So I really didn't think I was gonna get this chapter posted for a long time (like 2 more weeks at the soonest) then no sooner had I made that announcement on Instagram did I somehow manage to crank out the entire chapter in like an hour (shoutout to creative writing club). This is a bit shorter than usual, but I thought it was a good place to break it off.

Your reviews and messages on Instagram are the reason I'm still writing. This is by far the longest story I've ever written, and obviously I'm still going! That's all down to you guys and your amazing encouragement throughout this process, and I couldn't be more grateful! Please do keep it up, and I promise I'll try to keep pushing out content as often as I'm capable!

"You're being quiet again," Monica observed, lifting her head from where it was rested against Chandler's chest. He had come home early from work—no one would miss him for the last hour of the day—and found the apartment completely empty save for Monica. She had worked only the lunch shift that day, and had been to work and back in the time that Chandler was gone. He had pulled her to the couch immediately upon entering, not even bothering to turn on the TV, just needing to be close to her after missing her all day.

"Shhhh," Chandler teased. "I need the quiet to think."

"No, seriously," she laughed, looking up at him. "What's up?"

"I just missed you," Chandler shrugged. "Do I need a reason to cuddle with my girlfriend?"

He didn't miss the shy smile that ghosted across her face when he referred to her as his girlfriend. It didn't matter how many times he said it, she still reacted in the same way, something that filled Chandler with happiness.

"No, but your girlfriend was about to start dinner, so unless you want to rely on Rachel for food, I can't sit here all night, as much as I may want to."

"I was thinking," Chandler started. No better time, he figured. "Let's go out tonight, please? We haven't gone on a date in way too long and I miss spending time with you like that."

"Oh, Chandler," she sighed, sitting up. "I…I don't know. Shouldn't we be, like, saving our money? Or something? Or—"

"Mon," Chandler interrupted her, bringing his hand to her face to gently tip her chin up and meet her eyes again. "We haven't been on a date in forever. We've both been working so hard lately trying to get ready for the baby, we've earned a night for us. I want to spoil you. Please, just let me be your boyfriend?"

Monica's smile softened as she reached up to brush a hand through his hair.

"I would like that a lot," she grinned, and Chandler grinned back, internally sighing in relief.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. "So, what were you thinking? I'm gonna go get ready."

"Totally your call," Chandler responded. "Fanciest place in the city, McDonald's down the street, just tell me what you're in the mood for and I'll make it happen."

She bit her lip for a moment, not like she was thinking, but like she already had an answer but was shy about whether to say or not. Chandler didn't push, just stayed as he was, hand resting on her thigh as she debated with herself.

"I could…I could go for a burger," she admitted finally. "I know that's probably not what you had planned."

Chandler grinned. "I had nothing planned," he promised. "Burgers sound amazing. We could walk up towards Central Park, just see what we walk past?"

"That sounds amazing," she repeated, kissing his cheek before standing up. "So, casual?"

"Casual," he confirmed. "Wear whatever you want, Mon, you look amazing in everything."

"Kiss ass," Monica mocked, glancing over her shoulder before closing the bedroom door behind her.

Chandler laughed to himself, turning on the TV while he waited for her. It was a cheesy line, but he meant it completely. Monica was gorgeous. He had always thought so, and every day he was struck more and more by just how beautiful she was, especially now that she was carrying his child. Pregnancy looked really, really good on her. Though it was entirely possible that Chandler was biased. He didn't really care either way.

They were out the door just over twenty minutes later, a miracle if there ever was one. Hand in hand they walked through the mild New York evening, the sun just beginning to set and cool the city. They had no destination in mind, tonight was just about spending time together, and if they did end up grabbing cheeseburgers from McDonald's, then Chandler wouldn't complain at all.

Monica, on the other hand, even pregnant, had higher standards than that. After wandering for a little while, she informed him that she knew the area, and that there was a good place just a few streets over, and that if she didn't eat soon she would die. Her words. Pregnant Monica could be a bit of a drama queen (not that he would dream of saying that to her face).

The small restaurant came into view just where she said it was, and Chandler's mouth practically started watering at the delicious smells coming from inside. It really had been awhile since he'd eaten in an actual restaurant.

His hand was on the door handler, about to hold in open for Monica to enter ahead of him, when she stopped him with a hand on his arm. He turned to look at her, and noticed that she had gone pale, and without her even saying anything, Chandler knew exactly what was wrong.

"I'm sorry," she shook her head. "I just…can't right now. Burgers sounded good at the time, but…"

"Don't apologize," Chandler pulled her away from the door and away from the smell that was clearly upsetting her. "I don't care where we go, this is about you, okay? Let's just keep walking, and you let me know if you see something that sounds good."

Monica pressed closer to his side as she nodded shyly. She had no reason to feel guilty, they had all been there for this part of Phoebe's pregnancy when there was no rhyme or reason to what the baby wanted and what made it sick. Chandler certainly didn't fault her, but he knew her well enough to know that she was mentally beating herself up over something well beyond her control.

"Hey," he said quietly, stopping their progress back towards the main road. "You're doing really well, Mon. I'm so proud of you, and so thankful that our baby will have a mother as strong as you. If the hardest part about all this is trying to find somewhere you wanna eat, well, I'd say we're doing pretty well, wouldn't you?"

He smiled at her, and she gave a small smile in return, tears coming to her eyes as she rushed to hide her face. Chandler wrapped an arm around her shoulder and hers went around his waist as he leaned down to kiss her forehead.

Monica was quiet as they continued walking, eyes scanning the street for anything that sounded good to her. Chandler spent most of the journey just looking at her. Not for the first time he was hit by just how lucky he was that this incredible woman was by his side. Monica was truly the most amazing person he had met in all his life, and he wanted nothing more than to keep her by his side always.

They finally ended up at a breakfast place not far from their apartments. Chandler helped Monica into one of the booths before sliding in next to her, even just sitting across the table seeming like too great a distance. Monica rolled her eyes but didn't protest when he wrapped his arm around her again, instead snuggling closer into his touch.

After multiple reassurances that the smell wouldn't bother her, Chandler ordered scrambled eggs and bacon, while Monica ordered chocolate chip pancakes and French toast with a side of yogurt ("you're eating for two, get whatever you want," Chandler had encouraged when she admitted that pancakes may not be enough).

Once the waiter had disappeared with their orders, Monica sighed and slumped down in the booth.

"I'm sorry," she said, gaze fixed on the edge of the table. "I know this probably isn't how you wanted tonight to go, and it seems really silly to go out for a meal I could cook at home."

"Monica," Chandler interrupted before she could get too worked up. "All I wanted for tonight was to spend some time with my girlfriend without interruption from the vultures, where we could relax and just be us for a little while. As long as I'm with you, that's good enough for me."

Monica ducked her head to hide her blush, and Chandler grinned at the thrill of causing that reaction in her.

"Our baby is so lucky to have you for a daddy, too, you know," Monica spoke up just when Chandler thought she would drop it altogether. "You're…you're so patient, and sweet, and caring, and you're just so much more than you give yourself credit for. I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else."

Now it was Chandler's turn to pause, still not used to such high praise, especially from a girlfriend. From his own perspective, he was a mess. A sarcastic, immature, annoying disaster who couldn't keep a girlfriend to save his life because someone better always came along. But with Monica…he could almost see where she was coming from. She made him want to be a better person, both for her and for the baby.

"I wouldn't want you to do this with anyone else," he admitted finally. "I…I love that I'm the one who gets to take care of you."

"You don't need to take care of me," Monica protested weakly, but Chandler just let her interruption blow over him, all too used to the debate by now and knowing that now was not the time to start up again.

"And," he continued. "I love knowing that in a few months we're going to have a family to raise together. Mon, I love you so much, and I just know that all this is right. I haven't been scared in months, and it's all because of you."

"Chandler…"

"No, let me," Chandler cut in before she could interrupt. "I know you keep saying that there's no rush to get married, and there isn't, but I want to, Mon. I want to marry you. So whenever you're ready, I am too."

He hadn't meant to bring it up like that, he hadn't, but once he had started talking he couldn't stop. Apparently the conversation with Ross had been on his mind more prominently than he had thought. And maybe it was for the best because it had been months since they had seriously talked about their future in any way that didn't have to do with the baby, and he knew they could only go so long in this no-man's land they had been living in since Monica announced she was pregnant.

But Monica wasn't saying anything, wasn't even looking at him. Instead, she had stiffened in his arms and Chandler's heart sunk as she started to pull away.

"Gotta pee," she mumbled, and he stood up in a daze to let her out of the booth. She avoided his gaze as she shuffled past, and Chandler's heart broke even further. Of course she doesn't want to marry you, you idiot, he scolded himself. Needy and desperate isn't a good look on anyone. He flopped back down in his seat, deflated, and rested his elbows on the table to bury his head in his hands.

The evening had started off so promising. They hadn't argued, he'd gotten to take her out and just be her boyfriend in the way he had craved for so long. And now? Now she was hiding in the bathroom because he had to go and open his stupid mouth. He needed to apologize, of course, to assure her that it wasn't a big deal, that they could forget about marriage completely if she wanted. They had something more important to focus on, after all. They needed to stay on good terms for their baby, whether they were married or not.

Suddenly a thought hit Chandler that really hadn't been there before. What if she never wants to marry him? What if the only reason she's even with him still is because they're having a baby, and as soon as she meets someone better, she'll kick him to the curb? She had just said she didn't want to do this with anyone else, but was that just because she felt comfortable with Chandler-her-best-friend, and had no intention of ever moving their relationship forward?

Chandler knew that didn't sound like Monica, but really, very little about how their relationship had evolved—or not evolved—over the past few months was what he would have expected of her. Himself, maybe, but he knew he wasn't the holdup here. He had made that clear.

And probably scared her off and ruined everything in the process, the unhelpful part of his brain added. He just needed to see her, to hear her assure him that he hadn't completely scared her off. He didn't need her to marry him now. He just couldn't lose her, not yet. So he just waited for her there, head in hand.

It was a long time before Monica came back.

Did I mention that angst was back? No? Well, there you go. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please let me know in the reviews here, or on Instagram (I promise I'm nice, don't be afraid to message me!)

Full disclosure: final exams are about to start. There's a good chance that I won't even touch this story for another two weeks, much less have enough written to post. As soon as I'm done with classes, though, I intend to crank out another chapter as quickly as I can!