Though he had only been going to daycare for a few weeks, Kurt was bored. He'd gotten over being sad despite still not understanding exactly why his mommy couldn't stay at home with him anymore. She'd said she needed to get a job so that she could help daddy pay for things. Kurt didn't really know what that meant. All he knew was that every morning, he had to get up early and pick out an outfit for the day so that he could go to daycare. For about the first week, he'd hated it, but now, it wasn't so bad. Ms. Fairy was nice, the other kids were nice, and they often did some fun stuff. His favorites involved coloring beautiful pictures and making amazing works of art with playdough.

The problem was that, most of the time, Kurt was bored. The two-almost-three-year-old was very smart. His mommy and daddy had been reading books and doing activities with him for forever, and he liked to be very active, using his imagination and creating new and fun things. There was just not many other kids like that at Ms. Fairy's daycare.

Most of the girls wanted to pretend to make food in the kitchen, and when Kurt tried to play with them, they would get upset at him for using "umvis'ble" ingredients in their soups and cakes.

Most of the boys wanted to play with cars, and while Kurt liked running the car wash in whatever little town they created, he didn't really find it very fun to race the cars or pump the gas.

So, often, he was left to fend for himself, making up his own games with the dolls off to the side and drawing wild pictures that matched the things he imagined in his head. Most often, he wound up drawing himself with someone very special: a friend.

His mommy and daddy had been reading him books about friendship since he started daycare. They wanted him to know that he was going to find someone who loved to play the same things he did, who made going to daycare fun. And when he told them, "I don' fink nobody wan' pway wif me," they told him that sometimes, it took time.

"For some kids, they can feel shy around new people. Once they get to know you, though, they'll be excited to play games and use their imagination right along with you," Elizabeth had told him.

Kurt wanted to believe his mommy, yet he just wasn't sure that was true. He'd been going to daycare for a long time, and so far, no one seemed very excited to be his friend.

Burt and Elizabeth had had many long conversations with Ms. Fabray about how to help Kurt feel more accepted, and she'd promised that she would help in any way that she could. She saw the hurt in Kurt's eyes when he tried to play with the other kids and they didn't understand his ideas, and she so desperately wanted to help him feel included and loved. He was a joy to take care of every day, and she just knew that someone very special would come along for Kurt to be friends with.

So, on one bright August morning, when Ms. Fairy opened the door to welcome her newest kiddo to daycare and she spotted the curly-haired, wide-eyed little boy hiding behind his mommy's legs, she knew she'd found the perfect person for little Kurt.

Squatting down in front of her new friend, she flashed him a smile. "Hi! My name is Ms. Fairy, and I'm really excited that you are going to spend some time at daycare with us. I know that all my friends are really excited to meet you. Would you like to come in and say 'hi' to everyone?"

The little boy shook his head, pressing his face into the back of his mommy's leg so he wouldn't have to look at her.

"Oh, Blaine," his mother said softly, reaching behind her to pick him up and settle him on her hip. "He's really shy, and he's been nervous and crying about coming all morning."

"I understand. It can be hard to start something new, especially when it means breaking a routine we're used to," Ms. Fairy said. "I was thinking about finding a special buddy to help him learn what daycare is like," she whispered, hating to speak in front of Blaine as if he wasn't there. "Do you think that might help?"

When Pam Anderson, Blaine's mother, nodded, Ms. Fairy said, "I'll be right back." She went off in search of Kurt, finding him near the kitchen with a few dolls on the floor in front of him. "Hi, Kurt," she said quietly, giving him a smile when he looked up at her.

"Hi, Ms. Faiwy."

"I have a very special job for you to do today."

At that, Kurt's face lit up. He loved getting to help the grown-ups. It made him feel big and important, and he liked that.

"We have a new friend starting today, and he's a little bit shy about meeting everyone and learning about daycare. Do you think you could help me out and be a buddy for him? You can play with him, show him how we clean up, and what we do when we eat lunch. Would that be okay with you?"

Kurt nodded excitedly. "I yike a new fwiend, Ms. Faiwy. I yike pwayin'. I help."

"I really appreciate that, Kurt," Ms. Fairy told him, reaching out for him to give her a great big high five. "Our new friend is waiting by the door for us with his mommy. Do you think you could come with me to say hello?"

"Uh-huh," he said, nodding vigorously. "I feeded my babies, so dey no be cwyin' when I yeave."

"That's excellent. Perfect timing," Ms. Fairy said, holding out a hand for Kurt to grab onto before heading back to the front doors.

As they approached, Kurt's eyes lit up at the sight of the new little boy standing by his mommy, his arms wrapped tightly around her neck. He was whispering something into her ear, his eyes squeezed shut as a few tears ran down his face. Kurt remembered feeling like that the first time his mommy brought him to daycare. He didn't want her to leave because he would miss her too much. He knew exactly what this new friend was going through, and he wanted him to feel better. How…?

"Blaine," Ms. Fairy said quietly as they approached, not wanting to startle him, "I brought a friend over that I thought you might like to meet. His name is Kurt, and he would really like to play with you."

Kurt nodded. "I yike pwayin'." Then he had an idea. "You yike dollies?"

Blaine didn't answer. Instead, he clung tighter to his mommy. "Don' yeave," he begged her. "Wan' go home."

"I know, sweetheart. Mommy has to go to work right now, though," she told him. "Remember how we talked about Mommy helping sick animals?"

Blaine nodded.

"Well, I'm going to help the sick animals while you're here playing. And by the time you're all done playing, I'll be back to get you, and we can go home."

"Don' wanna pway."

"Oh, honey… Now, I know that isn't true. You love getting out the dollies at home and feeding them and rocking them to sleep. I bet you'd like to do that here, wouldn't you?"

Blaine just shook his head. "Don' yeave, Mommy."

"Kurt," Ms. Fairy whispered, "do you think you can wake one of your dollies up from their nap and bring it over for Blaine to hold? I think he might need a baby to snuggle right now."

"I do it," Kurt assured her, running off to get one. He decided that Polly—one of the babies' names of the day—was the best to snuggle with, and he quickly picked her up off the floor, hurrying back to Blaine. "I bwingeded you Powwy, Bwaine, acuz she yikes be snuggled. She don' yike bein' sad."

"Would you like to snuggle Polly?" Blaine's mom asked him. "She looks really soft and snuggly."

That got Blaine to peek out at least, eyeing the doll. "She yike snugglin'?" he asked Kurt quietly.

"Uh-huh. She wuvs it."

Hesitantly, Blaine reached out and took the doll from Kurt, pushing it into his chest and squeezing it tightly with both arms.

Pam took that as her cue. She gave Blaine a firm kiss to the forehead. "I love you," she whispered into his hair. "I'll be back soon." Then she headed for the door before Blaine could chase after her.

Watching his mommy leave was one of the hardest things he'd ever done, and Blaine plopped on the floor with Polly right where he stood, breaking out into sobs as the door closed behind her. "Mommy…" he cried into Polly's hair. "Tum back…"

"She'll be back before you know it," Ms. Fairy assured Blaine, reaching out a hand to rub his back.

At the contact, Blaine fell into her arms, letting her soothe him until he was just a hiccuping mess, his face red and wet from so many tears, his nose snotty. He still held Polly tightly to him, as if she could save him from all the sadness he felt about his mommy leaving.

"Kurt, do you think you could bring me a tissue?" Ms. Fairy asked, pointing to the box on the little table beside the door.

Kurt brought one to her, watching as she helped Blaine wipe his nose and face. Then, he asked, "Wanna meet uvver babies, Bwainers?"

"More?" Blaine questioned, looking up at Kurt with sad eyes.

"Uh-huh. Dis many." Kurt held up three fingers before holding out his hand to Blaine. "I show you."

Hesitantly, Blaine got up from the floor, taking Kurt's hand and following him over to where the other three dolls were lying on the floor, Polly still clutched to his chest.

"Dese uvver babies," Kurt told him, pointing at them. "Dems names is, um… Wan' name dem? I tan't 'member."

Blaine nodded, a little smile on his face as he bent down, pointing to one. "Dis one Coopa, yike my bruvver." Having a baby named Cooper would help him feel better, he was sure, until his mommy came back to get him.

Kurt waved at the doll. "Hi, Coopa," he said.

Just then, one of the girls who'd been playing in the kitchen, Tina, wandered over. "Who dat is?" she asked, pointing at Blaine.

Upon seeing Blaine's big, nervous eyes, Kurt hurried over, wrapping his arms around Blaine. "Dis my Bwainers," he declared, squeezing Blaine a little in a hug. "Ms. Faiwy sayed I be hims fwiend."

"You my fwiend?" Blaine questioned, looking at Kurt curiously, hopeful. His hug felt really nice and made him feel just a little bit better.

"Uh-huh. I pway wif you. Wan' pway wif da babies? Name dem?"

Blaine nodded, going back to the dolls, and Kurt gave Tina a sassy look, making her turn and walk away.

And that was that. The boys spent the entire day playing together, having the time of their lives. The longer they spent together, the more Blaine came out of his shell, and it didn't take Ms. Fairy long to learn that Blaine was quite hyper and excitable. And he was also quite influenced by what Kurt told him. Ms. Fairy could immediately see, by mid-morning snack, that Blaine liked it when Kurt told him what he was supposed to do. He washed his hands when Kurt said to, sat where Kurt told him to sit, and if Kurt asked him to stop doing something, he stopped right away. She made a mental note to keep an eye on that—a bossy Kurt could prove to cause trouble, especially after the boys had some time to get to know one another. For now, though, it seemed to be okay. Blaine wasn't complaining that Kurt was bossy.

She was delighted to see how well they played together, though. Blaine loved every one of Kurt's games and ideas, and they shared everything, including their books at reading time and their chalk when they all went outside to play. She was thrilled that she had seemingly solved two problems at once: finding Kurt a friend and finding someone that Blaine could trust in his new environment. She just didn't realize how good of a job she'd done until Blaine's mother came to pick him up, however.

"Mommy!" Blaine yelled excitedly when he saw her come in. He and Kurt were sitting at a table, drawing with crayons, and he jumped up to give her a hug.

"My Bwainers, gottsa queen up you cwayons," Kurt called after him.

And as Ms. Fairy was just about to open her mouth and tell Kurt that it was okay, Blaine finished hugging his mother and raced back to Kurt. "I mostly f'getted," he told Kurt, picking up the two crayons he'd been using.

"Fank you," Kurt said. "I yike you dwawin'."

"Fanks! What you makeded?"

As Kurt was showing him, Pam came over. "Did you have a good day, sweetheart?" she asked Blaine, bending to examine the boys' drawings.

"Uh-huh! Haded da bestest day wif my Kurt," Blaine told her, not even looking up. "We makeded a gawden, Mommy, wif yots of fwowers an' twees, an' cawwots! An' yook! Kurt dwaweded us!"

"Really?" Pam asked him. "Those pictures look beautiful, Blaine." She glanced up at Ms. Fairy. "How has he been today?" she whispered.

"Perfect. He and Kurt hit it off, and I think they're honestly already pretty good friends."

Pam's eyes grew wide at that. "That's amazing. I was afraid he was going to have a horrible first day."

"Not at all."

"Are you ready to go?" Pam asked her son, reaching out for his hand. And to her surprise, he didn't take it. Instead, he reached out and wrapped his arms around Kurt.

"I gottsa go home, my Kurt, an' teww Daddy and Coopa 'bout ev'wyfing we did!" he exclaimed. "I be back 'mowwow an' pway 'gain. 'tay?"

"'tay," Kurt agreed.

Elizabeth walked in then to pick up Kurt and smiled at seeing Kurt hugging a new friend.

"See you 'mowwow, Bwainers," Kurt said as Blaine pulled away and took his mother's hand, following her toward the door. Then, Kurt got up and raced over to his own mother.

"Who was that, Kurt?" Elizabeth asked as she pulled him up on her hip for a hug.

"Dat Bwainers, Mommy."

"Blainers, huh? Did you play together today?"

"Uh-huh! We bestest fwiends now."

"Really?" Elizabeth eyed Ms. Fairy.

"It's true. They played together all day, and I think they both had a lot of fun."

"Well, that's wonderful! I'm so glad you made a new friend today, sweetheart," Elizabeth told him, giving him a smooch on the cheek. "Are you ready to go home and see Daddy now?"

Kurt nodded, waving at Ms. Fairy. "Bye!"

"Bye, Kurt. We'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for being Blaine's buddy today."

"Wewcome," Kurt told her with a small smile. He was unusually quiet as his mother carried him out the door and over to their car. As she was buckling him into his carseat, he said, "Mommy?"

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"How yong 'way is 'mowwow?"

"Well, we have to go home and eat some supper, take a bath, and go to bed. And when you wake up in the morning, it will be tomorrow. Why?"

"Acuz I don' wan' 'mowwow be yong 'way."

"Why is that?"

"I wanna pway wif my Bwainers more, Mommy. I miss him."

Elizabeth's heart swelled with love and joy for her son. "Well, I don't think it's too far away, Kurt. Before you know it, it will be tomorrow."

"'tay, Mommy," Kurt said, settling into his carseat. "We go home now?"

"Yeah. We're going home now," she told him before shutting the back door of the van and getting into the front seat. She couldn't wait to get home, either, and tell Burt that their son had finally made a new friend. In the back of her mind, she wondered what it meant that Kurt already missed his new playmate. She hoped it meant that he was starting a wonderful new friendship that would last well into his childhood.