Since meeting him at Malec's engagement party, Jace had been trying to keep in touch with William. There was however, one major problem they kept encountering. Between Will and Jace's work schedules, plus Will's having to watch Lucie, they never seemed to find the time. Meeting for coffee had worked once after much organization, but it had ended abruptly when Will's gotten a phone call. Something had come up, and he was needed back home to watch the baby. Trying to spend time with someone with a kid was teaching Jace quite a bit about the inconvenient nature of having children. Finally, Jace suggested they just hang out at Will's place while he was watching the baby, which finally seemed to work. The unforeseen consequence of this however, was that Jace ended up babysitting.

"They really are a twenty four hour job, aren't they?" Jace told Will once he arrived at his cousin's home. Jace still wasn't quite used to having a cousin. His whole life, family had just meant his mother, then Sebastian, and now more recently Clary. Will was new.

"That they are," Will laughed. "Thanks for agreeing to hang out here."

"Yeah no worries," Jace replied. "It seems to be the only thing that works."

"That it does," Will replied. Jace walked closer to Will, to get a better look at the baby in his arms.

"And, she is cute," Jace shrugged.

"The cutest," Will said, pride obvious in his voice.

As he looked at the adorable bundle of cuteness, Jace couldn't help but feel that it was strange that babies were the end goal of sex. He'd always looked at sex as something else entirely, but when you got down to it, sex's only real purpose was making children. Sure, you could argue that it helped with stress or was enjoyable, but there were lots of other ways to help with stress or enjoy yourself aside from sex. While intercourse was the only way to create new life.

Jace had never once in his life considered having kids of his own. He hadn't even thought of it hypothetically before. Nevertheless, he found himself asking if he could hold the baby.

"She's all yours," Will said handing her over. "Just watch that she doesn't spit up on you. I just fed her before you arrived."

"Roger that," Jace replied smiling as he rested Lucie's head on his shoulder. Despite only meeting her three months ago, Jace could see how fast Lucie was growing. She didn't have that newborn look anymore, that look where it's as if you could fold their arms and legs neatly against their body and make an oval. At almost nine months old, Lucie looked more like a toddler now, with a big grin and bright eyes. She was still too small to be a true toddler, and she wasn't really talking yet, but she had crawling and babbling down. She was so small, and yet she seemed to consume all the attention in the room. Jace looked up to see Will, who was gazing at his daughter with the strangest look on his face. Jace couldn't get a read on that expression, and found himself beyond curious.

"What's up?" Jace asked.

"Oh it's nothing really," Will sighed. "It's just… well…"

"Spit it out," Jace said. Then added with Will wouldn't talk. "Oh come on, we're family."

Will laughed quickly. "Strangely enough for me family usually means rarely spoken to."

"I see," Jace said. "Well tell me anyway."

"My daughter," Will began. "I know it's selfish and petty, but I can't help but wish that she that she called me 'da-da.'"

"She doesn't?" Jace asked.

"No," Will sighed. "She calls Jem da-da."

"Ouch," Jace tried to sympathize.

"Jem is home with her far more than I am since he doesn't work," Will explained. "So it make sense, it's just I-"

"You're jealous," Jace offered.

"Yeah," Will admitted. "Told you it was petty and selfish."

"I'd call it understandable actually," Jace replied.

"Thanks," Will smiled.

"Hey," Jace chuckled lightly. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm jealous that my girlfriend is friends with some dude who has a crush on her that she hasn't realized likes her."

"How obvious a crush are we talking?" Will asked.

"Dead obvious," Jace replied, as he started swaying back and forth. "If it was anyone but Clary, he might as well be wearing a neon sign."

"Yikes," Will replied.

"I was never really a possessive guy," Jace explained, still swaying to keep Lucie from fussing. "But with Clary, it's like I want to bat other men away from her with sharp sticks."

"That must be confusing for you," Will replied.

"A little," Jace smiled. "But what it really tells me is how very special Clary is. I care more that she's friendzoned some poor guy, then if any of the other women I've been with… did well, anything."

"I know what you mean," Will smiled.

"With Tessa?" Jace asked.

"No, with the mail carrier," Will chucked. "Of course with Tessa!"

"Sorry but your... situation kinda confuses me," Jace admitted. "Clary has kinda explained it a few times, but if I understand it at all, I don't know how you can stand it."

"It's what Tessa wanted," Will explained. "We tried a few other things first, but we all ended up miserable."

"I am still not totally sure what you mean by that," Jace admitted.

"Basically we are both with Tessa," Will explained. "Both her boyfriends, or partners, or whatever. Honestly, I'm not really sure what the word for us is."

"So it's not like all three of you are a couple then?" Jace asked, unable to stop himself.

"Jem and I are both, as you say, a couple with Tessa, but with each other," Will laughed, a deep mocking sound. "Definitely not."

"I'm not sure if that clears things up, or is even more confusing?" Jace confessed.

"Jem is my best friend in the world," Will explained. "He's like a brother to me, and now we share a soulmate and a daughter. It's strange, but it does work, even if it's hard sometimes. How can it not be? We are all human after all."

"Well you don't share Lucie," Jace corrected. "You said she was yours right? I mean technically."

"Yeah," Will replied. "But the three of us agreed to do this together. I know how much Jem loves Lucie, because I know how much I love her. I don't believe blood is the only thing that makes a family. Love and choice play a far more important role."

"I'll have to agree with you there," Jace said, thinking about how his father chose his other family over Jace. "Still, I get why you're upset about the da-da thing. Hopefully when she's a little older and understands more, she will call you both da-da."

Will laughed. "Hopefully by then she will be able to say whole words."

"Fair point," Jace chuckled.

"Thanks for letting me talk about this," Will said, with an appreciative grin. "I just needed to say it, to tell someone. I can't talk to Tess or Jem about this, and I know that having more adults in her life who love her can do nothing but benefit Lucie, but right now it sucks and I needed to vent, so thanks."

"No problem," Jace said. "Thanks for giving me the adorable baby to cuddle." Jace was almost bouncing her now. It was strange how comfortable he was with her in his arms. Lucie too seemed rather content there. Jace had to wonder if it was because Lucie was so used to being cared for by so many different members of her family. Leaning forward, Will tilting his head down to look his daughter in eye.

"If you call him da-da before me, I will not forgive you," Will told Lucie in the least serious voice Jace had ever heard come from the man's mouth.

"Gawugh!" Lucie screamed out her baby noises without rhyme or reason.

"That's acceptable," Will chuckled. With a wide grin, Lucie reached out her arms to her father, and Will added, "Oh give her back."

Jace chuckled as he handed her over. "Can't bare to give her up, huh?"

"Just look at that adorable little face," Will cooed. He settled Lucie against his chest almost effortlessly, as if automatically. Then Will turned to Jace and added in a normal voice, "So does this friendzone guy know Clary's spoken for?"

"Course," Jace shrugged. "Clary's been friends with him since at least the second semester of last year, plus Clary and I have been living together for a while now. If Brett didn't know she wasn't single, he'd be denser than her." Jace burst out laughing at his own joke, and was thrilled to hear Lucie giggled with him.

"You like that Lucie?" Jace cooed at the baby who giggled. Jace looked up at Will and said. "So am I a sorta uncle Jace, or like cousin a zillion times removed." He laughed.

"No idea," Will replied. "That's what google's for."

"I'm just gonna stick to Jace then," he laughed.

"I doubt you have anything to worry about then," Will continued their conversation where they'd left off before the adorable baby had distracted them. "With the friend zone guy, I mean. But have you thought of maybe telling Clary that it bothers you, or even just telling her that Brett likes her if she really is clueless enough to be unaware."

"I don't want to be that horribly jealous boyfriend who tries to tell his girlfriend who she can and can't be friends with," Jace explained. "It's kinda like with your thing. I know everything's fine, I just needed to vent."

"Ah well," Will said. "Then we are in perfect company, it seems."

Then Lucie made herself the center of attention, but squirming in her father's arms until he let her go. The little toddler was instantly crawling away, giggling happily.

"We've had to baby proof the whole house," Will said as he followed after her. "Every outlet, every single thing less than three feet from the ground has been moved or blocked. And trust me it was a lot of things."

"I believe you," Jace laughed as he followed his cousin in following Lucie. She finally stopped near her playpen and turned to her dad, lifting her arms towards him.

"Uppy," she said. Will leaned down and scooped her up before placing her in the play pen. Will turned on some kind of music, and made sure she had a few blankets in the pen in case she got cold. Lucie's only focus however was one specific toy that she'd clearly known would be in the pen.

For a moment, Jace couldn't help but imagine what it would feel like to be in Will's shoes. Having such a small, fragile life, totally dependent on you had to be scary. Right now it didn't look so bad, with Lucie smiling and playing happily with her little stuffed unicorn.

"She'll be happy in there for a while," Will said. "Do you want some coffee? I can offer only the home brewed kind I'm afraid."

"Coffee sounds great," Jace replied before following Will into the kitchen.

Jace watched Will put the coffee on. He pulled some cookies from the cupboard, and placed them on the table before sitting there himself.

"You look tired," Jace observed.

"That's because I am," Will laughed. "Firefighters work weird hours, and the rest of the time my kid saps my energy. I swear if we could harness whatever endless energy source that runs children, we could power the world." He laughed just as the coffee pot went ding. Before Jace could offer to get the coffees, Will was already up and serving them.

"Am I right in thinking you guys weren't planning on having Lucie?" Jace asked when Will sat down. He was very curious to know, but felt like Will might take offence to the question.

"Technically yes," Will replied. Jace was relieved to hear no trace of objection to Jace's inquiry. "But that doesn't matter now."

"What do you mean?" Jace asked.

"Everything changed when she was born," Will explained. "I didn't know before that I was capable of this level of devotion. Everything shifts, and suddenly your world isn't about you anymore, or even your spouse. You aren't working to pay your rent or enjoy your next weekend anymore, you're working for your child. Your heart isn't split, you don't love anyone less, but rather more. Your heart grows or something. It's hard to explain when you don't have kids."

"Fair enough," Jace replied. "I can't imagine it very well. Sounds intense though."

"It is," Will chuckled. "I can't imagine my life without Lucie anymore, and I don't have any plans on telling my daughter when she grows up that it was her mother's antibiotics messing with her birth control that got her born."

"Ouch," Jace laughed. "Good call."

"Thanks," Will smiled.

They had both been sipping their coffee for about ten minutes before they heard Lucie's cries coming from the other room. William was first up, moving quickly to collect his daughter from her play pen, and placed her back where she wanted to be.

Jace had a very pleasant afternoon with his cousin and little Lucie. By the end of which, he found himself marveling how one baby could turn two grown men into idiots. Jace couldn't remember the last time he'd run around on all fours just to hear a little girl's shriek of laughter. In fact, he was sure he never had.

Before he left, Will thanked Jace for helping him look after Lucie, and Jace said he'd quite enjoyed it. They agreed to make it a routine thing before Jace left for the day.

All kinds of thoughts were running through Jace's head as he went home. He couldn't help but be fond of Lucie. This had been the longest he'd ever spent with her at one time, but still that joyful smile of hers tended to win over hearts quickly.

As Jace was approaching his apartment, his thoughts were interrupted by seeing Brett exiting it. Like usual when he saw Brett, a part of him wanted to bang the guys head against the wall and tell him to fuck off, but Jace contained the compulsion, and greeted the man politely.

"Hey," Jace said with a wave, trying not to make it obvious that he was clenching his teeth. Jace quite enjoyed the momentarily scared expression on Brett's face. Jace loved that Brett knew him, knew what he was to Clary, because it meant that every time they crossed paths, he saw the slight fear in Brett's eyes. Jace knew he looked a little intimidating, what with his wrestling muscles and everything.

"I… um- Hi," Brett said awkwardly.

"Hi," Jace replied, enjoying the sacred body language coming off Brett. He actually seemed more terrified than usual, and Jace was curious why. "So, I asume you and Clary were studying?"

"Oh yes, studying," Brett added like a man grasping at a lifeline.

"In August?" Jace finished.

"Oh um no," Brett mumbled. Jace stared Brett down, trying to scare the guy even more for his own amusement. He knew it was petty, but at least he wasn't banging Brett's head against the wall right?

"Bye," Brett whispered sharply, as he turned away and half ran in the opposite direction. Jace smiled to himself as he walked the last few meters to his building. He went up the elevator and down the hall, then through the front door. When he was entered his apartment, Clary was sitting alone on the couch staring at the wall.

"What's up Clary?" Jace asked coming to sit opposite her so he could see into her eyes.

"Brett thinks he's in love with me," Clary said numbly.

"And…?" Jace inquired.

"You knew!" Clary gasped, half standing up in shock.

"Clary," Jace sighed. "You're wonderful at many things, and I'll love you till the day I die, but sweetheart, it was crazy obvious."

Clary slumped back down on the couch looking sulky. "Why does this keep happening to me," she whined. "Simon, Brett, I make a friend and they suddenly decide they like me. Heck, even Helen told me I was hot when we were living together."

With a sigh, Jace leaned closer and pulled his girlfriend into his arms. Clary rested her head on his shoulder breathing deeply while Jace gently rubbed circles over her back. "You don't realize how amazing you are," Jace whispered to her, kissing her forehead before he continued. "If I had to guess, I'd say Brett only became your friend because he liked you. Then when he realized you weren't single, he stuck around hoping we'd break up or something."

"And you've known all this time?" Clary asked turning those beautiful green eyes to gaze right at him. Jace nodded. "And you weren't even a little jealous?"

"Oh, I'm all kinds of jealous," Jace said. "Every shade of green in the rainbow. In fact, just moments ago I was fantasizing about banging his head into heavy things."

"Then how come you didn't-" Clary began but Jace cut her off.

"I trust you Clary," he said, reaching his hand forward to cup her face, his thumb stroking her cheek. Clary leaned into his touch and closed her eyes.

"Every time you do that," Clary whispered softly. "It just as amazing as the first time." He knew she meant the way he'd touched her cheek, and it made Jace smile.

"Glad to hear it," Jace replied before leaning down to kiss her gently. It was only a soft pressure, but like every time he kissed her, Jace tried to put as much of his own heart into the kiss as he could.

"Hmm," Clary purred as their lips parted. "Love you too," she whispered.

"Like music to my ears," Jace smiled. Then he leaned forward and kissed her more deeply, moving his hands to hold her hips. He heard her soft moan as her hands went up to tangle in his hair and get under his shirt. Jace lifted her into his arms without breaking their kiss, and carried her to their room so they could close the door. Getting caught by either of his roommates in such a situation did not appeal to him.

Once the door was closed, Clary didn't waist any time. She had his shirt over his head in seconds. When she placed her hands on his bare chest, they were so cold, but it only added to the thrill. The skin of her back felt warm as his hands made their way to unclasp her bra. She was breathing hard now, their lips still locked as her hands fumbled with his belt.

"You're the only person I've ever done this with," Clary whispered against his cheek. "Only person I've ever wanted to do this with."

In that moment, Jace wished more than anything that he could say the same thing back to her, and in a way he could. She was the only one he'd ever made love to, for Jace did not consider sex with Clary to be anything like the sex he'd experienced before meeting her.

"You're the only women I've ever loved," Jace whispered back. "Only women I ever want to love."

From there they made their way to the bed, leaving their clothes before them. Jace kissed everything from her collarbone to her navel, just the way she liked it; he enjoyed every moan and gasp from her his actions created. It didn't take them long to move past foreplay, and then lay panting together on the bed, wrapped in each other.

As they lay there, staring at the uninteresting ceiling, Jace couldn't help but think about the events of today, playing with Lucie to be precise. He never wanted to love anyone but Clary ever again and unless he was much mistaken this means being with Clary for the rest of his life? If he's thinking of things as important as kids, he should be sharing them with his soulmate, shouldn't he?

"Clary," Jace's voice broke the silence. "Do you want kids?" He was looking up at the ceiling still, with Clary's head resting on his shoulder.

"You do know that we just used two forms of birth control, right?" Clary chuckled.

"I don't mean now," Jace replied, turning to look at her. "I mean like 'Marriage, kids, a picket fence.' Is that something that you want?"

"Is this a trick question?" Clary asked, grinning.

"Just answer the question," Jace sighed. "Please."

"Yes to marriage," Clary replied. "To be clear, this is not me asking for a proposal. Just like one day, sure. But no, I've never wanted kids."

"Do you think you'll ever change your mind?"

"I know I won't," Clary said. "I've always known I didn't want kids. Sorry, should I have told you this before now?"

"The thought hadn't even once occurred to me until today," Jace admitted.

"Do you want kids?" Clary asked, worry written all over her face.

"Honestly," Jace replied seriously. "I don't know." He paused, and when she didn't say anything he added, "But I had a really good time with Lucie today."

This might be the LONGEST I've ever gone without updating this story. Wow, what was that like 20days? Crazy!

Anyway I do owe you guys like all the chapters. Lol. I am gonna try and upload a few close together as a "I'm sorry for ignoring you for so long" thing. ^_^ The next one just needs one more look over from me then I'll sending it my beta. Shouldn't be too long. XD

Side Note: After Supergirl and iZombie I may have started watching The Flash and I might already be on season 2….

Guest Review:
This is not related to your writing but I LOVE izombie, and supergirl.

My Reply:
Lol I love how you started that review. And yeah I love those shows too, been binge watching them lately… which is probably part of why I've been updating so slowly lately…. ^_^

Sneak Peek Chapter 99

"Have you talked to Jordan yet?"

"No," Maia said reluctantly. "And before you say anything it's only been like two days since I got back."

"You were so eager to know that you were willing to have the conversation over text before," Simon reminded her.

"Yeah yeah," Maia replied with a sigh. "I know." She paused then added. "What I don't know if why you can't just tell me."

"It isn't mine to tell," Simon replied.

"Urg!" Maia groaned. "Why did my ex and my failed first date have to become besties. Such a pain in the butt." Simon chuckled, the smile crinkling the skin around his eyes.

"Why did my exe's best guy have to become my roommate?" Simon replied. "The world is a crazy place."

"That or there is some sadistic person writing this that wants us all to suffer," Maia counted.