Part 4

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Sorry this took so long. I have had trouble signing in for the last few days.

This chapter is a bit harsher than what I usually like to write but I thought it fits. Hope you like it.

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When Charlie woke up the next morning, he quietly left the room letting his brother and friend sleep. Don and Colby woke up to an empty house at 11 am. After taking showers Don had to coerce Colby into eating some breakfast – the younger man clearly preoccupied with his impending punishment.

Afterwards Don gave Colby a choice, "Okay, you can either go to your room or you can stay in the kitchen to help me prepare some stuff for tonight. Megan and David are coming over."

Colby paled at the thought of having to sit through a dinner after the punishment Don had promised him. "But why do they have to come this evening?" He whined, "I don't want to see them tonight. It isn't fair to make me s … ," he did not finish his sentence.

"I understand but I think it will be good for all of us to spend some time together." The older agent tried to calm him down.

"But I don't want to. Do you have to control everything and everyone?" the young man knew he was pushing Don but it just seemed so unfair to him.

"Colby, it's enough. They are coming and you will have dinner with all of us. End of discussion." The young agent failed to recognize that his bosses tone threatened dire consequences if he continued to argue and said as petulantly as he could, "That just sucks. I am going to my room."

But Don wasn't having it. He grabbed Colby's arm and dragged him into a corner of the dining area where he could see the stubborn young man from the kitchen, "That choice is not yours anymore. You'll be standing here nose in the corner until it's time for your punishment. I suggest you think about what you did." To emphasize his words he planted two smacks on the younger mans backside, "And don't you dare to move."

Don went back to the kitchen and started dinner preparations.

Colby could not believe the position he found himself in again. He hated being put in a corner. He didn't understand why Don had invited the team to dinner tonight. It was just cruel. If he really was going to spank him as hard as he'd said how could he expect Colby to sit all evening? It took him almost an hour to calm down and stop thinking about it. His thoughts turned to much more pressing matters. He was grateful that Don had decided to punish him in private but he still dreaded it. "Blistering until you cannot sit for two days" wasn't something he was familiar with and maybe it wasn't meant all that literal but one thing was for sure – this spanking would be worse than all the others. But all the others had been bad enough so Colby did not know how he'd be able to deal with something worse. Tears started to form in his eyes. Trying to keep his panic in check he forced his thoughts onto being happy about working things out with David the night before. Slowly Colby calmed down and just wondered how long Don would make him stand in the corner.

While cooking Don had kept a close eye on his charge and unbeknownst to the younger man observed the emotions he went through. Finally when Colby seemed calm Don took a deep breath and decided to get this over.

"Okay kid. Go on up to your room. I'll be there in a minute." He instructed.

Colby's inside turned to ice but he did as he was told.

Don came in a few minutes later and found Colby sitting on the bed. The young agent paled when he saw a leather belt in Don's hand. But the belt was put on the desk for now and Don quickly made his way to his agent and had him stand up.

"Why are you getting this punishment, Colby?" he asked while pulling the younger man over his knees and taking his sweatpants down.

"Because I took pills I knew I shouldn't have and mixed them with alcohol." Colby responded immediately.

Don started swatting the backside in front of him. He didn't use too much force just wanting to provide a good warm up for the time being.

"And why is that not okay?" He inquired.

"Because something could have happened to me and the team would have been left one man short." Colby started gasping a little as his backside stung from the steady spanks Don dished out.

"And …?" Don prompted.

But Colby didn't answer. Instead he started squirming.

"Colby…" Don's tone grew more stern. His agent was either stubborn or still not getting it. He increased the force of the swats and concentrated on Colby's sit spot.

Still not getting a response Don stopped spanking for a moment and took his agent's boxer shorts down continuing with hard spanks on Colby's bare backside.

"Ow, stop" SPANK "Please" SPANK "Don" SPANK Colby protested.

"Colby" SPANK "we'll do this" SPANK "until you answer" SPANK "my question fully" SPANK "what would it have meant" SPANK "for the people who care about you if" SPANK "something happened to you?" SPANK

"I don't know," Colby started crying. In truth he just didn't want to admit it. After weeks of thinking the team didn't care for him anymore it was confusing to accept that he had been wrong.

Don sighed, stopped the spanking immediately and fixed Colby's clothes. He pulled his stunned agent to his feet and marched him into the corner. "I want you to stand here and really think," He instructed strictly, "When I come back I want an answer. How would Megan, Charlie, David and I have felt if something had happened to you? We have talked a lot about this and I know David talked to you yesterday. And our actions should have shown you what you mean to us and what loosing you would mean. But until you get that through your thick head all these punishments are useless. Use your time wisely." With these words Don turned and left the room.

Colby could not help crying. The spanking had not been all that painful but the sudden end and being put into the corner again was confusing. Don was clearly upset and Colby did only half understand why. It took him a few minutes to calm down and try to think about what Don wanted to hear. He started getting scared that if he did not give the right answer Don would just give up on him. But then he remembered all the times Don had assured him he would not ever do that. The young agent knew he just had to admit what he already knew in his heart.

Fifteen minutes later Don came back and went straight to his agent in the corner, "Tell me why Colby."

Silent tears made their way down Colby's face, "You all would have been sad if something had happened to me because you want me around."

Don smiled. That was a start. "Yes Colby," He said softly, "and not just that. We would have been devastated. You are important to all of us. Loosing you is just not an option. That's why I need to make sure you are not taking any foolish risks with your life again. Do you understand?"

Colby nodded.

"Ok, just stay put for a second." Don instructed patting Colby's shoulder.

The young agent could hear some scraping noises but did not dare to look until Don said, "Alright, come here."

Turning around Colby immediately knew what Don had in mind. The armchair that typically stood in a corner was turned around so that its back faced the room. Don stood next to it belt in hand. Colby paled and just shook his head no. There was no way he could walk over there and bent himself over that armchair for Don to whip his butt.

"Colby, to me" Don ordered strictly but the agent could not move.

"Don't make this harder on yourself than it has to be." Don warned.

Colby made two insecure steps but then fear took over and he just stood there.

Don sighed and walked over to the younger man. He knew he was making this very hard for Colby but he wanted him to accept responsibility for putting his life in danger – and more than that he wanted to never have to do this again. "Listen, I promise it will be okay. I want you to go over there, take your pants down and lean over the back of the chair."

Still there was no response and Don gave it one last try. "Ok, if you look me in the eye and honestly tell me that you don't deserve this I will reconsider."

Colby looked at him with hope in his eyes but immediately realized that he'd be unable to do that. Dropping his gaze to the floor he started moving towards the arm chair.

Once there Don put his hand on Colby's back and turned him a bit to look at him. "I am very proud of you."

That gave Colby the courage to take his own pants down and bend over the chair holding on to the seat. He swore to himself to never mess up bad enough to have to repeat this. He had always thought that being put over his boss's knees and having his pants taken down for him like a naughty child was horrible. But to submit to his punishment like this and not feel the support of being held on Don's lap was just so much worse. He started to cry a little in shame and fear.

Don sighed again and decided to just get it over with quickly. He placed his hand on the younger man's back and quickly landed the first lick on the center of Colby's backside. Colby could hear the loud smack before his butt exploded with pain. He barely had time to yelp before the second lick followed slightly lower than the first.

Colby could not believe how much worse the belt hurt and he still had his boxers on which he did not think would stay in place.

Don continued to spank Colby in a steady rhythm. He placed each lick lower than the previous one all the way down to the middle of the agent's tights. By the time he got there, Colby was crying heavily. Don felt horrible but he had to seal his heart against the younger man's distress. He needed to make this spanking memorable. After the first set, he stopped for a moment to give his youngest some time to get his breathing under control and lower his boxers.

Colby felt his underwear being taken down and tried to stop it with his right hand. But Don had been expecting something like this and just took the hand and pinned it to the small of his back – giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Please Don. Don't. I can't …" Colby protested sobbing hard.

"Ssh. It's ok. You know why you deserve this. I never want to have to spank you for putting your life in unnecessary danger again." Don responded soothingly.

Taking a deep breath he started the second set of licks right on top of the first – again from the middle of Colby's backside down to his mid-thighs. Colby was sobbing hard and each smack was met with a howl of pain. He had long since collapsed on the chair back not trying to support himself anymore. Don could see angry red stripes forming but he was very careful to not break any skin.

Originally he had intended to give Colby three sets with the belt but seeing his agent's reaction he couldn't bring himself to do it. So after the second set he put the belt aside and continued spanking Colby with his hand. He still did not say anything knowing his youngest would not be able to follow a lecture.

The hand spanks on top of the belt just spread out the heat and pain. All Colby could do was lie there limply, sobbing and accepting Don's punishment without a fight. He felt truly chastised. Finally Don decided that Colby had had enough and finished the spanking with 5 hard swats to his sit spot.

Colby did not realize that the spanking had stopped for a few minutes. Don just rubbed soothing circles on his back and murmured words of forgiveness in his ear. As Colby quieted down a bit Don pulled his boxers up which was met with a hiss of pain even though he had tried to be careful. Then he just pulled his sweat pants completely off and helped Colby stand up before guiding him over to his bed. Laying him down on his stomach Don continued to sooth the crying young man. After a while Don could see Colby's eye lids dropping and just let him drift off to sleep. Their talk could wait until later.

Two hours later he was just putting the finishing touches on his dinner preparations he could hear a yelp and a thud coming from Colby's room. Taking two steps up the stairs at once he got there quickly and found his agent kneeling next to the bed.

After he had helped him up Colby just glared at him, "I tried to sit up."

Don grimaced, "Ouch."

Colby had folded his arms and continued to stare at him moodily.

"Do you need the bathroom and a shower before we talk?" Don tried to diffuse the situation.

"I don't need anything. Thank you very much." Colby snapped at him sarcastically.

Don stepped close to his agent looking him straight in the eyes and lectured. "You better not be sulking because you got a punishment you deserved. I suggest you go take a shower and leave the attitude behind. Otherwise you can go right back over my knees before we talk."

Colby just turned on his heels and stormed out of the room. He knew he was out of line. Don had warned him what would happen if he endangered his life again and he knew he deserved it. But waking up drowsily he had for a moment forgotten about the punishment and when his backside hit the mattress the pain was unbelievable.

In the bathroom he looked at his butt in the mirror and was surprised that it didn't look nearly as bad as it felt. You could see dark red stripes but no blisters or welts or broken skin at all.

After 30 minutes he came out and found Don waiting in his room.

"Are you feeling better?" the older agent asked.

Colby nodded. "Yes, sorry for giving you a hard time earlier. I know I deserved what I got."

Don looked at him with pride and smiled, "I am glad to hear it." Then he handed Colby some lotion, "Put this on. It should help a little. I'll be right back," and left the room.

Colby did what he was told, skeptical that it would work but thankful that Don tried to make him feel better. His boss came back just a few minutes later holding an icepack in his hands.

"Alright lay back down on the bed." He instructed and when Colby complied placed the ice on his backside.

"So is there anything you want to talk about?" Don started of after pulling up a chair next to the bed. Colby just shrugged.

"Okay then let me make sure you got the full message. You have long been forgiven for the things that happened in the past few months. And now it is important for you to forgive yourself. I am not giving up on you nor will you be abandoned by any of us. We are still your family and would like to go back to the way things were. You are important to me and everyone on this team. All of us would be devastated if we lost you. Do you understand?" Don asked intensely.

Silent tears were falling down his agent's cheeks. Nodding he whispered, "Thank you."

Don pulled the younger man into a hug, "I meant every word. And this also means if you put your life at risk again you can expect the same treatment. I hope we'll never have to repeat this, Colby."

"Me too." Colby let out a rueful smile between his tears, "Are you still going to do the other thing you said?"

"What other thing?" Don asked innocently.

Colby blushed, "You know. The other spankings."

Don sighed, "Yes. Though dependent on what your butt looks like I may put it off for two days instead of starting tomorrow. But then you will go over my knees for a bare bottom spanking every night before bed for a week. However, these spankings will be nothing compared to the one you got today and even lighter than your normal ones." Don tried to calm his agent's nerves.

Seeing his agent look upset he added with feeling, "Colby, I know this is a lot of punishment but I hope it deters you from ever doing something this foolish again. Okay?"

Colby nodded in acceptance.

"Alright, you have one more hour to do what you want up here and then you are expected downstairs for dinner." Don changed the subject.

"Don, please," Colby pleaded, "Don't make me sit through dinner. I can't. My butt hurts too much. And I don't want to see anybody today. Please let me stay up here. I am not hungry anyway."

Don's tone grew weary, "This isn't up for discussion. You are to come down in an hour and spend time with us. I invited them for a reason. I want you to feel the support of your family tonight. Besides ..." he added with a small smile, "Megan and David have been calling nonstop tonight. There is no way I could keep these two away until they are satisfied that you are alright."

"Oh," was Colby's surprised response. He still didn't think he could sit through dinner but it made him feel good to hear Don's intentions behind the evening and that his teammates were checking up on him. Maybe the older agent would allow him to stand during the meal.

An hour later when Colby walked stiffly down the stairs his face lit up at the scene in front of him. All the chairs had been put aside and Don had prepared a buffet for dinner – so everybody was standing. He should have known that Don would not make him suffer. He shot the man he had become to regard as a mixture of an older brother and mentor a grateful look. Don just nodded smiling.

The evening did exactly what Don had hoped for. Colby had conversations with each of his teammates, Charlie and even Alan. They all reassured him that he'd been forgiven and after the punishment he had just received Colby was ready to accept their forgiveness. As the evening wore on some of that old banter and joking returned together with a sense of normalcy.

Over the next 2 weeks everybody fell into a rhythm. Megan and David came to visit as often as they could. Don and sometimes Charlie stayed up with Colby at night when he could not sleep and during the day Don stayed home and kept the younger man company. He gave up all pretenses that movies or trips to the golf course or the occasional afternoon at the beach were not really supposed to be part of being grounded. Don did whatever got a smile out of "the kid". One thing he did not give up on however were the promised bedtime spankings.

So every night around 10 pm Don sent Colby upstairs to get ready for bed. A few minutes later the young man would find himself face down over Don's lap getting a spanking on his bare backside that caused quite a bit of squirming and stinging but wasn't enough to cause more than a few tears. Colby hated it and toyed with the idea of begging Don to stop every day. Don hated it no less and considered letting his surrogate 'little brother' off the hook multiple times. But neither said a word believing this was something they needed to see through.

Once it was over however both of them were incredibly relieved and just enjoyed hanging out together and with the team – something for which Megan teased both of them mercilessly claiming that Don was much stricter during the time she was grounded.

When Colby finally moved back to his own apartment – not without a set of rules from Don – the older agent figured there might still be some bumps in the road ahead of them but on the whole things seemed to be back to normal.