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Thunder was heard five seconds after the lightning had lighted the room.

Every Tracy crawled together on hearing the force of nature.

Jeff was doing a report and let his pen with fright fall from his hands when he heard it.

Scott who was doing the dishes, let the plates fall back into the water and turned around so that his back rested against the sink.

John and Virgil who with were talking their grandmother via video phone shared knowing glances from under the table where they were hiding. Gordon let the controller of his video game fall and dove beside his two older brothers.

They all looked at eachother. From every mouth came the same name. Alan.

The three year old was terrified of thunderstorms. Even worse than all other Tracy's.

"I'll go see if everything is okay." Said Scott and almost ran out of the room.

Arrived in Alan's room Scott saw the baby of the family lying in his small bed. He was still sleeping peacefully on his tummy with his thumb in his mouth and playing with his own blond locks.

Without waking him Scott lifted him up in his arms and took him to the guest room. Maybe he was sleeping now but if he woke up during the storm and he was alone Alan would freak.

With Alan on his chest he set out for the night.

A face peered around the corner, "he´s still asleep?" asked John in a whisper.

A new lightning made the room bright and Alan whimpered softly. But he still didn´t wake up.

John pale figure run to the bedsite to comfort the toddler if need be.

The fourteen-year-old looked pleadingly at his only older brother. "Can I stay? For Alan of course. "

After a nod from Scott, John crawled under the covers. A Tracy won´t admit that he was afraid of something but Scott knew that none of his family (even he) was a fan of thunderstorms.

After a new thunderclap came the ten and twelve year old running into the room. Scott's eyebrows went up when he looked questioningly at the two.

"We are not afraid." Squeaked Virgil and bumped Gordon to let him say something.

'No.' said he quickly. "We ... Uhm, we came to see if everything goes well with ... "

Thunder interrupted Gordon and the two dived under the blankets by their brothers.

"You´re not afraid?" Scott asked while rubbed Alan's back to calm down the toddler. The baby was shaking with fear in his sleep.

"Naha we are not afraid." Gordon defended himself. "But we can stay here for Alan?" he squeaked quickly when a flash of light made everything bright again and hid under the covers.

Without answering John began to sing softly. It was Mom's thunderstorm what song she always sang when it stormed.

little child, be not afraid
though rain pounds harshly against the glass
like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger
I am here tonight

little child, be not afraid
though thunder explodes and lightning flash
illuminates your tear-stained face
I am here tonight

and someday you'll know
that nature is so
the same rain that draws you near me
falls on rivers and land
on forests and sand
makes the beautiful world that you'll see
in the morning

little child, be not afraid
though storm clouds mask your beloved moon
and its candlelight beams, still keep pleasant dreams
I am here tonight

little child, be not afraid
though wind makes creatures of our trees
and their branches to hands, they're not real, understand
and I am here tonight

for you know, once even I was a
little child, and I was afraid
but a gentle someone always came
to dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears
and to give a kiss goodnight

well now I am grown
and these years have shown
that rain's a part of how life goes
but it's dark and it's late
so I'll hold you and wait
'til your frightened eyes do close

and I hope that you'll know...

everything's fine in the morning
the rain'll be gone in the morning
but I'll still be here in the morning

Soon everyone was in a deep calm sleep. Reassured by being together as a family.

When Jeff walked into the room, the storm was still in progress.

Alan sat in the middle of the king size bed, watching over his four older brothers.

When he saw his father, he climbed from the bed and trotted over to him on his little legs. He wrapped his arms around his father's leg.

Jeff lifted him chuckling at his youngest. "What is it Allie? Are you scared of the thunder? Can´t you sleep of the noise?" he asked the toddler in his arms.

Who looked at him surprised. "Me is not afraid of the thunder." said the toddler. "The thunder is Mommy crying because she misses us and because she do not want me to be alone. If mommy cries everyone coming at my bed. Thunder is fun." Alan determined. "Dad also sleep with us?"

His 'no' was interrupted by a new loud bang. It was as if Lucy ...

"Yes spout. I'll sleep with you tonight if you want to." With Alan in his arms, he took place on the sofa next to the bed.

In heaven an angel slowed the storm down. She knew that her youngest woke up the minute that Scott lifted him out of bed up in his room. But pretended to be asleep and that he was afraid around his brothers to protect them. None of his brothers would admit that they prefered sleeping together when it stormed because they were afraid of getting laughed at.

Jeff had fallen asleep when Alan sat up again.

A gentle hand rubbed through the blonde hair. Alan looked up. "Mommy?" he asked through the dark room. But as always there was no answer. "Thank you mommy." Alan whispered as he looked at his family.

A soft voice, just as hard as the wind and barely audible, started singing softly through the room.

and I hope that you'll know...

everything's fine in the morning
the rain'll be gone in the morning
but I'll still be here in the morning

Just a little story that popped up in my head. Hope you liked it...

as always, please report mistakes XD