My Way Home Is Through You

Author's Note: More filler, but it's been a long time since I've updated, so I needed to do something. Damn this writer's block. In any case, here's a brief look at Ray's apartment, and more Anna cuteness. I promise to do more substantial writing this weekend.

When Ray awoke the next morning, he was immediately aware of the crick in his neck. Momentarily unable to move the stiff muscles, he gazed around his bedroom, letting his eyes adjust.

Sunlight streamed in through his window, bypassing the heavy curtains he'd forgotten to close the night before. The thin blinds did little to block the early morning light, and Ray was soon wide awake, in spite of the fact that he was hoping to get back to sleep.

Knowing it was necessary, he slowly moved his neck from side to side. His muscles gave a fiery protest, making him gasp as he heard his bones creak into place.

Ray, dude, he thought to himself. You're getting old.

He turned to look at Anna and found her nuzzled against his shoulder. He held back a laugh as he looked closer and saw the plush bunny's ears sticking out from beneath the pillow. Rolling slightly to face her, he decided against getting up, and instead closed his eyes once more. He dozed off with a smile on his face.

* * * * *

Anna woke not long after her father had fallen back to sleep. She looked around in confusion at first - so many new places to remember! But once she realized where she was, she was satisfied to settle back down onto the pillow.

Her relaxation didn't last long. Now fully awake, she was restless to get up and going. She glanced at her father briefly, but quickly remembered his reaction to being awoken the other morning. Deciding against that route, she crawled off the bed as quiety as she could. Snatching Brownie from where he was wedged under the pillow, she tip-toed out of Ray's bedroom.

Wandering through the apartment, she began to inspect her new home. Humming softly to herself, she came to a stop beneath a framed picture on the wall.

She smiled as she recognized Gerard and Frank immediately in the photograph. And Mikey was there, too, though it took her a moment to recognize him with glasses. Bob was hard to make out, as well, under the heavy beard he was sporting in the picture, but she smiled again when she realized it was him. And there's Daddy, she thought, her smile widening as her father's image came into view. His hair was lighter in the picture, and slightly wilder, but she recognized him instantly. She hugged Brownie tightly and beamed at the picture.

She moved on, humming once more. She came to a large shelf, which she remembered was where her father had pulled out the movie they had watched the night before. The shelf was filled to bursting with the slim plastic movie cases, and the sheer number of them left her in awe.

Next she moved into the kitchen. It was very plain, and rather boring. She opened the refrigerator and peeked in. There wasn't much there. With a small snort, she let the door fall shut by itself behind her and stood on her toes to peer into the sink. Their dirty dishes from the night before sat in a sudsy pile, and she wrinkled her nose as she turned to leave the room.

She shuffled quietly into her own room next. Her bedsheets lay in a tangled mess at the foot of the bed, having been kicked down in the night. Holly the harlequin doll lay facedown on the floor beside the bed, where she'd fallen during Anna's nightmare. Anna picked the doll up gently and kissed its face.

"I'm sorry you fell, Holly," she murmured quietly. She placed the doll on the pillow and pulled the sheets messily up around it, tucking it in. "You can sleep here now, 'cause Daddy's sleeping, too. Me and Brownie are gonna let you nap."

Kissing the doll once more, she headed back into the living room. She quickly figured out how to turn the TV on, and even more quickly managed to find a suitable cartoon to watch. With a contented smile, she hunkered down on the couch with her rabbit, waiting for Ray to join her.