Mary Anderson woke with a start as the piercing cries of her infant son sounded through the baby monitor on her nightstand.  She dragged herself out of bed and peered into the nursery, only to see the figure of her husband, John, already in the room tending to baby Blaine.  She smiled at the scene as she continued her way down the hall.  She poked her head into the last room in the hall to find her ten-year-old son, Cooper, snoring quietly under his space-themed covers.

She made her way down the stairs to get a glass of water from the kitchen.  On her way back upstairs, she passed the living room and noticed that her husband was sound asleep in front of the television.  

But there was a man in the nursery…. She thought.

The glass of water dropped to floor and shattered with a crash as Mary Anderson ran up the stairs toward the door of her son’s nursery.

“Blaine!” she shrieked.

John Anderson jolted awake as the screams of his wife reverberated through the house.  He jumped up and ran upstairs almost as quickly as Mary had.

When he entered the nursery he was relieved to find his youngest son innocently gazing at the ceiling while absentmindedly sucking his thumb.  John deduced that he must have imagined the scream.  It was just a vivid nightmare. 

“Hey, Blainey,” he said as he made his way over to the crib, “You doin’ okay?”

As he reached out to stroke his son’s cheek a drop of thick red liquid landed on the back of his hand. John Anderson looked up at the ceiling and was overcome with terror and devastation.

“Mary,” he whispered, “No!”

Mary Anderson’s body was suspended in the air, her back against the ceiling of the nursery.  Her eyes were desperate and a deep red gash was sliced across her abdomen.

“Mary!” John screamed.

Suddenly her body erupted with flames, engulfing the entire room.

John took Blaine in his arms and ran into the hallway where he found a startled looking Cooper heading toward him.

“Cooper!  Take your brother outside,” he instructed, “Don’t look back.  Go!”

Cooper did as he was told.  He rushed down the stairs and out the front door until he was standing in the middle of their lawn.  The dewy grass tickled his feet as he watched the fire rage through the upstairs windows. 

His father ran toward him yelling for Cooper to move further away.  Before he could react, his father had scooped the two of them into his arms and was running.  Cooper saw his entire home surrounded in flames as he watched over his father’s shoulder.  Suddenly, the fire erupted into a bright explosion, sending debris flying in all directions.

After the fire department and the paramedics had come, John held his boys close and explained to Cooper that their mother was no longer with them.  She had passed away in the fire.

“But what about Blainey?” Cooper choked out as he cried into his father’s shoulder, “He’s just a baby.  He needs a mommy!”

“Well,” John said solemnly, “That’s why he’s going to need a very good big brother.  Do you think you could be that?”

“Yeah,” Cooper answered, “I could.”

His father pressed a kiss to his forehead and hugged him to his chest. Cooper took Blaine into his arms.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered, “I’ll take care of you.  I promise.”