A/N: I feel like all I'm doing in these authors notes is apologising for not updating sooner... and that's not changing now. Sorry! I'll try harder to update quicker - promise.

Disclaimer: If you don't know that I own zilch by now, you really should have read the other chapters more thoroughly. Anyways, I own none of it. Not a thing.

(Monica)

It had been two days since Monica had come home from the hospital. She was in her apartment with Rachel and Phoebe. They had decided to have a girls night and were now sitting on Monica's couch with a bottle of wine, Rachel moaning about how she was 'finished with men', after her last date had turned out to be a disaster.

"C'mon Rach, it can't have been that bad," Phoebe giggled.

Rachel groaned. "Pheebs, you just don't get it. It was awful! I mean, sure, it started off nice. He brought me to a nice restaurant, ordered a bottle of wine, he was really charming...then suddenly, he starts picking his nose! It was gross! So I'm there thinking, 'this is so gross', and then the waiter comes to take our order, and he orders more food than Joey would!" Rachel sighed. "I thought, okay, I can put up with the massive amounts of food. But the nose picking was disgusting. The meal was okay, we had a nice chat…But when the server came back with the check, he picked it up, and I'm thinking, okay, just wait for him to say he's going to pay. I'm smiling at him, and he looks like he's doing some serious calculations in his head. Suddenly, he puts the check back on the table and says, 'Okay, so it came to 63, so that's 31.50 each.' And he smiled at me! Can you believe it?"

"Noooo!" Monica and Phoebe said in unison.

"I know, right! God, I'm so finished with guys!" Rachel said, burying her head in her hands.

Just then, the phone rang, and Monica got up to answer it, walking away from the couch to the window.

"Hello?"

"Heeeeyy Mon."

"Chandler? Is that you?"

"Uh - huh. It's me," Chandler giggled.

Monica was confused.

"Have you been drinking?" she asked accusingly.

"Uh, maybe."

"Chandler..."

"Okay, okay, okay. I might have had a little bit to drink. Anyways... I just called to say...," he mumbled.

"Say what?"

"I just called to say that I love you Mon," he said slowly.

Monica smiled to the phone.

"Mon? You there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. I love you too, Chandler. Now go back to your friends."

"Uh, okay. Bye Mon," he slurred.

Monica shook her head as she hung up. She turned to face Rachel and Phoebe, and they were smiling up at her.

"You guys are sickly sweet, y'know that?" Rachel announced, as she collapsed dramatically onto the floor.

Monica blushed. "You're just jealous," she said, smirking.

"I am! I am jealous! Why can't I find a nice guy like you have?" Rachel moaned, throwing back the remainder of wine in her glass.

"I think she's had a bit too much to drink," Phoebe said.

Monica agreed. "If she's admitting to being jealous of my relationship with Chandler, she's definitely in a bad place." She tapped Rachel on the head and took the glass from her hand. "Okay you, go to bed." She turned back to Phoebe. "Are you crashing with Rachel?"

Phoebe nodded. "Yep. I'll take care of her." The two girls hugged, then Monica helped Phoebe get Rachel into her bed.

Monica looked at her watch. It was only 12.30am. She wondered if Chandler would go to his own apartment or come into hers. She got ready for bed, and had just gotten into bed when she heard a knock. She hurried to the front door, and a glanced through the peephole to confirm that it was Chandler. She opened the door slowly and he stumbled in, grabbing onto her to prevent a fall. She walked him to the couch and he flung himself onto it. Monica went to fetch a blanket for him, but he grabbed her hand.

"Don't go," he mumbled. She gently pushed his hand off hers.

"I'm just getting a blanket."

She retrieved a blanket from her closet and draped it over him. She had to admit, he looked downright adorable lying on her couch. His beautiful hair was sticking out in tufts, and when he looked at her, his heavy lidded blue eyes sparkled. He looked so peaceful. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice him watching her back. He took her hand again and pulled her down so she was sitting on the floor. She kissed his forehead, tried to go to her room, only to find that he wouldn't let go of her hand. He pulled in her close and kissed her softly, his breath reeking of alcohol. She pulled back, and he just looked at her, smiling.

"Mon?"

"Yeah, Chandler?"

"You're beautiful," he mumbled into the couch.

Her heart fluttered and her stomach started doing cartwheels. Monica had always been told that there are only two types of people who tell the truth: children and drunk people.

"You know, you're reaaaaaalllly beautiful," he said. "I love you, Monicaaaa," he added. He stretched his arms, and hugged her. He stank of cigarettes and alcohol, and Monica was feeling overpowered by the stench.

"Chandler, I am not sleeping on the floor and that couch was not made to sleep two."

She pulled away from him, stood up and walked towards her room. She could feel his eyes watching her.

"Mon?"

She turned back towards him.

"Yes, Chandler?"

"Do you want a kiddie?"

Monica was thrown by his question. Drunken Chandler normally didn't extend beyond declarations of love, followed by severe headaches and sometimes vomiting. Serious questions weren't part of his routine.

"I... Yes. Yeah. I... I would. Like a kid."

"Hmm," he muttered. "I want one," he said suddenly. "Yeah. I want a little kiddie." He rolled over onto his side, almost falling off the couch.

"G'night, Mon," he mumbled. Monica was moving towards her room again, when Chandler shouted, "HEY!"

She turned back towards him again, and saw his eyes shining brightly.

"Hey! You wanna know a secret?" he asked excitedly.

Monica smiled. "Sure."

"Okay, but you can't tell anyone, okay? Nobody."

"I promise."

"Okay. I'm in love with Monica. And I'm gonna marry her someday," Chandler slurred. "Not now. Not soon. But someday. Cause I love her. She's great. And she's really, really hot. But shhh! Don't tell her! I haven't told her yet!" he said.

Monica was stunned.

"Goodnight, nice lady," Chandler said loudly.

Monica shook herself. "Goodnight, Chandler," she said quietly, as she returned to her room.

She laid in bed thinking about what Chandler had said until she drifted to sleep.

Monica got up the next morning at around 9am. She was thankful to Dr. Andrews for handing her a medical note to say she couldn't go back to work for a week - she had another appointment with him the following Wednesday. Today was Saturday, and she couldn't bear the thought of going into the restaurant.

Her apartment bore all the signs of a good Friday night - there were empty wine bottles covering her table, half full glasses on her counter, shoes and clothing belonging to Chandler strewn across the floor. She shuddered, and got to work cleaning up quietly, trying not to wake Chandler. She didn't know what she was going to say to him when he woke. Sometimes, he remembered the conversations he had while drunk, and sometimes, he wouldn't remember anything. Monica didn't know which one to hope for.

By 10am, the apartment had gone from bomb site to usual, Monica-clean standards. She began making breakfast, and the strong smells brought Phoebe and Rachel out of bed, closely followed by Joey and Ross, who seemed to have stayed at Joey's the night before. The only soul who hadn't stirred was Chandler, and it wasn't long before the gang decided to wake him.

"I think we should just jump on him."

"All of us together? Joey, he's sleeping after a night out. He's going to wake up with a huge hangover, and as his girlfriend, I'm vetoing that idea since I'll be the one who has to deal with his mood," Monica said firmly.

"We could tickle him," Rachel suggested. "No wait! Get Ross to play his 'wordless sound poems'. That'll wake anyone up!" she added, smirking at Ross who had gone red.

"Ooh! We could stick his hand in a cup of water!" Joey shouted.

The group looked at him.

"Joey, man, how old are you?" Ross asked.

"Yeah, let's see you come up with a better idea!" Joey retorted.

"You know, as much as I was looking forward to these ideas being carried out, unfortunately your voices all woke me up just fine," a voice muttered sarcastically from behind them.

They turned to see Chandler sitting up on the couch, looking very pale and bleary-eyed with messed up hair. He glared at them, then focused on Monica. He gave her a weak smile. "Got any food left Mon?"

Monica served up a plate of food and brought it over to him on the couch.

"Don't get used to this," she warned.

"Yes Monica," he laughed, nodding and smiling up at her. She rolled her eyes at him and returned to their group of friends.

"Ugh, you two make me sick," Rachel groaned. "I'm going to work," she added, sounding like she dreaded the idea.

"Rach, I thought you LIKED work," Ross said.

"I do, I do! But one of the clients I don't like is coming in today to get his 'spring wardrobe'. He's a nightmare!" she exclaimed, stomping towards her room and shutting the door.

"I better go too. See you all later," said Ross. He kissed Monica on the head, slapped Joey's shoulder, and left the apartment.

"Joey, don't you have that audition today?" Phoebe asked, speaking for the first time that morning.

He hit himself on the head. "Crap, I almost forgot. Thanks Pheebs!" he yelled as he rushed out of the apartment.

Rachel re-emerged fully dressed from her bedroom.

"I'll see you guys at Central Perk later!" she said quickly as she left the apartment.

Phoebe looked back and forth between Monica at the table and Chandler on the couch.

"I suppose I should go to work too, right?" she sighed. "See you later Mon. And you too Chandler." She left the apartment, and Monica and Chandler were finally alone.

"Chandler, do you have to work today?"

"Nope, I've got the weekend off," he mumbled.

Monica walked over to him and sat on the floor next to the couch. He leaned over and kissed her head. "You okay, Mon?" he asked sleepily.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Alright."

"Chandler?"

"Yeah Mon?"

There was a brief pause.

"What do you remember from last night?"

"Uh... Not much. I remember going out with Joey and Ross... I remember calling you…" He grimaced. "Sorry about that. I remember Joey hitting on a girl and getting punched in the arm by her boyfriend...and we came back to the apartment...and I came over to see you." He scratched his head. "I think I talked to you, but I don't remember what about. Then...I think I talked to someone else. Maybe Rachel or Phoebe or someone. I don't remember though."

Monica sighed inwardly. Maybe it was better that Chandler didn't remember, but it had given her so much hope when he had said he wanted a child. And he had said he was going to marry her! To think that Chandler had thought about that, even in passing, was a huge shock. A good shock, but a shock nonetheless.

Suddenly, the phone rang, and Monica went to answer it.

"Hello?...Yes, he's here, hold on." She covered the mouthpiece with her hand. "Chandler, it's your boss, they need to talk to you."

Chandler groaned and got up, stumbling over to the phone.

"Hello?...Yes, this is Chandler...Doug, it's my day off!...Yeah...Yeah, I know. Alright fine...Just an hour or two?... Double pay? Fine Doug. I'll be there as soon as I can. Bye." He hung up the phone and his head dropped. "Something's wrong with the WENUS, I have to go to work for a little while, I'm sorry," he said, looking guilty.

Monica shook her head. "It's fine, don't worry about it!" She paused. "Your clothes and shoes are by the television."

"I'll be back as soon as I can and we can spend the day together, okay?" he said, scrambling to pick up his pile of clothes.

Monica nodded.

Chandler left the apartment quickly, shutting it with a bang. Monica stared longingly at the door. She hoped he would come back soon, because she really liked the idea of spending the day together. Suddenly, the door burst open and Chandler reappeared. He ran at her and kissed her softly, gently placing his hands on her waist.

"I love you, Mon." He said with a grin.

"I love you too, Chandler," she said, smiling. She punched him lightly. "Now get outta here."

As she watched him leave for the second time, she contemplated how lucky she was to have him.

It turns out he was boyfriend material after all.

A/N: Okay, there's only 3 or 4 chapters left in this, max. I'll try and update them all at least one a week as opposed to once a month like I seem to be doing... aack. Sorry. Thank you all for sticking with the story - and if you guys could drop me a review, I'd really appreciate it, since interest seems to be waning.