Fucked did not begin to describe their situation, and that was the first thing Lucas thought once the bags had deflated of their own accord and he could see his brother alive beside him through the puff of starch now swirling around the car's interior. He couldn't believe how much his head was killing him and the pain that was shooting through his nose. He touched the bridge tentatively to confirm it was only bruised not broken, and then he put a hand to his forehead, not the least bit surprised when he came away with fingertips that were wet and red. Instead of being worried, though, Lucas was immediately thankful. After all, if he was hurt badly enough to bleed, maybe his dad would feel too sorry for him to spank his dumb ass once he found out about this.

In the driver's seat, Nathan wasn't faring much better physically. Emotionally, though, he was leagues ahead of his brother! He put a hand to both his nose and head as well and came away with blood just like Lucas did, a "gift" from the explosive impact of the airbags. This, however, only added to his amusement. He chuckled as he put the car in park, shut off the engine, and pressed the button for the hazard lights, and then he laughed flat out once he opened his door and dropped down into the dusty ditch to survey the wreckage, which was definitely considerable.

"Aw, man, I'm guessing we're screwed!"

"Ya think?!" Lucas retorted.

Nathan watched his irritated brother slide down on his own side but kept right on grinning. "So we're in trouble, Luke. What's new? Mom'll ground us longer, but we'll get out of it once we drive her so crazy she has no choice but to shove us outta the house and give us back our freedom."

"And Dad? Just what do you think he's gonna do about this, huh?"

"The usual." Nathan shrugged. "He'll call us names and make us run suicides until we puke, but that's nothing new. We've done it before; we'll survive it again."

"You ... I can't ... you're friggin' unbelievable, you know that, Nathan?"

"What—?"

"You really think that's all Dad's gonna do?"

"Sure, why not?

Lucas wanted to slap him silly and it showed as he glared at his brother through the car. "Well, for starters, because that was the old Dad, Nate, not the new one. We're grounded and we're supposed to be home in bed, remember? Instead, we just drove a supercar worth half a million dollars into a ditch and we totally crushed the front end of it. And we didn't get Dad's permission to take it anywhere never mind drive it off the goddamn road!" Lucas jabbed a bloody finger at the cracked windshield through which the crumpled hood was visible. "You see that, Little Brother? On a Bugatti that's probably worth more than the first two years of college tuition – for both of us!"

Nathan rolled his eyes at his brother's dramatics. "Calm down, Lucas. We're in trouble. I get it."

"I don't think you do get it," Lucas snapped. "But you're going to, all right. We both are."

To Nathan that sounded a lot more ominous than it should. He had always assumed he knew Dan Scott better than Lucas did since he'd grown up with the man all his life, but did he really? Could Lucas know something that he didn't? As Lucas gave up trying to reach him with a disgusted shake of his head and returned his attention to the car instead, Nathan snapped his fingers to get his attention again. "Hey! Hey, what the hell're you talking about?"

Lucas looked at him straight and didn't even bother trying to soften the truth. "I'm talking about our asses, Nate, and how Dad's gonna beat them raw for this."

"Are you outta your mind? Dad doesn't spank!"

"Oh, he doesn't, does he?" Lucas braced his arms against the roof and arched an eyebrow at his snickering brother. "What about yesterday when you flipped him off after he got on your case for breaking curfew?

Nathan stopped laughing. "You saw that?"

"I saw it. I also saw what he did when he caught you digging cash out of his wallet last month."

On the other side of the car, Nathan's face grew hot with embarrassment. He had been pissed beyond pissed both times when Dan had grabbed his arm, turned him to the side and given him several hard swats to the butt while scolding him, but he couldn't believe his brother had witnessed his humiliation and said nothing. "He cut my allowance for skipping school, Luke. What did he expect? Anyway, what the hell? Are you spying on me too now?"

"I don't have to spy, Nate. I live under the same roof, remember?"

"Well, whatever," Nathan scoffed, trying hard to recover his bravado. "A few whacks to the ass on two separate days three weeks apart don't mean jack, Big Brother. A slap here and there isn't a spanking, and Dad wouldn't even know how to give one that lasted more than two seconds. He's never had any practice."

At that, Lucas smirked. "I'm guessing Dad never told you what he did to me three months ago when I gave him back all that incriminating stuff I was collecting on him."

Nathan didn't like the sound of this. He didn't want to ask, but he couldn't help himself. "No, what did he do?"

Lucas looked away as he felt his own face blushing, but he manned up anyway and turned back to his brother as he confessed. "He spanked me, Nate ... like spanked me spanked me. I'm talking over his knee, pants down, snot and tears kind of spanking. He even made me stand in the corner after."

Nathan stood wide-eyed and frozen at first, but then he shook his head. "No way."

"Way."

Nathan studied his brother intently, waiting for him to point and laugh and reveal he'd been joking, but Lucas didn't do any of those things. He didn't take it back. The urge to call him a liar came and went, and finally, Nathan realized he'd accepted it as truth when he felt his insides begin to twist.

"Jesus, why didn't you tell me?"

"Would you have told me if our roles had been reversed?"

"No. I'd have probably killed myself from the shame."

Lucas made a face. "Trust me, I thought of it."

There wasn't anything Nathan could say to that. He stared at Lucas a moment longer then turned away and leaned against the north bank of the ditch with his arms crossed over his chest, his mind harping relentlessly on what he'd just learned. Lucas climbed the embankment on his side, walked around, then slid down beside Nathan who scowled for five full minutes before he turned to his brother.

"You really think he's gonna—"

"For this? Oh yeah." Lucas put a hand to the cut on his head and winced, thinking of both the accident and the recent changes in their father. He cursed internally at the stupid and completely avoidable situation they were in. "You said it yourself before we even left the house. Dad's not the same parent he used to be. He doesn't just care about himself anymore. Hell, he doesn't even seem to care much about basketball. He cares about us, what we do and how we behave for our own sakes."

Nathan pondered that a moment then shook his head stubbornly. "You know what? I don't care, Luke. Dad can't spank me and he better not even try. You maybe, but not me. I'm emancipated."

"You think that's gonna make a difference?" Lucas scoffed as he let go his head. "You moved back home, Little Brother, and you're living off his dime again same as me. And you're the one who actually crashed the damn car!"

"Well, you're the one who got us into neutral and outta the driveway without making a sound!"

"Well, you swiped the car keys when Dad was sleeping! This was all your idea!"

"So what? You shoulda stopped me, loser! You're supposed to know better! You're older!"

"Only by four friggin' months, jackass!"

"Well - well too bad!" Nathan hugged his chest tighter, his brow creased as he glared at his brother. "I'm not gonna let Dad whip my ass over this. I don't care how mad he is or what kind of do-right guy he thinks he is now."

"And I'm telling you you're dreaming," Lucas shot back, "because that's what I thought last time and he still got me pinned over his knees, so you're screwed just like I am, Nathan. Deal with it!"