A.N.- Usually I don't update this quickly, but the prospect of building this world intrigues me. Here is Ashley's punishment, a little angst from Hotch, and Dave wondering how in the hell people manage having more than one kid.

Warnings: there's an actual spanking and corner time in this chapter, plus discussions thereof. You've been warned.

Disclaimer: I'm a grad student. I pretty much don't even own myself, let alone anything else…

-o-o-o-o-o-

Standing behind Hotch, Dave softly laid a hand on the minutely vibrating shoulder of his protege, using gentle pressure behind his thumb to rub a knot. After a moment, letting Aaron register his presence, he spoke softly, "You think you're being replaced?"

Hotch tensed, then dropped his head and slumped his shoulders miserably. "I don't know," he said, "Am I?"

"Hell no," Dave said, "You. Are. Not. Replaceable." He stressed the words individually, because this wasn't the first time this conversation had been warranted. His palm itched, but he would rather try being gentle first. He knew it was wishful thinking, seeing as Hotch was battling with feelings that had, in the past, caused Hotch to do something that Rossi's friend (it wasn't like he thought of spanking his agents out of the blue, for gosh sake, it was… recommended to him) would call "pushing."

So he had one kid who was nervously anticipating her first spanking, and another kid who seemed to be begging for his millionth. Dave internally resigned himself to the fact of a long night ahead of him.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Okay," Dave said, but continued to knead at the same knot in Hotch's back for a moment before he spoke again, "We gotta talk about this, you know that."

"Yeah Dave, I know," Hotch's voice had lost any traces of prior emotion, and instead sounded exhausted. It was beyond being resigned to his current fate in the conversation, Dave realized; it was deep, deep exhaustion. Finally loosening the knot in Hotch's shoulder, he spun the kid around. His previous worry over his protege's hand and emotional state had led him to miss the glaring signs of exhaustion- Hotch had dark circles under his eyes and was paler than usual. He looked thinner than usual too, and Dave was glad that he had already planned to make one of Hotch's favorites for dinner.

"Oh, Aaron," Dave said, pulling Hotch in for a hug. It was a testament to how tired Hotch was that he didn't struggle against it, but merely rested his head against Dave's chest and let Dave hug him. Dave took advantage of the moment, reaching up to cup the base of his protege's neck with one hand and pulling him closer into his chest. It would have been almost nice to have a moment where Aaron allowed himself comfort, except Dave's concern far overshadowed that.

This did, however, leave him in a tricky position; once again, Dave managed how single parents with more than one child managed to function at all. Both Aaron and Ashley's behavior still needed addressing, and Rossi needed to pick the latter up from the FBI building. The former's behavior was somehow related, though he had only recently worked out why, and he knew that there was more than Hotch had let onto. He knew that Hotch was a very reserved person, and Seaver was nervous, having never been in this situation before- neither would appreciate the other being able to overhear their "discussion" with Dave. He wasn't willing to discipline Hotch and then leave him to go handle Seaver's behavior before picking him up again; not only might that make Hotch feel like his fears of replacement were coming true, but Dave always preferred to keep him close after spanking him, regardless. Finally, he decided that his literal mansion was likely big enough to keep one from overhearing the other, if he chose locations wisely. He still had to clear it by the "kids" though, because he'd never intentionally embarrass them, especially not with something like this.

"Aaron, I need you to be honest with me, here," he said, and watched as Hotch pulled himself together and snapped to an awake state; the transformation was concerningly natural. "You're due a spanking," he said, in a frank tone that made Hotch find his sock-clad feet suddenly interesting. He didn't dwell, though, "And I still haven't addressed Ashley's behavior with her, either."

"Where is she?" Hotch interrupted, sounding genuinely curious. His eyes darted upwards, though the small, nervous expression made Hotch look like the young rookie Dave had taken under his wing once more.

"In Morgan's office," Rossi said, a small smirk playing on his lips. He wasn't expecting Hotch to mumble an apology as his face reddened, but he shouldn't have been surprised by it, either. Hotch often walked on eggshells when he thought he was about to be cast aside, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. While the profiler in him catalogued Hotch's behavior, he refrained from vocalizing any of his observations. He thought about casually shrugging the apology off, seeing as it truly was not needed, but Hotch seemed in desperate need of reassurance.

"Hey, nothing to be sorry about," Dave said instead, "You matter kiddo, remember." Hotch looked like he was about to fall apart, either at the message, the term of endearment, or both, but he kept himself together enough to slip his mask back into place and shrug it off, trying to remain cool and indifferent. Like that had ever worked with Dave, who knew that Hotch was fighting to keep up his carefully constructed emotional walls. It was something that Dave had grown accustomed to with Hotch- though the younger man didn't project outward emotion frequently, occasionally the barriers broke, and he was swallowed in a sea of emotions that he had been trying to push away. He never handled those well, and usually acted out as a response. It was Hotch's way of "pushing," though Aaron would vehemently deny doing any such thing.

"Listen, at this point I think it's best if I take you with me to pick Seaver up, and then take you both back to my house. It's a literal mansion, it has more than enough space to conduct discussions in different rooms without the other hearing. Then I want you to sleep before dinner."

"Seaver would… know," Hotch forced out, looking incredibly pained.

"I could tell her that you were coming to discuss a case and then staying for dinner?" Dave offered. Hotch looked skeptical as to how well that would work, but after a moment nodded.

"Okay kid," Dave made sure to keep up the casual terms of endearment, "Go get your shoes and jacket."

With a small smirk and a friendly eye-roll, Hotch said "yes mother," but went off to do as told regardless. All mirth quickly disappeared from the younger profiler after that, and he kept quiet during the entirety of the car ride. He didn't look like he was conflicted, just… thinking. Rossi kept an eye on him, watching for his body language to change and betray that he was getting himself worked up by anxious thoughts, but that never happened. Still, Rossi was nervous to leave Hotch waiting in the car when he went to go get Seaver. Hotch seemed to sense this given that he snorted and said, "Dave, you can leave me alone for a few minutes. I'm okay, really." While Rossi didn't entirely believe him, he certainly seemed to believe himself.

"Fine," Dave acquiesced, "We'll be no longer than 10 minutes." Hotch waved him off with a hand, turning his attention to a case report in one of the folders he had brought with him.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Once Dave was safely out of sight, Hotch waited a moment to ensure that the older profiler wasn't going to return to the vehicle before ending his forced concentration on the dull document in front of him.

He didn't think of it as intentionally defying Rossi. More like… he just had a few things to think about, really.

Thought one: he needed to call the parent of the friend Jack was staying with, and tell her that he was currently entrenched in work, so if she tried to call and couldn't get him, don't worry. He knew Jessica was planning to pick Jack up from school the next day anyways, so he didn't need to worry about that. Fishing his phone from his pocket, he typed in the number he had written down on a sticky note. "Hi Cindy, it's Aaron Hotchner, Jack's dad…" With that conversation out of the way, Hotch could focus on his next thought.

Thought two: was Seaver truly going to believe that Hotch was going to… work from Rossi's home after they discussed some present fabricated issue at work, with no other forms of 'discussion' happening between them? Seaver was far from imperceptive, and it was clear to everyone how close Dave and Aaron were. Plus, Seaver had met him during his rookie years, when Dave was even more overbearing. She had more than likely witnessed them interact like family rather than colleagues as a kid, it wasn't a difficult jump to make.

He knew that she wouldn't dare tell anyone, though, especially not after meeting the same fate herself. And… It was embarrassing, but Hotch felt himself shift into the role of 'big brother.' As embarrassing as it was for him, he knew how nervous she must be, and his instinct was to reassure her that everything would be fine, afterwards. More than fine, believe it or not. She had a different childhood than he did, but he also knew that her childhood was messed up as well; besides her father being a serial killer, he knew that her mother withdrew after her husband was convicted, leaving Ashley to grow up effectively parent-less.

Those were the only two thoughts that he was able to chew on before his mentor arrived with Seaver in tow.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Ashley was just finishing her report when Agent Rossi showed back up at the office, and Agent Morgan went to go talk to him in the doorway. "She cause any trouble?" She could hear Rossi say good naturedly, joking with the other agent. Still, it was too close to the truth, and she felt herself squirm. Though she tried to listen in, the rest of their conversation was quiet, and she packed up her things to go to Rossi's place.

Morgan walked back in the office, grinning at her with a "see you around, kid." She accepted his fist-bump as she stood, glad that the team seemed to harbor no grudge after her stunt during the case, and made her way to where Rossi was standing in the doorway. He slung an arm around her shoulders and gave her a little squeeze, reassuring her quietly as he led her to the car.

It was in the elevator on the way to the parking garage that he said, "Aaron, Agent Hotcher, is coming with us to my place. He and I have to discuss something related to the case, and then he's going to work until dinner while we talk."

"But, won't he-"

"Hear? No. Kid, I'm a best-selling author, I have a literal mansion." He flashed her a smile, and his confidence was easy to trust, even if she lacked her own. She wasn't so sure, still, but even if Hotch could hear, she knew he wouldn't say anything about it; he didn't seem one to bring up potentially mortifying events to dwell on, anyways. Ashley nodded quietly as she followed Dave, but he paused her as they got off the elevator. "I need to know if that's alright with you, though."

Her first thought was to deflect with a comment like, 'why would Hotch working be that concerned with my approval, given that he's the literal boss?' but she was too nervous to joke, as much as she was trying not to show it. She could feel Rossi's gaze intently searching her face for some cue that she was unaware of, but she decided that she should show the man the respect she felt for him. "As long as you're sure that no one can hear…" she said nervously.

"Atta girl," Dave said, once again putting his arm around her shoulders as he led her to the car and, once there, climbed into the backseat after he opened the door for her.

The thing about Rossi's apparent literal mansion, though, is that it wasn't terribly close to the office, which left her an opportunity to think. Because several things were at odds with each other, or at least it seemed that way to her.

First, she couldn't have been the first person Rossi employed this use of discipline on, right? The way he spoke seemed that this wasn't new to him; he had in fact verbally stated that he used it on his subordinates when he was the boss, if she remembered correctly. And, well, Hotch used to be his subordinate. Hotch gave no indication of knowing anything was up, which means he was either truly clueless or, maybe more likely, used to discretion around this particular topic.

The demeanor of the younger boss was another thing that was maybe off; Agent Rossi had said that he was meeting with Hotch to discuss something case-related, but his quiet seemed to go beyond that of contemplating the next sexual sadist the team would encounter. At times, she caught his eyebrows drawn together in worry before he glanced at Dave, then made quick work of restoring his face to a careful neutral. He seemed oblivious to Seaver's presence, which she thought was interesting as well. A man who studied serial killers for as long as Agent Hotchner had? There was no way he wasn't by default closely attuned to his settings.

This, she supposed, meant one of three things that she could think of. One, Hotch actually knew she was there. Unlikely, since she had not once seen him express genuine anxiety like this before, and in fact he seemed careful to guard his emotions from, well, anyone but Rossi.

Which brought her to meaning two: Hotch felt so comfortable around Rossi as to forget Seaver was in the backseat, meaning that this was hardly the first time Hotch had been at Rossi's house more often than the team had been as a whole. More than likely it also wasn't an unfamiliar occurrence for Rossi to be driving,

There was also explanation three: Hotch was anxious enough to forget Ashley's presence in the backseat, and whatever he was anxious about was also likely what the expected topic of conversation between the two men was. Which might mean that it was something similar to what she expected her upcoming conversation with Agent Rossi would be like. Maybe that was just her wistfully thinking, not like she wanted the younger profiler to be feeling Rossi's displeasure, it was just… some company would have been nice, she supposed.

Feeling a little bit like a kid trying on an adult's clothing, trying to use her profiling skills, she realized that probably the second explanation was the most likely but it could theoretically be a combination of explanations two and three. She really needed to work on her profiling skills, she supposed.

Then, once they had parked and were headed inside the… yeah, Agent Rossi did have a literal mansion, Hotch hung back for a step to join up with her. In an uncharacteristic display of affection, Hotch swung an arm around her shoulders and gave her a brief squeeze before breaking contact. She stopped, trying not to betray her shock at the uncharacteristic friendliness, turning to him curiously.

She supposed her profiling skills might be sharper than she originally gave herself credit for when Hotch gave her a small, genuine smile that seemed to knock years off his age, and quietly said to her "it's not as bad as you probably think." She doubted he'd be referring to anything but the punishment she was facing, and it sounded like he was speaking from experience.

Dave clearly overheard as he rolled his eyes and said "it will be if you kids don't make your way in here now!" and grinned as the two younger agents scrambled inside the house. Hotch shot Seaver a sheepish look that made her relax a little further, knowing that he likely was still at least somewhat subject to Rossi's unconventional disciplinary methods, despite technically being the official boss.

"Ashley, I'll show you where to set your things," Agent Rossi said to her before looking towards Hotch.

"I'll be upstairs," the younger boss said, holding up his briefcase with the promise of more work before Rossi nodded his understanding once, then ushered Ashley through a maze of hallways.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Dave often felt like he couldn't be prouder of Hotch; the agent who he had trained ended up a compassionate and effective boss, and a brilliant profiler. There were moments, though, where Hotch managed to make Rossi even prouder of the younger agent.

Dave had been waiting until they were out of Seaver's earshot to discuss the anxious looks Aaron was shooting him the entire ride back to his house, not wanting to embarrass his protege. However, he had a feeling that those anxious looks were the prelude to his conspiratorial remarks with Ashley meant to put the cadet at ease, knowing that he had been where she was before, and survived.

Knowing how difficult it was for Hotch to admit that to anyone, his pride in his protege soared. He had let Hotch decide the amount of information explicitly stated subsequently other than his joking remark that had the younger agents scrambling through the door. Hence Hotch saying he'd wait upstairs was really code for he'd be waiting in the room that had, over the years, become his own. His professional wording was slightly belied by his casual tone, but his gesture with the briefcase made it clear that just because he was okay with Seaver knowing he was familiar with off-books discipline in theory didn't mean that he was okay with her knowing that he was there that evening at least in part because he had found himself in trouble.

So, Dave had shown Ashley to a room that was a suitable distance from Aaron's; he was confident that the distance and layout were such that there would be no noise from one room that ever reached the other. While he would have instructed Aaron to wait in the corner, he refrained from doing so with Ashley; she wasn't familiar with that specific consequence, or any of his discipline tactics really, and he wanted to be able to monitor when he introduced her to the concept. Besides, he didn't want to torture her in the corner while he had no idea how long his discussion with Hotch would take.

Instead, he held out his hand for her phone, and ignored her rolling her eyes as he instructed her to focus on studying while she waited for his meeting with Hotch to conclude. He watched long enough to make sure she was following instructions before he backed out of her room, shut the door, and went upstairs in search of Hotch.

As expected, Hotch was waiting in his bedroom. Dave opened the door to find him anxiously pacing, though his head shot up guiltily when he heard Dave's presence. "I didn't know if you wanted me to…" he trailed off, still finding it difficult to voice the words even after so many years, and gestured to the corner.

Ah, so he was still nervously trying to be the best-behaved and most agreeable agent Rossi had ever even thought about working with, and for a second Dave worried over Hotch's motivations for revealing to Seaver that he had experienced his boss's unconventional means of discipline. He had seemed genuinely concerned about alleviating some of the cadet's tension, though.

"Hey, it's alright," Dave said, voice pitched softly not because he thought it would carry, but because Hotch was starting to look thoroughly wrung out. "I didn't give you any instructions, I wasn't expecting you to do anything."

"I was worried I missed something implied because you wanted to preserve my dignity in front of Seaver," Hotch mumbled, and Dave was momentarily taken aback. Hotch was never forthcoming with anything that started with a phrase like "I was worried." The only time Hotch was forthcoming with his feelings, period, was when… Shit.

Was when he felt like he had to be agreeable; otherwise, Rossi drawing out his feelings was Hotch's subconscious way of testing to see if Dave would give up because he was being too much work, being too much effort to be worth it. Hotch was worse off than Rossi had realized, and for the umpteenth time that night, he wondered how someone had more than one kid, with worries of leaving Seaver waiting too long at the back of his mind while he focused his attention on the kid standing in front of him. She was studying, and she thought they were talking about work. She might be a little worse off having to wait, but she wouldn't suspect anything was up with Hotch, and she didn't seem like she was likely to start panicking at her current situation.

Hotch was staring at him expectantly, and Rossi was quick to reassure him. "If I had wanted to give you instructions, Aaron, I would have found a way. You know that."

Hotch thought it over for a moment before acquiescing, "I suppose so." He looked like he was about to say something more, and so Dave waited. The quiet did what he hoped, and prompted Hotch to speak. "If you want to go talk with Seaver before talking with me, I can wait," he said. He looked a little pained, but his voice was even and mild-mannered, as if he were suggesting he could be helpful by washing the dishes after supper.

Part of Dave wanted to take him up on his offer, though his motivation for that desire was that postponing discipline now until after he talked with the wayward cadet would allow him to spend as much time comforting Hotch as he suspected Hotch would need. However, he knew Hotch would likely take it as Dave pushing him away if he took him up on the offer. Plus, Hotch really did need to sleep, and he had planned on having the younger man nap during his conversation with Ashley. Thinking it over, he took a seat on the side of Hotch's bed, and patted the spot next to him.

Hotch immediately went to where Dave was standing, but didn't sit down just yet, his hands fluttering by his sides as if he wanted to anxiously wring them. It took Dave a moment to realize that Hotch was expecting him to haul him over his lap right there and then, and he shook his head with a small smile. "Sit," he said, patting the spot next to him again, "I just want to talk right now."

He could have sworn he heard a small, grumbled "yeah, right now," from his protege, but the kid immediately went on his best behavior again.

"I'm gonna level with you right now kid, I don't know whether to take you up on that offer." As expected, he saw a flash of hurt start to pass over Hotch's face and rushed forward before the younger man could jump to any conclusions, "Not for the reasons you're thinking. Aaron, you… I want to be able to stay with you indefinitely, after your punishment, because I think you might need it."

"I'm hardly an invalid, Dave."

"When did I ever say you were? Besides, it makes me feel better too, okay? Truth be told, I don't think my discussion with Seaver will be all that long, but I have no way of knowing that for sure. So, it's up to you. If you decide to wait, though, you'll be standing in the corner until." He felt like he should at least be completely transparent in letting Hotch choose, but parking his protege in the corner would keep his mind from wandering to current anxieties. Hopefully. He always ran the small risk of coming back to Hotch having a panic attack in the corner, and the worry wasn't without precedent, but he felt like the risk wasn't unnecessarily large at the moment.

He waited as Hotch bit his lip before standing. "I think I'd rather wait, if it's all the same," he said, before heading to the corner without argument. Dave pushed aside his worries as best he could as he looked at Hotch for a long moment, trying to settle the nagging feeling in his stomach, before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Seaver was nervous, but she had tried to do as Agent Rossi had instructed and study while she waited for him. She had managed to succeed so well that the sound of Rossi knocking, then opening the door to the room she was occupying, actually startled her. Sheepishly, she looked towards him- okay, maybe it was also because she was a bit nervous. Still, she trusted Rossi, more than she trusted almost anyone, despite not knowing the man for all that long (in terms of time spent with him, not duration from when she met him.) He was honest with her when she was a kid, though, and he was honest with her as an adult. Plus, he just had a generally safe feeling about him, and he had somehow conveyed clearly to her that he cared.

It was part of why she agreed to this. Because she cared about her career, yes, but she knew that being bounced from the FBI Academy wouldn't leave any permanent scar on her work history (other than applying for the FBI, of course.) She could join any number of government agencies, though she'd be lying if she said she picked the FBI for any reason other than the fact that they were the ones who put away her father. It wasn't relevant, though, because she felt safe with Rossi.

He smiled encouragingly at her as he took a seat on the side of the bed she was working on, waiting for her to close her books and set them aside. "You change your mind?" he asked, and she appreciated that he was making sure she still consented to this unconventional means of discipline.

"No," she said, meeting his eyes squarely.

"Atta girl," he said, reaching out a hand to ruffle her hair and making her laugh. "You're a good kid, Ashley, and you could be a great agent in the future," she quickly stopped laughing and paid attention as the mood in the room sobered. "You have a good heart, and I can appreciate you wanting to try to right old wrongs. That's not why you're in trouble, okay?" He waited for a response, tapping her knee when she nodded her head. "Verbal answers, Ashley."

She succeeded in fighting back a scowl at the unexpected instruction, but she supposed that she had agreed to this. "Yes Sir, I understand," she answered to Rossi's approving nod.

"Now, I want you to tell me why you've found yourself in this position this time."

She answered dutifully, "I was under strict orders not to go off by myself, but I did, and almost got hurt by the unsub."

"Unnecessarily risking your life will always get you the same response that you're getting now. Hotch and I don't give orders just to hear ourselves talk," Dave rebuked, and Ashley squirmed. She wanted to protest the unspoken implication of this happening sometime in the future should she make the same mistake, except, well… She doubted this was something Agent Rossi offered to agents without taking a continued interest in their life, and trouble had always seemed to find her.

Thoroughly chastised, Ashley hung her head as she mumbled, "I understand. I apologize."

"I know you do," Rossi said with a gentleness that surprised her, given what was about to happen. "However, I'm going to give you some… incentive, to not make the same mistakes in the future."

"I don't know what to do," she whispered, trying to be brave. "I've never… before" she alluded to the punishment, but found it too embarrassing to say out loud.

Rossi gave her a soft smile, "I know. Here's what's gonna happen, but I need you to tell me if any part of this makes you feel too uncomfortable or unsafe. Not just a little uncomfortable, that's part of the point of this. I mean truly uncomfortable, got it?"

"Got it," she said almost reflexively, then focused her attention towards the senior agent.

"In a moment, I'm going to pull you across my lap. This time, you'll keep your pants up. If you do something particularly reckless, or if we have to have the same conversation multiple times, I can't guarantee that in the future. This time, I'm using my hand, and only my hand. Again, anything particularly reckless or repeated multiple times, and I can't promise you that. I can, however, promise that I'll never use anything unsafe or otherwise put you in danger, and I won't leave any lasting damage. Yes, spankings hurt, but by the time you wake up tomorrow morning I'd be shocked if you felt it at all."

With a bravery she didn't know she had, she stoically listened to his speech, "I understand, Agent Rossi," she said.

Softening again, he quietly corrected her with a small smile, "Dave." She gave him a small smile in return, which quickly morphed into biting her lip to avoid squeaking as the senior profiler pulled her across his lap. Her torso was propped up on the bed, but her legs dangled off the side of Rossi's lap.

He didn't give her much time to adjust to her new position before she heard the first smack fall; slightly puzzled, she didn't feel the pain associated with the swat immediately, though seconds later, she felt the mild sting catch up. Rossi started smacking at a faster tempo, but didn't say anything as he quickly laid down smack after smack, each spank overlapping given her small stature.

Truthfully, she still wasn't sure what the big deal was; it stung a little, sure, but it was a child's punishment, and she understood why. Then another few moments passed, and she started to realize why this particular punishment could be adapted to adults. Once Rossi had covered the same area a handful of times, the sting was actually starting to build up. Still, it was tolerable. Unpleasant, sure, but she had certainly endured worse. One could argue that the FBI obstacle course, where Rossi had found her prior to the case, was in the category of being physically worse than the punishment she was currently receiving.

Rossi started speaking, then, and the growing sting left in the wake of the smacks systematically covering her rear made it impossible for her to distance herself from his verbal chastisement. His words also tore at her emotions, as did the care she could hear behind them.

"Don't. You. Worry. Us. Like. That. Again." He said, each word punctuated by a particularly hard swat, aimed at the junction between her bottom and her thighs. She squirmed harder; those swats actually hurt!

"You're a good kid, Ashley," still he didn't let up, but his words made her happy despite her position. "You'll be a great agent, but not if you get yourself killed first by pulling reckless stunts like this. Maybe you aren't used to having people who care about your continued wellbeing, but rest-assured you have that now." She wondered how he could possibly know all that, before realizing that he both read her file and was also one of the men who defined the science of profiling. It was around then that she noticed she had, at some point, started crying; Rossi's sincere words of care only served to turn a few small sniffles from the sting into steady streams of tears running down her face, caused more by emotion than from the rapidly building pain from the spanking.

"I do this because I care," he said, and then increased the tempo and strength of swats, covering her bottom and thighs with a heat that was becoming excruciating, until she had given up all notions of taking the spanking stoically. He didn't seem to expect her too, anyways, so she let herself react genuinely. The onslaught of swats to her behind seemed never ending, and time seemed to warp as she felt like she had been experiencing the punishment for hours, when in reality it had only been a few minutes. At some point, the pain in her backside was too distracting to wonder about how long Rossi had been spanking her for, and didn't his hand hurt because her butt sure did! She felt like it was ages before he spoke again, and when he did so he increased the strength of each smack connecting with her behind.

"This is because I want you to live up to your potential, and most importantly, I! Want! You! To! Stay! Alive!" Each of those final words were punctuated by the hardest swats he had given her during the entirety of the punishment, once again aimed at the particularly tender skin where her bottom and thighs met, and were the catalyst for her crying turning into full-blown sobbing.

Her shoulders shook with quiet tears as she sobbed out all the emotions she had pent up from the case. Her tears washed away her guilt and anxiety, and she was able to let go of her own fear in the moment where she realized she was standing face-to-face with a killer, and might not live to graduate from the Academy. She didn't register it until a few moments later, but Rossi had stopped spanking her and had instead switched to rubbing her back as she spent the last of her tears. She soaked up the physical affection as she calmed down, her sobs eventually dwindling to sniffles.

Once she had fully stopped crying and her sniffles came intermittently, Rossi said something that made her stomach plummet.

"I made allowances for this being your first spanking. Rest assured, if you ever risk your life in the future, this will be much, much worse."

She swallowed nervously, and stammered out a "yes, Sir." She thought that it had been plenty bad already, but rationally she couldn't blame him for feeling like he needed to provide an exceptionally strong deterrent to needlessly risking one's life, especially in a job as dangerous as theirs. She didn't know what to do then, feeling silly over the profiler's lap still, but was she even allowed to get up? She tentatively tried to stand, and wasn't met with any resistance. Instead, Dave helped her stand up from her position over his lap and, before she could even process what was happening, she found herself positioned sitting on Dave's lap. It wasn't unpleasant, with her head resting against his chest and her bottom between his legs, in the position that would minimize her soreness, and she unconsciously snuggled closer.

She didn't think she had any anxieties about Dave disliking her after she required such discipline until she found herself rid of those anxieties through his gentle words and soft hand alternating between carding through her hair and rubbing her back. All she felt was his care, and she would willingly admit that it was a very nice feeling. She thought she should feel more embarrassed about sobbing, then cuddling the man, but she only felt safe; vague memories of him hugging a much younger version of herself as she watched her father be led away in cuffs reminded her that he'd always been safe.

"I'm sorry," she murmured again, suddenly exhausted.

"You're forgiven kiddo," he said, "All forgiven." He patted her back gently, rocking her a little bit on his lap, and again she thought she should perhaps be embarrassed, but she couldn't help but think it felt nice as her eyelids started to droop.

"Tired?" He chuckled at her answering yawn, "I'll wake you for dinner, okay?" he said standing up, easily lifting her small frame and pulling back the sheets of the bed. She let him maneuver her so that she was laying on her stomach, and he gently pulled the duvet up over her.

The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was the feeling of Rossi still watching over her, and the thought that no bed had any right being that comfortable.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Kids, spankings, and naptime- it was a tried and true trick, a tale as old as time, and, right now, something for which Dave Rossi was incredibly thankful for.

First, he went to check on Aaron, to make sure the younger man wasn't in any distress from his extended stay in the corner while Dave talked with Ashley. Peeking into Hotch's bedroom, Dave found him standing in the corner as instructed, with no signs of obvious duress; he felt himself relax marginally- in Hotch's emotional state, Dave had learned that nearly anything was possible. There had been many fiascos during Hotch's younger years as he tested Dave's unending commitment.

"Get dressed in pajamas," Rossi instructed his surrogate son, "I still want you to nap while I make dinner." Knowing Hotch would protest about being unable to help, especially when feeling the need to prove his worth, Rossi continued without leaving it up for discussion, "Then I want you back in the corner. I'll be back in 5 minutes."

He departed Hotch's room, then, and headed for his own, both to change from his work clothes (and from the shirt Ashley had just cried on) and to grab Ashley a pair of his sweats and a t-shirt. He knew they would be huge on her, but it was his oversized garment or her go-bag clothing, which was now only dirty clothes, having lived out of the kit for the duration of the case. The garments were left at the foot of her bed after Dave tried telling her what they were, smiling amusedly as she half-asleep acknowledged him, likely in an attempt to get him to leave her alone so she could properly sleep. He quietly exited the room, wondering if that would be forever known as "Ashley's room" now, just as there was an "Aaron's room" in his mental blueprint.

Speaking of "Aaron's room," that's where he made his way back to, and was once again pleased to find his protege standing in the corner as previously instructed. His flannel pants and comfortable, well-worn sweatshirt had both, at one point, belonged to Dave; Hotch typically reserved wearing those garments for when he was in despair, because it felt too personal. It was a fact that pulled at Dave's heartstrings, unaided by the fact that the clothing items were endearingly too large for Hotch's thin frame.

However, the second Dave entered the room, Hotch turned from the corner and asked "is Seaver okay?" worriedly.

While Dave thought his concern was sweet, he fixed Hotch with a look that reminded the younger man to turn back towards the corner. As soon as he had done that, Dave answered him, "She's okay. Napping, now." He always felt like a tool for being strict with Aaron, especially when his surrogate son was clearly in a vulnerable emotional state, but he knew that his boy needed consistency more than leniency, or he'd spiral hard and fast. Still, he wasn't trying to spook Aaron, and in a considerably softer tone of voice, he continued, "You ready to talk now, kid?"

"Yeah," Aaron said from the corner, "Er, at least I'll try?" he amended, shifting on his feet and letting a hand come up to rub at his neck. It was a nervous gesture, and spoke to his fear of answering incorrectly.

Really, it was the most Dave could ask for, and he preferred honesty over empty assurances. "Alright, c'mere," he said, patting the bed next to him. Once again, Aaron immediately joined him by the side of the bed and again fidgeted as couldn't figure out where Dave wanted him. While he was planning on taking his surrogate son over his knee, that would only be after they talked. Understanding the root of the misbehavior, Dave knew, was key to ensuring that it wouldn't be repeated, and the punishment would be a learning experience rather than some odd retribution. Dave pointedly patted the bed beside him, quietly instructing, "take a seat, Aaron."

Once Hotch had settled down besides Dave, he continued. "Okay, walk me through today. You seemed okay on the plane when I suggested that I handle things off-books with Seaver, then by the time I found you at your apartment, you were worried you were being replaced. Something happened in between, so spill." While the words sounded gruff, he made sure to keep his tone gentle and comforting towards Aaron.

Aaron said nothing, and Dave patiently waited another minute. He was considering prompting his protege onwards by being a little sterner when Hotch suddenly blurted, "You never had me work in your office!" Like a child much younger, he followed the admission by clapping a hand over his mouth, seemingly horrified by what he had just said.

Not entirely following, Dave left it open to Hotch's lead. "Thank you for being honest, Aaron," he said, watching the younger man's face pink as he fought not to smile at the praise from his mentor.

Once again, he remained quiet until Hotch started talking again. "I… you and Seaver took a while getting back, and I wasn't sure if you were coming back to the office at all, even. I was actually about to call you when I heard you enter the office. It… was probably just as well, considering you would have told me off for being disrespectful had I reached you then."

Ah, Dave was also familiar with this tactic of Hotch's. What Hotch did whenever he felt so guilty that he didn't trust Rossi to dole out severe enough consequences, so he confessed to everything he did or even thought of doing in the hopes of swaying Rossi towards being more stern. Hotch was abused as a child, and his definition of "severe enough" as an adult, he had once admitted, basically amounted to a proper beating. So, at the same time, he was also trying to see how far he could push Rossi, testing if Rossi would ever go so far as to cross the line into abuse. He wasn't thrilled about Hotch's manipulative tactics, but he knew the younger man wasn't doing it intentionally. He was trying to control the situation, which Dave didn't appreciate, though he certainly understood. Rossi elected not to bring it to Hotch's attention, trying to keep his protege from shutting down or otherwise stop being open and honest with him, and let Hotch direct the conversation.

"I realized, trying to write my report, that… old worries… were starting to resurface." Dave knew exactly what Hotch meant by that; they had many conversations during Hotch's younger years that boiled down to Hotch acting out or making reckless decisions due to his insecurities about his place in Dave's life. Dave had almost let himself believe they were past it, though realistically he knew most likely that these doubts would always rear their ugly head once in a while; you simply didn't survive a childhood like Hotch's without a number of skeletons in the closet.

Dave, however, didn't entirely understand how the two things related until Hotch bridged the gap, "I went to talk to you and that's when I noticed you weren't there."

Once again, Rossi felt a swell of pride for his surrogate son. "You were having those feelings and you tried to seek me out instead of doing something like putting your life at risk or going radio-silent for 3 days?" He asked for confirmation, and when Hotch nodded shyly, he didn't have the heart to be stern and require a verbal answer, instead throwing caution to the wind and hugging Hotch spontaneously. Hotch didn't resist, though he feebly murmured some excuse about how the gesture wasn't necessary.

"Nonsense," Rossi said in a tone that he hoped booked no argument, "I'm so proud of you." Verbal expressions of pride like that were still hit-or-miss with Hotch, though he had grown significantly better at receiving such comments over the numerous years Dave had known him. A drunken Hotch had once informed Rossi, around 5 years into their partnership, that it actually used to physically pain him to hear praise like that. While Rossi would have liked to know about that earlier, having been slightly chagrined at the knowledge that he had unintentionally hurt Hotch, even if it was to say something kind, he had to admit that he would have found it hard to refrain from such comments. In the long run, too, he was glad that Hotch had gotten better at hearing praise- he more than deserved to hear good things, and for someone to tell him that they were proud of him.

Hotch predictably ducked his head, and he stammered out a "thank you." Dave was a little impressed, that was maybe the most verbal the kid had ever been after hearing such a declaration, though again he was slightly concerned that the younger profiler was forcing himself to be uncomfortable in a misguided attempt to live up to his skewed definition of "good." However, he said nothing out loud, merely giving himself a mental reminder to keep an eye out for any of the familiar signs.

He pulled back from the hug as he felt Aaron stir, unable to accept comfort for an extended period of time. Still, he kept an affectionate hand on Hotch's back as he gave his surrogate son the space to continue his story.

"Then when I passed your office again, I noticed that Seaver was working in it… I know realistically I should be glad that you never felt the need to keep me that close, but…"

"You were already thinking you were about to be pushed away?" Rossi took mercy on Hotch, who looked painfully embarrassed by his insecurities.

"Yeah," Hotch croaked out, forcing himself to continue despite the uncomfortable nature of talking about emotions. "So I went home, except in the parking garage I got a little frustrated," he held up his hand, which had only become more bruised, prompting Rossi to once again reach out to grab it, gently inspecting the damage.

Hotch winced as Dave forced him to move his fingers one by one, and Dave promised, "I'll get you some ice to keep on while you nap," once he determined that there was no benefit to icing it immediately and thus deciding that it did not provide an excuse to halt this clearly necessary conversation with his protege. It had likely been necessary for a while; Hotch tended to sit on these types of feelings and stew. Rossi, for as much as he tried, frequently missed more subtle hints of simmering emotions, something all his ex-wives could attest to. "So…" he prompted Aaron to continue that time, after waiting a moment before deciding the younger profiler wasn't going to automatically start his recollection again.

"So I went home and worked on my report, and that's when you showed up." Hotch shrugged, clearly searching for something to say and then resigning himself to being unable to find the words. Most days, Rossi would use such a moment to tease Hotch about his lawyer skills, but that didn't feel appropriate for the moment.

He thought about what did feel appropriate for the moment, knowing he had to decide relatively quickly, before Hotch started getting twitchy from anxiety. It wasn't necessarily rare for Rossi to draw Hotch over his knee- in the earlier days of their partnership, only after Rossi had spanked the kid about a half dozen times did Aaron admit that his father had beaten him with a belt, and he only admitted it after he had a dissociative flashback over it. It was then that Rossi decided that not only would he never take a belt to the kid's backside again, but it had prompted the first time Rossi drew the younger man over his knee for a spanking. It felt considerably more personal, and since then had become his default for whenever he felt Hotch needed to be kept closer, typically because he was either questioning his place in Rossi's life, or because Rossi thought that Hotch was more likely to freak out bending over a piece of furniture due to feelings of emotional distance. Truth be told, he would have preferred not to spank the man at all when faced with the latter, but the same time Hotch had a dissociative flashback, he had insisted Rossi finish his punishment. So, in total, at least eighty percent of the spankings Hotch received nowadays were carried out while he was over his mentor's knee.

It was, however, considerably more rare for Rossi to use only his hand when Hotch was over his knee, and those moments were typically reserved for when Hotch was questioning his place in Rossi's life. It was because he wanted it to be absolutely abundantly clear to Aaron that it was between the two of them, and to show that he wasn't distancing himself even if Aaron messed up on a scale large enough to warrant a proper spanking. Less frequently, it was because he thought that Hotch would likely freak out if he felt any measure of distance- again, it was those moments when Rossi would have gladly skipped on spanking his protege if not for Hotch's insistence and need for consistency.

All in all, it wasn't much of a decision. Dave always dreaded doling out a spanking, and finding himself about to deliver his second in as many hours made him feel like a monster. He internally sighed, knowing this was for the kid's own good.

"Alright, stand up," he instructed, trying to keep the note of sadness from his voice. Aaron complied immediately. "Pants down," he gave the next instruction in a gentle tone; his protege looked like he wanted to argue, but instead he turned his eyes downcast as his hands went to the string holding the flannels up. The desperate look he shot Dave after clumsy hands fumbled, failing to undo the knot, let him know that it wasn't a stalling tactic; Aaron was really nervous, and silently begging Dave to help- something which he knew the younger man hated.

First, though, he captured Aaron's shaking hands with his own, squeezing them as he instructed his protege to breathe. "In… Out… There you go. Attaboy," he repeated a handful of times until Hotch stopped trembling. He batted the younger man's hands out of the way as he undid the drawstring, gently admonishing, "let me help you Aaron, okay?"

Hotch nodded and looked down, his hands clenched into fists by his sides in an attempt to follow Dave's instructions. Dave pulled him over his lap, then, and maneuvered him into the position best suited for his upcoming task. Once again he paused, rubbing Hotch's back until his small trembling subsided again.

Then, in one swift motion, Aaron's flannels and boxers were around his knees as he whined quietly.

Because this wasn't about Dave and Aaron's flannels, or Dave and Aaron's boxers- it was about Dave and Aaron.

He rested his hand on Hotch's backside, having elected not to use any implement. It was an unusual choice, but the emotionally charged situation meant that it wasn't about severity, really.

It also wasn't about a hairbrush and Aaron, or a wooden spoon and Aaron- it was about Dave and Aaron.

With a determined look in his eye, Dave raised his hand to deliver the first of many stinging swats. By the end of this, he was determined that Aaron would be reassured of his place in his old mentor's life.

-o-o-o-o-o-

A.N.- Hey, look, a spanking actually happened. I couldn't force myself to make Seaver argue given her respect for, and trust in, Dave. Up next, Hotch whump as he receives his dose of Rossi's discipline. Honestly, I don't see him resisting very much now that Rossi has him, but needless to say Rossi's going to want to keep him close for a bit ;)

In the A.N. of my last posted chapter of "If you get lost," I mention maybe bringing in an OC to act as a sounding board and friend for Dave. In creating my world, I tried to draw in other characters I'm interested in writing/have written for previously- fortunately, there are many shows in which characters work for the FBI.
As of right now, I have divided characters into "generations" of surrogate parent/child relationships.

Generation 1: Rossi, Ness (OC)

Generation 2: Aaron, Rosie (OC), Peter Burke (White Collar,) Seeley Booth (Bones)
Generation 3: Spencer, Erin Lindsey (Chicago PD,) Neal Caffrey (White Collar,) Lance Sweets (Bones)

There is literally no guarantee I'll use any of these characters (particularly those from Bones, though I sometimes struggle with writing Peter and Neal,) and I'll only set this up as I need the characters, but I figured this will set me up with the most possibilities for places to go in this universe. Let me know what you think of the current lineup, and let me know if there's anyone else you think would fit in!

As always, let me know what you think generally of this chapter, and I always want to know what you all want to read! Until next time…

- lms