Chapter 14: Court Dates

Clary POV

When I wake up the next morning from a peaceful, dreamless sleep I hear faint voices in the hallway. I slowly sit up, making sure not to pull on any of my tubes, and look at the clock that reads 11:30. My room is empty, I feel a pang of disappointment that Jace isn't hear but I also know his father probably told him to go to school.

I'm startled when I hear yelling coming from the hallway right in front of the slightly open door to my room.

"What!? He can't do that!" I recognize my mother's angry voice.

" I'm sorry Mrs. Morg- Jocelyn, I'm just as surprised as you are. But legally, there isn't much we can do but prepare." I hear Dr. Lightwood's familiar voice trying to calm my mom down.

"What about me? I'm legally old enough to take care of her. Can't I counter his argument?" I hear my brother's desperate voice say.

What are they talking about? I don't want to say anything because they'll know I'm listening but I have a feeling this is about me.

"According to the law, you can't. You aren't the one directly being wronged, Clary is, and she isn't well enough to counter his argument nor is she old enough." Dr. Lightwood says.

"When's the court case?" Luke asks.

"Tomorrow. Until then though, Valentine is not allowed to meet with Clary for legal reasons which is a small plus."

"What?! No! Valentine sends out a lawsuit to take away my daughter and I only have a day to prepare?" I hear my mom yell

I can't help but let out a gasp at this. Valentine is going to take me away from my family, my friends… Jace.

I know they hear me from outside the door when there's a prolonged silence. They all walk into my room slowly. My mom's eyes are shiny from unshed tears and Jon looks pretty frustrated.

"He's going to take me away?" I ask them quietly.

Everybody's quiet for a second. Jon's looking at the floor angrily while my mom and Luke are looking at me sympathetically.

"Valentine filed a lawsuit." Dr. Lightwood says finally "He says that since your mother and step father are not home a lot, he would be a more fit parent for you."

"What?" I whisper, "He can't do that! He's the one who left us." I start to yell.

"Clary calm down." Dr. Lightwood says to me, but I already too fired up.

"We're perfectly fine when you guys are gone. He doesn't need to take care of us, I mean, it's not like he will, but Jon can drive, I can cook it's not like you guys don't care about us. You're just busy."

"It's just you." Jon says quietly, not even looking at me.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"Clary, If Valentine wins I'm not coming with you. I'm technically an adult so he can't legally take me." He says trying to hold in his anger.

This can't be happening. If I know one thing I know I can't do this without Jon. I feel myself starting to panic.

"No. No Jon. Please I can't do this without you." Hot tears start to prickle the back of my eyes.

Jon comes over to my bed and lets me hug him as best I can with my tubes connected to my arms.

"I can't lose you Jon." I whisper to him, my voice wavering.

"I can't lose you either Clare."

I spare a look at my mother who has silent tears falling down her face.

"I hate him." I say to Jon with as much venom I can muster.

"I do too, Clare but you have to promise me something okay?" He asks me. I nod.

"If Valentine does win-"

"Don't say that." I stop him, not wanting to hear the worst-case scenario.

"Just hear me out." he says gently "Remember when we were younger before he left?" He asks me and I nod again.

"Valentine's evil Clary. If there's one thing he cares about in this world it's you, but not for the right reasons. If he wins there is no way in hell I'll let you go that easily, and I'm sure Jace will feel the same. Just please don't give into him." He pleads with me.

"You sound like he's already won." I say simply, feeling scared.

Jon doesn't say anything, we both just sit there lost in or thoughts for a while.

Jon decides to skip school today, which I'm grateful for since this might be the last time I see him. We try our best to distract each other throughout the day before we have to tell everyone else. I can tell it never fully leaves our heads throughout the day.

I guess one of the good things about a children's hospital (Yes, I'm 16 but I'm still considered a child) is there's usually a lot to do. The nurse happened to have a spare X Box that kept us occupied by playing round after round of Call of Duty. By 3:00 it was time for another round chemo.

"Time for your medicine Clary." The nurse says as she walks in.

I look over at Jon who looks worried and tense, I hate chemo but I can't let him see that, he has enough on his plate right now.

"You were probably getting tired of losing anyways." I say, crawling higher up on the bed toward my IV the nurse is setting up.

He gives me a small smile; he looks over at the nurse who looks ready to give me the IV. I feel the nurse take my arm and I feel my breath hitch.

"Losing?! I let you win!" He says trying to distract me.

"Sure you di-" I stop when I feel the pain of the medicine entering my body, I can't talk for a second, I only close my eyes and focus on my breathing.

In. out. In. out.

When the pain starts to recede the medicine leaves me feeling tired. The nurse is still there checking all of my vitals.

"Is that ok honey? Does anything hurt." She asks me kindly. I shake my head no.

"Okay then. Just yell at me if you need anything." I nod, resting my head on the bed.

"Aww poor baby." She says sympathetically to Jon before she walks out of the door "This medicine really takes it out of you."

"What time is it?" I ask Jon, who's sitting in a chair next to my bed.

"3:30" I hear a voice say before Jon even has time to look at his phone. I turn my head to see Jace standing there, his hair still slightly wet from cleaning up after practice.

"Hey." I say quietly, my voice not wanting to go any higher.

"Hey." He says smiling back at me, he walks over to me and gives me a quick kiss, I'm too tired to enjoy it though.

"Hey can I talk to you?" Jon asks him. Jace looks over at me and then nods.

They don't leave the room, they just walk to the other end so I'm out of earshot. Through sleepy eyes Jon looks slightly nervous to tell his best friend the news. All I can see is Jon's mouth and then Jace tensing up, Jon keeps talking until Jace slams his fist in the wall next to him, which startles me. Both Jace and Jon look over in my direction after that to see me wide eyed and confused. Jace comes over to me looking desperate, he lifts me up so I'm sitting on his lap but also so I can lean into his chest.

"Are you scared?" He asks me after a second.

"Yeah." I say simply "I don't want to have to live with him again."

"I won't let that happen." I hear him whisper to me.

We're both quiet for a second, comfortable just being with each other.

"Will you come with me tomorrow? Even though, you know it's Friday." I ask him, hoping he says yes.

"Of course." He says, giving me a kiss on the top of my head.

Jace starts to rub circles in my back and I begin sinking into his touch and I feel my eyes begin to droop. I try to shake off my sleepiness; I want to spend time with my boyfriend.

"Stop." I say drowsily at him.

"Stop what?" He asks me with a small bit of humor in his voice.

"Stop trying to get me to sleep, I actually want to spend quality time with you." I tell him.

"Well you look exhausted. Besides, I'll be here when you wake up." He says, laying us both down on the bed so I'm still laying on his chest.

"Promise?" I ask him, starting to fall asleep again when he begins to rub circles in my back.

"Promise." He says simply.

"I love you Jace." I say planting a kiss on his cheek.

"I love you too Clary." Is the last thing I hear before I fall asleep.

I really must've been exhausted. The next time I wake up I'm being shaken awake by Jon. When I turn on my side the clock read 7:30 a.m.

"Clary, we need to get dressed for court." He tells me.

I look at him sadly, remembering today's the day that decides how the rest of my life is going to be. I look around the room disappointed that Jace still isn't next to me. I take out a mint green sundress from my suitcase and go to the bathroom to clean up and change.

When I come back out of the bathroom Dr. Lightwood is there with a nurse waiting for me. They run some tests on my vitals my blood level, and my cancer level then deem me well enough to leave the hospital for a little while. As the nurse finishes drawing some of my blood I see Jace walk in.

He looks amazing in a pair of jeans and a long sleeve white shirt he's rolled up to his elbows. When I see him my mood immediately lightens. I run over to him, when I get close to him he lifts me up and gives me a twirl before kissing me on the lips.

"Hey there handsome" I say when he puts me down.

" Wow Clary you look beautiful." He says with awed eyes looking at me that make me blush.

"Are you two ready?" I hear my mom say from the door.

I look at Jace who grabs my hand relieving some of my stress. I look at my mom and nod and we all walk toward the car driving us to the courthouse. I sit next to Jace on the ride there. We sit there in the back seat enjoying each other's company.

It might be the last time we ever will.

When we reach the courthouse everyone files out of the car, Jace helps me out last . When we walk toward our assigned courtroom we all notice Valentine waiting outside of the door with a policeman.

"There she is!" Valentine says walking over to hug me. I don't have the energy to fight him, so I just stand there with his arms wrapped around me. That is, until Jace butts in on this 'touching' moment pulling me away from him. I give him a grateful in which he snakes his arm around my waist.

"Would you like to just come with me? Or do you still want to go through all of these proceedings?" He asks me.

"You haven't won Valentine." Jon chimes in violently.

"Yet." He replies calmly, "And when I do Clarissa, we're going to have some fun." He winks before turning on his heel.

When I look at Jace he looks ready to pounce at him. I feel his arm tighten around my waist to the point where it hurts.

"Jace." I say in a breathy voice tapping on him.

He breaks out of his reverie and immediately loosens his grip looking sorry. Before he can say anything the court doors open and there is another policeman there holding the door open.

" The judge will see you now." He says simply and we all walk in.

The court hearing goes longer than we all expect. There is constant questioning from either side. Statements being heard from Me, Jon, Mom, Luke and even Jace. Unfortunately though, he has to sit next to Dr. Lightwood in the audience since he isn't family, which makes me feel more stressed.

After 4 hours of being here I feel tired, stressed and just weak all over. When I catch a glimpse of myself in one of the tinted windows I see my painfully pale face, and my red hair being the only color I have. I lay my head down on the table I've been sitting at next to Jon this entire time, not wanting to listen to the judge draw on about what she's heard about so far.

"Clary." I hear Jon say touching my back after I don't know how long. I lift my head up slowly to look at the room feeling slightly dizzy.

"Ms. Morgenstern, are you okay to come up to the podium and speak."

I look over at Jon who looks just as stressed as I am.

I nod at the judge and slowly start to walk up to the podium, hoping that by the time I get there my dizziness will wash away.

As I get to the podium I look around the room at all of the staring faces getting lost in them.

"Ms. Morgenstern." The judge says, looking at me warily.

"I'm sorry," I say to her " could you repeat the question?" I ask her.

As she repeats the question, I once again don't hear, I spare a look at Valentine who has a malicious look on his face that makes me feel even sicker.

"Honey, are you okay?" The judge asks me, looking at me intently through her glasses.

When I don't answer immediately she slams her gavel on her desk and calls for a 15 minute break.

A police officer helps me off of the raised podium, I thank him and start to walk toward Jace.

As I walk down the step my foot gets caught and I trip. Jace, as always, is there to catch me, which I'm grateful for. He looks me up and down before letting go of me. I give him a kiss on the lips he returns.

"From my point of view you guys seem to be winning." He says trying to be optimistic.

"I really hope you're right." I say to him desperately, feeling sick at the thought of having to lose Jace.

"Hey." He says, wiping away a stray tear I didn't know I had shed "It's all going to be okay, I'm right here for you." He finishes, guiding us both to a bench to sit on.

"So," I say trying to change the subject "How about that hospital food?" I finish lightheartedly.

Jace laughs at this, which makes me smile "Stick to art, Morgenstern."

I mock shock and elbow him in the ribs causing him to laugh harder. I lean into his shoulder laughing a little myself. I really don't want to lose him.

We sit there a little longer until the judge bangs her gavel once more to make her final decision. Jace and I both stand up, he gives me a quick kiss on the top of my head and offers me a small smile before he walks back to his seat and I go back up to the defendant's stand with my brother and parents. When I get there I grab my brothers hand tightly as the judge begins to talk.

"In the case of Valentine Morgenstern vs. Jocelyn Morgenstern, we find the case in favor of the plaintiff, Valentine Morgenstern. Who, therefore, takes custody over said child, Clarissa Morgenstern until further notice. Court adjourned." She says, banging her gavel and returning back to her office.

I feel my heart sink at the words. I hear my mother crying behind me and I feel Jon's hand tighten on mine. I look up at him with eyes filled with unshed tears.

"I never thought it would end like this." I say, my voice wavering.

Jon pulls me in for a hug trying to comfort me but the only thing I can think about is going to Jace, with one more tight squeeze, Jon seems to understand. He lets go of me; I jump over the short wall separating the audience from the actual court area and run to Jace. He looks just as crushed as I am, he immediately embraces me lifting me off of my feet for a second. I cry into his shirt not ever wanting to leave him, feeling more scared then ever that I'll have to face the unknown alone.

Way to soon I feel myself being pulled away from Jace by none other than Valentine.

"No. No!" I sob as Valentine grabs my arm and begins to pull me away. When I run back to Jace, escaping his grasp, he takes me by the waist and picks me up.

Jace starts to walk after us until a security guard stops him. Not knowing why, I still reach out for Jace who looks as desperate to reach me as I to him. I sob his name as I'm carried out of the court room.

"Oh shut up!" Valentine says as get to the hallway.

I'm too defeated to fight him at the moment so I just let him throw me into his car. When I look out of the window I se Jace running through the doors, with the door locked I know there's nothing I can do but take one last look at the love of my life.

As the car speeds away, jerking me back a little; I see Jace in the middle of the street on his knees watching the car drive away until I can't see him anymore.

So I cry.

AN: Another chapter finished! I really hope you guys liked it! I can honestly say that I have no idea to what will happen in the next chapter but I SHALL GET THROUGH THIS WRITER"S BLOCK! Anyhoo! Tell me what you guys think about this chapter I love to hear your feedback!

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I love all of you guys you're amazing!

XOXO

Erin