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April 4th - The talk
Esme POV
Peter and Charlotte seem to be quite good at hunting. I stay back and watch as they not only catch, but also share their food, they remind me of Alice and Jasper in a lot of ways, but they are also very different. Oh I do hope our talk goes well, I would love to have Peter and Charlotte officially part of our family.
"Oh no, Peter I got blood on my top." I hear Charlotte criticize upset.
"Charlotte" I call, "honey I can get it out when we get home."
"I'm sorry Aunt Esme" Charlotte murmurs sadly. "I'm trying but I still can't hunt cleanly. I wish I was better."
"Sweetheart, listen to me, it took all of us a while to get the hang of this, you should have seen me when I started. Don't worry or get upset. One day you'll be just as good, if not better than you were before. Please, just trust me on this. Are you both good for now, or would you like to hunt a little more. It's up to you, but I want to make sure you are full before we head back."
"I'm full Aunt Esme," Peter confirms.
"So am I, thank you Aunt Esme" Charlotte supplies.
"Okay, I'll call home and tell your Uncle, than we can head back to the house." I decide. "Your Uncle is on the phone, I'll leave him a message, and we can hunt some more until he calls back. As you are learning this life style it is very important to be well feed." I tell them. Twenty minutes later my phone rings, though I have them in sight I stay far enough back to set off their protective instincts. "Carlisle I just was calling to see if you were ready for us dear."
"Whenever they are ready my love. Oh I spoke with Eleazar and he said he was extremely happy to help us. He said they will be here by Wednesday or Thursday at latest. El mentioned he told me their daughters and son went out hunting for a few days with his permission. Also Claire Bear called and wants to come over."
"Claire Bear called, how did she know our number?" Esme inquired.
"Well I found out Emily dialed the phone for her, when I asked her and told her the Easter Bunny was watching her, she admitted her Auntie dialed the phone for her. But she did ask if she could come over, or we would come for a visit. I told her we would call Emily and Sam later and talk with them." I explain to her.
"We definitely will I would love to see her." I agree
"How is it going darling? Are there any problems?" Carlisle asked
"Well only if you count a drop of blood on a blouse a problem; otherwise none at all. Although there is something I want to talk to you about it at home"
"Well I don't think I would count that." Carlisle chuckles "Is everything else okay though? Are you sure there are no problems?"
"Yes I'm sure, now stop worrying. It's actually something surprisingly sweet."
"Oh? Well I can't wait to find out then."
"They're all coming now dear, we will be home soon. I love you Carlisle, see you shortly."
"I love you too darling, be safe."
"Always," I hang up and everyone is back now so we head home. "Is everyone well fed, I don't want any problems." I ask them.
They all tell me they are full and I look at their eyes, when I get to Jasper I smile.
"What Momma?"
"Nothing baby"
He just shrugs his shoulders and smiles back.
"Let's head home everyone."
Carlisle POV. – 45 minutes later
I hear Esme and the kids coming through the woods so I head down to greet them. I ask Peter, Charlotte and Jasper to come in the house with Esme and me, and then tell the kids they can head over to the reservation.
"Carlisle can I speak with you for a moment?" Esme asks
"Of course darling. Why don't you three go into the living room and we will join you shortly."
"Carlisle I think we should have the talk with Jasper included first. If we start with the other it may confuse them or they may figure out what we are planning to ask and make a rash decision. I just don't want them to decide before hearing us out."
"I think you're correct dear. We will talk with all of them first then ask Jasper to give us some privacy."
"Thank you darling."
"No thanks needed dear, you brought up a good point."
We head back into the house, and join them in the living room.
"So how was your hunt?" I ask Peter and Charlotte.
"It was good Uncle Carlisle" Peter tells me.
"I tried elk Uncle Carlisle, I liked it" Charlotte divulges with a smile.
"Elk, hmm…sounds like you have something in common with your Aunt." I say with a smile.
Charlotte seems to light up at my words.
"What about you Peter, did you try anything new?" I ask.
"I tried a mountain goat, I think I like it better than deer Uncle Carlisle," he answers.
"They also shared a coyote and a bobcat; that is what I wanted to tell you. Peter, Charlotte I just want to tell you how beautiful it was to watch you. I know this is new and I promise it will get easier for you. But from what I witnessed watching you, you both made sure the other had food and then even shared your own prey it was so beautiful. If you keep this up I know you will do brilliantly, in fact I don't need Alice's ability to know you should have no problems. I have only ever witnessed this with one other couple, though it does not surprise me now that I think about it."
"Who is that Aunt Esme?" Charlotte asks.
Out of the corner of our eyes, Esme and I see Jasper smile slightly as we know he can feel the happiness we are feeling about this memory.
"Well it was Jasper and Alice, and it was on one of the first hunts with us. We all went out together and they shared a moose." Esme tells them.
"WOW! I would have thought it was Uncle Carlisle and you" Charlotte exclaims.
"Well sweetheart, your Aunt and I have but she is right, Jasper and Alice do share the most." I tell her.
"Well I think that's sweet" Charlotte adds
"Why don't we all get comfortable and let's talk," I start. I turn to look at Jasper when he raises his hand. "Son you don't have to raise your hand"
"But Papa I don't want to just talk over you. That's not polite and I don't want to upset you or Momma."
"Okay Jasper, you are correct about not speaking over us. What is your question?"
"Do you want me to leave now so you can talk to them?"
"Actually I would like you to come sit with your momma and me. Peter, Charlotte I would like you to have a seat on the love seat please."
I wait as everyone gets situated before sitting down, Esme and I exchange looks and a smile comes across her face.
"Baby, sit between your papa and I" she requests.
"Are you sure Momma? I'm fine here." He tells her.
"We are sure. Please do as your momma asks"
"Okay Papa"
I waited while Jasper and Esme switched spots then I begin. "First of all, your Aunt and I cannot tell you how happy we are that you are even trying our lifestyle. We were ever so pleasantly surprised to see your eyes when you arrived; that you decided to try this on your own after living what is considered 'normal' for us for so long. This has truly been a wonderful surprise for all of us. We know it is hard for you and there will be mistakes, but Charlotte a drop of blood on you blouse is not a mistake. In fact, you should see the state Emmett frequently comes home in." I clarify with a chuckle as I look at Charlotte. She gives me a shy smile back. "As your Aunt mentioned, it takes time, hunting animals is different than hunting humans, their survival instincts are a lot stronger. It took all of us time learn, right Jasper?"
"Right Papa."
"So, please do not get upset or give up without talking to one of us. We are all here for you, to help you, and for you to talk to, okay?"
"Yes Uncle Carlisle," Charlotte replies.
I look at Peter and he appears to have a question.
"Peter, please feel free to ask anything." I insist gently so does not fear our reactions.
"Uncle Carlisle, Aunt Esme; Charlotte and I were talking about….well we wanted to ask you….Um…we were hoping to …."Peter begins to stutter out.
"Peter sweetie look at me. You can ask your Uncle or me anything." Esme reassures
"Canwestaywithyoutolearnplease?" Peter rushes out. His words coming out unintelligible, even for vampires.
Jasper, Esme and I look at each other to see if we heard what we thought we heard. We then all turn back to Charlotte, who just smiles at us.
"Peter, son please take a breath and repeat what you said?" I ask.
"Uncle Carlisle, Aunt Esme…Can Charlotte and I stay here for a while? Just to learn from you please?" He asks nervously.
Now we are really shocked and our faces must have shown it because all of sudden Peter starts to try and take back what he said.
"Wait, Peter you just surprised us, once again. We were actually planning to talk to you two about this exact thing. That is why we sent everyone except Jasper to the reservation. We would like you to consider joining our family, to become one of our children. If you want to you can choose to take one of our last names, or one of the kids."
Jasper then taps me on the arm. I stop and look at him to see what he wants to say.
"Papa may I please talk to you in the kitchen for a minute? I have an idea and I want to ask you about it."
"Okay son, please excuse us for a minute."
Once we are in the kitchen Jasper takes his phone out and starts to scroll through it.
"Son if you're going to play with your phone I will go back and finish talking."
"No Papa, I'm sorry I have to…found it! Look Papa" He shows me a picture from his and Alice's last trip to Denali.
"It's Eleazar and you, that's the one you sent to him. It's very nice, but I've seen this before son."
"Yes papa, but look."
"I'm sorry baby I'm not sure what you want me to see."
"Peter and Uncle El they could be related. Do you think Uncle Eleazar would consider that backstory? Maybe he could be Uncle El's nephew and he could be visiting us for a while. You said if/when we move they are coming with us."
"Funny you ask this baby, Eleazar offered any help we need. I will talk to him when they get here and if they agree it may be an option, than we will discuss it with Peter and Charlotte as an option. Remember your Mom and I don't want an answer right now, though it looks like they might want to. We will wait until your Aunt and Uncle are here and you're Mom and I can talk to them before we mention anything to Peter and Charlotte okay?"
"Okay Papa"
We then head back to finish the first half of our talk with them. We re-enter the room and Jasper takes his seat. All of a sudden we all get hit with a wave of overwhelming happiness.
"Jasper son, please pull back, you're projecting too much right now."
"Sorry Papa"
"That's okay son, just remember what I said in the kitchen"
"Yes sir"
"Okay let's quickly finish up with the part, then we will ask Jasper to either go upstairs or go to the reservation and we will stay in here, or we will go up to the study and he can stay in here. Now where were we?"
"The kids asked to stay here dear," Esme supplies.
"Oh yes, so as I was saying your Aunt and I wanted to discus with you the possibility of joining our family. We do not want an answer yet however. We want you to think about this. As you probably noticed I say family; that is because I do not run this house as a coven, but as a family. Therefore, we do not treat anyone different than anyone else; however, we also do depending on the circumstances. What I mean is that everyone is uniquely different and should be treated as such, therefore if Edward and Rosalie start fighting with each other we look at who did and said what first. Then depending on the severity of each person's involvement will punishment. If Edward only uses words and Rosalie physically goes after him, I may choose to only verbally reprimand and or ground Edward for a few days, while Rosalie will receive a spanking. The same would be the case if you and Jasper were to get into a fight, one of you may just require a verbal reprimand while the other may require a physical reprimand. Everyone is always be given a chance to present their side and everyone must follow the same rules. So while some may need a verbal reminder once in a while, others tend to push it and end up punished by other means. We want you to know that all talks and or punishments are kept between Aunt Esme, me and the person involved. If they wish to talk to anyone, that is their choice, but there's no teasing, no making fun, and no pestering them about it, or that person is punished and the other person is allowed to watch if they choose. When we are alone we will talk more about this, but as you have asked to stay we only feel it's fair to explain. You are of course welcome to stay as long as you wish. Do you have any questions for us yet?"
Uncle Carlisle if we do accept your offer, what about school? Do we have to attend?" Peter asks
"Also Aunt Esme, could you maybe teach me about interior design while I'm here. I've always loved your style." Charlotte asks at the same time.
"Esme, ladies first," I invite.
"Thank you dear, I would be happy to help you learn anything, all you have to do is ask."
"Now as for school we will not make any decisions at this time. We may have to move at some point, and we never send anyone out without them being in complete control of their bloodlust. So if that is your concern, please do not worry. If you are interested in learning something maybe you can take online classes, if your control is shaky, or work in that area for a while, if you are in control. There is plenty of time to decide. First and foremost we want to help you learn our way of living no matter if you decide to stay for a short time or permanently. Do you have any more questions?"
"I have one," Charlotte responds.
"Okay sweetheart, what is it?"
"What if we already know what we want to say? I mean, what if we want to answer your question now?"
"Sweetheart, we want you to at least wait until next weekend. This way you will have time to meet everyone; our kids have several new family members. Also Carmen, Eleazar, Kate, Tanya, Irina, and Garret are coming mid-week. If you choose to join us they too will be family. Ask questions, and enjoy your week. Saturday we are having an Easter party for Claire and Skylar, so you will be able to see everyone then, if not before. This is not something we want you to answer without some thought. But your Aunt and I can promise no matter what you decide you are always welcome and can stay as long as you want."
"Okay Uncle Carlisle, but I wish I could tell you today. I'll wait though." Charlotte agrees almost disappointed.
"Uncle Carlisle, Aunt Esme, once again let's say we decide to accept your offer, what if we decide to go on a trip alone, are we allowed to or is that against rules? I know in most covens if you leave you're not allowed back."
"Peter, son we are a family not a coven, at least not in the traditional senses. All of the children are allowed to go on trips, and they are never told they can't come back home. Though we must be told of their plans ahead of time so we know where they are in case we need them or they need us. Also everyone must always have their phones charged and on them so if we need to call them they answer. Otherwise, yes we allow vacations, honeymoons, etc."
"Okay, thank you sir," Peter replies.
"Do you have any more questions?"
"Not now, no sir," they both answer
"Okay, so I know you both know our family rules, but if you ever have any questions, or are unsure of any of them please come to us. We will never be upset with you for asking; we are more likely to be upset with you for not asking. As you also know no matter what you decide, anyone who steps in this house follows our rules. Now before we ask Jasper for privacy, I just want to tell you that Jasper and I will be watching a civil war movie for his history class, we want you both to feel free to join us if you want. Understand though he will have to be taking notes, so if you join us please understand why he has to watch this."
"Excuse me Uncle Carlisle" Peter starts
"Yes Peter?"
"When are you planning to watch this? Will we still have time to spend him?" Peter asks
"Of course you will have plenty of time. We decided to watch it over three days. Seth has asked to watch it with us, so I figured Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. We will watch a disc a night. Also if you wish to help take notes with us you are more than welcome."
Both Peter and Charlotte indicated they have something to say now.
"Charlotte"
"Aunt Esme while they are watching this could we do something, maybe could you take me hunting or …." Charlotte trails off timidly.
"Of course sweetheart, in fact Leah was hoping you would visit the reservation and spend time her and her mom Sue. I can take you there if you would like?"
"Really? Leah would want me to spend time with her mom and you would take me?" Charlotte asks surprised.
"Of course she does and I would. So we have our plans sweetheart."
Charlotte comes over and hugs her Aunt whispering, "thank you," in her ear.
"Peter"
"Do you think that Charlotte and I can spend some time alone with each of you? What I mean is you Uncle Carlisle, Aunt Esme and maybe some time with….with…." Peter looks to Charlotte for help.
"Uncle Billy" she supplies for him.
"I would love to as would your Uncle Carlisle, and I am sure Billy would love to spend alone time with you as well," Esme confirms.
"Well I think there is only one more thing for us to talk about. Jasper if you would please go up to your room or down to the game room so your mom and …." I start.
"Carlisle," Esme interrupts.
"Yes dear?"
"Um…we don't need to have that discussion now."
"What do you mean darling? We agreed to get everything out before they made their final decision."
"I know but, earlier when we were getting ready to go hunting, when I went outside the kids were talking to them about it. You should have heard them I was beyond proud Carlisle. They truly love and trust us and explained punishments better than even I think we could."
"Jasper, is this true?"
"Papa?"
"Is what your momma is saying true?" I ask.
Y…Ye…Yes sir" Jasper stammers out looking down
I lift his chin and look at him. "Son look at me please, do I look mad?"
"No sir," he replies.
"Okay, so can you please tell me what was said?"
Jasper told me the whole story from Peter's question through all of my vampire children saying the same thing. That no matter how bad they feel when I have to spank them they feel a million times better after because they know they are truly loved and not abused. That I use this method as a last resort. Then Peter and Charlotte added that at first they could not believe it, that we would hold them until they were ready to move. When they were done I just looked at them. I then stand up and say, "Jasper Lee Whitlock Hale Cullen."
Jasper starts projecting fear so I have to continue fast. "Please stand up son, and come here," I continue as I open my arms. Once I have him in my arms, "I cannot express what that means to your Mother and I, you make us so proud, so very, very proud to call you our son, our Southern Soldier boy. I LOVE YOU SON." I tell him. As I am hugging my son close to me, I kiss him on top of his head. I am still holding him when I hear him sniffle, so I lift his head to look at me and see him crying. "Jasper, baby what's wrong?"
"Nothing Papa, nothing. It's just I love you and Momma too. Thank you for being my Papa."
After a few more minutes I hand him my handkerchief and say, "It's our pleasure son. Well I think we should call the family now, what do you think?" I ask.
"I agree dear, I'll leave you and go call Billy," Esme offers.
"Esme darling?" I call out as she goes to the kitchen to call him.
"Yes?" She answers.
"Ask Billy if he and Sam can gather everyone to the lodge."
"Everyone?" She asks as I join her in the kitchen.
"Yes darling, all of our nieces and nephews; that way even Emily can come. I thought it may be a good time to see who would be interested going on a family trip with us, maybe in the summer." I stated, and then continue in a whisper, "we just won't give them any details yet."
"What about Alice, what if she sees the truth?" Esme inquires in a whisper.
"I will just explain to Alice that we want that we want it to be a surprise trip, if she accidently sees anything, she needs to come to us first. However, if she says anything she will not be a happy little girl."
"Well we will have to talk to her first, especially if we need her to check the weather to make sure it's okay for us."
"You are correct, but let's call Billy first and head over there. Ready everyone?" I call out.