Hey guys, so if you've been reading my other story you know I disappeared off the face of the earth for like a year and probably wondering what the heck I was doing. This was one of the things I was doing. Enjoy and love y'all!
Jace yawned and rolled over to look at the clock on his bedside table. It was 7:15 and the sun was just coming up. Usually, he would have woken up earlier, but last night he had been drinking, and now he had a bit of a hangover. Nothing an iratze couldn't fix, though. He quietly got up, careful not disturb his wife and sleeping child. Alexis, like any one-year-old child, favored waking up crying at three in the morning. Despite being a shadowhunter used to rising early, being awake from 3:00-4:00 a.m. did not do best with getting up later at 6:00. Alexis was surprisingly quiet last night. Jace wanted to let Clary sleep in as much as she wanted, considering she had also been drinking. Didn't the Simon always say "happy wife, happy life", or something like that?
It was Christmas morning. And there were a couple of last minute gifts that were at Alec and Magnus's apartment that he needed to get. Jace got dressed, applied an iratze, before grabbing his jacket, wallet, keys, a couple seraph blades, a witchlight, and a stele. They were always good to have handy even if he wasn't out on patrol. It looked bitter and windy outside, as he looked out the kitchen window, sipping some coffee. He applied a thermal rune before taking the elevator downstairs. Pulling on his jacket, he opened the Institute door. That's when he almost stepped on it.
Jace leaped back, his hand reaching for his seraph blade. Few things ever caught him off guard like that. Almost stepping on something so early in the morning was an exception. There was an odd pile of snow in front of the door with something light blue hidden underneath it. Cautiously approaching it, he brushed the snow off to reveal a bundled up blanket. He wondered how the blanket ended up on the steps and did a double take when it moved, almost leaping back again. With a sudden horror, he realized that there was a child wrapped in the blanket.
Quickly picking the child up, Jace look at it to make sure it was still alive, which he realized was stupid as it moved a second ago. Looking around he couldn't see anyone who might know where the child came from, or who placed him on the steps. The child began to make soft whimpering noises. The blanket was cold and wet from the melted snow, and the poor thing was visibly shivering. Jace quickly carried the child inside, taking him to the living room. He laid the child gently down in front of the fireplace and started a fire to warm it up.
Unwrapping the wet blanket, Jace looked the baby over for any injuries or warlock's mark. He couldn't find any at first and the boy was too thin for his liking, though he seemed to be a blueish color. He suspected that it was probably from being so cold. The boy whimpers again, still shivering and Jace grabbed a towel from the bathroom to wrap him in. Upon returning, the boy had regained some natural coloring and he didn't look so blue. He checked the child again. The boy was still freezing and shivering and he still didn't have an obvious warlock's mark.
Trying to warm the poor child up a bit, Jace dried him off. He wondered who placed a baby on the steps, and how long the boy had been laying there. Checking the child again, he still couldn't find a warlock's mark. Though the child seemed healthy, despite being obviously underfed. He had no clue why a mundane would leave the kid abandoned on the steps of what appeared to be an old church. His mind wandered a little and Max popped into his head. When the Max was discovered at the steps of the Academy, everyone was surprised. But Max was an obvious navy blue, a clear warlock's mark.
Jace still couldn't find anything obvious on the child. He wondered if the mark was something less obvious like Magnus's, cat eyes and a missing navel. But then again, didn't Magnus say his mark hadn't shown up until later? (Which had led to his mother attempting to drown him). Looking the baby over one last time, searching for something smaller, he found nothing. There were no scales or budding horns. The boy hadn't opened his eyes yet, but Jace had never heard of a warlock having such a small mark. There was Tessa who was a warlock with no mark. And also happened to be his great-great-great-great-grandmother or something. Tessa was so odd (and also married to former Silent Brother Zachariah) and Jace was unsure if she counted.
The boy made another whimpering sound and Jace gently rocked him in his arms. "Shh," he said, trying to comfort the boy. "It's okay now, you're okay now." The boy calmed down for a little bit before starting up again. Jace realized that the baby was probably hungry, which lead to a problem. Clary breastfed Alexis. Although Alexis was now starting to eat food, the boy was not old enough to be off of milk. That kind of meant waking his wife, or calling someone and asking them to bring some formula over. Which required explaining on why, and Clary would be woken through the process anyways.
Jace sighed and wrapped the boy snuggly in the towel to keep him from moving. He was about to get up to get Clary when she walked into the room, still in her pajamas with a robe on. Alexis was balanced on her hip. "Jace," she said groggily, yawning slightly. "What are you doing?"
"I almost stepped on a baby laying on the front steps of the Institute," Jace said flatly, deciding there was no other way to tell her. "I think he might be a mundane, I can't find a warlock's mark."
Clary was silently stunned for a minute. "You did what?"
"Exactly what I said." Jace said showing her the baby. "The poor boy was freezing and wet so I took him in here and dried him off. He's probably hungry, though. I was about to go wake you." There was a long silence as Clary processed what he had just said. She looked at him holding the baby for a good solid minute, deciding if what she was seeing was real. The boy whimpered again finally convincing her it was real.
"Another baby?" she asked. "Like Max?" Jace nodded. She walked over and sat down next to him. Alexis suddenly taking interest in the new thing and dropped her teething toy. "Let me see him," Clary said softly, taking the baby in her arms. Jace picked up Alexis, who was still more interested in the new baby.
Clary gently unwrapped the towel from around the boy and looked him over a couple of times. After being satisfied with what she saw, she unbuttoned her shirt and began to feed him. The boy sucked hungrily at her breast. Alexis stared at him. She'd never seen her mommy feed anyone else, Jace thought with slight amusement. "Poor baby," Clary cooed, cradling his head. "Practically starving. When was the last time you were fed?" it wasn't a question Jace was too fond to think of.
"I'll go fix breakfast and feed Alexis," Jace says getting up, as Clary continued to feed the baby. He got up and carried Alexis to the kitchen.
Now distracted by her new surroundings, Alexis started to babble as Jace set her in her highchair. Setting a bowl of cheerios in front of her, he began to make breakfast. Everyone was coming over later for brunch. Jace had taken up the responsibility for making it all to prevent Izzy from bringing anything. Pregnancy was not helping her taste. Starting on the pancake batter, he supposed he should call Alec and Izzy, tell them what happened. Putting the phone on speaker, he dialed Alec's number first. It took Alec about forty-five seconds to answer.
"Jace, what is it?" Alec asked, obviously annoyed. He could hear Magnus complaining in the background.
"Oh no," Jace answered sarcastically. "Have I interrupted Christmas morning sex?" he asks. Last year Rafe and Max had woken up at 6:30 and almost walked in on something. This year, Magnus had joked about sneaking both children a melatonin to keep them asleep. Judging by the lack of little kid squealing, Magnus had actually done something.
"Jace," Alec said, and the blonde could hear his parabatai losing his patience. "I swear, Sebastian better have come back from the dead or I'll-"
"Happy Christmas morning to you too." Jace quickly said, cutting him off. He could still hear Magnus and tried not to imagine the two naked. "Look, I might have run into a predicament and I thought you two might deserve to know before you came over."
There was a long pause. "Jace," Alec's voice sounded deadly enough to send Lilith back to Edom. "What 'predicament' have you gotten yourself into?" Magnus was talking again, probably trying to convince Alec to just hang up.
"Well, it involves a baby that I almost stepped on," Jace said, quickly attempting to convince his parabatai to listen.
"Oh Raziel, Jace! Did you step on Alexis?!" there was panic in Alec's voice now. And Magnus's voice, genuinely concerned could be depicted in the background.
"No Alec, I did not step on my own daughter. Quite frankly that's a little insulting. No, I'm talking about the baby I found on the front steps of the Institute. He was just left there without a note. I can't find a mark, I think he might be a mundane."
Alec didn't speak back into the phone speaker for a while. He could hear him talking to Magnus but couldn't hear exactly what they were saying. "We'll be right over." He suddenly said, surprising Jace.
"No, you don't have to do that. I was just telling so that-" there was a click, Alec had hung up. Jace sighed. He had better call Izzy before Magnus or Alec did and caused everyone to panic. Alexis was finished and Jace cleaned out her bowl while he waited for Izzy to answer. It took her so long that he was about to hang up and call back. His lovely adopted sister sounded as mad as her brother.
Clary walked in with the boy as Jace was starting to pour the pancake batter. "Here," she said. "I'll do that while you talk to them or you'll burn the whole Institute down." Jace didn't argue as he took his phone off speaker and walked into the living room.
"Jace, what do you want?" Isabelle Lightwood hissed through the phone.
"Oh no, I interrupted your Christmas morning sex too, didn't I?" Jace teased. By the lack of response, he took that as a yes. His lovely sister was only four months in, and she still looked stunning as ever. But Simon was still trying to get in as much as he could before they couldn't anymore. "I'm sorry Iz, I really am," Jace said, hoping he sounded as apologetic as he was. "You know I wouldn't call unless it was really important."
Izzy was silent again. He was pretty sure he could hear Simon complaining in the background like Magnus. "Jace, hurry up. I'm giving you three seconds." She said, irritation still dripping from her voice.
"Gosh, you're worse than Alec. Look, I just thought you deserved to know, when you come over there might be an extra baby. Because I might have almost-" he was cut off by a phone ringing. Simon answered the phone and Izzy stopped listening to Jace. Sure enough, it was Magnus calling Simon because Alec couldn't get ahold of Izzy. Jace only knew this because there was sudden yelling about a baby. Izzy yelled back that Jace was talking about a baby. Soon enough Izzy was yelling into the phone.
"YOU STEPPED ON A BABY ON THE INSTITUTE STEPS?!" Jace flinched as her voice came through and held the phone away. There was yelling at Simon to get his clothes on, that picture was definitely not going to leave his head soon.
"I didn't step on him, I almost stepped-" it was useless to explain. Izzy wasn't listening and promptly hung up. He groaned and walked back into the kitchen. Clary was flipping pancakes.
"So how did it go?" she asked, a smile on her lips.
"They're coming right over," Jace said, rolling his eyes as his wife's amusement. "I say I almost step on a baby and they act like Sebastian has come back from the dead again." Clary snorts.
"So we can expect them in about twenty minutes?"
"Probably" Jace muttered. "Unless Magnus decides to portal here. Alec started panicking, Magnus called Simon, Izzy started panicking. They're going to call Maryse and Robert- oh Raziel! I'm going to have to call them too now!" Clary laughed and as if on cue Jace's phone rang, sure enough, it was Maryse.
"Go deal with everyone while I make bacon," Clary said, still giggling. Groaning again, Jace walked into the living room to take the call.
To say Maryse Lightwood was in a panic was an understatement. Apparently, Alec and Izzy had called both parents and now it was a literal game or telephone. "JACE WHAT DOES IZZY MEAN YOU STEPPED ON A BABY?!" Maryse shrieked into the phone. From what he could hear between the yelling in the background someone was still on the phone with Robert.
"I didn't step on him! I found him on the steps and-"
"Is the poor baby alive?! It's so cold outside it could have frozen to death! Jace, you didn't leave the poor thing outside did you?!" Jace groaned. He regretted telling anyone anything. Between Magnus and Izzy's exaggeration, things were quickly becoming a giant mess.
"No, I did not leave him outside, he's with Clary." Jace groaned and hung up. Grumbling under his breath, he made a group call with everyone on it. "EVERYONE SHUT UP!" he yelled through the phone. It worked surprisingly effectively. "Thank you," he said, glad it had worked. "Now, I'm going to tell you what actually happened. You are all going to stay quiet while I explain and no one is coming here before ten o'clock. Understand?" there was a moment of silence and he continued. "Okay, I know everyone is gossiping and it's all a telephone game of he said she said. But whatever you've heard, ninety-nine percent of it is not true. I found a baby on the Institute steps, you'll be able to see him when you come over. Clary has him, he's fine. I did NOT step on him, thank you very much. I might have almost, but I didn't. To be fair he was covered in snow. Like I said earlier, he's fine now. Do not call the Clave. And no more talking to each other before you get here. Thank you, and goodbye." With that, Jace hung up the phone.
"So how did it go?" Clary asked from the kitchen. No doubt she had heard the whole thing.
"You mean you didn't here?" he teased, walking back into the kitchen. She was almost finished with the bacon. "They're coming over at ten, how's the baby?"
"Fine, he's barely made a sound since I feed him. I think he's sleeping now. Alexis is playing with her teething toy." Jace looked over at the crib shoved to the corner of the kitchen. Alexis was happily gnawing on a teething ring, another toy in hand. The baby was laying still bundled up right next to her. Walking over he appeared to be asleep, unbothered by the rattle and Alexis's babble.
"Daddy!" she said, spotting her father. She dropped the teething ring and the rattle, holding her arms out to be picked up. Jace grinned and happily obliged to her request.
"Hey Lexis," Jace says softly, balancing her on his hip, rocking her. "What do you think of your new companion?" he asked as they both looked down at the sleeping boy. "Yeah, he came as a surprise to us all." The boy shifted a little in his sleep and Jace smiled. Alexis babbled something, tugging on his hair. "Okay, okay, I get it. You don't really like him stealing all the attention do you?" she giggled and continued to tug lightly on his hair. "You think Rafe and Max will like him?" he asked, continuing to talk to her. "You're not old enough to understand or have a say, no offense, but Max can talk, and Rafe knows English now." He could see Clary watching him from the corner of her eye, smiling. She loved to watch him play with the kids. Alexis continued to babble as he played with her.
Looking at the clock it was 9:30. Everyone would arrive at 10:00 sharp, Jace was sure of. He set Alexis down and helped Clary set the table for breakfast. Sure enough, as soon as the clock turned 10:00 the Institute door opened. Jace could hear everyone coming up the elevator. "I think they waited outside the door for fifteen minutes." Clary teased as Jace rolled his eyes, but it was probably true. He handed Alexis to Clary and picked up the boy as everyone walked through the door. Of course, they were all talking at once and it was about the baby.
"Oh let me see him," Maryse Lightwood said, pushing her way past everyone. Rafe and Max were already sitting at the table, serving themselves. Taking the baby from Jace's arms, Maryse examined him before handing him to Robert. The cycle began as everyone had to look at the baby before handing him off. By the time he was finally handed back to Jace, Magnus was on the phone with Tessa and Catarina.
"And you just found him on the steps of the Institute?" Alec asked, as everyone finally settled down for breakfast. Max and Rafe were playing with Alexis in the living room while the adults talked. Jace nodded.
"He was covered by the snow, it's why I almost stepped on him. There was no note or anything explaining him. You can all look again, but I can't find a warlock's mark. Since he was abandoned like that I think he might be a mundane."
"Probably," Magnus said getting off of the phone. "Considering how underfeed he was. I was surprised that was all. Tessa, Jem, and Catarina will be over at one."
"But why would anyone just drop a baby like that?" Izzy asked horrified. "Max was left on the steps of the Academy. And he had a note. Rafe was born during the Dark War, so that's an exception."
"I don't know Izzy," Alec said. "But now we've got to figure out what to do with him. Do we just drop him off at a mundane orphanage, or try to keep him? And if we want to keep him, will the Clave let us? I mean, we just found him abandon, it's not like we found him wondering around with the Sight. What if he doesn't have the Sight? Then what?"
"You always worry too much about stuff Alec," Jace said, cleaning up the plates. "Right now, let's just get him taken care of and worry about the Clave later."
"I want to keep him," Izzy said promptly. "Simon and I can adopt him. We're already going to have a baby, might as well have two. Alec and Magnus already have two kids. Raziel knows what would happen if they requested to adopt a mundane as well."
"Izzy!" Simon said horrified. "We can't just suddenly take in a baby! We're not even ready for the one we're about to have! Let your brother take him, Rafe and Max already think that's how babies happen anyways. It's not going to be much different to them."
"Clary and I will keep the baby for the time being," Jace said, leaving no room for discussion. Hopefully, Clary wouldn't kill him for it later. "Alexis is at the moment the closest age to him, it won't be that big of a deal for us to take another baby." That was a straight up lie and everyone knew that, but Magnus and Alec looked iffy about taking another baby.
"I think Jace is right," Alec said. "I mean, Rafe is almost nine, and Max is almost seven. We don't know how they'd react to having a baby join the family. Plus, the Clave probably wouldn't' allow it."
Jace could see Magnus reach for his partner's hand underneath the table.
"Well if we're going to keep him, we need to name him. At least temporarily. We can't just not name him." Clary said, having a good point. Everyone was quiet for a minute.
"We could name him Jordan?" Simon suggested.
"No, I think that would either be for you and Izzy, or for Maia and Bat," Clary said, and everyone agreed.
"I would suggest Will, but that would be for Tessa and Jem," Magnus said. "Henry or Charles doesn't work because he doesn't have red hair. Edmund maybe, Stephen would be a touchy subject. And your mother's already claimed Jonathan. Which is ridiculous because the kid is not going to have blonde hair."
Clary was going to have a little brother that Jocelyn was insisting on naming Jonathan. He was going to be the same age as Izzy and Simon's girl, Cassandra. It was weird, but no one talked about it. Anytime Jace teased Clary about it, she responded with "Tessa", abruptly ending any further argument. "We don't know his eye color yet," Clary said. "He hasn't opened his eyes yet. Maybe that's his warlock's mark."
"But he has a navel," Alec said. "Magnus didn't have one by that point."
"What about horns?" Izzy asked. "He could have horns, Max's didn't show up until later."
"But he's a normal color." Jace pointed out. "That would be weird on many different levels."
"He could sprout wings."
"I'll pay you fifty dollars if he sprouts wings, Izzy."
"Elias had bat wings," Magnus said.
"And webbed hands." Jace reminded him.
"What if he had demon eyes?" Izzy said.
"Define demon eyes," Magnus said, sounding undignified.
"Well I mean they could be cat eyes, but like black like Sebastian's, or red. Or completely white."
"Let's not talk about Sebastian's eyes." Clary quickly said.
"I think if he were to have Sebastian's eyes the Clave would perform and exorcism. Then throw him off a building."
"So much for naming him, Jonathan," Magnus said sarcastically. The boy stirred as if knowing what they were talking about.
"And Kit eliminates Christopher," Alec said, picking the baby up.
"Michael's a nice name," Simon said. Magnus coughed something that sounded like "Trace Waybread". "Oh right," Simon muttered.
"We'll ask Tessa when she gets here," Magnus said, and they all agreed on that.
Breakfast was finished and everyone went into the living room. The poor unnamed baby was passed around and Jace was surprised he didn't wake up crying. The Max and Rafe got a few weapons and toys, Alexis got toys and a paint set Simon had helped Jace find online, Izzy and Simon were given some baby stuff. The children were playing with their gifts when Tessa and Jem arrived with Catarina.
"What is this baby Magnus is talking about?" Catarina asked, walking in. Izzy handed her the baby. The three newcomers looked the baby up and down as well. "He seems to be fine. Underfed, but otherwise perfectly healthy. And you're right. There isn't a warlock's mark I can find. What are you going to do with him?"
"Clary and I are planning on keeping him. At least until we figure out what to do with him." Jace explained. "We might adopt him if the Clave will let us."
"You're going to adopt a mundane?" Tessa asked, holding the baby close to her. It was a well-known fact that they were considering having children of their own. And people thought it was weird Clary's brother was going to be the same age as her daughter. "What are you going to name him?"
"Well, that's the problem. We can't decide. The best thing we have at the moment is Edmund."
"Edmund Herondale," Jem mused softly. "What do you think Tessa?"
She chuckled softly, "Doesn't seem much like an Edmund to me." She said as the baby began to stir. "I think he agrees."
"What about James?" Simon suggested and Magnus hit him over the head.
"Jamie Herondale," Tessa muttered. "It's been a while since there was a Jamie."
Simon was about to open his mouth again. Robert quickly said, "Why not Gabriel?" Jace had heard the name before, he was one of the Lightwood ancestors. If his memory served him right Gabriel Lightwood was actually alive at the same age Tessa and Jem were.
"Of course you would offer up that name, Robert," Magnus said amused. "Gabriel Lightworm, very important ancestor of yours. I mean- whoops." Magnus pretended to look embarrassed. Robert and Maryse looked taken back, Alec and Izzy didn't get it.
Tessa and Jem on the other hand burst out laughing. "Could you imagine?" she asked between laughs. "A Gabriel Herondale?"
"Both of them are rolling in their graves at just the mention of it," Jem said. "Cicely probably has them both by the ear."
"Okay, so not Gabriel then," Jace said, not getting the joke either, as the couple's laughs die down. "Well, we're starting to run out of names. He might just have to deal with Edmund."
"Jacob's a good name." Jem offered, but Tessa made a face.
"He's not a Jacob." She looked down at the boy for a moment. "How about Thomas?"
"I like Thomas," Clary said. "And it's the best thing so far."
"I like it too." Jace agreed.
"Thomas it is then!" Magnus said. "Thomas Herondale. I think that's a first."
"Don't forget a middle name," Izzy said.
"Jesse?" Clary proposed. Alec shook his head.
"Thomas Jesse?" he asked. "Doesn't have a nice ring to it."
"I think Thomas Gabriel has a nice ring to it," Izzy said, Jem snorted.
"You should name him that just to spite them off," he said. "What do you think Tessa?"
Tessa was too busy laughing to say she agreed, but everyone took it as a yes.
"There," Clary said, taking the baby from Tessa. "Thomas Gabriel Herondale. I think it suits him."
"What about Bufford?" Jace said, just trying to be annoying.
"No," Clary said, sending him a terrifying look. "We are not naming the child Bufford." This sent another laugh through Magnus, Jem, and Tessa.
"Fine," Jace muttered, holding his hands up in surrender.
"I think we should just keep it at Thomas Gabriel," Alec said.
"What do you think?" Clary asked the little boy who had woken up. "Do you like that name? Cause it's going to be yours now. Thomas, how do you like that?" he made a little sound and everyone smiled. "I think that's a yes." She said, gently rocking him in her arms. "My Thomas," she whispered. "My Thomas." He let out a small whimper. "Oh, I think someone's hungry again. I'll be right back." She walked out of the room, still rocking him in her arms.
"Glad to know Clary's okay with adopting the baby," Simon said, walking back into the room. "You're going to have to go shopping, though. You don't have any boy clothes."
"I'll leave that to Clary and Mr. Epitome of Fashion," Jace said sarcastically. Magnus looked pleased with this. "Remember, I'm sending Clary with you. Just because you're gay doesn't mean I'm giving you free reign."
"I'm bisexual, actually," Magnus said, but no one was listening.
"Should I warn the Clave of your intentions?" Robert asked. Being Inquisitor, Jace hoped his adoptive father could persuade the Clave into letting them keep the boy.
"You think you could convince Jia that this is a good idea?" he asked.
"To be fair, I'm not sure it will really matter what she thinks. We all know you're going to find a way to do it anyway even if it means sneaking." Everyone silently agreed, Jace's and Clary's stubbornness was famous and combined pretty much unstoppable.
Clary walked back in with a very happy baby, quietly babbling softly and incoherently. "All fed now," she said smiling, Jace thought she almost appeared to be glowing. They had discussed having another baby. But it had never gotten much farther than a suggestion. Now they suddenly had a baby, just like that, no discussion.
"I will come by to check on him, say, next week?" Catarina said as she prepared to leave. "He should be fine, he seemed healthy, just feed him properly. But if any problems arise, we will want to catch them immediately." And with that, she was gone.
"I suppose Jem and I should be on our way too," Tessa said. "Jocelyn and Luke are coming over?" Clary nodded. Telling his mother-in-law about the baby on the steps wasn't something Jace wanted to deal with. "Well, we'll be going then. Give my regards to Jocelyn, and congratulations on the little brother Clary." There were awkward smiles as they left.
"What are you going to tell the in-laws?" Alec asked, not hiding his amusement.
"Nothing," Jace said simply. "I'm going to tell her what happened, what we plan to do and tell her to deal with it. Respectfully, of course, Clary can take up any arguments, maybe Simon if we really need him."
"I am not fighting your battles for you, Jace," Simon said but Jace ignored him.
"In the meantime," Izzy said. "Let's get the kids settled down for a nap and get the place ready for Jocelyn and Luke." Everyone nodded and got to work.
Alec put Rafe and Max up. Clary put Alexis and Thomas up. Alexis would have to deal with sharing a crib for the time being. The children were soon sleeping soundly, being recharged to consume more sugar and presents.
When Jocelyn and Luke arrived at about 4:30. It woke the kids up, doing away with the lovely silence. Jace was forced to introduce Thomas to his other grandmother.
"What's this?" she asked, as Luke unpacked all the stuff. "It looks like a baby, is it a toy? Did Alec and Magnus adopt again."
"No actually," Jace said, facing his mother-in-law. He felt still hadn't approved of his marrying her daughter. He was raised by the same man she ran away from. But Jace was working hard to prove to her that he was a better man than Valentine. "This is Thomas. We- or I, found him on the front steps of the Institute this morning. We think there's a good chance he's a mundane since we can't find a mark. Clary and I are planning to adopt him."
"You're going to try to adopt a baby?" she asked. By this point, Luke had walked in and was being updated on the situation.
"We wish to adopt him, we've already named him. We're prepared to fight to adopt him. You can see him if you want, in case you're still not convinced. Clary's already breastfed him if that makes any difference."
Jocelyn stared at him for a full minute. "I would in fact like to see him, thank-you-very-much Jace." She said. Clary handed her mother the baby. "He is pretty cute." She muttered, after holding him for a second. He makes a noise and Jace could see her giving in. "Fine," she said eventually. "But I do not encourage, nor will I help you with something illegal. Like continuing to raise a mundane child without the Clave's permission."
"Can't promise anything," Jace said, knowing how much she hated it. "We're going to try to get the Clave's approval first. If that makes you feel any better."
"Why would you adopt him if you thought he was a mundane?" she asked. A popular question is seemed. "There's the whole problem with Assenting, you couldn't train him like a Shadowhunter, which would probably be a nightmare for you, Jace, but do you think the Clave would allow you to raise a mundane when you can reproduce?"
"We already have Alexis, and that doesn't mean we'll suddenly stop having kids." He said, but she still looked unconvinced. "Fine, plan B is to give him to Alec and Magnus. Better?" she said nothing but nodded slightly.
She handed the boy to Clary, who was happy to have her new baby back. Rafe and Max ran in laughing and Jace went to get Alexis. "Did you bring gifts?" Max asked giggling.
"Max!" Alec scolded. "Auntie Jocelyn is not just for presents, she likes to see you and love you like Grandma and Grandpa."
"She knows we love her," Rafe said, grinning as she bent down and hugged them both.
"Yeah, love me when I bring new stuff to play with." She teased, kissing them each on the nose.
"We love you." Max and Rafe said in unison giggling. And they go to hug Luke.
"Come on," she said, ushering the boys into the living room. "We've all got some catching up to do. What do you think of your new cousin?"
Rafe and Max started talking about they thought it would be fun. But they didn't really understand and quickly forgot what they were talking about. Jace smiled and wrapped an arm around Clary's waist as they all walked into the living room.
"He's so quiet," Clary whispered to Jace so no one else could hear. "I'm almost not sure how natural it is. Mom said Sebastian never cried. I mean, obviously he makes noise, but he hasn't cried once this whole time."
Jace thought for a moment, understanding what she was saying. "The little guy's probably just in shock. But you're right. If he doesn't start crying and stuff within the next few days we'll have Catarina examine him again." She nodded and continued to gently rock the baby.
"What do you think, Tommy?" she cooed softly. "You have a mommy, a daddy, a sister, and a giant extended family all in one day. And on Christmas too." Thomas made a small noise and shifted slightly, but made no other noise. Alexis began to babble, not understanding the sudden lack of attention.
"And poor Alexis is going to have to share the attention now. So used to being the only baby. Well now there's one more and soon there's going to be too." He smiled and kissed her on the nose.
"Daddy!" she giggled, clapping her hands. "Daddy daddy daddy!" she continued to babble. "Mommy daddy!"
"Daddy, yeah, "he says smiling." Mommy and Daddy. Can you say Lexis?"
"Lec'sis!" she said giggling.
"What about Tommy? Can you say Tommy?" he asked and Clary laughed at him. "What do you think of your new brother Lexis? Hmm? Do you like him? I know it'll be an adjustment for you, it's a big adjustment for us all. But hopefully, it all works out."
"Trade now," Clary said handing him Thomas. "How's my other baby doing?" she asked taking Alexis. The baby girl giggled as her mother kissed her. Jace took the boy in his arms and gently rocked him. He squirmed a little but other than that did nothing. They walked into the room as Rafe and Max were about to open more presents.
Cameras were out and Jace grinned. The two children were spoiled rotten and they both knew it. Both boys had accumulated a fair amount of presents throughout the day. Simon, Izzy, Luke, and Jocelyn both received baby stuff. Magnus and Alec got a few things, mainly clothing and gag gifts. Jace got weapons and Clary got art supplies.
By the time everyone was gone it was almost midnight. Clary and Jace walked into Alexis's room where they were keeping both children for the time being. They had been put up at about 8:00, and they were probably hungry now and needed a change. Thomas was in one of Alexis's old onesies and had remained asleep for most of the time, only stirring when he was hungry. The boy had yet to open his eyes. Clary picked up Alexis to feed her and Jace took Thomas to be changed. That's when the baby finally opened his eyes.
Jace almost dropped him because the color was far from what he expected. They were gold. Jacce's eyes were gold as well, but the boy's were a luminous almost glowing gold, like they let off a light of their own, the way a cat's seem to glow in the dark by refracting just the smallest bits of light. "Clary" Jace called his wife softly, not sure if he was imagining it, he wouldn't put it above Simon to slip a little faerie dust into one of his drinks. She set Alexis down and walked over, wondering what Jace wanted before gasping.
"His eyes!" she whispered. "They're gold." Gold in a way Jace's weren't. Everything about Jace was golden, his eyes, his hair, his skin. But they were slightly more human-like if you could say that. His hair was golden blonde, his skin had a slight tan to it that was exaggerated by the "glowing aura" that Herondales gave off, according to Magnus and Tessa, and his eyes were a bronze-golden color. A tawny amber that Jace was told he had inherited them from his great-great grandfather James Herondale. But Thomas's eyes were actually gold. Like his irises had been sculpted from twenty-four karat gold, soft and luminescent.
Clary took the baby boy to feed him, while also examining him. After she was finished she handed him back to Jace. He took the onesie off the baby to change him. He flipped him over and noticed something that was definitely not there in the morning when Jace had first checked him for a warlock's mark, or through the rest of the day. "Um," Jace stammered, "I think he grew wings as well." His wife gave him a look that said she thought he was joking before coming to see for herself.
"Raziel, you're right," she said, looking down at the boy. "I think you owe Izzy fifty bucks now too" she teased, further examining the newly sprouted wings. They were barely more than two small tufts of white fluffy feathers. "White feathery wings" she mused. "Like an angel."
"I wonder what your mother would say about that" Jace said, then groaned. "Great, now I'm going to have to deal with Izzy. The fifty dollars will be the least of the problem. At least now we know he's a warlock. I wonder when he got the wings. They're grown pretty fast, he didn't have them before I'm sure of that."
"No, he definitely didn't have wings earlier. Mom is going to have a conniption when she learns he's a warlock. Whole new set of problems and 'why can't Alec and Magnus take the warlock baby?'" she said, and Jace groaned again.
"Your mother, don't remind me. You can tell her about the baby sprouting wings. I am not going to be in the same room as her when she finds out. She will find a way to blame it on me and I am not going to fuel it."
Clary laughed and gently rocked the baby in her arms. "What are we going to do with him, though? We can't put him back in the onesie now that he has wings. I mean, they're small now, but at the rate, they're growing it won't be true for long. I don't want him freezing to death, though."
"He can sleep in our bed for tonight while we figure out what to do with him." At that Alexis made a noise of protest. Jace smiled. "I think someone wants to join us as well."
"Of course she can," Clary says, handing Thomas to her husband and picking up her baby girl. "We'll all have a sleepover in Mommy and Daddy's bed." Alexis giggled as her parents got ready for bed.
Jace ended up with Thomas and Clary had Alexis as they climbed into bed and held his family close.
The next morning Jace woke up with Clary's hair in his face. She was sprawled halfway on top of him, Alexis laying on top of her. He panicked a second when he remembered his new second child and let out a soft breath of relief when he found the small boy tucked snuggly in his wife's arms.
Clary began to stir, probably she sensed her husband was awake. "Morning," Jace said softly as his beautiful wife opened her eyes. "Sleep well? Seems like you've ended up with both of our children." She smiled and handed him, Alexis.
"Yes, they were a bit fidgety last night and you were completely knocked out." She said, giving him a look. "Alexis grabbed one of Thomas's wings. I was a bit surprised when he didn't start screaming."
"He didn't scream?"
"No, he did start crying, but it almost seemed too easy to calm him back down. Maybe that's because I fed them both."
"Let me see him," Jace said, as the switched babies. "Clary, his wings are gone." Jace said, looking at him son.
"What are you talking aabout? He had them when I fed them both at like three in the morning while you were sleeping."
"No," Jace said, double checking. "They're gone now." As if sensing he was being talked about, Thomas opened his eyes. Jace almost dropped him. His eyes had changed from the brilliant gold to two differed colors. "His eyes changed as well. They're two different colors."
Clary took the baby boy, handing Alexis to Jace. "Well I'll be damned." She said, looking down at the boy. "His wings are gone and his eyes are blue and grey. They're still beautiful." Which was true. One eye was ash grey and the other was a brilliant blue. "I wonder what happened."
"Well don't tell Izzy that he sprouted wings at like midnight. What she doesn't know won't hurt her."
"What if he sprouts them randomly? Like, what if that's why he was abandoned. He randomly sprouted them with his mundane family and they got freaked out. That's why we couldn't find anything when you first found him."
"That's an odd warlock's mark. But your theory makes pretty good sense for the most part. But I've never heard of a warlock's mark like that before."
"Hopefully they don't sprout when my mom has him. She'd have a heart attack."
"She'd give him to the Clave to perform an exorcism and throw him off a cliff." Clary rolled her eyes and hit Jace playfully. "You know I'm right, though." He said teasingly. "Are they hungry? You can feed them and I'll go fix breakfast."
Clary took Alexis and Thomas while Jace went to fix breakfast, which might end up being leftovers. He wondered if anyone would be over to train. Alec and Izzy might stop by for a while, but it was the day after Christmas. He would do some by himself or maybe with Clary if they ended up on coming.
Clary walked into the kitchen about ten minutes later with both children, who seemed to be babbling happily. Jace was glad Thomas seemed to be a little more alert now. The little boy seemed to be softly responding to Alexis's babble, Clary had put them both in onesies. "How are my babies?" Jace asked, smiling and kissing both children on the forehead.
"Good now that they've been fed. I think it's okay to put Thomas in a onesie, what do you think? Now that we know his wings are small and just appear like that. He'll be good for now at least."
"Yeah, he should be fine. We'll have to watch him, though. At least we know when his eyes turn gold, he has them."
Jace took Alexis and began to feed her a little applesauce while Clary sat down to eat. Thomas babbled quietly, looking around a little but other than that doing nothing. Jace wondered if the boy was still a little overwhelmed or if he had already forgotten everything. After Alexis was fed Jace placed her in the crib with Thomas.
Alexis seemed not terribly fond of her new brother, whom she had already recognized was taking attention away from her. She lightly whacked at Thomas's leg, as if telling him to move. Jace laughed a little and picked her up to satisfy her need for attention. "That's now how it works." He teased. "He's not going away. And actually, you're going to get more company. An uncle and a cousin. You won't be the baby anymore Lexis, you'll have to learn to share the attention."
She giggled, not understanding, and Jace chuckled. "Who's my baby girl? You are, you are." Thomas quietly occupied himself, gnawing on one of Alexis's toys. "And you're my little boy." He added, bending down and kissing the boy on the top of his head.
Clary smiled watching him. "And you're my husband," she says, walking over to kiss him. "My husband and father of my children, and a very good daddy at that." Jace gave her a crooked grin. Thomas babbled something and she picked him up. "And you're my baby boy," she cooed. "My new baby boy."
"Faster than the last one," Jace teased.
"And less painful," she added.
"You're not the one dealing with your mother," he pointed out and she rolled her eyes.
"You cannot compare my mother to pushing a seven pound baby out of your vagina, Jace," despite her attempt, the heavy sarcasm leaked though.
"I can and I just did," he said.
"You don't have experience, when you carry a baby in your uterus for and then push it out yourself, then you can make as many joke about my mother as you would like."
"Too bad that will never happen," he says triumphantly.
"I think I should have a sympathy rune so the men can truly appreciate what we go through."
All the color left Jace's face. "Not too tough now, are you?" she teases.
"I'm sorry Clary, I take everything back," Jace apologized quickly and she laughed at him.
"Exactly what I thought," she said, gently bouncing Thomas. Not terribly interested at looking around, the baby boy busied himself with playing with Clary's hair and sticking a few strands in his mouth to suck on. She continued to softly bounce him on her hip and kiss him on the head.
"Why don't we set them down in a pen and let them play with Alexis's toys while we clean up?" Jace suggested and Clary nodded.
Alexis and Thomas got sat in the play pen while Jace and Clary started to clean up. Jace kept a pristine institute so Clary let him worry about the nitpicky stuff while she got the worst of it. Alexis watched her parents while fiddling with her toys. Thomas on the other hand seemed quite content with the rattle that Alexis had not yanked away from him. Shaking it from time to time when he wasn't trying to stick it in his mouth. He looked around almost mesmerized when he shook it, occasionally reaching out like he was trying to grab something.
Jace walked over and picked the baby boy up, something Alexis did not like. She squealed in protest until Clary came over and picked her up too. Thomas, still intrigued by the rattle, shook it in Jace's ear before promptly reaching out and jabbing Jace in the eye. Clary laughed while Jace winced, as he was not expecting to be so suddenly, or so violently, poked in the eye. Curiously Thomas shook the rattle again and this time grabbed Jace's nose, then seemed content with feeling all over Jace's face occasionally whacking him with the rattle.
Jace groaned slightly as Clary continued to laugh at him. "I wonder if he can see color yet. Did Magnus say how old he was?"
Jace shook his head. "Just said a few months." Thomas his him with the rattle again and giggled. "Here, you take him mommy," Jace said holding him out. Clary rolled her eyes and traded children with Jace. Thomas repeated his process with his new person, except he didn't explore Clary's face quite so violently. "No fair," Jace pouted. "He likes you." His wife wasn't listening to him. Instead she was covering his face in kisses. Thomas was giggling happily and shaking his rattle. Alexis almost seemed to look up her father as if demanding to have the same treatment. Jace couldn't help but laugh and began covering his daughter in the kisses she wanted. Soon the whole family was on the floor in laughter. Jace pulled his wife closer to him as the kids sat on their lap. "Happy Christmas Clary," he muttered in her ear.