He had rules, for his team. They had rules for each other. No one was ever, under any circumstances other than under threat to their own life, allowed to do anything that could jeopardize another member of the team's life. Josie wasn't a member of the team. Parker didn't clear it with Nate. It screwed the whole job, Elliot was hit by a car, Hardison and Parker were shot at, Nate and Sophie had a gun pointed at them by a bitter ex-racer.
Elliot crossed his arms and glared at Parker as he finished laying out her crimes. Then Sophie cleared her throat and laid out the defense. Parker had only been trying to help, she had thought about what was the 'right' thing to do for once, the job had still ended successfully, no one was permanently damaged.
This was the way they did things as a part of Nate's team. A miniature trial, with the aggrieved laying out the crimes and a supporter, or the accused themselves if they were bereft of support, laid out the defense. Then all five would vote, including the accused, and, if found guilty, a punishment would be decided by Nate. If Nate were the accused, Sophie decided punishment. Never formal, just a gathering together in comfortable chairs in the headquarters and a discussion, sometimes ending in discipline. Depending on the crime and the criminal, in both the titular and the actual sense, the punishment would be corporal, restrictive, monetarily penalizing, or the dispensation of menial work.
For Parker, it was always corporal. She preferred to be done with the situation quickly, and everyone on the team knew that the slight pain and humiliation administered by someone she trusted was what reached through to her and helped her to understand the rights and wrongs of the situation she had fallen into.
Elliot always administered her punishment. She trusted him, more than Nate, and Hardison and Sophie didn't feel comfortable. It was always his hand, her over his knee, ending in tears and hugs, soothing words and snuggling. It was not a romantic situation, more of that of a big brother to a little sister who sometimes mixed up right and wrong.
Elliot hated it, but he did it for her, and while this situation was a lot more serious than usual, and he had been a direct casualty of her actions, he was still incredibly gentle as he helped her across his knee, bared her of her pants and panties, and began to spank.
She cried, of course. Every sob and cry of "sorry" wrenched Elliot's heart until he felt he would be unable to bear it, but he persevered and when she finally went limp, exhausted from struggling and from the emotional situation, Elliot gave five more harsh slaps and finished. He waited until she calmed and then pulled her up as if she weighed nothing, snuggled her against him, being careful of her sore behind, and handed her a tissue.
Two hours later Elliot came down to the rest of the team talking quietly at the table. Nate poured him a shot of whiskey that Elliot took and threw back before slumping down in a chair. "She alright?" asked Hardison slightly worriedly. They had all heard the mostly muffled sobs coming from the upstairs. "Yeah" Elliot said gruffly. And that was the end of it. The next day, there was a new job, a new con, and except for the fact that Parker was sitting carefully and sticking close to Elliot, there was nothing different about the team. The dynamics hadn't changed, but the rules, and the accountability, had been reestablished.