SINCE I AM GETTING FUSSED AT, I AM PUTTING THIS IN ALL CAPS:
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Charlie gets PADDLED in this chapter, DO NOT READ if this is going to offend or bother you. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED NOW! DO NOT LEAVE A REVIEW COMPLAINING ABOUT IT!
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Daddy crossed his arms in front of his chest and frowned at me.
"I, uh, need a drink," I rasped out.
Daddy pointed at the door. "Go in and sit down at the table," he said. We all walked in to the room and I sat. He walked over to the sink and got me a drink of water, using the plastic cup that was next to the sink. He brought it over and handed it to me, and I drank all the water and put the cup on the table.
I looked up at them- they were all standing in front of me, and they all looked stern and frowny. Again.
"I, uh, I was upset," I twisted my fingers together in my lap. "I was tired of bein' in the car, and I wanted to get something that I wanted, and I just...I grabbed them off the shelf and put them in my pocket real quick."
"Charlotte Anne Winchester, I cannot believe you!" Daddy exploded, and I flinched. "What the hell, little girl?"
He looked over at Grandpa John. "See, Dad? See? I told you that it was going to come back and bite us if we didn't enforce the rules earlier."
"Didn't we tell you, that she's also restricted- that we're not leaving her alone right now because she can't be trusted? How could you just let her wander off like that, Dad?" Uncle Sam shook his head.
"Sam, it happened so fast, I let go of her hand so I could pour myself a cup of coffee, and then a couple of seconds later she was gone. Not that that is any excuse, mind you. I should have been paying closer attention." Grandpa John said. "I'm sorry."
"And she should have stayed right by your side." Daddy said. "Shouldn't you, Charlie?" He frowned at me again.
I squirmed uncomfortably. "Uh, yeah," I mumbled, looking down at my hands again.
"Charlotte Anne, what do you have to say for yourself?" Uncle Sam asked, and his voice was deeper and more stern than I'd heard him before.
"I, uh- there was this little store next to the playground where we lived and the owner was friends with Mommy, and he always let me take some candy."
"This is different," Daddy said. "This was stealing, and you know that it was, otherwise you would have said something, and not hidden this in your pocket. This is the second time, little girl." Daddy held up the package of candy. "And what you said before... you took candy because you were tired of being in the car and you didn't like when Uncle Sam said no candy? You were proving to yourself that you could do what you wanted and get away with it?"
I blushed. "I... I guess."
"Do you realize that if you had been caught, we could have gotten into trouble?" Uncle Sam pointed to himself and Daddy. "The police could have gotten involved."
I stared up at him, feeling scared. "The...police?" I asked in a tiny voice.
"Yes, and one or both of us could have ended up in jail and you'd get taken away and probably never see us again." Uncle Sam put his hands on his hips.
I looked from him to Daddy, and then I started to cry.
"Stealing is a crime, little girl," Daddy said in a hard voice. "Do you know this?"
"Y-yes," I said.
"Did your mother teach you not to steal?"
"Y-yes," I repeated, and felt a tear slip down my cheek.
"Then why did you?" Uncle Sam asked.
"I—I don't know!" I wailed, and started to sob.
"Just because someone you knew used to let you take something from his store doesn't mean that you're allowed to do that everywhere else," Daddy said. "When are you going to realize that you can't just do what you want anymore? There are rules to follow, and consequences that will happen when those rules get broken."
He looked at Grandpa John and Uncle Sam. "Let's go talk," he pointed outside.
"You stay right there," he said to me, and the three of them left the room. They left the door open, and stood on the sidewalk, talking in low voices.
They glanced in at me every once in a while. Then Daddy got out his keys and got in the car and left. Uncle Sam came into the room and closed the door, then he pointed to the corner of the room.
"Go stand in the corner," he told me.
"Uh, can I have some more water please?" I asked.
"Get a drink," he came over to me. I walked over to the sink and filled the cup. I put the cup next to the sink when I was finished, and turned.
"Corner," Uncle Sam said.
"Where did Daddy go?" I asked him.
"No talking," he said sternly. I felt tears come to my eyes again. I stood in the corner and stared at the wall. I wished now that I hadn't taken the candy. Why had I? I had been tired of being in the car and annoyed at Daddy and Uncle Sam. Thinking about the other store and how Mr. Elliott always let me take some candy had made me remember how much freedom I had had with my Mom, how I had no rules and could do what I wanted.
Daddy and Uncle Sam kept telling me that things were different now, that I had rules I had to follow. I didn't like the rules, but I had to follow them, or I'd get into trouble. And now I was in big trouble. I didn't know what was going to happen- was I going to get spankings from both of them again? I swallowed nervously at the thought of that. Would I have to write hundreds and hundreds of lines? Or stand in the corner all night?
I shifted from foot to foot and then leaned my head on the wall. I was getting bored.
"Stand up straight, young lady. No leaning," Uncle Sam said.
I sighed and lifted my head up. Then I heard the door opening.
"Charlie, come here," Daddy said. I turned, and walked over to him.
"Sit down," he pointed at the bed. I sat down on the end and looked up at him. Uncle Sam was sitting at the table with his laptop open.
Daddy was holding a plastic bag in his hands. "We've told you several times now that things have changed, and that you can't just do what you want any more, but it doesn't seem to be getting through to you. It's time for you to start falling in line and following the rules. No more warnings, it's straight to consequences from now on. Although, it seems like times outs and writing lines aren't getting through to you... so now you're going to get a more serious consequence."
Daddy reached into the bag and pulled out a small wooden paddle. "When rules are broken or you misbehave, you're going to get swats from the paddle added on to the end of your spanking, depending on what you've done," he told me. "I'm going to give you a spanking for breaking the rules and walking away when you were with Grandpa John, and you'll get three with the paddle. Tomorrow night at bedtime, you'll get a spanking from Uncle Sam, for stealing, and you'll be getting 4 swats with the paddle, because you stole twice."
I stared up at the paddle, feeling anxious. I had no idea what it was going to feel like, but if it was a more serious consequence, then it must hurt worse than a spanking.
"Uncle Sam and Grandpa John are going to go get food for us, and we're going to eat in the room tonight," Daddy said.
Uncle Sam stood up. "Be back in a little while."
Daddy came over and sat down next to me, and put the paddle on the bed.
"Let's get this over with," he said. "Stand up."
"Daddy, wait-" I said, my stomach twisting with nerves.
He raised his eyebrows and looked at me.
"I, uh, I-" I stuttered.
He shook his head. "No more stalling, little girl," he said. "I told you to stand up."
Tears came to my eyes and I felt scared. I stood up and turned to face him.
"What rules did you break?" he asked me.
I couldn't think just then. "Uh, I'm not s'posed to, uh—uh..."
"Always stay with a grownup when we are out, and no wandering off." he said sternly.
He took my wrist, and pulled me over to his right side, and then in one quick movement, had my shorts and underpants down and had turned me over his lap.
I yelped, "Dad-dy!" and then his hand came down on my bare bottom. A flurry of quick, sharp swats made me gasp and then wail.
I felt him lean over, and then I heard the paddle crack against my bottom and felt it a second later. It didn't look that big, but it covered my whole bottom and it felt like a lightning strike when it landed. I shrieked and then burst into tears.
"Daddy I'm sorryyyy!" I wailed, and then the second swat fell. I wriggled on Daddy's lap and tried to squirm off, but he put his hand on my back and held me there.
The third swat landed on the lowest part of my butt and I howled and kicked my feet. Somehow Daddy had managed to light my whole bottom on fire- at least that's what it felt like.
"You are going to learn the rules, and you are going to follow them, or you're going to get more of this, do you understand?" Daddy asked in a firm voice.
"Y-y-yes, Daddy," I heaved out. I did not want more of this, ever, and I told myself I was going to follow the rules from now on.
I laid there across his lap, sobbing, for a couple minutes, and then I felt him pulling my panties up and easing them over my sore rear end. Then he lifted me up and held me in his arms, against his chest, the way you'd hold a baby. I turned my face into his flannel and sobbed as he rocked me a little bit.
"Sorry, Daddy, sorry I was b-bad," My chest hitched as I tried to calm down.
"Shh, all right, it's done," he murmured. "It's over for now, sweetheart."
When I was calm, he stood me up, and then picked up my shorts and helped me put them on. They had gotten kicked off during the spanking.
"Go wash your face," he told me, and I walked over to the sink and splashed water on my face and blew my nose.
Daddy pulled out his phone and texted Uncle Sam. I walked back over to him and leaned on him, and he put his arm around me.
"I know you can be a good girl," he murmured, stroking my hair. "You're a smart girl, you just need help remembering the rules."
I climbed onto his lap and snuggled into him, and he said, "Let's talk about the rules right now. What did you just get in trouble for?"
"Uh, no going off by myself, an' always stay with a grownup when we're out." I replied.
"Good. What else?" I felt him stroking my hair back from my face.
"Um...no sassing or lying."
"Right. What else?"
"Don't put your hands on anyone else, no hitting or pushing."
"That's right...what else?"
"Don't answer the hotel door myself."
"Oh yeah, we made that one because of your aunt...also, do what you're told, without attitude or disrespect, hmm?"
"Okay, I mean yes, Daddy."
"Good girl," he said, hugging me tightly for a moment. I felt small and safe in his arms.
I hugged him back. "I love you, Daddy."
I felt him kiss the top of my head. "I love you too, sweetheart."
The door opened, and Uncle Sam and Grandpa John came into the room with a couple of bags. One of them had Chinese food in it, and we sat down at the table to eat together.
Grandpa John gave me a pair of chopsticks that were attached on one end, and showed me how to use them, but it was too hard for me.
"You'll get the hang of it, it is hard at first," he told me with a smile.
They had also gotten some beer for themselves, and Uncle Sam put them in the mini-fridge.
"While we were out, and looking for the Chinese restaurant, I saw a teacher's store, and I went in to get some things." Uncle Sam reached into another bag and pulled out a couple of books. "These are school workbooks, I thought I could teach you some things about fractions and pre-algebra, and it would give you something to do while we're in the car. I think you'll be able to understand it."
Daddy had brought the apple pie in, and Uncle Sam used the pie to explain about fractions and how things get divided up. Then he showed me how to do the work in one of the work books while we ate the pie for dessert.
"This is cool!" I said to him. "Thanks for showing me this stuff!"
"Good, I'm glad," Uncle Sam said. "Now you'll have something to do besides coloring and word searches."
After we ate, we all went for a walk. Grandpa John said that there was a fast food restaurant next to the hotel, that had a play area in it, so we went inside. They got coffee and sat at a table while I went into the play area and ran around. There were lots of kids there and it was very noisy.
Daddy came into the room and called to me, and I ran up to him. He looked down at me and chuckled. "You're all red-faced and sweaty, I guess you're going to need a bath. Let's go back to the room now."
"Okay, Daddy," I agreed, and I went to get my shoes.
Uncle Sam and Grandpa John sat on the sofa and talked while Daddy ran my bath, and I got out a nightgown and my hairbrush and toothbrush.
I brought the brush over to Uncle Sam when I was all finished, for him to brush my hair out.
"Did you brush your teeth?" Daddy asked. "It's about time for you to go to bed."
"Yes, Daddy, I already did." I replied. I put the brush back in the bathroom, and then walked back over to say goodnight. I stood in front of them and took a deep breath, then I said, "I'm sorry I was bad before and Grandpa John, I'm sorry I stole stuff when I was with you." I blushed as I said it, and stared at my feet.
Grandpa John reached for me and pulled me into his arms. "You know you did wrong, and you're going to try to do better, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that's what matters. You're a good girl, Charlie." He hugged me and kissed my forehead. "Good night, little one."
I hugged him, and he let me go, then I went to Uncle Sam.
"Thank you for apologizing," he said as he hugged me. "I know you can do the right thing." He dropped a kiss on my head and then let me go. Daddy walked me over to the bed, and I got under the covers. He sat down and hugged me tightly.
"Sleep well, Charlie," he said, and kissed my cheek. "We're going to go stand outside the room and talk while you're falling asleep, all right?"
"Okay, Daddy." I said. He tucked me in, and I rolled over and closed my eyes. All the running around had made me tired, and I fell asleep quickly.
I woke up with a start when I heard the mini-fridge door slam. I heard the sound of caps being taken off of beer bottles. They were talking quietly, sitting at the table.
"You know, watching you with Charlie, I've realized that I have a lot of regrets about how I raised you boys," Grandpa John said. "And I think I was letting those get in the way when I was with her, I let her do what she wanted because I was trying to, I don't know, make up for how strict I was with you. I'm also not used to a kid who's that headstrong and just does what they want- you boys obeyed me most of the time and would never have run off like she did. But I see now that you're right, Charlie does need rules and structure."
"Wow, Dad, that's pretty self- aware," Uncle Sam said.
"Especially for Mr. 'Suck It Up and Rub Some Dirt on It' John Winchester," Daddy said in a teasing way.
"Well, I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks. I know they say that having kids changes a man, but now I see that having a grand-kid changes you as well. Again, I'm sorry I didn't enforce the rules with her before. I feel like, if I had, maybe this whole debacle with the candy wouldn't have happened."
"Don't blame yourself, Dad," Uncle Sam said. "She's still going to be pushing the boundaries with all of us, until the rules get set in her head."
"I really hope she starts to take it seriously," Daddy said. "She's so smart, I hope she starts to remember the rules on her own so that we don't have to keep punishing her."
"Well, she's a Winchester, so she's also going to be as stubborn as all get-out," Grandpa John chuckled. "Sometimes the only way you boys would remember and learn something was through repeated hand-to- butt lessons."
"I don't think she's going to go that route, she's smarter than us in that respect. At least I think she is. Sometimes the stuff we got in trouble for was because we weren't using our heads." Uncle Sam chuckled too.
I rolled over, and Daddy came over to me. "Are we keeping you up?" he asked softly. "I'll rub your back to help you go back to sleep." He sat down on the edge of my bed and began to rub my back, and I eventually fell asleep again.
In the morning, we walked over to the fast food restaurant for breakfast, and then they let me run around for a long time. Uncle Sam and Grandpa John went back to the motel and packed everything, and Daddy stayed with me while I was in the play area.
I saw Uncle Sam coming in, and he called to me.
"We're ready to go, Charlie, come and use the rest room."
"Aww, do we hafta go?" I complained.
"Yes, we need to get going now." He held my shoes out to me. I put them on and went to the bathroom, and splashed cold water on my sweaty face and neck.
When we got in the car, Uncle Sam handed me the math workbook, and then another workbook.
"This one is for reading, it's got short stories in it that you read and then answer questions about, and then it's got vocabulary words to study." He showed me one of the stories. "We can study the words later if you want."
"My teacher said I had the biggest vocabulary of all the kids in second grade at the end of the year, last year," I told him.
"I believe it," he smiled at me.
Daddy turned around to look at me. "Let's go over the rules before we get started, just so they're fresh in your mind."
"Okay...um, always stay with a grown-up when we're out somewhere and no wandering off..."
Daddy and Uncle Sam nodded.
"No sassing, no lying, no putting your hands on anyone or hitting."
Uncle Sam chuckled and looked at Daddy. "Is that because of that kid on the playground?"
"Yeah," Daddy replied. "What else?"
"Don't answer the door by myself. And, uh, do what I'm told, without a attitude or disrespect."
"Good job." Daddy smiled at me and ruffled my hair.
"Good girl, Charlie," Uncle Sam said. They turned around and buckled their seat belts, and then Daddy glanced back at me. "Are you buckled? That's another one, always stay buckled when the car is moving...right?"
"Oh...yeah. And stay by the car after I get out."
"That's right, good job remembering." Daddy started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
I concentrated on the math workbook so much that the morning passed by quickly, and it seemed like suddenly we were stopping for lunch. We went into a big restaurant that had a lot of flyers about different things for tourists to do.
When we sat down at the table, Uncle Sam said, "I noticed that there's a rescue zoo just down the road from here, should we try and find out if it's any good?"
"Sure, we can take a break from driving," Daddy agreed.
Uncle Sam asked the waitress about it when she brought our menus.
"It's a small zoo, they have a lot of wild animals that were brought in the a park ranger when they got injured. They also have a bird sanctuary that you can go into, the birds are so tame that they'll eat right out of your hand." She told us with a smile.
After we ate, we went to the zoo. They had a big porcupine that had been injured, and some big hawks and an eagle that had been rescued and fixed up. There were goats and sheep that you could feed and pet, and llamas and an emu, which is a big funny looking bird. The bird house had lots of parakeets and cockatiels and they constantly flew all over the place. They had little sticks with birdseed on them, and when you held one, a bird would come over to you and land on your hand. The birds also would land on your shoulders and head, and there was one green and yellow bird that kept following Daddy around and landing on his head.
"What can I say, chicks dig me," he said with a grin.
By the time we left I was worn out from all the walking that we did, and I fell asleep in the back of the car. Daddy woke me up when we got to the motel. Uncle Sam had found one that had a park with a playground next to it, and he took me there after we got our rooms. Grandpa John's room was a few doors down from ours this time.
We found a diner- type restaurant to eat at for dinner, and then Daddy took me back to the playground after we ate so I could run around some more. He pushed me on the swings for a long time, and then told me that we should go back to the room.
"I want you to take a bath, you got all sweaty again," he said as we walked to the room together.
"Aww, do I have to? I want to watch a movie or something tonight." I said.
"Yes, you need another bath. And I don't think you're going to have time to watch anything tonight, it's already pretty late."
"That's no fair!" I complained. "I want to watch t.v.!"
"I let you play on the playground for a long time tonight because I think you need exercise more than you need to watch t.v., little girl. And you're still getting a bedtime spanking from Uncle Sam tonight."
I gulped as I remembered. We went into the room, and I got out my nightgown while Daddy ran the water for me. I took a long time, dawdling in the tub, and drying off. I was getting anxious.
Daddy knocked on the door. "You've been in there for quite a while now, and you need to get to bed. Come on, it's getting late."
I opened the door and got my brush. I took it over to Uncle Sam, and he asked, "Did you already brush your teeth?" as he brushed my hair out.
"Uh, yeah," I said.
Daddy took some clothes into the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower," he told us, and closed the bathroom door.
"All done," Uncle Sam handed me the brush, and I walked over to my bed and put the brush on the table between the beds.
"Can I do some more math right now?" I asked, picking up my drawing bag.
"No, we need to take care of something," Uncle Sam said. He had walked over to Daddy's duffle, and he took something out. My stomach twisted when I saw it was the paddle.
He walked back over to the table, pulling the chair out. He sat down and beckoned me to come to him with his hand, setting the paddle on the table.
"Charlotte Anne, I told you to come here." he said firmly.
"I learned my lesson, Uncle Sam," I tried to sound reasonable. "I did."
"I'm glad that you feel you've learned your lesson, but you still need to be punished for stealing."
He looked at me, and I looked at him. "Young lady, if I have to come get you, you'll get more swats added on. Is that what you want?" his voice was stern.
"No!" I walked slowly over to him, dragging my feet. I stood there and looked up at him, biting my lip nervously.
"Why are you getting this spanking?" he asked me.
Tears came to my eyes. " 'Cause I stole a book from a store an' then I stole candy from another store." I said in a small voice. "An' stealing is wrong and against the law."
He reached for me, and guided me over to his leg, and lifted me over his lap. His huge hand fell just a few times, enough to make my bottom feel warm. He lifted the hem of my nightgown up onto my lower back, and then pulled my panties down to above my knees.
I heard the scrape of the paddle on the table as he picked it up and I whimpered.
Then I heard the sound of the first swat right as I felt it stinging, and I yelled out as I tried to jerk my body off of his lap. I burst into tears as I felt him push me back down over his knees.
"Uncle Saaaam pleeeeease-" I wailed.
I kicked my feet as the paddle fell three more times, and once again my whole bottom was on fire and I was bawling. I felt him pulling my panties back up, and I swore to myself that I was never going to be bad enough to get swatted with the paddle ever again.
Uncle Sam picked me up and held me in his arms, and I cried against his shoulder. "All right, it's done, Charlie, it's over," he soothed.
When the fire in my butt had dulled to a smolder, I was calm, and Uncle Sam set me on his lap. He handed me the tissue box and I pulled some out and wiped my face and blew my nose. He hugged me and rubbed my back.
"It's time for you to go to bed now," he said quietly. He picked me up and carried me over to the bed, and tucked me in. After he had hugged me, I rolled over on my stomach because my bottom was still sore.
"Good night, honey, I love you," Uncle Sam said to me.
"G' night, Uncle Sam," I replied sleepily, "Love you too."
Daddy came out of the bathroom, and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Good night, Charlie," he leaned down to kiss me, and I turned and propped myself on my elbow to hug him.
"You did well today, I'm proud of you," he said. He tucked me in again after I laid back down, and I fell asleep quickly.
