Galen Gering is thrilled with the places PASSIONS' "Vendetta" storyline is taking Luis, but he's even more jazzed about the adventure brewing off screen — his first child!

With wife Jenna due to give birth around Aug. 12, "I'm getting used to this idea of having a son and it's fun, as opposed to being truly intimidated," Gering shares. "Jenna's totally showing. She's my pregnant mama. It goes so quickly!"

But as the Gerings prepare for baby and move house at the same time, much of daddy's time is dedicated to Italia and the mysterious events pulling Harmony locals to Rome. "To be honest, I've always had a heavy story on the show and worked a lot," he reflects. "Maybe I'm here a few more hours lately, but it's been refreshing to have a new storyline. It's the most fun I've had in a long time, so I don't feel as drained."

Gering can't say enough about the new Vendetta storyline, which has a Web page with additional footage and clues (www.nbc.com/Passions/Vendetta/). "It's freaking amazing," he raves of the storyline. "It's classic PASSIONS at its best. There's adventure, intrigue and mystery. There's so much going on and, as a viewer, that makes it interesting."

As an actor, however, that can be a bit of a whirlwind. "We've been doing so much and I've been through so many different, crazy adventures that I'm not sure how it's all going to cut together," Gering admits. "I'm certainly having a lot of fun doing it, and if that translates then it will be fun to watch. I don't know about it on an emotional level, but we'll see. I have a pretty good sense of when things are getting bogged down, when things are moving and what people are going to like. They're going to like this!"

One reason he's so confident is that for all this new adventure, fans won't be losing the stories they are already invested in. "Obviously, I've come to Rome to find my son and things will get in the way of that happening," Gering reveals. "I'm still trying to solve the riddles from the old storyline, but in a new backdrop and working with new people."

That new backdrop is a handful of fantastic Roman sets, and the people he's been thrown into story with are indeed an entirely new crew.

"Chad and I are palling around and trying to help each other out," explains Gering, which means he's working with Charles Divins, as well as Chad's girls, Silvana Arias, Cathy Jeneen Doe and Brook Kerr (Paloma, Simone and Whitney). "We're having a good time."

The only thing that could make it better? Beth. And she's due to arrive in Italy any day now! "As far as my ultimate goal," Gering teases, "I think there will be a satisfying payoff."