hurt them?
Nerves started to take over. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea, I mean, I could wait and see them later.
"Charlie," Jasper said. "Chill out. Bella trusts you and knows you won't hurt them. Edward is just over protective."
"He's just being a dad. I don't blame him one bit," I said, looking at Edward then at Bella and the twins.
That seemed to chill Edward out. Either that or his voodoo mind reading powers.
"Voodoo mind reading powers, Charlie?" he snickered.
"Know it all," I muttered.
It was like the entire room got lighter with that comment. I even relaxed a lot. It was almost like...
"Jasper?" I asked.
"Sorry," he said, actually looking sheepish.
Bella decided she had enough of the wall of vampires that separated us. She handed the twins to Rosalie and another lady vamp and pushed past Edward to give me a hug.
"Hi, Dad," she said. "Thank you for wanting me enough to stick around."
"Always, Baby Girl," I said kissing her hair.
"So this vampire stuff is pretty cool, huh?" she said, pulling back a little and looking up at me.
"Not bad. Not bad at all," I said. "I got to wrestle the big lug over there."
"Emmett! No way!" she said. "Did you kick his..."
"I let him win! It's only polite, with him being a newborn and all," Emmett interrupted.
"Emmett you are way to competitive for that," Alice snickered.
My mind was suddenly filled with image of Emmett's and my fight. It looked very different from to watch from another perspective. I found myself wondering how this was happening when Emmett growled and stomped his foot.
"She hates me! She's just little and she hates me," he said, sounding like a spoiled child.
Everybody laughed.
"Someone better fill me in. I'm lost," I said.
"Arriel has a gift, Dad. I don't even know how to explain it. But you just saw an image of your fight with Em, right?" she asked.
I nodded.
"That was Arriel. She showed it to all of us," I said.
"Impressive," I said.
"Why do you think she hates you, Emmett?" I asked.
"I don't think she hates me. I know she does," he said, arms crossed and a major scowl on his face.
"He didn't make a very good impression when he first met her," Rosalie explained from next to Emmett. "She seems to hold a grudge."
"I'm sure she'll get over it, eventually. You just need to find the right way to apologize," I said.
"I have to apologize to a baby?" he asked incredulously.
"Sorry never hurt anyone," I said.
"No way. I'm not making a fool out of myself," he said, not realizing that he was doing just that.
"Em, just do it," Rose said.
"No way," he said.
"Come one! What could it hurt?" Jasper asked.
"My pride," Emmett said.
"And your pride is okay with being afraid of a little baby?" Alice asked, grinning.
"She is powerful. I swear she bruised my nose," he said, rubbing his nose again.
"She hit you and that's what you're afraid of?" I asked, laughing.
"She's strong," Emmett defended.
"She's also smaller than one of your biceps!" Edward said, enjoying ribbing Emmett too.
"Not going to happen," Emmett said, crossing his arms like a petulant two year old.
"Emmett. You never know... Maybe it will work," Bella bargained.
"Nope! You can't make me," he said.
"I can," Rose said.
"Don't bet on it," Emmett muttered.
"No sex until you apologize to Arriel," she said to him smugly.
"Like you can resist this awesomeness for more than a day or two," Emmett said while flexing his muscles like a body builder.
"Watch me," she huffed, obviously upset that her ploy didn't work instantly.
"Emmett. Please try it, for me?" Esme asked.
"Nobody is ever going to make me apologize," he said, huffing.
"Emmett Cullen!" Carlisle said.
"No," Emmett said.
"Emmett just get your butt over to the other side of the room, get down on your knees and beg Arriel for forgiveness! This whole argument thing is getting old!" I said, angrily. I wanted to spend time with Bella and the babies, talk to Carlisle and the others and maybe finally wrap my brain around all the changes I was experiencing. I did not want to listen to Emmett acting like he was two.
I don't know exactly what I was expecting to happen when I said that. I can tell you that what happened was not what I expected at all. Emmett dropped his arms from their crossed position and moved across the room to Arriel's side.
Everyone was silent. In fact, nobody but the twins were even breathing.
Emmett dropped to his knees in front of Arriel, where she was being held by Esme. Every eye was on the big oaf as he cleared his throat.
"Arriel. I am so sorry that I scared you by being so loud when we first met. I will try my best to never do it again. Please forgive me and allow me to make it up to you. You name it and you can have it," he begged.
Everybody just stared, open mouthed at Emmett before busting into laughter.
"What the hell?" Emmett asked, enraged. "Can't a guy apologize to his niece without you all busting a gut?"
Well that just made everyone laugh harder. We were all still staring at Emmett and Arriel and Emmett was glaring at us. I noticed Arriel's little hand reaching for Emmett. He gasped in shock as her warm little hand rested on his cheek for a minute before she pulled it away.
"She loves me... And when she gets bigger she wants a pony... Only Jasper you aren't allowed near it," Emmett said, causing more laughter.
"Now, can someone please explain why Emmett was so unwilling to apologize and suddenly, as soon as I said anything he did it?" I asked.
"That's your gift Charlie," a dark haired vampire said to me.
"Okay... Wait I am so confused. There are so many of you and I don't know you all. I know the Cullens but who are the rest of you?" I asked. I knew I had seen them before, at my house, but my memories of that time were so foggy due to shock, most likely.
A little titter went around the room, before a blonde woman spoke up.
"Most of us are from the Denali clan," she said. "I am Tanya. This is my sister Kate. She has a shocking power. My sister Irina is in one of the bedrooms with her mate Laurent, who is hopefully recovering from the recent attack. These two are Eleazar and Carmen. Eleazar can see powers, if people or vamps possess them. This is my mate, Connor, and to his left is Kate's mate Garrett."
"And who is the woman who went upstairs when I arrived? I didn't see her at my house before," he said.
"That is Athenodora. She was the wife of the man responsible for the attacks. Although she was more of a prisoner than a spouse," Alice chimed in, before her eyes seemed to lose focus. She grinned at the end and so did Edward. I was about to ask what all that was about when I heard Carlisle's voice.
"So what is it, Eleazar?" he asked.
"It is confusing to say the least. I believe the best way to describe it would be justice," Eleazar said.
"Justice?" I asked.
"It seems that if you command something that is morally right in a situation that everyone must obey. You will also be able to discern the truth from a lie, and I suspect that you will be able to force someone to tell the truth," he said.
"So basically, I'm a vamp cop?" I asked.
The laughter started again and I looked at Bella to see her reaction.
"So you ready to spend eternity with a cop as a dad, Kiddo?" I asked her.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," she said, smiling at me.
"So are there limits to his powers?" Carlisle asked.
"I don't think he could go crazy. There seems to be a limit and I believe that Charlie's morals, his sense of right and wrong would dictate the actions. If he commanded Jasper cluck like a chicken because he was irritating him, it wouldn't work. But if he were to demand someone pay restitution to someone else... They would have to listen," Eleazar said.
"Aro will not be impressed," Carlisle said, and I found myself wondering who this Aro was.
"Vampire royalty. He sorta calls the shots in our world," Edward said responding to my thoughts.
"Megalomaniac?" I asked.
"Precisely," Edward answered.
I nodded my head, trying to grasp my brain around the megalomaniac dictator of the vampire realm.
"You mentioned Aro," Athenodora said coming down the stairs. "I heard about Charlie's power. Aro will not be impressed."
The woman in front of me was stunning. I found that I couldn't help but to stare at her. She smiled softly at me before turning her focus onto Carlisle, but that was short lived, even though she spoke to him she continued to glance at me.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Aro were to come for a little visit. It's not everyday that a coven gets taken on by Caius and an army and lives to tell about it," she said.
"Aro can't come. The babies! He would think that they are immortal children. He wouldn't even ask questions... Bella and the babies need to be safe," Edward said.
"Immortal children?" I said. "I hate missing out on large parts of conversations! And why are my grandchildren, who I haven't even really seen with these new eyes, in danger?"
"Calm, Charlie," Alice said. "I'll explain immortal children first and that should answer your other question. Well, first off I need to explain something else.... Vampires can't reproduce... Well, I guess that is no longer true. Vampire women can't reproduce, therefore we didn't even know it would be possible for Edward and Bella to... You know. So a long time ago many covens and mated pairs decided that children would be a wonderful thing, and so created them..."
"As in turned children???" I asked.
"Yes," Alice said.
"That's just...." I sputtered, thinking of my time burning.
"Sick, twisted, disgusting... I could go on," Alice said.
"Alice!" Carlisle said and she gave him a glance that looked suitable ashamed.
"I can't speak for anyone else, but I can't see why anyone could have turned a child," she said, looking towards the Denali women.
"Don't worry, Alice. We agree on all fronts," Tanya said.
"They can tell you their story later if they choose to," Alice said looking at me. "Anyways, back to the immortal children. These children were beautiful. Stunning to look at and covens couldn't help but love them. It was no matter. They were as strong and fast as an adult newborn but they could not be controlled. They were permanently stuck at whatever stage of development they were changed at. A two year old throwing a temper tantrum could wipe out a whole village. They were uncontainable for the most part and so the Volturi stepped in and after careful study, they decided that the children posed an incredible risk to the security and secrecy of our world. They made it illegal to create immortal children. After sending out that decree they began to travel the world in search of covens who did not obey. Of course those covens would fight to the last person to save the children they loved... It was an ugly time."
"Charlie," Tanya said, calling my attention. "My sisters and I are true blood sisters, not just venom. Our creator, and mother for all intents and purposes, created such a child. My sisters and I knew nothing of him until the day Aro arrived pulling our mother with him. She had been spending great amounts of time away from us, and came home smelling different, but we assumed she had met someone... A man. When Aro arrived with all his cloaked guard and revealed our mother's secret, we nearly lost our lives that day. Aro read our minds and discovered that we knew nothing of the child and spared us, much to Caius' displeasure. Our mother was invited to speak before she was killed. Her only words were 'I'm sorry, Girls. I love you, but he needed me.' Then she was gone, ripped apart and burned."
It was silent as everyone took in the magnitude of the words Tanya had spoken.
"They didn't even stay. They left us to watch our mother and baby brother, that we had never known, burn. Nobody ever explained. We..." Kate chimed in, moving to hold Tanya's hand.
Silence again. Only broken by a little squawk from one of the babies.
"Shhh, Arriel," Bella said, moving across the floor to pick up and cuddle her daughter.
Without really thinking about it, I followed her, almost as if I was being pulled on a string. I briefly considered if I was a danger to my grandchildren, but I figured if none of the other vamps in the room were going to move to stop me, I would keep going. Within the blink of an eye, I was at Bella's side, glancing down at my little granddaughter.
With my new eyes I was finally able to see her. Her beauty before had been stunning but now she was breathtaking. She has the well defined vampire beauty that you would have to be a fool not to notice but she also had some vestiges of human beauty. Her eyes were breathtakingly perfect as she stared into my face. The pink tinge to her skin from her outburst, seemed to perfect the picture. Her little rosebud lips were pursed and she pattered her hand against her mother's arm insistently.
"Quite insistent isn't she?" Bella said, smiling in my direction.
"Her gift?" I asked.
"She shows pictures, sometimes of the future and sometimes of the past," Bella explained.
With everything else that was going on, why not a all seeing baby?
Bella leaned down to Arriel, allowing Arriel to touch her face.
We were all quiet for a moment until Edward growled slightly.
"You've seen it," Bella said to Edward, with a smile. "It will work out fine."
"Why do I feel like I'm missing something?" I asked.
"Join the club," the rest of the family said in unison, looking between Bella and Edward for an answer.
"She wants Charlie to hold her and read to her again," Bella said with a smile.
"Really?" I asked.
"Really!" she said with a smile.
The room emptied quickly, everyone going off to do their own thing. Finally only the Cullens were left and I sat down on the couch, getting ready to hold my granddaughter for the first time with vampire strength.
To say I was nervous was an understatement.
"Just be gentle Charlie. She is breakable," Edward said.
"Edward!" Bella admonished, glaring at him, before turning to put little Arriel in my arms.
I was actually trembling, I was so nervous. I knew in my heart that I could never do anything to harm either one of my grandchildren, but the fear was there.
The weight of my granddaughter in my arms was pure heaven. I loved the feel of her warm body against mine.
"I'm not too cold for her am I?" I asked.
"No, they both seem to like our lower body temperature," Bella answered.
"I'm glad," I said.
"They aren't very appealing, are they Charlie?" Emmett asked, referring to the blood coursing slowly through their veins.
"Not at all," I replied. Bella took Jace from his grandma and placed him in my other arm.
I liked having them in my arms and I found myself wondering about their future. Would they grow normally, like human children, or would they grow faster... Or not grow at all? Would their growth stop at some point? I mean, from my understanding vampires don't change, ever, so what is in store for my grandchildren. Would I have to watch them grow old and die? Would they want to be changed if that was the case? So many questions.
"Tell me about it," Edward muttered, looking at the babies dozing in my arms.
Jasper handed me a copy of the newspaper so that I could read to the twins. I smiled at him in thanks and turned immediately to the sports page.
"The Miami Dolphins are favored to win the Super Bowl this year," I read to the babies. "What do they know? We want the Seahawks to get there, don't we guys?"
I read as the slept on me and after I finished the sports page, I got to the classified section. The first thing I saw was the obituaries.
Charles M. Swan
1968 - 2009
Beloved friend, father and community leader.
Chief Charlie Swan was a well respected member of the Forks community for his whole life. He joined the police force in 1987 at age 19 and moved quickly up the ranks, becoming chief in 1994. He is survived by many friends and loved ones. He has one child, Isabella, born in 1990, who is missing. He is predeceased by his parents, Mitch (1984) and Caroline (1989). Funeral will be held Friday at 4 pm at Forks Community Church. Reverend Webber will be officiating. Reception to follow at his home, hosted by Renee and Phil Dwyer. Donations can be made to Forks Police Charity Fund or The Wilderness Safety Fund in Charlie's Honor.
"So they all think I'm dead," I said sadly. "All my friends... Everyone I knew..."
"Most of them, Dad," Bella said sadly. "Billy and Harry know the truth and all the pack."
"Can I see Billy? I think I need some normalcy back," I said.
"That's a bad idea, Charlie. You are a newborn vampire and they are your natural food source. It would be like waving a T-bone in front of a starving man. Maybe in a few years," Jasper said sadly.
"You mean I'd see my friends as food?" I asked, unable to fathom that thought.
"Potentially," Carlisle answered. "Bella is not tempted at all, but none of us have ever seen anything like it. It is not, how can I put this... Normal."
"What about me is? Is there a way for us to test him?" Bella asked. "Maybe it's in the Swan genes or something."
"What do you suggest Edward? Jasper?" Carlisle asked.
"If we got a large blood sample, from either Billy or Harry... We could test him with that. If he shows no interest then we could assume it is safe. I would be able to sense his emotions and Edward could see what he is thinking... It could work," Jasper suggested.
"I would like that. I can't imagine never seeing them again... They kept me going for a long time," I said.
The twins stirred in my arms and little Arriel placed her hand on mine and demanded that I pass them to their mother for a feeding.
"Hungry?" Bella asked.
"Definitely!" I answered, handing her the two precious bundles.
She smiled and took them for me, making her way to one of the bedrooms with them. Edward followed close behind and I sat back contemplating the future.
I hoped that I could retain my friendship with Billy and Harry... And that I didn't desire the taste of their blood. That would be awkward. I contemplated other things too, things I left behind and things to look forward to. A certain vampire lady kept popping up in my thoughts as I looked forward, and I found myself wanting to get better acquainted with Athenodora.