Hi everyone! Merry (late) Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!
I hope everyone had a great, safe holiday with their loved ones! Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, an update! I should be able to work on this more often now that the busy season is over.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Much love!
Monday, June 21, 1999 - 8:09 PM
"Pheebs," Chandler walked into Phoebe's new hospital room and made his way over to her, then took her hand, "how are you feeling?"
"Oh, I'm fine," Phoebe said, waving a hand at him, "don't worry about me. How is Ross?"
Chandler squeezed her hand, and gently shook his head, "He's uh," he shook his head more, "he's the same. Maybe even a little worse."
Phoebe gasped a little, "No, Chandler," she said, and tears filled her eyes, "what are we going to do if…"
He pressed his lips tighter together and shut his eyes, "I don't know," he admitted softly, then leaned down and wrapped an arm around her, his face pressed against hers, "I don't know," he said again.
He stood up to his full form again and she quickly wiped a tear from her face, "This isn't supposed to be happening to us."
He nodded in agreement and sat down next to her legs on the side of the bed, "You're right about that," he sighed, "I just wish there was something I could do, you know?"
Phoebe wiped another tear from her face, "I'm sure you being here is enough," she said, then pat his leg, "being here for Ross and Monica is what is most important right now.
He nodded, "Yeah. I guess so," he said, then turned as her room door opened again.
Rachel reclaimed her seat next to Phoebe and looked up at Chandler, "Please, don't tell me anything unless it's good news," she said, shaking her head, "I really can't take anymore."
He nodded, then pressed his lips together and looked away. Rachel shook her head at him, groaned and fought tears that were trying to come to the surface.
"Changing the subject," Rachel said quickly, causing both Chandler and Phoebe to jump just a little, "Chandler, what is going on with you and Monica?"
He looked at her and raised an eyebrow, "We're going to talk about that now? Seriously?"
"Well, why not?" Rachel asked, then looked over at Phoebe.
"We need something to talk about and this seems perfect, don't you think?" Phoebe chimed in.
Chandler chuckled nervously and looked away from both sets of eyes, "Well, um, there's not much to talk about," he shrugged, "she's got a lot going on right now and she doesn't need me trying to move in on her. I think we should just cool it until Ross is better."
Rachel reached over and touched his knee, "True, but I think you just being here with her probably makes her feel better, even if it's just a little."
Phoebe grinned, "I just told him that!"
Rachel smiled back at her friend, "Great minds!" She turned her attention back to Chandler, "So, Bing," she said, and he looked up at her, "I want details."
He raised an eyebrow, "Details about what?"
Rachel rolled her eyes because she thought the answer to that question was pretty obvious, "Of when you fell in love with her. What was it like when you kissed her for the first time?"
"What was it like waking up next to her in Colorado?" Phoebe added. "Did you feel dizzy? Did you know at that very second that you wanted to be with her?"
"Guys…"
"Did you think about her non-stop when you laid down to sleep?" Rachel interrupted.
Chandler chuckled and rubbed his eyes, shaking his head a little, "You both watch too many romantic comedies."
Rachel furrowed her eyebrows together, glanced over at Phoebe, then looked at Chandler again, "So none of that happened?"
He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, squeezed Phoebe's hand, then stood from the bed and walked over to the window. He studied the tops of the trees, trying to think of a response to tell his two friends.
"Yes," he finally said, and Rachel turned in her chair and stared at the back of his head as he spoke, "all of that happened. When I kissed her, I knew that she was it. She is all that I want, all that I need to be happy. And then we kissed again, and yes, it was a moment of weakness for me, but I just felt," he sighed, "as cliche as this is, I felt complete. I was kissing my best friend, and I knew in that very second, that I didn't want to kiss anyone else."
Rachel turned, glanced at Phoebe and the two women smiled at each other.
"You had the moment," Phoebe said, and he turned and looked at them, then smirked as he turned back to the window.
"All of my life, I think I was just looking for that one person that I could be myself around. A person that knows my awkward, goofy, weird personality, but also knows that I have a serious side too. A person that I don't have to worry about putting on a front for. A person that I don't care what we're doing, because as long as she is with me, whether it's going out or spending a rainy, lazy day at home watching movies and eating junk food, I'm happy."
"You already do all of that with Monica," Phoebe said.
Rachel wiped a tear from her face and turned to take Phoebe's hand as Chandler continued, "I was looking for that person that you can turn to with all your problems and she'll be there for me through it all, through thick and thin, a type of relationship where whatever happens, good or bad, we'll stick together." "Oh God," Rachel said, and he turned to them, a small smile on his face.
"Every conversation, every hug, kiss, and touch," he shook his head, "she excites me in a way that no one ever has, and I don't want it any other way."
"And you have all of this with Monica?" Phoebe asked.
He nodded, looked away from them and chuckled. In all his years, even through high school and college, he'd never had to answer such an easy question.
"It's Monica," he finally confirmed, "she's my best friend."
"Chandler, honey, come here," Phoebe said, waving him over. He made his way over to his friends and Rachel stood, and the three of them shared a group hug, "That was so sweet."
He felt a blush come to his cheeks, "Yeah well…"
"I really, really had no idea you were so romantic." Rachel chimed in.
"I really had no idea you were so ready for marriage," Phoebe added.
Chandler let an image flash into his mind of himself, Joey and Ross standing at an altar, dressed in a tuxedo, Phoebe and Rachel on the other side in bridesmaid's dresses, a preacher in between. And then there was Monica, who was walking towards him in a white dress, a smile on that beautiful face that he had yet to figure out how to stop thinking about. "Yeah," he said, back in the present again.
Both women were surprised because they expected him to jolt away and claim that marriage wasn't going to be anytime soon, but he didn't. Phoebe raised her eyebrows in surprise, "All of that was so sweet, honey," she squeezed his hand, "but right now I need you to call the nurse."
Rachel and Chandler both snapped their heads towards Phoebe, "Why? What's wrong?" Chandler asked.
"My water just broke," she replied, the calmness in her voice surprised both of them.
"Oh my God," Rachel exclaimed, and she sprung out of the chair and headed towards the hospital room door, then out into the hall.
"Do you need anything?" Chandler asked worriedly, his eyes wide.
"Just the nurse," Phoebe replied, then patted his arm.
Seconds later, two nurses rushed in, and Chandler moved out of their way, and stood beside Rachel in the corner of the room.
"Isn't it too early?" He asked her softly.
"I don't think so," Rachel responded, "she's 33 weeks, and I heard the doctor say that is extremely successful for triplets."
Chandler nodded, "I should go let Monica know," he said.
Rachel nodded back at him, "Okay. I'll stay here."
He sighed, squeezed Rachel's arm, and left the room. As he walked down the hall, he thought about Rachel's plan to avoid Ross. It was almost as if she didn't see him or hear news about him that he wasn't really lying unconscious in a hospital bed and machines were living for him.
He wished his own brain would allow such a situation.
He stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for the 3rd floor, where the intensive care unit was located.
"Where did you disappear to earlier, sweetheart?" Judy asked.
Monica was staring absentmindedly out the window, playing with her necklace, and thinking about how crazy the last few weeks had been.
She really missed normal.
All six of them, happy and healthy, together and living the best part of their lives.
But then, she and Chandler went to Colorado, and Ross met Emily, and Richard came back into her life, then Ross's accident and Phoebe was pregnant with three babies that are not hers…
She felt like she was living in the twilight zone.
She shut her eyes and took in a shaky breath, wishing she had a time machine.
She'd certainly do things differently; she knew that much.
"Monica?" Judy called again, and her daughter snapped out of the trance she seemed to be in and looked over to her mother.
"Hm what?" She turned to face her.
"Where did you get off to earlier?" she asked again.
Monica looked away as she felt a tingle run up and then back down her spine, "I needed to get out of there," she answered softly.
"Chandler too?"
Monica met her mother's eyes again, "He followed me," she said truthfully, "it was too much for me and I was upset. He wanted to calm me down."
Judy nodded slowly, "And I guess he calmed you down?"
Monica nodded back, "Yeah."
She smiled at her daughter, "You're lucky to have a guy like that in your life, sweetie."
"I know, Mom," Monica replied softly, a smile crept onto her face, "he's pretty great."
Judy simply reached over, took her daughter's hand, and squeezed it gently.
Monica flushed the toilet a few minutes later, left the bathroom stall, and headed out to the sink to wash her hands. She bent over to catch water in them, then splashed it all over her face.
Dear God, she was tired.
She needed sleep, and a lot of it.
She grabbed paper towels and dried off, then turned her attention to the woman that began to groan with frustration behind her.
"Damn it," the woman exclaimed, then looked over at Monica, "hi, sorry. The machine is out, and I really have a situation. You wouldn't happen to have a tampon, would you?"
Monica smiled and picked up her purse that she had sat on the counter earlier, "Of course," she responded, and passed it over to her.
"Oh my God, you're a lifesaver! Thank you so much."
"No problem at all," Monica replied, then smiled at her again.
The woman retreated back into the stall and Monica turned and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She furrowed her eyebrows together, trying to think back to the last time she needed such an item.
She couldn't remember.
She shook her head at herself, then ran her hands over her face, deciding that the lack of memory was because of how utterly exhausted she felt and how impossible life had been lately.
"Snap out of it Monica," she whispered to her reflection, then slapped her own cheeks as the stranger emerged from the stall once again and walked over to the sink.
"Thank you again," she said.
"You're very welcome," Monica replied.
"I've been here for two weeks," she continued as she washed her hands, "I've been living out of my suitcase that's in my car in the hospital parking lot." Monica glanced over at her, "My fiancé was in an accident, and we live about two hours away from here. Honestly, I don't even know what clothes I packed," she added, "and I didn't pack those because I didn't think I would be here this long."
Monica swallowed nervously at the thought of being stuck in this hospital for another nine days. She felt her stomach turn a somersault, "I'm so sorry about your fiancé," she said to her.
"Thank you," she smiled sadly, "I miss him, the sound of his voice, his smile, his laugh," she sighed, "he's my best friend, and I need him to wake up."
She nodded at the stranger, "I pray that he does," she whispered softly.
"And same to whoever you're here for," the lady said, then squeezed Monica's arm as she passed her and left the bathroom.
Monica looked in the mirror again and brushed some of her hair behind her ears, then attempted to make her face look less tired.
She sighed and turned, finally leaving the restroom.
She saw Chandler standing and talking to her parents when she got back to the waiting room, and Judy nodded towards Monica when she spotted her.
"You okay?" Chandler asked her as she approached them.
Monica smiled just a little, "As okay as I can be," she responded.
Chandler smiled back at her and stuck his hands in his pockets so that he wouldn't take hers, "So I came up to tell you that Phoebe's water broke," he said, "she's in labor."
"Is she okay?" Monica asked, worry in her voice.
He nodded, "Yeah, yeah, she's fine. You know Phoebe, strong as ever."
"Are Frank and Alice here?" She asked.
He shook his head, "On the way," he answered, "they were in Delaware visiting Alice's sister. It'll be a while, but hopefully, they'll make it in time."
She nodded, "I should go down and check on her," she said.
"Mr. and Mrs. Geller?" Monica stopped walking and the sickening feeling she got every time a man or woman with Ross's chart in their hands came to converse with them returned with a vengeance. She put her hand on her churning stomach as the group that stood in the lobby turned to greet the doctor that approached them.
"I'm here with good news, actually," he said, a small smile on his face, "Ross started to trigger the ventilator again, so we were able to take him back off of it, and he is breathing on his own. And the rest of his vitals are very good. His blood pressure, temperature, and pulse are very normal considering where he was when he got here. We think this time he will be able to stay off of the ventilator, and his breathing is very good, at 98 percent…"
"He just needs to wake up," Monica cut in sharply, and Jack, Judy, and Chandler all looked at her.
The doctor met her eyes, and nodded once, "Yes, Ms. Geller," he said, then sighed, "he just needs to wake up."
Chandler looked down at the floor and shook his head. Man, he was tired of hearing that phrase.
The doctor continued speaking about Ross's condition, but all the words were a continuous string that didn't mean anything to them. All they knew was one thing-Ross wasn't awake.
"Thank you, doctor," Judy said, and he nodded and promised another update soon as he walked away from them.
Joey ran up to chandler a couple of hours later, out of breath, "Did I miss it? Are they here? How's Ross?"
"Not here yet," Chandler said, and put a calming hand on his friend's shoulder, "we were told that Ross seems to be doing better, but he's still not awake, so I don't really know how that's true."
Joey sighed and quickly ran a hand through his short hair, "Aw man," he said, "is Phoebe okay?"
Chandler bobbed his head a little, "I think she's probably in a bit of pain, because, you know, she's in labor and all."
"Right," Joey said, then both men sat down in the chairs behind them. "This waiting around thing really sucks," he said a few minutes later.
Chandler nodded in agreement, "Yeah, it does, Joe."
"So, when Ross wakes up," he started, breaking the silence that had fallen between them again. Chandler looked over at him, "How are you going to tell him you're in love with his little sister?"
"Hah," he replied and ran a hand over his face before he sat back in the chair and crossed his arms, "I'm going to have to approach that conversation carefully," he told Joey.
Joey lifted an eyebrow, "You don't think he's going to take it well?"
Chandler shook his head, "I highly doubt it."
"Why is that?"
"He's really protective over her," Chandler replied, "he doesn't show it to everybody much, but he always has been." Chandler watched as Joey had his eyes glued on a woman that was walking past them. Of course, the woman smiled at Joey, and it made Joey smile too.
"But you're a great guy," Joey insisted once the woman had walked out of his view, "and Ross's best friend. You don't think he'd be happy for you and for Monica?"
Chandler shrugged, "He told me way back in college to stay away from her," he admitted.
"That was years ago, though, man. You're totally different now. Anyway, this is fascinating but I gotta…"
Chandler rolled his eyes, "Go, Joe." He said, then waved a hand.
Joey stood and ran in the direction of the woman that was making eyes at him moments earlier. Chandler looked down at his hands and began to pick on another cuticle, remembering that conversation with Ross many moons ago.
December 8, 1988 - 1:48 PM
"How's the toe, man?" Ross asked, walking into their dorm room two weeks after Thanksgiving.
"It's good," Chandler said, limping a little, but not nearly as much as when the injury first happened. The painkillers worked great, and the wound was healing nicely, and he didn't even think he was mad about it anymore.
"Dude, I can't believe you got your toe cut off in my mom's kitchen," Ross snickered.
"Shut up, dude," Chandler said, "just a freak accident."
"Monica keeps calling me asking how you're doing," Ross said, "she's such a worrywart."
Chandler, with his back facing Ross, smiled at the thought of Monica asking about him. He cleared his throat, "Did you tell her it's healing fine and I'm good?"
Ross grinned as he pulled a textbook from his book bag and set it on his desk, "No, I told her you had gangrene and you might die."
Chandler rolled his eyes at him, "You're an idiot."
"Who actually drops a knife on someone's toe, anyway?"
"It's fine," Chandler said.
"Wait, so a week ago you were really pissed off about it and now it's 'fine'?"
"Yeah."
"I don't get it," Ross said, "You're literally sir-limps-a-lot and you're 'fine' with it now?"
"Yeah, Ross, that's what happens when you get over things and move on."
"She cut off your toe," Ross replied, deadpan.
"It wasn't the whole toe, and are you saying you want me to stay pissed off at your sister?" He plopped down on his bed and lifted his leg onto it.
"No, I'm just surprised that you're not, I guess."
"Yeah well," he shrugged again, "it was an accident."
Ross lifted an eyebrow at him as he continued, "I was kind of flirting with her, and I think she was trying to flirt back…"
"You were flirting with her?" Ross interrupted, his eyebrows raised.
Chandler shrugged and took off the bandage that was on the tip-less toe to examine the wound closer, "Yeah, a little."
"Excuse me?"
He looked up at Ross, "What?"
"You were flirting with my sister?"
Chandler didn't know what he wasn't understanding, "So what if I was?"
"Bro," Ross said, then crossed his arms as he eyed his roommate, "you can't do that."
Chandler sat up straighter and narrowed his eyes back at Ross, "I 'can't' do that?"
"No, and besides, I didn't think you even liked her."
Chandler shrugged and turned his attention back to the toe, "Well I do."
"Since when?"
He thought about that for a second, "I've always liked her."
Ross turned his head and sat back in his chair, his arms crossed, "No, you didn't like her last year."
He sighed, "Well I didn't really know her. I talked to her more this year and she's sweet, smart, she makes me laugh, and she's fucking hot."
"Dude!" Ross said, louder than before.
"What is your problem?" Chandler asked.
"You need to get the idea of you doing anything with my sister out of your head."
"Why, exactly?"
"Because, man, you're my best friend. And best friends don't do that. And, also, I really don't want to hate you after you break my sister's heart.
Chandler eyed him again, put the bandage and ointment down on his bed, then crossed his arms, "What kind of person do you think I am?"
"I know what kind of person you are," he answered, "and I thought you were going to ask out that girl in your class anyway."
He picked up the stuff to doctor his own toe again and began to think about the woman he told Ross he was into just before Thanksgiving.
Dana. She had laughed with him during a class and made him smile a little, and she was cute, so he told Ross he was thinking about asking her out.
But he hadn't got the courage to do so, and the holiday with the Geller's and with Monica, in particular, made him almost forget about Dana.
Even after the toe incident, her smile, those eyes, that body captivated him.
"I didn't think you would care if I asked out your sister," Chandler winced as he carefully wrapped the fresh bandage around his pinky toe.
"Just, don't, okay? She's off at school anyway and you'd never see her. And she doesn't even like you like that."
"How the fuck do you know?" Chandler responded sharply, "You just said she's been calling to check on me." He grabbed another bandage from the table next to his small bed and winced a little as he wrapped his injury again. Two bandages helped with the pain, or at least he thought they did.
"Because that's just her," Ross said, "she's very motherly, and because the toe thing is her fault, she feels bad about it and wants to make sure you're okay. That doesn't mean she's into you."
"I think my mother's name is Nora, not Ross," he argued, "and I don't know why you think you can tell me who or who not to flirt with."
"I think it's my baby sister, and as my friend, if I'm asking you not to go there, then you shouldn't," Ross said loudly.
Chandler rolled his eyes, carefully put his sock back on his foot and slipped it into his tennis shoe, "Whatever," he responded, then grabbed his jacket from his side of the small wardrobe, "I'm going out."
The dorm room slammed behind him as he walked away.
"Our babies?" Frank asked, breaking up Chandler's thoughts as he ran up to him, Alice behind him, both out of breath, "Are they here?"
Chandler smiled and shook his head, "No, I don't think so. Come on, this way." He showed the excited parents-to-be to the hospital room.
Tuesday, June 22, 1999 - 1:04 AM
Monica waited for the silver doors to open in front of her, then slowly walked out and towards Phoebe's room.
She let out a breath, then breathed in and out again, trying to get some life back into her body. She didn't think she'd ever been this tired.
Of course, she knew they were all tired.
If her brother would just wake up, they could all rest easily.
She ran a hand over her face and approached the door, then knocked softly. Rachel was the one that greeted her, a smile on her face, and a finger to her lips.
"Phoebe just drifted off to sleep," she explained in a whisper.
Monica nodded and smiled just a little when Rachel moved to the side and allowed her to walk into the room.
Inside, Frank, Alice, and Chandler all stood around three bassinets', two of the babies in arms, the third in one of the bassinets sound asleep.
Monica walked over with Rachel and looked over her shoulder at Phoebe, "Is she okay?" She asked Rachel softly.
Rachel nodded, "She's okay," she confirmed, "just really tired." A few moments passed, and Rachel excused herself to go to the restroom.
Monica looked over at Alice and smiled as she looked down at the baby in her arms, "Congratulations," she smiled at Alice when she looked at her, "they're beautiful."
"They're perfect," Alice said softly.
Monica nodded and turned her attention to Chandler, who held one of the newborns in his arms. She watched as he looked down at the baby girl, a smile on his face. He moved his arms up and down slowly when the baby began to fuss, and she fell silent again, making Monica smile bigger.
He didn't even know it, but he was a natural dad.
She slowly moved away from Alice, Frank, and Rachel and stood next to Joey and Chandler.
"Hey," Chandler said softly, then lifted his finger and allowed the tiny fingers to wrap around his.
"Hey," she said with a smile, then gently placed her hand on the pink hat on her head.
Chandler looked over to Monica and smiled at her, and she met his eyes and smiled back.
All the adults in the room looked up when Frank's cell phone began to vibrate. He pulled the device from his pocket, showed Alice the caller ID, and his wife nodded and placed the baby with the blue hat down in the bassinet. The two of them hurried out of the room.
Two nurses entered and walked over to the row of plastic bassinets, looking down at the infants inside of them. "Hey, we need to run a couple more blood tests," she told them softly, each adult keeping their voices down to not wake Phoebe.
Chandler nodded at them and began to put the baby that was in his arms down too, but the nurse shook her head, "No, we actually only need Frankie and Leslie," she said with a smile, "you can keep holding baby girl Chandler."
Chandler smiled down at the baby that was named after him as the nurses left with the two babies they needed more bloodwork on.
"Want to take her for a spin?" Chandler asked, then rubbed her tiny, fat cheek with his finger, "She's pretty great."
"I think she's very comfortable in your arms," Monica said with a small smile.
"Ah, but she hasn't been in yours yet," he replied, then lifted the baby closer to his mouth, "and believe me, baby girl Chandler, it's a great place to be."
She felt a blush come to her cheeks, and truthfully, she wanted to hold that warm, squishy baby more than anything else.
"I'd love to," she whispered to him, and he smiled as he slowly passed Chandler to her.
He watched as Monica carefully cradle the baby and stared down at her and looked at her eyes as tears filled them.
Damn, Chandler thought, the woman looked so good, happy, with a baby in her arms. He stepped even closer to her and slipped his arm around her waist.
"Hey sweet girl," Monica whispered, and smiled down at her. Chandler watched as she stared lovingly at the baby, then lifted her hand and touched her cheek, "She's so beautiful." Chandler nodded in agreement.
She could picture it. Standing with him looking down at their own child, one they could take home with them. Their baby, one that is half him and half her.
A tear finally left her eye and she looked up at big Chandler, who smiled at her, "You think this could be our future?"
He stared into her eyes, nodded just a little at her, then leaned forward and pressed his lips to her temple, "I don't think," he murmured
"I've been thinking about me and you," she admitted to him, and lifted her hand so that she could slip her pinky finger into the baby's hand, allowing her tiny fingers to wrap around it.
"You have?" He asked softly.
She smiled as she bounced the baby's arm a little, "Yeah."
"Good things I hope," he murmured.
Monica turned her face to his again, "Very good," she said, "I think we could be really happy together," she swallowed and looked down at the baby, "marriage, kids, a house in the suburbs, she turned and looked up at him again, "is it what you want?" She asked.
"Yes," he confirmed without blinking so that he wouldn't lose eye contact, "with you." She smiled just a little and he lifted a hand and wiped two tears from her cheeks. He smirked back at her, "Why are you crying?"
"I just…" she looked away from him and back down at the baby in her arms, "…nobody ever wanted to have that with me, and I honestly didn't think it'd ever happen."
"I want it with you," he said, and gently squeezed her hip.
She shut her eyes as he kissed her temple again.
Tuesday, June 22, 1999, 9:12 AM
Monica took her brother's hand, gripping it tightly as she sat in the chair next to his hospital bed.
Her mother had left the room moments earlier, leaving her and her unconscious big brother alone for the first time since this horrific time in the hospital began.
She studied him, his face. The doctor was right, he did look a little better from the outside. Most of his color was back, the cuts and scrapes on his face were already healing, and it was a lot easier to be in the same room with him now that he didn't have a machine breathing for him.
It looked like he was just taking a nap.
A really, really long nap.
She looked down at his hand beneath hers, shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and looked up at him again.
"Ross," she started, speaking softly, just above a whisper, "I need you."
She squeezed his hand, "Please," she continued softly, "there is so much to tell you," she said with a chuckle, "to start, you don't even know that Phoebe had the babies." She smiled as she thought of the tiny children, "It was actually two girls and a boy. And you know how," she swallowed, "how Phoebe decided that she would name one of the boy babies after Chandler? Well, because there were two girls and one boy, the only boy is named Frank Junior Junior, and the girls are Leslie and Chandler." She smiled and squeezed his hand again, "They decided to keep the name."
"So, now in the family," she swallowed and lifted her hand to wipe a tear away at the fact she was having a one-sided conversation, "we have baby girl Chandler and Chandler Bing."
She looked down at their hands again, then back to his face, "Also, I uh," she let out a breath, "Richard and I broke up," she whispered, shaking her head, "I shouldn't have…" she swallowed, "…it wasn't going to work. I think a part of me knew that, but I used to love him so much and I thought it was in the cards, I guess, for us to be together."
She sighed and shook her head at herself again, then wiped away another tear, "But I'm in love with someone else," she said, her voice trembling now, "and he's in love with me. And, um, you know him," she said, a smile stretching across her face, "and you um, you like him. In fact, he's like a brother to you."
She thought about that for a second, "Well, no, that's pretty weird for me to say now," she chuckled and wiped her face, "I think you'll be pretty shocked, but I know you want me to be happy, and him too. And I think we'll be happy, Rossy. Really, really happy. Sickening happy."
She squeezed his hand, "Our kids that we'll have one day will need their Uncle Ross, though, so we need you to wake up, okay? We just…" she sighed and no longer tried to wipe the tears from her face, "…please, come back."
She put her head down on top of their hands and let the tears flow from her eyes, soaking their hands and the bedsheet beneath them.
She felt something move beneath her hand and she lifted her head and stared down at her hand on top of his, tears continued to slide down her face, "Ross?" She said in a breathy whisper. She felt his hand move again, and this time his fingers held hers longer, tighter.
Her eyes snapped to his face as she stood and looked down at him.
Ross slowly opened his eyes, and Monica's smile stretched across her face as she smiled, heartbeat thumping in her chest, "Hi," she managed, her hand holding his tightly.
Ross finally moved his eyes to meet hers, then worked to get some moisture in his mouth.
"Hi."