A/N It's been so long, I'm sorry...but it's here now! Since my last update three people in my life died, I graduated and moved, and every time I cooked with a certain skillet I got food poisoning, sooo...yeah. Thank you for your patience! Anyways, please review; I love your love.

Songs to listen to while reading: This is from Matilda, 3WW, and Hunger of the Pine by Alt-J and Henry Purcell's When I am Laid in Earth, Dido and Aeneas.

-Windy

Rated M for sexual implications and actions as well as potential language.
Disclaimer: All characters/settings belong to Cassandra Clare.

"Will. Will, wait!" The words were out of her mouth before she could consider if they were wise. She wasn't sure quite what had caused her to say it, but she knew the look in his eyes – the strange, vulnerable darkness pooling in them.

"What is it, Tessa," he bit out. It was more of a statement than a question as he ducked out of sight, his comment, oddly enough, stinging her a bit.

"Nothing, Will. I- It was nothing." She sighed and reconsidered. "Only, there's no reason for you to go if you don't wish to…" There was a sharp intake of breath from the other side of the Chinoiserie screen as Will paused in his self-beration.

"Truly? You cannot think of a single reason for me not to be in your chambers, this very same room, while you bathe?" His sarcasm was a return to normalcy given their situation and Tessa welcomed it.

"Just stay behind the curtain, okay?" She relaxed into the water as she heard him sitting across the room. This was fine, she thought, they could just chat and clear the air between them until she was ready to get out. Her cheeks warmed as Tessa recalled exactly what she had been doing less than an hour prior. It was nothing he need know, she determined.

"Well, what now, dearest Tessa? What am I to do behind this stifling screen whilst you languish about your washtub?" His inquiries – seemingly genuine, if humorous in nature – startled her out of her reverie.

She laughed. Will joined her a moment later, as the truly ridiculous nature of their position struck the pair without either warning or mercy, leaving them both breathless full minutes later.

"You know, your laugh is what drew me in here," Will spoke quietly from the corner.

"I bet this was the last thing you expected." She smothered another giggle. A sobering thought struck the very naked girl.

"Uh, Will?"

He bit back another peal of laughter. "Yes, Tessa?"

"I forgot the soap."

"You did not."

Why else would she say such a silly thing? "Yes, of course I did, what with my unexpected company barging in here." She glared pointedly at his silhouette though of course he could not see her gaze for himself.

"Well, ah, I would offer my services, usually, as I excel at fetching small objects for ladies in dire need of assistance, I assure you, however, I cannot help but think further time in your presence as is would not be as appreciated as one might normally expect from such favors…" He trailed off, pausing his unusual ramblings at her sigh. For Tessa did sigh almightily.

"Please, Will? You've already seen my bared back and I cannot get out while you are in here and you cannot leave until I am washed and covered."

He shrugged smugly, she suspected from the rustling paper, and said, "Then we are at an impasse."

At his flippancy after barging into her quarters – without knocking, may she remind him – she accused, "This is the least you owe me. Just close your eyes! Honestly, Will, it's as though you've never seen a woman's uncovered shoulders before, and with your record!"

Huffing at the mention of his reputation, Will rose to his feet and ducked towards the vanity, before approaching the tub with his eyes closed as suggested and procuring the small bar of soap. Feeling Tessa retrieve the slick object from his proffered hand, he slumped to the floor and leaned back against the tub.

"What are you doing?" Her query summoned a visual of a furrowed brow and narrowed eyes before he waved the image away and replied, "I am simply maintaining proximity lest you think of anything else you require, milady."

The proud girl fumed at the jab that she might need someone to look after her, though with all this time at the Institute she had become embarrassingly reliant on Sophie. Yet she replied with civility, "Fine."

"Fantastic."

The two teenagers sat in uncomfortable silence for a few moments while neither of them moved. Tessa sighed once more and set to work soaping up her arms and back. The only sound was of water sloshing for a few minutes before Will spoke, his voice hoarse, from either temporary disuse or discomfort Tessa didn't know and wasn't about to ask.

"Tess, about last night-" his words were cut off by the sound of the girl behind him slipping in the water, followed by a thump when her head hit the rim of the bath as she slid under.

"Tessa!" Forgetting entirely about impropriety, Will was on his feet in a flash, pulling Tessa's unconscious form from the tub with ease, ignoring the rivulets of water pouring over them both and soaking him as well as her state of undress. "Tessa, Tessa, please, wake up!" He shook her gently in his arms to no avail.

Okay, okay, think, Will, think. Already mentally cataloging the Institute's occupants and their first-aid capabilities, the older boy wrapped her inert form in a large bath towel from the room's linen closet.

Jem was right out, obviously, given their conflicts in interest. Sophie or Charlotte would make the most sense as they had the best training, but he couldn't bring himself to get either of them as there was no decent explanation for his presence in Tessa's bathroom. The same went for Henry, and the thought of getting Jessamine to tend to the other girl in this state was laughable. That left Bridgette, whose skill-set was better suited to cutting and dicing things up rather than stitching anything, anyone back together.

It was just Will. He had, of course, attended a class over this very subject material hosted by the Silent Brothers years ago, but his penchant for appearing aloof and distracted throughout the lesson was seemingly coming back to bite him in the arse.

Okay, Will, let's check for shock and bleeding and we can…

Excruciating seconds passed as he checked Tessa's vitality and went over his handy-work. The bruising would be minimal and the cut on the back of her head hadn't required stitches, just pressure against the immense amount of blood oozing free. He sat back on his heels from his position kneeling at her bedside where he'd put her only minutes before.

Not bad at all, he mused.

Getting up to slouch in a nearby chair, Will waited for his patient to wake. In a brief, unrestrained moment, he allowed his eyes to roam her poorly concealed form, before tearing his eyes away in disgust at his antics. She had trusted him to stay and this was how he was going to repay her?

A small sound passed her lips as Tessa came to. "Ohhh," she groaned as she struggled to sit up, holding a hand to her head.

"Easy." A warm hand was on hers and another on her shoulder, carefully pressing her back into the pillows.

"Will?" She breathed.

"I'm here."

"Will!" Tessa bolted upright in bed, swaying feebly, and tumbling sideways. Will caught her as she slid free of the poster-bed and the hastily wrapped towel. She appeared not to notice, slipping almost back out of consciousness and nuzzling into his chest.

Remarkably, Will blushed as he shook the tall girl back to wakefulness.

"Tess, you have to stay upright for a little while. When you slipped, you hit your head and you may have a concussion."

At his reminder of the events leading up to this moment, Tessa squeaked and blushed, attempting to free herself from Will's arms while reaching for the towel she spotted on her bed and simultaneously trying not to uncurl any more revealingly in his presence.

Will laughed momentarily at her antics, but quieted as he saw her flush.

"Tessa, you have nothing to be afraid of. All I did was see to your head while you were out. Nothing more." Making eye contact, he added, "And it appears you are without concussion."

Tessa, still mostly bare but now standing, opened her mouth to thank him or perhaps shame him for further accidental intimacy, only to close her mouth as she began swaying again. Thankfully he saw this coming and rose to hold her steady.

They stayed like this for several minutes until Tessa regained control over her tongue.

"Will?" It was her turn to be hoarse and her question was tentative.

"Hmm?" He pulled back to better hear the girl in front of him.

She raised a hand to the back of her head. "There's blood in my hair."

"Mhm."

Noting the candles he had lit on her nightstand, she explained, "I need to wash it out before I can sleep, lest Sophie have a fright in the morning."

"Oh, no, I just patched you up from one incident in the tub, no way am I witnessing another in the same night. Especially in your current condition." He smoothed the hair back from her temple. "It's really not that noticeable. Honestly adds a bit of devil-may-care charm, don't you think?"

She glared at him.

"Okay, okay, you are not amused, I get it. Look, you probably won't like this, but if you're going back in the bath, you're going to need help." Will was sincere. His extended elbow was indicator enough that he wasn't about to take no for an answer and frankly, she wasn't about to refuse his careful guidance.

Clutching her towel about her midriff, Tessa grasped his arm and allowed herself to be led back to the tub. Will turned away but offered his shoulder as support as she slid into the now-cold water. Retrieving a steaming bucketful of water, her shivering stopped as Will poured it in, careful to stay behind her.

He sat, back turned, as he had not long before, waiting to help her out of the tub when she was ready.

"Um, Will?"

Tessa's soft utterance of his name would have gone unheard had he not been hyper-aware of her every sound and movement.

"Hmm?" His eyes were closed as he listened.

He heard twin splashes as she sighed – an all too frequent sound, it seemed – dropping her arms below the water.

"I can't hold them up," she whispered, positively mortified, but too exhausted to be prideful.

"What?" Will forgot himself and turned, only to meet the sweet and stormy eyes of to a girl on the verge of breaking down. "Shhh, hey, what can't you hold up, your arms?" She nodded. "Okay, well, what can I do? Would you like me to rinse your hair?"

Tessa shook her head yes, not trusting herself to speak.

Rescuing the bar of soap from the side table, he lathered her hair and set to work. His hands were surprisingly gentle on her tenderized scalp. Taking his time, Will worked his way from roots to tips, detangling as he went.

The girl in the tub hummed softly in appreciation. The boy on the floor smiled at her tired delight and continued his ministrations. Noticing a scrape on the top of her spine, Will took the soapy washcloth and rubbed once down the back of her neck, causing her to startle and stiffen, pulling away.

He lightly touched her goosefleshed shoulder. "I'm sorry. You have a scratch I was trying to clean up."

Tessa stifled a sob.

"Angels, Tess, I didn't mean to hurt you. Gods, I- I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

At that, she turned and buried her head in his shoulder, releasing all the confusion and pent up turmoil she had with and about this over-complicated boy who went from crude insinuations in the hallway to treating her like fine china. He let her cry against him for a time, rubbing soft circles on her upper arms until she was all out of tears.

Pulling away from him, Tessa wiped her face and dunked under the water a couple times to clear her head. By this point, Will was reeling from the whole encounter. Despite her sudden lack of proximity, he had never felt such a close bond with anyone other than his parabatai.

Clearing his throat so as to alert her to his motion, Will stood and pulled another towel from its shelf for the pale girl now shivering once more in the water.

"Thank you." Those damned eyes locked on his again.

Will grunted in reply and went to wait in her adjoining room, ever the gentleman, while she dressed, having brought her shift and nightgown with her this time.

A few moments later, Tessa emerged from the washroom, her hair hanging loosely down her back. Will's breath caught in his throat at the sight of a bruise forming on her cheekbone. That was going to be hard to explain.

"Will, I- I wanted to thank you again for helping me back there and for tending my head injury, um, so thank you, and I'm sorry I kept you from your evening and for losing control on you, I don't know what came over me…" She trailed off as Will closed the gap between them in a handful of strides.

"Let's get you into bed." His words were gruff but his hands on her back were kind.

"But-" Tessa protested to no avail, as his reasoning was sound.

"You've been through a lot today. You need rest if your pretty little head is to heal, alright?"

She sighed (again, damnit; that was rapidly becoming a tempting sound for him) and contemplated quietly but altogether cooperated with his prodding.

Leaning down as he tucked her in, Will ran his fingertips over the mark blossoming under her eye and across her lips.

"Goodnight, Theresa Gray."

As she drifted off to sleep, the final notes of When I am Laid in Earth floated softly, hauntingly through the hall while Jem closed his eyes against his violin and waited for his parabatai to return.