The etching sound that lightly danced across the bedroom window was enough to send his back straight; jolting awake in pitch darkness as a cold sweat washed over his face and chest – his heart trying to escape through his throat the first chance it could get.
It took Jethro a minute or so to fully realize just where he was and that Shannon really was laying there in the bed right beside him. That it wasn't all in his head. Shannon's here. She's fine. It was just a bad dream. She and Kelly are both fine.
It had been a little while since Jethro'd had a nightmare, but despite his being much more familiar with them than he'd ever like they still rattled him. Still, not wanting to disturb Shannon, he forced himself to calm down and go back to sleep. God knows, he had more than enough practice dealing with nightmares.
Several hours later, Jethro woke up in a much more pleasant manner. The morning sunlight was trickling in through the blinds and he could hear birds chirping.
It didn't take his wife long to notice he'd woken up, and Shannon swiftly turned onto her left side. "Looks like morning happened again."
Jethro gave a little hum and he turned onto his right side so that he and his wife were face-to-face. "It would seem that way, wouldn't it?"
The pair kissed and then laid there, cuddling, for a while, before they finally got out of bed, got dressed, and headed downstairs. With Jethro actually having the day off, they both wanted to take advantage of it and take it easy.
Hearing the television playing downstairs, he had to assume that their daughter was already awake and watching some show or other.
Turning around the corner at the bottom of the staircase, his assumptions were immediately proven right. There was Kelly, sitting on the couch and eating a bowl of cereal.
"Mornin'!" their daughter chirped in between spoonfuls of Reese's Puffs. Jethro wasn't a fan, but for some reason, Kelly absolutely loved the stuff. Then again, the girl always did have a sweet tooth. Not unlike her mother.
He smiled over at his daughter. "Mornin', Kel."
"Someone's chipper this morning," Shannon commented, now looking over at their daughter with a lopsided grin.
"Well," Kelly stated, "Mike just messaged me."
"Michael Walsh?" Shannon inquired, although the tone and look on her face suggested that the full name was more for Jethro's benefit than anything else.
"Yeah," Kelly confirmed happily. "Well, Mike's back stateside now and he wants to go out for lunch. Although, he was a little shocked to find out that I'm Kelly Gibbs and not Fraser. Can't really blame him, though." The girls had been allowed to keep their first names, but their last name had been changed when they went into WITSEC.
"Fair enough," Shannon said with a soft chuckle.
Kelly's comment had definitely gotten Jethro's attention. He had already figured that his daughter was close to the young man, given her enthusiasm, but that little tidbit added a whole other layer of complications to it. Stateside? Is this Mike kid military?
His wife apparently understood the look on his face because Shannon quickly jumped in to offer some explanation. "She and Mike went to middle and high school together. He's a good kid. Joined the Marines right after he turned eighteen."
"We've been good friends for years," his daughter reiterated. "Anyway, Mike just got back from Afghanistan and he's apparently staying at Quantico."
"Bachelor enlisted quarters?" he inquired.
Kelly gave a little nod. "Yupp."
He gave a little hum in response and gestured to the television. "What show?"
"Modern Family," his daughter informed him. "It's a comedy. Well, a mockumentary family sitcom. It's hilarious."
He raised an eyebrow. "I'll take your word for it."
They chatted for a bit longer and then Kelly ran upstairs to grab something from her room, giving him a moment alone with Shannon.
With Kelly out of earshot, he asked his wife the one question that had kept running through his mind. "Have those two dated?"
"No," his wife replied with a slight eye roll, "but he and Kelly have been skirting around each other for a couple of years now."
"Hmmm," he said noncommittally, not overly thrilled by the prospect of his little girl dating, well, anyone, especially someone he hadn't even met.
"Trust me, Hun." Shannon grabbed his hand, looking him in the eyes. "Do you think that I'd let her hang out with him if he'd given me cause for concern?"
"No," Jethro replied, "you wouldn't." He knew full well that Shannon was a rather good judge of character and he was just being a tad overprotective. He was getting used to the fact that his little girl wasn't so little anymore. He also knew that dating a Marine came with its own set of challenges, and he didn't want to see Kelly get hurt. Still, it was her life and Kelly likely would not appreciate him pushing the issue.
She leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek. "She'll be fine, Papa Bear."
He nodded, giving her a small smile. "I know."
They hung out around the house that morning, not really doing anything in particular, until Kelly headed out for lunch with Michael.
After he and Shannon had lunch, they headed to the basement where Jethro finished painting the patio swing that his wife had asked for.
It had turned out quite well, in both their opinions, so once he was satisfied that the paint was dry, he moved it to the back deck.
"That looks great," Shannon said as she looked over the white swing.
"Shannon Marie," he said, feigning shock, "did you doubt me?"
She pretended to consider her answer for a minute. "Maybe for a minute."
He gave a little snort. "Gee, thanks, Shan."
"You're very welcome," she said with a wink.
He and Shannon relaxed in the back yard for a while before the Erickson family and Kelly joined them, both families having a small BBQ.
Kelly's lunch apparently went well, and he was able to get a bit more information from his daughter about the Michael guy.
Stacy and Wayne's son Evan joined them as well, which was great. Kelly undoubtedly appreciated having someone close to her age there and not just hanging out with a bunch of older adults.
The BBQ had been nice. Jethro's favourite part of the evening though was watching a movie with Shannon and Kelly afterwards, just the three of them.
He had to laugh when Kelly grabbed a handful of popcorn after Jethro made some silly comment and chucked it at him, giggling all the while.
He couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday night than with his wife and daughter.
