Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

by Horizon77

Bella was supposed to have died five years ago, but now Charlie isn't so sure. With the help of some trusted allies, Charlie delves into his memories to search for clues that could change everything…and bring Bella back to him. Canon through Eclipse. Sequel to the one-shot Look After You.

12. Green White Flag

Disclaimer:Any recognizable Twilight characters and ideas are property of Stephenie Meyer. I am not profiting from the distribution of this story. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Notes: This chapter marks the end of the first part of the Not All Those. Consider it almost an interlude or the calm before the storm. Things get a little intense moving forward, so enjoy the slower pace to this one while you can!

A gigantic, Emmett bear hug to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited NAT since chapter ten posted. You guys are absolutely amazing, and I'm so grateful to you all for reading. I thoroughly enjoy reading and responding to each review. You guys have some great questions!

I have a couple special thank yous. First of all, thank you to my guest reviewers. I can't respond to you directly, but know that I read and appreciate your reviews. Thanks! Also, a shout out to the incomparable TrillionSchiffer for the rec. I've never had someone rec my story in theirs, (that I know of), so that was incredibly cool!

Now, on to chapter eleven!

From Chapter 10: Holding Pattern –

"Jake, where the hell have you—"

"No time," Jacob said, holding up his hand. "The rules just changed, Charlie. I'll tell you anything you wanna know. Just promise me you can help me get them here, like, yesterday."

I must have looked as confused as I felt, because he added, "The Cullens. We need their help. Now."

Chapter Eleven: Green White Flag

Present Day

Charlie POV

I felt my head jerk back. Not sure what I had expected the kid to say when I next saw him, but it sure as hell wasn't any of that.

He'd tell me anything?

Just like that?

And how in God's name was I supposed to get the Cullens anywhere?

My mind was racing, but I couldn't piece together any sort of real response. After I tried a few times to form words and they just wouldn't come out, I gave up and gestured for Jake to come in.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

As Jake walked on shaky legs towards the couch, I took stock of his injuries. He was back safe and sound for the most part, but that was about all I could say for him. His face looked like it had taken the brunt of some pretty good blows—the left temple in particular had a really gnarly bruise that disappeared into his hair line. I wasn't sure what was wrong with his left shoulder, but Jake was cradling it pretty close to his chest. On top of that, his breathing sure seemed shallow to my untrained ears. That combined with the way he was walking and the panting just from knocking on my front door made me think something was wrong with his ribs.

I shut the door and took a seat on my recliner while watching Jacob closely. If he noticed me join him in the room, he didn't show any signs of it. He was just kind of staring at the coffee table with a weird look on his face. Seemed the last time I'd seen that expression was not that long ago at his dad's funeral, and I didn't know how hard I wanted to poke at that realization. My gut told me what that could mean; my heart didn't feel like hearing it just yet.

Instead, we sat in silence together for what had to have been five of the most uncomfortable moments of my life. It was so hard to just be quiet and give the kid space knowing that Jake had said before was sitting in the corner of the room with us like a great big elephant. He would tell me anything I wanted to know? Did he mean anything anything? Because there was so much I needed to ask him—about whatever the hell happened in the woods, about what he said just now when he showed up all broken on my doorstop.

About Bella.

But the more I sat watching Jake clearly in all kinds of pain, and I realized I couldn't ask any of it. Rather than focusing on the thousand questions that had been swirling around my head for weeks, I asked. "Jacob, son, are you okay?"

Jacob dragged his eyes up from the table and looked at me with a wild expression. "No."

"Are…you going to be okay?"

He dropped back into that blank stare at the coffee table. "If you had any idea what happened, you wouldn't be asking me that question."

I tossed my arms out to the side. "Well, then for God's sake, son, tell me! What the hell happened out there?"

After heaving as big a sigh as he could with all his injuries, Jake said, "I'm sorry, Charlie. I didn't mean to—… God, I don't know. I didn't mean it like that. Things are different now, and it's making me a little nuts. I'll tell you all about it, but first, I really do need you to get them here as fast as you can."

"The Cullens?"

He looked at me like I was the world's biggest idiot for even asking. "Yes, the Cullens. Any of them. All of them. I'm done. I'm-I'm calling it. We can't do this on our own."

"What about Sam?" I asked, not missing the way he frowned at hearing his friend's name. "The last time I saw you both together, wasn't that what you guys were arguing about? I thought he didn't want their help."

Jake shrugged as best he could with the one shoulder. "Well, like I said, the rules have changed."

I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my thighs. "You keep saying that. Things are different. The rules have changed. What does any of that even mean?"

"I don't know, Charlie. Just that they are. They have," Jake said with a sharp tone I didn't care for.

"Look…kid... Something awful happened while you were out of town. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that. You know you've gotta give me more, here. You were gone for two weeks with no word to anyone. You show up on my doorstep looking like you stared in Rocky 1, 2, and 3. Now it's back the same sack of lies you've always had—"

"I'm not lying," Jake muttered under his breath.

"Well, you might as well be!" I yelled. "Jacob, now you know I care about you, but you can't sit there looking the way you do and not expect me to have a million questions about it all. And you can't blame me for getting frustrated when it seems like you still won't answer them."

I paused and took a deep breath when I saw his shoulders drop and the fight ooze right out of him. "Does Sam even know you're here?"

"Sam…" Jacob started before dropping his head practically to his chest.

Are those tears in his eyes?

After taking a moment to collect himself, Jake tried again, but didn't pick his head up. "Sam knows I was coming here. He stayed back in La Push with everyone else. I was only there long enough to grab my phone and try calling you. When we couldn't get a hold of you on the phone…This can't…this can't happen again. I can't let it happen again."

His voice had choked on the last couple words, and it was at that point I felt my anger stomped out like the last of a campfire. "Jake, please. What happened to you boys?"

Jacob finally picked up his head and looked right at me.

I hadn't been imagining the tears.

"Embry and Collin, they, uh…they didn't make it home."

My stomach dropped into my toes. "Oh my God. Jake, what…"

We sat there staring at each other as his words slowly started to sink in more and more. Two kids—both so young—wiped clean off the face of the earth. For well over four years, I had gotten to experience the absolute hell their parents were only just starting. I didn't have to wonder too long about what had happened to Embry and Collin. Those horrible things in the forest, again. It had to have been them. What the fuck were the boys involved in?

When I found my voice, I said, "God, Jake, I'm so sorry. What about everyone else? Are they…"

"For the most part. We got lucky, I guess. Paul and Quil…We got to them in time, but...neither of them has woken up yet. It's been days."

I didn't even have a chance to comment before Jacob stood abruptly and began pacing. "You what really pisses me off about all this? I tried to warn them. All of them. How many times did I say that we were getting in over our head with these fucking leeches? Every single time we ran into more, it got worse. It wasn't random. It wasn't just bad luck. It was planned. A trap. Any fucking idiot could have seen that. I tried so hard to get through to Sam. So hard. You were even there one of the last times!" he yelled as he pointed with his good arm at me. "You were there. You heard him. That's how it always was every time I tried to talk to him. 'Jacob, that's enough. Jacob, control yourself. Jacob, Jacob, Jacob.' You heard it, right?"

When he saw my nod, Jake continued at the same frantic pace, "Of course you did. We all did. Everyone knew that it was time to ask the Cullens for help. We were putting ourselves and the tribe in a whole hell of a lot more danger by not taking action, but not one of us stood up to him because no one could. So we just had to go along with his stupid fucking rules and follow his stupid fucking pride right into the ground. And where has it gotten us? This has been going on for a year. For a year." The sudden realization must have been clear on my face, because Jacob said, "Oh, like you weren't already thinking that, Charlie. I know you better than that. The boulders were totally us. I mean, not us, but part of the problem were trying to solve and—"

"Jacob, son, now slow down—"

"No!" he yelled. "I'm so tired of people telling me to not say what needs to be said."

"People?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes. "Sam. And my dad. We never should have gone along with that bullshit four and a half years ago, but they both let it happen. And for what? I mean, it's perfectly fine to bow down to their requests to—" Jake stopped and took a deep breath. "But when our tribe is the one in danger and we need their help, suddenly we're too good to ask for help? Any one of them could have been a help to us. I know Carlisle. He's got more compassion than he does brains. If we needed help, he would have sent all of them to help us. Then maybe Embry and Collin wouldn't have…"

Jacob's tirade seemed to have run out of steam as the pacing finally stopped, too. For the longest time, he just stood in the middle of the living room with his shoulders heaving as much as they could around all his injuries. The father in me that had watched this kid grow up wanted to help him so badly, but I had no clue what to he needed me to say, here. Seemed I was as useless as I always was.

"You know they blame me," Jake finally said in a small voice.

"Blame you? For what?"

He shrugged. "For Collin. For Paul. For Quil. For Embry. For all of it. I mean, they haven't said anything exactly, but I've heard them. They're all thinking it."

"Well, that's kind of ridiculous," I said. "Now, I don't know exactly what happened, but how is any of it your fault?"

"I think they're right."

"They can't be."

Jake shook his head. "I don't know. I just…If I had hung on a little longer, maybe there wouldn't have been so much chaos right in the middle of everything."

Without much warning, Jake's face crumpled up, and he let out a couple choked sobs. "Oh, God, it's my fault."

The tears were coming hard and fast by the time I stood up to walk Jacob back over to the couch. I sat him next to me before awkwardly wrapping an arm around him and pulling his massive upper body against mine. Physical comfort wasn't exactly one of my strong suits, but when I felt him start to shake against me, I figured I'd at least made the right call. If nothing else, I think it's what Billy would have wanted me to do.

"Now you listen to me, son," I said. "I've known you since the moment your dad plopped you down into my arms a couple days after you were born. I may not be an expert in many things, but I'd like to think that I know you pretty damn well. You have one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know. If you made a choice, then you did it because you truly believed that it was the best course of action. No one is perfect. You made some mistakes when you were younger, but who doesn't? You've really grown up since then. I happen to know for a fact that your dad was really proud of you." Jacob's shaking started to calm down just a bit when I mentioned Billy. "He bragged about you all the time. I know his shoes are pretty damn big ones to fill, and you've let Sam take the reins in the past. But can be honest here? You'd make a damn good chief, too, Jake. Your dad always thought so."

"Yeah, he told me a lot even before he was sick," Jake whispered. "And then when, he…At the end, Dad told me I needed to start speaking my mind when I didn't agree with Sam. That Sam wasn't the only one who could lead our tribe. He said it was my right, and I should think about exercising it."

"So you did?" I guessed.

"Yeah. And look how it turned out."

"Exactly," I said. "Look how it turned out. You boys were in a dangerous situation and many of you made it out of there. You all protected a lot of people, I take it?"

Jake nodded against my shoulder. "I guess."

"Well, then you did something right. And don't forget that you saved me, too. In the woods behind the Cullens' place, if you hadn't have come along when you did with the…well, you know…with the wolves, I wouldn't be standing here right now. That's a fact."

Jake picked his head up off my shoulder and sat back on the couch. "Charlie, that day…I was so scared for you. Thank you for getting out of there when I needed you to. And I should thank you for something else, too."

"What for?"

A small smirk crossed his lips. "For lowering your damn gun from my chest."

He laughed in a way that was really just puffing out some breath a couple times more than anything else, but it didn't matter to me. It did my heart damn good to hear.

"What the hell were those things out there?" I asked.

"They are…a long story," Jake said. "I've hated the part Sam's made me play in not giving you the answers I think you deserve. We'll get there, but first, the Cullens. The sooner you call them, the sooner they can start making their way here."

"Jesus, don't you think if it were as easy as picking up the phone, I would have done that already?" I asked. "I have the PO box number, but I've only used it the one time. I don't know how often the caretakers check it, but maybe I can get Alice to call some time next week. I'm really sorry, kid, but I just don't have a better way to do this."

Jake looked down at his lap and responded to me quietly.

No. There was no way he said what I thought he just said. "I'm sorry. What was that?" I asked as I felt the heat rising to my cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Charlie," was all Jacob could say.

My chest tightened. Jacob's eyes had that same sad emptiness to them I'd seen weeks ago when I'd confronted the boys about the wedding photo. I'd recognize his hand-in-the-cookie-jar expression anywhere. I had heard him correctly. "Out with it, son."

"I do. Well, we do. We have a faster way to contact the Cullens."

I saw red.

Through a cloudy haze, I could see someone knocking over the end table next to the recliner, and it took a minute to realize that had been me. "For someone who just cussed out his friend for not letting him do what he thought was right, you're pretty freewheeling with it yourself, kid! What the fuck? Did Billy know about this? Do you have any idea how much I needed to—"

When I finally made eye contact with Jacob, instead of seeing the asshole who'd been keeping me from my daughter, I saw a broken kid—inside and out. He'd just lost two of his good buddies and been beaten up pretty badly, and here I was making it about me, again. Now wasn't the time for my yelling and screaming.

Although I'm sure I'd find room for it, later.

I sighed loudly and dropped into my armchair. "Alright, look. This better way to contact the Cullens. Let's hear it."

Jacob's head snapped up, and he stared at me with his mouth hanging open. "You mean, you're…uh…Yeah, okay. Alright, so we can't actually contact them."

"Oh, for God's sake," I muttered as I rolled my eyes.

Jake caught my reaction and hurried to continue. "No-no, it's not that…I mean we can, but we can't…" He stopped for a couple seconds and frowned. "I'm not explaining this well."

"You got that right," I had to agree.

"Okay, okay. This is probably going to sound weird, but you've been handling everything else pretty well, so maybe…We think there's a way to get in contact with the Cullens, but it's…well, it's complicated. Us guys can't. Kim was the only one of the girls who actually would. She's been trying, but it didn't work."

I raised my eyebrow. "You do realize how off your rocker you're sounding from where I'm sitting, right?"

"I know. Just…stay with me," Jake said. "In theory, if you want to get a hold of Alice immediately, you just need to think really hard about wanting to hear from the Cullens."

"That makes no sense, Jacob," I said.

He nodded. "Yeah, I know.

I narrowed my eyes and tried to find the right thing to say. "I'm at a loss for words, here."

"All the things you've seen and heard in the last month or so, and this is what you refuse to believe?"

"Because it's…kind of insane, kid!" I said. "I mean, let me get this straight. In order to contact Alice, you're saying all I ever needed to do was think about it? Do you hear how that sounds? If—and this is a huge if—there was some kind of way that allowed her to find out I wanted her to call, why hasn't she called me back? Do you think I haven't been thinking about getting a call from her, or you for that matter, almost nonstop for the last two and a half weeks?"

"I may have oversimplified it," Jacob said.

"May have?" I asked.

Jake took a moment to breathe. After a few moment, he said, "Look, I think there's gonna have to be a little more to it than just thinking about having her call you. I don't think that's going to be loud enough. You have to do something big enough that she'll see. Kim tried for us, but nothing worked. Now it's up to you. We need you to decide to do something drastic if Alice doesn't call you. Something to get her attention. Like decide you'll drive your car into one of the ravines or maybe take all those prescription drugs you have upstairs that you didn't think my dad knew about all at once."

I couldn't stop my lips from moving to form words that just wouldn't come. Was Jacob's better way to contact the Cullens really asking me to think about killing myself if they didn't call? "Jake, son, you gotta help me out here because I'm gonna level with you. This sounds completely crazy."

"Please, Charlie. This isn't that crazy. Just trust me," Jake said.

"Yeah, well. Trust is kind of short supply these days, kid."

Jake scooted forward on the couch. "No no no. Just think about it. Come on. You were around Alice enough. You can't tell me you never noticed anything off about her. Didn't you ever think about doing anything or saying something, and she'd somehow just know?"

My eyes quickly found the notebook on the side table. Even with it being close, one of the words on it was already jumping right out at me.

Psychic.

When I couldn't figure out how Alice knew I was planning to research the Quileute legends, didn't I seriously consider that she might have psychic abilities?

I kept feeling like balking at the idea, but my gut was singing a different song. There was already the memorial thing where she freaked out. But there was more to it than that. How many times had Alice intercepted a question I was about to ask? Or tell me she knew everything was going to work out. I specifically remember her promising Bella that she wouldn't fall walking down the aisle, and Bella seemed to immediately calm down.

She believed her.

Because Alice could, what…see the future?

I'm sure my face must have given me away, because Jacob said, "So, you have noticed it."

Had I?

"Jake…"

"So here's what I need you to do," Jake said. "You have to believe, honestly commit to what you're thinking. Find a way to really decide that if you don't hear from Alice immediately, you're going to endanger yourself. It has to be big, and you have to really want to. Otherwise, it won't work."

"Whether or not you may have a point, I don't think I can do this," I mumbled as I put my head into my hands.

Jacob didn't say anything, at first. Maybe he was trying to figure out his next approach or maybe he was letting me have some time to get my head screwed on the right way. In any case, it was a few minutes before I heard him sigh hard. "Charlie, do you want Bella back in your life?"

I lifted my head from my hands. "What the hell did you just say?"

"You heard me."

My heart started pounding in my chest. Was this finally it? I felt like maybe it was. All the searching and hoping and waiting seemed like maybe it was coming down to this moment. I decided to leave the sarcasm at the door and just said simply, "Yes. God, you know I do."

"Then fucking make the decision. Alice will see. I know she will." Jake carefully scooted further forward on the couch, holding his injured arm close to his chest. "My dad told you the truth that none of us could in that letter. You know it's true. Bella didn't die in those woods. Not really, anyway."

Jacob was still talking, but I couldn't hear a single word. The room was too busy spinning out of control and pulling away my focus. I felt like my head was rolling around on my shoulders, but by the way Jake was going on like nothing was wrong, I figured it was just my imagination. Or maybe I really was completely off my rocker.

I was right.

I was right.

Bella was alive. She was possibly in enough danger to have to fake her death to escape it, and she had made me believe that she was brutally killed. But she was alive.

"Uh, Charlie? You alright, over there?"

"Hmmm?"

Jake gave me a funny look, but answered, "Like I said…If this works and you can pass on our message, I know the Cullens will all come. They'll have to bring her. What they did—leaving with her—wasn't right. Even if it was her choice. I am…so sorry…I wasn't strong enough to tell you this until now."

Even if it was her choice.

So that was that. She really had wanted to go. I should have known the Cullens would never have taken her from me the way they did against her will. Esme, Carlisle, Alice…even the boy…None of them would have hurt her. After all, they loved her almost as much as I did.

Didn't change the fact that those lying bastards had helped her fake her death, of course. There would still be hell to pay for that.

"All right. So, I just decide to do something dumb if Alice doesn't call me?" I asked. "And then…what?"

"And then she'll call. I know she will."

I had to wonder if Jacob really knew exactly how Alice's psychic power worked, or he was just hanging on to wishful thinking. "So, let's say this whole goofy plan of yours works and I actually can get Alice on the phone. What am I supposed to tell her?"

"Here, hold on. We wrote something out for you."

Jacob reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded up sheet of bright green paper. I walked over to the couch and had a seat next to him as I opened it up. It looked like a flyer advertising a sale over at County Aire Natural Foods in Port Angeles. I flipped it over and found the message Jake had written.

"Okay, so…We understand that when you left, we were adamant about never needing your help, but we were wrong. We've had several visitors in the area, and it doesn't feel random, anymore. Based on what happened the past couple weeks, we suspect that your Italian Mafia is involved."

My head snapped up. I wasn't sure what I was expecting the message to uncover about the Cullens, but being involved with organized crime definitely wasn't on my radar. Aliens, yeah. Or possible wizards? But not the mafia.

Jesus, no wonder Bella had to go into hiding. "Jake, was this what you've been trying to tell me? Is Carlisle involved in the mafia? Son of a bitch. Always the quiet ones, huh? Sure explains the buckets of money he had to spend."

"Uh, no. That's…" Jake ran his good hand through his hair. "It's a figure of speech. Just keep reading."

I glared at him for a moment, but did what he wanted. "For the past year, we've been able to handle it, but it seems like it's getting worse. Last week, we lost two of our own, and we have two other brothers who barely survived their wounds. We came together in support of Bella and your family five years ago to fight the army of newborns alongside you…Jesus Christ, an army of newborns? Like a baby army? What the fuck does that even mean?"

Jacob rolled his eyes and motioned for me to keep reading. I sighed and said, "Alright, alright. I'll let it go for right now, but I swear to God you're explaining that one to me…Now, we have to ask for your help in return. We are willing to renegotiate any terms of the treaty you see fit in exchange for not only your assistance, but the breach in secrecy from our fallen chief. We regret the actions taken by one of our own, and the impact it's had since."

I stopped reading the message again to stare down Jacob. He had to be kidding with this part.

Jake must have seen I was starting to get annoyed and read my mind, because he said, "Charlie, don't even start with me. You know how much I love my dad, and I didn't agree that you weren't told the truth in the first place. But even so, the truth is that Dad did break the treaty. We have to acknowledge that. Everything it's led to is because of the choice he made. The Cullens are…well, normally they wouldn't take it out on us. They haven't before. Seeing as how it involved Bella, though, I don't know. It may be a different story. They're pretty protective of her."

"They are protective of her? What about me? How the hell do you think—"

"And she's pretty damn protective of you, Charlie."

I gasped. "What did you just say?"

"Bella," Jacob said. "She was adamant that none of us ever told you what really happened. She did it to protect you." My face must have been giving away the stabbing pain I was feeling in my gut, because he said, "Please don't be mad at her. She loves you so much. I think she was just blinded by her love for...for Edward. But she made the wrong damn call, and she left all of us here to pick up the pieces while she rose off into the night."

"I don't even know where to begin with this, Jacob. You keep coming right up to the line, but you won't cross it. No more fooling around. Either tell me or don't. But I can't have you stringing me along like this."

Jacob cradled his injured arm closer to him. "I'm sorry. You're right. I just…I guess I wish I had more time right now to come clean."

"You and me both, kid."

"Go ahead and finish looking the message over," Jacob said.

"You should know Charlie has seen and heard evidence of the wolves. His search for answers has led him into too many dangerous situations, and it is our belief that eventually, the wrong people will hear about it. After he's made contact with your family, we plan on explaining the truth of our histories. We promise to not violate the terms of the treaty any further, but any connections he draws are his to make. We ask that Carlisle contact Jacob Black as soon as possible to discuss any help your family could offer. Charlie has the contact information. Thank you, everyone."

I folded the letter back up and stared at the obnoxious green paper in my hands. "Seems like an awfully formal thing to be written on the back of a sales flyer."

Jacob shrugged his good shoulder. "Only thing we had we could find as we passed through."

"Okay, well, I guess that's all there is to it, huh?"

"Yeah," he said. "I should go and let you get started. And thank you. You know, for doing this for us."

As we both stood and walked towards the front door, a question I'd been wondering earlier popped back into my mind. "Jake, why exactly aren't you the ones reaching out to the Cullens? You said you can't? I don't understand."

"Alice can't...She can't see around the wolves. If the wolves are involved or even in the area, it's like she has a blind spot. I'm not totally sure how it works. I just know I can't be anywhere around you when you make your decision."

"Because you're too closely tied to the wolves?" I asked.

Jacob nodded. "Uh, yeah. Basically." He opened the door, but turned back to face me. "Charlie, this means you can't be anywhere near the rez when you're trying to get Alice to call you, but after…I want you to pack a bag and come stay with us for a little while. I have Dad's room for you. You'll be safe there."

"Now, wait just a damn minute—"

"Charlie, this isn't like when Sam tried to come with you to that crime scene," Jake said. "This could be your life on the line. It probably is your life on the line. You were there in the woods two weeks ago. You can't tell me you've forgotten what that sounded like."

I couldn't stop the shaky breath I sucked in remembering the vicious snarling and growling on top of that screeching metal sound I just about felt in my teeth. "Exactly," Jake said. "That's what we're up against. Only in the woods that day, there were just four."

"Four? I thought there was just—"

"Trust me. There were four. And there's more where that came from. A whole hell of a lot more. We think there's more on the way. You wanna be alone when they get here?"

As much as I didn't want to admit it, the kid had me there. "All right. Fine," I said. "I'll meet you there soon."

Jacob walked outside and turned to face me. "Hey, Charlie?"

I grunted my reply and waited for him to continue. "I just wanted to say thanks for…you know. That." He pointed to the couch where I'd comforted him. "I think there was a lot I needed to get outta my system before I went back out to the rez. There are a lot of people that are going to need me."

"You'll be fine, kid," I said as I clapped him on the back.

Jake thanked me again and then pulled the door closed behind him.

I was alone.

Dear God. Those poor boys. I didn't know Embry and Collin that well, but they were both good kids. They didn't deserve to die, and I didn't wish the hell I'd gone through on any parent.

The whole situation was preventable. That's what made me so angry. If they had just asked for help long ago, maybe this would have be stopped before it got so far out of hand. I felt like I should take some of the blame. Why didn't I say more when I had the chance? Alice had been right there on the phone. I could have done more than tell her the boys had been arguing about contacting them. Couldn't I have pushed harder? Explained why a little better?

But, the thing is, she wouldn't have come. I felt that truth all the way down to my bones. The look Carlisle gave Sam at the memorial was permanently scorched into my brain. Both sides had worked together to keep me out of the loop. It was definitely going to take something more drastic to get them to listen to me, which meant I should probably just get on with it…as crazy as it seemed.

All I had to do was come up with a way to kill myself so my daughter's other-worldly sister-in-law would see the future and call me and come help protect the Quileutes and a pack of wolves from growling, scary-ass creatures that attack in the woods.

I rolled my eyes. Jesus Christ. I couldn't make this shit up.

All right.

Make it believable.

If I were going to actually kill myself, what would I do?

My eyes flicked over to my holster hanging up by the door. No. No way. Thank the good Lord I hadn't seen too much in the way of gunshot wounds in my time, but Forks had had its share of suicide victims. The ones that chose that way out left a gnarly scene for someone to walk in on, and in one case, it wasn't even effective. Jacob said I had to commit to my decision. I knew that wasn't even something I could pretend to choose.

But my scripts were.

Prescriptions were probably the most realistic course for me and one I could actually see myself taking. I wasn't a pharmacist, but I had to wonder if the cocktail of painkillers and anti-depressants I had upstairs wouldn't be enough to do the job. In the early days right after the accident, there were the smallest of moments when I would think about those little orange containers filling my cabinets and consider it. On a couple of those nights, Alice randomly called to catch up. She never mentioned it directly, but if what Jacob told me was true, it made me wonder how close I really came those times to really going through with it.

So, all things considered, it wasn't hard to get my mind settled around what I needed to do. The weight of the situation wasn't exactly lost on me. If this didn't work—if Alice didn't call me—I couldn't be sure that Jake would keep to his word and tell me what was really going on in my own goddamn town. And that wasn't acceptable. I didn't know how much more of this I could take. In the last month, I'd gotten myself stuck. Even though I was still missing a lot of pieces to the puzzle, I was pretty sure I was too far gone to just go back to pretending that Forks was a normal little community. If all my leads wound up dry again, I didn't think I wanted to go on. I would give her a chance to make the call, but if I didn't hear from Alice soon, I knew what my only choice would be. I couldn't go back to—

The phone ringing pulled me out of my downward spiral.

No. There's no way she's that fast.

The number wasn't blocked. I didn't recognize the phone number, or even the area code, but I just knew who'd be on the other end of the line. Because this was Alice, and something told me she was that fast.

"Alice?" I asked as soon as I got the phone to my ear.

There was the tiniest bit of hesitation before her familiar, sweet-as-pie voice came from the other end, "Charlie?"

"Holy shit. It worked."

Alice sighed. "Worked? Are you kidding me? Are you all right? What the hell are you thinking?"

I took a deep breath to try and claw back out of the mindset I'd put myself in. "Alice, I'm fine."

"Fine? Charlie—"

"No, I-I wasn't…It's not like that. I just…Things are getting really bizarre back here in Forks, and we weren't sure what else to do."

Alice didn't respond right away, but just as I was starting to get worried, she asked, "We? We weren't sure? I take it someone has been teaching you some new tricks?"

"Uh, well, something like that. You know, you could have saved me a lot of trouble over the years and just told me that you're some kind of psychic."

"No, I couldn't have," Alice said with an edge in her voice. "And I really don't like that they told you. It wasn't their place."

A spark of anger ignited in my gut and flared out. "Jesus Christ, Alice. Do you honestly think I would have breathed a word to anyone? I know when to keep my damn mouth shut. To you, I may just be a simple, backwaters police chief, but maybe I'm smarter than you give me credit for. If you told me it stayed between us, I never would have breathed a word. You have to know that."

"I can't and won't speak for the rest of my family, but I've always trusted you completely. Trust has nothing to do with why I'm upset. The Quileutes had no right to tell you about what I can do. It puts you in very real, very direct danger. I need you to hear me when I say that."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, well, I've already heard that more times than I care to explain in the last month."

"Well then maybe it's time for them to start listening to their own advice where you're concerned. They're not helping matters," Alice said. "But now that you have my rapt attention, do you mind telling me what was so important that it couldn't wait? I couldn't…These things aren't clear if the Quileutes are involved. Which of course they are, and I'm sure they already told you…What's going on?"

"Jacob, uh…Jacob Black asked me to contact you on their behalf. They said I should talk to Carlisle. Is he at home, right now?"

"He is, but Charlie, I haven't called you back just yet because the family is still….torn about how to move forward. We understand that the Quileutes are feeling in over their heads, and we want to help. We do. It's just…Some of us are pretty nervous about what helping them would mean for our safety, to say nothing of our concern for you. I know that they'll come around eventually, but a couple of them are being needlessly stubborn about it. What I also know is that I'll get in trouble if I put Carlisle on, today. It just isn't the time."

Dammit. Alice wasn't making this easy. "No, please. I need to talk to Carlisle. Today. Please, Alice. You didn't see Jacob, this afternoon. He's completely broken apart. I know you guys have always rubbed each other the wrong way—"

"Gross understatement," Alice muttered.

"—but Carlisle has to help them. At least hear them out."

Alice covered the microphone and snapped at someone on the other end. When she uncovered the mic, she sighed. "I really am sorry, Charlie. The answer is going to—"

"No, please wait," I interrupted her. "Jacob said something about the mafia being involved. Now I don't know what you're all wrapped up in, but these kids are in serious trouble."

"The mafia? Okay, we don't…I think you probably misunderstood."

"I didn't misunderstand anything!" I said. "Now I don't know which one of your family is missing the compassion bone and doesn't wanna come to help these kids, but this is serious. I know that you all haven't exactly been friends, but this goes beyond wolves and legends and whatever the hell else is happening that I haven't been told, yet. Please, I don't think these Italians aren't messin' around. I can't have more—"

"Italians?" Alice asked. "Is that what you meant by…Of course it…" She gasped. "Oh, God. Oh no."

Alice stopped talking completely. I wasn't sure if I should fill the space with more of my yapping, so I just gave her some space. Only a minute or so had passed when Alice said quietly, "I'm so sorry, Charlie. I should have listened to you the first time you tried to tell me. You know I do trust you, right?"

"Wait…What just happened?"

"I'm so sorry," she repeated. "I can't control when I…And please know that I didn't mean to disrespect any of those boys by not listening to you."

"How did you…Alice, seriously, what just happened?"

"It's how my gift works, Charlie."

Oh. Right. That.

Alice continued, "I decided to ask you what you meant when you said the Italians, and I saw…Well, you know what I saw. You know the story. I'll deal with the rest of them. Let me get Carlisle for you."

I heard Alice say Carlisle's name. There was some muffled conversation on the other end, and then came a voice I hadn't heard in years. "Hello, Charlie?"

"Carlisle," I said, hearing the relief pretty clearly in my voice. "It's good to talk to you. Just wish it could've been under better circumstances."

"Agreed. Alice told us about the conversation she and you had a couple weeks ago. While I cannot condone Billy's involving you in the tribe's more dangerous affairs, what's done is done. I've been trying to look into the disturbances in the area, but I haven't quite gotten a straight answer from anyone, just yet. I will say that what I have uncovered was starting to point to a rather serious situation. Alice tells me that you're calling with a message from the Quileutes. May I presume that the trouble has escalated further?"

Escalated further? You could say that again.

"Uh, yeah. It's, uh, it's definitely gotten worse," I replied.

Something about Carlisle really took the fire out of my oven. I'd known Alice when she was just a teenager, so I could kind of throw my weight around with her like I could with Jacob. But with Carlisle, even though he was a little younger than I was, it was almost like talking to my dad before he passed away. I always felt a little unsure of what I was saying, which I chalked up to trying to sound intelligent in front of a guy with Ivy League degrees and more knowhow in little finger than I'd probably racked up in a lifetime. At least it meant he'd maybe help keep my temper at bay.

"Charlie? May I ask what's happened?" Carlisle asked.

Aw, crap. How the hell long had I been quietly pondering life? God, that was embarrassing. "Uh, yeah. Sorry. I actually have a message that Jake and the rest of them wrote. It may be better if I just read from that."

"Of course."

I grabbed the obnoxious green paper from the end table and unfolded it. "Well, here it goes," I said sounding just as lame and awkward as I felt. We understand that when you left, we were adamant about never needing your help, but we were wrong. We've had several visitors in the area, and it doesn't feel random, anymore." Carlisle made a sound agreeing with the boys' thinking. "Based on what happened the past couple weeks, we suspect that your Italian Mafia is involved."

I had to stop. "Carlisle, can I…I have to ask, and you don't have to answer—"

"No, Charlie. I promise you that my family is not in any way involved in with the Italian mafia, or any other sort of mafia, for that matter."

Oh, thank God.

"I didn't mean to imply anything, but, well hell, I didn't know what to think."

Carlisle was quiet for a moment. "I believe Jacob was trying to be funny. I'm not completely sure how successful it was. There isn't anything to laugh about where the group he was referencing is concerned."

"More of the dangerous stuff everyone's being warning me about?"

"Without question," Carlisle said. "This is much more serious than we had expected. Please, continue."

Why did my heart all of a sudden jump into my throat? Maybe it was because Jacob and everyone had been warning me for years about the Cullens being so damned dangerous. I definitely didn't want to meet whatever it was the dangerous things found dangerous. "Okay. For the past year, we've been able to handle it, but it seems as though it's getting worse. Last week, we lost…Dammit…"

I scrubbed at my suddenly watery eyes as Carlisle said, "Take your time, Charlie."

Sometimes that bedside manner voice of his was particularly grating. This was one of those times. "No, no. I've got this. Just kinda…hit me all of a sudden. Last week, we lost two of our own, and we have two other brothers who barely survived their wounds."

"NO! DON'T!" I heard Alice scream from Carlisle's end.

There was some commotion, but it faded into the background almost as quickly as it began. I was guessing that Carlisle was leaving the room so the noise didn't come through, but it wasn't entirely successful. I could still hear muffled yelling. "Carlisle? Everything all right over there?"

He cleared his throat and said, "We have it under control, yes."

I knew that tone. It's the lying-to-Charlie tone that Billy perfected years ago. "Well, uh, if you say so."

"If you don't mind my asking, Charlie, the losses that the Quileutes suffered? What are their names? I'd like to offer a prayer for them, later."

My heart dropped into my stomach.

Cue guilt.

I believed him. Carlisle wasn't just saying that to be polite. He was really going to offer up prayers for a group of people that had made it clear he and his family weren't welcome on the reservation or in the community. That had taken every opportunity to speak badly of them behind their backs. Regardless of all the lies and other mystical crap going on around the Cullens, everything I had thought I'd known about him was still true. It made being angry with him that much harder.

"I'm not really sure what happened, but Jacob told me that Embry and Collin didn't make it."

The yelling in the background continued, if not got a little louder. Carlisle muted his end for less than a minute, and then came back. The yelling seemed to have stopped. "I'm very sorry to hear about their passing. I knew both boys from our time in Forks. I respected both of them greatly, and I know Bella always spoke very highly of them."

"Yeah," was all I could say around the lump in my throat.

"And the injured?"

I sighed. "Well, Jake looks like he was dragged over eighty miles of bad road. I'm surprised his arm is still attached the way he was holding it to him. The others couldn't have gotten away much better. But, uh, Paul and Quil I guess were in rough shape. Jacob wasn't sure for a while there if…well, you know…"

"I wish there were something I could do for them, Charlie," Carlisle said with a hardened voice. "It's maddening to hear that they're injured and be too far away to do a damn thing about it."

Whoa. Dr. Carlisle Cullen apparently knows a curse word or two. Wasn't sure I liked it. Almost like hearing your teacher accidently let one fly. Just seemed wrong. "I'll make sure they know you wished you could do more. Not that they would have let you, the stubborn-headed bulls."

"They had gotten a little…better before we had to leave."

"Jake's motorcycle accident?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm hoping that whatever miracle herbs the Elders are piping into those kids will get them all back on their feet in no time," I said.

"Miracle herbs?"

I nodded. "Uh, yeah. You should have seen how badly Jacob looked one day, and then just a few days later—poof. He was perfectly healed."

Carlisle took a moment to respond. "Hmmm. That's interesting."

Interesting? More like a damned foolish thing to a doctor's ears. Guess that confirmed Carlisle was more than aware of how fast they could heal. Before I could press him about his reaction, Carlisle asked, "Was there more to the message, or had you finished?"

"Uh, yeah. There's more. But you're going to have to help me out on this one…We came together in support of Bella and your family five years ago to fight the army of newborns alongside you."

I wasn't surprised to not hear anything from the other end right away, but Carlisle recovered much faster than I had expected. "I didn't realize that they had been so forthcoming with you."

"In their defense, they haven't been. I get things like this ever since, well, Alice told you about Billy's letter, right?"

"She did," Carlisle said. "In fact, it's been the source of much controversy in the household."

"So I've heard…Uh, well, since Billy left me the letter, I'll find out little things here and there that just leave me with even more questions. It's actually pretty annoying. Like the whole army of newborns thing. I just don't understand."

When Carlisle didn't say anything, I rushed to continue. "I hope you know you can trust me. It's like I tried to tell Alice. I know when to keep my fool mouth shut. And they do know they messed up. In the message, it…Should I just finish reading it?"

"Yes, please do."

"Now, we humbly ask for your help. We are willing to renegotiate any terms of the treaty you see fit in exchange for not only your assistance, but the breach in secrecy from our fallen chief. We regret the actions taken by one of our own, and the impact it's had since. You should know Charlie has seen and heard evidence of the wolves. His search for answers has led him into too many dangerous situations, and it is our belief that eventually, the wrong people will hear about it. After he's made contact with your family, we plan on explaining the truth of our histories. We promise to not violate the terms of the treaty any further, but any connections he draws are his to make. We ask that Carlisle contact Jacob Black as soon as possible to discuss any help your family could offer. Charlie has the contact information. Thank you, everyone."

"Give me a moment to think, please," was all Carlisle would say before he muted the phone.

This whole conversation was beyond weird. Everything I knew about Carlisle wasn't gelling together well. My past experiences with him, the way he was acting now, the stories Billy told, and the information I'd learned about his family were all at odds with each other. I wasn't sure which Carlisle was the real Carlisle, but I had a feeling it was probably closer to the man I was talking to, this morning. There was something about him that seemed different, today. He actually reminded me a lot of Sam or Billy. A chief. A leader.

A rock had formed in the pit of my stomach—solid and making me feel life I could seriously throw up at any moment. What the hell was I doing getting in the middle of all this? I had to wonder if listening to Billy had really been for the best, after all. Or at least maybe after I had discovered that Bella knew was in on the plans to fake her death. All the Cullens had gone to a lot of trouble, but Bella had chosen to give up her life in Forks, her friends, her mom…me.

I remember the tears in her eyes the night she left for the camping trip. I thought she was just being overly sentimental. Actually, I'd been pretty worried that she had gotten herself pregnant or something on the honeymoon already, and the hormones were getting to her. But that wasn't the case. She was saying goodbye to me, and I hadn't even known it.

So, did I fuck everything up? Bella had worked so hard to keep me away from the danger surrounding the Cullens and even Jake. She'd made a hell of a lot of sacrifices. What I heard in those woods told me all I needed to know about the very real threat to my safety. Had I ruined everything? Had I put Bella in danger now with what I knew?

The ambient noise came through the phone at that moment, and I knew that Carlisle was back. "Forgive me for stepping away for so long, Charlie. I needed to think, and there was the situation in the living room I needed to attend to."

"Everything all right?"

"It will be," Carlisle said. "I've given some thought to Jacob's message. I understand how close your friendship was with Billy Black, but I'm incredibly disappointed in him that he brought you so far into this. The immediate threat the knowledge brings you is cause for great concern."

There was something seriously odd about the way Carlisle was talking. It made the hairs on my arm stand up. "He meant well, I think."

Carlisle sighed. "Perhaps, but his intentions don't make the outcome any easier to swallow. Alice also told me about the wedding photo you received in the mail."

I nodded in response like an idiot before remembering that he couldn't see me. "Yeah, uh, yeah. She said none of you sent it."

"Most definitely not. It caused you to have too many questions."

"Well, God, can you blame me?"

"No, no, of course not," Carlisle said. "However, please understand that it is life-threatening for you to have those questions. There are certain individuals that would not tolerate you even having the little information it takes to start asking."

My heart started thumping hard in my chest as Carlisle continued, "Based on what I've been able to uncover and the message you read to me today, I believe we need to face the reality that these people found out about the wolves and the Quileutes' knowledge. It puts them in immediate jeopardy. I'm afraid to say that with as revealing as they've already been with you, you may well be in grave danger, yourself."

"Oh, God," I whispered.

"This is an incredibly dangerous situation they have created. I will be expressing my disapproval when I speak to Jacob."

A sigh of relief left me before I could stop it. "So you've decided to come back to Forks, even though they really stepped in it, this time?"

"Yes, of course I will," Carlisle said. "No matter how my family feels about the choices Jacob and the others are making, this fight is not the Quileutes' to fight on their own."

I had a funny feeling that last part was for some of the Cullens as much as it was for me because a couple seconds later, I heard Carlisle say to someone on the other end, "That's enough. It's decided."

Shivers ran up and down my spine. That tone. It was like the verbal equivalent of The Look from the memorial service. I'd never heard him speak to one of the kids with anything other than incredible warmth, which made what he'd said even more jarring. It wasn't exactly mean, just absolutely final. I can't imagine anyone arguing it. "So, uh, not everyone agrees with the decision to help out, huh?"

"I wouldn't say that," Carlisle answered. "Some of them are more concerned about how much the tribe has let on about their secrets, as well as ours."

"Sorry about that."

Carlisle clicked his tongue. "No one could have been presented with the letter, the mystery, you were and not needed to pursue it, Charlie. Please understand that no one in my family blames you for the actions you've taken. However, the young Quileutes will have much explaining to do. As for right now, my family's focus is on figuring out what the trespassers to the reservation want, and how best to protect you. You do know too much. I'm sure you understand what I'm saying."

"I kind of have an idea."

"I disagree with some of my family members who believe that protecting you means our disappearing completely. For one, doing so would mean ignoring the Quileutes' plea for assistance, which has only gotten direr since Alice last spoke with you. I will not abandon Jacob and his tribe when they are need, just as they didn't abandon us when we called upon them for help. Maybe more importantly, my family doesn't know the threat as I do. Those that are pursuing the Quileutes are more than capable of discovering your knowledge, and I won't leave you exposed, for your sake as well as my family's. There's no way of changing what you already know, and we could very well be found every bit as culpable in this situation as anyone else if you were discovered. This is our fight. We'll help in any way we can. While we are back in town, we'll just have to consider some…creative alternatives to getting out of this mess Billy started."

"Once you get here, are you finally going to tell me what—"

"Stop," Carlisle said firmly interrupting me. "This is not a secure line. Please tell Jacob that we need to wait for the others to return home before we can leave. The others are out of cell phone range, but we had already been expecting them home by sometime around sunrise, tomorrow morning. We'll do our best to leave for the airport just as soon as we can after that."

"Do you need his contact information or anything?"

"No, we're still able to reach them," he said. "I'll call Jacob briefly when things calm down here, but in case you see him before I'm able to get a call out, let him know we're on our way. Until we make it to Forks, please stay close to Jacob, Charlie. He'll protect you."

I nodded, remembering the horrible sounds I'd heard in the woods over two weeks ago. If what was coming was anything like that, I could absolutely eat my humble pie and stick close. "Jake already made me promise I'd pack a bag and get on over to the rez as soon as we were done chatting."

"A wise idea. I completely agree. Now before I get back to some very difficult conversations with my family, we need to talk about what you may or may not hear once you arrive at the reservation. While I understand their desire to come clean with you on their end, I cannot condone it, especially as it pertains to my family. I need your absolute assurance that whatever you hear from Jacob Black is not to ever be discussed off the reservation or with anyone other than my family members. Whatever terms they bind you to, I will expect as well. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, uh, yes," I said. "I won't let you down."

"Thank you," Carlisle said. "We'll likely see you tomorrow. Our first stop will need to be the reservation, and if you say that's where you'll be—"

"Will she be with you?" I interrupted.

To his credit, Carlisle didn't miss a beat. "Who?"

I rolled my eyes. "Jake said if the family all came, you'd have to bring her. Is that true?"

Come on. Come on.

"My family will all be coming, Charlie," Carlisle finally said. "Until tomorrow. Please tell Jacob and his friends to be safe. Godspeed."

I said my goodbyes and ended what had to have been one of the most surreal phone calls of my life. Carlisle couldn't come out and say it on an unsecure line, but I had to believe that Bella was coming. They were all coming.

And I honestly didn't know how to feel about that.

Elated, of course.

But the anger that had been bubbling up in my since I visited her fake memorial was reaching critical mass. What was it that Carlisle said when I asked if they were bringing Bella? His family would all be coming? His family. Well, wasn't that just peachy? Here I'd been for the last four and a half years grieving the loss of my only daughter…my only child…while the Cullens got a brand new daughter-in-law to enjoy? I'd missed out on every smile, every laugh, every eye roll, every everything. They didn't. They got her in their lives.

And now it was time to find out why.

Jacob was finally ready to fucking talk, and I was going to hold him to it come hell or high water. I got what Carlisle was trying to tell me. I did. But if Jake was offering me that information, who the hell was I to turn it down? At the end of the day, I was willing to risk my life if it meant finding out what really happened to my little girl.

Before I forgot, I typed a quick text to Jake so he knew the troops were on their way, and then made my way slowly upstairs to dress and pack. I scrubbed a hand over my tired eyes as I reached the second floor. This was going to be one hell of a wait for the Cullens to show up. We had a little over twenty-four hours before the cavalry was riding into town. I sure hoped they were ready for the challenge.

On a whim, I stopped before I got to my bedroom and opened the door that I kept shut most of the time. Bella's room was completely boxed up from before the wedding, but I could almost imagine I was just stopping in to say goodnight. She would be lying on her stomach reading a book with the breeze coming in through an open window. Even though it was still morning, I whispered, "Night, Bells."

I shut the door behind me and headed towards my own room. The sooner I could pack up all my crap, the sooner I could corner Jake and get some real answers about happened to my little girl.

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Next chapter will be along in a few weeks. I think it'll be time for a campfire and a whole lotta truth! ;) Until next time, my dears!