"Relax Tony, come on, breathe for me."
Tim's anxious face seemed to swoon in and out of focus as Tony struggled not to hyperventilate.
He vaguely registered two firm hands landing on his shoulders and giving him a gentle shake. As he blinked, his mind stumbled over the fact that Gibbs was wearing an anxious look similar to Tim's, as both agents stared down at him in confusion.
"What the hell happened here McGee?"
The completely nonplussed look on his junior agent's face let him know that Tony's reaction wasn't the result of some kind of prank that a tech savvy Tim had raged.
Sighing, he turned his attention back towards his senior agent; Gibbs was relieved to see that the kid's breathing was regaining some semblance of normality.
Crouching down in front of him, he studied him closely.
"What's going on Tony?" he asked gently, quietly.
A deep, dramatic breath was inhaled as the younger man composed himself.
"I was supposed to do a photo shoot for NCIS's annual charity calendar but the…the devil incarnate just emailed me and told me that….that I wasn't handsome enough and that I was too old" he gasped out in horror, turning huge morose eyes on a now gaping Gibbs.
Tim bit down on his lip hard and forced the bout of laughter he felt coming to the surface, down.
Ziva, who had arrived just in time to accurately gauge the situation, and hear Tony's explanation, stuffed her donut she was clutching straight into her mouth to stem her laugher.
A brief silence ensued before the tell tale crack of a heated Gibbs slap filled the room, with an accompanying yelp.
McGee and Ziva looked on grinning as Gibbs set about tearing Tony a new one for wasting time on photo shoots instead of running down the leads he'd been given.
They quickly threw their own eyes down on their work when the irate leader finished up with a sulking DiNozzo, and stormed back to his own desk.
Each rolled their eyes at the predictable message that pinged up on their screens a millisecond later.
The "can you believe him? This is literally the worst day of my life, and all he can do is give me a concussion?" was answered with two sets of eye rolls and soon calm descended once more over the squad room as all four worked diligently.
Tim, for his part, worked hard to stay firmly put in his chair.
It was proving more and more difficult however, and as time pressed on he didn't know how much longer he could squirm surreptitiously for.
Little did he know, that what he considered to be discreet squirming had been instantly noticed by a silently observing Gibbs.
Watching the young agent in such obvious discomfort pulled on his heartstrings.
Realising that he was getting completely soft in his old age, he fabricated a reason for a lab visit and barked at McGee to get down and see Abby.
He bit back a chuckle as Tim practically leapt up from his chair in gratitude, and hightailed it down to Abby's lab.
Where he could both stand, and be blanketed in sympathy.
Turning back to his own screen, he sighed as he thought of the impending evening.
Whilst the punishments he'd dished out to the younger man so far had been thorough, they weren't on par with the paddling the kid was about to get.
He'd deliberately chosen to deal with by far the worst offence, last, so that hopefully McGee would never need to be taught the lesson he was trying to teach, ever again.
He gritted his teeth in distaste as he remembered how much Tim hated the paddle.
Whilst his belt was certainly no joke, the paddle left a dull throb for days afterwards and he had every intention, however reluctant, of putting that paddle to good use this evening.
Hours slipped by, and glancing at the clock Gibbs decided that with no pressing or promising leads, that he could legitimately call an end to the day.
Looking up, he smiled as all three were engrossed to the point that at first they didn't even hear him ordering them to wrap it up.
Raising his voice the second time, he chuckled to himself with both Ziva and Tony scampered to their feet and started throwing their things together.
He sobered when he saw how much slower McGee was to comply.
He could easily understand why the kid was in no rush to go home.
Sighing, he forced himself to his feet.
He wasn't in all that much of a rush either.
Bidding DiNozzo and Ziva tonight, he waited patiently for Tim to get all of his things together.
Soon, when McGee realised he could stall no more and reluctantly dragged his feet in the right direction, both agents were making their way out of the Navy Yard.
The kid had passed on the idea of takeout, and had readily agreed to traditional Gibbs steak instead.
About half an hour later, and Gibbs pushed open the front door, holding it open for a loitering McGee.
Throwing both their gear bags in their usual spots, the elder man headed towards the kitchen calling "do you want fries or potatoes?" over his shoulder.
When the younger man didn't answer, and merely stood rooted to a spot in the entrance hall, Gibbs stopped in his tracks and turned around.
"Tim? Didn't you hear me? Do you want fries or-"
"Boss please" McGee interrupted in a quiet voice, looking down at the floor and fidgeting.
Gibbs blinked.
"Please what? If you don't want anything on the side you don't have to."
Shaking his head in frustration, Tim felt a hot flush creep across his cheeks.
"Tim?"
The genuine confusion and concern that oozed from just his name, jolted the junior agent into action.
"Can't…can't you just spank me now?" he blurted out, feeling the flush intensify with every word.
Gibbs blinked once again.
Then he blinked some more.
Realising that the kid had probably worked himself up into a state over the last few hours, he recovered quickly.
"You want me to spank you right now?" he asked gently, understanding the urge to just get it over with.
He'd been in McGee's shoes with Mike Franks often enough to know that waiting for a whipping, was nearly as bad as getting a whipping.
Blushing some more, the sandy brown head bobbed up and down in front of him.
"I just want it to be all over with now…please boss" the now miserable looking boy all but whispered, looking up at Gibbs beseechingly.
Nodding thoughtfully, the elder man pondered for a moment.
He liked to make sure that the kid ate after a long day at work, but forcing him to sit through a meal when he was so obviously miserable, was definitely not a good idea.
Snapping to a decision, he felt himself nodding.
"Ok Tim, into the living room then" he instructed "I'll be right through, go on now."
Nodding, but paling, the younger agent obediently strode off towards the now familiar lecturing spot he has grown accustomed to.
Throwing himself down in his usual space, he drew his knees up to his chin, and tried to remind himself that getting it over and done with as quickly as possible was best all round. As he dropped his head down on his knees, he forced himself to admit that he had no one but himself to blame for the situation he was in. Letting out a small whimper as he felt another twinge from his well strapped backside, he tried to comfort himself in the knowledge that this whole fiasco was nearly over and done with.
By the time he was finished having a stern chat with himself, he was almost calmed.
Almost.
Within a millisecond however, all that almost calm, went flying straight out the nearest window.
As Gibbs strode to his usual armchair, with the paddle he had retrieved clutched firmly in his hand, he groaned inwardly at the wide eyed horrified expression that was staring back at him.
Throwing himself down in the chair, he let the thick paddle lay on the floor beside him, as he ran appraising eyes over an apparently speechless McGee.
Sighing, he opened his mouth.
"You must have known that tonight would be bad, Tim" he said quietly, all the while wishing he could use the damn paddle as firewood.
Gulping down air rapidly, the young man turned tortured eyes towards him.
"I…uhh, well yeah I guess…I mean, I know I was….it's just…please boss?"
Shaking his head firmly, Gibbs forced himself to think of what was best for the kid.
"No Tim. I know how much you and Tony hate the paddle, trust me, I hate using it. But I need this to be a lesson you won't forget, and if the paddle is what it takes, then that's what it takes."
Letting out a soft groan, the MIT grad put his expressive eyes to good use as he pulled out his best puppy dog impression.
"Boss…please, your belt…uhh, is uhm… a great teacher…honestly, I've learned loads."
Forcing himself not to laugh at the oddness and sincerity of the kid's words, Gibbs once again shook his head.
"I told you before, I decide what your punishment is Tim. You don't want to be punished? Then think before you act, it's as simple as that. Now, I've made up my mind and it's not changing so no more arguing about it, you don't want to make things worse for yourself."
Tim bit back the obvious "how can it get any worse?" he longed to say, and settled instead for gazing in misery at the wooden instrument of doom that lay almost serenely at his boss' feet.
Drawing a deep breath, Gibbs used the kid's silence to launch into the inevitable lecture.
"Why are you about to get your butt tanned, Tim?"
The question was simple, and firm, and it instantly brought about an immediate answer in the younger man.
Albeit a stammering and stuttering one, accompanied by vast amounts of copious fidgeting.
"Because…I" Tim flushed as he recalled his moronic actions "because…I put myself in danger, on purpose."
Nodding, Gibbs arched an eyebrow.
A clear indication to continue.
Groaning to himself, McGee reluctantly opened his mouth again.
"I put myself in danger by uhh…getting wasted with people I didn't know and erm…by…uhh, taking …dr..drugs from them."
Gibbs nodded once more, but it didn't take a skilled investigator to see the subtle changes McGee's words brought about.
The eye's flashed.
The posture tensed, and the jaw tightened.
"Was that the action of a trained federal agent, and an MIT and John Hopkins graduate or was that the action of an agent under my command acting like a thoughtless brat?"
Tim winced, but to Gibbs' pride, looked him straight in the eye as he answered.
"The latter, boss" he murmured miserably, but clearly.
The elder man nodded, and once again felt his throat tighten as he thought about what could have happened had he not arrived in time.
"I want you to promise me, and I do mean promise me, that you will never do anything like this again."
Tim felt his internal organs positively vibrate with guilt as he heard the tortured quality of his boss' voice.
"I promise, I will never do anything like this again" he responded immediately, and hoped fervently that the elder man could hear the sincerity he felt.
He did.
Feeling relief flood through him, he forced himself to remember that the kid's actions had been way out of character, and that he'd been upset at the time.
Fixing a pale McGee with a stern glare, he opened his mouth once more.
"Tim, if anything ever makes you as upset as you were that you would consider doing something so stupid again, you had better come straight to me. I mean straight to me. I'm warning you right now, if I find out that you've gone off in the deep end about something I could have helped you with because you didn't come to me, I will quite literally spank you into next year. Do you understand me?"
Gulping and nodding fervently, Tim McGee made it very clear that he understood.
Nodding again, Gibbs steeled himself.
He rarely said the words he was about to say to any of his people, and he didn't say them lightly.
"I'm very disappointed in you."
Predictably, the sandy brown head nosedived towards the floor as Tim stared at it miserably.
Having Gibbs be furious with him was one thing, having him being disappointed in him, was quite another.
"I know boss" he murmured quietly, "I'm so sorry."
The elder agent took in the stricken face of his youngest boy, and sighed.
Standing, he quickly rounded the coffee table that separated them, and perched on it.
Reaching out, he gently cupped Tim's chin in his hand, and tilted his head upwards.
"I'm disappointed in you, because I know how much better you are than this. I know you're a damn good kid, and I know you'll never do this again. So no matter how angry I can be with you, or how occasionally, and I do mean occasionally disappointed I can be in you, I'm always proud of you. You understand me?"
Gawping at the unusual burst of speech from the man in front of him, Tim vaguely registered his head moving up and down.
"Good, now…let's get this taken care of, and then we never need to speak of it again, ok?"
With the younger man's tentative nod, Gibbs stood once more and strode round the table to retrieve the much detested paddle.
Turning around, he saw the McGee hadn't moved.
Groaning inwardly at how much he loathed what he was about to do, Gibbs crossed over to him.
Placing the paddle down on the couch, he put a gentle hand on each of the kid's shoulders.
"I'm not going to drag you Tim, you've got to do this for yourself. Come on now, up you get."
Reluctantly, the younger man dragged himself to his feet and walked slowly to the end of the sofa.
Eying the arm rest with an acquired loathing, he let out a groan, before turning pleading eyes on his boss.
Feeling a staggering déjà vu, Gibbs shook his head sternly.
"You know the drill by now, get them down."
Biting his lip in misery, Tim obediently fumbled with his jeans.
Within a few moments, he was once again draped over the arm rest, with his pants and boxers pooled at his knees.
As the warm hand came down on his back, he willed himself to remain calm.
He could take this, he had done before, and then, at last, this whole sorry saga would be over.
The first lick came without further adieu, and all thoughts of brave acceptance flew from Tim's mind, as he let out a strangled yelp. Bucking under his boss' hand, he wasn't surprised when he was easily kept in place and yelped even louder when the second swat landed.
Tears immediately sprang to his eyes.
The paddle was his most detested implement, but he'd always been able to get through the first couple of swats without his eyes watering.
This time, the two licks on top of an already well spanked and strapped backside, proved just too much and the young man didn't even try to hold back his whimper or to restrain his tears as the third resounding thwack rained down.
This was going to be hell.
Gibbs gritted his teeth and drew in a great lungful of air as he drew his arm back for the fourth time.
He had known that this paddling was going to be bad, but the anguished yelping escaping his youngest boy wasn't far off from bringing tears to his own eyes.
He pushed thoughts that he was being too hard on the kid from his mind as he recalled how much danger he had been in, and what could have happened to him.
Laying down the fifth lick, he grimaced as McGee began to openly sob.
Running experienced eyes over the now dusty pink backside, he knew the week's punishment wouldn't be anything the boy wouldn't get over, but still, as he drew his arm back once again, he wished he could throw the paddle straight out the window and the pull the kid into his arms.
Grinding his teeth, he settled into his seasoned rhythm, and the only sounds that could be heard in the room were cracks of the paddle and answering yelping and sobbing.
As he gently tipped Tim forwards to bring the paddle down across his sit spots, he had to draw on every inch of his military training to hold onto his resolve.
He wasn't surprised when the first thwack across the tender area broke the open sobbing into a muffled weeping.
He was further unsurprised when the second lick caused the boy's torso to go limp.
Noting with resounding gratitude that the punishment was nearly over, Gibbs landed a few more well placed swats to the soft area, before turning his attention once more to the now scarlet backside.
Dishing out a few more swats, he brought the paddle down for the last time with an unnerving accuracy and unceremoniously threw it out of his hand.
Throwing himself down into his usual crouched position, he laid a gentle hand onto of the weeping Tim's head, and spoke softly into his ear. He could tell that it would take quite a while for the young man to compose himself, and he readily settled in for the long haul.
The two stayed in their stationary positions for the longest time, before Gibbs had to concede that the usual petering out of the weeping wasn't happening.
Groaning to himself, he quickly reassured McGee that he would be right back.
Darting out of the living room and hightailing it up the stairs, the elder man quickly barrelled into Tim and Tony's room and rooted out the softest pair of sweats he could find, and a loose fitting t-shit.
Dashing back downstairs, he saw that Tim was exactly where he had left him.
He needed to hold the kid to calm him down, but he knew that the young man would be mortified to be embraced in a state of half undress.
Gently placing a hand on each shoulder, he carefully cajoled the young man up from his perch.
"Come on Tim, up you get and get these on you. They're softer, come on now son, up you get" he murmured gently, and was intensely relieved when the younger agent took the clothes he proffered quickly.
Turning away to let him get dressed in privacy, he waited patiently for the little hiss that would indicate the soft clothing had been put on.
When it came, he turned around to see a much younger looking McGee, dressed in what he realised were Tony's clothes.
The crying had stopped.
But just for a moment.
Just as he was about to open his mouth, the crying started up again as Tim launched himself at him.
Clutching him and crying into his chest, the young agent clung to him with a surprising strength.
Gibbs for his part, instantly wrapped his arms around the kid and held him tightly to him.
"Calm down now Timmy….shh, shh now it's ok, it's all over son" he soothed, talking into the kids head of hair as he continued to cry into his chest.
It seemed like the gentle voice and the rare use of his nickname got through to the weeping McGee, as his throaty crying began to transition into gentle sniffling and snuffling instead.
Time passed, and the elder man continued to hold Tim tightly to him, making no effort to break away from the embrace.
He knew the kid would, when he was ready.
Sure enough, a few moments later, McGee sniffed his last sniff and wriggled out of the strong arms around him.
Before Gibbs could open his mouth, Tim had fixed him with an unusually serious stare and opened his own.
"I swear… it'll never happen again boss."
Smiling his crooked smile, Gibbs nodded and reaching out, he affectionately tousled the kids hair.
"I know son. It's all taken care of now, and it never needs to be mentioned again. You took your punishment extremely well, and I'm proud of you. Now, how about you go upstairs and wash your face, and I'll get some dinner going? You must be starving by now."
Nodding, Tim carefully turned himself around and grabbed his discarded jeans and shirt.
Feeling the cell in his pocket, he sighed, as he fished it out.
Turning back to the team leader, he dutifully held it out.
"Sorry boss, I forgot to give it to you before" he said sheepishly, trying valiantly to ignore the WoW notification that was flashing across the screen.
This whole no technology thing sucked.
Looking down at his youngest boy, Gibbs made up his mind.
No point being the boss if you couldn't break your own rules now and again.
"Aw keep it Tim, I think I've made my point son."
Beaming suddenly, in contrast to his red eyes, McGee looked up in surprise.
"Seriously?"
Gibbs grinned.
"Seriously."
Tim instantly opened the flashing notification and excitedly began replying to all his unanswered emails, whilst the team leader rolled his eyes and set to work on the dinner, having carefully removed the paddle from McGee's line of vision.
"Boss?"
A weary Leroy instantly recognised the hesitant tone, and turned immediately.
"Yeah, Tim?"
Shuffling slightly having been stricken by a sudden thought, the younger man pondered for a moment.
"Did you mean what you said….about….uhm, hating using the paddle?"
Gibbs looked at the kid curiously, as he nodded his head.
"Yeah, I did. I do" he answered honestly.
The confused look that came his way merely added to his own.
"Then…why? If you hate using it, and I definitely hate you using it, then why do you use it?"
Gibbs sighed as he pondered this, chewing over his words for a moment.
"Because Tim…sometimes it's better for you to hate me for a little while, because I'm doing what's best for you, than for you to like me, because I'm doing what's easiest for you."
Silence descended as it was the junior agent's turn to ponder.
"Boss?"
"Yeah, Tim?"
McGee flushed somewhat, but he held the elder man's gaze.
"I've never hated you."
With that, he turned and bounded as ably as he could considering his smarting backside, up the stairs to wash up.
Leaving a crookedly smiling LJ Gibbs in his wake.
….
TBC
….
A/N: I'm torn between doing a Tony/Ziva storyline next, or a Abby/Ziva one. I have a Tim and Tony one that I want to do, but I want to bring one, if not both, of the girls in first. Let me know what you think?
As always, thanks for reading!