Jace watched in horror as the demon tackled Alec, sending them both tumbling over the side of the ship.

"Alec!"

The blonde rushed to the side, slamming his hands on the railing, and watched as his Parabatai disappeared into the water, still tangled with the monster that dragged him into the depths.

He waited a few moments, watching as splashes came and water churned and then… nothing. Just waves against the side of the ship and empty black water.

Magnus appeared beside the shadow hunter, staring into the water with wide, panicked eyes. He was muttering the Lightwoods name and gasping as if he had forgotten how to breathe but Jace had other things to worry about.

"Get a rope. I think there's one back there."

Jace gestured vaguely behind him but Magnus didn't move.

"Magnus!"

The Warlock jumped at the Nephilim's raised voice and finally tore his eyes away from the water, which Alec had not yet come out of.

"That Demon had a claw in Alec's side when they went over and I'm not going to let my Parabatai drown. So, if you'd like to help to save him I'd suggest you get that rope and help me."

Magnus nodded, rushing to the rope as Jace removed his jacket and weapons. Once free of any excess weight, the boy tied the rope around his waist and tied the other end to a secure hold on the deck of the ship. He was moving as quickly as he could, feeling his Parabatai rune burn more painfully with each second and he knew Alec was running out of time.

Izzy, Clary and Simon ran towards them just as Jace got ready to jump over board.

"What are you doing? Where's Alec?"

Jace ignored his sisters question, not wanting to waste time, and turned to Magnus.

"I'll grab him and you pull us both up okay?"

He didn't even wait for a reply before jumping over the side of the ship and into the water. Magnus wiped his tear-stained cheeks as he heard the splash. Izzy was getting frantic.

"What is happening? Why is Jace jumping overboard? Where's Alec?"

The ship was so quiet now that the fighting had stopped, and Magnus could hear the tremors in her voice. She knew where her brother was, she just didn't want to believe it.

Magnus answered, his voice small and quaking.

"A demon dragged him over the side. He didn't come back up."

The three teenagers rushed to the railing, leaning over to watch the end of the rope sway in the water. It was too far down and too dark to see anything but the rope.

Izzy was staring desperately at the water, looking for any sign that her brothers were okay.

For too long the water lay quiet. No sound or sight of her brothers. Izzy's heart was pounding and her breath came in quick, panicked pants and she began begging every angel she knew to spare her brothers.

The four waited through long seconds of silence until finally splashes broke the surface of the water.

Izzy gasped as Magnus and Simon scrambled for the rope. Jace was wading in the water as best as he could while holding his unconscious Parabatai to his chest. Alec's head was tipped back on Jace's shoulder as the blonde's arms wrapped around his chest.

"I got him! Pull us up!"

They all jumped at the rope and started pulling, Simon using his vampire strength to get the soaking wet shadow hunters out of the water in record time. Jace fell against Izzy as she and Clary helped the boys make it over the railing, the blonde dragging Alec over the rails and lowering him onto the deck with careful hands.

Jace laid his Parabatai down and looked at Izzy with a grave expression.

"He's not breathing and he's been stabbed in the side but he managed to kill that demon."

Izzy knelt beside her brothers as Jace leant down and pressed his ear to Alec's chest. He shot up after a moment, getting to his knees and placing his hands over the Lightwoods chest.

"His hearts still going but it's slow. I don't know if the wounds got venom in it but our priority is to get him breathing again."

Izzy nodded, taking Jace's discarded jacket and pressing it firmly to Alec's side to stop the bleeding as it soaked his torso and stained the deck beneath them. Jace began compression's, pumping his hands down on Alec's chest and counting out the beats.

Magnus was watching the whole ordeal in a shock-like trance. Alec was laying there, still and pale, his eyes closed and his hands lax from where they lay at his sides. He wasn't even breathing. He was so still he looked dead.

Simon and Clary were sitting back, unsure of what to do. But Jace and Izzy were trained for situations like these and they were focused and determined. Izzy was assessing the injury on her brother's side, checking for venom or anything remaining in the gash, applying pressure and stopping the bleeding.

The young shadow hunter wanted nothing more than to dissolve into sobs at the sight of her big brother hurt and dying but she knew that falling apart would not save him. She needed to think clearly and to do that she had to think only of the step she needed to take next. Get him breathing, stop the bleeding, get him back to the institute.

If she thought about the situation logically, and didn't look at her brother's ashen face, or his strong hands that had protected her since she was little, now cold and limp, then she could focus. They would save him.

Jace continued compression's, counting to twenty before he started giving instructions again.

"Magnus, when I get to thirty I need you to tip Alec's head back and breathe for him, twice, okay? Do you understand me?"

The warlock dragged his gaze from Alec's still chest and nodded.

"Okay, twenty-nine, thirty. Do it now."

Magnus held the boy's wet face with shaking fingers and pressed his warm mouth to Alec's cold one. Doing as Jace instructed, he blew two breaths of air and then leaned back as they all paused, waiting to see if Alec would breathe on his own. But the boy's chest remained still and his open mouth was quiet.

Jace swore and began compressions again, growing more worried as the minutes wore on.

Izzy did her best to keep her voice steady as she asked, "How long since he went over?"

Jace didn't seem to like the question because he knew Izzy wouldn't like the answer.

"Three minutes."

"Dammit." Izzy knew what happened when a person's brain went without oxygen. They didn't have much time left before brain damage would develop and become permanent.

Jace pushed harder on Alec's chest, feeling his brother's ribs crack and separate under his hands. He winced but didn't let up. His Parabatai rune was burning fiercely now and he forced himself to keep his rhythm steady as he counted to thirty.

Finally, the beats were counted through and Magnus leaned forward to breathe for the archer once more. But again, nothing happened, the Nephilim's chest barely moving as the warlock forced air into his waterlogged lungs.

Jace growled in frustration at the lack of response and placed his hands back over Alec's chest. He couldn't stop his tears from falling now as he pushed harder on the boys already damaged chest and begged him to breathe.

"Come on Alec. Just breathe, please. Don't do this to us, man. Breathe!"

His hands slammed into the archer's chest and Alec finally jerked up, water erupting from his mouth as he coughed.

A collective gasp tore through the air as several pairs of hands helped to roll the Lightwood over, supporting his head and maneuvering him into a position on his side that would allow him to expel the water without choking on it.

Jace had an arm wrapped around the boy's chest as his other hand slammed his Parabatai on the back, helping him cough out the water as he muttered encouragements.

"There you go, buddy. You're okay, I got you. Just breathe."

The coughing took a good few minutes, the poor shadow hunters lungs so filled with water that the boy could hardly get a breath in between coughs. But once he was finished his raspy gasps were left instead and Jace had never heard anything so beautiful.

Alec's eyes were still closed but Jace wiped a hand over the boy's forehead anyway, combing the wet locks of hair back from his face.

"There you go, just keep breathing."

Izzy was holding back sobs of relief but her wet hands reminded her that they had not saved him yet.

"He's still bleeding and I don't know if there's any venom in it."

The air turned somber again but this time Magnus stepped forward, more composed and focused now that he had a familiar task to do."

"Let me see."

The warlock knelt beside his boyfriend, peering at the fast bleeding puncture in his side. Magnus sparked his magic to life in his palms and ran the flames over the wound, pouring magic into the gash to find any traces of demon venom in it. His tense muscles relaxed a little when he found none and he pressed Isabelle's hands back to Alec's side.

"There's no venom but it is very deep and he's already lost a lot of blood."

Jace nodded, his fingers pressed to his Parabatai's neck as his other arm held him on his side, cradling his head in the crook of his elbow.

"He's going into shock; can you heal him?"

Magnus shook his head.

"Being surrounded by this water makes my magic weak. If I healed him we would still be stuck on this boat and he would likely develop hypothermia. We'd be better to portal to a safer location where you can heal him with runes and medical treatment."

Jace sighed but nodded, leaning down to whisper to Alec as he rubbed his back with a soothing hand.

"You hear that Alec? We're gonna take care of you. We'll be home and you can rest in a nice warm, dry, bed. You'll feel better soon."

Clary watched Jace and Izzy fret over their brother. Hands holding and comforting him, talking to him in soft tones, even as he lay unconscious. Jace hadn't taken his hands or his eyes off Alec since they got him out of the water and Clary's heart swelled at how much love was in their eyes.

Magnus clicked his fingers and spun his hands around, creating a portal with more effort than usual because of the water surrounding them. Simon stepped forward to help Jace pick up Alec to take him through the portal. Simon took the brunt of the shadow hunters weight but allowed Jace to help, knowing he would not let go either way. Izzy was still fretting over the fast bleeding wound as they stepped through the portal into Magnus' loft.

"Lay him on the bed, there are towels in the cupboard. Clary go get some water and Simon fetch the blankets."

The Warlock was rushing around, grabbing things, while Jace was tearing Alec's shirt off to draw the runes he needed. Izzy still had her hands pressed to his side but there was too much blood.

"Magnus, we need to get the bleeding stopped."

Magnus was sifting through supplies of magical ingredients and items but took a second to snap his fingers and summon some bandages to Izzy's side. She quickly pressed them to her brother, wincing as he shifted in pain. He had been so unresponsive that she had worried he'd been without oxygen for too long but now he was grunting softly as he tried to move away from the pressure on his wound.

"Sorry, sorry. It's all right Alec."

Jace paused his rune drawing to place a hand on his parabatai's chest, talking to him quietly and taking a blanket from Simon to wrap it around Alec's shoulders.

"Stay still man, we haven't finished patching you up yet but we're at Magnus'. We're all safe. Izzy's here too."

Alec made a small noise and shifted his head around, pressing his forehead into Jace's palm as he swept his hair back.

Jace nodded as if Alec had spoken aloud and went back to drawing runes as he replied.

"Yeah, she's trying to stop the bleeding so you have to stay still. It's going to hurt but it'll be gone soon."

One of Alec's hands was searching for something among the blankets though he was weak and couldn't search far. Jace noticed the movement and took his hand, placing it on Izzy's arm.

"There she is." Alec seemed to calm down at that, squeezing her arm weakly. He was in pain and confused but he had just wanted to know where his family was, to make sure they were safe.

He tossed his head on the pillow, huffing as he tried to speak. Jace didn't have to look up to know what he wanted.

"Magnus, he's looking for you."

The Warlock came to the bed, stirring something in a small cup that seemed to be smoking, and sat beside his boyfriend as he leaned down to kiss his forehead.

"Hello my angel, I'm here."

Alec sighed contentedly, able to relax now that he had all his family accounted for.

Clary came in and placed a bowl of water next to Izzy, already grabbing a cloth to help clean the wound before Magnus healed it.

"All right darling, this may feel warm and slightly tingly but it'll be over soon."

Izzy pulled the bandages away to allow Magnus to pour the smoking potion into the wound. Alec started to shift uncomfortably, grunting at the pain of his skin growing and stretching back together. Three pairs of hands came down to comfort him and soon it was over, leaving nothing but a smoky smell in the room.

There was a collective sigh as Alec's wound healed and Izzy slumped, dropping the bandages, and taking her brothers hand in hers instead.

He was still cold and would need a while to replace the blood he had lost but for now, he was safe.