A/N: Okay, I lied. One more chapter after this one, and then an epilogue.

EPOV

I finished repairing the door in record time. While the paint was still wet, I flew out the garage door, flinging my tools onto the bench and sprinting the whole way over to Bella's house.

I needn't have hurried; it was over an hour before I was able to enter her room. Charlie was standing in her doorway, watching her sleep. His thoughts sounded like a broken record: I can't believe it. A vampire. I can't believe it. I waited anxiously for whatever was next, but it seemed like Charlie had truly reached his limit. He finally backed out, closing Bella's door and heading to his own bedroom. I waited until he was snoring, and slipped in through Bella's window, relieved that Charlie hadn't locked it. Hopefully this meant that he didn't suspect what I had been doing every night.

As soon as I entered the room, my throat started burning. It hadn't been this bad in months; the stress of the last twenty-four hours had burned up the small amount of blood I had taken in the other day. I would need to hunt, and soon.

But the pain in my throat was nothing compared to the pain I had felt the last time I was in this room. I sank to my knees as I had done before, but this time in relief. I laid my head on the edge of the mattress, my face inches from Bella's. I breathed in her scent deeply, reveling in both the burn of thirst as well as the heady intoxication it always brought. The world was right-side up now, and nothing would ever separate me from Bella again- not even myself.

I still couldn't believe what I had done to her last night. I had actually convinced myself that I should leave her! It wasn't that my conclusions had been wrong; I still knew that I loved Bella too much. But she loved me too much, as well. And besides, my willpower had turned out to be quite limited. I knew now that I would never have been able to stay away. All the heartbreak would have been useless in the end, because I would have come crawling back to her in a matter of months, or the second Alice said it was safe. I shuddered to think what I would have come back to.

Was Bella angry with me, for what I had done? I thought about waking her up, but she looked exhausted. And Bella did have a tendency to talk more in her sleep when she was exhausted… I spent the rest of the night watching her intently, hoping for a few words, one word, anything that would give me a clue as to what she was dreaming about. Was she angry? Was she still frightened? Was she deliriously happy?

She never spoke. Around sunrise, I blew out my breath in frustration, and focused my gift on her mind again. I gritted my teeth with the strain, focusing as I had never done before. I just had to read her mind! Inspired by the relief of our reprieve, my love and obsession were growing yet again, and my inability to hear her thoughts was the most maddening it had ever been. I opened my eyes, staring at her forehead as I continued my effort. Come on!

My head started to hurt, and I finally released her, falling back onto the floor in exhaustion. I had gotten nothing, of course. I felt unusually disappointed this time, though; I supposed that I had thought the extra love would somehow give me some kind of boost and I would finally hear something. I idly wondered if I would be able to hear Bella's mind if she were to become a vampire. The answer would depend on the reason for Bella's mental silence. If it was due to some kind of malfunction- some birth defect, or mild brain injury from childhood- then the damage would repair itself upon her transformation. On the other hand, if this was actually a latent manifestation of a supernatural ability, then I really had no hope of ever hearing her; the talent would only become stronger.

The more important question was, would I ever find out? Would Bella finally become one of us? The arguments hadn't changed, but the situation had. Charlie knew the truth now. I had been so wrapped up in my conversation with Bella yesterday that I hadn't heard the entirety of his conversation with Carlisle. Had my father explained how vampires are made? Would Charlie's piecemeal understanding of Bella's situation lead him to ask the inevitable question of my final intentions? Was I ready to answer that question?

The events of the past ten days had convinced me that changing Bella was the only safe thing to do. There was no telling what disasters waited on the horizon; if there were any out there, Bella would find them. And I wanted her for eternity, even more than I had before. But that still didn't mean that it was the right thing to do.

A tiny smile curled up the corner of my mouth. I hadn't considered it until now, but I might have just gained an ally. Charlie would obviously be against his daughter joining the ranks of the undead, and Carlisle would be in no rush to antagonize him. But, of course, Charlie would also undoubtedly be against me, now. He hadn't liked me before he knew I was a monster.

Last night, I had carefully watched his mind when I told Bella that I would call her today. His mind had been a gelatinous swirl by that point, but I had heard his mental response loud and clear: We'll see about that. I had been too relieved at the moment to be bothered by his disapproval.

But now that I had time to think about it, this was a problem. A huge problem. Would Charlie continue to be afraid of me, after he had had time to process everything? Or would he just be angry? I presented not only a mortal threat to him and his daughter, but I had lied constantly to him for the past several months, and now he knew it. Not exactly the way to impress your girlfriend's father. Certainly not the way to earn his trust.

I supposed that there would be some sort of confrontation between Charlie and me, and soon. He would no doubt give some sort of ultimatum about me never darkening their doorway again. How would I respond? After all Bella and I had been through, I wasn't about to let Charlie come between us. But I didn't want to antagonize him, either. There was the risk of him revealing our secret, but there was also the matter of Bella's feelings. She loved her father. What would happen to their relationship if he forbade us to be together?

There were two possibilities. It would drive an impossible wedge between them, and Bella would eventually need to move out of his house. I hated this possibility because I wanted Bella to have Charlie in her life. I also hated it because this scenario would likely drive Bella to want to be changed even sooner. If she was at odds with Charlie and moved out, she would obviously want to live with us- not exactly a good idea while she was still human.

The other possibility, of course, was that we would continue with the subterfuge. Bella would stay on good terms with Charlie, and keep seeing me behind his back. This was better in terms of her staying human, and in terms of her and Charlie's relationship. The trouble was that it would make Bella herself miserable. The lies would have to triple overnight, and it would be quite difficult to hide our continuing romance, especially when school began again. Forks was a small town, and Charlie knew everything that went on in it. How could Bella and I possibly keep up the charade when we were at school together? One slip and Charlie would know he was being lied to again.

I ran my fingers through my hair, growling in frustration. Neither of those outcomes were acceptable! I didn't want Bella to suffer because of this. The only viable solution was to convince Charlie to let Bella and I stay together. Perhaps I could bring Carlisle in on the conversation; he was good at this sort of thing. His vast experience and cool head made him a natural diplomat.

Or maybe diplomacy wouldn't be enough. Maybe I would just threaten Charlie. I could tell him that I loved Bella, and that I would continue seeing her no matter what he thought of it. I was a vampire, and he was a human; if he knew what was good for him, he wouldn't get in my way. Playing off his fear would be a simple matter, especially if I got Jasper to help me; I had no doubt that he would enjoy himself.

I shook my head, smiling at the ridiculous thought. I could stalk into his office when he was alone, sitting at his desk. I almost laughed aloud as I imagined towering over him, my hands on his desk as I leaned forward, baring my teeth as I delivered my threat. I couldn't deny that this option wasn't attractive. But it was ridiculous, and not only because I would never be able to pull it off with a straight face. It would place us all in grave danger, if it didn't kill Charlie outright. No matter how determined he was to protect our secret, he wouldn't be able to contain himself if he thought I was really that dangerous. And Carlisle would be furious. Oh, well. Back to the drawing board.

Maybe I could twist the truth just enough so that Charlie would let his guard down for a while. Over the past week and a half, Bella and I had been pretending that we were "cooling off", as he put it. Maybe we could keep it up. Maybe Charlie would let us stay together if he thought that the romance was winding down, anyway. After all, he knew Bella as well as I did; surely he knew how poorly she responded to ultimatums.

Yes, this was the answer. Play it cool. I would apologize for all my lies, emphasizing that I had been obliged to protect my family's secret. Perhaps I would throw in a little remorse over my relationship with Bella. What business did a vampire have, dating a human, anyway? I wouldn't tell him that I was breaking it off, just that I was unsure whether it was a good idea. I would tell him that I wouldn't want to hurt Bella's feelings – I did care about her, after all. I could give him some vague promise about "seeing where things led" or "if it's meant to be, it will work out", or some other nonsense that the passive young men of today were using. It would make him relax, as well as deflect any concern about Bella's mortality. Bella would have to lie about how often she was really seeing me, but it was better than always lying. Charlie would eventually realize that I hadn't meant it, but by that time, he would be more accustomed to his discovery, and less likely to demand my immediate departure.

The more I thought about this plan, the more I liked it. Bella would require some coaching, but I thought she would go for it, once I explained the alternatives. Perhaps I could get Carlisle to back me up. I got out my new phone, opening a new text to Alice. I decided my course, and typed one character: a question mark. This was my shorthand way of asking Alice to check on any decision I felt needed scanning. I sent the text, waiting anxiously for the result as I glanced over at Bella. She was beginning to stir, and I wanted to be able to explain the plan to her before Charlie woke up. Finally my phone buzzed, and I received my answer:

:P

I rolled my eyes. Ever since we had begun texting, Alice had been having a love affair with emoticons. I had pointed out that vampires had no need of shorthand, or of adolescent trends. I had pointed out that she could type an entire sentence in the time it would take a human to "draw" a smiley face. But Jasper had foolishly told her that she was cute when she did it, and the habit had stuck. So, what did ":P" mean? Was she sticking out her tongue in disgust at my foolish plan? Or was she so uninterested that she wasn't bothering to answer me properly? I decided to write back "In English, please." Not needing to actually write it out, I waited for her response, which came in less than two seconds.

It means, you'll see. Have fun!

I frowned. Have fun? What kind of game was she playing? How was manipulating Bella's father fun? Did she think I was enjoying this? I hated it! I hated that the lies would have to continue. I hated that I would never be able to earn Charlie's trust. I hated that I wasn't human, and that this wasn't 1918. I hated that I couldn't show up on his doorstep in my Sunday best, asking his permission to court his lovely daughter. I hated that I would never sit on Bella's porch swing with her, getting to know her under her father's watchful eye. I hated that I would never get to call on him at work, fingering my hat nervously in my lap while I asked for his daughter's hand in marriage.

I typed furiously. You're being the opposite of helpful. When exactly am I supposed to have "fun"?

The instant my text was sent, I received my reply:

15 sec.

That got my attention, and I sat up fully. What was going to happen in fifteen seconds? I realized with a jolt that while I had been plotting, Charlie had woken up and was stumbling around in the kitchen, making his coffee. I jumped into his mind, cursing again his tendency to think with pictures instead of words. He was picturing his desk at the Police station. There was nothing significant about that. What was Alice getting at? I picked up my phone again,

Okay. You can do this, Charlie. You're her father. It's your responsibility.

I jumped back into his mind, watching through his eyes as he picked up the phone and dialed my home number.

"Hello?"

Charlie swallowed. "Good morning, Dr. Cullen."

"Ah, Charlie! I hope you got a good night's sleep. Last night was quite an adventure, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Actually, I was hoping to speak to Edward. I was going to ask if he was up yet, but I guess that's kind of silly. Can I speak to him, please?"

I froze. My pocket buzzed, and I took out the phone, to find another text from Alice:

Ha ha ha!

I rolled my eyes again. Maybe she wouldn't be laughing if her entire closet were to "accidentally" go up in flames.

You wouldn't dare!

I snapped the phone shut, focusing on Charlie's mind again in order to hear my father's answer.

Carlisle hadn't missed a beat. "You're right," he laughed. "Vampires don't sleep- that's one of the myths that is actually true. But we do take showers, however. Can I have him call you back?"

I blew out the breath I had been holding. I hadn't been worried- Carlisle had centuries of lying under his belt- but I was going to have to climb onto the roof if I was going to "call him back". Thank God Charlie had never felt like paying for Caller ID.

"Nah, that's okay," Charlie answered. "Just have him meet me at the station. I'd like to have a little talk with him about… all this."

By the delay before Carlisle answered, I knew that Alice hadn't told him about this, either. "I understand. But are you sure the police station is a good place? Wouldn't you like to meet him somewhere a bit more… private? Remember what we said about discretion, Charlie."

Charlie checked the clock on the microwave. "Nope, it's fine. Nobody but me will be there for at least two hours. That's why I called so early. Well, that, and I knew that I wasn't waking anyone up."

"All right, I'll have him leave as soon as he can."

"Thanks." Charlie hung up the phone, chugging the rest of his coffee and heading out the door, pausing only a moment to grab his gun belt. He wondered what would happen if he shot me. Probably bounce right off, he thought bitterly. There goes that solution.

I swallowed nervously. I should have been paying more attention when he first woke up; it appeared that I wasn't the only one who had been mulling over "solutions." What solutions had he been considering? If shooting me was one of them, I wasn't sure I wanted to hear any of the others. I followed his thoughts as long as I could, but he was just picturing me sitting in front of his desk, and trying to decide what to say first to me. He clearly wanted to put me on the defensive as soon as I arrived.

I stood, walking over to Bella's bed to wake her up. It wouldn't do to arrive at the Police Station too quickly. I wanted to explain my plan to Bella before I left so that she would be able to play along the next time she talked to Charlie.

But as I stretched out my hand to wake her, my phone buzzed again, and I opened it impatiently. What meaningless symbols would Alice be sending this time?

You need to change first.

I checked my clothing, and peeked over in the mirror hanging on Bella's bedroom door. Sure enough, both my clothes and my hair were still coated with drywall dust, and there were a couple streaks of white paint on the side of my shirt; courtesy of Emmett, no doubt. I sighed and glanced back at Bella. No time for that, then. I quickly ripped a page out of a notebook on her desk, jotting down a note for her to find.

Everything is all right with the wolves. I'll be back as soon as I can.

With all my love, Edward

I folded the note into a tiny heart and laid it gently in her hand. I hated to be gone when she woke later. We still needed to finish our conversation from yesterday, and I still needed to apologize for deceiving her. I wasn't exactly looking forward to that conversation, either.

.

.

.

As soon as I entered the house, I frowned at Jasper, who was sitting on the living room floor, surrounded by twisted metal and wires.

"Where's Alice?" I asked impatiently, stepping over a length of wire. "I need to talk to her."

He shrugged. "She's keeping away until you leave again. Something about keeping you in suspense."

I scowled down at him. "And you don't know anything?"

"Nothing. You know how she is when she gets in these Smug-Psychic moods."

"Fine." I flew upstairs to take a quick shower, throwing on the first clothes I could find. In less than three minutes I was zooming down the highway in the Volvo; there was no point in keeping up the charade of being grounded from driving now.

I parked in a spot that was visible from Charlie's office window, and I made sure that he saw me walking in, hoping to get him thinking so that I would see where he was headed. But he was still continuing his pep talk from earlier.

Okay, there he is. You can do this. You're her father, and you love her. This is what's best for her.

I was flying blind, then. I knew nothing terrible was going to happen, or Alice wouldn't be enjoying herself so much. Still, I felt nervous as I opened the door, crossing the empty reception area to Charlie's closed door. I had my plan, but I wasn't entirely happy with it. Charlie had done our family a great service yesterday. He didn't deserve to be lied to. And the fact remained that no matter how impossible, I still coveted his trust and approval.

I took a deep breath and knocked.

.

.

A/N: This chapter came out of nowhere and wrote itself. Hope you enjoyed! And I'm still hoping someone will give me a good idea for an epilogue. Please? I have a possibility, but I'd like some other ideas, too.