"Hey, Cat. How are things going?" Magnus asked when he walked into the trailer.
Alec looked up but went right back to feeding the dogs. Jace did the same. Iz watched both of them. She looked up at Magnus and saw his smile fade away. Magnus looked at the floor. Cat and Magnus talked a little. Then she left to go over to the vet building. Magnus sat down at the small desk. He said nothing but looked out into space. Iz walked over to Magnus.
"Magnus, are you okay?"
Magnus looked at her.
"I'll be okay."
"What happened? Only if you want to tell me."
Magnus looked at Iz.
"One of the dogs I was taking care of passed away this morning."
"Oh yeah, Alec and Jace help bury some dogs today."
"Iz, that's enough."
Magnus looked up at Alec.
"I'm sorry, Magnus."
Magnus just nodded.
"Are you done feeding the dogs?" Magnus asked.
"Yes," came from everyone.
"We need to go feed the kitties and puppies."
They all headed over to the animal nursery. Magnus, Alec, Iz, and Jace prepared the bottles and fed the babies. It was lunchtime, and Alec, Jace, and Iz were going to leave when they saw Magnus sitting at a table.
"Go to the car, I'll be right there," Alec told Iz and Jace.
"Okay," they said as one.
"Magnus," Alec called out.
Magnus looked up at him. One tear ran down his face. Alec sat down next to him and wiped it away softly. Magnus looked at Alec but couldn't bring himself to smile.
"Come with us to get lunch? I don't want to leave you here by yourself."
"I'll be okay. I'm used to people and animals leaving me."
Then another tear fell. Alec wiped it away, too. Then Alec put his finger under Magnus' chin. He made Magnus look at him.
"I'm not leaving you. I just found you. You make me want to be a better person. Magnus, I need you in my life. My sister and brother even like you, and they don't like anyone I like," Alec said laughing.
Magnus looked at Alec and smiled.
"What happened to you texting me last night?"
"Oh, I knew you would be getting off late from here, and I didn't want to bother you if you were sleeping."
"Will you text me tonight?"
"Sure."
"Okay."
"Will you come with us to get lunch?"
"Sure."
/
Magnus was lying in bed watching TV. A show called Shadowhunters was on, and he loved it. Magnus' phone beeped. He picked it up to see if it was Alec, and it was. Magnus couldn't help but smile.
[Hey, are you up? If not, I just wanted to say good night. I won't be in until four tomorrow. I have school all this week, so it'll be four until Friday.]
{Yes, I'm up. Okay, well, I will be in at four to all week.}
[Oh, still moving?]
{Unpacking.}
[If you need help, I'm here. And Iz and Jace, too.]
{Thank you}
[Well, it's 8 p.m. here, so I will hit the hay. I'll see you tomorrow, Magnus.]
{Me too. See you all tomorrow. Good night, Alec.}
[Good night, Magnus.]