Rosalie was devastated by the pained expression in her suffering mother's darkening eyes. Did she even have a right to ask for forgiveness after what she had done? At this point she really didn't think so. The things that she had said were inexcusable no matter how one tried to spin the situation. Purposely hurting her mother was an indefensible infraction which Rosalie had managed to accomplish better than anyone, yet Esme still tried to intervene on her behalf against Carlisle's brand of justice. A single tear broke free to glide down Rose's cheek as she felt herself engulfed by shame.

"Rose, you know that I will always forgive you, but right now...," Esme's voice broke and she turned away from her daughter.

"Rosalie." Carlisle's smooth voice was firm and exuded authority as he took hold of the situation. "As much as I don't wish to deny you the support of your siblings at this time, you need to think hard about what has happened here. I want you to go to the study and wait for me."

"Carlisle," Esme gasped in disbelief that her gentle husband would ignore her request so easily.

"Shhh, love. Rosalie and I need to have a talk; where this goes after that is mainly up to her. For now, I promise, she and I will just talk, but first," In a graceful motion he stood with his wife safely supported in his arms, "I need to get you out of here so you can relax a bit."

The herd at the door parted to allow their parents to pass through as they mumbled words of loving concern to their mother. Esme buried her face against her husband's chest again as she tried to block out the last several minutes of the evening.

"Daddy! Wait just a minute, please." Alice danced towards them and gently caressed her mother's arm. "Don't worry so much, momma. Rose is going to be perfectly fine...and so will you and daddy." Standing on her tip toes, she gave her mother a quick kiss before catching her father's eye and while smiling gave him a quick nod.

"Thank you, Angel and if you would, please pass along my thanks to Jazz for his assistance."

"Can do, Daddy."

The little pixie tripped back towards her mate with an airy happiness that seemed so out of place given the grievous circumstances. Carlisle shook his head, but allowed his trust in his daughter and her gift to lighten his heart ever so slightly as he ducked into his room.

Gently placing Esme on the bed, he crawled in beside her and hugged her tightly as if he feared that she would suddenly vanish.

"I'm afraid that the strain of the day has been too much for you, my love and I am the major cause of that." He whispered in her ear. "Tell me what I can do to make things right for you; for us."

"Don't spank Rosalie." Esme's eyes were closed as she fought with her inner turmoil. Her daughter's words had cut her deeply causing the voice of vengeance to demand that her daughter experience the same harsh pain, but the voice of reason would entertain no such thing. No one should have to suffer through agony such as this; least of all one of my children.

Carlisle heaved a heavy sigh as he ran his fingers through her silky caramel colored hair. "Weren't you the one who just a few hours ago said that I don't abuse the children? That Rose is a strong woman who would never stand for abuse. That she is not someone to put up with mistreatment and yet willingly submits to me and my forms of discipline? I believe those were your words, my love, or very close to them. Has something changed that I am unaware of?"

Esme glanced at her husband then pushed him away as the logic of his argument began to make her uncomfortable. Yes, that had been what she had said when he was in his fragile state and the words were true, but that was before...

"I had to stop myself from slapping Rose."

Carlisle could feel the sadness in his wife's voice. He wanted to hold her, support her; to tell her that it was alright, but something stopped him. There was more that she needed to say so he patiently waited for her to continue with nothing but love showing in his eyes.

Esme swallowed and sighed as she closed her eyes while struggling with the memory. "She...she said that I learned it from Charles. She said that I am more lenient with the boys than I am with her and Alice; that they are only good for 'slapping around'." When she opened her eyes they pleaded with Carlisle to disagree with Rosalie's assertion. Before he had a chance to take a breath to respond she voiced her concerns, "Is that true, Carlisle? I need to hear the truth, so don't try to protect me with your diplomacy and tell me what you think I want to hear. Do I treat the children differently?"

"Yes, Esme. You treat our children differently." As he registered the look of shocked horror on her face he smiled gently. "You treat them differently because they are all individuals who respond differently and who have different needs. I would say you are more lenient with Edward than say...Emmett. Edward can be overly sensitive and needs a lighter touch than Em who views everything in life as a challenge to be conquered. Rose is head strong and will buck authority while Jasper readily submits to those who he views as his superiors. Alice tends to hold onto the big picture since she sees the outcome of her actions and just goes with the flow. Even if you compare Edward and Jasper who are both fairly easy and quite sensitive in their own ways, you have a world of difference. Edward would be devastated if I had to correct him the way I did Jasper tonight, but Jasper would not have accepted anything milder for his misbehavior and mistreatment of you. They are all very different so you make allowances for those differences. "

Carlisle gently caressed Esme's face while he prayed that she would understand and come to the correct conclusion. He knew his mate well enough not to take the easiest route. Had he answered her question with a simple 'no' she would have not believed him, thinking that he only said that to spare her feelings. With Esme, he had to find ways of explaining that would allow her to answer her questions for herself instead of expecting her to accept his point of view.

"That is not a bad thing, love." He traced her soft lips with his finger as he gazed lovingly into her eyes. "Now, what you really want to know is do I find that you are unfair to our girls? No, my darling, I don't see that at all. You make allowances for all of the children; many more than I would. Rose's mouth alone would have earned her a few good whacks to the backside from me when we walked in the house, but you took a much more lenient approach; but which of our children's behavior was deemed poor enough to earn a bit of correction at your hand?" He grinned as he brushed a lock of hair from her face. "That would have been your baby bear. You were reluctant to take Kitty in hand, but didn't seem to think twice about firmly reprimanding Em. I don't know about you, but I would say that disproves Rosalie's argument rather nicely. It doesn't matter who is in the wrong, what matters is the seriousness of their transgression. That's what decides the action taken, as it should, sweetheart. That is fair and thereby so are you."

Esme sighed. She was clearly still extremely anxious, but some of the weight had slipped from her shoulders as she absorbed her mate's words, finding his reasoning sound. Scooting over closer to him, she accepted his love as it enveloped her and valiantly kept the negativity at bay. As his strong arms wrapped around her she whispered, "So there is no hope for exoneration?"

"Hmm." He sighed slightly as he rubbed her back to ease the tension in her body. "I can't help but feel that would be a bad idea. Rose's behavior was hurtful, disrespectful and completely uncalled for. What sort of precedent would that set with the rest of the children if I simply let it go?"

His wife buried her face against his neck as she continued to try to think of a way to help her daughter. "I can't imagine anyone following in Rose's footsteps. Besides, it wasn't like she challenged your authority."

"She challenged yours, sweetheart. That is the same thing. In fact, I find that more reprehensible considering how much you do for all of the members of this family. Rose was malicious. She said that she meant to hurt you so it is not as if she was unaware of her actions. She is also well aware of the repercussions of those actions, but decided to act anyway." He kissed her gently then pulled back to look into her bright amber eyes. "I am sorry, love, but I just can't let that go without some form of recompense."

Carlisle could see Esme mentally digging her heels in as her mind churned. She was not going to make this easy for him at all.

"Carlisle, don't you think she is already repentant enough? If she regrets what she has done, if she is already contrite, what is the point of punishing her? Don't you think that is just a little bit of overkill?"

"Punishment wasn't overkill for Jasper and he was most certainly contrite."

"You just said that the children are treated differently because they have different needs. Jasper needed to atone, but Rose is a different creature."

"How do you know that, love? Guilt could be, should be, eating away at her right now. Would it not be unfair to deny her absolution? How do you know that Rose doesn't feel a need to atone for her sins?"

"Because she is Rosalie."

Carlisle growled softly in frustration at his wife's simple explanation then sighed inwardly. "Alright, I'll make a bargain with you. We will let Rose decide. I'm going to go talk to her." He saw Esme tense at his quiet words. "We are just going to talk. I've already made that promise to you and I mean to keep it. At the end of our conversation, if I feel that she is truly penitent I will pardon her misbehavior to the extent that I feel is just; only this one time, mind you. If I do this and there is ever a repeat of today, God have mercy on her because I will not. Will this suffice?"

"And if you don't find her penitent?"

"She will be after."

Esme had still been a hard sell, but eventually she agreed with Carlisle's plan. He hoped that this semi compromise would keep the peace and allow him and his wife to maintain a united front when dealing with the children and their occasional bouts of rowdiness. He often thought about how much easier things would have been had his children been just a little bit older when the change had been made. Now as perpetual teens they were prone to the moodiness, argumentativeness and general rebelliousness that typified that age group. How many times did he have to say it before it got through to them all? He wanted to treat them as adults, but they needed to act like adults to earn that privilege.

The patriarch slowly walked down the hall towards the study and his waiting daughter, regretting having put himself in this position. It would have been easier to have conceded to his wife's wishes to let the girl's behavior go unchecked, but he couldn't in good conscious do that. With any luck, Esme would be proven right and Rosalie would not need correction. If there was any a time that Carlisle wished to be proven wrong, this would be it.

As he approached the door a soft cough behind him caught his attention.

"Jasper, this really isn't the time."

"I beg your pardon papa, but this is most certainly the time." He glanced at the door and with a tip of his head added, "Maybe not the place, but still the time."

Carlisle saw his son shudder quite suddenly then felt himself washed in the calmness that the boy projected. He felt certain that had been for Rosalie's benefit, as it apparently was her trepidation that Jasper was experiencing.

Stepping away from the study door Carlisle beckoned his son to follow. Stopping a little ways down the hall, he turned to Jasper. In a voice that was just barely a hushed whisper he spoke, "What is it son? Please make it fast because I really want to get this unpleasantness all over with as quickly as possible."

Jasper pulled himself up to attention, taking the stance that he had been taught to use so long ago when it came to addressing a source of authority. "Sir, with all due respect I felt the need to make mention of something you said earlier."

Carlisle crossed his arms with a silent sigh. "At ease, solider." His command was rewarded by a shift in Jasper's stance, yet the boy seemed just a rigid as before. "Go on, son. What is it that you want to say?"

"Well, Sir, my Alice and I were talking. She said that it appeared you hadn't decided on Rose's fate which got me to thinkin' that I might be able to help. Not to buck your authority Papa, but if you recall you mentioned that guilt is a powerful teacher."

"Yes son, I did say that."

"Sir, guilt is the strongest emotion coming off of Rosalie right about now. She is struggling with just a hellacious amount. I don't see how she could be feeling any worse. I know you will do what is right, but I thought it was only proper for you to know what she is putting herself through. Far be it for me to stand in the way of Rose getting' what she is due, however in all fairness…well, Sir, I believe that guilt has already taught her the lesson that your hand normally would."

Carlisle stood silent and unmoving for several seconds before his countenance began to darken.

Oh Holy shit, what did I say wrong? Jasper swallowed back the venom that his nerves suddenly caused to pool in his mouth.

"Major Jasper Whitlock, SIR, how dare you come before me like this," Carlisle barked in a moderately raised voice. "Is this how you address your superiors?"

Jasper's eyes grew wide, but he stayed frozen unsure of what to make of his father's stern rebuke. "Ah am mighty sorry, Sir. Ah meant no disrespect. Just thought you ought ta know, but ah am only too willin' ta keep my future thoughts ta myself."

Carlisle's eyes softened before the smile crept across his face. Reaching out he clasped a hand behind Jasper's neck and pulled the boy towards him. Giving him a hug, he quickly released him with a pat on the shoulder. "Thank you for sharing your thoughts, son. They are most valuable."

Confusion clouded Jasper's eyes. "Ah…ah don't understand…"

Carlisle grinned. "Jasper, do you make a habit of running around the house half clothed?"

"Oh, that. Well, um… well no, Sir but… you see pants are not right friendly ta me just 'bout now."

"Are you planning on walking around like that?"

Jasper knew it was impossible, but his cheeks felt flushed with the heat of embarrassment. "Nah, Sir. Ah am bunkin' in my room for da night. Alice and ah were interrupted earlier and um…"

A smirk curled Carlisle's lips. "Then Major, I suggest that you get back to it. A man should never leave a job half way done."

"Ah…um…ah…Yes, Sir."

Carlisle laughed as Jasper vanished in a blink of an eye. He would never understand why his children had such a hard time discussing sex with him. He was a doctor after all so there was not much he hadn't seen. No matter how many times he tried to ease their concerns with the basic explanation that it was a normal biological drive and nothing to be embarrassed about, they still responded the same way. Of course, if Carlisle was being honest with himself he had to admit that he delighted in teasing them. Maybe having teenagers permanently around wasn't such a bad thing after all.

With a shake of his head, he walked back to the study door and knocked softly.

"Come in, father. I have certainly been expecting you."

Stepping inside he glanced at Rose sitting stiffly in the leather chair in front of his desk. Her hands fidgeted in her lap as she kept her eyes focused on the carpeting.

Squaring his shoulders, Carlisle inhaled deeply then slowly released the air as he mentally relaxed himself. Walking towards his desk he leaned against the front edge and looked down at his dignified daughter whose body language was more akin to someone on death row. Carlisle crossed his arms as he quietly sighed. "What should I do with you, Kitty?"

When no response was forthcoming, he reached out and tipped her head up. "I want you to tell me what happened."

"I don't want to. Can't you just punish me and be done?"

Her sharp dismissive tone contradicted her body language. Carlisle sighed as he reminded himself that this was the defense mechanism of his clearly apprehensive child and nothing more. "No, Rosalie. I promised your mother that I would allow you to explain yourself. Please don't be belligerent with me. You predicament is grave enough without adding to it."

"Carlisle, I have already told you what happened. Mom came in to talk to me. I told her off. She tried again and I told her off again. Eventually I had some really choice words for her that pushed every button mom has causing her to breakdown. That was really not my intention, but as said, I was trying to hurt her. I knew that what I was doing was wrong at the time, but I held to my course regardless. There is really nothing more to explain."

Rose was tenser than her father had ever seen her. Her jaw was tight and her body fidgeted with nervous energy. Given the opportunity, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that she would run. Denied that, her body instinctively was ready to fight, but Rosalie was much too smart to even consider that as an option.

"Why did you feel the need to hurt your mother, baby? You have admitted this several times, but have yet to explain why."

His daughter simply shook her head. "I don't have a reasonable explanation. Mom left me in charge and I failed to live up to her expectations. That made me angry. I was angry with Em and Edward, but I was also angry with myself for having failed. I... well no one likes to fail. I suppose I was feeling hurt and blamed Mom for putting me in the position to be hurt, so I wanted to give it back to her. I had an irrational need to make her hurt as much as I was hurting right then. I know it doesn't make sense, but..."

Carlisle rubbed the back of his neck in an attempt to release some tension. "Actually it does make sense, Rose, however that is a very childish mentality. It is quite unlike you to behave this way."

"Cumulative effect of the events of the day?" She shrugged as she offered her only defense.

"A poor explanation in all, but we'll let it stand as such for now since today's events have been extremely stressful." Rosalie seemed to relax slightly at his acceptance, appearing grateful that he wouldn't press her harder. Carlisle would have preferred to keep her in a more comfortable state, but knew his next question would be even harder for his baby to answer. "Rosalie, I know that your mother nearly struck you. That is so far out of character for her I can only imagine how powerful the catalyst must have been. What did you do to cause such a reaction?"

His daughter quickly averted her eyes. "Please, don't make me answer that."

"Kitty, I need to know so I can understand all of what transpired. I want to understand, but you have to help me out here for me to be able to do so."

Rose's proud head drooped as her agitation increased. "Mom told me that she wanted to talk, to work things out, and I told her... I told her to fuck off."

"Hmm." A muscle in Carlisle's jaw twitched as he dropped his head to prevent his daughter from seeing the irritation that he was experiencing as it reflected in his features. He rubbed his forehead in frustration then shoved his hands deep in his pockets to keep them contained.

"I told you that I didn't want to repeat it."

"Okay Kitty, let's get something straight right now. I am done with this particular habit of yours. Your mother and I have let a lot of things go which appears to have been a mistake, but I have had enough of this vulgarity."

"It's common language that allows us to blend in better with the humans," she answered a bit too flippantly for Carlisle's taste.

He glanced up at Rose then looked away once she registered just how serious he was. "Common would certainly be the correct term. I expect better of my children. I know that you can conduct yourselves as ladies and gentlemen and still blend in. There are no excuses for such crassness. Then to take such a tone with your mother… Rosalie Lillian Hale, do I even need to tell you how appalling that is?"

"Daddy, it was a mistake that I will never repeat."

Carlisle looked back at his daughter staring deeply into her eyes. She appeared to be sincere. Giving her a slight nod he spoke with complete seriousness, "Rosalie, with your enhanced senses the acrid flavor of soap will be exceedingly unpleasant. If I hear a single coarse word uttered from your lips you will find out just how bad that can be. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, Sir," she whispered as she turned away from his piercing gaze.

He closed his eyes as his teeth ground in annoyance. Finally Carlisle reclaimed enough calm to draw a deep breath that allowed him to proceed with his inquiry. "Your mother raised her hand to you and that is when you brought up Charles?"

"Mhm." Rose's eyes suddenly filled with venom at the memory of the horrible things she had said. "I told mom that she treated the boys better than me. I said that she learned how to treat her daughters by following Charles's lead. That's where she got the idea that I feared being abused. It was all my fault, Daddy and I can never make that up to her." She wiped away the stray tear that had managed to escape in spite of her stubborn attempts to refuse their release, then turned her gaze to her father. "Daddy, I will do anything, anything at all to make this up to momma. Please help me find a way to do that because I am completely out of my realm."

Carlisle grew still as he stood there considering his daughter in quiet reflection. He held out a hand to her and pulled Rose to her feet. "Kitty, amends will be made on your mother's terms, but if you keep to your word to not act like this again that will go a long way to repairing the damage. Esme has never done anything that warrants the behavior you showed her this evening. Her love for you is unwavering; I feel that your respect for her should be just as constant. I expect you to conduct yourself in more befitting manner from here on out." His hand lightly brushed her cheek as the sternness in his eyes began to soften. "You made a mistake, Rose. I expect you to learn the lessons it offers you and move on. If you can manage to do that you will be a better person for having gone through this ordeal and your mother's suffering will not have been in vain."

Rosalie nodded as she accepted her father's mild chiding before she swallowed hard to clear her throat to speak. "I'm ready, Daddy. I know that I earned this and I can't see any point in putting it off any longer."

Carlisle nodded as he took her hand in his and led her over towards the loveseat against the wall. Sitting down he directed her to stand before him. "Kitty, this will never happen again, correct?"

"Yes, Sir."

"You will keep that attitude in check?"

She nodded as her body began to tremble.

"You promise that you're going to keep your language on a short leash from here on out?"

"Yes, Daddy."

"That's my good girl." He eased her down and guided her over his lap. Without another word or warning his hand crashed down on her backside causing Rosalie to hiss as the sting of the blow bloomed across her tender flesh. She gritted her teeth as she waited for the next blow, but suddenly found herself lifted upright and being cuddled in her father's arms. Carlisle brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. "Don't make me regret this, Kitty. Should you go back on your word and find yourself in this position again you can trust that you will not be sitting for quite some time."

Rose blinked in confusion as she gazed into her father's eyes. "I don't understand, Daddy. This isn't supposed…"

"What your actions deserve, Kitty is not always what you get and you can thank your mother for your ability to sit right now. She argued your case very strongly and after talking with you, I can see that she was correct in her summation."

His daughter shook her head. "No, Daddy. I already told you and momma both that I have never thought that I was being abused. She didn't need to worry about that. I just said those things out of spite."

Carlisle sighed as he tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear. "I know, baby. That was not the argument made in your favor. I wouldn't have folded to that, believe me." He shifted her in his lap slightly to more easily meet her eyes. "Your mother felt that you were already feeling remorseful for your actions and that the level of that emotion was punishment enough. I honestly wasn't convinced, but then I received a little additional information and after talking with you I was inclined to agree."

Rosalie bowed her head and thought for a few seconds before wrapping her arms around Carlisle's neck as she finally granted her tears freedom to express her sorrow and gratitude for her parents' mercy.

"Shh." Carlisle rubbed her back gently as he offered his daughter the comfort of his unconditional love and acceptance. "You are going to be okay, Kitty. Shh. It's alright." He held her close while her system purged itself of the dreaded burden of guilt. Once her tears had tampered off yet while she still clung to him sniffling quietly, Carlisle gently spoke, "Rosalie, I'm sorry to say that I still feel that some punishment is required for your actions. You are on restriction for the next two weeks. I will expect you to be pleasant and help your mother around the house. If I see any sullen attitude from you where your mother is concerned you can count on finding yourself turned over my knee in very short order."

Rose nodded as he continued to lay out the terms of her incarceration.

"School, hunting and home is all that will be allowed these two weeks. I am going to trust you enough not to make your hunts supervised, but again don't cause me to regret this decision, young lady." Carlisle pulled her away and dipped his head to look into her eyes. "Finally, I want you to go to your room, sit down at your desk and write out a heartfelt apology to your mother. She will appreciate that and I believe that will make you feel a bit better as well. When you are done, I would like for you to come find me so I may read it before you give it to your mother."

Rosalie tried to look away but Carlisle prevented her from doing so with a light touch. "Kitty, do you have any questions, concerns or objections to your punishment?"

His daughter shook her head before hesitantly whispering, "No, Daddy."

"Alright then," He kissed her cheek before lifting her gently from his lap and placing her on her feet. "Go get to work on that apology." He swatted her softly as he sent her on her way.

With the door quietly closing behind his daughter, Carlisle leaned forward placing his elbows on his knees while he cradled his head in his hands. Heaving a sigh of relief he ran his hands through his hair then leaned back resting his head against the smooth leather as he closed his eyes. Dear Lord, please don't put me through another day like today. I know that you don't give me any more than I can bear, but I swear that I don't think this old vampire heart can handle another like this again anytime soon. He needed to return to Esme and check on her, but Carlisle granted himself a few moments of meditative peace and quiet as he blocked out the trials and tribulations to firmly shut the door on this hellish day.

AN: *passes out* I am right in there with Carlisle. This has been one helluva day at the Cullen house. Glad that one is over. Thank God for Jasper, the pantless wonder. Without his diversion I'm not sure that I would have made it. No, sorry guys, the story still isn't quite over. I'm going to be moving forward a couple of days with the focus shifting to Carlisle and Esme. Hopefully, we will finally get a little romance in there for the parents once they work through a couple more things.

Thank you all for taking the time to read and review. Since views as to what to do with Rose were fairly evenly split I went with a bit of a compromise. Kitty did land on her feet, but at least her claws did get clipped.

Thanks to Splinter for her beta-ing (is that even a word? Well it should be.) assistance and thanks to everyone for all your support. Y'all rock my little world.