The next morning, Alec wakes up to someone poking him in the ribs. He keeps trying to swat away the intruder's hand, but the incessant poking doesn't stop. "What?" Alec grumbles into his pillow, realizing that he must have fallen asleep while talking to Jace last night.

"I'm hungry, I have to take a piss, and I think your roommate is home." Jace whines. With a sigh, Alec gets up, and helps his brother get into the wheelchair, then Alec pushes Jace towards the bathroom.

"Do you need any help, or do you think you can manage on your own?" Alec reluctantly asks Jace.

"I'm good. Clary gave me one of those jugs to pee in, then I just dump it in the toilet when I'm done." Alec really doesn't have the energy this morning to correct Jace about the portable urinal. Alec wheels Jace into the bathroom and leaves so he can do his business alone. While he's waiting on Jace to finish, Alec remembers Jace saying that Clary was home. Alec forgot to text her last night, she must have cooled off enough to want to come back to the apartment.

Next Alec pushes him to the kitchen so he can start the coffee and make breakfast. "Okay, pancakes or french toast?" Alec asks.

"Pancakes!" Both Clary and Jace say in unison, causing Alec to chuckle. He didn't even hear Clary enter the kitchen. Alec turns to gather everything he needs to make the pancakes, continuing with the conversation.

"Good morning, Clary. How was work? Any patent's hit on you again?" Alec asks with a chuckle, which causes Clary to giggle in return.

"Not tonight, I think I've hit my quota after dealing with Casanova over here." Clary says with a wink, "So, how are you feeling this morning, Goldilocks? Still intent on verbally abusing me?" Clary asks. Alec's so thankful he's facing away from the two, so Jace doesn't see him trying to suppress his laugh. He's always loved Clary's sass.

"I'm more sore than I was yesterday, but I'll survive," Jace replied. Alec can hear the uncertainty in Jace's voice. "Hey Clary? I'm beyond sorry for my behavior yesterday."

"Which time? At the hospital or here?" Clary says with amusement in her voice. Alec can't help it; he doubles over, resting his forearms on the counter, and loses it. He's laughing so hard, it's making Clary lose her composure.

"It's fine Jace. I know you were so doped up you didn't know which way was up or down. As for yesterday afternoon, I just want you to know that even if what you accused me of were true, I'm not heartless enough to break up a family. And even if it was totally uncalled for, I know you were upset about the whole situation." Clary says. Alec looks towards his friend and brother just in time to see a bright smile spread over Jace's face.

"Well I am sorry. I'm not usually an asshole. And as far as those comments my brother so willingly took video of, that's really not in my nature. I have no idea what was going through my head at the time." Jace says and Clary nods in acceptance. Satisfied with Jace's apology, Alec turns back to his task at hand and starts breakfast.

"So Jace, what do you do for a living?" Clary asks, trying to break the awkward tension flowing between the two.

"I'm an unemployed Chef. I never thought it would be so difficult finding a job in New York," Jace says.

"Hey, doesn't Magnus' dad own a few restaurants around the city?" Clary asks, causing Alec to tense up.

"Uh, yeah," Alec has an uneasy feeling about where Clary is going with this. "Why do you ask?"

"Maybe you can talk to Magnus and see if his dad knows anyone looking for a chef." Clary says. Alec also sees that Jace has a smirk maring his face. At this precise moment, Alec wants to strangle Clary.

"You do realize that Magnus and I aren't together anymore right? Why would he try to do a favor for me?" Alec asks.

"Because you moron, he's trying to make up with you. What better way than to get your little brother a job," Jace says, then he turns and gives Clary a mischievous grin.

"Guys, I'm not going to extort my ex that way!" Alec exclaims. "Look, I know he's trying to make up with me, but I'm not going to use him like that. Besides, I always thought you wanted to open your own restaurant, Jace?"

"Alec, you know that he would do anything for you, why not use that to your advantage?" Clary says without giving Jace time to respond.

Alec returns with a glare and says, "Because it's wrong. The most I'd be willing to say to him is that Jace just finished culinary school. I'm not going to ask him to get you a job, Jace."

"Eh, it was worth a shot," Jace replies, nonchalantly. "And yes, I would like to open my own restaurant... someday. I don't want to do it without any real experience. I don't want my business to fail within the first year it's opened."

Alec can't really fault him for that. He turns back to continue to plate up their breakfast, completely mortified that his best friend and brother are already conspiring with each other about his lovelife. As much as Alec doesn't want to admit it, he's no longer upset with Magnus, but at the same time, he's also not sure if he's willing to get back together with him.

~oOo~

Later that day, the trio are sitting in the living room watching a movie when Jace speaks up.

"Hey Alec, how would you feel about Izzy and her fiancé coming over for dinner tonight?" Jace said.

Today is Alec's day off, and he wasn't planning on cooking. But if he's going to see Izzy for the first time in years, he doesn't want to just order take out. The prospect of seeing Izzy is as exciting as it is terrifying. 'Hold up! Did Jace just say Izzy and her fiancé?'

"She's engaged?!" Alec yells out.

"Uh yeah. Some dude named Simon. They met at UCLA. He's a pretty chill dude, kinda nerdy, but he treats Izzy right, so I can't really complain about him." Jace says, and Alec sees Clary stiffen.

"Hey Jace, what's Simon's last name?" Clary says hesitantly before adding quickly. "It's just that my childhood best friend went to UCLA and he and I lost touch after our first year in school." Alec knows that she's a little sore on the subject of her former best friend. He'd ended up consoling her quite often when Simon had stopped all forms of communication with her.

"It's Lewis I think." Jace says nonchalantly, not realizing Clary's shift in mood.

"Hey, we can just ask for Izzy if it's going to be too much for you to see him, Clare." Alec says, trying to help. "I can arrange to meet this guy some other time. I'm halfway tempted to punch him in the face for completely ignoring you." Alec states with conviction.

"Am I missing something here?" Jace asks with a raised eyebrow. Alec is about to tell him about the 'Simon/Clary' drama, when Clary cuts him off.

"It's nothing, friendship just means more to me than it does to certain other people." There's nothing but venom in Clary's tone.

"O-kay." Jace says with his good hand raised in a surrender position.

"Just tell your sister they can come over." Clary says. "I'm going to go to the store and get something to make for dinner. Alec and I were planning on doing our grocery shopping today, but... yeah." Clary motions towards Jace at that comment. Alec gets up and motions for Clary to follow him in the kitchen.

"Hey, are you sure you're okay with this? I know my family situation is screwing up our plans for the day. Plus, I don't want this Simon issue to upset you more than it already has," Alec says.

"Alec, I'm fine. Simon isn't an issue, I'm over it." Alec gives her the 'if you say so' look before she continues, "And as far as your family goes, I'm so happy that they're back in your life. I know how much you've missed your siblings, and I would never deny them coming over here so you can spend time with them. I love you like you're my own brother. Jace isn't terrible to be around now that he's not being an ass, and I'm sure Izzy is an amazing person as well." With a sigh, Alec drops the subject.

"Do you at least want me to go to the store with you like we planned? Jace will be fine alone for an hour or two." Alec says with worry.

"No, don't worry about it. I don't mind going alone, plus... Simon is Jewish. I think it's a great night for a pork roast." She says with a mischievous smirk. Alec can't help but to laugh at her way of getting back at Simon for dropping off the face of the earth.

"Fair enough. Just let me get my wallet and give you my debit card. It's my week to buy groceries." Alec says before turning to get his wallet from his room.

Coming back to the living room, he hands Clary his card and she heads out.

"So what's for dinner?" Jace asks.

"Pork roast, red skinned potatoes, and carrots." Alec says with a smirk that can rival Jace's.

"Uh, Alec. I hate to break it to you dude, but Simon's Jewish. He doesn't eat pork." Jace says, slightly confused. Alec laughs at Jace's confusion.

"Oh we know. Clary is doing it on purpose."

"So what happened there? You seemed pretty pissed off when I mentioned his name," Jace asks.

"Well, from what Clary has told me, she and Simon had been best friends since they were in kindergarten. They were attached at the hip, and they even took advanced classes in high school so they could graduate a year early together. From what Clary says, Simon's dream was to go to UCLA and become a Game Developer. During our freshman year, the two kept in touch constantly. Then over the summer, Simon got into this internship program for some company called Blizzard. Apparently they created this game that Simon liked so much called 'World of Warcraft', or something like that. Anyway, Clary was over the moon happy for him. All summer long he would email her, they would facetime, or Skype; but then when our second year of school started, Simon's communication with Clary became less frequent. She didn't think much of it at first, she just assumed that his workload was heavy or something, then all communication with him just stopped. No one knows why, Clary spoke to his mom, but she didn't know anything either. Then after maybe the third time she visited Simon's mom, Clary told me that something was off about her. She refused to even discuss anything involving Simon." Alec sighed, "Clary was devastated, here she thought she had a friend for life, and he just vanishes suddenly from her life."

"I think I know what happened." Jace says, Alec raises his eyebrow. "Izzy."

"What do you mean, Izzy?" Alec asks, confused.

"Izzy started at UCLA in their fashion program. When she was walking around campus looking for one of her classes, she realized that she was lost. That's how she met Simon, he saw that she was aimlessly walking around looking at her schedule, so he helped her find her class. She was on the wrong side of campus. She and Simon have been inseparable ever since." Jace explains.

"Wow... okay. Do you think Iz would really tell Simon not to speak to Clary anymore?" Alec's still a little confused. Izzy has never been the jealous type in the past, but a lot of things change over time.

"Oh god no! Izzy doesn't have a jealous bone in her body. And I highly doubt that she would ever tell someone who they can and can't be friends with. I think that Simon just assumed that she wouldn't want him talking to another girl, regardless on whether or not it's a platonic relationship," Jace takes a moment to consider, "think about it man, this guy is a major geek who managed to snag someone like Izzy. Too afraid and insecure in himself, he decides to cut ties with anyone or anything that can turn Izzy off from him. That's really the only explanation that I can come up with." They both reflect on the possible scenario, Alec can only hope that Simon acted alone in ending his friendship with Clary. He can't imagine how devastating it would be if Izzy somehow had a hand in it. He likes to think that he still knows his sister well enough to know that she isn't that shallow of a person.

~oOo~

After Clary came back from the store, Alec and Jace helped put the groceries away and they all started dinner. Alec can't seem to keep the smile off his face as he watched how well Jace and Clary worked together. Once dinner's in the oven, they're all sitting in the living room, drinking wine, and waiting on Izzy and Simon to arrive. Alec has also been texting Magnus back and forth, giving him updates on how things are going around here. Magnus is also reassuring Alec that all will be well with Izzy.

The sound of the buzzer blares through the apartment and Alec gets up to let his sister in. As soon as the door opens, Izzy throws herself at her big brother, capturing him in a hug so tight he feels like he's going to suffocate. When she finally lets go of Alec's neck, he can see unshed tears in her eyes, and a huge smile on her face. She then walks over to Jace and gives him a hug, then inspects his injuries. Once she's satisfied that he's going to live, Izzy looks over at Clary, grins, and charges towards her. Clary looks like she's going to need to defend herself, but Izzy pulls her into a hug, much like the one she gave Alec, and doesn't seem to be letting go anytime soon. Then Alec hears a choked up, "Thank you so much for taking care of my brother."

To say that everyone is speechless would be an understatement. Just then, someone clears their throat.

"Oh! Sorry... Alec, Clary; this is my fiancé, Simon Lewis. Simon, this is my big brother Alec, and his best friend Clary." Izzy says, trying to make introductions. Alec is about to respond when Clary cuts him off.

"Lewis," Clary replies curtly.

"Clare..." Simon starts looking stunned, but Izzy cuts him off.

"Wait, you two know each other? Did you guys used to date or something?" Izzy asks.

"No Izzy, nothing like that. This idiot here has been my best friend since we were five. Then shortly after he started his second year at university, he dropped off the face of the earth. So no Izzy, I used to know him, but not anymore." Izzy glares at her fiancé and raises an eyebrow.

"Uh yeah... about that. You see, when I was doing my internship at the end of my freshman year, Clary started going on and on about all of the friends she'd made, her new roommate, and everything she was doing with her family... it felt like she was leaving me behind. She didn't need me anymore so I left." Simon starts flailing his arms around, looking towards Izzy. Alec and Jace are just sitting back, watching the show. Clary and Izzy are standing side by side, having identical expressions pointed at Sherman.

"Hold up! Just because I have other friends, doesn't mean that I was pushing you out of my life, Simon. If anything, you pushed me out of yours!" Clary seethed as she walks right up to him, "You were the one who stopped taking my calls. You were the one who never responded to my emails. You were the one who gave up on our friendship. Don't blame this on me Simon!" Clary says, poking her finger in his chest at the start of every sentence.

"Dude, how much do you want to bet that Simon is going piss himself." Jace whispers to Alec, causing Alec to fight back a laugh.

"Oh, I'm so looking forward to this shit show. Clary looks like she's ready to pounce on Smeagol, and not in a good way," Alec says, and Jace doesn't even try to hold back his laughter.

"Who knew my big brother gained a sense of humor throughout the years," Jace says, still laughing.

"Yeah, Magnus kind of rubbed off on me." To which Jace laughs even harder, gaining a confused look from his brother.

"Oh come on Alec, please tell me that innuendo was intentional?" Upon realizing what Jace is referring to, Alec loses it. He hadn't noticed the innuendo. The boys are laughing so hard at their own jokes, they completely miss the argument going on on the other side of the room until Izzy speaks up.

"Well, now that we've figured out that my fiancé's an ass, lets eat. Something smells amazing in there. Jace, did you cook?" Izzy asks.

"Hey," Simon whined at her. "Aren't you supposed to be on my side?" Izzy just beams at him, then kisses his cheek.

"It was a joint effort," Jace added.

"See, even Jace gets it," Simon grumbled at his fiancé. Izzy and Jace laugh while Simon looks sulky as everyone makes their way into the kitchen.