Days went by after the events that occurred at the abandoned manor. After he killed Sebastian, Jace had turned back to see Clary cradled in Simon's arms and a portal that Magnus had opened. Jace couldn't think straight, but at least he was able to remember to drag the body of the worthless bastard through the portal with him. The last time he didn't take Sebastian's body with him, things didn't end too well.

Clary was taken back to Magnus's apartment because he decided it would be the best place to watch over her. Magnus placed her in his guest room and healed her injuries the best he could, but he informed them that only time could tell. The Clave and their parents were alerted when they got back. The Clave took Sebastian's body away and pried Jace and Isabelle away from the group for questioning.

Jace could see the guilt and pain on Isabelle's face every time he looked at her. He tried to stop them from interrogating her about Robert's death and her involvement, but the day the Clave listened to something he said would be the day that he stopped calling Simon a bloodsucker. He could see how torn up Izzy was over the circumstances, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her and be there for her as her brother. He could tell that she found it hard to even look at Maryse, her own mother, even though she and Robert hadn't been close in the last few months of their marriage. He could tell that she was feeling guilty over the fact that she made her own mother a widow. Maryse didn't blame Isabelle, and Jace knew it. If she hadn't done what she did, Robert would have been a slave to Sebastian for the rest of his time—or worse, he could have ended Izzy's life.

Jace stayed by Clary's side as much as he could when he and Isabelle got back from the Silent City, where they were interrogated. When she first arrived at Magnus's apartment, Jocelyn had been furious, yelling at everyone and anyone, including Jace himself. She yelled at him and claimed that he was the reason Clary was in her current condition, even though Jace knew that she knew, deep down, that it wasn't his fault, and that, when it came to making stupid decisions, Clary was as queen as Beyoncé.

After Jocelyn's first day of blaming everyone, Jace found himself getting closer to her over the course of the week. They were spending more and more time with each other in Magnus's small apartment. They would take turns watching Clary while the other went to get some sleep or to shower or to get coffee for the other.

Luke and the others were around as well, but Isabelle wasn't all there because of her own grief, and Jace found that Simon was with her most of the time, comforting her. He hated to admit it, but if there were anyone that he wanted to be with Izzy right then, it would be Clary's best friend. As much as it made him want to barf, it looked to Jace like they had a future together.

Magnus and Alec were around as well, but they were still working out their own issues. He had a feeling that they were trying to work through their differences and move on together. Jace was happy for them; he was tired of seeing his parabatai upset.

Her eyes felt heavy, and the first thing she registered as she slowly gained consciousness was that everything hurt. Clary slowly peeled her eyes open and stared at the ceiling for a few moments. It held a sense of familiarity, but she definitely was not at Luke's farmhouse or the Institute. The room she was lying in was dark, but there was a faint glow coming from what she thought was a window across the room. Clary assumed it was sometime in the middle of the night. She slowly turned her head to the right, hissing in pain as she did.

Luke was sitting in a chair next to the bed that she was lying on. He was asleep, but his hand was still very lightly holding hers. She opened her mouth to say his name but all that came out was a quiet croak. She tried again. "Luke," she whispered. "Luke," she said, a little bit louder the second time, giving his hand a light squeeze.

Luke's eyes shot open, and she could see the shock when he stared back at her. He wasn't expecting her to wake up so quickly, if at all. "Clary?" Luke asked her. "I can't believe you're awake. He moved his chair closer to the bed and clutched her hand in both of his. "You scared us all half to death. We didn't know if you were going to live."

Clary smiled back at him. "I'm fine, Dad," she replied, before realizing what she had allowed to slip out of her mouth. "I'm sorry, it—"

Luke silenced her by putting his finger to her lips.

"Don't stress yourself out too much. And besides, I've always thought of myself as like a father to you, Clary. I'm just glad that you see me that way as well."

"Where am I?" Clary asked.

"You're in Magnus's apartment. He thought it would be the best place for him to watch over you as you recovered. Jace is sleeping on the couch right now. I'll go and get him for you." With a final squeeze of her hand, Luke got up from the chair and left the room, closing the door behind him. Clary sighed and leaned back against the pillows. She was quite aware of the aching pain that was coming from her stomach. Gingerly, she pulled down the blankets around her and lifted up the loose t-shirt she was wearing. There were bandages wrapped around her middle.

Clary looked up when she heard the door creak open. Jace had swiftly entered when she wasn't looking and closed the door behind him when he came in. He was at her side in an instant, cupping the back of her head and placing a firm but careful kiss on her lips. She could no longer feel the heat radiating off of his body from the heavenly fire.

"It's gone," he whispered against her lips, as if to answer her unspoken question. He pulled away and she could see the dark circles under his eyes, presumably from lack of sleep. It pained her to think that it was his worry for her that had brought on his lack of sleep.

He moved his hands down towards her mid section, where her bandages were. One hand lightly pulled them away from her body while the other pulled his stele out of his pocket. He pressed the tip of it above her cut and drew a healing rune on her skin.

"Magnus told me that you would be needing that if you woke up," he said, and Clary didn't miss the vulnerability in his voice. "We didn't know if you were going to wake up, Clary." He brushed the hair away from his eyes, and she reached her hand up to grasp his.

"Hey. Jace. Look at me. I'm here, and that's all that matters. I don't want to hear anything from you about how I shouldn't have sacrificed myself for you, either. All I want to hear from you is that Sebastian is dead."

Jace took a deep breath and squeezed her hand. "He's dead."

Clary moved her hand to his face to cup his cheek. "Well, then that's all that matters."

Wow. I actually finished it. As always, thanks to all of you for reviewing this chapter, but this time I'd like to send an especially large thanks out to rippingbutterflywings for beta'ing this final chapter for me! All of you should go read her stories! Thanks again for reading this story, I loved writing it and don't forget to leave me one final review on what you thought!