Hiya!

Once again, sorry that I am a terrible updater, I am sincerely trying to get through the whole busy schedule/writer's block thing, blah, blah, blah...

Anyways, here is the next chapter!

The next few are going to take place kind of before the start of CoFA, just F.Y.I. ;)

Enjoy!

- EasyIsTheDescent

Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare is the proud owner of TMI, TID, TDA, and TLH.

She is starting way too many series, even if I plan to read and adore them all.

Just saying.

I wasn't going crazy.

There was a baby crying.

I just didn't know where it was.

I was wandering through the dark, empty hallways of the Institute, and I couldn't seem to find the source of the noise to save my life.

I felt some unrecognizable need to find this baby, though I didn't know why.

I turned the corner, and standing at the end was Liam, a bundle wrapped in his arms.

"Liam? What's going on?" I asked, though he seemed oblivious to my confusion.

He smiled at me. "We've been looking for you," He motioned towards the baby in his arms, and the need was back, propelling my legs forward. Just as I approached him, leaning my head in to peek at the baby's face, it was gone.

My eyes opened suddenly, and I realized I was in my room, Liam sleeping my by side. Relief and disappointment ran through me all at once.

I kind of wished I could tell him about these dreams that had been coming to me lately, but what was I supposed to say? I've been dreaming about this random baby and I have no idea who it is nor why I'm dreaming about it?

I think not.

I sighed, laying my head back down against the pillow. It had been weeks since the events that occurred in Idris, and at first my dreams had been much, much worse. Most included Sebastian.

No, scratch that. All of them had included Sebastian.

But now they were starting to change. It went from knife-wielding murderer to innocent baby.

I was a psychopath, wasn't I?

I didn't even try to go back to sleep, but instead I slipped out of bed, putting on my slippers and robe before I stepped out of the room. It was cold.

I walked silently to the kitchen, and when I got there I immediately started opening the cabinet doors.

They had to be somewhere…

And there they were.

Coconut Oreos.

The world was a beautiful place.

I'm not going to lie, I ate these habitually. Five at a time, to be exact.

Five Oreos later, I placed the package in the back of the cabinet where no one else could find them, and I padded back out of the kitchen, walking back to my room.

I passed Jace's room, and a large thump made me backtrack. I peered my head in quietly. "Jace?"

Jace was currently a lump on the floor, and I hurried over to him. He was sweating, his skin a sickly pale, and he looked as if… well, as if he were dying.

"Jace, what happened?" I asked, panicked. He looked surprised to see me.

"Rose, what are you doing here?"

"What the hell do you mean 'what am I doing here?' My ghastly-looking brother is lying on the floor in the middle of the night, I'm making sure you're okay!"

"It was just a bad dream, Rose. Go to sleep."

"Jace, I'm serious. What happened?" I asked as I pulled him to his feet, making him sit on the edge of the bed.

"Just what I told you, a bad dream. Leave me alone!" Jace ordered, his voice strained with anger.

I crossed my arms, staring at him in concern. "Then I will. But I'm still worried about you. You know I'd thought after we were friends and siblings for six years that we had grown some sort of trust, but that I thought wrong, didn't I?"

Jace sighed. "It really was a bad dream. That's all I'm going to say."

After we had gotten back from Idris, I had suspected he and Clary were hiding something, probably to do with what happened when Valentine had died, but I never questioned it.

I spared one last glance at him before I sighed, walking back to my room. I left my slippers and my robe by my bed, before I slipped in next to Liam and fell asleep instantly.

The next morning, Liam and I met the rest of the family in the kitchen, and I recognized there was one more person sitting here than there was yesterday.

"Robert!" I gasped, and the man smiled in greeting, but that wasn't enough for me. I ran over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck, and everyone stared at me in shock.

Robert Lightwood wasn't a hugger.

But Rose Nightlock was.

And she was going to win.

"Good to see you too, Rose." Robert's voice was slightly strained, and I pulled away from him, grinning triumphantly.

"It always is, and you know it."

Robert smiled with what only could be respect.

For a long time I had felt a distinct hatred towards him, after learning that he cheated on Maryse. Not only because of the fact that he had hurt his children (or Isabelle and I, anyways, the only ones that knew) but because of Maryse. The two had loved each other, and Maryse was a wonderful woman. She deserved so much more.

One thing that had helped weaken my hatred towards Robert was recent. According to Alec, he had fully participated in Maryse's argument with the Penhallows, yelling about how it was their fault Sebastian had been there in the house the night he had stabbed me.

"If you strangle him, can I have his pancakes?" Ethan asked, and Robert rolled his eyes. Ethan and Robert had a mutual respect for each other, but the father-son relationship had developed a long time after we had first arrived at the Institute. Ethan would always love our father best, and it had been difficult for him to love Robert as a father figure as well.

"Leave him alone, he only just got back from Idris." Maryse chided, though there was no real disapproval, only admiration. I believed she still loved him, which had once made me hate him all the more strongly.

"Well it's nice to have him back," Isabelle announced, and Robert smiled at his other daughter fondly.

"Rose, can you pass the syrup?" Max asked quietly, and I grabbed the bottle in front of me, handing it to Ethan, who handed it to the boy on his other side.

"Thanks."

"No problem, kiddo."

"So where's Clary?" Ethan asked, looking at Jace.

"She's home with Luke and Jocelyn. Something about wedding plans," He said, and everyone at the table shuddered.

"Sounds fun."

"I'd assume it was."

"Oh that reminds me," Maryse spoke up, taking her seat at the end of the table, "Rose, Isabelle, I have a good hour or two to spare today. I was wondering if you girls would like to go shopping or something."

Isabelle and I blinked at our mother in shock.

"You got that from wedding plans?" Ethan asked, and Maryse shrugged.

"That sounds fun," I commented, as Isabelle was clearly at a loss for words.

I couldn't blame her. Aside from the fact that Maryse never had any time to spare in her schedule, the Lightwoods (nor any other Shadowhunter family) weren't exactly the hands-on, fun-loving parents like mundanes have. Mother-daughter shopping trips weren't exactly part of an average Shadowhunter family agenda.

"Good. Then let's do it," Maryse enthused, and Isabelle smiled widely at the thought of shopping, and I also suspected at the thought of spending time with her mother.

We ate in silence, before Isabelle's head popped up, as if something had just occurred to her.

"Hey Liam?" She asked, and the Shadowhunter in question, who had been eating quietly at my side, looked up in surprise.

"Yes, Isabelle?"

"You're from Australia, right?"

The teenagers at the table blinked in shock.

"That is what Jace's comments towards me are usually fueled about, yes."

Jace snorted, and Maryse sighed, as if this didn't surprise her. Which really, I don't think it surprised anyone at the table.

"Well, I was just wondering, do you know what UGG boots are?"

I groaned, anticipating her next question, while Liam just gave the two of us a confused look.

"Come again?"

"Well, they're these boots that, coincidentally, originated in Australia-"

"I've never heard of such a thing in my life, I'm afraid."

"So you couldn't get me a discount?"

"Isabelle, the poor man doesn't know what UGG boots are, much less how to get you a discount on them. Leave him alone."

"But Rose-"

"Isabelle, even Shadowhunters have to pay full price for designer shoes."

She rolled her eyes, but gave up on the subject, while Liam just shook his head in confusion.

Robert decided to speak up next. "So Liam, you're dating my adoptive daughter Rose, are you?"

I choked on my orange juice.

Liam looked at a loss for words, his golden skin suddenly white. "I, um-"

"Well Maryse, I'm going to go get dressed now, Iz are you ready to go get dressed for our shopping adventure?" I jumped up from my seat, and Isabelle nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, let's go get ready, we'll be right back, everyone!" She announced.

And the conversation had effectively ended.

"If there was any doubt you two were related, there isn't anymore."

"You have just as much of an obsession as we do, Rose."

"I object to that. I own tennis shoes, thank you very much."

The three of us, Isabelle, Maryse, and I, were currently walking down the crowded street, shopping bags in hand, and a good 75% of these bags consisted of high-heeled shoes. We were in dark clothing, Maryse a formal outfit consisting of a black blazer and skirt, Isabelle a black mini skirt and a navy blue blouse, and then there was me, wearing a simple pair of black skinny jeans, a black shirt covered by my black leather jacket, and my boots.

Each of us was wearing high heels, I might add.

"Well, either way, I am quite proud of the fact that my two girls have such an excellent sense of style," Maryse mused, and Isabelle bowed mockingly.

"I taught her everything she knows," Isabelle said confidently, and I rolled my eyes.

"It's true, Maryse. I would be forever left in fashionable limbo had it not been for Isabelle."

Maryse laughed, a sound uncommon from her, and we continued walking a little ways before Isabelle's curiosity got the best of her.

"Mom, what's with the sudden change? We've never really gone shopping before," Iz pointed out, and Maryse sighed.

"It's just, after everything that happened in Idris, I realized that some things are so much more important than the Clave," Did her eyes just flash to me? "Therefore, I decided that it was time for me to be more of a mom than the head of the Institute."

We thought over this quietly. "Well Maryse, I certainly believe you were an excellent mom to begin with," I smiled, and Maryse smiled in return.

"Thank you, Rose. That means more to me than you know."

My phone vibrated in my pocket suddenly, and I shifted the bags to my right hand so I could grab my phone with my left.

Your brother is driving me crazy. Thought you should know.

I smiled slightly at the message from Liam, and I replied quietly.

Which brother?

He replied a second later.

Does it matter?

"Ooh, you texting your hot boyfriend?" Isabelle asked excitedly, and I rolled my eyes.

"You bet, girlie."

"So, Rose," Maryse started, "How are you and Liam doing?"

Oh boy.

Liam, what did you get yourself into?

"We're doing well," I responded smoothly, "It's been nice to be back home, no more drama."

Maryse nodded thoughtfully. "What's Liam like?"

"He's-"

"Really nice to her," Isabelle interrupted, "Very quiet. You can't blame him, one wrong move and Alec or Jace would hang him over the side of the Institute by his toes."

Wait.

Liam? Quiet?

Were they talking about my Liam?

"I guess," I shrugged, "He's much more open with me and Ethan than other people, though. He's sweet, funny, extremely hot, Australian, you know, all of the necessities."

"Nice choice," Maryse commented, and Isabelle and I laughed.

"So he treats you right?"

"Yeah, he does."

"That's good. It's nice to know you found someone, Rose."

"I feel the same way."

Maryse smiled, while Isabelle seemed to be thinking about something. "Hey Rose, is he staying in New York?"

This question caught me off guard, mainly because I had always assumed the answer was yes. "Yeah, I believe so. He's never said anything about going back to Melbourne, so…"

"He wouldn't be willing to leave you, anyways."

I laughed. "And why would that be?"

"He loves you," Maryse pointed out. "The rest follows."

Isabelle nodded in agreement, while I rolled my eyes at them. "You two are nauseating."

Iz sobered. "Maybe so, but you and Liam are nauseating, too. I mean you guys are all lovey-dovey and crap. It's quite awkward, for single people."

"Staying single for a while won't hurt you," Maryse said firmly, her maternal instincts showing.

We had reached the gate to the Institute, and Isabelle slipped through, holding it open for me and Maryse as she walked up to the door.

"Honey, I'm home!" I called, and there was no response. I rolled my eyes. "Kids these days. So rude."

"Maybe they can't hear you," Maryse suggested, and I shrugged.

I walked into my room, leaving my bags on the bed, and I walked back into the hallway, peaking into Liam and Ethan's rooms.

Empty.

Finally I wandered into the training room, and I found them. Liam and Ethan were watching in amusement as Jace talked to Clary, who was currently balancing herself on one of the beams high above the ground.

"Clary, you just have to flip down. It's not difficult," Jace argued, and Clary rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure I have to flip? I don't want to hurt Ethan, he's just a child," Clary protested, and Ethan glared up at her.

"I'm more Shadowhunter than you, Fairchild!" He called, and Jace shot him a wicked glare.

"I'm coming up, Clary!" I announced, and before anyone could object, I had pulled myself up to the ceiling, and I reached the 20-foot high beam quickly after years of practice.

Clary watched wide-eyed. "Don't you need a harness or something?"

I grinned. "Possibly. But where's the fun in that?"

Clary huffed in exasperation. "I can't do it."

"Sure you can," I said, "You know what my problem is?"

She gave me a skeptical look. "What?"

"I always want to look down," We glanced down cautiously, "So instead, I stare at my feet. And then I think things like, 'That nail polish looks awful' and, 'I really need to shave my legs'."

Clary laughed. "Sounds fun."

"It is. Now are you going to jump or not?"

I shared a meaningful look with her, and she sighed. "I don't want-"

"Clary, the only way to learn is to attempt."

She groaned, defeated, and with a deep breath she propelled her small figure off the beam, curling into a ball instead of attempting any sort of flip.

It was physically painful. Just to watch.

I whistled as she swayed back and forth. "Damn girl, I probably should have just left you up here."

Clary blew a red curl out of her face. "Speaking of, how do you plan to get down?"

I winked at her before I chucked off my boots, throwing them down at Liam, who dodged the flying shoes with ease. I weighed the distance quickly before I aimed for a mat on the floor, hopping off of the beam and making an odd flip before my feet hit the ground.

The people before me applauded, and I mock-curtsied. "Five years, folks. It took me five years to land that, and it will be another five in heels."

Liam rolled his eyes, moving to wrap his arm around my waist, kissing me quickly, as my brothers were watching. "Very nice."

I smirked. "Why thank you. I take great pride in my gymnastics."

"As well you should," Clary muttered, and I rolled my eyes.

"You'll get it soon, it's in your blood. We've been doing stuff like this since we learned to walk. It'll take time to adjust."

"So long as she can keep from making out with Jace for more than five minutes," Ethan murmured, and I looked at her in shock.

"In front of the boy, Clary? Have you no shame?"

"Oh, the kid brought it on himself," Jace defended, "If one tells you not to enter the training room, there is usually a good reason."

"I remember you saying it in words very different from those," Liam mused, and Jace glared at him.

"The message was clear."

"Oh, quite, I assure you."

"Of course Rose, you had to go and pick the smart ass."

"Would you have preferred I picked the dumb ass?"

"Well, I personally liked Pete."

Liam made a choked noise, and Ethan laughed at him.

"Ease up, Liam. She never dated Pete, though he did try and tell her he was in love with her," Ethan explained, and Liam glared at him.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"I thought so."

"Well boys," I interrupted their banter, "I am leaving Jace and Clary here to canoodle at their own leisure. Who's with me?"

The thought of "canoodling" must have worked, because I had to jog to keep up with Ethan and Liam as they hurried out of the training room.

And of course, they walked directly into my room.

Does privacy mean nothing anymore?

"What is with this little unmentionable?" Ethan asked, holding up a black bra hesitantly.

"Give me that," I snapped, snatching it out of his hand, tossing it back into the bag. I glanced at Liam, who had been looking at the bra with approval.

"For shame, Liam. You look at your niece with those eyes?" I asked, glaring at him. He shrugged.

"I'm a man."

I raised an eyebrow. "That's all your explanation will include? Your gender?"

"…Pretty much."

Ethan snorted.

"Well lovebirds, I am off. I bid you farewell," Ethan announced, and he bowed before he disappeared out the door.

I laughed at him. "He is way too much like me."

Liam sighed. "You know, Rose," He said, "I think you're right."

You like? A little fluffy, I know, but the chapters leading up to CoFA will be.

Thank you all for putting up with me, and I will be updating LBiB, I just need to be able to sit down and figure out how I want it to go.

Love you guys!

EasyIsTheDescent