Tow the Angel
Summary: Monica and Chandler get an unexpected visitor. (One-Shot Charmed crossover)
A/N: This came from a longer Friends/Charmed crossover I was thinking of doing (yes, I'm thinking of trying that again. Don't worry – I'm going to plan it out a lot more than the last one). Tell me if you would want that to be my next story. I have some other ideas for Friends fan fictions in my bio.
By the way, this takes place right after Monica and Chandler find out they can't have children.
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"Okay, so the red wire is connected to the red hole, the blue wire is connected to the blue hole…the neck bone's connected to the collar bone…" Chandler trailed off. He came out from behind the broken TV. "Yeah, um, I'm gonna need to use your tools."
Monica put a hand on her hip. "For the last time, Chandler, I'm not letting you use my power drill."
"Relax, I just need some things," Chandler assured her.
Smirking, Monica replied, "Like the knowledge of how to fix a TV?"
Chandler didn't even pretend to be insulted by that. "Yeah, that would help. We should probably call a – "
"Repair man?" Monica held up a piece of notepaper with ten digits on it. "Way ahead of you. I started looking through the phone book the minute the TV broke."
Now Chandler could feel his masculine pride brought down a notch. "Your unwavering faith in my technical abilities has always been so comforting." At her look, he shrugged. "Who am I kidding?"
Monica kissed his cheek. "It's okay, sweetie. The guy will get here, fix the TV, and we'll pretend this never happened."
"Thank you," Chandler smiled, kissing her back.
Monica made the call. They were both surprised when the doorbell rang five minutes later. Chandler remarked, "Wow, that was fast."
"Don't be ridiculous. That can't be…oh," Monica's jaw dropped as she opened the door. Sure enough, a man in a white t-shirt and jeans stood in the doorway, wearing a tool belt and carrying a repair kit. Unable to say anything else, Monica exclaimed, "But we only called five minutes ago!"
The handsome man grinned at her, shifting the kit in his hand. "I happened to be close by when I got the call from my boss. Sorry if I startled you."
Feeling stupid, Monica stepped aside and he walked in. "No, it's ok. Of course there had to be an explanation. Come on in; the TV's over there."
"I'm Leo, by the way," he introduced, holding out his hand.
Monica couldn't help but stare at him for a second. He was handsome, alright, with brown hair and brown eyes. She caught herself staring at his abs, which she could almost see through his shirt. Shaking her head, she took his hand.. "I'm Monica, and that's my husband."
"Nice to meet you," Chandler muttered, also shaking his hand. He was a little disturbed at the fact that a woman had called a repair guy, and the repair guy was hot. How many sex scenes in porn movies started out that way?
While Monica was explaining to Leo that Chandler had tampered with the TV, and probably had broken it more, the phone rang. Chandler grabbed it. "Hello? Oh, yeah, that's fine. See you then."
"Who was that, honey?" Monica asked.
It consoled Chandler a little to hear her call him "honey" in front of Leo. "Um, the doctor's office. They confirmed the appointment to discuss the results of our tests."
"Tests?" Leo inquired from behind the TV.
Monica bristled at first, annoyed at the stranger's nosiness. Then again, to be fair, who wouldn't ask about a comment like that? It was only human nature. "Yeah, um, our fertility tests. We've been having problems trying to have a baby."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Leo replied, his tone concerned. "And sorry if that might have seemed intrusive. I thought one of you might be sick or something."
"No, we're fine…for the most part," Chandler remarked.
"Something's wrong?" Leo questioned, then reached for a screwdriver. From his position on the couch, Chandler slid it over with his foot. "Thanks, Chandler."
"No problem, and, ah, if you need any help from a fellow manly man, you just let me know," Chandler offered, with a meaningful look at Monica.
Monica rolled her eyes. "Anyway, what's the problem?"
"Looks like somebody spilt something back here. Tell me, do either of you drink chocolate milk?" Leo questioned.
Chandler and Monica traded glances before simultaneously groaning, "Joey."
"Excuse me?"
"Our friend, who's now going to be paying for this," Monica explained.
Leo laughed. "It's ok. Just be careful about putting beverages on top of the TV."
"I bet he left a water ring too!" Monica exclaimed, getting up on her knees to check. "Yep, he did! He is in so much trouble!"
"Go easy on him. I think this'll be easy to fix," Leo chuckled. A few moments of silenced passed, then Leo asked, "So what did the tests say? Do you know yet?"
Chandler was about to retort, but for some reason felt the words tumble out of his mouth. "It turns out there's something wrong with both of us. My sperm has low motility, and her uterus has an inhospitable environment."
Monica glared at him. "I'm sorry, will you excuse us for a minute?" When Leo nodded, she dragged Chandler into the kitchen. "What's wrong with you? That's not something you tell a total stranger!"
"I don't know! It was weird. I mean, I'm used to not being able to control what comes out of my mouth, but this was different!" Chandler protested.
Monica sighed. "I know what you mean; I felt it too. I got goose bumps when I shook his hand."
"You too?" Chandler snapped his fingers. "That's what's been bothering me!"
"What?"
Chandler lowered his voice. "When he first came in, you introduced me as your husband, and that's it. Before, I handed him a tool, and he said 'Thanks….Chandler.'"
"He…he probably got it from his boss…" Monica reasoned.
Chandler pointed to the couch. "I was right there when you made the call. You only gave your name, and even then it was only 'Mrs. Bing.' And we've never used this company before."
"Chandler, what the hell are you getting at?" Monica demanded.
Chandler paused. "I…I'm not sure, exactly."
"Well, when you're sure, let me know." Monica pushed passed him into the living room. "Leo, you want something to drink?"
"No thanks, just about done here." When they had rejoined him, taking seats on the couch, Leo nonchalantly inquired, "So what are you going to do now?"
Chandler wrinkled his brow. "Well, after you leave I'm probably going to the gym and pump iron…"
Monica gave her husband a light smack on the arm. "He meant about the baby."
"Oh," Chandler muttered, lowering his eyes.
"Anyway," Monica had every intention of giving him a vague answer that clearly insinuated "mind your own business," but found herself replying, "We're not sure what we're going to do. We know there are a lot of options out there, but it's hard for me to think about doing any of them. I've always dreamed of carrying a baby myself."
"Well, I'm sure it won't hurt to keep trying," Leo commented.
Chandler stared at Monica, who gave a helpless shrug. "So, um, Leo, what are you doing to the TV back there?"
"Reconfiguring a few wires," Leo informed him, then mentioned, "You know, my wife is pregnant with our second baby. She'll tell you pregnancy isn't all fun in games."
"Oh, I know," Monica assured him. "Our one friend was a host mother a few years ago, and our other friend is pregnant now. But it's still something I want to experience."
Chandler sighed. "A lot. Ever since I've known her, she's wanted to have a baby."
"But did you ever think that maybe you didn't get pregnant for a reason?" Leo asked, glancing at them as he reached for another one of his tools.
Anger flashed in Monica's eyes. She had been slightly depressed ever since the phone call yesterday. Now this? "Listen, mister, it's fair for you to judge that I'd be a bad mother after we've only known each other for a few minutes."
"Yeah!" Chandler put in, annoyed as well. "She should be a mother, more so than anyone I know, and that's including my own mother…"
Leo held up a hand. "That's not what I meant. What I meant was that there might be a reason you didn't get pregnant, not become a mother."
"What's the difference?" Monica pressed.
Leo hesitated, thinking. He was now leaning on his arm, not even looking at the TV. "Did you ever think that, maybe you're not getting pregnant because you were destined to take in other babies, already in existence, who need one?"
"Adoption?" Monica stared at Leo, feeling shivers run up and down her spine. What did a repair man know about what she was "destined" to do?
"Well," Chandler replied. "We haven't really had time to think about it much. We only found out about the test yesterday. Honestly, we were leaning towards a sperm donor."
"But wouldn't it be better to give a home to a child who doesn't have one?" Leo pointed out.
Chandler raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a second job working for an adoption agency or something?"
Leo laughed softly. "No, but I'm a firm believer in the process. Ah…one of my sisters-in-law grew up in an adopted family."
"Oh," Monica replied, deciding not to ask how that happened. Though she didn't see why she shouldn't – he was being intrusive. "Well, we'll think about it. But I really want to try getting a sperm donor…"
"But what if that doesn't work?" Leo insisted. "Think about adoption. I mean, really think about it. There are two babies waiting for you, Monica and Chandler. As well as a pregnant teenage girl who will feel a lot better knowing her twins are being raised by two wonderful people like yourselves." Before they could protest, he stood and began collecting his tools.
Monica gaped at him, watching him walk to the door. "Wait, ah…what about the bill?"
"Yes, let's remind him about that," Chandler deadpanned.
Leo chuckled. "You know, that wasn't too hard to fix. And I'm only an apprenticed repair man. How about we call this practice for me, and forget the bill?"
"Are you sure?" Monica breathed. She knew she should be asking him dozens of questions at the moment, but for some reason she couldn't. A quick look at Chandler proved he was having the same problem.
"Yeah. Have a nice day." With that, he walked out the door.
After about half a second, Chandler spotted a tool Leo had left on the floor. Grabbing it, he ran out to the hall, Monica close behind him. "Leo, wait…oh, God…"
He had opened the door to find not Leo, but a swirling mass of blue and white lights disappearing into the ceiling.
Monica's eyes widened. "Oh my God…who…" The phone rang, and Monica picked it up with shaking hands. "Hello? What? But he just left…yeah, not even a minute ago…thank you."
Chandler raised an eyebrow. "Who was that?"
Monica swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "T-that was the…repair company to say that…the guy was running late. He was having car trouble on the bridge, and that…he'd been stuck on the bridge for an hour."
"Then who was that?" Chandler asked, jerking a thumb at the door behind him.
Monica let out a deep breath. "Oh my God."
"Literally."