Clary stared at herself in the mirror. She had gone to bed last night with a still flat belly. This morning, she woke up with a clearly visible swelling in her abdomen. She turned from side to side. It was amazing how it magically seemed to appear overnight. At sixteen weeks, she knew this day was rapidly approaching, but somehow it still caught her by surprise. Her jeans had started to feel slightly uncomfortable about a week ago, she was sure she would be making some wardrobe changes now. For the moment, her loose fitting training clothes were fine. She poked her stomach lightly. It was firm, not at all squishy. She lowered her shirt. She actually looked pregnant, despite the fact that she truly didn't feel pregnant. Sure, she wasn't feeling quite her normal self, but she also didn't feel like a human being was growing inside her either. Pregnancy was such a weird experience. Of course she was excited, this is what they wanted after all, but there were a lot of mixed emotions. There was a constant undertone of anxiety and fear. What if something was wrong with the baby? What if she wasn't eating enough vegetables? What if she got hit in the stomach during a fight? How badly was it really going to hurt to get this baby out? What if it has a huge head and weighs twelve pounds? Her frame was much too small to handle that. Could she create some kind of easy labor ruin? Of course, having such negative feelings then caused her to feel guilty. She was having Jace Herondale's baby, she should be glowing and giddy, instead she is worrying about what people are saying behind her back about "Clary the Teen Mom". Although, Jace had helpfully pointed out that he would in fact be twenty before the baby was born, and therefore would not be a teen mother.
Clary wandered into the training room to find Jace, Isabelle, and Simon participating in various exercises. Jace and Simon were fencing, while Isabelle was stretching on the floor.
"Well, it's about time, sleepyhead. I know you are pregnant and all, but that is no excuse for laziness!" Isabelle jested.
Simon and Jace stopped what they were doing to look at Clary. Simon's eyes went wide, "Wow, Fray. I think you might need to slow down on the cheeseburgers." He blurted out. Clary tugged self-consciously on her t-shirt, trying to hide her new bulge.
Jace whacked Simon in the back of the head as he made his way over to his wife. "First of all, mundane, it's Herondale, not Fray. Secondly, that is my wife and child you are insulting. Do it again and I'll bloody that rat face of yours."
Jace kissed Clary softly on the cheek as he gently rubbed his hand down her belly, "Well hello there, little one."
"Wow, Clary, you popped over night! It's official! You have a bump!" Isabelle grinned.
Clary groaned, "I absolutely hate that word. By the angel, call it anything but my 'bump'. It just sounds so stupid. And Simon, you are my parabatai. You are supposed to support me, not call me fat. Did I make fun of you for having to wear women's gear when you were in the Academy?"
"Women's gear? Why am I just finding out about this now? I have missed out on so many jokes! I always knew you were a true lady, Lovelace." Jace coughed out a laugh.
"Clary! You promised you would never tell!" Simon hissed.
"Lesson learned. Do not call a pregnant lady fat." Clary grinned viciously.
Clary crumpled to the floor, tears spilling down her face, and red covering her fingers. She screamed as loud as she could for Jace.
Jace heard Clary's frantic cries and flew into the kitchen as fast as his legs could take him. His heart stopped and he couldn't breathe for several seconds as he looked at his beautiful wife slumped onto the cold tile floor, sobbing, and clutching something red in her lap. Smoke was slowly filling the room. He rushed over to her, "Clary? Are you hurt? Is something wrong with the baby? Fuck, Clary, you are scaring the shit out of me!" he shot out anxiously.
Simon and Isabelle came skidding into the room, hearing Clary's yells. They saw the terrified blonde desperately trying to calm the bawling red-head.
Clary shook her head and tried to slow her sobs so she could answer him. Finally, she was able to catch her breath enough to wail, "Someone ate all of the Doritos! All I wanted when I woke up was a grilled cheese and Doritos! That's it! I've barely been able to eat for days and nothing has sounded good, and I woke up and I just had to have it...and they are gone! Nothing left but crumbs and dust!" She raised her hands that were coated in the orange-red cheese dust. "And if that's not bad enough, while I cried over the Doritos, my grilled cheese burned, and that was the last of the bread!" she began crying in earnest again.
Jace wrapped his arms tightly around her and laid his cheek against her hair as he tried to hold back his laugh. It would be disastrous if she caught him laughing right now. He caught sight of their audience.
Isabelle turned and glared at Simon, "I told you not to eat those Doritos. I told you Clary would be pissed!"
Clary's head whipped around to face the pair. He emerald eyes shot daggers at her best friend, "It was you? How could you do this to me, you bastard?"
Simon stammered, "I'm sorry! I didn't know they were yours! How was I supposed to know?"
Jace continued to try to soothe his wife, "it is okay, Clary. Simon is going to the store right now. He'll get all the Doritos and bread you will ever need, right Simon?"
"Uhh, yeah, right, sure. I'm going right now. I'll be right back, I promise." Simon called as he dashed out of the kitchen.
"White bread, Simon. None of that whole grain shit with the weird chunks in it!" Clary called after him.
"The answer is no, Clary. Absolutely not. Are you insane?" Jace ground out.
"No? Who in the hell do you think you are, Jace Herondale. I am not a child and you certainly aren't my father. You do not get to tell me what I can and cannot do!" she seethed, her fists clenched at her sides.
"You're right, I'm not your father, but I am that baby's father, and while you might not be a child, you are carrying one, so yes, I think I'm perfectly within my right to tell you no!" he fumed.
"Until it pops out of me, I get to make the decisions here because it is my body, and you do not get to tell me what I can or cannot do with my own body! Furthermore, who is to say that it is even your kid? Prove it!" she poked him in the chest forcefully.
Jace arched his eyebrow, "Really, Clary?"
"Okay fine, whatever, but that still does not give you the right to tell me what to do! I am a Shadowhunter, it is what we do! I thought you were over this protecting me bullshit. I'm well trained, I'll be fine! You can't go alone!"
Jace took a calming breath. "Clary, you can't even bend over to put your boots on! Your center of gravity is completely off. You stumble into walls at least three times a day! How in the world do you plan to fight a fucking demon? I promise I'm not going alone. Alec and Isabelle are coming with me. Plus, I'm more at risk with you there. I can't protect myself if I'm preoccupied worrying about you. Is that what you want? Do you want me to get hurt or even killed?" Jace queried.
Clary deflated, "Of course not. Don't even say stupid shit like that. I just hate feeling useless."
"You certainly are not useless. You have done more for the Nephilim in the past three years than most do in their entire life. Plus, you are currently in the process of creating new Shadowhunters, which we desperately need. So, you are doing more than your fair share just by sitting here and protecting our child. Okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, okay. You better be careful out there. We need you to come back to us." She gently kissed him. The kiss quickly turned heated, Clary started to push Jace's gear up as he slid his hands into her curls.
A throat cleared from the doorway, "Break it up you two. We need to get going, Jace. Unfortunately, demons will not wait for you to get laid." Alec muttered.
Clary let him go reluctantly, "be safe and hurry back, please!" she called.
Jace looked over at Alec, "Let it be known that the whole ridiculously horny during pregnancy thing is absolutely true and completely awesome. She just can't keep her hands off my junk!"
"Jace!" Clary squealed as she covered her face in embarrassment.
"I hate 'neutral yellow'!" Clary bemoaned.
"Well, you are refusing to find out if it is a boy or a girl. So how are we supposed to decorate the nursery?" Isabelle demanded.
"Not any of that pastel crap! Babies need bright colors!" Clary challenged.
"Purple?" Magnus chimed in.
"Definitely not purple. What do you think, Max? What color would baby like?" Clary asked the toddler.
Max looked up from his pile of blocks and took a few seconds to consider it, "Lellow!" he exclaimed decidedly.
"Ha! See, I told you!" Isabelle crowed.
"Thanks a lot, Max." Clary rolled her eyes. "You know what? I'm not only the mother here, but also the artist. I will take care of this on my own!" she declared.
"Remember the part where you are supposed to be resting and not doing any heavy lifting and/or painting, Biscuit? That is why you asked us to help you in the first place." He reasoned.
"Okay, fine. Then, let's just do primary colors; red, blue, and yellow, but nice and bright, nothing 'baby' or pastel! I think it would be cute to do like crayon themed or something" she decided.
"Great. That wasn't so hard, was it? Jace, Simon, and Alec are working on putting the furniture together as we speak, and it is a beautiful dark wood, so we don't have to worry about it clashing. Now, we just need to find bedding, curtains, and some wall art!" Isabelle checked off her list.
"Actually, I've asked my mom to paint a mural on the walls, so we don't have to worry about art work." Clary confessed.
"Oh, that's a wonderful idea. I do love your mother's paintings!" Magnus enthused.
"Let's get shopping, then!" Isabelle's eyes gleamed.
"Well, I am kind of tired," Clary began, "maybe you and Magnus can go scout some things for me, and then when we've narrowed it down, I can go out another time. Max can stay here with me" she hedged.
"I think that is the best idea you've ever had, Clary. It's good to know motherhood is already changing you for the better." Izzy simpered.
Two weeks later, Jocelyn, Magnus, and Isabelle were standing in front of the door looking at Clary and Jace. "We're all done. Are you guys ready to see it?" Jocelyn asked with a broad smile.
Clary's curls bobbed as she nodded, "Yes! It's been killing me to stay out of there! I can't wait!" Jace smiled warmly at her as he grabbed her hand and pulled her body closer to his.
Magnus threw the door open with a flourish. Clary's eyes widened as she took in the bedroom next door to theirs. A majority of the walls were painted a refreshing sky blue with scattered fluffy white clouds. Brightly colored hot air balloons and kites floated in the sky. A large rainbow arced from one corner of the back wall to the other. The bottom part of the walls was painted like rolling grassy hills with brightly colored trees and flowers sprinkled throughout. It was beautiful. The dark wooden crib was centered underneath the rainbow. The sheet was a crisp white with little bundles of red, blue, and yellow crayons crisscrossed throughout. A gauzy white curtain covered the lone window in the room, which sat high up on the left wall. A low, long dresser sat underneath the window, with a changing table station on top. The right wall was partially covered by a dark wood rocking chair and ottoman. White cushions covered the surface. A pillow in the shape of a red crayon sat perched in the chair.
Clary looked around in awe as her eyes welled up, "It's perfect, you guys. Thank you so much!" She hugged her mother tightly.
Jace clapped Magnus on the back, and gave Isabelle a light kiss on the cheek. "It looks great, thank you."
Later that evening, Jace stepped out of the bathroom, but Clary was not in their bed. He headed out into the hallway to find her. Maybe she had gone to get a drink? But the kitchen was empty. A brief flash of panic stole through his chest. He was about to call Simon and Isabelle, when an idea came to him. He slowly pushed the door of the nursery open. Clary was sound asleep curled up in the rocking chair with the crayon pillow clutched to her chest like a baby. A soft smile lit Jace's face. He knew she had her reservations, and would have probably preferred to wait a few more years, but he had no doubt that Clary would be a terrific mother. He couldn't wait to sneak in here late at night and watch her cradling their small child. Sure, the thought of being responsible for the life of a tiny human was a bit terrifying, but he was certain that they would figure it out. His excitement far outweighed his nervousness.
She looked so peaceful, but he knew her back would be a wreck if he left her in that chair. Even heavily pregnant, Clary was slight enough for him to scoop up and carry into their bedroom easily. He curled up behind her in the bed and placed his arms protectively around her mid-section as he placed a soft kiss on her temple and whispered, "Goodnight my loves. Sleep well."
