FicWad

Authors Note - I posted yesterdays chapter early this morning so two chapters will have May 21st date.

Gerard knew what Mikey was going to say before the words came out of his mouth. In his heart he knew Mikey was right, he needed to stay with Alicia but that didn't make the situation any easier.
When his brother didn't speak Mikey sighed, "Gee, I can't leave her right now. She's too fucking upset about this. Last night she cried when she saw Elvis. The fucker took her wedding ring from Vegas." Mikey added knowing that Gerard was wondering the significance of Elvis.
"Shit" Gerard said, "I didn't realize that she lost her ring."
"Yeah, she had it on a chain around her neck, the guy yanked it off her. We couldn't even put it in the police report cause the wedding is a secret." He fell silent as the memories of that night flooded his mind.
"Mikey I understand you need to stay with her, I'm just wondering what this means to the tour. With Ray not going and if you stay that makes us a band of three."
"I know Gee, but what else can I do?" He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "I can't fucking leave now." He repeated.
Ray was dressed and sitting by the window when Christa walked into the room. He was so lost in thought that when she put her arms around him he jumped. "Shit Christa I didn't hear you come in"
"I really didn't mean to scare you." She placed a kiss on his lips, "What were you thinking about?"
Ray shook his head, "Nothing important, really. I just want out of this hospital. I should be going home today not tomorrow." He said impatiently.
"You can't get out today, I'm not ready." She pulled over a chair and sat next to him.
He gave her a surprised look, "Ready?"
Christa smiled, "Yep, ready. I have only taken one load of my stuff to your place. I haven't had near enough time to move all of it in and mess with your nice, efficient apartment. I am chaos to your order."
"Babe, I'm not that orderly." He protested with a grin.
Much to his dismay she burst out laughing, "Oh Lord you are so orderly it gives me the creeps. I've never met anyone before who has their can goods in the cabinet in alphabetical order."
"They are not I just put them in their randomly." He lied.
Christa shook her head, "Sure, it's just a coincidence that on the top shelf going left to right, apple sauce, asparagus, black beans,." He cut her off.
"OK maybe they are sort of in that order but that still doesn't make me that much of order freak."
"Ray I opened you closet and you not only hang your T-Shirts but the band logos are in alphabetical order.... Anthrax....."
He cut her off again, "Ok, Ok, so I like things orderly. Is that a crime?"
Christa leaned over and kissed him again, "Nope, but I do worry that you're gonna hate how unorganized I am." She frowned, "Maybe living together isn't gonna be as easy for you as you think."
Ray reached over and pulled her onto his lap, "Christa you are like a breath of fresh air in my life. You throw me off balance and mess with my orderly existence." He looked her in the eyes "And I wouldn't want it any other way. Mess up my can goods, put Iron Maiden in front of Anthrax, it doesn't matter as long as your clothes are hanging next to mine. Leave the cap off the toothpaste as long as your toothbrush is in the holder next to mine. I want you in my life, cause you're in my heart."
"I love you Ray Toro," she said putting her arms around his neck and nuzzling against him.
"And I love you." He waited a few minutes just enjoying the moment of holding her close then asked, "When do you have to go back to work?"
She lifted her head and smiled, "I talked to my boss and he's gonna let me work at home. Most of the stuff I do day to day is on computer anyway." She asked in a serious tone, "Think you can stand having me around most of the time?"
It surprised him how much he really liked the idea, "Yeah, I guess I could put up with having you around all day." He teased.
She knew he was just kidding but she still wanted to know his true feeling, "I'm serious Ray, do you really want me around all day?"
He cupped her face in his hands, "Babe I want you around all day and all night."
Mikey waited in the car while Gerard ran the papers into the real estate office. Maybe Alicia and I should buy a house, he thought. He smiled to himself thinking about how many more cats she would drag home. He had just finished an important phone call when Gerard came back.
"Monica and I are now officially homeowners." Gerard smiled as he started the car.
Mikey couldn't believe how happy his brother looked. "So do I get to see the house now?"
"Nope, we've got some shopping to do." Gerard answered, "I got a surprise planned for Monica."
"I've got a surprise planned for Alicia too." Mikey told him. "I'm hoping it will make her smile like she did before this all happened."