Chapter 4

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! It was very much appreciated! To answer your question nameless guest, the spanking will not be with any implements. The reason I included mention of that was to stay in accordance to ficwriterjet's story "The Mature Adult" which this story was based off of. I will explain how Gregson gets around spanking with a belt in this chapter. This will be my first time writing a spanking scene, so if I didn't handle it well feel free to leave me some pointers in either a review or PM. :) Thank you.

Warning: This chapter will contain the spanking of an adult by a father figure. Now you have been warned. :) Now on with the story!

It took Marcus quite a while to calm down, but finally the tears abated and he was able to get his breathing under control. He didn't loosen his grip on Gregson, still a bit fearful that this was a dream. He couldn't believe how the day had turned out. He had come home feeling like his relationship with Gregson was ruined, and now Gregson was saying that he thought of Marcus as his son. He'd dreamed for years of this happening, but he'd never really thought it would. Now that it had he was scared that it would all be ripped away from him like some kind of cruel joke.

He shyly looked up at Gregson to see what he thought of this turn of events, but Gregson had a far off look in his eyes, and Marcus couldn't tell. He didn't want to ruin the moment by talking so he put his head back down on Gregson's chest and waited for him to make the first move.

Gregson didn't notice Marcus's anxiety, as he was facing problems of his own. He knew that he would have to punish Marcus, but he didn't know how. He was going to discuss it with Marcus, but they had gotten side tracked. Once Gregson had told Marcus that he thought of him as his son, he knew there was no going back to the earlier conversation. By accepting Gregson as his father, or at least father figure, Marcus was essentially becoming the child in the relationship. This meant that Gregson was, like in his relationship with Sherlock, the one in charge, the one calling the shots. Unfortunately he was also the one who had to figure out what punishment Marcus could handle.

He'd briefly considered using the same punishment he had planned to use on Sherlock, but now he was thinking that the punishment wasn't the right course of action, for either Marcus or Sherlock. When he had first thought of spanking Sherlock he had done it with his own childhood spankings in mind. His father had always used his belt for all his childhood misdemeanors, spanking him and leaving the comforting to his mother.

His father had never been a physically affectionate man; Gregson supposed that was why he himself had a problem showing people he cared. Yet he had never doubted that his father loved him, he had just shown it in different ways, like how he would get this special smile when he had done something right, or praising him when he learned something new. Looking down at the man in his arms right now, he knew he could not handle this as his father would have.

He had handled the belt because he had never been one for closeness during a punishment. He had never needed the reassurance that he was loved and cared for. Unlike him, Sherlock and Marcus had not grown up in stable homes where they knew indefinitely that they were loved and forgiven for their transgressions once the punishment was over. Marcus's mother had probably tried, but between the death of her husband, working two to three jobs, and worrying about her older son's gang activity, Marcus had most likely slipped through the cracks. Sherlock's father, at least from what he could gather, was a bastard. He didn't know much more than that, Sherlock never talked about it. All he knew was what Joan had told him (*In ficwriterjet's story "The Mature Adult) that the man was neglectful, to the point that he left some pretty bad emotional scars on his son, making him, according to Joan, physically and mentally an adult, but emotionally a child.

Which lead him back to the fact that, considering the current emotional state both his "charges", he knew that he could not spank them with his belt. It would create too much of a divide between him and them, which is the opposite of what the spanking is trying to accomplish. He wanted the punishment to be about showing them that he cared for them and wanted them to be safe and happy, not to see how much pain he could cause them. Joan had said that the more emotionally attached they got to him, the less likely they would do something to upset him. Still, he couldn't just let them get away with what they had done. They needed some kind of punishment to ensure that this would never happen again.

He felt Marcus shift closer; the anxiety was coming off the younger man in waves. Marcus had no idea what to expect from him, and Gregson had no idea what he was going to do. He wondered what Joan would do in this situation. She always seemed to know what was going on with the people around her, something Gregson thought he to possessed until recently. Now that he thought about it, Joan would probably make them tea and talk about their feelings, which Gregson was definitely not going to do. For one thing that wouldn't be punishment, and two he really didn't think that he would be able to do that anyway. He was going to have to handle it his own way.

At that moment a thought came to him. He could have a punishment that was equal parts his father and Joan. A punishment that both showed Marcus and Sherlock that he cared about them, and also showed his displeasure. He would still spank them, but instead of using his belt he would use his hand. That way there would be a connection between him and them during the punishment, which would enable them to see that he was doing it for their own good, and he would provide the comfort that was needed for them to feel forgiven afterward.

After this, he mused, he would to have to go fishing or something to hold on to what was left of his manliness.

Glad that he had finally decided on a method of punishment he shifted Marcus up to a sitting position, nudging Marcus's head up so they were eye to eye.

"How're you holding up?"

The question caused Marcus's face to heat up, embarrassed that Gregson was treating him like a kid, yet he had to admit that he was enjoying being looked after, no matter how much the more mature part of his brain was screaming at him to man up. 'Screw it', he thought, after all that had happened that night, he doubted Gregson cared if he was a bit more needy than usual. At least, he hoped he didn't mind.

"I'm okay."

Gregson squeezed his shoulder for a second, flashing him a quick smile, then withdrew, schooling his features into a more stern expression.

"Alright, then I think it's time to deal with what brought this all about. I've already told you why hiding evidence from me is a bad idea, and that from now on I am going to be taking a more active role in your life, helping you make the right choices. Part of helping you make the right choices is giving you consequences for when you make the wrong choice. Before you ask, I do the same for Sherlock, and if you and I are going to share this kind of a relationship then you'll have to follow the same rules as he does. Are you prepared to do that?"

"Yes sir, I'll take whatever punishment you see fit." Despite saying that, Marcus still started to sweat a little. Gregson had said that he didn't think suspending him would help him learn his lesson, yet when Sherlock had tried to murder someone he had gotten a suspension, albeit a short one. Had Gregson changed his mind about suspending him? He hoped not, those weeks after the Mitchell case had been hell. But, if it meant being treated like Gregson's son, he would do just about anything.

"Alright, then I'll need you to stand up and then position yourself over my knee."

"Sir?"

"You heard me Marcus."

"But, why?"

"I'm going to spank you as punishment Marcus."

"That's my punishment? Captain, I'm a grown man! That's a punishment for kids!" said Marcus standing up and regarding Gregson with a mixture of confusion and annoyance and the suggestion that Gregson expected to submit to something so childish.

"And what are you?" asked Gregson, one eyebrow raised, looking up at Marcus, fixing with a piercing gaze. Seeing Marcus was about start an argument Gregson answered his own question. "You are an adult, I know that, but I don't think you are on an emotional level." Gregson squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He really needed that fishing trip after this. Was it possible to choke on your own mushiness? He opened his eyes and continued he'd made it this far and there was no turning around now.

"You need the emotional support that much is obvious, and I'm willing to give you that, because I do care about you and want to see you happy. Believe me, after the spanking you'll be forgiven, which is a lot better than letting your guilt fester like you let it during your suspension during the Mitchell case.

You said you'd take any punishment I saw fit, and this is what I've chosen. If you truly want me to treat you like a son then this is what you will come to expect when you go against the rules." After saying his piece Gregson waited, knowing that Marcus was going to have to decide for himself this time, had to make the choice of whether this was really what he wanted. If this wasn't 100% Marcus's choice then Gregson knew he would have to fight him every time he needed to punish him. Marcus either needed to realize that this was what he needed, or that this was not the kind of relationship he wanted to have with Gregson. There was no in between.

Marcus chewed his lip, hesitating before taking a step closer. "You promise that you'll forgive me?"

There was a tugging in Gregson's heart when he heard the childish, innocent question. "I promise that I will always forgive you after a punishment, no matter what."

Satisfied with the answer Marcus slowly laid himself across Gregson's lap, giving the man his complete trust, knowing that he would take care of him.

Gregson smiled down at him. "Good choice kid," he said, giving Marcus's back a quick rub before getting on to the task at hand.

The first swat came as a shock, and Marcus quickly threw his hand back to protect his nether regions. Gregson quickly trapped it behind his back and continued. Marcus continued to struggle, this hurt way more than he had thought! There was no way Gregson could only be using his hand! After about 15 swats Marcus decided that it was enough, so he made to get up. Gregson put his leg over Marcus's and continued.

Finding himself trapped, Marcus started to become vocal about his displeasure. "Captain, I think that's enough now!"

In an even voice, not even slowing his pace, Gregson said "That's not up to you to decide, it's over when I feel that you're learned your lesson."

"But I've learned my lesson now!"

He was met with silence, and now it was really starting to hurt. He stayed quiet and focused on not crying. He had done that enough today, he wanted to show Gregson that he was able to at least take a child's punishment without acting like a baby.

Gregson looked down at Marcus, and seeing that he stopped struggling he decided that the boy was ready to listen now. "Hiding evidence from me is dangerous and foolhardy. If I don't know what's going on then I can't protect you, and I've promised both myself and you that I will look after you, and I don't break my promises. I need you trust me, I need you to understand that you can't do this again. I will keep you safe, you're not alone anymore."

Silent tears started falling down Marcus's cheeks, both from the words and the spanking. "I know sir, I will. I promise."

"Good. Then trust me when I say that it was not your fault what happened. You made a few bad choices, but what happened to both Curtis Bradshaw and your brother was not your doing. The blame for that rests solely on Reyes, not you okay?"

The tears started coming faster, and it started to become a bit harder to breathe, the guilt. "B-but if I h-had come to you sooner,-ow- my b-brother wouldn't –ouch- have been h-hurt."

"Did you shoot him?"

"N-no."

"Then it's not your fault. Feeling guilty is not going to help anyone. You need to let go Marcus. I forgive you, Andre forgives you. It's time to forgive yourself."

After hearing that Marcus couldn't hold back any longer, and started sobbing, burying his face into Gregson's pant leg, trying to muffle his cries. Gregson decided that Marcus was just about done and landed ten particularly hard swats bringing the spanking to a close. He started to rub Marcus's back, humming a song that his mother had sang to him after his own spankings.

'I turning into an old softie' he thought, though there was no venom behind it, merely an observation. Marcus started to calm down a bit, and Gregson went about helping him up, letting Marcus lean against him for support.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Wiping away his latest bout of tears, he was going to have such a headache in the morning, Marcus was about to reply that no, the only thing different was that now his but hurt. Yet upon pausing for a moment he realized that even tough the guilt wasn't altogether gone he did feel much better. The knowledge of what he done was still there, but sick feeling the bottom of his belly was gone. Knowing that Gregson wasn't angry at him anymore had greatly helped, as well as the knowledge that he wasn't alone in dealing with his pain, that Gregson would help him.

"I d-do feel a b-bit better," he said, gently leaning his head against Gregson's shoulder.

Gregson smiled bringing him arm around the kid's neck and drawing him closer, pulling him into a half hug as they sat there, waiting for Marcus to catch his breath. Gregson looked up at the clock and noticed it was almost 7, remembering he still had to deal with Sherlock tonight.

He slowly got up, stretching to get the kinks out of him back, rubbing his face with his hands. This was going to be a long night. He reached down to offer Marcus a hand up, and then lead the exhausted kid to bed. Marcus all but collapsed on his bed, leaving Gregson to pull the covers up over him.

"I have to go deal with Sherlock, are you going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine dad." Marcus instantly froze, wide awake now, looking up and Gregson to judge his reaction to the slip.

"Alright buddy, goodnight."

Gregson didn't think he'd ever see a smile so bright as Marcus's right then.

"Night."

Once he got back to his car Gregson leaned his forehead on the steering wheel and sighed.

One down, one to go.

A/N- Finally after all this build-up I hope this chapter was good. Review if you would like, it just might inspire me for the next chapter. :)