Alec is over the moon happy. Ever since he and Magnus have gotten back together, they've spent every waking moment with each other. Of course, Alec has his alone time with his family, same as Magnus, but for the most part they haven't been apart for even one full day. Each morning before work, the two of them would meet up and go to the gym together, then have lunch together. And since his birthday weekend - the first weekend Alec spent at Magnus' place - he's been staying at his boyfriend's place every weekend. Alec loves going to bed and waking up next to Magnus each day. It's even gotten to the point where he doesn't want to go back home the night before work starts.

What this really all amounts to is that Alec can no longer deny that he's in love with Magnus. The problem is when to say it out loud. Alec wants to do something special for Magnus, and he's been racking his brain trying to figure out how to go about doing so. He's considering asking his siblings for help. And he doesn't make much money, so if he wants to take Magnus to a nice restaurant, he's going to have to save up the money for it.

Today Alec is going to introduce Magnus to Izzy. He's so nervous, even though he's sure Izzy will love Magnus just as much as he does. They are going to help Izzy and Sheldon move into their new apartment. Alec confirmed about a thousand times that his parents would in fact not be there. Izzy said that once they got back to California, she met their parents for lunch since they were still there on business, and cussed them up one side and down the other. Then she told them that she wanted nothing to do with them anymore. She even changed her cell number, and refused to give them her new address. Alec isn't sure that his siblings will be able to hide from their parents forever, but they're both making the effort. He still feels guilty that they are writing off their parents, just for his sake. Alec hadn't asked them to cut all ties. He'd have been fine with Izzy and Jace maintaining a relationship with mom and dad. He just won't be around when they were. The door chime goes off, interrupting Alec's thoughts. He buzzes Magnus in, then waits at the door for his arrival.

"Someone seems eager to see their boyfriend," Jace says as he sneaks up behind Alec, scaring the ever living crap out of him.

"What can I say, he just does things to me," Alec responds with a smirk once he's done with the shock of Jace's arrival.

"Ew, dude! I don't want to know about your sex life," Jace exclaims with a shutter, causing Alec to laugh.

"Hello, darling. What are you laughing at" Magnus asks as he approaches the door.

"Oh nothing. Just making my brother uncomfortable," Alec teases, glaring at Jace. "I'm still trying to pay him back for making me see him and Clary naked in my bed. Are you guys ready to go?"

"Ah yes. Jace, you really did a number on Alec," Magnus snickers. "He was traumatized that whole weekend."

"Yeah, and Clary and I have apologised about that. Let it go," Jace whines.

"No dude! You are my brother! And she may as well be my sister. I can't unsee that!" Alec exclaims as he ushers Jace out of the apartment.

"So, how are things going with you and biscuit?" Magnus asks.

Jace gets a dopey, love sick smile on his face, "Great! I really think she's the one, and I feel like I've known her my whole life. When I'm with her, I can't concentrate on anything other than her, and when we're apart, she's all I ever think about."

"Since when did you turn into a sap?" Alec looks at Jace incredulously, "Whatever happened to the 'I'm never going to settle down with one person, all of this awesomeness should be shared', mentality you had in high school?"

Alec loves to tease his brother and there hadn't been this perfect an opportunity to do so in a long time.

"Hey! I grew out of that man. College was all about grades and cooking, so I didn't bother looking for a relationship." Jace says. "Now that I'm done with school and have a great job, I can put the effort into a real relationship. Plus... there's just something about Clary, you know?"

"That's great Jace. I knew you two would be perfect for each other," Alec says with a slight sigh. "You also saved me the trouble of setting you guys up." He's truly happy for his brother. He's just happy in general. Alec hasn't stopped smiling since his birthday.

~oOo~

They arrive at Izzy's apartment in time to see the furniture delivery truck pull away. The drive to Manhattan wasn't terrible, her apartment is just on the other side of the Brooklyn bridge, making it a little under a twenty minute drive. They park and head up to the door, Jace already texting Izzy to let her know that they're there. Izzy lets them in, but not without giving her brothers a huge hug. Jace lets out a very undignified squeak, probably due to Izzy squeezing his healing shoulder too hard. She lets out a frantic 'sorry'.

"And this must be the infamous Magnus. I'm Isabelle, but you may call me Izzy. It's so good to finally meet you." She says as she pulls Magnus into a hug. Alec can't help the fond look he gives his sister and boyfriend.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well. I must congratulate you on your new job! I absolutely love fashion. You'll have to go shopping with me sometime soon. Maybe we can get your darling brother to join us as well," Magnus says as Izzy finally releases him from the bear hug she pulled him into.

"Yeah, good luck with that one. I used to have to bribe him into shopping with me. Half the time, I would just buy him clothes while I was already out, then sneak them into his closet!" Izzy exclaims, like it was some misfortune to do that for Alec. He knows that she used to love doing it. He also never complained, as long as it kept him away from shopping for hours on end. Before anyone can say anything else, someone clears their throat.

"Oh! You must be Sampson. Alec has told me all about you," Magnus says, causing Alec and Jace to snigger behind him.

"It's Simon actually," Simon has a defeated look on his face, "Anyway, why don't we get started? The moving guys already showed up, and placed the furniture where Izzy instructed, so all we have to do is get the boxes unpacked." He paused, glancing at Jace's injured arm. "Um... Jace... uh... I guess you can do whatever. Watch maybe?"

"I can still help. I can't lift the boxes, but I can take shit out of them though," Jace gives an annoyed huff.

"Hm, okay. I guess you can help me unpack our clothes," Simon gestures Jace to follow him back to their bedroom.

"Fine. But I'm not touching your underwear, and I'm sure as shit not touching Izzy's!" This causes everyone to laugh.

Once Simon and Jace leave the room, Izzy turns to face Alec and Magnus, "Okay guys," she says as she claps her hands together, "Magnus, you seem to know about fashion, does that extend to interior design?"

"Darling, of course it does! You should see my loft. I decorated it myself!" Magnus exclaims. Alec isn't sure how he feels about Magnus calling his sister 'darling' though. He assumed that pet name was reserved for himself.

"Good, you can help me out here in the living room, and Alec, why don't you unpack the kitchen?" Alec nods, kisses his boyfriend on the cheek and whispers 'good luck', then heads to the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, Alec starts with the opening of boxes and moving of things. His smile grows even more when he can hear his sister and boyfriend chatting away out in the living room. In this moment, he doesn't understand why he was so nervous about them meeting. They have so much in common and it wouldn't surprise Alec one bit if they ended up best friends before dinner. Alec finishes in the kitchen, and receives more instructions from his sister before continuing the task.

After six long hours of unpacking, Izzy's place looks like home. Izzy offers to cook dinner for everyone, but after a resounding 'NO' from the entire group, they end up ordering Chinese take out. To explain the loud no, Magnus is treated to more horror stories about Izzy's cooking.

"Magnus, don't listen to my brothers. I wasn't that bad of a cook," Izzy says as she folds her arms across her chest and pouts.

"Babe, you know I love you, but there is a reason why I do all the cooking in this relationship," Simon speaks up. Alec, Magnus, and Jace have identical expressions on their face, clearly not believing that Simon actually had the balls to say that. Alec chances a glance at Isabelle, and what he sees scares the shit out of him! Izzy's face turns beet red. She was clearly furious. It was almost as if you can see an unadulterated anger flaring in her eyes. Needless to say, she looks like she's about to explode.

"Dude! You just got yourself thrown into the dog house!" Jace states, rather smug. Alec lets out an exasperated sigh at his brothers comment. Jace is definitely not helping the situation at all.

"Okay!" Magnus says, clearly trying to defuse the tension, "Isabelle, please tell me more about your job. I'd love to hear more about it." This seems to make Iz happy, judging by the elated expression that suddenly replaced her angry one. In no time at all, Izzy is happily talking about her job, and the tension is dispelled. Alec isn't naive enough to think that his sister forgot the dumbass statement that her dumbass fiance made, but at least his boyfriend knows how to get her mind off of it for a little while.

~oOo~

Back at Alec's apartment, Jace makes a hasty exit to give Alec and Magnus some privacy. Alec scoops Magnus into his arms and gives his boyfriend a kiss that is probably too hot and heavy for the public.

"I know its a work night, but if you'd like, I could always go home with you tonight," Alec says as he looks lovingly at his boyfriend.

"Oh... uh... um... ," Magnus stutters, confusing his boyfriend as to why he seems so nervous, "To-tonight's not a good night. Maybe another night?" Magnus seems to be acting strange all of a sudden. Alec's not sure what happened, and is a little scared to find out.

"Oh, okay then, I guess I'll see you in the morning," Alec says, then leans in to give Magnus a kiss. Magnus moves, causing Alec to miss his lips completely and kisses his chin.

"Magnus, is everything okay?" Alec couldn't help asking.

"Yeah. I'm just tired I guess." Alec doesn't believe him, but chooses to let it go tonight.

"Well go home and get some sleep," Alec says smiling, though a little awkwardly. "Please text me when you get there so I know you made it home safe," Magnus just nods and starts walking to his car. Alec watches him drive away. With a sigh he heads upstairs, his mind going through all of the events from today, trying to figure out what caused Magnus' mood to shift so abruptly.

~oOo~

The next morning, Alec wakes up to a text from Magnus saying that he needed to cancel their morning plans, and he would see him at work. Disappointed, Alec gets up and goes about his usual routine before heading into work. His workout isn't up to his usual standards, but he's been thrown off kilter because of Magnus' odd behavior.

At work, Alec is waiting for Magnus to arrive, but he doesn't until it's time to start their morning inspections. When they complete that, Magnus goes and talks to some of the other guys for a while. Taking the hint, Alec heads off to do his own thing. He ends up tidying up around the station, dusting the furniture in the common room, sweeping the floors, and picking up random magazines and books lying around, then sets them neatly on tables. After that, he talks to Jordan for a while. The friends haven't really spoken one on one in a few weeks, so it's nice being able to catch up with him. Finally, Alec sits down with a book that he's been trying to read for the last week.

Six hours into his shift and it's been a very slow day. They haven't received a single call from dispatch. Alec isn't making any headway with his book, as he's been glancing at Magnus all day. Something seems very wrong with his boyfriend and it's worrying him. To anyone else, it looks like Magnus is reading, but as he hasn't turned the page once, and Alec is certain he is making great progress with book, more than Magnus is.

Finally Alec can't stand it anymore. He walks over to his boyfriend, and gently touches his arm to get Magnus's attention.

"What's going on in that beautiful mind of yours?" Alec asks concerned.

To Alec's great surprise, Magnus's yells back, "Why are you still being so distant?"

Alec can't help but flinch a little before replying. "Magnus, what are you talking about? We we see each other every single day, I stay at your place every weekend. I even offered to stay last night, but you said it wasn't a good night, then cancelled on me this morning! How is that me being distant from you?" Alec managed to bite back the remark that for the last 24 hours it's been more like Magnus is being distant from him! He couldn't help the defensive responses Magnus' anger has created in him.

Magnus takes a deep breath, and looks around to see if the other guys noticed his outburst, which thankfully, they didn't. Then he speaks. "You said that we need to give each other our best selves, and you're still holding back! You were the one who said we needed to stop with the insecurities, and you were the one who said we shouldn't doubt each other, and yet, you are the only person in this relationship who won't let go of the past!"

"I... I don't understand," Alec says.

"Alec," Magnus says with an exasperated sigh. Then after a moments silence, as if he's choosing his next words carefully, Magnus continues. "Okay, yes, you've introduced me to your family, and yes we've spent one night letting them get to know me, but you never invite me to go out with you and your siblings. I know Jace has been to your family dinner's with the Morgensterns' numerous times, and I'm sure Izzy will be joining in with all of you once she's more settled in, but, you never invite me to go with you." Magnus pauses for a moment, then adds, "I invite you to go out with Ragnor and myself, and you never come. I also have been trying to get you to come over for my family dinners and you make excuses. I feel like you don't care enough about me to add me into the life that you have with your family. I also feel that you want no part of my family."

Before Alec can say anything to refute Magnus' claims, and before he can do more than stare in disbelief, dispatch comes across the radio.

"Dispatch to all medics. Report to a gang fight in the Greenwood Heights district. SWAT team is en route and will allow entrance once they give the All Clear. Proceed with caution. I repeat... dispatch to all medics. Report to a gang fight in the Greenwood Heights district. SWAT team is en route and will allow entrance once they give the All Clear. Proceed with caution."

Alec looks at Magnus, and gives him a look filled with the emotions they haven't the time to express before they head to the ambulance.

"Medic unit 14 to dispatch. We are on our way," Aline calls through the radio.

"Go ahead 14. Remember to use caution and wait for the all clear." Dispatch responds.

~oOo~

They arrive on scene within minutes of leaving the station. Aline knows all of the fastest routes within Brooklyn, and she uses that to her advantage. NYPD are parked about two city blocks away from the actual scene, and the group waits until they get the green light. Alec also notices about four more ambulances waiting to see what they need to do to help. The tension in the ambulance is palpable, and Alec is sure that even Aline knows that something's up with Alec and Magnus. Alec can see her eyeing them in the rearview mirror.

As they wait, Alec can't help but to go over the argument in his head. Was he still holding back? Still being distant? He didn't think he was, but Magnus wasn't lying. Alec wasn't ready to have family dinners, or go out with his friends. It's just that they spend so much time with each other, Alec assumed that Magnus would want some time apart. Alec has been avoiding going out with Ragnor again, because frankly, he's a scary motherfucker! Alec knows that he's caused unnecessary heartbreak for Magnus during their breakup, so he's been avoiding Ragnor so he wouldn't get the third degree. He knows that it's the cowardly way out, but he was at least hoping to gain some more time before being faced with Magnus' best friend. As for the whole family dinner thing, Alec and Magnus took three months to get to that point in their relationship the first time around, he thought it would take just as long to get back to that point. He wasn't doing these things intentionally, he just didn't want to rush. Now he feels like an ass! Alec glances in the rearview mirror and sees that Aline is still staring at him, she opens her mouth to say something, but gets cut off by a member of the SWAT team letting them know that they have the All Clear. Alec glances out the window and sees the other vehicles entering in the barricaded area.

The trio get out of the ambulance with the gourney, and are directed over to a gunshot victim by a police officer. A police officer Alec knew, and hoped very much never to see again. It has been a little over a year and a half since he's last seen Adam. He still looks the same; same sandy blond hair, and stormy gray eyes, but when Alec looks at him, he can't help but to compare how plain Adam looks compared to Magnus. Adam informs them that the victim is actually one of the gang leaders, and his injury is to his left thigh. Alec immediately assesses the damage, confirms that the bullet is still lodged into the leg, and starts applying a tourniquet to stunt the bleeding while he wraps the wound. Magnus helps Alec put the patient on the stretcher, then Adam cuffs him to the railing and reads the patient his Miranda Rights.

They load the stretcher in the back of the ambulance, but all the while, Alec is thinking about things with Magnus. Aline walks around to the driver's seat and Adam is given enough room to guard the patient. Last Alec climbs in and starts to close the doors.

Alec hears the loud bang before he resistors the cause. He knows that sound well. A gun has been fired. It isn't until he can feel the sharp pain in his upper abdomen that Alec puts two and two together. As if it is happening to someone else, Alec feels himself fall. He hits something hard and cold and then his world goes black.