Chapter 3 – River Card

It had been just over two weeks since I was forced to discipline my son. He and Bella seemed to have worked it out. I knew for a fact that she had seen Jacob six days before. Though he had not been happy about it, apparently he had not prevented her from going.

Since I consider our marriage a partnership, I, of course, told my wife everything Edward and I discussed, including my promise to blister his backside should he ever engage in this behavior again. She heartily agreed and promised to protect Bella as well.

She and I hadn't seen much of Bella these days because she had been busy. I missed my daughter terribly, but I knew that her biological father had a finite amount of time left with her. I had eternity to spend with her.

I was feeling a little stretched over the last few weeks, worrying about Bella and Edward. On a whim, I asked a colleague to cover for me for the night. I wanted to reconnect with my wife. Maybe her feminine wiles could distract me from my worry.

I was thrilled to get off work a little early so that I could take my wife out for an intimate encounter outdoors. As most vampires, we enjoyed a healthy sex life. What can I say? We both quite liked the outdoors. The ambient sounds in our house were quite a disturbance to tenderness and unhurried love-making. The subtle symphony of the open air created the most romantic setting possible.

My good mood was spoiled when I arrived to the sound of my youngest daughter desperately trying not to cry. It sounded like Bella was upstairs in Edward's room gritting her teeth together and holding her breath periodically to prevent a real breakdown.

Alice avoided eye contact with me as I made my way to Esme to kiss her. My beautiful wife returned my kiss passionately. We were distracted from our reunion by a particularly loud sob coming from our daughter upstairs.

"What's wrong with Bella?" I asked her when we broke apart.

"I don't know." Esme looked at the ceiling, worried. "She wouldn't tell me. She wouldn't even eat her dinner. She just went up to Edward's room and started… this… as soon as she got here. I tried to get her to tell me what's wrong, but she wouldn't say."

"I didn't see her car." I wondered how and why she came here when Edward was hunting, especially if she was just coming here to cry. Not that I minded. She was more than welcome to come here for a good cry, with or without Edward. I just wanted to get to the bottom of this and possibly, help her through it. "Did she and Charlie have a fight? Is that why she's here crying?"

"I don't think so. Alice told me that Bella wanted a sleepover until Sunday." She explained. "I called Charlie to set it up for them. Charlie didn't sound upset with her in any way. Maybe something else happened, and she didn't want Charlie to see her like this."

"Alice asked for a sleepover?" I clarified growing very mistrustful of my children.

"Yes, she seemed to think that Bella would like her new car." Esme cast another concerned glance up at the ceiling. "But Bella seemed angry with Alice about something. She wouldn't talk to her at all. Alice really tried to get her to come downstairs and have fun, but Bella wouldn't even look at her."

That didn't sound like Bella at all. She generally didn't treat people that way. I needed to find out what was behind this. I excused myself from Esme with a quick kiss and sprinted full speed up to Bella's room. I took a deep breath before knocking softly on the door.

"I don't f-f-feel like t-t-talking." She managed to choke out from Edward's couch, never turning around to see me.

I glanced in and saw that Edward had a rather large bed that she seemed to be avoiding. This led me to believe that she was angry with Edward as well as Alice.

"It's me, sweetheart." I announced my presence. I needed to gently tell her that I wasn't taking no for an answer as I made my way over to her. "I…"

It turns out; I didn't have to tell her anything. She was more than willing to let her guard down with me.

"Oh, Carlisle!" The dam burst and she was sobbing, and clinging to me.

I wasted no time cradling her on my lap. For the longest time, sobs wracked her small, fragile body, as I stroked her back and hair to comfort her. Finally, she began to calm down.

"I-I-It hurts, da-Carlisle." She managed to whimper to me, causing my heart to simultaneously swell with happiness and constrict from her pain.

"I know, sweet pea." I kissed her head. "Sometimes talking about it will help. Did something happen, sweetheart?" I coaxed her into telling me.

"You said that he-he-he couldn't t-t-treat m-m-me this way." She held her chest, in apparently very real pain. Her emotional pain had manifested itself physically.

"Edward hurt you, sweet pea?" I sought verbal confirmation of what I had begun to suspect.

"Mmhmm." She nodded against my chest.

"Was it physical, Bella?" My voice hardened as I looked into her eyes. I hoped for his sake it wasn't.

"N-n-n…" She shook her head, but I got the meaning.

"Has he been disregarding your wishes again?" I was pretty sure this was it.

"He never stopped." She confirmed.

What did she mean he never stopped? Did she mean that by the time it was brought up again, he had reverted to his old self, or was he lying to me? While I was attempting to gain control of my temper, I heard Alice shriek in pain.

"Ow, mom!" Alice's voice carried upstairs, and Bella jumped from the shock of it.

Bella looked at me in confusion, and I just shrugged as we heard Esme and Alice approaching the door to Edward's room. Alice was protesting the whole way. I nearly laughed when I saw my wife dragging Alice down the hall by her ear.

"Explain, now, Alice." Esme growled at her.

"Edward asked me to keep Bella here while he hunted." Alice mumbled.

"Go on." Esme ordered, not letting go of Alice's ear.

"He knew that Bella was planning on seeing Jacob on Saturday. He gave me a yellow Porsche as payment to keep her away from him." She admitted reluctantly.

"AND?" Esme tweaked her ear a little so that she would finish.

"Ow! Okay! I involved mom in this by asking her to arrange the sleepover, knowing that Bella would think that she was in on it as well." Alice squeaked.

"Lied to me, Alice, and tricked me." Esme corrected her and turned her sideways and landed five sharp swats on Alice's backside.

"Sorry, mom!" Alice yelped. "Yes, I lied!"

Esme turned her back to face me.

"You didn't see this outcome?" I questioned her.

"No, I saw Bella complying." Alice confessed. "I didn't know the whole future would disappear when she called Jacob to cancel their plans."

I found that I couldn't deal with her at this moment. Bella was my priority.

"I will deal with you later, Alice." I saw her search the future and shiver in fright over what she saw coming. "Please go to your room and wait for me."

"Yes, dad." Alice retreated sadly out of the room.

Esme made her way slowly and hesitantly to sit beside Bella and me.

"Oh my sweet…" Esme started to apologize but Bella cut her off.

"I'm sorry Esme!" Bella wailed, wrapping her arms around my lovely wife, also known as the best mother in the world. "I thought you…"

"I know dearest, and I don't blame you." Esme kissed the top of her head. "Alice and Edward are the ones who tricked me. Alice made it sound like you wanted to spend the weekend here."

"I-i-it's not that I didn't w-w-want to…" Bella tried to make sure Esme's feelings weren't hurt.

"Ssh, sweet girl." Esme stroked her hair out of her face. "I know she never asked you, and you had other plans."

"I'm sorry." Bella cried again.

"I know, dearest. It isn't your fault." Esme assured her again. "But I know you feel like it is because your heart is so big, and you try to make everyone happy."

"I don't know what to do." She cried.

"Bella, Esme, Carlisle." Rosalie knocked on the door frame, interrupting Bella. "I honestly didn't know either. Alice asked me over to talk with Bella about my past. She never said anything about kidnapping her."

I never even considered that Rosalie was part of this juvenile plan. She and Edward didn't see eye to eye where Bella was concerned. She felt that Bella should stay human, like Edward did, but she also admired a woman who knew what she wanted and went after it. Bella was that woman. It was hard to see right now, but she definitely didn't let anyone dissuade her from doing the right thing.

"I didn't think you were part of this." I assured her.

"But I don't think Bella knew." She reminded me. "I know I haven't been your biggest supporter, but I can't stand that Edward thought that kidnapping you was acceptable."

"Thank you, Rosalie." Bella whispered.

"You're welcome." Rosalie looked uncomfortable being thanked by Bella, but she was still gracious about it. "But… I don't really want to hear..." Rosalie trailed off suggestively, letting me know that she was taking off now so that she didn't have to hear Alice getting in trouble.

"It's fine, Rose." I told her. "Please don't tip Edward off, though."

"That bastard deserves to be surprised on his return." She laughed. "He conspired to have Bella abducted. That's pretty low in my book."

"Off you go." Esme chuckled at her daughter as Rosalie dashed out to the garage to her car.

"Speaking of kidnapping, why does Edward suddenly have a problem with your plan to see Jacob?" I brought the conversation to the point I'd been wondering about all night. "I know that he wasn't particularly thrilled that you went to see Jacob last week, but he didn't prevent you from going."

"The only reason he didn't prevent it last week was because I snuck off." She admitted sheepishly. "He thought he had me sufficiently watched, but I… tricked him."

"I don't think I quite understand what happened after I disciplined him two weeks ago. He promised me that he wouldn't disrespect you and dismiss your wishes." I looked to her for an explanation.

Bella bit her lip nervously as she thought about how best to explain to me.

"Edward told me that being spanked hadn't changed anything. I wasn't allowed to see Jacob." She peeked at me gauging my reaction. I tried to remain as stoic as possible, but inside my venom was boiling. "And if I wanted to tattle on him, it would be my fault when you didn't let him see me again."

"He told you that I threatened to keep him from you?" I sought clarification while I tried desperately not to allow my rage to boil over while I held my darling daughter in my arms.

Edward read my thoughts and responded to make me believe that I had gotten through to him. When he got home Saturday, I would not make the same mistake again.

"Yes," she nodded, "and when he went hunting last week, he let me know that he would be watching and only fifteen minutes from me in case I tried to plan on seeing Jacob."

"How did you manage to elude him?" I was pleased that she had figured something out, but still very angry that Edward had forced her to employ surreptitious methods to do what she felt was right.

"I didn't plan on going until I was informed that I wasn't needed at work that day. I got the idea and made a snap decision to go." She explained. "I took the chance that I could beat Edward to the border of the Reservation, knowing that I only had fifteen minutes to get there."

"That was very clever." Esme praised her resourcefulness, and I nodded in agreement.

"Edward wasn't as impressed as we are?" I guessed.

"Not so much." She shivered, making me wonder exactly what he did to convey that message.

"What did he do?" Esme asked warily, stealing the thought out of my head.

"As soon as I crossed the border on the way back from La Push, he tailgated me all the way to Angela's house and growled at me in my bedroom when I got home." She was fearful of him.

"Did you think he was going to hurt you, Bella?" I tipped her chin up and looked into her eyes. I didn't have to hear her answer to know that she actually thought that he might.

"Maybe for a little bit." She admitted. "He claimed that he almost violated the treaty, so I was afraid for his safety, but mostly, I thought he was going to l-l-leave m-m-me because I disobeyed."

"First, let's leave 'disobey' out of anything regarding a disagreement between you and Edward." I admonished her. "You are his girlfriend, not his daughter. You are in no way bound to obey Edward."

She looked very scared, like she was waiting for us to tell her some very bad news, but I wasn't sure what it was. I went on with what I had to say, hoping that I would somehow assuage those fears.

"He loves you, Bella." I told her. "He has a hard time when he can't be there to intervene. He promised to relax, but obviously, he was lying to me. But I don't think that he ever intends on leaving you."

"But he did leave me." She reminded me. "You all left me."

"Oh, dearest." Esme cried as she clutched our daughter. "It is the single biggest regret I have. I allowed Edward to talk me into leaving because he convinced us that it was what was best, and what you wanted. I am so deeply sorry, Bella."

"I too, have not apologized properly for my part in making you feel unsure about your place in our family." I agreed with Esme. "It is an egregious error that I lament tremendously. I allowed my emotionally immature son to make decisions that I should have investigated and made for the family. I am so very sorry for the hurt I've caused you."

"Edward's a good liar." She repeated robotically. He had obviously told her this as an explanation. I wondered if she even knew anymore when he was telling her the truth.

"Will you please forgive us?" Esme held her breath, hoping that Bella would absolve us of our guilt.

"You won't do it again?" She looked between the two of us, slightly scared to trust us again.

"Never," I vowed, "we will never leave you again."

"And I'm sure Edward never intends to leave you either." Esme added.

"I'm so angry," she took a deep breath, struggling to control her emotions, "and hurt," another breath, "and I wish I c-could show him how it feels," she was losing the battle, "but there isn't anything," she grabbed her chest, "I can do to make him feel as insignificant as he makes me feel." She held up a finger, letting us know that she wasn't finished, but she needed to take a second to collect herself. "And I feel bad because I want him to hurt."

At the end of her explanation, she broke down again and collapsed into Esme's arms. I had never quite had an experience like this with one of my children. This was a completely new position. Bella was in my lap and holding on to Esme. Our children had been sad before, but none of them had ever broken down to this extent.

"We'll find a way to get through to him, sweetheart." I promised her. "I know my loving son is in there somewhere."

"I know," she sighed, "that's what makes this so frustrating. I love him, and I know he loves me, but he can't treat me like this."

"No, dearest, he cannot." Esme supported her fully. "I think that he needs a taste of his own medicine, Carlisle. What do you think?"

"No hunting alone, and no unsupervised time with Bella?" I suggested.

"How about no unsupervised time at all?" Esme amended my idea. "He has kept Bella under constant watch to ensure she doesn't step a toe out of line. I think he deserves the same treatment."

"I suppose I should quit treating Edward like he plans on changing." I agreed. "It's very difficult for me to see that he actually isn't trying to be better, that despite my directive, he continued to usurp my authority, and will do it again at the first opportunity."

"We both need to take off the rose colored glasses, dear." Esme nodded.

"We will both make sure he never does this again, Bella." I promised her.

"But he's your son." Bella argued.

"And you, sweet pea, are my daughter." I kissed her on the cheek. "You have no less of a place in our family than he does."

"Or Alice." Esme added. "She might be our little pixie, but you, dearest, are just as big of a part of this family as she is."

"In fact, as my first official fatherly duty, I would like to let you borrow my car tomorrow, so that you can go to La Push to see Jacob." I told her, earning a big smile in response.

"Really? You both want me to be your daughter?" She seemed unsure if that was true.

"Of course, sweet pea." I guaranteed her. "We love you."

"Even if I'm so mad at Edward that I don't want to sleep in this room because it reminds me of him, and I want to disable his car so that he can't drive it, and I want to break his piano, and spend the next week with Jacob just to show him that he doesn't own me." She ranted becoming angrier with ever phrase.

"That's a long list." Esme chuckled. "Are you really that angry with him?"

"Yes." She hung her head in shame. "I know I shouldn't, but right now, I want him to hurt as much as he hurt me." She admitted. "Doesn't that disgust you? Does that make you want to take back what you said about me being your daughter?"

"No," Esme and I both told her at the same time.

"Of course you're hurt and angry, sweet pea." I squeezed her more tightly to reassure her that I love her no matter what. "I'd be very worried if you weren't. You are a special girl. I'm proud to have you as my daughter."

"Even if I'm too angry to speak with Edward for a few days?" She peeked at me nervously.

"Even if you decided you didn't want to be with him anymore." I promised her.

Her shoulders visibly relaxed at this promise. She looked up at me with hopeful eyes.

"Can I call you mom and dad?"