The Edge

No Place Like Home

Summary: Alice and Bella visit Charlie for the first time since Bella was changed

A Month Later

Charlie blinked slowly, his mouth still slightly agape as he observed his daughter.

She looked so different from the last time he had seen her. And it wasn't just the fact that she had gotten her hair dyed and had begun wearing coloured contacts, like Alice. Her whole demeanor was different. There was a confidence about her, and a surety of movement to everything that she did that he had never seen before. She now moved so fluidly and with such poise.

The awkward teenager that he had seen at Christmas was gone. His little girl was gone. Before him now was a woman. A stunning, controlled, confident, radiant woman.

Bella had grown so much, changed so much, and he felt like he had slept through all of it.

"Did you learn any deadly, ancient forms of hand-to-hand combat?" Charlie asked, forcing the words past his lips.

He still couldn't quite get his mind to wrap around all of the changes he had seen in Bella, but he knew that he needed to do something besides stare at her in disbelief. She had been good enough not to comment on it so far and he didn't want to push his luck.

Bella smiled at her father, and then turned her head to the side, her eyes meeting Alice's, holding her lover's gaze intently for a few seconds.

"Unfortunately not," Alice responded easily, drawing Charlie's attention over to her. "Bugs only learned about ancient Terra Cotta depictions of deadly, ancient forms of hand-to-hand combat, I'm afraid," she went on making a not-very-sad face that brought a smile to Charlie's lips. "I," Alice continued grandly, "on the other hand, learned some pretty sweet moves," she went on, moving her hands in the air in a silly fashion to keep Charlie's eyes on her.

As Alice distracted her father, Bella tried to get control of her rapidly increasing hunger. Charlie had shifted a couple minutes ago, and the movement had released a new wave of his scent into the room. She knew that Alice had detected it too because she had glance over at her when the smell reached them, but Alice was long used to such things. Bella however, wasn't so practiced, and needed a minute to try and get her bloodlust back under control.

"Oh really?" Charlie asked disbelievingly.

"Ah, you doubt my prowess as a warrior," Alice began slowly, shaking her head at Charlie in disappointment. "You leave me no choice. I must demonstrate my awesome and deadly martial powers for you," she continued standing up and moving into the center of the room.

Bella watched Alice stand, only half aware of what her lover was doing. Most of her attention was focused inwards, as she tried to control her thoughts.

She thought about sand dunes, and long grass swaying in the wind. She thought about softly shifting fluffy clouds, and sunlight sparkling over the gently rippling surface of a lake. She thought calming thoughts, pictured beautiful serene things.

She thought these things over and over again. She kept this endless loop of soothing scenarios going in her head because she knew if she didn't, that she would likely leap across the room and rip her father's throat out.

" ... you have any planks of wood around?" Alice was in the middle of saying as Bella focused on the scene in front of her once again, the venom in her mouth draining down her throat as her mind cleared and her hunger abated.

Charlie blinked at her in a daze, and then shook his head slowly from side to side.

"Jeez," he whispered finally, giving his head a good shake as Alice beamed at him.