"This is like a flipbook!" Ross exclaims, and I roll my eyes. To keep him occupied until Chandler gets home, I'm letting him look through the huge album we've compiled over the past almost year—"The Chronicles Of A Baby Bump."

That's actually what it says on the first page.

My husband is such a dork. I love the guy—more than I can possibly express—but he's a huge dork.

I cross my arms over my stomach and sigh. This is actually the first time anyone has seen the whole album, actually. The whole thing has felt kind of personal, and for a while, it felt sort of weird to show off pictures of my stomach. Now…hell, I don't care. The stomach can't be contained at this point and it's usually peeking out from under my shirt, so I really can't bring myself to care if someone sees the pictures.

Half the time, I'm pulling up my shirt anyway for whomever wants to see it.

You find that you have very little shame as you become extraordinarily pregnant. Between all the people poking and prodding and the almost complete loss of control over bodily functions, it's hard to be modest. And considering I'm about to have a person come shooting out of me…yeah, it's not the time to be shy.

I'm basically stuck at home these days, though considering about my due date is about three days away, I suppose that's fair—I showed up for a shift the other day and my boss just laughed at me and sent me home, telling me that I was officially on maternity leave and to call her when I had the baby. Truthfully, I'm a little surprised that Chandler's even managing to go into work these days. As it is, he's only working at the office for about half the day before he comes home to work the rest of the day. He still takes Jack and Erica to daycare, which would irritate me to no end if I thought for one second I'd be able to keep up with those two little monsters on my own at this point.

Not that I'm on my own. He doesn't realize that I'm on to him, but I know that our friends and family haven't been just randomly dropping by to see me every day. I know that he has them on a schedule. Still, how can I complain when I know it's coming from such a sweet, caring place? I know that it's just in case I go into labor when he's not home, I'll have someone there to help me.

Yes—he's a dork, but he's my wonderful, sweet, loving, adorable dork.

"I can't believe Chandler came up with his," Ross says, turning through the pages of the album slowly.

"He's pretty great, you know," I tell him as I shift my weight from side to side, trying to find an angle that's slightly less uncomfortable.

"No, I know he's a good guy. But for Chandler Bing of all people to be this excited about having kids…"

I shrug; even I can acknowledge the truth in that one to a degree. At least about the Chandler Ross knew in college, and probably even Chandler until about eight years ago. "You know, he's changed a lot—"

Ross hurries to interrupt me, smiling. "I know he has. He's really grown up—maybe more than any of us. And you make him happier than I've seen anyone be."

I feel my eyes fill with tears even as a grin spreads across my face. I know Chandler's happy—he's know that I'm happy. But still…it's kind of nice to know that it's obvious to the world around us, too.

"I mean…my best friend and my little sister."

"You always say that," I answer, ducking my head, running my hand across my stomach.

"I know, but…it still doesn't feel real sometimes, you know? You two knew each other for so long, and then you just fell in love, and as weird as it was at first…you two just seemed so right. Like, you know, that was what was missing that whole time."

I nod my head, wiping a stray tear off my cheek. "I know." It can be hard to put into words sometimes how or why we work, but I think, oddly, my brother managed to hit it on the head. Chandler and I are just each other's missing pieces. It may be hard work sometimes, but at the end of the day, we just fit. We always have.

Ross clears his throat, suddenly uncomfortable with his display of emotions. "So, Chandler really took all of these?"

I smile again, feeling proud. "He did. He has a real eye for it, actually. He's picking up all kinds of stuff at work—he gets to hang out during shoots sometimes and see what photographers do and how they create shots. He really likes it."

Ross looks pretty impressed. "I can tell. I mean, your kids are pretty cute, but he's managed to make them look even better on film."

I raise an eyebrow and cock my head. "My kids are only 'pretty cute'? Really?"

Ross's eyes widen as he realizes his mistake. "Jack and Erica are beautiful."

"Thank you." I remain silent for a while, watching my brother flip through the pages of the photo album. "You know, you don't have to stay here with me."

To his credit, Ross tries to look confused. "What are you talking about? I just wanted to come over and hang out for a while. I know I don't have to be here."

I scrunch up my face and look at him disbelievingly. "Ross, do you really think I don't know that you're here babysitting me?"

"What? I'm not…fine. Chandler's just worried about you."

"I know he is, and I love him for it, but he'll be home soon. I can probably manage on my own until then."

"Sure—you probably could. But I think Chandler would actually kill me. Just humor the guy for a while longer." He gestures to my huge belly. "It's not much longer, right?"

"Literally any moment now," I tell him, nodding. "Technically, I'm not due for another couple of days, but it could be whenever at this point."

"I'm so happy for you guys. I don't know if I've told you that lately, but…" He pauses for a second as his voice catches in his throat. "I mean, I was devastated for you guys when you found out about that whole…thing. But now you have Jack and Erica, and this one's almost here. No one deserves kids more than you and Chandler do, Mon."

I'd like to blame my hormones for getting me choked up, but I think it's just the fact that my brother would say that to me, that he thinks that, is pretty moving.

We've come a very long way from the kids who used to torture each other.

Some days. Other days, not so much.

I shift positions again, rubbing the side of my belly and sighing. "The baby doing a lot of kicking?" Ross asks, happy to have something else to focus on.

"Not really. Not anymore. It's doing a lot of stretching, though. There's not a whole lot of space in there at this point and the baby really likes to let me know about it. Elbows and knees everywhere. Toes in my ribs, fingers in places I don't want to talk about. It's really the weirdest thing in the world, Ross."

He makes a face at the mention of it all, a little grossed out even though he's technically been through this twice. "Sounds like it. Doesn't it hurt?"

I rub the side of my stomach again, thoughtfully. "Sometimes. If the baby's particularly irritated for some reason, then it'll stomp the hell out of me. Most times, though, if it hurts, it's only for a second."

I see a car out of the corner of my eye and turn my head, looking through the picture window. I grin when I see our SUV pulling into the driveway. I watch as Chandler plucks the kids out of their car seats, first Jack, then somehow managing to free Erica one-handed.

"What?" Ross asks, looking up from the album when he realizes I've been silent for a while.

"They're home."

Ross looks out the window, popping up when he sees Chandler's arms full of babies, opening the front door for him. "Hey," Ross says, giving the twins each a kiss. Chandler grins at his brother-in-law as he puts them on the floor.

"Go say hi to Mama."

I smile at them, even as my eyes grow wide as they run at me.

Maybe run isn't completely accurate. They can hustle, but they can't really run. But still...looks pretty damn fast to me.

Regardless, I lean over as best I can, holding my arms out to them, a chorus of, "Mama!" greeting me before the twins ever do. I gather them into my arms, pulling them as close as I can, kissing their little heads.

"Hi, sweethearts! I love you." I'm answered by giggles as I tickle their sides.

I feel Chandler's hand on my shoulder and I tilt my head back to see him, his lips meeting mine a moment later. "Hi, honey," he whispers to me.

"Hi. You're home later than usual."

"Got stuck in a few meetings." He kisses me again, and I hear Ross clear his throat; we part lips and look at him.

"As much fun as it is to watch you maul my little sister…" I can't help but roll my eyes; you'd think he'd be used to it by now. "I'm gonna get going, though."

"You don't have to rush off," Chandler says. "You can hang out and spend some time, if you want."

"Nah. It's not going to be just the four of you for much longer; get it while you can."

I reach my arm out for a hug, giving him a squeeze. "Thanks for schlepping all the way out here just to visit," I tell him, and he gives me a little pinch.

"Anytime." He gives Chandler a quick hug. "Take care of her. Let us know if anything happens." He drops to the floor, gathering the twins into his arms. "Bye bye, you two. Uncle Ross loves you." He stands, reaching out and giving my belly a gentle poke. "Be good." He pauses at the door, smiling at us. "Love you guys."

As the door closes behind him, Chandler shakes his head at me. "No words."

I just grin at him. "You know how emotional he gets during pregnancy."

"Pregnancy, weddings, engagements…doesn't seem to matter whose, though." He picks up Jack, plopping him on the couch next to me, then puts Erica on my other side. I wrap my arms around them and pull them in; Jack leans against me, his hand tapping against my belly. Erica stands up, facing me, and points.

"Bah!"

"What's 'bah,' Erica? I don't know what that is." She makes a face and bounces up and down for a moment. "Are you hungry?...Tired?...Cranky-pants?" She furrows her forehead, slumping against the arm of the chair. It must be frustrating to be that age—being able to understand what's being asked, but not able to answer. "How about a kiss from Mommy? I know that's what Mommy wants." I lean in and kiss her cheek, making sure to make extra-puckery sounds, causing her to laugh. She leans against me, her arm draping across my chest, and I feel like I could melt. These two kill me. I give Jack a little squeeze, and I hear him softly say, "Mama."

"He sounds sleepy," I say to Chandler.

"When does he not?"

"Good point."

"You need anything while I'm up?"

I shrug, kissing the top of Erica's head. "Just some water."

"Okay—be right back."

I watch him walk into the kitchen and sigh. I lean my head against my daughter's as she burrows into my side, her legs giving out until she slumps down next to me; amazingly, it seems like she wants to nap.

I hear Jack whine and my eyes fly open, looking around for a minute. I look out the window; the sun suddenly looks much lower in the sky. I go to wipe my face and realize both of my arms are still wrapped around my kids. Erica's snoring softly, and Jack's just making noises as he snoozes. An afghan has been draped over the three of us. I blink a few times before saying, "Chandler?" I know a baby monitor has to be close by.

A few seconds later he appears from his office area in the den rubbing his eyes, his glasses perched on top of his head. "Hey, honey."

"What happened?" I ask, still feeling wildly disoriented.

He comes over to the couch, kissing my forehead. "I came out of the kitchen and you were passed out, the gremlins, too. I didn't see much sense in waking you up because I know you and sleep are not exactly on best of terms right now. And the three of you looked so cute all curled up together like that. Anyway, then I got a call from work and I've been doing that for the last hour, almost hour and a half." He bends down and scoops up Jack, who blinks at him sleepily.

I groan a little, yawning. "They'll never get to sleep tonight."

Chandler grimaces a little as he tries to ease Jack into wakefulness without getting him agitated. "Sorry about that."

I shrug, shifting Erica, who's eyes fly open, instantly alert. "Nothing to be done about it now. You had to work—what else were you supposed to do? I'm the one who fell asleep."

He rolls his eyes at me. "How dare you? You're only nearly forty weeks pregnant. It's simply unacceptable for you to sleep whenever you get the chance."

I cringe as the baby moves, sliding onto my bladder. I pass off Erica, then pull myself into a standing position as quickly as possible. "Oh, God. That made it worse." I hustle into the bathroom.

Some people like to claim that women's bodies are designed for pregnancy—to that, I invite anyone one of those people to be in their ninth month of pregnancy with a full grown infant situated directly on their bladder and see if they can sit down on a toilet in a hurry.

It's fun.

My poor husband has heard more about the strange functions of a woman's body in the last few months than he heard in our first six years together combined. If he finds me at all attractive when this whole thing is over, I'll be shocked as hell.

I stand up, one hand bracing my back which suddenly seems to be tensed up. I flinch as I wash my hands, trying to adjust my standing position so that my back won't feel so bad. I run a hand over my stomach and whisper, "It's okay. You won't be in there much longer."

I walk into the kitchen, still rubbing my stomach—the twins are already in their high chairs, waiting for dinner. Erica bangs her hands on her tray when she sees me; Jack sticks his empty spoon in his mouth. Chandler kisses my cheek, smoothing the hair back from my face.

"You don't look so hot."

"Thanks, honey. I love you, too."

"No, I'm serious. Are you okay?"

I ease myself into one of the kitchen chairs, sighing. "My back hurts. Shocking, I know. And I'm just tired."

"Why don't you go lie down?"

"And leave you alone with the Dynamic Duo for supper? That's not fair."

The sound of the blender fills the kitchen as Chandler purees a bunch of food together—it became much simpler to just feed them what we're eating instead of those tiny little jars of baby food, and they seem to prefer this. Once the food is done, he turns back to me with an eyebrow raised. "I think we're past the point of fair/not fair, don't you? I mean, you're lugging around an actual child inside of you—I think you sort of have a 'Get Out Of Jail Free' card."

"At any rate, I don't know that lying down will help my back at this point. I think getting the human out of me is what's going to do the trick. I'll just sit here and hang out with you guys, if you don't mind."

"Never. We always like Mommy's company, don't we, guys?"

I do let him take care of the feeding part though I convince myself I'm there as back up, even though I keep nodding off. More than once I feel his hand on my shoulder—not to wake me but to brace me so I don't fall out of the chair.

"Seriously, hon—you want to keep fighting sleep?"

"Does it really look like I'm fighting it?" I ask as I yawn, stretching my arms and arching my back. A moment later, I gasp out in pain, one hand going to my back, the other on my stomach.

Chandler immediately flies to attention. "Are you okay?"

I take a few short, gasping breaths, trying to force myself to breathe deeply; the pain is intense, but bearable. "I think so."

"Was that…are you…?"

"A contraction?" I finish for him, and he nods, suddenly looking panicked. "Maybe. I don't know. I've never done this." A few moments later, the pain subsides some and I force my body to relax.

"What did it feel like?"

I pause, not really knowing to describe it. "I don't know. Sort of like something squeezing me."

"Have you felt it before?"

All of the information I've learned from books and birthing classes over the last few months suddenly flies out the window, my mind going blank. "I don't think so."

"Does anything else hurt?"

I shake my head, biting my lip in worry. "No. Just my back. But…" I stop and really force myself to think about it, focusing on how exactly my back has hurt lately. "I guess…it's kind of been coming and going. Sort of like waves. Just cramping up from time to time. I didn't think about it, though."

He takes my hands in his; I can feel him shaking. "What do you want to do?"

"Should we go to the hospital?"

"Doesn't the first stage of labor take hours?"

"It can. Though it's possible that the backaches were the first stage of labor. Sometimes that part happens without a lot of fanfare."

"So…what you just felt could be the second stage?"

I shrug, my eyes filling with tears, feeling helpless. "Maybe?"

He wipes my eyes, keeping his hands on my cheeks. "It's also possible for labor to happen really fast, right?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's different all the time. That's why all of the books say that you'll feel X, Y, and Z, unless you only feel Y and Z, or maybe just X, or whatever."

"So, I guess…we could sit here and panic and freak out, or we could go to the hospital and find out that it's nothing. I mean, what's the worse they'll do? Send us home and tell us to wait?"

I take a few more deep breaths, looking over at the clock, suddenly feeling wholly unprepared for this. "Why don't...why don't we wait and see if I feel it again, and then we'll go from there."

Chandler looks at me doubtfully. "Are you sure?"

I nod, closing my eyes. "Yeah. It could have been a fluke."

He still doesn't look convinced, but he says nothing. I look over at Jack and Erica who, though they're still eating, look alarmed. "Mama's okay," I tell them, trying to smile. "Your little brother or sister just might be coming into the world soon." I lean forward and kiss their heads. "It's okay." I stand up, pulling a couple of garbage bags out of the pantry.

"What are you doing?"

"If I am in labor, then I'm not going to risk having my water break all over the front seat of our car."

I hear him snort before breaking out into laughter. "I love you, Monica."

I open my mouth, all set to be indignant, when I realize exactly how it sounded, and why exactly it was funny. It was just so "Monica." "Oh, ha ha ha, Monica likes things clean."

He shakes his head, still laughing. "Not just that—it's that you're possibly in labor and you're thinking about keeping our car clean."

"Well, I don't want to have to clean up a bunch of amniotic fluid after giving birth, and I'm positive that you don't, either."

He winces, looking a little grossed out. "Yeah, that sounds kind of disgusting." He smiles at me softly and sighs. "So, how do we pass the time?"

I shrug, folding, unfolding, and refolding the bags in my hands. "I don't know. This feels worse than waiting for the pregnancy test."

He starts cleaning up the kids' dinner stuff, and I go behind him, wiping things down.

"Are you hungry?" he finally asks, desperate for something to do, but I just shake my head.

"No. I mean, if this is actually happening now, I probably should eat, but…no."

"How long has it been? Any idea?"

I glance at the microwave clock again. "About ten minutes."

He groans, but says nothing, instead pulling Jack out of his high chair and passing him to me, Erica not far behind. We walk into the living room and I pace back and forth, trying to kill time, also aware that sometimes a walk can help the process along. Pacing is about as close to walking as I can get right now.

Aside from the twins chattering occasionally, the room is quiet. I look at the clock again—almost twenty minutes have gone by, and I feel myself start to relax a bit. "It's been a while, honey. Even if it's labor, if it hasn't happened by now, we're probably okay for a whi—ow. Ow. Ow ow ow ow ow! Spoke too soon," I grunt out, trying to keep my voice calm, not wanting to scare Jack, who's still in my arms.

Chandler appears by my side, holding my arm gently, trying to steer me to the couch. "It's okay. It's okay."

I try to force myself to breathe deeply and to not squeeze my child who, despite my best efforts, looks like he's on the verge of tears. I sit down on the arm of the couch, trying to will my body to relax, and failing miserably for the most part. "I think…maybe…we should go to the hospital. Just in case." I take a few more deep breaths—or as deep as I can manage right now. "Do we have everything we need?"

Chandler nods, Erica still on his hip, my other hand gripped in his. "Your bag is in the front closet; the new car seat is already in the car; we have diapers and clothes and a new crib…"

I nod, looking over at Jack, smiling. "You ready to be a big brother?"

His eyes grow wide as he smiles back at me. "Bahdah?"

I look at Chandler, who looks impressed despite his worry. "That's close, Jack. Brother." He takes my arm again, helping me stand. "Want me to call your parents?"

We decided a while ago that when this happened, we'd call my parents first, if only so that they could come take the twins while I was in labor. After that, it'd be a crapshoot as to who got the call next. Sadly, at least one friend would be offended that they weren't called first—sad when the birth of our child becomes about not insulting people.

"No, I'll call them. That way no one can claim you haven't been impartial." I pull out my cell phone, and Chandler grabs my hand—I look up at him, and he smiles at me gently.

"This could be it."

I nod, feeling my insides flutter. "You're very calm, all things considered." I give his fingers a squeeze.

"I won't be for long. We'll get you to the hospital and I'll go to pieces."

I press my forehead against his chest for a moment. I feel Erica pat the top of my head as she says, "Bahdah."

Chandler chuckles. "No, little butt. You're going to be a big sister. Sister."

She scrunches up her face. "Tihtah?"

"Close enough for now," I tell her, flipping open my phone, finding my parents number. As the phone rings, Chandler gets my bag out of the closet and heads to the car.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mom. Could you meet me and Chandler at the hospital? I think—"

I'm interrupted by her gasping. "Is it time?"

"I don't know. We're going to the hospital to see what's going on; if you could just meet us there in case we need you to take the twins—"

"We're on our way." The phone goes silent and I sigh, heading out the door, too, not sure if I'm hoping this is really it or if it's a false alarm.

"Jack; Mommy shouldn't be more calm about this than Nana."

He giggles and blows a raspberry—I think he agrees.

I just hope I can maintain this for a while.

*A/N…someone suggested something between just Ross and Monica…I hope this is close enough