InsaneJournal

Who: Tessa Gray, Jem Carstairs and Will Herondale
What: Taking Jem home
Where: Jem’s apartment
When: Backdated: Wednesday, April 16th. Afternoon
Rating: PG
Status: Complete.



Tessa let out a relieved sigh as she pulled up to the curb of Jem’s apartment. Looking across at her friend she thought the feeling was shared and she knew he had been missing Church. In the back, Will still looked worried about James, but he had good intentions.

“Here we are,” she smiled at Jem and reached out to touch his hand, trying to see if his temperature was still normal. “You ok?” she asked him.

Jem may not have known Tessa and Will long, but he was thankful to have the both of them in his life. Had it not been for Tessa, it was likely that Jem would have died as a result of the demon poison from the dream and then Will had apparently come and spent time at the hospital while Jem had been unconscious. And it hadn’t stopped there; even after the Yin Fen had shown up in his hospital room and the drug had been administered to him, Tessa and Will had stuck around and now here the three of them were, in Tessa’s car, outside Jem’s apartment.

“I am. Thank you.” Jem gave Tessa a smile, his fingers idly running over the top of the ornate box that the Yin Fen had shown up in. There was a good amount of the white powder in the box, but it wouldn’t last forever and now Jem was going to have to take it every day just like in the dreams. This was going to take some getting used to, that was for sure.

Will hadn’t known Jem long at all before he’d been taken ill but when he’d found out something in him had tightened almost unbearably. It had been strange but he didn’t question it and instead spent as much time at the hospital as he could. He hadn’t wanted Jem to wake up alone.

When Tessa had said she would take him home Will had told her he’d come too. He wanted to make sure Jem was okay and he wasn’t entirely sure he trusted the white powder that had simply appeared.

"Shall we go inside then?" Tessa suggested, pulling her hand back from Jem, happy he was stable for now. "Church has been missing you terribly," she told him with a smile. "Also, then I can make tea!" she joked, unbuckling her seat belt and moving to get out of the car.

“Did he? That may be a first.” Church was usually a pretty self reliant cat, coming to Jem when he was hungry or decided he wanted attention, but he could believe that the cat had missed him, considering there hadn’t been much time since Jem had gotten the cat that they’d actually been apart, “I think we should.” Getting out of the car, Jem glanced up at his apartment as he held the box protectively, afraid of what would happen if he dropped it. He led the way to the front door then up to his apartment and fished out his keys after making sure the box was secure in one hand and unlocked the door.

Having heard the commotion of the three of them coming up the stairs, Church had come to sit in front of the door and meowed when Jem stepped into the apartment.

Although he’d deny it emphatically Will hovered as soon as they left the car all the way up to the apartment, close enough to help should his help be needed. Will grinned, “Looks like you got yourself a one-cat welcoming party” he said.

Tessa smiled to herself at Will’s not so obvious concern for James. She was hovering herself but managing to stay back and let Jem do what he needed. She watched him greet Church and moved quietly to the kitchen door before turning around. “Would you mind if I nosed around the kitchen to make tea for us all, James?”

Jem set the box of Yin Fen down on the floor as he crouched down to scratch Church’s head, which caused the cat to start purring, “Did you miss me?” He smiled at the cat as he pressed his head into Jem’s hand further. As Tessa spoke, Jem glanced up at her and nodded, “Of course.” After another moment or two of petting Church, Jem picked up the box again and got to his feet slowly. glancing over at Will, “This may be the most affectionate he’s been since we moved.”

Will looked around the place as Jem petted the cat and Tessa took herself off to make tea. It was pretty nice, small but it didn’t feel cramped or anything. “Animals can be intuitive. He was obviously worried about you too” Will replied with a smile at Jem’s comment.

“How do you two take your tea?” Tessa called from the kitchen as she filled the kettle.

Jem smiled at Will and nodded, “I guess so. Of course, tomorrow he’ll probably be right back to ignoring me unless he wants attention.” Placing the box of Yin Fen on the coffee table, Jem turned towards the kitchen to see if Tessa had found the tea bags and mugs when he heard her voice, “Milk and sugar. Although…” He went to the fridge and pulled it open, “This milk may have gone bad by now.” He had been in the hospital for the last couple of days after all.

Will laughed, “Well naturally” he grinned before following him to the kitchen, “Make a list of what you want and I’ll do a shop for you” he said easily, realising any perishable products would have gone bad by now and Jem would need fresh food to help him get stronger.

"Could we ask one of your neighbours for now? Or is there a shop nearby we could pop to?" Tessa asked, not knowing the area at all really.

Jem couldn’t stop smiling as Will offered to go to the store. He’d only known Tessa and Will for a short time; a little over a month in Tessa’s case and less than that in Will’s, but they acted as if they’d known Jem much longer, “I think I can do that. Thank you.” Any other time Jem would have said that wasn’t necessary, but he still wasn’t exactly feeling up to a trip to the store himself, “There’s a store just down the street actually.” Moving to a drawer, Jem pulled out a pad of paper and a pen then sat down at the small table to write out a short list.

It was easy to act like he’d known Jem a long time, something about him just seemed oddly familiar and relaxing to Will. The protective instinct was also pretty strong too. Will didn’t know the area either but he’d go wherever he needed to, after all they couldn’t have Jem with empty cupboards when he needed things. He was glad Jem agreed, he didn’t want to argue with someone who had just come out of hospital.

“Would you like me to go?” Tessa offered, placing a gentle hand on Jem’s shoulder as he wrote.

As Tessa placed her hand on his shoulder, Jem’s heart started beating a little quicker and he glanced up at her, smiling, “You’re already making the tea. You don’t need to do both,” His gaze flicked over to Will, “That is, if you don’t mind going of course.” He didn’t want to assume that Will would go even if he had already basically said he would.

Will watched Tessa and Jem a strange feeling coming over him though what it was he couldn’t identify, when Jem looked his way he threw out his most charming smile. “Of course I don’t mind” he said, “Anything I can do to help I will” he stated simply and honestly.

“Thank you Will,” Tess smiled at the boy, gently squeezing Jem’s shoulder. “I can have a look around the kitchen and try and sort something for dinner if you’d like? I make no guarantees about my cooking skills but I can try,” she joked. “Or we can all avoid the risk of salmonella and order in. My treat,” she shrugged.

Jem finished up the list, which was only the basics that he’d need until he could go out and do a proper shopping and handed it to Will and informed him of where the store was, which was only a few shops away from his apartment then glanced over at Tessa, “We may be better off ordering out, but you don’t need to pay for it, Tessa. You’ve both already done more for me than I ever expected.”

“Nonsense” Will said, taking the list and already adding things to it in his mind, “We’re your friends and friends help each other out” he said simply before giving them both a little salute, “Now don’t miss me too much while I’m gone, I know it’ll be hard” he smirked before heading out the door.

“We shall endeavour not to,” Tessa teased as his black hair disappeared through the doorway. “Now, is there anything I can do for you? Would you like me to find a home for that box?” she offered, moving over to the box he had set down on the coffee table.

Jem laughed as Will left then got up to follow Tessa, “I think I’ll keep it on my bedside table. It’s where I keep it in the dreams. Easy access, I suppose.” Picking up the box, Jem led the way towards his bedroom, not even thinking about the fact that he was bringing a girl to his room; something he had never done before neither at home or since he’d moved to California.

Tessa followed Jem as he moved through the apartment but stopped on the threshold of his bedroom, folded her hands in front of her and ducked her head as she felt her cheeks flame. It wasn’t proper for a girl to be in a boy’s bedroom. At least not until they were better acquainted.

It wasn’t until Jem reached the bedroom and notice Tessa stopping in the doorway that he realized how the situation could appear and not wanting to make her uncomfortable, he didn’t press the issues about her staying in the doorway, “This should only take a moment,” He set the box on the bedside table and couldn’t get over how it seemed to fit perfectly as if it was supposed to be there. After a moment, he turned back to Tessa, “Shall we return to the kitchen?”

"This is your home James, we can go wherever you like," Tessa smiled at him. If he invited her over the threshold she would probably step in but for now she stayed where she was. She was worried about him and that meant she would go practically anywhere with him to make sure he was safe and healthy. "What should we do while Will is gone?" she asked.

Jem returned the smile and led the way back to the kitchen, "I'm not sure. Perhaps we should look through the fridge and see exactly what needs to be thrown away," He was sure there was more than just milk that had gone bad over the last couple of days while he'd been in the hospital. "Better now than later when it begins to smell."

“Yes, but I can do that when Will comes back with new stuff,” Tessa took him by the shoulders and turned him to the exit of the kitchen. “You need to rest,” she told him, guiding him to the sofa and gently pushing him to sit down. “Now,” she stood up and looked around the room with her hands on her hips. “Do you happen to have a deck of cards?”

Any other time Jem might have protested, but it was clear that Tessa just wanted to make sure Jem was alright; just like Will had been doing since they’d left the hospital. It was nice to have people who cared, “There should be a deck on that bookcase over there.” On the bookcase, amongst his collection, Tessa would probably find the book he’d bought from her store.

It didn’t take Will long to get to the store at all, it really was very close and he picked up everything on the list along with a few extras that he thought would help Jem feel better and a couple of treats as well. He hurried back to Jem’s place and knocking briefly he entered, “I’m back” he called out, “You can rejoice now” amusement clear in his voice as he entered the kitchen to begin putting things away.

Tessa smiled as she saw the book Jem had bought at her shop and ran her fingers lightly over it with a wry smile. She picked up the cards and moved back over to James, a happy smile on her face as she did. Kneeling down, she started to shuffle the cards. “What shall we play?” she asked him not long before Will walked into the room. She rolled her eyes at Will’s cockiness before putting the deck down again. “I’ll be right back,” she said gently, placing a hand on his arm. “Milk and one sugar, right?”

Jem laughed as Will came back, “Oh good. I was just about to send out the search party to find you,” He nodded in response to Tessa’s question and started shuffling the cards as she went into the kitchen to prepare the tea then raised his voice a little so Will would hear him in the kitchen, “We’re going to play a card game, do you want to join us?”

"No need for that Jem dear, I'll always find my way back" he laughed, sliding a packet of nice biscuits along the counter to Tessa with a wink before calling back, "Cards? Sure, I'll play" Then he looked at Tessa, "Can I do anything?"

Tessa shook her head and tried to resist rolling her eyes at Will as he winked at her. "You can go through the fridge and find out if anything's grown arms or legs before we put the new stuff in," she suggested, busying herself with making the tea. "How do you take your tea again?"

“Perhaps I’ll have to move then,” Jem teased from the living room as he finished shuffling the cards and set them on the coffee table, leaning back against the couch as he waited. Waiting had never been one of Jem’s strong points, even if he was a particularly patient person, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t get antsy when he had to wait. Getting to his feet, he made his way into the small kitchen and leaned against the doorframe, “I hope there isn’t too much in there that’s gone bad. I’d been bad if you had to clean out my whole fridge.”

“Ha, too late for that I’m like a homing pigeon” Will called back to him laughing. Having opened the fridge Will found it to be pretty bare, the few odd things in there had gone off of course and there were a couple of eggs he’d test later on but it wasn’t too bad. “Well it looks like you needed to do a decent shop anyway, there’s bugger all in here” he commented before raising his eyebrows at Jem, “Aren’t you supposed to be resting?” he said pointedly before unpacking the fridge bag into the now cleared fridge.

Tessa looked round to the doorway from stirring the teas. “Yes, he is,” she frowned, picking up Jem’s tea and walked towards him. Putting a hand on his arm, she turned him around again and escorted him to the couch, planting him on the couch with his tea on the table in front of him. She squeezed his arm, he wasn’t too warm right now but she’d keep an eye on him for now. “Go Fish,” she patted his arm and headed back to the kitchen to get the cups for her and Will and bring them through.

Jem had been about to protest, but it was clear that Tessa just wanted him to rest and relax, so he would if it would make her happy. He allowed her to lead him back into the living room then picked up the deck once again after she’d set down his mug and began passing out the cards so they would be ready to play when Tessa came back with Will.

“Okay all done” Will said as he finished putting everything away, grabbing the biscuits he let Tessa pick up the tea cups as they made their way into the living room, “Right, let’s play” he grinned.