My Way Home Is Through You

Author's Note: This isn't the end, in case you were wondering.

Ray's apartment was the first stop for the guys. They decided it would be best to get Anna home quickly, with all of them helping to get her in and settled. The apartment wasn't huge, but there was certainly room enough for another person to live comfortably.

Ray carried Anna into the apartment as Gerard, Bob and Mikey hauled her suitcases in behind them. Frank brought up the rear, carrying nothing but a soda.

"Thanks for the help, Frank," grunted Mikey as he dropped the smallest suitcase in the living room.

"I live to serve," grinned Frank as he plopped down on Ray's couch.

"Jackass," muttered Bob as he carried a suitcase back into the smaller bedroom. Ray followed him.

Flipping the light switch, he said, "This is going to be your room, angel. How do you like it?"

Anna gave the little bedroom a scrutinizing stare, then smiled and nodded with satisfaction.

"Do you actually have sheets on this bed?" Bob asked as he set the suitcase down.

"Yeah, I actually do," Ray laughed. "My brother Lou crashed here the last time we were on break."

"Are they clean?"

"Hey!" Ray exclaimed, sounding offended. "Of course they are!" He let Anna down as Gerard and Mikey brought the other suitcases in.

"Wow, Anna," Gerard said. "Is this whole room going to be yours?"

"Yup!" She climbed onto the twin-sized bed and stood up on the simple blue comforter. "I like it!'

Ray caught her as she took a flying leap off the bed.

"I flew!" she shrieked with delight.

"You sure did," said Mikey as they went back into the living room. Frank, they were dismayed to see, had already drained more than half of his soda.

"Well," said Gerard. "We know who's getting dropped off next."

"What?" Frank asked innocently as the others all turned to look at him.

"So you guys are going to head on out now?" Ray said, setting Anna down on the couch beside the diminutive guitarist.

"Yeah," said Bob. "We all kind of want to crash at home."

"That's cool," Ray said. "Let me just go grab my stuff off the bus, I'll be right back."

While Ray was outside getting his things, the four other rockers said their goodbyes to Anna.

"You know," Gerard said, kneeling down in front of her. "Me and Mikey are just fifteen minutes away if you and your dad need us, okay?"

Anna nodded. "Okay, Gee," she said solemnly. He grinned and kissed her cheek.

"Okay!" He stood and said, "We'll see you soon, Anna."

Mikey leaned down and kissed her as well. "Later, babe," he said, ruffling her hair.

"Catch you later, sweetheart," Bob said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head as Ray walked back in, lugging two suitcases of his own. Bob and the Way brothers made their way to the door.

"Okay, snickerdoodle," said Frank as she turned to him. "Gee and Mikey said they're only fifteen minutes away, right?" She nodded. "Well, I'm about twenty-five minutes away, so that's not all that far, either. You make your dad call me if he acts uncool again, okay, Anna-Banana?"

Ray rolled his eyes. "We'll be sure to call you if anything comes up, okay, Frankie?"

"You better," Frank said with a grin. He gave Anna a kiss and stood, joining his bandmates at the door.

"All right, man," Gerard said to Ray. "We've got to get rolling." He gave him a meaningful look. "Call us for anything, dude. Anything."

"We will, I promise," said Ray as he showed the guys out.

When he returned, Anna grinned up at him from her spot on the couch.

"Well, sweetie," he said. "How about we get your stuff all settled in your room, then we can get some dinner, huh?"

"Okay!" She hopped off the couch and took his hand as he led her to her room.

As he helped her to unpack her clothes and toys, he looked around. "You know, we can buy some stuff to decorate your room. Stuff that you like."

She smiled up at him. "Okay, yeah!"

"We can even paint it, if you want," he said.

"Any color?" she asked.

"Well, yeah, pretty much," Ray said slowly. "What color do you like?" If she says black or pink, I'll scream.

"Yellow!" she said brightly. "It's like sunshine!"

Once again, Ray found himself pleasantly surprised, and his heart was warmed by the joyful look on his daughter's face. They quickly finished putting Anna's things away and went back into the kitchen.

After a dinner of chicken pot pie, one of the few dishes Ray was able to cook, the two settled on the couch for a movie. Thankfully, being the film fanatic that he was, Ray's extensive movie collection included more than a few kid-friendly titles.

However, just as Inigo Montoya was about to slay the six-fingered man, Anna gave a great yawn and buried her face in Ray's chest.

A smile crossed his face as he looked down and stroked her hair. "Sleepy, baby?"

"Mm-hmm," she murmured with a nod.

His smile widened and he scooped her up into his arms. "Come on, sweetie. Time for bed."

He carried her into her bedroom and tucked her into the bed. Making sure that Brownie and Holly were tucked safely in beside her, Ray knelt beside the bed and kissed her.

"Goodnight, sweetie," he said quietly, touching his nose to hers.

"Daddy?" she murmured as she began to drift off.

"Yeah, baby?"

"You feel like home."