Charlotte Swan had been sitting on a log on the banks of First Beach out on the La Push reservation for nearly two hours.

She had been enjoying the slightly sunnier and somewhat warmer weather while she could.

Given that she he had lived in the small neighboring town of Forks for as long as she could remember, she knew enough to know that the weather there was extremely unpredictable at times.

The 14-year-old also had a lot on her mind at that particular moment, and sitting on the beach, staring out at the crashing waves as she currently was doing, was one of the methods that she used every so often to calm her thoughts.

The reason she was feeling anxious at that particular moment, though, had nothing to do with her life in Forks or anyone in it, for that matter.

You see, Charlotte had recently learned that her birth mother, a woman named Wendy Case, had actually been trying to locate her for well over a decade.

According to what Charlotte's adopted father Charlie had told her, the Child Services worker who had tracked him down explained that her mother apparently never intended to give her up for adoption when she was a baby.

Since he was already aware that his biological daughter Isabella was set to move back to Forks after the new year, Charlie had suggested that the two of them could drive down to where her mother lived so that she could have a chance to meet her and maybe get to know her.

Charlie still recalled how she had responded to this suggestion.

"Suppose we go down there, and I decided to stay there with my mom. I really don't want to leave you here alone, Pops."

Charlie had assured her that he was well aware of the possibility that she might decide to stay in Charming permanently.

As much as he hated to admit that there was a slim chance, he was perfectly fine with it.

All he had ever wanted since he first took the now fourteen-year-old into his home was for her to be happy, even if that meant she wasn't in Forks with him.

As she continued to sit lookibg out at the ocean, Charlotte couldn't stop thinking about how the whole mess with her birth parents was extremely complicated, to say the very least.

From what Charlie could somewhat understand, her mother's parents had somehow secretly given Charlotte up for adoption behind her their daughter's back and had later refused to give her any information about where she ended up or who adopted her.

It both angered and saddened the fourteen-year-old to know that her own grandparents had done that to her mother, even if she had no idea why they'd done it in the first place.

"Char! Hey, Char!"

The teen in question was suddenly jolted from her thoughts at the sound of her best friend Jacob's booming voice. She turned and spotted the young man coming towards her, an adorable lopsided grin on his chiseled face.

Jacob plopped down on the log next to Charlotte, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"Whatcha doing out here all by yourself, lil bit?"

Charlotte giggled before explaining that she'd decided to come out to the beach to try and clear her head about her and Charlie's upcoming trip to Charming, which was set to happen that weekend.

"I know that I shouldn't be as nervous as I am about finally getting to meet my mom, but I can't help it, Jake. Especially since I found out that she never actually wanted to give me up for adoption in the first place. Don't get me wrong; I absolutely love my pops and will always be grateful to him for everything he's done for me over the years, but-"

As he usually was able to do, Jake knew exactly what his best friend was trying to say. He pulled her closer to him, wrapped his other arm around her, and rested his cheek against her blonde hair.

"You're worried that you might realize that you want to stay in California with your mom instead of coming back here with Charlie? Does that sound about right, little one?"

Charlotte didn't answer out loud and simply nodded her head before curling her body closer to Jacob's side.

"Charlie would definitely understand if that's what you decide to do, Char. I mean, I would definitely be sad if you don't end up coming back here, but like Charlie, I just want you to be happy and content. If that's not here but in Charming with your mom, then that's okay too."

Charlotte knew deep down that Jacob was right. All he and Charlie had ever wanted for her was to see her happy, even if that meant she wasn't in Forks with them.

Slight time skip to later that night just cause lol

Charlotte ended up having dinner at Jacob's house with him and his dad, Billy, who was one of Charlie's closest friends and was also like an uncle to her. The two Blacks also made sure that she got back to her and Charlie's house safely, thanks to Paul Lahote, a friend of Jacob's who also lived on the reservation like them.

Paul even made sure that she had gotten inside the house safe and sound before pulling out of the driveway in his truck.

Charlie was already home by the time his daughter arrived. He was relaxing on the couch in the living room downstairs watching some sports highlights when Charlotte plopped down next to him.

"Hey there, kiddo. How was dinner with Jake and Billy?"

The teen assured him that she had enjoyed eating with Jacob and Billy, making sure to mention that one of Jacob's friends from the reservation was nice enough to drive her home afterwards, as neither she nor Jacob currently had their license.

"Paul, that's Jake's friend, even made sure that I got inside without a problem before he actually drove off."

"That's good. I know that a lot of people around here kinda look down on the Lahote boy because of his temper and other things, but I've always viewed him as a good kid."

"Me too, Pops. I'm pretty sure that most people are just listening to stupid rumors that they've heard about him. Paul seems like a decent guy. "

Charlotte watched TV with her father for a bit before announcing to him that she was heading up to bed for the night.

"Sounds good, kiddo. I'll be heading up in a bit myself. Oh, before I forget, there's a chance that I might not be able to make the trip to Charming with you this weekend."

"Did something happen, Pops?"

"Something pretty big came up at work that they need all hands on deck to handle. I actually spoke with Carlisle Cullen about maybe seeing if his wife could take you down there if I'm not able to. I know how close you've become with her and the rest of her family since they all moved here a year and a half ago."

Yeah, I am. I love hanging out with Rosalie and Alice. Emmett, Jasper, and Edward are pretty cool too. What did Esme say about it by the way?

"She's actually assured me that she'd be more than happy to drive you down there if I'm not able to. I'm really glad too. I mean, I know how nervous you are already feeling about this whole situation. I was honestly worried that it would get even more so for you if we had to put it off, especially seeing as how Bella's coming to stay right after New Year's."

Charlotte agreed that she was definitely extremely nervous about finally getting to meet her mother, but she was also really glad that he had figured out a backup plan for them.

Bidding Charlie goodnight, the teen headed upstairs to her room to get ready for bed. She quickly changed into her pajamas before heading into her adjoining bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face as she did every night before going to sleep.

Heading back into her room, Charlotte crawled underneath the covers on her bed and did her best to relax enough so that she could fall asleep.

She was successful, finally falling asleep a short time later.

A/N: The first chapter of this story is done!

Please feel free to vote and comment below to let me know what you guys think!

I hope that you all have a great day/afternoon/night depending on where you may be, stay safe and remember that you are all amazing, beautiful and make sure to stay safe out there!!
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