"Erica, Jack, let's go," Chandler bellowed from the bottom of the staircase, shrugging on his coat and scrolling through his iPhone.
Monica smirked at him from behind her coffee cup. She'd worked last night and normally she still would have been in bed while Chandler took care of the school morning routine, but it was a big day for the kids and she wanted to make sure it started off smoothly.
"Mom?" came Jack's desperate call. "Where are my antlers?!"
"I don't know, Jack," she said loudly, walking over to the bottom of the stairs now, too. "It's not my week to watch them."
"Ugh!" Jack said as they heard him stomp from the bathroom to his bedroom.
"First grade, honey," Chandler said, rolling his eyes at his wife and stuffing his phone in his coat pocket. "They're in first grade."
"Gotta teach 'em early."
"Mon," he said, pulling her to him and taking his phone out again to show her the time. "It's 7:05!"
"Don't tell me," she said, grinning up at him. "This 'cutting it close' stuff comes from you."
He smirked and gave her a quick kiss.
"Yeah, but this isn't the day for Daddy to be late," he mumbled. He was pitching a campaign to a new client this afternoon and he needed the whole morning for run-throughs with his team. He turned to the stairs again.
"Eri…" he started and then stopped as his daughter, calm, cool and collected, made her way down the stairs - with her brother's antlers. She handed them to Chandler.
"And how is our diva this morning?" Chandler asked, taking the antlers from her. "Ready for your solo?"
"Yes, Dad," she replied in a breathy, exaggerated tone. Chandler gave her a "drop-the-attitude" look.
"Where'd you find 'em?" he asked.
"They were with his Skylanders stuff," she shrugged, smiling at her Mom. Monica winked at her.
"Did you tell him?" Monica asked.
"Of course," Erica said, shooting an exasperated look over her shoulder at her Mom.
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer…" Jack sang at the top of his lungs as he descended the staircase - wearing his red nose.
"Boots, coats…now," Chandler said, picking up his briefcase as he started a little sing-song march he did with the twins. "Hustle, hustle, move it, move it…"
They sat down on the floor and started pulling on their boots as Monica handed their backpacks to Chandler.
"What time will you be at school?" Erica asked.
"Three o'clock," Monica said, smiling. "Dress rehearsal - very exciting…"
"You have the cookies?" Jack asked, a panicked look on his face.
"Yes," she said dramatically, shooting him a wide-eyed look of bemusement.
"Did you make them with the Christmas M&M's?" Erica asked, smoothing back the light brown hair that had fallen over her headband.
"Of course she did!" Jack said, pulling on his hat over his short, matching light brown hair then putting on his gloves. "You can't have Christmas cookies without red and green - duh."
"Enough," Monica said, hoping to stave off World War III. "Yes, the cookies are made with the right M&M's."
Erica stood up and folded her arms, glaring at Jack as he gave her his "told-you-so" look.
"Will Grandma and Grandpa be there?" Jack asked, as Erica tapped her foot impatiently.
"They'll be at the show tonight," Monica answered, zipping up Jack's coat since he'd forgotten to zip up before he put on his mittens. "We're going to have dinner at their house before the show and then they'll come with us."
"Yay!" Erica and Jack said at the same time.
"Bus is leaving - let's get you to school first, shall we?" Chandler said, holding the door to the garage open with his foot as the twins kissed their Mom goodbye. Then they raced to his Land Rover.
"See you at lunch?" she asked, kissing his cheek.
"Yeah," he said. "I should be able to get away for a half hour or so. What time is your appointment?"
"10:30," she answered. "I can't imagine it'll go later than 11:30, unless they are running late, which.."
"God help 'em if they are," he smirked. She nudged his arm.
"In any case, it's only six blocks away…"
He nodded.
"Just text me when you leave and I'll meet you."
"Sounds good. Hey," she said, grabbing him before he flew out the door, arms full of backpacks and laptop cases, "good luck today."
He smiled and let the door close behind him as he took a moment to kiss his wife properly.
"Thanks, babe," he said, giving her his lopsided grin. "I love you."
"Love you, too," she said. She moved to place another kiss on his lips as the Land Rover horn blared and Erica yelled "Dad!"
"Annnd…the pack beckons the mule," Chandler said, giving her another quick kiss. "See ya later."
Monica giggled a little and slapped his behind as he left.
"Bye, love you," she said, waving to the twins.
"Jack, backseat," Chandler said as he opened up the back of the car to put in the various bags. "Buckle in…"
She smiled and waved again as he backed the SUV out of the garage.
Monica closed the door, still smiling, then she looked over at the kitchen table.
And there sat Jack's antlers.
She sighed, shook her head and picked them up, moving them over to her purse to make sure she'd take them to dress rehearsal.
She grinned to herself and walked up the stairs to take a shower.
###
"Monica Bing?"
Monica looked up from the magazine she'd just opened and smiled at the nurse. She glanced at her phone before putting it in her purse. It was 10:25. They were early.
She grinned - she was going to like this practice.
Doctor Connelly had retired several months after her last annual trip to the OBGYN. Rachel had always liked her doctor and referred Monica to her. Dr. Long wasn't taking new patients, but her colleague, a Dr. Cleves, was accepting new patients. She wasn't an OB, but Monica only needed the GYN part anyway, so she decided to come see her for her yearly checkup.
"Hi, I'm Tracey, Dr. Cleves nurse, would you take a seat please."
Monica complied and they went through all the routine parts of going to a new doctor - a hundred questions, blood pressure check, peeing in a cup - all the usual stuff. Tracey, who looked to be just a little younger than Monica, led her to an exam room and continued asking questions.
"Current method of birth control?" Tracey asked.
"Six-year-old twins?" Monica said with a laugh. Tracey smiled.
"I hear you," she said, still waiting for her to tell her the real answer.
"We don't have a current method," Monica said, unabashedly. "I, um, we can't conceive naturally."
"Oh," Tracey said, a little embarrassed, writing in her chart. "I'm sorry Mrs. Bing, Dr. Connelly's office hasn't sent your records to us yet and I…"
"Oh, it's OK," Monica said, and she meant it. They'd moved past that pain a long time ago and she couldn't be happier with her life and family. A small ache was always there, somewhere far in the background of their lives, but it wasn't a prominent part of her and Chandler's world anymore.
She smiled at Tracey.
"First day of your last period?"
Monica had been trying to think of that since before she got there, knowing it would be one of the questions asked. Her periods had been somewhat irregular for a year and she honestly couldn't remember. She told Tracey as much.
"That's OK," the nurse replied. "As woman age all of that changes anyway - can be anywhere from 21-36 days. You'll be…40 on your next birthday?"
Monica cringed, "yeah."
Tracey smiled again, again a little embarrassed.
"Beats the alternative, I guess," she said, closing her folder. "Dr. Cleves will be in momentarily. You can change into the gown on the table."
"Thank you," Monica said, nodding.
Monica had barely finished tying the gown when Dr. Cleves knocked on the door and asked to come in.
"Hi, Monica, I'm Dr. Cleves," she said, extending her hand. Monica shook it and the women smiled at each other.
Monica climbed onto the table, but Dr. Cleves took a seat across from her before starting her exam. She flipped through her chart.
"It says here that you can't remember the first day of your last period, is that correct?"
"Yeah," Monica said, furrowing her brow. "I don't know why but I can't. I guess I really haven't kept track for a while now."
She shrugged.
Dr. Cleves nodded and looked through the papers again before she stood up and folded her arms across her chest, holding the chart.
She smiled softly at Monica.
"Well, I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to serve as your doctor," she said.
"Why not?" Monica asked, completely confused.
Dr. Cleves's smile widened.
"Because, Mrs. Bing, you're pregnant."
NOTE: Full-ish disclosure - the first half of this chapter is my life, I swear. Not completely, of course, but pretty darn close! Anyway, a little Mondler pregnancy fluff never hurt anyone, right? I'll warn you, though, this isn't going to be some big epic story, just a few moments in their lives - a little gift , you might say. ;) Thanks in advance for your reviews :)