This may not seem necessary at first, but it is. trust me. It might be sad...R&R plz

"Daddy daddy daddy daddy daddy!" Nora screamed and rushed to jump into our fathers arms as he walked in the door from a day at work. He smiled his bright contagious smile and spun her in the air like a rag doll.

"Nora Nora Nora Nora Nora!" He screamed back and pulled her into a tight hug. She giggled as Tommy came running out of the bathroom, butt naked and soaking wet with shampoo still in his hair.

"DADDY!" He shouted excitedly and ran towards him as well, dripping water onto the carpet.

"Woah there tiger, bath time first." Our dad laughed and re-directed the pouting boy back into the bathroom with one arm.

My mother sat on her knees beside the bath tub, laughing at the innocence of her son.

"He's a slippery one that Tommy." She picked up his tiny body and set him back down into the sudsy water.

"Slippery slippery slippery slippery slippery…" Tommy mumbled as Mom started washing his hair again. My father stepped into the bathroom and pecked her on the lips quickly before setting his briefcase down on his armchair and dropping Nora onto the couch.

"How was school Graceland?" He asked using his pet name for me.

"It was fine Daddy." I smiled as he kissed my cheek, then turned back to my trigonometry homework.

"Grace! Bring Nora in here it's her turn for a bath!" Mama screamed from the bathroom, shortly followed by a fit of excited giggles from Tommy. He hated bath time, and if it was Nora's turn, that meant he was done.

"Yes Mama! Come on baby girl lets go." I grabbed her chubby little hand, and she skipped beside me all the way there.

"Okay mommy I'm ready." She declared and pulled her pants off all by herself. She was very proud of the fact that she could now undress herself without the help of mom; Mama wasn't so proud of the fact that she did it whenever she wanted. Just the week before Nora had announced that she was too hot, and pulled off her shirt, skirt and diaper. She managed to parade around the canned food isle for a few minutes because we were all laughing to hard to stop her.

"Honey will you take Tommy in and get him changed?" My mom asked and lifted him out of the tub. She helped Nora remove her shirt before dropping her into the water and raising an eyebrow towards me.

"Yes Mamma." I said and wrapped a towel around his tiny shoulders.

"Hi Grathe!" He exclaimed happily with is adorable lisp. He couldn't say my name correctly, but it didn't bother me. It did bother me that Nora called me 'Grathe' too, and she didn't have a lisp.

"Hiya Tiny Tommy!" I laughed in my big sister voice and ushered him down the hall towards his and Nora's shared room.

My father had turned on the radio and was humming to an Elvis song as he peeled potatoes in the kitchen.

"Your brother should be home any minute." I hear him say before I disappeared into the room.

"Airpwane airpwane!" Tommy exclaimed and threw his arms into the air happily. I laughed and poked him in the stomach reducing him to another fit of giggles.

"After Andrew gets home and you get some clothes on baby." I promised and lifted him onto his changing table. "What do you wanna hear?" I asked him and he put his tiny finger to his mouth as if in deep concentration.

Tommy wouldn't let you change his diaper, or put clothes on him unless you sang a song to him. Most of the time he picked an Elvis song; Elvis was like a religion at my house. Sometimes he would let it slide with a nursery rhyme though.

"Teddy bear!" He shouted finally, clapping his hands together. Guess he wanted Elvis that night.

"Okay, but you have to hold still." He nodded solemnly and lay back onto the changing table. I cleared my throat and tried to remember all the words,

"Baby let me be,

Your lovin' teddy bear,

Put a chain around my neck,

And lead me anywhere

Oh let me be,

Your teddy bear." I sang and Tommy smiled his goofy toothless smile.

"I don't wanna be a tiger,

Cause Tigers play too rough

I don't wanna be a lion

Cause lions aint the kind

You love enough.

Just wanna be, your teddy bear,

Put a chain around my neck

And lead me anywhere,

Oh let me be," Someone pecked me on the cheek and continued on for me,

"Your teddy bear!" I whipped around to face my older brother Andrew. His dark brown hair was greased back and long, like most of the boys in our neighborhood had theirs; but he wasn't a greaser. He was too smart, and too popular to be put in that category even though I was. He was at least two heads taller than me, and had an amazing build for a cashier at the local grocery store. Girls loved him; he was awful handsome.

"Hey Gracie." He smiled and pushed me to the side to stand over Tommy.

Andrew loved that boy, I mean obviously he did because they were brothers, but with them it was so much more than that. Tommy was his best friend, and Andrew was Tommy's. They did everything together, and whenever Andrew would leave for work in the morning, Tommy would cry his eyes out until we dangled a chocolate bar in his face.

The only thing I think either of them loved more than the other, was chocolate.

"Hey buddy boy!" Andrew shouted and picked the now fully clothed Tommy off of the table. He put his hands under his armpits, and swung him around in the air like an airplane; Tommy's favorite game.

"Vwoom!" Tommy screeched and laughed when Andrew pretended to drop him.

"Monkey in the middle!" Andrew shouted and threw Tommy into my arms. I caught the tiny little boy, kissed him on the cheek and threw him back to Andrew. We played around like this for a few more minutes until a stark naked Nora sprinted into the room and hid under her crib. She always did that after a bath; she thought it was funny for us to try and find her.

"Hey Boo-Boo." Andrew laughed and got down on his hands and knees to pull Nora out from under the crib. "What do you think your doing munchkin? Hiding from the boogey man?" Nora giggled and poked Andrews nose.

"Your silly." She laughed and he tickled her stomach until she looked blue in the face.

"Lets get some clothes on you girly." Andrew laughed and set her down on the changing table.

I decided we didn't need to hang around and watch Nora fight with him over what clothes to wear; so I pulled Tommy onto my shoulders and walked out into the kitchen to help dad with dinner.

"So then the guy comes back and threatens to burn me alive if I don't give him the money in the cash register." Andrew explained while shoveling mashed potato's in his mouth. "I told him that there was a cop in the back just waiting for someone stupid enough to rob the store, and the guy left so fast I thought his tires were gonna catch on fire." My dad chuckled and turned the radio up.

"Well played son."

My mom just pursed her lips and took a tiny bite of chicken. She didn't like anybody lying about anything, even if a lie would save your life, mama didn't approve.

"Yeah, it's real brave to lie to a drunk." I laughed and Andrew clocked me upside the head.

"You wouldn't have done anything different smarty." I nodded in agreement.

"Hey Gracie isn't this your favorite song?" Mama asked, obviously trying to change the subject. I listened for a second and realized she was right. All Shook Up by Elvis, man I loved that song.

"I'm in love, I'm all shook up."

The wailing sound of sirens woke me from my dream painfully. I had forgotten about my shoulder; about the fact that my entire family, save for my one disgustingly traitorous brother was dead. The dream had seemed so real, almost like I was living it again. It had only taken place a few days ago after all.

I could still hear Tommy's sweet little voice full of love for his big sister,

"Airpwane Airpwane!"

You know I would baby, any time.

GAH. This was supposed to let you get to know the family better...how'd it do...R&R