I'm not so mean that I'd just leave that hanging :)

Alec woke up to an obnoxious and familiar beeping sound. He immediately recognized it as hospital equipment, which he had heard time and time again each time he brought Max in for an appointment.

He tried to sit up, but a searing pain shot through his shoulder. What the hell?

Oh.

Right.

Somehow Magnus had found out about the deal and brought in enough force to subdue Guzman and, of course, Alec himself. Alec almost chuckled. It was about time the poor cop finally one-upped him.

"You're awake."

Alec glanced up at the nurse, who seemed to be wary of him. Right, because he was a criminal. That'll do it. Alec glance miserably to his left, where he was cuffed to his bed. "I was shot and they still cuffed me? That's gotta be cruel and unusual punishment," he mused.

The nurse cleared her throat. "Mr. Bane was kind enough to cuff the hand that was not part of the arm that had been shot."

Alec raised an eyebrow. He had remembered the blood being closer to his heart than that. "My arm was shot?"

"Well, not exactly. You were shot in your pectoral, to the right of your sternum." She pointed and Alec tipped his head. He could only see the wrap they had around his body, but the brunt of the pain came from the spot the nurse was referencing.

"Fun," he grumbled. "You know, am I naturally tough or does this hurt less than I feel like it should be hurting?"

The nurse grinned. "I'm not sure how much pain you're feeling. You are on meds, though. That might be why you aren't bawling your eyes out by now."

Alec huffed. "Yeah, I guess."

His ears perked when he heard a soft knock on the door. "Come in," the nurse called.

Alec felt a wide variety of emotions when he saw Magnus walk through the door. He felt 40% anger, 2% betrayal, 40% begrudging respect, 8% fuzzy happy tummy butterflies, and 10% annoyance. See? Math was useful in real life. "Oh, look who's here," he said.

Magnus looked surprisingly guilty when he saw Alec. In fact, he looked completely, shockingly, extraordinarily guilty. Like the kind of guilt that Troy Bolton must have felt in High School Musical 2 after realizing that he'd brushed off Chad all summer. Maybe even worse than that.

"I got you shot," Magnus said, voice small. "I knew this would be dangerous, but… I didn't think you'd be hurt like this."

"So…" the nurse mumbled, shifting on her feet. "Do you want me to leave, or…?"

"Yes please," Alec growled. She hurried out of the room.

"Alec, I… I'm so sorry." To Alec's utmost horror, tears began to fill Magnus' eyes. Alec didn't remember the last time someone cried for him. Usually, with Jace and Izzy, emotions were brushed over. Alec wasn't used to someone caring so openly. "I never meant for this to happen." Magnus' voice cracked at the end.

Alec cleared his throat. "You interrupted the best deal of my entire career as a dealer thinking it would go smoothly?"

Magnus furiously wiped at his eyes. "Would you shut up about your stupid drug dealing? You were shot, Alec. You could've died! And all you care about is that stupid deal."

Alec felt uncomfortable and he knew why. After years of pushing down his feelings, just trying to get his job done, he was not used to these bare-boned confessions. "Were you worried?" Alec wondered. It was amazing. Why would Magnus, someone with a clear, bright future, care about him?

Magnus' eyes widened. "Of course, Alec. I thought… I thought you would lose too much blood and…" He bit down on a knuckle, unable to finish.

Alec's heart picked up speed and he was reminded of their last kiss. Magnus had been so concerned about their statuses and now Alec understood why. Magnus cared about him, but he cared about his job and the law more. It was clear to Alec now why Magnus had been so distraught during dinner, when all Alec had been doing was making omelettes. If it came down to it, Magnus would have Alec put into prison no matter how much he cared for him.

"Why would you care?" Alec asked. "If I died. Why would you care?"

Magnus stared, green eyes wide and glassy. He looked awfully beautiful on the verge of tears, or at least Alec thought he did. His eyes always had this hint of rebellion and strength, even when he was crying.

"Why would I…? Alec, I… I really care about you." Magnus released the words in a breath of air, like ripping off a band-aid. "Strongly."

Alec nodded earnestly, his previous anger forgotten. "I care about you, too."

Magnus gave him a sad smile. This should have been the part where they fell into each other's arms and in love, but there was no sense of happiness between them. Only regret.

Magnus leaned down and pressed his lips to Alec's. Alec tried to reach up, but the pain from his wound stopped him. Instead, Magnus leaned down and buried his fingers in Alec's hair, holding him close. They kissed each other like it was the last time.

When they broke apart, Magnus moved only an inch from Alec. Alec could smell the chai tea on Magnus' breath. Alec looked up at Magnus and swallowed sharp. "Next stop is prison, isn't it?"

Magnus looked down, thick black lashes hiding his eyes. "Jail. Then you get a trial, in which you'll be found guilty for your crimes. Then prison."

Alec nodded. "I'm impressed you caught me, you know. I don't blame you for doing your job." He meant it.

Magnus didn't answer. He just gave Alec a quick kiss on the cheek and turned to go. "I'll come back later, when you're free to leave the hospital. Then I have to take you to the station. I'm so sorry, Alec."

He left before Alec could answer.

Alec heaved a sigh and stared at the place where Magnus had left the room. "Dammit, Bane," he grumbled. "Why'd you have to worm your way into my heart like that? It might even make me feel guilty for doing this."

Alec eyed the widow to his right. He was on the first floor of the hospital, in the Emergency Wing. The window had a simple lock, totally open-able. The room was escape-able.

Reaching with his right, non-cuffed arm was a bitch, especially with the gunshot wound screaming and protesting every step of the way. But Alec managed to reach all the way into his boot, where he had his trusty paperclip, Bessie, clipped on the inside of his shoe.

Picking the cuffs was the easy part.