Today was the day. Today, Jace would sit down with Simon and Hodge and decide if he was in fighting shape. I had stayed at the gym the night before until Jace was ready to leave and, watching him train, I honestly believed he was ready to get back in the ring. I could see it in his face. He was back to being Jace "The Angel" Herondale.

I was stirring the sauce I was making on the stove, nervously waiting for Jace to come home. I bounced along to the music I had blasting from the speakers in the kitchen. Jace and I finished moving into our house the week before and I had spent the past week making it into our home. I hung pictures that I took all around the house and framed the picture Isabelle had taken of Jace and I to put in the hallway leading to our bedroom. Jace had already had the house furnished, but I had made small touches to make it homier. My favorite room was definitely our bedroom just because it was the one room in the house that I felt like I could escape to after a bad day. The sheets always smelled like Jace and it soothed me.

Just as I was thinking of escaping to the bedroom while I waited for Jace, he walked up behind me and wrapped one arm around my waist resting his chin on my shoulder. It always amazed me that he made almost no sound when he moved. Then again, the music was playing way too loud for me to hear anything else going on. He turned me around in his arms before lifting me onto the counter and holding out a bouquet of daisies.

"What are these for," I asked as I inhaled the scent of the flowers. Jace settled himself between my legs and braced himself on the counter.

"Do I need a reason to get my girl flowers," he smirked and kissed me. I shook my head and wrapped my arms around his neck. We stood there, wrapped in each other for a few minutes before I noticed my sauce starting to boil over.

I hopped down from the counter and rushed to the stove. After dishing up the food and handing Jace a plate, we made our way out to the patio to eat and watch the sun set. Jace held my hand under the table while we ate and talked about our days. I told him about the photos I was editing for a client and mentioned that Sophie was improving in the editing department, as well. He told me hat Max decided he was going to train the men in the morning and most of the guys said it was their hardest workout in months. I didn't know if he was avoiding the topic of what today was or if he didn't want to talk about the decision that was made.

"Jace, do you need to tell me something," I hinted.

"What are you talking about," he smiled and I knew he was just trying to stall, for what reason I still wasn't sure. "Fine, I met with Hodge and Simon today, as you know and we decided that I will be even better than I was before in three months. I called Valentine and he gave me a fight three months from Saturday."

"I knew it!" I jumped up and threw myself into Jace's arms. "So, where do we go from here?"

"Well, it will be just like any other fight. I'll train hard for the next few months and, hopefully, get my title back."

"I'm so proud of you." I leaned forward and captured his lips with my own. He held me close, as if he were afraid I might slip away.

"By the way, do you know what today is?" I leaned back to study his face. I had no idea what today was except for the day he decided to get back in the ring and I kind of felt bad that I didn't know what he was talking about.

"Am I supposed to know what today is?" He chuckled and shook his head pulling me onto his lap.

"A year ago today, I sat down on a couch in a club next to a fiery red head and my life changed forever."

"Oh my God." I covered my face with my hands. Jace removed my hands from my face and held them tightly in one of his hands as his other hand rested on my back. "I can't believe I forgot. I'm the worst girlfriend ever."

"Are you kidding me? You're definitely the best girlfriend ever and don't ever doubt that."

"I was just so worried about you today and it didn't even register in my mind the importance of the date. Jace, my life changed that day, too. If you had asked me that day where I would be a year from then, my answer wouldn't even be close to what my life is right now. You're giving me a life I never knew I could have and I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Red." I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him close as he ran his hands up and down my back.

He was right. Both of our lives had changed drastically in that moment. In the past year, I had grown so much and I had Jace to thank for that. I looked back on that year and realized how much we had been through together. I had no regrets, not even the time when Jonathan was harassing us because it brought us closer together. It was like we endured every single challenge that could be thrown at us so early on so we knew we could make it through anything.

I wanted a life with Jace because I had learned that a life without him wasn't a life at all. He challenged me and encouraged me in my work and in life. He was possibly the best thing that had ever happened to me, along with Isabelle. I liked being there for someone and being a support system. I liked being a part of a team. Jace and I were a team that build the other up and caught them when they fell. We were strong and could whether any storm.

o.0.O.0.o

For the next three months, Jace trained like a beast in the gym and prepared himself for his fight. I watched him every night after I closed the studio and brought the guys dinner. Jace was looking better than I had ever seen him.

Jonathan was going to be getting out of jail soon and I knew Jace was getting nervous when he shouldn't be. We still had a restraining order against him and the organization had taken every measure possible to ensure that Jonathan would never step foot within a hundred yards of an event. Valentine had basically disowned him, but Jace was still worried. Jonathan was getting out of jail the night before Jace's fight and Jace had a feeling Jonathan would try to get to him or me at the fight. I kept trying to tell him that everything would be okay and that he needed to focus on the fight, but nothing would calm him down. Jonathan didn't even know where we lived anymore, so that made me feel better. Jace? Not so much. He had a high-tech alarm system installed that had personalized codes to deactivate it. I was supposed to keep it armed when Jace wasn't home and I complied to put his mind at ease.

The night before the fight, after weigh-ins, Jace and I sat in our hotel room on the couch, watching fight videos from the guy Jace was going to be fighting. He didn't look like he was going to give Jace a hard time in the fight, but I knew Jace well enough to know that he would never admit that to himself. He went into every fight like it was going to be the hardest fight of his life.

As I was starting to drift off with my head on Jace's shoulder, I felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He answered it quickly and I listened to his side of the conversation.

"Herondale," he answered shortly. "He what?... Well, where is he now?... That's a violation of his restraining order and his probation…Okay, thank you."

He hung up the phone and ran his hand over his face, pulling me tighter into his side. He didn't say anything for a while and I let him process whatever was said on the other end of the phone. I had I feeling I knew what it was.

"Who was that, babe," I asked as I cupped his cheek and forced him to look at me. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes before opening them again and staring deeply into mine.

"Valentine," he said matter-of-factly. "Jonathan tried to get in the hotel. The police were called and he was arrested. It was a violation of his restraining order and probation so he'll go back to jail, at least for now." It was what I expected, but I knew it was tearing Jace up inside when he hopped up from the couch and started pacing. "Dammit. I knew something like this would happen. When will he just leave it alone? Leave us alone?"

"Jace, sit down, please." He sat back down and I could see the fire in his golden eyes. He was fuming. "Hold my hand." He entwined our fingers and I could feel some of the tension release. "You can't control him. He might be bothering us the rest of our lives, but that is not your fault nor can you change it unless you are able to get him a sentence longer than a year. Please, I want you to stop worrying about this. I just want you to focus on your fight and do what you do best. You control the outcome."

"I feel like I can't protect you, no matter what I do."

"Well, you shouldn't because I've never felt safer in my life and that's because of you." He nodded and pulled me onto his lap like he couldn't get me close enough. "Can you promise me something?" Silence. "Please promise me that this won't effect you tomorrow in the fight. You've worked too hard for too long to let this make a difference in the outcome of this fight."

"You're right. I love you." I turned to face him and kissed him lightly.

"I know I'm right. Do you promise?"

"I promise." He nipped at my bottom lip. "Always."

A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm really excited for the next chapter even though I haven't started writing it yet. It's going to be a good one!

I really appreciate all of your suggestions for my next fic and I have a few ideas for my next couple of tics. I might be working on two different tics at the same time because I don't want to lose these ideas. So, anyway, thank you!

Leave me a review and tell me what you think! I know this chapter is kinda short, but the next chapter should make up for it! :)