We load the kids up in the car, finally announcing to them where we are going. Mazie was the most excited. Her blonde hair now pulled into neat braids instead of the ponytails on the side of her head. She was sleepy, her eyes drifting as she sat in her seat and watched out the window.

Marcus was the opposite though, he was awake, alive, and ready to show up at grandma's house with a bang.

The drive would take us a little over twelve hours without stops, so we would plan on it being about fifteen.

Logan is in the driver's seat, his hand wraps gently around the steering wheel, leading us towards our destination. The other hand rests firmly on my leg, squeezing every few moments to remind me he was there. A weight was lifted off my shoulders, for the next two weeks we will be with family. Hanging out and getting to catch up on all we had missed out on these last nine months.

But we were on our way to a weekend full of...well I don't even know what.

~*~

"Are we there yet?" Mazie whines from the back seat. Her blanket wrapped around her and the pillow she was using was pushed against the door so she had somewhere to rest her head. I turned my body just enough to look at her, shaking my head no to inform her we still had plenty of hours to go.

She fiddles with the edge of the blanket, clenching it as if it was the last thing she would ever see.

"We've been driving for forever, I'm not getting any younger." She rolls her eyes. Pulling the blanket closer to her mouth as she settles back into the seat.

"Funny cause I'm not either," I mumble, more so to myself than anything, but Logan turns to look at me. A small smile was forming at the corner of his lips. His blue eyes washed over me. He reaches over placing his hand on my knee squeezing gently.

"About two more hours girls." He jokes, holding his voice steady as he passes another car on the freeway. I scoff, pretending to act as if I couldn't handle it.

"Seriously!" I whine, trying to make my voice sound even more shrill than it normally did. Logan flinches nodding his head. He pulls his hand away placing it back on the steering wheel.

~*~

When we finally pulled into the driveway a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders and another one was put in its place, possibly a heavier one.

Logan's family was different from mine. They were harder to get along with in my opinion. I found myself trying to please them. Transforming into someone I could barely recognize whenever I was around them.

They were religious, proud of their culture, and staunch with their opinions. But they were nice and there was nothing I could do about it.

"We are here," Logan announces to the kids, startling Mazie from her sleep. She had finally slipped into dreamland about half an hour ago. Wiping the sleep from her eyes she groans, stretching her arms above her head. Marcus was already out of his seat, jumping up and down, waiting for his father to unlock the doors.

The front door of the house flings open, revealing the older couple, their gray hair more prominent than the last time we were here. I took a deep breath, holding it in my lungs as I jumped out of the car. Finally allowing it to slip through my lips, I put a smile on my face. This was it, we were finally here.

"Oh my gosh, my grandkids! They are getting bigger every single time I see them." Nana shouts, rushing across the lawn before falling to her knees. I wince, hoping she will be able to pull herself back up.

"Ma, easy there you are going to hurt yourself" Logan jumps in, scolding his mother for her act of carelessness.

"Maybe if you were around more I'd listen to you. My babies are finally here." She kisses each child's cheek holding them even tighter against herself before pulling away. She does her best to calmly jump up from the grass, wiping the freshly formed grass stains on her knees.

"They will wash out." Logan's father pipes in. His gruff voice is almost as strong as Logan's.

"Exactly!" His mother responds. She ushers us towards the house, leading us up the long stairway attaching to the porch. "We have missed you so much and can't wait to hear all about it!" She shouts, turning to hug her son as he makes it to the top of the stairs.

His father pats him on the shoulder, nodding at me and then turning to head back into the house. I shake my head, trying to focus on the cherry trees that were freshly blooming in the corner of the yard. They were my favorite part about coming to my In-laws house.

When Logan and I had first started dating I would sit out here for hours and read books, sitting under the pink blossoms dancing in the breeze. Logan would sit inside with his parents chatting about something that I didn't really care about. I'd sit out here for half the day just dreaming in the hammock until I'd actually drift to sleep.

"Ari, are you coming?" His mother asks from the doorway, pulling me from my thoughts. I shake my head allowing the rest of the memory to fade away. Turning to see the angry woman standing in the doorway. I nod, following her into the air-conditioned home.

"It has been far too long since you guys were last here! Please have a seat, let's talk about everything." His mother seemed overly excited, and honestly, if I were in her position I would be too. But she didn't have to live with Logan. She didn't have to break him of the bad habits that the boat would teach him.

"You know I can't tell you anything right?" Logan pipes up, holding his head a little. The kids run around his legs, not wanting to leave their daddies' side. I couldn't blame them. What was it like for a child their age to have their dad leave every year for nine months at a time? We were lucky if it was less.

"We are your parents, you will tell us what you've been doing, and we will listen and forget it in a few hours because we are getting old, but we still want to hear it." His father's voice boomed through the house, filling the walls with strength. It was amazing he could still do that at his age.

"Fine, fine, I guess I'll see if I can muster up some stories," Logan places his hands in the air as if he were trying to surrender. I rolled my eyes, feeling out of place in the well-kept home. Not that ours wasn't well kept, it's just ours didn't reek of judgment. I shook my head to myself, trying to keep myself from reaching that mood.

It was always a struggle when we were here. All I wanted was some free time with my husband, to get to know him again, and yet here we were, just like every other time he has ever come home from a deployment. I needed space with him.

"Oh let me grab some lemonade so we have something to drink!" Logan's mother jumps up from the couch and heads towards the kitchen. Logan turns to me, giving me the look that he did every single time. I could read the words just behind his eyes. He needed black coffee, he'd been living off of the stuff for nine months now, and lemonade just wasn't going to do the trick, especially after such a long drive. I chuckled to myself lightly, mouthing the words 'I know'.

His parents didn't drink coffee, and it was actually against their religion to do so. Logan would always struggle with this, sneaking it as often as he could while we were here. Sometimes we would leave the kids and go for a drive just so he could drink the stuff in the parking lot of the Starbucks. It felt weird having to hide so much of our lives from them, and as the kids get older the harder it is. Logan would have to cover up his tattoos and I would always feel awkward for the number of piercings in my ear, but somehow we still managed to make it through and get out of here alive.

"Do you want me to head to the hotel, and get our stuff unpacked while you take some time with your parents?" I paused for a moment, making sure his father couldn't hear me, "I can leave the kids here or take them with me, it doesn't really matter." Logan thought about it for a moment, before waving his hand.

"Leave them here, let them spend some time with grandma and grandpa, you can go get the hotel room and unpack if you want to, if not that's fine too." I stood up from my chair heading over to Logan. Giving him a quick kiss, I whispered in his ear. "Don't worry, I'll bring back the good stuff on my way back."

"You are the best!" He squeezes my hand, giving me one more kiss before handing me the keys.

"Mazie, Marcus, I'm heading to the hotel to get the keys, please be good for grandma and grandpa!" I shout, letting the kids know where I would be. I wait for a moment for a response but I'm met with silence. "Looks like they don't care." I laughed, turning towards Logan.

I slipped out of the house before anyone could ask too many questions. The last thing I needed was to explain that I had only been there for a few minutes and already needed a break from everything. Placing the key in the ignition, starting the car, I slowly pulled out of the driveway. I knew the way to the hotel without directions, especially since we've stayed in this hotel every time we've come to visit Logan's family. This would be our sixth visit.

I turned the radio down, letting my thoughts take over. I was grateful that Logan respected me and agreed to get a hotel. I didn't feel comfortable sleeping at his parents' place, especially not for two weeks straight. It was too much and having a hotel made it nice to get away, then there was the added benefit of having a pool for the kids.

Logan's mother was never happy that we got a hotel, but we usually fixed that problem by leaving the kids with them. The kids loved sleeping over at grandma and grandpa's and would sometimes beg to stay there the whole trip. It was nice to have someone to help out with the twins.

I turned down the road for the hotel, the lights reflecting off the pavement. The parking lot was about half full, which would mean the pool wouldn't be too crowded, this was a blessed sight.

I placed the car in park after pulling into a parking spot and grabbed the two suitcases out of the trunk. I'd have to come down and get some more after getting the keys. When you had two kids and two adults and you were gone for this long, you tend to need to pack quite a few things. Luckily each kid only had one suitcase and Logan and I was able to share. That was another benefit of having a husband on a submarine, they were really good at packing light and making stuff fit into really small places.

The front desk clerk waved at me as I entered the building, I set the bags next to the counter giving him my information. Letting out a sigh, that I was able to get a few seconds away from everything.

Finally, a moment that I could breathe.