Jasper sat on the edge of his bed watching the door intently. He was grateful that Esme had found an occupation for Alice since she had given him a much more difficult time when asked to leave than he had thought she would. She had been extremely upset and her resistance could only mean one thing; a vision, and a bad one at that.

He fell back on the bed taking comfort in the scent of his sweet wife that lingered on the bedding. That trace of her presence would have to give him strength to see this through. Reaching over, he grabbed her pillow and pulled it against his chest, burying his face against the silky fabric. With her essence enveloping him, Jasper's mind recounted his various transgressions of the day. He had lost his temper with Emmett and Rose, struck his ever gentle Alice, fought off Edward, nearly killed Esme and now sunk to a level of disrespect towards Carlisle that he would have never imagined reaching. He had managed to endanger and offend every member of his coven; of his family.

He groaned into the downy softness while revisiting his malfeasance. Any one of these earlier acts would easily have gotten him maimed or killed as punishment within other covens yet, even with all of them combined, Carlisle had offered his forgiveness. Such charity was unheard of among their kind and even after all these years Jasper still found great difficulty in accepting it. This flaw in his ability to accept his leader's gracious offer was the cause of his unwarranted insubordination for which he now awaited castigation.

How could you do that to him? In truth how could you do that to any of them? Alice was right. You do deserve a much worse whoopin' then Carlisle will ever lay on your hide and that has more to do with stubborn pride than your actions alone.

A light rap on the door drew his attention, causing his nervousness to peak. Nervousness. It hadn't occurred to Jasper before but that was what he was feeling. Surprisingly, there was no fear as there had been in Maria's coven, just nervousness at having to atone for his misbehavior. A swift mental inventory of other times that Carlisle had taken him in hand for various indiscretions all had been faced with the same nervous worry but never fear. He should fear Carlisle. As his coven leader he held sway over Jasper's life and death yet the boy could not find a reason to fear him.

This is more, much more, than a coven, Jasper Whitlock but you have been too blind to really see it. You have called him father but have you ever truly believed it? These people are your family. You don't treat family like this, ever.

Shame overtook the wheaten haired youth as he placed the pillow down and hauled himself to his feet. The rapping on the door came again a little bit firmer. Jasper crossed the room swiftly and opened the door for his father.

"Papa, please come in." Jasper motioned for Carlisle to enter but kept his eyes downcast as the shame of his deeds threatened to overwhelm him.

Carlisle studied his son for several moments before stepping passed him. There was something different about the way he was carrying himself, an odd change in attitude that made him slightly uneasy.

"Thank you, Jasper. Would you please take a seat?"

While Jasper reclaimed his spot on the side of the bed, Carlisle pulled the desk chair over and spun it around. Straddling it, he leaned his folded arms against the backrest as he scrutinized his son further. The boy's nervous energy had thankfully diminished to leave only a tingling to affect his father but in its place there was a deep sadness that buffeted Carlisle's emotions.

"Jasper, please look at me."

"I'm sorry, sir. At this time I am afraid I can't do that."

"I can make it an order and then you would have to comply. I would be appreciative if we didn't have to take that route so I will simply ask again, Jasper look at me. Let me see your eyes."

Jasper turned his head slightly to the side as he smirked bitterly. "Eyes are the windows to the soul but what can they reflect in a soulless creature?"

"Taking lessons from Edward, I see." Carlisle reached out and placed a knuckle beneath Jasper's chin to tilt his head up then gently caught his chin and turned the boy to face him. He heaved a sigh at the melancholy that clouded the fathomless depths of his son's onyx eyes. "That isn't just regret, Jasper. Are you worried that you're going to be ostracized, because I can lay that fear to rest right now."

Jasper pulled away from Carlisle and shook his head as he averted his eyes.

"No, sir. If I was anywhere else that might be a concern though I more than likely would have already run for fear of my life so banishment would be the least of my worries. I'm just…," he bit his bottom lip as he shook his head again. "I don't know what to do or say. Today should have never occurred and I'm at fault."

Carlisle sat up and tilted his head to the side in thought as he watched the boy suffering before him. "Jasper, you were not the only one to lose control this evening. The majority of our family would be found guilty of that particular folly today but the worst offender would be me."

The younger man met his father's eyes and began to speak but Carlisle didn't give him the chance.

"I said that I owed you an apology, son and that is still true. My teeth should have never touched your throat. I will not apologize for protecting Esme but I could have handled the situation much better. I don't want you to ever fear me, Jasper and I will never put you in a situation like that again."

Jasper looked down as he listened to his father, and then shook his head in response. "You don't owe me anything, Carlisle." The boy took a deep breath before reclaiming the courage to look into his father's eyes. "If it hadn't been for me there would have never been a reason for you to lose control. I accept your apology but you need to know that it is not necessary. Papa, there is no reason for you to regret anything you've done. I am the guilty one in all of this mess not you. The only thing that you owe me is the tanning of my life and I would like to get that out of the way if you don't mind, sir."

"Cut to the chase much, son?"

"Figured we already got all the talkin' done, papa; maybe a mite too much talkin' on my part. I'm not asking for leniency, don't feel either one of us thinks that I deserve it at this point so might as well get to it."

Carlisle sighed as he rubbed his forehead then nodded. "Jasper, you do understand what you're being punished for, correct?"

"My unruly behavior that endangered my family and insulted you, sir."

"Your unruly behavior was not entirely your fault, we have already established that. You and I will monitor your frame of mind from here on out. The moment that you feel you may be losing your grip on your temper, I want you to come see either Esme or me. I would prefer that we talk about it and defuse the problem so that there are no worries about a repeat of earlier events. I am inclined to believe that this is a onetime occurrence but it is better to be safe than sorry."

"I deserve to be punished. What if you hadn't been there to stop me?"

Carlisle rubbed his eyes as the first twinge of frustration began to return.

"Jasper, punishment will not stop a behavior that you have no conscious control over so it's pointless. Should you have monitored your behavior more closely? Yes. When you felt yourself getting enraged at Emmett, should you have walked away? Yes. Those are technically things that I could reprimand you for but I've already stated that I'm not going to punish either you or your brother for the fight. It's over and you both learned a lesson from it. If you really feel that I need to reinforce that lesson I will, but know this, you will then be condemning Emmett to the same fate. Is that really what you want to do?"

"That's not fair, papa."

"Explain to me how it's not fair."

"Em didn't attack momma."

"And neither did you, at least not knowingly. You attacked 'Maria.' That is who your mind saw and I will not hold you responsible for that." Carlisle stood and replaced the chair as he tried to redirect the irritation that this conversation was causing him into some form of motion. "So what is it to be, Jasper? Do you accept my reasoning or do you wish me to call on Emmett when I leave your room?"

"You're not really giving me much of a choice," Jasper responded in a bitter tone. "I have to accept your reasons because I won't put Emmett's butt on the line because of my stupidity."

Carlisle's eyes narrowed as he stared at his son then he slapped his hand down on the boy's computer desk in annoyance.

"That is what you're being punished for. I don't know what has gotten into you, boy. I truly do not, but this impertinence ends here and now." Carlisle's voice came out in a low growl and his nearly endless patience was stretched to its breaking point yet again.

A barely audible "Damn" reached his ears causing the patriarch to inhale deeply in an attempt to calm himself.

"Edward, mind your word choice and your manners. This conversation does not concern you so, in your place I would remove myself from it; that goes for everyone." The sounds of quiet shuffling could be heard then the house was plunged into a still silence.

Carlisle ran a hand through his hair as he leaned against the door frame while he considered his next choice of action. "Jasper, get up."

As his son stood, Carlisle walked over and took a seat on the boy's bed.

"I have had enough, son. You have continually pushed me this evening so now I am obliged to give you what you have been asking for so vehemently." His voice had returned to its normal quiet calm but there was an underlining tension in his tone. "You will not be needing your jeans for this so, if you please."

Jasper shucked his jeans and was laying them over the foot of the bed when Carlisle made a request that stunned him.

"Please give me your belt, son."

At the boy's wide eyed expression, Carlisle sighed softly and held out his hand. All too soon for Jasper's taste, the formidable implement was carefully placed in his father's clutch causing the youth to shudder. He knew that he had brought it on himself but this was a twist that he had never even allowed himself to consider. Swallowing hard he shifted his focus from the leather strap to his father's eyes. There was sadness there along with disappointment and concern, but a powerful determination had hardened Carlisle's gaze.

Laying the belt down beside him on the bed, Carlisle grabbed a pillow and placed it upon his left thigh before reaching out to grasp Jasper's wrist firmly.

"Looks like you are planning on us being here awhile." Jasper tried to keep his voice steady but heard it waver slightly as he allowed himself to be pulled down over his father's knee.

"Well, Jasper that will all depend on you but given the attitude that you have displayed lately I think it's a fair assumption."

The boy pulled his mate's pillow towards him and buried his face in it as he tried to find a way to relax given the position he was in, but when Carlisle moved to lock his leg over his son's Jasper kicked himself free angrily.

"You don't need to lock me down like some child."

A sudden swat to the back of his thigh caused Jasper to hiss through gritted teeth.

"It would appear that I do. Son, I have told you before that I will treat you like an adult as long as you are willing to act like one. Today's behavior has not been a high point on your maturity scale and that little stunt shot you down even lower. Now be still." Another stinging blow landed on the opposite thigh eliciting a quiet gasp from the young blonde. "I am doing this because I don't want you to accidentally slip and fall."

Jasper fell silent at his father's reprimand. Carlisle was right. He had been acting childishly and he knew it but seemed unable to control his rashness. He chewed on his bottom lip and hugged Alice's pillow tightly while his father wrapped his arm around the boy's waist to pull him close to his body. Jasper made up his mind to submit to his punishment but faulted in his conviction as he felt his boxers pulled down to his knees.

"Oh, come on, papa. Please. You can't take a belt to my bare ass. You just can't do it."

"Don't presume to be able to tell me what I can and can't do, young man. Unless I am mistaken that is what has landed you here in the first place."

Carlisle's palm came down in a flurry of firm strong strokes that kindled a burning sting across Jasper's backside. His son tried to maintain some level of stoicism but it wasn't long before his father's perfected method of punishment drew soft grunts and groans from the boy. As the burning increased, he couldn't help trying to wiggle away but Carlisle's iron grip held him firm.

"Do I have your attention now, Jasper?"

His son nodded his head rapidly as a glaze of venom coated his eyes. Carlisle slowed his onslaught but kept the intensity of his strokes.

"Verbal responses please, son."

Jasper drew a breath as he closed his eyes to impede the tears that threatened to fall. He still continued to nod but managed a soft, "yes, sir" in answer to his father's question.

"What is the cause of this attitude that you are struggling with?"

"I… I… don't know."

Carlisle's dissatisfaction with Jasper's answer was quickly felt against the tender flesh where cheek meets thigh. The boy yowled in pain causing his father to grimace but not relent.

"You do know. Now think about it and give me an answer because I'm not going to stop until you do."

Tears finally breached his defenses and began to soak into Alice's pillow as Jasper battled the bedlam of emotions welling up inside. How could he be expected to sort this all out and come up with a coherent response to his father's question? He didn't know why he lashed out. He didn't know where the anger came from or why it turned into disrespect towards his father. He didn't know what Carlisle wanted to hear.

It wasn't until his cries turned to softer sobs and his breathing became less labored that Jasper realized his father's hand was resting lightly on his back rubbing him gently. The boy tried to push his way up but the heel of Carlisle's hand applied pressure between his shoulders effectively holding him in place.

"We aren't done, son. I'm just giving you a little breather. Your emotions are all over the place which isn't serving either of us very well. For now just calm down and use the time to try to come up with an answer to my question."

"I don't know, Carlisle. You can whip me the rest of the night and I'm still not going to know." His voice sounded like a weak whine which furthered his annoyance with himself.

He heard his father draw a breath and hold it before very slowly exhaling.

"Alright, Jasper let's see if we can find the answer together. What are you being punished for?"

Jasper swallowed back venom as he hid his face against the pillow before quietly muttering, "Because of my crappy attitude. I was…," he gave a short mirthless laugh, "I am being sullen, difficult and disrespectful."

"Okay, that's good. That's progress. We have identified the problem. Now we have to figure out the cause. When did this attitude first occur?"

"When I attacked, Emmett."

"No. That is an unrelated event. Take a few minutes to think about it and then try again."

Carlisle loosened his hold around his son's waist allowing the boy to shift into a marginally more comfortable position.

"When I yelled at you in the study." His admission tinged his tone with deep regret.

"Correct. Now, why did you yell at me?"

Jasper shook his head and remained silent. A firm swat caused him to yelp and find the courage to use his voice.

"Because I felt that you were turning your back on me. I felt… It was a stupid reason."

"Jasper, I can't help you if you don't confide in me. If something is bothering you to the extent that it changes your personality, it isn't stupid or something to take lightly."

After many minutes of silence between father and son, Jasper covered his head with the pillow and muttered into the fabric knowing that Carlisle's keen hearing would still be able to make out his words.

"I felt like I wasn't worth your time. I wasn't important enough for you to bother with my disobedience. I couldn't find it in myself to handle my guilt and it seemed that I wasn't important enough for you to help me with it. I was angry and thought if I provoked you at least I would get what I needed. I didn't want leniency and that was all that you were willing to give me."

Carlisle pinched the bridge of his nose as he processed this new information. "Son, not every offense needs to end up where we are right now, nor should it. I understand that you are dealing with guilt. Frankly, I am too. Physical punishment can be cathartic which is the main reason that I employ it, but there are other methods. Talk about what you are feeling instead of lashing out in an attempt to anger me into action. We can find other ways for you to make amends with your mother that can relieve you of your guilt."

"Momma forgave me just as easily as you did. This was my only viable option. It's quick and clean and over."

"Maybe that wasn't what you needed."

Jasper pulled the pillow away and looked back over his shoulder at his father. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe you needed to feel that guilt a bit longer so you could learn from it. Guilt teaches, Jasper. Without any help from me, it shows you what you did wrong and makes you want to avoid that action in the future. As long as you don't let it consume you, it's a wonderful teacher and generally will resolve itself in time as you strive towards better behavior."

The younger man laid his head back down on the bed with a sigh. "So by forcing you to punish me I am running away instead of facing my problem."

"In a way, yes."

He snorted in dismay. "Great. And to think I called you weak."

"You're not weak, son; not by a long shot. You panicked and relied on the most familiar coping skill that you had available. That tends to happen but next time instead of being disrespectful to get what you think you want, let's try to talk about it. If you try another method and still find yourself struggling with your guilt we can always return to taking you in hand, just not for every transgression."

Jasper nodded in agreement. "Can I get up now?"

Carlisle cocked his head in confusion. "I had already told you that we were not yet done."

"But I thought you said…"

"I said that you need to give other methods for dealing with guilt a try, though I have to think that the sore behind you're nursing right now at least took the edge off of your guilt."

"Yes, sir."

"Good, but that wasn't the reason you were being punished, now was it?" Jasper groaned but Carlisle simply continued, "I was just trying to get your attention and to motivate you to answer my questions; making you think. Your abhorrent behavior has not been addressed. You weren't very penitent just a little while ago when you already knew that you were going to be punished so I don't feel that was running off of the same reasoning."

"No sir, I was… becoming more pissed off at myself and I took it out on you."

"If you knew that relief was at hand why were you still getting angry at your actions?"

"It was different."

"Jasper, what did I just say about talking to me. Don't start being evasive already."

Jasper sighed as he quietly berated himself. He didn't want to be in a position to admit his shortsightedness but Carlisle wasn't really giving him another choice.

"I realized how stupid I have been. Here you are, everyone really, trying so hard to accept me as family while I still saw this as a coven. I couldn't accept that you would forgo punishing me out of love because that could never happen in a coven. I was confused but then some light bulb went on and I realized just how much all of you care about my worthless butt and it made me feel bad. I was ashamed of my actions and I vented that inappropriately."

Carlisle cringed at the word shame but let it go for now. "You're not stupid, Jasper. You just haven't had the same experiences as the rest of us. If we were suddenly thrown into a traditional coven, I'm sure we would fare much worse at adjusting to that than you do here."

"I suppose you have a point."

"I usually do, it's just that not everyone pays attention."

"You have my full attention right now."

Carlisle was unable to suppress a laugh at Jasper's comment. "I'm sure I do, son so what say we finish addressing your behavior."

His son blew out a sigh. "If we must, but I think you've done an excellent job of expressing your displeasure with my attitude."

"Then we shouldn't find ourselves having to revisit this topic again in the future." Carlisle shifted Jasper forward to better expose the weight bearing edge of his son's rear end while tightening his hold once again around the lad's waist. "Jasper, what did you do that warranted this?"

"Lost my fool mind and disrespected my coven lead… I disrespected my father, sir."

Though the timing was strange, a smile lit up Carlisle's face. For years Jasper had called him papa because the boy knew that it made him happy but this was the first time that he could remember Jasper forsaking the coven leader title in favor of referring to him as father. That one small word was spoken with a love that Carlisle could feel. Maybe Esme was right after all because would Jasper really be able feel that way towards him if he feared being abused by him? Carlisle had loved his father but there had been a blood tie. Jasper was under so such obligation yet wanted to call him father. He allowed himself a few more moments reprieve with those happier thoughts before returning his attention to his fatherly duty.

"That's correct, son. I hate to have to do this but I can't abide disrespect."

"I know and I'm sorry, papa." Jasper's face disappeared in the pillow's comforting embrace as Carlisle reclaimed the discarded belt.

AN: Alrighty, folks I am going to ask y'all to use your imagination here. This is not a cliffhanger. I'm going to be picking the story back up shortly after Carlisle has departed Jasper's room. I'm taking the less is more route, even though this has been my longest chapter thus far.

Thanks to everyone for suggestions, reviews, favorites and all your various kind support. Thanks again to Splinter for all of her help in proofing my messes and making this easier to read.

This does not end the story. There is still a bit more to go on this journey. Esme's pasts has still yet to come into play so stick around. We're gettin' there.