TOW The Past Isn't At Rest Chapter 15: This Love Will Last, a friends fanfic

TOW The Past Isn't At Rest – Chapter 15

"This Love Will Last"

AN: Okay, sorry this took so long – life has been crazy lately. It might be a little rushed, but I just really wanted this part written and DONE! Hope you enjoy…

The next day…

Rachel walked into the apartment and closed the door behind her, her expression telling Monica that she was ready for a tell-all.

"Sooo?"

Monica dried her hands on a towel and walked over to lean on the back of the couch, facing Rachel, who still stood in front of the door.

"So?" she repeated innocently, trying to sound casual, but knowing that her voice probably told her best friend all she needed to know.

"Come on, Mon. You have to tell me about last night! You and Chandler…remember?"

Monica tried unsuccessfully to hide the smile that crept across her face at the mention of his name. Deciding that any pretension of not wanting to talk about it would be lost on Rachel Green, Monica sighed and sat down on the couch.

"Hmmm…me and Chandler. That does sound vaguely familiar."

"Did you have fun?" Rachel asked more quietly, ignoring the sarcasm in Monica's statement as she walked over to sit in the armchair. She couldn't help but smile at the look on Monica's face. She hadn't seen her friend so happy in a long time.

Monica collapsed against the back of the couch and sighed.

"Rach, I'm in love. It's just that simple."

"That good, huh?"

"That good. I think…I think I fell in love with him all over again while we were trying to get things back on track. Watching him with Emma every day…remembering all of the things about him that made me love him from the beginning and realizing that there are even more reasons to adore him now..." Monica trailed off, lost in her thoughts for a moment. She snapped back to attention when her gaze fell on Rachel, whose smile made it evident that she shared in her best friend's joy. Monica smiled too, and gave an exaggerated sigh before continuing. "And then, last night…It was just right. Like things were like they were always meant to be. It was amazing."

"This is how things were always meant to be. You guys just took a detour."

Monica sighed again, her smile disappearing as she looked down at the bare ring finger of her left hand.

"I hope that's all it was."

Not wanting to allow Monica to entertain any thoughts that it might not work out with Chandler again this time around, Rachel decided to bring the conversation back to its original purpose – a fact-finding mission.

"So…Emma spent the night with Ross, right…?"

Chandler spotted the blonde head at a table across the room, and made his way over to her. She was engrossed in the menu and didn't see him coming until he sat down in the empty chair across the table and pulled the paper down so he could see her face.

"Hey Phoebs."

Phoebe grinned and put the menu down. "Hey Chandler. Sorry, I was trying to decide if I want carrot salad or tofu with bean sprouts."

Chandler frowned, neither choice appealing to him.

"This place does have…regular food…doesn't it?"

"Oh, sure. They have soyburgers."

Chandler made a face and picked up his menu, relieved to see a long list of burgers and sandwiches on the first page. He quickly decided on a turkey club, just as the waiter came up to take their orders. When their waiter left the table, Chandler sat back in his chair and looked at Phoebe expectantly. He had a vague idea of why she had called him at work that morning and asked if he wanted to meet for lunch.

"So, Phoebs, what's new with you?"

"Oh, guess what! Frank Jr. took the triplets to the circus on Monday and little girl Chandler decided she wants to be a lion tamer. So, Frank has been setting hula hoops on fire for her – you remember how he likes to set things on fire – and having Frank Three and Leslie jumping through them so she can practice. She's really good – for a three-year-old anyway."

"Really?" Chandler commented, trying to look interested and not horrified. It took all the strength he had not to make a joke, especially since Phoebe delivered the whole story completely deadpan. He cleared his throat and took a sip of the water the waiter had just put in front of him on the table.

"Yeah. So, that's been exciting. You know, fire and all." Phoebe shivered with delight as she recalled the scene. "So, what about you? How was your date?"

There it was. More casual than he expected, and she even managed to pull off a slightly disinterested tone. He shook his head slightly and smiled, a blush tinting his features as he looked at the table, embarrassed.

"It was great."

Phoebe narrowed her eyes. Surely Chandler knew better than to think he was going to get off this easy.

"Did you have sex?"

Chandler nearly choked on the piece of ice he was chewing on, and looked at Phoebe incredulously. Phoebe was immediately on the defensive, staring right back at Chandler like she had every right to know.

"What? We made bets! And you might as well tell me the truth, because Rachel's talking to Monica as we speak, and you know Rachel won't back down until she has all of the gossip."

"You guys bet on whether or not Monica and I were going to sleep together?"

"Well…" Phoebe was looking anywhere but at Chandler. "The bet was actually on how many times…"

Chandler choked again and started coughing furiously. It was several minutes before he could look at Phoebe with watery eyes.

"We did not have sex," he said reproachfully. "But if we had, that's between me and Monica. It has absolutely nothing to do with anybody else."

Phoebe looked down at the table, sufficiently remorseful. They were both silent, until Phoebe finally lifted her eyes to see Chandler squirming in his seat across from her. A grin spread across her face as she realized that it wasn't embarrassment making him squirm.

"You're wondering what the bets were, aren't you?"

Chandler flushed and glared at her, then shifted his gaze back to the table as he mumbled his answer plaintively.

"Yes…"

"Joey, do we have to keep talking about this? Chandler and I did not have sex last night. Why would I lie about it?"

Joey shrugged, narrowing his eyes at Monica. "Because you and Chandler like to keep secrets from us. And you like to pull the rest of us into your little games."

Monica rolled her eyes and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge.

"First of all, you all know that we went out last night. So that's not a secret. And, if I told you something that we were keeping a secret from everyone else, I'd make you keep it a secret too, and you hated it the last time we made you do that."

Joey's eyes widened as he remembered the first few months of Chandler and Monica's initial relationship, and he jumped out of his chair, pointing a finger at Monica.

"Oh, no you don't. I don't want to hear anything. As far as I'm concerned you two can be celery for the rest of your lives."

Monica squinted at Joey, thinking.

"You mean celibate?"

"Yeah, that. Does that mean not having sex?"

"Yeah, that's the one. But I don't think Chandler and I will—"

"Uh uh! Not listening. Don't want to know!"

Joey covered his ears and closed his eyes, singing loudly so he couldn't hear anything. Monica laughed and tossed one of Emma's stuffed animals at him, hitting him squarely in the nose. Joey opened his eyes, startled, and frowned at her.

"What was that for?"

"Just 'cause I love you, Joey. Come on, we'll make a deal. I promise not to talk about sex anymore if you promise, too."

Joey sighed, relieved. "I promise."

Monica had to hide a chuckle. Reverse psychology at its best.

"So, tell me what's new with Joey Tribbiani. How's Days going?"

"Oh, you'll never guess what's going to happen to me next week!"

Monica remained silent, waiting for Joey to continue. He watched her for a minute, waiting, then leaned forward in frustration.

"I said you'll never guess, not don't even try to guess!"

Chandler was staring at the clock on his desk, counting the seconds until he could log off of his computer and leave the office. The sooner he left, the sooner he would be at Monica's, assuring her that he'd been thinking of nothing but her all day long and hearing all about her day. He wondered if their friends had been questioning her like Phoebe had questioned him, and he smiled as he imagined what she might have told them about the date. He'd have to stop by Rachel and Joey's and coerce Rachel into spilling Monica's opinion of the night.

4:40. In three more minutes, he could turn off his computer and walk out of his office, and no one would give him a dirty look for leaving "early". A few months ago, he wouldn't have gotten a second glance if he left at 3:15, but he'd become somewhat of a workaholic after Emma was born – his motivation being a combination of wanting to provide well for his daughter and having something – anything – to keep his mind off the fact that Monica was planning a wedding to Richard. Even after she called off the wedding, he had kept working the regular 8 to 5 hours, just to help ensure that Emma would be fairly stable financially. Not that he didn't still goof off, but…he did it more discreetly, and it was far less likely to find him at Central Perk at 10:00 on a Wednesday morning.

He was just reaching for the power button on his monitor when his secretary – loyal, faithful Helen – buzzed him to let him know he had a visitor. Chandler had to bite his tongue to keep from asking her why she had told whoever it was that he was still there. Instead, he sighed deeply and told Helen to send the visitor in. He glanced at one of the pictures of Emma on his desk, hoping it wouldn't be long until he was seeing his daughter and her mother. He was thinking distractedly that he should put the picture of him and Monica that used to grace his desk back up when the door opened and he snapped to attention, just in case it was Doug or someone else "important".

Ross. Thank God.

"Hey, man. I was just getting ready to leave. Come on, we'll take my car."

Ross grinned. "Going my way, are you?"

Chandler rolled his eyes. Here we go again…

"Yes, I'm heading to the apartment building right across from you. Number 20, I think it is. Ever been there?"

"You know, Chandler, sometimes you're too sarcastic for your own good."

"Hmmm…you think? Come on, let's go."

Ross followed him out of the office and over to the elevator. Chandler jabbed several times at the down button and shifted his weight impatiently as he waited for the doors to open. Feeling Ross's eyes on him, he smiled sheepishly and stammered some kind of excuse.

"I…can't wait to see her. I've been thinking about her all day."

Ross accepted the statement with a smile, and stepped in to the elevator when the doors opened.

"So I take it last night went well?"
Chandler grinned and leaned against the wall.

"Well isn't the word. It was…perfect."

Ross nodded and smiled, but remained silent until they stepped out of the elevator and out onto the sidewalk. As they walked toward the nearby parking garage to retrieve the BMW Chandler had bought when he moved out of the city, Chandler spoke quietly.

"Ross…if you came here to give me a "big brother" speech, you don't need to. I'm not going to ruin it again if I can help it…and I'll do anything in my power to keep her from getting hurt."

"I know. And you're right, that was my original intent for this little visit, but…I know how much you love her. And I know how much you love Emma. I don't think I need to threaten you to make sure you take care of them."

Chandler nodded, and there was a pause as they both mulled that over. Finally, Chandler turned to Ross and smiled.

"So, how was Emma last night? Did she give you any trouble?"

Ross rolled his eyes up toward heaven.

"I think that child has a bit too much of her father in her. But other than that obvious flaw, she was an angel as usual."

"Yeah, she's only an angel because her aunts and uncles spoil her rotten. She learned a long time ago that if she's cute and lovable she can have anything she wants."

"Oh, and Daddy has nothing to do with it, huh?"

Chandler raised his hands in surrender. "Point taken."
"Lucky for both of you Monica's her mother and knows how to keep her cute and lovable."

"Yeah," Chandler replied distantly, his thoughts already across town. "Lucky for us."

Chandler opened the door to Monica's apartment quietly, feeling suddenly nervous. He was struck with fear that it would be awkward or uncomfortable…or that Monica wouldn't be as happy to see him as he was to see her. But as soon as he stepped through the door, his doubts disappeared.

Monica was sitting on the floor with Emma, helping her arrange some colored blocks in the design of Emma's choosing, both still oblivious to his presence. He watched them for a moment, thinking that he could stand there watching them for days on end and never get tired of it.

Swallowing away the lump in his throat, he closed the door, the sound making both of them look up. He watched as smiles spread across their faces, knowing that he was smiling back at them. This…this was what he wanted. He wanted to come home to them every night – to see their faces light up just because he was there, and to feel that warmth and security that he felt at just that moment as he looked down at Monica and their daughter. His family.

He jerked himself back to reality just in time to catch Emma as she lunged for him. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder in perfect contentment. Chandler held her tightly, feeling the same contentment as he caught Monica's eye across the room, sharing a smile with her before he turned his attention to Emma.

"Hi baby! How was your day?"
Emma pulled away enough to point to Monica, who had stood up and was watching them, a slight smile on her face.

"Mama?"

Chandler smiled at his daughter and kissed her cheek.

"Yeah, just rub it in that you got to stay with Mama all day while I had to go to work." Chandler put Emma down and lifted his eyes to Monica's face, his expression serious. "We should all be so lucky."

He caught the almost imperceptible blush that touched her cheeks at the statement, and took an almost involuntary step toward her before he changed his mind and lifted Emma back into his arms.

"Hey, Ems, you wanna go watch cartoons with Uncle Joey?"

"JOY!" Emma shouted gleefully, obviously pleased at the prospect of seeing her fun-loving "uncle". Chandler laughed at Emma's version of "Joey" and winked at Monica as he opened the door.

"Make sure he's not watching Baywatch!" Monica called as they walked out and he acknowledged the statement only with raised eyebrows. He knocked briefly on the door across the hall and walked in to find Joey sitting at the kitchen counter with a carton of ice cream.

"Hey Joe, will you watch Emma for a few minutes?"

Joey swallowed his mouthful and winced at the head rush.

"Sure. Where ya going?"

"Nowhere. I just…well, I want to talk to Monica alone for a minute."

Joey nodded knowingly and gave Chandler a sly grin as he took Emma.

"Yeah, baby…"

"Joey, just watch my daughter, please. And I promised her cartoons."

"No problem. SpongeBob SquarePants is on in five minutes." (AN: I have no idea what that is, but I've heard it's cute...) Joey noticed Chandler's look and paused, his brow furrowed. "I think I watch Emma too much."

Chandler shook his head and headed for the door, blowing a kiss to Emma which she returned. He paused in the hallway, knowing Monica was waiting for him, just a few feet away. In seconds, he was standing in front of her, reaching for her hand and pulling her a little closer to him.

"Hi," he whispered, reaching out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"Hi."

"I've been thinking about you all day."

"Me too. I couldn't wait for you to get here."

"Really?"

"Really."

"So…how many times did you clean the bathroom today?"

"Ummmm…four."

"Four? Really? You were anxious."

"Are we going to talk about bathrooms for much longer, because I was under the impression that you took Emma across the hall so you-"

Chandler cut her off with the kiss she was expecting, and she immediately melted against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting his hair sift through her fingers. Chandler cradled her face with one hand, the other arm circling her waist and holding her close. Monica finally pulled away, breathless, and opened her eyes to find Chandler smiling back at her, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Well, now that that's done, I'll go get Emma."

He teasingly turned to go, but Monica grabbed his arm and pulled him back to her. Chandler didn't need any encouragement to meet her lips again, and he sighed happily when they finally parted. He leaned forward slightly to brush his lips across her forehead and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. He couldn't believe they had only been "back together" for a day…he felt as if nothing had ever changed. Monica leaned against him, her head on his shoulder, perfectly content. Neither of them spoke for several minutes, until Monica shifted her position and reluctantly pulled away.

"We really should go get Emma. I don't want her to feel like we're ignoring her in favor of each other – first last night at Ross's and now Joey's."

"I know. I really will go get her now…I just wasn't sure how she would react if she saw us kissing, and I couldn't help myself…"

Monica smiled, her eyes lighting up at his words.

"You're so cute…" Monica whispered as she stroked his cheek gently.

Chandler smiled back and kissed her softly.

"You're kinda cute yourself, Geller."

Monica adjusted the bow on the last gift, and placed it with the rest of the pile that had overflowed from her closet over the past few days. They were treating Emma's first birthday like it was Christmas. When Emma woke up in the morning, they'd surprise her with a pile of presents, colorful balloons and banners, and a small cake – the big one would be for the party with their friends tomorrow night. After the festivities they had planned, Emma was sure to be unimpressed by "Santa Claus" in a few weeks. (AN: If Monica was two months pregnant in May – when Chandler was going to propose – that means Emma would have been born in December… and she was a couple of weeks early, so I guess we're talking around Thanksgiving sometime.)

"I think we're ready."

"Hmmm…you think?" Chandler asked sarcastically from his spot on Monica's bed. He'd been telling her they were ready for more than an hour, but Monica wanted everything to be perfect. So did Chandler, of course, but Emma was only a year old! How much of this was she even going to understand?

"Shut up, Chandler." Monica walked over to lie down next to him, putting her head on his shoulder and draping an arm over his chest. "Thank you for helping me."

Chandler smiled and kissed her, all sarcasm gone. "You don't have to thank me. She's my daughter, too."

"So now…I guess we just wait for her to wake up."

Chandler laughed at Monica's disappointed tone, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"You leave her alone…I don't want you "accidentally" waking her up by banging pots and pans around while you're "making breakfast".

Monica looked like she wanted to argue for a moment, but she finally shrugged and relented.

"Okay, I won't. Promise," she added when she saw Chandler's doubtful face, leaning forward to kiss him so he wouldn't question her further. "Well, I guess there's nothing else for us to do…"

"But go to sleep," Chandler finished, triumphantly flicking off the lamp on his side of the bed. Monica reluctantly reached for the light on her side, then let herself relax as Chandler's arms went around her, pulling her close as he kissed her softly.

"Just think about where we were a year ago, Mon. Both of us alone, both of us so hurt and angry. It's amazing how far we've come."

"Yeah…sometimes I still can't believe that all of this really happened. It just feels like it was all a bad dream when I'm lying here with you like this."

"Monica…if there had been no Emma, do you think you would have married Richard?"

Monica moved closer to him in the darkness, struggling to see his face in the dim light from the window. She stroked his cheek with one hand, hoping he would hear the truth in her answer.

"Of course not. Emma had nothing to do with Richard…I didn't marry him because you were the only man I could love."

"But…Emma was what held us together when we were trying so hard to pretend that we wanted nothing to do with each other. Sometimes, I think…if it hadn't been for her, we would have never found our way back."

Monica was silent, not daring to voice what she was thinking. But if Chandler wanted to think like that…she might have never even considered marrying Richard if she hadn't been pregnant and thinking that Chandler didn't even want marriage or a family. That would be blaming Emma for the whole mess, and that wasn't fair – or true.

"No…I think we would have. Emma might have been what physically held us together, but our hearts, Chandler…in our hearts, we were always tied together. Don't you think so?"

There was a long pause as Chandler thought about that. Finally he sighed and tightened his arms around her.

"Yeah, you're right. Not that it matters. We're here now, the three of us - together. It doesn't matter how we got here."

They were both silent for a long time. Monica thought Chandler was already asleep when he spoke softly.

"Monica, I don't want to play games anymore. After everything we've been through – the confusion over things said and things not said – it just seems stupid not to tell you how I feel."

Monica felt panic grip her heart. He sounded so serious…She was sure he was going to tell her that he didn't love her, not like he used to, and that he couldn't go on like this anymore. She was already on the verge of tears before he spoke again, this time in a whisper.

"I love you. I love you so much. I loved you from the beginning, and I loved you every second we were apart, and I love you even more now than I did when I first decided that I wanted to marry you. I love Emma…" His voice cracked, but there was only a split second pause before he went on, his voice strong and sure again. "…more than I thought I could love anyone in the world. And I realized a few months ago that all I really care about is coming home to the two of you, every day. Nothing else matters. Not Richard, not our mistakes, not whatever trick fate played on us…I'm ready, Monica. I'm ready to put the past to rest – completely. The past doesn't matter anymore. I want to think about my future…and I want it to be with you and our daughter."

Monica was too stunned to respond. She studied his face, her eyes having adjusted enough to the darkness to be able to make out his features. He gazed back at her, waiting for her to say something…to give him some indication that he should finish the rest of his speech. When she finally spoke, her voice was so soft he could barely hear her.

"Oh, Chandler…everything you just said…that's exactly what I feel…"

Chandler breathed a sigh of relief, his face breaking into a smile.

"Do you love me?"

"Of course I love you. I've never loved anyone like I love you."

Having received the answer he needed – and therefore his cue - Chandler reached under the pillow to retrieve the box he had put there earlier in the evening. He grabbed her left hand, sliding the ring gently onto her finger and then kissing her hand as he lifted his eyes back to hers.

"Marry me?" he pleaded in a whisper, his heart thumping with nerves and anticipation. He felt like he lived another lifetime in the half second it took Monica to realize what he had just asked her and to form the answer she would have given if he'd had the chance to ask more than eighteen months ago.

"Yes…"

That's it! The END! YAY!!!!!!!!!

You should be glad I didn't do all the stuff I had originally planned to do. Then this story would have been another three or four chapters. But, actually, I have an epilogue idea all worked out – let me know if you want it. I'll probably put it up even if you don't! =)

"This Love Will Last"

Chris Isaak

If I had to tell now the way I feel about you I'd say nothing.
'Cause when I try to tell how I feel you know I'd only end up crying.
This love will last. This love will last.

Remembering back times now I know these bad times could never last forever.
Wiser men than me have told me what to do when hurt and I'd forgive her.
This love will last. This love will last.

So take your hand and put your hand in mine and tell me,
that you'll never leave me, forever, together, two lovers for forever.
This love will last. This love will last.

If I had to tell now the way I feel about you I'd say nothing.
'Cause when I try to tell how I feel you know I'd only end up crying.
This love will last. This love will last.
This love will last.