William and Tessa Herondale of London were decidedly not a conventional couple, especially not when one considered their very natures—he was a warrior of Heaven, she a battleground between the blood of angels and demons. In fact, the two of them were probably as far from normal as they could possibly be.

However, to a casual observer, the couple appeared ordinary as could be on this particular Wednesday night—just two twentysomethings taking a late-night walk together.

Tessa, for her part, was thoroughly enjoying herself—the breeze was pleasant and cool, the familiar weight of Will's hand in hers a great comfort. The only problem was her back.

"Goodness," she hissed through her teeth as yet another flash of pain shot up her spine. She reached around to massage the area with her free hand, but Will beat her to it; steadily, his hands worked at the knot of tension until it loosened enough for her to limp over to a nearby bench.

Her husband went with her, watching her with gentle concern in his blue eyes. "Tess, is something wrong?"

Shaking her head a bit breathlessly, Tessa slumped back against the bench, allowing her usually impeccable posture to slip for a moment. "Magnus warned me that this would not be a normal pregnancy. I did not realize quite how abnormal it would be, however."

Will's gaze softened as it went to her hands, folded over the gentle curve of her stomach. "Do you want me to fetch Magnus for you, then? He could probably help you—and you know he offered."

"I don't think we need to take such drastic measures, Will. I think I'll get by—perhaps if I don't move around much more this evening, I will feel better tomorrow."

"Then allow me to oblige, my lady" —scooping Tessa up with one arm supporting her shoulders and the other hooked under her knees, Will spun her around a few times for good measure— "and provide her with some entertainment on the way home."

Tessa burst out laughing. "No, William, not the poetry, anything but the poetry!"

"LA LA LA LA, I can't hear you!"

And Will began walking, Tessa cradled in his arms, singing at the top of his lungs about demon pox the whole way home.

They had already seen the worst the world had to throw at them, and parenthood would be a whole different story, but they could get through it with each other. And they weren't a conventional couple—that much was certain—but they were young, and they were in love, and they were together, and that was all that mattered.

A/N: Mmkay, so who else was just sobbing all through Clockwork Princess? *raises hand* OH MY GOD IT WAS SO FREAKING GOOD!

So in case you couldn't tell, this takes place when Tessa is pregnant with James...eh, I don't know, nineteen-something. I'm too lazy to check. I have to admit, I was a hardcore Jem/Tessa shipper before, but CP2 made me love both Wessa and Jessa equally. Honestly, I could go on and on about how I love Jem and Will for hours...

So yup, there's that. Hey. How you doin'?

EPC