Unsure of what was going to happen or where she was, Madzie kept her eyes shut tight, hiding her face against Alec's chest.
"We're safe here," Alec reminded her. He held her close, trying to be comforting, but still confused about what she had been through before he found her at the warehouse.
"Are you hungry, sweet pea?" Magnus asked. He was already pouring a small glass of apple juice for the girl. Madzie didn't respond to his question, but Alec knew she must have been starving.
"I think we are, Magnus," Alec said, answering for both of them.
Magnus smiled at the Shadowhunter and pushed the glass of juice toward him. "Try," Magnus mouthed.
Alec nodded and shifted Madzie so that he was holding her with just one arm and tried to expose her face, reaching for the glass with his free hand. She squirmed and arched her back, causing Alec to move his arm as to take the pressure off of her ribs. He cursed under his breath. She was in pain.
"I'm sorry, it's ok," he muttered. "We'll help you. Can you drink some of this for me, Madzie?" Alec touched the cold glass to her lips and held his breath, hoping he wasn't about to make a mess. He tilted the glass and was relieved to see that she was drinking. She reached up to hold onto the glass with one hand as she finished off what was left of the apple juice, and then opened her eyes to see Alec smiling down at her.
"It's good, right?" Alec asked.
Alec saw the corners of Madzie's lips curl. It was an almost smile. He'd take that as a win.
A pot clinked on the stovetop and Madzie hid her face once more, eyes scrunched tight. Alec's attention turned to the kitchen, where he saw Magnus standing over the burner with a small pot of water and wooden spoon in his hand.
"You're cooking?" Alec asked.
"We've been through this, Alexander," Magnus said softly. "Of course I'm cooking. Well, it's just oatmeal. But I can't snap it together if we're not using any m-a-g-i-c, now can I?"
Alec watched him work with a newfound curiosity. He'd never seen Magnus cook before, even if he was just stirring a packet of oatmeal into a pot of boiling water.
"Refill the glass and get comfortable on the couch," Magnus said, keeping his voice low and steady.
Alec followed the order and managed to pour more juice, careful of how he held Madzie, before walking over the red couch in the living room. He sat down and realized that Madzie was facing the window.
"Look, sweetheart," Alec said, trying to get her to open her eyes, "can you see the bridge with all of the lights? It's so pretty." He tried to get Madzie to sit next to him on the couch, but she stayed glued to him, sitting on his lap and trying to hide.
"It's just you and me, Madzie," Alec said, "you can open your eyes. It's safe. We made it to the safe place. I want you to see that it's not scary here."
He ran his hand across the top of her head. "I'll give you some more juice if you open your eyes."
He hated that he had settled for bribery, and he knew that he'd let her have the juice regardless, but Alec watched and she slowly started to squint, adjusting to the bright space and the lights from the city.
"Good girl," he said. This time, he handed her the glass and she accepted it with both hands cupped around the sides, drinking all of it before Alec took it back from her and set it on the table.
Alec reached for Jace's jacket, which was still draped around Madzie's shoulders, and tossed it to the far side of the couch. He could see that Magnus was almost finished with what he had been preparing, and would be coming over to them soon. He wanted to see if he could get a look at Madzie's ribs before Magnus brought over the oatmeal.
"Does your back hurt, Madzie?" Alec asked softly. The little girl nodded, leaning into him for warmth. "And what about your neck? Your marks still hurt too?" Madzie reached up and covered her gills with the palms of her hands, nodding slowly. "It's ok," Alec said reassuringly. He knew that know was not the time to pry. "Magnus will know how to help you."
Magnus sat across from them and put the hot bowl of oatmeal on the table. "I think it may need to cool off a minute," he said, laughing internally that he could just correct the temperature with a snap of his fingers.
Alec pat the spot next to them on the couch and gestured for Magnus to come sit next to them. "There's ummm," Alec started, "something I want you to see." Alec coaxed Madzie into pulling her hands off her neck, and she clutched pieces of Alec's t-shirt once more, turning her torso toward him.
Magnus walked over and immediately realized that something was very wrong with Madzie, something that had been kept hidden from him until now.
"Alexander," Magnus whispered, gasping. He sat down on the couch and studied Madzie's gills. "A demon did this? Or a Shadowhunter?"
"I don't know," Alec said. "It doesn't look human to me..."
Magnus didn't want to touch the girl, but he needed to help her heal. He knew she must have suffered, unable to defend herself or control her abilities. He swallowed hard, trying to suppress memories that were breaking through about his own childhood trauma. He could almost feel his own throat tightening...
"Magnus," Alec said, a concerned look in his eye. "Are you ok?"
Magnus inhaled sharply. "Yeah," he said, "I'm fine... do they look poisoned to you?"
"You think a demon did this?" Alec asked.
"I don't know. Maybe she will..."
"Madzie," Alec said, tucking his chin down toward her, "we want to help you feel better and that means helping your gills feel better, but it would be easier if we knew who did this too you."
Madzie tensed and shook her head back and forth. "No magic," she mumbled.
"We know, sweet pea," Magnus said. He took a risk and reached out to take hold of her hand. Alec was surprised to see Madzie allow Magnus to do so.
Magnus got her to let go of Alec's shirt and ran his thumb over the top of her hand. "Did Valentine, the bad man who took you, did he do this?"
"No," Madzie whispered.
Alec shot a quizzical look at his boyfriend.
"Did Valentine make someone else do this?" Alec asked carefully.
Madzie's eyes filled with water and she slowly nodded her head one time. "He has monsters," she said.
"A mutant," Alec said to Magnus. "Someone he's experimented on."
Magnus stood up from the couch and turned to the window, trying to keep himself composed. Alec wrapped both arms around Madzie and held her close, kissing the top of her head.
"I'll be right back," Magnus said, walking toward the office. Alec knew where he was truly headed - his potion supply shelves.
"We're going to put some medicine on your gills, ok?" Alec said slowly. "We won't let it hurt you, but we will need to touch your neck, kiddo."
Madzie stayed still, not responding to Alec's comment. He knew she was still processing what he had told her was about to happen.
"Do you want Magnus to hold you while I put on the medicine? Or do you want to stay with me and let Magnus help your gills?"
"Stay like this," she whispered.
"Good girl," Alec said. Magnus was walking back to them with several items in his hands: some soft gauze, a small jar of cream, and thin bottle of something that Alec couldn't make out the label on.
Magnus reached out and took hold of Alec's hand, much to the Shadowhunter's surprise. Magnus put Alec's hand on the side of Madzie's head and then Alec understood.
The Shadowhunter made sure Madzie was sitting sideways on his lap, her legs secured between his knees. He pinned her head up against his chest with one hand and took hold of the little girl's hands with the other, allowing him to keep her pretty well restrained without scaring her.
Magnus pulled up a chair and sat as close as he could to them. "So we're doing this the mundane way, hmm?" Magnus asked.
"I think so..." Alec said.
"Ok, sweet pea," Magnus said, trying to keep his voice soothing. "This might be a bit cold, but I'm going to clean up your gills with some medicine, ok?"
Madzie braced herself, wanting to do as they told her, but she couldn't help but flinch when Magnus patted the disinfectant with the gauze on the side of her neck.
"You're ok," Alec reminded her, repeating encouraging phrases as Magus continued to wipe away the dried blood. Alec watched as Magnus delicately worked, fascinated by how careful he was being, and without the help of any magic.
"I'm going to put some cream on your neck that's going to help these heal faster, and then I need to cover your gills with a patch. It might feel strange to have them covered, but we can take it off in the morning, ok?"
"Like my scarf?" Madzie whispered.
Magnus paused. "Yes, smart girl. Like how your scarf covers them. This is going to help the stinging go away too..."
Alec helped keep Madzie still while Magnus applied the cream and large bandage. It took a moment, but Madzie could feel the numbing medicine in the cream starting to take effect. She looked over to Magnus and smiled. "Not magic?" she whispered.
"It's not magic," he said, beaming with pride that she was starting to trust him. "Do you think I could help you with the other side?"
Without answering, Madzie tried to turn her body around and got some assistance from Alec, who helped her reverse her position in his lap, exposing her other set of gills and holding her head in place once more.
Magnus followed the same procedure, wanting to be predictable. He explained what he was doing before he did it, aware that Madzie couldn't see him. She still flinched a bit at the cold sensation, but Alec could feel her muscles relaxing as the medicine took effect.
Magnus reached over to the table and grabbed the bowl of oatmeal and the spoon, handing them to Alec. Magnus looked like he was about to say something, but he paused and stood up abruptly. Alec could see Magnus' eyes were becoming glossy.
"I, umm. I need a minute," Magnus said. He picked up the items from the table and walked back toward his office to return the supplies to his cabinet, but Alec was worried. He knew seeing Madzie hurt would trigger something in the older warlock.
"Madzie, I need to go talk with Magnus, ok? Can you sit here and eat this for me?"
Madzie's eyes got wide, but she nodded and sat up taller. "Magnus is sad?" she asked, reaching up to trace the rune on Alec's neck.
"Yeah, I think... I think maybe he is, Madzie."