July 31, 2014
"Don't touch me, geek!" Amy yelled, pushing Tom.
"You hit me first!" Tom shouted, shoving Amy back.
"Did not!" Amy growled, shoving him back.
"Did too!" Tom yelled, pushing Amy again.
"Did not!" Amy screeched, pushing Tom a last time.
"Did TOO!" Tom roared, pushing his sister with a force that neither of them knew he had.
That last push sent Amy stumbling backwards, hitting the small table that had a vase on top of it. The vase teetered for a moment before falling and hitting the tile.
'CRASH!'
Amy gasped and Tom's eyes widened. "Oh no! Mom's vase!" Tom exclaimed worriedly.
"Oh geez! Daddy's gonna kill us! He said we'd be in big trouble if we fought again!" Amy groaned.
"Hello!? We broke Mom's vase! She'll kill us double if she finds out we broke her favorite vase!" Tom gestured to the broken pieces desperately.
Amy gained a thoughtful look. "Not if she doesn't find out..."
"What do you mean?" Tom asked exasperatedly. He was fed up with his sister's 'bright ideas'.
"Listen, Tom. If you want to avoid getting skinned by Mom and Daddy, you have to at least hear me out," Amy sighed.
Tom sighed. He was going to regret this so much. "Fine. What's your plan?"
Amy grinned. "Okay, so we just clean up the pieces carefully, put them in the trash can outside, and act like Tabby did it," she explained.
"I smell a flaw. How are we going to clean it before Mrs. Allen notices?" Tom pointed out, crossing his arms.
Tabby was their cat that they had gotten months before. She was always getting into mischief even while still a kitten. Mrs. Allen was their babysitter that was hired to watch the kids while their parents were out on a case.
"Easy. We walk past her. She's sleeping, and we all know that she's a heavy sleeper. It's foolproof, Tom," Amy replied.
"Fine. Let's do it quick," Tom grumbled.
The two hurriedly got the dust pan and broom and swept up all of the pieces of the blue antique vase. Tom did a twice-over to make sure that they had gotten every little bit, big or small.
"Ow!" Tom yelped, holding his finger.
"What?" Amy asked in concern.
"I think I cut my finger," Tom whimpered, examining the wound.
Amy looked at his finger once and shoved it away. "That's a paper cut. Tough it out," she growled.
They placed the mess in a plastic bag and snuck by the snoozing, elderly babysitter and out the back door. Tom lifted the trash lid and Amy threw the bag with glass in it.
"Done! Now, don't act guilty. Once they sense guilt, Daddy will interrogate. Then, Mom will dust for evidence," Amy warned.
"Hey, how do you know that YOU won't blow it?" Tom asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Because we all know that I am the Queen of Liars and you're the Queen of Guilt," Amy replied smugly.
"Am not..." Tom grumbled, following her inside the house.
~*~NCIS~*~
Tim walked into his house. Abby would follow soon, she had some evidence to lock up and told him to go home before her. He paid the babysitter and set his keys down on the small table.
Tim stared at the table in confusion. Something felt off as his hand brushed the table. He made a mental note for later and went to check on the kids.
They sat in the couch watching TV.
"Hey, kids," Tim greeted.
"Dad!" Tom replied.
"Daddy!" Amy squealed. They both raced to hug him and they held on to each of his legs.
"How was your day, Daddy?"
"Did you catch a bad guy?"
"How many head-slaps did Uncle Tony get?"
"Did Aunt Ziva ninja kick someone?"
Tim had to smile at his kids' endless amusing questions. It was the highlight of his day.
"My day was great. Yes, we did. 3, actually. Yes, but don't tell her I told you," Tim answered.
"What's for dinner?" Tom inquired.
"Uh, not sure. It's 8:30, how about we order some pizza?" Tim replied. The kids cheered excitedly.
Tim ordered the pizza as the kids watched TV before it came. When the food arrived and the family ate, Tim gazed at the time. "Alright, kids, why don't you both shower and get into your PJs before your mother gets home?"
They both obeyed and raced up the stairs to the bathroom. Soon, he heard the door unlocking, and Abby walked through.
"Finally, I'm home," Abby sighed, placing her hearse keys on the small side table next to Tim's. Her hand brushed the empty table and she looked down, puzzled.
"Hm...thats odd," Abby remarked to herself.
"What is?" Tim asked.
"Something feels like it's missing..." Abby mumbled.
"You had the feeling, too?" Tim replied
Abby thought for a moment before her eyes widened. "My vase!"
Tim snapped his fingers. "That's it! The blue vase that your aunt gave us for our wedding day! I knew something was off,"
"You don't think-"
"That the kids have anything to do with it? I have a hunch," Tim finished.
"I wouldn't assume anything until we ask," Abby replied.
"You're right," Tim said with a nod.
~*~NCIS~*~
"Goodnight, Tommy," Abby said, giving him a hug and a kiss.
"Goodnight, Mom," Tom replied, climbing into bed.
"Tom? You wouldn't happen to know what happened to my vase that was on that small table, do you?" Abby asked gently, hoping that he didn't.
Tom bit his lip. "Oh yeah. Um, Tabby jumped onto the table and, uh, knocked it over," he replied.
"Oh. That naughty cat. Thanks for telling me, kiddo," Abby replied.
"Uh huh," Tom answered weakly, his mouth dry. He felt like a complete idiot lying to his mom. He hoped that Amy felt worse.
~*~NCIS~*~
"Hey, Amy?" Tim called.
"Yes, Daddy?" Amy answered, brushing her teeth.
"That blue vase that was on top of the table is gone. Do you know what could have happened to it?" Tim inquired.
"Why do you suppose it was me?" Amy responded.
"I'm just asking," Tim stated, narrowing his eyes.
Amy shrugged. "Tabby knocked it over. I don't know what possessed her."
"Huh. And how do you suppose that happened?" Tim asked, crossing his arms.
Amy spit the toothpaste out into the sink and rinsed. She turned to her father.
"Dad, what exactly are you getting at? Am I in trouble, or something? I feel like I'm getting interrogated," Amy asked, crossing her arms as well, looking exactly like a mini Abby.
"I don't know, are you?" Tim snapped.
Amy pretended to think. "Hm. No not that I know of," she answered sassily.
Tim kneeled down to her height and looked closely into her chartreuse green eyes with his own spring green ones and glared.
"Well, I'll tell you this, young lady. If you get caught in a lie, you, me, and your mother's hairbrush will be having a long talk. Clear?" Tim warned.
"Crystal," Amy answered sweetly, walking away. She climbed into bed and sighed. That went well. She wondered how Tom handled it.
~*~NCIS~*~
"Anything?" Tim asked Abby.
"He says that Tabby knocked it over," Abby answered. "What did Amy tell you?"
"That she's in desperate need of a good spanking. She said the same thing," Tim replied irritatedly.
"Tim, what if they're telling the truth?" Abby suggested.
"Well, I don't buy it, Abs. Tabby can't even jump that high. I can't believe that Tom would lie," Tim sighed, shaking his head.
"I guess you're right. Tom wouldn't lie unless Amy put him up to it, though," Abby said.
"He needs to learn to not get roped into her schemes, Abs. He's at fault just as much as Amy," Tim ground out firmly.
"He's so naive and cute, Timmy. I can't really be mad at him too bad," Abby sighed.
"We'll get to the bottom of this tomorrow, Abs," Tim replied with a chuckle.
~*~NCIS~*~
The next day...
"Kids! Could you come down here?" Tim called from the kitchen.
They ran downstairs quickly. When they reached the kitchen, they froze. The bag with the remnants of the vase sat on the kitchen table.
"Care to explain this?" Tim asked firmly.
"It's the pieces of Momma's vase," Amy replied simply.
"We know. We'd like to know how my vase turned into a bundle of glass," Abby stated.
"It broke," Amy responded.
"We get that, Amelia," Tim snapped.
"Tom?" Abby asked softly.
"Uhh..." Tom started nervously.
He glanced at his sister who was giving him desperate looks. He glanced at his mother who looked at him expectantly, her eyes begging him to tell the truth. Finally, he glanced at his father, who had a firm expression in his eyes.
He took a deep breath. "I did it," he blurted out.
Amy looked at him in shock. Abby had a puzzled expression and Tim narrowed his eyes.
"What do you mean?" Tim inquired.
"I broke the vase," Tom repeated confidently.
"Tom..." Amy hissed. "No, he didn't. We were fighting, then it fell over. We attempted to get rid of the evidence, but having a forensic specialist and special agent as parents, it kind of backfired," she confessed.
"Huh. And the lying?" Tim replied.
"It was to get out of trouble. But it was all apart of my plan. It wasn't his fault," Amy sighed.
"I'm sure, but he could have backed out. He is as much to blame as you are," Tim answered firmly.
"I'm so disappointed in you both," Abby remarked.
"Up to your rooms, both of you," Tim ordered.
Tom sighed then turned to go up the stairs. Amy followed.
"Tom, are you okay?" Amy asked.
"No, I'm not okay," Tom hissed.
"Well, it won't be so bad after-"
"Dad and Mom are disappointed in me," Tom growled.
"You seem to have forgotten that they said that they are disappointed in both of us," Amy pointed out.
"But they're disappointed in me more! They expect more out of me than you. They expect this stuff from you, Amy. Not from me,"
"Come on, Tom. You did lie."
"Because of your wise idea! I felt like a total idiot lying to Mom. And Dad is going to really let me have it!"
"If it makes you feel any better, Dad said that if he found out that I lied, he was gonna use Mom's brush on both of us, but harder on me," Amy sighed.
"No, it doesn't, Amy. That makes me feel no better than I already did," Tom replied icily, walking away to his room and flopping onto his bed.
He laid there, burying his head into his pillow for what seemed like an eternity. Then another eternity.
'Why did I ever have to get caught up in another one of her schemes? It made me lie to my parents over something so stupid. God, I'm such an idiot...' Tom thought to himself.
To most people, it seemed like Amy was the older sibling, due to her bossiness and his innocent and shy nature, plus she was taller. But what they didn't know was, Tom was the older sibling by 4 months, his birthday in May and hers falling in September. That meant that Tom was technically the eldest child. He didn't know why he always relented and got dragged into her mischief.
His thoughts were interrupted by Tim pushing his door open. He closed it and crossed his arms, fixing him with an intense glare.
"Explain, young man," Tim snapped.
"I-um...We were arguing, then we shoved each other...a-and then I shoved her one last time and made her knock the vase over. Then, Amy planned for us to hide the evidence..." He admitted nervously.
"So you two were fighting yet again. I've told you both numerous times about quarreling with each other, and now look what it's caused. And you both lied, multiple times," Tim lectured.
"But, Dad, she made me do it. I-" Tom feebly tried to explain, when Tim interrupted him.
"Hey!" Tim yelled, shocking Tom into abrupt silence.
"No one made you do anything. You had a choice to back out, but you accompanied her and lied alongside of her. That puts you at fault as well as her! You need to learn to stop letting yourself get dragged into her little mischievous plans, Thomas, because this is not how you are. You're the older brother, and you should start saying no for once," Tim told him angrily.
Tom looked down at the carpet, tears threatening to fall. "Dad...I'm sorry I lied. It felt horrible..."
"I get that, Tom, but there was no way that you two were getting out of this one. Now, let's get this over with," Tim sighed. He suddenly pulled Abby's hairbrush out of his pocket.
Tom gasped. "Dad!"
"I don't want to use this, but you've earned it," Tim said firmly.
Tom backed away, shaking his head. "Please, don't use that."
"Hey! If I have to come and get you, it won't be pleasant," Tim boomed in a loud voice that Tom knew not to mess with.
Tom sighed defeatedlyand went to his father's left side slowly. Tim pulled him over his knee and yanked down his jeans.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
Tim swatted Tom hard and fast, causing him to cry out. After about 20 more smacks, Tim stopped and then pulled down Tom's underwear.
"Dad! Leave em' up!" Tom cried, putting his hand back to shield his bottom.
"Put your hand in front of you, Thomas Ryan," Tim growled.
"Noooo! It hurts!" Tom whined, keeping his hand there.
Tim grabbed his wrist and held it at the small of his back. Then, he continued to spank him with his hand. Tom tried to be tough and tried not to make any sound, but he soon began to cry quietly. Tim heard this and picked up the brush.
"You're getting 10, Thomas. I'm being a lot more lenient on you, because I know that you know a lot better than to lie," Tim told him seriously.
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
"OWW! Stop!" Tom begged.
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
"Oowwww!"
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
"Daddy, I won't do it again! Please!" Tom broke down into sobs. Tim stopped, pulled up Tom's underwear and jeans and pulled him up to stand. Tom flung his arms around Tim and cried into his chest. Tim sighed and ran his fingers through Tom's sandy brown hair comfortingly.
Tim then took Tom and held his shoulders, looking into his big green eyes.
"You are the older sibling, Tom. I expect more from you than lying. When she's planning to do things like this, you say 'No, Amy. I'm not going to do that,'. Alright?" Tim said, the anger in his tone and disappointment in his eyes disappearing.
Tom nodded, tears running down his face. "I'm sorry, Dad, but it's just hard sometimes. I really think that she has a good idea and then-"
"It backfires. I know. But if it seems fishy, don't have anything to do with it. You're a great kid, Tom. You're smart enough to know what's right and what's wrong and to not let her manipulate you. I'm proud of you for trying to take the blame, son," Tim told him softly.
"I love you, Dad," Tom sniffled, wrapping his arms around Tim once more.
"I love you too, Tom," Tim replied, hugging him back.
"Now, I'm going to deal with your sister. You stay in here for a bit, just to think about a few things, alright?" Tim whispered.
Tom nodded and smiled slightly, before carefully climbing into bed and laying on his stomach like before.
Tim walked out and closed the door. He took a deep breath before going next door and opening Amy's room door.
Tom buried his head in his pillow, cursing himself for actually getting involved in another one of Amy's wise ass ideas. After the incident with the eggs and Caf-pow, he should have known not to agree (long story). His thoughts were yet again interrupted by the sounds of a spanking next door.
His jaw dropped when he heard the sounds of his father yelling, and Amy shrieking and yelping. Amy could be dramatic, but Tom could tell that it wasn't just dramatics, she was getting spanked, and hard. Tom didn't want to hear anymore, so he carefully climbed out of bed and snuck downstairs.
Abby was in the kitchen making pasta when she heard quiet footsteps behind her. She continued to cook.
"Hey there, Tom," Abby remarked without turning around. Tom's eyes widened.
"Uh...hi, Mom," Tom replied nervously. "I...uh..." he stopped, hands behind his back, eyes downcast.
Abby turned around to face him. "Yes?"
"I wanna say I'm sorry. For the vase, and lying. It was wrong to lie to you," he replied.
"Oh, baby," Abby breathed, taking him in for a warm hug. "I've already forgiven you. I can't stay mad at you,"
"R-really?" Tom sniffed.
"Really, Tommy," Abby replied, kissing the top of his head. She then took his chin in her hand and held his head up to look at her.
"But if you ever lie to me again, I will use my wooden spoon. Clear?" Abby hissed.
If Tom had nodded his head any harder, his head would have probably flown off of his shoulders.
"Good," Abby said, smiling. Tom smiled back and ran upstairs.
He ran into his father. Tim smiled and took him in for a bear hug, and Tom hugged him back. They stood there together like that for a moment before Tim pulled away.
"Alright, Bud. Go comfort your sister. I think you two have some talking to do," Tim told him, ruffling his hair.
Tom smiled again and walked to Amy's room. He knocked on her door.
"Go away," a hoarse, tearful voice responded.
"Come on, Amy. It's Tom," Tom answered. He waited a moment before turning the knob and entering.
Amy had her head buried under her pillow on her bed. She was quietly crying and sniffling.
"Aw, Amy. It's alright," Tom soothed.
"My butt isn't...ugh this is all my fault," Amy grumbled.
"No, it isn't. It's both of our faults. But now, we're forgiven and everything is okay," Tom reassured, smiling slightly.
Amy lifted her head up and turned to face her brother. "I wanted to say, I'm sorry. For dragging you in this, and for always getting you in trouble. You're a cool brother," she remarked, grinning sincerely.
Tom beamed at the compliment. "I forgive you. And you're a cool sister too,"
"Hey, Tom?" Amy asked.
"Yeah, Amy?" Tom replied.
"What were we fighting about?" Amy inquired slowly.
Tom thought to himself. "You know, I really don't remember. Something stupid I guess," he chuckled. He hugged Amy warmly, like a good big brother. Instead of pushing him off, Amy was grateful for his embrace.
Even if he was a dork.
~*~NCIS~*~
So...sorry for the long wait. I've got no excuse, haha. Hope ya liked it!
-Ally :)