Per the awesome comment from reader EmilyAnnMcGarret-Winchester we get a lot of alpha Dean in this chapter. More moody Sam is coming. Reviews spark joy:)

Ji-a spent the following morning tying up loose ends. She canceled her private lessons for the next month and got one of her top students to pinch hit teaching group classes. She also contacted her boss and asked if she could move her courses to online for the remainder of the semester.

Things went - all in all - smoothly.

And after dinner she found herself in the front seat of Dean's Impala, sitting at a remote trailhead in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

"So," Dean said, "I'm guessing you're wondering what the hell we're doing out here?"

"Definitely," Ji-a agreed, "You've not decided to murder me, right?"

"Nope," Dean said.

"So…"

"We made a deal with Sam," Dean said, "That I'd teach you the ropes. Make sure you knew the ground rules. We're here to take care of that."

"Alright," Ji-a shrugged, "Let me hear it."

"First and most importantly, you get an order, you follow it. No questions," Dean said, "I mean it."

"Okay," Ji-a agreed.

"I'm not gonna be ordering you around for fun," Dean said, "Not my speed. If I'm telling you something directly. You listen."

Ji-a nodded.

"Go on," she prompted.

"Flat shoes," Dean instructed, "Always."

"I fought people for money," Ji-a said, "You think I wear heels?"

"Fair enough," Dean agreed, "When we're out you don't leave our sight without permission. You don't leave any food or drink unattended. You don't engage strangers in conversation without letting me or Sam know. We'll get you up to speed on tells that someone's actually a monster. But that's a learning curve. As is killing them. So for now we just need to know where you are and what you're doing so we can keep an eye on you."

"Got it," Ji-a agreed.

"This isn't about making you some perfect little submissive soldier," Dean clarified, "Talk back all you want. Have strong opinions. I don't care. Just listen so you don't put yourself in danger."

"I understand."

"And you'll agree to any training Sam or I suggest," Dean said, "You're tough. You can fight. But you're small. And you can't shoot. You've never fought monsters in particular. You'll still have a lot of learning to do."

"Okay," Ji-a said, "And if I disobey?"

"I'll spank you," Dean said bluntly.

"Excuse me?" Ji-a's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She wasn't entirely sure what she expected, but it certainly wasn't that.

"Let me walk you through the logic," Dean said, "Sometimes you'll disobey and something will go wrong. A ghost will toss you up against a wall or someone will slip a roofie in your drink or whatever. No spanking. You disobeyed. Natural consequence. You won't be doing that again. But if you disobey and nothing bad happens…"

"I need something painful enough to remind me that every bad action has the potential for deadly consequences," Ji-a finished.

"Exactly," Dean replied, "You still okay with this? Backing out 100% remains an option. You say the word and I drive us home and you never hear from me again."

"Pain compliance is probably the most ancient and effective way to get people to learn things really fast and really thoroughly," Ji-a said, "If lives are at stake it only makes sense. So what are we doing out here?"

Dean rubbed the back of his neck. Suddenly looking sheepish.

"What?" Ji-a demanded.

"You're tough," Dean said, looking everywhere but her face. It was a stark contrast to the intense eye contact he'd maintained throughout the conversation so far.

"Thanks for noticing," Ji-a said.

"I need to get a baseline," Dean gestured vaguely.

"For what?" Ji-a asked.

"I need to know how hard and how much I have to hit you to make my point," Dean said.

Ji-a nodded. The logic was there. She understood. She wasn't even upset or reticent about it. But she also wasn't going to say she was thrilled. She hadn't been thrilled when her brother-in-law made her kick a coconut palm one hundred times per leg for blowing a fight she should have been able to win. She wasn't thrilled now. But that didn't mean she was backing down.

"So," Dean took a deep breath, rubbing his palms on his jeans, "Get out of the car. Take off your dress. And when it hurts too bad for you to take you tap out. Got it?"

"Yes sir," Ji-a said, but Dean gripped her arm and clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Last rule," he said, staring her down, "Never. And I mean never. Call me sir."

Ji-a nodded mutely. Dean leaned back, softening.

"Shall we?" He opened the car door and offered her his hand.

Ji-a got to her feet and stepped out of the car. She understood their location now. Far from anyone to hear or see. She stepped out of her dress and handed it to him.

"Where do we go from here?" Ji-a asked, standing half-naked in front of him.

"You've got options," Dean said, unbuckling his belt and draping it over one shoulder, "I can put you over my knee, bend you over the hood of the car, or I can get you in a shoulder lock. Preference?"

"Hood of the car," Ji-a responded immediately. She'd trained hard today and her shoulders were angry already, so that was out of the question. And going over his knee? She understood the practicality. She'd accept it somewhere else. But here? On a deserted trailhead at midnight in the back of his car? Absolutely not.

"Okay," Dean took a deep breath and bent her over the hood of the car, his hand tight on the back of her neck, "You ready?"

"Yep," Ji-a agreed.

"When it's too much, and I mean actually too much not just uncomfortable, you say uncle and I'll stop in a heartbeat," Dean reminded her.

"Got it," Ji-a replied.

And he hit her. Hard. A dozen times. Then two dozen. He switched to his belt. A dozen. Two dozen. Thirty-four. Thirty-five.

And Ji-a tapped three times on the hood of the car. He dropped the belt immediately.

There were tears pouring down her face. Her breathing was getting ragged. She was dizzy from the pain.

She didn't move.

Dean looped an arm around her belly and guided her up against his chest.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Barely," Ji-a replied, "That was the point, right?"

Dean chuckled.

"I guess it was," he replied, turning her to face him and running a hand gently up and down her back.

"Now what?" Ji-a asked. She was sweating and freezing cold at the same time. Her legs were shaky. Damn that hurt. Dean's hands were gentle and soothing, slowly kneading the knots that had rapidly formed in her lower back.

"You're tough," Dean said, "Even more than I expected."

"I'll accept that compliment when things hurt marginally less," Ji-a panted against his chest.

"Here," Dean guided her dress back over her head, "We'll give it some time before I make you get back in the car."

Ji-a nodded enthusiastically. The thought of that hard leather made her skin crawl.

Dean moved one hand up behind her head, tipping it back so she was looking at the sky.

"The stars are beautiful tonight," he said, "Since we're way out in the middle of nowhere, might as well enjoy the view."

And they stood like that for a while as Ji-a's breathing slowed and her tears dried.

"You still up for this?" Dean asked after a time.

"I think so," Ji-a replied, "Two questions first."

"Anything," Dean assured her.

"You aren't doing this to try and scare me off right? This is actually how people learn to hunt?" She asked.

Dean sighed.

"There's two ways new hunters learn," he said, "If they're out alone or learning from a peer, usually they just make mistakes until they learn or they die. But given our…attachment…I'm not really up for letting that particular school of hard knocks send you to an early grave. If they're learning from someone they really trust? Yeah. This is pretty normal."

"Is this how you guys learned?" Ji-a asked.

"Me? Absolutely," Dean replied, "Sammy…eh. I was soft on him. And he's still disobedient as all get out. Drives me up the freakin' wall."

He chuckled.

"What's your other question?"

"You don't get off on this?" Ji-a steeled her resolve and just put it bluntly.

"On spanking you?" Dean asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"It's a fair question," Ji-a put in.

"Do I like seeing you undressed? Absolutely. But no. If I had you bent over the hood of my car by choice, I wouldn't be hitting you," he said.

"Okay," Ji-a agreed, "Then I think we have a deal."

Dean kissed her.

"Welcome to the team."