"I've been wrong with you," stated Gibbs, "I've gone easy on you and I know in some way I am in part responsible for this horrible mess we are in."

Ellie remained quiet, here it came the consequences. Suddenly feeling horribly sick she rushed from the room and out into the kitchen where she became acquainted with the trash can and the contents of her stomach. Gibbs went over to the sink and poured a glass of water, returning then to her side and rubbing her back as he encouraged her to take small sips.

"You feeling better now," he finally asked after minutes stood just rubbing gentle circles on her back, "You ok to continue?"

She nodded, not yet trusting herself to open her mouth as she was putting everything into keeping her stomach under control. Gibbs led her back to the sofa.

"I normally give my team a choice, a way to deal with their mistakes, to learn without destroying their career," started Gibbs again, "but you, jeez, I guess you threw me for a loop."

"Why?" was the only response he got.

"Well you see the others, they don't come with the same situation as you," Gibbs tried to explain.

"I don't understand, what do you mean by situation?" queried Bishop.

"I mean family Bishop, I mean your husband," Gibbs responded.

"What do they have to do with my job?" Ellie asked more confused now than when the explanation had begun.

"Everything Ellie, they mean everything," explained Gibbs, "I don't feel I can just walk right into your and their lives and impose myself in them."

"You do with the others, why am I different?" she asked.

"You aren't different, its just…" Gibbs struggled to explain his thoughts, "what would your parents say and your husband if I dealt with you in the same way as Tony and Tim?"

"I hadn't thought about that, but I don't want to find out what they would think if I lost my job either," reasoned Ellie.

"So you are saying that you want the option I gave the others?"

"I don't know, I've not thought this through, I just thought you didn't want to deal with me that way and…." she got no further.

"I need you to think about it Ellie, because if you choose that option this first time then that's how I will deal with future infractions." Gibbs waited, "you don't have to agree, we can try and find another way but I have been making a bit of a hash of that so far."

"It's what I want," stated Ellie without any further consideration.

Gibbs shook his head. "That's not thinking about it nor is it thinking about the effect it could have on Jake and your family." Ellie's head dropped. "Hey look at me, I need you to think about the consequences for everyone and I need you to think about your actions today, properly not just a rehash of what I have said to you…understand?"

Ellie nodded. "How long? She asked.

"Well why don't we start with an hour, upstairs by yourself, no phone, just thinking whilst I get the boys back from wherever they have gone to hide and fix us some food," suggested Gibbs, although not giving her chance to come back on that one. He turned her towards the stairs and directed her to the spare room, holding out her hand for her phone as he did so.

As the door to the spare room closed behind him, Gibbs rubbed his hands across his tired eyes. Not only did Ellie need that time to consider this but now he had given her the option he had to consider it to. If she said yes to it then how would he carry it out, he'd also need to do something to show to Vance and SecNav he had disciplined her. If she said no, well then he was even more at a loss.

He made his way downstairs and dialled Tony's cell. Tony responded before the first ring had even completed. Gibbs chuckled to himself thinking that the boys must have literally been watching the phones waiting for a call probably thinking that either Ellie would be ringing for the getaway car or he would be calling for them to help him bury the body.

"Is she ok?" asked Tony.

"She will be fine, she is upstairs thinking things through for a while," responded Gibbs.

"So you haven't you know…." interjected Tim over the speaker phone.

"Haven't what Tim," teased Gibbs knowing that both boys got embarrassed talking about the spankings they knew Gibbs doled out. Then taking pity on them both. "No not yet, that's what I need her to think about. Are you two coming back?"

"Sure we will be there in a moment," said Tony followed by a clattering of wood and metal with a few curse words thrown in for good measure.

"Where are the pair of you?" Gibbs enquired, concerned about the noises he was hearing from the handset.

"We're in your shed Boss," responded Tony, "McClumsy here just stood on your rake and nearly knocked himself and me out to boot."

"You better not leave a mess in there," warned Gibbs and then enquired, "how the hell did ya both end up there?"

"Well when we dashed out the back door we forgot we couldn't get out the back yard and we felt stupid and couldn't come back through the house so hid in the shed," came the explanation.

Tony and Tim could almost hear Gibbs rolling his eyes on the other end of the line as they tried to put all the things back in the shed just the way they had been. As they finally made their way back into the kitchen, Gibbs was waiting, a pile of food on the counter and a couple of aprons. "Right boys, the vegetables need scrubbing, chopping boiling and all that and the meatloaf needs putting in the oven. Can you get that sorted whilst I get changed out of my work clothes?"

"Sure Gibbs," they responded in unison.

With that took himself and threw himself in the shower, in an attempt to wash away some of the troubles of the day along with the sawdust that covered him from head to toe.

Refreshed and dressed in clean clothes, Gibbs checked his watch, Ellie had been in her room for quite some time, He tapped on the door and pushed it open. Ellie was perched on the wide windowsill staring out at the street below.

"Have you had a chance to decide?" Gibbs asked breaking her silent reverie.

"Yes Sir," she responded. ""I want you to teach me and train me just like the boys, my parents wouldn't want me putting myself in needless danger and Jake, well we never talk about work anymore, he's hardly around but I'd hope he wouldn't want me risking my neck either."

"Come on then lets get this over with," Gibbs beckoned her to stand in front of him where he had positioned himself on the chair by the bed.

She moved to the position before him. She looked young and truly repentant but he needed to know that she understood just where this had all gone wrong.

"So," he said, "I need you to tell me what you did wrong and why you did it."

Ellie had clearly been thinking about this too. "I guess I just wanted to try and prove my worth to you and the team. I thought I could win your approval. I thought I was right. I forgot I was part of a team and I forgot that you were the boss. I disobeyed your orders, I risked my life, the case and my career. I should have stayed put as ordered, I shouldn't have gone into the house without a warrant, without back up and without communications. I'm sorry."

It was clear to Gibbs she had really spent sometime thinking this through. He nodded in the direction of the chest of drawers to Ellies right. "Pass me the brush," he ordered. Ellie turned and picked up the old wooden brush, noting as she did the weight in it. This was going to hurt, that deep, long lasting throb that would last much longer than the initial heat and sting it would cause. She handed it over. "You ready?" he asked. Ellie nodded and moved to Gibbs right hand side. She had been in this position with her parents before and knew the drill.

Gibbs tugged her down positioning her so she was balanced over his knees. He then without any further warning began to warm up her backside with several hard and quick thwacks with the brush. Ellie held her breath and tried to count but after the seventh, or was it the eight thwack (she could no longer recall) she let out an audible gasp and started to sob quietly.

Gibbs ordered her to stand and drop her jeans. She did so, although nerves and embarrassment clearly showing as a rouge glow ascended from her neck up into her face. Still this is what she had chosen and she knew she deserved every bit of it. As she lowered herself over his knees again he pulled her panties down just below her bottom.

Her bottom was already starting to glow from the treatment it had already received but it was nothing to how they were going to be once Gibbs had finished.

As her sobs started to become louder he began to lecture her. "You will not disregard your own safety ever again young lady." "You mean too much to this team, to your family, to me." " I am not going to lose another good agent."

She sobbed harder and harder, Gibbs dropped one knee and connected with her sit spots, she yelped, he continued the lecture.

Downstairs the boys were just tidying up the preparations and could hear the sobs coming from the room above with the occasional yelp as the brush with a sensitive sit spot. No amount of banging of pots and plates and asking each other to pass the knifes and forks could overcome the noise of the punishment coming from the room above. Then it stopped.

In the room Gibbs gently replaced the panties, removed the jeans from around Ellies ankles and gently laid her face down on the bed. He rummaged around in the drawers and found a pair of Abby's sleep pants and laid them on the bed next to Ellie. "Put these on and come down when you are ready'" he whispered into her hair as he leant forward and kissed her forehead through the whisps of blond hair that splayed over it. With that he disappeared with the brush.

He made his way wearily back down stairs and into the kitchen. Tiredness was etched into every crevice of his face and both young men in the kitchen could see the effect that the punishment had on him. A few moments later they were joined by Ellie, walking rather stiffly and slowly, with tear stains still apparent on her face.

"I'm sorry guys," she said, "I guess I owe you all an apology."

"Don't worry Bish," smiled Tony, "once it is done it is forgiven." He looked to Gibbs for reassurance on this. Gibbs nodded and to change the subject he inquired how long to dinner and whether the boys had set the table.

Tim and Tony looked at each other a little sheepishly. "Well we thought we could have trays on our laps in the front room," said Tony.

"Yeah there is a documentary on rocket packs I'd like to watch if that's ok," added Tim, "and well it's a bit more comfortable than your dining room chairs."

Gibbs could see what they were up to and decided to go along with it. As they entered the lounge he could see that the pair of them had collected every soft pillow and cushion they could find and had placed it in Bishops seat knowing full well that she would need it.

As the meal and the documentary came to an end, Gibbs turned to Bishop, "Tomorrow you start a two week desk duty and reduction in pay, I need to show Vance that everything has been dealt with and I don't think I can start explaining anything else to SecNav. Do you understand?"

Bishop nodded her agreement. "Right" said Gibbs, "you need sleep, up you go," and then turning to the boys, "you two are on wash up duty too I'm afraid."

Just as DiNozzo started to whine and protest, Gibbs added "well it's either that or you write the damned report for Vance explaining what happened." Before he had even finished the sentence Tim and Tony were in the kitchen squabbling over who was going to wash or dry, anything was better than writing that damned report.