Hush a Bye

by 1thousandminus7

Merry Christmas Darkparadise994! This is a requested one-shot spinoff to Reborn. Reading without context may be confusing, so I'd advise you read the main story first :) Alec's been moping for some reason, and Magnus makes it his job to figure out why. My first mpreg. I tried to make it make as much sense as possible, so I hope it works.

A/N: Merry Christmas darkparadise994 as well as everyone else reading this over Christmas! I hope this is satisfying. I admit it was somewhat difficult to write, but hey, there's a first time for everything, and I reckon I've done at least a semi decent job. Here's hoping it's good enough for you guys :)

Magnus POV

I was beginning to wonder if something was wrong with my boyfriend. It started as little things. They'd be innocently watching TV or something together and he'd sigh softly, then refuse to explain why. He'd lose his train of thought when they were out together, watching passers by as they walked- normal mundanes, living everyday lives, holding hands with their kids as they crossed the street and pushing strollers down the road. He'd been studying, too. The other day I'd found him curled up on my sofa with every demon-related book he could scavenge from my office. He'd had one, a particularly thick tome on demon biology, propped open on his knees as he frowned intently at it. I supposed it wasn't that strange- obviously he'd want to learn more about himself- but the sudden level of enthusiasm for reading massively heavy, dusty old books was a bit weird. He'd never held that kind of interest before.

And then it escalated. He'd suffer periods of melancholy of which I did not know the source, which he wouldn't tell me. I'd found him, more than once, lying face down on the bed or hugging a pillow. So eventually, after a few months of this, I decided to do some investigating. I began by looking through the books he'd been studying. A few pages had been bookmarked; the corners were folded over or there was a random scrap of paper stuck in there. The first, the very popular Encyclopaedia Demonica, was a very old, many times revised book detailing everything us warlocks could find out about demons. Unlike Shadowhunters, who cared only about which bit to stick the sword in, several warlocks had devoted their lives to understanding how the creatures worked, and this book was the result.

I opened it to the first bookmarked page and read the subtitle.

'The life cycle of the demon'

Huh. Okay. I kept reading.

Many believe that demons do not have a life cycle as animals in our universe do. It appears as though all demons which enter our world are already full grown, leading many to question how the creatures reproduce. Where many are like to assume demons are created purely magically, this may not be the case. It is a well known fact that warlocks are a product of a human and a demon, which indicates that demons do, in fact, reproduce sexually, and that their biology and reproductive systems are close enough to that of humans that they can produce hybrid offspring.

Contradicting this, however, is the fact that demons are clearly not at all related to humans; they are of a completely different world to humans and therefore their genetic makeup cannot be rationally assumed to just coincidentally resemble that of the human race. The conclusion we can come to, therefore, is that demon children are in fact the product of magic, with the human being merely a host for the child. It is clear that some genetic makeup is taken from the host, as otherwise demon-human children would be full blooded demons themselves, however since warlocks often have no umbilical cord to attach them to their mothers, it is clear they are not carried as normal human children are, supporting the host theory.

Using all evidence presented here, it can be concluded that one demon parent's makeup is provided through the unique 'fingerprint' of their magic, and the other, the 'host', provides their own cells which are used as a template for the magic to form a child. Since demons, with the exception of a few who choose to present as but may not biologically be such, have no clear defined gender, it is assumed that either parent can act as the host. Little to nothing is known about how such a child would be delivered, but should the host theory be proven correct, it is probable that the infant should have to cut itself or be cut from the host's body.

I grimaced a little at that. Sure, it was not really that different to a modern-day C-section, but considering the kind of world demons live in, it probably wasn't the most humane of procedures. Plus… demon sex. Ew.

Of course, Alec was an exception to that.

Flicking through the other books, I found most passages bookmarked were roughly the same thing. A few had an extra fact here and there, most were not nearly so detailed, but I was beginning to get a clear picture of what they were trying to say. And what exactly was bothering Alec.

After a couple hours, and a lot of trying not to jump to conclusions, I made myself stop and think. I didn't know how to feel. If I was right- and this was a massive if- it could mean a big step forward in our relationship. I'd never really considered it myself. I was certain I'd always be somewhat of a loner. Sure, I'd had lovers before, but no one who wanted or was able to settle down with me. No one who wanted to start a family with me. I'd always considered myself apart from the whole family thing.I couldn't picture myself in such a normal setting. And yet… when I actually stopped to consider it, I actually felt a little warm inside. The image in my head of Alec, expression soft and caring as he cradled a tiny bundle in his arms… It made me smile.

I decided to talk to him about it. So, later that night, when we reconvened on the sofa for our evening snuggle, I turned to face him. He gave me a confused look.

"What?"

"Alec, love, I think we need to talk." I saw a flicker of worry in his eyes. "Don't worry. You're not in trouble or anything."

"Okay…" He looked wary.

"Something's been bothering you lately."

"Magnus, it's-"

"Don't you tell me it's nothing. I can read you like an open book and you know it. So I want to talk about it."

At this point, his cheeks had turned faintly purple and he was refusing to look me in the eye.

"Magnus. Please." His voice got low and even, the way it did when he was uncomfortable.

"Honey, it's okay. I read your books."

"They're not my books. They're yours." He argued.

I sighed. "Please tell me so I don't make an assumption and then look like an idiot."

He bit his lip nervously. I took his hand to reassure him, to let him know it was alright, I wasn't going to judge him.

"It's just… I see other couples. On the street, on TV, in books. And… They always…" He hesitated, then closed his eyes and let all the words out at once. "They always seem to get married and have kids and that's like the ultimate couple thing to do and I see them all the time and they look so happy and I'm jealous."

I smiled at him. "Alec…" He looked up at me, clearly worried I wouldn't take him seriously or would shoot him down. "Do you want to be a daddy?"

His face flushed again. "Magnus!"

"Well do you?" I teased him.

"No! Well… Yes… But only if you want to!"

The image came into my head again. I imagined holding the bundle in my own arms, Alec at my side.

I knew I was being impulsive. I didn't care.

"Yes."

He blinked. "…What?"

"I said yes, Alec. I want to."

His eyes lit up. "You mean it?"

"Of course I do. I don't know how it will work, if we'll have to adopt or have a surrogate mother or-"

"Can I be host?" He blurted it seemingly without thinking. This time it was my turn to look surprised.

"You want to carry the baby?" I couldn't picture it. Well, I could, but it was a very strange image.

"I just… I'm always the protector. Or I used to be, anyway. I want to be that again."

"Is that even biologically possible?"

"Well… The books said it didn't matter…"

"You do realise that's mostly speculation, right? Educated guesswork? It might not even be true. And even then… I'm sorry, love, but you know… I can't have kids." I sighed.

"It said magic is used. You have magic." It pained me to see the hope in his eyes. I found myself wondering how long he'd been thinking about this. For me it was a very sudden thing, but it was clear to me that this was something he'd been thinking about for a while now. He believed he had it all figured out.

"I'm not a demon, love."

"No, but your magic is demonic isn't it? Isn't that enough?"

"I don't know. I think if there was a way for warlocks to have biological children, someone would have figured it out by now."

Alec took my hand, holding it against his stomach. "Can't you try? Please?"

I met his gaze, and saw the longing he looked at me with. He really wanted this. And for him… For him I'd do anything. He knew this already.

"…Alright. I'll see what I can find." I relented, promising myself I'd find some way to make Alec's dream come true.

"Thank you." He said simply, happiness clear in his expression, and he leaned in to kiss me. It was soft, and I could sense the relief behind it.

I spent the few weeks studying everything I could find that would help us. I learnt particularly about the supposed 'unique magical fingerprint' each demon had. It stood to reason that those who used demonic magic, such as warlocks, would also have this. I studied how to manifest this, as well as how said magic could be used to alter the genetic makeup of a being. And using this knowledge, I began writing a spell. It would be a unique piece of magic, one I had never used before. I was slightly worried it wouldn't work, so I spent hours perfecting each phrase, making sure it wouldn't go wrong. I also wrote a counter spell, just in case. I knew that in the case of true demons, magic was instinctual. It bent itself to the user's will without any need for extra thought. Warlocks, however, often required words and other mediums to control our magic with the fine precision needed for complex spells. The more complex the spell, the more specific the words spoken, the actions committed and the items used needed to be. I memorised the spell, checked it several times over, and organised everything I would need. Alec would check in on me periodically, and read through what I'd done. I explained it to him, what each word and phrase would do, and why I had to implement certain things. He seemed to understand the gist of it, and offered ideas of his own.

Eventually, after weeks had turned into months, and I had exhausted every possible resource of knowledge on how to perfect the spell, I sat back at my desk and put down my pen.

It was done.

"Alec, love." I left my study and found him making coffee, looking as adorable as ever in his grey sweatpants (showing off that adorable butt, I might add) and a band t-shirt he'd borrowed from my wardrobe, which was clinging tightly to his figure. He looked over his shoulder at me.

"Oh, hey. I was just about to bring you coffee. You taking a break?"

"Not quite." I grinned, holding my notebook out in front of me. "It's done." His eyes widened.

"Really?" He took it from me, flipping through the pages, going over the many, many revisions I'd made. "It's ready?" He could barely keep the excitement out of his voice.

"Yep. I've gone over everything I can think of. If this doesn't work, nothing will."

He looked up at me, and I could see his eyes shining slightly. I took a step forward.

"I'm ready when you are."

He hugged me. I laughed a little, hugging him back.

"Thank you." He murmured in my ear.

"You don't need to thank me. It's just as much of a gift to me as it is to you." I smiled as he kissed first my cheek, and then my lips.

"So can we do it now?"

I blinked as he pulled back. "Right this minute?"

"Yeah. You said when I was ready. I've been ready for weeks."

"Well… I suppose so. No reason to wait, if you're that sure."

"I am." His voice was full of a mixture of excitement and determination.

"Alright. I'll go get my stuff. Don't bother with the coffee, I'm gonna need the hot water." He nodded. I retrieved from my office the things I would need. I needed surprisingly few objects; most of the magic would be channeled through the words I spoke and the runes I would draw. I had one particular item I knew I would need; a stick of pure demon metal which I had paid an awful lot for. It worked in much the same way a Shadowhunter's stele worked, being used for inscribing runes on skin. Since it only drew demon runes, it couldn't be used for precisely the same reason- demon runes only focus a demon's magic, they do not channel it from an external source, unlike angelic runes. Demons' abilities come from their own inherent power, not power borrowed from celestial beings.

I also got out a sketch I had done of the complex pattern of runes I would need to inscribe. I had a good eye for detail, so I was sure I could copy it perfectly. Finally, I raided my stash for all the herbs which would act as cleansers. I had decided that it would be better for Alec to drink and infusion of the herbs rather than attempt to eat them, even if only because it would be more palatable.

He watched me as I brewed the tea, not asking any questions; he'd read my plans many times over. At this point he didn't need to ask.

"So. What are you expecting from this kid?" I asked.

"I don't know… I picture us having a son." He mused.

"Oh yeah?"

"Mmm… Though of course I wouldn't really care."

"Of course." I poured out the infusion into a mug and carried it over.

"I'll bet he'll be just as powerful as you are."

"Hey, you're not half bad yourself. With two powerfully magic parents, he's bound to be absolutely amazing."

He smiled softly. "Yeah, I guess so… Do you think he'll be a warlock like you?"

I handed him the mug, which he blew on softly before taking a sip. He made a face at the bitterness.

"Sorry. If I could have added sugar I would have. I didn't want to mess it up."

"I know."

"But… Yeah. I mean, he'll be three quarters demon, but he'll still have human blood in him. And I'm pretty sure even a little human DNA will affect him. Though I have no doubt he'll be unlike anything else we've ever seen."

"Yeah…" He looked down into his mug, before putting it to his lips and draining it. When he was done, he put the empty mug aside and grimaced. "I think I burnt my tongue."

"Well you didn't have to drink it so fast." I pointed out.

"I figured if I drank it faster I wouldn't have to taste it for so long."

I smirked. "Whatever. Should I get started?" He nodded eagerly. "Alright. Pull up your shirt."

He did so, exposing his stomach. I picked up the demon metal stick as though it were a pencil, and unfolded my plan. "This might sting a little." I warned him as I touched the metal to his skin. He gasped slightly.

I began with the centre rune; an intricate character that was composed of the shapes for life, creation and change. Around that one I drew the runes for sealing, transfer of magic, preservation and a character I had composed myself, which I felt represented love as well as a demon language could. Into it I had incorporated protection, sacrifice, care and ownership. I hoped it would convey the correct message. Alec sat very still as I did this, watching me carefully construct each rune with the utmost care. When it was done, I lay down my tool and inspected my work. Satisfied, I opened my notebook to the perfected version of the spell. Even though I knew it practically by heart at this stage, I didn't want to slip up or make a mistake. Taking a deep breath, I looked Alec in the eye.

"Last chance to back out."

He shook his head. "Do it. I'm ready."

I nodded once, placed my hand over the central rune, feeling the motion of his breathing, and began the spell.

It was long, and took me a good few minutes to read. My fingertips heated up as the magic flowed through them. Alec put his hand over mine, watching me as I recited the spell. When I was done, I closed my eyes, feeling the wash of exhaustion that comes with using a particularly powerful spell. I took a moment to recover, and then opened my eyes. The runes shone, then disappeared, leaving only the faint outline of scars behind.

"How do you feel?" I asked him. He frowned.

"Not really much different. A bit warm."

"Okay. I guess that's a good sign. It means nothing's gone violently wrong. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll be able to tell for sure for another month, maybe two. But if you start getting any weird cravings or feeling sick in the morning, let me know." I grinned. He smiled back, although he did look a bit disappointed.

"It'd be nice to know a bit sooner than that."

"I know love. I know."

Indeed we did have to wait, and for a little while nothing out of the ordinary happened. The more time passed, the more Alec worried that my spell hadn't worked. I tried to assure him that not enough time had passed to see any physical changes yet, but that didn't do much to comfort him. It wasn't until a good month and a half later that he began to show symptoms. It began with a very early morning trip to the bathroom. He woke me up as he scrambled out of the bed and ran to the bathroom, pushing the door shut behind him. I took a minute to properly wake up and compose myself, before following him, knocking on the door.

"Alec, sweetie? You okay?"

"Yeah." Came the reply, though he sounded a little dazed.

"Can I come in?"

He made a noise that sounded like a yes, so I opened the door. He was standing over the sink with the tap running, staring at his reflection in the mirror.

"What's wrong, love?"

"I just threw up." He stated bluntly.

It took a second for that to process. At first I found myself going through possible illnesses in my head before the obvious hit me.

"Magnus… Does this mean it worked?" He looked stunned, as though he couldn't tear his eyes away from the mirror. I walked up behind him, switching off the tap and grinning at him.

"I suppose it does."

He laughed then, turning to hug me. I went to kiss him but he pushed me away.

"Magnus, no! I just threw up! That's gross!"

As a response, I rolled my eyes, picked up a bottle of mouthwash from the side and handed it to him.

Soon this became a regular thing. He'd try not to wake me, but often couldn't help it. I didn't really mind, since I could always go back to sleep afterwards. It helped that he seemed to be sleeping more often as well- I couldn't say I wasn't grateful for the extra hours in bed. He appeared to be in a much better mood, despite the unpleasantness of the situation. It meant the spell had worked, and we would be parents. I would be lying if I said that didn't make me extraordinarily happy, too. Months passed, and he made a habit of spending a lot of time in front of my full length mirror, trying to spot physical differences in himself. Though it was very gradual, I did notice that he was changing. At first it just looked like he was losing his abs, like he'd stopped exercising, though I knew this wasn't true, despite me telling him not to overexert himself. His response was to tell me that he wasn't really exerting himself at all, since he was so used to the training. He knew that wasn't what I meant but he continued anyway. I just had to trust that he knew his limits. He asked me a few times if I'd noticed any changes and I told him yes, I had. He smiled and confessed how relieved he was that he wasn't making it up. And, a little bit later, I found him in front of that mirror again, this time cradling the beginnings of a bump forming under the faint lines of the rune scars I had given him. I kissed the side of his neck, hugging him from behind and placing my hands over his. I couldn't help the bubble of excitement rising in my chest as I saw the first true evidence of our child.

The next six months simultaneously dragged and flew; every day the two of us would wake to the excitement of looming parenthood and would ache for time to pass faster, but every time we stopped to look back at how far along he was already, it was almost scary. I would lavish my every attention on him, to the point where he'd laugh and push me away, saying that he was still perfectly self sufficient. I wouldn't hear of it. I had to remind him that I was just as equally pampering my baby as I was him. I made sure I always had what he wanted or needed. The cravings were easy to deal with, considering I just had to snap my fingers and any food I wanted would appear in our fridge. He had developed a taste for cinnamon rolls that I found adorable. He tasted sweet when I kissed him, and I kissed him a lot.. However, he did lament that coffee now didn't taste as good as it used to, apparently. I assured him that once the baby was born he'd be back to normal. And he'd probably need to drink more of it, I joked. Babies do have a habit of keeping their parents up at night. I can remember the first time the baby moved. He shook me awake in the middle of the night, whispering "Magnus! I can feel it! Here!" And then he grabbed my hand and pressed it against his stomach. I couldn't feel anything at first, though Alec insisted he could feel something happening, though after a while I felt a nudge against my palm, and Alec gasped.

"He kicked me!" He exclaimed. I laughed.

"He's a fighter, just like his dad."

"Wow…" He lay back in the bed, his hands over the bump, presumably feeling the movements inside him. I couldn't imagine what it must feel like. Soon this became a regular occurrence, and occasionally we'd be relaxing or curled up in bed together, and he'd take my hand and hold it against him so I could feel the little flutters that meant our little one was awake. It made everything feel so much more real for me. Suddenly there was proof of the life growing in him, and it put everything into perspective. We were going to be parents. I wasn't going to lie, it did scare me, but I had long decided to never let the fear of an experience push me away from it. After all, if I kept living the same life without ever taking risks, my long life would be a very boring one. I had allowed Alec to get to me in a way no one else had, I had committed myself to loving him forever, and now I had taken the next big step in this life. And I was not going to regret it. I was not going to let it scare me.

Of course, that mantra worked up until it actually happened.

Alec woke me up at about 2am with a cry. I sat bolt upright, startled awake. Beside me, Alec moaned in pain.

"Hey!" I leaned over him, worried. "What's wrong?"

"Hurts…" He hissed between gritted teeth, pressing a hand to his stomach. I examined him, but I couldn't see anything wrong with him. He rolled onto his side, curling up in an effort to alleviate the pain. A wave of panic hit me as I thought about the baby. What if there was something wrong with him?

"Magnus…" Alec's voice sounded relatively even and calm, but I could hear the underlying strain. "I think the baby wants to come out."

"What?" I began doing the calculations in my head. Yes… He was right. It had been almost exactly nine months.

"It… It feels like he's trying to tear me open." I winced, running through possible courses of action.

"Uh… Okay. I think… Stay here." I jumped out of bed and ran to the phone, doing the most logical thing I could think of, and calling someone who actually knew anything about this kind of thing. The phone rang for a while. I tapped my foot impatiently, hearing Alec give another cry. Eventually, it stopped ringing and I heard a grumpy, tired voice saying, "Hello?"

"Catarina. Hi."

"Magnus? It's two-fifteen in the morning, why are you calling me?"

"Emergency. I need you. Now."

"Well, Magnus, I'm flattered, but don't you have that Lightwood boy to keep you company?" Her voice dripped sarcasm. I groaned in exasperation.

"I'm serious. Get your butt over here. I need your medical expertise."

"Medical? Magnus, what's going on? Is somebody hurt?"

"Long story. I'll explain when you get here."

"Alright. Fine. Give me a few minutes to get dressed." She hung up on me, leaving me standing around, bouncing up and down on my toes and trying desperately not to panic as I wondered what to do. After a second or two of calming my rapid breathing, I rushed back to Alec's side. He was curled up in a ball, arms wrapped around his belly. I rested my hand on his shoulder. I could feel him shaking beneath my palm.

"What do we do…?" He managed to ask through measured breaths.

"I've called Catarina. She's good with this kind of thing. I think." In all honesty, this was unlike anything I was sure she'd ever seen before.

"Okay…" Alec buried his face in the pillow, muffling another moan of pain.

"Hang on. Roll over." He did, hissing a little. I placed my hand over his stomach, where I noticed a number of small bruises appearing under his skin. I muttered a soft incantation, and my hand glowed blue. A couple of sparks spat from between my fingers, and Alec relaxed a little.

"Did that help?" He nodded.

"Thank you."

I smiled. Anaesthetic spells are very useful sometimes. I sat beside him, and he snuggled into my side. I put my arm around him and kissed his hair softly.

"Hang in there. Help is on the way."

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Catarina show up. I heard a knock on the door, and rushed to answer it, pulling on my dressing gown. I figured answering the door in nothing but my underwear might be a little rude. I hoped Alec wouldn't mind Catarina seeing him in his, but I figured he had bigger things on his mind right now.

"Catarina! Thank god. Come in." She gave me a concerned look as she moved past me into my apartment.

"Okay. What's the problem."

"Alec. He's… Well, we kind of made a big decision and took advantage of his demon-ness to… well… We made a baby." I hoped it was enough. I didn't have time for long explanations.

Catarina stared at me. "You… What?"

"Yeah. He's kinda pregnant I guess… Though not really. Obviously. Basically we need you to get the baby out safely."

She just stared at me, open mouthed, until we both heard Alec's stifled scream from the bedroom. I winced. My magic wasn't lasting as long as I hoped. The magic of the baby must be interfering. Catarina snapped into action, unslinging her bag from over her shoulder as she ran to the bedroom. I followed closely behind. I heard her intake of breath as she saw Alec's body sprawled out on the mattress, complete with full-term baby bump.

"Okay. Hi, Alec. I'm gonna see what I can do for you, okay?" He nodded, eyes flicking between her and me.

"You think you can help?"

"I can certainly try."

He gasped again, and I could see the restraint in his expression, a sheen of sweat on his forehead. Catarina ran her hands over him, doing some kind of diagnosis spell. I watched her face. She looked mildly confused, but by no means worried.

"The life inside you is strong, and completely healthy. No illness or physical deformity affects the child." I met Alec's gaze and we smiled at each other. Genuine happiness was in his eyes, glowing like candlelight despite his pain. "As for you…" We turned back our attention to my blue friend. "You have some mild lacerations lining your abdominal muscle, and some internal bleeding, but nothing a few spells won't fix right as rain." She gave him a soft smile. "Your child's a feisty one."

"I know." He deadpanned. I laughed a little.

"Alright. I'm going to need to perform a sort of caesarian, I suppose. I can either do it under anaesthetic or put you to sleep. Which would you prefer? I can wake you up immediately afterwards."

He shook his head. "No. I can do it awake." She nodded, pulling a pair of latex gloves from the medical kit she had brought with her.

"Magnus, I'm sorry in advance about your bedsheets. This may get quite messy."

"Can't be helped." I muttered, taking Alec's hand as she cast an anaesthetic spell much stronger than mine, relaxing him completely. Catarina summoned a scalpel to her hand, and began pressing gently around the edges of the bump.

"I assume that as an ex-Shadowhunter, you're not squeamish, but even so, you might want to look away. It's going to feel very strange."

"Okay…" Alec squeezed my hand, looking up at me. I couldn't help but watch as she pressed the blade into his skin with careful precision. Black blood welled up, running over his skin. I tore my eyes away as she widened the incision, feeling my stomach turn slightly. The tangy scent of ichor hit my nose, and I looked into Alec's eyes, distracting myself by making sure he was okay. He frowned slightly, though he didn't show any indication of being in pain.

"That feels… weird…"

"Told you it would." Catarina was busy doing… something I didn't want to think about, her fingers actually inside the cut as she stopped the bleeding using magic. I rested my free hand on Alec's cheek, stroking his cheekbone with my thumb softly. He smiled at me.

I didn't know how long it took. It couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes before I heard the first cry. Immediately, my eyes snapped down to where Catarina was working. Amidst the black and red raw flesh of Alec's lower abdomen, I saw a head cradled in Catarina's blue-gloved hand. I felt a gasp cross my lips, and my heart jump in my chest. A bubble of elation settled in my chest, filling me with light and energy as I beheld my child for the first time. Alec spoke, and I could hear the awe in his voice as he did so.

"Can… Can I see him?"

Catarina smiled. "How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That he's a boy?"

"I don't know… I just did." Alec pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"Woah there. Don't hurt yourself. You've got a pretty big gash in your abdomen right now."

"I've had worse." He stated matter-of-factly, eager to hold his son.

"Even so. Don't move too much." But Alec had settled down now, comfortably sat up in the bed. Catarina finally obliged, handing the baby to his father. I watched, somewhat stunned, as the child nestled into Alec's arms as naturally as anything. Alec laughed, and it was one of the most beautiful sounds I had ever heard, as gentle and so purely full of joy as it was. The child, like me, had no navel, and his skin was a few shades darker than Alec's, a testament to my own heritage. He looked human, dark and fluffy hair gracing his head and eyes shut as he snuggled against his father's chest. The only thing I noticed which was inhuman about him was his tiny hands; as he grasped at the air for the first time in his life, I saw that his nails were a rough dark colour instead of the normal translucent white. I assumed they'd probably be sharper than human nails, too. That would explain how he'd managed to cause the lacerations in Alec's muscle.

"He's beautiful…" Alec held him close, stroking his cheek gently.

"He needs a name." Catarina spoke softly. Alec and I looked at one another and smiled.

"His name is Ragnor." I replied. It was something Alec and I had discussed extensively. I had told him about my friend, who I missed greatly even if I wouldn't admit it, and he had suggested we honour him by naming our child after him. It meant a lot to me that he was willing to do that. Catarina looked at me, and I could see the mixture of sadness and joy that came with the revelation. She missed him just as much as I did.

"I'm sure he will grow up to be just as amazing as his fathers." Her voice was sombre, but then she returned to the matter at hand. "Alec, you might want to give him to Magnus. I'm going to heal the wound.

Alec nodded and held Ragnor out for me to take. It was then that I realised I didn't know what I was doing at all. Suddenly there was this warm, squirming weight in my arms, and I didn't know if what I was doing was right or not. I tried to hold him as Alec had, with his head resting on my arm, and he didn't seem to disagree with that, so I assumed I was doing okay. As Catarina worked her magic, cleaning and healing the incision, I watched the tiny person in my arms as he waved a fist aimlessly in my direction.

"Hey little one…" I murmured. "I'm your daddy. Yes I am." He opened his mouth, making a tiny noise. I found myself grinning like an idiot at the response. And then he opened his eyes and looked up at me. I gasped. His eyes were the same colour as Alec's, that most beautiful blue, only… I swore I could see threads of gold, subtle but entrancing around the edge of the iris. They made me think of the gold and lapis treasures of Egypt, the colours such a perfect contrast to one another. And it made sense, when I thought about it. After all, gold eyes are the sure sign of magical blood, and Ragnor was a product of our magic woven together.

Soon Alec was alright again, the cut having healed to nothing more than a thin scar thanks to Catarina's adept healing skills, and he was resting, fast asleep after his ordeal. I was left to say goodbye to my old friend, my son asleep in my arms.

"Thank you so much."

"No need for thanks. It is my duty to help those in need." She replied. "One thing, though… How the hell did you do that? I thought it was biologically impossible, on more than one count."

"Many, many hours of spell writing, and a lot of good faith. If you want to have a look at my work, I'll show it to you sometime. Just don't get too excited. I'm fairly sure it only worked because Alec's a demon."

"Maybe…" She looked a little skeptical, but let it pass. "And why didn't you tell me sooner? That's a big thing you know!"

"Yeah… Sorry. Just a bit caught up in life, I guess."

She made a disapproving sound. "Sure. Forget an old friend. Jeez." I rolled my eyes.

"Oh get over yourself. Go home and rest. I'm sure you need it." She smiled at me.

"Goodnight then, Daddy Bane."

"Please never call me that again." I politely requested as I ushered her out of the door. "Goodnight."

Needless to say I didn't get much sleep that night, as I curled up beside my sleeping lover, our child nestled in my arms. But there was a part of me that didn't want to, who didn't want to leave behind this amazing world, and this beautiful family I never thought I'd have. I had no doubt that raising this child with Alec was the best thing I would ever do.

*Spoiler alert for the SA series* I'm sorry. I couldn't name him Max because then I'd have to rename Little Blueberry and I can't do that. No I am not going to leave Blueberry unadopted. No way. This may or may not be integrated into main story plot. Idk. I'll see where it goes. For now though, treat it as a spinoff one shot.