Chapter 4

Isabelle sighed as she raised her legs onto a plush loveseat. It was in the small living room in her and Simon's apartment. It wasn't large- actually it was tiny when compared with the gaping halls and empty rooms of the institute where she grew up. Isabelle placed the magazine she was holding down, unable to concentrate with the chorus of some unholy rock band blaring through her fiancée's speakers.

She had been flicking through bridal magazines for over an hour, lounging on a sofa whilst Simon bustled around the flat doing various household chores.

Isabelle smiled slightly- the irony was not lost on her. Her mother would be proud, she thought, to see what savvy and helpful man she was going to marry. There was once a time in shadowhunter history where it would have been laughable to think of a woman sitting with her feet up while her husband-to-be cleaned their house.

The past few months had been a domestic bliss for Isabelle.

It was strange, she thought, to be where she was now- planning her wedding, building a home with Simon, and enjoying the ebb and flow of a life unburdened by impending doom. Even with the rising tension put on the Clave through the Cold Peace, somehow, she and Simon had settled into a pocket of calm- of course with demon hunting and shadowhunter business still in the mix, but that was normal for her, and now it was for Simon too.

Because he was one of them now.

They were alike- it made emotion swell in her stomach even just thinking of how happy Simon was in his new life.

She was proud of him every day, for surviving what he did, from being so lost to where he was now. But most of all for finding his way back to her.

She guessed that was why she accepted his proposal. Because she knew what it was like to not have him there- and she knew that no matter what she would never go through that again.

It made saying yes so easy. And so here they were.

Wedding bells rung from the table under her magazine, and Isabelle flicked the magazine away to see who was texting. Jace- who thought it was the most hilarious thing that Simon and Isabelle would be the first to tie the knot- had changed every sound her phone made to the obnoxious sound of wedding bells.

She kept forgetting to change it- especially after Simon found it equally as hilarious as her brother, and she feared public outrage if it got changed back.

Clary's name popped up and her heart began to race. They were back form faerie already?

The text was short, and to the point. We are back. Come to the institute now.

"Simon!" Isabelle yelled over the vacuum. "We have to get to the institute."

Clary couldn't move. Should could still feel her limbs- was aware of the weight of her feet on the ground, and the way her fingertips brushed her sides. But it was like gravity had tripled its strength, like the rotation of the earth had stopped or some alien thing had taken control of her body.

She.

Couldn't.

Breath.

What had he just said? Breath in… pregnant? Breathe out… was it possible? Breathe in… but how? Breathe out…

Jace began talking again, his voice hushed like he was keeping some great secret- "She was laughing when she said it, like it was some joke, but faeries can't lie Clary, and she said it so plainly. She said "Clary is pregnant", so it must be true, it's not a lie-"

"It can't be true Jace" Clary interjected, surprising herself by finding her voice. "I mean, the rune-"

"Faerie's can't lie Clary!" Jace said roughly, running a hand through his hair. "I don't how it happened, but it must be true."

"It's not possible" Clary said, voice flat. She shook her head, and walked over to the bed, sitting on it slowly. "Why would she tell you that?"

"I don't know" Jace admitted, not moving. "She feeds off chaos- maybe she was just trying to get me to panic. It certainly worked" he said, slightly muffled in Clary's ears.

"Panicked?" she repeated, feeling her heart speed up, "You think you're panicking? Oh god what if it's true? I just can't think-"

"Should I… call a silent brother?" Jace interrupted, his voice hesitant. Clary turned her face up to look at him. She had a feeling the look on her face was slightly horrified. "I… I don't know" she stuttered, clenching her hands into fists.

"Then what do you want me to do?" he said slowly

"I don't know" she sputtered, and it took him only seconds to kneel on the ground below her. He took her cheeks in his palms- the way he looked at her- like she was a goddess, so much adoration and worry mixed together in his expression, it broke her heart to see him looking up at her like that.

When she tried to speak, nothing came out.

"You don't have to know anything yet Clary" he said quietly. "I'll be here for whatever you need. The one thing you can count on is that I'll never leave your side."

There was a time for planning, a time for laying out all your problems in a line, and finding the best course of actions.

This was not that time.

Jace was pacing, as usual, when Isabelle and Simon arrived. He was in the library, where Clary had told them to go via text. There was a mood in the air, something stirring in the atmosphere that the shadowhunters hadn't encountered in a long time.

"When did you get back? What's happened?" Isabelle rushed, scrambling to find out what was going on. Clary was nowhere to be seen.

"Is Clary alright? She just texted me before-"

"She's fine" Jace cut in, voice sharp, and he looked up at Isabelle with a steely face.

"We got back a couple hours ago" he began, and Isabelle saw the tense rise of his shoulders and mask of thought as a sign of bad news.

"Did you learn what the weapon is?" Isabelle asked, straight to the point. It was not the time for dragging this out. The cold peace was balanced on the tip of a sharp blade- at this point anything to sway it one way or the other would only end in bloodshed.

Jace looked up at Isabelle and Simon, who had caught up to stand at her side.

"Do you remember, during the dark war, Clary found a letter in the apartment from Sebastian addressed to 'My Beautiful One'?" Jace paused, not needing Simon or Isabelle to nod before continuing, "When we were in the Unseelie court, the Seelie Queen was inches from kicking us out. This whole time we had been assuming that the Unseelie court held the weapon- that they knew what it was and were holding it for themselves- but actually they haven't got it- when Sebastian died, he left something behind, something the Seelie Queen has and is hiding somewhere in the Unseelie court. It's his son. Clary used a rune to catch a glimpse of a young blond haired green-eyed boy"

"No fucking way" Isabelle said.

Simon balked- "How do you know its Sebastian's kid though?" he questioned.

"Clary was convinced. She was basically in shock when we got back- she said he had Jonathon's eyes- her eyes, and she said that's how she knew"

"And the Seelie Queen is his mother?" Isabelle questioned. Jace shook his head slightly, "We aren't sure but it seems most likely."

"Where is Clary though?" Simon butt in, and frowned when Jace tensed up like Simon had jabbed him with a hot poker.

"She had to run an errand- she'll be back soon. And don't worry parabati, you'd know if something was wrong"

Simon looked Isabelle and shrugged, letting her know as far as he could tell, nothing was wrong.

"So what do we do now?" Isabelle asked, trying to map out Jace's course of action- he liked to make plans without letting people know. "Have you told the Clave?".

Jace shook his head. "I decided to get everyone here updated. Magnus and Alec are in London at the moment though. I couldn't reach them so I texted Alec to call me when he could."

He looked at Isabelle, questioning with his eyes. "I don't really have a plan" he confessed, sitting down on the plush reading chair. "I mean, there are just too many things that we don't know."

Simon nodded, and Isabelle looked at him with a withering glance. Simon looked mildly pleased that Jace admitted to not knowing something, no matter how dire the situation.

"So why don't we piece together what we do know." Isabelle interjected.

Jace tipped his head to the side in resigned agreement, his expression heavy.

He filled them in on what happened in the Unseelie court, and how they had returned so quickly, his descriptions economical and plain. When he was finished, Isabelle furrowed her brow- "I mean it makes sense that the Seelie Queen wouldn't want you two poking around the Unseelie court if that was where she was hiding her child" she said finally, and Jace nodded.

"But the kid is still young. Is she waiting for him to grow up? And we have no idea what he might be capable of- a twisted hybrid of demon, shadowhunter and Seelie. This is uncharted territory", Isabelle said gravely, and followed Jace's lead by sitting down in another plush chair. Simon moved to stand behind it, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"But what can one person- no matter the weird mixing of bloods- really do? Surely he can't be so powerful as to be a singular threat to the Nephilim as a whole" Simon said, really speaking up for the first time since getting there. Isabelle smiled a bit- it was nice to see him really joining in on conversation instead of passing it off to the more experienced shadowhunters(as Jace liked to constantly remind him, especially when Clary wasn't around). After losing his memories, Simon didn't consider himself as a part of the team who went to Edom and returned. He didn't see himself as someone who had something to offer- but things had changed. He was a force to be reckoned with now, and the thought made her want to quietly smile.

"He can take down the wards in Idris" Jace said quietly, and Isabelle looked at him sharply. She hadn't thought of that.
"You're right. He's a perfect spy- Just like Jonathon"

"-But he's still young" Simon pointed out, "That means we have time. Maybe the Queen was going to raise him in seclusion, keep him a secret, and then unleash him when he was ready as revenge for the cold peace". No one could do anything but nod.

They spent the rest of daylight basically brainstorming, but without anything useful to say. Everyone agreed on one thing though- for now there was nothing they could do. Another mission to Unseelie was next to impossible, and they also had to figure out what to do about informing the Clave. Jace sighed, and said he'd call Jia in the morning. Telling the Consul directly was probably the best method of action.

"I'd better go check on Clary" Jace said, almost absentmindedly. "You two should stay here tonight, so find a spare room", Simons face twisted, like he was about make some remark about Jace's suggestion-but Isabelle pinched his side before he could speak. She didn't know exactly what it was, but something about Jace's expression told her not to push- besides, if Clary really wasn't okay, there was no way Jace wouldn't be right by her side.

When Jace returned to his room, he almost tiptoed in. The only light was coming from the bathroom, where the door was slightly cracked. Clary was inside, sitting on the closed seat of the toilet, and she was staring at something small in her hands.

Something in Jace's body stuttered.

He knew what it was, the little white stick. And somehow, even though for hours his mind had been agonizing over the Seelie Queen's words, it was still like an electric shock to the heart when Clary shifted it slightly so he could see the little red plus.

"I don't get it" Clary said, her voice clear. "When have my runes not worked before?".

Jace shook his head. "Maybe it had something to do with being in Faerie?" he replied, though it was more to just have something to say.

"By the angel Clary…" Jace began, and he held out a hand for her to take. She threw the pregnancy test into the garbage and took it, standing stiffly like she had been sitting there for a long time. "A baby" he whispered, cradling the word.

She swallowed- "Not the best timing" was all she said. Jace felt the corner of his mouth be tugged up by some mystical force. He couldn't help it- a cocktail of emotions swirled through him, making his stomach rush with butterflies, and a small smile spread across his face. Clary studied him, her eyes roaming over his features, her green gaze melting his thoughts, as emotion took over his body.

"A baby" he whispered again, not believing his own ears.

"I know" she said, whispering as well. "What on earth are we going to do."

Jace just shook his head, "It doesn't matter. Nothing matters anymore. We're going to have a baby" he said, voice growing, and unable to help himself, he lifted Clary in a tight embrace.

He expected laughing, maybe even tears from her. But when he pulled back he was met with a straight face.

Clary didn't mirror is emotion- she looked at him evenly.

"Things still matter Jace" she said, tugging him out of the bathroom, and walking into their bedroom.

The evening light was golden where it filtered in through the window. Jace followed Clary silently, as she paced into their room and began picking up discarded clothing from the floor and tossing it in a laundry basket.

"Ok fine, things still matter- but… this is big" he began, trying to make sense of Clary's mood, to get some explanation of what was going through her head.

"We can't just ignore everything that's going on just because- because of this!" Clary's voice was rising.

"Of course we can!" Jace matched Clary's tone, talking basically to her back. "Not everything has to be our responsibility Clary". Clary scowled, and stopped bustling around the bedroom to face him straight on.

And in one breath she managed to say- "What are you talking about Jace?! We are the heads of this institute! We have more responsibility than anyone else. Things still matter."

"How are you even thinking about anything else right now Clary?" Jace shouted back, shaking his head at her. Clary's face turned red.

"I'm thinking about everything Jace. I'm thinking about the threats we have to face before we even consider anything else. This is happening right now Jace, and I can't even comprehend anything that's going to happen in the future- I haven't given myself a chance."

"I think I get the message Clary" Jace said evenly, staring back at her. "I can see exactly where your priorities are. It's pretty clear that your convoluted revenge story comes above everything else."

"That's not what I mean Jace!" Clary protested, her voice raw. "It's just-" she made a frustrated sound, "I can't deal with both things right now. It's like I don't have space in myself to really grasp that I'm- pregnant".

"I get it Clary" Jace said furiously, "I'm overwhelmed too- but that doesn't mean you get to just ignore this". Something inside him was turning sour- the smile he couldn't keep off his face before was long gone.

You know how you imagine the future, and even the most lost of people have at least an idea of what it might hold. A picture in their mind, a vision or pathway, either good or bad or neither.

Until Clary, Jace's vision had been a tunnel. Straightforward, no uncertainty- he was a shadowhunter, and would always be one, and only that.

And when she had barrelled into his life, that became a maze, one fraught with twists and turns, only the darkest paths leading to a future without her in it.

And now, he was back to a tunnel- and right now, shadowhunting was so far on the sidelines, it was barely there.

Now, all Jace could picture, was one scene. Clary, smiling brightly, enveloped in warm light, holding a small bundle, and rocking it gently.

And nothing else mattered. Not for him.

"I just need some time to process this Jace" Clary said quietly. "Some time to figure out what this means for us".

Jace nodded- this he could understand. And as much as he was frustrated with Clary right now, he could see how hard this was for her.

"Let's just get some rest" he said finally, walking over to where she stood and placing one hand on her cheek. "It's been a long day". Clary smiled a little ruefully.

"Fair enough" she gave in, and turned away to get her pyjamas form the top drawer.

Once Jace had his own on, they went through their evening ritual of teeth brushing and preparing for bed.

The normality of this practiced action seemed to seep straight into Jace's bones, settling deep within.