Chapter 8: The One We Love The Most

Alec and Grace landed elegantly in the surveillance room of the Institute, right in front of the Inquisitor, Isabelle, Jace and Maryse.

"Grandma!" Grace shouted as she almost tackled Maryse to the floor. The older woman took hold of her grandaughter in her arms and hugged her, it had been at least five months since she had last seen Grace. She had not even met the twins yet!

"I would actually like to talk with Grace if that is okay Alec?" Maryse asked, smiling at her the girl. Alec assumed it would be about the incident at the academy and just nodded. Grace waved as they both walked off, and Alec was ready to face whatever the Inquisitor threw at him.

"Mr Lightwood, I am glad to see you after your paternal leave. I hope all is well with the newborns?" Inquisitor Herondale asked with a smile. Alec smiled back and nodded a yes. Alec could swear he had only seen the Inquisitor smile twice, once when she found out Jace was her grandson and just now when she was speaking to him. He felt quietly honoured at the gesture. "Now, I don't know what you think I'm doing here, but I am here for Miss Fairchild. She is Valentine's only living relative, even with Valentine dead and gone now, we would still like to ask some questions."

"We cannot do that Grandmother," Jace answered. "Clary has a block on her mind that Magnus put there. Apparently Jocelyn paid him to rid her of her memories of the Shadow World," he explained.

"Well that should be easy! You are a Lightwood-Bane, being married to the High Warlock of Brooklyn must have its upsides?" the Inquisitor questioned, looking at Alec intently.

"Magnus can't, he has the twins right now and I don't think he's quite ready yet," Alec replied, not wanting to drag Magnus into everything with this mundane girl who threw Magnus into a wall, and who shot him in the back the day his husband went into labour. He didn't even trust himself around the red-head.

"Nonsense! I will have the babies. If you trust me with them of course?" she told him, actually looking quite excited at the idea of it. Alec couldn't see the harm in asking.

"Of course. I will ring and ask, but if he says no then there is nothing I can do I'm afraid Madam Inquisitor," Alec explained, taking his phone out of his pocket. He dialled Magnus' number and waited for his husband to answer.

"Hello my love, Institute blown up already?"

"No actually Mags, the Inquisitor kinda needs you to recover Clary Fairchild's memories," Alec said hesitantly through the phone. He could practically hear his husband grimace through the phone.

"As in the one who shot you in the back? No thank you."

"Come on Mags, you're the one who put it there. As soon as it gets done, the quicker she is out of our lives," Alec pointed out, hoping to make his husband see sense.

"It's harder than that darling. I fed them to a memory demon, it would need summoning and at least five people, Clarissa and I included," Magnus explained. "Besides I have the twins."

"Madam Inquisitor said she would take care of them..." Alec muttered just loud enough so Magnus could hear.

"The Inquisitor wants to look after our children? I don't know whether to feel honour or terrified," Magnus chuckled. "Fine. I will portal over with the twins and their things. Where is Grace?"

"My mother has her. We will clear the surveillance room and you can portal through," Alec told him. "Love you."

"I love you too." Magnus hang the phone up and Alec gave the all clear with the Inquisitor.

"Magnus fed the memories to some sort of memory demon so it needs to be summoned and everything; plus it needs five people including Clary and Magnus. So I will be definitely going-"

"So will I. And I'm sure I can find Izzy," Jace announced, entering the room with Clary at his heels. He completely blanked the girl and was just waiting for Magnus and the twins.

BREAK

Magnus came through the portal in a flash, twins in arms along with two changing bags around his shoulders.

"Delivery!" Magnus collared, passing Lily over to Alec without even so much as a hello. "Madam Inquisitor, Herondale, you." Magnus greeted, glaring at Clary at the end, flashing his eyes at the red-head. "Alexander, Nicholas was just changed but Lily needs one in about half an hour or so. I want to be finished before then, I have clients to attend to." he told his husband firmly. Alec just nodded and handed Lily over to the Inquisitor, he gave the twins a kiss.

Jace came through with Isabelle, Maryse and Grace.

"Hi Daddy," Grace greeted, going to hug Magnus.

"Hey sweet-pea, now we are all going to do something really important, so I need you to be the best big sister ever and help Madam Inquisitor with Nick and Lily, okay?" Magnus told her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Grace gave him a firm nod and went off with the Inquisitor, saying a goodbye to her family.

"Now, where are we doing this?" Jace asked, determined to get this mission done.

"We're doing this in the comfort of my own living room. I can control it easier," Magnus told them, conjuring a portal up. "Clarissa, since you have not been to my loft before, take hold of Jace, so you end up in the right dimension."

BREAK

Everybody stepped through the portal and landed in Magnus and Alec's loft less than gracefully. Alec had portalled to his own loft so many times, he managed to portal himself to be able to land sat down on his favourite spot on the couch. Magnus just chuckled at his husband and set about getting the photo he needed.

"Clarissa, you are a good artist yes?" Magnus asked, taking a picture out of a book. "Draw this fabulous pentagram identical to this one, and you shall have your demon." he told her, handing her the picture and some chalks.

They left Clary to it, being supervised by Jace, while Magnus made coffee. Isabelle watched how domestic her brother and Magnus were in somewhere like the kitchen. They moved around flawlessly, one reaching for mugs, one reaching for milk, then meeting in the middle.

"You two look so domestic," Isabelle chuckled, taking a mug of coffee. Alec just rolled his eyes and Magnus just laughed along with her. In all of his many centuries, domestic had not been one of the many adjectives to describe the warlock.

BREAK

"Clary's finished," Jace said, walking into the kitchen, his jeans covered in red and green chalk. The three in the kitchen had been listening to Jace give Clary the rune she needed to contact the Greater Demon Valak, and Alec could not help but like the sound of her screaming in pain. They nodded and followed him out onto the rather large balcony. Magnus observed the perfectly drawn pentagram and hated to admit it, but he was rather impressed.

"Mmm, I'm impressed," Magnus admitted. "Now each person takes a point at the pentagram and they join hands," he told them. Alec rushed to get the point next to Magnus' and was relieved when Jace went to the other side of him; there was no way he was touching Clary. "Do not break the bond between the hands, otherwise, we will all be screwed. Do not let go under any circumstances," Magnus told everyone, this was the only chance they had to regain any of Clary's memories.

Once everybody had joined hands, Magnus began chanting something incoherent in a foreign language and a grey whirlwind appeared before them. Alec could see the demon through the wind and his first instinct was to reach for his bow and arrows, but remembered what Magnus said before, they could not break the bond.

"The demon wants payment for the memories!" Magnus shouted over the noise the demon was making.

"What does it want?" Clary shouted back, desperately trying to keep a hold of Jace and Izzy's hands.

"It wants a memory of the one we love the most!" Magnus yelled to the Shadowhunters.

Izzy was the first to give a memory up, a picture of Alec and Max appeared together, Alec was pushing Max on a swing and they were both laughing like insane people.

Clary went next, a picture of Jocelyn Fairchild appeared in the wind and Clary began to smile happily.

Alec went next, and it was a memory of the day Magnus gave birth to the twins, it was of Magnus, the twins and Grace all crowded around the bed. Both Alec and Magnus smiled at each other.

Jace then went, it was of Izzy, Alec and Max, they were getting their photos taken for something for the Clave, Jace wasn't in the photos because he wasn't a Lightwood.

It was then Magnus' turn, and it was the photo he took the other day of Alec, when he was shirtless in the kitchen with Lily in his arms, while he was stroking her wings. Alec turned to look lovingly at Magnus and had to resist the urge to reach over and kiss his husband. Magnus winked at his Shadowhunter, and they watched the Greater Demon return to its realm suddenly. There was a shock through Clary and she fell to the floor, her memories returned…

BREAK

They had all returned to the Institute and were all exhausted. It was only eleven am and all Alec wanted to do was sleep. Giving up a memory to a Greater Demon was extremely tiring.

"Where are my babies?" Magnus asked after catching his breath from his landing.

"Mags, I want you to cancel all your appointments for the day baby. You're exhausted," Alec told him, practically having to hold his husband up. Magnus just nodded and collapsed into Alec's arms, he had just done too much.

Alec carried Magnus bridal-style to his bedroom in the Institute, he tucked him up in the double bed and went to find the Inquisitor with his kids. They were actually out in the hallway waiting for him, Imogen Herondale was holding Lily and Nick, and Grace was carrying their bags.

"I changed Lily all by myself Papa!" Grace said happily, proud of herself. "Well with the help of Mrs Herondale," she added. Alec gave her a kiss on the head and ruffled her hair a bit.

"Were they okay?" Alec asked, taking Lily from the Inquisitor. The little girl babbled excitedly blowing spit bubbles and giggling, flapping her wings gently.

"They were perfection Mr Lightwood, absolute perfection. I take it the demon was dealt with?" she replied, stroking Nick's small head.

"Yep. Everything is fine, Clary has her memories back and nobody was hurt in the process. Magnus is just exhausted but that is to be expected," Alec explained, accepting the handshake Imogen had offered him. She gave him a smile and made her way to the surveillance room.

"What did you talk about with Grandma?" Alec asked Grace as he took his children into his office.

"About the academy and stuff. She said she would talk to somebody about it, but I dunno. I kinda don't wanna go back Papa," Grace admitted, going to turn the
TV on.

"So what do you think about somebody else teaching you? Like one of Daddy's friends?" he wondered, hopefully this Dot person would be perfect for Grace and her training.

"I don't mind Papa. I still wanna be a Shadowhunter though, not a warlock. That's Daddy and Lily's job," she told him with a smile. Alec loved her answer, he was glad that Grace still wanted to be a Shadowhunter. Alec was about to say something when Jace entered the room. "Uncle Jace!"

"Hey gorgeous, how you doin'?" the blond man asked, hugging his niece and going in for some cuddles with the twins. Grace just nodded her head enthusiastically and went back to her cartoons.

"Did you need something Jace?" Alec asked, looking over some paperwork on his desk.

"Yes actually. Isabelle found something on the Seelie case and needed authorisation for the mission," he explained, throwing Nicholas into the air and catching him repeatedly.

"Cool, what did she find?" Alec queried.

"Well you know when she said she found Dragonidae demons? Well they weren't, it was those shape-shifters we found at Pandemonium a while back, the night we met Clary?" he replied, smiling down at his nephew who was trying to grab his stele from his pocket.

"Yes I remember. So has she located their whereabouts?" Alec glared, remembering the night vividly as the one where she launched Magnus into a wall.

"She couldn't pinpoint where exactly, but she got a good lead. She reckons they are hidden in a warehouse opposite Central Park," Jace informed him, jumping back slightly when he felt a burn on his arm. Nick had managed to get hold of his Uncle's stele and poked him with it.

"No, Nicholas, we don't do that," Alec scolded, taking the object off his son. Nick seemed to understand and looked down guiltily. Jace felt sorry for the kid, he hadn't meant to hurt him but he supposed he had to learn.

"Where's Magnus?" Jace asked, cuddling Nicholas close to him.

"My room, he passed out," Alec huffed, rubbing his face in his hands. He knew he shouldn't have brought Magnus into this just yet, but at least it was over now.

"Well if you give Izzy permission for her assignment then you can take the rest of the day off. Magnus needs you more than we do right now," his brother told him firmly.

"But the Inquisitor-"

"I already cleared it with Grandmother, she comes in handy you know?" Jace chuckled, patting Alec on the back. Alec gave his parabatai a nod for the authorisation and took Nicholas off of Jace so he could go and deliver the news. Sometime Jace could be a pain in the ass, but at least he looked out for everyone.

Alec decided to uproot his family to Magnus' bedside so they could relax and wait for him to wake up so they could go home. Alec remembered back to the memories they had to give the demon earlier, the one Magnus gave up really got him to thinking. Even after all these years together, sixteen to be exact, it still amazed him that he was loved wholly and unconditionally by the man he was honoured to call his husband. Magnus Bane truly was the one he loved the most...

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