Since arriving home for the winter break, Clary had been happy to see her family welcome Jace even more warmly than they had last year. She suspected this was partly due to the fact that Jace's presences two years in a row was reassuring to them. Of course she was also glad to see her brother and parents again after so many months away at school. Jon was back from his Europe trip, though he'd broken up with his girlfriend Cassie. Her brother hadn't explained why they'd broken up, and Clary hadn't asked; though she couldn't say she was too surprised. Jon was always traveling, moving around, and that was hard on a relationship. Her parents were much the same as they always were, arguing in that playful way they always did. The biggest difference between this Christmas and the last one was the presence of Celine. She'd flown in a few days ago, and she and Clary had taken to baking sugar cookies, while Jace and Jon tried to eat them before they were iced.

Before getting out of bed on Christmas morning, Clary read her texts from Simon and Magnus, both had sent her Christmas greetings. As she set her phone down, Jace woke beside her. They were in her childhood bedroom, sleeping in the same place they'd been last year. Clary kept expecting to arrive home to find that her parents had repurposed the room and turned it into a gym or something, but they had yet to do such a thing.

Jace looked up at her, groggy from sleep, and she kissed him lightly on the lips as a hello. He smiled and pulled her down for a deeper kiss before either of them got out of bed. Jace was a little less nervous about her parents being down the hall now than he'd been last year, though she couldn't say he'd given up the notion all together.

"Why not just get dressed if you're going to change anyway?" Jace asked as she got up and changed out of the extra large t-shirt she slept in and into her jammies.

"It's tradition to wear pajamas on Christmas," Clary explained.

"If you say so," Jace chuckled before getting dressed in his regular clothes like a horrible humbug.

Together they went down the stairs to find most of the family already awake. Luke and Jocelyn were in the kitchen making the Fairchild traditional Christmas morning breakfast of german apple pancakes. Or she supposed her mom was making them, and Luke was hovering. Her father often cooked, though Jocelyn wouldn't let him take over the kitchen at Christmas. Jon was on the couch looking very much like he was waiting to be fed. Celine was trying to help cook, while Jocelyn kept insisting she be a good guest and relax. The whole situation made Clary smile. When her mother announced that food was ready everyone quickly gathered around the table. German apple pancakes were baked in the oven, then covered in applesauce and whipped cream. No one spoke as they ate, proving how delicious it really was.

Next they opened gifts, a modest haul this year, as there weren't any small children in the family anymore. Jocelyn wasn't the type of mother to spoil her children, but Clary quickly learned that Celine was. She'd gotten something for everyone, even those she hadn't met before arriving here. Before the day was out, everyone was remarking on how they should really have Celine come again next year.

One of Jon's gifts had been a new basketball, and Clary hadn't been surprised in the least when he'd insisted on trying it out straight away.

"Has my son abandoned you?" Celine chuckled, when she returned to the living room to find Clary suddenly sitting alone, Jace's arm having been wrapped around her for much of the day.

"My brother kidnapped him," Clary explained with a laugh.

"I see," Celine smiled. "Well, more for us then." And she pulled out a box of icing sugar coated sweets. Clary wasn't sure what they were, but she was sure Jace wouldn't want to miss them.

"Turkish delight," Celine explained when Clary asked. "The good stuff, not that cheap knock off kind."

"Oh, we are gonna make the boys so jealous," Clary grinned as she reached out to take one. And sure enough, when Jon and Jace returned an hour later to an empty box, the looks on their faces were priceless.

"You ate them all!" Jon whined.

"Mom and dad helped too," Clary explained.

"Don't worry," Jace told Jon elbowing him gently in the ribs. "Mom has another box. Don't you mom?"

"And if I did?" Celine asked with a slight smirk.

"Then you'd share right?" Jace pleaded a little. For a moment, Clary could perfectly picture a younger version of Jace looking up at his mother with an expression just like this, and getting anything his heart desired. Celine was so soft.

"After dinner," Celine tried.

"One now, and the rest after dinner," Jace countered and just like Clary knew she would, Celine agreed, then got up to get the second box.

"Suck up," Clary said, shaking her head.

"Being an only child is awesome!" Jace laughed, but Clary just rolled her eyes. If she wasn't so in love with this idiot, she'd have definitely dumped him by now for being... well an idiot.

After a quiet afternoon, they had turkey dinner, with homemade stuffing, cranberries, mashed potatoes, steamed carrots, and salad. Jace and Jon both had a second helping of just stuffing, to which neither of them were apologetic. Everyone lay on the couch after, in their prospective turkey commas. Jon was the first to fall asleep as his bed at the moment was the couch anyway. Then, one by one, everyone slowly went upstairs to bed.

Despite being known for its retail glory, no one left the house on Boxing Day. People used their new gifts, or just relaxed, the conversation flowing easily. Jace had long ago finished off that second box of Turkish Delight, but there were still more chocolates in the house than made any national sense, and everyone ate far more than they should have.

Classes didn't start until until the fifth of January, so Clary and Jace were staying into the new year, but Celine's last day had to be sooner as she had work commitments she couldn't get out of. Being a school teacher, she had to prep for the new semester.

"Come sit and I'll put a movie on," Clary told Celine with a smile. "We have just enough time before you leave."

"Where has my silly son gone now?" Celine commented as she sat down. "Jace likes this one."

"He went off with Jon about a half an hour ago," Clary replied.

"Those two are getting along well for sure," Celine smiled. "It's nice to see him making new friends."

"We have quite a few friends at school now, actually," Clary continued with a smile. "Magnus, Alec, Simon, Jordan, you could count Izzy and Maia too I suppose. And Jace has been hanging out with his cousin Will recently as well."

"Will? Oh yes, William," Celine said. "Edmund's son."

"I thought you stopped talking to the Herondale family?" Clary asked.

"I have for the most part," Celine explained. "But I know who married who, and what children they had. I believe Will has sisters, does he not?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Clary said. "Jace might know."

"As much as I resent Jace's father, I am glad Jace is getting to know someone from Stephen's side," Celine said.

"I have been curious for a while now," Clary said. "Why didn't you give him your maiden surname? Why call him Herondale when you wanted to get away from them?"

"That is a good question," Celine smiled. "I suppose the answer is simply that he is a Herondale. There is no escaping that fact. His father and I were married when he was born. The fact that Stephan went off with some other woman mere months later, doesn't change where Jace comes from. Or, maybe it was that I always hated my maiden name. Montclaire. It sounded like some stuck up aristocratic name to me."

"Fair enough," Clary replied easily.

Just then the back door opened, and Jon and Jace came in, looked cold and sweaty, but grinning from ear to ear.

"And it's even better in summer!" Jon exclaimed. "You gotta come back when the weather's warmer... or I could visit. You do have a basketball court on that school campus of yours, don't you?

"Yeah, we do," Jace replied. "A full gym too."

Both men took no notice of the women on the couch as they walked in, already in the middle of a conversation they'd clearly started outside.

"I don't think I'll be surprised if I suddenly come home to find Jon sitting by my front door with a suitcase," Clary chuckled as she put the movie on. Clary sat on the couch beside Celine, while her mind got lost in the story. Clary loved losing herself in stories. It was a marvelous, escaping feeling. Stories could pull you into glorious adventures and magical places. They made you live another life, and forget the mundane problems of your own. Stories kept your mind occupied on someone else's adventure and away from decisions you weren't ready to make.

Later that day they took Celine to the airport. She teared up a little, hugging Jace - and Clary too - as her son assured her he'd come visit over the summer holidays.

"I'm going to hold you to that," Celine promised Jace when she finally let him go.

"Okay, okay," Jace grumbled. "No need to break my back over it." Clary couldn't help but chuckle.

The drive home was uneventful, which wasn't helping Clary keep her mind from wandering where she'd told herself it wouldn't wonder. Instead, she decided to count the telephone poles as they passed by. When they re-entered the city and the poles vanished, she switched to counting fence posts.

Clary spent the last few days of her vacation trying to be present in the moment. Right now was perfect, and she wanted to hold onto it for as long as she could. As far as Clary was concerned, life could stay like this forever, the warm comfort of her home and family, with the love of her life at her side. Unfortunately time wouldn't obey her, and continued to pass as the days went by.

As the clock struck midnight on New Year's eve, Clary kissed Jace in her parents living room, then whispered 'I love you' into his ear.

The next morning it was time for Clary and Jace to head to the airport. After many hugs and promises of future visits, they bored the plane and took off for home.

In security, Clary browsed the kiosks with no intention of buying anything. During boarding, she had to get all her luggage secured. During take off, she could focus on the plane itself as it flow up into the air, but once they were a cruising height, all distractions lost to her, Clary was in danger of not being distracted. As she watched through the plane window at the small miniaturized farms and houses far below her, she couldn't help but think about what she'd promised herself she wouldn't think about during the holidays. She'd told herself that the holidays were for family and food, and she wasn't going to worry about tomorrow, but she knew it had been an excuse. An excuse to put off the decision.

Clary had so wanted to talk to her mother or father about this over the holidays, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to say it out loud. Doing that somehow made it real, make it a one or the other kind of situation. As long as it was just a possibility and not reality, her mind could create space for both. She could pretend this wasn't a big deal.

But it was, and Clary didn't know what she wanted to do. Could she pass up a once in a lifetime opportunity like this? But then again, it was a whole year, her last year of university. Clary couldn't help but feel like she was trying to both have her cake and eat it too, and she was scared of losing both cakes in the process. Like the dog with a bone who wants the one reflected in the water, who then loses his first bone by opening his mouth to collect the second. Or maybe she was overthinking this? Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as that?

Clary tried to imagine telling Jace about it. She could picture him trying to encourage her, all the while secretly hating the idea. Or maybe she was giving him too much credit? Maybe Jace would outright hate the idea, and not even pretend to hide it. What if she could bring him along? But no, with his scholarship, that was impossible.

It was one or the other, and Clary had never felt more torn in her life. She knew she had to tell him, but the holidays just hadn't felt like the right time. And that was fair right? Holidays are a horrible time for such news. Yes, there was no rush, and the holidays weren't technically over until classes started. She had time. No need to say anything today.

First of all I must say that I'm deeply sorry for the boring crap you'd have to read lately. Wow! When did this story get so dull and filler-tastic! Yeesh! I used to have PLOT! Sigh… I do apologize… here is me making it up to you! Things to happen. Stay tuned.

Side Note:
The other day I was plotting future chapters in my head while at work and I had to go online to check a few previous chapters of this story to check what I'd already established. I really hate continuity errors. Anyway what I found astounded me. OMG the typos! No, not just typos, epic fails! How the hell you read any of this and understand it is beyond me! I found one place where I meant to write 'because' and it was 'before' instead. Then there were times I literally just left whole words out. Just didn't include a verb in that sentence cause like why not! Gods it was horrible! I am officall not allowed to re-read my own chapters anymore if I want to keep my sanity. I mean sure, they were older chapters so maybe I can blame my old editor for the epic fails, but not really since those were pretty obvious problems that I should totally have fixed before I sent it to a beta. Like wow… O_O This story is clearly far too long and boring and I should just throw in the towel now! Yeesh! *Hides in shame of the typos*

Also if my stats are any indication updating so often around Christmas time was a very very silly idea… My views went WAY down during the holidays. Oh well. Done now. Besides, updating faster than my readers can keep up with isn't exact new to me… or them. I didn't choose the username writesalott because I write rarely now did I?

Sneak Peek Chapter 114

Catsby was quiet in his carrying case by Magnus's feet. Alec sat in the waiting area watching all the other sick animals with their owners. He'd never had to take an animal to the vet before and he had to admit - though only to himself - that he was scared. What if they couldn't help Catsby? Sure, he wasn't as young as he once was but he was only twelve. Alec had known cats to live into their late teens or even early twenties.

When the nurse finally called them up they were taken into a small enclosed room with two doors. They waited there only a few moments before the veterinarian joined them. She had a white lab coat on, dark brown hair and a narrow face. She listened attentively to their concerns before speaking.

"Losing weight while eating normally isn't a good sign," the vet said. "If his organs are failing there won't be much we can do, but it's a good sign that he still eats even if he doesn't want to get up to get it." She moved away for a moment turning back around to face them with a needle in her hand. "I'm just gonna take some blood to test then we will know whats going on."

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Happy New Year!

2018... doesn't it just make you feel old ^_^

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And we are up to 350 follows! WOOT!

So awesome. Thanks guys!