CHAPTER 01:

FAMILY TIME

She'd just gotten off the plane, having caught a red eye in.. She had mixed feelings about doing this, coming to her older sister's wedding. Her biological father was going to be there, what if he didn't want her to be a part of it?

Her bright brown eyes scanned the drab airport terminal as she raked her hand through thick long brown hair and she shuffled her feet against the linoleum. "Okay, Bells.. I said Gate C.. I know you're not that flaky. That's my job, sis."

Before she could really finish her out loud internal musings, her older sister's hands closed over her eyes and she smiled to herself before turning around, getting pulled into some odd and slightly chilly group hug.

Of course, Bella's new family, they were vampires.. She knew this, it didn't really bother her, but she didn't really try and get her head around it, either.. Her choice and all that, in Courtney's opinion. She muttered "Hey, whoa.. Easy, people, tiny person is claustrophobic." as she stepped back a little, took a good look at her older sister.

"Wow.. Look who went off and got sexy on everyone." Courtney giggled, even if deep down, on some level, she felt less than pretty when standing next to her older sister, or her future 'in law' family.

Bella shook her head and then said "And there is a surprise person here to pick you up. Don't get mad, Coco.. This is for your own good. I think it's time you and dad talked."

"Damn it, Bella.. the one thing I specifically ask you NOT to do.. You bust your ass to go and do it, don't you?" Courtney said as she bt her lower lip and muttered quietly, "Sorry, it's just.. I.. You know he'd rather not have me underfoot."

"That's where you're wrong, actually." Charlie Swan said as he stepped up and pulled his youngest daughter into a hug, tightly.

He'd been mourning Reneee for a long time.. But when Bella let this little 'sin of omission' on her part slip out, he'd found himself just too damn mad to really care one way or another what his former wife did anymore. Did he hope she was happy? Yeah, of course.. he wasn't a cold hearted bastard after all.. But he wasn't missing her anymore..

And now, he had to work to fix whatever stubborn idea his youngest apparently had in her head about his not having wanted to be a part of her life.

He looked her over, concerned. She looked like she didn't really sleep all that much. She was probably thin as a rail.. Had she always been that small?

"Hey.." she muttered, a puzzled look on her face as she twisted a strand of deep brown hair around her fingertip, stepping back a little.

She didn't really do the whole 'new people' or 'trusting people' thing all that well. It took time for her to bond with someone, and it took a lot of patience.

After all, when you spend a good 80 percent of your teenage life thinking that your mother lied to your real father about you because he might not have wanted you, or that maybe on some level, he did know about you, just didn't give a shit.. You don't really think too highly of yourself, or anyone else.

And even though she loved her older sister to pieces, she found herself jealous of her.. She had a father all this time.. Since learning that Phil wasn't her father, Courtney had been sort of distancing herself, from both her mother and Phil, and Charlie also.

Her mother always said it was typical headstrong teenage rebellion.. But Courtney knew differently.. She didn't trust her mother anymore, and she felt like she didn't really fit in anywhere.

She trusted her older sister, but with Bella having everything she sort of secretly wanted for herself one day, it was hard to be around her sometimes.

"So.. Are you ready? I thought we could stop by a diner on the way in."

"Sure.. Let me see if my bags have come through the carriage thing yet." Courtney said quietly, as she turned, walked away from the group.

"So.. What's the verdict?" Charlie found himself asking his future son in law as Edward shrugged and said "it's the same as it is with you and Bella.. I can only read the loudest thoughts.. Right now, the loudest thought is how freaking slow can the baggage carriage be.. I get the feeling she camoflauges her thoughts."

"Probably so." Bella giggled a little as she looked at her future husband, gave his hand a gentle squeeze before hugging her father. "Dad, this had to come out.. And now that it is.. "

"I know, Bella."

She grabbed her zebra print suitcase, her guitar case and her other bags, and juggling them, she made her way back to the group, looking around. "So.. That's all my stuff.. We're all going to that diner, right?"

Bella smiled, thought it over.. maybe this was her sister's way of saying that she didn't really know if she was sure about being alone with their father just yet.

"Sure. We'll follow you guys.. Edward and I have to stop at the dress shop, set up a time for you to come in and get fitted?"

"Not before noon, please? I'm kinda going to sign up for college classes tomorrow."

"So you're staying?"
"Well I'm sure as hell NOT staying with HER anymore, Charlie." Courtney muttered as she bit her lower lip and said "Sorry, it's just.. I've spent a few years now being pissed at Mom for all this.. Putting you through it, me through it.. Hell, Phil too, he's just too blind to see it."

"People make mistakes, Coco."

"Yeah, dad.. But you don't premeditate covering up said mistake." Courtney said quietly as she added, "Not that it matters." before walking out the doorway ahead of him.

"It's gonna take a while."

"She's as stubborn as you and I, dad, so yeah.. You just have to try and figure out what it is that she thinks and prove her wrong." Bella said as Edward spoke up and pointed out, "If it helps.. She's thinking how she's not as nervous as she thought she'd be.. But she's still not entirely sure if she trusts you."

Charlie nodded and they caught up to Courtney in the parking lot, leaned against a brick wall, staring up at the dull grey sky.

"Damn.. Hey, Bella? You're not holding your wedding outside, right?"

"Nope."

"Good. Because Alice has already had the no biker boots with your bridesmaid dress talk with me, but there's like no damn way my clumsy butt is wearing 5 inch heels in rain. Not unless you guys feel like booking a room at the nearest ER in advance."

"You're clumsy, huh?"

"I can fall up stairs, sir.. That's how bad it is.. And if I drink? Ten times worse."

Charlie groaned. Okay, so she was upfront and honest, she wasn't going to hide her wildness, apparently.. It still didn't mean he wasn't goin to worry to death or get gray hairs over it.

He noticed her shirt and asked, "Led Zepplin?"

"Mhmm."

"That had to come from Renee."

"Right, dad.. You with the really good old rock collection." Bella joked as Charlie shrugged.

So far, it wasn't going that badly.. But Courtney wasn't nearly ready to let her guard down yet. They fell into easy conversation as they all ate at the diner, and to her surprise, when her father asked if she wanted to maybe take Bella's old room, because he was 'alone' in the house now, as he put it, she actually said she'd do it.

Sue greeted them when they walked into the house, and Courtney smiled at her, was polite, of course. Charlie asked, "So.. You're going to check out Port Angeles University?"

"Yes sir.. They also have an opening in the radio station."

"You're a dj?"

"I love music." Courtney said as she sat on the counter, eating a muffin, groaning.. "These are sooooo yummy, Ms. Clearwater."

"Seth tells me this all the time."

"You should open a bakery."

"I've thought about it."

Courtney smiled and then said casually, "So, I'm gonna sleep now.. Somebody apparently realized that I hate early mornings, and now, they're gonna have me up at 7 am trying on dresses."

"Something tells me you're not crazy about dresses?" Sue guessed as Courtney shook her head and said "The dresses are cute.. I've seen 'em.. But they won't let me wear my biker boots or my leather jacket.."

Sue raised her brow as she watched Charlie's youngest skip up the stairs, and tunring to Charlie, "See? I told you everything would be okay tonight without me there."

"Something tells me it's gonna take a long time for it to click with my daughter and I.. I mean she's really had her mind messed with, all this coming out in the open."

"You'll manage, Charlie."

"God I hope so." he muttered as the two of them made their way into the den to watch television for a while.

Upstairs, Courtney unpacked, put a little of 'her own' touches in the room, the handmade dream catcher, pictures on the bulletin board, her books on the shelves, her sketch pad and laptop, her stack of blank cds and her oversized reading glasses on the desk.

When Charlie came in and looked around, he smiled to himself. The frame to the bed was stacked against the wall, neatly, her clothes from the day draped over it.. There were string lights up on the wall, her posters were up.. Maybe she'd come to think of this as home and he'd finally get to make up for lost time after all this time.