A/N: Alright everyone, my last story was done real quick and was very stressful, this time we are going to go a little slower with an update only once a week on Sunday. With the difference in updating I'm also going to try something new, I'm going to try putting a little saying at the beginning that goes along with the theme of the chapter. Tell me what you think and if it goes well I'll do it for other stories. :)

~Miss. E. Thompson

Chapter One: A Child

Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not;

and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Why did she have to go? I thought everything was perfect. A nice house, a stable job and marriage, a little girl to brighten our days. But instead she's unhappy and she takes not only herself, but my little girl away from me. She took her and now I'm left with only this empty house and two sick parents that need more help each day that goes by.

"Charlie. You need to stop this. She's been gone a month and your killing yourself. The judge said that you have shared custody. You'll have her every summer." Billy said trying to get me out of this bed. What did he know? He had his loving wife and twin girls. His life was perfect and mine was falling apart.

"Charlie, you're getting out of that god damn bed if I have to drag you out myself. I'm not going to stand by and watch you waste away and die on me Charlie. What about your parents they need help and if you are this bad when Renee sees you next she'll refile for sole custody and you'll lose your little girl, Charlie. Now help yourself and get out of that bed." Billy demanded. Lose my little girl? No, I can't lose her, not when I've already lost Renee. I slowly pulled myself out of bed and stared at Billy as he stood in front of me.

"Good." Billy said with a nod.

"Now go shower, shave and get dressed. Sarah's making dinner and you're going to come and eat with us. I'll wait downstairs." Billy said and walked out of the room. I waited for him to get down the stairs and settle on the couch before I got up and made my way into the bathroom. The ride down to Billy's was quiet and long. Sarah prepared a large dinner I knew was delicious but I couldn't taste it. I thanked her and endured the long ride back to my empty house. I started for the fridge, but was stopped by a hand wrapped around my arm.

"You have to work tomorrow and need sleep. Sleep that doesn't come from passing out drunk each night." Billy said and walked into the kitchen taking all my beer and pouring it down the drain. I glanced at the answering machine and saw the red flashing light that indicated a message. I pressed played and waited for the message to run through.

"Charles Swan, this is Anne Lyle from Child Protective Services. It would be much appreciated if you would come to our Port Angeles office tomorrow at six thirty. Thank you." A slow woman's voice said before the beep ending the message.

"Why would Child Protective Services be calling me. If something had happened to Renee wouldn't they want me to come to California to get Bella?" I asked Billy and he shrugged. He looked concerned, but he only knew as much as I did.

"The only way to find out is to go to the city office tomorrow." Billy said.

The next day after work I made my way to Port Angeles to meet with Child Protective Services at the office downtown. When I walked in there was a blonde receptionist at the front desk typing away at a computer. I stood there for a minute thinking she would look up to see what I needed, but she didn't.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" I asked and the clicking finally stopped and she looked up at me.

"Can I help you, sir?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yes I got a call from an Anne Lyle informing me to come here at six thirty." I said and she nodded before clicking a couple of things on her computer.

"Yes, Mr. Swan she is expecting you. Go up the stairs to your left to the second floor. Ms. Lyle's office is the fourth door on the right." The receptionist said and I thanked her before following her directions. When I came to the door I knocked and waited.

"Come in." I heard from the other side of the door and turned the knob to open the door. The office wasn't very big. A decent sized desk stood on the far side of the room with two stairs standing in front. Behind the desk looked like a woman in her mid thirties with light red hair in what looked like a light grey pant suit.

"I'm Charles Swan. You called telling me to come here." I said sticking my hands deep in my pockets.

"Yes, I know Mr. Swan, will you please take a seat? We have a lot to discuss." She said picking up a pair of glasses.

"Tell me. Do you remember a woman by the name of Kalona Hightop?" She asked me and placed a picture in front of me. The picture was of a native woman with long dark hair and bright green eyes. I remembered her. She had become a friend when I had stayed in Seattle for some classes for the department about three years ago.

"Yeah. We were friends when I lived in Seattle for a couple of months." I said and looked up at the woman across the desk.

"Do you remember having a relationship with this woman?" She asked and I tried to think hard, but didn't come up with anything.

"No." I said shaking my head.

"Well she has been taken into the legal system with some charges against her. Her daughter has been left into our custody till a family member could be found. When we did DNA testing to find a match in the system we found you as a paternal match in the system." She said cutting to the point. My mind raced. Her little girl was my daughter? I had already lost one to her mother and now I have another that I never knew about.

"Are you sure? This isn't a mistake or some joke?" I asked and Ms. Lyle shook her head.

"I have some paper work for you to fill out and sign. After the paperwork is done we have to wait for the judge to sign a termination of Ms. Hightop's parental rights. This should all take about a week and then you'll be allowed to take your daughter home with you." She said and closed the file she had been looking at and taking off her glasses.

"What's her name? When's her birthday? Do I get to meet her before she comes to live with me?" I fired off questions that had started to build in my mind.

"Her name is Sunieva Peyton Hightop. She was born May 12, 1986. You will get to meet her later this week, we can set up a meeting with the family that is fostering her." She said flipping through some of her paper work.

"Is there a way to change her last name to mine?" I asked and Ms. Lyle nodded closing her files.

"Once you have custody you can file with a judge to legally change her last name to Swan, but the current files have to remain Hightop till Ms. Hightop's parental rights are terminated.

"Will Kalona be allowed excess to the files to find her daughter once her legal troubles have cleared up?" I asked fearing that once she was out and back on her feet that she could take my daughter away from me. I knew that I had just learned about her and that I had yet to meet her, but I already loved her and didn't want her to be taken from me like Bella had with my divorce from Renee.

"No. When her parental rights are terminated she will no longer be given access to anything concerning her daughter. She will never be allowed rights to her again and unless you or your daughter choose she will have no contact with her daughter." Ms. Lyle said and I nodded and starting filling out the paperwork that was needed. When I was finished I handed the paperwork over to Ms. Lyle and she looked it over before setting it to the side and folding her hands in front of her.

"Before and after you are allowed custody, agents will have to check your residence and observe how the two of you handle living together." Ms. Lyle said before clicking around on her computer.

"I will be in contact with you in the next 48 hours to set up your meeting with Sunieva. It has been a pleasure meeting you Mr. Swan and I hope everything works out for you and your daughter." Ms. Lyle said and stood to shake my hand before I left. I left the office in a daze and made my way back to the house. Once I stepped in the door and set my keys in the bowl by the entrance I started looking around. I had basically left the house to rot with my self loathing over Renee and losing Bella. Billy was right if Renee had seen this she would refile for sole custody in a heartbeat and I would never see Bella again.

I immediately set to work. I cleaned and washed the house top to bottom. I cleared out the other room upstairs, I knew that when Bella came she would still need her room. The spare room would need a new coat of paint, it would need something for Sunieva to sleep on, it would need to be a room to live in and for Sunieva to grow up in. I would need to call Harry and Billy in the morning their daughters are about the same age, they would know what I need for Sunieva.

The next four days were chaotic. A meeting was set for Sunieva and I, I got all the things that she would need and got some advice from Harry, Sue, Sarah and Billy. After thinking it over I painted Sunieva's room a light yellow, a symbol for the word sun in her name. Sue and Sarah had gone shopping with me to get the necessary items that I would need for Sunieva. It seemed that everything revolved around the bright theme of the sun and we had started to refer to her as Sunny.

Today I finally get to meet this little girl who my life seemed to revolve around now. Ms. Lyle and the family fostering my daughter agreed to meet me at a small park in Port Angeles. Ms. Lyle met me in the parking lot and led me to the family. I could see a little body playing in the sand a couple yards away. Ms. Lyle introduced me to the couple that had been taking care of my daughter, they seemed like nice people. Once the introductions were through the woman broke away and came back holding the hand of a small girl with dark skin and glowing green eyes just like her mother's. She had dark hair pulled back in a braid, but not her mother's black hair, but my dark brown. My heart melted looking at her and sang as the day progressed and I got to learn a little more about her.

She seemed so smart for a two-year old and the smile never left her face. The nickname seemed more right the more time I spent with her. When we were forced to leave the little girl about broke my heart when she hugged me and begged me not to leave. With the promise that I would see her soon and some persuasion from the couple housing her she left. I felt my heart break a little as I had to watch her leave and get into my own car and drive away, but remained strong knowing that after this was done that she would be living under my roof and that I would never have to let her go again.

With that day came a new determination that I was going to be the best father that I could be, my daughters would never want for anything and they would always come first. I would move heaven and earth for my girls and I am going to be the father they deserved.