Charlie Swan

"No matter what side I’m on, if someone kisses you without your permission, you should be able to make your feelings clear without hurting yourself."

- Charlie on Bella Swan hitting Jacob Black

Charlie Swan is the father of Bella Swan and the Chief of Police in Forks, Washington.

Life before the series
Charlie and Renée, Bella's mother, were not married for a long time. Renée left Charlie soon after Bella was born. Charlie was still in love with her, but came to accept that she didn't love him anymore. Charlie has been long time friends with Billy Black, who resides on the La Push reservation. When Bella was younger, she would visit Charlie in Forks, also spending time with Billy's children, Rachel, Rebecca, and Jacob.



Twilight
Charlie has lived in Forks, Washington and when Bella (his daughter) was 17 she moved in with him when her mother moved to Florida with her new husband. After a couple months, Bella fell in love with Edward Cullen, a vampire who also lives in Forks. Charlie was surprised, and tentatively accepted Bella's choice, oblivious to the fact that Edward is a vampire. The couple believes that it is for the best that Charlie doesn't know what the truth is about Edward and his family.

New Moon
Some time later, Edward suddenly left, claiming he no longer loved Bella in order to keep her safe. Bella fell into a deep depression, leaving Charlie hurt because he was unable to help his only daughter. Bella later ran off when she heard Edward was going to commit suicide, leaving Charlie worried sick. After Bella and Edward return, Charlie banned Edward from the house, no longer trusting him, and forbade Bella from seeing him again. But Bella threatened to move out if he didn't retract his decisions. Charlie grudgingly agreed, but grounded Bella.

Eclipse
In Eclipse, Charlie still mistrusts Edward and worries that Bella's whole life is revolving around the Cullens. As a result, he agrees to end Bella's grounding under the condition that she spend time with her other friends, as well as try to work things out with Jacob. Charlie makes it clear that he wants Bella to choose Jacob over Edward, especially when he approved of Jacob forcing a kiss on Bella.

Throughout the book Charlie is very worried about the mysterious murders happening in Seattle, which are being committed by Victoria, the mate of James, a vampire who once hunted Bella. Towards the end of the book, he spends time in La Push with Billy as a ploy by Bella and the werewolves to keep him safe during the fight against Victoria and the new born vampires.

Near the end of the book, Charlie feels that he is going to lose Bella, and tells her to give him a warning if she decides to run off. He is disappointed when Bella chooses Edward over Jacob, and disapproved of her telling Jacob this while he was recovering from injuries he had received.

Breaking Dawn
At the beginning of the book, Bella and Edward tell Charlie about their engagement. Charlie reacted with rage when he thought Bella was pregnant, but calmed down when told that wasn't the case. Instead of telling them that he didn't approve of them getting married, Charlie told Bella she would have to tell her mother about their engagement herself, knowing that Renée was strongly against early marriage. It turned out, however, that Renee's feelings about marriage applied only to her, and she accepted Bella's choice whole-heartedly. After this, Charlie felt like there was nothing he could do, and begrudgingly accepted Bella's marriage to Edward. Meanwhile, Charlie has also started a search for Jacob, who ran away after being rejected by Bella.

When Charlie heard that Bella and Edward were back from their honeymoon, he was told that he couldn't see her. He went crazy with worry when told that Bella had gotten sick on Isle Esme. In reality, she was pregnant with a half-human half-vampire baby, and it was growing at an abnormal rate.

A little over a month later, Bella gave birth to her and Edward's daughter Renesmee. Jacob imprinted on the baby, releasing him from his broken heart over Bella. When Jacob learned that the Cullens were planning on moving away, he believed that Charlie was the reason. Unwilling to be away from Renesmee, he went to talk to Charlie and phased into his wolf-form, hoping that Charlie knowing about their world would keep the Cullens around. Charlie was shocked to discover the existence of a mythical world, but told Jacob (and later Bella) not to tell him anymore than what was necessary for him to know. He went to talk to Bella (who by now had become a vampire), and met his granddaughter for the first time. Edward said Renesmee was his niece and that he and Bella were adopting her. Charlie, however, figured out the truth when he stared into Renesmee's chocolate brown eyes;his chocolate brown eyes. He agreed, however, to stick with what was going to be the public story to protect Bella and Renesmee. He and Bella also agreed not to tell Renée about the mythical world or about Renesmee, since they knew she wouldn't be able to handle it.

By the end of the book, Charlie has grown close to his new family, and also appears to have developed a romantic relationship with Sue Clearwater. His friendship with Billy, however, is said to not be what it once was.

Personality and traits
Charlie is described as having a very private mind, which is why Edward finds it difficult to see his thoughts, possibly implying that Bella's powers are genetic, and that he would have a similar shield ability or some form of resistance if turned into a vampire.. Edward can, however, still see some of Charlie's thoughts, though he feels the emotional direction behind his thoughts as opposed to the words. When Bella was in a near-car accident in Twilight/Midnight Sun, Edward saw that Charlie loves and cares for Bella a lot more than he likes to let her know. Also, he enjoys spending time by himself ; this, Bella and Edward decided, was passed on to Bella, who was quite the loner herself before meeting Edward and the Cullens. Charlie is also a bit clumsy just like Bella.