A few weeks passed and Blaine was still with Ryan. Their first date had gone amazingly, even though Blaine was still slightly upset at what hed found out about Tyler. Ryan had dropped Blaine back off his apartment and left him with a gentle kiss goodnight, causing Blaine to grin for ages after he left.

Hed grown impossibly closer to Kurt, and he wasnt as terrified around Cleo - who absolutely adored him - anymore. Hed babysat a few times, but he didnt trust himself to look after a baby all night by himself so hed only do it for a little while if Kurt had to run some errands or something.

Tonight, though, Blaine had agreed to look after her for the entire night as Kurt had to work late and he couldnt get a babysitter on such short notice. He knew he had the capability to look after her safely, he was just terrified that hed do something stupid.

"I hope you realise youre leaving your childs life in my hands for the entire night," Blaine said as a way of greeting when he arrived at Kurts apartment.

Kurt laughed in reply. "Blaine, if I didnt trust you I wouldnt be letting you look after her."

"I know you trust me," Blaine said. "I just dont think I trust me."

"Youll be fine," Kurt assured him. "Ive written a list of things she is and isnt allowed to eat on the fridge, and Ive written down when she needs to go to bed too. Most of her toys are in her bedroom and shes got loads of DVDs in there too if she gets restless. Im only a phone call away if you need anything, okay?"

Blaine breathed out a nervous breath. "Yeah," he said. "Okay."

Kurt smiled. "She loves you, Blaine," he pointed out. "Youre like her best friend."

"Thats really cute," Blaine chuckled. "Okay, I think Ive got this."

"Let me just go and get her up from her nap," Kurt said, heading in the direction of Cleos room. He returned a few moments later with a very sleepy looking Cleo, her head on Kurts shoulder and her eyes closed, her dummy in her mouth as she grasped Kurts shirt tightly. "Baby," Kurt said softly, bouncing Cleo a little bit in his arms until she opened her eyes. "I need to go now, baby girl."

Cleo seemed to just stare at Kurt in confusion while he spoke before laying her head back down on his shoulder, eliciting a chuckle from Kurt. He gently eased her into Blaines arms, shaking his head with a grin when she went willingly, cuddling up to Blaine and keeping her eyes shut.

"Try not to let her fall back to sleep or she wont sleep when its her bedtime," Kurt said to Blaine, carding his fingers gently through Cleos hair. "If you need anything, just call me, okay?"

Blaine nodded. "I think Ill be okay."

"You will," Kurt assured him. "Okay. Cleo, baby?"

Cleo didnt move an inch, only blinked her eyes open sleepily.

"Daddy will be back later, okay? I love you lots, you little monkey." He said, pressing a kiss to Cleos cheek and causing her to giggle at the nickname.

Once Kurt was gone, Blaine sat down with Cleo on the sofa, trying to keep her from leaning against him and sleeping. He put the TV on at Cleos request, putting her into her playpen with a few of her toys while he ventured into the kitchen to look at Kurts lists.

Okay...he could do this. Hed be fine. He could cook, so that was dinner sorted. He (finally) knew how to change a diaper, so that was fine. Cleo was the sleepiest child Blaine had ever met, so getting her to bed shouldnt be an issue. Other than that, all Blaine had to do was keep her occupied, which would be easy.

Blaine jumped when he heard a loud crash sound from the living room, Cleos cries filling the entire apartment. He dropped the list from his hand, all but sprinting back into the living room to find Cleo lying on the floor, her playpen turned onto its side where shed clearly tried to climb out and made the entire frame fall over.

"Cleo," Blaine said, rushing over to the one year old and lifting her into his arms, trying to calm her down a little. He sat down on the sofa and checked her head to make sure it wasnt bleeding or anything. "Youre okay," he whispered, close to tears himself as he cuddled her close. "Youre okay."

Cleo, however, wouldnt stop crying. Blaine stood up and bounced her gently, trying to calm her down. He could hear her voice growing tired but she still wouldnt stop.

"Cleo," Blaine whined, sitting down on the sofa and bouncing her on his knee. He held her tightly against him as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled a number, trying his hardest not to cry.

"Blaine?"

"Ryan," Blaine choked out, unable to hold his tears back.

"Hey, whats wrong?" Ryan asked gently.

"I dont...Im babysitting Cleo," Blaine explained. "I went into the kitchen for like thirty seconds and she tried to climb out of her playpen but she tipped the entire thing over and fell out and she wont stop crying and Im freaking out."

"Okay, first of all - breathe," Ryan said. "Is she bleeding at all?"

"No," Blaine replied, trying to calm down. "I dont think shes hurt but she wont stop crying and I dont know what to do."

"Shes probably just scared from falling out," Ryan explained. "How long has she been crying for?"

"I dont know," Blaine said, still crying himself. "I dont know shes just...shes been crying long enough that shes struggling to keep crying."

"Do you want me to come over?" Ryan asked.

Blaine let out a shaky breath, wiping his eyes with his sleeve before putting his arm back around Cleo.

"Im at Kurts," he said. "Is it okay if I check with him first and then Ill send you his address?"

"Sure," Ryan replied.

A few minutes later, Blaine had already texted Kurt to make sure it was okay that Ryan came over, and he was texting Ryan Kurts address.

Blaine leaned back against the sofa, cuddling Cleo tightly as she let out broken whimpers, clinging onto Blaine like her life depended on it.

He felt terrible for needing Ryan to come over and help him. How was he supposed to look after an entire class of kids by himself if he couldnt even look after one? How was he supposed to know that Cleo would try climbing out of her playpen anyway? She was having fun in there before he left.

Blaine was snapped out of his thoughts by a knock on the door, which also resulted in Cleo beginning to cry loudly once again. He stood up and cradled her head to his shoulder, kissing the top of her head as he made his way over to the door.

"Hey," Ryan said when Blaine opened the door, leaning in and hugging him as best he could with Cleo in Blaines arms.

"Im so glad youre here," Blaine breathed. "I thought I could handle this but I cant."

"You can," Ryan countered, pulling back from the hug and leading Blaine over to the sofa. "Okay, lets make sure this little one is okay."

Cleo whined loudly at being taken away from Blaine, but Ryan immediately calmed her down, bouncing her on his knee and talking to her in a baby voice about Blaine being silly, causing her to giggle a little.

"How did you do that?" Blaine asked in shock.

Ryan smiled. "Did you even try? Or were you just freaking out?"

"Well, I..." Blaine sighed.

"Babies reflect your emotions," Ryan explained. "If shes already upset and then you get upset, she wont calm down. If shes upset and you're calm then shell calm down."

Blaine deflated a little, leaning back against the sofa. "How the hell am I supposed to be a teacher if I cant even look after my friends child?"

"As long as you tell yourself you cant do it, you wont be able to do it," Ryan said. "Youre perfectly capable of looking after her, you just dont believe in yourself."

"I guess thats always been my issue," Blaine concluded. "Ive never really felt like I was good enough for anything."

"Why?"

Blaine shrugged. "I guess because when I was younger I was never good enough for my parents," Blaine said. "They were never really accepting of me being gay and they just used that as a reason to put me down for anything. No matter what I did they were always comparing me to my brother, and they still do - Cooper has a good job and a family already - youre still in school and youre with that stupid boy, Timothy or whatever his name is." Blaine mocked.

"Im guessing you dont like your brother that much?" Ryan asked.

"I do," Blaine corrected. "Hes probably the only person in my family who couldnt care less that Im gay, or that Im basically just wandering around New York like a lost puppy who has no idea what hes doing. I just hate how my parents are always comparing us, its like...no matter how hard I try Im never good enough. The worst part is is that I feel so lost sometimes, but I know I could never go to my parents for help or advice because theyd just tell me that Cooper wouldnt have this problem, you know."

"Maybe you should stop listening to them, then?" Ryan suggested, standing up and picking Cleos playpen up before setting her inside, both of them making sure to keep an eye on her this time around. "I mean, I know theyre your parents, but they clearly arent a positive influence in your life."

"Thats easier said than done," Blaine said, cuddling up to Ryans side when he opened his arms up. "Its like, even though nothing I do is ever good enough for them they never seem to leave me alone."

"Well," Ryan said, Blaine looking up at him in question. "I think youre amazing, so screw what they think."

Blaine smiled, leaning up to press his lips to Ryans in a chaste kiss. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"Blaine?"

Blaine turned round to see Cleo pulling herself up onto her feet using the bars of the playpen as leverage, causing his heart to speed up a little bit as he sat up straight. He sighed a little in relief when all she did was lift her arms up, clearly having learned her lesson the first time she climbed out.

He lifted her out of the playpen, smiling a little when she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Whats wrong, little one?" Blaine asked, sitting down with Cleo on his lap.

"Want Daddy." Cleo said, hiding her face in Blaines shit.

"Hell be home soon," Blaine assured her. "What do you want to do until then?"

Cleo looked up at Blaine, her face confused for a few moments before she pushed herself off his lap and ran into her bedroom.

"Blaine!" She called loudly, causing Blaine to laugh as he followed the one year old into her bedroom, finding her standing on her bed reaching up for the top shelf next to it.

Lifting Cleo up, he allowed her to grab a pink Lego box from the shelf before he set her back down on the floor and laughed as she ran excitedly through to the living room.

The three of them played with the Lego until dinner time, and then cuddled up one the sofa together and watched Winnie The Pooh until Cleo eventually fell asleep.

"I told you you could do it," Ryan whispered from the doorway of Cleos bedroom as Blaine carefully laid Cleo down in her bed and tucked her in without waking her.

Blaine grinned, shooing Ryan out of the room with his hands and closing the door before kissing Ryan properly for the first time all night.

"You were right," Blaine whispered, wrapping his arms around Ryans neck. "I overreacted about the whole thing."

"Im always right," Ryan teased, pulling Blaine closer and kissing him again.

They continued to kiss for a few minutes until they heard the door opening, causing Blaine to pull away and hide his face in Ryans shoulder.

"You can hide all you like, but I know what you were just doing," Kurt laughed as he entered the apartment.

Blaine whined, keeping his face hidden while Kurt and Ryan laughed at the situation.

"You guys are awful," Blaine commented, turning his face so that he could see Kurt but keeping his head against Ryans shoulder.

Kurt shrugged, grinning proudly and pulling his coat off. "How did it go?"

Blaine finally pulled away from Ryan, holding his hand instead. "It went okay," he said. "It kind of start off terribly but, yeah..."

"I told you youd be fine," Kurt pointed out. "She adores you. I also see she roped you into watching Winnie The Pooh." He laughed.

"Yeah," Blaine laughed. "She insisted."

Kurt shook his head with laughter. "Thank you so much for tonight," he said. "Ive never really been comfortable getting babysitters. I dont really want a complete stranger alone in my house, much less alone in my house with my baby."

"Its fine," Blaine said. "I...if you need me to look after her again, Id be happy too."

"You sure?" Kurt asked, smiling.

Blaine nodded. "I think Im a little less afraid that Im going to cause havoc."

"If anyones going to cause havoc, its Cleo," Kurt laughed. "Speaking of, I think Im gonna go kiss her goodnight. Do either of you need a ride home?"

"I can drop Blaine off," Ryan said, Blaine nodding in agreement.

"Okay," Kurt smiled. "Thank you again - both of you."

"No problem," Blaine replied with a smile.