Chapter 26: Congratulations!
Hello everyone and welcome back to another chapter! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed! Just a quick note before we get into this chapter - it is a bit shorter, but I've been studying for an exam that I've got tomorrow and didn't have a lot time to write. That being said, after tomorrow I'll be on holiday's for a while! That means for the next month or so I'll go up to two chapters a week! Now that's all done... on to the chapter!
"Well, Mrs and Mr Herondale, I can confirm that Clary is pregnant. She's about a month and a half along - it's a little early to say anything definitely yet, but it's looking like it's just the one baby this time around. We'll get you to come back in a few weeks to make sure everything is going how it should. Congratulations. I'll leave you two alone for a moment. You can organise your next appointment with Monica at the front desk," Doctor Jeremiah tells Clary and Jace.
Jace leans over and kisses Clary on the temple, smiling.
"Well, there's no guessing anymore," Clary says, grabbing a few tissues to start wiping the gel off her stomach.
Teddy starts fussing in the stroller, so Jace goes over to see what's wrong. "Guess what you two? You're going to have another brother or sister! Can you believe it?"
"Remember our rule Jace - three months," Clary warns.
"Who are they going to tell?" Jace replies, "they can't even speak yet!" Jace says this last part to the twins using his baby voice that everyone else hated, but Clary adored. They were really going to have another child. And so soon - there was barely going to be a year's difference between the twins and this next baby.
After pulling down her shirt, Clary and Jace sorted everything out and then got back in the car.
"The good news," Clary tells Jace, "is that if everything is similar to last time, I shouldn't start showing until we finish filming the movie. We've only got a month left, which should give a few weeks wiggle room for re-shoots and everything. It just probably means I won't be going on tour anytime soon… not that I was thinking about it anyway."
"You know you don't need to think about work right now," Jace tells her, "we could go somewhere and celebrate - there's that French patisserie just down the road that you love."
"We need to get these two home to nap!" Clary says, turning and smiling at the two babies in the back seat. "We can just go get lunch or something next week."
"If you insist…" Jace says, turning the car to go home. There was something in his tone that made Clary think he wasn't going to let it go so easily, but they shortly arrived home, and she soon forgot all about it.
"I'm going to have to get the band over to talk about a new timeline," Clary tells Jace after they put the twins in their room. "We'd been talking about starting to write the next album soon… I mean we were going to spend like, a year or so writing, but this will definitely change things."
"If you're changing your timeline, does that mean I should change mine?" Jace asks.
"What do you mean?" Clary asks, resting her feet on his lap for him to massage.
"Just that Izzy has set up a couple of auditions for movies that are meant to film after Hercules ends. I meant to tell you, I guess it just slipped my mind with everything else going on," Jace says, running his fingers up and down her legs.
"I mean… are they long shoots?" Clary asks, trying to sound calm, but her mind was racing trying to figure out dates and the timing of everything.
"They don't really give you all the information before you audition. I could get Izzy to find out more, but it'll probably just be easier to ask at the audition."
"So you're still going to audition?" Clary asks, more harshly than she intended to. It was just that it didn't even cross her mind not to push back dates. Then again, Clary being pregnant was always going to psychically, and likely emotionally take a much bigger toll on Clary than Jace. He didn't need to prepare for looking completely different, and not being able to move normally.
"Do you not want me to?" Jace asks, holding his hands still.
"No it's not that," the moment she says that, he resumes running his fingers across her legs, "I just guess it took me by surprise. There's no harm in auditioning - well have another talk after you're offered the role and know more about it."
Clary was never going to tell Jace he couldn't do something. She thought that if she did, and it turned out to be something great, he would always resent her for it. No, Jace had to come to this decision on her own, she just might need to nudge him in the right direction.
A few days later, Clary gets her whole band around, well Jem is on a video call, to talk about the future.
"Due to… some unforeseen circumstances," Clary tells them, "I'm going to have to delay a few things."
Magnus squints at her, and he quickly looks down at her belly before shooting back up to her face. Clary notices a knowing smile on his face, and quickly looks away before revealing anymore information.
"I'm still happy to start writing now," she tells them, "it just means that the album probably won't be released for another year and a half or so, and that the tour probably won't happen until a while after that."
"I'm happy to start writing now," Emma says.
"It'll give us time to get some good stuff," Jules agrees.
"And I don't mind if you want to travel or work on other things in the meantime," Clary says. "I get that this is probably less than ideal for you all."
"I'm happy with it - Mina's loving London at the moment, so it'll give us a good chance to stay here a little while longer," Jem says.
"I'm happy with whatever," George says, laid back as ever. "So long as there's a job to come back to one day."
"I promise there will be," Clary says quickly, which George laughs at.
"Clary, it's no stress," Emma tells her, "we get it… you've got two little kids, and a hot Hollywood husband - shit's going to happen."
"Thank you - you guys are the best!" Clary says.
"We know," George says, and Clary thinks about how well he would get on with Kit."
They all stay around and hang out a little longer, and just when everyone is about to leave, Jules pulls Clary aside.
"Hey, can I ask you something Clary?" he asks.
"Yeah, of course," Clary says.
"Has Emma… it's just I know you two talk all the time… has she ever mentioned Cameron Ashdown?" he asks.
Clary tries not to show how obvious the jealousy in his voice is when he says Cameron's name. "She's mentioned that they've gone on a few dates… and maybe something recently about them actually starting to date, why?"
"I just… she won't talk to me about him. It's not like us to not talk. And to be totally honest with you, I think he's a wanker," when he realises that he said that out loud, he goes bright red. "Can you not tell Emma I said that please. She'd kill me."
"Your secret's safe with me," Clary tells him. "And I'll let you know if she says anything else, okay?"
"Yeah, okay. Thanks Clary," Jules says, and then he hurries out the door towards the car that Emma is waiting in.
When are those two going to realise how perfect they are for each other?
"It's so obvious," Magnus says, looking down at her stomach once again.
"What is?" Clary says, trying to sound nonchalant.
"That he has the biggest crush on her," Magnus says, smiling.
"Oh, yeah. That. Super obvious," Clary says, folding and refolding the tea towel on the kitchen bench.
"Will Jace be ready to leave soon?" he asks, a small smile still playing at his lips.
"Umm yeah," Clary says, "he should be. He was just getting the twins ready I think."
Simon and Izzy had asked everyone to come over to their house for some big announcement.
"So, what have you gathered us all here for?" Kit asks, lounging on the couch. "It wasn't just to see my beautiful face was it? Because I could've sent a photo. I know it's not as amazing as the real thing… but it would've lasted longer."
Clary knew that something big must have been happening, because Simon doesn't tell Kit to shut up, so Alec does it for him.
"We asked you all here, because we've got some exciting news," Simon says. Clary thought there was a possibility that they were both moving back to New York.
They don't say anything else for a little while, and everyone just stares at them eagerly before Magnus tells them, "I mean if you're not going to tell us, well start guessing. And that could get quite mean, quite quickly."
Simon and Izzy look at each other for a moment longer, before announcing, "we're pregnant!"
"Well, actually Izzy is. But helped!" Simon adds.
Everyone jumps up and hugs them and congratulates them.
"It was three months yesterday," Izzy tells them all a short while later, resting her hands on her stomach.
"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" Kit asks, "A Christopher or a Catherine?"
"That's never going to happen," Simon tells him, and then adds, "it's too early yet. There's still another month or so, I think."
"Congratulations Iz," Clary tells her.
"Well, now Ella and Teddy can have some friends…" Izzy says, "and who knows… maybe you could have another little one soon who can be best friends with ours!"
"Wouldn't that be great!" Clary says, but tries to quickly move the conversation on, which Kit thankfully helps with.
"Not to stop everyone from celebrating… because I'll be getting a bottle of… something in a minute. But none of you have told me if you can come to my concert yet. And it's in a week. So you know… I was hoping for a little more enthusiasm for my first show from my best friends!"
"Ahhh, he admitted we're his friends," Jace says, hugging him.
"Well," Kit says, trying to shrug Jace off, "it was bound to happen one day."
"Of course we're coming," Magnus says, "we thought it was just a given."
"Well… now that that's settled, let's pop something open!" Kit replies.
Hope you all liked that! Please give me any ideas of what you want to see in the story, and I'll be sure to work them in! Also let me know if you'd like to see a bit more of Clary and Jace filming together, or if you just want me to skip over that. I hope you're all happy and healthy, and I'll see you at the next chapter :)