Tony glanced over his shoulder one last time, then slipped behind the counter. Gibbs had gone with his father on his morning walk, and Tony wasn't sure whether he'd have another opportunity to be alone in the store. If he was going to satisfy his curiosity, it would have to be now.

His eyes fixed on the Winchester mounted high on the wall, he took a step closer, then another.

Even though Gibbs told him he was never allowed to fire his father's rifle, he could tell that it had been an object of fascination for him as a boy. And it had quickly become one for him, too.

He reached up a tentative hand just as the door swung open behind him and the room filled with Gibbs's protests about not going for a walk in the rain.

Snatching his hand back, he spun around, trying to look innocent. Jack fixed him with a hard, knowing look that made Tony wilt.

'Tony, you're lucky we came back when we did. If you'd actually gotten your hands on that rifle, I'd have taken that paddle to your backside,' Jack told him, nodding in the general direction of the wooden implement that hung on the front of the counter. 'Don't think I won't, if you try that again.'

Tony swallowed hard. A part of him was fascinated by the thought of being spanked by Gibbs's father, of being punished by the same hands that had once punished his boss. And even though he knew that Jack spanked thieving neighbourhood children, the threat had felt more personal than that. But at the same time, he didn't particularly want to be spanked at all. And for reasons that he couldn't explain, he didn't like the idea of being spanked by anyone other than Gibbs.

To Tony's surprise, it was his boss who protested.

'No, you won't.'

'Leroy, that boy of yours could...'

'Exactly. He's my responsibility.'

'Leroy...'

'Dad, you are not spanking Tony. If he screws up, I'll take care of it.'

Tony watched helplessly. That tone left him with no doubt about how Gibbs would take care of him, if he thought he needed it. He hadn't been punished since he'd returned from the Seahawk, and he'd been starting to wonder whether Gibbs would still spank him, with everything that had changed. It was strangely comforting to know that Gibbs had no qualms about continuing that aspect of their relationship. But he wasn't sure how he felt about Jack's description of him as Gibbs's boy, or about his apparent willingness to spank him, too. Or about Gibbs's insistence on punishing him himself. Or about the possibility that Jack would figure out how Gibbs would punish him.

But before he could figure out what his reactions meant, Gibbs sent him out to interview more witnesses.