Author's Note: Wow…this came out of nowhere. Well, sort of nowhere. I blame the amazingly depressing song by Mayday Parade titled "Terrible Things," which is where I got the name/inspiration from. I love Mayday Parade.

Warning: There WILL BE character death. Depressing, I know.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments or "Terrible Things" by Mayday Parade. I only wish I could be so epic.

"Now, Son, I'm only telling you this because,

Life can do terrible things."

-Mayday Parade.

Magnus Bane sat in his living room chair and sighed as he felt the soft material of his recliner underneath him. He chuckled silently as his daughter, Tabithia, played with Chairman quietly on the floor, oblivious as only a five-year-old could be to the underlying sadness in the room.

His son, Max, was thirteen; and not so oblivious. He knew what had happened. He understood the concept of death. He understood that his father would never be coming back.

Magnus squeezed his eyes shut to stop the tears. He had to be the strong one. Max hadn't been taking it well. Magnus knew the boy had tried acting tough; Max had never liked showing weakness, just like his fathers.

But Magnus knew just how much he hurt. He heard him cry at night. He saw the red-rimmed eyes and the dark circles that lined them. He knew how much it hurt.

He blinked as his son suddenly appeared in front of him. His eyes were an angry red and his hair jet-black was disheveled. Magnus's heart broke when he spoke. "D-Dad? How did you meet dad?" He swallowed and looked down. "I want to know. Y—you'll tell me right? Or would it be too…hard because um…" He trailed off rubbing his neck nervously, purposely avoiding that word.

Magnus laid a hand on the boy's shoulder and cleared his throat. "You know the story don't you?"

Max shook his head and his curls bounced. "No—well, yeah…but I want to every detail because he's…" He stopped, refusing to use the word yet again.

Magnus stood and pulled is son close to him, crushing him in his embrace. "I know, Max, I know. It's hard. It's going to be for…a long time." A pause. "Are you sure you want to know?"

The boy nodded vigorously.

His father sighed and walked over to his daughter. "Hey, Tabs. Are you sleepy?"

The girl shook her head, pigtails bobbing. "I don't want to go to—" She yawned mid-sentence and Magnus smiled softly as he picked her up.

"I'll tell you what…if you go to sleep right now, without a fight, I'll take you to the zoo tomorrow. Your brother and I need to talk."

"Really?" The girl's face lit up immediately. Magnus wished he could be so carefree. "What're you going to talk about?" She frowned. "Are you going to talk about Daddy Alec?"

He paused, unsure of how to answer. "Yes. Now come on, off to bed."

As Magnus carried her down the hallway to her room he heard Max muffle a cry and he bit his lip in an attempt to remain under control. Tabithia frowned as she looked at her father's face. Even at her young age, she knew how hard the past month had been on the man.

His face was pale. His eyes constantly blood-shot. There were bags under his green cat eyes. It seemed like he hadn't slept in days.

"Daddy Magnus," she said. "Are you okay?"

Magnus looked down at his daughter and nodded as he walked into her room. He couldn't do this now; he was supposed to be the rock, the stability his children needed. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me, alright? Everything will be fine."

The girl said nothing as her father tucked her in. Once he was finished, he kissed the top of her head and walked toward the door.

"Daddy?"

He turned, smiling quietly. "Hmmm?"

The girl looked at her lap. "Do…do you miss Daddy Alec?"

There was a long pause.

"Yes, I do. Very much so." He cleared his throat. "Go to bed Tabithia. I love you."

As Magnus Bane walked into his living room, he found his son clutching an old photograph. "Hey now…"

He sat next to his son, carefully taking the photograph from him. The boy laid his hands in his lap, mutely as his father sighed. The man ran a hand through his hair, which was completely void of glitter, spikes, and colors. "What do you want to know?"

The boy sat for a long while, tears running down his face, saying nothing. He wrung his hands together, a nervous habit he'd picked up on from Alec.
"Everything." He paused and took in a shaky breath. "I want to know everything. I can't forget…I'm so scared that I'll forget him." He let out a breath. "I just miss him so much…"

Magnus set a comforting arm around the boy's shoulders and his son leaned in to bury his face in the man's shirt. "I know, Max. He was so…It's so…" For the first time in his life, Magnus Bane was at a loss for words. He sighed.

"I met your father fifteen years ago…"

Author's Note: So…that was depressing. I have no idea when this will be updated or even if it will be continued. I can only assume I will because I won't be able to stop writing it, but I have no idea. That's it I guess…

Peace, Love, Mark and Iggy.

Kierstin.