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Chapter 6
"Cubby is stuffed," Katie announced, gesturing toward her rainbow lion from Build-A-Bear as she rubbed her own stomach with a grimace.
"Maybe Cubby shouldn't have snuck those extra cookies while I was in the bathroom," Rose replied with a pointed look at Katie, letting the little girl know she would be paying for the cookie thievery later, along with the naughty word she had said.
"Maybe he wouldn'ta had to if you had given him more than two," Katie grumbled. She belched, then covered her mouth with a giggle. "Scuse me!"
Rose sighed. "We need to clean all this up and put the movie on before you and Cubby manage to get yourselves in any more trouble."
Rose handed Katie the paper plates with the abandoned pizza crusts on them and picked up the discarded water bottles and the pizza box. She had to walk half hunched over to get in and out of the fort and her back would probably be killing her tomorrow, but it had been worth it for the smiles and giggles and happy little faces she had gotten today for her efforts.
Rose discarded the water bottles, put the leftover pizza in the fridge and instructed Katie and Noah to get their jammies on. Katie brought Claire over to her and she cleaned up the messy baby, who had joined their tea party with a bottle of milk and a baby cookie she’d gummed to death. That and her baby food dinner of strained carrots and applesauce was all over her face and the neckline of her pink onesie. Rose wiped her down with a warm washcloth, changed her diaper, dressed her in a fresh pair of jammies, and laid her down in her crib. Normally she would be putting Noah to bed at the same time, but he was going to be allowed to stay up tonight and join them for the second Disney movie. Rose knew he would be out long before the credits rolled, but letting him stay up with them and fall asleep in the fort would make him happy, and they could all use a little extra happiness in their upside-down lives right now.
By the time Claire was settled in her bed, Noah and Katie were in the fort wearing their jammies, with the tea and pizza party remnants picked up and pillows piled high, creating a nest for them to snuggle into.
"Well, what do we have here?" Rose asked, bending to peek her head into the fort.
"Auntie! Come join us! We saved you a spot right between us," Noah cried.
Katie scooched over as Rose entered, moving Cubby to her other side. Rose settled between them, grabbed the remote and found a lighthearted family movie on Disney Plus. They both snuggled into her sides with her arms around their shoulders, their eyes glued to the screen.
Rose had her eyes on Katie and Noah as a giant Saint Bernard claimed the hearts of an unsuspecting family while terrorizing them with his antics. She’d seen Beethoven a dozen times, and she was way more interested in the ideas taking root in her head. They needed to have more days like today to get through the sludge of being stuck at home and the anxiety of not knowing what was going on in the world. She laid there making mental shopping lists of things she could order to help occupy their time. Craft supplies, new books, puzzles, games… she was going to end up spending quite a bit of money, but it would be worth every cent.
A scream on the television ripped her from her thoughts and she looked down to see that Noah had drifted off to sleep. She looked over at Katie, who was wide awake, giggling at the on-screen antics, absentmindedly stroking Cubby's fur.
Nudging her, Rose whispered, "I'm going to go put Noah down, and then you and I, little girl, we are going to have a chat. There's just one thing left we haven't done in our fort yet that I think we really need to do."
Katie's eyes grew wide with curiosity. "What's that, Auntie?"
"A spanking," Rose said with a wink. "A fort spanking."
"I don't want a spanking," Katie said with a pout, puffing out her lip and batting her eyelashes at Auntie Rose as she re-entered the fort after putting Noah down. The truth was a fort spanking sounded a heck of a lot better than a non-fort spanking.
"Oh, you never want one," Rose said with a laugh. "But that doesn't mean you don't need one. Life is stressful right now for everyone. And some of us don't have as good of coping skills as others," she added pointedly. "But besides that, all of this—" she gestured around the fort, “—may help take your mind off the stress for a little while, and it may help with the stuck inside cabin fever and the stress of the unknown, but it can only do so much. There's nothing like a good spanking for the stress that ails you."
Katie sighed. She knew her Auntie was right, but she wasn't going to admit it. "I thought I was in trouble. Punishment spankings add stress, not reduce it," she argued.
"Not if they’re done right," Rose countered. "And you should be punished for saying a naughty word and disobeying Auntie by sneaking cookies, but more than that, I think it's important that we have some Auntie and Katie time. What do you think?"
"That doesn't sound too bad," Katie conceded, "but this better not be a trick!"
"A trick? It's not a trick. " Rose leaned against the pile of pillows, sitting herself up, and took Katie's hands. "C'mon, little one. Get over here."
Grumbling, Katie allowed herself to be helped into position across Rose's lap. As much as she hated to admit it, even the uncomfortable and foreboding position helped ease the ball of anxiety in her chest.
Rose tugged at the waistband of her pajama bottoms and Katie whimpered as they were pulled down along with her panties to expose her bare bottom.
"Katelyn. Are you allowed to say naughty words?" Rose asked, getting right to the point.
"No, Auntie."
"And should you be saying them when the kids are around? Noah is at the age where he's going to start repeating everything you say, you know."
Katie bit her lip as a knot formed in her tummy. "He wasn't around!" she protested.
"Lucky for you, but he could have been. And then you'd be in even more trouble."
"Yes, Auntie."
