Disclaimer: I do not own West Side Story or any of the characters contained therein. Raquel, however, is mine, so please don't steal her!

Author's Notes: Thanks to those of you who have read and reviewed! It makes me happy! lol. This fic is too much fun... I'm not sure how long it will last, but I'm pretty sure it will be really long. lol. Anyways... Without further ado, let us let Raquel meet Baby John's family!

Chapter 14: Baby John's Family

Baby John led Raquel down to the street. She was glad that she was wearing tennis shoes now, which she had picked up on the way out of the apartment building. She'd also changed out of the dress she was wearing into a T-shirt and a pair of pedal pushers.

After a pretty long walk, Baby John led her to the front of an apartment building. They entered the building, and went up the stairs to the door of apartment number 529. Baby John knocked lightly.

A plump old woman with sparkling blue eyes opened the door. "John!" she exclaimed.

"Heya, Grandma," Baby John replied, kissing the woman on her plump cheek.

"And, who is this?" the old lady asked pleasantly in a thick Swedish accent.

"She's a special friend," Baby John said. "Her name is Raquel."

"Well, hello, Raquel. You two come on in and sit down."

Baby John and Raquel obeyed, both smiling.

"Well, John... why have you been so long coming to see your grandma?"

"See, I was with the Old Man, and he worked me nearly to death... and then, I stayed with some friends."

"Oh, John, not that gang!"

"Yes, Grandma. But we weren't up to no good. Ice won't let us be."

"A gang is always up to no good, John," the old woman said.

"She is right," Raquel added. "They will only get you in trouble."

"Well, they're not all bad."

"True," Raquel replied. "Ice and Gee-Tar are very nice. But Action and A-Rab..." she laughed playfully.

"Oh, forget Action and A-Rab," he replied with a smile. He turned to his grandma. "Where's Grandpa?" he asked.

"Gone to the store. He'll be back soon. He'll be so glad to see you."

Baby John smiled. His grandpa had always been more of a father to him than his real father.

"Are you hungry, John?" his grandmother asked.

Baby John held his stomach and groaned. "No, ma'am. We just ate with Raquel's friends, and they fed us alot."

Raquel laughed. "Anita and Maria always cook FAR too much."

Baby John had to agree with that. "What about you, Grandma?" he asked. "Can I fix you something?"

"No... No, just spend some time with your old Grandma. Besides, I want to get to know your friend better." She smiled at Raquel.

"She's such a sweet lady," Raquel thought. She felt that this woman was probably the one who had given Baby John his kind heart.

Raquel smiled at the old woman. "I am so happy to meet you, Mrs. ..." she stopped short, waiting for the woman's response.

"Just call me Grandma Elin," she said with a smile.

Raquel really liked this lady. She could tell that the lady was going to be a friend. She knew the woman accepted her for who she was. And she really appreciated that.

Baby John had not let go of Raquel's hand. He squeezed it gently, and looked back at his grandma. "How are your knees?" he asked. The ladies knees were worn out, but the doctors could do nothing. At least not for the amount of money that Grandma Elin could offer them.

"I suppose they're all right." Then, the lady began to chatter in Swedish, and Baby John spoke it right back. Due to his heritage, combined with his birthplace, Baby John spoke three languages fluently: Swedish, Norwegian, and English. His father's family had come from Norway, and his mother's from Sweden.

"Oh, John," Elin said, sadly, but full of pride. "Everytime I see you, I see your mother's eyes. Ah, my Pernilla. You look at me with her eyes."

Baby John smiled. He wished he'd known his mother. But he was proud that his Grandmother could see in him the woman he'd so wanted to know.

It was at this moment, that Baby John's grandfather, Karl, walked in. He nearly dropped his bag of groceries when he saw Baby John sitting in the living room.

"John, my boy!" he exclaimed. "We've missed you so much!"

Baby John stood to hug him. "Grandpa," he said. "This is my friend, Raquel Martín."

"Good day, Raquel!" the man said with a kind smile.

"Hello," Raquel replied, smiling back. She hoped all of Baby John's family would be as nice as these two people.

They talked for quite some time, amazed that they were able to understand one another despite the strong accents.

Baby John was happy that things were going better here than they had with Del Campo.

Raquel felt already that she had known these people all her life. And that made her happy. Maybe there were some people who understood.

OoOoOoO

A/N:

Ash, etc.- Aww! Ash... It's so cute! Baby John, leave her alone, or I will make Raquel break your heart... and your arm. lol. A-Rab and Action, I'd be leavin' Ash alone before she messes your lives up. Oh, all the "A" love... Action/Anita, A-Rab/Anybodys... lol! I love it! Of course, Madame Lucia and A-Rab would be very interesting. dodges A-Rab's punch I wanna see Ash's puppy! I'm glad you liked the chappie... I loved writing about Anita and Bernardo... so fun. lol. And with that, I shall allow you to go e-mail Cameron, and say that William is nice... To A-Rab, Action, and Baby John... Good Luck.

Tonyboy- No problem. I'm always glad to share my prayer time with a brother in Christ. I'd really like to see what she looks like. That stinks about your moms being involved in what happened. I'm really sorry about that. Did you know that James Dean was 5'8". He was told that he was too short to be an actor, and he said, "How can you measure acting in inches?" lol. I love him. Yeah, you've got some time to grow. I hope my dad's right. And I think it's sweet that you think William and I might be meant to be. I sent you a few more pics... Maybe a little better. One's from Prom. I wasn't worried about what you thought about Rebel. It's not a big deal. It's OK... lol. But, yeah... go check it out. I'm glad you liked the chappy!