Tooth and Claw

Preparations

When Charlotte returned to the Cullens house after her time with Seth, she found the whole family sitting in the lounge, with solemn looks on their faces.
"What's wrong?" Asked Charlotte.
"The police are sending 2 people around tomorrow, to talk to you" revealed Carlisle.
"Tomorrow! But that's too soon. Can't you stop them" begged Charlotte.
"I can't. I've delayed them as much as I can, giving us an extra two days, but I can't hold them off any longer"
"But I can't speak to them. I could've killed Charlie earlier. It's too soon for me to be around humans, you said so yourself. I'm still too dangerous".

"You proved today that you can control yourself. And this time we will be able to prepare you, like we did with your father. They going to come here to talk to you, so that you don't have to go anywhere. I've also told them that they can't talk to you for too long" admitted Carlisle.
"I can't. I can't do it" replied Charlotte.
"Yes, you can. And you have to. We don't have any other options. They are coming tomorrow whether you like it or not. But I will be by your side the whole time, so you don't need to worry. Jasper will be keeping you calm before they arrive, and he'll do his best to do so while they're here. Edward will also be able to read your mind, so he'll know if you are going to attack them, and he can stop you before you do. We are also going to go hunting tomorrow morning, just so that your thirst is completely under control. Due to everything you've been through, you aren't going to want to get too close to them as they are strangers, which will help us explain why you are keeping your distance. The further away from them you are, the easier you will find it".

"I don't even know what I'm going to say to them" admitted Charlotte.
"Well we've got over 12 hours to prepare you, and tell you how to answer their questions" reassured Carlisle.
"It's not that I don't know what to tell them. I am well aware of what I can and can't tell them about all this... It's the personal stuff about my past, that I'm worried about talking about. They are going to ask me questions about my father that I'm not going to want to answer. They're going to want details and descriptions about things that I've never told anyone. I don't want to have to relive everything that I've been through" Charlotte said quietly.

"I know how hard this is going to be for you. And you've been so brave already, that it seems cruel to ask you to do more. But your fathers revelation about your mother, changed things. We wanted to let him go, so that you wouldn't have to go through all this. But we can't do that now, as there is now more than one charge being pressed against him... He killed your mother, and don't you think she'd want you to do this for her?" Asked Carlisle.
"She would want me to be strong, and do what's right. My father committed a crime, and he needs to pay for his actions. So to make sure that he doesn't go free, I guess I will have to be brave" sighed Charlotte.
"We will all be here to support you" Esme promised.
"Thank you" Charlotte said quietly.

"Now, we have lots of contact lenses here, but I'm afraid none of them will match your original eye colour exactly. But they should do the trick, and mask your current eye colour, while the police are here. Although your eyes will dissolve them eventually" admitted Carlisle.
"Wait, why do I have to wear contact lenses? I thought we were claiming that I've got some rare disease, which is why my eyes are red" replied Charlotte.
"We are still going with that story, to explain your skin colour, but no illness turns its victims eyes as red as yours are, especially not perminantly. And we can't just think about now, we have to plan for the future. You can't go walking around outside with bright red eyes, as it would attract far too much attention"
"Fine, I'll wear the stupid lenses"
"Good".

"I know that your transformation has given you a new found confidence that you didn't have before, which is amazing, but it would be good if you didn't show it to the police. They are expecting to see the damaged victim that we've made you out to be. So that is what you will need to be" instructed Carlisle.
"Don't worry, I expect the things they are going to make me talk about, will make a damaged victim again anyway" sighed Charlotte sadly.
"You won't have to play that part for long. Just until they leave. And as I said earlier, they won't be staying long"
"I hope not, for their sake not mine, as I don't know how long I will be able to control myself for"
"Don't worry, I'm sure everything will go according to plan. Alice would've seen if something was going to go wrong"
"That's reassuring".