"Get your nose in that corner and stay there, Alexandra Justine. Go."

Olivia quickly steered Alex into the master bedroom by the elbow and punctuated her stern instruction with one very hard swat to Alex's skirt-clad bottom. She had never yelled at Alex in anger before, but right now she felt like doing exactly that so she knew that she needed to calm down. The brunette detective made her way into the master bathroom, shut the door behind her, and turned the water on. Only then did Olivia allow the tears she had been holding back to silently fall. She splashed water on her face and took several slow, deep breaths before emerging from the bathroom to find her pretty blonde wife exactly where she was supposed to be – standing in the corner with her hands on her head, hopefully thinking about the events that had transpired that afternoon. An afternoon that was far from over.

Olivia left Alex there for a few more minutes while she went to their closet and rummaged through their collection of implements, debating in her mind. She finally emerged from the closet carrying the heavy prison strap that Alex despised with every fiber of her being; the strap that had only been used twice before in their almost twenty-year relationship; the strap that hadn't seen daylight in over two years because Alex rarely did anything to deserve such a harsh whipping. This particular strap always made Olivia feel like a monster, but she was determined that Alex was going to learn this lesson the first time and nothing like this was ever going to happen again.

From her place in the corner, Alex felt like she had rocks in her stomach as she listened to Olivia moving about the room and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She was in severe trouble; being called 'Alexandra Justine' had made that perfectly clear. Alex hadn't seen Olivia this angry with her in a very long time. She was not afraid of Olivia. Olivia loved her more than life itself and Alex knew that full well. But Alex's backside was definitely afraid of what Olivia could do to it. Olivia was very loving, but she was also very strict and Alex's bare bottom paid dearly when Olivia deemed it necessary. The rules Alex agreed to live by were very clear, and today Alex had broken the most important one. Her butt was toast.

"Come here, little girl." Olivia's stern tone left no room for disobedience.

"Alexandra Justine, what is rule number one in this house?" Olivia picked up Alex's chin to force her to look her in the eye.

"Rule number one is that I always take care of myself and keep myself safe, Ma'am."

"I don't have to tell you that my job is dangerous. It's why Elliot and I carry guns to work every day and wear bullet-proof vests. Because there are evil people out there whose only goal in life is to kill and destroy. When you were riding with us in the squad car today and we got that call from Cragen, what did I tell you to do?"

"You told me to stay in the car and lock the doors, Ma'am, and to duck down with your jacket over my head if I heard gunshots."

"If I'd had it my way, we would have been able to drop you off back at the courthouse before we even got that call, but there was no time for that. We had to act quickly and I gave you instructions to keep you safe. When we found you gone from the car, I nearly had a heart attack. You're lucky that our perp didn't see you and take you hostage, Alexandra, or that a stray bullet didn't hit you."

Alex reached up and wiped away her tears with shaking hands while listening to Olivia's scolding. The whole ordeal had frightened her more than she wanted to admit. She had never seen so much blood before and she never wanted to see that much blood ever again. Alex much preferred the relative safety and monotony of the courthouse to the unpredictability of working out on the streets like the detectives. One thing was for certain, Alex had a newfound respect for her wife's job and would never again take it for granted when Olivia came home from work in one piece.

The lecture started to wind down, and Alex couldn't take her teary eyes off the prison strap in Olivia's right hand. She hated that thing, but she couldn't deny that she understood why she would be receiving a whipping today. And there was no denying the effectiveness of the wicked implement. Olivia had only used it twice before and little miss Alexandra Justine Cabot had never committed those acts again.

"Do you understand why you are getting a whipping, little girl?" Olivia inquired.

"Because I put my life in danger today by disobeying you, Ma'am. I'm sorry!" Alex was already crying and Olivia's brown eyes softened a little bit

"I know you're sorry, little girl. Skirt off, panties down, and over the bed with you, please." The prison strap was too big for Olivia to use it with Alex over her lap.

Olivia waited patiently while Alex hesitantly took her skirt and blouse completely off, leaving her in only her bra and panties, and dropped her panties to her knees before bending over two pillows that Olivia had placed on the center of the bed.

"Do you remember the rules, Alexandra?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I am not allowed to kick, reach back, or ask you to stop, and I have to keep squirming to a minimum." Alex responded meekly. She inhaled sharply when she felt the leather implement resting on her bottom.

Olivia was not unreasonable. She understood that it was impossible to stay completely still under the pain of a sound spanking, and to expect Alex to accomplish the impossible would just be cruel. Alex was allowed a certain amount of leeway in regards to squirming, but she had to keep it at a dignified limit. Olivia was in no mood to wrangle a bucking bronco.

The first lick of the prison strap literally took Alex's breath away and she bit back a scream, burying her face in the bed sheets. In two years, Alex had forgotten just how much the prison strap hurt. Alex cried out after each lick and soon started to sob. She had no idea how many licks she had taken or how many more she still had to take. She crossed her ankles to resist the urge to kick her feet, and she clasped her hands together as if in prayer to resist the urge to reach back. Alex finally went limp, exhausted, sobbing hysterically, and without thinking her hand flew back to cover her poor bottom. Olivia nearly smacked Alex's hand with the strap, but thankfully was able to stop in the nick of time. The brunette detective's heart broke into a million pieces when she saw what Alex had done. There were less than twelve licks left, if only Alex had been able to restrain herself just a little bit longer. Realizing what she had done, Alex snatched her hand back in front of her and began to sob even harder, if that were possible. It had been a while, but Alex remembered full well the consequence for reaching back. It was something that she rarely did because she simply knew better. With a trembling lower lip, Alex gripped the bed sheets until her knuckles were white, determined to take whatever was left of her whipping like a good girl to prove that she was sorry.

Olivia gave Alex a final flurry of about twenty licks to end her whipping. Alex cried out during each one, but she did not reach back again. Her cries of pain mixed with cries of relief when she felt Olivia tenderly stroking her long blonde hair, signaling the end of her whipping. Through her sobs, Alex heard Olivia speak in her ear.

"Get up when you want to, baby love." There was no need for harsh voices at this point.

That moment was going to be a very long time in coming. Alex stayed limp over the bed for several minutes, her back heaving with sobs. Her hair was stuck to her sweaty forehead and her crimson, somewhat blistered, bottom was on fire. Finally, she slowly got to her feet, her panties falling clear down to her ankles, and Olivia pulled Alex into a hug. It was not her forgiveness cuddle, not yet, but it was warm and loving. Olivia took Alex's face gently in her hands, wiping Alex's tears with her thumb.

"Do you remember what happens when you reach back, sweetheart?"

Olivia really, really didn't want to. She could clearly see that Alex was already sorry for what she had done and every fiber of Olivia's being was screaming at her to relent, but Alex had broken a rule and Olivia had to be consistent.

"T-the t-t-tawse…. P-please, Ma'am.… Ple-please…." Was all Alex could get out through her sobs. Her hands clenched involuntarily.

"You only have to take four, angel." Olivia stated mercifully. She couldn't bring herself to administer anymore punishment than that.

Four sounded like a huge number to Alex right now, but she obediently reached into the bedside table drawer and hesitantly handed the tawse to her disciplinarian. Olivia assisted Alex in bracing herself against the bedroom wall and presenting her outstretched left hand palm up with her right hand supporting it.

"You only have to take four licks, sweetheart, and then it will be all over. Close your eyes." Olivia knew from experience that if Alex kept her eyes open, she would flinch and Olivia would miss her target.

Almost the instant that Alex closed her eyes, she felt two sharp licks on her left palm. She shrieked after the first one, and pulled her hands away after the second, sobbing so hard that no sound was coming out. When Olivia tried to coax Alex into putting her other hand back out, Alex shook her head desperately, her lower lip trembling. She wanted to be a good girl for Olivia, but she didn't want to experience that tawse on her hands even one more time, let alone two. Instead of being annoyed by Alex's lack of cooperation, Olivia was sympathetic. Her poor baby had taken a lot of punishment already and Olivia was very proud of her.

"Only two more, princess. Just two more and then you get a cuddle." Olivia promised kindly.

Alex desperately wanted her forgiveness cuddle, so ignoring all sense of self-preservation, she stretched out her right palm with her stinging left hand supporting it. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes again.

The two final licks were delivered. Alex sobbed and cried, snatching her hands back and cradling them to her chest protectively, her knees shaking as Olivia gently led her back over to the bed. Olivia sat against the headboard and opened her arms to welcome Alex on her lap for a well-deserved cuddle. The distraught blonde completely broke down as she crawled into Olivia's arms. This was her forgiveness cuddle. Olivia made sure to keep Alex's sore bottom off the rough material of her jeans and held her tight, rocking her, kissing her, stroking her hair, patting her back, and cooing loving words of forgiveness to her.

"Such a brave girl. Such a good girl. I'm so proud of you, baby girl. It's all over. All forgiven. I love you so much, angel. That's my good girl. All forgiven. I know it hurts. Cry it all out." Olivia struggled to hold back her own tears as she cuddled the most precious thing she had in her life close to her heart. She had never felt more afraid in her life than those five or so minutes when they discovered Alex gone from the car. The longest five minutes of Olivia Benson's life.

After several minutes, Alex wasn't calming down despite Olivia's gentle, loving ministrations. Olivia recognized that Alex was upset beyond normal and guessed the reason why.

"Shhhhhhhhh. I'm right here, baby love. You're safe. I know it was very scary for you today. You're safe. Safe right here in my arms."

"S-s-so m-much b-b-blood." Alex whimpered into Olivia's chest.

"I know, princess. But it wasn't yours or mine or Elliot's. We're all safe, and our perp can never hurt anybody ever again." Four people died in the gunfire that day, including their perp, but the detectives of the 16th precinct were safe.

"P-please forgive m-me, Livy." Alex wanted nothing more at that moment than Olivia's forgiveness. Olivia's heart broke again when she heard Alex call her 'Livy'.

"Of course I forgive you, princess. Aside from reaching back, you took your punishment like a good girl and you are forgiven. There's nothing I wouldn't forgive you for, lovey. Even when I am angry, I will always forgive you."

"I-I'm s-s-sorry I-I re-reached b-back. I'm so s-sorry." Alex choked out between sobs. Olivia took Alex's hands in her own and tenderly kissed both bright pink palms.

"I know you are, precious, and I'm so proud of the way you always try so hard not to. I understand that it's hard to keep your hands in front of you when your bottom hurts. I'm not just being mean when I tell you not to reach back, sweetheart. It's a safety issue, just like following my instructions in the car earlier today were a safety issue. Your hand could be seriously injured if I accidentally hit it with something heavy like the prison strap or one of the paddles. I love you more than anything, baby girl, and I always want to keep you safe."

"Don't let go, Livy!" Alex pleaded, clinging to Olivia as tightly as her sore hands would allow.

"Never, sweetheart. I will never, ever let go. You are my heart, princess." Olivia promised as she rocked Alex soothingly.

P-please can I r-rub my bo-bottom?" Alex pleaded meekly. She knew that rubbing wasn't allowed, but she figured that there was no harm in asking.

"No, baby love. I will give you some arnica first thing Friday morning, but I want you to take the next twenty four hours to learn a lesson from the sting in your bottom." Olivia's words were not meant to be cruel, only to reinforce that there was a very important lesson that Alex needed to learn. Olivia was not an idiot; she knew that there were probably times when Alex rubbed her bottom when she was not supposed to, but unless she caught her in the act she wasn't going to make an issue of it.

It took almost an hour, but Alex finally stopped crying so hard and eventually fell asleep in Olivia's arms. Olivia felt Alex grow heavy in her arms and just held her, watching her while she slept. When Olivia was certain that she wouldn't wake Alex up, she carefully extracted herself from underneath Alex, dropped a light kiss on Alex's sweaty forehead, and with one last adoring look tiptoed out of the bedroom.

Forty minutes later, Alex woke up feeling very emotional and tears began pouring down her face again. She was so tired and so sore. It hurt to move, but she slowly got up from the bed, took off her bra, took her panties from around her ankles, put on a loose t-shirt and a loose pair of Olivia's boxer shorts. On shaking knees, she hobbled down the hall and found Olivia in the kitchen.

"Oh, sweetheart." Olivia cooed sympathetically when she looked up and saw Alex's tired, tear-streaked face. She was surprised that Alex was up already. Spankings wore her out and she usually slept for at least an hour after getting one. Olivia gathered Alex up in her arms and Alex literally melted into the much-needed physical contact. Olivia carried Alex over to the couch and cuddled up with her on her lap again. She loved holding Alex and would do it as much as Alex needed or wanted her to. After a while, Olivia noticed Alex's eyelids drooping and cooed in her ear.

"You're tired, baby. Go ahead and sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up. I'm right here holding you. I love you so much."

Alex fell asleep feeling safe and loved, with Olivia gently patting her bottom. Olivia noticed that Alex was wearing her shorts and that they were quite baggy on her. With a smirk, Olivia made a mental note to hit the gym more often.