Unexplored Terrain • John Schlossberg x Reader

II

In all the panic and frantic packing before our trip, I started to feel ill. Packing my own belongings was stressful enough, but worrying about two other people's clothes was pushing me toward a breaking point. 

I had to make sure I didn't forget anything, but I had to also worry about what the children were going to wear, what shoes were going to go with those outfits, swimsuits, and whatever toys they wanted to bring to keep them occupied while we were gone. 

Thankfully Jack was taking the time to pack his own stuff, but I'd still have to check over his things to make sure he wasn't forgetting a pair of underwear or something. He's not the best when it comes to this sort of thing! 

But when we were up in the air I could sort of breathe a sigh of relief. I would have a week of uninterrupted quality time with my family, and it was going to be great. 

It was a good thing we traveled on Air Force One, because the children were allowed to get up and run around the plane as opposed to being forced to sit still for the whole three and a half hour duration of the flight. Baby John fell asleep on the way there, so that was good, it reduced the possibility of a screaming toddler on today's flight. 

Caroline was quite content to sit down and play with her American girl dolls on the floor. She was also quite fond of going to visit the pilots in the cockpit every hour or so which was great. It seems she has made some new friends as well, she comes back to us talking about Mr. Charles and Mr. Rayce that let her 'fly' the plane. They even gave her a little set of pretend pilot's wings that stuck to the front of her dress. 

When we landed we were escorted into our black armoured Range Rover and driven to the resort we would be staying in on the beach. 

I was exhausted by the time we got to the room, and I had to lay down for a bit to regain my energy while Jack unpacked our's and the children's suitcases. 

After we were all settled in to our room we all threw on a swimsuit and went for a walk along the beach. It was very peaceful outside, the sun was just beginning to set and was being reflected over the water. 

After a while the kids decided they wanted to play in the water, so Jack and I set up camp for a little while on the sand and watched them as they splashed around in the waves. 

I noticed the other people on the beach were beginning to stare at us, I don't blame them, they're probably not very used to the first family showing up during their vacations, but it made me uncomfortable. 

Jack noticed this too, and began rubbing my back in an attempt to soothe my nerves. Since the sun was almost set for the night we only gave the children a few more minutes in the water and headed back to the room afterwards. 

As soon as we got back we ordered room service, we were all starving after the day that we had had, chicken nuggets for the kids of course, a cheeseburger for Jack, and Chicken Alfredo for me. 

After dinner we bathed the kids, and put the kids to sleep. Jack and I decided to watch a movie together while the kids were asleep, since we didn't get to do that a lot anymore. 

We settled on Sweeney Todd and the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. I quite enjoyed the beginning of the movie, but I must haves dosed off about halfway through because I couldn't seem to recall watching the rest of the movie and I woke up asleep in bed with Jack. 

I rolled over to check the clock on the bedside table, and it read 12:45, so Jack must have carried me off to bed after the movie ended. What a gentleman! 

I then snuggled up next to my husband and fell back into a peaceful slumber for the rest of the night. 

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I wish I could say that I loved every minute of the vacation, but that would be a complete and utter lie. 

The next day when Jack and I tried to take the kids to the beach the next day, there were already photographers positioned outside. At first I tried to ignore them and let the children have a little shred of fun in the sand. Jack didn't seem to mind them much, I guess it's just something he had gotten used to over the past few months, but they still made me feel uneasy. 

Soon though, photographers started to move closer to us, meaning that they were getting closer to the children as well. 

Eventually they got so close that they began shouting questions at us, mainly about my husband's standing on the new bill that is trying to be passed through Congress about the education system in the United States, and if he planned to veto it or pass it.

Little John, like me, wasn't too fond of the shouting and flashing of the cameras, so when he crawled over to me I scooped him up and held him in my arms. 

Eventually the press even started asking questions of Caroline too, who until now was splashing around in the waves just a few feet away. 

"Caroline are you having a good time in St. Thomas?" 

"Caroline do you like your Daddy's new job?"

"Caroline look over here!"

Well, that seemed to do it for Jack, because he leaned over and whispered in my ear, "you take John, and go back to the room. I'll take Caroline. I draw the line when it comes to my children." 

So much for a nice relaxing vacation. The rest of the afternoon was spent in our room at the resort with the curtains closed so the press couldn't find our room. 

Thankfully the little bit of playing that the children did tired them out, so they napped for most of the rest of the day, but staying inside was beginning to give me a sort of cabin fever. 

"Y/n, I'm so sorry about what happened today." Jack looked over at me as we were sitting on the sofa watching some kind of late night telenovela that I wasn't really paying attention to anyway. "If I had known that there would be so many photographers here I would have chosen some place a little bit more private." 

I sighed, "It's alright Jack. You had no way of knowing. But yes, for our next vacation let's do pick somewhere more secluded."  I was beginning to feel drowsy again so I laid my head on Jack's shoulder. "I just hate it for the kids. I hate how their childhoods are just basically on display for the whole world to see." 

Jack kissed my forehead and sighed a sigh himself. "I know love, I hate putting them in this situation, and you as well. I know how you despise the paparazzi." 

I snuggled up close to him and he added another light kiss to the top of my head as I drifted off to slumber.