Hey, guys! Hope you all had a nice Easter! So, final actual chapter. It isn't terribly long, but it should wrap everything up. After this, as I have said, five epilogues is what I'm planning on. Anywho, enjoy!

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Chapter 23:

Luke and Jocelyn took the news of our relationship surprisingly well. They both seemed happy for us, though they made sure that there would now be an end to our sleepovers. They also didn't seem like they were in the least bit surprised, which I didn't really understand. Even Clary and I were surprised over our relationship.

After Clary and I had explained how our new relationship had come about – with some parental censoring, of course – I went home to get some sleep. By that time it was well past midnight, so of course Jocelyn and Luke offered to let me spend the night, though this time it wouldn't be in Clary's room. I would have had to spend the night on Jon's floor. As appealing as that offer was, I couldn't help but decline. I had a very important conversation coming up with my parents, and I wanted to have it as soon as possible.

So I drove home, the alcohol now worked out of my system. Had it been up to me, I would've spoken to Robert and Maryse right away, but when I walked through the door all the lights were off, everyone either not home or asleep. With a sigh, I went upstairs and fell onto my bed, not even bothering to take my jeans or shirt off.

Maybe it was the mental exhaustion of the day, or maybe it was the weight that had been lifted off my shoulders, but that night, for the first night in eight years, I had a peaceful night's sleep without Clary by my side. No nightmares, no waking up or tossing and turning. Just wonderful, dreamless sleep.

By the time I woke up the next morning, soft light was streaming in my window through my curtains. I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. Seven o'clock. I could've gone back to sleep for a few more hours, but I could hear Maryse and Robert moving around downstairs. Filled with a sudden burst of energy, I quickly changed into a fresh set of clothes and brushed my teeth. I looked in the mirror and was shocked by the sight in front of me. Gone were the black bags that had become what seemed like a permanent feature on my face. I stood straighter, held my head higher. Or maybe I didn't really look different, but only felt different.

I walked down the stairs slowly, suddenly a little nervous for the conversation I was about to have. At the bottom of the stairs I took a deep, steadying breath, then took the final few steps into the kitchen where Maryse and Robert were.

Robert was sitting at the counter, sipping on a coffee and leafing through a newspaper. Maryse was cooking eggs at the stove, and turned to look at me when I walked in. Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Morning, Jace," she said. "You're up early."

Robert looked at me now too, and equally surprised look passing over his face. "Hello, Jace. What time did you get in last night?"

I ran a hand over the back of my neck. "Um, I don't know. One-thirty, maybe? I left the party pretty early and went to Clary's house for a while."

Robert turned back to his paper. "How is she?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "She's fine." Here went nothing. "Actually, I spoke to her parents for a while, and they told me a lot of stuff about my parents. And you guys."

Robert and Maryse shared a look before they both set aside what they had been doing. Maryse walked over to the table and said, "Sit down. Let's talk."

I took the seat across from Robert and folded my hands in front of me.

"What did they say?" Robert asked.

"Jocelyn told me that they were my godparents, but that they couldn't take me in when my parents died." My throat clenched uncomfortably. "They told me that you guys offered to take me in."

Maryse took my hand in hers. "You already knew that, didn't you? That we offered to take you in?" she asked in confusion.

I shook my head. "This whole time, I thought you guys were forced to take me. I had no one else, so you guys just took me in to keep me from going into foster care." Tears welled in my eyes, and my voice broke as I spoke. "I had no idea that you guys actually wanted me."

Robert looked equally as confused as his wife. "Why on earth wouldn't we want you? You were such a sweet little boy who had just gone through something awful."

I hastily wiped away a stray tear. "You guys had three kids of your own. And I caused you so much trouble. It just seemed like I was more of a pain than I was worth."

Maryse walked over to sit beside me and put an arm around my shoulders. "Jace, if we ever made you feel like we didn't want to, god, we are so sorry. We never meant to do that. That's the opposite of what we were trying to do."

"You were just so much harder on me than you were on Alec, or Izzy, or Max. I thought it was because you resented me."

Maryse squeezed me tighter, as Robert spoke. "Jace, if we were harder on you it was because we felt like we owed it to your parents to turn you into best man you could possibly be. We just didn't want to let them down. We didn't mean for it to make you feel that way. We never resented you. Though we hate the reason behind it, taking you in was one of the best things that has ever happened to this family."

Maryse nodded. "You bring out the best in this family. Do you remember when Alec came out of the closet? He came out to you first, because he trusted you, and then you gave him the strength to come out to the rest of us."

"And who was there for Izzy when that boy kept giving her trouble in middle school?" Robert chimed in. "You were. She got to the point where she was afraid to go to school, but you made her feel safer again. And now she won't let anyone mess with her or anyone she loves."

"Don't forget about what you did for Max," Maryse added in a soft voice.

I looked at her blankly. "What have I done for Max?"

She smiled. "Alec and Isabelle love Max, but they've always looked at him like he was the annoying younger sibling they didn't want hanging around. You, however, always made sure to include him in everything you could. I think he's the closest to you out of all his siblings because of that."

Maryse's words marinated in my head for a minute. Out of all his siblings. "So you think of me as Max, Alec and Izzy's sibling?" I questioned in a small voice.

Robert laughed lightly. "Jace, you are our son. Of course we do."

And just like that, I was once again crying, the tears bitter sweet. On one hand, I was happy to finally feel like a member of a family again. On the other, this whole family discussion made me miss my birth parents. Maryse and Robert could never replace them, but they could definitely stand in for them.

Maryse wrapped her arms tightly around me and let me cry into her shoulder, just like my mom used to. Robert reached across the table and placed a comforting hand on my arm.

We were in this position when Alec woke up and came downstairs. He froze in the doorway of the kitchen. "Um, what's going on?"

I pulled away from Maryse and wiped my cheeks, embarrassed to cry in front of Alec. Maryse and Robert both stood and let Alec and I speak in private, squeezing my shoulder as they walked past.

Alec hesitantly made his way across the room and sat in the now vacant seat across from me. "Are you okay?" he asked, genuine concern on his face.

I nodded. "I'm fine. I just had a bit of an emotional breakthrough." For some reason, it felt wrong to explain to Alec that I had thought his parents secretly hated me for years. "But there's something I need to tell you."

Alec still looked worried. "Okay, shoot."

I took a deep breath. "Clary and I are together."

The words hung in the air for one, painful moment before Alec's face nearly split in two with a grin. "About time," he said. "Good for you, man."

I held up a hand in protest. "Wait. What do you mean, 'about time'?"

Alec rolled his eyes. "You two have been in love with each other for years, though it took you long enough to figure it out. We've all known that you guys would eventually get together."

I was shocked, to say the least. "You guys all knew that we loved each other before we even did?"

Alec laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. You remember that conversation I told you I had with Clary?" I nodded. "Well, I was kind of pissed at her because I thought she was stringing you along this whole time and was only going to hurt you, but after I talked to her, I realized that you were pretty much her whole world. I knew that she would never hurt you, so we were cool after that."

I let his words sink in. Then: "You guys are all assholes."

Alec laughed. "What?! Why?"

I threw my hands up. "You guys knew that we loved each other, yet you never clued us in on that!"

Alec was still laughing. "Would it have been the same as you guys figuring it out for yourselves?"

I sighed, defeated. He had a good point. "I guess not."

Alec chuckled and stood up to get some breakfast. As he walked past me, he patted me on the head saying, "This is why I'm the older brother."

He was right, again. Maybe I was more oblivious than I thought. First, everyone knew that I was in love with Clary before I even knew myself. Then, I didn't realize that I've had two brothers, parents, and a sister until I've been living with them for eight years.

That night I went over to Clary's house for dinner, just like normal. However, there were two differences. The first: I didn't have an overnight bag with me. I knew I would miss my nights with Clary not because I needed her to sleep – which I didn't anymore – but because I would simply miss holding her. But now that we were dating, I would get plenty of that during the day. The second difference was that there were an additional four guests with us.

We had decided to invite Alec, Isabelle, Simon and Magnus over for a movie night so that we could tell them about us.

So after dinner, we went into the living room and Clary and I told them all about Sebastian and the party and how we got together. Everyone was immensely happy for us, and lacked surprise just as Alec and Clary's parents had.

With our news out in the open, we popped some popcorn and settled in for some movies. It was then, in the house that had been my second home for years, with the most beautiful creature to ever walk the earth cuddled into my side, and surrounded by my friends and siblings, that I realized just what family was.

When my parents had died, I had thought that I had lost the only family I had. What I didn't realize, was that I had only lost two members of my extensive family. I had been surrounded by family my entire life and just hadn't realized it. Clary had become a member of my family on that first day of kindergarten when she sat with me on the floor of the boys' bathroom while I cried. Jocelyn and Luke had become my family before I could even remember, then again when they first welcomed me into their home.

Alec and Izzy had become my family over the course of many years and many play dates. Max had become my little brother the first time I had played with him. Robert and Maryse had become my parents when they took me in and did their best to raise me into the person my birth parents would have wanted me to become.

Even Magnus and Simon had been my family all along, joining the large, messed up group the first time they were brought home and introduced to Robert and Maryse.

Family wasn't the people who shared your genes, but the people who shared your heart. The people who knew exactly how to make you laugh. The people who loved you unconditionally.

And I knew that my family, if nothing else, loved me no matter what, just as I loved each and every one of them.

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And there we have it folks! Emotional breakthrough complete! Please leave a quick review and let me know what you thought! I promise the epilogues will be much happier than these last few chapters have been, and there will be buckets of fluff! I'm going to save all my thank yous for the actual end of this story, in case any of you are wondering. Oh! And before I forget, we've made it to 400 reviews and 200 favorites, which is seriously awesome! Like, I can't even explain how awesome that is. My goal for this story is 500 reviews, think we can do it?

Question: Even though this story isn't technically over, it is over with all the serious stuff, so do you guys have any writing critique/suggestions for me? Anything I should improve on? Please be nice!

Love always,

YesIWriteForFun