Chapter Ten
The Port Angelos Incident
Grace Cullen

"Wow, are you trying to get me drunk tonight?" Charlie teased me after opening his front door to find I had a twelve pack of his favorite beer and a pizza for him.

"Maybe." I teased him, kissing him before going to set everything down in the kitchen. "Isn't drunk sex the best kind?"

"I don't think that's a thing." He shook his head, laughing at me as he took a slice of pizza from the box.

"Are you sure? I'm sure I've read that somewhere." I laughed, taking a seat at the table.

"Pretty sure." He chuckled. "Between the two of us, I think I would know."

"True, it's been three hundred and sixty six years since alcohol has effected me. And even then that was only at communion." I smiled. "It's ridiculous to think I was a nun." I smirked at him.

"Very." Charlie laughed and I hit his arm playfully. "Ow, geez, I get it. Don't make fun of the preachers daughter." He rubbed his arm in pretend hurt.

"So, what's Bella up to this evening?" I asked him.

"She went to Port Angelos with some girls from school. They wanted to look at prom dresses early." He replied.

"Prom dresses?" I smiled. "Bella's going to prom?" I asked excitedly.

"No." He laughed. "She's too shy for that. She's just going because the girls asked her to go with them."

"Who all is going?" I asked him.

"Jessica Stanley and Angela Webber." He replied.

"Oh, well Angela is sweet. I'm not too sure about her being around Jessica though. She's worse than Rosalie." I grumbled.

"Oh really?" He smiled at me sweetly. "When did you turn into a Mama Bear?" He teased me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to overstep." I apologized. "Funny, Emmett calls me that."

"I'm actually kinda touched." He smiled, reaching over to grab my hand. "You taking such an interest in Bella."

"I know I'm nowhere near a mother figure to her, she doesn't even know we're dating, but I'm kinda excited to have a daughter after having two boys for so long." I squeezed his hand.

"So why does Emmett call you Mama Bear?" He questioned me.

"Well, Emmett was changed after being mauled by a bear while he was hiking. It was kind of a sick joke at first but it stuck." I laughed grimly.

"That's rough." He shook his head. "Mauled?"

"Unrecognizable." I frowned. "Rosalie was drenched in blood. I thought she had attacked him until I recognized the bears claw marks. She knew he was her mate, and so I had no choice but to change him."

"Couldn't your brother do it?" He asked me.

"He could've, but he was at the hospital and I was there in the living room. I had only changed Edward, Esme and Rosalie were Carlisle's, and so I went ahead and did it. I couldn't let Rosalie suffer for the rest of her existence." I explained.

"It's really that painful?" He questioned.

"What would you do if I told you I wanted nothing to do with you anymore, got up, and left never to be seen again?" I asked him in return and he recoiled in pain. "See? It's painful for you to even think about, let alone face head on, and vampires experience much stronger emotions than humans. We have one track minds."

"I can't even imagine that." He shook his head. "I need a drink." He laughed, standing and getting a beer off the table.

"Anyway, back to Bella. I would be careful about letting three young girls go off alone like that. You never know what can happen in that town." I worried.

"Bella will be fine. She's smart. She knows to stay with the girls and not wander off." He chuckled.

"Alright, if you're sure." I sighed, not having a good feeling about it. "I guess I'm just being overprotective."

We settled down on the living room sofa to watch the game then, but my feeling still didn't go away. I tried to assure myself that everything was fine. I was with Charlie, tucked into his side with his arm tightly around me, my favorite place in the world. Bella is a brilliant young woman perfectly capable of sticking to her group and trusting her instincts.

Charlie cheered about his team scoring then, taking me out of my musings, and so I focused on him and the game...putting Bella from my mind.

"Bella said she would be home by now." Charlie stated as the game ended. "Maybe you were right, maybe I shouldn't have let the girls go alone." He worried.

"I'm sure she's fine." I smiled easily at him. "Here, let me up, I need to make a quick phone call." I told him, untwining myself from him and stepping out of the back door.

"Mother?" Edward answered immediately. "Is something wrong?" He asked me.

"What are you up to?" I asked him, peering in the back window to make sure Charlie wasn't eavesdropping.

"What are you up to?" He countered me, and my mom radar went off in suspicion.

"I asked you first." I frowned.

"Fine." He sighed playfully. "I drove over to Port Angelos."

"Port Angelos?" I questioned him. "Why?"

"Can I tell you the truth and you not freak out?" He asked me. "I really need you to keep a level head mom." He begged me.

"Alright, I will." I agreed.

"I went because I overheard Bella Swan was going and wanted to make sure she would be okay." He confessed and my heart warmed.

But then I remembered that he didn't know about Charlie and I, and I became very concerned.

"Why would you follow her there?" I asked him.

"Listen, don't panic, but I picked up the thoughts of some men following after her. I went and picked her up to keep them away from her. She's fine, I'm taking her home now." He explained.

"Taking her home?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm ten minuets away." He explained. "I'll be home after that, so we can talk more then." He said before hanging up.

I stood in shock on the back porch, trying my hardest to understand why Edward would be so protective of Bella, before shaking out of it and going back inside.

"So, it seems that Edward ran into Bella in Port Angelos. Apparently, she got separated from her friends and was almost cornered by a gang of men. Edward is bringing her home now. She's fine." I told Charlie.

"What?" He paled. "Are you kidding me? Is my kid really that much of a danger magnet?"

"It seems so." I sighed. "I just don't know why Edward would've gone to Port Angelos just to watch out for her." I shook my head.

"Well, I'm glad he did." Charlie sighed. "First the van, then falling at La Push, and now this?"

"Falling at La Push?" I asked him. "When did she go there?"

"The Friday after the van accident. She went with a group of friends, but she ran into Jacob Black. He took her to the tide pools and she fell and scraped up her hands." He told me.

"Do you think he would say anything about my family to her?" I asked.

"No, I don't think he knows." He shook his head.

"Alright, well I should probably go. Edward said they were close and I don't need him picking up on me being here." I explained.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, right?" He asked, knowing I couldn't come back without causing suspicion.

"Of course." I smiled and kissed him before rushing out to my car.

After a quick detour home, I pulled into the garage and sprayed my signature perfume all over me before going in to the house. I couldn't go in smelling like Charlie's cologne or I would have an entire house of vampires asking me what I had been up to.

"Hello, Grace." Esme greeted me as I entered the kitchen.

"Sister." Carlisle smiled at me, grabbing my arm and pulling me closer so he could kiss the top of my head noisily.

"Gross." I teased him, shoving him off of me.

"Catch anything good?" Esme smiled sweetly at our interaction.

"Yeah, I had fun." I nodded, still not sure if she knew about Charlie and I or not. I wouldn't fault Carlisle for telling her, she's his wife and my sister-in-law, and so I feel like she deserves to know. But, at the same time, Carlisle respects me too much to spill my secrets. "I would've liked to stay out later, but I had a strange feeling and thought I would call and check on Edward."

"Edward?" Carlisle questioned me. "What's wrong?"

"He apparently overheard Bella Swan and her friends discussing a trip to Port Angelos and became worried for her." I sighed. "He was patrolling around the city when he overheard a gang of men's thoughts about her."

"Oh my." Esme worried.

"She's fine." I calmed her down. "Edward picked her up to avoid them. He should be dropping her off at home by now."

"Well, it's good that he was there, but I don't see why he felt such a need to follow her." Carlisle frowned.

"Neither do I." I agreed. "But I am sure I'm going to be asking him about it when he gets home."

"I'm curious as well." Carlisle chuckled as we heard Edwards tires hit the road to the house. "Speak of the devil."

"And he shall appear." I laughed as Edward came in to the room, a disturbed look on his face.

"Edward, sweetheart, what's wrong?" I cooed, immediately launching into concerned mother mode.

"I don't know." He shook his head. "I don't think I want to talk about it." He sighed.

"Is Bella okay?" I asked him.

"Yes, fine." He nodded. "I think I need to just go think through everything." He muttered.

"If we don't get our thoughts to ourselves, then neither should you." I told him, gently pushing him into a seat at the kitchen island.

"Tell us what's wrong son. It's just us four in the house. Everyone else is out hunting." Carlisle explained as he sat next to him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"She knows. About us being vampires, I mean." He revealed and we all froze up in shock.

"How could she possibly know?" I asked him.

"Apparently her dad's friend from the reservation has a son that told her. He thought it was just a silly story made up by his grandfather, but it was enough for Bella to connect the dots." He explained and I had to reserve myself from calling and telling Charlie.

"Calling Charlie?" Edward questioned me, picking up on my thoughts. "Why would you call Chief Swan?"

"It was just a thought." I shrugged. "I thought he may be able to call and keep them from spreading slander and gossip about us, but I don't think that would remedy Bella's discovery."

"No, she's not going to back down about it." He shook his head. "She made that clear enough."

"I don't see the harm in it." Carlisle suddenly spoke. "She didn't reveal anything about your involvement in the van accident, did she?"

"No." He shook his head.

"Then I don't see why she would tell anyone else about us. Even if she did, no one would believe her." Esme offered.

"Exactly." Carlisle nodded. "I just think you shouldn't worry too much about it. Give her some time to think it over this coming week. Grace can watch out for any odd signs at school and you only have one class with her, over exposer isn't likely." Carlisle explained.

"Alright, thank you." Edward nodded in agreement. "I feel better now."

"Good. That's what we're here for." I smiled at him before kissing his cheek. "You don't have to always bundle things up inside, you know."

"Yeah, I know." He smiled back at me and kissed my cheek as he drifted out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his bedroom.

"Thanks for having my back." I smiled at Carlisle and Esme as I slid into the seat Edward had occupied.

"Always." He promised me.

"Got your back sis!" Esme cheered, laughing as she pulled out a tray of cookies from the oven, and Carlisle and I couldn't help but laugh with her.

"Sometimes, when you two are thinking the same thing, I swear you look the exact same. Sure, Grace is more feminine, but you really do look identical." Esme giggled. "It's like whatever emotion is in your head shows on your faces."

"A hundred plus years apart couldn't break our bond." Carlisle smiled at me, one of my favorite smiles in the world.

"Can't stop the Cullen twins." I agreed, smiling back at him. "I just hope Edward is going to be okay." I sighed.

"He will be." Carlisle's nodded. "We just have to have faith."