The two weeks he spent in Westerville passed in a blur. Blaine could barely remember the funeral. He couldn't get rid of the ache in his chest. Every time he would pass a picture of Cooper in the house, the pain would increase until it felt like it would suffocate him completely. He didn't cry though, not since he first heard the news. It was as if he had forgotten how to. He often felt his throat go dry, and felt the prickle behind his eyes, but no tears ever came.

He was trying to be strong. Strong for the littler girl in his arms. She was counting on him. He couldn't let himself think about the 'what ifs'. What if he couldn't take care of her properly? What if he made a terrible decision? What if she grows up and hates him for being a failure?

No.

He wouldn't think of those things. He couldn't.

Instead, he smiled down at the cooing girl in his arms, her blue eyes the exact same color as his brothers were. He could do this. He would do this. It was all for her now, nothing else mattered.

"Are you ready to go to your new home baby girl? I promise I will take good care of you. Nothing bad will ever happen to you ever again. I promise."

Ali's only response was a small smile, as if she somehow understood what Blaine was saying. They were getting ready to head back to New York, Blaine's mother agreed to come with him for the first week, to make sure he had everything they needed. All of Ali's things had already been shipped to New York, so Blaine didn't have to worry about buying all new furniture and clothes for the little girl. At least one thing wouldn't change in her life.

Once everything was all packed and ready to go, Blaine was holding Ali and looking at her carseat apprehensively. Why were there so many straps and buckles? Oh, this would not be good. He nodded once to himself, determined to get this right. He bent down and sat Ali in the seat.

She instantly started screaming. Loudly.

Blaine scrambled to pick her back up. She immediately stopped yelling. He looked at the girl curiously for a moment, kissed her forehead, then went to set her back down. Again, she started screaming and Blaine didn't know what to do, so he picked her back up again to get her to stop. He held her to his chest and bounced a little, like how his mom showed him, and tried to talk some sense into her.

"It's okay baby girl. We need to go in the carseat so we can go to the airport. I promise I'll take you back out as soon as we get there, but you have to go in for a little while, okay?"

He looked at her, expecting...well he didn't really know what exactly. Just then, his mother came in the room and sighed.

"Blaine, darling, what are you doing? We need to leave."

"I know mom, but Ali cries every time I try to put her in the seat."

"So?"

"So? Mom, she starts screaming,"

"Blaine, you're going to have to learn. She will scream, but she'll stop after a while and most likely fall asleep in the car. Give her a toy to try and distract her."

"Right. Toy. Good idea. Okay baby girl. Time to go."

Blaine took a deep breath and bent down again, putting her in the seat. Of course, she started crying. This made Blaine a little frantic, and even more confused by all the straps. Finally, after about ten more minutes, Ali was all strapped in and already starting to doze off. Blaine felt accomplished, until he realized they were already running late.

He rushed and threw everything in the car, then carefully buckled Ali in. As they drove away, he gave his house one last look, saying a final silent goodbye to his brother.

They made it to the airport with only thirty minutes to spare. Blaine quickly learned that traveling with a baby was much more complex. By the time they actually boarded the plane, he was exhausted. Sadly, Ali woke up when he took her out of the carseat, and she was once again crying. He could practically feel the other people on the plane complaining about the noisy child and the judgement coming in waves when he couldn't get her to quiet.

Thankfully his mother fixed Ali a bottle and she fell asleep once more. Blaine kept her cuddled to his chest protectively. This was the first time she was on a plane, and he wanted to make sure she felt safe.

The flight was rough. Ali woke up when the plane first started experiencing turbulence. Blaine heard Ali speak for the first time in the past two weeks. It could be taken as just random sounds a baby makes, but Blaine knew better. The quiet "mum mum mum mum" tore at his heart. She wanted her mommy.

The dam that had been holding up so well finally broke free, and Blaine couldn't help the sob that escaped his lips. He clutched the little girl tighter to his chest and cried into her hair while he made more silent promises to her. He would do everything in his power to make her happy so she would never feel the pain Blaine was feeling right now.

He felt his mother place a hand on his shoulder, and for some reason that made him cry harder. He had his mother here to comfort him, but this poor little girl didn't. She only had him now. She would never know her parents. The way Cooper could quote every Star Wars movie, word for word. How beautiful Amelia's voice was. She would never witness just how much her parents were in love. How every time Cooper looked at his wife, his eyes lit up like he was looking at the greatest treasure known to man. She wouldn't get to see Blaine and Cooper at Christmas dinner, both stubbornly wearing their traditional footie pajamas much to their fathers disapproval.

There was so much she would never know. Then someday, when someone asks about her parents she'll just shrug and say, "they're dead" as if it were no big deal. Because she never got to know them, never had the chance to.

Blaine didn't know how long he cried for, but suddenly he felt the plane come to a halt at their gate. They had arrived in New York at last. He looked down at Ali again to see she had fallen asleep once more. His mother handed him a tissue, which he excepted gratefully. He looked over and saw his mother wiping tears of her own. He cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry mom. I was just thinking about all the things Ali would never know about...them." He couldn't bring himself to say their names, afraid of breaking down again. His mother just nodded and started retrieving their bags.

They made it off the plane and to the baggage claim with Ali still sound asleep in Blaine's arms. Blaine's mother was on the phone with the moving company that had brought all of Ali's things. They were apparently already at Blaine's apartment, waiting for them. He sighed, it would be a while before they got there. He sent his best friend, Wes, a quick text asking him to go over there. Wes was closer,living just down the block from Blaine, and had Blaine's spare key. Thankfully his friend wasn't busy and would be able to meet the movers. Well, that was one stress off Blaine's mind.

Ali woke with a cry when the buzzers for the baggage claim went off. Blaine tried to comfort her, but the loud noises scared her. His mother took pity on him and took the little girl.

"I'm going to stand outside with her, you remember what my bag looks like?"

Blaine nodded and gave his mother a grateful smile. He hoped he'd be able to handle everything once she was gone. He waited for all their bags and Ali's stroller and carseat to come through before struggling his way outside to find his mother. She had gotten Ali quieted again and gently placed her in the carseat. She didn't cry.

"How did you.."

"Blaine please. If you ever saw how difficult it was getting you and Co-"

She stopped dead in her tracks and cleared her throat. Blaine felt his go dry and nodded to her, telling her she didn't need to finish. They hailed a cab and got themselves situated before taking the drive to the Upper West Side.

If Blaine was ever thankful for anything, it was his parents wanting him to live properly while he was in New York. His apartment may be a bit small, but it was in a good neighborhood and it was rather nice. It actually used to be Amelia's apartment before Blaine moved in, but he wasn't going to think about how he was the reason Cooper and Amelia met.

The drive took a while due to traffic, but that was to be expected in New York. He immediately saw Wes standing outside giving directions to the movers and couldn't help but smile a little. He quickly paid for the cab and unbuckled Ali's carseat, he was already getting better at this. Wes met them and helped get their bags. Blaine pulled him in for a tight hug.

"Thanks so much Wes. Seriously."

"Blaine. Shh. It's the least I could do." Wes pulled out of Blaine's grasp and hugged his mother as well before stepping back.

"Hello Mrs. Anderson. It's nice to see you. Sorry I couldn't make it to-" He stopped short at the look on Blaine's face and cleared his throat. "So anyways. The movers are just about done. I just had them put everything in the living room. Didn't know how you wanted to set her room up. I'll stay and help. Oh! Is this little Ali?" He bent down and booped the girl on the nose. "Hello there gorgeous. Are you ready to see your new place? It's kind of a mess, but don't worry I'll make sure Blaine keeps it clean for you."

Ali giggled and tried to grab at Wes' hand and Blaine found himself chuckling a little. He knew he could count on Wes to be there for him. The four grabbed all the bags and made their way up to the sixth floor and into Blaine's apartment. Wes was right, it was a mess. Blaine sighed and took Ali out of her seat to show her the room.

"Well baby girl, welcome home."