EPOV

After Bella and Charlie were done talking, he went out to do some yard work. Bella turned back toward us, looking out the window. She couldn't possibly see us, but she gave a thumbs up sign and smiled. I smiled back at her, and Jasper and I turned to go. "I'm heading home," he said. "Unless you want me to join you at the police station?"

"There's nowhere for you to hide there. I'll be fine."

Jasper gave me a long look before he disappeared into the trees. "You better be. Charlie is the Chief of Police, Edward. This needs to be wrapped up or we're going to have a big problem."

Didn't I know it.

My car was still a few blocks away, where I had left it yesterday afternoon. When I got back to it, I got in and called Alice as I started the drive home. She assured me that the forecast was looking good: Charlie was planning on giving me a sound talking-to, but she saw me shaking his hand as I left.

As I drove home, I put in my Debussy CD and allowed myself to relax. Bella had handled herself well, and I was proud her new-found acting skills. She had certainly had a lot of practice ever since she had met me. I smiled as I thought about all the times we had shared since our first visit to the meadow, the day we had first proclaimed our love. My mind flew through the happy memories- our time in the meadow yesterday, dancing with her at the Prom, our several dates where we had "shared" a meal at restaurants, the museum I had taken her to. I laughed out loud as I remembered the look on her face when Alice and I had taken her to a casino on our way back from Phoenix. To celebrate the end of the school year, I had taken her to a Seattle Symphony concert at Benaroya Hall, which she had loved. There were more private moments, too- like last week, when I had played my newest composition for her. It was a lively piece that represented her and Alice's friendship, and they had both been delighted. That same night, I had carried her out of her bedroom window, cast and all, and had surprised her with a midnight picnic in her own backyard. We had watched the stars crawl across the sky as we talked, and when Charlie asked why she was so tired the next day, Bella kept a straight face as she explained that she just couldn't put her new book down. She had gone on to tell him how the main character had taken his beloved on a midnight picnic, and how they had talked all night. I had laughed silently from her bedroom, in awe of her daring; Charlie, of course, was totally put off by the "gushy" story and left her alone after that.

We had been given so much happiness in the last few months, and my entire world had shifted. Before Bella, I had not only known what everyone was thinking, but I had known exactly what my future held. Now I was spending almost all my time with someone who whose thoughts were locked away, and she surprised me every day, not just with her silent mind, but with her love. That she had chosen me…

I spent the rest of the drive planning what other outings and special surprises I could do for Bella, as soon as this wretched week was behind us. I found myself planning for events several months away, and I chided myself; that was too bold.

Would Bella still love me by the time she graduated high school? Would she still find me intriguing, or would she be ready to start looking at her future realistically? I was hoping, at most, for four or five more years with her. I would follow her to college, if she asked me; but I knew that as she matured, she would be drawn away from me, her mortal world overshadowing my mythical one. When the time came, and she found herself wanting a career, a husband, children, I wouldn't stand in her way. I would have to let her go someday, even though I knew the grief would tear me apart. Oh, I would always be there in the shadows, watching over her and her family from a distance; it would be impossible to be anywhere else. But I couldn't let her know that I was staying; she would never be able to move on that way. Her life would always be protected, and when it ended, I would quietly find a way to end mine as well.

I would keep my promise, however, and stay as long as she was happy. As long as she still wanted me. Our romance was doomed to fade in the end, but I would make sure it would not end tragically… for her. I would gently fade out of her life as she grew out of me, leaving her with sweet, hazy memories of an unearthly love.

.

.

.

An hour later, Carlisle and I were zooming down the highway in the Mercedes.

"I'm sorry all this happened, Carlisle. I'm sorry you had to be drawn into it."

Carlisle smiled genially. Oh, Edward, it was your turn anyway. It's nice for a change to not have to scramble to move because one of your brothers made a mistake.

"Still, you did well on the phone call. Although I don't recall moping around refusing to talk to you all night."

He laughed. "Well, I had to throw something in there to make you seem human. Seventeen-year-old boys don't take everything in stride, you know. Nor do they tell their parents everything. Seriously, Edward, be careful in this meeting. You need to remember that you are Bella's teenage boyfriend, and that you've only been dating a few months. Don't let your maturity and intensity run away with you."

He slowed down as we entered the town limits. "So, Alice tells me that Bella will be doing a lot of fishing this week." I snickered at this. Bella had no idea what was in store for her; in the few moments after their conversation, I had overheard Charlie's mind bursting with plans of "father/daughter bonding time". I was going to have to be careful not to keep her up too late at night.

As we neared the police station, Charlie's thoughts came into my range. –and he's always keeping her out too late. I should put that curfew back an hour. I want him to start telling me his plans before he takes my daughter out God-knows-where for hours at a time. Carlisle may let his kids do whatever they want, but I'm not that kind of father.

I sighed, and Carlisle raised his eyebrows. "Charlie's still angry," I explained. "Maybe we should have picked a different alibi, that didn't involve me almost letting her die."

"Too late for that. Besides, Alice assured me that it was best to keep Charlie a little angry at you – otherwise he might keep speculating about your more… unique aspects. Taking Bella out on the pass was a mistake that a normal boyfriend would make. I'll help you out, though."

We both got out of the car. "What do you have in mind?" I asked.

He grinned, showing his teeth. "Good dad, bad dad." He began mentally scrolling through the Arabic medical dictionary, and I rolled my eyes at him. I hated surprises, and he knew it.

As we walked into the station, he ran his hand through his hair and sighed dramatically. "And another thing, Edward," he complained loudly, "You need to talk to me when life gets tough. Sitting in your room all night blasting your music didn't get you anywhere, did it? If you had come to your mother and me, you wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. Now I'm going to be late for my meeting, and you can walk home." He let the door swing shut behind him, and I had to let it slam into me, stumbling back a step as I caught it.

The receptionist and the few people milling around gave Carlisle a knowing look. Teenagers, the receptionist thought as she shook her head. I glared at Carlisle as soon as she looked away. Alice had put a bit of blush on his cheeks, and the "inconvenienced father look" was quite convincing.

"Laying it on a bit thick, aren't you?" I muttered under my breath as Carlisle spoke to the receptionist about my appointment, but he just chuckled mentally.

I'm just getting started. It's not often I get to do this, you know.

Hilarious.

A door opened and Charlie beckoned to us. Carlisle stood up and shook his hand. "I finally got the story out of Edward, Charlie. He took her hiking yesterday-"

Charlie glared at me. "I know what he did. Bella told me everything too."

"And let me assure you, nothing like this will ever happen again," Carlisle said sharply, looking back at me. I hung my head and nodded. He turned back to Charlie. "Edward's grounded the rest of the week, and I'm taking away his car keys for the next month. He's very sorry."

I snapped my head up at the car bit, and Charlie smirked at me. Carlisle was taking this too far! Relax, Edward, he thought to me as he continued speaking with Charlie. He needs to see me taking a firm hand with you, and I needed a genuine reaction. If he sees me coming down hard on you, he's more likely to take it easy himself. You can use the Aston Martin for the rest of the month, anyway. I fought back a smile. Carlisle was right, but I still thought he was enjoying himself a bit too much. Now he was telling Charlie some ridiculous story about how I had gotten in trouble at my last school for correcting one of my teachers in front of the whole class… in the middle of an exam.

Charlie shook Carlisle's hand again. "I'll take it from here. Thanks for bringing him down… and I'm sorry about the misunderstanding."

"No harm done. This will teach them both a lesson about following the rules... and about being honest with their parents," Carlisle said as he turned to leave, flashing a grin at me behind Charlie's back.

I shuffled behind Charlie into his office, closing the door behind me. He motioned for me to sit, and he sat behind his desk, leaning back in his chair. "Now," he said sharply, "I want you to tell me everything that happened yesterday." And it had better match up with Bella's story.

I went through the story of how I had called her from the road and heard about her shoulder bruise, about how I found her dusting in the house- all of which was true. Then I went on with the account of our impromptu hike and the accident that resulted. "After it happened, Bella's arm was hurting, and that's why we came home when we did; to get an ice pack. Bella told me she keeps several in the freezer for situations like these."

Charlie didn't crack a smile, so I cleared my throat and continued. "Bella put the sweater on because she didn't want you to see the mark on her arm, and find out that we had gone to the pass. I was trying to tell you about it, but you asked me to leave." I dropped my eyes in contrition. "I realize now that it was a very dangerous thing to do. I've gone there several times with my family, but I didn't think about Bella's lack of experience, and I swear I didn't know you had forbidden her to go there. She didn't tell me that."

I hated to pin some of the blame on Bella, but I had to deflect some of Charlie's anger if I ever wanted him to trust me again. I also did this because it seemed like the sort of immature thing that a teenager would say.

"I'm not surprised," he admitted. "Bella's a sweet girl, but she can get her way when she wants to." You know, it's weird. For someone who loves to hike, and just went hunting all weekend, you think this kid would get a tan sometime. Come to think of it, Carlisle's pretty pale too, considering what time of year it is. Maybe since he's a doctor, he's nervous about skin cancer, and makes them all wear gallons of sunblock.

I shifted in my chair. Charlie had Bella's ability to notice details, and I didn't like the direction that his thoughts were headed. I hurried to continue speaking.

"Anyway, sir, I just want to apologize for putting her in danger. Bella means the world to me, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if… if anything happened to her. I've never been so scared in my life." I let him hear the fear in my voice; it was real enough, after all. The only lie was that I was remembering finding her in the ballet studio, not catching her on the side of a cliff.

Yeah, she's pretty crazy about you, too. I just wish this wasn't happening so young. "Edward, let me tell you something. When you love someone…" Renee rose to the front of his thoughts. "When you love someone, you want to do everything in the world to make them happy. And sometimes, they want you to do things that aren't in their best interest. Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is to say no."

"Yes, sir."

Charlie visibly relaxed in his chair, but his thoughts were still on Renee. It seemed that it had been Charlie's idea to get married, but his parents had advised them to wait. Renee had convinced him to speed things along, and he blamed himself for the poor outcome. Now he was picturing Bella in a wedding dress, and I was standing in front of her in a tuxedo, grinning down at my bride as I held both her hands in mine.

I wasn't prepared for the image, and the beauty of it blew my mind. My breath caught in my throat as I watched the scene unfold in Charlie's mind. Bella was radiant, and as he imagined me placing a ring on her finger, I gripped the rails of my chair to keep from jumping up in protest.

It wasn't like marrying Bella had never occurred to me. It had. Ever since the day I had fallen in love with her, I had been plagued by daydreams of the life I wished we could have together; marriage, our first house, children… growing old together.

But in each of my daydreams, we were both human. The thought of marrying Bella in this reality was forbidden, it was… it was irreverent. To think that I could truly make her mine, and doom her into a lifetime alongside my non-life… it was unthinkable. I had never allowed the daydreams to last more than an instant, and I certainly had never pictured us smiling at our wedding, like Charlie was now. In his mind, Bella was flushed with joy, whereas I was smiling in my cold, unchanging way. His thoughts shifted, and now there was a child in Bella's arms. A strangled sound erupted from my throat, and Charlie frowned at me.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, I just… I'm fine." I swallowed and forced myself to release my grip on the chair. I had to get a hold of myself. That future wasn't for me.

"Anyway, I'm going to lift the restraining order early next week. You can see her again after that, but I'd like you guys to cool it a little. I don't think it's healthy for Bella to spend so much time alone with you. I'd like to see her branch out, spend some time with other friends." Jacob Black ran across his mind, and I ground my teeth as I forced myself to nod.

"I know you're crazy about each other right now. It's just that you two are so inseparable. When she was in the hospital in Phoenix, I don't think I saw you leave her room once. It was a little intense, you have to admit." It was a little weird, is what it was.

"I know. It's just that… Bella's everything to me, sir. I don't know how else to explain it."

Charlie frowned, remembering how Bella had used the same words about me last night. Remembering my tireless devotion in the hospital. Remembering the love in my eyes as I had watched Bella sleep. Remembering the love he had felt for Renee in the beginning, how they couldn't wait until-

"Edward, are you sleeping with my daughter?"

I blinked. I hadn't seen that one coming. "No, sir. Never."

He leaned back further in his chair, rubbing his chin. "I wouldn't be too surprised, I just want you to be honest with me." Just tell me the truth, kid. I won't kill you… maybe. A hint of a smirk twisted at the corner of his lips. He was enjoying his power trip now.

I swallowed. "I only have honorable intentions toward Bella, sir. I swear it on my life." Such as it was.

He's so weird sometimes- nobody talks like that anymore. Why won't he just admit he's sleeping with her? I'm not an idiot. If only there was a way to… His thoughts tangled for a moment, and then he was picturing the back room of the police station. Well, am I the Chief of Police or not? An ugly smirk twisted up the corner of his mouth, and I swallowed as I tried desperately to see what was so significant about the room he was picturing.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I couldn't answer it; not while Charlie was staring at me like this. I slipped my hand into my pocket and turned up the volume, so that if it were to ring again, he would be able to hear it. I had a bad feeling about this.

"Edward," he said slowly, "Would you be willing to take a polygraph test?"

An icy chill gripped my heart. There was no right answer to that question! I didn't even have a pulse! "A what, sir?"

"You know, a lie detector test. It would help get the restraining order lifted." He was watching me intently as he lied. He didn't need the test to lift the order, but now that he had thought of it, he was determined to get me to do it. He was thinking now of all the questions he'd like to ask. Was I sleeping with Bella? Had I ever hurt her? Had I ever done drugs? Why was my family so isolated?

"Um… I'm pretty sure you need my parents' permission for that." How was I going to get out of this?! I really should have brought Jasper along. He could have just stayed in the waiting room.

"So, you're not willing. What are you afraid of?" Gotcha.

"I'm not afraid, sir. I'll take the test." I had a clear picture of the machine from his mind, now, and I could see some wires sticking out of the back. Maybe if was fast enough, I would be able to yank the wires out and disable the machine. I would have to distract him first. Charlie nodded, and we both stood up. My phone rang again, loudly this time.

"I'm sorry, sir. That's my emergency ringtone." I pulled the phone to my ear, and Alice's voice was racing at top speed.

"Edward! It won't work. He knows how to fix the machine. Say there's an emergency! Say anything! Get out of there NOW!"

I twisted my face into an expression of shock, and said the first thing I could think of. "Are you sure?! Is she all right?" I waited for a moment, and ended the call, letting my hands tremble as I closed the phone. I turned back to Charlie, my face stricken. "I'm sorry, I've got to go! My mom was in a car accident!"

"Oh man, I'm sorry. I'll take you to the-" but I was already out the door.

That had been too close.