Magnus dragged himself upstairs and collapsed on the sofa. After about half an hour he got up and went to the coffee machine Alec had gotten him. He looked at it with confusion but then gave up. He had watched Alec do this quite often in the last few months so he started to copy his actions. After a few more minutes he had a cup of dark coffee with a strong smell. He sat on one of the bar stools at the kitchen isle. He drank the whole thing and stared at the cup while trying to figure out what wasn't right. There was something that he was missing. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the cold surface. Suddenly he jerked upright.

"Ragnor!" he hissed and stormed out the building. He stopped in a coffee shop down the street and got a second coffee. Once he reached the hotel Ragnor was staying in he threw away the already empty cup and entered the lobby. He found out the room number and almost tripped in the people coming out of the elevator in his wrath. "Ragnor Fell!" he yelled in fury once he reached the room. The green-skinned man looked up from his book with a calm and puzzled expression. "You knew about her! About Celeste!"

"Magnus, you're exhausted." Ragnor said and dropped his book at the couch. "You have no id…" Magnus cut him off with a hiss.

"Don't you dare tell me I have no idea what I am talking about. You were in my head, I felt what you felt, saw your thoughts. And I recognise that particular emotion." Magnus leaned over his friend and looked him straight in the eyes. "You protected the child." Ragnor looked away and pushed Magnus so that he could get up. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Magnus, I did what I felt was right. Don't you dare judge me, don't you dare." He said and went to the window.

"I'm not judging you for helping. I just want to know why." Magnus said. "And why didn't you tell me, or Catarina or even Tessa. Especially Tessa."

"How could I? I promised Cordelia." Magnus was silent for a moment. Cordelia was Celeste's mother. Ragnar not only knew Cordelia, he had raised her. Magnus remembered a small girl running through the hallway as Magnus closed the door to Fell's study the last time they saw each other. It must have been some 30-40 years ago. "When she came to me one night 13 years ago she was crying." Ragnor went silent for a moment gripping the window frame tight. "She said she was raped. There was nothing I could…" his voice broke. Magnus thought that he had never seen his friend so vulnerable. "I couldn't do anything. It was too late. I was afraid that you might turn them in." Ragnor turned to Magnus and looked him dead in the eyes. "How could I have risked their happiness? Their lives?"

"So what happened after Cordelia died? Didn't it pass through your green thick skull that the kid might need a parent?" Magnus took a step closer to the window. He wasn't sure of what he was blaming Ragnor, or why he was mad at him. "Or did you think that leaving her amongst these brats who think just because they're 'the Angel's chosen ones' they are entitled to the world? We both know Shadowhunters and the majority of them are exactly like that."

"What was I supposed to do? Her mother sent her to the Institute! I could not just barge in and say 'Hey, nice to meet you. Oh, and that girl's the daughter of the woman I raised, because Celeste's grandmother was a mundane who had the unfortunate luck to sleep with a Shadowhunter.' What I did was illegal and the Clave would have hunted me down and killed me." Ragnor looked through the window again and this time spoke quietly, with neutral tone. "Like they did with Shade and his wife. Remember them? They adopted a boy if my memory isn't mistaken, and it rarely is."

"I remember the boy. Mortmain." Magnus remembered very well Will and Tessa and what they went through because of that man. He also remembered that because of him Jem had to choose between death and becoming a Silent Brother.

"So, I beg of you Magnus, and I don't beg, keep this our secret. Don't let your precious Shadowhunters know. Don't let her know. This was after all part of my promise to her mother." With this Ragnor clicked his fingers and the front door swung open. "Now leave. Go home, rest, be with the Lightwood boy, while you still have the chance."

"All secrets come to life sooner or later." Said Magnus as he was collecting every piece of calmness he had left.

"Soon for us may come in hundreds of years. And as for later… It may take, how do the mundanes put it? It may take forever." With this Ragnor closed the curtains. "Oh and close the door on your way out, will you?"

It took every ounce of Magnus' self-control not to slam the door behind him. Why was he so mad at Ragnor? It wasn't like he could not see his reasons. He finally found the answer a few blocks down where a father was taking his little boy for a walk. This was something Magnus would never have, but Ragnor did and blew it. This man would see his son grow and probably get married, maybe even have a grandchild or two. But, unless fate was cruel to him, he would not have to go to his son's grave. But Magnus would, even if he could have children of his own. Not only that but in a few decades, maybe even in a few years, he would witness the burying ritual for Alexander Gideon Lightwood. And just the thought of that made him angry.

Later when he was at his apartment he looked around remembering what Ragnor had told him. 'Go home, rest, be with the Lightwood boy, while you still have the chance.' He may not have forever, but at the least he had tonight and if he was lucky tomorrow night. And that's how he was going to look on things. One night at the time.

….

The front door opened and Alec walked in. Magnus was already in the kitchen and was cooking dinner. It has surprised Alec that a man who looked always ready for a fashion show could cook complicated meals but Magnus had only said that a man learns a great deal of things when they live for hundreds of years. He let the door close behind him and took off his jacket and his shoes. Magnus approached with two glasses of wine and handed him one. For the past few years Alec's style had 'upgraded', was the only word Magnus could think of. At least had stopped wearing those oversized sweaters that had holes all over them. He was still wearing the same black and grey colours but at least now his clothes complimented his body. Magnus smiled a bit thinking of how more sure of himself Alec had become since they first met.

"Hey honey. You're home." Magnus clinked the glasses and kissed him briefly. "Dinner's almost ready." He said making his way towards the kitchen while Alec took a sip from his glass and left it on the kitchen isle.

"Are you sure you should be cooking? I mean after what happened today you looked…" he could not find his words.

"I'm perfectly fine, a few cups of coffee have me running. My magic's down but I don't need it neither to cook nor spent the rest of the night with you." he winked at Alec, who leaned forward on the isle and blushed slightly. Some things never change, thought Magnus. "Get cleaned up and no weapons on the table." Magnus waved a knife at Alec and turned his attention to the meat.

"At least let me help with the dessert." Alec washed his hands in the kitchen sink and took another sip of wine. After a brief scan Magnus pointed to a recipe on the counter and returned to the meat. It used to surprise Alec how easily they fit as a team at the beginning but now working with Magnus in the kitchen was almost as calming as fighting alongside Jace and Izzy and even Clary though she was skipping quite a lot of the fighting recently, the belly getting in the way of her short sword.

Alec was quick and made no unnecessary movements. He melted the chocolate added cream and some butter and stirred. After Magnus thought the mixture looked well he helped in pouring it into glasses and left it to cool off.

Tonight being the first night in quite some time that they get to be together dinner was served on the glass table in the living room. Both sitting on the couch and slowly eating. "How was Idris?" asked Magnus.

"As backwards as always." Alec sighed. Magnus thought that it may have something to do with the essence of their relationship and decided to drop the subject.

"And how's Clary? And Jace?"

"Unfortunately Clary may go into early labour. That's the reason we went to Idris in the first place."

"But it's too early, she's barely in her eight month!" exclaimed Magnus, who had grown fond of Clary over the years watching her grow not only as a kid but later as a Shadowhunter.

"I know the Silent Brothers are doing the best they can to slow the process down and give the baby time to develop completely."

"What did you expect? Neither Clary nor Jace have been known for their patience." Magnus could see that Alec was worried and tried to lighten the mood. It worked a little.

"And how was your day? I mean, what did you do after the…"

"After you drained me of my strength and not in the good way?" Magnus chuckled taking another bite from his plate. "Came here. And then I went over Ragnor's place to yell at him." Alec looked surprised and intrigued.

"Ragnor Fell, the warlock?" he asked in surprise "Why did you think it necessary to yell at Ragnor Fell?" Why indeed?

"Let's just say that an urgent matter arose and Ragnor rushed to the rescue, on which I applaud him, he never was a guy to dive into the unknown. However he created a mess of things and did not warn me that they might backfire at all of us." Magnus leaned back on the couch smiling and Chairman Meow climbed on his lap. He absentmindedly stroked the cats back a few times and stopped. With an annoyed protest and grace suiting a cat he climbed onto Alec's lap, looked at him as if he didn't trust him but he was the only one here who could do the job. Alec was pleased that even if he wasn't that cat's favourite person he was getting used to Alec being here.