Family

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Roswell and I'm not making any money from this fic

Summary: Set after Viva Las Vegas. Sheriff Valenti is furious with Kyle and Tess for just skipping out on school and making him worry. What really makes a family?

Warning(s): Spanking (kind of severe?); spoilers up to episode 15 of season 2 of Roswell; mentions of violence

Author's Note: Here's a general thank you to everyone who's taken the time to read my fics and leave a review – it's always nice to get a review, even the ones that don't necessarily make any sense.

Btw, I could have got a few of the details wrong with the layout of Valenti's house. Feel free to point out any discrepancies to me, since I haven't been able to find the information I need on the house.

Tess sat on the bed in the room that had somehow become her own, her small body curled up as she attempted to block out the raised voices coming from downstairs. She had a magazine open in front of her, but wasn't really paying any attention to what was written there. She'd had it open on the same page for the past ten minutes.

"I don't care if you were trying to have some relaxation time!" Valenti yelled. "Am I not getting through to you?! You don't just take off without a word to me with everything that's been going on!"

Kyle's reply was too quiet for Tess to hear, but she still flinched. Valenti sounded furious. When he'd been in the hotel room in Vegas, Tess had never seen him like that before. She could understand that he'd been worried, but she didn't understand why he was so angry now. Didn't he know how difficult it was for all of them? They'd needed some time off. So what? They just wanted to be normal teenagers for a day or so.

Well, Tess did. She didn't know about the others.

Valenti was talking much quieter now. Tess was curious, and didn't think that it was fair for him to just be yelling at his son. It wasn't even Kyle's idea to begin with – and she'd talked Michael into letting him come.

Tess left the magazine where it was and got off the bed. She tiptoed over to the door and eased it open as quietly as possible. She then crept out onto the landing and onto the stairs, pausing when she was about halfway down and sitting with her hands clasped around her knees, eyes wide as she listened.

The shouting had stopped, but the sound that came next was somehow even worse. Tess heard something – she supposed clothing – rustling. That wasn't alarming in itself, but the next moment, she heard a dull thump and the sound of a grunt.

For a moment, Tess wondered if Valenti had punched Kyle. However, when she heard the sound of the blows continue, she realised that the man had to be… spanking his son. Tess became even more convinced of that when she heard the unmistakeable sound of crying.

Kyle's crying? Kyle doesn't cry… Even when he and Alex had been stuck in the cave and thought they were going to die, Kyle hadn't cried.

Tess wanted nothing more than to go back upstairs to her room and pretend that nothing was happening. However, she felt almost frozen to the spot. She didn't understand why Valenti was hurting Kyle. Although she thought that she knew what spanking was, Tess had no idea why it was necessary. Maybe Max would be able to heal Kyle… but it probably wasn't her place to talk about it.

It took Tess a few moments to realise that the sound of the spanking had stopped, though she could still hear Kyle crying softly. Valenti began talking again, but it was too quiet to make out.

Before Tess could even think about moving, Kyle came out of the living room. He headed over to the stairs and then paused as he noticed Tess. "You heard that?"

Tess nodded slowly, her eyes fixed on Kyle's face. His eyes were red and wet, but she couldn't see any signs that his father had punched him. It was likely all the spanking. "Are you… all right?" she asked hesitantly. She didn't know what else to say or ask. Kyle had a lot of pride – which probably came from him being male and human. If she let him know concerned she was, he'd probably hate it.

Kyle shrugged and tried to smile, but it was a pretty poor attempt. "I will be," he replied. "You'd better go in. Dad wants to speak to you."

Tess flinched and darted a nervous glance at the open doorway. "Um… Maybe I should go round to the café until he's calmed down a bit."

Kyle gave a short laugh. "Trust me, he won't calm down if you leave. In fact, that'll just make him even more angry. It's much better if you just go in straight away and get it over with."

Get it over with…? Tess stared at Kyle. "He's not going to do the same thing to me!" There was a slight questioning tone to her voice. Valenti didn't have any rights to do that, did he? Maybe she could call one of the others for help…

Kyle had been starting up the stairs past Tess. However, as she spoke, he turned to her again. "You know, I'm not the only one who thinks of you as a member of the family." He didn't wait for Tess to reply, but headed past her and continued up the stairs, ignoring Tess' open-mouthed stare.

For a few moments, Tess just stayed sitting on the stairs, feeling too shocked to even move. Valenti yelling her name broke her out of the temporary paralysis, though.

"TESS!"

Tess quickly scrambled to her feet and, for about half a second, thought about simply running out of the house. Her shoulders slumped as she realised that that simply wasn't an option and, taking a deep breath, she walked down the stairs and into the living room.

Valenti was standing in the centre of the room. When Tess walked in, he pointed to the couch. "Sit!" he growled. "While you still can," he added ominously.

Tess immediately sank down onto the couch. About ten different excuses swam through her mind, but this confirmation that Valenti was planning to spank her struck her dumb, and all she could do was stare at the man. "I…" It bothered her that she couldn't find the words. When she'd been in danger before, she'd been able to contact Isabelle – but she still wasn't sure how she'd done that.

"Well?" Valenti demanded. "Are you going to tell me just why you all thought it was a good idea to take off to Vegas without letting me know where you were going?!"

Tess flinched at the shouting. "I… I don't know what to tell you other than that we just wanted to have a good time," she replied. "I'm sorry we worried you. We honestly didn't think."

"You're right you didn't think," Valenti agreed. "There's not much else to say now, so let's just get this over with. Stand up."

Tess might have known that she was about to get spanked, but to suddenly be faced with it panicked her. "You can't do this!" she exclaimed, staying right where she was – as if that would offer any kind of protection. Valenti could probably just grab her and do whatever he planned. Well, unless she was prepared to use her powers on him – and she wouldn't do that.

Valenti didn't move, though. "I just spanked my son for his part in this stupid stunt. You're as much a part of this family too, Tess. On your planet, you might have been some kind of royalty; here, though, you're a young person with some very powerful enemies. I've done my best to keep you all safe up to this point, but I can't do it if you won't cooperate."

"But you're going to hurt me…" Tess protested.

"I'm going to put you over my knee and spank your bare bottom," Valenti answered. "By the time I'm finished, perhaps it will have got through to you that you can't take stupid, unnecessary risks with your life. Do you have any idea how worried I was chasing around after you?!"

Tess slowly shook her head, feeling a lump in her throat. Before she could lose her nerve, she got up. Valenti took the seat she'd just vacated and then reached to take her wrist, before carefully pulling her across his thighs.

Valenti slipped his hands beneath Tess' body and then undid her jeans. He eased them down to just above her knees, followed by her knickers.

Tess tensed slightly and clenched her fists in front of her. The first smack was hard and she couldn't help gasping slightly. Then, as more hard smacks followed, she winced and squeezed her eyes shut.

After about a minute of the hard spanking, the first hot tears slipped out of Tess' eyes and down her cheeks. A little while after that, she lowered her head and just sobbed.

Valenti stopped the spanking after that and carefully – almost tentatively – rubbed her back. "It's all right now. It's over." He didn't seem to be entirely sure of what to say to Tess.

Tess closed her eyes for a moment, trembling a little. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I-I'm sure that the others regret what we did as well." Her bottom was hurting, but she felt bad about what Valenti had said as well. Both he and his son had told her that they saw her as family – and she had to admit that they were her family as well.

"Well, Kyle certainly is now." Valenti lifted Tess off his lap and gave her a slightly awkward, one-armed hug. "All I ask is that you all be more careful. And let me know if you do decide to take off again."