Summary: Takes place before the series finale. After Emma was born. After Chandler starts at the Ad Agency. Before Monica and Chandler decide to adopt. Chandler starts to feel sick and is rushed to the hospital. They find out some life-altering news and try to deal with the repercussions.
Author's Note: Ok. So here's the deal. I was going through all my old stories and decided to rewrite this because I think it could definitely be better. This was the first story that I had ever written for this site, so I was still fairly new to writing. So I'm rewriting this story to make it a LOT better. There may be fewer chapters, but they will be longer with some extra content added. I left the other version up in case you all wanted to do a comparison. So I would appreciate it if you would leave some reviews and let me know if this is better than the original. If not, that's all right. I'm doing this for fun, but I will also continue to work on updating my other stories that I have on here.
Disclaimer: I own no one. They all belong to Bright/Kauffman/Crane.
Chapter 1
Chandler Bing awoke one morning with a bad migraine. He had been feeling really horrible for almost the last two weeks; he'd been very run-down, been having a slightly raised temperature, and pains in his joints for no reason at all. He was just so tired of being sick. He slowly started to sit up in bed and immediately felt light-headed. He took a few minutes to steady himself, then started to stand. He was relieved not to feel any dizziness this time, and walked out to the kitchen. He spotted their four friends sitting at the table as Monica made them all some breakfast.
"He's awake." Joey was the first to spot him standing there.
"Hey, Sleepyhead." Phoebe greeted him.
"Hey honey, how are you feeling today?" Monica went to him.
"I have a migraine." he mumbled as he got light-headed again. "And you're starting to look a little blurry."
"Come on. Let's lie you down." She slowly led him to the couch without any protests.
"Thank you." he slowly lay back and started to close his eyes again.
"And I'm making you an appointment to see the doctor tomorrow." she briefly felt his forehead. "You've been like this all week."
"Whatever you say." He mumbled as he closed his eyes.
"You know he's been sick longer than a week." Rachel softly told Monica as she joined them in the kitchen again.
"I'm well aware of that." Monica told them all. "He's just really starting to scare me."
"So just take him to the doctor's now." Ross told her.
"I'll never be able to convince him no matter how sick he is." she sighed. "But I gave him a warning about it tomorrow."
As they all continued to converse in low tones about him, Chandler fell asleep again. He awoke briefly when everyone started to leave and they all told him to feel better. He waved to them weakly as they all walked out the door. Monica gave him a plate of dry toast as she felt his forehead again.
"Mon, please." he looked at her.
"Sorry." she smiled at him. "I'm going down to do the laundry. Will you be ok by yourself for awhile?"
"I'll be fine. I'll probably just sleep the whole time anyway. I'm so exhausted." He told her as he started to fall back to sleep again.
At lunchtime, the five of them gathered at Joey's place to give Chandler some peace and quiet. Monica came in after checking in on Chandler and sighed deeply as she took one of the sandwiches that Joey had made for her.
"How's he doing, Mon?" Joey asked.
"He may be a little worse." she sighed again. "He has no fever, but he just seems so restless even while he's sleeping."
"Well, I hope he gets better." Ross stood up. "I should get back to work. I think I left my notes for my lecture in your apartment, Mon. Do you mind if I go in there real quick and get them?"
"Go ahead. Just try not to disturb Chandler while you're in there."
"I won't." he assured her as he walked out of Joey's apartment.
Ross walked into Monica and Chandler's apartment and scanned the kitchen for his notes. He had just spotted them when he spotted Chandler as well. He was laying face down and sprawled out in the kitchen in between the sink and the refrigerator.
"Chandler?" He went to him and tried to shake him awake. "Come on, man. Wake up."
There was a glass near his outstretched hand; Ross assumed that he had been trying to get himself a drink when he collapsed.
"Monica!" he called frantically through the closed door, hoping that she would hear him. He didn't want to leave Chandler by himself for even one minute.
"Ross, what's the matter?" Monica rushed in with the other three following her and spotted her brother kneeling beside her husband. "Oh my god."
"He was like this when I came in." Ross told her as she walked closer to them.
"One of you, call 911." Monica looked back at the other three.
"I'm on it." Rachel picked up the phone from the counter as Monica knelt beside Chandler's still form.
"Come on, honey. Wake up." she cried as she softly shook him. "Let me see those eyes of yours."
"Is he ok?" Joey knelt beside them.
"He's burning up." Monica felt his forehead. "Where is that ambulance?"
"They're on their way." Rachel told her. "Phoebe just went down to meet them."
"They're here." Phoebe rushed in from the hall a few moments later, followed by two EMTs pushing a gurney.
"How long has he been sick?" One asked as they got Chandler turned over onto his back and shone a penlight in each of his eyes.
"A couple weeks. Possibly more." Monica told them, watching as they continued to check Chandler over.
"We're ready to transport." the other EMT said as they got Chandler loaded onto the gurney and covered his mouth with an oxygen mask.
"I'm his wife. I'm riding with him." Monica told them.
"We'll meet you there." Ross told her as they all watched them push Chandler out of the apartment and down the flights of stairs.
Monica followed them out with the others following as well. When they got to the street, Monica climbed into the back of the ambulance with Chandler and the doors shut behind her as the others hailed a cab.
Monica took Chandler's hand in hers as she watched the EMTs working all around them. She ran her fingers through his hair and smiled when she saw his eyes flicker open. He looked around him in confusion until he saw her sitting next to him.
"Hey, honey." she squeezed his hand as his eyes fell closed again.
The ambulance reached the hospital and they rushed Chandler through the emergency department. They pushed him behind a curtained area and immediately started working to lower his high temperature.
The other four reached the hospital a little while later after the cab had finally worked its way through the heavy New York traffic. They finally found Monica standing outside a cubicle as she watched a doctor and some nurses work over Chandler.
"How is he, Mon?" Phoebe asked her.
"He came to for a moment in the ambulance. But he couldn't keep his eyes open."
"Mrs. Bing," a nurse went to her. "Does your husband have asthma?"
"No."
"He had it when he was younger." Ross spoke up. "He hasn't had an attack since he was in junior high."
"How did you know that?" Monica looked at him. "I didn't even know that."
"He told me in college." Ross shrugged. "It hasn't been a problem for him for years."
"He does seem to have a respiratory problem." the other nurse attached an IV to Chandler's left hand and hung a bag on the IV pole.
"He's very dehydrated. And his fever has spiked to a dangerous level." the doctor came over to speak to them. "I'm going to transfer him to the ICU so we can monitor him more closely. They'll most likely give him an ice bath to try to lower his temperature."
"I'm coming with you." Monica stated firmly.
"Of course." The doctor agreed and Monica followed close behind them as they pushed Chandler out and down the hall.
Monica walked into Chandler's hospital room after they finished getting him settled. She sat close to the bed and took his hand. They had kept him in the ice bath for forty-five minutes before they were able to get his temperature lowered to a stable level. After that, they placed ice packs in between his groin and each of his armpits to keep it stabilized. After they were finally satisfied that his temperature wouldn't rise again, they transferred him to his own room.
There was a light knock on the door and she looked up as her brother and the other three followed him in. They spotted Chandler laying motionless on the bed with a blanket pulled all the way up to his chin. He had an oxygen tube in his nose as well as a tube in one of his nostrils. His breathing was raspy even as he slept restlessly.
"How's he doing?" Ross asked as the others silently walked in behind him and they all gathered around the bed. "What'd the doctor say?"
"They think it might be walking pneumonia. They're going to monitor him for the next few days. They gave him a cooling blanket to try to lower his temperature; which is probably why he's so restless right now."
"We'd like to stay, but they won't let us since we're not immediate family." Rachel informed her. "So we're going back home, but call us immediately if there's any change with him at all."
"I will. I promise." Monica assured them. "I'm going to be spending the night, so could you guys bring me a change of clothes when you can? And some of my other necessities?"
"Of course we will. You can count on it." Phoebe told her as they all took turns giving her hugs goodbye as they demanded Chandler to get better as he slept on.
They all walked out of Chandler's room and started towards the elevators.
"I can't believe that was Chandler in that bed. He looked so fragile." Joey mumbled as they reached the elevator. "He'll be fine, right?"
"Of course he will. I mean, it's Chandler." Ross told them as they got into the elevator.
Monica fell asleep in the uncomfortable chair next to Chandler's bed still clutching his hand firmly in hers. She awoke suddenly and realized that the night nurse must've brought in a pillow and a blanket for her sometime during the night. She looked towards the bed and saw some movement and immediately stood up and went to the bed.
"Chandler, are you awake?" she asked softly.
"Mon?" he turned his head in the direction of her voice.
"Hey. Welcome back."
"What happened?" his voice came out scratchy and he started coughing.
"I'll be right back, ok?" he nodded as she walked out of the room.
She returned a few moments later with a small paper cup and a plastic spoon. "These should make your throat feel better." she held the spoonful of ice chips up to his mouth and he accepted it. "Don't chew them. Let them dissolve."
"Ok." he looked at her. "Now tell me what happened. How'd I end up here?"
"You collapsed yesterday afternoon. We had to call an ambulance." she sat beside him on the bed. "You had a very high fever so they gave you an ice bath. But your temperature finally stabilized."
"And this tube that's shoved down my nose?"
"There was some fluid buildup in your lungs. They'll probably take it out later today."
"So do they know what's wrong with me then?"
"They said it's walking pneumonia. You should be fine in a few days." she assured him as he let out a yawn. "Why don't you go back to sleep?"
"I won't be able to sleep with this freezing cold blanket." he shivered.
"It's a cooling blanket." she told him. "They want you to keep it on to help keep your body temperature stabilized."
"I'm never going to be able to sleep." he murmured.
"I'll lay here with you, ok?" she lay down beside him and held him as they rested their heads against each other.
"Love you, Mon." he whispered.
"Love you, too." she smiled as they both eventually drifted off again.
Monica awoke again from her sound sleep next to Chandler on the hospital bed when she felt movement next to her. She slowly sat up and saw Chandler trying to sit up on the bed.
"Chandler," she looked at him.
"Hey," he smiled at her. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."
"What are you trying to do?"
"Sit in an upright position." he told her. "And to see if I can get this annoying tube out of my nose."
"I'll go see if the doctor is here yet." she kissed his forehead. "And call the others."
"Hurry back." he told her.
"I promise." she smiled at him as she left his room.
Chandler reached over on the small table beside his bed and picked up the remote for the small TV that was mounted up on the wall in the corner. He clicked it on and started flipping through the channels, hoping to find something that would keep him occupied for a little while.
The door opened a little bit later and Monica came in followed by a silver-haired doctor. Chandler turned off the TV and sat up a little straighter as Monica joined him by his bedside.
"Good morning, Mr. Bing. I'm Dr. Steele, I was your treating physician when you came in yesterday." the doctor offered his hand and Chandler shook it. "So how are you feeling this morning?"
"A little tired. And I'm freezing."
"Let me just take your temperature here and we'll see if it's down where we want it. If everything looks good, we'll get rid of the blanket and that tube as well."
"Good." Chandler sighed.
"And I want to get your blood drawn later today as well."
"Why do you need to draw his blood?" Monica asked him.
"It's just a precaution." Dr. Steele assured them. "A couple of his preliminary tests came back showing an abnormality."
"That doesn't sound good." Chandler said.
"It's most likely nothing. It was a little chaotic when you were first brought in yesterday. We had to rush you in for that ice bath, so your tests were probably compromised. We're going to take more blood samples just to be on the safe side."
"All right."
"A nurse will be in shortly to take care of all of that. And breakfast should be in shortly as well." Dr. Steele told them. "Try to get some more rest, and we're probably looking at sometime tomorrow for your release."
"Thank you." Monica told him as he left the room and Chandler sighed.
Everyone else was gathered at Joey's apartment for breakfast, waiting on any news on Chandler. It looked as if none of them had gotten any sleep last night; they were all too worried about Chandler. None of them were talking; just eating whatever was in front of them mindlessly as they kept glancing at the phone, willing it to ring. The phone started to ring and Rachel snatched it up off the counter as the other three listened to her side of the conversation.
"Hello? Monica, thank goodness. We were anxiously waiting for some kind of news. Is there any change with Chandler? He's awake? Oh, thank god. Yes. Tell him that we're all on our way." she hung up and smiled with relief as she saw the other three looking at her intently.
"Chandler's awake?" Joey spoke up.
"Yes. He awoke during the night briefly. He fully awoke a little more than an hour ago."
"Well, let's get down there." Ross stated and they all hurried to finish their breakfasts and rushed out and got a cab to take them to the hospital.
They finally reached the hospital about a half hour later and went in search of Chandler's room. They started to go into his room when they found that Monica and Chandler weren't the only ones in the room. Chandler was sitting up on the bed and had a pained look on his face. His color looked a lot better this morning and the tube was gone from his nose. Monica stood on one side of him and a nurse on the other side as she withdrew some blood from his arm.
"Ok. That should be good enough." the nurse walked past the four gathered in the doorway with the vials of blood.
"You know what they say, the fifth time's the charm." Chandler mumbled as he looked at Monica and she rubbed his arm.
"They had a hard time finding your vein." she told him as she spotted everyone by the door. "Hey. Look honey, everyone's here to see us."
"Speak for yourself." Phoebe spoke up as they all came farther into the room. "We're here to see Chandler."
"It's so good to see you awake." Ross told him.
"Did I scare you guys?" Chandler looked at each of them.
"A little bit." Rachel went to him and gave him a hug.
"How are you feeling?" Phoebe asked him.
"I'm better." he smiled at them. "Still a little tired. And my arm's sore now."
"Why were they taking a blood sample anyway?" Ross asked.
"They need to run a couple more tests." Monica told them. "A couple of his tests were abnormal when they came back."
"That doesn't sound good." Ross said.
"That's what I said." Chandler told him.
"The doctor said it's most likely nothing. It was a little hectic when he was brought in. A couple of his preliminary tests were compromised with all the confusion."
"Joe?" Chandler saw him still standing in the doorway. "Are you ok?"
"I think you really scared him yesterday." Rachel told him softly. "He's been very quiet since we found you passed out on the floor."
"Joe, I'm fine." Chandler told him.
"Yeah?" he slowly walked to the bed.
"Yeah." Chandler assured him.
"Breakfast." The door opened and an orderly came in with a tray. "The doctor wants you to try to eat as much as you can before you go for your tests."
"It looks so tasty." Chandler mumbled as the orderly left and Monica took the lid off the tray of food.
"We'll try to bring you some outside food for lunch." Joey told him. "Maybe a burger or a pizza or something."
"Just try to eat a little something." Monica told him. "You have practically nothing in your stomach right now."
"Ok." Chandler sighed as he stopped picking at the unidentifiable food and tried to take a few bites.
More than an hour later, the doctor came in followed by a nurse with a wheelchair.
"We're ready to start the tests, Mr. Bing." Dr. Steele told him.
"All right." Chandler sighed as he started to climb out of the bed.
"Is it all right if I go with him?" Monica asked the doctor.
"Absolutely." the doctor assured her. "Just try not to interfere with his tests."
"Like that'll happen." Chandler mumbled, causing both Joey and Ross who were standing near him to stifle their laughs.
"I heard that." Monica glared at him.
"It's the truth." Chandler gave her one of his trademark smirks.
"Let's just go so you can get these dreaded tests over with." She told him.
Chandler slowly climbed off the bed and sat down in the wheelchair. The nurse started to push him out of the room as Monica rushed to followed after them.
A few hours later, Chandler was still getting his tests done. They all got bored and started to roam the halls. Joey was hitting on some nurses at the front desk on Chandler's floor, Ross was on another floor doing they had no idea what, and Rachel and Phoebe went down to the first floor to find a vending machine. They turned a corner and found Monica standing in the hallway outside a room in the radiology department. They went to her and peered into the room where Chandler was undergoing another test.
They watched inside the room as Chandler was helped out of the wheelchair and up onto a plastic table, that by the looks of it would soon be pushed inside a circular tube. The technician inside the room was preparing the machine for whatever test they were getting ready to do.
"How's it going, Mon?" Rachel asked her.
"I hope this is his last test." she sighed as she watched the activity going on inside the room.
"How many has he had?"
"Too many. I lost count." she sighed. "So far, he's had to get chest x-rays, an MRI, and some others that I can't remember."
"What test are they doing now?" Phoebe asked her as the table with Chandler on it started to move.
"A CT scan." they watched as Chandler was moved inside the machine and there were some flashes of light. "I really hope he's doing ok. He can get claustrophobic at times."
A little bit later, Chandler was pulled out of the circular tube and an orderly helped him back into the wheelchair. He was pushed out of the room and met up with the girls out in the hall. He glanced at them before closing his eyes as the orderly started to push him down the hall.
"How was it?" Monica asked Chandler.
"Horrible." he said softly. "I'm feeling a little nauseous."
"Was that his last test?" Monica looked at the orderly.
"Yes. We should have the results back by morning."
"You can rest now, honey." Monica told Chandler as they reached his room again.
Monica and the orderly helped him back onto the bed as Rachel and Phoebe waited out in the hall. The orderly left the room with the wheelchair as Monica covered him with the blankets.
"Just rest right now, honey." she brushed his hair away from his face and kissed his forehead gently. "I'm going with Phoebe and Rachel down to the cafeteria. I'll come back in a couple hours."
"Ok." he mumbled softly as he slowly drifted off to sleep and she walked out into the hall and met up with Rachel and Phoebe.
"All those tests really wore him out." she told them. "He'll most likely sleep for awhile. Let's go find Joey and Ross. Make sure that they're not causing any trouble."
"Of course." they walked down the hall to find them, leaving a sleeping Chandler behind.
AN: So what'd you think? Better or worse than the original? PLZ R&R!
