Summary: Missing scene during LHOTP Season 4, Episode 17: Be My Friend. Laura returns home late after finding a message in a bottle and Charles makes the comment that he hasn't given her a whoopin' in a long time and thinks he's made a mistake there. This is my take on if Charles HAD followed through.

Fatherly Duty

Supper was a solemn affair that night for the Ingalls family. Charles and Caroline met each others' eyes from across the table as two of their three children sat in reserved silence and picked at their dinner. Night had fallen, cold and dark, and middle child Laura was nowhere to be found.

The parents' minds were filled with worry and uncertainty and a whole lot of anger. Laura knew better than to wander off without telling them where she was. Charles blamed himself for that. He'd grown far too soft with his girls, Laura especially. His middle child held a very dear spot in his heart and it was all-too-easy for him to brush aside her mischief. Not tonight. Oh no. When his Half-Pint got home this evening, Charles Ingalls was going to complete his fatherly duty!

"More coffee?" Caroline broke the silence for something to do.

"Yes, thank you," Charles answered, his mind a million miles away. The door creaked open just as Caroline was refilling his cup and four sets of eyes turned to stare at the newcomer.

Laura Ingalls crept into the house, head down and heart hammering. She knew she was in trouble—she could feel it in the air—but she held out hope that she could somehow minimize the damage. Swallowing, Laura slowly cast her eyes up. They flicked to her sister Mary, who returned her gaze with a mixture of sympathy and 'Well, you brought this on yourself'. Her mother's eyes held disappointment and the expectation for her to explain herself. Carrie only gawked at her. It was her father's that she was most frightened to meet, and with good reason—the man was livid.

"Didn't realize how late it was," she offered when she found her voice.

"Alright, upstairs. Now," Charles ordered, his tone sending a chill down Laura's back. She stiffened and felt her feet freeze up. "Go on!"

That got Laura moving and she hurried for the ladder that would take her to the safety (for now) of her loft bedroom. As she climbed, she heard her youngest sister remark, "Her's gonna get it."

Laura's feet had barely touched the floorboards in the loft when her father charged up after her. She didn't dare turn to face him, not wanting to see the disappointment and anger in his eyes.

"Alright, young lady, suppose you tell me where you've been," Charles demanded, placing his hands on his hips. He glared at the back of Laura's head as if he could pick the answer from her thoughts that way.

"I was walking," the girl said, subdued.

"You were walking?" Charles echoed, his voice booming in the tiny attic space. "Not towards home, I take it!"

"No, sir," Laura answered in barely more than a whisper. It had been a long time since she'd seen her pa this angry—and at her, no less!

"What? I can't hear you!" the man growled.

"No, sir," the girl answered correctly this time.

"Then where were you walking?"

"Along the creek."

Charles let out an angry puff of air and shook his head. "Do you have any idea how upset we get when you just disappear?"

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry," Laura said, her stomach twisting with guilt.

"Well sorry's not good enough! Now I haven't given you a whoopin' in a long time and I think I've been making a mistake," Charles said, the panic and fear he'd felt when he didn't know where his daughter was coming out in an angry burst.

"No Pa! Please don't!" Laura spun on her heel to give her father a pleading look. Her heart leapt into her throat. "I didn't mean it. I found another bottle. It was so sad, so lonely. I just had to try one more time. It got late before I knew it. I'm so sorry."

The moment his child met his eyes, Charles knew he was going to relent. He never could stay angry at any of his children, but Laura especially. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Alright…let me see the bottle."

Charles crossed the small space to take a seat on the bed, then held his hand out for the bottle in question. Laura leaned against the desk chair across from him, spilling her thoughts. Charles listened with sympathy to his daughter's words. Laura had such a big heart and, besides for Nellie Oleson, had never met a stranger who didn't become a friend. Laura thought the same would be true in this case and was determined to search out this friend.

"Look, Half-Pint, I know how upset this makes you feel…but this bottle could have floated down any number of creeks. There's just no way to know where it came from," Charles said, his tone gentle now.

"I know," Laura nodded sadly.

"I don't want you to go looking for any more bottles, you hear me? Don't go to the creek if the temptation will be too great. You can't do this again, Half-Pint."

"I know, Pa. I'm sorry," Laura answered, looking her father in the eye. The man nodded his understanding.

"I know you are, Laura," he said. Then with a sigh, he stood. "It's getting late. You need to wash up and have your supper, then get your homework done."

"I will," Laura readily agreed. Pa was calm now and Laura felt herself relax too. Her heart slowed and even settled back in her chest where it belonged. "Thanks, Pa," she said, then added at his questioning look, "For not whoopin' me."

"Oh, I wasn't going to whoop you," Charles said with a slight smile. The relieved expression on Laura's face was like a knife to the chest. Charles took a breath and reminded himself that his beloved Half-Pint had done wrong—and it was his job to correct. "I am going to spank you, though."

Laura gasped and would have taken a step back from her father if she'd had anywhere to go. She was flush up against her and Mary's desk, and Pa was standing in front of her now. "No, Pa," she pleaded even as the man took a gentle hold on her arm to pull her away from her spot.

With his free hand, Charles pulled the chair out and spun it around. In one fluid movement, he had taken a seat and pulled Laura over his lap—there was no sense dragging it out, after all.

Laura's breath came out with a whoosh as she was laid over her pa's firm legs. Her face flushed with the knowledge that her entire family was downstairs and would be able to hear every second of what was about to happen.

Her concern for her family's ears fell away just as soon as her undergarments did. Laura shivered as cold air kissed her bare bottom, and she tensed when she felt her pa's large, calloused hand rest atop it.

"I love you, Laura," Charles said thickly. "I love you too much to allow you to get away with this behavior. I know it was an accident that time slipped away from you, but it's getting colder out now and night comes far too quickly. Anything could have happened to you out in the dark like that, and with me and your Ma not knowing where you are. This can't happen again, and I'm going to make sure of that."

"I'm sorry, Pa!" Laura offered shrilly, wiggling as she felt her pa lift his hand. It returned at lightning speed, cracking down across her pale skin like thunder. Shock gave way to a burning sting, and Laura let out her first yelp. "Ow, Pa! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Charles had to harden his heart against his daughter's pained cries. Truthfully, he wanted to cry right along with her. It was true what his own pa had always said: 'This hurts me more than it does you'. That had always felt real rich coming from the person who was doing the hurting, but now as a father, Charles understood. It wasn't that he wanted to cause Laura pain, but sometimes, an immediate pain now kept away the deep pain later. Pain like a child falling deathly ill from being out in the cold or drowning in a freezing creek in the pitch black darkness. Those pains were to be avoided at any cost, and the price of a crying child with a sore, red bottom was worth it every time.

"Ow! Ow, P-Pa! I won't do it again!" Laura cried and kicked her legs.

"No, you won't," Charles said, his hard tone belying his true feelings. "Because if this happens again, you and I are going to take a trip out to the barn and I really will take my strap to you. Is that understood?"

"Oh, no—Ow! No Pa, don't! I don't w-want that!" Laura sobbed.

Charles nodded to himself, slapping his large palm across his daughter's bottom over and over again. The distinct pink handprints visible at the beginning of the spanking had given way to an even coat of crimson that covered every inch of Laura's bottom and start of thighs.

"I don't either, Half-Pint," Charles said, his hand delivering stinging heat to the very spot Laura would feel it most every time she sat down in the coming day. "I will if that's what you need from me. Understand?"

"Yes—Ow! Yes, s-sirrrr, Pa! I promise!"

"Good," Charles answered. "Then I think we're done here."

Laura sagged in relief, her tears coming harder now that it was over. Her bottom hurt and she hated the entire process, but she couldn't deny that she did feel better with it all said and done. She yelped as her undergarments were returned to her. Then she was being lifted and sat on her pa's lap.

"There now. It's all over," Charles soothed, rubbing a hitching back. Laura clung to him, hiding her tear-stained face in his rough shirt as she offered shaky apologies and promises to do better. Charles was content to hold his child while her tears subsided, offering whispered assurances that she was forgiven and they'd move on from this.

When her tears had ended, Charles placed Laura on her feet, holding her steady as she got her legs under control. He didn't miss the hiss of pain as tender skin stretched and pulled. Charles offered his child a knowing frown but didn't say more on it.

"Come on. You owe your ma an apology for worrying her, then you can sit and have your supper."

Laura grimaced at the very idea of having to sit on one of the hard wooden chairs downstairs, but didn't comment on it as Pa led her towards the ladder. With a shaky breath, Laura turned her back to the ladder and carefully lowered her right foot onto the first wrung.

She could feel her mother and sisters' eyes on her from the very first moment she'd begun her descent, and she was sure her face burned as bright red as her bottom as she turned to face them. Now her mother regarded her with sympathetic eyes that promised forgiveness. Mary's face had also softened, but there was still that slight frown that said her elder sister thought she deserved exactly what she got. And Carrie stared unashamedly at Laura's disgrace, the ghost of a smirk tugging at her lips. Laura glared back at her.

A throat clearing behind her made the girl startle and a quick glance over her shoulder rewarded her with an expectant look from Pa. Turning back to face her mother, Laura wet her lips with a quick swipe of her tongue. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Ma. I'll never do it again, I promise."

Caroline Ingalls smiled warmly at her middle daughter, closing the distance between them. She pulled her child into a fierce embrace and placed a kiss atop her head. "You're forgiven, Laura. Come now, go wash your face and hands. I've kept your supper warm for you."

Laura went to do as she was told, and when she returned to the table several minutes later, her supper was waiting for her. The rest of her family (except Carrie) graciously ignored her small gasp and her continued squirming as she sat in her seat. The conversation turned to lighter matters and soon, Laura's sore, red bottom was forgotten by all. Things had gone back to normal in that little house on the prairie.