A/N: The time has finally come for this story to come to an end. I had some thoughts of maybe doing a short story with a bigger time gap that would just be updates on where my characters are, but I would like to see what my readers think about that. I had an idea for how I wanted this story to be from the very beginning but as time went on I decided to change it up a bit, but the one thing that really stuck with this story was the bond between Clary and Jonathan. When I read the books I really wished that they had a chance to experience a sibling bond. So, it made me really happy to bring that to life in my own way. And as for Clary's love life… I will let you read on to find out... Enjoy!

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A lot of things had happened within so little time. Jonathan and Clary were taken into custody immediately and questioned separately. To say that the way the Clave had decided to obtain answers out of the them was the worst part of the entire ordeal, would be a flat out lie. Because the worst part of this entire aftermath that had been set into motion had only just begun.

Most of the charges against them had been determined to be orchestrated by their father and Lilith, whom was his accomplice. There had been numerous of trials that had taken place, along with many testimonies that required the use of the Mortal Sword. Clary had no idea how it had been retrieved, but nonetheless she had to hold it in her grasp various times. It got to the point where the pain wasn't as unbearable as it should've been each time it is given to someone.

And though most of the charges had been cleared, both Jonathan and Clary still had to receive some sort of punishment. They hadn't been allowed in the room when their fate was being decided, but to Clary's amusement she had heard from a brief visit with Luke that Jocelyn had sure made quite a scene. Even she knew never to stand in her mother's way when it came to Jocelyn defending a matter that she cared so deeply about. She should have felt a little terrible for those who had to face a mother trying to protect both of her children, but after everything that she and her brother had been through, she didn't have it in her heart to feel terrible.

But she had to admit that she was a little bummed that she couldn't both hear nor see her mother in action in that moment. Especially when it came to hear her defend Jonathan. Clary could remember exactly what played out the day that Jocelyn had come face-to-face with her son. She could see that her mother was so overcome with various emotions as she was finally able to the witness the vision of her baby boy that had finally been manifested into the real world. Though it did go without saying that both Jonathan and Clary were beyond taken aback when Jocelyn had run up to him and embraced him. It took both Luke and one guard to pull her from him when it came time to the siblings being escorted to their first trial.

In the end it was decided that they were to be subjected to a reconditioning period. Those weeks consisted of non-stop monitoring by guards during their entire reconditioning treatment along with those that went out of their way to make their lives a living hell every single day. But even though those weeks had been both physically and mentally challenging, both siblings knew deep down that they deserved an even worse punishment.

During those weeks, Clary had only seen her brother when they were being escorted to different areas for their endless amounts of lecturing amongst other things. She didn't think she was going to be able to make it through that experience all on her own, but of course her brother had managed to make it all better. It all started when she found the first note that had been slid under her bedroom door. Throughout their stay they had made it a game for each other to have to find hidden messages in the areas of the days that they each were subjected to staying in. Until finally it was time for them to be released back into the world.

It wasn't until they were released from their prison-like home that Clary was finally able to witness the beginning of the worst punishment that she would ever encounter in life. That was having to see the faces of those that had suffered from the events that she had been a part of.

She would never forget the amount of sadness that she had witnessed just from the mere glances of those she had come across as Jonathan and she were led to their temporary housing. Clary would always carry that horrid emotion she felt in those few moments with her for as long as she lived. And it was then that she vowed that she would do everything in her power to make up for what she had done in any way that she possibly could.

~~

One year later

It had taken a long while for the Clave to even fathom the idea of leaving both Jonathan and Clary unmonitored even though they hadn't shown even the slightest of chance of them setting back into their old ways. Though it had been decided that if they wore a tracking device when they were given assignments that required them to travel out of bounds that it would be okay to not have to be shadowed by guards.

But of course, it didn't go unnoticed by them that there were always at least one or two guards that had been sent to keep an eye on them during assignments. They didn't mind it one bit since it meant they were able to leave the confines of their childhood home even for a little bit.

After a few months without any incidents were they finally given back their freedom. There were still times that Clary found it rather difficult to leave her home and run essential errands due to those that would never forgive what was done, but of course her worries would vanish as soon as she felt Jonathan's hand grab hold of hers, letting her know that she was not alone. They were in this together as always.

And it did go without saying that Clary kept to the vow she had made. It was her idea to give the Morgenstern manor a complete makeover. Once they were finished with the makeover their childhood home had been almost unrecognizable. Along with the complete makeover came the idea of opening their home up to those who had not the best of an upbringing as them, or to those who needed a place to go. Their new home would serve as a safe haven to those who were misunderstood by those around them, just as they had been ever since they had been brought into this world.

Clary wanted nothing more than for her vision of her family manor to serve as both a home and schooling for fellow Nephilim where they could be their true selves without the worry of ever being judged for who they truly were. But with that dream in mind, Clary knew that it would take time for that vision that was so crystal clear in her mind to come to life. But of course Clary was a very patient hunter. She bid her time for the perfect moment to voice her ideas to the Clave and to her complete surprise, she was not met with much resistance as she had been preparing herself for. Slowly, but surely both Clary and Jonathan had taken the careful steps to put their future plans into motion and played by the rules that had been given to them by the Clave.

And now with the grand unveiling of the manor being almost within their reach, both Jonathan and Clary were more than anxious to be able to pass on what they could to the next generation of Shadowhunters as well as continue to perform their own duties as Nephilim. Just as it should have been if they had been given the chance to have a normal upbringing, but in the end neither sibling would have wanted to change anything that played out because in the end it was how they were brought into each other's lives in the very first place.

Things were slowly but surely coming around for the Morgenstern siblings, yet here now in the present as Clary reminisced about the past year, she felt there was something still missing. With a delicate noise of frustration, she set down the comic she had been trying to read for the past thirty minutes. She had promised Simon that she would catch up on the current volume of their favorite series, so they could talk about it, but her heart hadn't been in it in this moment.

Instead her mind had decided that it wanted to bring up the past, which ended up with her feeling the telltale signs of a migraine approaching. She released a defeated sigh, thinking that she should just head back home before it got too dark and would make Jonathan worry for her wellbeing. Then she of course would end up feeling terrible for making him worry.

It was that last fleeting thought that made her sit up, grabbing her comic as she prepared herself to jump down from the boulder, but at the very last second, she went completely still upon hearing the cracking of a branch. She cursed under her breath when her fingers flew to her waist and it was then that she realized she hadn't grabbed her utility belt off of her nightstand before she had headed out of the house. So, now as her verdant hues skimmed along the edge of the forest she was bending down to grab the sturdiest branch she thought she could use as a weapon, just as she noticed someone stepping out into the opening of the forest.

It wasn't just anyone though. The branch fell from her grasp, landing just beside her foot with a loud thud as her breath suddenly caught in her throat. "J-Jace?"

He had been just as surprised as she had been, because never in a million years did he expect anyone to be out here. Especially not Clary. It took him an embarrassingly long time to even muster up an answer to her, causing him to clear his throat to give him one last moment to compose himself. "Fancy seeing you here, Clary. I didn't expect anyone to be here. I actually should be going now. I don't know why I thought it was a brilliant idea to come here, when I have people waiting on me. It was nice seeing you though."

Clary's heart was pounding so fast in this moment as she was taking in every single inch of his entire being, that it took her a short while to even process what he had said when he suddenly was turning to leave. She didn't even think through her actions as she ran across the clearing until stopping just short of where he was. Her arm automatically reached forward and just as her fingers were going to grasp the sleeve of his shirt, she stopped and let her arm fall back to her side before shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "No, don't leave. This is your special place. I shouldn't even be here. I didn't think it through earlier. I just wanted a quiet place to read. I should be the one going. It was nice seeing you too though. Take care, Jace." She spared him one last glance after seeing him only give a silent nod of his head in answer to her words, and it was then that her emotions got the best of her.

She hadn't seen him since she saw him in passing during the first trial. And she felt stupid for even thinking that there was a chance that he would wait for her. She had hoped all that time to hear some sort of response from him. Even if it was only a meaningless letter to tell her that what they had was over. But of course that didn't happen. She couldn't even feel any sort of resentment towards him because in all honesty she didn't deserve his love. She had once thought that she cared so deeply for him but in the end it turned out that maybe she had been wrong. She should feel lucky that he even had spoken a word to her right now after how she had treated him. It was that last thought that led her to decide to leave things how they currently were.

Clary heard his footsteps as he walked away from where they had both been standing, giving her the chance to brush away the tears that had begun to obscure her vision before they had fallen down her cheeks. She had just taken a few steps into the midst of the countless trees when she heard him call for her. She sucked in a breath as hope began to blossom within her chest, making her clumsily turn back and step back into the clearing. But only then when she looked over at him did she realize why he had called for her. Her face nearly fell with utter sadness setting in, but she quickly squashed all of that down and promised to dwell on those feelings later in the safety of her room.

"You forgot this." Jace murmured softly as he held her booklet in his hand as he made his way over to her. He didn't dare get too close with the fear that he would take her into his arms. Deep down he despised himself for not being able to feel some sort of hate towards her for how she had left him hanging without a word since she had been gone. And he despised himself even more because he knew that she would always hold a place in his heart. That is why he had been so much in a rush to get away from her. But as he stood there, he couldn't happen to notice that her eyes seemed to hold a pinkish hue to them as if she had been in the process of crying. His chest ached right then and there, making him suck in a breath as he forced himself to all but throw the booklet into her awaiting hand.

"Thanks. I would have been in so much trouble if anything happened to this. Goodbye, Jace." She said a little too stiffly as she gently took the comic from his hold, and just as she was in the process of leaving, she couldn't help but let out a soft gasp when his fingers suddenly grasped her arm to stop her dead in her tracks. Her gaze flitted upwards to meet his, but the emotions that mirrored both in his features and gaze left her unable to say anything in that moment.

Jace cleared his throat as his grip loosened on her arm until he let go of her completely. "I don't want this to be how things end between us. I—"

Clary shook her head as she rushed to interrupt him midsentence before she lost her nerve. "I am so sorry, Jace. I know that there is nothing I can say nor do that will ever make up for what I put you through. But I want you to know that I did care about you. I still do. I may not have always shown it as well as I should have, but I want you to know that. I don't expect you to accept my apology or even want to see me after today. After I didn't hear from you after the trial, I figured it was best to just leave you alone for good, but I am happy that we crossed paths today, so we can end things hopefully on a good note." She felt her cheeks flush a pinkish hue in response to her blabbering, feeling rather embarrassed that she had just spoke so fast and couldn't stop herself once she had started speaking, but she really did mean what she had said.

Jace stared at her in disbelief upon hearing one thing that stood out to him during her entire speech, which left him both appalled and slightly agitated. "Let me get this straight… You actually think that I just abandoned you after the trial?"

Clary crossed her arms as her gaze flitted down to the ground, attempting to not fidget so much under his stare. "It's alright, Jace. I understand why you would want to put some distance between us."

Jace couldn't believe what he was hearing right now. He didn't even think too much into his next actions as his fingers went to rest under her chin, tilting her face up to meet his gaze. "I didn't abandon you, Clary. I wrote you countless times and when I never got a response I just finally gave up."

Clary's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing his words as her breath caught in her throat when her emotions threatened to get the best of her. She stepped away from his touch, shaking her head as she blinked tears away. "You should have given up on me. You had every right to. I am no good for anyone." And against all odds she sputtered a laugh as she forced herself to look at him once again. "I actually thought for a moment that I could even suggest that we could be friends, but I can't do that to you. No, I won't. I only end up hurting people. I'm sorry, Jace."

"No. You aren't going to get away from me that easily, Clary." He stated with a slight growl when he could see that she was on the verge of running away at any given moment. He had to stop himself from reaching out and grabbing her and instead he opened and closed his fists a few times as he tried to take in deep breaths to help himself calm down. Once he felt that he was back in control, he spoke his next words a little softer. "No one is perfect. I've done things that I am not proud of as well and hurt people countless times. But I'll be damned if I let you walk out of my life. Even if it means that we can only be friends."

Clary felt her heart constrict ever so slightly when she he gave her the slightest of hope of something still connecting them to one another. And she knew that this was the only chance she would ever get of ever having him in her life, so against her better judgement she was going to grasp onto that little bit of hope for dear life. She knew there was really no guarantee of what would come after this, but for now she was willing to give it a try. It was that final thought that made the corner of her mouth lift into a smile as she wordless extended her hand out towards him. "My name is Clarissa Morgenstern. But my friends know me by, Clary."

"It's nice to meet you, Clary. My name is Jace Herondale." He murmured softly as a slow smile spread across his face as he took her hand into his own, whilst his eyes shone with a slight twinge of amusement in response to playing along with her in this moment as he let himself enjoy this short moment with someone he would always care about.

It was that last innocent act between those two individuals that could spark life into a new beginning, and maybe one day lead into something beautiful.