"All I'm saying is that English is a language spoken in dozens of countries, it wouldn't kill them to put it in here!" Magnus told Chairman Meow indignantly as he waved the crib instruction manual in the cat's face. The Chairman batted at the paper booklet of instructions before retreating to a corner for a nap.

"Lots of help you were my friend!" Magnus shouted in frustration. He'd been attempting to put together the crib for nearly an hour now with limited success. All the parts were sorted into their respective piles labeled A through G, as pictured in diagram 1 but that was as far as he'd gotten. He leaned back against the wall with a sigh and surveyed the piles of screws, hooks, and white crib pieces.

Alec had loved the white one, Magnus had preferred the dark brown one but since they were the same price he couldn't think of a reason to tell his love no. So here he sat, among white crib parts, a yet to be opened box containing a matching changing table, or at least the parts for one, light green paint cans, and baby clothes in need of de-tagging. Alec would take care of that.

He wasn't physically able to help with the heavy lifting or the painting at this point, Catarina insisted the boy stay off his feet as much as possible due to some issues with his blood pressure. Instead Alec had put himself in charge of the tedious job of taking the tags off of all the clothes, stuffed animals, blankets, and burp rags. When this was done he washed what was necessary then lovingly folded away every piece into the large dresser.

Magnus knew that he wished he could help more, Alec told him so almost every night when they lay together in their bed. The warlock did his best to relieve these fears, he'd kiss the dark haired boy and tell him that carrying their baby and bringing it into the world was more than enough. Alec would say okay and cuddle into him before drifting off to sleep. The words were always false though, he felt guilty about essentially giving up the Shadowhunter way of life. It didn't seem to matter that he was pregnant, all he saw was himself abandoning his culture. They'd yet to have a discussion about whether or not their son would be raised as one of the Nephilim. It wasn't a conversation Magnus was looking forward too.

He sighed again, when had life gotten so heavy? How could their child, their son, the cause for the infinite joy Magnus felt every moment of every day also be bringing about such hard realities? His unborn son was already the axis on which the Earth turned in Magnus's eyes but he worried. Despite Alec's reassurances he wasn't convinced he'd make a good father. What if his boy came to resent the fact that his dad wore more glitter than an entire cheerleading squad used in a whole football season? What if he hated the demon blood that would run through his veins as it did his father's? What if, one heartbreaking day, the two stood together at Alec's grave and their boy was envious of the fact that one of his parents was dead, he was growing old, and Magnus looked as young as he had for centuries.

Worse yet, what if Magnus one day had to stand at his son's funeral and look upon his old and wrinkled body while he remained young, forever untouched by time. Time was such a bitch, she just loved to screw with Magnus. For example, at that very moment it was approaching the time Alec was to return home from telling Jace about the baby. This was disconcerting to Magnus as he had hoped to have the crib already set up by then so as to discourage Alec from trying to help. Not that he wouldn't be helpful, but he needed to start taking Catarina's instructions to rest as often as possible more seriously.

"Magnus!" Alec called from the doorway.

"In the nursery babe!" The warlock shouted back.

Alec entered, removing his jacket, and sat next to Magnus on the floor. He leaned back with a sigh until he was resting against Magnus's chest. Magnus slipped a hand under the boy's shirt and rubbed his swollen abdomen slowly.

"Mmmm." Alec sighed appreciatively.

"How'd it go?" Magnus inquired.

"Very well." He replied. "Better than I thought."

"You sound tired."

"I am."

"Let's go lay down."

"But the crib." Alec protested as his boyfriend scooped him up and carried him to the bedroom. Magnus set him down gently and kissed his face.

"It can wait. The baby wants you to sleep."

"I can't sleep anyway, we might as well…"

"Why can't you sleep?" Magnus asked, cutting him off.

"I'm just sore."

"Where?"

"Where not?" Alec said with a roll of his eyes. "My stomach, my back, my legs. My feet are all swollen, I don't even know if I can get my shoes off!" He complained.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner? When did all this start?" Magnus asked with concern. The stomach pain Catarina had mentioned, it was from the ligaments stretching to accommodate his growing stomach. But the other things she said shouldn't start until his later months.

"I don't know, my stomach has been sore for days, but the rest of it." He shrugged. "It started this morning."

"I should call Catarina." The warlock said nervously.

"Do we have too?"

"If something is wrong…"

"It doesn't feel like something's wrong I'm just sore and sleepy."

"Alec, I don't know."

"Baby, please, could you just rub my back so I can try and sleep a little? If I still don't feel better when I wake up you can call her."

"Okay." Magnus reluctantly agreed. He nearly changed his mind when he saw how swollen Alec's ankles and feet were, the boy nearly burst into tears trying to pull off his shoes. They both stripped down to their boxers and crawled under the comforter. Magnus made sure that Alec's swollen feet were uncovered in the hope that the cool air would help in some way. The boy stretched out on his left side the way Catarina had told him too and Magnus lay behind him and gently worked on the tight muscles in his back and shoulders. Once he was able to relax Alec fell asleep quickly, leaving Magnus to fret over the soft whimpers of pain he let out in his slumber.