Deciding he could only deal with one headache at a time, Hotch pushed Rossi's message to the back of his mind. Focussing his stare on the back of his protégé, he sighed when he saw it remained taut with that undeniable ring of defiance that only Reid could pull off. Drumming his fingers on the table, he leaned back in his chair and felt every one of his years dog him. He was tired. Being the Boss was… exhausting, mentally and physically. He felt a sudden pang of longing for his own rookie days when office politics and management were a far-off dream. Seconds rolled into minutes before rolling into more minutes before he cleared his throat pointedly.

"Alright, Reid. Front and centre. Move it."

Pretending not to hear the sigh that emanated from the corner with extreme difficulty, he watched as Reid shuffled back over to the Hotch Spot with marked reluctance. Standing himself, Hotch planted himself directly in front of the genius with his armed folded and his brow raised. A pregnant pause ensued before he spoke again.

"Have you had a chance to reconsider your attitude?"

Staring fixedly down at the carpet, Reid ground his teeth somewhat but managed a response.

"Yes, sir."

Nodding, Hotch considered the not-so-subtle lie and wondered idly if his bar licence was still valid. Being a prosecutor was so much easier than the daily woes he faced as Unit Chief of the oftentimes rogue BAU.

"Uh huh. So, are you ready to talk to me now?"

Reid looked up at him with a look oddly similar to both a morose labradoodle and a snarling rottweiler.

"Can't we just skip this part and get whatever punishment you're going to give me over with?"

Hotch closed his eyes and counted to ten very slowly in his head.

"Trust me when I tell you this. I need neither an invitation or suggestion from you in order to administer whatever discipline I feel is appropriate in the face of your flagrantly outrageous behaviour. Equally, I need neither an invitation or suggestion from you as to how I go about administering such a punishment. Accordingly, when I ask you a question… it's not an opt in or opt out sort of situation. It's a you'll answer me right now if you know what's good for you sort of situation. Do I make myself clear?"

Reid winced and wisely read the room.

"Yes, sir."

Hotch nodded slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Good. So, last chance. Are you ready to talk to me about what's been going on with you the last couple of days or do you need some more time to… reflect? Because if you do need some more time to reflect, it's not going to be as comfortable as the first opportunity you had to do so."

Swallowing, Reid profiled Hotch's faults viciously in his head before answering softly.

"I don't need any more time to reflect."

"Then I suggest," Hotch said dryly, "that you start at the beginning and explain to me why you have been giving both me and Rossi nothing but lip and attitude for the entire duration of this last case. Start talking."

Staring intently down at the carpet, Reid's brow furrowed in concentrated misery.

"I'm sorry…"

Wondering how one could be so intensely intelligent and so deliberately dense, Hotch growled.

"I asked for an explanation, not an apology. Do not test me right now."

"There is no explanation!" Reid exploded angrily. "Can't I just have a bad couple of days? Is that illegal? Is it okay for Morgan to have a bad couple of days now and then because he's a frigging model and his angst comes across as teen fiction smut? What the hell do you want from me, Hotch? You're going to beat my ass regardless of what explanation I can offer so why don't you go ahead and get to it? We both know how you loathe the inefficient usage of time so chop chop and all that."

Hotch's mouth fell open as swiftly as a well-oiled trap door. It was testament to his inherent ability to lead that he did not lose his temper. Rather, and with the benefit of three dizzyingly deep breaths, he reacted with a terrifying calmness. Sitting swiftly back down on the chair he had just vacated, he reached out and with the expertise born of far too much experience pulled Reid effortlessly across his knee before the kid even had a chance to blink. Wrapping his arm tightly around the slender waist, he raised his arm and delivered a volley of firm, rapid swats across the boy's upturned behind. Hotch was a fair, considerate man but when his protégé had erred so deeply as to find himself in his current position, he never pulled his punches. The nanosecond the shock wore off, Reid felt the all too familiar stinging pain begin to radiate outwards across his prone behind. Blinking down at the Hotch Spot in distress, he let out a surprised yowl when a searing swat landed on his sit spots.

"Hotch! Ow – jeez, man. Alright, alright – ok-"

"Be quiet," Hotch said in his most dangerously soft voice. "That's an order."

Groaning, Reid had the sense to do as he was bid and settled for yelping as the impromptu spanking rained down on him. He never ceased to be amazed at the sting Hotch could rustle up even over his slacks and shorts and felt his eyes constrict in misery at the memory of the sting he could rustle up on one's bared behind. The punishment seemed to last forever and Reid felt a pang of horror as the pain began to reach the intolerable levels which usually preluded tears. Gritting his teeth, he blinked furiously, determined not to cry from a hand spanking over a clothed behind.

A man had to have some standards.

Just as quickly as the spanking had started, it suddenly stopped and the boy found himself being gently propelled to his feet. His hands instinctively flew back to rub his charred behind as Hotch rose from the chair, recrossing his arms sternly across his chest and fixing his protégé with a stare that would melt a glacier.

"That was for your insolent outburst and your insolent outburst alone. That was a very, very small taster of what you're in for as matters currently stand. If you persist in making matters worse for yourself, that was a small taster of what you're in for every night for a week or every night until your attitude improves, whichever comes first. I trust you remember the last time you left me with no option but to teach you the error of your ways on a nightly basis?"

Reid nodded vigorously, his shoulders visibly loosening as the attitude inside him evaporated.

"Yes, sir. I… I'm sorry Hotch, I'm not trying to be… uncooperative. It's just… I…. it's hard."

He dropped his gaze to the floor and a sudden claxon of misery seemed to waft from him. Sighing, Hotch felt the soft side he generally reserved solely for the boy in front of him rise to the fore and using the same hand that had just warmed the boy's behind, he reached out and gently lifted the bowed head upwards.

"I know it's hard. I can see that it's hard but please try. You know how much I hate having to put you over my knee… please don't make it worse for either of us by forcing me to do it any more than is strictly necessary. Ok?"

His voice tailed off into softness and Reid looked up quizzically with a very faint tinge of playfulness.

"Did you really just pull the old this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you card?"

Hotch snorted.

"Give me a break, would you? I'm doing my best here so for the last time will you please start talking?"

Smiling slightly despite his current situation, Reid took a deep breath and looked pleadingly at his Boss.

"Do you promise not to kill me if I tell you the truth?"

Hotch raised a brow as he considered his response which reverberated ominously around the room.

"I do not."

…

TBC