The drive to Jared's shouldn't be this long, but Vicki wants to take the scenic route and, because she's my wife, I take the nearest exit ramp off the freeway and onto some remote country road. The others will get there ahead of us, but nobody's complaining.

Soon, we're flanked by scenery of unparalleled beauty, a seemingly endless spread of green dotted by trees and farm houses and horses, tails lazily swishing away flies as they graze in the summer heat.

It's so nice to be with Vicki and the kids in person again. We talk about the upcoming con and the show and what happened back home in my absence.

After a few hours I feel caught up; it feels like I never left their side.

But I did. It's my job and as much as I hate being away from them, the separation is inevitable.

But I will enjoy this weekend with them; I promise myself that.

The kids only ask, are we there yet, about three hundred and sixty-seven times, so it's a relatively pleasant trip. As it is, I can barely hear the whining over the growl and rumble of the wind whipping past the open car windows as we cruise down the road.

I'm wearing cargo shorts and a dark blue shirt with sunglasses, but it's still stifling hot. So I roll up the windows, turn on the AC, and try not to lose my temper with the squabbling kids in the backseat.

Vicki looks at me with desperation in her eyes and I know she's exhausted. It's been a long drive and the trip was even longer for her and the kids considering they flew out to see me. I place my hand over hers and smile sympathetically.

"We should travel together more often," I joke and she looks at me with serious longing.

"We actually should. Just maybe...without the kids?"

"I'd love to do just the two of us, babe. But we can't-"

"We can leave them with your parents, Misha," Vicki whispers and we smile at each other. "They'd love that."

I love this woman.

It's high sixties and sunny, the perfect weather for driving. We make good time, stopping for fuel - both for the car and the kids' tummies - a couple of times before the GPS informs us that we've arrived at our destination.

My breath catches in my throat when I pull off the paved road and crunch onto a gravel driveway.

The cottage comes into view as we round the bend, and the kids immediately start squealing giddily. Jared totally hasn't prepared me for this.

I've always known he was well off - being a TV star certainly has its perks - but this is a colonial-style house with balconies running the entire length of the second floor, and the trellises between each are covered in climbing flowers I don't even know the name of.

"Finally," Vicki exclaims, peering out the window at the immense building before us. "We're here."

Jared's cottage is a...palace. An estate worth a fortune, at least, and I'm not used to this level of luxury.

"Place is beautiful." Vicki ogles the gleaming white structure, blinking against the bright reflection.

"No kidding," I agree, pulling to a stop by a flight of steps leading to a huge set of double doors. The driveway is already full of cars.

I cut the engine and step out of the car, stopping to marvel at the matching marble horses' heads set on pillars on either side of the entrance, before opening Vicki's door for her.

"Here we are." I wrap an arm around my wife's waist and we survey the grounds, impressed.

"You finally made it, old man!" Mark strides up to us as people begin to spill down the stone steps in greeting.

"Sorry we took so long," I grin and hug him. I could listen to that accented voice for ages and not tire of it. I hope he tells stories around the campfire. "It was Vicki's fault." My eyes twinkle and I tense, ready to doge any sudden swings. She doesn't disappoint, flinging an open palm against my bicep, and I grunt. "Sorry, Vic!" Feigning irritation, Vicki leaves me in search of the other women.

"Hey, hold on there kiddo!" I laugh as West wriggles out of my grasp and dashes across the driveway towards Jensen, who is currently coming out of the mansion - I mean cottage.

"Jenny!" He leaps into the actor's arms and wraps his arms around his neck gleefully. "Jenny Jenny Jenny Jenny!"

"Hey buddy," Jensen laughs into my little boy's hair. He spins him around once, gives him a loving squeeze and places him back on the ground. West stares up at him, hair tousled and eyes wide with adulation, before giggling and taking off after the others.

I gulp as I look up at the younger man approaching me. He's wearing a tight-fitting black t-shirt that accentuates his chiseled chest and dark blue shorts and sandals. He's in top shape, and the water droplets streaming down his neck in small rivulets indicate that he's been swimming.

"Hey." Jensen lifts a tan, thickly-muscled arm in greeting and then thrusts his hands back into his pocket as Danneel comes around to stand beside him.

"Hey, Misha," she giggles, Vicki hanging on her arm. "Isn't it so great for all of us to be together like this?"

"It's great to see you," I smile politely and kiss her cheek. "Been a while."

"Did you have a good trip?"

"Yeah, it wasn't so bad."

Gen comes out with a tray containing ice water, bless her soul.

"May I offer you a drink," she queries in a posh voice, then scrunches her face in a delighted grin and hugs me with one arm. "It's so good to see you guys!"

"You too, thanks so much." I grab a drink and sip the cool water as Gen hugs Vicki. "This place is amazing. I get the feeling it would be perfectly normal for me to lie back and ring a silver bell to order a cup of tea," I joke, trying not to gawk too obviously as Vicki accepts the water with barely-concealed relief.

"Thanks. It's not bad, huh? I really wanted something like this so Jared had the place completely transformed. We come here every once in a while to just get away from it all, you know?"

Then Danneel comes back with JJ and the little bundle of joy starts chortling and reaching for me with waving arms.

"'Isha! 'Isha!"

I laugh and take Justice from her arms.

"Hey there, precious!" I rub our noses together which makes JJ squeal giddily.

"She missed you," Danneel notes fondly.

"And I've missed you too, baby girl!" I can't wait to see everyone's kids again, but JJ and I have a special bond.

"You must be exhausted," Gen pipes up, rubbing her hands together. "You can go ahead and freshen up. In fact, I'll show you to your room and when you're ready you can join us for lunch." A nap and a cool shower would really hit the spot right now...

"What do you think, Vicki?" I stretch my aching muscles and she nods in approval.

"Let's go get the luggage from the car."

"I'll help you with your bags," Mark quickly offers.

"And we'll keep an eye on Maison and West," Danneel assures us, nodding towards said kids, who are already mingling with Thomas and the other youngsters.