Magnus and Jace fought for what seemed like hours. Magnus was set against telling Alec what was going on, but Jace thought that the only solution was to go to Alec before making any decision at all.

"No, Jace." Magnus took yet another deep breath. "I may not come back at all, and I don't want to hurt Alexander if that ends up being the case." Jace was silent for a bit too long, and Magnus was just beginning to think that he had finally won the argument. Then Jace began to speak again.

"It's his decision, too. You can't deprive him of that. He should have a say in what happens, it has as much to do with his life as it does with yours."

Magnus's worst nightmare began immediately after Jace finished speaking, and it suddenly felt as though he couldn't breathe, as though he was slowly suffocating.

"What's my decision, Jace?" It was Alec behind them, and although Jace was generally a quick thinker, he seemed to have trouble forming any words at all, so Alec simply continued talking. "And please do not tell me that you didn't say anything. I've been standing here for a good few minutes. I know you've been talking to someone, and I'm pretty certain you're not talking to yourself."

As Jace tried to shake his head, Alec held a hand up. "Don't lie to me, please. You owe me that much, I think. What's going on?"

Looking at Magnus, Jace could tell that he wasn't going to be able to get out of the situation in any way, so he simply jumped right into it. "Sit down, Alec. This is going to take a bit longer than you most likely expect."

Not knowing exactly where to start, Jace waited a bit too long to begin speaking again, but Alec waited patiently, as he always had. When Jace still couldn't seem to form any explanation, however, Alec spoke again, this time with more emotion in his voice than usual. "What are you scared of, Jace?"

Jace turned to look at Alec slightly surprised. "Do you want me to answer that honestly?" was all he could think to answer. He felt a lump form in his throat when Alec simply nodded.

Thinking it would be the best to just jump straight in, he responded, "I'm afraid of hurting you." At that, Alec looked utterly confused, but he decided that staying silent this time would be the best course of action, so he simply waited for Jace to speak again.

"I'm afraid that you won't believe what I have to tell you, that you'll think I'm lying to you. I'm afraid that you'll be so emotional you won't remember that I would never hurt you. Or you'll believe me, and you'll get your hopes up only to have them crushed again." Jace became slightly emotional himself, though he was good at hiding it, when Alec reached over to give his hand a gentle squeeze.

Jace was surprised when Alec began speaking in a soft voice. "This is about Magnus, isn't it?" His voice cracked slightly when he said Magnus's name, but it was amazing to Jace that he had been able to say it at all.

"It is, Alec. Just try to hear me out please, I would never hurt you. Ever. You know that, so just keep that in mind while I talk to you about this. Keep in mind how much I love you."

As Jace explained what was going on, Alec stayed utterly silent and still. Every so often, Magnus would interject something he wanted Jace to say, but he never acted as if he were speaking directly to Alec. When Jace was finished, Alec sat silent for a few moments. Then he slowly looked up at Jace before turning to look around the room.

"Is he- well- is Magnus here? Right now?" Jace simply nodded and pointed to where Magnus was, Alec immediately looking toward where he was pointing. All Alec could do was stare, becoming suddenly speechless, but when he finally turned to look back at Jace there were tears in his eyes.

"Why-" Alec tried to ask a question, but he was also trying to stay calm. "Why are you telling me all this?" Turning to look at Magnus he said, "Why are you still here? What are we going to do? What does your father think he'll get out of this? What about the kids? How-"

As Alec began speaking faster and faster, Jace took hold of his hand again and gave it a squeeze this time while also interrupting Alec. "Hey there, shhhh. Calm down for a second; we'll figure things out, I promise. Just take a deep breath."

Alec closed his eyes, and Jace could tell that he was trying to keep himself calm. Jace only turned from looking at Alec when Magnus spoke up. "Jace? Will you tell him something for me?" Jace was only able to nod, slightly afraid of what Magnus wanted to say.

"Just tell him I love him, please." When Jace told Alec as much, he was surprised to see that Alec didn't cry still. His change in emotion was not a bad one, but rather he smiled softly, as though Magnus's new-found presence was a comfort to him.

"And Jace, tell him something else please. Make sure that he knows that I'll do whatever he wants me to. Make sure he knows that this decision is up to him entirely."

"Daddy?" Alec started when he heard Maggie's soft voice behind him. He had been sitting in the living room simply thinking about what on Earth he might do about Magnus's situation. He knew that Magnus was most likely sitting right beside him, and that thought was what allowed him to keep himself together. "Daddy? Can I talk to you?"

At that, Alec finally responded by nodding and patting his legs, indicating that she should come sit on his lap. As soon as she did so, he took her in his arms, an action that comforted him greatly. "What is it sweetheart? Is everything okay?"

Maggie looked up at him with wide eyes. "I'm fine, Daddy. I'm just worried about you, that's all." Alec had thought he had been getting stronger emotionally, but as soon as Maggie said this, he felt tears in his eyes. He knew he hadn't been anywhere near the father he should have been since Magnus died, but he couldn't seem to find the same joy in life that he used to. The only bright spots he had seen lately had been his children.

He had thought of the fact that the twins would be going through Hell as well, that their grieving would be just as great as his, so he had tried to make up family things for them to do every day, but they never felt the same. What Alec hadn't ever considered was the thought that his children might be worrying about him.

Sure, they had snuck in and slept with him for a couple of weeks after Magnus's death, but he had thought that at this point they figured he was getting better.

Finally realizing that he hadn't responded to his daughter yet, Alec looked back down at her and gave the best smile he could muster. "I'm fine, darling. Don't you worry about me. I have you and Max still and the two of you are enough to make me happy forever." It was surprising even to himself that he genuinely meant what he had just said.

"I miss Daddy too, but I can't stand seeing you like this. You're not really yourself anymore. And Daddy wouldn't want that." Maggie's voice was utterly clear, and Alec could tell that she had been thinking about this long before the conversation they were having.

Suddenly, Alec had an insane thought, but he decided to follow it because he didn't have any sort of plan otherwise. "Maggie? I have a question of my own." When she looked up at him with a questioning gaze, Alec took a deep breath and decided plunging in was the best idea. "If you could have Daddy back, but he would be mundane this time and not like you, would you want him to come back like that?"

Alec watched with bated breath as he watched Maggie work through the thought he had just planted in her mind. Her answer stopped him in his own thoughts. "Do you want to know my honest answer, Daddy? I would want whatever would make you the happiest."

For the first time in weeks, Alec genuinely smiled. He knew what he had to do, he just had no idea where to start.