diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/bootstrap/Bootstrap.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/bootstrap/Bootstrap.java
index 3edb65a2fc5..8318fae0726 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/bootstrap/Bootstrap.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/bootstrap/Bootstrap.java
@@ -177,7 +177,9 @@ public class Bootstrap {
 
     private void stop() {
         try {
-            node.close();
+            if (node != null) {
+                node.close();
+            }
         } finally {
             keepAliveLatch.countDown();
         }