I Came To Say Thank You 2
Summary: When Charlie sets up a pedophile to end up in the hands of the Volturi, he had no idea just how much it would change, not just his life but that of his daughter's.
Bella/Heidi
1985 KOSCIUSKO
Charlie sighed in relief when Bella did not wake up as he strapped her to the car. He was barely holding on to his sanity, and the last thing he wanted Bella to see was that. Bella was not to blame in the least for the cluster fuck that was his ex-wife's life, and he did not want her to think it was her fault in the least. How Renée ended up in Kosciusko, Mississippi, with his daughter was a mystery; that question had gone unanswered by Renée. Charlie, though knew her well enough to know a man had been involved. She'd followed another hopeless loser to the middle of wherever and found herself stuck. This time, he would not be bailing her out. This time, he'd simply taken his daughter and left her to her own devices. How he was going to take care of a four-year-old with his job was beyond him. The last thing he wanted was to have raised her by babysitters and nannies. He slammed his hand on the steering wheel, then quickly turned to see Bella was still out cold.
"Thank God for small mercies." He muttered, waiting for the light to change. He yawned, really, he should have stayed at the bed and breakfast until morning, but the idea of staying under the same roof as his ex-wife irked him to no end.
It took him a second to realize the lights had changed. He inched forward, and his world went dark.
She wasn't dreaming, but she could not tell you what was happening either. She felt a shift in the air and heard his voice. "I'm afraid it's time to go." The gentleness of the voice belied the gravity of the situation. Truthfully, she had no idea what the situation was, but the pain throbbing all over her body was answer enough.
"What about Bella?" Hearing her name had been enough to jolt her out of the semi-conscious state she'd been fine to stay in.
"Dad, what is going…" Her attention quickly went from Charlie to the man kneeling beside him. "YOU ARE NOT TAKING HIM." She bellowed, surprising him and Charlie.
"You can see me." He asked, surprised. It was not yet her time; Isabella Marie Swan should not in any conceivable way be able to see him or know what he was.
Well, I'm talking to you, so yes, I can see you." Her seatbelt mechanism was jammed, keeping her in her seat, despite her desperate attempts to free herself.
"You should not be able to see me; that is not possible." He muttered more to himself than her.
"I can, so clearly, it is possible. I don't know what you are doing here, but you are not taking him. Charles Swan does not die today." Bella warned.
Bella…" Charlie said softly.
"No, dad, you can't leave me alone. I've just got you back. They will send me back to Renee if he takes you." That seemed to give Charlie pause, yet he still accepted his situation. "I know, but it's too late." He whispered.
Bella turned towards death. "Look at me… take a good look at me. You do not want me to make it my life's mission to turn this world upside down, which is what will happen if I return to Renee. Take the idiot that caused the accident and leave us be." Bella warned. Death stared at Isabella Swan and knew she would do as promised if she was sent back to her mother.
"I make no decisions, I have no say in who lives or dies, my job is simply to make the journey less traumatic. Even if I leave, it changes nothing." He found it perplexing that he was trying to placate a human, except he recognized Isabella Swan was no ordinary human. He wasn't sure what she was yet, but whatever she was, she would be infinitely more powerful than he was. The fact that he was terrified of her said it all. Maybe, he could offer a consolation of sorts. "I will be right back."
"I always knew you were special, but the fact that you have death running scared just confirmed what I always suspected." Charlie chuckled, only to end up coughing blood all over himself. Bella's bravado crumpled then as the tears ran down her face. "You really are going to leave me." She cried.
"You will be fine, in fact, more than fine. I know it. You have always been special. How many one-year-olds read Tolstoy before bed?" Charlie's breathing was becoming painful with every passing second.
"You can't leave me… please, don't leave me." Bella pleaded as tears streamed down her face.
"Isabella, listen to me. I'm dying; there is no changing that. You are strong, intelligent, and above all else, there isn't a damn thing you cannot do if you set your mind to it. If you want Renee to toe the line, she will. I know it, and so do you. You are not all that you appear to be, and now that I'm on death's door, I can see it clearly. Nothing can stand in your way. Believe that. I love you… never forget it." She kept her eyes closed, trying desperately to stop her tears. She knew her father was dead, she saw no point in calling out his name. There was no point in trying to shake him, hoping for a miracle.
Charles Swan dragged air into his lungs. Bella's eyes snapped open, and she stared, disappointed to realize it was not her father. She heard the sirens then, they were too late to save her father. "Keeping me company until they get here?" She asked, her tone devoid of any emotion.
"Or, I could keep you company until the end of time if you wish." Bella's head snapped up to look at him, her neck protesting at the forceful nature of the move.
"It seems it is in everyone's best interest if Charles Swan did not die here tonight." He stared at the oncoming vehicles with rapt attention. He'd been given special dispensation to effectively live the life of Charles Swan. Isabella Marie Swan was an anomaly that no one wanted to piss off.
"What am I?" She asked.
"We do not know, but I will say this. In the history of mankind, you are only the third." Any chance of asking who the other two were evaporated when the emergency services descended on their car.
Death, or now Charles Swan, was now out cold. Under different circumstances, she would have laughed.
It was just past two in the morning when Charlie Swan appeared in the throne room of the Volturi castle. The room was dimly lit and eerily quiet compared to the other times he usually visited. He chuckled when seconds later, Heidi appeared before them. "Nothing is wrong… well, nothing is wrong with Bella. There was an earthquake in San Francisco." Heidi nodded in understanding, taking a sleeping Bella from Charlie. I should be back in a few hours; if not, I'm sure neither of you will mind all that much. He was gone before he had completed the sentence, but Heidi heard it all the same.
Bella no longer brought overnight bags for her stay; she had enough things of her own in the castle now. In fact, it was absurd just how many clothes, books, and toiletries Bella had; the Queens were the number one culprits in buying Bella gifts. Heidi was barely given a chance to purchase things for her own mate. She was not the least surprised to find them heading toward her.
"She's fine, Charlie had to work." Heidi headed off their concerns.
"We will have breakfast ready in the morning." Sulpicia cheered.
"If you don't mind, I would like to do that," Heidi murmured. She had yet to do a single thing for Bella, not that Bella minded. She preferred Heidi's attention on her, and doing anything else was frowned upon. She quickly left the two pouting. If she stuck around, she would cave.
She got Bella settled in her room, she had been given the room next to Heidi's. Her mate was well loved, and come morning, everyone in the castle will want a minute with her. All except for Caius, who would rather avoid Bella than say something to her that would incur the wrath of Charlie.
Bella's elation, when she woke up a few hours later to find herself in the castle, was heard by all. "Heidi, where are you?" Bella heard her chuckle before she answered.
"Right here." She sauntered down the corridor as Bella ran towards her, leaping into the vampire's arms. "You are getting too big to be leaping into my arms still." Heidi teased.
Never." Bella grumbled. "This is a surprise." She mumbled, her face buried in Heidi's neck.
"Yes, Charlie, had to work," Heidi answered as they made it back to Bella's room.
"I take it it's his non-Charlie work, or else he would have left me with the Webers," Bella said elated. She was self-aware enough to take care of herself, but of course, it would not look good to the town folk if the chief left his eleven-year-old daughter at home alone.
"Speaking of the Webers, how is Angela?" Heidi asked. Angela was the only human Bella seemed to like. Apparently, the rest of the population her age gave humanity a bad name.
"So, I heard about this cafe… the breakfast is apparently to die for." She said with an eye roll, earning a giggle from Bella. "Why don't you get ready, and then you can tell me if the food is really that good." Bella cheered as she rushed to the bathroom.
"I question how thorough that shower was considering you took all of ten minutes in the bathroom… teeth brushing and all," Heidi said with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm perfectly clean." Bella waved away her concern, quickly grabbing a few items of clothing and
disappearing back into the bathroom. Heidi chuckled, shaking her head in resignation.
Heidi had to time their leaving perfectly; otherwise, with every damn vampire wanting to say hello, they'd never leave the castle. Of course, it helped that she knew the schedule. With a trial taking place, it was the ideal time to sneak out. It also would not bode well as there were vampires on trial for revealing their secret to humans to see a human child in the castle. Although she suspected Bella was more than she appeared, she had yet to ask. If she was honest with herself, she wasn't feeling brave enough. No doubt, Bella knew whatever she was; she did not hide the fact that she was far more knowledgeable than the average child. Not that Heidi knew much about human children.
The cafe did not look like much from the outside. With a single customer reading rather than eating, Heidi was not feeling confident. "Are you sure you have the right place?" Bella asked as she peered through the glass window. Despite that, they soldiered on.
They settled in the corner by the window and immediately had a menu placed in front of them with a smile by a young girl. "What would you say is the best thing on the menu?" Heidi asked the waiter, who suddenly seemed to find speech impossible at the sight of her.
"I will have the frittata, tell the chef to have at it, and a hot chocolate," Bella ordered, looking rather amused. The waiter nodded, walking away, looking a little dazed.
"I've always wondered what that feels like." Heidi lifted an eyebrow at the question. "To be on the receiving end of your gift," Bella explained.
"Oh, that has got nothing to do with my gift." Heidi chuckled humorlessly. "You have no idea just how elated I am that my gift does not work on you in the least." She'd always feared the thought of having a mate she could manipulate. She'd used her gift to get her way for centuries. To think she would simply not do so when something was not going her way with her mate would be foolishly naive. She'd met vampires who hated their gift, but she was not one of them. Even more so when her gift saved her life when the Volturi came for them.
"I do, that is why I have never attempted to find out," Bella answered as the waiter brought her a cup of hot chocolate. Heidi ignored the fact that Bella had just admitted that at eleven years old, she already had control of her shield.
"Thank you." She muttered, taking a sip. Her eyes widened at the taste earning a chuckle from the waiter. "Wow, this is absolutely divine." She praised, taking another sip, this time shutting her eyes and savoring the explosion on her tongue.
"I guess this was the right place after all," Heidi said, laughing at the look of pure delight on Bella's face.
A silence descended for a few minutes as Bella savored her hot drink. "I know how you feel about your gift in relation to certain things, and I respect that," Bella murmured.
"What are you?" Heidi asked, sensing it was an opportune time to do so.
"An anomaly." Heidi looked as Bella felt when she was first told. "Yes, I know it doesn't explain much, and I honestly have no idea what it means. Charlie had a lead on one, but then nothing."
"Wait, there are other anomalies?" Heidi asked.
"Yep, two others." Bella rubbed her hands together when her frittata was placed in front of her. "Smells incredible." An excited Bella always made Heidi's non-beating heart soar.
"I can confirm the food is to die for without a shadow of a doubt." Bella groaned happily, finishing the last of her breakfast. "This was a fantastic idea." She smiled radiantly at Heidi, who returned with an equally bright smile.
"Come on, it's a nice day with little sunshine. We can take a walk through the square before we head back. I will be sure to get you back in time for your playdate with Jane." Heidi teased, dropping what Bella knew was too much lira for what she ate.
"It's not a playdate. We are too old for that." Bella returned in a voice Heidi was sure was an imitation of Jane's.
"I stand corrected." She took Bella's hand in hers as they left the cafe.
Heidi missed the man in the corner, having lowered his paper and staring after them. Bella, though, had not and looked back at him as the door shut behind them. She returned his smile with a small wave.
"Do you like working for the Volturi?" Bella asked out of the blue, her book abandoned on her lap.
"I do. I realize more now that Chelsea's gift no longer works on me." Heidi admitted truthfully. Marcus had confirmed it a year after Bella came into her life. Her bond to Isabella had broken Chelsea's hold on her. There were mated couples still tied to the Volturi through Chelsea's gift, so the news had come as a surprise to her. Marcus surmised that Bella's possessive nature, when it came to Heidi, left little room for other bonds. So, Chelsea's contrived bond was pushed out to make room for more genuine ones. The news had infuriated Aro, but there was little he could do. Jane had informed her that Aro had tasked Chelsea to keep trying, but that was until Bella had a word with Chelsea. Whatever was said, no one knew, but Chelsea had told Aro no after her conversation with Bella.
Heidi would admit she found the whole affair highly amusing. Bella's possessiveness was something that had waned over the years until recent months. She did not take kindly to anyone paying too much attention to Heidi during their vacation.
"What… were you planning on liberating me if I didn't." She asked with an amused smirk that had Bella blushing. Heidi didn't need anyone to tell her she possessed an unearthly beauty, even for a vampire. It took very little to have both men and women falling over their feet just at the sight of her. When she first met Bella, she was young, and Heidi's overt sexiness made no difference to her, because she simply wasn't aware of it. In recent months, she had noticed how much Bella would stare, then blush vermillion when caught. Right now, it didn't help that Heidi was in an oversized t-shirt that Bella had won at a fair and not much else.
"Well… yeah, I doubt Aro will put up much of a fight if I asked him to let you go," Bella mumbled, turning her attention back to her book. Her concentration had been nonexistent since Heidi sauntered into her room and planted herself on her bed. Bella had been beyond ecstatic when Heidi decided to spend a further two weeks in Forks. The two had just spent the summer traveling through South America. The previous summer had been spent in Europe.
"That is rather sweet of you, but I happen to love working for the Volturi. More so knowing I can leave whenever I want." Heidi answered, staring at Bella, who looked up at her, and maintained eye contact. Bella placed the book on her desk and stood, eyes still on her mate, she sat on the edge of the bed, running her finger slowly up the length of Heidi's leg. Heidi leaned forward, taking Bella's soft lip in a kiss, a kiss lacking in any form of restraint. They were finally doing the very thing they wanted to do throughout the summer. There'd been the hot night at the club in Rio that had almost led to their first kiss. Then the night they swam naked in the rooftop pool at the hotel in Santa Marta. Yet somehow, their first kiss was happening now, in her bedroom in Forks on a dull rainy afternoon. Not that it mattered, none of that did, not when Heidi's tongue was languidly caressing Bella's. Not when she lifted Bella with ease onto her lap, arms wrapping around Bella, pulling her closer to her body. Heidi's hands wandered under Bella's t-shirt stroking soft, smooth skin. A knock on the door had Bella gritting her teeth and Heidi sighing in annoyance.
"Bells, Heidi, you might want to come downstairs. There is someone here to see Bella." Charlie's tone drained the annoyance in an instant. Heidi was in her room and dressed appropriately by the time Bella made it to the top of the stairs. Heidi followed behind her closely, ready to act instantly if required.
"Hello, again." The man greeted.
"Hello, it's been what… nearly a decade, I expected to see you much sooner." Bella greeted, not that either Charlie or Heidi relaxed. "Dad, Heidi, meet an anomaly."