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The excitement on Reesa’s face when her parents came through the portal into Magnus and Alec’s living room was something to behold. She started kicking and squealing from Alec’s arms. Magnus had dressed her in a blue dress with an abstract print of sunflowers all over it (plus ruffles galore) to greet her parents. She also had a rather huge blue bow attached to a headband on her head. He had tried for shoes, but she had promptly kicked them off and they had mysteriously disappeared. He suspected Max had helped her with that. She was agreeable to the bow only because she kept forgetting it was there.
Jace swept her up in a hug and kissed her chubby cheeks, and then he passed her to Clary. She immediately grabbed one of Clary’s curls and squealed again.
Jace gave Alec a long hug as well.
“Thank you, brother. You don’t know...”
“Yeah, I do,” Alec said quietly. Jace smiled.
Magnus and Clary went to sit on the couch with Reesa, Magnus sharing what the baby did while her parents had been in Idris. “Alec wasn’t kidding about her attachment to her stele!” Magnus laughed. “Max took it once and she screamed VERY LOUDLY and he returned it very quickly. It was quite funny.”
Max had jumped up to hug Uncle Jace and was now happily hanging upside down from Jace’s arm while he and Alec chatted. This was a normal
bonding thing for Jace and Max; everyone found it amusing.
Clary turned and gestured for Rafe to come over.
“I heard you were a huge help while Reesa was here. Thank you so much, Rafe.” Rafe looked pleased at his aunt’s praise as she gave him a big hug. He reached out a hand to Reesa who enthusiastically grabbed it.
“Can I come see her at the Institute sometimes?”
Clary smiled. “Of course. We will work out something with your Bapak and Daddy.” He smiled broadly and turned to look at Magnus. Magnus smiled back. “I’m sure we can arrange that.”
Jace now held Max’s hands while Max repeatedly “walked” up Jace’s legs and did a flip back over to his own feet. Jace continued conversing with Alec as if he hadn’t suddenly become a human jungle-gym.
“They seemed pleased with what we are doing at The Institute. To our faces anyway,” Jace was saying.
Alec nodded. “I expect you’re right. But I don’t see who would complain. No one wants to deal with the things you and Clary do in New York anyway.”
Jace lifted Max to his shoulders, where Max immediately let himself hang upside down again, his head resting in the small of Jace’s back. Jace grabbed his feet to keep Max from sliding off. Alec just shook his head.
“You don’t HAVE to let him do that, you know.” Alec said as his son sent a toy dinosaur spinning past Jace’s head and over where Reesa and Rafe now sat on the rug at Clary and Magnus’ feet. Reesa giggled at the magical mobile of dinosaurs dancing over her head.
Jace grinned. “I’m the favorite uncle when I let him do this. You’re crazy if you think I’m stopping him.”
Magnus stood and dodged a brachiosaurus chasing a velociraptor through the air. “Dinner will be ready soon if you’d like to join us?”
Jace looked at Clary. Rafe grabbed her hand. “Please Aunt Clary? You can see how well I feed Reesa.”
Clary smiled. “I believe that settles it then.”
-
Dinner was fun. Rafe was indeed talented at feeding Reesa, who obligingly ate the chicken noodle baby food he offered her. She also managed a rogue tater tot Max snuck her. Clary gave her some of the smaller bits of potatoes, carrots, and some peas from the roast Magnus had made for Reesa to try, while the adults finished eating. Reesa very carefully used her pointer finger to smash each and every pea flat, before looking at her mother, as if she was not amused by her trickery. Clary sighed.
“Excellent fine-motor-skill development,” Magnus commented. “Advanced, really.”
“Excellent way to avoid eating peas as well,” Jace cheerfully stated, scrapping his own collection of peas onto Clary’s plate.
“Honestly, Jace. No wonder she won’t eat green things,” Alec said. “She spit her peas all over me yesterday. My favorite sweater too.”
“Rest in peace sweater,” Magnus said, not upset at all.
“You said you could fix it!” Alec yelped.
“I did. I bought you a new one, sans holes,” Magnus smiled at his husband. Alec grumbled.
Max sent a string of peas into the air towards the trash can.
“Nope,” Magnus said, snapping his fingers and returning them to Max’s plate. “I don’t believe so, Max.” Max sighed and started eating them.
Rafe sat at Clary’s side, eating his dinner and cheerfully telling her about how he had slept on the floor by Reesa’s crib “in case she got scared in the night”.
“Bapak made me a nice bed so I wasn’t cold on the floor. And he made the nightlight moon. Reesa loves it. You might need one.” He observed.
Clary agreed. “We might at that.”
“Also, she likes Cat in the Hat and Hop on Pop,” Rafe finished his dinner and laid his utensil neatly across his plate. “I read it to her twice. But her favorite is Where the Wild Things Are.”
Clary tapped Rafe on the nose. “You are such an excellent little boy. I’m so glad you are in this family.” Rafe beamed.
“And me!” Max declared.
“Of course you, Max! Our family is the best with both of you in it,” Clary smiled.
“Guess what?” Max grinned, ketchup smeared on his cheek.
“What?” Jace answered him.
“Rafe and Rissy are going to be Shadowhunters! And I’m going to be their warlock. Like Bapak is for you and Daddy.”
“That’s awesome!” Jace held up his hand and Max gave him a resounding high five.
“And if Auny Izzy and Uncle Simon have babies, they can come too,” Rafe interjected. “Or if Reesa gets a brother or sister.”
“That’s a lot of work for me,” Max suddenly looked concerned at the idea of his workload becoming greater with each additional cousin. He turned to his parents.
“I think we need a sister now. A warlock sister to help me out.”
Magnus choked on his wine and Alec threw back his head in laughter.
-
“Home Sweet Home,” Jace groaned as he threw himself down on their bed. They had just gotten Reesa to sleep and he couldn’t decide if he wanted sleep or a shower more. And he always wanted sleep these days.
Clary laid down and curled up against his side. He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.
“Dinner was fun, wasn’t it?”
Jace chuckled. “Yeah it was. Max is hilarious.”
“That was funny about wanting a sister now to help him out. Although not a bad idea...Magnus and Alec are wonderful parents.”
“Yeah they are. And so are we, I think.”
“We do okay, considering she is small enough to hold on to with one arm AND she doesn’t have magical abilities,” Clary said with a laugh.
The couple lay in peaceful silence for a few moments, Clary’s head resting on Jace’s chest. His voice rumbled in her ear when he spoke.
“I’m so proud of you and your report at Idris. I hate meetings but I liked listening to you.”
Clary looked pleased.
“And if I got too bored, it helped that I’ve seen you naked,” he teased.
Clary yelped and swatted him on the arm. “Jace!”
He grinned. She gave him a look of only partial disapproval (when he grinned like that, she usually gave up being upset) and rested her chin on her hand to look at him.
“I’m proud of YOU,” she said softly, as he twisted a loose curl laying on her shoulder around his finger. He paused.
“For what?”
“I know how hard it was, to leave behind Reesa. It was hard leaving our baby behind for me, and I know your worries are different and more difficult that mine because of...” she trailed off.
Jace resumed playing with the tendrils of hair around her face, tracing her cheek with his fingertip.
“I’m so scared sometimes, Clary. She is...she is a Nephilim child of two pure-angel-blooded Nephilim. I don’t know what that means for her and I’m afraid someone will take her to find out. But...”
He sighed and put his hands behind his head as he looked at the ceiling.
“Alec is right. I can’t live in fear. I can only do everything to keep her safe, as I would any way. We have family that will protect her too. And...I just have to let go of that fear. But it will take a while. So, keep being patient with me? And remind me if I go too nuts again.”
“Don’t I alway?, “ she grinned.
He slid a hand into her hair and pulled her closer. “You’re my anchor, Fray,” he whispered, before capturing her mouth with his own.
When they broke apart, Clary stretched like a cat, and then stood up, moving towards the bathroom.
“I need a shower.” She pulled off her shirt and balling it up, tossed it at Jace. “Wanna wash my back?” She asked over shoulder.
Jace’s golden eyes darkened. “What do you think?”