Author’s Note: This story was written a while ago, and I have no idea why I never posted it. I suppose because I just wrote it for my own enjoyment. At any rate, it’s a fanfic for The Blacklist and it takes place sometime after Season 4 Episode 8. Written December 2016, posted August 2018.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, and I’m not making any money from this story.
Warning: semi-consensual spanking of an adult.
When Work Comes First
Liz pulled into the driveway of little house she and Tom had recently purchased. Getting away from the place Red had put them for protection had been the first step towards normalcy, and she loved their new house. She glanced at the digital clock, and hurried up the walkway. She’d promised to be home for Christmas, and there was still half an hour left before midnight.
She found Tom in the living room, sitting on the couch with the lights dimmed. The bright colors of the Christmas tree lights filled the room, and there were several unwrapped presents under the tree.
He gave her a sad little smile and said, “I couldn’t keep her awake.”
Crushing disappointment hit Liz. “I missed her first Christmas.”
Tom stood and walked over to give his wife a hug. “We’ll pretend tomorrow is Christmas. Agnes isn’t even one yet. She’ll never know the difference.”
“But I’ll know.” Liz put her head on his chest, and closed her eyes. “And you’ll know.”
“Sometimes your job takes priority. I understand.”
She shook her head, and stepped out of his embrace. “The job should never take priority.”
“Liz, we both know that’s not true. Your job is important. You save lives by getting serious criminals off the street. It’s okay to let the job come first sometimes.”
“But what kind of mother and wife does that make me?”
Tom pulled her into a hug again. “The kind who wants to make the world a better place for her child.”
“Making the world a better place means nothing if my child grows up without the love and comfort of her parents.”
Tom sighed. “I think you’re being a little melodramatic.”
“I’m not. It starts with being late for Christmas, and it ends with Agnes feeling like we never loved her.”
“I promise that’s never going to happen.”
“You can’t promise that,” she protested, “because I know myself too well. If I’m in the middle of a manhunt, and I think I’m the only one who can catch him… I won’t stop until it’s done, and that means Agnes will miss out.” She leaned back to look in Tom’s eyes. “I’m a horrible mother.”
“That’s enough.” He reached down and gave her a firm smack on the ass.
“Tom!” She put a hand over the spot he’d hit, hardly believing that it had happened.
Over the past four years, they’d had a bumpy road. She’d found out he was a spy, and when she confronted him, they’d had a physical altercation that left them both bruised and bloody before he escaped. Then later she’d held him captive for months. Neither one of them were strangers to getting physical with the other when they were on opposite sides of the law, but Tom had never hit her when there weren’t outside forces making them choose sides, and he’d never slapped her ass.
He pointed a finger in her face and said, “You’re not a horrible mother. Don’t say it again.”
She was at a loss for words. Her husband, the man who had literally put his life on the line for her, had just given her a swat; and it hadn’t been in jest.
“Did you… did you just spank me?”
He put his arms around her waist and said, “I did. It’s something I’ve thought about doing more than once.”
“It is?” Liz felt like she was in an episode of The Twilight Zone. “But you’ve never… I mean, back before I found out about you, you never...”
He nodded in agreement. “I know. Back then I was getting paid to keep you happy. I couldn’t risk driving you away, but believe me I was tempted more than once.”
“You were? When?”
“Every time you came home with that self-recriminating expression after missing something we had planned. I hate watching you beat yourself up like that, and now that we’re being honest with each other, I don’t have to. Your job does have to come first sometimes, Liz, and you need to accept that without the guilt. Instead of feeling bad that you missed Agnes’ first Christmas, you should feel proud and satisfied that you got another monster off the streets.”
She leaned her head on his chest and said, “Logically I get what you’re saying, but it’s impossible not to feel guilty when I think about Agnes and missing Christmas with her.”
“And that’s when I step in and help,” Tom said. He kept his arm around her waist and started walking towards the couch with her.
“With a spanking?” Liz asked incredulously.
“Don’t knock it until you try it.” With those words, he sat on the couch, and gently tugged on her arm to get her across his lap.
She pulled back to stay upright. “Wait… You mean… now?”
“I mean right now.” He tugged again, less gently this time, and she fell across his lap.
“Tom!”
He started smacking the seat of her slacks repeatedly.
“You’re going to wake up Agnes!” Liz hissed. She pushed on the couch cushions to get up.
He wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her down. “Our daughter could sleep thought an earthquake.”
“Tom, this is ridiculous. Let me up, right now.”
He stopped spanking, but held her in place. “Tell me you don’t feel guilty about missing Christmas, and I will.”
Her upper half slowly sank down onto the couch, and she mumbled, “You know I can’t.”
“Exactly.” He reached under her, unsnapped her slacks, and pushed them down off her hips along with her underwear.
“Tooom,” she whined, not on board with this new development, but not voicing a strong complaint either. If she had a serious problem with what he was doing, she would be fighting him with an elbow to the ribs, not whining, and they both knew it.
He said softly, “Let’s get rid of that unnecessary guilt.”
His hand clapped down loudly on her bare skin, making her body jolt with surprise. Over the next few minutes Liz hissed, grunted, groaned, squirmed, and kicked while her husband painted her entire rear end a bright pink color.
Eventually she felt tears in her eyes, and called out, “That’s enough, Tom.”
He slowed the pace but put more force behind each smack, and said, “It’s enough when I say it’s enough.”
A few tears slid down her face and she whimpered, “Tom, please. Ow! Please, I-I can’t take anymore.”
He stopped spanking, and ran his hand gently in circles on her rear end. “Your job is important. Sometimes it’s okay to make Agnes and me wait. It won’t make us love you any less.”
His words only made more tears leak down her cheeks. She wiped her face and said through her tears, “I d-don’t feel better.”
“No, I’m sure you don’t right now.” He carefully turned her over so she was sitting in his lap, and pulled her upper half into a hug. “But I’m betting you will tomorrow morning.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then I’ll never spank you again, no matter how tempted I am.”
She relaxed in his embrace, closed her eyes, and let herself accept the comfort he was offering.
# # #
The next morning, when Liz woke up, she found the bed empty. She went downstairs and found Tom feeding Agnes.
“Did I sleep though her crying?” Liz asked.
“No. I heard her moving around before she started crying, and went to get her so you could sleep in.”
“That’s really sweet. Thank you.”
“How are you feeling this morning?” Tom asked.
Liz leaned down to give her daughter’s forehead a kiss, while she thought about that question. With a sigh, she looked at Tom and said, “I feel good. Better than I would have if you hadn’t stepped in.”
Tom smiled. “I’m glad.”
“I’m not,” she muttered.
He chuckled, and then changed the subject. “Agnes is almost done, and I’ve got the video camera set up in the living room. Are you ready for Christmas morning?”
Liz smiled, “I am.”
Soon the three of them sat in front of the Christmas tree and opened gifts together. Both Tom and Liz couldn’t stop smiling when it became clear Agnes’ favorite new toy was the red bow off one of the boxes.
The End
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