I don't own these characters. They are the sole property of Stephenie Meyer. I only borrow them. No humans are permanently harmed through my actions, though I do confess to harassing, annoying, torturing, and exasperating them – just because it's fun. I make no money from my little stories, sad day. I only play in the sandbox, I didn't build it.

Author's Note: This is the same visit with the family that was mentioned in the earlier outtake. Someone had said they'd like to see this moment and I thought it was a good choice. Luckily, my muse agreed and cooperated.

#57 Once My Bean

I was sitting in the kitchen, which was at that point kind of the eye of the storm. It was wonderful to have everyone home, of course. But at times, I still got a little overwhelmed. Even after thirty years of getting used to all of them, they could still drive me to find a little peace and quiet. There were just so damned many of them.

Bella and Dani were catching up on things. Whatever I didn't hear straight from Dani, Bella would be sure to fill me in on, unless she was sworn to "girl code secrecy" of course. Most of the time that trumped marital status, as I had discovered over the years. I was okay with that, because usually it was about things that I cared to pretend weren't happening anyway.

I was happily existing in a world where my daughter had never even seen a penis, much less – Okay, I was going to stop right there before my dinner came right back up.

Of course, my little illusionary world was getting a swift kick in the nuts with the arrival of this Eli fellow. He seemed nice enough. He acted the part well. He was polite and well spoken, seeming like quite the gentleman. Maybe too much the gentleman? That's what I had to figure out. Bella had already lectured me when I had dared to give her my thoughts on this whole Mr. Alexander predicament.

She had blathered on and on about trusting Dani's judgment and how she had never let us down before and how we had raised her to be a good judge of character. Blah, blah, blah. All of that was well and good and under normal circumstances I would bow to Bella's wisdom and Dani's instincts.

But right now I called bullshit and as a father that was my right.

I had been okay, not thrilled but okay, with the idea of this kid coming to meet the family. I was looking forward to the chance to size him up personally, see what he was made of. I hadn't come to any reassuring conclusions. There were a few points against him and I wasn't going to roll out the red carpet for him just yet.

Point one: he did indeed have a Harley. Enough said.

Point two: he put his hand on my daughter's back, her lower back, when they were walking into the room. Why didn't he just go ahead and hump her leg and be done with it?

Point three: he was trying too hard to make a good impression.

Point four: I didn't need a point four because Dani was my daughter, damn it.

So I was sitting in the kitchen brooding. Sulking, Bella would call it. Manly contemplation, I maintained. Either way, I was alone and I could hear them all out there laughing it up and having a good time and that Eli fellow was probably trying to talk Dani into finding a dark corner and he'd be putting his hands all over her body in places that they didn't belong. Ever.

I didn't care if they lived together or not. And that was another thing –

"Mr. Cullen, sir?"

Speak of the devil. I looked up and tried to arrange my face into a welcoming expression but if the way the kid swallowed hard was any indication, I had failed miserably.

Good.

"Yeah?" I knew good and well that Bella would kick my ass if she heard my tone, but she wasn't here and what she didn't know wouldn't hurt me. Right?

Unless the kid was a snitch. He had that look about him. Can't trust a snitch.

"I wanted to uh...talk to you, sir," he stammered. What kind of man was he if he couldn't even carry on a simple fucking conversation?

"Talk," I said, and shoved a chair out with my feet. That's as much as a gesture as he was going to get. So there. He could just suck it.

The kid took a deep breath as he sat down and then fidgeted with his hands on the table. What did my daughter see in this fellow? "Sir...I wanted to talk to you."

"So you said," I remarked dryly. A look of sheer panic flashed through his eyes and I felt a pang at my behavior.

I was a sulky old fool and I wasn't ready for my baby girl to be a grown up. But that obviously wasn't my choice to make. In truth, she'd been a grown up for years. I sighed and shook my head. Bella wouldn't have to kick my ass; I had a feeling I'd be doing plenty of that on my own. I was still an ass, but hopefully I was still a trainable ass.

"Sorry," I muttered. That was all the apology I could muster but the kid took it graciously, which only pissed me off further. Maybe not so trainable after all.

"Sir, I wanted you to know that I love your daughter," he said quietly. He had stopped fidgeting and trying to avoid my gaze. Now I was staring straight into his eyes and I realized that this "kid" was thirty two, which wasn't all that much younger than I had been when I met Bella.

Well, damn. When the hell had I gotten so fucking old?

"And I'd do anything to see her happy," he went on. "The thing is..." He blew out a breath and leaned in close. "The thing is, sir, I've got a...ring." My heart sank like a stone in the ocean. "And I want to give it to her, ask her to marry me. Because even though sometimes she makes me crazed, I can't imagine living a single day of my life without her." I knew exactly what he meant, because her mother had completed my life and Dani had added a new dimension to it. I found myself growing fonder of this interloper, because he'd recognized our Dani's worth. He couldn't be all bad if he could see that. But he was talking about my baby girl, the child I'd once called Bean. The toddler I had chased down the hallway. The young lady I had taught to drive. The woman I had watched leave for boot camp. And now I was being asked to let her go completely.

Dozens of memories flashed through my head.

Dani, as a newborn, blinking around at the world as if wondering where the hell she'd ended up.

Dani, toddling along with Emmett holding her hands, hunched over and walking with her until his back ached.

An older Dani, scaring the shit out of us as she rode her bike hell bent for leather.

Dani, begging to get her pilot's license.

Dani, confessing to getting what proved to be the first of many, many speeding tickets.

A heartbroken Dani, sitting beside me while Christmas carols played in the background. Some stupid boy had broken her heart and I held her while she cried and waited for her mom to come home. I had looked up to see four identical expressions of outrage on her brothers' faces. They'd all been home for the holidays. It had taken some fast talking to convince them that that stupid boy didn't need a little visit from the four of them.

Dani, sitting in the same chair that Eli was sitting in, explaining to us why she wanted to join the Navy and be a pilot.

Watching Dani being sworn in, pledging to protect our country and thinking back to my own swearing in some forty years before. God, I'd been proud. And terrified. An equal mixture of both had had my gut roiling and the tears threatening.

And now there was this brand new milestone, this boy, this man, who said he loved my daughter and wanted to spend his life with her.

Sincerity and genuine respect shone in his eyes, and even I, who didn't want to admit it, could see that he loved her with everything he had inside of him. It reminded me of the look I'd seen on Emmett's face when he told me that one day he was going to marry his Rose. Or on Seth's face when he'd introduced us to Abby. Sam's joy that had made him practically vibrate when he'd talked about Mary. Or Jake's exuberant, boisterous enthusiasm when he'd brought home the woman and child he loved.

We loved hard and strong, all of us.

Dani was no exception. If this man said he loved her, then I knew she loved him too. I'd seen it on her face, in her eyes, the way she constantly sought him out with her glance, the way she'd softened when he touched her in the simplest way. Dani, who could be hard as nails and as tough as a pit bull, was someone different with this kid. Still herself, but softer and kinder, easier in her own skin. She didn't have to prove herself to him and she knew it.

And he loved her.

He had been watching me while I struggled to reconcile my memories of that little girl on a tricycle with the capable young woman who was about to embark on the biggest adventure of a lifetime – loving someone in the forever kind of way.

I smiled at him and watched as his whole body relaxed and a line of sweat broke out on his forehead. Yeah, I still had it, and the mean part of me was giving myself a pat on the back. "So you love my baby girl, son?"

He nodded, swallowing hard again. "And I always will. I'll do whatever I can to make her happy. I'll move where she needs me to; I'll make sure that she's happy and well taken care of, though if I say it like that she's going to kick my ass."

Well, at least he knew what kind of tiger he had by the tail, I thought.

"They don't like to be hovered over, these Cullen women," I warned him.

"Yes sir, I got that loud and clear when she had the flu two months ago," Eli said with feeling. "I won't make that mistake again, I assure you." I had to laugh, because I imagined that Dani had pinned his ears back a time or two. He was easy going and calm, which was exactly what someone like Dani needed. Another fireball like her, and they'd burn it all to the ground around them before they knew what hit them.

"But that doesn't mean they don't need to be taken care of," I added. "You just have to do it subtle like."

"Subtle," Eli said with a nod. "I can do subtle."

"Then you'd be the first man who could," I told him with a snort. His face fell and I sighed. He was still too scared to think anything was funny. Good. "You'll screw it up from time to time, but Dani's got a forgiving heart, like her mother."

"Yes, sir," Eli said.

"She's impatient and reckless, but I suppose you know that already."

"I do," Eli admitted with a rueful smile. "And she drives too fast."

I couldn't really say much about that, so I grunted. Grunting came in handy, though Bella refused to see it.

"Well then, I guess you know what you're about," I admitted. "You didn't have to come to me, so I appreciate the gesture. But we both know that my daughter will damn well decide for herself what she wants."

"And how," Eli agreed with a roll of his eyes.

I had to laugh, because I knew I had had the same expression countless times when dealing with one of Dani's escapades. "Sometimes you just need to have a beer and sit back and let her wind down," I advised. "There's no stopping her, so just get out of the way."

"That's my usual strategy," he confessed with a grin.

"Then you'll do just fine." I held out my hand, all polite and everything. Bella would be proud of me. "So...I guess this is where I say welcome to the family, son."

"I guess it is." But it wasn't Eli who spoke. It was Dani, standing in the doorway, her eyes shimmering with tears and Bella's arms wrapped around her.

Dani launched herself at Eli and I allowed myself a little moment of regret that I wasn't her go-to guy anymore. Someone had taken my place, as it should be. But it still hurt like hell.

Bella hugged me, trying to ease the ache. It helped, but the ache was still there – always would be there. I'd deal.

Then Dani was turning to me, hugging me close and whispering in my ear, "Thank you, Daddy, for being you."

And the ache wasn't quite so bad anymore.

Not quite.