Disclaimer: All characters belong to Cassandra Clare.

Chapter 3: Babysit, Befriend

Magnus was matching his outfit when his buzzer was bombed. Smartly Chairman had jumped into his closet, blocking every noise away. Alec, in the living room with Max, shouted in horror. "Warlock Bane!"

Quicker than thunder, Magnus sprinted and was relieved when he saw it was Catarina who barged in. Alec had jumped out of his way when he moved forward to comfort his friend. However, the tension remained even after a detailed explanation from Magnus. "Catarina, there is no danger."

Catarina's icy blue eyes inspected the Shadowhunters hiding behind Magnus, her deep frowns could squeeze a fly to its death. "He is the one back at the café." Magnus rolled his eyes. "Brilliant observation. Now, might I start the introduction?"

"I know who he is, Magnus." Catarina folded her arms and she wouldn't sit down. Her relatively small frame was looking extremely authoritative.

"All right. Alec, this is a dear friend of mine, Catarina Loss. She will be here with you when I am out meeting a client."

"You are leaving?" Alec's voice shook. He looked healthier than the first day they met; in the past two days Max and he had been living under his roof, receiving proper medic (or magic) treatment. His wound was nothing but a white fresh scar on his pale back. Max was still a cute mess for Magnus who had spoiled him with toys and clothing regardless of the protest of the Shadowhunter.

"Yes," Magnus told himself not to get too attached. They were leaving in foreseeable time. "Also, I will send the message tonight. When I am away, Catarina will be looking after you. I do hope you treat her nicely." They had agreed that Magnus would tell the board of Downworlders two days before the next meeting. The Warlock and the Shadowhunter both believed time had to be given for them to handle the news.

Alec didn't reply but he managed to get over his nerves to sit in the farthest corner of the living room, right next to the window to the street. Catarina huffed, slumped badly on the purple loveseat. Sighing, Magnus snapped his fingers and changed his outfit, one hand reaching for the jacket on the cloth stand. "I'll be back in no time." He winked to Alec and Max which he regretted right away when the flush crept to Alec's face and he heard the snort of Catarina.

"Well," Quickly he closed the door and walked into the shower of afternoon sunlight.

Catarina felt the ward was up again. She watched the Shadowhunter and the baby from a safe distance, every slight movement didn't escape her eyes. When Magnus called to tell her about babysitting someone, she never expect it to be the Alexander Lightwood. The mysterious member of the Circle, the one rumored to be Jonathan Morgenstern's lover. More to that he had a baby with him which suspiciously claiming not his while there was a complicated bond between them.

"Mamahm." The baby – Max, which Magnus had informed her – was sucking his own thumb. Alec took it out from the pink lips and wiped the saliva with the bib. "Don't do that," A soft voice said. "Here, suck on this."

Max accepted the pacifier with no problem. Working in the hospital she had seen many newborns and most would like to scream and cry to get themselves some attention. However, Max was quiet. He didn't fight or do anything else except waiting when Alec warily stalked to the kitchen and came back with a bottle of water. His gray eyes were on Alec the whole time.

Alec shrugged his shoulders in discomfort because of her intense staring but she didn't plan to stop. Catarina knew the Shadowhunter didn't kill her friend. Ragnor's death, indirectly, was caused by him.

"Do you want some?" The black-haired Nephilim whispered, tipping the bottle slightly for Max's access. Like what Magnus had said, he looked so meek and shy that he didn't fit her imagination of a Circle member at all. In the café his scent was vaguely smelled of Downworlder's bloods. Now Magnus's magic dominated. This somehow made her anxious; as if the cat-eyed Warlock left it on him intentionally.

They stayed like that for about an hour: Alec with Max in his arms and Catarina in the loveseat.

Just about when she thought the babysitting session was over, Max cried loudly and drew her attention. She recognized those bawls were the sign of hunger; she turned her head and met Alec's panicking blue eyes. Max was yanking his shirt, trying to sneak his head under it and he even dove in biting Alec's nipple through the thin layer of clothing. Alec scowled and pushed the tiny head away. Standing up he apologized. "Sorry, I will be in the guest room."

"It's fine."

Despite of what she had said, Alec still insisted on going with a sobbing Max clutching on his shirt. As Alec strode to the hallway, Catarina got to her feet and offered. "I think there are formulas in the kitchen."

Much to her shock, Alec shook his head. "I will manage."

"Max is hungry – what do you mean you can manage?" Catarina questioned as she looked into the kitchen and found it on the island with a baby bottle. As she returned with a bottle of hot milk in her blue palm, Alec was pacing around while Max was covered under his T-shirt. "What are you doing?" Her blue eyes nearly popped out from their sockets; and they landed on the wet spot on Alec's chest which was right on his nipple and the one Max didn't touch.

Max wasn't crying anymore. Instead, she could hear the muffled satisfied feeding sounds.

"I can explain."

"What? That you can produce – " Catarina stopped her sentence because of the hurt in the Shadowhunter's eyes. Tears were running around the frames and were threatening to fall down. His cheeks flushed, for the blood rushing to his head due to extreme pressure. Even he was on the edge of crying, his hands were still wrapped tightly around Max, holding his head in place.

Maybe it was a female's instinct, Catarina's heart softened and she put the baby bottle down. They were dancing tango; whenever she took a step forward, Alec took a step back. He was scared, eyes watching Catarina's hands and legs to guess her next move. "No one can know about this," He whined and was shaking his head frantically.

"Calm down," Catarina comforted. "I'm not going to tell anyone." A male Shadowhunter who could bear children – it was something that would invite a hunt. If the news was out, she didn't know what would happen to Alec and Max. "Does Magnus know?"

"No," Alec said. "Please, promise me you would tell no one." A line of tear slid from the puffy red-rimmed eyes and dropped on the shirt. She nodded in understanding. "I won't. We should go to the guest room. If Magnus is back and the feeding is not finished, I can slow him down."

"Good idea." The vowel choked within his throat and he moved to the hallway with unsteady steps. Catarina was right behind, hands in the air, frightened that Alec would collapse at any second. The shirt was too big for anyone's liking except his, which could fit in two WWE fighters.

As soon as they arrived the guest room Catarina locked and soundproofed it with magic. Today was her dayoff so her magic could restore after she got home. At the moment, she let Alec sat on the bed and breastfeed Max first.

While doing that, Alec wiped his tears in silence. He had taken off his shirt and revealed the unmarked scarred pale body and the pair of swollen nipples. Catarina watched in fascination: this was something beyond her knowledge and experience. She had heard of male Mundanes being pregnant before, yet she had no idea it existed among Shadowhunters too.

She removed her glance to the floor when she noticed Alec was turning away for a bit. "Sorry," She apologized, knowing breastfeeding was a private matter. "It's just that I've never seen something like this before. Magnus might not have told you, but I work at the Beth Israel Hospital. I know a thing or two."

"You are a nurse?" Alec spoke gently like a normal volume would disrupt Max's eating. Catarina smiled. "Yeah."

Alec returned a small one and he patted lightly on Max's back. There was a budding sympathy. She waited until Max belched and sound asleep on the bed to ask questions. "How did this happen?"

Laying down next to Max, Alec leaned back to the headboard and didn't bother to put on his shirt. "I didn't know at first," His blue eyes cast down, fingers playing with Max's. "I assume you know that Jonathan and I used to be together?" He continued after getting a nod from Catarina.

"There were signs, but back then having a baby never occur to our minds. We – we thought they were side-effects. I only knew I was pregnant when the belly started to show. Jonathan was angry in the beginning, thinking I was faking it to grab his attention from the Circle's business."

When he was recalling the memory, he was in pain. Catarina wanted to say he could stop, but once he opened his mouth everything was spilled. It wasn't hard to imagine the stress to keep the secret to himself. And when he could at least talk to somebody, he let out anything that had been crashing him down.

Alec stared at his belly, rubbing it like there was a life inside. "When I heard that I was actually having a baby, I wasn't terrified; my first thought was to show Jonathan the proof, so that he would stay at home with me instead of going out killing innocent souls."

"But he didn't."

From the way Alec reacted, he was a sensitive boy. His every emotion was clear as daylight, radiating to people around him. She was affected by the sorrow of his words; her heart clenched whenever Alec blinked, sentences formed between those lips. She thought about how many nights he had suffered, living with a murderer and seeing his lover losing control.

"No," Alec gulped and was combing those blond hairs. "He did come home more often. He was careful around me and he loves Max like I do. It's just… he is losing his mind from the killing. I've talked to him about that but none of those discussion ended well. After days and nights of arguing and fighting, I ran away with Max."

"Alec," Catarina moved forward and sat opposite him. "You make the right choice. Max could never live like that."

"He has talked about it, you know, teaching Max how to hold a weapon once he is old enough. But I don't want that. I don't want Max to grow up under the influence of Jonathan and the Circle, even he is his father." Alec's lips were pale and bloodless. They were dry like desert and his eyes watery. Catarina held his right hand, the one with the voyance rune.

"I won't tell anyone."

"What about the meeting? Do you think they will cast an honesty spell on me?"

"It is without question." Alec's spirit immediately was down. Catarina tried to lighten it up. "There is a portion that will protect you from those less powerful spells. We can try that; and if it doesn't work, that's how it is going to be."

"I am not scared for my life. However, Max is still young. He doesn't know a thing about what his parents have done." Alec said.

Catarina could not lie. "Once Magnus tells the others your presence, the news will spread like a disease among Downworlders; you have no idea how many of us want to spray blood over your corpse. But I will promise you one thing that I will take care of Max no matter what cost it takes."

"You will get enemies for that." Frowning, Alec sat up but he didn't withdraw his hand from her. "I am fine with it." Catarina smiled with confidence. "You can trust Magnus like you do to me. He is a good man; he is not what he appears to be. Under all those covers he has a kind heart and he would never deceive you, if you do the same."

The sound of closing door had them turned their heads. Magnus's voice passed through the walls ambiguously. "I am back!" His tone was as cheerful as usual. Catarina's eyes dropped to the bare chest before she stood up from the bed. "You have something on you."

Got what she meant, Alec extracted some tissues from the box at the nightstand and wiped the leaking milk clean. Quickly he pulled the over-sized shirt over his head and it messed up his inky hairs. Catarina smiled warmly to him as Magnus opened the door. His confused face perked behind the wall. "What are you two doing here?"

"Max is sleeping." She whispered and crept out the guest room, dragging Magnus with her. Magnus followed without complain.

"It seems you two get quite along." Magnus mocked when they settled down in the living room. She flicked her fingers and a cup of coffee dropped on her palms.

"Make me some tea?" He asked and frowned at the same time. "Why is the bottle here?"

"Just in case," Catarina sipped at the coffee and felt the heat flowed and warmed her body. "Also, get it yourself. I am not your maid."

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "You are going through your fiftieth puberty."

"Right," She sighed. "Maybe I am."

A/N:

To cheesekun: You will have to wait for a while before Magnus discovers the truth! Let's pray Alec won't have Jonathan's hands on him:P

To anonymous fan: There will be more flashback of Alec and Jonathan explaining how their relationship crumbles.

So, it's just the middle of my first week of the semester and I am already exhausted for the loads of readings and readings and readings...

But I will continue this because writing is my way of relaxing:) this is something I am passionate about! Sorry to say that the update might not be frequent.

Also, I am looking for a beta:D

How do you guys feel about this chapter? A review is highly appreciated.

Wish you all a good day!