Clary's POV

"Moooom" I hear Gray yell for me from the stairs as I am finishing up cleaning the dishes from dinner. He comes down the backstairs into the kitchen and stands on the last step. I take a deep breath and close the dishwasher. Today's the first day I have been alone with 3 kids, and it's been a little crazy. Jace had a bunch of meetings, and my mom, who stayed to help with the kids, left a couple of weeks ago. The girls are over 3 months old now, which seems crazy. "Emmie's crying". Emmie's what Gray has been calling Amelia since he first met her, but most people call her Mia.

"I'll be right up" I am a mess right now. There's spit up on my shirt, my hair looks like I just came out of a tornado, and I am still in sweats even if it's already 8 at night. Gray runs back upstairs and I follow him into the girls' room.

"It's okay" I whisper to crying Mia as I pick her up from her crib, and sit down on the rocking chair gently moving back and forth. Gray stands to the side, staring at his little sister. "You're okay".

"You're okay" Gray repeats after me smiling.

It takes a few minutes, but she calms down eventually. I rock her for a little while longer until she falls back asleep. I place he back in her crib, and in that same moment Bree starts crying her heart out. This is going on o be fun. Mia has been the easy one. She'll be fine with anyone who holds her. But Bree is a whole other story. She only wants Jace, Gray, Magnus or Isabel to hold her, unless she's hungry. She really is a daddy's girl. Jace isn't here right now, though, so I have to deal with it on my own for the very first time.

I try rocking her, but it doesn't work, so I go out into the hallway and pace bouncing her gently. I could have done it in the room, but I didn't want Mia to wake up. Nothing seems to be working, and I feel bad that she's so distressed.

"Mommy?" Gray steps out of his room where he's been playing rubbing his eyes. I told him I would read him a story before bed, but I haven't been able to calm Bree.

"I'm sorry buddy" I apologize still bouncing down the hall, "get in bed and I'll be there as soon as I can".

"It's okay mommy" he grins understandingly, "what's wrong with Bree?"

"She's just upset" I explain

"When I'm upset your cookies make me feel better" he suggest and I chuckle.

"Im glad you like my cookies" I can't believe how sweet he is, "but I don't think those are going to help much here".

I keep walking up and down the hall, and Gray goes back into his room. A de more minutes go bye, and she's still crying. I try feeding her, playing with her, checking her diaper, everything, but nothing works. I hear the front door open and close and Jace yell that he's home. He runs up the stairs and finds me in the hallway.

"Hey" he smiles.

"Hey" I sigh tired with Bree still crying in my arms.

"How long has she been crying?" He asks concerned

"I have no clue" I shake my head annoyed, "but it's been at least half an hour".

"Here" he reaches forwards, "let me"

"No" I step away and he looks at me confused, "she has to learn she can't always have you, Jace. Go check on Gray. He wanted a story but I've been kind of busy".

He just nods and goes into Gray's room. If Jace is going to be gone for most of the day, Bree needs to get used to not having him around. Jace walks back into the hallway just a couple of minutes later.

"Did you read him his story?" I ask worried about Grayson.

"He was pretty much asleep already" he closes the door quietly, "but I sang until he was fast asleep".

"Good" I close my eyes. I'll make it up to him another day, maybe I'll make him dome cookies tomorrow.

I look down at Bree, and Jace looks at me. I know he wants to soothe her, but I don't want her to be spoiled. She can't always get everything she wants.

"Clary" he steps forwards again, "just let me...p

"No Jace!" I snap stepping back again, "I have to be able to calm my own daughter down. If you keep coming to her rescue, she'll just want you all the time". I have to admit I am a little jealous, but it's so much more than that.

"Okay" he agrees nodding and goes back downstairs. I feel a little bad for snapping at him, he honestly just wanted to help.

I'm about to give up when the sweet sound of Jace playing the piano flows through the entire house. The notes are soft and cozy as they blend together perfectly. Jace's musical talent is amazing, I can't imagine what would have happened if he had quit the band and gone to Law School. I breath listening to the music, when I realize that the crying has disappeared. I look down at Bree in my arms and see her green eyes flutter close as she falls asleep. I can't believe this.

I slowly make my way downstairs and to the piano after carefully placing Bree in her crib. Jace plays with so much passion it's mesmerizing to watch. He stops once he notices me standing there.

"She finally stopped" he points out standing up, "how'd you do it?"

"I didn't" I laugh a little annoyed, "as soon as you started playing the piano, she just fell right asleep".

"I'm sorry" he apologizes.

"No" I shake my head, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It just bothers me that she doesn't like me".

"Clary" he smirks, "she loves you".

"I know" I really do, but it still doesn't change the fact that she prefers Jace.

"Do you know what today is?" He asks and I try to remember, but it doesn't really ring a bell. I just shake my head and frown. "A year ago today I was on tour. I went out for some air in a strange town and I got lost. Then it started to rain, but luckily this nice redhead waitress was kind enough to let me dry up in the restaurant". And then I realize what he's talking about, "exactly one year ago, my life changed forever. Exactly one year ago I decided I'd never let you go again, and I wouldn't trade it for anything"

"Exactly one year ago" I add, "One of my biggest wishes came true".

"I love you" he leans closer wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I love you too" I whisper before giving him a soft peck on the lips.

"Now let's get you into the shower" he steps back and looks at me completely, "and into clean clothes".

"Hey" I defend myself, "you try taking care of 3 kids on your own".

"Okay, fine" he laughs, "point taken". He places his arm over my shoulder and we head upstairs to get some sleep before one of the twins gets up in a couple of hours.


Jace's POV

After seeing Clary so tired, I decide to take Gray out today. When the twins were born, Gray was still in preschool. However, now that preschool is over, things have been a little crazier. This will not only take a little weight off Clary's shoulders, but I also need some more bonding time with him. Alec and I get together and decide to take the boys to the zoo, but they don't know.

"Are we there yet?" Rafael asks for the hundredth time since we started driving.

"Not yet Rafael" Alec is starting to lose his patience.

"Can you at least tell us where we're going?" Grayson whines

"If I did" I tease, "it wouldn't be a surprise". He throws his head back at my response and co times to stare out the window. I understand that being in a car for two hours can get boring for two five year olds, but once we get there it's going to be worth it.

"We're here!" Alec announces and they both cheer.

"Z... O... O..." Gray recognizes the letters but he still can't put them together, "what's that daddy?"

"It's the San Diego Zoo" I put the letters together for him and he starts getting excited. Alec had the idea to go to the Los Angeles Zoo, but I insisted San Diego was better and convinced him to drive there.

We go all around the different exhibits, and the more we walk the more energy the boys seem to have. Alec and I are done walking, so we stop for some ice cream since Raf wanted to use the bathroom anyway.

"Are you having fun?" I ask Gray as he slams his mouth into his ice cream cone.

"Mhmm..." He nods with a mouthful of ice cream.

"What's your favorite part?" I steal some ice cream from him with a spoon.

"The lions" I can barely tell what he's saying with his mouthful, "and the elephants"

"You don't mind the fans do you?" I ask concerned. We have been asked for pictures and autographs a few times throughout the day which makes us stop for a few minutes.

"No" He shakes his head, "I like your fans".

"That's good" I try transitioning into another topic, "do you wish mommy and your sisters were here?"

"No" he shakes his head which surprises me.

"Why not?" I ask

"I'm glad it's just you and me. There's no crying..." he gets another mouthful of ice cream in his mouth and all over his face.

"I know mommy and me have been a little distracted with the babies, Gray" I pave been meaning to talk to him, "but that doesn't mean we love them more that we love you". He stops with the ice cream and looks up at me. "We love you just as much as we did before, maybe even more" I smile poking his side, "and we'll always be here for you".

"I just miss when it was just us" he admits looking down.

"I thought you liked having sisters" I remind him

"I do" he seems confused, "but I also miss doing fun things".

"The girls are just a little small right now, but before you know it, we'll all be doing fun stuff together" I encourage, "mommy, me, the twins, and you".

"Like what?" He wonders

"We can go camping" I start coming up with random stuff, "we can go to the amusement park. We can even come back here and you can teach them everything you learned today..."

"You promise?" He looks up with puppy dog eyes.

"I promise" I smile

"I'd like that" he smiles too and goes back to his ice cream.

We leave the zoo when the sun is going down, and we stop in a Chick-Fil-A drive through for dinner. The boys end up falling asleep on the way back to Los Angeles, so I have to carry Gray into the house when Alec drops us off. It's not that late, but he's worn out from all the fun. I change him into his pajamas and put him to bed without waking him up. Then I go into the twins nursery, and they are both fast asleep as well. Finally I get to my room and find Clary passed out on our bed with the baby monitor in her hand. She seems tired, but unlike the other day, she's not covered in food and spit up and there are no crying babies. I carefully take the monitor from her and put it on the end table before putting Clary under the covers and kissing her forehead softly. I'm guessing it was a good day for both of us.


Thank you for supporting this story! It really means a lot to me...

I have a couple of questions for you guys:

1. Do you like Amelia as it is, or should I change it to Emilia? That another thing my friend pointed out!

2. I'm thinking of doing a time skip pretty soon. What would you like to happen before the time skip? And what ages should the kids be after the time skip?

I think that's all for now... Don't forget to check out my Wordpress! I put up picks of how I think things look like.

hereafterfanfic. wordpress. com

I just put up a new post with what I think the house looks like soon!

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