Love At Sunset

Forks, Strange Name Indeed

Annalise drew impatient as she sat in the parlor of the small house in Arizona where her foster mother now sat, jumping excitedly in her seat. Next to Annalise sits one of her foster sisters, Jasmine, who had been napping quite some time before and now sits quietly, yawning occasionally. They were currently waiting on two people, one of them being their other foster sibling, Piper, and the other being their soon to be new step-foster-dad, Phil.

"We have such exciting news for you girls, I can't wait! I wish they would hurry up already!" Renee, their foster mother, exclaims and frantically glances at the door.

"Ma, calm down, they'll be here soon." Jasmine speaks in the best southern belle accent she could muster, it was something she loved doing, speaking in different accents until she spoke it as if it was native to her.

Annalise rolls her eyes and leans against the sofa, she spoke very little since they left Charlie, their foster dad. She and him were very close. And now, she felt even more sadness as she watches her mother get closer to another man. She knew it was for the best, but oh how she yearns to have the perfect family once more.

"We're home, honey!" Phil calls out and Renee jumps up and dashes out to the foyer to drag in a frazzled and confused Piper who was thrown to the sofa in haste.

"Ma, what's going on?" Jasmine asks, playing with her hair with a bored facial expression.

"We're moving to Jacksonville!" Phil and Renee exclaim and the girls all shout with the opposite reaction that they had hoped for.

"But my school!"

"My friends!"

"The kids!"

"What kids?" Jasmine quirks an eyebrow at Piper who shrugs, "I don't know, seemed appropriate at the time to say it."

"Well, honey, we didn't know you would be this disappointed." Phil frowns a little as Renee pouts at the girls, "Yeah, we thought you would be excited at the least. Gosh, okay, go upstairs, let me talk to Phil."

The girls scramble upstairs, grumbling under their breaths at the bad news as Annalise ponders a minute before hopping down a few steps and sticking her head in the entry of the living room, "Mom?"

Renee looks up after wiping a few tears to appear strong for her middle child, "Yes, dear?"

"I was thinking... Could we move in with dad, then? For a bit?" Annalise chews her lip, awaiting an answer as her mother thinks over the thought, glancing at Phil as if to confirm, "Well, would you three prefer that?"

Almost immediately, the other two bound downstairs and nod eagerly, "It's been a while since we saw him, Ma. I think it will be good."

"Alright, then. Pack your bags, we'll drop you at the airport once we buy the tickets." Phil sighs and the girls squeal with glee before giving their foster mother and step father a huge hug, "Thank you!"

Meanwhile....

"Have they decided on their path, yet?" A voice calls out from the darkness, and the strained voice whispers, "Yes, they have. They will go to Forks."

"Interesting, well have the signs ready. We must prepare them before the hour hits."

"Yes, Master."

Back to the girls...

"So Dad lives in Forks? Why name it such a strange name?" Piper asks, confused, as she was barely a tot when she was last there. Annalise shrugs, being the middle child she got a bit of their foster father, but still enough for automatic bonding.

"It's a special town, Pippy. Pops was always in love with this place since he moved here." Jasmine comments as the girls drive to the address given by their father, Charlie Swan. He had work that day and could not pick them up on time. So he had sent someone to give them his car for the day. 

"I hope there's cute men here." Piper grumbles before sighing, "At least it's someplace familiar."

"We start school tomorrow, girls, so please be ready on time." Annalise adds as they arrive at the wooden two storied house that sits tilted a bit. She slips a little as she goes up the steps, mumbling curse words before arriving to the door.

The girls all settle in and soon their father walks through the door, "Girls?"

"Pops!"

"Dad!"

"Daddy!"

All three yell back and scramble to the foyer to greet their foster father who glances in every which way before clutching his daughters in love, how he had missed them all. Each had the most different looks, yet all of them were his children, regardless of blood.

"Piper, your hair!" He exclaims as he eyes the reddish maroon that embodied the blond locks his youngest used to have. Piper giggles and nods, "Yeah, you like it?"

"It certainly fits you." He whispers in an after thought before smiling at Jasmine who clings to his right arm, her bright eyes looking up at him in amazement, "And you, what accent are you trying now?"

"A southern belle."

"Suits you, doing good, my dear."

Finally, he glances in front of him where his ever so patient middle child awaits his attention, simply watching the exchange. He smiles softly at her calm expression before saying, "And last but certainly not the least, Annalise. How are you?"

"I am well, Dad. I missed you." She smiles genuinely, giving her father another surprise hug, initiating the first official hug. The others join in and for a moment everything seems perfect.