Fate leads the willing and drags along the reluctant

After Clary's brilliant plan of looking for Dot failed, as she was supposedly kidnapped by the Circle, they stopped before a cemetery which led to what they called City of Bones.

"Please… Keep Simon safe for me while me and Jace are in the City of Bones" Clary whispered into Stella's ear as she hugged her goodbye for now.

"I will keep everyone safe. I promise you Clary" Stella said, voice steady, looking straight into her eyes.

"Wouldn't expect less from you" Clary smiled as she stepped back a bit. "But it's still weird that you and Alec became fast friends."

"What can I say? Desperate times lead to speedrunning a friendship. He's the gay best friend all the other girls can only dream about."

"Wait… he's gay?" Clary asked back, looking surprised.

Stella chuckled at Clary's expression. "Yeah, you didn't catch that vibe? It's kind of obvious when you spend more than five minutes around him."

Clary blinked, processing this new information. "I guess I was too caught up in everything else to notice," she admitted, glancing over at Alec, who was standing a little ways off, looking his usual serious self. "But it's good you have someone to talk to, you know, other than me."

Stella nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. "Yeah, it is. He gets it, in his own way."

Clary's expression softened, and she pulled Stella into another quick hug. "I don't know what I'd do without you," she murmured.

Stella squeezed her back. "Not much as you would be dead without me."

"That's my Stella" Clary chuckled as they broke apart. Then Jace signaled to Clary that it was time to go. She gave Stella one last smile before turning to follow him toward the entrance of the cemetery.

Stella watched them go, her promise to keep everyone safe echoing in her mind. She knew Clary had a lot on her plate, but the thought of her best friend venturing into something as ominous as the City of Bones made her heart clench. Still, she pushed those worries down. She had to stay strong, for Clary, for Simon, and for herself.

Alec approached her, noticing the slight tension in her posture. "She'll be okay," he said, his voice calm and reassuring.

Stella nodded, taking a deep breath. "I know. But it doesn't make it any easier."

Alec gave her a knowing look. "It never does."

They stood there for a moment in comfortable silence, watching as Clary and Jace disappeared into the cemetery. Then Alec spoke again. "So, the gay best friend, huh?" There was a hint of amusement in his tone. Stella made him feel less ashamed of this part of himself.

"Do you want to speedrun years of friendship and become my official gay best friend? I know bars. And guys."

"You have a tempting offer here, Stella Benedict" he looked at her with a rare smile on his face.

"Then it's a deal" Stella nodded, excited about helping Alec find someone. Then Stella fished out her phone to look at the time, but when her wallpaper came in, she remembered. She forgot to call her mother! "God, she must be worried by now."

"Who?"

"My mom. I have to call her, gimmie a minute" she said to Alec as she walked back to the van where Simon was quietly listening to music.

"STELLA BENEDICT!" came Martha's voice from the other side of the line. Her voice was sharp with worry and anger, the kind that only a mother can muster when her child has been unreachable. And Stella hated to make her mother angry or to lie to her. But now she has to do both.

"I'm sorry mom, me and Clary got tangled up in something. Nothing serious. Simon is already here so I hope I can come home tomorrow" she said as she looked up at the night sky.

"Tangled up in what, exactly?" Martha's voice was stern, probing for more information. "And why didn't you answer your phone earlier?"

"We were helping Jocelyn" Stella said, trying to use half lies to be less stressed out about this whole situation. "But we're fine. I will be back in the morning, I promise."

"I want to see you in front of my door at six in the morning or we will have problems" she said, her voice warming up a bit. "And stay safe."

"Okay mom" Stella nodded even though her mother couldn't see it. "I love you."

"I love you too, Stella. I hope we can talk when you come home."

"I hope too, mom" she said, then she put down the phone with a big sigh. She had tonight to stay with Clary and also to think about some cover story. So she turned back, hoping she could ask Simon to help her, but she couldn't see him anywhere. "Simon? Where are you?" She called his name, hoping he would answer her. But instead two strong arms suddenly grabbed her and her whole world went dark.

"Stella, please wake up" Simon said as he was shaking her awake. Stella opened her eyes tiredly and not accustomed to the darkness she found themselves in.

"What happened?" she asked, voice hoarse.

"We got kidnapped by vampires who want the cup we are looking for" he explained the situation as he helped Stella to stand up in this room full of strange artifacts.

"Being kidnapped and used as bait wasn't on my 2016's bingo card" Stella sighed as she pulled out a card from her pocket. "Let's see what we have here…" she looked at the card while Simon stepped behind her to get a better view.

"Mom not forgetting my birthday? Is that seriously an item there?" he asked incredulously as he read the items listed on the bingo card.

"Mom's not the best at remembering things. Especially my birthday" she said as the door opened and a vampire stepped in. "Do you think this counts as rewatching Twilight?" Stella asked Simon as she pointed at one of her list items.

"Are you this unfazed about being kidnapped?" The vampire looked at Stella, noting her eyes and her familiar appearance to the man who helped him once.

"God…" she rolled her eyes. "As you see, Edward Cullen, my life has been a crazy rollercoaster ride for the past two days, so sorry that I don't take the time to scream like a scared little girl," she said, gesturing heavily with her arms.

"Raphael. My name is Raphael Santiago" he stated as he took a small but well-measured step closer.

"So you're like the spanish cousin of Edward?" Stella quipped, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Me gustas tú" he responded smoothly, his eyes glinting with amusement. She didn't just look like him, he sounded like him too.

"Muchas gracias" Stella shot back as she stepped closer, her Spanish Dualingo lessons coming back to her.

"A warlock like you is a rare sight these days" he looked down at her. "Even if the Shadowhunters don't give us the cup, we still can sell you for a fair price to Valentine."

"All I need is a minute with him and he will be begging for you to take me back" she retorted, shrugging her shoulders.

"Your sass won't get you far with Valentine Morgenstern."

"Yeah, maybe you're right. It seems he got his family name from the devil after all."

"You should be careful with your tongue. Not everyone here will find it as amusing as I do" he said to her but upon hearing the unmistakable clicks of high-heeled shoes, he stepped back, only now realizing how close he and the warlock girl got to each other.

"What do we have here?" the woman with raven black hair asked. "A mundane and a…" she said as he assessed Simon with a sharp gaze, but when she looked at Stella, she stopped mid-sentence.

"What's the matter? A werewolf got your tongue?" Stella asked, tilting her head.

"Who are you?" the woman quickly snapped back, taking a few steps closer to her.

"Stella Benedict. Not like it matters to an ancient mosquito like you" she stated, furrowing her eyebrows with a challenging look.

"You have his humor" she smiled as she swept a stray lock from Stella's face.

For a moment, Stella's world stood still. His humor – the woman said. No one ever mentioned her father, his existence was a taboo topic at home, which Stella always contributed to the pain her mom went through after she lost him. She didn't know anything about him, not even his name. But now with everything going on, the story with her dad must be different a bit. The man her mother knew must have been a demon, tricking her. And after all she is going through, vampires knowing demons sounded not so far fetched.

"I have my own humor, thank you" she spat, not wanting to be associated with the man – or rather demon – his father is.

"And his rebelling. What an irony" she smirked, passing her by with grace.

Camille Belcourt has seen many things throughout her long time on Earth. A warlock having a child was certainly not one of them. Even then, she was less surprised at Magnus Bane being the one who's in the center of all this mess.

Marta was pacing in her apartment in the morning, hoping that Stella would come home in any second, as she promised. She knew Stella lied, but it was alright as this all is really messy. And when the doorbell rang she ran towards the door and opened it.

"God, I was so…" she started to say but stopped halfway as she realized it wasn't Stella, standing there. It was Magnus.

Martha staggered, surprised to see him before her after all these years. He looked the same, only his style changing to keep up with the times.

"So after all these years… you were right under my nose" Magnus stated, inviting himself into the apartment.

"Hey! You can't just…" Martha turned around, trying to grab his arm, but it was too late.

"I can't just what, Marta?" he asked back as he headed to the kitchen and opened the cupboards, no doubt to make some tea for himself.

"Get out of my house!" she yelled as she tried to stop him but she was too small for him and ended up jumping next to him to get the mug out of his hands.

"After you tell me the truth" he stated as he looked down sharply at Marta, whose face fell. She made some steps backwards, knowing that an angry Magnus was bad news.

"Truth? What truth do I owe you? That I still have been working as a police officer since we met?" she asked, a bit confused. Can it be? That he knows about her? How?

"Dorothea informed me about something impossible."

"That bitch" Martha murmured under her breath, not surprised and less than thrilled by Dot betraying her.

"Yes, Dorothea," Magnus said, his voice laced with bitterness. "She told me something that shook the very foundation of what I believed. That I have a daughter. And that you're the mother."

"She's mad. We're both warlocks and warlocks can't have children" Martha stated, trying to act calm. "There's no child and you just made a fool out of you by barging into my house."

"You know your lies would work if I haven't seen her already" he stated then he picked up a photo of Clary hugging a younger Stella while wearing birthday hats. "I would have never even cared about Dorothea's words, if Stella… That's her name, right? So if Stella didn't come up to me before, in my own club, surprised that I have eyes like hers."

"You met her?" she asked, her hands trembling. She was definitely not prepared for this.

"Yes" he said as he started to drink his tea. "It was a brief conversation though, before she ran after the Fairchild girl."

"Why are you drinking tea?" she suddenly asked, trying to do everything to change topics and make him leave.

"Because you hate when I drink my cocktails" he replied in a bored tone, still remembering all of Martha's quirks or whatnot. "But that doesn't matter. You have a story to tell me."

"If I tell you, will you leave us be? She might look like you but has no magic just like me, so she's better off with the mundanes than the Shadow world."

"I 'left you to be' for almost 18 years. I want my daughter."

"You know, I would really want you to try and fail to be a father but I know how it feels to be failed by you and Stella doesn't deserve that same pain."

"Were you always this dramatic or this is something that comes with motherhood?" He asked back sarcastically to deal with the situation as on the other hand no matter how hard she tried, Martha couldn't help but smile.

"She has your humor," she finally admitted.

"Does she?" He looked at her.

"Come on, you gotta appreciate the irony. She became so much like you without ever meeting you."

"Martha. Are you still trying to evade telling me what happened?"

"Maybe…"

"So, you're completely new to this?" Raphael asked as he sat next to Stella on the leather couch before the fireplace.

"Yeah," she replied, her voice steady despite the nerves simmering beneath the surface. "A few days ago, my biggest problem was if I got into art school. Now… Well, now I'm here" she said as she started to eat her gyros hungrily. "And thanks for the food. That's not something people would expect when kidnapped by vampires" she chuckled.

"Don't mention it" he said as he leaned back and rested his head on the back pillows while looking at the ceiling.

"Estoy asustada" Stella admitted reluctantly. Somehow she felt safe with him, or just she couldn't keep this to herself anymore.

Raphael's features softened as he looked at her. This was all new to her and on top of that she is with the only people in the shadow world who couldn't understand her. The Shadowhunters know nothing of the curse of immortality or had any setbacks in this world. They were the privileged ones, thinking they're better than everyone. And in a sense, they were.

"Es natural estar asustada," Raphael said gently, his voice losing some of its earlier sharpness. "But don't worry. You have hundreds of years ahead of you. So take all the time to be afraid."

"Hundreds of years…" She put the gyros down, suddenly not as hungry as before. "I never thought about what that really means," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "Everyone I know… they'll all grow old. And I'll just stay the same."

"As time passes by you will get friends like you. It will be just a blink of an eye."

"Friends like me?" she echoed, her voice tinged with doubt. "You mean other warlocks? Vampires? Downworlders?"

Raphael nodded slowly. "Sí, other immortals who understand what it's like. We may not always get along, but we share something that the rest of the world can't understand. It's a connection that can help with the loneliness."

"You know. No one tried to help with this warlock thing since I got to know what I am…" she said but he cut her off.

"Because you're with the Shadowhunters. They only look out for their own" he said as he turned to face her normally. "You need to find the other warlocks, Stella. They are your kind, the ones who can understand you the best."

"Thank you Raphael," she said tiredly.

"Once this is over, look for Magnus Bane. He can help you" he advised gently, knowing more than well that Magnus had a penchant for accepting 'stray cats'.

"Magnus…" Stella said while yawning and before she could do anything else, she fell asleep and her head landed on Raphael's shoulder, which suddenly made his heart flutter. And before he could fully understand what he was doing, he pulled her into his lap.

Gentleness was not something that came easy to him, but her trusting him so naturally maybe had some effect on him. Stella was just like every Downworlder on the start of their journey. Confused and lost, he knew she needed someone to guide her. And who else would be better than Magnus Bane, the same man who helped him when he was turned?

He remembered that time fondly. Magnus along with officer Martha, took care of him, they were like a family, just for a short time. He clearly remembered the day when he finally managed to have them fall in love. Love. Will he ever find it again?

Stella found herself falling in the nothingness that her dream was. The voices echoed in the void, some familiar, others distant yet oddly comforting.

"Stella, you're stronger than you think," Clary's voice rang out, clear and reassuring.

"I love you, my little Star" her mother's melodic voice echoed, filling her with warmth. Even though she never said that, she really missed her mother.

"She has a birthright, Martha" Luke's voice cut in.

"You will remember eventually" it was a voice so familiar but at the same time so unknown. "You will remember me, our love. I will make you."

"Jonathan!" Stella knew this voice. It was her own.

Stella jolted awake, her heart pounding as the last echoes of the dream faded away, leaving her with almost nothing to remember from it. She blinked, disoriented, finding herself nestled against Raphael's chest. His cool hand rested on her back, steady and reassuring, as if he'd been holding her like that for some time.

"Oh, god, I'm so sorry" she said embarrassed as she pushed herself back, only to land on the floor.

"Don't be, it's better if you go anyway. The Shadowhunters are here. Find them and go" he said as he helped her up.

"¿Podemos vernos de nuevo?" Stella asked as she looked up at him. It was rare she ever found himself liking a guy. But Raphael seemed different, or maybe just her senses were tricking her.

"Sí. Entonces, es una cita" he replied with a smirk on his face as he led her towards the others. "I will find you when this mess is over, don't dwell on it for now" he simply stated as he looked at her now rosy cheeks. Soon enough Clary came, who led Stella out of the hotel, into the morning sunlight.

"Oh, god, I was so worried about you and Simon!" she said as she hugged Stella tightly. "Are you alright? Did they do something with you?"

"He called me on a date…"

"Wait… YOU GOT A DATE?!" she yelled half worriedly and half excitedly, making everyone look at them.

A/N: Sorry for my Spanish, I'm still learning and I thought, them sometimes speaking a few sentences in Spanish could be their thing as it is quite cute! Anyway if I made mistakes, feel free to correct me on my Spanish. But of course, I'm happy to recieve any kind of comments or favourites!