Magnus drummed his fingers against his lips in a thoughtful way. "So she isn't human then?" he asked, sounding entirely unsure and unconvinced.

Catarina sighed. "I don't know," she said wistfully. "She doesn't seem entirely human to me but then, she was a Vampire for a long time and maybe that has some bearing. She's strong."

"Yeah, I have the bruises to prove it."

"So she can't be entirely human. She has kept some of the perks, so to speak. But she is most certainly not a Vampire now. And she is mortal… I think."

"So you know about as much as me then?"

"What were you expecting?" she asked him. He shrugged. Camille made a sobbing sound from the corner of the room. He had tried repeatedly to get her to stay on the bed he had set up for her, to no avail. "Look, stupid question, but have you tried delving into her mind?"

"That is a particularly stupid question, because in her state you can't just invade someone's mind or memories unless you want to go bonkers too. It is a maze filled with land mines in there – if I went in there may be no way out, unless I knew specifically what I was looking for. And secondly, you know me – of course I have tried. It is a complete mess and makes absolutely no sense. Plus, I can't get near her without her trying to scratch my eyes out."

"You probably did something to deserve it," Catarina mumbled.

"She keeps going on about 'vos yeux'."

"That means 'your eyes'," Catarina informed him. He shot her a withering look.

"Je parle parfaitement le français, merci. Pratiquement je suis français."

"Just shut up and listen. She keeps talking about your eyes? Who else has eyes like you?"

He did not enjoy being insulted and then spoken to as if he were a child. If it had been anyone other than Catarina he would have blasted them into next week…

Something clicked.

"It's a family trait," he said out loud, though thoroughly to himself.

"Votre accent est schlingue au fait."

He ignored her and went over to Camille, lightly touching her shoulder. She was cold. "Camille?" She would not look at him and began to shake. He touched his fingertips to the top of her head, still brilliantly golden despite everything she had been through. And he searched her mind for one specific image.

He staggered backwards, chilled and shocked.

"What is it?!" Catarina bounded over to him, ready to catch him, but he waved her away.

"I still can't make sense of it. I don't think she knew what was going on. But I saw him. I saw what he did to her…"

He was in a daze, revolted to his core. But he knew what he should do. He went to her and scooped her up into his arms and took her to the bed flailing and thrashing. He sat there with her, holding her as if she were a small child, enduring her blows.

"It's Magnus. It's me. He can't hurt you now. I'm here. You're safe."

And then he repeated in French. Over and over as she screamed in a frenzy. He held on tightly as she seemed to crumble in his arms and bury her face into his chest. Her sobs were wretched and sorrowful.

"Shhh," Magnus whispered to her. "You're safe now."

There was a horrible aching pain radiating in the back of his head and down his neck. He felt like he had fallen asleep on a jagged rock. Alec groaned miserably and tried to turn over, hoping that a new position would ease him.

And then the panic set in. He couldn't move his arms. He was tied up.

Alec snapped his eyes open. The pain burned and it took a moment to focus his sight. He took deep breaths to try and calm himself. He needed to think logically.

Alec recognised the room he was in. He hadn't been here for a very long time, but he and Jace and Izzy used to play here when they were little. The crypt smelt of damp and dust and age.

He struggled against his bonds and found the cold sting of metal against his skin, cutting into him as he moved. He tried to push the pain to the back of his mind, as he was trained to do, and continued to put pressure on the chain, hoping the metal would bend out of shape enough.

"It is useless you know."

He stopped suddenly and looked up to see Mathieu languishing in the doorway. He leant against the small, rotting frame and smiled as if he were having a nice jolly day out.

"They are magically enforced. You will not break through."

Alec twisted his neck to try and look at his upper left arm. The strength rune there had vanished and a small, fresh silvery scar was in its place.

"Let me go you piece of…"

"Language language. Americans always sound so crass when they swear. It is unbecoming of one so beautiful." He smiled sweetly at Alec; it was almost an apology. But there was something dark behind his eyes. "I like your accent though," Mathieu continued as he walked towards him. "It is one of the things that attracted me most to you. You can still detect the Idrisian twang that only the older families have, underneath the clipped Manhattan. High class. Not too Brooklyn."

"Let me down Mathieu," Alec said through gritted teeth. He was going to knock him senseless when he got hold of him. But Mathieu just smiled and ran a hand along Alec's chest. It made Alec want to rip his own skin off.

"Eventually I will," Mathieu told him with a wink. "But first I want my fun. And I want to convince you, of course, of what you are missing."

"Magnus!" Alec didn't know why he yelled out, but if there was a chance his husband could hear him then it was probably worth it. The crypt wasn't that far underground or that far away from the main part of the Institute.

Mathieu giggled. "Do you suppose you are dealing with an amateur? Do you think I have not sound-proofed the room?"

Alec took a moment to debate this in his mind. "Amateur? Are you telling me you have done this before?" He was horrified.

"Why? Do you like being tied up?" The twinkle in his eyes was revolting and he laughed manically. Alec was not sure why he hadn't noticed before, but Mathieu was crazy. Actual crazy. Against his better judgement and a sickening fear in his gut, Alec felt sorry for him.

"Look," he said, not unsympathetically, "Nothing good is going to come out of this. You may have completely lost the plot but you are not stupid. You must realise, when you stop and think about it, that a move like this will completely destroy you. What are you going to do to me? Force me to sleep with you?"

Mathieu considered him for a moment. "I could. I could do anything I please."

"Yeah you could. But have you really stopped to think about what would happen after?"

There was a definite flicker of hesitation in his attacker's eyes.

"You haven't, have you?" Alec pressed, aware that he may be getting through now. "You really think there would be no repercussions? The Council would lock you up in the Silent City. You would be humiliated, stripped of your marks and left to rot. If you were lucky. I mean, Magnus could get to you first."

Mathieu sat down on the floor in a rather un-elegant slump.

"Why ruin your life over me?" Alec asked him quietly. His heart was pounding. Mathieu was unstable enough that he could do anything at any moment.

There was an eerie, drawn-out silence where nothing happened. Alec stared at Mathieu and Mathieu stared off into space.

"Mathieu?" Alec ventured when the tension had reached an unbearable point. The silence felt like it had covered them forever.

"You believe I have made a mistake?"

He almost sighed with relief. "Yes, I do."

And then Mathieu lost it. He flailed around the old crypt, flinging himself wildly into the crumbling walls. For a while, Alec couldn't help but stare at him. It was upsetting and he wished he could do something to help, despite his current situation.

Alec was so overcome by the scene he barely had time to brace himself for the flurry of blows from Mathieu's fists. The pain rained down, but he tried to let it wash over him. He tasted blood in his mouth but fought to think past it. "Mathieu – stop," he managed loudly and firmly. And to his surprise, Mathieu did stop, falling to the floor and sobbing.

"Mathieu, you need to untie me now. I can help you."

Mathieu stopped crying abruptly and gazed up at Alec. For a moment, he looked nothing more than a scared child. His captor hesitated, fear and despair shading his features.

"Mathieu, please. Let me go now and we can talk. I promise I will help you."

And then Mathieu staggered slowly over to him in a timid sort of silence and undid first the bonds on his legs and then those on his arms. Alec sighed and sagged with relief and rubbed at the soreness at his wrists, willing the blood to flow back through. There was part of him that couldn't quite believe it had been that easy to persuade Mathieu to let him go, but he wasn't about to complain.

"You promised you would help me."

Alec tried to face his attacker calmly. He wanted nothing better than to hurt Mathieu, but he swallowed down his rage as best he could. "Yes, as best I can," he agreed. "But you will have to leave here."

"Where would I go?"

He sounded scared and entirely helpless.

"Idris – but we can work out the details tomorrow ok? Nothing bad will happen. Right now I think it would be a good idea for you to go to your room and stay there. So that I can work out everything. I'm going to work out everything ok?"

Mathieu nodded sullenly and trudged off out of the crypt. Alec followed a pace behind cautiously, cursing himself for not having access to a weapon just in case. Nothing was said. The only sounds were the echoes of their footsteps, until they reached Mathieu's room up on the third floor.

Mathieu turned when he reached his door. "Goodnight, mon cher," he said with a faint smile before kissing Alec gently on his cheek. It was lucky that Alec didn't have a weapon at that point because the other Shadowhunter would have likely ended up dead. But he managed to stiffen himself and try not to move, fighting down his reflexes with great effort. He wasn't sure if his heart was pounding at an immense rate or if it had stopped altogether. But then Mathieu went into his room and shut the door quietly behind him; it was rather anti-climactic.

He cursed aloud when he caught sight of his reflection in the window. He was bleeding from several cuts on his face and his eye had swollen up. Alec jogged to his bedroom and peered in as cautiously as he dared, hoping beyond all hope Magnus was not there.

There was no sign of the Warlock so he was able to pick up his steele, draw a healing room and make it into the bathroom to attempt to wash the blood out of his hair and jumper before anyone disturbed him.

"Hey, you in here?"

He locked the door of the bathroom hastily.

"Alec?"

"I'm in the bathroom!"

"Can I come in?" It was Jace. His parabatai had very warped views about what constituted as privacy or personal space.

"No!" Probably a little too forceful…

"Is Magnus in there with you?"

Good, he sounded scared. "Maybe…"

"Come find me when you're done. Ok, that did not sound right. I mean, you know, when you guys have finished… doing what you are doing. That sounded worse. Just so you know, I do not care how much sex the two of you have – I am totally fine with it. I would be a complete hypocrite if I wasn't."

Alec rolled his eyes.

"I know you are rolling your eyes by the way. Anyway, I would just rather not have to be waiting to talk to you about something serious in your bedroom whilst you are doing kinky things in the bathroom. I don't know why I said kinky. Sorry. See you later!"

Alec even managed a snigger, which made his ribs hurt. Despite the healing rune he was sure to be sore for a few days – broken ribs were the worst to heal, even with the help of Angelic Runes.

It was late and it was dark. Alec hadn't called him either, so he was pretty sure he was in trouble. Alec always used to send an angry SMS when he got pissed, but nowadays it tended to be the 'silent treatment'. Alec had discovered a while ago that this got to Magnus way more than shouty capital letters. He had a good excuse, of course, but it still wouldn't be pleasant.

Surprisingly, his husband was in bed, cocooned in a multi-coloured wool blanket. He had expected the full tirade of tutting and 'disappointed looks' for being so late back and no communication. This was definitely unusual. It wasn't even that cold for him to be wrapped up like that so, naturally, Magnus panicked. He touched Alec's forehead, checking for fever and woke him up in the process.

"Whoa," Alec said as he grabbed Magnus' hand in a reflexive death grip.

"Ow," Magnus told the Shadowhunter pointedly. "It's just me – calm down."

Alec let go and looked embarrassed as he sat up. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Magnus was well aware that Alec couldn't always control his natural reflexes to defend himself, nor would he have it any other way. It made surprising his husband difficult, not to mention an often painful experience. He would never try to tickle Alec again either. Unless he was tied up. Magnus' mind raced for a moment before Alec asked him if he was alright. "It's ok love. I just worried for a second." He flicked his wrist and the lights came on.

"No!" Alec cried out as the room was flooded with artificial light. Magnus thought he was going to have a heart attack. He was doomed to a married life where physically shocking his husband would prove near impossible, but it didn't stop Alec frightening him. He was definitely the more caring of the two of them. He intended to scream at Alec for testing his nerves to the limit but then noticed the slight discoloration in the skin below his husband's left eye.

"Oh my god what's wrong?! What happened?! What have you done?!"

Alec fought off his worried flailing with some effort. "I'm fine. Stop fussing. It's just a training room accident… Wait, why do you always ask me what I have done?"

"Jace has more grace than that, plus too much sense to ever send you back to me looking like a train wreck. What happened?" Magnus repeated, a little more calmly now that he could tell Alec was not seriously injured.

"It was my own fault. I got distracted, Jace landed a blow in the wrong place and I fell... Nothing major.

"Did you fall into a door by any chance?"

Alec looked slightly puzzled for the briefest of moments. But it was enough. "Uh, yeah… I fell and cracked a few ribs and now I'm just sleeping it off."

Alec's tone crushed him. Magnus could always tell when he was hiding something; although he had never been very good at telling when that was something huge or if it was something trivial that Alec would tell him in his own time.

"You don't have to tell me right now. But please don't lie to me, Alec," he implored, his heart stabbing away at him.

"Magnus," Alec whispered and then touched the side of the Warlock's cheek tenderly. "I'm sorry. It's one of those reflexes. I know you always know when I am lying – and I wouldn't have it any other way. I promise I will tell you everything. Just give me a couple of days."

He felt instantly lighted. That was better. He would just have to bottle up his rage and save it for when he found out who exactly had done this to his beloved. "Now where does it hurt? Nurse Magnus will kiss it better."

Alec laughed and then gripped at his side in obvious pain. Magnus moved his husband's hand away carefully and healed the bruising there.

"Better?"

"Much. Thank you," Alec told him as he pulled Magnus in for a long and deep kiss. "I love you Magnus. You know that don't you?"

"Yes I know." He smiled at Alec, hoping Alec wouldn't notice how sad he was.

"And you know you can tell me anything right?"

He knew he had blown it. "What do you mean?" Magnus asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible. "How exactly did you pick up this interesting array of injuries?"

"Don't put this back onto me. I'm sorry I wasn't truthful with you. But I can't tell you yet. Give me a couple of days and I will. But you have to tell me what is wrong with you too. You don't honestly expect me to think everything is fine when my admission of a lie just made you go gooey and weak at the knees?"

"I think I know why Camille is crazy." There was no point trying to skirt around the issue. When Alec knew something was bothering him he would not just let go. "Asmodeus hurt her badly. He made her believe he was someone from her past that she loved dearly to make her do what he wanted. And then he was cruel as only he could be."

Alec rubbed his shoulder, trying to comfort him. "Who?"

Magnus looked at him, puzzled.

"I mean, who was the person she loved?"

He loved that Alec always asked 'who?' before 'what?'

"His name was Scott. He was the head of the main London Werewolf pack in the 1850s."

"Woolsey Scott? As in the founder of the Praetor Lupus? Your ex?"

Magnus frowned slightly at his husband but Alec didn't let up.

"His elder brother, Ralf Scott. He was a good man." It still smarted slightly when Alec said the word 'ex'.
"He and Camille fell in love. A werewolf and a vampire – you can imagine how popular that was. It was all very tragic. Scott was killed by the Head of the London Vampire clan, who claimed he was acting in Camille's best interests. Camille, obviously, betrayed him and all of the other London vampires, leaving a trail of ashes in her wake. I always knew she wasn't really over him."

"And what did Asmodeus do to her?"

"And I really don't consider Woolsey Scott to be my ex. I keep telling you that."

Alec gave him a warning look.

Magnus gulped and tried to steady his voice before speaking.
"He disguised himself as Ralf. Camille thought she had died – really died – and had been reunited with him. Then I am not too sure what happened, but Camille found out who it really was. But he didn't stop. He raped her and hurt her repeatedly. He played with her already fragile mind, making her believe she had killed Ralf herself in many terrifying and horrible ways. And I saw it. I looked into her mind."

Alec rubbed his thigh in a consolatory manner, clearly unsure how to behave or what to say. He could feel the cold sting of tears in his eyes as he re-played those images from Camille's memory.

"I've moved her into a spare room. We know she isn't a Vampire anymore – like Simon – and I couldn't bear to think of her living in the Sanctuary anymore. I know she isn't exactly your cup of tea…"

"It's fine. I was going to suggest that anyway. We have plenty of room."

He hadn't realised how silent the room felt until then and he shivered. Alec drew him close and hugged him tightly, as if he knew that what Magnus yearned for most was warmth. And Alec was warm after being tightly wrapped up in the blanket and he felt too good to resist. All too soon they were both burning.

"I need you," Alec murmured against his neck, sending sparks of electricity along his spine.

"I have an idea," Magnus smirked and then flipped Alec onto his back in a well-practiced manoeuvre. The Shadowhunter laughed breathlessly and pulled Magnus down on top of him, kissing him fiercely.

"And what may that be?" Alec asked, each syllable deep and husky with desire.

Magnus briefly thought about enchanted rope and feathers, but the situation seemed a little too sombre for that. He would just have to store that one for later.

"Let me make love to you."

Alec looked at him with a certain amount of confusion and then laughed. "Well, ok, if you absolutely insist."

He called out passionately as he buried himself in his love. Alec writhed beneath him in fierce pleasure, pushing and pulling Magnus as they made love to each other – neither in control of the other. This was duet; different lines of the same song, fitting together in harmonious beauty.

Magnus wanted this moment to be the opposite of what he had witnessed in Camille's mind. He wanted to feel two bodies, willingly giving themselves over to the other out of profound love. Two hearts and souls joined and entwined. No sorrow, no pain, no force, no deception, no fear. A moment of pure love.

He was close so he slowed, hoping a new pace would sustain him longer, so that their moment would last.

"No, don't stop!" Alec cried out. Magnus shifted his weight and rested almost completely on top of his husband, their chests touching – their hearts as physically close as was humanly possible. The Warlock moved deeply and with purpose until Alec cried out again in delight. When he was sure he had found the right angle again, Magnus held onto Alec's face and told his husband to look at him.

"Do you still want a baby?"

Alec's eyes were wild and he wasn't able to focus properly. "I – yes – oh – what?" It didn't really make sense.

"Well, I think a baby should be conceived in love." Magnus could hear the tremor in his own voice. He would not hold it together for much longer.

"Yes." Alec's voice was suddenly firm and determined.

Magnus needed no further encouragement. He moved faster, his eyes locked with Alec's. They smiled at each other. Magnus closed his eyes only at the last moment as he orgasmed and then snapped them open as soon as he remembered himself. He could feel Alec tightening beneath him as he stoked him firmly yet gently until he had found his release too.

They tangled into each other's arms only few minutes later and stared at the plastic tube on the bedside table.

"It's a bit gross though really – I mean, not very romantic is it?"

Magnus chuckled. "Well the actual making of a baby isn't, no. But I like to think the act of procurement was rather romantic. I should be hurt if it wasn't and may make you try again."

Alec nuzzled affectionately at his neck. "You are always romantic when we fuck."

"I really have ruined you haven't I? Where oh where is that shy boy who used to blush at the word 'intercourse'?"

"You're right. Next time you feel turned on I shall remind you that I need candles and rose petals and essential oil."

"Having a bit more decorum and not ruining a romantic moment by using curse words is not the same as turning into a female Alexander."

"Would you still love me if I was a girl?"

"Don't joke about that. I think you would look hot in a dress."

Alec punched his arm. He took that as a victory.

Alec had made Magnus make the 'delivery'. He was way too embarrassed. And scared. Yeah, couldn't forget 'scared'. What if it didn't work?

He decided to bury himself in paperwork and sorting out the Mathieu situation instead. He had already spoken to Jia, telling her that Mathieu was sick and that Alec thought he'd had a nervous breakdown. He did not tell her the full story or the full extent of what happened. He had made a promise.
The Consul had agreed for Mathieu to stay in a small hamlet on the edge of Alicante, close to a distant cousin of Mathieu's mother. The Silent Brothers would assess him and try to help him. It was fairly unusual for a Shadowhunter to suffer with mental illness. Well, lots of Shadohunters had mental illnesses, it just wasn't something that was recognised or spoken about in their community. But Alec decided he would make it a priority of his to look out for Mathieu. He couldn't help him here at the Institute, but he could keep an eye on his progress in Idris and make sure no harm came to him there.
He'd had second thoughts. Surely Jia had known Simon was alive and had been kept prisoner in Alicante. And had escaped. He had been terrified that Jia would confront him about it, but she had not said anything; there had been nothing suspicious in her manner or the way she sounded. Alec began to wonder if this was something she was in the dark about too. He could only hope.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud and obvious cough

"Oh, come in." He tried to smile at Simon, though he found it a little difficult considering what he had been through and the ex-vampire's current expression was not what anyone would describe as 'sunny'.

"It's still kind of weird, to think of you as the Head of the Institute."

"Uh – thanks."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"No, I know. Go on – you wanted to see me for something?"

"I know about Isabelle. I know she's… with child."

"Who says 'with child'?"

Simon sighed. "Sorry, I was trying to put it delicately. And clearly I failed."

"It's ok. She told you?"

"Yeah."

There was a nice long awkward silence.

"And you wanted to speak to me about it," Alec said in an attempt to re-kindle the conversation.

"Well, I know it isn't mine. It can't be because I have been away for so long. If you get what I mean? Hang on, forget I said that, of course you know what I mean…

Alec was about to interrupt by expressing his exasperation that Simon had literally beaten Death but couldn't string together a coherent sentence, when Simon remembered what he had wanted to say.

"But I wanted you to know that I love her. And that I will stand by her." He had kind of shouted it.

The ex-Vampire gulped nervously, clearly expecting a reaction.

"Um… That's great I think. Very noble of you. Although for Raziel's Sake do not tell Izzy that."

"I am going to ask her to marry me."

Alec had to try his hardest not to burst out laughing, though the situation was far from amusing. It was more that the suggestion was ludicrous and uncomfortable.

"And – I , uh… guess I am asking your permission? You know, tradition and all that. I would have asked Robert… yeah, you know."

"I am not sure I have that kind of authority over Isabelle. I am not sure anyone ever has had that authority over her or ever will…"

"Even if you won't grant your blessing I am going to ask her anyway."

He had clearly rehearsed that bit because unlike anything else he had said since he had come to see Alec, that bit had been remarkably coherent and perhaps a little over-enthusiastic.

"Ok…"

"And – And… It would be really great if you could grant us – me – your blessing?"

"Are you that certain she will say yes?"

Simon looked like he was about to faint.

"If I were you," Alec advised sagely, "I wouldn't. If you love each other that is great. I really do hope you love her as much as she loves you. But she won't want you to marry her because you feel sorry for her. It's too complicated for you to just step in as Husband and Father and play happy families together. Who is to say Isabelle even wants that?"

"I would want to marry her anyway," Simon informed him resolutely. "It isn't just because of the baby." He had faltered a little on the word 'baby', but he seemed determined nevertheless.

It then took Alec a good twenty minutes to explain why a marriage proposal may not be well-timed at present. He pointed out that Simon did not actually 'exist' in the eyes of the Clave and that they had locked him up not too long ago for no apparent reason. He had also been dead for five years and was missing parts of his memory. This was not a suitable situation to be in when offering yourself for marriage, Alec was pretty sure of that.

He and Simon left together, with the latter a little crestfallen. Alec couldn't help but feel sorry for him, though he stuck by his opinion that Simon would likely end up dead all over again if he attempted to propose to his sister at this moment in time.

He found Magnus with Helen and Aline in one of the smaller, less formal sitting rooms and was thankful he had told Simon to go back to his room – he couldn't risk Helen and Aline seeing Simon at the moment, not until they had assessed what Aline's mother's involvement could be.

There was electricity in the air. Helen and Aline were beaming from ear to ear. Alec's heart stuttered.

"It's done," Helen announced proudly.

He stumbled and almost fell over, but Magnus rushed over to him. "You ok?" the Warlock asked him, concern furrowing his brow.

"I'm fine," he managed to choke out. "So, you are… um… with child?"

He was going to kill Simon. The irony of his words did not escape him and he noticed Aline wrinkle her nose in confusion at his question. Actually kill him.

Helen giggled nervously and said, "It's a little early to tell."

"Well, when will we know? I mean, when will you know, obviously."

Magnus grabbed his hand in a reassuring grip.

"Not too sure. In a couple of weeks I guess – when my period is due." Helen shrugged at him, though she couldn't disguise a hopeful smile.

"Wow. I feel sick," Alec blurted. Magnus looked at him with concern. "I mean, it's bloody terrifying isn't it? You are all finding this scary too right?"

"In an exciting way," Aline confessed as she flung an arm around Helen and kissed her sweetly on the cheek.

He looked imploringly at Magnus, but his husband was distant and didn't seem to be paying attention. Since Magnus had found out what had happened to Camille he had been very sad and very pensive.

"Magnus?"

The Warlock practically jumped to attention. "Well it's too late to go back now I guess!" he said completely overly-cheerful.

Then Alec had to run out of the room. He just made it to the bathroom in time.

AN: Wow - it has been a while since the last update! I swear this one was never meant to be so epic, it is just how it panned out! This was always supposed to be in two parts but that never happened and we are about half-way through the second part now. Christmas has been a hectic time for me so apologies this hasn't come sooner. My Christmas-themed one-shot didn't happen either! May save it for next year...
Let me know if you loved it, hated it, have any ideas or would like to see a certain storyline! and don't forget to follow/ favourite either me or this story so you get updated when there is something new to read :-)

Happy New Year my lovely readers! Let's hope 2016 brings us lots of new stories (and the wrapping up of some old ones!).
Laubie xxx