Mortal Instruments 1. Chapter 1

What time will test?

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Rain was falling from the night sky but jace didn't care at all, he just brought his tiny legs closer to his body in hope that the rain wouldn't hit him. Jace was starting to regret his decision of leaving his home, yes his home was dangerous but a least he would be able to be warm is his bed.

_No, _jace thought to himself if he went back his dad, he would kill him, and he wanted to be able to make it to least seven years old.

Jace decided that he had had enough and decided to start walking, the rain had cleared a bit but it was still drizzling, so once jace had made up his mind he stood up and left the safe clearing underneath an old mattress perched against a dumpster.

Just as he was standing up he hit his head on the mattress and it fell of the dumpster and landed on top of him, now to anyone else it might have been easy to just push the mattress of but to a little boy like jace it weighed a ton.

Jace didn't think the situation was to bad he could just sleep underneath it, it wasn't that hard to breath but then jace felt it, little bugs crawling up his pant leg,

_Now that is a problem_ jace thought, jace started to thrash but the mattress wouldn't come off then he tried to move his legs to get the bugs off but then they were starting to bite him.

Jace was about to give up and let the bugs have there meal when he heard a voice "Is anyone there?" jace looked up standing not a few feet in front of him was a very large lady, jace thought he might have cried tears of joy but instead he yelled " Yes over here!, please help me!" The lady quickly ran or hobbled over to him and throws the mattress off of him.

Once the mattress was off of him he took his hand and swatted all the bugs off his legs and sighed in relief but the relief was short when he felt his hands and realized they were covered in blood, the lady must of saw it too because he heard her give a tiny gasp.

"Oh my we have to get you to a hospital, this looks serious" she said, jace turned his face up at her and pleaded with his eyes not to send him, all he could think about was him going to the hospital and them contacting his parents; he couldn't have that happen.

The lady must have read his eyes because the next thing he new was the lady was crouching down to his level and picking him up, so one thing about jace is that he does not like to be picked up ever, but when the lady did it, it made him want to hold her, maybe it was her chubbiness, or maybe she was different; but then jace realized that even if someone is nice to you one second, they are meanies the next.

The lady must of felt jace tense because she just smiled and said to jace; "There is nothing to fear, I am here for you; don't be scared" jace didn't feel any better but somewhere in his mind he knew maybe she could help, maybe she could be the mommy he wanted, but as she carried him someplace he didn't know, he wondered if he could ever have a real family again.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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Jace's eyes were closed but he must have been lying on something because he couldn't feel the lady's arms around him anymore, fearing that she had left him at a hospital; he bolted awake.

Jace looked around confused, he defiantly wasn't at a hospital; if Jace was guessing he was in some type of tent, but that couldn't be right he was in new York, how could the lady carry him all the way to a forest, a sense of fear hit him; what if she had taken him to a forest to kill him.

Jace decided he would not have liked to be killed so he flung the blanket off his legs and bolted for the entrance to the tent; in his panic he didn't realize the lady was right next to him and he felt her wrap her arms around his stomach, " Let me go! I don't want to be killed" he yelled, she gently placed him down and looked him in the eyes, "I will never hurt you" said the lady.

The lady sat back on the blanket covering the floor and looked at Jace and said "I know you are afraid but please believe me when I say I just want to help you" she paused and then continued saying "How old are you?" she asked, Jace wondered if he could trust her but he had to try, "I'm six" he said, her eyes widened, "why are you out on the streets did you run away?" she asked.

Jace didn't answer but he didn't have to, once she saw his hesitation she understood, she sat back on the blanket covering the floor and sighed, she didn't look at him like a adult would, like they were disappointed in a child but like a adult that understood, Jace decided he would like her.

Jace crawled closer to her, and when he did that he noticed she wasn't fat on her whole body but just in her stomach area. Jace was curious; he had never a large person with just a large stomach. She must have noticed him looking because she said "I'm expecting in a few months"

Jace looked at her, expecting? expecting what? She saw that he was confused because she clarified, "I'm expecting a little baby" she said.

Jace was shocked, a baby, momma had always said that homeless people didn't have babies, and the lady had to be homeless if she was living in a tent in the middle of New York, so he decided to ask her "Aren't you homeless", she looked surprise that someone so young would know about the homeless, so she answered "Yes, but why does that matter?" she asked,

"My mamma use to say that homeless people weren't able to have kids" Jace said, the lady looked sad at that and said "Most of our children are taken away from us."

Jace didn't understand why they did that, so he asked, "It doesn't matter, and there are so many reasons why" Jocelyn answered, Jace was a bit upset that she didn't real answer the questions but didn't dwell on it. So he just decided to sit there and look around, now that he had calmed down, he could see more details.

He could see that there was a small backpack in one corner of the tent and that the actual tent wasn't a tent you bought in stores but blankets and a tarp probably supported by some ropes outside. He also saw that multiple blankets made up the floor, and the only light was a flashlight that was hanging from the ceiling with a piece of string.

The tent was small so the flashlight filled enough light into the tent to see. Once he looked at everything he started to wonder why the lady at helped him, he looked at his legs and noticed she even put ripped up sheets as bandages on his legs to help with the bites he got from the bugs.

He was amazed that this lady would do this for him, and he didn't even know her name so he turn to her and said " what's your name lady", the lady looked up and said to him " You can call me Jocelyn" she said with a smile.

Jace liked Jocelyn, and he liked that she didn't care that he was a child, and he didn't want to leave her; but then it hit him, what if Jocelyn sent him away, she helped him and she then she will tell him to leave her, she already had a child on the way; why would she want to deal with a runaway child. Jace was so scared he didn't notice Jocelyn's hand fall on his own, "What's that matter?" she asked, "Please don't send me away" Jace begged.

She looked confused, "Why would I send you away", He didn't answer her question, because he wanted to stay with her, he wanted to feel safe.

Then as he got lost in his head, he felt a familiar warmth around him, Jocelyn had taken him in her arms and tried to sooth him, "Please" he said, he could feel Jocelyn smile from where he was in her lap, Then he felt her start talking, "If I let you stay, you have to do me a favor" she said, "Anything" Jace responded,

She set him down in front of her and looked him in the eyes, he got a knew sense of hope, " It is a big responsibility, but I believe you can do it." She said, the hope had now exploded and he just wanted to know what he had to do to stay, "What do I have to do" Jace asked, "If you stay, you have to promise me to; help me take care of my child" she said

Jace couldn't believe this, he could stay with Jocelyn and all he had to do was help her, "Yes" Jace yelled, throwing himself into Jocelyn's arms, "I'll help you with anything" Jace said,

Jocelyn smiled warmly at Jace and she hugged Jace closer, both of them too happy to realize the huge promise Jace had agreed to, and what he will have to do to keep it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_2 months later_

Jace had gotten use to living with Jocelyn and hadn't thought of his home life in a long time, right now Jace was running an errand for Jocelyn, and he had noticed that she had been getting very ill lately, but when he asked, she would just say it was the pregnancy.

So he thought it would be nice to do something for her, Jace was suppose to pick up some baby supplies around the city, he and Jocelyn had been scouting the city for anything to use when the baby arrived.

At the moment Jace was rolling a buggy he found at the side of an apartment building back to where he and Jocelyn have been living.

A lot of the people didn't even bat an eye at him, probably to busy to look down and see a little homeless boy pushing a baby buggy. It didn't matter to him if they cared or not, he just wanted to go back to Jocelyn and show her what he had brought her.

When Jace first started living with Jocelyn he would get lost, but he finally noticed that the closer you got to the tent, the less prettier things looked. But he didn't say anything about what things looked like to Jocelyn, he didn't want her feeling sad that she can't give everything to her child.

Jace had finally made it to the tent, he stored the buggy next to the tent and put a blanket on top of it, Jace was surprised how often things where stolen down in this part of the city. Once Jace put the blanket on, he went inside the tent and the first thing he saw was Jocelyn's sleeping figure, he knew she needed sleep because he noticed how tired she had been.

He walked over to her and gently tried to wake her, her eyes fluttered open and she smiled when she saw him, " Your back" she said, Jace helped her sit up and said to her " Come outside I have something to show you" Jocelyn looked at him then followed him outside.

When they were outside he took the blanket off of the buggy and turned to show Jocelyn, when he turned around Jocelyn had a sparkle in her eyes like she was trying not to cry. He went up to her and asked her "Why are you crying, did I do something wrong" she shook her head no, then took Jace into her arms,

"Thank you, Jace" she said, she wiped her eyes and took him inside, not before he put the blanket back on.

Once inside, he looked around for the food to eat for supper, two days ago they had gone out; an found a piece of bread that a baker had thrown outside, Jocelyn told him to grab it, before the dogs got to it.

He grabbed the bread from the little side table in the tent and looked at it, there was only half a piece of bread left, he knew that Jocelyn needed more food then him, he broke the bread and passed an larger piece to Jocelyn, he was just about to take a bite when he noticed Jocelyn wasn't eating, "Why haven't to started eating?" he asked.

Jocelyn looked at him and then looked down, he noticed that her face looked very sad all of the sudden; he was going to ask again when she spoke up, " I don't know how I'm going to take care of my baby, I mean look at all we have to eat, not even enough for both of us, we will most likely starve" Jocelyn said, by the end of her little speech she had tears coming down her face, Jace quickly put down his bread and crawled towards her and hugged her to him.

Jace didn't like when Jocelyn cried, she was suppose to be the happiness that kept Jace grounded, but he liked that Jocelyn would show and tell him things that she might have only told a adult, he liked that he could learn the hardships it takes to survive and maybe that's why Jocelyn would tell him.

So he wouldn't think the world is sunshine and rainbows, but he knew it wasn't, he knew the world wasn't perfect and maybe Jocelyn could see that he had already discovered that. He took his hand and put it on her stomach; he liked to do that, Jocelyn stop crying and laced her bigger fingers through his tiny ones.

"Please don't worry Jocelyn, I promised I would help you and I will. We can get through this together, just like we've been doing these past months." Jace said, to anyone else it would have been shocking to hear those strong words come out of someone so young, but to Jocelyn it just made her smile knowing a little angel was looking after her and her baby.

Jocelyn wiped her tears, Jace was happy that he made her happy again. "Ok, I think that I can do this with your help Jace" Jocelyn said, Jace was ecstatic to hear this; he would help Jocelyn with what ever she needed, he would do anything for her.

With everything said, the two finished there dinner and went to bed happy.

The next morning Jace got up a lot earlier then Jocelyn, Jace was having a bad feeling about today, maybe it was that he didn't have that great asleep; Jocelyn had been tossing and turning in her sleep and constantly waking up and waking him up, he had asked what was wrong but she had said that it was just the baby kicking and that there was nothing to worry about.

He had fallen sleep after she said that. Now he just wants to get the feeling of dread out, he doesn't like the feeling. Jace continues to walk when he see's a crow, the crow doesn't do anything but look at him, it starts to freak him out so he decides it's best to head back to the tent,

But the crow keeps following him, the crow is now making screeching noises and now Jace is running fast to the tent, after awhile he stops hearing the loud noises and looks around for the crow, it's no where to be seen, he heaves a heavy sigh and continues to walk a normal pace, Jace thinks to himself how weird that was, _Why was the crow doing that_ Jace thought, Jace continues to think how strange it was, then after awhile he can see the tent.

When Jace reached the tent the feeling of dread came back much larger, and there it was the crow screeching away. Jace quickly entered the tent and there in front of him made him drop to his knees

Jocelyn lying on the floor bleeding with blood surrounding her bottom half, Jace screamed, and then ran over to Jocelyn's head. "Wake up, wake up, Jocelyn please!" Jace cried.

Jace didn't know what to do, but it didn't matter a moment later Jocelyn mumbled then her eyes fluttered open " Jace" she mumbled, Jace was full of relief, " We have to get you to a hospital" Jace said, even though Jace didn't want to go to a hospital, he would have to for Jocelyn's sake.

Jace started to get half of Jocelyn off the floor, she told him to stop, "Why?" he whispered, "Because they will take her away" she breathed; Jace didn't understand who Jocelyn was referring to. "Who do you mean by she" Jace cried, he couldn't help it, his best friend was about to die.

With the last little energy that Jocelyn had she grabbed his hand and said "My little baby girl, Clarissa"

After she said that, her eyes drained in colour and the hand that was in Jace's grip went dull, and that was it, Jocelyn had died.

Jace broke down, "Why, Why, Why!" Jace screamed, why did his best friend have to die, Jace sat there for a long time but probably was only five minutes, when he heard little cries.

Jace lifted his head and looked around, where were cries coming from, he moved around the tent, but the cries were more noticeable the closer he got to Jocelyn, Was_ the baby still in Jocelyn,_ Jace thought. Jace moved towards Jocelyn and took a few deep breaths, and then he lifted her dress up.

Jace's eyes widened, there between Jocelyn's dead legs was a baby lying in a pile of slim and blood.


End file.
