Chapter 5

Everyone was up and ready by seven-thirty the next morning when Nick knocked on the door of the RV. Aaron let them in. "Good morning," he smiled.

"Hi Aaron," Johnny said. "Something smells good," he smiled at Cait. The four boys were sitting in the booth watching something on Jack's tablet. They greeted Nick and Johnny as well.

Johnny winked at Sean. "We saw the big announcement on Facebook," he grinned. "Come on grandma, fork up some pics of your new grandson."

"They aren't proud of him at all," Sean smiled.

Jack looked at Tate. "I thought we were going to Yellowstone today," he said with a wink.

"Me too. Now we're going to be held up for an hour," Tate snarked. Cait shook her head at the boys as they shared a high five and the adults laughed. She handed her cell to Johnny. "That's the newest one we got last night," Cait smiled. Leslie poured Nick and Johnny a cup of coffee.

Nick looked over Johnny's shoulder at the picture. Sam was lying against Bella's side while Bella was lying on the big rug in Mike and Andi's living room. Aaron and Cait proudly smiled. "He's a keeper," Nick smiled. "Congratulations again you two," he added to Cait and Aaron.

"Thank you," Aaron proudly smiled back.

"See what I mean," Sean grinned. Just then, the timer went off on the oven.

"It's about time," Wyatt said, getting out of the booth.

Sean and Leslie pulled out the two pans of egg bake as Cait pulled out two plastic boxes from a cupboard. "More from that bakery?" Aaron asked.

"Aaron that was the best bakery I've seen in a grocery store. Period. And everything was homemade," she answered, opening one that had mini blueberry muffins. The second held an assortment of mini donuts.

"Has to be Geissler's in Swan Lake," Johnny said.

"It was," Cait smiled.

Sean and Leslie got the breakfast buffet set up and everyone dove in. The boys went back to the booth to eat their loaded plates. Sean and Leslie sat down on the couch. Aaron, Cait, Nick and Johnny stood around the kitchen and the counter.

When everyone was done, Cait and Leslie got the leftover egg bake in the fridge and cleaned up the kitchen. Sean handed Wyatt the bag of garbage. "Your turn," he smiled.

"Got it dad," Wyatt said, going out the door. Sean and Aaron followed him out to get the RV unhooked from the electric and water.

They got Wyatt up the steps and then got on. Johnny looked at Aaron. "Do you mind if I drive?"

Aaron smiled. "I'd appreciate that Johnny. But after we get into the park." Johnny looked at him. "I've got something that will get us through the park entrance quicker."

Sean smiled at their guides. "Actually, there are two 'we get in free passes' on board." Nick and Johnny looked at him. "There's two credentialed FBI agents," Sean smiled.

"And one can outshoot the other one," Leslie grinned, giving Cait a high-five.

Aaron shook his head, sitting down in the driver's seat. "You two ladies just keep sticking together."

"We've got to," Cait said. "There's enough testosterone on here to float an aircraft carrier," she snarked. Nick and Johnny laughed as Aaron started the RV.

"Sit down Johnny," Sean smiled with a nod at the passenger chair in the cab. "You're the navigator for now. I'm just the NYC rubber-necking tourist." The boys went into the back bedroom to watch a movie on the TV back there. Sean and Leslie sat down on the couch as Cait and Nick sat down in the booth.

"So you're with the FBI now?" Nick asked her.

"Part-time," Cait smiled. "I still teach at Georgetown three days a week. The other two days, I'm Aaron's team criminal psychology consultant."

"Since when?" Nick queried as Johnny guided Aaron onto the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway that led to the south Yellowstone entrance.

Cait smiled. "Actually, I took the job just after we got back from meeting you two the last time." Johnny swiveled his chair around to listen. "We were getting a new Dean of Arts and Sciences at Georgetown who I didn't approve of. And Aaron's boss approached me with the job offer after the team's consultant announced his retirement. After some long thinking, of which I did some on our last trip out here, I accepted and stepped down as Co-Chair of the Psychology department. It was perfect. I didn't have to deal with the new person's politics but with my tenure, I could still teach."

Nick grinned. "What's it like sleeping with the boss?"

Cait laughed. "I report to his boss the Section Chief."

"Isn't Mike an FBI agent as well?" Johnny asked.

"He is," Aaron said. "But not in the field. He's a chemist working in the Bureau's lab at Quantico."

"But he's still an agent?" Nick said.

"Yes," Aaron said. "For every agent you see out in the field like me and my team, there are hundreds working in the background that do just as important work. Accountants, agents that specialize in foreign languages, counter-intelligence, biology and chemistry, like Mike, and computer specialists." He smiled. "My team's computer specialist was recruited after we nabbed her for doing some major hacking of companies."

"Recruited?" Nick asked.

"Help us or go to jail," Aaron smiled.

Sean looked at Aaron. "Penelope? Really?"

"She was one of the best the Bureau had seen. Why she went from handcuffs to my team," Aaron smiled.

"You know her?" Nick asked Sean.

Sean grinned. "Aaron's team is very close. When you deal with the nutcases they do, they need some relaxed down time. You don't want to see Thanksgiving weekend at their house," he said, waving his finger at Aaron and Cait. "It's our family. And then the bigger family," he winked.

"So what do you do in NYC?" Nick asked, smiling at Leslie and Sean.

"We own a restaurant," Leslie replied.

"Wow," Johnny said. "That's gotta be tough."

"Not if you hire the best that buy into total customer service from back-end to front of the house and have a commitment to the house because we are committed to them for buying into our approach," Sean said.

"Aaron isn't the only one with a good team," Cait smiled at Nick.

"I'd say so," Nick grinned back. "So who does what?" he asked, looking at Sean and Leslie.

"I started out as our hostess which I had done since graduating from college. With the boys now, I'm the accountant, which was my college major. I love the business so I get the best of both worlds but work the day shift," Leslie smiled. "And I hire the front of the house staff. Sean has been a chef for years. He handles the chefs and busser staff."

"They have an amazing staff," Aaron proudly smiled.

"Yes we do," Sean said, adding the proud Hotchner smile. "Leslie and I didn't hesitate to book a nearly two weeklong trip for the boys and us. We trust them that much. And other than one text, from our Executive Chef about an ordering issue on some steaks, we haven't heard a word from them. We know the place is humming along like usual."

"That's fantastic Sean," Nick smiled back.

"Is Matt still a federal prosecutor?" Johnny asked.

"No, he's in training at the FBI Academy," Cait said.

"Who's about to get his butt kicked today with his first time in Hogan's Alley," Aaron smiled.

"Aaron?" Sean asked.

"A training course specifically designed to make them fail. It brings home the message that if you screw up on tactical, you or someone on your team gets killed," Aaron explained. "It's their first test after firearm training. And gets that point home. How they rebound after that is their real test to see if they are ready to be field agents. Some don't make it."

Nick looked at Cait. "It's designed to do exactly that. Can you learn from what happened and move on? That's the bottom line. It makes them do some soul searching. Because being a field agent means somewhere down the line, you can lose a fellow agent."

"I'm glad I'm just a park guide," Johnny softly said. "God bless them all." He looked at Aaron and Cait. "Both of you too."

"Well Mr. Park Guide," Aaron smiled, "get your game on," he said, pointing at the line he pulled into to get in the park. There was one car ahead of him.

Sean whistled. "Hey guys! We're here!"

The car pulled into the park and Aaron drove the RV up to the Ranger, pressing the button to get his window down.

"Good morning sir," the Ranger smiled. He looked in and saw Johnny. "Hey Johnny! You got some VIPs on here?" the Ranger grinned.

"Big time Jeff," Johnny smiled back. Nick stood up to stand behind Aaron.

"Hey Nick," the Ranger said.

"Hi Jeff," Nick smiled.

The Ranger smiled at Aaron. "That said sir…" Aaron showed his credentials to the Ranger. "Definitely VIPs," Ranger Jeff smiled. "SSA Hotchner, I just need that," he nodded at his credentials, "for my log."

"All yours Ranger," Aaron smiled, handing it to him. The Ranger made a note on his iPad. "And how many people do you have on board?" He smiled at Aaron. "We keep track of how many people are in the park." The boys appeared up front.

"There's ten of us with our guides and," Aaron nodded at the boys, "the gang," he winked.

Ranger Jeff smiled, handing Aaron's credentials back to him. "Have an amazing day all of you. You've got two of the best with you."

"I'm sorta getting that," Tate said.

"Me too," Wyatt added.

Jack smiled at Nick and Johnny. "Hit it guys." Aaron pulled into the park

"We live here year around," Nick explained. "And there's a little thing called winter around here. Most of the park roads are shut down from October to May."

Johnny smiled. "We do guide trips for snowmobilers in the winter season."

"And it keeps our campgrounds open year around," Nick added.

"How do you do that?" Sean asked.

"We've got one-fourth of each campground that has the water pipes protected from freezing. Between the campsites for the snowmobilers and guiding, it gets us through the winter," Nick explained.

"And in the spring?" Leslie asked.

"We spend April in the Florida Keys," Johnny smiled.

"Nice," Sean smiled.

Johnny pointed. "Take a left in here Aaron."

Jack shook his head. "We're doing the biggest thing first?"

Nick smiled at him. "We're going to show the New Yorkers the two biggest tourist sites in the park before all the idiots, sorry," Nick added, "come out of the woodwork. Then we'll show you the park we know," he winked, looking at his cell. "Plus the old lady is set to go off in twenty minutes."

Johnny smiled at Jack. "You're right. The old lady is the mainstay around here. But I guarantee you, we'll give you just as big of show today."

"I'm in," Sean smiled. Aaron parked the RV.

Fifteen minutes later, Johnny and Nick had the family as close as possible to the Old Faithful Geyser in the viewing area the NPS had built. Wyatt worriedly looked at his parents. "I can feel the ground shaking under my feet."

"Me too," Ethan added.

"The old lady is warming up to put on her show," Johnny smiled. They all watched as the water started to bubble out of the geyser. Right on time, five minutes later, Old Faithful spewed out her geyser of water with the earth rumbling beneath everyone's feet. Leslie and Cait captured in on their video cameras.

"That's amazing!" Wyatt excitedly shouted over the din of the water coming out.

"Yup," Ethan broadly smiled.

Jack looked at Tate who was doing a video on his phone. Tate just shook his head in amazement. Aaron and Cait smiled at them all.

Walking back to the RV, Jack shook his head. "Buddy?" Aaron asked.

"She was great as usual," Jack said.

"But?" Cait asked. Jack shook his head again. "Spit it out Jack."

"We're gonna miss out on ice cream from the parlor in the lodge."

Johnny looked at Cait. "May I?" he asked with a wink.

"Please do," Aaron smiled.

Johnny cuffed Jack's shoulder. "Dude! We have to go by here to get back out the south entrance."

"We're going to see it again?" Ethan smiled. "And there's ice cream?"

"Dipstick," Tate snarled at Jack.

"Shuddup," Jack fired back.

Leslie looked at Cait. "You really don't miss that?" she laughed.

"Not all the time," Cait confessed.

Like Nick said, Johnny pulled the RV into the parking lot of the Fountain Paint Pots. "What's this?" Wyatt asked Nick as they all exited the RV and moved to the boardwalk.

"It sorta stinks here," Ethan noted.

"That's because," Johnny said, "of the muds bubbling up. The differing colors are derived from the oxidation states of iron in the mud. The smell is sulfur from the iron."

"You've got to remember," Nick added. "this park is sitting on top of the world's largest volcano. There's a whole lot of mineral action going on below the surface mixing with the underground water."

"What happens if this volcano blows?" Wyatt asked at they walked the boarded sidewalk around the area.

"Honestly Wyatt?" Nick said. "Take Wyoming, the western two-thirds of Montana, half of Idaho and part of Utah off your geography map."

"Whoa," Wyatt said.

"Really?" Sean asked.

"Really," Nick answered.

"How hot are they?" Leslie asked.

"Don't fall in," Johnny said. "Between the heat and the acid, the idiots that try rarely win."

Sean shook his head. "They really are out there."

"Yes they are," Aaron said.

Going by one mud pot, Johnny pulled Wyatt and Ethan to him. "Look guys," he smiled. "At the footprint. A buffalo walked through here this morning."

"And they don't burn up?" Wyatt asked.

"Nope," Johnny smiled. "Their hoofs can withstand the heat and chemicals."

Returning to the RV, Johnny cracked his knuckles. "Get ready for the real deal." For the next three hours, Johnny and Nick showed the Hotchner family the park they loved. They saw Upper and Lower Yellowstone Falls. Taking the short hike to Gibbon Falls, they saw amazing wildlife; beaver, deer, bear and elk. The boys laughed at a family of otters in the Yellowstone River. Cait recorded it all on her video camera.

Johnny had the RV on the road to Tower Falls when he and Nick's cellphones went off. "Buffalo alert Johnny," Nick said.

Two miles ahead, Park Rangers had the road blocked in both directions. A herd of over one hundred buffalo roared across the road. Cait and Leslie videoed it. "That's amazing," Jack said.

"Wow," Ethan said to his dad.

"Wow is right," Sean smiled.

Pulling into the small parking area, Cait looked at Johnny as she was standing behind the passenger seat where Aaron was sitting. "Can you find a spot to park the RV so we can get the slide out?"

Johnny pointed. "Does that work?"

"Yes it does," Aaron smiled.

"Can I ask why?" Johnny said, parking the RV.

"I've got four racks of ribs to get in the oven." Cait said. Sean was already getting the oven warming. "Following Sean's recipe."

"You're not cooking dinner for us too," Nick said.

"Guess again," Sean growled, helping Cait prep the ribs to get them in the oven.

Johnny looked at Aaron. Aaron smiled back. "Look in the side pocket of that door." Johnny looked. "Yes, that is my FBI issued Glock." Johnny and Nick shook their heads.

Two hours later, everyone was enjoying their ice cream on the second floor patio of the Old Faithful Lodge. "Happy?" Tate snarked at Jack.

"Yup," Jack grinned, taking another lick of his mint and chocolate chip cone.

"Buzz off Tate," Wyatt said. "This is great." He and Jack shared a high-five.

Ethan pointed at Old Faithful. The water was starting to bubble out. "And we get the show one more time," he smiled, taking a big lick of his Rocky Road cone.

Nick smiled at Cait. "You called it this morning. It's the testosterone show."

"I had two test dummies," Cait smiled. She nodded at Jack and Tate. "They're easy." Nick looked at her. "I've got back-up this time," she smiled. Aaron put his arm over Cait's shoulder, smiling at her, taking a lick of his ice cream cone. The Old Lady spewed out her grand show again as everyone enjoyed their ice cream cones.

"This is the best," Wyatt beamed as Old Faithful ended her show.

Just then, Cait's cell pinged with a message. Cait looked at it and smiled, showing Aaron the picture. Andi was feeding Sam with Bella closely watching over her charge, putting her nose into Sam's belly.

Dinner was a success as usual and everyone was sitting around the campfire, with the adults enjoying after dinner cocktails. "Look at all the stars," Wyatt commented, looking at the sky. "We don't see that in the big city."

"We have a lot of good memories to take back home with us," Sean smiled, rubbing his head.

"We sure do," Ethan yawned, sitting on Cait's lap.

Johnny looked at Aaron. "I know you've got a long day of driving tomorrow. Instead of going back to Idaho Falls, take Highway 89 south in Jackson. It will take you down to Evanston where you can get on I-80. You'll have more freeway driving, but you'll get home quicker."

"And we'll go through Salt Lake City," Cait smiled at Aaron.

"We can see the Tabernickel again," Aaron winked at Cait with a laugh.

"Awww dad, come on," Jack growled.

A bit later, the thank-yous and good-byes were heartfelt. "I'll never forget this," Ethan said, hugging Nick and then Johnny.

Aaron handed the guides an envelope. "This is from all of us. Thank you very much." Cait handed one of the cleaned out containers from Geissler's Bakery to Johnny. It was filled with the leftover ribs and baked potatoes from dinner.

XXX

A/N: NPS is the US National Park Service. In Family Amazing Race, Jack called the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City the Tabernickel.