Nathan woke with a groan, the sound of small feel in the hallway rousing him from sleep. Hayley lay asleep beside him and he couldn't resist leaning over to kiss her cheek as lightly as a feather. He still felt bad about missing most of her birthday and with a glance at the clock confirming it was still way too early to have to be up, he decided to drag his ass out of bed and make Jamie breakfast, so she could sleep in this morning. He swore one day J was going to outgrow these early mornings. He had to, surely…
Yawning, Nathan shoved on a pair of sweatpants and quietly slipped out of the Master bedroom, meeting Jamie when he arrived at the bottom of the stairs. He laughed at the sight of his son already sprawled on the couch, remote in hand. "Hey, buddy," he greeted with a yawn.
"Morning, Dad. You don't normally get up this early…" Jamie greeted in surprise, eyes gleeful. He adored any opportunity he got to spend time with his father, especially just now while Nathan was home all the time for the off season.
Nathan could see the excitement on the kid's face and had to grin. "Well, I thought we could make pancakes together. You know, man time."
"Cool!" Jamie scrambled off the couch to join him, grabbing his arm and towing him through to the open plan couch. "Can we have Nutella too? And syrup?"
"Sure, as long as you eat some fruit with all that. Your mom'll kill me if I feed you all that sugar at 6am." Nathan smirked at Jamie's groan.
"Alright, alright…" Jamie agreed with a dramatic sigh. "I didn't have fruit last night…" he murmured under his breath.
Nathan only semi caught him speaking and decided not to even ask. Did Fergie and Junk even know how to cook pancakes? Some questions weren't worth asking, especially when it came to his childhood friends from the River Court.
Once they had the utensils they needed, Nathan poured ingredients for batter into a bowl before getting Jamie to mix it. "So, you looked like you had fun last night, buddy. What did you get up to?"
"I played guitar hero and ate loads of candy. Oh, and I climbed up in your wardrobe and found the box of mom's birthday stuff. That was an accident though cuz I kind forgot it was her birthday. And then I made the biggest pancake you ever saw! It was awesome."
Nathan raised his eyebrows in his trademark look of surprise. "Wow, buddy, sounds like you we're pretty busy. When did Fergie and Junk learn to make pancakes?"
"Oh, they don't."
"So how come you made them?" Nathan asked in confusion.
"I did it myself," Jamie informed him cheerfully.
Nathan frowned. "They let you cook at the stove by yourself?" He repeated.
"Nah," Jamie shrugged. "They weren't here yet."
"Well where were your mom and Aunt Quinn? They left before the guys showed up?" Nathan asked in horror, leaning against the kitchen counter with his arms folded. Something just didn't seem right about this. Haley leaving their seven-year-old home alone? No way. Come to think of it, he couldn't really see Quinn doing that either but if she had, he was going to have to talk to her.
Jamie seemed to realise what he'd just said and tensed beside his father. The TV played in the background, but he didn't notice it anymore.
"James," Nathan prompted, forcing himself to inject just a little bit of warning into his voice. Usually Hayley acted as main disciplinarian in their house, and he found it much easier playing good cop to her bad. Growing up, he hadn't really had firm boundaries. Often it felt like his parents didn't notice him, except for the basketball his father was obsessed with and his natural talent, and he'd rarely had anyone tell him off as a kid, except to rant and rave and send him out of sight. Then again, that had gotten worse when his Mom was away on business. The knock-on effect was that often he still didn't feel comfortable telling Jamie off, but he took his cues from Hayley and he knew exactly how she'd respond to this if she was awake.
Jamie gulped audibly, offering his dad a sheepish look. "Uh…. maybe? Mom had to go and set up…"
"And Aunt Quinn?" Nathan asked patiently.
Jamie actually squirmed, much to Nathan's surprise. It was rare for the kid to actually look guilty. Or at least, he usually managed to turn it into his baleful puppy dog eyed look. The seven-year-old was silent for a few moments before he sighed. "I, uh, I might have told her Mama went to pick up the guys and she could go to the school to help get stuff ready…"
"But your Mom wasn't going to get the guys?" Nathan surmised with an internal groan.
Jamie shook his head mutely.
Nathan gave a single nod in response. "Why didn't Junk and Fergie show up?"
"I… I may have told them you'd found another babysitter…" Jamie admitted in a rush, eyes glued firmly to the breakfast counter.
"Jame…" Nathan was silent for a long moment but eventually sighed heavily. "Do you have any idea how dumb that was? You screwed up, buddy and you screwed up big."
If it were possible, Jamie's head dropped lower in embarrassment and shame.
Nathan ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, buddy. I think you need to go sit at the table while I think about this and decide what we're gonna do about it. Okay? No TV, computer or cell phone while you're waiting."
"They're upstairs…" Jamie informed him softly, risking a hopeful glance at the TV.
Nathan shook his head. "No way, buddy. Turn it off and leave the remote on the side table. Go on."
Jamie sighed dramatically but obediently slid out of his seat and over to the dining table, only detouring long enough to turn the TV off and deposit the remote on the side table. Nathan waited for him to sit down before speaking softly. "Jame, when I come back in here, I want the whole story and I'm gonna be looking to see you know why your actions were wrong. Understood?"
"Got it, Dad," the kid acknowledged miserably.
Nathan nodded in approval. "Alright. I love you, buddy," he affirmed before taking a walk onto the patio by the pool to clear his head.
He sat down in one of the patio chairs they had, sighing heavily. When had the kid hit this little rebellious patch? Jamie had always been a good kid, and he still was, but this was a bit too teenaged for Nate's liking. Were they parenting in a way that was making him grow up too fast? He shook his head wearily.
He knew what he probably should do, and what Hales would do, but he really didn't want to be the bad guy. Actually, he realised as he thought about it more, he just didn't want to be the bad guy without Hales there to tell him he was doing a good job…
When he stepped back inside five minutes later with his resolve set despite his wariness, Jamie looked so bored at the table that Nathan almost laughed. If there was ever any doubt the kid was his, moments like this proved otherwise.
"Alright, buddy, come here. You think about what I said?" He asked as he arrived back at the couch and took a seat.
Jamie nodded as he slid out of his chair and padded over. "Yeah." He didn't particularly want to tell the truth, but man was this boring.
Nathan surprised him by catching his wrist before he could sit beside his dad and leading him to a stop so that he stood in front of him.
"Dad…?" He questioned uncertainly.
"I think you should stand right here, buddy. Now, what happened?"
Jamie sighed. "I didn't want a babysitter. I'm seven now, I'm old enough to stay home myself and look after myself. By the way, I was fine last night. I didn't even need any help. Well, apart from doing Mama's birthday surprise…" Jamie paused when he saw his dad's raised eyebrows. "Anyway, Mom asked me to tell Aunt Quinn to wait for the guys, and I might have told her Mom said she didn't need to wait for the guys because Mom was getting them. And then I sort of texted Junk and said we were going in a different direction with the babysitter thing." Jamie shrugged.
Nathan nodded. "Well, I gotta hand it to you. You got your Mom's smart brains. Doubt I could have thought of all that. Alright, why was that stuff wrong?"
Jamie frowned. "Aw Dad, c'mon…"
"James Lucas Scott. Quit fooling around," Nathan warned.
Jamie huffed out a breath but answered this time. "I lied, and I disobeyed Mom."
"That's right. You also manipulated your friends andyour family, and you put yourself in danger. Jamie, if cops had come to the door for any reason and found you alone, your mom and I could be arrested, or have you taken off us," Nate explained.
Jamie's wide-eyed expression gave Nathan hope that he'd made his point. He took in a steadying breath before speaking. "When did Junk and Fergie find out what had happened?"
"I don't know… Mom texted them to ask how it was going or something, I think? They didn't want you to shout at them, so I convinced them not to tell on me…" the child admitted in embarrassment.
Nathan fought the urge to roll his eyes and silence stretched between them for a long moment before he eventually spoke. "So, let me guess this right… you lied, manipulated people you care about, disobeyed your mom and put yourself in danger?"
Jamie sighed softly and peeked up at Nathan, soon dropping his gaze back down to stare at the floor. "I guess."
"I guess too, buddy. Alright, c'mere," the older Scott said, lifting his son and laying him over his knee.
"Wait! Dad? What…?" Jamie asked, voice high pitched and nervous. Dad never spanked him, it was only Mama who did that. Dad was cool, even when he got in trouble. He just said why Jamie messed up and maybe grounded him for a day or two.
"What am I doing?" Nathan finished knowingly. "You think you don't deserve to get a spanking for this?"
"It's not… I just… You never spank me," the child protested indignantly. "Mom does, but you're cool!"
Nathan had to fight the urge to laugh, but he managed to maintain his stern appearance with difficulty. "Oh yeah?" At Jamie's nod, he brought the hammer down. "Then I guess I'm about to get a lot less cool, huh? Jamie, I'm glad you think I'm cool, but I'm not going to be cool at the expense of your safety. What you did was dangerous and dishonest and that's not cool at all. Maybe this will help you remember that in future."
Before Jamie could protest anymore, Nathan brought his hand down firmly. He was wary of his strength, born from years of sports, and was careful to not swat too hard. He had no idea what he was doing, or how many spanks to land, but Jamie didn't seem very bothered so far.
He realised belatedly that he didn't really know how to do this; did he just land a few? He'd never actually talked to Hales about this and she was the one who used it as a discipline method. He cast his mind to his brother. Lucas had been spanked growing up, because he'd had their Uncle Keith raising him. What had he said? Keith used to keep going until he was crying lightly or until his body language changed to show he was contrite. That seemed reasonable.
Bearing that in mind, Nathan continued to spank for a few minutes until Jamie was squirming and letting out light whimpers and huffs of breath. "Oww! Dad come on! I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"
"Do what, Jame?" Nathan prompted sternly.
"Lie, or disobey, or… Twist things to how I want 'me!" Jamie gasped as a swat landed on his thigh.
"I hope not, buddy. If you do it again, I'll do this again. You understand me?" Nathan asked firmly, targeting the curve of his bottom just above his thighs so he'd feel it for the next few hours.
Jamie squirmed and nodded sincerely. "Got it! I promise!"
"Alright then, J. Nearly done." Nathan forced himself to land another seven before stopping, the hand that had been warming his son's backside now rubbing soothing circles on his lower back.
Jamie wiped at his eyes, crying into his elbow for a few minutes.
Nathan let him catch his breath then righted him. "All done, kid. I got you." He pulled Jamie in against his chest and let him settle there with a soft sigh.
Jamie swallowed down more tears. "I'm sorry, Dad," he admitted when he was calmer.
"I know, buddy. I believe you. No more Home Alone adventures until you're at least sixteen, alright?"
Jamie nodded mutely.
"Good man. I love you Jame. And you know something?"
Jamie peeked up at him curiously. "I hope you don't think I'm too uncool, cause then you might not want to shoot hoops at the River Court after breakfast…"
Jamie's eyes lit up the way Nathan had hoped they would. "I guess you're still pretty cool," he decided. "You'd be cooler if you got us ice cream after…"
Nathan laughed. "I think I can arrange that. How about those pancakes, then we can get dressed and go play a little one-on-one?"
Jamie nodded eagerly, looking more like himself. "Can I pour the batter?"
"You got it, buddy," Nathan agreed. He gave his son one more reassuring squeeze before winging them both upright, earning a delighted squeal from his kid. He carried Jamie to the kitchen and retrieved the son Hayley had bought for Jamie, so he could help her cook and bake, then went to work finishing the batter.
Sometimes it felt like every time he blinked, another handful of years flew by and Jamie grew up faster than he could fathom, and Nathan once again determined to make the most of these moments while he still could. He missed his Uncle Keith and Lucas, but he hoped they'd be even a little proud of the father he'd become to Jamie. He smiled as he listened to Jamie talking animatedly and laughing loudly; if the delight on the child's face was any indication, he thought they maybe would be a little proud to see the man he'd become.