Chapter 8

** warning, there's some very mild spanking in this chapter **

It was half past nine and Logan's little one was still awake, now bouncing happily on his bed, while his father stood in front of him, arms crossed and with his patience eventually running out.

"Milo… What did I tell you when I checked on you twenty minutes ago?" He asked sternly and tried to catch the little boy by his waist. Inwardly, he kicked himself for letting Milo nap for so long during the afternoon and have all these unhealthy snacks during the day.

"That I should be sleeping…! But I can't! I'm not tired, Daddy!" He responded, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Milo giggled, hopped from his bed and ran to the opposite of his room, hiding behind his big firefighter car.

Logan scowled at him.

"Get your little bum back here this instant, young man!"

"Nooooo! I'm not tired! I can't sleep if I'm not tired!"

Logan closed the gap between them, far more quickly than Milo anticipated and suddenly got hold of a struggling five-year-old.

"Let me goooo!" The little boy bellowed, but Logan was having none of it.

"No way. You're going to bed, mister. And that's the last time I want to tell you that, do you hear me?"

He picked his son up, who was quite close to be having a temper tantrum and went over to the boy's bed, where he attempted to tuck him in, but when he reached for the blanket, Milo somehow managed to get free.

He squealed and again started jumping on his bed, while screaming "You can't make me! I'm too fast for you, you little thickie! Thickie! Prat!"

Logan sighed heavily. It wouldn't last long until he would be finally running out of patience completely.

"Milo Elias Robin!" He growled, which caught the little one's attention. He stared at his father with big blue eyes. He hadn't really meant to yell at his Daddy, he just wasn't tired at all.

"I've had it by now! What did I tell you would happen if I caught you outside your bed again?"

Milo gasped in shock and immediately stopped his bouncing.

Logan sighed again, grabbed his son by his waist and hauled him to his feet, then made him stand in front of him nearby his bed. Milo looked up at his father and gulped. He really didn't like what he saw. Logan looked angry.

Logan took a seat on Milo's bed and continued to glare at his little boy.

Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to get out of bed – four times.

His Daddy had been so nice to him: As it was his first day without being on punishment, he was allowed to go over to Ryan's where he played the whole afternoon. Then Logan had picked him up and had let him nap in the car before he'd taken him to McDonald's, where he could choose his own meal and even got to play on the playground, although it was nearly his bedtime.

At home, Logan allowed him a cup of juice and a cookie before his bath – now his Daddy was determined that his lack of sleep was the result of too much sugar before going to sleep and maybe his late bedtime, too.

After Logan had put him to bed this evening, he kept moving up and calling for him.

"Daddy, I'm thirsty!", "Daddy, I need to go potty, but I don't want to be all alone in the bathroom!", "Daddy, there are monsters hiding behind the curtains…!" – and on.

And his Daddy came with a cup of cold water, then guided him to the bathroom and helped him clean up afterwards, then looked behind the curtains, under the bed and into his toy closet for the monsters.

"Now then, little one, go to sleep. That's enough for today." Logan had said and even had smiled at him while he tucked him in again, but then, after the third time he caught him outside his bed he had turned stern.

"I really mean it. Stay in bed, young man, and I don't want to tell you that again. If I catch you outside your bed again, you'll go to bed anyway but with a sore bum. You had better not test me on that, Milo."

Milo dropped his gaze and looked to his little bare feet.

Logan repeated his question: "Milo, what did I say would happen if you kept moving up even after I told you several times not to?"

Milo definitely didn't want a spanking – the memories of his last one, which happened three days ago, were still quite fresh.

Logan put one finger under his son's chin and gently but firmly forced it up so he could look into his eyes.

Milo was very close to tears now – a few of them had already managed to get through and were now rolling down his hot cheeks. His father sighed and let go of his little one's chin and used his right thumb to brush away Milo's stray tears.

Milo sniffed pitifully. He was really sorry now for making his Daddy angry.

"Would you please look at me, Milo?" Logan inquired gently and Milo slowly moved his head up again.

"I don't want to punish you for just being a little boy who ate way too much sugar. Unfortunately, I reckon that it's my own fault. I shouldn't have let you eat a cookie after your dinner, which was already very unhealthy. Hardly surprising that you're now too hyper."

He pulled him up so he was now sitting on his lap.

"But I won't have my son bouncing about and insulting me – or others, for that matter. You know better than to scream things like thickie and prat on the top of your lungs. It's not nice to use such a foul language and your Mommy and I have told you that several times in the past, haven't we?"

Milo knew perfectly well that he wasn't allowed to swear and to sass at his parents or other people, but when he was jumping on his bed, he just couldn't help it. He somewhat felt so strong.

"I'm sorry, Daddy…" He whispered. "I didn't mean to…" Then he trailed off, unsure what to say next. Logan looked at him quietly.

"Didn't mean to do what?"

"To… to be rude?" Milo tried, his voice not more than a whisper.

Logan nodded. "And?"

"I'm… I'm going to listen to you better… Honestly!"

Logan gave him a small smile and caressed Milo's still damp cheek gently with one finger.

"Okay. That's good, little man. I'm glad to hear that."

Milo then looked up again at his father – this time rather expectantly.

"Are you going to…?" He asked silently and stopped shortly before the dreaded word.

Logan didn't have to hear it, he knew exactly what his son was about to ask.

"I'm not sure. I promised you that though, didn't I? Don't you think you'd deserve getting spanked?" Logan knew that he couldn't possibly administer such a punishment after the conversation they just had, but he thought that Milo should have some more time to think about his behaviour – and the unspoken threat of a spanking was surely helping to remind his little boy about how he felt about swearing.

"But… but…" Milo's eyes widened, deciding to not answer Daddy's last question. "You don't… you don't have to…! Daddy, please!"

Logan cleared his throat and continued to look at his son.

"Well, if you promise Daddy to be a good boy and think twice before you sass at me or others the next time, I'll forget all about the spanking I promised. Can you do that for me?"

Milo's face lit up at no-speed. "Yes, Daddy! I promise!" He reached up and hugged his father tightly around his neck and even put his little legs around Logan's waist.

Logan couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"You're my little monkey, aren't you?" He smiled and patted the little boy's behind gently, before releasing him and settling him on his lap once more.

"Now straight to bed with you, little one. Hopefully you'll get enough sleep, because I don't want to deal with a cranky five-year-old first thing tomorrow morning."

"I'm almost six!" Milo reprimanded his Daddy indignantly which made Logan chuckle some more. He turned the boy so he was looking at him and turned stern once more.

"So… about your little stunt tonight… I think that a ten minutes time-out first thing tomorrow is exactly what you need. That should give you enough time to think about how you act toward me and your Mommy in the future."

Milo's face fell and he scowled at his Daddy, forgetting all about his earlier promise to be good. "Nooo! I don't want to!"

Logan sighed and made another decision. Maybe a little more tough love was in order to make sure that the boy stopped telling him no, a little habit he'd developed lately.

"Alright, stop it. I thought that you wouldn't need anything else than just a time-out, but you're still telling me no. That's going to stop now. You are allowed to tell Mommy and me when you're upset about something, but it's not an option for you anymore to just tell us no whenever you don't like what we tell you to do."

Milo still hadn't stopped scowling, so Logan turned him sideways and halfway over his lap and gave him two semi-hard swats on the bottom. Tears sprung to the little boy's eyes, but he didn't dare talking back to his Daddy anymore. He just wanted to be held now, so he turned pleading eyes at him and flung himself at him, but Logan caught him and looked at him.

"That's what's going to happen from now on whenever you tell me or your Mommy no about something we told you to do. You're allowed to ask why and you're allowed to be upset about things, but you're not allowed to just tell us no because you don't feel like doing it."

Only then did he allow his son to come into his arms, where he held him and rubbed his back slowly. Milo didn't sob or cry, he just wanted to be near his Daddy.

"I'm sorry about tonight", he finally mumbled and Daddy kissed him on the head fondly.

"Thank you, baby boy. I forgive you."

"I won't tell you no no more. Promise", Milo told him and let himself finally be transferred to his bed to tuck him in.

Logan gave his son a smile and rose up, then kissed him on the forehead and ruffled his short blond hair affectionately.

"I love you, my little man. Sleep tight."

"I love you, too, Daddy. Nighty, nighty."

With that, Milo was fast asleep and Logan left his bedroom as quickly and quietly as possible.

"Daaaaddyyy…"

Logan rolled his eyes. He was sitting in his favourite chair in the living room, trying desperately to read his newspaper, but it was obviously that his little boy wouldn't let him.

"Can I come out now?" Milo whined from the opposite side of the room, where he ought to face the boring wall and wait until his time-out was finally over.

It hadn't been long since Logan had told him to go there, barely five minutes, but he already got restless.

"No. You've got six more minutes. Now stay still and quit your whining, little boy, before I change my mind and decide that you deserve more than a simple time-out. I don't want to hear any more complaints now." Logan answered him sternly.

"But.."

"No, Milo. Be still now."

He heard Milo sniffle a little, but gladly he didn't talk back. Logan really didn't want to make his threat real and hoped his son wasn't going to make it particularly hard on him.

Logan resumed to read the article in the newspaper and decided that his son could leave the dreaded spot when he was finished with reading it.

When he looked up from the newspaper for the second time, Milo was nowhere to be seen. The spot where Logan had told him to stand and face the wall was empty.

Logan placed the newspaper rather roughly onto the sofa table and got up.

"Milo!" He called, his voice full of annoyance over his son's disobedience. "Milo? Where are you? Get back here at once!"

When he didn't hear a response, he made his way to the hallway and called again for the little boy. It was then when he heard someone flushing the toilet.

He sighed and leaned against the door frame, waiting for Milo to come out of the bathroom, which didn't take long.

The door went open and the little boy peaked carefully from side to side and squealed when he recognized his Daddy standing suddenly in front of him, looking not really pleased.

"Hi…" Milo murmured and gulped, grinning nervously.

"Hi, son." Logan sighed. "Why didn't you tell me that you had to go potty?"

"You said that you didn't want to hear any more complaints!" Milo cried out and looked up at his father with big blue eyes.

Logan's only reply was him raising an eyebrow.

"So I couldn't tell you that I had to go really bad!" Milo put special force into the last word; by then, both of Logan's eyebrows were raised. The little boy misunderstood his father's confusion and suddenly threw himself at him.

Logan just caught him before he stumbled and picked him up.

"I'm sorry! I just had to go potty! I'm sorry I didn't wait for you to say I could come out! Really sorry, Daddy!"

The little boy hugged his Daddy tightly around his neck and buried his face in the man's strong chest. Logan chuckled.

"Hey, don't cry, my little one. You're not in trouble, I promise."

Logan put both his hands under his son's bottom to support him while Milo wrapped his legs around his waist, then he leaned back and studied his father's face carefully.

"I'm not?"

"Nope." Logan poked a finger into the little boy's tummy which earned him an adorable giggle. "You know what? Truth be told, I should be the one in serious trouble, because I made you think that you aren't allowed to ask me anything you reckon is important. I want this to be clear, little man: You can ask me everything, at any time. Even if I'm not in my best mood at the time. You should never be afraid to ask me something or to come to me or your Mommy if you need help. Alright?"

"Yeah!" Milo smiled at his Daddy and kissed him on the cheek.

"Well, now let's get you back into the living room, so you can spend the last few minutes in time-out. Don't you think I forgot about it. Although I have to admit that you're really good at distracting me, you cheeky monkey!" Logan winked at Milo who immediately started pouting and hugged his Daddy as tightly as he could when the two of them reached the dreaded spot.

"Please, I don't want to be alone here! Please stay, Daddy!" He urged and almost started to cry, so Logan sighed and took a seat on the floor with Milo on his lap, facing the living room wall.

"Alright, but only this once. The next time you get to sit in time-out, you'll spend the whole time in here, but without me. That's your punishment after all, and you brought it upon yourself."

Milo nodded sadly and turned his head to the wall, but suddenly something hit him and he turned around to face his Daddy.

"What is it now? You're supposed to…" Logan was cut off by his son who smiled widely.

"You know, you also deserve to sit here in time-out, Daddy. You said yourself that you should be the one in serious trouble, because you didn't let me ask…" Logan chuckled, laid one hand on top of Milo's blond hair and turned his head gently so that he was facing the wall again.

"Yeah, yeah, I figured as much. Well then, let's spend the last two minutes in silence now, as even I'm not allowed to speak until the time's up."

Both sat there in silence, until Logan's back started to ache, so he made himself more comfortable by lying backwards on the floor, pulling his boy with him, so that he rested on his upper half.

Milo giggled and rested both hands on his father's stomach, so he could look up at him. "See, you don't like to sit in boring time-out either, Daddy. It's a really mean punishment! You and Mommy really need to come up with something new. Something more interesting than that!"

"Be quiet, you little know-all!" Logan told him with mock-seriousness and made him lay down, so that he could rest his cheek on his chest.

"That's comfy, isn't it?" Logan asked quietly, while he ruffled his hair gently with one hand and used the other to rub his bum and pat it kindly now and then which he knew was something that calmed his son down quite quickly; even as a baby it helped him to calm down when he suffered from the process of teething or a tummy ache, just as rubbing his tummy would.

He felt Milo nod into his chest and smiled. "Do you want to call Ryan over today? Or do you rather want to stay with me?"

"Stay with you… Please, Daddy." Milo mumbled and Logan could tell that the little boy was again very close to be falling asleep on the very top of him.

"Well, that's fine. Of course you can to stay with me." Logan said and looked down when he felt Milo's breath quieten down. "You know what? I happen to know one little boy who seems very tired because of his lack of sleep from yesterday's evening. Maybe that little guy needs to take a nap before the new day can start properly?"

That got Milo's attention; he most certainly didn't want a nap – he had already spent so much time in bed for the night and also had to sit in the boring time-out.

It was just that his Daddy was a professional when it came down to soothe and comfort him.

"Noooo!", he cried and just before his Daddy could get angry because he told him no, he added: "Daddy, please! I'm awake! I don't want a stupid nap. That's for babies who cry and pee their pants!" He shouted and jumped to his feet, but nearly stumbled, if Logan wouldn't have caught him in time.

"Hey, little man, calm down. And don't shout, I can hear you perfectly well without you screaming about on the top of your lungs. Now go and change into your regular clothes, so we can go outside for a bit. And for the record: I also happen to know that there are still a few pull-ups in your closet… just in case." Logan winked at him.

Milo stuck his tongue out at his Daddy and giggled. "Not true! Old meanie!" He shrieked and wiggled his behind while rushing out of the living room.

Logan gave him a playful smack on the backside when he ran past him. "Cheeky little brat, you are!"