A/N This story contains parental spanking of a minor child. I know some people are offended by this so I wanted to give those readers a chance to skip this chapter if they wish. I also forgot to mention that I do not own NCIS and all that other legal stuff I am supposed to say.
Tony was making good time on his way home from work. The drive from the Navy Yard in Quantico Virginia to Stafford takes just under one half hour, but for some reason the traffic was lighter than usual for this time of day and before he knew it he was just a few miles from home.
Today he was commuting alone. Ziva had taken the day off to spend some quality time with Ben. Something she has done at least once a month since Ben was old enough to be left at the NCIS day Care. He would never admit this to Ziva, but he kind of liked driving home from work alone. He could turn up the radio as loud as he liked and sing along to his favorite tunes without Ziva and Ben holding their hands over their ears.
He was sitting at the traffic light singing 'Sweet City Woman' when out of the corner of his eye he saw the local McDonald's and suddenly had a craving for a McDouble. This was another perk of Ziva not being in the car with him. He grinned as he made the turn and pulled up to the drive thru. He ordered his burger, without pickles and a medium coke. He paid for his order at one window and picked it up at the next. He found an empty parking space and pulled in; He reached into his bag and unwrapped the sandwich checking to make sure there were no pickles. After finding his order to be correct he proceeded to devour the burger in two big bites then made short work of the soda as well. He was careful when getting out of the car to dispose of his garbage making sure to not leave any evidence behind. He had learned that his little ninja could spot a fallen sesame seed a mile away, which is one of the reasons he stopped ordering the Big Mac and switched to the McDouble. He made sure to check the front of his shirt for crumbs before getting back into the minivan; you could never be too careful.
He turned into the Stafford Estates subdivision the DiNozzo family called home. He drove down the tree lined street to the large yellow house with white trim that sat on the corner. He smiled as he pulled into his driveway when he saw Ben riding his tricycle on the sidewalk with several of his friends from the neighborhood.
Since Stafford Virginia was close to Quantico, the neighborhood was filled with families of FBI and NCIS Agents as well as several military families; it was a very safe community to live in. Ziva was watering her flowers that bordered the yard of her neighbor and good friend Karen. Karen was an FBI profiler and her husband worked for the DEA. Their son, Brian was a few months older than Ben and the two of them were best friends. While Ziva and Karen shared neighborhood gossip, Ben and Brian were playing follow the leader on their tricycles with the two little girls that lived across the street. The game came to a sudden end once Ben saw that his daddy was home from work.
"Daddy you home", Ben screamed as he jumped off his tricycle and ran to his daddy. The top of Ben's head barely made it past Tony's knees and both Ziva and Karen laughed as Ben tried to climb up the legs of his father.
"Hold on there big guy", Tony said as he reached down to pick up his son and tossed him in the air, pretending to drop him as Ben came down, at first startling the toddler but than Ben erupted in a fit of laughter saying, "again, again, again"! Tony did as asked then carried Ben back over to his friends, "You go play for a few more minutes while I talk to mommy okay"?
"Okay daddy", Ben happily said as he climbed back on his tricycle. Tony patted the heads of Ben's little friends saying, "Hello Brian, Chelsea and Tammy."
"Hi Mr. DiNozzo", the children all replied in unison then resumed their game of follow the leader. Tony had long since gotten over his fear of children and was quite popular with all of the neighborhood children, especially with the little girls who thought he was handsome.
Tony crossed the lawn and made his way over to Ziva and Karen. "Hello ladies", Tony said as he wrapped his arms around Ziva from behind.
"Hi Tony", Karen said while Ziva asked him how his day was.
"It was fine, Gibbs only hit me (Tony stopped to count) three times today".
Ziva smiled and said, "That does not surprise me, you always get in more trouble when I am not around."
"That's exactly what Gibbs said", Tony laughed.
Ziva looked at her watch and said, "I better get dinner started, I will talk to you later Karen", Ziva said as she took Tony's hand and they began walking to collect Ben.
Tony was upstairs changing out of his suit and was putting on a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt. He was glad that the work week was almost over. Tomorrow was Friday and the Memorial Day Weekend was the unofficial start of summer so Tony wanted to get the pool ready. Gibbs was going to come over on Saturday to help and the entire team plus many of the neighbors were invited to the DiNozzo Memorial Day BBQ on Monday. Tony and Ziva were looking forward to spending time with friends and family.
Ziva made chicken and rice using a recipe she saw on TV this morning and even though he stopped at McDonald's on his way home, Tony still had seconds. "Are these the French's Onions you use in your green bean casserole? Tony asked with a mouthful.
"Yes, they make a wonderful breading for the chicken", Ziva answered. "I saw it on the Today Show this morning while Ben and I were folding the laundry".
"I help mommy fold towels", Ben added as he reached for his sippy cup for a drink of milk.
Tony and Ziva talked about their day and Ben would add his two cents every now and then until the meal was finished and the dishes were all loaded in the dishwasher. Ben wanted to go outside and play some more but Ziva was too tired and wanted to unwind with a bubble bath and read her book. So while Ziva relaxed with her bubbles, candles and book, Tony took Ben out back to play on his swing set. Tony had taught him how to pump his legs to swing himself and Ben was currently going at a good pace while Tony sat on the deck drinking a beer and reading one of his sporting magazines. Suddenly the sound of music began to fill the backyard and Ben paused a moment to listen. He suddenly screamed, "Ice cream man, ice cream man". Tony looked up just in time to see Ben jump out of the swing while it was still several feet off the ground. Tony's heart skipped a beat and he dropped the beer and magazine as he leaped from his chair to check on his son. Ben made a perfect landing and hit the ground running. Tony stopped briefly and thought, "That was pretty impressive", then had to hurry after his son who was already running through the house and was out the front door still screaming for the ice cream man.
"Ben get back here right now", Ziva heard Tony's voice coming from downstairs. Then she heard Ben screaming, "Ice cream man, Ice cream man". Then the front door slammed shut and it was quiet again. She shook her head and went back to reading her book as she soaked in her bubble bath until she heard a car come to a screeching stop.
Tony finally caught up with Ben as the little boy was just about half way across the street and a car came to a skidding stop just missing him.
Tony grabbed Ben by the arm stopping him; he had been so scared when he saw Ben running towards the street that he reacted before realizing what he was doing. He turned Ben around and placed three good swats on the toddler's bottom. "Benjamin Anthony DiNozzo don't you ever do that again", Tony said as he knelt down in front of Ben.
This was the first time Tony had ever spanked his son and Ben was in the process of building up and releasing a loud cry of protest. He started out by closing his eyes, taking several shuddering breaths, he looked like he was crying but no sounds were coming from the little boy. Tony was just about to gently shake his son and ask if he was okay when the damn broke and the tears and crying erupted. Everyone turned to see what was going on, the neighborhood children, their parents, even the ice cream man. Tony felt awful for losing his temper and he wondered what the neighbors must be thinking. He quickly scooped Ben up and brought him into the house. He placed Ben on the couch and told him he was in a time out and was to stay there until he was told he could get up; this of course made Ben cry louder.
Ziva came down the stairs with her hair in a towel, wearing only her bath robe. "What in the world is going on down here", she said as she looked at her crying son and then at her husband.
Tony took Ziva into the kitchen and explained to her what happened. "I'm sorry I lost my temper but he would not listen to me and he knows better than to run out into the street like that, hell Ziva, he even knows he is not supposed to open the front door when one of us is not with him. When I saw him heading for the street like that, and that car, it scared me, it really scared me", Tony ran a hand through his hair trying to calm himself down as he paced back and forth as Ben began to cry for Ziva.
Ziva peeked into the living room and found Ben had thrown himself onto the floor having quite a tantrum. She told Tony he needed to be firm and make Ben understand why he was being punished and cautioned Tony that if he backed down now, it would be harder to discipline Ben in the future.
Tony knew that Ziva was right. He had to be firm so he went into the living room and picked Ben up off the floor and placed him back on the couch. "I told you to stay sitting on the couch while you are in time out".
"No timeout, I want mommy", Ben cried louder.
Ben tried to slide himself off the couch one more time but Tony made him sit up again. This was not working; Ben was hysterical, and Tony was almost in tears himself. Tony quickly thought of a compromise. "Do you want me to sit with you for your timeout"?
Ben thought about it for a moment, than nodded yes.
Tony picked his son up and held him to his chest rubbing comforting circles on Ben's back as he continued to cry. He gently rocked the little boy calming him down so that Ben's cries were reduced to sobs then sniffles, then quiet. At first Tony thought Ben had fallen asleep but then he saw Ben looking at him with red puffy eyes.
"Are you ready to talk about what happened"? Tony asked his son.
"Okay daddy", Ben said on the verge of tears again.
Tony sat Ben on the couch and moved to sit on the coffee table facing his son. "Do you know why I spanked you Ben"?
"Because I go in street", Ben said shyly.
"Yes and because you did not listen to daddy and you opened the front door without me or mommy there with you", Tony explained.
"I sorry daddy", Ben said as he began crying once again.
Tony hugged his son and told him it was going to be okay. "I am sorry I had to spank you Ben but you broke some big rules today. I hope I never have to do that again".
Ben looked at his daddy and said, "Me too, I no like spankings".
Tony laughed and gave his son a big hug. He then led Ben into the kitchen where the family would once again sit down and talk about the rules in a way a three year old could understand.
That night as Tony finished reading his son a bedtime story, a sleepy Ben asked Tony, "Is we still friend's daddy?"
Tony had to choke back the tears and answered, "Best friends always", he said as he handed Ben his Teddy Bear and watched as his little boy drifted off to sleep.
A/N I am going on vacation for three days and will post another chapter early next week. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review this story and please continue to send me your feedback.