My Way Home Is Through You

Twenty minutes later, Ray, Bob and Anna were sitting in the floor of the bus, waiting. Anna was once again playing with the MCR action figures, and Ray watched with amusement as she made the Mikey figure "walk" up Bob's arm. The drummer smiled as her little hands grazed over his face to have the doll stand atop his head.

"Whoosh!" she cried suddenly as she took the figure from Bob's head and made it "fly" to Ray's shoulder. Ray cocked his head to the side to watch his daughter. She giggled.

"He's hiding!" she said as the doll disappeared beneath Ray's curly locks. The two men burst out laughing at that.

"So are we going to try to wake Frank up for this?" asked Mikey from his spot on the couch.

"He'll kill us if we go without him!" Gerard called from the back of the bus, where he was getting dressed.

"Do you want to be the one to wake his ass up?" Bob asked with raised eyebrows. Dead silence followed.

With a sigh, Gerard emerged from the back and said, "Oh, for Christ's sake, I'll wake him up."

After much moaning and whining, Frank was up and moving, albeit very slowly.

"Come on, Frankie," Mikey said, pushing a cup of coffee into the guitarist's hands. "FAO Schwarz!"

Frank froze mid-sip. "Toy store?" he asked, his voice gaining some of its usual spirit.

Ray laughed. "You sound like Anna!" At this, the little girl beamed at her father, then looked toward Frank. She hopped to her feet and bounded at him. He hastily set his coffee cup down so he could catch her as she leapt at him.

"Anna-Banana!" he exclaimed, confirming that this was in fact his new nickname for her. He scooped her up and laughed. "Your dad thinks we're a lot alike!" This made her giggle.

"Daddy's silly!"

Frank threw his head back and laughed, setting Anna loose. She tore back toward Ray and collapsed in his lap, a pile of giggles. Taking his cue from the child, Frank took a running leap at Bob, scaring the hell out of his bandmate. At the last second, he pitched himself to the right and face-planted on the couch behind the drummer.

Gerard clapped a hand to his forehead and groaned. "Christ, we haven't even left the bus yet, and they're both bouncing off the walls!"

* * * * *

The antics on the bus and through the busy New York City streets were all worth the look of wonder Ray witnessed on his daughter's face as they walked through the revolving doors into the enormous toy store on Fifth Avenue.

Anna gazed up in awe at the massive toy land clock in the center of the room. Once again, she'd stopped dead in her tracks right in front of Ray. Luckily, this time he was prepared for it; as she continued to stare about her, he picked her up and propped her on his hip.

To their immediate right was the largest collection of stuffed animals Ray had ever seen. From giant elephants as tall as the bus to tiny, colorful fluffballs no bigger than his fist, the store seemed to have it all. To their left was a wall full of porcelain dolls covered in silk flowers and lace. Anna seemed particularly taken with these for the moment. And then, of course, there was the glittering space at the top of the escalators, from which floated down the most infectiously sweet music the rockers had ever heard.

"Where to, baby?" Ray murmured to his daughter. Her jaw agape, Anna seemed to be at a loss for words. She merely pointed upwards toward the top level and Ray grinned at her.

Frank charged up the escalator without bothering to wait for them. His bandmates knew this was a wonderful release for him; at times on the road, things could get so stressed and bottled up. They all knew that Frank's favorite way to relieve the stress was to just be a kid and have fun - what better place to do that then the biggest toy store in New York?

As they stepped off the escalator, Mikey gasped aloud at the sight. There seemed to be an area for everything, from action figures to model cars to Barbie dolls to board games.

And, oh no, there was even a candy shop. Mikey quietly pointed this out to his friends as Frank bounded off without them toward the action figures.

"Oh, God, no," muttered Gerard.

"No good can come of this," Bob mused, shaking his head. "That man does not need more sugar."

"Let's just hope he doesn't find it," Mikey sighed.

Grinning, Ray set Anna down beside him and said to her, "Lead the way, Anna!"

For a moment, she seemed overwhelmed. Then, slowly, she began to walk towards the glaringly pink section filled with Barbie dolls. Gerard smirked and Ray tried to hide his chagrin as they followed behind her. But suddenly she stopped and looked around again. Taking off in another direction, the guys had to swivel quickly to keep up with her.

Ray was pleasantly surprised when she came to a stop in front of a large display of tiny Hot Wheels cars and trucks.

"Look, Daddy!" she exclaimed. "Maxbox!" This sent Mikey into a fit of laughter.

"Matchbox, honey, not maxbox!"

Anna frowned slightly. "Match?"

Gerard leaned down and winked at her. "It's 'Maxbox,' sugar, Mikey just doesn't know what he's talking about." She laughed and turned back to the toys.

Once she'd seen enough of the toy cars, she took off in another direction, coming to a stop in front of a wall of dolls of every kind. Ray, who was in no way familiar with the world of little girls, was amazed at all the different types of dolls the place had to offer.

There were ones that peed, ones that cried, hard, plastic ones that could strike any pose, and cloth ones with hair of yarn; he was particularly intrigued with one that could be filled with water to feel like a "real" baby. Feeling out of place, he began to back away. Gerard caught him by the arm and pulled him closer.

"You've got a little girl now, dude," Gerard murmured to him. "You're going to have to get used to this stuff."

"DUDE!" Frank suddenly shouted, startling them from behind. "Look! It's a Limited Editon Jack Skellington figurine with interchangable heads!!" He hugged the box to his chest. "I love this place!" Bob patted him on the head.

"There you go, Frankie, you found a friend," he said with a grin.

Meanwhile, Anna continued gazing at the dolls. Ray watched her curiously. After a moment, she walked closer to the shelves and reached up to grab one. Ray looked to where she was reaching. He immeidately saw an elaborately dressed ballerina doll that could be posed in any way imaginable, and he was certain this was what she wanted.

However, to his surprise, she pulled down the little cloth doll that was next to it. It was a harlequin girl with white yarn hair, and it wore a red clown suit with golden threading. Its face was sweet, yet sad, with a single, glittery teardrop stitched onto its cheek. After studying the doll for a moment, Anna turned to him.

"Daddy, can I?" she asked, holding the doll out to him.

He knelt beside her. "Is this what you want, sweetie?" She nodded and he kissed her forehead.

"Yes, you can have it."

She smiled at him and flung her free arm around his neck. He picked her up and then turned to his friends, saying, "Okay, guys, I think we've done enough damage here. Let's go pay and get Frank out of here before he finds something else to squeal about."

"LIGHTSABERS!!"

Gerard rolled his eyes and sighed. "Too late."