My Way Home Is Through You

The long trek from the little restaurant all the way to Times Square seemed to take quite a bit out of Anna, and Ray wasn't surprised that after six blocks, she was beginning to lose some steam. He stopped and knelt beside her.

"Are your legs starting to hurt, babe?" he asked. She nodded, batting a stray curl out of her face.

With a smile, he lifted her up over his head and let her sit on his shoulders.

"There you go, Anna," he said, holding onto one of her hands. "This way you get to see everything! Just be careful of Dad's hair, huh?" He chuckled as she playfully tugged at one of his locks.

"Whoa, Anna-Banana!" cried Frank, grinning up at her. "You're taller than me!"

"Dude, she came close when she stood beside you," Mikey snickered. "That's not exactly saying much." Frank waited until Anna had turned to shoot Mikey the finger.

"So, Gee," Ray said, turning to his friend. "How much further would you say?"

"Not too far," Gerard said, smiling as he realized Anna's rapt attention was on him. "Pretty soon you're going to see the brightest lights you've ever seen, sugar!"

And, as promised, when they stepped into Times Square, Anna's jaw dropped as she took in all around her. The guys could see that even her amazement at FAO Schwarz hadn't rivaled this.

Ray couldn't see her face, but he felt her hands loosen their grip on his fingers as she stared all around her. The swirling colors and lights had her spellbound.

"Look, Anna!" Bob said, pointing towards the Virgin Megastore. "That's a big music store!"

"Dude, you're such a dork," laughed Frank. Bob tackled him, and after a brief scuffle, came out the victor, with Frank in a headlock.

"Okay, okay, you're not a dork, Bob!" Frank wheezed. Bob released him and Anna squealed with laughter.

"You guys done?" Mikey asked as he slowly continued moving down the sidewalk.

"For now," muttered Frank. He quickly shimmied away as Bob made another swipe at him, hiding behind Ray.

"Dude, Anna's up here," Ray said sharply.

"I know!" Frank said. "He'll never attack me if I'm behind her!"

"You coward!" cackled Gerard. "Hiding behind a four-year-old!"

Mikey, meanwhile, had gotten a good way down the street. Ray decided the best thing to do would be to follow him. The others would catch up soon enough.

"Look, Anna," said Gerard as they neared the MTV building. "We play there sometimes."

"Yeah, Frankie tore up the stage the first time we were there!" Ray said. Anna giggled.

"Frankie's so silly!"

"Yeah, and he slashed me in the skull with a guitar!" Bob grunted.

Anna became serious then. "Frankie, that wasn't very nice!"

"Aw, Anna, don't be mad at me," Frank pleaded. "It was an accident, honest!"

"Yeah," snorted Ray. "Like the time you accidentally cracked me in the head with the guitar! I've never seen so much blood."

"Yet you managed to play the rest of the set," grumbled Frank.

"Poor Daddy!" Anna cried, kissing Ray on the top of his head. He grinned up at her.

"It's okay, Anna," Ray said, standing taller. "I'm strong, I could take it." His bandmates burst out laughing at this.

"Dude, I'll admit, you're the hardest working guy I know," Frank said. "But you're a complete pansy, man!"

"Well, I thought I did a good job," Ray said, smiling as Anna began to laugh with the others.

As they made their way past the MTV Studios, Frank heard a snippet of a conversation a few feet away.

"Is that who I-?"

"Ohmygosh, I think so-"

"Who's thatkid on his-?"

"You don't think that-?"

"Oh my God, don't say anything, they might hear you!"

Frank bit his lip and hurried along after his friends. When they were a good distance away from the MTV building, he caught up to Ray and whispered in his ear.

"Dude, I think we've been spotted."

"What do you mean?" Ray asked, turning abruptly toward him.

"Some kids over there... Noticed us... And you... With her..." Frank motioned upward and Ray froze. Glancing back into the crowd, he suddenly felt Anna's little hands tighten their grip on his fingers, as if she sensed his apprehension.

After a moment, he sighed and said, "Oh well, man. What's done is done. Nothing we can do about it now. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. Maybe nothing will come of it."

Frank looked skeptically at him. By now, the rest of the band had stopped what they were doing and were listening intently.

"You think we should head back to the hotel?" Bob asked.

Ray stood in thought for a moment, then glanced upwards toward his daughter on his shoulders.

"No." His bandmates looked up in surprise.

"I promised my baby girl a night on the town, and that's what she's going to get." He squeezed her hand gently. "Right, Anna?"

"Yeah!" she said with a smile.

The band stood for a moment, taking in the sight of their guitarist with his little daughter perched on his shoulders, both looking so happy with each other. They could not help but be impressed by their friend's actions. He had certainly redeemed himself.

With that, they continued on through the streets, each of them pointing out the different sights of the city to the little girl.

* * * * *

A few hours later, the five rockers escorted a very happy little girl back to the tour bus, where she and her father bid Gerard, Frank, Bob and Mikey goodnight. As Ray carried her into the hotel room, he kissed her cheek.

"Phew, kiddo, you stink!" he laughed. "You ready for a bath?"

Once more, he helped her to wash her hair. This time it felt more natural to him. As he began to rinse the suds off her head, she cried, "Ew, you stink, too, Daddy!"

With that, she splashed a handful of lukewarm bathwater into his face. Ray was so shocked that for a moment he couldn't even move. Then he burst out laughing and cried, "Oh, really?" He cupped his hands and splashed a small amount of the sudsy water at her gently. "I stink, huh?"

"Yeah!" She splashed him again, this time dousing his head completely. With a grin, he shook his head with all his might, showering her in droplets of water from his long curls.

She shrieked with delight, then said, "That's better!"

"I don't stink now?" he asked as he helped her out and dried her off.

"Well, not so much," she giggled.

"Oh, thanks!" he said with a laugh. He swiftly combed her hair then tucked her into the bed.

"Did you have fun tonight, sweetheart?" he asked.

"Lots!" she exclaimed, snuggling down between Brownie Bunny and her new doll.

"Are you happy with me again?" he asked quietly.

She smiled lovingly up at him and said, "Yes Daddy. I'm very happy."

"Good."

"Daddy? Will you sing me a song?"

He hadn't been prepared for a request like this, but he happily agreed. "Sure, baby."

He went into the tv room and grabbed the acoustic guitar Frank had left the night before. Coming back into the bedroom, he sat on Anna's bed and began to strum.

"Highway run
Into the midnight sun
Wheels go round and round
You're on my mind
Restless hearts sleep alone tonight
Sending all my love along the wire

They say that the road ain't no place to start a family
Right down the line it's been you and me
And loving a music man
Ain't always what its supposed to be
Oh girl, you stand by me
I'm forever yours...
Faithfully..."

Her eyelids grew heavy and began to droop. As he finished the song, she started to drift off. He leaned down and kissed her. "I love you, Anna."

"I love you, too, Daddy."

Author's Note: In case anyone's wondering, that's "Faithfully" by Journey, and for anyone who went to one of the Projekt Rev shows this summer, this song is what Ray was playing on guitar in the background while Gerard gave his shout outs to the audience and the other bands. It's one of my favorites, and I thought it was very cool.