Angels Watching Over You

Barely five months old and he was already the most curious kid, looking around just wanting to know. Mary looked down at her new baby, Sam, and smiled. She couldn't help but feel like this kid was going to want to know everything. Any mother would think her child was smart, but she had a feeling this wasn't just a mother's bias. This kid was going to be brilliant, she just knew it.

"Mommy, Mommy!" And then there was her other kid, her beautiful and incredibly tough son Dean. He was four and already getting into so much trouble. Just last week he got into trouble for fighting at preschool because some kid was picking on another kid. Dean didn't have anything to do with the situation to start with, he just couldn't stand someone not being able to stand up for themselves so he stepped in, Mommy's little hero.

Now they were at the park. Mary turned to her son, who was playing with someone else's dog. It was just like Dean, getting everyone to fall in love with him. There wasn't a day he didn't make friends with a stranger. He had all of the girls and teacher's aids falling for him at school. Mary sighed. "Dean, sweetie, be careful." The boy was too brave for his own good.

Then she noticed the dog was on a leash. A man walked the dog over to her and her other son with Dean following, petting the dog along the way. "Mommy, meet Amarillo, he's my new friend! Can I have a pet dog? Do you think daddy will let me…" Before Dean could finish the dog suddenly snarled and took a leap for Sam. Neither of the adults could react in time. Mary felt her heart drop. But amazingly enough Dean grabbed the dog's collar before it could reach the poor crying infant. "No! Bad Amarillo! That's my baby brother, you can't eat him!" Dean tapped the dog on the nose and shoved it away as Mary picked her crying son up, amazed by Dean's fast reflexes (God she hoped he didn't become a soldier like his daddy).

"I'm so sorry ma'am, I don't know what's gotten into him. He's usually so well behaved." The stranger said with a smooth voice, a voice that seemed eerily familiar.

For the first time Mary looked up at the stranger and for a split second she could swear his eyes flashed yellow, sending her back to that night years and years ago when she made a deal to save her love's life and her parents died. "Um, yeah, that's fine, he's okay. Sorry, we have to go." Mary grabbed her boys, holding them close, and left without a second thought to the blanket or other items she had come with. She had to leave, she had to get away.

"But Mommy, I'm not done playing!" Dean tried to protest.

Mary just kept up her fast pace. "No Dean, it's getting cold anyways, come on, we're going. You can play at home." She tried not to sound angry but those eyes…

Later that night Mary put Sammy to sleep easily with the help of Dean (as always) and then the two went to Dean's room. Mary tried to smile and be the happy, sweet mother but the events of the day were still weighing on her. She hadn't really realized how outward her worries were until she felt Dean pull her into a hug on his bed. "It's okay Mommy, don't worry about today and the scary doggie. I'll always be here to protect Sammy."

In that moment her heart broke. Here was her little four year old son trying to comfort her. "Oh, sweetie, it's okay. Mommy is just tired. You don't have to comfort me. It's my job to comfort you." She hugged her son back, trying not to cry.

"And it's my job to watch out for Sammy, right? Because I'm a big brother now and I have to look out for everyone." He smiled as he pulled away and snuggled into his covers.

Mary smiled sweetly. "Oh yeah, well, if you're protecting everyone then who is going to protect you?" He really was her little hero.

The little boy yawned. "The angels, silly. They're always watching over me, right, Mommy?"

"Yes, the angels are always watching over you, and your brother and me and your daddy. So you don't have to worry about protecting everyone so much, okay little man?" She smiled as he nodded sleepily. "Do you want me to sing to you tonight?"

The small boy nodded eagerly and smiled. "Jude, sing Jude Mommy."

"Okay." Mary ran her hand through her son's hair and started singing softly. "Hey Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better…" She barely made it to the chorus when she noticed Dean was fast asleep, snoring softly. She couldn't help but smile at the boy she was so proud of. She leaned down and gave him a quick kiss before leaving the room.

As she shut the door she looked back one more time. Her mind went back to that night, that terrible night. She had promised something, something she wasn't sure of. All she knew was that ten years down the road that man would come back. And looking at the calendar when they got back from the park she realized it was close to the ten year mark.

Mary looked at the little angel statue that sat above Dean's bed. "Please look out for him, look out for all of them, no matter what happens to me." A tear ran down her face but she wiped it away as she heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

"Mary? Are the boys asleep? Are you coming to bed?" John asked in a sleepy voice, he must have fallen asleep in front of the TV again and just now realized it.

The wife and mother of many secrets took a deep breath and closed her son's door. "Yeah, I'm coming." And she went to bed with her husband, praying to any angel out there that would listen to look after and protect her boys…