A/N - Hi everyone! Thanks for reading, I hope you all have a lovely holiday season. Just to let you know, (warning) mentions of suicide continue in this chapter as well.
Disclaimer - Characters belong to Cassandra Clare.
Magnus was beginning to get used to the impromptu nature of Alec's visits, and while he would appreciate a little bit of warning, he started to find himself thinking about when his next visit would be. Magnus had never met anyone as dedicated to their job as Alec was, and although Alec tended to bring more bad news than good, Magnus always looked forward to seeing the passion in his eyes when he talked about something he cared about, or the way he bit his lip whenever he concentrated on the notes he was writing down. In short, Magnus was beginning to admit to himself that he was attracted to his barrister; not that he would ever act on it (after all, it would be highly unprofessional). Still, Alec was hot and Magnus had eyes and let's face it, he didn't have many gorgeous people he could freely look at here. Yet, as much as he loved meeting with Alec, he wasn't expecting to see him so soon after his last visit.
"Two visits in two days? Why Alexander, I'm beginning to think that maybe you can't stay away from me."
Magnus Bane, why are you flirting with your barrister? He tried to reprimand himself, he really did, but seeing Alec blush a gorgeous shade of red when he did flirt was completely worth it. He wasn't even sure if he had seen that colour before; maybe he would name it after the other man.
"Well", Alec coughed a little as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "My brother went through all the paperwork he had taken from Camille and it's as we expected; it's of little to no real value to us. But we do have one lead we want to work on right now and we were wondering if you could help."
To say that Magnus was beginning to get disheartened again was an understatement. It always seemed that whenever Alec came to tell him something good (like the case being opened, or there being proof that Camille and Malachi lied) he always followed it with some caveat which inevitably lead to Magnus remaining behind bars. In all honesty, it was getting very difficult to not just give up and call it a day. But he trusted the other man, and he had promised he would not give up. Magnus found that the more time he spent with Alec, the more he found himself not wanting to let him down.
"I'll certainly try", Magnus replied.
"Do the initials 'V.M' mean anything to you? I saw it in Camille's planner before it conveniently went missing, and I wondered if she ever mentioned someone with those initials to you."
"Camille always made sure that she never spoke about her business to me, and I was expressly forbidden from her shop if she had any important meetings going on. But she did sometimes mention someone called 'Val'; I don't know if that's a nickname or their full name. Sorry I can't give you anything more concrete."
Magnus added that last sentence because he could see on Alec's face that this was not what he needed to hear. He could also see that Alec tried his hardest for Magnus not to see his disappointment, but Magnus guessed that the downside to being an honest person meant that you could never truly hide how you felt. Magnus appreciated that; after all it was nothing but lies and deceit that had led to his current predicament.
"Don't apologise Magnus, it's not your fault. I can work with Val; at least it gives us something to lead with. Our next stop is to get my sister to reanalyse the forensic evidence they had. Unfortunately she's busy today and tomorrow, but she's given me the two days after that. According to her, 17 years counts for a lot in terms of technological advancements; apparently their telescope thingies are a lot more powerful now. Chances are she might see something that they just couldn't get in the first trial."
"And if she doesn't?"
Alec just shrugged his shoulders. "Then Jace and I will find another avenue to go down. I told you, the further we get, the more digging we'll have to do. But don't worry; Izzy is very good at her job. I remember when she finished her degree, she ran straight to my house to declare that she got the highest marks her university had ever seen, I can't even tell you how many job offers she received that week. You're in very safe hands; I wouldn't trust you with anyone else."
Magnus could feel the sting of tears at the back of his eyes; he was touched that there were so many people who were willing to help him. Well, the rational part of his mind tried to remind him, they're probably really only helping Alec. Still, whether for Alec or not, what they did was, at the end of the day, for his benefit. Plus, even if the others weren't too concerned about him, he could see that Alec cared. Although looking closely at Alec now; at the way his shoulders slumped, the way his hair sat dishevelled and at the bags under his eyes that were painted a deep purple, Magnus was beginning to question whether Alec cared a little more than was healthy for him.
"Are you okay Alec?"
Alec gave him a startled (slightly guilty?) look. "Oh yeah, just tired."
Magnus didn't think when he took hold of one of Alec's hands, gladly noting in the back of his mind that the barrister didn't move his hand away. "That look is not 'just tired' Alec, it's absolutely exhausted. I told you I'm content to wait as long as it takes, but you have to promise me that you'll look after yourself. No more working at stupidly early hours so you can get everything done in one day instead of two. In case you haven't noticed, I'm serving life behind bars; even if it took you five years, it would still be a better outcome than I am currently facing. I just don't want you to make yourself ill, okay?"
The sad smile that Alec gave him almost broke his heart and upset him almost as much as Alec pulling his hand back did. Magnus wanted to comfort the blue eyed man, but he wasn't sure what would be appropriate, so instead he sat and watched helplessly as Alec ran that same hand through his unruly black hair several times.
"I promised I'd tell you why justice is important to me, why I'm so willing to help you, once I thought it became relevant. Well, I was recently told some information that has led me to believe that it is indeed relevant."
He did try to wait for Alec to speak on his own terms, but five minutes passed in silence, and Magnus had noted that Alec suddenly found the wall behind him very interesting. It became clear then, that Alec would need prompting if he was ever going to hear what the barrister wanted to say.
"You know Alec you really don't have to tell me if you don't want to".
"No I think I do".
Magnus watched Alec compose himself, watched as he sat up straighter and visibly forced himself to look Magnus in the eye. He looked so vulnerable, that Magnus didn't second guess himself when he went to hold his hand again.
"When I was ten, my uncle was arrested for an attack on the Whitelaws; they said he murdered five people of the same family. I don't know why they said he did it, but I knew they were wrong; he was a kind, gentle man. He couldn't have done it, but no one believed him. When I turned 13 I started visiting him, and I remember he always looked so sad and defeated. I didn't like seeing him like that, so when I turned 15 I promised myself that I would become a barrister, and I would help all the people like him; all the people who were innocent and had no one who believed them. I wanted to help him, but I was too late".
Magnus watched as tears started to fall silently down Alec's cheeks, fighting back his own tears as Alec's voice broke on the word 'late'. He had a fairly good idea about what happened next, but he felt that maybe Alec needed to get the whole thing off of his chest.
"Why were you too late Alec?" He tried to ask gently, but he could still see the way Alec flinched.
"All the fight he had in him was gone. I'm just thankful that I got to see him the day before he died; I think he knew I needed to say goodbye, even if I thought it would only be for two weeks. They never said how he did it, and I didn't want to know, so I never asked."
Alec stopped talking as he wiped the tears from his face with the red handkerchief sat in his suit pocket. Magnus could see now why it was so important to Alec that he carried on fighting, and he vowed not to cause Alec any more pain; he would not be the reason why those beautiful blue eyes were filled with so much sorrow.
"Why did you tell me this Alec?"
"Because Chief Burrows let slip to Jace that Hodge, the officer in charge of your case, was in charge of my uncle's case. I got to thinking that if you're innocent and my uncle was innocent, then maybe the people who set you up were the same people who framed my uncle."
There was a stunned silence after Alec's conclusion, and Magnus took the minute to curse the universe for making Alec relive what were clearly the worst events of his life. He really didn't want to ask the next question, but he thought it was a logical course of reasoning.
"If your sister can't find anything new with the evidence, do you think it's worth looking into your uncle's case a bit?"
"Yes I think so", Magnus was proud of the way Alec's voice was only a little unsteady. "The only problem is there's no way we could get that reopened and we can't say anything against Starkweather until we have concrete proof. Our best bet is my dad. I've always thought he knows a lot more than he's letting on, but he's never said anything and I don't think he's going to start doing so now."
"Don't worry Alec I know you'll find a way to get what you need. Is there anything else you needed to see me for?"
Magnus internally prayed that Alec would say yes, so he wouldn't have to say goodbye so soon, but he could see that Alec was drained; emotionally now as well as physically. It would be selfish to ask him to stay, but that didn't stop a small part of him wishing Alec would want to stay and ask more about him, maybe find out if they had anything in common.
Stop thinking like that; Alec's too professional to date a client. It pained Magnus to admit it, but he knew that the world had to be ending for Alec to do anything that would seem improper.
"No, I believe I have all that I need for now." He went to stand, but Magnus grabbed his arm quickly to stop him rising.
"Alec, will you promise me something?"
"That depends on what it is."
"Don't work this afternoon, and if you have to work tomorrow at least limit yourself to reasonable hours. You'll burn yourself out otherwise, and I don't want you to get hurt because of me."
The smile that Alec gave him was truly beautiful; a little broken, a little happy, but overall grateful that Magnus cared.
"I'll be fine, don't worry."
"But I do Alexander. Promise me, no work today and sensible work tomorrow."
"Fine, I promise", Alec relented as he stood. "Now I really must go".
"Okay", Magnus replied as he stood. "I think your uncle would be so proud of you, Alec. You've already helped me so much, I don't think you'll ever realise how much".
Alec offered him a gentle smile. "That means a lot Magnus. Take care".
"You too, Alec", Magnus responded as he watched his barrister walk out of the door. For years, Magnus had wondered who had set him up, but now it seemed that the whole thing was far bigger than he had ever imagined. For the first time he was beginning to see the full extent of the challenges that faced him, and he couldn't stop the uneasy feeling that started settling in his stomach. He just knew that something was bound to go wrong, he just didn't know what.