Day of Reckoning

Tony had such a great day at school that his defenses were down when he listened to his dad's message on his drive home from school. Carrie was with him, and he pulled over to express his disappointment that they couldn't go out later, but began to show her his remorse, as he claimed, by drawing her into some passionate kissing. When they finally parted, he told her about his grandfather's upcoming visit in a few days, and reasoned that his dad had decided they had to get the house ready for the visit early. Entering the house a few minutes later, he sang Frank Sinatra melodies as he worked his way through the kitchen, then the living room, then upstairs to drop his bookbag. Changing clothes quickly and wiping telltale signs of Carrie's lip gloss off of his face and mouth, he fixed himself a snack and headed outside to practice free throws at the basketball goal in the back yard.

An hour later when Jethro returned from work Tony was physically tired, satisfied at his basketball score, and hungry. Greeting his dad happily and noting the bag of Chinese take out, Tony jogged inside for a quick shower. The interlude gave his father time to gather his thoughts. It was sometimes difficult for him to be the law to his son, year after year, and to discipline him, over and over, despite what Tony thought. It would be so much easier to fall into the role of permissive parent, and to allow Tony far more freedom. Life would be much quieter, and definitely easier. However, his Marine training and his own childhood upbringing had drilled into him that the best parent was the one who did discipline, disciplined consistently and with love, and who gave his child the security of boundaries.

Tony bounced down the stairs a few minutes later, and Jethro grinned as Tony slung his head from side to side in an effort to dry his hair. Helping themselves to the containers of food, Tony kept the conversation flowing with a narration of his school day. Finally, taking a breath, he asked curiously, "So what's up, Dad? Did you want us to go ahead and get the room ready for Grandpa tonight? I though he wasn't going to get here until Tuesday. If we get through, then I can take Carrie out tomorrow, 'cause I had to cancel tonight."

Jethro took a breath before he replied and said softly, "Actually, no, that wasn't the reason. Tony, look at me."

Tony obeyed instantly and Jethro was taken aback at the beauty of Tony's green eyes, a gift inherited from his late mother.

"Dad?" Something didn't feel like the conversation was going to focus on Grandpa. Tony licked his lips nervously.

"Tony, I had an interesting conversation today with Director Vance..." Jethro saw the very instant Tony realized that he was busted, but he continued, "and he told me how impressed he and his wife were with you last Friday in Baltimore." Tony's eyes dropped and he sucked in his breath as his stomach began to flip flop. His father, as he spoke, was feeling his anger stir. "So now that I've passed on their greetings, I want to know what you think."

Without thinking, Tony snapped nastily, "I think that Director Vance needs to get a life and stay out of mine."

"Don't get smartmouthed again, or you are going to regret it," the simmering father ordered. "The question was, what is your take on this?"

"Yes sir, I'm not trying to be disrespectful." Tony slumped in his chair and thought a second before he answered honestly, meeting his dad's gaze. "I think that my record for no spanking in nine months is about to be broken- that's what's running through my head right now."

"Was there something- anything- in the rules you've been given by me that made the part about staying within a ten mile radius ambiguous? Did we not discuss the distance, and the reasons for the rules, and the fact that I expected you to obey?" queried his dad.

"No sir," Tony mumbled, getting that familiar feeling in his stomach that signalled worse trouble ahead.

Tony slumped backwards in his chair while Jethro leaned forward in his.

"So, despite clear and consistent rules about your activities away from home, you decided to voluntarily disobey me? Not only did you disobey, but you took a carload of people- teenagers- with you." Jethro's voice had risen with that last mental picture, and seeing Tony's head drop, he commanded, "Look up and answer me, Anthony!"

"Dad, we just wanted to go somewhere different, that's all. Don't you know how boring it gets to go to the same places over and over? I mean, what is there to do in Washington if you're sixteen years old? It's just a place for old people or little kids! You know, I never said I wanted to live here. You just chose the place and we've never even lived anywhere else." As Tony replied, his courage began to stage a comeback and he kept speaking with a thought in the back of his mind that his father might just understand his rationale and would swing over to his side of the argument.

"We didn't have any problems there or back- I didn't speed, I drove carefully, and nothing at all bad happened. Everyone even got home early, 'cause all we did was just eat dinner, Dad. Really, we were models of how to act when you eat at a nice place. You would have been proud of me."

"You don't see the problem?" Jethro asked softly, causing Tony to stammer in reply.

"No, I know that I did break one rule, but it was just one rule- not that big a deal. I think you're overreacting about the whole thing. Nothing bad happened, Dad, don't you see?"

Gibbs didn't answer for several moments. Finally, pushing his chair away from the table he instructed, "Clean up here and then go to your room and stay there. I'll be up in a few minutes."

Tony's stomach knotted, but he nodded in understanding and watched nervously as his dad descended the steps to the basement with a full cup of coffee. He could almost guarantee that he was going to get a whipping now. Otherwise, Jethro wouldn't have told him to go to his room. He mentally berated himself for bringing up the long respite when his butt had not been subject to the wrath of his father. He probably had popped the butt-beating idea front and centre into his dad's arsenal of punishments.

An hour later, a calmer Jethro picked up his empty coffee cup and returned to the kitchen. He was pleased to see that Tony had done a good job with the clean up, and he rinsed his cup and left it in the sink before heading upstairs. Tony was sitting at his desk, reading, his back to the open door, when Gibbs knocked on the doorframe. Looking up to acknowledge his father, he put down his book and turned his chair to face him both nervously and expectantly. He had spent the past several minutes mentally thinking that his night was about to evolve into an even more truly unpleasant experience for him. He rubbed his hands down the material of his pants and smiled widely to appear calmer than he was.

"Hand me your phone, Son, and your car keys," Jethro ordered.

Tony looked as though he'd been slapped. The phone and the keys- no communication and no travel -would just destroy him.

"Dad, please, " he begged. "Please, I am sorry, but Dad, don't take the phone and the car. Going to Baltimore really wasn't that monumental a crime. Nothing bad happened. Dad, you can punish me another way, any other way. Please, Dad-"

Jethro's expression didn't alter.

"I am going to repeat myself just once, Anthony. Give me the phone, and the keys, now," was his father's response.

Pushing his bottom lip out into a pout, a response he'd adopted in babyhood when things were not going his way, Tony stood up and pulled the keys from his pocket, then retrieved the cell phone from his night table. Handing them to his father, he still hoped to sway the decision with the right words. "Dad, really, I mean the car and the phone are a little over the top for just a thirty mile excursion! No one else's parent would be this strict or come down this hard..."

Placing the items on Tony's dresser, Gibbs interrupted sharply. "Stop talking, Tony. The car and phone are a done deal, and since you still don't seem to understand the severity of the problem with your behaviour, let me give you another perspective and maybe you will!"

Tony paled and mentally kicked himself for provoking his father. That, obviously, was a stupid move. Rethinking his strategy, he tried to turn the tide of punishment, "May I say..."

"No," Jethro snapped. "What you may do is get yourself across that bed right now."

Tony knew it was futile to argue further. If he did, the punishment would just increase proportionately. He had almost seventeen years of experience with Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Unbuttoning his jeans, he pulled them, along with his boxers, down, leaving his rear end unprotected and exposed, then lowered himself gingerly longways across the foot of the bed. Hearing his dad unbuckle his belt, then pull it from the loops of his pants, Tony buried his head in his arms to keep himself from reaching back to protect his bottom from the oncoming onslaught. That was a proven guarantee for a longer spanking, which he'd learned firsthand some years ago. He was so tall now that his legs stuck over the side of the bed, but Tony knew it was better to have some part of the bedding in which to bury his face underneath him.

The first lick from Jethro's leather belt brought forth a yelp from him, and by time the fifth one made contact, Tony was sobbing loudly and squirming in response to the incredible agony brought forth from that strap. His rear end felt like it would combust, and the sting and throbbing from the belt covered every single inch of his exposed backside and the upper part of his thighs. When the seemingly interminable spanking actually concluded a couple of minutes later, Tony was in too much pain to even address his modesty by making a move to get up and arrange his clothing.

Jethro waited a few minutes until the sobs decreased to shuddery breaths and then asked quietly, "Now do you understand how big a deal this was to me?"

Tony nodded into the covers, but Jethro ordered, "I want a verbal response from you, Anthony- now." This was not the time to feel sorry for his son, and Gibbs steeled himself to remain heavy handed.

Not willing to risk additional punishment, Tony dried his eyes on the comforter below him. Sliding carefully off the bed, Tony stood and answered in a shaky voice as he pulled up his boxers and jeans and tucked in his shirt. "I understand, Dad. I really do. I am sorry, more sorry than I can say. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but not now. I promise I won't ever do anything like that again." Wiping at his eyes he looked carefully at his dad to see if Gibbs accepted the offering of remorse.

"You are grounded for the next four weeks- no phone, no car, no going anywhere. If, in that time, your grades slip one single point from what they have been this past week (Tony mentally smacked himself for his recent academic prowess)- and I do mean one single point- we will be back in this room and I will tear your bottom up again. Is that completely clear?"

Tony nodded his assent, then thought better of it and spoke up softly, "Yes sir, I understand. Dad, really, I am sorry, really sorry."

Jethro smiled finally and pulled Tony into an embrace. "Make sure that you understand, Son, that the rules are there to protect you. That's my job- to protect you. I am well aware that you're upset with the punishment, but you deserved every lick of that belt, and every day your butt stays home. I want you to have your mental, behavioural maturity match your physical maturity. I really don't want a repeat of today, ok?"

Tony felt his eyes begin to water again, and he licked his lips before he responded. "Ok, Dad, I can promise you that I don't either."

"Now, I just moved your bedtime down to eight for tonight, "Jethro continued, taking note of Tony's horrified expression, "and that leaves you fifteen minutes to get your pajamas on and for you to get into bed. An early bedtime tonight should give you some additional time to weigh whether my reaction was really worth the commission of your crime."

Tony interrupted quickly, "Dad, you already made an impression. Besides, I don't think that I'm going to be able to lie down comfortably to go to sleep."

Gibbs ignored the observation. "Leave your door open. I'll check back on you in a little while."

Backing out of the room, he retrieved the phone and keys from the dresser before he headed to the kitchen for a fresh cup of coffee. Truthfully, he thought it would be a long time before Tony tried something that ridiculous again. He had been rough on the boy, but he thought he'd seen real remorse on Tony's face.

Upstairs, lying on his stomach on his bed, with a bedtime that coincided with daylight outside and with a throbbing, hurting bottom, Tony drifted to sleep with the thought that he would make sure to never, ever leave Washington, DC again!