Simply Complicated~part 13

Though I Make Mistakes, I'll Never Break Your Heart

Thanks so much for all of the reviews, you guys rock :-) So, um, my mom's getting married…I was, um, really shocked when they told us last night…I think all 4 of us kids were…and I'm happy for them, I really am…but it's like…everything's gonna change and we're gonna hafta move and none of my friends understand any of that…they're all like, yay, a wedding…but they don't realize it changes everything (wow, am I selfish) cuz even though there's some statistic that says over half of the population is divorced all of their parents are together. So if any of you have parents that have gotten remarried feel free to e-mail me and say that I'm not completely selfish for thinking this cuz I need someone who's been through this and right now I got nobody who understands : ( but enough of the pity-me crap, sorry, here's the next and *sob* final part of this…

"Hey," Chandler walked into Monica's apartment with a grin on his face.

"Hey. What are you doing here in the middle of the day?"

"Doug told me to go home."

"What? Why? Did you get fired?"

"Nope, the opposite," he picked Melia up out of her playpen, kissing her before looking up at Monica with a grin. "I got a promotion," he said before looking back to Melia, "Huh, what do you think of that?" She made some noises in response, so Chandler just laughed. "That's what I thought."

Monica smiled, watching them. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," he smiled back. "And then Doug told me to just take the rest of the day off. So, how 'bout going out for lunch somewhere?"

"We don't have anyone to watch her," she motioned to Melia.

"Well, she can come, too, huh, Melia," he looked at her, and she once again gurgled in response. "See, she agrees."

Monica just laughed, "Okay."

"Okay, so I'm gonna go change and then we can go," he handed her the baby, "So if I'm not back in five minutes…just wait longer." (LOL to my friends who know what I'm talking about and $5 if you can tell me what movie that's from…well, maybe not really, but humor me and guess if you think you know : ) )

~*~

"So what exactly are you being promoted to?" Monica asked after they had finished eating.

"Well, I'll be in charge of," he paused, "You don't really care, do you?"

"No, I do!"

"No, you don't, you were just asking to be polite."

"No, seriously, I care."

"Honestly."

"Honestly…" she trailed off.

"Honestly you could care less."

Monica looked at him for a second before laughing. "Yeah, pretty much," she paused trying to stop. "Sorry."

"It's okay, my job bores me, too."

Monica smiled at him. "I'm gonna go use the restroom before we leave," she said before standing up.

"Okay, I have to wait for the waitress to bring back my credit card anyway."

"Chandler Bing."

Chandler looked up from signing the bill, immediately recognizing the voice.

"Hey, Richard," he forced a smile.

"Look at you all grown up," he motioned to Melia.

"Yeah, who'd have thought that," he put his credit card back into his wallet before standing up.

"So who is this?"

"This is Melia," he picked her up out of her carrier.

"Well, she sure is a cutie," he smiled at the baby.

"Yeah, I like to think so," Chandler replied, causing Richard to laugh.

"So how have you been?"

"Good, you?"

"Good," he replied, a slightly awkward silence following. "Well, um, I'd better get going. It was nice seeing you."

"You, too," Chandler smiled, watching him walk away. He'd decided that Richard obviously didn't know Melia was Monica's or he at least would have asked about her. "You don't like him, either?" Chandler whispered, holding Melia closer as she started to whimper.

Chandler looked up toward the bathrooms, wondering what was taking Monica so long. But he immediately realized what. On her way back to the table, Monica must have run into Richard and they were now talking. He watched them as they talked, and he could swear that Monica was flirting with him. He knew that he shouldn't even care, but for some reason, he did. For some reason, it bugged the hell out of him, and he hated the fact that she was even talking to Richard.

Putting Melia back into the baby carrier, he picked it up, deciding to go wait for Monica over by the door. He told himself that it was so that the table would be free, but he knew that it was really because he couldn't take watching them for any longer.

~*~

"So, um, guess who I ran into at lunch today," Monica said, walking into the living room after putting Melia to bed, still not sure if she should bring up the subject to Chandler.

"Richard," Chandler said bitterly, sitting down on the couch.

"Yeah, actually. How'd you know that?"

"So, Mon, guess who I ran into at lunch today…"

"Oh."

"So are you gonna go out with him?" Chandler crossed his arms.

"What? Chandler."

"I mean, he did ask you out, right? Cause you were flirting with him."

"Were you spying on me?" Monica crossed her arms across her chest. "And so what if he did ask if I wanted to go out for dinner Friday night."

Chandler looker up at her. "What'd you say?"

"How is that any of your business?"

"Fine. I don't care," Chandler stood up, going toward the door.

"Don't slam the door, you'll wake Melia up," Monica looked at Chandler, who paused, closing the door before turning back to face her. "And I said no to Richard."

Chandler sighed, scuffing his foot against the ground and stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Um, do you…do you know what Friday would be?" he finally asked quietly, his eyes focused on the floor.

"Yeah," Monica replied softly, moving over to where he was standing.

"Do you think we would've made it a year?" he continued to speak quietly, but this time looked up, making eye contact.

"I-I don't know," Monica answered honestly. "It's just…it's really complicated between us, ya know?"

"You keep saying that," Chandler paused, "but what if it's not?"

"Well, if it wasn't then, it is now."

"Mon, it's never been simpler."

Monica looked at Chandler. "What the hell are you talking about, it's never been simpler…there's a kid in the next room with your eyes who, for some reason, would rather have her daddy sing her to sleep than me rock her…Chandler, you add her into this and you can't say that it's not complicated."

"But, Mon, what if we could work?"

"And what if we couldn't? She's the one who stands to get hurt in this."

"But what if we could work," Chandler repeated, stating it this time more than asking it. "I mean, we'd be a family…you, me, and her…"

"Chandler, I don't know if I can take the risk."

"Mon, I know I screw up a lot, but I swear to god, I'll never break your heart," he looked her in the eye. "And I'd die before I'd ever hurt Melia."

"I know, but it's just…" Monica trailed off, not really sure what else to say.

"I know that you're scared that it wouldn't work, but, Mon, look what we've been through so far, and we're doing okay," he paused, taking a step toward her, taking her hands in his. "When we were dating, and, yes, I'm going to call it that because you and I both know that if was never just 'goofing around,' but when we were dating, I might not have been in love with you yet, but I was definitely falling."

"And have you fallen yet?" Monica whispered.

Chandler smiled, seeing the smile beginning to show on Monica's lips. "God, I'm still falling for you," he paused. "And if you're asking if I love you…Yes, I love you, Monica. I'm not exactly sure when, but I fell in love with you and all you have to do is say the word and I'll spend forever with you in a heartbeat."

Monica didn't say anything, but just stared back into his eyes, allowing herself to get lost in them as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him. The kiss was slow and long, and then only broke it when breathing became imperative.

Monica pulled back slightly. "I love you, too," she whispered. "The word."

"What?" Chandler looked at her like she was crazy.

Monica smiled playfully, "You said that all I had to do was say 'that word' and you'd spend forever with me…"

Chandler just laughed, kissing him again.

"Melia's been sleeping through the night," Monica said bashfully, playing with the bottom of Chandler's shirt.

Chandler smiled, lifting her chin up so that she was looking back up at him before kissing her gently on the lips. He pulled back, taking her hand as they walked over to her room.

"So it's okay if you…you know...right?" he asked, wanting to make sure.

"Yeah," she smiled at how shy he suddenly was, "Just be gentle."

"I will be," he whispered before kissing her again. "You're sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," she looked him in the eye, trying to reassure him that she really wanted this.

"Then we'd better not waste any more time talking, we have a whole year to make up for," he grinned, and Monica just laughed before kissing him again.

As if on cue, Melia started to cry, so they pulled apart.

"Sorry," Chandler smiled at Monica as they both got up.

"That's okay…I mean, we have forever to make up for it, right?"

"Yeah," he grinned at her, realization dawning, "forever."

T~H~E E~N~D

And that's a wrap, folks. You had to know that I was gonna get them together in the end, come on, it's me we're talking about here. Let me know if you want an epilogue…I'm not gonna bother with it if no one wants it. So please review and tell me what you thought, thanks :)