Love at First Fright

**Joey's P.O.V**

While Eric was at school Rayna and I took it as a great opportunity to just be together without him running around like the maniac he was.
Wednesday was sitting on the floor (as usual) as Rayna laid her head on my lap and we watched the original 'Bride of Frankenstein'.

"Ray you should do your hair like that!"

"Fuck that."

"Come on you could straighten it and look like Lilly Munster."

"Dude your obsessed with Lilly Munster."

"She's hot!"

I twirled my fingers around my hair noticing that I was getting bored with it being my natural brown color. I looked down at Rayna as watched the movie wondering what she would look like if she dyed her hair black.

"Hey babe."

"Yes sweetheart?"

"Shut up Wednesday."

He laughed and turned back to the TV as Rayna looked up and answered me.

"What?"

"You wanna dye my hair? I'm getting tired of the brown."
"Sure. Do you have dye?"

"I think I have a box in the bathroom."

She got up and grabbed my hand pulling me off the couch as we both went upstairs to the bathroom. As she searched through the cabinet for the box of hair dye I quickly threw on my old black shirt without sleeves.

"Found it!"

"Where was it?"

"Veeeeeeery back of the cabinet. Behind your million bottles of hairspray. How many do you need seriously?"

I walked into the bathroom and laughed as she threw her hair up in a ponytail and motioned for me to sit on a folding chair. As I sat in the chair she got the dye ready and draped a towel across my shoulders.

"You do know how to dye someone's hair right?"
"Uh yeah. Let's go with that."

"You don't know how to dye hair?!?"

"Calm down I know how. When I was in high school my hair was a different color like every semester."

"Alright you have got to find pictures of that for me."

"Maybe now turn around."

I turned around as she put on a pair of gloves and started parting may hair and putting the black dye in it.
With her running her fingers through my hair I closed my eyes and started drifting off. My little "nap" was cut short by the shrill sound of the downstairs phone ringing and Wednesday yelling that he'd get it.

"Wonder who that is."

"I have no clue. Are you almost done?"

"Actually I am done. We just need to let it sit"

"I hate this part."
"I know."

She kissed my cheek and said she was going to see who called. I looked in the mirror and couldn't help but laugh when I saw that she had slicked my hair back with the dye.
I sat on the counter and waited for her to come back. When she came back into the room she looked a little confused.

"What's wrong?"

"Eric's teacher called. Apparently he has to be picked up early today."

"Is he ok? Do we have to leave now?"

"Wednesday said the teacher said he was fine and we'd see what was wrong when he got home."

"Wednesday went to pick him up?"
"Yeah."

"Can we wash it out now?"
"You have like ten more minutes to wait."

"Come on. I want to wash it out now."
"You sound like a little kid."

I groaned as she left the room to grab something. When she finally came back she had her i-pod and small speakers in hand. She told me to get my shirt off and lean over the bathtub as she hooked up her music. With Rob Zombie's 'Living Dead Girl' playing throughout the bathroom she half way straddled my back and rinsed out my hair.

As she washed the excess dye out and conditioned my hair we heard the front door downstairs close and Wednesday talking to Eric.

"Uh-oh here we go."

I laughed as she turned off the water and handed me a towel. We both walked out of the bathroom into our bedroom as Wednesday walked in holding Eric.

"Alright. You guys ready for this?"

"I think so."

Wednesday set Eric down before turning him around to face us. I stared wide eyed down at Eric who was covered in marker....all over his face....

Rayna burst into a fit of laughter as I let my towel fall onto the ground.
"Ummm Snare?"

"Daddee."
"Snare."
"Daddee."

"Rayna have you seen your son?"

I looked over to see her trying hard to stop laughing as she merely shook her head yes.
"Why would you do that to yourself?"

"I is a Muwdewdoll like Daddee."

"Eric your 3 you don't need to be a Murderdoll."

"Relax Joey it's marker it'll come off. Wait, it'll come off right?"

We both stared at Wednesday as he nodded.
"Yeah Logan or whatever his name is said it was just some washable markers. He just wanted to send him home before it broke out or something."

Rayna took Eric's hand and led him into our bathroom telling him he was going to get a bath.
"So, you did dye your hair."

"Yeah I need to dry it so it'll stop dripping."

Wednesday smirked and left the room as I went into the bathroom to see Rayna filling the bathtub up with Eric spinning in circles to the music still playing.
"Daddee put on Muwdewdolls!"

I laughed and went over to Rayna's i-pod and switched it to Eric's favorite song...'Dead in Hollywood'.

"Eric...strip."

Eric laughed and started taking off his clothes which was my cue to leave the bathroom. Love my son as much as I do but now that he was 3 it was just plain weird being in the room while he was getting undressed for bath time.
I stood outside waiting for the sound that cued that I could go back into the room. 3...2...1...

*SPLASH*

"Eric! God Damnitt!!"

I went back into the bathroom to see Eric sitting proudly in the bathtub and Rayna wiping her face off with a towel.

"He jumped again?"

"What do you think?"

Eric laughed in the bathtub as I grabbed the hair dryer and plugged it in before switching the i-pod onto Satyiricon.
As I dried my hair Rayna washed off the elaborate take on one of my 'war paint' designs. When I finished my hair I sat on the counter watching Rayna laugh and smile as Eric told her about his first day of school even how he pulled off drawing on his face with markers.

"An din Logan said he had to call Daddee and I had to go home."

"And why do you think he did that?"

"Cause he was jealous dat I did a good job."

Rayna looked over at me with a look that just yelled, 'is he serious?’
After Eric was all clean and there were no traces of marker anywhere on his face Rayna wrapped him in a towel and handed him off to me saying she had to start cooking. I took him into his room as he twisted his small fingers around my hair.

"Its a diffwent colow Daddee."

"Yeah I colored it. And no you cannot color yours."

He let out a long sigh as I set him down and grabbed him something to wear. Settling on his small SlipKnoT shirt and black pajama pants we both went back downstairs where I could smell something cooking and hear Rayna yelling at Wednesday to stop complaining about something.

"Rayna that's just gross. I mean look at it. Food turns that color when it's rotten."

"You don't have to eat it. I want Eric to eat some vegetables."

"Gross."

"Uncle Weddy I like vegtables."
"Weird child."

I set Eric down so he could run over to Wednesday and sit in his lap to watch some cartoon while Rayna finished whatever she was cooking. I went into the kitchen and wrapped my arms around her waist before brushing her hair away and kissing her neck softly.

"Something smells good."

"It's just meatloaf and some steamed vegetables."

"I was talking about you."

She chuckled a little before turning around and handing me the bowl of broccoli telling me to put it on the table.
"Eric...Come eat and bring Wednesday."

I laughed as she put the rest of food on the table and Eric came running to his seat with Wednesday following him.
As soon as I sat down Eric shoved his plate to me asking me to put food on it.
With everyone eating I looked around thinking what a great family I had. Even with Roadie whining next to me begging for me to give him something to eat and Mokie doing the same to Rayna.

Eric tried his best to get Wednesday to eat something green but with no luck he just ate his own. I began to think for some reason what he was going to be like when his high school years came around.

He was already showing signs that he was going to be about the same height I was in high school and I know how tough that was on me. I really hoped that he didn't end up going through what I did. Getting beaten up pretty much everyday just because I was smaller and listened to Black Metal didn't entitle people to beat the shit out of anyone.
Thinking about him having to go through that made me tear up a little. Just thinking about how much shit I went through and my son going through it too was something I couldn't handle.

"Joey, you ok?"

I looked up and noticed everyone was staring at me. I wiped my eyes and laughed it off.
"Yeah I'm fine. Sorry. Just thinking about stuff."

Rayna put her hand on my knee under the table and squeezed it letting me know that I was ok. I never had to tell her what I was thinking. It seemed like she already knew. Which was probably one of the reasons I loved her so much.

I looked across the table at Eric as he played with his potatoes and talked to Wednesday...I saw me. In almost everything he did I saw me. I mean yeah he looked like a combination of Rayna and Me especially her lips but he acted like me.

Part of that made me proud of having him like that. The other part scared the shit out of me.