"CC?"

CC forced an eye open and stretched in her seat.

Chandler was sitting in the white leather seat across from her and leaned over the white marble coffee table between them putting a hand on her knee. "CC. We're landing."

CC shut her eyes again and let out a small groan. The last thing she remembered was shortly after take-off, she opened her laptop to review production costs with Chandler. Now she was covered with a blanket and had a silk travel pillow under her head.

"It's time to get up, sweetheart."

She heard the motorized whirr of the window shades going up and she knew Chandler must be responsible for pushing the button. The light strained her barely shut eyes.

"Chandler-" She heard the girlish complaint in her voice and it irked her, waking her even more.

CC opened both of her eyes slightly and spied Chandler with the same wolfish look he wore when he'd wake her in the mornings after she'd sleep over at his apartment. "Don't." Her voice came out stronger.

He wolfishly grinned. "What?"

She sat up in the seat and stretched. "You know what."

He gave her a look through his icy blues to indicate he was waiting for an answer.

She stopped stretching and dropped her hands making fists and trying not to smirk. "Stop looking at me like you know what I look like naked."

"Well-" He bit his bottom lip and a blue eye sparked.

"Don't say it." She pushed her hair back as she heard him laughing to himself and raising a finger before an attendant appeared.

"Yes sir?"

"We'll have that juice now."

The plane hit a small patch of turbulence and she shifted uncomfortably, sitting up straighter. The weekly flight was becoming harder on her back. "Chandler, I may video conference instead of flying back to California next week." CC knew it may not work and she might still end up catching a flight anyhow.

Chandler ran a hand through his shiny black hair and paused a minute. "It's understandable."

The attendant brought the juice and Chandler pointed toward CC, who pulled the blanket down. and shook her head waving the juice away.

Chandler stood and took the juice from the attendant. "Now, dear, you know that you were supposed to hydrate during the flight." He sat down next to CC. "Doctor's orders."

"Chandler, you can tell 'the doctor' to shove his orders or I'll cram that juice down both of your throats. -And don't call me 'dear.'"

He gave her his most dashing smile and leaned into her chair space while handing her the juice and using his rich deep voice. "Not even for the new baby?"

She jutted her chin and smoothed her shirt over the small bump in her middle, where everything was calm. "Chandler, that voice doesn't work on me anymore."

"Ok, we'll try what does work."

She crossed her arms and looked at him sideways as he continued. "Drink that juice and I'll cover one percent more of Sheffield Babcock's production costs this week."

She pursed her lips in a stare for seconds and then clipped, "Five."

"Two."

"Three and half—final offer." She narrowed her eyes.

"He handed over the juice. This must be the world's most expensive OJ."

She smiled. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

"Well, do I at least get to watch?"

She smiled and gave her devious laugh. "No." She turned away and took a sip and then turned back as he stood.

"You know, Chandler, if you'd negotiated like that when we were engaged, we might have actually had a chance."

"Darling, don't tease." He buttoned his jacket and winked. "I need to speak to the pilot about next week."

CC shook her head. Chandler always found a reason to get up during landing. "We get it. It's your plane." She rolled her eyes.

She looked out the window and wondered how they got here to this bizarre place where Chandler was taking care of her while she was pregnant with Niles' baby.

If he had any misgivings, he'd hid it when they resumed working together in California. In the beginning she just tried not to mention her home life too much. It was easy, as if nothing much had changed with all the thoughts she'd been holding back for the past year.

But then, she was blindsided when she discovered she was pregnant. It was surprisingly easier coming to terms with the idea of having and raising another baby than it was to face her guilt and tell Chandler the news. There were complicated and conflicting reasons.

When she'd first started to show, she subconsciously hid the pregnancy from Chandler to delay the conversation. She'd worn big shirts and blazers for months already when one day she inadvertently stretched during one of their planning meetings and her blazer opened, showing off the small baby bump.

He stopped talking mid-sentence and she looked up at him to see him pointing with the pen in his hand at her middle. "CC?"

She looked down and buttoned her jacket slowly, knowing the time had come.

"Is that?"

She shut the laptop in front of her and all of her files one by one and stacked them carefully and pushed back into her seat before looking up at him. "Yes."

"But you- "

"I know." She closed her eyes as she answered.

He swallowed hard and bit the side of his bottom lip with a grimace. "Planned?"

She didn't owe him an explanation, and she did, all at the same time. "A surprise."

"Well, now I'm surprised." He tossed the pen in his hand onto the coffee table and sat back. "You fought me so hard on having children of our own."

Chandler had found someone else in a relatively short period after their break up and was engaged again, so she didn't feel too bad about discussing it with him. But she could see the hurt in his otherwise indifferent look.

"Things changed." Things changed, specifically when she she saw that double line on the pregnancy test.

He nodded and looked down not really focused on the file in front of him. "So, it was just me you didn't want children with."

She got up and went to the seats facing hers and sat next to him. "Chandler, I've done a lot of things recently that I never planned on. For god's sake, I'm living with a butler." She smiled. "Besides, if you and I weren't happy, we would have made some kid miserable."

"No one on Park Avenue grows up happy, CC." He winced.

"Well, you're happy now. Aren't you?" She looked up at him and put a hand on his.

"Of course. But I can't help but wonder what might have been if I didn't ask so much. Maybe if I'd accepted Sophie."

She shook her head. "Don't. It was an impossible situation. After the parties and the pretty pictures, we were on edge with each other."

He cocked his head and she corrected herself. "I was on edge. Juggling too many…men?" CC shifted before she cleared her throat and finished, "…feelings."

He gave a nod and put his hand around hers and stared at her bare ring finger.

The memory of her beautiful diamond made her miss it for a moment before a rush of frustration she felt during that time hit her. The yearning she suffered. She let her head fall back. "-and, I couldn't get that cocky butler out of my head!"

Chandler forced a small smile and she hesitated before she asked. "Did you give it to- "

He shook his head and stole a glance at her. "It's still in my safe."

She gave him a side eye. "I won't be taking it back."

He gave another little nod prompting her to smile knowing that her life these days would be distasteful to him. "Listen, you wouldn't believe how I spent last weekend."

He looked up at her and put his arm around her. "And why not?"

"Friday, Sophie was already in bed and Niles, and I fell asleep watching the Wiggles of all things—and she wasn't even in the room."

Chandler raised an eyebrow.

"-Too tired to change the channel," She added wryly before continuing, "Saturday, I had to clean out my Hermes drawer in the closet. "Sophie hid a sippy cup full of milk in the drawer and it spoiled then leaked all over thousands of dollars of scarves, some of them antique.

He laughed. "Tragic."

"It was." She pulled her hand away. "And on Sunday, I was dressed in the most fabulous Dior for brunch, but when I bent down to kiss Sophie goodbye, she put a hand full of pudding in my hair. Then Niles and I fought for an hour about Sophie having sugar and I ended up collapsing in bed in silk pajama bottoms. No brunch."

As much as they fought, Niles did know how to save her from day-to-day life when she'd reached her wits end. When he couldn't get her to attend her brunch, he basically put her in time out, pushing her into the master bedroom, drawing back the sheets, and then closing the door behind him.

Chandler smiled. "Well, that sounds very domestic. Perhaps you should try a-"

"-DD forbid nannies in her will, remember?"

He sat quietly for a moment before slowly putting a handout "May I?"

She hesitated and probably looked a little annoyed before she nodded with closed eyes.

He put his hand over the small bump and looked up at her. "I'm Sure, we could have had this."

She sighed. "No, we couldn't, because she's Niles'."

"And let's not forget, that you said you didn't want children." Chandler said almost defeatedly.

She let his hand rest for a bit longer, then she took his hand off and held it. "You're getting married, and you'll find out soon enough that it ain't all ponies and rainbows, even with a nanny."

"It's ironic that the woman who didn't want children is about to have two."

"Isn't it though?" She felt no need for a talk about failed birth control.

She leaned over and squeezed his arm and kissed his cheek before getting up and moving back to her original seat across from him. "Let's get back to work."

She remembered that Chandler stared at her differently from that time on. Like she was a fragile unopened present. He sometimes doted on her so much that some people assumed they were married. It also added to the confusion because anyone could see their old engagement announcement on the internet.

But she was more herself with him now than when they were engaged. They were—dare she say it, friends.

The jet landed and Chandler came back from the front of the plane breaking her thoughts about the past. "Ready?" He held out his hand.

CC shot him a look and blinked rapidly, and he shrugged. "I know, your legs work fine. I just thought-"

She continued her glare, and he threw his head back exasperatedly speaking to the starry-eyed attendant as he turned. "Help Ms. Babcock with her things."

Chandler exited ahead of her and when she reached the top of the stairs, she saw the man who continued to be her shiny toy, A neatly dressed Niles stood holding Sophie just beyond Chandler's shoulder and his eyes lit when they saw each other. Sophie waved excitedly. "Mommy!"

"Sophie!"

Chandler reached the bottom of the stairs and Niles held out his hand and awaiting some sort of answer from Chandler while raising his eyebrows in anticipation. Chandler shook his head and whispered something she couldn't make out as he returned the handshake. Both the men glanced at her before Chandler walked off. "Talk to you tomorrow, CC."

Niles looked at CC as she approached and gave her his surly squinted look as Sophie leaned forward from Niles' arms into CC's arms.

CC took Sophie and gave her a peck on the head. "I missed you!"

CC pulled out a small hand-held stuffed duck, and Sophie took it, looking down at it with a smile. "Thank you."

CC patted Sophie and then stood quietly looking at Niles who's surly look melted when they locked eyes. She managed to speak quietly and coolly. "Hello, Doctor."

"Brunette." He leaned over and put a hand on her middle and kissed her on the lips before taking her bag. "I hear you've disobeyed orders again." He slid his other arm around her waist as they began walking to the car.

"Maybe I should be punished." She glanced sideways.

"I agree." He buried his head in her hair going for her neck with a growl as she let out a low giggle.

Sophie picked her head up from her toy and pushed his shoulder. "Be nice."

"I was trying," Niles muttered. Sophie continued staring.

"Yes, Sophie." Niles answered formally. Satisfied, Sophie turned back to her duck.

Niles and CC snickered and glanced at each other with smiles burgeoning.

Behind Niles, CC glanced over to see Chandler staring at them as he came up from his fiancée's hug. Behind them a driver stood holding the car door.

It was a nice contrast to the one time she picked Chandler up in the limo while typing furiously on her laptop while leaving notes on a script. The driver greeted chandler and she had a hard time putting the laptop away once he was in the limo.

After their engagement, Chandler avoided dating anyone in their social set. He was obviously going in a different direction this time. His new fiancée was younger and eager. And although not from their world, she would be good fit for Chandler's egocentric way.

Her view came back to her own driver, Niles. She studied Niles as he confidently held up the car key and unlocked the car as they walked. "Everything is set for this evening."

They were throwing a small party for Sophie's birthday, one day early for close friends and family.

He put the key back in his pocket. "Unfortunately."

She looked up at him as he opened the car door for her to put Sophie in her car seat. "Why is that?"

"It's going to cut into the time I need to punish you."

She laughed as she put Sophie down inside the car and Sophie crawled to her car seat in the middle of the back seat and began putting her own straps on.

CC moved back from the door and watched Niles' back as he leaned over into the car and strapped Sophie in.

When he stood up and shut the door, CC leaned into him with an arched eyebrow and pulled on the front of his shirt. "I may need to do some punishing myself, Doctor."

He let out his devious laugh putting his arms around her. "Well, who else will make sure you're hydrated?"

"Hmm. Chandler didn't seem to mind once you put him up to it." She let her hand on the shirt slide down to his belt and she hung a finger on it.

Niles looked like he was about to speak and then stopped. "I hope you're not trying to make me jealous, blonde. I mean, it was my idea."

She dropped both her hands and cleared her face of expression. "I didn't say any such thing." Then she giggled lowly using her gravel voice. "How does it feel?"

"I'm more than happy to be on this side of things." His eyes sparkled in that way that made her weak.

She gave him a mock side eye as they broke apart and he held her door for her while she got in.

She reclined the seat slightly and by the time he got in and started the car, she experienced it through shut eyes. She put her left hand out on the console and felt his hand slide on top of hers as the car took off.

"Babs, maybe it's time we talked about moving to California again."

She answered with her eyes closed. "It's fine. I'm video conferencing in next week."

"Sure, you are." She heard him whisper right before she fell asleep.