A/N: Thank you so much to the people who left reviews for Chapter One! I so appreciate it! Also, no one has found the Hamilton reference yet—keep looking :) Without further ado, on to the story!
Chapter Two
For such an adept and vigilant Shadowhunter, Jace was a remarkably deep sleeper. He hadn't always been that way, of course; before Clary, he had been eternally restless, as if his body were always on alert, ready to leap out of bed at a moment's notice. It had taken years to settle into his life with Clary, for his body to relax and trust in her. Now he slept so soundly beside her that usually only the loudest of noises could wake him.
Which is why it was concerning when, on a quiet Saturday morning, Jace found himself jolted awake as the bed shook beneath him. There was the sound of creaking bedsprings, bare feet slapping the ground, and the slam of a door.
He cracked open his eyes, blinked blearily, and turned toward Clary, only to find that her side of the bed was empty. Curiosity piqued, Jace slid out from under the covers and went in pursuit of her.
It didn't take long to find her—the light of the bathroom across the hall was on, and he could hear muffled coughing inside. He pushed open the door; Clary was hunched over the toilet, retching loudly. Her tangled red curls had been pulled up into a messy bun, which wobbled as she pulled her head out of the toilet only to immediately dive back in, vomiting again.
Jace grimaced sympathetically and knelt next to her, rubbing her back in slow, soothing circles. Her body shook under his hand as she coughed into the toilet again. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.
"Does it—look like—I'm—okay?" Clary snapped between gasps of air.
"No...?" Jace guessed, and Clary let out a final dry cough before sitting back on her heels and fumbling for the flush. "When did this start?"
"I've been feeling nauseous for a week, but this is the first time it's come on this fast," said Clary, taking a deep breath. She still looked rather green. "Sorry I woke you up."
"I don't mind," said Jace honestly. "I don't want you to go through all this alone."
"Oh, yeah?" said Clary, scowling at him. "Let's take turns, then. How about you be pregnant Monday through Wednesday, and I'll take the rest?"
"You know, Shadowhunters don't teach biology, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way," said Jace very seriously.
Clary shook her head exasperatedly and leaned back against the cool tile wall, letting out a shaky breath. After a moment or two, she stood up and went over to the sink to rinse her mouth out. Jace followed, and as she turned off the sink and dried her hands on a towel, a grin split Jace's face unexpectedly.
"Is this funny to you?" said Clary in a deadly voice, glaring daggers at him.
"No," he said, taking a cautious step away from her in case she decided to turn the shower rod into a makeshift weapon. "It's just—wow. I mean, you're really pregnant. We're really having a baby."
"Yeah, I'm told that's what I get after nine months of hell," Clary muttered, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.
Feeling unbelievably giddy, Jace grabbed Clary's arm and pulled her in against him.
"Oh—Jace, don't, I must be disgusting," she protested as he yanked her hair out of its bun and ran his fingers through it.
"You're beautiful," he murmured, trailing a line of kisses down her neck and onto her collarbone. "Clary Fairchild, mother of my child."
"Get any cheesier and I'll tell everyone he isn't yours," Clary warned him, but a smile played on her lips.
"Oh, please," he said, grinning. "We both know that kid's going to come out of there looking like a freaking god."
"Well, Simon will be happy to know you think of him that way," said Clary, smirking.
Jace wrinkled his nose. "Gross," he protested. "I don't want to think of you two like that!"
"Remember that time I kissed him?" said Clary, batting her eyelashes as she sighed flirtatiously.
"Now I'm going to throw up," Jace declared, but they were both grinning. He bent down to kiss her again, not caring in the least that she smelled of vomit, but a shrill noise interrupted them. "Is that your cell phone?" he asked, moving past her and into their bedroom.
Her phone was ringing, vibrating enough to make it fall off the nightstand; Jace caught it just before it hit the ground and turned it over in his palm. Jocelyn's face smiled up at him.
"It's your mom," he said, tossing Clary the phone. She caught it easily, but didn't answer the call. After a moment, it stopped ringing. "You know you're supposed to answer those, right?" he said, grinning at her.
She didn't respond, staring down at the phone. Jace sighed and plucked the phone out of her hands. He tapped the voicemail icon that read: One new message.
"Hi, Clary...is everything okay? You haven't been answering any of my calls or texts. Just call me back, okay? Or I can come by the Institute today if that's better. Let me know."
Jocelyn sounded as if she were trying not to worry and failing miserably. Jace raised an eyebrow at Clary, who avoided his gaze. Jace clicked on the next voicemail, this one from yesterday morning.
"Hey, Clary, it's Mom. Just wanted to check in again. Did you get my last message? Call me whenever you're free."
"Clary, hi, it's Luke. Can you call your mother back? I'm sure he didn't mean to, but Alec accidentally let slip to Maia that you were hurt, and she called us, and now your mom is freaking out...look, just call her, okay?"
"Remind me to kill Alec," Clary muttered.
"Clary, what's going on? Are you hurt? Maia says Alec told her you were, but also that you were okay...I don't know what to think. Please call me, Clary."
Jace hit the off button before the next voicemail could play, but by the looks of it, Jocelyn and Luke had been calling Clary every day since they had battled the demons four days ago. He gave Clary a pointed look.
"Don't look at me like that," Clary said irritably. "I texted them that I was fine. What else am I supposed to say?"
"Oh, I can think of a few things to tell them," said Jace, glancing down at her flat stomach.
She scowled and wrapped her arms around her stomach. "I'm not telling them that. I wouldn't have told anyone if you hadn't all accidentally found out."
"They, you mean," said Jace. "If they hadn't all accidentally found out. Because you would have told me, right?"
"Right," said Clary, not looking at him.
"Clary."
"I would have," she insisted. "Eventually."
He frowned, but let the subject drop. "Look, your parents clearly know something's wrong. They'll probably be relieved when you tell them you're just pregnant, not on your deathbed or something."
"It's not that," said Clary softly. "It's just...when we start telling people, it'll all feel so much more...real."
"It feels pretty real to me," Jace pointed out. "So when were you planning on telling people, then? Were you just going to wait until the baby pops out and say 'Surprise!'?"
"Okay, first," said Clary irritably, "the baby does not pop out. I have to push him out of a very, very tiny hole. Second," she went on, ignoring Jace's wince, "I was going to tell them when...when...okay, fine, I haven't actually thought it out yet, but I will tell them."
"Yeah, you will," said Jace, and before she could stop him, he clicked on her messages and began to text Jocelyn. "Hi, Jocelyn," he read out as Clary tried fruitlessly to grab the phone from him. He held it high out of her reach. "This is Jace. We'd love for you and Luke to come over for breakfast. Let us know if you're free." He punched the send button and tossed Clary her phone back. She glared at him.
"You're not getting any sex tonight," she declared. Jace was about to protest when her phone chimed. She glanced down. "Oh, great."
"What does it say?" said Jace, looking over her shoulder to read the text.
"'Yes, of course!'" Clary read aloud, with considerably less enthusiasm than the text conveyed. "'Luke and I will be at the Institute around eight.' Great. That's just perfect," Clary said, sighing as she tossed the phone back onto the nightstand.
Jace glanced over at the clock. "They'll be here in half an hour." He put his hands on Clary's shoulders. "Just try to relax, okay?"
She scowled at him. "No sex," she said again. "None."
"All right, all right, point taken," said Jace, grinning. "Come on, let's go brush our teeth and then I'll make you some pancakes."
"Not pancakes," said Clary, blanching. "I think I'm going to be sick again."
"Whatever you want," Jace promised, wrapping an arm around her as they went back into the bathroom.
"I think I want eggs," said Clary musingly, grabbing her toothbrush and rinsing it under the tap.
"You hate eggs," said Jace, staring at her as if she'd gone insane.
She shrugged and squeezed toothpaste onto her brush. "I know. I'm just really in the mood for eggs today."
He shook his head, picking up his own brush. "You are so weird."
"Watch it, Herondale," she said, pointing her brush at him like a weapon, "or I might extend that no sex sentence to two nights."
"No need for that," said Jace hastily, who remembered well the time Clary had made good on her promise to withdraw sex for a month. It had nearly driven him insane. "Eggs it is, then."
Clary was halfway through her fourth plate of scrambled eggs when the doorbell chimed, reverberating through the kitchen. "I'll get it," said Jace, as Clary made to stand up, her cheeks bulging with food. "You...swallow."
He headed down the hallway, wondering what he was going to say to Clary's parents. As it turned out, it didn't matter. The moment he opened the door, Jocelyn barreled past him, rushing toward the kitchen. Jace blinked after her.
"She's been worried," said Luke apologetically as Jace stood aside to let him in. "We both have. But Clary's okay?"
"She's fine," said Jace, smiling. "Let's go join them. We'll tell you everything."
They could hear Jocelyn before they even reached the kitchen. "—just don't see why you couldn't have called me back," she was saying.
"Mom," said Clary, sounding tired, "I told you I was fine."
Jace and Luke entered the kitchen. Jocelyn, sitting beside Clary, was shaking her head. "You know that isn't good enough, Clary," she said as Luke sat down on the other side of Clary and put a hand on her shoulder. "Maia told us you'd been injured by a demon. Then you don't answer your phone, and then you send us a text that you're fine? What are we supposed to think?"
"Let me make you breakfast," said Jace before Clary could respond.
"No, I'll do it," said Jocelyn impatiently, shoving her chair back violently. "I should do something useful, right?" She slammed a bowl onto the counter and began measuring flour into it.
Clary put her head in her hands. "Mom," she said, her voice muffled through her fingers.
"No, it's fine, Clary," said Jocelyn, cracking an egg with such force that eggshell flew everywhere. "It's not like I've been going out of my mind with worry and you won't even tell me what's wrong—"
"She's pregnant," said Jace.
The egg slipped from Jocelyn's fingers and landed on the floor with a loud splat. She made no move to clean it up, staring at Jace.
"That's why we asked you to come over today," Jace continued quickly. "We wanted to tell you in person."
"Oh," said Luke, looking surprised.
There was a long, awkward pause. Finally, Luke smiled and said, "That's great news. Congratulations."
"Thanks," said Jace, smiling back at him. He glanced at Clary, but she was watching Jocelyn.
"Mom?" she said softly.
Jocelyn drew in a shaking breath. "Excuse me," she murmured, and then she turned and left the room, leaving the three of them staring after her.
"I'll go," said Luke, standing up.
"No, let me," Clary said, pushing her chair back and following her mother out of the room.
Left alone, Luke and Jace stared at each other for a moment. Finally, Jace said, "Pancakes?"
Luke blinked. "Pancakes sound great. Thanks."
Jace cleaned up the dropped egg and then went to finish the pancake mix Jocelyn had started. As he poured milk into the bowl and began to whisk the mixture together, Luke said, "So how's Clary doing, with all of this?"
Jace shrugged. "She's okay. Just tired. But I think she's happy."
"And how are you?"
Jace turned around; Luke was watching him closely. "I'm..." He shook his head. "I don't know. I mean, I'm happy, of course. But..." He shifted awkwardly. "We, um, didn't plan this, exactly."
"Ah," said Luke, nodding. "I see."
"I just don't know if I'm prepared," Jace finished in a rush.
"In my experience, you're usually not," said Luke, chuckling. "Then again, my experience started when Clary was about five, and I was more of an uncle to her than—" He broke off suddenly. "Can you hear that?"
Jace strained his ears. He could hear a faint ringing, far off. "Someone's calling the Institute," he said, abandoning the pancake mix and hurrying out of the kitchen, towards the library. Luke followed, just on his heels.
The ringing grew louder as they entered the library. Jace, wincing at the shrill sound, picked up the phone and was met immediately with a cacophony of noise. "New York Institute," he shouted over the din.
"Jace? Jace? Oh, thank the Angel, you have to get over here right away, there's a demon here and he—"
"Wait, what? Alec, slow down," said Jace, pressing the phone harder into his ear. There was a loud crash on the other end. "What's going on?"
"There is a Prince of Hell in our living room!"
Jace blinked. "That's new." He squinted at the phone. "Did you...summon it?"
"What?! No!"
"Well, I had to check!" said Jace defensively. "Alec, are the kids safe?"
"They're with Mom, Magnus Portaled them out of here as soon as it happened." Alec's voice was tight with barely repressed panic.
"Don't worry," said Jace firmly. "I'm going to call the Clave."
"Don't worry? There is a Prince of Hell—"
Jace hung up before Alec could finish.
"I take it that wasn't good news?" said Luke.
Jace swallowed. "We need to round up as many members of the Clave as we can. And we need to do it fast."
After several minutes of searching, Clary found her mother at the end of a corridor. Jocelyn had curled herself on the windowsill in a small alcove. Clary slowed to a stop in front of her, but Jocelyn didn't look up. "Look, I'm sorry," Clary said in a rush. "I know I should've told you earlier—"
"It's not that." Jocelyn let out a long breath. "I'm sorry, Clary. I shouldn't have run off like that. It's just..." She shook her head. "It brought back a lot of bad memories, memories I've been repressing for years."
"You mean...Jonathan." The word hung in the air between them. They rarely said his name, but when they did it still caused the same amount of pain as it had all those years ago.
"Him...and you," said Jocelyn, looking away. "I was terrified. Terrified of Valentine, of what he had done to my son. Of what he would do to you if he knew."
"Mom," said Clary softly. "Jace isn't Valentine. This is totally different."
"It's not about Jace," Jocelyn said, unfurling herself and letting her legs dangle off the windowsill. "And I know it's under completely different circumstances, but I just have this horrible feeling..." She looked back at Clary. "I think this is a mistake. I think something bad is going to come of it."
Clary caught her breath. "Mom," she whispered, hurt.
"Look what's already happened, Clary," said Jocelyn, waving a hand towards her. "From what Maia told us, that demon almost killed you."
"What does that have to do with any of this?" Clary said, trying to keep anger out of her voice.
"I don't know," said Jocelyn, sounding frustrated. "It's just—isn't it weird that you haven't been seriously injured by a demon in years, but as soon as you get pregnant, a demon almost kills you? Maybe...maybe it's a sign."
"No, it's not," said Clary. "It's—I was distracted that day. The demon got the better of me. But it doesn't have anything to do with me being pregnant. Shadowhunters get killed by demons all the time. It's always a risk."
Jocelyn looked away. "I just think this is a bad idea."
Clary took a deep breath and sat down next to Jocelyn on the windowsill. "Mom," she said softly. "Can't you please just be happy for me?"
"Clary," Jocelyn sighed. "I want to be. You know I do." She took Clary's hand, and Clary gave a reassuring squeeze. "I'm just scared for you. I can't explain it...it's just a bad feeling."
"Mom, look at me." Jocelyn's eyes met Clary's. "I'm going to be fine," said Clary. She gave a soft smile, and after a moment Jocelyn returned it.
"I'm sure you're right, honey," she said. "It's just me being paranoid, as usual."
Clary bumped Jocelyn's shoulder with her own. "I'm not going to turn into you in nine months, am I?"
Jocelyn laughed. "I'm afraid it's just one of the hazards of becoming a mother."
Clary grinned and rested her head on her mother's shoulder. They sat there for a while; then, slowly, Clary became aware of a growing clamor at the end of the hallway. She sat up straight. "What the..."
She slid off the windowsill and made her way down the corridor, following the noise, with Jocelyn close on her heels. As they approached the library, the noise grew almost deafening.
The library was packed with people. Jocelyn made a beeline for Luke, who was standing by himself at the far end of the room, but Clary lingered in the doorway, taking in the scene. A fair portion of the New York Conclave was scattered through the room, complete with Simon and Isabelle tucked away in a corner. Isabelle was very pale, and it looked like Simon was trying to console her.
"He'll be okay, Izzy, he knows how to take care of himself," Simon was saying as Clary approached.
"What's going on?" she said, looking back and forth between them.
Isabelle glanced up. Her eyes were rimmed with red. "Someone summoned a Prince of Hell," she said in a tight voice. "And they sent it to Magnus and Alec's apartment."
Clary felt the blood drain from her face. Before she could say anything, a man spoke up behind her.
"Someone?" he scoffed. He was a tall, middle-aged man with thick salt-and-pepper hair cascading in waves over his scalp. Clary recognized him from Conclave meetings; his name was Lance Kingsmill. He had come to New York just after the Dark War, and his anti-Downworlder beliefs frequently drove Jace and Clary to frustration. "A demon that powerful can only be summoned by an exceptionally powerful warlock," he continued, wrinkling his nose. "You expect me to believe it is mere coincidence that the demon is in the home of one such warlock?"
"Don't you dare," Isabelle snapped, advancing towards him. "Don't you dare insinuate Magnus is behind this, after all he's done for us!"
"There's no time for this!" Jace shouted as Kingsmill opened his mouth to argue. "Regardless of who summoned it, lives are in danger. Shadowhunter and mundane lives," he added, with a pointed look at Kingsmill. "If you don't have weapons, grab some." He pointed at a table by the door that was stacked with various swords and seraph blades. "Clary," he said, beckoning to her, "come over here."
She moved through the crowd of people until she reached him. "I can help," she said immediately. "My sword is still upstairs, though—"
"What?" Jace said, looking startled. "You're not coming."
She stared at him. "What do you mean, I'm not coming? This is Alec and Magnus! Why wouldn't I come?"
"You know why," said Jace in an undertone, with a meaningful glance towards her stomach.
"Oh." She put a hand on it. "But...pregnant Shadowhunters fight all the time."
"Not against a Prince of Hell!" said Jace, sounding frustrated.
"Well, then, you're not going either, are you?" Clary said, folding her arms.
"Of course I'm going!" said Jace impatiently. "Look, I asked you over here because I need you to make a Portal."
"Hang on," said Clary stubbornly. "If I have to stay behind, why don't you?"
"Because," Jace snapped, "you're the one who's pregnant!"
"This is your baby, too!" Clary shouted. "What if you get killed?"
"I won't—"
"You might!" She grabbed his arm as he tried to move past her. "Jace, don't you dare—"
"Um, Clary—" Isabelle muttered behind her.
"What?" she snarled. It was only then that she noticed how quiet the library had gotten. Each and every one of the Shadowhunters was staring at them. Flushing slightly, Clary loosened her hold on Jace's arm. He wrenched it away from her.
"Are we going or not?" he snapped at the waiting Shadowhunters. They immediately sprang into action, gathering their weapons. Jace, not looking at Clary, strapped on a weapons belt and began to load it with seraph blades. He snatched up a small, ornate golden box, stared at it for a moment, and then slipped it into his pocket.
"Jace," Clary said, struggling to keep her voice calm.
"Don't."
She glared at the back of his head. "Fine," she snapped. She snatched up a stele, marched over to a blank wall, and began to draw with such force that the dark lines were almost splintered. The Portal roared into existence and she put her hand to it, visualizing the interior of Magnus and Alec's apartment. One by one, the Shadowhunters stepped into the whirling maelstrom. Jace was the last to approach it.
"Jace, wait," said Clary as he was about to enter the Portal.
"What?" he said, still avoiding her gaze.
She swallowed, hard. "Be careful," she whispered.
He met her eyes. Slowly, he nodded. Then he stepped forward and the Portal swallowed him up.
A/N: I realize this chapter is a bit shorter than the last. This and Chapter Three were originally one chapter, but it was way too long, so I had to split it up. In any case, I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review if you did, I would greatly appreciate it!
Thanks for reading!
~4L