Ain't No Mountain High

Author: stargirl*

Author's Note: This one's for Monica and Chandler fans mainly, but also for Rachel baby fans. What the hell, everyone will enjoy this. Please read and review. Oh yeah, and I don't own them, I only Matthew Perry in my dreams.

UPDATE: Matthew Perry, my love slave, and I are getting along splendidly. As always, please review.

***************************
Chapter Five: I Told You You Could Always Count On Me
***************************

Chandler rushed through the hospital doors. He quickly asked the front receptionist for directions, and ran off again towards the elevators. He impatiently punched the button for the second floor and tapped his foot as the metal box slowly rose. He was through the doors before they had barely opened. He only stopped his mad rush upon seeing Joey in the waiting room.

"Where is she?" he asked with excitement.

"Rachel's in room 237, just down the hall." Joey answered. "Ross is in there with her."

Chandler patted his friend on the shoulder. "How are you holding up?" He knew about his best friend's feelings for Rachel. They had never really gone away. Chandler knew how Joey must be feeling. It was the feeling he had known for the past five long days since he had stormed out of the apartment. The feeling of needing someone who is so close, but having something else in the way. In Joey's case, that something was the fact that Rachel didn't return his affection despite their closeness. For Chandler, it was the other man, whoever that other man was.

Joey nodded, a small smile on his face. "I'm alright. I just still can't believe that Rachel and Ross are going to be parents together." His head tilted as he looked at Chandler with concern. "What about you? Have you... um... talked to her?"

Suddenly fascinated by the shine on his shoes, Chandler shook his head. "No." It was simple. He didn't feel right. What could he say to her? He wanted with all of his heart to forgive her, but didn't know how. He recalled the letter he had written her.

Monica,
When I woke up today, I could smell the smell of your shampoo coming from the bathroom. Then I remembered. The only smell I was left with then was the stench of cigarettes left over in the hotel room. It's the little things I miss. Like today, I had a tuna sandwich for lunch. Normally, I would have come home and told you that. I couldn't. You can't imagine how much not being able to tell you about my sandwich hurt. Or not being able to tell you about the new assistant at work who broke the copier. But if I could talk to you now, I wouldn't tell you about shampoo, sandwiches, or copiers. I'd tell you that I love you. And that I will always love you. Someway, somehow.

Chandler

Chandler didn't send the letter. How could he? Despite how much he wanted to, how could he tell her that everything would be okay, when he didn't know that was the case? A thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"Is she here now?" Of course, it would be logical for Monica to be present for the birth of Rachel's baby. How could he face her?

Joey shook her head. "No. Phoebe tried to call her, but nobody answered. She didn't answer her cell phone either. We're not quite sure where she is."

Before Chandler could speculate on his wife's location, he saw Phoebe coming down the hall. "Hey guys," she greeted them cheerfully, handing Joey one of the coffees that she was carrying. "You'll never guess who I ran into on my way to the cafeteria." She looked at Chandler. "Oh..." Her cheerful appearance turned as she looked to the floor.

"What?" asked Chandler.

"I ran into Monica in the hallway," she murmured. She didn't want to hurt Chandler with reference to Monica, and realized what their meeting would mean. She had forgotten about what had happened between her two friends. It was so unexpected, it was easy to forget. "I told her about Rachel. She said she'd be up after she finished something else."

What was Monica doing at the hospital? Chandler knew she didn't mention anything about an appointment. He would be seeing her soon. Chandler's stomach turned up in a knot. He was dreading seeing the person who had once been the only one he wanted to see.

Phoebe, Joey, and Chandler's heads turned as Ross emerged from one of the rooms down the hall, all decked out in hospital garb. As he walked toward them, he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Well," he announced, "Rachel's still giving them hell. The baby's still pretty reluctant in coming out. God, I thought she was moody before, but now you really don't want to be within her firing range."

"How long has it been?" asked Phoebe.

"About five hours now," Ross responded with a groan.

"Hah!" exclaimed Phoebe. "I beat her, and I had triplets!"

Just as the mood was beginning to lighten, Chandler saw a beautiful dark-haired woman walked toward them out of the corner of his eye.

Monica.

From the way she was walking, it was obvious that she had sighted Chandler and was as nervous as he was. Chandler looked away and stepped a bit away from the group as she joined them. The two tried to act as though nothing was wrong, but no one was buying it. Even when Monica asked Ross what was going on, the other three friends just looked back and forth between the couple.

"ROSS!" A scream came from down the hall. "Get your fat dinosaur-loving butt in here!"

"Duty calls," stated Ross, giving the others a weak salute as he ran down the hall and back into the room. "I'm coming, honey!"

By this time, Chandler had taken a seat in the corner of the room. Uneasily, Monica adjusted her purse on her shoulder and sat down five seats away from him. Not really knowing what to do, Joey sat down nearby Chandler and Phoebe nearby Monica. All that was left to do was wait.

So, they waited. And waited. The first few hours, the group tried to entertain themselves by reading the magazines in the waiting room. Joey tried to get Chandler involved in a game of table top football, but Chandler's heart just wasn't in it.

After Rachel had been in labor a total of nine hours, Monica took a nap. Chandler couldn't help looking at her as she slept. At her perfect face, her perfect body. Her lips moved slightly as she breathed in and out. Every so often, she would move slightly in her chair. I should be holding her, thought Chandler. She should be sleeping in my arms. When Chandler returned from a trip to the bathroom, he almost went over to sit next to her out of habit. But things were different now.

Twelve hours of labor. Every so often, they would hear Rachel call out from down the hall. She was indeed, as Ross had put it, still giving them hell. And from the sounds of it, the "them" included Ross. The few times he was able to escape from Rachel and rest briefly in the waiting room, he was always red and out of breath.

Chandler walked down the hospital halls, his mind elsewhere. He stopped in front of the glass window, behind which lay the rows of newborn babies, looking out at the world in their little blue and pink caps. He saw a couple that was standing in the hallway on the other side of the glass-walled room looking adoringly at one little guy in a blue cap. The man pushed his nose up against the glass, making faces.

His brow furrowed in concern as his head turned to see another looking through the opposite facing glass.

Monica.

She was waving at the babies too, but hers was not an expression of joy. A sad melancholy look swept over her face. Chandler felt her pain as he looked upon her pain. His head turned abruptly as he saw Phoebe rushing toward him. "Come on!" she exclaimed. Briefly, before he turned to rush towards Rachel's room, he looked back at Monica, who was now looking up as well. Their eyes locked for a moment. The way she looked that very second would be held in his mind forever.

***************************
End Chapter Five. Please review! By the way, I know what you're thinking, but you're wrong!