Alec helps his son to wake up and talks to the others about what happened, what they saw and what will continue.
Chapter Nine.
Alexander Gideon Lightwood is a very panicked man in this terrible moment. He is staring down at his unconscious lover. Lover. He never really knew what to call Magnus and at the moment that term seemed silly because he is close to Magnus in so many other ways. But right now it is the best he can come up with. Magnus's make up is still on but his eyeliner does not look as perfect as it always does. His hair is not spiked. Instead his dark black hair is fallen around his face and over his ears. His face looks more tired than Alec had seen it in a long time. In fact, Alec almost does not want to wake him given just how tired he really looks.
His son, Max, the little blueberry is laying on his papa's chest with one chubby hand splayed out on the side of his stomach and the other dangling off of their bodies. His eyes are closed and his body is relaxed into Papa. He looks tired but not nearly as exhausted and drained as Magnus does. In turn, he looks as if he might just be taking an afternoon nap, which makes Alec feel just a little bit better.
The panic hits Alec hard when he realizes that Magnus looks pale and disbelieved. He is not only depleted of magic but also of energy and his illness is not getting better. In these moments, it looks worse than he has seen it in a long time. Alec reaches across the space between them and puts his hand through his lovers hair. He presses his cool palm on his forehead and leans down to kiss him, whispering in his ear.
"It's going to be okay," Alec whispers. "You have to wake up. Just for a minute."
There is complete silence.
"What do we do?" Clary asks.
"This happened last time he used too much magic," Alec says, though the panic is clear all over his face.
Alec reaches down and picks up his son. He holds him in his arms, though he feels incredibly weak, his son feels familiar and perfect in his grasp. He holds him with as much strength as he can muster, tightly and truly, looking down, willing him to wake him up. He gives him the smallest amount of his strength, all Alec can bear to give and Max starts to stir. Max's head turns side to side and his hands start to clench and unclench. He rolls his eyes as Alec attempts to wake him, as if he has been sleeping for a long nap. Sometimes if Max sleeps too long during nap time, Alec will have to wake him up. It's always dangerous because he could wake up and turn into a bat or he could wake up and be happy to play again.
"Come on, Max," Alec begs. "Just wake up, buddy."
"What do we do?" Izzy asks.
"I don't know," Alec says in his panic. He tries his best to keep calm in front of the others given what they had just seen from him but the panic is still in his veins. The pain is still in his heart. It is not much but it is just enough to worry him. The fear is on the tip of his tongue, feeling as if at any moment he might crawl out of his skin. He hopes that does not happen. He hopes that he can take a long breath and let it all go. But it doesn't work.
"Come on, Max. Just wake up. I'm right here. It's Dad. It's me. You can wake up because you're safe now," Alec begs, feeling real fear coming toward him again light a freight train. He attempts to keep in control, gripping his hands around his babies soft fingers to stop the shaking.
"Max," Alec says.
"Come on, buddy," Izzy says. Alec could have sworn Clary was just here but when he looks down at her, she is at Jace's side, whispering something in his ear as he kneels on the floor with his head in his hands. He looks horribly terrified. Alec gets a strange gut wrenching feeling that almost rips him apart when he sees how horribly broken his parabatai is. He will have to help him soon but right now he has to wake up his son.
"Get up, Max!" Alec finally shouts.
Max's eyes open with shock and stare up at his dad. He looks almost afraid but then his face comes to a clear realization and relaxes into his dad's embrace.
"It's okay. You're okay," Alec says, holding his son to his chest.
"Are you better now?" Max asks in a light, happy voice that is still laced with the heaviness of being sleepy. He can almost hear how much he wants to go back to bed in his voice, just like he does when it gets too late reading too many stories.
"Yes, Max. I'm better. You made me feel better," Alec says.
Max nods against him and within an instant, he is falling asleep again on his dad's shoulder, patting him gently.
"I love…you…Daddy," Max gets out in long breaths as his head finally falls and his eyes close, going back to sleep.
"What about Papa?" Rafe asks in a voice that sounds far away. Alec reaches out toward his older son, who walks over and takes his dads hand. They look at each other in final peace.
"He'll be okay. He's sick and he's really tired but he will be okay. He told me this might happen. We just have to love him and keep him rested," Alec explains, trying to hide his own fear for his love.
"What if he doesn't wake up?" Rafe asks.
Instead of telling his older son that he is afraid of that as well, that in fact, he is terrified that might happen and he would not know what to do without Magnus by his side.
"He will," Alec manages to get out in a choked voice. "He has to."