Author's note: These reviews brighten my day. Some make me laugh. I have so much going on in my daily life. Sometimes, I get an hour and type as fast as I can to churn out chapters. If I am slower, I'm back to crying into a chemistry textbook. Also, I'm putting page breaks in between chapters but it doesn't always show up on all platforms. Tidbits-whenever you catch up, I noticed you asked about the breaks. I'll try something a little different in this one. Jerseygrl-thank you. That is quite the compliment!
### Rk ###
John got a few hours of sleep and rolled out of bed. He, like Dean, could easily run off little sleep. He went downstairs and spoke to the other adults for a bit. He grabbed a pot and a wooden spoon.
Kate sat up so fast that Millie jumped out of her arms and ran out the door.
Taylor groaned loudly and gritted his teeth.
"Everybody get up and get your shoes on." John said as he hit the pot with the spoon.
Kate covered her ears and stumbled around to find shoes. "Uh, can I change?"
John stopped banging the pot. "Be downstairs in five minutes."
Dean was amused. He had been the victim of John's infamous hangover cure. While the family had different views on alcohol, John did instill a sense of control into his boys. "I'm so glad I'm not them."
John put the pot back on the counter. "How many times did I have to wake you up like that?"
Dean shrugged. "It is all a blur."
John snorted. He whistled loudly. "Taylor, Katelyn, let's go."
Kate rubbed her eyes. She managed to get athletic clothes on. She assumed they'd be running until their legs fell off. "May I have a drink of water?"
"Get some water and then go wait outside."
Taylor was slower. His head hurt and everything made it worse. He made the time limit though. Kate had the benefit of not being so hungover. Taylor didn't.
John and Dean stepped out onto the porch. "I want you to run laps."
Taylor groaned again.
"I don't want to hear any complaints. You made the choice to get drunk. This is part of the consequences. If I, as an adult, get drunk and wind up with a hangover, I still have to get up early the next morning if a call comes in. You can pace the first lap but I want the others to be quick." John said.
Dean sipped his coffee. When they were out of hearing range he looked at John. "You know, when I was hungover, I didn't have abilities to get me back into shape. I just had to suffer."
"Would you like a pity party, son?" John asked.
Dean smirked and continued sipping the coffee. "I feel like Taylor wouldn't fare too well if he didn't have grace in his blood. I wonder if any of those other kids wound up in the hospital last night."
John nodded. "I was thinking that too. I want that boy's name. I want to speak to his parents. If he is that young and slipping stuff into drinks, he is going to wind up worse by the time he is an adult."
"You don't think Kate beat some sense into him?" Dean asked.
"Maybe she did but I want to make sure that it doesn't happen again." John said.
Kate thought as she ran. She was scared. She was worried. She felt like trash. She broke rules and betrayed trusts. She wound up putting Taylor in more danger by not telling anyone. She wasn't going to complain about the laps. She deserved them. She just hoped that things went back to normal eventually.
Taylor was also in deep thought. He didn't want to run. His body was screaming at him and his head was pulsing with pain. Part of him was angry but he kept his mouth shut.
John stopped them when they both looked like they were going to keel over. "Go inside and catch your breath. Karen has breakfast ready."
Taylor bent over and held his hand to his side. He took deep breaths and winced as his side cramped.
John put a hand on his back. "What are you feeling?"
"It hurts." Taylor said.
John nodded for Dean to take Kate inside. He felt of Taylor's pulse and had him sit on the steps. He helped him slow his breathing down and had Dean bring water out for him. "Are you going to be able to eat?"
Taylor grimaced.
John sat down on the steps.
Taylor laid on his back and held his arms over his face. Whatever he took didn't want to let go of him. He was sober but the limb weakness and headache were still there.
"Was last night the first time that you've taken drugs?" John asked.
Taylor tensed.
"I am calm right now. I expect you to be as well. I need to establish a baseline. You can't eat right now so you are going to answer some questions before we sit down for a family discussion." John said.
Taylor groaned again. "I didn't mean to take drugs."
"That isn't what I am asking you. I believe that the 'candy' was an accident. It was a stupid mistake that we will discuss. I want to know if you have taken anything else." John said.
"Yes." Taylor said through gritted teeth.
"What did you take?" John asked.
"Why does it matter? I took drugs." Taylor said.
"Taylor, you might not realize just how deep you are in it right now. I am doing my best to keep from laying into you. It matters because I want to know what is in your system. Now, the type of drug may not get you in more or less trouble but lying about it certainly will."
Taylor slowly sat up. He rested his elbows on his knees. "Weed or whatever. It was in food form."
John bit his cheek. "Is that it? How many times?"
Taylor studied the pattern on the steps. "No, sir. A few times. Not a lot though. Once at the party and twice before that. It didn't do much. I'm not really human."
"What else did you take?" John asked.
"Some pills to help me sleep. I wasn't trying to get high. I just wanted to sleep." Taylor said.
"What about drinking?"
Taylor sighed. "A few times."
"How long ago did it start?" John asked.
Taylor looked out over the salvage yard. "Not long after we got home from my nana's."
John was silent for a few minutes. "Taylor, we expected you to struggle after that. We expected you to have trouble sleeping. I was an adult when I killed someone for the first time. I was overseas and he had a gun pointed at me. I was just quicker. I spent weeks out of my head because of it. I'd convince myself that I was okay and then I'd stay awake for days at a time because I had his face burned into my memory. I still do. When we tried to talk to you and offer you help, you shut down. Normal people won't understand what happened. We do though. Had you admitted that you weren't okay, we could have helped you. Kate could have compelled you not to dream about it. You have so many options but you chose this path instead."
Taylor picked up a piece of gravel from the steps and tossed it into the driveway. "I should have let you guys help. I don't know why I didn't"
"I'd say part of it is your age. I can't claim that Sam and Dean thought things through at that age." He saw Taylor's shoulders draw and his jaw set. "In a lot of ways, you do think things through. How you handled David proves that."
Taylor sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Why can't I just pull it together?"
"You are in too deep to dig yourself out," John said. He clapped Taylor on the back. "Head inside."
Taylor slowly stood up. His stomach was still in knots. John seemed calm. He assumed that would change when the full truth came out. He messed up so badly and got Kate caught in the crossfire. He wondered if Nate was okay. His dad wasn't supposed to be home for a few days so he was okay in that sense but he was worried about whatever Nate ingested at the party. "Could I call Nate?"
"No." John said. "I will give his mother a call while you are eating breakfast."
Taylor couldn't stop the look of frustration from crossing his face.
John raised an eyebrow.
Taylor swallowed his argument and dropped his shoulders. Arguing was not going to be beneficial.
Kate was still in her head. Karen was being kind, as usual, but the house felt uncomfortable. She betrayed trusts again. Would they just stop forgiving her one day? Replaying things in her head started to make her jumpy.
Dean pulled her hand away from her mouth. "Stop chewing."
Kate looked down at her fingers. "I wasn't meaning to."
"I know. You are nervous. Chew some gum or something." Dean said, gently.
Kate got a piece of gum from Karen and folded her hands together to keep from chewing on her nails. She needed to spill. Although she was very worried about just how much trouble she was going to be in, she needed to get everything off of her chest before it suffocated her.
Taylor sat down at the table. He tried to eat but he could only manage a few bites. He met eyes with Kate and gave her a sad look. 'I'm sorry.' he said in his head.
Kate rested her elbows on the table. 'Me too.'
Taylor studied her face. He genuinely felt awful. She had tried several times to help him and he pushed her away.
Dean called them into the living room.
Kate pushed her chair back. She wanted to get everything over with and behind her.
Taylor was a little slower. He was still processing everything that happened.
Kate sat down on the couch and tucked her feet under her. She held a pillow in her lap so she could keep her hands busy and away from her mouth.
"One of you needs to start talking. Start from the beginning." John said.
The kids traded looks. Kate wasn't sure if she had gotten there 'from the beginning' or if Taylor had been doing stuff before that.
"Nate heard about the party from some of his high school friends," Taylor said.
John shook his head. "No, before that."
Taylor chewed on his cheek. "Uh, when we got back home, I couldn't sleep. It had been a few days and I was really tense. I tried a drink to chill me out. It didn't really do much."
"Go on." John said.
"Well, my head wasn't in a good place. I drank a little more and finally fell asleep. The next few days I kinda did that a few times." He looked at Kate. "That is about when you asked me about it."
Kate's cheeks turned red. "So that wasn't just a cup?"
Taylor slowly shook his head.
John met eyes with Kate.
"When Taylor still wasn't talking, I went to talk to him outside and he had a glass. He was..." Kate stopped and looked at Taylor.
Taylor leaned forward and put his head in his hands. "Just tell them."
"Uh, he was target practicing," Kate said.
John's face darkened. "So you were using a weapon while drinking?"
"Yes, sir," Taylor mumbled.
Dean furrowed his eyebrows. "That is the day that you tried to run by me, wasn't it?"
Kate nodded. "I understood why Taylor would be trying that stuff. I took the weapons away from him and told him to get a shower."
"Weapons?" John asked.
"Uh, his bow and a gun." Kate said.
John put both feet on the floor and sat on the edge of his chair. "You had a gun? You didn't think the bow was bad enough?"
"He didn't use it. I asked him to give it to me and I put it away." Kate said.
"Had you told me what was going on, I would have talked to him." Dean said.
Kate sighed. "I thought I was helping him."
"Continue." John said.
Taylor asked Kate to just spill everything she knew. He was having a difficult time confessing and it was easier to fill in the gaps. He knew he was being a coward but it was more of a blur for him.
"Bobby, I really was just putting the pills back. I didn't get them out. I just put them back." Kate said.
Bobby resituated his ballcap. "So you lied."
Kate studied the backs of her hands. "Yes, sir."
Bobby turned his eyes to Taylor. "Is that all that you stole?"
Taylor shrugged. "From you, yes. Except for some of the alcohol."
"Well, where did you get the other stuff, Taylor?" John asked in a low tone.
Taylor grimaced. "Nate got some pastries from a friend of his. He got a pill from his mom's stash but it didn't do much so I only took one of them." He confessed to being high at school and planning how to get to the party.
Dean's face darkened. "How many times did you use that ability against me?"
Taylor stared at the floor. "Three or four times, I guess."
"Were you drinking when I saw you in the shop?" Dean asked.
"Yes."
"I'm guessing there was no movie." Dean said. He got up and paced. "Katelyn, how many times did you lie to me?"
Kate frowned. "The day I brought the cup in and washed it. I lied to you the night of the party when I came back and said Millie woke me up."
"Did you use your abilities on me?" Dean asked.
Kate chewed her thumbnail. "I made you dream about happy stuff. I promise I didn't compel you or anything."
Dean studied her.
"I felt guilty about lying and sneaking around. I guess I thought I was making up for it at the time. You could have woken up when you wanted to. I swear I didn't make you sleep." Kate said.
Dean held up his hand. "I understand."
"She came back to the house a few times. She tried to convince me to head home but I didn't listen." Taylor said.
Dean was beginning to understand what older Kate meant when she talked about peer pressure and having her heart in the right place.
By the time they got to the part where Kate called Dean, they both felt like horrible people.
John sat back in his chair. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "Go sit in the kitchen until I call you."
Kate grabbed Taylor and quickly left the room. She was glad that Millie wandered into the kitchen. She needed something to calm her down.
Dean, Bobby, and John discussed everything and came to a decision. They were going to have to do things in stages. Dean was kind of glad that John was there but part of his heart felt bad for the kids.
John had the kids return to the living room. He crossed his arms. "One of us will be speaking in depth with each of you. Taylor, you are going to research and write a paper on alcohol and drug use. You will be researching different aspects of that. Bobby will write a list and will assist you in getting the books that you need. Specifications will be given later. Kate, you will be doing research as well. I want the first and last name of the boy that tried to drug you."
Taylor's eyes flew open. "What?!"
Kate sighed. "Logan. He was really pushy and I started noticing that I was weak and dizzy. He put something in my drink."
Taylor's eyes flashed blue.
John put his hand up. "Dean or I will be handling that. Kate, you need to fully realize just how dangerous it was for you to be there. If this... Logan... kid was any bigger than he was or if you hadn't called Dean, he could have very easily taken advantage of you."
Kate shifted uncomfortably.
"Karen, would you mind having that discussion with her?" John asked.
Karen nodded and squeezed Kate's shoulder.
"You are both grounded. You are going to do extra training and chores. Dean will collect both of your phones and you will not have access to them unless there is an emergency. You will not be going anywhere until your grounding is done."
"The lab?" Kate asked.
"No. If you have ideas, you can discuss them with Marty by using one of our phones. He can run tests for you." John said.
Kate's heart broke.
"I'm not sure that Nate is a good friend for you to have." John said.
Taylor started to argue.
"He had the idea to go to the barn. He had the idea to go to the party. You are responsible for your own choices but he has been encouraging you to make bad ones." John said. "I will be speaking to his parents and a decision can be made at a later date." He looked at Taylor to make sure he wasn't going to protest. "There are other things that we can discuss later as well. Part of this is due to what happened with David. We are all aware of that. So we will be coming up with a way for you to process that."
Dean took over. "I will be having a word with both of you as well. Dad is going to handle the big things. It should go without saying but after you get your clean slate, we are going to have to rebuild trust."
John nodded. "Both of you, go to the shop. I will be out there in a minute."
Kate couldn't stop her thumbnail from going to her teeth. She was reasonably, incredibly nervous. Most of the time, if they did something together, they got split up.
Taylor opened the shop door and sat down on one of the tables. "I am so, so, sorry."
Kate gave him a sad smile. "I guess one day we can laugh about this."
Taylor cringed. "I don't know about that."
Kate jumped when the door opened again. John looked determined. That was never a good thing.
John had the paddle in his hand. "I am shocked, to be honest."
Kate shrunk.
"Dean went to parties. Sam went to a few but usually, he was following Dean. They were older though. You are twelve and thirteen. You are children. Had the cops shown up and caught you there, there would likely be an investigation into how we let two kids sneak by us and across town to a party. Jody is on our side but she can't cover up everything." John said. "Using your abilities in public, when it isn't necessary is another thing. It sounds like you won the poker money just by bluffing. The trick shots were..."
"Started out as skill." Taylor said.
John nodded. "Taylor, go wait outside. You are to sit or stand right by the door. I do not want you to run off. Can I trust you to do that?"
Taylor slowly blinked. He slid off the table and gave Kate a worried look. "Yes, sir."
Kate whipped her head around when the door shut. She looked at John for a moment and then to the door. "Can't he go inside?"
"No." John said, simply.
Kate didn't want Taylor anywhere around. "Please."
"Katelyn, you both got into this mess together. Frankly, I realize that you were attempting to help him. He chose to ignore the help and drag you down with him. He feels guilty and it is going to be hard for him to be around." John said.
Kate chewed the side of her finger. "So this is a lesson?"
John nodded.
Kate shifted uncomfortably. "But.. he knows either way."
"Stop arguing," John said. "Dean pointed out that you need a lot more comforting than Taylor does. So you can go inside and hang out with Dean. He is going to have a word with you anyway."
Kate whined without meaning to.
"Option two is that I paddle you and then you sit outside until I'm through with Taylor." John said.
Kate shook her head. She wanted to ask what kind of word Dean was wanting to have with her.
John pointed to the table. "You know the drill."
Kate turned around. "My feet don't touch the floor."
John tapped her with the paddle. "They don't need to."
Kate gave him the puppy dog look, hoping that some form of sympathy would be given.
"Katelyn." John warned.
Kate frowned deeply and got where he wanted her to be.
"You got the lecture when we were inside. You will be doing research as well. I don't think I need to make a lecture out of this as well." John said.
Kate just crossed her arms and buried her face in them.
"You will get twelve." John said.
Kate's head shot up. "Twelve?"
John answered her by laying down the first swat.
Kate tensed. That one really hurt.
John sighed and smacked her again.
Kate crossed her ankles and fought against the urge to put her hands back. Those swats were worse than 'normal.' By the fourth one she was in tears and by the sixth, she couldn't stay still.
"If you get up I'm going to add extras." John said.
Kate knew for a fact she wasn't going to be able to make it through the next six without moving. She sniffled. "Dean holds my hand behind my back."
John tilted his head. "If you put your hands back?"
"If he thinks I am going to have trouble," Kate said. She felt stupid for mentioning it but she didn't want extra swats. She crossed her hand over her back.
John understood the plea.
Kate twisted her wrist. "No, not pin it. Hold it."
John rolled his eyes. Dean was something else. He put his hand over hers. "Are you good?"
Kate slowly nodded and pressed her head to the table.
Taylor flinched with every swat. He wanted to stop John but they'd both get in more trouble if he did that. His heart was shattered. He heard her cry out and clamped his arms over his ears.
John gave her the last three where butt meets thigh and sat the paddle down. He picked her up and put his arms around her. He wasn't as good at the comforting thing but she genuinely tried to be compliant.
Kate was a teary, snotty mess. That paddling was far worse than any of the others she had gotten. She felt like she had been scalded and the pain was getting worse and not better. She apologized profusely and held onto his shirt.
John got her somewhat calm and patted her back. "I am going to walk you to the house."
Kate didn't want to walk. She wanted to lay down and never get back up. She sniffled and tried to wipe her eyes but they wouldn't stop watering.
John put a hand on her back and steered her toward the door. He passed Taylor without looking at him and walked her to the door. "Dean."
Dean took over and took Kate inside. He hugged her and sat down on the couch so that she could lean on him.
Kate hiccuped. "Are you going to spank me too?"
Dean sighed. She had lied twice, directly to him. He had no doubt that John got the point across. He turned her to the side and swatted her twice.
Kate tiptoed and rubbed where he swatted. She jerked her hands away and sniffled. "I'm sorry. I won't put them back again."
"Kid, that is it. You lied to me twice but having been on the receiving end of that paddle, I am pretty sure those two swats felt severe enough to make you think twice about lying to me."
Kate nodded dramatically.
Dean patted his leg. "Come here."
Kate wilted and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her head hurt.
Dean was good at calming her down. He patted her back and rested his chin on her head. "Just rest. You have research to start when Taylor gets back."
Kate whimpered but didn't respond. She hoped Taylor was going to be okay.
John opened the door and told Taylor to go inside.
Taylor followed him. He was worn down after hearing what Kate got.
"As I told Kate, I don't think I need to lecture you again right now." John said.
Taylor nodded.
"You'll do the research and talk about things as we go." John said. He pointed to the table.
Taylor reluctantly bent over it. His feet did touch the floor.
"Kate got twelve. You'll get thirteen." John said.
Taylor was slightly confused. The belt was way worse. He didn't think for a second that John would be letting them off easy. The paddle hurt but not like the belt. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe the majority of the punishment was in the research.
"Do you fully understand why you are here?" John asked.
"Yes, sir." Taylor said.
John gave him the first swat as soon as he said that.
Taylor sucked in a breath of air.
John swatted him again.
Taylor bit his cheek. Obviously, John had been holding back the last time he used a paddle on them. He jumped up after the third swat. "Did you hit her that hard?!"
John took a deep breath. "Get back into position."
Taylor's eyes flashed blue.
"Taylor." John warned.
"Did you hit her that hard?" Taylor ground out.
"Not quite as hard. That's one." John said.
Taylor glared at him. "This wasn't her fault."
John narrowed his eyes. "Two."
Taylor got back over the table.
John put a hand on his back. "The attitude isn't doing you a favor. No, I didn't hit her as hard but it was enough to suit what she did. Now, if you move or argue again I'm going to continue adding licks."
Taylor gritted his teeth through the next three. He was wrong. The paddle was worse. The paddle was so much worse. He broke on the seventh. The guilt and anger flooded out.
John lightened the next round. He wanted to get it over with but also wanted to not have to repeat the lesson again. He grimaced. Kids never learned that easily. He smacked him again. "The only reason you aren't getting extra licks every night for a week is that I know how hard the ordeal with David was. I don't think you would have tried any of this without something like that happening." He swatted him again. "That being said, it doesn't excuse it."
Taylor held his breath until he counted the thirteenth lick. He was about to crawl out of his skin. He felt so bad for Kate. He felt bad for himself. He started to stand up but John stopped him.
"You have two more."
Taylor sucked in a breath of air. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."
"I am sure. I don't want to have to add a third." John said.
Taylor was already a teary mess. He wanted to be stoic but he had given up on that. The last two were harder than the others and he crashed.
John put the paddle down on the table and pulled Taylor back.
Taylor tensed. He didn't want a hug. He hurt and was trying to hide just how much he was breaking down.
John turned Taylor and pulled his head to his chest. He could feel that Taylor was struggling between fighting it and giving in to the hug. "Just let go."
Taylor broke down the way he should have as soon as David's neck broke. He cried freely and sobs wracked his body.
John didn't say anything. He just stayed there. He felt Taylor's body giving out and slid down the wall so he could sit on the ground. He kept his hold on Taylor and just let him have his moment.
Taylor felt embarrassed but couldn't get control of himself. "I killed someone."
John sighed. "You did. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that we couldn't protect you from him."
Taylor put his face in his hands and wilted further. "Am I going to go to hell too?"
"No," John said. "You kept your nana and grandpa from getting hurt. You protected Krissy. David wasn't human at that point. Even if he was, you did the right thing."
Taylor stayed like that until he had no more tears to cry. He started to calm down and tensed up. "Oh god, I am sorry."
John chuckled. "Don't be. Had you done this weeks ago, you wouldn't be sporting a sore ass right now."
Taylor tried to laugh but it came out as a whimper.
"You needed that. You are going to do a lot more talking though. Hopefully, you'll open up before I have to do this again." John said.
Taylor knelt on the ground and wiped his face with his shirt. "I am never going through that again. I thought you were going easier on us."
"Why on earth would you think that?" John asked.
"Well... you didn't use your belt," Taylor said.
John rubbed his face. "Do you still think that?"
Taylor shook his head. "No sir!" He blinked. "I yelled at you. I'm sorry."
"You got your two licks for that. I didn't go easy on Kate but she is smaller. I adjusted for that." John said.
"Oh no, Kate," Taylor said and looked at the house.
"She fared better than you did. She is fine." John said.
Taylor slowly stood up and hissed through his teeth. He bit his lip and clenched and unclenched his fists.
"Head inside." John said.
Taylor wiped his face again. "Can I go upstairs first?"
"Yes. Go do what you need to do." John said. He walked with an arm around Taylor's shoulders.
Kate jumped up and hugged Taylor as soon as the door opened. She felt terrible and knew he had gotten it worse than she did. "Are you okay?"
Taylor started laughing. "No."
Kate giggled. "Oh."
Taylor patted her arm. "I'll be back down in a minute, okay?"
Kate let go of him. She eyed John for a moment. "Is that hard for you to do?"
John furrowed his eyebrows and handed the paddle to Dean for him to put away. "What do you mean?"
"Dean made a big deal about convincing me that this stuff is really hard for him to do. He hates it." Kate said.
John pinched the bridge of his nose. "I do not enjoy having to punish either of you. I never have. I have more experience and I guess I have thicker skin but I hate it as well."
Kate chewed her cheek. "I'm sorry."
John nodded. "Bobby should have a list ready for you as well."
Kate slowly slid into the kitchen. She cleared her throat and looked down at her feet.
Bobby grunted. "Why are you doing that?"
Kate looked up at him. "Are you going to whack me too?"
Bobby gently smacked the back of her head. "There you go. No. I don't think you have any hide left to whack. You are going to sit down and get started on those assignments though."
Kate looked at the chairs in the kitchen. She stuck her bottom lip out and gave him sad puppy eyes.
"No ma'am. That isn't going to work on me." Bobby said. "Take a seat."
Kate slowly sat down and gritted her teeth. She still felt like she had been scalded and wanted to jump out of the chair.
Bobby sighed. "Kid, you're breaking my heart."
John leaned on the door facing. "The first part is mostly going to be reading. You can do that in the living room."
Kate ditched the chair in a hurry. The couch was still uncomfortable but at least she could put her legs under her.
Taylor splashed his face with water and put on a clean t shirt. He turned around and saw Dean waiting for him. He winced "Now?"
"No." Dean said. "I owe you a few licks but not right now."
Taylor swallowed hard.
Dean motioned for him to go to his room and sit on his bed. "You used your abilities on me. I am not okay with that. I know dad didn't go easy on you. So you're going to have a choice. You can get it over with, not today, but tomorrow or we can wait until next week. You are going to choose what the licks are with as well."
Taylor gave him an odd look.
"You can decide later. I do sympathize with you. I'm not going to force you to accept another punishment tomorrow. It is your choice." Dean said.
Taylor groaned and rubbed his face. "Can't you just do it today?"
Dean studied him. "What with?"
"What are my options?" Taylor asked.
Dean rubbed the back of his head. "Paddle, switch, or belt."
Taylor grimaced.
"Do you think that is unfair?" Dean asked.
"No. I just am trying to decide if I want to be burned, shot, or stabbed." Taylor said.
Dean cracked a smile. "Well, you have already been shot and stabbed recently."
Taylor furrowed his brows. "Yeah, somehow what just happened was way worse than either of those."
"Adrenaline," Dean said.
Taylor stood up because sitting was more than he could stand. "Uh, are you going to... overlap?"
Dean sighed. "I don't know. How far down did he get you?"
Taylor showed him about where the lowest lick had landed.
He wasn't sure. He didn't want to actually flay the kid. He couldn't use a paddle on him much lower than that. "I am going to go downstairs. Come find me once you decide. Again, this can happen next week instead of today."
Taylor nodded. "Okay." He paced around the room. He so didn't want another paddling. He did, however, want to have his slate clean. He didn't want to fret over an entire week. He didn't want there to be anything between them.
Dean told John what was going on. "I told him I could wait."
John nodded. He understood both sides.
Taylor made up his mind. He went downstairs and told Dean he was ready.
Kate gave him a confused look.
"Don't worry about it. It's between me and Dean." Taylor said.
Kate gave Dean sad eyes.
"His choice," Dean said. He followed Taylor outside and asked what he decided.
"I don't want to worry about this for a week. I know I screwed up. I want to just get it over with." Taylor said.
Dean leaned against his car. "Well, I don't think I can paddle you right now."
Taylor cringed.
"So what is it going to be?" Dean asked.
Taylor had weighed options in his head. He had gotten hit with a switch once when Dean smacked the bag of his legs for pranking him. It stung but he didn't think getting a belting over a paddling would be something that he could cope with. "The switch."
Dean was a little surprised at that. He gave Taylor his knife. "Go cut one."
Taylor's cheeks turned pink. "I don't really know what kind."
Dean sighed and showed him. He did the peeling part because Taylor was fidgety. He swished it through the air.
"Shop?" Taylor asked.
Dean motioned for Taylor to lead the way.
If Taylor didn't love cars so much, he'd develop an immense hatred for the shop. He bent over the table without being asked and put his hands behind his head.
Dean cleared his throat. "Show me again how low he got you."
Taylor showed him and put his hand back over the back of his head.
Dean tapped him. "You already know what you did wrong. You'll get four on the backs of your legs and one higher up."
Taylor was grateful for that. It meant Dean wasn't going to go over what John already had. He hissed and tensed up.
Dean put a hand on his back. "Four more and then you're done." Since there were only five licks, they were sharp and fast.
Taylor jumped back and held his breath when the fifth one caught him across the meaty part of his butt where John had already thoroughly smacked.
Dean steadied him. He held the switch out. "Want to break it?"
Taylor grabbed it and broke it into eight pieces. "Holy crap."
Dean chuckled. "I went easy on you."
Taylor furrowed his brows. "When Kate got the switch, did you use it like that?"
"No. I was busy dragging her back to the bunker. She got a lot more but basically taps. It stung but it wasn't that hard." He saw Taylor's face. "Either you get a small number of licks but a harder lash or you get a lot of licks and a not so hard lash."
Taylor couldn't help trying to rub some of the residual pain away. He snorted indignantly. "That rule didn't hold up with dad."
"No, not when you run off and go acid tripping at a party." Dean said with a raised eyebrow.
Taylor blushed deeply. "That was really dumb."
"Ya think?" Dean said.
Taylor looked up at Dean. "We are good now?"
"Yep. If you use an ability on me again I'll just peel another switch." Dean said.
Taylor groaned. "I'm done."
John had gotten Jody to help track down Logan's contact information. He called and got a man on the phone. He introduced himself and said that Logan had spiked Kate's drink the night before.
The man introduced himself as Wayne. "I think you may have people mixed up."
"Is your son's name Logan?" John asked.
"Yes." Wayne said.
"Is his face currently bruised up?" John asked.
Wayne got defensive, thinking that John was responsible. "Did you hit him?"
"No." John said.
Wayne yelled for Logan. "He told me that he got beat up by some older boys. Where would this have happened?"
"There was a party last night. I wasn't aware that my two snuck off to it until I had to drag them back home. Before we left, my daughter lit into Logan because he spiked her drink."
Wayne grabbed Logan and looked at his face.
Logan rolled his eyes. "They are lying. I told you what happened. She likes me and I don't like her back. She's crazy. I wasn't even at the party. I told you."
Kate cracked her knuckles and leaned closer to the phone. "I have a ring on my right hand that has a butterfly cut into it."
Wayne tilted Logan's chin. He did have a mark on his cheekbone that was swollen and blue around an outline of a simple butterfly. .
Kate looked at John for a moment. "Tell the truth."
Logan spilled the truth although he didn't mean to. He looked at his dad in horror and shut his mouth.
Wayne yelled at him to go to his room. "John is it? I apologize for my son. This will never happen again. Young lady, you have one hell of an arm."
Kate blushed. "I was angry when I realized what happened."
"He deserved it." Wayne said in a growl. "He will be around with a formal apology. Just send a message with the appropriate contact information."
John hung up the phone and sat back. "Had Dean not pulled you off of him, would you have stopped?"
Kate shrugged. "I probably saved his life. Imagine what Dean would have done if I had passed out and he found Logan after the fact."
John thought that he, himself, would have done worse. "Now would be an excellent time to get started on that paper."
Kate slumped. "You aren't even a little bit proud?"
John smacked her leg. "For beating the shit out of him? Yes. For being there in the first place? No."
Kate rubbed her leg. "Noted."