Madzie didn't like Valentine. And she didn't like any of his friends either. They promised to give her Nana back but it was all just lies and she didn't want to stay there anymore. Valentine had asked her to do another spell but she'd refused until they gave her what she wanted, so they'd tried to put her in time out. It hadn't worked. She'd thrown Valentines men to the walls and now they lay slumped on the floor all around her.

She jumped as the doors were thrown open, the small room now blocked off at both ends with Valentine and… the tall boy she'd saved from Nana.

Valentine looked mad but smiled and reached out to her, hand expectant and waiting.

"Come over here, Madzie. We need to go, we'll go find your Nana."

She frowned at his tone, as if he were ordering her rather than asking. She hated when he did that.

The tall boy moved slowly, lowering his seraph blade, and crouching down as he reluctantly tore his eyes away from the bad man still waiting for her. He smiled, and Madzie felt a little better. She knew him and he was nice, he'd liked her gills.

"Hey, little fish. Do you remember me? I'm Alec, we met at your Nana's house, you saved me."

Madzie nodded and turned away from Valentine. Alec pointed to her neck, his eyes proud and kind.

"I see you've stopped hiding your gills and you've been getting better with your magic. But this man isn't going to help you find your Nana, he doesn't have her. We do, and I can take you to see her but you need to come with me, this man is dangerous."

He offered his hand but it wasn't like Valentine, he wasn't ordering her to do anything, just asking her if she wanted to come. And she did. She took his hand, making him smile and stand up, face turning hard as he looked at Valentine, who was furious.

"She's coming with me."

Madzie watched the two men stare at each other as Valentine came closer, Alec pushing Madzie behind him as he raised his blade in front of them. Valentine had a rage burning in his eyes and Alec swung his blade towards him only to have it smacked away by Valentines own sword. Madzie let go of the shadowhunters hand and stumbled back as the two fought. She just wanted to go home.

She jumped in fright as Alec was thrown against the wall, hard enough to leave a dent in the plaster, only to get up again and run towards the other man.

Alec swung his blade towards Valentine, slicing through his jacket and leaving a cut down his arm, it was shallow but Valentine dropped his sward and hissed in pain. Alec had the upper hand now and was about to finish him when Valentine grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him forward onto a dagger he'd pulled from his belt.

Alec grunted in pain as the blade buried itself into his side, the sharp pain making his vision blur white. He gasped, seraph blade falling to the floor, and tried to push himself away but only got a twist to the knife as payment. He cried out in pain and his legs threatened to give out as a yell came from behind him.

"No!" Wind whipped through the room and Valentine tried to talk to the young warlock.

"Madzie, this boy was bad, he was going to hurt you. He's-"

"No!" Madzie threw her hands out, throwing Valentine to the wall where he fell to the ground, winded. Alec slumped, stumbling backwards as the dagger was pulled out, blood soaked through his shirt and dripped down to the waistband of his jeans as his hands shook.

Valentine tried to get up, reaching for the seraph blade on the ground, but Madzie ran and stood in front of the Lightwood, protecting her friend. Valentine tried telling the girl what to do again but only earnt a glare from the warlock as she reached a hand behind her.

Alec was trying very hard to stay on his feet, head muddy with pain, but he saw Madzie's hand and he took it, his big fingers wrapping around her tiny palm. Her grip was firm as her other hand reached out, warping the air in front of them and creating a portal. Valentine screamed for her to stop but she didn't listen, pulling the portal towards them and smiling as it swallowed her and Alec whole.

Alec blinked and found himself in a park, the sky darkening as the day aged, with Madzie beside him standing on the grass. The park was empty but he recognized it as the one Madzie had been taken from. He looked down at the girl now and smiled as she squeezed his big hand.

"Thanks, Madz." His knees shook and finally gave out, the pain in his side sharp and deep. He needed to get help, but all he could do was grit his teeth as his knees hit the grass. Madzie let go of his hand as he fell, watching with wide, scared eyes as he lay on the ground.

It hurt like all hell but he pressed his shaking hands to his side to try and stop the bleeding, warm slick red, seeping through his fingers and staining his hands as he did.

He panted, trying not to show how much it hurt, as he managed a weak smile to the warlock.

"It's okay. I'm okay, I'm just tired. Thanks for saving me again, I knew you could do it."

She came closer, hesitantly kneeling beside him. She looked at the blood soaking his side as Alec tried to cover it, she was scared and she didn't know what to do.

Alec didn't want her to see his wound, he didn't want to scare her but he did need to call for help. His voice shook but he kept his tone bright as he fumbled his pockets for his phone and stele.

"Hey, we're going to find help but how about, for now we just talk for a bit okay? Do you want to tell me about your Nana? I know you must miss her."

Madzie nodded, watching curiously as Alec pulled out his smashed phone. It had shattered when he was thrown to the wall and he shook the brick desperately, only to curse as the screen flickered out.

"You have Nana?"

Alec threw his phone down and brought his stele to his arm trying to draw a healing rune while his hands shook. He nodded as he spoke, finding it hard to concentrate.

"Yeah, she's safe and you can see her when we get to safety okay? I promise."

The rune was weak, his strength fading as blood soaked into the ground beneath him and he knew all he could do was stay awake until help came. Jace would be able to feel his pain and know he was in trouble. He'd find them.

Madzie sat beside him, looking uncertain. She was a warlock but she hadn't yet learnt to heal people, and she hadn't ever been to the institute or any other place that could bring them closer to being rescued, and so she couldn't portal them there.

Alec smiled at her as he pressed harder on the wound in his side. "Everything's going to be fine. We just need to stay here and wait for help, my friends will come soon. Do you remember Jace? He's a Shadowhunter like me, he's got blonde hair and I think you met him in a café."

Madzie nodded and touched a finger to one of the runes covering Alec's arm. He nodded, proudly.

"Yeah, he has runes like mine. He's my brother and he can find us, we just have to wait okay? And Madzie, you've been so brave today and you've saved me twice now, but do you think you could help me stay awake till he gets here? I can't fall asleep but I'll want to and you need to stop me. Do you think you could do that?"

He didn't want to ask her for anything more than she'd already done, she was so young and he was supposed to protect her, but he could feel the warmth and strength seeping from him, draining into the grass with his blood. He was already so tired but he knew what would happen if he fell asleep. Madzie nodded and shuffled closer to him as he shivered.

"Thanks."

Madzie was scared but Alec was nice and kept asking questions, listening to her talk about all her favourite things. The dolls at her old house, the mermaids her Nana took her to see, and the pretty warlock she'd met at Valentines warehouse that had taught her how to make portals.

Alec's breath was becoming shallow and his vision was blurred. He was so, so tired, and so cold. His eyes drooped, heavy and he was about to drift off when something poked his shoulder.

He forced his eyes open a crack to see the young girl beside him, frowning down in disappointment.

"No, don't sleep. We have to wait."

He could barely concentrate, the pain in his side still sharp as he reminded his hand to keep pressing on the wound, but he forced himself to speak.

"Sorry, I'm awake. Tell me more about the mermaids, I've only met the mean ones."

Madzie shuffled a little closer, curling her legs up as she sat pressed to Alec's unhurt side. She could feel him shivering and pressed her hands to his chest, thinking about all the nice, warm things she could. Alec trembled as he warmed slightly and he lifted a clumsy hand to curl around the warlock's fingers.

"Thanks, you're getting really good at that. I bet you'll like my boyfriend Magnus. He's a warlock too but he has cat's eyes. He's good at helping people just like you are."

Madzie looked over at his other hand, curled to his side and unsuccessfully trying to stop the bleeding. His shirt was soaked through and his hand slick with red. She knew that was bad. Her voice was small and sad.

"Does it hurt?"

Alec wanted to protect her from the truth, he didn't want her to have to see any of it. But he wasn't going to last much longer and he could barely move. His voice was quiet.

"Only a little. It's okay."

Her eyes grew wet, tears threatening to fall and Alec almost wanted to cry too, seeing them there.

"I don't know what to do. Dot didn't show me."

Alec shook his head, although the motion was weak and left him dizzy. He dragged a hand up to brush against her warm cheek.

"It's okay, you did really great today. Jace will be here soon, I can feel him. Just have to wait a little longer."

She sniffed, lip wobbling as she curled up on his chest, tucking her small body against his side and resting her cheek over his heart, her hands gripping the fabric of his shirt as his arm wrapped around her back.

"No sleeping."

He nodded, eyes already drooping. "That's right. No sleeping."

Madzie sniffed against his chest as his shirt dampened with her tears. He was getting colder and his breathing was growing weak. The thumping of his heart filled her ear but it was getting slower and she didn't want it to.

She patted his chest lightly, making his eyebrows crease, but his eyes were closing and he had to stay awake. She had to keep him awake, that was her job.

"Alec, no."

His eyes remained closed and the thumping got slower, arm falling from her back to hit the ground with a soft thump. She tried again, patting his chest as her voice broke and she started to cry. He was leaving her all alone and she was so scared.

"Alec. Wake up."

He didn't respond and she started to cry harder when she heard break's squeal and doors slamming open. She sat up, seeing people come towards them in the dark. She unclenched one hand from Alec and lifted it to throw up a bubble of magic around them, to stop whoever it was from getting to them, just like dot had showed her.

Jace, Luke and Magnus sprinted towards the body slumped on the ground, skidding to a stop before they smacked against the bubble of magic. Jace was clutching his side and leaning heavily on the werewolf, feeling the pain of his Parabatai through their connection. He could feel him slipping away and his breath caught in his throat at the sight of his brother lying unconscious on the ground.

Madzie was still crying but trying to be brave as she kept them all out.

"You can't hurt him. He's my friend."

Jace slumped from Luke's hold to kneel on the ground, he was so close, just a meter away from Alec and yet he couldn't touch him, couldn't help.

"He's my friend too, Madzie, and I want to help him. Please, let me in so I can save him."

The girl shook her head and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"No."

Magnus tore his eyes from the blood soaking the grass, and looked at the girl with pleading eyes.

"I promise we aren't here to hurt him. He needs help, and I can do that." He blinked, eyes flicking to those green cat's eyes that he hid so well, lifting his palms and igniting flames of magic to flicker across his skin. "I'm a warlock too and Alec means a lot to me, to all of us, so I can promise that we won't hurt him. I can save him, just let us in, sweet heart. Please."

Madzie let out a sob as Jace gripped handfuls of the grass in desperation, watching his parabatai's chest rise and fall, slow and shallow, and it was getting slower. He could feel the life draining away and he cried out in agony, he was losing him, again.

Madzie watched the blonde cry as he tried to breach the magic wards, doing anything to get to Alec.

"Please, he's my big brother. I have to save him."

Madzie's breath hitched in her chest and she began crying again as she lowered the wards.

"He fell asleep. I couldn't make him stay awake."

The three closed the distance between them and Alec in an instant, Jace pressing his hands to the stab wound as Magnus poured magic into his boyfriend's cold skin. Luke came and tried to pull Madzie from Alec's side but she didn't know him and she didn't want to go. She wanted Alec, she wanted her Nana, she wanted to go home.

Luke pulled the warlock away as she cried and tried to hang on to Alec's shirt, but his grip was stronger and when Jace started crying out, she turned her face into the werewolf's neck instead.

"He's barely breathing, Magnus do something!" Jace was frantic, doing his best to keep pressure on the wound but Alec was already so cold and he wasn't responding to anything, not even the pain of having his stab wound pressed so hard. Jace knew that he couldn't live without Alec, that if he slipped away, it would kill him.

Magnus wasn't much calmer, using every spell he knew to heal the wound, but Alec was just so weak his body was barely strong enough to keep his heart beating, and the magic may help close the wound but he couldn't save him if he died. Once his heart stopped and his brain died, that would be it, the magic wouldn't work anymore.

"Stay with me, Alexander. We're gonna get you home, just hang on."

The warlock kept one hand on the Nephilim, knitting his wound together as much as he could while also trying to restore the blood he lost, and waved the other hand behind him, opening a portal to his apartment.

The air swirled as he pulled the portal towards them, taking them home.

…..

It took several hours to heal Alec; the wound had been deep and his body was so drained it had nothing left to fight with. Jace had been glued to his brother's side, begging him to hold on as Magnus raced around finding potions.

Luke had held Madzie as she cried, not wanting to look at all the blood everywhere, but not wanting to leave her friend. Luke took her out and rocked her, trying to get her to sleep despite the chaos in the next room. But she'd just kept on crying.

Finally, Magnus came to tell them everything was okay, Alec was patched up and out of danger. Madzie pushed herself away from Luke and wriggled her way out of his arms so that she could run over to Alec, climbing on his bed, and curling up beside him.

Jace was holding his hand and sniffing the last of his tears away, carefully brushing Alec's hair back on his forehead. He watched the young girl curl up on Alec's chest, her tiny hand picking up Alec's big one to hold. She was so small next to him and her breath hiccupped from her as she pressed her ear to the thumping of his heart. It was stronger now and she felt safer hearing it.

Jace let go of his Parabatai to pick up a blanket instead, draping it over his brother and carefully tucking it around Madzie. She accepted it with quick hands, still not too fond of him, and shuffled closer to her big friend.

Jace wasn't sure how to thank such a young girl for what she did. He didn't know how to explain just how amazing she was. But he tired anyway, voice soft and quiet.

"Thank you for saving him. He means everything to me and I don't know what I'd do if I lost him. You're a very brave young girl."

She sounded so sad when she replied, Jace's heart broke for her, she'd been through too much for someone so young.

"I couldn't make him wake up. It was my job to keep him awake."

Jace laid a careful hand on her back, surprised when she didn't flinch away, only relaxing further into Alec's side.

"You did a really good job, you saved him. He'll wake up tomorrow, he just needs to rest so he can get stronger. You should sleep too, you've had a rough day. You're safe here, I promise."

She was so tired and finally safe, and her eyes quickly closed as she fell asleep to the sound of Alec's thumping heart.

…

Alec didn't know where he was but it was warm and he didn't hurt anymore so he decided he liked wherever he was. His mind was slow and fuzzy and he felt separate from his body, which was a very good idea considering his last memory was of a stab wound and endless rivers of blood. Alec suddenly remembered who was there with him and snapped back to his body, eyes dragging open to the dark maroon of Magnus' ceiling.

Voices floated through the air towards him but they were muffled and it took a moment before he could turn the noise into proper words. He recognised the voices, Jace's voice soft and pleased.

"See, he's okay. He's awake, Madzie everything's okay now."

Madzie. He could feel her little hands on his chest, patting him awake and calling for him.

"Alec? Wake up."

The Nephilim blinked, clearing his vision to see the little warlock sitting against him, eyes huge and waiting. He smiled at her, pulling her towards him for a hug.

"Hey, little fish." Her tiny arms wrapped around his neck as she snuggled in close

She squeezed him tight before pulling back and frowning down at him.

"You fell asleep!"

Alec nodded, apologetic. He felt horrible for all that she had to go through, he didn't know what had happened, his memory was spotty, but if he was at Magnus' with Jace and the little warlock glued to his side, it couldn't have been good.

"I'm sorry. I'm okay though, you saved me. Again. I'll take you to see your Nana, like I promised."

Madzie nodded and curled against him, just needing a cuddle right now. A lot had gone on and with Alec awake she finally felt okay. Alec pulled his arms around her and hugged her tight.

"I'm glad your safe."

Madzie nodded; she'd just been thinking the same thing.