AN: Here's another chapter for all of you. Two days in a row! I just wnted to let you know that I might not be able to post again for a few days, or possibly at least a week. My sister is going in tomorrow night to have her baby. And I'm one of the people who volunteered to watch her other kids for her while she's in the hospital. Anyway, hope you like this one. Please R&R!

Disclaimer: I own no one. They all belong to Bright/Kauffman/Crane.

Chapter 7—May 1989 Part 1

23 Weeks

How Big Is Your Baby?

Your baby now weighs about 1.5 pounds. Its length is about 8.8 inches. These are average lengths and weights.

How Big Are You?

By this week of pregnancy, your uterus has grown quite a bit. When you look at a side view, it's obvious you're getting bigger. At this point, your uterus is the size of a soccer ball.

How Your Baby Is Growing And Developing

If your baby were delivered at this time, it would have a chance of surviving. Survival is very difficult for an infant delivered this early. It would have to spend several months in the hospital.

Your doctor may be able to tell you whether you're having a boy or a girl.

The weeks went by, and Monica slowly got bigger and bigger. You could tell that she was pregnant now. She called her parents and her Nana often. Her Nana was decorating the apartment for Monica and setting up all the baby things that she and Jack and Judy have been ordering for her.

But the thing that was taking up most of her thinking was Chandler. Her Nana had called her a few times to tell her that he had called her place in Florida looking for her. She hadn't called him back yet. She was getting really anxious about whether or not she was going to tell him about his impending fatherhood.

Monica walked into the medical facility and Miss Baker was waiting for her. She showed her into an exam room and she lay back on the table as a nurse came in and took her blood pressure as the ultra sound machine was set up.

"How are you feeling today, Monica?" Miss Baker asked her as she measured her stomach with a plastic measuring tape.

"A little tired," she sighed.

"That's to be expected," she ran the little wand over her belly as Monica watched the screen intently. "You're far enough along now that we can tell what the sex is. Do you want to know?"

"Yeah." Monica smiled.

"Ok." Miss Baker was quiet for a few moments. "And it looks like you're having…a boy!"

'Chandler,

I am now a little more than halfway through my pregnancy. I had a checkup today and I found out that I'm having a boy. Or we're having a boy. I've done nothing but think of the perfect name for our son. I can't really think of one, but I was thinking maybe I could use your name as part of his name. I remember you telling me that you didn't like your name, but you should be a part of his name in some way. As I'm getting closer and closer to my due date, I'm getting more and more scared. I've been going to all my classes here so I know what I'm doing, but the time will come when I'll have to do it on my own. And that frightens me beyond belief. I'm trying to work up the nerve to call you. Hopefully I can find the nerve soon.

Monica'

Monica was half-asleep on her bed in her room after one of the parenting skills classes. She slowly opened her eyes and glanced at the picture frame that was sitting on her night stand. It was of her and her parents and brother at Christmas. Chandler was in the picture as well after Judy insisted that he pose with them. She slowly sat up and pulled the phone onto her lap as she dialed a number.

"Hello?" she heard on the other end.

"Ross? Is Chandler there? I need to talk to him."

Ross had just walked into his dorm room after finishing his last final exam. He lay down on the bed to try to get some sleep before he had his last date with Carol before they both went home for the summer months. He sighed as the phone started to ring and he reached over to pick it up.

"Hello?" he answered tiredly.

"Ross? Is Chandler there? I need to talk to him."

"Monica? What's going on?"

"I really need to talk to Chandler."

"He's finishing up his shift at the book store. He should be back in about ten minutes."

"Oh. I kind of have something that he needs to know."

"Monica, what's going on?"

"I-"

"I know there's something wrong. I've known it for months now. Please tell me what's going on. I'm your brother. I can help you if you need it."

"I do need to tell you as well. I just wanted to tell Chandler first."

"Please, Mon."

"Ok." He heard her sigh. "But I want your promise that you won't get upset. And that you won't try to kill Chandler."

"Why would I kill Chandler?"

"Just promise me."

"Ok. I promise."

"All right. For starters, I'm not in Florida. I was never living with Nana. I'm in Seattle."

"Why are you in Seattle?" he listened to her explain everything that had gone on the last few months. He was close to breaking something when the door opened and Chandler came in.

Chandler clocked off work and met up with Joey and Phoebe in the student lounge. They were going to go out for a drink tonight before Chandler had to leave the next day for a forced summer visit with his mom and her latest 'boy toy'. They went back to Chandler's dorm room so he could finish packing up his things before they went out that night. He walked into his room and saw Ross talking on the phone. He looked up at Chandler and anger flashed across his face.

"Chandler just walked in." he spoke into the phone. "Ok. I'll let you talk to him."

"Who is it?" he asked him as he held the phone out to him.

"Monica. She needs to tell you something."

"Ok." He took the phone from him. "Monica? What's going on?"

"Chandler? If you're not already sitting down, you should do so now."

He sat down on his bed and listened to what she had to tell him. Shock registered on his face as Joey and Phoebe watched from the door. Ross slipped out of the room, but returned a couple minutes later.

"How far along?" Chandler asked.

"Twenty three weeks." Monica told him. "I'm a little more than halfway."

"So when are you due?"

"The end of August."

"I'm coming down to see you. What's the address?" Chandler wrote on a piece of paper as she told him the address. "I'll be there within a couple days."

Chandler hung up the phone and saw Ross just staring at him. Joey and Phoebe were confused as Ross walked closer to him.

"You slept with my sister?"

"Dude," Joey leapt in between Ross and Chandler. "Calm down."

"What's going on?" the door opened and Carol came in. "I just got your message. You sounded really upset, so what's going on?"

"Monica's pregnant."

"What?"

"It happened at Thanksgiving."

"You mean-Chandler?" she saw the angry look that Ross had as Joey stood in front of Chandler.

"I don't remember it." Chandler said behind Joey. "Neither does she."

"That's what she said."

"It's true." Chandler pushed Joey aside. "We were both drunk. And I was on pain killers. We woke up in her bed-"

"I don't need the details."

"Good because I don't have any." Chandler went to his dresser and started shoving all his clothes into his suitcase. "You can continue to yell if you want. But I told Monica I'd be in Seattle in a couple days."

"So you're really going to step up?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he glared at him. "Do you think what everyone else thinks? That I'm just some spoiled rich kid who would walk away from responsibility?"

"Well-"

"Ross!" Carol pulled him back.

"That's right. You'd better back off." Joey told them. "Are you ready, Chandler?"

"What do you mean?" Chandler came out of the bathroom after packing up the rest of his stuff.

"We're going to Seattle with you." Phoebe told him.

"I still have some money left over from that modeling job I had a few months ago." Joey told him. "Just give us an hour to pack up."

"Ok." He picked up his bags and followed them out.

Carol pushed Ross to sit down on his bed as they watched the others walk out.

"You need to calm down." She told him. "Instead of thinking about wanting to kill Chandler, think about what your sister is going through. She's probably scared out of her mind. Not just of childbirth, but of the thought of being a young mom."

"Ok. You're right." He sighed. "I probably owe Chandler an apology, don't I?"

"Yes, you do. He was blindsided by this, too."

"OK. I'm going to pack. Monica needs her family."

"I'll go pack up some things and meet you down in the lobby."

"You're coming with me?"

"Of course I am." She smiled at him as she walked out.

Chandler sat in the chairs at the airport a couple hours later. Joey sat beside him as neither one of them talked. The next flight to Seattle wouldn't be leaving for another hour.

"Here. I got us all some coffee." Phoebe came back to them. "And this is for you Chandler."

"What is it?" he opened the plastic bag and took out a thick book.

"It's a parenting book. If you're serious about being there for Monica and the baby, you need to educate yourself."

"You were serious, weren't you?" Joey looked at him.

"Of course I was. I'm still scared, though."

"Who wouldn't be scared to find out that they're going to be a young father?"

"That's not what I'm scared of. Not really."

"Then what is it?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm scared of turning into my parents. That I won't care about what's going on with my kid. That I'm going to be absentee like they are for me."

"Chandler, you're not your parents. You can do this."

"Dude, Ross is here with Carol." Joey told him and he turned around as they approached them.

"I'm going to look in the gift shop." Chandler stood up and walked away from them.

"I wasn't going to yell." Ross told them. "I was going to apologize."

"You'll excuse us if we don't believe you." Phoebe told him.

"I'll go talk to him first," Carol followed after Chandler and found him looking at stuffed animals in the gift shop. "Getting your child its first stuffed animal?"

"I don't know," he sighed.

"Ross wants to apologize to you."

"For real? Or is he just afraid of you?"

"It's for real." She assured him. "You have to understand. His first thought was immediately on Monica. He wants to protect her."

"From me?"

"From anyone and anything."

"I can understand that." He picked up a soft stuffed bunny and took it to the counter to purchase it.

Chandler and Carol walked back to the group and Ross stood up to face him. Carol gave him a warning look as she went to stand with Joey and Phoebe.

"I'm sorry," Ross told him. "I can see that this is hard for you as well. I just-It's my job to protect my sister. I don't want her to do this alone. I mean, she's more than capable of doing it on her own. I just don't want her to if she doesn't have to."

"I understand," Chandler told him. "For the record, I don't want her to do this on her own, either."

"Ross!" They turned when they heard Carol. "I think we have a problem."

"What-" he looked where she was looking and saw his parents coming their way.

"Uh-oh." Chandler exchanged a look with him. "Your dad looks like he wants to kill me."

"He probably does." Ross stood in front of him, blocking him from his dad as Joey and Phoebe came over to them.

"Ross, what are you all doing here?" Judy asked him.

"We're going to Seattle to see Monica."

"Thank goodness, she finally told you."

"What's he doing here?" Jack saw Chandler peer around Ross at them.

"I'm the father." Chandler stated. "Where else would I be? I would've been here sooner if I had known sooner."

"If you're going there to yell at my daughter-"

"Did I say I was going to yell at her?"

"Jack, leave him alone." Judy told him as she led Chandler over to some nearby chairs. "I just want you to know that we wanted her to tell you. But it had to be her decision when she told you."

"I understand." He told her. "I'm still in shock a little bit, but I promise that I'll be here to help her in any way that she wants me to."

"That's all we wanted to hear," Jack told him.

"They just announced our flight," Carol came up to them. "We better board."

"Let's go." They all grabbed their carry-on's and started towards the gate.

Preview Of Next Chapter: What will Chandler and Monica say when they see each other again?

AN: This will probably be the last chapter that will have Monica writing a letter to Chandler. But the baby information will still be included. Please R&R!