CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

EMMETT'S POV:

This dude was asking for trouble. I mean, seriously; what's with all the hate? Being as big as I am, I understand what it's like to be a little hotheaded, and wanting to talk with your fists instead of use words; but Black had been letting off nothing but violent vibes since he's walked into the room. He wasn't even trying to get along with anyone.

I was trying to keep an open mind when he first arrived. There were so many of us Cullens; I didn't want to come off as a threat; we didn't want to gang up on the guy. Despite our intentions, Black took everything that was said so personally. I knew then and there that there was no reasoning with him. He came here for a fight, and he wouldn't leave until he got one.

It was honorable of my Ma to try and talk Black through what's been going on on our end with Tony. But he disregarded everything she said. And then he went and blatantly disrespected her. I don't think so buddy. She was only trying to help. Here she was trying to diffuse the situation, and Black fucks up everything in one second.

Recalling what started the so called fist-fight, I remember Ma addressing the Blacks, saying "I don't understand why there has to be sides at all. We are all family. We need to work together to make this transition easy for the little boy." Black did not appreciate us calling ourselves Tony's family, and he made that point known by ridiculing her. Now, I have no problem with him treating Edward like shit; after all, things would have been different if Bella and him didn't argue four years back. I mean, I wanted to teach him a lesson myself. But there's no need for Black to take it out on my mama. She doesn't deserve his insolence. I was all set to let him know my stance on the matter when Edward took a stand.

"That's right Black, we're his family too. And although he may not realize the extent of our connections to him, we will be the friends he needs to get through this situation. We lo—care…about him just as much as you do." Damn, was he going to say love? I looked to Rosie to see if she caught the verbal slip as well. The small smile playing on his lips told me that she had. It's about damn time man.

While the family seemed please with Edward's declaration, Jake was livid. "Family? You call yourself his family? You are the furthest thing from a family."

"Watch yourself Black; this is our fight…leave the rest of my family out of it," Edward warned.

Jake disregarded the forewarning, and pressed on. "You're no father; you're nothing but a sperm donor to him. All you did was 'hit it and quit it', what a true claim to fame, huh?" Jess tried to reel him back in, warning him to take it down a notch, but he shrugged her off too.

Looking over at Edward, you could see that he was irate. Hell, I wasn't the kid's father and I felt like knocking the dude out. While I'd give in to my primal urges now, Edward, being the more mature adult, gave him one more warning; "Black, you leave mine and Bella's relationship out of this. Not that it's any of your fucking business, I love her man; there was no 'hitting it and quitting it'. I didn't even know about my son; if given time, I truly believer there would have been no quitting. Now, I warn you again; I'm your target, leave everyone else out."

"You have some nerve calling him your son, Eddie. He's not a son to you; he's just your bastard child; your mistake that you wish could be erased. I wish I was his father; at least then he'd know he was loved by someone. I deserve the title a hell of a lot more than you asshole."

And that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Edward had always been a jealous creature. He pulled back his arm, and punched Black square in the face. The resounding smack was heard throughout the room. I heard Rosalie yelp in surprise, and Jasper and my father hesitantly took a step closer. Who knew my brother could pack such a punch. Must have been all those years of rough-housing we did while growing up that trained him for this epic battle. 'You've learned well, young grasshopper', I thought to myself.

Despite the fact that Black wanted this type of reaction from Edward, he was taken aback by the sheer force of impact and his body sailed backwards into the nearby end table. Porcelain pieces from the fallen lamp scattered the floor, but this fact went unnoticed by the pair of amateur wrestlers.

Black seemed to overpower Edward with a blow to the stomach. The lack of air supply to his lungs reduced his attack, and black did a number to Edward's face. Realizing Edward need a wingman, I rushed the scene and pushed Black off of my brother. Dad came forward as well, and helped lift Edward off the floor. Before he had time to access the injuries dealt, Edward charged again at the ass, ducking out of the way of Black's punch, and hitting him with an uppercut to the jaw. That's gotta hurt. The battle was starting to pick up, and my inner play-by-plays made me feel like an announcer at a boxing match.

I glanced back at Rosie to see how she was fairing, and noticed the look of fear on his face. Sometime during the chaos, my mother had made her way over to my girl, and was clutching onto her arm for support. This was really taking a toll on her. Deciding the two had gotten enough swings in, I grabbed Black's arms and held them behind his back, limiting his movement and power. I saw Dad do the same to Edward.

Black did not appreciate my hands on him. "This ain't your battle Emmett. Let me go, or you'll pay for your actions as well." I couldn't help but laugh at his empty threat.

"I'd like to see you try, Black. Though, it seems that you've gotten yourself in quite the pickle. How do you plan to get out of this hold dude?" I taunted. Black struggled against me, but I didn't budge.

Dad became the new authoritarian of the situation. "That is enough, all of you. You are grown men. There is no reason to act this way. How would you have explained this battle to Tony; he could have walked in at any time. Don't you think he'd be upset at the behavior between his two friends? Heck, how are you going to explain all these cuts and bruises to him? Kids learn from those around them; your actions will teach him that violence is acceptable. What great role models you are," he mocked.

But he wasn't done reprimanded them. "You two need to put aside your differences. You're hatred for one another has stemmed all the way back to high school. Hopefully you've gotten it out of your systems. Now, this is what we're going to do. Jessica, can you take Jake into the bathroom, and try to clean him up a bit. I'd do it myself, but I don't want to be accused to being insensitive to his injuries. I'll do the same for Edward, and then we'll reconvene here in the living room to discuss Tony's provisions."

Black didn't move at first; disrespecting another parent…so not cool. I really wanted to take my turn and kick his ass. But before I could, Jess put herself in front of Jake, and placed her hands on his chest. "Let's go Jake." With a slight push, Black back stepped, and when he was at a safe distance from his attacker, he turned around and headed to the bathroom.

With him out of the room, I decided that Eddie needed some encouragement. "Nicely done bro; but you could have at least saved me a punch." He tried to smirk, but his busted lip made it hard to decipher.

Rosalie was quick to scold me. "Emmett that was not nicely done. That was barbaric and downright immature." Okay…that was somewhat of a typical response from Rose. I didn't think too much about it. What shocked me the most was my mother's response.

"I don't know Rose…I was ready to put Black over my knee and give him a whooping myself. Though I will condone fighting in every instance from this point forward, I must give credit where credit's due. Nicely down son." I let out a monstrous laugh. Seriously, who knew Mom had this side to her.

Dad settled Edward down on the couch and did an inventory of the damage. "It looks like Jake got the brunt of the injuries. At least that's a plus." Fetching his medicine bag, Dad applied some ointment to Edward's visible cuts. I had to chuckle a little at Edward's facial expressions. He was a grown man, and yet he still was affected by a little cream that stings.

Not in two minutes later, the door of the hotel suite burst open, and in ran Tony with the Whitlock's beagle in his arms. "Where's Uncle Jake? I want to show him the puppy! Mommy won't let me have a puppy, but if I could, I want this one. He's so cute!" Behind him trailed Sophia and Alice. Sophia had a pout on her face; I don't think she appreciated her puppy being stolen by the little man.

Hoping to distract him so he wouldn't notice his uncle's absence, and register Edward's injuries, I went over to the pup and scratched behind his ears. "Hey Shadow. How you doing boy? Were you a good boy on the plane ride with Jazz?" Stepping back a little so I could get a better look at Tony, I said, "I want a dog too, but Rosie won't let me get one. She says they're too much work, and that I'm not responsible enough to be raising one." I swear I heard Rosie mutter a 'Damn straight' under her breathe. Think what you want now Rosie….but I will use Jedi-mind tricks on you, and you will cave eventually to my demands.

Jake came out of the bathroom, and he looked a little better due to some makeup Jess put on him to hide his cuts. When Jake saw him, he rushed over to show him the puppy. The two of them played with the pup and stayed out of the way. Eventually, Edward was fully taken care of, and the meeting between the two families could continue.

I felt like we were enemy tribes, and we needed to make a treaty to compromise and get through this mess. Where's a good peace pipe when you need one? Dad called for everyone's attention. He then called Tony over and asked him to take the seat of honor. Tony was thrilled with the attention, and enjoyed the honor that was bestowed upon him. Hopefully he'll continue to be jovial when the tough subjects are broached. Come'on Tony…I've got faith in you.