"Nate. They are 18." Caitlyn said as she watched her husband pacing in the foyer.

"I'm not worried about their age, thank you." Nate snapped.

"Oh, I see," Caitlyn said smiling, "You don't want the leaving.

"I don't mind the boys leaving, we all need a break from them."

"So, this is about Sarah leaving."

"Duh! She's my baby girl. Sure, I still have Lauri, but Sarah is my mini me. "

"And she always will be."

"What if something happens to her and I'm not there to help her? What if she wakes up from a nightmare and I'm not there for our usual jam session? What if…"

"Stop with the what ifs. She will have her brothers, Jamie, and Kelsey with her. I'm sure, combined, they can figure out what to do. You knew this day was coming."

"18 years isn't enough time to get ready to say good-bye."

Before Caitlyn could respond, the four oldest children walked down stairs as Jamie and Kelsey walked into the house. Lauriana and Zachary ran down the stairs a little while later. The family went outside and Nate and Caitlyn went to stand next to Jason and Tess. The parents watched their kids load up Joseph's SUV. When they were done loading up, they walked over to their parents.

"So, I guess we'll be heading out then." Sarah said as they reached their parents.

"What about Shane?" Mate asked, trying to put off good-byes as long as possible.

"We went to his apartment earlier today to say good-bye. He was a mess. You know. Crying, not letting go of Sarah, saying 'I can't believe my baby's going away to college! It feels like just yesterday when I first held you.' That kind of stuff." Justin explained.

"Oh…" Nate said, knowing his good-bye would be worse than Shane's.

Joseph hugged Caitlyn, Tess, and then Nate. When he got to Jason, they did their "secret" handshake. The rest followed suit. Lauriana and Zachary had to forcibly be pulled from their older siblings. When Sarah got to Nate, everyone looked at them, waiting for something to happen. And then it did. Sarah flung her arms around him. The two hugged for what seemed like forever. When they pulled back, they were both crying.

"I can't believe you grew up so fast. One minute you're one and playing piano on my lap and the next you're leaving for college." Nate said, tearing up. Sarah smiled at him.

"It's parents' weekend in two weeks. And, I'll be home for Thanksgiving." Sarah told him, also tearing up.

"I'll be counting down the days."

"And, it's only, roughly, one and a half hours away. I'll come home whenever you need me to."

"Feel free to come home for midnight jam sessions whenever you need to."

Nate and Sarah laughed. They hugged tightly one more time before Justin and Brandon began to drag her away, knowing that if they didn't, she wouldn't leave. She and Nate kept their hands together until they couldn't anymore. When she got in the car, she blew Nate kiss and yelled, "I love you, daddy!"

"I love you too, baby girl!" Nate yelled back.

They both had tears streaming down their faces as the car drove away. When the car was down the drive, Nate let out the words he worked so hard to keep from saying, "Don't go."

Caitlyn put her hand on his shoulder and he turned to her. She wiped away his tears, kissed his cheek, and hugged him. He hugged her back tightly, burying his head in her hair.

"She's going to be okay. She got accepted into the School of Music at our college, just like you. This is proof that she will always be your mini me. She will be just like you in every way possible." Caitlyn said, leading him into the house, Jason and Tess following with Lauriana and Zachary following close behind.