The Protector.

Jimmy drained his beer as he watched the local weather forecast.

“Today,” said the breathlessly excited forecaster, “was the hottest day of the year so far. Maidstone was our hotspot, with a high of 25.7C – that's nearly 80F! – recorded, and it looks as though it will be even hotter tomorrow. But tonight, there is a possibility of isolated thunder storms, and it will be a muggy night for all of us.....”

Jimmy crushed the empty can, and wandered into the kitchen, dropped it into the bin, then switched off the tv and lights as he headed to bed. He tiptoed quietly into the front bedroom, where Charlie, his 4 month old pride and joy, was snoring peacefully on top of the covers in his cot. He smiled contentedly as he checked the window was properly latched and slightly open, stooped to kiss the boy gently on the forehead, then slipped out leaving the door ajar.

His wife, Sarah, was already in bed, reading the latest Cosmopolitan, her hair still damp from the shower lying across her bare breasts, and she smiled as Jimmy came in and started undressing.

“Charlie ok?” she said.

Jimmy smiled as he dropped the sweat-damp tee-shirt into the laundry basket and peeled off his old football shorts.

“Snoring like a baby,” he chuckled. “I've opened the window a bit – gonna be a sticky night according to the Beeb. Time for a shower – see you in a minute.”

He strolled into the en-suite shower room as Sarah resumed her reading, then showered quickly in lukewarm water, shaved, and cleaned his teeth. Then he joined his wife in the big comfortable bed, puffed his pillows and relaxed. She placed the magazine on the bedside table, turned off the light, and snuggled over, lying with an arm and leg thrown across Jimmy.

“What time are you off tomorrow?, she asked. “Usual time?”

Jimmy kissed her gently.

“No, early,” he said. “I have an 8 a.m. conference call with Tokyo, so I need to get the first train. Up at 5, I'm afraid – I'll try not to wake you.”

“I should think Charlie will have done that already!” she chuckled. “Sleep?”

Jimmy slid his hand across her bottom.

“In a bit....”

Sarah woke at 2 to an enormous crash of thunder and a howling wind rattling the window. It was pitch dark outside, and still hot in the bedroom, despite the window left ajar. For a moment, disoriented, she lay still, listening to the rain splattering against the glass, then jumped as a flash of white lightning threw the room and its shadows into life. What was that, in the corner..... She shook Jimmy awake.

“What's that?” she said, her voice tremulous.

The bedspread fell to the floor as he sat up, looking around blearily but seeing nothing.

“It's a storm,” he said. “Forecast it on the telly. Nothing to worry about, love. Sleep.”

He made to settle back down, but another flash of lightning and a simultaneous crash of thunder made Sarah gasp and grab his shoulder. Outside, the wind howled and rain continued to slash the window pane. The curtains were blowing wildly.

“No!” she said, panic in her voice. “There – by the door!”

Jimmy switched on the light and looked at an empty room. More thunder and lightning.....the wind roaring and the rain sounding as though it would break the window any second. He looked across to where Sarah was pointing with a trembling finger

“There's nothing there,” he said, a trifle irritated. “I'll shut the windows. Just go back to sleep.”

“No!” she said. “Something is here, I can feel it.”

Jimmy sighed. He had experienced these “feelings” before, and knew he would get no peace until he had thoroughly checked all the doors and windows. He rose to his feet, and headed towards the door.

“Okay, okay,” he grumbled. “I'll go and check everything.”

Sarah nodded, a pleading look on her face.

“But first, bring Charlie to me. He'll be safe here.”

“Sarah....”

“Just do it,” she snapped.

With another sigh and stifling a yawn, Jimmy trudged naked across the landing to the boy's room. Outside, the storm seemed to be getting worse, with more or less constant thunder and lightning, the rain pouring if anything harder and the wind howling through the telephone wires outside. He went first to the window and closed it securely, and glanced left and right in the road outside. There was no sign of life, despite the storm: he had expected to see other lights on in the surrounding houses, as there were many families with young children, but there were none. He and Sarah seemed to be the only people awake. He shook his head and crossed to the cot.

Charlie was lying as he had been earlier, one arm thrown carelessly above his head, sleeping soundly despite the storm, with not a care in the world. His little chest rose and fell with each breath. With a smile, Jimmy picked him up carefully and held him to his chest, a supporting hand at the back of his head, singing a soft lullaby as he did so. He walked back to his own room, where Sarah was sitting upright in the bed, an anxious look on her face and a rosary wrapped around one hand.

“He's fine,” said Jimmy and passed the boy to her. “Fast asleep, love him.”

Sarah took him, and hugged him tightly to her as she slid back to lay flat with Charlie laying on her stomach, his head snuggled comfortably to her breast.

“There, my sweet prince,” she cooed. “You're safe now, mummy and daddy will look after you, nothing can hurt you now.”

The baby sighed contentedly, and Jimmy closed the window firmly and drew the curtains across, trying to shut out the violence of the storm. It seemed, incredibly, to be getting worse, and every window seemed to be rattling under the violent fusillade of pouring rain.  The thunder, lightning and wind seemed to be roaring angrily. Jimmy went downstairs.   All the doors were securely locked and bolted, and securing all the windows took only a couple of minutes. Satisfied, he padded back upstairs and slid into bed beside Sarah and a still snoring Charlie.

“Right,” he said. “All safe and sound, love. Go back to sleep – the storm will pass soon, I'm sure”

At that moment, as if to contradict him, there came the biggest blast yet. It seemed as though the entire house was shaken, and Jimmy swore under his breath – this is going to be a long night, he thought. Beside him, Sarah continued murmuring quietly, holding Charlie firmly in her arms, one hand playing absently with the Rosary. Jimmy realised she was praying quietly, but whether they were the Stations, Our Father's, Hail Mary's or something quite different he could not make out. He left her to it, and turned on his side. As he did so, another long and ominous deafening rumble of thunder rent the humid air, and lightning flashed again and again. Above the din, Sarah's voice sounded stronger.

“Go away!” she said. “There is nothing for you here. This is God's house! The Angels are protecting us! Go!”

Jimmy looked around but could see nothing, as Sarah cooed comfortingly to Charlie, something about an angel on the end of the bed, but Jimmy might have imagined that. But then, quite suddenly, the rain and wind eased off to no more than a light breeze and a bit of drizzle, the lightning faded and the thunder rolled away in the distance, becoming less distinct with each clap.

With a sigh of relief, Jimmy closed his eyes and fell into a fitful sleep.

The alarm woke him what seemed like moments later, but it was 5 in the morning, a good couple of hours later. He turned his head, and saw Sarah dozing, with Charlie latched on to a nipple and sucking contentedly. Jimmy smiled and slipped from the bed, heading for the bathroom. He used the toilet and had a quick shower and cleaned his teeth, all as quietly as possible, then crept back into the bedroom. Sarah was awake, the baby draped over her left shoulder as she massaged his back, winding him. As Jimmy began dressing, Charlie let out a huge belch, then another, then a messy gurgling as he filled his nappy.

“He's fine, then,” said Jimmy. “Want me to change him?”

Sarah stood up, the baby still over her shoulder hiccuping happily as he drifted back to sleep. She kissed Jimmy briefly and smiled.

“No, it's okay,” she said. “You have a train to catch. Go on, have a good day, and I'll see you tonight. Love you.”

Jimmy ran his hand gently down her bare back and squeezed her buttock.

“Love you, too,” he said, kissed her and left.

He had expected to see a scene of devastation when he stepped out of the door into the warm early morning light, but all looked perfectly normal. He scratched his head, and walked off towards the station half a mile away, and looked all around carefully.. His house was completely undamaged: no tiles off the roof, no broken branches or flowers scattered over the little front lawn, and the birds that nested in the eaves close to Charlie's bedroom window were singing quite cheerily. Despite the torrential rain, there were no puddles on the path or in the gardens, which still looked desrt dry, and the street-side gutters were clean of debris all the way. It seemed all very odd to Jimmy......as if the storm had never happened at all. He resolved to pick up a paper and see what he could find later (it was too early yet). His train was half empty, and he found a window seat, slung his brief case into the rack above him and was asleep in a minute.

By the time he arrived in the City (late as it happened: another train breakdown had delayed it between two stations for three-quarters of an hour and Jimmy had slept blissfully though it all) the night's events were no more than a dim memory, a curiosity forgotten as he had to hurry to his office. The Tokyo call had not gone well, nor the later Frankfurt call, and the less said about the lunchtime New York shouting match the better. It was a typically stressful day, and as usual Jimmy got home closer to 9:30 than the seven o'clock he had planned.  Last night was completely forgotten.

It all came rushing back, however, when with a cheery “I'm home, my loves!” he stepped through the front door. Sarah came rushing across to him, threw her arms around him sobbing desolately.   Charlie, in his bouncy chair, smiling through a gallon of dribble, stared at something invisible close to the ceiling and waved his arms happily.

Jimmy dropped his case, and hugged her tightly, making what he hoped were soothing noises.

“Hey!” he said. “Sarah? What's wrong? Everything's ok!”

She buried her tear-streaked fact in his shirt front, and a muffled “No, it isn't.” came to Jimmy's ears. He pulled away, took both her hands in his and eyed her searchingly, then led her across to the setteee. They sat, and still holding her hands in one of his, he smoothed her hair back with the other and smiled.

“Now tell me,” he said. “What is this all about?”

For a moment, she chewed her bottom lip, looking nervously all around her and especially at Charlie. Then she looked at Jimmy out of red-rimmed but clear blue eyes.

“We have to move,” she said finally. “We have to sell the house and move away. Right away. I don't want to live here any more.”

Jimmy looked at her, baffled.

“What the hell are you on about?” he asked eventually.

She took a deep breath, not taking her eyes off the baby.

“We have to go,” she repeated. She paused, but Jimmy made no comment. “Please, Jimmy. It's not safe here any more.”

Jimmy sat for a moment, looking around the room. He and Sarah had only moved in a year ago, just before Sarah got pregnant, and they had invested a lot of time and money decorating it, furnishing it, modernizing it and making it a perfect home for their little family. He loved it. Then a thought came to him.

“Is this about last night? It was just a storm.”

Sarah shook her head sharply.

“No! I mean – yes!” She took a deep breath. “No, it wasn't a storm. It was.......” Her voice trailed off.

Jimmy stood up, slung his jacket over the arm of the sofa, then went to the kitchen, returning a minute later with a couple of cold beers. He sat, and gave one to Sarah, who he knew rarely if ever drank. She looked at it for a second, then drank deeply. He took a swig of his own.

“Better,” he said. “Now then....”

Composed now, she looked him straight in the eye.

“It wasn't a storm,” she said firmly. “It was....something, I won't say what.....and it came for Charlie. But we saved him, with the help of the angel. And....it....was angry.....” Her voice trailed off again.

Jimmy opened his mouth to speak, but she placed her fingers to his lips to silence him.

“No, listen,” she said. “You know Gemma next door is.....was....expecting?”  He nodded. Quietly, she said, “Last night she miscarried. About 2:30. in the morning.”

She looked at him.

“2:30?” he said. “When the storm....”

“It wasn't a storm!” she said. “It was.....him. He came for Charlie. And when he couldn't get Charlie, because the angel was here, he went next door, and took Gemma's baby. Then he left.” She drained the beer, crushed the can violently in her small hand, and looked steadily at her husband. “So we have to go. I can't stay here, next to door to Gemma, knowing it was our fault that......that.....”

Jimmy stared at her as he took another deep swallow of his beer.

“What angel?” he said finally.

“ Charlie's angel,” said Sarah. “While you were fetching Charlie I dug out my Rosary, and prayed to him. The angel, I mean. And he came. He was sitting on the end of the bed all night, watching us.”

Jimmy continued staring at her. He knew, of course, about Sarah's deep and sometimes – to him at least – odd religious convictions, but this was something else. He didn't know how to react. Finally:

“So when things got really really loud and rough.....”

“That's when....it.....got angry. And went next door to claim Gemma's...... And then it got quiet, remember – that was when it went away.”

Silence. Jimmy could think of nothing to say.

“The angel?” he said eventually.

Sarah brightened.

“He's still here,” she said, and glanced across at Charlie, gurgling happily in his bouncy chair. “That's who Charlie's waving to. But you see why we can't stay here, don't you? I can't stay here after that......”

They sat in silence for a full five minutes, while Sarah watched the baby and Jimmy tried to assimilate all she had said and drank his beer. Then he stood up, and picked up the two empty cans.

“Another?” he said.

Later as they lay quietly in each others' arms, warm in the afterglow, Jimmy kissed her gently on the top of her head. She stirred slightly, her hand gently stroking the hair on his belly.

“It's Friday tomorrow,” he murmured. “The weekend. We'd better pick up the local paper and visit some estate agents.”

She sighed, and kissed his chest.

“I knew you'd understand,” she said, and ignored his shaking head