"Aw hell, this is bad."
"You think, Em?" Rosalie gave him a look that could have killed. They were all in serious trouble now and it all started with a simple spark of ingenuity from the bear genius. "What was your first clue?"
Her mate hung his head at her chiding. The night should not have ended like this. The plan was foolproof. He had carefully worked out every detail to be sure that his siblings and he would not find themselves in the situation that now loomed before them.
"Cut him some slack, Rose. It was Emmett's brilliant idea but we all agreed to go along with it so we share the fault equally. No one twisted your arm." Jasper groused as he leaned against the dresser while focusing on his own rampant stupidity. Yep, he had known that this would end up badly. What had he said mere hours ago? We deserve everything we've got coming. He groaned at the memory. Though he still found those words valid it didn't make it any easier to accept the consequences of their actions.
"Look guys, I said I would take the heat and I will."
Edward scoffed as he laid across Emmett and Rose's bed plugged into his I-pod trying to allow the music to ease the apprehension building within him. His father's call for the family meeting was off putting enough but the thoughts that Edward picked up from the patriarch concerning what was to come made it difficult to maintain his composure. They had broken one of their parents strictest rules by putting themselves in a situation that could have gotten them killed. That did not bode well for their backsides at all but what disturbed Edward the most was the fact that he wouldn't be afforded the privacy that he was usually granted when he was punished. While they all had their hides tanned on occasion, Edward struggled most with the humiliation that he felt from the knowledge that his siblings would hear the discipline being carried out. To avoid this further suffering in his first born, Carlisle made it a point to assure Edward's privicy by sending the others out of the house but with all of them facing similar repercussions that part of the ritual appeared null and void. Just thinking about it caused panic to well up within the gentle impressionable boy.
Jasper felt Edwards rising agitation and sent waves of calming energy over the entire group. He doubted that his gift would ease them for very long but maybe a little reprieve from their self induced distress would make this "family meeting' go a little more smoothly.
Alice left her mate's side to walk over to her big brother, placing a gentle hand on his burly shoulder. "Em, even if momma and daddy would allow you to take all of the blame that isn't something we could let happen. Jazzy is right. None of us were forced to join in the fun and games so it's only fair that we share the blame equally. Accidents happen," she said with a slight shrug, "and I am sure that momma and daddy are more relieved that we are all alright then they are mad about what we were doing. You'll see. It won't be as bad as we think it will be."
"Oh, it is going to be bad."
Alice glanced at Edward causing him to fall silent as he suddenly regretted his words.
"...but Alice is right. When mom asked if we still were in possession of all of our parts I heard her think about how grateful she was that it was just the greenhouse that got destroyed. If it's any consolation, at least she was only worried about us and I doubt that she is looking to have dad kill us." He looked back at Alice to see if his backpedaling had appeased her but her attention was back on Emmett.
"It will all be over soon and then we can put all this trouble behind us. Even though I will miss sitting down for a little while, I'll let you in on a secret, Em. I wouldn't have changed a thing." Alice gave her brother hug which he returned in kind. "I thought it was a wonderful night and I had a blast."
"Not quite as large of one as the greenhouse had." Jasper shifted slightly as he smirked while a vision of the explosion replayed in his mind.
Edward pick up on his thoughts and found it impossible to suppress a laugh. "It was pretty damn spectacular, wasn't it? Not something you see every day."
Laughter began to fill the room as the tension finally lost a little bit of its strangle hold on the teens.
"Even I have to admit that it was an impressive sight, Em." Rose smiled at her mate. "I believe that you really managed to surprise mom this time so that is a monumental feat. She was speechless when we drove into the yard. You should have seen the look on her face."
A look of confusion came over Jasper as he listened to his fair haired sister and tuned into her emotions. "Rose, darlin', I don't see a reason for you to be nervous. I would be willing to bet good money that you are the only one here who is in good standings with the parents in all of this. Your role was passive, hon. I doubt it even warrants a slap on the wrist."
Glancing towards her "twin", Rosalie let out a slight sigh.
"I will take that bet and be a rich woman, Jazz."
"How so?"
"I kinda went off on Esme."
"Ooo," Edward flinched at the memory that ran through his sister's mind. "Yeah, that ..."
"Yes, Edward. I am well aware that it wasn't my brightest moment," she snapped a little more aggressively then she meant to. Averting her gaze she muttered a quiet, "Sorry. Didn't mean to take it out on you."
Emmett pulled his mate into his strong arms and held her close. "It's okay, babe. I'm in enough trouble for all of us. Once mom gets to fussing at me she will probably forget all about being angry with you." He kissed her gently on the forehead.
A hushed nervousness settled over the group as they became lost in their own thoughts of what had transpired and what was to come of it.
"Man, we are going to be cleaning up glass for a month."
Jasper snorted at Emmett's observation. "At least that long."
"We're going to be paying for that greenhouse," Edward thought out loud, "and the tax taken out of our hides is going to be much worse then the money out of our pockets."
"I feel bad about the plants. Poor things didn't even know what hit them. I hope they can be replaced. Momma had worked so hard taking care of them."
"Alice, recently someone mentioned about a little tropical nursery a few towns over. If we are ever allowed out of the house again you and I can go check it out and see what we can come up with." Rosalie had found her mother's interest in botany fascinating and had taken to spending time in the greenhouse relaxing among the exotic blooms. At least she would recognize most of what had been lost to the fire so there was hope of eventual recovery.
Carlisle's voice abruptly cut through their reflection.
"I suggest you all start making your way down here, now. Ten minutes have come and gone. You really don't want me to come up there to collect you."
"Right down, Pops!"
Empathetic looks passed among the teens before they headed towards the door.
"Dead. So very very dead."
Jasper gave his fretful brother a light punch in the shoulder. "It will be over soon, Em, and then all will be forgiven. Try to think of it that way. Makes it just a tad bit easier to take."
Emmett gave Jasper a weak smile as he nodded. "Thanks, Jazz. I am really sorry that I dragged all of you into this. If I had realized..."
"Em, we knew what was at stake if we got caught but decided to take that chance. Nobody is blaming you. Don't rag on yourself so much. Now come on before papa gets really pissed off."
Jasper slipped around Emmett to meet up with Alice who already stood at the stairs waiting patiently for her mate. When he met her eyes he noted that they were glassy with tears that were already trying to form. Without a word he wrapped his arm around her and gave a little squeeze of reassurance before leading the way down to face their parents. Yup, Emmett was right. This is not going to be good. We are so fixin' ta get it.
As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Jasper's eyes focused on Carlisle standing with his arms crossed watching them intently.
Damn, but papa looks as frustrated as a one-legged man at a butt-kicking contest.
Carlisle motioned for Jasper and Alice to take a seat on the couch. Edward was already slumped in a chair awaiting judgement. Now there was just his two worst offenders left. Carlisle sighed as Rose darted past him to plop down next to Alice leaving Emmett standing alone seemingly frozen on the last step of the stairs.
"Come on, son. Take a seat so we can get started."
"Pops," Emmett started but halted swallowing nervously before he regained his voice, "Pops, please don't make them pay for my mistake. This was all my idea. If I hadn't kept at them no one else would have been involved. I know it was wrong and I knew it when I came up with the idea so it's me who deserves to be punished but not anyone else. They just sorta fell into my trap."
Carlisle bit back a smile as his son tried so desperately to make a case for acquitting the rest of the miscreants.
"As persuasive as you may be, Emmett, I can't believe that you alone are to blame for this evening's mishap."
"He's not, daddy and we keep telling him that but he won't believe us." Alice looked up at her father pleadingly.
He gave his little princess a nod. "I know, baby." Turning his attention back towards his son, Carlisle spoke quietly but firmly. "Please come take a seat next to Rose, Emmett. I would like to get this over with as quickly as possible and causing delays isn't in your best interest, son."
Emmett lumbered over towards the couch and sat on the arm not wanting to crowd his mate. He knew that she was still angry at him and felt that giving her at least a little space was best in the long run.
Carlisle walked over to stand next to the chair where his wife sat watching her children fidget anxiously. It was Esme who was first to break the silence.
"Emmett, don't answer until you are addressed directly. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Alright, I want to know exactly what happened here tonight. I don't want to hear it from Emmett since his view is slightly askewed at the moment. Jasper, how about you start?"
Esme noticed as Alice reached over and took her mate's hand to offer whatever reassurance she could and smiled slightly at their united front.
Jasper sighed before shifting his gaze from his lap to his mother's eyes.
"Em just wanted to show us all a good time. He put a lot of thought into trying to pull off a firework display that would be fitting any major city. When he first brought it up, Edward and I really weren't keen on the idea but the more we questioned him the more it appeared that he really had all the logistics worked out. It honestly did seem safe enough. Alice and I agreed first since it sounded like a little bit of harmless fun. What could go wrong, right?"
Emmett looked up at Jasper as his own words came back to haunt him. He expected to find a mocking expression on his brother's face but instead he noticed a glint of humor in his eyes as a slight smirk crossed his lips. He would have to be more careful when using that phrase from now on but it was good to find that his brother wasn't going to go into the whole "I told you so" routine.
"Edward proved to be the smartest of all of us. He held out the longest but you know how peer pressure can git ta ya. He and Alice really did stay away from doing anything stupid so that is one good thing."
"You were playing around with dangerous explosives and fire. That alone, without any sort of hijinks is stupid, young man."
"Yes, ma'am but Em and I... well we were the ones to be a might more on the daring side. Kinda proved that we can be dumber then dirt when the mood strikes us."
Carlisle sighed in exasperation then he spoke up softly. "How did the greenhouse's demise come about?"
Jasper opened his mouth to speak but Edward cut him off as he took over the sordid tale.
"We got a little bored with things being too tame so we decided to inject a little excitement into the evening."
"Minor explosions weren't exciting enough so you had to go for a major one?" Carlisle quirked an eyebrow at his son.
"The major explosion wasn't what we were actually aiming for."
"And what were you aiming for?" Esme's gentle voice inquired.
A sheepish expression marred Edward's face as he fell silent while trying to find the words that wouldn't unleash hell upon the lot of them once the gravity of their transgression was acknowledged. We were aiming for each other, mom. ...yeah, that is not going to get us any brownie points, Edward. Think of something!
"Your mother and I are waiting, son. Spit it out."
"Dad, there is just no good way to spin this."
"Then don't try to spin it. Just tell us what happen...truthfully."
Edward rubbed the back of his neck then look up into his father patient eyes. He is going to lose it... and why shouldn't he? Good God but we were stupid.
"Alice was not involved at all." Edward stressed gaining a nod of acceptance from his father. "Jazz, Em and I...ah... I so don't want to say this.." He sighed then quickly blurted out, "We decided that it would be fun to have a bottle rocket war." Edward averted his eyes from his parents before he would be forced to see disappointment, shock and anger darken their eyes. Oh, yeah... DEAD!
AN: As always guys, thanks for the reviews.
I decided to break this chapter a little but should have the rest up maybe tonight or tomorrow. I'm at work dodging the boss so I am doing what I can. LOL. Just had to get something posted since Emmett has been poking at me all weekend to get to work on this one. I tried telling him that he would rather be getting his shoulder fixed then his behind beaten but apparently he has odd preferences. Strange boy right there.