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Charlie Swan had eaten the same breakfast every morning for almost 2 decades: oatmeal with butter and brown sugar, paired with a large mug of black coffee, no sugar. He was happy with the repetition and the predictability of such a breakfast. If he cooked it at home, it was hard to mess up, even for him. If he got it at the diner in town, it was even more predictably reliable, and it was bound to taste infinitely better than his attempts. The only times he cooked for himself were when his shift started long before the diner opened. Though Forks was a small and generally sleepy town, Charlie liked to appear professional by only getting food off the clock. He knew no one else in the town would mind (in fact, they would probably enjoy seeing him more often), but it was one of the few matters of principle in his life that he stuck to strictly.
Since Bella came to Forks, breakfast was suddenly an exciting, unpredictable affair. She liked to cook, and though she often skipped breakfast herself, she always left him something that he could manage by himself. Charlie felt a wan smile cross his face as he thought of her. She was 17, yet she acted like such an adult at times. Of course, she would never fool Charlie. Her face contained the softness of childhood, and her actions often betrayed the maturity she likely thought she possessed. Charlie knew a part of her cooking so much was because of Renée. Renée had made practically all of their meals while the three of them were a family. Not that Charlie didn’t try, per se. He had just started policework and Renée had just had Bella and when Charlie tried to cook, more often than not it ended in the fire alarm screeching at him to stop whatever he was doing. Renée always smiled and took the pan or pot from him and somehow they ate dinner every night.
Charlie was surprised to not see Bella that morning. It was a Saturday, and as far as he knew, she didn’t have any plans. Charlie knew Bella thought he was clueless, but he paid attention. Though Bella was in her true teenage years, she rarely slept in much past 9 am. It was 9:23. Charlie also had a rare day off. What with all of the animal attacks and late shifts, schedules had shifted around and the station had temporarily reorganized themselves so that the entire police department wasn’t exhausted. Charlie was standing at the sink, but he turned to regard the stove. He or Bella could cook another morning. Just as he decided he would go to the diner, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs and he turned to look at Bella.
“Good morning, Bells,” he said, surprised at how awake he sounded considering he hadn’t had his coffee yet.
“Good morning, Dad,” she responded. The police chief in Charlie heard something that made him pause, although he couldn’t quite place it. He turned back to the sink and started to wash the dishes that hadn’t gotten cleaned the night before.
“How did you sleep last night?” Charlie asked, careful not to sound too interested or suspicious. He knew how teenagers could get when they thought they were being questioned.
“Oh, fine.” She responded, although there was a note in her voice that Charlie didn’t like. She sounded...sad? Or confused, maybe? Charlie glanced at her. She was leaning against the couch, facing him. She looked so much like her mom, it almost made Charlie do a double take. But no, she wasn’t Renée and she made that very clear through her general way at approaching life. Though in outward appearance she was mostly Renée, inwardly Charlie knew he and Bella were much more similar than either thought.
Charlie knew he wasn’t the greatest dad. He wasn’t the most outwardly affectionate or the most involved. But he also had to recognize that 17 was a weird age for everyone, and even the kids from the most loving households often distanced themselves or acted out around that age. He also had to recognize that his and Bella’s relationship had grown a lot, considering she used to only see him over the summer for a few weeks. And, he had to remind himself that there was a reason she was here, and a reason she cooked for him and said goodnight every night. He was awkward, yes, but not clueless. And Bella’s actions weren’t too different from his.
Charlie knew, both through experience in being a cop and through some intrinsic knowledge as a loving father, that something was wrong with Bella. He didn’t know what, but he knew he was right. And awkward as he may be, he knew he would do everything in his power to make Bella feel alright.
“Tell ya what,” he said, setting the now clean dishes in the drying rack. “I haven’t had breakfast or coffee yet, and I’m guessing you haven’t either. Let’s go to the diner and then, if you’re not busy, you can come with me to La Push. Billy left his coat here last night.” He dried his hands on a dish rag and turned to raise an eyebrow at Bella. To his surprise, she slowly nodded, a small smile gracing her lips.
“Yeah, sure, we can do that.” she said. “I have to write my essay tonight, but I’m not doing anything until then.”
“Race you to the car,” Charlie responded, slowly shuffling off to get dressed. Bella did as he said anyway, bounding up the stairs past him with a small giggle that reminded Charlie of when she was a toddler. He smiled at the knowledge that he had made her laugh, even if it was at his expense.
They reached the car at virtually the same time. They wordlessly drove to the diner, but Charlie could swear just getting out of the house had benefited Bella’s mental state. At the diner, he didn’t even have to order. The waitress, upon seeing them walk through the door, poured Charlie a cup of coffee and placed it on his usual table. Charlie was content with his usual oatmeal, and Bella ordered pancakes.
Over breakfast, Charlie engaged Bella by asking about the essay she would be working on later that night. She explained MacBeth to him (it had been eons since he had read it himself) and detailed the thesis of her essay. With further prodding, she explained some of the finer points of her paper, such as evidence to support her thesis and evidence to contradict it. Charlie felt a swell of pride, hearing her talk about her essay. He did fine in school, but had never been the best or brightest student. Bella, it seemed, was different. She completed her assignments early and got better grades than many of her peers. Charlie worried that Forks wasn’t challenging enough for her academically, but he pushed those thoughts aside. He knew Forks High School couldn’t compare with her high school in Phoenix, but he also knew every one of the teachers at Forks High, and he knew that they were dedicated to their jobs.
They finished breakfast and left the diner, entering into the warm morning. A rare beam of sunshine penetrated the clouds and caused the redwoods around them to emanate gentle billows of steam. Charlie saw Bella smile out of the corner of his eye, but there was a hesitancy and a sadness in the smile. He noted that, and climbed into the patrol car. As they started on the drive to La Push, the last remnants of fog cleared and they found themselves squinting to look at the usually-dark ocean as the road wound through the trees and by the water.
Charlie wasn’t sure how to ask Bella how she was doing other than using the generic, ‘How are you doing?’ He knew that wouldn’t get him anywhere. He surprised himself by simply asking,
“So, Bella, what’s on your mind?”
She turned to him, obviously surprised and slightly startled. “Oh, I don’t know,” she said, turning to gaze out at the ocean. She was quiet for a moment before she said, “I’m supposed to go on a date with Edward Cullen tomorrow.”
Charlie was surprised. He remembered her mentioning him, but he didn’t recall there being any attraction, at least not that she told him about. “Well, that’s exciting.” he said. “Carlisle, I mean, Dr. Cullen is a really good doctor, you know.”
“Oh, I know.” She responded. “He checked me out when Tyler almost hit me with his car. Very kind.”
Charlie felt a pang of fear at the memory of that event. “Swear to God, Bella, we need to get you a helmet,” He gave her a jokingly stern Dad-look, and she smiled. It was quiet for a moment, and Charlie could sense some of the confusion and sadness creeping back towards his daughter, even though it was one of those rare sunny days by the coast. “Are you excited for your date with Edward?” Charlie asked.
Bella hesitated. “Yes,” She hesitated again. Charlie waited, eyes on the road as it wound through the trees. “I am a bit nervous, though.” she conceded.
It had been a long time since Charlie had been interested in a woman, but he remembered the exhilarating rush of nerves that almost always preceded a date with someone he really liked. There hadn’t been many girls before Renée, but the way Renée made him feel made him forget about all of the girls he had liked before that.
“You don’t have anything to be nervous about, Bells,” he tried to sound reassuring.
“Yeah, I guess.” She hedged. The tone in her voice made Charlie glance at her. He decided to wait a second before asking her to elaborate. Surprisingly, she beat him to the chase. “I don’t know, Edward is just...different.”
Charlie thought he knew what she meant, though his contact with Carlisle and Esme’s adopted children was limited. There was an air about them that defied perception. Carlisle carried himself in a way that made one feel simultaneously relaxed and on edge. It was an uneasy feeling that Charlie got used to shortly after Carlisle and his family moved to town.
“He’s very…” Bella added, before trailing off.
Charlie decided to be a bit more inquisitive. “Do you feel like he can keep up with you, Bells?”
She laughed, before responding, “Yes, it’s the other way around. I can’t keep up with him.”
“Bella,” Charlie said sternly, feeling a sharp edge of protectiveness creep into his voice. He glanced away from the road to make direct eye contact with Bella. She looked so young, it almost made him wince. God, were he and Renée almost that young when they had Bella? They sure felt like adults at the time.
“You can’t be in a relationship where you feel left behind or like you’re not good enough.” Bella was silent, so Charlie continued, turning from the main highway to the smaller road that led to the reservation. “You should only date someone if you feel like they uplift you, make you happy.”
“He does make me happy. Very happy.” Bella quickly interjected.
“But you can’t date someone you’re not on the same level with. You cannot feel like the lesser half, ever.” The force in his voice surprised him. He continued, fearing he may have been too harsh, “Listen, Bells, your mom was way out of my league. In a lot of ways. I loved her and she loved me for a time, but she spent a good amount of time unhappy because we were trying to make things work.” Charlie wondered if Renée had ever been so honest with Bella about their relationship. He glanced at Bella again, and purposefully softened his tone. “I just can’t stand to see the same thing happen to you, Bella. I mean, I would love it if you found someone in Forks and stuck around. I would love to get to see you often. But I also know you’re bound for bigger things. You can always come back to Forks. You shouldn’t tie yourself down to someone at this age.”
They were nearing the reservation and Charlie knew he only had a bit more time to talk to Bella in privacy before they saw Billy and whatever other Quileute community members were there that day.
“He really loves me, Dad.” Bella said quietly. Something in Charlie’s tone made him slow to a stop on the side of the road. He parked the car and turned to Bella, who looked surprised.
“Love doesn’t matter if the person isn’t right for you, Bells. Trust me, I’ve seen a lot of domestic abuse cases, and the worst part is that often the person being beaten or insulted can’t stand to leave their abuser because their abuser claims to love them. And often, in a sick, twisted way, they do. But Bella,” he didn’t stop their eye contact, “you cannot get into a relationship with someone who doesn’t see you for who you are and truly love you.” Bella just nodded, but she seemed to relax a bit. The sunlight framed her face as Charlie moved the car back into drive and drove into the Quileute reservation. He let the words hang in the air for a minute before asking, “I didn’t scare you, did I?”
“No,” she quickly responded, glancing out the window at the trees and the houses they passed. “Don’t worry Dad, you didn’t scare me.” Charlie felt a small wave of relief wash over him. Her next words surprised him, “I don’t think I’ll go on that date with Edward, though.”
Charlie just nodded. He knew better than to pry too deeply into Bella’s life, and he didn’t want her to shut him out completely. But he did feel a mix of relief and pride at having a daughter who was going to stand up for herself and not make the same choices he and Renée had made so many years before.
They pulled up to Billy’s house. As Charlie was parking, Billy wheeled himself out onto the porch. Jacob appeared behind his shoulder, stepping out of the relative darkness of the house into the light on the porch. Charlie saw him smile and wave bashfully at Bella, and thought he saw a ghost of a smile appear on Bella’s face as she waved in response.
“Welcome,” Billy called as they stepped out of the car. He nodded when Charlie held up the forgotten jacket. “I know it’s early but how late are you staying? We’re having a delicious roast later today, if you say something now we’ll make enough for you.”
Charlie looked at Bella in question. He didn’t want to distract her from her schoolwork. She smiled at him, before smiling at Billy and Jacob. “That sounds great!” she called. “I can write my paper tomorrow, Dad.” She said, ascending the stairs and awkwardly greeting Jacob, who was obviously starstruck.
“Yeah, Billy, we’ll stay.” Charlie said, following Bella up the stairs. He handed Billy the jacket, who took it with a smile.
“Perfect, there’s a game on tonight as well. We can’t miss it!” Billy said, wheeling himself back into the house. Charlie grinned. Life in Forks was predictable, yes, but as long as he and his loved ones were happy, it was a good life.