Hello my dears. I know last chapter included things that were… well, very drastic in terms of the Jonathan/Valentine thing, but please go with it? I just felt like writing it, and I hope you will come to like it. I will always be pleased to hear from you.

Lu xxx

Clary felt the strong arms go around her and pull her close. She knew it wasn't Simon, but at that moment she didn't care – she just wanted some comfort, any comfort. She just wanted someone to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay. And anyhow, the man who had her wrapped in a tight embrace felt oddly familiar, although Clary had no idea where she could know him from. His face was one she would be likely to remember, and yet she was certain she had never seen it before.

She raised her eyes up, wiping them slightly on her arm to clear her vision, and looked up properly at the man. He had almost black eyes, looking down at her and brimming with love and concern, which totally baffled Clary. His hair was an icy white, cold and beautiful, but when he smiled all of his seemingly freezing features heated up, making him seem like a calm and caring person. Clary wondered who he was. So she asked.

"Who…who are you?" She sniffed; the man smiled again, a reassuring smile that instantly made Clary feel comfortable with him, despite the fact that he was a stranger.

"My name is Valentine Morgenstern." Clary gasped in recognition at the name. She had heard it in a whispered conversation between Luke and her mother that had been halted the second she had made her presence known.

"But then…but aren't you?" Valentine rubbed circles on her shoulders in a comforting fashion.

"Yes sweetie. I'm your dad." Clary was gobsmacked, but she soon found her words.

"But… how come you were never there for us? How come you never got in touch? Why didn't I know anything about you…" Valentine shushed her.

"I couldn't, your mother forbade it. When we split up, I got custody of Jonathan, and your mom got Simon and you. She didn't want you to know about me, and the court made me stay away. I'm sorry." He looked sad, and Clary was desperate to stop him looking like that.

"But then why are you here now?" Maia had flown completely from her mind. She was now focussed solely on her father. He was all that mattered. She wanted to know more, she was desperate for an explanation of anything, anything at all.

"I'm here now because the custody of you two was returned to me after Jocelyn was killed. Clary, I'm sorry, and I know it is hard, but you have to leave with me today. Jonathan and I moved so we didn't uproot you too much, but you have to come with us, I'm afraid." Anger shot up through Clary the, anger at everything, at Jace for kissing her and then treating her like she was one massive mistake, at Simon for leaving her for Izzy, at the men who killed her Mom, at Luke for not stopping this, at her father, and at the whole fucking world for being a bitch to her.

"What the Hell? This is my home, Luke is like family to me, why do I have to go?!" Valentine looked panicked, unsure of what to do. He spoke in an oddly calm voice considering the Clary situation.

"Look, I'm sorry sweetie, I know it's hard and I wouldn't do it if I could help it. I'm sorry, and I know. You can visit Luke anytime you want, stay over even, but you are gonna have to live with me. I'm sorry." Clary calmed down slightly at that, and gave into another emotion cascading through her brain – curiosity.

"Who is Jonathan? What relation I mean?" Valentine opened his mouth to speak, but someone else interjected. It was Simon, who had returned from the kitchen with the boy Clary could only assume was Jonathan.

"He's my twin brother. Older by 19 minutes." Clary felt her mouth drop open. So not only did she have another brother, but he was Simon's twin. Great. It wasn't as if this day hadn't been confusing and trying enough already. Clary sighed and pulled herself to her feet.

"I'm going to go pack. I'll be ready in an hour. Oh, and hi Jonathan. Nice to meet you."

Jordan sat on his bed, his arms wrapped around his legs, pulling them tight to his chest, his forehead slammed down on his knees. Maia had been transferred to a specialist unit in the next state. Her family was going with her. They were never coming back, This was all his bloody fault. He had hurt the girl, He had made her try to die. He had caused her to want to escape, to leave him like this. Alone. Cold. Empty. Missing the glorious spark of life that had brightened up his existence like nothing else could and that went by the name of Maia Roberts. A name he would never say again, because he couldn't say it to her or anyone else. Everyone had abandoned him after what had happened. They didn't even stop to listen to what he had to say. They just judged. Judged and abandoned him. Perfect. I wasn't like he had other things to worry about.

His phone had gone off several times since he had called Clary. He hadn't been able to bring himself to pick up, figuring that given the situation it was most likely people who had nothing better to do calling to have a go at him and try and cause him guilt. Yeh, he didn't need their help when it came to guilt, he had been able to produce enough of that on his own, thank you very much.

He flicked through the missed calls list, barely processing the names. As suspected, most where the hate callers he had been expecting, although he had had a couple from Simon and Clary. The hospital had called once. Jordan had picked that one up, hoping for news on how Maia was doing; that was how he had found out about the transfer and the move. Jordan felt a fit of anger about being kept in the dark after that call, and threw the phone with the blinding force of a football player into the wall. It smashed and rained on the floor in a macabre splash of glass and plastic and metal. He immediately regretted it - that phone was new, and this would give his mother another reason to hate/possibly kill him.

Speak of the devil, at that moment she shouted up at Jordan that it was time for dinner. She sounded irritated and bored, as if it was a chore having to let her own son know when there was food, and that she didn't give a crap whether he got any or not. Jordan sighed. Normally he would have been down in a flash, but today he didn't really feel like eating. His mother called up another couple of times, not sounding overly concerned, and eventually gave up a few minutes later when it became apparent that there was no way Jordan was coming down. She would probably just cover it with a plate or something, or give it to the dog. It wasn't like she had put in a major effort cooking it - most of the meals not the Kyle household were ready after a five minute zap in the microwave.

He sat there all evening, feeling desperate and despairing, and at some point the blurry lines between awakeness and sleep crossed over fully and Jordan was pulled into an infinite blackness, filled with swirling red lines ans Maia's face, smiling up at him, happy, content. Those happy memories that now just ate away at his conscience, plaguing his dreams and ensuring that he had an atrocious nights sleep.

Magnus sat Jace down on the couch with the cat and then went to take his bags into a spare bedroom. As he dumped them next to the bed, he looked around. There was a large blue sofa bed thrown hastily into one corner, a bedside table, a closet, the door to the ensuite and a large glittery lamp next to the main entrance - well, it was Magnus's apartment, of course there was going to be a trace of glitter in every room. He only hoped Jace wouldn't mind the room too much - the handcuffs that held the curtains open might have been a bit unnerving for the boy.

He slipped out of the room and padded back down the hallway to the bright orange couch he had deposited his guest upon, considering what was going to happen. And what had already happened to put Jace in this state - because Magnus was sure as Hell this wasn't just about the Alec situation. As he rounded into the room he noticed that Jace had stopped crying and was curled up looking extremely uncomfortable and nervous. Magnus slumped down opposite him, crossed his legs and rested his hands on top of his knees.

"So, why are you here?" Jace looked a bit taken aback and scared, as if this was going to be a vicious cross examination - which it wasn't.

"What I mean to say is, why are you not at home?" Jace began to wring his hands together, but left them wrapped around his knees. The position he was in made his cast awfully obvious, and it just made Magnus even more concerned. He tried to wipe any trace of anger that may be lingering on his face away to try and make Jace feel more comfortable with the situation, if that was possible. He wanted to be able to help Jace, no matter what had happened. He could tell whatever it was was deadly serious.

"I couldn't stay in that house, not after what has happened there." He looked up at Magnus, fear evident in his eyes, and the boy nodded his head, encouraging him to go on. Jace gulped, looking like the memories caused him physical pain. Or that it was physically painful to tell Magnus what had happened.

"Both... both my Mom and Celine, my stepmom, died there. And...and after what happened last night..." Magnus got a horrible feeling in his gut, and he knew what Jace was going to say next would explain the injuries he had, which unnerved Magnus. He could tell immediately that it wasn't going to be anything good.

"What happened last night, Jace?" Magnus asked softly, desperate not to let his voice shake. He had an awful feeling that what he was about to find out would be the second piece of worrying knowledge he had received that evening. Magnus wasn't sure how much he could take before he exploded with concern. And he definitely didn't want to do that. It would be very counterproductive, and would most likely ruin his hair.

"Well...I kissed a girl...and...my father he...he doesn't approve of me having...having a relationship after...after things...and he...he...he..." Jace broke off, clearly incapable of saying anything more. Magnus was almost certain of what had happened, and it filled him with an awful dropping feeling in his stomach. He asked regardless.

"Jace...Jace did he do this to you?" Magnus gestured to the cast and bruises on the boy. He nodded.

Magnus's hand clapped over his mouth in shock. He watched as a silent tear fell down the other boy's face, filled with fear and anger and a sadness that he couldn't put his finger on. It was confusing and awful. Magnus was rendered absolutely speechless. And for someone to do that to Magnus was extremely rare - the boy always had something to say. It took him a few minutes to snap out of the initial shock of hearing it, and by the time he was almost ready to speak again Jace had buried his head in his knees and was quietly sobbing. It was clear that his entire world had been blown apart in a matter of hours and he was standing confused and feeling utterly alone in the ashes, the pain he was experiencing in his heart almost unbearable. Magnus hated seeing him like that.

"Jace, you have to report him, you can't let him get away with..."

"NO!" Jace cut Magnus off, his head snapping up and his deep golden eyes filled with panic. "Magnus, please you can't tell anyone!"

"Jace, he assaulted you..." Jace shook his head wildly, his fear plain.

"You can't please, please Magnus." He gulped and went on in a very, very quiet voice. "If anyone else knows, he'll kill me. I know he will. He will kill me, Magnus." For the second time in five minutes, he was rendered speechless. He reached out and placed a hand comfortably on Jace's shoulder. He had started hyperventilating. Another second time that day for Magnus. This was starting to become a bit of a theme.

"Okay Jace, I won't tell. But you are staying with me. You'll be safe here. And hey, it'll be a laugh." Magnus kept his tone light, friendly, so that Jace felt reassured and comfortable. He wanted to calm the boy down, to make him feel safe. He couldn't bear to see him concerned.

"Thank you." The other boy whispered. Magnus got up and headed to the kitchen.

"No problem, darling. Coffee?"

"Um.. don't worry Max. I was using it to cut up meat earlier to put in the freezer, that's all." Izzy said quickly as Alec panicked. Max nodded, and smiled a little at his older sister, but he still clung around Alec on the floor.

"Hey, do you wanna go and watch a movie now?" Alec directed at his younger brother, standing up so that he was holding his brother's fragile frame. Max nodded again, clearly still terrified after what he had seen. Alec ruffled his hair and wrapped his arms tightly around Max as the three of them left the kitchen and the awful feeling it was now holding.

"Hey, it's alright Max. No one's here to hurt us, and even if there was, I am always here to save you. Okay? I'm your knight in shining armor, and you are my beautiful princess." Max giggled at that, clearly reassured by Alec's words - he was after all like his father, way more his father than Robert was anyway. The three of them made their way down the slippery corridor towards one of the many living rooms in silence after that. It wasn't an awkward silence. It was a comfortable one, a moment of understanding between the siblings. When they got to the room, Alec kicked the door open with his foot - Max taking up most of his arms - and slid along the floor at speed, causing Max to shriek in excitement. He fell backwards on the floor, Max resting on his chest, the two of them in fits of laughter. Eventually, They sat up to see Izzy watching in a bemused fashion from the couch.

"You two ready to pick a movie yet?" At that moment chaos ensued. They descended into the average sibling argument about what to watch - Max wanted Disney, Alec wanted an action movie and Izzy wanted the most soppy romance the family possessed. In the end, Max won, because Alec was more than happy to compromise for Max, secretly really enjoying Disney himself despite his age, and the two of them were much better in a tickling war than their sister. So that was how, five minutes later, Alec was slipping Brave into the DVD player.

"Are you sure you want to watch this, Max? It's not too scary before bedtime?" Alec asked, concerned. Max was always frightened by the bears, and the last they had watched it he hadn't slept for a week. And they had watched that in the morning. Now it was late, and darkness had wrapped around the mansion like a blanket, which worried Alec, because if watching it in daylight could scare Max shitless he was terrified about what watching it at night would do. He looked at Max to see the boy nodding enthusiastically.

"I'm not scared of the bear anymore Alec, because you are here to protect me." He leaped onto Alec's lap and wrapped his arm around hi neck. Alec in return circled the boy with his arms, and Izzy leaned into his shoulder. All three of them together, feeling safe and happy in each other's presence, watching the film and having a thoroughly enjoyable evening, the incident a bit earlier on totally forgotten. This was what family meant. This is what happiness meant. And in that moment, everything was perfect. The way it was supposed to be. They didn't know if it would last, or what hurdles they would come to face. But in that moment it didn't matter. All that mattered was each other. That night not one of them had nightmares. Their dreams were sweet and all three woke up smiling.

Soooo? What d'ya think? Was it good? I wanted to be nice to the beloved Lightwood kids because I have given them Hell so far, and they needed a break. I have tried to give Jace a light at the end of the tunnel. I have destroyed Clary just a little bit. I have fallen in love with Max because he is just so perfect. And Magnus, as usual, if fabulous.

I will not be able to update for at least a week as I am off skiing tomorrow - lovely, a 3AM start (groans) - so I wanted to give you something tonight. Also, Valentine's Day - any of you got a Valentine? I am finally going out with the boy of my dreams and have had a silly grin on my face all day.

Love you all, thanks to all of you who have Followed, Favorited or Reviewed! You make my day light up!

Lu xxx