Clary

"What the hell was that," I heard Jace whisper fiercely as I kept my eyes my sleeping daughter in my arms. The past six weeks had been non-stop hospital visits and I was just so happy to have our little girl home with us. Jace stood in front of me as I remained silent, reveling in the peaceful content displayed on Cecily's face. What I wouldn't give for life to be that uncomplicated. "Clary, please shed some light on what just happened because we're all extremely confused."

Closing my eyes, I stood from the rocking chair and walked over to Cecily's bassinet where I set her down, running a finger down her face gently. Her mouth twitched at my touch and I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. Turning around to see Jace still standing in the middle of the nursery, I walked across the room, taking his hand in mine as I passed him and led him out of the room to our bedroom. This conversation should have happened six years ago, but Max had told me in confidence and I would never betray his trust, unless I could protect him.

Once we were in the safety of our bedroom, Jace closed the door and sat down next to me on the edge of the bed. His eyes were filled with worry as I took his hand in mine and used my free hand to cup his cheek. I knew how much he loved Max and I hated the fact that I had caused a rift in our family dynamic, but I just couldn't let Max go into this relationship blindly. I couldn't watch him get hurt again. The emotional pain far outweighed the physical pain he endured on a daily basis as a fighter.

"So, are you going to tell me why you went all mama bear out there," Jace asked and I shook my head, chuckling and diverting my gaze from his.

"When Emma broke up with him, what did Max say to you guys," I asked, already knowing that he hadn't said much.

"I just remember him walking back into the gym and going straight for a punching bag and wailing on it for like an hour. He didn't have to tell us what happened and we just assumed they had broken up and it wasn't his idea."

"It definitely wasn't his idea." I took a deep breath, knowing that what I was about to say was going to be difficult for Jace to hear. "He was so broken, Jace. Working out at the gym would help him relieve his aggression, but then the adrenaline would wear off and the pain would settle in again and that's when he would come to me. He didn't want you guys to see him like that. He would tell me that he pushed her into another man's arms; that he lost the love of his life and it was all his fault. She cheated on him and he blamed himself. It took him so long to get back to normal and even then, he threw himself so completely into training and competing that I could tell there was just a small piece of him that never recovered. I think he wanted to win a title to prove to Emma that she was wrong and that he had a reason to be so focused on fighting. That's why it bothered him so much that it took so long to get the shot, not that he was trying to live up to your precedent.

"Anyway, I hated seeing him like that and I don't ever want to see him so broken and hurt again. She ran away six years ago saying that he was too focused on fighting. What is she going to do now? Max is even more in the game than he ever was before. He's a champion for God's sake. If she couldn't handle it when he was just training every day, how is she going to handle him being in the spotlight, plus the training?"

I didn't even realize that I had started crying, but Jace lifted his hand to wipe my tears away before pulling me into his arms and cradling my head against his chest. Seeing Max heartbroken had made me so protective of him and I just couldn't stand the idea of him going through it again. It might have been wrong to react the way I did, but I was just trying to protect him. I couldn't believe that he walked out with her, knowing the pain she had caused him.

"I know you want to protect him," Jace breathed into my hair as he ran his hands through it, "but it's not worth ruining your relationship over. Maybe if you just talk to him and hear what he has to say, you might understand where he's coming from. I know Max would never rush into something without thinking through all of the possibilities and if he's willing to risk getting his heart broken again, we have to let him. If he does, then we'll be there to pick up the pieces."

"Why do you always have to be right," I asked, pressing my cheek to his chest, inhaling the scent that I could only describe as Jace.

"Because I'm awesome." I lifted my head from his chest to see him shoot me a wink and that stupid smirk of his. "Now, go call him and hear him out. You know he loves you, Red, and he's going to take your opinion most to heart. You just need to talk to him."

Nodding, I pressed my lips against his as I heard Cecily through the baby monitor. Jace assured me that he could take care of her, encouraging me to call Will before the situation got any worse. Clutching my phone in my hand, I walked downstairs and as I passed the front door, the doorbell rang. Everyone was still congregated in the living room and none of them would bother ringing the doorbell anyways, so I was curious who could be stopping by.

When I opened the door and saw who was standing on the other side, I froze, then crossed my arms over my chest in anger. Emma stood across from me, looking timid and strong at the same time. I looked behind her and noticed that she was alone.

She was the first to speak.

"I know I'm the last person you want to see," Emma said, rushing to get her words out before I slammed the door in her face, I assume. "Please, just hear me out."

"Does Max know you're here," I asked as I stepped out of house and closed the door behind me.

"No, he doesn't." I was pleasantly surprised that she had the guts to come here by herself, with no one to protect her.

"Okay, fine. Let's sit down." I said motioning to the chairs off to the side on the porch. We sat in silence for what felt like an eternity until I finally snapped. "You wanted to talk, so talk."

"When Max and I first started dating, he would tell me about Jace and how much he looked up to him." Her mouth turned up into a small smile at the memory. "Part of the reason I fell in love with him was the relationship he had with Jace and Simon; how dedicated he was to them and the gym. Telling me about Jace led to telling me about you. The way he talked about you and how you were one of the most important people in his life made me want him to talk about me that way. I was so afraid to meet you all for the first time. How was I supposed to live up to the precedent that you had all set for him? For some reason, Max thought I was just as great as you.

"I'm sure Max has told you the whole deal we had when we graduated high school where he asked me to give him a year to focus solely on following his dreams and then we would talk about our future together. I wasn't expecting a ring or anything at the end of the year, but when two years had passed and he hadn't made the amount of progress he wanted to, I got scared. I was afraid that he might never get to where he wanted to be and I felt terrible for not believing in him, but that meant I wouldn't get one of my dreams. All I wanted was to be with Max and have a family. I didn't think that I was strong enough to support him through his failures, as well as the victories, so I ran. I told Max that I was tired of being second to MMA and that I met someone else and I left, not looking back.

"The truth was that I hadn't met anyone else. I just told Max that because I thought he wouldn't try to make me stay if he thought there was someone else. A few weeks after I left for school, I was feeling sick and I just chalked it up to being so distraught about leaving Max. Then, when I didn't feel better in a week, I did some math and figured out that I could be pregnant. I took a test and it was positive."

"What," I asked shocked. "You were pregnant and you didn't tell him?" I was furious all over again after warming up to Emma at least a little bit.

"You don't understand. Please let me finish." I nodded, letting her continue. "I wanted to tell him so badly. I was planning on coming home and begging him to understand that I made a mistake. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him and how much I wanted to have a family with him. I had everything worked out and I was going to surprise him with the sonogram picture, but then, the night before I was going to drive home, I started feeling pain in my stomach."

Tears started running down her face, recalling the memory and I did something I never thought I would do. I scooted closer to her and put my arm around her shoulder as she rested her head on mine. Then, I noticed that she was holding something in her hands; the sonogram picture.

"I was only eight weeks along and I had just found out, but I was completely heartbroken, even more so than I already was. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to come home and have Max hold me, but I couldn't bombard him with all of that when he was so close to his dream. When I saw the countdown special before his title fight, I felt this pull to him that I hadn't felt in years. I found myself calling him and it was like I had never left. I still loved him and I couldn't let him go a second time. I just want you to know that I never stopped loving him, Clary, and I will always love him. It's not every day that you get a second chance and I'm not going to waste it."

"Does Max know about the baby," I asked as she lifted her head from my shoulder and swiped under her eyes.

"Yeah, I told him in the car after we left." She sniffled, shaking her head and looking down at her hands. "He just drove me home in complete silence. I hadn't been home in a week. Max didn't even say anything when I got out of the car. I don't even know if we're still together, but I just had to tell you the real reason I stayed away for so long because I don't want you to hate me. I don't want to be the reason Max doesn't have a relationship with the woman that has meant so much to him over the years."

Instead of replying, I just nodded and pulled Emma into my arms, holding her tight. I couldn't believe that she had held all of that in for so long and hated myself for being so hard on her. She needed Max as much as I needed Jace and I understood her love for him. I rocked back and forth as she cried and let her worries consume her, dreading the day I had to heal my own daughter's broken heart.

"It's going to be okay," I whispered into Emma's blonde hair. "Everything is going to be okay."

I was going to make sure of it.

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