A/N: I don't know if season 3b will start off with some h/c, but I can't wait.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Thanks to 29Pieces for beta reading!

"The Fallen"

How many times had Maryse stayed behind while her children went off to battle? How many times had they gone on missions while she had been hundreds of miles away in Idris, oblivious to their comings and goings, save for the simple fact that they were shadowhunters and this was their duty? More times than she could count. More times than she even knew. It had never fazed her before.

This time was different.

Her children and Luke were going up against a greater demon. A Queen of Hell. Who already had Jace under her thrall. And this time Maryse was stuck staying behind not because she was the one giving orders or because it was protocol, but because she was a civilian now. A liability.

She couldn't stay away, though. She'd promised to stay out of the fight, but she wanted—needed—to know what was happening. And so she approached the perimeter of the building, skirting the edge of the crowd of mundanes who'd evacuated. Lilith's wards maintained a glamour around the outside, and so Maryse couldn't see anything within. She headed around back, hoping for another vantage point.

And that's when she spotted her son lying in a dark alley, an arrow sticking up out of his chest.

No.

She bolted into a run.

Magnus was kneeling on the ground, one hand clasping Alec's, the other holding a cell phone to his ear as he rattled off their location.

"I know what Lorenzo said, but please, Cat. He's dying, and my magic is gone. I can't heal him."

Maryse's blood froze in her veins, and she dropped down on Alec's other side. Magnus barely batted an eye at her arrival, his mouth set in a grim line. She did a quick assessment of Alec's injuries. The arrow in his chest was obvious, but it didn't look deep. His breaths were hitching, though, and pained, like he couldn't get enough oxygen and every inhalation was a struggle.

"Alec," Maryse called softly, reaching out to brush his hair back from his forehead.

His eyelids fluttered, revealing pupils clouded with pain. "M-om," he wheezed, followed by a hiccoughing breath.

"Shh."

"It wasn't…Jace's…fault."

Maryse shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "I know."

There was a whoosh of a portal opening, and a moment later a dark skinned woman stepped into the alley. Maryse recognized her profile as Catarina Loss, a warlock of Brooklyn.

"Cat, hurry!" Magnus pleaded.

The warlock rushed forward, and Magnus shifted slightly to make room for her to bend down on his side. She flicked her hands, and soft blue light erupted across her fingers. She waved them over Alec's torso, and Maryse watched with mounting dread as the woman's mouth thinned.

"He's got a broken rib that's punctured a lung," Catarina reported.

Alec shuddered with another strained breath.

"Magnus, can you help? Even just a little."

He shook his head, eyes full of pained regret. "My magic isn't depleted; it's gone."

Catarina shot him a startled look, as did Maryse.

"Please just do what you can," he urged. "Just enough to get him to the Institute. Jace activated his healing rune, but it's not enough."

Catarina turned back to Alec, who was barely clinging to consciousness. She waved her hands once more, pouring what Maryse hoped was healing magic into her son.

"Magnus, I need you to take the arrow out," the warlock said. "On my count."

Magnus swallowed hard, but moved his hand to wrap around the metal shaft. His other hand kept squeezing Alec's.

Maryse looked down to take her son's other hand, but noticed the unnatural angle of his wrist, and bile rose in the back of her throat.

"One, two, three!"

Magnus yanked, and Alec cried out, his back arching. Maryse bit her lip and reached out to cup his neck as Catarina infused an extra burst of magic into his body. Alec's stele was dangling limply in his weak grip, and Maryse felt a pang of helpless frustration that she was no longer able to use it to draw more iratzes in an effort to save her boy's life.

But Catarina seemed to be working quickly. Maryse just wished she knew whether it was helping.

And then the top floor of the building above them exploded.

She had only a split moment of horror before there was a rush of wind and the warlock was pulling a portal toward them. They were swallowed by the swirling vortex before the debris hit the ground, and in the next instant, Maryse found they were on the steps outside the Institute.

"Someone's going to have to bang on the door," Catarina said, blue magic once again wreathing her fingers as she worked on Alec.

Maryse forced herself to her feet, focusing on the one thing she could do, as small as it may be. She couldn't let herself dwell on whether her other children had been in that explosion or not. Whether Luke had been. Shadowhunters were trained to prepare for death.

But she wasn't a shadowhunter anymore, and losing any of them now, on top of everything else, would break her.

She made it to the front door, but didn't even have to knock, as their arrival had tripped the wards. Underhill's face was the first one she saw.

"Maryse…?"

"Alec's hurt," she snapped, falling back on the authoritative tone she'd once borne with pride. "We need a stretcher and medics. Now."

He immediately pivoted and started shouting those commands. She didn't wait to see if they would be followed, and hurried back to her son. Catarina was still working on him. She continued working on him when the medics arrived and lifted Alec onto a stretcher. One of them tried to protest, but Underhill barked at them to back off and let her help.

They all filed inside the Institute and went straight to the infirmary. There, though, Maryse stopped and held herself back. She wouldn't be any use inside, and would only get in the way. Sadly, she knew that from experience.

And so she remained out in the hall.

Magnus crossed the threshold, only to stop and reconsider, worried eyes never leaving Alec's form as he was transferred to a bed and the medics went to work in tandem with Catarina.

He finally took a step back and let the door swing closed on him. Maryse put a hand on his arm, and guided him to a set of chairs where they could wait.

She hated waiting. First with Max, and now Alec…and she didn't even know where Isabelle was, or what had become of Jace…

Maryse sucked in a harsh breath, trying to keep the tears at bay. Wait, hadn't Magnus said something about Jace activating Alec's healing rune?

"Jace," she said anxiously. "Did you…?"

Magnus's expression softened, and he nodded. "We freed him from Lilith's control."

She let out a heavy exhale. "Oh, thank the angel."

A muscle in Magnus's cheek ticked, and he looked away.

Maryse's lips thinned as she studied him. "What did you mean your magic is gone?" she asked quietly.

Magnus dropped his gaze to his hands, lying lax in his lap. "It was the price for the power to free Jace."

Maryse mentally reeled back. She'd known Magnus had gone in search of a way to save Jace, knew it had been dangerous, but she'd never imagined it would have resulted in this. Or that he would have sacrificed something of that magnitude…

"Magnus, I'm so sorry."

He gave her a wan smile. "It was my choice. And Jace was worth it. I just didn't expect…" He trailed off, and rubbed his thumb over a spot on his hand that had bits of Alec's drying blood on it.

Maryse understood that helplessness, especially when you'd once had the power to not be.

Magnus gave himself a sharp shake. "Alec's going to be fine. And Jace is free. It was worth it," he repeated.

Maryse didn't say anything right away. Then, gently, "Still, to lose something that was a fundamental part of who you are…even if you accepted it, that doesn't mean it's not still a profound loss."

Magnus looked at his hands, then back at her. "I suppose you know all about that."

She paused, and after a moment lowered her voice. "I suppose I do."

Magnus silently reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. Maryse felt a twinge of shame that she had once been brusque and unaccepting of the man who had captured her son's heart. She saw now, though, how Magnus was good for Alec. And, she imagined, how Alec may have been good for Magnus.

The sound of harried heels clacking on the floor drew her attention just as Isabelle came hurrying down the corridor, Jace behind her. Maryse felt a thrill of relief at seeing them both.

"Jace said Alec was hurt," Isabelle blurted. "How is he?"

Jace hung back, expression devastated, even as his eyes wavered with desperation for the answer to Isabelle's question.

"He's being treated," Maryse answered calmly. She roved her gaze over them before settling on Jace. "Are you two all right?"

Isabelle nodded, yet there was grief in her eyes. "Lilith's gone. But…"

Maryse tensed. "But what?"

"So is Clary. There was an explosion, and by the time we got up there, Clary was just…gone." Isabelle bit her lip. "Simon thinks he killed her with the Mark when it activated against Lilith. Luke isn't so sure, though. They both stayed behind to try finding something."

Maryse exhaled. Luke was okay too. But Clary… Her heart clenched for them all. They'd defeated a greater demon, but at what cost?

The infirmary door opened then and Catarina emerged. "He's stable." The warlock woman nodded to Magnus. "I've done all I can for now. My magic needs to replenish, but the worst has been dealt with."

Magnus inclined his head, giving her a heartfelt look. "Thank you. If Lorenzo—"

"I'll deal with Lorenzo," Catarina interrupted. "Besides, I was helping the shadowhunters, not you."

Magnus looked grateful, which led Maryse to believe there was some warlock politics going on she was unaware of. But, then, she was out of the loop on just about everything relating to the Downworld.

Catarina put a hand on Magnus's shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze. "Alec's sedated, but you can see him."

Magnus didn't need to be told twice. Isabelle also hurried after him. But when Maryse turned to follow, she noticed Jace starting to retreat. She went after him.

"Jace."

He froze mid step, shoulders rigid and practically shaking.

Maryse softened her voice as she put a gentle hand on his arm to turn him around. "Jace. I'm sorry about Clary. But we don't know what happened yet. There still may be a chance…"

His eyes turned glassy and he ducked his gaze. "Valentine was right," he whispered. "To love is to destroy." His eyes flicked up toward the infirmary, then down again.

"No," Maryse said firmly. "That is not true. To love is to fight and never give in. To love is to protect."

"None of which I did," he hissed. "I hurt the ones I love. Alec…" He choked off and a tear slipped free. "I tried to kill him. I almost killed him."

"That wasn't you," she insisted. "That was the demon. And your brother is alive."

Jace shook his head. "I can't face him."

"He doesn't blame you. None of us blame you."

More tears streamed freely down his face, and Maryse's heart broke. She put her arms around Jace and pulled him into a hug. He clung to her in a way he hadn't done since he was a young boy, and his body shuddered with deep, gut-wrenching sobs.

Maryse didn't say anything, just let him get it all out, and held him close with the kind of mother's love she'd always felt for her children, but for misguided reasons had withheld from outwardly showing. Because it was the shadowhunter way.

Well, she wasn't a shadowhunter anymore.

They stood like that for several long moments before Jace finally drew back. He wiped at his nose and eyes, looking slightly bewildered now that he'd begun to collect himself.

"I'm… Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Maryse said.

Jace's jaw stiffened, and he started to nod.

"I'm sorry I wasn't always there for you," she went on. "Or for Alec and Isabelle. I want to do better."

Jace blinked, and rubbed at his eyes again. "You've always been the best mom I've ever had."

A lump swelled in her throat and her eyes grew moist. She reached out and squeezed his arm. "I couldn't have asked for better children. Or ones I could be more proud of."

Maryse then lifted her chin. "Now, shall we go see your brother?"

Jace still looked hesitant, but nodded, and they turned to head into the infirmary.

Magnus and Isabelle were gathered around the patient bed where Alec was laying. The monitors above his head were beeping out steady vital rhythms, and though his chest was moving with shallow breaths, it was no longer in painful wheezes. His wrist had been immobilized, but with a few rune treatments, and perhaps some warlock ones, it should heal.

Isabelle stepped aside so Maryse and Jace could move in close. Jace's eyes were watery again as he took in his brother's condition.

Almost as though sensing, him, Alec's eyelids started to flutter. He groggily blinked at his surroundings, then at the people standing over him.

"Jace?" he whispered.

"Alec," Jace's voice cracked. "Alec, I'm so sorry—"

"It wasn't you," he said weakly, eyes falling closed for a moment. The sedative was keeping him drowsy. "Told you…it wasn't…you."

Maryse placed a hand on top of his head and carded her fingers gently through his hair. Jace hesitated before reaching out to take Alec's hand.

Alec pried his eyelids open again. "Lilith?"

"Gone," Isabelle answered. She exchanged a look with the others, but didn't mention Clary.

Alec turned his head toward Magnus. "Thank you."

Magnus smiled. "Just rest." His eyes briefly met Maryse's, and they shared a grim look.

The battle wasn't over, far from it. They had all been knocked down hard, and the next fight would be in picking themselves up.

But they would do it.

After all, it was in their blood. And that was something that couldn't be taken away from them.