WARNING: Contains non-consensual spanking of an adult.

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine. I just borrow them.

"Tony, McGee – go cover the back. Kate, you're with me. On my mark," Gibbs ordered as he and his team crept up to the house. Tim and Tony split up and headed to the back of the house in opposite directions.

Suddenly, gunshots rang through the air.

"Tony! McGee! What happened?" Gibbs yelled into the microphone on his wrist.

"Wasn't me Boss," Tony answered back. Gibbs could tell he was running.

"McGee, are you ok?" Gibbs called. He heard Tony give the "all clear" from the back of the house. "McGee! Tony, find him!" He gestured to Kate to stay put and ran to the side of the house McGee had disappeared behind.

"I'm fine Boss," Tim finally radioed.

"Tony, Kate, clear the house," Gibbs ordered before he turned to Tim. "What happened? Are you ok?"

"I'm ok. I just…" Tim stopped.

"You just what?"

"House is empty Boss. We're coming out," the radio crackled.

"McGee, answer me," Gibbs said, having finally decided that Tim was unhurt.

"It was a cat," Tim said quietly.

"A cat?" Gibbs asked. "What do you mean?"

"It came out from under the side of the porch and startled me," Tim said, head down.

"You shot a cat?" Tony asked.

"I didn't shoot it," Tim said defensively.

"You missed?" Tony laughed.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled. He turned his attention back to Tim and Tony busied himself reholstering his weapon. "Where's the cat now?" he asked rather impatiently.

"It ran off," Tim mumbled. At the sudden sound of sirens, his head snapped up.

A few seconds later, two police cars pulled up in front of the house and four officers suddenly merged on them, weapons drawn.

"Freeze!" one of the officers ordered.

Gibbs turned around slowly, his hands in the air. The look on his face could have melted an iceberg. "We're NCIS," he explained.

"Drop your weapons," the officer ordered, still pointing his own at Gibbs while his partner covered Tim.

Over the officer's shoulder, he saw two others holding Tony and Kate at gunpoint. He couldn't hear what Tony was saying, but he suspected he too was trying to convince the LEO that they were Feds. He leaned down and put his gun on the ground. "McGee," he said, indicating that Tim should follow suit. When he was sure McGee had obeyed, he turned back to the officer. "We're with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. My badge is on my belt and my ID is in my jacket pocket."

The officer looked at him critically before he nodded. Gibbs slowly produced his badge and ID which the officer took and examined closely. "All right," he said handing them back to Gibbs. He and his partner put their guns away and Gibbs saw McGee relax.

"They are too," he said to the officer pointing to Tony and Kate.

"Ross! They're Feds," the officer called. "What's going on here?" he asked Gibbs as Ross and her partner released Kate and Tony.

"We came here to pick up a suspect. Agent McGee got startled by something and fired his weapon," Gibbs explained as patiently as he could.

After some more explanation and some more awkward moments, the officer finally gathered his cronies and left. As the team regrouped at the car, Gibbs sighed. "Well, McKenzie isn't here. And even if he was, he'd be long gone after McGee's gunshot," he added, glaring at Tim. "We'd better get back – the LEO's will have called the Director by now."

The trip back to NCIS was quiet and when they arrived, Gibbs ordered Kate and Tony to their desks and Tim to the conference room as he bounded up the stairs to head off any trouble with the director before the incident was blown completely out of proportion. But before he went upstairs, Tony saw Gibbs grab an accordion file from the shelf behind his desk when he'd stopped there to drop his gun in his desk drawer.

* * * * *

"Probie, go get spanked. We don't have all day here, ya know," Tony said, pushing Tim toward the stairs.

"I'm not going up there," Tim answered, planting his feet.

"Trust me, McGee, you do not want him to come down here and get you. Just go get it over with. He's not even really that mad. He just has to do it so he can tell the director that you've been dealt with and then we can all get back to work."

"I'm not going up there," Tim repeated.

"McGee!" Gibbs yelled from the top of the stairs. "Get your ass up here!"

"You should have just gone," Tony sang as he quickly walked away.

"Not helping," Tim sang back, glancing around only to see Tony retreating.

"Hey!" Gibbs yelled.

"Coming Boss," Tim said then reluctantly started climbing the stairs. When he got to the top, he looked warily at Gibbs. His boss was clearly annoyed. "Sorry Boss," Tim offered.

"Get in there," Gibbs said, pointing at the conference room. Tim hung his head and obeyed. Gibbs smiled to himself before he followed his young agent into the room and closed and locked the door.

Tim stood nervously next to the table as Gibbs fixed him in a glare. "Why did you fire your weapon?" he asked after a long, uncomfortable silence.

"I told you," McGee said quietly, "I got startled."

"What if that had been a child?" Gibbs asked pointedly. He saw Tim pale and decided that wasn't exactly the best approach. "Look, you have got to be absolutely sure of your target before you even put your finger on that trigger. I know you were taught that at FLETC. And I understand that in the heat of the moment, your brain can be on overload. But you have got to learn to react appropriately in those situations."

The color had returned to Tim's face, but he was still looking extremely nervous. "I'm really sorry," he said, not daring to look at his boss.

"Don't apologize. And don't let it happen again."

"Maybe this just isn't what I'm supposed to do," Tim said glumly.

"McGee," Gibbs chided, "you just need more experience. You're a good agent. You need to develop some confidence and you need to stop second-guessing yourself so much." He looked at Tim. Yes, he'd definitely made a probie mistake, so he made a decision. "You'll be spending all your free time at the range for the next couple of weeks." McGee nodded. "I'll put you through the same training I got in the Marines. When I'm done with you, you'll be giving Tony a run for his money."

Tim looked up. "You…?"

Gibbs grinned. "Yes, Tim. I will train you."

Tim just nodded, not sure exactly how to express his gratitude.

Gibbs didn't give him a chance to come up with anything. "But before we do that, we have to deal with what happened today." Tim paled again as Gibbs picked up the accordion folder on the table and pulled out the paddle. "Turn around."

Tim hesitated for a moment before he turned around to the table. He started to unbuckle his belt.

"Leave them up," Gibbs said, grinning at Tim's obvious trust and willingness to submit to his punishment. Tim bent over the table and braced himself. "Do you know why I'm spanking you, Tim?"

"Because I was careless?"

"I was going to say that it was to appease the director, but I like your answer better," Gibbs said as he put his hand gently on Tim's back.

"I really am sorry," McGee said again turning as much as he could to look at Gibbs.

"I know," Gibbs answered. "And stop trying to stall. You sound like Tony." He smiled, but Tim's head was now buried in his arms, so he missed it.

The paddling Gibbs delivered was cursory at best – 25 swats that barely stung through Tim's slacks. Tim was surprised when it stopped and Gibbs patted his shoulder.

"That's it?" he asked, still bent over.

"Yeah, that's it," Gibbs said as he put the paddle back in the folder. "I'm pretty sure you already learned your lesson without the spanking, so I didn't see the sense in being too hard on you." Tim looked confused as he stood up. "What?" Gibbs asked, feigning annoyance.

"You keep a paddle here?"

Gibbs laughed. That was not at all what he'd expected Tim to be confused about. "Yeah," he said.

"Why?" Tim asked, still looking confused.

Gibbs gave him a look before he opened the door and left the room, leaving Tim standing next to the table, still not sure what had just happened.

* * * * *

"So Boss, how long did Probie get us all stuck on desk duty?" Tony asked when Gibbs walked into the squadroom.

"We're not," Gibbs growled. "Have you got a new lead on McKenzie?"

"Working on it," Tony said, glancing at Kate, who rolled her eyes at him.

"He used his credit card at a bar in Anacostia last night, but nothing since then," she explained to Gibbs.

"Keep looking. I'm going for coffee."

As Gibbs disappeared into the elevator, Tim walked slowly into the squadroom and sat down at his desk. Tony wandered over. "I see you're sitting, Probie," he said teasingly. "Did you beg and cry so Gibbs wouldn't spank you?"

"No," Tim said, suddenly very interested in his computer.

"So…" Tony said leadingly, "what happened?"

"Don't you have something to do?" Tim asked, still working away at his computer.

"Well, no, not really," Tony answered.

"That's because he's relying on me to do everything," Kate called over from her desk. "But I bet if Gibbs comes back and finds you over there instead of at your desk tracking down McKenzie, McGee won't be the only one getting spanked today."

"Good point," Tony agreed and then quickly returned to his desk.

The trio worked quietly for a while, all busily searching for some clue of their suspect's whereabouts.

Suddenly, Tim broke the silence. "He keeps a paddle here," he said, looking over at Tony.

Tony looked up. "Yeah," he said with a small, slightly self-conscious grin. "I know."