A/N: I didn't even realize yesterday was Easter, so to those who celebrate, I hope you had a lovely day. And to those who don't, I hope you had a lovely Sunday. Thanks for reading:)

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Before Carlisle, or anyone else for that matter, could respond to her, Leah got to her feet and then helped Bella to her feet too. It was clear on the girl's face that she was panicking and Leah wanted to get her out of that room. "Come on, let's wait for him outside," she said quietly, leading Bella to the front porch.

After only a few seconds, Jasper got up to follow them, but not before giving Carlisle a warning of his own. "He's crossed just about every line it's possible to cross. It was Bella's decision to talk to her father, not his. And I don't know exactly what Edward told him, but it was enough to rattle Charlie, which is damn hard to do. I have done everything in my power to keep that man safe for months, and if Edward said anything to put him in danger, I'll end him myself."

Like Leah, he didn't wait for a response, he just walked outside. But at least with the benefit of his gift he knew that everyone in the room was as outraged as he was, Carlisle included.

Leah had an arm wrapped around Bella's shoulders and was trying to calm her down when Jasper walked outside. Bella looked up at him with pleading, tear-filled eyes, so he slowly started soothing away her panic. "Whatever it is, we'll get through it," he quietly reassured her as he sat down on the floor across from them, resting his back on the porch railing. "And whatever Edward told him, your dad will be safe. Remember, he's got protectors, just like you."

Leah nodded her agreement. "Even if none of the vamps were on our side–"

"Which they are," Jasper cut in.

"Even if they weren't, the pack will always make sure Charlie is safe," Leah finished.

As Bella's panic started to ebb, it allowed her anger to surface. "How could he do this? Why would he do this?"

Jasper just shrugged. "I don't know. My best guess? He couldn't get you to do what he wanted for his sake, so he went to the one person he thought you would do it for."

Bella scoffed and shook her head. "So what, he tells my dad he accidentally knocked me up but that it's going to kill me? Says as my dad, Charlie needs to talk some sense into me? Talk me into getting an abortion I don't want?"

Jasper and Leah exchanged a glance, because yeah, that's probably exactly what the telepath did. Not only that, but both of them were worried about Bella. The color she'd gotten back in her cheeks was slowly draining away, and when she winced and put her hand on her stomach, their worry only grew.

"Are you hurt?" Leah asked her.

Bella shook her head. "No, it was just a couple kicks."

"Any chance you'd let me dial back that anger?" Jasper asked. "They say babies in the womb can feel their mama's emotions, so it might be getting restless because of your anger," he explained. Which was the truth, according to his research, even if that wasn't the reason he was suggesting it.

"He," Bella corrected automatically. Then she took a few deep breaths to try and forcefully shove her anger aside. The baby was moving around a lot more than he typically did, and she certainly didn't want him in there feeling all of her fury. She'd just have to let everyone else be furious on her behalf. Well, Leah and Jasper at least. She didn't know where the rest of the Cullens would fall, even with Jasper saying they were on her side.

Jasper and Leah exchanged another look, this one surprised. "He?" Leah asked Bella.

She nodded with a shy smile. "I think it's a boy," she admitted. Although if her dream was correct and the boy was a miniature version of her husband, maybe she should be wishing for a girl instead.

Charlotte stomped her way out onto the porch, her eyes dark with anger as she looked at Jasper. "Look, I've tried calming myself down, but I am this close to tracking down that spiteful ginger and lighting his ass up. Can you either calm me down or give me one of your lighters?"

"You don't have one on you?" he asked in surprise. The three of them had made it a point a long time ago to always have lighters or matches on them. He and Peter usually had more than one.

"I lost mine somewhere on our mad dash to the wedding," Charlotte explained. "But don't tell Peter," she quickly added.

Jasper reached into his pocket and pulled out one of his to give her.

Charlotte grinned at him as she took it. "Does this mean I can track him?"

"Maybe hold off for now. That should probably be Bella's choice," Jasper laughed. "That's so your mate doesn't find out you're slipping."

"I'm not slipping, Jasper," Charlotte snapped. "If you remember, we were running like the devil was chasing us so we could get to your proposal."

Jasper just laughed again and grabbed her hand to pull her down to sit beside him. "And I'm beyond grateful for it. Now just accept the lighter and shut up."

The tense line of Charlotte's shoulders started to soften as Jasper fed her a little bit of peace and calm, and she put her head on his shoulder as a silent thank you. Leah was watching the two of them with a sad smile. She was glad they had each other, but she hated that they'd lived the kind of lives where they felt the need to be armed to kill at all times.

"Speaking of Peter, have you guys heard from him or Alice?" Bella asked, rubbing slow circles on her stomach, hoping it would soothe the baby and get him to quit kicking her insides.

Jasper nodded. "They called while you were sleeping. The plane had to divert around a storm, so it took them an hour or two longer than expected. But they've landed in Paraguay and they're starting their search for the Amazon coven. They said they'll do their best to check-in once a day, but it might not be possible."

"Didn't you guys have that other phone while you were down with Maria?" Bella asked, head tipped to the side in confusion. "The one that uses satellites?"

"We do have a satellite phone, but it's down in Texas," Charlotte explained. "When Peter got his knowledge about the proposal, we were hunting in Colorado. We just took off running up here with only the clothes on our backs and what was in our pockets. They all just wanted to get down to Brazil as quickly as possible, so none of them wanted to waste time on a stop in Texas just to get it."

Leah's phone rang, making her smile at the timing. Looking at the display, she saw it was her mom. A call she'd actually been expecting for a few hours. "Did you talk to her yet?" she asked Jasper, who shook his head.

"No, I got voicemail on both phones."

Leah took a deep breath and answered the call. "Hey Mom," she greeted her, smiling while she said it because Sue said she could always tell when Leah was smiling on the phone. But before Sue even had time to say hello, Leah's call waiting beeped and when she pulled it away from her ear she saw it was Seth. She rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Are you at home?" she asked her mom.

"I am, why?"

"Is Seth there also?" Leah asked.

"He is, he just went up to take a shower," Sue answered.

Leah laughed again. "Maybe just holler and have him come to wherever you are. I think he was trying to beat you to the punch and get to me first."

Sue huffed and covered up the receiver before raising her voice. "Get your butt down here, young man! I told you I was calling her first!"

Jasper smiled hearing Seth's laughter through the phone. "You know they can just come here if they want," he told Leah quietly. "Regardless of her having questions about Bella, it might be a good idea anyway. You know she'll be a good support for Charlie."

Leah nodded. It also might be easier than having her mom and her brother simultaneously firing questions at her and talking over each other. Before she asked her mom, she covered the receiver and looked at Bella. "What do you think?"

Bella didn't even hesitate, she just nodded her agreement. The more people around to help her navigate this the better. She was really worried about her dad. Charlie didn't scare easily but she could hear the fear in his voice. As she felt her anger start trying to resurface, she pushed it away again and went back to rubbing circles on her stomach. She didn't want the baby to get riled up again just because she was pissed.

When Leah suggested to her mom that she and Seth should just come over, Sue immediately agreed, then laughingly told her daughter that if it hadn't been poor manners, she would've driven straight to the Cullen's when her shift ended.

Jasper was half listening to their conversation and half listening to the family talking quietly - but heatedly - inside. Everyone was furious that Edward had gone to talk to Charlie.

"I'm with Leah," Rosalie snapped as she stood up and started walking to the kitchen. "Keep him the hell away from me. Emmett sitting on him in the river will seem like a walk in the park compared to what I want to do to him."

Only a couple minutes later, Rose came outside with a mug and a plate, which she handed to their pregnant human. "Here, the tea might help with staying calm. And I know my temper is always a little worse when I'm hungry so I brought you a snack too."

And damn those pregnancy mood swings were a pain, because Bella felt her eyes start to sting with grateful tears. "Thank you."

Rosalie just nodded and sat down beside Jasper. "If he shows his face back here, you do not have my permission to either calm me down or hold me back," she told her twin.

"Noted," Jasper laughed.

"I can't imagine he'll come back for at least a little while," Charlotte said. "In his mind, he needs to give Charlie time to do his dirty work for him."

Just as she said it, they all heard a car turn off the main road and start up the long driveway. Bella didn't actually hear it, but she seemed to understand what was happening when Leah and all the vamps straightened up a little bit at the same time.

"Jasper," Bella whispered. "Can you make sure I'm normal?"

Jasper gave her a little bit of a weird look. "I don't know what that means."

"Sorry," she laughed. "I just mean can you keep my emotions as… normal as possible? Steady, I guess. I don't want him to know how upset I am. I'm afraid he'll think I'm upset about the baby rather than Edward. And I don't want to risk the baby getting restless again and jabbing me with a foot. My dad's going to be watching me like a hawk."

"Sure, I can do that," Jasper nodded, grateful she was giving him permission beforehand. Although Charlie already knew about his gift, so it wouldn't have been the end of the world if he'd had to ask her if she wanted help at any point.

Then Jasper's mind snagged on a detail he hadn't really registered the first time she said it. Bella thought the baby was kicking her. That suggested his development was even further along than they thought. Which was in line with the most recent shockwave to hit Jasper, one he hadn't shared yet because he hadn't had any privacy to talk to Bella alone.

Leah stood up and told Bella she was going to meet Charlie at his car. They obviously didn't know exactly what Edward had told him, but she wanted to prepare him for the fact that Bella already had a baby bump. She figured it was better to get that shock out of the way right from the start so he didn't have a heart attack when he walked up onto the porch.

Charlotte hopped up and then reached down for Rosalie's hand to pull her to her feet with her. "We'll give y'all some privacy."

"Don't leave!" Bella whisper-shouted, her panic briefly breaking through Jasper's influence.

"We're only going inside," Charlotte quickly explained, leaning down to hug the nerve-rattled girl. "I figured your father would be more comfortable without so many people out here crowding you. We'll be right in there. Just holler if you need us."

Bella nodded. "Sorry," she apologized for needlessly freaking out.

"It's fine," Charlotte reassured her, waving her hand in dismissal. "I'd be a nervous wreck in your shoes too. But from everything I know about him, your daddy seems like a real good guy. I'm sure everything will be fine."

Bella just nodded again. Her dad was a good guy, but how was he going to deal with this? Bella wasn't even sure how she was dealing with it and she was one of the key players. Looking at Jasper, she reconsidered. She really wasn't dealing with it all that well, Jasper was dealing with it for her. "Thank you," she whispered, focusing on that gratitude inside her and letting him feel it.

"You're welcome. You're not as much of a mess as you think you are," he reassured her with a smile. "I'm helping, but I'm not completely propping you up. You're strong all on your own."

"Would you all quit making me cry?" Bella huffed when her eyes started to sting again. "We're trying to make sure my dad thinks I'm okay."

Rosalie laughed and leaned down to hug her. "You are okay, Bella. Just keep that head up. You've got nothing to be ashamed of."

Charlotte and Rose slipped inside just as Charlie's cruiser came to a stop and Jasper caught Bella's eye again. "Want me to go in and give you privacy?" he whispered. "I can help you just as easily from in there."

"No," Bella shook her head. "You and Charlie are friends and it'll help to have you out here. Both you and Leah."

Jasper just nodded his agreement and stood up from where he was sitting on the floor, and instead sat on the loveseat adjacent to the one Bella was sitting on.

"Hey," Leah greeted Charlie with a small smile when he stepped out of his car after taking a few deep breaths. She took a moment to hug him and then pulled back and plastered her best smile on her face. "Alright, so before we go up there, just prepare yourself now. Your girl's already got a baby bump. Maybe try not to stare and make her feel awkward. Now come on, she's been missing you."

Charlie had already been grappling with the fact that his daughter was pregnant, but his face drained of color at the news that not only was she pregnant, but she was visibly pregnant. That wasn't possible. "Leah…"

Leah reached out and took his hand. "She's fine, Charlie. Yes, it's a little bit weird and maybe a little bit scary, but she's fine. Come see for yourself."

Charlie took another deep breath and let Leah lead him up the porch steps. "Oh my god," he breathed in shock at the sight of his daughter. But seeing the fear in her eyes about how he was going to react, he quickly pulled himself together and walked over so he could wrap his arms around her.

As soon as he did, Bella's tears started to fall. The two of them weren't typically huggers, but all she felt in that moment was safe and protected. Like nothing could hurt her if she just stayed right where she was, with her dad's arms around her.

"Shh, I've got you," Charlie hushed her as he sat down beside her without letting her go. "Whatever it is, we'll get through it," he reassured her quietly.

Bella sniffled a laugh that her dad and Jasper had said the same thing, but she guessed it made sense. Jasper was a protector by nature and Charlie's career made him a protector too. She just nodded against his shoulder and let herself cry. She'd been trying so hard to be strong but she was more scared than she'd been letting on. With her dad holding her, she thought it was okay to just let go for a few minutes.

Eventually, though, it was time to face the music, and Bella gave him one last tight squeeze before pulling away so she could wipe her eyes. "Sorry about that," she said with a slightly embarrassed smile.

Charlie just quietly reassured her that there was nothing wrong with a few tears, then he turned to greet the last person on the porch. "Jasper," he nodded. It was far, far colder than his typical greeting.

"Oh no you don't," Leah said sternly. "This is not Jasper's fault. Just because Edward is his 'brother' doesn't mean he's responsible for his actions or even condones them. I know for a fact that the two of you have had more than one conversation about Edward and his many shortcomings. You know Jasper, Charlie," she reminded him. "You know what kind of man he is."

Charlie closed his eyes for a second and took another deep breath, then opened them and looked at Jasper. "She's right," he nodded. "I apologize."

Jasper just smiled and shrugged it off. "It's fine. I don't know exactly what Edward told you, but I imagine there was something in there about how the rest of us are just sitting here waiting for Bella to die? That we don't care if we lose her?"

Charlie nodded slowly. "That was some of it."

"What a dick," Jasper huffed. "Look, we love your daughter, Charlie. All of us, the whole family. And we'd really like it if she stuck around for a while, so believe me, we're not prepared to let her die."

Charlie nodded again and scrubbed his hands over his face "Right. Sorry."

"Are you mad at me?" Bella asked her dad nervously.

"For what?" Charlie asked with a single huff of laughter. "For sleeping with your husband on your honeymoon? Even I'm not delusional enough to think you'd stay a virgin forever."

Bella laughed but she blushed while doing it.

Charlie sighed and reached for her hand. "There's nothing to be mad at you for. I'm confused and scared, but no, I'm not mad at you."

"So how about we tell you the real story and you can tell us just how much bullshit Edward spewed at you?" Leah suggested.

Charlie nodded and settled back into the seat to listen. He had to admit that some of the stories lined up, but while Bella, Jasper, and Leah were using the word baby to describe the fetus, Edward had told him there was a 'monster' inside Bella that would kill her if she didn't 'get rid of it'. Charlie's reply had been to tell him that he knew his daughter wasn't a monster, so there was no way she could create one, so was Edward trying to say he was a monster? Bella's husband had nodded and looked him straight in the eye and said "Yes, I'm a monster."

Fearing that Edward was getting close to speaking the word 'vampire' out loud, which Charlie had learned by that point should never be done, he shifted the conversation in a different direction. He asked why Edward was standing in his kitchen if he was so worried his wife was on the verge of death. Shouldn't he be at her side, supporting her? Edward had looked anguished for a moment before shaking his head. "I can't watch that," he'd said. "I can't watch that thing kill her."

Eventually, Edward got around to the real point of his little visit. Because Bella wouldn't listen to him, maybe she would listen to Charlie. If he told her that she needed to 'get rid of it' in order to save her life, maybe Bella would do it. Edward had already told him that Bella didn't want to have an abortion, that she was adamant about it, so Charlie had looked at him steadily for a few long - and slightly uncomfortable for Edward - moments and then he walked to the front door and opened it.

When Edward didn't immediately follow him, Charlie cleared his throat. "I think it's time for you to leave."

"Charlie–"

"No," Charlie had cut him off. "We're done here."

Edward had sighed and tried again. "Charlie, please–"

"Get out of my house, Edward."

After that, he'd stomped off in a huff and Charlie had just sat right down on the steps to try and process everything he'd heard. Then he'd call his daughter.

After they'd told Charlie almost everything, only leaving out a few details, Jasper hesitated a moment before offering Bella's dad the one piece of reassurance he thought might convince him that what was growing in Bella's stomach was not, in fact, a danger to her. Or to any of them, for that matter. "Charlie, I can tell you with absolute confidence that the baby isn't a monster, regardless of what Edward said. And regardless of what we are."

Charlie shook his head. "While I do respect you, Jasper, you can't know that. There's no way to be sure," he said. Seeing the flash of hurt on his daughter's face, he was quick to clarify what he meant. "I don't think the baby's the monster Edward made it out to be, Bella, even if only because I don't think you could create one. I only meant that it could hurt you. Just with how fast it's growing…"

Leah was looking at her imprint with sharp eyes. "I know you, Whitlock. What aren't you telling us? You of all people would never make a statement like that without some kind of facts backing you up. So spit it out."

Jasper looked at Bella a little nervously, not sure how she would feel about it. Not only that, but his family was about to learn that Charlie already knew about his gift. "I can say that with certainty because I can feel him," he told her.

Bella's shock was so great that she froze completely for a solid five seconds. "You can feel the baby?" she whispered once her brain came back online.

"Not until a few hours ago, but yeah," Jasper nodded. "It's faint, but it's there."

Bella's face went through a myriad of expressions before settling on worry. "Is he okay?"

"As far as I can tell, he's perfectly fine," Jasper reassured her. "Your anger earlier made him feel… well, like I said before. Restless. I'm not sure how else to describe it. He's not feeling your anger as his own, but it made him uncomfortable," he said, feeling like he was doing a terrible job explaining it. Seeing the alarm on Leah's face, he was quick to reassure her too. "Not uncomfortable in the 'I need to get out of here' way, just in that he doesn't like it."

"And other than that?" Bella asked, holding her breath.

Jasper gave her a soft smile. "Other than that, he's mostly just feeling contentment. He appears to be at least slightly aware of the world outside of the womb, because when you were rubbing your stomach earlier, there was a little flash of what I can only describe as love," he told her. "Maybe not a flash," he corrected himself after a second. "More like a gentle wave."

Bella surprised herself with how steadily she got to her feet and practically threw herself at the empath, who caught her with a laugh. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she whispered.

"I wanted to tell you before now but I was hoping to do it when we had some privacy," Jasper said with a smile.

That was a lot for Charlie to absorb, but when he opened his mouth, none of his many questions came out. "Him?" he said quietly instead.

Bella carefully pushed herself back to standing, thanking Jasper and Leah when they both put a hand out to steady her, and looked back at her dad with a little smile. "Yeah, I think it's a boy."

Charlie just nodded. Then he shook his head. And then he huffed an incredulous laugh. The whole situation was wild. Beyond wild. It was completely outside his realm of understanding.

Leah started laughing at his expression. "My mom's coming by, want me to see if she's left home yet? I can ask her to bring you some of my dad's not-so-secret stash," she offered.

"I don't think whiskey is what I need right now, Leah," Charlie chuckled.

Leah gave him her best innocent smile but he saw the mischief in her eyes. "Why not? Bella loved it."

Bella glared at her, but there was no heat behind it. She was actually glad Leah was lightening up the atmosphere and making Charlie laugh while he was being hit with so much information that was legitimately crazy. "I most certainly did not love it. Jasper practically forced it on me!"

Charlie turned to Jasper and damn if he didn't have a killer disappointed-dad face. "I didn't force it on her!" Jasper defended himself with a laugh. "I just strongly urged her to have a sip. One sip, that's all. I wanted her to be able to walk down the aisle without my help and she'd been hyperventilating for hours by that point."

Charlie just laughed and nodded because he knew Bella had been a wreck on her wedding day. Though looking back now, with the way the days since had played out, maybe he should have questioned her more about whether or not she was sure she was ready to marry Edward. No, Charlie knew how much Bella loved him. If she still loved him now was the real question. And if she did, could she forgive him? But he knew those were questions for another time.

"What do your parents have to say about all this?" Charlie asked Jasper instead. He knew by now, of course, that Esme and Carlisle weren't his actual parents, but that was the cover story they went with in town. Leah had told him that the rest of the Cullens didn't know that Charlie was aware of the supernatural world and they were trying to keep it that way.

Which was just another reason for Charlie to be angry at Edward Cullen.

Leah and Jasper, and even Bella, had repeatedly emphasized that it was dangerous for Charlie to know anything about Jasper and his family, but Edward had just thrust him right into the thick of it. Not that Charlie regretted knowing about what was happening with Bella, because he was grateful he could be here for her now when she needed him. But Edward certainly hadn't given a thought to Charlie's safety. Or if he had, he'd dismissed it as unimportant.

And now here they were, and the Cullens were going to find out that he knew a little too much.

"Wait," Charlie cut Jasper off when he started to answer him. Then he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Do I need to be worried?"

"Worried about what?" Jasper asked in confusion.

Charlie looked uncharacteristically nervous and then he rolled his eyes at himself a little. "They're not going to… I don't know, turn me in?"

Jasper barked a surprised laugh. "You're worried my family might report you to our government?" he asked incredulously, making Bella giggle a little.

"Well, how am I supposed to know?" Charlie huffed. "All I know is that it's an automatic death sentence if I know anything. And while I might not know what you are, I don't think any of us can deny that I know something isn't quite right," he said, gesturing at his daughter's stomach. Even though he'd said 'vampire' in the quiet of his own mind, he would never admit it or speak it out loud.

"Yeah," Leah laughed. "But it's a death sentence for them too, so I'm pretty sure you're safe."

Charlie nodded. "Right. I knew that but my brain is…" he trailed off, not sure what his brain was.

"Broken?" Leah helpfully supplied, making Charlie give her a flat look.

"You're hysterical."

"I know," Leah said with her best haughty nod. It was the one Rosalie had been teaching her.

Charlie just smiled at her before looking back to Jasper. "So. Your parents?" he asked, figuring they should get back on track.

"Carlisle and Esme are both here and I have no doubt they'd be happy to talk to you and answer any questions you have," Jasper answered. "But if you want to know where they stand in relation to Bella, they're behind her. The entire family is. No one in this house will make excuses for what Edward's done, and that includes the fact that he came to you and pulled you into this without knowing how Bella felt about it."

"But Leah was telling you the truth before," Bella cut in. "I was going to call you and ask you to come over. I wanted to talk to you but I just needed to figure out if I could do that while still keeping you safe. And obviously that point is a little irrelevant now, thanks to Edward, but Jasper thinks everything will be fine if we just keep going forward the way we have been."

Leah snorted a laugh. "You know, where you notice all the weird stuff but don't ask any questions about it."

"And we already told the family that you know about the wolves and that you know we're different, but nothing more than that," Jasper added. "And the only reason we decided to tell them now was because Bella was planning to call you. She wanted to tell you what was happening. She's strong and she's brave, but it's natural for her to be scared and, at the risk of overstepping my bounds, I think she just wanted some support from her dad. We just hadn't gotten around to explaining that part to the others before you called."

Charlie looked at Bella and she was smiling at him with a look of hope in her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her again and had to blink a couple times when his eyes started to sting a little. So much of his little girl's life had passed without him being there on a daily basis, and because of that, the two of them didn't have the same kind of relationship that many fathers and daughters had. Which was something he would always regret.

But now? Not only did Bella need support, but she actually wanted it. From him.

Charlie held her a little bit tighter. He wasn't sure about a lot at the moment, but he knew he'd never let his little girl down. As long as she wanted his support, as long as she wanted him by her side, that's exactly where he'd be.