Chandler was sitting at his desk at work bored out of his mind. He had just won the game Hearts for what seemed like the gazillionth time on his computer. He glanced at the clock on the wall and was happy to see that he would be able to leave in another hour. It was Matthew's sixteenth birthday and Chandler was anxious to get out of the office. There was going to be a small party with just family and a few friends from school. Monica and Chandler had originally planned on throwing a big party, but Matthew told them he would rather just spend a quiet night a home. His parents thought it was a little odd but they respected his wishes. Chandler smiled to himself, wondering how Matthew would react to the brand new car he bought for the special occasion. He couldn't wait to see the look on his face.
A few seconds later, Chandler's assistant buzzed into the intercom.
"Mr. Bing, your wife is on line two."
"Ok, thanks Melissa." He replied, as he picked up the phone. "Hi, honey." He said into the receiver.
"Hey! How is your day going?" She asked him.
"Boring as usual. I can't wait to get out of here. Were you able to wrap all the presents for Matthew?"
"Yes, everything, except for the car." She replied, laughing.
"Well, I'm going to be leaving in about an hour. Is there anything you need for me to pick up on the way home?"
"Just the kids. Austin is at baseball practice and Kayley is at dance class. Will that be too much out of your way?"
"Not at all. So we'll see you at home then."
"Okay, sweetie. Love you."
"Love you too. Bye."
It was a little after 6:00 and Monica had just put up the final decorations for the party. The house looked wonderful. And even though she knew it wasn't a big party, she still wanted the house to be festive. It was a special occasion, after all. A few minutes after she took the pot roast out of the oven, fifteen month old Abigail came into the kitchen, having just woken up from her nap. She was carrying a little blanket that Chandler had given her when she was about six months old. And these days she never went anywhere without it.
"Well hello there!" Monica smiled as she picked her daughter up. "We need to get you dressed for your brother's party, don't we!" She was headed back towards Abigail's room when she heard the doorbell ring. "Matthew, could you get that, sweetheart? I think its your dad, and he may need a hand."
Matthew came down the stairs to answer the door. "Okay, mom. I got it." He replied, as he opened it.
"Happy Birthday!" Chandler happily exclaimed.
"Thanks, dad!" Matthew smiled.
He opened the door a little further to reveal Austin, Kayley, and his step mother, Sheryl all standing on the front porch holding gifts. They all walked in hugging him and wishing him a happy birthday.
"Where's Monica?" Chandler asked.
"I'm right here." Monica replied as she walked into the foyer holding Abigail. She greeted Chandler, Sheryl and the kids as she placed Abigail back on the floor. "You guys got here just in time. I took the pot roast out just a few minutes ago."
They all walked into the kitchen and began to chat about nothing too important. Sheryl helped Monica get all of the plates ready and the table situated.
"Where is John?" Chandler asked, as he wrestled with his four year old daughter.
"Unfortunately he's on call tonight. He tried to get someone to cover his shift, but one of the other doctors was having back surgery. But hopefully he will be here soon if nothing too serious is keeping him there." She looked back over at Chandler and smiled as she watched him playing with his daughter. He was such a great father, and he had been so wonderful to Matthew.
They had told him the truth about his paternity when he was seven years old. They didn't tell him how he was conceived until a few years later, but when he was seven they thought he should know the truth about Chandler not being his biological father. That was around the same time that Sheryl had given birth to Austin, so they figured they would kill two birds with one stone by explaining to Matthew about biological relationships. It didn't seem to affect him that much because he was so used to having Chandler as his father. He knew how much he was loved by both of his parents, even though he had no recollection of them ever being anything more than friends. Shortly after Matthew's fourth birthday, when Monica had agreed to let Chandler be Matthew's father, they decided it was for the best to end their marriage. They knew they would always have a special place in their hearts for each other, but salvaging what was left of their friendship seemed to be more important than risking it all together for another shot at a romantic relationship. Two years later, Chandler married Sheryl, who ironically, Monica had set him up with. Monica wanted more than anything for Chandler to be happy, and Chandler felt the same about Monica. Unfortunately she hadn't been as lucky. She had been in a few relationships since the divorce but nothing serious. Then she had met John, and the two were married only five months later. Even though they liked John a great deal, Chandler and Sheryl had both hoped Monica hadn't rushed into anything. But it had been six years now and Monica and John were very happy together. Monica had always known she wanted more children, but it had taken her five years to get pregnant again. She had just about given up hope when she learned she was pregnant with Abigail. Being the baby and all, the whole family spoiled her to pieces. She was an adorable little girl who looked exactly like Monica had as a child. Abbey and Kayley were very close, despite their age difference; as were Austin and Matthew.
They had all just sat down to dinner when John walked in, wearing his scrubs from the hospital. He walked over and gave Monica a kiss on the lips and kissed Abbey on the forehead.
"Happy birthday, Matthew." He told his step-son, as he patted his shoulders. "Hey everyone." He told them as he went over to the sink to wash his hands.
"Your food is in the oven, hon." Monica told him.
"Okay, thanks babe." John said as he reached in and pulled out his plate. He walked over to join everyone at the table.
Everyone had a great time at dinner, just as they always did. It was extended families at its best. After dinner, they all went outside so Chandler could surprise Matthew with the new car. Monica grabbed her camera and snapped a few shots of her son's reaction. He was very shocked and very excited about his father's gift. While the girls retreated back into the house, all the guys decided to take the car for a test spin around the neighborhood. It had turned out to be a really glorious birthday, and Monica was so happy that her son was happy.
A few weeks after the party, Monica was spending the day at home with Abbey just doing her usual thing like cleaning, ironing, playing with her daughter. After her daughter's birth, she had given up her job at the restaurant to be a full time mom. She wanted to devote all of her attention to both Matthew and Abbey, and now she could afford to do that being married to a doctor. She had just put Abbey down for a nap and turned on the TV. She didn't really watch much TV these days, and when she did it mostly revolved around kid related programs. She put her feet up on the coffee table and let out a sigh. It had been a long day and Matthew would be home from school any minute wanting some kind of snack. She flipped through the channels, then stopped on the news.
"Charges have been brought against another person in the Beth Israel hospital suit." The newswoman reported. Monica frowned, wondering what kind of suit was pending. She turned up the volume a little and kept listening. "The hospital has still made no statement regarding the death of fifteen year old Tasha Kinney earlier this summer. Kinney died after a blood transfusion due to her hospital records listing the wrong blood type in her file. For more information, log onto our website…"
"Mom, I'm home." Matthew yelled from the front door. He walked into the family room and saw him other sitting on the couch with a strange look on her face. "Mom, are you okay?"
"I don't know." She replied, swallowing hard. She stood up and walked toward the office on the other side of the house. Matthew followed her. "Mom? What are you doing?"
"Something on the news just now. It was really disturbing."
"Well yeah. All they talk about on the news is how many people died today. That is disturbing." He replied as he watched her logging onto the computer. A few seconds later, she pulled up the file she was looking for and started reading aloud.
"Fifteen year old Tasha Marie Kinney died after complications June 17."
"Mom, who is that? Do we know her?"
"Shhh." Monica said, then continued reading. "Her family has filed a wrongful death suit against Beth Israel Hospital where she was born. Shortly after her birth, a paternity test was performed and claimed her as type A blood. In actuality, she was B type, and due to the wrong information in her chart died after receiving an A blood transfusion after a car accident. The family has reason to believe that Roman Heuer, a hospital employee working at Beth Israel in 2001, somehow tampered with her test results as an infant. Heuer had been fired from the hospital in 2001, but no word yet on why he was let go from his job. He was arrested earlier this month." Monica stopped. She was starting to feel a knot in her stomach.
"Mom, what is this about? Wasn't I born there?" Matthew asked, after watching her face continue to grow more and more pale.
"Call your father. Go call Chandler right now and tell him to get over here right away." She told him, practically on the verge of tears.
Matthew ran into the kitchen and dialed his father's number at work. Chandler answered a minute later.
"Dad…" Matthew started, quite frantic.
"Matty? What is it?? Is it your mother?" Chandler asked, concerned.
"Yes. No, I don't know. Something is going on and she is freaking out. She said you need to get over here right away."
"Okay. I'm on my way." Chandler replied, already half way out of his office.
He arrived at Monica's house a short time later and Matthew told him she was still in the office reading old news articles. Chandler went in and saw how upset she looked.
"Mon? What is going on?"
"Have you heard anything about this law suit against Beth Israel."
"No, not really. Why?"
"Chandler, you have got to read this." She looked up at him, as she handed him one of the articles she had printed out. She watched him as he carefully began to read over it. After a few moments he looked up from the paper.
"Do you think…How could this….I can't believe this!" He exclaimed.
"I know." She said, standing up. "How come no one has mentioned this? I mean what if his test results were switched too and you ARE his biological father?"
"Let's not jump the gun here. I think we should go to the hospital and get another test right now."
"Okay, let me call John and tell him we're on our way." Monica told him.
"I'm going to call Sheryl as well."
An hour later, Monica, Chandler and Matthew were sitting in a hospital waiting room. The test had been performed and now they were just waiting for the results. Monica couldn't believe that Matthew could actually be Chandler's son. It made her sick to think that someone had intentionally switched paternity test results. Those results had altered her life in so many ways she didn't even care to think about anymore. She had accepted those results and learned to live with them. Even though they were the major player in her divorce to Chandler, she had accepted that. She glanced over at Chandler and wondered what he was thinking. And she wondered what her son was thinking for that matter. Chandler, like her, was very nervous about getting the new results. He couldn't help but think if Matthew turned out to be his son if that would change things. If it would make him start feeling guilty again for walking out on Monica that night sixteen years ago. He knew if the results had shown that night Matthew was his son, he never would have left her and they would probably still be married now. He didn't know that for certain, but part of him thought that would be the case. He was scared, and he didn't know what he wanted the results to say, even though he knew he had no control either way.
A little while later, a nurse came into the waiting area and handed Monica the envelope containing the results. She looked at Chandler and Matthew, waiting for them to give her the go ahead. She slowly pulled the paper out of the envelope and looked over the results. Moments later her eyes filled with tears, but neither Chandler nor Matthew knew if they were tears of joy or sadness. She let the paper fall to the ground, then angrily shouted "Damn it!" before racing off toward the ladies room. Chandler picked up the piece of tear stained paper off of the floor and glanced down to look at it. He was sure he knew what the results were based on her reaction. Matthew was in fact is biological son, and he knew Monica was upset for the same reason he was upset. Because they hadn't known the truth all along. Matthew was confused. He didn't understand his mother's anger.
"Why was she so mad? Didn't she want me to be your's?" He asked Chandler.
"Of course she did. Does. This just brings up a lot of old memories for both of us. And I think she is feeling a little sad right now. That we didn't know this all along." He told him. He didn't want Matthew to ever know the paternity test had anything to do with him walking out on Monica. He couldn't bare for his son to know what he had done.
Monica returned a few minutes later, embracing Matthew. "Are you okay?" She asked him.
"I'm fine, mom. Are you okay?"
"Yes. I'm sorry about that. There were just so many emotions inside of me and they all came out at once."
"It's okay. I'm going to get a soda. I'll be back in a few minutes." Matthew told her as he began walking down the hallway.
"Do you think he is okay?" She asked Chandler.
"I think so. I mean I'm the only dad he has known anyway, so I don't see that things will really change now."
"Yeah, you're right. Thank God this wasn't the other way around. He would be devestated." Monica replied.
"Mon, are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes." She nodded. "I was just thinking about how I've always thought he looked so much like you. I mean why didn't I see this years ago? Why didn't I ask for a second test after the birth? What kind of idiot am I?"
"This is not your fault, Monica. I'm the idiot who even brought up the test in the first place. If I had just listened to you when you said it was my child none of this would have happened."
"I just can't help but think how our life would be different if we knew the truth from the start." She said, as tears began to form again.
"We can't think like that. Lots of events have brought us to where we are today. Not just that one thing."
"I know. I guess I just always believed that somehow…I don't know..in the end that we would be together again."
Chandler pulled Monica close to him and embraced her tightly. "I'm always going to love you. You know that. But you deserve so much more than what I had to offer. And you and John are perfect together."
"I'm always going to love you too, Chandler. And I'm just glad we know the truth now. I mean there is no more truth for us to know. Its all out now."
"Right." He told her, smiling. "And we are very lucky that Matthew is safe and healthy. He could have been the one in that accident with the wrong blood type on file. He could have been the one who died. I guess I never realized how fragile life is until this moment."
Monica looked up at him and smiled. "I'm really happy he's your son."
"I'm really happy he's your son." He echoed, smiling down at her.