CHAPTER 4

See Chapter 1 for disclosures and disclaimers

Warning: This chapter contains disciplinary spanking. If you don't like it, don't read it.

* * * * * *

"I'm telling you, Simon, we have to call the Captain and Zoe." Kaylee grabbed a radio out of its holder and started toward the open cargo hold door. "She's not on Serenity." Kaylee was almost to the door when Zoe walked in.

"Zoe, I was just about to call you and Mal." Kaylee rushed to her. "We can't find River . . ." Kaylee trailed off as Mal entered the cargo hold, pulling River behind him.

"Looks like we saved you a call." Mal let go of River's arm, and she went to stand behind Simon, who was standing in the middle of the room, a stunned expression on his face.

"River, where have you been? Why did you leave the ship?" He turned to look at his sister.

"Ain't got time for that now," Mal said. "River, go to your room. I'll deal with you later. If you know what's good for you, you'll stay put. You don't want me to have to come looking for you." Mal waited until River left the hold before turning to the other crew members. "Blackthorn will be here shortly to look at Serenity. If he likes what he sees, he'll give us a trial run to Boros. We've got to make sure she's presentable. Zoe, you see to the bridge. Kaylee take care of the engine room. Simon you look to the infirmary." He glanced up at Jayne who was coming down the stairs from the catwalk. "You take care of the cargo hold, and I'll take care of the kitchen. Ain't a lot that needs to be done, but I want Serenity to be perfect. No need to give Blackthorn any reason to change his mind about hirin' us. Let's get busy people."

* * * * *

Two hours later, the crew of Serenity had secured a contract for a trial run to Boros and back. The cargo would be delivered the next morning. They would leave immediately thereafter to deliver it to Boros and would return to Arrowhead with a load of merchandise for Blackthorn. If everything went it was supposed to, they'd have a regular run. For the first time in a long while, Mal felt good about their prospects. But, his sense of accomplishment was tempered by his unfinished business with River. He didn't want to have to do it, but the time had come for him to take the matter of her disobedience more firmly in hand, so to speak.

As Mal passed through the kitchen on his way to River's room Simon moved to block his path. "What are you going to do to her?"

Mal stepped closer to Simon, intending to invade the young doctor's personal space and intimidate him into backing down. He really didn't want to have a confrontation with Simon now, but would if he had to. Simon didn't budge, but stood his ground.

"Why, doctor, I intend to give River a spanking she ain't likely to forget anytime soon."

"I can't allow you to do that, Captain." Simon moved closer to Mal, fully aware of what the Captain was attempting to do.

"I ain't askin' for your permission." Mal stepped around Simon. "Besides, you don't want to be tellin' me what to do onboard my ship, or I might just decide you need a good lickin' right along with your sister." He turned to enter the hallway to the passenger dorm, where, he hoped, River was obediently waiting for him in her room. Without pausing he glanced over his shoulder. "Get him out of here, Kaylee. Take him to your bunk or the engine room. I don't care where, just get him out of here. He don't need to hear this."

Kaylee moved to stand in front of Simon, blocking his path and preventing him from following Mal down the hallway. She knew things would only be made worse if Simon interfered now.

"Come on, Simon. Let's do what the Cap'n says." She took Simon's arm and started to pull him down the hallway in the opposite direction. Simon resisted, and Kaylee thought for a split second that he might push her aside to follow the Captain down the hallway. She tugged again at his arm, and Simon looked down at her.

"I can't allow him to hurt River."

"Simon, Mal ain't going to hurt River." She paused to reconsider her words in light of the fact that she had cause to know that a spanking from the Captain wasn't exactly like receiving love pats. "Well, not much anyway. I mean, that lickin' is gonna hurt, but she'll survive." Kaylee dropped her hand from Simon's arm. "And, I kinda think she deserves it, don't you."

Simon stared at Kaylee for a long moment. "What do you mean she deserves it. Nobody deserves to be hit."

Kaylee tilted her head slightly to look up into Simon's concerned eyes. "Weren't you ever spanked as a kid?"

"No." Simon shook his head. "Our parents didn't believe in physical punishment."

"Well, mine did." Kaylee gave a short laugh. "My pa gave me some whoopins you wouldn't believe. It hurt for a while afterward, but after he was finished, all was forgiven. No matter what I'd done to deserve the punishment. Mal's the same way. River disobeyed him. He has every right to punish her. Once he's done, River won't be sitting to comfortably for a few days, but all will be forgiven."

"How do you know he isn't just going to beat her." Simon moved away from Kaylee and started pacing.

Kaylee held out her hand to Simon and waited until he had moved to stand in front of her and had taken her hand in his to answer. "I know because he's given me a couple of lickin's and I survived. River will, too."

Simon didn't resist as Kaylee started walking down the hallway toward her bunk. She knew it was probably best to get him out of earshot of the passenger dorm before the Captain could begin delivering River's much deserved spanking.

* * * * *

River sat on her bed. Her back was against the wall, and her were wrapped around her bent knees. She was worried about what was to come. She knew getting a spanking from the Captain was the inevitable result of her actions and had been an essential part of her plan. But, now that it was a reality, the idea of it seemed a lot worse than she had anticipated.

The sound of her bedroom door opening caught her attention, and she looked up to see Mal enter her room. Her stomach clinched with nerves as she watched him close the door behind him. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest and stared at her for what seemed like an eternity.

"Well, young lady, what do you have to say for yourself?"

River looked up at the Captain through the curtain of her hair. "I'm sorry?"

"An apology helps, but it's not gonna make this go away. I told you to stay in your room while Zoe and I were gone, didn't I."

"Yes, sir." River wasn't able to meet Mal's steady gaze, but spoke to her knees.

"But, you didn't do that. Instead, you snuck off the ship and went into the market." Mal paused to observe River for a moment. "You want to tell me the reason why you did that?"

River said nothing, but continued to study her knees.

Mal sighed and started toward the bed, rolling his shirt sleeves up as he went. "All right, then." He sat on the side of the bed. "You know I gotta spank you for this one."

"Yes, sir."

"Come on, let's get it over with." He patted the side of the bed, indicating that River should move to sit beside him. When she did so, Mal turned to look at her. "Do you understand why you're getting' this spanking, River?"

River nodded. "Because I disobeyed your orders and snuck off the ship." Although he hadn't called her on it, she felt compelled to fess up to her lie as well. "And, because I lied to you about why I did it."

"So why did you leave the ship"

"I can't tell you."

Mal sighed again. That was only slightly better than the lie. He really didn't want to do what he was about to do, but he had no choice. If he didn't do it, he was afraid River do something that would end up getting herself or someone else serious injured or killed. He took her by the arm and pulled her across his lap. With his left hand firm at the small of River's back, he brought his right hand down firmly on her backside.

River let out a gasp at the first smack. It surprised her more than hurt, but that first smack was quickly followed by others. Mal's large hand seemed to cover her entire backside with each smack. Soon her backside was on fire. Her gasp of surprise soon turned to exclamations of pain. She kicked her legs and tried to squirm her way off the Captain's lap -- anything the avoid the smacks that continued to rain down. Mal shifted her forward and pinned her legs under his right knee. He continued the relentless assault on her backside until he felt River had, indeed learned her lesson. Mal knew her backside must be on fire. He waited until she had calmed down enough to understand his next words and to give coherent answers.

"Now, I'm goin' ask you some questions and you're gonna answer. Do you understand me."

River nodded her head. "Yes, sir." She would agree to anything to make the spanking stop. She hadn't expected it to be pleasant, but she hadn't expected it to hurt as much as it did.

"Good girl. Tell me again why you're getting this spanking."

Mal was barely able to understand her answer through the tears. "Because I left Serenity after you told me to stay in my room."

"Yes." Mal delivered three hard swats to the tender area where River's legs met her backside. "What else."

"I lied to you about why I did it." Three more hard smacks were applied to her already inflamed backside.

"Are you ever going to do anything like that again?"

"No, sir." She received another half-dozen hard swats.

Mal rested his hand on her backside. His hand was on fire, so he could imagine how River's backside felt. "All right, it's over." He rubbed her back until she calmed down then pulled her up to sit on his lap. Mal hugged her to him, and continued to rub her back and comfort her. "It's okay, it's over. Everything is forgiven."

River leaned into Mal, accepting the comfort he was giving. She knew Mal cared for her, she read that in his thoughts. River had expected that, but she also read something she hadn't expected. Fear. Mal was afraid of what might have happened to her had he not found her in the market so quickly. She hadn't intended to tell him her plan, but she couldn't hold it back any longer.

"I'm sorry I worried you. I just wanted to be treated like everyone else on board Serenity."

River spoke so softly, Mal wasn't sure he had heard her correctly. He pushed her away from his chest so he could look into her tear-stained face. "Say that again."

River reached up to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "I just wanted to be treated like everyone else. You treat me like a china doll that you're afraid will break if you handle it too roughly. So, I had to do something to prove to you that I won't break."

"This was your plan all along, to make me spank you?" Mal shifted River off his lap onto the bed and stood to pace the room. "Just to prove to me that you won't break, so I'd treat you like I treat everyone else?"

River nodded.

Mal knew he had been treating River differently. He'd handled her with the proverbial kid gloves to keep from triggering anything that might send her back behind the mental shield she'd been hiding behind prior to discovering the secret about Miranda. He really didn't know how to respond to that. "You could have talked to me about it. Found some other way to convince me."

River shook her head. "You would have just patted me on the head and sent me on my way like a bothersome child."

Mal let out a snort of laughter. "Well, you certainly picked a fine way to prove your point. You know that since you've proven your point, I'm gonna expect you to behave now. And, if you don't we're gonna have repeat of what happened here today."

River smiled. "Yes, sir."

"Okay." He was still a bit confused about what had just happened. It would take some time to wrap his mind around what River had confessed to him. He moved to open the door to leave River's room. "I think it'd be best if you stayed in your room until dinner time."

"Yes, sir."

Mal left the room, closing the door behind him. River waited until she was sure he was well away from her room before standing up to rub her sore backside before moving to the mirror to inspect the damage. She smiled to herself – the sacrifice had been worth it. She truly felt like one of Mal's family.

The end.

This is River's story. Kaylee will get the chance to tell her tale later.

Credit goes to .net and .com as the source for the Chinese phrases used in this story.