Author's note:

Well that was a doozy of a last chapter, hope I've kept ya'll in a bit of suspense. Here's the next one, it's a lot more on the lighter side. For now.

"Rossiya – svyashchennaya nasha derzhava, Rossiya – lyubimaya nasha strana. Moguchaya volya, velikaya slava –Tvoyo dostoyan'ye na vse vremena!"

Ray moaned and tossed again, the couch was awful on his back and his nerves that had yet to get back to normal, and now it wasn't helping that the doctors had given Kai another dose of morphine. So now, at four in the morning he's once again waking up to Kai singing the Russian national anthem and it doesn't sound good.

"Kai… Kai please stop." He grumbled, trying to get comfortable again. He had already kicked the blankets off and pulled them back on, holding them in his fists now as he could see Kai's silhouette through the darkness of the room.

"Slav'sya, Otechestvo nashe svobodnoye. Bratskikh narodov soyuz vekovoy. Predkami dannaya mudrost' narodnaya! Slav'sya, strana! My gordimsya toboy!" As far as he could move his hands, Kai was gesturing while he sang and the IV holding his fluids were pulling a bit; but it didn't seem to faze him.

"Kai! Stop, go to sleep!" Ray yelled sitting up on the couch, trying to glare at Kai through the darkness.

"O, ya sozhaleyu, kotenok"

"I don't know what you just said, you're still speaking Russian." Ray sighed, finally losing hope that he'd get any sleep, he pulled himself off the couch.

Flicking the light switch on, the lights blinked a few times before the room was lit up. He sighed again as he looked over at Kai, a large ridiculous grin was on his face as he looked like a sweet lost child. Ray shuffled over to the bed, Kai's wide eyes watching his every move as he sat down on the bed beside him and cuddled into his side gently.

"They need to lower your dosage." Ray yawned, resting his head on Kai's left shoulder; the doctors had removed the IV that fed him blood.

"Then you wouldn't be able to hear me sing." Kai chuckled slightly, resting his cheek against Ray's disheveled hair.

"Good, I don't think I ever want that again."

"It wasn't that bad." Kai sounded hurt as he spoke, though Ray knew he wasn't.

"It's four in the morning Kai, go to sleep." Ray nestled as close as he could, trying to get as comfortable as he could with his legs dangling off the bed.

Kai pulled him onto the bed as he moved over a bit, giving them both enough room to be on the bed comfortably. Sleep came to him quickly, having no will to fight off the effects of the morphine in his system. They were stirred awake when a nurse came in to check on Kai, giving him a run down on his vitals and how he was recovering better than anyone they've ever seen.

"How soon can we leave then?" He asked, it was now nine in the morning and he hadn't received another dose of morphine since four that morning. The pain's in his body were strong and pounding but he didn't want another dose, he needed to be able to think for once.

"Tomorrow at the latest. The doctor should come in to check on you at noon." With that she smiled at him and left the room, leaving hardly any space for Kai to protest. He wanted to go home now, he hated hospitals.

"I'm going to go outside and call Bryan, I don't have good reception here." Ray pulled himself from Kai, leaving him alone in the room.

With a huff Kai ran a hand through his bangs, slinking down against the propped head rest of the bed. He listened to the clock tick away for what seemed to be forever before Ray came back, under his eyes were dark circles and he had yet to brush his hair.

"You should go home." Kai gave him a look that told him not to protest.

"You can't be serious. I'm never going back there, Bryan's going to bring Rain here and he's going there to get a few of our things."

"We're not staying with Bryan." Kai threatened again.

"Then you can go home, I'm not." Ray bit back, his nerves firing up as he couldn't even imagine stepping back in that hell.

"You shouldn't have to run from this, it's still our home." Kai sighed, yet he knew why Ray couldn't and to be honest he didn't even want to go back; let alone have Rain go there.

"I'm not running, but I'm not taking Rain in there. I'm not cleaning all that… All that blood…" He started strong in his speech till he trailed off in a low mumble Thinking about all the blood, Kai's blood, terrified him.

"I'll have someone come clean it."

"That won't help." Ray shook his head.

"We can't afford to move again." Kai's voice rose slightly, now he was in pain and getting angry.

"Kai, please… We'll stay with Bryan for a while, at least till I can stomach the idea." Ray pleaded. "He's already said it was alright."

Kai sat there with his brows furrowed as he thought about it, he crossed his arms over his chest as if that would help him think. He nodded his head as he let out a sigh, he knew Ray would need time and he knew he needed time.

"What about the hearing today?" His head shot up, just having thought about it.

"I called them after I got off the phone with Bryan. It was on the news so they've pushed the hearing back till next week." Ray said as he grabbed his bag from beside the couch, placing it atop the couch and rummaging through it. "I'm taking a shower." He pulled his clothes out and disappeared through the bathroom door; at the corner of the room.

He ran the water as hot as it would go, the spray causing his skin to turn red. As he scrubbed all he could see was Kai's blood over his arms and hands, all he could picture in his head were the three-dead mean in his sitting room. He knew them, he had seen them before back in the village. Yet, he was unsure why they would have been there, unless Mariah really did send them after him and his family. He scrubbed harder just thinking about it, his anger bubbling up as he cursed under his breath. He knew there had to be a way to link them back to her, he just didn't know how to go about it yet.

After he had finished bathing and was getting dressed, his hearing picked up soft voices through the bathroom door. Recognizing them as Rain's and Bryan's he pulled his shirt on faster, almost busting through the door to get to her. Her face lit up upon seeing him, her arms held out wide for him as she was sitting between Kai's legs on the bed.

"Papa!" She cried with joy as he pulled her tightly to him, taking in her scent and letting his fears wash away.

"Were you good for uncle Bryan?" He let her go, letting her settle back down on the bed. Kai went back to running his fingers through the loose strands of her hair, as if he had become mesmerized by them and she let out a small purr from the touch.

"Yes, he made me waffles with blueberry sauce." She jumped joyfully.

"Didn't know you had that in you Bry." Kai smirked, glancing up at him.

"Shove it." Bryan shot back, though held his own playful smirk on his lips.

"Thank you Bryan, really." Ray turned to him, placing a friendly hand on his shoulder.

"Don't mention it, I'm going to head over there and get your stuff." He nodded to the three of them before leaving, closing the door behind him as he went.

"We're going to be staying with uncle Bryan?" Rain's eyes grew wide with excitement.

"For now." Kai sighed, keeping his fingers through her hair.

"Cool." She smiled, showing off one of her fangs which caused her fathers to chuckle a bit.

Once again there was the calm they had so desperately needed, Ray had turned the little TV on for Rain to stay occupied while the doctors had escorted Kai out of the room. He still had his appointment for his cancer today and since he was already there, they took him to check up on it. He had been gone for an hour before he came back, Ray's heart had stilled as he waited to hear what the doctors said.

"Rain, go to the vending machine down the hall for a bit. Get what you want." Ray handed her a few bills and she bounced out of the room, Kai closing the door behind her. "So?"

"Same as always." Kai sighed, having that good news was better than he was hoping and it sounded like music to Ray's ears.

"So next month still?"

"Friday." Kai sighed, that was the only down fall. They upped the surgery two days and he wasn't sure if he was ready, not with everything that had happened. He felt that he needed to be home with Ray and Rain, lest there was another attack.

"The sooner the better." Ray shrugged, yet he didn't like the look on Kai's face now. "What's wrong?"

"I should be home, make sure what happened last night won't happen again." Kai's voice hinted on anger, but he wasn't angry at Ray.

"We'll be with Bryan, no one's going to dare to try anything." Ray chuckled a bit.

"I'm not joking Ray."

"Well… I can't take you seriously in that." Ray grinned, eyeing Kai up and down. Still in his light-blue hospital gown, dragging his IV bag around on its stand with grey fuzzy socks on.

A blush crossed Kai's nose, and he bristled a bit before not saying anything and sitting back down on his bed with a thud. Ray laughed a bit harder, having watched him act so childishly.

"Blue is your color though." Ray teased from his safe space on the couch, watching Kai's face scrunch at his words.

"Do you want me to sing again?" An evil smirk crossed Kai's lips as he glanced sideways at Ray.

"NO!" Ray jumped from the couch, rushing over and covering Kai's open mouth as he was about to sing.

They fell into a fit of laughter for a minute, Kai removing Ray's hand from his mouth and pulling him into a gentle kiss. Ray melted into his husband, careful not to press his fingers too hard against the back of Kai's head.

"Daddy, Papa, I brought you some…" Rain froze, having caught her father's making out on the hospital bed. They were always cautious around her, not too much PDA around her and this was one of the few times she had seen them actually show it. A smile crossed her face, she was happy to see her father's love for each other.

"Rain!" Ray pulled back, his face rivaled the color of a tomato, while Kai couldn't make eye contact with her.

"I brought you some chips." She held up the little snack bags, the smile not fading.

"Thanks." Ray said sheepishly, as if he had been caught doing something else and took the bag from her.

"Are you coming home Daddy?" Rain asked as she bounced back onto the bed by Kai's feet.

"We don't know yet." Kai sighed, taking the chips she offered him.

Even though Ray had been to Bryan's countless times, it always took his breath away when he saw it. It was bigger than his first house with Kai, and much larger than his current one. Three stories high, with a sleek grey exterior and large ceiling to floor windows through-out. There was a small over-hang that led into the garage, where a gate had opened and then closed behind them as Bryan carefully pulled the car underneath the over-hang; having turned his entire garage into an in-home-gym. Outside the over-hang was a door that lead into a short corridor, leading into the main floor of the home.

The first floor was nothing but a kitchen and dining room, and even though Ray would never say anything; he was extremely jealous of the size of Bryan's kitchen and its high-tech appliances. He had learned later on that it was Tala that had designed the layout; since he was also fond of cooking. In front of the door they stepped through was the glass dining table and chairs, tucked in the corner by the front door, which was to their left while the kitchen was to the right, was a small bar. The room was all an open concept which made the whole first floor much larger than what it was. White tile and dark brown brick walls helped give off that illusion, knowing Bryan there weren't many sentimental things around like pictures or plants.

There was also a small office at the back of the kitchen on the right, the stairs leading to the second floor tucked away between the wall that spanned the right side of the living room; if coming through the front door. Bryan helped carry the luggage up the stairs, as the doctors had ordered Kai not to be carrying anything for a few days; which he did not protest since his shoulders were still flaring with pain.

Coming up to the second floor was the living room, coming face to face with a large curved TV on the wall directly across from the landing. Black leather couches sat around it, one directly in front of them and two on either side of the room. Around the corner of the second flight of stairs, that lead to the third floor, was a small space where Bryan had a pool table. His bedroom sat on the left; if facing the pool table from the living room. His room was the biggest in the house, as it should be, with its own private balcony that faced the front of the house and his own on-suite. Ray had never been in there before, so he didn't know the full extent of the layout or what it even looked like and he wasn't going to ask.

Taking the second set of stairs they came to a door, one that he knew was the main guest room. There was a wall that divided the corridor on the right; if facing the door from the landing, and the small opening led to the second guest room. Bryan ushered them to the second guest room first, claiming it for Rain.

Much like the rest of the house, the walls were bare and the color scheme was more whites, browns, and blacks. Coming through the door of the room, a black dresser sat to the left. A queen-sized bed sat at the wall across from the door, a TV hanging off the opposite wall towards the bed. A standing mirror sat on the other side of the room, opposite the wall the dresser sat against. A door led to her very own on-suite, which she was ecstatic about.

As she bounced around her room, Ray decided to get her things in the dresser. Bryan left him to his work, carrying the other bags to the other room following Kai as he had started back down the corridor.

"Rain, you need to take a shower." Ray called to her as he could hear her turn the TV on, still busy folding her clothes into the drawers.

"Okay, Papa." She smiled and bounced off the bed, going to the bathroom across from it.

Ray sighed, having finished putting her clothes away and tucked the suitcase in the corner by the dresser. Leaving out a clean pair of clothes for her to sleep in, he gave one quick look around the room and left quietly. A sense of safety overwhelming him, Bryan had a fence with high security around his property, barbed wire even sat over the top of the fence, and if that didn't stop anyone, he had six different breeds of large dogs that roamed the property.

Entering his room he was taken back a bit; the room was about the size of his living room back at his home. A tall black wardrobe sat to his right, the four-poster bed sat across from the door; leaving plenty of space in the middle of the room for a full-sized couch to sit, even if there wasn't one. A glass door sat on the right wall of the entrance to the room, leading out to their own private balcony. The closet sat in the left in a small alcove of the room, with the bathroom door next to it. He was more than excited to see what their bathroom looked like, but held off because when he had entered the room; it was empty.

Looking around almost frantically he caught sight of Kai's back outside on the balcony, and he could faintly see a cloud of smoke leaving from the top of his head till it disappeared in the air. Clenching his fists he stomped to the glass door, almost pulling it off as he opened it.

"Kai Susumu Hiwatari! What do you think you're doing?!" He practically screeched as he put his hands on his hips.

Kai turned to look at him, an eyebrow arched high at him. It wasn't often he heard his middle name; which was his father's first name. He almost chuckled at the sight of Ray, his pupils were slit and he bore his fangs as his face had turned red with anger.

"It's called 'vaping'?" Kai said nonchalantly, holding up a small device.

Ray blinked a few times, trying to figure out what it was he was holding. It was a small silver box, with a button on the top portion of the box with a screen and numbers. On the top of the box sat a glass container, with a mouth piece over the glass container. Inside the container he could see some kind of liquid, it was a light brown color and then Ray noticed the strange aroma of coffee; even though Kai didn't have any.

"What the hell is that?" Ray cocked his own eyebrow up, still inspecting it.

"Bryan says this helps cut back on smoking, there's a small amount of nicotine in it… And it tastes like coffee…" Kai shrugged, he wasn't too sure of it all himself but he liked the flavor it gave off.

"Are you sure that's any safer?"

"I don't know." Kai shrugged again, pressing the button on the box and taking a deep inhale. Ray watched him intently, he was kind of intrigued by the device; even if he wouldn't tell Kai that.

Kai exhaled, a large cloud of smoke emitted from his nose and lips. It was a thick cloud but it didn't smell bad or stick around them in the air for long, as the breeze came by and took it off. The smell of coffee surrounding them once again, and all Ray could do was just stare at it in confusion.

"Here." Kai handed it to him. "Push the button and inhale." He instructed.

Ray hesitated for a moment, looking at the numbers on the screen of the box but he didn't understand what they were there for. He shrugged his shoulders and pressed the button, a low bubbling sound came from the top of the container as he did so. The 'smoke' filled his throat quickly and he pulled away, eyes watering as some of it hit the back of his throat. He sputtered and handed the device back to Kai, choking out what he had inhaled, the slight taste of coffee lingering on his tongue.

"That's awful." He managed to say through his choking, Kai only chuckled at him taking another hit off it.

"I kind of like it." He shrugged. "Rain doing alright?" He asked as Ray had finally got his fit under control, though small tears were still on the corner of his eyes.

"Yeah, she should be in bed by now." Ray went over and sat on one of the wooden patio sofas; that sat on the wall to his right. "How are you?" He eyed Kai up a few times.

Since being released he had changed into normal clothes, a pair of dark gray sweats and a light white sweater that hung around him loosely. He hadn't taken a shower, since he hated hospital showers, and his hair was matted around his face and neck.

"As good as I can be." He shrugged again, a slight pain in his left shoulder hit him and he figured he should stop doing that. "I'm serious though, we can't stay here forever. Eventually Bryan's going to get sick looking at us, and I him."

"I know…" Ray sighed. "But it's so nice here, did you see that kitchen?" Ray's eyes lit up at the mention of the kitchen.

"I've seen it before and so have you." Kai chuckled, taking another hit off the box as he leaned against the glass railing of the balcony. "I'll get some people to go tomorrow and clean the house up, Bryan said the police tape has been removed now."

"Alright." Ray nodded. "You think he'll give us one of his dogs?"

"Doubt it. But I don't think we have to worry about them trying to come back."

"Why not? If it was Mariah, she won't stop. You know that, but what I don't understand is why should would do this." Ray could feel his anger swell in his stomach as he thought about it, it didn't make any sense to him in the slightest.

"I don't think it was her."

"Why not?" Ray looked at him quizzically.

"She wouldn't have a motive to. If it was her, she wouldn't have done this during the court hearings and would have done it before hand. She wouldn't risk going back to jail, not now."

"Then who? I would understand maybe the Russian mafia or just a normal break-in. But these were Chinese men, men I know I've seen before." Ray spoke with a hint of worry in his voice, and he almost shouted his words at Kai.

"I don't know, but I can have Ian track them down. He's gotten pretty good at it, and Bryan knows a thing or two." Kai took another hit, the smell of coffee almost overpowering the natural smell of the night time air.

"Stop that." Ray swatted the air in front of him, even though the cloud had already left them.

"But I like it." Kai sounded like small child trying to persuade its parent.

"It stinks."

"Does not, it smells like coffee." Kai chuckled.

"I hate coffee." Ray huffed, as Kai took another hit with an evil grin on his lips as they wrapped around the mouth piece. "You need a shower anyways." Ray sighed, pushing on his knees to stand himself up. "And I need actual sleep."

"Yeah, you've been kind of cranky." Kai offered with the same grin on his lips.

"Oh I wonder why." Ray stuck his tongue out at him before turning to the glass door. "Hurry up." He called as if Kai were a dog.

Kai walked up to Ray as he held the door open, offering Kai to go first. The playful grin still on his lips as he walked by and smacked Ray's ass. Before Ray could react, Kai had already disappeared through the bathroom door. With his own playful grin on his face he walked into their room, closing and locking the glass door; even though they were on the third floor.

He needed the extra sense of security, he craved it now. He had been trying to keep everything at the back of his mind, the blood, the bodies. The fact that his home, his sanctuary, was so quickly entered and turned into hell before his eyes. The only thing on his mind was who could have possibly ordered the attack, though the more he thought of it, none of it made any sense. He was sure it would have been Mariah, but Kai had a good point about it not being her.

"So… Who then?"

Author's note 2:

I dunno why, but I really wanted Kai singing the Russian national anthem. I listened to it on youtube and it's a really nice anthem. I got the words off Wikipedia, so if they're wrong please forgive me.

Translations:

O, ya sozhaleyu, kotenok- Oh, I'm sorry Kitten (Once again, I got these off google, they could be wrong and I apologize.)