My Way Home Is Through You
Summary: Chandler and Monica have been divorced for a year. What happens when an accident occurs and forces them to re-evaluate everything.
Disclaimer: As usual, I own nothing except for a couple characters who you will find out about soon ; )
Author's Note: This is an AU story, just warning you now. If you don't like them, then I'm sorry.
Chapter 1 - Break Even
I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing, Her best days will be some of my worst, What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you
Just prayed to a god that I don't believe in,
'Coz I got time while she got freedom,
'Coz when a heart breaks
no it don't break even.
She finally met a man that's gonna put her first,
While I'm wide awake, she's no trouble sleeping,
'Coz when a heart breaks
no it don't break even, even no.
What am I supposed to say when I'm all choked up and you're ok
I'm falling to pieces
I'm falling to pieces
Chandler let out a deep sigh as he listened to the song playing on the radio. He couldn't believe how well it summed up his feelings and the situation he was in. It was if the lyrics had been written for him.
One year. He and Monica had been divorced for almost a year exactly. He still could believe all the had happened over the past couple of years. He had thought they were perfect. They were perfect until one day things just started spiraling out of control. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn't even know why they had started fighting. He just knew that soon the fighting was non-stop and the next thing he knew, she was kicking him out of the house and he was being served with divorce papers.
Since then he had moved to a small condo across town and was living on his own, with the exception of when his kids visited him every other weekend.
Monica, on the other hand, had managed to somehow keep the house on only her income, and was now seeing somebody. Gavin something or other. He was the owner of a chain of fancy restaurants and had asked Monica to be head chef at one of them. It was the perfect opportunity for her as she was able to more or less make her own schedule, making it easier to balance out work with raising 3 kids.
Chandler had only met Gavin a handful of times and he hated him. It wasn't that he wasn't a nice guy, he was a little too nice. The only thing that kept Chandler from ripping the smug grin off his face whenever he saw him, was that Chandler knew Gavin was good with the kids. His two youngest really seemed to like the new man in their mother's life, his oldest, on the other hand, wasn't so taken with him.
Chandler had to smile at the thought of his kids. They were everything to him and it was because of them he had managed to make it this far. He peered at them asleep in the back seat of his SUV after their long day at the zoo, and couldn't help thinking about how lucky he was to have them.
His oldest daughter, Kayla, was 9 years old. She was her mother's clone in the looks area, with long dark hair, sapphire blue eyes and her mother's adorable dimples and smile. Her personality and sense of humor, however, were all her father. At the tender age of 9, Kayla came up with jokes that even Chandler couldn't come up with. She was a daddy's girl at heart and always had been, it was one of the reasons she didn't like Gavin much. He could only imagine how much fun she was going to be when she reached her teen years, especially considering she had both Monica's stubborn and competitive traits.
After Kayla was born, Chandler and Monica were told they probably would never be able to conceive another child because of some complications during Monica's labor. Content with the daughter they had, they stopped trying to have another baby and simply let nature take its course. When Kayla was 6 years old, a miracle occurred and Chandler and Monica found out they were expecting again, not just one baby but two.
The twins, Leana and Tyler, were now 3 years old. They both had sandy colored brown hair and deep blue eyes like Chandler and both had Monica's smile and dimples. Of the two, Tyler was the more outgoing one. He was a little "daredevil" as Monica like to call him, but being that Monica was his mother he knew his limits and rarely got into trouble. He was talkative and like his older sister, he could crack jokes like nobody elses business.
Leana or Lea, as she liked to be called, was the shy one. Taking after Monica more, personality wise, Lea from a young age exhibited signs of a deeply caring, almost nurturing nature. She loved helping others and her favorite parts of the day was when she could help Monica in the kitchen. Although quieter and more reserved then either of her siblings, Lea knew how to make her opinion known when she wanted to and with her big, round blue eyes and pouty lip, she also knew how to get her way when need be, not letting her older siblings push her around.
It was now nearing Sunday night, the night Chandler always dreaded. With his heavy work schedule, he found himself working long hours and rarely a day off. He and Monica had had to come up with a schedule to work around his hectic work life and as a result, the only time he had to spend with his kids was every second weekend from Thursdaym, after they got out of school or pre-school, until Sunday night. He had managed to get his bosses to give him every other Friday off, so that was usually their night to go out for a family dinner, usually consisting of McDonald's, a favorite among his kids. It was really the only time they got to eat junk food. What Monica fed them was so healthy, they rarely ever got sick. That wasn't a bad thing really, but Chandler felt that sometimes kids needed to be kids and that meant giving them a little junk food here and there.
He finally pulled up to the sidewalk of his former residence and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see Gavin's car in the driveway. He didn't really want any run ins with him tonight, he wasn't in the mood. Right now all he wanted was the go home and maybe call Joey to come over for a beer and a Baywatch marathon. It wasn't that he didn't love spending time with his kids, but he had been working pretty well non-stop for the past 2 weeks and when he wasn't working, he was chasing after 3 kids, he never really had any time for himself.
He smiled slightly when he saw Monica poke her head out the door and wave a little. Since their divorce, they had started getting along a bit better, even to the point of becoming friends again, something for which Chandler was grateful. He had been afraid he would never get that back, more than anything else he had missed her friendship. Though he still loved her with all his heart and soul, he knew he was lucky they were as close as they were now and he treasured that.
Friendship for them, was the foundation of everything. They had been friends for close to 10 years before they got together and when they finally did get together, their friendship was still what kept their relationship so intact. They knew everything about eachother, could read one another better than anyone else, and because of that they knew all of eachother's weird traits and neurotic tendencies, something which oddly enough, made their relationship even stronger. They were able to work around all those things and some of those things balanced another out. For a long time, Chandler had a fear of commitment and Monica's ability to concentrate so fully on a relationship and her devotion, got him over that fear. Monica's obssession with cleaning and perfection was able to be downplayed (at least somewhat) by Chandler's more relaxed, easygoing way of living. These were just a few ways they balanced eachother out.
Monica made her way out to Chandler's SUV with a big smile on her face. He knew she was glad to have her kids home, she hated being away from them. Her hair was pulled back in a messy pony-tail and she was wearing an old pair of jeans and a light blue tank top, but he still thought she was beyond beautiful.
"Hey Mon." Chandler said as he stepped out of the vehicle and opened the door to get Lea out of her car seat, so that he could also let the sleepy Kayla out as well.
"Hey Chandler." She greeted with a smile at her ex. She pulled the door to the passenger side open and got Tyler out of his car seat. "Did you guys have a good weekend?" She asked as Chandler walked around the vehicle with Lea in one arm and his other arm wrapped around Kayla, guiding her as she was not yet fully awake.
"We sure did, didn't we Kay." He said giving the little girls a light squeeze, hoping to get some kind of reaction from her.
Kayla just smiled weekly at her mother and nodded.
"I guess the fact that they're completely worn out, means yes." Monica laughed. "Kayla sweetie, why don't you go inside and get ready for bed, while I talk to Daddy for a bit." Monica asked her oldest daughter who just nodded sleepily in return.
"I had a great time with them Mon, I always do." Chandler said sincerely. "We went to the zoo today which is why they are so tired now, although I'm kind of surprised Ty is so worn out. He had a pretty big lollipop before we left."
"Chandler." Monica said with an annoyed tone. "I don't like the kids eating those kinds of things, right before bed."
"Mon relax, some vendor at the zoo was giving them away for free and Tyler wanted one." Chandler shrugged.
"The girls didn't?" Monica asked surprised.
"No, it seems they've spent too much time around you." He joked.
"Not funny." Monica said although she laughed as well.
"Do you want me to take Lea and tuck her into bed?" Chandler asked, hoping she'd say yes.
Monica smiled and nodded appreciatively. "That'd be great, thanks."
Chandler grinned in return. "Alright Lean-bean, time to get ready for bed." He said as he shifted her into his other arm while walking into the house with Monica behind him.
"No bed, not tired." She said, waking up a little and rubbing her eyes.
Monica laughed at her youngest daughter. "Honey if your not tired then why are you yawning?"
Lea just shrugged before putting her head back on her father's shoulder, falling back to sleep almost immediately.
Chandler found Lea's favorite pair of pyjamas, light blue ones with polar bears on them, and put them on her. He tucked her into her large, princess style bed. Everything in her room was princessey. Her walls were pink with a white border. Her bed was a four poster bed with poles that made it look like a castle, with frilly lace all over. Her blankets pretty much matched her wall paper, pale pink and white. She had pictures of disney princesses everywhere and so many stuffed animals that Chandler lost count.
"Daddy will you tell me a story?" Lea asked as he was about to leave the room.
"I thought you were asleep." Chandler whispered to her.
Lea shook her head. "Not yet."
Chandler sighed. "Ok Princess." He smiled at his nickname for her. "What story would you like to hear?"
"Your's and Mommy's." Lea said with a large smile on her face.
Chandler laughed. "Which one?"
"The one about your purposal to Mommy and the big tree." Lea said.
Chandler smiled inwardly. He should have known, it was Lea's favorite story.
"Daddy your still here?" Kayla asked walking into her little sister's room.
Chandler and held out an arm for her, which she bounded into immediately. "Shouldn't you be in bed, it's a school night."
Kayla shrugged. "It's not my bed time yet, I don't want to go to bed at the same time as a 3 year old." She stated very matter of factly.
Chandler had to laugh at how adult she sounded but was saddened at the realization that in a few short years, she would pretty much be just that...an adult. "Want to hear a story Angel?" He asked Kayla who nodded eagerly, resting on the other side of her Dad.
"Ok so once upon a time, not so long ago there was a princess named Monica who was madly in love with a handsome, young man named Chandler..." He was cut off suddenly by Kayla.
"Daddy, your not funny." Kaya giggled.
He frowned. "You don't think I'm handsome or charming?" He asked tickling Kayla.
"No your just Daddy." Kayla answered between giggles.
Chandler snorted but chose to ignore his daughter's comments. "As I was saying Princess Monica was madly in love with Chandler and he loved her just as much. They were together for a few years when Chandler decided he wanted them to get married. On the day he decide to propose, he took her out to a fancy restaurant and just as he was about to propose, Princess Monica's ex-boyfriend the big tree named Richard, entered.."
"Why would Mommy date a tree?" Lea asked.
Chandler laughed. "Honey it's just a nickame I have for Richard, like I call you Princess or Kayla Angel, you understand?"
Lea nodded, although she was still slightly confused.
"Anyways Richard entered and immediately laid eyes on Princess Monica. Princess Monica decided to invite him and his girlfriend over to her and Chandler's table. They ended up spending the entire evening talking and Chandler was never able to propose." Chandler paused to gather his thoughts before continuing. "The next day Chandler was talking to his good friend, Joey, and he decided that he wanted to surprise Princess Monica even more with his proposal so he came up with a plan to think he wouldn't want to marry her at all."
"Your plan was stupid, right Daddy?" Kayla laughed. "That's what Mommy says."
"Who's telling the story here kid? You or me." He laughed. "Chandler decided to tell Princess Monica all sorts of crazy things that made her think he didn't want anything to do with marriage. She got so confused by Chandler's actions and was even more confused when Richard told her he wanted to marry her that she got upset and ran off to see Richard. Chandler found out and raced to find her before she made the wrong decision. After searching for hours, Chandler thought he'd lost her and just when he was about to give up, he got back to his apartment to find Joey who told him Monica was gone. That was when Chandler truly thought it was over between them."
"But when you opened the door there was Mommy." Kayla said with a smile, knowing the story off by heart. "And she was beautiful, right Daddy."
Chandler nodded. "She sure was. He walked in and saw her and he knew everything would be alright again. She ended up down on one knee and proposed to him, but she couldn't make it all the way through her speech so he finished it off for her. They got engaged and a year later got married, had 3 amazing kids and lived happily ever after." Chandler finished. He looked down at Lea and seeing that she had fallen asleep somewhere in the middle of the story, he quietly got up, along with Kayla.
"Ready for bed now Kay?" He asked and she nodded. He picked her up and took her to her room to tuck her in. Her room was a lot different than her sisters. She was more of a Tomboy so her room was painted sky blue with puffy clouds eveywhere. Her bed was in one corner of the room, covered in stuffed animals. She had pictures of her favorite singers and bands and of her friends and family as well. Her room was much neater than her little sister's room, her clothes were in their proper place in the closet and her drawers and all of her books and cds were on the shelf.
"Daddy why'd you and Mommy get a divorce?" Kayla asked.
"Honey, you know why, we've talked about this." Chandler answered.
"I know you said you guys just stopped getting along but how come I hear Mommy in her room sometimes crying for you and you do it too. I heard you the other night." Kayla said.
"You heard that?" Chandler asked with a sigh. "I'm sorry, I know that must have confused you."
She nodded in agreement.
"Well Kay, sometimes I feel a little said and miss Mommy, and she feels the same way about me, but it doesn't mean were going to get back together. It just means we miss the way things used to be." He explained the best way he knew how.
"Then why don't you just get back together?" She asked as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
"It's not that easy sweetie." He said standing up and kissing her on the head. "Time to get some shut eye." He whispered to her. "Night Angel, sleep well." He said and kissed her forehead.
"Love you Daddy." Kayla whispered sleepily.
"Love you too." Chandler said to her as he walked out of her room and into the hall, smiling slightly when he saw Monica staring at him. "How much of that did you hear?" He asked.
She shrugged. "Enough."
"I guess you heard me telling them our story?"
"Yeah." Monica said solemnly. "They ask me to tell it alot too."
"Sorry Mon." He apologized gently. "I know that must be hard for you."
Monica shook her head. "It's not that, it just makes me miss the way we used to be." She answered honestly, expecting him to be shocked, but he wasn't.
"I feel the same way." He told her. He decided it was time to change the subject before it became too emotional. He didn't want to cry in front of her, not anymore. "So where's the boyfriend?" He asked.
"Out of town on a business trip." Monica replied. "He won't be back for a week."
"Well that's good I guess, it'll give you some time alone with the kids." Chandler said and Monica nodded.
"Yeah, that'll be nice." She smiled. "Thanks for taking such good care of them this weekend. It's nice not to have to worry about them for awhile."
"It's nice to know you still trust me so much with them." Chandler said as they walked into the living room area.
"Your their father Chandler, of course I trust you with them. I know you would give your life for any one of them if need be, just as I would." Monica smiled at him.
"Well still, it means alot to me that even after all we've been through, all the stupid things we've said and done to eachother, that you still trust me that much." He said. "And thanks for letting me tuck the girls in. "I think I'll go say goodnight to Ty and head home."
Monica nodded. "Sure sounds good. Actually would you mind staying here for a half hour or so? I want to run to the grocery store, I was supposed to go earlier but Rachel stopped by with Emma and well you know how she is."
Chandler laughed understandingly. "Of course, never shuts up. I'd be happy to."
Monica nodded her appreciation and gathered her things, waved goodbye and was out the door.
An hour later Chandler sat anxiously on the living room couch. He was extremely worried, Monica had said she'd be gone a half hour. The grocery store was only a few minutes from her house and it was very unlike Monica to be late. She was the most punctual person he had ever met.
Suddenly the phone rang and Chandler rushed to answer it. "Hello?"
"Is this the husband of Monica Bing?" A rather shrill voice asked.
"Y..yes." Chandler stammered thinking that he should maybe correct himself and the other person, but then he decided to wait until they said what they needed to say.
"This is Nurse Peters calling from Beth Israel Hospital. Your wife was brought in a few minutes ago after a car accident." The nurse explained.
"Oh my god." Chandler said, his mind suddenly racing with what-ifs. "Is she ok? Please, god tell me she's ok. She's the mother of my children."
"I honestly don't know much, Mr Bing, I'm very sorry. I do know that she was brought in with a pretty nasty head injury." Nurse Peters explained.
"Oh." Chandler said. That could be bad, very bad. He thought to himself. "I will be right down. Thank you." And with that he hung up the phone and then picked it up again calling Rachel and informing her of what happened and asking her to look after the kids. He then raced out the door.