A/N: Companion piece to Just Like Clockwork but you don't have to read it first. Just a little family fluff that came to me one day ;)
Ralph did not understand what all the fuss was about. It was smelling, annoying, and loud. And a girl, to beat. Everyone knew that girls were frilly and giggly and just plain gross.
Why couldn't have God given him a brother instead?
And even before it came, it took up all of Mommy and Daddy's attention. People kept calling and sending gifts and toys. Of course, no one remembered him at all. No one cared about him anymore.
Ralph didn't like his baby sister at all. Not one bit.
And he hadn't even met her yet.
He looked disgustedly at the bundle in his mother's arms. It had finally stopped crying.
"Ralph, darling," Mommy called to him. "Would you like to hold her?"
Vigorously, he shook his head. No, he didn't not want to hold this pukey, bothersome, girly little mess.
Daddy raised an eyebrow. "Don't you want to look at her?"
Well, it wouldn't hurt to look...
Cautiously, Ralph approached the hospital bed. He watched as his mother carefully laid the baby in his arms. It was so small and, surprisingly, cute. Already, it had bouncy blond curls dangling from its tiny, round head.
"Looks like Goldielocks," he said thoughtfully. "What's its name?"
Daddy laughed. "Her name is Eliza. Eliza Everard."
Eliza Everard. It was a nice name.
But she kept staring at him with her big, innocent looking eyes. It was starting to make him feel rather uncomfortable.
"Um, hi there."
Still staring.
"I'm Ralph, your... your brother."
Brother. He was a brother now.
Eliza grinned up at him and gurgled.
"Goo!"
And strangely, the seven-year-old found himself found himself smiling back.
Maybe having a little sister wasn't so bad after all.
"Ralph! Ralph! Wait for me!"
He stopped pedaling to see little Eliza on her tricycle, riding down the block after him, her pigtails flying out behind her.
"Ellie! I thought I left you at home!" Ralph yelled.
Eagerly, she pulled up next to him, already short of breath. "But Mommy said I could come with you. And you have to do what Mommy tells you, or she'll tell Daddy. And you'll be in biiiggg trouble!"
He rolled his eyes and kept on going. "Fine, just stay out of trouble, will you?"
She giggled. "I try to, Ralphie. But it alllwayyys finds me!"
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" He snapped.
"Only a gazillion, kabillion times. But do I ever listen?" She batted her lashes at him innocently.
"You would if you knew what's good for you."
At times like these, Ralph didn't like his baby sister at all. Not one bit.
"But Madison Rutledge sometimes calls you that. She thinks your cuuutte!"
Ralph stopped dead in his tracks, his cheeks already flushing red.
"Where'd you hear that, Eliza? Did she tell you?"
"Oh yes, she did!" She said excitedly. "Yes siree!"
"When? What else did she say?"
"Yesterday, after school. She and her friends called me over. They told me I was real cute, too, and that they liked my braids." And then, she cocked her head to the side. "Why, Ralphie? Do you think Madison is cuuutte, too?" She gasped. "You do, Ralph! See? You're blushing!"
He scowled. "Aw, shut up!"
Eliza giggled. "Ooh, wait till I tell Mommy you've got a girlfriend. Ralph's got a girlfriend! Ralph's got a girlfriend!" She sang happily. "Ralph's got a-"
He clamped his hand tightly over her rather large mouth. "Geez, Ellie. You're a handful. Do you want the whole neighborhood to hear?"
She mumbled incoherently until he released her, and then she became once again the annoying little chatterbox he'd always known her to be. "Of course I want them to hear! Did ya catch that everybody? Ralph's got a girlfriend! Ralph's got a girlfriend! Ralph's got a-"
"I'll give you sixpence just to keep your mouth shut. What do you say?"
Squinting, she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Make it a shilling and you've got yourself a done deal!"
"Deal, then."
They rode on in silence for a while.
"Hey Ralph?'
"Uh huh?"
"Are we gonna die?"
He almost fell off his bike. "Of course not. Where on earth did you hear that?"
Eliza shrugged. "Terry Thomas told me we was all gonna die, and that the Reds are gonna blow up the whole entire world. Is it true?"
Hesitating, he sighed. "No, Eliza. You and I, we're gonna be just fine."
Her eyes filled with tears. "What about Daddy? He's in the Navy. Aren't the Reds gonna take him?"
Ralph got up and put his arm around her. "We'll be just fine, okay? Daddy's not gonna be taken. He'll come home soon. Perhaps even before your birthday!" He added, in hopes of cheering her up. It proved to be quite successful.
"Oh yes! It's mighty soon, isn't it!" She exclaimed, bouncing up and down in avidity. "Two weeks and four days exactly and I'll turn five! Oh, I hope to get a big kid bike like yours. You'll teach me how to ride it, Ralph, won't you?"
He laughed in spite of himself. "Of course!" He tugged on one of her braids. "Come on, let's go home."
Maybe having a little sister wasn't so bad after all.
"Please don't go to school today, Ralph!" Eliza hugged her brother's knees as he straightened his tie in the mirror.
"Oh? And why not?" He laughed as he picked her up and set her on his bed. "You're getting heavy. How much have you grown this year?"
Eliza wasn't that easily distracted. "Please don't leave me," She whimpered.
"Ellie, what's wrong? I go to school everyday, and so do you."
She started to cry and buried her face in his sweater. "It's different now."
"Why?" Ralph asked, confused. "Because you start later? But you've always started later."
"No!" She wailed, frustrated. "Because I've got this feeling that..that they'll take you away from me." Tears now ran freely down her face. "I don't want you to ever go away, Ralph. Who'll read to me before I go to bed? Who'll teach me to ride my bike? Who'll chase away the scary monsters that come at night?"
He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm not going anywhere, alright?"
She sniffled. "But what if you are? What if they take you and Daddy away? Mommy isn't good at getting rid of the shadow monsters. Not like you."
"Listen here," he took her by the shoulders. "You're braver than the shadow monsters. Tougher, too. It's not me they run away from. It's you."
Eliza looked up in surprise. "Me?"
"Yes, you! You're the toughest girl in the world. And the prettiest, too."
She smiled shyly. "I'm the prettiest girl in the world?"
He ruffled her hair. "Don't let it go to your head."
She gave her brother a peck on the cheek.
"I love you, Ralph."
He smiled.
"Love you too, Ellie."
Maybe having a little sister wasn't so bad after all.
"Ralph!"
He looked down at the tiny body that had launched itself at him.
"Ellie!" He knelt down and wrapped his arms around the little girl.
"Oh darling!"
"Son!"
Ralph's parents had found their way to him as well, and they were all caught in a loving, family embrace. Everyone was laughing and crying and hugging and jumping. No one cared anymore.
"You were gone for so long, Ralph," Eliza sobbed. "I knew you'd go away. I knew it!"
"But I'm back, Eliza." His voice broke. "I'm back. I'm back!"
"I thought you were lost forever. I thought you'd never come back. I thought we'd never see home again."
He buried his face in her yellow ringlets. "I'm home now, and I'm never leaving you ever again."
She held tight to his neck. "You better not, or I'll send the shadow monsters after you."
"Still the toughest girl in the world?"
"And the prettiest!"
"Of course!"
She started to twirl around in her dress. "Oh, I'm so happy you're here, Ralph!" She spun around and around, laughing as she went, bumping into Percival and his parents. "Excuse me!" She exclaimed, not the least bit embarrassed.
Percival looked at her curiously. "Who are you?"
"I'm Eliza Everard. Ralph's my brother," she stated proudly.
"I'm Percival Wemys Madison. The Vicarage, Harcourt St. Anthony, Han-"
"Ralph's your brother?" Another littlun asked.
"Yes siree! What's your name?" Eliza asked, smiling eagerly.
"I'm Phil." He stuck out his hand, and she took it politely.
"My name's Eliza, but you can call me Ellie."
And suddenly, a whole crowd of little boys made their way over to her, sticking their hands in her face. It must have been so long since they'd last seen a girl, they probably had forgotten what one looked like.
"Johnny."
"Henry."
"Wilfred."
"Micheal."
"Edward."
"Scott."
Eliza looked around in shock as the rest continued introducing themselves, wondering how on earth she would be able to memorize all these names. So she just nodded and smiled and shook hands.
"Oh hello everyone."
And they all burst out talking at once.
Ralph was watching this from afar, thoroughly amused. Daddy wrapped an arm around his shoulder, laughing heartily.
"She'll be a real heartbreaker in a couple years, won't she?"
He smiled. "Oh I hope not. Just look at her now."
Eliza was already trying to teach them how to braid hair.
"See, you take a big piece and you divide it into three and you twist them around each other like this... Here, Percival Wemys Madison. You try." She thrust her head in the poor boy's direction.
Percy looked at it with uncertainty while the other littluns just stared at her in awe.
"Could you show me that again?
She smiled happily. "Sure!"
Mommy called her over. "Come on, Eliza. Time to go now!"
She skipped away from her new friends who seemed rather disappointed that she was leaving. Hopping into their car, she waved and blew kisses. "Bye everyone!"
Ralph snorted. Eliza Everard knew how to put on a good show, that's for sure.
Staring out the window, he watched as familiar sights came into view. The library, the church, the ice cream parlor, until finally, their very own driveway. Daddy shut down the engine as Mommy sang cheerfully, "We're home!"
Home.
Ralph sat in the backseat for a while, staring at his surroundings. Everything was where it should be. The apple tree in the front lawn, Mommy's flower pots. But there was something different.
A light pink bicycle was propped up against the gate. It looked brand new. Eliza's present, definitely.
"Ellie, you got a bike!" He turned to face her, surprised that she'd stayed with him.
She grinned. "Yup, but it's still got the training wheels. You promised you'd teach me."
"I know, and I will." He felt her slip her hand into his. He sighed, remembering. "Eliza... I'm sorry I missed your birthday."
Smiling, she thumped him lightly on the arm. "Don't be. Besides, I still had a little party at the safe house. Me and the other girls."
"How long were you there?"
She shrugged. "A month maybe. Much less than you were on that island."
The island. He clenched his jaw at the mention of it, at the memories. The deaths.
Seeing her brother's change in demeanor, Eliza squeezed his hand. "Come on. Mommy's cooked a lot of good stuff for dinner."
Ralph shook his head. "You go on. I think I'll stay here for a little while longer."
"Nuh uh. I'll race ya!" Not bothering to wait for a reply, Ellie bounded out of the car and towards the front door.
"Eliza Everard," Ralph muttered to himself before taking off after her.
Maybe having a little sister wasn't so bad after all.
A/N: Reviews would be very much appreciated!