The rest of the week dragged on some, the Lance Corporal Houghton case turning cold as the team ran out of leads They didn't catch any other major cases, so ended up just working cold cases and finishing reports that Friday. Although that made for what felt like a really long day, they were able to actually go home by 1700.

That meant that Jethro actually had some time to relax with his wife after work before meeting up with Leon and Jackie Vance for dinner. That and had been nice, and they were both able to actually relax some now that they knew Kelly was alright.

On the other hand, progress in Kelly's case was still rather slow. Jethro trusted Tobias completely though so tried to just let Tobias do his job and stay out of the man's way. The man was good, and Jethro knew it, but even so, backing off wasn't easy.

The following morning, Jethro woke up on the couch in the living room, entangled in his wife's body. Time had apparently gotten away from them again. It wasn't the first and no doubt wouldn't be the last time that the pair had dosed off mid-conversation as they prattled on for hours.

He decided not to sit up just right then, not wanting to wake his wife up just yet. Shannon eventually stirred though, smiling up at Jethro. "Looks like morning happened again."

Jethro gave a happy little hum as he sat up. "It would seem that way." He then leaned in and gave the lovely redhead right beside him a quick kiss. "You still wanting to go to the cider festival this afternoon, Shan?" His wife had suggested them checking out the Alexandria Cider Festival to him as something fun that they could do together despite the increasingly colder weather outside. The event was being hosted by the Office of Historic Alexandria in partnership with another association. It included a few things; cider tastings and live music. Jethro agreed to go.

"Yes," she said, giving him a peck on the cheek. "We can grab some lunch at the diner and then head there after?"

"Sounds good to me," he said, getting up off the couch. "But first, coffee."

Shannon gave a soft little chuckle. "Gee, what a surprise."

He rolled his eyes playfully. "Just for that, no coffee for you, Mrs. Gibbs."

She feigned upset. "How rude, Mr. Gibbs."

He shook his head in amusement. "Two coffees coming right up."

"Thank you," she replied with a smirk.

He and Shannon got dressed, had breakfast, and then, he chatted on the phone with his father for a few minutes. He then proceeded to toss a ball around for Bailey for a bit before he and Shannon headed down to the basement where Jethro was currently working on a nelson platform bench for their entranceway.

He had always found woodwork to be something that settled his mind, no matter what the specific project was. Ever since he was a kid and his father started teaching him.

He appreciated the fact that Shannon was always willing to jump right in and give him a hand plus the occasional project idea.

He'd already cut all the slates, rails, and leg pieces to size and got started on the box joint jig while chatting away with his wife. "3/4 inch by 3/4 inch," Jethro voiced as he double-checked his work. "Perfect."

Shannon shot him a cheeky look. "And this is why I married a handyman."

"Ah," Jethro immediately quipped back at the lovely redhead, "so are we burning your Rule No. 3 then?" Shannon Rule #3: Never date a lumberjack.

"No," she said, feigning horror at the thought. "You're a carpenter, not a lumberjack." She then raised an eyebrow. "There's a difference, Mister."

"Of course," he deadpanned as he put his tools down before smirking slightly.

"Plus," she said, pulling him in for a quick kiss, "I think we're a little past dating."

He raised an eyebrow. "Only a little?"

"Semantics," she quipped, waving the comment off.

He gave his head a little shake, amused. After a second, he adopted a more serious look. "Dad asked about us going up to Stillwater for Thanksgiving."

"Why?" Shannon asked. "Everyone's down here. It makes more sense for him to stay with us here than we all drive down."

"He always drives down," he pointed out.

"And what about my parents?" she said.

"You know he'd have no problem with them being there," he countered.

"They're divorced," she retorted. "You really think that the both of them are going to willingly drive down to Stillwater for that?"

He sighed. "Shannon."

She raised an eyebrow. "Jethro."

"My father's always the one to drive down." He eyed her. "Maybe your mother should get off her high horse for once."

That definitely hit one of his wife's nerves. "My mother -"

"Is a pain in my ass," he immediately snapped back, interrupting her. Shannon started to respond but Jethro cut her off again. "And I try to make it work with Joann, I really do, but you know I'm right."

His wife was definitely glaring at him. "Jethro, she's my mother!"

Who's belittled me more times than I can count over the years. Hell, her mother threw a bigger tantrum than any child I have ever met when I was transferred to Pendleton when Kelly was a toddler. Not to mention slapping me for not being able to guess the future and having a job. As if Jethro needed to feel any worse after the girls' funeral. "She's crazy! Pendleton ring a bell?!"

"She had a right to be upset!" Shannon fired back.

"But not to belittle me in front of you and Kelly!" he countered. "And don't act like that's the only time she's done it."

Shannon took a deep breath and her expression softened slightly. "You're right."

He blinked, not sure where the rather heated discussion was going.

"You're right," his wife reiterated, playing with her face slightly before speaking. "My mom has treated you like crap a lot over the years and that's not fair to you at all."

He sighed. "She's way better than she was." His expression then softened slightly. "I get why you want to be in town and see both your parents." Jethro really did. What he didn't get was why he let the issue turn into a fight in the first place.

"What do you want to do?" she asked.

"We can head up to Stillwater the weekend before or something," he suggested, "and I'll have Dad still come down. I'll tell him I can't get the time off of work."

Shannon dipped her head slightly. "Tell him we'll do Easter there."

He raised an eyebrow at his wife.

"If my mother has an issue with it then that's on her," Shannon said. "She can deal with it. Join us or not."

He gave a curt nod. "Em's birthday's on Tuesday," he pointed out, deciding it was best to move on from the subject now. "Still gotta grab her a gift." They were going over to Tobias' for dinner that Friday after Emily got dropped off at her father's. They'd give the young lady her birthday present then.

"Stop at the store on the way home from the festival later?" the redhead suggested, a small smile forming on her lips.

He nodded his head in agreement. "Don't wanna just leave it in the truck."

The pair stayed down there chatting and working on the latest project until just before noon when they opted to head upstairs. After which, they both grabbed their jackets, hopped into his pickup, and then drove to the diner for lunch.

After they had been driving for a few minutes, the argument still running through his mind, Jethro spoke up. "I love you."

She looked over at him with a warm smile, more than a little glad the fight was over herself. "I love you too."

Jethro gave Shannon a warm smile back, glad they were back on the same page again. He really hated fighting with her.