I will try to get the part 2 of this chapter up soon, but I'm kind of stuck so I thought I'd at least give you all this much to read.

Disclaimer/notes: The Balvenie is the brand name of the scotch they're drinking and I most certainly didn't invent it. Cassandra Clare owns all the characters of this chapter.


Chapter 52, How to Survive a House Full of Herondales:


Will POV:

"You look nervous." I commented lightly, looking over at my boyfriend standing next to me on the front porch. He was straightening his steel blue dress shirt for the umpteenth time.

"Of course I'm nervous, I'm meeting your family. I want to make a good impression."

"Trust me, they'll love you. I do." I put my arm around his waist and held him close, knocking on the door before opening it and walking in. My family doesn't believe in ringing doorbells and waiting to be let in; if you're on a first name basis, then just make some noise and come on in.

I felt Jem take a deep breath next to me. His nervousness was completely unnecessary, as I told him in the car.

"William!" My aunt came around the corner and wrapped me up in a tight hug immediately. "And you must be James." She repeated her actions with the man standing next to me and I had to stifle a laugh at the surprised look on his face. He recovered quickly though.

"James is far too formal, call me Jem, please."

"Wonderful, I'm Aimee. Come on boys, take your coats off and make yourselves comfortable while I finish up with the dinner. Jace and Clary are in the living room with your uncle. Cecily and her young man haven't arrived yet." She told us cheerfully.

"Do you need help with anything in the kitchen?" Jem asked politely. Aunt Aimee beamed at him like he'd just asked if she wanted to try on the crown jewels.

"Aren't you sweet." She patted his shoulder, "I'm almost done though; you two go relax." She went back towards the kitchen and I took Jem's coat and hung it up with mine by the door, leading him into the living room.

"She loves you already." I whispered, walking us over to the couch.

The living room looked the same as it had since as far back as I could remember. Dark hardwood floors covered in a large Oriental rug, peach walls, paintings and wall hangings of ancient maps and foreign places. There was a large deep green sofa that matched the curtains and loveseat that Clary and Jace were sitting in and my uncle's brown leather chair near the center of the room, in front of which was a large coffee table and a flat screen television on the wall (the only "new" thing in the room).

Uncle Stephen stood up when we walked over, giving me a hug and shaking Jem's hand as I introduced him. We sat down on the couch and he went over to the globe liquor cabinet to refresh his whiskey sour.

"Care for a drink? We have anything that's worth having."

"He means scotch or bourbon. Though I'm sure there's some perry in the fridge," I corrected. My uncle had found a shop a few years ago specializing in imported alcohol and had been reunited with Welsh perry, a type of pear cider. It was rather good actually, much better than the other options here in my opinion.

Not Jem's though apparently.

"I'll have a scotch if you don't mind."

"Good choice." Uncle Stephen commended. He pulled a Glencairn glass- a special tulip-shaped glass made so that one can get the most from the alcohol's aroma and taste- out from under the globe and carefully poured the scotch into the glass, adding a few drops of water to enhance the experience. My uncle fancies himself an aficionado of such things, hence why I know which glass works best with which liquor, but I don't have the taste (or nose) for it the way he does. I really just prefer some good ol' Captain Morgan if I'm in the mood for liquor, and if not I'd much rather have a beer.

I wanted to warn Jem about what he was getting into by asking for a scotch; the instructions, the story telling, the grumbling that young people today don't understand the fine things in life... but there was no way to, so I had to sit back and let it happen.

"Thank you." Jem took the offered glass from Stephen who proceeded to sit back down and take a sip of his own drink, watching for an opening to begin his lecturing. I rolled my eyes at Jace; we'd watched this happen numerous times before with just about every person my uncle invited over.

Jem gently swirled the liquid around in his glass before bringing it up to his nose and inhaling. My uncle who, like me, probably assumed he was making it up as he went along, seemed impressed when this process went on for the appropriate amount of time (20-30 seconds) before he took a small sip.

"How is it?" Uncle Stephen asked after seeing that he wouldn't be needing to explain the proper way to enjoy the beverage.

"Smooth. The flavoring is exquisite, perfect for the holidays."

"I agree, I always pull a bottle of DoubleWood out around this time of year. Obviously you didn't acquire an appreciation of scotch from my nephew over there," he looked over at me with a disappointed nod, "how were you introduced to it?"

"My father is a connoisseur so I grew up on the stuff. I don't have many occasions to enjoy though."

…And then they started talking about regions and single malts versus blends and I couldn't pay them any more attention. I moved to the other end of the sofa to talk to Jace and Clary.

"He's making my family like him more than they like me." I complained without conviction. I was honestly glad he was making such a good impression, not that I'd doubted he would. I don't think anyone could dislike Jem once they got to know him.

"It's what they do." Jace agreed. "Clary brought a homemade pie and you would have thought she'd come up with a cure for world hunger the way Aunt Aimee was going on about it." Clary blushed next to her boyfriend.

"How long have you been here?" I asked. It was a little before six, the time we'd been told to arrive.

"We just sat down when you two walked in. Cecy texted and said they'd be a few minutes; West End traffic and all."

"Have you met the Lightwor- Lightwood?" I asked Clary, catching my slip up brought on by earlier teasing of Alec and his siblings. I'd have to make sure that didn't happen later when I was actually talking to the guy. I don't know what kind of a sense of humor he has, but that doesn't seem like the best way to start an acquaintance with my sister's boyfriend.

"Just once over the summer at a barbecue Isabelle took me to." She replied.

"Where you also met my magnificent self." Jace chimed in, waving his hands as he were showcasing himself.

"I bet you wish you'd faked a stomach flu and stayed home now don't you?" I asked her in all sincerity.

"Really, you guys are so mean to each other." Clary giggled, avoiding my question.

"It's how we show love." I explained.

"Knock, knock!" Cecy's voice echoed through the foyer, interrupting our conversation.

"Come on in!" I called back, standing up to go greet her.

She was hanging up their coats when I got to the door.

"Hey cariad." I welcomed, smiling at her.

She wrapped her arms around my waist in a hello hug.

"It's been too long."

"It has. You never call me anymore." I complained, letting her go. I hadn't seen her since the summer and she looked a little different, older and happy; very happy. She was practically glowing.

"Phone works both ways you know." She chided, tucking her black bangs behind her ear. Her hair was getting long and she'd done it up in one plait that was draped over her left shoulder.

"I've been busy." I shrugged lamely. It really wasn't an excuse.

"I know, with a certain pre-med student so I've heard." She had a teasing tone in her voice and she winked at me and smiled wickedly.

"Oh, so you have time to gossip with Jace, but no time to give your big brother a call?"

That certainly wasn't fair.

"He pesters me, I don't invite it." She said sternly. Gabriel cleared his throat, reminding us that he was there. I immediately put on my intimidating older brother countenance. "Sorry, I forgot you two haven't met. Will this is my boyfriend Gabriel Lightwood, Gabe, my brother Will."

Gabriel held his hand out to me and I took it, meeting the firmness of his grip.

"A pleasure to meet you. Cecy talks about you often." He told me.

A tactful way to put it, certainly. Not a lie in saying that she speaks highly of me, as I'm sure she doesn't.

"Thank you. I'm sure I could say the same about you if she ever called me..."

"Will would you just drop it?" Cecy rolled her eyes at me and I was about to respond when Aunt Aimee walked in.

"I thought that was your bickering I heard. Hello Cecily dear." She hugged my sister tightly and then honed in on the tall green eyed man standing next to her.

"Aunt Aimee, this is Gabriel."

Gabriel stepped forward to shake her hand but, like she had with Jem, my aunt didn't give him a chance, instead hugging him as if he were one of the family.

I didn't mind it when she was greeting my boyfriend, but I wished she'd be just a little bit less welcoming to Cecily's. I needed to scout him out and it'd be easier if he was on edge.

"Lovely to meet you. I'm just finishing up with dinner if you all want to come sit down. Will, go let the others know." My aunt ordered. She turned to lead my sister and her boyfriend into the dining room and I went back to the living room to call everyone in to dinner.


My aunt and uncle sat at the ends of the table, Jem and I sat across from Cecily and Gabriel, and Jace and Clary sat across from each other at my aunt's end.

"Dinner looks amazing Mrs. Herondale." Jem said to Aunt Aimee, making her feign a blush and shrug away the compliment.

"Oh please, I told you, call me Aimee. Mrs. Herondale makes me feel so old." She wrinkled her nose.

Jem flashed her one of his heart-melting smiles and Jace caught my eye; we both just sighed.

Seemed as if the Herondale's were in for a night of charming.

After Uncle Stephen said the blessing there was a short lull in the conversation while we all tucked into the feast laid out before us. It wasn't too long though before the question rounds began.

Being the girlfriend of the youngest, Clary got the honor of round one.

"So Clary, Jace tells us you're an artist." Aimee started in.

The petite redhead wiped her mouth on her napkin before replying.

"Trying to be. I'm nowhere as good as my mom, but the classes I'm taking are helping me improve." She demurred.

"Oh, you're mother's an artist too?" Aimee inquired.

"Yeah, she's a painter. Our house is always full of half-finished canvases and there's as many paintbrushes as dishes drying on our draining board usually. I guess it was kind of inevitable this is what I'd end up pursuing." Her face lit up when she talked about painting, like it was the most enjoyable thing in the world.

"And she's being too modest, her drawing's amazing. Here, look." Jace took his phone out of his pocket and pulled up a picture to show around.

"Wow that's beautiful. Which truly is amazing considering the model you had to work with." Cecy commented, taking the phone from Jace's hands and studying the photo. I'd seen it before; it was one she'd drawn of him about a month ago, taking the artistic liberty of adding angel wings to his shirtless body which, in my opinion, was a bit embellished itself.

I expected a defensive remark out of Jace's mouth, or some mumbled dismissal from Clary at Cecy's comment, but instead the girl surprised me, answering without missing a beat.

"I know, right? It's all about the shading."

Cecy put her arm around Clary's shoulders.

"I like this one, she's a keeper."

Jace snatched the phone back out of Cecy's hands, glaring at her.

"You're all just jealous because I'm the most attractive person at this table." He retorted, conceited as always.

"I think that's subjective." Gabriel chimed in quietly, staring longingly at my sister, a sappy smile on his face.

Ick

I made a disgusted face, earning an elbow in the ribs from Jem and a look that said: be nice.

"So Gabriel," I started, turning the discussion on victim #2. "What do you do? Aside from my sister, that is."

Gabriel almost choked on his forkful of turkey, Uncle Stephen and Jace both covered their laughing with sudden coughing fits, and Cecily and Aunt Aimee looked about the color of the cranberry sauce. Jem just closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

"William Owen Herondale!" Aunt Aimee yelled at me.

"What? It was a valid question." I shrugged.

Ok, maybe it could have been phrased better...

"God Will, you're always so inappropriate. You're worse than a child. I don't understand how you've made it in civilized society this long." Cecy snapped at me.

Jace and Stephen had recovered from their fits and, like Clary, we now studying their plates with a great deal of interest.

"Wit, charm, and an award-winning smile." I answered simply.

Those things will get you pretty far in life, in my experience.

"No wonder you only have one friend." She replied, the anger fading from her voice a little bit.

Honestly, she had to have been expecting something along those lines to happen. This family has very few filters.

"Two now, if you don't count me. Though Alec was kind of forced upon him." Jem piped up. I couldn't tell whose side that comment was on.

Cecy snorted and the awkward air I'd forced upon everyone lifted somewhat.

"Speaking of Alec, he says hi." I nodded to Gabriel, who looked at me for a second then his eyes darted away. He gave a half-assed smile that seemed more directed at the mention of Alec than at me.

"Send my regards." He told me, unenthusiastically.

I opened my mouth to pry but closed it when I got an elbow in the ribs. Again.

If he keeps this up I'm going to be majorly bruised by the end of the night.

The look on Jem's face said: leave it. So I did…for now.

"Rephrasing Will's previous question," Uncle Stephen restarted the conversation. "What are you studying at university, Gabriel?"

He looked relieved for the topic change.

"Pre-law."

"Gabe's following in his father's footsteps." Cecy added for him.

"To an extent. I'm working on becoming a prosecutor, whereas he is one of the top defense attorneys in the state." There was a hint of pompousness in his statement, but it seemed unintentional so I tried not to hold it against him.

"That must make things awkward." Jace pointed out.

"I'm sure it will, when I tell him." He looked a little uneasy about that.

Cecily patted his hand and for the first time I noticed the new addition to her hand: a ring. It was a man's silver band with etched flames and it was on her middle finger, which somewhat lessened my concern, but still bothered me.

Exactly how serious are you two...?

"There's so much potential at this table," Aimee mentioned. "Doctors, lawyers, artists."

"Hey! An undeclared major is nothing but potential." Jace interjected.

"Not every compliment needs to include you Jace." I replied, trying in vain to knock him down a peg. I would never succeed in that endeavor.

"Well, it should."

"Jem," Cecy began, ignoring mine and Jace's bickering. "You seem fairly normal, what the hell possessed you to go out with my brother?"

He smiled at her.

"I suppose the wit, charm and award-winning smile."

That made me smile and I took his hand.

"Ah so you're crazy. That explains it." Cecy nodded her head slowly at her epiphany.

Jem laughed a little and agreed.

"Must be."


Jem POV:

"I hope everybody has room for dessert! Clary brought us a pumpkin pie and I made German chocolate cake." Will's aunt stood up and began clearing plates as soon as everyone was finished with their meal.

I wondered if anyone else was as surprised- and thankful- as I that we made it through the whole thing without one of the Herondale siblings killing the other or at the very least starting a food fight. It was a bit touch and go there for a while.

I'd seen Will and Jace together plenty of times, but I was still surprised that their teasing behavior was such a core familial trait and that they didn't tone it down for holidays. If anything, I'd say they amped it up.

Gabriel and I stood at the same time to help Aimee pick up the dished.

"They're making us look bad." Will's sister said, with a nod to him.

"Suck ups." Will mumbled none-too-quiet, getting up to help clear the table.

We were instructed to leave the dishes in the sink until after dessert and the leftovers on the counter. Cecily and Gabriel took the dessert plates and new silverware out and Aimee handed Will a cake pan and shooed him out of the kitchen while I put the coffee on.

Will returned almost immediately with drink orders.

"Uncle Stephen's having another scotch, wanted to know if you'd like one." He said to me.

"No, I really shouldn't, I'll just have a coffee." Technically, I'm not supposed to drink at all seeing as how it's incredibly bad for me and can interact with my medication if I drink in excess, which I rarely ever do.

"Alright, then it's three coffees and two waters, then whatever you two are having." He rattled off, walking over to where I was standing and reaching behind me to grab some glasses out of the cabinet, kissing me on the cheek as he did.

His aunt made an "aww" noise and I wanted nothing more in that moment than to curl up and die. It was weird as hell that 1. Will was so ok with actions like that in front of his family, and 2. Nothing about it made his aunt uncomfortable.

I was in no way prepared for this, despite Will's warnings.

I would have been mortified if he did something like that in front of my mother.

"Ok we'll get them. Take the pie when you go back in there, would you dear?" Aimee asked, pointing to the dish she'd just taken out of the refrigerator and put on the countertop.

"Sure." Will said, without moving to leave.

"Well I sort of meant now." Aimee said sarcastically.

"I'm going, I'm going. Geez if I didn't know any better I'd think you didn't want me around." He feigned offense and went to the silverware drawer to pull out a pie cutter.

"Not when all you're doing is loitering. Now I understand, if I had a boyfriend half a handsome as this one I wouldn't wanna take my eyes off him either, but you'll just have to survive without him for five minutes while the coffee brews. Do you think you can manage that?" Aimee asked with a laugh in her voice.

It was so strange to hear his aunt speak so openly and accepting of our relationship. I couldn't imagine my mother ever doing that. Granted, I couldn't imagine her speaking about any girl I was with as openly as that either.

This is a very peculiar family.

"I'll try. But if you come back in the dining room and I'm convulsing from withdrawals, know that it's on your head." Will flashed us a smile and left with the pie, closing the door behind him.

"It's nice to see him so smitten." Aimee commented to me, once he was out of earshot.

I tried not to blush.

"I'm glad I can make him happy." I replied with all sincerity.

"Me too. I hope this evening won't define your opinion of us; things can get a bit rowdy when we all get together. No filters and whatnot." She filled the water glasses up with ice before pouring in the liquid.

"I assure you I hold this family in very high regard. Inappropriate comments and all."

She laughed heartily at that.

"Good thing too. I thought maybe their heathenistic table manners might scare you off from coming to dinner again." She sat three coffee mugs on the counter in front of the coffee maker.

"Ah, but see I spend nearly every day with the worst one, I'm building up an immunity." I replied more freely than I had intention to. She was just so easy to talk to.

"Every day huh? Seems you two are becoming pretty serious. Must be, since he actually brought you over. He doesn't do that generally, not for family gatherings."

That, I was surprised to hear. I hadn't asked him how many other dates he'd brought with him in the past because that seemed like a petty question, but since she was bringing it up...

"Really? Surely he and Tessa-"

"Oh no. She had dinner over here just the four of us on occasion, but he always weaseled out of the big holidays. I think she came over Easter Sunday one year, but that's it. As much as Will likes to be in the spotlight, he prefers to keep his private life private. And hidden away. Not sure whether that has to do with us or them though." She laughed.

I wasn't sure what to make of that information. I don't like feeling like the exception and not knowing why.

"I'm sure it's nothing to do with you all. You've all been wonderful." I assured her.

"We can be a bit off putting." She shrugged, not really seeming to mind. "He's either trying to scare you off or knows you're not going to run. By the way he's been mooning over you all night, I'd say it's the latter."

That had me laughing.

"You're not off putting in the least. In fact you've been more than welcoming to me. You're just a bit more... open than most families, but I don't see where that is a bad thing."

"I'm not sure Gabriel would agree with you, but I'm glad you feel that way." She gave me an unexpected hug. "The way I see it, if you've managed to get Will's seal of approval then you've certainly got mine."

"Thank you." I replied sincerely. It's not as if I had given much thought to his family's approval of our relationship, except for the little we'd talked about his parents, but it was surprisingly heartwarming to hear her say the words.

The coffee maker beeped and we poured everyone's drinks, setting them on a tray to carry out.