A/N - this chapter contains the corporal punishment of child... DON'T LIKE... DON'T READ... you have the option of leaving the story altogether or skipping ahead to the next chapter... you however do not have the option to complain.

As the day dragged on and on CJ couldn't decide if she was happier the day was taking so long or if it would be best to just get to the end and not have to wait anymore. The final bell rang signally that it was time to go home and CJ gathered her things quickly. Steven had to run to catch up and was winded by the time he was by her side. "You in a rush to get somewhere?" he asked confused, if it were him he wouldn't want to be headed home to the welcoming committee he was sure was waiting for CJ. At lunch break she had filled him in on the discussion with her father, her father's phone call to the school and the conversation with Mr. Thompson that had occurred that morning.

Steven talked all the way home and CJ just listened. It was times like these that Steven stepped up to the plate to help CJ feel better as generally it was CJ leading the pack. He patted her on the shoulder as she left him at the bottom of his driveway and made her way to her place.

Again the option of 'running away' occurred to CJ. Maybe if she just disappeared for a few hours then all would be forgotten in their worry about her where abouts. She contemplated it as she sluggishly walked home. At the end of her own driveway she stood looking at the house for a long while. She finally made her way up the walk and into the house, leaving would really and truly just cause more problems and maybe just maybe she could talk her way out of at least "some" of the punishment she'd been promised.

CJ closed the front door and then leaned against it. Her head leaned back gently banging against the door. "What were you thinking you idiot?" she said to no one in particular. As she stood right knee bent and foot against the door, head tilted back thinking it occurred to her that it smelt like coffee in the house and that was unusual at this time of day as no one was home. She pulled herself together and made her way further into the house where she found her 'uncle' sitting at the kitchen table reading the news paper coffee in hand. Although he had to have heard her enter the house, he hadn't acknowledged it.

"You been sent to keep an eye on me for the evening?" CJ tried to jovially enquire.

"Uh-huh" he said without moving the paper or even looking in her direction.

She sat down across from him and her eyes were immediately drawn to the old leather strap he had once used to punish her several years ago. Gulping down air as she tried to calm her racing heart CJ asked "That all you're here for?" Eyes darting between the man behind the paper and the wicked strap.

"Uh-huh" came his reply.

She sat there watching the back of the paper before letting out the breath she realized she'd been holding for quite some time she somewhat relaxed. She sat with her hands in front of her resting on the table. She picked at her nails, twisted her fingers and finally deciding Gibbs wasn't going to say anything else got up to leave the room. It was bad enough waiting, without having to wait in this awkward silence. The paper folded down away from its reader and the man behind it raised his eyebrows and indicated he expected her to remain seated.

Throwing her weight back in the chair Gibbs' eyebrow lifted again along with a scowl.

"I might suggest a better attitude."

"What? I was just going to my room… I wasn't going to DO anything"

The expression he gave her quickly sobered her and she apologized "Sorry Gibbs I'm just… I'm just"

"Anything you are, is because of your own decisions so don't go giving me attitude because you got yourself in deeper than you wanted."

"I know …. I know… that's why I'm so mad.. "she said head lowered so far that she couldn't even see him through the top of her eyes.

"I'm such and idiot" she chided herself on the verge of tears.

Gibbs leaned forward and tussled her hair… "You are NOT an idiot… You just keep making POOR decisions… think these things through… ALL the way to the end…. not just to where the pranks ends… to the END."

"I know … I … I KNOW…. "starting to sound angry and annoyed.

Again the glare she received reeled her attitude back in, she had no interest in getting into trouble before she 'got' into trouble.

Gibbs returned to his paper and coffee and CJ worked at finding food to get for supper.

The two ate supper in silence and alone together. There was no sign of either Ziva or Tony. Trick or Treaters started to arrive and CJ began to hand out candy. Gibbs was oblivious to the happenings at the door and so was surprised when he looked up to find Ziva sitting beside him rather than CJ.

"Thank you for sitting with CJ. Did she give you any trouble?" Ziva enquired.

Gibbs chose to answer with a grin rather than words and then standing he asked "You need me for anything else?" Gesturing towards the front door where CJ was handing out candy "You two going to be ok if I leave you alone?"

"Of course, yes" Ziva sounded rather confused. "It is not me that CJ needs to worry about. Tony is the one I sent to the NCIS gym to work off some anger and frustration before he comes home."

Kissing her on the forehead he rolled up his paper, put his cup in the sink and headed to the door. CJ was now sitting on the front porch watching the kids walk around the neighbourhood. Crouching down beside her he tapped her shoulder to get her to look at him.

"Hey you" he said tapping her again "keep the attitude in check when your father gets home… you got yourself into this mess… don't make it worse…"

Nodding she went back to watching the street. She had been on the edge of a melt down with tears and begging for him to step in on her behalf and didn't want to let that happen now that she'd made it this far.

Leaning in he whispered very quietly into her ear "No matter what you get yourself into we all love you very much" and as he tipped away again he laid a very gentle kiss on the side of her head. A single tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. She raised her hand quickly to brush it away, her eyes never leaving the streetscape in front of her.

CJ stayed on the front stoop as the street slowly became deserted and the porch lights turned off one by one. She tensed every time she heard a car turn onto the street and as each continued past the house she relaxed again. It had been dark for a very long time when the car pulled into driveway. CJ's whole body became rigid, she was holding her breath and it was only her eyes that followed the figure that extricated itself from the vehicle and made its way to the front door. She tried to assess just how angry her father was with how he was moving. He hadn't slammed the car door, he hadn't sounded 'huffy' when he was walking but when he got close enough for her to read his features she was gasped for air and sputtered because her lungs were already full from the previous breath she had 'forgotten' to exhale. Not only did he look angry his eyes looked angry. Uncle Gibb's eyes could easily get THAT sort of look… but not her dad's they generally were bright and shiny even if he was angry.

He didn't pause as he entered the house and called over his shoulder "With me".

Although she felt as though her body was made of lead and she couldn't move she didn't hesitate in following what was clearly an order. Tony made his way towards the stairs and took them two at a time. CJ following, somewhat slower, paused on her way past the kitchen long enough to see her mother cleaning up and catch the smile sent her direction. She noticed that the strap was no longer sitting on the kitchen table where it had been all night.

CJ slunk past her father who was standing outside her bedroom door as if on guard. Once inside her room she quickly made her way to her bed and sat down back against the headboard knees drawn up to her chest and her face buried in her knees. Tony entered the room and slammed the door behind him. CJ jumped as she wasn't expecting him to do that and she hadn't been watching him. Tears started to flow unbidden down her cheeks, but she made no sound.

Tony was not swayed by the tears "Are those" pointing at the tears she was shedding "because you're sorry you got caught or because you're actually sorry you pulled a stunt after telling me you weren't going to."

The look of surprise from his daughter set him off guard. "What did I say that has you so shocked?"

"I…. I … never…. told you…. I wasn't going to do anything." CJ offered voice cracking and tears continuing to flow.

"I sat right here" sitting on side of the bed where he had been earlier that week "and I heard you say you understood."

"Yes sir" CJ said.

"And then how do you figure you didn't agree to not set up a stunt" he questioned more gently.

"I said OK…. But… I meant… ok I understood… not….ok I won't…. I hadn't decided what I was going to do at that point…. I really … really… hadn't meant to imply that the 'ok' was a promise to behave."

"OH CJ" he said shaking his head. "How could you get into this situation AGAIN? Didn't I make myself very clear?"

CJ wasn't sure 'how' she'd gotten into this situation again… it just sort of happens… she wants to do something and at the time of planning and executing the 'consequences' don't seem to be a factor in the decision making. Not that she doesn't understand what the consequences will be, or that she wants to participate in those consequences … it's more that she pushes the unpleasant thought of them to the back of her mind and doesn't let them see the light of day. All of these thoughts raced through her head as she sat pulling even tighter on her knees.

"Did I or did I not make myself very clear? CJ I want an answer" he bowed his own head in hopes of catching her eyes so that she would look at him.

"Yes" was her only answer.

"Yes I did make myself clear?" he didn't want any more 'misinterpretations' of her response.

"Yes"

Rubbing both hands up and down his face he took a deep breath and continued "then you know what to expect".

CJ couldn't tell if his last words were a statement or question and so remained silent as in general saying nothing in these predicaments caused less trouble.

"Well?"

Must have been a question she decided "Yes I know what to expect".

Tony stood up and walked the couple of steps to the desk, slid the chair to the middle of the room and picked up the strap that had been sitting on the desk. He pointed to CJ and then to the spot in front of the desk. There was no room for misinterpreting what he expected and CJ slowly pulled herself off the bed and shuffled hesitantly to the appointed location. In many past cases CJ would have put on some sort of bravado, pumped herself for what was going to happen and somehow doing that made submitting to the punishment easier. Yet tonight for some unknown reason she had been unable to provoke that response in herself and she had been trying since she left Steven at the end of his driveway. Normally she would have stood there with an air of defiance or control, but tonight she stood there not even knowing what to do next. When her father nodded she lowered herself into a position bent over the desk with her torso supported by her lower arms and her face cradled in her hands.

"CJ what gives you the idea you can keep the jeans? Lose 'em NOW" he demanded forcefully.

Returning to a standing position she turned to look him in the eye, pleading with her expression rather than her words for this to be different. As she lowered her pants his response was "CJ, I promised you on Tuesday night what would happen if you planned, executed, or participated in ANY way a practical joke or prank. You know that I follow through on ALL my promises".

Resigned that she couldn't alter the course of events that was about to take place she resumed her prone position over the desk.

It was only seconds later that the first lash fell and CJ let out a loud "OWWW" and jumped up, both hands flying to her backside to protect it from further on slot. It was in those few seconds that CJ understood by people rubbed or covered their ass in the stories. It wasn't because it accomplished anything, it was because it was instinctual, a basic evolutionary trait that was ingrained in one's want for self preservation.

Tony waited for a few seconds, long enough to give his daughter the opportunity to reoccupy her spot at the desk and when that didn't happen, he cleared his throat menacingly. She returned to her previous location. The second lash fell almost instantly, and for a second time CJ jumped and yelled out. With only two licks her ass hurt like crazy, it was on fire and she knew from experience and the promise given on earlier in the week there were many more to come.

It was during the 4th iteration of this cycle that it finally dawned on CJ that the reason she 'could' stand up was because she wasn't being 'held' in place by her father's hand. Usually whoever was administering the punishment placed their free hand on her back. This had two effects, the first was that if she tried to get up she couldn't and the second it made her feel as though they were helping her through. She bent down again when the impatience in her father's expression suggested that he was not going to be as forgiving if she didn't 'smarten up'. With the realization that she was not going to be 'held' in place CJ switched tactics, it was more like a 'school' punishment where you had to be fully in control and accept the punishment. Breathing deeply and sniffling to gain control CJ took the fifth lash without jumping. Realizing that his daughter had finally got control of herself he laid several more lashes across her backside. CJ began crying softly and repeating "oww oww oww oww" emphasizing the oww when the strap landed. But it wasn't long before she was just crying openly.

Tony made sure that every lick counted and that he made good on his promise. He wanted CJ to understand that even if the prank wasn't as "big" or didn't cause has much "havoc" it still wasn't acceptable to do at school. That there were better outlets for her interests. He wanted to make sure that this was the last time they had a conversation that ended this way. He threw the strap onto the desk beside CJ and she startled. She knew that 'it' was over but remained prone, sobbing into her hands trying to manage her breathing. Tony gently pulled her to standing and hugged her into his chest, stroking her hair and kissing the top of her head.

CJ stepped out of her jeans as Tony guided her to the bed and tucked her in as she lay down. Her breathing was still uneven and tears openly flowed from her scrunched up eyes. He nudged her to the side and sat on the bed legs out in front, leaning back against the headboard. "You want me to stay with you for a few minutes?" he asked not actually sure what her answer was going to be.

The girl nodded and moved over a little more so he could sit more comfortably. After several long minutes of silence CJ looked up at her father and asked "Dad, you pulled practical jokes at school, didn't you?"

Tony nodded while he answered "Ya, I did"

"Did you … ever… get caught?" she continued.

"Oh yeah… more often than not really…kind of like you… when something happened I generally got questioned first… even if occasionally I wasn't involved"

"When you got caught…." CJ paused not sure how to ask the question she needed the answer for.

"When I got caught did I ever get a whippin'? Is that what you want to know?" Tony asked with a smile seeing where his daughter was going with this line of questioning.

Embarrassedly she nodded.

"Oh Yes CJ…yes I did… when I said I understand how you felt… and I understand what it is like… I mean I truly understand because I was in the same position … literally… as you…. That's why I know… give it up… really… you get caught and punished far more times than not…. And it is always this unpleasant… it never gets easier to take… I thought it might…. But experience taught me otherwise… so CJ…. Quit while you're ahead of your old man's record….. OK"

Laughing CJ replied "OK Dad I'll try". And with that she turned her face away, exhaled deeply and drifted off to sleep as Tony sat watching as the blanket rose and fell with every breath his daughter took. He sat long after she had fallen asleep and didn't move until Ziva came to look for him. He kissed CJ's cheek and whispered quietly into her ear "I love you. Please don't make me ever have to do that again. It breaks my heart." And he followed his wife down the hall to their own room.