Hey guys! Glad you're enjoying the fanfic hehe.

So there was a comment asking me to have Clary talk less, and I agree 100%. Trust me when I say she will be closed off for a while, and then she is going to open up slowly :)

Also...I changed the rating to M...just letting ya know :)

Enjoy!

Four months later...

Clary was still surrounded by the darkness. She was used to it. There was nothing she could do. While she was the coma, she felt very isolated. Sure, people would talk to her, and hold her hand, but they would never understand how sad she was.

Depression hit her in waves, and she wanted to stop contact with every body. Jace, Isabelle and Alec came once a week to talk to her about things that happened at school. Luke, Raphael, and Jon came every day, while Jocelyn came once a month.

Clary lived in her nightmares. After her second day of being in the darkness, it turned into something more. She could still feel the pain of the abuse from Valentine. She could feel her body being thrown in the wall, the sting of the needle, and how she wanted to give up.

That was when something happened.

In the darkness, she saw a single beam of light. She ran towards it, and when she did, she could open her eyes.

Clary heard someone gasp. "Doctor! She's awake!" When Clary adjusted her eyes, she saw the face of someone she assumed to be the doctor.

The doctor smiled at her. "Clary, I'm glad that you're awake. I'm Doctor Belcourt, and the first thing I want you to do is drink some water. Can you do that for me?" Clary nodded, and took the cup of water that was offered to her. She asked Clary some more questions, like if she remembered everything and how she was feeling.

When Dr. Belcourt brought up the topic of Clary's family and friends, she tensed. "Don't tell anybody yet. Please. I need some time." she rasped. The doctor didn't look happy about, but she told the nurse to keep visitors from coming for an hour.

Dr. Belcourt took Clary's hand in her own, and gently squeezed it. "Clary, look, I respect your wishes, but an hour is all you get. They've been waiting for you to wake up for 4 months. They deserve to know."

Clary knew this was true, and she nodded her head in agreement. Dr. Belcourt left the room, and gave Clary her privacy.

She was confused, depressed, and upset. Clary had relived her nightmares for four months, and that took a toll on her. She grabbed a hand mirror from the table beside her, and gasped at her reflection. Her emerald eyes were even duller than before, and they were...lifeless. Her skin was paler, and her hair was limp.

She knew that Luke, Raphael, and even Jonathan deserved to know she was awake. She loved Luke and Raphael, but she didn't want their comfort. She didn't want anybody's comfort.

That was when she heard someone yelling outside. "What do you mean we can't see her!" yelled the person, who sounded just like Raphael. That was when the door swung open, and she saw Luke, Raphael, and Jonathan stare at her in disbelief.

Luke ran to her side, and was prepared to hug her, when Clary scooted away from him. He looked heart broken by her reaction, and Clary glanced at Raphael and Jon, noticing that both of them looking at her like she was a piece of glass.

Clary didn't even know she crying until she saw a tear fall onto her hand. Raphael had moved next to her, and tried to hold her hand, but she refused. He looked at her, the pain evident in his eyes. "What happened to you Clare?"

By this point, her body was wracked with sobs. "Don't touch me please, oh god, h-he's taking me away. NO! NO PLEASE!" Clary let out a guttural scream. Luke and Raphael shared a look of horror, and they tried to hold her, but she pushed them away.

"Pl-lease...l-leave. I-I need time." she stuttered. Luke was crying, and he looked like she stabbed him. "Clary, please, we want to help. We waited so long and we-"

"PLEASE!" she screamed. "I need space!" Clary watched as they filed out of the room, and Jonathan looked back at her sadly before closing the door.

Luke sat in Dr. Belcourt's office, and he was broken when he saw Clary's reaction. Jonathan and Raphael sat next to him, and from the looks of it, Raphael looked broken, will Jon was upset.

Dr. Belcourt shifted in her seat. "I told you guys to wait. She needed space. Look, I hate to be a pessimist, but her situation is delicate. Her emotional state has been ripped to shreds, and therapy won't work. I have a suggestion...but, I don't know if you guys will accept it. Keep in mind, my suggestion will be the most effective option you have."

She rubbed her tired eyes, and looked at them again. "From what you all told me, she's a junior in high school. There's a fantastic mental institution in California, one that has a very high success rate in making patients return to a...normal state. It's called the Institute of California, or the Institute for short, and I want her to go there for the rest of her junior year and half the summer. It's December right now...so...she should go there till August."

Raphael looked livid. "8 months! You want her to go to a state she has never been too for 8 MONTHS?"

Dr. Belcourt glared at Raph. "Yes, 8 months. Look, none of us know her mental condition right now." She turned to look at Luke. "You told me that Clary loved you and Raphael. If she did, why would she push you away? Think about it...she's been in a coma for four months, and she had to think about the events of her torture all alone."

Luke looked down at her desk. "We can't afford it. It's expensive...and, I'm not sure any of us would be willing to just let her go."

Dr. Belcourt cleared her throat. "You don't have to pay for anything. I already called them, and they've never seen a case like Clary's. It's like she's going on a "scholarship", so everything is paid for, including the plane tickets. But there's a catch...you see, the Institute is like boarding school. She goes there alone, and you can't visit her until the Institution allows it."

Luke was having none of it. "You're telling me that after all this bullshit, I would be willing to ship her off to California? Hell no." Jonathan nodded his head in agreement. Just as Dr. Belcourt was about to say something, a nurse walked in, ushering for her to come outside.

When the door closed, Luke closed his eyes, and slunk in his seat. He loved Clary, and he knew that having her get help in California was a good idea. But he almost lost her for good when Valentine took her.

Sometimes, change is inevitable, and Luke would find that out the hard way.

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