Alec hadn't been able to sleep all night. He had been forced back to the Institute that night by Jace's request; Jace had said that they couldn't know who could end up at Magnus's apartment, but Alec knew it was really because he was still worried about Magnus himself. Alec hadn't argued, simply hugged Magnus goodbye and promised to be back in the morning. But the problem was that he couldn't stop thinking about how insane Magnus had become.

Of cures, he knew that Magnus wanted nothing more than to actually have a family and that he now had even the slightest of hope that this would come true had almost sent him over the edge. And Alec was afraid he wouldn't be able to catch him.

Finally, Alec decided that lying in bed all night was not going to do anything for him, so he got up, not really knowing where he was going to go, just knowing that he had to start walking. Before he realized what was happening, Alec found himself standing outside the library, listening to Jace play the piano.

For a moment, he considered simply walking in, but then he thought better of it and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes and letting the music wash over him. He found himself almost smiling at the peacefulness it brought over him. Then he heard a voice call out, "Alec, get in here, don't just stand at the door like that." He was definitely smiling as he opened the door.

Jace didn't stop playing as Alec walked in and sat himself on the couch, and he even continued as he began speaking to Alec. "Couldn't sleep either, huh?" He was looking at the keys as he played, but Alec knew that he didn't really need to.

"No," Alec began. "I couldn't sleep. But the real question in my mind right now is why couldn't you sleep?" Jace looked slightly startled at that, but his playing still didn't falter at all, and Alec knew it never would.

"Honestly?" he asked. And when he looked up at Alec again, Alec was a bit startled to see concern in his eyes. Alec simply nodded, and Jace continued a bit cautiously. "If I'm being completely honest, then it's because I'm still worried about you."

Resisting the urge to smile, Alec got up from the couch and sat himself beside of Jace on the piano bench. Jace hadn't stopped playing, but Alec knew him well enough to understand that it was now becoming a nervous habit, that he was playing in order to keep himself calm. Understanding this, Alec moved to gently place his hand on Jace's, getting him to stop playing.

"Jace, stop for a second and talk to me, please." He watched as Jace slowly removed his hands from the piano, but he could tell that Jace wanted nothing more than to keep playing and refuse to talk about anything at all. "Look, Jace, I know you're worried, but you really don't need to be. I understand that you were somewhat right about Magnus to begin with, but he betrayed Valentine for me, and I can't ignore that."

Jace was silent only for a moment, but then he began talking as though he had been thinking about this for a while. "I understand that, and I understand that you love him, I really do. I'm just worried that he's getting in over his head with his dad. I'm just worried that you're going to get hurt. Not because of anything Magnus will do to you, but I'm worried you're going to be hurt when he gets hurt."

Alec was unsure what to say; he hadn't really thought that himself. The more he thought about what Jace had just said, however, the more he understood that he would rather be hurt himself than to watch Magnus be hurt. Smiling this time, he turned back to Jace. "You understand this because that's how you feel about Clary, right? That you'd rather be the one hurting."

The only thing Jace could seem to do was nod, but he seemed to be smiling finally, even if it was the slightest of smiles. Instead of forcing Jace through more painful heart-felt conversation, Alec got up once more and sprawled across the couch. He closed his eyes as Jace resumed playing, letting the music wash over him once more.

When Alec woke up, he was startled to realize that he was still on the couch in the library. He was even more surprised to see that Jace was asleep on the floor beside of him. He tried to sit up without making any noise, but of course the couch was too old to allow that and the loud squeaking woke Jace up.

When Jace spoke, his voice was soft as it always was when he first woke up. "Sorry, I just didn't want to leave you alone." At that, Alec reached over and ruffled his hair as he had done to Max so many times.

"Thanks, bro. Honestly, I'm glad you've been here." Jace smiled, and Alec opened his mouth to say something else when the door to the library burst open, bringing in his mother who was quickly followed by Magnus.

"Get up both of you," Maryse began, her voice cold and business-like. "We're in a bit of a crisis at the moment."

For the first time since they'd entered, Alec took a clear look at Magnus and was terribly startled. Magnus was usually so carefully put together, his outfit perfect to the very finest detail. But he currently looked like he was barely keeping himself together. He had clearly simply thrown some clothes on as he was wearing jeans and a white button-up shirt. His shirt was badly wrinkled and when Alec looked closer he could see that it was buttoned wrong.

Getting up, Alec quickly brushed past his mom and walked to Magnus. He reached up and began to fix Magnus's shirt, which obviously surprised everyone in the room, but when Alec looked up he saw a faint smile on Magnus's face.

While Alec's eyes were still locked on Magnus's, Maryse cleared her throat, causing Alec to startle slightly, turning around immediately and quickly dropping his hands a bit too quickly. What he didn't do, however, what he refused to do was to step away from Magnus. Instead, he reached over once more and took Magnus's hand, keeping his eyes on his mother this time.

"We have a bit of a problem, Alexander." His mother's voice was a bit colder than usual, and the tone to it put Alec on edge. "It seems that the Clave has located Asmodeus. They were close to killing him on sight, yet somehow he seems to have convinced them to keep him alive at least for the time being. They've taken him to the Silent City, but he's now asking to speak with you."

At that, Alec turned back to Magnus, the question clear in his eyes. Magnus simply shook his head, obviously just as confused as everyone else.

The Silent City had never made Alec particularly comfortable any of the times he had been there. But the lower levels where the prisoners were kept caused Alec's heartrate to speed up. The Silent Brothers had agreed to give Alec 15 minutes to speak with Asmodeus, and Alec knew this was a very generous amount of time.

The only reason Alec could see anything at all was that he had been allowed to bring a witchlight with him. He tried to keep from looking in any of the cells that they passed, knowing he did not want to see whatever happened to be in them. Luckily, before long, they came to a stop, and Alec allowed himself to look in the cell in front of them.

At the sound of their footsteps, or rather just Alec's footsteps, Asmodeus had walked toward the front of the cell. The cell was entirely void of anything, no cot, nothing but bricks and bars. The Silent Brothers had explained that Alec would either have to stay outside the cell or be locked in with Asmodeus. He had chosen to be locked in, knowing that it would show the Brothers just how much he trusted Asmodeus.

Once inside, the Silent Brother retreated, allowing a bit of privacy. Alec immediately turned to Asmodeus. "What's this about? Why me and not Magnus?"

Asmodeus smiled, and for once, his smile didn't make Alec sick. For once, he seemed more human than anything else. "I wanted to ask a favor of you, Alec," was all that Asmodeus said in response. Alec simply nodded, terribly worried about what Magnus's father might ask of him.

"You see, Alec, I'm afraid that there's no way I'm going to get out of this situation alive. The Clave is too scared, not that they don't have every right to be, but I cannot begin fathom a world in which they let me go."

Alec forced himself to stay quiet, knowing that if Magnus was anything like his father, Asmodeus would continue if he simply waited. True to form, Asmodeus took a deep breath and continued. "I need you to make sure of two things for me. I need you to ensure that Magnus doesn't do anything stupid while the Clave is trying to figure out what to do with me. Make sure he doesn't do anything to jeopardize his own standing with the Clave."

When Asmodeus paused for a moment, Alec nodded. He knew that Magnus was highly likely to do something of the sort. In trying to help his father, he was likely to put himself in danger with the Clave. "The second thing I must ask of you is that, no matter what happens, you make sure he's alright. He wants me to be properly in his life so badly, and I'm worried that if something happens to me he will get lost in his grief."

Looking into Asmodeus's eyes, Alec was surprised that he could clearly see that Asmodeus genuinely wanted Magnus to be alright, that he truly cared for his son. "Asmodeus, you should know that I'll do everything in my power to keep Magnus both safe and alright."

Seconds after Alec finished speaking, one of the Brothers returned, indicating that time was up for their visit. Just as Alec was about to exit the cell, Asmodeus said one final thing. "Alec? One final thing before you go. Keep yourself safe, too. Without you, keeping Magnus okay is in vain."