AN: What is this? 2 chapters in 1 day? Don't expect this to be a normal thing, it's just been super slow at work lately. As always, if you recognize it, it does not belong to me and i make no money from this.

Ashland, Oregon

Bella and Charlie had stopped for the night in Ashland. Their talk about the supernatural nightlife, as Charlie called it, had come as a revelation to them both. Every secret that Bella had been keeping from her adopted father had come spilling out. In return Charlie had explained everything that he knew about the nightlife as well as everything that had been happening with Brian over the past few years.

Learning that Brian had been free to come and see her as an FBI agent, but had chosen to keep her in the dark, was devastating. But after going through everything with James, she could understand wanting to keep the people you loved out of danger. And hearing about the criminals that he had taken on and beaten left her with more than a few chills.

She couldn't say that she had totally forgiven Brian for everything he had done. But if he were to show up in front of her today, she wouldn't immediately throw him out or refuse to speak with him. She would probably still hit him though. Multiple times. Charlie said that he hadn't been answering the burner cell that they usually communicated through, but as soon as he got in contact, she would have the chance to talk with him.

Charlie smiled to himself as he watched Bella stare mindlessly at the TV in their shared room. After hearing everything that she had gone through at the hands of the blood drinker, he refused to let her out of his sight. The fact that it would keep Edward from sneaking in was just a plus in his mind.

And hadn't that been infuriating? Hearing that his daughters' teenage boyfriend was sneaking into the house every night to watch her sleep made him want to reach for his gun. The fact that he was a vampire who wanted Bella's blood above all else just made it worse in his mind.

He was already going over ways to keep the damn kid out of his house at night. Automatic lights attached to motion detectors might be good, if they could catch the faster than sight movement. A contact alarm that went off when the window was opened past a certain height was definitely being installed. He was considering the benefits of video cameras covering the entire outside of the house when Bella interrupted his thoughts.

"Charlie? Are we going to tell the Cullens that you know?"

Glancing out the window to ensure that there was still enough light to keep the bat eared boyfriend away for a little while longer, he turned to face Bella.

"I would prefer not to. One thing that my informant made very clear was that humans who know either turn or die. The only reason I wasn't put through that was the fact that we never directly addressed what I did or did not know. And the fact that most beat cops in large cities have some knowledge of the nightlife helped as well."

"Other cops knew?"

"I'm sure they did, but it's not something that we talk about around the water cooler or coffee maker. It's one of those unspoken rules of serving on the force. I tried bringing it up to my training officer the first time I saw something, and he just gave me a look. Told me he didn't know what I meant and to get some sleep. Next time we had a shift off he came over with a bunch of other rookies and made us watch Fight Club. I got the message pretty clearly after that."

"Oh. That makes sense I suppose. So we just, what? Pretend everything is normal? Go back to the way it was before?"

Bella sat on the bed across from him, playing with a lock of her hair. Her cast made it difficult for her to face him head on, but she did her best.

"Pretty much yeah. Except I would like you to spend more time around the house. I've missed you Bella, and I do want to spend time with you. We don't have to sit around and watch sports, or go fishing. I just want to spend time with you before I lose you."

"Lose me? What are you talking about?"

"I told you Bella. Humans who find out about the nightlife are either forced to join or die. And given that you are involved with Edward, it's more than likely that you will be joining up. I've met new members before. It's never pretty when they are around humans. The Cullens will most likely fake your death when you join, which will make it pretty hard for you to come over for a visit, especially since I would prefer not to be put in the same position."

"You'd make me choose? Between them and you?"

Hearing the heartbreak in her voice, Charlie couldn't help but get up and wrap his arms around her.

"God no! Never baby girl. But it wouldn't be safe, for either of us. If anyone were to ever find out, we could both end up dead. And from what my guy said, it's sometimes hard for new members to hold onto human memories. I will always love you, and if there is ever a safe way for me to see you after you join, I will make it happen. But I don't want you putting yourself at risk, not for me. You understand?"

Bella nodded, her head still buried in his shoulder. She had never really thought about what would happen to Charlie if she were to join the nightlife. But at least he wasn't abandoning her over the possibility. He was just trying to keep her safe, no matter what.

"There is one other thing we should discuss before we get home."

Looking up at him, Bella's brow furrowed in confusion. She thought they had covered everything there was to discuss. Did he have another secret to tell her?

Clearing his throat, Charlie grimaced before announcing,

"You're grounded."

Edward hovered outside the window to Bella's hotel room in Ashland. He wanted so badly to slip inside and check on her, but she had texted him that she and Charlie were sharing a room tonight. He knew that Charlie was a deep sleeper, and he could probably sneak in without being noticed, but Bella had told him not to.

Ever since she had gotten out of the hospital things had been different. First she refused Carlisle's offer of flying her and Charlie back to Washington, choosing instead to drive. And then she didn't allow him to come along with them on the drive, insisting that it needed to be a father-daughter thing. And then today, they had parked the car in the sunniest part of the parking lot and there was no cover for him to stay close and check on her. They had sat in the parking lot for 2 hours, and he had been too far away to hear a thing! He'd been forced to hide in Carlisle's car with the tinted windows up half a mile away.

What if Charlie was forbidding her to see him? What if she was telling him what really happened?

How was he supposed to keep her safe, if he couldn't stay with her? So consumed with his worry over Bella, he almost missed the opening of the hotel room door.

Only, it wasn't the Swan that he was hoping to see. And he couldn't use his speed to get away without being caught on camera.

"Hello Edward."

Chief Swan (and he was definitely Chief right now, not Charlie) stepped out of the room, before closing the door behind him. The man studied him for a moment before jerking his head toward the parking lot.

"Let's talk, you and I, huh?"

In silence, the two walked over to the bench that sat on the edge of the parking lot. Edward felt nervous, though he knew he had nothing to fear from the human in front of him. But not being able to read Charlie beyond the emotional tenor of his thoughts made it difficult to understand how this would go. Finally, the silence got to him and he felt the need to blurt out,

"How did you know I was here?"

Because Bella had sworn that Charlie thought he was back in Forks, waiting for their return. And yet, Charlie wasn't surprised to see him lurking outside the motel room in the middle of the night, in a different state.

"Your dad's car isn't exactly low-key. And I know how to spot a tail."

While both of these were true, it also helped that Charlie had contacted a few California Highway Patrol friends and asked them to keep an eye out for the Cullen vehicle and let him know if they saw it. Fixing Edward with a stare, he waited, his eyebrow raised for the young man to say something.

"I, uh, I just…I wanted to make sure that she got home alright. With her leg."

Deciding that there was no good reason to have been caught following his teenage girlfriend and her father home across 3 states, Edward quit while he was ahead.

"Uh huh. You do realize that some people could take being tailed in a car across 3 states the wrong way, right? And the fact that you are lurking outside the motel room, in the middle of the night doesn't make it look any better?"

Edward nodded guiltily, praying that Charlie would let him off with just a lecture. If Emmett ever found out…

"So here's what's going to happen. You are going to book a room for tonight and then get on the road tomorrow. I'll let you join Bella and I for breakfast beforehand. You will then drive straight home, because if I catch you following us again, I will call up whatever local police we are near and have them detain you for violating the vehicle code. Bella wants to stick around and catch a couple of shows here in Ashland, so we'll be home in a few days. And I will be checking to make sure that you make it back to Forks in a reasonable amount of time."

"I understand. And I am sorry, I just got so concerned…"

"I appreciate that. And I can understand where you are coming from. But you need to break this habit of yours. I'm making allowances due to Bella's near-death experience, but if this sort of thing continues, you and I will be having a much more official conversation regarding stalking laws and appropriate behaviors. We clear?"

"Yes sir, absolutely. Won't happen again." God he hoped that Emmett never found out about this.

"And I will be calling your parents in the morning to let them know where you are. They must be worried about you by now."

With that final parting shot, Charlie strolled back to his room, waving a hand goodbye.

"See you at 8:00am, Edward."

Emmett was never going to let him live this down.

Just outside of Jerudong, Brunei, Island of Borneo

Brian smiled as he put away the last of the shopping. He, Mia, and Dom had chosen to settle down in the Brunei and with their cuts of Reyes's money had managed to find a nice place on the beach. There wasn't a large racing scene, but it wasn't that hard to cross into Malaysia and join in a few races there if they wanted something bigger than the local scene.

It had taken them almost a month to find a place to land and then another 6 weeks to find a place to buy and get settled in. Mia was finally starting to show her pregnancy, and he couldn't wait for his child to be here. They were arranging for a small wedding ceremony in a few weeks, before the baby was born. Though technically a Muslim country, they had found a small Catholic church that was willing to host the wedding for them. He only wished that Bella and Charlie could make it out for the wedding.

Mia and Elena were out looking at dresses and such in the local market, having a "girls day" that he and Dom were not allowed to intrude on. Elena showing up had been a bit of a surprise, but she had apparently called Dom after they left, asking for help getting out of Rio. What was left of the local department hadn't taken kindly to her helping rob their unofficial boss and were making her life miserable. With her husband gone and very little family left in the city, Elena had taken Dom up on his offer to join him and start fresh. It was nice to see Dom smiling again, something he didn't think he'd see after the loss of Letty.

Dom came stomping in from the garage, wiping grease off on a rag that he stuffed in his pocket. Both men know better than to leave grease smears in Mia's kitchen. She may be small and pregnant, but she was still terrifying when riled.

"Cars are looking good. Should have no issues in the race next week."

Nodding, Brian tossed Dom a Corona from the fridge, since he was already in there.

"You here from Charlie yet?"

"Not yet. Tej emailed though, said Bella had gotten her cast taken off, was stuck in a walking boot for a couple of weeks. Even sent over some pictures from her prom that he found on one of her friends' social media pages. I just hope that Hobbs actually gave them the package, you know?"

Pulling out his phone, Brian showed off the picture of Bella that he had saved to his phone. God, his little sister was all grown up. She looked so beautiful in her prom dress, though he didn't like the look of the boy that was with her. Whether that was because he was her big brother or some other reason, he couldn't tell. But something about the look of the kid set him on edge. Hopefully when he talked to Charlie he could get things straightened out.

And hopefully Bella would be willing to talk to him. Mia had finally convinced him that he needed to reach out to his baby sister, try and mend fences.

"She looks good. Better than those hospital admittance photos for sure. And even if Hobbs didn't, Suki would have. Maybe you should call them. Isn't that how it usually worked? Charlie waited on your call?"

"Yeah, it is. I'll give them call tomorrow morning. It's the middle of the night there right now."

Clapping him on the back, Dom brought him out to the garage, wanting to go over a few new mods that he wanted to install. They only had an hour before the girls got back and wanted to enjoy the car time before being called in for supper. It might not have been Echo Park, but things were starting to feel like home here.

AN: I tried to be as accurate as possible when choosing the location for Dom & Co to settle down in. But all of my information comes from Google, so if it is inaccurate I apologize.