Chapter Four-Seperation Anxiety

Mrs. Atamire and her partner sat across from Espa in the kitchen, going over her notes. The inspection had gone surprisingly well,but Espa was sure they'd failed somewhere, as the social worker kept mentioning the Home,where foster kids went until a foster family took them in. At length, the cold woman spoke up. "Mr. Roba. I regret to inform you that you have failed in the final inspection. We'll be by in the morning for your brothers."

"May I ask how I failed?" Espa asked barely above a whisper. He was so glad his brothers were outside on their trampoline catapault that Mokuba had designed.

"You are barely making the minimum amount for your household. You've failed to baby proof your house for Espa Jaccob, and your brothers are highly undisciplined in school."

Espa sighed in defeat. "What time will you be here?"

"Eight o'clock." She stood up, and with her assistant behind her, let herself out of the Roba house.

Espa locked the door,then leaned against it, shaking. How could this be happening to us?! The Robas have always been together….How did I let this happen?! They're going to hate me. I just know it. He looked up as the backdoor slid open.

"Are they gone,Big Brother?" Jonathan called.

"Yes, they're gone." Espa replied, standing up. "Get your brothers together. We have to have a long talk."

"We're leaving, aren't we?" Jon asked him, his eyes wide.

"Just go get Chris and Andrew, Jon." Espa replied quietly. He wasn't so sure he'd be able to tell them. He waited, pacing in the spotless living room. How will they take it? I promised them I'd be the one to always take care of them. I promised! I'm no better than Mom and Dad! Can't even keep my family together!

"We're all here, Espa." Christien looked up at him, his eyes sad. "What's the verdict?"

"Sit down, you guys." Espa told them quietly. "What I have to tell you isn't easy."

Before he could even begin, Espa saw that his brothers looked really sad, as if they somehow knew. "They're coming back for you tomorrow morning."

"I knew it!" Jon exclaimed. "Espa, can I go over to Kaiba manor? I have to leave a note for Mokuba."

"Afraid not, Jon. You have to pack as much as you can. I'll try to get a hold of Kaiba as soon as I can. He's probably the only one who can help me now."

"When can we come back?" Christien wanted to know. He was trying really hard to be strong.

"I….I don't know yet." Espa admitted. "But don't worry. They won't keep us apart for long. I promise. "

"Why are they taking us? Is it our fault,Big Brother?" Christien wanted to know. His lower lip trembled. "Is it because I was fighting?"

"Well…." Espa shook his head, his heart breaking. "There are a lot of reasons,Chris. You are not one of them." He sat down,and put Andy in his lap. "Let's not think about tomorrow for now, alright? We're going to go over to Joey's for dinner. Rex and Weevil will be there, and you guys can hang out with their sisters."

"Do we have to go? Why can't we just be just us tonight?" Christien asked. "It's our last night together, Espa." His tone said it all. He was very upset.

"Well, if that's what you guys want…." Espa told them. In response,his brothers crowded closer to him, Andy breaking into tears now.

"It's no good to cry, Andy…." Jon said softly. "It doesn't change anything." He took Andrew from Espa, and held him tightly. "Maybe they won't separate us."

"I didn't even ask them that. They're putting you in a group home for now. " Espa told them. "I hope that means you can all be put in the same foster home. I don't know how all of that works, exactly."

"They're not going to adopt us, are they? Then we'll never see you again!" Jon panicked.

"I don't know, Jonathan. Okay? I can't answer anything. As of tomorrow, I have no more control over anything."

"It's not fair! I don't wanna be away from you guys!" Christien protested.

"It'll be okay, Chris. I promise you. I'll look out for you." Jon told his younger brother.

"You guys have to promise to take care of Andy and Little E." Espa added. "Especially Little E."

"We will, Espa. We will." Christien promised, as they heard fussing from upstairs.

"I'll get him." Jon jumped up, anxious to get away from Espa for the time being. "I'm coming, E. Hang on."

"He hates me." Espa muttered.

"He's scared." Christien corrected Espa. "We've never been apart like this before, Big Brother. For once, Jon's going to have to be the big brother, and that scares him. He doesn't wanna mess it all up." Christien reasoned. "We all are."

"I guess you've every right to be." Espa put a hand on Christien's shoulder. "I'm scared too, Chris. I'm scared I'll never get you back. I'm scared I won't be able to go on without you. We've never been a part for long periods of time."

"Espa….." Christien held on to his older brother, wrapping an arm around both him and Andrew. "We don't blame you for this. We blame the laws. And don't worry. I'm sure Seto will spring us from foster care as soon as he gets back. He just has to. We'll just pretend we're away at a camp or something."

"You're so brave, Chris….it's no wonder you're a good duelist. It takes guts to go out there, you know?" Espa smiled weakly. "Are you sure you don't want to see Kenny and Meghan before you guys leave tomorrow?"

"I'm sure. But you need Joey and the others right now. We should go." Chris said softly. "Let me just go get together what I can, okay?"

"Alright." Espa stood up, and headed for Andrew and Little E's room. He too, had to pack for them. "Alright, Andrew. Pick one toy to take with you on your trip, alright?"

"Are coming with us,Espa?" Andrew asked softly.

"No, Andy. I can't." Espa replied, feeling almost unable to stand on his feet. "Jon and Chris will take care of you for me, okay?"

"I want you go toos…." Andrew's lower lip stuck out.

"It'll be okay, Andy. It's not forever. Your big brother will have you back in no time flat."

"I hope you're right." Jon spoke up from the door way. "We're ready to go to Joey's now."

"Are you sure you guys are okay?" Espa hefted Andy on his hip.

"We're Robas. We'll survive." Jon forced a convincing smile. "Come on. Let's go see what Joey's making for dinner."

************************************************************************************

That night, there was a lot of fun to be had. Joey had ordered in Pizza, and they played board games all night. Kenny and Jon talked about soccer, even though Jon was sure he'd never play on a field again. Meghan and Chris played with Lacey,Monica and Little E. They talked very little, after Chris told her what was going on. He was hoping Kenny would explain things to Randi, his best friend.

Espa on the other hand found it really hard to distract himself from the inevitable. "I just can't believe we're really being split up." He sighed deeply, as Weevil handed him another coke.

"I'm sure it will all work out, Espa. When's Kaiba due to return? He helped Bakura with his sister, remember?" Joey pointed out.

"I wish I knew. Mokuba didn't have enough notice to give Jon details. I hope whatever their doing works out."

"You've got his cell phone number, don't you?" Rex put in now. "Why don't you try calling him? This is an emergency, you know."

"Whether I call him tonight or not, it's not enough time to stop those jerks from taking my brothers. " Espa replied. "I promised Jon I would call, and I mean to." He added, as he watched Kenny and Jon discuss a play that had occurred at recess.

"Are you serious? Carvella can't kick to save his life!" Jon exclaimed. "What were you guys thinking?"

"It was Geri's idea." Kenny defended. "You don't argue with her."

"Well,I would." Jon remarked, calming down again. "Kendra…you won't let anyone take my position, will you? I won't be gone too long."

"I can't stop the coach from re-assigning the position, but I'll never call that person our goalie." Kenny reassured him. "And I'll look out for Mokuba too."

"Good. Someone has to while I'm away." Jon sighed deeply. "I don't wanna leave."

"I know. I don't want you to go either. Maybe we can come visit at the foster care place. Kaiba owns it, right?"

"Not this one. I wish he did." Espa broke in now. "Come on you guys. It's time to go." He turned to the older boys. "I'll be in touch with you guys tomorrow."

"Alright, Espa." Weevil nodded, collecting Kenny. "We should probably go too."

"Us too." Rex added, picking up the sleeping Monica. "Come on, Meghan."

"Hey, Roba…..Keep your head up." Joey encouraged. "This won't last long."

"Thanks, Joey." Espa smiled to himself, as he and his brothers made their way home, for one last night together.