Groaning, she awakened to a screaming alarm clock, her eyes burning from last night's make up. Clary's palm smashed against the button of her old fashioned alarm and swung her feet over the bed. The wooden floor was like ice against her tender feet. Her leather jacket was wrinkled from the downpour. Looking out the window, the New York sky was it's typical gray. Perfect weather for criminals, she thought as she shrugged the sticky jacket off.

The bathroom mirror showed what Clary had expected: smeared makeup and saliva crusted at the corner of her mouth. Her muscles ached from the adrenaline rush she'd received from last night. Seeing Simon tackle an armed robber wasn't something she wanted to get used to.

"Stupid." She thought towards Simon as she started her shower, the hot water steaming up the small apartment bathroom and turning it into a sauna. Her back muscles unclenched under the slight pressure of water that trickled down her skin. Grabbing the shampoo, Clary massaged the syrupy liquid into her hair until there were more suds than fiery curls.

Shaving was of slight annoyance to her as she nicked below her knee, drawing a fair amount of blood. Seeing the blood run down her leg caused a surge of memories to pound throughout her head. As much as she tried to forget her past, there was no way she could hide her grief as the water diluted the scarlet ribbons down her leg.

Taking a few deep breaths, Clary finished her shower; grabbing a towel to dry off while she wandered around for some clothes. Walking around her living room, she gave a satisfied smile when she found her TV remote. The buttons were worn severely by the fingertips of her hands.

The TV clicked on, and splayed across the screen was her partner, Simon. The idiot, Clary reminded herself. Next to him was the waitress and the woman interviewing the two of them in front of Taki's Diner.

"Ms. Whitewillow, I'm sure it was pretty terrifying to have a man point at you, was it not?" The reporter, a lavishly dressed blonde herself asked the younger woman. New York mist was frosting the tips of their hairs as they discussed what had occurred at the diner.

"Why, yes Helen, it was. I guess I was just lucky that I had my knight in shining armor to save me!" The waitress gushed. Simon paled at her words, and Clary guessed that he was hoping the beauty wasn't watching him.

"You've got quite the protection!" Helen Blackthorn nodded at Simon whose blush was stunning against his ghastly colored skin. Clary giggled before padding off to her room to change. Dropping the towel, Clary admired her toned physique in the long mirror that was situated in a corner. Her hands traced her way up to her flat stomach, and she furrowed her brows in frustration.

"Stop it," she scolded before sliding panties over her long legs, settling them around her tender skin before stretching her legs through a pair of jeans that she had grown too attached to. Her thanks were silent as she noticed there wasn't a coffee stain on her plain cotton bra. The shirt she chose was nothing special, just a floral top that had a frilly neckline. Clary's eyes lingered on her shoulder, gazing at the faint bullet wound. She slid her arms through her brown leather jacket, allowing it to settle before marching over to matching knee-high boots.

Her phone's cries alerted her that someone was calling. Looking down at it, she saw that her mother was calling. Clary answered, nervous that her mother had seen the morning new.

"Clary! Honey! Please tell me that you're okay!" Jocelyn shouted over the line. Clary pulled back the phone from her ear to prevent hearing damage from her mother's shrieking.

"Mom, I'm fine!" Clary interrupted. She heard her mother sigh heavily over the line in relief that her daughter was not injured; though Clary was positive she it would have been announced on the news had she been.

"You don't know how worried I was. With you already vulnerable, I thought something bad would have happened Honey." Clary bit her tongue at her mother's recollection. She didn't want to think about her mandatory visits to the department's shrink.

"I'm sorry I worried you Mom, but I'm fine." Clary said before hanging up. There was a slight amount of guilt in her chest as she returned to the bathroom where she was applying makeup. Her lipstick was a petal pink, looking lovely on her pale skin. Her coppery lashes were hidden with the darkness of her obsidian mascara. She looked brave, Clary thought as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her fiery locks were cascading down her shoulders and back like an eruption of scalding magma.

Brave

"Saw you on the news." Clary smirked at Simon, who had received several pats on the back from his fellow officers. His cheeks flushed crimson as he at his doughnut that most likely came from the gushing waitress.

"Let me enjoy my doughnut, fairchild." He groaned, licking the chocolate frosting from the corner of mouth.

"Clarissa!" She heard from behind her. Pivoting, she saw Captain Carstairs with a mischievous grin on his face. Clary could only guess that it was because of what her next assignment was.

"Captain." Clary nodded sternly. He shook his head at the firm line of her mouth before he began speaking, his accent tainting his words.

"Did you get my message last night?" He asked her.

"I did." She nodded again.

"Oh good! Then I guess it's up to me to introduce you to detective Herondale!" The captain gushed. She raised her brow at him, truly concerned with his behavior before she heard the sound of shoes crossing over the tile floor of the precinct. She turned around and was struck in awe at the man that towered over her, though Clary wasn't tall to begin with.

He was beautiful. That's what made her want to recoil from his outstretched hand. His eyes were of a liquid gold, darkening when he laid his eyes on her. The muscles on his outstretched arm wrapped around him lick a wire, live as the flexed for her when she shook his calloused hand; stretching his deliciously tan skin. His hair blossomed in soft waves of gold, kissing the middle of his forehead. His mouth quirked upward in a crooked grin, numbing Clary from any feeling other than familiarity that she held strangely toward him.

"Jace Herondale." He said smoothly, and Clary noticed he had a chip on one of his teeth, making him seem more human and less of an angel to her.

"Clarissa Fairchild, though I prefer you call me Clary." She spoke with a false smile. He smiled back at her, confusing Clary as to why he seemed to be enjoying their brief introduction to each other.

"Clary here is going to show you around." Captain said, patting her on the back before leaving. She her Simon chuckled before choking on his doughnut.

"Hope you didn't expect much, because I'm fairly boring." She chuckled emptily. Jace held his smile, making her heart beat irregularly.

"Have a little faith. I find that it helps."