Catharsis
By Mama4Dukes
Chapter 11:
Alison Uley and Charlie Swan both sat back, breathless, after they disentangled themselves from each other’s arms.
“Oh, Charlie, that was amazing,” Alison cooed.
He wrapped his arms around her. “It would be nice if we could make love in an actual bed at some point.”
“Tell me about it,” she groaned, frustrated. “If only we didn’t have the kids to consider, but we love them, and it’s our job as parents to provide a comfortable environment for them.”
“Ali, I think we’re coddling them. Bella is eighteen and Sam is nineteen. They’re going off to college in August. They’re imprinted, and they’re secure in their relationship. It really isn’t fair to hide our relationship from them. They deserve to know.”
She sighed. “You’re probably right.” She climbed onto his lap and nuzzled her face into his neck. “I love you, Charlie. I love you for being so darn reasonable whenever I’m being unreasonable.”
“Well, hell. I love you simply because you’re you. You’re perfect for me. Marry me, Ali. Marry me so we can spend the rest of our lives loving each other. Marry me so we don’t have to sneak out in the police cruiser or my truck to make love in the woods.”
“We could always take my Camry.”
“I don’t know if my back can handle that.” He grabbed his lower back for effect, and then grinned. “Will you marry me, Ali-if not for me, for the sake of my spinal health?”
“I will, Charlie. I’ll marry you as soon as can be.”
“For me or for my spine? It really doesn’t matter to me, which you choose, as long as you marry me, but it would be nice to know that you’re marrying me for me.”
“Silly man, I’m marrying you because I love you. Should we tell the kids?”
“Absolutely. We’ll do it this weekend.”
On Saturday night, Bella and Sam found themselves wondering why they were sitting across from their parents at Bella Italia in Port Angeles. They were acting very strange-at least the parents were. The kids were forced into cancelling their plans with their friends, and they just wanted the meal over with so they could at least make the 9:30 movie that they’d been waiting three weeks to see.
“So what gives, Mom? Why are we at Bella Italia? We never come here unless we have something to celebrate.”
Celebrate? Unfortunately for Bella, this restaurant was a reminder of all those times that Edward would bring her so she could have a nice meal, during which time he’d watch her eat the mushroom ravioli and milk that he’d ordered for her.
The waitress stopped by at the table to welcome them and drop off the menus.
“Welcome to Bella Italia. My name is Jenny. Our specials today are Gnocchi in a Spinach Sauce, Veal Sorrentino-which is veal in a light brown sauce, and Gamberi Imbottiti-which is shrimp stuffed with a crab filling covered with a red sauce. Our soup of the day is Minestrone. Let me just leave you these menus.” Suddenly, the lady recognized Bella. “Oh, it’s you. I was wondering why I haven’t seen you in a while.” She eyed Sam, and then nodded her head. “Oh, you have a new boyfriend. Do you want the usual? A mushroom ravioli with milk.”
Everyone at the table turned to her. It was her father who spoke. “How can my daughter afford to come here so often that you recognize her? And why would she order mushroom ravioli? She doesn’t like mushrooms.”
Jenny looked alarmed at first, studied Bella carefully, and then said, “No, it’s definitely you. I’d recognize you anywhere even without the hot guy with the Rolex watch. Anyhoo, I’ll just leave you guys to peruse the menu, and I’ll be back in a few minutes to take your orders.”
She began to walk away. “Excuse me,” Bella called. “May I have a menu?”
“Are you sure you want one?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Well, okay.” The waitress looked unsure, but left her with a menu and then quickly departed the table.
“Alright, Bells. I want an explanation now. As far as I was concerned, this was your very first time here. The waitress recognized you as a frequent customer.” All three pair of eyes were on her expecting an explanation.
She let out a deep sigh and grimaced. “Edward Cullen used to force me to eat here twice a week. He’d order mushroom ravioli and milk for me and watch me eat, while he read the minds of all of the humans around here. He, especially, enjoyed reading Jenny’s mind. Apparently, she thought Edward was attractive and wanted to do many inappropriate things with him.”
“And he didn’t even give you a choice as to what meal you wanted to order?” Alison asked her.
She shook her head. “No.”
“Well, Charlie. I believe a change of venue is in order here. What say you to going to the steakhouse across the street?”
“You don’t have to change restaurants. There are actually many delicious sounding dishes that I want to try here. Stop coddling me-both of you. I’m stronger than you think.”
Sam squeezed Bella’s hand and gave her a smile, while Alison and Charlie looked a bit apprehensive. Eventually, they looked through their menus and decided on their dinners.
A few minutes later, Jenny brought out their meals. “Okay, so we have a Clam Linguine for you, ma’am. We have Tuscan Filet’s for both of you handsome gentlemen.” Then she turned to Bella. “And I have a Chicken Saltimbocca for you. Are you sure you don’t want the mushroom ravioli? They can whip it up for you in a jiffy.”
“I’m a hundred percent positive.”
The waitress looked unsure. “Well, if you’re sure. Here, I brought you a glass of milk on the house.”
“Thank you.”
They ate their meals appreciatively. Bella Italia really did have great food. The parents asked them about school, college, the pack… in fact, they were more curious than usual.
“Okay, why are we really here?” Sam asked. “You should both know that we haven’t made a decision about where we’re going to college yet. We don’t even have all the acceptance letters yet.”
The parents turned to each other with worried expressions, and then resolutely turned to face their children.
“Well, here’s the thing, Alison and I have been seeing each other since Christmas. We love each other, and we’re getting married. We’d like your approval and blessing.”
Neither of the kids had been expecting that at all. Sam started shoveling more steak into his mouth while Bella sat with her fork suspended in the air, her chicken ready to enter her mouth.
“Did we surprise you?” Alison asked.
“Just slightly, but it doesn’t mean I’m not happy for you.” Bella stood up, walked to Alison’s side, and gave her a hug. “Welcome to our family.”
Sam, meanwhile contemplated all that he’d just heard. He had always thought of his family as just his mother and him, but when he really dug down deep, he imagined that his mother must have been lonely all these years. It couldn’t have been easy being a single mother with an ex-husband in jail.
Sam knew that Chief Swan was a good man. He recalled running into him every now and then throughout his life. Charlie would always encourage him to do his best, even during those dark years when he was a high school dropout. Instead of chastising him or looking down upon him like most people did, he always had supportive words to give him. Sam also knew for a fact that he had been a sounding board for his mother for many years. Yes, Charlie Swan was an upstanding citizen, a very good and kind man, who would protect her with everything he had in him. Yes, he was perfect for his mother.
Sam stood up and approached Charlie. “I can’t imagine a better husband for my mother. I know you’ll take really good care of her. She needs someone to take care of her and love her because she has a generous heart. Just, uh, don’t expect me to think of Bella as my sister because that would be too weird.”
Charlie stood up. “Come here, boy.” And gave Sam a genuine, fatherly hug.
After that moment, they all sat down to finish their meals and discuss the wedding, which they were planning on having during the kid’s Easter vacation in April.
“And Bella, you’re my maid of honor so I expect you to help me plan this,” Alison said.
“I will. I’m so excited!”
“You and I just have to show up,” Charlie told Sam. “We’ll let the girls do all the planning.” He flashed a smile at both Bella and Sam. “You kids are going to love this part. What we were thinking of doing was having the wedding in Hawaii. Since it’ll be just our immediate family attending the wedding, meaning we’re not having any guests, we’re going to keep this on the down low for now.”
This wasn’t a problem for Bella and Sam. The whole situation was going to be weird to explain. Bella chuckled to herself. It was actually very Cullen-esque to have the parents married and the step-kids dating.
“Does that mean we get to go to Hawaii?” Sam asked.
“It sure does. It’s our wedding slash honeymoon, and the two of you are coming along for the ride.”
“Awesome! I love the beach.”
After having dessert, Bella and Sam headed off to the movies, while Alison and Charlie rushed off to his house so they could actually make love in a bed. They even gave the kids until two am to get home.
April quickly approached and the soon-to-be combined Swan and Uley families arrived in Hawaii. The parents were completely exhausted because Charlie had booked them on an eight am flight, meaning they had to leave for the airport at three am.
“I told you that you should have booked us on the five pm flight,” Alison chastised.
“Hey, we have the entire day to sleep. Look, it’s only eleven am in Hawaii.”
“This is so exciting,” Bella chortled.
“Why are you kids so awake?” Alison asked. She was having trouble keeping her eyes open.
“We slept on the plane. We had six whole hours,” Sam explained.
“Alrighty, let’s get our rental car and get going,” Charlie suggested.
After asking for directions three times and one bathroom stop later, they finally arrived at the hotel. “Oh my God! This is so beautiful!” Bella exclaimed.
A shirtless man in a grass skirt, draped a lei around her neck, and welcomed her to the hotel. “Oh, wow!” She put her phone on camera mode. “Can someone get a picture of us? The girls will kill me if I don’t send a photo of me with him. Wow!”
“What the hell, Bella?” Sam asked.
“What? You’ll always be the only one for me, but damn, this guy is like Magic Mike material.” She cleared her throat. “I apologize for objectifying you.”
“No, problem, pretty lady. I get that a lot. You can come see me perform every evening, on the stage, by the pool, at five pm. It’s free for all guests.”
“Oh, we’ll be there!” Alison agreed after she received her lei. “Won’t we, Bella?”
“Absolutely!”
While Sam huffed, a beautiful woman in a grass skirt and a bikini top approached him, placed a lei around his neck, and welcomed him to the islands with a kiss on the cheek.
“Okay, fair enough. You get a picture with him and I’ll get one with her,” Sam agreed.
After Charlie received his lei. A bellman actually snapped photos of them with the lei attendants, and led them to the front desk to check in.
“Okay, you kids are in room 501 and 503. We are in room 607.”
“We each get our own rooms?” Sam asked.
“Of course you do. Ali and I want our own room. It is our honeymoon, after all. You kids are just a couple of doors down from each other.”
“Cool!”
They all went their separate ways. Apparently, the parents were going to get a quick nap in. They were given twenty dollars each to get some lunch and then sent off to their rooms. Bella and Sam found they were, in fact, in adjoining rooms right next to each other.
“We probably shouldn’t tell our parents we’re in adjoining rooms, should we?” Bella asked.
“Hell, no.”
“We’re not sleeping in separate rooms, are we?”
“Nope.”
“Am I going to be losing my virginity at some point this week?”
“I can guarantee that.” Sam nodded his head.
“Oh, good, because we were looking for a perfect setting. If this isn’t one, what is?”
“Don’t know,” he replied and pulled her into his arms and onto his bed. They didn’t emerge until a few hours later when their stomachs started growling in hunger.
“Bella, this is the life. I don’t have to wear a shirt. I can be barefoot and in my swim trunks all day. My girl is in her bikini looking gorgeous. I can live like this. Maybe we should go to college in Hawaii?”
“We’d never get any work done.”
“This is true. Plus it’s expensive here.”
“It is. I can’t believe they wanted sixteen bucks for just a burger and fries. They only charge three bucks for the burger and two for the fries at Sully’s-and we usually split the fries.”
“I know. I’m still hungry, too.” Sam rubbed his belly, just as his phone rang.
“ Samuel, where are you and Bella?” his mother asked.
“We’re walking along Waikiki Beach, why?”
“ Well, come and meet us back at the hotel lobby. We need to get some shopping done.”
“Sure, sure. We’ll be right there.” After ending the call, he told his imprint, “We have to head back. We’re being hailed.”
“It’s no problem. Your mom told me earlier that we needed to finalize a few things anyway. The wedding is tomorrow.”
By the time they returned to the hotel, the parents were already in the car waiting. Charlie drove them to a large shopping plaza about ten minutes away.
“Hey, Daddy, can you buy a couple more bathing suits for me?” Bella asked. “I only have the swimsuit I have on. The elastic went on the other one.”
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll go with Bella and buy her bathing suits and you go with Sam, Charlie. He needs swim trunks anyway.”
“Good idea, Ali. I know you don’t want me to see your dress.”
“That’s right.” Alison reached out for Bella’s hand. “Are you ready, sweetie?”
“I am.”
They took off to a store where they had ordered Alison’s dress ahead of time. She tried it on for a final fitting. It was a beautiful, long, off the shoulder, A-line dress in an all white Hawaiian floral print. Charlie would wear an aloha shirt in a matching print.
“I don’t think it needs any alteration whatsoever, ma’am. What do you think?” the saleslady asked. “You look so beautiful.”
“Oh, I love it. Thank you. Now, Bella, let’s try your dress on.”
Bella’s dress was a simple A-line tank dress in bright purple with white hibiscus flowers printed on the fabric. Sam had the matching aloha shirt.
“I think we should bring up the length just slightly. I can have it ready for you in an hour,” the saleslady said.
“That sounds wonderful. I can’t have my future step-daughter not look perfect.” Alison paid for everything and headed off to a different store to buy herself and Bella some bathing suits. She was having the time of her life. Never in a million years, did she ever thing she’d be able to have some girl time with a daughter. And such a wonderful daughter, she’d be. She realized that the day she met Bella Swan changed her life for the better.
“Ooh! A Sephora! Let’s buy some makeup,” Alison suggested.
“Makeup? I don’t know a thing about makeup.” “Well, then, today is your lucky day.”
“Do we have to?”
“Indulge me, Bella. I’m getting married tomorrow, and I’ve never had a daughter to spoil.”
Bella hugged Alison. “You spoil me by just being you.”
In another store at the same mall, Charlie was spending time getting to know Sam. “Alrighty, where do we buy swim trunks at?”
“I don’t know. My mom usually handles that.”
“Okay, we’re not helpless. We can figure this out.” They walked a few meters before Charlie spotted some people with what looked like burgers. “We should get some food first. I heard it’s not good to shop on an empty stomach.”
“Now, you’re talking,” Sam chortled excitedly.
After having some teriyaki burgers with some macaroni salad along with a frozen fruit smoothie, they were finally ready to conquer their shopping.
“Well, look what we have here, a shop with bathing suits. Do they really have to play the music so loud, though?”
They left the store armed with three pairs of swim trunks each, two pairs of shorts each, a couple of t-shirts for Sam, an aloha shirt for Charlie, flip flops and sunglasses for each of them, a baseball cap for Charlie, and even a new backpack for Sam. They hadn’t intended on purchasing so much. It was just that the salesgirl was so attentive to them-the skintight dress she was wearing had nothing to do with it.
“Hey, Sam, look over there-an ice cream stand! Do you want some?”
“Oh, yeah!”
“Let’s go, son.”
Charlie realized at that moment that he enjoyed having a son. He imagined they would be hunting and fishing together, and maybe going to Seattle to catch a few games. Maybe the girls could tag along with them and do some girl stuff together. Yes, it was going to be wonderful to have a family. He just knew it.
“By the power vested in me by the State of Hawaii, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” the minister stated.
Alison and Charlie were married on the beach at sunset, the day after their arrival in Honolulu, with their children by their side. They looked happier than they ever looked. Following the wedding, they went to a luau where they were the honored couple. Afterwards, they threw some money at their kids and informed that they were not to be disturbed until breakfast, the day after the next.
Bella and Sam didn’t mind. They were having the time of their lives, walking along the shoreline, visiting the little shops, and just simply being together.
They returned to the hotel room around midnight and decided to hunker down for the night. “Should we sleep in my bed or yours tonight?”
“You pick,” Bella said. She peered at his bed, which was loaded with the shopping bags from yesterday. “My bed.”
“Good idea.” He picked her up and carried her, dropping her on the mattress, and falling right beside her. He pulled her into his arms and melted right into her lips.
Before they knew it, the couple had divested each other of their clothes, and they’re hands and lips were exploring every bit of naked skin they could.
“Bella, I don’t think I can stop this time,” Sam whispered desperately.
“Then don’t. I don’t want you to stop.” She traced his lips with her fingers, and looked earnestly into his eyes. “I love you, Sam Uley. I will never stop loving you.”
Sam took her fingers and placed them on his heart. “I love you, Bella Swan. I’ll love you forever.”
They took their relationship to new heights, expressing their love to each other with their bodies. And later, they watched the dawn break across the horizon from their balcony overlooking the beach. Sam had claimed Bella as his imprint in earnest, marking her, and infusing an indelible part of himself within her.
The following few days, after the newlywed Mr. and Mrs. Swan reluctantly left their hotel room hideaway, they sought their children and took them sightseeing all over the island of Oahu. They drove around the island, ate shaved ice, tried their hand at surfing, tried to find their way out of a pineapple maze, went to the Polynesian Cultural Center, and went on many hikes. At one point, Sam actually had to phase into wolf form and chase away a bunch of wild boar that surrounded the family.
“Well, that was handy,” Charlie chortled. “Had we been in Forks, I would have at least had my sidearm with me, but I don’t have it with me here in Hawaii. Ali, honey, are you okay?”
She was standing with a dazed expression, her eyes transfixed on the spot where her son had just recently phased. “Oh, I will be. It was just a bit of a shock to see my son transform into a wolf.”
“Wasn’t it cool?” Bella asked. “This is the second time I’ve seen him change. It’s so neat!”
“Yes, dear, it was very cool,” she agreed.
A week after they first arrived in Hawaii, the newly combined family reluctantly returned home to Forks. The parents had made an executive decision. The family would live in Forks during the week, and La Push on the weekends. Charlie spent the entire weekend in La Push anyway, he didn’t see that changing anytime soon.
Alison and Charlie had spent the six weeks prior to the wedding, renovating the basement of the house in Forks so they could have a nice, new master bedroom with a full bathroom. They also, with the kids help, repainted the entire interior of the house and purchased new bedroom furniture. Bella’s furniture from her room in Forks was moved to her new room in La Push.
“Okay, kids, we’re home.” Charlie said. “Tomorrow, scratch that, it’s past midnight so it’s already Sunday, we need to get some groceries in the house. Get some rest kids. Goodnight.”
The parents took off for their room downstairs, while Bella and Sam climbed up the stairs. They stood in the hallway staring awkwardly at each other.
Sam finally broke the silence. “Which room? Yours or mine? Because I’m not sleeping alone.”
“Uh, what if our parents come upstairs to check on us?”
“So, you want to sleep in our own rooms?” Sam asked. “Alone?”
“My room. Just clear out by six because that’s when Daddy comes in to check on me, and he’ll probably check on you now, too. Hang on, it’s Sunday, so you’re good until seven.”
“Got it.”
“This is going to be so weird,”
“Yeah, but we’re good with weird.” Sam chuckled, and took Bella’s hand, so he could fall asleep with her in her arms.
By mid-week, everyone in both Forks and La Push knew that their beloved Chief Swan had tied the knot with the effervescent Alison Uley, henceforth known as Alison Swan. They were happy for the couple and wished them the very best, but it was also known that their kids were dating. The townspeople wondered, how in heck the family was going to handle the fact that the new stepsiblings were actually boyfriend and girlfriend.
They stopped dwelling on it, though, figuring that Alison and Charlie were both sensible people, and their kids had been dating even before the parents. Besides, they weren’t blood relatives so it was okay. In any case, the situation was nowhere near as strange as those odd Cullens who used to live in the area-now that family kept it all in the family.
Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction 
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