This chapter is mostly just Bo and Kenzi meeting the Cullens, but at least I got it out before the end of August (barely). Hope you enjoy it.
"So this is Forks."
The town had indeed proved easy enough to navigate to, and now Bo and Kenzi were cruising down what appeared to be the main street (which, according to the sign they had just passed, was imaginatively named Main Street), peering out their windows in order to take in whatever sights Forks, Washington had to offer. Somewhere between Forks and Seattle, the clouds that had been looming ominously overhead all day finally burst open and released a drenching downpour, forcing Bo to put up the top on her convertible. This deluge had also driven most of the town's inhabitants indoors; there were only a handful of people out on the street, hurrying along with their faces obscured by umbrellas held low over their heads.
As for the scenery – at least as much as they could make out through their rain-blurred windows – it seemed that Forks had all the shops one typically expected to find in a small town; in fact, Bo was pretty sure she'd seen almost exactly the same stores on Main Street in the town where she grew up, albeit with different names. There was the diner, the post office, the mom and pop grocery store… All that really set Forks apart was the fact that the biggest business here was a sporting goods store, Newton's Olympic Outfitters. If not for that, Bo might almost have wondered if she'd been transported back to her childhood home…which was hardly a comforting thought.
"Yeah," Kenzi said with the air of someone trying hard to come up with a positive comment while still sounding thoroughly underwhelmed, "it's really…wet. You're lucky I love you, Bo, 'cause I would not let just anyone drag me out to a place like this."
"I know I am," Bo said with a smile, reaching over to squeeze her hand. "I'm really glad you're with me, Kenzi."
They had just reached the end of Main Street when Edward materialized out of the rain in front of them. Bo stopped the car and unlocked the doors so he could get into the backseat, though it was a rather tight fit with the overflow of luggage that wouldn't fit in the trunk.
"Sorry it's so cramped back there," Bo apologized as he moved the bags around to make room for himself. "Most of that stuff is Kenzi's."
"Which you're getting all wet," the goth girl complained. "No umbrella? What's up with that?"
"Rain doesn't bother me," he replied with a crooked grin before telling Bo, "Stay on this road, and just drive straight through town."
"So," she began as she carefully pressed down on the accelerator, easing along the rain-soaked street, "Bella mentioned that she first came across succubus myths while she was researching vampires to try and figure out if you really were one, which I'm guessing you are. Are all your family vampires too?"
"Yes. Besides myself, there's my parents, Carlisle and Esme, and I have two brothers and two sisters."
"Seven vampires?!" Kenzi exclaimed, clutching at her throat. "Oh crap, I didn't pack a single turtleneck… I'm so dead."
"You'll be perfectly safe with us," Edward assured her, his eyes glinting with amusement at her antics. "No one in my family drinks human blood."
"Seriously?" She peeked cautiously at him, her grip on her throat loosening minutely.
"Really; we only feed on animals. Anyway, if anyone was going to present a challenging temptation, it would be Bo, not you."
"Me?" the succubus asked with a hint of concern.
"You succubi have a very enticing scent," Edward explained, almost apologetically. "Luckily, we've all spent enough time around Bella to become somewhat desensitized, and the rest of my family never seemed to be affected as strongly as I was even though they all agree that her scent is very appealing, but the first time I smelled her…it was all I could do not to attack her right there in the biology lab."
Bo glanced at him in the rearview mirror and saw that he was looking down at his feet, his posture practically radiating guilt or embarrassment, or both. The last thing she wanted was to make him feel worse, but if there was something about her natural body chemistry that rang the dinner bell for vampires, it seemed like something she should know. "And does the way I smell make you want to attack me?"
Edward took a moment to consider his answer before giving her a decisive, "No. Your scent may be a shade or two more potent than Bella's, probably owing to the fact that you're older, but my prior exposure to her makes it easier to resist."
"Good. So what kind of vampire are you? I've heard there's more than one type of blood-drinking fae that falls under the 'vampire' banner, and I've actually met one of them before, but he was nothing like you. He had fangs, he wasn't as pale or drop-dead gorgeous, and he died when this dickhead mesmer made him stick his hand in a blender." Remembering how hard Edward's skin had felt when he shook her hand in the diner, Bo said, "If anybody tried that on you, I'm betting the blender would get the worst of it."
"You're not wrong," Edward replied, his grin making a brief reappearance before he turned serious again. "My family are what the fae call made vampires, or half-breeds – the kind that were human once, before we were…changed."
"Say what?" Kenzi turned sharply in her seat to face him, her silvery eyes widening. "You used to be human? And now you're fae, or at least some kind of pseudo-fae? How's that work? I thought fae were fae and humans were humans, and there's no going from one to the other."
"That's the way it's supposed to be," Edward said quietly. "There aren't many of my kind compared to other species, our existence isn't widely known – even among the fae, there are those who think we're nothing more than a myth – and nobody knows how we came to be. The most popular theory is that a great fae sorcerer of some long-forgotten age concocted a poison which they used to transform a human, though no one alive today has any inkling how they might have accomplished such a feat or for what purpose, though if I had to guess, I imagine they were trying to create some sort of weapon…or perhaps they were simply a particularly inventive sadist whose only goal was to find a new method of torture."
"Torture?" Kenzi repeated, alarm raising her voice an octave or two.
"Changing into a vampire is excruciatingly painful."
Spurred on by morbid curiosity, she asked, "How painful are we talking here? 'Ingrown toenail' bad, 'splitting migraine' bad, or-?"
"Try 'agonies of the damned' bad," Edward said flatly, his mouth twisting into a grimace as the memory of Carlisle's venom searing through his veins like acid briefly surfaced before he could push it away. As grateful as he was to his adoptive father for saving his life, it wasn't an experience he cared to relive.
Kenzi quickly faced forward in her seat again, his ominous words and pained expression, as if even thinking about the transformation hurt, effectively ending whatever interest she might've had in the subject. Sure, it was kind of intriguing – in a purely academic, hypothetical way – to know there was a way for humans to become something close to fae, but it wasn't anything she personally would ever want to pursue, especially if it was that bad.
Despite what some people might think from the way she dressed, Kenzi had never even dabbled in the whole BDSM scene, for the simple reason that she really, really didn't like pain, particularly if she was the one feeling it, and she definitely did not want to experience anything that could even remotely be compared to the agonies of the damned. Besides, she was perfectly happy being human…right?
Damn right I am, she told herself firmly. So what if some fae-holes think it makes me lower than dirt or that it means some damsel-in-distress type who fainted on me has more in common with Bo than I do? I am what I am, and anybody who doesn't like that can suck it.
###
When they reached the Cullen house, the entire family was waiting to greet them – plus Bella, who Bo noticed had ditched her crutches, although her leg was still encased in plaster – and the first few minutes passed in a flurry of introductions and questions as they helped Bo and Kenzi bring in their luggage, the latter mainly coming from Emmett.
"Is it true that you refused to pick a side right in front of the Ash and the Morrigan? What kind of underfae did they make you fight for your initiation? Is that a real 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS 350 you drove up in?"
"Slow down, honey," Rosalie chided him. "Give her a chance to breathe. It is a nice car, though."
"Hey, it's fine," Bo assured her. "I'm sure I'll have lots of questions for you guys too once I get a chance to think of them. Yes to the first one, I don't know anything about the underfae except that they were both butt-ugly, and I'm not totally sure about the car either. All I know is that I got a great deal on it because it's so old and clunky. It doesn't get great gas mileage, and if you go too fast it starts to smell like gas."
"It's a classic, though," Rosalie replied. "Obviously someone didn't take great care of it at some point, but I bet Emmett and I could get it in tip-top shape again. We know all the best places to get parts for older cars."
"Really? That'd be great. I mean, I can't pay you…"
Rosalie dismissed Bo's concern about money with a wave of her hand. "We wouldn't ask you to; we'd enjoy it, so you'd be doing us a favor, really. Save us the trouble of finding a new project on our own."
"In that case, knock yourselves out."
Emmett and Rosalie went back out to the garage, already talking excitedly about where to begin, and Bo froze as, just before they left, she picked up a hint of a different kind of excitement that wasn't strictly related to the fine art of auto mechanics.
"They're going to have sex in my car, aren't they?"
"Probably," Edward answered with blunt honesty.
"They haven't actually decided to, but it's likely to happen at some point," Alice confirmed. "Cars seem to be one of the things that turn them on – not that it takes much with those two."
"What's the big deal?" Kenzi wanted to know, frowning at the look of dismay on Bo's face. "You have sex in it all the time."
"Which I can do because it's my car!"
"Hey, did you see that I don't have to use crutches anymore?" Bella interjected, hoping to distract Bo from the fate of her automobile and all the sex talk in general.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I did; that's great. I'm glad the chi infusion helped."
"It really has made a remarkable difference," Carlisle jumped in, before launching into a series of questions about Bo's feeding habits and healing abilities – which unfortunately led to more sex talk, though the doctor kept it clinical. "My apologies for my inquisitiveness," he said when he had finished interrogating her. "I've never met a succubus before, and as Bella's doctor, I need to understand her physiology as thoroughly as possible."
"No problem; I guess lots of people haven't met succubi what with the whole thing of it being practically impossible for us to have kids keeping our numbers down."
"Practically impossible?" Esme echoed curiously. "I knew it was incredibly rare for succubi to have children, but I thought it was a matter of personal choice."
"Nope, according to Trick it's nature's way of making sure we don't overpopulate."
"It's probably a good thing, or you guys would definitely overrun the planet with all your sexploits," Kenzi teased.
Bo elbowed her playfully, then sobered as she realized she had just casually tossed out information that could've had a devastating impact on her sister. It hadn't bothered her to learn that her chances of ever becoming a mother were all but nonexistent, but maybe Bella felt differently. "Crap, Bella, I'm sorry; I don't know why I keep putting my foot in my mouth with you, but if I just ruined your plans to give those 19 Kids and Counting weirdoes a run for their money someday-"
Bella stared at her uncomprehendingly at first, then went red as it became clear what Bo was talking about before interrupting her to blurt out, "No! I mean, uh, no…that was never part of my agenda even before I fell in love with a vampire."
"Oh, good. I'm glad I didn't destroy a lifelong dream of yours," Bo said with a sigh of relief. "And hey, because succubi as a species hardly ever procreate, we get to live a really long time. As long as we feed regularly, we're basically immortal, so that's pretty cool, right?"
This information instantly piqued Bella's interest, since the potential lifespan of her species had been one of her biggest concerns, second only to her dietary needs. Edward had told her that almost every type of fae lived longer and aged more slowly than humans, but actually living forever wasn't guaranteed, so while Bo's revelation gave her hope, she was still cautious. "What do you mean by 'basically' immortal? Do we just age at a very slow rate, or…?"
"No, Trick told me we can stop aging at all, but it depends on getting enough chi. If we stopped feeding, I guess we'd start aging again."
"So I don't have to get any older than I am right now." Bella's face broke into a radiant smile as she thanked Bo for giving her such wonderful news, but Bo noticed that she was looking at Edward, not her. Following her sister's gaze, she saw that he was smiling too, apparently just as thrilled as Bella. It wasn't hard to guess what they were thinking – that Bella's potential immortality meant they could be together forever.
Seeing the way they looked at each other, like they truly believed their relationship would last that long, sent a pang through Bo's chest as it brought back memories of herself at that age, when she had thought the same thing about herself and Kyle – though of course her idea of 'forever' had been a lot less literal back then.
Obviously that hadn't panned out, and her more recent attempts at finding love seemed to have fizzled as well. She just hoped her sister's optimism wasn't as misplaced as her own had been, that Bella wasn't setting herself up for the same disappointments Bo had endured.
###
Bella, Edward, Alice, and Esme gave Bo and Kenzi a tour of the rest of the house, ending with the room where Carlisle and Jasper had deposited their luggage before going back to their own pursuits, which in Jasper's case involved getting away from their delicious-smelling guests. All the time he'd spent around Bella made it possible for him to stay in control, as Edward said, but being bombarded with the tantalizing scents of two succubi and a human all at once was still a challenge, which he had overcome by holding his breath throughout the introductions. Carlisle, meanwhile, had more mundane concerns to take care of, like paperwork.
Luckily, Bo and Kenzi were too absorbed in checking out the house where they would be staying for an indeterminate length of time to be offended by Jasper's and Carlisle's departure.
"Nice digs you got here," Kenzi commented, trying to sound nonchalant but unable to completely hide how impressed she was.
"Thank you." Esme beamed at the compliment, but Edward's response fell more on the cynical side.
"Yes, it's kind of you to express appreciation for my mother's home decorating skills…though your kind words might come off better if you weren't thinking of how much money you could make by fencing the things you're admiring."
"Relax, Edward," Alice chastised him with a light smack on the arm. "She's not actually planning on robbing us."
"Yeah, absolutely not," Kenzi hastily agreed. "It's just that when you've lived rough for a while and had to resort to the Robin Hood method of supporting yourself, and then you find yourself in a house full of pricey stuff, part of your brain can't help tallying up what said stuff's resale value would be in certain circles. It's like a reflex, you know?"
"Didn't Robin Hood give the proceeds of his thievery to the poor?" Edward asked, arching an eyebrow at her analogy.
"I am the poor, dude!"
"You're doing fine in the 'food and shelter' department now, though," Bo reminded her. "Not to mention shoes." Then she turned to the Cullens while placing her hands protectively on Kenzi's shoulders, ready to attempt some damage control. "Look, I know Kenzi can be a little rough around the edges, but she would never steal from people who've been kind enough to invite us into their home and are important to my sister, who also happen to be vampires with super senses that never need to sleep. Isn't that right, Kenzi?" she finished pointedly, leaning over Kenzi's shoulder so she could at least peer into one side of her face.
Kenzi gulped, then immediately wondered if she'd made a fatal error, in case the working of her throat muscles might draw attention to that area, which was suddenly feeling very vulnerable without so much as a choker to shield it from the vampires' hungry (or so she imagined) gazes. Sure, Edward said his family only fed on animals, but who could blame them for being tempted by a delectable morsel such as herself?
"Nope," she said with a nervous chuckle, "definitely not gonna rip off these guys."
###
Esme and Alice headed out after the tour concluded in the guestroom they had prepared for Bo – only one room, because they hadn't known she would bring a human companion with her (as Alice explained, it was harder for her to predict the actions of people she didn't know). They also hadn't been certain of Bo's preferences regarding food, so when she informed them that she could and did eat, they quickly set off for the grocery store, and to see what they could do about Kenzi's sleeping arrangements, with the promise that they would have a bed for her by the time their guests finished eating dinner.
With them gone, it was just Bo, Kenzi, Bella, and Edward. Taking advantage of the more private situation (as private as one could get in a house full of vampires who could probably hear every word you said even if they weren't in the same room, anyway), Bo asked Bella, "So, have you had any thoughts on what you're going to do about getting that leg fixed?"
Blushing at the rather loaded question, Bella said, "Well, I thought we might try it tomorrow night; Charlie and his friends will be playing poker at Billy Black's house, and I know he'll be out late since he told me not to bother making dinner for him. Depending on how many beers they have, he might even stay there overnight, so I'll have the house to myself. Is that all right with you, Edward?"
He froze as every eye turned expectantly toward him, before swallowing hard and forcing his muscles to relax. "Yes, that will be fine."
There was really nothing else he could say; after all, he did want Bella to be healed, and if he could help her, of course he was more than happy to do his part. He would do anything for her, but giving her what she needed to fully heal herself would require him to drastically alter his most basic conceptions of how their relationship worked, to shatter certain boundaries that just a few short hours ago he had held to be inviolable, not just for her safety (though of course that was the main reason) but also because of his own moral convictions…which he was now expected to toss out the window by tomorrow night. It was a lot to process, even for him.
Figuring that he might as well get started on said processing, and that Bella might want some time alone with her sister, he excused himself. Bella shot him a grateful smile as he walked out, because as it happened, being alone with Bo was precisely what she did want – alone except for Kenzi, that is, but since the goth girl didn't seem inclined to go anywhere, she decided this was as private as she could hope for.
Lowering her voice in case they were within earshot of any vampires' inconvenient super hearing, she said, "I have some questions, though. This thing we do… How exactly does it work?"
"Did you skip health class during sex ed week?" Kenzi retorted before Bo could answer.
"No," Bella snapped, flushing bright red. "Obviously I know how that part works. I meant the healing – does it just happen automatically when we…?"
Her blush deepened as she attempted to convey what she was apparently too embarrassed to verbalize with a meaningful look, and even though Bo thought she should be able to say the words if she was about to do the deed, she took pity on her and didn't force the issue. "Yes, once you've got the energy flowing, the healing happens on its own, just like when you fed on me."
"So there's nothing special we need to-" Bella cut herself off as she reconsidered her phrasing, because of course whatever transpired between her and Edward tomorrow night would be special. "I mean, we don't need to…approach it…in any…particular way?"
Kenzi snorted at her circumspect wording and awkward pauses, but thankfully Bo ignored both. "Nope. All that matters is the sexual energy, so whatever works for you and Edward will get it done."
"And how will I know when it's enough?"
"For something as big as a broken bone knitting itself back together in seconds – trust me, you'll feel it," Bo assured her with a slight laugh. "It's one hell of a jolt."
Bella looked as if she didn't know whether to take comfort in those words, particularly since Bo hadn't specified exactly what kind of 'jolt' she could expect, but before she could quiz her further, Bo changed the subject. "Now that I've answered your questions, I have some for you."
"For me?" Bella repeated, puzzled. "Like what?" Try as she might, she couldn't imagine what information she could possibly offer Bo.
"Tell us more about yourself. How'd you and Edward get together anyway? He mentioned that you met in biology class…and that he was tempted to go straight for your jugular the first time he caught a whiff of your delicious succubus scent." They seemed to be in a good place now, yet Bo couldn't help thinking that one party wanting to eat the other wasn't a very auspicious beginning to a relationship. If she was going to trust this guy with her sister's healing, she wanted to be sure there wouldn't be any funny business with love bites that went a little too deep.
"Yeah, how do you end up making out with a guy who almost chomped on your neck when you first met?" Kenzi wondered. "'Cause that brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'love bites'."
"It's true, Edward did want my blood at first," Bella admitted with an almost sheepish look, "and maybe that should have scared me away-"
"Gee, ya think?" Kenzi said dryly.
"Instead I was drawn to him; I couldn't understand why he seemed to take such an instant dislike to me, so I was intrigued…and offended, although that only made me more determined to find out what his deal was. He was an enigma – definitely the most interesting thing in Forks, not that that's saying much – and even when he warned me that he was dangerous and I should stay away, I couldn't."
"So it was just the mystery that pulled you in, huh?"
"Well, maybe not just the mystery," Bella confessed, blushing and ducking her head at Kenzi's disbelief-laden tone even as an embarrassed little grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. "I mean, have you seen him?"
"True, his hotness is of an obsession-worthy caliber," Kenzi acknowledged.
"But you were sure he'd made up his mind not to eat you before you hooked up with him, right?" Bo pressed.
"Yes, I was certain he didn't want to hurt me by the time we kissed, if you count that as the moment we officially became a couple." Bella knew she was fudging the truth a little, but she wasn't about to tell Bo that when she went off to the meadow with Edward, the question of whether she would come back alive was still somewhat up in the air. "Look, I know the sensible thing might've been to take his warnings at face value and keep my distance, but I couldn't help it; I wanted to be with him even if it meant taking a risk. Haven't you ever felt that way about someone, like they were pulling you in even when you knew it might be better to stay away?"
Bo didn't answer, but she couldn't help thinking of how Dyson had rebuffed her early in their…whatever it was they had, when he said he'd only helped her heal as a friendly favor and made out with that damn redhead who'd briefly worked at the Dal. She'd definitely had reservations about getting too close to him after that, yet it had only taken her a few days to suggest that they become friends with benefits if they couldn't have a real relationship. Admittedly, part of her motivation may have been the simple fact that there was no one else she trusted to be her go-to person when she needed healing who could withstand her feeding on them regularly, but she probably could have found another fae partner if she had cared to look. Mostly she just wanted him in her bed again, however she could get him there.
Still, she was quick to remind herself that her situation wasn't quite the same; Dyson may have been aloof at first, but he'd never expressed the slightest desire to make a meal out of her. If he had, she liked to think she wouldn't have been okay with that.
Her silence drew a curious look from Bella – she'd had no idea when she asked the question whether her sister had ever experienced anything like the mysterious, irresistible pull she'd felt toward Edward, but if she had, Bella certainly wanted to know more – and a thoughtful one from Kenzi, who was pretty sure she knew exactly where Bo's mind had gone.
At that moment, there was a tap on the door, and Esme stuck her head in. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's after seven o'clock."
"It is? Already?" Bella glanced at the wall that was mostly glass, and was startled to see how dark it was outside. "Holy crow, I can't believe I didn't notice how late it was! I'd better get home before Charlie freaks out."
Esme nodded. "Edward will give you a ride. Bo, Kenzi, your dinner will be ready shortly."
"Thanks," Bo replied with a polite smile. "We'll be right down. See you tomorrow, Bella?"
"Absolutely; there's so much I want to know about you, and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface."
As Esme ushered Bella out, Bo let out a long sigh and flopped down on her bed, her hair fanning out around her. "Wow, what a day, huh?"
Kenzi assumed the same position, both of them turning their heads sideways to look at each other. "You can say that again."
"So what's your take? I know you've got an opinion; you always do."
"True that. Well, there's no question this place is a massive upgrade from the Clubhouse, even if it is full of vampires and I'm gonna feel totally self-conscious changing clothes in front of the window wall. Seriously, have the Cullens never heard that old saying about people who live in glass houses?"
"Pretty sure there's no one around to sneak a peek at you, Kenzi. Besides, I was talking about Bella."
"Oh yeah. Her." Kenzi turned her head so that she was now staring up at the ceiling, but that proved to be an ineffective means of evasion as Bo propped herself up on an elbow and leaned over the other girl so that she could still see her face and Kenzi could see hers, which now wore a frown.
"Geez, Kenz – curb your enthusiasm much?"
"Well, what do you want me to say?" Kenzi rejoined, ceasing her efforts to avoid eye contact and shifting so as to meet Bo's probing gaze squarely. "Sure, she seems nice and all, but she's just… I mean, who lets themselves go all gaga over a guy who wanted to kill them, and told her he did? Maybe it's just because I watched my mom remarry to an abusive asshole after my dad died and rationalize his shitty behavior and make excuses for him, but I don't get the appeal of the whole 'dangerous bad boy' thing. Not saying that's Edward, but sometimes guys who seem dangerous really are jerks who'll treat you like crap if they get the chance, and how sure was she really that he wasn't one of the bad ones while she was getting all gooey over his hot bloodsucking self? Plus she just struck me as kind of, well…wimpy. I hate to diss your sis, but I just can't pretend it was super endearing when she got all floppy on me and face-planted in my boobs."
"Yeah, I hate it when that happens," Bo agreed with a perfectly straight face which was belied by the humorous glint in her eyes.
"It wasn't funny, Bo!" Kenzi growled.
"It was a little bit funny. Just a smidge." Bo held up her thumb and forefinger a centimeter apart and waited until Kenzi's indignant expression softened before continuing. "Look, you're right that Bella doesn't seem like much of a badass, but don't write her off just yet. There was a time you probably would've stuck me in the 'wimp' category too."
"You?" Kenzi lifted her head to stare incredulously at her best friend, who was pretty much the quintessential badass in her eyes. "No way!"
"'Fraid so. By the time we met I had a fairly good handle on what I could do, minus the 'not killing people' part, but in the early days after my succubus genes kicked in, I was totally clueless. I mean, I was fairly certain I'd killed my boyfriend by sleeping with him, but I didn't know I needed sex to live, and obviously I was so horrified by what happened to Kyle that I never wanted to get intimate with anyone ever again. Luckily I didn't have to deal with a broken bone on top of everything else, but I got pretty weak before I figured out my new diet."
"So what happened?" Kenzi asked breathlessly, her natural curiosity (or perhaps 'nosiness' would be a more accurate term) compelling her to press for details even as she felt a coil of apprehension twist through her insides. Obviously things had worked out okay, what with Bo being right in front of her and clearly in one piece and all, but something told her this wasn't going to be a pleasant story.
"I was hitchhiking, and I'd caught a ride with this long haul trucker when I… I can't say I blacked out since I was still aware of what was going on, but I got really woozy. I guess the driver thought I was unconscious, because that's when he decided to feel me up. He tried to kiss me, and the rest is history."
"Damn, that's rough," Kenzi muttered, now sorry she had let her inquisitiveness win out. Why, for once in her life, couldn't she have resisted the urge to stick her nose into every little thing? "I'm sorry, Bo."
Bo shrugged off her sympathy, saying only, "It was a long time ago, and I'm not that girl anymore. My point is that people can change a lot – badasses are made, not born, and I'm glad Bella hasn't had to live through what I did even if it did toughen me up." She paused to gauge whether her message seemed to be sinking in, then said softly, "I'm not saying you have to be her biggest fan, but give her a chance, okay? For me?"
"Anything for you, Bobo, you know that." As she turned her eyes to the ceiling once more, however, Kenzi couldn't help muttering, "You just had to play that card…"
###
Charlie's cruiser was parked in the driveway when Edward pulled up to the Swan house, and Bella cursed internally at the sight of it. Knowing how her adoptive father had been worrying over her declining health even though he tried not to show it so as not to make her worry more, she hadn't told him she planned on going out today. She'd hoped to beat him home so he would never know she'd left, but she had gotten too wrapped up in talking to Bo.
"Would you like me to go in with you?" Edward asked, correctly guessing the cause of her crestfallen expression upon seeing Charlie's vehicle out front and lights on inside the house.
"No thanks," she sighed. "I let time get away from me, and now I have to face the music. Wish me luck."
Edward responded with a quiet laugh and a promise to come back later, after Charlie was asleep, to make sure she was still alive, then drove off after watching to see that she made it safely up the front steps.
Charlie was still bustling around when she went inside, putting away his police gear as he always did first thing when he got home, so she guessed he hadn't arrived too far ahead of her. He must have been there long enough to realize she wasn't in the house, though, because he hurried out to meet her the instant he heard the door open.
"Bella, where have you-? Whoa." He stopped short, staring at her in apparent astonishment.
"Dad, what is it?" she asked, trying to contain her panic. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Please, please don't let my eyes be blue again! Bo said that's only supposed to happen when we feed or gear up for a fight!
"You're not using crutches anymore," Charlie blurted out, his eyes still wide as he took in how her appearance had changed since he last saw her, "and you…you look better, Bells. You're not so pale and, uh…washed out."
"Oh, that. Yeah." Bella let out a weak laugh, her knees almost buckling in relief even as her brain scrambled to come up with an explanation for her rapid recovery. "Carlisle finally figured out why I was taking so long to heal, and he, uh, gave me some new medicine. I don't really understand it," she fibbed in an effort to preempt the torrent of questions she could see building up. "He used a lot of medical jargon and I can't pronounce the name of whatever he gave me, but I feel much better now, and he says it probably won't be very long at all until I can get this cast off. That's the important thing, right?"
"Right," Charlie agreed at once. "As long as you're okay, that's all that matters." (Especially if it meant he didn't have to listen to a long-winded scientific explanation of her delayed healing.)
"I am." That, at least, was an assurance she could give with complete honesty. "Whatever was wrong with me, I know how to manage it now. I'll be fine."
"Thank goodness." Stepping forward to close the distance between them, Charlie hugged her tightly. "You know, I didn't want to make a big fuss since Carlisle didn't think you needed to go back to the hospital or anything, but I've been worried about you, Bella."
"Well, don't worry anymore, okay?"
As she returned his hug, she debated whether this was the right moment to tell him about Bo – she had a perfect opening, since she could say Carlisle had cracked the mystery of how to treat her condition by consulting her sister – then decided against it. When Charlie found out she had a sibling, he would naturally want to meet her; he might even postpone his poker night in order to do so, and she couldn't have that. As much as Bella wanted the two halves of her family to get to know each other, to share this part of her life with Charlie as if that would somehow compensate for all the things she had to keep from him, her desire to have two fully functional legs again was stronger.
Well, it looks like we'll finally see some real succubus action in the next chapter, though it probably won't warrant raising the rating just yet. As to whether that will happen later…you'll just have to wait and see. Bo and Kenzi will most likely meet Charlie in about two more chapters, after I get Bella's healing session done, and maybe a couple more Twilight characters will appear… Then hopefully I'll be done with introducing all the cast to each other and we can get on with Bella's Fae 101 lessons.