Charlotte's Web

"Why do we have to wake up at six in the fucking morning on Christmas?" Billie Joe muttered as he threw ripped paper and bows into a large garbage bag. It was now eight on Christmas morning and all the presents were unwrapped, breakfast had been cooked, the boys were playing with their gifts in the game room, Charlotte was taking a shower, and Adrienne was on the couch watching Billie Joe joyfully.

"Because it's fun Billie Joe. Honestly baby, where's your sense of fun?" Adrienne teased as she threw a bow at him.

"It doesn't wake up until after ten." Billie Joe shot back with a grin as he caught the bow and threw it in the bag. He didn't really complain, Christmas was the prefect excuse to act like a child; no matter how old you were.

"I still can't believe you bought nursery furniture without even telling me." Adrienne said as she toed the oak bassinet with her socked foot. The wood had a natural swirl in it that made it so feminine and beautiful, prefect for a little girl's nursery.

Billie Joe gave a slightly bashful shrug and sat down next to her. "I wanted it to be a surprise. Plus, our baby girl deserves the best." He wrapped an arm around his wife and looked down at her to find her crying. "What's wrong baby? Do you not like it? We can take it back and get something else... "

"No," Adrienne said around her tears. "It's beautiful, perfect. I'm sorry." She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I just get so emotional now and when you said 'our baby girl,' it just touched me and I couldn't help it."

Billie Joe laughed slightly and kissed her temple just as their youngest son Jakob burst into the room, his little face red with frustration.

"Joey won't... . Mom, why are you crying?" His little dark eyes were clouded with concern. He knew his mom was going to have another baby and he knew she was having a hard time, he just wanted to make sure she was okay.

Adrienne wiped the last of her tears and smiled. "Nothing baby. Just something Daddy said."

"Oh," Jakob nodded his head wisely. "He said something stupid didn't he."

Billie Joe's eyebrows shot up as his jaw dropped and Adrienne tried not to laugh. "No honey, he actually said something really sweet and it made me cry."

His little nose wrinkled in distaste, girls could be so weird sometimes. "Oh. Well, Joey won't let me play the new game. He said I was brat."

Before either parent could say anything, a loud crash echoed in the room and a rainfall of glass pelted the three in the living room. Billie Joe grabbed Jakob and threw him on the couch in an automatic reflex. He quickly tried his best to shield both his son and wife from he glass that was falling. He could hear them scream and Charlotte and Joey run down the stairs only to stop.

Charlotte pulled Joey behind her as she tightened her robe cinch around her waist. She had just gotten out of the shower when she heard the boom. Apparently, someone had thrown something through the large window in the living room, something that had started a fire.

"Shit!" She shrieked as she ran down the opposite hall to the kitchen where the fire extinguisher was. She could hear Billie Joe yell after her to get it. By time she had reached the living room again, extinguisher in hand, Billie Joe had tried to smother some of the small fire that had erupted on the windowsill drapes with blankets.

Billie Joe turned and saw Charlotte and snatched the extinguisher away. Within moments, the fire had been covered in white foam and was extinguished.

"What happened?" She asked as they stood in their place gawking at the blackened portion of the room.

Billie Joe ran a hand through his all ready bed-disheveled hair. "I don't know." He looked around until he found what made the crash. A brick, which had been on fire when it came in, was laying a few feet away, charred and covered in foam.

He quickly crossed over and recovered it, tossing it from one hand to the other as it was still hot until he got to the sink in the kitchen. He rinsed the foam off and could see that it was a normal brick, like the kind used on houses, but it looked like someone had engraved something on it with a knife.

*Guess who?*

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"We'll look into this Mr. Armstrong. In the meantime, keep a sharp eye out and try to just lay low." A police officer told Billie Joe as he walked out of the house.

Billie Joe nodded and closed the door, shutting out the blitz of flashing cameras from the paparazzi outside. He walked back into the family room where Adrienne and Charlotte were with the boys. Charlotte and Joey were sharing an oversized chair while Jakob sat on Adrienne's lap and rested his head on her shoulder. The buzz of Christmas was gone along with the joy of the day.

"What'd they say?" Adrienne asked as Billie Joe took a seat in a vacant chair.

"They'd look into it." Billie Joe sighed as he pulled his hands over his face. He looked at the mopey faces of the kids and felt angry at the person who ruined their Christmas. "Bastard." He muttered under his breath to no one in particular.

Adrienne hummed softly to Jakob who was steadily falling asleep in his mother's arms after a morning of excitement. The police had asked her if she had any idea of why someone would throw a brick in their window. Her mind flashed back to the phone call she received last night but claimed she knew nothing. She would not put her children in danger.

Charlotte bit on her thumbnail as she thought about what the police had asked her. They asked her the same things as Adrienne and she also said she knew nothing. She didn't tell them about the phone calls or letters she had been getting. She did not want to endanger Brice, Billie Joe, Adrienne, Jakob, Joey, or anyone.

She knew it was the same guy from Minneapolis.

She knew it was the same guy who murdered her mother.

She knew it was the same guy who wanted to kill her and she did not know why.

Charlotte buried her head in her hand that was propped on the arm of the chair. She did not need this extra drama in her life.

"This Christmas sucked." Joey mumbled next to her. She nodded in agreement.

Billie Joe and Adrienne exchanged a glance. Not knowing what to say, Billie Joe sighed and leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. Joey was right; this Christmas did suck.

"You guys know what?" Adrienne said softly from her seat so she wouldn't wake Jakob. "Let's just forget about this and get out of here. Let's go out to eat or something. Let's just get out of the house for a bit."

Nobody moved or said a word. It was as if they were contemplating the pros and cons of her proposition.

After a moment of silence, Billie Joe finally broke his glare at the ceiling. "Your mom's right. Let's go out somewhere and get something to eat and just chill out. We'll go anywhere you want to go. Go get dressed."

Slowly, Joey and Charlotte got out of the chair. Charlotte took a groggy Jakob from Adrienne and they all trudged up the stairs to their respectable rooms.

Billie Joe helped Adrienne up and they, too, started up the stairs. "Good thinking Adie." He told her as he held her hand.

"I know." She replied smugly as she rubbed her belly affectionately. The baby was starting to kick and move more. "I think we have another soccer player in the family." She laughed as the baby gave an extra hard kick.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Armstrongs left a restaurant later that evening in a blizzard of camera flashes. They did not try to hide nor did they try to run. At that moment, they really didn't care. After a terrible Christmas morning, the rest of the day was devoted to laid back fun and good food at various places.

Photographers clicked like mad as the angry punk rocker looked like a normal family man happy with his life. They knew these photos would catch a price.

Charlotte and Joey led the way to their car, Charlotte holding Joey's hand as they crossed the street. Behind them was Billie Joe with one hand on the small of Adrienne's back and the other hand holding Jakob's small one. Charlotte's head was in Adrienne's direction and the two women were laughing about something. Picture perfect.

However, behind the photographers and beyond the family's line of vision, someone else was thinking that same thing too, but much more vindictively.