WBY - Gone (part six)
John really, really hating licking his kids. He hated it almost more than anything. But Sam had to know how important his safety was. How important he was. If that meant spanking his ass every now and then John would do it. Maybe not gladly do it, but out of duty and a sense of responsibility for his son, he would. That and love. Which might have seemed contradictory, but it wasn’t. Loving someone so much that you were willing to cause them pain to save them…well, it was something that not everyone agreed upon, but in John’s experience, it worked.
Boys needed clearly drawn boundaries. Yes, those boundaries could be negotiated, but that was before they chose to step outside of the lines. Some might think John mean, or cruel. He wasn’t at all. Cruel would have been to allow Sam to continue thinking he could call the shots when he was in no position to do so. Mean would have been allowing him to get away with something that could and did endanger his life. Sam and Dean were far too precious for John to allow that to happen.
It didn’t mean that he had to enjoy it.
John knew Sam would remember this licking. Really remember it and that had to happen.
Sam could hate him, or curse him but in the long run, he would thank him. Maybe not today or even next month, but eventually he would understand. At least John hoped so.
When John had been a boy, he had been spanked too and far more often for things less important. It seemed so at the time anyway.
He remembered once getting it for riding the cows and getting them so riled up they wouldn’t milk for a week.
He remembered another time for almost setting the barn on fire. That had been a whipping of monumental proportions.
Once he’d gotten it for racing the old John Deere with the Hawkins boys. That had been great fun until he’d taken out a good portion of the fence line when the cantankerous tractor wouldn’t stop. Not only had his father warmed John’s butt, but Dad had also tanned the Hawkins boys’ asses too. John remembered that Eli Hawkins hadn’t said a word when he got the phone call to pick up his boys, but he had been swatting them both as he marched them across the field to pick up their tractor.
John knew for a fact they’d both gotten it again when they got home.
All of those lickings had been given without malice or hatred, but with intention. The farm was their home and their livelihood. Without milk, they couldn’t survive. Without a barn, they couldn’t house their livestock. Fencing was expensive. Not only did John have to repair the fence he had rammed, but he had to do it with his ass on fire and his father watching. It made an impression on him then and it did now. To his father, and John supposed to his entire family, the stupid stunts he pulled for the sake of fun could and did cost the family money.
It wasn’t monetary issues that John would spank his boys for. That wasn’t a priority as far as he was concerned. John had a steady income and a good job. They would never be rich, but they lived comfortably. But if either of his boys put themselves in danger? That was something that John could not abide.
Which is why he trained them so hard, pushed back when they pushed and made damn sure they understood that there was no wiggle room when it came to personal safety.
If he hadn’t been a sheriff, maybe he would see things differently. They say that cops’ kids always have it tough. But he was also a hunter too, and that put an even harsher spin on the situation.
No, he was right to do what he did. John didn’t second-guess himself at all. He would talk to the boy in a bit, once Sam had settled down. That was the best he could do.
Sam lay belly down in his room. He wasn’t sure if he was still grounded, but it didn’t matter. He wasn’t going anywhere that required walking for a day or so and sitting down wasn’t happening for at least a week.
Out of curiosity, he had examined his ass in the mirror. It was red and striped with the few white pale areas glaring around the belt licks. His father was a damn professional when it came to kicking ass. There were welts and a few bruises but no bleeding. Sam really thought the bruises were mostly from him fighting to get out of the way. His muscles hurt, his skin hurt and he dreaded getting a shower because he knew the spray would re-ignite the fire that still burned.
Oh, he was not going to forget this one any time soon.
Which, Sam had to admit, had been his father’s objective all along.
There was a soft rap at the door. Sam didn’t want company, but he was sure it was Dad and he didn’t want to piss him off any more.
Sam berated himself - his father wouldn’t spank him for not opening the door. In fact, his father wouldn’t come in unless Sam said so.
Usually.
He suspected if his dad thought he was doing something stupid, he might just barge in, but that wasn’t his style.
“Come in,” Sam said.
“How are you doing, Sam?” his father asked, oddly concerned since he was the one who had pulverized his ass.
“Wonderful, Dad. Just peachy.” Sam levered himself off the bed with a groan.
“Sarcasm so quickly after getting your ass handed to you?”
“Dad, sarcasm is hardwired in me. It is my main defense.”
Dad shook his head, “Nooo, your brain is your main defense. If you would use it, we would all be feeling a lot better right now. C’mon Sam, did you think that this wouldn’t turn out badly from the get go?”
“Well, I wasn’t expecting to be kidnapped by a sun-loving vampire, Dad.”
“No, and I can’t expect you to. But I do expect you to pay attention to me. To follow the rules I have set down, because if you can’t, I can’t do my job. I can’t do what I was hired to do if I’m worrying about you all the time.”
“Dad, I’m fifteen! I should be allowed out on my own.”
“Obviously not, Sam.”
“Well, that was a freaky thing, not a normal thing.”
“Haven’t you noticed freaky is normal in this town?”
Sam sighed, “I get your point.”
“I was hoping you got it earlier.”
“I did…” Sam back peddled a bit because he did not want a do-over of the last hour. “It’s just…I need some time to myself, some time to be a kid.”
His father gently curled an arm over his shoulders. “Sammy, I wish you could just be a kid, but you can’t. As hunters we know what is out there. You know what is out there. Keeping you safe is my main priority, more than being a sheriff, more than being a hunter. But I am Sheriff and I am a hunter and you are a cop’s son as well as a hunter’s son. I have to be able to trust you and right now, I’m not so sure I do.”
Sam dropped his head into his father’s embrace. “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to…” Sam trailed off unable to complete the sentence over the lump in his throat.
“I know, Sam, I know. Let’s just put this behind us okay? But that being said, I don’t want you to forget either.”
Sam grinned. “Oh, no need to worry about that. I think I’ll be remembering today for quite a long while. “
“Good. Mission accomplished.” His father’s smiled mirrored Sam’s own.
“Thanks, Dad. For understanding. Not so much for the lickin’ but you know, I got it.”
“There’s m’boy.” His dad ruffled his hair, something that usually irritated Sam, but now it felt right.
“Can your brother come in? He’s been prowling the house waiting for an invite.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Dean peeked his head into Sam’s room. “You alive in there?”
“Barely.”
Dean stepped into the door, then, hip to door jam, he folded his arms.
“What were you thinking about Sam?”
“Please, Dean. I don’t want another lecture. Or worse.”
“No lecture here, Sammy. But if you pull something like that again I will smack your butt - either before of after Dad does. Seriously, kid…I mean it.”
“I got it. You love me. You don’t want me eaten by vampires.”
“Nah, I just don’t wanna be stuck with all of Dad’s research.”
“I love you too, jerk.”
“Bitch.”
Sam just grinned. Some things never changed.
End.