Disclaimer: all settings, characters (apart from Philip and Grace) and the main story plot belong to the magnificent Cassandra Clare. Grace, Philip, and my own story plot belong to me. I sadly do not own the Infernal Devices.

A/N: Hi guys! Most of this chapter is from the book, just the parts I've added with Grace are mine. It may be a little slow but this is quite an important scene to me and never fails to make me cry so I would grab some tissues (or a guitar).

Hope you enjoy it!

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'You see her when you close your eyes
Maybe one day you'll understand why
Everything you touch surely dies.'

- Let Her Go, Passenger

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-*-*-*-*- Grace -*-*-*-*-

The fire crackled in the hearth, the wood popping and snapping, sometimes throwing up sparks into the room. Bridget had come in to build it up many hours ago at Charlotte's request, and Grace was thankful. The last thing she and Will needed right now was to be cold.

The only other sound in the room was the ticking of the clock, steadily ticking away. Grace took it as a good sign.

Will sat in the armchair by Jem's bed, perfectly still. His hand was under his chin as he watched over Jem, making sure he kept breathing. He hadn't moved in three hours.

Grace, on the other hand, couldn't stop moving. In the past hours, she had sat on the window seat, on the floor, on the trunk at the end of the bed and had paced the entire room about twenty times. Right now, she was in the window seat, looking out into London beyond. It was late and the mist had just started to roll over the city like some dark, ominous cloud. The whole of London looked like something out of one of Tessa's gothic novels but Grace didn't dwell on the thought. She was too busy trying to ignore the rising panic that clawed her heart.

"Will, Grace," Charlotte whispered, poking her head around the door. Both of them looked up tiredly. Charlotte pushed the door a bit wider, revealing Magnus in the doorway, dressed, as soberly as Grace had ever seen him. in a charcoal suit. "Mr Bane says that you summoned him, Will."

"Yes," Will said, standing up. "I did. Thank you, Charlotte." The head of the Institute nodded then left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Grace moved from her seat by the window towards Jem and perched on the edge of the bed beside him. He didn't even stir. Magnus glided towards them, raising his arm and leaning upon the bed post.

"James Carstairs," he murmured as he looked down on Jem with a certain amount of sadness.

"He's dying," Will said, his voice tight. He wasn't looking Magnus in the eye, Grace noticed.

"That much is evident," Magnus said, but not unkindly. "I thought you believed he had a few more days, a week perhaps."

"No," Grace said quietly when it became evident Will couldn't not speak. "This is not just from the lack of the drug. There was a fight this afternoon and Jem was injured. Without the drug, he won't have enough strength to recover himself." Magnus stood still for a moment, tenderly holding Jem's hand, his fingers bruised and purple and his veins a bright blue. Jem let out a faint murmur in Chinese that Grace couldn't understand, but nothing more.

"Is he suffering?" Magnus asked Grace. Involuntary, Grace's hand closed around her crystal which was glowing a very faint green.

"I don't know," she said. "Yes."

"Then perhaps it would be better to let him die," Magnus said.

"I can't do that," Grace said. Magnus' cat eyes regarded her but he didn't answer.

"Will, every life is finite, and you knew he would die before you when you chose him," Magnus said.

"If you think that would be the best thing for him," Will murmured, finally finding his voice. He was almost trance like. It was like he thought all this was a dream, and at any moment he would wake up and everything would be all right. But Grace knew the bitter reality. This was no dream.

"Will, you didn't summon me here because you thought I could help him, did you?" Magnus asked gently but urgently. Will finally looked at Magnus and Grace looked down, taking Jem's cold hand in her own.

"I don't know why I called you," he said. "I don't think it was because I believed you could save him. I suppose it is because, other than Grace, you are the only one who might understand." Magnus blinked, standing up straight.

"What do you mean?"

"You have lived so long," Will continued. "You have known pain, suffering, death. You must have seen so many loved ones die. And yet you survive, you go on even though it has to be unbearable."

"You called me, a warlock to the Institute, just after a battle that you were almost killed in, to talk?" Magnus said in disbelief.

"Yes," Will said, turning away and walking towards the fire. "I find it easy to talk to you. I cannot say why."

"Never before has a Shadowhunter called me to pass the night away," Magnus said. He paused for a moment, looking at Grace. "There are spells that I may be able to try, to ease his pain. Many of them I have used before on him the first time I met you, in the Silent City."

"Anything you could do I would be grateful for," Will said. "You've already done me many great favours. I do not know how I will repay you." Silence filled the room. Grace watched Jem carefully, hoping for any flicker of movement that would let her know he had a chance. She knew in her heart of hearts that there was nothing to stop the wheels that were set in motion years ago, but she could hope. She had always hoped.

"Does he know that you are in love with Tessa?" Magnus asked Will but it was Grace who answered.

"No," she said, ignoring how raw her voice sounded and turning away from Jem. "We've kept it a secret. Jem knows of the curse, but not of Will's love for Tessa. We both agreed that it would do more harm than good."

"And besides," Will said. "What kind of monster would I be to split my brother and Tessa apart? I could not have been with her even if they did part ways. I would not revel in joy for Jem's pain. No, I have never said a word. It is not his burden to bear, and nor shall it ever be."

"But you still love her," Magnus said. Will turned away from both of them.

"Yes, I still love her," he said. Magnus sighed and closed his eyes.

"Then you must go and rescue her," he said. Will whipped around.

"I can't," he said. "It's tearing me apart, I know, but I cannot leave Jem like this, even if he never wakes. And what if he does wake up and I'm not there? He'll think that I've abandoned him willingly, not caring about whether he lives or not. I made an oath to stay with him, and I cannot break that oath." He paused, taking a breath and running his hands through hair. "But I love Tessa too and cannot bear the thought of abandoning her either. God, I'm being ripped in two and I have no idea what to do or where to go next." He dropped his face into his hands.

"Will, Will, please, just calm down," Magnus said, laying a hand on Will's shoulder. "Yes, he is your brother, but wouldn't he say to you to go after Tessa and rescue to girl he loves?"

"He would," Will sniffed, viciously blinking away tears.

"Will, listen to me," Magnus said. "You are right, I have lived many lives. But I can tell you this: the end of a life is the sum of the love that was lived in it. Being here with Jem at the end is not what is important. It was being there for every other moment. Since you met him, you have always loved him. You have shared every moment with him. Every laugh, every tear, every night that you spent with him, battling away the demons that plagued and tortured him. Those  are the moments that matter."

"You really mean that, don't you?" Will asked. "Why are you so kind to me? Why are you so kind to all of us? I owe you a favour, and you have never called it in."

"Haven't I?" Magnus asked with a smile. He was still gripping Will's shoulders and Grace wondered if she was about to witness one of the most important moments in Will's life. "Will, you treat me as a human being, like a person. I have never known a Shadowhunter to treat a warlock like that. And I am not so heartless to call in a favour from a broken hearted boy." Magnus paused, looking at Grace as he said his next words.

"I have watched you grow from children to adults in a very short space of time," he said. "I have come to find that I feel a certain parental responsibility for you. All of you." Grace stared at him. All this time and she had never thought of Magnus as the parenting figure. Maybe he really had protected her all along.

"So I will tell you this," Magnus said. "I will stay here and do everything in my power to extend your Jem's life. I will watch over him and guard him from the night just as you have for six years. And if he wakes, I will tell him where you have gone, and that it was for him."

"But I can't leave you alone either, Gracey," Will said, moving towards her and gripping her fingers tightly. "Not to face whatever you must face alone."

"I will watch over them both for you," Magnus told him. "I will help Grace through it all."

"I would count that a great favour," Will said. Magnus walked to the bedside table and picked up his gloves.

"And as for surviving many deaths," Magnus said. "There is no secret to it. You endure what is unbearable and you bear it, that is all. I will give you a moment alone with him. You may find me in the library when you are ready." And with a nod, he opened the door and closed it again softly, leaving them alone.

"You must go, Will," Grace said. "There is no time to waste." Will nodded and knelt by the bed, his hand lightly brushing Jem's cheek.

"Look after him, Gracey," Will said, looking up at her across Jem. "And look after yourself too."

"I will," Grace whispered. "The road ahead will not be easy, but I must travel along it." She watched as Will nodded, gazing down at Jem's face. Her heart was pounding. This was the last time they would be together. After everything they had been through, it all ended here.

"Atque in pepetuum, frater, ave atque vale," Will said softly. He stood, his eyes locking with Grace's. As he turned to leave, Grace suddenly felt the grip on her hand tighten. She looked up to see Will had frozen too, staring at a pale hand braceleting his wrist.

"I am not dead yet, William," Jem said, his voice thin but as strong as Grace had ever heard it. "What did Magnus mean by asking you if I knew you were in love with Tessa?"

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Hiya peeps!

Yeah so sorry that was a little slow but I've always seen this as a setting up scene for all the drama ahead. I don't really have a lot to say so I'm going to go.

Don't forget to comment and vote as always please!

Love y'all!

CricketCat