A/N: I'm sorry I'm posting this so late in the day but it's been a hectic weekend for me and today wasn't much help either. I hope this long chapter makes up for it! (:

Disclaimer: I don't own TMI, Malec or Moonlight.

Chapter Eleven

When Alec set his mind on something, it seemed he would stop at nothing to see it through until the end. Sebastian went to bed hours ago, but Alec stayed up in the living area. Magnus sat on the sofa, unable to take his eyes off the boy as he typed away on his laptop. The only light in the room was provided by a small lamp set in the corner, and the blinding glow from Alec's laptop was bound to be straining his eyes.

"Alec," Magnus said quietly, the stillness in the room too serene to ruin. He glanced at the clock above the kitchen sink. "It's eleven o'clock."

"So?" Alec murmured. The reporter blinked, but his eyes stayed shut for a moment. Alec shook his head and opened them again, the blue orbs weighted down with exhaustion.

"You need to sleep," said Magnus.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get to it," Alec replied. "I'm just monitoring the news for Malachi stories. He's out of hospital, they've released that much, and of course the press was immediately wanting to know if he shot himself. Questions were thrown at him the instant Maria wheeled him out of the hospital, all of them in relation to our broadcast."

Magnus would have loved to have seen that. "What did he say?"

Alec rubbed a hand over his face. "He's denying it. Of course he is. But the public is unsure now. Everyone who suspected that Malachi may not be what he says he is are obviously siding with you. They didn't need much to incubate their doubt. It's not exactly a massive standing point. I mean, people aren't immediately going to go, 'Oh well, Malachi must be guilty, that guy online said so', but it's a start at least."

Magnus admired Alec's determination. It was all over the mortal boy's face that he would stay up all night if he could. "Alec, you should go to sleep," he said. "You won't be much use nearly falling asleep. Everything will be the same tomorrow, there won't be a great deal of development at one in the morning."

Alec stared at the computer screen, almost looking as if he had been frozen in stasis. Eventually he blinked, and shook his head as if it would rid the sleep from his brain. "You're right," he concluded.

Heaving himself to his feet, Alec stood up and sighed. "Feel, um, free to make yourself comfortable on the sofa. Don't worry about the cushions or anything, take what you need. Sebastian can be a bit OCD about it but I can sort it in the morning."

Magnus nodded. He couldn't sleep unless he was at home in his freezer, or else he would overheat. However, he could last days before fatigue would catch up with him. The question of how he would bide his time until morning was an interesting one, however Magnus supposed he would just take over Alec's job of keeping an eye on the news and watching out for any new developments in relation to Malachi and the Clave broadcast.

Alec had started scratching the rune on his neck. Magnus tried not to ask, but the words were out of his mouth before he could prevent them. "Do those marks hurt?"

Alec snapped into reality, having escaped himself into a drift as he stood there. He looked at Magnus with alarm in his eyes. "What?"

Magnus stood up and gestured to the runes on Alec's neck and arms. "Those marks. You're always scratching them. Do they hurt?"

"No," Alec quickly said, snapping his hand away from his neck like his skin had suddenly caught fire. His cheeks turned bright pink and he stepped backwards, almost as if trying to retreat into himself. "It's more of a habitual thing than anything else."

Magnus desperately wished he could rid Alec of those marks. The boy was lying about the pain. By this point it wouldn't be a constant thing, but the burns like those don't just vanish. They would ache for the rest of Alec's life.

And it was Magnus' fault.

Alec's hand spread over the only other rune visible due to his sweater; the clairvoyance rune around his wrist. He clearly didn't like them being on display, even though he had been living with them nearly his entire life. It made Magnus' insides churn at the thought of Alec being so self-conscious for so long because of an incident that could have been avoided.

"I should get to bed, as you say," Alec muttered.

Just as he turned to head to his room, Magnus reached out and grabbed the boy's wrist. Alec jumped with surprise and looked back at the hybrid with wide eyes. Magnus stared back, making sure he held authority in his gaze. "Those marks aren't anything to be ashamed of," he said firmly. "You don't have to hide them."

Alec's lips parted, as if he were about to say something, but no words came out. His eyes remained wide, slightly shocked by such an outburst. Magnus wondered if Sebastian ever told Alec this, he'd like to think he did, so why did the reporter look like he'd just had a bucket of cold water chucked over him?

All it would take would be a tug to the wrist and Magnus could kiss Alec . . .

The thought of kissing Alec was so delicious, and so tempting, that Magnus almost did it. It was like he couldn't control himself; he could practically feel the nerves in his arms twitching in preparation. Thankfully, this was enough to get his fingers to snap open and release Alec from his grip.

"Goodnight, Alexander," Magnus said.

Alec rubbed the wrist that Magnus had held, his thin pale fingers loosely wrapped around the appendage. He looked slightly lost, like he was going to struggle to find his room even though it was literally right across the way. "Night, Magnus," the mortal boy murmured, turning around and shuffling to his room.

Magnus spun around and rubbed his hands over his face. He really needed to get a hold of himself.

Alec was mortal.

Alec was human.

Alec had a boyfriend.

If Alec knew what Magnus was, he'd never want to see him again.

It couldn't possibly work. As much as Magnus wanted it to, it would just create complications. Not just for himself but for Alec as well.

Magnus threw himself onto the sofa and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache coming on. Since he was alone, he summoned his jacket over to him from across the room. Pulling a packet of blood from the pocket, he settled in for the night and hoped the time would pass fast enough.

Magnus didn't like to be left alone with his thoughts.

~M~

"Magnus, I can't have children."

Magnus rolled his eyes. Was this seriously going to be her opening argument? "Yes, I know," he said. "Even if you could, warlocks are barren, remember? If this is really the beginning of your side of this argument, then it's not a very good start."

Camille ground her teeth together, rolling her head around on her neck so it cracked. "What if we had a family?" she implored, eyes softening as she reached out and took his hands into hers.

"How?" Magnus asked, immediately taking his hands out of hers. "First of all, it's impossible. Secondly, do you really think a family is going to erase all of what you have put me through? You ruined my life, Camille. You didn't even ask!"

Camille closed her eyes, her head falling forward so her face was shrouded by golden curls. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I am. I just wanted us to be together forever."

"Warlocks are immortal!" Magnus stood up and paced around the room, trying to keep a lid on his rage. Why couldn't she see why this angered him so much? "We could have been together forever!"

"Not without prejudices!" Camille stood up as well, marching over to Magnus and grabbing his arms so he'd stay put. She forced him to look at her, green eyes shining with affection. Magnus felt his own love for the vampire broiling in his gut, but he forced it down. He was in love, but he refused to be a doormat. "If we had a family, just imagine how close it would bring us to one another again. Imagine us having a child, a child of our own."

Magnus snorted, breaking their gaze and shaking his head. "You're deluded. I'm barren; you're barren; it's impossible. You're just avoiding the main topic here. You made me a . . . a . . . thing! A hybrid of two beings that probably should never have been mixed!"

"You'd be the perfect father," Camille insisted.

"You're not listening to me!"

"Just think"-

"No, Camille!" Magnus wretched his arms out of his wife's grip. Camille scowled, nostrils flaring angrily. "You're clearly not even the tiniest bit remorseful for what you did. And if you can't see why that upsets me then I don't know what to say to you!" Magnus ran a hand through his hair, glitter sticking to his skin like glue as he did so, and headed for the door.

"Magnus!" Camille shouted after him.

Magnus laid a hand on the door handle and exhaled. Looking over his shoulder at the woman he had fallen in love with; the woman who had tricked him; the woman who had ruined his life; he said, "How can I possibly have a family with you if I don't even trust you?"

Camille glowered vengefully, but didn't answer.

Magnus had to gather all the strength he had to turn his back on her and leave. It was one of the hardest things he had ever done in his life.

"Magnus?"

Magnus snapped out of his reverie, falling back into reality like a piano pushed from an open window. He realised he was staring out Alec's window, watching the sun set on another day. It had been a shockingly uneventful day. Magnus almost thought that maybe the entire ordeal the night before had been a dream, and he and Alec hadn't really broadcast the truth to the masses. If it weren't for the online debates going on over Magnus' innocence, then he probably would have believed it.

"Magnus?" Alec asked again.

Magnus looked over his shoulder. Alec sat with his computer on his lap, legs crossed on the sofa. Clary had called that morning, ecstatic about their broadcast, and had set Alec the job of writing out an article about the entire ordeal for the site. He'd been working on it since the call; since Sebastian had left for work.

"Hmm?" Magnus hummed.

"You okay?"

Magnus nodded. "Yeah, just a bit spaced out."

"I suppose it's been quite boring for you," said Alec. "I had expected there to be more of an uproar, but I guess more time is needed. Malachi hasn't come out the entire day. No interviews, no nothing. It doesn't exactly help his case but y'know I suppose he's recuperating or whatever."

"Don't worry about me, Alexander," Magnus smiled, returning his gaze to the window. He had been quite drained through the daytime, due to the glaring sunlight that couldn't be avoided without arousing suspicion through asking for the curtains to be shut. Now that night was coming, Magnus could already feel his energy coming back. Like the health bar of a video game character being replenished.

Alec didn't know that Magnus had enjoyed simply being in his presence. It was interesting to see how Alec lived out his day to day life. What time he woke up at; what cereal he ate for breakfast; what television programmes he would put on as background noise . . . Even watching Alec kiss Sebastian goodbye that morning was weirdly sweet, despite the envy Magnus still couldn't seem to get under control. In terms of trying to distance Alec, this was detrimental. In terms of getting to know the little boy Magnus had rescued, it was amazing to witness.

A pause.

"It's Alec," Alec said.

Magnus chuckled. "I know."

A moment later, Alec's mobile buzzed. When Alec picked it up, he made an unpleasant noise. Magnus looked back over his shoulder again. "What is it?"

"It's Maria," Alec cringed. He accepted the call and held it to his ear. "Look Maria, whatever it is, I don't want to hear it. I believe Magnus, there's nothing you can say"-Alec paused. He sat up urgently and dumped his laptop onto the coffee table. His face had gone white as a sheet, and Magnus immediately knew something was wrong.

"Alec, what is it?" the hybrid asked, standing up as well and moving around the table to stand in front of Alec.

Alec removed the phone from his ear and pressed the speakerphone.

"Alec, you've got to help me! Malachi had taken me hostage!" Maria begged. "You were right! Magnus was right! He's a psycho!"- There was a sharp slap, and a scream.

"You're supposed to tell them what I told you to say, bitch!" Magnus' breath caught in his throat.

Malachi.

"I suppose if you want something done right, do it yourself," Malachi huffed. "Mr Lightwood," he said in a sickly sweet voice, "is Mr Bane with you?"

"I'm here," Magnus immediately said before the other could speak, not wanting to get Alec involved.

"You should have just let yourself get sent to prison," Malachi chuckled. "Here's how it's going to go: you're going to come to the warehouse-you know the one, you had your scuffle with Xavier there-and turn yourself over to us, or Maria dies."

"Help me, Magnus, please!" Maria sobbed. There was another slap, expect it sounded blunter. Like she'd been hit with an object.

"Shut up! You had your chance!" Malachi roared, nothing but pure hatred in his tone. He was no longer smiles and jibes, there was nothing but pure evil oozing from every word. Finally showing his true colours. "You have one hour or she dies."

The dial tone droned in the silent room like sirens in Magnus' ears.

Magnus looked at Alec, who was pale as a ghost. The younger boy's face hardened with determination. "What are we going to do?"

"More like what I'm going to do," Magnus said, crossing the room in two strides and grabbing his coat. "You're staying here."

"I bloody am not!" Alec answered angrily.

Magnus shrugged his coat on. "This is my fight, not yours."

"I'm involved now. It's my fight just as much as yours," Alec said fiercely. "Sebastian keeps a gun in our bedroom in case of emergencies, I can use that to"-

Magnus grabbed Alec by the arms, stopping him from heading to his room to fetch the weapon. Alec blinked, shocked at how fast the older man had been able to move. "Alexander," he said seriously, "don't you dare follow me. This is too dangerous. I would never forgive myself if you got hurt."

Alec's nostrils flared with rage. "It's Alec," he ground out between his teeth.

Magnus' lip twitched, threatening a smile. He forced Alec over to the sofa and made him sit down. "Keep an eye on the computer. For developments. Promise me you'll stay here."

Alec sealed his lips shut.

"Alexander," Magnus growled, annunciating every syllable in the boy's name, "stay here."

If Alec got hurt, Magnus would never forgive himself. It wasn't like Alec had been in his life a whole lot until recently, but if Alec died because of Magnus' history with Malachi, it would be like rescuing him all those years ago had been pointless. Magnus couldn't let that happen. He felt responsible for Alec's safety now, especially where it concerned dangers in direct relation to himself.

"Fine," Alec eventually said, his voice full of venom.

Magnus nodded and released Alec's arms. "Good."

He tried not to look back as he headed for the door and exited Alec's apartment.

~M~

It was completely dark by the time Magnus reached the warehouse.

Magnus got a chill as he stood before the massive building, remembering when he had battled Xavier and almost lost Alec in there . . .

There was shouting from the interior, and sobbing too. Magnus sealed his eyes shut and exhaled. Poor Maria. She had just been a misguided individual, she didn't deserve this. Malachi was so easy to believe; a natural born charmer. He could convince anyone of anything if he wanted to. One of the first signs of a psychopath, really.

The front door was not a good idea. Magnus crossed the gravel to the shut door and looked up. Bending his knees, he thrust himself upwards into the air. He sailed through the air as if he weighed nothing and landed on the roof. The warehouse was either shoddily built or was very, very old, as he nearly fell through a hole in the roof as soon as his feet touched down.

Magnus fell to his knees and examined the hole. There was a ceiling beam a couple of metres below where he would have an excellent view of what was going on below. Despite knowing, he would fit through the hole perfectly fine, Magnus still habitually sucked in as he threw his legs into the hole and slid through. Almost as if Malachi would hear him so much as suck in a breath.

The fall from the hole to the beam felt like nothing, and Magnus landed on the strip of metal as silent as a mouse. He lay flat on his stomach and crawled forward a little so he had a better view of what was going on.

Maria was lying on her side on the sofa where Xavier had almost assaulted Alec. There was a strip of duct tape across her mouth and her hands were tied together. For a moment, Magnus thought she was alone, but then he was hit with the different scents of blood. Two A positives, an O negative and a B negative. Malachi must have hired some thugs to defend his ranks since he was injured . . .

No. That sort of thinking got him into this mess in the first place.

Magnus saw two men come into view. They were a greasy looking pair, both wearing sickening grins as they stalked over to the bound woman on the sofa. Maria immediately began to struggle, screaming behind her gag and almost falling onto the floor due to her lashing.

"Looks like we've got some time to kill," one of the men-O negative-growled.

Maria kicked out at them, but was easily restrained by a hand in her hair. She screamed, the sound nothing but a pained muffle. "She's a fighter," the A positive man chuckled.

Magnus grimaced, a scowl burning into his features when O negative started to open his pants. The hybrid rolled his body off the beam, grabbing it with his hands so he dangled from the support. An instant later he released his hands and allowed himself to fall to the floor, his feet touching the ground without a sound right behind the thugs.

Maria immediately noticed Magnus behind her attackers. Her eyes widened but Magnus quickly put a finger to his lips. She must have understood because she didn't say anything.

"Let's get this party started," A positive said, clearly ready to watch whatever O negative was going to do to Maria.

Magnus grabbed the back of A positive's shirt and threw him across the room single handily. O negative spun around with shock. "Bane!" he exclaimed.

Magnus grabbed O negative by the lapels of his jacket and slammed him against the wall. Once. Twice. Three times. The thug slid to the floor, unconscious.

Not wasting time, Magnus immediately went to Maria and ripped the duct tape from her mouth. She was too shocked to speak, staring at Magnus like he was an alien in front of her. Magnus ripped her hands free and gestured towards the exit. "Go. Quick," he said.

Maria didn't need to be told twice.

Magnus watched her run to the door. Once satisfied that she was safely out, he turned to try to find Malachi.

And was immediately met by a kick up the chin.

Magnus fell backwards, teeth rattling in his mouth like expensive china during an earthquake. Blinding pain branched up his face, and he immediately knew that his jaw was dislocated. Shit, how had Malachi snuck up on him like that? It must have been when he was watching Maria leave. Too caught up in emotions . . .

Malachi came into view, smirking like the sicko he truly was. "I knew you'd come," he said. He pulled a gun from his back pocket and, just to be an asshole, fired a bullet into Magnus' shoulder. It hurt like a bitch but quickly healed itself. "Judging by how you couldn't let Ayla's suicide go, I knew you liked your women. Now you're all mine."

Magnus didn't even have a witty response. Speaking was impossible with the state his jaw and mouth was in. He moved to lunge to his feet, but Malachi had been hiding a stake behind his back. The psycho jammed the piece of wood into the vampire's stomach and gave it a good twist to be sure.

Immediately, paralysis took over. Magnus was helpless.

"I'm not going to waste time with a winner's speech," Malachi explained. He disappeared from view for a moment, and when he returned, Magnus' felt his entire world stop.

The criminal had acquired a flamethrower.

All Malachi had to do was set Magnus on fire and he'd be a goner.

"It's pointless, it just wastes time," Malachi continued. He ignited the thrower, the roar of the fire bursting from the end striking fear into Magnus' being. There were very few things the old hybrid feared, but death had always been one of those things he hated to admit terrified him. Had he done enough in his life to earn peace and serenity in the afterlife?

Magnus couldn't even shut his eyes to wait for it to come. He had to wait every agonising second.

Malachi's eyes had a psychotic gleam as the flames bathed his face with fire. He knelt down in the ground, and if Magnus wasn't paralysed he'd have flinched at how close the fire was to his skin. Malachi ripped the stake out of Magnus' stomach so that he would feel every second of his death. Magnus tried to grab Malachi's wrist to force it back, but the criminal just punched him in the face to keep him back.

"Rot in hell," Malachi growled.

Magnus squeezed his eyes shut.

There was an ear shattering bang.

Magnus stared with horror as Malachi froze. A circle had appeared in his neck and seconds later it was gushing blood. It burst from the wound with every beat of the man's heart, a thin sliver also slipping out from behind his lips.

Then Malachi was gone. He'd fallen backwards onto the floor. Dead.

Magnus stared at the ceiling for a moment, shocked at what had just happened. His entire body was trembling, the abuse and shock it had endured taking its toll on his system. Malachi's flamethrower was still blazing, and had caught the sofa. The furniture began to catch fire, and soon the entire building would be ablaze. Magnus had to get out of there before he really did die.

The hybrid rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up onto his knees. He slung his body upright and looked to the door, where the bang had come from.

Alec stood in the open threshold, clutching a gun in his trembling hands. Maria stood a couple of steps behind, covering her mouth with both her hands. Magnus experienced conflicting emotions at seeing Alec standing there. Relief; anger; immense happiness. It was hard to tell which emotion dominated the three.

Magnus staggered to his feet and stumbled over to the mortal, not saying a word as he pushed Alec from the door and out back into the night.

"I-I-I-I-I couldn't j-j-j-j-just l-leave y-y-you," Alec stammered, still holding the gun in both of his hands.

Magnus couldn't say anything; he was in too much pain. He needed blood . . .

"H-H-H-He w-was g-g-going to k-k-k-kill y-y-you," Alec hiccupped.

Magnus saw tears seep from Alec's eyes and immediately felt his heart sink. Alec had just killed somebody. It was different for mortals. Marginally anyways. Magnus had killed lots, not by choice but necessity. He was hardened to it. Alec was not.

Despite his pain, Magnus stopped when they were a decent distance from the warehouse and pulled Alec into him for a hug. He vaguely heard Maria frantically crying down the phone to the police what had happened. That wasn't important, though. Magnus was too engrossed in the embrace.

Alec's body was lithe but strong, and the extension of it being pressed against Magnus it felt so right. The hybrid's face nestled perfectly in the crook of Alec's neck, the sandalwood and citrus scent of the boy's rare AB negative blood filling his senses. Magnus felt his teeth snap out, the fangs inches away from touching Alec's skin. One more inch and he could-

Magnus pushed Alec away. The blue eyed boy stared at him, shocked at being pushed away so abruptly, like he was diseased or poisoned somehow.

"I've got to go," Magnus quickly said.

"Wh-what?" Alec stuttered.

Magnus didn't answer. He couldn't. If he didn't leave now he was going to make a grave mistake. He bolted off, waiting until he was out of Alec's sight around the corner of the warehouse before he properly took off, taking off in a blur of glitter.

Magnus reached his apartment in minutes. It wasn't far from the warehouse, barely a mile away. He staggered up the stairs, severe hunger beginning to set in. He felt exposed and didn't want to risk drinking until he was inside his apartment. His jaw was already beginning to mend itself and the bullet wound was virtually gone, but the exhaustion and hunger outweighed both those injuries combined.

Magnus staggered into his apartment, not even bothering to shut the door tight as he stumbled across the floor and fell down in front of his sofa. The chairman ran away at the sight of his owner looking so ragged, screeching like a banshee as he fled to the bedroom. Magnus ripped his coat off and emptied the blood packets from his pockets.

Not caring about his carpet or clothes, Magnus ripped the packets open and dosed his mouth in the blood. It was so warm and refreshing Magnus almost moaned with relief. He barely paused as he changed packets, dumping the contents into his throat as if he was never going to drink again. The thick liquid coated his hands but he didn't care. He felt like an animal, but he didn't care.

He was an animal.

"Magnus, why did you disappear?"

Magnus froze at the sound of a familiar voice calling from down the hall.

"Why's your door open?" Alec frowned, nudging the door open with his knuckles.

Magnus flattened himself against the floor, slouching behind his sofa so he nearly lay on his back on the floor. "Go away, Alec!" he yelled.

"Not until I know you're okay," Alec answered stubbornly.

"You'll need to make a statement to the police when they get to the warehouse, just go!" Magnus shouted, an obvious tremor in his voice. His hands were shaking like crazy, his entire system still feeling jilted from its near death experience.

"So will you," Alec replied. It was obvious in the boy's voice that he was still scared from having shot Malachi. But he had gotten a hold of the stammer from before, the only evidence being a tremor similar to the one Magnus' own voice currently held.

Alec rounded the sofa and Magnus crawled around behind it, like a child trying to avoid being scolded by their parent. "Magnus?" Alec asked, his voice cautious but concerned. "Why is there so much blood on your floor?"

"Just go, please!" Magnus insisted. He could sense Alec getting closer to him. He covered his face with his hands, knowing that his eyes had changed and his teeth were out.

"Your hands are covered!" Alec exclaimed. The younger boy crouched in front of Magnus. "Are you hurt? Did Malachi hurt you?"

"Please go," Magnus whispered desperately. One last pathetic attempt.

Alec gently took Magnus' hands into his own, not caring about the blood. He parted them, revealing Magnus' face. The pure white iris; the fangs; the blood coated face and lips. Magnus flinched, like Alec's gaze burned like the fire Malachi had threatened him with.

Magnus closed his eyes.

Camille grinned behind Magnus' closed lids. "His name is Alexander. Can you believe it, Magnus? He's ours now."

Magnus opened his eyes again, meeting Alec's shocked gaze with shame. "I'm a vampire," he said.

Alec's breath caught in his throat.

"Our own son. We're a family now."