Author's Note: This is a missing scene from the episode '18 Miles Out' S2E11, and the story starts out with some lines from 'Triggerfinger' S2E10. This was suggested by and written for my friend JR. Hope you like it. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, and I'm not making any money from this story.
Warning: F/M disciplinary spanking. Dubious consent.
Cross the Line
Maggie pulled Glenn aside after the group was done talking about the wounded young man they'd brought back from town. She could tell something was wrong with him, but had no idea why he was upset. "What's going on with you?" she asked.
"Your dad saved my life today. And Rick saved us both. And I…" he leaned against the wall, and shook his head, "…I froze."
"You were being shot at," she reminded him.
"No." That wasn't an excuse. Rick was being shot at too, and he didn't freeze.
"You don't have anything to prove."
"After all I've done." He'd been in and out of the city swarming with walkers more times than anyone else, and he'd never frozen that way before. He looked into her eyes. "It's because of what you said."
"That I love you?" she asked.
"Yeah. A bullet hit the wall behind me and I thought of you losing me… hurting… and I couldn't take it so I hid to stay alive."
She smiled at him with love in her eyes, and tried to put her hands on his face, but he grabbed her wrists. "No, no, no," he said. "You don't get it."
She backed away, giving him a minute to explain.
"Rick, your dad, they were counting on me, and I only thought of myself." He walked away ashamed of what he'd done, with no idea how to make sure it never happened again.
Maggie watched him go, feeling bad for him, but not knowing how to make it better.
# # #
A week passed. There were always things that needed to be done on the farm, and with the addition of a wounded prisoner, the workload was larger than before. Glenn had volunteered for the early morning shift to stand guard by the barn while the others ate breakfast. Maggie suspected that he'd done it to avoid her, but didn't confront him about it.
She'd decided a week ago that she would give him some space, as requested, even if it was hard for her. But the day Rick and Shane took the prisoner away from camp to release him, Maggie couldn't do it anymore, because her little sister Beth tried to commit suicide. After the initial shock of it wore off, all Maggie could think about was Glenn, and how much she needed his comfort in this moment.
While her father was stitching up the shallow cut on Beth's wrist, Maggie was on the front porch, trying not to cry. Lori put an arm around her shoulders, and said, "Beth wants to live, and now she knows it. If she'd truly wanted to die, those cuts would have been much deeper, and we wouldn't have been able to get to her in time. Sometimes you have to cross the line to figure out how you honestly feel."
Maggie thought that if she'd given in to the urge to spank her little sister when she first mentioned suicide, Beth wouldn't have even attempted it, but Maggie had been unwilling to cross that line at the time. Next time she'd know better. She gave Lori a little smile, and said, "Thanks. I'd like to be alone for a little while if you don't mind."
"Sure." Lori squeezed her, and then let go. She went inside to give the younger woman some space.
Maggie looked out across the field, and tried to get the image of her sister's bloody arm out of her head. She spotted Glenn in the distance by the barn. He was carrying fence supplies over to T-Dog's truck. She started walking towards him, without realizing what she was doing. She just needed someone to lean on. She needed someone to hold her and tell her it was going to be okay.
Glenn saw her coming, set his armful of supplies in the truck, and went to meet her half way. When they were within hearing range, he said, "What's wrong?"
"Beth…"
"Is that blood on your shirt?" he asked, rushing to her.
"Beth tried to commit suicide." Tears started rolling down her cheeks.
"Is she okay?" he asked.
She nodded. "My dad is stitching her up."
Relieved, Glenn pulled her into a hug, and said, "I'm sorry."
She stayed in his arms for a long time, letting his presence calm her frayed nerves. When she finally had some control over her emotions, she stepped back and said, "We need to talk."
He grimaced. He'd been avoiding this conversation all week, and he was positive that she wouldn't like any answers he had to give at this point. "Okay. Hold on." He walked back to T-Dog, and said quietly, "Do you mind taking this stuff out to the guys by yourself? Maggie needs…"
"It's okay," T-Dog said. "I heard. I'll let the others know you'll be here for the afternoon. There are four of us out there. We'll get the repairs done without you, no problem."
"Thanks, man."
T-Dog waved at Maggie, before getting into his truck and driving towards the west end of the property where Daryl, Jimmy, and Dale were working on the fence.
Once they were alone, Maggie said, "I need you to stop."
"Stop what?" he asked.
"Stop avoiding me."
"Maggie…" he said softly.
"No. I love you, and it hurts when you avoid me."
"I'm not trying to hurt you," he said. "I just need some time to get my head straight."
"I've given you time. It's been a week," she said.
"I know, but…" He sighed. "When I think about you, I can't concentrate on anything else. Not being able to concentrate could get someone killed."
Maggie thought about everything that had happened today, and shook her head. "Come with me." She started walking towards the barn.
He scowled, thinking about the egg smashing incident, and slowly followed her into the barn. Once he was in, she shut the door behind them, and he swallowed nervously. No one was anywhere close to them. Everyone who wasn't repairing the fence was in the house, except Andrea, who was on top of the motor home keeping watch quite a ways off.
Maggie got close to him and poked a finger in his chest. "You listen to me. I just watched my sister try to kill herself, and all I can think about is that I might have been able to stop her before she even tried it, if I'd taken her in hand when she told me she was considering it. So now I'm done being passive when the people I love are saying or doing things that I know are wrong."
She poked him again. "I am sick and tired of you trying to push me away, and one way or another, it ends today. You were wrong to try and put distance between us, and you were wrong to think of your survival instincts as a mistake. So now, you're either going over my knee for a spanking, or I'm done with you for good." She put her hands on her hips, and waited for an answer.
Glenn blinked a few times. "Are… are you serious?"
"Yes."
"Maggie, I know you're upset, but hitting me isn't going to solve anything."
"So we're done then?"
"No! No, I just… I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry you're upset, and I'm sorry that I distanced myself from you, but I don't think I'm wrong here. I froze in that moment, and I wouldn't have before we met."
"And maybe if you hadn't, you'd be dead."
He shook his head, not wanting to consider that as an option. She took his hand, and pulled him over to an unbroken bail of hay. She let go, and unbuckled her belt. He backed up a step and held his hands up in front of him to try and calm her down.
"Maggie listen to me! I'm not okay with this!"
"Good, you shouldn't be." She slid the belt through the loops of her jeans. "Maybe if you're not okay with it, you'll try to avoid it." She doubled the belt over in her hand, and crooked a finger at him in a 'come here' motion.
He shook his head no. "Can't you just accept my apology?"
"I'll accept your apology when it actually sounds sincere. Right now you just sound like you're trying to placate me. Two options. Either come here and take a spanking, or walk out the door and we're done."
He thought about it for a few minutes. He looked at the door, and then back at her.
After a long indecisive pause, Maggie said softly, "I told you I loved you, and you threw that in my face, by using it to avoid me."
Overwhelming guilt forced his feet to move slowly towards her, even though he still didn't agree with most of what she was saying. He did know he'd hurt her, and that alone made it impossible for him to walk out the door, because he did love her.
Once they were standing face to face, she leaned over and kissed the side of his face. "Good choice." She sat down on the bail of hay and said, "Take your jeans down, and get over my lap."
"What?" His throat felt suddenly tight. The whole situation seemed unreal, even after living through trauma after trauma over the past few months.
Her eyes narrowed, and she said with authority, "Take down your pants, or I'll do it for you. Either way, they're coming down."
"But… I don't…"
She reached for the button of his jeans, but he beat her to it, quickly unsnapping and unzipping them. She grabbed a fistful of his jeans and tugged them down. Once they were off his hips, she took his hand and pulled to get him across her lap.
He didn't resist. His hands ended up in the dirt holding his upper body in place, while his abdomen settled over her left thigh. He felt her right leg clamp down over both of his, while her fingers slid into the waistband of his briefs.
"No! Maggie, please…"
Ignoring his plea, she slid the underwear down to meet his jeans, and then circled her arm around his waist. "Stop trying to avoid me." She started snapping the belt down across his ass as fast as she could.
He yelped with the first strike, and then his entire body tensed. His fingers curled into the dirt and straw under his hands, and he held his breath trying to ride out the sudden onslaught of pain. For a few seconds the only sound in the barn was the repeated snap of belt on bare flesh. The need to breathe got the better of Glenn seconds later, and once he'd let out the air he'd been holding, he couldn't keep himself still or quiet any more.
"Ow!" He tried pushing himself forward with a hand on the bail of hay, but Maggie's grip on him was tight. "Shit!" His hat fell into the dirt between his hands after a particularly painful smack made his entire body jerk. "Maggie, stop! Please!"
She did stop, and he slumped down across her leg breathing hard. Relief was all he could feel in that moment. Relief that it was over. That feeling was excruciatingly short lived.
"Your survival instincts are not bad for the group, so stop saying they are." She started slapping the belt down over skin that was already bright red.
"Ah!" There was no holding himself still for the new onslaught of pain. His restrained legs jerked in time to the smacks, and he realized with horror that he was about to cry. It was all too much. The shock of the punishment, her extreme displeasure, and the sharp biting pain made it impossible for him to keep the tears at bay. "Maggie, please!" His voice broke, and he called out through his tears, "I'm sorry!"
After hearing the tears, she laid down ten more strips, and then set the belt down beside her. Now that it was over, she loosened her grip on him, and gently patted his back.
His legs stopped kicking, and he stopped trying to push himself away from her, but he couldn't make the tears stop. "I'm sorry," he choked out through his tears. "I'm so, so sorry. It won't happen again."
"Okay," she said softly. "I accept your apology this time." She moved her hand down, and started gently rubbing the painfully red skin on his butt and thighs. He hissed and squirmed at the touch, but stayed where he was. "I forgive you," she said, "but if something like this ever does happen again…" she gave his rear end a firm pat, "…this will too."
The pat was uncomfortable on his painful skin, and made him groan. "It won't. I swear." He wiped at his eyes and nose with the back of his hand.
"Good." She took her leg off his, and pulled at his arm to get him to stand up.
The instant he was standing, Glenn pulled his briefs up, carefully pulling the elastic waist away from his tender flesh as he got them on. Once he was covered, he used the hem of his tee shirt to wipe off his face, and then tentatively put his hands on his butt to rub it. After a few seconds of that, he slid his jeans up carefully too, and then covered his ass with both hands, holding the sore skin.
While he was getting redressed, Maggie slid her belt back on, buckled it, and then picked his baseball cap up off the floor. She whacked it against her jeans a couple of times to get the dirt off before holding it out to him.
The two made eye contact, and searched each other's faces, both unsure of the other's reaction to what had just happened. Maggie hoped he wouldn't hate her for what she'd done, and Glenn was still in shock, but the strongest emotion he could feel in this moment was remorse.
He reached out and gently took her right hand in his left before using his other hand to take the hat from her. He put it on his head, and then pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry I kept my distance from you," he said with sincerity. "I didn't want to, I was just trying to do the right thing for the group."
She squeezed him tight. "That's part of what I love about you. You're always trying to do the right thing. I'm sorry I kept my distance from you, too. I shouldn't have let it go for so long. I should have told you that it was upsetting me right away. Next time I will."
She kissed the side of his face, and he turned his head to kiss her mouth softly before trailing kisses down her neck. She held him tighter and said, "I missed this."
"Me too."
She pushed on his shoulders until he lifted his head and looked at her. "I can't go back to the house and deal with Beth yet," she said sadly. "Could we go up to the loft," she looked up, indicating the hayloft, "just to be together for a little while?" She looked back at him, and he could see a touch of desperation in her expression. "I know it's selfish, and I know there are things that have to be done, but I need you. I want you to myself with no distractions. Like it was the first time in town."
Glenn put a hand on the side of her face, and said softly, "Everything else can wait." He gave her a tender kiss, before taking her hand and walking towards the ladder. They spent the afternoon together in the hayloft, making up for lost time.
The End
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