Spare the Rod
"Julie Beth Johnston."
The blonde jerked sharply, nearly colliding with the wall as she struggled to sit up. Her head was reeling, and she blinked tiredly up at the woman looming over her.
"Slowly, now." Strong hands supported her to sit up, and she groaned, lifting a hand to rub over her eyes.
The voice didn't register as familiar, but the tone certainly was. "Good Lord, child, you've worried us all sick. Can you even see straight?"
Julie groaned, closing her eyes tightly. "Who..."
"It's Lisa, Julie."
Julie's eyes flew open, and she twisted in the older woman's grasp, looking up to meet her boyfriend's mother's eyes. Lisa Ertz had come to the infirmary for her?
"Lisa..." Julie swallowed. "It's not that I'm not happy to see you, but..."
"But you're not happy to see me," Lisa said dryly, sitting in a chair by the college junior's bed, and taking her hand. "What's this I hear about you passing out at Stanford's pro day?"
"Uh..."
Julie slowly looked around, realizing she wasn't in Santa Clara University's sick bay at all - this was Stanford's.
"I don't know what you mean, Lisa. I didn't pass out."
"So you haven't been drinking, Julie Beth?"
Julie's blush returned full force. "Um..."
"Mom."
Julie dived for the pillow, pulling it over her head. If her boyfriend's mother scolding her while she was suffering from a hangover wasn't bad enough, her boyfriend seeing Lisa do it was the only worse outcome she could think of.
"Jules? Are you okay, love?"
"I imagine she's none too pleased about the thought of facing consequences for her actions, son," Lisa said. "Would you happen to know where she got alcohol, hm?"
"Um, yes, ma'am," Zach said quietly. "Mom, Jules is twenty-one now, she had her birthday on--"
"It's on the sixth, Zach," Julie said, still muffled by the pillow. "April sixth."
It was March twenty-fourth. Lisa's lips thinned.
"Come up here, Julie Beth," Lisa ordered. "I won't continue this conversation with your pillow."
"Yes ma'am," Julie whispered, emerging reluctantly.
"That's better. Tell me, Julie, how many days there are left in March."
"I..." Julie rubbed her temples, head pounding, closing her eyes against the glare. She'd been pulling at the IV in her arm, giving her fluids and anti-nausea medication, but Lisa gently and insistently tugged her arm away to make her stop.
"Look at me, and tell me, Julie Beth Johnston."
Julie groaned.
"It's still the 24th, love," Zach said helpfully.
"Seven, ma'am," Julie offered quietly.
"And your birthday is April sixth?"
"Yes ma'am."
"That would be thirteen days until you turn twenty-one, then."
"Yes, ma'am," Julie lowered her eyes.
"I've been told that you can't have the IV out before morning," Lisa said firmly. "We'll revisit this then. But I expected better of you, Julie." She gave her son's girlfriend a disapproving frown. "Especially since you made U-20 captain this last summer."
Julie's cheeks burned. She had only been dating Zach for a few months by that summer, but Lisa had been as proud of her as if Julie was her own daughter. With her own parents far away, Lisa had been the support her son's new girlfriend needed.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. I should have known better."
"You did know better," Lisa corrected sternly.
"I did know better," Julie amended, eyes lowered.
"I'm glad you acknowledge that. We'll discuss it in the morning, Julie Beth," Lisa said quietly. "Come along, Zach."
"Don't leave me alone, please," Julie swallowed hard.
"You won't be alone."
It was a new voice, but not an unfamiliar one - Kelley O'Hara, a Stanford alumnus who Julie had gotten to know better at the party.
Kelley crossed to Julie's bed and took the chair Lisa had vacated, taking Julie's hand as Lisa herded Zach away.
"It's alright Julie, I've got you. You're going to be okay." Kelley spoke soothingly to the younger girl, giving her a reassuring smile. "You need sleep, more than anything else. I'm here, I won't let anyone get near you that you don't want."
"What do you think Lisa's going to do?" Julie asked, voice quivering.
Kelley snorted.
"What would your mother do, if you'd been caught drinking underage and she got hold of you? I know what mine would have done."
"She's not my mom, though, she's Zach's mom."
"Kiddo, I would think very hard if I were you before saying those words again. Especially in front of Lisa."
Julie nodded meekly, and nibbled at her lower lip. "Kelley?"
"Yeah, sweetie?"
"You're on the National Team."
"So are you." Kelley raised her eyebrows.
"Well, the U-20s," Julie said. "At least I was on the last squad."
"You captained the last squad, Julie, I was paying attention," Kelley said wryly.
Julie nodded, wondering if the blush in her face was now a permanent fixture. "Yes ma'am."
"Oh please." Kelley sighed. "I'm not scolding you, kiddo, you don't have to yes ma'am me just because I'm from Georgia."
"I guess." Julie squirmed.
"The point is, Julie, you know about being a captain, you know how to lead, and be an example. And how we expect to deal with troublemaking on our teams."
No, the blush definitely wasn't going anywhere yet.
"Yes Kelley."
"So, what do you think Lisa is going to do?"
"Can she maybe just not?" Julie suggested.
Kelley stifled a laugh.
"Okay, move over." Kelley shifted to sit on the bed with Julie, putting an arm around the younger girl and giving her a comforting squeeze. "Julie. Honey. Do you think Lisa can just not?"
Slowly, Julie shook her head.
"Do you know why not?"
Julie lowered her eyes. "Because...because I made myself sick, and got hurt, and mom would have if she was here."
"Because Lisa loves you, little one. And because you broke the law," Kelley added, making Julie gulp. "Didn't think of that bit, did you?"
Julie buried her face in Kelley's shoulder.
"Okay, sweetie, I've got you," Kelley murmured, stroking Julie's long blonde ponytail. "It's going to be okay. Yes, what you did was illegal, but you're not going to be executed, let's not be dramatic."
"I'll just wish I was dead," Julie mumbled, and Kelley smiled ruefully.
"Part of you will, probably. But it's going to be all alright. Just breathe, Jules, sweetheart, you're safe. No sense being worked up before tomorrow."
Kelley eventually got Julie settled, and lay down next to the younger girl with her arms around Julie protectively. In a year or two, she knew, Julie would probably be her teammate, was near enough already anyway, and that made her Kelley's little sister.
Kelley didn't let her sisters get hurt.
Eventually, Kelley fell asleep too, and the pair were only wakened the next morning by Zach, who had somehow ended up in the bed next to Julie's own at some point the night before.
"Good morning, Ertz."
"Morning, O'Hara. Thanks for looking after Jules for me."
"You're welcome. I think I'll go get someone to check if Julie's IV can come out. I can leave her alone with you, right?" Kelley checked.
"Word of honor."
Zach sat up in his bed with a grimace, shifting to the cushioned chair next to Julie's bedside.
Julie looked up at Zach, offering him a tired smile. "I'm glad you're here, Zach," she whispered.
"I'm glad, babe. I've got you safe, you're okay," he promised.
"Until Lisa gets back you mean."
Zach nodded, shifting uncomfortably on the chair. The cushion didn't help much. "Can't argue with you there."
"Zach?" Julie noticed how uncomfortably Zach was sitting in the chair, and was instantly wide awake. "Zach, did Lisa--"
"Yeah."
"Oh, Zach..." Julie felt tears threaten. "You're of age, it wasn't wrong for you to be drinking--"
"But it was wrong for him to give you drinks, Julie Beth."
Julie's stomach dropped as the medic returned with, not Kelley as she hoped, but Lisa.
Kelley was there too, trailing behind, but Lisa brushed past Kelley, fixed single-mindedly on Julie.
The medic stepped between Lisa and Julie, and set about checking Julie's vitals. "You're hydrated and there's no sign of the hangover anymore, so the IV can come out. Your blood pressure is up, though," he remarked.
"Julie's a bit stressed right now," Kelley pointed out. "Anxiety, I'd guess."
"Are you taking medication for that?" the medic addressed Julie.
"It's not that kind of anxiety," Julie mumbled, blushing.
"If you give us an hour alone, I think we can deal with the source of the anxiety well enough," Lisa said calmly.
The medic looked at Julie. "Are you alright with that, Miss...Johnston?" He checked her bracelet, and she nodded.
"Yeah, it's fine," she said quietly. She felt Lisa's hand wrap around hers, and looked up into Lisa's eyes.
The woman's expression, while stern, was also loving, and she squeezed Julie's hand gently.
A few of the knots in Julie's stomach came loose.
"Zach, wait outside please," Lisa prompted. Her son obeyed, though not before leaning in to give Julie a chaste kiss on the forehead.
"It's alright love," he said softly.
Julie nodded and watched him leave with the medic. She looked at Lisa nervously as the woman rummaged in her purse.
The results of Lisa's search turned up a wooden hairbrush, and Julie eyed the oval implement with apprehension.
"Thirteen days," Lisa said, looking at Julie.
It took Julie a moment. "It's twelve now, ma'am," she said.
Kelley buried her face in her hands as Lisa raised an eyebrow.
"She didn't mean it like that, Lisa," Kelley said quickly. "Please."
Lisa raised a hand slightly, and Kelley shut her mouth, shaking her head.
"Get up please Julie."
Slowly, Julie got out of bed. As her feet hit the floor, she noticed the hospital issue slipper socks on them, and for the first time felt fully aware that she wasn't in the clothes she'd been wearing when she passed out, or in her own pjs. She was wearing clean underwear and a hospital gown (that, as usual, opened in back) and nothing else.
Lisa smoothed the blanket over the bed, and seated herself. Kelley sat on Lisa's left, getting an idea what Lisa wanted from her, and then Lisa took Julie by the hand, taking the girl over her lap.
Julie's upper torso landed on Kelley's thighs, and the older girl rubbed her shoulders gently. "Okay Jules, let me have your hands, you can hold onto me."
Julie nodded and clung to Kelley, squirming. She was forced to stop as Lisa pressed down on her lower back.
"Settle down, Julie. I know you can take your discipline as you ought."
"Yes ma'am."
"Proverbs 13:24, Julie?" Lisa prompted, and Kelley managed to hide her eyeroll only because Lisa wasn't looking. Even for families who weren't as devout as the Johnstons and Ertzes, there was only one verse Lisa could be looking for in this situation.
"He who withholds the rod hates his son, but he who loves him shall discipline him diligently."
"Or daughter," Lisa added, and that was all the warning Julie had before the first smack fell.
Julie yelped as the hairbrush smacked down on her left bottom cheek, followed by the right.
Kelley's hands closed tighter around Julie's as the rapid-fire swats continued; Lisa hadn't fully bared Julie, but the hairbrush was not deterred at all by the thin cotton underwear Julie was wearing, and Julie's eyes blurred with tears as she silently counted the smacks, up to thirteen. She was drumming her feet on the bed, and she kicked out as the swats moved lower.
Lisa stopped smacking, and caught Julie's ankle, shifting so that Julie was bent over her left thigh, with her right trapping Julie's legs underneath it.
This left Julie tilted forward, the most sensitive part of her bottom better presented.
"Ephesians 6:1-2, Julie."
Julie groaned into Kelley's thigh, clinging to the older girl. "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and your mother."
Kelley winced as Lisa resumed Julie's spanking, addressing the hairbrush to her sit spots and undercurve. It didn't take long for this part of the spanking to have Julie sobbing into Kelley's lap, and the older girl stroked Julie's hair gently, both of Julie's wrists held in her other hand.
When Julie's bottom was scarlet, heat radiating even through her underwear, Lisa stopped the punishment. She lay the brush aside, and stroked Julie's back lightly.
"Psalm 32:1, Julie," she said when Julie's sobs had slowed and she was breathing properly again.
"Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sins are covered," Julie whispered.
Lisa nodded, releasing Julie and pulling the girl up into her embrace.
"There, now, Julie," Lisa murmured. "It's over now, forgiven." She held her son's girlfriend in her arms, and at her direction, Kelley brought a blanket to wrap Julie in. The warm blanket helped still Julie's shaking a little.
"I'm sorry Lisa," Julie whispered.
"I know, and I forgive you," Lisa said, giving Julie a light kiss on the forehead. "All's well, Julie."
Julie stayed wrapped up in Lisa's arms until she was fully calm again.
The next visitor at the door was a welcome, if embarrassing one.
Zach, carrying a bag with Julie's clothes in it.
Kelley intercepted it. "Thanks, Zach," she said, taking the bag. "I'll help Julie, okay?"
"Yeah," Zach agreed, sounding relieved as he stepped back outside.
Kelley brought the bag back to Julie. "Jules, do you want me or Lisa to help you?" she asked, fetching Julie a cup of water and tissues to dry her eyes.
"I can manage, Kelley, thank you," Julie said, though she sipped the water obediently, drying her tears and cleaning her face. She didn't relish the thought of being dressed like a small child.
"Me or Kelley, Julie," Lisa reiterated firmly.
Julie bit her lower lip. Was there a right answer? Was there a wrong answer? Would Lisa be offended if she chose Kelley? If she chose Lisa what would Kelley say?
"It's alright Jules, how about both of us, then we'll be done quicker?" Kelley suggested.
Blushing, Julie nodded quickly. She didn't want this to happen, but if it had to, at least she didn't have to risk offending one of them.
Kelley helped Julie out of her hospital gown and to put her sports bra back on, following it up with the pink, flowery T-shirt Zach had brought.
Lisa, for her part, switched out the hospital socks for white ankle socks, and then took out a pair of purple leggings and a matching skirt. She helped Julie finish dressing, and Julie squirmed as the leggings were pulled up into place.
"Thank you, Lisa," she said quietly, stepping into her shoes and glad not to have to bother with laces. "Is Zach still out there?"
"Zach is waiting for us to take you back to your dorm."
Back to Santa Clara University. Where her dorm mates would no doubt want to know where she'd been. Wonderful.
"Yes ma'am."
"I think 'Mom' might be more appropriate, don't you, Julie?" Lisa prompted. She could tell Zach had every intention of marrying Julie someday.
Julie blushed. "Okay...Mom."
Kelley walked Julie outside, where Zach was waiting, and watched as he pulled Julie into his arms.
"Are you okay, babe?" he whispered, and Julie nodded against his chest, snuggling close.
"Yeah, I think so." Her voice was muffled by his shirt. "But remind me never to make mom mad again, Zach."
Zach forgot Lisa was watching; he swept Julie up and kissed her. "It's alright Jules. I won't let you forget."
Reluctantly, though, he had to let Julie go so Lisa could take her away.
"I love you, Jules. I'll see you again soon, promise."
"I love you too, Zach."
Kelley hugged Julie, and then there was nothing for it but to leave with Lisa. Kelley would have driven Julie herself if she'd been able, but Lisa insisted.
It was, at least, Zach's car, so Julie felt comfortable in the front seat - comfortable enough to fall asleep, despite the lingering burn in her bottom. Lisa got her back to Santa Clara, only to find someone waiting there for them.