"Did I stutter?" Gibbs asked coolly as his order was nervously ignored. "Or are you still labouring under this delusion that the rules don't apply to you the way they do to Ziva and the boys?" He gestured towards her sweats yet again before turning away, his face setting into a grim line. "Get them down. I won't ask again, I assure you." Ziva, who couldn't see the two, felt her stomach drop. Surely…surely Abby wasn't going to make matters even worse for herself. She surely wouldn't be so stupid as to push Gibbs even further then he had been, which was a lot further than she'd seen in a long time.
The coolness of his tone wounded Abby as tears began to shine in her eyes. He never spoke to her like that, ever. Biting her lip as he resolutely stared away; she gulped and began fumbling with the drawstring of her faded sweats. She'd been spanked by the man far more times than she cared to remember, but he was never this…un Gibbs-ish. She let her sweats fall slowly, her t-shirt nearly past her knees easily protecting her modesty and swallowed hard. "Uhh…" She didn't get to finish that thought as Gibbs turned back to her and smartly took her by the wrist and draped her over his knee. Like with Ziva, she instantly knew when he placed her over one knee, pinning her into place that it was going to be bad.
But she didn't realise how bad.
Squeaking despite herself, she felt her eyes widen as her panties were tugged swiftly down, just enough as was necessary. He never did that, ever. She knew he said she wasn't getting the same warm-up as Ziva, but she didn't think he was that serious about it. As if anticipating her protest, Gibbs spoke lowly in a tone that most certainly didn't brook any argument. "I don't want to hear it. I've allowed you far too much leeway and it stops now. You're going to get the punishment you deserve and I'm not about to hear any word of complaint, right?"
As the arm circled around her waist with a horrifying firmness, Abby knew the answer.
"Yes Gibbs."
The last syllable had just left her when his hand cracked down for the first time. Her already wide eyes, hidden in her buried arms grew wider. The combination of the force he was using, the horrendously early loss of protection and the anger she could still feel from him made her heart sink. She didn't have time to dwell on it however as the hand landed for a second time, directly across from the first one. Tears instantly sprang up once more in her eyes. She didn't even care to try and take it like a woman. He was spanking so hard and so soon that she couldn't help the hiss that escaped her as he fell into a regular rhythm. He was methodical but speedy as he worked to splash coats of red across her unprotected rear with impunity.
Ziva chewed her lip in the corner. Her own backside was still smarting terribly and the last tear was still glistening on her face. But she would do it all again if she could trade places with Abby. This listening was terrible. It sounded like a bulldozer meeting its mark when Gibbs' hand collided with the lab rat's butt. She was quite sure he hadn't spanked her as hard as he was Abby, which was mind boggling. Even though she was the brains of this latest stunt, he was never anything but gentle with his favourite. But as she heard Abby's yelping that had quickly morphed from intermittent to consistent, she knew that this was different. Gibbs had really had enough.
He knew he was being a truckload harder on his eldest girl that he usually would be, or perhaps had ever been, but that didn't stay his hand. The exasperated team-lead had really had his fill of the manipulation and the disobedience and he was determined to make an impression. He knew Abby didn't mean any malice or conniving in her actions, and that she let her heart run away with her brain, but still. He couldn't have it anymore. What she had organised could have bottom blasted his team right into the unemployment market, and she was so impulsive, that fact had gone sailing over her head. Sighing slightly, he lowered his hand and raised his knee simultaneously. Abby's butt was already a crimson red, but he wasn't finished.
The first sob tore from her throat when he began leathering her sit spots. They'd already been well spanked, but apparently that wasn't good enough this time. Tears poured down Abby's face with gusto as she lost the will to squirm. She couldn't really anyway, he held her too tight. Lying limply across his knee, she merely wept as he tanned her most tender skin without a word. She knew in her gut that the metal stools in her lab were off limits for the foreseeable future. Her sobs were loud as he started another volley of fast but desperately firm swats all over her scorched behind.
And then, it was over.
The swats stopped coming.
The hand that had held her so tightly as she was punished was removed, and her legs freed. There was a small and gentle rubbing at her back, but there were no soothing words. Despite the haze of tears and pain, Abby knew that meant something, and that something was a bad something. When the voice did speak, it still carried that undercurrent of ire, but it was at least, slightly softer. "Up you get now, come on…" She felt herself be gently pulled to her feet, as she sniffed through her tears to pull her clothing back up. "Don't bother," Gibbs interjected quietly, as he guided her forwards slightly, "I'm not done with you yet."
Abby's heart instantly landed in the deepest depths of Narnia.
Placing his arm around her shoulders, her t-shirt once again providing privacy, Gibbs walked Abby three steps forward and stopped. She blinked at him in confusion. They were standing behind his low to the ground sofa; the one that Tony routinely hollered was "his spot." Turning her to face the back of the couch, Gibbs arched a brow. "Wait here." Before she could utter a confused word, he had turned his back to her and was striding towards a stiff looking Ziva. Taking her out of the corner gently, he led her without a word to where Abby stood, tears still streaming freely down her face as she didn't dare to reach back and rub. The two girls shot each other looks of pure misery as Gibbs pointed seriously to the back of the sofa and sighed. They watched in horror as he reached between the cushions and extracted an obviously pre-planted but unknown, small but solid wooden paddle.
"Over."
The two looked at him wide eyed. They had never once been paddled by Gibbs, no matter how much he threatened it. Ziva's mind worked quickly and she rapidly picked up on a lengthy complaint Tony had made after an appointment with a much described paddle that looked exactly like the one Gibbs held. Seeing the non-compliance, Gibbs felt a cloak of weariness engulf him. "I told you, didn't I? I warned you that if you chose these consequences, it would be a spanking of a lifetime. You know full well I don't make promises I don't keep. You two need a lesson you're not going to forget in a week, or in a month, or whenever you feel like it." He tapped the paddle against his hand and raised a brow. "So, for the second and last time, get your butts over that sofa."
Ziva and Abby stared, rooted to the spot, their eyes fixated on the ominously well worn paddle.
Gibbs sighed.
Letting the paddle rest on the cushions, he quickly but carefully reached Abby first. Guiding her by the shoulders, he gently turned and placed her over the sofa. She stiffened but otherwise complied as he quietly told her to hang on to the seating cushions. Turning to Ziva, who was still staring in muted horror, he swallowed another sigh. Giving her the exact same treatment as Abby, relief pricked him when she didn't fight it. The two were evenly spaced apart, giving him standing room. Misery dogged him as he pulled back Abby's t-shirt, folding it neatly on her back. It dogged him further as he sidestepped back to Ziva, and returned her sweats to their previously lowered state.
Stepping back he picked up the paddle to the background of slight whimpering and realised why he'd never done this with the girls before. It hurt. Cliché as it might be, he knew what he was about to do was going to say with him a lot longer than it would them. Starting with Abby, he bit his lip as he tapped the small but efficient paddle against her ruby red backside. He'd done a very thorough job with his hand, but it required reinforcement. Knowing that to delay things would make it all so much worse for three of them; he placed a restraining hand on the small of her back, a hand much more used to the small of the boys' backs. The thwack of the first lick seemed alien to him as his heart sank. His anger that was controlled but had served him well up to this point was leaving him now, and he desperately wanted it to be over.
Her answering cry of pain produced a lump in his throat that he tried valiantly to swallow down. He brought the paddle down five more times in rapid and forceful succession before removing his hand and stepping away. Sidestepping to Ziva, he glanced down to see that his younger girl had reached out and grabbed the hand of his elder one as he'd punished her. The lump in his throat grew larger as he placed a similarly restraining hand on Ziva's back. Her six swats were quick but they were as thorough as Abby's and her answering yelp of pain was just as hard to take. Closing his eyes, he leaned down to her as he rubbed her back and told her it was over. Moving back to Abby, using the last of their privacy before Ziva stood; he landed three more hard licks on her roasted rump before leaning down and telling her the same thing.
Leaving the paddle between the two of them, he turned on his heel into the kitchen. Leaning over the counter and taking in deep breaths, he splashed ice cold tap water across his face. That was without doubt, one of the hardest punishments he'd ever had to give, and he knew the sick feeling in his gut wasn't going to go away for a while. Drying his face, he grabbed two bottled waters from the fridge, and figuring they'd had enough time and privacy to right their clothing, returned to the living room. The sight of and sounds of Abby lowly but sincerely as all hell apologising to Ziva greeted him. As too did the tight hug Ziva pulled Abby into as she murmured quietly into her ear.
Clearing his throat after they'd released one another, Gibbs walked slowly into the room as they turned to him. Handing them both a water, he kept his own emotions carefully of his face as they drank noisily, the last of their tears glistening on their faces. Picking up the paddle and seeing the look on their faces, he shook his head in reassurance as he moved to stand in front of them. "No, we're done," he assured quietly, "But I need you to listen to me for another minute or so ok?" He waited as they nodded slowly, tears still in their eyes, though unshed.
"Firstly, you need to know that if you ever pull a stunt even remotely like this again…I will give you that exact same spanking once a week for a month, and I'm not joking. Do you understand me?"
Two flushed and tear stained faces nodded back to him in understanding.
They knew he wasn't joking.
"Secondly, you will both apologise to the boys for the danger you put their jobs in. You will also realise that this," he gestured around his house, "Is prison until I say otherwise. No parties, no friends, no fun…nothing. Just work and home. Is that clear?"
That was pretty much a foregone conclusion, so despite their increased misery, both nodded mutely.
"Thirdly, and this is the most important point," Gibbs continued, as he threw the paddle down out of his hands. "As angry as I was with you pair, you both took your punishment very well and I'm very proud of you. I know you didn't mean any actual harm by your actions, but you both…" he focussed his gaze on Abby, who nodded her understanding, "Need to think before you act in future. I never, and I mean this….I never want to have to use that paddle with either of you again, ok?"
He swallowed, the lump still present, before saying a word that had both girls eyebrows shooting up.
"Please?"
They stared at him for a moment, their jaws slightly ajar, the pain in their butts slightly muted by the shock. He stared back at them, unusually unperturbed by his openness, fighting the lump that seemed to grow bigger the longer he looked at their tear stained faces. He always hated punishing any of his four with more than a look, or a stern word or a headslap. He hated it. But today…had been even worse than he'd imagined, the pressing sphere on his windpipe not letting him forget it. He grew uneasy when they didn't answer him, but merely exchanged looks with each other. About to open his mouth, and say…well he wasn't sure, they beat him to it.
He blinked rapidly as his lungs screamed in protest.
Abby had his right lung in a frenzy as she wrapped her arms tightly around his chest, burying her face into it. Ziva had a grip on his left lung, which was naturally a lot stronger than the stranglehold Abby held. Her head was also buried into his chest, well, what little room Abby left that was. Recovering quickly, Gibbs felt the lump disintegrate as he drew his arms up to wrap around the pair, pressing a kiss to the top of each of their heads. The three stayed like that for quite a while, aware that it had been an usually charged day, finding comfort in each other, something Ziva was rapidly getting better at.
Eventually breaking away, Gibbs felt the warmth of their embrace stay with him, as he looked at the two who were looking much less miserable. He again opened his mouth to say something he didn't know, but was again beaten to it. "We don't hate you, we'd never hate you," Abby announced quietly, her voice still throaty; "Yes…we do not, nor would we," Ziva added softly, her brown eyes full of honesty. Gibbs stared for a moment, floored by their ability to probe his soul, before shaking his head with a small, crooked smile.
"Pfft, you got what you had coming. Like I even care if you hate me for it. Please."
Small traces of the usual mischievous smirks flitted across both girls faces as they saw straight through the bluster. "Sure thing," Abby drawled as Ziva laughed lowly in the background. Sighing as he realised he was fighting a losing battle, Gibbs muttered a chagrined "Whatever. Even Tony is so much easier than you pair." Ziva's gentle laugher blew into a raucous giggle that Abby instantly emanated, and Gibbs knew he had made a fatal error.
"What?" he demanded, hiding the outrageous happiness he felt upon hearing their laugher, "What now?"
Side stepping him in tandem and heading towards the kitchen where he just knew they were going to make some god awful creation, before forcing him to watch something equally heinous, they continued laughing. Watching them go with narrowed eyes, he raised a brow. "Hey, I said what now?" Their chuckling grew louder as they loitered in the door way, their eyes alight with an odd mixture of tears and mirth, clearly thinking the same thing.
"Well…" Ziva murmured devilishly, "Just wait until we tell Tony that you said he was your favourite. He will be positively thrilled, no?" Gibbs' heart instantly sank as Abby's peals of laughter soared upwards. "He'll never let you hear the end of it," she spluttered, "Can we ring him now?" She glanced towards Ziva who was vigorously rubbing her butt, and nodding her head. Gibbs felt a migraine coming on as he shook his head vigorously.
"I will kill you," he threatened lowly, "I will-"
The doorbell cut him off.
Departing to answer it with a last warning gaze that only sent the girls into further splutters, Gibbs sighed and hid a small smile at the sounds of it. He realised he'd locked the door for certain reasons as he explained the unusual ringing of the doorbell to himself. Throwing it open, he knew instantly that the God's were against him as Tony leaned in the doorway, his arms folded. Labouring under several pizza boxes beside him was Tim, who offered a muffled "hey Boss," over the tops of the steaming food.
"Boss, your door is locked and we know something is going on with Abby and Ziva and we were just doing our duties in making sure you didn't kill them." Smartly side stepping a weary Gibbs into the house, as Tim mirrored his movements to the left, Tony caught sight of the girls in the kitchen. He could instantly tell they'd had a…discussion, and instantly resolved to cheer them up. Grabbing the boxes out of an equally minded Tim, they both sent gentle smiles in their direction.
"We got both of yours' favourite. What are we watching?"
Closing the front door, Gibbs grew even more wearied when the two bounced in from the kitchen and accepted their pizzas gratefully. As the four settled into the sitting room, Ziva and Abby more slowly, and on cushions, which the boys didn't comment on, he found himself smiling despite himself. That was of course until Ziva shot a devilish glance in his direction, and nudged Abby in the ribs.
"Tony?"
Mouthful of pizza and remote in hand, DiNozzo tipped back his head and raised a brow. "Uh huh?" Ziva and Abby spluttered over food and laugher as Gibbs' groan nearly drowned out their in unison "We've got something to tell you." Before they could open their mouths, the team-lead had promptly thrown himself on the seat between them, sending them an unusually pleading come playful look. His "Please don't do this to me, I'll never live through it," was so quiet only they could hear, and shooting each other expressive looks they grinned in tandem.
"Nothing," Abby informed a patiently waiting Tony, "Only that we're not watching anything in black and white."
Shrugging at her galling lack of sophistication, he turned back to his argument with Tim, ignoring the other three in their wars. Sighing gratefully, Gibbs draped a shoulder over each girl beside him and smiled when they leaned contentedly against him. Squeezing them gently, he felt truly relaxed for the first time that evening as he spoke quietly to them.
"That's my girls."
…..
A/N: Decided to keep the conclusion of the girls' storyline and the conclusion of Ducky's separate. Fan, you're right! It would have been too long or disjointed a chapter. Thanks for your feedback, as always, it's truly appreciated! Just to let you know, it won't be the same kind of corporal resolution between Ducky and Gibbs as between Gibbs and co, as I'd just find that really weird! I'll think of something else!
A/N(2): Generally, I always seem to have a long WIP NCIS fic. Though this is the longest I've done I think. I was just looking for your opinions as to whether you'd rather this one came to an end and maybe a new one started down the line somewhere, or to have this one just continue, alternating between all the characters/different storylines etc? *Unsure author alert*
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