Lightning crashed through the sky, Lynn, suddenly found herself sitting bolt upright, breathing heavily. She looked outside her bedroom window, watching the thunderstorm dance. She looked right below the window and there was an empty baby's crib. Naturally, it should be empty at the present time, the previous occupant was nearly five years old and sleeping in her own room now. The second occupant was still in Lynn's tummy.

She then looked to her right to find that her husband, Clyde was not in bed. In a sense, Lynn was quite alone. Something about being alone slightly unnerved her. She guessed that having grown up with so many siblings, and being a member of so many athletic teams, she was just used to feeling a little overcrowded, maybe even used to chaos to the point where it was considered normal.

Luckily, her solitude didn't last long, Clyde came back in wearing his light blue pajamas, even in the dark, she could see his silhouette. She waved at him, letting him know that she was wide awake.

"Lynn, are you awake?" he asked, a little confused.

"Yeah, I guess the storm woke me up, I'm just a rough sleeper. Where were you?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I had to, y'know, go," he replied, before getting back into bed.

"Did you check on Clara?" Lynn asked.

"Well, no was I supposed to?" Clyde asked, a little confused.

"No, I was just asking, it's nothing," Lynn replied, looking away from Clyde and back to the crib and storm. Clyde put his arm gently around Lynn.

"Lynn, I'm your husband, you can tell me anything. If there's something troubling you, I want to know," he said.

"Guess I was thinking about something. About a time long ago, when Clara was just a little baby. You remember we had her in this bedroom, sleeping in that very crib," Lynn explained.

"Well yeah, we agreed it was the best way for us to keep an eye on her in case she needed anything, even in the middle of the night," Clyde replied, a smile on his face.

"Well, one night, on a night very much like tonight, she woke up scared and started crying because of the thunder and lightning. I was only half asleep, and was about to get up and comfort her but you got up, and you just gently held her in your arms saying 'It's okay, Daddy's here, Daddy's got you.' I just laid still, watching you comfort her, and honestly, I thought it was wonderful," Lynn explained. Clyde was now scratching his goatee in interest, then he smiled.

"I remember that now, you sure fooled me, I thought you were still asleep. But yeah, Clara was scared and she just needed some attention, and reassurance that she was safe, and I just did what any decent father would've done. That's my job as a daddy," he replied, and then he laid the hand that was previously around Lynn gently on her tummy.

"And if this one needs that kind of attention at any point, I will gladly do that again. But as for Clara, I think her days of coming to us for protection from a big storm are behind her," he continued.

"What makes you so sure of that?" asked Lynn.

"Well, she's a tough girl, probably gets that from her mom," Clyde replied, Lynn chuckled at that. Then, a great big lightning bolt ripped through the sky, and even before the thunder could begin to roll in, the couple heard the rapid pitter patter of tiny feet and into their room rushed Clara, wearing her Winnie the Pooh pajamas. Her parents laughed as she ran towards their bed.

"Aw, did the storm scare you? Well that's okay, you can stay with us!" Clyde laughed as he reached down and helped Clara into the bed. He and Lynn made room so that Clara could nestle right between them. So the little family went back to sleep hugging each other.