Over the next week, they were definitely kept busy. On top of working the case they'd caught, Jethro'd had to testify at a court-martial for a domestic violence case that had, sadly, gone south when the victim herself had caved on the stand and lied. The woman had done a complete 180 and started defending her husband and saying that it was a private matter, trying to justify everything. It had definitely been a bitter pill for Jethro to swallow as he knew that the bastard lance corporal hadn't felt an ounce of remorse and was likely going to attack his wife again. Jethro just hoped that she'd come to her senses before she ended up dead. Jethro's team had also provided a protective detail for E.J. Barrett who was back in the District out of the blue.

Jethro woke up and, with a small smile on his face, feeling quite rested. It had been a long week in more ways than one, so the rest had been needed.

He just laid there for a long moment, watching his lovely wife sleeping peacefully right beside him. Jethro was a decidedly lapsed Catholic, but he'd be thanking God until the day he died that Shannon came back into his life.

"Good morning," his wife said as she woke up as well. The redhead then swiftly started to snuggle right up to Jethro, something that he was decidedly in favour of.

"Good morning," he replied, giving her a quick peck on the top of the head.

He and Shannon laid there for a minute in silence, just enjoying each other's company, before his wife spoke. "You should make some breakfast."

He gave a happy little hum in response before shifting so that he give Shannon a quick kiss. "I can do that. There any bacon left?"

"There should be," his wife replied, snuggling up even closer to him.

Jethro gave his wife a quick kiss and then threw on some clothes before finally making his way downstairs to whip them both up a hot breakfast.

Shannon glanced up from the half-eaten plate of food on the table in front of her. "You still wanting to go shopping today, babe?"

"Yeah," he said after a swig of his coffee. "Both of us need to grab some things and we should probably get all that done today."

His wife nodded her head. "True. I know I'd like to get it done. We're still going out for brunch with Leon and Jackie tomorrow." She shoved a spoonful of eggs into her mouth and then looked back over at Jethro. "Are you content with our relationship, as is?"

He wasn't sure what to make of the rather blunt and out-of-left-field question but then his wife had never been one to beat around the bush. He unconsciously began twisting the ring on his finger under the table. "Yeah. Why? Are you?"

Shannon shot him a reassuring look and their hands were now close to each other on the kitchen table, but not touching. "I am. I just wanted to check-in. With how hectic our lives have been lately, I felt it was important."

He nodded, an affectionate smile on his lips. Honestly, Jethro easily understood where his wife was coming from. Three divorces had taught him it was easy to ignore issues and wake up weeks or months later wondering how your relationship had deteriorated so thoroughly. "I know I've been working a lot."

She grabbed his hand, intertwining her fingers in his, and smiled. "Jethro, when you're home you're present and that's all I want." His wife then leaned forward slightly. "Plus, yesterday, which one of us was marking and doing lesson plans all evening?"

"Gotta make a living," he quipped.

She gave a little snort. "Ain't that the truth."

The pair finished eating breakfast and then Shannon threw a load of laundry on while he washed their breakfast dishes and tidied up the kitchen. The pair then relaxed over a cup of coffee, chatting for a bit and playing with Bailey, before hopping into Jethro's pickup and making their way to CityCenterDC.

They headed to one of the Men's clothing stores as Jethro needed a new pair of shoes and clothes for work, which didn't take long given the fact that he was a man of habit, and then moved on to another store so Shannon could grab some things.

He and Shannon ran into a couple of people that Jethro knew from work and then they headed to Elaine's Diner for lunch.

Elaine immediately greeted them both as they walked in. "Good afternoon, you two."

He smiled warmly at the waitress. "Hey, Elaine."

Shannon crinkled her nose in contentment. "Good afternoon."

Elaine then turned towards him. "The usual, Gibbs?" she inquired, referring to Jethro's long-time tendency to order the club sandwich with fries and a coffee when he stopped in during lunchtime.

"That'd be great," he replied with an appreciative smile.

The waitress nodded and turned to his wife. "And for you, Shannon?"

The redhead smiled warmly at Elaine as she handed the menu back to her. "And I'll go with… the Backyard Burger with a side of onion rings and an ice tea please."

Elaine moved her head up and down in acknowledgment. "Okay, I'll be right back with your drinks." She then turned around and headed towards the kitchen in the back.

The wait for their food wasn't too bad and then after eating they hopped back into his truck, stopping at Giant Food on Washington Boulevard in Arlington on the way home to get some much-needed grocery shopping done.

Once they were back home, they put the groceries away and then he and Shannon lounged around the house for about an hour and a half. At that point, they got ready they bundled up again and headed into the backyard to play with Bailey for a couple of minutes. The dog didn't want to stay outside long considering the cold weather.

Phil and Marcy Brooks ended up coming over along with Tobias and they spent quite a bit of time playing cards and poker.

Marcy took a swig of her second beer as Phil eyed Jethro and asked the sassy brunette a question. "Well, what do you think, Marce?"

"Honestly, I'm a bit stumped." Marcy set her beer down as she spoke. "Jethro's always had a good poker face. Sometimes it's like trying to read a statue."

"A skill he's no doubt proud of having honed," Shannon stated. She leaned toward him slightly as she spoke. "Ain't that right, Husband of Mine?"

He shot his wife a smug look. Rule #7: Always be specific when you lie.

Phil eyed Shannon pointedly. "There's no way that he has four winning hands in a row. He's got to be bluffing."

Tobias gave him an assessing look. "I'm not so sure," the man said. "He had that same glint in his eye back when I married Diane... and he no longer had to pay alimony."

Everyone laughed at that. Even Jethro had to fight to keep his poker face steady. The fact was Tobias could read him really well and that he'd been rather happy that he did not owe Diane alimony any longer.

Shannon immediately pointed at Tobias. "I'm with Tobias on this one."

"Alright." Marcy wasted no time in placing a couple more of her poker chips square in the middle of the table. "I'll call you, Jethro. Let's see those cards!"

Fighting to keep the stupid grin off his face, Jethro placed his hand down on the table. Five of a kind. Kings. He'd won the round. Again.

Everybody started laughing and shouting enthusiastically.

Tobias' voice was the loudest of the bunch. "Oh... What did I tell you?!"

"Ridiculous!" Shannon stated, still laughing.

"Why do I get the feeling we're being bamboozled?" Marcy quipped, amused.

Jethro instantly started goofing off; pumping his arms in the air and laughing. Even he couldn't believe that he'd had four winning hands in a row.

They had frozen pizza for dinner, everyone chatting amicably, and while Shannon did the dishes Jethro wiped the table down. Everyone went home not much later.

Jethro then put some popcorn on and let his wife pick out a movie for them to watch together, Shannon passing out about halfway through the movie. Grinning, he gently woke Shannon up, giving her a kiss and sending her upstairs to sleep in their bed.

He'd stayed up a bit later than her, tidying up the house some. He'd just been about to call it a night when the news channel that he had playing in the background caught his attention. He felt the colour drain from his face.

A reporter was talking frantically and all Jethro could hear was the headline down at the bottom of the screen screaming in his ears. Virginia Man Accused of Attempting to Bomb U.S. Capitol in Suicide Attack.

Damn. Hopefully, the bureau could break the guy and figure out if he was working with anyone. If not… this was going to rapidly turn into one hell of a giant mess. A long, hot summer wasn't something that anyone wanted to deal with.