Hello, all!

Okay, so I have some very serious shizz to talk about.

I'm kind of disappointed with my writing, especially in this story.

Now I'm not asking you guys to pity me or assure me of my writing skills, because I'm not like that, but I did want to announce that I really plan on changing how I approach future chapters, because I don't want to do any full edits until I've finished with this story...

I don't know, I feel like the world of Shadowhunters is supposed to be a very dark, serious world, and that a Shadowhunter would overall be very different from mundanes, and I don't think I captured that. I wanted it to be light, I wanted it to be funny, but I don't think my characters are up to par, or that anything was very in-depth, and I wanted it to be a bit more serious than other things I've written, so I think I kind of failed.

Anyways, here is the chapter, I just wanted to let you guys know how I want to change things.

Have fun!

Disclaimer: I own nothing of TMI, TID, any of those thingamajiggers.

I no longer read TMI as "too much information" anymore, so I hope you're happy, Cassandra Clare.

"What is so funny?" Jace demanded, exasperated, and Isabelle just continued to giggle uncontrollably, so much so that Ethan was hitting her on the back to keep her from choking.

I wasn't sure anymore. We were thirty minutes into dinner and Iz had burst into laughter at random intervals.

She had baby on the mind, and it wasn't going away.

Two days had passed since our little discovery, and Isabelle had pestered me nonstop, telling me that I needed to tell Liam. At least for the baby's sake, Iz had said with a furrowed brow, Rose, my niece wants her daddy to know she exists.

"Oh, nothing," The culprit was currently trying to make herself sober, "Just something Rose did, that's all."

Jace narrowed his eyes at her in a skeptical look. "Rose did nothing."

Isabelle glanced over at me. "You're right. She didn't do anything yet."

Liam, who was sitting on my other side, raised an eyebrow as his eyes travelled from my sister to myself and back. "Something we need to know about?"

I don't think her eyes could have widened farther. "Actually-"

"Pass the salt," I requested, though really it was a shout of a demand as I cut off my babbling little friend, and Max giggled, tossing me the shaker with ease.

Isabelle was glaring at me, and she leaned over until her glossy lips were by my ear, whispering rapidly. "When are you going to tell him?"

"Around the time I give birth," I told her sarcastically, and she huffed, shaking her head at me in disapproval.

"Coward."

I acted indifferent, twirling spaghetti noodles around my fork, but I knew that she was right. I was a coward, but I mean, that was normal right?

You're a pregnancy novice. The inner voice reminded me. Probably not.

Neither Robert nor Maryse was at the table, Robert because last we heard he was offered the job of being Consul (no one dared say anything out loud) and Maryse because the whole ordeal was something she seemed to be avoiding.

And the fact that I had this to look forward to as a parent and hopefully a girlfriend made me feel very, very nauseous.

"So," Jace continued, a sudden excitement in his golden eyes that suggested he was about to discuss weapons, "Demons tonight? Who's in?"

Yup, the nausea's back.

Normally just at the sentence I would have jumped up and immediately started gearing up, but now I needed to find a way to avoid the bloodshed entirely.

And of course, like I did in every situation, I went to Isabelle.

She was already jumping into action.

"You know I'm in," She replied to Jace, "Oh wait, but I… I uh… I need to stay home and clean my closet! Right, Rose?"

Ah crap.

"That's okay, Iz," I forced a smile to my face, though I wanted to slap her for the foolish excuse, "I can do it."

And that was how all eyes darted from Isabelle to me.

"You," Jace paused, as if he were trying to determine what demon or warlock had possessed me, "Rose Marie Nightlock, are going to skip a demon hunt, just so you can clean Isabelle's closet?"

I nodded slowly, avoiding the urge to cringe. "Yeah."

Jace blinked, his golden eyes filled with confusion, as if someone had just shown him proof that the Earth was in the shape of a triangle.

Oh geez, that would be awesome.

Everyone had a similar look on their faces, so I figured I needed to put my critical thinking skills to work instead.

"And someone needs to stay home and watch Max," I added quickly, and everyone looked over at the boy, as if they just realized that he was there.

"Oh, right," Isabelle smiled sheepishly at me, "That too."

"You sure, Rose?" Jace raised an eyebrow, "I mean, the kid has stayed home alone before-"

"No, that's alright," I promised, glancing down at my flat, yet currently occupied stomach, "I have more important things to do than demon hunting."

While Jace refused to believe such a thing existed, we successfully ended the conversation, and a few minutes later we had finished dinner and everyone else was heading towards their respective rooms to put on their gear.

Isabelle gave me a look that clearly stated "Treat my niece like a princess" before she shut her door in finality, and I sighed, following Liam to the room we all but shared.

He was unusually quiet as he grabbed his stele from on top of the dresser, pulling his shirt up just enough so that he could trace runes into his golden skin.

"Let me," I argued quietly, and he handed the stele over wordlessly, barely moving as I began etching the runes into his back.

"There's something you're not telling me," He observed casually, and I bit my lip, trying to ignore the oncoming anxiety that threatened to show in my voice.

"I think I'd be the only one who knew that if it were true, Liam," I reminded him jokingly, though my throat felt dry and the last thing I felt like doing was making any jokes.

Liam nodded thoughtfully, and though I couldn't see his face, I felt as if I knew what expression he was making. "So, is there?"

"Is there what?"

He snorted, as if he were expecting me to resort to obliviousness. "Is there anything that you aren't telling me?"

I hesitated for a moment, before I shook my head, and then realized that he couldn't see me. "Nope. I tell you everything, Liam, you know that."

Ouch.

Never once had I ever wanted to slap myself more than I did in that moment, and Liam seemed to have realized the straight-up lie I had just told him, because he pulled his shirt down, walking over to the corner of the room where both of our weapon belts were without glancing at me. "Whatever you say, right Rose?"

I swallowed back the lump in my throat.

Liam ignored me from where I stood in the center of the room, sighing as he slid past me gracefully. "Glad to know the trust is there, Rose. I guess I'll see you later."

He was already at the door, grabbing onto the handle, and I knew that he was going to leave, going out demon hunting without knowing that I did trust him.

What had possessed me into doing what I did next must have been pure insanity, because looking back I realized that it was absolutely the stupidest thing I ever could have done to poor Liam.

But of course, that was the only kind of thing I ever did in a situation.

"I'm pregnant, Liam!" I blurted out, my heart racing as if I had just run a marathon, and in the back of my frantic mind I noted that such an abnormal heartbeat couldn't be healthy for the baby I was housing.

Any other time Liam's reaction would have been comical. He stopped so suddenly that I almost feared he had been shot, but he turned around slowly, narrowing his eyes at me in confusion.

"Excuse me?" He stammered, his tone suggesting he was in a lot more shock than his appearance did.

"With your child," I added thoughtlessly, and Liam blinked, his hand outstretched as if he planned to grab the door handle again and this time make sure he left the room as fast as his legs could carry him.

I hadn't really been sure what I was to expect of Liam's reaction. I hadn't thought he was going to start dancing and naming our offspring, I don't think I even would have wanted that, but at the same time I hadn't expected him to up and start denying it, either, because that just wasn't Liam.

One reaction I hadn't considered was him standing as still as marble, his eyes boring holes into me as if he were waiting for me to admit my joking or to see a child appear out of my uterus.

"I-I'm sorry," I continued, scratching at the chipped black nail polish on my ring finger absentmindedly, "I know, this is sudden, and I certainly didn't expect this, but it's true, and Magnus said we were going to be fine, and goddammit Liam would you say something?"

Liam was blinking so heavily I was afraid he would create some sort of draft, his posture as stiff as stone, and he slowly unfroze, shutting his eyes tightly as if he had a headache.

"I don't know," He murmured, rubbing his eyes slowly, and my jaw dropped in disbelief. This Liam wasn't exactly normal, because usual Liam was very clearheaded and a quick thinker, but this one obviously had been given some sort of head injury, like a concussion or something, and I didn't think an iratze would be any help in healing whatever it was.

"You don't know?" I breathed, an eyebrow raised, and Liam exhaled heavily, removing his hands from his eyes and running them through his hair.

"I said I don't know, Rose!" He repeated, his voice unusually high, "What do you expect me to say, damn it? I don't know what I'm supposed to say, or do, I don't know why Magnus knows this and I don't, I don't know why you didn't tell me, and I don't think I even know my own name right now, so those were the best words I could give you right now! I don't know!"

I blinked in shock, studying Liam carefully. I hadn't exactly heard him yell often, and to be fair, most of the times I did were directed at me. One thing I had never heard him do, however, was rant deliriously, and I had a feeling that's what he was doing right now.

And as if we weren't having enough of a goddamn moment, Jace Lightwood in all of his glory just had to interrupt.

"You coming with us or not, Australian?" He yelled, banging on the door in an impatient manner, "If you're in there screwing my sister, you better pray to the Angel that you can run faster than Ethan and I!"

A little late for that speech, Jace.

By a good month or so.

And right now I was kind of wishing he would chase him down.

This seemed to bring Liam back to reality, because he shook his head, as if he were clearing his memory of the past two minutes. "I have to go, alright Rose? I just need to think, okay?"

I inhaled shakily. "Wait, Liam," I said frantically, my voice threatening to waver at any moment, "You can't just leave-"

"Well I am, okay? I'll be back soon, I just need some time-"

"Liam!" I yelled, but he had already slammed the door shut, effectively cutting off his own words.

I was breathing heavily, watching the door in confusion, trying to process why I felt so cold inside.

And then I realized that in the time since I had first told Liam how I felt, we had never gone in separate directions without telling each other "I love you".

By the time I actually found the strength to move my feet, I realized as I swung the door open angrily and marched down the hallway that I was walking in the direction of Isabelle's room, but she wouldn't be there.

The silence I was met with when I opened her door proved it, as she had gone the exact place as Liam, and I proceeded to slide down the side of her bed, resting my back against it as I faced what could only be the mess of Isabelle's closet.

I was a Shadowhunter, and with being a Shadowhunter came the trait of crying rarely, if at all. I was the perfect example of this trait, considering the last time I had cried was when Liam was injured, and the time before than was when my parents died.

But now here I was, tears sliding down my cheeks slowly, as if they wanted to take their time and make me feel extra sorrowful before they fell onto my knees as I clutched them to my chest.

I had no idea how long I had sat there, wallowing in my own guilt and tears, before the noise of my stuffy whimpers finally caught the attention of the two others occupying the Institute.

Max peered into Isabelle's bedroom hesitantly, before his eyes stopped as he recognized my figure sitting on the floor, and I realized the gray bundle of fuzz in his arms as Church, cocking his head at my curiously.

The young boy entered the room in concern, stopping in front of me as his eyes travelled from me to the open closet and back. His blue eyes were wide in an almost innocent disbelief from behind his glasses as he stared at me.

"Is it seriously that messy?"

Though the situation was less than humorous to me, I couldn't help but let out a strangled laugh, nodding with a smile.

Max plopped down beside me lightly, Church curling up on the rug as he continued his nap, and the young boy who usually didn't enjoy sibling affection allowed me to hug him tightly, holding him in my arms as I tried to ignore the painful rejection wound in my chest.

Liam P.O.V.

I looked like a real dick.

That was truly the only thing I could clearly recognize as my mind replayed my conversation with Rose over and over again.

I was a truly terrible person.

Jace hadn't taken enough notice in me to acknowledge the troubled and confused expression when I had caught up with him and Isabelle. He just seemed relieved that I wasn't "screwing his sister".

Ethan had taken notice, and Isabelle too. He had asked me if I was alright, and I had nodded blankly, though he knew it was false.

We were headed to Central Park, I believe he had said, because demons often went there after dark. Ethan was walking at my side, Jace and Isabelle leading the way, while I internally bashed myself for being such an idiot.

But to be fair, it wasn't a small discovery.

Pregnant. What I had thought that meant when she had told me I don't know, but only now was I realizing what it truly represented.

A baby.

Rose's baby.

My baby.

The thought of being a parent had only crossed my mind a few times in my life, mainly because of seeing my brother with Lacey. I wasn't against it, not in the slightest, but whenever I pictured myself as a father, I saw it far, far away.

When I had first realized I loved Rose I had pictured such a future with her, I wasn't going to lie. Married, living here, or back home in Melbourne, or anywhere really, so long as the two of us were together, though I knew New York was probably the only place we would really be, and I was totally fine with that, because this foreign city was slowly starting to become my home.

And this future wasn't now.

Never now.

I guess I just had never pictured myself as an adult yet. I was eighteen, of course, so as a Shadowhunter I was an adult, but my opinion in battle and politics was completely different. I was an adult there.

This unknown territory, on the other hand, I was no more skillful in than the unborn child Rose admitted to me was growing inside of her.

How I was considering all of these things and still walking in a straight line, or walking at all, for that matter, was a mystery to me right now. Isabelle, I slowly realized, had been sparing suspicious glances back at me every chance she could get, and I was very uncomfortable with it, to say the least.

She suddenly stopped walking, and Ethan had to pause abruptly to avoid crashing into her as she narrowed her eyes at me in what appeared to be a glare.

"You two boys go on," She called over her shoulder, in Jace and Ethan's direction, "Liam and I have something to discuss."

Ethan sent me a questioning look, and I ignored him, sending one of my own towards Isabelle. Jace just raised a golden eyebrow.

"Whatever it is, be fast. I feel like killing something."

Ethan rolled his eyes, pulling on his brother's arm and continuing along the sidewalk, sparing one last suspicious look towards me and Izzy before he turned away.

I suddenly felt myself being dragged to the side, into what appeared to be a dumpster-infested alleyway, and I only had enough time to right myself before a pale hand reached out in a blur, slapping me across the face with enough force to snap my head to the side abruptly.

I cringed, more in shock than in actual pain (which was there, considering it was Isabelle who slapped me) and I held a hand to my stinging cheek protectively.

"Now why in the-"

"Snap out of it, Liam." Isabelle interrupted impatiently, "Now spill. Why are you acting like you got hit by a bus?"

I blinked, trying to find the words to say, but my over-processing mind couldn't conjure up anything at all.

"I… uh… I um-"

"By the Angel," Isabelle squinted at me, as if she were trying to get a better view of my face and perhaps the wound she left, "She told you, didn't she? Damn it Rose, when I told you to tell him I didn't mean now!"

Ignoring the fact that she was speaking to herself, I found myself responding in an unstable voice. "She told you?"

I wasn't going to lie, it was a bit offensive, especially the fact that Isabelle wasn't the only other person that had been informed. I mean, in what situation in hell did Magnus have a right to know of my child before I did?

Normally I respected the High Warlock and even considered us to have some level of friendship, but now I wanted to cause him some sort of pain, just to give me something to focus on.

"Yes, dumbass," Isabelle said this as if it were obvious, blowing a strand of dark hair out of her eyes impatiently, "We're sisters. Now what did she say?"

I cringed. "That she was pregnant."

Iz nodded. "And what did you say?"

I cringed again. "That I didn't know."

Her face scrunched into an unpleasant expression, leaning towards me as if to hear me better. "You didn't know? Didn't know what?"

"Everything."

Isabelle huffed, as if I were the most incessantly annoying person she'd had to deal with in the whole city, which I probably was. "Okay then. And what happened next, when you left?"

"I told her I needed time to think," I hesitated, "And I left."

She narrowed her dark eyes even farther, if possible. "That's it? You didn't say goodbye, or 'I love you', or 'I'm so excited we are having this baby together'? You just said you needed to think?"

I flinched away from her, not putting it past her to slap me again. "I never said I had been thinking at that moment, Isabelle."

Isabelle groaned, throwing her hands up in the air in disbelief. "By the Angel, this is the problem with men! Honestly, you'd think that your species would have evolved by now, but nope!"

I just allowed her to vent silently, not daring to interrupt as she explained to me everything that was wrong with my species. I'd always known Isabelle wasn't someone you wanted to anger, I learned that quickly, but I had never been caught directly in the center of her wrath.

It was absolutely mortifying, to be completely honest.

"So what do I do now?" I asked quietly, though she heard me just fine, because her head snapped up, her speech cutting off effectively.

I was still feeling very, very scared.

"You," She pointed a finger at me in a way that was oddly threatening, "Are going to go kill some demons. And then you are going home, and you are going to apologize. You will admit to her how stupid you are, how much you love her, and how much you love little Darkstrider, too."

I nodded slowly, trying to get my brain to focus. "Okay," I breathed, "I just don't… I don't know how to do this."

Isabelle sighed, before she stood in front of me seriously, meeting my eyes with her own. "Liam, are you seriously that afraid?"

I nodded vigorously. "Yes."

She giggled, as if she couldn't help but laugh at my insecurity. "Don't be," She patted my arm in a friendly manner, "You're family now. All you have to do is love Rose and your baby, and we'll help you figure out the rest."

I cracked a smile. "You sure are excited, aren't you?"

Isabelle grinned widely. "Yeah."

"Alright," I nodded, "Thanks for the pep talk, Coach. I can do this."

Isabelle laughed, surprising me by pulling me into a quick hug, a display of affection that had never been shown to me by any of the Lightwoods. "I know you can," She whispered, "And you better, or else I'll slap you again."

She stared at me seriously, before the two of us burst into laughter, beginning to walk out of the deserted alleyway and in the direction of Central Park.

Family, I thought to myself silently. That's my future.

And maybe we would figure out the rest, after all.

Alright, how was Liam POV? ;)

I didn't want it to be unrealistic, because teenagers just don't react well to parenthood (not even Shadowhunters), so I had to put a little trouble in paradise, but I really think Rose and Liam will manage to grow up when they have to.

Review, review, review, my darling readers, and let me know what you think!

Oh, and I really need to vent about CoHF, so if you've read that, you can go ahead and vent about that too.

Love you, my munchkins!

-EasyIsTheDescent