Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Now You See Me
Warning: contains spanking
Dylan started awake to the shrill sound of his phone ringing. After clumsily fiddling with it to keep it from waking the teenager beside him, his finger managed to find the answer button. He pressed the phone to his ear without looking at the caller ID, sighing in relief as Jack mumbled something incomprehensible and fell even deeper into sleep.
"Rhodes" he all but barked into the phone. It was three freaking am in the morning. "What? Now?" he yelled, lowering his voice when Jack started to stir again. "Okay, I understand sir. I'll be there. Yes that will be great thank you. Okay sir. Thank you again"
Dylan sighed again as he dropped the phone, this time in frustration. Damn his job, he cursed silently. He stared into space for almost five minutes before kicking himself into action. He slinked down the hall and knocked on Merritt's door before poking his head around it. Merritt was a light sleeper and would have woken immediately he knocked. He was right, as Merritt sat up in bed with a questioning look on his face.
"Dylan, what's going on?"
"Sorry for waking you Merritt but something came up. I need you to drive me to the airport"
Merritt instantly felt more awake as he climbed out of bed. "Is everything okay?" he asked worriedly
Dylan shook his head. "I don't know Merritt. They wouldn't tell me anything on the phone. But it sounded important. I need some time to get dressed and speak to Henley and Daniel. Luckily for me, I have a bag parked for situations like this else I wouldn't know what to do right now. Do you think you could be ready in twenty?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll wake the others for you. Take your time"
"Thanks Merritt"
Dylan was ready in fifteen minutes. He packed an extra coat into his bag as the weather was becoming rather chilly, then slipped some socks onto Jack's cold feet. After pulling the blankets around him properly, he kissed his head and disappeared downstairs to meet Merritt and the other horsemen.
"Sorry for waking you guys"
"It's okay" Henley said. "After hearing you yell into the phone, I think its safe to say we were all about half awake before Merritt came to call us"
"Yeah. You could have woken the dead. I wonder how Jack is still asleep" Danny added
Dylan chuckled amusedly. "Jack could sleep through the apocalypse if you let him. Oh that reminds me. He's still grounded. He can't leave the house. Henley, make sure he eats healthy food please. Force it down his throat if you have to. Danny, as I said earlier, still grounded. Don't let him talk you into playing video games. And Merritt,..."
"Dylan, man, come on. We got this. He'll be fine"
"Okay then, that's it. Goodbye guys"
"Bye Dylan"
Jack trudged bleary eyed into the living room a couple of hours later, earning an eye roll from Danny.
"How is it you get out of bed early when you've been expressly forbidden from getting up until a particular time but as soon as you're not restricted you sleep the day away?"
"Ugh, Danny. It's too early. Leave me alone" he grumbled, picking up the box of corn flakes in the kitchen and plopping beside Danny on the couch. "Where's Dylan?"
"It's past ten in the morning Jack, and Dylan's on a trip"
"Ten is still early Danny" Jack grumbled further, before the latter part of Danny's answer caught up with him. He instantly seemed more awake. "What do you mean Dylan's on a trip? When did he leave?"
"At dawn. He didn't wanna wake you"
"But... But... He should have woken me" he whispered dejectedly
Danny felt pity for him. "Don't worry Jackie. He'll be back before you know it. In the meantime, you have us to look out for you"
"Yay" he muttered sarcastically as he started to chew the corn flakes. He only had about ten seconds however before Henley pulled it out of his grasp. "Hey! What the hell?"
"Watch your mouth Jack" Henley reprimanded. "Come eat breakfast"
"That was what I was doing Hen"
"A real breakfast Jackie. If you want the corn flakes you have to eat it properly, with milk and sugar" Henley said as she dragged him towards the kitchen.
"I was going to drink the milk after. It would have been the same thing. Danny help!"
"It's not the same thing and you know it Jack. So quit it" Henley said, before depositing the errant teen into the chair with a glare
"Sorry Jack. Can't help ya. Dylan put Henley in charge of your feeding habits" he said unapologetically
Jack scowled, but a darker one from Henley had him shoveling cereal into his mouth quickly. "Merritt would have helped me. Where is he anyway?" He asked around a mouthful of food
"Sleeping. He had to drive Dylan to the airport"
"Oh. Can we play call of duty later?"
"No Jack. You're grounded, remember? No TV, no computer, no phone, no videogames"
"But Dylan's not here Danny. Can't you make an exception? I promise I'll be good" he tried to coax. "Come on Danny, it's been over a week. I'm having withdrawals"
"No can do Jack. Sorry"
Jack turned gloomily back to his food, noticing two buttered pieces of toast and a glass of orange juice has been added to his meal. "Sorry Hen" he mumbled. "I'm not hungry anymore"
Henley looked at him sadly. "Come on Jackie. Eat at least one piece of toast"
He shook his head. "I'm sorry Henley"
Henley remembered Dylan's words from that morning. Force it down his throat if you have to. But she shook her head. She could never do that to Jack. Dylan wouldn't either, the big softie. Jack had them all so perfectly wrapped around his finger.
"Okay Jack. How about you eat half of this meal and then we can go out?"
Danny's head snapped up from the book he was reading. "Henley, you can't. Dylan said..."
"Dylan said to watch Jack. I need a new pair of shoes and we are almost out of groceries. We're going shopping. And since there's no one home to babysit Jack, he'll have to come with us"
"Clever" Danny agreed. "But we're all not going shopping"
"Oh yes we are" Henley said. "So how about it Jack? You ready to get out of the house?"
Jack grinned cheekily. "You have no idea"
"You dragged me out of bed to watch Jack flit around like drunk fly?" Merritt grumbled
Henley rolled her eyes at Jack's overdramatic displays of freedom. "You know you weren't sleeping Mer. Besides, how much trouble can he get into with the three of us around?" At the incredulous looks she received, she muttered "Never mind"
"We have enough groceries to take us through five winters, and you have all the shoes and clothes you could possibly need in one lifetime. Can we go now? It's getting late" Danny grumbled
"Alright fine" Henley grumbled back. "Let's just get Jack. You guys are no fun" She looked around a few times. "Where did he go?"
Danny face palmed. "I knew this would happen. He's given us the slip"
"I'm gonna throttle him" Henley seethed. "He's never leaving the house again until he's thirty five"
She and Merritt went on to look for Jack, leaving poor Danny with the unenviable job of putting their shopping into the car. They found him almost three hours later- the sun almost disappeared completely- playing cards with a couple of the local kids. He was winning, obviously, and Henley loved the happiness he was radiating but it wasn't enough to save him from the tongue lashing she was going to dish out. It was only when she came closer that she realized the sizeable amount in the middle of the makeshift table the teens were using.
"Jack, you disappeared for almost three hours to come sit here and gamble?" she asked very quietly
Jack turned to her with a smile. "Come see Hen. I'm winning". He would have recognized the grim set of her lips as trouble if he wasn't so euphoric on his 'conquests'
"I'll bet" Henley nodded. "Pack it guys. I'm sure your parents are worried sick somewhere, like I have been…" she looked pointedly at Jack "… looking for you"
Jack chuckled. "Come on Henley, they can take care of themselves. We can take care of ourselves. Right, boys?" The boys just looked at Jack and Henley alternatively. Being raised in the countryside, they knew to respect authority figures and right now Henley was oozing the same authority as their mothers. They were confused, unlike Jack however who had been raised in New York, where respect had been removed from his vocabulary from birth. "So don't be a bitch about it"
There were collective gasps as the other boys made various excuses and disappeared, shooting Jack looks of pity. Jack himself didn't seem to find anything wrong with what he had just said to Henley, and was more torn up about having to stop the game they had been playing. He did notice though when his ear was grabbed painfully and he was dragged behind a mop of red hair.
"Henley, what the hell? You're hurting me" he squeaked
Henley chuckled mirthlessly. "Oh you think this hurts? Wait until I'm done with you" she gritted as she dragged the teen behind her. They passed by a lot of murmuring housewives, who thought Jack deserved whatever was going to happen, and an open mouthed wide eyed Merritt and Danny. Merritt had gone back to Danny after searching for Jack for about two hours. "Go on home boys. Jack and I would be later" she threw over her shoulder at them
"Henley it's almost two miles to the mansion" Danny tried to reason. "Just get in the car okay? We'll figure it out at home"
Henley huffed and deposited Jack in the back seat before sliding in beside him. Merritt settled himself in the passenger seat as Danny was already behind the wheel and he didn't see any sense in making him move over. He kept shooting glances at Jack and Henley through the mirror though, taking in Jack's almost adorable petulant pout and Henley's fuming face.
"Okay, guys. What happened back there?" Merritt asked when he couldn't take the silence anymore. After a few moments of more silence, he raised an eyebrow at Jack. "Jackie?"
"Henley embarrassed me in front of my friends Mer. We were just playing and then she came and dragged me off by my ear. My ear, like I was some unruly child" Jack begun, only for Henley to interrupt.
"Aren't you missing a few details, Jackie dear?" she asked in a suspiciously sweet voice
"What? So I called you some names. If you hadn't gone and been an insufferable whore …"
"JACK"… "JACKIE"! The car screeched to a halt as Danny and Merritt both yelled at the teen in shock. They had just begun on the dirt road that led up to their house and they still had at least half a mile of road ahead of them. Henley got out of the car and stomped over to the other side, dragging Jack out and landing five very hard swats to his behind. Danny and Merritt looked on wide eyed as Jack sputtered.
"You-You can't do that to me Henley. I'll-I'll tell Dylan"
"Oh I can and I will Jack. I don't know what the hell has gotten into you but you are not allowed to call me names after I have been so kind to take you out of the house while you were grounded. You can go right ahead and tell Dylan about it when he returns. We'll see what he has to say but this disrespectful attitude is over" she said as she handed Jack over to Merritt before stalking off into the woods. She returned holding two freshly cut switches stripped of leaves. How she did it no one knew, but Jack had enough sense to start pleading.
"Wait Wait Wait. Henley please, I'm sorry. You don't have to do this. Please. Dylan won't let you" he begged as he struggled to get away from Merritt. "P-Please. Please don't" he added, voice breaking.
"You've been asking for it Jackie" Henley said, before taking him from Merritt and draping him over the trunk of the car. For all her small stature though, Henley was quite strong, and Jack learned that when he couldn't break free from her grip. She reached down one hand and unbuttoned his jeans before pulling it down with his boxers.
A strangled cry tore itself out of Jack's throat as the fiery redhead laid a burning stripe on his backside. He regretted every curse word and every insult he had leveled at Henley, both in his head and in reality as his bottom burned from the switches. At one point he tried to beg some ore, but he was crying too hard to form coherent sentences. It went on for forever (though in reality it was less than three minutes, but unlike Dylan Henley didn't lecture while doling out a spanking) before she released his wrists and pulled up his pants before pulling him up to stand on shaky feet. Jack hopped up and down rubbing his bottom ad giving it relief from the awful sting Henley had put there. He alternated between doing this and hugging himself and wiping his face of tears.
"You have something to say to Henley, Jackie?" Merritt asked the distraught boy
Jack nodded vigorously. "S-Sorry Hen. Sorry. No more please. It h-hurts. It hurts" he coughed out in between sobs, unconsciously inching away from Henley
"It's okay, Jack. It's over." Merritt comforted as he pulled him into a hug. "It's over. Calm down now. That's it" he tried to soothe
"It hurts Mer. It really hurts" Jack hiccupped
"I'm sure it did. But so did your words to Henley. You won't do it again though, right?" Jack shook his head against Merritt's shoulder. "Good. Come on, let's go home"
Jack paled. "C-Can I walk back?"
Danny chuckled slightly. "No Jack. It's part of your punishment. Besides it's less than a minute's drive. I'm sure you can manage"
Henley paced back and forth rapidly, alternating between twirling her fingers and biting her nails. Merritt and Danny sighed as one before Merritt spoke. "Henley, you're making me dizzy with all your pacing. Would you sit down?"
"What if I hurt him? What if he hates me now? He probably won't talk to me again. Maybe I should go and apolo…"
"You'll do no such thing Hen. The boy deserved it. Besides, he's sleeping. Dylan would kill you if you woke him" Danny admonished
"Danny is right Henley. Jack knew what he did was wrong. He would never hold it against you. Quit worrying over nothing"
Henley resumed the pacing. After the spanking in the woods, it had taken her a while to cool off. Then came the stomach churning guilt over what had happened. She had tried talking to Jack, who spoke back so quietly Henley barely recognized him. "He didn't eat much at dinner today. He barely ate at all. He's mad at me. I know it. Oh God what did I do?"
"Henley, Jack barely eats half of what we eat. The doctor explained it remember? That's why we always have snacks lying around. When he's hungry he'll eat, not a moment before" Merritt tried to reason
"If it makes you feel better, hen, why don't you take him some snacks or something? I'm sure he'll appreciate it" Danny mumbled without taking his eyes off the TV.
Henley brightened immediately. "Yes, I'll try that. Thanks Danny" she said and disappeared into the kitchen. She reappeared a moment later. "What do you think he'll prefer? Orange juice or milk?"
Danny groaned loudly while Merritt stood up and pushed Henley until she was sitting in the other corner of the couch Danny was sitting in. "Henley, relax. Breathe. Jack is fine. He's not mad at you nor would he ever be. When he's hungry, he'll come down for food. Until then we leave him alone, okay?"
"Okay, but what…" she trailed off as the teenager in question came blearily down the stairs, more asleep than awake. He passed them without even noticing their presence and went straight to the kitchen. He came back out with a glass of milk and a plate of cookies, settling at the table and sleepily munching away. Danny and Merritt rolled their eyes at Henley's open mouthed look. This was not something new. Jack ate at all hours of the day and night due to his metabolism, and this was just one of those days. But Henley had worked herself up so much it almost seemed new to her.
When Jack finished eating, he stood up, and in the same half asleep steps, plopped himself in the middle of the couch with low 'ow', laid his head on Henley's lap, ad promptly went back to sleep. Merritt chuckled at the look of relief that crossed the red head's face and the visible relaxed posture. Danny didn't even turn from the TV as he mumbled a 'told you' under his breath.
Henley smiled as she run a hand through Jack's hair, bending to place a kiss on his head. Thank you, Jackie.