The Last Straw

Summary: Set during the final episode. When Daniel ignores the danger of the mines, ‘Dad’ has something to say about it
Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers up to and including the final episode; AU; references to violence
Pairing: Daniel/Irene

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They were all settled in the research facility, waiting for rescue. Apart from what remained of their group, there were only the bodies of those who had been murdered in the facility. And Sam had decided he wasn’t going to tell the others about the bodies. It was bad enough that he hadn’t been able to protect the others from having to see that sight. He didn’t want to scare any of the younger ones; not after what they’d been through already.

Then again, maybe a little bit of fear was healthy. A bit of fear should have held Daniel back; stopped him from potentially endangering himself by walking over those landmines. Ultimately, he might have been right about them being deactivated, being duds…but what if he’d been wrong? They hadn’t known each other before this twisted reality show; hadn’t even known of each other’s existence. But now, he couldn’t imagine what he’d feel if anything had happened to Daniel. To the younger man who he’d started thinking of as his son.

He couldn’t let Daniel’s actions slide, but he put off the confrontation until after the other half of their group had settled in properly and Daniel had reassured himself that Irene was recovered as well as could be expected right now, along with making sure she actually ate enough to keep her strength and energy up.

But they were all settled in now and there was no reason not to talk to Daniel about his risky, dangerous behaviour.

When Sam headed to the main room, he saw Daniel sitting on one of the couches there. Irene was next to him, her head on his shoulder and her eyes closed. Her breathing was slow, deep and even, making it clear she was asleep.

“Hey.” Daniel looked up at Sam and gave him a hesitant smile that then quickly faded, as if taking in the look on the older man’s face. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” He carefully moved off the couch, cupping Irene’s cheek in one hand and carefully lowering her to the couch.

“Mmm….” Irene’s eyes half-opened and she blinked blearily, half-focusing on Daniel.

“It’s okay.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, then reached out and picked up one of the blankets, draping it over her body and tucking it in so she was covered from her neck down to her feet. “Go back to sleep.”

“Okay.” Irene closed her eyes again and slipped back into sleep.

Daniel lingered by her side for a few more moments and then walked over to Sam’s side. “Is everything okay? I was hoping we could have some peace and quiet while waiting for rescue,” he admitted.

“There’s not any new danger.” At least, not yet. Sam rested his hand on Daniel’s shoulder and steered him from the main room.

There weren’t many places where they could go inside the facility for full privacy, but Sam figured the area he’d chosen to sleep was the closest area they had to true privacy. It was unlikely anyone else would come in to disturb them, since all of them had claimed their own areas to rest and eat in while they waited for rescue to come.

“What do we need to talk about?” Daniel asked, when the two of them were as closed off from the others as they could be.

Sam gently gripped his shoulder and turned the younger man to face him. “We need to talk about what happened today.”

Daniel frowned and took a slight step back, though didn’t shrug off Sam’s hand. And he stared at the floor, rather than look into Sam’s eyes. “I had to help her,” he insisted.

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t have,” Sam replied. “But we were all warning you not to step onto those landmines. You were right this time, but what if you hadn’t been? What if both of you had been blown up?”

“It made sense logically….” Daniel protested. “And if I hadn’t moved towards her, she might have still been there now.” He swallowed and his shoulders slumped. “You’re not happy with me.”

“I think you put yourself in unnecessary danger,” Sam replied. “And I think that’s something I can’t let slide.” He squeezed Daniel’s shoulder. “We’ve been through too much to take any dangerous risks. I need to make sure you think about your own safety next time.” Especially since he knew it wasn’t the first time Daniel had done something dangerous he hadn’t needed to.

Daniel’s cheeks grew a bit red and he adjusted his glasses before swallowing hard. “What are you going to do?” he asked, in a low voice.

Sam led the younger man over to his makeshift bed and sat down, drawing Daniel down to sit on the mattress next to him. “I didn’t ever have children of my own. I would have liked to, but it never happened for me and my wife.” And then she’d passed, which was pain he tried not to dwell on. Shaking off the remnants of grief, he focused on Daniel once more. “I kind of feel like you could be my son.”

Daniel swallowed and looked down, hunching in on himself. “I can’t say I don’t feel the same,” he admitted. “You feel like a dad. You feel like you could be my dad.” He paused. “I know you’re not happy with me for what I did to help Irene. Even though I don’t think I did anything wrong.” He hesitated. “I…what are you planning to do? It’s not like you can ground me. Where would I even go, apart from away from this place?” His smile was faint.

“You’re right,” Sam agreed. “I can’t ground you.” He wrapped an arm around Daniel’s shoulders as he continued, “I intend to punish you the same way I would have punished my biological son, if I had one. By spanking.”

Daniel flinched visibly and shifted back slightly, glancing at Sam’s face and then away again as he muttered, “You’re serious.”

“Deadly.” Sam saw the way the younger man winced and immediately wished he’d used a different word. “I’m completely serious,” he said. “I think you need to understand that you can’t put yourself at risk. We might be looking at getting rescued, but something happened here. I need to know you’ll do what you need to in order to stay alive.”

Daniel swallowed visibly. “So you’ll spank me?” His voce lilted a little, making it a question more than a statement.

“So I’ll spank you,” Sam agreed. He waited for a few seconds, but when Daniel didn’t say anything, only hunched in on himself, he gave the younger man’s shoulders a light squeeze. Then, he gently pulled Daniel across his lap.

A soft whimper escaped the younger man’s lips and he wrapped his arms around Sam’s leg, his whole body tensing up.

Sam rubbed Daniel’s back a moment or two and then lifted his hand. He delivered a firm smack to the center of the younger man’s backside, then repeated the smack a little lower. Daniel didn’t react, other than a stronger tensing of his body, and Sam settled into a pattern of smacks, going down to his thighs before starting over from the top.

Partway through the second circuit, Daniel began to squirm and writhe over Sam’s lap. His arms tightened their hold on Sam’s leg, his body beginning to shift from side to side as he made little tiny whimpers and groans whenever Sam’s hand landed on a particularly sensitive spot.

Sam wrapped his other arm more tightly around Daniel’s waist, ensuring that the younger man wouldn’t squirm his way free. He began a third circuit of smacks, delivering them harder and faster now. And he began to speak. “You’re a lot smarter than I am, Daniel. But you can’t let that make you careless. You have to listen and avoid putting yourself in danger, especially when the danger is unnecessary.”

“I will!” Daniel’s voice sounded choked, like he was close to tears. “I will…next time…I promise.”

“I hope so, son. But just in case you forget….” Sam hooked his fingers into the waistband of Daniel’s pants and pulled them down to just below his knees.

Daniel whimpered and let out a quiet sob, but he didn’t struggle and he didn’t protest.

Leaving the younger man’s underwear in place, Sam began to steadily smack with just the thin layer of cotton between his palm and Daniel’s bottom. After about a dozen smacks, Daniel put his head down and began to sob quietly.

Moving his hand a bit lower, Sam delivered a final few smacks to Daniel’s sit spots and his unprotected upper thighs. Then, he stopped and helped Daniel up, wrapping his arms around the younger man and hugging him close.

Sniffling, Daniel wrapped his arms around Sam and put his head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he muttered, removing his glasses so he could wipe at his damp eyes.

“I know. And I hope that, next time, you’ll remember to listen and be more careful and mindful of your own safety.” Sam hugged Daniel a bit tighter. “I can’t protect you if I don’t know what’s going on.”

“I’ll be more careful,” Daniel promised. “I know what’ll happen if I don’t.”

“Good.” Sam hugged him a bit tighter. “Now, if you’re ready, we can go and join Irene. Then check in with the others. Make sure we have everything we need for when rescue finally comes.”

Daniel gingerly climbed off Sam’s lap and then pulled his clothing back into place. He rubbed his backside and then at his eyes.

Sam stood up and wrapped his arm around Daniel’s shoulders. The younger man leaned into him once more as they left the room and headed back the way they’d come.

The End