Left For Dead [malec fanfiction] [complete]

Three: Behind

Isabelle almost burst into tears at the thought of a shower. "Oh god. Thank you. I was literally warding off skunks out there today. Who needs a weapon when their own body odour is a weapon all on its own?"

"That was you?! I thought for sure it was something I'd stepped in...." Simon jumped from the table and raced towards the exit when Isabelle shot him a look that could kill.

"Where's Simon going?" asked Max.

"Simon's running away from Isabelle because she's probably going to kill him," said Jace with a smile. "Hey! You finished all of your dinner. Atta boy! High five!"

Max laughed and clapped his small hand against Jace's. Alec was always envious of their relationship. Jace had a way with kids that Alec never did have. He was always the serious sibling; the brother that didn't know how to have fun. Jace was all about having fun, thus why Max loved him so much.

"Excellent job out there today, Alexander."

Alec looked up to the Inquisitor standing next to their table. Her dark hair was pinned up into a tight bun on top of her head and her scrutinizing eyes were locked right on Alec.

"Thank you, Inquisitor Herondale. It was a team effort out there today. I couldn't have done it without my group," he nodded.

Inquisitor Herondale nodded curtly. "I heard a rumor that you'll be going out again tomorrow. Is that true?"

Alec swallowed hard. Who squealed to the Inquisitor? "Y-yes, ma'am. We're running low on some supplies and the weather is growing cold really fast. We need to go out more often than usual to stock up."

The Inquisitor sighed. "You make a good point, Alexander. Tomorrow you'll go out with your group at dawn. 6 am. Not a minute later."

She stormed away before Alec could tell her that was his plan anyway, but telling her this wasn't exactly the brightest idea. Talking back to the Clave was considered rude. Ignorant, almost.

"I thought for sure she was going to yell at you in front of the whole town," Jace whispered. "My grandmother can be a bit harsh sometimes but her heart is in the right place."

Imogen Herondale turned out to be Jace's grandmother. When they first arrived in Alicante five years ago, they were ushered into the infirmary to get checked for bites or scratches. When it was Jace's turn to get checked, the Inquisitor saw the star shaped mark on his shoulder and took him aside. Alec remembered the look of shock on Jace's face from across the room when she must've told him that they were related. When Jace returned to his brothers and sister, he refused to talk to them until that night when they all went to bed.

"She told me she recognized the scar on my shoulder-only it's not a scar. It's a birthmark. Her son's child had the exact same mark. Stephen Herondale was her son's name. He and his wife died when the baby was born. That's when the Lightwoods adopted me. Raised me when no one else would."

"That's so weird though. What are the odds of us running into your biological grandmother during the zombie apocalypse?" Isabelle said that night.

Jace chuckled. "I don't think it's odd. I think it's fate. Maybe I was meant to be reunited with my family again."

Eighteen year old Alec pat him on the chest with a hand. "Maybe. But we're your family, dude. The Lightwood clan."