"Yes, you have my word that I won't allow any harm to come to him. I'll go much easier on Jake than I do my own children for safety's sake."

"It's been a long time since I've had to..." The phone line was suddenly silent as Billy appeared to find himself at a loss for words. "I would come if there was any way possible, but Sam sees your family as a threat and he's not listening to reason."

Carlisle closed his eyes and sighed inwardly. "I can understand his concerns. We don't know what we're dealing with and are more than a little concerned ourselves. All we can do is just take one day at a time and pray for the best. My focus is on just keeping Bella alive and as comfortable as I can make her. The fetus is not compatible with her body and my preference would be to remove it. Of course she refuses. She's a stubborn child, but then I wouldn't have her any other way."

"If she wasn't stubborn she wouldn't be Charlie Swan's daughter."

Both men laughed before Billy turned serious.

"Carlisle, I really don't like this. I understand your position; seriously I do. My son knows better than to behave like that regardless of where he is and who he's with, but he is MY son."

"If our roles were reversed, I would feel exactly the same, Billy. That's why I wouldn't do anything without consulting with you first. If I thought that Sam would give us free passage back and forth this one time, believe me I would be more than happy to bring Jake to you and let you handle this."

"Sam is doing what he feels is in the best interest of the town's people."

"I understand that, but I will protect my family by any means necessary." Carlisle sighed sadly. "I regret that this puts us at odds once again."

There was silence on the line again as both men struggled with their conflicted feelings before Billy softly spoke. "Take care of my son, Carlisle."

"As if he were one of my own."

"Have him call me when it's over. It's not that I don't trust you, but I need to know that he is alright."

"Understandable. I'll make sure that you have proof of life in just a little while." There was a teasing tone to Carlisle's words as he attempted to lighten the mood.

Billy offered up a sad laugh. "I'll be waiting."

"He'll talk to you soon."

"Thank you, Carlisle. Bye."

The phone disconnected leaving the patriarch to the silence of his study. Flipping the cell closed he stared at the small device resting in the palm of his hand. "Good bye, Billy. I just hope that we've made the right choice."

Settling back into the cushions, Carlisle closed his eyes allowing the rare moment of quiet in the house to relax him. I never thought that I would find myself in this position and I really don't like it one bit. He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair and focused on the calming sound of his breathing.

A loud crack caused the doctor's eyes to fly open as the slight peaceful reprieve was rudely interrupted. A light feminine mumbling preceding a very clear and distinct "Yesh, Ma'am. It won't happen again." clearly informing Carlisle of the source of the sudden sound.

"They really should know not to take Esme's good nature for granted." Carlisle chuckled softly to himself as he groaned and got to his feet.

Undoubtedly, Jake will be a nervous wreck. No point in making things worse by prolonging this unpleasantness.

Quietly, Carlisle made his way downstairs glancing in dismay at the wreckage before proceeding through the house until he was standing at the door leading out into the garage. Filling his lungs and steeling his nerves, the patriarch slowly opened the door to find Jacob laying on the cold concrete floor staring up at the ceiling with his arms folded behind his head.

"Jacob, how are you doing?"

"No so great."

"How is your nose? It looked like Jasper got in a good shot on you."

"It bled a little, but it's okay now."

Closing the door quietly, Carlisle sat down on the step leading down into the garage as he watched the youth with concern.

"Would you mind coming over here and letting me take a look at it?"

"I said that it's fine."

"I would feel better if I made that observation for myself."

Jacob sat up with a snort and pulled his bent legs against his chest while wrapping his arms around his knees as he kept a watchful eye on the vampire leader. "I don't think so, Carlisle. I'm not stupid."

"I never thought that you were. I'm not going to hurt you, Jake."

Jacob smiled as he glanced down at the ground. "Yeah, right. That's a laugh."

From the boy's profile, the doctor noticed a slight deviation to his nose. "It appears to have been broken. Why don't you let me tape it for you? Your accelerated healing will repair it shortly and it would be better if it were set properly before that happens."

"I like it this way. It adds character and can be a lasting reminder of why I shouldn't trust vampires."

"Jacob, I am sorry for the way some of the members of my house have behaved. Each and every one of them knows better and they are usually not like this. Patience is being stretch to the limits across the board and I have been trying to be a little lenient with the rules because of our unusual situation, but that may have been a mistake on my part. I know that at any other time Jasper would have shown greater restraint."

"Doesn't matter. It was just a way to blow off a little steam."

"It does matter. My children know what is expected of them and the lack of consideration directed towards you has been appalling. I won't stand for that, Jacob." Carlisle lowered his head for a moment as he drew a calming breath before turning his ebony eyes back on the shape-shifting youth. "Likewise, I won't stand to have my house reduced to rubble or my children hurt by a guest in our home."

"Well, I'll leave then." Jacob got to his feet and turned towards the garage door.

"Jacob, do not walk out of that door."

Turning back towards the vampire, Jake threw his arms out at his sides. "Then what do you want? Obviously all I do is cause trouble to your family. I'm not leaving, Carlisle. Bella needs my protection and I will not abandon her, but I can tell that I'm not wanted. I'll just camp in the woods. I'll be close enough to help with Sam, but far enough to not get in the way."

"It's too dangerous."

Jacob scoffed. "Like you care. Besides, the pack isn't going to come this close to the house. Not yet anyway. They want to avoid a conflict with Leah, Seth and I if they can help it. I'll be fine. It's not like I haven't been on my own before."

"Jacob, I have made a promise to your father and I will keep it. You are not to step one foot out of that door or I will make you regret it."

Carlisle's timbre and tone did not alter, but the elder stood up ready to intercept the boy if necessary.

"You might be able to push Jasper and the others around, but I'm not scared of you, Carlisle."

Carlisle crossed his arms as he watched the boy bow up with a false sense of bravado. Subtle signals in his body language gave Jacob's trepidation away even though the elder could see him struggling hard to mask his fear.

"I'm glad to hear that, Jacob. I have no desire for you to fear me, but just as a point of clarification, my children don't fear me either."

"Oh that is just so much bullshit."

The doctor cringed at the lad's continuing reliance on vulgarity. "Jacob, I'll ask you one last time, please mind your language. It's very unbecoming."

Jacob tipped his head in acknowledgement as he crossed his arms mimicking the vampire's stance. "What promise did you make to my father?"

"I told him that I would take care of you."

"I don't need anyone to take care of me."

"Possibly not, but I still gave him my word and I have every intention of following through. That means that you will not be leaving this house while Seth and Leah are not around to watch your back. You will not be camping out in the woods either. I regret that I can't entice Leah into the house, but both you and Seth will continue to make use of the spare room and I won't hear another word to the contrary."

"You don't own me and you can't dictate anything to me. I don't have to listen to you."

Carlisle cleared his throat as a mild tinge of frustration worked its way into his tone. "Jacob, if you wish to remain on this property to look after Bella you will be required to follow the same rules as everyone else. If you don't feel that you can do that I'll have no choice, but to take you back to your home for your own safety."

"You can't do that, Carlisle. Sam won't let you cross onto our lands. You no longer have any amnesty at all. He will kill you."

"I will just have to risk it and hope for the best."

The teen set his jaw as he glared into the midnight black eyes that passively watched him before he lowered his head while throwing his arms in the air.

"Fine. Whatever you want, Carlisle, but don't think that I'm some lap dog who is going to follow you around and hang on your every word."

"I would never dream of such a thing."

A shroud of silence fell between the doctor and the young boy as neither wished for the discussion to proceed. Finally, while scuffing his bare foot carelessly against the concrete, Jacob inquired, "So what now? Since I was banished to the garage, I think it's pretty clear that I broke your rules. Are you doing to beat me now like you did Jasper?"

A pained look crossed Carlisle's face. "I didn't beat Jasper. I don't beat my children nor would I beat you."

"It sure as hell sounded like you beat the shit out of him.

Carlisle groaned while rubbing his eyes in frustration.

"The first thing that you need to know is that I never discuss what goes on in my study with anyone other than the miscreant." The elder thought for a moment before adding, "and possibly my wife. If you want details of Jasper's punishment, you will have to ask him. You also will not pester him. If he wishes to share with you, that's fine. If he doesn't, you are to let the subject drop. Is that clear?"

"Whatever."

Carlisle did his best to ignore the boy's insolent tone as he kept his voice calm and controlled. "Come on, Jake. Let's take this upstairs where you can be a little more comfortable."

"Are you out of your fucking mind? We can do this right here. I don't know what you have up there. How do I know that you won't beat me with a fucking four by four? I mean, shit; I can only imagine what it takes to make Jasper cry out like that."

"And that would be it." Carlisle was at Jacob's side in less than a heartbeat. "I've had enough of that, young man. Let's go." Grasping the boy's elbow firmly, the patriarch began to lead the Jake towards the door before he could think to protest.

At the step, Jacob suddenly shook off Carlisle's hold and took a step back. "Fuck that, Carlisle."

The elder fixed his charge in a stern gaze. "The next thing you need to know, Jacob, is that you will do as you are told. I will always allow for questions and concerns, but when I give you direction, you will follow it. The rules of this house are few and very simple. They are based on respect for each other. You will show me the respect that I am due as the head of this family and do what is asked of you."

"I'm an alpha. I give orders. I don't take them."

Carlisle squared his shoulders and appeared a little bit taller then the boy previously thought.

"You are an alpha to your pack and I respect that, but you are in my house and here I am in charge."

Jake felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up in response to Carlisle's clear show of authority. I don't have to listen to you. The shifter ground his teeth out of irritation. He didn't break with Sam only to bow to another. He felt as though his body was on fire as the wolf reared its head in response to the challenge, but the boy fought it down and looked away from the dark smouldering eyes. For Bella.

"Alright. Whatever you say," Jacob groused. "Lead on, Mob Boss."

Carlisle cocked his head and raised a brow, but swallowed the rebuke that balanced on the tip of his tongue.

"Come on, Jake."

Jacob followed Carlisle into the house, but was surprised when the doctor passed up the stairs and headed down the hall behind them.

"I thought your study was upstairs."

"It is."

"Well, did you just get lost or something? I know that you're old, but I didn't think your kind suffered from senility. You do know that the steps are back there, right?"

Carlisle stopped at a door, pushed it open and flipped on the light before stepping back to usher Jacob in. "In you go, Jake."

As soon as the shifter hit the doorway he froze while shaking his head then took a step back. "Nuh uh. No way."

"Uh-huh. The sooner you accept the fact that this is going to happen the quicker it will be over."

Carlisle placed his hand on the boy's back between his shoulders and gave him a gentle shove forward which only served to cause greater resistance from Jacob.

"No, Carlisle. You can't do that. It's not like I'm five or something. Look, I won't do it again. Can't we just forget it and start over?"

"I'm afraid not. I've warned you time and time again. You've run out of chances. Now get in there or I will be forced to give you a little preview of the rest of the night's festivities. It's your choice, but either way you will eventually go in and have a seat. The only question is will you be sitting on a sore behind or not?"

Jacob continued to shake his head as he took several more steps back away from the doorway.

"Jacob Black, come here this instant."

The stern edge to Carlisle's soft voice was enough to fill the boy with dread, but as he backed away and crashed into the far wall his anxiety overwhelmed him and Carlisle once again found himself face to face with a large red wolf standing in his home.

"Jacob!"

The wolf tossed it's head as it stared at the patriarch with large sad eyes. His long legs were splayed out nearly spanning the distance between the walls and he trembled slightly. The beast's whimpering reverberated through out the hall as he pleaded for mercy in the only way he knew how.

The doctor sighed and rubbed at his temple as if to drive off a headache while the wolf remained frozen in place.

"Jacob," he spoke in nearly a whisper as he tried to soothe the boy. "It's alright, Jake. Everything is going to be alright. Come here."

When the shifted wolf-boy made no attempt the move, the elder tried again.

"I'm not mad, Jake. There is no reason to be afraid."

The wolf only whined louder as he laid his ears back and flat against his broad skull.

At least his tail isn't tucked. Oh wait, there it goes. Carlisle pinched the bridge of this nose. This was an entirely new situation for the patriarch and for the first time in a very long time he was at a total loss of how to respond.

"Jacob, you need to phase back into your human form. Esme does not allow animals in the house."

The only reaction was another heart wrenchingly soft whimper as the large soulful brown eyes pleaded with Carlisle.

Perhaps a different approach. "Jacob Black, how do you think your father would feel to find out that you were carrying on this way? Now get yourself into this bathroom right now, young man before I come over there and drag you in by the scruff of your neck. I promise you that you don't not want me to have to do that."

Inching his way with his head lowered, the wolf crept towards the bathroom bringing a sigh of relief from Carlisle.

"That a boy, Jake. Come on. This isn't easy or pleasant for either of us, but you're making it out to be much worse than it really is. That's it. You're doing just fine."

As the russet wolf reached the doorway, Carlisle stepped inside the small quest bathroom and made his way over to the sink. The large shaggy head poked through the door, but the narrow space prevented the boy's passage. Squeezing his shoulder against the door-frame, Jacob raised his head slightly and let out a low mournful howl.

The noise was deafening in the small cramped space and Carlisle quickly hushed the boy.

Cradling the huge shaggy head between his hands, the coven leader spoke softly. "Jacob, I need you to calm down and return to your human form."

The wolf whined quietly then leaned in and rubbed his muzzle against Carlisle's shoulder. With a deep sigh, the doctor scratched the animal behind his ear.

"You're not going to relax anytime soon are you?"

The shifter lowered his head and closed his eyes.

Carlisle shook his head as he stepped back from the boy. "Alright, I guess we will just have to do this your way."

Returning to the sink, the doctor turned on the tap and ran the bar of soap under the stream of cold water. Quickly working the bar up into a thick lather, he turned back towards Jacob.

"Open your mouth, and if you value your hide at all you will not bite me."

The wolf gave one more pleading whine before closing his eyes tightly while opening his maw, his long pink tongue lolling out as he did so.

Carlisle looked from the submitting wolf, to the foaming bar of soap in his hand, then back to the animal. "This is ridiculous." Placing the soap down on the side of the sink, the doctor placed his hand flat against the underside of the beast's jaw and closed his mouth.

"Jacob, listen to me. I'm going to go up to my study for a little while to give us both a bit of time to regroup. I need you to calm yourself down and I expect to find a young man waiting in here for me when I return."

Jake's tail rapidly thumped against the wall as he lowered his head and butted the vampire in the chest knocking Carlisle off balance.

Catching himself on the sink, the elder sighed. "Jake, I wouldn't celebrate so quickly if I were you. You are not off the hook, young man. I just need to be able to talk to you and I can't do that when you are in this form."

The lupine head nodded faintly, but the tail continued to drum against the sheetrock.

"Alright, son. You are going to have to let me out."

Jake backed up and laid down in the hall, allowing Carlisle to exit.

As he passed the wolf, the patriarch couldn't resist the urge to give him one last scratch behind the ear.

Giving a loud low groan, Jacob stretched out on his side and pawed gently at Carlisle's leg.

"Behave yourself, boy." The doctor smiled slightly. "I'll be back in about thirty minutes. Get yourself under control. We can't have anymore of this phasing. The house and my nerves can't take it."

Carlisle ran his hand over a new crack in the wall caused by the thick heavy tail before shaking his head sadly as he walked away to disappear up the stairs.

Jacob raised his head and watched the patriarch depart. Sneezing, he stretched out again and rubbed his muzzle against the floor before huffing out a sigh. He is going to kill me. He closed his eyes as his mind continued to spin. And why not, my dad would have killed me. I'll be lucky if he doesn't the next time he sees me. Jake pawed at his snout and sneezed again. Pull yourself together. This is just Carlisle. He is only about the kindest person you've ever met...who managed to make the baddest guy you've ever met cry like a little girl. Christ, he's going to fucking kill me.

Roughly twenty minutes later, Jake sat on the closed toilet lid with a towel wrapped around his waist. Off and on he glared at the drying bar of soap with a mixture of curiosity and disdain.

How bad can it be?

Slowly he rubbed a finger across the smooth tacky surface before slipping the finger into his mouth.

The boy was on his feet in a flash spitting into the sink for all he was worth. Cranking on the tap, he stuck his tongue out into the fast flowing stream then sucked in a mouthful and spat some more.

"Man, seriously?"

Jacob's head shot up to see Jasper leaning against the door frame with a stack of clothes in his hand and a smirk on his lips.

"I cannot believe that you went there. Trust me, you will get your fill of soap in just a few minutes here. Seems that curiosity can do just as bad of a tune on a wolf as it does on a cat."

Jake wiped the water off his chin as he kept a cautious eye on the Major. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough." Jazz held the clothes out towards the boy. "Here. Alice figured that you were back in need. Got some khaki cargo pants on the top. I think those will suit you pretty well. They're light and baggy. Makes a difference; trust me. Also shouldn't hold the heat in like those sweat pants would have so in the long run you did yourself a favor. Alice doesn't exactly get into trouble very often so she's not the best at choosing post punishment friendly attire, but I did not say that."

Jacob took the khakis from the soldier as Jasper continued to rifle through the stack.

"See, like this." He held up a pair of black jeans for the shifter to see. "No one in their right mind would wear jeans if he had another choice."

Jasper suddenly leaned back and glanced down the hall before rolling the jeans up in a tight bundle and stashing them under his arm.

"Shhh. You did not see me do that. Now I just have to find a good place to hide them until Hurricane Alice has finally been subdued."

"Got a shirt in there?"

The southerner looked up with an expression of utter confusion on his face. "Edward said that you weren't prone to wearing shirts."

Jacob rolled his eyes. "I do wear them in mixed company."

Jasper grinned as he pulled a black t-shirt emblazoned with the image of a motorcycle out from among the other offerings. "There ya go. At least you'll look sporty and here." He tossed the boy a pair of socks. "Don't want your toes turning blue."

"As if." Jacob grinned as he quickly finished dressing. "Better?"

"Lots, but I'm sorry to say that I don't share my underwear."

"No worries, Dude." The teen held up his hands. "I prefer that you didn't anyway. I can handle commando."

The Major gave a little snort as he continued to grin. "He says that now, but just wait."

A serious expression darkened Jacob's face as he retook his seat. "It's bad isn't it?"

"Aint no walk in the park." Jasper placed the clothes down on the side of the sink as he drew a breath. "Carlisle has a serious aversion to repeating himself, so he does his level best to make the first time count. Your best bet is not to fight him cause that will only piss him off and make things worse for both of you. Been there and done that. ...Shit, I probably lost the t-shirt in one of Alice's cleaning fits."

In spite of the nervousness that he was feeling, Jake managed to smile.

Jasper ran a hand through his tangled honey wheaten locks before he sighed. "Jake, look I'm real sorry that I backhanded you like that. I was being a dumbass. I get protective of my family, especially of my mate, sister and Mom, but I was way out of line. I knew better and I should have never allowed things to get so far out of hand."

"It's cool, Dude. I screwed up, too. I'm sorry that I got your butt in trouble. I already told Alice and need to tell Carlisle, but I guess it's only fair that you know this also. I wasn't trying to be a dick to Rosalie. I got my signals crossed. I didn't want Blondie to feel bad since I don't really think that she did anything wrong. I figured the best thing to do was to keep things the same." Jacob shrugged as he glanced down at his sock covered feet. "I didn't know and I will talk to her if she'll listen."

The soldier punched the boy lightly in the shoulder. "She'll listen. Rose isn't as bad as people think." Jasper suddenly squinted as he thought for a moment. "Well, she can be, but once you get to know her she's a lot more complex than you realize."

"I think the word is complicated."

"She's like an onion. She has many layers."

"Oh my God! Did you just call her an ogre?"

"I said nothing of the kind."

"Yes you did."

"You can't prove anything. I was taking about a common root vegetable; salt of the earth type of thing."

"Common vegetable from Shrek."

"SHHH! Rose and Carlisle are not big on animated classics, past or present. Neither of them would get the reference so just let it go, brother."

"She would murder you in your sleep." Jacob held his sides as he doubled over with laughter.

"If I slept," Jasper nodded in agreement. "Which is why we're not going to say anything."

"Oh, Dude, my lips are sealed." He waved Jasper off as he continued to battling to subdue his fit of mirth.

Once some semblance of normalcy had returned to the youth, Jasper crouched down near him and spoke softly. "Let me give you a heads up. When you walk into the study, Carlisle will have you sit since he generally wants to talk. Let him. A lot of the time he is feeling you out to see if you are remorseful. If you are, he'll usually go a bit easier on you, but don't try to fool him. That's a wise old goat that we call Papa. The five of us have run him around the block more than a time or two so he's up on tricks of the trade."

Jacob nodded in understanding.

"I've already told you not to fight him. He tends to have a plan and if you don't fight, he'll go from point 'a' to point 'b' and it will be over with quick like. If you fight you're going to detour him through points 'c' and 'd' before he finally gets back to 'b'. You don't want to do that. Trust me, Jake. Make it as easy on yourself as you can."

"What's he going to use? I ... well I heard you." The Quileute looked embarrassed as he admitted to eavesdropping on Jasper and Carlisle's interaction. "I know that you guys are pretty damn tough so I can't imagine what he uses on you to get that sort of reaction. I had thoughts of rebar or something like that."

Jasper smirked as he stood back up and nervously shifted his weight while running his hand through his hair again. "Ah. Well..."

"Sorry, Dude. I didn't mean to. You know."

"No, it's alright. I do know. It wasn't really like you could block it out or anything. It's all good." The Major swallowed hard then let out a quiet sigh. "Carlisle doesn't need any sort of implement. He will use a belt every once in a while when we've gone well beyond the pale, but in general he tends to rely on his hand."

Jacob lowered his head slightly and his eyes grew wide while a broad grin broke across his face. "His hand? You're trying to tell me that his hand had you caterwauling like that?"

"I have never caterwauled. I expressed my discomfort, but I don't caterwaul."

"If you say so." The young boy chuckled. "Man Jasper, I thought you were some tough ass shit, but damn."

"Alright now, watch your mouth before you end up with your tail lit up before your mouth gets soaped. That's usually an Emmett specialty, but I can see you already headin' down that path and tryin' to one up him.

And for your information, I am tough. I've been in too many brawls and battles to count and I've never lost a one."

"Yet a smack on the ass gets you yelling?"

"Yeah, you keep thinking light of it. You'll be changing your tune soon enough."

"Hey, Carlisle popped me once a little while ago. It stung, but it wasn't all that bad. Shit, my Dad would take a switch to me and he hung on to an old ping pong paddle while I was growing up. You want to talk about something that could put a hurtin' on you."

Jasper smirked. "I'm familiar with switches from back in the day, but I'm telling you Carlisle doesn't need anything like that. He'll get his point across and leave you sore for a few days if he has a mind to do so."

"Oh please. And here I was worried that he was going to beat me senseless with a tire iron. This is going to be a piece of cake. Hand spanking? Kid's play," Jake clicked his tongue dismissively. "You wouldn't have survived around the Black house. People see my Dad in a chair and think that he's some sort of push over." The boy snorted. "One day I really fucked up and tried to take his old truck for a drive. I was about eight or so at the time. No clue what I was doing. Ran that old Ford into a stock pond. Once my Dad was sure that I wasn't hurt from the accident he saw to it that I would be hurting days later. That was probably the worst paddling I have ever gotten. It was nearly three full days before I was able to sit down at the table for supper and sitting at my desk in school?" Jacob laughed. "Not in my dreams. Everyone knew that my tail had gotten busted and they all knew why. I was so flippin' embarrassed, but I never did anything quite that stupid again."

The soldier nodded. "I've done my share of stupid and paid the price; both as a human and as a vampire. As rough as it was to take a tanning from my Pa's strap, Carlisle's hand can be way worse. Luckily he never tears up your hide when he's mad. Now that would be a scary thought."

"I could take it. Can't imagine Carlisle really pissed off anyway, but if it's just his hand..."

"Well, you come talk to me after and let me know if you still feel the same way."

"Please, how bad can it be?"

Jasper began to respond when a voice from the hall cut through the small room like a knife. "That will all depend on how well you behave, Jake."

Jazz turned to find Carlisle in the doorway.

"Oh, hi Papa. I was just taking Jake here a change of clothes since his last two sets bit the dust."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Son." Carlisle crossed his arms as he tilted his head ever so slightly while his expression grew stern.

A worried look came over Jasper and he tried to pinpoint somewhere that he might have gone astray. "I wasn't grounded to my room was I?"

"Nope. Not at all."

"O-kay. Apparently, I have managed to do something that I'm not aware of having done."

Carlisle just stared at his son causing the Major to fidget nervously. Finally the elder inquired softly, "Did you refer to me as a goat?"

Jasper's dark eyes went wide as he silently cursed himself for not having chosen his words more carefully. "You've been there that long?"

"I've been close enough."

"I meant that in the best possible way, Papa."

"Uh-huh."

"It's true, Papa. Goats are intelligent and incredibly resourceful; tough, too. Now are you going to tell me that doesn't describe you?"

"I have always thought that goats were fairly stubborn animals."

"I prefer to think of it as self-assured."

"They're smelly, too. You forgot that," Jacob added with a grin.

"Shut up. You're not helping," Jasper snarled in a whisper.

Carlisle nodded as he glanced from one boy to the other until he resettled his gaze squarely on Jasper. Crooking his finger, he called his son over towards him. Jasper hung his head as he slowly crossed over to his father. Spinning his finger in a circle Carlisle clearly indicated to the soldier that he required him to turn around.

Jasper followed the unspoken order and was reward by a light whack to his backside bringing a soft hiss from between the Major's clenched teeth.

"Upstairs. I'll come get you when we're ready for you."

"Yes, Sir."

Jazz grabbed the surplus clothing before skittering by Carlisle and out into the hall. It was only then that a soft voice called to him.

"Jazz?"

"Sir?"

"Thank you, Son. For everything."

Jasper smiled slightly as he gave a single nod before retiring to his room.

Once the soldier had departed, Carlisle stepped completely into the bathroom. Closing the door behind him to afford him and Jake some privacy, the patriarch spoke in a calm caring tone. "How do you feel, Jacob? You look calmer."

"I'm back in control, if that's what you are asking?"

"Did Jasper manipulate your emotions?" Traces of disapproval colored Carlisle's words. "He's not allowed to do that without your permission and the effect won't last once he's gone."

Jacob thought for a moment trying to remember if he felt weird at any point then shook his head. "No. I don't think so. I had already gotten myself under control when he came down. I think just shooting the bull with him helped me relax more. He didn't need to do any of his Voodoo on me."

"Good, then I can take it that you are ready to do this?"

The boy stared at the innocent looking white bar with disgust and gulped. "Can't we just skip this, Carlisle? Look, you won't hear a peep out of me. This really isn't necessary."

"I'm afraid that it is, Jake. I gave you plenty of chances to clean up your act, but you have simply refused. Now I have to take action to discourage this behavior in you."

"Well, do you have a different flavor or something?"

Carlisle could not suppress the light smile that curled his lips.

"Actually I do, but I doubt that you'll like that any better. I have some Irish Spring if you wish to try it. It has a much more pungent bouquet. Let me warn you though that Emmett completely despises it; which is why I keep it on hand." The elder turned the water on as he reclaimed the simple white cake of soap. "If you really want something stronger..."

"That's alright. I'll leave that to Emmett." Jacob pushed back as far are the limited space would allow.

"Wise choice." Carlisle sighed softly as he ran the bar through the water and briskly rubbed it renewing the thick coating of lather. "Alright, Jacob. Let's get this over with."

AN: Well folks, I missed my connecting flight to Denali, so you're stuck with this one. It is almost done though so that's a plus. I almost think that Carlisle is out of his league with Jacob. Will have to see how he holds up in the next chapter. ...and he thought Emmett was a handful.

Can't thank y'all enough for sticking with me. I have the most AWESOME readers ever! Because of you guys, "Dark Justice" pulled in a second place win in the Non-Canon Awards which is totally awesome! It was up against some serious competition and I'm just tickled that it managed to hold its own. I also won first place for author; thank y'all ever so much once again and the most amusing win that we landed was a first in best quote... all because of Jazzy's smiley face contacts. *snicker* The support is just totally humbling. Y'all truly make it all worthwhile.

My endless thanks to Splinter for all her hard work and support in keeping me going and helping me to not look stupid. ;-)

Now to see if I can escape from Carlisle and Jacob long enough to reach Alaska. *rolls eyes*