Soon enough, the media lost interest. Thanks to some of what Jace referred to as 'creative truth-telling', they were soon dismissed as confused teenagers who made it through a week in the woods on a fluke. After retrieving their belongings (courtesy of the fire department) and doing a few television interviews that mysteriously never aired (Magnus still has the camera's SD card, and watches the footage over every so often when he needs a laugh), they were free to go home.

Alec and Magnus had recovered in record time. Magnus slept in the campground infirmary for a whole day, and, once his magic was back to normal, cured Alec almost instantly. The paramedics who had been tending to them were amazed, but didn't ask questions - thanks to some glamours that Izzy had surreptitiously applied to Alec, they realised that the initial break hadn't been anywhere near as bad as they'd thought. Thank goodness Luke and Jocelyn had talked them out of going to a hospital.


The first thing that Izzy did upon arriving back in New York was have a bath. A really long bath. In fact, her first bath lasted for over an hour before Jace 'encouraged' her to get out by threatening to throw out her make up. Her next bath, taken two hours later, only lasted half as long. In fact, within the first two days of being back, she'd taken a grand total of five baths. She claimed she could still feel dirt on her, but in reality, she was just enjoying having alone time - something she'd had none of for the entire duration of their stay in the wild. Also, she did still feel dirty. Somehow, mud had gotten everywhere.

Jace, in one of his protests about how much hot water Izzy was using, demanded to know why she took so long. What could she possibly be doing? Izzy winked and told him it was "girl stuff", which effectively terminated his interrogations. She didn't actually know what "girl stuff" was, but she was fairly certain that she wasn't doing it. Really, she would spend ages sitting there and thinking. Sometimes she thought about Simon, about how cautious he was when it came to her. Sometimes her thoughts wandered to Magnus, to how they both had to 'share', and to how well he coped with it. But mostly, her thoughts revolved around what Alec had whispered to her that afternoon - what he'd said after she made it to the top of the slope. Just three words - "you did it." And those three words still made her heart skip a beat, because she did it. She had done it. He'd doubted her, and she'd proved him wrong. Isabelle regretted ever having slipped, ever having caused the struggle they endured - but at the same time, part of her wouldn't have taken it back if she'd been given the chance.


Clary was having a phenomenal time 'recovering'. Even though the worst injury she'd suffered was rope burn, Jocelyn insisted upon fussing over her, bringing her food in bed and exempting her from chores. It wasn't like she was manipulating her mum - she'd said multiple times that she was fine - but Jocelyn wouldn't let up. Eventually, Luke had to persuade Clary to let her do as she wanted - "It'll be good for your mother," he reasoned, "and it's not as if you're not having fun."

Simon spent as much time as he could with Clary. Clary would have liked to think that it was because he loved spending time with her, but she knew that whenever Simon was around, Jocelyn fussed over him, too, and Simon seemed to enjoy that more than she did. Despite being in such close confines with everyone for so long, Simon seemed to be the only one who still enjoyed the others' company. Clary didn't mind having him around sometimes, but after his eighth visit in two days, she pretended to be asleep (that didn't particularly bother Simon - Jocelyn invited him in for freshly-baked cookies nonetheless).

Clary had only seen Jace once since they'd gotten back - they'd been at the Institute, in the training room. Instead of training, they were picking up where they'd left off - Clary had barely said 'hello' to Jace before he asked, rather abruptly, "Can we get back to making out now?"

They had, and Clary couldn't say she wasn't enjoying it. They'd been alone for almost three hours before Alec had stumbled in, gathering his weapons to take to Magnus' - his - apartment. Although he'd been profusely apologetic and practically leaped out the door, the mood was lost. They had talked until Jocelyn called and asked her to come home so she could sample a new brownie recipe. Clary had promised to bring Jace some the next time she saw him, but promptly forgot that and ate them all with Jocelyn and Luke in one sitting. She knew Jace wouldn't mind, though - not if he was… preoccupied. Preoccupied with kissing her.


Alec had indeed moved in with Magnus, and it was working better than either of them had hoped. Apart from a few small habits they'd both have to kick (including but not limited to: Magnus' tendency to leave things lying around the house, Alec's propensity to throw out things that he thought were unimportant, both of their very different styles of organisation), they got along well. The first night that Alec had slept there, they'd shuffled the furniture so they could sleep on the floor - "for old time's sake," Magnus had claimed. Then, Magnus had charmed the ceiling to look like the night sky. They lay there, side by side, for almost an hour before they both agree that the floor was unnecessarily uncomfortable and lay in the bed instead.

Magnus made good on his promise to introduce Alec to Beyoncé. Though he was hesitant at first, Alec did indeed listen to most of her songs. From old -

"Trying to make us three from that two?"

"Hmm?"

"Is she… is she trying to clone him? To duplicate him somehow? Is she a warlock?"

"She's… Alexander, she's talking about having a child."

"Oh."

- to new -

"So, what did you think?"

"Um… I think the title's misleading."

"Why?"

"Well, you'd think a song called 'Don't Hurt Yourself' would be about encouraging safety."

"And?"

"… I think whoever that song was written about has never been less safe in their life."

- Magnus shared the wondrous works of Beyoncé with his boyfriend. He thought he'd achieved success when Alec hummed along to 'Crazy In Love', but that seemed like nothing compared to when he walked in on Alec vacuuming and singing 'Partition'. Feeling a sudden rush of affection towards the awkward shadowhunter, Magnus spontaneously decided to teach Alec the 'Single Ladies' dance.

Now that was an experience that neither Alec or Magnus would ever forget.


One promise that hadn't been made good on was Simon's decision to have a Lord of the Rings marathon. He'd messaged everyone a few dates so far, on which they could all get together and watch all 20 hours and 30 minutes of the six films. Unfortunately, all of the dates Simon had suggested coincided with what Jace described as 'important Shadowhunter business' that would prevent he and Alec from coming. An hour or so after that message was sent, Jace amended it to 'important Shadowhunter and warlock business,' conveniently exempting Magnus from it as well.

Simon wasn't disheartened, though - Isabelle and Clary had agreed (albeit reluctantly) to marathon the movies with him, which left Jace to either spend those twenty hours alone or third-wheeling Alec and Magnus. Simon didn't have anything against Jace, but he still considered this outcome a victory. He could picture Jace shaking his head now, and, not for the first time, deigning to concede: Touché.


Now, they sat around a table in Java Jones. Seeing as if wasn't really built for large functions, they'd had to assemble four smaller tables (three square and one circular) to accommodate their party - as well as a mishmash of chairs. It was the first time all eight of them had been out together in public since they'd gotten back, and Jocelyn would have been lying if she'd said she wasn't nervous. Even though the footage of their interviews had disappeared, she knew a few online articles had been written about the case. Even though it was impossible, Jocelyn was nervous that they'd be recognised - that more attention would be drawn to the weary pack of travellers.

It was strange - they all looked so familiar, so wonderfully familiar, but at the same time, she could tell things had changed. It wasn't just the dirt, the bumps and bruises - some things had changed that she just couldn't put a finger on.

It was true - things had changed, even if she couldn't describe them. For instance, Simon stood a little taller. Instead of thinking of himself as a mundane in a group of shadowhunters, he now thought of himself as, simply, 'one of them'. Not 'one of the shadowhunters' - 'one of them.' Maybe he wasn't runed, or super strong, or super attractive (depending on who you asked, of course) - but that wasn't what made him similar to the others. It was his loyalty, his bravery, his quick thinking. It was his selflessness, his determination. So what if he was a little on the scrawny side? So what if he preferred Mortal Kombat to actual combat? The week in the wilderness had proven that he was just as brave as any of them, and just as willing to use what he had to do good. And so he stood taller, he held eye contact for longer, because he was Simon freaking Lewis, and he had indeed come, saw, and kicked its ass.

Sitting next to him, Izzy was smiling softly. She'd changed, too. She'd initially been afraid of looking weak, of her image of strength looking lacklustre. But she'd been through a lot - sprained ankles, fevers, metaphorical punches to her emotional state. And whenever she'd tried to look brave, she'd ended up looking weak. When she'd stormed away from Alec and refused to face him, she hadn't looked strong. She'd seemed afraid. When she'd insisted on carrying Magnus, it didn't show her independence, it showed she was afraid of looking dependent. It would be unfair to say she wasn't brave - in fact, it'd be wholly untrue. But her bravery, her strength, wasn't shown through acts of bravado - it was shown when she spoke her mind, when she prioritised finding Simon over her own health, when she used every ounce of strength within her to climb to safety. She was strongest when she felt the weakest.

Next to her was Jace, who was laughing at something Simon had said. A genuine laugh, not a sarcastic one. He didn't have it in him to act spitefully to Simon right now - not when they were being civil like this. It was strange - before they'd left, Jace wouldn't have considered giving Simon a break. He would have kept up the 24/7 snark schedule. But now… he understood things a little better. Jace had been raised thinking that emotions were a sign of weakness, but he knew otherwise now. He had for a while. But being in the wild, seeing how easy it was to ruin or make someone's day, he knew that emotions weren't weaknesses or strengths - they were a part of life. And no matter how hard you tried to act as if they weren't, your emotions were still so deeply embedded in you that you follow them, consciously or not. Clary acted emotionally when she hid the GPS from everybody. Simon acted emotionally when he hit Jace. Izzy acted emotionally when she'd insisted on carrying Magnus. He'd acted emotionally when he'd snapped at people, pushed Alec to do stupid things, ignored Clary for over a day. No one was capable of ignoring how they felt, even if they wanted to. So Jace decided not to snap at Simon, not to keep up his nonchalant facade, and to allow himself to listen to his feelings. To show how much he cared.

Alec sat opposite Jace, listening contently to the conversation. It was strange - up until recently, being the oldest of his siblings had meant he was the responsible one. He had never felt older, just like he had more responsibility than the others. In a way, it was because he'd never had the confidence to consider himself anything but the absolute equal of Jace and Izzy. Perhaps being older didn't make him any different to them, but perhaps it made him more of his own person than he'd thought he was. He remembered how good it felt to stand up to Jace and Simon when they were being ridiculous, how good it felt to be listened to - not just because of the responsibility he had, but because what he was saying was worth listening to. And when he recalled those nights with Magnus, he couldn't think of a time that he'd felt more worth something. If he was worth Magnus' love, he was worth the world. So he sat there, listening to what was happening, not giving a damn about what the others were doing and whether or not he should do it to - no, he knew he could do so much more than follow their lead blindly, because he was worth the moon and the stars, and so long as he listened to himself, he could do no wrong.

Magnus sat next to him and stole quick glances in his direction whenever he could. There was something about Alexander, something different than before, and Magnus found himself infatuated all over again. It had been a big step to ask him to live with him, but it had felt so right - when Alec had risked his life to save Magnus, he'd known that if he didn't allow himself to get close to Alec, he'd never forgive himself. Screw his fears of growing old without him - if he didn't live for himself now, he'd live forever regretting just that. He'd seen just how quickly things could change - be it Alec being washed down a river, or Alec falling off a small cliff, or Alec finding out he had magic back and refusing to speak to him. Mortals were fickle. But at the same time, he'd seen how Alec had slowly opened up, revealing his most embarrassing crush. He'd seen Alec laugh and smile and become someone new. And then, he and Alexander had spent so many nights in each other's arms that he could still feel the impression that he left. Perhaps mortals were fickle, but they were also reliable. And that little fact took the edge off of the daunting void of eternity that Magnus didn't want to face.

And next to Magnus was Clary. Clary, who now spoke boldly in reply to a comment Simon had made. Clary, whose eyes now lit up as she engaged in a debate. She'd changed most of all. From the first day that she'd discovered that GPS, she'd taken on a weight that she'd been afraid to share. When Magnus had found out, she'd felt the world sway underneath her. Keeping it together had been a struggle that she'd very nearly lost. But once it had all fallen to pieces, even once Jace had stormed off and everyone averted their gazes out of pity, she'd learnt something that she couldn't have learnt any other way. She'd learnt how to pick up the pieces and put them back together. She'd learnt that maybe, the strongest thing she could do was not to refuse allegations and remain stoic, but instead to accept what she'd done was wrong and try and make amends. She'd learnt that perhaps, her decisions weren't always right, but sometimes, they were. And most importantly of all, she'd learnt that no matter how badly she screwed up, the friends she had would be willing to forgive her if only she worked for it. And so even though she'd fought monsters, escaped demon realms, killed people and nearly died herself, she'd found strength in making a simple mistake. A strength that now held her up on its shoulders, tying her to the others.

Jocelyn and Luke observed the children with rapt interest. They had hardly been recognisable when they'd first been discovered. But now… some things had changed. Maybe not for worse, or for better, but the events of that week had been irreversible. And perhaps, just perhaps, that wasn't a bad thing.

A waitress came to take their orders. She wrote down every single item without comment, and only once she had finished did she say, "You've ordered yourself a feast."

The table laughed - of course they had. After returning, their appetites had been insatiable - Simon had indeed gone to McDonald's and fulfilled his wish that he'd made earlier - a vegetarian burger, large fries and a large lemonade. Magnus had joined him, though only briefly - Alec had called halfway through their outing to say that he'd tripped over a chest and it had spilt, and the contents of it seemed to be running away from him, so could Magnus please come home and help him catch it?

The waitress smiled, her face aglow, and so refreshingly normal. Clary had almost given up on normal.

"Celebrating, are we?"

A pause. Were they celebrating? Strangely, it was Simon who spoke up.

"Yeah."

A further pause, in which the waitress waited for him to explain what they were celebrating. All the others had turned to him too, curiosity getting the better of them as they waited to find out what he'd say.

His eyes flicked to Clary, uncertainty as plain as day on his face. He hadn't expected to explain his answer - that much was clear. Smiling, she raised her eyebrows slightly, prompting him.

After a pause that was almost too long to be comfortable, he said, "We're… we're celebrating… being here."

Clary's eyes crinkled, and the atmosphere softened in a kind of unspoken agreement. The waitress, clearly missing a layer of meaning, nodded as she collected their menus. "Well, that's as good a reason to celebrate as any."

Their conversation returned to a happy level of normality, discussing memories and politics and weather. Clary caught Simon's eye once, and his warm smile filled her with an inexplicable sense of wonder.

The food came, the waitress beaming as she left with a cheery, "enjoy your meal!". Despite being ravenous, Isabelle cleared her throat and raised her glass of coke. Following her lead, everyone did the same, waiting with their arms suspended for someone to say something.

Finally, Luke spoke up. "To being here."

Clary remembered what her mother had told her, had told all of them - that camping would be good for them. Things hadn't exactly gone the way she'd envisaged, but perhaps Jocelyn had been right. Perhaps it was good for them.

"To being here," she echoed.

And they ate, smiles and laughs echoing around the table, wearied eyes seeing the world anew. They were there, with each other, and they couldn't be happier.

They were there.


Hey guys!

I just wanted to say one big final thank you for reading this fic. Your continual support has meant so much to me! I know there are a few instances in which I took artistic liberty, so I know that perhaps this storyline hasn't been for everyone, but there are still so many people who have gone out of their way to make my day that little bit brighter and tell me they enjoyed my work. I hope you have gotten the same joy out of reading what I've written that I have out of reading your reviews.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to point out how much I love the Mortal Instruments, and how much I'd love to write another fic revolving around these characters - I'm not sure if it would be a spin-off of this or an entirely different story, but if you have any ideas that you want to see in a fic, please PM me or leave a review to let me know. I'm always excited to try and bring a whole new dimension to the characters that I know and love so much.

So yet again, thank you all so very much for how positive your response to this fic has been, and I hope that you're happy with how it unfolded. Your support has been amazing.

Have an extraordinarily wonderful day,

- The Potterhead from Middle Earth xxx