Chapter 12: Visitors
Jace POV
5 agonizing hours.
We've been sitting here for 5 hours without knowing what's happening to my angel. Izzy is sleeping in what looks like a very uncomfortable position in one of the waiting room chairs; Jon has been pacing around the lobby for the past hour; occasionally asking a passing nurse if he can see her. I, on the other hand, am about ready to break something.
I'm broken out of my phase when my dad walks in looking pretty tired. I nudge Izzy and she wakes up immediately looking just as exhausted. He comes over to us, taking in all of our faces before talking.
"Clary had all of us scared for a little while." He starts, "Her heart stopped for at least two minutes." I feel my heart stop when I hear this. When I look over at Jon he's trying hard to stay calm, clenching and unclenching his fists.
"We were able to restart it. However," I feel the breath I let out freeze again when he says the last word.
"Clary's cancer is back." He finishes, looking straight at Jonathan.
When Jon hears this I hear a small whimper escape his lips before he storms out of the hospital doors, as much as I want to follow him I want to hear the rest of the prognosis.
" Although her leukemia has come back, it's definitely not as bad as it was 3 years ago which is a huge relief bringing her fatality rate down by around 30%, that, is a miracle. Clary's a fighter." He says to Izzy and I bringing a huge weight off of my shoulders.
"Can… can we see her?" Izzy asks in a quiet voice, unshed tears in her eyes.
"Yes." Robert says simply. I feel my legs start to rush toward wherever she is until Robert grabs my shoulder pulling me back.
"Don't rush her, she's still extremely weak and needs rest; okay?" He says in a serious voice.
I just nod at him, really anxious to see Clary.
"She's in room 418." He sighs, beginning to walk outside, probably to go find Jon.
I don't care though; the only thing on my mind is seeing Clary. I rush past each room number until I finally see 418. Before I open the door I take a deep breath to calm myself down. I look over to Izzy who was trailing behind me, she nods and I open the door.
The first thing I see when I enter the room is Clary's fiery red hair splayed out on a pillow. Her eyes are closed and but there's a little more color in her face. She looks so peaceful right now; we both walk in as quietly as we can trying not to wake her.
I pull a chair up next to her bed so I can sit next to her. Izzy goes to sit down on the other side of the bed looking just as relieved as I am. I put my hand on top of her small hand, which seems to wake her. She gives a small, sharp intake of breath and her eyes start to flutter open.
I glance over at Izzy who looks at me as if to say Great job, asshole.
When her beautiful emerald green eyes open, she squints a little, taking in the room and then t her head to me; when she recognizes it's me she smiles.
"Jace." She says drowsily looking at me through half lidded eyes.
"Hey there beautiful. How are you feeling?" I ask.
"Better than I felt the last time I was here." She says honestly.
She slowly turns her head toward Izzy who has a couple of tears falling down her cheeks.
"Oh god." She says, waking up a little when she sees Izzy's tears "What did I do?" She looks my way as if for an answer and then turns back to Iz when I have nothing to offer. Izzy gives a short laugh,
"You just really scared us, Clary." She replies quietly "I'm just really happy you're okay though."
Clary smiles at her taking her hand. We're silent for a little while until Clary says,
"Shouldn't you guys be at school?" This makes Izzy and I laugh a little causing Clary to look even more confused.
"Yeah we kind of… skipped." I say vaguely, she shrugs and drops the subject.
Right then a nurse comes in holding a clipboard.
"Clary, We called your parents. They'll be here tomorrow, okay?" Clary nods. "You gave them quite a scare." The nurse smiles and then exits the room.
Clary POV:
After the nurse leaves I push myself up to a sitting position. With a small grunt of pain I accomplish my small feat. I'm exhausted but I don't want to miss out on talking to people other than doctors and nurses.
"So…" I say, trying to strike a conversation with them. "Sit with me." I finish moving to the middle of the small hospital bed and patting the sides on either side of me. They each gently sit on the bed with me so we're all snug in the tiny bed.
"I wonder what's on tv." I say, hopefully that'll deter their worried looks.
I grab the remote and start to flip through the channels.
"Ooh! Walking Dead!" I hear Izzy say next to me.
"Look! Sherlock!" I turn to Izzy who shakes her head violently. I'm about to click on the channel with Sherlock on it when Jace say enthusiastically,
"Gossip Girl!" Izzy and I both turn our heads questionably in Jace's direction who's trying to wipe the excited look off of his face "Or Sherlock." He says non-chalantly.
Izzy and I burst out laughing, I never knew he loved Gossip Girl! As we continue laughing I feel a sharp pain in the back of my head that makes me wince and stop laughing immediately. Izzy stops too giving me another concerned look. Jace also looks worried. Once I shake off the headache I offer both of them a small smile they return.
"Sherlock it is." I say turning it to that channel. I rest my head on Jace's chest as we watch the show, starting to nod off with the first half hour of the show. As I feel myself slipping once again into sleep a small smirk appears on my face.
"Gossip Girl." I say half to myself, I hear Izzy's short laugh rumble the bed before I'm sucked into sleep.
I must've been out for a while. When I open my eyes again the room is dark, I'm not alone though. Though the lamplight by my bed I see my brother starting to nod off in a chair across the room. I'm still laying on Jace's chest who is knocked out cold. Izzy, though, is nowhere to be seen. When I turn my head to the other side of the room, I see Mom and Luke; How did they get here so fast?
"Mom? Luke?" I say, starting to feel tears form in my eyes. I never know how much I miss the both of them until they come back from their business trips.
"Hey." My mom says quietly coming closer to my hospital bed with Luke behind her. "How are you feeling, honey?" She asks looking me up and down like the worried mother she always is.
"Fine, I guess." I say trying to sit up, my muscles feel sore so the best I can do without waking Jace up is scooting toward them.
"How's London?" I ask them, laying my head on my mother's lap. I look at the wall clock, the last time I checked it, it was 4 o'clock and now it's 9:30. Even after 5 ½ hours of sleep I'm still tired.
"It's beautiful." Luke says. "We'll have to take you there someday, when we're not working. Oh! We brought you something back." He says looking through one of his jacket pockets.
"The lady we're painting for, Tessa Gray, heard about you and called you a real 'shadowhunter'." He says, I look at him slightly confused. " That's what I looked like when she told us that too, but she explained a shadowhunter is a brave person who fights the things not all of us can see. Then she wanted me to give you this."
He holds out a hand to give me this beautiful bronze angel. Her wings seem to be made of clockwork and in her hands she holds a sword.
"Oh my god it's beautiful." I say, grunting when I try to sit up again. I put on the necklace and fall in love with it even more. "Thank you. And tell Tessa I say thank you very much." I finish.
When my mother pulls out her camera she catches everyone in the room off guard as the flash goes off startling both Jace and Jon from their sleep. Jon glares at our mom for a second before noticing that I'm awake. Jace wakes up slowly looking around drowsily, he looks over to see my parents and scrambles out of the bed.
"Mrs. Morgenstern, Luke, Hi!" He says going over to them giving Luke a handshake and my mom a quick hug.
"Please, Call me Jocelyn, I hate going by Morgenstern." She says.
I lay my head back down on one of the pillows in the bed as I watch everyone get to know each other again. My mind starts to wander off as I start to think about the terrible things I'll have to endure again, the chemo, the medications, missing the occasional weeks of school. I guess there's also some good this time too though, I won't lose my hair this time since the chemo isn't as strong, and I this time I have Jace by my side; this time as my boyfriend. I start to doze off again until I feel Luke touch my hair.
"Hey kiddo, are you okay there?" He asks me trying to sound lighthearted but with an undertone of concern.
I nod my head. Luke has always been like a father to me since I was around 6 years old when my mom started having problems with her marriage. When my mom and Luke got married, though everything seemed to get better.
" We're going to start heading out then, we're only 10 minutes away if you need anything." My mom chimes in.
"I think I'll be fine mom. I mean, I am in a hospital so…" I reply playfully.
She smiles and gives me a kiss on the forehead. Luke is next giving me a kiss on my forehead also. Then Jon comes by my bed, ruffling my head and then saying,
"She'll be fine, if she's as stubborn as she is at home I don't think cancer has anything on her." Luck and mom look at each other laughing for a second. I take the opportunity to flip off my brother while they're not looking which makes him smile and me smirk.
As they start to walk toward the door I hear a small commotion coming from the hallway. I can tell Jon is listening too.
"Sir, visiting hours are over." I hear the nurse say.
"I assure you, I won't take long. Besides, I'm her father." We both seize up at the sound of that voice.
He walks in giving a theatrical knock on the already open door.
Valentine.
All of our eyes turn in his direction, I hear Mom gasp as Luke holds her around her waist. Jon has an angry look on his face. Jace seems slightly confused but plays along.
"There she is!" Valentine says, walking over to my bedside. He makes it halfway to me before he stopped by Jon.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Jon asks with disgust clear in his voice.
"Now, Now" Valentine starts, acting hurt. "That's no way to treat you're father."
After Valentine speaks Jace seems to understand. He looks at me with a face full of surprise, disgust, and anger. I nod, answering his unspoken question.
"You're right." Jon says sarcastically, "That's why I don't treat Luke like that." He finishes giving Valentine a small sarcastic smirk.
He seems slightly annoyed by this by the way there's a vein popping out of his neck as if trying to hold in his anger.
"Well, it isn't like I'm here to see you." Valentine replies, looking him up and down in disgust. "I'm here to see my daughter."
Valentine walks past Jon who looks murderous towards me. "Contrary to all of your misconceptions, I worry about this girl."
I flinch as he puts his hand on my cheek, thinking he was going to hit me, and trails it down my face. All the emotions I had for Valentine; fear, worthlessness, anger, disgust, and too many I don't even have words for resurface leaving me speechless. I just lay there still looking down as he stares at me.
"Valentine I think you should leave." My mom says, anger clear in her voice.
"You!" He half yells, spinning on his heel to face her. "Shut up."
"Hey!" I say, turning all attention to me, "Don't talk to her like that." I finish timidly.
"Ah Clary. That's the girl I remember, always so feisty." He says turning back to me to play with my hair; Jace looks enraged as he starts to move toward Valentine, ready to punch him. Jon stops him, whispering something in his ear that makes him stop begrudgingly.
"If only you could understand what a… a whore your mother is." He says to me gently.
I give a short laugh "You're one to talk." I say beside myself, making eye contact with him " How dare you call my mother a whore, when you would go around to any strip club you could find, getting laid by any piece of shit that was drunk enough to actually find you attractive."
Everyone looks shocked at the words that have just come out of my mouth, including me.
" Oh Clarissa, a couple of more years with me and you would've understood. I'm the victim here. You're… mother here and Luke were having an affair behind my back."
"For good reason." I spit back with as much venom I can muster from my worn out body.
"Someday Clarissa, someday." He says coming down to whisper in my ear "I'll be back for you." He stands up again and exits the room leaving nothing but shocked silence.
" I hate him." I hear Jon say from the door next to Jace who looks like he's ready to kill him.
I sit up again feeling absolutely drained.
"He was right about one thing." Luke finally says.
We all look at him.
"Clary can be pretty feisty." He smiles at me and gives me a thumbs up I'm too weary to return. I feel my eyelids start to droop as my head rests sideways on my shoulder.
"My baby's tired." I hear my mom say, coming up to me to give me another kiss on my forehead. "I love you honey." She whispers to me as she lays me back down.
"Jocelyn we should get going." Luke says finally, Jocelyn gives me another worried look and then hesitantly nods.
Jon stays where he is "I'm not going. Not with that… sicko around looking for my sister."
"Jon." I whisper, he comes over to me "I'll be fine, besides you look exhausted. You need rest for school tomorrow."
"Clary I don't have to go to school tomo-"
"For me Jon?" I ask him quietly. "The football team needs their star player." I say
He looks reluctant but eventually nods. "I'll see you tomorrow okay?" I nod and he rustles my hair again. "I love you sis." He says before he leaves the room with Mom and Luke. Jace is about to follow them out of the door when I call him over.
"Jace?" I say, he turns around at the door. "Will you stay with me?" He looks at My mom and Luke who smile and nod at Jace as they leave.
He comes back into the room taking off his shoes and jeans leaving him in a pair of boxers. I scoot over giving him space to get into the bed. It's more spacious now that Izzy isn't in the bed also with us.
"Clary, your father… your real father-" Jace starts as I lay my head on his chest.
"Shh." I say interrupting him. "It's okay, he doesn't matter okay?" I say.
"Okay." He says back kissing my forehead, dropping the subject.
"You know, I've been thinking." I say drowsily to him.
"And?" He asks.
"I don't think anymore, I know, that I'm in love with you Jace Lightwood." I say into the darkness of the room.
Jace looks down at me and I look up at him. His eyes are so full of love and happiness if I wasn't so tired I would've kissed him right then.
"Well Clarissa Morgenstern, hate to break it to you, but I am uncontrollably in love with you too. There's no getting rid of me now." He replies smiling one of his beautiful smiles.
"Darn." I say playfully. "Because If I remember correctly, there's this really cute guy who works here."
" Cuter than me?" Jace asks me
" Maybe…" I say starting to nod off.
"I doubt that," he whispers "I mean who could be hotter than me?" he asks me.
I'm too tired to talk anymore so I only laugh. Jace plants a kiss in my hair after that. The last thing I hear before I'm sucked into a peaceful darkness is Jace,
"Sweet dreams Clary." He whispers.
AN: Tell me what you guys thought about this chapter! Also comment a funny saying, story, quote or anything! My favorites I'll put into the next chapter!I love you guys so much! I can't tell you guys how much I appreciate your support! You guys are amazing!
R & R
XOXO
Erin