A Christmas to Remember

"'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the venue-"

"No, Frankie! That's not how it goes!" Anna Toro giggled. She was snuggled between the diminutive guitarist and her father. It was December 24, and after Christmas Eve dinners with their families, the band had decided to get together and celebrate amongst themselves.

Anna had been a part of the My Chemical Romance family for nearly six months now, and as her first Christmas with the band approached, Ray Toro knew they would have to make it a special one.

The first step had been to get a Christmas tree. In the past, Ray usually had only kept a small tabletop tree in his apartment, leaving it up to his family to get a larger one. But when he had seen Anna's reaction to a large, brightly decorated tree at the grocery store, he knew immediately that his tiny fake pine just wouldn't cut it this year.

So a few weeks before Christmas, Ray and Anna had gone out to find their Christmas tree. Soon enough, they had found the perfect one, just slightly taller than Ray, and he wondered how they would manage to get it into his apartment.

The real adventure, however, had been in decorating it after it was set up in the living room. Letting Anna pick out the decorations proved rather unwise, as she had chosen beads and baubles of shocking pink, deep purple and lime green. Ray's eyes watered when he looked at the three colors mixed together, and he knew he wouldn't be able to stand the combination for the next month.

"Honey, why don't we try red and green, or red and gold instead?" he'd suggested gently. "It'd be more like Christmas." After a moment of consideration, Anna had agreed.

So they had their tree. Anna had even picked out a star to top it. Ray thought she'd done a good job, too; it was gold with ruby glass inlays.

The rest of the apartment had been duly decorated, with electric candles in each window and a wreath inside the door, so that by Christmas Eve, the Toros were more than ready to celebrate.

First they opened gifts, during which Anna had been showered with many toys and gadgets from her adoptive "uncles." Ray had been concerned at first that perhaps they were spoiling her, but when he saw his little daughter pounce on each band member in hugs of gratitude, he was reassured that he had little to worry about.

Afterwards, Frank had eagerly volunteered to read the classic Christmas tale. Anna delighted in correcting him as he snuck in subtle changes.

"It's 'sposed to be 'house,' Frankie!" she explained patiently. "Haven't you ever heard this before?"

"Well, it's been a long time, sweetie," Frank admitted, exchanging a smile with his bandmates.

"Do you believe in Santa Claus, Frankie?" she asked suddenly.

"Of course I do, Anna-Banana," Frank replied.

"Don't you?" Gerard asked her.

Anna furrowed her brow in thought. After a moment, she replied, "Yeah, I think so."

"You think so?" Ray repeated. "How come you only think so?"

Anna shrugged, flipping through the pages of the book in her lap. She stopped on an illustration of Santa in his sleigh.

"Do you believe, Daddy?" she asked slowly, looking up at Ray.

Ray looked into his daughter's eyes and smiled. "Absolutely, Sunshine," he replied.

A tiny smile stole across Anna's face for a moment before she turned back to the book. Ray glanced uncertainly at his bandmates.

Suddenly Gerard's eyes began to sparkle. A grin broke over his face, and he motioned for Bob follow him to the kitchen. As Frank, Mikey and Ray kept Anna's attention drawn to the book, the two snuck quietly out of the room.

As soon as they were safely out of earshot, Gerard exclaimed, "Dude, I've got a great idea!"

Fighting back a smile, Bob sighed and said, "Okay, Gee. I'll bite. What's your idea?"

"While Ray's got Anna's attention on him, one of us will sneak out and run over to my parents' house. My dad has an old Santa suit he used to wear when Mikey and me were kids-"

"Oh, no," Bob cut him off, the smile sliding from his face. "No way. I am not dressing up as Santa Claus, Gerard. I love Anna to pieces, but not even for her am I willing to do that. Frank's already got more than enough to give me shit over, thank you very much. I don't need to add 'Santa Bob' to the list."

"Relax," said Gerard, rolling his eyes. "I meant me. You just help Ray keep her attention diverted while I slip out, okay? And I'll go ahead and get her a little gift, too. I mean, I know Ray's got some stuff he's planning on setting out for her tonight when she goes to sleep, but this'll be something, uh, directly from Santa."

Bob nodded, then said, "And are we going to let the others in on this little caper of yours?"

Gerard turned to the drummer with a smirk. "Now where's the fun in that?"

* * * * *

Fifteen minutes later, as Ray was strumming a few Christmas carols on his guitar and encouraging Anna to help him sing, Gerard made his way quietly out the door. Noticing this from his seat beside the little girl, Bob opened his mouth and began to sing along with Ray, taking his bandmates by surprise.

Anna was so stunned at this that she merely stared at the drummer for a moment. Then a giant smile crept over her face and she began to sing with him.

"Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,
Had a very shiny nose,
And if you ever saw it,
You would even say it glowed..."

Soon enough, Mikey and Frank had joined the trio. The rest of the band hardly even noticed that Gerard had gone missing as they moved into a rousing rendition of "Deck the Halls."

"La-la-LAAAAAAAA!" cried Anna with glee.

Suddenly there was a loud thump on the roof. Bob froze as the others all looked up in confusion.

Dear Christ, he thought, please don't let that be Gerard. He'll kill himself climbing around on the roof in a damned Santa suit...

Anna's eyes widened in wonder as she crawled into her father's lap and stared up at the ceiling.

"Is it Santa, Daddy?" she asked.

"Well..." Ray looked perplexed. "I don't know, sweetie. It's a little early for Santa to come through New Jersey. He doesn't come until you're asleep. It's probably just some snow on the roof."

"Since when does snow 'thud,' Ray?" asked Frank.

Ray shot him a look as if to tell him to shut up. Anna was still looking curiously up at the ceiling, which had gone quiet once more. Bob began to feel anxious as a hush fell over the apartment.

"Mikey, maybe you and I should go out on the lawn to check things out," he said with a nervous grin.

"Huh?" Mikey looked at him in surprise. "Dude, it's freezing out there, what-?"

At that moment, there was a sharp knock on the front door. Eyeing his bandmates suspisciously, Ray gently lifted Anna from his lap and settled her next to Frank.

When he opened his door, he received the shock of a lifetime; there stood Santa Claus, complete with beard, bells and bag, and a pair of shining hazel eyes. Ray looked closer at the jolly old elf standing at his door and felt his jaw drop.

"Gee?" he whispered. "Is that you?"

Gerard merely winked at his friend. He then motioned silently over Ray's shoulder.

Recovering himself, Ray cleared his throat and batted a stray curl out of his face.

"Uh, wow," he said loudly, glancing over his shoulder at his daughter and bandmates behind him. "This is a real surprise! We weren't expecting you until much later."

He ushered the singer into the apartment and said, "Hey guys, look who's here!"

"Santa Claus!" squealed Anna. She bounced up and down on the sofa, nearly flipping herself over the back in her excitement. "Is it really you?"

"It sure is, Miss Anna Toro," Gerard said. "I haven't quite started my rounds in New Jersey yet, but I had to fly back to the North Pole to restock my sleigh."

Behind Anna, Mikey grinned at Frank. Bob had covered his mouth, trying desperately not to laugh.

"You see," Gerard continued, ignoring his bandmates, "I was just about ready to head to Spain when I ran out of toys. So I flew back home, filled my sleigh up again, and just as I was heading back, I heard something that I couldn't believe, Miss Anna."

Anna stared at him with wide eyes, practically twitching with curiosity at what "Santa" could have heard. Ray smiled as he watched his daughter.

"Well, Miss Anna," said Gerard. "I could have sworn I heard you say you weren't sure if you believed in me!" His hazel eyes gazed deeply into her brown ones. "And I just couldn't believe that was true!"

Anna's jaw dropped in horror. "But I do believe!" she cried. " 'Cause you're here!"

Gerard cocked an eyebrow, and grinned at her through the soft white beard. "Are you sure?"

Anna nodded "I'm sure!"

"Okay," said Gerard, standing up and fumbling in the great red sack he had carried in with him. He pulled out a tiny ballerina doll, no bigger than his fist, and handed it to Anna.

"What do you say, Anna?" Ray prompted gently.

"Thank you, Santa!" she exclaimed, gazing lovingly at the doll.

"You're welcome, darling. You'd better get to bed soon, so I can bring you all of your stuff, Miss Anna. I'll be heading back to Jersey very soon. I'm not really supposed to do this! You should be asleep when I visit you. But I thought I'd make an exception just this once." He kissed her cheek, the beard tickling her nose. Then he turned and headed back to the door.

"Merry Christmas to you all!" he called as he made his way out.

Ray closed the door behind him, and allowed himself a small smile before turning back to his daughter and his friends.

"Well," he said slowly, unable to think of anything else to say. "How about that?"

By now, Frank and Mikey were having trouble containing themselves alongside Bob.

Anna hopped up and down at her father's side. "Daddy, is it bedtime yet?" she asked eagerly.

Ray grinned and looked at the clock. "As a matter of fact, I'd say it's past your bedtime, Sunshine. How about we go get you ready for bed and then you can say goodnight to the guys?"

"Okay!" Bob, Frank and Mikey watched as two curly heads, one very short and one very tall, disappeared into the hallway.

Moments later, Gerard slipped back in the front door, once again clad in his everyday clothes. He grinned at his bandmates. Mikey merely shook his head and smiled back.

"Well, you've made her day, Gee," chuckled Frank. "Hell, her whole year, with that stunt. You make a great Santa Claus!"

"Thanks," Gerard said. Looking around suddenly, he asked, "She didn't go to bed already, did she?

Bob laughed. "No, but she's on her way. Ray just took her to get into her PJs and brush her teeth. She'll be back out to say goodnight in a minute."

"Awesome," Gerard said, throwing his arm around his brother's neck.

A moment later, Anna came bounding out of the hallway clad in red plaid pajamas. Ray shambled out behind her, looking exhausted, but smiling nevertheless.

"All ready for bed?" Frank asked as she hopped on the couch beside him.

"Yup!" She beamed at him and the rest of his bandmates. " 'Cause Santa will be here soon! He said so!"

"I heard him!" Frank replied as he kissed her goodnight. "Goodnight, Miss Anna-Banana."

" 'Night, Frankie," she said, moving on to Mikey.

The younger Way brother scooped her up into a tight hug. "You look pretty excited," he commented. "Are you going to be able to go to sleep?"

"I'll try," she said solemnly.

Mikey grinned and kissed her cheek. "Merry Christmas, shortcake. Goodnight," he said. Then he set her down beside Gerard on the sofa.

"Goodnight, Gee!" she exclaimed, snuggling close to the singer and hugging his arm.

He wrapped his other arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "Night-night, sugar," he said gently. "Get some sleep, huh? You can't wake your dad up super early in the morning if you're exhausted yourself," he said, smirking up at Ray.

The guitarist glared wearily at him as his daughter scooted past to get to Bob. She giggled with glee as the drummer lifted her into the air. With a swift spin, he kissed her cheek and said, " 'Night, princess. We'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

She nodded and hugged him around the neck before pelting off toward her father once more. Ray caught her and scooped her up, settling her on his hip.

"All right, guys, let me get this munchkin to bed and I'll be back out in just a minute." And the two disappeared down the hallway.

* * * * *

It took little coaxing to get Anna tucked in, and, though she was excited, within moments Ray had lulled her nearly to sleep.

"Merry Christmas, Sunshine," he whispered as she nodded off. "See you in the morning."

He kissed her forehead and turned out the light, closing the door as he left the room.

"Okay guys," he said upon returning to the living room. "Who wants to help me set out presents?"

Chuckling, Frank said, "We'll all help, Ray. It'll go a lot quicker with all of us."

Glancing at the clock, Mikey said, "Jeez, it's only quarter to ten, Frank. How long could it take?"

* * * * *

At three o'clock on Christmas morning, they were finally finished. Gazing wearily at the grand mess they'd made, the five rockers collapsed on the couch in an exhausted pile.

"I swear to God," moaned Gerard, glaring at the dollhouse he and Ray had toiled over for more than an hour. "If I ever have a daughter, her dolls are just going to have to be fucking homeless. I am not putting together one of those bitches ever again!"

"It looked simple on the box," Ray said apologetically. "Who knew a plastic house could have so many little pieces?"

Bob snickered, looking toward the pyramid of stuffed animals he and Mikey had arranged. "Man, we got the easy job," he said to the bassist. Mikey merely yawned and nodded.

"Okay," groaned Frank with a yawn. "Santa's Workshop is officially closed for the night. This elf is going home and getting some sleep." He hauled himself off the couch and headed toward the door. " 'Night, guys. Merry Christmas."

"See you tomorrow, man," Gerard called as Ray ushered Frank out the door. The others simply waved.

"Okay, little brother," he said a moment later. "Time for us to get moving, too. Mom will want us at her place at the ass-crack of dawn for Christmas morning. It'd be best if we got a little it of sleep beforehand. Later, Ray." He stood and grabbed a cookie from the plate Anna had left out.

"Later, Ray," Mikey echoed as he followed his brother out the door. "We'll see you guys some time tomorrow."

Bob followed a moment later, promising to come back after he'd gotten a few hours of sleep. Ray locked the door behind the drummer, and smiled as he gazed at the gifts under the tree.

For a bunch of raggedy-ass elves from Jersey, he thought, we did pretty damn good.

Turning off all the lights but the Christmas tree itself, he stumbled into his bedroom and collapsed on the bed. He was asleep before his curly locks even touched the pillow.

* * * * *

"DADDY!!!"

Ray was violently awoken from a deep sleep as his daughter took a flying leap onto his bed and landed squarely on his chest.

"It's Christmas, Daddy! It's Christmas!" she cried gleefully as he gasped for breath.

"Good Lord, Anna, what time is it?" he groaned, staring blearily at the clock. "Six-fifteen?! You've got to be kidding me! Baby, it's too early!"

"No it's not, Daddy, it's Christmas!" she cried, tugging his arm. "Get up!"

Resigning himself to the fact that he would not be given a chance to sleep any later, Ray had to smile at his daughter's excitement and enthusiasm.

"Okay, okay, it's Christmas," he agreed. "Let's go see what Santa brought."

Anna pranced impatiently at his door as he pulled a pair of flannel pajama pants over his boxers. With a grin, he pulled his socks on with a painstaking slowness that rivalled even the thickest molasses.

"Dad-dy!" she finally cried, looking frantic. He laughed and finished pulling on his socks, then took her hand and allowed himself to be dragged to the living room.

"Oooooh!" she cooed as she stared at all the gifts under the tree. She stopped dead in front of him, and in his groggy stupor he nearly tripped over her.

Righting himself, he grinned and said, "Go check it out, Sunshine."

As Anna eagerly crawled under the tree, Ray slipped into the kitchen and turned the coffee machine on. He stuck his head back out into the living room in time to hear Anna squeal and hug a bright blue teddy bear close. He quickly poured himsef a cup of the fresh-brewed coffee and hurried back out to the couch.

"Daddy, look!" Anna cried, collapsing in a fit of giggles. "You're girls!"

Unbeknownst to Ray, Gerard and Frank had bought the child five Barbie dolls and set them up on a tiny stage beside the dollhouse. Three held tiny guitars, one sat at a miniature drum set, and one stood at the front with a microphone in her tiny, plastic hand. Ray snorted indignantly when he saw that one of the guitar-playing Barbies' hair had been teased out to gigantic proportions - obviously meant to be himself.

Gerard, he thought with a grimmace. Only Gerard...

Anna giggled again, then moved on to the dollhouse itself. She delighted in all the little gadgets and gizmos that had taken her father ages to set up. As she dug her way through the stuffed animals, there was a sharp knock at the door.

Ray took a swig of his coffee and moved toward the door. Anna paused for a moment too look up and see what was going on. When Ray swung the door open, he was surprised to find all four of his bandmates standing on his stoop.

"Merry Christmas!" they cried in unison.

Anna jumped up and squealed, abandoning the toys as she clapped her hands.

"Merry Christmas!" she cried, hugging each band member as they entered the apartment. "Santa Claus came back!"

"I see that, Anna-Banana," Frank said as Bob sat on the floor beside the tree. "What'd you get?"

"Lots!" she cried, leaning against the drummer.

Gerard furrowed his eyebrows and nudged Ray. "Hey, what's that in the corner?"

"Whoa!" the little girl cried, rushing over to the spot Gerard was pointing to.

There stood a child-size baby grand piano, complete with a bench and a bow.

"Ooooooh!" she cheeped. She rushed to the little nstrument and immediately began to plunk at the keys.

Shaking himself, Ray said quietly, "Um, can I see you guys in the kitchen for a moment?"

As the band squeezed into the small kitchen, Ray whispered, "Where the hell did that come from?"

"Dude, don't look at me," Mikey said.

"Me neither," said Frank. "How could I have smuggled that in here without anyone noticing?"

Ray chucked and nodded, assenting.

"It wasn't me, man," Bob said. "I'd take credit if I did, you know that."

"That leaves you, Gee," Ray said. "Where'd it come from?"

"I hate to say it, man, but it wasn't me, either," the singer said, shaking his head.

Ray looked out the kitchen doorway, puzzled. "Well, now, look," he began. "If it wasn't you guys and it wasn't me, then who...?"

Frank snickered. "Must've been Santa Claus, dude."

With a suspiscious look at his friends, Ray stormed back into the living room and over to where his daughter was playing her new piano.

"Let's see, baby," he said gently, picking at the bright green bow. A large red tag slid out from underneath. Ray picked it up and read the unfamiliar handwriting.

To Anna, from Santa,
For a little girl with a big heart - make beautiful music, my dear!
Merry Christmas to you and your new family!

"What do you know?" Ray murmured, mainly to himself. "Santa Claus!"