Allie & Natalie's First Day of School (Part 2)

(If you haven't already, you may want to read Part 1 first.)

Peter helps get Natalie out of trouble, but that doesn't mean she's off the hook for her misbehavior on the first day of school.  And even though Allie's already been spanked, it seems she hasn't learned her lesson!

Allie & Natalie's First Day of School
Part 2

by Lenore and Breanna

An excruciating silence filled Peter’s car as he drove Natalie back to her school.  Though she claimed to have been framed, he highly doubted it and was wondering how long it’d take his foster daughter to fess up.  If she didn’t, she would end up learning a hard lesson.

They were about to turn the corner near her school when Natalie finally mustered up the courage to ask, "What are you going to do at school?"

"We're going to find out who framed you," Peter replied.  "I'm going to get to the bottom of this. A bomb threat is a very serious offense. "

Natalie squirmed in her seat, trying to think of a way to get out of trouble. Why hadn’t she thrown out the phone while she had the chance?  She could kick herself for being so stupid. "But if you figure out who it is you can't tell them that I snitched! Then everyone at my school will hate me!"  She had hoped Carrie would end up taking the fall, that they’d trace the number and find out the owner, showing up at her house.  Natalie hadn’t expected the FBI to actually just call the phone… it seemed so basic.

"When it comes to something this serious we investigate fully until we find the culprit," Peter stated firmly. "Your reputation is the least of our worries right now."

She huffed, folding her arms and slouching in her seat. "What will happen to her?"

"People go to jail for this sort of thing," Peter replied eyeing her suspiciously. "And who said the caller was female?"

"Because she gave me her phone to text Neal," Natalie lied. "Remember?"

"It depends on her involvement in the whole ordeal,” Peter replied. "I'm not accusing, but I hope it wasn't you."

Natalie felt her stomach churn. She didn't deny it, nor did she offer any statements, just sat there quietly until they pulled into a parking spot. As they stepped out of the car and headed towards the building, she became more and more nervous, mind racing. Natalie was sure Peter would find out, and then she'd be in really really big trouble. Especially since she lied about it... and it hadn't been that long since she got spanked for lying. It may be best to come clean...

"Peter," she said, stopping dead in her tracks as she saw FBI agents crawling through the school. "I need to tell you something..."

Peter paused to look at the preteen. "I'm listening."  He really hoped she wasn't going to tell him what he suspected.

Natalie looked at the ground and kicked a little rock. "Remember how you said if I tell you the truth then it won't be as bad for me?"

Peter nodded. "I remember," he answered. He had a feeling he knew where this was heading and felt his heart sink a little.

Natalie kicked another rock and hesitated, not wanting to say this out loud.  Stalling a little more, she sucked in a deep breath and looked back up at her foster dad with puppy eyes. "I had to figure out a way to go see Allie because Neal wasn't answering."

Peter nodded to show he was listening. "So what idea did you come up with?"

"Do I really hafta say it? I think you already know." Natalie looked down at the ground again in shame and grabbed Peter's hand to walk by his side.

Peter shook his head. "So you called the threat in," he spoke, anger evident in his voice though he gave her hand a squeeze. "Natalie did you not realize this would not end well at all? I would have preferred you just snuck out and wandered off."

She shook her head. "I panicked and it was the first thing I could think of... and I wanted to get this girl in trouble because she was mean to me... and... I'm sorry." She leaned against him now, trying not to cry as they began walking again towards the office.

Peter let her hand go and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I thank you for telling me, but you are in some serious trouble, young lady."

She chewed on her lower lip. "Do we have to tell everyone? Can't I just ditch the phone and pretend like it never happened?"

"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way " Peter replied. "I'm going to have to do a ton of fancy talking to keep you out of juvie."

She pouted but allowed him to lead her to the main office, meeting some of his agents on the way and calling off the search for the guilty party. When they arrived in front of the principal, Peter nudged Natalie to return the cell phone and admit her misdeeds. She didn't want to, still convinced she could get away with it if she just ditched the phone, but she felt safer with Peter there, like he'd make sure nothing too bad happened to her.

Peter stood by her side as she explained what had happened and said how sorry she was.

"I won't do anything like this ever again," Natalie swore.

"I assure you the same," Peter stated firmly.

"Natalie, can you give your dad and me a minute?" The principal asked.

It was the first time anyone had ever called Peter her dad, and as she went to sit outside the office, she realized that he was definitely more of a father to her than Neal had ever been.  It was weird to think about, but in this month and a half since her mom was arrested, she already felt closer to Peter and Elizabeth than either of her parents.

"Mr. Burke," the principal began. "I understand that Natalie is a troubled young lady, but we cannot tolerate this type of behavior. At the very least she will likely be expelled from this school and sent to an alternative school, but what we really have to worry about is criminal charges against her."

"I wouldn't expect any less," Peter agreed. "But she’s only twelve and could use a second chance. I'm not condoning what she did nor will I let it slide once we're home. But if you could help me in having charges dismissed, we would greatly appreciate it."

Natalie waited outside the office nervously, wondering what was taking them so long. She didn't realize that Peter was basically selling his soul to the devil -- he'd promised the principal to allow a group of students to see the FBI headquarters on a field trip in exchange for siding with him that charges against Natalie be dropped. What was he getting himself into?

With all the drama behind, Peter drove his preteen home, leaving her in Elizabeth’s care while he and Neal finished handling the rest of their work for the day.  “I expect you to stay in your room, thinking about what you’ve done,” he told Natalie.  “We will discuss your punishment when I get home this evening.”

While Natalie was confined to her room, Allie was outside playing. At times she could forget she’d been spanked, but then when her bottom touched the tire swing she was reminded that her bottom still hurt from earlier. She would frown every time and rub her little rump to try and get the sting out of it again.

“Allie, it’s time to go inside,” Elizabeth called.

The six year old obeyed, knowing that Peter would be home soon -- she’d better be on her best behavior if she wanted to avoid getting another spanking.

Natalie heard her younger sister patter up the stairs and was relieved to finally have someone to talk to.  She snuck out of her room and tapped on Allie’s door.

“C’m in!” the little girl chanted, looking up from her dolls.  “Natty!  Why didn’t you come play outside with me?”

"I got in trouble, and Peter’s really mad at me," Natalie said, scrunching up her nose to try and not cry again.

"He was mad at me, too.  But Daddy wasn’t and Lizbeth neither, ‘cept she spanked me.”  Allie rubbed her bottom, unsure if she felt the actual remnants of the spanking, or just her memory of it.  She glanced at her sister. "What didja do?"

Natalie shook her head.  "Just something really really bad," she said.  "Peter's gonna kill me.  I'll bet he wasn’t as mad at you as he is at me."

"Oh..." Allie responded quietly. "I hope he doesn't kill you.  I need you.”

They could hear Elizabeth greeting Peter and Neal downstairs and both of them glanced toward Allie's door nervously.

"Let's listen," Natalie whispered and slowly pushed open the door to hear what he had to say.

They could hear the adults discussing what had taken place and Peter expressing his anger and displeasure.  Allie frowned as she kept snuggling Sachmo and her dolls. She was in no hurry to leave her comfy spot on the bed.

"And now Natalie's been kicked out of school... what are we going to do, El?  I don't want her to go to an alternative school... she needs to be around good influences, not more hoodlums," Peter was saying.  Natalie hadn't realized she was kicked out of school, and let a tear slip down as she peeked over at Allie.

Allie's frown deepened. "What's wrong Natty?"  She wasn't used to seeing her sister cry and didn't like it.

"We'll find somewhere else," Elizabeth reasoned. "Maybe find some place that will take both girls."

Natalie didn't even hear her sister because she was too focused on the conversation between her foster parents.  The tears were steadily streaming down her face now, so she burst through the door and downstairs.  "I'm sorryyyy," she cried.  "Please don't send me away..."

Neither Peter nor El had expected the preteen to emerge from her room so suddenly and so emotionally.  They looked at each other and Elizabeth went over toward the girl, hugging her gently.

"We're not sending you anywhere Sweetheart," Elizabeth soothed. "We're talking about schools, not sending you away. We want you here, isn't that right Peter?"  She glanced up at her husband, just as Allie and Sachmo came to rest at the bottom of the steps.

Peter was still angry and stared at Natalie hard in the eyes.  "We're not sending you away," he said firmly.  "But we're not happy with the way either of you behaved today."  He looked down at Allie now, towering over her.  "Girls, come here, come sit," he asked, pointing at the sofa.  

Allie shrunk and kept a hand on Sachmo. She tended to use the big dog as a security blanket. She quietly led the dog to the couch and sat down, Sachmo jumping up and resting his head in her lap. She pet him gently, glad he seemed to want to offer comfort.

Natalie plopped down next to her sister, sniffling and drying her eyes.  They weren't going to send them away.  She was safe... sorta.

Peter continued pacing in front of them and El leaned against the arm of the sofa.  "Hon," she said, giving him a look to ask him to calm down.

This prompted him to stop moving and turn to Allie, making sure he didn't sound too angry or scary. "What did you learn today, young lady?"

Allie heaved a sigh. "Not to climb cabinets or hide from the teacher. And no more pushing meanie-head boys, or saying bad words."  She had glanced at him occasionally but had mostly kept her eyes trained on Sachmo.

Peter nodded. "And if it happens again?"

"Lizbeth said she'd use her spoon," Alĺie replied making a face. "But it won't happen again 'cause I'm not going to school anymore."

Peter shook his head. "We'll discuss that tomorrow."  Peter now turned towards the oldest, who had been sitting quietly and obediently the entire time.  He knew that she felt bad for what she'd done, but he needed to hear all of the details, straight from her mouth.  "Your turn," he said.  "Spill it.  Everything."

Natalie squirmed as the three sets of eyes stared at her.  She hated being the center of attention like this... she much preferred to blend into the background, unnoticed.  Gulping, she began her story, giving every exact detail, maybe exaggerating a bit the amount of bullying she endured.  It wasn't because she wanted to lie, but rather a defense mechanism.  She didn't know how to be 100% honest, so even when she was telling the truth, some parts were stretched.  After admitting her wrongdoings, she followed up with:  “But it's not fair, everyone has a phone and I don't.  I'm the biggest loser."

"That doesn't mean you go and steal one," Peter said firmly. "Also I'm sure not everyone your age has a phone. And that is still no reason to call in a serious threat and try to frame someone else. People go to jail for that kind of stuff!"  He was glad she had been honest with him, but at the same time he was furious she’d been foolish enough to pull such a stunt. It was hard to imagine how he was going to deal with her for such a crime. The belt came to mind, but he also wondered if that may be too much. He would have to confer with his wife and see which method would be best to get through to the preteen.

"I'm sorry," Natalie said. "We're both just figuring this stuff out. We're not used to having someone actually care about us..." She snuggled up with her little sister and Sachmo, sniffling and letting a few tears fall.

Allie frowned as her sister started to cry again. "Quit making Natty cry, Peter! I don't like when she cries."   She narrowed her eyes at the man, starting to get a little annoyed.

"It's okay, Allie," Natalie said softly.  "I did something really terrible... I deserve it."

Elizabeth sat down next to the two girls, engulfing them both in a hug.  "Girls, we really care about you both and just want the best for you.  We don't want to be a pain, but we need to make sure you don't get hurt or in serious trouble."

Allie leaned into Elizabeth easily. She was growing pretty attached to the woman and enjoyed spending time with her. "How will we know if something will get us in trouble?"

"Well, in school, teachers will usually tell you the rules.  How about this -- after dinner, we'll all sit together and discuss the rules, and come up with questions you can ask yourself to figure out if something will get you in trouble.. what do you think?" she asked, looking at Peter who nodded.

Natalie allowed her tense body to relax for a moment as she felt the warmth of Elizabeth's hug.  "I think it's a good idea," she muttered, looking up and wiping her eyes before snuggling closer to her sister and her foster mom.

"Okay," Allie agreed. "I'd like that.... I don't know lots of things 'cause I'm just little."

"We'll help you learn," Elizabeth assured he little girl. "Now why don't you girls take Sachmo outside to play until dinner?”

Allie slid off the couch with the dog and hurried towards the back door.  "C'mon Natty! Sachmo wants us both to play! He told me so!"

Natalie didn't feel much like playing, but followed her sister outside anyway.  She never felt so alone and confused as she had in that moment.  "You can play with him," she said, sitting on the tire swing and watching the two of them running around happily.

Allie shrieked delightedly as she and the dog chased each other around the yard. It was hard for her to be sad when Sachmo wanted to play.

Peter watched them from inside, helping El with the food when she asked, but mostly just thinking about what they were going to do with the kids.

"Hon!" she said, snapping him out of his thoughts.  "The butter, please?"

"Sorry. I'm just trying to figure out how to deal with the girls,” he admitted.

"What are you thinking?" she asked, glancing out the window at Allie running and screaming, and smiled that at least someone was having fun.  It'd been a rough day for everyone, it seemed.

"I know Natalie more than deserves to be spanked but I'm trying to figure out how bad it should be, and if I should use the belt," Peter replied. "I can tell she feels horrible already but I cannot let something like this slide. I basically had to sell my soul to the devil to keep her out of jail." He paused. "As for Allie.... Does it make me a bad person that I still want to take her trip to the zoo away, even thought she’s already been spanked?"

“Of course it doesn’t make you a bad person,” El said, wrapping her arms around his waist and bringing him in for a kiss.  "The girls are a handful, that's for sure.  But they haven't been able to enjoy their childhood either -- I think we should take her to the zoo, but with conditions.  And I don't like to say it," she began, backing away to check on the food, "but I think Natalie's earned the belt this time.  She has to learn that she can't break the law to get what she wants.  The rules apply to her just like everyone else."

"I agree," Peter admitted. "I won’t be able to pull strings every time to get her out of trouble."  He gave his wife a small smile.

"Also, I think we need to find a charter school that will accept both girls, and can handle their special circumstances."

Peter nodded. "It might be best if they can easily find each other if they need to."

"I’ll talk to Paula about it tomorrow -- her niece goes to a charter school," she said, checking on the garlic bread and looking up.  "Hon, can you set the table?  It's almost ready."

Peter passed out the plates and silverware, still deep in thought as Elizabeth finished up the meal and made drinks for everyone.   “Girls!  Come eat!” she called.

Allie and Natalie came scurrying inside. "Smells yummy Lizbeth!" Allie chanted, tummy growling.  Natalie’s was, too, but she wasn’t quite as eager as she was dreading her forthcoming punishment.

"Thank you," Elizabeth told Allie with a smile, putting a helping of pasta onto a plate for the littlest. She enjoyed cooking more now that the girls were living with them, especially with how grateful they were for home-cooked meals.

After all plates were filled with food, Peter cleared his throat and said, "girls, starting tonight, we're going to have family meetings over dinner each night."

"What's that?" Allie wanted to know, though she barely stopped eating to talk.

Natalie tried not to scrunch up her nose.  "Doesn't sound like something fun."

"We will talk about our days and discuss any questions you may have about anything," Peter replied. "We want open communication."

El continued, "we're also going to make sure that you both know the rules, so Peter and I are going to do our best to remind you each morning what we expect from you."

"And as you girls know by now, there will be consequences when you break the rules.  However, there will also be rewards when you do well," Peter continued.

"What kind of rewards?" Allie wanted to know. She loved presents! Natalie's ears perked up a bit as well.

"Well, Allie, like we talked about earlier, we know you want to go to the zoo," El began.

"And Natalie, we know you want a phone," Peter continued.

Natalie's eyes widened.  "Really?!? I could get a phone?!"

"If your behavior warrants it," Peter replied. "Which would involve staying out of trouble and attending school for at least a full week."

"Yeahh!  Lizbeth told me already that we can go to the zoo!” Allie squealed. "I want to see all the animals super bad!"

"But you heard us what you have to do in order to earn the zoo trip," said El.  

"I know, I know, if I go to school for a whole week," Allie said in a bored voice.  She was tired of hearing about school!

The parents smiled at each other, happy they were finally able to motivate good behavior.  "Now about school," Peter said.  "We'll be checking out a new place tomorrow, and pulling you both out of public school."

"Can't we just be good for a week without going to school?" Allie half pleaded. "I don't ever wanna go back to school...."

"I have the feeling you'll like this one," Peter said.  "But I don't want to ruin any surprises before we know for sure.  So you'll have to enjoy your day off tomorrow and trust us that your next school will be better than the first one."

"You said I was gonna like the last one too," Allie reminded him as she took a bite of her dinner. "I don't trust you. I trust Daddy and Lizbeth."

Peter looked hurt if only for a moment. "I'm sorry you feel that way," he replied. "But regardless you still have to go to school. You need an education and it's the law."

"Go to hell Peter!" Allie snapped as she shoved more food into her mouth. "You're being an ass."  She wasn’t sure what ‘ass’ meant but had heard her mother use it a time or two.

"Allie!" Elizabeth shrieked.  "What did I say earlier about using bad words?"

Natalie silently ate her food watching the drama unfold before her eyes.  She felt a little bad for Allie, but was also happy that the attention wasn't focused on her calling in the bomb threat.  Maybe even Peter wouldn't punish her because he'd be so busy with Allie?

Allie jumped slightly, startled by Elizabeth getting loud. "Not to," she answered softly. "I'm sorry..." She looked down at her plate quietly. Today was not a good day.

"I guess we know what's going to happen after dinner then," El said with a disappointed stare at Allie.  There was an awkward blanket of tension for a moment as everyone sat there, only the soft clanging of fork meeting plate ringing through the air.  

Peter was the first to speak again.  "Does anyone have any questions about the rules?" he wanted to know.

Allie shook her head silently. She was too busy wondering if Elizabeth was really going to soap her mouth out and use the spoon. She figured it was best to keep quiet so she would stay out of trouble. A few stray tears leaked out and she rubbed at her eyes.

"Not right now," Natalie answered, feeling bad for her sister as she saw her starting to cry, but still preoccupied with thoughts of her own punishment.  So she ate as slowly as possible, only finishing up when Peter was almost finished with dishes, then helped clean up while Allie threw the ball around with Sachmo, hoping Elizabeth had forgotten about her threat.

But she hadn’t:  "Allie, let's go take a bath and get ready for bed."

Allie frowned. "But I don't need a bath. I didn't roll in the dirt today."  

"Remember the rules we talked about earlier? -- you should take a bath every night before bed, unless it's a special situation, then I'll let you know.  So, c'mon, Alliecat.  Let's get your towel and pajamas.  Which do you want to wear tonight?  My Little Pony?  Barney?"

Allie scowled, but decided to be nice since Elizabeth had been good to her most of the day. "Barney! I haven't worn them in forever!"

They reached the bathroom and Elizabeth said, "go get your pjs, I'll run the water."  She found the perfect temperature and left the bath water running, then poured in an extra cup of bubbles -- Allie would appreciate it.

The little girl did as she was told, feeling a bit excited about playing in the bubbles.  She grabbed her pajamas and hurried back to the bathroom. "Found them!"  El helped Allie undress as the little girl looked in the tub, watching the bubbles rising up now, higher and higher, almost overflowing. "Wooooow! There's lots of bubbles tonight! My boats are gonna get lost in a storm! Awesome!"

As Allie slipped off the last of her clothing, she positioned herself to jump in, but Elizabeth caught her just in time to gently ease her in.  "Please be more careful when getting into the tub, Alliecat," she said gently, handing Allie her boats.

"Okay," Allie agreed easily as she accepted her boats. She motored them around the tub splashing a little bit as she slid from one end to the other. "The water is high and the boats are lost! They need a hero to save them!"  She grabbed up her yellow boat. "Here comes the lifeguards to the rescue!"

Elizabeth allowed her to play a little, then sat down on the stool at her side and said, "oh no!  The hero has dirty hair!  What are we gonna do?"

Allie giggled. "Wash it of course! It needs to be clean and shiny!”  

"Maybe we can show the hero how it has to be done?" she asked, grabbing the shampoo and squirting the gooey green slime into her hand.

Allie nodded. "We can do that!"  She slid closer to Elizabeth so that her hair could be washed, humming as she dipped her boat in and out of the bubbles.

Elizabeth lathered the shampoo into her hair, the scent of fresh apples drifting to their noses.  It was the calmest and most content she'd seen Allie all day, and she was happy to share this special moment with her.  She just loved the little girl to pieces!  It pained her to think about having to discipline her again.  In general she half-agreed with Peter's strict rules and consequences... but the other half of her wanted to baby both of the girls and only give them love and attention.  That's why she rarely spanked them.  But tonight she was fed up with Allie’s deliberate disobedience and disrespect.  El didn’t have to go hard on her, but she had to teach Allie that she would be punished if she broke a rule.

El rinsed out the last of the soap and said, "okay, all finished.  Do you wanna play a little longer or are you ready to get out?"

"I'm getting wrinkly," Allie replied as she showed Elizabeth her hands. "And my boats don't wanna play no more. They're tired. They wanna snuggle and read stories.  And they wanna call daddy to say goodnight."

Elizabeth grabbed a big towel and held it out for Allie to step into.  "We'll call daddy in a little while, okay?"

"Kay," Allie agreed as she carefully climbed out of the tub and into the awaiting towel.

Elizabeth helped dry off the little monkey and put on her pjs, then sent her to her room, paying special attention that Allie didn't see her grab the little bar of soap and wet washcloth before following her.

The wooden spoon was awaiting on her bed when Allie arrived.  She froze, wondering if there was someplace to hide it before Elizabeth came in. She grabbed it up and glanced around the room trying to think of where, but Elizabeth caught her in the act and swiped the spoon, planting a solid WHACK! on her pajama-clad backside.  "Just what do you think you're doing?" she scolded.

Allie yelped loudly, her hands flying back to protect her already sore bottom. Her eyes filled with tears immediately. "I was gonna put it in a safer spot...."

"Uh huh," Elizabeth said doubtfully.  She closed the door to Allie's room and sat the spoon and washcloth with soap on the nightstand.  She pulled out the desk chair and sat, bringing Allie to sit in her lap.  "We already talked once today about saying bad words, didn't we Alliecat?"

Allie nodded tearfully. "Uh-huh," she agreed. "We don't gotta talk no more Lizbeth....I promise I won't say them again..."

"It's too late for that now.  What did I say would happen if you did it again?"

"That you would use your spoon," Allie whimpered as some tears leaked out. "But I don't want the spoon! My bum already hurts lots!"

"That I would use the spoon and what else would happen?"

Allie made a face. "You would put soap in my mouth...." She started to cry a little more. "I don't want soap in my mouth! It's yucky!"

"I know you don't want it, and I don't want to do it.  But I told you it would happen if you said any more bad words, and you didn't even wait a whole day.  I can't let misbehavior like that slide, Allie."  She squeezed the girl tight to try and comfort her as much as possible.

Allie cried into her softly. "But my bum is sore enough Lizbeth! Please don't use the spoon!"

Elizabeth knew that Allie's bottom wasn't actually still hurting -- she hadn't spanked that hard.  But she wasn't sure if it was Allie's memory of the pain that was making her squirm in her seat, or if the little imp was trying to manipulate her.  Either way, she knew what she had to do.  "You will get 6 swats with the spoon this time, and then I will let you get a taste of what a mouth-washing feels like.  I know it may not seem like it, but I'm going very easy on you -- my mom used to stand me in the corner with the bar of soap in my mouth, which I won't do this time, but may happen if you keep saying bad words."

"But Lizbeth!" Allie protested tearfully. She didn't know what else to say and could tell her foster mother wasn't going to change her mind. She just sat there whimpering.

El didn't pressure the little girl, knowing that Allie would give in when ready.  Instead, she just held onto her tightly, gently rocking her back and forth.  When she noticed Allie's cries subsiding, she said, "After your spanking we can call Daddy and watch cartoons until bedtime.  So the sooner we get this over with, the more time you'll have for cartoons."

"Okay," Allie whimpered, her breathing shaky as she was nervous. She glanced up at Elizabeth somewhat ready but unwilling to move on her own.

Elizabeth helped Allie over her lap and reached for the wooden spoon.  "What is this spanking for?" she asked, grabbing hold of Allie's hand so she wouldn't reach back.

"Using bad words," Allie answered tearfully. "I'm sorry ..."

"I know you are, sweetie," Elizabeth said, then landed a loud THWACK! with the wooden spoon on Allie's pajama-clad bottom.

Allie let out a loud shriek, her legs kicking wildly.

Elizabeth landed the second swat on Allie's right sit spot, then the third on her left, holding her tightly and reassuring:  "Halfway finished."

Allie shrieked with each swat, sobbing hard as it hurt.

El let her settle down a little before picking the wooden spoon up again and bringing it down 3 times quick, and not quite as hard.  Her heart hurt for the little girl and she couldn't stand to hear her cries anymore.

Allie wailed loudly as she lay there crying. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"I know sweetie," Elizabeth said softly.  She rubbed her back in circles, letting her cry everything out.  "The spanking is all over now, Alliecat."

Allie cried for a few minutes, letting El’s voice and back rub soothe her until finally she was just hiccupping, and eventually no more tears fell. Elizabeth helped her up, knowing that the mouth soaping would be a struggle -- she would try to make it as painless as possible, just bad enough to where Allie would understand future consequences.   Grabbing the soap and washcloth, she instructed the little girl to open wide.  But she clamped her mouth shut tight, shaking her head, then buried her face into Elizabeth.

"I can wait all night," El said patiently, "but until we get this over with, no cartoons, no phone calls."  She gently lathered the soap into the washcloth, hoping for Allie’s sake that accepted her consequences soon.

Allie waited stubbornly for a few more minutes then finally opened up for her foster mom.  Elizabeth held onto her chin and shoved the washcloth inside, ignoring Allie’s struggles as she scrubbed around, allowing the bitter taste to reach her taste buds.   It was over in a matter of seconds, but in Allie's mind it had been hours! 

"All done," Elizabeth assured as she removed the soapy rag.

Allie buried her face into her once more as she wiped her tongue on her pajama shirt. "Yuck! That was disgusting!"

"No more bad words Allie, or you'll get more of the spoon and soap," Elizabeth told her firmly.

"I'm not gonna say them no more so I won't," Allie assured her.

Elizabeth rocked her a little longer then set her down. "Alright, go wash your face and we'll go downstairs to call Neal."

*****

Natalie had finished cleaning up the kitchen, stalling so much that she'd even swept and mopped.  When she finished, she was ordered upstairs to get ready for bed, and that's when she heard what was going on in Allie's room.  She pressed her ear against the door and heard her the thunderous swats and Allie's loud cries.  Elizabeth is spanking Allie again?? Natalie said to herself, hoping that she'd also spank her instead of Peter.  There's no way Elizabeth could spank as hard as Peter!

She ran her bath water and soaked in it for a little while, catching a glimpse of Allie's boats and snatching them up to play.  She smiled remembering when they used to take baths together.  They always played with boats and car and barbies!  And splashed so much that she always had to mop the bathroom floor afterwards to soak up all the water.  

For old time's sake, she plunged the first boat under water, then pushed the lifeboat to save it.  She was almost there when the door swung open and Allie rushed inside, sniffling.

"Hey!" she shrieked, embarrassed that her sister had come in at that exact time.  "Close the door please," she said, covering herself and blushing profusely.  "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Allie sniffled. "Lizbeth spanks hard as daddy but not hard as Peter. "  She glanced at her sister and smiled a little. "Is the lifeguard rescuing people? I made him the hero."

Natalie blushed.  "Yeah, he is.  I miss playing with you, Allie!  Life feels so complicated now."  She paused, then asked timidly, "can I see?  How bad was it?"

"I miss playing with you too,” Allie said softly, then nodded. She tugged her bottoms down so her sister could see. "See? It hurts lots but not like when Peter spanks."

Natalie shivered knowing that hers was gonna be much worse.  "What did she say?  Is she gonna spank me, too?"

"She said if I don't follow rules she’s gonna use her spoon on me again!  And the spoon hurts," Allie exclaimed, rubbing her bottom. "An' she said we could go call daddy so I can say goodnight and make sure he’s bringin’ my surprise tomorrow."

"Oh, okay," Natalie said and watched Allie rinse her mouth out about a million times.

Sensing that she was being watched, Allie blushed and said, “Soap tastes gross!”

Natalie didn’t say anything, just stared at her sister.

"Well, have fun with the boats Natty!" she chirped and scurried out of the bathroom to go call her dad.

Natalie put the boats aside and finished bathing, then dried off and got ready for bed.  She had been instructed by Peter to wait in her room after her bath, so she did just that, running the brush through her wet hair.  Her heart was pounding against her chest.  Would it be Peter or Elizabeth?  How hard would it be?

After a few more moments there was a knock at the door. Someone had finally come up to deliver her punishment.

"C-come in," she stammered, knees pulled to her chest.

The door opened to reveal Peter who stood there with a stern expression on his face.

"H-hi Peter," Natalie said, slightly disappointed.  She'd hoped to get off lightly... but it looked like she was in as much trouble as she'd suspected.

Peter came in and sat on her bed, moving her to stand before him. "Have you thought about what you did wrong today?”  He hoped she had realized the seriousness of it all.

"Yes, sir," she said, knowing that Peter would be the type of guy who would go easier on her the more she submitted.  She didn't make a habit of submitting to authority, but she knew in this case it would help her more than damage her pride.  "I shouldn't have stolen the cell phone, or called in the bomb threat.  It was really stupid of me."

"I'm going to make sure that you don't ever pull a stunt like this again," Peter stated firmly as he tugged her pajama bottoms down. "You'll be getting a hand spanking and then twelve licks of the belt."  He wanted her to know what to expect so that hopefully she wouldn't be too freaked out when he pulled his belt off.

She shivered and instantly began to plead, just like her sister would have.  "Whaaaaat?  Noooooo pleaseeeee, I promise I'll be good!"

"I'm afraid you won't be able to talk yourself out of this one young lady," Peter replied as he tugged her over his lap and pulled her panties down. "What you did was extremely serious."  He landed a hearty smack to the center of her upturned backside, then landed a smack to each cheek.

"Owww, ouch!" Natalie yelped, kicking a little.  He'd jerked her over his lap quicker than she'd expected.  "Peter please noooo," she begged.  It wasn't that the hand spanking was so bad, it was that she didn't want the belt.

"You're going to learn to think things through before acting on them," Peter lectured as he landed some more hearty smacks to her bottom. "Otherwise you'll find yourself over my lap quite often and I'm sure neither of us want that."

Natalie squirmed more, whining loudly.  "I won't do it againnn!"

"You had better not!" Peter said firmly. "Or the spanking will be much worse and I may not be able to talk people out of pressing charges." He gave her sit spots each a hearty smack.

"I just really wanna cell phoneeee," she cried, kicking slightly, her hand threatening to reach back as the pain was starting to become unbearable.

"Stealing someone else's phone is only going to earn you a spanking young lady," Peter snapped slightly. "I will never condone stealing. Also it’s up to Elizabeth and I to decide if you need a phone or not. Just because someone has something doesn't mean you need it too. If I have to talk to you about stealing again, I'll blister your backside with the hairbrush!"

"Owwwww!" Natalie yelped, not liking this one bit.  The idea of a hairbrush spanking sounded awful -- worse than the belt even!

Peter continued reigning down hard smacks to her backside turning it red rather quickly. He was still a little angry but trying to be sure he didn't take all his anger out on her.

Natalie was whining and squirming, but with each swat she began to feel sorrier and sorrier, and eventually real tears spilled from her eyes.  "Please, Peter," she blubbered.

"Are you learning your lesson?" Peter asked as he turned her bottom a darker shade of red. He wanted her to feel this spanking for a long time.

"Yessirrrr," she howled.

Peter began to focus on her sit spots and upper thighs next, turning them a deep shade of red as well. He was spanking harder than usual to be sure and teach her a lesson.  That meant Natalie was squirming more than usual and eventually had to stick her hand back to cover the swats.  She was crying so hard she couldn’t even speak anymore.  Tears were streaming down her face... it hurt so much!

Peter moved her hand away and held it in his, then landed a quick flurry of swats.  He stopped suddenly and she lay there limply, too emotional to beg him not to use the belt.  All she could do was hope that he didn't go too hard on her.

"You have a choice:  you can lie over my lap for the belt or you can lie on the bed over some pillows,” he said, standing her up and sliding his thick leather belt through the loops of his pants.

Hearing the jingle of his buckle made her cry harder.  "Over... y-your... lap," she stammered.  She felt safer there for some reason.

Peter nodded and sat once more guiding her back over his lap. "Twelve licks and I hope I never have to do this again."

"Me too," she cried, holding onto her blanket with one hand and covering her face with the other.

Peter made sure she was secure then landed the first lick of the belt.

The leather bit into Natalie's bottom and she yelped, reaching back to rub her backside.  Boy did that belt sting!

"I'll hold your hand so I don't hit it by mistake," he said and landed the next two lashes a little lower causing Natalie to cry out.  She wiggled with each and tried counting down in an attempt see the light at the end of the tunnel.  In theory, that would help her be able to tolerate the pain a little better.

Peter landed the next two on her sit spots one just a little lower than the other, and Natalie kicked, sobbing loudly, wondering if the whole house could hear her!  And if Allie was on the phone with Neal, he could also probably hear her, because this was the loudest she'd ever cried before, ever in her whole 12 years.  "I'm s-sorry-y," she stammered.

"I know," Peter assured her as the next two hit her upper thighs.  And those two hurt the most of all, but there was nothing Natalie could do besides lie there and take it.

The next three started from the top of her bottom and stopped just before her sit spots. He wasn’t using full force as he didn't want to be brutal or spank out of anger.  It wasn’t necessary to go so hard on her -- each slap made her jump and cry louder, tears spilling onto the floor.  By this point she’d lost count.

Peter made sure the last two were a little harder. One landed on her sit spot and the last her upper thighs. He then tossed the belt aside and began to rub her back after releasing her hand.

Natalie was so happy it was over.  She didn't even bother pushing herself up yet, just buried her face into her blanket and kept crying, letting her emotions drain out.  It'd been a long, disappointing day, but she at least knew now that she was going to be forgiven.  Peter wasn't going to send her away, or abandon her.

Once her cries died down, Natalie allowed her foster dad to help her up.  She sniffled and wiped her eyes as she gently eased her pjs back up and leaned into Peter for a hug.

He embraced her and kissed the side of her head. "I hope I never have to do that again."

"Me too," she said, rubbing her throbbing backside.

Peter gave her a small smile. "C’mon, let’s have some more positive family time."

She wasn't sure what he meant by ‘more positive family time,’ but after the spanking she'd just gotten, she wasn't going to argue anything!  So she just followed him downstairs where Allie was still on the phone with Neal.

"And you’re definitely gonna bring the surprise tomorrow, Daddy?" Allie asked for the millionth time.

Neal knew that he was going to spoil her, but couldn't help it.  "We'll see."  He already had the magic set sitting on his table, but hadn't been sure what to get Natalie.  Though neither of them really earned it yet, he couldn’t help but try and make up for lost time.

Allie sighed dramatically. "And you swear you’re not angry with me? An' you love me lots an' lots?"

"Allie, it's time to get off the phone," Elizabeth called.  "It’s almost bedtime."

"Yes, I promise I'm not angry, and I love you lots and lots.  I hear El saying you gotta go, so I'll see you tomorrow Alliecat."

When Allie hung up the phone, she yawned and got cozy on the couch between Sachmo and her big sister, not waiting for El and Peter to sit before saying, "we should watch a movie."

Her foster dad smiled and pulled Allie onto his lap, snuggling up.  "Let's do it."  

"I don't know who's more surprised about the late bedtime, the girls or me!" El said, kissing him and handing the remote to Natalie to find something for them to watch.  They settled on the Smurfs and Allie barely made it through the first scene before dozing off.  When she let out a sharp snore, Peter and Natalie locked eyes and the 12 year old smiled.  This is what a family is supposed to be like.