Clary

"What's happening," Isabelle asked from the other end of the phone. I was shamelessly spying on my sixteen-year old son who was telling the girl he had loved for ten years how he felt. Isabelle's dream since she found out I was pregnant with a boy was hopefully coming true. "I know she feels the same way, but I don't know if she'll tell him."

"They're watching the sun set," I told her and watched our kids instead of the beautiful sunset. I didn't know the song Will was planning on playing for her because he said he felt it was too personal. Once the sun went down, I saw Will take Tessa's hands. "Okay, they're talking."

"Oh, why didn't I sneak over there so I could watch this too? I'm so freaking jealous right now."

"Because that would have been ridiculously obvious, Isabelle. I already feel bad for spying on them."

"No, you don't." I smiled I turned the sink on to make it look like I was doing dishes.

"Okay, I don't." Will put his hand up to Tessa's face, but pulled back abruptly. I knew what he was doing. My son was freaking out and my heart sank. I held off on telling Isabelle what was happening for a few seconds until I saw what happened next. While Will was blabbering on and on, waving his arms about, Tessa leaned forward and kissed him. "Oh my God, she kissed him! She kissed him!"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

I started doing a happy little dance around the kitchen, extremely happy that Will had finally told Tessa how he felt. Isabelle and I were laughing in each other's ears. She was yelling to Simon and telling him what had happened while I glanced out the window again and saw them lying down on the blanket. As a parent, I should have been worried about this, but they weren't going to do anything out in the open where we could all see them.

"What are you doing," Jace asked from behind me and I startled with a shriek as I turned around.

"Uh, Iz, I'm going to have to call you back," I said lifting the phone to my ear before hanging up the call. "Hi, hon, how was your workout?"

"Fine." He took a step closer to me and looked behind me. "What are you doing, Red?"

"Okay, okay. I was watching Will and Tessa." He laughed and placed his hands on my hips. "I'm that mom. I'm the mom that spies on her kids."

"Oh, Red. You are that mom, but it's because you care so much. We still love you." He kissed my forehead and I leaned up to kiss him. "So, how'd it go?"

"She kissed him, Jace." I smiled brightly up at him and he kissed the tip of my nose. Even after all these years, I loved Jace as much as I did when we first got married. He was the man of my dreams and I thanked God every day for the life this man had given me, for the undeniable, unconditional love he had shown me and for the two sons I loved more than anything. He looked out the window at Will and Tessa.

"Well, I'll be damned. The boy did good." I smiled up at him and grabbed the back of his neck pulling his lips to mine.

Jace quickly lifted me onto the counter and settled between my legs. He kissed me deeply and pressed our bodies together. Jace was still as muscular as ever; I don't think he's capable of having fat anywhere on his body. After he stopped fighting six years ago, he was adamant that he stayed in shape so he could still play with his kids. I can't tell you how many times I've walked into the living room to find a tag-team match between Will, James and Jace going on. I'm not talking about when they were little either; this was just last week. James definitely took after me with his artistic side, but he is still his father's son and likes to rough house.

Just as I was wrapping my legs around Jace's waist, I remembered where we were and that we could have an audience at any moment.

"Jace," I said pushing him away and trying to catch my breath. "The kids could come in at any moment."

"So," he brushed me off, burying his face in my neck and placing light kisses along my skin. "They know how they got here."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure they don't want a demonstration in the kitchen." I was trying to push him away, but was quickly forgetting what I was talking about. It was hard to concentrate when Jace was showing me how much he loved me. I was about to give in when I heard the back door slide open. I scrambled to push Jace away and he backed up to the other counter and leaned against it like nothing was happening.

"What are you guys doing," Will asked as he stopped at the breakfast bar and sat down with Tessa. They were holding hands and my heart soared.

"Nothing," Jace answered quickly because I was having difficulty forming words. "What are you guys doing?" Jace reciprocated the question to our son and his, hopefully, girlfriend.

"Oh, don't act like you don't already know." He glanced at the phone that was sitting next to me. "How's Aunt Iz, Mom?"

"She's fine," I answered nonchalantly because Isabelle was my best friend so it stands to reason that I would have been talking to her regardless of the spying situation.

"Mom, come on, we know you were watching us." I glanced over at Will and Tessa to see that Will's hand appeared to be on her knee. It reminded me of his dad, which made me smile dreamily.

"How dare you." I couldn't help it; I needed to at least act innocent. "I would never. I am your mother William and I would never violate your privacy."

"Fine, then it will come as a surprise to you that I have someone to introduce you to." Tessa stared at my son with the same look that I stared at my husband with. This wasn't just puppy love; it was the real deal.

"Honey, we've known Tessa her whole life. Being your girlfriend isn't going to change that." As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I threw my hand up to cover it. Shit. I was the worst spy ever.

"Aha!" Will pointed at me with a victorious smile on his face. I looked at Tessa and Jace, who were trying to stifle their laughter and glared at Jace. "I knew it! You were spying on us."

"Only because I was nervous for you." I crossed my arms over my chest and Jace came to my side dropping a kiss on my forehead and rubbing my back.

"And, let me guess, you had my mom on the phone the whole time," Tessa said leaning against the counter. I averted my eyes to avoid eye contact with all of them. "We know you two better than anyone, Aunt Clary. Of course, you were on the phone with my mom, but it's okay."

"I'm just so happy for you guys." I went and wrapped my arms around Tessa first because I was happy to refer to her as my son's girlfriend from now on. I held her tight remembering the first time I ever held her in my arms. She was so perfect in every way and a complete combination of her parents. I remember thinking that I couldn't wait to meet my own child. I had just found out that I was pregnant at that point and couldn't imagine loving anything more than the child growing inside of me.

I moved back to Jace's side and leaned against the counter as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. James came into the kitchen from upstairs and slapped Will on the back.

"Congrats, bro," he said as he moved to sit on the other side of Tessa. I briefly thought of how this would change the dynamic of the group and quickly realized that nothing would be really different.

"How the hell do you know," Will asked his brother accusingly.

"Uh, my window looks out onto the beach, duh. I saw the whole thing. I'm honestly surprised she kissed you. I was betting on her slapping you and running away."

Will reached around Tessa to smack his brother, which quickly turned into them trying to hit each other without hitting Tessa, but leave it to her to defuse the situation. She grabbed both of their ears and yanked them down. They stopped fighting immediately and were begging for mercy.

"Knock it off," she scolded them before I could. Jace and I couldn't help but laugh from the other side of the kitchen. Tessa had always had such a hold over those two. I could remember them running around as small children and she would always scold them for doing something wrong before I could, which made my job as a parent that much easier. I never had to worry about them when they were with Tessa. She would keep them in line.

"Anyway, Mom, Dad," Will regarded us. "As I was saying earlier, you know Tessa as your best friends' daughter. You don't know her as my girlfriend, so I want to introduce you to my girlfriend, Tessa."

Well, that was just the cutest thing I had ever heard. Jace and I acknowledged that Tessa was now Will's girlfriend and I went to make myself some tea, asking if anybody else wanted any. I always loved the fact that we could have been hanging out on the couch, but we almost always ended up standing in the kitchen. I loved my kitchen. The memories wrapped up in that room were endless. While I made my tea, Will, Tessa and Jace were busy discussing things that had happened at the gym that day and their new training schedules. James showed them the new photos he had taken at the gym because, much like me, he loved to take photos of our family doing what they loved. When we shot at the gym together, I found a new favorite subject; James. I loved taking photos of him taking photos because I knew he loved it.

"Okay," I said as I sat down in the stool next to where Jace had sat while I was making tea. "So, we need to talk about some things. We are extremely happy for you two, but this is going to change some of the rules."

"All right," Will said as he glanced at Tessa with an amused expression. "Like what?"

"Like," Jace interjected. "No more being in each other's rooms alone with the door closed."

"That seems reasonable," Tessa agreed and dug her elbow in Will's ribs when she noticed him grimace.

"And if you're going to spend the night at each other's houses, you will do so in separate rooms," I added. "I think we're pretty cool parents, but I am not ready to be a grandparent, so these are the rules and they will be the same in both houses. Are we clear?" They both nodded, agreeing to the new rules. "Good, now, what are your plans for the night?"

"Um, we were probably just going to watch TV," Will replied with a shrug. "You know, like we normally do."

"Okay, well, we're going to go up to bed," Jace said pulling me by my hips as I scrambled to stay in the room. "Please, let us know what you're doing. I know that you don't really have a curfew, but if you plan on being here late, I would rather you stay here. You know where the guest bedroom is and I expect you to sleep in there, so just let your parents know what your plans are so your dad doesn't call me in the middle of the night."

Will and Tessa nodded as they made their way to the couch with James. Jace pulled me down the hall with me following reluctantly and when I was giving him a hard time, he scooped me up in his arms as I shrieked to carry me up the stairs. He finally set me down outside our bedroom and took my hand as he led me inside. I went to the bedroom to perform my bedtime routine. After I changed into a pair of yoga shorts and a tank top, some things never changed, I climbed in bed with Jace.

"Don't you think we should be down there with them," I asked as we slid deeper into the plush mattress.

"We have to trust them, right now, babe," he said kissing the tip of my nose. "I think the rules we set were pretty reasonable and they're good kids. They're not going to do anything stupid. Plus, James is out there with them. He can be our eyes for us."

I giggled knowing he was right. James wouldn't let them get away with anything, even if he was their best friend.

"You're a good dad, Jace." I kissed him lightly before he pulled me closer to him and I rested my cheek on his chest. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Red."

Thanks for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I really enjoyed writing this chapter and am really enjoying the dynamic between Jace and Clary and the kids. Let me know what you think and leave a review! :)