Disclaimer: There are references to spanking of teenage vampires. If this is not your thing, bye-bye! All rights belong to Stephenie Meyers.

A/N: I am still working on Breaking the Rules, my baby, but I decided to do a quick little three chapter story while I get my thoughts together for the next chapter. This story was going to be a one shot but I changed my mind. It will be very short though; however, I do have an idea for a longer Emlisle story once I complete BTR that is unrelated to this story. Hope you enjoy. Please Review.

Esme's POV

It was a cloudy Saturday evening, and I was quietly reviewing some plans for the new greenhouse I was designing when I heard a faint rap at my door. The time was five o'clock in the evening. Carlisle had called yesterday and informed me that he would be working until seven a.m. in the ER because one of his colleagues had a family emergency and had called out. He'd gone to a medical conference this morning at ten and would be there until around seven p.m. The poor dear...that meeting was already scheduled before he knew he would be working all night! Of course, my darling Carlisle wouldn't cancel, and though he didn't need sleep, I could only guess that he must be mentally exhausted. Luckily, he and I had shared some quality time Wednesday night. I missed him terribly.

To my surprise, the scent that greeted me was that of my son Emmett…my Emmy as I affectionately called him. Carlisle hated when I called him that…said it made him too soft…I thought it was rather cute. Emmett didn't seem to mind it coming from me, but if one of his brothers called him that, he went berserk. Besides, who was Carlisle to talk anyway! He loves those grown boys...his babies! I smiled to myself.

There was another faint rap. This is strange. Usually Emmett bangs on the door or just barges in. It's not like him to "barely" knock. I shrugged it off, thinking that his behavior may have had something to do with that lecture Carlisle gave him about destroying the fence in the back yard.

"Emmett, come in baby." I said in a normal, but nervous tone. I was curious as to what could be bothering him since he had announced himself so politely this time. Emmett gently opened the door…another oddity…and quietly walked in. I wondered if this had anything to do with the recent news involving some rogue vampires. I wasted no time. "Is something wrong, Em?"

He stopped at the door and just as gently as he opened it, he closed the door behind him. He didn't bother moving away from the door, but stood with his back against it with his curly head bowed.

"Em?" I asked, really worried now. "What's the matter, baby?" With vampire speed I approached him. I stood in front of him and reached out to stroke his muscular arms. Emmett seemed almost bashful…or at least embarrassed about something. "Hmmm? What's on your mind?"

I still assumed that this had something to do with his father, otherwise he would have gone straight to Carlisle if he had a serious problem. He and Carlisle were very close, like real father and son, and he normally didn't hesitate to rely on Carlisle's wisdom and guidance when he needed it. Usually he came to me when he and his dad were fighting about something, or when he needed advice about Rose…or even Alice. This seemed a little different though. Something was definitely troubling him.

He stalled a moment longer and finally he spoke in another unusual voice. Whispering he said, "Mom, I have a problem."

I figured that much. My big bear needed me to help him resolve something that he felt he couldn't resolve with Rose or Carlisle.

"Okay, dear. You can talk to me. Tell me about it." I gently encouraged, lifting his boyish face so that I could look into his eyes. They were sad, guilt-ridden.

He began to fidget, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He started wringing his hands together, and looked up at the ceiling then back down at me.

"Mama, I kinda…"

He paused.

"….I…"

He paused again and inhaled deeply. He was extremely nervous.

"….Whew!"

He exhaled.

"…Mom I need to tell you something, but you gotta promise not to tell Dad. Please."

Oh boy! This is going to be a big one. He's going to tell me something that I can't share with my dear Carlisle…Ugh! I don't know about this.

" Sure thing Emmy, but in light of everything that has being going on lately with those vampire attacks, you have to know that if you or either of your siblings are in danger, Dad needs to know." I wanted him to know that I wouldn't go along with anything that put him or my other children in harm's way. "Carlisle would be devastated if that were the case and we didn't tell him."

He inhaled and exhaled again, still fidgeting. "No, no, Mama. It's nothin' like that. It's…it's that…um…Mama I lied to Dad about something."

He quickly lowered his topaz eyes to the floor, but not quickly enough for me to avoid seeing the tears that threaten to spill from them. I stroked his arms again.

"Okay, baby, tell me what happened." I politely requested. I was becoming more and more anxious for the boy. According to Carlisle, lying to us was an intolerable offense. He felt like we had a fair, open-door policy, and that there was absolutely no reason why any of our children couldn't come to us or be truthful with us. The kids all knew that if they were ever caught lying to us, they would be in serious trouble.

"I was supposed to stay home last night, but he said I could go hunting if I needed to. I called him at work and told him that I would be hunting, but I went somewhere else first." He spoke softly. I lifted his head again, but it was extremely difficult for him to maintain eye contact with me.

Instead of going shopping with us in Port Angeles yesterday, Emmett had informed me that Carlisle was upset with him for damaging the fence, and that he needed to stay home to fix it. When I called later to check on him, he had also told me that he was going hunting. That meant if he'd lied to his father, he'd also lied to me. Trying to contain my own irritation, I patiently urged him to continue his confession. "Where did you go, baby?"

"I…I…went to a…club…and…I…I…" Emmett was desperately trying to push out the words. He was embarrassed by his misdeed, and somewhat unsure as to how I would react.

"A club?" I asked, trying to understand my child's predicament.

"Yes Ma'am." He replied sheepishly. That thick curly hair gave him such a child-like appearance. He was acting like a child who'd been caught stealing from the cookie jar. "After I went hunting."

"What kind of club?"

The "night life" was certainly not foreign to my vampire-children. They loved going out and partying. Of course they all had curfews…mostly for appearances sake, but also because we were just a little old-fashioned. We felt that too much exposure to that lifestyle was unhealthy for them. As their parents, that was our call. They often objected, but they were always given two choices: concede or stay home. They always obliged our request, and rarely broke curfew. In lieu of this, if Emmett had to lie to his father about going to a club, that would have meant that he seriously made Carlisle upset with him. Carlisle never denied their fun unless he had good cause.

"Just a bar, Mama."

"A bar?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

I was confused. "Emmy, I'm not following."

He sighed. "Mama, I got in trouble with Dad on Wednesday because I used his Mercedes without asking first and some idiot hit it and caused some minor damage. Thursday morning, Dad frigged all out and was mad that I "violated" and "abused" his "second-wife" and told me I would have to get it fixed out of my allowance money. I starting mouthing off at him and he told me I was grounded, saying somethin' about I should thank God for you because otherwise he would give me a good spankin.' He took my phone and all of my cool stuff, and told me that I had to stay in the guest room for the weekend. Well, yesterday after you guys went to Port Angeles, I sorta called and told him that I was going to hunt, but I went out instead. Edward knows because he keeps snooping around in my head and so does Alice cause she's always in the future. They all know…no privacy round here, Mom."

"Hmmm…your father didn't mention anything about this to me." Now that's unusual. Carlisle always tells me when he's punishing one of the kids.

Poor Carlisle! He's had so much on his plate lately…he probably forgot. He certainly would want me to know that he chose grounding over spanking this time…to appease me of course! He didn't say anything Thursday night or Friday morning.

"So why didn't you tell me about this last night, Emmett? You not only lied to your father, but to me as well."

"I didn't lie to you Mama. I was in trouble with Pops and I did go hunting. I'm dead meat if Pops finds out I went to that club."

I shook my head in disbelief. I didn't feel like arguing the difference between stretching and covering up the truth and just flat out lying with my rebellious son. "What do you think you should do, sweetheart?" One thing that I always tried to do as the mother of my five rambunctious children was to help them find their own solution to their problems. Most of the time they already had the answers, but they just needed me to listen.

"I dunno. I wanna tell him and everything, but, Mama, honestly I don't wanna get in trouble with him again."

"Do you think you deserve to be in trouble, Emmett?"

"Yes, Ma'am, but Dad is gonna bust my tail if he finds out. I know he will."

As much as I hated to agree with him, I knew that there was truth in his words. Carlisle Cullen, the love of my life…father of my children…well respected, prestigious physician...definitely had a primitive view of child-rearing and discipline. He believed that if you spare the rod, you'll spoil the child. Most of the time we disagreed big time about his methods, but I usually just stepped aside and let him do what he thought was best…not without desperately pleading their cases first though.

The children knew that while he was compassionate, loving, and overall an angel, that he would wear their behinds out if he had to…all of them…both the boys and the girls…well the girls were far and few in between, but they were not exempt. To be honest, those girls probably needed a few more, especially Rosalie, but Carlisle had spoiled them rotten. They usually got away with grounding. To put it frankly, they were usually in more trouble with me than with their father. He was putty in the hands of those royal princesses.

"But you deliberately disobeyed him, Emmy, and you lied to him. If he chooses to whip you, do you think that is fair?" I wanted to help my son understand that he did break the rules, and therefore any punishment he received would be merited.

"No." He stated bluntly. "I don't, Mom."

"And why is that Em?" I asked, seriously trying to follow his lead.

"Because I'm grown, Mama, and he has no right to whip me like a child. I keep tellin' him that!"

"Emmett, sweetheart, what can I say? I agree whole-heartedly with you, but you are his child and he loves you. While I don't agree with his methods of punishment, I cannot block him. He's in charge around here, and he has to make sure that you kids stay in line."

My biggest stance against corporal punishment was that these "children" were really adults trapped in their teenage bodies. Because of this, they would always be subjected to our discipline, and we would be their parents for eternity...unless they decided to leave...perish the thought!. I believed that they should be treated as young adults. Carlisle agreed, but quickly defended his position when they acted like children. He couldn't stand it, and demanded more from them. He was a patient man, but his tolerance for childishness and foolishness was short. He also believed that because they were changed at various phases of development, they could only be trusted to be "adults" for so long. According to him, they would always need guidance and correction.

"I know that Mom, but still…I just dunno what to do."

"Well, baby, I will tell you this. You need to decide what you feel is right to do, and do it. I cannot make that decision for you. I believe you already know what you should do. Your father is a good man, but definitely strict at times and continuing to lie to him will only make things worse for you. Did anything bad happen at the club?"

"No, Ma'am. I only did it to prove that he can't control me, and tell me what to do all the time. I just wanted to get back at him for yelling at me and for grounding me." He confessed as if I was a priest and he just needed release.

"Oh, Emmett, baby. Carlisle loves you. You were punished because you were being disrespectful, not because your father is trying to boss you around. You know how your father feels about that kind of behavior. Deliberately defying his authority is not the way to handle your anger against him."

"I know Mom…"

"Emmett, you have got to learn to control your behavior better, son. We all know how you are, and that you like to have fun, but you need to be respectful when requested of you…especially by me or your Dad."

He looked up at me, saddened by my words. "I knew you would probably take his side."

"I'm on the side of what's right. I love you dearly, baby, but what you did was wrong. If you took his car without his permission and then damaged it, and mouthed off at him, then you should have been grounded. If your father told you to stay in the guest room, then you should have obeyed him. Sneaking out was wrong, Emmett."

I gave him a minute to absorb what I just said. He nodded in agreement, and bowed his head again. He knew I was telling him the truth.

My poor boy.

"Em, if Carlisle was mistreating you, trust that I would be the first person to defend you…but in this instance I do not feel that way. I want you to feel you can trust me and confide in me about anything Emmy, but I must uphold Carlisle in this one. Now I promised I would not tell him what you've shared with me, and I won't. I seriously want you to think about the seriousness of what you did."

My children were spoiled. I'll own that much. Carlisle and I both could take the blame for that, but they were overall good kids. They usually didn't find themselves in serious trouble, and usually when they did, it was for breaking one of our basic house rules. Emmett and Rose stayed in the most trouble with us, but a few months ago Edward found himself in bad company with his father for showing out terribly at home and school…and that was an understatement. He was in super hot water with Carlisle.

To make a long story short, he landed two days in ISS for helping Bella cheat on a biology test and Carlisle whipped him good for disrespecting us, his principal, and for trying to fight Emmett. Carlisle and I had a terrible brawl about it afterwards, mainly because I felt he hit Edward too hard and humilated him, but we worked out our differences. Emmett had also received a whipping that same night, which I didn't appreciate either, for inciting the fight with Edward in the yard that Carlisle had to break up. Carlisle was pretty disturbed and mentally broken because of his punishment to the boys, and it has taken him a while to fully recover from it. He hates punishing them, but according to him, those are his children and he has an obligation to them. I don't like it when he does that to them, but I understand why…a little bit anyway.

"Mama…I'm scared."

"I know baby…" My Emmett…fearless…always looking for a challenge…was scared that his father was going to punish him. Hmmm…

"Dad always seems to hound me about every little thing. I don't wanna whipping."

"Hmmm, are you asking me to try to talk him out of it? I'm not going to do that, Em." I really wanted Emmett to come clean with his father even if it meant he would face dire consequences for his behavior.

"No Mama, I'm not. I guess I will have to face Dad man to man. I just needed you to listen…and keep my secret."

"Your secret is safe in the treasure of my heart, but I'm not done with you yet. We will be having our own discussion about this later."

"But Mama!" He whined like the big baby he was.

"Don't but Mama me, Emmett Cullen. You know better." I said firmly.

He groaned and decided it was best not to push me further. He stepped towards me and hugged me. "Thanks for being here, Mama. I love you."

"I love you more, baby." I squeezed him tightly.

With that he turned and left the room. I knew that he would do the right thing because Carlisle and I had always taught him to be honest. Oh, he would certainly be punished, no doubt about that, but it would be a lessoned learned. I loved my children, but I cannot condone their wrong-doing. Even when Edward was punished so severely for breaking the rules, and I disagreed with Carlisle's decision, I did feel that he needed some form of punishment. I could only hope that my children would eventually mature and become the adults they should be. I would hate to know we had to spend an eternity with five teenagers who refused to grow up!

Author's comments:

I am so glad Esme decided to back Carlisle on this one. She is a true mother, correct? She shows her love and support for her son, but takes a stand for what's right. She knows Emmett was wrong, but encourages him to make his own choice about what he feels is right vs. wrong, even if it means that Carlisle will have to punish him harshly. We all know that Esme hates corporal punishment, but at least she tries to let Carlisle be their father and take care of business when necessary. Well there you have it, chapter one. Let's see what happens when Daddy comes home.

Thanks for your reviews.