"Do you have everything?" Jace asked Anna. "Toothbrush, hairbrush, pajamas, clean underwear, phone charger?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "Yes, dad. We've been over this a million times. It's not my first sleepover, you know."

"I know, Ace, but I'm still going to be overprotective of you." He ruffled her golden hair a little. "Until you're eighty and living in an old-folks home, I'm going to be overprotective."

Anna squirmed under Jace's hand but she was laughing. "Ugh, I'll never get a boyfriend with you in my corner."

Jace gaped. "What did you just say?"

Anna's eyes went wide. "What was that? I think I heard Missy's mom honk. Well, gotta go, dad! Love you, bye." With that, Anna grabbed her bag and bolted for the door.

Jace followed her all the way downstairs and watched until she was safely in the mom's vehicle. Jace waved to the other parent as she began driving away. It was no secret that Jace was a single dad amongst Anna's friend group. People tended to pick on her because she didn't have a mom, but then Alec and Isabelle and Magnus and Simon would show up and they would have nothing else to say. This being well-known information also meant that Jace constantly got hit on at PTA meetings. So, he just started sending Alec to the meetings and he spent his nights with the only woman that still mattered in his life: Anna.

Going back upstairs, Jace's heart started beating a bit harder. It was five pm. Clary was coming over at six. He hadn't talked to or seen her since the softball game per his request. Now, though, he was scared to see her again. He didn't know what he was going to say. He didn't know what she was going to say. What possible explanation could she have for him?

Making himself a quick dinner, Jace rather found himself pacing through his apartment not feeling hungry. He hadn't even told Alec or anyone that Clary was coming over. Though he was sure she probably mentioned it to Simon. Unless she didn't. He didn't really know her anymore.

The hour passed all too quickly and then there was a knock at the door. Jace froze. He was rethinking this entire thing. How was he expected to sit in a room with the woman who had shattered his heart into a million pieces and have a calm discussion about their child? This was not going to be a good night.

Still, Jace opened the door and allowed Clary to come in. They both stood in the foyer for a few awkward moments until Jace eventually gestured to the kitchen table.

"Have a seat. Want something to drink?" he said.

Clary shook her head. "No thanks, I'm alright."

She sat down and Jace took the seat opposite her. He couldn't help but notice how different her clothing style was now. Much more refined and slick. Her hair, which was always down when they were teens, was up in a curly bun. As much as she still looked like a teenager, she also looked totally different.

"So," Clary said clearing her throat. "I guess I'll just start from the beginning."

"That might be easiest."

"Right. Well." Clary turned a bracelet on her wrist nervously. "When I was eighteen, I got accepted into an extremely prestigious art school. It was in Australia. I didn't tell any of you about this opportunity because I wanted to make the decision about whether I stayed or went on my own. The only people that knew were my family and Simon. Eventually, I wound up coming to the conclusion that if I really wanted to be as successful as possible in the art field, I should go there. So, that was when I cut off you and everyone else. I left for Australia two weeks later and started school one week after that. It was around then that I found out I was a little over a month pregnant. I think I wound up finishing one semester before having to talk with all of my teachers and head home. I was here for about three months. In that span, I had Anna, stayed with her for a month because of some complications, and then left her with you. Then, I headed back to Australia."

Jace hadn't interrupted Clary the entire time she was talking. His stomach hurt. She chose school over him. She chose school over her own daughter. But Jace knew he would've been mad at her if she hadn't taken that opportunity and had instead stayed in New York with him. Still, she chose school over her daughter. After all of this information sank in, though, there was just one thing that really bothered Jace.

"What complications?" he asked.

Clary looked down at her hands. She rolled the chain of her bracelet between her fingers. "Well, Anna was born about a month early and the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. Then, I got really sick after having her and the doctor's made me stay there with her for a couple of weeks."

"Oh." Jace didn't really know what to say. It hurt him that he wasn't there for that. "You didn't put that in the note."

Clary laughed but it almost sounded like she was going to cry. "No, I didn't."

"So, then." Jace chewed on his lip. "I understand that you were eighteen and you had this whole life ahead of you and a baby just wasn't part of the plan. I get that, honestly. But why didn't you ever come back?"

Clary opened and closed her mouth a few times. When she finally spoke, her voice was weak. "I wanted to. Umm, I think that while in school I had gotten used to living this separate life from you and everyone else, and it was easier for me to pretend like I was home. Like there was nothing left for me in New York anymore. I mean, I got a job right out of school. I started traveling the world and working on all of these comics and movies. I've had three personal art galleries open. My name is famous all over. And in the midst of it all... I didn't want to admit that things could've been different. I've thought about you and Anna a lot, but I knew I messed up. I knew that you didn't want to see me."

"How can you decide if I want to see you? How can you decide whether Anna gets to know her mom?"

"I know." A tear fell from Clary's eye and she hurriedly wiped it away. "The one thing I've ever regretted is not being a part of her life. If just a yearly visit even. You have no idea how difficult it was to show up and see her so grown up. To hear about how you raised her and were such an amazing father and I wasn't part of that at all."

"You didn't even plan on seeing her, did you?" Jace asked. "You didn't plan on seeing me either."

"How could I?" Clary had to wipe at her cheeks again but it was pointless because the tears were coming at a steady stream now. "The only reason I'm here is for business. I leave in less than two months. I didn't want to risk meeting Anna and getting attached only to have to leave right after."

"And what about me?" Jace got up from the table as he spoke. When he came back, it was with a box of tissues.

Clary stifled a laugh. "Dad life really has changed you," she said eyeing the box.

"It definitely made me more empathetic," he said.

"I don't regret having you raise her," Clary said abruptly. "Clearly, you've done an unbelievable job. I'm just sorry I wasn't there to see it."

"I am too."

"Jace, I completely understand if you don't want me to see her again. I will accept anything you say, she's your kid. But if you're willing, I'd like to get to know Anna a bit."

Jace raised an eyebrow. "What about getting attached?"

Clary shrugged. "I got attached the moment I laid my eyes on her. There's no going back now."

Jace thought about it for a moment. He knew that Anna was curious about her mom. She didn't ask too many questions because Jace always refused to answer her, but he knew that at some point she was going to need to know the truth. And here it was. The truth, sitting right in front of him.

"I think Anna deserves that," Jace finally said and it looked like a weight was lifted off of Clary's shoulders. "If you want, she's free this weekend. You can meet her here or I could drop her off at your-"

"No," Clary said, "here is fine. Could I pick her up Sunday around noon?"

Jace nodded. "That'd be fine. Want me to explain who you are in advance?"

"I think it might be best if we explain it to her together. So, depending on how Sunday goes, Sunday night?"

"Sounds like a plan."

Clary stood up and Jace followed. Her eyes were puffy from tears and he noticed now that she looked really tired. She held out her hand to him but all Jace could do for a moment was stare at it. Was this really who they were? Practically strangers shaking one another's hands? When Jace shook her hand, she proceeded to leave.

Instead of relaxing at home or anything, Jace decided to go out. Well, out is a subjective word because really he just went over to Alec's. He didn't knock or text the man, just entered without any sort of warning and called out for Alec and Magnus. When Magnus appeared around a corner, Jace waved and plopped down on the couch.

"Why do you look miserable?" Magnus wondered as he stepped further into the room and sat on a chair near the couch.

"Clary," Jace answered simply.

"Well, sure, I could've guessed that. Anything specific about Clary, though?"

Jace turned his head to look at Magnus a bit, then he just stared up at the ceiling. "I just had a conversation with her about... everything. What happened when she had Anna and why she never came back and what happens now."

"What does happen now?" Magnus asked as Alec entered the room. At the sight of Jace's distraught state, he sat down beside him on the couch and rubbed his arm comfortingly.

"They're going to hang out on Sunday."

"Fill me in," Alec said.

"Clary and Ace," Jace said. "I talked with her about everything and now they're going to do something on Sunday. I just have to tell Ace tomorrow."

"So, Anne is going to have a mom?"

Jace opened his mouth to say something but just wound up taking a deep breath. "She's going to have Clary. For now, she doesn't know that Clary is her mom."

Alec nodded. "Kind of wild that she just randomly showed up."

"You have no idea."

There was a silence, and then Magnus just had to ask the question that everyone wanted to know. "Are you going to get back together with her?"

Jace looked over at him. Instead of replying, he just shrugged and fidgeted with his hands.