* * * * *
Gibbs walked into Abby's lab and headed straight for her cabinet. Fortunately, there did not happen to be a tour group present. Abby stood back as he ripped open the door and grabbed a box from the bottom shelf. He put the box on the counter and started pulling fire works out one by one, examining each one closely.
"Is Tony ok?" Abby finally asked in a small voice.
He picked up another fire work, examined it and placed it on the counter before he turned to look at a very scared Abby. "I'm going to skip right past the fact that these are still here after I told you to get rid of them – for now – and go straight to, what possessed you to give them to him?"
"He said they were for his trip this weekend," Abby said defensively. "If I'd known he was planning to set them off in the Navy Yard I wouldn't have given them to him. I swear!"
He nodded his head toward the lab door as he went back to his piece-by-piece examination. Abby turned and walked slowly to the door. She closed it, locked it and returned to the counter. A second later, Gibbs found what he'd been looking for. He pushed one of the fire works at Abby who took it, looked at it and slowly put it down on the counter. She walked over to the cabinet, bent down and pulled out a bottle of green liquid. It had leaked on the box of fire works.
"I didn't know," she said, near tears.
"When we're done here, you will take these out back and bury them in the dumpster." She nodded as a single tear escaped her eye. Gibbs looked at her and sighed. "I guess I can also skip the part where I tell you that he could have been killed," he said kindly.
"I'm so sorry," Abby said, bursting into tears. She launched herself at Gibbs, looking for a comforting hug, but instead, he pushed her away gently and held her at an arms' length.
"You disobeyed me, Abby." He said quietly. She nodded and sniffed. "You know I can't let you get away with that." She nodded and sniffed again. "Come on," he said and steered her toward her office.
He bent her over her desk, her elbows resting on the surface then slipped off his belt. Hesitantly, he flipped up the back of her short skirt, relieved to see she was wearing spandex shorts underneath. "The next time I tell you to do something, do it," he said as he placed his hand gently on her back. She nodded again and he felt her take a deep breath. Without another word, he raised the belt and started her spanking. As he rained down spanks on her, he listened and watched carefully. When her crying changed from the initial panicked cry of someone getting a spanking to the cries of someone truly repentant, he stopped, pulled her up and enveloped her in the hug she'd sought a few minutes earlier. He held her and rocked her as she cried into his chest.
After a few minutes, she'd calmed down, and he gently pushed her back. He studied her tear-streaked face for a moment. "Ok, it's over," he whispered. He bent slightly to plant a kiss on her head, and then pulled her back into a hug. "Abby," he said quietly, "that could have been you."
"I'm sorry," he heard her mumble into his chest.
"I know," he said and planted another kiss on the top of her head. He pushed her away again. "You ok?" he asked with a kind smile.
She finally released him and took a step back. "That hurt," she said, reaching back and rubbing her butt.
"Good," he smiled. "Now go get rid of those things. I have to go deal with Tony."
"Gibbs," Abby stopped him. "What are you going to do?" He gave her a look. "Just…don't kill him, ok? We need him."
He gave her a sideways grin, pointed at the box in a silent order, and left the lab.
* * * * *
Tony arrived at Gibbs' house but sat in his car for almost half an hour before he got up the courage to get out and go inside. He had no idea when his boss would be home and no idea what to do with himself until he got there. But he had a pretty good idea what would happen when he arrived. He paced the length of the living room so many times, he was sure he'd worn a hole in the already-worn rug. He replayed the events of the afternoon over and over in his head and before long, he was yelling at himself for his stupidity.
Sooner than he wanted, he heard a car pull into the driveway and seconds later, the front door open and close. He quickly backed himself against the fireplace. Gibbs walked into the room and stopped. For a few very long minutes, he did nothing more than stare at Tony. The younger man studied his boss' face, but its neutrality gave nothing away about what he was thinking. Then suddenly, without a word, Gibbs turned and walked into the kitchen. Tony was stunned. He'd expected an immediate, loud tongue-lashing, but instead, it sounded like Gibbs was starting dinner.
A moment later, Gibbs called him. "Tony, get in here and help me." Tony moved hesitantly to the kitchen. "Here," Gibbs said handing him a knife. "Get those chopped up. There's lettuce in the fridge and the bowls are over there." Tony took the knife and immediately began chopping vegetables for a salad.
"Boss," he ventured.
"Don't talk," came the order from Gibbs who was facing the stove, sautéing an onion.
The two men continued to work in silence until supper was cooked and on the table. Gibbs immediately dug in, but Tony sat staring at his plate. "Eat," Gibbs ordered. But a few minutes later when Tony still had not taken a bite, he put his own fork down with a sigh. "I've made arrangements with the director," he began. "You are suspended tomorrow, obviously, but you will return to work on Monday. You will be on desk duty all day Monday and when you return to the field, you'll be doing all of the schlepping until further notice."
Tony nodded. "I.."
"Don't. Talk." Gibbs ordered. "You will stay here and we will spend this weekend making sure you never do anything that stupid ever again."
"I have plans…" This time it was a hard look that silenced Tony. "I'll cancel them," he said as Gibbs picked up his fork and started eating again. "But Boss…"
"What part of 'don't talk' do you not understand?" Gibbs growled. "Eat." Tony picked up his fork, but he couldn't bring himself to put anything on it, much less put anything in his mouth. Gibbs put his fork down again. "Look at me," he ordered quietly. He waited until he had Tony's attention. "I already know you know you screwed up hugely. But once we deal with it, it's done. You know that too. So yes, this weekend is going to be very bad. Yes, I am going to take it out on your ass. But we'll get through it. In the meantime, eat." He looked at Tony for a moment, who still did not seem able to put any food in his mouth.
"Ok. This isn't going to work. I'm going to ask you a question, and you will answer that question and that question only. Understood?" Tony nodded. "Why aren't you eating?"
"Imscared," Tony mumbled almost incoherently.
"Of what?" Gibbs asked. Tony looked up, and Gibbs saw immediately that he was telling the truth. "Will you feel better if I tell you exactly how I'm going to punish you? Or do you think that will make it worse?" Tony shrugged. It figured, now that he wanted him to talk, he had clammed up. "You already know I'm going to spank you." Tony nodded. "A few times," he added. He saw Tony swallow hard. "And they're all going to be very bad, possibly some of the worst you've ever gotten. But you will survive. And when they're over, you and I will spend some quality time together – and maybe even have some fun," he added lightly. Tony looked suddenly confused.
"Look, I promised the director that by the time I was done with you, you would automatically cringe every time a stupid idea came into your head for the rest of your life. But I also promised him that you would still be able to do your job when I was finished. Besides, you still have the punishment at the office to get through. Am I angry? Absolutely! Am I going to make sure you understand exactly what you did wrong? Of course. But this is what you need to understand above and beyond all of that: You scared the hell out of me today Tony. You could have been killed. Whatever that liquid was that spilled on Abby's fire works could have made it explode in your face instead of just sending it off-course." At the mention of Abby's name, Tony's head snapped up again. Gibbs suppressed a grin. "Yes, I know where you got them."
"Did you…may I ask a question?" Tony corrected himself when he saw the look from Gibbs. His boss nodded, though. "You didn't punish her for giving them to me, did you?"
"No," Gibbs shook his head. "Not for that." Tony opened his mouth, but Gibbs silenced him. "Now, you know what's going to happen. And I'm pretty sure you can handle anything I dish out to you. So eat."
Tony nodded slowly, and then visibly relaxed. He knew Gibbs was right. He wasn't looking forward to what was coming, but, yes, he could handle it. Without another word, he finally started eating. Gibbs watched approvingly for a moment before he resumed eating his own meal. It was the fear of the unknown that had Tony so panicked.
When they'd finally finished eating, they cleared the table and washed the dishes in silence. Gibbs turned to Tony as he folded the dish towel. "Take your stuff up to the guest room and stay there. I'll be up in a minute." Not surprisingly, Tony obeyed immediately.
As he walked up the stairs, he heard Gibbs go down to the basement. He could hear him digging around down there and could only imagine what he was doing. He went into the guest room and dropped his bag at the foot of the bed then sat down on it. He looked around the room for a minute, and soon, Gibbs was coming up the stairs.
Immediately, Tony looked at Gibbs' hands and his heart stopped. He was carrying a wooden paddle that was about six inches wide, eight inches long and about a quarter of an inch thick. It looked like it could deliver a pretty painful spanking, but it was the other object that had Tony scared. It was an old leather strap that Tony recognized as the kind barbers used to use to sharpen razors. Gibbs opened the top drawer of the dresser and dropped the paddle into it.
"Take your jeans off. I want you face-down on the bed," Gibbs instructed quietly. Tony slowly stood up and did as he was told. "Spread your legs a little bit – if you clench, I'll bruise you." Again, Tony obeyed. "Do you understand why I'm punishing you?" Tony nodded. "Tell me."
Tony pulled his face off the bedspread. "For putting myself, and who knows who else in danger, for destroying government property, for being irresponsible with my time, and just for being an idiot."
Gibbs grinned. "That's a pretty good summation, Tony." He walked to the other side of the bed, glanced at Tony for a minute then raised the strap and brought it down on his backside. Tony's hands gripped the top of the bedspread and he buried his face in the pillow. He'd never felt anything so painful in his life, and he had a lot of experience with spankings. Gibbs brought the strap down again and heard Tony grunt. Now that Tony knew what the strap felt like, Gibbs steeled himself for what he had to do by remembering the terror he'd felt when the cars had exploded and started spanking him a bit faster. In no time, Tony was sobbing, but the lashes kept coming. Gibbs had promised to deliver one of the worst spankings he'd ever gotten and he intended to deliver. The strap covered every inch of Tony's backside and the tops of his thighs, but eventually, it came to an end.
Gibbs dropped the strap on the bed and sat down next to Tony. He gently rubbed the back of the young man's head as he continued to sob. Having been in Tony's position many times in his own life, he knew that it wasn't just the fiery pain that was making Tony cry. It was a good ten minutes before Tony pushed himself up and rolled onto his side. Gibbs looked down at him. "Ok," he said quietly, "that's it for tonight. It's over for now." Tony nodded slowly, and Gibbs could see that he was exhausted. He stood up and walked to the closet, returning a moment later with a blanket that he draped over Tony. Immediately, Tony curled into a ball beneath it and after a few seconds, Gibbs put his hand gently on Tony's head for a brief moment, picked up the strap and put it in the dresser drawer. After one last look at Tony, he turned out the light and left the room.
He spent most of the night in the basement working on the boat. Spanking Tony had taken a lot out of him too, but he knew he would have to get over it so that he could do it again when the time came. But it was so hard.