Guilty 1/1
Title: Guilty
Rating: R (there's discipline but no sex, lol, so we don't quite reach the NC-17 mark)
Spoilers: The last line of the season 3 episode "Guilt".
Pairing: Alex Cabot/Liz Donnelly
Summary: Because Alex needed her ass whooped in that episode. Come on people.
"I got news for you. It won't happen. Ever."
Alex seethed as Liz moved past her toward the doors... what the hell was she expected to do, let Barnett get away with what he'd done? Make Sam's brain damage be for nothing? "You know what, Liz?" she said, before she could rein herself in. "You can just climb down off your self-righteous pedestal, because I have enough guilt inside without your hypocritical bullshit."
Liz stopped at the doors, dropped her briefcase, and turned, walking slowly back over to Alex. "Hypocritical bullshit?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest and circling the ADA. "Hypocritical bullshit, Alex?" She uncrossed her arms when she was standing in front of the blonde, and pointed toward a corner of the room. "Go stand in the corner."
Alex laughed, wondering what Liz may or may not have been high on. "You're not serious." Was this Liz's way of saying she was right? Making a joke to clear the air between them?
Liz was not amused, and her icy cold expression conveyed that clearly. She took Alex firmly by the back of the neck and marched her to the corner behind her desk. "Put your hands on the back of your head."
Alex stumbled twice, and when she was forced into a corner, she bristled angrily. "I am not five years old, Liz!"
"You're going to feel five years old," Liz said in that way she had about her that made you cringe even if you weren't the one being spoken to. "Don't make me tell you again, Alexandra, put your hands on the back of your head." And when Alex didn't respond right away, she yelled sharply. "Now!"
Alex jumped and before she knew what she was doing, she had raised her hands and clasped her fingers behind her head, just as she'd had to do in school a few times as a little girl.
Satisfied for the moment, Liz walked around behind her desk and took a seat, getting out some paperwork she could go over. She might as well do something productive while she made her protege think over her behavior. "Don't move until I tell you," she said casually without so much as looking at Alex, and then began reading over a brief.
Alex wasn't sure exactly how she'd ended up in this position, but the longer she thought about it, the more aware she was of how long she'd been standing there. Her arms were starting to ache. "How long do I have to stand here?" she finally asked irritably, though she didn't move, she noticed with a furrowed brow.
Liz also noticed that Alex hadn't moved, and a wry grin played across her features though she was the only one that knew it was there. "When I call you over, you'll wish I'd let you stay there longer," she said, somehow managing to keep the smirk out of her voice. Her eyes were on her paperwork, but she could see Alex with her peripheral vision. She saw the attorney's muscles flex with tension.
Another five minutes and Alex was starting to escalate. "God damnit, my arms hurt!" she cursed, tempted to just say the hell with Liz and walk right out. But something kept her standing there, staring at the wall, her hands on the back of her head, despite her whining.
"Be quiet or I'll put soap in your mouth," Liz snapped, determined to leave Alex in the corner until the ADA could stand quietly for ten consecutive minutes.
Now that shut Alex up. Despite the fact that she could refuse the punishment, which didn't even cross her mind to be honest, the thought of having her mouth washed out with soap was enough to keep her quiet.
Liz continued reading, glancing at the clock every few minutes, and when ten minutes had passed without a sound from Alex, she closed the brief and slid it back into her drawer. She stood and went around her desk, taking a seat in the chair most often used by visitors to her office. "Alexandra, kindly retrieve my hairbrush from the top middle desk drawer and come here."
"What?" Alex asked, her pale face even paler than usual as she dropped her hands to her sides and slowly turned to face Liz.
"You heard me perfectly well, Alexandra. Don't argue with me, just do as you're told, or you'll be one very sorry young lady. Even more so than you're already going to be."
Alex flinched and inexplicably walked to Liz's desk and retrieved the hairbrush from it, staring at the menacing object as she shuffled to her boss's side and handed it over.
"There we go, now take your skirt off," Liz commanded, gesturing to the expensive garment.
"I beg your pardon?" Alex couldn't help but ask, her baby blue eyes springing open wide, her hands instinctively going behind her to cover the zipper in a protective manner.
"That's twice you've argued with me, and I don't tolerate insubordination," Liz said succinctly, standing from her chair and spinning Alex around. "Move your hands," she barked.
Alex, quite flustered by the tone of Liz's voice as well as her actions, moved her hands out of the way but grabbed fistfuls of the sides of her skirt instead. There was no way she was going to let--
"Hands on your head," Liz ordered impatiently, getting fed up with Alex's attempts to keep her skirt on. When the ADA quickly complied, she yanked down the zipper and pushed the garment down over Alex's hips, letting it fall to the floor. "Step out of it."
Alex stepped out of her skirt, her cheeks flushed a dark pink as she now stood in her boss's office wearing a white blouse, light blue satin panties with matching thigh-high stockings and a pair of heeled Gucci sandals. Why wasn't she leaving, again? Oh yeah, because... she had no idea.
Liz sat back down and yanked Alex across her lap, causing the ADA to nearly fall to the floor, but Liz quickly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, keeping her in place until she had regained her equilibrium. "Are you steady?"
Alex blushed darker, not wanting to answer that question, because thus far she hadn't actually given vocal consent to this little scenario, only implied consent... but if she answered that she had her balance and was steady, that would be like giving Liz the go-ahead, like admitting she deserved this. Which she so clearly didn't, of course. But her voice betrayed her and she found herself answering in the affirmative.
"Good." Liz let go of Alex's waist and efficiently lowered her panties to her knees, to which Alex kicked and tried to get up. "Lie down, Alexandra," she said smoothly.
Alex's breathing hitched and she processed the command, her cheeks burning hotly at her exposed state of undress, but Liz's voice somehow managed to knock her down a peg or two, and she stopped struggling, laying her hands on the floor and accepting her position. She had to ask one question, though, just for peace of mind. "Is this for mouthing off to you or because of what I did?"
Liz pondered the question, wondering how to answer. She wasn't entirely sure which of the two was more of a contributing factor. "A little of both," she replied, picking up the hairbrush and once again wrapping an arm around Alex's waist, though this time to hold her still, not to keep her from falling. "Are you going to be good, Alexandra?" she then asked, resting the brush on Alex's backside. She fully intended to blister the ADA's bottom until she couldn't sit comfortably, whether Alex was good or not.
Alex pulled in a deep breath, cringing when the hairbrush was touched to her skin, and nodded her head. "Yeah," she promised. Of course she was going to be good... she had gone this far, hadn't she? She still wasn't quite sure why she was allowing this to happen, but she was past the point of no return; she wasn't going to act up now.
Liz tightened her grip on Alex's waist and lifted the brush, readying herself for the task at hand, and then she began. The strokes started off sharp and crisp, this was a punishment, not a playful spanking, and Liz was going to make sure Alex understood that. She had no doubt that her point would be made quickly.
Alex yelled as the first stroke landed, clenching her teeth to muffle the sound, and her entire body tensed, an intense pain flaring up in her backside. "Jesus!" she hissed as another followed the first, and she felt the hot sting of tears behind her tightly closed eyelids.
"Quiet," Liz barked, bringing the wooden hairbrush down again and again, alternating cheeks and barely giving Alex time to recover between the strokes.
Alex started to cry, trying to stay quiet about it as ordered, but the searing pain in her backside was making it quite difficult to keep from yelling. Liz was right - she did feel five years old, kicking her feet in protest, trying to ease the sting of the awful paddling, and now crying like a baby. It seemed to go on forever, though in reality was probably no more than five minutes, but five minutes was enough to reduce the stoic Ice Princess to a sobbing, very sorry young woman, begging for Liz to stop.
Liz stopped when she was good and ready, admiring her handiwork in the form of Alex's very red ass. There were even a few spots that were already starting to bruise. Liz was quite confident that Alex wouldn't forget this lesson any time soon. Perhaps it would assuage some of her guilt, perhaps not, but either way, the ADA was not likely to repeat such appalling behavior in the near future, and Liz allowed herself a satisfied smile. "Up," she instructed, helping Alex to her feet and turning her around. "Back to the corner, hands on your head."
"Noooo!" Alex wailed, trying in vain to wipe away her tears, which were only replaced immediately with fresh ones. She didn't care how juvenile she sounded at the moment - the only thing she cared about was getting out of standing in the corner again. "You-already-"
Liz held up a hand to forestall any further argument, and when Alex fell silent she took the ADA by the arm and led her the few yards to the corner. Slowly, since it was a little hard for Alex to walk with her panties around her knees. "Hands on your head," Liz repeated, urging Alex's compliance. "I want you to stand here quietly for ten minutes and think about how to avoid such unacceptable behavior in the future. Think about what your actions could have meant for this entire bureau, and especially for Detectives Benson and Stabler, whom you put in jeopardy when you lied to them."
"I'm sorry!" Alex cried, though she did as she was told, placing her hands once again on the back of her head, her body trembling with her tears.
Liz went back to her desk to sit down once Alex obeyed her, choosing not to comment on the apology just yet.
The room was silent, excepting Alex's tears, and as they slowed to the occasional sniffle, she became acutely aware of the fact that her skirt was across the room and her panties weren't helping to cover her ass in the least, as she could still feel them around her knees. Oh God. Her legs felt like they weren't going to hold her up anymore, and her shoulders ached. But she stood still, and quiet, trying to gauge how much time she had left in the corner.
At the ten minute mark, Liz pushed her chair back a few feet and turned to Alex. "Pull your panties up and come here," she said.
Alex couldn't read the tone of Liz's voice. It was the same as it had been all afternoon, but Alex thought she'd been good, so why wasn't Liz letting her go? Or at least speaking more gently? Maybe she had misbehaved without realizing it? Well, regardless, she carefully pulled up her panties, biting her lip as she slid them into place over her very sore, very well-punished backside. That accomplished, she turned around and walked to Liz, having no idea what to expect now.
Liz crossed her legs at the knee and looked up at the standing blonde. "I trust you'll follow the law from now on?"
Alex nodded without hesitation. Hell yes, she would follow it to the letter. "Of course," she said, her voice hoarse with the remnants of her tears.
"And if I ever hear the phrase 'hypocritical bullshit' from your mouth again, directed toward me, you will wish I'd fired you, is that clear?"
Alex fought a wave of nausea as she nodded again. "Yes," she said quickly. She couldn't imagine Liz doing much worse to her than she'd just done, but judging from the look in her boss's eyes, it was most certainly not a threat, but a promise. The ADA shuddered at the implications. "Yes," she repeated, to make sure she conveyed her sincerity. "Never again. I'm sorry."
"Good. Now you have two choices. Put your skirt on and go home, or get the vodka from the frige and have a drink."
Alex hesitated. She simultaneously wanted to be as far away from and as close to Liz Donnelly as possible. She felt incredibly awkward either way... home sounded good, where she could lick her wounds in private, but there was something appealing about having a drink with Liz, too. With a sigh she decided to go home. "I think I'll head home," she said quietly, almost afraid of disappointing Liz with her answer.
Liz nodded. "I'll see you in a month, Alexandra."
Alex wasn't sure what she had expected, but Liz's indifference bothered her. Before her mouth wrote a check that her ass most certainly couldn't cash, she slipped her skirt back on, zipped it up, and was almost to the door when Liz's voice halted her.
"Alexandra?"
"Yes?" she asked, looking anywhere but at Liz.
Liz rose from her desk and closed the distance between them, stopping in front of Alex and just standing there for a few moments before she took Alex's face in her hands and placed a gentle, chaste kiss on her lips. "You were a good girl."
Alex's fingertips fluttered over her burning lips as she looked at Liz, unable to understand why the statement made her feel so warm inside. She blushed and dropped her head to stare at the floor as she turned and left Liz's office. A cool bath and soft pajamas had never sounded so good.
Fin