--50TH FIC, WHOO! This was supposed to be posted on Halloween but i had some server issues that just got fixed, so bear with me! Alright this is my first MI story w/ Jace and Clary. Tell me how it goes. Happy Halloween!--

Double Bubble Toil and Trouble

"Hang on, hang on," Clary said impatiently, stepping out of the elevator and walking toward the door of the Institute. "Who the hell-" She was cut off by a body falling into her. She caught the person, bending and grunting with their sudden weight.

The rain hissed outside, sending an icy breeze through the door. But what concerned Clary was the trembling figure in her arms.

"Jace?!" He was soaked through-and-through; his clothes plastered to his body, golden curls sticking to his face, droplets of water sliding off the ends.

"Clary," He said in a small voice, a voice that scared her deeply. "C-Clary, help me."

"Jace, what, what's wrong?" Her throat was suddenly very dry, and the fact that her heart had leapt in it wasn't helping. "Jace, are you hurt?" He nodded weakly. "Show me."

He nudged his left shoulder toward her, keeping his face rested against her.

Clary moved the torn and slightly bloodied fabric covering the topmost part of his bicep and saw a thin, slightly swollen scratch still oozing blood. Now Clary was confused as well as frightened. Jace had taken some of the worst beatings she had ever seen and had walked away with a smile on his face. This, this was just a scratch, literally.

"Jace, I, I don't understand." She admitted. He took a wheezing breath.

"F-fought a d-demon an', an' it scratched me," He whispered. He winced in mid breath, fingers clenching Clary's shirt tight. "Clary, p-please…"

Demon poison. Clary thought. "Okay, okay, come here, Jace." She hauled him up as carefully as she could and helped him walk into the elevator, which was a solid thirty feet away.

He nearly collapsed when the doors closed. If Clary hadn't been supporting his weight he would have fallen like a sack of potatoes. He was breathing hard and coughing.

"I c-can't, Clary, I c-can't." He gasped.

"Okay, okay, I've got you, Jace. You're alright, I've got you." She was so scared. She had no idea what she should do. Jace was impervious, invincible, untouchable, nothing hurt him to this magnitude. And if it did he would never let it show. But he would be alright. She could draw and iratze and he'd be just fine. Right? She prayed it would be so.

He clung to her tightly, shaking violently, teeth chattering, his eyes closed. In the light Clary could see what he had been through, and what the poison was doing to him.

His breath came in short, labored gasps. His black T-shirt and jeans were torn and stained with blood that wasn't his own. The dark color of his clothes only accented how pale his skin had gotten, how the dark circles under his eyes looked like violent bruises.

She couldn't have been more relieved when the doors opened.

Isabelle, who had been waiting for the elevator in her costume to head to the first party she was attending for the evening, turned and gasped when she saw them.

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed.

"Isabelle, help." Clary grunted, body numb from supporting Jace's weight. The young Shadowhunter ran and slung her brother's arm over her shoulder. Jace yelped in pain, breath coming even quicker.

"Sorry!" Isabelle said, sounding as scared as Clary felt. Jace shook his head slightly, a silent way of telling her it was alright.

How they managed to get to Jace's way-too-tidy room God only knew.

Clary held him up while she peeled his shirt off. He groaned in discomfort, goosebumps rising over his now bare skin. He huddled himself closer together, leaning into Clary for warmth.

"Shh…Hang on Jace. just hang on for a second, okay?" She said gently. He nodded, eyes half open.

She got the rest of his sopping wet clothes off of him and replaced them with a pair of sweats. She left his shirt off, knowing that she'd be drawing a rune soon and she didn't want the fabric to hurt the cut on his arm. She carefully lied him down and brushed his damp curls out of his face.

"Okay, I'm gonna see if I can find Magnus, okay?" She said. "You're gonna be alright, Jace." But she wasn't so sure. He was acting so strangely. He wasn't trying to tell her to stop treating him like this because he was fine, he wasn't cracking any sort of joke, he wasn't cursing himself for being stupid enough to get himself infected with poison and he didn't object to getting Magnus's help.

She was beyond worried, beyond scared, but maybe the High Warlock could shed some light on this mess.

"Do you know where he is?" She asked, turning to Isabelle.

"He's in Alec's room." She said. Clary nodded and bolted upstairs.

Magnus sighed, looking at Alec with an exasperated expression.

"Just relax." He said, moving to kiss him again. Alec kissed him back, but his eyes were open, body tense and distracted.

"What if my parents-"

"You're eighteen years old, Alexander. You can't get in trouble for having a person of interest in your room with the door closed anymore." He said matter-of-factly.

"I…I don't know if I…"

"Can have a legitimate make out while your parents are in the house?" Magnus finished. Alec nodded, eyes on the floor. Magnus smiled lightly and lifted his chin.

"You want to make out, right?" Alec nodded, blushing. "Alright," Magnus cupped his face in his hands. "Just think that there is no one else in the world right now. Absolutely no one. The only other person on the face of the Earth is me. You have me all to yourself, no interruptions. Just us." Alec nodded, relaxing slowly. Magnus pulled Alec's face to his own, meeting his soft lips. Alec's arms wrapped around his neck, fingers tangling in his hair and holding him tight, lips turning passionate and heated. Magnus grinned.

"Now that's more like it." He growled. His own fingers found themselves braided in his Shadowhunter's hair, holding him as close as he could get him. Alec melted in his arms, trying to get him closer; as if that were possible.

Magnus was irked when the door suddenly flew open. Alec didn't seem to notice. With a flick of his wrist Magnus shut the door with a slam. It burst open again. And Magnus shut it again. Open, close. Open, close. Open, close. Magnus sighed, breaking apart from Alec, who in turn looked very disappointed.

"Excuse me for a moment," He said, putting a finger to his lips and turned to see a very agitated Clary standing in the doorway. "What could you possibly need right now? I'm kind of in the middle of something?" Alec, who's hair was mussed, lips swollen from kissing and a light beading of sweat on his face, blushed at the sight of the girl.

"I need your help." Clary said. Magnus frowned.

"It better be important. And I mean important." He said stiffly. Clary bit her lip, distress in her eyes.

"Jace is hurt," She said. This sparked attention in the warlock's eyes. Alec sat up straighter. "I think it might be demon poison. I'm pretty sure an iratze would work, but I want a second opinion." Magnus nodded and stood immediately.

"To be continued, darling." He said, dropping Alec a broad wink. Alec swallowed hard and blushed deeper.

Magnus sat down next to Jace, who was trembling and sweating, shallow breath filling the room with a rattling sound. He looked at the cut on Jace's arm, lightly running his first two fingers over it. He winced deeply, grimacing almost. Jace hissed softly, eyes squeezing shut.

"Shh…" Magnus soothed, touching Jace's forehead. "I know, I know."

Isabelle and Clary exchanged glances. Magnus was being nice, to Jace.

"Hurts." Jace mumbled. Magnus nodded, genuine concern in his face.

"I know, Jace, I know. It's going to be alright, okay? You're going to be okay."

He stood and went over to Clary and Isabelle.

"Can I draw the rune now?" Clary asked, desperate to release Jace from this strange pain he seemed to be going through. Magnus laughed ruefully.

"I wouldn't, if I were you. If you bring a stele anywhere near him it will kill him. If I touch him with any hint of magic he will die. That poison is designed to weaken anything and anyone. It makes the strongest of us helpless. It makes us mundane, too mundane." He said grimly.

"So, what's going to happen to him?" Isabelle asked. Magnus sighed and looked at Jace over his shoulder.

"One drop of this type of poison will bring the world to its knees. He's just a child. I've only seen this poison once."

"When?" Clary asked.

"Five hundred years ago. I was young, careless. The demon got the better of me and but me. I almost died," He held up his wrist. A small white scar shown in the center. "I know what this poison does."

"And what does it do?" Isabelle asked, irritated.

"Think of the worst flu virus you've ever seen in someone. The hallucinations, the fevers, the chills, the vomiting, the sheer vulnerability of it all. Now amplify it by a hundred. That is what this poison does. It makes you sick and powerless against anything and everything. You will see him at the weakest you will probably ever see him in his life." He said.

"What can I do?" Clary asked shakily.

"Be there for him. Help him get what he needs. And make sure that someone who cares is with him at all times. There's nothing worse than going through this alone." The last part of his sentence died away. Clary nodded.

"And the rest of us..?" Isabelle ventured.

"Can get back to our Halloween misadventures. There's nothing we can do for him and the last thing he would want is for the world to stop because of an injury he received." Magnus concluded. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I was busy." He left the room.

Isabelle stood there awkwardly in her elaborate Renaissance style dress, looking stunning as usual.

"You can go, Isabelle," Clary said. "I think he would want you to go." She hesitated.

"Go," Jace rasped. "'S okay." She nodded and headed for the door, pausing before leaving.

"Take care of him." She said firmly. Clary nodded. Isabelle shut the door behind her, her clicking heels fading down the hallway.

She laced her fingers in Jace's, gently caressing his face. God, he had a high fever already.

"It's gonna be alright, Jace. You're gonna be okay." She said, smiling gently.

He turned his head and whimpered into the pillow. Clary's heart stuttered. Jace Wayland just…he just…God, this was bad.

--Please review!--