A/N - Thank you for being patient! RL once again got too busy to be able to write. With a long weekend it is my hope I can find time to finish up this little story - WARNING - as with previous chapters there is physical discipline of a minor by a parent in this chapter - Don't LIKE DON'T READ - You've been warn!
Abby stood at her computer moving to the music that blared from the stereo. She didn't hear Tim enter behind her an started when he gently placed his hands around her middle, drawing her close to him. He kisses her cheek from behind as she turns to see her husband. "You here for the evidence?" she asked, sad that he had not brought a caf pow with him. "Ya, I know you didn't call but I thought you might have something by now" he answered not letting go. "Well" she began when the phone on the desk rang. Quickly muting the music with the remote with her right hand Abby answers the phone by pushing the speaker mode button with her left hand. "Hello Abby Scuito's lab how can I help you?" she said jovially. "Hello Ms. Scuito this is Mr. Harper, the principal at St. John's Catholic school." The man on the other end began but was cut off by Abby's panicked "Are the boys alright?"
"Yes… they are… "he thought for a moment what the correct adjective would be " They are fine" he decided to answer.
"If they are fine than to what do we owe this phone call?" she asked somewhat annoyed.
"We?" the man on the other end asked. Paying close attention to words was part of his job.
"Ah, yes Mr. Harper. It's Tim McGee. I'm here as well. How can we help you this morning Mr. Harper?" Tim asked cordially. Giving Abby a look of "let me speak".
"Oh. Well that makes it convenient." Mr. Harper began. The conversation continued for well over 15 minutes as Mr. Harper described each of the boys' missteps. Understanding the old adage of "boys will be boys" Mr. Harper was careful not to exaggerate the mistakes and wanted to convey that his sole purpose for calling was to fulfill his obligation that he must disclose when he administers physical chastisement. He explained that he felt the boys had been both penitent and accepted their punishment without a fight.
Abby and Tim listened quietly. Abby asking a question every now and again, understanding of the situation becoming clearer as the conversation continued. The tension in the lab rose with each passing minute. Mr. Harper was not privy to the rest of the story, the behavior exhibited by Lucas at home, which irked both of his parents. Tim thanked the principal and hung up the line as Abby seethed beside him.
"Tim.." she said angrily. "That boy … do you think he.." she had questioning in her voice but didn't finish speaking.
Tim just as angry because he too felt that he and his wife had been played by their eldest pulled his wife into a hug. Their strength as parents came from the deep relationship and bond they had. As Abby pulled away both adults said "I call it" at exactly that same time. "You can't call it" they then said together. Laughing at their combined attempt at weaseling out of the situation Abby offers. "Rock, paper, scissors?"
With a nod of his head Tim agrees holding out his fist at the same time. The two shake their hands to the mantra of Rock, paper, scissors and Abby wins her flat hand covering her husband's fisted rock. "I win" she cheers "You get to deal with the boys". "Best 2 out of 3" Tim offers a pout on his face. Feeling only a little sorry for her spouse she thinks about the proposal. "Ok" she agrees. But with a second success in a row she places her hands on Tim's shoulders turns him bodily towards the door and gently pushes him out of the lab with the well wishes of "Good Luck, see you after bed time" and returns to her computer to process that which she had been working on earlier.
Tim returned to his desk to continue working. He had hours to contemplate how he was going to approach the situation at home. It was times like these that he would ruminate on his relationship with his own father. And he would consider what his father would have done in the same circumstances. Tim generally tried to be more understanding and tempered when doling out consequences. But when either boy pulled a stunt like at least one of them had this time Tim questioned if he was doing right by his kids.
Tim wasn't as upset about the accumulation of 10 demerits by either boy. Children would make mistakes and each of the minor issues was nothing that was in and of themselves a big deal. The idea that both boys could rack up 10 points without seemingly to make an effort to change their miscreant ways was maybe an issue. However, unlike his own father, he would not jump to such conclusions and wait to hear their side of the story. He was upset though at both children's absence of an explanation prior to this morning. He would give Sam a bit of leeway in that Tim was pretty sure the little guy probably was clueless as to the rising number of demerits and what that ultimately meant. Lucas was another story. He knew Friday night he'd accumulated enough points to be visiting the principal's office and if Tim and Abby's suspicions were correct he had not only kept that quiet he had tried to manipulate them by being the 'perfect' big brother over the weekend.
Tim was unable to focus on the task at hand and by the time he was to be heading home he had accomplished very little detective work he had been supposed to accomplish that day. Packing up his laptop and other files he decided that after he'd spoken to the boys he would be able to get a few things completed at the home office. Checking for the second time that he had everything he would need not to return to the office he headed to the elevator giving orders to his team about what he expected them to achieve before heading home themselves.
XXXXXXX NCIS XXXXXXX
As the boys' walked Luc tried to remind Sam of the prudent ways to deal with mom and dad. Luc explained that Sam should be contrite and say sorry but not offer any extra information that wasn't asked for. Luc weighed his options of telling his brother not to mention that he himself was also in the office as the percent chance of Mr. Harper only reporting one of them was basically zero he didn't bring it up as Sam under pressure may mention Luc's coached deception.
Kayla was happy to see the boys and ushered them into the kitchen where she had indeed set up a snack on the table for them. Lucas forced a smile and polite thank you, Sam grumpily threw his bag in the hall, ditched his shoes and climbed up on to the chair. Kayla wasn't surprised by Sam's attitude she had seen so many end of school days that his unpleasantness didn't even register. She knew after a bit to eat, time on his bike or in front of the tv was medicine for a long day.
Kayla happily asked Lucas how his day went and when his response was cold and short she became concerned; asking more and more questions that in turn made Lucas feel more and more uneasy. To shut down the conversation he finally answered "It is exam revision week… I just it so monotonous and boring that the day takes forever to end… and I still have to study the things I actually need to do…" he answered carrying his plate to the sink. "I'm going to go to my room and sort out what is important for the exams next week" flashing his bright smile as he left the room.
Kayla continued with her usual routine, making supper, watching Sam as he visibly deflated in front of the television. By the time the food was on the table Sam was 80% back to his loud and bouncy self, but Lucas was much more sullen. Kayla had learned over the years how each of the boys responded to difficult situations and began to have suspicions about Lucas' explanation of his day. But has she had in the past, she kept silent. She had decided many years ago that she was never going to be the 'heavy' and always be the ear to listen and the shoulder to lean on. It had served her well in that she was able to maintain enough authority to ensure the boys behaved while in her care but was looked upon as a friend.
Kayla raised her eyebrows in Lucas' direction when he jumped at the sound of the front door closing. If she hadn't been aware that Luc was hiding something it would have become plainly clear. The teen glared back at her knowing glance.
"Mr. McGee I didn't realize you would eating with us so I didn't set you a place" Kayla offered as both boys' heads dropped and their eyes looked sideways at their father.
"No problem Kayla, I'll get my own plate. Is the food in the fridge or still out on the …" he didn't finish his question as he noticed the pots and pans still containing the remainder of the supper on the counter.
Filling his plate slowly he watched his children. Their body language screamed guilt and Lucas' wayward glances towards his brother and father confirmed Tim's feelings about Lucas' recent behavior. He took his food and sat down at his usual place. Kayla and Tim carried on a friendly chat about the weather, Kayla's current studies and Tim's expectations for her time that evening. Once dinner was over he explained she could go home and work on her dissertation. He would clean up he said. Luc surreptitiously watched the conversation. He had known deep down that there was no way Mr. Harper wouldn't contact his parents. He knew that there was probably some sort of regulation or something that prevented him from keeping it secret. Luc had just hoped that with only 2 weeks of school left, and with him leaving Mr. Harper would have been willing to bend the rules. Luc also knew that Mr. Harper had no idea that in the Scuito-McGee household you answered for your mistakes again once at home regardless of the circumstances. Nor did the principal know that Luc had been hiding his transgressions and imminent meeting and altering his usual day to day behavior to garner favour in case the situation was discovered.
Luc sat at the dinner table pushing his food around the plate seething, with every passing moment getting angrier with those he deemed responsible for his current predicament. For all the worry that he didn't pay enough attention to his sons or wasn't there for them all the time, Tim was comforted by the fact that he easily read Luc's ever degrading composure and understood from whence it came. Tim realized that if his eldest sat at the table much longer he was going to explode and dig himself a much deeper hole than he already found himself in. In an effort to save his son, and maybe himself, from having to deal with such an outcome he instructed Luc to clear away his place and meet him in the office. Tim's tone and bearing were that of his federal agent persona and the calm demand brought Lucas back to the moment. Following the orders was easy as he couldn't eat much anyway with his gut in tight knots. The boy kept his eye on the man as he scraped his plate, placed everything in the sink and then headed out of the room and down the hallway.
Sam sat watching, oblivious to his brother's plight. He still hadn't been privy to the circumstances that had lead him to find Luc in the office that morning and due to his own problems hadn't taken the time to ask. That was until now. "Why is Luc in trouble?" Sam innocently inquired.
"I would be more worried about myself if I were you young man" Tim answered.
Sam's brow furrowed as the heat quickly turned in his direction. Kayla was surprised by the implication that Sam too had gotten into trouble. Not that he didn't find himself there often but his behavior had not been out of character this afternoon. She quickly finished up her own plate, cleared away the dishes and said her goodbyes as Sam stared at his father and Tim continued to eat the remains of his own meal.
"Clear your spot Sam" Tim said as he too stood and cleared not only his plate but the entire table. Sam moved slowly monitoring his dad's demeanor and actions. Sam was just finishing his chores when Tim brought back the cloth having wiped up the table and put away the placemats.
"Come with me" Tim told Sam as he took the small boy by the shoulder and lead him to the living room.
It was Tim's plan to gather some more information before deciding on any punishment. Sam had, on the whole behaved so much better this year. But his repeated disregard for the basic rules couldn't go unanswered. Tim sat on the sofa gently pulling Sam to stand in front of him, at this level they were face t to face.
"Sam, Mr. Harper called your mother and I this morning, he said you had accumulated 10 demerits and had to visit his office" Tim began before being interrupted.
"I only just forgot my homework for French" Sam explained his voice rising in pitch.
"Sam, that's what happened today. But that was only 1 of 10 things that got you into this conundrum" Tim tried to explain.
"But I already got in trouble for those things" Sam said. Tim initial thought was that Sam was being disingenuous yet the look of absolute confusion on the boy's face told him otherwise. Sam really believed that he'd been punished that day for his unfinished French homework and that alone. Tim took several minutes to calmly explain why that was not the case, and that the demerit system was set up so that every offence was not punished individually and that the student was given an opportunity to change their ways. And that once 10 offences were reached then a larger consequence was handed out to reinforce that their choices needed to be altered. Sam understood the premise by the time Tim finished his long winded description but told his father "I don't agree with it". Tim had to stop himself from laughing as his youngest was very serious. "What exactly do you not agree with?" he decided to get clarification. "I don't think they should pile up your mistakes like that. I should have 10 chances with French and 10 chances with gym and 10 chances with Library and.." Tim held up his hand to stop his now rambling child.
"Sam… how about this… I am going to ask Miss Carmichael to inform me each time you receive a demerit" he couldn't finish his sentence as Sam yelled "That's not fair.." and he too was stopped by Tim putting his finger over the little one's lips. "Listen until I'm finished" he raised his brow and tilted his head in such a way that Sam knew to keep quiet. "I will get Miss Carmichael to tell me so that you and I can discuss why it was given and how to change your behavior in hopes of not getting another one." Sam tried again to speak but was stopped by the same gesture again. "That way your mother and I can help you keep track of the issues and then maybe you won't get yourself into this situation again. There won't be any recriminations for those offences, just like at school. We will simply talk about ways to help you make better choices or fix the problems at hand. Ok?" Tim finished lifting his finger from his son's mouth.
"I don't think it's a good plan. You'll get mad at me 10 times instead of 1" Sam answered.
Sighing Tim tried again "No Sam I promise that your mother and I won't be angry. I think it will help you never get to 10 again."
Sam still unsure of how that was going to help stood watching his father's face. It didn't seem like there was any way to get the man to change his mind no matter what he said. He couldn't though bring himself to agree.
Tim sensing Sam was far from coming to the same understanding as he had decided to move on. "Sam we do have to deal with the current accumulation of 10 demerits and the fact that you didn't tell either your mother or I that you were so close to getting sent to the principal's office."
Sam jumped to his own defense, I didn't know I was so close, I wasn't really paying attention to the number I didn't not tell you. He said the not emphasized with both tone and volume. That was actually what Tim had suspected, Sam wouldn't have noticed what number he was at nor would he have registered what getting to 10 really meant.
"I understand that until now you were unaware of exactly what the reasoning behind the system was and what the consequences would be. That being said from this point forward you do understand and I am expecting that you will pay more attention to your behavior the rules at school and you will try your hardest to stay out of trouble. Am I clear?" Tim's tone was firm and decisive.
Sam nodded his head, unhappy that no one ever listened to his ideas. Upon getting the nod Tim took Sam's right arm in his right hand and quickly turned his son so that they were no longer facing but Sam was now sideways. Tim applied a few solid smacks to the boy's backside before the kid's left hand flew back to protect himself from any more swats. "Hey" Sam cried "Mr. Harper already did that". His angry face turned back to his father as he was released. "I know that" Tim answered "I just want to reinforce the fact that you don't want to end up here again." Sam feeling sorry for himself as well as angry that the world just didn't understand him stormed off to his room.
Tim weighed the merits of further discussion with his youngest and in the end chose to ignore the outburst and instead go and deal with his other offspring.