* * * * *

Jimmy walked tentatively into Autopsy to find Ducky standing with his arms crossed looking very angry indeed.

"Doctor, I am so sorry," Palmer launched in. "I shouldn't have lied to you. I've never lied to you before and I swear, I won't ever do it again. I'm sorry. I really am."

"Are you finished, Mr. Palmer?" Ducky asked silkily.

"Yes Doctor," Jimmy answered, hanging his head.

"Good. Come over here," Ducky directed, walking to an empty table. Jimmy followed hesitantly. Ducky began to unbuckle his belt and Jimmy blanched.

"Uh…"

"Save it Mr. Palmer. Take off that smock and bend over the table," Ducky ordered as he folded his belt in half.

Palmer stared at Ducky for just a moment before he sighed deeply and obeyed.

"I know you're sorry, but I can't have you lying to me. Not ever," Ducky said, almost sadly as he raised the belt and brought it down hard against Jimmy's scrubs. Jimmy jumped and stood up. Ducky waited until he slowly bent over again before striking again.

The spanking that followed left Jimmy with the distinct impression that Ducky had a lot of experience with this type of thing…

* * * * *

"Sit down," Gibbs said quietly.

"Boss?" Tony said, very confused. He'd already started bending over the conference room table. Gibbs nodded toward a chair. "You're not going to…?"

"I just want to talk. For now," Gibbs answered, lowering himself into the chair next to Tony. He turned toward Tony, then put his hand on the armrest of Tony's chair and turned it so they were face-to-face. He sat forward and rested his forearms on his thighs and looked at Tony for a long minute. "Why did you take that file?" he finally asked.

Tony's head dropped. "IthoughtIwasright," he mumbled.

"Hey," Gibbs said gently, "look at me." Tony slowly looked up. "Why?"

"I thought I was right," he repeated.

Gibbs nodded and patted Tony's knee. "You have good instincts. And more often than not, you're right. This time, you were wrong. That's gonna happen sometimes. Hell, I get it wrong sometimes too." It was a testament to how upset Tony really was that he didn't react. "Tony, I never want you to second-guess yourself. Never." Tony nodded. "Good. I'm glad we've got that straight."

He sat back in his chair. "Now, tell me what you did wrong." Tony looked down again. Gibbs decided to wait, but since patience wasn't one of his virtues, it was pretty difficult.

Finally, Tony looked up. "I disobeyed you Boss. And I didn't trust that you knew what you were talking about when you said the case was closed. But mostly, I disobeyed you," he added quickly.

Gibbs nodded. "Like I said, I never want you to second-guess yourself. But, if you ever think I'm wrong, you need to tell me." He held up his hand as Tony opened his mouth to protest. "You need to tell me calmly and maturely. If you whine and throw temper tantrums and go behind my back to prove your point, it will not end well for you, and you know that."

"Yeah," Tony agreed. "I'm sorry, Boss."

Gibbs nodded, and then had a second thought. He had to be sure. "Tell me why I'm about to whip your ass," he asked as lightly as possible.

"Because I disobeyed you," Tony answered.

"Anything else?" Gibbs asked leadingly.

Tony looked confused for a moment. "Boss, I…" He saw a slight grin spread across Gibbs' face. "No," he answered with his own grin. "That's the only thing I did wrong," he finally answered confidently.

"Good," Gibbs said, standing up and reaching for his belt. "Drop 'em,"

Tony shook his head, stood up and pushed his pants down before bending over the table.

The gentle hand on his back was the only warning he got before the belt fell. Tony hissed and squirmed his way through the next few painful moments and was surprised when the spanking stopped – it hadn't been very long. He looked up at Gibbs in surprise as the older man fed his belt through the loops on his pants, but didn't stand up.

"It's over, DiNozzo. You can stand up now."

"But Boss," Tony began.

"DiNozzo, are you seriously about to argue with me about that? Because if you are, I will gladly continue," Gibbs said reaching for his buckle again.

"No, no, it's fine," Tony said with a sniff. "It's just…I don't know. I expected that to last a lot longer." He spoke as he quickly stood up and pulled up his pants.

"Did it hurt?" Gibbs asked.

"Like hell," Tony answered, reaching back to rub out some of the sting.

"Are you ever going to disobey me again?"

"Not if I can help it," Tony answered with a teary grin. Gibbs reached for his buckle again threateningly. "No Boss, never again," he added backing away.

"Good. Now get back to work."

"Yes Boss," Tony answered and hurried from the room. Gibbs smiled and shook his head as he watched him go.

* * * * *

"Hey Duck," Gibbs said as the ME stepped into the elevator. The doors closed and the box started moving. He reached over and hit the stop button. "You doing ok?"

"How do you do it, Jethro?" Ducky asked sadly.

Gibbs shrugged and looked kindly at his friend. "Yeah, it was pretty hard the first time. I'm not sure it gets any easier the more I have to do it, but when I start to worry about it, I just remember what every parent knows – it's for their own good."

"I suppose you're right," Ducky agreed reluctantly. "I just hope Jimmy knows that."

Gibbs smiled. "Oh, I'm pretty sure he does. And if he doesn't yet, he will after Tony has a talk with him."

* * * * *

"Hey Palmer," Tony said as he entered Autopsy. He knew Ducky was off conferring with Gibbs on something, so he stole away to check on his partner in crime.

"I don't think I should be talking to you," Palmer answered.

"Are you ok?" Tony asked, ignoring Jimmy's protests.

After a few blustery seconds, Jimmy finally looked at Tony. "Ducky spanked me," he blurted out.

It was all Tony could do not to laugh. "When was the last time you were spanked?" he asked.

"I think I was nine," Jimmy answered blushing furiously.

This time Tony did laugh. "Well, welcome to the club, Jimmy."

"I cried," he continued.

"So? I cry all the time. It hurts," Tony said matter-of-factly. "Don't ever tell anyone this, but to be honest with you, it's not always the pain that makes me cry."

Jimmy chewed on that for a moment then nodded. "It was for our own good, wasn't it?"

Tony smiled. "I have to get back to work. I'll see you later." He turned and left the room to go back to work, but when he pushed the elevator button, nothing happened. He shook his head and turned for the stairs. "Yeah Palmer," he said quietly to himself, "it's for our own good."