Pre Edit Count –   1,560 Words

Song I listened to for this chapter: Silent Lucidity by Queensryche.

Previous:

Sam looks back into Billy’s eyes.  “Completely.  He is as dedicated to her as any of us would be to our imprints.  But he has made the decision to help her heal, and then woo her.  He is right now at a meeting that he could not get out of, but as soon as he is done he will be calling to speak with me and Charlie.  I suspect he will not mind speaking with you either.  He will be telling both Charlie and me about his race, and I have agreed to protect her, and to tell Charlie about us.”

Billy looks away, working through all this.  He finally sighs.  “I have wanted Charlie to be told since he helped with the search for you.  I know the man will keep the secret as has his daughter.  But yes, I would like to be there.  This sounds like our world will be changing yet again.  But this time I will have my Best Friend helping us.”

Sam nods and the two head into the house, intending to make the world a bigger place for the man inside who loves his daughter.

Now:

Sam walks in and holds the door for Billy to make his way through the door behind him.   They hear Dr. Gerandy telling Charlie, “I don’t understand it, considering how long we think she has been out there in the rain and cold, but she is fine.  Just get her in some warm clothing and put her to bed.  It looks like she is reacting to shock but as long as she keeps warm, she should be ok.” With that the good Dr leaves after staring at the tall Native standing there watching him.  He gives him a wide berth as he leaves, making Sam smirk.

Charlie nods as he watches his daughter on the couch before him, still wrapped in the black coat that she had been wearing when Sam had brought her out.  He is bewildered about what to do for her.  She has been so self sufficient that he had not needed to change anything he did when she moved out.  He had been relieved since he had been nervous about raising a teenager who had raised herself.  Now looking at her, he didn’t know what to do.

Noticing Charlie’s look of helplessness as well knowing that he would be uncomfortable with undressing and redressing his daughter, Sam reaches down and grabs his cellphone and removes it from the baggy he kept it in for waterproofing.  He calls Emily, knowing she is not far away, and asks her to come down and take care of Bella while he and Bill speak with Charlie.  She agrees and they hung up.

Finally looking up from the daughter that he is realizing he didn’t know and not liking the epiphany at all, Charlie nods at them, “Well, um… thanks Sam for finding her.”

Billy rolls forward and, taking the afghan from the couch, covers Bella up as he tells Charlie, “Charlie, we need to talk.  Sam has Emily coming to help get Bella ready for bed.  You might want to get some alcohol; this is not going to be easy.” He needed the alcohol and he has known about his side of the supernatural world all his life, he knows Charlie will need a drink for the shock that was coming as they turned his world upside down.

Looking at them both, Charlie frowns. “I don’t think this is the time, Billy.” How is he going to handle Bella if she doesn’t come out of it?  Call Renee?  He really didn’t want to do that and admit how much of a failure he is when it came to Bella.  The thought of Renee’s voice berating him makes him cringe.

Sam moves forward and looking into Charlie’s eyes he tells him, “This may not be the best time, but it needs to be done to save your daughter.  Don’t you agree that makes it the best time?” He is dead serious. He knows how it is to imprint.  He lost the girl he had loved most of his life.  Emily is perfect for him and the pack, but he misses Leah everyday and feels guilty for the pain she is going through.  He can see in Bella that same pain as Leah, but she has a chance at her happiness.  He has no doubt that Godric will be everything she needs.  And if he had to help take Bella away, he will in a heartbeat.

This makes Charlie rock back on his heels. He frowns and comments, “What?” This time he truly looks at the two men since they first arrived.

At this time there is a quiet knock on the door, and Emily comes in.  She smiles at the group, and when Sam indicates Bella, she gently picks the girl up and heads upstairs to change her and put her to bed.  She trusts that Sam will fill her in on the comatose girl later.  Being an RN has its uses though and she will use her skills to make sure Bella doesn’t take a turn for the worse.  She is shocked she isn’t at running a fever…

Charlie is watching Emily take Bella up the stairs.  While he does that, Billy expertly wheels himself into the kitchen and helps himself to Charlie’s liquor cabinet.  He brings back Jack Daniels and glasses for the two of them, knowing Sam doesn’t drink since it took copious amounts of alcohol for him to even get a minor buzz.

Sam gently pushes Charlie down into a chair.  He runs his hand through his hair as he searches for a place to begin changing this man’s perception of the world he truly lives in, not the polite one he has believed for his entire life.  It’s one that Sam is still getting used to and he, himself, was introduced to an even broader one this very night.

Billy hands Charlie a tumbler of whiskey.  He sighs and asks Charlie, “Do you remember the stories of our tribe, Charlie?” If he did, this would go much easier.  As easy as finding out your nightmares are real can be, that is.

Charlie’s eyes narrow as his memory goes back over the stories he had listened to as a child growing up on the reservation.  He shakes his head, as the pieces come together…

Sam nods to Billy in thanks.  He moves in front of Charlie, crouching down, looking him in the eyes and tells him, “They are all true.  The Cullens returned and I am the first in the pack.” He waits for Charlie to process this before they start on anymore.

Charlie stares at the man in front of him for a couple of minutes, then his eyes flash upwards to where Bella is.  He trembles as he asks, “Vampires?  My daughter dated a vampire?” How did he miss all the signs?  He was taught them in the past, and yet made excuses for them and the way they are! He defended them to Billy, and now that they’re gone he is finding out they were dangerous?

Sam gently corrects him, “Cold Ones.” If Charlie is going to be part of this world, he might as well use the right names.  He can imagine his coming shock as he himself was shocked.

Charlie gives him a look of disbelief and tells him, “Call it what it is, vampire.” What else drinks blood?  A vampire is a vampire.

Billy coughs into his hand pulling Charlie’s attention to him.  He then tells Charlie, “And up until tonight, Sam would have agreed with you.  After all that is what our legends imply.  But now, you need to call them what they have been named, Cold Ones. Yes, they drink blood, but our legends say they are poisonous and have no fangs. Get it straight in your head, because the rest of the information is going to throw you for a loop.”  With that he nods back to Sam. Since he has met both groups, he can tell this better.

Sighing again Sam looks away in the air, gathering his thoughts.  When he has it straight in his head, he informs Charlie, “Since I transformed, I have thought of myself as a werewolf.  I was corrected on that tonight.  By a real honest to goodness vampire, a young man, who says he is over 2,000 years ago.  He had fangs and could fly.  And Charlie, you could feel and see the years in his eyes, in the very air around him.  Nothing like Carlisle who is the oldest of his bunch.” Thinking back to his meeting with Godric, his voice holds the awe he felt in realizing the person in front of him may be older than his tribe.

He chuckles wryly. “He also smells nothing like the Cold Ones, and hates them as much as I do.  If I could call age a smell then that is what he smells of.  Along with his personal scent of the wild forests, fire and iron.  More importantly, his scent did not make me feel like attacking him, even though he was crouched over Bella protecting her from me.”

Charlie’s eyebrows went up, “Protecting Bella?  Why would he be protecting Bella?  Does he know her?” How did she meet him and why in the world does it seem his daughter is well known in this new world?

Sam smiles, trying to calm Charlie.  “When I came upon him as my wolf, I could see the pure look of wonder on his face.  It didn’t click until I was human and watching him with her.  He didn’t know what I was, and when I shifted from wolf, he told me there was no way I am a werewolf, for I am too big and I don’t smell as one.  He also shares a trait with us.” He shakes his head as he realizes this maybe the hardest part of tonight, the part he thinks Charlie will be most upset about.  He has his own thoughts if Charlie should be upset.

Charlie lifts an eyebrow and dryly comments, “Why do I have a feeling I may not like this trait?”

He couldn’t help it, but Billy laughs, a dry chuckle at himself for trusting Sam so much that he is about to battle for Bella to be with an undead.  “I won’t lie, I am not thrilled about it.  But as I thought about it, I realized that other than being imprinted on by one of our own wolves, there could be nothing better.  What do you remember of the tales of imprinting, Charlie?” He challenges him to remember, to recall why this is a happy thing…why Billy isn’t throwing a fit like he had when Bella and Edward were dating.

Sam looks on with disbelief.  He knows the Swans are considered tribe members in their books, but he is surprised at the level of information that Charlie had already been exposed to.

Seeing his surprise and guessing why, Billy tells Sam, “He was raised mostly by his aunt and uncle.  He was and still is considered a member of the tribe to this day.  You have seen the books, and know that we insisted that the Swans were members when Carlisle came for the meeting on the treaty.  So he was told all the stories, even the ones that were pulled later when the Cullens came back.” Not said was how Billy was the Chief’s son, so he was told.  Why was Charlie told too?

On the other hand, Charlie is thinking.  He looks up into the eyes of Sam and starts out evenly, “Are you telling me that some 2,000 year old vampire imprinted on my daughter,”  his voice rising to a shout.

Not batting an eyelash, Sam tells him, “Yes.  And what do you remember about the traits of an imprint?”

Charlie blinks at him.

Taking the reins of the conversation again, Billy clarifies, “The wolf’s, or vampire in this case, entire life now revolves around its imprint.  They think of nothing but her, she holds them to the earth and they will do anything to protect her.  They will provide for her and basically treat her like a princess.  They will be anything and everything she needs.  They will never leave, cheat or be anything other than the perfect mate to them.  And, truly, what can any man ask for in the man who will marry his daughter?” He tells him truthfully, the thing he would have said if it had been Jacob as he wished, or any of the wolves.

Charlie gets up and starts to pace.    He mutters his thoughts out loud. “I would prefer not to have a man who is older than Christ as my Baby’s husband.  And she is too young for him. And the wrong species.  Why can’t she meet an ordinary hot blooded boy and be normal?”

Billy can’t help himself and opens his mouth to answer when someone knocks on the door.

Charlie stomps over to the door and opens it, about to give the visitor a piece of his mind for knocking on his door at 3am.

But he stops, and instantly understands what Sam said about the pure weight of age surrounding the vampire.   He is shocked looking at the young man in front of him dressed in a shirt and tie, obviously having just removed the suit jacket that was hanging on his arm, and staring back at him.

Godric cocks his head to the side as he studies the man in front of him.  He states with a firm voice, “I take it you are Charles Swan.  My name is Godric.  May I please come in so we can talk?”

Final count – 2,113 words.

Fairfarren~Wendy