Disclaimer:

"Glee" belongs to Ryan Murphy

"Dalton" belongs to CP Coulter

July 27th, 1998; New York City; The van Kamp Apartment

Reed snuggled under the covers in his bed. He had a huge bed for a five year-old, but it had railings on the side, for fear of him rolling over in his sleep, which was a predictable idea for someone of his clumsiness.

There was a snuffling sound and Reed felt something jump up on the bed with him. The weight collapsed on his left and he giggled, turning over. "Coco! You snore too loudly!"

The St. Bernard puppy paid no mind to her young master as she settled down and curled up next to Reed. Reed rolled his eyes. "Okay, you can sleep with me tonight." His mommy didn't like it when Coco, or her mom came up to sleep; it got dog fur all over the comforter. But Reed enjoyed it. It was nice knowing that there was someone there to protect you while you were sleeping. Reed threw the blankets over Coco and smiled at his sleepy puppy.

Suddenly part of the room lit up with a white light. Reed blinked curiously at the wall he was facing, wondering what could've possibly made that light. A rumble in the distance made him tense. What was this? What was going on?

Reed sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes with his fists and yawning. His pajama sleeves were too long, and the silk wasn't warming really. Just slippery and cool. His curls flopped over his eyes and he blew them away, irritated.

Another flash erupted and Reed shrieked when he saw a man in a coat standing in the corner. He dove back under the covers and hid his head under his pillow. Maybe, if the man didn't see him, he would go away! The boom came again, louder, and Reed whimpered. Coco whined and shifted closer. Reed curled up tightly against her, squeezing his teddy bear tightly to his chest, a tear running down his face and on to the sheets.

The storm continued full-blast for another hour. Reed spent the time crying and wondering if the man would come over. "Mommy!" he cried. He knew his mommy didn't like being woken up in the middle of the night unless it was an emergency. But if there was a robber in his room, she should probably know.

It took four tries, with Reed's cries growing into screams before Hilde van Kamp rushed into the room. "Reed, sweetie, what's the matter?"

Reed popped up from under the mess of pillows and Hilde tutted inwardly at the tear streaks on his face. They were supposed to have a shoot in the afternoon. How was she going to get rid of those in time.

"Mommy! There were all these lights and booms, and then I saw a man in the corner and I thought he was going to kidnap me and I was just so scared!" Reed lowered his head, tears dripping down his face.

Hilde sighed and snatched a tissue from the dresser, crossing the room to sit on her son's bed. She should've known that Reed would be afraid of thunderstorms – he was afraid of his own shadow for crying out loud! "Where did you see the man?" she asked as she wiped away the tears.

Reed sniffled. "Over there." he said, pointing to the coatrack in the corner. Hilde laughed when she saw. "Reed it's just a trick of the light." She walked over and took the hat and coat off the rack. "See?"

Reed squinted for a second before nodding. "Oh." Another crash erupted and he whimpered loudly, staring at the window. Hilde sighed once more. "Come along, you can sleep with me tonight."

Reed looked surprised. It wasn't often when his mother did something like this. "You sure Mommy?"

Hilde nodded. "Yes I'm sure, now c'mon!"

Reed hopped out of bed obediently, still clutching his teddy bear. Coco followed her young master at his heels. Hilde rolled his eyes. It wasn't that she didn't like dogs – Coco's mother had been her own dog when she was younger. No, it was the fact that they could get so…clingy. And they got hair all over the place…ugh.

Reed crawled into his mother's bed, his head sinking into the pillow. Coco began to climb up beside him but Hilde pulled her down firmly. "No."

"But Mommy! What if she gets cold?" Reed asked, worried about his puppy's wellbeing.

Hilde sighed heavily. She left to room to a supply closet down the hall and pulled out an old blanket. She returned and set the blanket down beside the bed. "There. Now she'll be comfy." She gave Reed a quick peck on the forehead. "No go to sleep. Thunder and lightning can't hurt you."

Reed nodded. "Okay." He closed his eyes and flinched when his mother turned off the lights. He felt her climb into bed beside him and within a few moments she was sleeping.

Reed stayed awake for a little while longer, head under the covers and pillows, still scared to face the thunderstorm.

And even after twelve years, the fear still had not dissipated.

Reed was curled up in bed, eyes shut tightly. It was worse now that he had a bed by the window. The lightning flashed brighter than ever and he whimpered, burrowing under the cotton. He didn't even have anything with him. He was too old to have a teddy bear, and Coco was back in New York. Kurt was in Blaine's room for the night.

Reed thought it was strange. Every time there had been a thunderstorm, one of the Windsors would come in and lie beside him until he'd fallen asleep. Reed found it embarrassing, but he never protested. He always slept better when he knew there was someone watching over him. Whether it be both the twins on either side of him, or Dwight leaning against the wall with his hawk eyes, or Kurt simply lying there, there was always someone there.

But now there wasn't.

And Reed was scared out of his mind.

Outside the room, Dwight was leaning against the wall. He hated the fact that Reed was behind that door scared to death. It reminded Dwight painfully of the night that Alan had crawled into his bed one night during a storm. Dwight had simply wrapped his arms around his brother, saying that he would always protect him. Dwight winced. From the moment he met Reed, he had been struck by the similarity between him and Alan. Since then, he couldn't help but have a protective streak for Reed. He wished he could go in right then and calm him down, but the Tweedles had stopped him, saying they had something better in mind.

Finally, he heard footsteps coming up the hall and he sighed in relief. "Thank Castiel. That took forever."

The Tweedles rounded the corner, one Shane Anderson squashed between them. "Seriously guys, tell me what's going on." he said, shaking himself from their grasp.

"You see Little Bat." Ethan began.

"Your Dormouse," Evan continued.

"is scared-"

"-horrified-"

"-completely terrified-"

"-of thunderstorms."

As if on cue, lightning lit up the windows in the halls and Shane shivered momentarily. But it was quickly taken over by concern. "Is he okay?"

"Nope." Ethan smirked.

"Usually when this happens, one of us goes in there with him." Evan nodded.

"But since you're here – "

"-it will make the Dormouse feel more safe!"

Shane blinked and then grinned. "Okay!"

And he promptly bounded into Reed's room.

The twins grinned. "And now we go back to bed."

Dwight yawned. "You sure it was a good idea putting Shane in there?"

"It was a brilliant idea Knight!" Ethan scolded as the three walked back down the hall towards their rooms.

"The Dormouse feels safest with the Little Bat." Evan explained.

"And he loves him. And him loves he."

"See how it all works out?"

Dwight merely shook his head.

Once he was inside the darkened room, Shane looked around. The room was scattered with half-finished paintings. Shane had a mini freak out when he saw a face on the ground, but he relaxed when he saw it was him – wait what? It was a painting of him, and unlike the others, this one was done.

Shane was busy trying to figure out the meaning of this when a rumble of thunder echoed in the room and there was a sharp whimper from the blankets on Reed's bed.

As Shane walked over carefully, he wondered how in the world Reed was managing to stay alive under the blankets. There was probably a dozen!

He placed a gentle hand on the blankets and shook them. "Reed?"

There was a squeal and Reed jumped, eyes as wide as dinner plates. His hair was askew and Shane's eyes honed in on the tears falling down his cheeks. He smiled softly. "Hey."

Reed's hand flew up to his face to desperately try and wipe away the tears. "Oh god Shane, I'm sorry, I-I don't want you to see me like this - !"

Shane sat down on the bed and gently pulled Reed's frantic hands away. He reached up and gently wiped away the tear tracks, smiling understandingly at Reed. Reed lowered his eyes, ashamed of letting brave, confident Shane see him like this. Another flash of lightning appeared and Reed shivered.

Shane grinned. "Here, c'mon." He lifted up the blankets and strode across the room to Reed's closet. Reed scrunched up his face. "Shane what are you doing?"

"I'll tell you in a moment!" Shane's head peeped out of the doorway. "Grab your blankets and pillows! We're going to have a sleepover in here!"

Reed cocked his head to the side as Shane disappeared again. Then he shook his head, and amused smile playing on the corner of his lips. Just another reason to love Shane.

Shane had hung one of the thinner blankets from the clothes railing. He piled the pillows against the wall and put down all of the blankets. He went back into the room and grinned. "All set!" He scooped Reed up in his arms and proceeded towards the closet. Reed fought for a brief second before giving up and falling against Shane. "You're so cheesy." he giggled.

Shane set Reed down on the blankets and closed the door. He then flopped down beside him and pulled the blanket over them. "Comfy?"

Reed rolled his eyes. "Yes Shane." He flipped over on to his side so that he was facing Shane, who grinned and turned over as well. "Feeling better?"

Reed nodded. "A bit yeah." Another rumble of thunder erupted and Reed flinched, inching closer to Shane. Shane noticed this and smiled, sliding his arm under Reed's head. Reed's head lolled into the crook between Shane's arm and his shoulder, blushing. His hand reached up faintly and fisted some of Shane's jacket. Shane rested his head against Reed's hair, arms around him protectively, protecting him from all possible harm or evil.

They fell asleep that way, curled into each other. And Reed couldn't remember the last time he'd slept so well.

When they woke up, it was to Kurt peeking in to check on them. Sunlight flooded in, dappled from the leftover rain on the glass. Reed blinked sleepily, a crease on his cheek from where it had been pressed into Shane's collar. In turn, some of Shane's face was marked with swirls from Reed's hair.

Kurt grinned. "Just making sure you two were okay." Then he closed the door and flew off down the hall.

Shane shook his head, freeing his matted black curls. Then he looked down at Reed, who was rubbing his eyes and yawning. Shane smiled dreamily and laid his head back down on the pillow. His arm was asleep from where Reed had been lying on it. "Here, can you move your head for a second? My arm's asleep."

"Oh yeah sorry!"

Shane lifted his arm and stretched it. "Reed it's fine! Not a problem." When he had finished he lay back down and smiled at Reed as if he were an angel. Reed blushed, but smiled. "Why did you come in last night? Any of the other boys could've."

Shane frowned, worried. "Did you want someone else to come?"

Reed shook his head wildly. "No! No, I was just…curious. I…liked it that you came." His blush darkened.

Shane smiled. "Well, the other boys thought you would like it better if I came. And…I wanted to be with you."

Reed blinked slowly at Shane, not taking his admiring gaze off Shane's. They stayed that way for a bit longer simply gazing.

And then Shane leaned just a teeny bit closer.

And so did Reed.

Close enough so that they were forehead to forehead with each other, their hot breath ghosting the face of the other. "Shane…" Reed whispered, so quietly. Shane leaned forward a bit more, his lips brushing Reed's gently. Reed pressed forward, turning the innocent brush into a full, sweet kiss. Shane gasped slightly and reached around to lace his hand through the curls at the nape of Reed's neck. Reed sighed.

After a few minutes, they pulled away, eyes wide with adoration, amazement, and love.

"I love you Reed." Shane said, his hand caressing Reed's cheek.

Reed smiled. "I love you too Shane."

AN: So this was based off a question on CP Coulter's tumblr. I hope you enjoyed it!

Love Lala, xoxo