Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instruments or its characters. Any unrecognized plot or characters are mine.

Holy $ #& !

Clary P. O. V

Warm. Safe. I felt those two things when I slipped from the land of dreams. I blinked my sleepy eyes open, stretching and yawning.

"Hey there." My wolf whispered from behind me.

I smiled, hugging his arms to me and sighed in contentment. "Hey."

"Not to interrupt this. . . .whatever this is. . . .but breakfast is served." A teenager with jet black hair and stunning blue eyes says, wheeling a tray closer and not looking particularly thrilled about it.

Luke growled in annoyance. "I see breakfast is still brought to patients, however. . . .poor that service might be."

I sighed, rubbing his arm. I felt his rigid muscles relax at my touch. "Luke, please be nice. He did bring us food."

The newcomer sneered at him. "At least I don't change into a flea ridden mutt, Downworlder."

My vision turned red, I leapt off the bed and stood nose to chest with the stranger. My body was tense, strung tightly like a piano string, ready to strike suddenly and quickly. "Hey! Don't talk about him like that! He's twice the man you are, or ever will be." I practically snarled at him.

The stranger glared at me, spit in Luke's direction, and then stormed out.

I took deep breaths after he was gone, making the effort to calm myself so the morning wasn't ruined. I grabbed a plate from the cart, browsing through my options as I tried to forget the brief spat I had participated in. There were a few plates of buttered toast, jellied toast, French toast, poached eggs, scrambled eggs and bacon.

I selected some juicy pieces of bacon, three slices of jellied toast and a spoonful of scrambled eggs. I grabbed a second plate and filled it with bacon and toast, Luke didn't eat eggs very often.

I gave Luke his plate before I sat down to eat mine, his face split in a huge grin and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. He nuzzled his head against mine, growling softly in what I guessed was approval. He kissed me full on the lips, my knees felt weak and my head started to spin.

I blushed when I caught sight of another person sitting on a cot across from us. He reminded me of a lion, his tawny hair looked very much like a mane. He was lean and fit, he looked like he would be a good height and his eyes were framed with long eyelashes. By the bandages on his torso and the sling, he must be a patient as well.

"Luke, there's someone else here," I whispered, blushing another two shades of red when I realized he saw the kiss.

Luke nuzzled his face into my neck as chuckles vibrated through his chest. "Easy, mate. There's no need to fuss, it's just a pup from the institute."

I blinked, Luke's voice sounded a little different than it had before. It was rougher, more gravelly. Heat pooled in my lower stomach as a result of the new voice. My head grew foggy, my breath caught in my throat and my heart beat quickened.

"I see you're feeling well, Miss Fray." A male voice cut through the fog clouding my mind, as effective as a glass of ice water being thrown over me. My eyes flew open and blood rushed to my cheeks as embarrassment bloomed in my chest. I jumped away from Luke, suddenly feeling very shy.

My wolf growled, his body tensing as his sensitive nose picked up the man's scent. "If you value your life, you will exit this room quickly."

I gasped in shock, I'd never heard Luke so rude to someone instantaneously. "Luke!" I admonished as firmly as possible in the current situation.

His eyes snapped to me, the almost frightening intensity softening. The other person took advantage of his distraction to move closer, his form barely discernable over my wolf's shoulder.

"I apologize for the interruption, Miss Fray, but I was past due in my examination." The stranger spoke smoothly, voice completely calm.

Luke's eyes were trained on the new person, narrowed and alert.

I shot the man a shy smile, my gaze falling to my forgotten plate of breakfast. I sat on the bed and dug into the food while the stranger and Luke had a staring contest. Or rather, a one sided glowering match.

"So. . ." I cleared my throat to break the silence blanketing the room.

"Oh dear me, forgive my absence of manners! My name is Hodge, I am the Librarian, teacher, and physician here at the Institute." The man, Hodge, said with a small smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Hodge, my name is Clary." I glanced at Luke, he was still glaring at Hodge with narrowed eyes. "Luke."

"Hm?" He hummed in response, his eyes remaining on the Librarian. He had turned his head the slightest bit in my direction to let me know he was listening.

"You should eat, breakfast is getting cold. Stop staring at that nice man, it's rude." I added with a frown, slipping my empty plate in the slot on the tray marked dirty dishes.

Luke ate as well as possible while watching Hodge. I had the feeling that for some reason, my wolf didn't like the librarian.

"How do you want to do this, sir?" I asked, shifting a little on the bed. I hoped it wasn't going to be like the physicals I remembered needing before school. Those were embarrassing and awkward, not to mention the invasive nature of it. I shuddered a bit at the memories of those damned things.

I snapped out of my thoughts when something cold pressed against my chest, the unexpected touch startled me so much I nearly jump off the bed.

"Apologies, Miss. Fray, but this is necessary to execute an accurate breathing exam." The physician, Hodge, held what looked like a stethoscope with slight moderations. There were symbols etched into the metal touching my chest and the color was different than any stethoscope I'd ever seen.

"Could have at least warmed it," Luke hissed from beside me, his hands clenching at his sides and his eyes beginning to change.

"It's okay, Luke. I'm alright, really, none of this is necessary." I smiled at my wolf, stroking his arm to soothe him.

"It is, mate," he responded in that rough, gravelly voice. A shudder of pleasure ran down my spine at the sound. "You were injured by a demon, there was a time when I thought you were lost to me."

I felt his slightly stubbled face bury itself into my neck and lifted a hand to his neck, holding him to me. I hated that he felt that way, hated that I caused him pain by stupidly opening the door and letting the demon into his home. Our home now.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, kissing the parts of his head I could reach.

Our moment was interrupted by a throat clearing. Hodge was shifting uncomfortably by the bed, hands twisting and face pinched.

"I believe we have more to do, Miss. Fray." The physician said, his voice slightly uneasy.

I gave Luke one last kiss and gently eased him a short distance away from me. He was close enough to touch my hand, but far enough that he wasn't trying to imprint his face into the skin of my neck.

"Now then, I will check your reflexes and afterward, I will examine the wound for any complications."

He pulled an instrument from his robes, it resembled a smaller version of a hammer. He hit my kneecap with the little tool and grimaced at the strange sensation as my leg kicked by itself in response.

He tucked his weird hammer away in a pocket and moved closer to the bed. "Alright, Miss. Fray, I will need to check the wounds on both arms. Try to relax, this shouldn't take long."

I rolled up my sleeves, allowing him access to my bandaged arms. He unraveled my bandages quickly and efficiently, placed them in a bag and proceeded to prod my injuries. I tried my best not to flinch when he hit a sore spot, but I'm unsure how well I succeeded.

I couldn't stop a hiss of pain as he jabbed a very tender patch and was unprepared for the next events.

All I could say about this next sequence is all hell broke loose.

Hodge was prodding my arm one moment, and a blink later had him flying a few feet away landing hard on his back. Snarls drew my attention to my wolf, who was stalking toward the other man.

I could only stare in shock as Luke picked the grown man up off the floor by his neck and kept him suspended, his feet dangling helplessly. He snarled in Hodge's terrified face, his hands around the librarians throat flexed as he brought him close to his face.

"You hurt my mate!" He roared, his voice rough and entire body vibrating with the strength of his rage. Luke's calm, compassionate demeanor was replaced by a protective wolf in a fury. Clawed fists swung, connecting with various parts of Hodges body.

Little spurts of blood hitting the floor woke me from my shocked stupor. I shot up from the cot and ran to the brawling males, mind racing with ways to break the two apart. I settled for a less physical approach.

"Luke!" I screamed in an over dramatic manner, hoping to gain his attention.

Luke's head jerked up, his body shoveled tiny direction so quickly he nearly toppled sideways. I was genuinely shocked at what I saw. Luke's face was halfway through the change, his eyes gold and animalistic. Those eyes haunted me the most, they glittered with rage induced malice before clearing into softer emotion once he recognized me.

"Luke, please, I'm okay-we're okay." I assured him, speaking softly. "Come back to me, my mate. Come back."

Slowly, his face returned to its more human appearance and he dropped Hodge. His face paled a bit, his eyes revealing his warring emotions.

I stroked his cheek, noticing his brief flinch. "You thought he hurt me, Luke, you're entitled to defend me."

"I could have killed him," he replied, pressing into my hand.

"You didn't, you chose to return to me."

His blue eyes seemed to see inside me, they were intense and honest. "I will always return to you."

My heart melted.

That was so freaking sweet. He was sweet. I didn't deserve this man.

A groan broke us out of our bubble. I frowned when I remembered the beaten physician laying on the infirmary floor.

"We should probably treat his injuries." I suggested, biting my lower lip as thoughts fluttered around my head.

Luke growled. "He deserved what he was dealt, he hurt you."

I sighed. "He is the only physician here, if I remember correctly, and he is supposed to be healing me. By the way, he didn't actually hurt me, it was just a sore patch."

He grumbled, picking Hodge off the floor and laying him on a cot. However, he wasn't very careful about it.

I groaned, he really didn't like that guy.

I realized that with Hodge unable to perform his duties at the moment, I had exposed wounds on my arms. Not to mention that he had his own for us to treat, which I had no idea how to do.

"What do we need to do for him?" I asked, a little worried.

"I have a few ideas," Luke replied darkly.

I growled, frustrated. "We have to help him, Luke, not prevent him from healing me even longer." I snapped, exasperated and a bit tired.

He grimaced apologetically. "We could clean the wounds and cover them with sterile bandages. There should be enough bandages for both of you, they're around here somewhere."

We found the bandages on a shelf with strange jars and wrapped leaves. Okay, then. . . .

Anyway, Luke splashed some white liquid on the cuts Hodge donned, caused by his claws. I stared with wide eyes as the wounds began to release smoke. Was that supposed to happen?

"Uh, Luke, is that supposed to happen?" I asked, voice squeaky.

"Yes, it's the cleaning agent I mentioned." He answered nonchalantly, wrapping the area with the bandages.

My eyes bugged out of my head. Hodge used that on my arms?! Oh, hell, I was glad I was knocked out!

"There's no way that's coming anywhere near my arms." I mumbled, edging away from the container like it was a poisonous snake.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, there shouldn't be a reason to apply it to your arms." He smiled at me reassuringly, kissing my cheek.

"Good. Did you want to re-wrap my arms? You already have the bandages out."

"Sure, sounds like a great idea."

I stood still for Luke as he carefully wrapped my arms, planting a kiss on each shoulder as he covered them in the sterile material.

"Now that that's finished. How about a nap?" I looked up at him hopefully.

He grinned, surprising me by scooping me into his arms and carrying me to my cot. He lay me down and snuggled in behind me, kissing the back of my neck. I giggled and relaxed, letting the darkness of sleep take me.