Blaine Anderson had always known his Aunt Shelby couldn't have children. It was an unspoken thing in their family that it wasn't brought up around her. His mother, her sister, had had three children, and their brother, his uncle, had had four. So the joys and burdens of raisings kids just wasn’t brought up when she was around. Though, secretly, Blaine suspected that in the past she might have had a child. That was only from piecing snippets of conversation he'd overheard together over the years. However, what had happened to that child he had no idea. All he knew was that they weren't around. And he wasn’t about to ask, “Hey, Aunt Shelbs, did you have a kid once?” he had more tact than that.

So it was a really big shock when his mother told him he had a new baby cousin.

It was quickly revealed his Aunt Shelby had adopted her. A little newborn named Beth. Where this child had come from was just as much of a mystery as where the other one had gone. He'd been assured it was all legal and fine, and he swore he heard something about a pregnant teen. But still... it had come out of nowhere for the entire family. They couldn’t have been happier for her though.

He planned to visit. His aunt had sounded more full of joy on the phone talking about the baby girl than he’d ever heard her sound, and that in turn made him really happy for her.

The idea of not having kids was something he could relate to. Not that he thought too seriously about it, he was only sixteen, after all. But the idea of having a family when he was older appealed to him, and was an adventure he knew that one day he’d want to experience, if he found the right guy. The harsh reality was though, that it was hard for gay couples to adopt, to the point where it was borderline impossible and he couldn’t help but feel that it would be something he’d unlikely ever get. So he knew what it felt like. To realise, you just might not end up having a family.

It was Tuesday night. Shelby said she got home at around seven, and that she would cook him dinner. A home-cooked meal would be a nice break from what he usually ate at Dalton. So at five past seven he pulled up in her driveway.

He was about to get out of the car when the front door opened. He stopped and watched.

A boy, average height, dressed in skinny jeans and a pale blue button down shirt, stepped out of the house. Blaine realised he couldn't have been much older than he was (in fact, he’d guess the boy was younger if anything). Though he carried himself with a rather straight posture, there was a sadness etched into his face. He pulled keys out of his pocket and quickly crossed the street, climbing into the sleek black Navigator parked there and left.

Blaine frowned, wondering who the boy was, but shrugged, deciding he could have been, and probably was most likely, one of his aunts old Vocal Adrenaline kids stopping by to say hello. He got out of the car, and nearly sprinted to the door. He couldn't wait to meet his new cousin.

He’d barely knocked on the door when she opened it to let him in.

“Hello Blaine,”

“Hi. How are you?” He asked politely, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“I’m good. Come on, Beth is in the nursery, I know she's who you really want to see.”

He gave her a sheepish grin. “I’m just... excited for you. And anxious, I tried so desperately to get out of our annual trip to Mexico so I could spend the summer here. But Mom wouldn’t have any of it.”

“I show her your picture every week, so she’ll know who you are.” Shelby teased (and for a moment Blaine couldn’t tell if she was serious of not). “But yes, I'm still excited too. It's bedtime for her though, so she's not very awake. Next week I'll make sure Kurt doesn't put her down before he leaves and you can meet her properly.”

“Kurt?” His curiosity peaked a little at the unfamiliar name.

“He's uh... he offered to baby sit for me on Tuesday afternoons.”

Blaine nodded. “Cool. Yeah, I think I saw him leaving as I pulled up.”

“That would have been him. Poor kid. He's got it pretty rough.” She shook her head sadly.

“Rough, how exactly?”

Shelby could only shrug. “Same way you did before going that private school. Zero tolerance policies are rarer than they should be.”

“Oh,” he realised the implication of what she was saying, and he couldn’t help but feel bad for the boy he didn’t know. “That’s tough.”

“Yeah. Maybe I should introduce the two of you sometime, I get the feeling he feels quite alone sometimes.”

Blaine smiled. “That’d be nice, maybe next week then?”

They reached the pink nursery and Blaine gasped as he peered in the room. There was a glittery, fairy mural painted on one wall, and a white book case covered in stuffed toys and photo frames. In the corner of the room a small cot was set up, a giant yellow ‘B’ hung on the wall next to it, and a mobile of cute cartoon characters hung over it.

“You outdid yourself Aunt Shelbs.”

Shelby smiled at him. “Come on, go say hello to her.” She guided him to the cot.

Blaine couldn’t help but gasp when he saw her.

Wrapped up tightly in beige blankets was a tiny baby. Smaller than Blaine had ever seen. Not that he'd come across many four month old infants. He quickly found himself blinking back tears. The little girl had soft, fair hair on her head, long brown eyelashes that rested lightly on pale skin and, she sleepily opened her eyes and stared at him for a moment... bright sea coloured eyes. They were large, and blue with flecks of green. He swore she smile him the slightest of smiles.

Her eyes fluttered close again and Blaine realised his heart was pounding.

“She's beautiful,” he said softly, almost afraid to break the silence of the room and disturb the baby girl.

Shelby nodded. “She's absolutely precious.”

“I am so, so happy for you, Shelbs. Really, I am.”

Shelby smiled and grabbed Blaine's hand. “Blaine, I'm not planning on getting her properly christened. But... still, I’d like to ask you, would you unofficially be her godfather?”

Blaine’s eyes went wide. “Are you serious?”

She nodded.

A smile broke out of his face and he hugged her. “Absolutely. Of course I will. I’m so honoured you would even ask.”

“I wouldn’t ask anyone else. Don’t tell your siblings, or cousins but, you’re my favourite nephew.”

A happy sleepy gargling noise came from the girl in the cot. Blaine and Shelby both looked back towards her and smiled.

“Come on, let's go eat.”

“I’m starving.”

Shelby had prepared a roast for him, it was just about done because she’d asked Kurt to put it in the oven for her. Blaine quickly piled up his plate with beef, vegetables and gravy, his stomach growling at the sight.

“So, how’s that Glee club of yours going?” She asked.

Blaine raised his eyebrows. “I thought we weren’t allowed to talk Glee.”

“I’m not coaching Vocal Adrenaline anymore. I think it’s alright to talk about it.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, pretty good actually. We’ve got invitationals coming up in two weeks for the new competition season. So everything’s been about getting ready for that.”

“And how many solo’s do you have?” She asked with a knowing smile.

Blaine blushed a little. “A couple.” He said, trying to remain modest. “Two out of three.” He admitted.

Shelby scoffed. “Please, if that club knows what’s good for it they’d give you all of them.”

“There’s a lot of talent amongst the Warbler’s though, it wouldn’t be fair to not showcase it.”

“You’re far too modest Blaine. It kills me sometimes.”

Blaine just let out a laugh.

An hour and a half later Blaine realised he had to leave to get back to school in time for curfew. As he was leaving Shelby promised he would get to meet Beth properly next week and Blaine grinned. He couldn’t wait.