Allie's Party Disaster

Peter is happy to spend quality time with his youngest foster daughter, who he takes to a birthday party, but their day makes an unexpected turn for the worst when the birthday girl accuses Allie of stealing.  Peter tries to reconcile their differences, but is it too late?  Will Allie be able to fix her mistake before it ruins the whole party? And will Peter be able to keep his cool long enough to make this quality time count?

Allie's Party Disaster

by Lenore and Breanna

"You're sure there’s gonna be cake? I'm excited to try some!"

Allie was in the back seat, squirming as she anxiously awaited their arrival to the birthday party she’d been invited to by Peter’s niece. It was the first party she’d ever been to, and she’d had a blast picking out a birthday present for Crystal, who she hoped would be her new best friend.

Peter smiled, glancing in the rearview mirror.  "Of course there is," he responded for the millionth time, turning onto his niece's street.  He was actually really looking forward to the birthday party… Natalie and El were off on their own bonding experience, leaving Peter and Allie alone together without the others as a buffer.  It was still challenging for him to deal with her alone -- his tough demeanor still scared Allie, and it was hard to soften up for her.  But today would be different.  They were with family and other children… what could possibly go wrong?

This may be a good time to go over the rules again, Peter thought.  "Allie... remember what we talked about before we left the house, right?  Can you remind me what the rules are for today?"

"Mind my manners, no playing ‘find the wallet’, no tricks except magic ones Neal taught me," Allie recited. "No hitting, biting, pushing, or being mean."

"Very good.  And what happens if any of the rules are broken?"  It had become his and the girls' routine, daily reminders of behavioral expectations and consequences.  That ensured they would really learn to behave and make good choices in the future.

"I get in trouble," Allie answered with a frown. She didn't care for the daily reminders some days and others she was glad for them.

"That's right, you'll get a spanking," he said, pulling into the driveway.  "And neither of us want that, so please behave.  And you'll have a lot of fun."  Peter smiled now, parking the car and opening the back door to let out his littlest.  He grabbed her tiny hand, and his sister and niece greeted them in the doorway.

"Allie, this is your cousin Crystal," he introduced.

"Hi," Allie said almost shyly. "Happy Birthday!"

"Thank you!" Crystal chirped.  "I got new shopkins, wanna see?" She took the girl's hand and led her away to the playroom.

Allie was amazed when she saw the huge fortress. It was painted in her favorite colors, pink and purple, and butterflies were spread out everywhere -- some were strung with wire from the ceiling, others were painted onto the walls. There were toys everywhere too, including a large Barbie house with a bunch of dolls and accessories. Plus Crystal had tons of Shopkins and My Little Ponies and Legos and everything! "Woooooow... This is awesome!"  She’d never seen so many toys in one place before.

Crystal and Allie played together nicely while they awaited more guests. Soon as the other kids showed up, they were all shooed outside to play: Crystal’s mother had a list of planned games, and even prizes for the winners!

Peter was happy to see his foster daughter and niece getting along.  In fact, things were going so well, he allowed himself to relax a little.  Allie was having a blast. She was the most excited to play the games, embracing the novelty of a kid’s birthday party, and she even won a prize for pin the tail on the donkey that had her skipping around with delight!

All was going quite nicely until the lull between the games and dinner. The kids were entertaining themselves and Allie decided to show off her magic tricks.

"I know magic!" She announced.

The girls looked on with awe, some believing her, others doubting.  "What kind of magic?" Crystal asked.  "Like Harry Potter?"

"Who's Harry Potter?" Allie asked not having seen the movies or heard the books. "This is real magic. Watch!"  She showed them her hands, then made a quarter appear. She always had a couple on her so she could do her tricks.

"Woooooow!" All of them clapped and cheered in amazement, demanding that she do more.  She showed them a few different times, getting the same excited reaction every time.  "Can you do any other magic tricks?" Crystal asked.

"I can make stuff disappear!" Allie answered. She’d been practicing and was sure she could do it. She was feeling confident enough.

"Really?? How do you do it?  Show us, show us!" Crystal chanted.  The crowd huddled around Allie, curious eyes staring intensely at her.

Allie borrowed Crystal's one doll that happened to be nearby. "Abracadavra! Allakazam!"

She made the doll disappear easily. Lucky for her the doll had been small as she had no experience with big items.

Cheers and claps from the audience.  Except for Crystal, of course, who just realized her doll was gone and started crying.  "Where's my doll??  Give it baaack!" she shouted, crying loudly.

Allie looked startled and felt panic sear through her. She hadn't expected her new friend to get so upset. She was so startled she blanked on how to bring the doll back. "Hold on. I gotta think about it."

Crystal was growing more and more impatient, and even though her friends tried to calm her down, no one was succeeding.

"C'mon Allie, hurry up!  Think faster!" one girl said, trying to calm Crystal like she'd seen her mother calm her baby sister.

"I'm trying!" Allie insisted. She was near tears herself though and couldn't figure it out. "I forget how!”

Crystal finally lost it so much that she ran off crying, "Mommyyyyy!" Pointing her fat finger straight at Allie she yelled, "That girl took my doll! I don't like her! I want her to leaveeee!" Crystal's mom tried to shush her, but looked at Peter for help.

"Allie," he called, motioning for her to come over.  "Get over here, now please."

Allie's eyes were wide and she looked at Peter with fright. She hesitated but cautiously went over to him, making sure not to get too close.

"What happened?" he asked, tugging her towards him.

Allie looked up at him tearfully. "I was doing magic tricks.....and she got sad and I can't remember how Neal said to bring it back....."

Peter gave her a doubtful look.  "Allie, you need to give Crystal her doll back and stop playing magic tricks for a little while.  You can ask Neal when we get home, okay?"

"But I'll ruin the trick if I don't do it right!" Allie insisted. "It’ll ruin the magic and I can't do that!"

Peter gave the little girl a look as if warning her not to push his buttons. "Allie, remember the rules?"

"But I didn't steal it!" Allie exclaimed. "I can't just hand it back. I can't ruin the magic! A magician never tells how they do the trick!"

Peter felt a headache coming on, and now all of the parents were staring at him. He took a deep breath and stood. "Let's go have a talk," he told Allie, not giving her much of a choice as he grabbed her hand and walked to a more private area.

"But I don't wanna talk," Allie protested softly, starting to cry a little. Why didn't he understand that she couldn't just give it back? Neal would understand the rules of magic.

"Listen kiddo," Peter said, sitting on the front door step and pulling Allie to sit on his lap. "I know you don't want to ruin the trick, but remember that we're at someone else's house and we have to follow their rules. Crystal let you use her toy to show your magic trick and now she wants her toy back, so the only thing you can do is give it back and admit you forgot the rest of the trick -- you can't just keep the toy forever."

"I don't wanna keep it forever," Allie insisted. "I just don't want them to know where it was....magic tricks are important. I don't wanna ruin them...."

Peter nodded. "So how about this... I'm going to close my eyes and you're going to take out the doll and nobody will ever know where you hid it, so everybody wins."

"Okay," Allie agreed softly, glancing around first to ensure no one else was nearby. “Close your eyes tight."

Peter even covered his eyes to appease the little girl, but held onto her tightly knowing her tendency to run away -- he definitely didn't want to take that risk! He waited until she instructed him to open his eyes again, and smiled, giving her a kiss on the forehead, proud of her for learning so quickly and easily. It was almost too easy!  Maybe he really was starting to get the hang of this. "Are you enjoying the party at least?"

"I was," Allie told him, snuggling in. "But I don't think they like me anymore...." She stared down at the doll still in her hands.

"Just apologize to them and I'm sure everything will be fine," Peter said, helping the little girl up and holding her hand as they walked together back to the party.

Allie went with him, carrying the doll. When they reached Crystal and her mother, she handed the doll over. "I'm sorry...." she apologized softly. "I forgot how to do the rest of the trick...."

Crystal didn't care though. She snatched the doll back and stalked off, saying nothing to the girl. Peter was kind of shocked at how rude his niece was being but decided to let it go. It was just a kid thing... she'd get over it.

Allie looked hurt. "Can we go home?  I don't think she wants me here anymore."  She glanced up at Peter, feeling very unsure about staying.

"Just a little longer, we still have to eat the pizza!  Don’t worry, Alliecat,” he said, stealing Natalie’s pet name for her, “Crystal will come around." Peter gave her a light squeeze and kiss on the head, then sent her off toward the group of children.

Allie sighed and went to rejoin the other kids. "Can I play?" She asked hopefully.

But the other kids wanted nothing to do with Allie. They scoffed and turned away, continuing on with their own business.

“I said I was sorry," Allie insisted, eyes filling with tears. 

But no one paid attention or even cared. Even when Crystal ran by happily with the doll in her hand, she just stuck her tongue out at Allie and ganged up with her friends, pointing and laughing.

Peter said it would be okay to go play with them, but he was wrong.

When Allie finally couldn't take anymore, especially after being told to go away so many times, she finally did just that. She had already given Peter the prize she’d won, and she didn't feel she deserved pizza or a gift bag, so without a word, she left the yard and began walking down the street, crying softly. She reached a corner and turned and eventually crossed a couple streets before realizing she was lost. Not knowing what else to do she just kept walking, as if on autopilot, trying to avoid any strangers who may spot her.

She eventually found a set of stairs leading to the subway and followed the crowd down, sitting on the hot, smelly subway cart for a little while. When she grew tired of the first train, she switched to another, later returning to the streets to walk some more.

At first, Allie didn’t know where she was.  But then she started to recognize different places, like the playground she used to go to with Natalie, and the store where they always played tricks on the owner. She wasn’t sure how she’d gotten there – she’d wanted to go home, but had apparently found the wrong one. She glanced around, exhausted. I wish Daddy were here, Allie thought, big tears falling from her eyes as she sat down on a park bench, waiting for someone to find her.  

*****

Peter didn’t realize that Allie was missing until it was almost time for them to leave -- in fact, he'd just assumed she'd gone back to playing with the other kids, and was actually quite happy that there hadn't been any complaints.  Then when it was time to go, he called for Allie, but no answer.  He asked a couple of kids and parents, but no one had seen her.  

He was starting to get frantic now.  "Allie!" he called, tearing through the house, searching in every room, under every bed, in every closet.  He checked every inch of the backyard, now in a panic.

Peter frantically dialed Elizabeth's number to see if she had heard from Allie.  But of course not.  Allie wouldn't go to Elizabeth first... she'd go to Neal.

"No, I haven't seen her," Neal said after answering his phone and hearing the news.

"Dammit Neal... where could she be?  Where would you be?"  Peter tried to calm himself by taking deep breaths, then told Neal his plans to search the area.

Where could she be? Neal paced in his living room trying to turn his worry into productive thoughts. Sure, the six year old was really tough and street smart, but she'd always had her big sister to look out for her!  If I were Allie where would I go?  The park… the zoo… to find Natalie… and then it hit him.

Minutes later, Neal turned the corner from his old home and instantly noticed the small figure sitting on a bench, staring around curiously as if looking for someone.  "Allie?" he called, waiting for her to turn towards him before jogging in her direction.

When she spotted him she felt relief wash over her. "DADDY!!!!!" she shrieked tearfully as she jumped up and went running for him.

"Allie!  How did you get here?  What are you doing?  Peter is worried sick!"  He caught her as she jumped into his arms and held onto her tightly.  "We have to call him to let him know you're okay."

Allie latched onto him tightly as she sobbed. "I was trying to go home! I wanted to go home! Peter said to play with the other kids but they didn't want to play with me anymore! I couldn't make Crystal's dolly appear and they all hate me for it! They laughed at me and called me names!"

Neal couldn't understand a word that the little girl was saying -- she was a blubbering mess.  "Allie, hey, it's okay, shhhh," he told her calmly, patting her a back gently.  "It's okay baby, you're okay now."  He held her closely and began carrying her back to his place, also managing to dig the phone out of his pocket to call Peter and let him know she was safe.

Allie buried her face into Neal’s shoulder as she tried to calm down. She hadn't been this upset in a while. "I just wanted to go home....I didn't wanna ruin Crystal's party anymore....."

When they arrived inside of Neal's home, he sat her down and brought her a glass of water, then sat across from her.  "Peter is on his way," he said.  "Now, let's try again.  What happened exactly?"

Allie sipped at the water as she rubbed her eyes. She explained her story again, crying out, "I didn't wanna ruin her party more so I headed home, but I got lost and ended up at my old house.  I told Peter I wanted to go home... He said it would be fine, but he lied!"  She sniffed a little. "Lizbeth should spank him for lying to me! 'Cause things were not okay! And now he's gonna be mad at me! I just wanted to get away!"  She rubbed at her eyes some more, glancing at him, speaking again after a long moment. "Are you mad at me, Daddy?"

He smiled.  "No, Allie, I'm not mad,” he assured her. “But you can't just run off like that without telling anyone.  If you start feeling upset and like everyone is being mean to you, then you have to tell Peter again, or tell him you want to call me."

"I didn't wanna keep ruining her birthday " Allie told him softly, staring down at her lap. "I can't do anything right...."

Suddenly they heard a frantic pounding on the door before it flew open and Peter came running without waiting for an invite.

"Oh thank god!" he said, heaving a loud sigh and squeezing the mess out of Allie.  "You had me so worried! Don't you ever run off like that again," he said, kissing the top of her head, then pulling her away and saying, "What were you thinking?"

"I didn't belong there… They told me that lots...."

"Listen to me," Peter said, squatting to her level and making her look him in the eyes. "I don't care how mean they were to you, you do not run off like that... And to end up on this side of town, you must have even taken the train by yourself... Anything could have happened to you!" He fluctuated between feeling worry and anger, and struggled to keep himself together.

Allie shrunk in her seat a little as she watched him with nervous eyes.

Neal piped up, "it sounds like your niece also needs a talking to." He ignored the glare that Peter gave him and now talked to Allie. "If they're calling you names or telling you to leave, tell an adult, don't take matters into your own hands."

"I didn't wanna ruin her birthday and have her hate me more," Allie whimpered, beginning to get tired of repeating herself. "Birthdays are special....if you get one. Natty always tried to get us cupcakes.... 'Sides Natty and I used to go places all the time."

"Well you're not living under Natty's rules anymore," Peter said. "I need to know where you are at all times, no matter what. Do you understand, Young Lady?"

Allie nodded quietly.

Peter sighed and looked at Neal, and thanked him. "Let's go, Allie, we'll talk more at home."

"I don't wanna talk anymore...." Allie whined slightly as she slid off her chair to hug Neal. "I’d rather stay here with Daddy...."

Neal gave Peter a pathetic look, knowing what a "talk" meant and feeling kind of bad for Allie. He rubbed her back and looked down at her and said, "We'll hang out tomorrow kid, okay?"

"Promise?" Allie asked hopefully. "You gotta to show me how to do the trick right so I don't mess it up again."

"Promise," he said, kissing her on the cheek and handing her off to Peter.

Peter kept a firm grip on her hand as they walked to the car, somewhat worried she'd try to run off again.  But Allie went with him silently, too afraid to leave his side as she didn’t want to get lost again!  She was unsure of what to say to make things better. All she ever seemed to do was get in trouble even when trying to get away so she wouldn't hit anyone. "I didn't hit her...." She piped up softly. "I wanted to..."

Peter glanced at the little girl. "I'm proud of you for not hitting her," he said, though he probably would have preferred that to her running off!

Allie went quiet again as they got into the car. She sniffled all the way home, trying to distract herself from the discomfort stirring inside of her --  she had the feeling that she’d be getting a spanking when they got home, and she really wasn't looking forward to that.

Both Peter and Allie would agree that it was the longest car ride ever. When they finally pulled into the driveway, Natalie and Elizabeth were in the doorway waiting anxiously. Natty was the first one to run and tackle Allie in a hug. "Sis!!! I missed you!"

Allie hugged her tightly in return. "I wished you were with me....I got lost and found mommy's home....and Daddy. I found Daddy."

"O-M-G you went all the way back there??" Natalie looked at her little sister in awe -- maybe she was about to get the spanking of her life, but Natalie admired her courage.

Allie shrugged. "I was trying to get here. I rode the train and got off and Daddy found me. I was pretty scared 'till I saw him."

In the meantime, Peter and Elizabeth were discussing the whole situation and upcoming consequences. Natalie even felt the butterflies in her tummy when Peter turned to Allie and said, "Allison, let's go upstairs to have our talk."

Allie's eyes filled with tears and she clung a little tighter to her sister. "I don't wanna talk....I don't like your talks..." She tried to ignore the fact he had used her whole name as no one ever really used it so it was strange to hear.

Natalie tried to be courageous for her sister, telling Peter he wasn't allowed to touch Allie, but then he threatened to carry them both upstairs if she didn't comply.

Allie couldn't bring herself to do it... He was still a little scary to her at times. She was crying and finally let go of her sister, only to duck under a table where Sachmo lay watching them with bored eyes.  She clung to the dog in hopes he would keep Peter away.

"Allison, let's go," Peter said impatiently.  So much for bonding time with Allie.

"No," Allie replied through tears as she hugged Sachmo tighter.

Peter sighed and peeked under the table. "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you'll be forgiven and be able to play with your sister and Sachmo."

"I don't want to," Allie cried as she glanced at him. "I like being able to sit!"

"You're testing my patience Young Lady," he grumbled. "Out of there NOW."

Allie shrunk more. "No...." she insisted through tears. "Not when you're scary...."

Peter sighed and now looked at Elizabeth who said, "Maybe you should give her a little time.”

He sat down, holding his head in his hands, wondering why he'd signed up for this -- raising two troubled kids was becoming more and more difficult each day.

Allie watched them both quietly. She popped her thumb into her mouth as she leaned against Sachmo. She did not want to be spanked at all! And with how angry Peter seemed she bet it was gonna be the worst one yet and she was scared to go upstairs with him.

Natalie crawled under the table with Allie, snuggling up with her and Sachmo, and they all stayed there for a long while.  Then Allie finally decided to crawl out and climb into Peter's lap. She snuggled into him, taking her thumb out of her mouth only long enough to speak. "I'm sorry...." She spoke sincerely yet softly.  She pressed herself up against him seeking comfort. She was never going to be ready for the spanking but she was ready for the cuddles and comfort.

Peter sighed, softening up a little and wrapping his arms around the little girl.  "I'm sorry, too, for getting so angry.  You really scared me though."

"I didn't mean too," Allie mumbled around her thumb. She removed it briefly from her mouth. "You scare me when you get angry...."

"More of a reason to do as you're told," Peter answered.  "Are you ready to go upstairs?"

Allie whimpered a little and popped her thumb back into her mouth. "Never..?"

Peter nodded. "Are you willing to come upstairs now...?"

Allie nodded quietly, tears filling her eyes once more. She was scared but knew she didn’t have much of a choice as he was going to spank her regardless of how long she hid. She buried her face into him as she held on tightly.

Peter lifted her, carrying her upstairs and doing his best to ignore her cries.

As they approached Allie’s room he sat on her My Little Pony blanket, and put her over his lap. "What is this spanking for?" he asked.

"For leaving the party without a grown-up," Allie whimpered as she removed her thumb from her mouth. "You woulda left too if you were being made fun of!"

"I have been made fun of before, Allie," Peter said, landing the first flurry of smacks. "And what do you think I did?"

"Owwwww!" Allie cried out. "I don't know!"

"Take a guess," Peter said, pausing the spanking for a moment so that she could think clearly. He had barely started, but wanted to make sure to drive the lesson home.

"Did you hit them?" Allie whimpered. "'Cause I wanted to hit them."

"No, guess again."

"Didja tells a grown up?" Allie asked as she squirmed.

"That's right, that's exactly what I did. And then someone else was on the receiving end of this punishment, not me," he said, reminding himself to call his sister later to scold her about her daughter's mistreatment of Allie. Then he delivered a flurry of swats to the little girl's bottom, holding onto her so she wouldn't squirm away.

Allie started to cry more as she was used to running. Running usually kept her and her sister safe. "I told you I wanted to go home!"

Those words pierced his heart, making him feel a little guilty. "I know, honey, but you may have to tell me again and be more specific about what's going on."

"I didn't wanna ruin her birthday!" Allie replied and kicked her feet some.

He continued raining down the smacks. "It's nice that you care about ruining her party, but I don't think it would have -- even if it did, it's no excuse for running away Young Lady."  He stopped spanking for long enough to pull down Allie’s shorts. "Do you know what could have happened to you out there by yourself?"

"Scary people coulda got me?" Allie sobbed as she tried to wriggle away. "Noooooo! No more!" Her backside was sore enough with her shorts up; she didn’t want to think of how much it’d hurt being spanked over her panties!

Peter knew it was useless to ask for her to be still, so he circled Allie’s waist to keep her into place, continuing the lecture. "That's right, somebody could kidnap you or you could get hurt really bad, more than this spanking hurts." He slapped her bottom mildly and rhythmically, his hand covering her entire bum with each swat.

"Owwwwww!" Allie wailed. "I'm sorryyyyyy!"

He moved to the sit spots and smacked her a few times, leaving her bottom a bright pink color. "Are you starting to learn a lesson?"

"Yessss!" Allie sobbed as her legs kicked and she wriggled more.

Peter stopped lecturing for a moment and focused on covering her bottom, turning it a darker pink. Then he said, "You know this has to be on the bare," and tugged her panties to her knees.

Allie started to cry harder. "No it doesn't!" she wailed.

"It won't be much, but if you ever run off again it will be only on the bare, no warm up." He re-positioned her as she kept squirming, then rained down ten hard spanks on her bare bottom. He followed with ten more on the sit spots then stopped, rubbing her back and telling her it was all over now.

Allie lay there sobbing hard. She wouldn't be running off again any time soon that's for sure!

Peter finally lifted her up and held her tight. "Love you, Alliecat," he said.

Allie buried herself into him as she cried.  "Love you," she choked out through her tears.

Peter gently eased her panties and shorts back up, before grabbing her fleece blanket and moving them both to the rocking chair in her room. He sat and covered her up, and she curled into him sucking her thumb as she tried to calm down and stop crying. He rocked her, speaking soothing words to her. He liked moments like this when she wanted to snuggle with him -- he just wished he didn't always have to spank her first. He hoped one day soon she would decide to cuddle with him just because -- like she always did with Neal.

After the snuggles with Allie, Peter made sure to call his sister.  Knowing that Allie was listening in the doorway, he said extra loudly, "I’m glad to hear she will be getting spanked for it." He thanked his sister for understanding and smiled at Allie.  Maybe it hadn’t been the bonding experience he’d expected, but the day did help him feel closer to his youngest, which was all he really wanted anyway.