Page 174 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 1

She blushed and everyone else laughed.

David put his hand on her shoulder. “That is so incredibly kind of you guys, but it doesn’t take into account the rest factor for Tori when I’m at class. At least if we stay down here, we can ask for some help from our local community or hire one of the younger gals to come mother’s help during the week.”

Trish waved her hands. “Oh, we already found the solution for that too! Our old church does weeklong summer camps, and they offer free tuition for active military. That way there is a set part of each day that Tori only has the baby, and seeing as how she doesn’t need full bedrest, she should be just fine as long as she actually rests during those time periods.” She gave Tori a pointed look.

David looked genuinely shocked. “Wow, guys, this is so generous, and out of left field. We are going to need some time to think about it and get back to y’all—is that okay? When do you need to know by?”

“Take your time. We aren’t putting the place back on the market until we get it fixed up either way.”

“Now that we’ve discussed possibly keeping you two in the same house for a good amount of time, let’s move on to ways to keep the spark alive.” Pete glanced at Tori with a small smile before continuing. “And, maybe figure out some ways to bring the discipline aspect of LDD back in the midst of your pregnancy.”

Tori’s face flushed red. “We don’t have to talk about that, really!”

David put his hand on her leg. “Let him finish, love. I want to hear this. I think we very much do need to talk about it.”

Tori bit her lip, but didn’t speak again.

“This is something Trish and I have put a lot of time and study into over the last couple of decades. Being married to a midwife, I’ve always considered the health and well-being of both mother and child to be the most important factor in LDD during pregnancy. The experts say that most ways you would discipline outside of pregnancy are likely safe during pregnancy. But, I know many couples don’t feel safe causing serious pain to an expectant mother. There are a variety of options other than applying a paddle to her backside. The traditional; lines, cornertime, restrictions, groundings. But we’ve also heard some pretty creative ones like the wife not being allowed to be out of her husband’s sight, wearing her socks inside out so she remembers her rules every time she feels annoyed at the fabric feeling off, or needing to ask permission for mundane things like getting a drink of water or using the bathroom. I sense from the things you guys have shared that the core issue here is that Tori has been relying on herself and not looking to you, David, for support or direction. So, my gut is that you two should come up with some ways to ‘force’ her to involve you in her day-to-day life.”

Tori’s stomach clenched and flipped during Pete’s speech. On one hand, it sounded utterly humiliating to have to surrender that much control to David, but it also sounded divine to have so much of David’s attention on her. To not feel so alone.

“And, sex of all types is 100% healthy even with the issues Tori has been having, so feel free to do that! It’s not like you can knock her up.”

Pete squeezed her thigh. “Trish!” But he was laughing and shaking his head.

Before either of the Fahertys could reply, the door to the study flew open.

“Mama! Mama! Mama!” Joel came racing into the room and yelled in a sing-songy voice. “Gid is giving Miss Cassie ‘tude!”

Tori stood to go deal with it, but David gently pushed her back onto the couch. “Joel, did Miss Cassie ask you to come get help?”

Joel shook his head. “No, I just did it on my own. ‘Cause he needs discipline real bad!”

“So, you’re tattling on your brother in the hopes that he will get in trouble?”

Joel looked less sure of his game plan. “Uh… I mean…”

David knelt down to eye level with Joel. “Why don’t you go back and see if you can help encourage Gid to make good choices. You’re his big brother and he looks up to you a lot. And tell Miss Cassie that we are basically done, so if she wants to send anyone in she is welcome to. But, buddy? You’re not in charge, and you don’t get to decide who needs discipline, ok?”

Joel nodded solemnly. “Yes, sir. I’ll go tell Miss Cassie and try to make Gid be good.”

He rushed off before any of the adults could explain the difference between “encourage” and “make.”

With a laugh, David looked at the older couple. “I think that’s probably our signal to get the boys out of Cassie’s hair and get them home to bed. Thank you, guys, so much for taking the time to really help us dig down to what’s going on. I really appreciate your insight, Pete. You’ve definitely set me on the right track towards fixing things. Oh, and thanks for the offer of the townhouse. My assumption is that we will do it, but I need to talk it over with Tori.”

Tori, who had been silently watching her husband just take charge so flawlessly, nodded her agreement. “Yeah, thank y’all so much. It means the world to have friends who will get down in the mess with us.”

After gathering the boys, and giving Cassie some cash with their thanks, they loaded up the van and drove the troops home.

All of the boys passed out before they even got back to their place. Tori automatically went to grab Gideon to carry him in, but David pointed to the house. “Bed, baby love. I’ve got the boys. You’ve had a busy night and need to rest.” She didn’t even try to argue. It felt so nice to be taken care of. She smiled at the wording of her thoughts. “Taken care of” sounded an awful lot like “taken in hand” and she felt like there was going to be a lot of that coming her way as well. By the time she had washed her face and changed into her pajamas, David had tucked the kids in and was just in time to tuck her in as well.

Chapter Four

After a short discussion, David and Tori decided that spending the early part of the summer in Washington, DC would work well for the family.

One of the families on base was being transferred to Milan and needed a quick buyer for their used, but excellent condition, Honda Pilot, and it was right in their price range.

The boys were ecstatic at the thought of a long vacation, and everyone was excited to see the nation’s capital for the first time.

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