#mdsrewatch

The redhead was feisty when she was pissed off and there was something about that aspect of her that both surprised and intrigued Alec. It also had Alec sympathizing with her for the first time in the few hours he had known her. They had gone back to the Institute to figure out how to deal with the nerdy mundane being taken by the New York Vampire Clan in the most diplomatic manner - Alec briefly reminded himself that he was the only one that wanted to deal with it with thought and not action - and the redhead was pissed, to say the least. 

“Someone has got to talk to her,” Izzy said as she inspected her nails, pointedly ignoring any responsibility that she might have been given. Jace sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head at whatever thoughts were running through it. 

“I think Alec should do it,” Jace offered and Alec just gaped at him. 

“You want me to deal with her?” Alec said with a scoff as both Izzy and Jace stared up at him. 

“C’mon, you’re the one who couldn’t bother to be around the mundane and accused Clary of being some Circle spy all within a few hours of meeting her. Maybe if you just apologize--”

Alec held up a hand and argued, “Apologize?! You want me to say I’m sorry for being the only one pointing out scenarios in which this-- this little girl is much more than just a damsel in distress that you can save? I think I’m the only one who is thinking with my head here!” It seemed like his words did nothing to focus Izzy and Jace away from whatever they felt for the redhead and he relented, as he always did, with a heavy sigh. 

“Just go talk to her. Explain why we can’t just go after him and maybe she’ll understand that you want to get Simon back just as much as she does,” Izzy said softly, resting a hand on Alec’s arm comfortingly. He shrugged her off but he couldn’t argue with her words. Shadowhunters were sworn protectors and as much as Alec wanted to just let the vampires get away with the kidnapping, he held duty above all else, and it was his responsibility to get the mundane out of their grasp. 

“If she decides to go on her own, we’ve lost Valentine’s daughter to the downworld, and who knows what that means for the Circle,” Jace added even though Alec had already made up his mind. Alec shook his head and let out a frustrated breath through his nose as he walked away from his siblings. 

“She’s not gonna listen to me,” Alec yelled as he walked in the direction the redhead had stormed off. 

“Make her, Alec, you’re good at that,” Jace supplied. 

Alec muttered to himself, “Apparently not good enough.” He had tried to get Jace to listen to him on many occasions, to stop being so reckless and stop taking in strays as if they were prizes he competed for, to follow the guidelines sent down to him from his parents and the Clave, but it was useless because Jace did what Jace wanted. His bad decisions were rubbing off on Izzy and Alec silently thanked his parents for taking Max away before he could go down the path of resistance with the rest of his siblings. 

He stopped walking when he heard soft sobs coming from one of the residential rooms. His heart tightened in his chest as he remembered the times he had waited outside Izzy’s door while she cried herself to sleep after their mother had berated her. It happened far too often and Alec was always afraid of knocking on the door and offering his support. Izzy had to be strong in order to be who she needed to be and who Alec knew she could be and he wasn’t going to interfere with that. So he would sit outside her door until he was sure she was finally getting some rest and spend the rest of the night staring at his ceiling, wondering if he was doing the right thing. 

With a steady inhale, Alec let his knuckles rap against the door softly, calling out a gentle, “Clary?” He heard some shuffling and sniffling as if she was trying to hide the fact she was crying and Alec respected that more than he thought he would. The door opened slowly and the glare the redhead had on her face was almost as deadly as the one Alec had perfected. 

“What?” She spat, her hair whipping into Alec’s face as she turned quickly and sat on the bed with a huff. 

“I just wanted to-- Are you okay?” He asked and the question seemed to surprise Clary. She nodded at first, quick and sure, but then her bottom lip started to tremble and she shook her head.

“It was my birthday yesterday,” she began as a tear fell down her cheek. Alec stayed silent from where he stood, unsure of how to comfort this girl he had barely just met. “It was supposed to be the best day of my life. I turned 18 - a real adult by human standards - and was accepted into my dream school. I had a mom who-- who was-- is my best friend and a stepdad who I trusted with my life. And I had my best friend, the one person who has been there for me since I was little, celebrating with me.” Her voice shook with each passing confession and Alec resisted the urge to sit beside her and place a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

“And now?” He asked because if he knew anything, it was that hiding feelings and emotions from those that just wanted to help was the most detrimental thing a person could do to themselves. He wasn’t sure why he wanted to know Clary, but it was too late to change his mind as Clary looked up at him with wide eyes and shook her head again. 

“My mother pushed me into a swirling hole of magic that her best friend created and now I might never see her again. I showed up at my step dad’s work only to overhear him admit that I meant nothing to him, that my mother meant nothing to him. I almost died and was only saved because some guy I just met gave me some mystical tattoo of healing, and now?” Clary took a deep breath and the tears that threatened to fall seemed to disappear as she tried to compose herself. “My best friend has been kidnapped by a guy that had fangs for teeth and the ability to disappear before I could even register what I was seeing.” 

“He’s a vampire,” Alec said ignoring the glare that Clary shot in his direction, “a very powerful one that is using the mund-- Simon,” Alec corrected, “against you.” He sighed heavily, taking a few steps closer to Clary to sit beside her on the bed before continuing, “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re a shadowhunter now. That means you have to follow the rules that have been created to keep all of us safe and protected.” 

“But what about Simon?” Clary questioned, turning toward Alec to grip his thigh in her hands, her nails digging into the flesh there like a desperate plea for answers that Alec couldn’t really give her. Alec rested his hand over hers to urge her to relax. She didn’t know it yet, but he was the one with the mind to make a plan and the good sense to make sure they took the correct next steps in order to keep everyone safe. There was a small part of him that hoped he could prove it to her. 

“They won’t hurt him,” Alec began and at Clary’s look of disbelief, he added, “They won’t. They want something they think you have and I’m starting to believe that you know less than everyone thinks you do.” Clary nodded quickly and sniffed as an escaped tear fell down her cheek. Alec reached up before he could stop himself and swiped it away with his thumb before resting his hand on her shoulder and squeezing reassuringly. “But we can’t just barge into a nest of vampires without a plan, Clary. You know Simon better than the rest of us and you trust him to stay alive, yeah?” 

Clary agreed, “He’s probably torn between fear and excitement that vampires actually exist and he gets to see one in person.” Her watery laugh had Alec relaxing enough to stand and peer down at her. He admitted to himself that he had - still held - reservations about the redhead, but her ability to be thrown into the Shadow World with barely any fear crossing her features was something Alec admired. 

“Then we’ll figure out how to get him back, but we’re going to need your help. I need you to calm yourself down and clear your head,” Alec commanded. Clary stood up and wiped at her face, fixing the leather skirt Izzy had lent her before nodding at Alec again as if ready for action. Alec shook his head and nudged her back to sitting with a gentle hand. 

“Take a second. Mourn the loss of the mundane life you knew because from now on,” Alec said as he walked toward the door, “you’re a shadowhunter first. You’re the responsibility of the Clave which means you’re my responsibility and I take that very seriously.” Clary stared over at him and Alec had to avert his eyes before he became uncomfortable with the trust he saw forming in them. 

“Who is that?!” Alec yelled as Jace entered the Institute, the unconscious redhead limp across his arms. Jace pointedly ignored him and veered toward the infirmary, hauling her up the steps before gently laying her on the bed. Izzy followed them, immediately intrigued by the way Jace held her so protectively. When he pulled down the collar of her shirt, she saw a deep wound with almost charred skin around it and hissed as she knelt beside Jace. 

When he pulled out his stele, Izzy rested her hand over his in surprise and cried, “Jace, you can’t!” There was a small amount of fear in her voice that she didn’t have time to be confused about. She could feel both her sibling’s frustration resonating around the room, tension heavy in the air as Jace tore his hand away. 

“She’s going to die, Izzy, I-- I have to try,” Jace whispered as he pushed her head to the side exposing her neck. Izzy had remembered that ravener venom spread quickly and knew that the rune would have to be drawn as close to the injury as possible to be more effective. Izzy wouldn’t have chosen that placement for her first rune, but she realized there was a chance the beautiful girl wouldn’t even survive long enough to care. 

“She’s a mundane!” Alec argued as if reading Izzy’s mind and stomped forward angrily. Izzy shot up as quickly as she could and rested her hands against Alec’s chest to stop him from making the - possibly more logical - decision. They didn’t have time for logic when the mundane was gasping for air, sweat pouring off of her skin as she struggled to survive. She glanced back at Jace with a look she hoped contained the trust she had in him. 

“She either dies from the venom or dies from the rune, Alec,” Jace countered as he hovered his stele over her pale skin. Izzy thought he had a point; the girl was either dead or a shadowhunter they had never met before and Izzy wasn’t sure which option scared her the most. “We have to try,” Jace whispered as he peered up at Izzy with pleading eyes. Izzy sent a similar glance to Alec who threw his hands above his head in resigned exasperation and stormed out of the room mumbling something about his idiotic siblings. 

Izzy wasn’t sure he was far off, but Izzy had seen the girl at Pandemonium; saw the way Jace’s seraph blade lit up when she grabbed onto it, noticed the fire inside of her that seemed to burn as bright as her hair, witnessed the fear of the unknown in her eyes while Izzy and her siblings fought around her. Izzy immediately understood why Jace had wanted to follow her and, if she wasn’t so fearful of straining her already tense relationship with Alec, she would have been right beside him. 

She had heard the girl’s friends chasing after her without seeing Izzy do the same and her name echoed in Izzy’s mind. Clary. Even in the distressed state she was in, Izzy thought the name fit the gorgeous girl in front of her. 

She wished she could have been there to help Jace save her, but she pushed it all aside as Jace held his stele over her neck again with hesitation. The best she could do then was to stroke Clary’s hair from her face, rest her palm comfortingly on her forehead, and give Jace a brief nod before he burned the rune onto her unblemished skin. Clary shook with what Izzy figured was pain - she remembered how it felt the first time a rune was etched into her skin and shuddered at the memory - and her breaths came out in breathless gasps and animal-like hisses. 

“Hurry!” Izzy said as she held Clary down as best as she could without hurting her when Clary’s body started convulsing. She leaned over Clary for a better grip and rested her head onto the bed next to Clary’s ear and whispered, “I’ve got you, it’s okay, you’re going to get through this,” and hoped that the girl could hear her. When Clary fell silent and still, Izzy let out a deep breath and glanced up at Jace. 

“What do we do?” Izzy asked nervously. 

Jace shook his head and stood before saying, “Now, we wait.” 

---------------------

Izzy stayed by Clary’s side while Jace changed out of his clothes and a few minutes later when she heard Alec and Jace’s raised voices a few yards away, she slid the glass door shut so Clary could sleep soundly. Izzy wiped at Clary’s forehead with a warm cloth to rid her of the sweat that had dampened it in her struggle and brushed her hair rain-soaked hair out the best she could with her fingers. With the help of one of the medics, Izzy changed Clary into dry and untattered clothing, laying her back down so she could try to regain her strength. 

Clary hadn’t moved in almost a day but the wound on her shoulder was healing slowly, the darkened skin around it returning to its natural pasty color. The pale color contrasted sharply with the vibrant hue of the hair Izzy stroked softly. Izzy stayed at her side as much as she could, only leaving when nature called and tasking Jace to protect her in the meantime. She couldn’t imagine what Clary would think or feel when she awoke and she had decided she wanted Clary to see her first. 

Just as fear was starting to get the better of her, Clary shot out of her sleeping position and her head slammed against Izzy’s painfully. For a moment she saw stars and then her mind was enamored by the beautiful green eyes staring back at her. 

“Ow,” Izzy said because every other thought floating around her mind was entirely too forward and she wasn’t about to risk scaring Clary off with her flirtatious nature. 

Clary looked panicked for a moment, pushing herself backward as she said, “Wait, I don’t know who you--” Izzy rested a hand on Clary’s knee and smiled softly at her, her bright red lips curling over her teeth in what she hoped was a comforting view to the mundane. 

“I’m Isabelle,” she said simply. When that didn’t seem to ease Clary’s fear, she racked her brain for what a mundane might want to hear and came up almost empty. Clary froze as she glanced in Jace’s direction, a bit of recognition flooding her eyes. “I’ve never seen Jace so curious about a mundane… or distracted,” she said with a wiggle of her eyebrows. She wasn’t about to let Clary see that Jace wasn’t the only shadowhunter distracted by her mere presence. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Who’s Jace?” Clary asked as her eyes darted toward the hand Izzy had on her knee before meeting her eyes again. Izzy thought she could stare into Clary’s eyes forever and it would feel as though no time had passed. 

“You really don’t know much, do you?” Izzy responded slowly. She had thought at first that maybe she was lying to Jace in order to stop the interest he obviously had in her, but the way she searched around the room as if she’d never seen anything like it before had Izzy second-guessing herself. Clary seemed to have that effect on her. “Like you saw earlier, distractions are dangerous in our line of work.”

“What are you talking about? What work?!” Clary asked, a begging tone to her voice that had Izzy squeezing her knee to try and calm her down. It seemed to work as Clary took a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly as she shook her head. Izzy figured she was trying to shake all of her fear and anxiety away and was instantly filled with equal parts respect and sympathy for the girl. 

“All I know is some psychos took my mother and now you people have taken me,” Clary said as she opened her eyes. The panic that had filled them before was replaced with that fire Izzy had immediately been captivated by. Clary was full of strength and surprises and Izzy had never wanted to get to know someone more. 

“And by ‘taken’ I assume you mean ‘saved your life’?” Izzy retorted before she could stop herself. Clary glared at her heatedly before standing presumably too quickly as she stumbled over her bare feet. Izzy was at her side in an instant with a hand around her waist to steady her. Clary’s big green eyes widened and she gasped as Izzy instinctively pulled her closer, unable to stop herself from protecting Clary. 

“Where am I? What is this place?” Clary whispered without making a move to separate herself from Izzy. Before Izzy could answer, she heard Alec’s complaints and Jace’s scoff outside the room and sighed. 

“We’ll try to explain everything soon,” Izzy whispered as she noticed Clary’s eyes struggling to stay open. She was still exhausted and even standing was too much for her recovering body to handle. Izzy guided her back to the bed and Clary followed easily, laying back as she tried to stay awake. “Get some more rest, okay? I promise I won’t let anything happen to you,” Izzy whispered, stroking a hand over Clary’s hair one more time. 

There wasn’t any reason Clary should believe her, but she nodded anyway and let her eyes fall shut. She was asleep in seconds, her hand gripping Izzy’s even as her breathing evened out and the rest of her body relaxed. When Alec and Jace entered bickering loudly, Izzy shot them a deathly glare that had them turning around and exiting without another word.