Hello, my lovelies. It's so good to be talking to you guys after all this time. I'm sure you've been wondering where I've been for the past few months and honestly, I've been so busy with school that I've barely had time to write. But recently, some things have opened up and I've got a lot more time on my hands, which means more content for you guys. So, without further or do, here's the first outtake from Protecting Jace.
Thanks to my beta, Avanymous, this chapter has been edited.
Disclaimer: All TMI characters belong to Cassandra Clare :)
For reference: This outtake takes place several months after Clary returns from Isolation. She is 18 and Jace is 19. They are both working for the Agency.
Chapter Songs:
**Bust a Move by Young MC (Scene 1)
**Saturn by Sleeping At Last (Scene 2)
Late that night, Clary lay stretched along Jace's bed, wrapped up in his cloud-like sheets. Waking slightly, she reached out for her boyfriend, finding nothing but cold space in front of her. With a groan of annoyance, she began scooting back, her eyes still clamped shut. She must have waken him with all of her rustling because a low chuckle emanated behind her, then his arm slid around her waist as he tugged her back against his warm chest. She let out a calming sigh and attempted to drift back off to sleep, but she was startled awake moments later as both of their Agency cellphones began blaring on the nightstand, alerting them of a new mission.
Nudging Jace onto his back, Clary immediately turned and stretched over him, reaching for her phone. Jace groaned as she put in her passcode and read the details of the mission.
"Jesus Christ, it's—" he paused to squint at the red digital numbers on his alarm clock, "two o'clock in the morning. Can't we deal with the gang bangers and drug dealers when the sun comes up?"
Clary shook her head, still laying across his chest as she read. "It isn't the gangs this time," she told him.
His hand slid to the center of her back and moved up to her shoulder blades and down over her ass, repeating the action mindlessly. "Then what is it?"
Typing quickly, she pulled up a picture of their target and showed him. "That's Philip Graham. He's been wanted for child trafficking for about three years now and it looks like they just nabbed his location." She watched him for a moment, moving a few curls out of his eyes. "Do you want to take it?"
"Hell yeah, we're taking this." He hit accept and handed the phone back to her, now looking wide awake. With a smirk, he patted her thigh and flipped them over, making her giggle as he pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. "Duty calls, Agent Morgenstern. Now get your sexy ass out of bed and gear up."
Rolling her eyes, Clary shoved him off of her and jumped to her feet. As she walked toward their dresser, she reached down and lifted his shirt over her head, exposing her back to him. Jace groaned and seconds later, he was behind her, his hands gripping her waist.
She laughed. "We're supposed to be gearing up, remember?"
"That's kind of hard to do when you're standing here looking like a Greek Goddess," he murmured into her neck.
Clary shook her head and slipped on her bra, clasping it behind her before turning around. Leaning upward, she pecked him on the lips and spread her hands over his chest. "Put on some clothes, jackass. You've got five minutes or I'm kicking this guy's ass without you."
After unabashedly staring at her half-naked body for a few more moments, Jace shook himself out of his stupor and moved to get dressed himself, both of them donning their Agent attire in record time. As Clary loaded their guns and sharpened their knives, Jace sat on the edge of the bed and memorized the route they needed to take.
"How long?" she asked once he stood again.
"Just under ten minutes, but I can get us there in five."
She handed over his guns and knives, taking a second to admire him in all black before arming up herself. After putting on a jacket and making sure that his weapons were securely tucked away, Jace grabbed his keys and turned towards her.
"You ready, Tiger?"
Clary stopped sharpening her butterfly knife and quickly flipped it closed, tucking it into her boot. Then she smirked. "Let's nail this guy."
With a nod, Jace flipped on his hood and moved toward his window, undoing the latch. Clary followed, watching as he lifted it and jumped out, tucking and rolling onto the grass below. Then he stood and brushed himself off, lifting his arms to catch her as she jumped after him, his hands grasping her hips as she landed. Taking one last look around, they strode silently towards his car, careful not to make any noises that would wake his fraternity brothers.
Once they were in the car and peeling out onto the road, Clary leaned forward to fiddle with the radio, hoping that there was something on that would loosen them up. When the opening to Bust A Move began playing, she sent her boyfriend a grin and turned it up. His eyes lit up with amusement as she began rapping the opening lyrics, her dance moves soon following. Jace kept his gaze between her and the road as he drove quickly, his lips curving into a grin as she totally embarrassed herself. But she could tell by the look on his face that he was loving every bit of it.
Reaching over the center console, he grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, laughing against her knuckles as she finished the last of the song and took a bow. "Oh, that was amazing. You should serenade me more often."
"You're going to regret those words," she said.
He kissed her palm and dropped both of their hands to her lap, still grinning. "I doubt it."
Moments later, they pulled up in front of a sketchy-looking house at the end of a barely lit road. It definitely looked like the kind of place someone with a bad reputation would want to hide out in. But it was only a matter of time before they got caught. This man was going to pay for what he did to those children, and she and Jace were going to be the ones to make it happen.
Shifting the car into reverse, Jace drove away from the house and parked about a block away. Cutting the engine, he shoved his keys into his pocket and joined her outside. The sound of chirping crickets and a lone flickering streetlight were all they heard as they quickly made their way to their target's front door.
"Do you think he has company?" Jace asked.
"Only one way to find out." She lifted her hand to knock on the door, but paused for a second. Reaching out, she grabbed the front of Jace's shirt and pulled him down to her, pressing a kiss to his lips.
When she released him, he leaned back and raised a brow.
"For good luck," she told him.
"Of course." He grinned and took several steps back, hiding his figure in the dark. "Carry on."
Releasing a breath, Clary turned back toward the door and knocked. After a beat of silence, footsteps neared the door and as the person on the other side twisted the knob, she immediately changed her expression to that of a lost, naive teenage girl. The door creaked open slowly, revealing a man that she didn't recognize. She tapped her leg twice to signal to Jace that this wasn't their guy before turning her attention back to the scruffy man.
"What do you want?" he grunted, looking totally drugged out.
Clary feigned nervousness. "Hi, sorry to bother you, sir, but I was on my way home from a party and I think I made a few wrong turns. I normally wouldn't do this, but this is the second dead end street I've come across, so I was wondering if you could help steer me back in the right direction."
He just stood there for a second, then his eyes moved up and down the length of her body. "I don't know . . ." He seemed skeptical of her story.
"It would really mean a lot," she said.
He scanned the barely lit street around her, as if he were worried someone was watching them. Clary was sure some of the paranoia was being caused by the drugs, or maybe he somehow sensed that they weren't alone. From the doorway, she heard the sound of a beer can being cracked open and she couldn't help her gaze from traveling over his shoulder to the men lounging around a wooden table, one of which she recognized as their target.
The man's eyes abruptly cut to her. "I have to go. Try a neighbor." He fumbled for the door handle to close it, so focused on his actions that he didn't see Jace come out of his hiding spot.
Before anyone could stop him, Jace lifted his foot and kicked the door open, knocking it into the man's face. He stumbled back, falling into a set of stairs behind him and they used that opportunity to invite themselves inside.
As they forced themselves into the house, Clary reached back and grabbed her gun, aiming it at the three startled men in the smelly living space.
"What's this?" one of them yelled. "Who are you?"
Clary ignored him. "Alright, you sick bastards. I'm here for one man and one man only. So if your name isn't Philip Graham, I suggest you either kick rocks or my partner and I will find a place to bury a few of our bullets."
One of the men turned to their target. "You know these guys, Phil?"
He scoffed. "Thanks for giving me away, dipshit."
The man's eyes widened. "I—"
"Give it a rest," she said. "I already know who you are. So, I'll say this again. If your name isn't Philip Graham, get the hell out of here. And when you consider calling the police, ask yourselves if you're willing to risk becoming an accomplice to his crimes just to save his ass."
The men began looking at each other, most likely contemplating whether or not she was bluffing. But she didn't have all day. Either they made a decision or she'd make one for them. The Agency wanted Philip Graham by any means necessary, even if it meant taking his friends down with him.
"Screw this. William!" Not even a second after he said the name, the same man they'd knocked into the stairs came barreling towards them, a crazed look in his eyes as he zeroed in on Jace.
Her boyfriend gave a roll of his eyes and moved his gun in his hand, holding it by the barrel. And before the man could even draw back his fist, Jace swung out, smashing the handle of his gun against his head, rendering him unconscious. Clary made the mistake of turning to check on him, momentarily taking her eyes off of their target, which gave his friend the perfect opportunity to try to disarm her. She felt the hands on her gun before she saw them, but once she did, her body immediately switched into fight mode. Narrowing her eyes, she lifted her foot and buried it into the man's groin, making him loosen his grip on her gun. He dropped to his knees afterward, giving her the perfect opportunity to knee him in the face. As he fell back and clutched his gushing nose, Clary kicked him onto his stomach and leaned down to quickly zip tie his wrists together.
Two down. Two to go.
Movement in her peripheral vision made her attention snap to the man farthest from them. He was slowly reaching for something near the couch and without hesitation, Clary flicked one of her knives in his direction. The man cursed loudly as the sharp metal impaled his shirt to the couch, narrowly missing his shoulder and dangerously close to his face.
"Keep your hands where I can see them, sticky fingers," Clary said, grabbing another knife. "Or this one is going somewhere a lot less pleasant." Keeping her eyes locked on him, she gave Jace the okay to tie up both him and Philip Graham.
Once he was finished, Clary stood in front of their target, eyes narrowed as she twirled her knife around her fingers. He looked way worse in person than he had in the photo the Agency had on file. The receding hairline, thick beard, beer belly, and greasy sweats perfectly fit the image of his creepy persona.
Graham sneered up at her. "Are you gonna at least read me my rights?"
"We're not cops, dumbass." She leaned down, holding her knife against his throat. "You lost the privilege of rights the second you kidnapped and sold all those helpless children. There's no phone call, no bail, no trial. You're going right where you belong— behind bars, where you'll rot for the rest of your pathetic life."
There was a flash of fear in his eyes but he quickly covered it up with a smug expression. "You can't prove anything."
Clary opened her mouth, ready to spout his long list of offenses, but a soft thud from upstairs shut her up. She turned to Jace. "Did you hear that?"
His eyes were on the ceiling. "Yeah."
Removing her knife from the creep's throat, Clary stood and grabbed her gun. "Stay here. I'll go check it out."
Jace nodded, keeping his own gun pointed at their target. "Be careful," he said softly.
She sent him a wink. "Always."
Slipping past him, Clary made her way over to the stairs, her finger hovering over the trigger, ready to fire at anyone who may have been hiding. The house was small, so there wasn't exactly much ground to cover. All of her senses were on high alert once she reached the top of the stairs and began walking down the narrow hallway. There were only three doors—two on the right and one on the left. Quickly checking the first door on the right, she saw that it was just an empty bathroom.
Continuing on, she moved toward the door on the left and nudged it open, flicking on the light. What would have been a bedroom was filled with junk and smelled like the inside of a high school boys' locker room. Seeing that this room was empty also, Clary released a sigh and glided over to the last door, bracing herself for anything.
"I know you're in there," she said. "But before you think about doing something stupid, I've got a fully loaded nine millimeter that I won't hesitate to use."
Silence was her answer, but when she reached out to turn the knob, she was surprised to find that it was locked. Not a second after she jiggled the knob, Clary heard a little more shuffling on the other side of the door. Someone was definitely in there. Keeping her tight grip on her gun, Clary took a step back and lifted her foot, slamming the heel of her combat boot into the door. The already brittle wood gave way, crashing into the wall inside of the room, leaving the threshold empty. Stepping inside, Clary reached for the light switch, which was connected to the lights on the ceiling fan.
Her eyes scanned the room, but something about it was . . . off. There was a small cot in the far corner with a dirty blanket on top and what looked to be children's toys on the floor. But what freaked her out the most was the tripod pointing a video camera at a section of the wall that was painted bright pink.
Before Clary could wrap her mind around what the hell she was looking at, she saw a flash of something behind the closet shutters. Her feet started moving on their accord, bringing her closer and closer to the inevitable. She kept a good grip on her gun with her right hand and with her left, she reached out to pull the shutters open, her gaze immediately going to the figure curled up in a ball as far back as the closet would allow.
She had not been expecting this.
"Jace?" she called out.
His reply was instantaneous. "Yeah?"
Clary turned back to the figure, already tucking her gun back into her holster.
"Call backup. Now."
.o.O.o.
After doing as Clary said, Jace was eager to find out what made her request such a thing. It didn't take long for backup to show, unlike times in the past. Ever since Luke became CEO of the Agency, there was always a group of Agents on standby whenever they were out in the field. As soon as they got there, Jace lowered his gun and headed up the stairs. Clary's tone when she called his name made his guard go straight up. It wasn't often that he heard her voice waver when they were on an active mission.
"Clary?" he yelled, not knowing which room she was in.
"I'm in here," came a voice from the last room on the right.
Jace's feet carried him to the room, his heart rate already rising as he attempted to guess what had his girlfriend so spooked. Once inside of the dimly lit room, which was only the size of their penthouse bathroom, he looked Clary up and down to make sure that she was okay.
"What is it?" he asked. "Did you find something?"
Her green eyes met his and then she moved out of the way, allowing him to see inside of the closet she'd been standing in front of. Now that he could see, he realized that it wasn't a matter of what she found, but who. Jace's jaw ticked at the sight of a little girl clutching her legs to her chest, body trembling with silent sobs and fear.
"Jesus." He took a step forward, but Clary lifted her hand to his chest, stopping him.
"Maybe we shouldn't . . ." she whispered, eyes downcast.
Jace kept his eyes on the girl, who was peeking up at them through her fuzzy blonde hair. "No, it's okay," he told her. "I think I got this."
Clary looked a little skeptical, but she dropped her hand nonetheless, allowing him to continue on. Taking another step forward, he tried to ignore the way the little girl flinched as he patted his pockets and pulled out his pack of fruit-flavored candy that he always took with him on missions. Then he crouched down, trying to make himself look less scary.
"Hi," Jace greeted.
Blue eyes glistening, she held his gaze for a few seconds before dropping it to his hand.
He took one of the candies out of the tiny box and held it up. "You want one?"
She nodded, quietly taking what he offered. Unwrapping it, she shoved the whole thing into her mouth then went back to hugging her legs. Her eyes scanned his face with hesitance, most likely feeling him out. "A–Are you gonna hurt me?"
Jace felt a pang in his chest at the question. "No, we're not going to hurt you," he said softly. "We're here to help."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Jace and that's my partner Clary." He tilted his head a little. "What's your name?"
"Olivia."
"Nice to meet you, Olivia." Jace made an attempt at smiling, even though his body was raging on the inside. He wanted nothing more than to pummel Philip Graham's face in for what he put this girl and many others before her through. A man like that deserved to rot in hell. But right now, he had to focus. "Would you like to come with us? We can take you somewhere safe."
"I'm scared," she whispered.
He nodded. "I know, and it's alright to be scared, but we're not going to let him hurt you anymore, okay?"
Olivia seemed to let his words soak in for a moment before answering. "Okay." Then, slowly, she lowered her legs and rose to her full height, which couldn't have been any more than three and a half feet. "But you have to pinky promise," she added.
Jace's lips twitched. "Alright." Lifting his hand, he allowed her to hook her pinky with his. "Can I ask how old you are, Olivia?"
"Five."
He shook his head in utter disbelief. "We're getting you out of here." Jace held out his hand, hoping that she would trust him enough to take it. She simply stared at him for a moment before she tentatively took a few steps forward, coming out of the closet and into the room. Then she surprised them both by sidestepping him and reaching out for Clary's hand. His girlfriend's wide eyes turned to him. He shrugged in response, not knowing what was running through the little one's head.
Jace began leading them out of the room, but a gasp from Olivia made him pause.
"Wait. My bunny." She pointed to a stuffed animal laying on top of the cot in the corner. Clary let go of her hand, letting her run over and get it. With a tight grip on the bunny, Olivia returned to Clary's side, slipping her hand back into hers.
Backup was still handling their target's friends when they reentered the living room, one of the men slapping a pair of cuffs on their target himself. Looking down at Olivia, he saw that she was clutching her stuffed bunny to her chest, blatant fear written all over her face as she stared over at her captor.
Not knowing what came over him, Jace stormed further into the room, lessening the distance between himself and the sick bastard. The surrounding Agents seemed to pick up on his unmistakable rage, but they were too late. Reeling his fist back, Jace landed one solid punch to Philip Graham's face. He heard the crunch of his nose being broken and smiled internally. Then he twisted his hand into the front of his shirt and jerked him forward.
"You'd better count yourself lucky that it isn't just me and you standing here, because that punch is only a fraction of the pain you deserve." Jace let go, shoving him back. "But it'll help me sleep at night knowing that you're going to rot in a cell for the rest of your life and will never get the chance to hurt a child ever again."
The bastard simply stared at him with blood gushing out of his nose, chin up in an attempt to seem poised, but Jace saw the fear in his eyes. He'd thought that he'd gotten away with it, and getting caught was eating away at him. It was karma at its finest.
Not sparing him another glance, Jace turned to the other Agents who had Graham's accomplices cuffed and ready. "Get them out of here and booked as soon as possible," he said. "If his friends check out they'll be good to go, but this one," he pointed to their target, "is the one that we want. Make sure you follow through with him, alright?"
They nodded. "We got it covered," replied one. As they led the men out of the house, someone from the backup team stayed behind to talk to him.
"What are we going to do about the kid?" the Agent asked.
Jace glanced back at his girlfriend. Olivia was standing behind her, trying her best to hide herself from the group of men moving in and out of the house like clockwork. He knew that she'd never go with one of them, especially seeing how tall and menacing some of them looked. Besides, she seemed to have taken a liking to him and Clary, and they'd take way better care of her than whatever temporary place backup would put her in.
"We'll keep her for the night," Jace answered. "I'd just get her prints so we can figure out if she has any family out there looking for her. I'm sure Intel can work that out by the morning."
"I'll send it straight over." The Agent held out his tablet. "Should I or . . ."
"I got it." Grabbing the tablet, Jace trailed back over to the girls. Unlike before, Olivia didn't flinch or shrink back when he neared, making him sigh with relief. Kneeling in front of her, Jace lifted the tablet, pointing to the outline of a hand on the screen. "Can you put your hand here?"
Olivia's eyes fell on the tablet, seemingly mesmerized by the bright screen, but she lifted her hand nonetheless, placing it inside of the outline. Jace held the tablet there as it scanned her prints, and when it dinged he thanked her and handed it back to the Agent.
"So, what's the plan?" Clary asked.
Jace kept his eyes on her as he responded. "Well, if it's alright with Olivia, we can take her in for the night and hopefully drive her home in the morning."
Something flashed behind her eyes at the mention of home. "So I can see my mommy and daddy?"
He hoped so. "We're gonna try our best to find them, but until then will you be okay with staying with us?"
Olivia looked between the two of them. "Can I bring Bunny?"
Clary nodded. "Yes you can."
"What about the monster?" she whispered, her eyes darting around as if bringing him up would suddenly make him appear. "He said if I ever tried to leave that I would be in trouble. I don't wanna make him angry."
Jace tried to control his breathing, his jaw clenching in restraint. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. He's going away for a long time."
"But what if he comes back?" she asked, her voice wavering as she spoke.
Releasing a breath, Jace lifted his hand, tilting her chin up so she'd meet his gaze. "He's not coming back, but even if he does, I'm not going to let him hurt you. I promise."
Olivia hugged her bunny closer to her chest, something he noticed she did whenever she seemed unsure or scared. "You'll protect me?"
He grinned. "Of course. For as long as you need me."
Face relaxing, Olivia let go of Clary's hand and stepped forward. And without a word, she looped her tiny arms around his neck and placed her head on his shoulder. Looking up at Clary, Jace saw a small smile on her face and couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking in that moment. Focusing on Olivia again, he realized that she didn't have anything on except a tattered pair of pajamas and immediately began shrugging off his jacket. Enveloping her in the fabric, Jace stood, taking her with him as he did.
Olivia buried her face into his neck and he used the hood of his jacket to cover her head, not wanting her to see the scene they were about to walk out into. Philip and his friends were shouting expletives as backup patted them down and proceeded to load them into one of the Agency's paddy wagons. As they passed, Clary and Jace made a show of flipping all of them off, because the more he thought about it, they had to have known Olivia was being held captive, but none of them did a thing to help her. Them turning a blind eye made them just as guilty in his book, but he'd let the Agency decide whether or not that was the case. The only thing on his radar right now was getting her as far away from them as possible.
As backup slammed the back doors shut and drove off, Jace followed Clary down the block to their parked car. When he opened the door, he attempted to put Olivia in the back seat, but as soon as he put her down and began pulling away, she whimpered and tightened her grip around his neck.
Seeing this, Clary reached up to touch his arm, stopping him. "Stay with her," she said. "I'll drive."
Nodding, Jace dug into his pocket and handed over the keys. "Thanks."
In response, Clary stood on the tips of her toes and planted a kiss to his cheek. Then she slipped into the driver's seat and started the car. Jace followed suit and took a seat in the back, adjusting Olivia so that she was sitting on his lap.
As Clary began driving off, Jace took his phone out of his back pocket and dialed Jordan.
He answered after three rings. "This better be either my girlfriend or Jesus Christ himself."
Jace rolled his eyes. "I need a favor."
"Is it mission related?"
"It is actually."
"Okay, I'm listening," he said, his voice still thick with sleep.
Jace glanced down at a now sleeping Olivia. "We're on our way back from a mission and I need you to go downstairs and open the door for us."
He groaned. "Don't you have a key?"
"I lost it earlier this week, remember? I'm still waiting for management to make me a new one," he said. "Clary and I would usually use the window to get back in, but we can't this time."
"Why? What happened?"
"Our mission was to bring down the head of a child trafficking ring, and while we were scoping the place out we found a little girl that he'd been holding captive for God knows how long." He clenched his jaw, trying to stay calm. "We've already sent her prints over to Intel so we can find out who her parents are, but she needs somewhere to stay tonight."
"She's with you guys right now?" Jordan asked.
"Yeah, she's sleeping." He heard a deep sigh from the other line.
"Fine, I'll do it, but you so owe me for this, dude. You know how sacred my beauty sleep is."
Jace bit back a grin. "I appreciate the sacrifice. We'll be there in a couple minutes."
"Got it."
When they hung up, Jace tucked his phone back into his pocket and relayed the message to Clary.
"Good thinking." She looked at him through the rearview mirror. "How's she holding up?"
"Alright, I guess." He looked back down at Olivia, watching as her chest rose and fell with even breaths.
"You were really good with her tonight," she said. "Absolutely amazing."
He quirked a brow. "You think so?"
Clary glanced back at him with a grin. "Just you wait, Herondale. You're so getting a reward for this."
Jace internally punched the air. "I like your rewards."
She snorted. "I bet you do."
Minutes later, they were parking across the street from the frat house and stepping back out into the night. Keeping hold of Olivia, Jace removed himself from the car and nudged the door closed with his foot. Then he walked over to Clary and took her hand in his, leading her across the street with Olivia still hiked up on his hip. The silence was a welcomed presence after all the chaos that ensued after they'd arrived at their target's location.
Jordan kept his word and opened the door for them once they made it up the driveway. Luckily none of their frat brothers were awake, because he wasn't sure if he'd be able to explain why he had a little girl in his arms and weapons on his person—at three a.m. nonetheless.
Jordan took one look at Olivia and his gaze hardened. "Please tell me you nailed this guy."
"Oh, we did more than that. Jace left him with a broken nose," Clary said, staring up at him as if he were some sort of warrior. He definitely liked the feeling it gave him.
Jordan seemed pleased by her answer. "Good. He deserved it." His mouth opened wide with a yawn. "Well, since you two seem to have this covered, I'll be heading back off to bed. Let me know if you need anything else."
Clary reached up to ruffle his hair. "Will do, bestie."
He saluted them both as he walked away. "Night."
Once he was gone, Clary turned back towards him, her attention switching to Olivia. Their voices must have roused her because she slowly lifted her head from the crook of his neck and asked, "Where are we?"
Jace met her tired blue eyes with his own. "Somewhere safe."
She dropped her head back onto his shoulder. "Okay."
Clary grabbed his hand. "Come on. Let's go to bed."
Nodding, Jace allowed her to lead them up the stairs and into his bedroom. Closing and locking the door, she reached out to remove the weapons they both had tucked away. Once she put aside the last of them, Jace wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in close. Her eyes widened a fraction, but closed briefly as he dipped his head down and pressed a kiss to her temple. He'd seen the way she looked at Olivia—like she saw a part of herself in this frightened little girl. Even if she didn't want to admit it.
"She's going to be okay," he told her.
She nodded and released a breath. "I'm gonna go see if we have a spare toothbrush or something," she offered, brushing her hand over his chest.
"Sounds good. I'll get her a wash cloth so we can at least clean her face." Letting her go, he trailed into the bathroom, setting Olivia down on the counter. She stayed silent as he rummaged through the cabinet, her grip still tight on her bunny. Finding what he was looking for, Jace stood in front of the sink and ran some warm water over the rag before lifting it to her face. Her expression morphed into an adorable scrunch as he wiped probably days old dirt from her face.
"Is Clary your girlfriend?" she asked abruptly.
Jace dropped the cloth back into the sink and rang it out. "She sure is."
Olivia leaned toward him as if she were going to tell him a secret. "She's really pretty."
Jace grinned. "I think so, too."
"Are you gonna get married? Like a prince and a princess?"
Jesus, he'd forgotten how curious kids were at her age. "I hope so, one day." After he said it, Jace looked up to see Clary in the doorway of the bathroom, now wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants, a ghost of a smile on her face. He knew without a doubt that she'd heard every word. It was rare that she turned off her Agent hearing.
Noticing her presence, Olivia's gaze drifted to Clary and then to the toothbrush in her hand. "Is that for me?"
"Yup." She handed it over.
Olivia's eyes lit up. "That's my favorite color," she said, examining the yellow toothbrush.
Jace chuckled and reached out to pick her up, placing her on the floor so that she was facing the mirror. It was like something in her demeanor switched with them flanking her sides. Excitement lit up her face as Jace helped her out with putting the toothpaste on the toothbrush. As she brushed her teeth, Clary gathered her hair back and began putting it into two short braids, getting it out of her face and making Olivia smile at her reflection.
Jace felt a warmth in his chest as he watched the two of them. Something about this moment felt so domestic, and he couldn't help but wonder if they'd be doing this kind of thing with their own kid in the future. A guy could dream, right?
"All set?" Clary asked once Olivia was finished.
She nodded, already looking tired again.
Seeing that Clary was already dressed for bed, Jace stayed behind to get changed himself. It didn't take him long, but once he was finished, he tossed his clothes into the hamper and glided back into his room. His gaze immediately landed on Clary, who was now tucking Olivia into their bed.
Making his way over to her, he tucked one of his hands into the pocket of his pajama bottoms, the other rising to cup her cheek. "I'm gonna go crash on the couch for the night," he said, figuring that it'd make Olivia a lot more comfortable if it was just her and Clary in the room. "Will you be okay with keeping an eye on her?"
Before Clary could answer, Olivia sat up from her spot on the bed and rubbed her eyes. "You're leaving?" she asked.
Dropping his hand from Clary's cheek, Jace turned around and took a seat on the bed. "Just for the night. I'll be here when you wake up."
Olivia peered up at him. "But you can't leave. You have to stay here and protect me from the monster, remember?" Her eyes began to water. "You promised."
Eyes widening, Jace scooted closer and raised his hand, wiping the wetness from her face. "Hey, don't cry." He gave her a reassuring smile. "You're right. I did make a promise, so if you need me to stay, I'll stay."
She sniffed and nodded.
"Okay." After coaxing her to lie back down, Jace turned back to Clary and gave a short nod of his head, silently motioning for her to join him. With a sigh, she stepped forward and pulled back the sheets, sliding in behind Olivia. Jace followed suit and walked over to the other side of the bed, lying down on his side so that he was facing them both. Olivia, now sandwiched between them, scooted forward and buried her face into his chest, quietly drifting off to sleep.
Jace sort of laid there frozen for a moment, not really knowing what he was doing. He didn't have a lot of experience with kids, being an only child. His exposure to children pretty much started and ended with Isabelle and Alec's little brother Max.
But this girl, she was nothing like Max—or any kid for that matter. Her experience with being kidnapped and held captive made her fearful of the unknown, but by some fluke, she'd found a safe space within them, and Jace didn't want to let her down. He'd been so worried about Clary's reaction to Olivia that he didn't give himself time to form his own opinion. But focusing on it now, it made him so angry to think that anyone would ever want to hurt her, and he couldn't even begin to imagine what her parents were going through. Not knowing if they'd ever see her again had to be unbearable.
Clary must have noticed that something was up because before he could wrack his mind over it anymore, she raised her hand to his cheek. It was then that he felt the wetness on his face, but she was already wiping it away, her expressive green eyes soft with adoration.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't even realize that I was—"
She placed a finger over his lips. "You're allowed to cry, Jace. You don't have to justify displaying a normal human emotion."
He released a breath and reached out, pulling her in closer. "I'm just angry."
Clary moved her fingers into his hair, relaxing him even more. "I know you are. I can see it on your face that you care about her and I know it sounds crazy, but I think we both see a little bit of ourselves in her." Her gaze momentarily fell to Olivia. "The universe pretty much screwed all three of us over. But you know what? We bounced back and so will she."
He clenched his jaw. "I just feel like I should be doing something," he said. "Something to make it better."
"You are," Clary whispered. "Just by keeping your promise and staying you're making it easier. You're the one who got her out of that closet, you're the one who made sure she had a place to stay tonight, and you're the one who made her feel safe. I wasn't kidding when I said earlier that you were really good with her." Her gaze wandered from his. "It actually got me thinking . . ."
He grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. "Thinking about what?"
She nervously bit her lip. "About . . . maybe having kids of our own one day?"
Grinning, Jace lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to each of her knuckles. "Are you saying you wanna have my babies, Tiger?"
Clary crinkled her nose. "Well, when you put it that way . . ."
"I'm just messing around." Letting go of her hand, Jace reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear. Still grinning, he asked, "You really want that with me?"
She nodded, leaning into his touch. "Yeah, I do. After we've settled down for a few years, of course."
"Settled down, huh? I like the sound of that."
Clary smiled, her lips finding the center of his palm. "So do I."
At the sound of their voices, Olivia stirred slightly, her nose nudging his chest as she scooted closer to him.
Looking down at her, Jace asked Clary, "I know it's sort of weird, but do you think her parents will let us keep in touch?"
She reached out to smooth down one of Olivia's flyaway hairs. "I'm sure they won't have a problem with us checking in every now and then. I mean, we did kind of save their kid's life; it's the least they could do."
He let out a soft chuckle. "You make a good point."
"Well, I am the brains of this duo."
"So does that make me the brawn?"
Clary smirked. "Nope, I'm that too," she said, looking pleased with herself.
God, she was such a smartass. But he was still the luckiest guy on earth to have her.
Pinching her side, Jace suppressed her giggle with his lips and pressed his forehead to hers. "Go to sleep, Tiger. Sunrise is in four hours and we need to get her out of here before my brothers wake up."
"Fine." With a sigh, she shuffled closer so that her front was pressed to Olivia's back, her head resting just below his on his pillow. "But can you do that thing I like?"
Jace grinned and planted a kiss to her temple. "Of course." With that, he moved his hand to the small of her back where her tank top was bunched up around her waist and began tracing circles onto her skin. Starting with big circles, he slowly transitioned to smaller ones, watching as her eyelids got heavier and heavier until she finally closed them. He didn't know how it worked so well, but doing this somehow had the same effect as her running her fingers through his hair when he couldn't sleep. It was crazy, how well they knew each other, but he wouldn't have it any other way.
Before she allowed herself to drift off, Clary lifted her hand and placed it against the side of his face, her thumb smoothing over the slight stubble on his cheek. "Jace?"
He quirked a brow. "Yeah, baby?"
"I love you," she whispered.
Jace could hear the smile in her voice as she answered, which made him grin. "I love you, too."
"Me too?"
The small, sleepy voice startled them both, making them tense. Looking down, he saw that Olivia was looking up at them with tired, but expectant eyes.
Removing her hand from his face, Clary pulled away and ran her hand over the back of Olivia's head before planting a small kiss to her hair, clearly not able to hold back a smile. "Yes, we love you too, little one."
She blinked in response. "Really?" she asked, sounding hopeful.
Being hauled up in that place for weeks, maybe even months, God knew she needed to hear those words from someone. Of course, she'd probably hear them a thousand times over once she was reunited with her parents, but just so she'd have peace of mind, tonight those reassuring words would come from them.
Jace nodded. "You bet your bunny we do."
Smiling at them both, Olivia wrapped her hands tighter around her bunny. "Thank you," she whispered. Then she closed her eyes and returned her face to his chest, shifting the bottom half of her body so that she was also touching Clary. His girlfriend sent him a knowing grin right before she scooted forward and tucked her head under his chin again, right above Olivia's.
Keeping up the ministrations on her back, he listened as both of their breaths evened out, feeling a little too worked up to follow them. So as the girls slept, Jace reached back to grab his phone, setting an alarm for a half hour before sunrise. That should give them enough time to get up and get out of there before anyone saw, especially given that it was the middle of the week and everyone had classes.
Just as Jace was about to place his phone back on the nightstand, it vibrated with a new message. Clary's did also, but she was too far gone to acknowledge it. Reading the message in full, he realized that it was from Intel and let out a relieved breath once he saw that they'd found her parents. By the looks of it, they'd been looking for her for over three and a half months, ever since she was taken from a park in northern Brooklyn. There were just pages and pages of police reports, missing persons posters, and photos shared on social media asking if anyone has seen her. Seeing that everything checked out, and knowing that there were in fact people out there looking for her gave him peace of mind for the first time that night.
Putting his phone away, Jace returned his hand to the small of Clary's back and closed his eyes, feeling exhausted now that his anxiety was gone. But as he attempted to sleep, his mind replayed the words Clary said just moments before she drifted off.
She wanted a family.
With him.
The subject has come up before, but back then it had always seemed like a fantasy or a dream. Hearing her say the words tonight though, after they'd gotten a glimpse of what it would be like to take care of an actual kid, had him convinced that this was less of a fantasy and more of a reality. He'd never really pictured himself having kids before he met Clary—hell, he'd never even pictured himself in a long term relationship before her.
When he really thought about it, he couldn't deny that he wanted everything with that bad-mouthed, beautiful redhead. Jace wanted to give her the world and then some. He could see it now: him, her, a few kids, a nice house, maybe a pet or two. Nothing sounded more perfect than that. But this was all for another time, years down the line.
Right now he just had Clary to worry about, and after tonight, Olivia too. He wasn't sure why, but he just felt a sense of responsibility for her now. Even when she went back home and returned to her normal life, she'd still need someone to talk to, someone to understand her fears, someone to protect her. And Jace knew right then and there that if no one else stepped up, that someone would be him.
He'd keep his promise, for however long she needed him—and if she didn't need him at all, he'd be content just knowing that she was safe.
Taking one last look at the girls, Jace smiled at the possibilities for the future and instinctively wrapped his arm tighter around Clary's waist, kissing her hair before nuzzling into her.
And with the sound of their even breaths filling the room, he finally relented and allowed sleep to claim him.
What did you think?
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A/N: I hope that was a lovely little insight to the characters you know and love. Also, if you are wondering, the next outtake will include the twins. Hope you guys are ready :) Anyway, I've finished this just in time to watch Skam, so have a nice day lovelies.