Chapter 6 – The New Normal

"Dinner," Nate shouted up to Cait and Piper.

"Coming" was the choral response.

Curie had outdone herself this evening and had produced a Mirelurk risotto with crème fraiche and chives and for dessert she had decided to bake a crumble. She was a superb cook and Nate had wondered if this ability had been one of the many innovative pieces of programming Collins and his team gave Curie when they upgraded her.

Initially Curie was installed into Vault 81 to help the scientific team that were based there, carry out their mission. The plan was for the scientists to spend generations underground, exposing the main population of this vault to various diseases and infections, in order to develop a disease resistant group of humans.

It had seemed like the overseer of this vault had decided on a different path and sabotaged the plans of the scientists. In the end only three scientists were sealed into the vault, but they were determined to continue their work. One of the scientists, Kenneth Collins upgraded Curie to include personalities from two people he had known as well as knowledge of the writings of many great scholars and scientists and the ability to speak Japanese, French as well as English. When Dr Amari transferred Curie to a synth, whose memory had been irretrievably wiped, Curie gained more human perspective given that she was now occupying an organic body and not a mechanical one. Curie was right, she was far more human than synth, emerging from her transfer at Dr Amari's hands as the best of what both Synthetic and Human nature had to offer.

The girls arrived for dinner and the room was a hub bub of activity as meals were served and drinks poured. Taking a leaf out of Nates 'care for the recently spanked handbook', Curie had retrieved three pillows from the girls' sleeping quarters and set them up at the table.

"This smells divine," Cait hummed in appreciation, "any chance we could raid that cellar of yours handsome, it is Friday," Cait shouted after Nate who had run upstairs.

"Great minds," came the response from Nate as he returned with two bottles of chilled white wine. "If by cellar you mean a small cupboard in the armoury, then yes you may."

Nate poured and they all toasted Curies' fantastic recipe.

"If this is the food we get when Curie gets her arse spanked, please be sure to do that more often?" Cait said, with a full mouth. Nate gave Cait that 'you are eating with your mouth full' look again, and she actually blushed, "Sorry." She said finishing her mouthful before apologising. It seems Curie was not the only person who benefitted from that spanking thought Nate, as previously a glare at Cait, when she spoke with her mouth full, usually elicited a 'fuck off' or similar.

"This is delicious, Curie, thank you. Who knew Mirelurk tasted so good." Piper added, adjusting her seating position to attempt to get a little more comfortable. A little glow of satisfaction came over Nate as he could see all the girls were sitting gingerly and shifting about a bit in their seats.

"Ok Blue, you know how you said that we were all to be honest with you and each other if this new arrangement was to work?" Asked Piper, changing to professional mode.

"Yes," Nate answered slowly, wondering where this was going. Piper always changed the tone of her voice slightly when she was about to go all reporter on someone.

"That applies to you as well, right?" She confirmed.

Nate started to act like he was frantically looking around for something.

"What are you doing, Blue?" she asked, knowing he was up to something.

"Just looking for the tape machine and the note pad, you don't seem to have it with you." Smiled Nate, teasingly.

"Oh ha ha, Blue, I am serious," Piper pouted.

"Sorry, and yes, I am subject to the same levels of integrity as the rest of the team." Nate assured her.

"Right, then you have to answer this truthfully and completely," Piper confirmed, more as a statement than a question.

"Of course," answered Nate, now really wondering where this was going.

"Well," Piper seemed to be stealing herself to ask this question, "As Cait mentioned earlier when we were in the armoury, you seemed to take to this new role like a duck to water. In fact, I would go so far as to say that you knew exactly what you were doing all the way through our punishment earlier. I mean, who wakes up one morning and, having only just spoken about it the evening before, comes up with everything you did. The being naked before, the number, the severity, the idea of corner time, oh and the seasoned way you handled each of us afterwards. Felt to me as if I was in the hands of a professional." Piper was in full on inquisitor mode now.

"That is such a lovely thing to say." Nate smiled, feeling emotional all of a sudden. Nate could see Cait smiling at that as if he was being sarcastic. "I'm serious. The three most important people in my life put their trust in me, in a way I could have never imagined, and the last thing I wanted to do was screw that up. So, thank you, Piper, that means a lot to me."

Slightly disarmed but also pleased with the response so far, Piper continued to probe, "Come on Blue, don't try and use sentiment to swerve giving us the answer." Nate smiled and put his hands up in mock surrender for the second time in as many days.

"Ok, ok, I give in," he laughed, taking his plate to the sink.

"I'll grab the crumble in about 30 minutes, if that is ok?" asked Curie.

"Sounds amazing." Smiled Cait, "just enough time to hear where Mr Bossy got his…Bossy from." Cait smirked looking at Curie and giving her a wink.

"Well," Nate took a sip of his wine, "It's not a bad vintage is it, Curie?" suddenly changing the subject.

"Nate!" "Blue!" came the cries from Cait and Piper respectively.

Nate chuckled, "Sorry just kidding," he grinned, "well, for me it all began on PBS." Knowing that the girls would have little idea what that was, he continued, "the public broadcasting service run by the government pre-war." He stated. "It was a free-to-air, non-commercial station that had a reputation for being a little less than exciting at times. It was just after Nora had given birth to Shaun and it was my turn to stay up and do the 1am feed. This particular night he would not settle, no matter what I tried for over an hour. When he did finally drop off, he was so restless I decided to stay in the lounge and wait until he was in a deep sleep. There was nothing else to do so I turned on the tele and a PBS

documentary was on. It was two in the morning, and I knew I didn't want anything with noise or…"

"excitement!" interrupted Cait, immediately wincing as her shifting in her seat reminded her of her sore backside.

Nate noticed that, "Yes, exactly, nothing with any noise at all, and so I settled in to watch the best of PBS at two in the morning. This particular documentary series was covering the subject of alternative lifestyles," seeing the girls unfamiliar with the term, he explained, "people who lived opposite or away from mainstream expectations but unlike someone who had a kink or fetish, these folks lived their lifestyles permanently, rather than once in a while in the bedroom or behind closed doors." Nate looked at Piper who nodded but chose to stay quiet, so he continued, "The episode I was about to enjoy covered Domestic Discipline Couples."

"Domestic Discipline?" Curie asked with a genuine curiosity.

"These were couples who, not involving any children, had agreed that one of them would be the head of the household and the other the submissive partner. The head of house, which seemed in the examples given to be predominantly men, would use fully consensual corporal punishment discipline in their relationship. The submissive partner, the woman would relinquish control and decision making in favour of the man and would, when her behaviour warranted it, receive corporal punishment. Well, this was getting interesting for two in the morning, and I was intrigued."

"You said fully consensual, though?" Piper asked, looking a little confused.

"Yes, and this was the amazing thing, the women in these lifestyles enjoyed and celebrated their positions within it." Nate continued. "I have to say I was pretty sceptical for about the first 20 minutes or so, as it sounded to me like nothing more than a glorified beat your wife club." Curie topped Nates glass up, "Thanks," he responded.

"But listening to the women being interviewed opened my eyes to another way of looking at things. They celebrated the freedom it gave them to not have to worry about household stresses and to enjoy being a wife and in some cases a mum. Life was stressful enough for everyone, if these ladies found a way out of that rat race then good for them." Nate continued. "They spoke of feelings of being looked after and cared for, protected and shielded by their head of house. Some mentioned how it was beneficial to both in the relationship. As she was expected to behave better, so the husband did as well. How could he feel right about punishing her for some transgression if he was worse. Some even said that it helped their relationship, repaired it if you like. Because, in this new relationship there was never any lingering bad feeling between the couple, she did something bad, was punished and then all was forgiven."

"But that is us, that happened with us today, I said so, didn't I?" Curie jumped in excitedly.

"Exactly the same. When you came to me about your idea, one of the first things I thought about was this documentary. It was somewhere I could get a few tips and it seems to have worked."

"but wait!" Piper suddenly realised, "how long ago was it that you first watched this documentary?" she asked shifting in her seat a little "My backside is so sore" she added, leaning to one side and giving it a rub, "Sorry, go on…"

Nate could see real discomfort on her face from the hiding she had received earlier, and imagined the others were feeling just the same. Nate, however, resisted the temptation to say anything as he knew this was as integral a part of the lesson each of them would be learning as the spanking itself.

"hmm, when did I first see that programme?" Nate thought for a while, "Well I was thirty five when I went into the vault, and that was two hundred years ago, Sean had been born the summer before, so I guess around two hundred and thirty six years ago, roughly."

"And yet you remember all of this like it was yesterday?" Piper sounded sceptical.

"That is because the last time I watched it was yesterday." Nate announced with a self-satisfied grin on his face. "After you guys went to bed, I went for some help. You had given me a huge responsibility with little or no warning and I was desperate not to let you down, so I went to speak to Percy."

"Ha, you got help about spanking from a Mr Handy, I love it!...even the name, Mr Handy." Cait was

having fun, waving her hand back and forth imitating spanking someone.

"He's English and you have heard about the English disease?" Piper said in a mock solemn tone. By

everyone's looks they hadn't, even Nate was clueless as to what Piper meant. Piper sighed "In the Seventeen Hundreds Europeans gave this title to the British because of the number of whipping brothels in London. It seemed to be a thing the brits liked."

"And you know this how?" Cait gaped, open mouthed.

"Oh, Dr Niklaus Largier mentions it in a book I recently read. I am currently on his book Figures of Possibility, which is fascinating, by the way." Piper was on a roll now, "his book explores the way humans have reinvented what he calls mystical practices, i.e. finding hidden truth. From ancient tomes, to books to essays to films and articles in the press. He's kind of a nerdy hero of mine." Nate had taken on that slightly glazed look that Piper reserves for when Nate and Cait start going on about weapons and armour.

"Remind me not to borrow that book from you, Pipes." Cait smirked.

"Pipes!" Nate laughed, I haven't heard that one before.

"She hates it, that's why I do it every so often." Cait looked at Piper and smiled.

"But anyway," Piper waved her hands as if to dispel that line of conversation, "so you went to see Percy for some help."

"Yes, As the first thing I needed was..."

"That damned hairbrush!" Exclaimed Cait, her turn to shift uncomfortably in her seat.

"I bought a few interesting things, if you must know." Nate confirmed in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Yes… and …" Cait pushed.

"Well," Nate was enjoying himself now, "I am not sure I should tell you what other little instructional aids I bought for our new relationship." Nate grinned.

"You will tell us," pouted Cait, "or….or…. by Jesus I'll put soap in your next coffee," she stated sulkily but with little seriousness in her tone. Nate supposed it was only natural that the girls wanted to know what other implements might be assaulting their unprotected rear ends in the future and they might benefit from knowing. Would they see these as motivators for good behaviour in the future?

"And earn yourself another hiding?" Nate smiled at Cait, who stuck her tongue out at him.

"Percy had a few interesting items including an old school paddle, a large and quite heavy wooden spoon, the hairbrush you ladies have already … seen and a riding crop. He even reckons he can get me a real life ratan cane, like the ones they used in the olden days. He also had a back catalogue of PBS holotapes, from which I got the documentary from, and I bought three books."

"Will we get to see these 'instructional aids'," asked a concerned sounding Curie.

"I am not sure about the paddle, as it is very unwieldy and I think it may have been some kind of wall mounted display piece, rather than designed for use, but it has given me an idea for a design I will make myself. As for seeing them, of course, I am happy to let you take a look. It's the weekend tomorrow, so I'll show you after breakfast, if that is ok?" The girls were nodding.

"What books?" asked Piper, being the book worm of the three.

"False Pretences, which is a novel, The Lost Art of Domestic Discipline and one simply called Spanked, all written by women," Nate added the last bit, feeling as if he needed to assure the girls that this new relationship wasn't just an excuse for him to read porn.

"Have you read any of them?" Piper asked in a quiet voice. Was Piper interested in taking a look at these as well? Wondered Nate. After all it was Piper who led the idea of spankings and corporal punishments being the method of instruction in this new relationship of theirs. It could be, Nate had to accept, entirely innocent a reason as Piper is a naturally inquisitive person.

"No, just flicked through, but I will, just to ensure I am following correct protocol."

"Well, it sure as fuck felt like the correct protocol to me" Cait said standing up and rubbing her bottom. "The meal was delicious, but I wish we could stand up to eat it," she sighed, continuing to rub and knead her obviously sore backside.

"All part of the lesson, I am afraid." Insisted Nate, "be thankful I have allowed pillows today, as that hard bench you are perched on would be significantly more uncomfortable without them." Nate finished, a firm hint to his voice. Despite his new nicknames, he didn't want to come across as some kind of brute or ogre but, saying that, now he had been given control of large parts of the girls' lives, he was going to do this properly. They had been punished and the sore and aching bottom each of them now had was as a direct result of the behaviour that led to their punishment. This was as integral a part to the learning as the spankings themselves.

Cait sat down with a harrumph but kept quiet, 'good girl' thought Nate. She was toeing the line and doing her part in this agreement just as well here, sat around the table, as she was when taking her punishment. He had nothing but respect for these three women as he could only imagine how sore their bottoms would be given the bruised state of them this morning after their punishments.

"So, after watching this documentary, what did you make of it all. Were you tempted to jump on board?" Piper was really interested but as Cait and Curie were also looking at Nate expectantly, he guessed they all were.

"Erm, not particularly," Nate said hesitantly, "I have to be honest that I could see the benefits of a relationship like that. I'm me, all Army and alpha male. I would have loved nothing more than wrapping Nora up in a protective blanket of our home life and running things for the both of us. Nora had a tough job as a lawyer and there were times when I hated seeing her stressed about a case, under pressure from an undeserving client and generally worn out. I would have loved to have taken her away from all of that, but that wouldn't have been fair or right for her." Nate looked reflective for a little while. "I did mention it to her, though." Nate smiled at the recollection, "not to try to persuade her to do it but more to get a woman's perspective."

"You could talk to her about such things?" Curie asked with a slightly wistful romantic look on her face.

"Of course, we were open about most things and she was a great sounding board. I mentioned the documentary and asked her why she thought these women would, in fact, not just go for, but be enthusiastic about, living in a domestic discipline household."

"What did she say?" Cait jumped in. So, they were all interested then, Nate could see.

"She was absolutely gorgeous about it and her response was little surprising. She began by saying that she could see the appeal. She felt the pressure her job brought her and having just had Shaun, she loved the romantic idea of settling in at home as a kept housewife and mother. Not needing to worry about anything but her husband and her baby. She even agreed with the sentiment that punishing a transgression there and then would be preferable to days of ill feeling festering in the house. But what was the most Nora thing that she did was to offer to give it a go if it was something I felt strongly about."

"She liked the idea of being spanked?" Curie looked shocked.

"No, nothing like that," Nate smiled, understanding Curies' slightly black and white view of the world. "When she stated that she could see the benefit of punishing a transgression straight away, she then added that she would prefer anything but a spanking as she always referred to my hands as being as wide as shovel heads and didn't want to imagine how much that would sting." Nate was splaying out one of his hands in front of him. Each of the girls then immediately imagined that against their own backsides. "Saying that she was still willing to give it a go if I wanted. It was just one example of the wonderfully selfless things she would do for people." Nate was enjoying sharing Nora's personality with the girls as he still missed her everyday and, although it often stung reminiscing about life before the war, it was also therapeutic in its own way.

"Nora was a defence lawyer and a good one at that, I knew she would soon hate of the idea of doing nothing but baking cakes and having tea with the neighbours. She would love a holiday every so often but she would soon tire of it and want to get back in the saddle. Plus, I had just retired from the army and so she was, for the moment the bread winner."

"and so you could have become the submissive partner." Cait laughed.

"Yeah," Nate smiled "No, that's really not me."

"Who wants pudding?" Curie asked, standing up and subtly rubbing her bottom as she walked to the kitchen counter.

"Sounds magic." Answered Cait.

"Would love some." Added Nate.

The pudding arrived and the conversation moved to Nate's plans for next week. He wanted to take the girls south of Boston to West Roxbury as there was a big Fallon's, the pre war department store chain, there as well as a hospital. Great scavenging and a busy enough place to get some training in. After pudding was done and everyone helped with washing up, Cait announced.

"I have had a busy day," she said rubbing her bottom, "One I won't soon forget." She smiled sardonically at Nate, "But thank you for dinner" she looked at Curie, "and thank you for opening up to us, Nate, I know talking about, well you know, pre war stuff is hard." Cait finished sympathetically as they all knew that Nate had lost Nora when the Institutes hit man Kellogg went to steal his son Shaun from their vault. Nate spoke about the subject, but it was still raw to him and the girls knew this.

"I am off to bed too," said Nate. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Would you mind if I watch that documentary tomorrow, after breakfast?" asked Piper as Nate began to climb the stairs to his bedroom.

"I'll join you." Said Cait and Curie also agreed she would watch.

"Of course," replied Nate, "it will be interesting to hear what you all think. I'll be in the workshop." He finished, 'making myself a school paddle' he continued thinking to himself.

©Agoodhiding 2023