I can only add that doing an armed search of your home after hearing a noise is dangerous to all involved. People who don't understand 'Condition RED' have shot their own children sneaking home late at night. This is something that under most scenarios should be left to the pros (if that's possible, of course). Not knowing the layout of your home, I can't suggest much except that I once said to a friend who told me his wife, while he was away, did a midnight search of their home armed with a shotgun after 'hearing something.' I told him I thought it was a bad idea and suggested that, if it ever happened again, she should lock herself, kids and dog in the master bedroom and call the police. Have a house key connected to either a piece of brightly-painted broomstick or a cyalume light stick and toss it down to the police when they show. Let them clear your house. If you hear something outside the bedroom door, shout out in a loud voice that you're armed and will shoot if you have to.