OK, followers. This is Tia's story. Note: this is BEFORE my other story, so Alec still dies...you just don't know when. Hope you like the first chapter! (Thanks to chapiggy, you have a title for this story.)

Magnus sat down in front of his old friends Catarina Loss, Ragnor Fell, and Tessa Gray. Tessa was just telling everyone about her new adventures in Peru.

"Please, don't tell me. I love Peru and wish to go back, but I can't," Magnus said.

"Well, if you had just left that llama alone, like I warned you to do..." Ragnor muttered.

Catarina just rolled her eyes at both of them. "Well, thanks to that idiot over there," she said with a jerk of her head in Magnus's direction. "We are all banned from Peru." She glared at him.

"Hey, you know I can't resist a chance to have fun every once in a while," Magnus said. "And besides, I can always sneak back in, at least once."

"Anyway, as I was saying," Tessa went on with her story. "I was about to help the old man when-"She was cut off by the sound of the buzzer to Magnus's apartment. She inclined her head. "Expecting company, Magnus?"

Magnus wasn't expecting company right now. It was Sunday, and no client ever bothered him on Sundays – he often wondered why. With a shrug, he got up to go answer the door. "Hello-"

Instead of being met by a person, Magnus was met by the sound of crying. He looked down and a basket sat at his feet. He picked it up and surveyed its contents. A baby, wrapped in a pink blanket, was lying in the basket, crying its eyes out. He carried the basket into the living room where his company sat.

"Do any of you know what this is?" he asked them. Tessa was the first to get up, followed by Catarina. Ragnor, who was not curious or the least bit fazed about any of this, stayed where he was.

"Oh, my," Tessa said. "It's a baby. Who would just leave a sweet little baby on a stranger's doorstep?"

"It's a mundane baby, too," Catarina noted. "What are we going to do with it?"

Meanwhile, the baby was still crying. Tessa ordered Magnus to set the basket down. Magnus did so and Tessa scooped the baby up in her arms. It immediately stopped crying.

"Hey, I think she likes you, Tessa," Magnus said. "You've always had a way with children."

Tessa just smiled and rolled her eyes. "I have had a lot of practice."

"To answer Catarina's question," Ragnor finally spoke up. "I think we should get rid of it. There is no telling what the Clave will do to us when they find out. I, for one, do not want to get on their bad side."

"Ragnor, you have always been a big green kiss-up," Magnus declared.

Ragnor glared at him and was about to say something before Catarina cut him off. "Knock it off. We can't get rid of it; it doesn't even look that old in the first place. Was there a note or something that might tell us a little about her?"

Magnus looked in the basket and found a little scrap of paper. He picked it up and read it out loud:

To whom it may concern-

In this basket, I leave my daughter. I love her dearly, but I have found I cannot keep her. I will hope that you will show her kindness and love, if I cannot. Her birthday is on August 1st, but she doesn't have a name. I couldn't bring myself to name her. If you can't keep her either, please make sure she has a good home.

The note wasn't signed. The baby was now asleep in Tessa's arms, but as soon as Magnus walked over, she opened them quickly. Her eyes were very green, almost - but not quite - as green as the eyes of the little redheaded girl whose memories he attends to every two years. They did match someone else's eyes, though...

"Ragnor, I think you will like her eyes," Magnus said. "Come here and look."

Ragnor got up, reluctantly, and went over to Tessa. The baby looked at him with wide eyes, and started laughing.

"She is just a little over a month old," Tessa said. "We have to keep her and take care of her."

"Let's name it!" Magnus exclaimed.

"Fine, "Ragnor said, which surprised everyone. "We shall name her Tatiana."

"As in, Tatiana Lightwood?" Tessa asked. "Why would we name her after that awful woman?"

Magnus rolled his eyes. "Ragnor has always been enamored with her. Then she decided to marry that Blackthorn, and Ragnor has never gotten over it, have you?" Magnus looked at Ragnor with raised eyebrows.

Ragnor shook his head vigorously. "No, that is not the reason! I simply thought her eyes resembled Tatiana Lightwood's. I was not enamored with her at all."

"Now Ragnor, we mustn't lie to each other." Magnus said.

"Enough," Catarina scolded. "We still need a middle name."

"Why?" asked Ragnor. "I don't have a middle name, and I'm fine."

"Sure you are," Magnus muttered. "Keep telling yourself that." That remark earned yet another glare from Ragnor.

The group thought long and hard about a middle name for little Tatiana. Magnus suggested a number of things, but each was shot down by the rest of the party. Mostly Ragnor. Finally Magnus thought of something.

"How about...Catherine?" Magnus suggested. "Tatiana Catherine...you know, I like it. What about you, Catarina?"

Catarina, who was now holding the baby, nodded. "I like it, but where did you get it?"

"It's the name of a queen I once met. I think it is a very powerful name and I like it." Magnus got up and took the baby from Catarina. It looked at him with wide eyes and started to smile.

"Tatiana Catherine," he whispered to her. "What do you think?"

When he said the baby's name, he could have sworn her eyes twinkled, as if she liked it.

Tessa went home. She didn't want to help take care of the baby because it brought back too many memories. Ragnor stayed, because he thought the baby liked him more than she did Magnus. Catarina stayed because she didn't trust that either of the men knew how to take care of a baby, especially one this young.

Time passed quickly. Before Magnus knew it, it was already October. He had had the baby for almost a month. One day, a knock at his door startled Tatiana, and she started crying.

Damn it, Magnus thought as he went to answer the door. I just put her down. Whoever this is better have a good reason to be at my door.

There was no one at his door, but he found a note at his feet. He picked up and saw that it was from the Clave. He took it into the apartment and read it. Great, now he has to go down to the Institute, all the way from Brooklyn, just to talk to them. The Shadowhunters. The last people you want to mess with.

Magnus called Catarina and asked her to babysit. When she got to his loft, she didn't ask any questions about why he had to go. It seemed to Magnus that she had been expecting this.

He started his slow walk down to the Institute, all the while thinking about what they will tell him. He can't get attached, he has to give her away, blah blah blah. It is too late, though. He was already too attached to even think about giving her up. She was left at his door, so she is his. End of story. Magnus started to wonder what the Shadowhunters would have done if a mundane baby was left at their door. Would they give her away, or would they keep her?

He broke out of his reverie when he reached the Institute doors. He rang the doorbell and waited... and waited... and waited. He was about to leave when the door opened slightly. He looked down and saw a little boy, around eleven. His black hair fell in front of his eyes when he spoke.

"Can I help you?" he squeaked

"Um, yes, are your parents around? They asked me to come down here."

The boy didn't speak again; he just started down the hall. Magnus took that as a cue to follow. He was led down the corridor and into library of the Institute. The boy left and went to join two other kids. Another boy, about ten, with blond hair, and a girl, with black hair put in braided pigtails. Magnus took one look at them, and then went into the library. Robert Lightwood was seated at a desk, and his wife, Maryse, was standing next to him, her face solemn.

"Mr. Bane," Robert said without looking up from his work. "Please, sit."

Magnus sat down at a chair in front of the desk. "What's this about?" he said with impatience. "I have a lot of important work to do, and I don't need you holding me up."

"I'm sure you don't," Robert said. "Let me make this simple. I understand you have acquired a mundane baby."

"Your understandings are correct," Magnus said, trying to mock Lightwood's tone, which Magnus didn't care for at all.

Robert forged on. "You must know already that Downworlders aren't allowed to adopt mundane children without consent from the Clave. It goes against the Accords. I'm going to have to ask you to get rid of the baby. If you would like, we could-"

"I won't need your assistance," Magnus interrupted. "I'm not getting rid of her."

"I told you he would be difficult," Maryse muttered to her husband. "He's already attached to it."

"You know," Magnus said. "People have been using the word "attached" a lot with me lately. Look, I have no intention of leaving her anywhere, and I'm certainly not going to leave her in your care. Good day."

Magnus got up, gave a little bow, and walked out the door, despite the surprised looks from the Lightwoods. As he walked out the front door of the Institute, he could hear the faint yelling of children in the hallway.

He walked back to his apartment, thinking about what Lightwood said. Maybe he should leave her in a good home, one not as...dangerous. Sure, Magnus had thought of adopting a child before, but he never found the right person to raise a child with.

He reached his apartment and found Catarina sitting with baby Tatiana in her arms. She was singing something.

Wise on a birthday party, in a world

Full of surprising fireworks and sudden silence, Shh

Lies on a stranger's bed

The new day breaks like a speeding train

Or an old friend, never expected, but never knocking

Holding your own in a battered car,

All night parties, cocktail bars

And smile when the butterfly escapes the killing jar.

She quit singing when she heard Magnus come into the room. Catarina had loved the band, Duran Duran, since her last trip to London and saw them in concert. Secret Oktober was one of her favorites, but she liked all of their songs. Magnus enjoyed hearing them every once in a while.

"I just got her to sleep, but she only seems to like Secret Oktober, Hungry like the Wolf, and Electric Barbarella." Catarina said as Magnus sat down.

"Really?" Magnus was surprised. "That's interesting. Especially Electric Barbarella." Magnus had heard that song way too many times, and thought it was a bit annoying, but if it will put Tatiana to sleep, he was all for it.

"Yeah. When she hears those songs, she either sleeps, or listens very intently. I could've sworn she was nodding her head to Hungry like the Wolf." Catarina laughed.

"Well, maybe she will sing them over and over when she grows up because you sang them over and over when she was young." Magnus took Tatiana from Catarina and held her in his arms. She was only eight or so pounds, very light.

"You know, Magnus. I've been thinking," Catarina said. "I think that Tatiana is a pretty long name. So let's give her a nickname."

"Do you have any in mind?" Magnus liked the name Tatiana, but it brought back a few memories that he doesn't like to think about.

"I was thinking Tia." Catarina looked at him intently.

"Tia," Magnus agreed. That name would suit the small baby nicely.

Alright, so what did you think? I made it a little longer than some of my other story's chapters. Also, if you have never heard of the band Duran Duran, you should really look them up. Especially the songs mentioned. The song Catarina was singing was called Secret Oktober (yes, it is spelled like that) and I suggest that you listen to it because you will be seeing it a lot more. R&R

-Peoplelikeus13