The story takes place during October 2009, after Jem's and Tessa's wedding. Alec just turned 20 the previous month.
All characters belong to Cassandra Clare, I just tried my best to interpret them.
With a brooding glance at the bundle in front of his chest Magnus reached for the keys to Alec's and his flat. He still was not quite sure if it had been a good idea to give in to the request of the Clave. Or should he rather say to Isabelle and her ex-vampire-now-ascending-mundie friend Simon, who had discovered the whimpering huddle of blankets on the Academy's steps and then pleaded, in Izzy's case threatened, Magnus to not let the Silent Brothers take what turned out to be a little baby. Admittedly a dark blue baby with ivory hair and pointy ears, which clearly marked it as a warlock baby and therefor something to get rid of, as far as the Clave was concerned and Magnus was always striving to not make things easy for the Clave. Still, bringing an infant home to his Nephilim boyfriend without a chance to at least warn Alec seemed risky. Magnus was not at all sure he could predict what his blue eyed sunshine would think of it. Much less did he know about childcare. Right now he wondered if he would be able to ever get out of this baby sling on his own. He was used to surround himself with exquisite fabric but normally it was not wrapped around him like an evil fusion of a backpack and a straitjacket. Although he had to admit that it had proved itself useful while travelling by Portal and New York subway. The baby also seemed to like being huddled against Magnus's chest, sleeping most of the time and hidden from curious glances. He had glamoured them nonetheless, just to make sure no one accused him of child abuse by dyeing.
The faint sound of steps behind the still closed door brought him back to the present and he finally slid the key into the lock and, clutching the duffle bag with diapers and formula Maryse had forced on him when he arrived at the Institute, made his way into the apartment. Since Alec had moved in over a year ago they had made some modifications to the place. Part of the group of small sofas had been replaced by a rather large ruby coloured couch overloaded with pillows, wide enough to accommodate two adults who wanted to spend time watching TV together. In the far corner Alec had arranged some simple yet effective sports equipment to keep himself in shape for everyday business, namely kicking demons back to their home dimension. The sandbag was still swinging softly back and forth, painting lines on the floor with a small stream of grains. "Not to self: Don't get hit or kicked by Alec", muttered Magnus, who patched the broken seam and let the sand vanish with a flippant move of his free hand. He heard soft rumbling noises from their bedroom, indicating Alec's whereabouts. Leaving the duffle bag and his warm jacket at the entrance, Magnus slowly made his way to the door. Against habit he did not sneak into the room to greet his love with a surprise bear hug but knocked.
"Alexander, I'm home. Are you decent", he asked and heard a zipper being pulled up.
"Not since I met you but I'm half dressed", replied Alec and Magnus could hear the amusement and a hint of confusion in his voice. "Have you brought guests?"
"So to say", stated Magnus and slowly pushed the door open, revealing himself with the brightly coloured length of cloth wrapped around his upper body. Alec stood in front of their closet wearing jeans and a shirt pulled over his arms but not his head yet, the thumbs hooked into the neckline. Normally Magnus would have admired his beautiful partner now, caressing him with his gaze but right now he kept his eyes fixed on Alec's face and tried not to look as unsettled as he felt. He saw Alec blink and move his lips to probably ask what he was wearing or if he had finally gone mad with the latest unknown fashion trend, when the baby choose to wake up and voice some yet unknown discomfort with a muffled whimper against Magnus's breast. He looked down and tried to soothe him with softly muttered words and stroking the baby's back, which had helped in the subway but did not seem to do the trick this time. The whimper grew to solid crying and Magnus, who had fought Nephilim and demons, sobered up vampires and rescued queens, had no idea what to do. Being a warlock meant not having children and in the rare cases over the years when he had met infants, there had always been a parent there to take care of unexpected crying.
He suddenly felt Alec close to him and looked up just to find his partners eyes fixed on the helplessly wailing child. Alec's look was soft and tender, not at least taken aback by the baby's unusual colouring or its unexplained presence.
"Hey there. What's wrong little one", he said gently and placed his warm hand next to Magnus's on the baby's back, rubbing it in little circles. "Should we get you out of this?"
"If you know how to untie 15 foot of linen, please do so", sighed Magnus and shot him a begging look.
Alec took a step back and examined the baby sling. "I think my mother used one of these when she had Max", he muttered and frowned just for a second when the thought of his late younger brother passed his mind. Then Alec, being the hands-on personality Magnus treasured, stepped behind his back and started to untie the pattern of knots that kept the baby in place.
"You know, I think I will never feel quite the same about being untied by you", Magnus stated but Alec interrupted him calmly.
"Don't drop the baby, I think this one holds the whole thing together." Magnus wrapped his arms around the still squealing baby and felt the pressure of its weight shift from his back to his arms.
"Got it", he announced just to have the baby picked out of his embrace and being left with loose fabric dangling around his shoulders, while Alec cradled the small ivory head against his neck and stroked the baby's back. Magnus watched in wonder while Alec seemed to know as a matter of course what to do to calm the child, who in turn had grabbed the front of Alec's shirt in one tiny blue fist, now only snivelling occasionally. Feeling strangely out of place and still owing an explanation Magnus cleared his throat and gathered up the material of the wraparound.
"So what I meant to say was, may I introduce to you the little foundling who was most unkindly left at the Academy's steps this very morning. The Inquisitor agreed to not send for the Silent Brothers, after you sister discussed the matter of giving lifelong nightmares to a baby with him. Now there I was, once again to the rescue and I am really sorry I could not warn you and I…"
"It's okay. Did you bring something to feed him….or her", Alec once again interrupted and Magnus noticed that his boyfriend had not looked up from the little one during his explanation of this day's events. "I think she may be hungry…or he... Do you know if it's a boy or a girl? Or a name? Calling babies 'it' just does not feel right."
Defeated, Magnus placed the wraparound on their bed, much to the joy of Chairmen Meow who hopped up to inspect the cosy nest it made for him, and pointed to the main room.
"Your mother packed a bag full of stuff she said we might need. I have no idea what we are supposed to do with all those boxes and lotions and stuff. Maybe Catarina can help", he suggested, led Alec to the duffle bag and started to unpack it while the younger man softly rocked on his heels and examined what Magnus placed on the table.
"I think the milk powder just needs to be mixed with warm water. You see those tiny bottles?"
The warlock nodded and realized that Alec, being the oldest of the Lightwood children, probably had watched his mother prepare food for his siblings or even had helped her. It seemed like a thing young caring Alexander would have done and the thought made Magnus feel all fuzzy and warm inside for a moment.
A few minutes later Alec sat on the sofa, the baby resting in his lap and covered to the chin by a towel, and Magnus was sucking at the burned back of his hand. He had seen some commercial or something where a beaming mother had checked the temperature of the milk by dripping it on her hand and thus had tried the same. It had been way to hot.
"I think it cooled down now", he said after a second drip on the other hand, much more careful this time.
"Let's see if she's hungry", Alec agreed, switching between calling the baby he and she at random. It stirred anxiously when Magnus handed the bottle to Alec and lifted his arms as if to grab it. The baby started to drink as soon as the bottle nipple touched its lips and Magnus felt an involuntary smile play on his lips.
"Seems you are a natural with babies", he told Alec, who's cheeks turned a slight pink but who also smiled.
"It's nothing. I just hold the bottle, nothing more", Alec mumbled and just then the baby got hold of one of his slender fingers. Magnus saw a spark in Alec's eyes, a tiny light he knew was there when the young Shadowhunter looked at him or Izzy or Jace, and it left Magnus slightly worried.
The baby fell asleep again after it had emptied another bottle and given a hearty burp against Alec's shoulder. They laid it down in the middle of their bed, framed by their rolled blankets and all the pillows to make a cosy safe nest, before retreated into the main room. Magnus picked up Chairmen Meow and sat down on the sofa, feeling Alec's gaze on him.
"So what exactly happened? And what are we going to do now", he inquired as he sat down next to his immortal boyfriend.
"Simon and Izzy found the baby on the Academy's steps this morning, just before the first lesson. No one seems to know how it got there", Magnus started to explain, much calmer now. "I arrived just at the moment your lovely sister was yelling at the Inquisitor how he could think to give a baby to, and that's a direct quote, the creepy stitch faces. The next second she noticed me and suggested I should take care of the baby, since it was clearly a warlock. Simon chimed in and said, with all my contacts to Downworld it should be easy for me to find an adoptive family for the little blueberry. His words, not mine. So…here I am with a tiny blue baby I'm assigned to find parents for", he finished, his long fingers buried in his cat's fur and waiting for Alexander's reaction.
"And till then he or she is going to stay with us? Is there something like, I don't know, a warlock adoption agency or network of a sort?" Alec looked at Magnus, relaxed and open as if nothing unusual happened, smiling softly and reaching over to rub the Chairman's head with two fingers.
Magnus shook his head, relieved that Alec was not angry about the sudden turn of events. "Interesting thought but no, not that I know of it. I'll have to ask Catarina or Tessa if they have any ideas. As adventurous as my life may have been, I've never been in a situation like this", he had to admit and the little hint of desperation in his tone made Alec smile gently.
"Don't worry too much, I will help you the best I can", he promised and leaned over to reassure Magnus with a short kiss. The warlock sighed and closed his eyes, the knot in his stomach that he had not even noticed till now untying.
"Thank you, Alexander. Growing up at the Silent Brother's orphanage is not as bad as Izzy seems to think, at least it was not that bad for me. But if we can find a family for the little one, I'd much prefer that." As always when Magnus talked about his childhood, Alec looked at him with a mix of love and sorrow, as if he would like to take away all the bad memories Magnus carried. After he had lost his mother and killed his stepfather in self-defence, Magnus had been taken in by the Brotherhood. They had not exactly been the most loving kind of care taker but considering the era and his nature, they had been decent.
"Me too. You know they still give me the creeps. Maybe you should call Catarina then? She may be able to give us some childcare 101 lessons so we are prepared for the next days." Alec was still stroking the cat's head and leaning against Magnus's shoulder when he called his friend, who happened to be a gifted healer and worked at a mundane hospital.
By the time Catarina arrived at their apartment Magnus and Alec had found the baby to be a little boy and were discussing if it was a good idea to choose a name for him.
"I would not, if I were you", Catarina cut in with a gentle voice while she examined the child, "Giving him a name of your choice now will only get you attached to him and make it harder to let go once we found parents. I've seen it happen with the nurses and orphans at the hospital."
Alec seemed not happy about this advice, at least Magnus got the impression from the way he pressed his lips together and the dark shadow that passed his eyes just for seconds. "Perhaps but what should we call him? It just feels weird not to have a name for him", he complained but she just shrugged.
"Does it really matter? He is around six month old I'd say and healthy, although a little small and thin. You should get some other formula, the one you have is for younger children. And you can try if he already likes mashed potatoes or veggies or fruit."
Alec got up and gave a short nod. "Okay, I will go get what we need. Anything else? The diapers my mom packed seem to fit, do they?"
"Two or three pacifiers", Catarina suggested and held the baby with one arm while she tugged the pyjamas up. "Magnus, I will call my friend Betty in the morning. She is a social worker in New Jersey and has already helped arrange adoptions for warlock babies. She knows how to find couples who know enough about magic and Downworld and who are willing to raise unusual children."
Magnus heard Alec make a muffled sound while shrugging on his coat but could not make out what he said, so he just nodded to Catarina. "That sounds great. Is there anything else we need to know? Must we, I don't know, bath him? Or take special care of anything?" He heard the door fall shut behind Alec.
She shook her head, white curls jingling around her own light blue ears. "You don't have to bath babies normally, just if they shit themselves up to the neck. Oh don't look at me like this, it can happen and is much better than constipation. And don't you praise yourself as a kind of magical Mr. Clean? If you can deal with vampire puke you can deal with a little baby poop."
Magnus made a discarding gesture and closed his arm around the baby when Catarina gave it back to him. "I think we can deal with poop. We did pretty well with the first diaper, don't you think?"
"Do you really want to know what I think", she asked and fixed her eyes intently on her old friend. "I think you need to watch out for your feelings, both of you. I know you and saw how Alec looks at the little one, even though he has been here only for a few hours."
"I think he reminds Alexander of his little brother." Magnus leaned back and allowed the boy to cuddle against his chest, inquisitively grabbing and picking at the multi coloured sequins on his shirt. He already seemed fascinated by glittering stuff and Magnus smiled with more ease than he actually felt. He was glad Catarina could not hear how his heart was skipping a beat or two. "Have you never thought about taking care of one of our young", he asked and Catarina tilted her head to one side, eyes slightly narrowed and crossed her arms in front of herself.
"I considered it, especially during my engagement. I think it would have made him happy, having a child, but you know how my life goes, what I choose as my vocation. There is no room in my life for raising a child."
He gave a low humming as an answer and stroked the boys ivory hair, from the back of his head down his soft navy neck. "I don't share your gift nor your dedication to the mundanes. Until I met Alexander I would never have dreamed about settling down the way I do now. I did not think overly much about new born warlocks till today, to be honest. But now…"
"Just make sure you know what you are signing up for, Magnus. Not only raising any ordinary child but raising a magically gifted like yourself. I don't say you're not up to manage it. I just say it may be a challenge to handle a toddler that can unintentionally set the curtains on fire when throwing a tantrum." Her features had softened again and she got up to pack her things into her backpack. "If you have him sleeping in your bed make sure he sleeps on his back and do not take him under your covers. Just give him a thin soft blanket or baby sleeping bag. Babies overheat easily and it can cause sudden infant death", she advised him, back to her usual considerate self. "I need to catch some sleep myself before my early shift tomorrow but feel free to call if you need help."
"Thank you, Catarina. You can give Betty my number if she needs it." Magnus glanced at the baby and decided to remain on the sofa instead of showing Catarina out, because he was still playing with the sequins and happily drooling, leaving a growing wet patch on Magnus's chest.
She gave him a little smile and grabbed her jacket. "I know the door. Good night, Magnus. Take care."
"I will. Good night."