My Family Doesn't Know

Mikey was sitting with Ray on the recliner, more like sitting on his lap. Bob had taken an arm of one of the couches, the whole room silent. "What was going on before we came?" Mikey asked, breaking the silence. He looked over at his mom, expecting her to say something about the kiss that had happened only a few moments ago, but she was silent. "How unusual..." he thought but decided not to question it.

"We were going to open presents." Frank said, looking over at Gerard, "I was finally going to find out just what the hell Gerard got me."

"I see, and I delayed this, making you have to wait even longer, didn't I?" Mikey asked.

"Yes, but I'm glad you're back," Frank smiled at Mikey. "I think we're all glad you're back. Especially Ray. He doesn't have to take care of all four children by himself now."

Ray shrugged, but didn't say anything about it. "Should we open presents or not?"

"Presents!" Sammy said excitedly, jumping up from her spot on the floor. She had been sitting next to the recliner Mikey and Ray were sitting in, totally oblivious to her surroundings.

Ray gave a half-hearted laugh, shifting under Mikey's weight to get the bag that had been sitting on the table beside him. "Sammy, this is for you. Now I can say it's from both of us, even if Mikey doesn't know what it is."

"Gah Ray, you're making it sound boring," Gerard said, groaning. "Give her the present and let's move on the with the show!"

"Are you in a rush, Mr. Commitment?" Ray smirked at Gerard, who was, in return, giving the man a death glare.

"Don't even go there, Toro," Gerard said.

Ray smiled, finally handing the bag to Sammy, who took it eagerly. "Be careful with it, Sweetie." Everyone in the room watched as she pulled the music box out of the bag. She opened the lid and Ray's voice started to sing. "Do you know who's singing?"

"You?" Sammy asked, holding the box between her hands, looking up at her father with a huge smile on her face.

"Yep."

Sammy stood up and hugged Ray's leg, and then Mikey's in turn. She shut the lid of the box, stopping the music, before opening it again, and repeating the process over and over, amazed by how it worked.

Frank had managed to make his way over to where the small, plastic Christmas tree was, looking at boxes with names on them. "Sammy, I found even more with your name on them," he said, holding out a box towards her. Sammy put the music box down, running over to Frank. "What could it be?" he asked, handing her the box. She shook it quickly before setting it down and starting to rip the paper off. It revealed a plain looking box, that Frank had to open for Sammy. When she opened the box, she pulled out a unicorn plushie.

When Mikey saw the plushie, he looked over at Bob and the two shared a laugh, everyone else in the room confused. "The stickers." Bob smiled, winking at Mikey.

"I told you they'd be important."

"Did not!"

"Oh...well I meant to."

Mikey turned to look at Ray, who was giving a jealous look at Bob, clearly not liking the connection the two had. When Ray noticed Mikey looking at him, he tried to clear his face of any evidence of being jealous, hoping his husband hadn't seen it, but he wasn't lucky enough.

"I hope you're not jealous of Bob, Ray," Mikey whispered, leaning closer to his husband, whispering in his ear. "Nothing's going on between him and I."

Ray looked at Mikey, then back at Bob, but didn't say anything. Instead he turned his attention back to Sammy, who had opened a few more presents - a baby doll and some clothes. Frank grabbed a box and handed it to Donna, who took it, furrowing her brow and looking at Ray.

"What's this?" she asked, holding the present in her hands. Donald leaned closer to her, looking at the present too. It was really quite useless, considering they hadn't even opened it. They were just staring at a box wrapped in wrapping paper at this point.

"You have to open it," Ray said, implying that it was common sense. "I hope you like it, it took me a while to get it ready."

Mikey and Ray both watched Donna tear away the wrapping paper, and opening the plain box. She pulled out what looked to be a photo album. Pushing the box and wrapping paper to the floor, she opened the cover.

" 'The Life of Mikey and Ray - Before you knew'?" she asked, reading off what Ray had scribbled into the front cover. Mikey looked at Ray, who looked down.

Flipping through the photo album, Donna and Donald saw pictures from Mikey's and Ray's past. A picture from one of their first dates, when they went to an amusement park, and from their wedding. There were pictures of when they first got Sammy - bringing her home, her first bath, the three of them at the park. There were random pictures of the past spread out in there, too. One of Mikey laying on the grass outside in sweatpants, another of the two of them kissing. Then there was one of the six of them sitting on the back porch of the house, which was the last one in the album, but many pages left blank.

" 'Now you know what's been going on. It's up to you to fill the rest of the book,' " Donna read Ray's handwriting again, and he looked up finally. "This is really beautiful, Ray. I love it."

"I hoped you would. Took me a while to find pictures, since I am not the most organized person.

The room laughed, the awkward feeling since Mikey had come back disappearing. Mikey leaned back against Ray, enjoying the feeling of being with his husband again. He was looking forward to sleeping in the same bed as him tonight.

"Is there anything else under the tree?" Gerard asked from his spot on the couch. He was started to look a little nervous, his brow starting to sweat, but he was good at keeping others from noticing.

"Hmm," Frank knelt down, looking under the tree. "Oh, here's something. It's for the triplets - clothes I'm guess," Frank said, pulling the last few presents.

"Yeah. I would say let them tear the presents open, but they're all starting to fall asleep..." Ray noted, looking on the ground around him. Somewhere during this, Gerard must've layed a blanket down and set the triplets on it and covered them up. All three of them were sleeping, and somehow not disturbed by the sounds of the talking. They must really be worn out. Usually they woke up to the slightest bit of noise. "I better get them to bed..." Ray mumbled.

"I'll help," Mikey offered, getting off of Ray's lap. He scooped down, picking up one of the triplets - Georgie - and he started to stir, but he didn't wake up as he was handed off to Ray. He picked up Henry, also handing him to Ray, who then started to walk upstairs to the nursery. Mikey grabbed Bridgit, and followed Ray, leaving his family in the living room to chat idly.

When Mikey reached the Nursery, Ray was setting the babies into the respective cribs. Mikey walked over to Bridgit's and set her down, covering her up with the small blanket slightly. The babies just went back to sleep, exhausted.

"Guess they're tired," Mikey noted, looking around.

"It was a long day for them. They were passed around between your parents for hours on end. Wouldn't you be tired?" Ray asked, tucking Georgie in.

"Touche`," Mikey stepped out of the room, Ray following and closing the door. He yawned. "Oh my god, I am so looking forward to sleeping in an actual bed tonight."

"Who says you're sleeping in the bed?" Ray asked, stepping closer to Mikey. They were all alone upstairs, aside from the sleeping babies in the room behind the closed door.

"Me, so it's law," Mikey whispered, his breath catching in his throat as he backed up slowly into the wall, Ray putting his arms on either side of Mikey's head, trapping the slightly smaller man.

Ray chuckled, "Who says you're going to sleep, Mikey?" Before Mikey could respond, Ray captured his lips in a kiss, biting the blond man's bottom lip slightly before sucking on it.

Mikey's eyes widened for a brief moment before he started to kiss Ray back. He moved his arms from his sides to around Ray's neck, his fingers starting to intertwine in the curly hair of the other man. Ray moved his hands, placing them on Mikey's hip and pulling him close to him, their lips locked. Ray eventually poked Mikey's mouth with his tongue and was finally granted access to roam the other's mouth. Mikey moaned into the kiss at one point, causing Ray to smile, deepening the kiss further by leaning down.

The two pulled away, out of breath. "I love you so much," Mikey whispered, touching his forehead to the other's, his hands still in the other's hair, "but I need my sleep tonight."

"We'll see about that," Ray smirked, kissing Mikey on the cheek quickly before descending the stairs back to the living room, being followed not far behind by Mikey.

At the bottom of the stairs stood Bob, leaning against the wall, looking up at the sound of their footsteps. The couple stopped in front of him, Bob shifting so he was standing up straight now.

He cleared his throat before he talked, "I need to talk to Mikey," he said, his eyes going quickly from Ray's to Mikey's.

"What'd you have to say, Bob?" Mikey asked, Ray still standing there. He didn't quite trust Bob, for some reason, and he wasn't sure about leaving the two alone. He knew, though, that Mikey loved him to pieces, but he had suspicians sometimes. Mikey was a beautiful man, who wouldn't want to go out with him?

"It's...uh about you staying here..." he said, looking back at Ray, wishing the man would just leave. "I want to know if you're gonna stay and if I should go or not..."

"I'm staying, Bobert. Ray's not as pissed as I thought he'd be..." Mikey grabbed Ray's arm, kissing Ray on the cheek. "I don't think you should go though, not now at least. It's late and snowing, I think."

"I'm sure he could make it back wherever you two came from," Ray mumbled emotionlessly.

"From New York City? I don't think he could, Ray. Couldn't he stay here for the night?"

"Your parents are sleeping in the guest room, Mikey. No other place to sleep." Ray said quietly.

"Except the couch," Mikey smiled at Bob, who smiled back slightly, "Bob can always sleep on the couch. I've been sleeping on his couch for the past two weeks."

"I can head home or find a hotel somewhere along the way if it's too much trouble," Bob said, shifting awkwardly under Ray's gaze.

"Good idea," Ray mumbled.

Mikey pulled on Ray's arm, getting the taller man to look at him, "I will not let the man who took me in and dealt with me for two weeks sleep in a hotel, Ray. Please, do this for me? I can make it up to you," Mikey winked at Ray, who just sighed and nodded.

"Whatever. One night, that's it." Ray said, stepping back into the living room, leaving the two in the hallway.

"You didn't have to do that, Mikey. I'm fine with sleeping in a hotel," Bob said, watching Ray leave.

"I did have to. You let me sleep on your couch for two weeks, the least I can do is let you sleep here one night. What I don't get, though, is why he's acting weird...We usually have friends staying here for the night if it's storming, or something..."

Bob patted Mikey's back, "Mikey, he thinks there's something going on between the two of us."

Mikey furrowed his brow, "He thinks we're together?" he laughed slightly, "That's pretty funny, thinking about it. Sorry Bob, but you're not my type."

"You're not mine either, Mikey. I prefer boobs over dicks, ya know? I'm a straight man," Bob winked at Mikey.

"Guys can have boobs, too, Bobert," Mikey pointed out.

"Would you rather me say I prefer vaginas over dicks?"

"Ew no, that just sounds weird."

"Exactly! Now let me be happily single."

"What about you and Katelyn?" Mikey winked, nudging Bob with his elbow. "You two would make a cute couple."

"We fake dated for a day. Wasn't the worst date of my life, but I don't know." Bob shrugged, blushing a bit, his blonde hair falling in his face.

"You should ask her out. Bring her here for all I care. We can double date!" He laughed slightly, putting an arm on Bob's shoulder. "Now, shall we see if there's any food for us?" Mikey took a step into the kitchen, being followed by Bob. They picked off pieces of turkey, laughing again. "It's all the turkey's fault!" Mikey said excitedly, taking a bite of the meat. After a while, Gerard came in the doorway, looking at the two weirdly. Bob and Mikey had started to throw pieces of turkey and corn at each other.

"What the hell is going on?" Gerard asked and the two stopped what they were doing.

"It's Bob's fault!" Mikey accused.

"It's the turkey's fault!" Bob said back, pointing at the turkey. The two started to laugh again, although the joke itself was getting old, but the confusion on Gerard's face was priceless.

"Whatever, I want you two to come back to the living room. Or at least Mikey. I don't really know you, Bob..."

"Yeah you do," Bob pointed out, "we went to high school together. I was one of Mikey's best friends and I got dared to kiss you even though I told everyone I didn't roll like that."

Gerard stared at Bob, "Oh! You're that Bob! Wow, it's been a long time. How've you been doing?"

"Good. Run a music store. I hear you're famous, need a drummer?" Bob offered jokingly.

"Actually I -"

"You said you wanted us - me - in the living room?" Mikey cut in, standing up. He brushed stray pieces of corn and turkey off of himself before walking closer to Gerard.

"Oh yes, I do. I'm giving Frank his present and I want everyone to be there." Gerard said, turning back around to head to the living room.

"Hmm..." Mikey followed Gerard, an idea coming to mind on what Frank was getting. He smiled, hoping he was right. He could feel he was right.

Frank looked up as Gerard entered the room, looking bored. "You haven't given me your present," he pouted, sticking out his bottom lip.

"I know, I've been waiting for the perfect time." Gerard said, pulling something out of his pocket before getting down on one knee in front of Frank, who was sitting on the couch, watching with eyes that grew bigger by the second. "I know I didn't do anything special for this - didn't put it in food or sent a dog with the ring, but I hope you don't mind. I love you Frankie, so, so much. Marry me?" Gerard asked, looking up through his fringe with hopeful eyes.

Frank nodded, smiling like a fool. "Oh my fucking god, yes Gee!" Frank wrapped his arms around Gerard's neck, kissing him on the lips.

There was a cheer from the room, everyone in the room clapping - even Donna. She smiled at her oldest son, seeing the giant smile on his face made her smile.

"Congradulations, son," Donald said, patting his son on the back from his spot on the couch. "I hope we'll be invited to the wedding, unlike someone else's wedding..." He turned his gaze onto Mikey who blushed a little and looked down at his feet, unsure of what to say.

"Of course, Dad," Gerard said, putting the small ring he had onto Frank's finger before standing up, turning to look at Mikey, "As long Mikey agrees to be my best man, of course."

Mikey looked up and smiled, "Of course, 'bro," he said, moving to hug is brother quickly.

Gerard beamed at his younger brother, sitting down on the couch and pulling Frank onto his lap, kissing his new fiancee once more.

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Mikey lifted Sammy up, her arms going around his neck for extra support. She yawned in his arms and he smiled a bit. Gerard and Frank had finally left, going home to celebrate their engagement, is how they put it. His own parents had decided to turn in for the night - considering it was close to eleven, it wasn't a bad idea. Leaving Mikey, Ray, Bob, and Sammy. Sammy was almost asleep in Mikey's arms, though, so she didn't really count.

"Should we got night night?" He asked, carrying her to her room. There was a toddler bed, one he didn't remember before he left. "Have you been sleeping in a big girl bed?"

Sammy nodded against her father as he set her down, walking over to her dresser and getting a pair of her pajamas out. He helped her out of her green dress and put the pajamas on her, pulling back the covers on the bed and tucking her in. He kissed her forehead.

"I missed you, Daddy," she whispered tiredly as Mikey left, shutting the door quietly behind himself.

"I missed you too."

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"Here's a couple blankets," Ray said, throwing the few blankets he had onto the couch. "Use whatever pillows you can find in here."

Bob sat down on the couch, looking up at Ray. "You don't like me, do you?"

"Not particularly at this point in time." Ray admitted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why not? You think Mikey and I are together?" Bob laughed, "He's a nice guy, but Ray, I'm one hundred percent straight."

Ray locked eyes with Bob, shrugging. "There's just something weird about you..." he whispered.

"It's because I am weird, Ray. I was friends with Mikey in high school, people who knew him ended up weird. Look at Gerard for example."

Mikey stopped outside the living room, listening to the two men inside speak.

"Mhmm, true. There's just something about you," Ray shook his head, "you just seem really familiar, but I don't know where."

"Okay, well, if that's why you don't like me, fine. I'll leave in the morning, as I originally planned to do." Bob layed down on the couch, yawning, and pulling one of the blankets on over him. "Night Ray. Tell Mikey I said 'night' too, will ya?"

"Fine." Ray said, turning to leave the room. Mikey ran up the stairs as fast as he could without making a noise.

"Oh and Ray?" Ray turned to look at Bob, who was snuggled in the blanket, "you have a wonderful family. G'night now."

"Night." Ray said, turning off the light as he left the living room, slowly ascending the stairs.

By the time Ray reached the bedroom, Mikey was already in pajamas - just sweatpants and a baggy, worn out t-shirt. He was laying in the middle of the bed, his arms and legs spread out, taking up as much room on the bed as possible. "Oh my god, an actual bed! I've missed you, bed! I'll never leave you again!" Mikey watched Ray change into sweats, too, eyeing him curiously when he stood at the foot of the bed. "Sorry, there's no room. Come again."

"Psht, move over or I'll lay on you."

"Go ahead and try! I'll use my karate moves on you!"

"Bitch please, what karate moves?" Ray crawled on the bed, Mikey hitting him uselessly, and Ray managed to lay down on his husband's arm. "You hit like a girl," Ray commented with a laugh.

"I'm hurt that you would say such a thing!" Mikey said, trying to pull him arm out from under Ray, to no avail. "Now move so I can get my arm back. I'm losing feeling in it."

"I told you to move, didn't I? But since I'm nice, I guess I can move. This time," Ray moved just enough to get Mikey's arm free before laying back down. Neither of them were under the covers, laying ontop of the covers staring at the ceiling.

"You know, Mikey, I missed you. I debated on getting a dog just so I wouldn't have to sleep in this bed alone," Ray whispered, turning his head to look at Mikey. Mikey looked at him, grabbing Ray's hand in his.

"At least you had a bed..." Mikey whispered, but he smiled, although Ray couldn't see it in the darkness of the room, the moonlight coming in through the window providing their only light. "I missed you so much Ray. I shouldn't have left. I was being stupid and wasn't thinking." He stopped talking, the two of them not speaking. "I'm glad you told my parents about us...I mean, I would've if I had the courage to, but I didn't."

"You weren't being stupid. Well, you were, but I was pissed off and hurt that they didn't know that day...I thought you were ashamed of me or something..." Ray whispered into the dark room.

"I could never be ashamed of you, Ray. I love you too much. Unless of course you dye your hair hot pink, get piercings all over your body, and get breast implants. Then I might reconsider being seen with you in public..."

"Damn...there go my plans for this weekend." Mikey and Ray laughed, their grips on each other's hand tightening.

"So...what happened while I was gone?" Mikey asked, turning to look back at the ceiling,

"Well, I found out how expensive babysitters are on such short notice. Sammy got an actual bed, as you saw. I learned how to cook grilled cheese sandwiches without burning the place down...Oh, and I met your parents!"

"Hmm, sounds like you had fun. Me? Oh, I was in New York City. Slept in a nice hotel one night, found Bob the next day on accident. Went to work with him everyday, met his neighbor, met her parents. I found out Bob's neighbor's mom, Katelyn's mom, used to babysit me and Gerard when we were babies, and that back then we both hated Katelyn with a burning passion...Got hated on for being gay by Katelyn's mom oh and most importantly blamed a turkey for ruining Christmas."

"Sounds like you had lots of fun," Ray said sarcastically.

"Tons of it."

"Mikey, I've been meaning to ask you, why are ther bandages on your cheek?"

Mikey's free hand went up to his cheek. He had forgotten about them completely. "Bob's cat hates me..."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ray said, "need me to kiss the scratches better?"

"Yes please?"

The couple sat up in the bed, Ray turning on his bedside lamp as he did so. He put a hand on Mikey's bandages, "This might hurt a bit," he said, pulling them off slowly. A tear appeared in Mikey's eye, the bandages had been practically glued to his skin and it hurt like hell to take off. When Ray had them off, he threw them on the bedside table, to throw away in the morning. He turned Mikey's head to the side, examining the scratches in the light. "Ouch, looks like those hurt," he commented, running a thumb gently over the slowly healing scratches.

"They do," Mikey flinched a bit as Ray kissed his cheek.

"Feel better?"

"A bit. How 'bout you? Got any scratches that I can kiss to make better?" Mikey smirked at Ray, who smiled back at him before attaching their lips in a kiss.

"I love you so, so much, but if you ever leave again I might just hunt you down and kill you." Ray said, ending the kiss and crawling under the covers.

"If I ever leave you again, I'm sick and need to be killed." Mikey crawled under the covers, snuggling into Ray's warm body, his big arms going around him protectively. "I've said this a million times, but I missed you. I love you, Ray."

"I know you do," Ray said smuggly, kissing the side of Mikey's head, "I've said this a million times tonight but I'm so glad you're back. love you too, Mikey, probably even more."

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*~* Mikey's POV*~*

I woke up in Ray's arms, his breath on my neck. I heard quiet snores coming out of his mouth and I smiled, pushing his arm off of me, careful not to wake him up. I sat up, my legs dangling off the side of the bed, and turned to look at Ray, who shifted a little but didn't wake up. I stretched my arms above my head, cracking my neck. I stood up, shuffling to the door. I heard crying as I stepped out into the hallway and I made my way to the end of the hall where the nursery was. My father was in there, rocking two of the kids in his arms while the third cried in his crib.

"Morning Dad," I mumbled sleepily, stepping into the room. He looked up at me, a tired smile on his face. "How long have you been up?"

"Couple hours. They started crying sometime ago."

"Really? Why didn't you come get me?" I grabbed the last triplet - Georgie - and held him in my arms. His cries grew quieter as I rocked him in my arms.

"Spend time with my grandchildren. Plus your mother and I thought you'd wake up eventually by the noise since they wouldn't stop crying, but you slept right through it."

"Hmmph, that's weird. I don't sleep through much, usually. Especially after these past two weeks." I looked around, "Hey, where is Mom?"

"Downstairs making breakfast, I believe."

"Why is she making breakfast? She's a guest!" Ray and I had people over a lot, we knew how to treat guests and we didn't let them cook for us. Unless their jobs were cooks or something, because then we were in for a treat. Especially if it was sushi. Yum.

My dad laughed, "That's never stopped her before, Mikey."

"True.." The crying had eventually stopped and I looked back at my dad. "Have you fed them?"

"Yep. Burped and changed them, too."

"You're just on the ball today, aren't you?"

"They're our grandkids, we're doing the most we can for them."

I nodded, "I'm gonna go downstairs and see what's for breakfast." I left, taking Georgie with me. I walked down the stairs, the smell of eggs and bacon hitting me strongly. I switched the way I was holding Georgie as I entered the kitchen, seeing Sammy sitting on the counter and Bob playing peek -a- boo with her. My mom was busy at the stove when I walked in. "Good morning everyone."

Bob looked up and blushed, "Morning Mikey. Finally woke up, I see."

"Morning Daddy!" Sammy said excitedly, tearing herself from her game. I walked over to her and kissed the top of her head.

"Morning sweetie. Well, my bed missed me, so it kidnapped me and wouldn't let me go. I just fought for my life up there and saved Georgie!" I said, pulling out one of the high chairs and setting Georgie in it, digging around in the fridge for the apple juice.

"That's very nice, Michael, now, do you still like your eggs scrambled?" My mom turned to look at me, "Good morning, by the way."

"Yes please, Mom," I said, pouring some apple juice into a glass. I leaned against the fridge, watching Sammy and Bob as I took a drink from the glass. "This is some good apple juice."

"The orange juice was better," Bob said, turning to look at me.

"There was orange juice?"

"Was. Your mom and I drank it all this morning. You didn't have much left anyways..."

I shrugged, "Orange juice tastes weird. I prefer apple anyways," I took another drink, draining out my glass as my mom turned around to me again, this time holding a plate.

"Eat up."

I took the plate and set it on free counter space, grabbing a fork. There were scrambled eggs and bacon. I licked my lips and dug in. The bacon was crispy and really, really good. "Thanks for breakfast, Mom," I said with a full mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, honey."

"Morning." Everone looked up at the voice, seeing Ray in the kitchen doorway.

"Good morning Ray," I said with a smile. He looked tired. He had just run a brush through his hair, just trying to get some gnarls out, but he didn't really succeed. He was still wearing sweats - so was I, as I think about it - but he looked so much more tired than me.

"Good morning, would you like some eggs and bacon, Ray?" my mom asked, smiling at Ray.

"Oh, sure. Thanks, Donna." Ray leaned against the doorway that lead to the dining room, rubbing his eyes.

"How do you want your eggs? Oh, and your bacon?"

"Sunnyside up and crispy is good."

I finished my plate, licking my lips as I finished my last piece of bacon. I put the plate in the kitchen sink, along with my glass. "Want something to drink, Ray?" I looked up at him, wiping my hands on my pants.

Ray nodded, "Do we have orange juice?"

"No...Bob and Mom drank it all before I woke up." I said, looking at Bob who didn't say anything. He lifted Sammy off of the counter and she ran over to me, lifting her arms up, showing she wanted to be lifted up. I hoisted her up, and she kissed my cheek where the scratches were.

"All better!" she said excitedly. I smiled and nodded.

"Yes Sammy, all better." I looked over at Ray who smiled as my mom handed him a plate. He looked down and started to pick at the eggs.

We were all silent for a while, Ray eating, and my mom cleaning up the kitchen. Bob and I stood by awkwardly, Sammy trying to get out of my arms so I set her down and Georgie started crying. I picked him up and started to bounce on my feet. He calmed down by the time Ray finished his breakfast and my dad came down carrying Bridgit and Henry.

"It's a bit crowded in here," my dad said with a laugh as he entered the kitchen.

"Yes, it is. Kind of hard to clean up in here with everyone camping out." My mom said, opening the dishwasher and started to load dishes in.

"You don't have to clean up, Mom. You're a guest here. Let me help you with that," I said, starting to hand Georgie to Bob, but my mom stopped me.

"It's not big deal, Michael. I got this. Just have to put these dishes in and I'll be done. Why don't you all go into the living room or something?" she suggested.

"Actually, I think I should be heading out." Bob said suddenly, looking between Ray and I. My face fell slightly.

"I wish you didn't have to go," I said, looking at him.

"I have to, Mikey. It's a long drive, well not really, but still."

"Wait...how are you even going to get there? We took my car here."

Bob bit his lip, and I motioned for us to go to the living room. He and Ray both followed, along with Sammy. Ray had taken Bridgit and Henry from my dad and set them in the playpen that was still up from last night.

"I don't know..."

"Hmm..." I put Georgie down with the other two, and sat by Ray on the loveseat. He put his arm around me and I snuggled into him. "Could you call Katelyn for a ride? I don't think she'd mind. Unless of course she had work or something...Or I can drive you back, if it comes to that."

"I can call Katelyn, I guess." He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and pressed a few buttons before holding it up to his ear. I looked at Ray who had his eyes closed.

"How the hell are you tired? You slept longer than me."

"Not true. I stayed up almost all night staring at you because I couldn't believe you were back. And because I thought you'd leave again if I closed my eyes." Ray mumbled, his eyes still closed.

"That's not creepy at all, Ray," I said with a slight laugh.

"Totally not," he smiled.

"Hey Katelyn, it's Bob. I'm in Kirkwood, New Jersey with no way of getting back home...I was wondering if you could pick me up or something...Uh, yes. He's back. I'm sitting on his couch. Ew no, I don't think so. I hope not at least." Bob laughed, his face turning pink-ish. "Anyways, could you pick me up? I'll buy you ice cream."

"Tell her I can get her Gerard and Ray's autograph," I said jokingly.

"What? Yeah, that was Mikey. He said he could get you Gerard and Ray's autograph from that band you like, even if Ray's technically not in the band anymore...Oh, sure, you'll agree to that but not an ice cream! God, so rude! Oh the address?" He looked at me.

"Broken Boulevard, house 2109."

"Broken Boulevard house 2109, says Mikey. Okay, see you in a few hours. Thanks, by the way." Bob hung up and put the phone back in his pants pocket. "She said she wants the autographs and the ice cream...Such a selfish bitch."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever you say." I poked Ray's side and his eyes opened suddenly.

"What?" he mumbled angrily, closing his eyes again.

"I need your autograph for Katelyn, aka Bob's ride." I said, pushing his arm off of me so I could get paper somewhere.

"Why does she want my autograph? I'm not in the band anymore..."

"She doesn't care. She likes the band and you were apart of it. Now will you sign this damn piece of paper or not?" I asked, finding a piece of paper and handing it to him, along with a pen.

"Sure," he said, opening his eyes enough to sign his name and hand it back to me.

I handed the paper to Bob, leaning across the coffee table to do so. "We just have to get Gerard's..." I said, sitting back down next to Ray, putting his arm around me. He was really warm and I smiled at that.

"Invite him over and say we have coffee. He'd be here in a second," Ray said.

"He probably would on a normal day, but the engagement yesterday...You know how they like to celebrate stuff like that. Their anniversary, birthdays, Frank's promotion at whatever the hell his job is..." I said. "Where does that guy work anyways? I've always wondered."

"Me too. He hasn't really said. Maybe as Gerard's bitch?" Ray suggested, and he laughed, shifting his position so he was sitting more upright.

"Hmm, could be." I said, moving along with Ray. My parents walked in, my mom sitting next to Bob on the couch and my dad in the recliner. Sammy went and sat on my dad's lap, holding a doll of hers she must've gotten from her room just now.

"What's this dolls name?" my dad asked, taking the doll from her.

"Bobbie," Sammy said, petting the doll's head. I looked over at her and smiled. She was wearing a black skirt with a white shirt that had a rainbow and flowers on it. Her brown hair was in pigtails and she had a smile on her face. She was so adorable. "Her name is Bobbie."

"Beautiful name, Sammy," my dad said, handing her back the doll. She crawled off of his lap and went over to my mom and they went through a similar scenario.

She went up to Bob. "This is Bobbie." she said, handing him the doll.

Bob took the doll, "Hello Bobbie, I'm Bob. Did you know I used to be called Bobbie?" he asked, mostly looking at Sammy.

"You're not Bobbie, though! This is Bobbie!"

"Oh, yes, hi Bobbie."

"Bobbie doesn't like you. She says you took her name." Sammy took the doll back, holding it defensively to her chest.

"Oh, I'm sorry Bobbie. Can I make it up to you?"

"She says no, but don't worry, I still like you." Sammy gave him a hug before settling down on the floor in the middle of the room to play with her doll.

I pulled a blanket off the top of the couch and wrapped myself in it, snuggling back into Ray. "We should watch a movie," I suggested, "I vote Finding Nemo."

"Sounds good. All who agree, say 'I'."

"I." the room said, whether they meant it or not. Ray got up and put the DVD in the DVD player, grabbing the remote and turning the TV on before returning back to the loveseat so I could snuggle into him again. Sammy came up to use, and sat on the otherside of me, taking part of the blanket to cover her and her doll up.

"Everyone, shush. Bobbie's going to sleep."

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When the movie was done, I noticed Sammy curled up at my side, half asleep. Same with Ray. "Jeez, everyone's falling asleep..." I noted, looking over at my parents and Bob. They were all awake, whether they watched the movie or not, I don't know. Finding Nemo was one of my favorite movies, so I was sucked into it.

"What time is it?"

"Close to noon, I think. Yep, a quarter after noon." My dad said, checking his watch.

"Really? The movie was that long?"

"No, but you kept pausing it everytime you went to the bathroom or anyone else did. Or when someone got up to get popcorn or something. You said no one could miss it." My mom said, laughing a little.

"Oh...yeah..." I mumbled, looking down. What can I say? It's an awesome movie! No one should ever miss a second of it!

"I think we can heat up left overs from last night for lunch. Is that good?" My mom asked, looking between Bob and I.

"Sounds great."

"Katelyn texted saying she'd be here in around an hour."

"Oh shit, we still have to get Gerard's autograph. Bob, can I see your phone?" Bob threw his phone at me since I was far to lazy to get up and get my own from upstairs. I dialed Gerard's number and put the phone to my ear.

It rang for a while, almost being sent to voicemail by the time Gerard answered. "Who the hell is this and what do you want?"

"I feel loved. It's your brother on Bob's phone. Hey, I need you to do a favor for me."

"What might this favor be? I'm kind of busy right now."

"Gee," I heard Frank whine in the background and I shuddered at what my mind was picturing.

"I need your autograph for a friend. I sort of promised her it if she came to pick Bob up."

"Ugh, when's she gonna be there?"

"An hour or so."

"Hey Frankie, think we'll be done in an hour so I can run over to Mikey's and give him a piece of paper with my name on it?" Gerard asked Frank.

"Depending on what we do." I shuddered again, shaking my head.

"Please stop with all your sex talk while I'm here. Not a pleasant image for me. I'd offer to stop by there and pick it up but I'm kind of terrified to do so." I said. I watched my mom get up and head to the kitchen. She was probably weirded out too, even though she couldn't hear what was going on on the other line of the call.

"I'll be there in a half hour, I guess. I have to go out and get whipped cream and chocolate soon anyways."

"Thanks, see you then. And ew, did NOT need to know that!" I hung up the phone quickly before tossing it back to Bob.

"Yep, my brother officially creeps me out."

"Oh, like you don't do that with Ray!" Bob said, smiling. I looked over at my dad, who was pretending to read a magazine he had found, but I could tell he felt a bit awkward. I would if I was in his position.

"Not with whipped cream!" I defended myself, "and I don't need to picture my brother and his fiancee doing that. Just no thanks."

Bob laughed, rolling his eyes. "You gay men are so weird."

"Imagine if you had a brother or sister and they were telling you about their sex life! Or you called them during sex. You'd be as freaked out as I am! I guarantee it!"

"Whatever you say, Mikey...whatever you say."

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A while later mom called us into the kitchen and I shook Ray awake, along with Sammy. The triplets had woken up by this time and started crying, wanting food. Bob and my dad carried the three to the dining room and put them in high chairs, where my mom had put out dishes of heated leftovers for all of us to eat.

Ray and I sat beside each other, and he grabbed my hand and held it. He looked more awake this time around, and he kissed me on the lips. "I dreamt of you."

"Oh really?" I blushed a bit.

"Yeah. When we first met those years ago. Except I was freaking out over meeting you and you ignored me completely, and got drunk with your brother before the show. Then you kissed me and we got married then and there. It was weird."

"You know, when someone appears in your dream, it means they miss you. Physcological fact. Unless the internet has lied to me..."

"Did you miss me?"

"Possibly."

"Good enough for me." He kissed me again, and I kissed him back quickly. We started to dish up plates for ourselves, Ray and I feeding the triplets first. They got baby carrots. Yum. Actually, yuck. They were quite gross, to be honest.

That itself took around ten minutes and before I even got to eat my own food the doorbell rang. I knew it was Gerard. Or Katelyn. I got up, heading for the front door. I found the bass Bob had given me still sitting there. I wonder if Ray had seen it.

I opened the door, and saw a familair mess of frizzy brown hair and a toothy grin. "Katelyn!" I said happily, "I haven't seen you in so long!"

"Try yesterday, Mikey. Less than twenty four hours ago I saw you and convinced Bob to take you home. Speaking of which, where is the man?"

"Eating. Come in." I moved out of the doorway and she came in, stomping her feet free of snow on the mat. "Gerard hasn't come yet, but I'm sure he'll be here soon."

"Cool. Oh, is that the bass Bob gave you?" she asked, pointing to the case behind me. I nodded. "Very cool. I had to help him put that in the trunk during supper at my place yesterday." She laughed. "Did you like the unicorn stickers?"

"Totally. Manliest stickers, ever." I heaaded back to the dining room, motioning for Katelyn to follow me. She took off her boots and followed me. We reached the dining room, Bob's eyes lighting up when he saw her, when the doorbell rang again. I knew this time it had to be Gerard.

"Come in," Ray hollered from his spot at the table as he eyed Katelyn suspiciously. I moved past her to sit next ot Ray again. Katelyn went and stood by Bob as we watched Gerard and Frank come in.

"Hey Mikey, here you go." he said, holding out a piece of paper.

Katelyn took the paper, looking at Gerard with big eyes. "You know Mikey, to be honest, I thought you were lying when you said Gerard was your brother. And that you were married to Ray." she turned to me and smiled.

"Why would I lie about that? Oh, and did your mom tell you? She told me that she used to babysit all three of us and we all hated each other or something." I said, taking a bit of left over turkey.

She didn't say anything, looking at Gerard, who had Frank latched onto his arm.

"Is this Candy's daughter?" my mom asked, looking over at Katelyn.

Katelyn turned towards her, "Yes, you must be Donna. Nice to meet you, again, apparently."

"You've really changed. Then again, the last time I saw you, you were about...what four years old, I think?" my mom looked over at my dad, who shrugged. I continued to eat my turkey in peace.

"That sounds about right, I think. I'd have to ask my mom, though. She remembers a lot of stuff." She turned to Bob, "Are you ready to go?" she asked.

Bob nodded, standing up. "Sure, whenever you are."

I coughed and looked at Bob, waiting for him to look at me. He glared at me until I stopped. He knew what I was trying to do. I smiled at him. "Let's go." he said, turning Katelyn around. He flipped me off quickly and put an arm around her shoulder, guiding her back to the front door.

"Bye Mikey, and Ray, and Gerard, and Donna, and everyone else!" Katelyn called from the front door, where we could vaguely hear the sound of boots and jackets being put on, but not much talking.

"Wasn't that nice," my dad said.

"Yes, and now if you don't mind. We'll be going. Good bye all, see you on New Years Eve or something." Gerard said, waving to us and he and Frank turned around and left.

"I guess we better be going soon, then." My mom said, turning to the two of us as we finished our meals.

"What's the rush?"

"We have a holiday party to go to back home. And I think you two might want to be left alone."

Ray and I smiled at each other, our hands interlocked again. "I think you guessed right, Mom."

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

It was New Years Eve. I had been home since Christmas. I had quit my job (although I'm sure they were going to fire me for disappearing without warning for two weeks) and like Ray, become a stay at home dad. For now, at least. One, or both, of us was going to have to go get a job soon, but we'd worry about that later. It was New Years Eve for Christ's sake!

"Hey Ray, does this shirt look good?" I asked, stepping out of the closet so he could take a look at me.

Ray turned, "Of course it does. Every shirt looks good on you. Why do you care?"

"I don't know. I just do, okay?" I said, walking closer to him. "I like to look nice for my husband."

"I feel honored you like to look nice for me, but I think you look nice in anything. Except for tutu's. Those are just weird."

"Good thing I'm not a ballerina," I said, kissing his cheek. "Hey, what time is it?" I asked, heading to the bedroom door.

"Uh, around five, I think. Why?"

"Hmm, just wanted to know how long we'd have before everyone else got here." I teased, leaving the bedroom.

"Hey, we got a half hour or so! Get back here!" I heard Ray's footsteps behind me and I ran down the stairs, running to hide in the bathroom. I had seen Sammy in the living room watching Spongebob, holding her doll, Bobbie, but she didn't acknowledge me.

"No! I got dressed already!" I protested, shutting the bathroom door behind me. I cursed, realizing I was in a dead end.

"But you were just suggesting it up there!" Ray said. I could feel the doorknob twisting and I put all my body weight against the door, trying to keep him from opening it. I failed miserably. The door opened and Ray smiled as I was knocked back a few feet, crashing into the shower door. Good thing it wasn't a curtain, or opened. That could've hurt.

Ray shut the door behind him and turned back to me. "Get back here you sexy man," he said, "you know you want it." He kissed me on the lips, leaning against me, pushing me closer to the shower door. I moaned a bit, tangling my hands in his curly hair. His hands made their way up my shirt, but before he could get it over my head the doorbell rang.

"Ray, someone's here," I mumbled, not able to stop myself from kissing him.

"Do I care? No. You look to sexy right now." Ray growled.

"I care, though. I don't want anyone hearing me! Or something..." I protested, trying to push him off of me. The whole time I had been back, we only had one night to ourselves, because my parents took them for a night. They had come to town, looking for housing, and wanted to spend the night with the kids in their hotel. That one night I got absolutely no sleep because Mr. Horny-pants wouldn't allow it.

"Fuck this. I'll tell them to come back later. Would that work?"

"No. We can tonight, though. I promise. Okay?"

"Pinky swear?"

"Pinky swear." Ray and I interlocked pinkies, sharing one more kiss before I pushed past him to the door.

"Fuck, I have a boner. This is what you do to me, Mikey!" Ray said as I opened the door to answer the front door.

I laughed, "You're welcome! Go ahead and deal with that while I be a good host!" I opened the front door and it was Gerard and Frank. "Hello you two. Haven't seen you since what, Christmas? Oh, ignore any noises you might hear." I smiled at them and Frank laughed, apparently understanding what I was saying.

I followed the two of them to the living room, sitting next to Sammy and pulling her into my lap. She didn't really seem to notice. Ray came into the room a while later, looking a bit flushed. He sat down next to Frank who put a hand on his knee.

"Dude, I know the feeling. Gerard does that to me all the time. I think it's a Way brother thing." Frank said and Ray blushed, causing the room to laugh. Aside from the kids of course. If they did, I'd be really worried, considering the oldest is three years old.

The doorbell rang and I made Gerard go get it. It was my parents this time. They came in, hugging Gerard. When they came in the living room they looked genuinely happy. "We found a house! It's only a few blocks away."

"Over the river and through the woods?" Gerard asked, and Frank hit him.

"Don't you dare break out into song right now," he said.

"Fine, not now. But later, there will be a sing along, whether you like it or not."

"Whatever."

Not long after my parents arrived, there was another knock. I got up this time, Sammy having gotten off my lap to go sit with my dad not long after he sat down. It was Bob and Katelyn.

"Hey Bob. Hey Katelyn. Didn't expect to see you." I said, moving out of the doorway.

"Well, I made him bring me along. I wanted a midnight kiss," she smiled and Bob blushed a bit.

"I see you listened to me," I said, patting his shoulder.

"Whatever," Bob said, but he smiled. He and Katelyn headed to the living room, hands interlocked. I followed them, and we all sat around the living room, the TV still playing spongebob. The triplets were let out of the playpen and allowed to crawl around the room, careful eyes watching them. Georgie had even tried standing up and walking, but he failed, falling multiple times, but he didn't cry once.

"Oh, guys, we got a date for the wedding!" Frank said excitedly and out of the blue.

"Oh, really?" Ray asked. Frank nodded.

"November 14th. The day I went to his first band concert."

"How romantic," I said, smiling.

"We have pizza for supper," Ray said,cutting into the conversation and picking up Henry. "It's all cheese pizza since I didn't know what anyone would want."

"Sounds good to me!" Frank said, jumping up from the couch and rushing to the dining room.

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*~*Let's just say it's around midnight, 'kay?*~*

I looked at the time on my phone. Ten minutes to midnight. We had switched the TV to the countdown in New York a while ago, watching performances of various bands.

"You know, I got offered to play there this year, but I turned it down to be with you guys." Gerard said, looking at us sincerely.

"That and because James quit on you for no good reason," Frank piped in, getting a glare from Gerard.

"I was trying to sound like a good guy and you bring that up! God Frank, so rude."

"You know it," Frank kissed Gerard's cheek.

"James quit?" Ray asked, putting an arm around me. He and I were sitting cross-legged on the floor facing them.

"Yeah. He just came up to me the day after Christmas and said he quit. So I have one guitarist, a.k.a. Frank, a bassist, and a drummer who barely shows up. What a wonderful band. All our gigs for the next few weeks have been cancelled." Gerard frowned a bit, taking a bite of the pizza he had in his hands.

"I could play with you for a while, Gerard," Ray suggested, looking at him.

"Oh my god, would you Ray?" Gerard looked excited, his eyes lighting up.

"Sure. It's only a couple shows, what could it hurt?"

"I owe you if you do this," Gerard said, beaming from ear to ear.

"It'll be just like old times. I'll be your biggest fan again," I said with a smile, leaning against Ray a bit.

"Ha, you have to stay home and watch the kids, honey." Ray said with a laugh.

"They can come! We'll rock out backstage! God, think a little, Ray."

"Whatever you say, Mikey."

"Guys, it's almost midnight!" Frank pointed out, turning to the TV. I turned around and looked. There was a countdown. A minute left. I turned back to Ray and smiled.

"Here's to a better year ahead! With all of the family. Except for your parents because we don't seem to invite them over anymore!" I said, holding the glass of wine I picked up off the coffee table.

"They live farther than you're parents, so of course they don't come here, you doofus." Ray said, holding up his own glass.

The TV countdown became louder as the seconds got closer to zero.

"10...9...8..." I turned to Ray, setting my glass down after taking a sip of it. Ray did the same. "7...6...5...4...3...2..."

We barely had enough time to whisper I love you before kissing at the clock struck midnight.

Pulling away from the kiss, I noticed all the other couples in the room kissing and I smiled.

"My family all in one room. Never thought I'd see the day." I said, kissing Ray once again.