Chapter Text
Everyone has those dreams.
Or nightmares
The one where you dream about something bad happening to the people you love.
You don't always have to be sleeping to have those dreams; you can do it while being completely awake. Everyone wondered how they would react in a situation like this.
When you're waiting for someone to come home, but they get a little late, and the worry spikes up.
But instead of them, you get a call. Or cops at the doorstep.
For Alec, it was the former.
"Mr. Lightwood, this is officer Miller. We're sorry to inform you but there's been an incident." The officer had said.
He wasn't home when it happened.
Alec had been in New Jersey for a conference.
The second Alec got the call, he left the conference in between and ran outside.
He told Elyaas to break as many lights as he had to, and the man complied, knowing Alec would never ask that if it wasn't an emergency.
"Mr. Lightwood-bane?"
Someone was calling his name, but there was a loud ringing in his ears, making it impossible to focus on anything else.
"Sir?"
"Huh?"
"I'm asking if you're okay." Elyass repeated.
He shook his head slightly at that. "I don't know."
Alec had been through a lot of horrible things in his life, but nothing could have prepared him for this. Nothing could have prepared him to see the house he built from scratch burnt to dust.
The house he and Magnus filled with love and warmth.
There were fire ladders and police vehicles around the place, but Alec didn't really pay attention to any of them.
The second the car stopped, Alec jumped outside and started running towards his house.
"MOVE! MOVE!!"
Before he could get any further, there were hands all over him, trying to prevent him from moving ahead.
"LET ME GO."
"Sir, this is an active scene we can't let you in. Please step aside."
Alec felt bile rise up in his throat. It was getting harder to breathe.
No, it had been impossible to breathe since it had started.
"THIS IS MY HOUSE. LET ME IN." He yelled, but it came out all choked.
"This is your house?" One of the cops inquired.
He nodded frantically.
All the cops gave him a pitying look. He wanted to punch every single one of them.
One of the cops moved aside and let him up.
Alec ran towards the doorway. His heart was hammering in his chest.
Please be okay. Please be okay.
He reached the doorway and saw the ruins everywhere. He dragged his feet inside when two strong arms stopped him.
He knew these arms.
"Alec. Alec stop!! You can't go inside!"
"LET ME GO JACE. I HAVE TO GO" Alec shouted.
"Alec, please", Jace whispered in his ears. His grip on Alec's waist got stronger.
"Jace, stop."
"There's a body. Alec, they found a body." Jace said gently.
Those words stopped him.
"What?"
"A body was found inside."
"What do you mean there's a body?"
Jace's face crumbled, and something inside Alec's chest broke at the expression.
Jace shouldn't ever have that expression on his face.
It was Jace.
Just then, two cops started walking towards him.
"Mr. Lightwood?"
Alec looked into the officer's eyes, and he could easily see the pity in them.
"Lightwood-Bane." He corrected them.
The officer paused for a second before continuing. "Yes, Mr. Lightwood-Bane. This is your house right?"
Not much of a house.
It was all ashes now.
If Magnus got a chance to see the house, he would have an aneurysm looking at it. He would hate the colour.
Not that Magnus was here.
His eyes darted across the area.
Where was Magnus?
"Yes."
"And who all other than you live in this house?"
My everything.
He didn't say that, though. He didn't need more pity.
"My husband and my kids." Alec replied.
The officer hummed. "And where is everyone tonight?"
Alec took a deep breath.
"I don’t know."
The officer raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't know where your family is?
He could hear the hint of judgement.
Well, fuck him.
"I was in New Jersey. Magnus is usually home by this time but he is not picking up my call right now." Alec said honestly.
There was a choked sob, and he turned to find Izzy crying.
"What's wrong, Iz?"
His sister just shook his head and turned away.
"And your kids?"
Alec ran his hand over his face in frustration. "They are not picking up either."
He took out his phone from his jacket and called Magnus again. "Pick up. Pick up. Pick up."
"Alec—"
"Mr. Lightwood-Bane—"
Alec held up a hand. "Can you give me a moment? I'll answer all your questions but I need to call my family and tell them about this."
“You have reached Magnus Bane's voicemail. Please do not leave a message for me as voicemails are boring and they have not released a feature yet to speed control. If it’s very urgent, you can call on my husband’s number and he will decide if I am allowed to take it or not. And let me tell you, my husband will definitely not allow me to be on the phone after working hours. Okay, bye.”
Alec let out a chuckle at the familiar words.
“Hey, baby. I don’t know what’s happening but you need to come home soon. And have you been able to get in touch with Rafael and Ari since the morning? Call me as soon as you get this. I’m waiting for you.” Alec rambled. “I love you.”
"Sir, we found a body inside your house." The man spoke just as Alec was about to call Rafael.
"And?"
The man gave a quizzical glance as if he did not expect Alec to say that.
Why should Alec care about a random dead body in his house?
The man hesitated. "Someone died inside your house. We need you to identify the body."
Alec paused. "Why should I identify the body?"
"Alec—"Jace put a hand on his shoulder.
Alec turned to his brother and frowned. "Why should I identify some random body?"
The man in front of him, officer Miller, the same guy from the phone, inhaled heavily. "Sir, we think it might be the body of one of your family members."
"Why would you think that?" He said sharply.
"Mr. Lightwood-Bane, we understand how difficult this must be for you, but we need you to come with us."
Alec felt suffocated in his skin, his heart beating inside his chest so loud that he could hear it in his ears.
"No."
"Mr—"
"I'll come with you." Jace interrupted.
Jace shouldn't have to do this, either.
"Jace, no. You don't have to. I don't know what they're talking about but no one is hurt. I don't care whose body it is but it's not one of us." Alec said through a suffocated whisper.
"Alec. Alec. It's going to be okay." Jace grabbed his face as he went inside with the officer.
Alec called them again.
Magnus. Rafael. Ari. In that order.
Again. And again.
But none of them picked up.
Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.
Alec could hardly breathe. It felt like it would be a long time before he would be able to breathe again.
"Other than your husband, was anyone else supposed to be home at this time?" The officer asked.
"My son Rafael. Or my daughter, Ari." He breathed.
"The body we found is a man's body. So it couldn't be your daughter. She's safe."
Ari's safe.
Then where the fuck was she?
Where the fuck was everyone?
Another officer came from inside and handed something to officer Miller. The two men discussed something in hushed voices.
"Dad! Dad!"
Before Alec could turn towards the voice, a warm body came rushing towards him and collided against his chest.
Alec tightened his hold on her and kissed her head. "Ari?"
Arianna pulled back, and tears were streaming across her face. "Dad, what's happening?"
He brushed her hair behind her ears and brought her against his chest again. "I don't know." He said truthfully. Ari hated being lied to, hated being coddled or patronised.
She could see a lie from twenty feet apart.
"Where's Bapak and Rafe?"
Alec was about to answer when the two officers came up to him.
"Sir, we found this bracelet on the body. Do you recognise this?" Officer Miller held up his hand and showed a bracelet to Alec.
His eyes widened.
It was a thin bracelet with blue tanzanite gemstones on it.
Alec could recognise it with touch alone.
He had to spend half his life holding the hand that wore that bracelet.
He choked when the next words came out of his mouth. "Yes."
Alec took the bracelet in his hands and stroked a gentle finger over it, his eyes burning at whatever was about to come.
"Is this your husband's?"
He shook his head at that. "No. It's–it's my son's. Rafael. Magnus gifted it to him on his first birthday with us."
The man's eyes widened. "The body could be your son’s then?"
No.
Not his baby.
"What?" Ari yelled. "What body? Dad!! What are they talking about?"
Alec closed his eyes. "Ari."
"Where's Rafe?"
Rafael, my baby. Where are you?
Ever since Alec had Rafael, something clicked inside him. Something he didn't even know he was missing.
Whenever Alec needed hope, Rafael gave it to him.
Just like right now.
"Oh god!"
Alec raised his head up at the voice and found his son running towards the house.
Before the boy could run inside, Alec sprinted towards him and grabbed him in his arms, stopping him from moving ahead.
"Rafe?"
The boy tried to get out of his hold before realising it was him.
"Rafe, it's me."
Rafael looked into Alec's eyes, and Alec could see the fear in them.
He had never seen his son look like that. Rafael wasn't scared of anything.
Except for any type of insect.
"Dad?"
Alec held his son's face in his hand and ran over it. "You're okay. You're okay." He said and hugged Rafael tightly. His son easily melted into his arms.
"Rafe?" A small voice yelled before jumping into Rafael's arms, pulling a small chuckle out of him.
"I'm okay, Ari." He whispered against Arianna's head. "I'm okay."
The officer came towards the three of them. "You're Rafael Lightwood-Bane?"
"Yes." He nodded.
Rafael's eyes landed on something, and his eyes widened. He took the bracelet into his hands.
"Why do you have this with you?"
"We found this on the dead body found inside your house." The man answered.
It was the moment.
Alec knew.
He always had a great intuition. It was impossible not to have that when you were raised in a home where there was more noise than conversation. Where people had to starve for love.
Alec had spent his entire life being careful. Trusting his gut.
So he knew.
That this was the moment, his life was about to change.
A single tear slipped Rafael's eyes before he fell to the ground. Alec and Aris's eyes widened, and they held him from either side.
"Rafe, what's going on?"
His son stared into his eyes as they looked more hollow and more scared than they had ever been.
"Bapak."
"What?"
"I gave the bracelet to Bapak this morning." Rafael whispered.
Magnus had an important meeting today and Rafael had a habit of giving the bracelet to him as a good luck charm.
"No."
Jace, along with two officers, came outside, his face contorted in pain. He had something in his hand.
"Alec. I—" Jace choked.
"What?"
"We found this too."
Another officer let out a hand which had a plastic bag in it.
Inside it was a ring.
"Is this–?'
"Yes." Alec nodded.
Officer Miller gave Alec that look again, the one that you give to someone right before you're about to blow up their entire life.
"Mr. Herondale has identified the body." He announced. "I'm sorry to inform you Mr. Lightwood-Bane, but the body belongs to your husband Magnus Lightwood-Bane."
Alec could not breathe anymore.
So, he did the only thing he could.
He screamed.