Dad?

Yo, Rest in Peace Nipsey Hussle. Your legacy in our community has brought a lot of us together. Believe that.

Ray sat on the bed in deep thought. Zack was asleep next to her with his head tucked away in her hip. She didn't mind it. It was a comfortable situation. He had been a lot more open with her since he had come back from Sam's house. He still thoroughly swore to try to explain to her what was different but she appreciated the effort. A smile spread across her lips as he muttered something about annoying women and trying to get him to talk about his feelings. Her ears had picked up on him whispering about how he didn't want to hate her. She didn't need to know anything more about what had happened over at Sam's. Sam was a smart woman and Zack wasn't exactly hard to trick into doing anything. A soft chuckle escaped her when she saw Sam help him out of the car. She hugged him and he just stood there with a red face. Ray couldn't hear the conversation but whatever was said put Zack at ease. Shaking her head, she looked down at her bed companion. His eyes were open staring at her.

"Morning Zack," she said softly.

He sat up slowly, his joints creaking and cracking as he sat up to sit next to her. His hand came up to ruffle her hair. She leaned into his affections as he got out of the bed. Her eyes watched him walk to the bathroom. Turning her head, she looked at the sun for a moment before looking to the yard. There in a white suit with a Bible was a figure. She quickly got up from the bed while grabbing some clothes. Her hands were fast in putting the clothes on her body and running to grab a gun. Once it was in hand, she cocked it to see the number of bullets. She opened the door to the front of the house to see the man standing there with his hands behind his back.

"Rachel." He greeted tipping his head.

"Gray-sama? What are you doing here?"

He smiled softly as his eyes moved to look around them. "It would seem you two have built your lives together. I'm glad."

Ray raised a brow. "That doesn't answer my question."

"May I come in?" he asked softly.

Ray moved to the side to allow him entry. She led him to the kitchen table. He sat down in the seat as she sat. He folded his hands on the table as he allowed his eyes to look around the kitchen. There were pictures of the two in nice frames around the kitchen.

"Can I offer you something to drink?" she asked.

"Water is fine." He nodded.

She stood up to get him a bottle. Sliding it to him, she moved back to her seat. "So what are you doing here Gray-sama?"

Gray popped the cap on the bottle. "I just wanted to see how the two individuals that changed my life were doing."

Ray raised a brow again. "What do you mean?"

His sip complete, he took in how she had grown since the last time he had seen her. Her long platinum blonde hair was currently up in a bun on her head. That soft childlike face had matured and acquired some scars probably from fighting. His eyes took in the sight of a tattoo on her chest, even with the boy's name in it. A soft chuckled escaped him. She was obviously in love with him then but now… it was just so amusing. He continued to take in her adult form with his amusement. She had a full figure that was well taken care of. He wondered how they were getting along.

"You were my last "sacrifice"." The words were soft as he remembered watching a limping Zack carry an unconscious Ray out of the building.

"Yeah? We kind of did cause that building to collapse on itself." She nodded.

He chuckled. "No, I mean I had an opportunity to start a new building but I declined. Watching the two of you seemed to do something to me." His fist came up to his chin as he leaned on the table.

"I see."

"How is he?"

Ray looked over her shoulder to the room he was probably currently asleep in once more. He needed all the rest he could get to recover faster. She turned to face the older male with a soft sigh, a smile playing on her lips loosely. "He's changing."

Gray nodded. "Ah, I see. How is his change progressing?"

Ray shrugged. "There is no real way to measure his progress."

Gray nodded again. "So tell me about your relationship."

Ray leaned back on her chair. "We are getting somewhere, slowly but surely. Yesterday, we had a discussion about kids. He's just now starting to see me as a woman so I don't want to push him." She didn't know why she was telling him all this but he seemed genuinely concerned about the two of them.

Gray looked to the side for a moment before looking back at her. "Has he dealt with the issues with his mother?"

She chewed on her lip. "He's learning. A friend of mine is helping with it."

"What's her name?" he asked intrigued by the prospect of Isaac getting help.

"Sam."

A small smile slid across his face. "I'm glad."

Ray nodded. "Me too."

"I would love to meet this woman."

"She's a lot like Zack; except she's older and more refined," Ray explained with a curious stare.

Gray let his eyes move down to the table under him. "I always did hope he would get some help with his issues."

"Do you care about Zack, Gray-sama?"

The smile on his face seemed to expand. "I took him into that building to keep him safe. He was out on the streets begging to be caught. I wanted him to at least have a safe place to be. I know it didn't look like much but that was of his doing. He didn't want to change anything and I couldn't dictate what he did with his floor." He sighed. "He grew on me, like the son I never had."

"Son huh?" Ray let the thought mule over in her head. "A mom and dad huh?" she smiled softly. But her thoughts turned dark. She wished her mom and dad had been better parents. But if they had been she wouldn't be here with the love of her life. Life was complicated. Zack deserved to have parents that cared for him. He never had such things before. His mom literally sold him off after her boyfriend set him on fire. If that wasn't bad parenting, she didn't know what was. She was eternally grateful to Sam for even extending a helping hand to them but she wished Sam would be her mom too. Even Gray-sama if he wanted to could be her dad… A sigh escaped her. Nah, they were here for Zack.

"Rachel, something troubles you," Gray spoke staring at her intently.

"It's nothing." Her eyes closed slowly. She nodded deciding to let Zack have his family.

Gray tilted his head once more. He wasn't stupid. Her body language was giving her away, even if her mouth didn't. She was upset with something, probably about him saying he cared for Zack. Then it dawned on him that her parents hadn't ever cared about her. "Ah, I see."

"See what?"

"Rachel, you should have just asked."

Ray let the confusion she felt play on her face. "Huh?"

"I would be more than happy to extend my paternal love onto you." Gray declared with his hand on his heart.

Ray sweatdropped. "Huh?"

"I had forgotten the reason for our meeting in that building, to begin with. Your parents were not parents. You may have had to grow up on your own like your companion but you still need matured figures to look up to." He smiled, his white eyes glistening with a rare emotion she only saw in movies. "Rachel, I would like to be your dad too."

Again, Ray sweatdropped. "Uh, that's not necessary." Her lip went in between her teeth once more. "Zack needs it more than I do."

"Yes, Isaac does need guidance. But so do you young Rachel."

She looked down at the gun on the table. What was she supposed to say? It would be nice to have someone look out for her other than Sam. A male that wasn't interested in sex with her was a hard occurrence but Gray-sama didn't feel that way towards her. He hadn't really aged since the last time she saw him. He let go of his priest grab and settled on just suits. Her eyes moved back up to the man sitting across the table waiting on her answer. What would it hurt to say yes? It's not like he could kill her. He had tried that before but this time, she was ready. She was always ready. That was something Sam had drilled into her head since they first met. Always be ready.

"So?" Came his soft question.

"I suppose so Gray-sama."

"You can lose the formalities Rachel." He smiled. "Just call me daddy!"

Ray found herself sweat dropping once more.

He laughed softly. "Ah, I suppose meeting Isaac's new mother wouldn't hurt. I hope he allows her to heal him."

"I think you would like her."

"You think so? I do judge characters."

Ray nodded. "As I said, she's a female version of Zack."

Gray smiled. "Birds of a feather."

Ray stood from the table. "Can I interest you in some breakfast or rather lunch?"

"I would appreciate that."

She walked to the kitchen to pull out the ingredients for lunch. "So where are you staying?"

"At this hotel in the town next to you."

"Why don't you stay here? We have an extra room for guests."

Gray smiled softly at her offer. "Only if you both don't mind."

"I don't. I know Zack will yell but he'll eventually let it go." Ray explained chopping up the onions and tomatoes.

"I would be honored in that case." He let his eyes drift to the book in front of him. "Tell me, Rachel, how has Isaac been since you two have been in the states?"

She shrugged. "He adjusted quite well. Being paid to kill seemed to keep his spirits high."

"Hm," he nodded. "How about you then Rachel?"

The knife was placed down. "I think I've adjusted well myself. I take really good care of him. I work at his mom's club. She allows me to have some of the best clients."

"A club huh? Ah, but who takes care of you?"

"Zack."

Gray let a smile slide across his face. "Has he come to terms with some things?"

"He has. We're about to handle a few more things soon."

"Really? What are they?"

Ray let it mule over in her mind. She wondered if she should say anything. Gray wouldn't do anything. "A confrontation with his mother."

His eyes widened slightly. "I see." He leaned on the table. "So what's for lunch?"

"Burgers."

"Sounds good."

Ray nodded at the comment.

"Can I be there to witness as well?"

"I can ask. We're not doing it here." Ray explained.

"Would you please?"

"Sure."

Gray stood up from the table. He proceeded to wash his hands in the sink. She watched him in confusion as he dried them on the towel. Taking the beef from her hand, he proceeded to cut it up from hand. Ray watched for a moment before pulling out the seasonings for the meat. They two of them worked silently but fluently. She took the cut up meat from him and molded the seasonings into it. Once she took all the meat, he placed it into the skillet she had given them. They sound of meat frying filled the kitchen. Gray went into the fridge. He pulled out the lettuce. She took it from his hands and began to wash it softly. Gray pulled out the potatoes and used the water after her to wash them. Both continued to work on getting the food together until there was a grunt.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Zack frowned watching the two of them pause.

Ray flipped a patty. "Gray-papa will be staying here with us."

"Gray-papa?" Gray asked touched.

"Gray-papa?! What the hell have you done to her bastard?"

"It's nice to see you too Isaac." Gray smiled in greeting.

"What the hell?! Ray, you let him stay with us?" His mind finally catching her words.

"Zack, there is no reason to yell. He only wants to visit you." She sighed.

"Why are you here old man?" Zack asked annoyed by her answer.

"Just came to see how you have been Isaac."

Zack sat down on the table while leaning on his hand. "First that eye stealing fucker than you. Shit, did none of you actually die in that damn building?"

Gray looked at Ray. "Danny visited you?"

"You didn't notice the scars by my eyes? Dr. Danny confessed his love to me again and tried to intrude in a place he didn't belong."

"Yeah! And I killed him for it! He's buried in the yard." Zack shouted loudly.

"Yes thank you for that, Isaac." Gray winced at his volume. "So I'm told you will be greeting your mother shortly."

"Yeah, I'll be talking to that damned bitch," Zack growled rolling his neck.

"How does that make you feel?"

"Why the fuck does everyone want to talk about my damn feelings?" He roared. "I don't want to talk about that bitch. But my mom seems to be keen on making me do it to get on with my life."

"Mom?"

"Yeah," he sighed rolling his eyes.

Gray smiled. "What is she like?"

"Ugh! What the fuck is this 21 questions?" Zack growled.

"I just want to know who is the mom to my son." Gray cheesed.

Zack paled before he leaned over his arm to throw up a rainbow. "God, you both are fucking sick." He gagged.

Gray chuckled. "So tell me about her."

"She's Ray's damned friend. But she has been keeping tabs on us since we got here. She's a witch. Don't let her tell you any damn different. Takes care of our bills." He shrugged with a frown.

"Does she have your violent tendencies?"

"I watched her cut a head off without a blink so there's that. She fights clients at her club regularly seeing as she is also security." Ray answered placing cheese on the burgers. "Zack, do you want all the condiments again?"

"Of course!" he hollered.

Ray went to get the fries out of the fryer to place them on the plate. "I'm almost done."

Gray watched the two of them interact quietly. "I'm looking forward to meeting her."

Before long the three of them were sitting at the table chatting. It seemed really natural just chatting over the burgers and discussing random things that came to Zack's mind. He seemed at ease with Gray being there even though he bristled at the beginning. Gray seemed to get a kick out of embarrassing both of them when he asked about sex. Ray went red. Zack shouted it was none of his damn business. Gray couldn't help but laugh at the two of their reactions. It was good to see them both move on in their lives.