Hemochromatosis was a word she'd come to know very well, having spent hours pouring over medical websites learning everything she could about it. So, when Jem fell to the ground, Tessa's mind raced with all the possible implications. Unable to stop herself from jumping to the worst possible conclusion, Tessa's first thought was heart failure. Will's first thought was far more useful.

"Jem!" Will yelled as he moved forward to catch his friend.

"I'm fine," Jem said trying to throw Will off, even though Will was the only reason he hadn't hit the ground hard.

"Fine people don't collapse," Will reminded him, supporting Jem with one hand, though Jem was still trying to make him stop.

"Just felt dizzy for a moment, but it's passed," Jem said, finally succeeding in making Will let him go. Will didn't go far, however.

"I will not believe that until someone in a white jacket and the word doctor in their name says it," Will replied.

"I'm not going to the hospital," Jem said firmly.

"Yes, you are!" Will argued back. This was the first time Tessa had seen any real indication of Jem's illness. Sure, sometimes his skin wasn't quite the right colour and some days he had less energy than others, but the rest of the time he was just Jem. And yes, she'd googled the hell out of his illness, but never before had she seen the importance of her efforts.

"You are going to see a doctor," Tessa whispered. Neither of the men heard her over the continued sounds of their argument. She repeated the phrase a second time more loudly, but her voice still didn't carry far enough. Finally, Tessa yelled the words with as much force as she could muster and both men turned to her, slightly stunned.

Will looked at her, a determination about his eyes. Tessa knew the same expression was on her own face. Jem looked back and forth between them both and somehow knew he'd already lost the argument. With a sigh, he agreed.

"But, we are driving," Jem added. "No stupid ambulance."

"Fine," Will replied. It took a moment for them to find and put on the clothes they'd scattered around the room. Once dressed, the three of them got into Will's truck. They didn't talk much on the way and a few minutes later they pulled into the hospital parking lot. Jem tried to go in alone, but was once again outnumbered.

"You don't need to come with me," Jem whined. "I won't just ditch and head home."

"Why don't you want us there?" Tessa asked. She was concerned at Jem's reluctance. Jem turned to her, but only for a second. Tessa couldn't quite read the expression on his face before his gaze shifted to Will.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Will told his friend.

"Of course not!" Tessa seconded Will's sentiment. "Jem we love you. You don't have to pret-"

"I know," Jem exclaimed, cutting her off. He spoke directly to Tessa as he said, "But that doesn't mean I want you to see me as a sick person any more than you already do. It's too late for Will. He's seen it all before, but I don't want you to see me that way." Guilt flooded Tessa as she realized how this evening had already changed the way she thought about Jem. She was not about to tell him that though. Closing the space between them, Tessa made him look her in the eyes before speaking.

"You are Jem," Tessa whispered to him. "You play the violin like an angel and show kindness to everyone you meet. You are not defined by an illness. Promise." Jem seemed to relax a little, but he still looked uncomfortable so Tessa added, "If it means you go see a doctor, I'll wait in the hall."

Jem smile nervously at her, but his only form of reply was walking toward the hospital's main entrance. Once inside, Will went to the front desk and returned with forms and a clipboard. Tessa sat patiently, listening to the sounds of the people around them while Jem filled out the paperwork. They returned the forms to the front desk receptionist and then were instructed to sit and wait. After a quarter of an hour Jem told them to head home but they refused. Tessa pulled up an ebook on her phone and said she'd read. When a half hour had passed, Jem was all for going home himself since he felt fine, but Will and Tessa wouldn't hear of it. They'd been there for over an hour before a nurse called Jem's name.

"James Carstairs," the nurse's voice called out loudly to the room. Jem got up, with a sigh, and followed the nurse in her blue scrubs down the hall, leaving Will and Tessa alone in the waiting room.

"It's only me he doesn't want in there with him. Why are you waiting here too?" Tessa asked.

"It isn't just you," Will replied. "He hates it when people are in the room with him, even me." Will sighed. "I have to go in sometimes, but for something like this, it doesn't hurt to do it his way."

"That actually makes me feel better," Tessa replied.

"It's hard," Will said after a moment. "I can't imagine what it's like to live with a chronic illness."

"Me neither," Tessa replied in a whisper, then after a moment she added, "You think everything's okay?" Will had so much more experience with Jem's illness than she did but asking him this with Jem in the room hadn't felt right.

"Probably," Will said. "But better safe than sorry with him. He'd say he was fine if he was dying. It's so annoying!" Will grumbled. "When he was first diagnosed, he'd been feeling poorly for months but didn't say a word to anyone. His iron level was so dangerously high they took almost a liter of blood. He's had regular blood transfusions since then. He does know how to manage the symptoms, but he's a terrible patient."

"Yeah I noticed," Tessa laughed lightly. She couldn't stifle her yawn and leaned over to lay her head on Will's shoulder. Jem was going to be fine, she told herself as she closed her eyes. Tessa woke up, unaware she'd fallen asleep, to the sound of Will's voice.

"Tess," Will whispered. "Tess."

"Hmm," Tessa replied groggy. "What?"

"We can go home now?" Will told her. Tessa sat up and looked around. Jem was standing in front of her, smiling. Tessa turned to Will again and realized she'd been drooling on his shoulder.

"Oh!" Tessa said pulling away from Will and inspecting the damage to his shirt. "Sorry." Tessa tried to clean Will's shirt with her sleeve but Will just laughed in a very 'I don't care about my shirt that much' kinda way and helped Tessa up. She felt like she was still half asleep, but that didn't mean she had forgotten why they were in a hospital.

"What did the doctors say?" Tessa asked Jem.

"Polycythemia," Jem replied.

"I'm sorry, what?" Tessa asked.

"Polycythemia," Jem said again. "It means I have too many red blood cells. Apparently with my recent….exertion, I got dehydrated. My heart had to work harder to pump the blood to the rest of my body, so I got a little dizzy."

"So everything's fine?" Tessa asked slowly. Being only half awake wasn't helping her concentration. She was a Lit major not a nursing student and Jem seemed to have the vocabulary of a doctor. Tessa was sure that was one of the side effects of spending a great deal of time around doctors.

"Yes," Jem confirmed with a smile. "Some blood work, a little IV fluids and I'm good as new. Now let's go home." Tessa easily agreed and the three of them got in Will's truck, drove back to Will's house, discarded any uncomfortable clothing and fell asleep at once.

Tessa woke up with Will's arms around her. She turned to look at Jem, who'd slept on her other side, but he wasn't there. Gently untangling herself from Will, she got up and went to find Jem. As she left the bedroom, a wonderful smell filled her nostrils. Following her nose to the kitchen, she saw Jem, cooking.

"Smells good," Tessa said smiling. She greeted Jem with a kiss on the cheek.

"I just hope it tastes okay," Jem laughed as he turned back to the stove.

"I am sure it will," Tessa replied. Moments later, Will joined them, his hair disheveled from sleep and his eyes half open.

"Food?" Will asked, with the air of one who was only half conscious.

"Still not a morning person huh Will?" Jem laughed.

"Nope," Will replied. "Firefighters keep weird hours."

"Students keep odd hours too," Jem replied. "Just less dangerous ones."

"I wear protective gear," Will said waving a hand dismissively. "It isn't that dangerous."

"As if!" Jem exclaimed. "I've seen your scars."

"Jem has a point," Tessa agreed. She'd often seen the scars across Will's body and knew the feel of his callused hands.

"You're graduating in a few months," Will changed the topic. "Not much student time left."

"Argh don't remind me," Jem sighed.

"You make no sense Jem," Tessa teased. "I still have another year after this one. I wish I was as close as you to graduation." Tessa and Magnus were in their third year at the university, having started at the same time. Jem went to a specialty school that only taught music. He was taking courses online rather than live abroad. Tessa had never asked, but had always suspected that Jem was only here because Will, and now Tessa, were here.

"Do you know what you want to do with your degree Tessa?" Jem asked.

"Literature degree," Tessa replied. "Literature job. I want to work in publishing."

"Ah, I see," Jem said. "That's my problem. I don't want school to end because I don't want to figure out what to do with a degree in classical music."

"You could teach?" Will suggested.

"Need another degree for that," Jem replied.

"Perform," Tessa said. "I am sure people would pay to hear you play Jem." But Jem just shrugged.

"How about we just have breakfast," Jem said as he served up scrambled eggs. Will and Tessa knew when to let a subject drop and the three of them shifted to less important conversation topics while they ate.

Unfortunately, no weekend lasts forever and Tessa's Sunday with Jem and Will was soon over, just like the Saturday before. It had been a wonderful day spent with those she loved most and Tessa was sad to leave. Jem headed home with her as Will had to go to work, so she said goodbye to them separately. A quick kiss was her farewell to Will who didn't want to be late, but when Jem dropped her off at her place on his way home they had a moment alone together.

"I'm sorry I was being so weird about the hospital," Jem said nervously. Tessa was sitting in the passenger seat of Jem's car. She turned to face him before she spoke.

"I get it Jem," Tessa said smiling at him. "Don't worry about it."

"You sure?" Jem asked.

Tessa nodded. "I can only imagine what it's like to live with what you live with," she said. "If something makes you uncomfortable than it makes you uncomfortable. You don't have to be sorry for how you feel."

Jem smiled back at her and leaned forward to kiss her sweetly before whispering, "Thanks, Tessa."

With another quick kiss, Tessa got out of the car and headed into her apartment. She wasn't surprised to see Alec's jacket hung up on the wall, his shoes by the door. At this point she was starting to wonder if they should be charging him rent. Tessa put down her bag and hung up her coat next to his as she called to her friends. They greeted her and she went to join them. Magnus and Alec were sitting close together on the couch, probably having just finished a movie. Tessa sat in the chair opposite.

"Guess what?" Magnus asked.

"What?" Tessa replied, since that was clearly what Magnus wanted to hear.

"Simon dumped Clary and she went straight to Jace," Magnus said excitedly.

"Wow," Tessa gasped.

"I know right!" Magnus said waving his phone in the air. "She just texted me!"

"Did this all happen like right now?" Tessa asked.

"I think it happened yesterday," Alec laughed. "Because Jace was in a huff last night about how I should have told him Clary didn't love Simon."

"Why did Clary wait so long to text me then?" Magnus whined. "Best friend indeed."

Tessa laughed. "Oh, so you do sleep at your own place sometimes then, huh Alec?"

"It's been known to happen," Alec chuckled.

"Oh, like you haven't been at Will or Jem's house just as often," Magnus called her out.

"I supposed," Tessa replied. "Though sometimes they come here. Magnus, have you even once gone to Alec's place?"

"Just the once," Alec laughed. "The day we started going out actually."

"Your dorm is tiny," Magnus replied. "And your bed too." Alec laughed again, his shoulders shaking slightly with mirth. She stayed and talked to them for a few minutes more than had to excuse herself to go start the homework she had neglected while she'd been enjoying her weekend with Will and Jem.

Monday morning dawned; Tessa went to her classes, but found her mind often wondering, from classics like Shakespeare to the men she loved. How had she gotten so lucky as to be able to have them both? Thoughts of Will and Jem kept her going during classes and homework during the weekdays and every weekend she saw at least one of them. Will was harder to make plans with since his work schedule was so strangely structured. He often worked twenty-four hours in a row then got multiple days off, sometimes working days, sometimes nights, and then there were the days when he was on call, when you never knew if he would get to stay home or be called into work. Tessa had no idea how he did it.

Though she spent time with them separately whenever possible, Tessa still liked it best when it was the three of them. She didn't get them both again until Valentine's day. It seemed they'd planned a surprise for her. The weather wasn't exactly warm, but with January over the weather was improving. Tessa loved spring time; it was so full of hope and promise.

Around four o'clock on February the 14th Tessa received a text from Jem with instructions to go to the park. Her classes were over for the day and she headed out. When Tessa arrived, she found Will waiting for her. She linked arms with him and together they walked deeper into the park.

"Where are you taking me?" Tessa asked in a teasing tone.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Will replied. So, she followed without complaint until they had walked right through the park in a straight line, reaching the other side.

"What was the point of that?" Tessa asked. Will didn't reply, but instead lead her toward a limo parked along the road. She figured he'd just walked her through the park to throw her off. Little schemer. Will opened the door and motioned for her to get in. She did so and found Jem sitting in the back of the limo.

"You sneaky boys," Tessa laughed as Will slid onto the long bench seat on the other side of her, that was the limos interior. When the door closed, the car started moving and Tessa knew better than to ask where they were going.

When the limo stopped, Jem helped her out of the car and linked arms with her. Will came around the limo and took her other arm. Looking around, Tessa saw that they were outside a fancy hotel. As they entered, Will gave his name at the door and was handed a keycard. They went up in the elevator together, stopping on the third floor. Jem and Will stopped at a door, a short distance down the hall, and Will used the key card, with a slight click.

Once the door was open, Tessa gasped. The room was elaborately decorated for Valentine's day. Dinner for three was set at a small table on the left with a red tablecloth and crisp white napkins perfectly folded. The lights were low and Tessa could see candles flickering all around the room. The king-sized bed had white linens too, but was also covered with red rose petals. A bottle of champagne was on ice and the whole room smelled fantastic, like jasmine and lavender mixed with the smokey smell of the candle flames.

"Wow," Tessa gasped as she walked farther into the room.

"That's the reaction I was hoping for," Will said and even without turning around she could hear the smirk in his voice.

"You didn't have to," Tessa breathed. "This is too much."

"Oh but this is just from me," Will told her. "Jem got you something else."

"What?" Tessa said whirling around. Sure enough, Jem was now holding a small velvet box. Jem stepped forward and placed the box in her hands. Tessa almost didn't want to open it.

"I-" Tessa stammered. "I didn't get you guys anything."

"What do you think this room is for?" Will smirked, jerking his head toward the bed. Jem rolled his eyes and Tessa laughed nervously, not that she wasn't totally on board with Will's plan but the lengths they'd gone to for her had Tessa stunned.

"Just open it," Jem whispered. There was such happiness in Jem's eyes that she couldn't deny him. Tessa opened the box and saw the most beautiful jade pendant necklace. It had some sort of Chinese marking on it and the pendant hung on a thin silver chain.

"It was my mother's," Jem explained.

"It's beautiful," Tessa gasped. "But I can't accept this Jem. It's too much."

"There is no one I'd rather have wear it," Jem replied in a tone that brooked no argument. Jem moved forward, gently lifted the necklace from its case and placed it around Tessa's neck. The jade stone pendant was cold as it touched her skin and Tessa placed a hand to her throat. It was such a huge gift. She kissed Jem sweetly on the lips, unsure how to express her awe.

"Thank you," Tessa whispered then Will mentioned something about food the getting cold and they all headed over to the table and dug in. The food was delicious, but light enough that after they weren't tired from over eating.

"I planned it that way," Will grinned. "So I can do this." Getting up from the table Will scooped Tessa into his arms and planted a passionate kiss on her lips. Tessa felt her heart flutter. Jem moved around the table and soon she was within arms reach of both of the men she loved and caught up in the passion of that love. Clothes were discarded as they lost themselves in each other.

If asked in this moment if there was a downside to a great sex life Tessa would have said there wasn't one. However, if you asked her later that week she would have replied that the down side to great group sex was bladder infections.


OMG Finally a time gap. Do you realize it's been January for like 15 chapters now! My timeline looks so lame. :(


Sneak Peek Ch 37

"Even without the Valentine's day thing," Jace continued. "It's amazing. I get to hold her hand now. And go see her whenever I want. Oh and talk to her everyday."

"Yes its called being in a relationship," Alec laughed. They were walking together down the hall, heading to the cafeteria for lunch, where they were meeting Magnus and Clary.

"I don't care what it's call," Jace replied, clearly too happy to care that Alec was laughing at him. "It's awesome."

"You're hilarious," Alec chuckled with a shake of his head. "From relentless player to clingy boyfriend. Clary must be magic."