'Hey, youngun',' Hoss said, standing up from where he was single-handedly dipping wagon wheels in a trough of tar. 'You're coming in a mite late ain't ya?' he frowned at Jamie who had walked his horse slowly along the path to the barn and then narrowed his eyes when he saw the boy dismount, staggering a little when his feet hit the ground. The boy leant forwards, his head pressing into his saddle for a moment as he scrunched his eyes tight.

Hoss's face split into a wicked grin; it had been a long time since he had had the opportunity to tease anyone after a night of excess as Jamie was clearly suffering from. Sure, his pa would be hoppin' mad if he found out the fourteen year old boy had been sampling liquor. but on the other hand Ben Cartwright wasn't due back from his trip until the evening and that was plenty of time for the boy to sober up. 'sides, Hoss had been young a heck of a lot sooner than his pa and could appreciate the boy's point of view.

'You have a good time with your friends, lil' buddy?' he asked, louder than necessary, coming forwards and clapping Jamie heartily on the shoulder.

Jamie groaned.

'Long night, huh?' Hoss said with a grin.

'Yeah, Hoss, sure,' Jamie said, looking up at the man with red-tinged eyes. How much had the boy drunk? He swayed a little and blinked blearily before tipping forwards.

Hoss caught the boy, his smile fading as he realised that this hadn't been just one drink. 'Oookay, lil' buddy,' he said, slinging Jamie up and ignoring the weak protests as he walked over to the water trough. 'You got this comin'.' With that Hoss slung Jamie into the trough.

~ALB~

Some hours later Jamie woke in his bed, his head thumping with pain. He squinted against the semi-light of his room, flashes of what had happened coming back to him. His impromptu bath, Hoss slinging him over his shoulder to carry him up the stairs. Helping him out of his wet clothes and into his nightgown. Forcing him to drink a large amount of water, and finally to bed.

More memories came to him as he sat up and he leant forwards with a groan. 'Oh good glory,' he muttered.

~ALB~

'Howdy,' Hoss said archly as Jamie appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He was just finishing his lunch, provided as ever by their cook Hop Sing.

'Hey, Hoss,' Jamie winced at the loudness of his own voice. 'Where's Joe?'

'Out riding fence, he'll be back tomorrow,' Hoss said calmly. 'You feelin' all right?'

'Ugh,' Jamie said, massaging his eyes. 'I... er,' he sighed. 'I'm pretty hungover, Hoss,' he admitted ruefully.

'Ah recon' you are,' the older man said wryly, stuffing some more cold cuts into his mouth, 'you drink much last night?'

'Uh-huh,' Jamie said with another wince of pain, seeing no reason to lie to the man. 'What am I going to do, Hoss?'

'About whit?'

'Mr Cartwright's gonna know!' Jamie said, his voice almost a whine.

Hoss sighed and put down his fork, giving Jamie a sympathetic look. 'I recon' he might at that,' he said. 'Leastways you sure got a guilty look on your face, youngin'.'

'What's he gonna do, Hoss?' Jamie asked miserably.

The large man sighed, standing up and putting his hands on the boy's shoulders. 'Whelp, when I wes your age drinkin' earnt me a sore hide more often then not. My advice, if'n you want to try to save your backside y'all should get on with yer chores smartish. Leastaways evin if yaw fetch a tannin' yaw ain't goin' to have to do them with a sore seat.'

Jamie sagged, dreading the prospect of work but knowing the man spoke sense. 'Thanks, Hoss,' he said, turning away to begin.

~ALB~

Hoss sat on the front porch of the house, enjoying a glass of lemonade after finishing his work a little while before. The sun was beginning to go down behind the trees, lengthening their shadows, but Jamie was still hard at work. The boy looked much better for it, much less pale and a bit surer of foot thanks to the distraction of work and the emptying of his stomach a few times that day. Hoss smiled, shaking his head; his pa was not likely to whip the boy for drinking but the threat of it had been a good incentive. Anyway, his pa was good at coming up with punishments much more elaborate than a simple tanning. Jamie's hide was most likely safe. He leant out when Jamie walked past, heading into the house, his body bent wearily.

'Well done, youngin',' he said with a smile. 'Yev done enough.'

Jamie nodded wearily, too tired to speak.

'Git yerself some food,' Hoss said kindly. 'If'n you can manage it.'

~ALB~

'Howdy, pa,' Hoss said to his father as the man rode up to the house, his smile faltered when he saw Ben's face. 'What's the matter, pa? Trip go bad?'

'What?' Ben looked up from his dark frown and shook his head. 'Sorry, Hoss. No, the trip went fine. I ran into Yan Ivorsen when I was in town.'

'Mr Ivorsen?' Hoss frowned, wondering what the connection could be, then he realised. 'That's Sven's pa, right?' he asked, 'Jamie's friend from school.'

'That's right,' Ben said with a growl. 'Seems there was some drinking at that little camping trip Jamie went on last night.'

'Oh,' Hoss said.

'That "Oh" sounded awfully like you knew something about this,' Ben said archly.

Hoss shifted uncomfortably under his father's stern gaze that after all these years could still make him squirm guiltily. 'Ah wes hopin' he'd get to tell you hisself,' he said, unconvincingly.

'Where is he?' Ben asked, giving his son a darkly knowing glare.

Hoss gestured over his shoulder to the front door. 'He's bin workin' hisself hard all day, pa, got all his chores done and then some!'

'Just because all the chores are done doesn't mean I can't think up more,' Ben said ominously, striding into the house. Inside he stopped, allowing himself a small smile when he saw the boy who was lying asleep on the settee. He walked quietly into the kitchen, fixing himself some coffee and eating the dinner that Hop Sing had set to keep warm in the oven for his late arrival home. He took his time, letting his temper cool and considering the matter. Yes, drinking was wrong and Jamie most certainly knew that, but the boy had worked to pay for his mistakes and that deserved recognition. He decided to let the youngster tell him everything first, before making the decision on what his punishment might be.

He came back into the living room and stared down at the boy for a moment before fixing his face in a frown of disapproval and placing his hands on his hips.

'Jamie Hunter!' he growled.

Jamie jumped, startled from sleep and sitting up quickly. He groaned, clutching his head a little and then stopping still when he realised who it was the towered over him.

'Mr Cartwright!' he squeaked, leaping to his feet and then clasping his hands behind him, rubbing his arms nervously. 'Hey, sir, how was your trip?'

'It went well, thank you very much,' Ben said. 'How was your camping trip?'

'It... er...,' Jamie stammered and then hung his head. 'My Cartwright, I gots something I need ta tell ya.'

'Oh?' Ben asked, his tone stern.

'I... we... mighta had some...,' Jamie said and then swallowed deeply. 'I got drunk, sir.'

Ben lifted his arms, folding them slowly over his chest. 'I see,' he said letting the words hover in the air a while, 'and where did you get this drink?'

'Daniel and I found the bottle of bourbon at the creek on Monday, sir.'

'So this was pre-meditated?' Ben said.

'Y-yes, sir,' Jamie admitted, knowing this admission made things much worse.

'And you thought that it wouldn't do much harm to take a drink,' Ben said.

Jamie's mouth went dry and he pinched his lips together. 'It...,' he let out his breath in a sigh. 'Yes, sir. We decided to go on the camping trip then, so's we wouldn't get caught.'

'I see,' Ben said.

'I, ah,' Jamie flushed slightly. 'Sir, I'm sorry, I didn't recon to taking so much of it. I s'pose we jest... lost our heads.'

'I think you might at that,' Ben said archly.

'That's when someone suggested the poker,' Jamie said, staring at the pattern of the carpet.

'Poker!?' Ben exclaimed, narrowing his eyes. 'Now, Jamie; gambling is a man's sport, you boys know better than to-'

'We didn't play for money we played for mat-' Jamie's face turned suddenly pale as he considered for the first time what his voice was saying, '-ches,' he ended weakly. He brought a hand up to his head, 'oh, good glory!' He fell back, sitting down heavily on the settee.

'Jamie Hunter!' Ben bellowed, causing the boy to spring right on up again. 'Do you mean to tell me, that not only did you plan a camping trip for the sole purpose of getting drunk but that, whilst inebriated, you gambled near an open fire with matches?'

'I... guess...' Jamie swallowed, 'oh brother,' he said shaking his head in wonder at his own stupidity.

'Do you remember the last time it rained here, son?' Ben demanded. 'Over a week ago and the brush is tinder-dry! You could have set yourselves and half of Virginia alight!'

'Yes, sir,' Jamie said weakly, looking sick all over again. 'I caint believe we were so stupid!'

Ben almost chuckled at the boy's self-reproval but he was too angry with the youngster's bad choices. 'Jamie, drink makes a body do stupid things, things they would never do when in their right minds. Do you see now how dangerous it is?'

'But you drink!' Jamie protested, the oldest line in the book. 'You and Hoss and Joe all drink.'

'Yes, that is true,' Ben said solemnly, 'but not to excess, Jamie. Do you see the difference? I might enjoy a glass of bourbon after a long day and Joe and Hoss may like a beer or two, but never enough to lose our wits!'

Jamie hung his head. 'I guess you're right, Mr Cartwright,' he muttered.

'Jamie,' Ben said, his tone foreboding. 'You know I'm going to have to punish you for this, don't you?'

'Yessir,' came the miserable reply.

'And you know that above all else I despise lying and endangering your own life or the lives of others?'

'Y-yes, sir.'

'Then I think you know what to expect,' Ben said gently, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.

Without a word Jamie nodded and Ben steered the lad, not towards the door to the barn as he had expected, but toward the stairs to his room.

~ATB~

Ben escorted his young charge into the boy's bedroom, making sure the door was locked before turning to face the condemned. He sighed, looking away from the face that was filled with remorse and a little fear. Then he crossed the room to seat himself on the bed. 'Drop your britches, son,' he said, trying to make his tone as gentle as possible so as not to terrify the flighty youngster.

Jamie coloured from his neck right to the tips of his ears. 'S-sir!' he protested, 'I'm not a little kid!'

'In the eyes of the law you are, Jamie,' Ben said sternly, 'and that's just what you broke last night, even if there's no formal rule against it. I think a healthy reminder that you are still in some ways not full grown is in order, don't you?'

Jamie refused to come out and agree openly with his guardian but he pressed his lips together, looking away in embarrassment as he stood before the man and undid his bracers, pushing his pants down to his knees.

Ben lost no time in pulling the boy over his waiting lap, moving Jamie's upper body to rest over his left hip whilst the youngster's legs were trapped tightly between his own. Then he reached down, undoing the flap on the back of Jamie's longjohns.

'Mr Cartwright!' Jamie squeaked, his hands flying back to cover his rear from view.

'I know this is embarrassing for you, Jamie,' Ben apologised, 'but that is also part of your punishment. If you continue drinking to excess you'll see for yourself that this is the least embarrassing result.' Saying this he took a hold of Jamie's wrists and pulled them up to the small of his back, pinning them there with his left hand and raising his right.

'Jamie, I'm disappointed in the choices you have made this past week,' he began, keeping his hand in the air as he lectured. 'First you lied and plotted with your friends to drink, and then you endangered your lives and those of all Virginia with your horseplay. The number of lives that you could have altered irreparably is countless, and I'm not just talking about those who might have perished in the flames. The fire would have burnt out all the arable land in the prairie; the cattle would have starved and the crops would have been ash. Hundreds of thousands depend on the land to live, Jamie, and you could have taken that away with one thoughtless act.'

Beneath him he felt the boy beginning to sob silently, and Ben knew that his words had reached the young sinner. 'I know you meant no harm, boy,' he said in a softer tone. 'But you need to know that there are consequences to your actions, and as for lying,' Ben shook his head, 'now that is something I can never abide.'

Jamie sniffed loudly. 'Yes, sir, I'm sorry. I'll never drink again.'

Ben let himself smile at this. 'Now don't go making rash promises either,' he said. 'Just don't you go drinking until you're old enough to know better. If I see or catch a whiff of drink off you before you're past at least sixteen, I'll take a belt to your bare hide.'

With that last word Ben brought his hand down hard on Jamie's seat, snapping his wrist back to gain maximum effect on the tender flesh. Over and over again he spanked the boy; alternating cheeks and working his way methodically down from tail to thigh and then up again. After a while Jamie's bottom was beginning to give off a radiant heat and the boy was beginning to squirm. Suddenly his wrists slipped free of Ben's hold and he covered his scorching rear. 'Please Mr Cartwright, I'm sorry,' he begged. 'I'm sorry, please stop, it hurts!'

Ben took hold of his charge's hands, bringing them forwards and holding them firmly against the bedcovers. 'I always had a rule Jamie with my sons, that if they interfered with their punishments as you just did they'd be getting ten more at the end,' he said gruffly. 'Seeing as you were unaware of this rule I'll drop that to five, but you'd better not try to stop me again.'

Jamie gave a small whimper, clutching handfuls of the bedcover as he kicked and cried his way through the rest of the spanking. Suddenly Ben stopped, resting his hand on the boy's back as Jamie sighed in obvious relief. The end to the punishment was a mixed blessing though as the numbness that had come with the continuous assault on his rear began to rapidly wear off, leaving behind a stinging, prickling, burning pain.

'I hope I have made myself clear?' Ben said sternly, not requiring an answer. Even so, Jamie nodded brokenly into the bedclothes, unable to look the man he respected most in the eye from such a compromising position.

The hand left the boy's back and a swooshing of air was all that Jamie had to prepare himself with before a thundering swat landed in the middle of his bottom.

'Yeow!' he howled, the pain more intense than the rest of his spanks had been. He thought that it might be to do with the pause, the numbness having left making his backside raw and sensitive, but, as he jerked forwards a little from the second hard swat he could tell that Ben wasn't holding back at all.

Ben brought his hand down three more times, eliciting a whimper and gasp of pain at each blow. When he was done he resisted the urge to blow on his sore hand and instead comforted the boy who had collapsed back into a heap of tears at the extra treatment to his already sore rear.

'I'm sorry I had to do that, Jamie,' he said quietly.

'I know,' Jamie sobbed, surprising him. 'I'm sorry I made ya.'

Ben smiled, quickly making sure that he hadn't caused any bruising to the lad's behind before covering the damage with the longjohn flap as gently as possible.

'Now, I think it's best if you stay up here a while and get some sleep,' Ben said, ruffling the boy's hair as Jamie sniffled into the bedclothes. 'Tomorrow morning I want you down early to eat breakfast with Hoss. He's going to get the wagon loaded for the supplies in town after church and you're going to help him. You better be fast to table too, you know how Hoss is with leftovers.'

'Sitting?' Jamie asked wretchedly thinking it was the last thing he would be able to do for a long time to come.

Ben chuckled. 'You may use a pillow. Better get used to sitting now though; after church you will be going to town for the deliveries with Hoss and then riding fence with Joe til supper.'

Jamie moaned at the idea of sitting in the hard church pews and the saddle but knew better than to argue with the stern patriarch. 'Yessir,' he said quietly.

'Good boy,' Ben smiled, easing the lad off his legs and helping him shuffle his body onto the mattress, his britches still about his ankles. Jamie was dog-tired from his chores and the spanking and hardly noticed this little fact or Ben's hands removing his boots, his focus on his burning, throbbing rear.

When Ben reached the door he turned back to his charge. 'Jamie?'

'Yes, Mr Cartwright?' Jamie replied, his voice on the verge of sleep.

'Thank you for being honest with me, son.'

'I'm sorry, sir,' Jamie said, keeping his eyes cast down.

'No need to apologise any more, all is forgiven,' Ben said with gruff kindness, 'now get some sleep.'

~ATB~

The next week proved to be a long one for the youngest member of the Cartwright household. The spanking he had received was by no means the end to his punishment and Ben saw to it that the boy was kept very busy from morning to night. Still, it took three days for the boy to be able to sit on his horse without standing in the stirrups, and much longer for Hoss and Joe to stop teasing him about it too. It was by no means the last time that Jamie pushed his boundaries with Ben and the others but it was certainly the last in which drinking played a part.