Nessie
It was over. Valentine was dead.
To think about it was almost unreal, it took a couple of days before it all really sunk in.
He was really dead, gone. The Uprising was over.
Alec's office was warm and although it was organised it didn't feel sterile. Magnus had always liked it, it was all very Alec, but he'd never taken the time to just sit and enjoy it, usually he was trying to pull the young Shadowhunter away for a date or just to remove him after a long day's work. Today however there was no date, it was too early to use the 'long day at work' excuse, but here they were sitting in a comfortable silence, Alec working at his desk on something or other while Magnus was spread out on one of the surprisingly comfortable sofas, a book in his hands.
Their peaceful bubble was burst by the noisy entrance of Alec's siblings and Clary who didn't bother knocking and barely acknowledged his and Alec's presence. Magnus set down his book and moved his feet off the sofa, so Izzy could join him while Jace and Clary claimed the one opposite.
Magnus looked over at Alec to see the Shadowhunter watching his siblings conversation with a fond smile on his face before turning back to the scene in front of him.
"We all need one."
"Yeah, definitely."
"I'm so fed up of being in this institute, I just need some different walls to look at."
Magnus tuned himself into the conversation, a frown forming as he tried to catch up, "do I want to know what you're talking about?"
It was Izzy who answered him. "A holiday, we all need one."
"Some time away from the institute." Jace continued.
"Time to heal and re-group." As Clary finished Magnus saw her sneak a glance in Alec's direction and Izzy gave him a nudge. Ah so that's what they were up to, he thought that it had all seemed a little rehearsed, and they wanted him in on it. He sneaked his own glance at Alec, the Shadowhunter was apparently focused on his iPad but hadn't typed anything for the last couple of minutes. He was listening.
"It would be nice to get away for a few days, maybe leave New York, after all the whole world is just a portal away." Magnus couldn't deny that they had a point, not just for them, he knew there would be consequences for his decision to lend Warlock support to the Seelie Queen and he would like a distraction, just few a couple of days but being sat around his loft or the Institute was driving him a little mad.
"No way." Was the reply from the desk, honestly it was what Magnus had expected, but he was still a little disappointed.
"Oh, come on Alec, you're head of the Institute!"
"No Jace, look I'm sorry but considering what just happened I can't authorise all of us to just up and leave, and as for me being Head of the Institute it's just even more of a reason why I have to stay here.
Izzy rose from her seat and walked over Alec, taking the iPad from his hands and lying it face down on the desk to make sure she had his undivided attention.
"Alec, after everything that has happened over the last couple of weeks, Valentine's escape, Sebastian, Max getting injured, are you telling me you don't want to get away from this place as much as we do."
Alec sighed, closed his eyes for a couple of seconds and brought his hands together on the top of his desk. "Yes, I would like to get away for a day or two, but I can't just give all of us the time off, I'm sorry." He picked up the tablet and left the room, showing a definite end to the conversation.
As soon as he'd turned the corner Izzy flopped down in his chair with an irritated sigh, the others joined in with a groan of their own.
"I told you he wouldn't go for it." She said.
"Well it was worth a try," Magnus told them, reaching for his book as he too stood up, "but I'm afraid I have to get home." A chorus of goodbyes followed as he left the office and almost walked straight into Alec who was stood leaning against the wall, he straightened up when Magnus got closer.
"You heading home?"
Magnus nodded. "I think it would be best." They walked together in silence for a few minutes before Alec stopped again.
"Do you really think a holiday would be a good idea?"
"Yes, Alexander I do, for everyone but," he stepped closer and placed a hand on Alec's arm, "I would also like some time with you away from this place, it feels like years since we last went anywhere."
"Yeah it would be nice, leave it with me and I'll see what I can do." With that Alec gave him a quick kiss and walked off down a different corridor.
….
It was only a couple of days later when they all seemed to end up in Alec's office again, spread out on the sofa's despite Alec's absence. Three of them were discussing another way to persuade Alec to authorise time away while Magnus had half his attention on their conversation and the rest on the book in his lap. When Alec walked in and saw them he shut the door before leaning on the side of his desk, so he was facing them.
"Go on then." He said with a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. They exchanged glances to each other before Jace finally broke the silence.
"We want you to reconsider giving us all some time off." Alec raised his eyebrows and Jace seemed to take that as a cue to continue, "I mean when was the last time you took a few days off? And I'm not taking about when you and Magnus went to Japan for the day, I'm talking at least like a weekend or something?"
"We're Shadowhunters, we have duties and responsibilities," Magnus had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes at that, "we can't just take off for a weekend whenever we feel like it."
"Oh, come on Alec, Izzy and I have both taken time away from here to go to Idris for a few days and it's never caused a problem."
"Yeah because I covered for you both, took on extra shifts so you could both go." Magnus took a little satisfaction in the guilty looks that passed over the siblings faces as Alec spoke. "But I can't arrange 'vacation time' for all of us, however much I might want to." He walked around his desk and sat in the large leather chair behind it and pulled some work towards him. He pretended to be engrossed but Magnus knew him well enough to know he was only pretending. This continued for a few more minutes before he spoke up again. "There is however a week-long assignment which I have volunteered us all for." There was a collective groan from the other Shadowhunters, but Magnus had a feeling there was more to it.
"An assignment where?" He asked.
"In Scotland, I know it's not ideal," he continued quickly, "and probably not what any of you had in mind but the actual assignment itself should only take a day or two at most and the rest of the week, well actually it's more like five days, would be ours." Magnus took a moment to look around at the stunned faces around him, Clary was the first to find her voice.
"Alec that's fantastic."
"What about the Institute?" Asked Izzy, honestly Magnus was impressed by her concern for the Institute, it was very Alec of her.
"I spoke to mother, she promised to keep an eye on everything while we're gone, she'll call us if there's an emergency. We leave in two days."
….
"So, you never said, what is the assignment in Scotland?" Magnus asked, it was late evening and the two were lying in the Warlock's bed, his head resting on Alec's chest and although sleep was calling him, he just had to know the answer to his question.
"There is a creature in one of the Lochs, it's glamoured to prevent people from seeing it, there are of course some who have the sight and can see through it but the whole thing has been filed away as a myth." Magnus couldn't quite believe what he was hearing, was this going where he thought it was? "Every year a small group of Shadowhunters go there to make sure the glamour's still strong and see if there have been any new sightings."
Magnus raised himself up on an elbow so he was hovering over Alec, "are you telling me that we are going to try and find the Loch Ness Monster?"
The Shadowhunter nodded, "according to the Shadowhunter I spoke to once you see through the glamour she's pretty easy to see, I mean she is supposed to be related to the plesiosaurs."
Magnus just stared open mouthed for a moment "Plesiosaurs?"
"Yeah," Alec's eyes lit up as he spoke "it's a type of aquatic dinosaur thought to have been extinct about 65 million years ago."
"I- I know what it is Alexander, how do you know what it is?"
"Well we're going to Scotland to see it, I thought I should probably know something about it…" He was cut off by Magnus' lips on his, the Shadowhunter's arms wrapped around his waist, keeping him close. It didn't last long as they were too tired to do anything else, Magnus pulled back to look in Alec's eyes.
"You never cease to amaze me Alexander," they both smile at the familiar phrase.
"In good ways I hope."
"Always."
…..
They were ready and gathered in Magnus' living room, bags in hand… waiting for Alec to get off the phone. It was getting to the point where Magnus was tempted to just make it explode but didn't think it would be worth having an angry Alexander just before a 'working' holiday.
They finally made it to the accommodation Magnus had arranged for them, if it had been left up to Alec he had a feeling they'd have ended up in the local Institute.
It was only a small, whitewashed, guest house, all on one floor but the surroundings were beautiful, the River Coilte which ran beside them was tranquil and the hills to the rear give a feeling of isolation even though Inverness was only a 20-minute drive away.
"Magnus, this place is beautiful!" Izzy said, turning in a full circle to take in all her surroundings.
Magnus was already heading towards the house, but he turned and gave her his winning smile. He lifted a plant pot and removed a shiny silver key.
"That doesn't seem like a very secure security system."
Jace groaned "For Angel's sake Alec stop, we're not at the Institute now so stop thinking about security systems!" There were sniggers from the rest of the group, Alec rubbed a hand on the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. He was saved from further comments by Magnus opening the door and gesturing them all inside.
The front door opened into a spacious living room with other doors leading off to what they suspected were the four double bedrooms with en-suits. A small wood burning stove separated the living room from an equally spacious kitchen diner. As soon as everyone entered they split up and went exploring in different directions. The house open-planned but not in the least spartan, big chunky pieces of furniture filled in the space giving the whole house a comfortable and relaxed feeling which fit perfectly with their rural surroundings.
It didn't take them long to sort out who was in which room, they were all clean, simple and with the most breath-taking views of rolling hills and glistening water that the Shadowhunter had ever seen, even Magnus was lost for words as he gazed out the window, although that may have had more to do with the dark haired Shadowhunter in front of him, outlined by the Scottish sun.
They spent the rest of the day lazily exploring their surroundings, Alec and Magnus went for an exploratory walk, for two hours, while Izzy sat back on the grass with her feet in the river and Jace and Clary shut in their room 'unpacking.' When they got hungry they drove, or Magnus drove because he wasn't having his rental car getting the same treatment Luke's squad car had, to Inverness where they picked up some essentials from the local shop and, under Magnus' insistence, collected a Fish & Chips tea.
"Honestly you can't say you've had the proper British experience unless you've eaten chips and pieces of fish out of polystyrene trays!"
There wasn't even a mention of the impending mission to Loch Ness and as they sat eating their Fish & Chips on the living room floor surrounding the coffee table with the radio playing music in the background, making jokes at each other and laughing it was so easy to believe they were perfectly normal, just a group of friends and siblings enjoying a peaceful moment together. It was perfect Alec thought and he wished it was a moment that could last forever.
…
When Magnus woke the next morning, he stretched out an arm but instead of Alexander it fell on cold sheets, suggesting the Shadowhunter had been up for some time. With a deep groan the Warlock pried his eyes open and did indeed see the empty sheets beside him. With a dramatic sigh he flung himself onto his back, he should have known the holiday spirit wouldn't last long with his Alexander, the ever diligent Shadowhunter but at least he had allowed himself to enjoy one night and once the mission was completed they could go back to enjoying it and Alec would have no excuse to leave their bed at such a ridiculous hour.
As he'd suspected the first thing he laid eyes as he left his room was Alec sat at the large oak dining table in jogging bottoms and t-shirt a mug of coffee in front of him and papers scattered across the surface, he looked up as Magnus drew closer.
"Morning." Alec reached out a hand to pull Magnus even closer for a kiss.
"Good morning my love." He replied, "have you been up long?"
"Just a couple of hours." At Magnus' raised eyebrows he hurried to explain. "It takes me a couple of nights to get used to sleeping in a new place and I thought it would be a better idea to, you know, get up, go for a walk and get some work done rather than wake you."
Wasn't he thoughtful. Magnus swung himself into Alec's lap, his arms wrapping around his boyfriend's neck while one runed arm encircled his waist and the other gripped his pyjama covered thigh keeping him securely in place.
"I'm sure we could have found some way to keep ourselves amused for a while but instead I woke to cold sheets and an empty bed." The Warlock drew himself up until their lips were only a hairs breath from each other. "I think you should start making it up to me…"
Magnus didn't get any further suddenly too preoccupied with the insistent mouth covering his, he parted his lips for Alec's probing tongue without even thinking about it, the arm around his waist tightened pulling their bodies even closer together and Alec's hand travelled up Magnus' thigh to the bare torso hidden beneath his silk robe. Magnus pulled his lips away and couldn't help the smile when Alec followed but the Warlock placed a hand on his chest, a worrying though just occurring to him.
"Is there any chance of us being disturbed any time soon?" They sat in silence for a second while Alec looked towards the other bedroom doors, searching for any possible signs of life.
"I don't think so, those three could sleep just about anywhere."
"Excellent." He leaned in again but this time it was Alec who pulled away
"I've been meaning to ask," Magnus pulled himself back a little to give Alec room to breathe and think "if there's anything you in particular want to do while we're here?"
"Not especially, why do you ask?"
"Well its just that I… well I thought… I was thinking… that I could or that I'd…" Magnus waited while Alec took a breath although he couldn't help the smirk at his rambling and wild hand gestures, it seemed somethings never changed. "It's just," Alec started again, "Well, we're together and Jace and Clary will be doing things together," Magnus had an idea where this was going now and was a little ashamed to say he hadn't even thought of it, "and I just thought it would be nice if Izzy and I had a day together, just the two of us. Do you mind?"
Magnus hadn't thought it possible for him to fall anymore in love with this Shadowhunter but as he looked into worried eyes he knew that was exactly what had happened. This wonderful man, always thinking of others, making sure his sister didn't feel excluded. It was so Alec.
"No, my darling Alexander I don't mind, I think it is an excellent idea. In fact, it would give me the perfect opportunity to have a catch up with an old Warlock friend of mine, McTaggart."
"McTaggart?"
"Yes, he's erm… rather eccentric."
"Oh really? An eccentric Warlock I never thought I'd see the day."
"Can we stop talking about McTaggart."
"Yes please."
They leaned together again, so close until…
"Oh, for angel's sake!" Exclaimed Jace loudly as he exited his room, Clary trailing behind him wiping sleep from her eyes. "Get a room you two, I'm sure Magnus can do his thing, so we don't have to know what you're up to." Alec blushed slightly trying not to think about the silencing wards that Magnus had already put in place around their bedroom.
The commotion brought Izzy from her room, although unlike Jace and Clary she was fully dressed and looking as elegant as always in jeans and shirt, suggesting that she, like her brother, had been up for a while.
Magnus shot a glare at Alec as he climbed off his lap and whispered into his ear, "no chance of us being disturbed you said." Their moment was interrupted, again, by Clary who started shifting papers.
"Don't touch those," the red head dropped the papers as though she'd been burnt and backed away a little as Alec stood up and started collecting the papers in a specific order.
"Don't tell me you haven't made a plan Alec."
"Of course I have, I was just double checking I hadn't missed anything."
"Why all the paper?" Clary asked moving over to Jace and taking the mug he was offering, "why not just use your tablet."
"Because I like being able to spread things out, see all the information at a glance and you can't do that with the tablet and since we don't have the equipment in the Institute this was the next best thing." He put the neat file of papers in the kitchen and gave his sister a good morning kiss while surreptitiously guiding her away from the food. Breakfast was a surprisingly simple affair Alec made eggy bread with Magnus 'helping' while Jace and Clary distracted Izzy and kept her away from the kitchen. The atmosphere as they sat at the table was surprisingly similar to the one the night before, however today Alec seemed a little distracted, probably still going over the mission details in his head, everyone left him to it.
…
Magnus drove them to a deserted part of the Loch, a spot recommended to Alec by the Institute as it allowed one of the best views of the Loch and was cornered off from the general public so had practically no chance of them being seen by any passers-by. It was perfect. As well as amazingly beautiful.
"Right, so what now?" Jace's question was answered with a glare from his parabatai.
"Now it's just a matter of seeing through the glamour and from this vantage point we can make sure that the plesiosaurs is where she should be."
"Plesiosaurs?" Izzy whispered to Magnus with a knowing smirk, but he just winked and turned his attention back to Alec.
"As long as everything's okay, she's there and Magnus is happy she's healthy then…"
"Wait that's it?" Clary asked, dragging her eyes away from the breath-taking views to finally look at Alec.
"Well we were asked to keep an eye on internet posts and newspaper articles while we're here to make sure no one sees anything they shouldn't but essentially, yeah that's it."
"And they really gave us a week to do this?" Magnus had to admit Jace had a point, it seemed an unnecessarily long amount of time for such a simple job.
"Oh, according to the people I spoke to the extra time is just a precaution in case something goes wrong." Alec looked back at the people surrounding him, a small smile on his lips, it was similar to the look he'd had when he and Magnus were lying in bed together discussing this very mission.
"What do you mean 'if something goes wrong?'"
"Well there was an incident about ninety years ago when the Shadowhunters couldn't find her, after a couple of days searching the loch both on foot and by boat they found a baby plesiosaurs. It turns out that about every one hundred or so years the adult plesiosaurs lays an egg and dies, the egg hatches into a new plesiosaurs who takes her place."
"How the hell do you know all this?"
"It's all excellently documented and reported on the system in the Institute and very easy to access," he looked suddenly unsure and crossed his arms in a defensive way Magnus had always hated, "am I really the only one who read up on it?"
Izzy stepped in front of him and laid a hand on his arm, pulling them away from his chest. "You're head of the Institute and the one leading this mission, of course you read up about it, I'd expect nothing less from you."
"I'd suggest using the Voyance rune to help with the glamour," this was directed mainly at Clary, but he did activate his own, "it's very strong." He said in way of explanation as he also activated his sight rune, so he could have a detailed view of the loch. He then watched as his siblings and Clary did the same, together they turned to face the water.
It still took a while to see through the glamour, Alec was right it was extremely strong, and Magnus was surprised how any Mundane, even one with 'the sight,' could see through it. Eventually they did, Magnus knew by their sharp intake of breath, the exact moment each one broke through it, even he'd had used a little magic to see through it and the sight was incredible.
There it was, the Loch Ness Monster, the great grey beast was lying in the middle of the loch with her head out the water like a periscope taking in it's surroundings. She turned her great head and it seemed, to the five stood on the cliff, that she was looking straight at them. It was a surreal moment that this creature had been around for the last one hundred years and its ancestors who had been around since the pre-historic era, it made Magnus feel rather nostalgic. He could see it was also having an effect on the Shadowhunters, Izzy had tears in her eyes while Clary's were already rolling down her checks and was nuzzled into Jace's shoulder, Alec had his hand on Izzy's shoulder in a show of understated support and his other hand searched for Magnus, who happily accepted it, when they looked at each other the Warlock could see the emotion clouding Alec's eyes and he reached out a hand to stroke the hunters check, then they both turned their attention back to the water.
They watched as the great beast suddenly opened her mouth but instead of the roar they were expecting a series of whistles and clicks, not dissimilar to the noise a Killer Whale made, could be heard.
Then as suddenly as it was there the Loch Ness Monster dived, showing off her long neck and both sets of flippers before disappearing beneath the water. No one moved all reluctant to break the silence that had enveloped them. A cold breeze blew through, ruffling their hair and making them shiver, broke the moment for them and they made their way back to the car, all taking their own moment to look back at the lake before driving away.
They ended up in a small pub next to the loch and while they waited for their lunch to be served they discussed their mission and what to do next.
"So, is that really it?" Jace kept asking, as though Alec was holding back and would any minute spring more work on them.
"Yes," Alec told him, again, "I just need your report, but you can do that later tonight. As I promised the rest of the week is yours."
….
Alec was true to his word, over the next few days the Shadowhunters and Warlock did very little, simply enjoying long lie-ins and the scenery and seclusion their cottage offered them, although Alec and Magnus did take another trip to the loch to ensure there had been no repercussions from their viewing of the Loch Ness Monster the day before, there wasn't but Magnus enjoyed the alone time with Alec, even if he was in work mode. The Warlock even persuaded him to take a boat out on the Loch, purely for work reasons of course.
Afterwards though Alec had no excuse what so ever to not enjoy the rest of the time they had away from the Institute and Magnus was going to make sure he did.
The group visited Urquhart Castle, they left Clary to her sketching while the others explored and Jace flitted back and forth between the two groups. The views were incredible, although it seemed that was the case all around the loch, even the buildings were picturesque, and Magnus suddenly felt envious of Clary's drawing skill but knew he could never do justice to the landscape before him in the same way Clary could. Instead he summoned a camera and snapped away, not only at the scenery but also the Shadowhunters with him.
The group even spent a day at Nessieland exploring glass shelves filled with knickknacks which were found in the loch as well as 'evidence' of Nessie's existence. They also admired the plastic replicas of the famous loch monster, some of which didn't look that far off.
At night they would eat take-out together, sprawled on the floor of their living room and wash it down with alcohol, Alec was pretty sure he had drunk more alcohol in that week than he ever had in his life.
One night after drinking probably too much Alec woke up with a mouth and throat that felt like sandpaper, he gently manoeuvred his way out of Magnus' arms to go in search of water. Still half asleep he didn't notice the other person sat at the dining table until he was on his way back to bed and a stray beam of moonlight caught on a head of blond hair. Alec filled up another glass of water and placed it on the table in front of his parabatai while he sat beside him. The movement seemed to wake Jace out of the daydream state he was in.
"You couldn't sleep either?" Alec asked.
"Yeah, I… erm… didn't want to wake Clary up." While Jace took the offered water, Alec wasn't sure how much to believe, Jace had always been a good sleeper except when he had nightmares, but he hadn't suffered from those for years. Alec had the feeling this was somehow connected to what had happened at Lake lyn, however, he didn't want to try and pressure an answer from Jace for fear the other Shadowhunter might push him away and Alec didn't want to spoil the holiday for anyone.
"Jace…" Alec laid a gentle hand on his brother's arm and opened his mouth to continue, to tell him that it's all going to be okay, to tell him that he'll always be there for him like he was when they were younger, to tell him that he didn't have to go through it alone. But he didn't get the chance.
Magnus came out of their room, his robe tied loosely around his middle, "Alexander?" from where he is stood the fireplace hid Jace from view, so he only saw Alec at the table, "is everything alright?"
"Yeah, I was just getting some water." Alec decided not to draw attention to Jace, he knew Magnus would feel guilty if he knew he'd interrupted them.
"Okay, hurry up and come back to bed darling."
"I'll just be a minute." This seems to re-assure Magnus and he disappears back inside their room. When Alec looks back to Jace, the glass is empty, and his brother is getting up.
"Jace…" he tries again standing up to face his parabatai, "…I… you know I'm…" but the words seem to have left him, he screws his eyes shut in frustration. He was comforted by a hand on his shoulder and looked into the mismatched eyes in front of him.
"It's okay Alec, I know." The two brothers embrace each other, no more words are needed, although when they pull apart Jace gives a grin and teases, "go on, don't keep Magnus waiting." Alec rolls his eyes but goes back to bed and the sleeping Warlock.
…
On their last full day in Scotland Magnus takes the opportunity to visit McTaggart but not before dropping Clary and Jace at another viewpoint for some more sketching and Alec and Izzy at Inverness to explore the shopping centres, which was Izzy's idea and as promised Alec went along with her.
McTaggart was, as previously stated, somewhat eccentric and lived in an old stone castle located on a small island in the middle of a Loch on which there were no other inhabitants. The castle had been standing since at least the middle ages, and of course to the outside world it just looked like a pile of rubble, such was the advantage of wards and glamour's. Stepping inside was like stepping back in time, tapestries hung from the walls and the dark furniture and absence of much artificial lighting, which did not include candles or open fireplaces, gave the whole place a gloomy and rather despairing atmosphere. The man himself was as typical a Scotsman as anyone could be with long ginger hair and a big bushy beard, he could always be found in a kilt, white frilly shirt and tartan waistcoat, on the rare occasions when he ventured outside he would add a matching jacket and beret to his ensemble. The man's features could only really be described as owlish, this was mainly because of his thick eyebrows, a slightly darker shade of ginger to his hair, were angled towards his hooked nose, these gave McTaggart a permanently angry expression, which couldn't be further than his true personality. Like all Warlocks he enjoyed regaling stories of his own past adventures and competing over who had the most annoying clients all the while drinking tumblers of age old scotch and whiskey, the amount of which tested even Magnus' alcohol tolerance level but never even put a dint in McTaggart's reserves. While Magnus wouldn't say McTaggart was one of his particular friends he could not deny that he very much enjoyed the Warlocks company and, of course, his taste in alcohol. The two spent a very comfortable day in each other's company, moving outside of the castle walls only once so that McTaggart could show off his impressive collection of herbs, both magical and mundane, which he enjoyed growing.
When Magnus returned to Inverness he found a glowing Izzy who had clearly enjoyed having the day alone with her brother, who looked equally as happy if rather tired and juggling more shopping bags than any mundane could handle. She pounced on Magnus as soon as he'd stepped through the portal talking a hundred miles an hour about what they had been up to. That was until Alec stepped in, suggesting they find a café and sit down with a drink while she told him, Magnus thought this an excellent idea as he could use the caffeine to try and counter all the Scotch he'd drunk. They sat in the café for almost an hour and Alec happily let his sister take the floor in telling Magnus about all the shops they'd been in and what they'd looked at, both clothes and 'nick-nacks', joining in only when he was required or if she wanted to show off one of their purchases which he happily located and held up for her. Magnus wasn't sure when he had last seen Isobel speaking so animatedly about anything other than hunting, but then again when was the last time someone had taken the day to do something 'just because' she wanted to do it and he wasn't surprised it was Alec who had made her so happy.
After they'd collected Jace and Clary and portaled back to their holiday house, Izzy disappeared with the shopping bags and Clary into her bedroom where she was, no doubt, retelling the tales she had only an hour or so before been telling Magnus over coffee.
With the girls occupied Magnus busied himself with the kettle and setting out mugs for coffee leaving Alec on his phone, no doubt checking in with his mother at the institute, and Jace sat at the table staring out of the window. If he was being honest Magnus was worried about Jace, even though he claimed to be fine after everything that had happened with Valentine, the Warlock just couldn't get the image out of his head, Alec at the institute, in pain and clutching his side, the disappearing parabatai rune. It was a memory that had, and on occasion still did, wake him up at night. Something had happened at the lake, that much they all knew but it was also all they knew, Jace and Clary clammed up if the subject was ever brought up, so they had all come to a mutual agreement not to bring it up, unless absolutely necessary.
Alec put his phone away and looked around him, after a moment or two deliberation with himself he turned to Jace and asked, "Why don't we go for a walk Jace?"
His startled parabatai turned away from his window "Yeah sure, once the girls are finished we can all go."
"Actually, I was thinking of going now. Jace." It was clear from the tone of his voice that he wanted to talk to Jace alone and away from prying ears.
"No Alec." He knew, "not right now, I'm too tired and anyway Magnus is making coffee." With that he stood and went back to his own room, Alec was left at the table looking a little disappointed and upset. After the enjoyable day he'd had Magnus didn't want it to end like that.
"How about we go?"
"What about the coffee?"
"Ours will keep."
….
It was sad saying goodbye to the little house, it had been an escape they'd all needed in their own way. But it was over now, they all had a last check round, made sure the doors were locked and replaced the key under its flower pot.
The Shadowhunters were expecting to go straight back to Magnus' loft so they got rather a shock when their bags disappeared from their hands, Magnus answered their confused look with a smile.
"We've got one last stop to make before we go home, after all we should really check on our Plesiosaurs friend one last time."
Alec smiled. "I agree."
….
Here they were again, looking out over the great expanse of water, forcing their way through the glamour. But there was nothing, no great grey shape, not even a ripple. To say it was disappointing was an understatement, none of them had realised how much they were looking forward to seeing her again before they left, chances where they wouldn't be back here again.
They started to turn around when Clary saw movement in the corner of her eye, she shouted to get their attention. "Look! Look over there!"
Then they all saw it. A grey ridge moving through the water, the flash of a head and flippers as she swam, a flip of a tail as she went under. Then the Plesiosaurs jumped, her whole body emerging from the water and spun in the air, waving her flippers, before doing a belly flop on the water, creating huge waves which could undoubtedly be seen from the shore. She lay on her back for a moment, lifting her head and looking at their direction, in fact in felt as though she was looking right at them, looking into the eyes of this ancient beast was even more intense than the last time. Then she rolled again and disappeared without even a splash. The group was left, once again, in a stunned silence, it was as though she knew, she knew they were leaving and had come up just to give them their own personal goodbye. They felt honoured, only a privileged few would ever get to see the Loch Ness Monster, to know beyond all doubt that she was real, to know how majestic and beautiful she is. It was a moment they would never forget.
But now the moment was over and as Magnus created another portal to his loft, it was time to get back to reality. Well their reality.