Author's note: see ch 1 for disclaimer
Warning: mention of spanking, spanking
"Still that bad?" Madelyne asked, holding his hand. Scott nodded.
"I'm worried about tomorrow if it's still like this now."
"Maybe Grandpa will bend his rules and let you use the aloe."
"He did and I have. Look, I'll be fine. I don't really want to talk about this anymore, ok?"
"We're just trying to-"
"Maddie, please. I don't want to talk about how my dad spanked me like a child in front of you and my son. It's… my pride can't take it right now."
"Ok. I'm sorry." Scott waved her away and leaned against the couch.
"I think I'm going to shower. I'm still sore from how I slept last night." He stood up and went to his room to grab some clean clothes and then locked himself in the bathroom. Scott turned on the hot water and waited for it to heat up before he stepped in it. He braced himself on the wall under the nozzle and just let the water pour. He stayed under the water until it started to cool down. Scott turned it off and climbed out, throwing on his boxers and pants. He walked out the bathroom as he pulled on his shirt and saw that Chris and Hepzibah had come into the suite.
"Feeling better?" Scott shook his head.
"Can we… can we talk, Dad?" Chris nodded and followed Scott into his room, sitting on his bed.
"Talk to me, son. What's up?" Scott sniffed as he unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, pushed them down a bit and lowered himself across Chris' lap.
"I… I can't forgive myself," he told him. He felt Chris' arm wrap around his waist.
"And from the way your ass looks, I don't think I could forgive myself for adding to it. This isn't what I meant about earning forgiveness, Scott."
"Please."
"If I do this, you will forgive yourself and it'll be done, right?"
"Yes sir." Chris sighed and raised his hand.
"Are you sure this is what you need?"
"Yes sir." Chris brought his hand down on Scott's behind. Scott whimpered, but didn't cry out. Chris swatted him again and again, and was soon in a rhythm. Once he saw Scott's butt was a dark pink on top of the still obvious stripes of the switch, he stopped and rubbed Scott's back.
"Ok, son. It's over." He pulled up Scott's pants and turned him so that he was holding him.
"I'm sorry!"
"Shh. It's ok, Scott. It's over and it's time for you to forgive yourself now." Scott shook his head and Chris just hugged him. "That was the deal kid. I did that so you could forgive yourself."
"Daddy," Scott cried before turning his head away.
"What, son?"
"D-do you f-forgive m-me?" Chris sighed.
"I do, Scott. And I love you." Scott nodded and wiped his face as he slowly stood up. Chris stood with him and hugged him. Scott sniffed and pulled himself away from Chris.
"'M sorry."
"You have nothing to apologize for, kid. But if you're ok, I'm going to go get started on dinner. Feel free to come help in a bit if you'd like, ok?" Scott nodded and Chris kissed the top of his head before stepping out of the room. Scott waited a few minutes before sticking his head out of his room. Seeing the living area clear, he breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out. He checked his face in the mirror in the bathroom, splashed some water on it, and left the suite to go to the kitchen. He saw Chris working at the stove, Madelyne and Hepzibah sitting at the small table, and Nathan at the counter buttering bread.
"Anything I can do?"
"Hand me another box of spaghetti from the pantry?" Scott nodded and handed Chris the requested noodles. Chris poured the box into the boiling water and set a timer.
"So I'm thinking of testing Bobby and moving him to the core team," Scott told Chris. "I'll need two instructors to watch and sign off on it if he gets past me."
"I'm sure Logan and Ororo will be happy to watch."
"But-"
"Son, when it's something this important, do you want people thinking it happened because of nepotism, or because an instructor truly agreed with you?"
"It's not like I'm asking you to agree to Alex or Gabe, Dad. It's Bobby."
"I know that, but it's you performing the initial test. I don't want the others to think I'm signing off because it's something you want. Does that make sense?"
"It does, but that also means this is something you'll never do with me, because this is part of my role."
"Then it's a good thing there are other instructors, hm?" The timer went off for the pasta and Chris moved so Nathan could put the bread in the oven. "Hep, would you mind prepping the salad?" Hepzibah nodded and pulled the fixings Chris had set apart for the salad out of the fridge and began mixing them together.
"Ok. I'll get them to sign off, but can you at least watch the test so I can discuss it with you?"
"Now that I can do, kid. Might be smart to set up a camera to record it as well. That way you can watch him live and judge, and then go back to see what you might have missed. Actually, I was going to bring that up in the meeting we have with you and Jean tomorrow. Can always encrypt the videos so no one else sees them."
"Yeah, that actually sounds worth looking into."
"Ouch," Chris said with a smile.
"You know what I mean, Dad. I'll talk to the professor about it."
"Do you know when you want to tell Bobby?"
"I'll need to talk to Storm and Logan first and see how they feel about it. I'll also have to write up a report to give to the professor. I can get that done over break and test him before Christmas, and then give him the results from me, Logan, and Storm when everyone gets back for school. If all goes well, he can start training with us by the new year." Chris stared at him with a small smile. "What?"
"I just enjoy your planning process. Reminds me of your mom."
"What about Mom?" Alex asked, coming into the kitchen in his uniform.
"Just talking about how detail oriented she was," Chris said, turning the burner off for the spaghetti sauce.
"How'd it go?" Scott asked.
"Went great. Carrie was really helpful. She was doing better than Jean." Scott nodded, not wanting to show how proud he felt.
"Good. I was worried for a bit after how they were in the Danger Room with me earlier."
"What'd you have them do?" Alex asked as Chris instructed his children to carry the food to the table.
"Guess you'll just have to find out on Thursday," Scott said with a smirk. He sat down at the table next to Madelyne and made a plate.
"Carrie, what did Scott have you guys doing today?" Carolyn looked at Scott and then back to Alex.
"We tested stuff." Scott chuckled.
"Alright. Someone catch me up on school gossip before tomorrow," Scott requested before taking a bite of spaghetti.
"We have a new counselor," Ray spoke up. Scott frowned.
"We do? Why?"
"No idea, but he's a total creep." Chris nodded.
"He watched us leave earlier. Definitely made my hair stand on end." Nathan frowned and put his fork down.
"What's he look like?"
"Nasty, pasty skin. Hair blacker than Roberto's." Nathan nodded and held his hand in the air. A file came flying into the room and into his hand.
"Like this?" He asked, handing the picture to Chris.
"A bit paler, but yes."
"Nathan?" Scott questioned.
"Not a big deal, Dad. I'll just tell you about it later." Scott nodded and the X-Men continued with their meal. When they finished, Madelyne and Carolyn used their powers to clear the table and start cleaning the kitchen.
"Ready?" Scott asked his son.
"Professor Xavier, would you mind coming with us to the security room?"
"Certainly, Nathan," Charles said, leaving the table.
"Grandpa, you too." Chris nodded, and soon, the four were on their way to the security room. Scott crossed his arms and looked at his son once they were gathered in the small space.
"What's going on?" Nathan tossed down the picture he'd shown Chris.
"Nathaniel Essex." Scott took the picture and stared at it, ingraining it into his mind.
"So what do we do?"
A/N: So Sinister has been seen at the school. Couple of chapters for that, and then a time jump. There are 33 chapters total for this story, so it still has a ways to go, but I've lost my spark for the series. Looking for a beta who I can send the 8th/final story to to help me get back on track with comments, suggestions, edits, etc... Message me if you're interested.
Thanks,
newbee