"Hey!"

"Hey," Monica said as she closed her purse and put her overnight bag down forcefully on the kitchen table. Ross closed the apartment door. He could see she was aggravated and assumed he knew the cause.

"I take it our mother has arrived," he said with a smirk.

"Gee, what was your first clue?" she said flippantly, smoothing her hands down over her maternity top then gesturing behind her. "She's in the bathroom."

Ross sighed heavily. His parents, though excited about being grandparents again, were less than thrilled when they heard the news that Chandler was the sperm donor for his sister's twins. He tried to alleviate the tension. He even admitted that it was him, and not Chandler, who smoked marijuana in college - after Monica threatened that his nieces wouldn't know Uncle Ross existed if he didn't own up to it. But his mother still had a snide remark or two about Chandler every time the subject of the babies came up - and they came up a lot.

"What did she say this time?"

"Oh, just the usual crap about Chandler being 'aloof' and her praying that if they are going to take after a male in the bloodline, they'll take after you," she said rolling her eyes and trying to keep her voice down. Ross grinned at that, but she gave him a classic Geller glare. He quickly cleared his throat.

"It's just, it's not fair to him," Monica said, crossing her arms over her big belly. "He's been nothing short of incredible and...and, as we all know, I got him into all this in the first place. I just wish she'd back off. He's been...he's been…"

She paused there, face flushed as she looked away. She placed her palms behind her to massage her already aching lower back. She was grateful that her Mom was going to take her on a two-day shopping spree for the babies, but she was already sore.

And, she was completely over her mother criticizing Chandler. She could not imagine any husband she might have been having these girls with could have been more engaged in her pregnancy experience than he had been.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling that overwhelming rush of emotion she always did when she let herself stop and think, really think, about all he had done for her. She put her hands to her cheeks as Ross walked towards her then pulled her in for hug.

"I know," he said, giving her a gentle squeeze. "She needs to back off. He's really been there for you, hasn't he?"

"Yeah," she said, sniffing and raising her eyes to her brother's. He was taken aback by the tears in them. She smiled softly at him.

"I mean, you have all been amazing, but he…"

"Ross, darling," Judy said as she came out of the bathroom. Ross felt Monica tense up, but he gave her a small squeeze and then greeted his Mom.

"Hi, Mom," he said, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"So, I hear you are moving Rachel into your friend Phoebe's place while we're gone?" she asked.

"Yep, yeah," Ross said, glancing at Monica.

"Well, that's awfully sweet of her, since Monica can't afford a house and, of course, doesn't have a husband or even a real father for the babies to lean on," she said. Ross immediately saw Monica open her mouth to fire back.

"Now, Mom," he said. "Let's focus on the positive here, OK? Healthy twin granddaughters are on their way. Let's keep Mon's blood pressure under control alright?"

Judy turned to Monica, whose death stare at the back of her mother's head turned to a saccharine, albeit fake smile in a instant, but it was enough to get Judy to back down.

"Oh, of course," she said, picking up her purse off the table. "I'm just a mother, after all. All I do is worry!"

"Of course you do," Ross said as he ushered them out of the apartment, rolling his eyes at his sister and picking up her suitcase.

Judy started down the stairs as Monica turned to lock the door.

"You don't need to lock..." Ross started.

"I do right now," she said hotly, through clenched teeth.

"OK, look, I'm serious, just...just try to ignore her," he cautioned.

"Phht," Monica said, with a flick of her wrist. "I may kill her."

"You don't want to have babies in prison," he deadpanned.

"Might be worth it," she shrugged, and Ross chuckled as he followed them down the stairs.

###

"She really doesn't like me much, does she?" Chandler said as he and Ross applied the last coat of paint the next day to Rachel's now empty room. The conversation had turned to the day before and Judy's never-ceasing criticism.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Ross said, attempting to sound convincing. Chandler shot him a disbelieving look.

"OK, maybe not," Ross admitted, then added cautiously. "Monica defended you, but, look I'm not going to stand here and tell you I didn't have misgivings about all this, too."

Chandler put his paintbrush down and turned to his best friend, marveling at the fact that this was the first time Ross had said a word about how he felt about Monica's pregnancy since the day they announced it. Of course, he'd been through holy hell himself the last several months, but Chandler figured this talk was coming at some point. It gave him a warm feeling, though, to know that Monica had defended him to her mother.

"Go on," he nodded to Ross, crossing his arms.

"Oh, hey, not because of you," Ross said quickly. "Seriously, Chandler, If my sister was going to pick anybody to be her sperm donor, I'm glad it was you."

Chandler raised his eyebrows at that, surprised to hear Ross thought that highly of him. Ross grinned.

"I just thought my sister was a little crazy," he said, shaking his head, "rushing into being a mom in a very unconventional way. But, hey, ya know what? I'm Ben's Dad and that was unconventional, too."

Chandler nodded as he contemplated that, agreeing with him.

"And that's worked out really well," Ross added with a chuckle. He slapped Chandler on the shoulder. "So, yeah, it will work out for Monica, too, I know it will. And, honesty, I...I can't thank you enough for all the support you have shown her, ya know? I mean, look at all this!"

Ross looked around the now very pink room, with a smile planted firmly on his face. He smiled at Chandler, who winced just a little, then looked down at the floor.

"Thanks," Chandler said, clearing his throat and nodding. "Yeah, I...I know it's…it's different, but it's been working out so far. Mon's gonna be the best mother, and ya know, of course, I wanna support her as much as I can until she doesn't...they don't...need me anymore…"

Chandler's voice faded away at his last words and he swallowed hard. Ross took a deep breath as Chandler looked past him, out the bedroom window.

"What is it?" Ross asked, concerned about the sad look on his friend's face. Chandler just shook his head.

"Come on, what's on your mind?" he asked again.

Chandler put his hands on his hips and looked back at Ross. Then he sighed and plopped down on one of the two lawn chairs they'd pulled into the middle of the room. After a moment Ross sat beside him as the hairs stood up on the back of his neck. Suddenly he wondered if it was finally all becoming too overwhelming for Chandler, which was ironic because it was something he'd looked out for over the last several months and finally given up worrying about.

He took a deep breath and waited.

"Monica," Chandler finally said quietly, looking down at his fingers now locked together between his bent knees. "She's…I…she's, she's…radiant…"

"She really is," Ross said with a little frown as he studied his friend closely. Chandler looked at him, and before he knew it, the fears and hopes he'd had bottled up inside of him for months spilled out in the middle of the soon-to-be nursery.

"Sometimes when I look at her and I...I feel our, our babies, ya know, these little lives we've somehow created and they're…they're a part of her and a part of…of me, and knowing that on at least some level she wanted this. She wanted these children…my children. Just to know they're, we're a part of each other…it…it does something to me, Ross. I just…I can't explain it, but it does."

Ross smiled a little.

"You wouldn't be human if it didn't, man," Ross said gently. Chandler just shook his head and sighed.

"I wanna be there," he said quietly, looking out at the baby-girl-pink walls all around him. "I wanna be there when they wake up in the middle of the night and need a bottle or need rocked back to sleep and I…I want to be there when Monica wakes up and...and needs...well, anything…"

Chandler stopped talking as his face turned bright red. He shot a quick glance at Ross then looked away.

"You're talking about more than the babies now, aren't you?" Ross asked after a moment, a hint of surprise in his voice. Chandler shifted somewhat uncomfortably next to him.

"You want to be with Monica, too, don't you?" Ross asked softly.

Chandler dropped his head, lacing his fingers behind his neck. Ross just stared at him, an uncertain joy growing in his chest. He'd been watching them for months as they'd gotten ready for the girls to be born. They'd methodically planned like only Monica could, and when they found out there were two babies instead of one they'd learned to be flexible in a way only Chandler could manage.

The ebb and flow had been something Ross envied, though he wouldn't admit it. It was something his relationship with Emily had lacked. They'd jumped into marriage feet first without a foundation to land on. Monica and Chandler had tiptoed into non-traditional parenting on the solid footing they'd established a long time ago.

The fact that it seemed Chandler was now falling for his sister made complete sense to him. His friend was the awkward ying to his sister's quirky yang and they worked very well together. And if the way his sister defended Chandler was any indication, there was a good chance she might just be feeling a few things, too. Ross briefly smiled to himself.

"I think, yeah, I do want to be with her, too," Chandler admitted in almost a whisper. He finally pulled up his head and looked his friend in the eye. "When I think about us and the babies it's…we're always together, ya know? I see us together."

Ross grinned at him.

"But that's not how we got into all this," Chandler said with a hollow chuckle, suddenly standing and pacing around the freshly painted room. "She knew. She knew this was going to be all…complicated and she was right it is, but, God, Ross. I want it. I…"

"Yeah?" Ross said, with a little smile, urging him to continue as he watched him pace a hole in the floor.

"Yeah, I just…I…I…argh," he said as he kept pacing, now pressing his hand against his chest, feeling a fullness that was hard to describe, but Ross knew exactly what it was.

"It's an ache, isn't it?" he asked. Chandler stopped pacing and turned to him.

"Yes," he said, a shocked look on his face. "That's it! That's exactly what it is."

Ross nodded.

"I understand," he said. "When Carol was pregnant with Ben all I wanted was what you just described. I wanted us together. I wanted the Mom and the Dad and the baby and Sunday mornings reading the newspaper in bed. I wanted that family."

"Yes!" Chandler said, sitting down the lawn chair again. "That's it. That's totally it only...I didn't, ya know, know I had that in me."

Ross chuckled.

"I don't think any of us did, man," he said, patting Chandler on the back. "It's different when you know you've got those babies coming."

"Yeah," Chandler nodded. "It really is. Everything is, I guess." Ross chuckled just a bit and shook his head.

"Talk to her," Ross said after a moment. "Tell her how you feel."

"I know I should, I know," Chandler agreed with a sigh. "But I…I don't want her to feel, ya know, obligated to feel something for me because we're in the middle of all this. That…that wasn't part of the deal."

"Maybe it's time for a new deal," Ross suggested.

"Thank you, President Roosevelt," Chandler smirked and Ross smirked back.

"Listen," Ross said. "I know my sister. She's pretty true to herself. She didn't stay with Richard because she wanted children and he didn't. She's not going pretend to feel something she doesn't just because you are having these kids together."

Chandler nodded and shrugged at the same time.

"OK, so," Ross said with a grin, "there is only one way to find out if she wants to, ah, renegotiate your deal."

Chandler grinned back at him then sighed one more time.

"Yeah, I know," Chandler said, running his hands through his hair nervously, then once again looking out the bedroom window.

"I know."

NOTE: What? Two updates in less than a month?! Whoa! Don't get too used to it though. Like with many of my stories, some parts are written before others and the bulk of this chapter just happened to be one of those parts. Hope you enjoyed it though and it'll tide you over until next time. :)