Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear-Guest-reviewer-whose-birthday-is-today! Happy birthday to you!
(They asked for an early update to coincide with their birthday. :D)
Thank you for your reviews! Just a note - not all reviews show up for me all the time, so if you ever review a chapter and I don't see it before the next chapter (like I think a review from Suzy Q1068 didn't show up well), I might not specifically thank you for it but I still appreciate it! :D So, thanks to those who commented on the last chaper - Sarai, Queenofwheels, Troubled-Angel-26, Loads of Randomness DS2010, NaughtyAngelBrat, Fan, S, Ludy, and Guest who has the birthday! :D
Warning: spanking.
Now, enjoy another chapter!
...
Gibbs groaned as he heard the escalated tone in Ziva's voice. He could not hear the words but he had a feeling that he was going to have to step in and make good on his promise that swearing at Jenny or excessive defiance would result in him taking over the spanking until she calmed down again.
Then he heard Jenny call and his heart dropped a little. Just because he made a promise did not mean that he enjoyed following through on them. He hated being the "bad guy" but it was a role that sometimes he had to take for the future good of his team. He started up the stairs, then paused and looked back down, suddenly remembering a day from a long time ago.
...
Kelly had refused to go to bed several times in a row, eventually screaming and throwing a tantrum when Shannon gave her the ultimatum to go to bed immediately or go to bed after a spanking.
And so Shannon was giving their little girl a spanking in the living room. Unsurprisingly, Kelly's temper - mostly inherited from Shannon, according to Gibbs - did not allow her to accept a spanking calmly. And it was then that Kelly decided to call her mother a bad name.
Gibbs had looked up from the newspaper he was pretending to read to distance himself from Kelly's "help, Daddy!"s and saw the shock and hurt on Shannon's face. She froze and tears came to her eyes.
So Gibbs had stood up, walked over, picked up Kelly, and given her a spanking for being disrespectful to her mother. Then he had taken her back to Shannon, made her apologize, and made sure that it did not happen again while Shannon delivered the last few spanks that had been promised for refusing to go to bed.
Then they had both snuggled their little girl, kissed her cheeks, and carried her to bed where they tucked her in and stayed with her until she fell asleep.
...
Gibbs shook his head to clear it, then headed up the stairs. There was a different offended redhead, a different defiant girl - but his role of peacekeeping disciplinarian would be the same. And hopefully the resolution would be just as loving and beneficial as his own echoing memory from a lifetime ago.
...
Ziva panicked a little and fought against Jenny's restraint as she heard Gibbs start up the stairs, then pause before continuing. This could not happen. The concern over the extended spanking was not the main concern. The fact was that she refused to cry when she was being punished. Ever since she had been a child she had fought against tears when being physically chastised. But with Jenny it was different. It reminded Ziva of the few times when she was very little that her Ima had spanked her across her lap. Jenny's gentle but firm hold and quick but many spanks reminded her of those long-ago punishments. And for that reason Ziva was not only able to cry during a spanking but she did so with gusto. Even now she could feel the tears just about to spill over. But she could not cry in front of Gibbs or over his knee! Jenny was not swayed by tears but she would encourage Ziva to "let it all out" and wipe her face gently when it was all over, kissing her forehead and saying that she was "such a brave little girl" despite the breakdown of emotions. Jenny did not punish her for crying. But all of the men who had punished her?
Stupid girl! Stop that carrying on!
SPANK!
The only reason why you are being punished is because you did something wrong and earned your punishment. Now accept it like an honourable soldier!
SLAP!
Be quiet. If you cannot hold up under this then how can we trust you?
SMACK!
No, she could not trust Gibbs to be any different. He may have said previously that it was okay to cry or struggle with being "disciplined" but that must just be a trap. He would wait until she dared to shed a tear and then punish her much worse.
She had to fight back the tears that Jenny's experienced hand had brought to the surface. She had to think of Gibbs as one of them so that she could be reminded of the necessity of hiding her fear and hurt.
She had the distinct idea that doing so would be difficult on all fronts.
...
Gibbs went to the bedroom door, knocked once, then opened the door. Jenny was giving Ziva's pants a final tug back into place. The squirming young lady's face was contorted with anger and frustration and some small amount of pain. Gibbs would have liked nothing better than to have the simple role of comforter but that was not to be. He exchanged a look with Jenny before coming over and taking hold of Ziva's hands as Jenny lifted the spankee to her feet. Ziva immediately tried to pull away but Gibbs kept a strong hold.
"What happened?" he asked. Ziva did not meet his gaze and remained defiantly silent so he turned to Jenny.
"Someone started swearing a me," Jenny said pointedly.
"I am not 'someone'," Ziva grumbled. Gibbs kept from rolling his eyes, instead taking a seat on the bed beside Jenny and expertly pulling Ziva across his knee. He raised his hand to begin the spanking, then paused.
"How was Jenny spanking you, Ziva?" he asked calmly.
"Hard," Ziva deflected.
Warningly he grunted, "Ziva?"
Silence.
He looked to Jenny for an answer.
"Ziva was getting a bare bottom spanking. I just pulled up her pants for while you got her in position. She said that is what you both agreed to when we discussed it previously."
Gibbs nodded and patted Ziva's back in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. "We did. Ziva, I'm going to take your pants down now, just bellow your bottom for your spanking like we agreed."
He paired words with actions. Ziva did as well as she squirmed uncomfortably and whined.
...
"This is not fair! I was not swearing at her!"
"Ziva," Jenny said patiently but with a dangerous edge to her voice, "Many years ago when I was visiting Israel your mother taught me enough Hebrew so that I know that you were swearing. Now do you want to admit the truth or do we need to deal with lying now too?"
Ziva, processing the fact that adding lying to the list would likely be worse than even apologizing, hung her head down and muttered, "I guess that maybe I swore ... but it was just a very little bit! And I will not do it again." That settled, she tried to stand and was brought to the sharp realization that Gibbs' hold on her was tight enough to prevent any attempt at escape.
"You still have to be disciplined for doing it this time," he said firmly. "Now tell me, Ziva, why I'm going to spank you."
Ziva pressed her lips closely together. They liked asking questions before giving a spanking, these two. But that must mean that they would not give the spanking until the question was answered. So perhaps staying silent would prevent the spanking altogether. It was really quite a good idea.
But Gibbs had good ideas too. And three spanks - SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! - with his hand was followed by "Give me an answer, Ziva, or I'll keep giving you a warm-up. The spanks I give you before you answer do not count toward the total that you are going to get for swearing."
The fact was, Ziva's bottom was already warm and she did not appreciate the idea that perhaps it could end up getting any warmer. Besides, those pesky tears were still stubbornly lurking and too many extra spanks might release them. It was a risk ...
SMACK!
... that she could not take.
"I am in trouble for swearing at Jenny," Ziva gasped out unhappily. Now she wanted to swear at Gibbs too but decided against it.
"Thank you," Gibbs said, adjusting his hold on her. "Now you're going to get ten spanks for swearing at Jenny - five with my hand and five with the spoon. Try to hold still."
There was no time to protest. Gibbs apparently wanted this part of the discipline to be over quickly and he spanked fast.
SMACK!
SMACK!
SMACK!
SMACK!
SMACK!
Ziva kicked a little but not nearly as much as she dared with Jenny. Gibbs was already in a strict mood and no matter how much it stung she decided that fighting against it would likely make it worse. She was alternating between squeezing her eyes tightly closed and blinking rapidly, trying to keep the tears at bay.
"Five more," Gibbs said calmly, reaching around and picking up the spoon.
Ziva debated whining or asking for mercy but clamped her mouth closed tightly. Instead she tensed and waited.
I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I cannot cry. I cannot cry. I cannot cry.
Gibbs felt her tense and paused for a second before continuing. "You're a good girl, Ziva. I know you are."
The sudden praise surprised Ziva and she relaxed just before the final five spanks, much slower than the first five.
SPANK!
Ouch! But only four more. Blink hard, Ziva, blink hard.
SPANK!
Why do they have to keep mixing up punishment and niceness?! It is VERY confusing!
SPANK!
I hate wooden spoons. And spankings. Wooden spoon spankings should be globally outlawed!
SPANK!
He spanked my thigh! That stings worse than anything else!
Maybe swearing at Jenny was a bad idea. Maybe I should not do that again. It only makes things worse and if I did it a third time I would be a complete fool. And I, Ziva David, am no fool.
SPANK!
Ouch! The other thigh. That really hurt! I can feel tears still in my eyes. But I cannot cry. Not in front of Gibbs. He might repeat the whole thing again if I do and I could not bear that.
...
Ziva winced as Gibbs pulled her pants and underwear back over her sore bottom and Gibbs winced right along with her. Normally he was gentle with this part but as he knew that once she went back to Jenny they would be going back down he was not quite as concerned this time. He hated to see her pink and sore but it seemed to be the only way that worked at the moment. Talking, warning, scolding, therapy, discussions, lists, rules, promises, being sent to bed, grounding ... apparently there were times when spankings outweighed all other options. He lifted her up and looked at the flushed face. He could tell that she was on the verge of tears. He surmised that it was more from the situation rather than the spanks he had given.
Something pressed on his heart and he reached out and tightly lifted her chin, wincing a little as he saw the pain in her eyes.
"It's okay to cry, Ziva. It's not weak. I won't punish you for it. Never. That's a promise."
Ziva looked back at him with slightly damp and confused eyes before turning to Jenny.
...
See you next week! :D