Friday morning, Jethro and Shannon got up and went about their usual routine. Jethro dawned a pair of dark grey slacks, a light blue polo shirt with a white crew-neck t-shirt underneath, and a dark grey blazer.
His wife threw on a pair of dark blue jeans, a ribbed, light grey, wool sweater with a black, wool, duster cardigan. Seated across from Jethro, she was reading the morning paper over some toast and coffee. The redhead looked less than enthused by what she was reading right then.
He gestured to the paper. "Nothing worth reading?"
His wife finished the section of the newspaper she'd been reading and, putting it down, gaze landing on him. "Nope. Just the usual."
He gave a little snort. That was hardly shocking. "Yeah, sounds about right."
She took a sip of her coffee and then eyed him. "How d'ya feel about doing a remodel to the kitchen? I think it's about time we replaced that stove, at the very least."
He tilted his head slightly. "What were ya thinking of doing?"
"Repaint it," she said. "Swap out the countertops too. If we rework the raised shelves slightly we can put a dishwasher in without losing storage."
He thought about it for a moment. "We can frame around the fridge and add shelving there. Won't lose any counter space."
His wife nodded, liking the idea. "That would work. Want to update the fridge too and just get a new set of appliances?"
"Can't see why not," he said. "What do ya want for countertops?"
"Marble or quartz?" she suggested. "We can look at a few samples. It depends on what colour we're going to paint it, honestly."
They continued to chat about their plans and then it was time to head to work. He had just enough time to make it to the diner for a cup of joe on his way to work.
Jethro and his team got called to Walter Reed to speak with a victim. a twenty-one-year-old petty officer that had been assaulted behind a dumpster while on 48-hour liberty the prior evening.
Back at the Navy Yard, Jethro had just finished interrogating a civilian man who'd been found on top of the petty officer. Their suspect was far from the brightest human being on the planet, however, and wasn't even trying to cover up the fact that he had sexual contact with the victim and had intended to take it even farther.
The man claimed that he had had her verbal consent however and gave a weak excuse about throwing up, trying to deny the intoxication.
Thankfully, there were two college kids who interrupted the assault. The two witnesses would be playing a huge part in the D.A's case, and both had made it crystal clear that they were more than willing to testify for the poor woman.
Regardless, their victim was quite understandably traumatized. Some upper-class jock was treating women like property and expecting to just get away with it. How such a backwards attitude managed to still subsist was beyond him. It was egregious.
Between that and their DNA evidence, though, Jethro's team was well on their way to building a fairly strong case. He wanted to bury the bastard.
Jethro turned to his agents. "He's a piece of work."
"I know," McGee agreed. "At least we have the two witnesses."
"Among other things," DiNozzo added.
"He's going to argue it's consensual," Ziva pointed out.
"Let him," Jethro replied, sporting a smirk. Not like that was the common argument.
Agent Wexler of the Family and Sexual Violence unit chimed in. "Between Petty Officer Cox's blood-alcohol levels, the unconsciousness, and the witnesses, he's done."
Jethro turned to his Senior Field Agent. "Have Abby put a rush on the DNA results."
"On it, Boss!" DiNozzo chirped, getting straight to it.
Jethro then turned towards Ziva and McGee and addressed the pair. "You two, go back over everything. Assuming that the DNA comes back positive for Miller's, we can easily get the indictment, but I want everyone vetted thoroughly."
Both agents nodded and went to do as ordered.
Given the hour, Jethro and Wexler went and booked Quinn Miller before he ordered his team some Chinese food for lunch. It was still a bit early, but by the time the food got there, it was going to be lunchtime.
The D.A hadn't pulled any punches and was charging the man with everything that she could in an attempt to get a charge to stick. Jethro was on her side, in firm agreement with throwing the book at Miller.
Although the People vs. Miller arraignment didn't go as well as Jethro would've liked, it was still workable and went better than it could have gone. At least they didn't end up getting R.O.R. Miller was released a mere hour after he'd posted a $150,000 bail. The young man's father hadn't hesitated to pay Miller's way out. Miller had, unsurprisingly, pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The DNA results from Petty Officer Cox's rape kit finally came in, Abby confirming what they already knew. With that done, they all finished their case reports, Jethro having a couple of briefings to read as well, before finally heading home for the weekend.
His wife pulled him in for a deep kiss as Jethro walked through their front door shortly after 1700. When the couple finally parted, Shannon shifted slightly, smiling up at the veteran-turned-agent. "Was your day fairly busy or surprisingly calm?"
"Somewhere right in the middle there," he replied. He appreciated his wife's deliberate tendency to avoid the harder questions and keep her questions more positive in nature when inquiring about Jethro's day. "And how was your day?"
"It was good," she replied. "The Question of the Day thing I started was a hit. The kids all got really into it. Just finished marking all of the math quizzes, which was less than riveting, but I'm pleased with how well they did."
"That's great," he stated with a warm smile. His attention was pulled to the bottom of the staircase where his old man was now standing with a warm smile on his lips. The Gibbs patriarch's flight had landed at 1445. "Hi, Dad."
His father started walking over to him. "Hi, Son. You're home earlier than I expected."
He gave a little snort. "Gotta keep you on your toes."
The Gibbs patriarch rolled his eyes. "Or something."
"How was your flight?" he asked.
"Good," the older man replied contentedly. "Kelly picked me up from Reagan and I got to spend some time with her and Paisley. Man, I forgot how quickly kids grow."
"I know!" Shannon said. "It's crazy. Pais is growing like a weed. I can't believe how big she is already." Her gaze flickered between both men. "On another note… Dinner. How do you two feel about going out for Italian?"
"Fine with me," the Gibbs patriarch replied.
He nodded. "Good by me. If it's the restaurant I think you're thinking of, we might be able to catch a performance by The Commandant's Own too."
Shannon beamed. "That's the one."
"Let's get ready and head out then," his father said enthusiastically.
This was going to be one hell of a weekend. Jethro was really glad that his relationship with his father was where it was, though. He honestly couldn't imagine them still being estranged as they had been. A seventeen-year-long grudge was ridiculous.
