A/N: cherryblush48, gAnGsTa GaBbY lOvEs JoKeR, JennLovesMondler, Anonymous, lizard, tequilaonice1995 , Veridissima, rainbow, Rawr Olivia Grace, dancer cherrybug, minchedder, CC: Thank You! Thank you! Thank You!
Friends fanfiction is my first attempt at writing anything and I appreciate each and every single kind word :)
This chapter takes place about one month after the events of the last chapter.
As for the romance… I said romance in the following chapters, not the next chapter. *Readers start running away. Cynthia pulls them back by their collars* I mean, if I bring on the romance now, what fun would that be? Seriously though, I want this story to be believable. So you'll find lots of cute moments from now on, but for the actual romance, you may have to wait for a bit. But don't lose faith in this already! Keep reading it, I'll strive to make it all cute, romantic, and believable :D
There's a part in Italics here, for which I'd advise reader discretion. The content (concerning miscarriage) might be disturbing for some.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, but I sure wouldn't mind owning the Mondler Baby! Can't you just picture how cute it'd look! Wow, my uterus just skipped a beat…
Forever and a Day
Chapter 7
"So how far along are you?" Julie, Ross's new girlfriend, smiled as she pointed at Monica's stomach.
They were all in apartment 20, all except Chandler, who was still at work. Julie, Monica, and Phoebe were in the living room; Joey, as always, was near the fridge, Ross was on the phone with Carol, and Rachel, from her place in the kitchen, was aiming one of the scariest death-glares at the back of Monica's head.
"Eight weeks," Monica grinned back widely, her hands rising to gently massage her abdomen, which, to her annoyance, was still agonizingly flat. She realized it was still too soon, but the fact that she was pregnant just didn't seem concrete without a big, pregnant belly.
"May I?" Julie pointed at her stomach again, asking her whether it was okay for her to feel it.
Whenever Monica revealed to someone that she was pregnant, they always wanted to do that. She didn't understand why, for she still wasn't showing.
She shrugged, nodding. "Go ahead, but I don't think you'll find any difference," she smiled, trying to stifle a giggle as Julie placed her hands on her stomach. Maybe she wasn't showing yet, but it sure was becoming one of her ticklish spots.
"Yeah, it's still flat. But they say, for first-time pregnant women, it takes longer to show. Maybe in another couple of months?" Julie took her hands off of Monica's belly.
"Hopefully," Monica smiled back, her eyes drifting towards the kitchen only to see that Rachel was looking at her, her eyes filled with pure hatred. She turned her head back immediately, hoping to escape her friend's wrath.
She found it ironic. During all the time when Ross had had a hopeless crush on Rachel, Rachel was oblivious to it. Now that Rachel had a hopeless crush on Ross, he was oblivious.
She'd thought stuff like these happened only in soap operas and sitcoms.
But hey, what did she know about life? She never thought she'd be twenty six, unmarried, and pregnant with her best friend's baby. You'd be surprised what life throws at you.
Ross hung up the phone, placing it on the kitchen table, and turned to look at Monica. "Hey, Mon, Carol and Susan are celebrating an anniversary," he flushed a deep red, muttering 'God knows what for' under his breath, and continued again, "so will it be all right with you guys if I bring Ben over later tonight?" he looked at both Rachel and Monica.
"Of course, it's all right," Monica smiled at her brother, glad that she'd get to spend some time with her nephew. Rachel, too, nodded her assent.
The phone rang again and Rachel picked it up. "Hello? Hey, Chandler. Hold on a sec."
Monica smiled to herself. She knew he was calling to talk to her, to ask her whether she needed anything. Not wanting to look too eager, she sat looking at Phoebe who was strumming on her guitar, and waited for Rachel to bring her the phone.
"Monica, it's Chandler," Rachel handed her the phone grumpily, still not happy with her for actually being cordial towards Julie.
Ignoring the look, she took the phone from Rachel as she stood up and went near the window, seeking privacy.
Something about their conversations felt more personal and private these days. They both liked the new intimacy that their 'parents-to-be' status had brought to their relationship. If the others noticed any change in their interactions, they didn't bring it up.
"Hey," she spoke softly, smiling.
"Hey, Mon. How are ya today?" he smiled widely as he stretched his limbs, placing his legs on his office desk, while cradling the receiver between his head and his shoulder. The phone slipped from his shoulder when he lost his balance momentarily. He fumbled for the receiver and sat up straight in his chair, his senses more awakened due to his recent acrobatic moves. But the smile on his lips remained intact.
"Fine, fine. Threw up twice, and even after a glorious two-hour nap, I'm just waiting for the clock to strike nine. But fine."
"That's good," he nodded. "So, I am gonna start from here. Do you need me to get you anything?" He was still repulsed by most of the foods that she craved for. He'd thought 'pregnancy craving' was a myth until he saw the things that she ate. But bringing her the stuff that she yearned for and watching her as she enjoyed them gave him an immense sense of satisfaction and happiness.
She already knew what she wanted, and there was no one other than Chandler to whom she'd tell what it was. He might make disgusted faces, but she knew he didn't mind bringing her those stuffs, and that he actually enjoyed doing it for her. "Promise me you won't laugh?" she asked him, wanting his reassurance, knowing fully well that it was just a futile attempt on her part.
"Okay, I promise." He was already grinning widely, expecting her to say one of her weird combinations that didn't in the least sound appetizing.
"Strawberry ice cream."
He frowned. Strawberry ice cream? That didn't sound as unappetizing as most of the other items that were usually on her list. In fact, it actually sounded good.
"Mon, that's actually one of the best things you've asked me for in the past few weeks. Is that it or do you need something else?" he asked her curiously, sensing that there was more.
She paused, moving away from the others in the living room and lowered her voice. "And goldfish crackers," she whispered.
Sure enough, he made the disgusted face. But the good thing was, she wasn't there next to him to see it. "Monica, if you're going to eat them separately, I am all for it. But something tells me you're going to dip the cracker in the ice cream."
She sighed. "I can't help it, Chandler! I am craving it. The baby is craving it!"
A few night earlier, she had told him that their baby was now the size of a chia seed - a piece of information that she had gathered from one of her pregnancy books. He had fallen asleep that night, thinking how it was the cutest, tiniest, most precious thing in his life right now. He would do anything for Monica and that chia seed, including getting them the ice cream and the goldfish crackers.
He chuckled at how desperate she sounded. "You know what, this isn't quite so bad. Rosemary craved raw meat," he reassured her.
She stared blankly at the window, only to see Ugly Naked Guy do something that she thought (and hoped) she'd never see in her life. She averted her eyes from the scene, still having no idea about what he was talking. "What?"
"You know. Rosemary - Rosemary's Baby? Ira Levin? Mia Farrow?" he asked her, one by one, hoping she'd recognize at least one.
She remained clueless. She shook her head, taking the phone with her to her bedroom and lying down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "I am thinking this is what Joey must feel like everyday."
He laughed. "Come on, Mon. You know it. It's that horror movie. She gets pregnant. Her neighbors start acting weird. Her husband starts acting weird-" his reply was cut off, halfway through.
"Oh wait! Is it the one with the Satan worship?" she interrupted him, feeling triumphant that she'd figured out what he was referring to.
"That's the one!" he grinned. "It's a great movie."
"Yeah, I think I've seen it before. It's a book?" she asked him curiously. It'd been way too long since she'd read anything.
"Yep. And that's great, too," he nodded, getting off the chair as he placed a bunch of papers into the Manila folders lying on his desk.
"Could you get me that, too?" she asked him, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. "It's been a long time since I read something."
"Oh no, no, no. My baby in there is not going to be exposed to horror or any other scary element." He paused to think for a second. "Maybe I could get you something light, though. Like comedy? Or romance?"
"Maybe," she shrugged, smiling. Every time he said 'my baby' her heart strangely fluttered against her ribs.
"How about Wodehouse? Or if you want something romantic, you could read Gone With The Wind'," he suggested.
"No, I've read that already," she shook her head. "I need something more contemporary. A more contemporary romance," she told him with conviction.
"Yeah?" He stuffed the files hastily into his briefcase. He wanted to see her tonight. For the past three days, she'd fallen asleep before he'd reached home.
"Yeah..." she stayed silent for a couple of seconds before she spoke again nervously, lowering her voice. "Could you um… would you get me one of your mom's books?"
On hearing the silence and his soft chuckle a couple of seconds later, she knew what was coming.
"So when you said romance, you meant smut," he grinned wickedly, looking out his office window. "What, is the baby craving for porn too?" he snickered.
"Come on, Chandler… My hormones are already on an overdrive. The fourth-month hormone rush has come early!" she whined, her voice barely loud for him to hear. "Please... That's the closest thing to sex for me."
His grin getting wider, he whispered back, "Mon, if you're having that kind of cravings, you know I am always there for you…"
Feeling the color rise to her cheeks, the smile on her face getting wider even as she tried to stop it from spreading, she replied before she hung up the phone. "Bing, shut up and get me the book."
~.~
"Hey!" Chandler entered her kitchen, acknowledging her presence with a nod.
She nodded back, smiling. "Want some coffee?"
"Nah…" he smiled at her. "I just came to see the baby. Where is it?"
She frowned, thinking hard. Baby? She had a baby? She didn't remember having one, though.
Chandler was looking at her curiously. "Monica, where is the baby?" he asked her again.
She vaguely remembered being pregnant, but she didn't remember giving birth. Maybe she was still pregnant. Maybe Chandler had misunderstood and thought she'd already given birth.
She stared back at Chandler blankly before she looked down to see whether she was still pregnant.
But her stomach was flat. She ran a hand over it, trying to find out whether there was a hidden bump.
Then she felt it. That feeling like something was running down her leg. She hiked up her skirt and saw the thin red line, which had now managed to reach her left foot.
"Oh, Monica, you know that's going to leave a stain," Chandler was murmuring disapprovingly, somewhere above her.
She glanced up at Chandler in horror, but he wasn't there anymore. There was no one around.
Glancing down at her leg again, she bent down and pressed her fingers just above her ankle, on the red streak. She lifted her hand to her eyes.
She felt faint as she saw the bright red blood gleam jarringly.
~.~
She woke with a start, the sweat on her forehead glistening from the streetlight that was streaming through the gap between the curtains.
She pushed the sheets away, pulling her dress above her thigh and checked whether she was bleeding.
Nothing.
She placed her hands on her belly, trying to feel something, anything, but felt nothing.
Of course, there would be nothing. After all, she was only a couple of months pregnant.
She took deep breaths, calming herself down as her heart slowed down its pace.
She'd read such dreams were common towards the end of the pregnancy, but why now?
She didn't know. All she knew was that she needed a glass of water. She pulled down her dress, pushing the sheets completely away from around her and stood up.
She turned to look at the clock near the night lamp, which read 9:38, its digital numbers looking rather blurred through the tears in her eyes.
9:38? It surprised her that she'd fallen asleep before 11 pm.
She opened her bedroom door to find the living room dark. She glanced towards Rachel's bedroom, and saw that the lights there, too, had been turned out. She remembered something about Rachel having to see her mother early the next day.
She had slept even before Chandler had reached home. She hadn't even been awake to see Ben.
She flicked the lights on as she entered her kitchen and opened her fridge to get a bottle of water.
The dream had been vivid. So vivid that it scared her now.
Brushing away her tears, she placed the bottle on the kitchen table, and looked at Rachel's bedroom door longingly, but shook her head, knowing it was not a good time to wake her friend up to share the details of her nightmare. Not that Rachel wouldn't understand, but Rachel needed to rest for her early day tomorrow.
Besides, Rachel wasn't the one with whom she wanted to talk.
She opened her apartment door and looked down to see whether the lights in apartment 19 were still on. They were.
She knocked on their door, but no one answered. As she opened it, she found the living room empty, but she could still make out the lights coming from beneath both the closed bedroom doors.
She made her way up to Chandler's bedroom and thought of knocking, but changed her mind.
She pushed it open and found Chandler lying on his bed, his right leg crossed over his left, his hands holding a copy of 'What To Expect When You're Expecting'.
She smiled lightly at the sight. "Chandler?" she called out for him softly, not wanting to freak him out.
It didn't work, though. He looked startled on hearing her voice. He closed the book instantly and tried to hide it beneath his pillow, only the book was too thick to be hid easily.
On his third attempt, he gave up and sat up on his bed, smiling at her sheepishly. "Hey, Mon."
She smiled as she entered his bedroom, closing the door behind her.
He sighed. "Okay, all right, I was reading it."
"You didn't hear me complaining," she shook her head as she sat down next to him.
He smiled again, but noticed that she looked pale. "Everything all right?" He placed a hand on her forehead as if to check whether she had a fever.
"Yeah," she nodded. "It's just… I had a bad dream," she shrugged. She didn't want him to ask what it was about.
As though reading her thought, he didn't ask her. "Oh, I'm sorry," he just nodded understandingly. "I've got that ice cream for you; it's in my freezer. And the goldfish cracker," he looked at her pointedly, "that's on the kitchen counter. And," he leaned across the bed and got hold of a book on the nightstand, "here's 'Euphoria Unchained' by Nora Tyler Bing," he handed it to her. "Apparently, it's the second book in a trilogy. I assumed you were familiar with the first," he smirked before he continued, "it was just published a few months ago and it has already sold a half a million copies." He shook his head, "Man, kids these days are horny."
She smiled back weakly, the bright red blood from the dream still vivid in her memory.
"Monica, is everything really all right?" he asked her, concern lining his features as his fingers rose to brush her cheek.
She looked at him for a couple of seconds and shook her head. "I dreamed that I lost the baby, Chandler," she whispered, closing her eyes, scared that if she said it louder, it might become true.
Maybe it was just a dream, but the tears that seeped through her closed eyelids told him that it'd left her terrified.
"Oh, honey," he wrapped his arms around her stroking her hair gently. "That's not going to happen, Mon," he whispered as he kissed the side of her head.
His voice held a confidence that she didn't possess at that moment. She clung to him, her fingers clutching his shirt tightly, taking deep breaths to stop herself from letting the tears fall.
She'd cried on his shoulder on finding that she was having this baby, but now, she cried for the fear of losing it. Life sure had a way with her.
He drew back lightly, kissing her forehead repeatedly. He noticed that her breathing had slowly returned to normal. "Mon…" He looked at her uncertainly, looking like he was wondering whether or not to ask her something. He inhaled deeply. "Mon, um… would you like to sleep here with me tonight?"
She wiped away the remainder of her tears, a smile forming on her lips as she saw how uncertain he looked. "Yeah," she nodded. "Can I?" she looked at him, just as uncertainly.
He smiled back. "Of course you can." He kissed her forehead again as he moved to one side of the bed before turning out the lights.
She lay down next to him, facing away from him as she closed her eyes, hoping there wouldn't be anymore nightmares.
She felt his arm wrap around her abdomen, pulling her closer to him with gentle possessiveness, as though he was protecting her and protecting their baby.
She smiled as she turned around in his arms to rest her head on his chest, right above his heart.
His steady heartbeat lulling her, she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
He watched her as she slept, remembering the last time she'd slept there.
That was the night which changed their lives forever. If he hadn't realized it before, he realized it now - the baby, their baby meant the world to them.
He sighed as her kissed her closed eyelids, falling asleep almost instantly, having her in his arms leaving him feeling more complete and content than he could ever remember being.
~.~.~
A/N: Rosemary's baby: It's a book by Ira Levin, which was later adapted into a movie by Roman Polanski. If you're a fan of horror and haven't seen the movie or read the book, I'd highly recommend both.
For those of you who are wondering why there were 3 mails in your inbox for the previous chapter, it's because I took down the chapter twice and uploaded it thrice. The first time I uploaded it, I opened up the live preview to proofread it (yes, I am the kind of idiot who proofreads the chapter after uploading it), and I found an error. I took it down and uploaded it again and found another error. You know, I'd love to narrate the whole thing, but I haven't patented the story as a cure for insomnia, yet. So let's just skip it, okay?