Disclaimer: I do not own twilight
Carlisle's POV
I felt something tugging at my arm as I tried to sleep. I turned on the lamp and saw Jasper watching me curiously. I noticed that the bedroom door was open but everybody else was asleep. He must have finally learnt how to open the door by himself which wasn't good. His shirt was off again and his hair was messy which told me that he had only just woken up.
"What's wrong, Jasper?" I asked him.
He just tugged at my arm again. I got out of bed and let Jasper lead me to where he wanted to go. He guided me to his room so he probably wanted me to sit with him until he went to sleep again. He jumped onto his bed and looked at me meaningfully. What did he want? I picked up his water bottle from the floor and gave it to him. He accepted it but he still appeared to be wanting something. He's a young boy that is trying to get some sleep. What would a father do to help him?
"Do you want me to read to you?" I asked him.
His expression changed to recognition as if those words were familiar to him.
"Re-da" he said slowly, pronouncing the 'D' in the method that Rosalie had taught him.
I smiled at his effort to speak and then stood to find a suitable book for me to read to him. I had ordered a few books online for Jasper's mental age group which would help him read back to me whenever he feels ready to. I put a selection of books in front of him so that he could choose one. He studied the pictures on each book cover and pointed at the one that he preferred most.
I put the others away and then I opened the book to the first page so that I could start reading to him. He paid more attention to the pictures like any other child would but he still focused on the familiar words that I used and occasionally whispered them to himself, too.
I carried on reading to him even though I noticed that he was dosing. His eyes were closed but he was still awake. His fingers were fiddling with my sleeve which was how I could tell that he wasn't asleep just yet. When the fiddling had stopped, I stopped reading and put the book to my side.
I stayed by his side for a little while longer just in case he woke up again. He would probably ask for somebody to read to him more often which I wouldn't mind because it felt great to spend time with him and it would also help him learn. I was sure that Rosalie, too, would enjoy reading to him before night time; so would Esme since I knew that she missed reading to her children while they were so young.
When I woke up in the morning to make myself some coffee before I headed off to work, I saw Rosalie in the room that was specially made for Jasper. She was rolling a ball to him and he would roll it back to her.
"Morning dad" she said as she noticed me.
Jasper grinned as I walked into his play room. He rolled the ball to me so I crouched down and rolled the ball back.
"What time are you working today?" Rose asked me.
"9 until 6. Why?" I questioned.
She nodded and looked back at Jasper. "I think he wants to spend some time with you" she noted as Jasper rolled the ball back to me, unaware of the conversation taking place.
He was just focused on getting my attention with the ball. It was clear that Rosalie was right.
"Well then as soon as I get back from work, I will find something to do with him" I replied.
It was nice to see a bright smile from Jasper as he enjoyed his entertainment with Rosalie. It gave me more of a reason to give him the attention that he wanted. I suddenly heard the telephone ring so I left Jasper with Rosalie. Jasper had hissed at the sound and tensed, causing Rosalie to move closer to him and wrap her arms around Jasper to calm him down.
"Hello?" I spoke as I answered the phone.
"Hello, Carlisle. It's Chief Swan here, I just wanted to inform you that I have made a few contacts and found out that you can take the boy in if you still intend too. Because his parents are deceased, the only other place for him is in foster care but he hasn't been put into the system so at the moment, they are looking for any relatives or possible guardians for him. I told them that you had adopted the sister and that you have experience with kids so I have pulled a few strings and explained about the boys situation and how he responds well to his sister so I'm here to tell you that it's good news. If you still want him, the boy is yours" Charlie revealed.
I stood there speechless. We could have Jasper? Rosalie would definitely be happy to hear it as well as Alice and the rest of the family. The effort that we had put into Jasper had not gone to waste. He's learning that we are a family and now he could be a part of it.
"Of course we want him. What will we need to do?" I asked.
"Well, because of his upbringing, it may get complicated but it will start with house checks and observations as well as occasional visits to view his progress with human behaviour but for you, you'll just need to sign a few things to keep him in your guidance" Charlie explained.
"Okay. Thank you so much for calling. I appreciate the time you have put into giving Jasper a home here" I thanked.
If this wasn't for Charlie, this wouldn't have happened. At least I had some good news to tell the family.
"No problem Carlisle, speak to you soon" Charlie said before he hung up.
As I put the phone back in place, Rosalie showed up behind me.
"Who was that?" She asked.
Although it was the sort of news that I wanted to tell everybody now, only Jasper and Rosalie were awake and I wanted to tell them all together.
"It doesn't matter. I'll tell you all about it when I get home" I told her.
She nodded at me curiously. I put on my shoes and coat and turned around to look for my car keys. I found them on the table. As soon as I picked them up, the sound of the keys rattling caught Jasper's attention as he ran in front of me. He eyed the keys before looking up at me; tilting his head.
"Daddy?" He whispered.
He sounded a little worried so I crouched down to his level and smiled at him.
"It's okay, buddy. I'll be back soon" I assured him.
"No" he mumbled.
Rosalie walked up to him and pulled him into a hug.
"Jazz, daddy has got to go to work" she told him.
"No" he said again but this time he pushed Rose away and ran to the door.
He crouched by it and growled at the both of us with a glare. I sighed. I had a feeling that I would be late for work to deal with this. Jasper hadn't acted this way with the last few days that I had gone to work so why now? Perhaps it was because it was the first time he was up early enough to prevent me from leaving.
"Jasper, move away from the door" I instructed him as I slowly walked closer.
He growled again and snapped his teeth at me to make me back off but I didn't. I crouched again and looked into his eyes.
"Come here" I instructed quietly.
He stopped growling this time and watched me carefully. He knew what I wanted and he was weighing out his options; come to my side or stay by the door so I couldn't leave. And then he shook his head at me. I walked closer to grab him and as I did, he tried to push me back but I was the stronger one.
He struggled against me in my grip as he started to scream at me. He was trying to dig his nails into my skin but I managed to restrain his arms before he did any damage.
"Jasper, stop it" Rosalie told him as she stood there helplessly.
Esme ran down the stairs to see what the noise was and I knew that I had to calm him down now before everybody else wakes up and comes downstairs too but the more people that are in his presence, the less likely there was of that happening.
"Shhhh…calm down, Jasper….Shhh..it's okay" I whispered to him.
He gave up struggling and leaned his head against my chest as he breathed heavily. I let go of his arms so he took advantage of that moment and suddenly gripped his fingers into my shirt tightly. When I tried to lift him off the ground, he made sure he put as much weight in his legs to make it difficult for me to do so. I had to use a lot of my strength just to move him. I had underestimated his strength.
I decided that now was the perfect time to teach him right from wrong. As I moved him nearer to the next room, he started to struggle again; this time he was kicking his legs. Rosalie held them in place to stop him from doing it but it only caused him to struggle more. Another scream came from his voice as he was moved into my study and the fingers that were gripping at my shirt were now pinching at my skin.
I lowered his body onto the mat and held him still. Rosalie closed the door to make sure he wouldn't run out so that I could release my grip on him. Once I did, he tried to run past me but I blocked his way.
"Stay" I commanded him.
He glared at me and then at Rose. I guess he was feeling a little betrayed at this moment. He was expecting Rosalie to help him. He tried to move off the mat again put I pushed him back.
"Stay" I repeated more firmly.
This time, my tone of voice worked and he made himself comfortable on the mat. He was still glaring at Rosalie and occasionally at me but every time I met his gaze, he looked away.
"Jasper, the reason why I am doing this is because you shouldn't be growling like that. It's bad" I told him.
I doubted that I was going to get through to him this early. It might take a while for him to understand what I am talking about but he should figure it out eventually anyway if I am punishing him every time he does the same thing.
"Ba-da" he repeated slowly, using Rose's method again.
"Yes, bad. And every time that you are bad, I will put you here for a few minutes and after those few minutes, I'll be expecting an apology" I said slowly.
Again, I doubt that he knew what an apology was but I would teach him. Jasper got up and tried to move for the third time but as I blocked him again, he started to whimper as he pushed his head into my chest.
"No, Jasper. You have to stay here" I instructed him.
He looked up at me and then started to give me a cheeky smile. I had no idea what it was I said but it seemed to have made him realise something.
"You day" he said.
I think he was actually saying "you stay". I was about to leave the house and now I was in my study with Jasper so now he thought I was staying.
"No, I have to go soon so the sooner I get an apology, the better. Do I get a sorry?" I asked him.
He frowned at me and moved away. His eyes were on Rosalie as if he was begging her to do something about it.
"Say sorry, Jazz. Sorry" Rosalie encouraged.
Jasper's eye returned to mine. He was, yet again, debating whether he should do as he was told or not.
"Sowy" he mumbled.
"Good boy. Now you can go" I told him.
He didn't move from his spot like I thought he would. He just seemed to of sat there and sulked. He may have a mental age of a four year old but there was still a part of him that was being smart; he was doing this to keep me here. Realising this, I stood up and walked away from him to let him know that he had no power over me.
As I left my study, he ran out and grabbed my sleeve again. He was whimpering; begging me not to leave but I had to. I had already taken a few days off from when Jasper had first started living here just to make sure he would be okay and that my family were safe around him but now the only reason that was keeping me here was that Jasper didn't want me to leave.
"I have to go. I'll be back" I promised him.
He rubbed his head against my shoulder as he continued to whimper. I hugged him but he didn't fully return it which meant that he was still unhappy.
"If you're good, I'll bring you home a treat" I told him.
I let go off him and stood back. Rosalie returned to his side and held Jasper close in reassurance.
"If anything happens, call me" I told her.
If Jasper was in a bad mood, it might not be a good outcome. Rose nodded at me and walked Jasper back to his play room. A part of me still wanted to stay to cheer him up but I knew it was for the best to go. I would be back later on and once he realises that I do return, it won't be a problem to leave for work in the future.
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