A/N: Thank you for all of the luvs and support. Aka the reviews and alerts. :D

Now I can get down into some real writing. The first two chapters were covering the basics to set up the story premise. Without you having to read your ump-tenth visit to the ranch.

My Rand McNally road atlas is about to get a work out. Good thing I bought a new one after the last RV trip.

Chapter 3

Everyone was stirring by six the next morning. Aaron came down the steps and walked into the kitchen. Maggie and Jake were already busy. "Cait is just about ready to help you."

Steph was feeding Ellie her breakfast. "Don't need her," Steph smiled, putting Ellie into Aaron's arms. "You finish giving El her breakfast. I'm the third part of the breakfast slider machine," she smiled at Aaron.

Aaron looked at Steph and Jake, while sitting down at the kitchen table with Ellie. "You didn't have to be up this early."

Jake pointed at his daughter. "She's always up at this time. We made it a two-fer," he smiled.

"I'm the coffee barista," Jarrod winked at Aaron, pouring him a cup.

"Thank you Jarrod," Aaron said. "Hi you," Aaron smiled at Ellie, giving her the rest of her bottle.

Cait joined them a couple minutes later. She smiled at Aaron. "That's a good job for you."

"It is," Aaron smiled back. "But I'll need back-up in about thirty seconds," pulling Ellie's drained bottle of formula away from her.

Cait took Ellie from Aaron. "Go burp master," Jake smiled, tossing a kitchen towel to Cait. Aaron snagged it and handed it to Cait. Cait put the towel on her shoulder and then Ellie, howling her discomfort. That ended a minute later with the two loud burps Cait coaxed out of her.

Sean and Leslie walked into the kitchen. "You're a rock star at that Aunt Cait," Sean smiled.

"Lots and lots of practice," Cait said, taking Ellie to the living room. Cait pulled the comforter off the couch and put it on the floor, then laid Ellie on it. She smiled at Bernie. "You know what to do." Bernie softly barked her response, lying down next to the comforter.

"We can help," Leslie smiled at the cooking crew.

"Are the boys moving?" Maggie asked, frying more bacon.

"Ours are," Sean said.

"So are ours," Aaron added.

"Then let's streamline this even more. We know you want to get rolling with your long day. Start pouring milk and juice glasses," Maggie said. Steph started cracking eggs and pouring them on Maggie's large griddle.

Leslie grabbed the ever-present sleeve of plastic glasses off the counter while Sean pulled out the gallon jug of milk and large apple juice bottle. Aaron went to the steps. "Now boys!" Everyone heard rumbling upstairs.

He went to the downstairs steps. "Shake a leg you city slickers!" Wyatt and Ethan ran up the steps, broadly grinning at him.

Forty minutes later, the Barkleys watched the RV pull away from their home. Jack and Tate looked around. "Umm dad," Jack said. "I get last night why you didn't give us the tour. We all had a lot to do. And it's oh-dark-thirty right now." He looked around more. "But this is really gonna sleep all of us?"

Cait and Leslie were sitting on the couch behind the driving area with Wyatt and Ethan. "Jack," Cait said. "This is a different model of RV than the last time. When we get some time, we'll show everyone the bells and whistles. But right now…"

"We need to make miles," Tate finished. Cait pointed at him.

Before they got through Sacramento, Ethan and Wyatt were sleeping in the queen bed in the back of the RV. An hour later and half later, Leslie had them up to see the Sierra Nevada mountain pass they were driving through. Jack and Tate shared memories of going through the area on the train, catching brief glimpses of the tracks. After clearing the mountains and the RV heading towards Reno, Jack and Tate took over the bed in the back. Sean, sitting in the passenger seat up front with his brother, looked at him. "We got the layout of the plan last night. You really think we're covering a little over five hundred miles today?" Wyatt and Ethan were sitting on the floor of the RV, playing Battleship.

"Piece of cake," Aaron smiled. "If we can get four boys to buy in." Aaron glanced at Sean. "We have to. The campground we want to get to is one we've stayed at before. We know how good it is." Sean looked at him. "Yes Sean, it's going to be a big, hard, and long push today. The pay off comes tonight. And then tomorrow."

Around ten that morning, they made a gas fill-up stop east of Reno. Everyone got off to stretch their legs. Sean put his credit card into the gas pump while Aaron pulled off the fuel hose. "No complaints?" Sean asked.

Aaron shook his head, starting to pump the gas into the tank. "We all agreed. This is a fifty-fifty split. Cait and I have the next one." Sean smiled.

An hour later, Cait was looking at her atlas and her cellphone, standing in the kitchen. Jack and Tate were playing Sudoku games they had downloaded on their tablets, sitting in the abbreviated dining booth of the RV. Ethan and Wyatt were sitting on the couch with their mother, watching a movie on the flat screen TV across from the couch and above the dining booth where the older boys were sitting. The scenery was Nevada desert.

"Aaron," Cait said, "the next exit is Lovelock. They've got a city park and the boys need lunch and to get out to move."

"Got it Doc," Aaron smiled. Twenty minutes later, Aaron parked the RV in the lot of the park. The boys tumbled out the door. Aaron left the motor running. Sean looked at him. "Sean," Aaron smiled. "We have no power hook-up. We need electricity to keep the generator running."

Sean shook his head as they both swiveled to got out of the captains' chairs in the driving area. "When we were at the rental company yesterday and the agent starting rambling about the control panel and black water and grey water, I sorta wandered off to look around the lot."

"I noticed," Aaron smiled.

Sean shook his head. "My god, I saw a new one they had on the lot. The price tag was one-hundred sixty thousand. That's gotta get you a good sized home."

Cait and Aaron laughed. "Tell you live in New York City with rent control," Aaron smiled.

Sean and Leslie looked at them. "That would get you a thousand square foot, one, maybe two bedroom home in Virginia," Cait smiled. Sean and Leslie shook their heads. Aaron looked out the window to see where the boys were and then hit a button on the control panel. The left side of the RV started to expand out from the dining room table to the back end, giving the RV four feet more of space. The boys came back into the RV. "Now I get it," Jack smiled.

Aaron gave everyone the full tour. He pulled down a loft bunk that was over the driving bay. "That's for one or two of you," he smiled at Wyatt and Ethan. "Otherwise," he pointed at the dining table booth area, "that's a bed as well."

He smiled at Leslie and Sean, nodding at the couch. "That pulls out for your bed."

"We'll let you old farts have the big bed," Sean snarked.

Jack and Tate were exploring around. "Hey dad!" Tate asked. "These bunk beds for us?"

"You got it guys," Aaron smiled.

Jack checked the space out. "We've got our own DVD players," he smiled, sharing a high five with Tate.

Wyatt joined them. "Uncle Aaron and Aunt Cait! This means you don't have to go through the bathroom to get to your bedroom."

Ethan looked at his mother. "Say it kiddo," Cait winked at him.

"I need lunch mom."

Sean and Leslie made turkey and cheddar cheese sandwiches for their boys. The rest made their own with ham and Swiss as an option. Aaron pulled out the family-sized bag of Ruffles potato chips. Jack grabbed the chip dip from the fridge in the RV along with the huge bag of green grapes and the first gallon of milk. Sean went outside and grabbed water bottles out of the cooler that was stored in another area of the RV.

While everyone dived into their lunches, Cait quickly diced some onion and made up the hamburger patties for later that evening, putting them on a paper plate and covering them with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge. She washed her hands.

Aaron handed her a plate with a sandwich, some chips and grapes. "Can you eat while we move out Doc?"

"You know better," Cait smiled. Tate handed her the chip dip container and a bottle of water. Aaron pushed the button to pull in the slide. They pulled onto I-80 again, heading east.

Sean looked at Aaron. "How does this RV handle compared to the other one?"

"It's a lot easier," Aaron said. "The first one was nearly forty feet long. This one is only thirty-one feet. Plus, it's a lot lighter to get up and over the mountains."

"That makes a difference?" Sean asked.

"A big difference," Aaron smiled.

Driving past Winnemucca, everyone laughed again about Matt's gold mine challenge on the family's Amazing Race RV trip. They drove past a green mileage sign. Cait walked up to the driving area and rubbed Aaron's shoulders. "You letting that one go?" Leslie and the boys were playing Monopoly. Maggie had sent along the game box, having it for all the grandkids.

Aaron shook his head. "That one will always be tough."

Sean eyed them. "A case?" Cait nodded. Sean looked at Aaron.

Aaron shook his head. "It was the case that eventually made Gideon resign."

Sean thought for a second. "But that brought back Dave," he smiled.

"Yes it did," Cait grinned, rubbing Aaron's shoulders.

"You OK Aaron?" Sean asked. "I haven't driven in years so I'm no help to you."

Aaron smiled at him. "My personal masseuse helps," as Cait rubbed his shoulders more. "And this RV is a lot easier to handle. I'm good."

A little after five that afternoon, Aaron pulled the RV into their campsite at the Iron Horse Camp Ground in Elko, Nevada. Everyone got off and deeply stretched. "Jack, you help me get the RV hooked up to power and water."

"You got it dad," Jack smiled. Tate tagged along with Jack to learn how to do it.

"Aaron, what do you need me to do?" Sean asked.

Aaron looked at him. "You know where the charcoal bag is stored," Aaron nodded at the one of the outside storage areas. Sean nodded. "Get that grill going," Aaron pointed.

Cait nodded Leslie back on the RV. The power light lit up on the control panel. Cait hit the button, extending out the RV. "Let's get cracking on some picnic fries," Cait smiled. "You dice some onion; I'm peeling some spuds."

A little over an hour later, the Hotchners were enjoying grilled hamburgers and hot dogs; the cooked on the grill in tin foil sliced up potatoes and baked beans that Cait warmed up on the range top in the RV. Between the picnic table the RV site had and the four lawns chairs Jarrod added into one of the outside storage bays of the RV, everyone was sitting down.

Wyatt looked around and shook his head. "I could get really used to this view, eating like this." Aaron and Cait smiled at Leslie and Sean.

"Me too," Ethan added, swallowing a bite of his hotdog and bun.

"This is way cool," Tate added, taking another bite of his hamburger.

Jack smiled at Aaron and Cait. "It might get even better a bit later," he said. "And beyond that."

After the boys enjoyed the heated outdoor pool and their showers at the bathhouse, they all made their way back to the campsite. Sean and Leslie were enjoying some Bailey's on the rocks. Cait and Aaron's had a touch of scotch in theirs. Ethan shook his head. "How does this get better?"

Jack winked at Tate. "A graham cracker…"

"A marshmallow…" Tate smiled.

"And a Hersey bar," Jack grinned, sharing a high five with his brother.

Ethan looked at Cait. "It's called a s'more Ethan," Cait smiled. "You'll love it."

Leslie looked at Cait. "A sugar high that close to bedtime?"

Cait smiled. "As tired as they are?" Cait shook her head. "It won't make a blip."

Aaron smiled at Sean and Leslie. "With them being the rock stars they were today, they deserve it," he said, adding more charcoal to the slowly dwindling fire in the grill.

Ethan was in his PJs twenty minutes later, eating his s'more, sitting on Cait's lap. "This is the best," he smiled. Cait kissed his head and smiled at Aaron.

Sean smiled, taking a bite of his own s'more and rubbed Aaron's shoulder. "Thank you," Sean grinned.

"You're welcome," Aaron smiled back. "Wait for Tuesday," he smiled at his brother. Wyatt, sitting on Leslie's lap just smiled.

Tate looked at Jack. "Yup," Jack smiled, shoving in his last bite of his smore.

A half hour later, the privacy curtain was closed across the windshield. Wyatt and Ethan were conked out in the bunk above the driving seats. Sean and Leslie were ready to climb into the bed of the pullout couch behind the driving seats that was made up for the night. Sean shut out the lights in the front part of the RV as Leslie got into bed with one light shining over it. Jack and Tate were in the bunk beds across from the bathroom. Cait and Aaron were in the back bedroom and climbed into the queen-sized bed, shutting off the lights to their room.

"The only thing missing right now is Bella," Jack yawned in the upper bunk. Tate, with his sound units to his implants out, was already snoring in the lower bunk. Cait and Aaron smiled at each other.

"Good night John Boy," Sean snarked towards the back bedroom, shutting out the last light.

"Good night Mary Ellen," Aaron smiled, curling up next to Cait.

"Ouch," Sean grinned, climbing into bed with Leslie.

XXX

A/N: Thank you again everyone for the reviews and alerts. They are what keep me writing.

For those of you that need visuals, Google Winnebago Vista 31 BE.