Charlie Swan never saw himself not being lonely after Bella and Renee left, but his salvation came in the form of a Police K-9. Perhaps his sidekick would be the key to saving his daughter as well.
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Three weeks had passed in a blur.
Bella had graduated, the Cullen's and the Quileute's had continued to train in preparation for the newborns to come. Tango hadn't been allowed to come to the ceremony, even as the Sheriff's police dog. But Charlie still snagged a photo of Bella in her cap and gown with Tango sat beside her, a photo to be put up on his wall.
The protection detail continued, with the two warring species trading shifts every few hours all to protect Bella. There had been no slip ups until now, nearly dawn at around five AM outside the Swan residence.
Tango didn't know why - or maybe she did (it was all Charlie's coffee that she drank whilst he wasn't looking) - but she needed the loo desperately. Crawling out from under Charlie's arm in his bedroom (which was no easy task) she trotted down the stairs and swiftly walked out the dog door.
The cold air was refreshing as she jumped down the stairs. Going to her favourite spot on the front tree she did her business and buried it, a lovely present for either Charlie or Bella to step in, in the morning. Most likely Bella.
As she was walking back to the door the wind blew strongly in her fur. Instantly, Tango was on alert as she growled at the forest line. They were too deep in for her to see, but she smelt wolves. Creatures she didn't know, on her land, near her humans. The German shepherd nearly raced straight into the trees if it weren't for leaving Charlie and Bella unprotected.
Meanwhile, in the forest the only thing running through Seth and Quil's minds was shit. They were the two least prepared for this situation. Sam had told them all to bed cautious of the dog and her sense of smell, not to mention apart from their size, neither had very much dominance since they only recently joined the pack.
Tango loved Seth in human form, he only wished that they could've met in better circumstances in his wolf form. Dammit. Why did the dog have to be so brave?
Tango growled taking a step forward.
Just as the situation seemed dire, Emmett and Jasper flashed to the edge of the forest where they were visible to the dog.
Jasper didn't need to say anything as he radiated calm emotions. He crouched down staying still, allowing Tango to come to him first as she gave him a once over sniff.
She remembered these guys.
They smelt awful, but Tango knew they were friends, so her barking stopped and both vampires let out a sigh of relief. Thank god Charlie slept like the dead. When Bella had her nightmares, it took a full three minutes of her screaming like a banshee for him to even rouse. The female Swan had tended to become a lighter sleeper since Edward left, even Tango trotting around the house would sometimes wake her. She always thought it was Edward coming back.
Emmett flashed a cocky smirk to the wolves behind them, Quil grumbled about leaches in his mind but neither wolves waited much longer before they left. Tango continued to lap up Jaspers attention, his cold hand brushing its way through her fur in a soothing manner.
"Who knew you were a dog person," Emmett teased with an amused expression on his face from his place slightly behind his brother. Jasper turned and gave a half hearted glare but continued to stroke Tango.
He couldn't remember much of his human life, only flashes of war and a few faces but he did remember something about there being a dog where he grew up. It was almost nostalgic when he stroked Tango's soft fur, reminding him of a simpler time before he knew about the existence of blood sucking monsters.
"You think she woke them up?" Emmett nodded his head towards the house where it was silent, both listened and all they could hear was a few rustles indicating both Swan's were still in bed asleep.
Jasper glanced up, "We both know the answer."
Emmett held his hands up, "Just trying to make conversation."
The blonde brother stood up and brushed the small amount of fur which had been shedded onto his hands away. He went and stood by Emmett just under the cover of the trees where their golden eyes stayed alert to any threats. Tango followed and played down besides their feet, fully awake and not intending to go back to sleep.
For a short time there was nothing that happened, the sun began to rise casting a golden light on the dark forest. Shiny dew stuck out from the grass and Tango's underbelly was wet from having laid down.
An idea struck her mind and the German Shepherd raced inside the house and to her dog bed where she collected her favourite toy. Surely they would play with her.
Neither of the vampire brothers had been paying any attention to the dog so when she suddenly shot off like a rocket it was certainly a surprise. It was only a moment before she returned back through the dog door with a small orange carrot in her mouth.
Tango dropped it by their feet and Emmett picked it up with a mischievous grin. He used a bit of extra strength and threw the carrot at least a hundred meters into the forest, the dog raced after it not at all graceful. It took a minute for her to return and when she did there was a stick in her fur, not that she seemed to mind as she happily trotted towards them.
Jasper reached for the carrot in her mouth but she stepped backwards so his arm did a circling motion. Immediately she spun around in circles chasing her tail. Emmett let out a laugh and even Jasper cracked a smile.
The bigger brother laughed so much that he felt the need to scoop the dog into his arms and swivel around, Jasper tried not to think about all the ways this could end badly.
"What do you think you're doing?" Edward suddenly appeared looking onto the scene with a furrowed brow.
Emmett let out a started yell and nearly dropped Tango causing her to bark and desperately claw at his arm. "Someone needs to get you a bell."
