Mel Vera and Ray Vera

The **relationship** between witch, **Mel Vera**, and mortal, **Ray Vera** is an unstable one between father and daughter. Recently, however, the two seem to have found common ground.

## History

### Early Life

Mel resented Ray after he walked out on the family. When she was little, Ray taught her to play poker, which she remembered into adulthood. While her sister Maggie made an effort to remain in touch with him, Ray hardly ever did, and never showed up on holidays or planned dinners, which further fueled Mel's resentment.

### Throughout the Series

* Season 1
* Season 2

In "*Jingle Hell*", Mel explains the dynamic of her father to Macy Vaughn.

In "*The Source Awakens*", in the second alternative reality Macy creates. One where she got to live with her mother and Maggie, but at the expense of Mel not being the daughter raised by Marisol Vera for her own safety reasons. So Mel was raised by Ray in Seattle.

In "*Things to Do in Seattle When You're Dead*, Mel and Maggie found an online obituary of Ray's death of cardiac arrest the same day she and her sisters went into hiding. While Maggie wanted to attend his funeral, Mel refused, saying he was a ghost to them. Maggie snuck to the funeral anyway, putting herself in the path of danger. Mel saw the portal map and realized where she went. Fearing for her sister's safety, she went after her. After coming back, Mel told Maggie about the music box she bought for her when she was seven, and made her believe it to be a gift from Ray.

In "*When Sparks Fly*", Mel helps Harry win a poker game against three demons. After evading them, she mentions how Ray had taught her to play the game and that he "had his moments".

In "*Guess Who's Coming to SafeSpace Seattle*", Mel and Maggie make their way to Safe Harbor Motel in New Jersey to catch Jimmy. To their surprise, it wasn't Harry Greenwood's Darklighter. It was Ray, alive and well. Maggie hit him with her metal baton out of anger, prompting Mel to stop her. He confessed that he was a thief who stole ancient artifacts and sold them in the black market for a living. When someone questioned him about the talisman he took from Marisol Vera, he went into hiding for his daughters' protection. The Fury made its way to their location, so they orbed back to Seattle, where Mel and Maggie told Ray they were witches.

After returning the Stone of Atreus to the Fury to save Maggie, Ray, Mel, and Maggie celebrated their reunion with drinks.

In "*Curse Words*", Mel and Ray travel to Reno after arranging a meeting with Ray's underground buyers to settle his debt. Mel put a Tracker Spell on the item he gave away in hopes of finding the talisman in their possession. The magic was detected, and the buyers held Ray at gunpoint, prompting Mel to expose her powers in front of them and Ray to give them a vial of black amber. The buyers escaped and the father and daughter had an argument about keeping secrets from one another.

They collected pictures from the surveillance camera in the back alley to get a look at their license plate, and a tattoo on both of their wrists. Mel then asked him what really happened when he left them all those years ago. Ray told her about how he was more dedicated to his work while Marisol was homebound to raise Mel by herself and her loneliness made her fall back into another man's arms. He knew Maggie wasn't his biological daughter. They made an effort to rekindle their relationship, but ultimately it didn't work out.

At the end of the episode, Ray decides to leave to protect his daughters. He and Mel share an emotional goodbye.

In "*Don't Look Back in Anger*", Ray is back from his recon mission to investigate the Faction. It is revealed that Ray and Mel have been keeping in touch since his departure, and found common ground in investigating the Faction and occasionally playing online games. When Maggie found out, she showed jealously over their reconciled relationship.

## Trivia

* Mel and Ray both like to pat their sprinkled sugar three times before adding it into their coffee.