My Way Home Is Through You

Later that day, Ray walked into Gerard's studio room and received a mild shock. Anna was seated in Gerard's lap in front of a keyboard, plunking away at the keys. While it didn't quite make the same sound as a real piano, she seemed to delight in the tones coming from the instrument.

Gerard looked up and exchanged a smile with the guitarist as he came fully into the room. Shaking his head lightly to flick a strand of shaggy black hair out of his face, the singer turned back to the child in his lap and began to finger the keys along with her.

Ray's grin widened as he recognized the melody. Sitting on an extra stool, he pulled his guitar into his lap and began to strum along with the twosome.

Moments later, three heads popped into the doorway. Frank, Mikey and Bob grinned as they filed in one-by-one and picked up their own instruments.

After a few moments of instrumental playing, Gerard opened his mouth and began to sing. Nudging Anna slightly, he gently coaxed her to sing along with him. The rest of the band grinned as their singer chirped out the familiar tune with the little girl. Anna was a little off-key, but the lyrics were strong and clear.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!"

Anna clapped her hands in glee and turned to look at Ray.

"Daddy, I sang!" she cried.

"I know it, baby," Ray said with a laugh. "You sounded great!"

She slid off of Gerard's lap and pelted toward her father. Ray moved the guitar just in time for her to crash into his chest and throw her arms around his waist in a baby bear hug. he rested his instrument against his knee and pulled his daughter onto his lap.

"So are you just about ready to play with us onstage?" Frank asked her as she snuggled against Ray. She blushed and shook her head.

"No!" she exclaimed, her shyness returning.

"Aw, why not, sugar?" asked Gerard.

"Too many people!" She seemed to want to melt into Ray's arms at the thought. Turning her eyes to her father's guitar, she spoke suddenly.

"When do I get to play that?"

Kissing Anna's forehead, Ray picked up the guitar once more and managed to get it up onto his other knee, albeit rather awkwardly. He gripped the neck, gently pressing a simple E chord, and placed Anna's fingers over the strings toward the body.

"Give it a good strum, sweetie," he said.

She raked her fingers down, strumming all six strings. The chord rang out jerkily, but she seemed quite pleased with the effect.

"Wow!" She quickly strummed the chord a few more times. "That's neat!"

The five rockers burst out laughing.

"Miss Anna," Mikey said, shouldering his bass. "You are offically part of the band!"

Author's Note: Again, sorry for the horrible delay in updating. Just as I was beginning to brainstorm, my family had a slight crisis - our house flooded. So we're in the process of clean-up and renovation, and everything I had just flew out of my head. I'm working on it, though.

So you guys will just have to deal with a little bit of uber-cute fluff for now. Sorry about that!