Tim squirmed in his usual spot on the sofa, his ears catching the faint strains of Gibbs finishing up the clearing off of the dining room table after dinner. Drawing his knees up to his chest, he dropped his head down on them and let out a very gentle groan.
The first spanking had been bad, the second one had been worse, and as he was staring down the barrel of his third conversation with their less than conventional boss, he didn't think his backside could take anymore.
He had already suffered through a long day at the office, his desk chair where he remained for most of the day, having little sympathy for his throbbing backside.
He had been pleasantly surprised at Tony's…conscientious behaviour towards him. Usually the elder agent would revel in the fact that not only was he not the one in trouble for a change, but McPerfect as he liked to refer to him, was the one in the hot seat.
Sighing, he reminded himself that he deserved everything he was getting and that he was lucky to still have his job, never mind no official sanctions whatsoever.
Still though, as he shifted uncomfortably due to the pangs from last night's whipping, he couldn't help but whimper at the thoughts of the thick leather careering across his tender regions once again.
His inner whimpering was suddenly cut short, as Gibbs suddenly strode into the living room. Tim once again marvelled at how…different his boss was when he was at home. The trademark jeans and hoodies made him seem somehow less…Gibbs-ish. The younger man had found that he could share in an easy comrardary with the elder man outside of work…well, when he wasn't laying into him that was.
He watched silently as Gibbs perched in the usual lecturing armchair and looked over at him sternly.
He again wondered how the man could switch from being laid back and well…downright funny, straight back into the annoyed, stern and resolved boss they all knew and…well, loved, most of the time…
"How you doing kid?"
The gentle tone, accompanied by the stern glare, was so contrasting that Tim remained in surprised silence for a moment, before finding his voice.
"I'm…ok I guess" he murmured quietly, knowing that Gibbs would hardly believe any expression of extreme happiness given the circumstances.
Nodding thoughtfully, the older agent ran his trademark gaze over the obviously pensive boy for a moment.
"You get why I'm being so hard on you, right Tim?"
Looking up and relaxing somewhat at the obvious affection evident in the usually steely blue eyes, McGee felt his head bobbing up and down in response.
"Because I was an absolute idiot?" he grinned.
Snorting somewhat at the levity, Gibbs nodded.
"Well yeah son, in a nutshell. But it was your behaviour that was idiotic, not you, got that?"
"Yes boss" McGee replied quietly, feeling ridiculously relieved that Gibbs still thought of him the same way he always did.
Silence ensued for a moment as the team leader ran his gaze once more over his youngest boy.
"What are we dealing with tonight, Tim?" he eventually asked, breaking the surprisingly comfortable silence.
McGee gulped somewhat as he recalled the cardinal rule he had broken in his fit of petulant rage.
He noticed immediately that the stance of the elder man across from him had subtly shifted into "boss mode", and he chose his words accordingly.
"Uhh…we're uhm, dealing…we're dealing with the fact that I deliberately shut off my phone so I couldn't be contacted or…found."
As the words left his mouth, he cringed with embarrassment at his stupid actions.
He should have known Gibbs would find him, even if that damn bar had been on the moon, he would have found him.
He was Gibbs for crying out loud.
"And why is that selfish, reckless and irresponsible behaviour not tolerated on my team, Tim?"
Squirming instantly as the hard truths hit home, McGee looked up sadly.
"Because…we always need to be able to be contacted, anything could have happened on a case or to the team…and I wouldn't have known" he murmured miserably, feeling another stab of intense regret.
Gibbs let out a sigh and leant back in the chair with a nod.
"We've been over this before, haven't we?" he asked sternly, recalling an incident where both Tony and Tim had decided that they wanted to go out for a peaceful night and had turned their cells on silent.
He hadn't had to repeat the lesson he had imparted on the two with DiNozzo, and he was more than surprised that McGee would be the first one up for some…reminding.
Clearly remembering the same scenario that was playing through his boss' mind, McGee flushed and gave a reluctant nod.
"Yes boss" he replied, his tentative voice laden with an obvious guilt.
The team leader surveyed the young man for a moment and recalled with horrible clarity the nauseating…the almost suffocating feeling of worry he had experienced when he couldn't find the kid.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was Timothy?" he asked, in a deathly quiet and calm tone that somehow made the listening McGee's pulse race.
That, and the fact that his boss had reverted to the full use of his first name, which never boded well.
Just ask very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.
Gulping down air like a recently rescued drowning victim, Tim forced himself to look his Gibbs in the eye.
"No boss…I didn't think…I just…didn't….I'm so sorry."
The elder man nodded in acceptance of the obviously sincere speech and had to bite back a smile as to how earnest the kid looked.
The younger man rarely screwed up so spectacularly, but when he did, he felt it much more acutely than the rest of them.
"I need to know where you are, in the field, at all times. You, Tony, Ziva and Abby are my responsibility. You never go out of contact, for any reason. You know that, you knew that when you did it, and you did it anyway. That isn't, and never will be, acceptable behaviour. Is that clear?"
The glum and guilt ridden nodding of the tousled sandy brown head let him know that it was, in fact, clear.
Feeling the familiar catch in his throat when he contemplated what could happen to any of his four when they went out of bounds, Gibbs fixed a ferociously stern glare on the young man in front of him.
"Don't you ever do that to me again, do you understand?"
Hearing the undercurrent of emotion in their usually stoic boss' voice, guilt frothed and bubbled inside Tim's stomach, as he nodded his head in fervent agreement.
"I won't boss, I swear" he promised quietly, resolving to never break it.
Another searching gaze washed over him, before Gibbs gave a short nod in acceptance.
"Ok then. Let's get this taken care of."
The elder man stood and watched as the younger one mirrored his actions, albeit with a much slower gate.
He bit back the instinctual impatient bark to move it.
This wasn't the office, this was home, and he needed to remember that.
He waited patiently for the young man to clamber fully to his feet, and then gently laid a hand on each of his shoulder, and led him towards the end of the couch, and the now dreaded arm rest.
Stepping back, he braced himself to do the very last thing he wanted to do, for the third night in a row.
"Ok Tim, pants down and get yourself into position."
It seemed as though the younger man was going to comply with the clear instructions, before he baulked and turned beseechingly pleading eyes on the elder agent.
"Please boss" he wheedled, in the moment reminding Gibbs forcibly of Tony, "please can't I just keep them up for this one? I'm still sore from last night…come on boss, please?"
Sighing, and wishing he could say yes, a wearied Jethro felt his head shaking firmly in the negative.
"Pants down, now" he repeated firmly, "you brought this on yourself son."
Tim groaned and began to fumble aimlessly with the clasp of his jeans, whilst Gibbs looked on silently.
When it became clear that the kid was getting nowhere and was blatantly stalling, again reminding him of how alike both his eldest and youngest boys were becoming, Gibbs intervened.
"Ok" he said, stepping forwards towards McGee "hands behind your back, now."
Something about the tone being used instantly activated Tim's instinct of following orders.
Intertwining his hands behind his back as instructed, he bit back an embarrassed groan as Gibbs quickly reached forward, and deftly undid and tugged his jeans down to his knees. He had to fight to continue withholding that groan, as his boss gently turned him around and placed him over the armrest, before pulling his boxers down to meet his jeans.
Great, now he probably thinks I'm a moron as well as a screw up he thought to himself miserably, as he distinctly heard the all too familiar sounds of Gibbs unbuckling his belt, and pulling the thick strap through his jeans loops.
The warm hand that came down on the small of his back instantly calmed him down a little.
He knew the older man would never give him more than he deserved, or more than he could take.
That reassurance quickly faded into nothingness when the first lick fell with a resounding force and an equally resounding crack.
Tim didn't even try to hold back the loud yelp that escaped him as the heavy leather reignited the barely spent fire that had raged across his bare backside just twenty four hours previously.
Gibbs for his part, winced as the sounds of distress instantly wafted up to his years from the tangle of arms that currently housed his youngest boy's head.
He knew from personal experience…that a strapping straight after a previous strapping, was no laughing matter and it was with great reluctance that he drew back his hand to deliver the second searing swat.
Resolving to dish out McGee's third punishment as thoroughly, but as quickly as possible, he quickly settled into a steady rhythm. Bringing the thick leather down expertly, he saw that the already pink skin quickly bloomed into scarlet with every passing lick.
Gritting his teeth in distaste, he focussed the belts bite on the tender sit spots of the now openly sobbing Tim, and resolutely began to light the well deserved fire there.
As the squirming boy cried intensely, Gibbs inwardly groaned as he tightened his hold on the wriggling agent, and continued to dish out lick after lick.
The strapping was quickly having its desired effect, and Tim's torso soon drooped over the arm rest, his loud sobbing having transitioned into a broken weeping, that tore at the elder man's heart.
Bringing the punishment to its merciful close with great relief, Gibbs landed one more series of stinging swats to the crimson backside, before dropping the belt from his hand as if it were burning him.
Instantly crouching down beside his weeping agent, he immediately began to run his customary hand through the short hair, murmuring softly into the kid's ear as he did so. The familiar pain began to shoot through his legs in protest at the uncomfortable position, but he remained firmly put, continuing to speak softly to his youngest boy, praising him for his acceptance of his punishment.
Team leader and junior agent stayed in that position for quite a long time, before Tim's weeping petered out into a series of sniffles and snuffles. Gibbs knew that this was a precursor to the boy raising himself from the arm rest, and tactfully stood and made a great chore of looping his belt back through his jeans.
For two reasons.
One, to give his Tim the usual space to right his clothing. Gibbs had no interest in humiliating the kid.
Two, he didn't want the younger man to see his belt as anything other than another article of clothing when he eventually completely righted himself.
It was just as he firmly buckled the belt back into position, that the low hiss from behind him let him know that the jeans had been replaced over a presumably throbbing posterior.
As he turned to face his agent, opening his mouth to provide some more comfort, he gasped as all the wind he possessed was suddenly and unceremoniously taken out of him.
Wincing in pain, he glanced down in surprise to see what had caused his drastic change in oxygen levels.
What he saw soon drove the pain from his mind, as he chuckled and drew the young man wrapped around his torso into his arms.
The muffled "m'sorry boss" that was spoken into his chest was barely audible, but the team leader's trained ears caught them anyway.
Reaching up, he very, very gently rapped the boy upside the head.
"Nothing to be sorry for now Tim, all taken care of and forgotten" he instructed gently, but firmly.
When they broke apart, Gibbs took in the red eyed quality of his youngest boy, but found his usual onset of guilt tempered by the complete absence of guilt in Tim's eyes.
Maybe, just maybe…he was getting somewhere with this kid.
"You ok son?" he asked gently, resting a warm hand on McGee's shoulder.
The sandy brown head bobbed up and down once more.
"I'm ok. Sitting is overrated anyway" Tim answered with a ghost of a grin.
Gibbs stared at him for a moment, before bursting into laughter.
This light hearted banter coming from his junior agent, was something he associated more with DiNozzo after having his backside warmed.
He found himself ridiculously happy that the kid seemed to be getting better at bouncing back, and letting his slip ups go.
Ruffling his hair and returning the grin, he chuckled.
"Really? How about we put that theory to the test then?" he teased.
McGee's face fell comically.
"What are you going to do to me now" he whined, with a matching scowl.
Still chuckling, Gibbs held up his hands innocently.
"What am I going to do to you?" he asked in feigned affront, "I think it's the other way around son."
Tim merely stared at him in obvious confusion.
Grinning, Gibbs gently steered him back towards his usual spot on the sofa, throwing a soft cushion on the seat before gently depositing the kid down on it.
McGee let out a pained hiss at the slight contact, and stared at his boss with a look of pointed hurt.
Rolling his eyes in response, the team leader turned and rummaged around his gear bag that had been forgotten about earlier in the evening.
Finding what he was looking for, he gently tossed the DVD case to a startled Tim.
Silence descended in the Gibbs household for a moment, as the young man gawped wordlessly at the plastic case in his hand.
"But…but…how…did you…where did you…" he spluttered in amazement, looking agape at the crookedly smiling Gibbs.
Shrugging sheepishly, the elder man again felt his heart lift at how happy the kid looked.
"I know a guy who owns a studio. He owes me a favour" he explained simply.
"But….you hate sci-fi" Tim marvelled, still staring at the DVD as if it might combust.
Shrugging once more, Gibbs remained silent and merely smiled benignly down at his youngest boy.
That was until said boy leapt off the sofa, somehow ignoring the answering stab of pain from his rear end, and once again threw himself into the elder agent's arms.
"You're the best" he all but squeaked into his chest, as Gibbs squeezed his shoulders gently once more and laughed.
"Can I put it on now? Like right now?" McGee squealed as he released a slightly breathless Jethro.
Nodding once more, Gibbs grinned as the younger man flew to the TV and began pressing this and that.
He was about to head into the kitchen to fix something for Tim to eat, when a voice rang out preventing him.
"Boss…?"
"Yeah, Tim?"
McGee looked up at him uncertainly as he crouched beside the TV set.
"Why…? he asked, gesturing with the case still clutched in his hand, "I thought I was in trouble?"
Gibbs sighed, as he pondered the question.
Deciding to go with the honest truth, he looked down at Tim fondly.
"You are son, you are. But…aw hell Tim, believe it or not….I like to see you four happy…even if the second 'b' is for bastard."
….
TBC
…
A/N: So, I've had a few requests to incorporate a slash pairing between Gibbs and one of the four. Whilst I have no problem with slash in general, I've never written it before, it's not really my thing. Also, this show is just too familial in nature to me for that to work…so apologies, but I'm afraid it's a no can do situation for me!
Once I get through with Tim's storyline, I'll incorporate the rest of the team as well!
Thanks for reading guys and please let me know what you think!