The past two days had gone by agonizingly slow for Magnus. He had yet to leave Alec's side where he rested in the infirmary of the Institute, and people had been in and out constantly. People he barely had the strength to deal with when something like this was happening. Isabelle and Clary had tried to convince him that he needed to go home and get some rest, but Magnus had quickly dismissed the idea, saying that he needed to be there the moment Alec woke up.

The closest he had come to being remotely happy had been when Jace had brought the twins in to see them. Yet it had taken everything he had to smile and assure them that Alec was going to be fine. They had stayed curled up in his arms for as long as possible, until Clary had come in and quietly ushered them out, saying that their dad and uncle needed some space.

Magnus knew better than to push Jace into talking, so he simply took hold of Alec's hand again and waited for whatever was going to happen. Which was all he had been doing lately, waiting.

After several minutes that were stretched further apart by the silence, Jace finally cleared his throat. "So, what has Catarina had to say on the matter?" When Magnus looked up at him, he could see that Jace's eyes gleamed with hope, as though this situation could not possibly be as grim as it currently seemed.

To his surprise, his voice was steady when he began to answer. "She didn't have very much to say, actually. She went to work this morning saying that she would be back as soon as her shift ended. She said there were a few more things she wanted to try and to look at. Not sure what that meant, but she seemed hopeful, so I will as well."

Jace's next response, however, was not at all what Magnus had been expecting. "You do realize that he can't have any mundane medicine or treatment, right?" He must have looked as startled as he felt because Jace continued. "You hadn't thought of it, had you? Well, Magnus, I must remind you that it's against the Law. No matter what is wrong with him, if he uses any form of mundane treatment, they'll strip him of his Marks."

Magnus felt as though he had suddenly lost all the breath inside of him. Of course, he had known that. He had just forgotten in the chaos of everything that was going on. Closing his eyes, he forced a deep breath through his lungs before replying. "Yes, Jace, I do know that. But Catarina will be able to take care of whatever this may be."

"Do you honestly believe that?" Jace's voice was much harder and colder than Magnus had heard it in a very long time. "Magnus," his voice softened, filling with concern. "You should go home. Go get some rest, I'll stay with Alec." He held up a hand when Magnus began to interject. "No, don't protest, please. Your children have been asking for you for two days now, Magnus. Please."

He didn't have time to answer Jace before the door opened again, this time it was Catarina, and she looked as though she meant business. "I am terribly sorry, but I need both of you out." She automatically held up her hand, knowing that they were going to begin protesting. "No, there shall not be any arguments. There are a few things I need to try, some tests I need to do, and then we will all have a talk about what is going on."

Magnus ushered Jace out the door, knowing better than anyone that there was no arguing with Catarina over this matter.

Although Magnus had apparently slept for hours, he still woke feeling utterly exhausted. Isabelle and Simon had forced him home, telling him to not worry about a thing, that they would take care of the twins. When he had finally pried himself from sleep, Isabelle had promptly handed him a mug of coffee and informed him that the kids were napping, with Simon of course.

After letting him know that Catarina had sent a message asking him to stay put until she either arrived or called for him, Isabelle had respectfully sat with him in silence.

He was actually enjoying the peace when Simon entered the living room, a child holding onto each hand. Magnus had never felt so glad to have them both immediately in his arms. But he had certainly not been prepared for Maggie to immediately begin crying.

"Uhm, see, well…" Simon was trying to begin speaking, but he couldn't seem to find his voice. "We kinda had an incident."

Magnus's voice came out as a sort of growl. "What kind of incident, Simon?" His eyes narrowed as he stared intently at a very nervous looking Simon.

"Well, you see. Jace called about something and I may or may not have said something along the lines of 'Jace, Alec isn't a warlock, he's not immortal' and then I may or may not have been unwilling to explain exactly what that meant to your children because they are your children, after all."

Of course, Magnus thought. Naturally I have to have this conversation with them right at this moment, of course. He sighed and looked between Simon and Isabelle. Whereas Simon looked as though he wanted nothing more than to split in half, Isabelle looked as though she wanted to be the one to split him in half.

Better get to it, was his only thought before he shifted his children, situating one on each of his legs and began to wipe the tears from Maggie's eyes. They both looked up at him with a million questions written across their faces, and Magnus forced himself to keep the emotion off of his own face as he began explaining.

"Alright you two, listen to me very carefully about this. Your father is going to be absolutely fine. What Uncle Simon was talking about is something that you're not going to have to worry about for a very, very long time."

He came close to breaking down as they both looked up at him with expressions of fear over what might happen to their father. "But, Daddy," Max's voice was crystal clear as he gazed directly at his father. "We still want to know what it means, the word that Uncle Simon used. What's gonna happen to Daddy?"

Magnus reached down to sweep the hair out of his son's eyes. "Nothing is going to happen to him any time soon, Max. I promise you that. But the word Uncle Simon used, immortal, that means someone who lives forever."

He sat still as they both began to process what he had just said. He didn't know if they were going to come to the realization that he so desperately wanted them to avoid for at least a few more years. Magnus was close to feeling as though they were simply going to accept this as a mere definition when Maggie began to dangerously flirt with the truth.

"But, Daddy?" She began, an obvious question in her tone. "Uncle Simon said that Daddy isn't immortal, so he isn't going to live forever?" Magnus simply shook his head, he couldn't find it in himself to speak the truth. Then the thing he feared most happened. "Uncle Simon also said Daddy isn't a warlock, like us. Does that mean that warlocks are immortal? That we are immortal?"

You cannot cry, Magnus. Not now; your children need you. Magnus forced himself to keep a brave face and continue this horrid conversation. "Yes, Maggie. That's exactly what that means."

He was not at all surprised when Max began frantically talking. "Wait, but Daddy, if we are all immortal and he isn't then he's going to leave us, isn't he?" That was the point at which Magnus began seriously considering murdering Simon. "Daddy, I don't want to live without him, please." Max was practically begging.

The only thing Magnus had the strength left to do was take his children in his arms once again, whispering that this was not something they needed to worry about right now. Convincing them that Alec was going to be okay, however, was not as easy a task as he might have predicted. It might have been easier if he could have convinced himself first.