A/N: A long long long time ago, many of you asked for an epilogue. You wanted more closure. I started this immediately after finishing the story, but only now decided to finish the chapter. Life just seems to get in the way. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Chapter 11: Epilogue

Carlisle's POV:

I could barely contain my fidgeting as I waited for my children to collect themselves in the living room. Like back when I'd gone too far with Emmett's punishment, I felt as though I once more needed to fix my relationship with each of them. I needed them to trust me again. True, I'd been the one to say I didn't trust them, but I had a feeling it went both ways now.

It'd been a month now since the entire fiasco and I was planning on informing all but Bella that their groundings had ended. I was hoping with the end of their punishments that I could start to begin repairing the rift in our relationship. I'd been extremely saddened this past month as I'd noticed a chasm growing between us that only seemed to grow as the weeks went by. I'd really been hoping that after the first week things would begin to slowly head back to normal, but the opposite had been true.

They'd been avoiding me. If asked, they'd deny it; and no, I hadn't been the one asking, my dear wife had. They looked at me with guarded, wary eyes. They walked by me carefully, making sure their backs were never towards me; and when I entered a room their muscles tensed and any conversation ended. The atmosphere would become thick and there would either be an awkward silence or an obviously forced conversation. I'd learned to just leave the room and let them be, hoping that they'd begin to relax as the days went by.

I was dying. My heart was breaking into pieces at their looks and reactions. I couldn't describe the amount of pain I felt. The worse part, I think was that the kids weren't doing this on purpose. They didn't want to act this way around me, but I'd scared them. I'd succeeded in making a lasting impression. I'd succeeded in teaching them how terrible their actions were; and I'd never been so upset at success. The lesson had needed to be learned, but I wish there had been another way. I hurt them so much, and in turn, I hurt even more.

Truthfully, Bella was being the most relaxed. The child who I'd punished the hardest was the one who seemed the least affected by how harsh I'd been. However, even though she may have seemed the most relaxed, she too couldn't help but tense up when I was around, and she too had that wary look as though afraid of how I would react to something she did or said.

Not a single one of my kids had gotten into trouble since that first week. They were afraid of getting spanked. They were afraid of me. This is what I'd feared most. I never wanted my children to look at me in fear. I never wanted them to be afraid to talk to me or be themselves around me.

I hurt so badly.

As always, Esme was my godsend. She'd been so understanding and compassionate with me. She'd spoken with our kids, and that's where they'd admitted they hadn't been acting like this intentionally. They didn't mean to cause me hurt. They just couldn't help it right now.

Somehow, that really made it worse. I would prefer they were angry and doing this on purpose than to know this was an instinctual act. I'd thoroughly cowed them and that hadn't been my intention.

I was a coward though, and I hadn't approached any of the kids about what I thought or had been feeling. I was afraid of what they would say if I tried to talk to them. How pathetic was I?

It was Esme that had pushed for this conversation to take place. She was gathering our brood together in this room, and she was going to force us all to talk. Not a single one of us would be leaving this room until she was satisfied we'd worked everything out.

I had attempted to argue with her that forcing this wasn't going to help, but she'd responded with a look of disappointment that was like a stab in the heart. She told me she was ashamed of how cowardly I was being, and that I'd only been making things worse by not addressing the problem head on. She said I was acting like a child, the exact opposite of what I'd acted like when this whole damn mess started.

I felt completely ashamed by what she'd said because I knew it was the truth. I had been acting like a child. I'd been running away from my problems instead of facing them head on. My kids were just that—kids. I had to step up and be their father now. I'd stepped up when punishing them, now I had to step up and let them know that no matter what had happened that I still loved them. I needed to apologize for the fact that they were so hurt and frightened by what happened. I needed to be their father.

That was what brought us here today. I stood in the center of the living room and now watched as my six children and wife traipsed on in. The children were quiet, wary and suspicious as they looked between me, each other, and then their mother. They didn't know what was going on.

"Please take a seat," I said, gesturing towards the couches. "We need to talk."

Expressions turning even warier as the six of them sat down, Emmett and Rosalie occupying the couch where they'd received their whippings one month ago. Esme remained standing behind them, both as a source of comfort and as a guard it seemed.

"Remember what I said," she told them sternly. "No one will leave this room until I am satisfied you've heard your father out. Your actions are bordering on ridiculous this past month and I'm tired of it. So, unless you care to be on the wrong side of my hand, then you will do as told, is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," they all chorused together, and I gave her a nod of my own. Though she spoke those words to the children, I knew she meant them for me as well. Unless I wanted to be in the dog house, I was to repair my relationships with these kids as soon as possible. Mama was not happy, and as the old adage said, if mama wasn't happy, nobody was happy.

I looked at each one of my children individually, mentally cringing when each one immediately looked away. It hurt, but I forcefully pushed those feelings away and filled myself with determination. This had to stop. I had to buck up, push my own fears and doubts away so that I could do what was best for them. I had been a coward, and that ended right now.

I took in a deep breath before sitting myself down on the chair I'd brought in from the kitchen. I didn't want to be above them for this. I didn't want them to think of me at all right now as a disciplinarian. I wanted for them to see me as not their coven leader or even father, I wanted them to see me as their dad, or daddy, or even papa as Emmett and Jasper tended to call me when they were feeling vulnerable and/or affectionate.

"It's been a rough month, hasn't it?" I remarked more than asked, giving them all a gentle smile.

A loud snort was let out by Emmett before he responded, "That's one way to put it." He didn't sound angry though, in fact, he was sporting a hesitant smile. Good sign.

"You're grounding ends today," I informed them before looking to Bella, "except for you, sweetheart." Sighs of relief were heard from all except my youngest, who just grimaced as she nodded in understanding. Her mate, however, wasn't quite so understanding.

"Why does her grounding have to continue?" Edward asked. "She's been good the entire time! Hasn't caused any trouble!"

I was barely considering how to respond when Bella addressed the problem.

"Edward?" she spoke sweetly, causing Edward to look over at her with a questioning look.

"Shut up, and let him speak," she simply said before turning her attention back to me.

There was a mere second of silence before Rosalie let out a snort of laughter, which spurred Emmett, Alice and Jasper into start chuckling. Esme was covering her mouth to contain her amusement, while I only smirked at my son's stunned expression. Bella, my darling daughter, just sported a smug smile before she leaned over to place a quick kiss on Edward's cheek.

Just like that the tension was broken in the room. The atmosphere lightened up, and it was somehow easier to breathe. When everyone had gained composure of themselves, they turned their eyes to me, and I was relieved to note the relaxed postures.

Thank you, Bella, I couldn't help but think to myself. Whether done on purpose or not, her response to Edward had somehow made things suddenly so much easier.

I took in a breath, and prepared to begin talking with my children. "There are many things I'd like to say, some not so easy as others, so I would appreciate it greatly if you would allow me to finish without interruption," I spoke softly, and was relieved to receive nods in response.

"One month ago I gave you all an extremely harsh punishment," I began, getting straight to the point. "I set out to make an impression, and I succeeded. You are all hyper aware of the things you do or say when I am around. Never before have you been on such good behavior. I should be happy. I should feel satisfaction at a job well done…but I don't." I declared after a few moments pause.

No one spoke or even looked away from me as they listened intently. There were several looks of surprise and confusion at my words so far, but they thankfully remained silent and allowed me to continue.

"Your actions were grievous and out of control," I told them, my voice taking on a slightly sterner edge. "I still feel you all way overstepped your boundaries, and that you all endangered this family for foolish reasons. You allowed childish arrogance to guide you and that led to the near fiasco in Forks. You deserved to be soundly spanked." I had to say this. I needed them to know that I still didn't feel their actions were any less severe than I had a month ago. As expected, my young vampire's faces turned abashed and guilty at my words, and they began to look away from me. The uncomfortable feeling was rising again. I ignored it, though.

"Having said that," I continued in an even tone, "I would like to apologize for my own actions. I'm sorry," I apologized, looking into each one of their suddenly startled eyes. Had it not been such a serious moment, I may have found their bugged out expressions comical. As it was, I only felt guilt.

"Sorry for what?" Rosalie asked, giving me a suspicious look. I knew her well enough to know that she didn't quite believe my words. She was my most cynical child. I gazed straight at her, mulling over in my mind how to correctly phrase what I was apologizing for. I wasn't apologizing for punishing them, but…

"You all deserved to be punished, but I came down on you too hard, especially you, Rosalie and Alice," I explained, glancing between the aforementioned girls before looking at my boys.

"What do you mean by too hard?" Rosalie pushed before anyone else could say anything, and I withheld a fond smile at my daughter's forwardness.

"For starters, you and Alice did not deserve the whipping you received," I admitted, guilt stirring in me as I looked from Rosalie to Alice. "I am sorry, sweethearts. I told you months ago that if you kept something your siblings did from me that you would receive the same punishment that sibling did, and I followed through with that promise; but I shouldn't have. I need you all to know that I keep my promises, but I should also remind myself that rules, even my own are sometimes meant to be broken. This is one of those occasions." I gazed down at my hands briefly, letting out a sad sigh before mustering the courage to look at the teenage vampires sitting across from me.

"I am sorry to you as well, boys," I added, "for I came down too hard on you as well. You fully deserved a hard spanking, and possibly even my belt, but I went too far. Ten strokes was too much, and the fact that I offered none of you any comfort was abominable and unforgivable," I declared in a self-deprecating tone.

"Carlisle," I heard my wife sigh softly but I held up a hand to keep her from saying anything else. I also gave her a pleading look to not interfere. I needed to make amends with my children, and to do that I needed them to feel free to say whatever they wanted.

I looked at each one of my sons and daughters, noticing every change in expression and emotion. I knew them all so well, that I could tell what they were thinking without them having to tell me.

Rosalie, as expected, was angry, the one emotion she always jumped to when placed in a confusing situation. She had felt hard done by, and now that I had admitted and apologized for it, she felt free to show that anger. The anger wouldn't last long though. My fierce kitten could never stay angry with me, no matter if she wanted to. I was lucky that she loved me so much, because I knew how long she could hold a grudge.

Emmett's face was expressionless but his eyes were anything but. There was turmoil. He was touched by my open honesty and apology, but also confused. He no doubt felt he deserved every bit of the punishment he got. He felt he had let me down and that I would never trust him with this family's wellbeing.

Alice, my dear Alice was giving me a smile, openly showing me that all was well. She was so forgiving I thought with guilt. She should show me some sort of anger, but I knew she wouldn't. You're forgiven, her eyes said, and I understood that just like that everything was good between the both of us.

Jasper, unlike his mate was giving me a hard, penetrating stare. I allowed myself to share my feelings instead of trying to bottle them up. I allowed him to feel my regret and love for him. He narrowed his eyes at me, and I knew his anger was just on behalf of what I'd put Alice through. He, like Emmett felt he more than deserved his whipping. He understood better than any of his siblings what the Volturi were capable of, and what they could do to our family should they have gotten wind of what they'd been up to.

Bella's expression was of confusion, and I knew she was wondering if I was apologizing to her. I locked eyes with her and gave a slight shake of my head. No, my baby girl, I thought regretfully, you got exactly what you deserved. I felt bad that I wasn't apologizing, but I felt the girl had more than earned her punishment. It'd been harsh, but her actions had warranted a harsh reaction. Bella interpreted my shake of head correctly and frowned as she shot me a guilty look. I could tell she understood and felt no anger towards me, so I responded with a soft smile, which she returned.

My expression then fell on my first born, Edward whose reaction I was most afraid of. This boy, more than any of his siblings or mate had suffered the most occasions of unjustness from me. Not recently, of course, but during our first several years together. I was sometimes amazed that this young man still trusted me after I'd come down on him harsher than I should have many times over those first years. I was new to fatherhood and new to being a disciplinarian, so I made many mistakes. I was inconsistent and usually came down harder on him than was warranted. It took time for me to realize that the same spanking for endangering himself wasn't the same one he should receive for being disrespectful. It seemed obvious, but I made the mistake nonetheless. Edward had never called me on it though. He had never accused me of being too hard or unfair. He certainly let me know he didn't want to be spanked, but he had never once thrown my mistakes in my face as he could have. Edward had seen me make more mistakes as a father than even Esme. While my biggest mistakes had occurred after Esme became my wife and the number of children I had increased, the number of mistakes I'd made with Edward were numerous. I'd let my temper get the better of me multiple times and had said things in the heat of the moment I shouldn't have. I'd tried to be his friend before fluctuating to father. It took some time for me to find a middle ground. I owed Edward so much for the patience he'd knowingly or unknowingly given me.

For these reasons, I shouldn't have been surprised to see forgiveness and understanding. I realized I hadn't been blocking my thoughts from him, so he'd heard/seen my recollections of our early years.

I grimaced, feeling suddenly embarrassed that he'd heard my fears, but he just responded with rolled eyes and a shake of his head.

"You've been an amazing dad from the get go," he spoke aloud with some embarrassment. "You made mistakes, some that I noticed at the time, but your reasons for punishing me and your love for me were always obvious. That alone was enough for me. Besides, I wasn't exactly easy on you. I was learning how to be a vampire and you put up with all my mistakes."

I let out a small laugh, gracing my youngest boy with a proud, loving grin. "Thank you, Edward," I told him, hoping he understood how much I really appreciated his words now, and his patience and understanding then.

Looking at all my children now, I felt the need to continue speaking. The others had been observing my interaction with Edward, but they didn't question our odd conversation. They'd long since grown used to these sorts of conversation.

"I've noticed how you've all been acting around me this past month. I've noticed the wariness, suspicion, and even fear, and I can't stand it," I admitted, my voice turning slightly hoarse as the hurt I felt welled up in me. "I came down on you as your coven leader when I shouldn't have. I was too hard, and this is the consequence. I deserve your treatment, but I can't stand it. I love you all so much, that the fear you've been regarding me with has been tearing me apart. I fully deserve it for my actions"—

"Dad, just stop talking," Emmett spoke authoritatively yet with a hint of weariness, and I promptly closed my mouth and gave the young man a startled yet curious look. He never called me Dad, and I'd never heard him speak to me with such a tone.

"Look, let's be honest," he stated seriously, crossing his arms as he glanced at his siblings and then me. "We all screwed up; us kids especially. We've been punished, and I think you have too. I can tell you've been beating yourself up for weeks now, which is enough. I can tell Jasper feels the same as I do that you didn't punish us too harshly. I can also tell ya that we both agree that you were too hard on the girls. What's done is done, though, and you've apologized. Alice clearly has already forgiven you and my Rosie has as well, despite her glare," he informed me, throwing his glaring mate a knowing smile.

Looking back towards me, he continued speaking. "Judging from the little exchange you had with Edward, I'd say things are good between you two, which just leaves my baby sis. So, Bella," Emmett called, now looking at the youngest vampire, "how do you feel about all this."

"I'm not angry, and as much as I hate it, I have to admit I more than deserved my punishments," she immediately spoke up, looking at me instead of her elder brother.

"There you have it," Emmett declared with spread arms. "I know Mama is cool with you as she's dragged us all together to play nicely (the aforementioned Mama sent her bear a mild glare), so pretty much all that's left is for you to forgive yourself and us to quit acting like idiots."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise at his words. "How have you acted like idiots?" I asked curiously. As far as I knew they'd reacted as they should have after the way I'd treated them.

Emmett just sighed before Edward began to speak. He spoke slowly, seemingly considering everything he said very carefully. "We have been acting like idiots, but I think it's understandable," he declared giving his brother a look. "And while I agree that I've forgiven you, I also feel there are things that need to be said." I nodded my head in complete understanding.

Edward took a deep breath as though to steel himself before looking me straight in the eyes. "We—you—I mean…the punishment we received was deserved and was harsh. The whipping was well earned, but I think being punished with the others around was too much. Then there was the fact that you just left us afterwards," he pointed out, gracing me with a hurt and disappointed look. I felt another upwelling of guilt and shame, and had to fight the urge to fidget in my seat. I was suddenly very glad I couldn't blush because I was sure I would have reddened at his words. I was being scolded by my own son. The situation was rather surreal.

"I have to agree with Edward," Alice chimed in somewhat hesitantly. "You gave us all the hardest punishment ever, and then you left us alone. We didn't know if you forgave us or if you were still angry with us. We didn't know if you'd punish us again." I grimaced as I fought to maintain eye contact with my daughter.

"That's why we've been acting the way we have been. That's why we've felt so on edge when you're around. We didn't know what sort of temperament you were in or what to expect from you," she explained. "You've been coming down hard on all of us, especially that first week, and admittedly we became a little scared." Jasper immediately wrapped a comforting arm around his guilty looking mate while shooting me a glare.

"We kinda felt like you weren't our dad these past few weeks, but our coven leader, and the coven leader is not someone to be messed with," he asserted, his head held up high, somewhat defensive. "You've also been blocking your emotions from me as much as you can, which obviously means you've been wanting to hide something from me. That unnerved me even more."

"You weren't exactly talking to us, either," Rosalie snapped, giving me a heated glare. "You punished me and Alice way too harshly, and then you just left us. You then spanked me two other times that week, once more offering little comfort. Then, you just said very little to us. You can't blame us for being uneasy around you."

"I don't blame you," I immediately responded, glad to finally understand my children's actions. I was even more ashamed at my actions. I glanced over at Bella now, waiting to see what she would add to this conversation.

She chewed on her bottom lip before saying, "I don't really have a right to say anything. Like I said before, I know I got exactly what I deserved, and unlike everybody else, I've been wary around you because I know you're not putting up with any disobedience or disrespect from me. I understand that you're being stricter with me than them, so I hold nothing against you."

I nodded my head at her words, glad to know she held no resentment towards me, no matter how hard I had been on her.

"Make no mistake, though," she added, "I've hated every minute of my punishment, and I have no desire to have a repeat of those, uh, lessons again." I smiled inwardly at how she skirted around the work spanking while giving her a nod in acknowledgement of her words. I was very glad that she was learning from this punishment as I too never wanted to have to repeat those lessons either.

"Thank you all for your honesty," I spoke with gratitude. "As you've all witnessed throughout the years, I am not immune from making mistakes. As you've also witnessed throughout the years, my mistakes tend to hurt all of you more often than not. I am far from the perfect father, I know that, but I can promise you that I will do my best to prevent myself from reacting as I did," I promised strongly. "I was wrong to have not offered you comfort. I did come down on you as your coven leader, but I should have treated you as your father afterwards and let you know that you'd been forgiven, and that you were still loved. When I noticed your reactions I should have spoken with you instead of hiding away," I confessed with open shame. "Your reactions were reactions I've always feared happening, so I reacted like a coward and said nothing to you as I was afraid of what you might say to me. I once more must apologize for my actions," I said with much sincerity. "I am your parent, and I need to act like it."

"Parents make mistakes," Esme announced, finally interjecting herself into the conversation. She graced me with a look of love and pride, and it warmed my heart. Having her on my side made everything easier. "And parents learn from those mistakes. This month has been hard on everyone, and I want us to be able to move past this. We are a family, and we love each other. I agree Carlisle made mistakes, but I must also remind you, children, that so did you. Your father didn't admit this, but your actions terrified him."

I frowned at my wife before letting out a sigh. The children had been honest with me. I owed them the same. They were all looking at me now, so I explained. "Esme is right. Your actions did terrify me. In fact, just thinking about them brings me feelings of panic. I'm still not sure if you understand how badly things could have turned out. Charlie could have been killed. The wolves could have attacked you, and any one of you or them could have died during such an attack. Charlie could have seen Bella. The Volturi could have got wind of this, and that would be it for us. If they wanted to end this family, they could."

Concerned looks were exchanged.

I didn't want to continue speaking, but I did. "If the Volturi came for us, I wouldn't be able to protect you," I admitted quietly, heart clenching at the mere thought of my children being not only harmed but killed.

"I—we are no match for them," I declared, giving each member of the family, including my wife a very serious look.

"With Jane and Alec, they could debilitate us with no problem, and that would be it," I simply stated, unable to keep the grimace off my face. I felt ashamed at how powerless I would be to protect my family against them, but I couldn't deny that I was not superman. I'd been trained to fight, but so had the Volturi's guard.

"You all deserved to be punished," I continued, wanting to move away from the possible destruction of our family, "but as you've all stated, I went too far, and I promise to do my best to make sure that never happens again. This family means everything to me, and I allowed my fear to cloud my better judgment."

"We never meant to scare you so much," Bella spoke up in a small, guilty voice, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm so sorry we—I was so stupid and childish. I would never want to endanger our family."

Her siblings and mate murmured their agreements, and silence befell us as we all contemplated the conversation.

"Bella," I called, suddenly feeling the need to just end all the punishment, "I am ending your grounding as well today. There's been enough punishment dealt, and your behavior has been exemplary this entire month. Is that alright with you?" I asked, letting out a laugh when her eyes widened and she looked at me like I was crazy.

"Of course that's fine with me!" she blurted out, before frowning mildly. "Are you sure it's okay though? I mean, I know I deserve to be"—

"You've been punished enough. You all have," I stated. "As of today, you have all your freedoms back. Just do me a favor and keep the misbehavior to a minimum."

"You bet!" Emmett crowed, grinning wildly as he suddenly stood up and pulled his baby sister into his arms.

"Let's go have some fun!" he yelled without warning before boisterously running out of the room with a screaming Bella. We all stared with dumbfounded expressions before Edward leapt up and hurriedly ran after the pair. Rosalie let out a sigh and grumbled to herself before following. Jasper and Alice just shared amused grins before shrugging and taking off after their siblings. Esme and I shared bewildered looks before I just shook my head fondly. It seemed things were going to be okay. They definitely seemed to be headed back to their spirited selves.

"Well, that went well," Esme declared cheerfully before coming over and taking my head in her hands. I leaned into her touch, allowing her to just cradle my head as I soaked in her comfort. I was exhausted, not realizing how much stress I'd been under. It all seemed to catch up to me and I felt weary. My loving wife seemed to realize that as she just leaned down and hugged me, allowing me to gain all the comfort I could from her.

"I think it's time we went and visited the Denalis," she whispered to me, and I finally lifted my head to look at her.

"It would do us all good to get away and see them," she explained, and I just graced her with a warm smile as I drily replied, "You mean it'd be good for me to talk with Eleazar."

She smiled brightly before simply shrugging. "The children love visiting and I know you do as well. But yes, there is the added bonus of you having a talk with Eleazar. He's always there to help you when you need it."

I snorted softly, although I agreed. Getting away from here would be good, and talking with Eleazar always proved helpful to me. That man always seemed to know the right things to say to get me to talk. It was rather annoying at times, but I also had to admit, he was always very helpful. The more I mulled it over, the better it sounded. Yes, I thought happily, to Denali we will go.