"It wasn't a train, Will." Tessa rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "He just made a very… loud… noise that just happened to sound – "
"Like a bloody train, Tess, our son sounds like a bloody train while he's sleeping!" He began pacing around the room rapidly, in only his nightshirt and house slippers, running his hands through his hair.
"What if he isn't quiet ever? He's already a loud child – hell, Tessa, I thought naming him after Jem would do him some good, but what if he's never quiet? He can't be a Shadowhunter if he's not quiet!" Tessa moved to him and rubbed his back gently, holding little James in her free arm.
"It'll be fine, Will. He's a Herondale. He'll be a marvelous Shadowhunter, and it was one time. I've only ever heard him make that noise once. It's not something to become worried about." She smiled, trying very hard to conceal her laughter at Will's antics. "Now, before our son interrupted us with such an offensive and apparently future-determining noise, I believe we were sleeping. We do have to rise early tomorrow; Charlotte would never forgive us if we missed Matthew's birthday celebration. Though I'm not quite sure I'll be able to sleep very much with all this bothersome business of whether or not our son's destiny will be determined by a snore – excuse me, a train."
Will grinned down at her, finally seeing some of the humor in the situation, and took James into his arms. "Well, Mrs. Herondale, I'm sure I can think of a few ways to make sure you're worn out enough to sleep. Give me two minutes to put James to bed and I'll demonstrate."
Tessa rolled her eyes and turned towards the hall.
"If you manage to get James to sleep without crying, William, I might just show you a few myself."
"Was that a challenge, darling?"
"Oh, Mr. Herondale," Tessa called from the bedroom, "Absolutely."
Thanks for reading! This was kind of random, but inspired by some adorable kids I was babysitting today. The older brother told his brother (who's named Will) that the toy "Wasn't a train, Will." And said it in a very Tessa way, and I had to write this. So there.
-Reinette