Hey guys! So this is it, the final chapter of Conditional Love. I hope you all enjoy it. I had a very hard time writing this chapter. My brain decided that it wanted to short circuit because my mind knew this was the end. I have to give a lot of credit to my beta, Writesalott for helping me get this chapter started. I honestly think that if it weren't for her, I never would have finished it. See the end notes for news on my next story! As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter. Have a good weekend all!

Chapter 30

The sun is high in the light blue sky as Alec paces across his living room. Today is the first day he's been granted hours alone with his godson, and he can't help but be nervous. Holly had given birth to a beautiful baby boy five and a half months ago, and to Alec's wonder, they'd named the baby after him, at least for the middle name: Ethan Alexander Morgenstern. Sometimes Alec still can't believe it. Then again, what has him more perplexed is the great change in his parents since the the opening of Amedeous' restaurant six months ago.

Alec has a very tentative relationship with Maryse. They basically have dinner twice a month, and… she's coordial enough, though she still sometimes throws in snide comments about his sexuality. He's not even sure if she realizes that she's doing it. Magnus doesn't like her and only goes with Alec for moral support. Alec doesn't let her homophobic slurs bother him anymore; he knows that she's never going to change.

Alec's thoughts are interrupted by the doorbell. Rushing to get it, Alec sees Jon standing there, carrying a seat with a sleeping infant in it.

"Now, he's just been fed, but I've packed some formula for him," Jon says. "And don't forget you can call either of us if you need anything."

"Got it," Alec smiles. "Anything else."

"Yeah, just make sure the kid's still alive when I get back," Jon laughs. Alec has to resist the urge to hit him. He is after all carrying a baby.

As the door closes, Alec is faced with four hours alone with Ethan. And of course today is also the day he agreed to cook dinner, so it's four hours alone with Ethan, plus food prep to do. With Ethan currently asleep, Alec decides it's best to start that now, rather than wait and run out of time after he wakes up.

Alec starts chopping and mixing the herbs he needs for his lemon garlic sauce for the chicken dish he's making tonight. As Alec is working, he thinks about how his relationship has been with his dad so far.

Robert has dinner with them at the Morgensterns' every Sunday, and also joins them for dinners with the Bane's about every other week since their dinner dates are inconsistent due to Alec, Magnus and Asmodeus' work schedules. He calls or texts Alec quite often, almost daily, and is always interested in even the smallest detail of what's going on in Alec's life. Robert really has stepped up to the plate these last six months. Due to Maryse's confession at the launch party, Robert ended up serving Maryse with divorce papers a week later. She bought Robert out of his half of their law practice. Robert went on to Blackthorne-Penhallow and Associates and became a partner with them, taking all of his previous clients with him. He seems to be extremely happy at their practice, and Asmodeus is still his client. Robert now lives in a loft in Brooklyn, which he said was to be closer to his kids and work, leaving Maryse the house in Manhattan.

As Alec is finishing up the prep work, his phone rings. Quickly answering it without checking the caller ID, Alec makes sure the baby doesn't wake up from the noise. There would have been a time when answering this number without checking first would have made for a very stressful afternoon, but as it is, Alec welcomes the voice on the other line.

"Hey dad," he whispers.

"Is everything okay? Why are you whispering?" Robert asks.

"I'm babysitting Ethan today. He's napping and I don't want to wake him up." Alec softly chuckles, "What's up?"

"I wanted to ask you a question." Robert says nervously.

"Ask away." Alec tries to keep his voice neutral, not giving away that his dad's tone is making him anxious.

"Okay," Robert lets out a breath, "You know how I allowed Isabelle to set me up with a facebook account?"

"Mhm." Alec is intrigued as to where this conversation is going.

"Well, my old high school sweetheart has sent me one of those private message things. She and I have been talking for a few months now, and she wants to go on a date." Robert says. Alec is silently laughing about how his dad rambles when he gets nervous.

Quickly composing himself, "That's great dad! When's the date?"

"That's the thing, she is only free Sunday night. Then she needs to go out of town for a week so we can't really make any more plans until after she gets back." Ah, so Robert is nervous because Sunday's supposed to be their weekly dinner date.

"Don't worry about it dad. Go out and have a good time. We can have dinner Monday night." Alec says, his smile still stretching his face he cheerfully adds, "That way you can tell me all about how your date went."

He hears his father laughing on the other end of the phone, but before Robert gets the chance to respond, Alec has to cut in, "Crap! Sorry dad, gotta go," Alec yells into the phone over Ethan's sudden wails. "Baby's crying."

Alec says a quick goodbye to his dad, promising to call him back the next day, then hangs up and bends down to pick the crying infant out of his carrier. As Alec cradles Ethan in his arms, Ethan buries his head in the crook of Alec's neck, and his little fists grab tightly onto Alec's shirt. Alec can't help but to melt into a pile of goo at the action. Ethan has Alec wrapped around his little finger. Alec feeds, then burps his godson before changing his diaper. Alec can't help but wonder if he'll ever have something like this one day. He's always loved kids, and has pictured himself as a father, but he isn't sure if that's something that Magnus wants.

Speaking of his boyfriend, Magnus arrives home just as Alec sits down with Ethan on the floor in the living room.

"Hey, sweetheart." Magnus says, giving Alec a chaste kiss, he then turns and sits down, picking up Ethan in the process. "And hello, sweet pea." Magnus coos at the baby.

"How was your day with your mom?" Alec asks as he grabs the baby's teddy bear and hands it to Ethan. Instead of grabbing the stuffed animal, Ethan grabs Alec's hair, pulls on it, and lets out delighted giggles.

"Ow," Alec complains. Magnus chuckles at Ethan's antics, but quickly takes pity on Alec and helps remove the baby's hands. Ethan then grabs one of Magnus' necklaces and tries to put it in his mouth. Alec is quick to remove the necklaces altogether and puts them in their bedroom.

Alec returns to the living room to see Magnus playing peek-a-boo with his godson. Ethan is giggling and gurgling in his baby talk, while Magnus' smile is bright, and his expression is full of love. Alec quickly pulls out his phone and takes a photo of the scene before him. Then he glances at the time on his phone, and realizes that Jon will be back any minute to pick up the baby.

Alec starts putting Ethan's toys back in his diaper bag. He then runs to the kitchen to wash the bottle from earlier, and puts that in the bag as well. Plucking the kid out of Magnus' hands, Alec is determined to get his cuddle time in before Jon shows up.

"Hey! I was holding him! You've had him for hours before I got here." Magnus whines.

"I'm aware, but this kid is too lovable not to snuggle with. Plus, he loves me so…" Alec just lets the conversation die there, watching the scowl Magnus gives him.

This was in reference to a dinner over a month ago at the Morgensterns. One month ago, Ethan started getting fussy and no one could get him to calm down. Even his own mother fell short on that particular occasion. It wasn't until Alec held him that Ethan finally settled down. What had really made the joke though was that Ethan wailed even more when he was in Magnus' arms. That's when the teasing began with everyone saying that Ethan likes Alec more than he likes Magnus.

"Well, if I can't hold my nephew, I guess I'll settle for holding my wonderful boyfriend." Magnus added before pulling Alec and Ethan down on the couch and into his lap, wrapping his arms around them both. Ethan giggles at Magnus' action, and Alec internally rejoices at Magnus calling Ethan his nephew.

The moment only lasts for about five minutes when the doorbell rings. Alec slides out of Magnus' lap and puts Ethan back in his carrier as Magnus goes to let Jon in.

Jon walks in behind Magnus, spots his son and picks him up.

"How was he?" Jon asks while inspecting his son. Alec can't help but roll his eyes.

"He was perfect. We had a great day together." Alec says. Jon makes a noncommittal noise, still inspecting the baby.

"You do realize that I used to babysit my little brother everyday, right? I know it's been a long time, but watching children hasn't exactly changed." Alec says with amusement.

Jon looks up at Alec with a sheepish look on his face, and a slight blush forming, "Right, sorry."

"No worries, man. I get it. If I was a new dad, I'm sure I'd be the same way." Alec gives Jon a bro hug, then leads him to the door.

"See you guys on Sunday. I need to get back to Holly." Jon gives them each one last hug, then leaves.

Magnus and Alec head into the kitchen to finish making dinner. Because of Alec's prep work from earlier, all they need to do is preheat the oven and get started. Magnus grabs a pot to start cooking the rice, while Alec gets the baby spinach out of the refrigerator to start chopping. He didn't want to do it too soon and have the spinach start browning and wilting at the edges. Once he finishes his task, Alec gets the chicken out, and starts placing that, the lemon sauce, and the spinach in the pan and puts it in the oven just as the doorbell rings. Leaving Magnus to his task, Alec answers the door for his sister and brother-in-law.

It's been about two months since Alec has been able to call Simon his brother-in-law. The wedding had been beautiful, held outside in the backyard of their childhood home. The colors she chose, according to Magnus, were canary cream and iris, or in Alec's words light yellow and light purple. The flowers were a mix of yellow and white roses, with light purple ribbons wrapped around the stems. Considering the Lightwood's aren't religious, Izzy didn't mind adding Simon's customs. The ceremony itself consisted of traditional Jewish customs such as having Simon breaking the glass at the end of the ceremony, as well as nontraditional customs. Rather than Simon and Izzy lighting a unity candle, they gave everyone a stone to hold during the ceremony. Then they all placed the stone in a decorative bowl at the end.

Just as Alec got the two newlyweds situated, Magnus called for him in the kitchen. Alec walks into the kitchen to see his boyfriend stirring the rice with one hand, with a bottle of wine tucked between his arm and his chest. The wine bottle had a corkscrew barely sticking out of it and Alec was laughing as he grabs the bottle of wine, uncorking it for his boyfriend and placing it back on the counter to breathe before serving. Alec then takes out the glasses and proceeds to set the table for dinner. Izzy helps Alec set the table, while Simon helps Magnus plate the food.

"I babysat Ethan today," Alec said proud of himself.

"Good for you," his sister teased him. "You've accomplished what every 13 year old girl in the world has."

"Oh shush," Alec scoffed.

"And speaking of babies," Magnus says as he enters the dining room. "Did you hear about Aline and Helen?"

"No what?" Simon asks, following closely behind.

"They've finally got a confirmed successful pregnancy," Magnus giggles at Izzy and Simon's confused looks. "In Vitro fertilization."

"I'm so happy for them," Izzy smiles. "All this talk about babies is giving me baby fever!"

With wide eyes, Simon chokes on his wine, "What?"

"Oh, relax Simon. We're not ready for that yet. It just makes me wish that we were." Izzy says with a flick of her wrist. Alec and Magnus chuckle at Simon's reaction.

"Has anyone heard from Jace and Clary? They're usually never late." Simon asks.

"I'm not sure, but dinner's ready, should we wait for them or should we just go ahead and start?" Magnus questions.

"I say we start. I'll text them to find out how long they'll be. Maybe Clary got held up at the hospital or something." Izzy grabs her phone and starts texting.

Just as Isabelle sets her phone down, the doorbell rings. Magnus excuses himself and gets up to greet the late comers.

"We have an announcement to make," Jace proclaims as he and Clary enter the dining room.

"Clary's pregnant!" Izzy exclaims.

"No!" Clary and Jace shoot back simultaneously.

"We're buying a house together," Jace says instead.

"That's amazing," Alec beams at him.

"Yeah, that's why we were late getting here. Our Realtor had a last minute showing for us. The house is gorgeous! It's a brownstone, built in the early nineteenth century. It has three stories - which I don't even know what we're going to do with all of that room - and the architecture is just absolutely beautiful! Everything in there is original, or as close to original as possible! Jace and I put an offer on it right away, we're just waiting to see if the owners accept!" Clary exclaims excitedly.

"Oh my god! Clary, you have to let me go furniture shopping with you! I could help you design the interior of the house!" Izzy's jumping up and down in her seat, Magnus looking only slightly more composed, nodding along with Izzy.

Alec, Simon and Jace just laugh at their enthusiasm.

"That's a big step guys," Alec congratulates them. "But I gotta ask, how did you figure out you were ready for that?"

"I think we were both thinking the same thing," Jace explained. "Though come to think of it I don't actually remember how we figured that out."

"Kinda like us," Alec offered, with a chuckle. "Magnus and I both wanted to live together, but kept putting off asking, worried what the other would say."

"I remember how it went," Magnus pitched in, smiling softly at the memory. "I was planning on asking Alexander at the restaurant opening, but with all of the parent drama, I decided to wait. I kept putting it off and putting it off, that by the time Alec had to start packing his things up to move back in with you guys." Magnus flourishes his fork towards Jace and Clary, "I just blurted it out!"

"That sounds about right," Alec pitches in with a laugh. "It was more of a 'I don't want you to go. Stay here with me forever' kind of thing. It almost sounded like he had Tourettes!"

Everyone laughs at Alec's story. He's usually the calm one out of the group, so Alec being so animated has everyone in hysterics. Alec's very proud of himself for getting that reaction from his family.

"Anyway!" Magnus playfully glares at Alec once everyone's laughter dies down, "After his initial shock wore off, he sputtered out his answer. Then for the rest of the night, I helped him put all of his clothes back."

The rest of the evening is filled with talking. The group talks about anything and everything pertaining to Jace and Clary's new potential home. The girls and Magnus are 'oohing' and 'ahhing' over the pictures Clary is showing them of the brownstone, and making plans to go shopping for new furniture.

Simon, Jace and Alec are talking about making the basement into a man cave where they can all hang out without disrupting 'girls night' because that's a thing that Izzy, Clary, Helen and Aline do now. Jace is even planning on turning one of the spare bedrooms into a room for Ethan to have when he stays with his aunt and uncle overnight.

The evening grows late, and everyone decides that it's time for them to go home. Izzy as always, gives Alec a tight hug. He returns the hug and kisses the top of her head, then does the same for Clary. Alec hugs Jace and Simon in turn before everyone files out, one at a time.

As they close the door on their last guest, he and Magnus head to the kitchen to start cleaning up. Alec can't help but think about the long road that had lead him here. After coming out, Clary was the one person who helped him escape his dark space. She became his family, and in turn, the Morgensterns' and Jon came into his life as well. They welcomed Alec in their lives with open arms. He's also met amazing people through his job. Sebastian and Jordan are still some of his closest friends. They never once judged him based off his sexuality. Then there's Aline and Helen. Those two women became just as important to Alec as Izzy and Clary are. Alec also can't forget about his father. After finding out that Robert still loves him, and wants them to reconcile, Alec hasn't been happier. Then of course there's Magnus coming into his life, and turning it upside down even more. Just when Alec thought that he would be alone forever, this beautiful man wormed his way into his heart, and Alec will never let go of that love. All these years of thinking that he was alone was a lie. Alec has more family, and more love than many others find in a lifetime. Once upon a time, Alec thought that love always came with conditions, but now he knows that isn't true at all. The people who truly care about you, will love you for who you are, no matter what. Every single person in Alec's life loves him the same way he loves them, unconditionally. From the moment Magnus first told Alec he loved him, to every small gesture and kind word since, Magnus had been an open book, showing affection without hesitation in front of their coworkers and friends. With every small touch against the small of Alec's back, or gentle caress up and down Alec's arms, he felt Magnus's love. Sometimes in the way they they move around each other, it felt as though they were one person instead of two. Just Magnus's presence could turn even the most mundane tasks into a delicate dance of affection they've perfected over the last year. Alec knew he was loved in the way his boyfriend looked at him. There's always a softness in his eyes that Magnus saved just for him. It was a look that Alec wanted to see for the rest of his life.

And suddenly it hits him. Alec wants to spend the rest of his life with Magnus, so what's he waiting for? There won't be a perfect moment, because that isn't what life is about. Life is about all the ordinary moments that make each and every day perfect. Alec doesn't want to repeat his mistakes. He doesn't want to be thinking about this for ages, while never speaking it aloud. If this is what he wants, the only way to know if Magnus wants it too, is to ask.

Alec places the last dish in the dishwasher as Magnus is wiping down the countertop. Alec grabs the sponge from Magnus and sets it aside. Grabbing both of Magnus' hands, Alec turns Magnus to where they're facing each other. Then Alec gets down on one knee.

"Alexander, what…" But Magnus stops short, his eyes as big as saucers.

Alec maintains eye contact and takes a deep breath, thinking there's no time like the present before he speaks. "Marry me?"

The look on Magnus face makes Alec think that it may be too soon for this, but he stands firm, maintaining eye contact and letting Magnus know how serious he is about his question. Then after what feels like an eternity, Alec notices tears glistening in Magnus' eyes and a soft smile forming his lips.

"Yes!" Magnus exclaims, launching himself at Alec and connects their lips, knocking them both over in the process.

Breaking from the kiss after either seconds or hours, Alec isn't sure, Alec looks at Magnus smiling, tears spilling over from the pure joy of his answer, "God! I am so irrevocably in love with you, Magnus. You have just made me the happiest man alive."

"Alexander, you and you alone, will forever be my happiness. I can't wait to become, Mister Magnus Lightwood-Bane and spend the rest of my life with you."

The End.

~oOo~

New Sory, The Chef and His CEO. Release date: Friday, May 4th

Alec is a shy, quiet kind of guy who lands a job as the personal chef for the CEO of one of the most popular record companies in all of New York. This CEO seems like he's on top of the world in the eyes of the media, but deep down, he's a scarred man, with many skeletons in his closet who only wants to find someone to love, and be loved in return.