Howdy guys. Sorry it took me so long to update- I've been out of town, and while I was out of town, I broke a knee, a jaw, a right arm (lucky i'm left handed, eh?), two ribs, and got pretty bruised up. So the good news is, I have a lot of time to write at the moment. Reviews might make me write faster though. I love you all. I think there's like three of you reading this though. Oh well. I'm blabbering. Blabber blabber blabber.

Michelle pushed the door from the garage open and entered their fairly new house from the back hallway. They had moved in about a month earlier, just as Ellie started her junior year of high school. She was on the volleyball team, and Michelle was amazed at how well she interacted with the other girls. She was by far the smallest one on the team, and Michelle laughed to see them standing in a group- Ellie and a bunch of 5'10" girls. She knew that the other girls made fun of Ellie for being short, but it was all done good-naturedly.

Tony and Michelle had been married for close to nine months, and it had taken a while before everyone really adjusted, but Michelle was happy with how things were running now. It had taken some major getting used to for all three of them, beyond the normal things that everyone experiences in their first few months of marriage. Tony had all of a sudden become a weird sort of semi-parent, but Michelle was extremely impressed with his good job of it. He was always making sure that Ellie's homework was done, giving her the evil eye whenever she was rude to her sister, and even, occasionally, giving her boy advice. Ellie had had a little bit harder time getting used to the new situation. The first few times Ellie and Tony had fought, it had been hard for her, mainly because Michelle took Tony's side.

But today, Michelle was tired. She had worked for eighteen hours straight- it had been one of those days. Tony was still at CTU, but he had sent her home when he found her almost asleep at her station. Ellie had a volleyball game, and she had called Michelle to tell her that she won, was on the bus home, and wouldn't be too long.

Michelle set her bag down on one of the chairs around the kitchen table, and she looked around. The house wasn't nearly as cluttered as every apartment she'd ever lived in had been. It wasn't freakishly clean, but it was pretty darn tidy. There were still boxes here and there, and just two days earlier, Tony had found the whisk in the same drawer as his electric razor.

Michelle heard a key turn in the front door and called out. "Hey Ellie."

Ellie came out of the front hallway and into the family room. "Hi!"

"Congratulations," Michelle said, smiling through her grogginess.

"Thanks." Ellie smiled.

"You know what I was just thinking about?" Michelle said as Ellie sat down on the couch to take off her shoes.

"Hmm?" Ellie said, looking up slightly.

"When you were little, and I'd be doing your hair, and I'd have to pin you against the counter with my legs to hold you in place, or else you'd run off and never let me touch your hair. And then when I was finally done, I'd have to threaten you with your life if you messed up your hair, and then I'd have to bribe you to put your shoes on..." Michelle paused, looking more through Ellie than at Ellie. "You've changed."

"I remember that what I hated the most was when you'd make me wear tights."

Michelle rolled her eyes. "For a while there when you were three or four, it took Kerry and I both to get you ready." She paused. "And pajamas. You hated pajamas."

"It wasn't the pajamas that I hated, it was bed. But pajamas meant bed."

Michelle laughed a little bit. "Yeah. You used to always be the first one awake on Saturdays, and Danny complained so much about the noise you'd make when he was trying to sleep in. Now I have to drag you out of bed."

"Whatever! I'm still the first one up."

Michelle laughed again. "You are such a liar. But at least I don't have to hold you down to do your hair anymore."

"You're still going to do it tomorrow, right?"

Michelle nodded. "As long as there's no kicking or screaming."

The next afternoon, Ellie and Michelle sat in Michelle's bathroom for an hour with hairspray and bobby pins. "I can't believe it!" Michelle said as she did just the finishing touches of Ellie's hair.

"Did you use an entire bottle of hairspray?" Ellie said, looking up at Michelle, directly above her.

"Keep looking straight ahead!" Michelle snapped, pushing Ellie's head back towards the mirror. "And no, I was going to say that I can't believe my little sister is going to homecoming!"

"Oh."

"And that my date for tonight is cuter than yours," Michelle added, smiling, as she stuck another bobby pin into Ellie's hair.

Ellie pretended to look offended. "Christian is cute!"

"Of course he is!" Michelle said. "But Tony's cuter."

Ellie rolled her eyes.

"There you go," Michelle said, setting the extra bobby pins on the counter. "Honey, you look beautiful."

Ellie smiled. "Thanks, Chelle."

A few rushed hours later, Michelle and Tony stood alone in the front entry, watching a dark blue Sedan drive away. Michelle was still holding her camera when Tony put his arms around her.

"So this is what it feels like," Tony said.

"What?"

"I've only experienced homecoming from the other end- I've been to homecoming. I've never sent off someone," he continued. "Now I guess we get to wait up worrying until she comes home."

"Hey..." Michelle said playfully. "We can worry after dinner. I was bragging to Elle all afternoon about how my date was sexier than hers."

Tony's face became serious. "Well I certainly hope that nothing remotely sexy is happening on that date... for his sake... I swear, if he lays a hand on her..."

"Tony," Michelle said, attempting to draw his attention back from the window. "Honey, he's a nice kid. Now let's go."