Warning: Contains non-sexual spanking. Don't like, don't read, don't flame.
Disclaimer: Do not own Twilight in any way shape or form.
A/N: Hey all, thanks a bunch for all your great reviews! I'm way surprised by all the people who like this story. This chapter will show a bit of Bella's fiery temper, so I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 6: Patience is a Virtue
I lay in my father's arms, feeling content, until I heard him sigh softly. "Bella", he said seriously, causing me to pull away to look at him. "We need to talk", he began to say before I frantically shook my head at him while pulling away.
"No, we don't. There's nothing to talk about, so just drop it!" I stubbornly said. My father just looked at me sadly before once more beginning to speak. "Your overreaction states otherwise and I'm afraid I am not giving you a choice Isabella. It is obvious something is bothering you, and I refuse to stand by and watch you fall apart", he said sternly.
I winced at the tone, but was unwilling to back down. I had no wish to discuss my dreams with anyone. "You don't know what you're talking about" I said angrily, "I have everything under control. I don't need or want your help so quit interfering!" I told him before standing up to leave. I needed him to go, I thought desperately. If he knew what I was dreaming about, he'd think I was going crazy or that I was some kind of weakling. Even worse, he'd finally see what a danger I was to his family and decide I wasn't worth the trouble.
I was making my way towards the door when I noticed abruptly that my father was blocking my way. His arms were crossed and he was staring down at me in disappointment and anger. "Isabella, I have told you before to watch your temper and you know better than to scream at me, so if you enjoy sitting comfortably I would suggest you tread carefully young lady" he warned me quietly. I squirmed a bit under his gaze before looking away guiltily. "Furthermore", he continued sternly, "I told you before I was not giving you a choice on whether you spoke with me or not. I no longer trust you to take care of yourself, so once you have gotten dressed and eaten something we will head home. Once there, you and I are going to talk; no ifs, ands or buts."
I was opening my mouth to protest when a soft growl made me think otherwise. Sighing, I grabbed clean clothes and headed for the shower. As I was getting dressed, I couldn't help but feel hurt by what Carlisle had said; how he didn't trust that I could take care of myself. While a part of me agreed, another larger part of me raged at the stinging remark. Once clean, I walked downstairs to where Carlisle had made me a plate of bacon and eggs. Knowing it would be futile to argue, especially since my stomach decided to growl in hunger, I sat down at the table and slowly polished off the entire plate. Once I was finished, Carlisle grabbed my plate and washed it in seconds before turning back to me and speaking.
"I have taken the liberty of packing you a bag since you will be staying with me until further notice. We will be taking your car, so let's go", he finished, looking at me expectantly.
I glared at him while remaining seated. I was fuming. He was treating me like a child, I thought indignantly! I was a fully grown adult and I had all the right in the world to do as I wished. If I didn't want to go with him, then I didn't have to. "I'm not going", I told him stubbornly.
Carlisle just sighed softly before shaking his head in disappointment. He then walked over to me, lifted me out of the chair, hoisted me over his shoulder, and proceeded to walk towards the door. It took me a few seconds to overcome my shock, but when I did I started bucking and kicking trying to get out of his grasp. "Dammit Carlisle, let me go! You have no right to do this! I'm not a child!" I raged at him before proceeding to bang my fists on his stone hard back.
I realized immediately I'd gone too far when I heard a loud growl and "Isabella Marie Swan! You will stop this childish tantrum this instant!" I abruptly felt myself being placed on my feet again before being dragged towards the couch in the family room. Realizing what was going to happen, I immediately began to struggle and plead.
"No Daddy please, I'm sorry! I'll go, I'll go!" I exclaimed before finding myself upended over my father's knees.
"So it's Daddy now", my father said sarcastically "when you're trying to get out of a well deserved spanking, but Carlisle when you think you're all grown up". I felt tears of frustration and guilt pooling in my eyes. Now I'd done it, I thought frustrated with myself.
"Hold still and quit struggling Isabella", he ordered me sternly causing me to freeze in place. "I have warned you repeatedly about your temper, and about speaking respectfully to me. You are allowed to disagree, and you are allowed to argue as long as you do it in a respectful and adult manner. Screaming at me like a five year old throwing a tantrum will end with you over my knees every time," he admonished me.
Guilt and shame began eating away at me, causing me to start crying. "I-I'm s-s-so sor-sorry Dad!" I told him as sincerely as possible.
"I know Bella" he told me sadly before placing a hand on my back. I then felt a sharp Smack! on my behind followed quickly by eleven more before I was quickly up-righted. "Owww", I moaned while rubbing my behind and trying to get my tears under control. My father then pulled me into his arms and rubbed my back softly while murmuring to me quietly, "It's alright sweetie. You're forgiven".
When my tears were under control and I had apologized profusely, I couldn't help but throw my father an astonished expression. I had really expected the spanking to be worse, especially with how rude I had been with him all this morning.
Interpreting my expression correctly, Carlisle smiled softly at me before gently cupping my face with his hands. "Bella, I went easy on you for a few reasons. One being that I can tell you are not well, and two, I can tell that something is seriously eating away at you. Both these reasons have made you irrational and angry. Also, I could tell you already truly regretted your loss of temper, so I felt nothing more than a small reminder would be necessary" he explained softly but seriously. "However", he continued going stern, "I have been very patient with you Bella and I will continue to do so, but I will not stand for anymore of your childish theatrics. I never want to see you kicking and screaming and hitting me, or anyone else for that matter ever again Isabella. Is that understood?"
I blushed at the reminder of my childish behavior before nodding my head at him.
"Verbal response please" Carlisle said.
"Y-yes, I understand Dad. No more childish theatrics" I promised him before giving him an embarrassed smile. He responded by kissing my forehead before letting go of my face and standing us up. "Then let us be on our way" he said before motioning for me to walk ahead. I sighed softly before walking out the door and to my car.
Carlisle's POV:
I watched my daughter sigh before walking out of the house and into the car. I followed while raising my eyes up to the sky and silently asking God for patience to deal with my hot-headed daughter who seemed ready to fight me tooth and nail at every turn.
I had not expected her to fight me so much this morning. I had thought that after I opened up to her about my childhood she would be more likely to open up to me about what her nightmares were about. I had not anticipated her question, but afterwards I felt it would be a good sign of trust on my part. If I showed her I could trust her with something about me, then perhaps she would be able to trust me more back. I sighed internally. How frustrating it is to not know something! The doctor and father in me were frantic. How could I help Bella when I didn't know what was wrong?
Getting into Bella's abysmally slow truck, I began driving towards home. Subtly glancing at her, I noticed she was leaning tiredly against the window. I was sure that after a few nights good sleep and regular meals she would be fine physically. However, helping her emotionally was another matter entirely, especially since she was adamant that she did not want help. I did not want to force her to talk to me, but I would if I had to. I could not allow her to deal with her problem on her own, since yesterday's running incident proved things had gotten out of control.
I hoped that the warning swats I gave her would keep her in line. I was disappointed and angered by her theatrics, and hoped she would be able to control her temper from now on. I could not stand it when my children were disrespectful, and though I knew Bella deserved more than the 12 swats I gave her, I could not bring myself to add to her pain. Something inside was hurting her, and this pain was making her highly defensive and volatile.
I am willing to be patient and understanding with her though; I know she is not used to having someone besides herself to depend on. As wonderful and loving as Renee and Charlie are, they are obviously not people Bella feels she can confide in. I would prove to her that she could depend on me, and that I would never leave her to face her problems alone.
We arrived home, cutting my musings short, and I quickly exited and opened Bella's door before she had even finished unbuckling. She gave me a tired smile before falling into my arms and groaning in embarrassment. "Sorry", she said.
"It's no problem Bella, and you have nothing to apologize for", I assured her, while steadying her.
Walking into the house, Bella stopped and looked at me nervously. I smiled at her, trying to ease her nerves. "Why don't you put your things in your room Bella, and then join me in the family room", I told her kindly. Yes, the family room would be a nice and calming place to talk.
"Ok" Bella replied quietly before walking up the stairs. I followed her steps with my hearing, wincing as she fell –"I'm fine", she said- before reaching her bedroom. I shook my head before running quickly to my office to grab my medical bag and then walking to her bedroom. I knocked, to which she wearily responded, "I told you I'm fine Dad".
"I'll be the judge of that", I told her as I walked over to her. Noticing her frown, I gave her a smile and said, "Humor an old man please", causing her to chuckle before sitting on her bed.
"Good girl", I replied happily before zeroing in on her scraped knee. No big deal, but with Bella I had learned that she loved to play things down, so it was better safe than sorry. I quickly dabbed it with alcohol to disinfect it before placing a bandage on it. I then motioned for her to lean forward so I could look at the cut on her head. Removing the bandage, I saw that it was healing just fine, but to be safe I cleaned it once more.
"All done", I told her.
"Finally", she responded sarcastically with a long suffering sigh causing me to chuckle softly.
"Is that the thanks I get for keeping you in one piece?" I asked her jokingly.
She smiled at me impishly before saying, "Thank you Dr. Fang, I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't bandaged my scraped knee. God forbid if I had to get my own band-aid."
I groaned at the name before laughing at the rest of her statement. "You have been spending too much time with Jacob Black. He thought he was the funniest man alive when he called me that."
Bella grinned and then said, "Then I guess I'll have to come up with my own nickname for you".
"Don't even think about it Bella", I said after groaning in despair.
Bella sighed before standing up to leave. "Alright," she replied walking out the door, "McSparkles", before bursting into laughter.
"Bella!" I yelled before running after her and picking her up. She yelled in surprise as I picked her up and then unceremoniously dropped her on the couch downstairs. "Oof" she cried out before yelling, "Alright, no nicknames!"
"Wise decision Bella", I replied while choking back my laughter.
She began to laugh as well, before sighing softly and leaning back in the couch. We sat in a comfortable silence until Bella sat up abruptly and looked at me nervously. I looked back at her curiously, wondering what would have suddenly made her so nervous. She bit her lip before asking hesitantly, "Are you going to spank me?"
I blinked, caught off guard by the question. Quickly going over yesterday's events I could see why she would think I would, but honestly I hadn't thought about it. I have been too busy trying to figure out what's wrong with her to think about her actions. Was I going to spank her? Running off in her condition and almost getting into an accident because she fell asleep certainly counted as putting oneself in danger needlessly, and the consequences for such reckless behavior was a trip over my knee. I frowned, looking at Bella who was fidgeting nervously under my gaze.
"Truthfully Bella, I have not thought much about your actions yesterday. I have been more worried about your health and what exactly is ailing you", I told her seriously. This time it was Bella's turn to frown at me. "In regards to your question", I continued "I don't know. I would like to hear the full story before I make a decision".
I watched as Bella's face took on a thoughtful expression. I remained silent, giving her time to think things over. I could tell she was arguing with herself about something as her expressions changed from fear to anger to sadness to hope, and finally determination. Bella nodded to herself before looking me in the eyes. Taking a breath she then said in a shaky voice, "I'm ready to talk to you".
Internally I was jumping for you. I was proud of my daughter for coming to this decision without me having to force her, and I was happy to see that she was beginning to trust me. Outwardly, I gave her an encouraging smile before nodding. "Very well, I'm all ears."
A/N: Yeah, so Bella's got some temper issues. I attribute this to a variety of things, foremost being that she is completely exhausted and stressed. Add that to the fact that she's terrified of being abandoned by the Cullens, and guilty for endangering them. So yeah, this won't be the last time Bella's temper makes a scene.
So, I got O. Chem and Physic finals coming up and I am literally dying. To all you college kids, NEVER take these two subjects at the same time, unless of course you want to die. Anyways, wish me luck because I am definitely going to need it. These exams will make or break me because if I don't pass both of them with really good grades, then I don't graduate this year. Cross your fingers for me because if all goes well I will give you a two chapters on Thursday to celebrate my end of finals.