City of Heavenly Fire: My Version

What A Real Man Looks Like

Thank you for everyone who has waited patiently for this. And another special thanks to my best friend Lucy @SilhouetteDancer1204!

His eyes slowly pried open and met the ceiling. He felt the weight on his chest and looked down to see his beautiful redhead sleeping peacefully and without a care in the world. She looked exceptionally innocent as the morning cast its light over her face. The sun. His head whipped to the window which had the light coming through. He had only slightly remembered going to bed.

After Clary had stopped crying he pulled her closer and turned her around so her back was against his chest, and they turned back on Happy Feet. Near the end of the movie, Jace noticed her breathing had become leveled and relaxed telling him that she had fallen asleep. He looked over her shoulder to see her head was resting heavily on his chest, eyes closed and lost in a blissful sleep. Taking the laptop off of her resting legs, he put it to the side on the nightstand next to the alarm clock and moved his arms under hers.

He had gently lifted her body, cradling her like a child or bridal style. He laid her on the bed, back against the soft mattress and head on the pillows, sliding the blanket over her small figure, he took the dishes and traveled down the stairs to the kitchen. Everyone had gone to bed with the exception of the adults/parents. "How is she doing?" Luke asked, his voice strained with fear and unconditional love.

"She is asleep right now, when I went in there she was crying while watching Happy Feet. It was at the time when he was still a baby and was dancing. It has a happy title, but apparently she didn't find it so happy. She was overwhelmed with frustration and anger about being lied to. She didn't care that it was for even a couple of hours, just that she thought no one was going to tell her." Jace said walking back to the table after putting the dishes in the sink. He stood in front of them, hands resting on the back of a chair. "And scared, but feeling cherished by the baby for protecting her. She is feeling a lot safer now, knowing that the baby keeps her safe. She doesn't feel so threatened by Sebastian right now either. She's...Comfortable."

"Good, I'm glad," Luke let a small smile pull at his mouth. "I'm really happy to hear that. Did you find out anything about her and Sebastian's—"his voice stopped midsentence as he searched for the right word. "Encounter?"

"Not much, nothing from what anyone really expected. She wanted to see if the baby really burned those who threaten them and she provoked him. She went into detail about the scent of burning flesh filling the room because his hand was burned when he hit her. Then he left and she came downstairs to tell us what happened and that she knew." He put more pressure on the chair from his hands, knuckles turning white from the anger he had when he said that Sebastian slapped her. It took all of his will not to break the chair in his hands and get yelled at by Maryse. "Other than that, nothing new really. That she wants me to share anyway, the rest was kind of personal so..."

Luke nodded his head in relief, "Okay. I'm glad that she's resting and not worrying too much, and that she is at least talking to you. I would hate to think that she was bottling up her emotions causing her to get sick, again..." He let his sentence hang in the air as he remembered how she was just last week. He looked back at Jace and changed the subject, "You should go to bed though, best man. You look like you could use some rest too, take care of her, okay?" He stood up and clapped his hand on Jace's shoulder like a father would do.

Jace smiled at him, "Yes, sir. I'll always take care of her. I'll protect her with my life, that'll never change. Congratulations on the wedding too, I know Clary's excited for tomorrow." Jace returned the kind gesture of a pat on the back. "You need your beauty sleep too."

"That ship has sailed long ago," Luke said laughing at his soon to be son-in-law. "But you need to go to bed. Goodnight, Jace."

"Night, Luke." Jace turned on his heels and left the room. When he reached the room again, Clary was turned around in the bed, her head where her feet were when he had laid her down. Her hair was blown out all around her head, like rays pouring from the sun. He noticed that she was moving around, looking for him in her sleep.