Jace got ready quickly and left to go greet his in-laws. Luke and Jocelyn gave him forced smiles and polite handshakes. "Jonathan, it's nice to see you again," Jocelyn told him.
"Yes, it is indeed lovely to see you two again. Please, call me Jace, only my father calls me Jonathan and trust me when I say he is not a good man." Jace told them, unaware with their ties to his father.
Jocelyn looked at Luke and gave him a slight shake of the head, "Ah, well alright, Jace. Where is our dear Clary?"
Jace raised an eyebrow and said, "She's getting ready, I'm afraid you caught us at a bad time."
"Oh dear, were you two sleeping?" Jocelyn asked.
"No, we had just woken up, that's all," Jace reassured her. "Would you two be interested in a brunch? You must be famished from your journey."
As Luke opened his mouth to answer, Clary walked down the stairs in an elegant loose fitting dark blue dress with her hair in a neat half-ponytail. "Mother! Father! It is so lovely to see you! I've missed you both so much!"
Jocelyn embraced her daughter, "We've missed you too darling! Look at you, you look so wonderful! You're glowing!"
At that comment Jace wrapped his arm around Clary's waist, "Why don't we take this conversation to the dining room?"
Luke smiled approvingly at the boy, "That would be great! I'm famished!"
Clary and her mother made small talk about their lives as Jace led everyone to the dining room. Jace instructed his chef to cook up a fine brunch while the family chatted. As Simon brought out the food, there was a knock on the door. Simon hurriedly placed down the food and jogged to the door. He returned with the entire Lightwood family.
"Maryse, Robert, Alec, Izzy, what are you doing here?" Jace asked his family while giving everyone a quick hug.
"We decided to pop by for a quick visit to see how Clary is doing," Maryse answered with a smile. "Now where is your darling Clary?"
"I'm right here, Maryse. Mom, Dad, these are the-"
"Maryse! Oh my goodness! I haven't seen you since- well since I left. How are you? Robert, look at you! You sure have gotten older. And Alec, the last time I saw you, you were in diapers. You are such a handsome young man!"
Alec looked at the excited woman with a confused look on his face, and Isabelle looked offended to not be noticed. Jace chucked at the situation and gave Clary an amused smirk. Luke and Jocelyn continued to talk to the Lightwoods while their children looked at the scene in front of them with amazement. Suddenly Clary fought her way out of Jace's arms and ran towards the bathroom. Jace immediately ran after her, used to Clary's morning sickness by now. Jocelyn, however, ran after her daughter with concern. Jocelyn arrived as soon as Jace was about to enter the restroom.
"Jace, it is improper for a man to follow a woman into a washroom!" Jocelyn scolded.
"I apologize, Jocelyn, but I know what is happening to Clary and I know how to make her feel better. Now, if you would let me care for my wife that would be appreciated." Jace told her with a harsh tone and made his way into the restroom. He held Clary's hair back and dabbed a washrag to her face as she threw up. When she was finished, he kissed her forehead and led her out of the restroom where Jocelyn was waiting.
"Clary dear, what's wrong?" Jocelyn asked gingerly.
"Mom, I'm perfectly fine! I would tell you, but I want Dad to hear the news when you do," Clary attempted to reassure her mother.
"Well let's go get him then. LUKE!" Jocelyn called for her husband.
Luke raced up towards them and when he got there he asked, "What's wrong honey?"
"Nothing," Jocelyn responded, "Clary and Jace have some news to share and they want both of us to hear at the same time."
Clary took a deep breath and grabbed Jace's hand. He gave her a reassuring kiss on her forehead and urged her to tell her family about her pregnancy. "Mom, Dad, I-I… you see… There might be… wait I mean there is… I mean-" Clary rambled on only to get interrupted by her husband.
"Clary is pregnant! We're having a baby," Jace boasted proudly.
Jocelyn squealed and hugged the couple while Luke stood there, shocked. He couldn't imagine his little baby girl-his angel, the rainbow to his rainy skies- pregnant. He still thought of Clary as the little newborn that he had helped Jocelyn smuggle out of Europe to protect her from her own father, from Jace's father. He paled, but kept his thoughts to himself. He knew that if he told Clary that he disapproves of her having a baby with Stephen's son, he would lose his angel forever. He plastered on a smile and offered congratulations.
The four of them joined the Lightwoods in the dining room for brunch. They all chatted quietly about their new lives. All was going well before Maryse asked, "So, Jocelyn, what happened to your baby Jonathan."
Luke and Jocelyn both froze at her question while everyone else at the table watched the older couple carefully, waiting for an answer. Luke lovingly rubbed circles on Jocelyn's back and nodded to her. Jocelyn took a big breath in and began her story.
"A few years after we arrived her and found a life in our tribe, when Clary was two and Jonathan was five, our tribe was attacked by another. I held baby Clary in my arms and Luke held Jonathan. We did what our tribe always does, we ran to the mountains. As we ran, we heard horses running towards us. Luke told me to take the kids and run towards the mountains and he would run the other way to distract the people chasing us. We thought it worked, but they had sent half of the enemy tribe warriors that were chasing us in our direction and the other half in Luke's. I had pulled the kids into a big bush and tried to keep them quiet. Clary was asleep, so she was quiet, but Jonathan was restless and scared. He whimpered into my arm for what seemed like hours. Just when I thought it was safe, some men pulled Jonathan from my grasp."
At these words, Jace and Clary both held Clary's stomach protectively. Jocelyn started crying but tried to continue the story.
"I tried to grab my baby back and run, but one man held me back and another pulled Clary out of my arms. They spoke in a language I couldn't understand as they examined Jonathan. I screamed and cried hysterically until they eventually knocked me out. I woke up to a baby crying- Clary- and to Jonathan missing. Luke found me sitting in the dirt, crying hysterically and clutching Clary in my arms like I would die if she was taken from me- and I would have died if both of my babies were taken. To this day, I don't know where he is and if he is alive. The tribe sent search parties for a whole year before we gave up." Jocelyn pulled a picture of a young boy with white hair and green eyes. "Clary, I want you to keep this. I want you to know what your brother looked like."
Clary was crying and she took the picture from Jocelyn with shaking hands. She hugged her mother tightly and kissed her cheek.
"Mom, I'm sure Jonathan is out there, alive and happy. You just have to keep thinking that, and maybe it will be true and he will come back to us someday," Clary murmured to her mother.
"When did my baby girl get so wise?" Jocelyn asked Clary while stroking her hair.
"Maybe when I found out that I'm having a baby of my own," Clary said with a smile.
After everyone had taken turns comforting Jocelyn, it was already the evening. All of the Herondale's guests left and Jace comforted his wife until she fell asleep.
Isn't Jocelyn's story so sad? When will the poor woman catch a break?