Sunrise Sunset

Chapter 25

Previously and Charlie is remembering the last chapter:

Saturday bloomed early; Charlie hadn't been able to sleep since the cursed Cullen boy asked to marry his daughter. He rose early, sitting on the edge of the bed, for what seemed an eternity.

"Yes," Charlie said, discreetly wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Pardon?" Edward asked startled.

"Yes, I give you permission to marry Bella, if she'll have you," Charlie said standing up, he held his hand out. Realizing what was happening Edward gingerly grabbed Charlie's hand and they both could not help but grin "welcome to the family."

"Thank you, sir, you won't regret this," Edward said.

But he was regretting it, saying yes to the Cullen boy. Charlie Swan was many things, but a fool he was not. That boy loved Bella, he had no clue what happened to make Bella rush to Italy after him, there was no doubt in his mind that he loved her; but did she love him the same?

Perhaps he would have to sit his daughter down and ask her exactly what she wanted. He could feel it, there was something more to what was going on than anyone was saying. Many times, he felt like there was an invisible wall between him and the vampires sometimes. Like they were hiding behind a force field.

Then the rest of the memory hit him like a sack of bricks, the whole reason he said yes to the boy. "I'm no good for her," Charlie muttered, holding his head in his hands. All Charlie could hope for was that the wedding was a long way away. She was just going to be graduating from school, surely, it's too soon. She's only 18 for Christ's sake."

Charlie continued in this way for most of the morning before he got the courage to go downstairs. What the heck was he going to say to her? Did the boy ask her yet? Should he wait for her to say something? He sighed, turning around to go back up the stairs, running into Hermione.

"Forget something Uncle Charlie?" she asked rubbing sleep dirt from her eyes.

"Yeah, my sanity," he grumbled turning around to go back down the stairs. Great now I'm running away from Hermione. He didn't stop to catch her look; he just walked into the kitchen and started the coffee. Hermione wasn't far behind him, and if she was curious about his actions, she didn't say anything about it.

"I was thinking of going to the Res today," he said, pausing to open the cabinet to get a cup, "want to tag along?"

"Sure," she said pulling out eggs and bacon from the fridge, "you're avoiding Bella, aren't you?"

"How on earth did you know that?" Charlie asked too surprised to lie.

"Uncle Charlie," she said in a tired tone, "Bella and Edward have been arguing over this topic for the past few weeks. Ever since he's come back, he's been asking, but she wasn't sure of her feelings."

"Yes, but does she know he asked her father's permission?" Charlie asked perturbed.

"Not to my knowledge," Hermione said with an anxious smile. "Your right let's get out of here and go eat breakfast with Billy and Jacob. You call, I'll get our coats."

"I like the way you think," he said jumping up from his seat. She handed him the phone, before putting everything back in the fridge. She ran out of the kitchen on her tiptoes, he watched as the door flapped shut and then open again. He wasted no time calling Billy, turning to look at the clock he realized it was barely 7 am.

Charlie shrugged his shoulders, as the line picked up, "This better be good," the voice said, "you have two seconds."

"The Cullen boy asked permission to marry Bella and I said yes," Charlie said in a rushed voice.

"Say again," the voice on the other line said after a few seconds of dead silence.

"I gave Cullen permission to marry Bella," Charlie said, "she doesn't know, need to escape, bringing Hermione."

"Sure," the voice said, "see ya soon chief."

Charlie cleared his voice, "leaving now."

Charlie wasted no time in clicking the phone down on the receiver. He grabbed his keys, his bag, his coat, and went into the living room. Hermione was waiting for him by the door, checking her watch. She glanced up at him, turned, opened the door, and bolted.

Yes, it seemed he wasn't the only one who didn't want to be in the house when Edward revealed to Bella that he asked her father's permission to marry her, and he said yes. While she wasn't opposed to someone giving her the details, she didn't want to be there for that setback.

…

Poor Edward, she thought, poor Bella, poor Charlie. He's the one who is getting the short end of the stick. Chances are, that after they are married, she'll be turned and the whole Cullen family will drop out of the universe and suddenly be no existent. They will probably fake Bella's death as well. If only they could tell Charlie everything. If only some magical universes allowed the dissolution of information to pass between species of the same hominoid experience.

She shook her head, trying to dislodge the thought in her head. She would write Luna, maybe in some roundabout way she could tell her the truth without getting anyone in trouble.

Meanwhile, Charlie is thinking, if only Hermione would get her magic back, and then I could tell her that they knew. But if she had her magic and her memory, she wouldn't care if he knew, because she knew that he knew, before when she knew about magic. This is starting to get confusing, he thought to himself, mentally rubbing his head.

…

Meanwhile, Jacob is waiting anxiously for Hermione and Charlie to arrive. He was eager to get more information from the two of them. There had to be some way around keeping Charlie in the dark. he had asked Billy many times to tell Charlie, and Billy said that it went again tribal rules. Sure, Hermione and Bella knew, but that was different.

No, they should tell him soon, he had a right to know, that his only daughter was about to become married to a vampire. He didn't want to be the fly on the wall when Bella found out about Edward asking Charlie's permission either. Maybe he could just pretend that he hadn't already asked.

"Jake," his father called from the kitchen, "what time did Charlie say he was going to be here?"

"Sooner rather than later I think," Jacob said as a car pulled up the driveway, and he heard two doors shut, one much harder than the other.

"They didn't waste much time," Billy said with a small laugh.

"Well, it sounded urgent," Jacob said turning to the door to open it just before a knock sounded on the door.

"Welcome," Jacob said pulling Hermione into a hug. Her arms looped around his waist, and she leaned into his hug. While it only lasted a second, it was enough to show the other people in the room that they were serious about each other. The two men turned and grinned at each other, Billy wagging his eyebrows, to Charlie's goofy smile. They were worse than two women, "We'll have to watch for them," she whispered, nodding her head towards both Charlie and Billy.

"Give us a couple of years," Jacob said loudly, "then you can plan your wedding."

"You mean our wedding dear," Hermione said with a bright smile.

Two sillier men you have never seen, it was like Christmas came early. They were going to be in-laws! Family! They would have to share all their secrets then!

Hermione and Jacob looked amused at their father's/Uncle's glee at what they just said. They set to making breakfast, as the two of them went over ideas. "Should we let them get so carried away?" Hermione asked curiously.

"What's the harm," Jacob said shrugging his shoulders, "not like we said tomorrow."

"I wouldn't say that too loud," Hermione joked, "they might find a way and then you'll be sorry."

"I could never be sorry," Jacob said seriously, "I could only be sorry if we never had the chance to meet. Can you imagine how my life would have gone?"

"I can well imagine," she said softly leaning into his shoulder as they cooked at the stove, "You would have fallen for Bella's charms, Edward would have won her away from you. Italy would still have happened, causing you and Edward to come to blows and sides would be chosen. You would have been left pining and broken as she dangled a chance to win her in front of your face only to be rejected. I think my being here, started us all down a different path."

"Your very insightful," Jacob said hugging her tightly, "I'm so glad that you are Bella's cousin. My soulmate."

"My soulmate," she repeated as she leaned into a kiss.

Unfortunately, there were interrupted by the door banged open and a clan of tall young men barreled into the house.

"It seems we're being invaded," Hermione said loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Sorry to disturb," Sam said urgently, "we had some news, it's not good."

"What's happened?" Jacob said urgently stepping away from Hermione. Hermione glanced over at Charlie, the two of them shared a look.

"Why don't we go to the diner for breakfast," Charlie said straight away, before turning to look at his good friend, "call if you need me, call the station if you need the chief."

The pair headed out the door and made good time to the diner.

…

When they made it to the diner, they were sat down right away. "it's been a slow morning," the hostess told them, "It's surprising for a Saturday morning, were usually packed."

"It's still early yet," Charlie said looking at the clock, it was only a quarter to 8? "How is it only almost 8 am?"

"don't even say it, Uncle Charlie," Hermione said holding her head in her hands.

"It's going to be a long day," Charlie said before she even had the chance to cover her ears.

"Now you've jinxed us," Hermione said with a loud groan.

"Well, it is," he said loudly.

She looked up at him and laughed before saying, "I wonder if Edward has been to the house yet?"

Charlie gave her a terrified look, and she lost it again. Eventually, they ordered, ate terribly slowly, they still had only wasted 45 minutes. It was now 8:30, my oh my how time flies.

…

…

…

Edward waited until the bleary early morning hours before Bella woke, to pull himself from her arms. Careful not to wake her up, he covered her again with the blanket, she shifted, moaning his name in her sleep. An unconscious vision of the two of them laying together, and their gentle, innocent touches were enough to make him lose his mind.

He shook the thoughts from his mind, taking one more glance at his mate, he turned and exited through the window, down the tree, and out of sight. He had asked Charlie's permission to marry Bella the night before, but he wasn't sure how she was going to take it. she had been very clear to point out that she makes her own decisions. And that she would continue to make decisions for herself, regardless of their relationship. He respected it, yet he hoped that the hard-headedness of seeing reason would help change her mind.

When Bella called it was a quarter to 7, she heard the front door shut, and saw Hermione and Charlie pull away in the car. "Where are they off to so early?" she wondered out loud. She picked up the phone and called Edward, "Bella," he said breathlessly.

"Good morning," she said wistfully, "come over, the wardens just left."

"I'm here," he said before clicking the phone shut.

She stood, pulled on her pants, and a blue tee-shirt raced down the stars. She nearly tripped twice, once when she was jumping into the hallway, her foot caught on her own pant leg, and she nearly went down. Then when she was jumping down the stairs, yes jumping. She skipped the last three steps and nearly fell headfirst into the landing, nearly twisting her ankle.

She opened the door and invited him in. everything was going well, and then he opened his big mouth. "I asked your father's permission to marry you," Edward said with a grin. She gave him a scathing look, he expected her to be happy about this?

"I'm sorry, you what?" she asked in a calm voice. He could hear the angry growl she was keeping hidden under the calm. She was ready to blow her top, like a volcano that had been sleeping, and suddenly for no reason, POP!

He repeated his first statement, only with less of a grin and more of a cringe. She was pacing now, walking back and forth in front of him. Chewing her fingernail, "you're sure he said yes?" she asked surprised.

"He was going to say no at first," Edward said some of his happiness returning, "I had to convince him, that I was going to support you in anything you want to do. That I would follow you to the ends of the earth if that was your wish. That I would descend into hell to save you."

"Still asking his permission supposes that I am not my own person, Edward," Bella said anger returning to her voice, "I don't need permission, I am of age, I will marry you if I want to."

"So, you do want to marry me?" He asked with a cheeky smile.

She gave him a tentative smile before continuing on her rant, "Why did you have to ask him? Why couldn't you have asked me first?"

"Well, that's what you normally do when you ask the love of your life to marry you. You ask their parents or other family members if you can take them away and make them yours," Edward said sweetly.

"Still, now it sounds like you think I'm a piece of property," Bella said in an annoyed tone, "You don't own me, are you going to tell me what I can wear and how I can wear my hair?"

"You're not a doll, Bella," Edward said annoyance showing on his face.

"Tell that to Alice," Bella said trying to hold back a laugh.

"Alice is a force all her own," Edward replied, the air seeming to clear.

"Still," she said shrugging her shoulders.

Edward made a sighing sound and made towards the door, "I'll leave you to your thoughts," Edward said feeling a bit down. He had known she would react like this, and she would hopefully come around before too much longer.

It was then that their moment or not moment was ruined when Hermione and Charlie walked through the front door. The silence was deafening, and Hermione rushed past, straight to the phone. Charlie swore as Hermione shot him a cheeky smile before walking into the kitchen.

"Hello kids," Charlie said awkwardly bobbing on the balls of his feet as he waited for a way out, "I'll um just leave you kids to it, have to see a man about a dog."

Edward and Bella watched as her socially awkward father all but run into the kitchen. Suddenly they started laughing at her father's reaction.

They said their goodbyes, "I just need a little while to wrap my head around everything," she said, "I'll call you in the morning."

"Promise," Edward asked hopefully.

"Of course," she said smiling, "I'm mad at you, but that doesn't mean I want to change my mind. I just don't want to be treated as a piece of property."

"I understand," Edward said with a gentle smile, "don't blow a fuse with all that thinking."

"Wouldn't dare," Bella said leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. He waved before dashing off into the shadows and back home.

After Bella had been alone for a moment, she called into the kitchen, "coast is clear, you can quit pretending to be busy now."

"Oh, thank god," she heard her father say, and she started laughing all over again. She laughed the whole way to her room, where she plopped face first down onto the bed. "What am I getting myself into?" she asked herself.

"Yes, what indeed," she heard Hermione say from the doorway, "may I join you it's been an eventful morning."

"Charlie and Billy planning a wedding already?" Bella asked sitting up, motioning Hermione to join her on the bed.

Hermione laughed shrugged her shoulders, "I think that they hoped one of us would marry into the wolf pack."

"Your not wrong," Bella said resting her head on her arm, "I'm just so confused."

"What is there to be confused about?" Hermione asked, "you love him, what is there to be confused about?"

"I don't even know where to begin," Bella sighed burying her face in the crook of her elbow.

"Why not the beginning?" Hermione suggested.

"Well, mom, is well, she was more of a friend to me than a mother. She'd jump at a chance to try and out style me, flirt with my friends, interfere on dates. I'm worried I'm going to turn out like my mother I guess." Bella said half-muffled, "I worry that I will lose interest or fall out of love, and then it will all be for nothing. Vampires mate for life, what if I'm bad at it."

"Well, I can tell you for sure you're not like Renee," Hermione said sitting up, "First, you don't dress to impress, unless someone is impressed with heavy metal t-shirts," she paused to tug on Bella's sleeve, causing her to smile, "Second, I haven't seen you apply makeup or wear a push-up bra. I haven't seen you attracted to any of the boys except Edward, and that was the moment he stepped foot into the high school cafeteria."

As Hermione ticked off all these facts on her finger, Bella was starting to wonder how she managed to attract Edward in the first place. "How did I manage to attract him then?"

"Well, it all comes back to blood, doesn't it?" Hermione suggested, "he was first insanely attracted to the smell of your blood. He even ran away from you, but then he conquered it, and he's crazy about you. Don't disvalue yourself, your beautiful, even if you wear grungy t-shirts and baggy jeans."

"Your kind to say so," Bella said with a shrug of her shoulder.

"that's it I'm calling Alice," Hermione said with a growl, how else was she going to show this girl how pretty she was.

"No!" Bella yelled; it was comical. The look on Bella's face was a mix of surprise and horror. She sprang up and attempted to wrestle the phone from Hermione's hands. Just as if it was meant to be, the phone rang. "Shit! You just had to say you were calling her! Now she's calling!"

Hermione answered the phone, "hello," she said tentatively

"I saw that you planned to call, and I have to say I agree 100%. I'll pick the two of you up in 5 minutes. Be ready."

"See you soon," was all Hermione had the chance to say before the phone clicked and beeping could be heard, as the line was dead.

"Well, that happened," Hermione said putting the phone back on the bedside table, "get ready to go."

"Damnit, Hermione!" Bella yelled.

"Sorry, not sorry," Hermione said sticking her tongue out at her. "Confidence is key."

"I'm confident I am going to kill you," Bella said daringly, she had a glint in her eyes, and Hermione moved towards the door.

"You have to catch me first," Hermione said, Bella pounced, and Hermione let out a little scream as she ran out the door, Bella hot on her tail.

…

Charlie was sitting in the living room minding his own business when the doorbell rang. He stood up, glancing at the time 10 am. Taking a second look, he sighed, it was going to be a long day. He answered the door, surprised to see Alice Cullen on the other side of the door. This girl he could admire, "Good morning Alice," Charlie said inviting her into the house.

"Good morning Charlie," Alice replied, "I've come to take Hermione and Bella on a little shopping trip."

"Good luck trying to get Bella to change her wardrobe," Charlie said with a chuckle.

"It's more of a confidence boost trip," Alice said with a smile.

"Hermione's idea no doubt," Charlie said nodding in agreement with the suggestion, "She needs a confidence boost."

"I couldn't agree more," Alice said with a wide grin, "Rosalie couldn't join us, she and Emmet have plans and it didn't include shopping. I believe it has something to do with Emmet finally beating Rosalie in mortal combat. There were pretty into it when I left."

Charlie laughed as he heard running upstairs, "that must be them coming down now, let me see what keeping them."

"No need," Alice said looking to the stairs, here bounding down the stairs was Hermione, with Bella hot on her tail.

"You're so dead," Bella yelled.

"Bella, you made it down the stairs without tripping," Hermione said startling her, which caused her to trip on her shoelaces and fall headfirst into the door. Luckily, Charlie was there to break her fall. "Sorry, I didn't mean to trip you up."

"Your lucky I'm a klutz," Bella said to Hermione, before turning back to Charlie, rubbing her head, "are you ok dad?"

"I'll live," Charlie said with a chuckle, "glad I was there in your time of need."

"My father, the savior of my skull," Bella said with a laugh.

"Glad to be the savior of something," Charlie laughed, slightly embarrassed, "You kids have fun."

"I'm sure I won't," Bella said as Hermione and Alice all but dragged her out the front door and into the car.

"It is going to be a long day indeed charlie," Hermione said on her way out the door, causing Bella to frown.

"Wait, what do you mean a long day?" Bella asked as Alice pulled away and drove into town...

TBC...

A/N: I hope you enjoyed part one of, longest day ever... I am dragging this chapter out, I have been working on this three nights this week. I originally planned to stop at 10K words. I figure you deserve a very long, thought-evoking chapter to keep you hooked as I don't know when I will find time to work on this again. I'm finishing a degree and furthering my career through training.

look for part 2 of the longest day, I plan to make part 2 the same length, or more if the muse stricks. That is when you have to write when the muse is whispering her sweet words into your fingers as you type. As you are so into what you are doing, you type while talking to your kids and you accidentally type the whole conversation. but keep it and use it for dialog.