"Oh, there you are, Benson. I was about to send Tutuola out to find you."
Dropping a stack of files on my desk, I look up when my Captain addresses me. He looks anything but happy, and my butt begins to tingle. What did I do to tick him off now?
"I'm sorry, sir," I apologize quickly, "Nick and I had to run down to the ME's office to get Melinda's report on our victim. Is there a problem?"
"I'm afraid so, Detective. Come into my office."
I follow Cragen into his office, and I am surprised to find Alex there, standing in the corner with her hands on her head and her panties on display. The pale color of her bottom tells me that she hasn't been spanked yet. I wonder what she has done to cause her to be in Cragen's office like this.
"Detective, I was coming out the front door of the Justice Center, and I had the misfortune of running into Miss Cabot, sitting on the steps smoking a cigarette. As you know, the law forbids smoking within fifty yards of the building. She argued with me about coming back here with me, which is why she's in the corner. She begged me not to tell you, but I thought you ought to know of the situation."
Alex has been a smoker since she was a teenager. About six weeks ago, she came to me and expressed her desire to kick the habit. Being the supportive wife that I am, we sat down together and came up with a plan that would hopefully help her. It's been a long six weeks for both of us, but I had thought that Alex had been doing well. Apparantly I was wrong.
"Alex, come here. No, leave your skirt where it is." Normally, when Cragen puts one of us in the corner, we are to stay silent and stay still, but since he thought enough to inform me about this, I know it is okay for me to get involved.
Alex comes to me immediately, knowing better than to stall. She knows she's in trouble, and she can't quite bring herself to look me in the eye, so I help her by lifting her chin with my hand.
"Care to explain, Alex? It isn't like you to defy the Captain like that."
"Well," Alex bites her lip, "I… I lost my case today, Ma'am, and I was feeling bummed out about it, and I felt like I needed a cigarette, but I forgot that I didn't have any patches, and… I guess I figured that just one wouldn't hurt, Ma'am."
Ma'am. Alex only calls me ma'am when she knows she's in trouble. Cragen has never heard Alex address me in that way before, and one glance at him tells me that he is impressed by it. Alex's explanation is simple enough, and I decide to accept it. Unfortunately, it leaves me with more questions than answers.
"I'm sorry you lost your case, young lady, but if you felt like you needed a cigarette and didn't have patches, you should have gone out on your lunch break and bought more. And what did we agree on when we sat down to talk about this? Remember, we agreed that even one cigarette is one cigarette too many?"
"Yes, Ma'am. I would have gone to get more patches, but I had a lot of paperwork to do, so I… I worked through lunch."
"You worked through lunch? Didn't you eat, Alex?" Suddenly I'm concerned.
"Yes, Ma'am, I did eat. I, um, I got a bag of potato chips and a bottle of water." Alex looks ashamed. She knows full well that I do not consider potato chips and water a nutritious meal.
"I see. Well, we will talk about healthy eating habits later. We will also talk about accepting correction gracefully. You know better than to make a fuss when you are in trouble. You shouldn't have argued with the Captain."
"Yes, Ma'am. I'm sorry; I just didn't want you to be disappointed in me."
"I am never disappointed in you, young lady, but I am very disappointed in your behavior today," I turn to my Captain, "obviously you have my permission to handle this in any way you see fit, Captain. Will there be a report you need me to sign?"
"Yes, here it is," Cragen hands me a clipboard with a piece of paper on it, providing details of the incident. Tops are always required to sign these when our brats get in trouble at work, "I'd also like you to stay and act as my witness." There must be at least one witness to every punishment handed out, and I am the logical choice today since I am already here.
"Miss Cabot," Cragen addresses Alex sternly, "since this is your first workplace punishment, I will explain the rules. You will bend over my desk and hold onto the other side. During your punishment, you will not get up, cover yourself, or interfere in any way. You will stay put until you are given permission to get up. These walls are soundproof, so feel free to make all the noise you need to. You will be getting the belt today. If this ever happens again, you will feel my cane. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir." Alex steals a glance at me, hoping that I will save her. I have to just shake my head.
"I love you very much, young lady, but I'm not going to rescue you. When you misbehave, you take the consequences, just like at home."
Tears begin to well up in Alex's eyes as she does as she is told and bends over the desk, which has been cleared of all paperwork for this purpose. Cragen takes the belt from his waist and folds it in half. Even I have to cringe. I've had my fair share of beltings at Cragen's hand. Alex has gotten a few beltings from me, but this is to be her first from Cragen and, in my opinion, Cragen wields the belt a lot harder than I do. I don't know if Alex will agree with me on that or not.
One thing that we detectives are grateful for is that Cragen lets us keep our modesty where it belongs and lets us keep our underwear up. I can tell that Alex is surprised that Cragen hasn't hauled down her panties. She always gets bare bottom spankings at home. I sit down on the other side of Cragen's desk in his chair, where Alex will be able to see me the entire time. She looks at me and I can see in her eyes that she wants me to hold her hands, but she doesn't want to appear weak in front of the Captain. She wants me to be proud of her. What she doesn't understand is that I am always proud of her. She is mine, and I am proud of her just for that!
I take Alex's hands in mine. Now that the scolding is over, I allow myself to be a little less strict and a little more supportive. Maybe I am getting soft in my old age, but what can I say? She is my baby.
Cragen lets the first swat fly, and Alex screams. I realize why. Cragen is giving her one of his famous "sit-spots only" beltings. I hate Cragen's "sit-spots only" beltings. They hurt like Hell. As the name suggests, all of the swats are concentrated on the place where the thighs meet the bottom, where a person sits down. Obviously this makes sitting down comfortably out of the question for at least a couple of hours, if not a day or two.
Alex squeezes my hand tightly. It's a miracle that one of my fingers doesn't pop off and fly across the room. I squeeze her hands in return. As the punishment progresses, Alex starts to sob. I wish I could reassure her that it is almost over, but I have no idea how long Cragen intends to continue for. When she tries to wrestle her hands away from me to reach back to cover her bottom, I lean forward and whisper to her comfortingly.
"I know it hurts, my sweet. You are being so brave, and I am so proud of you." My words seem to calm her down a little bit, and as a result she stops struggling against my hold.
Finally, Cragen stops the harsh spanking. He puts his belt back on and after a moment he nods at me, and then exits the office to give Alex and I some privacy. Not letting go of Alex's hands, knowing that she needs the contact, I get up from the chair and walk around to the other side of the desk. I kiss the back of Alex's head lovingly.
"It's all over, lovey. All over. Such a good girl." I continue to whisper to Alex as one would speak to a child, given her fragile emotional state. Her loud sobs slowly die down to soft but constant cries. She turns her head to look at me. Her pretty blue eyes are puffy and bloodshot from crying, and her nose is running. I take a tissue out of my pocket and tenderly wipe her eyes and nose, then throw the tissue into the trash.
"Do you need me to hold you now, baby love?" I ask kindly. Alex nods weakly and reaches up with both arms, wrapping them around my neck and holding on for dear life. Alex is quite a bit smaller than I am, and so I have no problem picking her up and carrying her over to the overstuffed chair in Cragen's office and settling her on my lap. She snuggles against me and cries into my chest as I rock her and stroke her hair. I hold her tight and talk soothingly to her. Just like at home, I'm willing to comfort and baby her for as long as she needs me to. I have never gotten after Alex to dry it up after a spanking, and I don't intend to do so now just because we are at work. Alex whimpers and holds on to me tighter when I reach down to caress her little sit-spots, hoping to provide some relief.
"Benson," I look up when Cragen softly calls my name, "I'm sorry to bother the two of you, but I need to take a conference call. You can take Alex into the crib if you wish. There's nobody in there now and I'll see to it that you aren't disturbed. You'll also find some soothing cream in one of the cabinets."
"Thank you, sir," I nod at my Captain and kiss the top of Alex's head, "baby, can you walk to the crib, or do you need me to carry you?"
"I-I th-think I c-can wa-walk, Li-Livy."
My poor baby. Alex only calls me 'Livy' when she's distressed. Leaning on me for support, Alex and I make our way into the crib. I help her lay down on one of the cots, and I sit beside her.
"Okay, sweetie, lets check out the damage." I lift up Alex's skirt off of her sore bottom, and slip down her white panties. Her little sit-spots are a dark crimson red. Normally, I don't allow Alex any lotion or ice until one day after the punishment has been administered and she's had time to think about why she earned herself the sting of a spanking. But in this case, because the punishment was not at my hand, I relent and go fetch the lotion in the cabinet and carefully rub it onto her sit-spots.
"Livy?" I barely hear Alex as she squeaks out my name.
"Yes, angel?"
"Are… are you going to spank me again at home for getting in trouble at work? And, um, you said earlier, we would 'talk' about my eating… and accepting punishment like a good girl?"
I have to take a moment to think about the situation. Alex looks so sad at the thought of enduring more spanking. And I really don't want to spank her. Still, the rule has always been that if Alex gets in trouble at work, she will also be punished at home. I know full well that Alex craves consistency from me, balanced with compassion and fairness.
"I'll tell you what, baby," I smile at Alex kindly, "tonight before bed, I'll put you over my knee and give you thirty spanks on your bottom with my hand – ten to remind you to eat healthy, ten to remind you to accept correction like a good girl, and ten for getting in trouble at work. Think you can handle that?"
"Yes, I can handle that. Thank you!" Alex tries to smile through her tears and throws her arms around me. But then she looks at me again with a concerned expression.
"Tell me what's on your mind, sweetheart."
"Um, can I ask a favor, Liv? Well, two favors?"
"You can ask me for anything, my love. If I can make it happen, I will do it."
"W-when you put me over your knee tonight, could you just spank my bottom, please? My sit-spots are so sore!" I kiss away a few stray tears that fall down Alex's sweet face. I am planning on doing just that, even if she hadn't asked.
"Yes, honey, that can be arranged. Those cute little sit-spots have taken quite enough for one day…. What was the other favor you needed, sweetheart?"
"Can you hold me a little longer, please?"
"Of course, princess."
(Later)
I can see the tears in Alex's eyes as she obediently drapes herself over my lap, her pajama pants and panties down at her knees. I'm not planning to make this a very hard spanking; it is merely a symbolic lesson. And of course I will stay true to my word and only spank Alex on the fullness of her little round chubs, not on her still tender sit-spots.
"Do you remember what lessons we agreed you needed to learn tonight, Alex?" I speak softly, stroking Alex's long blonde hair.
"Yes, Ma'am," Alex sniffles, "I'm going to get ten spanks to remind me to accept correction like a good girl, ten to remind me to eat healthy, and ten for getting in trouble at work."
"Good girl," I praise her, "we'll do this in three sets of ten. During this first set, I want you to think about how important it is to respect those in authority over you and remember that if you are ever in trouble again, you need to be a brave girl about it and not argue."
"Yes, Ma'am."
I'm not sure what type of spanking Alex was expecting, but she seemed surprised when I lifted my hand and the spank that followed was only lightly stinging, followed by nine more just like it. Alex took the first set of ten like a champ, staying as still as she could and only making little whimpering noises under her breath.
"That's my good girl," I said when I was done, "are you ready for the next set of ten?"
"Y-yes, Ma'am."
"All right, then. These will be to help you remember to take care of your body by eating healthy meals. Potato chips and water are not a healthy meal. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Ma'am. Maybe… maybe I should start packing myself a lunch and taking it to work with me, like you do. Then I could make sure that even if I have to work through lunch, I have a balanced meal to eat."
"That sounds like a very good plan of action, sweetheart! Get ready for your ten swats, please."
These light swats leave Alex's bottom glowing a faint shade of pink. But, again, Alex stays as still as she possibly can. A few tears are starting to leak out of her eyes, and I know they are only partially from the sting in her bottom. I know she has to be truly feeling bad for her behavior today.
"Almost done, precious. Just ten more, for getting in trouble at work. These swats are going to be just a little bit harder than the other ones. Are you ready?"
"Yes, Ma'am… as ready as I can be."
I smile sympathetically and lift my hand to deliver ten final, medium-force smacks. After they are all done, Alex lets out a quiet "owwwww" as I turn her over on my lap face up and comfort her in my arms. I smile at her when she yawns.
"I think it's bedtime for you, my sweet girl."
Alex gives me one last hug, and gets up from my lap. She puts her panties and pajama pants back on and we crawl into bed. In her attempt to get comfortable, Alex rolls onto her back.
"Ouch!"
"Aww. Is it a sore bottom, little one?" I tease lovingly.
"Well, my wife let her boss spank me, and then she spanked me, and I didn't do nothin'!" She has a perfect little fake pout on her face, and I can't help but grin.
"Poor baby. Maybe I ought to call SVU and have her arrested."