“Blaine, Honey, are you finished with your milk?” asked Judy Anderson softly as she entered the kitchen to check up on him, smiling that the adorable milk moustache across his face. “It’s bed time,” she added, noting the empty glass.

“But I’m not sleepy,” he said, a tiny yawn betraying him and Judy chuckled. It was like this most nights, but especially when he knew Cooper was out. Blaine didn’t understand yet why the age difference meant that they had different rules. As far as he was concerned, he and Cooper should have completely equal privileges and he wasn’t afraid making sure that everyone was aware of his point of view. He was years beyond himself.

“Tell you what, if you brush your teeth and climb into bed now, you can pick the story,” Judy said fairly and Blaine’s face broke into a grin. She knew already which book he would pick, it was the same he picked every night since the night he met Kurt Hummel.

“Peter Pan!” he exclaimed excitedly ten minutes later as Judy pulled out the worn book from his bookshelf and handed it to him. His feet kicked excitedly beneath their covers and Judy couldn’t help but feel a little twinge of emotion at the fact that this was now his favourite book. She knew that he still didn’t really understand what had happened that night or why Kurt hadn’t ever come over to play again and she didn’t really know how to tell him. He would put two and two together when he was a bit older, surely?

“Are you reading it tonight, or should I?” asked Judy, making Blaine budge up on the bed so that she could lie next to him.

“You please, Mommy?” said Blaine politely. “You do the voices better than me.”

Judy smiled and began reading to Blaine, adoring the way he completely lost himself in Neverland. She had read him this story so many times she could practically recite it, but Blaine was listening to it as if it was his first time hearing it.

By the time she was finished, Blaine’s eyes were heavy and he was starting to doze off on her shoulder. He always made a fuss before bedtime, but he was always fast asleep so quickly.

“Night, Blainosaurus,” she said, kissing him on his cheek as she slid slowly off the bed and placed Blaine’s head carefully on the pillow.

She had just flicked off his bedroom light and had made it into the hallway, when Blaine asked, “Do you think Kurt’s ever coming back to get his storybook?”

Judy took a deep breath, wondering how she was going to answer him. She supposed she had to be honest with him, but she didn’t want to upset him unnecessarily either.

“I don’t think so, Pumpkin,” said Judy, sitting down on the bed next to her son, smoothing down his soft, dark curls. “Kurt had something very sad happen to him that night and sometimes when people are very sad, they don’t want to talk to any of their friends.”

“What happened to make him so sad?” said Blaine, a frown developing on his brow. Judy knew that he hated seeing anyone upset. When she took him to the park to play with some of the other kids in the neighbourhood, Blaine would apologise to every single kid who got hurt even if he was on the other side of the playground when it happened. He just hated seeing them cry.

So Judy could understand that to hear that a friend he really cared about was sad and hurting would have broken Blaine’s heart.

“You know how in your storybook Tinkerbelle’s light goes out?” she asked softly, gently cupping Blaine’s cheek in her hand.

“Yes,” said Blaine, the frown deepening.

“Well, that’s kind of what happened to Kurt’s mommy,” said Judy, brushing curls off her son’s forehead.

“But... but you can get her back, right? Tink came back,” said Blaine, his eyes so full of hope and optimism that it broke her heart all over again.

“No, Honey, it was a little bit too late for Kurt’s mommy,” said Judy, tears stinging her eyes. She could still hardly believe that it had happened. That poor little boy had lost his mother in the space of a few hours. It was no wonder he hadn’t come back to see them. She didn’t think she would be able to either.

“You mean he doesn’t have a mommy anymore?” asked Blaine in such a broken voice that Judy couldn’t help but gather her little boy into her arms and hold him tightly as she felt him start to sob. She knew then that he understood why Kurt was so sad.

She held him for a long time, until the crying had subsided and his breathing returned back to normal.

“Mommy, is your light going to go out too?” asked Blaine in a scared whisper.

“Not until I’m very old, if I can help it,” said Judy with a small, reassuring smile. “You’re still going to be stuck with me for a long time.”

“I don’t mind,” said Blaine with a small smile. Judy kissed his forehead and made to stand up, but stopped when Blaine tugged on her shirt.

“Wait, Mommy, please don’t go?” he said in a small voice and Judy immediately lay down next to him.

“Do you need me to sleep here tonight?” she asked and Blaine nodded, lifting his covers so that his mom could share them.

“Look, Blaine, it’s the wishing star,” said Judy after they had switched off all the lights except Blaine’s night light and could now see the night sky through Blaine’s window in his slanted ceiling. “Are you going to make a wish?”

“I wish that Kurt could become Peter Pan so that he wouldn’t be so sad and that all his dreams could come true and that he could come visit me in my window.”

Judy didn't even have the heart to tell him that wishes were supposed to be secrets.