Saturday morning Jethro woke up and carefully detangled himself from his wife so that he didn't wake Shannon up. They'd been out rather late the night before and everyone there had hit the liquor pretty hard. Breena had accompanied Jimmy Palmer to the bar as well, so it was quite the group and the shots were flowing.
Glancing at the clock, Jethro noted that it was still a bit early. Taking advantage of the fact, Jethro moved to snuggle up to his wife who was still fast asleep, dozing back off himself a short moment later.
Forty-five minutes later, he and Shannon were both starting to stir. Half-awake, Jethro smiled over at his wife. "Looks like morning happened again."
The redhead gave a happy little hum in reply. "So it has." She shifted onto her left side so that both parties were laying face to face.
He moved so that he was on top of Shannon and then pressed his lips to hers. Her lips were warm and soft. They parted slightly, allowing his tongue to slip inside. When they broke apart, his wife was the first one to speak. "What's the plan today?"
"I'm thinking hardware store," he stated simply. He wanted to get a new woodworking project on the go. It had been a bit since the last one. He didn't feel the need to use it as an escape as he had in the past, but it was still a hobby that Jethro really enjoyed. There was just something to be said about building something by hand and getting to see the fruits of that labour. "I need to pick up some supplies."
"Oh?" she replied with a warm smile. "What did you have in mind?"
"I'm hoping the wood will tell me," he quipped.
She shot him a playful grin. "I hope the wood says, 'desktop shelf.' Preferably grey."
He raised an eyebrow. "My, that was subtle."
"Everyone in this family has the subtly of a freight train," she quipped without missing a beat. "You should really know that by now, Mr. Gibbs."
"How could I forget, Mrs. Gibbs?" He kissed his wife on the cheek. "Hmmm, I changed my mind." Jethro snuggled in closer to Shannon as he spoke. "I'm thinking bed, all day, with you." He was only partially kidding. "The hardware store will be there tomorrow."
Shannon shot him a playful smile. "That's very tempting."
"Good," Jethro replied with a soft chuckle. He kissed Shannon again and looked her in the eyes, nose crinkling in contentment. He could hear Bailey just outside their room, clearly wanting in. "Too bad we have a dog."
She chuckled. "You adore that dog."
"Until she wrecks my plans," he deadpanned.
Shannon gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'll make it up to later."
"Good by me," he replied with a smirk. "Plus, didn't you say earlier this week that you wanted to get some shopping done this weekend?"
"I did," she confirmed. "And today's a good a day as any."
Forcing himself to get out of bed, he got dressed and headed downstairs, Shannon not far behind him, to let Bailey outside to do her business and to get some much-needed caffeine brewing. He then got some breakfast on the go.
After breakfast, they did some tidying up around the house before Jethro hopped into his old pickup and headed to Cherrydale Hardware to get some supplies. Dropping his stuff off at home maybe twenty minutes later, Shannon joined him in the pickup truck and they headed into D.C to do some shopping.
They weren't at CityCenterDC long before the couple decided to split up momentarily. Jethro headed straight to the shoe section in search of a new pair of shoes. He needed some new athletic clothes. It was that time of year again where everyone at NCIS was scrambling to get all of their qualifications up to date for work. The veteran agent was going to do some light close combat training with his field agents, as he often did.
Jethro eventually settled on a pair of black Asics with a white outer sole and, satisfied with his selection, went to rejoin his wife.
An hour-and-a-half later, they had finished their shopping and headed to Elaine's Diner for lunch. Once they'd eaten their fill, they drove home, put everything away, and took Bailey for a walk around Lubber Run Park.
Jethro got a call from an old buddy of his while they were there; Dwayne "King" Pride. The man had been stationed at the New Orleans Field Office for quite a few years now but they had both started out as probies under Mike Franks together. King was just as old school as Jethro was in many ways and the two men had hit it off instantly when they started working together.
There was a group of teens running around and hollering, so Jethro walked away from the group so that he could hear better. He was always glad to get a chance to catch up with his friend. They didn't talk regularly, but neither men felt they had to either. They could go ages without talking and pick up right where they left off.
While Jethro was walking back towards his wife after the phone call with King, his eyes narrowed. From over where he was, Jethro could tell that his wife was uncomfortable. There was a sizeable blond man speaking to Shannon who was decidedly too close for comfort. The guy even tried to hug her.
It was abundantly clear by his wife's posture that she was becoming more and more uncomfortable. The redhead was handling her own just fine, but the guy didn't look as though he was about to back off. Without hesitation, he walked over to Shannon and planted a kiss on her cheek before wrapping his left arm around her waist. Thankfully, Bailey was calm. "Everything alright, Babe?"
"Yeah," she replied, eying the man who'd been giving her a hard time. "Don Juan here was about to leave." Shannon proceeded to raise an eyebrow. "I may love to shop but I'll never buy your bull." She waved goodbye. "Have a nice day, somewhere else."
The man stepped forward and roughly grabbed the sleeve of Shannon's coat. It was a mid-length, light grey, puffer jacket. Jethro's blood was boiling as he saw the situation play out before him. "Listen here, you little bitch…"
Jethro instantly bristled at the comment directed towards his wife. The former Marine stepped forward with purpose and moved the sorry piece of work away from Shannon. "What did you just say to her?"
The man eyed him smugly. "Called your old lady a fuckin' bitch."
Before the combat veteran registered what he was doing, he had already raised his fist and was punching the guy square in the face. The man hit the ground and Jethro eyed the son of a bitch in disgust.
The man glared at them after stumbling back up onto his feet and smartly decided to just get out of dodge and leave them alone.
Shannon gave an amused little snort once the piece of work was safely out of earshot. "Impressive, I've never seen such a small mind inside such a large head before."
Jethro barked out a laugh and then put his arm back around his wife again. "Come on, Care Bear. Let's take Bailey home, order some Chinese, and watch a western."
She smiled approvingly up at him. "Good by me, Tiger."
He pulled his wife in closer and kissed her on the top of the head. Jethro tried to place all the affection he had for her in it. To comfort her somehow. You're the best thing to ever happen to me. I love you.
