As Jace shifted Alec to stand he caught sight of his face and realised he was grimacing at the movement. He looked in pain pinching in each breath carefully, cruelly hampered by the constant shivering despite how much it had lessened, no longer wracking his body like his own were. "Alec, hey you doing ok there?" he asked.
He didn't answer making Jace worry even more. "Alec hey, come on talk to me. Don't leaving me hanging here big brother."
Alec finally responded. "It hhurts" he said breathily. Jace could hardly hear what he was saying. It seemed like a huge effort for him to talk. "when... I...breath" he finished.
It was all Jace needed to hear. In the euphoria of Alec just being alive he'd forgotten that he'd broken several of his ribs in the process. It was his fault he was in pain, but he refused to feel too guilty about it. It was better than Alec being dead, he justified to himself. Jace knew exactly the pain Alec was feeling. He'd fractured a rib or twenty in his lifetime and he knew every breath to Alec would be feeling like a sharp knife grating against his lungs.
"Lets see if we can fix that before we move shall we" he said sympathetically.
He shoved his hand into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out his stele. He still didn't have complete control over his new angelic power so it was just easier to do it the old fashioned way. Pulling his jacket aside to expose Alec's lower abdomen he traced over the pattern of his Iratze followed by his heat rune and within a few moments Alec's face relaxed, the creases evening out as the pain began to subside. Alec looked up at him grateful.
"Why does my chest hurt?" he asked Jace quietly.
Jace wasn't prepared to answer that yet. It was too raw and hed wait until they were both feeling better before he dropped that news on him. He had no doubt Alec could handle it but he wasn't sure he himself was ready to live through that again yet while Alec still looked only half alive. Its was dark but his lips still seemed blue to Jace. He looked like death warmed up, no pun intended, he thought to himself. "Let's discuss the in's and out's of your aches and pains after we get you warm shall we?" he said lightly starting to stand again. By the angel he couldn't wait to feel warm again. How could his fingers be hurting when he couldn't even feel them.
The shed wasn't too far so he took Alec under his arms and dragged him over sitting him up against the tatty, sun bleached wall just next to the door. "Don't move" he told him softly, receiving a tired frown from his brother.
"I'm fine" he slurred. "You need to get dressed, you shouldn't be out like that. You'll freeze".
Jace rolled his eyes at Alec's logic. He sounded drunk. Typical Alec, ever the protective one even when he was the one hurt, and clearly not thinking straight. "I know that, but someone decided to fall into the Hudson during a freezing winter and shit happens unfortunately" he said kindly crouching down to tug his coat properly around Alec again as he very clumsily tried to push it off himself.
"Hey leave that on, you're freezing" he chided.
"I'm not cold" he said he voice barely a whisper, while struggling pathetically against him as he zipped the coat up with very un-nimble fingers trapping Alec's arms inside. "Jace, you need it more than me. I'm fine. You're shivering." he trailed off resting his head back looking completely exhausted, not really committing to the statement.
"Well that my dear brother is precisely the reason you're wearing it instead of me. You should be shivering like mad too" he replied getting up.
The shed was locked, so he took out his stele and quickly drew an opening rune to gain access. It was hard to see inside and he stood hugging himself for a moment, rubbing his arms to get warm before he noticed the single light bulb dangling from the ceiling. He located the switch and lit the place up squinting at the brightness as he searched for anything useful. It was half full with old boating and fishing equipment but a pile of what looked like faded yellow curtains caught his eye. Those he could use. He laid out a couple of old boat seat cushions near the wall and went to get Alec.
He was no longer sat up but had slid face down into the snow, making Jace's heart leap into his throat at the sight. "Alec. You trying to give me a heart attack?" he said sitting him back up, brushing the snow off his face. He didn't respond. "Hey, Alec come on. Open your eyes". He patted his cheek to rouse him and was finely rewarded with Alec's dark orbs. Even in this light he could see his pupils were dilated. He needed to get him warm quickly.
He hauled Alec to his feet not expecting much help and was surprised when he tried to take some of his weight. He was Shivering more vigorously too. The heat rune had probably helped. He knew Magnus would likely be here very soon but he lay him on the cushions and wrapped all the make shift blankets around him tucking them under him like a mummy. It would have been comical if not for the circumstances. The wind suddenly pushed the door to slap on the side of the shed making him jump and he realised he'd stupidly not shut it in his hurry to get Alec inside.
"Jjace, where y you going" Alec's breathy slurred voice took him by surprised. He'd seemed pretty out of It once he'd lay him down.
"It ok, I'm not leaving. Just getting the door." He moved to the doorway stretching his arm out to fumble with door but the second he crossed the threshold he felt himself wrenched by hands that came out of nowhere, taking fistfuls of his damp t-shirt and throwing him several metres away to slide face down in the snow. He didn't register the cold of the snow as it soaked into his clothes but the hard ground underneath scratched his face and elbows painfully. He felt slightly dazed, the whole thing so unexpected. He needed to get back on his game quickly. He immediately pulled himself up to face his attacker unarmed. He'd stupidly left his blade in the snow by the shed when he moved Alec. What the he'll was wrong with him tonight. The vampire was back with a wicked grin on his face.
"Back for another arse kicking vampire" he said with hate in his voice. Alec had nearly died because of him. He wanted to kill him.
"Confident words" the vampire goaded. "Just the two of us now I see and you're not looking too hot there Shadowhunter. Can't handle a bit of cold. Oh and I think you dropped something". The vampire kicked Jace's seraph blade up from the snow to clatter against the shed and land even further out of his reach.
"You think I need a weapon to end you" he said with a cocky grin, the cold temporarily forgotten.
"Ut arh" the vampire smurked shaking his finger at Jace. That would be against the accords Shadowhunter".
"Well maybe you didn't notice but you already broke the accords when you attacked a mundane, vampire" and without another moments hesitation he charged forward at unbelievable speed surprising himself given how he felt. The vampire was ready, leaping to meet him even faster and they grappled together rolling on the ground. But he caught it's right arm and wrenched it up behind its back and shoved his knee painfully between its shoulder blades. The upper hand was short lived however as the vampire easily flipped them both over elbowing Jace in the jaw and knocking him to roll away sideways. He picked himself up quickly staggering back, unsteady for a moment before he found his footing and began circling opposite the vampire as they stalked each other. He eyed his seraph blade. It was much closer to it now and he dived for it clutching for the handle. His hands still didn't feel like his own and he felt the vampire grab his legs trying to pull him back before could grab it. But he just made it and turned the blade over in his hand, whipping his leg back and kicking out making contact with the vampires chin. It inched back from him, wiping blood from its mouth with the back of its hand as Jace got to his feet his seraph blade held up ready.
"That the best you got Shadowhunter?" it snarled bearing its fangs.
"Why don't you come and find out" he said leaping forward bring the blade round in a wide arc, but his arms still felt weird from the cold and were not quite as responsive as they usually were and the vampire managed to block him. He grabbed Jace's wrist and slammed it hard against the wooden slats of the shed wall until he couldn't stop it from falling out his hand to land in the trodden snow in front of the door. He tried to bring his knee up but he was thrown to the ground, the vampire bearing over him fangs out, and he knew it was going to go for his neck. It raged down to bite him and he was pinned solidly. He couldn't stop it and his heart raced as the realisation hit. And then suddenly it stopped dead in its tracks, eyes widened looking at him in confusion. Blood began to bubble from its mouth before it slumped forward a dead weight on top him. He didn't understand and panicked, struggling to push it off him causing it to roll at his side into the snow, unmoving.
It didn't make sense - and then it did. Alec staggered back to lean against the doorway wearing just his combats, the seraph blade hanging loosely in his right hand as blood dripped off its tip to stain the white snow red. He looked terrible, deathly pale and completely disoriented. It was a miracle he'd gotten to his feet. How the hell had he?
"Thank God Alec" he breathed out in disbelief. Exhaustion and the cold of his wet clothes began to register as the adrenalin subsided and he started to shiver again. Regardless he made a move to pull himself up to help Alec. But he was too late. The blade slipped from Alec's hand as his eyes closed and he fell forward.
"Alec" he shouted urgently throwing himself up sluggishly, knowing he wouldn't get there before Alec face planted in the snow. And then, out of the blue, Alec's body stopped mid-fall completely still, and looking very unconscious. Blue waves wisped through the dark night holding Alec's body up as if he was hovering. It made Jace jump and he turned following the stream of magic to see, to his relief, the High Warlock of Brooklyn in all his glory, wearing a long fur coat stood ankle deep in the snow.