Nobody Sees, Nobody Knows [Jensen Ackles + Misha Collins | Cockles | mxm]

Chapter Fifteen

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.