I love you, you know that? I love, love, love, love you. I got my two-hundredth review on June 21st, I'd been refreshing the story stats page all day waiting for that. I hope you all know how much it means to me that you've given me a chance. I sincerely hope that I haven't disappointed you at all! It is also the six month anniversary of this story on the day that I finished this chapter: July 11, 2011. Goodness, you people are my favorites. I'm sorry for this next chapter, it was only going to be two long scenes in the nineteenth chapter but I really wanted to send out this new chapter for the six months because, you know, I'm sappy and love you. So I'd like to thank all of you, as cheesy as I am. Also, KASEYMEREDITH! Haha, I forgot to thank her last chapter and I just near died from guilt. And you anonymous reviewers, thanks for your kind words because all reviews make my life. I swear to you, they make me smile and giggle with glee every time I get one… I'm not kidding, I giggle.

DFTBA! and Best Wishes,

KelseyDockry

I brushed my hand over my calf where there should have been a scar from the rune three nights ago. I think Jace was starting to notice that I hadn't slept at all in those three nights. At least Isabelle's makeup lessons were getting put to good use, only Jace had seen the dark circles after I washed my face last night. I could hear his soft breathing in the bedroom through the silence of the apartment, comforting me without his knowing. I wasn't sure how long I'd been sitting out here in the living room. Though, since my tea had gone cold and the light blue floral chair had gotten warm, I was pretty confident that it had been a long time. I fought off the urge to pace by staring out the window and sipping at the bitter tea in my hands. Sighing and closing my eyes, I leaned my head back and listened to his breathing. I don't think he knew how much it meant to me to be able to even hear him, regardless of whether he was asleep or not. It meant so much to me that he'd seen the subtle change that three nights of no sleep caused. I felt silent tears course their way down my temples and into my hair through closed eyes. My phone buzzed next to me, startling me and causing me to break out of the trance that Jace's breathing put me in.

Looking down and sighing, I read the text message.

You should be sleeping.

I almost smiled at that. Simon wasn't even here and he knew. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised that he noticed too, being my best friend and all. I quickly typed my response.

You should talk, you're not asleep either.

I closed my eyes again, willing sleep to come and drown me in it. And again, it refused. After a minute, my phone buzzed again.

Clary, this isn't your fault. Damn him and his way of knowing everything.

I don't know what you're talking about. I just can't sleep, okay?

A minute later: Whatever, just go to bed and snuggle into your little blond-haired Romeo.

I actually did smile at that for a moment, closing my eyes and listening to said 'blond-haired Romeo.'

Whatever you say, Simon. Just go to sleep yourself and get off my case. I stared out the window, holding back the rare tears that wouldn't stop assaulting my late nights these last few days. My phone buzzed again.

I love you, Clary. You know that don't you? I thought back to the time when that would have made my heart flutter. It seemed so much longer than two years ago.

Yeah, yeah. I love you too, you big sap. If you shut up, I'll go to sleep. Goodnight. That was a lie, but it was a lie that'd make him feel better.

One last buzz. Seriously, go to sleep. Goodnight.

I put my phone down and let my head fall back against the top of the chair, taking another sip of freezing tea and closing my eyes. I listened for Jace's sleeping breaths. My brows furrowed when I didn't hear anything and I pushed my ears to listen harder, figuring that he must have turned over and faced the opposite way.

I jumped when a throat cleared, my eyes flying open. They landed on a cross-armed, stern looking, shirtless Jace that leaned against the wall where the hallway cut off and opened to the living room. I swallowed against the lump in my throat that huddled in from being caught out of bed, trying as discretely as I could to wipe the tears off of my cheeks. Though I knew he saw it, so I covered my face with my hands.

Upon seeing that, he rushed silently over to me and knelt in front of the chair I sat in. Taking the glass from my hand and setting it on the table, he gently grabbed my wrists. He tried unsuccessfully to pry my hands from my face.

"Clary," he said. I shook my head, not moving my hands. "Clary, look at me." I allowed him to pull my hands off of my face, swallowing hard for the second time, willing myself not to cry in front of him. I wasn't one of those girlfriends that called on their boyfriends to soothe their tears away every five minutes. I couldn't even remember the last time I actually cried in front of him. He curled his forefinger and lifted my chin up. "Clare."

I shut my eyes, and blew out a shaky breath. After a moment for collecting myself, I opened my eyes and stared into his, refusing to let my face betray me.

He sighed and dropped his head forward. "Don't do that," he said.

"Do what?"

"What I used to do," he looked up. "What you're doing now, shutting yourself up like that. Don't shut me out, Clare. Please don't."

I pushed my hair back behind my ear and moved away from his hand. Balancing my elbows on my knees, I put my one hand in my hair, pushing it back again while rocking slowly back and forth a few times. He brushed his fingertips over one of my cheeks, making me lean into him before connecting my gaze with his.

"Hi," I whispered.

He smiled. "Hi." I leaned forward and pressed my forehead into his shoulder. After a long pause he whispered, "Will you… will you come back to bed?"

I closed my eyes again and nodded into the crook of his neck. "Okay," he said, sliding his hands around me. When I was about to stand up and follow him, he picked me up like I didn't weigh anything. I would have gasped but I was too tired.

He reached the bed and put me down, leaning automatically above me. He stared down at me, climbing in on top and cocking his head to the side. "What's wrong?" He asked. I shook my head, looking away from him. "You really don't want to talk about it?"

"I don't want to talk about anything," I said, grabbing his face between both hands. He was about to say something when I dragged him down, crushing his lips on mine. He froze for a moment, seeming confused, before kissing me back. His hand slipped up my exposed thigh, tracing the bottom with his thumb. I ran my hands, palms flat, against his chest and up to his shoulders. With a small amount of strength, due to his soft touch, I was able to roll us both over so I was over him at the middle of the mattress. His hands gripped at my waist, his long pianist fingers an inch away from each other on my small back. I brought my hands up to fist my hands into his long hair. After a moment, his hands went up to my cheeks, pulling my face off of his. Every kiss since the fight felt different, like we were closer and every kiss brought us closer. I kept my eyes closed, pulling my lower lip between my teeth and smiling. He rolled over again, hovering on top of me.

"Don't you think you should sleep now?" he asked.

I glared at him. "Really?" I said. "That's really what you're going to say after that?" I pushed him off of me and moved to my side of the bed, bringing my legs to my chest and wrapping my arms around them.

"When's the last time you actually slept?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Clare," he leaned onto his knees and took my face in his hands, "when was the last time you slept?"

I looked away and gnawed on my lip, knowing full well that there was no way in the world that I could lie to him. He moved his thumb to my chin, gently pulling at it to release my lower lip.

"It's been three nights." It wasn't a question, not really. I closed my eyes, refusing to actually say it. "Listen to me, Clary. What happened to Rose, and Izzy, and Alec… me, what happened to us was not your fault." I tried to shake my head but his grasp only tightened. "You're human, you need sleep. None of us are angry with you, why are you angry with yourself?"

"I'm not angry with myself," I denied.

"Then who—fine, don't say anything. If you don't want to talk, don't talk." He reached forward slowly, gauging my reaction. When I didn't move, he put his hand on my shoulder. "Will you lay down with me?" I closed my eyes briefly before nodding. "And stay here, in bed?"

"Okay," I whispered, letting him take my wrists and unwind my arms from around my legs. I looked up at him when he peeled the covers back, watching his smile appear when he noticed my gaze. He lay down on his back, drawing me to place my head on his shoulder and wrapping his arms around me. He pressed his face into the top of my hair, pulling the hair tie out before flinging it on the bedside table. He rubbed at my back and hummed into my soft tendrils, moving the two curls that fell into my face behind my ear. His soft musical breath on my hair made me close my eyes and lulled me to the edge of sleep. I was half-willing to let it engulf me, the other half of me just wanted to lay there and drink in every note that he exhaled onto my head. But when his one hand threaded into my hair and his thumb brushed against it from my temple to my ear, I could feel myself going even limper into his form and felt the covers gladly take me in, not ever quite as warm as Jace would be. Every thought of mine stopped being coherent and all that I could focus on was him and his magical way of knowing exactly how to make my body do what he wanted it to do. And for the first time in those three days, as my eyes closed with the intention of staying that way, I felt him smile against my hair, breathing out comforting words that I didn't have the energy to understand.

"There you are," a voice called out to me.

I started, my eyes flicking open near violently. "Hello?" I shouted, whipping my head around before studying the ground that I stood on, the green grass that only existed in Idris. "Who's there?"

"Clary, dear," the voice called again to my left. "Over here." I looked over where I heard the voice, examining the cottage that protruded from the ground, vines roping their way up and around it. On the porch stood a woman that seemed familiar, her light skin and blonde, waist length hair in particular. I took a slow step forward when she waved me to do so, feeling the soft grass give under my sneakered feet. The woman removed the hand that she held above her eyes as a shield from the brilliant sun, the light catching the deep gold of her eyes. "Well," she said, "I've been waiting for you. Are you going to come up here or not?" She waved me forward again eagerly.

When I'd reached the porch steps, I hesitated. "Who are you?" I asked.

She smiled sweetly and sadly. "Clary, I'm so sorry that we haven't met." She sighed and stared down the steps at me. She took another step forwards. "Celine Herondale." Her hand went to the air timidly. "Jace's mother."

I froze for a moment, foot just above the bottom step. I looked up to meet the familiar gold. "Jace's mother?" I asked. She nodded with that sad smile still on her lips. I bounded the stairs and took her hand, shaking it confidently. "Clary," I said. "Though, you seem to already know that."

"I did," she drew me in for an unexpected hug, "I've known who you are for a while now."

Pulling back and offering a confused look, I tried to piece all of this together. "How? How are you here? Aren't you, um, dead?"

"Funny how death keeps in this family, isn't it?" A male voice rang out from the doorway. I looked around Celine to be met with a painfully familiar smirk. I suppose it wasn't signature Jace after all. The man was a perfect image of Jace, minus the blue eyes. He stopped leaning against the doorway and unfolded his strong arms from his chest. "I suppose you've already guessed who I am. Not surprised, I suppose, good looks like these are hard to forget. Especially when you've fallen in love with the next generation of them. He really is a chip off the gorgeous block, if I may say so myself."

"Stephen," Celine chastised.

He raised his hands in false innocence, a very Jace thing to do, before stepping forward and extending an all too confident hand, nothing like how Celine's was. I took it with as much assurance as I could try to put forth. His grip on it was strong, daring me, so I tightened mine, causing him to laugh and take his hand back. "I like you, kid. I like you a lot. Perfect for my son, he could probably use someone who isn't afraid to assert themselves." I blushed heavily under his parents' gazes. I wished Jace were here so I wasn't doing this alone, though I knew I was asleep in his arms in reality.

"Don't mind him, dear. He hasn't been around many, uh, living people in a while. Not that he was much better in the flesh," Celine said. "Come in, please. We'd love to have a chat with you."

I followed Stephen's descent into the house, watching him tap his hand on the doorframe like Jace would have. Celine wrapped her arm around my shoulder and guided me into the small dining nook. Stephen sat down and propped a booted foot up on one chair before Celine guided me to sit on the other side of the table. She went to the counter and fetched a kettle, walking over to the sink.

"Tea, Clary?" She offered.

"Uh, sure," I said, wringing the edges of my shirt under the table. I looked up to see Stephen eying me blankly. I took to opportunity to notice just how Jace-like he really was, so much more in front of my own eyes than in a picture. Even the way he held himself was exactly like Jace, something he couldn't have faked if he wanted to. The water ran out of the faucet behind him, drawing both him and me out of our trances. Once Celine had put her kettle on the stove, she smiled to herself and came back to sit across from me at the table.

"I'm sorry we haven't really had much of an introduction," Celine said. "But we've been waiting three days for you to fall asleep."

"Stubborn, you are," Stephen said, folding his hands behind his head and leaning back. "You just wouldn't tucker out enough for us to see you. What could possibly have been so distracting that you wouldn't sleep for three whole nights?"

"Well guilt, mostly," I said honestly.

"Yes, we know about the fight," Celine said, reaching across the table to squeeze my hand. "And we're sorry about that. We didn't mean for the dagger to give you that rune and just take it away. But we hoped that it would be useful."

"It saved my friends life, and mine, and your son's." I shook my head at the last one, wiping my hands over my face.

"Thank you for that," Stephen said.

"For what?"

"Everything you've done for Jace. You've done so much for him that we couldn't. You showed him love when neither of us were able to be there, and for that we are eternally in debt to you." The kettle began to screech, announcing that it was ready and Celine jumped up and scurried over to it. I watched her prepare the tea before she brought it over to us. I took it in my hands, the cup scorching them, and blew on it.

"So how, exactly, are you here?" I asked.

"Well, I think you should find out why you're here before you ask us. This is our home, you know," Stephen said, drinking the water that Celine had brought him instead of tea.

"I'm here because I'm usually present for my own dreams. You two, however, are not usually here. So now that that is taken care of…"

"Yes, it's official, I approve of this girl. She's damn perfect for my son."

"We're here because we know what you can do. Our son has the extra angel blood too and we know what he can do. You, however, don't just excel at fighting. You make runes, new runes that are so much more complex than anything we were fortunate enough to see in our times," Celine said. Then she added in a rush, "Also, we'd like to see who is going to marry our son and mother our grandchildren."

I blushed furiously. "I see."

"So our son," Stephen said, "how does he behave? Is he more his mother or his father?"

"Other than the eyes, he's all you." Stephen smiled at the idea. "But," I said, turning my gaze to Celine, "he's very, very sweet to me. The way he acts when we're alone is something that any mother would be proud to see."

"You love him very much, don't you?" She asked.

"More than I can say."

"I can see that in the way you talk about him." She looked up at the clock on the wall next to the nook. "We don't have much time."

"What, why?" I asked, not wanting much more than to see where Jace got his genes from and to actually meet these people.

"You have to wake soon. Maybe if you didn't wait so long to fall asleep, we'd have had more time," she said, smiling.

"Well, guilt does that to me," I said, looking down at the tea in my hands.

They exchanged a look. "None of that was your fault, you know," Stephen said.

"You sound like Jace."

He smiled. "I like to think of myself as uniquely my own person. He sounds like me."

"You two are exactly the same," I laughed.

"Hey, now," Celine smiled, "he has my eyes. I want my contribution recognized."

"Well, I'm just glad to be compared to someone other than my sister," he said.

"She's lovely," Celine chastised. "She just works a lot. Your sibling rivalry knows no bounds, even in death you're bitter."

"Yes, yes. Our spats have always just been my secret way of saying she makes me jealous. Now excuse me while I go put in my pigtails and start singing Madonna songs into a hairbrush."

"You don't have to be an ass," Celine said. Words cannot describe how strange it was to hear this grown, regal-looking woman say the word 'ass.'

"I am not an ass, I'm clever. There is a difference," Stephen said, stretching his arms out in front of him, fingers weaved together, before putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in exactly the same way that Jace does. I studied the two of them, noting how outlandishly similar they are to Jace and me.

"Yes, there is a difference. No, you are not clever. You are an ass."

"I think you're scaring the girl," Stephen smirked.

"'The girl'?" I laughed.

"Well, you're presumably a girl. I mean, I don't think my son plays for the other team. Would you prefer 'woman'?"

"'Clary' is good, though 'badass Shadowhunter' would be suitably appropriate," I said, throwing a smirk back at him.

"Idea formally accepted, approval pending." He looked at me for a moment. "Your hair is exceedingly red."

"Thank you for your observation."

"It reminds me of the hilt of a blade that I got from my sister."

"My hair reminds you of a knife?" I asked, confused.

"Well, its decoration, yes. But I'm sure that she has it or gave it to someone else now."

"Wait a seco—" I was interrupting by the long and vociferous toll of a bell. "What is that?" I asked, panicked.

"It's time for you to go," Celine said, grabbing my hand and bringing me to my feet.

"Why? When will I see you again?"

"I don't know, dear," she said, honestly. "We will try to see you. But in life and in death, there really is no telling with time."

I looked into the gold that gave Jace his eyes, studying the woman quickly, knowing from her answer that this may be my last chance. After I'd finished studying her, I looked over to Stephen. He really was where Jace came from, and Stephen was almost as beautiful. Celine took me out to the porch before grabbing both of my hands, and thinking better of it, pulled me into a hug. Before releasing me, she whispered, "Please tell Jace that I love him. I love him and I'm sorry that I left him."

Knowing better than to argue, I pulled back and looked into her tawny eyes. "If I can."

"Thank you," she smiled, engulfing me in a final hug. "Welcome to our family." I smiled at her, loving that Jace's mother accepted me, and looked back at Stephen. He should have looked intimidating, really I think he tried, but after knowing Jace so well, it didn't work. I mirrored his look until he laughed.

He stepped forward and gathered me into a hug, lifting me off the ground. "You're very small, has anyone told you that?"

"Yes, your son. Many times, actually. You're very sarcastic, has anyone told you that?"

He laughed again. "Celine, many times, actually. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there to see you two meet, Clary. I really am. And I'm sorry that we won't be there to see your wedding or your kids being born. We will try to come back to you in your dreams again."

"Wait. Before I go, I need to ask you this. How are you in my dreams? How is that possible?"

Instead of the smile that I would have expected, Stephen looked into my eyes very seriously. "Did you really think that the runes and the fighting was the only gift of the angel blood?"

"So this dreaming thing… it's normal? I mean, it's something that should happen again?" I asked.

"It will happen again," he said. He grabbed my chin lightly, leaning down so we were at eye level. "Protect my son, Clary." I blinked twice and looked behind him at Celine. She smiled, looking like she was in pain, and waved. Stephen released my jaw and stepped back. "Wake up," he whispered.

"How?" I asked, feeling a sudden pull to go back the way I came. Neither of them answered, just pulled each other into their arms and watched me. I looked out at the grass that graced the empty field and hills with the trees. Casting another look at the golden couple that gave me my life, because that's what Jace truly was, I memorized them and vowed to keep this dream in my mind. Taking the first step down the porch, I felt the soft scraping of the unvarnished light hardwood. I took the steps slowly and felt myself grow more and more drained. Practically dragging myself to the middle of the empty field, I felt a sudden gust of chilling air. My hair flew back and I closed my eyes, breathing in the fresh air that only existed in Idris.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself not in the blinding sunlight, but in the complete darkness of the night sky. I took three steps forward before I could stop myself and close my eyes again, hoping for sunshine. When I opened them again, I realized for a second time that it was still dark, only this time it was darker. I got the creeping suspicion that something wasn't only unusual but also daunting. I took a deep breath and craned my neck slowly, closing my eyes before following the turning with my entire body. Inhaling once shakily, I opened my eyes and felt my stomach drop. Though I'd gotten used to how it got darker every time I closed and opened my eyes, and that was still a bit odd, the thing that I saw, even if I had to squint to see it, was not something that I'd gotten used to.

Where the beautiful cottage sat, with its creaking stairs and porch, its hanging flowers, its pretty rooms, its pretty furniture, and above all, its pretty couple, was nothing. Absolutely nothing. I was alone in this dream world where I had never been before, where I did not know where to go or how to leave. I squinted against the darkness; my eyes watering from keeping them open too long, trying desperately to see the cottage again. Maybe it was just too dark, maybe I'd gone farther than I thought I'd walked. Maybe I should just go back and see the cottage again.

Right when I had that thought, I felt the ground quiver for the smallest of barely existent moments. Just as fast as the ground had quivered, it disappeared. I hung suspended in the air just briefly before plummeting downward into the seemingly never-ending pit below me. I tried desperately to stop myself, finding absolutely nothing to grab onto. I felt my body rush into a cold sweat, my stomach fall, felt my breathing and heart beat pick up to dangerously high and shallow speeds, my head pulsing to a beat not unlike the beat of Matt's drumming when he'd first picked up the sticks.

The pit was bottomless; the fall would never end.

And then it did.

I flew up into a sitting position on the bed, my body slightly sticky and working at a scary fast pace. My chest was heaving almost painfully as my heart tried to punch its way out of my ribs. I grasped at my shirt weakly, attempting to slow myself down.

"Clary?" Jace asked from beside me, his voice barely containing sleep and fully containing worry. I looked at him, his wide and golden eyes calming me. He pushed himself onto his knees and held me. His one hand smoothed the back of my hair as the other grasped the side of my waist opposite it.

"Shh," he said soothingly as my body tried to slow itself. I could feel adrenaline pumping through my veins more forcefully than blood. "What happened?"

I shook my head on his shoulder. "I don't want to talk about it," I said. "Not now." I turned my head the other way and buried it in his neck. After a few minutes, I pushed myself closer to him, my lips finding purchase just above his collarbone.

He froze.

I moved closer still, getting up onto my knees and pushing him down on the bed. He lay silently until I moved to straddle his waist, leaning forward and kissing his neck again.

"Clary," he warned, moving his hands to my face to pull it back. Instead of doing as he wanted, I took his hands in mine and put them above his head, pushing them firmly into the pillows, still kissing up his neck. "Clare, stop it."

"I miss you, Jace," I said, pressing my lips to the patch of skin behind his ear.

"I haven't gone anywhere." He tried to move his hands but I kept them firmly placed in the mattress.

"I haven't been able to touch you in three days." I moved his hands up above his head, crossing them and holding them with only one of mine. I trailed my fingertips down his arm slowly, his muscles tightening under them. "And I want to touch," I whispered.

"Not now, Clare. You need to sleep."

"I just slept, I don't need to do it again."

"We can't do th—" I cut off his protest by pressing my mouth to his. I smiled when he settled into me, trying to get his arms back. I knew it was hard for him to kiss me without touching me, but I also knew it was hard for him to stop me without touching me. I didn't know how to stop him, however, when he used his core strength to flip us. He brought his one hand down to grab mine from his chest and brought it up to my other, putting me in the position he was just in. He trailed his left hand down my arm and slowly brought it along to my waist, causing me to shiver uncontrollably. He seemed to like my shivers. I pulled his bottom lip between my teeth, wanting desperately to have some control on the kiss, even a little bit. The pulling of his lip caused him to groan against my mouth and pull me closer to him. I tugged desperately at his hold on my hands but he wouldn't budge. I whimpered into his mouth. He smiled and let go of my hangs, bringing his other to the side of my upper ribcage. I thanked him wordlessly by kissing him deeper, both of my hands twisting into his gorgeous hair.

"I love you," he whispered huskily. I gasped and pulled him as close as I could, flipping us and tugging his face closer. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and grabbed fiercely at my waist. I settled myself into his lap, putting my legs on either side of him.

We held each other like that until the sun came up and inched its way across the room. When my lips were thoroughly bruised and swollen and the sunlight was halfway across the room, Jace put his head on my shoulder and seemed to focus on breathing. I had just as hard, if not harder, of a time trying to breathe. When he'd regained his normal inhale, exhale routine, he grabbed my shoulders gently and pushed me back on the bed, laying half on top of me. I looked up at him as his fingertips ghosted my cheekbone, brushing back a stray curl.

"You are so indescribably beautiful," he said.

I closed my eyes and breathed. In through the nose, out through the mouth; in through the nose, out through the mouth. I could feel his fingers touching me, running over my arms, sliding over my waist, caressing my face. I opened my eyes and pushed up on my elbows, our faces only inches apart.

"I'm so scared, Jace," I whispered, putting my forehead against his cheek.

"I know, baby." He moved his face over, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"Please, please can you do something to make me forget or make me feel better?"

"I will do anything for you, Clare. You know that, right? I will do anything. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it," he said.

I grabbed his arms, pulling him closer to me. "Can we just be us again? For a day, I just want to be us. No infirmary, no runes, no demons. I just want to be us."

"Done," he said, wrapping his arms around me.

I slumped back in relief, my eyes no longer able to stay open and my head pounding like a war drum.

I woke with the sun beating its way through the shades that Jace must have closed. Lifting my head and noting the way that I was curled at the bottom of the bed, I looked around for Jace. When I didn't see him in the bedroom, I closed my eyes and listened for him. He was in the kitchen.

After going to brush my teeth in the bathroom, I walked over to him where he sat at the kitchen table and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He was reading through the newspaper, something I'd never seen him do before. The page, however, was not the page that I thought he might be interested in. He was looking at the houses and apartments open for rent and buying.

"Good morning," he said.

"Is it really?"

He laughed, "Well, ten o'clock is technically morning and now that you're here I'd say it's a fantastic morning."

"Your cheesiness literally never fails to make me want to gag and kiss you at the same time."

"It's a talent," he said, newspaper still in hand.

I laughed and bent my head down to kiss his shoulder. I tried desperately not to think about anything but him. He was here and I was here, and nothing else mattered at that moment. I didn't want to think about his family, or my family, or Rose, or training, or anything that wasn't him. So I didn't, I just kissed my way up his neck and slid my hands down his strong arms.

"Clary, I'm trying to read. You know how you get when I try and interrupt your reading."

"I always let you, don't I?" I asked, snuggling my face into his hair.

"Well, yes. But you know that I'm a three year old and I'll bother you until you respond."

I smiled, placing a quick kiss on his neck. "So I just have to bother you until you put the paper down?"

"You do know that I'm immune to people trying to bother me, right? I did grow up with Isabelle, as you remember."

"I'm willing to bet that she never tried anything like this," I whispered into his ear, running my hands down over his chest and feeling his abs under his shirt. He straightened his back in response, tightening his grip on the paper. Noting the way his fingers curled into reading material, I moved my hands up higher. Inch by inch, his shirt came up to reveal golden skin over toned muscles. I tugged the cotton towards his head, his breathing coming faster and his teeth starting to grind together in restraint. When the black fabric had bunched up at his underarms, I moved my hands to his back to pull it over his head, letting my nails scratch lightly on the way. He didn't raise his arms so I had to push it down where it caught on his wrists. I didn't bother trying to get it all the way off so I just let it stay there, pulling my hands all the way up his arms and down his back.

"Your idea of bothering me is taking my clothes off?" He asked, laughing once. "That's never going to bother me."

"Come on, Jace," I whispered in my seductive voice, though I knew it could probably be better, I hoped that it would work anyways. "Don't you want to play?"

"See, now you're just making me want to ignore you. It's like a challenge."

"This is our day. Can't we spend it together, not with you reading the paper?"

"Of course we can spend it together, I just want to see how you're planning on distracting me. Now if you don't mind, I am looking at homes for us and our future family."

I smiled to myself for the briefest of moments. "Fine," I said, taking my hands from him. I turned around and took three purposeful steps before I heard the chair scratch against the floor and felt his arms around me at the same time, lifting me up off the floor and pressing my back into his chest. I turned my head back to the table, seeing that half of the paper laid there and the other half was scattered on the floor with his t-shirt. He seemed to think that I turned my head for him because he took my lips with his. I smiled against his mouth, catching his bottom lip between my teeth. He froze for three seconds before pulling back.

"You did that on purpose," he said.

"Did what on purpose?" I smiled.

"You knew that I'd stop reading if you did that." He let go of me, stepping back with a look of horror on his face. He raised both his hands to his hair and fisted it. He stared down at the ground with his eyes wide and his jaw slack. "I've become predictable." He fell back into his chair. "My life means nothing."

"You're such a drama queen," I said, rolling my eyes but smiling nonetheless. I walked over to the fridge and looked through it, finding that my appetite had not returned like sleeping had. I closed the door and turned around, watching Jace fill a glass with water and drink it without a breath. Damn, he was a work of art.

"Go get dressed," he said when he put the glass in the dishwasher.

"What?" I asked, trying not to focus on my boyfriend's body but his words.

"Sorry, were my rippling pectorals too distracting?" He reached down and snatched up his shirt, putting it on in the same fluid motion. "Put some proper clothes on."

"Not liking the cloth shorts and tank top look?"

"I'm liking it too much, actually. That's why you have to change; I don't want any other jerks liking it as much as I do."

"I don't think that'll happen."

"Trust me," he said.

"I trust," I called back as I started walking to the bedroom. After changing and running a brush through the mess that Jace caused last night, I came out to see Jace studying something out the window very carefully. "What're you looking at?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

He jumped, a very unJace-like thing to do, and looked at me with wide eyes. "N-nothing," he said.

I took a step closer, planning to find out what he was looking at. With my step, he took two of his own closer to me, reaching up to hold my hand and pull me away from the living room. I shot one more look at the window before he pulled me out the door, grabbing the keys before it closed on us.

"So where are you bringing me? I'm keen to the idea of a date, I mean we haven't had one for weeks, but I'm not so fanatical for the kidnapping that seems to be occurring."

"It wouldn't be kidnapping, would it? What woman wouldn't want me to tow them around town by the hand, making them the envy of every other female that sees them?"

"See, you ruin it by being an ass," I said. He chuckled when he caught sight of my face. I knew that he loved annoying me more than anyone else but did he really have to get that much of a kick out of it?

"It's not being an ass if I act like this all the time."

"Yes it is. And you don't even act like this all the time."

"Maybe not with you, but I actually like you."

"That's a good thing seeing as we're getting married."

He took me to the little restaurant just on the outside of Central Park and opened the door, ushering me inside.

"I swear, you go from ass to cheesy in a matter of seconds," I said, feeling his arm snake around my waist.

"I prefer boyfriendly," he said, waiting in line next to me.

"Not a word."

"I'm too good to be confined to your pathetic dictionary. I like to think of myself as a lexicographer for the ages."

I rolled my eyes. I didn't even know he knew what a lexicographer is, but there he was, being good at everything as usual. A tiny brunette bounded over to the counter when we got to the front of the line. Jace ordered the food that he usually got us for a picnic and lounged on the ledge of the counter. I stared at him there for a moment, not bothering to make conversation. When he realized that I was staring, he smirked at me and pulled me an inch or two closer. I smiled and rolled my eyes, pulling myself closer to hug him softly. He swung his arms back around me and put his lips on my hair. I smiled and turned my head to look through the restaurant. It bustled with tourists as usual, little families here and there, couples sitting outside and holding hands over the table. I didn't notice anything different until I looked to a couple that had just seated themselves a few minutes after we walked in. The woman had put her sunglasses on the table, flipped her shoulder length bleach-blonde hair, and held hands with the black-haired man across from her. But they didn't look affectionate like the others did, they looked strange. The man spoke to her without a smile and his eyes wandered the café, landing on Jace and me over and over. The woman would speak back to him with a tight smile on her face, but the conversation seemed to be trivial. There was something off with this couple, like I'd seen them before somewhere. Seeing someone who you'd never met in this city was strange but it happened. I don't know what seemed so off between them but I couldn't help the nagging feeling in my chest to leave.

I suddenly felt the loss of Jace's arm and looked away from the couple to him. He reached out and took the food with one hand and mine with the other. I cast one last glance at the couple before following Jace as he left.

Jace and I had been lying together on the blanket for about an hour, maybe two. He lay on his back facing the town and I lay on my back facing more of the park where I knew the fairies and the Seelie Queen were living; our heads next to each other. I looked up at the sky, plagued fully with pollution from the city yet still managing to seem clear. The sun beat down on my bare arms, face, and chest and felt beautifully there. What did not feel there was everything but nature and the gift of nature that lay beside me. There was no nagging need to speak or to move; there were no people, cars, or streets around us. There was only Jace and only the world around us. I turned my face towards him, seeing his gaze fixed on me. I smiled shyly at him.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi," he replied.

And really, there was nothing else that needed to be said. I closed my eyes briefly, taking in a deep breath and blowing it out just as slowly. Opening my eyes, I stared at his gold ones. I'd always emphasized the gold in his eyes when I'd paint or draw him. Truly, the gold that covered him was part of what made him so beautiful on the outside. And I'd thought about it before but in this light right now, it looked so intimidatingly beautiful that my heart clenched tightly. I looked down at his lips as he rolled onto his side and leaned forward. Gasping lightly when his mouth pressed mine with the most gentle of touches, I leaned in and molded my lips to his. His hand moved to cup my face in a strange kind of upside-down way that took my breath further.

His breath came out in a sigh over my face at the moment that my phone started buzzing in my pocket. Pulling back an inch, I looked down at the buzzing object. I reached my hand down and grabbed it, opening the text message from Isabelle.

She's awake.

Was that too much of a cliff-hanger? I might just think it is because I know what big thing happens next. Also, I'd like to know if I have any male readers. It was just something that I was wondering about. Okay, see you in the reviews.

DFTBA! and Best Wishes,

KelseyDockry