AN: Hi there, y'all. I am posting this a bit early. I wanted to complete the story with this chapter and then have a wrap up but... well, I have lost power. Hurricane Isaac is about 50miles south/south west of me right is moving extremely slow as it tries to drown us. Not sure how long it's going to take to get things back up and running nor how long my puter batter can hold out. I do have an adapter to plug this sucker into the car but I'm looking at at least 24 hours before I can hope to do that. Really didn't want to keep you all hanging so hopefully this will work for now. I am going back to work on Jasper (started last night while still had power) and if I get really lucky with the battery I can get it up. Y'all take care and I'll be back soon.

"No. Wait..What?" Emmett took a step back as he stared at his father in disbelief. "But, that wasn't the plan, Pops. I'm going to the hospital to help out. That was the deal."

"No, Em." Carlisle spoke calmly as he addressed his dark haired son. "I asked for you both to give me suggestions. I never said how, when or even if I would implement those suggestions." With a sigh he took a step toward his boy. "Please Emmett; don't make this harder than it already is. You were the instigator of this entire event and by that right you deserve a sterner punishment than your brother. Do you disagree?"

His tall muscular son suddenly looked much more like a little lost boy than the man Carlisle knew him to be as he sadly shook his head then tucked his chin against his chest.

"I know you well, Em. I knew that you would come up with some creative yet fairly benign punishment while your brother would focus on something much harsher than his due. You both came through with flying colors and I admit that I remain impressed with your proposal. That was an inspiring bit of brilliance." He placed his hand on Emmett's broad shoulder and gave him a little squeeze of encouragement. "Jasper will be accompanying me to the hospital for the next three days of his suspension so I can keep an eye on him and you, young man get to take this on her maiden voyage." With a brief nod he indicated the paddle he held firmly in his hand.

"Pops, I'm not saying that it's not fair, but..."

"Papa, since I was the one to put that together, I believe that I should have a bit of say so in its use." Jasper held his head high as he stared steadily into his father's eyes. "I didn't make that for use on anyone other than myself. I knew what I was getting into and am mentally prepared for it. Em doesn't have time to come to grips with it so it just wouldn't be right." Jasper closed his eyes then swallowed hard before drawing a deep breath and meeting his father's gaze. "If a paddling is necessary to clear Emmett, I will take it for him."

Emmett's jaw dropped as he looked from Jasper to his father and back again.

Carlisle sighed softly as he shook his head. "You will do no such thing. While that is a noble gesture, son it doesn't work that way."

"It could."

"Yes, it could, however I don't feel your brother will learn from that particular experience so your sacrifice would be pointless. I simply won't have that and the final judgment call remains mine."

"But, Carlisle."

The patriarch held up a hand to silence his son. "Jasper, do you really want to argue with me?"

"No, Sir, but I don't agree with this plan."

"Your agreement is not required for Emmett's punishment." Carlisle's jaw tensed in annoyance as he returned his attention to Emmett. "Son, do you accept my decision?"

Emmy looked at his little brother as he heaved a sigh and nodded his head. "Thanks for trying, Bro. Not sure if that was brave or stupid. Not much separating those two things, you know? Truth, if I hadn't called you a chicken you would have stuck to your guns and wouldn't even be between this rock and Pops. Not liking the fact that you made that damned thing, but Pops has a point. I'm the one who should be in trouble here; not you."

"Still don't seem right."

With a slight flourish of the paddle, Carlisle directed Emmett towards the desk before giving Jasper a warning look. Crossing his arms, the boy huffed as he averted his eyes.

"You might want to have a seat, Jasper."

"I'll stand, thank you."

Carlisle shook his head slightly as he stepped up beside Emmett and placed his hand lightly on the boy's back. "Em, please release the edge of my desk. I would prefer your palms flat so as not to have it marred any worse." The doctor's experienced touch found a knot of tension in his son's back which he easily worked out while Emmett repositioned himself. Once Carlisle was satisfied he pressed his hand down a little more firmly to hold his boy in place before snapping the dreaded implement across Emmett's backside. A sharp intake of air bared witness to the effectiveness of the sturdy rubber. Another stroke brought a nearly inaudible short grunt from the bruin before his father removed the restraining hand from the teen's back and whispered softly, "I'm sorry Em. Please, stay as you are. I'll be right back."

Carlisle swiftly turned and spoke a little more forcefully. "Let's go, Jasper."

"What?"

"I said let's go, son." He caught his recalcitrant boy by the elbow, leading him out the door and down the hall. Suddenly stopping he turned his son towards the wall and hissed quietly in his ear, "You will stay right here until I come to get you. You won't move nor will you speak to anyone who might happen by. I want you to work on getting a grip on your emotional state. I have no reason to be angry, but at the moment I am nearing furious and that will not do. You have no right to be angry, Jasper and you shall check your projecting right now. Do I make myself clear?" Jasper turned his head slightly and registered the murky darkness in his father's eyes. Not wanting to try the man's emotionally battered patience further, he nodded before turning back towards the blank wall. "Good." Carlisle spun on his heel and headed back to the study.

Jasper placed his forehead against the vertical surface and groaned. Well ol' son, looks like you fucked things up for Em instead of making them better. He slammed his hand against the wall, frustrated at his lack of self-control, then sighed as he examined the gaping new hole in the sheetrock. When you do it, you go all out, don't you? No half assed job for you, boy. Papa is going to tan Em's hide but good and then he is going to be gunning for yours. Running his finger along the jagged edge of the broken sheetrock he continued to castigate himself when the thought of his brother's suffering quite suddenly tugged at his heart. Jasper's vision blurred as a film of venom coated his eyes. I'm sorry, Em. Dear God, I'm so sorry.

At the sound of the study door opening, Emmett glanced over his shoulder to find his father leaning heavily against the door frame as he rubbed his temples with one hand while the paddle swayed gently in the other.

"You okay there, Pops?"

As his hand wove through his thick blonde hair, Carlisle inhaled deeply then slowly exhaled with a slight nod. "I will be, Em. Just need a minute to ground myself."

"Thought I was the one being grounded; grounded from behind anyway." He grinned at his father in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Carlisle snorted as he walked over to his son and patted the boy on the back.

"Jazz's emo projectile puking getting to you?"

"It was not helping matters."

"It was kind of getting to me, too and I can't afford that given my current position." Emmett cleared his throat as he looked down at his hands. Shifting his big paws he uncovered deep gouges in the dark wood before bashfully looking back at his father. "Sorry, Pops. I was trying."

"I know you did, son. You did the best that you could under the circumstances." He ruffed up the dark curls while laughing softly. "You are bound and determined to force me to buy a new desk, aren't you? Some conspiracy you are sharing with your mother, perhaps." Carlisle raised a brow causing his boy to glance away. "As amusing as this is, I think we need to get back to business, Em. I'm ready for this to be done."

"We can call it done now, if you want. Just saying that I'm good with that option."

Carlisle's only response was to wrap his arm firmly around his son's waist to firmly secure him against his hip. "Emmett I really don't want to do this."

"Mutual feeling there, Pops." Emmett tensed and remained quiet as several strokes fell hard and fast, but when a thundering crack filled the air the stoic boy yelped loudly only to fall back into a confused silence. "Wait. That… what the hell?" The deafening sound reverberated through the room again before Carlisle dropped the paddle on the desk.

"That's interesting, Em. I get more of a response when I don't hit you." He smirked as he released his son. "If the sound is the only thing having an impact on you, then I think I need to switch tactics. Pants down, son."

"It hurts enough, Pops." The boy rubbed his rump for a few seconds before quickly unfastening his jeans.

"Yet you don't react until I strike the desk instead of you."

"Well…" He ducked his head as his easy smile danced on his face and glistened in his eyes.

Carlisle raised a brow as he crossed his arms and tapped his foot, but there was the barest trace of amusement in his topaz eyes. "Emmett Cullen, never think that you can fool me, young man." He gave the boy a sharp smack then turned him to ease the boy back over the battle scarred desk. "I'm not comfortable with Jasper's paddle so I'm afraid that I may be using it too lightly to successfully make my point. Time for a different approach." Snugging his son against his body once again, Carlisle rapidly set fire to Emmett's behind with his most trusted implement; his firm right hand.

It wasn't long before his son's resolve began to give way to the sting that steadily increased in his posterior. Soft grunts and quiet hisses let Carlisle know that he was finally making an impression on his powerfully built boy. Emmett shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he searched for some way to dodge his father's blows.

"Be still, Em." Carlisle punctuated his order with a swat which caught Emmett low on the most sensitive area of his behind. His son gasped at the burning sting but forced himself to remain motionless as he bit the inside of his cheek to keep as quiet as possible.

"Son, you will NEVER find a way to get yourself in trouble when you are already on restriction, will you?"

Emmett shook his head before he found the strength in his voice to get out a hoarse, "No. Never."

"I know that your fun loving nature runs wild sometimes, but it is very disrespectful towards me for you to misbehave when you are already being punished. Should this happen again, Em you are going to look back on this moment as a fond memory. Do you understand?"

Carlisle's brawny son hissed through gritted teeth as he nodded his acknowledgement.

A final swift and hard volley of strokes aimed at the junction of Emmett's rump and thighs brought the boy up on his toes as little noises of protest mixed with the snapping sound of his father's hand against his thinly clad rear. Emmett rested his head on the desk and panted softly as he tried to catch his breath once he felt Carlisle's grip loosen. Oh thank God!

Carlisle rubbed his son's back gently as he ducked his head slightly to look at him. "Are you alright, Em?"

Emmy sniffled back the thick venom and cleared his throat before whispering a soft, "Fine, Pops."

"That's my boy." The patriarch's kneaded his cub's shoulder then drew his hand away.

The gun shot loud crack and the scorching burn that exploded across Emmett's backside brought him up off of the desk with a yelp as he grabbed his battered behind with both hands and turned to face his father. "What the fuck?"

"Well now that's three more that you are set to receive. Do you want to make it four?"

"What did I….? Oh…"

Carlisle nodded. "I did warn you, Em, but you didn't heed that warning. This last one makes a told of four instances of vulgarity since I told you that I wasn't going to remind you to watch yourself again. Apparently, you didn't take me seriously. Hopefully this will correct that oversight." Emmett eyed Jasper's contraption with distain as it dangled far too comfortably in his father's hand. "We're almost finished, son. Back over the desk, please."

Emmett's shoulders sagged as he muttered under his breath, but did as his father asked. The three strokes were rapid fire and over as quickly as they had begun, not allowing the boy a chance to recover until all were dealt out.

Carlisle watched his son's massive shoulders heave as the boy sobbed silently, causing his heart to break. "It's over, Em. We're done, son. You did very well." Placing the paddle off to the side, he allowed his hand to rest lightly on the boy's back in the hopes that his touch may offer a little comfort.

It was several minutes before Emmett regained enough control to push himself up from his prone position with a little assistance from his father. He swiped at his eyes trying to rid himself of the traitorous tears that threatened to fall.

Placing both hands on his son's shoulders, Carlisle lowered his head to look into Em's teary eyes. "Are you still alright, son?"

Emmett sniffled and choked as he looked down and away from his father. "I'm not sure, Pops, but I think so."

Cupping a hand on the back of his son's neck while his other arm encircled his back, Carlisle pulled Emmett into his embrace and kissed him on the forehead. Emmy tried to wipe away his tears again but more continued to flow as his father's love washed over him.

"Pops, I'm sorry."

"I know, Emmy. Shh. It's going to be okay. All is forgiven and I'm sorry if I was too hard on you."

"I won't lie, that sh.. that mother.. God da… oh for fu…" Emmett stopped and took a breath then tried again. "Hurt. Hurt bad enough that I can't think enough to form a sentence."

Carlisle's fingers raked through the dark tangled curls comfortingly. "Seems to have awakened your ability to edit and restrain yourself a bit more, Em. Do you know the real reason that I was so harsh?"

"Because I can't control my f-ing mouth."

"That's only part of it, son. If it was just your profanity we would have likely taken a little walk over to the bathroom and introduced you to some soap." Carlisle pulled his boy back a bit to look him in the eye. "Em, your backside is smarting right now because you were openly defiant." The confused look in the boy's eyes could not be mistaken for anything else. "How do you explain the use of profanity mere minutes after being told that I wasn't going to warn you again? That is defiance, young man."

"I didn't even realize it."

"You need to start realizing it."

Emmett nodded then rested his head back against Carlisle's shoulder. All too soon for Carlisle's liking, his son began to feel foolish at needing his father's reassurance and pulled away from the elder.

"Sorry for losing it there, Pops, but that thing there..." He glared at the paddle with an expression of pure hatred. "Well, I wouldn't get too attached to it if I were you because I get the feeling that it's going to meet with some unfortunate demise."

Carlisle laughed softly. "Emmett Cullen, a wise man does not destroy his father's belongings and if he plans on doing so, he most certainly doesn't give fair warning first." He gave the boy a wink as he ruffed up his hair.

A sheepish expression brightened Emmett's face as he grinned. "Then just forget I said anything."

The patriarch laughed louder as he slapped his boy on the back. "Behave yourself, Em or I will fear that I am becoming too soft and have to correct that. Now go on and get out of here. Jasper and I have some unfinished business to take care of."

"Aww, Pops. He didn't mean to get all worked up. Can't you just let it go with him working the burnt brigade? Hey, if you want to punish him worse just make him do that bed pan duty." The bruin shuddered at the very idea. "That has got to be just plain awful no matter who you are."

Carlisle smiled but shook his head to the negative. "Jasper and I have some other matters to address, son. Don't worry about him. He has a good idea as to what to expect, however I won't be too hard on him if that makes you feel better."

"Makes it a little better, but not too hard can still be plenty hard." Emmett rubbed his backside as he spoke.

Laughing, Carlisle slipped his arm around his son's shoulder and led him towards the door. "You go take care to keep yourself out of trouble and leave your brother to me."

"Will do, Pops, but can't say that I won't worry about Jazz just the same."

"I wouldn't expect anything less, Em."

Watching his son head downstairs, Carlisle sighed heavily as his thoughts turned towards Jasper. He hadn't planned on using a heavy hand with his solider boy, but then he hadn't planned on that stubborn streak rearing its head so soon. Hopefully he had calmed down and things would go easier because Carlisle really didn't want to entertain thoughts to the contrary.

With a worried mind and a heavy heart, he slowly walked down the hall to claim his son.