"Hurry up, slowpoke!" Alex called out playfully as she reached the top of the hill and sat down on a fallen tree trunk, pulling a bottle of water out of her backpack.
Olivia groaned as she lagged behind. She was getting too old for these hiking trips, but she just couldn't bring herself to say no when Alex had wanted to celebrate their 19th anniversary by spending the weekend at their cabin in the woods. Noah was spending the weekend being spoiled by Alex's parents, and there was nobody else around for miles, so the woods were very calm and peaceful. The only other occupants that Olivia and Alex had seen since they arrived were of the animal variety - birds, squirrels, and a family of deer. And one very confused garter snake that had scared the daylights out of Alex after somehow finding its way into the cabin.
"You so owe me a foot massage later." Olivia huffed tiredly as she sat down beside Alex and searched through her bag for her own bottle of water.
"I'll draw us a bubble bath when we get back to the cabin." Alex grinned suggestively. Bathing together was one of their favorite pastimes; one that they rarely got to enjoy anymore after adopting their son. Olivia pulled Alex onto her lap and kissed her deeply, affection which Alex eagerly returned.
"I love you." Alex sighed contentedly when the couple came up for air.
"I love you too, princess. You're such a good girl." Olivia cuddled Alex close to her heart, saying the words her wife loved to hear. Alex beamed.
"Ready to start back, my love?" Olivia tenderly patted Alex's khaki-clad bottom after several minutes of cuddling in the peaceful silence of the woods.
"Yep," Alex stood up from Olivia's lap, "last one back to the cabin is on dish duty!" with those words, Alex took off running, leaving Olivia to carry both backpacks.
"I married a four year old." Olivia grinned and rolled her eyes good-naturedly, picked up the bags, and followed Alex back down the trail.
So far it had been a blissful weekend.
Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to last. The next morning, Olivia woke up with a fever and chills.
"Should I call Mom and Dad and tell them we're coming home early?" Alex asked, her baby blue eyes shining with concern for her beloved wife. Olivia worked really hard to provide for her family, and Alex worried for the toll that her job took on her health.
"No, baby, of course not. I'll still be sick whether we're here or back at home, so we might as well enjoy the rest of the weekend. Hand me my bag, please. I packed some medicine just in case."
"My wife, always prepared for anything." Alex grinned as she obediently handed over the bag.
"I'm a cop. It's in my blood." Olivia smiled and swallowed the medicine, then made Alex take some as a preventative measure.
"Can I go for a walk?" Alex asked after serving Olivia some chicken soup for dinner.
Olivia looked at her watch. She didn't have the energy for a walk today. It would be getting dark in about an hour, but Alex deserved a break after waiting on Olivia all day. Alex knew these woods like the back of her hand, so there was little chance of getting lost.
"Yes, but take your cell with you and I want you back in this cabin in exactly one hour. Not one second more." Olivia warned.
"Yes, Ma'am. I love you." Alex kissed Olivia, grabbed her sweater, and left.
Olivia was sound asleep when Alex returned, the medicine having knocked her out. Alex quietly changed into her pajama pants and tank, and then guiltily slipped into bed beside her sleeping wife.
Olivia woke up the next morning feeling much better, and decided she must have caught one of those twenty-four hour bugs.
"Morning, angel." Olivia greeted with a tired smile as she walked into the cabin's tiny kitchen where Alex was making breakfast.
"Good morning, hon. How are you feeling?" Alex walked over and kissed Olivia.
"A lot better. I think I caught that twenty-four hour bug that Noah had last week."
"I hear that's been going around. Hungry?"
"Coffee first, then food." Olivia poured herself a cup of the brown liquid she held so dear.
"I came back last night and you were out cold. Do you even remember me getting into bed?"
"Nope. How was your walk?"
"It was good. I just hiked up to the waterfall and sat for a while. I, um, need to tell you something about last night, though."
Olivia looked into Alex's baby blue eyes and groaned inwardly when she saw the guilt there, knowing that she was about to hear something she wasn't going to like. Alex would make a horrible criminal because she was one who couldn't live with guilt and would end up turning herself in to the police. Olivia could count on one hand the number of times she had disciplined Alex for lying, because the guilt always got to her. It was better to just confess in the first place because the guilt of the original deed was plenty enough to deal with.
"I'm listening." Olivia swallowed the last gulp of her coffee.
"Well, I didn't exactly get back an hour after I left." Alex lowered her eyes.
"No, baby, look at me," Olivia instructed kindly, lifting Alex's chin, "when exactly did you get back?"
"Um… I was forty five minutes later than I should have been." Alex looked into Olivia's eyes and Olivia could tell that Alex was trying to be brave.
"Thank you for telling me, sweetie. You know, you probably could have gotten away with it if you hadn't said anything, since I was asleep when you got back last night."
"I know. But you know me. Guilt." Alex shrugged.
"Yes, I know. You and that guilty conscience of yours. I wish we could get Noah to confess that easily when he's gotten into mischief." Olivia smiled.
"So, now what?" Alex knew full well that she would be punished, and simply waited for Olivia to hand down her sentence.
"So, now you go rescue the bacon before it burns, and after breakfast we are going to take another walk."
"Oh!" Alex ran to the stove. Good thing they liked their bacon extra crispy.
"What are we going to do out here?" Alex asked nervously as Olivia led her through the woods to a clearing where a big boulder stood next to an old tree stump.
Olivia pulled her pocket knife out of her shirt pocket and handed it to her wife.
"There are lots of trees around here. Take this and cut a switch. It should be no thinner than your pinkie, but no thicker than your thumb."
Alex gulped. Over the course of nineteen years, she had been spanked, paddled, and whipped with many implements, ranging from Olivia's hand to the cane, and many, many other implements in between. But Alex had never been switched. Living in the middle of New York City made being switched kind of impossible, due to a lack of trees, but there was certainly no shortage of trees here in the woods.
"Yes, Ma'am." Alex turned sadly to her task.
"Good girl. I'll be right here." Olivia sat down on the tree stump.
"I wasn't sure which one was right, so I found a few." Alex soon returned with five options for Olivia's approval, needing Olivia's guidance since cutting her own switch was a new experience for her.
Olivia examined the switches that Alex had cut. One of them she dismissed immediately as far too thick, one far too flimsy, and one much too long. Of the remaining two, she deemed one of them acceptable. Using the knife, she stripped off the leaves and bark, creating a properly smooth switch. She swished it through the air, and Alex jumped at the sound it made. Olivia rested the switch against the boulder and sat down on the tree stump again.
"Come here, baby," Olivia brought Alex to stand in front of her, "do you understand why you're being punished?"
"Yes, Ma'am. I disobeyed you and was forty five minutes late coming back from my walk yesterday."
"If I hadn't fallen asleep from that damn medicine, I would have been panicked. I let you go yesterday because I knew you were feeling cooped up, and because you promised you would be back in an hour. I know you know these woods really well, but it was well after dark and you were out alone. Anything could have happened to you. You could have fallen and split your head on a rock, or some psychopath could have kidnapped you."
Alex sniffled as she endured Olivia's lecture. It had been several months since the pretty blonde had found herself across her wife's lap for disciplinary measures.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am." Alex whimpered tearfully.
"I know you are, lovey. I'm not angry with you, I'm just going to help you remember to obey me and to be safe. I haven't had to discipline you for disobedience very often, and I hope you don't start making a habit of it now. Come here."
Olivia pulled down Alex's jeans and panties to her knees, and guided her pretty blonde wife across her lap. She raised up her hand and brought it down sharply, the sound echoing against the trees. Alex jumped at the sting and buried her face in Olivia's leg. The pain began to build as the spanking went on, and tears streamed down Alex's pretty face. She knew full well that she was being disciplined out of love, and she knew that a spanking was supposed to hurt, but that knowledge didn't make the spanking any easier to take. When Alex finally went limp across her lap and was crying freely, Olivia stopped spanking and stroked Alex's long blonde hair.
"That's my good girl," Olivia praised kindly, "stand up when you want to, sweetheart."
After several minutes, Alex stood up and wiped at her tears only to make room for new ones. She wanted nothing more than to soothe her aching bottom, but that wasn't allowed, and even if it was, her punishment wasn't over yet.
"Can…" Alex stopped herself. She wanted to ask a question, but was embarrassed to ask.
"What is it, princess?" Olivia asked kindly, looking into Alex's sad eyes.
"Can I have a hug before we do the next part?"
"After nineteen years, you don't even have to ask, angel." Olivia wrapped Alex in a hug and allowed Alex to bury her face in her chest.
"I know this is new, baby girl. I promise you'll be okay. It's going to hurt just like any other spanking, and then it will be over. We'll go back to the cabin and I'll hold you all day if that's what you need."
"Am I forgiven?" Alex sniffled. All she cared about was being forgiven. Olivia's heart melted.
"Of course you are forgiven, honey. We still have to get through the last part of your punishment, but you will always be forgiven. Shall we get this over with?" Olivia kissed the top of Alex's head as she felt Alex nod against her shoulder.
"Good girl. Come over here and lean against this boulder." Olivia gently guided Alex into the proper position and picked up the switch.
"I'm giving you forty five licks, sweetheart. One lick for every minute you were late. You don't have to count, just try to stay still for me. Cry as much as you want and don't reach back. Do you understand?" Olivia tapped the switch against Alex's bottom.
"Yes, Ma'am." Alex wept, the cool air feeling momentarily soothing against her sore bottom.
Knowing that Alex had never been switched before, Olivia placed her left hand on the small of Alex's back to help her stay in place. The first lick was delivered and the cry of pain it produced broke the disciplinarian's heart. Olivia counted the licks in her head, wishing that each one was the last. Briefly, she considered stopping at twenty, but forced herself to continue, knowing that she had to be consistent and stay true to her word.
Olivia told her she didn't have to count, so Alex had no idea how many licks she had taken or how many were left. She only knew that the intense pain was unbearable and she wanted nothing more than for Olivia to hold her. The only thing keeping her in place over that boulder was the knowledge that Olivia loved her more than life itself and would never harm her. Olivia knew full well where Alex's limits were, and forty five licks was well within those limits. All Alex had to do was utter one word and the whole thing would be over, but she would never be able to live with herself if she didn't accept the full consequence of her actions, so the pretty blonde did the only thing she could do; she sobbed and waited for the moment when Olivia would scoop her up into her arms. She always did.
That moment came soon enough. Olivia threw down the switch as if it had burned her, breaking it in half as she stepped on it with her foot. Olivia easily picked Alex's limp body up and cooed tender words of love as she carried her distraught wife all the way back to the cabin. When they arrived, Olivia brought Alex over to the bed, sat against the headboard, and cuddled Alex close to her heart, stroking her long blonde hair, continuing her steady stream of loving words.
"Such a good girl. It's all over, baby. Just let it out. I love you so much."
Alex finally seemed to calm down somewhat, although she did not stop crying. She simply clung to Olivia with all her might and let her loving wife cuddle and comfort her. There was no safer place in the world to be than wrapped up in Olivia's arms, whether she had just been punished or not.
"I-I'm s-so-sorry! I-I'll n-never d-disobey y-you a-again!" Alex choked out between sobs.
"I know, sweetie. You are forgiven. You're my good girl." Olivia cooed.
Alex stayed cuddled in Olivia's arms for the rest of the day just as Olivia had promised, knowing full well just how much she was loved. Tomorrow they would have to go home and resume their normal routine of busting perps, paying bills, dividing up household chores, and raising their five year old. But for now they sat curled up on the bed in the cabin cuddling and enjoying each other's company in only the way two people completely in love can.