Part 3

The Truth Comes Out

Chandler was luckily one of the first people to depart the plane after it had landed back in New York. He was desperately tired, after having flown for almost two days from Hong Kong. But even though he was exhausted, his excitement over getting to see Monica again had given him a second wind. After reaching the gate, he looked around for his beautiful fiancee but didn't see her anywhere. He checked his watch to see if the plane had landed early, but found that it was right on schedule.

He sighed and sat his briefcase and lap top bags down and decided that he would wait for a few minutes before trying to call Monica. Maybe she was just stuck in traffic. He sat down and within a couple of second felt someone tapping him on the shoulder. He happily jumped up and threw his arms around her kissing her on top of her head. Then just as quickly, he stepped back with an apologetic expression on his face.

"Rach, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to attack you like that - I thought you were Mon-" He tried to explain.

Rachel just laughed. "Chandler, its okay. I should have said something instead of just poking your shoulder. I knew you were expecting Monica to meet you here."

Chandler looked around, sadly noting that Rachel was alone. "She isn't with you?"

Rachel's eyes averted Chandler's as she looked down at the ground. She hated lying to one of her friends. Even if it was at the request of her best friend. She just didn't feel right about it. "No…something came up. She asked me if I could come and meet you."

Chandler grabbed his bags, and tried to hide his disappointment, even though he didn't do a very good job of it. "Well I have to get my other suitcases from the baggage claim, and then I'll be ready."

"Okay, let's go." Rachel replied, half smiling.

Thirty minutes later, the cab was loaded with all of Chandler's luggage and the two friends were headed back to their apartment building.

After a long uncomfortable silence, Chandler finally spoke. "Rach, is something going on with Monica?"

Rachel had already prepared herself for the question, but she still wasn't sure how to answer it. "Well, yes, I guess you could say that. But Chandler, I don't want to be the one to tell you."

Chandler's heart was suddenly in his throat. He knew something had been going on with Monica. He sensed it every time they had spoken on the phone. He tried to steady his breathing, and rolled down the window in the cab to try and get some fresh air.

"Rach…you gotta tell me. Is Monica ill? Is she….dying?"

Rachel grabbed hold of Chandler's hand. "Honey, no. Monica is fine." She looked at her watch, then back at Chandler, who's color was finally returning to normal. "You'll find out for yourself what's going on in just a few minutes."

"I just don't understand what could possibly be going on. I mean I'm assuming that's why she wasn't at the airport. Is she scared or something?"

"I guess you could say that."

"What is it? Come on, tell me. Is she pregnant? Is that what it is?"

"I really think you should just wait and talk to Monica about it." Rachel reiterated again.

Chandler sighed. "Oh God, she IS pregnant, isn't she? That's it, isn't it?" He looked out the window wondering just exactly how he was going to deal with this. He didn't know if he should be upset that she didn't tell him or happy that he was going to be a father. As they approached the apartment building, he figured he would just wait and see what Monica's explanation was for keeping this from him and go from there.

He climbed the stairs to their apartment and stopped when he made it to the door. His excitement over seeing Monica had now turned to an uneasiness he hadn't felt since he'd been a teenager. What should have been a happy homecoming was quickly turning into a nightmare that made him wish he could go back to his miserable existence before he'd fallen in love with Monica. No. He didn't mean that. He still loved Monica.

He reached for the knob and slowly turned it. A moment later, he walked into the apartment, which appeared to be empty. Maybe she'd gotten scared again. Or hell, maybe she'd gone into labor. Who knew?

"Mon? Sweetie, are you here?" He called out. It was worth a try. Maybe she was hiding from him. At this point, nothing would surprise him.

"Chandler! I'm in the bathroom, I'll be out in one sec, okay?"

When he heard her voice, his heart melted. He could never be angry with her, he loved her too much. He mentally prepared himself for a very pregnant woman to exit the bathroom momentarily. He didn't know what his reaction was supposed to be. He was starting to get nervous again.

"Hey sweetie?" Monica called from the bathroom.

"Yeah?" He uneasily replied.

"Um..I kind of have a surprise for you."

"Yeah, Rachel sort of mentioned it."

"Rachel TOLD YOU!?" Monica angrily exclaimed and emerged from the bathroom forgetting she was about to warn Chandler of her changed physical appearance.

Chandler's eyes practically bulged from their sockets at his first glance at Monica. "Oh my God!" He exclaimed.

"I can't believe she told you!" Monica pouted, crossing her arms. "I wanted it to be a surprise!"

Chandler, still stunned, just stared at her. He was speechless. There, standing before him was a woman who looked nothing like the Monica Geller he had left behind just a few months ago. This new Monica had to have lost at least a hundred pounds. He couldn't believe it was the same person. "Mon..Monk…You look amazing."

She smiled and looked up at him. "Really?"

"Yes. And Rachel didn't tell me anything. I thought you were pregnant!"

"Pregnant!? What would give you an idea like that?"

"Just whenever we talked you were tired, and other stuff which I can't think about right now because I'm looking at the most amazing, beautiful woman on the planet."

Monica blushed and walked up to him, and for the first time he was able to wrap his arms entirely around her body. "So you really think I look okay?"

He leaned in and kissed her lips softly. "You look a little better than okay, babe. How did you do this?"

She hugged him tightly once more, then they walked over to the couch and snuggled close together. "Well at first when I started looking for wedding dresses nothing looked right. So Rachel suggested that maybe if I lost a few pounds I'd feel better about the dresses. I ended up losing a lot more than a few pounds. And I still have some more to go."

He looked into her eyes. "Sweetie, you look fantastic. You don't need to lose anymore. I thought you were beautiful before. And you know I love you no matter what."

"I love you too. And I have to admit, I was a little scared about telling you. I thought that you wouldn't like the 'new' me."

Chandler smiled and kissed her forehead. "I think I'm the one who should be scared. You know you can do a lot better than me now, right? Mon, I'm serious. You look so stunning."

She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't remember ever being so happy. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." They kissed again then just held each other for awhile longer.

"I didn't even get a chance to welcome you home properly. I was too stressed out you seeing me all thin." Monica laughed.

"We have plenty of time for that later." Chandler replied, suggestively.

"I wasn't talking about sex, silly. I just meant I hadn't even made you a nice dinner."

Chandler could feel himself blushing. "Oooops."

"Don't worry, there will be some sex later."

"Oh, good." Chandler laughed.

The next morning, Monica showed Chandler everything she and Rachel had gotten planned for the wedding, which was now only a month away. The girls had also been busy planning Ross and Rachel's wedding, that was going to be two months after the Bing's.

As they were sitting at the kitchen table discussing the wedding, Rachel burst into their apartment crying hysterically.

Monica rushed to her friend's side. "Rachel, honey what's wrong?"

"Ross cheated on me!" Rachel sobbed. "And I'm pregnant!"

To be continued?? If there is enough interest in this story I will continue!