It was one of the busiest days at SVU that Olivia had ever seen in her career. Her squad room was flooded with people, she was up to her ears in paperwork, the phone hadn't stopped ringing since 8:00 am, and it was just her luck that they happened to be short-staffed. Olivia was about ready to scream when the phone rang yet again.
"Benson." Olivia tried to keep the irritation out of her tone.
"Olivia, it's me." a familiar gruff voice spoke on the other end of the line.
"What do you want, Ed? It's insane around here today." Olivia was in no mood to speak to her former boyfriend.
"I'll keep it short and sweet, then. IAB is investigating one of your people. We believe that Amanda Rollins is gambling again."
"Great. Just what I need." Olivia muttered sarcastically.
"Liv, your squad is your responsibility. You have to keep them in line."
"I know. I'll get to the bottom of it. Bye." Olivia hung up without waiting for a response, and rubbed her forehead.
"Rollins, my office!" Olivia called out, and instantly rolled her eyes at herself. When had she turned into her former boss?
"What's up, Captain?" Amanda walked into Olivia's office.
"Door," Olivia pointed, "and sit."
Amanda did as she was told, closed the door behind her, and sat down.
"I just got off the phone with Ed Tucker. I'll cut straight to the point - are you gambling again? And you better tell me the truth because I'm really not in the mood for lies right now."
"Uh," Amanda looked like a deer caught in headlights, "well… yeah, I've… gone a few rounds at the casino…. Bet on a few… football games…."
"So I take it you're not going to your meetings anymore." Olivia glared at her.
"Um, I've missed some. You know we've been short-staffed and we've been working really hard."
"Amanda, speaking as your friend, I care about you very much and it concerns me that you are gambling again. I don't want to see you go back down that path. Speaking as your boss, I can't have you knowingly breaking the law and working here at the same time. IAB is investigating you for gambling. Do you know what that means? It means that they could take your badge. Unless I fire you first."
"Liv, please don't fire me," Amanda pleaded in a panic, "I need this job. I'll stop gambling, I swear it."
"I can't have you on my squad based on just your word. You've proven that I can't trust your word. So, you have a choice. Either I fire you, or I paddle you."
Olivia didn't implement workplace paddlings very often, preferring instead to talk things out with her colleagues whenever possible, however, everyone on her squad knew that a paddling from their Captain was nothing to snicker at, each of them having been on the wrong end of Olivia's paddle at least once or twice. Amanda bit her lip and glanced over at the wooden paddle hanging on the wall. That thing hurt! She would be sore for days to come. On the other hand, she couldn't afford to lose her job. She would have to re-home Frannie, and the thought of parting with her beloved four-legged companion was more than she could bear. With tears swimming in her blue eyes, Amanda took a deep breath and looked up at her Captain.
"I'll take a paddling." Amanda consented reluctantly.
"All right," Olivia handed Amanda a clipboard and a pen, "sign this. It's the same form you've signed before, stating that you consent to a paddling." Amanda had two of these forms sitting in her file already.
"You know the drill," Olivia took the paddle off the wall, "pants down, and bend across my desk."
Amanda stood up and hesitantly pulled her tan slacks down to her knees before bending across Olivia's desk and holding on to the other side. She hadn't been told to pull down her panties, so she left them in place.
"You're getting ten over your panties and ten on the bare, so you're going to get a total of twenty." Olivia tapped the paddle against Amanda's panty-clad bottom.
"Yes, Captain." Amanda's voice quivered.
"Don't reach back, don't kick, don't scream." Olivia reminded her. They were allowed to cry, but they were not allowed to wake the dead.
"Yes, Captain." Amanda squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation.
SMACK!
"Ouch!"
SMACK!
SMACK!
"OW!"
SMACK!
"Eek!"
SMACK!
SMACK!
SMACK!
"AIEEE!"
SMACK!
SMACK!
SMACK!
The swats came in quick succession, and Olivia used about half of her strength to deliver them. By the end of the first set, Amanda had tears streaming down her face.
"Good girl," Olivia praised, rubbing Amanda's back, "go to the corner, and then we'll do the second half."
Amanda stood up and shuffled to the corner where she stood crying with her hands on her head. Olivia left Amanda standing in the corner for about half an hour while she took another phone call. She hung up the phone and picked up the paddle again.
"Come here, Amanda, let's get this finished."
Amanda wiped her tears and resumed her position. Fresh tears filled her eyes when Olivia pulled her panties down to meet her slacks.
"Why are you being punished?"
"B-because I h-have been g-gambling again." Amanda whimpered.
"Are you going to go to your meetings from now on and make a sincere effort to stop gambling?"
"YES, I will! I swear it!" Amanda choked out.
"Good girl. You're a fine detective, Amanda. Firing you is the last thing I want to do. Now, brace yourself, and I want you to count these out."
SMACK!
"OWIE! ONE!" Amanda sobbed loudly.
SMACK!
"Twooooo!"
SMACK!
"T-th-three! Please, Ma'am, no more!"
"Almost done." Olivia told her.
SMACK!
"Ouch! F-f-f-fourrrrrrr!"
SMACK!
"Five!"
SMACK!
"S-s-six!"
SMACK!
"Eek! S-s-s-seven!"
SMACK!
"Please! E-eight!"
SMACK!
"N-n-ni-nine!"
"Last one." Olivia announced.
SMACK! it was the hardest swat of all.
"OWWWWIIIIIEEEEE! T-te-t-ten!"
"Good girl," Olivia tossed the paddle onto her desk and rubbed Amanda's heaving back, "you're my best friend, Amanda, and you're one of my best detectives. I'd hate to see you screw up your career."
"I'll do better," Amanda promised through her tears, "I'll go to my meetings every week. I'll never gamble again."
"Glad to hear it. You can stand up and get dressed."
Amanda pushed herself up from Olivia's desk and very carefully pulled her panties and slacks back into place. Once Amanda was dressed, Olivia pulled her into a warm, forgiving hug.
"You took your punishment very well. I'm proud of you," Olivia praised, "Let's get back to work. You can swap your desk chair for a padded one, if you like."
"Thank you." Amanda wiped her eyes and walked back out into the squad room.
Olivia sighed as she placed the paddle back on the wall. She sat down at her desk and rolled her eyes when the phone rang again.