Julie's pov

As much as I miss Shane when he's away on business, I'm not particularly looking forward to his return this time. Knowing I have to answer to him for my dishonesty and disobedience by playing in Friday's basketball game after he expressly forbade it, makes this family reunion especially unwelcome.

When Shane arrived home from the airport, it was hugs and kisses all around. After having lunch, a shower, and a nap, Shane said he would come and get me so we could have our "chat." I'm not sure why he felt the need to speak in code since we all knew precisely what our "chat" would entail.

Shane entered our bedroom around 3pm. Stacey and I were just chillin' on our beds while Lisa and Carrie were playing foosball in one of the rec rooms.

"Are you ready to come to my room, Julie, so we can have a discussion about you playing in Friday's game?" Shane posed it like a question but it obviously wasn't.

But since he asked, I answered with a curt, "No."

"And why is that exactly?" Shane stood rigidly with his arms crossed and an unhappy scowl on his face.

"Because that punishment wasn't fair. You had no right to bar me from playing." I still feel that was unjust.

"Yeah, that was a dick move, Shane. It was the last game of the season," my cousin crudely puts in her two cents, as she defends me.

"Do you want to join your cousin tonight for a taste of my belt, Stacey? I could set another place at the table for you."

"No thanks, I'm not hungry," Stacey sasses.

Shane removes his belt and slowly walks over to my cousin's bed, staring her down without blinking.

"Turn over and lie on your stomach, Stacey." His icy tone surpassed only by the frigid look in his eyes.

"Why? I didn't even do anything." Stacey tries to put up a brave front but I can see right through it and I'm pretty sure Shane can as well.

Getting in my cousin's face, he says, "You will not speak to me so disrespectfully without consequence. Do as I say and do it NOW, STACEY MARIE!"

Stacey looks at me and I mouth, "Please," begging her silently with a pleading look not to aggravate Shane any further and make things worse for us both.

Exhaling loudly as a final display of defiance, my cousin reluctantly lies face down on her bed. Shane raises his belt high and whips it across my cousin's backside three times, delivering the most severe strokes she's received to date.

I cringe each time that god awful sound reverberates through the room, followed by my cousin's painful yelps.

As Stacey cries into her pillow, Shane whispers harshly in her ear, "The next time you disrespect me, I won't hold back."

Still clutching his belt tightly in his hand, Shane snaps, "Let's go, Julie," as he heads to his room. After witnessing how mercilessly he dealt with Stacey, I immediately follow him without complaint. When we enter Shane's room, he points to his bed and barks, "Sit," and like an obedient frightened little puppy, I do. Shane loops his belt back around his waist and I breathe a sigh of relief.

"I'd like to know what on earth you were thinking when you decided to lie to Mike and defy me." Shane is looming over me, giving me a good view of the bulging veins in his neck and forehead. The angry look on his face freezes my tongue.

"ANSWER ME NOW, JULIE ELIZABETH!" Shane's patience has worn thinner than the excuse he's about to hear come out of my mouth.

"I didn't want to miss the last game of the season. I just really wanted to play," I lamely offer up reasoning akin to a three-year-old's logic: Why did you do it? 'Cause I wanted to.

"Is that seriously what you're going with, Julie? Because I felt like it?" Shane was obviously hoping for much more sound reasoning.

I simply nod in response, avoiding his judgemental glare.

"With a defense that weak, you'd never stand a chance in battle."

"I didn't realize we were at war, Shane." I carelessly allow the smartass in me to speak freely.

"WE'RE not at war, Julie, but your continual disrespect and I are definitely destined to clash," Shane retorts.

"In that case, I surrender. Can we just get this over with already?" I'm not interested in entering into psychological warfare with the Admiral.

Ignoring my comment, Shane asks, "Did you really think I wouldn't find out, Julie?" He can't fathom how I could do something so asinine, thinking I might actually get away with it.

"No, but I honestly didn't care, if it meant I got to play in the game," I reply flatly.

"Do you remember what happened the last time you defied me, Julie?" Shane has a sinister look on his face.

A wave of panic washes over me as I recall the punishment I received when Shane found out I bought another burner phone.

"Yes sir, I remember," I reply timidly.

"Go in my closet and bring me my Admiral's belt," Shane commands sternly.

I gulp and look at Shane.

"No, Shane, please don't," I plead, tears beginning to sting my eyes as I remember the pain that man inflicted on my bare bottom with that evil leather beast.

"Did you just tell me no?" Shane's left the building and the dark eyed, cold-hearted British demon has taken his place. Where are the Winchester brothers when you need them?

"No, I mean yes, I said the word no but I wasn't telling you no. I didn't mean it like that, really," I backpedaled as quickly as possible.

"Bring me my Admiral's belt, now," Shane repeats slowly, pausing between words.

Based on his tone of voice, I don't hesitate to submit to his authority. Knowing exactly where Shane keeps this particular weapon of mass destruction, it only takes me a moment to retrieve his Admiral's belt and deliver it into his waiting arms. In the short time I was gone, Shane pulled one of his chairs into the middle of his room and promptly sat upon his throne. If I wasn't in a shit load of trouble already, I would've knelt before him and held out the belt, saying, "For you, my lord," as I bowed my head.

Instead, I kept my mouth shut and stood patiently awaiting King Shane's disciplinary decree. For some reason, it was easier to keep my gaze focused on his punishing belt than the disappointed look on his face. Shane's anger is brutal but his disappointment is soul crushing.

"Julie..." Shane waited until I looked him in the eyes before continuing, "...give me one good reason why I shouldn't thrash your backside with this belt for deliberately disobeying me."

My focus immediately went back to the belt until Shane loudly cleared his throat, regaining my attention.

"I don't have one, sir."

Shane sighs and sadly shakes his head.

"To say I'm disheartened by your choice to defy me and lie to Mike, would be a grave understatement. I expect so much more from you. I know Mike and I raised you better than that."

That was more painful than kidney stones, childbirth, and swimming in the Dead Sea with hemorrhoids combined. I'm guessing, since I've never experienced any of those things. Like I said before, soul crushing.

"Obviously, the last correction you received with this belt didn't make much of an impression since you committed the very same transgression to land yourself in this position again. What's it going to take to get through to you, Julie?" Shane looks at me expectantly, his question apparently not rhetorical.

"I don't know." I really don't know what to say.

"That's not an acceptable response, Julie Elizabeth." Shane paces back and forth a few times, appearing to be deep in thought as he mindlessly taps his Admiral's belt against his right thigh.

After an interminable amount of time, he turns to me and declares, "You're going to determine your own punishment this time, Julie. You have until 4pm tomorrow to come up with a fair punishment of appropriate severity. Mike and I will at that time determine if the discipline you've chosen meets the criteria I've outlined. If it does, we'll administer and enforce it but if it doesn't, we'll take you straight to Dr. Curtis's office, where he will administer a lengthy bare bottom paddling."

Apparently Shane is exercising his divine right of kings and WTF is all I can think in response as my jaw drops. You know, there's a reason three people give the injection when an inmate is sentenced to die so no one knows who actually administers the lethal concoction. Knowing you're the one responsible for taking a life is a cruelty that no one should have on their conscience. What Shane is forcing me to do by choosing my own punishment is even more cruel since he's actually asking me to deliver my own fatal dose, so I'm acutely aware that I'm the one responsible for sealing my fate.

When I return to my room, I immediately look to my sisters for advice after filling them in on King Shane's punishment decree.

"Sounds like a no-brainer to me," Lisa says, sipping on a clandestine diet coke. We're not allowed to have any drinks in our room except water.

I look at Lisa, throwing my arms up while giving her a look that says, and...??? Prompting her to continue and explain.

"Just say something that sounds bad but isn't something you really care about." Lisa acts like I'm an idiot for not coming to this conclusion myself.

"Like what?" I retort. "And how did you sneak a soda past the warden?"

"The soda was easy. I keep a few cans in my underwear drawer beneath my thongs and bikini briefs. Shane and Mike never look there. As far as my plan goes, I don't know! What? Do I have to do everything? You're not bringing anything to the party, Julie?"

Clearly, Lisa has no plan, she's just blowin' smoke up my ass.

"Thanks for being beyond useless, sis." I roll my eyes at her and laugh.

"You know, he's actually pretty clever making you come up with your own punishment," Carrie's thinking out loud.

"Congrats, Carrie, you just surpassed Lisa in the worthless comments department. Bravo." I throw my pillow at her head, narrowly missing her as she ducks and says, "Sorry."

"Seriously, cuz, what are you gonna do?" Stacey has a vested interest in the outcome, knowing it could easily be her in my place as we're the two most often in trouble.

"I don't know but I sure as hell can't wait 'til four o'clock tomorrow to figure this out. Mike's already weighed in and left it up to Shane but I'm too pissed off at Shane to let him punish me, especially after seeing what he did to you, cuz."

"I still can't lie on my back. Those three strokes hurt like a mofo." Stacey winces as she rubs her behind. "So if you're not going to Mike or Shane, what are you gonna do?"

"Unfortunately, there's only one option left, my last resort and that's where I'm going now."