Buddy awoke to a loud insistent ringing of the phone on his bed-side table. He untangled himself from Elfred's arms and reached over to grab it off its holder.
"Hello?" He said, trying to sound awake.
"Hi, is this Elfred?" The voice sounded like it belonged to a young girl; he didn't recognize it.
"No, this is Buddy. May I ask who this is?" He asked, shrugging to answer Elfred's questioning look now that his husband was awake and sitting up.
"My name is Isabelle. I'm Alec Lightwood's sister. I was just wondering if Alec and Magnus are over there." She asked. Buddy noted that she sounded kind of worried. He was immediately concerned.
"No, I haven't talked to them since yesterday. Why?" He turned to his husband and mouthed 'go check on Christie'. When Elfred had left, he put the phone back up to his ear.
"-And I went over to his flat and he wasn't there. I've tried their cells a billion times and they haven't been answering. I'm worried sick because they told our parents yesterday and though they took it okay our aunt didn't and I thought that maybe they left because their situation was causing family problems-"
"Slow down Isabelle. I'm sure they just went for a walk of something and turned their cells off. I know that they wouldn't have left or they would have at least told us since they'll need help with the rest of the pregnancy and with the baby. How about I send Magnus a fire message and we can go over to his flat and wait for them if you want. Okay?" Buddy got up and pulled on some clothes, balancing the phone in between his ear and his shoulder.
"Oh, okay. Could you be at his flat in ten?" He rolled his eyes. Didn't the Nephilim own any watches? It was seven o'clock!
"Fine, I'll be there in ten. Is it alright if I bring Elfred and Christie?" He sat down on the bed and put on his socks, accidently dropping the phone after he finished talking.
He picked it up again to hear the end of what she was saying. "Thanks for everything, bye."
"Goodbye." He said and hung up. He put the phone back on the holder and went into the dining room/kitchen to see Elfred sitting at the table stirring his coffee.
"Who was that?" Elfred asked, looking up curiously.
"It was Isabelle Lightwood. She says that no one can find Magnus or Alec." Buddy sat down beside his lover and snapped up his own cup of coffee.
"And you aren't concerned about this?" Elfred asked, turning Buddy around to face him.
"It's Magnus we're talking about here. I know that he can take care of himself." Buddy took a sip of the dark, caffeinated liquid and sighed. "The Lightwood girl wants us to go over to Magnus's flat and sent him a fire message." Buddy then sat in silence, looking up when he felt a change in Elfred's mood. He and the fae had been together for a long while, and ever since they had met Buddy had always had an emotional connection with Elfred. "What is it, love?" He asked, putting a reassuring hand on the scarlet-haired man's shoulder.
"Who did Magnus and Alec tell of Magnus's pregnancy?" Elfred asked, avoiding his husband's gaze.
"Alec's family." Buddy replied.
"I meant list me the people that they told." Elfred corrected.
"They told Alec's sister Isabelle, his brother Jace, his brother's girlfriend Clary, his parents, and his aunt." Buddy listed.
Elfred sat for a moment, deep in thought, until he turned to look at Buddy in the eyes. Buddy almost gasped at the raw emotions that his eyes displayed, it was like Elfred was re-living a painful memory. "Can we arrange to meet with these people if Magnus and Alec don't show up today?" He asked.
"Of course, love, if you want to." Elfred nodded and stood, going to the kitchen to put his dishes in the sink. "Not so fast, babe." Buddy said as he wrapped his arms around Elfred's shoulders from behind. "Tell me what is wrong." Buddy insisted.
"It's nothing, love, I'm just being a little worried. I guess we'll see how the day progresses to find out if my fears have any truth to them." Buddy unwrapped his arms from around his husband and turned him around to face him.
"I'm sure that Magnus and Alec are just fine. But in the meantime, we better get going if we don't want the Nephilim thinking that we too have disappeared." They both sighed as they heard Christie crying down the hall. Buddy passed his empty coffee mug to Elfred and headed down the hallway to the nursery. He went in and picked up the crying baby from her crib gently, and tried to comfort her. He grabbed a soother from the counter in the nursery before heading back to the kitchen with Christie in his arms.
It took them another ten minutes before they actually arrived at Magnus's flat in Brooklyn, with Christie fed and changed. They arrived out on the doorstep and were met by Isabelle, Maryse, Robert, and Jace.
"She's so cute!" Isabelle cooed, smiling at the now-sleeping baby in Buddy's arms. Buddy just smiled and nodded, having heard that said many times. Mostly by Magnus almost every time he saw her.
"Magnus said that he had a friend who had been in the same situation as he and Alec. I suppose you are him then?" Buddy looked up to see a lady who he assumed was Maryse Lightwood standing there glancing between him and Christie.
"Yes, that is I." Buddy said.
"And this is your daughter?" She asked, gesturing to Christie.
"Our daughter, yes." He said, stepping a little closer to Elfred.
"Well, it's nice to meet you both." She said, and a slightly awkward silence fell. "So, do you have any idea where Alec and Magnus might be?" Maryse asked.
"Not really." Buddy answered, looking to Elfred to see if he would voice his belief.
"Actually, I was wondering something." Elfred said.
"Yes?" Maryse encouraged.
"Is there anyone that Magnus and Alexander told that may have not approved of their situation?" Buddy bit his lip, looking guilty for not telling his husband of Alec's aunt.
"Yes, my sister-in-law didn't take it too well." Maryse admitted.
"And do you know where she is?" Elfred asked, silently praying that everything wasn't unfolding like he thought it was.
"No, she left after she found out about their situation." She said, "You don't think that she has something to do with their disappearance?"
"Yes, I think I do. What is her name?" Elfred asked.
"Sheryl Lightwood." Maryse supplied.
Elfred frowned slightly. Sheryl Lightwood, kind of rings a bell...Damn.
"Buddy. We need to talk." Elfred insisted, and dragged Buddy out of earshot from the Nephilim. "She has had dealing with the fae before."
"Are you sure? What were they for?" Buddy asked.
"She helped arrange a kidnapping of some warlock once." Elfred said, and Buddy knew by the fear in his lover's eyes that they were both thinking the same thing: The fae had their friends.
Sheryl Lightwood smiled. She had given up all the information that she knew about that disgusting demon being pregnant, and the Seelie Queen, being power-hungry and always looking for a way to get a leg up on the other Downworld races, had agreed to deal with the problem. She had come up with the perfect plan, and now everything would go back to the way it was.
Sheryl had come to New York to visit and discuss how things went with the war against Valentine, in which she wasn't present because of business out of the country. She had not expected to find that New York had fallen into some horrible pit of equality, where everyone thought it was okay to have the Downworlders mixing with the Nephilim.
Her own nephew was one of the worst! He had allowed himself to be tricked into a relationship with some disgusting warlock and another man at that. And the warlock had to go and pretend to be pregnant! Of course, if the warlock was pregnant then it would cause a lot of drama between the warlocks, Nephilims, and faes. But if he was just lying, then he would be dead and Alec would be free from whatever enchantment he had on him. Like she said, her plan was perfect.
Sheryl left New York that night with a smile on her face.
To be continued...