A Look Back in Time

DISCLAMIER - These characters don't belong to me but are property of Bright, Kauffman, Crane Productions and Warner Bros. They are not intended for profit but entertainment.

A/N - OK, I seem to be making this a habit, but anyway. . .I wrote this a loooooong long time ago to go on the CFSI and so it's slightly pants but my friends have been telling me to put it up for ages. So please be kind! It was my first attempt at story fanfic writing cos I used to mainly write scripts (how much has changed since then huh?!) I thought I'd put the original A/N here for you all!

I have just read, "TOW the fire" and "Our Story" on the web (well done to the writer! They are brill!), it's set in the future, and this sounds really sad but it's kinda all about Central Perk! Anyway I thought I would have a go...so here's my go!

Jessie walked into the coffeehouse and looked around. It was hard to believe that her mum, her dad, her aunty and uncle had all hung out here. Dreaming of children and marriage and Oscar's! It all seemed miles away from the place she saw now. All anyone who saw this place would see was bricks and mortar, but to Jessie it was more, it was her parents place. Where they had first met all those years ago. . .

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Monica looked at the strange man in front of her, the weirdo was laughing like a lunatic, and the jokes! Would he never grown tired of them? It wouldn't bother her so much if he was good looking. But unfortunately he wasn't not like his roommate, Kip. Now he was good looking!

Chandler looked at the pretty young woman. She was gorgeous! And she was looking at him too! Smiling at him! She must fancy him too. He though he'd better tell another joke, to keep her interested. Yes it worked! She was almost laughing now. Time to make his move. He approached her and...

"Hi I'm Chandler Bing" he said with an air of cool

"Monica Geller" she replied meeting his stare

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jessie wondered if they had known from that moment that they would end up married, and with four children. Her mum had once told her that this was where she told her dad she was pregnant. Jessie remembered when she told her boyfriend and hoped her mum got a better reaction than she did. . .

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Monica looked Chandler straight in the face. This was it. The moment that would either make or break their relationship. She looked at him once more and just said it. . .

"I'm pregnant" well it came out as more of a squeak but at least she had said it. He was silent for what seemed like an eternity

"That's brilliant!" he said his face breaking into a grin

Monica sighed with relief. He was fine with it! As his arms wrapped themselves around her she knew this was where she was meant to be

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jessie sighed, how much had changed since then? That had been the first of four pregnancies. All of them celebrated in Central Perk. After Jessie came Mellie, them Matty before Maggie arrived. Four children. All of them growing up knowing this place, loving this place. This was the very place where Maggie was born, during the blackout. . .

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Oh great, thought Monica. Not only am I pregnant, but it's two weeks past my due date, in the middle of a blackout. And I'm alone. She felt a strange wetness trickle down her leg. Great, and my water just broke. She thought about the sentence she had just said, my water just broke! My water just broke!

"CHANDLER BING GET YOUR BUTT IN HER!" she screamed

"Where are you?" he shouted back

"In the ladies room" came the shocked reply

As another wave of pain swept over her body Monica screamed again.

"HELP ME!!!" Monica screamed

When Chandler finally got her out she lay down on the couch, feeling the soft velvet on her legs.

"I'm really scared" she whispered to Chandler

"Don't be, it's gonna be O.K" even as he said the words he wondered if they were true Monica felt the sudden urge to push. She knew what this meant. The baby was coming now

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed

A little bundle fell into Chandler's arms

"It's a girl" he said overcome with emotion. Chandler looked down into the face of the little angel he held in his hand. It's a girl. He thought. A beautiful, perfect little girl. He looked at Monica, with sweat pouring down her face and a contented smile playing around her lips, he knew. He couldn't be happier.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Jessie pulled herself up from the couch and walked around. She couldn't believe Maggie had been born here. Or how he dad had thought her to be perfect. Sure Maggie, with her golden blonde curls and baby blue eyes she was beautiful. But with beauty came a price, as Maggie had found out. Jessie remembered finding out Maggie was pregnant when she was 16. She hadn't dared tell Monica and Chandler for weeks. It was in here that she eventually told them. On that night nearly five years ago. . .

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maggie looked at her mother, wishing she didn't have to do this. She finally worked up the courage to look them in the face. She took a deep breath and. . .

"Mum" she said in what sounded like a squeak

"Yes Meg?" he mother asked, a look of worry on her pretty face

"I'm pregnant" there she'd got it over with. She was strong.

It took a moment for what Maggie was saying to sink in. Pregnant. At 16. Her first impulse was to scream and shout, yell and kick and thump. But what good was that going to do? She had such high hopes for her youngest child. Doctor or Scientist, or better. Teenage mother was never on her list.

"Mum" Maggie said again "I've made a decision"

"What do you mean" Monica asked her, confused

"I'm having an abortion" there she'd said it. And no matter what, she knew she'd made the right choice

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Poor Maggie. She's had the abortion in the end. Despite her mother's pleading to keep the baby. Two weeks before her 17th birthday. They found out she'd been having a little boy. Maggie decided to call him Leo. After Leonardo DiCaprio. Monica went mad. Jessie took another look around. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She made the small journey to the bathroom. The walls looked decidedly smaller now. She sat down on one of the toilets and remembered when it was her turn to tell her mother she was pregnant. . .

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jessie looked around the small bathroom. At her mother's expecting face, half way between excitement, and worry. Jessie knew she looked the same. Then she looked at the little box in her hand. The blue box that would tell her if she was going to be a mum or not.

"Go on" Monica urged, "Look at it"

Jessie looked down at the little box, one line and she could just walk out and never think about this again, two lines, and she'd have to face the music.

Jessie looked down and slowly opened her eyes. . .

Two lines, two lines! She was going to be a mum!

"there's two lines!" she screamed

"I'm gonna be a grandmother" Monica had said before she collapsed in tears

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Jessie couldn't believe that had been nearly three years ago now. Three years in which everything had changed. Three years in which Monica and Chandler became grandparents (three times) and three years where Jessie had lost her beloved father. It had been quick, he hadn't felt a thing, the doctors told them. It was just his time. He was over 60 and had been smoking for most of his life. But still he had three grandchildren he would never see grow up. Jessie smiled a little, it had been in here he died. Drinking that last cup of coffee.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chandler sighed. Here he was nearly 65 years old and he was still smoking. He couldn't believe it. Monica had tried to get him to stop ever since they had met. He never had.

"Another coffee please Mike" he said signalling to the waiter. After Gunther there had been Craig, then Ant and now Mike. Chandler felt a sharp pain in his left arm as he reached for his coffee. As he took his final sip he blacked out.

"Chandler?" asked Mike looking worried, "Are you alright?" But there was no reply. There never would be. The funniest man in New York would never crack a joke again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So that's how it had happened. Two years ago he had come in here for coffee and never gone back out again. Jessie missed her dad like crazy. He'd never see her two kids, Kai and Megan grow up. Never make them smile like he always had them. She missed him more and more each day. So had her mum, and Mellie, Mattie and even Maggie. Monica hadn't hung on much longer after Chandler. Two years and she was with him. She'd always remember when she found out; after all it was only a week ago.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jessie was exhausted. Kai was three now. Now longer a little baby. Megan was only 6 months old. Chandler had never known her. But Monica had and Jessie loved that Megan was going to know her grandma as she grew up. As she fell asleep she dreamt only of her beautiful family.

"Jessie?" yelled the voice, "Jessie open up!"

"Mellie?" she asked the voice, "Is that you?"

"Yeah" shouted Mellie "let me in I've got something to tell you"

Jessie got up and walked over to her door. On opening it she saw her younger sister, with her two nieces, Aaliyah and Chandler. Jessie smiled looking at the smaller of the two three year olds. Her father had been so insulted when he found out there was to be another baby girl named after him.

"What's wrong?" asked Jessie noticing that she had been crying

"It's mum," replied her sister, "There's been an accident. A car hit her. There was nothing they could do".

Jessie sank to the floor, she couldn't take it all in. She was an orphan. But she was so young.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jessie sat up. She'd started crying again. She couldn't do that. Not today. Everyone needed her today. She was the oldest and they needed her to help them as they said goodbye to the best mum, aunt and friend. As she turned into the graveyard the first thing she noticed was the mass of people that were there. They were all here for her mum. Among the crowd she noticed her uncle Ross with his wife and their kids. She saw aunt Rachel as well, with Emma. She spotted Joey, Phoebe, and Ben, even Gunther! Everyone of these people loved her mum and she felt so honoured that she had known her.

"Hey baby" said her husband walking up to her, "Where have you been?"

"I've been taking a look around my new business" she told him

"What business" he asked warily

"My new coffee house" she told him, "Bings Coffee"

"Bings Coffee?" he asked a small smile playing around his lips.

"Yep" she replied, "Bings Coffee, Manager Jessica Bing Johansson. Dedicated to the Memory of Chandler and Monica Bing, who always drank here"

~*Nina*~

Hope you all enjoyed and I know it was a bit pants! Just pls give me some nice reviews (even if you are lying. . . )