"You just get yourself in that corner, right this instant young man! You also, young lady!"
That was a phrase that boomed throughout the David-Dinozzo house by an unamused NCIS special agent. Ziva was getting quite annoyed at her children due to their incessant bickering, but hearing the words that were uttered from her 11 and a half year old son and daughter's mouth set her off.
5 minutes earlier...
"Give me the remote back!" Zora yelled, reaching for the TV remote.
"Bugger off! I had it first!" AJ growled, pushing her away.
"I was watching Criminal Minds!" Zora protested.
"I was watching House! Criminal Minds sucks!" AJ yelled.
"You take that back, you asshole!" Zora screamed.
"Keeping it! God, you're such a bitch sometimes!" AJ screamed back. They stared at each other in shock. Before they had any time to say anything more, a hand grabbed AJ's and Zora's upper arm.
"Antonio Dominic and Zora Maria David-Dinozzo! How dare you use that language in this house!" Ziva yelled in outrage.
AJ and Zora started to tremble slightly in terror as their mother started to angrily scold them in Italian, then switching to Hebrew. It was a bad sign when their mother switched from English to another one of her 10 languages.
"Mama, I-"
Zora started to interrupt her mothers rant. Bad move. Ziva turned her sideways and delivered a hard SMACK! to the seat of her shorts.
"Not one word from you, Zora! And you, Antonio, that is a very bad word, especially directed towards a girl, your sister at that! You both will be getting a good spanking, and a mouth soaping for this!" Ziva growled. Both children gasped and shook their heads quickly in protest. Ziva would have none of it and continued to haul them upstairs.
Ziva dragged her unruly children upstairs and deposited them into opposite corners of their bedroom.
"You just get yourself in that corner, young man. You also, young lady!" Ziva ordered.
Ziva returned downstairs to calm down. She did not understand where her children could have gotten those words from. She had always tried not to curse in front of them...in English that is, and Tony did not believe in swearing in front of children.
They had grown up a lot that past year. Both physically and mentally. AJ had grown a bit taller than Zora and his hair was even more unruly, and had grown thick and wavy. He was also beginning to use his 'Dinozzo charm', acting and looking more like Tony every day.
Zora was beginning to go through the early stages of puberty, and her dark curls grew down almost to her waist, having Ziva suggest her to cut it back to chest-length. Ziva was very proud of the young lady that Zora was quickly becoming, despite her fiery temper and fighting habits.
Their 12th birthdays, just days apart in July were quickly approaching, reminding Ziva just how close she was to having two preteens in her house instead of kids.
Now calmer, Ziva walked to her and Tony's bedroom and opened her purse. She pulled out her hairbrush and quickly decided who she would punish first. She walked into AJ's room.
"Come here, young man," Ziva instructed firmly. AJ turned from his corner and eyed the hairbrush, his expression staying solemn.
"I do not know where any of you learned to speak that way, but it is not acceptable in this house. Am I understood, AJ?" Ziva scolded.
"Yes, Mama," AJ replied seriously, willing to take his medicine like a man and not a little kid.
"Good. Over my knee," Ziva instructed. AJ sighed but obeyed. Ziva wrapped her arm around his waist. She picked up the hairbrush and raised it.
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
AJ held his breath, determined not to make any noise except for little hisses and gasps when Ziva really lit into him.
"You will not WHACK! use that WHACK! language WHACK! inside of WHACK! this house! WHACK! WHACK! Especially WHACK! towards your WHACK! sister! WHACK! Am I WHACK! understood!? WHACK!" Ziva lectured, not missing a beat.
"Yes, ma'am!" AJ yelled out through clenched teeth. Ziva stopped and let him up. She saw tears in his eyes and noticed him slightly sniffling. She realized that AJ was trying to be tough, despite it being a hard spanking.
Ziva grabbed his wrist and led him to the bathroom. She grabbed a wash rag and squirted soap onto it.
"Open, Antonio," Ziva instructed. AJ opened his mouth and gagged as Ziva scrubbed the inside of his mouth. She stopped and removed the cloth from his mouth.
Ziva guided him back into his room and stuck him in his corner.
"10 minutes. I need to deal with your sister," Ziva stated.
Ziva walked into her daughter's room to see her in the corner.
"Zora," Ziva called.
Zora turned around and gasped slightly at seeing the hairbrush in Ziva's hand. "Mama, please, I did not mean to call him that. I am sorry!"
"Duly noted. Come to my right side, now," Ziva stated firmly, sitting at the edge of her bed's purple comforter.
"But, Mama-" Zora whined.
"Zora, if you protest or whine one more time, you will not like it," Ziva warned.
Zora slowly walked to her mother. Ziva made a grab for Zora's wrist, but Zora pulled her arm away. Ziva's eyes sparked with anger at this act of defiance.
"Zora! Get over here," Ziva ordered.
"No!" Zora snapped. Ziva blinked, disbelieving if she had heard her daughter correctly. She knew that Zora was defiant, but...
"What. Did. You. Say!?" Ziva growled through clenched teeth.
"I-I..." Zora stuttered, eyes wide. Ziva grabbed Zora's wrist and pulled her over her knee. She yanked her khaki shorts to her knees.
"Agh! No!" Zora yelled.
"That is quite enough, Zora. First swearing, now defiance, I have had it with you, young lady," Ziva lectured, bringing the hairbrush down onto Zora's backside.
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
"Owww! Mama! Please stop!" Zora wailed as Ziva spanked her hard with the brush. When Zora started to sob, Ziva slowed down, but spanked harder.
"You will WHACK! not use WHACK! that language WHACK! towards each other WHACK! in this WHACK! house! WHACK! You will WHACK! obey me WHACK! the first time! WHACK! understood, Zora Maeve? WHACK! WHACK!" Ziva lectured.
"Yesss! I understand, Mama! I am sorry! Please stop!" Zora pleaded, tears running down her face and falling onto the wood floor just inches from her face.
Ziva stopped and pulled Zora's pants up over her backside. Zora cried softly as Ziva pulled her up and led her to the bathroom. She took another washrag and squirted soap onto it.
"Open up, Zora. Remember what I said about defying me," Ziva warned.
Zora whimpered but opened her mouth, and Ziva scrubbed her tongue and mouth with the cloth. Ziva then led Zora back into her room and into the corner.
"10 minutes, I will be right back," Ziva stated. Ziva left the room and entered AJ's room, to see him still quietly standing in the corner.
"AJ, come here," Ziva called softly.
AJ turned and ran into his mother's arms. "I'm sorry, Mom," AJ sniffled.
"You are forgiven, tateleh. I do not want to hear those dirty words come out of your mouth anymore. Alright?" Ziva replied softly.
AJ nodded and Ziva kissed his forehead. She sat with him in her arms and cuddled him warmly for a moment, AJ resting his head on her shoulder. After a few moments, Ziva set him down and kissed his head again.
"Alright, go and play outside. And, you may play with Mason," Ziva told him.
Mason was AJ's established best friend who lived across the street. They did everything together, from playing soccer, to riding bikes together. They even had sleepovers at each other's houses. Mason's twin sister Ellie was Zora's best friend.
"Okay. Can I rinse first?" AJ asked pleadingly. Ziva gave him a mock stern look.
"Are the dirty words gone from your vocabulary?" Ziva asked.
AJ nodded feverishly. "Then go, sweetie. Be safe," Ziva told him, ruffling his hair and then sending him on his way. AJ sprinted to the bathroom to rinse the soap from his mouth.
Ziva walked across the hall to Zora's room. Zora stood sniffling in the corner. Hearing her mother enter, Zora turned and ran straight into Ziva's loving arms. Ziva picked her up and sat her on her lap.
"I am so sorry, Mama," Zora whimpered. "Do you still love me?"
"Nothing could ever get me to stop loving you, baby. Why would you ask that?" Ziva replied incredulously.
"B-because...you spanked me harder than AJ," Zora admitted.
"I spanked you harder because you defied me twice. And I did warn you, did I not?" Ziva answered.
"I suppose so. I do not know what came over me," Zora said, looking down in shame.
"Neither do I, tateleh. I love having my sweet, quiet and polite daughter. And I know that it seems as though I am harder than you than AJ, but it is not true. I treat you both equally and I love you both equally as well. The reason why I am stern on you is because I want you to grow up successful and know right from wrong. You are a young lady, and a very smart one at that. I want you and AJ to live in peace and harmony with each other like a brother and sister should. And I will never stop loving you, Zogi-Bear. Even if you cause all the trouble in the world," Ziva soothed.
Zora laid her head on Ziva's chest and Ziva rocked her and comforted her.
"Mama?" Zora gazed up at Ziva.
"Yes, Zora?" Ziva replied.
"I love you. I am sorry I was naughty," Zora whispered.
"You are forgiven, baby, and I love you too," Ziva answered, kissing Zora's forehead.
"So you are not telling Abba?" Zora asked hopefully.
"No," Ziva answered.
Zora smiled and sighed in relief. "But you and AJ will,"
Zora looked up in shock. "No! He will spank us again!" she protested.
"Maybe, maybe not. I was quite surprised at you both, and he will be also," Ziva said.
Zora groaned and buried her face in Ziva's blouse. Ziva chuckled and held her daughter in her lap for a moment.
"I am making you kids' favorite," Ziva told her.
"Chicken alfredo?" Zora squealed, which was a bit unlike her.
"Yes. Would you like to help me?" Ziva asked lovingly. Zora nodded excitedly.
"Good. Just go rinse and come down," Ziva said, kissing Zora's head and putting her down. Zora ran to the bathroom and rinsed the soap from her mouth and joined her mother in the kitchen.
~*~NCIS~*~
"So, how was your day, kids?" Tony asked when they were all situated around the dinner table. He had been on a stakeout with Tim and Gibbs for the day and was happy to be home with his family.
Zora and AJ exchanged a look. "Well..." Zora started.
"I played with Mason, today," AJ announced.
"And I helped Mama with dinner," Zora added.
"Nice!" Tony praised. Ziva smirked.
"Except that was not the only thing that went down today. Tell your father what happened, you two," Ziva said firmly. Tony shot the kids a curious but slightly firm gaze.
AJ and Zora looked down at their laps. "We were spanked," AJ admitted.
"By Mama," Zora added.
"For?" Tony asked expectantly.
"We swore," AJ confessed. Tony sat back in his chair and crossed his arms.
"Both of you?" Tony inquired. The kids nodded. "May I ask what was said?"
"Not an appropriate set of words. But it was already dealt with," Ziva assured.
Tony nodded. "I don't ever want to hear of you two swearing again. Or else,"
"Yes sir," both kids answered quickly.
"Good," Tony responded. His serious mood disappeared and he grinned. "Now, I've gotta tell you about this stakeout!"
The David-Dinozzo's laughed and joked around over dinner as they exchanged stories and jokes.
~*~NCIS~*~
Alright, here is the new sequel to Doppelgänger! I'll try to have the Fosters fanfic up soon, I'll have to think of a plot line. But hope you all enjoy this new part of your favorite series!
-Ally :)