Finally, Magnus and Tessa took their hands off of Alec. Well, Tessa did, Magnus just moved his hands up onto Alec's face and placed their foreheads together with a relieved sigh. Jace and Clary moved away from Alec to give Magnus room, "Did it work?" Asked Simon hesitantly. Tessa nodded, clearly exhausted, and the tension in the room dropped dramatically, "Thank the angel." Whispered Isabelle. Zachariah stepped forward and put his hand on the small of Tessa's back, "You should rest now Tessa." He told her. She shook her head half-heartedly but leaned against him anyways. Zachariah/Jem/James chuckled, "Lie down on the couch, I'll make some tea… We can handle Alec."

He picked Tessa up, bridal style and carried her out of the room. Tessa giggled a little and made faint protests, but anyone could tell she was exhausted. Once they were out of the room Simon looked around hesitantly and asked, "Um, who were they, exactly?" The rest of them (except Magnus) shrugged, "She is Tessa Gray." Said Clary, "I met her at mom and Luke's wedding, and he was Brother Zachariah. But that's all I know about them. Magnus? You called him James." They all turned to look at Magnus, but he was fully engrossed with his boyfriend. He grunted when he heard his name, "Oh? James? Yeah- go ask him."

Simon rolled his eyes at the response, but Clary thought it was sweet, how absorbed he was by Alec. "We can go talk to them." She offered, indicating herself and Simon. She figured that Jace and Isabelle would want to stay with their brother. Isabelle had moved to Alec's bed and was holding his hand and Jace was alternating between sitting next to her and pacing around the room. The two Lightwoods nodded, and Clary and Simon walked out of the bedroom.

They found themselves in a large apartment, the walls of which were lined with bookshelves which almost completely full. Clary supposed that since Tessa was an immortal she had had a lot of time to collect the books. She must really love to read. There was also a lot of sheet music, mixed in with the books. A music stand with a violin stood in one corner, next to a window.

Apart from the bedroom there was a large living room that seemed to double as a dining room, judging by the large table in one corner. Also a kitchen, filled with foods and appliances from different eras and countries. There were a couple closed doors leading to other rooms and out of the apartment, and a large window, that showed what seemed to be the LA skyline. "Huh. We're in LA" thought Simon, only vaguely surprised that they had been magically transported to a city on the other side of the country.

Tessa was lying on a sofa in the living room as Zachariah/James/Jem covered her with a quilt. He stroked her hair back and kissed her forehead. Simon broke the moment by clearing his throat, "Um… Hi?" The dark haired man looked up, looking surprised and a little amused. "Yes?"

"We were wondering, um… What we should call you." Said Simon. Zachariah/James/Jem chuckled, "Well, you can call me whatever's easiest, I guess. You knew me as Brother Zachariah, so you can call me that. But my real name is James Carstairs. Most people call me Jem."

"Carstairs?" Asked Clary, "Like Emma?" Jem nodded, "My uncle was her ancestor, so we're cousins… Sort of." He smiled, "Sorry if it seems confusing." Simon shrugged, "Our lives are all confusing. We live in the shadow world." Jem laughed, "True. Do you guys want some tea?"

"Tea?" Said Clary.

"I have lived in China, England, America, and more. I have lived during the Victorian era and the twenty-first century and the one thing that has always remained the same is tea. It is a drink for any occasion, and it is great for comfort, and calming down nerves." Jem replied, smirking, as he went off to the kitchen. He took out a kettle and started filling it up with water.

Clary watched him then looked back at Tessa, "Is she going to be okay?" She asked. "Of course she is. Magic just takes a lot out of her, especially making portals and changing. And she had to do both of those in a matter of hours, while short on sleep. She'll be fine once she's rested."

"Changing?" Asked Simon. "That's what we call it when she turns into other people, like she did with Alec." Said Jem. "Yeah- how does she do that?" Asked Simon, "Magnus has never done anything like that."

"That's because he can't." Said Jem, which a touch of pride in his voice, "Tessa is the only person in recorded history to be able to do what she does. If she touches someone, or something that belongs to them, she can change into that person. Not just physically, but emotionally and mentally too. That's how she could find out Alec's symptoms, she literally became him."

"That's so cool!" Simon exclaimed, "She's like Doctor Who when he regenerates!" Jem looked confused, "Doctor Who?" He asked. "It's a TV show." Explained Clary. "Oh. I haven't completely caught up with pop culture yet." Said Jem. "So you're like Captain America!" Said Simon, not missing a beat. "That's the- superhero, right?" Asked the ex-silent brother. Clary and Simon nodded, laughing.

"So you and Tessa have been together for a long time." Said Clary as the water boiled, and Jem started pouring it into an old fashioned Chinese teapot. He looked over at her adoringly, "Yeah, we met in the nineteenth century, at the London Institute. We fell in love in less than a month. We were actually engaged; we were going to get married young because I was dying. But there was this man... He hated the Nephilim, wanted us all to die. He took my medicine and took Tessa. We defeated him eventually, but we couldn't have our wedding and I had to become a silent brother so that I wouldn't die."

Clary and Simon were silent. Jem just sighed, "It's alright. We still get to be together, it just happened a little later than we planned. And thanks to Jace curing me, we have a whole lifetime together, instead of just a few months. What flavour of tea do you like?"

"Anything is fine." Said Clary. Jem started pulling out cups and tea bags. Simon stared at him with fascination. He had met his fair share of immortal people, but he had never met an immortal shadowhunter before. Jem had the raw, youthful, looks of a Nephilim teenager, but there was a maturity to him, that reminded you of his age and experiences. "What do you do for a living?" He asked, suddenly realising that it might be different than what other shadowhunters did. "I hunt demons occasionally, but it's not the same now that Will- my Parabatai- is dead. Tessa helps me. She also runs a small bookshop and I give violin lessons."

"You play violin?" Asked Clary, surprised. Music wasn't something she associated with silent brothers; then again, neither was being engaged to a warlock. "I've always played." He said, "It's actually how me and Tessa met; I was playing in my room and she heard me. She came in to listen, even though it was the middle of the night. She looked like an angel…" He drifted off, looking through the kitchen doorway at Tessa, who was sleeping soundly on the couch. He shook himself out of his memories, "Let's go bring the others some tea."

They walked into the bedroom, where they found the others in pretty much the same positions that they left them. Jem started handing out tea as Clary went to Jace and Simon went to Isabelle. When Jem got to Magnus the warlock pushed him away, but the younger man was adamant in his tea delivery, "Magnus, you need to drink something. It will help."

"I'm fine."

"Bullshit. Drink the tea."

"But-"

"Magnus, Will was my Parabatai. Will Herrondale, I've gotten pretty good at helping people who don't want help. I will convince you to drink this tea, it's your choice how long it takes." Announced Jem. He and Magnus had a short staring contest before Magnus rolled his eyes and relented, "Fine." He said, accepting the tea.

"Will Herrondale was your Parabatai?" Asked Jace. "My ancestor Will Herrondale?" Jem nodded, smiling a little. "You remind me of him. You have the same spirit."

"And irrational hatred of ducks." Added Magnus. The tea did seem to have calmed him. Jace looked excited, "My ancestor hated ducks? Awesome." Everyone burst out laughing. Then Alec moved a little and everyone shut up to watch him. This went on for a few more hours, the six of them would talk for a while, before Alec would move a little and everyone would stop what they were doing to make sure he wasn't relapsing.

"Um, do you have a bathroom?" Asked Jace eventually. "Go out the door, and the toilet's just on your right." Said Jem. Jace nodded and walked out into the living room. As he began to look for the bathroom, he saw Tessa, stretching and getting up from the couch. She froze when she saw him. Then looked away quickly. "Why do you do that?" He asked. She seemed surprised, "What?"

"You avoid eye contact with me, like I'm Medusa." She tilted your head and examined him, "Asking rudely blunt questions. Definitely a Herrondale." Jace decided to take that as a compliment. "So?" He prompted. Tessa took a deep breath, like she was preparing for battle, "Your eyes remind me of someone."

"Who?"

"James Herrondale."

"And, were you close with James Herrondale."

Then, Tessa did meet his eyes. She looked at him so intently it was as though she pierced his soul. "He was my son." She said.