Assessing the Evidence
Summary: Tony notices something about Ducky's cane. Warning: discussion of spanking of adult. Don't like? Don't read!
Disclaimer: I don't own them; I just play with them.
A/N: This is part of my 'Lessons' series and builds on a larger plot arc. This one probably won't make much sense if you haven't read Atonement.
Warning: This story contains references to the spanking of adults. If you have a problem with that, click on that 'back' button now. You've been warned.
Tony glanced to one side as he strode through the doors to Autopsy, hoping that nobody noticed his interest in the umbrella stand. He had personal experience with some of the crutches and walking-sticks that Ducky stored there. But the slender cane that was the object of his attention was intended for a different purpose entirely.
He wasn't sure why he was so fascinated by the cane. He certainly didn't want to experience it for himself. He'd badgered Jimmy until he'd told him irritably that the damned thing hurt like hell and left vivid welts that lasted for days. It seemed odd that the Autopsy Gremlin was the one who got the most severe punishments when he messed up, but Tony's ego wasn't bruised enough to make him want to reclaim that title. Not if it meant letting Ducky cane him.
But, still, there was something about the old-fashioned implement. His eyes were drawn to it every time he had to come down here to ask Ducky about a case. He was grateful that the ME hadn't noticed; he wouldn't want to have to explain to the kindly older man why he was so interested in the cane.
And he was glad that Ducky had his back to him today. It let him take a quick second look, confirming his observation that the cane was in a different place than it had been the last time he'd been down here. It was definitely closer to the aluminium wrist-crutches than it had been before, and it was leaning at a different angle.
That didn't necessarily mean anything. Perhaps Ducky had merely been dusting. Or maybe someone in the Agency had twisted an ankle in the line of duty, and the cane had shifted when a walking stick had been pulled out of the umbrella stand.
But, it had been in the same position for weeks. Since the last time Palmer had been punished with it.
No, it was too much of a coincidence that the cane had been moved now. And he'd been on Gibbs's team too long to believe in coincidences.
He knew that Gibbs had asked Ducky to punish him at least once before. He'd said as much, when he apologised for spanking Tony for something he hadn't done. He didn't think it happened very often, but it made sense that he'd go to Ducky when his conscience demanded consequences for his actions.
And it made sense that Gibbs would be feeling guilty after everything that happened. Yes, he'd identified the mole in the Agency, and he'd dealt with the security threat. But he'd done it by violating the trust of nearly everyone around him, not telling them what he was up to and why, letting them stumble along blindly on the basis of false information about the nature of the exercise. And Ducky had made it perfectly clear how betrayed he'd felt by Gibbs's little stunt with the body.
And Gibbs was clearly in pain today, and it didn't seem to be limited to his injured hand. And Tony hadn't yet seen him sit down at his desk. It wasn't unusual for him to hover, to flip through his mail standing up, to lean over to poke at his keyboard – he didn't often use his computer for much, and it seemed to be a Marine thing, wanting maximum freedom of movement rather than the confinement of an office chair. But still, Gibbs seemed even more eager than usual to stay on his feet.
And it made sense that Ducky, having gone to the trouble of acquiring the sort of disciplinary instrument that he preferred to use, would use it.
The fact that the cane was now in a different place than it previously had been simply confirmed what Tony had already suspected.
Ducky had caned Gibbs.
And Gibbs had accepted it. Had probably even asked for it. Bending over, enduring it, letting his friend mark him with painful stripes across his ass.
Swallowing hard, Tony tore his eyes away from the umbrella stand and forced his attention back to the case, calling out a greeting and a question to Ducky.
He didn't want to think about why it mattered so much to him that the man who whipped him regularly was willing to accept a whipping himself.
And he didn't want to think about why that cane caught his attention every time he came into the room.
And he certainly didn't want to give the ME a chance to notice his distraction.