Blessed
Chapter Three
For the next few weeks, Monica and Chandler were supported by their very best friends as they adjusted to the idea that they may never have children. Chandler had been a rock for Monica throughout the entire ordeal. Although he was devastated by the news, he knew that Monica was terrifies by knowing that she couldn't have the one thing she lacked in her life - a child. She yearned to be a mother, just as Chandler yearned to be a father. Of course that hadn't always been true, but being with Monica made him see how much he wanted to father her children and raise a successful family with her. They had each had problems with their own parents, and they had been looking forward to becoming better at the whole concept of parenthood for their own children. Now it seemed as if they'd never have the chance.
One night, after a long evening of work, Monica arrived home and greeted Chandler with the biggest smile he'd seen on her face in months.
"I'm assuming you had a good night," he said, then kissed her gently as she joined him on the couch.
"You might say that," she grinned. "I had a very interesting chat with one of the girls at the restaurant."
"Really? About what?" he asked curiously, wondering what could have possibly brought on this good mood.
"Adoption," she replied simply.
"Adoption?"
"Yes. She and her husband just adopted the most adorable little boy. She showed me tons of pictures. He's so cute... And her husband is close friends with a social worker. She said she could put us in touch with her. I know it would be really hard to adopt a baby, but there are tons of kids out there who need good homes. She thinks we'd make great parents. What do you think, Chandler? Could we give it a try?"
"Monica, I know we've talked about adoption, but we can't get our hopes up. They don't just hand out kids to anyone who wants one."
"I know that, but we'd be perfect parents. I'm sure they'd pick us... And there's no way to know unless we try," she smiled hopefully.
He returned her smile with one of his own and took her hand in his. He hadn't seen her this excited in a long time. We wanted to make her happy, but if things didn't work out, she'd be heartbroken once again. But, like she said, there was no way to know unless they tried. "All right," he answered. Monica's face lit up once again and she leaned over to kiss him. "But, Monica, I don't want you to be hurt again. If it's meant to be, we'll have a child, okay?"
"Okay," she replied quietly, understanding exactly what he was talking about. She knew that this wasn't a sure thing, but lately she was convinced that nothing in life was a sure thing. Besides, if this didn't work out, she was already prepared for the worst. She'd already suffered that.
==========
Going into the whole adoption process, Monica and Chandler knew that it was very likely that the process would be a long one. For months, they went through everything from the letter writing and interviews to the waiting and hoping. Rachel had given birth to a healthy baby girl, Megan, and Monica had been doing quite a bit of baby-sitting. Being with her made Monica wish for a child even more.
During one of these baby-sitting sessions, Monica was surprised when Chandler showed up at home much sooner than expected.
"Monica, I have wonderful news!" he said breathlessly. It was obvious that he had rushed home.
"Shh... Megan's sleeping in the guest room. What is it?" she asked.
"Lauren called," he stated simply.
"Lauren? Lauren as in our social worker Lauren?" she asked wide-eyed.
"That's the one. She had some really good news." At that, he stopped.
"Well? Go on!" she urged.
"There's a little girl - for us, maybe," he smiled brightly. "Her name is Katie, and she's four years old. She'd been in and out of six foster homes since she was a year old."
"Oh..." Monica sighed, unable to control her emotions. She found herself beginning to cry, thinking about what that little girl had been through with no sense of stability for most of her life. "What happened to her parents?"
"They were killed in a car accident when she was one. There was no will, and no family to take her in, so she's been all alone... Well, not literally."
"The poor little girl," Monica said quietly. "Do we get to meet her?"
"Tonight at seven.
"Tonight? Are you kidding?!"
"Shh... Megan," he said, pointing toward the guest room. "I'm not kidding. Lauren's bringing her over. I told her it would be all right, but if you don't -"
"No! Of course it's all right... Oh, Chandler, it's really happening..."
