* * * * *
The next morning, it took Tony a minute to reorient himself, but when he did, he groaned at the memory of everything that had happened the day before. Just a few seconds later, he heard a soft knock on the door and Gibbs entered the room. He was still wearing the pants and t-shirt he'd been wearing the night before.
"Hey," he said gently.
"What time is it?" Tony asked rolling over on his back. He felt a twinge of pain, but it wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it would be.
"0530. I'm getting in the shower. I'll be out in ten minutes and then you can have the bathroom, ok?"
Tony nodded and Gibbs closed the door again. He closed his eyes and the movie of the day before started playing in his head. "What is wrong with you?" he asked out loud after mulling over the actions that had lead him there.
Twenty five minutes later, Tony slowly went down to the kitchen. He could smell coffee and toast and as expected, Gibbs was leaning against the counter sipping a cup of coffee. Tony poured himself a cup and went to the refrigerator in search of cream automatically, as if he was at his own house. Surprisingly, he found a container of cream on the shelf. It wasn't until he screwed off the lid and realized that it hadn't been opened yet that he finally looked at Gibbs.
"I picked it up on my way home last night," he shrugged.
"Wow," Tony said quietly. He was struck by the kindness of the act. Gibbs had stopped to pick up cream just for him on his way home from one of the worst days of both of their lives.
A few minutes later, after they'd both finished their toast and coffee, Gibbs turned to Tony. "I need to leave soon. Let's go upstairs," he said quietly.
Tony took a deep breath and followed his boss back to the guest room. He immediately unbuttoned his jeans, pushed them down and started to take them off.
"Hang on," Gibbs said. "Leave them. Just turn around." He opened the drawer and pulled out the paddle. Tony turned around and bent over, his elbows on the bed. Gibbs positioned himself next to Tony and put a hand on his back. "When we're done here, I'm going to the office. You will spend the day going over all of the files I brought home with me last night. When I get home tonight, I want a report detailing all of the good decisions you made on each one of those cases. You are not to leave the house for any reason other than a fire. Got it?"
"Got it," Tony answered. "What cases?" he asked, twisting around as best he could to look at Gibbs.
"You'll see once you get started. Now, let's get this one over with," Gibbs said, pushing Tony back into place and immediately bringing the paddle down hard. Tony yelped and jumped and a split second later, the paddle landed again. After a very thorough spanking, Tony was sobbing almost as hard as he had been the night before. Gibbs rubbed his back for a minute until he brought himself under control. "It's ok. It's over for now."
Tony nodded and straightened up. He wiped his arm across his eyes. "So can I go for a run or something?" he asked after a minute.
"No, you're grounded, remember?"
"But boss…" the paddle landed hard in the center of his butt and Tony immediately gave up. "Ok," he said with a sigh.
After Gibbs had shown Tony the box of files he'd brought home and put in the office, he grabbed his keys and headed for the door. "Wait, Boss," Tony called after him. Gibbs turned around. "Um, what…what…"
"DiNozzo, I have to leave. Spit it out."
"What's going to happen tonight?" he asked, digging into the floor with his toe.
"Fear of the unknown," Gibbs thought. "You have another appointment with the strap," he said seriously. "I have to go. I'll see you tonight. And Tony? Good job this morning."
He was out the door before Tony could ask what that meant. He watched his boss pull out of the driveway then walked to the office to get started on his project.
* * * * *
Gibbs arrived home with Chinese food to find a very tense Tony wandering aimlessly around the house, having obviously touched every item in sight. "Go get changed. We're going for a run," Gibbs told him, grinning slightly.
"Thanks Boss. I'm going crazy here." He dashed up the stairs and was back downstairs in shorts, a t-shirt and sneakers before Gibbs had even gone up to change himself.
After a five-mile run, they both showered and sat down for a re-heated dinner. Tony did his best to eat, but didn't even manage to finish his King Pao Chicken. After half an hour, Gibbs put down his chopsticks. "All right, go on upstairs."
By the time Gibbs got upstairs, Tony had already stripped off his pants and was laying face-down on the bed. Gibbs smiled proudly, but since his face was pressed into the bed, Tony missed it.
"Put your head at the other end," he instructed as he walked to the far side of the bed. Tony looked up in confusion, but quickly obeyed. Gibbs decided Tony deserved an explanation. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you that the tip of the strap hit your right side last night. I don't want to bruise you." Tony nodded and buried his face in the bed again.
The strap fell sharply and Tony found that he had nothing to grab onto like he had the night before. He clenched his fists tightly as it fell again. Gibbs listened as Tony dissolved into resigned sobs almost immediately and he was tempted to stop. But he knew that if he did, he wouldn't be doing his job. So he steeled himself like he had the night before and launched into another severe whipping.
Tony couldn't believe the pain growing in his backside. Gibbs hadn't been kidding when he'd said he'd be getting some of the worst spankings of his life. He had still been a little sore from his two earlier spankings when this one started and the cumulative effect was almost more than he could stand. Tonight's session was just as long and hard as the one from the previous night and by the time it finally stopped, Tony was hoarse from crying out.
Just like the night before, Gibbs covered Tony with a blanket and left him to sleep. But as he drifted off to sleep, Tony did notice that he didn't hear the dresser drawer open. Too drained to give it much thought, he let himself drift off.
Two hours later, Gibbs was working on his boat when he heard footsteps on the basement stairs. He looked up to see Tony making his way slowly and carefully down.
"I didn't expect to see you until morning," Gibbs said with a grin. Tony shrugged and leaned against the railing. Gibbs put down his sand paper and settled himself on a saw horse. "How ya doing?" he asked, concern lining his face.
"I'd say I'll live, but I'm not completely sure that's true."
Gibbs chuckled and offered Tony a piece of sandpaper. "I'd rather not," Tony said in response to the offer.
"Suit yourself," Gibbs shrugged and turned back to his boat.
He worked quietly for a while before Tony moved a little closer. "Boss, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"What did you mean this morning when you told me I'd done a good job?" he asked, a little unsure of himself. He picked up a chisel and fiddled with it.
"For the same reason I'm going to tell you the same thing tonight too." Gibbs sanded for few seconds before he continued. "When I sent you upstairs this morning, I expected you to whine and argue all the way there. But you didn't. You went willingly. That surprised me. And it made me very proud of you."
"How can you be proud of you after what I did?" Tony asked, his voice cracking.
Gibbs put down his sandpaper again and looked at Tony. "Haven't we had this conversation before? I'm disappointed with the choices you made. But you've taken responsibility for them and willingly accepted the consequences – and that," he said, patting Tony's cheek gently, "is why I'm proud of you."
Tony considered that for a moment, then his face brightened. "So does that mean we're done?" he asked hopefully.
Gibbs shook his head with a slight smile. "Not a chance." Tony's face and shoulders fell. "But," the older man added, "we're done with the strap. I put it away." He gestured toward the cabinet next to the stairs. He glanced at the clock. "Turn on the TV, there should be a ballgame on." He pulled another sawhorse over.
Tony looked at the hard wooden bench. "Boss, do you think maybe we could watch it upstairs?"
Gibbs laughed. "Yeah," he said, tossing the sanding block on the table. "I gotta wash up. Grab a couple of beers out of the fridge." Tony turned and started up the stairs. "Hey!" Tony turned around. "As in one for each of us, not a couple for you," he said knowingly.
The evening passed in a pleasant cloud of sports, joking and just a little bit of beer. For the first time in two days, Tony was truly relaxed.