I'm baaaaaack! The last chapter wasn't the end for all you people who were asking! Sorry this is a little late, but I'm a busy human being!


The alley is dark, the pungent smell filling my senses as I look around. It's empty and I'm alone. Shouts and gunfire explode in my ears and I cower, hands firmly pressed over my ears, eyes tight shut. When I open them, I'm in other room, a concrete hall - a crude version of the Renwick Hall.

"Kill me. You've already killed your father," Someone speaks, I turn and face my mother, her features somewhat blurred but recognizable as her. I shake my head, unable to speak. She sneers and Valentine comes into vision. I blanch and lift my arm, surprised to see a slick black gun already in my hands.

"Clare-bear, you would kill your parents? What did we do to you?" He says, hands up in the air, a replica of dad, down to the loving but horrified expression.

"D-dad?" I stutter, voice shaky. I try to lower my arms but they refuse to budge. His eyes widen as he stares at me.
"No, don't shoo-"

BANG. The gun explodes without my action and the gun knocks back as it hits him in the head. His form crumpling as his shocked face pierces through my heart. My mum screams and I swivel around to her. She keeps screaming and screaming. My hand tightens on the gun. No, no, no, no…I don't want to-BANG.

I shoot up, sitting up in a flurry of clammy sheets. The screaming continues and I frown, leaping out of bed to find the source. Maybe it's Phin… I stumble under my legs, forgetting the wounds and crash into the floor. I let out a little shriek as the screaming stops; I groan loudly from the floor, the pain throbs from my side and legs. I lye there for what seems like hours until the light in the room turns on and the door opens to reveal Jace, he looks down at me sympathetically.

"Clary, you have to be more careful," He chastises, hobbling over to lift me back onto the bed. I sigh. He sinks down on to the mattress next to me.

"Who was screaming?" I ask tiredly.

"Izzy." He replies, sadness lining his features. "Ever since that day, and I, w-we don't know what happened. She won't say,"

I nod.

"It can't be anything good," I point out.

"We know, that's what makes it so much worse,"

He puts his arm around my shoulders, drawing me to his side, rubbing circles onto my shoulders.

"You okay?" He asks.

"I'm a bit tired, couldn't sleep,"

"I can't sleep either. I keep seeing you and you don't wake up and there's so much blood and-" His voice cracks as he is on the verge on tears.

"It's okay, I'm still here," I comfort him. "You can cry you know,"

And then he does, in torrents, I just hug him as he leans into me. Stroking his hair to comfort him. His sobs are heartbreaking and I just feel so guilty for dragging them into this. He stops when the door creaks open to reveal Maryse, her face tired and haggard, deep circles formed under her eyes from sleep depravity.

"How are you kids doing?" She asks softly, coming into the room, shutting the door softly. Jace snivels and then sits up straighter. Maryse smiles a little as she sits down next to me on the bed.

"No-one can sleep," She informs us. "Not even Alec."

I give her a hug, and she sinks into it, grateful for the support I think. I break away and make a move to get up, but Jace tugs me back down.

"Wheelchair, remember?"

"Oh. Right."

He lifts me into it and I smile a little.

"Why don't we have a sleepover then? I'm sure there must be enough room somewhere in this house," I suggest. Maryse face lights up.

"That's perfect, I'll go round up the others."


Soon we're all huddled in the living room, splayed out on mattresses covering the floor in a circle, after pushing away the furniture. The fire is blazing in the crate and gives the room a warm and cosy glow, Jace thoughtfully made sure I was kept furthest away from the fire. It was a good thing too, I was both fascinated and terrified by it. The burns still sting sometimes, although they're scarring over. Isabelle looks exhausted, her beautiful face dampened by the tiredness, her hair hanging limply over her face. Her shoulders are hunched over the hot chocolate she is cradling in her hands. I smile at her and she smiles weakly back, before turning her attention back to the hot chocolate. Phin gets up from where she was talking to Max and shuffles over in her oversized sleeping bag until she's sitting next me, cuddling the blue teddy I gave her for her fourth birthday.

"My shoulder is hurting," she says quietly to me.

"Did you take your medication?"

She nods. I put my arm around her and pull her into my side, kissing her forehead.

"It'll go away soon, I promise,"

"Okay,"

"You know, it's alright now. We're safe, no one is going to hurt you anymore,"

"I know," she states matter of factually "you're going to protect me,"

I give her a little squeeze.

"I'll always be here," I smile and then add on, "that also means I'll be here to tell you to go to bed. It's late, you should get some sleep."

"Goodnight," she says and then simply flops down onto her side facing away from me. I shake my head at her adorableness.

"And I'll always be here to protect you," Jace says, wrapping his arms around me. I smile and give him a quick kiss before turning on my side to sleep, exactly like Phin did. Jace chuckles and then pulls me back to him, dragging me to his chest so that we can curl up together.

"Goodnight Cherry,"

"Night Jace,"


"Slow down!" I scream, as Jace pushes me faster. He lets go and I scream louder as the wheelchair slides along the smooth marble flooring. Alec dives out of the way as I hurtle towards him, pulling a sparkly dude down with him. I skid past them and crash into a wall, softened by a few cushions Jace had set up. I screech and then it's stopped. I laugh at the rush of adrenaline and glance back to see Alec helping up Mr. Sparkles.

"Sorry!" I call out to them, wheeling towards them. When I get a better look at the sparkly Asian I notice that it is Magnus Bane.

"MAGNUS! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" I yell, angry with the drug dealer.

"He's my boyfriend," Alec supplies hastily. I stare mutinously at him, his eyes widen.

"I-I'm sorry I'm gay, but-"

"I don't care if you're gay or straight, I care that you're dating him!"

"What's so bad about Magnus?"

"Clary, can I talk to you for a second?" Magnus asks politely.

"No!"

"Please just here me out-"

"How do you two know each other?" Alec asks confused.

"Magnus here is-"

"Clary please, have an open mind!"

"I do have an open mind but when that involves you and the-"

"Claaaaary!"

"What is going on!? What are you not telling me!?" Alec cries, confusion and apprehension written across his face. I bite lip, Alec obviously likes Magnus and telling him about the deals might break them up…

"It's nothing. Just a little row we had," I lie. Magnus shoots me a grateful look and I roll my eyes.

"But I'm about to end it so, Clary with me please,"

I huff and shuffle along to the room Magnus has entered before he close the door.

"Look, it's in the past. I know it was bad and you got caught in it, but it's all over now. The debt has been lifted and so I don't need it anymore. The chains have all been broken anyway since the Morgenstern's are all now pretty much extinct. I love Alec, and I lose him if he finds out," Magnus pleads with me. I sigh.

"Okay, for Alec."

"Thank you,"

I wheel away, and open the door.

"Does this mean you're up for the record deal?"

I look back at his hopeful expression.

"Maybe,"


"I don't want to go back," Phin complains, running away from me. I frown at her and chase after her on my newly issued crutches, after I was deemed strong enough to go without the wheelchair.

"Phin be sensible!" I shout after her, she swivels around when we reach the landing.

"No!" She protests, stomping a little foot. "I want to stay here!"

"No, you've missed way too much school already!"

"And I want to miss more!"

I give her my serious face. She hesitates but then crosses her arms defiantly.

"Maryse can teach me!" she argues.

"No,"

"Why not!?" She whines, frowning up at me.

"Because…."

"Because I'm busy, I'm sorry Phin but I have to work," Maryse swoops in, carrying Phin's school bag.

"Then-then…I won't go!"

"Seraphina you are going to school whether you like it or not!" I finalize. She huffs and refuses to look at me.

"Come on it's not so bad," Maryse encourages her, "Max is going back with you,"

"…okay," she mumbles and trudges back into her room to go and get changed. I roll my eyes at the door that slams in her wake.

"Wow, she is going to be the worst teenager ever," Izzy comments, just got back from her newly instated daily jog. She says it helps get rid of the stress, Simon goes with her to help her feel more secure. Simon practically lives here now, Izzy needs him.

"I know," I answer, rubbing my eyes. "Although she has a point, I don't want to go back to school either,"

"We don't really have a choice though do we?" she replies, "I mean, I really don't want to go back to a place with so many people but…it's just one more year,"

"Of hell,"

"Yeah but we have each other now, and if Kaelie so much as looks at you or Jace or even Alec. I will give them some of my cooking,"

I laugh harder than I have for a while, but I've laughing so much more lately that I'm sure I'm getting abs.

"Yeah, we have each other,"


I hobble along on my crutches; I was getting better it. Jace speeds along annoyingly fast, having no trouble navigating with only one leg. He sticks his tongue out at me as he swivels around to watch me struggle along behind him. Izzy laughs and re-adjusts her bag, grabbing Simon's hand. I can see people whispering about the 'crutch crew', as we make our way through the school entrance. Jace's leg is still in the cast and wrapped up in bandages and I still have a bullet wound in mine. We look comical, both with crutches. Jace's black eye has pretty much faded and he only wears little tiny scratches across his chin. When we reached our first lesson, Mr Starkweather raises his eyebrows at us.

"Good heavens! What happened?"

"Ask the CIA," I reply, handing him the official letter of approved absence, stamped with the CIA seal.

He just gapes at us as I flash him a smile and takes my seat at the back. Jace plonks down next to me with a smirk. Kaelie turns around in her chair and opens her mouth to say something but Jace puts a hand up to stop her.

"We're really not interested,"

"I don't care if you're-"

"Shh!"

"You're-"

"Not interested why yes thank you,"

She frowns exasperated, really wanted to put her point across.

"Welcome back," she snarls.

"Clary can you hear something?"

"Mmm….no. I don't think so,"

"Odd,"

Kaelie huffs.

"Stupid almighty Crutch Crew-"

"Shut up or I'll tell Mr. Wayland about you're situation," Jace snaps.

Her eyes widen and she turns background, mouth firmly shut. I give Jace a pointed look, but he taps his noise. I jab him with my elbow, smirking victoriously at the back of Kaelie's head.


"I feel really hot," Jace says, wiping his brow.

"Yeah Jace we all know how-"

"No I mean like fever hot,"

I frown; it was unlike Jace to not crack a joke. I place my hand across his forehead and he was right his forehead is burning up.

"I- I feel really dizzy,"

"Jace…"

He slumps over.


"I'm afraid we have bad news," the doctor concludes. My head snaps up at the same time as Jace's. We discovered that his leg wasn't healing and his condition was only getting worse.

"What is it?" I ask skeptically.

"I'm sorry, but we're going to have to remove the leg,"

"No! Why!?" Jace cries, eyes desperately finding mine.

"The bullet wound is severely infected. It is in your best interest to cut it off before it can spread to anywhere else in your body,"

I close my eyes, one thing was just piling onto another at the moment.

"We're going to get through this, we have each other," I say grabbing his hand, he grips it hard and meets my gaze with his own glistening eyes. They were so beautiful.

"They were much too young to die," the pastor says, addressing the far too small crowd gathered to grieve. "So much potential." He sighs. "Let us end with a prayer,"


I bow my head, the tears falling off my cheeks and splattering onto the ground. Comforting arms wrap around me as their body shakes, I grab his cold hand and lean into his side. Once the short burial service is over I glance up into Sebastian's red rimmed obsidian eyes.

"It's just us left now," he says, his voice cracked. He rakes his free hand down his face. "They were my only friends, Clary, I-I don't know what to do,"

I just lean further against him.

"They kept me safe so many times and I owe them so much," I supply. I look up to see across the cemetery to see Jace hobbling towards us with flowers in a bag across his shoulders. He's getting his surgery tomorrow, but he is so amazing that he came here with me, even though he is in sever pain at the moment. I take them as he reaches me and kneel down next to Jonathon's grave I place the red ones on his. With a farewell, I move on to Raphael's, whom I never really knew. I place some blue ones on his. It was unfair that they should've died. Only a few survived the massacre, and spread out across the grass were about twenty freshly dug graves. Of course, there should be hundreds, but my father wasn't worth a funeral, he was cremated along with the rest. I stand up and hug Sebastian, his face contorted with grief.

"I'm here for you okay? I'm not just going to ditch you when you've lost everything. I am going to find you a place to stay and then we're going to get you a job at a proper garage." I say to him. He nods.

"How?"

"I'll find a way,"

I turn away and walk away, passing graves of past gang members until I reach the grave piled high with flowers. It was underneath the willow tree, tucked away in a little corner. The headstone read 'Isaac Decker'. I sink down in front of it; Jace gave me some privacy by visiting his own parents. The tree blows in the wind and a few leaves fall over my head as I place the flowers on top of the rest. All from CIA members I assume. I sigh and bow my head respectively, playing with the hem of my shirt and awkwardly address the gravestone.

"Thank you, I don't know where I would still be if you hadn't swooped in and saved me. I heard that you were the one to tell Andy to get Phin. You saved her life. There's not much else you could have done that meant more to me. I only knew you for, gosh, a week, maybe more? You were so nice it was like you were always there. You were so brave and strong and I would not be here if it were not for you. So, I'm sorry that you didn't make it and…well, thank you."

"You're very welcome," a voice replies from behind me.