It feels like this took forever to write, but it was only five days. I really think that I'm getting quicker at writing which makes me happy. But for this chapter I'm going to say that Caitlyn (dancerox1997) telling me that she was going to post a chapter on Saturday may have made me want to write faster. I mean she's PMing me snippets of her new chapter and I'm doing the same thing. So here we are a few PMs, texts, and a couple hundred snapchats later with a new chapter.

We're even updating at the same time! It's really exciting! I can't wait to read the new chapter of Better Than Thyself! I had some sneak peeks and I know it'll be amazing! You have to read her brilliant story! Please!

CHAPTER SONG: You & I by The Crystal Fighters

What do you think when you wake up in the morning? That the world outside is grey or how you want just five more minutes of sleep? Or about all the things you'll do that day?

But what if that was the day you were going to die. Would that change anything? What would you do differently if you knew.

Those are the things you think when life has hit you at full force and you're faced with the unthinkable.

CLARY

After being in Australia for a couple days the heat started to get to me. It had become very apparent that the summer dresses I wore in New York were too warm for summer in Australia. Every day I was sure that I would die of heat stroke.

I spent my days helping to take care of the Springrose grandchildren. There were seven of them. Mara, Ava, Lachlan, Daniel, Andrew, Eli, and Leo. They were a handful. It was a wonder that their grandmother, Eliza, managed to care for them day in and day out.

It didn't take me long to figure out that they weren't just there to visit. The Canberra Institute was their home. When I finally gathered up the courage to ask I was told that both of the Springrose's children, along with their spouses, had been killed in the Mortal War. The children were left to be raised by their grandparents.

Every time I saw them I experienced the same feeling of guilt. I felt responsible for their being orphans. They had no parents all because of my father and brother.

None of this seemed to affect the children though. Every day they were happy. They didn't fight too much, about what normal children fought over, at least. They mainly plotted world domination. And they minded their grandparents, to an extent. Most of them to a very short extent.

But for a lack of a better way to put it, the gave me hope.

I saw that they did the same thing to Jace. In the evenings he would watch me with them. It should have been creepy but it wasn't.

I think I felt that by spending as much time as we could with the children that I was making up for all the time that they would never get to spend with their own parents.

Although I missed being home the days were long and mostly happy. There was hardly a dull moment.

"I was hoping that perhaps Clary might accompany me today," Caleb Springrose announced one morning during breakfast.

We had been in Canberra a week. So far I hadn't been asked to help with the program in the least, which made it difficult for me to hide my surprise. The request seemed out of the blue, but I was no less thrilled.

"That's an excellent idea," Jace said, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

He smiled at me. I hadn't been seeing too much of him since we'd arrived. It would be nice to spend some time with together other than those few moments before falling asleep every night.

"I would love to," I told Caleb.

"Perfect," he said, standing up," Well, if you're done with your breakfast I would love to get started."

I nodded at him. As I stood I gave Eliza a apologetic look. I felt bad for leaving her to do all the dishes. She smiled, telling me that it was alright.

Jace and I walked after Caleb. Just before we reached the hall he turned and faced us.

"I can take it from here," he said to Jace.

Jace's face fell into confusion.

"I thought we'd all be working together today," he told Caleb.

"Oh no!" Caleb laughed," I meant that Clary would be my assistant for the day. I think she deserves a bit of a break from the kids"

"What should I do then?" Jace asked.

He grinned at Jace, and then looked back and forth between us.

"Well, Clary has been spending her days with the children, so it seems fitting that you should do the same."

Jace's eyes widened. I nearly laughed at the thought. Jace and seven children alone for the day. An image of them tying him to a chair and gagging him came to mind. As horrible as that would be for him it would be hysterical for me.

"I know nothing about babysitting," Jace insisted.

Caleb chuckled, and placed a hand firmly on Jace's shoulder.

"It'll be good practice," he assures him.

Jace looked to me. He acted as if I were going to bail him out. Like hell I would.

"Caleb's right," I agreed.

At that point he knew that he was in for it. He looked at me as if I had committed the greatest betrayal since Marcus Brutus plotted against Julius Caesar.

He hung his head and stalked back towards the dining table. All of the children gawked at him, except one. Andrew.

Every family has a troublemaker. In the Springrose family it just happened to be Andrew. With his pouty lips, long lashes, brown hair, and brown eyes he was the picture of innocence. As much as I hated to admit, I had fallen prey to the mischievous nine year old. Within minutes of arriving the previous week my underwear had been strewn throughout the Canberra Institute. I hadn't taken my eyes off the suitcase even once. I was convinced that the child had some sort of magic.

So as little Andrew sat there with a smirk on his face, while the rest of the children were in awe, I knew better. Jace thought it would be simple, even if he had no idea what he was doing. There was no way that he could have been more wrong. I couldn't wait to see what the children had in store for him.

"Shall we go, my dear?" Caleb inquired, offering me his arm.

"Yeah," I said, taking it.

We walked down the hall, the foyer. We were about halfway through climbing the massive staircase when I asked Caleb what he thought the children would do to Jace.

"It's hard to say," he laughed," In the past they've turned their nanny into a lamp, as well as made it so all the doors in the Institute were rearranged. You'd go to leave the room you were in and suddenly you'd be in a completely different part of the Institute. I ended up in the cellar, and the dungeon, and attic. As for Jace, who knows. They never do the same thing twice."

"They have a nanny?" I asked, unable to recall meeting one.

"Ah, well, they had one. The whole being turned into a lamp ended her stay with us," he sighed, as we reached the top of the steps.

"Wait a second, how did they turn her into a lamp and rearrange the doors?"

He led me down the hall, towards his study. Caleb held the door open for me. I went in first.

"They hired a warlock, I suppose. Where they got the money I'll never know," he explained, as he came in behind me and shut the door.

"Remind me to never have seven children," I laughed.

He went over to his massive desk and pulled out a chair for me. I thanked him and sat down. Caleb then went and sat on his side.

"Well, Lachlan and Ava were our sons children, and Mara, Daniel, Andrew, Eli, and Leo were our daughters children. So really I should tell you to not have five children."

"Still, that's a lot to handle," I told him.

He smiled at me.

"You know, our daughter, Clara, never thought she would have five children. It's just what happened," he said.

I couldn't imagine that having five children just happened. Well, unless you had quintuplets.

"Are you trying to tell me that life's unexpected?"

"Precisely," he confirmed," But that's not what's important right now. We should get started."

I nodded. I was ready to stop talking about children. It was becoming uncomfortable.

Thankfully, Caleb handed a folder across the table. When I opened it I found that I was filled with what looked to be FBI files. Only the photos were of mundanes.

"What are these?" I asked.

"Potential recruits."

I thumbed through the pictures. After a few photos I noticed there was a pattern.

"They all hav-"

"Children," he interrupted.

I tried my best to understand. I couldn't really comprehend it.

"How did you-"

"Select them?" Caleb interjected," They all have Shadowhunter ties. Some are the forgotten descendents, who never learned about their true heritage and others simply have the sight."

"So you want them to drop everything and become Shadowhunters?"

"No!" he exclaimed," It's to late for their parents. The children would go to a boarding school of sorts. This would be done to make up for all the years of missed training. Of course, any children over the age of twelve can't be accepted."

"So they would be sent to the Academy? And taken from their families?" I breathed.

A look of horror overcame his face.

"Oh no! They would have their own special school. And their families would have to consent."

"And how are you going to get people who have never heard the word Shadowhunter to agree to give you their children?" I inquired.

I wanted to help them so badly, but not at the cost of parents having children torn from their arms. There was no way anyone in their right mind would agree to have some secret society cart their kids of to a magical boarding school. It wasn't Harry Potter.

"That's the biggest problem. We aren't sure how to convince them," he admitted.

"Let me guess, that's why you wanted me. You needed someone who came in late to the game."

"Yes."

We worked on the program until well after lunch. Eliza had to bring up a tray of food. But I couldn't manage to eat any of it. The same nausea I'd been feeling for the past week prevented me from eating.

Around two in the afternoon I excused myself. All I wanted to do was go take a nap.

I slipped out into the hall. My eyes were set on the prize, and nothing would distract me. Or so I thought.

About halfway to the guest room I was knocked into by a running child. It was Mara. She barely managed an apology, because she was so out of breath.

"Mara, what are you doing?"

I ran my hands down my body, checking for the damage I knew wasn't there.

"Shhh!" she hissed.

I opened my mouth to ask another question, but she grabbed me and pulled me into a one of the many rooms of the Institute, before the words could form.

"We're playing hide-and-go-seek," she whispered.

"Oh."

Her eyes scanned the room. I could tell that she was looking for somewhere to hide.

"If he comes in here will you help me?" she asked, moving towards the bed.

"If who comes?" I asked, as my eyes flickered towards the door.

That's when I heard loud counting coming from down the hall. The voice told me everything I needed to know. I looked back just in time to see Mara dive under the bed.

"Ready or not here I come!" the seeker yelled.

"Get down!" she instructed, just as the the footsteps grew louder.

I obeyed. My body sank to the floor. I knew it was going to suck trying to get back up, but I wanted to help her.

A few moments later the door burst open. Jace stood there with a giant grin plastered on his face.

"Clary? What are you doing in here?" he demanded.

Think fast, think fast, think fast, I panicked.

"Yoga!" I exclaimed.

I laid down on my back and began to lift my legs and arms in an awkward fashion.

"Really? What kind?" Jace asked.

Um, I gulped, how the hell am I supposed to know?

"Australian yoga," I lied," The children taught it to me."

He smirked as he moved a few steps closer.

"Is that so?" he smiled," Well, I think I might just have to join you."

Oh no. I didn't like where things were going. He was going to make a move, while a ten year old hid under the bed.

He laid down next to me. To my surprise he began to copy my movements.

"Have you ever tried it on your stomach?" Jace wondered, after doing a few repetitions.

"Uh, well..."

"Oh course not!" he exclaimed," In that case, I think I'll try it now."

I stopped and watched as he rolled onto his stomach. He began to smile more.

"Clary, do you see that?" he asked, pointing to something under the dark bed," I could swear that it looks like a child's foot."

He scooted closer to the bed. Jace then reached his hands under the bed and yanked.

Out came Mara. She let out a high pitched squeal.

"Got you!" he exclaimed, beginning to tickle her.

She giggled, as she squirmed around on the floor.

"You cheated!" she cried," Clary told you!"

"I did not!" I said.

I could tell that Mara didn't reply, because she was out of breath. It was fun to watch Jace play with her. He was having a good time.

I couldn't wait to see him with our baby.

I wasn't able to fall asleep in the end. Instead I read until it was time for dinner.

When I came into the dining room I immediately noticed that Jace wasn't at the table.

"Where's Jace?" I asked Eliza, as I sat down.

She looked at me in surprise, while she set a giant bowl of odd looking lobsters down on the table.

"The children said that he's sleeping," she answered.

I eyed the bowl with confusion. But then I looked back at her.

"Where?" I wondered.

"In your room," she squinted.

"No he's not. I was just there."

Then she did something unexpected. The sweet, loving grandmother I had come to know in the past week disappeared for a moment.

"Andrew!" she yelled.

All the children jumped in shock. Their eyes were wide with could only be described as fear.

"Where is Mr. Herondale?" she growled.

He blinked as though he were surprised. I knew he was trying to figure out what to do. But frankly that child could get away with murder.

"I haven't seen him around," Andrew answered.

Eliza's eyes narrowed. She didn't believe it for a single second.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, grandma."

She looked back at me, and motioned for me to follow her.

"I'll deal with you in a moment, Andrew," she warned, as she walked me to the door.

She grabbed my arm just before I entered the hall.

"He said that he hasn't seen him around, which means that he's in one of the rooms," Eliza told me," The question is which one."

"Will you help me? I don't know my way around too well."

"I can't leave Andrew alone," she said," But I'm sure Mara would help."

"Okay."

Eliza went back into the dining room to speak to Mara. A few moments later the little girl appeared.

"I'm sorry about him," she smiled," This happens quite often."

We walked down the hall, looking into each room we passed.

"Do you have any idea where he could be?" I asked, after we had been searching for a while.

She paused.

"Well, we know that he vanished sometime after he found the rest of us when we were playing hide-and-go-seek. He started on the second floor, and then went up to the third and fourth, before coming back down to the first. By that time Andrew was the only one we hadn't found," she reasoned," And then we-"

"You what?" I coaxed, when she stopped mid sentence.

Her eyes lit up, and she started to grin.

"We split up and Jace went outside to look for him!" she exclaimed," That's where he must be!"

She ran down the hall, towards the entrance of the Institute. I waddled after her.

"Come on!" she urged, when I finally made it to where she wait for me by the front doors.

I nodded and followed her. Mara led me out into the garden. Of course, I was at least twenty feet behind her.

I continued after her until she stopped suddenly. I went to stand beside her.

"What are you-"

She interrupted my question by pointing towards the edge of the Institutes small pond.

I gasped at what I saw.

Jace was tied to a tree, with a terrified look on his face. At his feet were pieces of torn up bread. Ducks were everywhere, trying to eat as much as they could.

I stood there unsure of what to do.

"I'll go get a broom and a knife," she sighed.

"What's the broom for?" I asked, not taking my eyes of the scene before me.

"It'll run the ducks off."

When Mara returned about ten minutes later, with her eldest brother Daniel, who was holding the knife and broom. It required all three of us to get Jace down.

It took a lot of self control to not mention the fact that Jace had been put in the situation by a nine year old.

I helped Jace up the the guest room to clean off. When he was done we went down to the dining room for dinner. He was dead silent the entire meal. Though that didn't stop him from glaring at Andrew the whole evening.

After dinner Jace tried to escape as quickly as possible, by volunteering to do the dishes. The children immediately got up to go play, though Andrew was sent to his room for the rest of the night, while Caleb went back to his study. Eliza and I were the only ones left at the table.

"What a day," she sighed.

I nodded in agreement. I had missed my nap so I was beat.

"The children really like Jace."

"Yeah."

Eliza smiled at me. She was exhausted as well.

"You know," I began," Jace and I could take the kids for a day. Go somewhere and do something."

Her eyes widened. Whether it was good or bad I couldn't tell. She had to want some free time.

"That would be wonderful!" she exclaimed," But are you sure?"

"Of course," I insisted," We could take them to the beach."

"That would be amazing," she admitted.

"How about tomorrow?"

It would be perfect. Caleb was going to be gone for the day, off on official program business.

"Oh, well if you're certain then of course."

ISABELLE

Clary and Jace had been gone for just over a week, and while I did miss them things were great.

Because Jace was gone Simon had been training with Alec. Interestingly enough he came home with less bruises. But more energy.

It was Wednesday so I had the house to myself. I had cleaned a little, looked through some baby magazines, and cooked dinner. I couldn't wait for him to get home.

It was around 5:00, and I had an hour until Simon would come back. At least that's what I thought.

I was sitting on the couch watching TV when I heard the locks of the door turn. He was early.

"What are you-"

I stopped myself, when I saw that he was holding a bouquet of flowers. I stood up and went over to him.

"They're beautiful," I told him, as I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him.

He dropped the flowers, and wrapped his hands about my waist. Simon lifted me up. My legs encircled his hips.

"Dinner," I said, pulling back.

He put his lips back on mine and told me that it could wait in between breaths. That was all the convincing I needed. I let him walk us to the bedroom.

Simon kicked the door closed and set me down on the bed. My shirt and pants were gone in a flash, as were his. At first I was worried about being quiet, but then I remembered that we were the only ones home.

Though at that point they could have been outside the door and I wouldn't have cared. I smirked at the thought. The look on Jace's face after the bubble bath incident was still fresh in my mind.

Simon quickly removed the last bits of clothing and rolled on top of me. I felt him part my legs with his knees. I looped my arms around his waist.

Things were slow at first, full of kisses and sweet words. Simon was careful. He made sure that he didn't put too much weight on me.

As he moved on top of me his eyes met mine. The way he looked at me as if it was the first time he realized that he loved me.

My hands held his back. He touched his forehead to mine. By then his movements had quickened, and I could feel his finger tips brush over my skin. My breathing became faster.

In the last moments, as I was left gasping, he whispered my name.

CLARY

I was certain. So the following day we packed up and got ready to head out. Much to Jace's disbelief Andrew would be joining us. If the kid could take out a twenty year old man then he deserved to go.

I counted the children twice, just like Santa always taught me to with things, and I put a picnic together. When I was sure we were ready to go we went to the portal.

That's when Eliza came to say goodbye.

"Well, here you go," she said, placing a pair of keys in my hand.

"What are these for?"

"The car," she laughed.

I looked over at Jace, who was equally confused.

"But what about the portal?" Jace asked.

Her face went pale, and her eyes grew large.

"You can't take them through the portal," she breathed.

She looked as if we had just told her we were going to let the children run buck naked through the Outback.

"Why not?" I asked.

"The portal doesn't work that way. When you step in it takes you to where you want to go," she explained," And I can guaranty you that you would not all end up at the beach."

She stared at Andrew.

"Okay," I sighed.

Eliza kissed, hugged, and told each of her grandchildren to behave. Six of them seemed like they were genuinely listening. The seventh child, was Andrew. After everything was all set we went and got into the car, which was really a van.

It was quit daunting. The steering wheel was on the other side of the car and I would have to drive on the opposite side of the road. But at least I knew how to drive, unlike Jace.

In the end it wasn't too bad of a drive. For me at least. With me driving Jace became the children's personal slave. If someone was hungry Jace had to hand back snacks. If someone hit someone else Jace had to talk them down.

It was amusing as hell. Just not for him.

We arrived at the beach about three hours after leaving the Institute. I swear you had never seen a grown man flee a car as fast as Jace did. He was in such a hurry that he nearly tripped and fell on his face.

I was the last one out of the van.

When things had calmed down a bit Jace helped me unload everything and get it all set up. Who knew towels and umbrellas could be so time consuming.

We both fell back onto the sand when we were finished.

"Well, that wasn't too bad of a trip," I said.

He snorted.

"You weren't playing a servant to kids."

"Really?" I laughed," Because I'm pregnant."

"That's not the same thing," he told me.

My eyebrows shot up. He was so wrong, but as a guy he was determined to prove that his life was more difficult.

"If the baby wants a certain food I eat it. If the baby wants to play uterus soccer in the middle of the night I have to play."

"That was really graphic," he winced.

"Yeah, so shut up."

Knowing that he had lost he did as he was told. He didn't say anything again until Andrew came up and offered to take Jace swimming, as a way of apologizing.

"I don't know," Jace said skeptically.

He glanced at me. Why did he need my opinion? He was twenty years old.

But then I saw it as an opportunity.

"You should go," I told Jace.

He looked at me like I had gone completely insane, and then mouthed no way in hell.

"It'll be good for you," I insisted.

Having the approval of his wife he got up and followed Andrew down to the water.

In all honesty I just wanted to see more of the mischievous nine year old in action.

It got off to an interesting start. Before they swam they skipped rocks. Jace, who had never skipped a rock in his life, had to be shown what to do. Of course Andrew managed to 'accidentally' chuck a rock at the back of Jace's head in the process. I had to hide my laughter when Jace looked back at me.

Next the two looked for things on the beach. That time a rock was dropped on Jace's foot. By that point Jace had just about had enough. He was about to come back and sit with me when Andrew begged him to stay. Jace couldn't resist his charm, so he did.

The two then got into the water. There was a bit of splashing, but not much more. For the first five minutes at least.

During that time I was keeping watch of the other children. Mara and Ava were building a sandcastle, while Lachlan, Daniel, and Eli were playing beach volleyball and Leo was read a book.

"Something bit me!" Jace yelled.

My gaze instantly went back to him. He was splashing around as he panicked. It took him a few seconds before he calmed down enough to swim back to the shore. I was already waiting for him, as were the children, before he dragged himself onto the beach.

"Something bit me," he panted.

"We know," I told him.

"We could hear you as clear as day," Daniel snickered, before adding," Duck man."

Jace was holding onto one leg. I could see blood on one of his feet. Waves washed against his body, causing the water to turn bright red. It was amazing how a wound so small could bleed so much.

"Did you see it?" Mara inquired.

"Yes," He breathed.

My breath hitched. What if it was something serious?

"Is that the only place it bit you?" I asked.

"Yeah," Jace gasped.

"What color was it?" Mara wondered

"Orange," he answered.

My heart pounded with fear. It already sounded like it might be poisonous. He could have been moments away from death.

"Okay. Were there any other colors?"

"White."

"Did it look like Nemo?" Mara asked.

"Yeah!" Jace nodded.

"It was a clown fish."

All the other children groaned in disappointment. I had to admit that it was a let down. But that let down was my husband.

We had a late lunch and some more beach time before we all piled back into the van. It was a much less high maintenance trip back, but that wad because we were all exhausted.

The moment we got home we all went to bed. We were too tired to do anything else.

The next week went smoothly. There were no abduction attempts of Jace made by Andrew or any more fish bites. It was pretty much smooth sailing.

We only had a week left until we went home. I missed everyone and couldn't wait.

ISABELLE

I was woken up by the feeling of warmth. My body felt as if it were on fire.

I kicked the sheets back from my body and stared at the ceiling. I was still hot and achy. I was a bit nauseous too.

Unable to bear it anymore I sat up. At first I felt somewhat better, but then I realized something wasn't quiet right. I felt sticky and it most definitely not from sweat.

I hands gingerly crept down my body. I knew the moment I felt wetness. Something was very wrong. I reached over to the lamp and flipped it on.

Simon shifted next to me and rolled over. He squinted at me.

"Isabelle?" he croaked.

"Simon," I whimpered.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Call Clary," I told him.

He propped himself up on his elbows. His eyes were open all the way then. They flickered down to my blood covered hands, to the stained sheets, and then back up to me.

"Oh god."

He jumped out of bed, and walked around to my side. Simon tried to get me to stand up, but I refused.

"Call Clary," I repeated.

"Okay," he breathed.

I began to sob as he searched for his phone. I already knew it was too late.

The last thing I remember before everything seemed to go dark was Simon frantically speaking into the phone.

CLARY

A call came in around eight one night, about a week after we had gone to the beach. At first I didn't want to answer it, because I was tired. We had had an early dinner and gone straight to bed. But something told me that I needed to.

I reached out and picked up my phone. Caller ID said it was Isabelle. I hit accept.

"Hey, Iz," I groaned.

Someone was breathing heavily on the end, and it wasn't Isabelle. I knew in that instant that something was wrong.

"Clary," Simon panted.

I sat up, and turned on the lamp. Jace rolled on his side to face me.

"Simon, what's going on?" I demanded.

"There's blood everywhere."

"What's happening?" Jace whispered, beside me.

"I'm not sure, but we need to go home," I told him," Get our stuff together."

I had lied to him though. I knew just as much as Simon and Isabelle did. The word that neither of us dared to say swam in the back mind.

From the tone of my voice he knew that it was serious. He immediately got out of bed and began shoving our clothes into our suitcase.

I could still hear Simon's panicked breathing on the other end.

"Calm down," I instructed," It'll be okay."

"I think something happened to the baby," he cried.

"I know," I said.

Sooooo... Um... I'm going to go into hiding now. Mrs Jace Wayland-Herondale has already volunteered to lead the angry mob.

There were two of you that reviewed on the last chapter saying they thought the whole Canberra Institute thing was fishy, which I had never intended it to be. But it gave me an idea. Hence Jace being bitten by Nemo. You wanted fishy, you got fishy.

I don't really have too much to say. I'm kind of terrified right now. So yeah.

Oh, you can thank Caitlyn for talking me into writing that little Sizzy sex, not that you're thinking about it after what just happened. It took me a lot of time, courage and encouraging to write. It was a bit last minute that it was added. Do you guys want more thins like that? Or are you happy without it?

The next post date is August 25th at 395 reviews, or earlier if we get to 399 reviews. We got to 25 reviews on the previous chapter so I posted this two days early. Thank you! Well, unless I've been killed by an angry mob.

PLEASE REVIEW!

~Lillie