A/N: Y'all, I have too many characters. I keep having to make some people go for a run or hang inside and play Mortal Kombat because I'm just not a good enough writer to juggle everyone, lol. Next chapter is mostly finished so it'll be up tomorrow or Saturday. Thanks for reading:)

Gifts

When another car pulled off the main road and started up the driveway, Bree came flying out of the house with a beaming grin, startling both Bella and Charlie a little bit. Because of their current situation and the fact that Seth's school year had started, not to mention the hours he'd volunteered to help out at the clinic while they were short-staffed, Bree hadn't seen her mate in a few days.

Carlisle and Esme walked outside a moment later. "Hello Charlie," Carlisle said with a nod and a small smile. "It's good to see you again. I'm glad you could come by."

Charlie was doing his very best to keep his emotions from showing on his face. Logically, he knew the 'parents' of the Cullen family hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, according to what Bella had told him, they'd done everything right. They'd stood behind his daughter as soon as they realized she wanted to continue with the pregnancy, and they'd made it clear that they would never have tried to urge her or coerce her into doing what Edward wanted. Jasper had also emphatically assured him that Carlisle would never have performed a medical procedure on Bella that she didn't want or consent to.

Still.

Would it have killed Carlisle to give his 'son' a safe sex talk before his honeymoon?

Charlie internally sighed. That wasn't fair of him. No one in the family had known it was even possible for Bella to become pregnant by her husband who was a little 'other' so it wouldn't have occurred to any of them that a safe sex talk would be needed. Not only that, but he hadn't given his daughter the 'talk' either. One or both of them would have literally died of awkward embarrassment if he'd tried to talk to Bella about safe sex practices.

He got to his feet and shook both Esme and Carlisle's hands. "Thank you for supporting my daughter," he said instead of the other slightly rude things he wanted to say.

Esme smiled and gently squeezed his hand. "We love Bella. She's a member of our family, so we'll always do our very best to support her."

"Edward's also part of your family," Charlie felt the need to point out. "Will you support him?"

Carlisle and Esme both shook their heads. "In this instance? No," Carlisle answered. "His behavior and actions, up to and including coming to speak to you without Bella's permission, have been appalling. And we've both made that clear to him. We've all made that clear to him."

Charlie nodded, glad to hear it for himself.

"Emmett waterboarded him," Leah helpfully offered, making Charlie choke on a shocked laugh.

"He didn't waterboard him," Jasper laughed. "He just sat on him to keep him underwater for a while," he added with a casual shrug. "Repeatedly. For about thirty minutes."

Charlie… had questions. But before he could ask any of them, he saw Sue's car pull into view and park next to his. His initial reaction to seeing her and Seth was surprise. Well, Seth wasn't actually a surprise, as Charlie knew he was in a relationship with the youngest Cullen, but he hadn't expected to see Sue. After a moment of consideration, he thought maybe he understood why she was there.

Because no one wanted Charlie to connect the dots between the Cullens and the Cold Ones, Sue and Billy had never told him that part of their tribal legends. All he knew was the origin story of the spirit warriors, which had nothing to do with vampires. They'd never mentioned anything about the later attack on their tribe. When Charlie had asked about the apparent alliance between the pack and the Cullens, Sue had carefully explained that the pack's entire reason for being was the protection of humans, and that they'd been wary when the Cullens moved to Forks. Charlie wasn't at all surprised by that, because Billy had made it perfectly clear that he wasn't happy about it.

Sue had gone on to explain that, initially, the wolves felt it was their job to keep an eye on the Cullens, but that had changed slowly over time after Leah and Jasper met. She'd wanted to be honest with him without prejudicing him against the vampires, or making him think the Cullens were a danger to the humans who needed to be 'monitored' by them.

Charlie also knew about the tribal Council of Elders and who sat on it, and while he still didn't know everything about the wolves, he knew the council was involved in all of their activities.

Which led Charlie to believe that Sue was there to find information about Bella and her current situation for the benefit of the other members of the council.

He looked at Leah with a worried frown. "Is this something I need to be concerned about?" he whispered. When Leah looked at him in confusion, he clarified. "Are the council or the pack going to have a problem with what's happening here?"

Leah shook her head. "They're concerned, just like the rest of us, but it's not like they're going to attack or anything. Jared and Sam were actually here a few hours ago."

Sue and Seth, meanwhile, were shocked to see Charlie and exchanged a worried glance as Sue parked. From what Leah, Paul, and Catalina had told Jared, Bella's pregnancy was already much farther along than anything they could even attempt to explain away.

Seth was distracted when his door was practically torn off the hinges and Bree threw herself in his lap. "Hi," he laughed, hugging his imprint. He'd missed her in the few days they'd been apart. Over the summer, once he'd completed the schoolwork he had to make up from his temporary absence the previous year, he'd had all the time in the world to spend with her and not a day had gone by that they didn't steal at least a few minutes together.

After giving Bree a hug hello and dropping a kiss on the top of the girl's head, Sue got out of the car, but Seth gave himself a few minutes to just cuddle his imprint. He was curious about what Charlie Swan was doing there, but that could wait.

"Oh boy," Sue said with a quiet sigh when she walked up the porch steps and saw Bella. She'd already heard everything from Jared but it didn't prepare her to see the girl looking quite that pregnant. Rather than staring and making her feel uncomfortable, Sue went over and wrapped her up in a hug. Then she hugged Leah and Jasper and shook hands with Carlisle and Esme.

She hugged Charlie last. "How did you come to be here?" she asked him.

Charlie's face was a weird combination of rolled eyes and a jaw clenched in anger. "Edward," was all the answer he gave.

Sue immediately grew alarmed. "What do you mean? And where is he now?" she asked, wondering why the telepath wasn't with his wife. She knew Edward had behaved atrociously since finding out Bella was pregnant, but shouldn't he be here with her? From Jared and Sam, she knew he'd been at the house that morning.

Jasper got to his feet and gestured to his empty spot next to Leah. "Maybe you should sit down."

"Oh boy," she said again with another sigh. "I'm not sure good news ever follows those words," she muttered to herself as she sat beside her daughter and Charlie sat beside his.

When Jasper offered to go inside and give them some privacy to talk, Bella's panic spiked. "Will you stay?" she asked, trying not to let her fear show on her face. Because of Jasper's close relationship with Sue, and both Jasper and Leah's relationship with Charlie, Bella felt much more comfortable having them outside with her.

Jasper looked at Charlie and Sue to see if they had any objections to him intruding and they both did a simultaneous eye-roll that had Jasper and Leah laughing.

"You're a member of our family, Jasper," Sue reminded him. "Of course I don't mind you staying. I'd actually prefer it if you did."

Charlie nodded his agreement. "I know you're not an official Swan but you're about as close as it gets."

"And you're my brother now," Bella added. "Which makes you and Leah the baby's aunt and uncle."

Leah grinned up at her imprint. "Whitlock, Cullen, Hale, Clearwater, and now Swan. You've got an awful lot of people claiming you as family."

"Of course he does," Esme said, looking at Jasper with a smile. "As he should. Anyone who takes the time to get to know him finds out how wonderful he is."

Jasper just shook his head with a slightly embarrassed laugh.

"She's not wrong," Leah said. "Against all odds, you even made friends with Sebastian. And let's not forget about Paul. He dislikes pretty much everyone but he likes you."

"I think it's worth pointing out that Paul, along with the other Clearwaters and Swans, like me - or at least were willing to give me a chance - because of my connection to you," Jasper laughed. Then he decided that was enough of that conversation. He didn't like the attention being on him. "So. What do you want to know?" he asked Sue as he sat back down in his original position, on the floor with his back resting against the porch railing.

"Everything," Sue immediately answered. Then she remembered her manners and looked at Bella and apologized. "Anything you're willing to share," she corrected herself. "I, of course, want as much information as possible to help us navigate our way through this, but that doesn't mean I expect you to share any details you'd prefer to keep private."

Bella smiled and nodded her thanks. "I appreciate that. But aside from the… logistics of how the baby came to be, there's no topic that's off the table as far as I'm concerned. The baby and I both surviving this is far more important than any discomfort I might feel at talking about personal matters."

Sue figured she'd get one of the bigger questions out of the way straight out of the gate. "If it ever comes to a choice between your human life and… changing you, do you want the Cullens to change you?" she asked Bella.

Seeing the alarm on Carlisle and Esme's faces as they glanced at him, Charlie was quick to reassure them. "When Bella told me she and Edward were getting married, I knew that she would, at some point, become like your family. I've never been told any details and I've never asked for any details. But I've already accepted that this, whatever 'this' is, was likely going to be her future."

Bella scootched herself a little closer to her dad's side. She wasn't sure what she'd ever done to deserve a father like Charlie, but she was so, so grateful for him. And also angry with herself that it had taken eighteen years to realize how fortunate she was, but that was an issue for another time. "Yes," she told Sue. "If we get to a place where it's either changing me or I die, then yes, I want to be changed. But if anything happens where it's a choice between me or the baby surviving, he's the priority."

Sue just nodded. She'd already known Bella would rather be changed than to die, but she'd wanted official confirmation straight from Bella herself to take back to the council. And she honestly couldn't say she was surprised about the second part either. While she knew not all pregnant women were the same, and not all pregnant women felt the same, Sue had shared Bella's sentiment when she was pregnant with both Leah and Seth.

Knowing it wasn't a conversation they should have when Charlie was present, Sue made a mental note to ask Jasper a little more about the mechanics of changing a human into a vampire. She wanted to know at what point one of the Cullens would need to step in, and just how far gone Bella could be and still make it through the transition.

The other topic Sue knew was off limits for the time being was the question of Bella's… diet. Because the baby was half-vampire, would it need blood to grow and survive? And if so, how were the Cullens planning on accommodating that? But again, that wasn't a conversation to have while Charlie was there. Even if Sue suspected he already knew Jasper and his family were vampires, he'd never spoken about it to her. And knowing him as well as Sue did, she highly doubted he ever would.

After that, Bella, Leah, and the Cullens who were sitting on the porch told Sue just about everything that had happened.

Since Jasper had found his mate in Leah, Carlisle had done everything in his power to build trust between himself and the council, and he knew honesty and openness went a long way in that regard. There were some things that obviously couldn't be addressed just then, but otherwise, he wanted Sue to know that he would do his very best to answer any questions she or the council had. There were, admittedly, some answers and assurances that he couldn't give them, but that wasn't a lack of willingness, it was a lack of answers.

"And what can you tell me about your acquaintances in South America?" Sue asked Carlisle once she'd been caught up. She was very purposely not asking about Edward Cullen yet. She was afraid her manners would go straight out the window if she did. She was absolutely furious at him for going to speak to Charlie, not just because of his disregard for Charlie's safety, but because Edward had terrified him. What kind of person tells a father that his daughter has a demon inside her that needs to be killed for everyone's good?

Before Carlisle could start telling Sue and Charlie a little about the Amazon coven, Jasper cut in. "Would any of you mind if I stole Bella inside for a few minutes?"

Seeing his daughter was flagging a little, Charlie got to his feet. "I'll come with you," he offered. While he was a little interested in these acquaintances the Cullens had that Alice, Peter, Catalina, and Paul were off looking for, his daughter's health was more important. He could always get the gossip from Sue later.

Leah opted to stay on the porch. With Charlie inside, Carlisle could speak more freely and she was eager to hear more about the Amazon coven. She was particularly interested in Zafrina's gift. The sheer amount of mischief she could cause with a gift like that was reason enough to be fascinated.

Jasper led the tired human of their coven into the kitchen and sat her down at the table, with Charlie taking a seat beside her. While he was pulling ingredients out of the refrigerator, he gave Bella a little reminder about the necessity of speaking up for herself.

"I know it's not in your nature," he said, trying to be polite and not just say she was stubborn about it. "But right now, in this particular situation, keeping things to yourself doesn't do any of us any good. Most importantly, you and the baby. If you're hungry, you need to eat. If you're tired, you need to rest. If you're emotionally overwhelmed, you need to take a break. All any of us want to do is help get you through this, but we can't do that if you keep quiet about your needs."

Bella sighed and nodded. "I know. I just hate being a burden."

"A burden?" Jasper scoffed. "You're a lot of things, Bella, but a burden isn't one of them."

"You forgot a need, brother," Rosalie said as she walked into the kitchen. "Hi, Charlie. It's nice to see you again," she greeted him politely. She hadn't spent much time with the man but she'd liked him on the occasions she had. Most of her positive feelings towards him, though, were because of the way he'd accepted Jasper after he and Leah met. When Jasper had told her that Charlie called him 'son' the first time they went fishing together, Jasper's eyes had lit up. It had warmed her cold, dead heart to see that look on his face.

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked, carefully moving the eggs around the pan just the way Leah had taught him.

"Her 'human' needs," Rose answered, putting human in air quotes because it was what Bella said whenever she needed to use the bathroom.

"What's a human need?" Charlie asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"It means I need to use the bathroom," Bella explained, her cheeks blushing pink. "Speaking of…"

Rosalie helped Bella stand up, then made sure she was steady before letting her go. "Do you need help?"

Bella snorted a laugh. "I'm not that far gone yet," she answered. She'd honestly rather die than have Rosalie help her with that particular task.

As soon as Bella was out of the room, Rosalie sat down across from Charlie and looked at him seriously. "You do understand that it is vital that you keep all of this information to yourself?"

"Rose," Jasper said with a tired sounding sigh while he rinsed some broccoli.

"No, it's fine, Jasper," Charlie reassured him before looking at Rosalie and giving her an understanding smile. "Yes, I do understand the need for secrecy, and I give you my word that I will never betray your family's trust or the council's. Sue tells me you're a protector just like Jasper, so I understand your need to hear it from me."

Rosalie looked at him in surprise, then turned to look at Jasper. "You've been gossiping about me?"

"Of course," he shrugged. "What else do you think we talk about?"

Rosalie laughed and shook her head. "So I'm assuming we'll be seeing more of you around here?" she asked Charlie.

He nodded. "As long as no one minds."

Charlotte walked into the kitchen then and glared at Jasper. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Cooking," Jasper laughed. "You really think I'd spoil Emmett's fun while he's kicking your ass at Mortal Kombat?"

"He didn't kick my ass," Charlotte huffed indignantly.

"Yes I did!" Emmett hollered from the living room.

Jasper smiled to himself. Not only did he not want to spoil Emmett's fun, but he knew it was Emmett's way of keeping himself occupied while everyone was talking on the porch. All of the Cullens had big voices and were used to most conversations, at least ones that affected everyone, to be family-wide affairs. But they'd been staying inside to not overwhelm Charlie. Even Seth had stayed down in the driveway with Bree. The two of them were listening to everything but they were giving the group a little bit of room.

Charlotte huffed again and stomped her way over to the table. Her huff didn't last long though, because she didn't want to be rude to Bella's father. "Hey Chief Swan," she greeted him with a smile as she plopped herself down beside Rosalie.

Charlie returned her smile. "You know you can call me Charlie," he reminded her. Charlie hadn't done all that much socializing with Jasper's sister from Texas, but he'd heard a lot about her. And based on what he'd been told, he was predisposed to like her.

"Charlie!" Emmett greeted him in his typically exuberant way, practically throwing himself in a chair and propping his chin in his hands. "How do you feel about football?" he asked, still angling to watch a game with Bella's dad. "I'm a Seahawks fan myself. And Vols, obviously, if we're talking college," he added, hoping it would be enough of a hint.

Charlie just smiled at him. Emmett seemed like a fun guy to have around, although Charlie wasn't real sure why University of Tennessee was his 'obvious' choice for college ball. "I honestly don't follow football too closely but I'm happy to watch a game with you sometime."

"Yes!" Emmett cheered, shooting to his feet again and darting back out of the room. "I'll go look up the schedule!" he called over his shoulder, making Charlie chuckle. "You've got yourself a good one there," he said to Rose.

Rosalie nodded with a soft smile, grateful for anyone who saw how great her husband was. "I really, really do."

Jasper came and set two plates on the table, one for Bella and one for Charlie. "If it tastes like shit, blame Leah," he told Charlie. "She's the one who taught me to make an omelette and it's the entire extent of my culinary skills."

Charlie just chuckled. He knew Jasper and the Cullens didn't eat human food, and he was touched that Jasper had taken the time to learn at least one thing his pregnant daughter could eat. When he saw that he'd added some spinach and broccoli, making it even more healthy for Bella and the baby, Charlie gave him a grateful, and slightly wobbly, smile.

Jasper patted his shoulder in reassurance. "Like I said, we'd really like her to stick around a while."

By the time Bella, Charlie, and Jasper went back outside, the conversation had wound down. Sue had all the information she felt she needed to go to the council with, although there were still some unanswered questions about Edward. After going to the Swan's in an attempt to manipulate the current situation to his own satisfaction, the telepath hadn't come home. And from what she'd been told, Sue wasn't altogether sure that he'd be welcome if he did show up.

Carlisle and Esme shook Sue's hand and thanked her for coming by to speak with them before excusing themselves and going back inside to give them at least the semblance of privacy.

"So," Sue said, looking at Charlie. "How are you really doing?"

Charlie opened his mouth to answer but then closed it again. He honestly wasn't sure how he was doing. His emotions were a jumbled-up mess. He was scared and confused and overwhelmed and angry, and on the other hand he was grateful that he got to be there with his daughter when she needed him.

Leah laughed a little, again, at the expression on his face.

Charlie gave her a half-hearted glare. "Just wait until it's your…" he trailed off and looked at Bella and her pregnant stomach, then he looked at Leah, then finally looked at Jasper. "Are you… I mean, can you–"

"Nope," Leah cut him off. "We're not talking about my sex life. All you need to know is that we're safe and healthy. That's it."

Bella tipped her head a little as she looked at the couple. With how chaotic her mind had been, she hadn't even thought about how this news might impact their lives. "How has this not happened to you yet?" she asked Leah. "Have you guys not…" she trailed off, just like her dad. Neither of them would ever win awards when it came to not being awkward about certain topics.

Jasper shook his head. "No, we haven't. I'm a virgin," he told them with a completely straight face. "I'm saving myself for marriage."

Even Charlie and Sue could hear the laughter from inside the house, and they turned to see Charlotte come flying out the door with a grin on her face as she looked at Jasper. "You better hope Peter never catches you saying that. You know he'll be highly offended."

Jasper just rolled his eyes with a laugh.

"Why would Peter be offended?" Charlie asked her.

Charlotte put her hands on her hips and gave Jasper her best glare. "You never told him? Why not?" she demanded. "Are you ashamed of my mate?"

"What?" Jasper laughed incredulously. "You know as well as anyone that I'm not ashamed of that. I've never been ashamed of it."

Charlie figured he'd cut in. He couldn't tell if Charlotte was actually angry or if she was teasing, but he didn't want her to have the wrong idea. "If you're referring to his relationship with Peter, I can assure you, he's not ashamed of it," he told her with a smile. "I just wasn't clear on why he'd be offended that Jasper joked he was a virgin."

Charlotte looked at him in surprise, then another huge grin broke across her face. "So he did tell you?"

Charlie nodded with a quiet laugh. "He did. He told me all about both of you and how important you are to him. He didn't tell me details, obviously, but he told me you and Peter saved his life."

Charlotte's smile softened as she glanced back at Jasper. He was one of the very best gifts she'd been blessed with in this life. "He saved us first," she corrected Charlie quietly. "So, really, we all saved each other."

"Seriously?" Bella huffed, her eyes stinging again. "Didn't I tell you to quit making me cry?"

"Sorry. I'm happy to be on my way now that I've successfully defended Peter's honor," Charlotte laughed, then she vaulted over the porch railing and darted over to Bree and Seth. "Feel like a run?" she asked them. She wasn't used to doing all this sitting around and she wanted to stretch her legs, and she adored Seth and Bree just as much as everyone else did. It also didn't hurt to have a distraction while she waited for Peter to call next.

Seth looked up at Sue and she nodded. "It's fine with me. As long as you're not out too late," she quickly added. "It's a school night."

Seth wasted no time sprinting for the small building behind the house to phase in private.

When the three of them ran off, Charlie let out a low whistle. "I didn't realize how fast you guys are."

Bella laughed a little. "Crazy, right? The first time Edward ran with me I was afraid I was going to throw up on him," she told her dad. "Looking back, maybe I should have," she added under her breath.

And there was the elephant in the room that everyone had been avoiding.

Leah figured she could afford to be the one to address it. She generally tended to be the one who just barreled in and said the thing no one else wants to say out loud, so it's not like anyone would be surprised. "How high of a chance does he have of you forgiving him?" she asked Bella. She really hoped the answer was somewhere way down near zero.

Bella was quiet for a minute as she thought about it. "Honestly? I'm not sure. Maybe if it was just his reaction to the pregnancy… I mean, in time maybe he would have come around. I feel like if he'd heard that Jasper could feel the baby's emotions that maybe it could have swayed him," she said a little hesitantly. But even if that had swayed him, would he have apologized for what he'd done or would he just continue to believe he was justified because he'd been scared Bella would die? She shook her head with a sigh. She had no way to know for sure. "But that's not all he did. That's not the only betrayal. Going to Charlie was…" she trailed off as she felt herself start to get angry again. "Well, I'm not sure that's forgivable. It was pure manipulation just to get his way and he did it without caring about Charlie's safety."

Charlie reached over and took her hand. "I'll be fine," he reassured her quietly.

"I know," Bella nodded. "Every supernatural being in the state will make sure of it," she added with a laugh. Then she sighed again. "But just because you have your own protectors doesn't mean what he did was okay. He didn't know that you were already aware of this world. He knew you were at First Beach with Sue and Leah but he didn't know you'd seen Jake as a wolf. Jasper did everything in his power to keep the Cullens from finding out what happened that night. Including making sure that everyone who did see you with a wolf kept that hidden when they were around him."

Charlie looked at Jasper. "How does that work?" he asked curiously. "How do you keep your thoughts hidden?"

"Edward can only read the current thought you're having, the one in the forefront of your mind in that particular moment," Jasper explained. "All we need to do is push something to the back of our minds or think about something else that we know he won't want to listen to so he'll stay out of our heads."

"When I first met the family, I used country lyrics," Leah added. "Apparently he thinks country music is 'common' or whatever, so I memorized the worst country lyrics I could find. Ones that were repetitive and stayed in your head for days."

Charlie chuckled and shook his head at her. "But he can't hear me much?" he asked Jasper and Bella.

Both of them shook their heads. "No. He gets the odd word here and there but apparently you're a freak like me," Bella answered with a laugh. When her dad looked at her in confusion, she realized she'd never told him that Edward's telepathy didn't work on her. And apparently Leah and Jasper hadn't either. "He can't read my mind," she explained.

"You're hardly a freak, Bella. Especially in this crowd," Jasper chuckled. Then he looked at Charlie and Sue with a smile. "We think Bella will be gifted when she's changed," he told them. Feeling the shock from Bella, he looked at her for a moment. "Edward never talked to you about this?"

"No," Bella shook her head, eyes wide. "I mean, he said that one time that Ar–" she cut herself off before saying Aro. She wasn't sure if that was a name her dad should know. "He said Carlisle's old friend was intrigued that I could block some gifts but we never talked about it after that. I guess I still just thought there was something broken in my brain."

"Seriously, if you forgive that asshole I might just have to rethink my whole rethinking of your character," Leah huffed in annoyance.

Bella laughed, knowing perfectly well that Leah hadn't thought very highly of her for a very long time. She was grateful that the wolf had given her a chance when she started trying to change some of her problematic behavior. After all, they were kind of sisters-in-law now. Or they would be when Jasper and Leah got married.

"So you really think I'll have a gift?" Bella asked Jasper, who nodded.

"We think you're what's called a shield. Shields come in many different forms but they're all protective mechanisms of one kind or another. Defensive gifts, rather than offensive. Some protect against a physical attack and some against a mental one. Your shield seems to block mental gifts."

There were a few moments of surprised silence after that, though Jasper and Leah didn't miss the proud smile on Charlie's face when he looked at his daughter.

"But you can still feel and manipulate her emotions, right?" Sue asked. "Isn't your gift a 'mental' gift?"

Jasper shook his head. "No, emotions aren't just housed in your mind, your body physically reacts to them. So when I use the pathokinesis aspect of my gift, I'm actually altering those physical reactions, not just creating an illusion in your mind. In Bella's case, what's shielded is her mind. So gifts like Edward's telepathy won't work on her, but gifts like mine will. The same holds true for Alice's visions. She can see Bella because her gift doesn't have anything to do with Bella's mind, it has to do with her physical body. Where she physically is in time."

Charlie blew out a heavy breath. This was the most he'd ever discussed the vampire world, even if no one was calling it that, and it was a lot.

Bella gently squeezed her dad's hand. "It's a lot, huh?"

"Yeah," Charlie laughed. "Yeah, it is."

Leah smiled at how overwhelmed he looked. "It may be a lot, but you just discovered you're a gifted human. How exciting is that!"

"Me?" Charlie asked in surprise.

Even Sue laughed. "Yes, Charlie. Your thoughts are partially hidden from Edward. That means you also have a shield of some kind," she pointed out.

"The cop with the shield," Bella said with a smile, nudging her dad with her shoulder. "It makes sense. And I obviously have you to thank for mine, so thank you."

Charlie got all puffed up with pride at that. Not only was he a gifted human, but he'd made it so his daughter was a gifted human, too. And gifted in a way that meant her nosy, manipulative, controlling husband couldn't pry his way into her head.

Charlie gritted his teeth as he felt his fury rising. He wasn't so much angry at Edward for the specific reason of coming to talk to him, but he was beyond pissed that he'd done it purely to manipulate Bella into doing what he wanted. And hearing how Edward had treated his daughter from the moment she realized she was carrying this baby… well, Charlie thought it would probably be in everyone's best interest if he didn't lay eyes on the telepath for a long, long time.