Chapter 9 - The Progression
IZZY'S POV
I watch Alec as he struggles to get out of his wheelchair. Alec was having one of his daily physical therapy sessions and I came to support him. He fell back into the wheelchair and pounded his fists on the armrests in frustration. He had been trying and failing at standing on his own the whole session, because he refuses to start at the beginning. He needs to get a better feeling for his legs before he'll be able to stand without help. "Alec!", I called, "Are you ready yet?!". He whipped his head around to face me with a glare that could kill. "Jeez!", I called again, "Eyes really can shoot daggers!". He rolled his dagger-shooting-eyes as he turned back around to face the physical therapist. Her voice sounded a little agitated at this point as she reminded him not to forget to do the exercises she taught him in his free time, (which was practically all the time now that he couldn't go on missions.), and to drink plenty of fluids. He nodded and began to wheel his way over to me. Seeing him in that wheel chair switched something in my brain somehow and I suddenly felt sorry for him. I knew that he didn't want pity, (Do any of us?!), so I didn't tell him I was sorry for what happened or treat him differently in any way. I just gave him a pat on the back and said, "I'm really proud of you, Alec, even if you're stubborn as they get.". He looked down at his lap. I could see his brow furrowing drastically and him shake his head. Suddenly, really concerned for my brother, I knelt down to face him, "Hey… Alec. Are you okay?" A tear streamed down his cheek and voice cracking, I quietly added, "Stop it, Alec! You're going to make me cry! This isn't like you.". He looked up at me with a look in his eyes that screamed, 'Nothing about me is like me anymore! It all left with my ability to speak!' and he sped out of the training room. Even though I could have easily caught up with him, I stayed grounded. He needed to be alone; Either that, or he was going to see Magnus, but the one thing I knew for sure was this: I didn't belong either way.
CLARY'S POV
'CRAP!' 'Crap-crap-crap-crap-crap!', I pressed my index fingers to my temples. 'I didn't use protection!', the thought raced through my head again and again. With so much stuff going on, I'd forgotten to take my birth control. I thought I'd be fine, but Jace was especially in the mood the night before and what was I supposed to do?! I wasn't thinking about that then! I was thinking about how perfectly our lips locked together and how soft Jace's "naturally blonde" hair was….. NO! I needed to stop getting off topic. 'I need to tell Jace!', I thought and turned around to go back through the bathroom door and into his bedroom when I stopped myself, 'But I don't even know if anything happened. It's way too early to see….. I'll tell him when I'm sure.', and with that, I freshened up and finally got out of that bathroom.
The sheets meant for Jace's bed were strewn all over his room. We had kicked them off last night, because they kept getting in the way. I smiled at the memory of Jace, his enthusiastic removal of them. My mind was getting off topic again. I decided to talk to the one person I knew who had any experience in this field. Izzy.
IZZY'S POV
When I got Clary's text, I almost didn't believe her, but of course, I came to her as fast as I could. When I saw her crying, cross legged, smack in the middle of Jace's bed, I knew that she was serious. I ran over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me, tears in her eyes. I hugged her and she hugged me back, a little too tightly for comfort, but I was going to be there for her. This was a terrifying experience that even I have went through once or twice. All you could do was wait and see. The day after is way too early to know if anything's going on or not, but it doesn't take long for it to become obvious that something is up. I told her to wait a couple weeks before jumping to conclusions. I managed to calm her down and we had a heart to heart. "It's not that I don't want a child, it's just that I don't want to raise a child in this.", she gestured to everything around her, "A time where war is raging and a feud thriving between downworlders and shadowhunters.". She shook her head, "No one deserves to grow up in that. I just don't want to put an innocent life in danger especially when I'll be needed constantly; I'd never be home. Who'd look after it?! It's- It's just…", she stammered before falling apart once again. "It'd never work!", she exclaimed before bursting into tears.
I felt the need to help her somehow, to make her feel better if that was even possible, "Well… you know…. There's many options out there. Who say's you'd have to keep it?". She looked at me, eyes glittering with rage and betrayal. I instantly regretted my statement. "What. The. Fuck. Izzy! Are you seriously saying that I'd give up a baby with pure angel blood up for adoption?!", she shook her head again, now in anger, "Do you want the downworld to fall apart?!". I nodded, "You have a point. I didn't consider that.", I looked down at her, trying to see her face as it was now hidden by her shaking shoulders, just as it was when I walked in. "I'm sorry.", I said, a little too forcefully, "I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just trying to think of an answer.". "It's okay.", she said, revealing her face. I wiped the tears off her cheeks with my thumb and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Me too.", I replied with a weak smile. She hugged me again, but then my phone rang. "Duty calls.". She nodded and I got up from the bed. I swiped the green button with a white silhouette of a telephone and held the cell up to my ear. "Hello.". A demon hunting mission in Manhattan. They were asking for me, Jace, and Clary. It took a lot of convincing but I finally got Clary off the mission. It was the least I could do. That's what friends are for, right?
