The Aftermath

Clary woke the morning after the party, next to Isabelle's empty bed. She sat up, and her back cracked painfully. She instantly regretted declining Simon's offer to walk her to Amatis's the night before. And the shoes she wore to the party. The party had been fun, and she hadn't really wanted to walk back to Amatis's afterward. Especially since Jace had disappeared. After the fireworks, he'd told her to hang with Isabelle, Simon and Maia until he got back. They left late, and there had still been no sign of him. She tried not to let it worry her, as no one else seemed to be alarmed, but she had to question where he was.

She pulled her tired body off the floor, hearing a few interesting noises crack in her body. It had been a pretty wild week, especially what with her mother back in town. Clary was looking forward to this week. There were still a few decisions left to be made, but all in all, things were looking up. Her father and her brother were dead. She had to admit, that didn't upset her as much as she thought it should, but it wasn't as if shed known either of them for any longer then a month. She opened the door of Isabelle's room and peered into the hallway. No one was around, so she made a quick dash into the bathroom, grabbing a towel of the rack on her way along. She closed the door quickly, laughing at herself. It wasn't as if she'd run through the house stark naked. She had a strap shirt on, and a pair of decent shorts, even if they were a little short. Or a lot short. Hey, they wereIsabelle's. She peeled off the clothes and ran the shower, letting her mind drift back to her short exchange with Jace, after the fireworks.

"That was gorgeous," Isabelle exclaimed, flipping her hair over her shoulder and smiling at Simon. Jace caught Clary's eye, and they shared a smile over his sister's obvious crush. They stood, along with the rest of the crowd. She smiled at him as everyone dispersed loudly back into party mode.

"Listen, Clary." Jace spoke and she turned her attention to him. "I hate to leave when things are in ahh.." Something that looked suspiciously like an orange monkey swung by. "Full swing." They laughed, and she frowned at him. "Warlock," he explained. She realized he was talking about the monkey-thing.

"Oh, yeah. I got it. I don't get what you mean. Where are you going?"

"I just got some things to cover. If I'm not back, Simon will walk you back to Amatis's alright?" He was already edging away from her.

"Jace, I…"

"I have to go. Go find Isabelle." And he was gone.

She climbed out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her as she went. She opened the bathroom door, and made to Isabelle's room. She closed the door, smiling at herself once again. She dropped the towel, wrapped her hair in it, piling it on top of her head. She collected the few things she had to wear around and began to dress. She pulled on a white strap shirt, and a blue hoodie over her jeans.

It was only then it struck her how utterly quiet it was in the house. She was a little concerned, now that she hadn't seen anyone. It was 10:05am. Everyone should be up by now. Maybe they were just outside, still celebrating. Or were sleeping in, after the party from last night. But where was Isabelle?

Clary shook her head and decided not to worry about it right away. She'd have time for that if no one showed up within the next little while. She dried her hair, pulling half of it back into a half ponytail. Using what few tricks she learned from Isabelle over the last few weeks, she applied a little makeup. She thought it looked okay. Her eyes were kind of sparkly, and her cheeks had some color. She straightened her clothes and slipped on her sneakers. Now she had to worry.

She walked down stairs at a slow pace, thinking about what she would find. When she heard voices, she brightened a little, only to realize they weren't the voices she wanted to hear. She reached the kitchen just to find Maryse, Robert, her Mother and Luke talking.

"Hello, Clary," Luke said in an overly loud tone, obviously meant to alert everyone in the room to her presence. They all looked at her simultaneously. No one said a word. Clary looked pointedly at her mother.

"Oh. Hi, Clary-Honey. Did you…did you sleep well honey?" The stutter, plus the double use of the word honey put Clary even more on edge.

"Fine. What's going on? Where is everyone?"

"Nothing. It's all-okay, Clary. We were just discussing some things. Simon and Isabelle took off early this morning. Breakfast plans with a werewolf, apparently. Oh, and Alec is gone off with his warlock." Jocelyn stated, smiling warily. Clary waited for her to continue, but it was obvious she was done.

"And…" Clary hesitated. This was rather embarrassing. "Where's Jace?" Everyone was quiet. Maryse spoke up.

"He never came home last night, Clary. We talked to him this morning. We're sure he's okay. He's just not ready to come back yet." Clary frowned. That wasn't necessarily bad news…was it? Of course not. He was probably just…sleeping somewhere else. Surely, it had nothing to do with her.

"Sure," she said, her voice a little loud. "Sure. Yeah. Whatever. So, what are you guys talking about?" Jocelyn drew in a breath and looked to Maryse. She and Robert left quietly and went upstairs.

"Well," Jocelyn said, crossing the room to her daughter. "You know Luke and I are…"

"Together," Luke finished. Clary nodded.

"So obviously, we want to be together. As in, in the same country. So Luke and I were planning to head back to New York. Soon."

"Okay," Clary shrugged. She didn't see the big deal.

"The thing is," Luke began. "Maryse and Robert stopped by this morning. They were talking to some members of the Clave last night. Some people in pretty high positions." He looked to Jocelyn to continue.

"What happened last night…to end the war? It was, well…unprecedented. They have some questions for all of you. All the ones who were involved. No one's in trouble." She clarified. "They've assured us that everything will be fine. We just have to stick around awhile. A week, no longer."

"Alright, so we'll all just stay the week, and go back after. Right?"

"Clary, sit down." Jocelyn had her 'Mom' look on. Clary sat, instinctually on the nearest chair.

"I know you've made a lot of friends over the last while. The Lightwoods, The werewolf, the warlock even."

"Maia and Magnus."

"What?" Jocelyn looked lost, as if the contribution hadn't been expected.

"The 'Werewolf' is Maia. Magnus is the Warlock."

"Right. I'm sorry honey. I don't mean to belittle them, I just didn't know. And, of course you have Simon."

"Okay. So I have friends…what is it, mom?"

"The Lightwoods…Maryse and Robert that is, well…they've been approached by the Clave. They've been asked to stay awhile. Alec, Isabelle, Jace…they have a lot of potential here. To grow. Especially Jace." Clary was silent. What was she saying?

"What I'm saying is," Jocelyn continues, as if she heard what Clary just thought. "When we go back in a week, there's no saying any of the kids will be coming with us."

"But…Maryse and Robert…they can't just leave their kids here."

"They could. It's the way of the Clave. But, they're staying here as well. Of course most of the downworlders will be gone within the week, but many shadowhunters will hang around for a month or so. Maybe longer for some."

"Like the Lightwood's."

"Like the Lightwood's," Jocelyn confirmed.

"So, when are we leaving?" Clary asked quietly.

"Well," Luke started. "We're leaving at the end of the week. I have the bookstore to get back too. New life to start with your mom." The two of them shared a smile only two people in love could. But Clary was still stuck back at the 'end of the week' part.

"But," Jocelyn said. "We want you to think about staying here." Jocelyn swallowed hard. She hated throwing her daughter into such a world that they were in now. She'd kept her out of it for the best part of twenty years. "Clary, I know there's no way I'd get you to walk away from all this now. Especially with Simon so involved and…and well, because of Jace. So if you're going to do this. I want you to do this right. To be safe, you need to be trained. Marked. So…we think you should stay. The Lightwood's offered to keep an eye out for you, and you'd be with their kids. You could stay at Amatis's. What do you think?"

"I have to…I have to talk to…everyone. I need to think about it."

"It's okay. That's good. You should think about it," Luke confirmed as she stood. She smiled at them and started toward the door.

"Clary?" Jocelyn called.

"Yeah?"

"Jace is up on the hill. The one he watched the funeral from. He was there last night; I assume he went back after he was here this morning." Clary blushed. Was she that transparent?

"Yeah, okay. Thanks Mom. Bye Luke."

As Jocelyn watched her daughter leave, Luke slipped his arms around her waist. He pressed his lips against her hair and she sighed.

"It's the right thing," he whispered.

"I know," she sighed. "I know."

Well, there it is. The beginning of what comes after the end ;). Okay, so that was corny. Hope you enjoyed it. I'll update soon.