A/N… I want to wish everyone happy holidays for whatever you celebrate, or at the very least, a good week. Apparently, the pic tease for this chapter made some of you nervous. Note the point of view…

~oOo~

Chapter 5

CHARLIE

Closing the drawer of the toolbox, I tucked Bella's folded paper into the inside of my sock and ascended the stairs back to the first floor of the old apartment building. After setting the white angel to its original position in the front window, I stepped back out into the night.

I lit my cigar that I didn't really enjoy but which gave me an excuse to stop my patrol and get out of my vehicle. Hell, at this point, I was probably addicted to the bastards.

It had taken me years to earn the raiders' confidence. I was an old cop, so it was easy to play the part, but I missed my little girl. I missed what life used to be – a wife, a child, a home, love.

Smoke billowed around me as I exhaled. Bella was no little girl anymore. She was a strong woman now married to a man I respected more than I ever thought possible. Edward was a good man, smart, brave, dedicated to the resistance, and my God, did he love my baby girl. I was pretty certain he fought for her. He fought to right the things that had wronged her. He fought because she was the center of his universe. And I couldn't find anything wrong with it. He would always protect her when I was unable.

I sighed at that thought. Edward looked at Bella like I used to look at my wife. Renee had been so beautiful, so full of life, and she'd been born to be a mother. For too brief a time, I'd had everything a man could want.

And it had all been yanked out of my hands.

I scowled, tossing the butt of my cigar down onto the asphalt and smashing it with my boot. Occasionally, I gave way to these thoughts to remind myself why I was dressed in this uniform, slept in the bunkers with boys half my damn age, and patrolled the streets on the wrong side of the wall.

My truck started with a rumble, and I pulled back onto the main patrol route. I'd stop again on the other side of the Sound. I made three more rounds on my patrol, barely looking for any movement because I simply didn't care. I was covering for a raider who'd been injured at the shipyard several days ago – a thought that made me smile because Oz was getting closer and closer to taking down the Sound.

After my third pass, I stopped my truck again, pulling out Bella's note and another cigar. The rain had all but stopped, but it was still a light drizzle. I'd parked in the lot of an old Walmart, getting out of the truck and using the overhang to stay dry. The fact that there was no such thing as a damn Walmart anymore was just mind boggling. However, I was far enough away from the patrol road to get away with opening Bella's letter.

Her first comment was on the three slaves I'd sent with Edward that last meeting. But it was her second paragraph, her request of me, that had tears welling up in my eyes.

I was going to be a grandfather.

"Son of a bitch," I whispered to myself, shaking my head and scrubbing my face.

I reread her note again. I was absolutely certain I could make contact with Edward's parents. They knew me. They didn't know I was Bella's father, but they knew me as a raider. But my baby girl's wish for everyone to be on one side of the wall… I wasn't sure that was possible just yet. I wanted Alistair and Sue to see the intel I'd left for them on the thumb drive. Maybe then we could end this whole thing.

Aro was an arrogant asshole, for sure. He was getting sloppy at hiding that side of himself. My hope was that we could slowly start to undo all the things he'd started.

Another patrol car pulled into the parking lot, and I lit Bella's note on fire, using that to light my cigar. I puffed and pulled smoke, letting the note incinerate into nothing.

By the time Demetri pulled up with his window down, there was only me and my cigar.

"Evenin', Demetri," I called, giving him a wave.

"Swan," he grunted. "You've stopped twice on this patrol. Everything okay?"

"Oh, fine. My first stop I saw movement behind an old building. I got out to take a look. Turned out to be a bobcat on the hunt. And this time…" I smiled, holding up my cigar. "Just takin' a break. Can't smoke in the truck." I reached into my pocket and pulled out another cigar for him. "Want one?"

Demetri grinned and took the cigar, tucking it into his front shirt pocket. "Thanks, Swan. It'll go good with my scotch later when I get back to base."

"That it will." I smiled, trying to keep from pulling my weapon and blowing a hole into the middle of his fucking forehead because no one was around to see it, but I maintained my temper.

He had no idea that I was the father of the little girl he'd taken fifteen years ago, that I was the same man who watched him murder my wife at my child's feet. My hope was that, in the end, I'd get the chance to tell him…as I slit his throat. Or shot him point-blank. Or a million other ways I'd imagined my revenge.

Besides, I was way too happy about the news my Bella had left me. A grandfather. Suddenly, I agreed with her. Maybe it was time to seek out Dr. and Mrs. Cullen.

Demetri pulled away, and I puffed on my cigar, trying to sort out the best way to approach them. I also needed to figure out exactly how I'd extract them should they decide they wanted out of the Sound.

That was all I thought about over the next twenty-four hours. The next night, I found myself wandering the high-rise that held just about all of Aro's people. I'd specifically switched shifts with another raider in order to take the tower patrol.

Before it got to be too late, I told the guard behind the counter that I was heading upstairs to walk the hallways. He and his partner were too involved in their poker game to give a shit.

It took me a good hour to make my way to the tenth floor. And I tapped lightly on the last apartment door at the end of the hallway.

A tall, blond gentleman around my age answered the door. He looked nervous at the sight of me. Raiders had reputations of being not so nice, not so fair.

"Dr. Cullen," I stated, nodding once, but I shot a glance up and down the hallway. "The name's Charlie Swan. I was wondering if I could have a word with you and your wife."

"What's this about?" he asked softly.

"Your son."

He stepped aside and let me in. A very pretty woman joined him as he asked, "What about Edward?"

She paled so quickly that I was afraid she'd pass out right there in the entryway.

"Please, let's sit. I promise I'm… I'm here as a favor to him. And to my daughter, Bella."

"B-Bella… She's your daughter?" Dr. Cullen asked in a whisper, a sweat breaking out on his brow.

Smiling, I nodded. They took a seat at the dining table, and I sat across from them.

"I didn't mean to scare you. Edward's fine. And thanks to him, Bella's fine." I sighed, suddenly unsure as to how to start this. "And I owe him for that." I met their gazes, nodding once. "I'm here at the request of my daughter. She would like you to know some things, and after that, if you would like out of the Sound, we can try to make that happen."

"B-But you're a raider."

"And in that cabinet behind me are enough medical supplies to open your own clinic. Or hand them over to your son on his next visit."

Both paled again, but Mrs. Cullen piped up. "You're a…a spy."

I smirked, nodding a little. "Yeah, about that…"

Over the next several minutes, I gave Edward's parents a brief rundown on my history, the history of Oz, and finally, how my daughter came to be in their home.

"We would've never hurt her," Mrs. Cullen stated firmly.

"Mrs. Cull—"

"Please, call me Esme." She pointed to her husband. "And Carlisle."

"Esme, I know. And she knows that."

"But my son…" Carlisle started, but he trailed off. "He never saw it that way."

"Edward is…tenacious."

Esme smirked, and I couldn't help but smile at the pride I saw in her watery expression.

"I need you two to understand something before we go on. I loved my wife. I love my Bella. But the first time I met your son, I knew his heart belonged to her. They were thirteen, and no one could separate them. Not one person in Oz could pry them apart. I never gave the idea of soulmates any credence until I truly watched the two of them. He'd fight tigers for her, and he has more times than I probably know. And she'd wrap him up in love and safety."

Esme's eyes welled up with tears. "I had a feeling… The last time he was here, he wouldn't allow us to say a thing about her."

"Well, he takes his job as her husband very seriously." They both gasped, and I smiled sadly their way. "Yeah, two years ago. I missed it too. I was here, smuggling slaves back over the wall."

Carlisle looked a bit lost for a moment or two. "Why are you here, Charlie?"

"We're about to be grandparents," I stated firmly. "And while I know that things with you and Edward are strained and rocky, Bella wanted you to know. She wanted you to have a chance to change things."

Carlisle stood up abruptly from the table. "My son chose to run away. He chose another life. Why isn't he the one here with this information? I asked him to return just so we can see him. He said it would take months."

"He wasn't lying about that, Carlisle. It will take time. He can't make a mistake when he's over this side of the wall. He's wanted by the raiders for a lot of things."

"So he's a criminal?" Carlisle asked with derision.

I stayed calm because Carlisle seemed to be fighting all sorts of emotions. "Your son is a hero. He's stopped more raiders from taking people as slaves from Oz than I can count. He single-handedly stole enough vaccines to stop a second virus outbreak. When Oz was running low on food last winter, he led a team to take a supply truck. And when my daughter was taken from me, he brought her home, regardless of what it cost him.

"He's no criminal, Carlisle. He's been the best thing to ever happen to Oz," I stated, still trying to remain calm for him, because I understood just how misguided the people of the Sound were; they'd been force-fed lies and bullshit since before any walls were ever built. "We all had to sacrifice something for what was right. You think I wanted to live apart from my daughter after the death of my wife? That I wanted to put on this uniform that represents hate and violence? I assure you, there's a bigger picture here. And your son saw it at thirteen years old. He started seeking out the truth way before my daughter ended up in your possession."

"We didn't want a damn slave!" Carlisle growled out through gritted teeth. "Aro personally handed her over to me when I tended to a boy at an auction. I didn't want a slave. To refuse Aro would've been dangerous. I would've… We were… We would've cared for her. We would've treated her like she was our own. We tried to help her, but she wouldn't have it. She only allowed Edward near her."

I chuckled, raising an eyebrow his way. "You can't be angry with your son when he acted on what was right. You must understand that. You also can't possibly believe the propaganda Aro spews at the residents of the Sound day in and day out. Do you have any idea what they'd have done to Edward had he set Bella free and come home?" I asked them. "To prove a point, to scare everyone else, they'd have locked him up at thirteen years old. He stayed in Oz for Bella, but we protected him because he would've been punished severely for getting her out. And no, it wouldn't have mattered that he was your son, either."

Carlisle sighed deeply, falling back down in his chair next to his wife, who was in shock at my words.

"He took his teddy bear," Esme whispered randomly. When Carlisle and I shut up, tears fell unchecked down her face. "He knew then. That she was pregnant. He was taking it to her." She looked to Carlisle. "We're going to be grandparents, Carlisle."

I could almost see the walls around Carlisle fall away. He reached for his wife's face and gently brushed the tears away.

He hugged her close, glancing my way. "The last time Edward was here, he told me to start paying attention. He told me to ask myself the questions they weren't answering. If the Outer Zone is not sick, then what else are they lying about?"

"So much, Carlisle," I said sadly, sitting back in my chair. "And if you choose, we will help you get away. I promise you'll find out so much more once you're out of the Sound."

"Bella sent you here to get us?" Esme asked.

"Yes. She wanted to offer you a chance at getting away from Aro, a chance to get to know your son again…and his family. She knows what it cost Edward to free her."

"And Edward?" Carlisle asked.

"I can't speak for him. Did he offer you an out when he was here?" I asked them, and both nodded. "Then he meant it. If you want out, I'll help you. I'll help Edward and Bella."

"He said to be ready to go the next time he shows," Carlisle told me.

"Then I suggest you follow those directions. He probably has a better plan than me." I stood up from the table. "I'd better get back to my patrol. I'll be in touch."

They followed me to their door, and before I opened it, I turned back to Carlisle. "I understand he broke your hearts when he left. I do. I broke my own when I decided to let the raiders take me so that I could help free slaves. You have computer clearance, Carlisle. Try reading some history. Go back. Go back before there were walls and see what you find."

"They watch what I do. Everything's documented and time stamped."

"I'm sure. You're a part of the virus research. Maybe if you compared the beginning to now…" I trailed off with my suggestion, but he nodded in understanding.

I needed him to question things, and we'd all had a suspicion that Aro had not only allowed the virus to be created, but he'd also been responsible for releasing it. If that was the case, then he'd murdered millions of people in order to create a world he could control. My hope was that the info I'd left for Bella would help to prove that one day and send that information every-damn-where.

"I don't know when Edward will contact you, but he's right. Be ready if you want out," I advised them before reaching for the doorknob. With a last glance, I said, "I don't know about you, but I can't wait to be a grandpa."

I stepped back out into the hallway, to head back downstairs to finish my shift. There was a part of me that understood the Cullens. They had been corralled into this life by what Carlisle did for a living. They stayed quiet and out of trouble, not stirring up anything or raising any red flags.

However, the world had changed. Staying quiet wasn't an option when innocent people died or were stolen from their families. I hoped Carlisle figured that out soon for his son's sake.

~oOo~

EDWARD

"I'm in the lead, asshole!" Jake yelled at his cousin.

Suddenly, a small car flew across the room and landed at Bella's feet.

"Not anymore, dipshit," Seth snarked back, laughing like a damn loon.

Bella's giggle was everything as she scooped up the car and handed it back to Jake, only to ruffle his hair.

"Thanks, B!" he said, putting his car back on a black track.

Apparently, Flash had built those two boys a racetrack of epic proportions. It seemed to consist of several of those kits.

"Damn, that shit goes up a wall, through two rooms, and even outside. What the hell, Flash?" I asked him, and he grinned and shrugged.

"That's my dad's project. He'd always wanted one of those tracks as a kid, and the last scouting trip he went on, he found like four different boxes. I finally put them all together for him just before he died. Took me some time, too." He pointed to the cousins. "When they aren't blowing up ships in the harbor, they're here trying to beat the piss outta each other. Sometimes with a race, and sometimes with pieces of the track. I just kinda stay out of their way."

I huffed a laugh. "That's probably best."

"What can I do for you two? I didn't think the meeting about the train was until tomorrow."

Bella shook her head. "My dad left us this." She held up the thumb drive and the note to Flash. "I'm almost afraid to know what he means."

"Oh, hell," he said, taking it from her and reading the note. He glanced over his shoulder. "Guys! Go get Sue and Al."

The two teens immediately ran out of Flash's building. Sector C was essentially an old machine shop and warehouse. It used to be an airplane factory, but now it housed necessities for Oz. It was just far enough from the walls that the raiders never made it this far. We'd fight them until they gave up or they got their hands on someone and retreated. More the former than the latter. They had no idea just how organized we'd become over the last two decades.

Sue had once said that warehouse was the Walmart of Oz – the scouts who lived in this sector kept us in clothes, furniture, bedding, and electronics. They'd go miles out of the city to scrounge up things we needed. They'd take boats along the shoreline, they'd hike through old uninhabited neighborhoods, and they'd take what could be used. They also had small caches of essentials hidden throughout each sector, and the resistance had done the same inside the walls in case we had to stay out of sight for some time. My eyes drifted to the toys and baby things as I stood at Flash's door facing the storage area.

"Don't." Flash's voice was right behind me. "Don't bother. I'll make sure you have something better by the time little Cullen comes along. All that stuff's been traded in and out. There's a scout team out right now scouring the Tacoma area for new stuff. Congrats, by the way."

Bella laughed, and I grinned his way, saying, "Thanks, man."

We followed him into his computer room. It was cluttered and a bit noisy because he liked his music. In the background, Jimi Hendrix was singing about watchtowers. Some of his music was old records, some were cassette tapes, but he liked to find old MP3 players and cell phones in order to pull everything he could off them to play them through his computers. He'd given Bella and me one of those when we'd gotten married. We didn't have a lot of power, but that thing didn't use much.

In fact, as I ran a hand over her head and through her hair, I was ready to put the damn thing on and call it a day. She'd teased me about dirty thoughts, but I wanted my wife. I wasn't exactly sorry about that shit, either.

I rubbed my face, raking my hands through my hair in order to focus, because Sue's and Al's voices echoed through the warehouse, along with Rose's and Emmett's.

When they all stepped into Flash's computer room, I asked, "Where's Jasper?"

Rose's grin was evil as she locked gazes with Bella. "Keeping Alice company."

My eyebrows shot up, but I kept my mouth shut.

Emmett huffed a laugh but asked, "What'd Charlie leave?"

"This," Flash answered, holding up the thumb drive before popping it into the side of one of his laptops.

A screen opened, and Flash leaned in to read the list of files. "Looks like Charlie stole some security footage. It's all video files." He scrolled through the long list. "And some photos. Let's look at those first. The videos may take me some time to screen."

He opened a folder full of files, highlighted them all, and pulled them all up. They were maps or aerial shots.

"Flash, can you put those on the bigger screen?" Alistair asked him.

"Yeah, yeah. For sure." He connected another cable to his laptop, and the large flatscreen on his wall blinked to life.

It was an overhead shot of a walled city.

"That's not Seattle," Emmett mumbled.

"No. It's Chicago. Look," Alistair stated, pointing to a few buildings. "Sears Tower…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "Keep going, Flash."

Next was Chicago again, only it was a computer-generated map. They were set up similarly to Seattle, where a wall surrounded the downtown area. Outside of those walls looked…wrecked.

One after the other, large, once major, cities popped up on the screen – Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Dallas, Kansas City, and Atlanta, where Alice had originated. The last one, though, caused Al and Sue to gasp.

Washington DC was no more. I'd read about that city, learned about the US government, and had even studied all the monuments. The aerial shot of DC was as if we'd been in a war. The nation's capital was leveled to rubble and debris.

"Jesus Christ," I whispered, glancing to the two elders in the room. "No wonder Aro was able to take over here; they destroyed the place that used to be in charge."

"Fuck me," Alistair sighed, swallowing nervously. "What else is there?"

"Global cities," Flash said softly. "London."

We glanced up at the screen, and while there were no walls or barricades, the city looked like it had been vacated in some areas. Large sections of the city were falling into disrepair or decay. The same could be said for Paris, Berlin, Toronto, Moscow, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. Which meant the virus had gone everywhere. It hadn't just killed millions in our country; it had killed billions all over the goddamn globe.

Alistair faced us, and he was pale and shaky. "I'm not gonna lie. I honestly thought that this was relegated to the US."

"It seems we're the only ones behind walls, though," I countered, tapping the screen. "So…the virus went everywhere?"

"It would seem so," Sue muttered, swiping at a tear that had slipped down her cheek. "Nothing will ever be the same. There's really no going back to the way things were."

Bella leaned into me, and I wrapped an arm around her, pressing kisses to her temple. "What else is there, Flash?" she whispered.

"Plenty. Guys, give me some time. I'll go through it tonight. When we meet in the morning, I'll know why Charlie sent this stuff our way," he replied, barely taking his eyes from his laptop.

Every last one of us was quiet as we left Flash to do what he did best. We split apart once we reached the apartment building. However, I could feel Bella's hand shaking in mine when I pulled her into our place.

"C'mere," I told Bella after we shrugged out of our jackets and hung them on the back of the door.

I led her to the sofa, turned on the music player that Flash had given us, and then sat down beside her. Pulling her across my lap, I kissed her lips to stop her protestations.

"Edward, shouldn't we talk—"

I kissed her again, whispering against her lips. "What do you want to talk about, love? Nothing's changed. We still have a fight to fight and slaves to free and people to keep safe."

"But it… It's everywhere, Edward!"

"Yeah, it is." I held her gaze calmly. "But we still have to do what we do, Bella. It doesn't change anything other than…than…size." I brushed my lips over hers. "If we stop Aro, then maybe we'll free Atlanta and then Boston or New York. Or we warm our hands on the fire we set to the Sound and call an end to the fighting. I'm good either way."

"Is that what you see us doing?"

"Sometimes," I answered her, hugging her closer. "Why? What do you see?"

"The ocean."

I tilted my head her way. "Yeah? That's your end goal?"

"Sometimes," she said with a sweet laugh, copying my answer. "I've had dreams where we find a small town on the beach for everyone. No walls, no fighting. Just sunny days, warm sunsets, and peace. I see you playing with our child in the water – sometimes I see a boy, and sometimes, a girl."

Smiling her way, I leaned in and kissed her again. "That sounds… Damn, baby. That sounds fucking perfect."

"I know," she said through a deep sigh. "I want it. I want peace and family and the absence of walls."

"And I want you."

Her smile was amusement and love, and she reached up to cup my face before kissing me lightly. "You have been so patient, Edward," she whispered teasingly as she shifted until she was straddling my lap.

I nodded, smirking up at her looming over me and gripping her hips to grind her just a little. "Yup. I have. I feel I deserve some sort of reward for said patience."

Bella's chuckle was light and sweet, but she placed my hand on her stomach. "That's what got us into this mess, you know."

My head fell back with my laugh at her using my words against me. I kept my hand on that stomach of hers, slipping it beneath her shirt and around to her back and humming when she kissed up my neck.

A song came over the speakers about kissing a girl all over, and I liked it. So much so, I started to sing it against her skin as I rolled her over on the sofa. Looming over her, I smiled down at her red-faced giggling.

Music ceased to have any sort of history or era now. So it didn't matter how old it was or what decade it had been released. Sue and Al were pretty good at telling us when songs had originated, but most of us didn't care. Anything to break up the monotony of this life. And anything in order to love on my wife.

I peeled her shirt off, slipping down to remove sneakers and socks. When I gazed down at her in just a pair of underwear, I leaned over her to press a kiss to her stomach, continuing to sing words about how I was going to light her fire, how I wanted to kiss her all over, that I loved her, needed her. There was a brief moment where I couldn't wait to see that belly of hers grow. I couldn't wait to see, to feel the tiny life we'd created under my hand.

With one more kiss to her belly button, I sat up, reaching back to grab a fistful of my shirt to yank it off over my head. She shivered, and I braced over her.

"Here? Or bed, love?"

"Here," she whispered, wrapping everything she had around me. "Right here, Edward."

I knew big issues and dangerous tasks were in our future, but just for one damn night, I wanted to lose myself to my wife. I'd been needing her all day. And now that I had her bare and beautiful and wanting beneath me, I wasn't planning on letting anything come between us.

~oOo~

A/N… Now you've met Charlie, and his chat with Carlisle and Esme was so very important. A lot of you are worried for him, and you all want Edward's parents out. And some of you are scared of Demetri.

The song Edward's singing to Bella is "I Want Kiss You All Over" by Exile. It's from the late 70s. As my friend would say… It's baby-making music. ;)

Okay, so the teaser will drop Thursday or Friday. I hope everyone's holidays are happy and safe. I'll see you guys again on Sunday for the next update. Until then… Mooches, Deb ;)