(Thanks bunches for the kind reviews...this part gets kinda corny, but bear
with it, and then please review! thanks)
Part Two
That night, Monica lay in bed with her husband, warm and comfortable in his arms like she had been for eight years. For her, the past eight years had been filled with love, warmth, and happiness. She'd fallen in love with the most wonderful man in the world, she'd married him, and they'd had two beautiful children. But Rachel's life for the past eight years had been horrible. Monica remembered when Gracie and Josh had been born, when Rachel had been happily married. Monica had been incredibly jealous of Rachel. And now Rachel was the one who was jealous of Monica.
Monica felt Chandler kissing her neck softly. "You asleep?" he whispered.
"No," she said quietly, "I can't sleep. I was thinking about Rachel."
"Me too," he admitted, "This must be awful for her. I know we all try to forget about him," Chandler said. They hardly ever referred to Ross by name. He was simply "him", "but every time I look at Josh." Monica nodded. Josh was his father's identical twin.
"I know. It's so hard to believe. I actually used to be jealous of Rachel. Now I just wish I could do something, anything. I just want to help her. But there's really no way to give her the one thing she wants, is there?"
Chandler shook his head. "I guess not." He couldn't believe, that after eight years, Ross hadn't even contacted his sister. Monica's parents even claimed Ross hadn't contacted them. But both Chandler and Monica knew he had-Jack and Judy would have the police dispatched after two days if he hadn't. But they wouldn't give out any information about where Ross was. "You know only one good thing came out of this?"
"Us?"
"Yeah," Chandler said, kissing his wife gently. After Ross had left, Monica had been extremely upset-after all, Ross was her brother, and she'd thought Rachel might blame Monica. Chandler had comforted Monica in her time of need, and Monica realized that she had feelings for Chandler. Chandler had had feelings for Monica for years, so they'd gotten together. They'd married about a year later, and now, with their two children, Chandler had never been happier. But every day, there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, that while he was incredibly happy-he knew Rachel was not. Sometimes, he almost felt guilty for being so happy. And he knew Monica felt the same way.
Rachel lay in bed that night, alone, wondering if this day would ever get any easier. This was the eighth time she'd been alone on her anniversary, but it absolutely had not gotten easier. She sighed and got out of bed. There was no use trying to sleep. She wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight. She pulled on a robe and shivered. Every since Ross had left, she'd always been cold. She'd never been able to get warm, no matter what she tried. She walked into the living room and looked around, remembering the day she and Ross had gotten this apartment. They'd lived across the street from Monica and Chandler, but with twins on the way, they needed more space. Ross had been lucky enough to find a three bedroom apartment just seconds away from their old one. Gracie and Josh had shared a room when they'd moved in, and they'd left the other bedroom undecorated. But Rachel had always figured Ross would be around to decorate it with her. But when she finally figured that Gracie and Josh needed their own rooms, she found herself decorating alone.
She thought about Monica and Chandler. Chandler had gotten a promotion and he and Monica had bought not only apartment 20, but apartment 22 as well. They'd knocked out the wall and had a gorgeous, airy apartment. And Chandler had helped Monica decorate it every step of the way. Rachel brushed away her thoughts and wandered into Gracie's room, watching her daughter sleep. Gracie rarely complained about not having a father. She didn't mention, it, really. Gracie didn't talk much. She said what needed to be said, she didn't waste her time saying pointless stuff. She so much like Ross in that way. Even though Gracie looked just like Rachel, she had so many of Ross's qualities.
Rachel left Gracie's room and went into Josh's room. As she glanced around the Knicks themed room, she saw her son sleeping in the midst of it. Josh was definitely affected by not having a father. He'd told Rachel more times than she could count that he didn't want to talk to her-he wanted to talk to his dad. Not that Chandler and Joey hadn't been wonderful father figures for both her children. They did loads of stuff for Josh, taking him to games, coming to his school events, everything. But deep down, Rachel knew that Josh knew Chandler was Zachary's Dad, not his. It was the same for Joey-after Ross had left Joey had gotten married and now had four little boys of his own. Rachel sighed and went back to her bedroom. Dwelling on it wasn't going to make it better, she knew.
A few days later, Rachel had settled back into her routine. One day, after picking the kids up from school, she came home to find Monica and Chandler's Christmas card in her mail. Accompanying the card was a letter,
Dear Friends and Family, Merry Christmas 2002! We hope this letter finds you all happy, healthy, and prepared for 2003! It's been a busy year for our family. We kicked it off with a trip to Disney World last February and Emma and Zachary had a great time meeting all their "idols". We were just happy that we could keep up! Zachary is four years old now and in preschool full time. He even has homework occasionally, and loves bragging to Emma that he has "big school work"! He's playing basketball this year and Chandler's coaching his team (let's see how that works out.). Emma is six years old now and in kindergarten. She's also taking ballet lessons with a few friends, and seems to be really enjoying it. She and Zachary both had a blast at Disney, and Emma's highlight was meeting Cinderella and Snow White! Chandler's work is still going great and he's enjoying a new schedule that allows him to be around the kids a lot more. He's coaching Zachary's basketball team, and luckily he has a co-coach, who, hopefully knows a little more than he does-which still isn't much! I'm still working part- time at the restaurant and I bring Emma along with me sometimes. She's discovered she likes to cook a lot-though we can't let her prepare any food we're actually serving! I've enjoyed watching Emma progress in ballet, and we might take a class together in the near future-though don't look to see me in a tutu, more than likely we'd take a modern dance class or something! As always, we are very blessed to have our extended family near us- the Tribbiani's, the Hannigan's, and the Geller's. We hope that everyone has had just as good a year as we have-see you in 2003! With Love, Chandler, Monica, Emma and Zachary Bing
Rachel sighed and put down the letter. That was what a happy family sounded like. She had thought of writing a Christmas letter every year, but she hadn't been able to. The last time she'd written one had been the year the twins were born. She looked at the accompanying Christmas card. It was a picture card and showed the Bings in front of Cinderella castle at Disney World. Chandler was giving a piggyback ride to Emma, while Monica had Zachary on her back. They were all grinning happily and looked to be having a genuinely good time. Rachel hadn't even sent out a Christmas card since Ross had left, she realized. She knew she should have, but honestly, she didn't know what to write. "Have a happy New Year"-even though we won't be? Besides, she wouldn't even know what to sign it-were she, Josh and Gracie the Geller family? Or simply three people? She tried to make them a family- but she knew Josh and Gracie felt that a family was one like the Bings were.
A week later, Christmas arrived. Rachel had played Santa Claus for her kids alright this year, as she had every year, though there was never anything to extravagant. Every year was the same-Christmas morning at their own apartment, then Christmas afternoon and dinner over at the Bings with Phoebe's family and Joey's family. However, the Bing, Tribbiani and Hannigan children always seemed so much more excited about Christmas than Josh and Gracie were.
Rachel and her kids arrived at the Bings a little early, so Rachel opened the door quietly, not wanting to disturb the family's Christmas. Before her eyes lay the perfect Christmas scene. Emma and Zachary were ripping open gifts, shaded by a gorgeous Christmas tree, decorated with some professional decorations and some that Emma and Zachary had made. Monica and Chandler sat on the couch watching their children, Monica in Chandler's arms. He was gently kissing the side of her head, and they were both smiling at Emma and Zachary's delighted shrieks. Rachel smiled at the sight. Monica and Chandler were so lucky. She only hoped they realized just how lucky they were.
Christmas vacation passed and about four days back into a regular schedule, Chandler woke up early one morning. He knew Monica had the day off, so he let her sleep and went to get the kids ready. Josh, Gracie, Emma and Zachary all attended the same school, so Rachel and the Bings switched on and off taking all four kids to school. Today was Rachel's day. Chandler cooked breakfast and got both kids dressed. He even managed to pull Emma's hair up into a ponytail, all the while wondering how he ever managed to actually be a decent father. Nine years ago he never would have imagined he would be married-especially not to a great woman like Monica, and he never saw himself having kids. But Monica had changed all that. After Chandler had gotten Emma and Zachary out the door with Rachel, he went in to check on his wife. As he entered the room, he saw her sitting up in bed, coughing loudly. He rushed over, "Mon, are you okay?"
"No," she said in between coughs, "I think I'm sick." Chandler put his hand on her forehead.
"Definitely! You're burning up." he went into the kitchen and came back with a thermometer, "103!"
"I'm sure I'll be fine," Monica said, glancing at a clock, "You have to get to work."
"No way," Chandler said, "I'll call in sick," he handed her some Advil and a glass of water, "I'm gonna stay and take care of you."
A few minutes later, he entered with a cold compress and gently laid it on Monica's forehead. "I called your doctor," he said softly, "And she said to just rest, okay? I'll be in the living room if you need anything."
"Chandler?" Monica said softly, "Can you.?"
"No problem," he said and laid down on the bed, pulling her into his arms. Ever since they'd gotten married, it'd been incredibly hard for him to sleep without her in his arms. And Monica didn't get a good nights rest unless she was in Chandler's arms.
"Rest up, baby. Emma and Zachary need their mommy well."
"Yeah," Monica said softly, "Love you."
"Love you, too."
A few hours later, both Monica and Chandler were asleep when Chandler woke up suddenly, hearing a knock on their front door. He gently untangled Monica from his arms, and got up, trying hard not to wake her. He pulled on a shirt and jeans and ran to open the door. The man who had been knocking was just turning away, but he turned back as he heard Chandler opening the door. Chandler gasped. There was a man he had never expected to see.
Part Two
That night, Monica lay in bed with her husband, warm and comfortable in his arms like she had been for eight years. For her, the past eight years had been filled with love, warmth, and happiness. She'd fallen in love with the most wonderful man in the world, she'd married him, and they'd had two beautiful children. But Rachel's life for the past eight years had been horrible. Monica remembered when Gracie and Josh had been born, when Rachel had been happily married. Monica had been incredibly jealous of Rachel. And now Rachel was the one who was jealous of Monica.
Monica felt Chandler kissing her neck softly. "You asleep?" he whispered.
"No," she said quietly, "I can't sleep. I was thinking about Rachel."
"Me too," he admitted, "This must be awful for her. I know we all try to forget about him," Chandler said. They hardly ever referred to Ross by name. He was simply "him", "but every time I look at Josh." Monica nodded. Josh was his father's identical twin.
"I know. It's so hard to believe. I actually used to be jealous of Rachel. Now I just wish I could do something, anything. I just want to help her. But there's really no way to give her the one thing she wants, is there?"
Chandler shook his head. "I guess not." He couldn't believe, that after eight years, Ross hadn't even contacted his sister. Monica's parents even claimed Ross hadn't contacted them. But both Chandler and Monica knew he had-Jack and Judy would have the police dispatched after two days if he hadn't. But they wouldn't give out any information about where Ross was. "You know only one good thing came out of this?"
"Us?"
"Yeah," Chandler said, kissing his wife gently. After Ross had left, Monica had been extremely upset-after all, Ross was her brother, and she'd thought Rachel might blame Monica. Chandler had comforted Monica in her time of need, and Monica realized that she had feelings for Chandler. Chandler had had feelings for Monica for years, so they'd gotten together. They'd married about a year later, and now, with their two children, Chandler had never been happier. But every day, there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, that while he was incredibly happy-he knew Rachel was not. Sometimes, he almost felt guilty for being so happy. And he knew Monica felt the same way.
Rachel lay in bed that night, alone, wondering if this day would ever get any easier. This was the eighth time she'd been alone on her anniversary, but it absolutely had not gotten easier. She sighed and got out of bed. There was no use trying to sleep. She wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight. She pulled on a robe and shivered. Every since Ross had left, she'd always been cold. She'd never been able to get warm, no matter what she tried. She walked into the living room and looked around, remembering the day she and Ross had gotten this apartment. They'd lived across the street from Monica and Chandler, but with twins on the way, they needed more space. Ross had been lucky enough to find a three bedroom apartment just seconds away from their old one. Gracie and Josh had shared a room when they'd moved in, and they'd left the other bedroom undecorated. But Rachel had always figured Ross would be around to decorate it with her. But when she finally figured that Gracie and Josh needed their own rooms, she found herself decorating alone.
She thought about Monica and Chandler. Chandler had gotten a promotion and he and Monica had bought not only apartment 20, but apartment 22 as well. They'd knocked out the wall and had a gorgeous, airy apartment. And Chandler had helped Monica decorate it every step of the way. Rachel brushed away her thoughts and wandered into Gracie's room, watching her daughter sleep. Gracie rarely complained about not having a father. She didn't mention, it, really. Gracie didn't talk much. She said what needed to be said, she didn't waste her time saying pointless stuff. She so much like Ross in that way. Even though Gracie looked just like Rachel, she had so many of Ross's qualities.
Rachel left Gracie's room and went into Josh's room. As she glanced around the Knicks themed room, she saw her son sleeping in the midst of it. Josh was definitely affected by not having a father. He'd told Rachel more times than she could count that he didn't want to talk to her-he wanted to talk to his dad. Not that Chandler and Joey hadn't been wonderful father figures for both her children. They did loads of stuff for Josh, taking him to games, coming to his school events, everything. But deep down, Rachel knew that Josh knew Chandler was Zachary's Dad, not his. It was the same for Joey-after Ross had left Joey had gotten married and now had four little boys of his own. Rachel sighed and went back to her bedroom. Dwelling on it wasn't going to make it better, she knew.
A few days later, Rachel had settled back into her routine. One day, after picking the kids up from school, she came home to find Monica and Chandler's Christmas card in her mail. Accompanying the card was a letter,
Dear Friends and Family, Merry Christmas 2002! We hope this letter finds you all happy, healthy, and prepared for 2003! It's been a busy year for our family. We kicked it off with a trip to Disney World last February and Emma and Zachary had a great time meeting all their "idols". We were just happy that we could keep up! Zachary is four years old now and in preschool full time. He even has homework occasionally, and loves bragging to Emma that he has "big school work"! He's playing basketball this year and Chandler's coaching his team (let's see how that works out.). Emma is six years old now and in kindergarten. She's also taking ballet lessons with a few friends, and seems to be really enjoying it. She and Zachary both had a blast at Disney, and Emma's highlight was meeting Cinderella and Snow White! Chandler's work is still going great and he's enjoying a new schedule that allows him to be around the kids a lot more. He's coaching Zachary's basketball team, and luckily he has a co-coach, who, hopefully knows a little more than he does-which still isn't much! I'm still working part- time at the restaurant and I bring Emma along with me sometimes. She's discovered she likes to cook a lot-though we can't let her prepare any food we're actually serving! I've enjoyed watching Emma progress in ballet, and we might take a class together in the near future-though don't look to see me in a tutu, more than likely we'd take a modern dance class or something! As always, we are very blessed to have our extended family near us- the Tribbiani's, the Hannigan's, and the Geller's. We hope that everyone has had just as good a year as we have-see you in 2003! With Love, Chandler, Monica, Emma and Zachary Bing
Rachel sighed and put down the letter. That was what a happy family sounded like. She had thought of writing a Christmas letter every year, but she hadn't been able to. The last time she'd written one had been the year the twins were born. She looked at the accompanying Christmas card. It was a picture card and showed the Bings in front of Cinderella castle at Disney World. Chandler was giving a piggyback ride to Emma, while Monica had Zachary on her back. They were all grinning happily and looked to be having a genuinely good time. Rachel hadn't even sent out a Christmas card since Ross had left, she realized. She knew she should have, but honestly, she didn't know what to write. "Have a happy New Year"-even though we won't be? Besides, she wouldn't even know what to sign it-were she, Josh and Gracie the Geller family? Or simply three people? She tried to make them a family- but she knew Josh and Gracie felt that a family was one like the Bings were.
A week later, Christmas arrived. Rachel had played Santa Claus for her kids alright this year, as she had every year, though there was never anything to extravagant. Every year was the same-Christmas morning at their own apartment, then Christmas afternoon and dinner over at the Bings with Phoebe's family and Joey's family. However, the Bing, Tribbiani and Hannigan children always seemed so much more excited about Christmas than Josh and Gracie were.
Rachel and her kids arrived at the Bings a little early, so Rachel opened the door quietly, not wanting to disturb the family's Christmas. Before her eyes lay the perfect Christmas scene. Emma and Zachary were ripping open gifts, shaded by a gorgeous Christmas tree, decorated with some professional decorations and some that Emma and Zachary had made. Monica and Chandler sat on the couch watching their children, Monica in Chandler's arms. He was gently kissing the side of her head, and they were both smiling at Emma and Zachary's delighted shrieks. Rachel smiled at the sight. Monica and Chandler were so lucky. She only hoped they realized just how lucky they were.
Christmas vacation passed and about four days back into a regular schedule, Chandler woke up early one morning. He knew Monica had the day off, so he let her sleep and went to get the kids ready. Josh, Gracie, Emma and Zachary all attended the same school, so Rachel and the Bings switched on and off taking all four kids to school. Today was Rachel's day. Chandler cooked breakfast and got both kids dressed. He even managed to pull Emma's hair up into a ponytail, all the while wondering how he ever managed to actually be a decent father. Nine years ago he never would have imagined he would be married-especially not to a great woman like Monica, and he never saw himself having kids. But Monica had changed all that. After Chandler had gotten Emma and Zachary out the door with Rachel, he went in to check on his wife. As he entered the room, he saw her sitting up in bed, coughing loudly. He rushed over, "Mon, are you okay?"
"No," she said in between coughs, "I think I'm sick." Chandler put his hand on her forehead.
"Definitely! You're burning up." he went into the kitchen and came back with a thermometer, "103!"
"I'm sure I'll be fine," Monica said, glancing at a clock, "You have to get to work."
"No way," Chandler said, "I'll call in sick," he handed her some Advil and a glass of water, "I'm gonna stay and take care of you."
A few minutes later, he entered with a cold compress and gently laid it on Monica's forehead. "I called your doctor," he said softly, "And she said to just rest, okay? I'll be in the living room if you need anything."
"Chandler?" Monica said softly, "Can you.?"
"No problem," he said and laid down on the bed, pulling her into his arms. Ever since they'd gotten married, it'd been incredibly hard for him to sleep without her in his arms. And Monica didn't get a good nights rest unless she was in Chandler's arms.
"Rest up, baby. Emma and Zachary need their mommy well."
"Yeah," Monica said softly, "Love you."
"Love you, too."
A few hours later, both Monica and Chandler were asleep when Chandler woke up suddenly, hearing a knock on their front door. He gently untangled Monica from his arms, and got up, trying hard not to wake her. He pulled on a shirt and jeans and ran to open the door. The man who had been knocking was just turning away, but he turned back as he heard Chandler opening the door. Chandler gasped. There was a man he had never expected to see.