It's been LONG awaited and I AM SO SORRY it has taken this long, but, here it is. I will finish this before starting the new one I have in mind. So sit back and enjoy! let me know how ya'lls feel!

I do NOT own any of these characters, any and all references to the books belongs to the WONDERFUL and AMAZING Cassandra Clare! However the creative idea for the story is mine and any and all changes or references to it must go through me.

Chapter 13

Out of all the things he could have said with the, 'I love you,' she received, Jace just had to throw in, 'I kill people for a living, I was the last person to see your mother alive, and Um…Oh yeah, your dad's a psycho.' Life couldn't get any better for her at this point. Clary still didn't know what to think or how to feel. She was certain of about one thing, Jace made her feel safe. How she actually felt about him now, well that was a different story. Could she trust him, or any of them for that matter? She needed Simon; she needed to talk it out over a good video game. It would at least make her life feel a little normal.

Clary stood on the dock, peering out at the white, blue iced over lake. The sun was setting and it made a pinkish orange glow in the sky. She missed her mom and Luke and she just wished she could go back to the life she had a year ago. The only problem with that is, Jace and Izzy weren't a part of that life. Did she want a life without them? She had been through so much and experienced so many things…did she want those gone too?

"You should be inside," Jace's sweet voice cooed behind her. He had gone somewhere, he never told her where he went when he left, but he made sure to tell her everyone was fine. She assumed he left to get a hold of Alec or Izzy. She couldn't blame him for that. He had a jacket in hand and wrapped it around her shoulders when she turned to give him the best smile she could manage. They weren't easy to come by.

"I wanted to see the sunset," she answered, like he was asking her a question, and he was. He was always asking a question. It was just never a direct question. What he really meant to say to her was…'Why are you outside? It's not safe.' Clary was never bothered by his underlying care. It comforted her in a way. He cared, that's what mattered, whether it was direct or not. She still felt betrayed on some level and tried to bury it, but it would pop up from time to time.

"You'll have lots more sunsets to watch, I'll make sure of that. Come on, I need to take your stitches out," he said. In other words, 'I'm not going to let you get hurt and your stitches are my excuse to get you in the house because I don't like you being out here alone.' Clary sighed, she knew he was right but hated the fact. Jace's hands were shoved deep in his pockets and he stared at her, expecting her to follow his command. She knew she should but Dimmit, she was sick of hiding away like some scared little girl.

"Just, let me watch it. You're here now, what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is, I can't protect you from a bullet being shot from a gun with a silencer on it. House, NOW!" He ordered with a finger pointing in the cabin's direction.

Clary's eyes narrowed and she scowled. She pulled the jacket off her shoulders and thrust it hard into Jace's chest as she stomped back to her prison. At least that's how she saw it. After hearing everything he had to say, the charm of being locked away alone with Jace melted instantly. They barely spoke now, hardly even looked at one another. He refused to let her sleep alone and sometimes she woke to find herself wrapped in his arms or her body draped over his chest. It was annoying to know that her subconscious felt she needed him in some way.

The two of them still seemed to gravitate towards one another. If she moved even the slightest bit, so did he and vice versa. It was a vicious cycle of who would break first. Clary knew it bothered him that she was distant but could he blame her? After everything he told her, could he really hold it against her? No, she supposed he didn't because despite his outburst now, he had been surprisingly patient and understanding of her. Damn him that just confused her more.

He followed her into the house, his head hanging as he watched his feet. It was odd she thought, to see him do that. It wasn't something she had ever seen him do before. He either had something on his mind or…Clary didn't know what would cause him to do it. She trudged in the house and didn't miss a beat in heading right for the bathroom. She perched herself backward on the toilet and rested her elbows on the lid of the tank, patiently waiting for Jace.

He came in with a chair in hand and sat it down in front of her, "take your shirt off," he mumbled almost as if he didn't really want her to.

"Are you asking or telling?" she asked, peering over her shoulder.

He sighed, "Don't be difficult, Clary. Just take it off. I've seen all there is to see anyway."

She crossed her arms over her chest and took hold of the bottom edge of her lavender sweater. She lifted it over her head and threw it across the room, to reveal only her black, lace bra. She pulled her fiery curls over the opposite shoulder and pushed her bra strap down so he had no other orders to give. "Satisfied?" she batted her eyes and gave him a fake closed mouth smile.

He stared daggers at her but broke enough to give her his own sarcastic smirk, "lean forward and for the love of God, Clary, don't move."

She heard him scoot the chair closer and felt the inside of his thighs brush her hips. When his hand touched her skin it ignited flames beneath it. Clary felt her cheeks flush and it got hot all of a sudden. Why did he have to have this kind of effect on her? She felt tugs and pulls against her shoulder and every once in a while it would tickle. It didn't take long before he was finished and gently rubbed his thumb over the tiny scar. His hands were rough but still careful.

"Turn around," he whispered, looking away and setting the utensils down to crack his knuckles.

XXX

Jace didn't expect what happened next. Instead of spinning around and letting her legs rest between his, she threw her legs over his lap and leaned back on her palms on the toilet seat. So she wanted to play games now…again. Jace turned back to her and looked at her curiously. So much for being mad, he thought. "What?" Clary shrugged, "It's not like we've never been in this position before."

"Touché, Miss Fray, touché," he shook his head and sighed. It wasn't the easiest position to work with…when it came to getting the stitches out. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if he could keep his mind on the task at hand instead of the fact that she was half naked…on his lap.

Jace leaned over and clipped each stitch like he had the ones on her shoulder and went to work on pulling them out. They were sewed tight so clipping them without getting her skin wasn't an easy task. When he was about half way through is when it started. "Come on, Jace. Hurry up, my hands are falling asleep," she whined.

"Not my fault, you chose this position." Clary leaned forward and rubbed her wrists, scowling at Jace. She scooted around on his lap trying to find a more comfortable position, "stop moving, the sooner you stop moving the faster I get this done."

"Mmm, is that the only reason?"

"Only reason for what?"

"You want me to stop…" she blinked innocently.

"Purposely egging on my sex drive I see. I'm not playing that game again, sweet heart. Don't use sex to make yourself feel superior because it's not going to work. I didn't do anything wrong this time. I did what I did to protect you, so if you have issues with that then so be it. I'll live with that knowing your safe, and that's enough for me. If you want to be a bitch, be a bitch, scream it to the world. I don't care. Just remember, I'm the reason you're alive to do it."

Nice one, Jace, he thought. That will make it all better. He couldn't help it. He had to get it off his chest. He was sick of her mood swings. Sure, she was allowed to feel betrayed and hurt, who wouldn't? She wasn't allowed to pull this shit. She has to make up her God damn mind. He wasn't playing with her, he told her he loved her and meant it. He knew she had a lot to take in, he understood, and that was the very reason he backed off, except for keeping her safe. It would only be a couple more days until he had everything he needed to get the job done. Morgenstern would be out of the picture and if Clary wanted him out too, then fine. It would hurt. Damn it would hurt like a bitch, but he was Jace Herondale. He would find someone else.

No one else would be Clary, though. That was the problem. For whatever reason, and he wished he knew, Clary was the girl. She was the girl to ground him, to make him see that there are good things in this world. He had been around the block and suffered about as many bad things as one person could handle but she was his light. She was the one to pull him away from all of that and make him believe that there is more to life than what he had been doing. He stared hard at her and she blinked. She swallowed nervously, like a child being scolded, "Finish with these damn stitches," she mumbled looking away.

Jace sighed and went back to his task. GOD, she is so DAMN STUBBORN! Mental fucking post-it, Jace...DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, fall in love EVER AGAIN! He told himself. He could smell her strawberry conditioner and lilac perfume. It clouded his mind and everything he just thought was washed away with those scents. DAMN HER AGAIN! What the fuck was he supposed to do? He wasn't this person. He wasn't the person who fell for anyone. Damn Jocelyn for dying and making him promise, but would he take it all back? NOPE! He would do it all over again, just to be close to her.

"Jace," she said in a small voice. When he looked back at her he was met by a sea of green and was immediately lost.

"Hmm," he hummed, his hard demeanor gone in that instant.

"I-I'm sorry. I know you're helping me…I just…" she sighed

"What?"

"I'm lost," she blurted. "I don't know what to think or how to feel anymore. Two days ago all I wanted was to hear you say you loved me and…"

"I do love you," he cut her off.

"I don't know that it's enough anymore," she whispered, hanging her head.

Jace took her chin lightly between his fingers and lifted her gaze to his, "Is hearing it ever enough?"

"I'm not Wonder Woman, Jace."

He smirked because for once, he had the perfect answer, "Superman didn't love Wonder Woman, Clary. He loved Lois Lane. People like me; we seek out what's simple and normal because it's something we've never had. I'm not saying you are either of those things, but is it so hard to believe that I would want them? Is it even harder to believe that I would want them with you? You don't see the world like anyone else. Everything has meaning in your eyes. Everything is seen as beautiful to you. That's not simple or normal, that's amazing and that's what I love about you. I wish I could do that but right now, at this point in time, the only beautiful thing with meaning to me, is you and I won't apologize for it."

Clary stared at him with wide eyes. She apparently didn't expect the words that came out his mouth and neither did he, but he meant every single one. He stared back, he could see she was having some sort of inner struggle and wished she would say something, anything to put his mind at ease. Had he just fucked up royally? Don't most women swoon over shit like this? Most guys say that shit to get laid, Jace didn't care about that. He wanted her to understand how he felt. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, shaking his head. What did he have to do to prove himself to her?

"I love you, Jace. It's just hard to get passed feeling betrayed and used…"

"Used?" he cut her off again with a scowl on his face. Did she just say…USED? "What the hell would I use you for?" Clary's eyes flickered down between their bodies and it clicked. "You think I used you for sex? Oh, Come ON, you can't be serious," Jace said outraged. Although he did have to admit that he wished they were both naked…how the hell was he supposed to get out of this one? "I must have read wrong into the 'No, Don't, and Stop,' portions of our sexual experiences then, Clary. I assumed you were just as much a willing participant as I was." Jace scooted the chair back and Clary's legs fell, her feet hitting the floor with a thud. He walked out of the bathroom, shaking his head angrily and heard Clary follow.

"Jace, wait…" he heard her say.

He spun on his heel to face her. She stood with her sweater in hand staring at him, defeated. "Put your shirt on, I wouldn't want you to feel used because I made you take it off to get the stitches out."

XXX

Being locked up with Alec and Magnus was the most excruciating feeling EVER! Izzy wanted Simon. She wanted him so bad it hurt, which was a nice feeling actually, because she wanted him and not Jace. As soon as she heard back from Cami, all of this would be over or well, just beginning. Once they took Morgenstern down, they could all go back to their normal lives. She was pretty sure Jace and Clary would anyway, but would Simon want her like Jace wanted Clary? That didn't matter now, what mattered was getting this shit done. She hoped everything went as planned, if it didn't, they might all end up dead.

"Isabelle, stop moping about. Your constant scowl is going to give you permanent lines on your face. Botox doesn't last forever, honey. Ask Cher," Magnus chimed, flipping through a PEOPLE magazine.

"Shut up, Magnus," she scowled harder at him. He just shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"Iz, have you talked to Jace?" Alec asked from his desk in their tiny hotel room.

"Not for a couple of days," she shook her head. The phone on the nightstand between the double beds rang just then making Izzy jump in surprise, "speak of the devil." She lifted the phone to her ear, "hello…Oh HEY Ca…" she stopped before Alec or Magnus caught the name. "You got it? Perfect, that's all we needed." Izzy's smiled grew from ear to ear, "Thanks love, you're a doll." She hung up the phone and hopped back onto the bed giddily.

"Who was that? I assume it wasn't Jace," Alec said skeptically

"Just a friend I was waiting to hear back from," she brushed off the call like it was no importance to him.

Alec shook his head and stood. He walked to the bed that he and Magnus had been occupying and lay down next to him, "Lights out, troops," he sighed and shut the lights off. When Alec woke the next morning, he smiled to himself, feeling the warmth of Magnus' arms around him. He looked up and pecked him on the cheek and out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Izzy's bed was made and she wasn't in it. "Magnus," he shook him. "Magnus," he shook harder this time.

"Hmm, wha…" Magnus said sleepily. "What is it Alexander? You're making me lose beauty sleep," he groaned.

"Izzy's gone," he said bewildered, wondering where she would be. He sat up and looked around the small room. Her stuff was gone too. "Magnus, get up, NOW. She is REALLY gone."

"She's a big girl, Alexander. Let her be. She probably went to get a botox injection."

"No," he shook his head wildly. He knew Isabelle wouldn't be that careless in a situation like this. If she was gone, she was up to something and he would kill Jace for putting her up to it. The phone rang and Alec reached over quickly to grab it, "Hello?" The voice on the other end was exactly the one he wanted. "Jace!" he exclaimed, "Izzy is gone. I don't know where she went. There isn't a note or anything and all of her stuff in gone too. What have you done? I know you put her up to this…" he said angrily. "You haven't spoken to Izzy at all?"

Alec hung up the phone not knowing what to do. He didn't know where the hell she would be. Izzy was just as wild as Jace. She had been talking to someone on the side and hiding things from him. He didn't know why. As far as Jace knew…well, Jace knew nothing. At least, nothing he was going to tell him. Alec got up and went straight to his computer. He had to find his sister before Morgenstern did and probed her for information about Jace.

XXX

Clary was sitting on the couch watching reruns of 'The Vampire Diaries' when Jace flew through the door. In a matter of minutes he had duffel bag strewn along the floor next to the door and was running around the house like a mad man. Clary watched curiously, waiting for him to tell her to get dressed because it was time to leave. If he was getting all this stuff ready then it had to be that time. When he didn't say anything, she stood slowly and walked to the edge of the living room and planted herself there with her hands perched on her hips.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Leaving," he snapped quickly throwing more of HIS stuff in a bag.

"O.K. well, I'll get my stuff too then," she said slowly about to head toward the bedroom when Jace stopped.

"You aren't going anywhere. You're going to stay right here, where I know you're safe," he pointed at her first and then to the floor, giving her the look a father would give a daughter when being grounded.

"Wait…" she waived her hand in front of her face, "You're going to just leave me here…ALONE?" A tone and look, of complete and utter disbelief passing over her.

"Yes, I am," he nodded and went to get more of his things.

"You can't!" she shouted, "with no form of communication or transportation? You just," her arms raised and then she let them fall, slapping against her bare legs with a crack, "CAN'T!"

Jace came back into the kitchen with more stuff and flung them into a bag. He stood fast and made his way to her, placing his hands on the sides of her arms, "Listen, Izzy took off last night and I need to go find her before Morgenstern does. I can't protect you both, Clary. So please, just LISTEN to me for once." He shook her a little when he said it, like he was trying to will her to listen.

She could feel tears well up in her eyes as she sighed with defeat, "I-I don't want you to go."

He looked her in the eyes, his own filled with an understanding that only she would see. But she also saw, for the first time, fear and unknowing. She never saw Jace as the type of person to feel fear. He moved his hands and placed them lightly on her cheeks running his thumbs along her cheek bones, "I don't want to leave you, but I need to find Isabelle. I'll come back as soon as I find her. I promise, Clary. I'll come back for you." He pulled her into a hug, his strong arms engulfing her while body as if he was trying to fuse the two of them together.

This wasn't happening. Jace wasn't supposed to leave her. He was supposed to stay and keep her safe, love her and lately…put up with all the bullshit she threw at him. Which to say the least, she now regretted. What if he got hurt…or worse? She couldn't think like that. Jace was Superman. He will come back, he will come back, HE WILL COME BACK, she chanted in her head. "When are you leaving?" she mumbled into his shoulder.

"Night fall," he said, pulling back to look at her. He must not have liked the look on her face because the one she received was grief stricken and worrisome. "Don't make it harder than it already is, Clary. I have to go. This is Izzy we're talking about. I can't let Morgenstern hurt her."

A pang of jealousy ran through her then. Had he not done the same for her? She was waiting for him to say… "I have to, I love her, Clary." To her immediate relief, those words never came. "Go in the morning. Please, Jace," she begged. The tears stung harder but he leaned in and kissed her lips lightly, almost so light she could barely feel it. He rested his forehead against hers and sighed.

"O.K." he whispered with his eyes closed as he nodded.

So there it be...and did you all know that 'Don't Cry' won 2nd in the 3rd Energize W.I.P. Awards. Tear* I'm so proud! Thanks to all of you who voted! I truely love you!

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Sorry for any mistakes...it is un-beta'd will fix when In The Fray gets back to me!