The next morning, Olivia rolled over to turn off the alarm on her phone and was surprised and somewhat concerned to find the foot of the bed empty. The brunette detective rubbed the sleep from her tired eyes and was startled when suddenly the fire alarm started blaring. Olivia quickly jumped out of bed and ran to the kitchen where she found Grace frantically trying and failing to diffuse a crop of flames leaping from the stove. Olivia reacted quickly and retrieved the fire extinguisher to kill the flames. There was silence for a moment as both women breathed heavily, and then Grace burst into tears, which caused Olivia to burst out laughing and she walked over to wrap Grace in a loving hug.
"There, there, don't cry, baby. There's nothing to cry about, I promise you aren't the first person in this apartment to set fire to that stove. Everything is fine, I'm not angry with you." Olivia soothed lovingly, cuddling Grace close to her heart.
"I'm sorry!" Grace wept on Olivia's shoulder while Olivia gently rubbed her panty-clad bottom to soothe her, seeing that Grace was still only wearing the bra and panties she had slept in.
"I know, sweetheart. It was just an accident, you aren't in trouble." Olivia assured her.
"You're not going to spank me?" Grace asked with a trembling lower lip, her big brown eyes starting to dry upon being reassured that Olivia wasn't angry.
"If you had burned down the whole building? Probably, yes. For burning breakfast? No, I'm not going to spank this cute little bottom. What were you trying to make, anyway?"
"I was trying to cook bacon, but I'm not very good in the kitchen." Grace blushed.
"Well, then you'll just have to learn, and the best way to learn is to do. Today is my day off, so we can cook all of our meals together. Come over here, I'm in the mood for pancakes and eggs this morning."
Grace paid close attention as Olivia showed her where various items were kept in the kitchen, explained how she liked to organize the pantry, and guided her through making breakfast, sharing various tips and tricks along the way. Grace's heart warmed when she suddenly realized that Olivia was different from most Mistresses she encountered. Olivia wasn't going to just sit back and watch Grace fail and then punish her for failing, Olivia was actually interested in actively teaching her. After breakfast when the kitchen was clean, Olivia showered Grace with praise and took her out to the living room where Olivia sat on the couch and cuddled Grace on her lap, gently rubbing Grace's satisfied belly while rocking her.
"Now, my baby, we have an important task to accomplish today." Olivia spoke after several long minutes of silent cuddling.
"Yes, Ma'am?" Grace asked curiously as Olivia reached over, picked up her phone, and opened an internet browser.
"Today we are going to do some online shopping. As of right now, the only clothes you have are the clothes you wore when you came to the precinct, and there's no way you can survive with just one set of clothes unless you plan on walking around outside naked, in which case I would have to arrest you, and I really don't want to have to do that so we are going to buy some clothes for you today."
"I don't have any money." Grace stated simply, her pretty face a mask of confusion.
"That's okay, I will buy the clothes you pick out. I want you to take your time and pick out things that you really like. I want you to pick out at least four tops, at least four pairs of pants, at least three bra and panty sets, at least one pair of pajamas, and at least two pairs of shoes. If you see any skirts or dresses you want, I'll get those for you too. Can you repeat the list I just gave you?"
"Um… I have to pick out… four tops… four pairs of pants… three bra and panty sets… and two pairs of shoes. And if I see any skirts or dresses I want, I can have them."
"You missed one. Can you remember what it was?" Olivia prompted kindly, and Grace paused in thought.
"Oh, and one pair of pajamas."
"Good girl. Normally you'll sleep in your underwear, but I want you to have at least one or two pairs of pajamas in case there's a particularly cold night or if you're sick or if for some reason we have overnight guests." Olivia explained, "Now sit up properly so you can see my phone. I promise I'll cuddle you again later."
The two women scrolled through the seemingly endless string of options in Grace's size. At first, Grace tried to find the cheapest options she could instead of choosing things she truly liked as she had been told to do. Olivia caught on to what Grace was doing and scolded her gently for disregarding her instructions, carefully turning Grace onto her belly and giving her panty-clad bottom a quick warning spank before guiding her to sit up again. Grace winced, but did not cry out and the sting was already gone by the time Olivia guided her up to sit in her original position.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am." Grace said genuinely. Olivia lovingly caressed the side of Grace's face.
"I know, my baby, it's just listening skills and obedience. Now, let's try again. I'll scroll through the pages, and when you see something you like, tell me. And if you need help deciphering colors, I will help you."
By the time they were done shopping for clothes, Grace was excited to have lots of new things to wear and was shocked to discover that Olivia didn't expect anything from her in return, sexual or otherwise. Olivia wasn't sure how she felt about having to explain to Grace how a gift worked, but in the end she decided not to make a big issue of it. Olivia set her phone aside and welcomed Grace to snuggle back into her arms, which Grace happily did, overjoyed to be cuddled with as Olivia rocked her in the peaceful silence.
Several days later, Grace had been on her best behavior, having mostly settled into daily life in her Mistress's home, and was rewarded with a brand new cell phone of her own with internet access.
"I already put my cell phone number into your contacts, if you want any other numbers in there you can put them in yourself. You can install as many free apps as you want, but if you want to buy an app, you must ask me for permission first. You also need to keep the SubFinder app turned on so that if for some reason you wander off without permission or if we are out together and somehow get separated, I can find you." Olivia explained.
"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you." Grace smiled. Olivia returned the smile and kissed Grace's forehead.
"Good girls always get rewards, you know that. Now, I'm afraid I have some paperwork to do before dinner. If all of your chores are done, you are free to do as you please."
"I need to finish cleaning the bathroom first." Grace replied.
"Off you go, then. In a little while I will order dinner so we don't have to cook tonight."
"Yes, Ma'am." Grace nodded and turned to return to the last of her chores.
A few days later, Olivia arrived home from work and stepped off of the elevator onto her floor. She was confused when she heard loud music blasting from somewhere, and groaned when she realized that the music was coming from her apartment. She let herself into the apartment and instead of seeing Grace kneeling by the door to greet her as she was supposed to, she found Grace lying on her belly on the couch reading a magazine while music blasted from an app on her cell phone. Olivia sighed as she walked over and picked up the cell phone to turn the music off. When the music suddenly stopped, Grace looked over her shoulder and was startled to see Olivia standing over her looking stern.
"Ma'am! I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in!" Grace dropped to her knees at Olivia's feet and bent down to kiss Olivia's feet in greeting.
"I would be surprised if you could hear much of anything, little girl. Why was this music so loud? I could hear it from clear down the hall when I got off the elevator."
"I'm sorry, Ma'am, I guess I did have it turned up too much." Grace blushed.
"Go to your corner and wait for me, we are going to have a very long talk about this." Olivia gave Grace's bottom a sharp spank to get her moving in the right direction.
"Yes, Ma'am." Grace winced and crawled down the hall into the bedroom and crawled to kneel in the corner with her hands on her head, instinctively knowing exactly what Olivia meant by 'a very long talk'. So far in the days since bringing Grace home with her, Olivia had sent Grace to the corner a number of times or given her warning spanks, but Grace had yet to experience a true punishment spanking over her Mistress's knee.
"Come here, little girl." Olivia walked into the bedroom and sat down on the bed, reaching into the bedside table drawer to retrieve the hairbrush. Grace was used to seeing the familiar implement laying on the bed every night, but she had yet to feel it on her tender bottom.
Grace turned from the corner and crawled over to kneel at Olivia's feet with her head hanging in shame. Grace let out a quiet gasp when Olivia took her by her hair and guided the submissive brunette up and over her lap.
"Explain to me what happened before I came home and found you with your music shaking the building." Olivia gently pulled Grace's panties down, revealing her bare bottom.
"I finished all of my chores, and I decided to just relax for a while before you came home, so I was reading your People magazine and I decided I wanted to listen to music, so I turned some on and I didn't realize how loud it was. I promise I really didn't realize it, Ma'am." Grace whimpered when she felt the hairbrush tapping her bottom.
"You are not a teenager anymore, you are supposed to realize such things and mind the volume when you are listening to music or watching TV. We live in an apartment building with paper thin walls, such loud music can annoy and disturb neighbors, and I won't have you moving through life thinking that you are allowed to be inconsiderate of others. Your internet access is restricted for three days; you are only allowed to use your phone if you need to call me. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Ma'am. Please don't spank me." Grace whimpered, and Olivia sighed.
"You are going to get a spanking, my baby. I understand I've never spanked you before and you are nervous, but you know I love you and I won't harm you. It's going to hurt a lot, and then it's going to be over and I will cuddle you while you cry it out. When we are done in here, we will walk out that door and you will have a clean slate, as if nothing ever happened." Olivia explained kindly.
"Yes, Ma'am. I'm sorry I asked." Grace sniffled, already blinking back tears.
"I'm not angry with you for asking, I understand why you asked; nobody likes anything having to do with discipline. Lay your head down, and no clenching. You keep this naughty bottom relaxed for me."
Grace obediently laid her head down on the bed and forced herself to relax her bottom muscles. She couldn't help herself as she began to cry before the first lick even landed, and when it did, she yelped in surprise at the powerful sting, and yelped again when the second lick landed quickly afterward, followed by another, and another, and another. After the first ten spanks, Grace's hand flew back to cover her bottom. Olivia took a gentle hold of Grace's hand and carefully pinned her arm in the small of her back, being mindful of Grace's bandaged wrist.
"This is where your arm goes if it comes up to protect your bottom. I am in charge around here, and I decide when your spanking is over, not you. I understand it hurts, it's supposed to hurt. You are welcome to cry as much as you want, but you will not reach back, and you will not kick your feet or try to get away from me until I tell you that you can get up. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Ma'am, I'm sorry."
"Good girl. If you can lie here gracefully, it will be much easier to take and it will be over much faster than if you fight me. Do you understand why you're getting a spanking?"
"Yes, Ma'am, because I had my music turned up too loud." Grace wept as the spanking continued.
"I believe you when you tell me that you didn't realize your music was that loud, I trust that you didn't do it on purpose. But as I said, you aren't fifteen anymore. You are twenty six years old and you are old enough to realize when you are being inconsiderate to the neighbors around you. Not to mention the fact that you did not hear me come home and therefore did not greet me at the door as you know I expect from you. I never want to have to discuss this with you again, agreed?"
"Yes, Ma'am, I promise! I'll never do it again! I'll mind the volume from now on, I promise! Please!" Grace began to sob, feeling the fire growing on her cherry red bottom.
"That's my good girl. Let's finish up now, little one. Just a few more minutes."
"Please, Ma'am, my wrist hurts!" Grace sobbed, and Olivia immediately let go of Grace's hand that she had been holding in the small of her back.
"All right, just keep your arm in front of you, my baby. We're almost done, I promise."
When Olivia felt Grace go limp across her lap, the spanking was immediately over and Olivia threw down the hairbrush as if it had burned her. Making everything about her facial expression, body language, and tone of voice extremely gentle and loving, Olivia tenderly rubbed Grace's heaving back until Grace was a little bit calmer.
"You can rest here for as long as you want to, little one. When you're ready you can get up and you can have a cuddle. It's all over now." Olivia spoke lovingly.
Grace laid across Olivia's lap for several minutes resting and catching her breath while she continued to sob. She felt the sting and ache on her bottom and committed the pain to memory, vowing to never get another spanking again. She was a little surprised that her punishment was over already; if she were still in Sarah McPherson's care, the hairbrush would be just the beginning of her punishment. Sarah was fond of sending Grace to bed with a bottom that was literally black and blue, and Grace realized for the first time that what she had experienced at Sarah's hands wasn't discipline, it was a beating, even though Sarah herself referred to it as a spanking. Then again, Sarah had also referred to whipping Grace's back as a spanking, so it was all the same in her confused mind. When Grace felt strong enough to get up, she pushed herself up from Olivia's lap with tears still streaming down her pretty face and stood awkwardly with her panties down around her knees. Olivia had said that she could have a cuddle, and Grace desperately wanted to be held, but she hesitated. She wasn't used to being forgiven immediately after a punishment, she was used to being ignored for at least a few hours before she was able to be forgiven. Resisting the urge to dive into Olivia's arms, Grace turned and went back to kneel in her corner, assuming that Olivia would leave her there and come back in a few hours to forgive her.