Shadowhunters Short Story #61. Herongraystairs mundane AU.
It is a cold and blustery day in November of 1997 when Will Herondale and Jem Carstairs receive what they then think of, as the biggest shock of their lives.
18 year old Jem and Will have grown up with each other and have been the best of friends since the age of twelve. They met in 1991 when Jem had been sent to live with family friends Charlotte and Henry Fairchild, after his parents were killed. Will also lived with Charlotte and Henry, who were friends with his family as well, after he ran away from home at the young age of 12, after his older sister Ella died, and he could not cope with his grief. When Jem arrived from Shanghai, he and Will became fast friends and were soon totally inseparable.
Last year they had met a young woman from America named Teresa Gray, or Tessa as she preferred to be called. She had come to London in search of her brother, after her aunt who was her only other living relative, died. When she no longer could afford hotels and still found no trace of her brother, Henry and Charlotte invited her to stay with them for as long as she needed. When Tessa moved in, she, Will and Jem became extremely close and soon ended up falling in love. At first it was a total dilemma for Tessa, and for the boys. Tessa loved them both equally and could never imagine choosing between them, and Will and Jem both loved her, but they also loved each other.
Eventually one day the three of them sat down together and talked about it all. It was Jem who pointed out that actually nobody had to choose anybody, it was entirely possible for the three of them to be together, sure they couldn’t be married in a church but that was the least important thing to them.
They have now been together for a little over a year and have just moved into a small two bedroom apartment, not from Charlotte and Henry’s home.
Just a few minutes ago, Tessa had asked Jem and Will if she could speak with them, so the three of them gathered in the living room, Will and Jem side by side on the sofa and Tessa sitting opposite them on the armchair, looking pale and nervous.
“You’re not breaking up with us Tess are you? Please don’t leave me to deal with a broken-hearted Jem, he has too many emotions, I can’t handle him on my own!” Will exclaims in an exasperated tone, trying to lighten the mood. Tessa laughs as Jem lightly shoves Will.
“No it’s nothing like that. So... you know how I haven’t been feeling well the last while? How I’ve been feeling really sick and tired and sore?” Tessa begins. Will and Jem nod. “Well... I found out why I’ve been feeling that way, today.”
“What is it? Is it bad?” Jem anxiously asks, always worrying about his loved ones,terrified of loosing them like he lost his parents.
“Well not necessarily.” Tessa says, loosing her nerve and trying to skate around the issue.
“Come on Tess out with it already!” Will says, sensing that Tessa is about to try and get off track and avoid telling them the truth.
“I... I’m pregnant.” Tessa quietly says. The thought that she could be pregnant hadn’t occurred to Tessa, until she was visiting Charlotte and Henry the other day, and Charlotte had told her she was pregnant with her second child. It was then that Tessa realized she hadn’t her period in a while and that all her symptoms were similar to the ones Charlotte had just 2 years ago when she was pregnant with her first child, Charles.
“A-are you sure?” Will stammers, for once in life not knowing what to say. Tessa nods.
“Yeah, I took a test and it was positive and I haven’t had my period for about 2 months now so....” She trails off, unsure how to finish her sentence. She is both terrified and thrilled, she has always wanted children, but not until she was much older, and had finished university and gotten a stable job.
“I-is it mine, or Will’s?” Jem asks.
“I don’t know, the last time I had sex with only one of you was 4 months ago and I’m only 2 months along, so we’ll have to wait until the baby is born to find out, even then we might not know straight away, but if it’s important to you we can do a paternity test.” Tessa quietly says, now fearful that if the baby is Will’s, Jem will leave and if it’s Jem’s, William will leave.
“No, no of course it doesn’t matter, I didn’t ask because I won’t love the baby if it isn’t mine, I was just curious. Oh Tessa, I don’t care who the biological father is, no matter what that baby is mine and yours and Will’s, no matter their DNA, they’re going to have two dads, I’ve only known about them for two seconds and I already love them with all my heart.” Jem says, leaning forward to grasp Tessa’s hand in his.
“Exactly, of course this is scary and difficult, but we’re not the first teen parents out there and we won’t be the last. By the time the baby is born you’ll have finished school, Jem and I will be in our last year of university, all three of us have stable jobs and are doing all we can to get even better ones, and we’ll have so much support from Charlotte and Henry, Gideon and Sophie and my sister and her no good boyfriend.” Will says in a soft tone, trying to make Tessa smile. Gideon Lightwood and Sophie Collins are friends of theirs, Will’s sister Cecily is in a relationship with Gideon’s brother Gabriel. Will and the Lightwood brothers did not get along in the past, but recently they did manage to put their differences aside and become friends, though Will still likes to tease Gabriel.
Tessa laughs and wipes at her tears, feeling a bit more reassured now. As Will said, their friends will be more than willing to help, Cecily will be delighted to have a niece or nephew and what makes her happy makes Gabriel happy, Henry and Charlotte are always happy to help out no matter what, and Sophie and Gideon love children and will be more than willing to help out too. They have two daughters themselves and a little boy who is 4 months old and has just been discharged from hospital after being born two months premature.
“I love you both so much.” She says in a joyful tone.
“All three of us now.” Will gently says, placing a hand on Tessa’s stomach. Jem places his hand over Will’s and Tessa places hers over Jem’s.
“Yes, all three of you, I love all three of you.”
They decide to wait until the first trimester is over and the risk of miscarriage decreases greatly, to tell everyone else about the baby. Thankfully the first 3 months pass without a hitch and when they finally tell everyone, they are very supportive and loving. Of course it’s not ideal being parents at only 17 and 18 but everyone knows that if anyone can make it work, it’s Jem, Tessa and Will.
The rest of Tessa’s pregnancy passes by in a breeze, Tessa is able to finish school and decides to defer her place at a literary course in university (the same one Will is currently taking) for a year. Will finishes his second year in university while Jem finishes his third year in his music and history course. Tessa continues to work her part-time job at the library, where she is thankfully entitled to 18 paid months of maternity leave, though she is hopeful that she won’t need the full year and a half.
Tessa has regular check ups at the local hospital, where she is also booked in to give birth in August. Jem and Will attend every check up, no matter what. They are so excited to become fathers and can hardly wait to meet the baby. They have already started on the nursery, even though the baby will be staying in their room for at least the first year.
Right now, Tessa is only a few weeks from her due date which means Jem and Will are on high alert at all times, rushing to get Tessa and the baby’s bags for the hospital, every time she so much as flinches.
At the moment Tessa is sitting on the sofa, trying to read a book, but it seems that Will and Jem may actually have reason to panic now, as for the last hour or so Tessa has been having pains on and off, every 15 minutes, and now they’re starting to get stronger and closer together.
“You started that book an hour ago and you haven’t finished it yet? That’s not like you at all.” Tessa hears Will say in a teasing tone.
“I can’t concentrate, I think we need to go to the hospital, I’ve been having pains on and off the same amount of time apart since I sat down, I think it might be time.” Tessa says, wincing and grasping her stomach as another pain washes over her.
Will’s eyes widen and he springs up from his seat.
“A-Alright, okay I-I’ll get Jem to help you out to the car and I’ll grab the bags.” He stammers, trying not to panic.
On the way to the hospital, Tessa’s water broke and by the time they reached the hospital, the pains were only 5 minutes apart.
Only half an hour after arriving at the hospital, she began to push, clutching both Will and Jem’s hands tightly, as Jem rubbed her back and gave her soothing encouragements, while Will watched what was going on at the bottom of the bed, wide eyed and unable to look away.
Now, after only pushing for about 20 minutes, Tessa feels a weight lift from her and a low cry rings through the room. She sighs in relief, relaxing back into the pillows as Will and Jem well up with tears of joy.
“Oh my god, it’s a boy, it’s a boy, we have a son.” Jem says in a shocked but joyful tone, laughing in delight and wiping his tears away. “He’s so perfect Tess, you did it, he’s here and he’s so beautiful and perfect.” Jem says in a breathy tone, leaning down to kiss her forehead.
Seconds later the baby is placed on Tessa’s chest, and immediately her heart swells with love for him, a love greater than she had ever felt in all her life. She immediately pulls him close to her chest, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks as the baby snuggles into her and his cries die down.
“Hi baby, Hi James, sweet baby Jamie, I love you.” Tessa whispers, kissing his little head. When they had been choosing names, Tessa was instant that the baby have his fathers’ names, but she left it up to Will and Jem to decide which would be his first name and which would be his middle name. Will insisted that his first name be James, and when he wouldn’t budge on that, Jem wanted the baby to have a Chinese middle name, so his middle name is Wēilián, which is William in Mandarin, making his full name James Wēilián Ke Carstairs-Herondale. A big name for a very little boy.
“He looks just like me.” Will softly says in a tone of awe, stroking the baby’s blood soaked cheek. It’s clear that little James is Will’s biological child, with a thick mop of black hair just like his, Will’s pallor, bone structure and eye shape, and Tessa’s nose shape. Later it would turn out he has big grey eyes, just like Tessa.
“He’s perfect.” Jem quietly repeats, as little James wraps his hand around Jem’s finger.
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When Tessa had told Will and Jem she was pregnant with James, they had thought that was the biggest shock and surprise of their lives, but they were mistaken. It has been just under a year since James’ birth, one of the best years of their lives, and while the little boy takes his usual afternoon nap, Tessa has called Jem and Will into the bedroom, where they will receive what they are certain is the biggest shock of their lives.
“Is everything alright Tess? Do you want to go to bed for an hour and we’ll keep an ear out for Jamie?” Will asks, closing the door behind he and Jem.
“No, thank you though. Everything is fine but I do need to tell you something.”
“Is it that Cecily is a massive pain in the arse coming around here with Lightworm every day? Believe me Tess, I know, but she’s my sister so I have to love her and put up with her.” Will says with a shrug.
“No that’s not it, I like having Cecily and Gabriel around all the time, they’re great at helping out with Jamie. Anyway, what I need to tell you is... I’m pregnant.” Tessa admits. She could hardly believe it when she saw the positive pregnancy test, she, Will and Jem were very careful about preventing another pregnancy, but clearly they weren’t careful enough.
“What? B-but Jamie’s not even one, I-thought it was pretty much impossible to get pregnant again so soon.” Will stammers, sinking onto the bed beside Tessa.
“No not impossible at all, usually after about six weeks post birth, you can get pregnant again. I know we were careful and everything but clearly it didn’t work.” Tessa says. Like when she was pregnant with Jamie, she is terrified, perhaps even more so now that they’ll have two under two, but she is also extremely excited and eager to meet this little one. In the last year, Jem was able to secure a job in the orchestra for the current production of a long-running musical in the West End, and the theater isn’t far from their apartment. Will got a job as a book editor and mostly works from home, while Tessa still works part-time at the library and attends college part time. Things are more secure now, even if they do have a 9 month old baby, who will only be one and a half when the new baby is born.
“If we have a girl we have to name her after you, since Jamie is named after us.” Jem says, breaking the tension and smiling at Tessa.
“No way, absolutely not, I get final say in baby names since I’m the pregnant one, and I am banning any variation of my name here and now.” Tessa says with a laugh. Though she doesn’t mind her name, she doesn’t want her daughter to have it, she’s always thought Teresa and Tessa are a little plain and bland, she wants something nicer for her daughter, if the baby is a girl.
“Okay but you can’t call her Jemma Wilhelmina or Wilhelmina Jemma either.” Will says in a mock stern tone.
“I say since you picked Jamie’s name, Will gets to pick this baby’s name, and if we have a third, I get to pick their name.” Jem suggests. Will and Tessa nod in agreement, and Tessa relaxes, knowing that in the end, things will work out.
Over the next few months, they tell their family and friends about the baby. Charlotte helps them explain everything to Jamie, but he doesn’t seem to acknowledge it, sometimes he’ll babble to Tessa’s belly and cuddle up to the small bump, but other than that, he’s been behaving as normal.
Just a few weeks after they told Cecily and Gabriel, Cecily had broken the news to them that she too was pregnant. At first Will was furious, ready to hunt Gabriel down and kill him, but once Cecily explained how caring and loving Gabriel has been toward her and the baby, and how excited he is to be a father, Will calmed down, though he is still extremely worried about Cecily.
Once again, Tessa’s pregnancy passes by in a breeze and before she knows it she is just days from her due date.
Currently, she is sitting in the living room of her, Jem and Will’s apartment, with Jamie, Charlotte and Charlotte’s son Matthew, who is two months older than Jamie. Jamie, Matthew and Thomas get along famously, and no doubt Cecily and Gabriel’s daughter will get along with the boys too, when she arrives in just 2 months time.
“Are you’re alright Tessa? You look very pale.” Charlotte asks in a concerned tone, turning her attention from the babies to Tessa, looking at her with eyes full of worry and concern.
“Oh yeah I’m fine just... I don’t know I feel weird, my stomach feels weird but it doesn’t feel like contractions, at least not like the ones I had when Jamie was born.” Tessa says, grimacing at the pain in her stomach and back.
“It could be early labor, when I went into labor with Charles I started feeling pains 2 days before he was born, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to go to the hospital to get checked over, I know Will and Jem are at work, so I can drive you.” Charlotte offers.
“Will Matthew get fussy if you put him in the car?” Tessa asks, glancing at the little blonde haired boy, patting Jem’s cat, Church.
“No not at all, Matthew is the easiest baby on earth, the word fussy does not apply to him, he loves being in the car, he won’t mind at all.” Charlotte assures her.
“Okay, yeah lets go then.”
Half an hour later, Tessa is breathing through her pains (which have been confirmed as contractions) in her hospital bed, while Charlotte expertly manages Jamie and Matthew, while calling Will and Jem to let them know Tessa is in labor.
Jem arrives first, 20 minutes after Charlotte called him, and Will turns up just 10 minutes after Jem. Charlotte then offers to look after Jamie for as long as they need, she and Henry will be happy to have him and Matthew will be delighted to have him for a sleepover. Jem, Tessa and Will readily agree, glad they won’t have to worry about organizing childcare now.
2 hours after being admitted to hospital, an hour after beginning to push, Tessa feels a weight lift from her which is almost immediately followed by a loud, high pitched wail.
Jem is the first to catch a glimpse of the baby, and when he does, his breath hitches in his throat.
“Oh, oh it’s a girl, we have a daughter.” He says in a soft tone.
“She certainly made an entrance, didn’t you sweet girl?” Will coos, wiping at his tears as the baby is placed on Tessa’s chest.
“Hello, hello Lucie, Lucie Āi lā Ke Carstairs. You look just like your mama.” Jem quietly says, stroking the baby’s cheek. Will had finally settled on the name Lucie for a girl ,after Lucie Manette in a Tale Of Two Cities (his and Tessa’s favorite book) and Āi lā, which is Mandarin for Ella, after his older sister who died when he was a child.
“She’s perfect.” Tessa says in a tight tone, holding Lucie close and pressing a kiss to her forehead.
The next day Charlotte brings Jamie in to meet his sister, while Henry stays at home with Matthew and Charles.
“What do you think Jamie?” Tessa softly asks, as James curiously peers into the bundle of blankets in her arms, where Lucie is sleeping peacefully.
“Baby.” Jamie quietly says, pointing to Lucie.
“Yeah this is your baby sister Lucie, do you love her?” Tessa gently asks, running a hand through Jamie’s thick black hair, identical to Will’s. Jamie nods and leans in to kiss Lucie’s forehead, as she reaches a hand out of her blankets and grips tightly to her brother’s finger.
“They’re so sweet.” Jem softly says, watching as Lucie blinks her eyes open and peers up at James with curiosity
“For now, soon they’ll be at eachother’s throats, if they’re anything like Cecily and I.” Will says with a smile, thinking back to when he and Cecily were younger, and how he would always hide her toys and she would always pull his hair.
“You’re so dramatic William, you are such a softie around Cecily, if you hated her as much as you pretend you do, you wouldn’t be so worried about her and the baby.” Jem points out. Will has often confided in him about how worried he is about Cecily and how she will cope as a young mother, and how afraid he is that Gabriel will walk out on her and their daughter and leave her heartbroken.
“She’s okay I suppose, she does have terrible taste in men though, her and Sophie, though Gideon isn’t too bad I suppose.” Will says with a shrug. Realistically he does actually like Gabriel and Gideon, especially Gideon, and he does approve of Cecily choosing to be with Gabriel, but he it’s more fun to tease his sister and annoy the Lightwood brothers than to confess that he actually likes them.
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*16 years later*
At 33 and 34 years old, Jem and Will were convinced that life had no more big surprises in store for them, they thought Tessa’s announcement of her pregnancy with Jamie followed a year later by her announcement of her pregnancy with Lucie, were the biggest shocks they every had, but once again they were wrong.
It is a sweltering hot day in August of 2013, James is out with Matthew, Thomas, and Cecily and Gabriel’s son Christopher, while Lucie is upstairs, working on her writing. At 16 and 15, both James and Lucie are total bookworms like Will and Tessa, Lucie loves to write fictional stories and has hopes of becoming a published author one day, while James more so likes to write poetry and read any book he can get his hands on. Neither of them have any musical talent or love for music like Jem does, but they never object when he takes his violin out to play.
Jem and Will are sitting in the living room, enjoying the peace and quiet and the absence of arguing children, while Tessa is visiting her friend Catarina Loss, who works at the local hospital where Jamie and Lucie were born.
Just as Jem is thinking of getting up and making a start on dinner so it will be ready when Jamie and Tessa come home, the door creaks open and Tessa steps in, and beams at he and Will.
“Hey, is Jamie still out with the boys?” She asks, making her way over to the sofa to join Jem and Will.
“Yes but he’s text a few times to let us know he’s alright and he’ll be home in a few hours. Did you have a good time with Catarina?” Will asks.
“Yes I did. I have something I want to show you.” Tessa says with a bright smile, slipping her hand into her pocket and drawing out a blurry black and white picture, of something unclear.
“What’s that?” Will asks, furrowing his brow and trying to figure out why Tessa is showing them this odd photo of seemingly nothing.
“Well, it’s our baby.” Tessa quietly says. Now that they are older and much better prepared for a child, she wanted to surprise Will and Jem with the news of her pregnancy and not just call them in and tell them she took a test and it was positive. She had suspected she was pregnant for a few weeks now, and when she booked in for an appointment with Catarina today, she told Jem and Will she was simply going to visit her friend at the hospital, when in actual fact she was going in for a pregnancy test and ultrasound.
“B-baby? You’re pregnant?” Will asks in an incredulous tone. The three of them weren’t exactly trying, but they weren’t doing anything to prevent a pregnancy either, though they had done that for the last five years and he thought perhaps it just wasn’t meant to happen.
“Yes, I’m two months, due in March, everything is perfect with me and the baby.” Tessa softly says, placing a hand on her stomach.
“Oh Lucie is going to be so thrilled.” Jem says in a joyful tone, knowing how much his daughter has wanted a little sibling for some time now. James doesn’t mind the idea of another sibling, but he’s not as eager as Lucie.
“Yes she is, we’ll have to think of a good way to tell her and Jamie, I’ll do some research tonight.” Tessa says, thinking of all the fun and exciting ways she can tell Lucie and James they’re going to have a little sibling soon.
“I finally get to pick a baby name!” Jem says with a wide grin, already knowing what he wants to call this baby, boy or girl.
“Oh God, you’re going to call them something awful like Wolfgang aren’t you?” Will groans.
“Oh no, you’re not naming them something ridiculous like that or Chopin.” Tessa warns Jem, earning a laugh from him with her serious look.
“Calm down you two, I love our child I’m not going to saddle them with an awful name, if I were going to name our son after a musician it would be someone with a decent name, have some faith in me.”
The three of them decide to keep the news to themselves for another month or so, so that the chances of anything happening will have gone down by the time they tell the kids.
By the time they decide to tell them, it’s the middle of September, just a few weeks before Lucie’s 16th birthday, which Tessa sees as the perfect opportunity to tell her she’s going to be a big sister.
Right now Lucie and James are sitting on the sofa in the living room, reading.
“Hey Luc.” Tessa says, walking over to the sofa with a brown paper bag in her hand. Lucie looks up and gives her a quizzical look. “I want to give you an early birthday present, Jamie you might be interested in this too.” Tessa says, handing the bag over to Lucie and sharing a knowing smile with Jem and Will.
James sets his book down as Lucie reaches into the bag, and pulls out a white baby grow and a note.
“What’s the note say?” James curiously asks, trying to read the note over his sister’s shoulder.
“Lucie, you’re finally getting the one thing you’ve always wanted, you’ll just have to wait a few months.” Lucie reads in a confused tone. “What does this mean mum?” She asks, looking up at Tessa.
“What do you think it means?.” Tessa gently asks, brushing Lucie’s hair back from her face. The kids are quiet for a minute, before Jamie’s face lights up in realization.
“You’re pregnant!” He exclaims, adding up the note, the baby grow and the fact that his mum has been sick the last few weeks.
“You are?! Really?” Lucie gasps, looking between Tessa, Will and Jem with wide blue eyes full of hope.
“Yes I am, the baby will be here in March, you’re going to be a big sister.” Tessa softly says, as Lucie jumps up and hugs her tightly.
“You alright there Jamie?” Will asks in an amused tone, clapping his son on the shoulder, noticing the look of shock on his face.
“Y-yeah just wasn’t expecting this.” He says in a shocked voice.
“Pun unintended?” Jem asks in a teasing voice, grinning at his son, who takes minute to understand the joke before smiling back and laughing.
“Can we tell people? Can I tell Cordelia, papa?” Lucie asks in an excited tone, looking at Jem, thinking perhaps he has already told his cousin Cordelia, who recently moved to London and has been best friends with Lucie since they were 10.
“Of course, you can tell your friends too if you like Jamie, you’re the first ones to find out, apart from Catarina since she’s been helping your mum through the first few months of the pregnancy.” Jem says.
Soon, everyone knows about the newest little Carstairs-Herondale on the way, and are very excited and happy.
Thankfully, like both of her other pregnancies, this pregnancy is a breeze for Tessa, she’s had some sickness and aches and pains but thankfully nothing more than usual. Lucie and James always accompany her and their dads on trips to buy clothes and furniture for the baby and help them decorate the nursery and both have been sworn to secrecy on the baby’s name, which they will tell everyone when she is safely here.
Currently Tessa is once again just weeks from her due date, though she is sure the baby will come any day now, since Jamie and Lucie were both a few weeks early too.
Right now Tessa is sitting at her desk in her office, reading over a book she is currently editing and critiquing for a client.
As she writes notes in red pen in the margin, she feels a familiar tightening pain in her lower stomach, one she is not able to work or talk through. Once the pain passes, she sets her pen down and goes in search of Jem and Will, needing someone to drive her to the hospital to make sure the pains are in fact contractions, and knowing that of course, they won’t want to miss a second of this.
When she walks into the music room, Jem looks up from his manuscript and beams brightly at her, his eyes filled with love and adoration.
“Tess.” He softly says, beckoning her over. “I was just writing something for the baby, do you want to hear?”
“Normally I would love, you now how much I adore your music, but I think you’ll be able to play your piece to the baby herself soon, I think I’m having contractions.” Tessa says, leaning against the door frame as her body is wracked with another pain.
Unlike when Jamie was born, Jem manages to stay totally calm. He guides Tessa to a seat, then quickly finds her and the baby’s bags, and then Will and while Will helps Tessa out to the car, he lets Jamie and Lucie know what’s going on, before texting Charlotte, who has promised to check in on Lucie and James while Tessa is in labor.
Unlike her labors with Jamie and Lucie, this time Tessa’s labor is long, drawn out and painful. Her labor lasts a total of 14 hours, which feels like forever compared to 4 and 2 hours.
Tessa was able to start pushing about 3 hours ago, but the baby is taking her time in coming out.
“I don’t think I can do this anymore.” Tessa weakly says, as she rests between contractions, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tries desperately to catch her breath.
“Of course you can.” Will softly says, dabbing her sweaty forehead with a cold, damp compress.
“But it feels like she’s not budging.” Tessa tries to hold back her tears of pain and frustration.
“Tess, I know it feels like you aren’t getting anywhere but I promise you are, we’re so close to meeting our baby and she is going to be just as perfect as her brother and sister, you are the strongest woman I’ve ever met Tessa, just a few more minutes and you’ll have her in your arms, and Cecily can stop pestering us about her name.” Jem softly and quietly says, squeezing Tessa’s hand encouragingly and leaning his forehead against hers. Tessa gives a weak laugh, then as another contraction begins, she squeezes her eyes shut, grips Will and Jem’s hands and pushes with all her might. Seconds later she feels a weight lift from her, and a soft cry rings around the room.
“You did it Tess! You see, we told you could, you amazing woman you!” Will proudly says, leaning in to kiss her temple, before the baby is placed on her chest.
Right away, it is obvious Jem is her biological father, she looks just like him, even at moments old. With light brown skin just like his, thick black hair but without Will’s curls, Jem’s eye shape and bone structure and Tessa’s mouth and nose shape.
“Oh Jem she looks just like you, she’s so beautiful.” Tessa sobs in delight, holding her baby close and tight.
“Yes she is, but I think she looks like you, you’re so beautiful my sweet Wilhelmina, how could you possibly look like me and not your mummy if you’re so beautiful?” Jem coos, leaning down to kiss his daughter’s forehead, before turning to place a kiss on his wife’s lips.
“Wilhelmina Yiqiang Ke Carstairs-Herondale, you could give your brother a run for his money with such a big name.” Will coos. Despite joking with Tessa when she was pregnant with Lucie, that they shouldn’t name her Wilhelmina after Will, Jem has grown extremely fond of the name over the years, and both Will and Tessa like it too, so they settled on that for her first name, and Yiqiang means ‘Remember’ in Mandarin, which Jem chose to honor their loved ones who have passed away, his parents, Tessa’s parents and brother and Will’s sister.
“Little Mina mine, I love you.” Jem softly says, stroking Mina’s thick, dark hair.
The next day, just after Mina has finished her morning feed, and Will is winding her while Jem is in the clothes shop next to the hospital, buying a fresh shirt after Mina threw up on him and Tessa is in the en suite bathroom getting changed, there is a light knock on the open door, and when Will looks up, he sees James and Lucie standing there, smiling brightly, next to Charlotte who is holding a gift bag, also smiling brightly.
“Hello you two!” Will says in a joyful tone. “Come meet your sister.”
Part two coming soon, where Mina will meet her siblings and all her aunts, uncles and cousins!
