Carlisle wandered down the hallway towards his and Esme's room. After careful deliberation, the patriarch decided that Jasper would be his next detainee to correct. Neither Jasper nor Alice were particularly hard to handle, but Alice had a tight grip on his heartstrings that made punishing her a traumatic emotional experience. Reason also stood that if Jasper was nursing his bruised pride in the form of a stinging behind he may be a little less apt to interfere when it came time for Carlisle to reprimand his petite princess. The elder trusted that his son learned from his mistakes, but he just wasn't willing to risk having a confrontation that could potentially be avoided with a little forethought.

As he closed in on the room he caught sight of his loving wife leaning against the wall near the study door. Before he could speak she covered her face with her hands and slide down to sit on the floor, head cradled to rest on her drawn up knees.

Carlisle was on his knees at her side in a flash. "What's wrong, Esme? Are you injured?" He reached out and gently rubbed her arm.

"No Carlisle, I'm fine. I'm just suddenly very tired." She looked up to meet his troubled gaze and gave her loving mate a brief smile adding, "and my hand hurts."

He laughed a little as he pulled her into his arms bringing her head to rest lightly on his shoulder. "Emmett?"

"He's fine, too. A little worse for wear especially around the seat of his britches, but he'll survive."

"I had no doubt about that, love. Em has the ability to bounce back like a rubber ball. I was just wondering if he was too hard on you; not the other way around. "

"He was my brave boy which made it a little easier on me. Caught him off guard and it took a little while for him to figure out what was going on, but once he did he really wasn't much trouble." Esme eased herself from Carlisle's embrace as distressing thoughts plagued her mind. Exhaling softly, she closed her eyes and ran her hands through her thick golden brown hair then looked back at her lover. "How do you do it, Carlisle? How do you stand the strain?"

He smiled weakly as he sighed then kissed her nose. "It's not easy, sweetheart but it is part of the responsibility that I agreed to when I decided that what I wanted most in this world was a family. I would prefer that our children be perfect and not get into mischief, but then things would get boring rather quickly. We just have to be willing to take the bad with the good but thankfully the good outweighs the bad by a very large margin." Carlisle cocked his head as he again considered the position his mate had put herself in this evening. "Why don't you go and comfort Edward. Leave Rosalie to me. You have nothing to prove, love."

"I have something to prove to myself. I want to be a mother to our babies in all the ways they need me to be; even if it hurts sometimes."

"I understand, but Rosalie can be much more than a handful. She is the hardest of our children to rein in and…"

"And she lied to me. She deceived me and was disrespectful towards me. I should be the one to address her disobedience."

"If you would like I can come with you to give you some support. That could make things go a little smoother. Perhaps you could help me with Jasper and then we could pay Rosalie a visit together."

Esme smiled at him as she shook her head.

"You don't need me to get in the way with Jasper and I really think it would be best for me to do this on my own, Carlisle."

He stood then extended a hand to help his wife to her feet. "You are so incredibly stubborn, sweetheart. I now know where the children learned it."

"Don't blame that on me, Carlisle Cullen. You have a stubborn streak that goes on forever and you know it. You're not fooling anyone." In spite of their grievous predicament Esme giggled softly as she kissed her mate before slapping him lightly on the arm. "Go on. Don't keep Jasper waiting. He'll only get more nervous which isn't fair to him."

"Call if you need me. Don't allow her to get you upset. Rosalie is a very talented young lady when it comes to that and if she gets the upper hand it's hard to regain your position of authority."

"Carlisle, you worry too much." Esme patted his cheek then headed towards her daughter's room.

"Oh, if only that was true, love." He walked the short distance over to the bedroom door and knocked quietly.

Jasper sat in an overstuffed arm chair as he shifted uneasily. He had been torn between taking a seat on the bed or the chair, but the heavy scent of his parents on the bedding made him more uncomfortable than necessary. The thoughts of what went on in that bed caused his stomach to lurch.

"You're being stupid. It's not like your biological parents having sex. Hell, son you've got fifty one years on your ma for crying out loud. She is a fine young woman. It would be much weirder if they didn't… well." He shuddered miserably. "I should have asked to switch with Emmett. Papa's office looks much more inviting right about now."

The light knock which would normally have filled him with dread was a welcome diversion from his disconcerting thoughts.

"Please come in, Papa. Seriously, please join me."

Carlisle walked in and gave his son a bewildered look. While Jasper did generally readily submit to correction without much drama when he knew that he was wrong, he had never known the boy to appear eager to see him on such a mission. "Are you doing alright, Jazz?"

"As well as can be expected, papa. I would just really like to expedite things so we can get this over with as soon as possible."

"You have somewhere to be?" Carlisle propped a hip against the dresser while crossing his arms over his chest.

"No sir, but I would like to be back with Alice in our room. It's a comfort issue."

Carlisle was still perplexed by his son's odd behavior, but as he carefully continued to consider Jasper a sudden thought occurred. "Oh."

If Jasper still possessed the ability to blush his face would have been beet red. As it was a phantom heat seemed to burn his cheeks causing him to lower his head as he studied the scuffed toes of his boots. He attempted to distance his thoughts from his surroundings and the ideas that must have been passing through his father's mind.

Carlisle coughed and turned away from his fidgeting son as a smile grew on his handsome face. He did his best to hide his amusement from Jasper, but the boy still detected levity in his father's voice. "I'm sorry, son. I didn't realize that you would find these particular surroundings so upsetting. You know it's just a normal biological response to…"

"Please! Please, stop. Carlisle if you are trying to torture me you are succeeding in spades. I swear I will never even look at another bottle rocket ever again. I won't go outside or near a window for Forks' New Year Extravaganza. The next 4th of July I will gladly stay locked up somewhere far away from the festivities. I promise not to watch firework displays let alone ever shoot them off again. Just please don't elaborate on what you and mom… Just don't."

Walking towards Jasper with a grin on his face, Carlisle ruffled his son's hair as a soft chuckle escaped. "I am going to guess that having you lean over the bed is going to be out of the question."

Jasper turned his large amber eyes on his father with a desperate pleading expression.

Carlisle rubbed his face as he tried to suppress his merriment and regain control. This was a serious infraction which needed to be addressed that would soon cause Jasper a very different form of discomfort. He closed his eyes and drew a breath before looking back to his son who, for his part, quickly turned away from his father's gaze.

"I am sorry, Jasper. I never meant for this to be awkward for you. Please accept my apology for the lack of consideration." Carlisle cleared his throat before continuing in a more solemn tone. "Now we do need to address tonight's incident. Really son, what were you thinking?"

"Wasn't."

"While I fully agree with that response there had to have been some thoughts behind your actions. You are far too responsible to participate in such an ill-advised scheme on some whim."

"Emmett and Alice have a way with words when the planets align just right. I knew that it was dangerous and reckless." He snorted slightly as he thought. "I knew that we were highly unlikely to get away with it. Maybe I just didn't want Alice getting into trouble on her own because her mind was made up. She and Emmett were going to pull this stunt with or without help from Edward or me. I just couldn't allow her to get hurt so I joined the hootenanny while completely aware of the risks involved."

"But to go as far as to aim at your brothers… I'm sorry son; I just can't comprehend that at all. How would you have felt if Edward or Emmett had been seriously injured with you being the cause?"

"Probably a touch worse than I feel right now just thinking on it." Jasper looked up to meet his father's eyes. "Papa, you can't be any more disappointed in me than I am in myself. I did know better. I let myself get talked into participating in the entire thing, but the worse part of our entertainment was something that I joined in completely on my own. It sounded like fun. Emmett did no arm twistin' there. It was a product of my own prideful stupidity. Now Alice was against it, but I refused to listen. I even helped talk Edward into it. If he had lost a hand or worse, it would have been entirely my fault."

His father nodded then placed his hand on Jasper's shoulder. "I expect you to be more responsible. You have a level of maturity that is sometimes lacking in your brothers. Use it. When you know something is wrong stand by your convictions. I don't know that you could have changed Alice's mind, however it would have been better to lead by example instead of following along with what you already knew would put your mate in danger. You are very protective of Alice but in this one case you failed her and one moment of letting down your guard is all it takes for disastrous events to occur."

Carlisle's words stung Jasper. It was true. He had failed in his promise to always protect Alice. He knew that there would be times when he would have to protect her from herself and he had to be stronger if he was going to keep her safe. Heaving quietly he allowed his head to fall in disgrace.

A gentle pressure beneath his jaw caused Jasper's head to rise until he faced his father.

"Regret is unavoidable, but there is no reason for self-pity. What you need to do now is accept this folly for what it is and take from it the lessons it offers. Learn from your mistake, Jasper."

"Yes sir, I will."

Carlisle glanced around the room considering his options then offered his hand to help his son up. "Let's clear the slate, son."

"Papa, please don't…"

"I'm not going to force you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable."

Jasper stared at his father for a few seconds before snorting softly. "Kinda late on that front but if that's the way you feel I'll just be going now."

Carlisle cuffed Jasper lightly on the back of the head. "You know what I mean." He nodded towards the cedar chest that currently served as a window seat. "A bit too much like kissing the gunner's daughter to put you over it but I think we can make do with just having you lean on it.

Jeans down, son. When you're ready go ahead and put your palms flat on the top. Whatever you do Jasper, don't break that thing. Your mother will have both of our hides if anything happens to that chest."

"Yes sir." His fingers worked at unfastening his pants while he glanced at the antique chest. "No pressure there."

"Well, it's the only place I can say that your mother and I have not engaged in any…"

"I got it! No need to go any further."

Jasper swiftly got into position allowing the old smooth wooden box to support his weight as he looked out of the window finding peace in the close darkness. A movement reflected in the glass drew his attention as his father stepped up to him placing his hand against Jasper's back. Damn, this sucks. Don't think I need a visual of this. Jasper closed his eyes as he waited for his spanking to begin.

The wait was over quickly as Carlisle's hand descended sharply then settled into a strong steady pace. Jasper gritted his teeth while trying to concentrate on his breathing and the placement of his hands. He knew it would be only too easy for him to claw into the wood to gain a better hold but the risk of facing his mother's fury kept that concept unfulfilled. The boy stomped his foot as the stinging intensified. His father answered with a smack to his son's unprotected thigh.

"Keep both feet on the ground, Jasper. I know that you can control yourself better than this."

The younger man sucked in a breath before a groan broke from his throat. But that freakin' hurts, Carlisle! The breath hitched in his chest as tears came to his eyes before he managed to whisper, "Trying, sir."

"I know, son." Carlisle shifted his focus to the lowest spots of Jasper's posterior so his son would be sure to feel the effects of his foolishness any time he tried to have a seat. The sound of his hand striking the boy's backside filled the room as he stepped up his tempo until another sound caused the venom in his body to suddenly chill. With hand halted in mid stroke Carlisle's voice softly broke the abrupt deafening silence. "Jasper, what was that?"

"It…. It didn't break, papa." The boy's tears found their release though he wasn't sure if that was due to his regret for having put himself and the others in danger or if it was the sudden apprehension he was feeling at now putting his father and himself in a much more dangerous situation. He kept his hands on the chest, afraid of what might happen if he moved. "I tried… I really did. I didn't mean to."

"Sh, it's alright. It was an accident. Let me see the damage."

Jasper slowly stood with his father's assistance and moved a little to the side to clear the way. He watched in muted terror as Carlisle crouched down and traced his finger along a large crack in the dark weathered wood that hadn't been there moments before.

Wiping at his tears only to have more fall, Jasper moaned as his still heart broke at the thought of his mother's anger. "Momma is going to kill me."

Carlisle stood and wrapped his son in his arms. "Shush, Jazz. Your mother is not going to kill you. It was an accident and all you were doing was following my orders. She may kill me but even that is unlikely…I think." He ran his hand through the boy's hair as he attempted to sooth the lad's worries. "We'll take it into town together and see if we can get it repaired. If it isn't able to be restored…well this just adds to its character."

Jasper pulled slightly back from his father as his glassy dark golden eyes stared at Carlisle in stunned silence.

"Or maybe not but everything always works itself out in the end, son. Don't worry. It doesn't accomplish anything but to add more stress which is something that we can all do without."

Carlisle hugged his boy close again while he gently rubbed his back. Gradually Jasper began to physically relax even if his mind refused to follow suit. The patriarch leaned back to look into the boy's face. "Feeling any better?"

Jasper nodded. "A touch. Still more nervous than a long tailed cat in a room full of rockin' chairs but I don't think that's gonna fix itself anytime soon."

"No most likely not." Carlisle kissed the crown of Jasper's head then ruffled his hair. "Try not to think on it. I'll talk to your mother and somehow we'll make it right."

Fully releasing his son from his embrace, Carlisle took a couple of steps back and crossed his arms as a stern expression formed on his face. "Alright Jasper, we weren't quite done here but in light of the new development I'm inclined to let you go and call this lesson learned. Do you agree with my assessment?"

"Yes sir. I'm not looking to do anything like this ever again." Taking his father's words as a cue, the boy quickly redressed before Carlisle could have a change of heart.

"Good. Now we do have one other issue which would be the fact that you and your brother were both grounded at the time of your indiscretion. Much like a convict who has earned parole, you are supposed to be on your best behavior when you are on restriction. If your behavior falters then severe consequences result."

Jasper sighed heavily then nodded in accession. "Yes sir that seems logical."

"Since we are in agreement I would like to see you and Emmett in my study after I get home from work tomorrow evening. I ask that the two of you come up with a couple of ideas that you feel would be appropriate repercussions. I will say that I have not as of yet come to any hard fast decision so I will be considering you input. I want you and Emmett to really put some thought into this."

"I take it that a mild chastisement in the form of a slap on the wrist is not going to be appropriate."

"Um, no. Your creativity should reflect the severity of your misdeeds."

"Yes papa. We'll think of something."

Carlisle shifted then let out a quiet sigh. "Okay son, I want you to go downstairs and stay there until called. Under no circumstance are you to put one foot on those stairs before I have given you the all clear to return. I can and will make you regret it should you decide to disobey me in this."

"You're going to punish Alice aren't you?"

"Yes I am and I won't tolerate any interference."

Jasper averted his eyes and swallowed back the venom that rose like bile in his throat.

"Son, this isn't any easier for me to do than it is for you to let it happen. Please believe me when I say that. The only reason that I can follow through is because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to her. She could have been killed. Neither of us can watch her all the time so I have to make sure that she thinks twice before putting herself in harm's way again. You just have to trust me on this."

"I do trust you and I do understand what you are saying but…"

Carlisle placed his hand on Jasper's shoulder. "Her behavior and lack of sense will be addressed but she will not be harmed. My duty to all of you is to offer protection and guidance. That's all that will happen."

"I know." His voice sounded weak and hollow in his head but Jasper nodded as he shrugged his father's hand from his shoulder before slipping out the door.

God, please give both of us the strength to see this though. Carlisle's silent request went out as he followed after his son to greet his most trying task of this extremely long day.

AN: Yep, Jasper got off rather lightly but it will catch up with him the next day. If anyone has any ideas of how they think Carlisle should handle this extra bit of disobedience, I'm open to suggestions.

Thank everyone for your continuing kind reviews and support. It means so very much. Thanks to Splinter for catching my errors. Any that are left are purely my own doing since my eyes are getting tired. Sorry guys.

For anyone interested or confused by Carlisle's reference to "kissing the gunner's daughter"... That is an old naval (Particularly the British Navy) punishment that saw a sailor bent over and tied to one of the ship's cannons to be flogged by the Boatswain. It was probably used much earlier, but it was a popular form of punishment at sea during the 1700s and early 1800s.