***Gideon P.O.V***

My conversation with Sophie about the origins of her scar kept replaying in my mind. Not only had this excuse of a Mundane hurt her physically, leaving the evidence for all to see, he had also hurt her on an emotional level as well. He had left her feeling uncomfortable in the presence of men, especially those who were her employers. No wonder she was sceptical of us at the start. She had thought that no one would want her, but that had changed when I came along. I would never hurt her, as, like Will had said, she'd been hurt enough. The incident had caused her to want to become a Shadowhunter, so she could have the skills to defend herself, but her loyalty to Charlotte had prevented her from voicing this to anyone, until she opened up to me.

I decided that I would be the one to turn her dreams into a reality. Partly because I was the only other person who knew about it, but mainly because I loved her, completely and utterly and wanted her to be happy. Not that she wasn't happy as a maid, but she deserved so much better. I knew Charlotte would understand. Yes she was going to lose a maid, but maids were replaceable, and she would gain an excellent Shadowhunter in Sophie. I'd had trained a number of Shadowhunters in my life, and Sophie was better than so many of them, so I knew she was strong enough for ascension. Once I had fully healed, I would discuss the matter with Charlotte.

My conversation with Gabriel also gave me something to think about. He clearly had a lot of guilt on his mind. He now understood why I had left, But was seemingly struggling to decide how he felt about not leaving earlier. The ting about Gabriel was that if you had his loyalty, he would stand by you, whatever happens. In the majority of cases, this was no bad thing, but a rare occasion would arise in which it would be a terrible thing, and his loyalty to Benedict had been the worst of those rare occasions. In his mind, he was struggling to stop himself from seeing the worm as his father, resulting him thinking he had straight up murdered his own flesh and blood. As you can imagine, that kind of thinking wouldn't sit easy with anyone. It is my understand that I, along with everyone else at the Institute (include Will, and we all knew hoe the pair felt about each other) had tried to convince Gabriel that the demonic worm had been just that, a demonic worm, and by killing it, he was doing his duty as a Shadowhunter. Unfortunately Gabriel was struggling to see that, but we weren't going to give up trying.

Things weren't all doom and gloom where Gabriel was concerned however. Thanks to Sophie we were repairing our relationship. Neither of us wanted to admit it but we needed each other, with Benedict, and Tatiana was blaming us for his death and bringing down the family name. She had moved in with her in-laws. When Gabriel had told me this piece of information, I found myself exclaiming "en buena hora" (Good riddance) which made him smile. I also heard from both Gabriel and Sophie that a budding relationship was developing between Gabriel and Cecily, not that Will had found out. Gabriel had been reluctant to allow his feelings to turn into anything, but the more time he had spent in each others company was making this more and more difficult.

The day that they had gone shopping to get some stuff for Jem, only to find out he was going to be a silent brother was the day he decided to stop pushing away his feelings and allow whatever happened to happen. That had been the only thing to come out of that fateful day. Despite my own recovery, I hadn't had the chance to talk to Charlotte about Sophie, due to Jem's worsening health, I thought it be insensitive to discuss such matters. Instead I offered to so whatever I could to help. Will had vanished, presumably to Wales to save Tessa (she had been taken the day I was deemed well enough to leave my bed. The automatons were getting stronger, which wasn't a good sign) which meant he had to suffer the loss of his parabati alone. I may not have always like Will, but I truly felt horrible for him. There are some things you don't suffer alone, that being one of them.

***Sophie P.O.V***

Once Gideon had healed and was back to full health I returned to my duties. Tessa had been taken by automatons, Will had gone charging off to Wales to save her, and Jem's health was failing. He had made the choice to become a Silent Brother and the day they had come to collect him was a dark day for the institute. As I had spent so much time in Gideon's company when he had been recovering, he hadn't taken my returning to my chores all that well. He often tried to help me with them like an obedient puppy in order to spend time with him. I admit, I had grown used to his company, so his helping me was very much appreciated. We would often steal a kiss in an empty corridor or room whenever we could as neither of us were fans of public displays of affection.

We were in the dining room, and Charlotte, Henry, Cecily, Gabriel and Gideon were having breakfast when Gideon made an announcement that changed my life. Charlotte had received a letter from the Consul informing her that he would not be sending any Shadowhunters to Wales on a weak bit of evidence sent by a seventeen year old. It would mean that Charlotte was left with the Shadowhunters round the table. I pointed out that Bridget, Cyril and I had all had training and were prepared to fight. Gideon then came out with the comment "It's a shame really, about Sophie not being a Shadowhunter, not only is she one of the best people I have had to train, and if she isn't a Shadowhunter, how am I supposed to marry her?" Everyone stared at him, and my mouth dropped open, He seemed to realize what he had said, and shot me an apologetic look.

Charlotte looked over at me "would you like that Sophie dear?" she asked. I found myself sounding rather stupid by asking "the Shadowhunter part or the marriage part?" which caused Charlotte to smile. "Let's start with the Shadowhunter part" she said, which caused me to give an embarrassed smile. "Well yes. I would like to be a Shadowhunter, I've wanted to become one since I began working here, but I never asked as I didn't want to kept you down, after everything you have done for me" I admitted, which caused Charlotte to give me a sad smile. "Sophie if it's what you want, I wish you had voiced this to me sooner. I can get a new maid, but can't get a new Sophie. If what Gideon says is true about your training, and I have no reason to believe otherwise, having you ascend will mean I have gained a talented Shadowhunter" she said, which made me feel incredibly happy. She was about to say something else when Cecily ordered everyone out the room. Gideon looked set to leave when she commanded him to stay where he was.

Once they had all left, Gideon turned to look at me. "Sophie mi amor (my love) I'm sorry for my outburst, it was most unlike me. I hadn't intended on saying anything, but my love for you caused me to declare our marriage" I interrupted him promptly. "Gideon, we have nothing as of yet to declare. You have not yet proposed" I stared, a small smile on my lips. He frowned then realized what I had said was true, then got up out of his seat. "Then Sophie a proposal you shall have" he walked round until he was in front of me, then got down on one knee, and took my hand in his. He looked straight into my eyes as he spoke. "Sophie, since returning to London I have hated everything except my time with you. The more I got to know you, the more I fell in love. You are the bravest, kindest and most beautiful woman I have ever met, and my life has been and will continue to be better with you in it. Would you do me the honour of marrying me and become my wife?" I felt a tear slide down my check. That had to be the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me in my entire life. I nodded "I love you too Gideon, so I will marry you". Gideon's face broke into a radiant smile as he stood up and kissed me on the lips.