Chapter 22: I Promise
Hello everyone! I hope you're all happy and healthy and excited for a new chapter! Enjoy!
"Clary, everything's going to be okay. I promise," Jace says. He was driving to the hospital as quickly as he could. He told her everything was going to be okay many times, both for her and himself.
Usually she would nod, or just ignore him, but this time she looked over. "Jace, you can't know that. Something could go wrong for them or for me… and I want you to know-"
"I'm not going to let that happen. You are going to be fine. All three of you," Jace says, speeding up to make it through an orange light.
"But if something does happen, know that I love you. No matter what. And that I want you to be happy… whatever it takes," Clary says, and Jace feels her hand brush his arm lightly.
"Fuck, move," Jace says to the car in front of him.
"It's fine," Clary says quietly, "Everything has a way of sorting itself out."
He looks over at her for the first time since helping her in the car, and notices how pale she's become. How much of an effort it seems to be to keep her eyes open. Her jaw clenched in pain. And he wishes more than anything for this to stop.
"Don't talk like that. Everything's going to be fine. I promise," Jace says, quickly moving around the car in front of him as the light turns green. "Just hold on, okay Clary?"
He hears her murmur something, but focuses on pulling into the hospital.
After shittily pulling into a car park, he races around to Clary's door and opens the door for her. He notices then that her hands are shaking and that she's bled some more, and quickly tells her that he's going to go get her a wheelchair.
"Please help," Jace says to the lady at the front desk. "My wife, she's pregnant and she's bleeding and I don't know what to do."
The nurse sends someone out to help Clary, and Jace goes to follow him out, but the lady holds his hand. "I just need to ask you some questions. She'll be okay without you for a minute. How many weeks pregnant is your wife?"
"Umm, she's 30. 30 weeks pregnant with twins. I don't know what happened. We went to bed and then she said she had some pain in her stomach and then she noticed she was bleeding so we came straight here."
"You did the right thing by bringing her here," the nurse says, and then stands as Clary is wheeled in.
Clary weekly smiles at us both, but I can tell it's taking a fair amount of effort.
"We've been seeing Doctor Jeremiah," Jace says, turning back to the nurse.
"Luckily, he delivered a baby half an hour ago, so he's already here. I'll get you two settled in a room, while someone gets him for you."
"Thank you," Clary almost whispers, but the nurse hears and smiles at her before starting to push her in the wheelchair.
Doctor Jeremiah runs a few tests, and says he'll be back shortly with the result, but whatever happens he'll want to keep Clary here for at least the rest of the night to monitor her.
"Jace in case something happens…" Clary begins, but stops to wipe a tear from Jace's cheekbone. "I know it's not pleasant to talk about, but I've got to. If something happens to me, I want you to love our children. And I don't mind if you get married again. But she's got to be good to them."
"Clary, nothing's going to happen," Jace says desperately. "I won't let it."
"I just thought I'd say. In case your will is not as strong as God's." She meant it as a joke, but Jace couldn't bring himself to laugh at the moment, and it hurt Clary too much to. So instead they sat in silence. Jace is thinking about how he could never love someone as much as he loves Clary. And Clary realising that she wasn't scared, no matter what happened.
When Doctor Jeremiah comes back in, Jace stands, and Clary tries to sit up a little more.
"So… is it good news?" Jace asks. Of course it wasn't.
"It's not as bad as it could be," Jeremiah says.
"What does that mean? What's wrong?" Clary asks.
"It's called a placental abruption. It's quite rare. It means that the placenta has detached from the wall of the uterus. It's what's caused the bleeding and the pain." Jeremiah answers.
"Okay so… can you fix it?" Jace asks.
"Unfortunately not. I've just begun preparing for an emergency c-section," Jeremiah explains.
"But it's too early," Clary says. If there was something they could do. Even if she could hold on for just a week, a few days longer…
"I know," Jeremiah says kindly, "but if we don't act now it will only become more dangerous for you and your babies. It could prove fatal."
"Clary, it's okay. We can do this," Jace says.
"I'll leave you two for a moment. A nurse will be in soon to explain everything to you and help you get ready," Jeremiah says.
"Is this really the best option?" Clary asks.
"I'm afraid there's nothing else we can do. Waiting only increases the danger," Jeremiah says kindly, but seriously.
Clary nods and he leaves.
"I'm sorry," Clary says, wiping tears from her cheeks.
"Hey, hey, hey," Jace says softly, "there is nothing for you to be sorry about. We're here and you're safe."
"I wished it," Clary says, "I told you I was sick of being pregnant, and this is my punishment."
"Hey," Jace says, wiping her tears, "this isn't a punishment. And it's not your fault. Sometimes things like this happen. They know what they're doing. And it's all going to be okay."
"How are you so calm?" Clary asks.
"I learnt from the best," Jace answers, kissing her on the head. "Every time I've been panicked or scared, you've helped me see the light. So now I'll try to do it for you."
"I love you," Clary says as the nurse comes in.
"I love you too. More than you can ever know," Jace says, stepping aside to let the nurse talk to Clary.
Less than an hour later, Clary and Jace are parents. It hadn't been as scary as Clary thought, and it was over a lot quicker than Jace could have imagined.
And now, they were sat looking at their twins. One perfect boy, and one perfect girl.
"I can't believe we made them," Clary says, resting her hand on the incubator. Because they were born so early, they were in the NICU, but doctor Jeremiah said they were healthy, and that he was sure they would quickly grow and strengthen.
"You made them," Jace says, resting his hand on top of his wife's.
"You helped a little," Clary says, smiling at him.
"Should we talk about names?" Jace asks.
"I like the ones we came up with," Clary says. "I think it suits them."
"Me too," Jace says. "So Charlotte Ella Herondale and Charles Theodore Herondale it is."
"They can be Charlie and… Charlie. Crap," Clary says, suddenly realising what they've done. "We've given them the same name, just in different genders.
Jace laughs before saying, "I guess we never said it fully like that. What do we do?"
"What if we just swapped them?" Clary suggests.
"What? Make her Charles and him Charlotte. I don't really see how that helps," Jace says, "nor do I really want a son named Charlotte."
"No," Clary says, "I meant Ella Charlotte Herondale and Theodore Charles Herondale."
"Yeah…" Jace says, testing the names out for themselves, "I like that. Welcome to the world Ella and Teddy."
"We should probably tell everyone. Izzy will be angry that she didn't know before they were born," Clary says, not taking her eyes off her children.
"I mean technically, we promised to tell her when you went into labour, and you never did," Jace says, fishing his phone out of his pocket.
"She's still not going to like it," Clary says.
They decide to leave the twins and go back to Clary's hospital room. They didn't want disturb the other babies or the nurses with their phone calls.
"Who do you want to call first?" Jace says, smiling at her earlier comment.
"Maybe Luke?" Clary says, "or your parents if you want."
"Let's call Luke," Jace says, already searching through his contacts.
"Hey Jace," Luke says answering the phone. "Is everything okay?"
"Actually," Clary says. "We've got some news."
"Is everything okay?" Luke asks.
"We had the babies," Clary says.
Luke lets out a surprised sound. "Really? Are they okay; I know it's a bit earlier than you were expecting.
"They're in the NICU," Jace tells him, "but mom and babies are healthy and happy."
"Congratulations you guys. You're going to make great parents. Both of you," Luke says.
"I learnt from the best," Clary says, blinking so she doesn't cry, "and I don't mean my dad."
"I love you Clary," Luke says. And he sounds like he's trying not to cry himself.
"I love you too, and I'll see you soon okay?" Clary says.
"Send pictures!" Luke says before they hang up the phone.
"Do you want to call your mom now?" Clary asks.
Jace nods and calls her, and they have a quick conversation in French. Clary was getting better and understanding it, but he always talks so quickly when it's with his mother, and she didn't want to eavesdrop anyway.
"Who's next?" Jace asks, after hanging up the phone.
"It's between Simon and Izzy and Magnus and Alec," Clary says. "You choose."
"Giving me the hard choices I see," Jace says.
"I just had my stomach cut open-" Clary begins.
"Okay whatever - but you can only use that excuse like five more times," Jace says.
"I better save them then," Clary says smiling at him. "I never know when I;m going to have to use you to get out of something."
"Ha ha, very funny Herondale," Jace says, and then pushes a button on his phone. It begins ringing and soon Izzy picks up.
"Jace what the hell. It's too early in the morning - it's 6am," Izzy says, sounding very grumpy. "Did you forget there's a time difference between New York and L.A.? Whatever you need, I'll call you later."
"Well Luke didn't seem to mind. And maybe I'll just call your brother and tell him instead, seeing as you don't sound very happy to hear from me," Jace says.
"Well I'm awake now, so you better tell me," Izzy says, sounding a little less grumpy.
Jace nods at Clary and she says, "Izzy, we had the babies."
"Wait," Izzy says, "what?"
"We had the babies Iz," Jace says.
"Oh my God!" Izzy yells on the other side of the phone, "Simon, wake up! Clary had the babies?"
They can hear a sleepy and confused Simon on the other side of the phone, but when he eventually gets caught up to speed, he speaks to Clary and Jace. "Congrats you guys. Is everything okay?"
"The babies are little but healthy," Clary says.
"And so's Clary - both little and healthy," Jace says, smiling at his own joke.
"That's good to hear," Simon says.
"Okay and what about genders and names?" Izzy asks, clearly excited.
"Ella was born first, and Teddy next," Jace says.
"She's a bit bigger, a little bit stronger," Clary ads.
"Okay, well I need full names please! Or haven't you decided yet, because I've got some really good suggestions…" Izzy says, eager to suggest Isabelle as a middle name.
"No, but that Iz," Jace says.
"They're Ella Charlotte Herondale and Theodore Charles Herondale," Clary says.
"Oh, very posh," Simon says. "I like it; little Teddy and Ellie-Bellie."
"When can we come visit?" Izzy asks.
"We haven't actually asked that," Clary says, looking at Jace. "Not for a little while, probably."
"Babies in the NICU are really susceptible to infections and diseases… we're probably just going to try and play it safe for now," Jace ads. "We just already got off to such a rocky start."
"Yeah, of course. We get it," Simon says. "Well, we'll leave you two parents, but send pictures when you can yeah?"
"Of course," Clary says.
"And tell me how big they are because they are about to get so many clothes!" Izzy says.
"Izzy, they're literally a day old – they don't need to be in designer," Jace says, imagining her plans now.
"Nobody needs to be in designer Jace, but everyone should be," Izzy replies.
"God, I'm going to be broke," Simon says.
Clary laughs before saying, "love you guys."
"We love you too," they reply, before they hang up they can already hear Izzy telling Simon that they have to get ready to go shopping.
"We can call Magnus and Alec, and then I might have a nap before we call everyone else?" Clary says.
"That sounds like a good idea. I might go back to the babies for a little while," Jace says.
Their call with Magnus and Alec goes much the same as their call with Izzy and Simon. They were supportive and understanding, but clearly excited for the arrival of the babies.
A few days later, the doctors tell Clary that she's all clear to go home, and that she can come visit the babies as often as she wants to, but that she won't be able to drive by herself for a few more weeks.
They decide to go home then, and come back later that night to stay with Ella and Teddy for a while.
After Clary showers and gets into new clothes, Jace sits her down.
"Um, Clary," he says, "I have to go back to work."
"What?" she says.
"They put filming on hold for a few days for us, but that's really all they can do. There's only two weeks of shooting left. And I can drive you into the hospital each day and then pick up on my way home. And I've talked to Alec, Magnus, Izzy, Simon, even Kit - and they all said they'd be happy to come in at any time and help you."
"Right," Clary says, thinking it all over. It had been such an intense past few days that she hadn't even been thinking about work.
"I'm sorry - I planned it so it'd be done by the time you were 34 weeks, which is when they said you might go into labour - I didn't think this would happen," Jace says, looking genuinely upset.
"It's fine. I get it. There's nothing you can do," Clary says. She obviously didn't want him to back to work, and by the looks of it neither did he, but she did understand. Despite her understanding, she began to cry. It had been a tough few days. She hadn't gotten a lot of sleep and her hormones were all out of whack, so she didn't have a lot of control over her tears at the moment.
"Please ignore this," Clary said, wiping her tears. "I don't want to be crying right now, and I really do understand."
"Maybe you should have a sleep before we go back to the hospital," Jace says rubbing circles on her back.
Clary nods at him, and heads towards their bedroom. He'd been so good and understanding the past few days. She really didn't know what she would do without him.
The next Saturday was Jace's first day off work since he began filming. They were going out for breakfast with Simon, Izzy, Magnus and Alec before the two of them were going to the hospital. Everyone had gotten the chance to meet the twin by now, and everyone thought they were perfection.
"Whilst I know you all love being in our company," Jace says, "there is actually another reason we asked you to breakfast today.
"First of all, I wanted to say thank you," Clary says, "you've all been a really big help for the past couple of days."
"Clary, whatever you need," Simon says, "just ask."
"We're here for you muffin," Magnus says.
"And your adorable babies," Izzy adds.
Alec offers her a reassuring smile.
"We also wanted to ask you all something," Jace says.
"We were hoping that you'd be our children's Godparents," Clary says, smiling at them all.
"Izzy and Simon, we were hoping you'd be Ella's and Magnus and Alec if you would be Teddy's," Jace explains.
Alec is the first to respond, "we'd be honoured."
"Of course," Simon says, "thank you."
Clary looks at Magnus and Izzy, expecting them to be more vocal, but they were both crying, clutching at each other's hands.
Eventually Magnus lets out a cry that sounds like "my little teddy bear."
"I guess that settles it then," Clary says, watching them amused."
After that, Clary and Jace go back to the hospital.
After another 5 weeks in the NICU, they finally get to take the twins home. They'd had time to make everything perfect for them. They moved their beds into Clary and Jace's room so they could be close to them at night. They'd completely baby proofed the house, even though they knew the twins would be able to move around yet. They had strollers and clothes and enough nappies to fill the bedroom. They were ready.
One thing they noticed very quickly, was whenever people saw them for the first time, they were quick to comment on how different they looked.
Ella had Jace's tanned skin and Clary's green eyes. She'd even had a few blonde hairs start to grow. While Teddy had Clary's milky white skin and bright blue eyes. His hair had a silvery quality to it - really similar to her brother's and fathers hair. She didn't know where the blue eyes came from though.
The first few nights home are rough. They always seemed to wake up at different times during the night, but one's crying would wake up the other, so both Clary and Jace had to get up to help.
Luckily, Jace had finished filming his movies, so he was able to stay home and help Clary. They were well behaved children - they slept for most of the day, and would eat when Clary tried to feed them - most the time. Clary was used to not sleeping enough, and Jace was quickly catching up.
Really, they were just happy to be at home with their healthy twins.
Hope you you liked that - a bit of suspense but it all ended okay - I wouldn't let them loose the twins! Now that they're born and you know a tiny bit about them, tell me what you want them to be like! Hope you all stay safe and happy, and I'll see you next week :)