Disclaimer: All the Twilight stuff belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing in her sandbox.

Chapter 11 Adjusting

Carlisle POV

Edward and Bella had been in their room all afternoon. I stayed at their house with the boys till Charlie showered and was ready to come up the hill to dinner. Phil and Renee had headed up to see if there was anything they could do to help Esme with the meal just a few minutes ago. Renee seemed anxious to show Phil the beauty of the surrounding woods and the path that connected our two homes. She was over the upset as soon as she had said her piece. Amazing woman, she just let things go and moved on. If my patients had that reaction to stress, I would soon be out of a job!

Renee reminded me a lot of Emmett in that regard. They both lived in the moment, taking pleasure from what they happened to be doing at that moment in time and immediately letting go of stressful events just as soon as they were over. They didn't hold onto things at all and I admired that in both of them.

Charlie, however, was a different story. Jasper had managed to calm Charlie to the point that he agreed to shower and come to dinner with us, managing to keep him away from Edward. Alice had seen that it would work. I wasn't sure what we would have done if Charlie had insisted on seeing Bella, but we could not have allowed it. Edward would have killed him, literally. The only thing that might have stopped him would have been the fact that it would have upset Bella later. In all of our 93 years together, I had never seen my son that angry.

Ever.

After all he had gone through with her, he was fiercely protective and loyal.

EPOV

I was unclear as to what had upset Bella. She was sitting with her mother when I found her crying. I tried to comfort her but her father misinterpreted something I said and thought she was crying trying to get away from me. When Bella corrected him he didn't take it well and I almost struck him when he yelled at my wife. He might be her father but I would not have her yelled at in her own home with me standing there, never going to happen.

I nuzzled my face closer to hers and took Bella to our room. Fuck human pretense, I moved at vampire speed. This was my house and my wife. I heard their minds, questioning what they saw, they attributed it to the heat of the moment, everything happened so fast, whatever. I could not bring myself to care. My wife was in my arms and she was crying and I needed her to calm down, I needed to make sure she was alright before I could care about any of the rest of them.

I made myself clear that no one was to disturb us, my father listened. His mind screamed restraint, begging me to let him handle Charlie. My brothers had my back, solidly. There was no way ANYONE was coming through the door of my bedroom, they would see to that and I was grateful to them. They had always been there for me, even when I was not there for them.

I kicked the door shut, locking it, and placed her on our bed, molding myself around her and holding her. She continued to cry as I stroked her hair.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

She didn't answer, she just continued to cry harder. It seemed like the closer I held her and the more I told her I loved her, the harder she cried.

"Baby, please, if you don't tell me what happened and who upset you I'm likely to go on a homicidal killing spree and annihilate everyone just to be sure I got the right one!"

"Edward!" She started laughing. She was laughing and giggling with tears streaming down her cheeks . . . smiling at me!

"I can't believe you!", she said as she placed the top half of her body on mine and took my face in her hands.

"Someone upset you in our home in the middle of the day and I'm not OK with that!", I told her as I moved strands of wet hair out of her face and tucked them behind her ears. I caught a gleam in her eye and I went with it, "And no one messs with you in this house but me . . . or anywhere else for that matter (I quickly added)!"

She grinned from ear to ear and kissed me, a wet, salty kiss but welcome none the less.

"You really won't leave me, will you. I'm starting to see that. I have never seen anyone stand up to Chief Swan before!", she smiled and softly stroked my face and scratched my scalp as she played with my hair. Damn it, that always made me purr, I just could not help it. How could I be intimidating while I was purring!

"Baby, he was almost, quite literally, an appetizer. You are MINE!", I smirked at the pun and added softly in her ear.

She fained a shocked expression, "Edward! You are not allowed to eat our guests, especially not my parents!"

"Ah baby, you never let me have any fun!", she laughed so hard she was shaking the entire bed, me included. God I loved the sound of her laughter and I loved joking with her. . . but she needed to know that I was also serious. I was not just a human man, my instincts were slightly different and I would REALLY kill anyone that hurt her.

"I love you, Bella. I am so in love with you. You are everything to me, you have to know that. As much as I try to fit in and adapt human traits, you have to know that I am still a vampire. My instincts run a little differently than yours . . . and I really would KILL them", I said with all sincerity in my face.

Her eyes grew wide as she stilled to stare into mine.

"No kidding. The fact that you would be upset about it is the only thing that stopped there being a blood bath on our patio. It would have taken only a few seconds to kill them all."

She looked stunned, shocked really, but I needed her to know.

"I guess I just really don't understand what it is truly like for you. I know you are strong and I know you are capable of taking down a mountain lion and drinking its blood, but the raw power that you have is hard for me to comprehend. You are so very gentle and loving with me, its hard for me to imagine you any other way. But I love you no matter how you are, Edward. I love all of you."

"That's one of my fears. I'm afraid that if you see me like I really am as a vampire hunting, that you won't want to be with me . . . that you might be afraid of me or disgusted by me and I can't live without you - I just can't!", I hugged her close to me and breathed her in, her head against my chest.

"Then I need to see you hunt. We will figure out a way that it is safe for me to be there. I insist on proving to you that I will love you and want you no matter what, I need you to know that before you change me. I want you to be comfortable that I know what I'm getting into and I want it with you!"

I was speechless. I had no words that would adequately describe the love I had for this woman and I would love her till the end of time!

"But right now, I need you to know that no one upset me. I upset myself. I am afraid that when we talk about the things that I did while we were apart . . . when I tell you, that you won't want me anymore and I can't live without you either!"

"I can not imagine anything you could do or that you have done that would cause me to walk away from you", I told her as I continued to stroke her hair and hold her to my chest.

She ducked her head down and hid her eyes from me - Oh God, was there someone else? Jacob? No, no that wasn't possible. I read his thoughts and he wouldn't be capable of hiding that from me. I knew I was her first, the bleeding proved that, didn't it?

"Bella . . . ", I gently moved her off me so that I could see he face. She must have seen the pain in my eyes.

"No! Edward, no! There has never been anyone else, only you. Please don't think that of me! It's just that when you hear just how crazy I went when you left you might want to have me committed and figure that I am a lost cause or something!""

"Tell you what, lets sit and talk about our time apart and get all the crazy out in the open so that you never have to cry over it again, deal? I remember being scared you would leave me when I was telling you how insane I was without you, so I understand how you are feeling about that. In fact, why don't we have that discussion in our meadow back in Forks - we can fly out there and drive your car back! You have been cooped up inside far too long, Mrs. Cullen!"

"Deal on one condition!"

Edward eyed me warily.

"Go fix it with my Dad for me. You are not afraid of him and I am!", she said with a smirk!

"They are all up at the other house, love. Esme got them all to go up there for dinner and to watch the sunset over the mountains. I heard them leave some time ago."

"Vampire hearing, I know. I suppose you have been monitoring their thoughts, too."

"Not carefully, just the headlines", I said, giving her the crooked grin she loved.

She laughed, "Well go mind read your way into my Dad's heart and make it OK for me to go up there and join them. They are all leaving in the morning and I hate that we had that scene!"

I kissed her softly, "Anything for you, love. Have a shower and get dressed, I'll go make peace - but only because you asked me to! I'm going for a quick hunt first, I haven't had my dinner yet you know and I don't think your dad would be very tasty!", I smirked as I got up and headed for the door.

"Edward!", she exclaimed as she flung a shoe at me. Flung a shoe at me! I ducked behind the door, the shoe hitting the door, mock hurt on my face, "I'm wounded! I can't believe you did that!"

~oooOooo~

It took no time to find a deer or two then reach Carlisle and Esme's house. Alice was waiting for me.

"Are you done threatening the human population yet?", she asked me, already knowing the answer.

"For now. You couldn't have warned me, Alice? You had to have seen what would happen this afternoon! I nearly snapped and slaughtered them all! I nearly exposed us!"

"I saw. Charlie needed to see and Bella needed to realize what you were capable of. It wouldn't have gone the same way if you had known in advance what to expect. Your anger had to be real, brother. Now you know how devoted she really is to you and she has a better idea of when not to push you", she sighed. "Vampire/human relationships really are a lot of work, Edward!"

She was teasing me. Now my sister was teasing me as well. Shoes flying through the air at me, women crying, fathers wanting to punch me, fishing when I don't even eat fish . . . and now I get to make nice with a human that would like nothing better than to exhaust his supply of bullets into me if he thought he could get away with it!

"Now can I go help Bella to get ready for dinner or are you still confining her to isolation with you?"

I had to smile, "Go, Alice, go! I'm sure she missed you and Rose today." I looked at the bags in her arms, "I thought you were out hunting this morning not shopping!"

"We hunted first then went shopping to give her time alone with her mother! I found the most wonderful outfit for her to wear tonight!", she said as she gestured to the bag and turned to head to my house, "And Edward, your airline tickets are on Carlisles' desk. Going to the meadow to talk is exactly the best thing for you two, I see a wonderful outcome, just be careful and remember that Bella is human!"

She shared her thoughts and visions with me for a long minute, and I had to smile.

"Thanks, Alice."

~oooOooo~

I listened for a moment. Esme and Renee were sitting on the back porch admiring the view. Jasper, Charlie and Emmett were playing Call of Duty in the living room and arguing with Rosalie over who got to play the winner, and Carlisle was in his study discussing the paintings with Phil.

I had no idea how to do this. Bella had yelled at her dad for wanting her to leave me and ordered him out of her house. He had yelled at her for raising her voice to him and I had yelled at everyone for upsetting Bella. Fuck. Alice had said that airline tickets were on the desk, I wondered if they were for the same flight as Charlie? I thought about going to look as that would give me an idea of how things would go - if we were flying out with him in the morning the talk was probably going to go well! Shit. I was a coward, bullet proof or not. I would not go in and let Carlisle see that I looked at the tickets, I would just go and settle this with Charlie.

I laughed to myself at the cavalier attitude Bella had shown telling me not to eat the guests! It was amazing really that she could be so flippant about my instincts and natural food source. She had way too much confidence in me!

I walked into the living room. Charlie stood and faced me, rage showing in the lines of his face.

"Charlie, can I please have a word with you, outside."

The tension in the room was palpable. Esme, Rene Carlisle and Phil immediately gathered in the doorways, silently watching. Jasper flooded the room with calm and I nodded appreciatively towards him. I knew he sensed that my rage had calmed. Emmett seemed to be tensed as if to spring, though his mind was unclear as to whether he needed to keep Charlie and I separated or help me rip him apart. Rosalies' thoughts were the most interesting. From her perch behind Emmett on the couch, all she could think about was that she didn't want Charlie hurt because it would upset Bella! She had become quite fond of Bella and continued to take her side of things, a change that pleased me greatly!

Charlie reacted like most adult males. I was a teenage pipsqueak to him and he would never back down from someone calling him out like that. His mind was torn between admiring me for standing up to him and anger for being called out. Huh, we would have to just see how this went. I turned and went out the front door with Charlie following me. I walked to the far side of the yard by the tree line to give the appearance of privacy for our conversation. There was no privacy with my family. I heard their minds each screaming at me to stay calm, not to expose us. Carlisle kept telling me to be rational, to reason with him, and I was going to try.

"Charlie I . . ."

"Hold it, just stop right there. I have something to say to you before you say anything."

I braced myself for what was about to come. I had always had trouble reading Charlies' mind and it was more difficult now than ever before. He was angry, very angry and he was . . .embarrassed? That didn't make sense!

"Edward I have spent the last year hating you for what you did to my daughter. Bella left when you did, checked out and didn't come back. I didn't see how important you were to her before you left, but I do remember that she was happy. I have ignored that. I have ignored the fact that she came back to life the minute you were with her in the hospital, that you took care of her, cared for her, gave her anything she wanted and everything she needed. You saved her life. I came here with the intention of taking her home with me, without you."

My hands turned to fists in spite of myself and the hair on my neck bristled. He was admitting that he was trying to take her from me. I would kill him before I would let that happen. Carlisle took a step out the front door towards us but I nodded to him to stay where he was.

Charlie continued, "I was wrong. She has everything she needs in you, Edward. Fathers want someone for their daughter who is not afraid to show their love for them, hard working and determined enough to support them, and man enough to protect them. No one has ever stood up to me before. I don't know that I would have had the nerve to stand up to Renees' dad. You look at her like I looked at Renee when we were first married and I remember the feeling behind that look. I never got over her. I am not good at apologies, but I am sorry that I came here with the intention of taking her from you. I see that you really do love her, just promise me you won't ever leave her again. She wouldn't survive it again, son."

I was floored. I had expected many things to be said between us, but I had never expected this. This was a better outcome that I had ever hoped for. He had admitted that I was good for her.

"You can be sure, Charlie, I will never leave her again. I swear it."

He reached out his hand to me and I shook it. I had stopped paying attention to the minds around me. I was in such shock that Charlie had a change of heart . . . that he had apologized to me.

Bella hurried to me from across the yard, jumping into my arms and hugging me. She put one arm out to hug Charlie's neck at the same time, pulling us both close and telling us both how much she loved us. She took her Dads' arm and walked towards the house murmuring something about being half starved to death and asking what was for dinner. She really did own me and I wouldn't have it any other way!

After dinner, I whispered my plan to Bella about going back to Forks for a visit and to get her car for her, but Alice had already filled her in. She loved the idea of a cross country road trip with me! I gestured to everyone that I had an announcement to make after dinner.

"Bella and I just want to thank our families for all their love and support," I looked into her eyes, "and for putting up with us while we sorted ourselves out. We love all of you. Since we seem to be living in North Carolina now and the car I purchased for Bella is in Charlies' driveway in Forks, we are flying back with you Charlie, for a visit then a road trip!"

~oooOooo~

Charlie was thrilled to have more time with his daughter. If the truth be told, he wanted more time to watch us together, to make sure that I was what she really wanted. Renee and Phil offered to drive Charlie, Bella and myself to the airport in Atlanta on their way home to Jacksonville. It made sense not to take a car to leave at the airport as Bella and I would be driving a car home from Forks. I could not wait for her to see her car, but the ride with all my in laws I certainly wasn't anxious for, much less the fact that I would not be driving and I hated to go slow!

Morning came quickly. Bella insisted on keeping our routine of making love before she went to sleep each night as well as when she woke up in the mornings. In truth, I would be hard pressed to give that up as well. It was only her well being and need for sleep and rest that allowed me to leave her alone long enough to let her sleep at all. If she could sleep with me inside her, I would, and in truth sometimes did. I ran out during the night for a quick hunt with my family. It had been a long while since we all went out together and I loved being with them. They all came to our house to say goodbye.

Phil and Renee headed out to the car with their bags and Charlie added his to the trunk. Charlie made a comment about there being very little room for bags for Bella and I when Alice came out of the house and plopped down the one small bag she had packed for both of us. Renee just shook her head and Bella laughed at her.

"I told you Mom, we just let Alice be Alice! I have no idea what she packed but I am sure everything Edward and I need is in there!", she laughed and hugged an indignant Alice.

"At least I know you're clothing will match while you are away, and none of those sweatpants you love to sleep in!", Alice retorted.

"It's OK, Alice. I have plenty more of them in my drawer at Charlies!", Bella said as she and her mom laughed.

The drive to the airport was long and uneventful. It was only 130 miles and it took us nearly 3 hours to get there! Unbelievable! After lots of hugs and tears, Renee and Phil left to drive home to Jacksonville with the promise that we would come and spend Thanksgiving with them. While I liked them, going somewhere for the express purpose of being expected to eat human food was repulsive and I cringed at the idea!

"Let's get this show on the road!", Charlie roared as he picked up his bag and headed to the check in. I grabbed ours and got the tickets out.

"When did you decide to fly out with me, Edward, I expect it was after our talk last night!"

"Yes, I booked it late yesterday, Charlie. We were lucky to get seats together!"

"Doesn't that cost a fortune, I mean, no advance notice or anything?", Charlie asked.

I remembered that though I had the finance talk with Renee, the only thing Charlie knew about that was what Alice had alluded to when she talked to him about the r8 in Forks, months ago.

"It's a bit pricey, Charlie, but I don't mind. Bella wanted to fly out with you", I told him as I handed the girl our tickets to check in.

"Thank you, Mr. Cullen, the lounge is through security and to the right. We will call you when it is time to board. Enjoy your flight, Sir."

"What's that all about?", Charlie asked.

"It's just one of the perks to flying, Charlie. Lounge, snacks and courtesy flight calls. Just some extras the airlines offer for first class."

We got through security and went to the lounge, Charlie and Bella having coke's and a sandwich before the flight. We found a chair and love seat in an uncrowded corner and sat down to eat and relax. I had a coke, knowing that Bella would end up drinking it for me.

I explained finances to Charlie, much the same as I had to Renee. He had a right to know that I could support his daughter myself, not from the efforts of others.

"Did you know about all this, Bells? Did you know about Edward handling the finances for everyone and making all that money himself?", Charlie asked Bella.

"No Dad. I knew Carlisle didn't seem to worry about money and that Alice spent a fortune on clothes. Edward only told me about his investments after he surprised me with the new house. It was a shock to me too! I had been thinking about what kind of a job I could find in town and how we could save for our own apartment! It was quite a surprise to find that my handsome and loving husband was also a millionaire!"

"Bella! If you want to use that term to describe me, you have to use it to describe yourself. You're my wife, half of everything I own is yours", I told her softly as I kissed her cheek.

"Well that's just something, I mean that's really something. I'd still like to see you go to college or have a career before you start having children, Bells", her father told her.

My heart sank at those words. I could never give her children. She knew that, of course. The look on her face told me that she didn't want me upset by his words, her hand squeezed mine to comfort me.