The warm sunlight seeped into their room and Jethro stilled. He felt himself cuddling a warm body, legs entangled. He felt at peace, a feeling that Shannon had always had a knack for causing. Half-awake, Jethro opened his eyes and looked over at the face of his gorgeous wife. She was still asleep next to him, under the blanket, her naked body wrapped tightly around him. Her body was half-covered by their sheets, hair over her face, eyes closed. Sunshine poured in from their window over Shannon's upper body, highlighting her soft features and bedhead.
Not a bad way to start a Monday. His lips curled into a smile at that thought and Jethro then gently placed a kiss on Shannon's forehead. Her eyes fluttered open and then she let out a small groan as she registered the time. "Five more minutes, please."
He smirked and then tapped the bed so that their dog would jump up. "And there we go. Get her, Bailey. Get her."
Their four-legged friend happily snuggled right up to Shannon and then started licking the redhead rather enthusiastically. A reaction that he'd counted on as it was far from the first time that Jethro had done this.
His wife, thankfully, had a pretty good sense of humour about the whole thing and let out a small chuckle as she retorted. "And denied!"
He chuckled softly, petting the dog. "Good girl. That's a good girl."
Shannon shook her head in amusement and then sat up in bed. "Okay, I'm up. You're lucky that I love you, Marine." She indicated their dog. "You and that little rascal."
He gave his wife a cheeky grin. "You were the one who wanted a dog."
The redhead rolled her eyes, feigning exasperation. "Yeah, my bad." Smiling, Shannon started petting the dog. "Didn't think you two would gang up on me."
He snickered. "Yeah, right. Because I never did that with Kelly."
She shook her head, chuckling. "You two ruined my damn rose garden."
"No regrets," he quipped. They'd had a lot of fun that day and seeing the laughter and joy in his baby girl's face was impossible to regret. The scolding he'd got from his wife later had been more than worth it.
Getting up, Jethro had a quick shower and managed to put on a pair of black slacks, a white crew-neck t-shirt, and a maroon polo shirt. Jethro then looked like a bit of a fool doing a dance as he attempted to get his sling back on. He'd taken it off to go to bed, and, unfortunately, the stupid thing was a sight harder to put back on than it had been for him to simply rip off.
Jethro heard a chuckle coming from the other side of the room and knew his wife was watching him. She was already dressed, having thrown on a pair of black jeans and a floral blouse she hadn't worn in a while. "Want a hand there, Babe?"
He rolled his eyes at the redhead's amused tone. "Yes, if you don't mind."
Shannon shook her head in amusement as she walked over to him.
Once the sling was back on, Jethro grabbed a black blazer from the closet and headed downstairs to the kitchen with his wife to have some breakfast. He made them both a cup of coffee and then poured himself a bowl of raisin bran while Shannon decided she wanted some instant oatmeal with cranberries and pecans thrown in.
Thankfully, the agent watching Shannon was discrete and let them have their space as they went about their usual morning routine.
Unfortunately, it wasn't long before Jethro had to go and start the drive to work. I am so taking some lost time once this mess is over.
Jethro stopped by Elaine's Diner for some coffee on the way into work, as he was wont to do, and then after a quick chat with the long-time security guard, Henry, hurried up to the director's office for a briefing with Tobias, the director, and the new Secretary of the Navy, Jarvis' replacement having been officially appointed.
"Any idea what it's about?" Tobias asked.
He shot the FBI agent a sideways look. "Well, it's probably about the terror cell."
"Yeah," Tobias agreed. "My gut's saying the exact same thing."
He nodded, leading his long-time friend past the director's assistant, Cynthia, and into the large office that his boss had called home for the past five years.
Director Vance instantly turned towards them. "Agents, please come in." Jethro closed the office door behind him and Tobias as the director continued with the introductions. "Secretary Sarah Porter, I'd like you to meet our own Special Agent Leroy Gibbs."
SevNav Porter smiled warmly and held out her hand. "Gibbs. I know the name."
Jethro shook her hand with a small smile of his own. He was well aware that he'd built quite the reputation over the course of his career. "Ma'am."
"And FBI Agent Tobias Fornell," the director introduced.
Tobias dipped his head slightly and offered his hand. "Madame Secretary."
"Still getting used to that title," Porter commented as she took the offered hand. "This appointment's been bittersweet, to say the least. Clayton Jarvis was a friend."
The director nodded. "To us, as well, Ma'am."
The Secretary of the Navy eyed all three men while she addressed them. "Well, then, what say we skip the formality, and you bring me up to speed on this terror cell - Brotherhood of Doubt? It certainly has an ominous ring to it."
"The hideout in Arizona turned up evidence," Tobias explained. "No actual members."
The director chimed in. "FBI, Homeland, state police - they're all on high alert."
Secretary Porter gave a curt nod. "And their supposed leader?"
"Name's Benham Parsa," the director stated while placing a photograph of the suspect down on the table. "He's a Pakistani national."
"He's in the wind," Tobias added. "Like the rest of 'em."
Jethro pulled out a photograph that Tobias had shown him on their way up. "But this man, Tomás Méndez, is on the board of an American anti-terror organization that can link the Brotherhood to Parsa."
"That photo of Méndez was found pinned up in their hideout," Tobias explained. "It's a good bet he's their next target."
"Can we protect him?" Porter questioned.
"We kept Méndez in a hotel last night," Tobias informed them. "And I'm taking him to a safe house as soon as we're done here."
The Secretary of the Navy dipped her head slightly. "Don't let me keep you."
Returning the nod, Jethro and Tobias both began making their way out of the director's office. Before they could leave, Secretary Porter addressed the group. "Gentlemen, as you may know, I'm not military." They all turned to face her again. "My background's business. And the first order of business the president has appointed me to address is preventing further attacks. The second is to bring swift justice to those committing them, by any means necessary."
With that, the Secretary of the Navy dismissed the field agent and he and Tobias both headed back down to the squad room.
