First day at school. It was a big step for such a little person ....and a big step for her parents, too. Thankfully, the school was more than prepared for parents who couldn't quite drag themselves away from their little one's first day at school. Vicki and Jon were among those parents, loitering in the back of the classroom to watch as their little girl took her first real steps into the world without them. Delighted with her uniform and her new friends and everything around her, the little redhead had offered them both perfunctory kisses and hugs before scampering off to find little friends she already knew, eager to take part in this new thing that would be such a big part of her life for a long time to come. And despite her teasing attitude, and her general outlook on the way things were, Vicki found herself just a little bit tearful as she hugged Jon's arm, hiding her face behind his shoulder so their eldest daughter didn't see her crying. Emily really was growing up, and already leaving them behind.

"Our baby is growing up, Vic," Jon lamented. It was no secret that, as his firstborn, Emily was his pride and joy. She was definitely a Daddy's girl, at least as far as Jon was concerned. He watched as she hurried off to join old friends and make new ones, that pride mixed with a little sadness to know she was growing up so quickly.

It took a moment for Vicki to answer, sniffling behind his shoulder as she raised her hand to discreetly try and wipe her face dry. "I can't believe how grown up she looks," she whispered, smiling through her tears. It was a bittersweet feeling, and one she knew she was going to have to get used to. They had three more doses of this coming to them.

He hadn't noticed her tears, until he heard the sound of her sniffling and turned his head to regard her with a raised brow. "Are you crying?" he asked her gently, though that much seemed obvious. Turning to face her, he smiled softly and reached over to carefully brush whatever tears remained from her face. "She's not leaving us yet. She's just going to school," he reminded her, though he was most likely feeling the same melancholy mix of emotions she was. They had gone so far as to discuss home-schooling, in the end deciding that it was better for both them and Emily if they went with traditional schooling, instead. They could, after all, only keep her little so long.

Vicki rolled her eyes, laughing a little at herself. "I know," she agreed. "It's just ....she's never gone anywhere without one of us holding her hand. And she's so ready to let go, just for a few hours a day. And yes, I know I'm the one who said parents who cry on the first day of school are idiots. I'm embracing my inner idiot."

"Do you think we'll cry this much when the twins go to school?" Jon asked, laughing a little - not at her, but at them both, as Jon's eyes were suspiciously wet, too. He reached for her to pull her into his embrace, in part to give her comfort and in part for himself.

She giggled softly, hugging her arms about his waist. She'd known he was going to be emotional; she hadn't expected it of herself. "We'll be worse," she predicted, her eyes turning to follow Emily once more as the class set about their first lesson together.

"It's better this way, you know," Jon said, though it was unclear if he was saying it to comfort himself or his wife or both. "It would be a lot harder if she was crying and clingy."

"And it won't always be this easy," she agreed softly. "We'll just have to get used to it, I suppose." She smiled as Emily looked over at the back of the classroom, smiling her bright little smile at her parents before applying herself very seriously to drawing her family.

Jon wiggled his fingers at Emily to acknowledge his daughter, smiling through his tears, before sniffling and looking back at Vicki. "I suppose we should leave her be before we get labeled as hover parents, huh?" he asked, uncertainly.

Drawing in a slow deep breath, Vicki nodded. "It's probably not a good idea to be the last parents to leave the classroom," she mused, gently disengaging her arms. Emily looked up again as they moved, her freckled face crumpling a little at the sight of her parents getting ready to leave.

Thankfully, Jon didn't notice the expression on his daughter's face or he might have never left. Separation, if only short-lived, was something they were all going to have to get used to, if they wanted Emily to grow up a healthy, happy child. He and Vicki made their way hand-in-hand toward the door, with one last glance over his shoulder to smile over at Emily.

And there was that look - ever so slightly betrayed and a little bit frightened of being left all alone, despite the fact that she was surrounded by her own peer group. Vicki did the only thing she could think of. Faced with Emily's imminent tears, her irrepressible mother pulled the most comically gruesome face she could think of behind Jon's back, and their daughter's weepy face instantly transformed into giggles.

Jon hadn't noticed Vicki's face-making or he might have laughed himself, but he felt infinitely better to see Emily giggling and looking like she was having fun. It was better than having to tear themselves away from a crying, clingy child who was terrified to leave them. He threw their daughter a kiss before dragging Vicki away and closing the classroom door behind them with a resigned and wistful sigh. Thankfully, school would let out in a few hours, and Emily would return home to them.

"I don't know how people can stand to send their kids away to boarding school," he mused aloud.

"God, I could never do that," Vicki agreed, hugging her arm about his waist as they turned away toward the entrance. They weren't the last parents to leave, thankfully, and Emily could proudly state that her Daddy was a famous actor, and her Mummy could pull the best faces. It wasn't a bad start to her school career. "It's going to take a while to get used to her being away most of the day."

"But it's one less kid to juggle during the day," he pointed out, though as the eldest, Emily was probably the easiest of the bunch to handle right now, with the twins needing the most attention.

"True. Doesn't mean I won't miss her, though." Vicki touched her cheek to his shoulder as they walked. "At least I didn't completely embarrass her by bursting into heaving sobs. I thought I might be able to hold it together, but apparently not."

"I'll miss her, too, but it's only for a few hours a day," he reasoned, turning his head to touch a kiss to her forehead as she laid her cheek against his shoulder. He smiled suddenly, an almost mischievous gleam in his eyes. "So, we have a little time to ourselves before we have to get home and relieve Dani. Any ideas?"

She glanced up at his mischievous face, and snorted with laughter. "We are not making another baby," she informed him laughingly, wriggling her finger into his ticklish ribs.

He chuckled as he batted her hand away from his side, laughing only in part of her tickling. "That's not what I meant," he told her, though he wasn't opposed to a little unplanned afternoon - or morning - delight. "I thought maybe we could stop somewhere before we head home." But he didn't say where.

"That's an idea," Jon replied thoughtfully. "But do you think your Dad and Humphrey could handle them?" Of course, there was plenty of family available at Maple Grove to lend a hand, if needed, but Jon needed a little more convincing.

"I think we could probably convince, oooh ....Kaylee and Taylor to have a two night sleepover with Clare at the big house as well," she suggested, cutting into her cheesecake. "Sam likes Cosmo, so that's the dogs sorted."

"True," Jon remarked, pausing a moment to take a sip of his coffee. There were actually plenty of people to choose from, both family and friends, who'd probably be happy to watch the kids for a few days, as well as their crazy dog. "Maybe we should put all their names in a hat and pick a winner," he suggested with a grin.

She laughed around her mouthful cheerfully. "That might actually work, you know," she admitted. "Although maybe not Piper's little house - they're too close to having a new little screamer themselves for us to be that cavalier."

"So, we leave them out of the running," Jon remarked. That still left plenty of possibilities, but that still left the question of destination. "So, where would you like to go, Mrs. Granger?" he asked, as he scooped up a forkful of cheesecake.

Licking her lips clean, Vicki took up her cup again. "If I'm honest, I don't really have a preference," she admitted, almost awkwardly. "I just feel a little starved of time with you and only you. We should go somewhere where there's plenty to do during the day, and a very comfortable bed for doing other things."

"Are we talking touristy or outdoorsy things?" he asked in an attempt to narrow down the choices, of which there were many, both on Rhy'Din and elsewhere.

"It's autumn, love," she pointed out in amusement. "If you want to put up with me moaning about how cold it is for ten straight hours, let's do outdoorsy."

"You didn't seem to mind going skiing," he was quick to point out, though much of that trip had been spent warming up in bed or in front of the fire.

She snickered. "Do you remember losing me into a snow drift right in front of the chalet?" she reminded him with a glowing grin. She really wasn't an outdoorsy person unless warmth was guaranteed, but at least she always tried something before vetoing it in future.

Jon chuckled at the memory. "I do remember that. I also remember having a lot of fun warming you up," he added with a grin. "Okay, so not outdoorsy. How about Paris?" he suggested. After all, she seemed to have loved Venice, so why not try Paris"

"Last time we went to Paris, it was with the kids," she mused, but the excited flutter of her lashes proved he'd hit upon a winner. "Promise me we'll stay away from Euro-Disney, and you're on."

"I promise!" he told her, laying one hand against his heart to indicate his intention on keeping that promise. If they were going to go to Paris without the kids, they would definitely be focusing on more mature activities than a trip to an amusement park. He was already imagining trips to the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, not to mention the food.

Vicki actually squeaked, immediately excited by the idea of a couple of days in Paris with him. "So we can see the Louvre, Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Elysses ....Oh, we could take one of those boat tours down the Seine, too!" There really was a lot to do in Paris, and since she had artistic leanings, he could confidently look forward to being dragged bodily through the artist's quarter.

Jon laughed, amused by her enthusiasm. "Well, yes, but if we're just going for a weekend, we might have to pick and choose," he pointed out. It was hardly possible to see everything Paris had to offer in just a few days.

She bit her lip, laughing at her own excitement. "Okay, I can be restrained," she assured him impishly. "The Louvre and the Eiffel Tower" And maybe Notre-Dame if we have time between epic sex sessions?"

"How many days are we talking here?" he asked, thinking they might be able to do that if they spent one day at each place, though he doubted the Eiffel Tower would take an entire day. They could easily get lost in the Louvre, though, especially with a wife who had been an art major.

"Three?" she suggested, her smile gentling. "Two nights, three days, since we only have to hop a portal to get home. I don't really want to leave the kids for more than two nights; they're a bit clingy when we get back after being away, and any more than that might mean we never get our bed to ourselves ever again!"

"That sounds do-able," he replied without hesitation. Any more than that, and they'd miss the kids almost as much as the kids missed them. "Just say when!" he added with a smile. The "when" hardly mattered, if they were only going away for a few days. He should easily be able to find someone to handle STARS classes, if it was only for one weekend, and they could easily plan around his schedule at the theater.

"When," she countered with a grin. "Tag, you're it!" She winked at him affectionately, downing the last of her coffee to wipe her mouth and lean back with a smile. "Oh, that was nice."

He chuckled again at her impish sense of humor. "Okay, how about November, when the theater is busy with the ballet?" he suggested. That way, he wouldn't be needed at the theater, and Emily would have gotten accustomed to school by them.

She considered this for a moment, her grin widening as she realized they were going to be doing it again - skipping off for a mini-break in November. It was virtually a tradition at this point. "November works for me," she agreed. "Take me away from the stress of an ever-looming Christmas for a couple of days."

There was nothing wrong with keeping such a tradition, as far as Jon was concerned. Their family might even start to expect it from them. "Christmas doesn't have to be stressful, Vicki," he remarked with another chuckle, though he knew how much she always wanted the holiday to be perfect.

"Christmas is always stressful," she countered with a smile of her own. "It got worse when we had kids." She laughed, shaking her fingers through her hair. "But it's a good kind of stress, you know" My dad made Christmas a wonderful time of year for me; I want to give our children that."

"I can help, you know," he reminded her with a small frown. Yes, he was busy with the theater, but his family was just, if not more, important to him. He knew a lot of preparation went into getting ready for Christmas, but it wasn't up to her to do it all.

"And you do," she pointed out. "You're the one who gets the stockings put together, and you're the one who hangs the decorations and hoists the children up to decorate the little tree in our rooms. You've never shrunk away from wrapping presents with an overly-helpful toddler and a hyperactive dog, either. All the little things that you do help, Jon. I'm just a little obsessive, that's all."

He had never understood why this one holiday had to be so stressful, when it should be fun. "Okay, so what causes you the most stress?" he asked, trying to get to the heart of the matter, though it might not be just one thing, but all of it together. Now that they were living at the manor, it was mostly up to them to make all the preparations for the family's annual holiday gathering, but she didn't have to do it alone.