Peter stood in the doorway trying, unsuccessfully, not to be influenced by the pitiful sight of the little moppet with his curly black hair ruffled out in every direction, his button down shirt half sticking out of his pants and his two little shoes with laces hanging loosely all the way to the floor, sitting forlornly on the end of the bed with his head in his hands. It wasn't going to be easy but Peter needed to make this one a lesson the little boy would remember for a long time. Neal could no longer afford to continue stealing as he had in the past. It hadn't been too difficult to get the store manager to agree to dismiss the attempted theft without any official involvement. The understanding manager who appeared way too young to be in charge of anything, had actually even looked a little sorry for Neal after seeing how upset 'dad' was over the incident.

Eventually, Neal was going to find himself in some serious trouble if he didn't curb his ways. Peter had thought the kid had already turned a corner, but after this afternoon's little transgression, he had been forced to reassess his trust in the young child. Peter stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Neal didn't look up as he felt his dad take a spot beside him on the bed.

"Neal."

"Yes Dadda?"

"Why did you steal the game?"

Neal blinked back the fresh tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "I don't nooooo Dadda."

"That's not an answer young man. Tell me why you felt you needed to steal something when you know if it's something you really want, you can talk to your mom and me about it and maybe use some of your pocket money to buy it." When Peter didn't get a reply he used his stern father voice. "Why Neal? Tell me why you stole it?"

The little boy was all mixed up in his head so he picked the first answer that came to mind, "I thought it would be fun, Dadda, I'm sorry."

"So you're finally owning up to it Neal. It's only taken," Peter checked the clock "two hours to tell me something that should have taken two minutes."

"Sorry Dadda." Neal repeated.

"Well sadly Neal, you are going to be sorry because I'm going to have to give you a very sound spanking, more than daddy normally gives you." Peter lifted the boy from his side and laid him across his lap. Neal began to cry immediately fully aware of how much it was going to hurt. Peter ignored the cries and pulled down the youngster's pants and underwear. "No more stealing Neal, ever," Peter ordered as he lifted his hand and brought it down firmly onto the little boy's butt. This was the point that Neal would normally wail out for his dad to stop but the kid stayed surprisingly quiet, weeping softly into his arms as his dad landed smack after smack leaving a trail of red handprints from the top of his butt to the top of his thighs. The youngster continued to cry as he received the very sound spanking he was promised. Peter gave three final particularly stinging smacks to the middle of Neal's behind to finish off the painful lesson. The little boy's weeping carried on long after his dad had stopped and it was unlikely he even realized the spanking was over.

Peter pulled up his son's pants and lifted him onto the bed so he was lying on his tummy. He put a gentle hand on Neal's back as he spoke kindly, "I'm sorry I had to do that little one. I didn't like having to do that but I don't want you getting into more trouble by thinking it's okay to steal. I want you to try and remember this lesson because if you do steal again, I'm going to give you another very hard spanking. Do you understand?"

Neal didn't reply. He had stopped weeping but his breathing was hitched and he was sniffling every few seconds.

Peter tried again. "Do you understand Neal?"

Still no reply.

"Okay then Neal, we'll talk later when you're ready to chat with me again. I want you to stay in your room until dinner. You can have a shower whenever you want but you are not to come downstairs." Peter patted the little boy on the back not expecting a response this time. "I'll call out when dinner is ready."

Peter headed back out into the hall but turned to look at his son before heading downstairs. Something wasn't right. Neal wouldn't normally be so withdrawn after a spanking, in fact usually the opposite. It was more his scene to go screaming off to El for some TLC. At the very least, he was always vocal during the punishment, this time he had been uncharacteristically quiet. Perhaps it was that this time he had given Neal a more severe spanking. Perhaps it was that Neal knew he had disappointed his mom and dad terribly by trying to steal the game. Peter hoped it was something that straightforward. Unfortunately, he knew the kid better than that and nothing was ever straightforward where young Neal was concerned.

-W-C-

Peter called Neal three times for dinner before the young chap eventually made his way down the stairs, wearing the same clothes from earlier. The youngster sat down hesitantly, still feeling uncomfortable and tender from his trip over his daddy's knee. Neal put his elbows on the table and made no attempt to put food in on his plate. El noticed, and after a concerned look in Peter's direction, she placed a hearty serving of spaghetti and meatballs onto the little boy's plate. "Would you like some parmesan cheese sprinkled on that Neal?" El asked sweetly.

The young boy not only remained silent, he made no attempt to begin eating as the other three made quick work of the first couple of bites of their evening meal. "Neal, start eating your dinner please," Peter ordered after swallowing another mouthful. "Neal…"

There was no response from the young boy. He just sat staring at his food, in no way tempted to even pick up his fork.

"Neal." This time Peter gave the kid his full attention. "Neal, pick up your fork and start eating please."

El had also stopped eating and tried a different tact. "Sweetie, are you feeling sick in your tummy. You don't have to eat if you don't feel well. Is there something else I can make for you? Would you rather a sandwich?"

Neal wouldn't even look at anyone, let alone answer them. Eventually, after the others had finished off their meals and Neal's remained totally untouched, Peter ordered, "Okay young man, if you're not going to eat your dinner and you're not going to explain to us why, you might as well head off to bed."

The little chap stood up and began walking towards the stairs when El called out, "Mommy and Daddy will be up to tuck you in and kiss you goodnight in a couple of minutes sweetie."

Neal didn't turn back but continued on walking, looking utterly defeated. Mozzie stared after his friend, looking extremely concerned. Peter turned to El, both parents looking totally lost.