The Omega

Chapter 19 - Gideon's Legacy - Part 3

"Are you ready to try for sleep again, sweetie?" Cat asked softly, snapping him out of his thoughts, back into the here and now. He hadn't heard her come in.

"I guess so." He said softly.

"I think this will work, Alec. I've been talking with your father. He said that when you were younger, the doctors would have to alternate the medications they were giving you at the Institute because they were wearing off too quickly. Knowing that, and how you developed an immunity to Magnus' heat suppressant, we think that your body develops a resistance to things quickly. So we're going to try something different. This is one you haven't had before. It should work."

"Okay."

"Come lie down, sweetie. This may hit you pretty hard." She said, turning down his uncle's old bed in his grandmother's cottage. He hadn't left this room since he had first stepped foot in it.

He did as she asked without question, moving slower than he normally would because he was weaker. When he swayed, she grabbed him, steadying him. He felt strong hands at his back, holding him up.

"I've got you, son. Take your time." Robert said gently.

With his father and Cat's help he made it back to the small bed. He was getting stronger, but still wore out quickly. It no longer felt strange when his father tucked him in, or when he heard his gentle tones. It brought back memories that he had long since forgotten of when he was little. When his father had still been 'daddy'. Back before his father had started his training. His father had given him the envelopes Magnus had asked him to deliver, but he hadn't opened them yet. He just didn't want to.

He wasn't sure how long it would take to forget the feel of Magnus' arms around him, the comfort and sense of safety they had always brought him, or if he ever would. All that he was sure of was that he ached for them now and had been aching for them since the moment he had opened his eyes that first day. A part of his mind wondered if the reason he couldn't sleep now was because he missed those arms around him so much. He missed the man he loved with his entire heart and soul, everything about him, and knew that would never change. He could only pray that it would get easier.

"Are you ready, sweetie?" Cat asked, connecting a filled syringe to his IV.

"Almost. Is he still outside?"

Robert hesitated before answering, he didn't want to agitate his son.

"Yes, Alexander. He is."

"Will you do something for me? Tell him to go home."

"Of course. We'll tell him. You should rest now. It's late."

"Okay."

Alec closed his eyes. He didn't want to fight it. He didn't want to keep his eyes open a second longer than he had to. For those few hours when he did get sleep, there was peace. He didn't see his father give Cat the nod to go ahead and push her mundane drugs into him. But he did feel his father holding his hand as the warmth washed through him, wiping away all of his thoughts and pushing him into the black.

*****

Magnus sat in the grass twenty feet away from Izabella's small blue cottage. It was late. He hoped his Alexander was sleeping. He knew that his young warrior hadn't been doing well. He wanted nothing more than to go to him, to tend to him, to hold him in his arms and comfort him, like he should have that last day. But he hadn't. He had abused his magic to push his Shadowhunter past the exhaustion of their lovemaking into sleep. He had wanted to keep his Alexander safe, something he now realized, wasn't necessary. It had never been necessary.