A/N - I'm not sure if this turned out exactly the way I wanted it to, but I think it's close enough. Please let me know what you think...
Because of Your Love
Chapter Ten - Epilogue
"Daddy, please," the five year old boy pleaded, looking at his father. It was the cutest face Chandler had ever seen.
"Zach, I told you that you have to wait for your mother to get home," he replied. "Then I'll play with you, I promise." He gathered up the two girls that were running wildly around the living room and put them on the couch. "Girls, please let your poor old dad rest for five minutes," he said and plopped onto the couch between them. The three year old identical twin girls giggled and jumped off the couch before Chandler could stop them. "Oh, come on!" he sighed, exasperated.
Before he could catch them again, the girls were headed in two different directions - one to the kitchen, the other to the den. Zachary was still sitting in the armchair.
"Daddy, please play with me. You promised," the little boy whined.
"You sound worse than your Uncle Joey," Chandler chuckled. "Please just sit here until I find your sisters, okay?" Zachary nodded, and Chandler headed off toward the den. "Girls! Come on out. I'm not playing hide-and-seek right now," he called, entering the den.
"Boo!" Lauren screamed, jumping up from behind a chair. Chandler jumped, startled.
"Lauren, please go into the living room with your brother. Mommy should be home any minute now... I hope," he added quietly.
"Okay, daddy," she giggled and ran toward the living room again.
"And no running in the house!" Chandler yelled after her.
"And no yelling either!" Monica's voice called from the living room.
"Thank goodness... Mommy to the rescue," Chandler sighed and walked back into the living room.
"...and then Miss Kelly let us play on the playground for a really long time, and she said that we get to fingerpaint tomorrow, and when Daddy came to get me, he took us to get ice cream!"
Chandler listened as his son filled Monica in on the events of the day. He knew that she probably wouldn't be very happy about the last part.
"Ice cream, huh? Daddy doesn't listen very well, does he?" she replied, looking up and smiling at her husband. She winked at him, and he smiled back at her.
"Mommy!" Rebecca exclaimed, emerging from her hiding place in the kitchen. "You're home!"
"Yes, I'm home," Monica laughed and took her daughter into her arms for a hug.
"Mommy, let's play upstairs," Lauren suggested, trying to drag her mother toward the stairs.
"Honey, Mommy has to start dinner, and I need to talk to Daddy for a few minutes. You can go upstairs with your sister and play for a little while, can't you?" The twins nodded. They looked as much like her as Zachary looked like Chandler. She couldn't believe how blessed she had been. "Thank you, girls," she smiled and kissed each of their foreheads. "Behave yourselves," she called as she watched them hurry up the stairs. She turned to their oldest child. "Zach, why don't you go up and play with your sisters while I talk to your dad, okay?"
"But Mommy, Daddy said that he would play with me when you came home." He turned to Chandler and pointed. "You promised."
"Zach, let me talk to Mommy for a few minutes, and after dinner we'll go upstairs and build a fort in your room. How does that sound?" Chandler asked, hoping that his son would agree. He really wanted to talk to Monica.
"Okay..." he reluctantly agreed, then walked toward the stairs.
"How do you do that, Mon?" Chandler asked, walking over to wrap his arms around her and kiss the top of her head.
"How do I do what?" she asked, resting her head on his chest.
"Control your kids," he laughed. "I've been alone with them for two hours and, as much as I love them, I feel like I'm going insane."
"They're your kids, too," she reminded him.
"Oh yeah... I seem to remember having some part in that," he grinned.
"Come on. Let's go make dinner," she said and led him toward the kitchen.
Monica went to the refrigerator and took out what she would need to make a salad, then walked over to the sink. Chandler just watched her, wondering if she was ready to talk about whatever it was she needed to talk about. He was a little worried.
"Mon?"
"Yeah, sweetie?" she asked, looking up from her task.
"Were you planning on telling me what happened at your appointment today, or do I have to drag it out of you?"
"Oh, that," she said quietly. "Well..." She put down the knife she had been holding and wiped her hands on a dishtowel. She pulled out a chair at the kitchen table, and sat down. "Sit down, Chandler," she instructed.
"Uh oh... Is this bad news?" he asked worriedly as he joined her at the table.
"I don't think so," she answered, taking his hands in hers. "Do you remember right before Zach was born when we decided that we wanted to have three kids?"
"Yeah," he smiled, remembering that exact conversation.
"How would you feel about changing that three to a four?"
"Four? Really?" he questioned, smiling.
She nodded. "I'm pregnant...again," she said quietly.
"Are you serious?" She nodded. "It wasn't just stress?" This time she shook her head. They'd already talked about the possibility of her being pregnant, but Monica had insisted that the whole thing was a false alarm. She blamed it all on the stress of raising a family. In reality, she just hadn't wanted to let Chandler think it might be true unless she knew that it was true.
"I'm almost three months along," she informed him. "And I know that we weren't planning on this, but I'm kind of excited about it... Chandler, I need an honest answer from you. Are you happy about this baby?"
"Of course I am, Monica," he assured her. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly. "We're gonna have another baby," he said quietly.
She smiled at him. "I'm glad you're happy about this."
"Why wouldn't I be? I love having babies with you," he grinned. "And making them, for that matter."
"We do make beautiful babies, don't we?" she laughed.
"Yes, we do," he agreed. "I love you," he smiled and leaned across the table to kiss her.
"I love you, too," she replied once the kiss was broken.
"You know, at least now I'm getting what I wanted," Chandler grinned.
"And what's that?" she asked curiously.
"I get to see you pregnant again. I mean, when I said that I wanted three kids, I thought I was going to get to see you pregnant three times. But the girls cheated me out of that," he laughed. "And you do make a gorgeous pregnant woman."
"Thank you," Monica said quietly. "Why don't you go upstairs and make sure your children are cleaned up for dinner? I'll have it ready in twenty minutes."
"All right. But only because I love you guys so much," he teased.
He started to leave the kitchen, but Monica stopped him. "Chandler?"
"Yeah, Mon?"
"What do you want this time? A boy or a girl?"
"You know that doesn't matter to me. As long as he or she is healthy, I'll be happy with either outcome."
"But if you had to choose... Boy or girl?" she asked again.
He thought about it for a moment before responding. "Boy," he answered. "But only because me and Zach are outnumbered around here," he smiled at her.
She laughed. "Okay... Just curious," she smiled at him. "I love you."
"I love you, too, Mon."
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"But, Mom, I don't wanna go to bed!" Zach complained when Monica informed him that it was time to get some sleep. "Lauren and Becca are still up. I don't wanna go to bed yet," he whined.
Monica looked over at Chandler, who simply shrugged his shoulders. She knew he wouldn't be the one to deny his son a later bedtime. All three of their kids had their father wrapped around their little fingers. "All right. Just for tonight," she sighed. Zachary hugged his mother excitedly and jumped back onto the couch between his mother and father. Monica and Chandler were each holding one of the twins.
Chandler picked up the remote control and turned off the cartoon video the kids had been watching.
"Daddy!" the girls exclaimed in unison.
"If you want to stay up, then we have to talk about something," Chandler responded.
"What, Daddy?" Zach asked curiously.
Chandler looked over at Monica for reassurance. Monica was a little over four months along now, and the kids still didn't know about the baby. They had decided that tonight was the night. Monica nodded and smiled, urging him to go on.
Zachary, Lauren, and Rebecca looked at their father, waiting for him to tell them whatever it was he was going to tell them. All three of them wanted to go back to watching their video.
"Well, what would you think about having a new baby brother or sister?" he asked.
"A baby?" Lauren asked. "A real one?"
"Yes, a real one," Monica laughed.
"Well, where is it? When do we get it?" Zach asked curiously.
"Well..." Chandler began. "The baby won't be here for a few more months."
"Where is it?" Zach asked again.
"Sweetie, the baby's growing in Mommy's tummy," Monica answered. The kids turned to look at her and Chandler mouthed "thank you" to her. She smiled and continued. "The baby will be in there for a few more months until he or she is ready to come out and meet all of us."
"How'd it get in there?" Rebecca asked innocently.
"Um... Ask your father," she replied. The three children looked back to Chandler who had a look of sheer terror on his face. "Sorry," Monica whispered, ready to burst into a fit of giggles. She couldn't wait to hear how he got himself out of this one.
"Well," he began nervously, "I, um... I guess that God saw that you guys needed another brother or sister, so He put the baby in there. Just like He did for each of you."
"Really?" Lauren said quietly. "We were in Mommy's tummy, too?"
"Yeah. Really," Chandler answered.
"But I don't have a big brother or sister. Why'd He put me in there?" Zach asked.
"He knew that your mom and I needed someone like you in our lives, so He sent you to us. And we're very happy that we have all three of you - and the new baby."
"Oh," Zach replied, seemingly satisfied with the explanation. He yawned and rested his head against the back of the couch. Lauren and Rebecca were already sleeping on Monica's lap.
"You're amazing," Monica whispered and smiled at her husband.
"Yeah, I know," he teased. "I'll take the kids up to bed."
"I'll help you," Monica replied and started to get up with the girls.
"No, no, no," Chandler said to stop her. "You can't lift anything heavy."
"The girls aren't that heavy... I'll take one. You take the other," she suggested.
"No. I'll get the girls. You can wake Zach up and help him upstairs. But don't pick him up."
Monica gave in. She knew she wouldn't get anywhere with this anyway. "Fine." Chandler took the girls from her and headed toward the stairs as Monica nudged Zach. "Zach, honey, wake up. You have to go to bed, sweetie." He moaned and opened his eyes. Monica helped him stand up, took his hand, and led him upstairs, following Chandler.
Once Chandler had tucked the girls into bed, he walked into Zach's room to kiss him good night. Monica had just finished tucking him in and was giving him a gentle kiss on his forehead. She turned and smiled at Chandler who bent down to kiss his sleeping son. Chandler took Monica's hand and led her into the hallway. "Let's go to bed," he suggested.
"Just a minute. I want to kiss the girls good night," she replied and reached up to kiss him tenderly. "I'll be right there."
A few minutes later, Monica walked into the bedroom she and Chandler shared and smiled at the sight of her husband sleeping soundly on top of the covers. She laughed lightly and walked over to kiss him gently. "Wake up, honey. You're not getting off that easily tonight."
He stirred and opened his eyes. "Hey, Mon," he said quietly. "Did I fall asleep?"
She nodded and laid down on the bed beside him. "Long day, huh?"
"Yeah... Thanks for giving me the tough question," he teased and pulled her close to him.
"Hey, no problem," she grinned. "That was a good answer, you know."
"Thanks," he chuckled. "Best I could do on short notice... Zach didn't ask that many questions with the twins, did he?"
"No, but he was younger then. Now he wants to know it all," she smiled at him. "Did you mean what you said? About us needing someone in our lives?"
"Of course. We did need them. All of them. Even the new baby," he smiled, placing his hand on her slightly rounded stomach. "If we didn't need them, they wouldn't be here."
"You're right," she agreed.
"I'm always right," he teased.
"Don't be so sure of yourself," she replied. "You're not always right."
"I was right when I decided to spend the rest of my life with you, wasn't I?"
She smiled. "I should have become immune to your charm by now, Chandler," she laughed. "Thank goodness I haven't," she added and kissed him tenderly. "Thank you for making all of my dreams come true."
"Have I really done that, Monica?" he asked, a serious look on his face.
"Absolutely. I have a husband who loves me, and I love him just as much as he loves me, and we have the three most wonderful children in the world right here with us, with one more on the way." She rubbed her stomach gently. "I have the perfect family, and the perfect life, thanks to you," she added and wiped several tears from her cheek.
Chandler reached over and gently brushed away a few of the tears Monica had missed and kissed her cheek. "I love you, Monica... You have no idea how much I love you, because I could never tell you exactly how I feel. It's too much to put into words," he said quietly and smiled at her. "You made me who I am, Monica. I'm the husband I am because I have you to be my wife, and I'm a much better father than I ever thought I could be because you're here to help me through it... I'm everything I am because of you, Mon... Because of your love..."
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A/N - Yes, the ending was very sappy. Sorry. lol I really hope you've enjoyed this. Please let me know what you thought. I've got a couple of ideas for Monica and Chandler stories, so I'll try to get another up soon. I've already got two stories started, I just have to figure out which one I like better... Thanks again for all of your reviews.