Immediate And Forever (A Paul Lahote Fanfiction)

Chapter One

[October 24, 1989*]

    Janice Lewis cussed at her husband for what he felt was the hundredth time as another contraction rippled through her swollen belly. Daniel smiled softly at his wife, squeezing her hand gently while wiping the sweat from her forehead. They'd been waiting for their little bundle of joy to arrive for nine months and their patience was wearing thin. The nurses walked in, checking her vitals and helping with the epidural before her doctor came in.

"Looks like everything is going just fine. You'll have your little girl out soon," Dr. Bracket said with a smile, tossing his gloves into the trash. And sure enough, around 4:30 that afternoon, Katherine Elizabeth Lewis was born. Janice and Daniel smile at their daughter, who was sleeping peacefully in her mothers' arms.

"I will always protect you," the young mother whispers, placing a kiss on Katherine's forehead.

[July 2000]

"Come on, Kathy, join us!" Isabella Swan, Katherine's older cousin, calls as she and Jacob Black run into the Swan household. Ten-year-old Katherine looked up from her book, watching them enter the house before sighing and placing her bookmark between the pages. They wanted to watch a movie, but all Katherine wanted to do was read about Harry running away and being picked up by the Knight Bus. She stands from her spot at the base of the tree in her uncle's front yard, wiping any dirt off of her before heading inside. Bella and Jacob were already lying across the couch, the beginning of 'Annie' on the T.V. Katherine peeks into the kitchen, where the babysitter Charlie hired was talking on the phone. The girl looked up, noticing Katherine and shooing her away.

    Kathrine sat curled in one of the armchairs reading about the discussion Harry's having with the Minister of Magic when Daniel and Charlie walked into the house as quietly as they could. After paying the young teen for watching their kids, Daniel turned and looked at his daughter. Dread welled up in his chest; how was he supposed to tell her?

"Kathy," Daniel calls, and Kathy secures her bookmark before rushing over to her father. He crouches down, enveloping her in a hug, and holding her tight. Katherine frowned; something was wrong. The child pulls away, only to be told to quickly gather her belongings. She did as she was told, quickly saying their goodbyes, and soon they were headed across town to their home. Katherine tapped her fingers against her book, the atmosphere tense as she gazed out the back window of her fathers truck. When they pulled into their driveway, Daniel put the truck in park, but made no moves to exit. Katherine stared at the side of her fathers head, waiting for something, anything to happen. Then, he looked up and turned to look at his daughter in the back seat. He studied his daughters worried expression, trying to figure out how to form the right words.

"Tonight, someone found your moms car parked on the side of the road just outside of town. When the police got there, your mom wasn't in her car. She's missing," he told his daughter, hesitating a moment before turning and getting out of the truck. Katherine sat frozen in the backseat, slowly processing her fathers words over and over again. When she finally got out of the truck, she went straight to her room. She put her book on her tiny desk before heading to take a bath.

Afterwards, curled up in one of her fathers old shirts under her covers, Katherine cried. What was going to happen now? Where's my mom? Is she okay? Would they ever find her? Uncle Charlie would find her, right? He'll save her. Question after question raced through her small brain as she cried herself to sleep.

[July 2001]

11-year-old Katherine stood outside of her childhood home, the door to the large moving truck slamming closed behind her. Daniel Lewis beckoned his daughter from the drivers seat of his truck, the moving van already driving off towards their new home. Katherine turned before running and climbing into the back of the truck. Daniel wasted no time in backing out of the driveway and taking off after the moving truck. Daniel decided to move to Seattle, much to Katherine's dismay. She wanted to stay in Forks, but after a year of searching her father gave up on looking for her mom. Daniel moved them to a two bedroom apartment with one bathroom, and was gone all the time. Katherine took the city bus to and from school, always searching for her father when she came home.

~2 years later~

    Daniel was doing okay at first, but the loss of his wife slowly crushed him. He began drinking every night after work, and then every morning. Then it turned into him popping pills every now and then, and everything escalated from there. Daniel started hanging out with friends he made at the bar, drinking and starting to take harder drugs. He got fired from work and then vanished. Only after two weeks did Katherine go looking for help. She was used to her father being gone for up to a week at a time, but it had been too long, and she'd run out of food. It was eleven at night, and Katherine couldn't stand it any longer. She unlocked the front door, something her father told her to never do when she was home alone, and wandered out into the hallway. Katherine walked across the hall and knocked on the door. When she didn't receive an answer, she moved on to the next door, and the next until someone finally answered.

"Hi, sweetie. Are you okay?" a woman in her mid-thirties asked after opening the door to see a child standing there.

"My dad hasn't come home in a long time, I think he's missing," Katherine replies, her tiny fingers tapping away on her leg. She was scared, but was also really hungry, "do you have anything to eat?"

[January 17, 2005]

    I sat in my Earth Science class, taking notes while reading the chapter we were assigned. Bella would be arriving in Forks today, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it. It had just been Charlie and I for two years, and she hasn't made any effort to see him in years. It wasn't that I didn't like her, but she hadn't been around in a long time. Why now? The bell finally rang, signaling the end of the day. I packed up all my things quickly before heading out to the bus. When I got home, I saw Charlie's cruiser in the driveway. Huh, guess they're already home. I walked inside and headed up the stairs towards my room. When I reached the top, I could hear Charlie and Bella talking in her room, but I turned right and went into my room. Charlie's house was small, with only three bedrooms and one bathroom, but it was cozy. I kicked my shoes off and sat at my desk to do homework when Charlie appeared.

"I'm gonna order take out, so you don't have to cook tonight," he says, leaning against the doorframe.

"What're we having?"

"Probably pizza," he shrugs, and I nod before he turns and walks away. I pulled out my planner, trying to figure out what homework to do first when there was a soft knock on my door. When I look up, I see Bella standing there.

"Hey," I greet her, shooting a friendly smile her way. Bella smiled back at me awkwardly, walking further into my room and sitting on the foot of my bed. She appeared to study me for a minute before striking up a conversation. We continued talking and catching up until Charlie called us down for dinner.

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Hello all, welcome to the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to sharing Katherine and Paul's story with you!

*P.S. shout out to all the Swifties!