I got called out because I said I would update again and then I didn't. I'm sorry! Here ya go! ;)

The next morning, Clary got Sebastian bright and early. She got him discharged, and the two were soon on their way to fix up that machine. They wound up spending the entirety of their day there just as Seb had predicted the night before. He worked diligently with Clary offering the occasional helping hand.

"Can I ask you something?" said Clary as she watched her brother work.

"I suppose."

"Why did you prefer dad?"

Sebastian glanced back at Clary for a few moments. When he returned to his work, he shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just always felt a stronger connection with him than I did with mom."

"He was abusive."

"I didn't see it that way." Sebastian's hands were shaking now ever so slightly. He continued to work, though, and didn't look back at Clary again. "When he raised me, he always told me the belt was the only form of discipline. I thought it was normal. I thought he did it because he loved me. And I guess a part of me still thinks that. Mom, on the other hand, was away at work more often than not. She avoided father as much as possible and, since I was usually with him, wound up avoiding me too. When she had you, I guess I got a little jealous. I begged father not to hit you too. In my warped, twisted child mind, I thought that if he hit you it meant he was giving love to you as well.

"Mom started paying attention to you and showing you all this affection. I think she tried to with me as well, but I honestly don't remember very well. I just know that I thought the way she treated you was harmful. That wasn't love, it was hate. But dad loved me, and he didn't hit you as much as did me, so I thought I was the favorite."

"Oh, Sebastian, I'm so s-"

"Don't say you're sorry," Sebastian scolded. "I've had enough people tell me they're sorry."

"But it's different with me. I lived that life with you. I just never knew how you felt during that time." Clary put a hand on Seb's shoulder. He stiffened and his hands stopped working. "I'm sorry."

After a few moments, Sebastian nodded and resumed his work. "Thanks. It actually does mean something coming from you."

The two fell into a comfortable silence after that. Clary sat down on the floor after a little while. She glanced at her phone, which had been on silent all day, to find just a couple of messages from Simon, Alec, and Magnus. She had been expecting more, but at least this meant Simon had listened when she told him she didn't want him contacting her today. And at least Jace hadn't tried to call her either.

Jace...

Despite everything she had been saying, Clary's feelings for Jace were still rather complicated. She was unbelievably angry at him for having kept such a large secret, but another part of her was confused because she knew there was some type of lust she felt for him. It was the same lust she'd always felt for Badger throughout their crime-fighting time together. She didn't want to feel it though. She didn't know him.

These thoughts tumbling through her mind, Clary barely even noticed when Sebastian stood and stepped away from the machine. It was late at night now; Seb had been working for nearly thirteen hours. Clary bolted up from where she sat, her eyes glued on the machinery that sat before them.

"You're done?" Clary asked Sebastian.

He nodded. "I think so." When Clary gave him a sideways glanced, he cleared his throat. "I know so."

"Great. Then, let's do this." Setting her phone down, Clary opened up the machine's door. She stepped inside of it and lied still as she waited for Sebastian to close the door.

"How much time had you lost?" Sebastian asked.

"I was told about three months."

"Okay. So, I guess I'll see you again in three hours." He grabbed the handle of the door but hesitated. "Are you sure about this?"

Clary nodded her head. "I feel like I'm going crazy, Seb. My head is pounding as if it's going to implode at any moment. I just need to know what I'm missing."

Again, Sebastian hesitated. Then, he nodded and closed the door. Clary took a deep breath as she waited for something to happen. She was unsure of how much time had passed, but it was only a few minutes before she felt her eyelids grow heavy. As the sound of gears turning started, Clary fell asleep.

"Jace!" Isabelle called from the kitchen. She had shouted his name three times now, but he still wasn't emerging from his bedroom. "Jace!"

"What!" Finally, he came out. He looked like an absolute mess; his hair was mused and he wasn't wearing a shirt. He had on only one sock and it had a hole in it. Isabelle was sure that were she some other girl she would find this look rather desirable, but instead, she just felt sorry for him. Sure, he looked like a greek god, but on his face was a frown and below his eyes were bags.

"Let's go out tonight."

He shook his head and started back for his room. "I don't want to."

"Oh, come on!" Now, Izzy followed him. "Let's go out and get reckless. Don't you want to have some fun? Don't you want to just get drunk and drown your sorrows?"

"My metabolism is far too fast for that," Jace said. He grabbed a shirt off his bed and turned to Izzy. "I can't get drunk."

She frowned but wasn't giving up. "That doesn't matter. We can still go out dancing."

"I don't like to dance."

"Then we can play darts or pool."

"My agility extends to my reflexes. It wouldn't even be a game. It would just be me dominating."

"And does that not sound like fun?"

Jace deadpanned. "No."

Izzy groaned. She sat down on his bed. "You have to do something. You've been sulking all day."

"I went out this morning to Taki's with Alec."

"Yes, and then took a nap when you got home and haven't gotten up since."

Jace sat down beside her. "I just don't feel up to anything."

"I know." Izzy rubbed his arm. "It's not your fault." She dropped her hand and thought for a moment. "Do you want to go out superhero-ing?"

Jace had to chuckle at that. "And what does 'superhero-ing' consist of?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Lifting cars...reading minds."

Jace stood then, scratching the back of his head. "Actually, Clary sort of stole my telepathy."

"What do you mean she 'stole' it? How can she steal it?"

"I guess she has a new power: she can absorb others' powers."

Izzy scoffed. "That is totally unbelievable. But then why didn't she have this before?"

Jace shook his head. "Don't even get me started on that. Neither of us had the answer to that."

She nodded. Standing, Izzy brushed off her pants. "Well, if you don't want to do anything, then I guess I'll just leave you alone."

Jace watched as she started out of his room. "Heading to Simon's again tonight?"

Isabelle stopped in the doorway. "Yeah." When all Jace did was purse his lips, she sighed. "I didn't talk to her last night, and she was already gone when I woke up this morning."

"If you see her tonight, will you let me know how she is?"

"Not like she's going to want to talk to me." Isabelle nodded though. "But yeah, I will."

"Thank you. Night, Iz."

"Night, Jace." And just like that, she was gone.

Jace sat back down on his bed. He had never actually put on his shirt during his conversation with Izzy, just held it in his hands and rubbed the material between his fingers. A surge of frustration flooding through him, Jace suddenly flung the shirt across the room. It hit the wall without a thud and fell to the ground where it stayed. Still frustrated but not wanting to put a hole in anything, Jace laid back down and closed his eyes.

The most unfortunate thing about Clary waking up was that she knew exactly where she was. This was unfortunate only because her knowledge allowed a wave of pain and other negative emotions to wash over her. Other than that, she felt good. Not only could she still remember what had happened in the past two weeks, but she could also remember everything from the past three months. This was great!

Crap...

Just as Clary grew excited about her regained memories, she was filled with guilt for how she had treated her friends recently. Most of all, she hated how she had treated Jace. Then, the thought of Jace reminded her about a lot of other things too. Boy did she have a lot she needed to rectify, but for now, she had to focus on Sebastian.

When the machine door opened, Clary was greeted by her older brother. Immediately, she engulfed him in a tight hug. It had been too long since they'd seen one another (even if technically they'd seen each other just three hours ago). When she released him from the hug, she kept her hands on either side of her face.

"You can't go in there," Clary said. Sebastian raised a confused eyebrow. "I know how much you want to remember, but you have to trust me. You were sick, Seb. There was something wrong with you; you twitched and had these outbursts...I don't know what it was, but I don't want to see you in that state again."

Sebastian looked past Clary to the machine. He swallowed hard. "How am I just supposed to accept that a year of my memory is gone?"

"I'll fill you in on everything," Clary said. "All the bad parts included. I just don't want to see you messed up like that again. I just got you back, and I kind of want to keep you."

Sebastian locked eyes with his little sister and nodded. "Okay."

"Thank you!" She released him then. "Now, there's someone I really need to talk to." Clary grabbed her phone off the floor and checked the time. It was eleven pm.

"Jace?" Sebastian guessed.

Clary chuckled. "Turns out he really was more than a friend." As she rushed for the door, she smiled. "Way more than a friend."