"Ready or not, here I come!" Ross yells out as he looks around for his friend. Laura giggles quietly as she hides behind a small bush. The five year old continues to search around for about ten minutes. "Okay Laura, I give up!". Laura giggles once again but this time, he hears it. He quietly sneaks up to the bush, "Found you!". Laura squeals as she runs away from him and he begins chasing her.
"Laura, it's time to come in and get cleaned up for dinner!" her mother, Ellen, calls out to her, standing on the front step of their house.
"Okay Mommy", she turns to Ross and says, "I have to go".
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow". She turns around and runs to her mom and excitedly starts telling her about how much fun she had today.
Ross' mom, Stormie, opens their front door and says, "Ross, it's time to come inside". He runs to her and walks into the house. "How's Laura?", Stormie asks him.
"She's good".
"How does she feel about tomorrow?".
"She's okay with it", he's pretty sure that she is talking about her coming to play with him tomorrow. "Where's Rocky?".
"Rocky is in his room with Riker". He smiles at her and then turns to walk up the stairs. He approaches his brother's doorway. He walks in to see his two older brothers talking with each other, "Hey guys".
Rocky looks up at him and smiles, "Hey Ross".
Ross walks over to them and says, "I was wondering if you guys wanted to play secret agents with me".
Riker replies, "That would be fun. We'll get Ryland and Rydel and play after dinner". Rocky and Riker get up and they accompany Ross downstairs to eat dinner. They all scarf down their food and quickly excuse themselves from the table so that they will have more time to play. They spend about an hour and a half playing.
Stormie eventually finds them in Ross' room and intervenes, "I am sorry to interrupt your guys' intense game, but it is time to get ready for bed". They obediently get up and pursue their nighttime routine. They take their baths, brush their teeth and say goodnight.
Once he's ready, Ross crawls onto his soft bed and his mother comes over to tuck him in. "Hey Mom? How would you like it if I was a secret agent?".
Stormie smiles. She has always loved her son's big imagination and how passionate he is about everything that came to his creative mind. "Well", she begins, "As long as you would be happy and doing good things, then I would be very proud if you were a secret agent. Why?" she sits next to him on his bed, "Do you want to be a secret agent?".
Ross' face lights up, "Yeah, when I grow up, I am going to be a spy that saves the whole world!".
"Of course you are", Stormie smiles and strokes his hair and kisses his forehead gently, "Goodnight, my little dreamer". She gets up, turns on his night light and walks out of the room leaving his door open just a crack.
The next morning, all the boys are sitting at the dining table enjoying a bowl of cereal, when Riker looks out the window and notices something going on across the street. "What's going on at Laura's house?".
"What?" Ross spins around and looks out the window and sees strange men loading large boxes into a huge truck, "That's weird". He excuses himself from the table and walks across the street to a very confused Laura, who is just standing outside watching.
"Hey Laura, what's going on?" are the first words out of his mouth.
Laura shrugs, "I'm not really sure, but my parents put all of my stuff into boxes and these people are putting them into that truck". They continue to stand there, watching, as some of the men walk out the front door carrying a couch. "My mommy and daddy have been putting stuff into boxes for awhile now and I don't know why".
Ellen comes rushing over to Laura and grabs her arm gently, "Laura, there is no time for play right now. Say goodbye to Ross". She does as she is told as her mother leads her away. Ross walks back into his house and is greeted by his mom.
"Hey sweetie, did you say goodbye to Laura?". Ross nods and goes to join his brothers, who are playing video games in the living room.
The next day rolls around and the first thing Ross does is look out the window. He notices that the truck is gone, so he runs out the front door and across the street to Laura's door. He knocks and waits for a reply, but no one answers. This time, he rings the doorbell and still no answer. He walks over to one of the windows and looks inside. He is shocked to see that the house is empty. He is confused and runs back to his house in a panic, he finds his mother in the kitchen. "Mom, why is Laura's house empty?".
"Laura and her family moved away", she sees his face melt. "Didn't you know that?".
He looks down at his shoes and replies shakily, "No. They left?". He then says quietly, "I didn't even get to say goodbye".
Stormie's heart breaks as she sees her devastated child. She hugs him, "Oh Ross, I'm sorry. I thought you knew".
Ross pulls out of the hug turns around with his eyes brimming with tears and walks slowly up the stairs to his room. He sits down on his bed and begins to cry.
Riker notices that something is wrong after his brother walked past his room sniffling. He walks into Ross and Ryland's room and asks with concern, "What's wrong, Ross?".
Ross wipes tears from his face with his sleeve and says, "Laura moved away". Riker walks over to him and sits next to him on the bed. Ross then says, "I'm really going to miss her". Riker puts one arm around him.
Ross then wraps his arms tightly around Riker and begins to cry harder. Riker holds his younger brother tighter. He whispers, "I'm so sorry, Ross". He doesn't know what else to say to ease his brother's emotions so, instead, he just sits there with him until the tears quit falling.
Meanwhile, Laura is sitting in the back of her mom's car with her older sister Vanessa as they follow the moving truck driving in front of them. "Mommy, why did we empty our house out? Where are we going?".
"Laura, we are going somewhere else".
"Where are we going? Is it far?"
"We are going to Dallas".
"Where's that?".
"It's in Texas".
"Texas?" Laura screeches, "but that's so far away! Are we going to come back to Colorado?".
"No sweetie, we are not coming back to Colorado".
She becomes devastated as her mom crushes the little bit of hope that she had left. "But what about Ross?"
"Baby girl, you'll make new friends".
Laura is extremely upset at this point and is sobbing, "But I don't want to make new friends! I want Ross and Rocky and Riker and Rydel and Ryland!".
Ellen knew that breaking this news wasn't going to be easy. "I am sorry, Laura, but your father has found a better job". She's trying to calm down her five year old daughter, "You'll be able to get more stuff and meet new people, plus, this house is much bigger. You and your sister will be happy".
"I don't care! I want Ross!" she is now shouting.
"Laura Marie", Ellen says sternly, "That is quite enough". Laura looks out the window, tears streaming down her face. Vanessa reaches over to comfort her younger sister. She watches as they pass the large sign that reads, "You are now leaving Colorado". She then realizes, that they are really leaving and they aren't coming back.
(15 years later)
"Hey guys", Rocky says to Ross and Riker as he walks into their apartment.
"Hey Rocky, what's up?" Ross asks. He then notices something in his brother's arms. "What do you got there?".
Rocky looks down at the big box in his hands and replies, "Tomorrow is Ryland's birthday, remember?".
"Well of course I know it's our little brother's birthday tomorrow, but I thought we had everything".
"Yeah, everything except a cake", Riker adds.
Rocky sets the cake down on the table and plops down into a chair next to Riker. "I can't believe he's turning 19 years old".
Ross nods in agreement, "I feel so old".
"Well, guys, we all have a day off tomorrow due to Ryland's birthday and everyone meeting at Mom and Dad's, so why don't we go to the club and have a good time?" Riker suggests. His younger brothers agree and they all head out the door and head over to the club.