A/N: Wishing you all a happy Thursday! Thanks for reading and I'll see you tomorrow:) ~ M. x

The World You Live In

While the Cullens and her Quileute friends offered to throw her and Angela a graduation party, Bella decided she'd rather have a quiet night with her dad. Leaving him in the coming months was never far from her mind and she wanted to make the most of their time together.

Rather than going out to a restaurant, the two decided to cook dinner together. Charlie, of course, opted to make his macaroni and cheese, while Bella was making one of her dad's favorite meals - her grandmother's beef stroganoff. Esme had even dropped off a plate of her famous chocolate chip cookies. Not a healthy meal by any measure but Bella figured if she made a small salad to go along with it that they could treat themselves without too much guilt.

"I'm proud of you, Bells," her dad said after he finished the last bite on his plate.

"For graduating?" Bella asked. "It's just high school, it didn't take too much work."

Charlie smiled. "For graduating, yes, but also for the young woman you've grown into. I look at you today in comparison to the girl who moved back here a year and a half ago, and you're like a completely different person. I'm so glad you decided to move back here, kiddo. That we got this time together."

Bella's throat felt tight with emotion as she got up to hug her dad. "Don't get too sappy on me, old man, you're not rid of me yet," she said, not wanting their evening to take a heavy turn. "Now come on, I'll wash if you dry."

Charlie nodded his agreement with a smile and the two got to work cleaning up the kitchen.

Just as Bella handed her dad the last pot to dry, there was a knock on the back door and Jacob Black popped his head inside. "I heard there were Cullen cookies so I figured this was as good a time as any to bring you your graduation gift."

"You didn't have to get me anything, Jake," Bella said with a smile.

"I didn't get it," he assured her. "I made it," he smiled as he held his open hand out to her.

She picked up the thin leather cord carefully and smiled at the little wooden russet wolf hanging from it. "You carved this?" she asked with a wide smile. At Jacob's nod, she hugged him. "It's beautiful, Jake Thank you. Will you put it on me?"

Jacob tied the band around her wrist with a smile of his own. "I'm glad you like it."

Charlie Swan watched the two with a smile. "You kids want to sit out back for a bit? It's a gorgeous night."

Bella nodded and sent the two of them outside, then pulled a glass from the cupboard and poured her dad a beer. "Here," she smiled, handing it to him when she joined them.

"Thanks, Bells," he laughed at seeing it was the Pisa glass she'd gotten him in Italy. "If only we had some gelato."

"We might still have some ice cream left from the last cookout but I'm too full to think about that right now," Bella answered.

"Either of you feel like telling me yet what that was about with Edward Cullen?" Charlie asked. "I know you're keeping secrets. If you can't tell me for whatever reason, I won't push, but you know I'm always here for you, right? For both of you," he added, looking at Jacob.

Neither teen was sure how to answer that, but before another word was spoken, all of their lives took a sharp turn that no one saw coming.

Jacob's head snapped up to look at the trees and his whole body started trembling. Bella, knowing that he was on the verge of phasing and aware that only one thing would cause that, very carefully stood up and pulled her dad up with her. She backed the two of them up until they were right against the house, Bella standing in front of her dad.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly.

Bella pulled out her phone and called Jasper before she answered her dad.

"Bella?" Jasper answered.

"How soon can you get here?" she whispered in the quietest voice she could.

"What's wrong?" he asked and she could hear the air rushing past the phone as he started running.

Bella couldn't say vampire with her dad standing so close to her, afraid to risk him hearing. "Trouble, I think. Jake's on edge," she said, trying to be vague enough for her dad while still getting her point across. "Behind my house—" Bella cut herself off with a scream when Jacob suddenly exploded into a wolf right in front of her dad's eyes and a figure stepped into their backyard with his hands up in front of him.

"Hey Bella," the vampire called out, making Bella's thoughts stutter to a halt.

"Goddamn it," Jasper growled through the phone. "I'm almost there. Try to get Jacob to calm down if you can. And if you can't, that's fine too. It's his own fucking fault."

Bella could hear her dad's gasping breath behind her but she could only deal with one thing at a time. And first and foremost was trying to convince her best friend not to tear her future brother-in-law to pieces.

"Jake," Bella called sharply. "It's fine, I promise."

Jacob stopped moving and turned his big wolfie head to look at her but the rolling growl coming from his throat didn't stop.

"It's Peter, Jacob. Remember Peter and Charlotte? Jasper's other family who protected the tribe from a newborn army?"

"A newborn what?" Charlie muttered to himself, making Bella curse under her breath at her stupidity in mentioning that. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Hey wolf," Peter called with a smile. "Sorry to startle ya."

Before anyone could make another move, Jasper came flying in out of nowhere and took Peter to the ground. Alice was only a millisecond behind him and skidded to a halt at the edge of the Swan's backyard. She took in the scene and didn't know if she should laugh or cry. Peter was face-down in the grass, Jasper kneeling over him pissed as all get out, Jacob was in his wolf form, head cocked to the side as he looked at the vamps on the ground, Bella was standing sentry in front of her dad, arms crossed and rolling her eyes, and Charlie Swan was blinking rapidly as if he didn't trust that his eyes were working properly.

Before anyone could work out what came next, yet another blond vamp came tearing into the yard and stomped on Peter's ankle.

"Ow! What was that for?" he grumbled.

"I told you to wait, Peter. I told you we should go see Jasper first," Charlotte snapped.

"I was excited!" he said, trying to defend himself. "She said she wanted to meet us!"

"Look around, Peter," she growled. "Is this the first meeting you had in mind?"

For some reason that made Bella laugh. And once she started, the hysteria of their current situation hit her and she couldn't stop. After a minute, Alice's light giggles joined hers and then Jasper's deep chuckles joined in.

Charlotte crossed her arms and huffed a few times. "Y'all are weird," she sighed, which only made Bella laugh harder as she remembered all the times Jasper had said that about her.

Eventually Bella managed to take a few deep breaths and get herself under control. She turned to her dad, who was looking around his backyard with wide eyes, unsure what to make of pretty much anything at the moment.

"Oh boy," Bella sighed. "Okay, first things first. Dad, we're all fine, but could you run inside and grab a pair of your sweats? I don't think you want to see Jacob naked on top of this mess."

"Jacob… naked?" Charlie asked in confusion.

"Yeah, it's probably best not to ask too many questions yet. I promise I'll explain but I'd rather not do it until we're all capable of speech. And I have no desire to see my best friend without any clothes on. Once was enough for me," she shuddered.

Jasper's laugh escaped him in a sharp crack that made Charlie startle. "Something you wanna share with the class, sweetheart?" he laughed while looking at her with a raised eyebrow, eyes sparkling.

Bella waved him off. "Just an unfortunate accident of timing. Less said about it the better, honestly," she answered while she resolutely shook her head, then turned back to her dad. "Sweatpants?"

"Uh, okay…" Charlie nodded and reached behind him for the doorknob. He backed his way through the door, not wanting to turn his back on the bizarre scene in front of him.

Once the door was firmly closed, Bella sighed and walked down to the yard. Passing Jacob, she dug her hand in the fur by his ear and gave him a scratch. "Thanks for protecting us," she whispered before going to greet her soulmate and his family. She gave Jasper a quick kiss and then walked over to Charlotte, who uncrossed her arms with a sweet smile.

"Hey Bella. I know my one and only made a real mess of things but I'm so glad to finally meet you," the petite blond said.

Bella gave her a smile in return. "Me too. Can I give you a hug? Would that make you uncomfortable?" she asked.

Charlotte smiled, grateful for the little human's consideration, and wrapped her up in a gentle hug.

When Bella pulled back she turned her attention to the third blond in her yard, this one still face-down in the grass with her mate's knee in between his shoulder blades. He was smiling up at her as if this was just a typical day in the life of Peter Whitlock.

Bella looked back up at Jasper. "Feel like letting him up?" she asked.

Jasper shrugged and shook his head. "Not particularly, no."

Bella snorted a laugh. "It's gonna be fine, Jas. No one was hurt, we're all fine. I think it's safe to let him go."

Jasper looked between Bella and Charlotte before shrugging again. "Alright," he sighed. Jasper shoved the back of Peter's head so he ended up with a mouthful of grass and dirt, then climbed off him with a smile. He walked over and pulled a laughing Charlotte into a hug. "Hey Char. Always good to see you."

Charlotte laughed and reached up to ruffle his messy curls before going to give her sputtering, spitting mate a hand.

"Not cool, Major," Peter grumbled as he wiped the dirt from his lips.

Jasper rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around his mate. "Don't expect me to apologize anytime soon. What were you thinking, Peter?"

"I just wanted to meet her! But… I may have gotten a little too eager," he admitted grudgingly, though it didn't escape Jasper's notice that his emotions didn't quite match his words.

When Charlie Swan opened the back door, Alice walked over and took the sweatpants he was holding. "Thanks, Charlie. Just sit tight, this will only take a minute."

Charlie nodded and watched as Alice took the pants and set them behind one of the trees that ringed their yard. Then the giant wolf - Jacob? - walked into the trees and a few moments later, out walked a shirtless and barefoot Jacob Black in Charlie's too-small sweatpants.

Charlie sat down on the top porch step with a sigh. "Will someone please explain? I'm trying not to freak out here, I really am, but I just watched the boy I've known since the day he was born turn into a giant wolf."

Bella let out a sigh of her own as she recalled her thoughts at graduation just a few hours before. Right now, with her dad in the crosshairs, she wished Forks was a little less magical.

While most of the vamps exchanged glances, not sure how to navigate their way out of this mess, Jacob looked at Charlie thoughtfully for a few moments before quickly striding over to the group on the lawn.

"Do you trust me?" he asked quietly. Jasper, Alice, and Bella all nodded without hesitation. "Learning your secret is a death sentence for him. Learning mine, however, isn't."

"I think your secret's already well out of the bag, Jake," Bella said, confused by where he was going with this.

Jacob smiled at her. "True," he agreed. "But that doesn't mean theirs has to be," he said, gesturing to the four vamps.

Alice gasped and broke into a smile. "It could work," she whispered. "He's not a nosy person by nature. If you tell him that he's better off letting some things stay in the dark, he'll accept that. He'll be a little wary around everyone for a while, but he'll let us keep our secrets."

"I don't understand," Bella said as she looked between her two friends.

"What's the one thing that's been eatin' at ya recently?" Peter asked gently.

"Leaving my…" she trailed off as she inhaled sharply. "Are you telling me you did this on purpose?"

"Might've," he shrugged. Before Jasper could tackle him again, he quickly continued. "It means he gets to stay in your life while remaining completely safe. He's in no danger, Bella. I never would've done this if he was."

"And Charlie just accepts that Jacob explodes into a dire wolf with no explanation for the rest? Without asking questions?" Jasper asked, his voice hard.

Peter and Alice both nodded.

"He's not a stupid man, Jasper," Alice said calmly. "You know he's been suspicious of pretty much all of us, wolves and vampires, since Edward showed up at the cookout. But we both know the man has kept his peace because even though he's suspicious and confused, he respects all of us enough to let us keep our secrets. If Jacob tells him the bare minimum, that yes, we're all a little different but asks that in the interest of both his and Bella's safety Charlie doesn't ask questions… Charlie will be content with that."

Jasper looked at Peter. "Are you telling me he can stay in Bella's life after she's changed?"

Peter nodded with a small smile. "Yes. That's what I'm tellin' you."

Bella honestly didn't know what to think. The fact that the supernatural world had just thrown up all over her father scared her to death. But the possibility that she might not have to lose her dad, the one thing that was making her want to drag her heels on her impending change… if she trusted Peter's word, Alice's word, he may have just handed her one of the biggest gifts in what would be a very long life.

She looked at Peter closely for any sign that he was being less than truthful. She didn't know the man at all, though, so she really didn't know what she was looking for. He certainly seemed confident enough. Bella looked up at Jasper and let him feel both her hesitation and her hope.

He smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "He's telling the truth, sweetheart."

Before she let her hope take flight, Bella looked at Alice, who nodded at her with a beaming smile.

Bella inhaled a little shakily and then practically launched herself at Peter, who caught her gently with a laugh, and hugged him as hard as she could. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she whispered.

Peter patted her back gently as the rest of the group looked on. "You're welcome, Bella. You're part of the family now, and us Whitlocks always look out for each other," he said softly. "I didn't want you to come into this life with any regrets. And since you're the greatest gift of all for Jasper, I figured I could give you a gift of your own in return as my thanks."

Jasper smiled at his mate and his oldest friend, then walked over and wrapped his arms around both of them. "Thanks, Peter," he whispered, letting him feel all the love he held for the man.

Charlotte nudged her way under Jasper's arm and reached out to grab Alice's hand to pull her into the hug too.

The wolf looked at the four vamps wrapped around his human best friend and laughed. "Group hugs are great and all but I think Charlie might be getting a little impatient and a lot more confused."

The vamps and human laughed as they let go of each other and Bella took Jasper's hand. "How do we do this?" she asked.

"Char and I are gonna head on over to the Cullen's. You guys decide how best to handle it and we'll see y'all in a little bit," Peter said. When the group nodded their agreement, Peter took his one and only's hand and, with a last wave, the two disappeared into the night.

Looking at Bella, Jacob saw she was torn between being worried and being joyful beyond belief. "Why don't you let me talk to him, Bells?" he said.

"What? Why? I can do it," she answered, looking confused.

Jacob shrugged. "I have to tell him my secret, you don't need to be here for that. Maybe it's better if you guys aren't here for him to question."

Bella hesitated. It didn't feel right to expect Jacob to shoulder this on his own. Charlie was her dad, it was her responsibility to explain what she could. She turned to Jasper and Alice. "I'm going to stay but maybe Jake's right about you not being here to question. Going by what you've seen, Ali, he won't try to pry, but it can't hurt to be a little extra careful."

Jasper and Alice immediately nodded their agreement. This was Bella's father, she got to decide how this unfolded.

"Why don't you come over when y'all are done?" Jasper asked as her pulled her into a hug.

Bella tipped her head back and kissed the underside of his jaw. "Alright. I'll text you when I'm on my way."

"I love you," he murmured against her lips as he kissed her.

She smiled as she pulled away. "Love you, too. See you guys in a bit."

Just as Alice and Jasper took off for home, they heard Jacob's deep voice as he and Bella walked to sit with her dad.

"You don't live in the world you think you do, Charlie."

Bella's dad snorted a laugh. "Yeah, I think I've worked that out, kid."

Jasper and Alice looked at each other with wide grins, thrilled with this turn of events. Both vamps had come to love Charlie Swan over the course of their time in Washington. And if Bella didn't have to say goodbye to her dad, then neither did they.

A/N: Sorry if there were multiple notification things, I uploaded the wrong version of this chapter the first time.