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Exhausted from a busy day at the police academy, Sanders just wants to fall into bed and go to sleep. She heads to bed early and curls up under the blankets, desperate for sleep.
MacArthur, however, thinks her behaviour is hilarious. “It’s eight at night, Sanders! That’s seriously lame.”
“Don’t care,” she mutters. “Now either go away or go to sleep. I’m tired.”
MacArthur stares at her for a few seconds, before huffing and stalking off.
Sanders sighs, always finding her girlfriend amusing, and closes her eyes. She falls asleep in seconds.
---
Sanders is awoken in the middle of the night by a loud, booming noise. Its pitch black and she rolls over onto her back, trying to work out what is going on. She’s so tired, as though she’s barely slept at all.
About ten seconds later, there is a flash of light. For less than a second, the room is illuminated, allowing Sanders to see the clock. And she discovers that it is only half past nine. When the loud noise booms again, Sanders realises that there is a thunderstorm going on outside.
And she groans. Why did this have to happen tonight? She’s so tired.
Sighing, Sanders puts her pillow over her head and lies back down. Despite the storm raging outside, she’s determined to get a good night’s sleep.
But she doesn’t get a chance, because the door suddenly bursts open.
“Did you hear the thunder?” MacArthur yells, rushing into the bedroom.
She switches the light on, and Sanders feels like she has just been blinded.
“MacArthur!” she moans. “Do you mind?”
“Sorry,” she says, but she sounds absentminded.
MacArthur climbs into bed with Sanders, despite still wearing her day clothes. Sanders glances at her, and she realises that something is wrong. Her girlfriend is shivering, her face pale and tense. She looks like she’s scared of something – not that an idiot like MacArthur would ever admit she was scared.
“Is something wrong?” Sanders asks. “I mean, there better be a good reason for disturbing me when I want to sleep.”
MacArthur sighs. “I just wanted to check if you heard the thunder.”
“Of course I did. It woke me up!”
Her eyes are finally adjusting to the light; it no longer hurts to keep her eyes open. Sanders looks at MacArthur, wondering why she looks so stressed out.
“So… yeah,” MacArthur mumbles, clearly embarrassed. “That’s why I’m here. And—”
She’s clearly about to say something else, but then lighting flashes again and MacArthur tenses up. And when the thunder rumbles, she actually flinches.
Completely confused, Sanders shuffles into a sitting position. “Seriously, what’s up with you?”
“Nothing!” MacArthur says in the most overly defensive voice she has ever heard. She nearly laughs, but her sudden worry about her girlfriend overrules her amusement.
“It’s not nothing,” she says. “You’re clearly freaking the heck out about something, and I’m worried about you.”
MacArthur scoffs, looking at her like she’s an idiot. “You always worry about me. But you never need to. I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong.”
Outside, the rain falls harder, drumming against the windows. The lightning flashes again, even brighter this time, and the gap before the thunder is shorter. The storm must be getting closer to their apartment block. And when the thunder rumbles, it’s louder than ever before.
And MacArthur jumps, making the bed jolt. And before Sanders even knows what’s going on, MacArthur flings her arms around her and pulls her into a tight hug.
“What the…?” she says, but then MacArthur squeezes her so tightly it becomes quite difficult to breathe. “Uh, MacArthur? I can’t breathe.”
“Sorry,” MacArthur says, releasing her grip and letting Sanders breathe again.
Sanders pulls away and stares at her girlfriend, who has now gone bright red. “So, are you still insisting that nothing’s wrong?”
MacArthur breaks eye contact and then lets out a deep sigh. “Fine. You win. I’m kinda freaking out about the thunderstorm.”
“Really? I didn’t know you’re scared of thunderstorms.”
“I’m not scared, not really. I just… thunder makes me freak out.” She sighs again. “Sorry for being annoying.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Sanders says, putting her arm around MacArthur. “I just wish you’d told me. And that you didn’t storm in here and turn the light on when I’m trying to sleep.”
MacArthur smiles sheepishly. “Yeah, sorry about that too. I didn’t mean to wake you up. I was just… it’s stupid really, but I wondered if maybe thunder freaks you out too. And if it did, I didn’t want you to have to face it on your own.”
Sanders stares at her, amazed that her girlfriend was trying to be so caring. That’s really not her style.
She kisses MacArthur and says, “Thanks for looking out for me. And now you don’t have to freak out alone either. ‘Cause I’m here and I can protect you from the thunder. Well, not literally, of course, but at least you’re not alone.”
MacArthur smiles, but she still looks so embarrassed. “No,” she says, kissing her back. “I’m not alone.”