So as always big thank you to everyone who continues to read, favorite, and add this story to their alert lists. I deeply appreciate it. Also thanks to ItsJustBecca, DaughterofRiversSong, Taylor Noelle Hood, Mercy156, Pharmergirl, seleneplaysgames, the guest Lea, Lureiel, and the guest Alex for reviewing the last chapter. As most of you said, Anna is going to be in big trouble. I'm sorry that I couldn't go easy on her, but it had to happen.

Also I know that some of you are going to have a big problem with the first 1600 or so words of this chapter and I'm really sorry that it happened this way. It's the way it came out.

DaughterofRivers as to your reviews from chapter 63 and 64, there is a part in here about what you wanted and I hope it doesn't feel too forced. I don't have kids though I could have by now, and I'm not completely sure what runs through a parent's head the first night.

As Danny drove them home from the police station, it was deathly quiet in the car. Neither he nor Anna seemed to want to say anything. Anna knew better than to explain so she did her best to hold quiet, hoping he'd ask soon. "Get out," Danny said as he parked the car on the curb. Anna climbed out and walked to the house keeping her eyes trained on the sidewalk under her feet. Even though she really hadn't done anything wrong, she still felt like she was in a world of trouble. She entered the house and the first thing her mom did was spring up off the couch and rush to hug her.

"I am so glad you're okay," Linda said, hugging her tight. "When Jim called I thought the worst but you're okay."

"Yes, Ma'am. I didn't mean to make you worry." If possible Anna's heart sank further into her chest. She hated to make her mom worry. The hug though, was helping assuage those fears.

"Upstairs, pjs, then wait for me," Danny said, breaking the moment.

Anna swallowed but pulled away from her mom and did as he asked. As her parents talked in the living room, Jack and Sean popped into her room. "Is everything okay?" Sean asked.

"Why'd Dad bring you home?" Jack asked. They both stood just inside the doorway watching her with the same questioning looks.

"I got in some trouble. How'd you know Dad brought be me home?" Anna asked.

"I saw it out Mom's and Dad's window. We just wanted to know how it went," Jack answered.

"I was driving Jake and his friends home in Jake's car since I can't drive Jim's, it's a stick shift, and we got pulled over for a busted taillight. The cop asked for registration and saw the almost empty beer bottle in the console and arrested us all. Of course Roadies, where we went, is in the 5-4 precinct so we ended up at Dad's station house and the desk sarge tells Sarge Gormley what we've been arrested for then Gormley tells Dad. I called Uncle Jack who made the ADA understand that all I was doing was driving the boys home and got me off the hook," Anna explained.

"Do you think Dad's mad?" Sean asked.

"He shouldn't be, I did the right thing, not letting two drunken boys behind the wheel of a car so something bad could happen. He was quiet all the way home and he seems really angry." They all went quiet for a minute and heard footsteps on the stairs. "Go. Don't get caught or you'll be in the more trouble," Anna whispered. The boys scurried out of the room and back to their own. Their dad stepped into Anna's room seconds later.

"The hell were you thinking?" Danny asked, leaning against the doorway.

"Dad, I—" Anna started but he cut her off.

"Not a word!" he snapped, holding up a hand to stop her. She swallowed knowing she was done for as her hands gripped the purple comforter under her. "You got behind the wheel of a car after drinking a beer. What do you think would have happened if that cop hadn't pulled you over? You have two little brothers who need their sister and look up to her. So does your cousin and we've always expected better from you than this. You are better than this. I didn't take you for an idiot, Anna. What if something had happened? I don't know how Jack did it, but he got you off the hook with the DA this time, but that doesn't mean he got you off the hook with me and your mom." Danny crossed the room, sat down next to her, then pulled her over his lap.

"Dad!" Anna protested. She instantly knew exactly where this was going.

"Be quiet or I'll use your brush!" Danny snapped.

"But Dad!" she protested.

"I said not a word," Danny answered. Anna sighed and bit down on her tongue. There was nothing she could do or say to stop what was coming. It was going to hurt and she was just going to have to take it. "You are almost 17 years old. You should know better than drinking and driving." He pulled down her pants and bared her backside. For a brief moment his left hand froze in the air as he quickly contemplated then began to spank her. For her part, Anna bit down on her lip, fisted a hand in her comforter beside her dad's leg, letting her mind drift away and keeping an ear out for what he was saying. He hadn't spanked her since she was nine and had broken Sean's favorite toy but that didn't mean he was bad at it. The longer she kept quiet and held still, the quicker he'd be done and she could shower to reduce the pain. "Believe me, this hurts me a lot more than it hurts you," he said as he stopped for a moment and used his right hand to rub the small of her back. She wanted to say that it didn't hurt him more than her, but knew that wouldn't help a bit. It'd probably make it worse. He sighed softly. "I'm really disappointed in you, Maryanna. I don't think you understand the consequences of your actions tonight. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?" Danny asked.

"I'm sorry I ever got in the car with those boys and I'm sorry I got arrested." Her voice was calm and even despite her temper having reached its limit.

"But you're not sorry about what you did?" Danny asked angrily.

"Maybe I should have let one of them drive or called them a taxi but I wouldn't say I'm sorry for trying to get them home," Anna said.

Danny landed three quick, hard blows against her already sore backside, the first causing her to squirm slightly and squeak in surprise, but no tears left her eyes and no tantrum or attitude flowed from her mouth. "You want to reconsider that?" Danny asked. Anna looked over her shoulder at him.

"No," she answered firmly. "Sir," she added after a moment. Danny landed two more blows but her answer didn't change. She couldn't apologize for something she didn't do and he didn't appear to want to hear the truth. He sighed heavily as his brown eyes watched hers. When she remained stubborn and unmoving, he reached over to her nightstand and grabbed the hairbrush. Anna swallowed knowing it was just about to get worse but she couldn't stop it without breaking her resolve. "I won't do it again," Anna said. Danny's hand stilled. He waited but she didn't say anymore. He knew the minute the tears rolled down her face, he'd regret what he did next but until he got some sign that she was remorseful, he had to do it. The first smack of the back of the hairbrush against Anna's sore, bare backside turned Danny's stomach but caused no response from Anna. Nor did any of the ones that followed. Anna winced as the brush cracked against her backside but she couldn't apologize for trying to do the right thing, so the standoff continued, at least until Linda was in the doorway.

"Danny, enough," Linda told him. Though Linda was typically the one to dole out punishments and had never believed in sparing the rod, she was also a mother and hated seeing her kids in pain. Danny put the brush down and pulled up his daughter's pants before setting her upright on the bed beside him. Anna stared at the floor as she squirmed to try and get comfortable but with her sore behind, it just wasn't happening. Danny lifted her chin after a moment to sort out what she was feeling and that's when both he and Linda noticed that not a single tear had rolled her down her face.

"You're still not going to apologize?" Danny asked after a moment of dead silence in the room.

"I already did," Anna said softly.

"Not for driving while intoxicated."

"I'm not going to apologize for that."

"Fine." Danny looked at her. If blistering her backside hadn't worked then maybe an ongoing punishment would. "One year, no driving. Eight months, no cell phone, no internet, no video games, and no electronics. Five months of no seeing Jim outside of school or baseball!" Danny ordered.

"Dad!" Anna protested. She looked up at him horrified as he watched her for any trace of an apology.

"And for the next week, you call-in sick to work."

Both Danny and Linda braced themselves for the blowup but it never came. Instead her shoulders deflated and she dropped her eyes to the floor. "Yes, sir," was all she said.

"And no shower, straight to bed. We'll let that warm butt remind you of what you did and maybe by morning you'll apologize."

Anna's jaw dropped but then clenched as Danny stood. "Yes, sir," she gritted out. She replaced the brush on the nightstand and flopped down on her stomach. It was going to be a long night. Anna had never been able to sleep on her stomach, typically preferring her back but that wasn't an option tonight. Even as soft as her mattress was, putting pressure on her backside still hurt.

"Good night, Anna," Linda said. Anna groaned and turned away from her parents. Linda turned out the lights and they went to their own room. As Linda settled down to get some sleep, she saw the look on Danny's face. He was sitting up in bed, staring across the room unseeing. "Danny?" she asked, shaking his shoulder.

"Not a single tear. Not one. She just took it and didn't cry. That can't be normal. I cried every time my dad spanked me, especially when he used my mom's brush. Was I not hitting—Oh God, did I really just say that?" It was bad enough he had actually hit his child but now he had started to wonder if he hit her hard enough. He instantly started to regret it.

"Danny, she was arrested for DWI. You and I both know what our parents would have done if it had been either one of us." Linda rubbed her hand across his chest to comfort him.

Danny continued to stare across the room barely acknowledging her. "Yeah, but not a tear and not a single cry. It's like—"

"I'm sure it got through to her and she knows what she did was wrong. She's just trying to be tough like her dad." Linda wrapped her arms around her husband and rested her chin on his shoulder. "It's fine. She'll be fine. She always is."

"I hope you're right." Danny still felt torn. Linda kissed his cheek gently and then slid down and tried to sleep. What Anna did was no doubt wrong and Danny never wanted her to do it again, he could lose his little girl if she did, but at the same time, he hated spanking her as the hurt and broken look on her face went straight to his heart. This time though he was starting to feel more guilty than hurt. He wasn't sure if it was because she hadn't cried, because she had refused to apologize, or if was because she had completely shut down when it was over and looked betrayed. Normally she was crying and accepting hugs and cuddles, but for some reason, this time she just pushed him away. Maybe it was because she was now a teenager and the last time she was nine. He tossed and turned over these thoughts for the next two hours inadvertently keeping his wife up. Knowing she needed sleep, he got up and left the room. He crossed the hall to his daughter's room and peaked in to see she appeared to be unsettled as he was. He wasn't sure how long he stood there and watched, but it did nothing to comfort his tumbling thoughts so he went downstairs and tried to distract himself.

As he lay on the couch, his head supported on one end by the armrest and a pillow, he cradled the other pillow in his arms. He did his best to keep his thoughts from focusing on his daughter and the situation she was in. However he couldn't stop thinking about her. His mind flashed back to the day she was born.

It was a normal Sunday, they had just finished dinner with the family when everything became a flurry of movement. He didn't remember much about that day, it was just flashes in his memory, but he did remember that after several long hours the nurse returned to the room with a bright pink bundle of blankets. The baby was fussing as her big, brown eyes landed on him but as he cuddled her close to him she settled and blinked up at him. He smiled softly. His life was definitely going to change, but all he could think about was this perfect little creature God had gifted him. Then it started to hit him exactly what having a little girl meant. It meant a lot of the same as having a younger sister but more than that because he was wholly responsible for this little girl. Her entire life would rely on him. He had to protect her, to keep her safe from everything he saw out in the world as a Marine and a cop both, but to do it without being overbearing. He also really hoped he didn't mess things up. Looking down at this beautiful little girl, he was scared, terrified really, about what it meant to be a father but then his eyes landed on his beautiful wife. He knew then as scared as he was, with his wife there, he could handle anything.

Looking back on that day now, he realized how right and how wrong he had been. Right because he had to protect her and keep her safe but wrong about how scary raising her would be. Though he wouldn't change much about Anna's childhood, he might change being so overprotective or the way he had reacted that night. Maybe he had gone too far.

Finally dawn broke but that only reminded him of his day off and nothing to distract him. He heard the shower turn on overhead and figured his wife was getting ready for the day. However the person who came down the stairs 45 minutes later was not his wife but his daughter. Neither said anything to the other the entire morning but Danny noticed she had absolutely no problem sitting. Her stony silence lasted all the way through Mass and well into the afternoon at the Reagan homestead. Once they reached there after church, Anna sat down on the steps and stared across the room not seeing anything. Danny watched her from the kitchen doorway for a moment then shook his head. Never again, he swore to himself, never again would he lay a hand or a brush against his child. There had to be a better way.

"What's wrong with your sister?" Jamie asked his nephews softly. They were sitting on the couch in the sun room with the TV going.

"Dad grounded her, practically forever," Sean answered.

"And she was just trying to do the right thing too," Jack added.

Jamie stared at his nephews. He was no detective but this sounded strange. He was more than certain that his brother would never punish one of his kids forever if she was trying to do the right thing. That wouldn't make any sense. Jamie shook his head then got up from his seat on the couch and walked back to the foyer to sit down next to his blonde niece. "Heard you were grounded," Jamie said.

"For practically ever," Anna unintentionally echoing her brother's words, "and for trying to do the right thing." Anna leaned back on her hands and looked up at the ceiling.

"You tell your dad that?" Jamie asked, wondering if she had made up a story for his nephews or if the kids were all telling the truth. Danny had walked away shortly before Jamie had walked into the foyer.

"He was just so angry; he didn't want to hear it. Told me not to say anything and went on about being better than that and being a role model for these three," Anna answered.

"Well, tell me your side, maybe we can change your dad's mind?"

"Doesn't matter, sometimes you get punished for being right and you just have to take it."

"And sometimes, even parents are wrong. Just tell me your side." Jamie nudged her and Anna looked away from the ceiling, sighing. Her chestnut eyes took in his face trying to decide what to say to him. He smiled encouragingly as he wrapped an arm around her. She sighed again and told him what happened. "He assumed a lot," Jamie told her. If the story she had just told him was true, and based on what Vinny had told him about her night when he texted, he assumed it was at least partially true, Danny was in the wrong. He needed to get his brother to see that.

"Don't say anything to him, Uncle Jamie. He was just doing what he thought was right."

There went his plan to get his brother to make things right. "You're sitting okay after a spanking like that?" It was more of an observation than a question but she answered anyway.

"Well, this morning's shower helped a lot. The worst thing about the punishment is not being able to see Jim outside of school. Granted, I'm grounded so I can't have my friends over anyway and I'm mad at Jim 'cause it's all his fault, but he's still my best friend. I'm going to miss him. Five months. That's October. I'll deal with it, but it's a rotten deal."

"If you just tell your dad—" Jamie started.

"No. We should have left when they started drinking." Anna shook her head.

"And have that on your conscience? You did the right thing and I'm proud of you, for what it's worth."

"Thanks," Anna said softly. It meant a lot that Jamie was proud of her but it would mean even more if he did as she asked and didn't tell her dad.

"Anna!" Linda called.

Anna flashed her uncle a smile then went into the kitchen. "Yes, ma'am?" she asked.

"Set the table."

Anna grabbed the plates and silverware and quickly set the table. Then she returned for the glasses carrying four at a time. All through dinner, Danny noticed his kids being extraordinarily quiet. Even his niece wasn't very talkative.

"What's going on with you kids?" Frank finally asked. "Not a single one of you has said more than three words."

"Nothing to say," Anna said. Her brothers looked at her then back down at their plates.

"Did they all do something this morning we're not aware of?" Henry asked.

"Pretty sure only one of them is in trouble," Danny said.

"And it's completely unfair," Jack whined.

"Jack!" Anna snapped.

"Sorry, but it is."

"And it's not your punishment so leave it alone," Anna answered. Henry looked between them then at Sean before turning to Nicky.

"Someone explain?" Erin asked.

"Look, I did the crime, I can do the time," Anna answered.

"Despite—" Jamie started.

"Uncle Jamie, don't," Anna warned.

"Is this about last night?" Frank asked.

"It's fine, it's between me and Dad. Like I said, I deserve it."

"And if you don't deserve it?" Jamie asked, picking at his plate as he watched his older niece.

"I do," Anna answered. "I need to set a better example for my brothers and cousin. Getting arrested didn't do that, now I've got to pay for it."

"But you—" Sean started but was stopped by his sister's glare. He instead looked back down at his plate and the table went silent again.

"Why do I get the feeling that you boys know more about this than you should?" Henry asked. The boys shrugged. "Nicky?"

"I'm with the boys, she didn't do anything wrong," Nicky told him.

"Nicky!" Anna cried.

"What? I talked to Dad and he said you did everything right and if I'm in a situation like you were, he wants me to do what you did," the brunette said plainly.

"I can't believe that your dad would recommend that," Danny said.

"Can we please talk about something else?" Anna asked. "Please?" Jamie asked about the Mets and after a moment the subject was effectively changed.

Monday morning, Frank looked at Baker who handed him a file then hung up his coat. "The one I asked for?" Frank asked.

"Yes, Sir," Baker answered.

Frank nodded and Baker went back to her desk. Frank read though the file from Saturday night's arrest and shook his head. It confirmed his original thoughts but it made him wonder why his granddaughter wouldn't tell her father the truth. He called Baker and made a request he wasn't sure he should have made but knew it was best for the girl.

Not very far away, Detective Baez heard the ding of an incoming email and checked it. After reading through it, she printed the attached file and set it in the center of Danny's desk where he would be sure to see it.

Again I just wanted to say that I hope I haven't turned anyone off from the first 1600 words or so of this chapter. We all know that Danny was spanked as a child and most parents now a days are getting away from that, my own dad stopped when I was about 7 or 8 when it stopped working and his long winded explanations were enough of a deterrent. I figured that Danny knew what spanking did to him, eg mostly stopped him from doing the wrong things, so that in extreme cases he thinks it would do the same for his kids. Also as you see after the scene of him on the couch he swears not to do it again.