My Way Home Is Through You

Ray pulled into the fortified lot where the band's tour bus was parked, feeling nervous. He was about to introduce his closest friends to his daughter.

The idea was slightly daunting.

As he had signed the papers and taken care of all the legalities in Miss Reming's office, he'd been relieved to see that Anna already had a car seat, along with three large suitcases that carried all of the child's belongings.

However, getting the car seat into the car, and then strapping Anna in safely, had been quite the adventure. Miss Reming had stood aside, letting him fumble with the damned thing for ten minutes; only after he'd whacked his head on the door did she step in. Thoroughly confused, Ray decided that the car seat would just become a permanent attachment to his car. At least until someone else could help him with it.

He now opened the back door and unstrapped Anna, lifting her out of the car. After closing the car door once more, he knelt beside her and said, "How you doing, Anna? Are you okay?"

The little girl merely nodded and gave him a small smile.

Smiling back, he said, "Okay, now I'm going to take you in here and let you meet my friends. You don't need to be shy, they're all very, very nice. Okay?"

Anna bit her lip and said quietly, "Okay."

Taking her hand, Ray said, "Don't worry, kiddo, they'll love you."

* * * * *

Ray received a shock when he opened the door to the bus and ushered Anna in. Frank, it appeared, had been serious about cleaning. True, the bus still wasn't exactly a kid-friendly environment, but at least you could walk around without risking injury. He also noticed that the coffee and soda stains all over the kitchen had been wiped up, and all the leftover food that had begun to sprout hairs had been cleared away. He had to admit, he was impressed.

And oh thank God, Gerard's underwear had been removed from the curtain rod of his bunk.

Miraculous, indeed.

However, his bandmates were nowhere to be seen. Ray was just about to call out to them when he nearly stumbled over something. Catching himself and looking down, he realized that Anna had come to a dead stop just beyond the door.

Wondering for a moment if something was wrong, he leaned over to look at her face. It was filled with wonder and curiosity as her eyes drank in her surroundings.

Grinning, he scooped her up and settled her on his hip. "Never seen a bus like this before, huh?” he said gently. “Hey guys!" he called out. "Come here! There's someone I want you to meet!"

Moments later, Gerard and Frank came bounding out of the back room of the bus and nearly knocked each other down to get to the living area. A decidedly more subdued Bob followed and Mikey brought up the rear. They all smiled when they saw the little girl in Ray's arms.

“Guys, I’d like you to meet my daughter, Anna,” Ray said, feeling oddly proud. “Anna, these are my friends. There’s Bob and Frank and Mikey and Gerard.”

“Hey there, sweetie,” said Bob with a smile.

“Hi, Anna!” exclaimed Gerard. He gave her a little wave.

Anna’s voice was hardly louder than a dove’s coo when she murmured a shy hello.

“Jeez, Ray,” Mikey said. “She looks a lot like you!”

“Yeah?” Ray turned and looked into his daughter’s face. “Yeah, I guess she does, doesn’t she?” He smoothed the child’s curly hair back out of her face. “At least she didn’t get my nose!” The others laughed at this. Turning to Frank, he asked, “So did you get that room for us?”

“Yeah, sure did,” Frank said. “I booked you at the Plaza!”

“Really?” Ray asked hopefully.

“Nope.” Frank laughed. “Sorry, nothing that posh. You’re just going to have to deal with the Windham, dude. It’s a block away from the venue.”

Ray chuckled. “That’s fine. Thanks for doing that for me, man.”

“Has she had any dinner yet?” Gerard asked.

The thought hadn’t occurred to Ray. “I don’t know,” he replied. “Are you hungry, Anna?” She nodded.

“Hey, we’ve got some spaghetti in the fridge from lunch,” said Bob.

“Don’t worry,” Mikey said quickly. “Brian made it, not us.”

Ray grinned. Thank God they had a manager who could cook. “Do you like spaghetti, Anna?” She nodded again and smiled at Ray, who realized he felt better now than he had in a long time.