A/N: Thank you guys for the great reviews and all the follows/favs! I am so happy you guys are liking this story. With all the Randler fics that I've seen on the site lately, something prompted me to write this. I'm really glad to know people are liking it :)

Anyway, this chapter takes place a couple of days after the last one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Friends.

Forever and a Day

Chapter 5

She leaned over the toilet and threw up her entire breakfast.

The nausea rose from deep within her gut, traveling up to her throat. She drew her head back from the toilet bowl, but one look at all the floating bits and pieces of the half-digested food, the urge to vomit returned, making her bend down towards the bowl once again. She stood back slowly, this time making sure that she didn't glance down. Her throat burned and the taste of the regurgitated food remained on her tongue, making her cringe. When her breathing gradually returning to normal, she heard the knock on the bathroom door.

"Monica, are you all right in there? Open the door," Rachel ordered as she knocked. "Mon, you're scaring me, open the door now."

"In a minute," Monica yelled back hoarsely, as loud as her sore throat allowed. She brushed her teeth vigorously and rinsed her mouth with Listerine. Looking at the mirror, she wondered from where the dark circles under her eyes had come. Not wanting to dwell on her appearance at this moment, she looked away from the mirror and opened the door, revealing a very concerned-looking Rachel.

"Do you have a fever or something, honey?" Rachel felt her forehead and shook her head. "No, you don't. Did you consult a doctor?"

She had her OB/GYN appointment that day, but Rachel didn't need to know that. "I have an appointment today, Rach," she nodded as she walked towards the kitchen, averting her eyes from the food that was on the table.

Now she exactly knew what Chandler meant when he said that it's difficult to enjoy food when you've seen it in reverse.

"Really?" Rachel asked her skeptically. "Mon, this is serious. You've been throwing up for a week now. Do you really have an appointment or are you just trying to get out of this conversation?"

"Really, Rach. It's at three this afternoon," Monica replied, wishing that she could just tell Rachel what was really going on.

They would have to tell them all soon, though...

"Okay. That's good," Rachel nodded, looking relieved. "Do you want me to go with you?"

"No," Monica shook her head a little too hurriedly. "That's all right. I'll leave straight from work," she added. Chandler had said that he'd be waiting at the clinic for her.

"You sure?" Rachel asked her, looking dubious.

"Yes. And Rachel, please don't worry about this. We'll know pretty soon what's wrong," she said, getting a water bottle from the fridge.

"We will?" Rachel questioned again, suspecting that this conversation held a lot more significance than it was letting on.

"Yeah," she said with a slight smile as she left to go to her room, leaving Rachel to stare at her back, puzzled.

~.~

At three that afternoon, Chandler and Monica sat together at the waiting room, letting the reality sink in.

She was truly pregnant. They were going to have a baby in nine months.

She looked around the room, which was filled with expectant mothers. Some were with their husbands – she'd deduced that from the wedding bands, some with whom she presumed to be their boyfriends, and some were alone.

She was truly grateful that she wasn't doing this alone. She didn't know whether Chandler realized just how much she appreciated the fact that he'd taken the news of the pregnancy so well.

But as much as she appreciated it, she wasn't sure that she'd be able to take his constant leg jerking for even a minute more.

His left leg was jerking rhythmically against her right at a rapid pace. She knew from his demeanor that he was nervous, but it still got on her nerves. She placed a firm hand on his thigh, hoping he'd take the hint and stop.

Instead, his head snapped to look at her. "What? What? Is some thing wrong? Are you okay? Is everything all right?" He looked at her, startled, panic evident on his face.

She controlled the urge to laugh at his nervousness. He could be just so adorable sometimes. "I am fine, Chandler. A little high-strung, are we?" she smiled at him.

He smiled back, looking down at her hand on his thigh, finally realizing what she'd wanted. "Sorry." His leg came slowly to a still.

She nodded and removed her hand off his leg. It lasted for about twenty seconds before his right leg stated jerking at the same pace. She rolled her eyes, sighing exasperatedly, wishing that the receptionist would call her name soon.

Her wish was granted.

They both got up and followed a nurse, who recorded Monica's weight. The nurse then led them to an examining room, asking them to wait there, saying that the doctor would be with them soon.

Monica got up on the examination table, while Chandler stood beside it, an awkward silence filling the room.

"Wanna hear something funny?" he turned to look at her finally. "I have a condom in my wallet that I've had since I was twelve. If we'd used that the other night, we wouldn't be here," he chuckled nervously.

She smiled at his effort to lighten up the mood, but suddenly remembered his mother's appearance on 'The Tonight Show'. "The condom that your mom got you?" she giggled.

"Yeah, it was my birthday present." He made a disgusted face, making her laugh, both of them feeling the awkwardness slowly dissipate.

"I don't think we were sober enough to think of it that night. Besides, I really don't think a twenty-year-old condom would've worked, anyway." She shook her head.

"Hey, it's just fifteen years old!" he exclaimed. She just looked at him. "Yeah, I see your point," he added quietly, nodding. "Maybe we could try it the next time," he grinned at her, jiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"The next time?!" she looked at him, incredulous and blushing furiously.

Hadn't they learned enough from the one time?

He was saved from the death glare that was directed at him since Dr. Nelson entered the room at that precise moment.

"Hello, I am Dr. Rebecca Nelson. Sorry I am running a little late today." The doctor smiled at them both. "Monica and Chandler, right?"

"Right," Monica nodded, smiling back.

"It's nice to meet you both. Now, let's talk for a bit. I would like to go through your medical history first. Can you tell me the first date of your last period?" Dr. Nelson asked as she picked up the 'date wheel' from her desk, poised to spin it.

"Fourteenth of May," Monica replied. If asked, she'd even be able to tell the precise date of conception.

The doctor spun the wheel slowly and squinted at it. "Your estimated due date is February eighteenth," she smiled warmly at the parents-to-be as she looked up from the wheel. The couple smiled back hesitantly.

February Eighteenth. That meant just eight more months. Not nine.

The doctor then launched into a series of questions directed at Monica. She patiently explained to Monica that the nausea and fatigue were just signs that her body was coping up with the pregnancy.

"You're already a month pregnant. It'll stop at around the twelfth week. Meanwhile, eat a healthy diet. You could also try sucking on hard candies. Many expectant mothers find that helpful," the doctor explained to her, as gently as a mother would explain to a daughter.

This reminded Monica of her own mother; her constantly belittling, Ross-favoring mother. She had no idea how her mother would react to the news. She avoided her as much as possible, but this was not something that you could hide. All that she knew was, her parents sure wouldn't be pleased that their twenty-six-year-old daughter had managed to get pregnant and was having a baby out of wedlock. Added to that, they already hated Chandler for some unknown reason.

Breaking the news to her parents was definitely not something she was looking forward to.

She glanced at Chandler, who had been unusually quiet ever since the doctor's arrival. He was staring intently at the date wheel. She assumed that he was probably thinking about the 'February Eighteenth' part. He looked visibly pale. She couldn't really blame him, either. At least she had always wanted a baby, but Chandler, on the other hand, was not a big fan of commitment. Of any kind. He'd never even have considered the possibility that he'd have a baby in his twenties, let alone from a one-night stand.

She truly did feel sorry for him.

Sensing her gaze on him, he turned his head towards her and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

She smiled back, a small part of her heavy cloud of doubt, drifting away. She turned to the doctor who was now saying something about a physical examination.

"Change into this." Dr. Nelson handed her a dressing gown. "I'll be back in a few," she said before she left, leaving the couple to stare at each other awkwardly.

"I'll just wait outside." Chandler pointed at the door uncomfortably and left the room, leaving Monica alone for the physical examination.

The doctor took her blood pressure, examined her lungs, heart, breast, and then her cervix. "It's just to determine the shape and size of your pelvis," the doctor assured Monica, who nodded her understanding.

Once the physical examination was over and Monica had changed back into her clothes, Chandler came back in.

Dr. Nelson wrote a prescription for prenatal vitamins and handed it to Monica. "Congratulations to you two. I'll see you in another eight weeks for your nuchal translucency scan," she smiled at them both as she shook their hands.

Chandler and Monica left the hospital and headed towards their building, trying desperately hard to distinguish the feeling of hesitancy towards the situation from the feeling of excitement towards the same.

~.~

They climbed up the stairs of their building slowly. A word had not been uttered since the moment they'd left the hospital.

She realized with a pang that they'd have to tell their friends what was happening. She stopped abruptly on the steps and looked at Chandler. "Chandler, we have to tell the others."

He looked at her, his nervous demeanor returning. "Do we have to tell them, like, now?"

"I guess. I mean, I don't think they'll be very thrilled if we tell them after the baby is born," she told him sarcastically.

He looked unamused. "You know what I mean."

She sighed. "I know… It's just, Rachel is already beginning to suspect that something is going on. I just think they'll be more supportive if we tell them now."

He looked at her for a long moment, making up his mind. He nodded. "Okay, you're right. I'll tell Joey, you tell the other three." He started climbing the stairs again.

She caught hold of his arm and pulled him back. "Whoa, whoa! Why should I tell the other three? You break the news to the guys and I'll tell the girls. Or, we tell them all at the same time, together."

He looked at her incredulously. "You want me to tell Ross? Do you, at all, care for the life of your baby's father?"

She sighed again. "Come on, Chandler. It won't be that bad…" she nodded persuasively. "Ross really likes you!"

"Hah," he snorted. "Not after this, he won't."

"Ugh!" Monica swiftly continued climbing the stairs. God, he could be so annoying sometimes.

"I am sorry, but I am not telling Ross that I "impregnated" his little sister." He looked at her indignantly, like an adamant child. "Maybe you don't care for my life, but I do."

"Okay, you know what, let's handle Ross together!" she snapped, looking exasperated, even though she knew that her brother could be intimidating at times.

He still didn't look too pleased as he followed her closely behind. "Oh, man..." he whined. "My question is, do we really, really have to tell Ross?" He looked at her, consternation evident in his eyes. His expression suddenly cleared like he'd just thought of a great plan. "I know what we should do! You start gorging on high-calorie junk food and you'll get fat again. Then he'll never notice that you're pregnant!"

If looks could kill, he'd have been dead by her feet. He visibly backed off, throwing his palms up in surrender. "Okay, okay, we'll handle Ross together," he nodded compliantly as they started walking towards their respective apartments.

"You owe me one, Bing," she muttered as she held the doorknob to her door.

"Hey, I've already given you the gift of life!" he exclaimed, pointing at her still-flat stomach.

She looked down at where he'd pointed and looked up at him again. "Yeah, and that's another thing you owe me for." She turned the doorknob and entered her apartment just as he entered his.

She closed the door behind her and came to an abrupt halt in the living room when two pairs of accusatory eyes stared at her evenly.

~.~.~

A/N: Aren't you intrigued?