Beautifully
Chapter 8: The Revelation
~.~
Thanks to my two always-loyal reviewers (Exintaris and friendsfan101), and my newest loyal reviewer, who has no name :) And, thank you to my readers…though, ya know, reviews never hurt anyone, but make us writers super happy. Just sayin'.
Can you tell I was in a sweet and sappy mood when I wrote that last chapter? I had no intention of making it so mushy, but it kind of happened, and I was kind of okay with it. And figured you guys would be, as well.
Also, um, just realized I said something about it being December when they went to Chandler's office party, but we're gonna go ahead and pretend it was November then, and December now, because I (obsessively? maybe?) have a thing with keeping with the timeline of the show. And keeping my timeline consistent. Though the writers of the show failed in that department…
Lines borrowed from the show aren't mine.
~.~
"Hey," Chandler nudged Joey, who was seated beside him in Phoebe's grandmother's cab. After going to her grandmother about her father (and discovering he was not the token guy in the picture frame she had always told Phoebe he was), Phoebe had decided to go meet her real father, and since she was taking the guys Christmas shopping (though Monica's head had almost exploded over the fact that it was Christmas Eve and they had yet to buy gifts), they had been the ones to go with her.
"Huh?" Joey responded, watching Phoebe. "I think she might actually make it this time!" he pointed to Phoebe, who was still on the sidewalk in front of her father's hose and had yet to make it any further.
Chandler shook his head. "She's turning around…."
"Oh, now she's turning back!"
"Joe."
"Huh?"
"What do I get Rachel for Christmas?"
Joey turned back towards him. "You haven't gotten Rachel anything for Christmas?"
"I said I hadn't done any Christmas shopping!"
"Not even for your girlfriend?"
"Okay, lecture, not helping," Chandler grumbled. "I am not good at shopping for girls," he paused, looking out the window at Phoebe, and then at the time. "And, at this rate, I'm not going to get her anything," he again paused. "Not that this," he motioned to Phoebe, "isn't more important."
"Get her something sentimental. Girls love that," Joey nodded. "Oh! Or-"
"If you say anything related to giving her some sort of coupon for something sexual, you are riding in the front seat on the way home," Chandler interrupted, and Joey remained silent.
"She's coming back," Joey pointed out.
Chandler shrugged. "Dad's are overrated, anyway."
"Not all dad's," Joey disagreed. "She at least deserves the right to decide that for herself."
Phoebe opened the cab door, climbing into the front seat.
"How far'd ya get?" Joey asked.
"Mailbox," Phoebe gripped the steering wheel, staring forward.
"Phoebs, what's going on?" Joey asked.
Phoebe shook her head. "It's just like, ya know, it's a whole mess of stuff, ya know. It's like, yesterday, ya know, my dad was this, like, famous Burma tree surgeon guy and, ya know, now he's a, a pharmacist guy and, maybe, you know, I'll knock on the door and, and he'll hug me and I'll have a dad. Ya know, and I'll, I'll go to his pharmacy and everyone will be really nice to me 'cause, you know, I'm Frank's daughter."
"Then why not go knock?" Chandler asked.
"Well, 'cause, I mean, what if, what if he's not this great dad guy? I mean, what if, what if he's just still the dirtbag who ran out on my mom and us?" Phoebe paused, shaking her head. "You know what? I've already lost a fake dad this week, and I don't think I'm ready to lose a real one."
"Phoebs, that's okay," Joey reassured her. "You took a big step today."
"Yea?"
"Yea," Chandler chimed in. "And, someday, when you're ready, you'll make it past the hedges."
"And when you do, he'll be lucky to have you," Joey added.
"Thanks, you guys," Phoebe smiled back at them. "And sorry about your shopping…"
"That's okay," Chandler shrugged. "We'll figure something out."
~.~
"Ho-ho-ho-" Chandler started off as they walked into the girls' apartment, where they had missed the entire party while they were with Phoebe, greeted by a wave of intense heat, "-holy crap is it hot in here!" he finished.
"Really, mind if I turn the heat down?" Joey asked, heading towards the radiator.
"It's broken, but be my guest," Monica motioned towards it.
"Hey, where's Rachel?" Chandler asked, not seeing her, and wanting to apologize up-front for the lack of present.
"She's over at your place laying down," Monica replied.
"Yea, I think that the fact that it's about 110 degrees in here made her sick," Julie added.
"Well, her and all of the guests," Ross motioned to the empty apartment.
"Shut up," Monica smacked him lightly in the back of the head.
Chandler nodded, walking to the door. "Hey, uh, why didn't you guys just move the party over there?" he asked, grinning slightly as he opened the door, the cooler air from the hallway a welcome relief from the intensely hot room. Monica glared at him in return. "Just a thought," he shrugged, heading across the hall before she could throw the dishtowel at him that was currently in her hands.
Chandler crossed his dark apartment to his bedroom, opening the door slowly, in case Rachel was sleeping. He moved over to the bed, lying down beside her sleeping figure.
"Hey," he whispered, placing a hand on her side and kissing the back of her head, Rachel rolling towards him as he did.
"Hey," she replied, curling up in his arms.
"You okay?"
Rachel shook her head. "Been better. It's better over here away form the sauna, though."
Chandler chuckled slightly at that.
"Oh, hey, how did it go with Phoebe and her dad?"
"It didn't, so much. She never even made it to the door…."
"Poor Phoebs," Rachel replied, burying her face in Chandler's shirt. He again kissed the top of her head.
"Hey, um, I didn't get you a present."
"What?" she looked up.
"We never made it shopping," Chandler explained, "so I didn't get you, or anyone else, a present…."
"Oh…"
"I'm sorry," he continued on.
"It's okay," Rachel reassured him, though he could tell from her voice that she was disappointed.
"No, no, it's not," Chandler continued. "But, on the way home, I was thinking that, if you wanted…maybe, instead, next week sometime, or something, we could just go to the Woodbury Outlets and go shopping for the day?"
Rachel nodded slowly, smiling as she pulled back. "Best boyfriend ever."
"Really?" Chandler asked, unsure of his plan.
"Really," Rachel nodded. "I…may have a terrible habit of returning gifts for store credit. Like, all gifts. Including from my parents. I'm a terrible gift receiver," Rachel admitted slowly.
"Well, it's a good thing I'm such a terrible gift giver, then," Chandler grinned. "We work well together."
Rachel laughed. "You're not a terrible gift giver. You're just a guy." Chandler shrugged.
"You're not mad?" Chandler asked slowly, still unsure.
Rachel laughed. "Okay, having the shopping trip plan was you not being unprepared, and I'm pretty sure counts as a gift. And shows you know me. So, no, I'm not mad," she smiled. "I would kiss you, but I just spent the better part of tonight throwing up, and I haven't gone back home to brush my teeth yet."
Chandler nodded. "Yea, I'll pass on the kiss."
"I think I'm going to go home and brush my teeth and change," Rachel sat up. "I actually feel a lot better than I did earlier."
"I'll come with you," Chandler followed her as she stood up, heading for the door. "You know, make sure Phoebe's okay."
Rachel stopped, turning back to face him with a smile.
"What?" Chandler asked.
"Nothing," Rachel shook her head. "I just-you're wonderful, you know that?"
Chandler shrugged modestly. "Well, I try not to tell myself that too often, or else my head gets too big…"
Rachel smiled. "Chandler, seriously. You are."
He smiled warmly at her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Thanks, Rach."
"I love you."
"I love you, too," Chandler loosened his arms. "Now, go brush your teeth so I can kiss you."
Rachel laughed, turning back towards the door, Chandler's fingers laced through her own.
"Hey," she opened the door, her apartment already noticeably cooler. "The heat's fixed!"
"Yea, the knob was broken, so I turned it off completely from underneath," Joey explained, sitting at the kitchen table with a plate of food from the party, Phoebe, Monica, Ross and Julie sitting in the living room.
"Huh, you'd think Treeger would have at least known to do that," Rachel shrugged, heading towards the bathroom to get ready for bed. She closed the door behind her, drowning out the voices of everyone else as she opened the medicine cabinet, grabbing her toothbrush, before opening the top drawer to grab her toothpaste. She stopped, though, one hand on the faucet, at the sight of a box of tampons. Monica couldn't have her period yet; Rachel always got hers a few days earlier. Rachel closed her eyes, counting the weeks backwards in her head. She had been with Chandler for seven weeks, and she had had her period the week of Thanksgiving. No. No, she hadn't. Oh, god, she hadn't. Which meant that being three days late was actually four weeks and three days late.
Oh, god.
Rachel dropped her toothbrush, an entirely different wave of nausea rushing over her as she tried not to hyperventilate.
Oh, god.
She needed to sit. No, actually, she needed to get out of the confining space of the tiny bathroom, away form everyone in the apartment.
Oh, god. She couldn't be…oh, she couldn't even think the word.
Everyone in the living room looked up as Rachel rushed out of the bathroom and back out the door, slamming it shut behind her. Everyone then turned to Chandler, who shrugged.
"Maybe she felt sick again? It's still pretty hot in here," Julie suggested.
"Or, she's just mad that Chandler didn't buy her a present."
"You didn't buy her a present?" Monica looked at him in shock.
Chandler shrugged. "She was actually surprisingly okay with it. I'm gonna go make sure she's okay," he stood up, heading out the door and back into his apartment, relieved that she was again lying on his bed, though this time her head was covered with a pillow. "Rach?" he tried softly, sitting on the bed beside her. "Rach, you're kinda freaking me out," he touched her back, feeling the silent sobs that were shaking her body. "Babe, what's wrong?" he asked, laying down beside her.
Rachel took a deep breath, only slightly coming out from under the pillow. "Monica has her period."
Chandler paused, even more confused by that. "I guess that's a little upsetting…"
Rachel took another shaky breath. "I always get mine three days before her."
"Oh," Chandler replied, beginning to understand. "Well, if it's only three days-"
"I didn't-I didn't…get mine…last month," Rachel choked out. "I was trying to go back, and-and count from my last one, and I realized that I didn't get it last month, either," she tried to catch her breath, coming out from under the pillow, eyes red, hair matted to her cheeks with tears.
"Shit," was all Chandler could think of to say, and Rachel nodded her head, again burying her face in his pillow. "Rach," he placed his hand on her back, realizing that reaction probably hadn't helped anything.
"No," Rachel shook her head, "'Shit' about sums it up. I don't have a job right now. I don't have health insurance. I don't-I can't…I can't…"
Chandler pulled her into his arms, closing his own eyes, trying to keep his breathing steady instead of hyperventilating like she was. Rachel buried her face in his chest, tears staining the front of his shirt as silent sobs continued to shake her body. He ran his hand slowly up and down her back, unsure that he could force out anything coherently at the moment.
"Should, uh, should you take a test, you know, before we freak out too much?" Chandler finally offered softly, once her sobs had subsided.
Rachel shrugged. "Probably..."
"Want me-want me to go get one right now?" Chandler asked slowly, to which Rachel silently nodded. "Kay," he whispered, trying to remain as calm as he was trying to seem. "Okay," he repeated, kissing her forehead before pulling back. "I'll-I'll be right back, okay?"
Rachel rolled back over to the pillow, again burying her face in it, nodding slightly in response.
Chandler stood up slowly, taking a couple of deep breaths before grabbing his coat and heading downstairs and around the corner to the nearest 24-hour convenience store (and then heading to three more before finding one open that late of Christmas Eve), before heading back to his apartment. He took a deep breath as he opened the door, finding Rachel still in his bed, though she at least looked up when he entered the room. Neither of them even tried to force a smile as she wordlessly stood up, walking over to him and taking the bag before heading into the bathroom, Chandler locking the door before pacing around the living room and kitchen, unable to absorb any of what was happening.
Chandler finally looked up as Rachel opened the door. She offered a slight joke of, "I can't pee under pressure," to explain what had taken so long, to which they both smiled slightly. "Three minutes," she whispered, walking over to the kitchen counter, setting the test down, and setting the timer that was sitting on top of the stove for three minutes.
Chandler walked over to her, leaning beside where she was leaning on the counter, afraid that if he said anything, he might cry. He took her hand, and she squeezed it, remaining silent, as well.
He was not ready to have a baby. A father. He was not ready to be anyone's father. He couldn't quite breathe at that thought, so he moved on to the fact that things were going so well with him and Rachel, but it was so new….
They weren't ready for this, individually or as a couple.
Ding!
They both looked at each other as the timer went off.
Rachel closed her eyes, shaking her head. "I can't look."
Chandler took a deep breath, turning around. He closed his eyes, willing himself to look at it: a pink plus sign. Not much more of an explanation was needed.
Rachel turned to look at Chandler and could tell from the look on his face what the results were. Instead of saying anything, she moved quickly back to his bedroom, Chandler following as soon as he could remind his legs of how to walk.
"Rach?" he asked quietly, again laying down beside her, and he could even hear the tears in his own voice.
"I don't even have a job right now," Rachel repeated what she had said earlier, meeting his tear-filled eyes with her own. "I don't have a job, and I don't have any money, and I don't have insurance," she sniffled. "I mean, there's also the not being ready for this thing, but I just keep thinking the first three things over and over," she shook her head, wiping her tears.
Chandler pulled her closer, hugging her tightly. His only thought had been that he wasn't ready for a baby and that it wasn't fair that their new relationship had to deal with this already. He hadn't been thinking about any of those things because he had a good job, and he had a decent amount in savings, and he had great health insurance... "Marry me," he whispered, though he wasn't even sure where it had come from, and his voice sounded foreign, even to himself.
"What?" Rachel pulled slightly away from him. "Was that a suggestion, or was that you asking?"
"Suggestion?" Chandler said meekly. "Asking?" he changed his mind when she didn't seem satisfied with that. "I don't-I don't know," he finally admitted. "I just-I have a job. I have health insurance. You could-if you married me, you could, too," he explained quietly, and Rachel's only response was to, again, bury her face in his chest, not giving the idea a yes or a no.
Chandler closed his eyes. He was so overwhelmed with everything, he wasn't even to the point of freaking out yet. Well, he was freaking out, but not as much as he felt like he should have been (or would be) once it all set in. He was even past the point of crying, which it seemed Rachel was, too, since her sniffling had come to a stop, leaving them in defeaning silence.
Shifting slightly on the bed, the clock caught Chandler's eye: 12:04.
He laughed ironically. "Merry Christmas to us," he whispered sarcastically, at which Rachel's arms tightened around him, and he hugged her back. Chandler squeezed his eyes shut, hoping for the relief even a few short hours of sleep could possibly bring before morning.
~.~
Um, yea…I realize the pregnancy thing has been SO DONE to death. But, well, I wanted to do the pregnancy thing with Rachel and Chandler before they were as grown up as they were by the end of the series (since they both do a lot of growing up, more so than all of the other characters), and they both have babies by the end, and the Rachel-unplanned-pregnancy thing actually happens in the series, so…yea. There's my explanation/rationalization.
Reviews, please, if I haven't scared everyone off ;)
