** spanking warning for this chapter**
Three days had passed since the folder had shown up at Bobby's house. Katie had hoped that her dad would send word or at least a code word in a text. When she was on the road with her dad, she could keep an eye on him. Sometimes she had to wait in the car or in a room but it was hours, at most, before she saw him again. On previous missions, he made sure to check in once a week if he had left her with somebody. Every time Bobby's phone rang, she held her breath. The night before, she had overheard Bobby talking to someone. His voice was low and he sounded irritated.
"Its about time you called. Did you find what you needed? When do you plan on heading back this way? No, everything is fine. You just have two boys who need you."
She groaned and went back up stairs. He wasn't talking to her dad, he was talking to John Winchester. She threw herself on her bed and screamed into the pillow. If John could call, why couldn't her dad? It wasn't fair. She just wanted to be sure he was alive and he was too busy chasing some stupid demon to contact her. She was starting to realize why Sam and John rarely got along.
Katie stayed in her room for an hour before she decided she was too bored to mope. She knocked on Sam and Dean's door.
"What?" came Sam's voice from behind the door.
She cracked it and Sam motioned for her to come in. He was setting on his bed with an old book on his lap. He was jotting down notes and marking pages to come back to.
"Sam, can we go do something?" She asked hopefully.
"Not right now, Kate. I'm in the middle of something." He said dismissively.
She huffed and stomped out of the room and down the stairs.
She found Dean under the hood of the impala. "Can I help you with that?"
He stood up and shut the hood. "She's all good to go." He said with a grin.
"Well, we could train or something." She gave him her best puppy dog eyes but he didn't even look at her.
"I can't right now. Me and baby have a hot date."
She scrunched her eyebrows. She wasn't sure if he meant with an actual girl or if he was just going to drive the car around.
He messed up her hair as he walked by and got into his car. He rolled down the window and gave her a wink. "I'll be back later." He said and then peeled out of the drive way.
She stood in front of Bobby's house and watched the impala as it hit the main road. She kicked a near by car tire and growled. She went back inside and plopped down on Bobby's couch. There was nothing to do and every one was too busy for her. She was about to go find Bobby when her eyes caught a glare from something shiny. The couch she was on faced Bobby's study. She had been in there plenty of times but she never really looked at what was on the shelves. She stood up and strolled into the small room. It was covered, floor to ceiling, with old books, lock boxes, figurines and bottles. She walked around the room reading the spines of the books. She noted that the old book Sam was looking at was probably one of Bobby's lore books. She pushed a chair over to a shelf littered with artifacts. She wanted to get a closer look at what had caught her eye. She stood up in the chair. She looked at some of the bottles on the shelf. Some of the names she recognized but others she wasn't even sure how to pronounce. She figured they were used in potions. She stood on her tip toes and reached to the top shelf. She grasped the object that sparked her curiosity and pulled it down from the shelf. It was an ornate wooden box. She had seen similar ones with a little ballerina inside that spun as music played. She wasn't sure why Bobby would put a music box on such a high self.
"Katie. I'm done translating. We can go-" Sam froze in the doorway of the study. He hissed in a forced whisper, "Kate. Get down before Bobby sees you!"
Katie looked back and rolled her eyes. "Not now Sam. I'm in the middle of something."
Sam blanched at the object in her hands and where she had got it from. He walked over to her pleaded with her. "Please, Katie. Those things are dangerous. You need to put it back and get down."
"It is a music box Sam. It isn't a knife." She said confidently and went to open the lid.
Sam panicked and snatched the box from her hands.
She turned and yelled at Sam. "What the hell Sam?! What is wrong with you?" Kate went to take the music box back and lost her balance. She fell off the chair but stopped midair, shortly before hitting the floor.
Sam's face had drained of color.
She went to kick Sam but was stopped by a strong pair of arms. "Let me go! Sam made me fall." she screeched and lunged at Sam again.
She yelped and put her hands behind her as a patch of fire spread across her butt. She spun around with a clinched fist to lock eyes with a very angry Bobby. "Oh. Uh. Bobby. I-I didn't realize it was you."
Bobby took a deep breath and led her to the couch. "So if it hadn't been me you would have punched whoever it was?"
She blushed and rubbed the sting out of her backside. "No. I just. Sam made me fall and I was scared."
Bobby shook his head, "You should have taken Sam's advice and gotten down before I caught you."
She gulped and looked at Sam for help. He just shook his head.
"Little girl, do you have any idea what is on that shelf?" Bobby said in a strained tone.
"Uh, old stuff?" She looked at the box in Sam's hand and pointed to it. "I saw a music box and just wanted to look at it. Sam came in and scared me. I was just checking things out."
Bobby got up and paced back and forth in front of her. He took the box from Sam and sat it back on the shelf. "That isn't a music box. Inside that box is a cursed object. The decorations on the sides are warding to keep the magic and the object safely inside the box. Had Sam not pulled the damned thing out of your hands and let you open it, every single person in this house could have died."
Katie scrunched her face and glanced up at the box. "Why keep it in your house if it could kill you?"
"Because we can use certain things as weapons." He stated. He leveled her with a glare, "and because I keep it on a high shelf, where it should be out of the reach of nosey little kids."
Katie felt heat rising to her face. She was mad. He wasn't even listening to her when she explained how Sam made her fall. All he cared about was that she had touched his precious box. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.
Bobby walked over and got down on her level. "You, young lady are in enough trouble as it is. Roll your eyes at me again and see what happens."
Katie hadn't even considered that she was in trouble. She was too angry to even consider that there might be consequences for her actions. Her bravado faltered.
Bobby started pacing again. He was pissed. She didn't even act like she felt sorry for messing with the powerful objects. If Sam or Dean had pulled a stunt like that he'd have lit their ass up on the spot. He stopped and turned toward her. He made up his mind and knew what he needed to do. "Katelyn, you are going to march yourself up stairs to your room and find a corner to put your nose in. I will be up in a few minutes."
Katie yelled, "You can't be serious. No, I'm not going."
Sam's eyes darted back and forth between Bobby and Kate. He was frozen in place and just wanted the kid to keep her mouth shut.
Bobby walked over and grabbed her arm, spinning her around and landing three sharp smacks to her backside.
Katie jerked away and screamed at him, "You can't do that! You aren't my dad!"
Bobby chuckled darkly, "Go on and ask Sam how many times that excuse worked for him and his brother."
Katie glanced over at Sam.
He shook his head sadly and silently pleaded with her to cooperate.
"Sam, why don't you go for a run."
Sam knew Bobby was giving him a chance to get out before things got heated. He wanted no part in what was about to go down.
"Kate. Go upstairs, NOW" He hissed.
When Kate didn't immediately move, Sam grabbed her arm and nearly drug her up the stairs with him.
"Ow, Sam let go of me."
Sam stopped in her door and scrubbed his face. "Listen, Kate. Just do what Bobby said and stop fighting. You messed up. I wasn't even going to tell Bobby you were messing with things in the study. I was going to tell you to get down and we were going to go fishing."
Kate frowned. "I didn't know Sam. I'm sorry." She was beginning to feel worried.
Sam gave her a quick hug and patted her head. "Just take my advice this time." He said before darting out of her room, grabbing his shoes and sprinting out the front door.
Kate sat on her bed for a few minutes. Maybe Sam was right. She remembered Bobby's order to find a corner so she walked over to the one by the window and pressed her head against the cool wood. She knew she wasn't supposed to mess with stuff in Bobby's study. Why had she done something so stupid. Her dad would kill her if he was there. A tear slipped down her face. That was why. Her dad wasn't there. She was mad and maybe enjoying not being under his intense scrutiny. She was deep in her thoughts when she heard heavy steps coming up the stairs. Reality hit her and her heart started to beat out of her chest.
Her door opened and she heard the springs on her bed squeak. "Katelyn, come here please."
She turned slowly and saw Bobby sitting on her bed. She reminded herself of Sam's advice and slowly walked over to him.
He reached for her hands and led her to stand in front of his knees. She hung her head and studied the hands that were clasped around hers.
Bobby sighed deeply. He hated this for him and hated this for her. He didn't enjoy busting the boys' butts and he wasn't going to enjoy busting hers. She had dug herself into quite the hole and there was no way around it. "I know you are upset at your dad and being stuck here. I can't pretend to know what that feels like but I can't excuse your behavior today."
Katie glanced up to meet Bobby's eyes. "I am really sorry Bobby. I know I messed up."
Bobby noted the change in attitude. He was certain that Sam had given her a pep talk when he drug her up to her room. "Katie. I need to know that this is not something that will happen again. Can you tell me why you are about to get a spanking?"
Katie's eyes filled with tears. Part of her had hoped he would just ground her. She hated that word and hearing it said out loud made her cringe. She looked back down at her hands and sniffled. "I touched things I wasn't supposed to. I didn't stop when Sam warned me that it was dangerous. I tried to kick him and I was disrespectful to you."
Bobby was pleased that she had remembered the disrespect. He hadn't brought it up yet but it was one of his pet peeves. She showed remorse and that would make the spanking a lot shorter than if she was still fighting him. Bobby reached behind him on the bed and pulled out a wooden spoon.
Katie's face turned white. Both Sam and Dean had warned her about Bobby's spoon. They were mostly joking about times they had messed up but they feared it enough to make a warning out of it. "Please, Bobby. My dad only used his hand."
The defeated look on the girl's face pulled at Bobby's heart strings. "Katie. You are old enough to know better and I don't like repeating myself. This worked on Sam and Dean and it will work on you." He tilted her chin up to look at him. "Disobedience, disrespect and putting yourself or others in danger are things that I will not allow. You managed to tick all three of those boxes." He gave her a few seconds to think and let go of her chin. "Right, let's get this over with."
Katie knew the drill. It wasn't like she had never gotten a spanking before but she hadn't from him and certainly not with a scary wooden spoon. She froze.
Bobby knew she was struggling and gently guided her over his lap. He placed his arm across her back for comfort and to ensure she stayed in place. "Tell me again why we are here."
Katie's mouth was dry and she could barely find her voice to speak. "I was mean to Sam when he told me what I was doing was dangerous and I was disrespectful to you. I put myself in danger when I tried to open that box."
Bobby reached beside him and grabbed the spoon and tapped it against her thigh. He steeled his heart and brought the spoon down hard against her left cheek.
Katie's eyes flew open and she screeched. Crap, crap crap. The boys were right. That thing hurt.
Bobby landed 10 more swats, alternating sides and stopped to lecture her. "You do not touch anything in my study without asking me. Are we clear."
"Yes, I promise I'll never touch anything again. Owwww." she gritted her teeth.
He landed another 10 and continued the lecture. "If someone tells you something is dangerous you will listen and not argue."
Katie sobbed out a "yes, sir."
Bobby tilted her forward slightly and landed a swat on one of her sit spots. She howled and tried to wiggle away. "If you ever." swat "yell at me again" swat swat "or roll your eyes when I am talking to you. " swat swat swat "you will be right back over my knee and this " swat swat "will feel like paddy cake." He landed 3 more hard swats to each sit spot and tossed the spoon to the side.
He let her up and her hands immediately sought to rub out the sting the spoon had left behind.
He wrapped his arms around her and held her to his chest. She cried freely and sunk into his hug.
"I'm sorry Bobby."
He put his chin on the top of her head and squeezed her. "You have been punished for it and your slate has been wiped clean. Just don't make me have to repeat that lesson."
Katie hated that spoon. She never wanted to see it again in her life.
"Next time I wont be as easy on you."
Katie's head flew back and she stared at him with wide eyes. That was easy? She didn't think she would ever be able to sit again.
He smirked and hugged her to him again. He let her stay in his lap until she was calm. "Why don't you go freshen up and go find Sam? You owe him an apology."
Katie groaned. She had forgotten about Sam. She decided that he was a useful ally and she would listen to him from now on. She wiped her nose on her sleeve and walked out of the room, rubbing her backside along the way.
Bobby stood up and took the spoon back downstairs. Yup, he was too old for this mess.