"Oh my God, Chandler, I didn't see you there. We we're just talking…"
Chandler turned to Dr. Howser, "you said 'Monica's baby will be fine…'"
Rachel jumped in between them, trying desperately to convince Chandler that his ears had deceived him. "No, um, no we didn't. We were just talking about…"
"Rachel's baby!"
"Yes, thank you Ross, we were just talking about my baby." Rachel wasn't sure if Chandler was believing her but it was worth a shot. She knew how important it was to Monica to be able to tell Chandler she was pregnant, she didn't want to take that away from her, and she didn't know what to do.
"Rachel, what are you talking about? I…I…I don't want to fight right now, but if Monica is pregnant and the baby is in trouble then I think I have a right to know that. Now I just heard Dr. Howser say 'Monica's baby,' will you please just tell me if I heard right. Is Monica pregnant?"
"Well, Mr. Bing…"
"Wait. Chandler" If Monica was not going to get to tell Chandler the news then Rachel sure as hell was not going to let some doctor do it.
"Rachel, please…"
"Chandler, I know it's been a long, scary day for you, so I'm just going to be honest with you." Just as Rachel was about to tell Chandler everything an angel walked, that is an angel in the form of a middle aged nurse.
"Doug, Mrs. Bing is awake now."
"Thank you, Janet. Mr. Bing, why don't you come with me and we'll let your wife answer your question."
The door closed behind Dr. Howser and Rachel let out a sigh of relief. She was relieved to know that Monica was alright and that she would be able to tell Chandler the news.
"You okay, Rach?"
"Yeah, it's just been an emotional day. Once she and Chandler are finished talking I think I'll just say hi and then go home and go to bed, I'm exhausted."
"I can imagine. Why don't you just go home now? I'll let Monica know you were here and that you're glad everything's fine; I'm sure she'll understand."
"I know she will, but she's had a harder day than I have and she needs her friends. I'm sure it won't take that long anyway."
"You're right. Can I get you anything while we're waiting?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes Ross, I'm sure."
"Well then, sit down at least."
"Okay, I will. Ross, I appreciate your consideration, but just because I'm pregnant it doesn't mean that I can't take care of myself. I really need you to not get all over-protective on me."
"I know Rach, I'll try, but you gotta understand that this is hard for me. This is my second child and I'm still not married to its mother. I've never gotten to be a part of a normal pregnancy. I want to be there for every second of it but I can't. Besides, I care about you too and I know that it's nice to be able to share the experience with someone and I want to be there for you. Whether or not we are a couple I want to be your partner throughout all of this."
"I know, Ross and I do appreciate that. I guess I've just been so worried about how this pregnancy is going to change my life that I never even thought about how it might affect yours. I do want you to be apart of it. I want you to be my coach and everything. But you need to realize, that even if we were together I would still need my space."
"Okay, I'll try to remember that."
"Thank you."
"No, Rach, thank you."
"For what?"
"For letting me be a part of this. You are a great friend, Rachel and there is no one else I would rather be in this situation with."
"Thanks Ross. I feel the same way."
***
Lying in that hospital bed, hooked up to all of those machines, Monica looked so tired. Chandler found it incredibly painful to see her in that situation.
"How are you feeling, sweetie?"
Her voice was soft and weak. "Not so great, but it's better now that you're here."
Chandler just stood there and look at his wife for a few minutes before he spoke again. He wished more than anything that he were the one in that bed, of course then he would feel bad because of all the worrying it would have put her through. He just wish none of this had happened. Four hours ago is life had been closer to perfect than he ever imagined it woul be and he had taken that for granted. It had been so easy to think that nothing bad could ever happen to the life he shared with Monica, but something had. And even though he knew she would be okay and that there would be no lasting damage he swore to himself that he would never again take advantage of the gift he had been given, especially now that he had another present on the way.
Chandler opened his mouth to speak but Monica beat him to it.
"How are you?"
Chandler smiled to himself. Only Monica, who was so tired and in so much pain would ask him how he was doing.
"I'm doing a lot better now that I'm here with you and I know everything's going to be okay. I was talking to Dr. Howser and he told me that you're going to be okay. I know you are in a lot of pain now, but there's no permenant damage to you or…"
He wasn't sure if he should finish the sentence. As he started the sentence he had realized why Rachel hadn't wanted to tell him about the baby and why Monica had wanted to go someplace special that night. Her injuries were going to make her pregnancy more uncomfortable and he didn't want to take away anthing else that she had been looking forward to.
But he was too late; tears were glistening in her eyes.
He couldn't think of anything to say that would ease her pain so he just sat next to her, kissed her forehead and held her hand. After a few moments passed she spoke.
"I wanted tonight to be perfect. I wanted to be the one to tell you."
"I know sweetie, I wanted you to be the one to tell me, too. Believe me, there are a million other ways I would have rather found out that I was going to be father. But you now what, as nice as it is, the telling is just a small part. We have nine months…"
"Seven and a half."
"Seven and a half months of pregnancy to go through together and then we are going to be parents for the rest of our lives and Ithink that is pretty amazing. Plus I am going to have the luckiest kids in the world because they are going to have you for a mother. And next time you're pregnant we won't go out, you can just tell me at home."
She smiled and he flet like he had just won a great value. He was never sure that he really deserved her but he was always good at making her smile and it made him really happy to be able to pay her back in that small way.
***
It's been a while, huh? Well, I'm almost done with exams (one more day) and I had to do something fun to relieve the stress I had from my most recent exam. I'll have a few weeks free before I start my summer job and I will try to finish all the fanfics I have going write now before that happens. I didn't end this chapter in a cliff-hanger like the others, mostly because I couldn't think of one but also because I liked this ending and I thought it would be a nice change of pace. Anyway, I think I still have a few more chapters in me for this fic, so review and let me know if you want them or if you think I should just end it here.
Chandler turned to Dr. Howser, "you said 'Monica's baby will be fine…'"
Rachel jumped in between them, trying desperately to convince Chandler that his ears had deceived him. "No, um, no we didn't. We were just talking about…"
"Rachel's baby!"
"Yes, thank you Ross, we were just talking about my baby." Rachel wasn't sure if Chandler was believing her but it was worth a shot. She knew how important it was to Monica to be able to tell Chandler she was pregnant, she didn't want to take that away from her, and she didn't know what to do.
"Rachel, what are you talking about? I…I…I don't want to fight right now, but if Monica is pregnant and the baby is in trouble then I think I have a right to know that. Now I just heard Dr. Howser say 'Monica's baby,' will you please just tell me if I heard right. Is Monica pregnant?"
"Well, Mr. Bing…"
"Wait. Chandler" If Monica was not going to get to tell Chandler the news then Rachel sure as hell was not going to let some doctor do it.
"Rachel, please…"
"Chandler, I know it's been a long, scary day for you, so I'm just going to be honest with you." Just as Rachel was about to tell Chandler everything an angel walked, that is an angel in the form of a middle aged nurse.
"Doug, Mrs. Bing is awake now."
"Thank you, Janet. Mr. Bing, why don't you come with me and we'll let your wife answer your question."
The door closed behind Dr. Howser and Rachel let out a sigh of relief. She was relieved to know that Monica was alright and that she would be able to tell Chandler the news.
"You okay, Rach?"
"Yeah, it's just been an emotional day. Once she and Chandler are finished talking I think I'll just say hi and then go home and go to bed, I'm exhausted."
"I can imagine. Why don't you just go home now? I'll let Monica know you were here and that you're glad everything's fine; I'm sure she'll understand."
"I know she will, but she's had a harder day than I have and she needs her friends. I'm sure it won't take that long anyway."
"You're right. Can I get you anything while we're waiting?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes Ross, I'm sure."
"Well then, sit down at least."
"Okay, I will. Ross, I appreciate your consideration, but just because I'm pregnant it doesn't mean that I can't take care of myself. I really need you to not get all over-protective on me."
"I know Rach, I'll try, but you gotta understand that this is hard for me. This is my second child and I'm still not married to its mother. I've never gotten to be a part of a normal pregnancy. I want to be there for every second of it but I can't. Besides, I care about you too and I know that it's nice to be able to share the experience with someone and I want to be there for you. Whether or not we are a couple I want to be your partner throughout all of this."
"I know, Ross and I do appreciate that. I guess I've just been so worried about how this pregnancy is going to change my life that I never even thought about how it might affect yours. I do want you to be apart of it. I want you to be my coach and everything. But you need to realize, that even if we were together I would still need my space."
"Okay, I'll try to remember that."
"Thank you."
"No, Rach, thank you."
"For what?"
"For letting me be a part of this. You are a great friend, Rachel and there is no one else I would rather be in this situation with."
"Thanks Ross. I feel the same way."
***
Lying in that hospital bed, hooked up to all of those machines, Monica looked so tired. Chandler found it incredibly painful to see her in that situation.
"How are you feeling, sweetie?"
Her voice was soft and weak. "Not so great, but it's better now that you're here."
Chandler just stood there and look at his wife for a few minutes before he spoke again. He wished more than anything that he were the one in that bed, of course then he would feel bad because of all the worrying it would have put her through. He just wish none of this had happened. Four hours ago is life had been closer to perfect than he ever imagined it woul be and he had taken that for granted. It had been so easy to think that nothing bad could ever happen to the life he shared with Monica, but something had. And even though he knew she would be okay and that there would be no lasting damage he swore to himself that he would never again take advantage of the gift he had been given, especially now that he had another present on the way.
Chandler opened his mouth to speak but Monica beat him to it.
"How are you?"
Chandler smiled to himself. Only Monica, who was so tired and in so much pain would ask him how he was doing.
"I'm doing a lot better now that I'm here with you and I know everything's going to be okay. I was talking to Dr. Howser and he told me that you're going to be okay. I know you are in a lot of pain now, but there's no permenant damage to you or…"
He wasn't sure if he should finish the sentence. As he started the sentence he had realized why Rachel hadn't wanted to tell him about the baby and why Monica had wanted to go someplace special that night. Her injuries were going to make her pregnancy more uncomfortable and he didn't want to take away anthing else that she had been looking forward to.
But he was too late; tears were glistening in her eyes.
He couldn't think of anything to say that would ease her pain so he just sat next to her, kissed her forehead and held her hand. After a few moments passed she spoke.
"I wanted tonight to be perfect. I wanted to be the one to tell you."
"I know sweetie, I wanted you to be the one to tell me, too. Believe me, there are a million other ways I would have rather found out that I was going to be father. But you now what, as nice as it is, the telling is just a small part. We have nine months…"
"Seven and a half."
"Seven and a half months of pregnancy to go through together and then we are going to be parents for the rest of our lives and Ithink that is pretty amazing. Plus I am going to have the luckiest kids in the world because they are going to have you for a mother. And next time you're pregnant we won't go out, you can just tell me at home."
She smiled and he flet like he had just won a great value. He was never sure that he really deserved her but he was always good at making her smile and it made him really happy to be able to pay her back in that small way.
***
It's been a while, huh? Well, I'm almost done with exams (one more day) and I had to do something fun to relieve the stress I had from my most recent exam. I'll have a few weeks free before I start my summer job and I will try to finish all the fanfics I have going write now before that happens. I didn't end this chapter in a cliff-hanger like the others, mostly because I couldn't think of one but also because I liked this ending and I thought it would be a nice change of pace. Anyway, I think I still have a few more chapters in me for this fic, so review and let me know if you want them or if you think I should just end it here.