Jonathan continues to push me back and mumbles something to Jace. Jace nods and picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. I squirm under his tight embrace but it is clear that he is very much stronger than me. I sigh and begin shouting at Jace to put me down so I can help Jonathan. "Jace Lightwood, if you do not put me down this instant I will cut you off." He hesitates for a bit but then asks, "Cut me off of what exactly?" I smirk, though I know he cannot see me and I reply in a sultry voice so he gets the message, "I think you know what, lover." He stops in his tracks and sets me down n the concrete sidewalk. We are a few feet away from the complex and I look over Jace's shoulder and see that Jonathan no longer stands in the door, leading me to believe that he was inside with Valentine. Jace looks at me sternly and says, "He told me to get you out of here and I couldn't agree more. Clary, I can't let you near him let alone talk to him! I mean, look at your face and neck! You get within feet of him and he can't stand but to harm you. I promised you that I would never let him hurt you, or did you forget?" I stare at him for a moment and then say, "How could I forget, but Jace, I know that I haven't known him as long as I would have liked to but… he is my brother. Anyone with eyes can tell that he looks like my father. And though I have known him for only 24 hours, I feel as though I should trust him. I can't deny that I have feelings for him, whether they are positive or negative feelings that is unclear. Just, give me a chance to save him. My father was capable of killing a woman he supposedly loved… who's to say he won't kill someone he barely knows, even if it is his son?"

We stare at each other for what seems like hours until he speaks up. "How can you trust people so easily, after all you have been through?" He looks at me with admiration and I take some time to consider my next words carefully, "Because… who else will if I don't?" He smiles down at me, pleased with my answer. I smile back at him and begin to move past him until he grabs my arm. I shudder a bit but he doesn't catch it as he says, "I still can't let you go Clary, Jonathan is a big boy I think he can take care of himself."

I whip my head at him, getting a little frustrated and say, "It doesn't matter if Jonathan beats Valentine today. Valentine will always come back… he is not a man to give up easily Jace." He glances back at the empty, open door and then looks at me strictly and says, "You stay with me, you hear?" I don't want to argue so I nod hastily and we turn back and run into the apartment.

I look inside first and see Valentine talking in a low voice to Jonathan. It seems as if he hadn't spotted me before, but Valentine isn't stupid, he knows that there is only one reason that Jonathan would come back, and that is for me. "You were foolish to find her my son. You of all people should know that I would stop at nothing to find her. So I will ask you once more, where are you hiding her? You may as well tell me or I will rip this place to shreds until I find her." Jonathan stands tall but I can still detect that flicker of fear in his posture and movements. He replies, "I refuse to let you touch her again. You have hurt too many people Valentine. Too much blood has been shed because of you, and one day you will pay for it. I will be waiting for that day very eagerly."

Valentine looks as if he is about to burst out of anger and frustration. As if on cue Valentine steps closer to Jonathan and wraps his fingers around Jonathan's neck in an attempt to strangle him. I am about to step out of the shadows until Jace- who seems to sense my movements- wraps an arms around my waist and brings his other hand so that he is covering my mouth. My eyes fill with tears as I see my brother struggle for air. But soon Jonathan kicks out with his left foot and his blow hits Valentine in the gut. Valentine doubles over and heaves a couple of breaths before he straightens back up as if nothing happened and charges at Jonathan, who just caught his breath again. Valentine delivers a blow to Jonathan's temple which seems to put him off balance. I study the fight reluctantly and see that it is as if Valentine knows all the right places to hit Jonathan. He is clearly very talented in fighting. Jonathan is able to deliver a few blows to Valentines face and midsection but he seems unfazed by it. Jonathan is obviously getting weaker as he stumbles and tries to regain his balance but he still seems to be thrown off by all of the blows to his temple.

Jonathan collapses on the floor and Valentine sits on top on him. One after another, Valentine punches Jonathan in the face while spitting out cruel and vile words. It seems as though Jonathan has passed out but Valentine doesn't seem to care as he continues to pound into Jonathans face. A muffled scream erupts from my throat. Though it was muffled and quiet due to Jace's hand, Valentine stops beating Jonathan and looks around the room, as if he heard me. I struggle more in Jace's arms and accidentally elbow him in his chest, causing him to double over a bit and let go of me. I run out of his protective embrace and straight into the room for Valentine to see me.

He seems a little struck that I would choose to reveal myself but soon lets out a wicked and intimidating smile as he gets up off of Jonathan. I hear footsteps behind me and make note that Jace is also in the room. I take a deep breath and prepare myself for Valentines wrath. "Clarissa, how lovely of you to join us." His words are bitter sweet and hold a hint of sarcasm. I cringe but take another step forward. "For a moment I was beginning to thing you were hiding from Me." my eyes go cold and I say back to him, "I have never hidden from you, and I never will. I am not scared of you. I may have been when I was a little girl but, as you know, time has passed and I have changed."

His sarcastic smile falls and his eyes go dark with hatred and the familiar scowl returns to his face. "You may wish to watch your mouth, it is not polite to talk to your father with such venom." I look at him incredulously for a moment and say, "You call yourself my father? You were gone from my life for eight years, and even before then you weren't really a father. The only person I would ever consider my father is Luke. Because he cares for me and he respects me. You are not my father… you are a monster!"

I scream the last part at him and he lunges at me. I hear Jace's footsteps hurry over to me but that isn't before Valentine has tackled me to the ground and starts punching me full force. I have been hit by this man so many times but this has to be the worst he has ever done to me. I begin to squirm and fight back, delivering my tiny punches to his chest and smacking him. Jace reaches us and pulls Valentine off me. Valentine tries to swing at Jace but Jace ducks and hits Valentine square in the face. Valentine falls and seems to be passed out. I get up and Jace puts his hands on my shoulders, inspecting my bruising and bloody face. I look at him sadly and say, "Jace I'm fine, check on Jonathan, I'm not going anywhere." Jace brushes his thumb over my bloody cheek and nods before turning around and leaning down to Jonathan.

I stand back, facing the two boys. I breathe a sigh of sadness but also relief. I wrap my arms around my midsection when I see Jonathan open his eyes and sit up. I am about to say something when I feel a strong arm circle around my midsection, trapping my arms, while a cold pressure is placed just above my collar bone. It doesn't take me long to figure out that the cold pressure is obviously a switchblade. My heartbeat speeds up but I don't make any noise, knowing that that would only result in the spilling of my blood. I hear his voice say in my ear quietly, "We are going to back up, out of this room quietly, without them knowing and get in my car before they catch us, understand?" I don't say anything. He starts backing up slowly, dragging me with him reluctantly. The boys seem to notice the movement and Jace turns so that he is no longer in Jonathan's line of vision as they catch Valentine and I with a knife held to my throat. Jace stands abruptly and Jonathan painfully stands as well.

"Let. Her. Go" says Jonathan as threatening as possible. I can feel Valentines mischievous smile play behind my ear as he says, "Jonathan, you of all people should know that I always get what I want."

Jonathan and Jace's fist clench and their eyes go cold. Jonathan is the first one to make a move forward but as he does, I feel the cool blade push into my skin, hard, followed by a warm and sticking substance that is obviously blood, and an eruption of pain. I don't scream out, but I can feel the tears in my eyes and I clench my teeth. Valentine digs the knife deeper into my flesh and then drags the blade along my collar to my shoulder. This time I do scream out loudly and I feel as though I am about to throw up. "Stop!" yells Jace. Valentine yanks the knife out of my shoulder, making me cry out once more.

"No one follows us, or she dies." The boys just stand there, staring at each other conflicted. Valentine is about to spin me around when he lets go of me abruptly, making me sink to the ground in pain. I look up at Valentine and see him in a choke hold. I look at my savior and see that it is Rayland. A wave of relief washes through me as I see his muscles contract. Whether he is trying to kill Valentine or no is unclear at the moment. I see Valentine go limp and Rayland release him. Rayland stands up and I look behind him. It seems that he brought some friends. Standing in the doorway is Simon, Isabelle, and Alec. I smile at them but they just look back at me with mounting concern written all over their faces.

I am confused for a moment until I get very dizzy and feel very sick. Waves of exhaustion take over my body as I pass out on the floor, in a pool of my own blood.

I wake up in a white room that smells of Lysol and rubber. I sit up but immediately regret it as nausea and pain coarse through me. I gently lie back down and look at the white gauze that is wrapped around my left shoulder. I touch my head gently and feel 12 stitches on my forehead. My left cheek is swollen and I can feel the sore bruises that decorate my throat and jaw. I look down at my hands and arms and notice that they have their fare share of cuts and bruises as well. My stomach is so sore that I don't even bother lifting the white robe to see the damage. I look around the room and see a monitor beeping and three people sitting in chairs to my right and three other people sitting on the floor to my left.

They are all asleep and I smile at the peacefulness. An abrupt click of the door shakes them all awake as a nurse walks in with a clipboard. "Clarissa Morgenstern?" she asks. I nod and she smiles lightly and says, "Well the doctor told me that you lost a severe amount of blood. Your friends have already explained the car incident so you don't have to worry about that." What she says confuses me. What car incident? I shake the question from my head and just nod at whatever she is saying. She tells me that I will have to wait until tomorrow to be discharged and that a doctor would be in with me in a few moments.

She leaves the room and I sigh. Jace comes and sits on the bed and drapes an arm around me, aware of my cuts and bruises, he gives me a gentle hug though I still wince at even the slightest pressure. No one says anything for a while until I ask, "What car incident?" Alec gives a small laugh and says, "Well we didn't really think that an investigation was the right way to handle your father, so we said that you and Jonathan were in a car accident." I nod slightly and lean into Jace, who was still seated on the edge of my bed.

"They said that you were lucky to be alive!" exclaims Isabelle suddenly. Everyone gives her looks that say, 'shut up' and 'what the hell are you thinking.' I give a small frown and pull the covers off of my legs. Jace first tries to get me to stay back in bed but I wince as soon as he touches my arms so he lets me go. I walk over to Izzy who is now standing up, and envelop her in a soft hug. She puts her hands delicately on my back, careful not to put any pressure on my bruises.

"It's okay Iz," I tell her soothingly. She seems to relax a bit and I pull away from her to see tears streaming down her face. I hold her hand for a second until I see Simon put his arms around her. I let go and she falls into Simon's embrace as he whispers comforting words to her. I stand in the middle of the room for a moment, all eyes on me. It is a bit awkward at first so I decide to break the silence and say, "Okay, so now what?" Everyone looks at me, clearly shocked and Jonathan says, "Clary, you could have died! You were asleep for two weeks! There is no way any of us are letting you out of our sight, let alone near him again!"

I am shocked when he says I was out for a whole two weeks but his words also make me a bit mad. Does he think me to be weak? I lived with him for eight years and though he wasn't this harsh back then, I am not as weak as I once was. I take a deep breath and furrow my eyebrows and say to everyone in the room, "Look, I am aware that I was in danger but so were you Jonathan. And Jace, and Rayland, Izzy, Simon, Alec… all of you put yourself on the line for me. Now of course I am grateful but don't try to stop me from doing the exact same thing you did back there. I am not weak! I am capable of fighting and defending myself. Don't take me as a child. By defending me, you have all put yourself at risk. This is more than me now; this is about all of us. He won't stop this torment until we have all learned a lesson. So don't think that I am the only one who may need protection. Valentine has… connections. He has people- 'friends' I guess you could call them- that specialize in making people disappear. Just because we are all teenagers doesn't mean that he will hesitate in our demise. Hell, he killed his own wife and beat his daughter and son! This is a lot bigger than just me now, this is all of us, so no, I will not stay in the dark, I will fight him and there is nothing that any of you will be able to do about it."

Everyone looks at me wide-eyed. I take a couple of deep breaths and feel myself getting light headed again. I wave back and forth and I feel Jace rush over and catch me before I fall. He picks me up and I let out a small cry in pain as he sets me down on the cold, sanitary bed. No one says anything and I just look down at my hands and bruised legs. Then Rayland says, "I think Clary is right. After all, Valentine doesn't seem like the type to forgive and forget. But like she said, Clary isn't a child… so she shouldn't be treated like one. We are all part of this now." The room goes back to silence until a doctor comes in the room.

"Miss Morgenstern, I am Dr. Schultz. I have been watching over you for the past couple weeks. Well it seems that your black out was the result of maximum blood loss. You also had some brain damage, which would be the cause of your extended sleep. Now I am aware that there will be quite a bit of discomfort, so I am prescribing you 10 milligrams of Vicodin. Now this drug is very strong so I suggest you only take one every day. If you still experience any discomfort, I suggest an Advil or Tylenol. You are free to go in the morning but I would like to monitor your sleep tonight to make sure nothing goes awry." He smiles at me and leaves the room.

"Perhaps you all should go home? I am sure that your parents are worried and I know Luke must be worried as well," I say to them all. Izzy is the first one to speak, "Actually, our mom thinks that I am at some chick named Vanessa's house and Alec is with Magnus and Jace is with you at your house. So the Lightwoods are okay for the week as long as we check in every day." Simon is the next to speak up, "My mom thinks that I am with Eric." And Rayland says, "I told Luke that I was going on a school trip to look at good careers." I give a small laugh look back at my hands which are quickly taken by Jace's hands. I look up at him and see that he still holds doubt in his eyes.

"What is it?" I ask him. He looks at our hands and then back at my eyes as he says, "The next time he sees you, he is going to try to hurt you again. I don't know if I will be able to handle another week of you in a coma in a hospital. You know I would rather be dead than put you through any more of this." I put one my hands on his cheek and say, "Jace, I know how hard it is seeing the one you love being tortured, but believe me when I say that it isn't the worst thing that could happen." He looks confused and asks, "What could be worse?" I stare at him for a long time and then say, "Being abandoned by them." His frown deepens and his eyes drop again so I say, "Just remember, that love doesn't make the world go round… love just makes the ride worthwhile." He looks back up at me and a faint smile is plastered on his lips. He kisses my forehead lightly and gets up and walks out of the room.

My head falls back onto the pillow and I roll my head to the side and look at the thin wall and see the shadow of a figure crouched down with their elbows on their knees and their head in their hands. I know that it must be Jace so I ask, "Alec, could you please go and make sure that he is alright?" Alec nods but before he can reach the door, Jonathan interjects and says, "In fact, could you all go outside for a moment? I would like to have some alone time with Clary…" his voice trails off but everyone nods and exits the room. I pull up the covers and cross my legs under them and sit up as Jonathan sits next to me.

"What is it Jonathan?" I ask, purely interested in his reason for making everyone leave. He looks at me and tilts his head to one side and says, "When you said that being abandoned by the one you love is the worst thing that could happen… you were talking about me weren't you?" I straighten my lips into a straight line and say, "The thought crossed my mind, but I didn't know you, I didn't even know that I had a brother." He nods his head and looks down at the white and blue sheets and pulls out his wallet. He digs into one of the small pockets and picks out a picture. I can't see it as he looks at it with a smile on his face. "But I knew you were my sister." He hands me the picture and I see a small boy, about the age of six or seven with light blonde- almost white- hair and dark eyes, just like his father. He had a deep bruise on his forearm but was smiling as though he didn't notice it. He isn't looking at the camera; instead he is looking down at a little girl no older than the age of two or three. She has bright red hair and brilliant, bright, emerald eyes. She is looking up at her brother with pure admiration and curiosity. Her arms are stretched out in a hug to her brother and he looks as if he is about to pick her up.

"I don't remember this" I say quietly. He gives a small laugh and says, "I don't imagine that you would. You were only three years old and I was seven." I smile and look at the picture more, studying every detail. "I think it's time I told you everything." I look up at him and see that his face is stone but his eyes show nervousness and uncertainty. I nod and he begins.

"I don't remember a lot from those times but I do remember the day when I was removed from the family. From the time that I could walk I was training and fighting. When you came along, not a lot changed as you may suspect it would. Dad still pushed me and when I didn't do so well I was greeted with harsh beatings. Mom would yell at him to stop so then she was beat. I never understood why she stayed with him. But that night… that night was the worst. I remember it was storming, and you were crying because you were afraid of the thunder. Dad was really mad at you so he hit you. It was the first time he ever hit you and you were only three years old. I thought mom was going to stand up to him or at least yell at him but she didn't do anything… so I decided that I would have to. He was about to hit you again but I got in the way. He hit me instead and I hit him back. That's when things got really ugly. He threw me against a wall and started hitting me harder than he ever had before. I couldn't take it anymore so I ran. I lived in an orphanage until I was sixteen and then I ran from there too. I got a job and a shitty apartment but ever since I was 16, I kept an eye in you, watched you to make sure you got home safely. Then I heard that he got out of prison. I watched you more closely and then I saw you two out on the yard… and he was strangling you."

His voice breaks a bit in the end and I give him a great hug, no matter how much it hurt. He returns the hug and says into my hair, "I will never let anyone hurt you ever again." I don't say anything, just nod into his neck.

I wake up the next morning with a mass of warmth to my right and I hear talking and Power Rangers playing on the TV. I laugh and open my eyes to a smiling Jace. I sit up and we lean against each other for support. Alec and Rayland are standing under the TV mounted on the wall talking about soccer teams. Izzy and Simon are holding hands and sitting against a wall watching Power Rangers play on the small television. Jonathan sits in one chair with his legs draped over another, deeply into the kids show. I laugh at their interest in a children's show and Jonathan catches me making fun of him and he says, "You know Clary, you used to watch this when you were younger. Plus, you could learn some quality fighting from these rangers. Keep an eye on the Red Ranger, he is the best." I look at him with a playful grin and shake my head and say, "There is no way that the Red Ranger is the best. He may lead the team but black ranger is the best at fighting… and he's pretty mysterious." Just then Izzy buts in, "And he's hot," she says. I laugh at her eagerness and then Jace says, "Okay but let's not forget that he WAS evil when he was the Green Ranger." I suddenly realize how childish this conversation is so I decide to tune the rest out while Izzy and Jace argue.

I am feeling so much better than yesterday. My bruises still stand out on my pale skin but they aren't so sore. The cut on my shoulder and collar bone however, could use some attention. "You ready to go home?" asks Jonathan. I nod fiercely, making him laugh a little. He exits the room to sign me out and pick up my pain medication. Alec informs me that while I was asleep last night, he and Rayland went back to the Apartment and gathered all of our things and signed us out. I couldn't wait to go home, wherever that may be.

When Jonathan returns he is carrying an outfit and tells me to change and that we would leave a soon as possible. I nod and take the clothes into the bathroom and change. For a guy I have to say that my brother has okay style. He picked me out a "Bat sleeved" green, loose shirt and a white tank top to go under it. Also, blue skinny jeans and brown gladiator sandals. I use a hair band on my wrist to put my hair up into a messy bun. I allow myself to inspect my face further. I have multiple blue and purple bruises that decorate my cheeks and jaw. I have a very deep cut on the right side of my forehead that will no doubt leave a scar. I pull down my left sleeve and look at the white bandage. I haven't unwrapped it yet since I woke up and the doctor said it would be okay if I did. I take a deep breath and pry the sticky gauze from my skin. I don't look at my shoulder at first, just allow myself time to be better composed. I turn my body to face the mirror but close my eyes. I take a few deep breaths and open my eyes.

What I see makes me wish I never took the bandage off. The deep cut is stitched but, unlike the cut on my head, is surrounded by purple bruises. It hurts to move and I feel tears swim in my eyes. Suddenly, there is a knock on the door and I hear Simon ask, "Clary, is everything okay in there?" I reply to him a little too quickly by saying, "Of course I'm fine! I will be out in a moment." I can't help the cracks in my voice and then I hear Rayland's caring voice say, "Clare-bear, come on out. I'm sure it's not that bad." I take a moment to compose myself with a few deep breaths and then twist the door knob.

I open the door and see everyone was waiting for me to come out. There are several gasps and I see Izzy's hands fly up and cover her mouth. My eyes drop to the floor, ashamed. "I'm sorry" I say pathetically. I feel two strong hands grab my frail arms and hear a deep voice say, "There is nothing to be sorry about Clarissa, you are beautiful." I look up and see Jace's eyes looking at me with so much love and adoration. I can't stand it anymore, I push myself against his hands and tangle my hands into his golden hair and kiss him sweetly and say, "You don't know how long I've waited to do that." He smirks and says, "Stealing all my lines Clarissa? Very naughty." And he kisses me again, more fiercely this time. We are interrupted by a few throats clearing and Jonathan saying, "As much as I would love seeing you deprive my sister of whatever innocence she has left, I think we have stressed our welcome here a little longer than necessary." I turn around and smirk at my brother and he smiles back. I nod and take Jace's hand and we walk out of the door together.

We walk out of the hospital and we all stop and figure out any arrangements. "I texted mom and told her that Alec, Jace, and I would be coming home earlier today. Simon, does your mom know you are coming home?" asks Izzy. "She expects me whenever" says Simon. "I never told Luke when I would be back so he is expecting me anytime." I nod and say, "Do you think I am aloud to come back to the orphanage without any forms?" I ask Rayland. His eyes look very doubtful and he says, "Everyone still thinks that you are living with your father. But I'm sure tha-" but Jonathan cuts him off. "No. Clary, you will be staying with me. I have an apartment in downtown New York. It has two bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and an extra room that you can paint in." I smile at my brilliant brother and give him a hug that sparks an eruption of pain in my shoulder but I do my best to ignore it as say, "Thank you Jonathan. I love you, you know that?" I can tell by how his body goes stiff that he was surprised to hear those words come out of my mouth but soon he hugs me back and says, "I love you too Clary."

A/N: YAY! So a happy ending! Okay, so I may be updating at least 2-4 times before I leave if not more than that. I try to update every night but I always finish around like… 1:00 A.M.

Anyway, I am pretty excited for this next chapter. I am going to put at least three songs in it considering that if I had put a song in this chapter it wouldn't of made any since… so I hope you aren't as disappointed anymore. THERE WILL BE SONGS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! So, thank you for reading! Review please!