A.N. Yay for reviews!!! And yay for SEVEN chapters… I'm not a lots-of-chapters kind of person, because I get bored after, like, five seconds of anything, so this is a true achievement for me J. Thanks for being patient about Chandler and Monica getting together and all, it'll happen, and it will hopefully be worth it. P.S., I'm also not the kind of person that knows the whole story when they start, so I'm kinda just letting it go where it goes and hoping for the best, but they WILL get together eventually (whether they'll STAY together is altogether another question, heh heh heh). Okay, without FURTHER ado, chapter 7. Read, enjoy, and review.
-Maddy
Disclaimer: Owning nothing, all the time.
"So I know I've been kind of preoccupied, but what's the deal with you and Carol?" Chandler asked Ross as they sat in Central Perk with Monica, Phoebe and Joey.
"Well, things were really rough there for a while, and I spent more than a couple nights on the couch… but actually, I have you to thank for helping things get better."
"Me?" Chandler asked, confused.
"Yeah, ever since Faith was born, Carol and I have decided to start a family," Ross said proudly. Various congratulations were given, although everyone held back their doubts that having a baby to save a marriage was never really a good idea.
"Speaking of Faith, want me to pick her up from your mom's? It's nearly five," Monica offered. Chandler patted her thigh, and a familiar sensation rushed through her body.
"No, it's okay, I'll get her," Chandler assured her.
"Wait, but you were gonna help me hook up the Playstation! I can't figure it out. You promised," Joey whined.
"Oh, I forgot. Yeah Mon, if you don't mind getting Faith, I have to pay some attention to my other whining child," Chandler quipped.
"No problem," she said standing, shrugging into her suede jacket and grabbing her purse from behind Phoebe. "See you guys for dinner?"
"Carol and I are going out," Ross said.
"Date," Joey told her grinning.
"I have to go see a movie with Sad Susan… she's been really down lately," Phoebe said with a sigh.
"Okay then… looks like it's just you and me. Again," she said teasingly, ruffling Chandler's hair.
"Take-out?"
"Sure," she replied.
"I'll order Chinese. But I won't ask for-"
"Sour wontons," Monica finished, and the two of them broke into laughter. "Okay, I'm gonna run over and get Faith, and I'll see you guys later."
"Bye Mon," they chorused. Once she left, Chandler noticed all eyes were on him.
"What?" he asked defensively.
"You guys seem… closer, or something," Phoebe noted.
"Closer? I don't know if there's such a thing," Ross said, rolling his eyes.
"So you gonna ask her out, or what?" Joey added suggestively. Ross's eyebrows shot up.
"Ask her out? You're- you're gonna ask her out, then? Really? I mean, that's fine, whatever… I'm cool," he stammered.
"Clearly," Chandler said sarcastically, rolling his own eyes. "Relax, no one's asking out anyone."
"Why not, man? You so obviously lo-"
"I hope you're not about to say what I think you're about to say. Don't finish that sentence," Chandler cut Joey off.
"Fine. Sorry. It just seems to me that you two spend an awful lot of time together-"
"Taking care of my child. She's helping me enormously, and I can't thank her enough for it," Chandler finished.
"Chandler, come on. You're telling me you have no romantic feelings or intentions for Monica? Don't lie, remember I'm psychic," Phoebe challenged.
"Nothing's happened, is happening, or will happen, as far as I can foresee. That's all I'm saying. Come on Joey, let's go hook up the Playstation," Chandler said, standing and tossing a few bills onto the coffee table. He was tired of everyone's assumptions, and didn't need to be having this discussion alongside one of Monica's brother. Chandler and Joey started to walk out of the coffee house, as Phoebe and Ross heard Joey say "So can I ask her out? She's hot, and I have no history or whatever with her." Chandler just glared at him. "So that'd be a no," Joey concluded.
"How was she?" Monica asked, taking Faith from her grandma in Nora's seldom used Upper West Side penthouse apartment.
"A little angel," Nora cooed, helping Monica get the baby into her jacket. "We played patty cake and read three books, she napped, ate, and helped me play "find the adjective" in my new book, He Touched My-"
"Wow, that sounds like a full day," Monica interrupted awkwardly.
"We had a lovely time, didn't we Faith? But I was hoping to catch a glimpse of that son of mine," Nora said.
"Yeah, he was disappointed he couldn't come get her himself, but he had other stuff going on," Monica explained as Faith wrapped her chubby hands in her ponytail.
"Hm, I see. Monica dear, won't you come in and stay for dinner? I'd love to catch up, and I can't bear to part with my granddaughter if I don't have to," Nora offered, touching Monica's shoulder.
"I wish we could, but her daddy's planning on us for dinner," Monica said. "Another time, definitely."
"Oh all right. But answer me one question before you leave."
"Of course," Monica agreed, kissing Faith on the forehead.
"Are you two dating yet?"
"No! We're just friends," Monica protested.
"Just friends, just friends, I've been hearing that from him for seven years. Then tell me you're at least fu-"
"Bye, Nora!" Monica interjected, kissing her briefly on the cheek before making a beeline to the elevator. Once safely inside, she held Faith so she could see her face.
"Let me tell you something right now. Your grandma loves you very much, but she's a very strange person."
Monica picked up Chandler's mail on the way up the stairs, and found a letter addressed to her. She opened it and found a piece of notebook paper that said, in Rachel's messy scrawl, "Just do it already," enclosed with a single condom. She laughed in spite of herself. Typical Rachel.
Halfway up the stairs, she realized that Faith had fallen asleep against her shoulder. "Sshh"-ing her way into the apartment and past Chandler, she took the baby to her crib in the corner of Chandler's bedroom. Monica tucked Faith in beneath her baby blankets and kissed her soft light hair. "Sweet dreams, Faithy," she whispered before heading back into the living room. She stopped abruptly when she saw Chandler setting the table for two, complete with candles and real plates. He noticed her as he was spooning Chinese takeout onto their plates.
"What?" he said laughing. "Was my mother that bad?"
"Well, yes, but… is this supposed to be romantic?" she asked suspiciously. He looked at her, taken aback.
"Why is everyone so obsessed with that today?" he asked, throwing his hands in the air.
"What?"
"In the coffee house, the guys were- just talking about us like that, never mind, it was nothing," he muttered. "Just sit down."
Monica remained standing, a million thoughts running through her head. The gang was talking about them getting together. Chandler's mom thought they were a couple, or at the very least- well, that. Rachel, who'd met Chandler all of three times, was convinced they were soulmates. They were signs. She took a deep breath.
"Chandler," she said a little too sharply.
"Yes, Mon?" he asked, taking a step towards her. "Are you all right?"
"Fine. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sick of thinking it to death, and the next time you try to kiss me, I'm not going to stop you."
He almost laughed at her business-like approach to basically inviting him to kiss her, but something stopped him.
"Wait a minute. The next time I try to kiss you?" he asked.
"Well, that seems to be how it worked in the past," she said sarcastically.
"Oh my god, you have such a selective memory," he said shaking his head.
"What are you implying?" she asked.
"I'm not implying anything, I'm coming out and saying that all of those almost kisses were 100% mutual endeavors, and I seem to recall several occasions when you were the one doing most of the leaning."
"Yeah right!" Monica scoffed.
"Oh look, kids, here comes the Denial Truck! Everyone wave to the Denial Truck!"
"Grow up," she said angrily. They both glared at eachother for several moments, before promptly falling into hysterical laughter.
"Why are we fighting?" Chandler asked while laughing.
"I don't know," she admitted. He sobered.
"I mean, who cares who's kissing who… the point is, you're saying you want it to happen."
"I'm not saying I want it to happen," she started defensively, then sighed and tried again. "I'm not saying I want it to happen. What I'm saying is that I'm not going to be the one to stop it if it does. It was a warning."
"Oh yeah? Thanks for the warning," he said, a smile tugging at his lips. He inched closer to her.
"So are you gonna do it now, or what?" she asked impatiently.
"Now? Right now?" he asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Are you?"
"I don't know. I mean, shouldn't there be some kind of preparation? Some kind of leading into it, I don't know if…" his voice faded out in Monica's mind as she began only to hear the voice of Rachel saying "Just do it and get it over with" over and over. Suddenly, she crossed the distance between them and grabbed his face in her hands.
"Chandler? Shut the hell up," she ordered, smiling briefly before pressing her lips forcefully onto his.
He froze for a second. He was kissing Monica. Or she was kissing him, whatever, kissing was happening. Soon he was overtaken by the sense of how incredibly right it felt, how perfectly she fit into him, and how it seemed like he had been waiting his entire life for this one kiss. He sunk into it, losing his hands in her soft dark hair, and as she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck, her mouth opened just slightly, inviting him. Their tongues found eachother and it could have been a moment or a lifetime that they spent wrapped in eachother, losing their senses of time and place and losing their senses in general. Finally, they came up for air, and they're mouths met three times in sweet little after-kisses.
"Okay," Monica said, her breathing hard. He chuckled at her, still wrapped in his arms.
"Okay? I'd say that was more than okay," he told her. She smiled.
"Yeah," she said, pecking his lips twice more.
"Thanks for not thinking," he said, hugging her tightly.
"Anytime," she replied, resting her head on his shoulder.
"So… where do we-" he began. She pulled away so that she could look at him.
"Let's not," she said. His face fell.
"Let's not what?"
"Let's not talk about what we are," she said. He looked at her, surprised.
"That's sort of out of character," he said, concerned.
"I don't want to stay in character. I don't want to talk about it. In fact, I don't really want to talk. At all," she finished. He smiled, understanding, before kissing her again and leading her to his bedroom, locked in the embrace.
"Faith," she said, breaking the kiss. "My room." He nodded feverishly, picking her up and carrying her into her bedroom.
Several hours later, she lay with her head on his shoulder as he combed his fingers through her hair.
"Now do you want to talk?" he asked teasingly. She smiled and buried her face in his chest.
"About anything except 'what we are'," she said, kissing his shoulder.
"Don't you think we need to have that discussion eventually," he asked, closing his eyes. He still couldn't believe she was there, in his arms, kissing his bare shoulder. It was like a dream- no, like so many dreams- come true.
"I don't think so," she said. "Let's just… be."
"Yeah, but be what?" he asked her.
"Just be."
"Friends who hook up?" he asked. She turned to face him.
"Is that what you want?"
"Is that what you want?" he countered. He sighed and tried again. "I'd agree to almost anything if it had to do with you, Mon, you know that. I'd be your sex toy, your boyfriend, I'd propose, I'd tell you I loved you right now if I thought you were ready to hear it," he said. "But you're not." She shook her head.
"No. I'm not."
"So what do you want? Tell me, and it's yours," he said, stroking her cheek with his finger.
"I want you, like this. And for now, that's enough," she said. "Is it enough for you?" she asked, her voice sweet and caring.
"Anything from you is enough for me," he answered.
"Good," she said, kissing him on the lips long and seductively. He responded eagerly. Faith's cries barely registered, then broke them apart.
"Go," she said, kissing him once more.
"Okay. But I'll be back," he told her, running his hand over her body.
"You better be," she said smiling, as he left the room.
So a lot of you should be a lot happier now. However, all of you have to know that it can't stay this easy… so review and find out what happens next.
