JPOV

"Jace!" Alec called, while motioning me to hurry up. I quickly made it up the last few steps to the Institute, while keeping a firm grip on the girl's body.
"What happened?" Alec asked curiously, peering down at the girl.

"I'm not so sure myself, but I don't like it." I added, as I made my way to one of the spare rooms.

I lowered her body onto the bed, and quickly pulled out my stele, lightly tracing a healing rune on her arm. The girl gave a small groan and rolled onto her side, as I watched the iratze taking effect. The little cuts here and there slowly began to disappear, but I knew that the injury inflicted on her arm would need more care.

Hodge. I thought. He would have made something for the girl. With that thought, I left the room and quickly made my way to the library, and without a doubt, Hodge was there behind his mahogany desk, reading something intently. I cleared my throat, seeing as he didn't notice my entrance, and was awarded with his attention.

"Ah, Jace. I was meaning to speak to you. What happened tonight?" Hodge asked.

"Well, I was on my way back to the Institute, when this girl ran right into me." I started explaining. "Then I noticed that she was running because demons were on her tail."

"What did they want?"

"I don't know. But I think they got whatever it was they were looking for…" I trailed off, looking past the man, and at the far end of the wall.

"Did you manage to get her name?"

"No. I was too busy trying to stay alive."

"I guess we'll just have to wait till she wakes up to get some answers. Take her to see me when she's up, and here, take this," Hodge added, handing me a small vial which held a clear liquid. "It'll make her feel better."

"Thanks. I'll go see how she's doing then." I said, quickly taking the bottle from him before heading to the spare room.

I had just about stepped into the room, when I saw the girl tossing in bed. She was mumbling something, and before I realised what was going on, she gave a small yelp and bolted up-right.
Her hair was plastered to her face from all the sweat, and I could see that she was completely bewildered as to where she was.

I quickly walked over to her, and my hands immediately went to her shoulders, trying to give her some reassurance that she was in a safe place. Her head snapped up to mine, and her eyes widened. Her deep green eyes seemed to be bottomless, as I became transfixed by her gaze.

"Oh. It's you." She said, her body relaxing underneath my hands. "Where am I?"

"You're at the Institute. Here, take this," I added, as I pulled out the small vial Hodge had given me earlier. "It's fine. There's no poison, trust me," I quickly continued, seeing the girl eyeing the bottle suspiciously. "It's to help your arm heal better."

She gave a small shrug before taking it from me and uncapping it, gulping down its contents.
"Thanks for everything tonight. First it was with the demons and saving my life, and then bringing me back here. Thanks." She said fervently.
"My name's Clary, by the way, and yours is…"

"Jace. Jace Lightwood. So do you want to tell me what happened before?" I questioned, settling myself on the bed next to where she sat.

"I, uhm. I can't really say." The girl named Clary, whispered. "I can't put you in anymore danger."

"Oh, danger is my middle name." I responded, cocking an eyebrow up. Clary started to giggle, and I couldn't help it, but join in her laughter. "But in all seriousness, you really can tell me. Maybe we can help you."

"We?"

"Yes, we. Come on, I'll take you to see Hodge." I quickly got to my feet, as she did the same.

"Hodge? Sounds familiar." The girl said, as we left for the library.

We finally came to the large double doors, and as I pushed them open, I heard Clary gasp.

Hundreds of books covered every wall and corner, and a large chandelier hung high from the ceiling, illuminating the marble floor beneath it.

"It's beautiful in here." Clary said, trying to take everything in.

"Jace. I see you've brought our guest." Hodge stated from the opposite end of the room.

We turned around, and I could see Hodge's face turn to confusion.

"Clarissa? Is that you?" Hodge questioned, his expression unreadable.

"Hodge. No wonder why the name sounded familiar." Clary said, her face contorted with a mixture of emotions.
"You've been here all this time? I thought you were dead. They all said that you died…"

"You two know each other?" I asked, moving my gaze from Hodge to Clary and back again.

"Yeah. We go way back. He was my tutor then. But now I guess he's yours." She said, turning to look at me, her voice dead. I could see hurt and confusion on her face, as a crease formed between her eyebrows.

"Clarissa. I – " Hodge said, making his way over to where we stood.

"Don't. Don't call me that. Nobody calls me that anymore. It's just Clary, now." She quickly amended.

"Clary. I didn't mean to leave like that. But I had to."

"Why? Because of my dad, isn't it? You left me there. You left me, Sebastian, and my mum all alone with him. Did you know what he did to Seb? To me?" Clary confronted, as a tear slid down her cheek. She raised the sleeve of her good arm, and revealed the bruises which covered her skin.

Her father did that to her?

"Why didn't you take us with you?" She continued, more tears rolling down her face, as she pulled down the fabric.

"But you managed to get away, still. You being here, is proof that you didn't need my help." Hodge tried to reason.

"I'm here, but at what cost? I'm the only one that made it, Hodge. Mum's dead, and dad has Seb. I've lost everything. Everything…" Clary finished, slowly turning towards the doors, before adding, "I counted on you." And with that, she left the room, leaving Hodge and myself in the room.

"What was that all about?" I blurted out.

Hodge rubbed his eyes, clearly worn out from the talk.

"We'll discuss this later. Go see if she's okay." Hodge ordered, as he stared blankly into the distance.

I left the library and made my way down the hall to where I had set Clary up when I brought her here. I opened the door a crack, and saw that she was curled up on her bed, crying into the pillow. I quickly entered and shut the door behind me, walking over to where she lay. I sat down beside her, and she turned to look at me.

Her eyes were sad this time, shining from her tears.

"Are you okay?" I asked, as she sat up.

"Yeah." She responded through sniffles. "Would you mind if I slept here again? I'm tired, and I really don't have anywhere else to go. I promise I'll leave first thing in the morning."

"You can stay as long as you like. You don't have to go anywhere." I quickly added.

She gave me a small smile, before flopping herself down and drawing the covers over her. I remained where I was, watching, as she fell into a deep sleep.

I have written just about a gazillion different versions of this chapter, and I'm still not really happy with it. ): But I hope that you still enjoyed it.

If you have any ideas as to what could happen next, please let me know! I'm not really sure where this story is going….

So please review and let me know your thoughts! Thanks.

xx.