Esme POV

Having Carlisle home all day with me was wonderful, better than anything I could have wished for. What wasn't so great was that he loathed every second he wasn't able to be doing something productive. But still this had a plus side; because he couldn't work, he'd become infatuated with my blueprints, more often than not drawing them up with me.

"Why do we not build these?" he asked me, pinning another piece of paper to the board in order to finish the plan.
I rolled my eyes. "Because, Carlisle, then every house on the block would have been planned by me," I teased.
"And is that a bad thing?" He lent across the table to kiss me. "The locals should think themselves very lucky."
"Why? Because their roofs collapse while they're sleeping?" I giggled, catching his hand. I couldn't help but frown when my fingers came in contact with the bandage rather than his skin.
"I'm sure their roofs would be entirely stable." He knotted his fingers through mine anyway, after seeing my expression, and squeezed my hand.
"Oh? Then would their walls cave in?"
"The walls would withstand a hurricane, my love."
I sighed to smother a laugh. "Okay, now you're teasing me."
"Not teasing, more…more just trying to get on your good side." He grinned at me from across the table.
"Buttering me up, huh?" I chuckled, standing and walking around so I was directly in front of him.
"Yes." He didn't even have it in him to look guilty.
"So you can…What? Surely this isn't all to get me in the bed room, Carlisle Cullen." I did my best to pretend I was horrified.
Amusement flashed across his face. "If that's what it will take." He caught my waist, pulling me closer.
"You're going to tell me what you're doing then?" I ran my fingers through his hair, shifting it off his face.
"Am I not allowed to love my wife?" he teased, taking my hand again and kissing the back of it.
"Am I not allowed to be suspicious when I know my husband is up to something?" I tried to match his tone but couldn't keep from laughing, making him smile as well.
"Your husband always listens to his wife, you should know that by now."
I cupped his face in my hands, pressing my lips against his. "And what is my husband up to? Trying to leave me for work?" I guessed.
"Maybe?"
"Well then, your loving wife says no." I kissed his forehead before walking away, chuckling to myself.
"Damn," he cursed under his breath, still teasing me.
"Are you coming or not?" I called from down the hallway.
"Coming where?" he asked, confused.
"To the kitchen. You seem to have become my permanent shadow lately." I bit my lip, trying to smother any laughter that threatened to burst out of me.
He appeared seconds later. "Do I really follow you that much?" he challenged.
"I'm pretty sure you came gardening with me yesterday, and I know you hate that." I slid my arms around his middle, still a little scared to squeeze him but hugging seemed okay. "I don't mind though. I like it."
"It's going to be very strange when I go back to work. I mean, not being able to be near you all the time. I'm so used to it now," he admitted.
"Well, maybe I'll build us a house right next door to the hospital. You know, since you think I'm such a great architect and everything."
"Then I wouldn't have to call you when I was on lunch break. I could just come and see you."
"That would be nice. I wouldn't be able to get up to any mischief either, seeming as you would always be able to keep an eye on me."
"And what mischief do you get up to, Mrs Platt?" I knew it was taking every bit of self-control he possessed not to laugh now.
"More than you can dream about, Dr Cullen."
He smiled and I wished I could know what he was thinking. As he leant down to kiss me, Emmett burst in the door, home from school. "Why does he always do that?" Carlisle whined, his head coming to rest on my shoulder.
"You love me really, Carlisle," he laughed.
My husband muttered something under his breath too quietly for me to catch, but Edward snickered as he followed his brother in. "Carlisle," he manage to scold, acting horrified.
I watched the pair of the curiously.
"Don't worry, Esme, it was G rated," my son assured me, grinning. "Hey- but that wasn't," he grumbled, spinning around to glare at Carlisle who smiled sheepishly in return.
He managed to appear semi-innocent wile I tried not to laugh.
"I expected that from Rosalie or Emmet, but not from you," he continued.
He shrugged. "I told you I was bored."
I just rolled my eyes, now even more curious about his thoughts. At least he was smiling again.

After a while I could tell that having the kids home was grating on Carlisle's nerves. Usually it would have been fine; he loved them, but in the state he was in he had absolutely no way to keep them under control, and they were all exploiting it to their full advantage. Trees were ripped from the roots, rocks were smashed, brothers and sisters were made enemies and the house was slowly being destroyed.
"Don't worry about them, honey," I soothed, running my hand up and down his back as we stood on the deck and watched the destruction.
His eyes were trained on Emmett, the main cause of the problems. "I am going to kill him," he whispered. Studying his face, I struggled to tell if he was angry or hurt, but he didn't speak with much venom.
"Everything will be okay, Carlisle," Alice told him happily, skipping up beside us and sliding her hand into his. She too winced on touching the bandage, just as I had. Ever since we had come home Edward and Alice had been almost permanently attached to Carlisle at every opportunity they got, but he didn't seem to mind that at all. Alice especially seemed dependant on being close to him, while Edward coped until he was out of range to hear Carlisle's thoughts.
"He's out of control. I thought I raised him better than that," he continued softly, speaking to himself rather than to us.
"That's just how Emmett is, love. He doesn't think first." I leant my head on his shoulder and he kissed my hair.
"I know, it just…stresses me out," he admitted, wincing as another tree fell. "Emmett," he warned. "Don't."
He didn't heed his warning, springing out of the forest grinning widely. "You don't want to play, Carlisle?"
"Stop it," he warned.
"That's enough," I agreed, wrapping my arm around Carlisle's waist in case he took it upon himself to jump off the deck.
"Loosen up," Emmett teased. "Why are you so highly strung?"
"Because we're supposed to be living inconspicuously, and you are drawing attention to us by destroying half the forest," he snapped.
"Stop it, Em," Alice scolded, standing with her hands on her hips to make herself as intimidating as someone with her stature could manage.
"Don't exaggerate, Carlisle. It's more like a third of the forest." His smile widened, pleased he was getting a bite out of my husband. A wave of calm washed over us and I glanced back to smile at Jasper.
"He's had enough, Emmett. Don't push him," I growled, angry that he was purposefully trying to upset my mate and enjoying the process.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "What's a few trees? They can use them as firewood or something. What's the big deal?"
"I happen to like this way of life, Emmett, and you are endangering both it and my family, so I suggest that you stop this now." Carlisle kept his voice even, but I could tell it wouldn't be long until my husband's perfect temper snapped.
"What are you doing to do? Punish me?" he taunted.
He growled at him. "Rosalie, control your mate, please?"
"It's alright, Carlisle, we'll find a way around it," I murmured, praying he wouldn't try anything with Emmett. I trusted him not to hurt him, we all knew he would never do anything like that, but I didn't trust that he wouldn't hurt himself.
She just rolled her eyes and I immediately knew he'd made a mistake asking her; they'd never had a close relationship, and for some reason it had worsened after that accident. After our coven discovered that their leader wasn't invincible. "You're in charge of us. You do something about it."
"I cant do this," Carlisle whispered to me, fear leaking into his voice.
"Everything will be fine," Alice assured him, but she caught my eye and glanced at Emmett, and then the trees indicating otherwise. Unfortunately, Carlisle caught it to.
"Stop it, Emmett," he hissed, trying to mask his anxiety as anger.
"You don't have it in you to punish me, Carlisle. We all know that," he announced raucously. "Anyway, you love me. You have to."
"I might love you, but I certainly don't love you at this point in time."
"That doesn't even work. You cant love someone and not like them."
Just as I worried he would, Carlisle jumped down onto the grass, coming face to face with Emmett. Although he didn't so much as flinch, the sharp click his brace gave confirmed that he'd put too much pressure on his bad leg.
Emmett jumped back a few meters, mocking him.
Carlisle gritted his teeth, stalking forward. "You are endangering this coven, and if you continue to do so I have no problem in removing you from it until you can control yourself."
I knew he was bluffing; he couldn't stand to be separated from a member of our family for too long, but I hoped Emmett wouldn't realise this.
"Em, stop," Rosalie told him suddenly, grabbing her husband's arm and pulling him away, glaring at Carlisle. "You wouldn't…"
"Try it again and see what happens," he suggested.
Much to everyone's relief, Rosalie wasn't game enough to try it. The entire coven fell silent and Carlisle didn't move.
"I think there might be a game on TV, Emmett," Jasper said slowly after a nudge from Edward.
Emmett let out a whop and charged into the house, the other two following him in.
Alice flitted onto the grass next to Rosalie, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the garage, burbling something shopping related.
Carlisle sighed and hung his head, studying the grass, not even glancing up as I slowly approached him. "I shouldn't have done that," he mumbled when I put my hand on his shoulder.
"Emmett's fine, love. Everyone is fine. The only person hurt is you," I assured him. "Did you worsen this? I heard it crunch." I touched his leg and he quickly shifted him weight, only just realising he was putting pressure on it.
"It's alright…it doesn't hurt."
Lie or not, I accepted his answer, wrapping my arms around his waist and kissing his cheek. "Everything is fine, sweetheart. Come inside now, okay?"
"I cant protect them…and they're…they're destroying themselves. And our property," he added as something inside smashed.
Not sure how to comfort him, I just pulled him closer, closing the space between us.
"It's alright, Carlisle, I'll kick their asses," a voice said from just inside the tree line. I glanced up in time to see Siobhan emerge, grinning.
Carlisle groaned, but couldn't resist smiling, his eyes lighting up as he saw her. "Alice sent you," he guessed.
"Of course she did. Who else would I walk across the bloody country for other than your pushy little pixie?" she teased, rolling her eyes when he hugged her. "Can I even touch you without hurting you?"
"I'm fine," he argued.
"The meltdown you just had assures me you are not, liar," she teased.
"It was hardly a meltdown," he grumbled, starting to laugh now.
She pushed him away again. "Now, do as your wife said and get inside before I have to hurt you."
"But-"
"Go."
"Fine." Begrudgingly, he did as he was told.
"You're got your hands full," she chuckled to me as we watched him retreat.
"I know," I giggled. "They pretty full on."
She smirked, taking my hand and leading me toward the house. "I wasn't talking about your children. I meant Carlisle."