A/N: I read City of Bones by Cassandra Clare and the sequel City of Ashes, and couldn't resist a story. Problem is, there is no community for The Mortal Instruments series. So, I thought to myself, how do I write a fan fiction for a story that evidently no one has read or liked or whatever.

Then it hits me! Stephanie Meyers was the one to recommend the book, so why not a cross-over? They meld perfectly together, so I'm going for it. (There is a bit of a spoiler in it, so I hope no one is too offended. And it is a major one, but I couldn't write this without it. It's too much a part of the story line for the books. That, and it's too tempting a twist to leave it out.

Disclaimer: I don't own jack. The wonderfully talented Ms. Meyers and Ms. Clare have invented the characters I have fallen in love with. (I hope you do too!)

Chapter One

Spilling the Beans

or

Keeping Secrets

How did I end up here? Clary thought to herself.

When Simon never came home, his mother had been frantic. Unable to contact any one other than his mundane friends, she had finally tracked Clary to her own mother's sickbed.

Clary hadn't answered any of the questions that followed in any rational or coherent way, and they sent in a hospital psychologist. He had been a plain man with graying hair and a horrible green suit. His voice had lulled Clary into a passive state.

With the full moon approaching, there had been no chance for Luke to save her from the bombardment of leading questions and vague remarks. Clary had found herself growing more and more angry with the man as his questions probed deeper and deeper into her relationship with Simon. As she had still been unable to decide exactly how mad she was at Simon for running off with Maia in the first place, she was easily provoked into spilling the beans about everything: the Institute, the slain Silent Brothers in the City of Bones, Jace and the Shadowhunters, the Clave, Valentine and the forbidden. It had not ended well.

Clary had been dragged kicking and screaming to the top floor of the hospital, where she was shoved into an actual padded room. Clary had wept, until they transferred her to a small dorm-type room with two beds. The one closest to the barred window had a stack of linens, a gray wool blanket and a pair of white pajamas that looked more like scrubs. There hadn't even been a pillow.

A few weeks passed and Clary laid sprawled out on top of her bed, looking through the bars of the 10th floor window of the hospital. It was raining and the afternoon sky was a threatening gray. No one had come yet. There had been no phone calls, no break ins, no sign of life at all outside this fortress. She was beginning to think she had made up the whole mess in the first place. But she couldn't explain away Jace. Certainly that had been real. She couldn't get him out of her mind! She saw him clearly, his golden hair and eyes, the cocky manner he spoke, and his soft warm delicious lips!

Clary shook her head. Jace is your brother, she chided herself. Of course you ended up here thinking that way about your blood.

Clary's stomach began to tie in knots. She felt as all the blood drained from her face into her stomach. It roiled, and she was sure to lose it any second.

"Are you ok?" A soft voice asked.

Surprised, Clary opened her eyes to see her roommate sitting on the edge of the bed opposite her, looking absolutely disgusted.

"I don't know," Clary managed to gurgle out. She cleared her throat. "I just want to know why no one's come for me yet."

The other girl laughed quietly. Her eyes grew wide as if she was surprised by the outburst, and she wrapped her arms around her chest. It was the first time the girl had said anything aloud, except when dreaming at night. Nightmares plagued the poor thing every night, but Clary hadn't approached her. She had stayed so distant.

Now, looking straight at her heart-shaped face and dark eyes, Clary was struck by how similar they were in both stature and looks. Even Clary's hair was the same rich shad of brown. The only difference was Clary's eyes were a light, almost green color.

"I'm sorry. I haven't laughed in awhile," she apologized. "It wasn't even that funny."

"Actually, it is funny, if you knew who I was waiting for. There's just no reason I'm still stuck in this place. I know I'm not crazy."

She smiled, but her brown eyes were twinkling with tears. "I'm Bella, by the way. I know I haven't been good company."

"Neither have I, or you'd know I'm Clary." Clary reached forward to shake Bella's hand. She noticed that Bella felt cold as ice. "Do you need a blanket?"

Bella laughed again. The sound was like bells tinkling in Clary's ears. "It would take a lot more than that to warm this soul," she said and sighed. The sound seemed very sad, a pain worse than any she had ever felt herself.

Clary shot her a small grin. She couldn't help it. It had been quite some time since she had been drawn to any girl her own age, but there was something about Bella that she couldn't ignore. "Now, that's the first thing that's made any sense to me since I got here!"

That evening, Bella and Clary shared a dinner on the balcony, overlooking the city. It was the time of day when both street lights and stars sparkled in the fading light. Bella became sullen and withdrawn. After having an otherwise pleasant day, her reaction left Clary feeling slightly dejected. She wasn't really sure if she should ask Bella what happened. She seemed too impassive for conversation.

The moon rose slowly as the pair continued in an uncomfortable silence. When the daylight had completely faded from the sky, Bella seemed to relax a little. Clary only shut off further. Bella's strange behavior had her feeling on edge, and desperately wishing to feel the smooth metal of her stele in her palm. At least then she could create a rune to escape this captivity. She truly understood how lost a shadowhunter was without one. It made her very common; worse than a mundane, a shadowhunter cast aside from the society she belonged in.

"Twilight is the hardest time of day for me. I'm sorry." Bella whispered the words. It seemed to be a painful confession, and Clary turned toward her.

"Why are you here, Bella?" Clary asked.

Bella stared back at her. Indecision was clear in her dark brown eyes. Clary felt like Bella was trying to make a choice whether or not Clary would believe her story. Inwardly, she hoped for the truth, but would Bella honestly give up her secrets? Aside from the fact that she spilled to Mr. Green Suit, Clary's story was hardly something she ever wanted to admit to any one ever again.

"You wouldn't believe me," Bella finally mumbled softly.

Clary let the sarcasm leak into her answer. "Try me."

Bella stared her down. "Ok," she said. "There are somethings you might believe."

She stopped again. Clary could almost hear the thoughts being filed inside her mind as Bella rifled through her thoughts to decide what would be acceptable to share. They stared at each other in silence for an unmeasurable amount of time.

Finally Bella spoke again, wrapping her arms tight around her chest mimicking the gesture she used earlier. "I feel like it tears me apart to talk about him...about any of them," she began. "I feel like I lost my whole future."

Clary almost groaned. She was here because she got dumped? Clary really didn't want to hear any more, but Bella was already talking again.

"He was so perfect in every way, and so dazzling...and Ed-" Bella seemed to choke on his name. "Edward had this beautiful crooked grin..." She sighed and tears slipped out from her lashes. "I know you think its silly, but I can't tell you everything I was ready to give up for him. It sounds very childish, but Edward is...was a part of me. When he left, I was ripped in two. Charlie... my dad," she clarified, "thought I'd gone in to a coma, and called my mom to take me to live in Florida with her. I couldn't go, Clary. I couldn't move away where the sun always shines!"

"Why?" Clary asked feeling the answer should be obvious to her..

"If I went somewhere I couldn't possibly imagine him living, how could I really be sure he ever really existed at all?" Bella seemed to be waiting for Clary to actually provide an answer, but Clary was stuck on what she had just said: existed. She was suddenly involved in the tale again, feeling like there was something much more interesting than love gone wrong.

"What do you mean?" Clary didn't want to seem too eager, but she wanted to fish the truth of Bella's tale.

"They belong here." She said simply.

Clary was surprised again. "They?"

"The Cullens, Edward's family."

Clary suddenly lost all patience. "Look, I know quite a bit about strange happenings, Bella. Whatever your secret, it will be safe with me. You have my word." She tried to make it as binding as a true Nephilim's promise, but wasn't sure how well it worked. Bella looked embarrassed, a blush rising in her cheeks. Clary found herself backtracking. "I mean, I have secrets, too. Maybe we...I don't know..."Clary inhaled deeply, then finally said, "I'm dying to tell somebody my secret, Bella!"

Bella was biting her lip. Clary suddenly felt a blush creeping up her own cheeks. She wasn't really sure why she had blurted that out. It was so unusual to be so drawn to any one. The last person she'd felt any pull toward, besides Jace obviously, was Simon and that had been in preschool. The errant thought of Simon left a bitter taste in Clary's mouth. He had fussed so much about the girlfriend business that his choice to run off with Maia had caught her completely off guard. The rejection sank in about the time the hospital psychologist and two huge orderlies forced her arms through the white jacket. She shivered.

"It is getting chilly. Let's go back in," Bella whispered.

In our room, they laid in the dark for awhile not speaking. Clary thought they were each feeling out the next approach. There was more Bella could teach her and Clary didn't want to scare her off before it had been revealed.

A/N (again): Please review and let me know what you think! I love all suggestions, comments, and flames. I am truly unbiased as long as you send me something to let me know you're out there!