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"It is a wise father that knows his own child."
Mark Twain

CHAPTER TEN: MENDING

CPOV

"Welcome home, Emmett and Rosalie."

I had not been expecting those words to fall from Alice's lips. It was ridiculous, but I felt apprehension seize my body; the last time I saw Rosalie, she had walloped me halfway across a room. I had no clue if her fury at me had abated in any way, and nor did I relish finding out. The physical threat was of no concern to me, but her opinion of me was another matter.

My hands had been resting lightly on Isabella's shoulders; now, they had begun squeezing her tighter than was probably comfortable, before I even realised. She turned her head to look at me, eyebrow quirked.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Sorry, love. I didn't realise I was pressing so hard," I confessed. Of course, that was not enough to satisfy her.

"That's not what I asked," she frowned. I sighed.

"It's just... the last time I saw Rosalie... let's just say we didn't part on very good terms."

"Because of me," she replied, face crumpling. I ran my thumb back and forth across her cheek unconsciously, forcing a smile.

"Because of me," I corrected. "Because of what I was causing."

She squinted at me, as if trying to figure me out. "Which takes us back to it being because of me," she pressed. "You really need to fill me in on everything that happened when you were away in Ithica. With all that's been going on the last few days, we haven't had a chance to talk about any of this."

"I promise I will tell you," I said, honestly. "Just... not right now. How far are they, Alice?"

"I'd say you have about three minutes to prepare yourself for another slapping," Alice joked with a half grin, half wince.

"A what?" Isabella exclaimed, whirling to face me fully. "She hit you?"

"Technically she demolished the dining table," Jasper said before I could stop him. "Using, uh, Carlisle."

Isabella gaped and went to say something else, but I silenced her, holding up a hand and massaging the bridge of my nose with the other. "Enough!" I snapped. "We can discuss all that later. Right now, I just want to..."

I was interrupted by the front door flying open. Without even knowing I was doing it, my instinct sent me flashing back behind Bella, my arms wrapping around her protectively. A low growl rumbled in my chest.

"It's alright, Carlisle," I heard her whisper to me, her hand gently touching and stroking one of my arms soothingly, but it didn't sink in. There was a threat to my Bella, and my instincts had taken over.

Rosalie came charging into the room, stony faced. Emmett flanked her, a half smile on his lips and the usual twinkle in his eyes as he took in the sight of his family.

Rose scanned the room in a split second, eyes coming to rest on Isabella and I.

"Rosalie, Emmett," Alice said happily. "Welcome home."

Emmett grinned. "Good to be home, sis." He whizzed past Rosalie and charged into Jasper and Alice. "I missed you guys!"

Rosalie was silent, unmoving. I felt Isabella shift in my arms, and I pulled her closer, the growl in my chest rising and increasing in volume.

Finally, Rosalie changed expression, to one of mild, but slightly repulsed, amusement.

"Oh can it, Carlisle. I'm not going to hurt her."

She looked down and walked into the room, acknowledging the others with a brief nod. Eyes keeping to the side of us, she sighed.

"So it's true then. You are mates."

"Yes," Isabella said immediately, before I could respond. "Carlisle is my soul mate. I love him." She raised her chin, speaking it clearly, proudly, without shame or fear of rebuke. My growling subsided, my chest instead glowing with pride at her self-assured response. My veins seemed to come alive with electrical current at hearing her expression of love.

Rosalie's head snapped up, looking at me rather than at Bella.

"I wasn't talking to the human," she growled at me. "I was talking to you."

"My response is the same as Isabella's," I replied coolly.

I was aware of a sudden approach from the left and whirled with Isabella still in my arms, causing her to squeak in alarm as I growled fiercely, moving us into a protective stance, every fibre of my being poised to attack if need be.

Emmett came to an abrupt halt, raising his hands and backing off slightly with a hint of amusement on his face.

"Woah, old man. Just bringing it in for a hug," he chuckled. "Chill, dude."

It took me a moment or two before I was able to subdue the growling and relax, such was the overwhelming urge to protect my mate.

"I apologise, son," I said, shame creeping through my bones. What was wrong with me?

"No need," he replied, throwing his arms around Bella and myself. "I remember the early days with Rose. Didn't want a single sentient being anywhere near my baby when the mood hit."

"Good to see you, Emmett," Bella grinned, disentangling herself from my grasp and smiling as we embraced fully.

"You too, damn troublemaker, you."

"Ever the drama inducing human," she shot back with a shrug, and he laughed, releasing me and picking her up, giving me a quick glance for approval before swinging her around in a bear hug.

"How did you know we were back here?" Jasper was asking Rose. She was standing arms folded, tension radiating off her. Jasper looked slightly pained as he studied her, jaw clenched.

"We happened to call Esme. She said Edward had taken off to check on you two because Alice hadn't been in touch like she promised, and he was worried Carlisle had come back here. Em insisted we head back to Ithica, but we found the house empty, so we figured we'd check here next."

"Glad to find everyone still in one piece. Guessing Eddie never made an appearance?" Emmett added casually. There was a short silence. Alice wrung her hands.

"What?" Rose sighed, reading the room. "What did he do?"

"He attacked Carlisle," Jasper said quickly, probably figuring he would be the least emotive about explaining it all. "But in doing so, he also took out Bella's dad."

"He what?" Rose exclaimed, a look of horror on her face.

"Charlie's in hospital, in a pretty bad way," Alice added. "Edward just... took off when he realised what he had done."

"Then how are you all still here? He's broken the treaty. How are the wolves not all over this place already?"

"They came," I said. "We have a... tentative agreement in place, until Charlie wakes up and they get a complete picture of everything. He started remembering things when he woke up before. He didn't see Edward attack him, but he saw me thrown across the grounds as well, and got agitated about why I wasn't at all injured. He's currently under sedation."

Emmett let out a low whistle. "Well shit."

"However, they may well be all over here soon enough. They are keeping a look out for Edward or any other vampires entering this territory. They think only Alice and Jasper were going to be returning. We'd best inform them soon that you're both here too, and pose no threat."

"Well this is just great. First Victoria, then Jasper, then relocation, then the whole family falling apart, and now the treaty is under threat. Anything else you want to fuck up for this family, Bella Swan?" Rosalie yelled, slamming her hand down on the table.

"Maybe if Edward hadn't been a total controlling arsehole about everything, things would have turned out differently!" Isabella rebuked, squaring up to Rose with a glare. "You can't make this all my fault, because it's not!"

"She's right," Alice said quietly. "We can't keep blaming Bella, or Carlisle, for this. You know what it feels like to feel the pull to your mate, Rosalie. You know they couldn't fight this. The fact Carlisle fought it for so long... and then Edward forced him to, for all that time before we found out... Any of us would have caved into it, long before he did."

Rose clenched her jaw, wavering between stubbornly continuing her tirade, or conceding to Alice that she was right.

"Rosalie," I said, softly. "Walk with me."

I squeezed Isabella's shoulder gently and gave her a reassuring smile. "I won't be long."

"Don't worry about me. Take all the time you need."

She rose up on her tiptoes and kissed me. "I love you, Carlisle."

"I love you too, Isabella."

"I mean it, Carlisle. Don't rush this. You're getting your family back, piece by piece. I'll still be here, when you get back."

I felt a fluttering inside me at her words. She was wise beyond her years, and I loved her all the more for it. She knew what this family meant to me, and what mending it meant to me. No, more than that... it meant everything to her, too. She truly was my complement in every way.

I smiled, and nodded, and raised her fingers up with mine to brush them with my lips.

Then, I turned to Rose, and we swept from the house, disappearing into the trees.

xxx

BPOV

Time is a strange thing. It seemed like forever before Carlisle finally returned to the house with Rose, and yet at the same time, my time spent with Alice, Jasper and Emmett seemed to fly past in a blur. Being reunited little by little with the family who had meant so much to me, the family who a few days prior I had thought I was never going to see again, was a surreal experience that was slowly sinking into my heart like a precious treasure, gradually cementing itself as real.

I was just on the verge of thrashing Emmett at his video game for a second time, when the now familiar liquid gold rush washed over me, flooding my veins. I knew he was back.

Emmett whooped as he took advantage of my distraction and won the game. I smiled and rolled my eyes jokingly, before rising and glancing tentatively towards the door. The others looked at me, and Alice slid from her seat where she had been nestled against Jasper, slipping her arm into mine.

"It's going to be alright," she reassured me. "It won't be an overnight change, but Rosalie isn't going to object to this forever. She loves Carlisle too much to keep hurting him over this."

She paused, her lip quirking slightly as she watched the emotions that played across my face.

"And you know, deep down... she does love you too."

I snorted. "Yeah right."

"She does, Bells," Emmett hollered from where he was pounding the controller. "She just doesn't show it... for numerous reasons."

I looked over at him in surprise. Did Rosalie really have any kind of affection for me? It seemed impossible to contemplate.

Voices sounded outside, then, and I knew my senses, my supernatural connection to him, had spoken true once again. The door opened, and Carlisle walked in, all smiles, with Rosalie behind him, arms folded and face unreadable as usual. She hovered for a moment, looking at me almost curiously, before giving me a small nod, and a small smile, and moving past me to Emmett. It was the tiniest of signs, but it gave me pause to wonder if Alice and Emmett were speaking the truth when they said she did care for me.

Never bet against Alice, a voice in my head reminded me.

Carlisle took my hands in his, breaking my reverie. "You need to rest," he said softly, pressing his lips to my forehead. "Come to bed."

How could I refuse such words in the beautiful, husky tone in which he spoke them? I followed him wordlessly, throwing a smile goodnight to the others, as a realised just how exhausted I actually was. Upstairs, he led me to the bed we had only hours earlier been making holy, passionate love upon, before excusing himself to his study while I had some human moments.

I took a long, hot shower, afterwards taking some much needed time to just be, brushing out my hair and washing, gazing at myself in the mirror in some kind of wonder. Was I really the same Bella from a few days ago? I looked a thousand times better, despite my tiredness. I think I might even have been glowing.

Carlisle returned to the room just as I was slipping from the bathroom, pulling a robe around myself. His lips quirked into a slight smirk as he drank me in, and I knew he was contemplating sliding the robe straight back off me again. I wouldn't be complaining if he did.

"Feel better?" he asked, and I nodded. "I needed that. Thank you."

"It's been a long few days," he sighed. "And I don't know how this is all going to turn out, yet... but I'm grateful that I'm getting to spend every single moment with you, right now."

"So am I."

He had manoeuvred himself onto the bed, and I joined him, nestling into his firm, cool body with a contended sigh. His arms wrapped around me soothingly, and despite wanting to do all kinds of things to him, I could feel my eyelids drooping.

As if reading my mind, he smiled against my head, pressing a kiss to my hair. "Sleep, Isabella. You need it. I'll still be here in the morning. And hopefully we will be able to go and see your father. Rest and gather your strength."

I managed a small nod and a smile, stifling a yawn. "You always know what I need, Carlisle," I murmured, sleepily. "I feel so safe and loved with you, like, no matter what happens, you'll always be there to support me, or remind me how to find my way back to myself. I hope I can always do that for you, too..."

"You already have," he whispered reverently into my ear. "You found me, loved me, led me to what I needed but was refusing to allow myself. You mended me, Isabella. And somehow, you're mending this family, too."

"I love you, Carlisle. I'd do anything to help bring your family back together again."

His fingers trailed up my neck and stroked my head tenderly. "Sleep now. I love you. So much."

Closing my eyes, I tried to tell him that he didn't have to stay with me all night, that he could go and do as he pleased, but his touch lulled me as if by magic, and I was asleep in his arms before the words could finish leaving my mouth.

xxx

The next day brought the usual Forks rain. One vampire-prepared breakfast and a phone call to the hospital later, I found myself staring out of the rain-soaked Mercedes window at the hospital as Carlisle parked up.

What was I going to say?

Alice was no help, she just kept telling me to be honest without giving everything away. How on earth was I supposed to do that?

Carlisle startled me out of my racing thoughts, placing a hand over mine. I took a breath and looked round at him. His eyes were full of concern.

"Are you sure you want to go in on your own?" he asked, brushing away a strand of hair from my face.

"Yes," I insisted, though I didn't feel nearly so sure as I sounded. "I think it will be less stressful for Charlie if it's just me."

"I know you're right. And I'll be close by, if you need me. But still."

He let out a small huff and I smiled to myself. He was so cute when he did that.

Did I just call Carlisle cute?

Forcing down the sudden urge to break into uncontrollable giggles, I grappled with the door. I could feel Carlisle looking at me quizzically, and I grappled harder. There was a flash, and the door seemingly opened by itself.

"My love," Carlisle smiled. It was his turn to stifle a chuckle. I glowered at him. Of course he was opening the door for me. Ever the gentleman.

"I am quite capable of... never mind," I groaned, as I clambered out to the sound of his laughter and almost tripped into his arms.

I couldn't deny that I secretly adored his chivalry, though.

Cheeks flaming, I threw him a mock glare, before stalking towards the hospital.

"Try not to end up in the hospital, if you know what I mean!" he called after me in amusement, and I had to really restrain myself from giving him the finger.

xxx

Charlie was propped up on his pillows and looking marginally more human than he had the last time I saw him. The swelling had lessened, at least. I peered around the doorway, hovering for a moment as I mustered the courage to go in and talk to him.

"Hey Bells," he said gruffly, somehow having glimpsed me without overtly looking in my direction. I bit my lip and shuffled in, fingers toying with the cuffs of my shirt nervously.

"Hey dad. How you feeling?"

I sat on the chair beside his bed, and he manoeuvred himself slightly so that he could look at me without twisting himself too much. I jumped up, moving my seat into a better line of vision for him.

"Pretty much the same as last time." He sighed. "How are you holding up? Everything okay at... home? Or are you staying at... his house?"

"Um..." I fiddled with my shirt, flustered and searching for the words.

Just be honest, Alice's words rang in my head.

"Yeah, I kinda stayed at the Cullen house last night," I confessed, then added before Charlie could have an aneurysm, "Alice is back, along with Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett, so it was kind of like a catch up with my friends, you know? I needed that."

Which wasn't the whole truth, but a partial one. Okay, maybe I could do this...

Charlie was silent for a while. I chewed my lip and had an internal debate over what to say next. He saved me the job, though, with his next enquiry, which was straight to the point. The joys of having a cop for a father.

"What's going on with you two, Bella? And don't give me any of your half-truth crap, young lady. I've had another whole day to lie here thinking about what happened, and I know what I saw. He was kissing you. You were kissing him. I could see where it was headed. If I hadn't come along..."

He trailed off, jaw clenching. "He's thirty-five, Bella. And a married man, regardless of whether he has separated from his wife or not. Not to mention being the foster dad of your ex-boyfriend..."

"I know what he is, dad!" I exclaimed, standing up and pacing.

"So you are what? Seeing him? Dating him? Rebounding off his son?"

"No! Absolutely not that!" I objected. I sat down again. "It's hard to explain."

"Well I'm not going anywhere," he deadpanned, giving me one of his looks. "What is going on with you and that family, Bella? There are so many things that don't add up. I've always defended them against Billy and the Quileutes' longstanding objections to their very existence here, but now I'm starting to wonder if I should have listened to them. What kind of man leaves his family, comes back out of the blue and takes immediate advantage of his son's jilted girlfriend?"

"He hasn't taken advantage of me," I protested, growing frustrated. He was firing questions and statements at me and making me sound like a whiny teenager fighting a losing battle.

"Whatever feelings you think you might have for him, Bella, he is taking advantage of you," came the retort.

I took a deep breath and stopped myself from biting back at him again.

Think, Bella. Turn it around. Look at it from his perspective. He is just trying to protect you.

"Okay, dad..." I said, quieting my frustration. "I know this all must look... beyond weird to you. And all kinds of wrong, and... just... yeah. I get it. I do. I know you're trying to look out for me."

He quirked an eyebrow at me, waiting for me to continue.

"The Cullens are... different. And there are reasons for the Quileute tribe having... issues... with them. There are things about them that people can't know. I do, because I figured it out and because they allowed me into their family when Edward... when Edward and I were together. But other than that, people aren't supposed to know. There are rules and... I will have to adhere to them, at some point. And it's okay, because I want to."

Charlie made to interrupt me but I stopped him. "Please dad, let me just get this out, or I never will. There's laws in their world, which would have serious implications for you if you found everything out about them. That's as much as I can tell you, okay?"

'What are they involved with, the mafia or something?" he muttered, shushing again when I gave him a dark look.

"No dad."

I grinned despite myself, trying to picture Carlisle as the boss of a mafia gang.

"I will tell you what you need to know, okay? But what exactly is different about the Cullens... please just trust me when I say you don't need to know that."

Charlie let out a long sigh.

"Fine. So first things first. What really happened with you and Edward?"

"He left me. He told me I wasn't good for him. Left me in the woods and Sam found me and brought me back and... it hit me hard. Because I had been allowed into their world and then it all got snatched away and... I couldn't share it fully with anyone. But anyway... I since learned that he wasn't being truthful. He didn't truly want to leave me, he loved me still, but he felt that involving me in their family was..."

I didn't want to say dangerous, for fear of Charlie needing to ask even more questions. I settled with something slightly less dramatic.

"...was potentially unhealthy for me."

I swallowed. "He was always very..."

"Controlling?"

Charlie gave me a long, hard look. I shrugged slightly and conceded with a nod.

"Yeah, he was. He always made decisions for me without considering what I actually wanted, because I was just seventeen."

Dad pursed his lips, frowning. "Well, yes, but he was also just seventeen. Wasn't he?"

I was silent. He looked curiously at me again, before rolling his eyes.

"Need to know basis, right?"

I swallowed, and nodded.

"Alright then. So for some godforsaken reason, he decides to protect you by leaving and dragging his whole family away. And between then and now, shit happens and Carlisle comes back on his own. Care to fill me in on any of that?"

I paused. I didn't know the full story of that, yet. So at least I could be fully honest with him here.

"I don't know the whole of what happened while they were away, we haven't spoken about it yet," I told him. "It was too difficult for Carlisle to talk about when he first arrived and then... so much happened over the last couple of days."

Charlie snorted. "Yeah, just a tad."

"Esme and Carlisle have separated. Things became strained between all of them for a while, because of disagreements between Carlisle and Edward."

"Disagreements?"

"Carlisle didn't agree with leaving and abandoning me. He wanted to stay, but most of the family voted with Edward."

"Why was he so adamant about staying? Why did he feel like they were abandoning you, specifically?"

Damn my father's inquiring mind!

"I... he..."

I sighed and trailed off. "It's complicated, dad. It makes sense to us, but it's hard to explain without..."

"Going into this whole, need to know, don't need to know business?"

"Yeah."

"It was about you, wasn't it? The disagreements. He had feelings for you, before they left?"

"Yes. But he never intended to act on them. He didn't want to hurt Edward."

I took a couple of deep breaths.

"When Edward left, I felt like I had fallen into a void. I thought it was because Edward was gone. But when Carlisle came back, I didn't feel empty anymore. I didn't think about Edward anymore. Slowly I started to realise that the void wasn't me missing Edward, it was me missing Carlisle. I just hadn't had the chance to realise that, because Edward was always there, taking up all of the space, blocking any interactions with Carlisle on my own, except when... when he stitched me up the night of my birthday. I felt things then but... but then they left, and I made myself forget. Until he came back. Until... until it all came tumbling out of both of us."

Charlie was looking at me like I had two heads.

"But you were so madly in love with Edward. Unhealthily in love. Are you saying you were in love with both of them at the same time?"

"No, not exactly. I had... inklings... but never considered them because Edward was all I knew back then."

"And now you..."

"Now I... I don't have any feelings for Edward, no. But I do for Carlisle."

There was a long silence, before I blurted out, "I love him, dad."

My father made some kind of scoffing noise.

"Love him. You're eighteen, Bella. You don't know what love is."

"Don't patronise me, dad! You know mom always said I was born middle aged. I feel things differently to everyone else around here, you know that. I don't fit in. I don't act like anyone else at school. But I fit with them. I fit with him. I love him, and he loves me."

I stared at Charlie's grim face, as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. I blurted out the next part without stopping to think.

"He's not thirty-five, by the way. He just pretends to be, to make things seem more normal. You know, being a top doctor and a foster dad and all."

"What? So how old is he then?" Charlie asked, visibly shocked at that little revelation.

"Physically, he's twenty-three," I replied.

He gave a low whistle. "Okay well... that's not quite so bad, I guess. Wait, hang on. What do you mean... physically?"

I threw him an apologetic smile. He huffed.

"Need to know. Right. Got it."

He massaged his brow.

"So I'm guessing that if I ask how he survived getting thrown halfway across the Cullen grounds without so much as a scratch on him, that's going to be on the don't need to know list, too?"

"Yep. Sorry dad."

"And if I say that it wasn't an animal that attacked us?"

"I'd say that you're right, but I can't tell you what it was, either."

"Goddamnit, Bella," he sighed. "You're going to send me to an early grave, girl."

He fell silent again. I shuffled in my seat, hopeful that we were making some kind of warped progress, at least.

He glanced up at me again.

"You do look a hell of a lot better since he's been back," he acknowledged reluctantly. "Do... do you really love him?"

I nodded fervently. "With everything that I am. You've always said what a good man he is, dad. None of that has changed. He is everything you thought he was, and more. He's kind, gentle, unbelievably selfless... caring and compassionate, he puts his family and the people he loves above everything else, including himself half the time." A smile came to my lips. "I'm making him work on that."

He threw me another odd look.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

"And he loves you?"

"I do. With all that I am."

We both started violently at the sound of Carlisle's voice. I whipped round in the chair to see him hovering in the doorway, his beautiful eyes fixed on me, shining brightly with the immense love he held for me.

He walked into the room and over to Charlie, seating himself in the chair on the other side of the bed.

"I'm sorry to have caused you so much stress and pain, Chief," he said softly. "My family is complicated, as I know Isabella has explained. But all the same, we should have taken better care of those we care about."

He glanced up at me, before continuing.

"I know that our relationship won't be an easy thing to accept. By anyone in this town, let alone you. But I swear to you, I will never hurt your daughter. I love her more than life, Charlie. I want to spend the rest of eternity at her side."

I watched my father carefully as he sized Carlisle up, seeking out any little sign in his face that would give away the barest hint that he was lying. I saw the slight sag in his shoulders as he failed to find it. The reluctant flicker across his face as he started, slowly, to give in.

"Rest of eternity, huh," he muttered. "That's a long ass time."

He gave Carlisle one of his dark looks. He might not know the ins and outs of it all, but I knew his mind would be working it all out, just as I had. My dad was no fool.

"So between wanting to spend eternity together, and these... laws... that govern things in your... world, as Bella puts it..." he said slowly. "At some point, Bella is going to have to adhere to them, she says. I'm guessing that means she is going to become part of this... this world of which I cannot know."

Carlisle nodded. Charlie turned his head slightly to look at me.

"Is that what you want, baby girl?" he asked quietly, and the slightly pained look on his face almost broke me.

"It is," I said, without a moment's hesitation, despite his pain. "I belong with them, dad. I belong with the one I'm meant for."

"Will I still see you?" he asked. I nodded.

"Of course! I might have to stay away for a little while, you know, for reasons I can't tell you, but once I'm okay to come back, you'll see me plenty. I promise."

"I would never keep her from you unless I had no choice, I promise you that, Chief," Carlisle added.

Charlie's eyes darted between the two of us, noting our faces as we got lost in each other's eyes. I felt the soft, quiet rush of that liquid gold seeping into my veins again, filling my heart with indescribable love. I felt like I was grinning at Carlisle like a giddy idiot. His very presence had me floating way up past cloud nine.

We were brought back to earth by the unexpected sound of my dad chuckling loudly.

"Well, she sure must love you," he said to Carlisle, lip quirked. "I mean, she lets you call her Isabella. Anyone else did that she'd near enough rip their head off. Ain't no surer confirmation than that."

The hospital room was silent for a split second, before it was filled with the sound of our laughter. My heart soared; this was going better than I had dared to hope.

Never bet against Alice, my brain reminded me.

"I really do, dad," I smiled. He looked at me wistfully.

"Yeah, I may be a gruff old sod, but I know true love when I see it. And much as it pains me to say it, I can see the love pouring off the both of you in waves. I suppose..."

He broke off to sigh.

"I suppose... you have my blessing."

He stuck out a hand to Carlisle, who took it gratefully and gave it a firm shake.

"But treat her wrong, and I'll shoot you where it goddamn hurts," he growled under his breath.

"I promise you will never have to even consider it," Carlisle replied.

"We'll see."

We were interrupted by a nurse.

"Sorry to intrude on your family time, Chief," she smiled. "But you have more visitors, and we can only allow in so many. Are you up to any more?"

"Who is it?" Charlie asked.

"Go by the names of Billy and Jacob Black, and Sam Uley," she informed him.

"Sam?"

Charlie looked visibly confused. "The Blacks... well I guess they come here now you don't work here anymore, doc. Good to get a visit from my friend. But why would Sam come along to see me?"

"Shall I tell them yes or no?"

"Yeah, just give us a few more minutes, my daughter can send them on in when she goes," Charlie told the nurse, who smiled and nodded, before leaving us to it.

"What's going on now? I feel like this isn't a social visit," Charlie asked in a low voice.

"Yeah... that whole need to know thing kind of extends out to the tribe, too," I tried to explain.

"Jesus heck," Charlie groaned, "If this doesn't all finish me off I think I might just be goddamned immortal."

Carlisle and I couldn't hide our mirth at that statement. Charlie gave us both a look, before raising his eyebrows.

"Holy hell," he breathed, some kind of realisation dawning. "I don't even want to know."

I rose, kissing him on the forehead.

"Love you, dad. Take it easy, okay? Send them packing if it gets too much."

"I will, baby girl, I promise. Come see me again tomorrow?"

"Try and keep me away!"

Carlisle rose also, pausing before following me to briefly speak to dad quietly.

"Thank you for your grace, Charlie. It means more than you know."

"Just keep her safe, Cullen. Promise me."

"I promise. Now, Uley might press you about what happened when you were attacked. There is a... treaty... between their kind and ours, and they fear that treaty has been broken. You have no obligation to me, Chief, but what you say will make all the difference. I can only ask..."

Charlie interrupted him.

"Carlisle, if Bella loves you, and you love Bella, then that makes you family, and that sure as hell gives me obligation to defend you. I can handle the Blacks and Sam. Now get out of here, and take Bella somewhere to get a decent meal into her, will ya?"

Carlisle, for once in his life, looked lost for words.

"Thank you, Charlie."

"You owe me, Cullen," he rebuked with a wink. I slipped from the room to the corridor, to find three faces glowering silently at me.

"Billy. Jacob. Sam," I acknowledged one by one. Jake gave me a death stare. Billy just looked disapprovingly at me. Sam, surprisingly, gave me a small smile.

"Bella. May we see your father now?" Sam asked politely.

I nodded. "Yeah, he said go right on in."

Their expressions darkened significantly, and I frowned, before realising that Carlisle had stepped out into the corridor and was stood behind me. He put an arm around me to escort me home.

"Bella, let's go," he said quietly.

"Gentlemen," he smiled to the three as we passed by, receiving only icy coldness in return, though again, there was the scant hint of a smile from Sam. I hoped he would be as diplomatic as he had been on the evening he came to visit Carlisle.

"Wait."

We turned back to see Sam standing, staring after us. Jacob was up and gone, wheeling Billy into Charlie's room.

"It seems you were not entirely honest with us, Doctor Cullen, when you said that only two of your coven would be returning."

Carlisle swallowed. "I apologise. Emmett and Rosalie took us by surprise, we were not expecting them back any time soon. Even Alice only knew of their imminent arrival a few minutes before they got here."

Sam pursed his lips, weighing up Carlisle's words.

"We'll continue this conversation later," was his only reply, before turning and following the Blacks into Charlie's room.

I tried not to dwell on what the conversation between them and my father was going to be, as Carlisle steered me out to the car.

There was little point in ruminating over it all. Even Alice wouldn't be able to see what was to come.

We would know soon enough, what the pack's decision on the treaty would be. We would just have to wait for it the old-fashioned way.

Thank you as always for your kind reviews. I read and love every single one. I love these two characters so much, so when I get a non-Bellisle fan enjoying the story, it's extra special. Thank you for sharing!