The Family You're Going to Have

by littlemissscatterbrained

Set half a year after the nested plotline in "If you get lost," Hotch and Rossi visit their 'extended' family in NYC- Dave's Academy buddy, Ness, her wife, Cass, and their troublesome-adopted-agent, Mads. Warning: Contains spanking of adults by their mentor figures. OC heavy.

1. Chapter 1

A.N.- I've had terrible writer's block recently (plus school has kept me busy,) so I decided finally that it was worth it to start a new story for the sake of writing something. I had opened a potential storyline in 'If you get lost' where Hotch and Rossi go visit Ness and Mads, with it being the first time Hotch meets his extended 'family.' I've decided to pursue that idea further in this story, which is set about half a year later than the main plotline in Chapter 4 of 'If you get lost'- Hotch is still a rookie agent in the BAU, and his relationship with Dave is still very much developing. Mads and Ness met about a year before Dave and Aaron, so their relationship is a little more established (but Mads is still very insecure about her place in Ness's life- I might go into why she has those sort of trust issues in this story.) Alright, I think that's all that's needed for background.

Warnings: The standard fare for adult disciplinary fiction including spanking and corner time. If there's anything noteworthy, I'll include a further warning at the start of that chapter.

Disclaimer: There's a joke about the impending tax season and me being confused and living on a grad student stipend, needless to say I don't own anything like 'Criminal Minds.'

-o-o-o-o-o-

"The family you come from isn't as important as the family you're going to have."

-Ring Lardner

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Are you packed?" Dave Rossi asked his protege, Aaron Hotchner, as he passed the younger man's desk in the bullpen. He knew the answer was yes, because he had already asked after reminding Aaron several times the previous day that he needed to pack- so sue him, he was excited. It wasn't often that he got to see his old 'battle buddy' from the FBI Academy; he and Ness had a close relationship in the Academy, then drifted apart for a while- nothing scandalous, they were simply both busy people and time for phone calls wasn't abundant- and then began to become very close friends once again when they both 'adopted' the trouble-magnet rookie agents working for them.

"Yes mom," Aaron drawled with a smirk, and Dave gently cuffed the back of his neck.

"Smartass," he fondly mumbled under his breath, and chose not to alert Hotch to the fact that he knew the younger man's increased sarcasm was an attempt to mask nervousness. This would be the first time Aaron met Ness, though she had insisted on talking to him over the phone from time to time (that started after Dave supremely screwed up in punishing his protege and panic-called Ness, who was fortunately able to soothe Aaron.) His old friend already had a deep fondness for his protege, but he knew Aaron wouldn't believe it until he experienced it.

It would also be the first time Hotch met his 'cousin.' About a year prior, Ness had invited Mads to join her unit after the young, impulsive agent was once again rejected by her FBI superiors, saving the young woman's job. Quickly, Vanessa Bradley had started feeling fondly towards the young agent, who had a frequent habit of finding herself in hot water. Ness's fiance, Cassidy Verity, very rapidly became fond of the irrepressible young agent as well, and both women gave Mads the stability and structure she needed to succeed in life.

For Mads, that stability included rules and, if the rules were broken, discipline, typically in the form of corporal punishment. It was an off the books punishment that couldn't affect her professionally, and got through to her that she was loved and needed to stop taking unnecessary risks more than cold cases ever could. And it certainly worked- this was the longest Mads had been placed with any unit, and she was at least slightly better about thinking through her actions.

Ness didn't actually know much about Maddy's past, and the younger agent had never opened up about it; she knew that, if pressed, her protege would give her answers, but she wanted Mads to feel comfortable enough to want to open up and talk about her secrets to Ness. Regardless, the young woman's behavior suggested the lack of a nurturing guardian, and her fears about being abandoned spoke to a lack of stable family as a child. It was the similarity in insecurities that prompted Ness to convince Dave that Aaron probably needed something similar, and Dave was shocked to find how well it worked. Rossi knew slightly more about Hotch's past, which included abuse at the hands of his father. He had only learned that after he had spanked the kid a half-dozen times with a belt, the same instrument his abusive father had preferred, no less!

That had been one of the many, many times Dave called Ness, needing advice on how to care for Aaron or needing reassurance he wasn't traumatizing the kid further. It had been during that phone call that Ness 'suggested' (it was more of an order, really) Aaron come meet his 'extended family' in person. It was always nice to see Ness, and he wanted to get to know his 'niece' better, having only met her twice so far. So, when their boss told them they had to use their paid leave only a week later, Dave had seen the perfect opportunity.

Six months later saw the two men travel from Quantico, Virginia, to New York City, New York. Wanting to avoid having to figure out parking in the City, in addition to having an understandable aversion to driving in NYC, Dave had decided that they would fly from Dulles to JFK airport. He made sure he had all the documentation he'd need, in addition to making sure there was nothing for work that was open and pressing, requiring his attention urgently. Then, he waited, slightly bored, for the work day to end.

To kill time, he took Aaron out for lunch at a local deli. While Dave had seen signs of nervousness from Hotch earlier, his anxiety seemed to have multiplied exponentially since then. Unfortunately for Aaron, his anxiety often manifested in him behaving in ways his mentor didn't approve of or saying something he shouldn't in a disrespectful tone. Dave knew it was futile, but he hoped Aaron wasn't going to stay true to that pattern.

It didn't take long for Aaron to say something disrespectful about another BAU rookie agent. Dave gave him a stern look, but otherwise didn't say anything- he understood frustration with colleagues.

Then, Aaron said something dismissive to him over something completely trivial, and Dave gave him another stern look, this time adding, "you're standing on thin ice, kiddo, so think about where you want to go from here."

The third time, Aaron disobeyed Dave on something trivial, seeming desperate for the older man's attention. "I'd knock it off if I were you, unless you want to squirm in your plane seat the whole way to New York?" he asked, mock casually. Hotch looked down, seemingly adequately chastised for the moment. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, genuinely, but Aaron shook his head no. He had to refrain from smiling at the a stricken expression that appeared on the younger man's face when Dave casually added,

"And that was your last warning, kid, so don't push it."

-o-o-o-o-o-

It was one of those frustrating moments where Aaron felt downright possessed- he wasn't stupid, and he knew full well he was pushing the boundary over incredibly trivial things, but he couldn't seem to stop, needing to push further and further to see where it landed him. Dave hadn't looked particularly shocked, either, as if he anticipated Aaron's misbehavior. Though, now that he reflected on it, he typically found himself in trouble as a response to anxiety. He didn't know why, but he always felt the need to get into trouble when he was nervous. If he had to profile himself, he'd say that it was a cry for attention for the one constant response in his life.

Aaron Hotchner did not want to further profile himself, and pushed such thoughts out of mind entirely as he continued to act like… like a child, really, as much as it pained him to admit.

So when Dave told him that he had just had his last warning, there were two paths Aaron could take.

The smart, sensible route would be to rein in his misbehavior and behave like an FBI agent rather than a scared child.

The other route was stepping over the line, breaking some rule that Dave had established for him. It would be easy, really, to break one of Rossi's smaller rules, like not being mouthy.

For the moment, he chose the smart and sensible route, which lasted until the end of the work day. After lunch, his anxiety continued to build up further and further. He was looking forward to seeing Ness, and based on his interactions with her over the phone, she theoretically liked him. But what if she changed her mind, or he had interpreted wrong- what if she made Dave see Aaron for what he really was, a screw up. Dave typically scolded those types of thoughts, though, so he tried to think past that. He worried that Cass and/or Mads would dislike him, or that he'd get in trouble and they'd think he was a bad influence, or any other number of scenarios that ultimately boiled down to a fear that he wouldn't get along with Rossi's closest friend and that would be what ultimately made the older man cast Aaron away for being too much trouble, too much effort.

Aaron had never handled those types of thoughts particularly well, and as per usual he was sent into a whirlwind of self-hatred that tried to convince him that he wasn't worth sticking around for. A warm hand on his shoulder made his mind jump back to his surroundings, and he wondered how long he was thinking for.

"Time to leave, kid," he said to Aaron gently, and the younger man nodded in acknowledgement, silently packing his briefcase. He rocked back and forth on his heels in the elevator, needing to dispel some of the nervous energy. He could feel everything start to feel like too much, every sound and touch made his skin prickle. It was the type of feeling that typically led to him punching a wall, a behavior his mentor didn't condone.

Therefore, a perfect opportunity was presented to him as Dave got off the elevator and instructed Hotch, who had parked on a different floor, to meet him back at his car. The jittery feeling stayed with him as he found his way to his car and then, as he pulled his suitcase from the trunk, the feeling escalated, nearly consuming him. Once his fist hit concrete, he was pulled from his thoughts, and the nervous feeling died down for a moment.

That was, until he noticed that the appearance of his hand made it impossible to hide the fact that he had just elected to punch a wall over talking to his mentor about feelings. He knew that his mentor would not appreciate that, though confusingly, Rossi was giving him far more warnings than usual. The rational part of him suggested that it was because Dave was not a sadist, and didn't want to force Aaron to sit through an airplane flight after being spanked. The less rational part of him feared that Dave was giving him so much leeway because he didn't want his friend's first meeting with Aaron to be tainted by the evidence that he was troublesome, and imperfect. Was Dave ashamed of Hotch, ashamed of having to correct the younger man in such a manner? He couldn't help envisioning his first meeting with Ness and Madison to include him, with the telltale signs of a recent spanking, and Madison, who was probably perfect in every way and not troublesome at all. Of course that would look especially bad, if Aaron couldn't behave himself even when he knew he was meeting people that were incredibly important to his mentor.

He suddenly felt sick as he realized that his behavior had left evidence he couldn't hide- Dave would be forced to discipline Aaron, and the younger man couldn't save his mentor from the shame of having a bad underling. He got caught in that pattern of thoughts, not realizing the passing of time until he heard Dave's voice.

"Aaron?" his mentor asked, looking around the garage. When Rossi's eyes finally landed on Hotch, he looked somewhat alarmed, "Aaron!" his mentor said, hurrying over to him, an alarmed tone confusingly present in his voice.

"Breathe, kiddo," Dave said, and without thinking Hotch obeyed- he realized that his lack of regular breathing probably explained the worried countenance of his mentor, and put substantial thought into breathing, not wanting to further inconvenience the man. His pattern of deep breathing was interrupted as Rossi gently took Aaron's hand and looked at the damage he had inflicted. Tentatively, he looked to see how mad Dave was, but Dave didn't look mad at all- he looked a little sad, maybe, a little worried, and for some reason, a little amused.

"I really should have expected this," Dave sighed, but his tone was decidedly fond. "We are gonna talk about this, mind you," he said with a sterner edge to his tone, and Aaron dropped his eyes and concentrated his energy into refraining from squirming, "but I'm taking you home, first," Aaron's heart sunk at that- Dave didn't want his friends to meet Aaron, he was probably embarrassed of Aaron, and that thought momentarily consumed him.

"...Aaron?" he heard the voice of his mentor, and looked up to see his mentor's concerned face. "You looked pretty out of it for a second there, are you feeling okay?"

"I'm sorry, Dave," Aaron said genuinely, willing tears away, "I understand why you're taking me home, and I'm sorry that I'm just troublesome-" his rambled apology was cut off by his mentor's voice.

"You only heard half the sentence," he said, "I'm gonna take you home, to my home, make sure your hand is okay, give you some ice for sore knuckles, and then spank you for hurting yourself in your pursuit to avoid feelings."

"Oh," Aaron said, red creeping onto his face at his mentor's matter of fact tone as he relayed the evening's itinerary. "Won't we be late to the airport if we take all that time at your place," he asked, unable to keep the hopeful note from his voice at the prospect of not finding himself turned over his mentor's knee.

"Nice try, kid," Dave snorted, "I budgeted in time for you to get in trouble before we left." Aaron forced an expression of outrage onto his face, but internally he didn't know how he genuinely felt. He should be angry at his mentor's apparent lack of trust, but truthfully it made him feel cared for, that Rossi knew him so well. It was all very confusing. He chewed on that idea as his Dave parked and ushered Aaron into the front door, and then into the kitchen. He turned on the faucet, letting it run for a moment before putting a few fingers under it as if to test the temperature. Apparently finding it suitable, he gently guided Aaron's hand under the stream of water.

He wanted to be embarrassed, really, about being so childlike- after all, he was a grown man standing at a sink, letting his mentor take care to clean his scrapes as the older man hummed softly under his breath. However, as indignant as he wanted to feel, all he could feel was safe.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Dave gently hummed under his breath, a melody he remembered from his childhood, when he got injured and his mother had to help bandage it. Hotch was almost concerningly compliant, which reinforced Dave's original prediction that the younger man would find himself in trouble before the men found themselves on a flight. He knew Aaron frequently worried about how he came off to others, and meeting important people tended to make anyone nervous- and Aaron frequently responded to nervous feelings by getting into trouble, unable to express his feelings in a different way.

He turned off the tap and patted Aaron's hand dry, before looking closely at the wounds. Satisfied that there was nothing deep that required further bandaging, Rossi spread some antibiotic ointment over the worst scratches and handed his surrogate son an ice pack, ushering the younger man to the living room couch. Dave sat on the coffee table across from where Aaron was seated on the couch, which made it harder for the younger man to escape eye contact.

"Why did you decide to punch the parking garage wall?" Dave asked directly- the kid seemed so miserable and repentant that Dave actually thought Hotch would give him a straightforward answer straight away- and he was right.

"Felt too nervous, jittery," he mumbled, shrugging.

"Nervous about what?" Dave pressed; Aaron gave him a long 'are you kidding me?' look in response to the inquiry. Rossi directed a pointed look back at his protege, who acquiesced and answered.

"About meeting people important to you," he said, sounding like it pained him to admit, "what if they don't like me?" The kid sounded dejected and Rossi had to resist drawing the younger man into a hug, knowing that Hotch's anxiety hadn't abated enough to welcome gentle touch. Aaron was touch averse and, while he welcomed hugs and such under some circumstances, he largely reacted negatively to prolonged touch beyond a handshake. Instead, he sought to verbally soothe his protege.

"Ness likes you," he said, "you know that, you've talked with her on the phone." Aaron merely shrugged in response, taking a moment to formulate his response.

"It's different, though," he insisted, "meeting in person and spending more than a few minutes together. What if I'm bad enough she decides she doesn't like me, and thinks you should lose me as a partner? I don't want to embarrass you…" he seemed poised to continue, but Dave quickly cut off that train of thought, suddenly understanding the panicked state he had found Hotch in in the garage.

"First, I'm my own person, I decide who I'm gonna be partnered with, and I'm gonna stay partnered with you, so long as you agree, regardless of what one of my friends thinks. Second, you're never, I repeat, never, an embarrassment to me," he stressed that message, knowing Aaron needed to hear it. Then he paused, letting the message sink in, knowing that this was what was truly at the crux of the younger man's anxiety. "Besides," he added on, nearly as an afterthought, "do you really think a little misbehavior is gonna phase Ness?" He wished he could tell Hotch about Mads, which would put to bed his fear of being judged for such an arrangement; it wasn't his secret to share, though he fully expected for that commonality to be revealed rather rapidly once they met up with Ness's family.

Aaron still looked a little skeptical, but Dave knew that there was nothing more he could do to reassure his surrogate son- he needed to experience, firsthand, that his 'extended family' wouldn't reject him. Now it was time to reinforce boundaries, reassuring Aaron that he wasn't going anywhere and would still call him on his misbehavior, regardless of what anyone else thought. And, though Dave had budgeted in time for this, he didn't allot a large amount of time, and they truly needed to depart for the airport soon.

"Alright kid," he said, getting up and sitting down next to Aaron on the couch, "over my lap," he instructed, then paused as he considered, finally deciding, "pants down." Hotch shot him a pleading look, but he needed the younger man to get the message quickly, and the lack of protection would certainly aid in providing a sufficient spanking in a shorter amount of time. He helped the younger man position himself so that his torso was supported by the sofa, reducing the risk of dizziness, and paused once more in contemplation before pulling Hotch's boxers down as well. He gently rubbed Hotch's back, hearing his protege whine as he was divested of clothing. While ordinarily he wouldn't have taken Hotch's pants down for a minor infraction such as this, he thought that Hotch could use the reminder of a sore bottom on the plane; he also knew that psychologically, taking his surrogate son's pants down made a bigger impact. He gently rubbed Aaron's back while the younger man settled down, then wasted no time in beginning the punishment.

"I'm always here when you need to talk, Aaron," Rossi scolded gently as he let the first few swats fall, "and me understanding why you decided to act out doesn't mean that it's an okay thing to do," he said. Aaron's pale complexion ensured that the younger man's rear pinked under Rossi's hand even after only a few swats, and the small hisses from his protege suggested Aaron was feeling those few spanks too. He hated to punish Hotch, but shoved those feelings aside as he continued his volley of swats, watching as the bottom in front of him turned from a very pale pink to a more dusty pink evenly covering the skin.

While he did sometimes lecture while he spanked, in this case, Aaron knew full well what he did wrong, and the two men had already discussed it. Therefore, Dave didn't really see a point in continuing a lecture Hotch wasn't likely to hear over the sound of his panting and the spanks falling anyways. Instead, he concentrated his efforts on delivering a quick but ultimately memorable spanking.

Satisfied with the cherry hue Hotch's bare bottom was starting to display, and the short breaths that indicated the younger man was truly feeling the chastisement, Dave gently tipped Hotch forward slightly as he dropped one knee and raised the other. Hotch groaned, experience having taught him that the action, while guaranteeing the spanking would end soon, also meant that for a few minutes, his thighs and, worse, the junction between his ass and thighs, would be in the immediate line of fire. There was a reason why Dave always closed with that part of the spanking- it was guaranteed to be more painful and tended to drive the point home.

Indeed, Aaron's squirming increased, as did the frequency of his pained noises. Dave continued raining smacks down on his protege's behind, evaluating the red color blossoming, and soon the thighs had the same cherry color as the rest of Hotch's bottom. Dave was sure the skin was hot, and he felt like a complete ass, but if he wanted to make sure Aaron felt it on the plane…

He quietly steeled himself before focusing his attention solely on the 'sit spots,' as the research he did about adult discipline termed the region (okay, Cass, ever the academic, had done the research when Ness was starting out with Maddy, and Ness passed the knowledge to Dave.) It didn't take long for the sensitive skin there to darken further in contrast to the cherry red of Hotch's bottom and thighs. Hotch's breaths had become hitched, and he didn't want to put Aaron through the emotional wringer of tears; the punishment seemed disproportionately severe but Dave knew the younger man would benefit from the continued reminder of the rules. As stifling as Hotch claimed Dave's rules to be, Dave also knew that Hotch found the rules to be a continued source of comfort and security. He brought the punishment to a close with a few well-placed swats across the most sensitive part of the bottom, then his punishing hand changed it's objective to comfort as he gently rubbed Hotch's back.

Aaron's breath had been hitched, but pretty quickly- too quickly, Dave worried- he was able to calm his breathing to a more normal pattern. Dave gently lifted Hotch's boxers, eliciting a hiss from the younger man as the material skimmed over his hot behind. The veteran profiler looked at Hotch's suit pants and decided to spare the kid the pain of having to wear tailored pants on a plane (with a hot bottom, no less.)

"Go get changed," Dave instructed quietly, still gently rubbing Hotch's back, "You won't be very comfortable on a plane in a suit and tie, there should be a hoodie and some sleep pants or sweatpants in your room." Hotch stood up and Rossi wondered about the look of dejection the rookie sported as he made to depart the room before he realized the issue.

"Not yet," he added as he gently grasped Aaron's shoulder and turned the other man around to face him, pulling him into a strong hug. Aaron, who usually only let himself accept comfort for a limited time, seemed to cling to the embrace longer than he would ordinarily. Dave didn't mind, though.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Soon enough, the two men were on the way to the airport. While Hotch had weakly protested that he needed to look his best when meeting the people important to Dave, the older man had reassured him that his old friend wouldn't mind. Aaron was more inclined to believe his mentor after both men had gotten changed- Dave donned a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, so he couldn't be that worried about his appearance either. Still, Aaron fretted, but he found it hard to concentrate on his anxiety as they drove to the airport; the pain in his bottom was still very much present, and became more intense any time they drove over a bump or pothole, and his regret for acting out earlier only increased.

The two men traveled in silence, Dave giving him concerned glances. He could only shrug at the unspoken questioning, though, finding himself both drained of energy and yet somehow, still anxious. He stayed close to his mentor, a silent shadow, as they parked and made their way through airport security- because this was a personal trip, they couldn't just flash their badges and bypass security.

After standing in line for far too long, Aaron was eager to get through security and be done with it. However, life was never that easy- when he emptied his pockets, he missed a coin, causing the metal detectors to alarm. Unfortunately for him, this also meant that the security needed to pat him down; ordinarily, it would merely be an annoyance, but he found himself tensing, trying not to release the noise of pain that was instinctual as the officer patted down his ass and legs. Afterwards, he returned to Rossi, grumbling; the older man looked like he was caught between wanting to offer a sympathetic look and wanting to smirk, and Aaron accepted the gentle hand on the shoulder that led him to their terminal.

The amount of sitting and standing required for airplane travel, Aaron decided, was fully ridiculous and unnecessary. He thought that the torture would end once they were finally seated on the aircraft, but then the person in the window seat boarded after he did, and he had to stand up to allow the man into the seat and sit down again. He hoped the man wouldn't need to use the restroom during the short flight.

He barely refrained from punching the guy after the third time he needed to use the bathroom on the hour and a half long flight, which was, in his opinion, far too many bathroom breaks for that time interval. He bit his tongue, wanting to suggest that the man see a doctor, but he knew the smartass response wouldn't go over well with the passenger or, more importantly, with his mentor, who did admittedly look genuinely sorry for the amount of shifting around and sitting down Hotch was being forced to do with a hot bottom, and by the end of the flight, he was nearly crying with the renewed pain. Dave held his hand as the plane landed, the bumpy movement almost bringing an audible cry to his lips.

As soon as he could, he jumped out of his seat, giving Dave a hurt look- did he really have to make the plane ride that uncomfortable? Dave, in response, set a hand on Aaron's shoulder for comfort, and also to steer the younger man towards a quiet corner of the airport before they retrieved their luggage. He wanted so badly to rub his bottom, but they were in public and it was undignified, not to mention the fact that he didn't want to broadcast the fact that he was a grown man who still got spanked. He kept his eyes trained on the ground, not wanting his mentor to see the glossy shine of the tears he had held back on the plane.

Hotch wasn't expecting his mentor to pull him into a strong hug in the middle of an airport, and while he typically was not one for public displays of affection, he found the promise of comfort to outweigh any stranger's judgment. His bottom hurt, and that plane ride was torture, and he irrationally wanted Dave to make everything feel better. The veteran profiler's strong embrace, while functionally useless, did wonders to soothe Aaron.

"That hurt," he mumbled, almost petulantly.

"I know, kiddo," his mentor said, still holding him close. "I'm sorry about that, I didn't think about the amount of times you would need to sit and stand- though really, who pees that many times on such a short flight?!"

He couldn't help but snort, amused, at the older man's exclamation- he agreed fully, though. The small joke also made him feel better, plus the extended time standing was making the pain in his ass lessen once more. Once he wasn't in a lot of pain, embarrassment caught up to him and he pulled away from the embrace.

"You okay?" his mentor asked softly as he pulled away.

"Yeah," he said, "I'm okay." He meant it mostly, too, though he wasn't exactly looking forward to the taxi ride in the city, where he was sure many potholes awaited him. He just hoped that Ness lived close to the airport.

-o-o-o-o-o-

As it turned out, Ness didn't live close to the airport (certainly not in New York traffic, too,) but Aaron was spared the mad driving of a NYC taxi at least as he and Dave showed up to the baggage claim only to find Ness and Mads, waiting for their arrival.

"Y'all okay?" he heard Ness mumble to Dave, who responded with something that sounded like 'I'll explain later.' Aaron wanted to scowl, finding the evening too embarrassing, and he wanted to limit the amount of people who knew. Then again, Ness had comforted him before, after, or on one memorable occasion, during a spanking, and he guessed it was alright that she knew. He didn't want Dave to share it with the other woman present, who based on age, Aaron assumed was Maddy. His mental profile of the other woman ended when Ness decided that it was time to make introductions.

"Dave," she greeted warmly, as if their previous small conversation had never transpired, "You've met Madison."

"Maddy," the younger woman said, rolling her eyes until a cough from Ness had red creeping onto her face, mumbling, "you really had to full-name me, there?" At Ness's small head shake and smile, she continued with a more subdued, "It's nice to meet you." She held out her hand for Dave to shake, then Aaron.

"Aaron," he introduced himself to the two women, offering his hand to shake as well; Ness completely ignored the gesture, drawing him into a hug instead. He surprised himself by not tensing- while ordinarily he rejected touch like hugs, he found that Ness just felt safe. She beamed at him as she pulled away from the embrace, and he looked down in embarrassment- he alright thought Dave was too forthcoming with affection, how was he going to survive living with Ness for the week?

An alarm blared, alerting them to the fact that their baggage would appear soon, and Dave and Ness told their respective charges to wait there; they'd handle the luggage. As they walked off towards the baggage carousel, Hotch got the feeling that the two wanted to talk like 'adults' away from the 'kids.' The feeling rankled, and Maddy agreed if the look on her face was any indication. They both stared at their mentors for a minute, before dropping their eyes to the ground, both too awkward and uncomfortable to start any conversation.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Explain," Ness demanded as soon as they were out of earshot of the 'kids.'

Dave groaned, running a hand over his face, but he knew better than to think his friend would see the gesture and then leave matters alone. She was far too nosy for that, but she was also skilled in reading people, and he knew that she had sensed Aaron was somehow… off.

"Just don't comment on Aaron's squirming in the car," he said, by means of explanation.

"So long as you don't comment on Maddy's," she replied with an amused smile, and Dave raised an eyebrow in question. "Nu-uh, you first," she said, and that was fair enough, he supposed.

"He was wound up and anxious, and kept pushing until I spanked him," he said.

"Alright, that's pretty standard, so why do you have that guilty face on?"

"I don't have a guilty face!" he objected, but was met only with his friend's unimpressed stare. "I still maintain I don't have a guilty face," he grumbled under his breath, before resuming conversation in a casual tone, "I might have spanked him disproportionately hard for a relatively minor infraction."

"You wanted him to feel it on the plane?" Ness asked, though it sounded more like a knowing statement.

"Yeah."

"Ain't nothing wrong with that," she drawled, "If I remember correctly, I taught you that trick." Ness always had an uncanny way of spotting when she wasn't getting the full story, which made her particularly well suited for her job which consisted of heavy undercover work (or, these days, acting as a handler to an undercover agent.) So, while Dave didn't quite believe her, his guilt convincing him that he shouldn't have been so harsh originally, he shrugged and continued.

"I'd thought he'd feel it for the drive, and maybe the landing," he admitted, "I didn't factor in the potential that Aaron had the middle seat in the row and the schmuck who had the window seat needed to go see a doctor for the amount of times he got up to use the bathroom. Three! Three times!" he said, throwing his hands up dramatically, "In an hour and a half long flight!"

"Okay, I can see how that's unpleasant," Ness winced, but apparently didn't feel like she received the whole story as she gave Rossi an expectant look, "You still look guilty as all get-out, though, and you haven't said why."

"By the time we landed, he was practically crying again," Dave said in a softer, more pained voice, avoiding looking at his friend as he surveyed the luggage passing them.

"Ah," Ness said, giving Dave a side-squeeze hug, "You had no way of knowing that, and Aaron doesn't blame you for it."

"He looked pretty accusing earlier," he said, pulling one of their suitcases off the conveyor belt.

"Of course he did, you're the one that put the fire in his tail to begin with, but he's a logical enough boy to know that you didn't intentionally subject him to a second punishment." Dave winced at 'second punishment-' Ness was funny in that sometimes she would refuse to sugarcoat something entirely, or she would fall back on her Southern roots to explain something in a way that, by the end of it, you didn't know what she was referring to at all; there was no in between.

"You'll see, Dave," she said at his unconvinced shrug, "He doesn't hold it against you." Unable to formulate a further response, Dave left the conversation there as he pulled the second suitcase off the carousel and returned to the 'kids.'

"Did you two stand here silently the whole time?" Ness asked, sounding slightly amused. "Alright, we'll work on that," she drawled at the sheepish nods of the two younger agents, who continued to fix their gazes on the floor. Dave handed Aaron his luggage, and they followed Ness back to her car. Ness, who apparently didn't feel the need for discretion quite as much as Dave did, smiled after she and Dave had seated themselves in the car while their younger counterparts still hovered outside the car doors, saying, "Are you two going to get in the car sometime soon?"

Dave watched as Aaron and Mads turned red simultaneously, before they both gingerly sat themselves in the car. They continued in tandem as they hissed, looking like they were trying not to squirm, and then, realizing the synchronicity in their movements, looked up at each other startled. No words were exchanged, but it felt like the younger agents had an entire conversation in a stare. Then, they both broke out laughing, which caused any tension in the air to dissipate.

"Oh, thank G-d," Mads said, "I was really dreading trying to sit still the entire way home."

"You dread trying to sit still always," Ness pointed out, and Mads shrugged in agreement.

"That's true too, but it's worse when it hurts," she pouted, and Dave was impressed by how open she was about it. Aaron, who seemed more at ease, at least, was still sporting a bright red flush and was nearly gawking at how casual Mads seemed to be.

"What'd they get you for?" she asked, turning to Aaron with a grin. Dave noticed the flash of fear in Aaron's eyes, being a naturally very private person, and was about to gently redirect the girl when Ness spoke first.

"Madison," she said sharply, and that seemed to be all that was needed for Maddy to focus on picking at her fingernails as she mumbled an apology.

"So, what's there to do in this city?" Dave asked before the silence could become even more awkward, and soon Ness and Mads were tag-team giving him a rundown of the best of NYC (which, he'd admit, was probably a very different list from the one a tour guide would give, given that Ness and Mads were FBI agents and, effectively, spies.)

-o-o-o-o-o-

"You never did tell me why Maddy was squirming," Dave remarked casually as he and Ness cooked side-by-side, having sent their charges to go nap. Both younger agents grumbled, making it even more amusing to her when they both were asleep before their heads ever even hit the pillow. She guessed that, for both 'kids,' their anxiety had exhausted them.

She hummed in acknowledgment, unable to speak as she finished chewing a cherry tomato. Manners were too ingrained in her for her to even think about speaking with her mouth full.

"Same reason as Aaron," she said, chuckling lightly, "told you they were alike." She had noticed the similarities from the moment Dave started telling her about a rookie agent who was turning him prematurely gray.

Dave opened his mouth, as if to reply, when the front door opened and mildly startled the duo.

"Honey, I'm home," the voice of her fiance called from the front door.

"Kitchen!" Ness called back, and abandoned the vegetables she was cutting up upon seeing Cass enter the kitchen, beelining to give her a kiss. Yes, Ness had last seen Cass earlier that morning, but that didn't stop the swell of love she felt every time she looked at the woman.

"Dave, you've met my fiance, the lovely Cassidy Verity," Ness said by means of introduction, then ushered her to one of the barstools. Ness cooked, Cass baked, and neither of them could stand the other's preference. However, it did make for rather complete meals in the Bradley-Verity brownstone.

"You're a professor?" Dave asked, looking up at Cass while still dicing zucchini with practiced ease- the show off. He had been less accomplished during their Academy days, but he was a show off back then too. It had originally annoyed her, and in fact, the first week of the Academy, she couldn't stand David Rossi. Then, after a particularly difficult day, he had been the one to find her hiding around the side of one of the buildings, trying to stifle her tears. Dave had sat next to her and offered a half-embrace with an open arm, but otherwise just sat quietly; he had always been adept at reading what other people were thinking, what they wanted. She never told him why she was teary that day- his quiet companionship was comforting, and she really didn't want to talk about it. They had sat next to each other at dinner that day. Then, breakfast the next. They became fast friends, and acted as each other's 'battle buddy' through the Academy, providing support and helping the other where they could.

"Of Biology, yes," Cass smiled, and stood up, turning the electric kettle on and selecting one of her many (many- Ness always teased her about having a tea problem) teas, "would either of you like a mug of tea?" she asked, then paused as the lack of Maddy's presence dawned on her. The younger woman all but lived with them, these days; Ness was trying to convince Mads to end her lease and just move in officially.

"Wait, where are the 'kids?'" Ness couldn't help but laugh at the phrasing, Cass had, once upon a time, insisted that she could never be domesticated. 'Turns out I just didn't want domesticity with anyone until I met you,' she had said to Ness, once.

"Took you long enough," she drawled, her accent always coming out more around Dave, hearkening back to their days at the Academy. "They're both napping," she said, answering the original question as if an afterthought.

"Already got in trouble once today," Dave supplied in response to Cass's eyebrow raised in question- Mads wasn't typically one for naps, preferring to be constantly in motion.

"Twice, actually," Ness said, and she couldn't help wincing along with Cass.

"I'll go check on her in a moment," Cass declared, unsurprisingly. She had been startled when she realized that Mads brought out her maternal nature- a side of her personality that she had previously thought nonexistent. Ness personally thought that it was extremely sweet, and she loved watching her fiance care for the young woman she had come to see as a daughter. "What happened?" she asked, and most people wouldn't be able to, but Ness could detect a hint of worry in the other woman's tone.

"Nothing bad," Ness quickly reassured, then reconsidered her wording at Cass's small smirk, "okay, nothing that would be hard to fix or mess up her future," she refined her statement, "she was just nervous, you know how she gets."

"Are you still going to…?" Cass trailed off, but Ness knew exactly what her fiance was inquiring about, and Ness stifled a groan, because she had been trying to avoid that train of thought. Typically, if she got in trouble more than once in a single day, Mads was spinning out and it was best to reaffirm their place in her life as soon as possible. Therefore, at the suggestion of some of Cass's research, they had implemented a rule that, in the event Maddy got into trouble multiple times in a day, she would also receive a bedtime spanking that night.

"I don't want to," Ness finally said after an audible groan, "she was just anxious-"

"But it's the anxiety we need to address, and we typically-"

"I know." Dave looked somewhat bemused at the half sentences that, in the context of the couple, formed a full conversation. He looked a little confused, but was polite enough not to ask- she knew it was killing him, though, not knowing something. Cass evidently picked up on that too as she excused herself to go check on Mads, leaving Ness to address her friend's unspoken questions. She didn't wait for him to voice his questions, though.

"If she gets in trouble more than once in a single day, she gets a bedtime spanking too," she said, deciding not to sugarcoat it and instead relayed the information in the plainest terms.

"She what?" Dave asked, incredulously. Ness could understand his disbelief, when Cass first brought up the concept, Ness had reacted similarly. She liked the use of corporal punishment because it was over quickly, and there wasn't prolonged misery. However, Cass pointed out that less than 24 hours probably didn't count as prolonged, and urged Ness to try.

"If Maddy gets in trouble multiple times in a single day, she's starting to spin out, and being firm in our response to misbehavior seems to rein her in faster," she added the tomatoes to the pot on the stove, then gave Dave a wry smile, "even if I feel like a colossal asshole every time." He returned the smile knowingly, and the two lapsed into silence once more; Dave, apparently, understood her somewhat botched explanation, or at the very least he decided not to ask anything further.

It was only a couple of minutes later when Cass reappeared, and Ness was nearly surprised that her fiance didn't have Maddy in tow.

"She's still napping," Cass said by means of explanation, "she looks exhausted, babe, has she been sleeping at all?" Thinking back on it, Ness realized her fiance was right, and cursed herself for not picking up on that sooner; it explained Maddy's increasingly poor choice of words and snappish tone as well.

"We haven't heard her wake up with nightmares," Ness said, "so I assumed she was sleeping fine. But now I'm wondering if she was even sleeping at all."

"I'll be back," Cass stated before she departed the room. Though she appeared completely calm, Ness knew that her fiance was upset; she sympathized with Mads, an irate Cass was a force to be reckoned with.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Cass pushed the door to Maddy's room open once more as she slipped inside and gazed at her peacefully sleeping charge. Her first trip upstairs, she had stood just inside the doorway as she inventoried the signs of exhaustion Mads was displaying. She didn't particularly want to wake the girl up- she clearly needed the sleep- but letting her sleep too long now would hinder her ability to sleep at night, and Cass needed to know if Maddy had been skipping on sleeping. She pushed her hand through her spiky black hair- one of her nervous gestures. Taking a moment to ensure she had adequately calmed down, Cass approached the bed and gently shook Maddy awake, sitting at the side of the bed.

Maddy groaned, but a few more pokes from Cass had her waking up more completely, eventually pulling herself upright and seating herself next to Cass, dropping her head onto her surrogate parent's shoulder. Cass knew she was supposed to be stern, but Maddy openly seeking out comfort was not typical (she refused to admit that it was even a little bit alarming,) and instead she wrapped an arm around the girl, drawing her closer.

"Have you been sleeping?" Cass asked, ready for the evasive answers Mads typically gave when she didn't want to admit to something. That's why, when Maddy answered simply and truthfully, Cass was a little floored.

"No," she said, and Cass noticed her voice sounded a little wobbly. Rubbing Maddy's arm in a comforting gesture, Cass decided to see where this streak of honesty would take them.

"Do you know why?" she asked, gently, and felt Maddy nod her head against her shoulder. She swallowed down her instinctual response of 'verbal answers, please-' Maddy was not in trouble, at least not yet. Instead, she asked, "Can you tell me why?"

"Nervous," Maddy mumbled, still rubbing sleep out of her eyes, and Cass wondered if the honesty came from the girl's half-lucid state. If so, she almost felt bad for taking advantage of Maddy's naturally lowered defenses- almost being the operative term, because otherwise this conversation would have felt like pulling teeth, Cass was sure.

"What's making you nervous, kiddo?" she asked gently, and felt Maddy tense beside her- she thought that would be the end of the easy answers, but Mads surprised her, slumping against Cass and mumbling her answer.

"What if they don't like me?" Cass had predicted this would be a fear of Maddy's, despite the fact that she had met Dave a couple of times before, having lunch when they happened to be in the area was ultimately different than the man staying with the family for a week.

"Love, I'm sure they'll like you," Cass tried to reassure the young agent.

"I've already gone and proved I'm trouble," and Cass's heart broke at the miserable note in Maddy's voice.

"Like Aaron hasn't?" she asked, knowing from her fiance how Dave's relationship with Aaron was similar to the dynamic they had with Mads. She felt Mads shrug in response, and Cass tightened her embrace, "what do you think would happen if, in an alternative universe, they happened not to like you?" She had a strong suspicion as to the answer, but wanted the younger woman to confirm it as well. She felt Mads unconsciously press herself even closer to Cass, and quickly rearranged positions so that she was sitting against the wall the bed was adjacent to, with Mads basically on her lap. With a hum, she once again prompted Mads to answer the question.

"Dunno," Maddy mumbled, but when Cass refused to accept that as an answer, the resulting silence spurred her to elaborate, "Dave is really important to Ness…" she trailed off, probably hoping Cass would get the implication. Cass did, but she thought it was probably important for Maddy to verbalize her worries fully.

"He is," Cass said mildly, hoping that would encourage Maddy to keep talking.

"If he didn't like me, maybe he would… maybe he'd tell her that she shouldn't waste her time on me?" A moment later, the younger woman yelped after a well-placed swat that likely hurt an already spanked bottom.

"What have we said about saying those things about yourself?"

"I was just explaining though!"

"Your tone suggested that you were thinking it about yourself. Were you?"

"Yes," Maddy whispered, apparently deciding to continue her honest streak, "I'm sorry." While her apology sounded ingenuine, Cass didn't comment, knowing that it took time to change that sort of thinking about oneself.

"Anyways, Ness loves you and if Dave told her to up and leave, she would probably tell him to shove it, and she would definitely continue to love you regardless." Maddy fidgeted in her lap, the conversation broaching into uncomfortable territory for her.

"What if he thinks I'm too troublesome?" she finally asked in a near whisper, "He knows I've already gotten in trouble once today."

"Once?" Cass asked with a raised eyebrow, waiting to see if the kid would willingly come clean.

"I dunno if he knows about the other time," she said.

"What'd you even do, kiddo?" She tried to keep her voice light.

"Well, the first time I got into trouble…" she trailed off, likely thinking of how she was going to word it so it sounded the least bad. "I might have been a little distracted during a meeting and the ASAC might have noticed?"

"Might have?"

"Did," Mads admitted, "he noticed."

"What were you distracted with?" It was another question that she thought she knew the answer to, but wanted to confirm her suspicions.

"I was nervous about… all this?" Cass took pity on the girl and didn't make her list out her individual concerns, her private theory having been proven correct. She acknowledged the answer with a nod, and waited for the girl to continue.

"So Mo-Ness, I mean Ness," she quickly corrected herself, and Cass had to refrain from smiling- Mads had been slipping up more and more often, finding herself frequently on the verge of calling Ness 'mom.' She and Ness had agreed not to bring it up, and just proceed as normal- hopefully that would let her know that it was safe to use the title. "Ness spanked me," she said in a rushed, lower tone, as her face turned red. Cass hadn't asked for that part of the story, necessarily, so it was likely Maddy had brought it up for a reason.

"Did anything happen during your spanking?" she asked, and felt Mads squirm at her forward wording before settling down again, and pressing herself even closer to Cass. Bingo.

"We were at work, and it wasn't like we could come home," Mads started, and Cass remembered that the first time Ness brought Maddy home for punishment, it was partially born from a need for privacy, which was hard to come by in their office building. "So we took one of the conference rooms without windows to the hallway, and Ness sp-uh, did that. Except…" Mads sighed and Cass felt her grip her shirt tighter, responding by rubbing the younger woman's back in a manner she hoped was soothing. "Except in the middle of it, we got a work call. They found our suspect, and we were needed as soon as possible…"

"So it remained unresolved?" Cass asked.

"Yeah. I don't want the rest of it, or anything!" she stated emphatically, and Cass allowed herself to smile. She barely caught what Mads said in a nearly inaudible whisper, "except maybe the hug." She could only hold Mads tighter after that before continuing the conversation.

"How about the second time?"

"Well…" she sounded sheepish, "Joey was being particularly annoying and I sorta snapped at him?" Cass prompted her with a hum, and she amended her statement, "okay, I did snap at him, and I used 'language unprofessional for the workplace-' ow!" she rubbed the spot where Cass had just swatted, unamused with the mocking tone Maddy's voice had started to take.

"Was the end of your previous spanking ever mentioned once you got in trouble again?" Cass asked, again trying to confirm her initial suspicions.

"No, Ness forgot about it," she mumbled, but Cass could clearly hear the underlying words, 'forgot about me.'

"Oh, kiddo," Cass gave her a quick squeeze, "it's all going to be alright. I'm going to go talk to Ness and we'll figure this out." Reluctantly, she extracted herself from Maddy's embrace and went in search of her fiance.

-o-o-o-o-o-

A.N.- Alright, I'm cutting this off here before the length of the fic becomes unruly. For any tops (and switches) out there, I tried to make Dave's thought process and behavior while spanking Hotch realistic. However, I'm a career bottom (for spanking, at least,) so if there's anything that I'm missing or got wrong, let me know! Also, I've set this story at a time where Hotch and Rossi were more new to all of this, hence Dave's inclination for contemplation and his rather formulaic technique.

I couldn't help but torture poor Hotch on the airplane- the opportunity just presented itself perfectly.

Poor Mads has some unresolved discipline to work out- would people want to see that in the next chapter, a different story, or not at all? I'm leaning towards putting it at the start of the next chapter, because doesn't love stories that are mostly original, but I feel like it should be shown.

Thoughts? Requests? Let me know!

Until next time…

- lms