A/N: This is an alternate ending to 3x05, when Jace is looking for Clary at the Hunter's Moon. Just a oneshot; not a full AU.

Jace's eyes dart around the room, searching for Clary. He's beginning to get worried. She hasn't been around all day, and even though he knows she's been with Luke, something doesn't sit well with him.

His phone rings. He picks it up, glances at the caller ID, and sighs. "Clary. Thank the Angel, I was getting worried."

"Jace?"

Her voice is weak, exhaustion leaking into every letter. And there's something beneath that, too.

Fear.

"Where are you? I'll come get you."

"I- I'm at the Institute."

He gets up immediately, gestures to Catarina. "Are you alone?"

"No, Luke's here."

"Good. I'll see you in a minute."

He asks Catarina to make a portal for him. She obliges, and he steps through it to be spat out at the entrance of the Institute.

He charges through the halls until he finds Luke leaning against the kitchen table. A glass of something, probably whiskey, sits in front of him. Clary is nowhere to be found.

"She's resting in her room," Luke says. "Wanted some space."

Jace makes a move to walk out of the room, but Luke interrupts him. "There's something you need to know."

"What?"

"Clary summoned an Angel tonight. Ithuriel. It didn't go well."

He is too stunned to respond. Summoning an Angel is dangerous, even for the Iron Sisters who have express permission from Raziel himself. For an ordinary Shadowhunter to do it, it is a suicide mission.

Luke continues. "Ithuriel tried to answer her questions, but he was killed by a Greater Demon. We're not sure which one."

"By the Angel." Jace feels an unexpected pang of grief for Ithuriel, the benevolent Angel whose blood runs through his veins. "Is Clary okay?"

"She's exhausted, and in shock, but she'll be alright."

"Why the hell would she do something as risky as summoning Ithuriel?"

Luke gets that look in his eyes that he does sometimes, like he cannot possibly believe how stupid you are. "She did it for you, Jace. She's so desperate to get you answers that she risked her life." He takes a swig of his drink. "I hope you're worth it."

He watches Jace stand there for a minute before he sighs. "Yes, I'm done. Go."

When Jace gets to Clary's room, she is lying in bed. She looks so young, lying there in pyjama pants and a T-shirt that looks like Luke's. Dark shadows sit beneath her eyes, standing out stark on her pale skin. Her face brightens a little when she sees him.

"Hey, you," he says.

"Hey."

He lays down beside her, on top of the covers, and helps adjust her so she's leaning on him. "How are you feeling?"

"Drained, mostly. Like every inch of me aches."

"Can I do anything?"

"This is good."

He traces patterns on her arms with a feathery touch. "Luke told me what happened."

"I figured."

"I can't believe you would do that for me." His voice is tight. "Clary, you risked your life."

She shrugs. "I love you." Like it's the simplest thing in the world.

He thinks of his childhood, where every look, every word, every action had a purpose behind it. A lesson, or a punishment.

He thinks of Clary, who brushes her fingers against his as they walk past each other or tells him she likes his eyes or brings him his favourite snack for no other reason than because she wants him to know she loves him.

Maybe it is the simplest thing in the world. Maybe it can be.

He kisses her, softly. "I love you, too."