At first, Gabriel was completely oblivious to the situation he was walking into. He seemed to notice the presence of Tessa, but he was either ignoring Will, or honestly not seeing him.

"Tessa, I saw that you left the ball with that wretched boy Herondale, and I came to make sure you were okay. You never know what kind of trouble that kid is getting himself into." At that, Will laughed.

"I'm only a few months younger than you Lightwood, so I wouldn't go calling me a kid." Gabriel finally seemed to realize what he had walked in on- Tessa's arms were still around Will's neck, and he still had her pressed against the wall. His face immediately changed to a look of pure rage. Tessa couldn't help but blush despite the situation unfolding before them.

"Herondale." Gabriel snarled his name like he might name a particularly nasty demon, "unhand that poor girl. Of course I would find you trying to compromise another girl's virtue."

Will simply laughed again. "You're sister didn't mind when I compromised her's." Will untangled himself from Tessa to face Gabriel. Tessa felt the cold air of the Institute claw at her everywhere Will no longer was. "You may want to ask her whether or not she minded at all." That comment pushed Gabriel over. He lunged at Will, and without thinking Tessa stepped in front of him.

Gabriel's full weight hit Tessa like a bull and she felt a fist connect with her jaw. It almost didn't register until she was flat on her back and both boys were looking down on her with identical faces of shock. Suddenly there were four boys, no two, well they were kind of swirling around her. She heard Will's voice call out for her but she had no strength to respond. She was swimming in and out of consciousness.

"Tessa, Tessa! You must wake up! You need to stay awake" It was silver eyes that Tessa awoke too. She was still in the same corridor, but Jem was kneeling over her and Will was nowhere to be seen. She knew there was a reason she needed to stay awake, but at the moment she just couldn't remember. And so, she drifted back into the darkness.

She awoke once again, but this time she could feel arms underneath her body. She opened her eyes to slits to see a bit of orange and some freckles. Henry, the ball must be over if he were here. She let herself slip again.

Tessa finally woke up for real in a familiar bed. There was a tray of tea on her nightstand, still hot. She realized she was no longer wearing her ball gown and was instead in a simple nightgown. Tessa heard a small cough and turned her head to see who it was. She felt a wave of pain hit her head, and let out a small cry of pain, but it was enough to wake Jem who had been sleeping in an armchair next to Tessa's bed.

"Tessa! Are you okay?" His tone was a little panicked. He helped her adjust so that she was sitting up but the pain was worse that way and so he helped her settle back again. "You hit your head pretty hard and you have a concussion, but besides the slight bruise on your face, you're pretty much unharmed." Jem said matter of factly, but an edge of worry slipped in. Tessa however was fuzzy on the details. She didn't know what time it was, nor any of the details after she stepped in front of Will. She decided to ask Jem.

"What day is it? What happened? Where's Will?" She realized what she'd said a minute too late, but even with the pain she could still manage a blush. Still she looked at Jem for answers.

"Tessa, it's Saturday night, you hit your head and have been unconscious since the ball ended yesterday. We've been really worried." He looked at her with genuine concern and her heart warmed a little.

"And Will?" Since she had said it, she might as well follow up. Jem's eyes wondered to the corner of the room. Tessa's followed to find a boy curled up in a chair half concealed by shadows, but she knew exactly who he was. "But he was there when I got hit and I woke up and he was gone." Jem blushed a little at that.

"That was my doing. I noticed you had gone missing from the ball, at about the same time I noticed that Will had also gone missing, so I was not alarmed. Then I realized that I had not seen Gabriel since you and he had danced. You see, Gabriel and Will both missing could not have a good ending, so I went looking." He looked at her, his silver eyes had an intense edge, and she could see shadows under his eyes telling her he hadn't slept. "Tessa, I found you lying on the floor unconscious and Will and Gabriel brawling not five feet away."

"Jem, that doesn't explain where Will went." Tessa was partially grateful that Will had been defending her, but a small portion of her knew that Will and Gabriel would have fought with or without her there.

"Well Tessa, you must understand, I walked in and you were lying on the floor, and you weren't moving with two boys completely oblivious to your presence. I called Henry and he in turn brought Charlotte who ended up with Benedict Lightwood in tow. They separated the fight, but Charlotte and Henry had to go deal with the ball, Benedict dealt with Gabriel, and Will and I stayed. But Tessa, he just left you there while he fought! I told him it would be best if he left and for once he didn't argue with me. I don't know where he left to, but that was the reason he wasn't there. Henry and Charlotte did come back as quickly as possible, and Brother Enoch was here to examine you. He says you'll be fine. I still needed to see you awake with my own eyes to make sure though."

Tessa was only half listening at this point. Her head was throbbing, and all she wanted to do was fall back to sleep. Jem laughed softly.

"Tessa, I can see sleep over taking you. Rest, you need it." He kissed her forehead and went sit back down. Tessa caught him and pulled him close.

"Jem, please go back to your room and sleep. You need it almost more than I do." And with that she drifted off into a soft cushion of blackness.

Okay, so your comments have been warming my heart, and I plan to write at least another chapter. More WillxTessa fluffiness to come! leave reviews!