When Jace heard the bathroom door shut and lock behind Clary he gasped with pain and leaned against the doorjamb of his room. He arched his back slightly so that it didn't touch the wall and found that it was a more comfortable position that with a normal straight back. He made his way toward the stairs. On the second step down he found Church curled up in a ball and staring at him with his large eyes.

"Hey there," he acknowledged him. "Where is everybody?" he said as he bent down to rub his back. Halfway down he felt the sharp pain in his back and tried to straighten his spine but only wound up losing his balance and tumbling over Church and all the way down the stairs until he hit the landing. He landed flat on his back and groaned in agony.

He saw Church slinking down the stairs and glared at him. All that got Jace was to have Church walk over him instead of around him. He could really care less. He heard the sound of bare feet running toward him. He closed his eyes and relaxed his neck.

"By the Angel, Jace!" he heard Izzy exclaim. "What happened to you?"

He looked up and saw her standing beside him in her robe. "I…fell?" he said, not quite sure exactly what to say so it came out more like a question than anything else.

"I can see that," she said. "Now why did you fall?"

"I decided to take a tumble down a flight of stairs to wake myself up this morning. I've been trying different things all week. Yesterday it was flicking myself in the eye. The day before it was—," he started saying.

"Jace," she said threateningly.

"I tripped over Church."

Isabelle stared at him for a moment then shrugged her shoulders. "Alright." She offered him her hand. He took it and tried not to grimace as she pulled him up into a standing position.

Alec stuck his head out of his bedroom window. "What's going on out here?" he asked, not seeing anything out of the ordinary since Jace was no longer lying on the ground.

"Jace fell," Izzy said, sounding almost sarcastic.

Alec got a weird look on his face but said nothing. He glanced over as he saw Magnus walking out of Robert and Maryse's room with them following closely behind him.

"And what do we have here?" he asked delightedly. Then his face fell slightly when all he saw was Jace and Isabelle standing on the landing.

"Is everyone alright?" Robert asked.

Isabelle opened her mouth to say something but Jace cut her off before she could say anything. "Fine," he said loud enough for everyone to hear. "We're all fine."

It was silent for a moment and then Alec said, "Where's Clary? I thought she would've been the first one out here."

"She's taking a shower," Jace said. Everyone started to move around to do their daily things after they knew that everyone was alright. "And," he began. Everyone stopped and stared at him again. "I'd rather she didn't know about what just happened."

"What happened?" Magnus asked curiously.

"Exactly." Jace smiled.

"No, really. What just happened? You never told us," he said, getting confused.

"It's better that way. That means that there's less for you to hide." Jace looked around at everyone and saw that most of them were agreeing with him. It was hard to tell if Alec was agreeing since he was making weird facial expressions at Jace, trying to get his attention. He widened his eyes slightly at him and then cut them toward his bedroom. Jace looked at the door and was shocked to see that Clary was standing there with a towel wrapped around her. No doubt she came out to see what the commotion was all about.

"What's better to have less to hide?" she asked Jace quietly. "What are you hiding from me? Who can you be hiding something from except my mom and Luke…or me?" She glared at Jace suspiciously.

Jace sighed and made his way up the stairs with his back slightly arched again, trying not to lose his balance for the second time today. He made it up the stairs without grimacing so he considered it a success. He walked toward his bedroom, opened the door, and pulled Clary inside with him, shutting the door softly behind them.

The moment the door shut Alec walked over to where Isabelle was standing.

"He fell? When was the last time that Jace has ever fallen?" he asked incredulously.

"I believe that would be when he was thrown into a wall my Se-Jonathan," she said, stuttering slightly when she remembered his name wasn't Sebastian.

"Jace never falls. Why did he say that he fell in the first place?" Alec wondered.

"He said that he tripped over Church. I suppose it could happen but I don't think that's what it was. When I got here he was just laying there. He didn't even stand up."

"That's definitely not normal. But there's not much we can do now, is there?" Alec said as he glanced at the closed bedroom door. "He can't hide whatever it is from everybody. And now Clary knows he's hiding something. He has to tell her. Right?" he asked.

"I don't know Alec. I don't know."

"Jace, what aren't you telling me? Why are you trying to hide things from me? You can tell me anything. You know that, don't you?" Clary started out talking loudly then gradually got quieter.

"I know," he replied. That was all he said.

"If you know then why the Hell aren't you telling me?" Clary exploded. "Jace, I have a right to know what's going on! It's not like I'm a liability to you guys anymore. I know what I'm doing."

"I know you do Clary. I'm not saying that you don't. It just that…," he sighed, getting frustrated.

Clary hitched up her towel and folded it in on itself so that she didn't have to hold it up. She walked closer to Jace and put both of her hands on his shoulders. He looked up at her. "What is it?" she asked him gently.

"It's nothing really. My back has just been bothering me a little bit," he muttered.

"Your back?" Clary asked, getting concerned. "Did you try using an izrate?"

"Yes. I did. Nothing seems to be helping it."

Clary thought over that for a moment. "Have you talked to Magnus about it? Maybe he can do something to help."

"I'd rather not get Magnus involved in more drama over my sore back."

"For some reason I don't think he'd mind a little more drama," she said with a smile. "I'm going to go change. Wait here and I'll see what I can do about your back." With that she turned around and walked back into the bathroom.

Jace went back to the bed and sat on the edge, not wanting to lie down and experience any kind of pain like he had on the stairs. He took a deep breath and waited for Clary to come out of the bathroom.

Thanks to the reviews from the last part. I'll try to get more in this week but I have to finish my summer homework so I don't know how much will get done. Review and tell me what you think. More will be coming soon. Thanks

:D