Jocelyn bustled around the kitchen, stirring pots and sautéing pans every few seconds. "You're absolutely sure there's nothing I can help you with?" Clary asked. Her mother had been running around cooking for the past two hours, barely leaving the room to converse with her guests. Out in the hall, Isabelle was talking to Luke, deep in some discussion about Jocelyn's wedding dress. Simon stood behind Isabelle protectively, a hand on her shoulder just to let her know he was there. Alec and Magnus were on the couch, wrapped around each other in a way that wasn't exactly polite for a public area. No one minded though. Everyone in the house was madly in love with at least one other person, so we got where each other were coming from.
The only person who wasn't absorbed in the atmosphere of the dinner party was Jace. He sat on the blue sofa, staring through the archway at Clary. She caught his eye, and he waved, not embarrassed in the least that she had caught him staring. Just then, the doorbell rang, causing Luke to look up from his conversation and turn to Clary. "I'll get it." she grumbled. Luke shot her a thankful glance before turning back to Isabelle, who seemed irritated that his attention was not fully on her.
"Be right back." Clary said to her mother before getting up off the stool and heading to answer the door. There was low breeze, and Jace was at her side, his hand on her waist. Without thinking, did the same to him, pulling him closer to her. With her free hand, she turned the knob and opened the door, revealing Maia and Jordan standing hand in hand on the mat. Maia was dressed in a light pink top and matching skirt, with a white cotton cardigan slung over her shoulders to keep her warm. Jordan stood beside her, looking handsome in a plain white dress shirt and pants. Their hands were twined together, a gesture that Clary recognized as mutual affection.
"Hey guys!" she said, smiling. "Come on in!"
Maia released Jordan's hand and stepped into the house. "Thanks for having us. Jordan here was having a complete meltdown about the situation with the Praetor. He needs something to get it off of his mind."
Jordan looked offended. "I was not having a meltdown! I was just frustrated that-"
Jace cut him off abruptly, motioning for him to follow them into the hall. "Let's not argue" he said reasonably. "We're here to have fun, right? We should enjoy ourselves. Maia nodded, pleased that someone had stopped Jordan before he could really get started. Clary led them to the front room where Alec and Magnus had broken apart and now sat side by side at the dinner table. Isabelle and Simon sat across from them, still chattering with Luke who sat at the table end closest to the entrance.
Maia waved at Luke, who in turn beamed at her and held a finger up to Isabelle. "Please excuse me. I'm just going to get Maia and Jordan seated." At the sound of his band mate's name, Simon spun around on his chair. "Jordan! Hey man, 'sup?"
Jordan grinned, walking over to pull out a chair for Maia. "Good bro. How 'bout you? Being good to Isabelle, I hope." Maia sat down, and Jordan flopped onto the chair next to Simon, his black curls bouncing as he did. Simon frowned as if the question had hurt his feelings. "Yeah. I plan on doing things right this time. No screwing around."
Alec grimaced. He was clearly still not over the fact that Simon had cheated on his sister the last time they were together. He had every right to be angry, too; Simon had broken Isabelle's heart. But now that they were back together, it was hard to see her vampire friend ever hurting Iz again. Jace took Clary's hand and led her over to the other side of the table, pulling out the chair next to Alec and signalling for her to sit on it. She did, and Jace positioned himself in the seat beside her, just as Jocelyn walked in holding a tray of ham, potatoes, and a variety of vegetables. "Dinner is served!" she said proudly.
There was a murmur of approval as the guests caught sight of the long awaited meal. The plates were set down and passed around, everyone taking a helping of each bowl. Once everyone was served, the conversation started up again as Jocelyn took her seat at the other head of the table. Magnus spoke first. "So, Luke. Are you nervous for the wedding? The man usually starts to get cold feet the week before, am I right?" Alec nudged him, annoyed that he had asked such an inappropriate question.
Luke just laughed and waved it off. "Well, after you've waited your whole life for the person you love to say they love you back, it's almost impossible to get cold feet. I'm just grateful to have such a lovely woman in my life." Jocelyn blushed, blowing a kiss to her fiancée across the long table. After that, there was a long silence as everyone ate.
There was something about Jocelyn's cooking that made everything around you seem irrelevant. Along with art, cuisine was something Clary's mother had always had an exceptional talent for. Biting into the ham, Clary thought of the last time she had eaten it.
It was just last month, and Jocelyn was expecting Luke's sister Amatis to come in from Alicante to celebrate their engagement. There was a change in plans, and Amatis was stuck in Idris for an emergency meeting of all Shadowhunters in the capital city. Jocelyn had already prepared a ham, and not wanting it to go to waste, had asked Clary if she wanted to have Jace and Simon over. Of course Clary had said yes, calling her friend first and then her boyfriend. Jace had answered, sounding weary and ragged on the other line.
He had agreed to come over, but sounded hesitant about seeing Clary's whole family there. She had told him not to worry, and to come over right away. As he stepped in the door, Clary took back her words almost instantly. He was beaten down from the feet up, his clothes torn into rags and his face covered in bloody cuts. There were bruises covering his whole body; where his skin was normally a golden white colour it was now completely purple. There were two deep gashes on his chest and one on his back.
"What the hell happened to you?" Clary had shouted, rushing over to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. Against his usual nature, Jace hadn't moved to return her embrace. He had just stood there, completely still, waiting for her to let go. He had uttered just one word before snapping back into reality: "Sebastian".
Just thinking about it sent shivers down Clary's spine. It was exactly a month later that she had found Jace on the floor of the Institute's kitchen, Sebastian's silver dagger plowed into his chest.
She squeezed his hand, and he turned to look at her, his golden eyes melting her every feeling of pain and loss. "Something wrong?" he asked, genuinely concerned. She shook her head, although she knew he could see right through her white lie. That didn't matter now, though. This was a time to be happy for Luke and her mother, no matter how tough things were outside in their normal life.
Clary pushed her memories away, coming back to the dinner table. Jordan was looking over at her expectantly, and everyone else at the table, with the exception of Jace, had a look of amusement on their faces, as if she were missing out on some obvious joke.
"I'm sorry," she said, blushing a light rosy shade. "Did I miss something?" Jordan nodded, shoving a bite of potato into his mouth, swallowing it, and saying "I asked you where those bite marks on your chest came from."
"Oh, those? Well… when I went to pick up Jace from the hospital…" A look of horror was spreading over her mother's face, and Clary realized what her words probably sounded like to anyone that hadn't been there for the attack. "It's not what you think, though." Clary said, quickly trying to explain her situation. "There was a demon doctor, some half bird-lizard-human thing. He carried me out the window. The bite marks were from where his teeth were holding me."
Relief spread over Jocelyn's face. So Clary had been right. Her mother had thought that Jace had caused those bite marks. If only she knew what they had been up to earlier…
Seeming to read her thoughts, Jace stepped in, changing the subject to something a little less touchy. "It wasn't really a big deal. We're okay, and that's all that matters. So did you all hear about that warlock over in the Bronx who-"
"Clary's pregnant." A stunned silence swarmed over the table like a wave crashing onto the shore of a calm beach. Peace at first, followed by a violent aftermath. All eyes turned to Isabelle, who had spoken. Her expression was a mixture of pride, smugness, and jealousy. That little bitch… Clary thought. I trusted her, I thought she was my friend, and the second the attention leaves her, she decides to go and-
Clary took a deep breath, and let all the negative thoughts towards Isabelle flow out though her exhalations. She looked around to see the reactions of the dinner guests. Simon was looking at the ground, not shocked in the least. After all, he was the one that had suspected it in the first place. Maia and Jordan were staring at her, evidently trying to stop their mouths from hanging open. Magnus was holding back laughter, and Alec was glaring at him, the look on his face indicating that if it weren't for the situation, he probably would have kicked Magnus in the shins by now.
Turning to her left, Clary faced the person she was the most afraid to look at. Her mother. She was almost disappointed to see her face; where Clary had thought her mother would be furious with rage, she was more sad and hurt. She could see her mother trying to speak, and recognized the bite of the lip that signified that if Jocelyn tried to speak, she might burst into tears. Clary herself used that lip bite often. It was something that ran in the feminine side of the Fairchild bloodline.
Clary pivoted on her chair to face Luke. His face was bright red, as if he might explode into flames at any second. His knuckles turned white as he clenched the edge of the table, and Clary thought she might have heard the splintering of wood as it cracked under the pressure of his grip. Through gritted teeth, Luke asked "Is Jace the…father?" With a hand on Clary's knee, Jace nodded. There was no shame in his features though, or at least not that Clary could detect. Only love for her and the child growing inside. "Yeah. The baby's mine, and-"
But he never got to finish. Because as he spoke, Luke sprang forward across the table, his werewolf claws fully extended, and lunged for Jace's throat.
