A/N: Once again, I'm sorry for all the promises I've broken. I can now say with certainty that I'm not good with promises.

Before you read this chapter, it might help you to know that I've never been through labor, nor have I ever written a birth scene. I've watched birth scenes in movies and I've read one or two books describing them, but none were very helpful.

But the God's honest truth here is, I've never, ever written something that was so effing hard to write!

I've spent countless hours writing this chapter (and this story) and it would mean a lot to me to know what you thought of it.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own 'Friends'. And I've done a paraphrasing of a line from 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov, which doesn't belong to me, either.

January 28th, 1996. (Remember, the due date is supposed to be Feb 18th.)

Forever and a Day

Chapter 14

Monica winced in pain when the baby kicked her ribs. "Oh!" Her hands raised to rest on her impossibly large belly.

"Are you okay there, Mon?" Phoebe asked, frowning in concern.

It'd been the first kick that day. For some strange reason, the baby hadn't moved since morning. Her belly felt taut and the muscles, tense; something that worried her. "Yeah," she nodded, still slightly shocked.

She treasured these strong, albeit tiny kicks. They seemed to reassure her that her baby was indeed fine, which was a reassurance she sought constantly, ever since that night which had taught her not to take things for granted. "Yeah," she murmured again to herself, shifting a little to make herself comfortable on her bed.

"Okay..." Phoebe seemed doubtful, but resumed working on Rachel's make up. Ross had finally asked Rachel out on a date, bringing their 'will they/won't they' saga to an end. Phoebe continued with her conversation. "It's a good thing your parents taped your prom night. Good thing for the lobsters."

"Lob- lobster?" Rachel asked, looking at Phoebe in the mirror. "That's funny. I had a very similar, but a very strange conversation about lobsters with Ross yesterday. So what's the deal with lobsters?"

"Lobsters mate for life," Phoebe said with conviction.

"No, they don't." Monica shook her head. "Penguins. Doves, and penguins mate for life. Lobsters do not."

"Sure they do! They get together, have babies, and live together happily forever," she nodded confidently. As an afterthought, she added, "Kinda like you and Chandler."

"It's nothing like me and Chandler," Monica mumbled, absentmindedly stroking her belly.

Although she loved him more than she thought possible and knew he loved her the same, 'forever' seemed to be a concept that she couldn't afford to dream about now. They had to tread this line carefully. 'Forever' was foreign to them both, with neither being particularly great at relationships.

"Say what you want. You know I'm right." Phoebe shrugged. "Where is Chandler, anyway?"

"We ran out of orange juice. He's gone out to get some." She closed her eyes in concentration when she felt an intense pain spread across her lower abdomen. The pain was not very different from menstrual cramps, only this was more persistent and more recurring.

Braxton and Hicks, she told herself. It had to be. If it was the real thing, the baby would be three weeks early. That couldn't be the case, so it had to be a false alarm.

This day marked the long-anticipated 37th week of pregnancy. She knew Dr. Nelson had been hoping to reach just this milestone as a safety measure, but she hoped she'd be able to stop the eventuality of labor for at least one more week. 37 weeks was still too early.

"Honey, are you okay?" Rachel frowned, moving towards Monica. "I could stay with you here tonight, if you want. I'll just call Ross and let him know."

Monica caught Rachel's elbow as she moved away to make the said call. "No, no. I'm fine. Chandler should be back soon anyway. Orange juice usually makes the baby move and he didn't kick all day." When she saw her friends' concern grow further, she hurried. "Until just a few minutes back. So, I'll be fine. Besides, if you cancel on my brother tonight, he'll be heartbroken. So please don't," she smiled tiredly.

"You sure?" Phoebe asked again. "'Cause I can stay. I don't have a date with your brother," she grinned.

"I'm sure, Pheebs," Monica smiled, nodding.

"I'll stay until Chandler returns then." Phoebe sat down on the bed. "You can leave, Rach. Have a pleasant night! Don't let those shaved legs go to waste." She winked at Rachel.

When Rachel blushed, Monica groaned. "Could we please not talk about my brother and my best friend having sex? Euphemism or not, that's really not a topic I want to discuss. Besides, it's just the first date for crying out loud!"

"Yeah," Phoebe nodded sarcastically. "You're the one to talk."

Oh well. She did have a point.

"Who's the one to talk?" Chandler entered the bedroom, following a perfunctory knock on the already half-open door. "Hello, ladies."

"Chandler Bing," Phoebe addressed him in what she believed was a seductive tone. "Is that orange juice in your bag or are you just happy to see me?" she asked him coyly.

Chandler stared back, bewildered. "Was it just me or did that sentence make no sense, whatsoever?" he asked the other two girls.

Monica nodded back, chuckling.

"Pheebs, it's just orange juice," he assured her with a smile. "Although, I am happy to see you, but I'm not having any... biological reaction, if that's what you mean."

"That's always nice to hear," Phoebe shrugged, getting off the bed. "You're meeting him at the coffeehouse, right?" she asked Rachel.

"Yeah."

"I'll go with you," she said to Rachel as they both headed out the door. "And I'll let you get back to your lobster," she said, her weird voice returning as she waved at Monica and left.

"She's still on that lobster story?" Chandler sat down on the bed and handed Monica the orange juice carton.

"Feel this." She took his hand and placed it on her abdomen, looking at his face to see whether he too could feel what she felt.

"It feels so... hard." His hand held still by hers, he frowned. "Is that normal? I mean, I remember reading somewhere that it gets that way when you're having contractions." His eyes widened suddenly. "Are you having contractions?! Does it hurt? Did he kick, at all? Do we need to go to the hospital?"

"Chandler, you're hyperventilating," she smiled, placing a hand on his cheek.

"Well, you're not answering my question," he countered, retrieving the orange juice carton from her hand, opening it, and placing it in her hand again. "Drink."

She obediently took a sip and closed the lid. "Yeah, he did kick once. Like," she glanced at the bedside clock, "some ten minutes back. And I am having some contractions, but I don't think I'm in labor."

"How would you know that?" he nudged her to move and laid down beside her. "Is there like a guidebook or something?"

"Well, for one thing, there's still three more weeks to-"

"I'm pretty sure the baby doesn't have a calendar inside."

She ignored him and continued, "And for another, my mother keeps telling me, 'When it's the real thing, you just know'."

"Hmm," he sighed, wrapping an arm around her. "Just tell me if it hurts, okay?" he murmured, his fingers caressing her back. "Tell me if you think something's wrong."

It did. It did hurt. But not so bad that she needed to tell him right now. If it gets worse, she promised herself. If it got worse, she'd tell him. "I will," she murmured back, kissing him softly. "Hey, will you promise me something?" she asked when they pulled back.

"Anything." His hand returned to her belly, his fingers gently probing her skin, like he was searching for something.

"No 'knock-knock' jokes while I'm pushing."

"I promise," he laughed, kissing her forehead. "But what if we get bored?" he asked, frowning worriedly.

"I'm guessing 'bored' will be the last thing I'll be," she nodded. "And if you get bored, I think you should know better than to let it show."

"I'll work on it," he smiled. "Aren't you gonna drink some more?" he asked, pointing at the juice carton.

"Nah," she shrugged. "He did just move, so I know nothing's wrong. He's just being a lazy boy today," she smiled.

"Good to know that he has at least some 'Bing' traits," he murmured again, running his fingers through her hair.

"A penny for your thoughts," she said after a few moments of silence. She shifted uncomfortably, beginning to feel the pain spreading slowly again. It was getting more frequent.

"Nothing," he shrugged, oblivious to her discomfort. "Have you, um…" he started tentatively, his fingers trailing down her arm. "Do you ever think about what we're gonna do? I mean, once the baby comes?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, finding that no position was comfortable anymore. Why would he choose this moment to have this conversation?

"Like what will happen to us? Do we live together or do we wait for some time? Or, you know, should we..." he trailed off, not knowing where he was going with this. He frowned when his hand reached her belly again. "Oh, my god! I can feel that!" he bolted upright on the bed, his expression that of a deer caught in the headlights. "What's happening?" he demanded, looking at her for answers.

The only thing he got from her in reply was a sibilant intake of breath, which told him that she was indeed in pain. "Okay, that's it." He got off the bed, his hand reaching for hers. "We're going to the hospital."

"It's fine." She resisted when he urged her to sit up. The pain was subsiding slowly. "I'm okay now. It's just a false alarm."

"Mon, honey, I know you don't like to admit it when you're not feeling well, but nobody's going to judge you if you're in labor." He paused and then looked at her suspiciously. "You are full-term now, if that's what you are worried about, honey. The baby is not early," he shook his head.

"I know, I know. But I really don't think I'm in labor labor, Chandler. Don't you remember what the doctor said? It's just my body preparing for the real labor. I'm fine." She moved to sit up on the bed, her movements excruciatingly slow, her hands bracing her abdomen like the baby was going to slip out. "I do have to pee, though. I've been wanting to for a very long time now." She held his arm as she got up, kissing him on the cheek. "I should be back in a few. If I'm not, you may have to help me out," she smirked.

"Helping pregnant women out of toilets is turning out to be my favorite pastime." He patted her shoulder. "Go."

As she took a second step, she felt the distinct 'pop' of her water breaking and a gush of warmth flooding down her legs. She turned to look at Chandler, who was now staring down at the clear liquid pooling at her feet. "On second thought," she breathed, "I think I might be in labor."

~.~

"Okay! Okay! We need the hospital bag. Where's the goddamned hospital bag?" Chandler searched under their bed, his back straightening a few seconds later. "Of-freaking-course, it's in the nursery."

"Chandler."

"Got the bag… Now we need to tell the others." He stared at the phone. "Joey's across the hall. Right. I'll be back in a sec." He held her shoulders, gently pushing her towards the couch. "Don't move. Just stay here."

"Chandler, will-"

"Two seconds." He dashed out of the apartment, the door slamming shut behind him.

She had changed into new clothes and she'd gotten to pee. Strangely, she felt calm, like she had done this a hundred times before. She wondered for how long this 'calmness' was going to last. She reached forward to grab the bag, which they'd packed together meticulously just a few weeks back. The locket he'd given her on Christmas Eve swung free of her dress. She touched it gently. It was her source of strength.

He stormed back into the apartment breathless, the door once again closing with a loud bang. "Joey knows. And he says he'll get hold of the others and bring them all to the hospital, as soon as possible." He pulled the bag from her grasp, carrying it on his shoulder. "Cab. We need a cab. I'll go down and get one." He started towards the door again, but stopped abruptly. "Oh, shit! Do we need to call Dr. Nelson and let her know?"

"Chandler, Chandler, look at me," she caught his arm when he reached for the phone. "Look at me." She stood up slowly, her hands framing for his face. "It's going to be okay," she whispered, standing on her toes.

He smiled for the first time in several minutes. "I know," he nodded, leaning in to brush his lips against hers. "I know," he whispered back again, kissing her softly on the forehead. He tilted his head to one side, inquiringly. "Hey, I thought I was supposed to be reassuring you!"

"Well, you're doing a wonderful job," she nodded, smiling. Her grip on her shoulders tightened suddenly, the smile vanishing from her lips. "We may need to get to the hospital soon, though. Go get the cab." She winced as she moved to the phone. "I'll call the doctor."

"Okay, okay, right," he nodded, returning to his panic mode. "Just- just be here. I'll be back before you know it." He ran towards the door and stopped again. He ran back towards her, and pressed his lips against her temple. "I love you," he mumbled before he headed back out the door.

~.~

He helped her out of the cab. "The last one was five minutes apart and lasted forty-three seconds," he told her, pulling a wheelchair for her to sit down. "Was it too bad?" he asked, pushing the wheelchair towards the reception.

"Hmm," she nodded, struggling to catch her breath.

'Conserve your energy for the toughest part'. The books always said that. 'Conserve your energy'. But all she had wanted to do was scream out loud.

Time was ticking away and she knew she'd return to that hell in about a minute. She reached for his hand and grasped it tightly in her own. "Stay with me through this," she pleaded when he leaned down to hear what she was saying.

Another contraction hit her, starting at the top of her uterus, slowly building towards its peak. She barely heard him when he replied.

"Always."

~.~

"You've dilated four centimeters. We still have some time," Dr. Nelson smiled at Monica. "You seem to be doing fine, Monica. I'll be back in an hour to see how things are progressing. Just try to relax, all right?" she said before leaving the room.

"Four centimeters - just six more to go!" he got into the bed, beside her, massaging her back. "How are you feeling?"

"It hurts, Chandler," she moaned. "It hurts so much."

"I know, honey," he murmured soothingly. "I know."

"How the hell would you know?" she snapped, bending forward as the contraction reached its crescendo.

"Okay, I don't know," he agreed, shaking his head. "But I can... sense your pain?" he finished apprehensively.

She ignored his comment, breathing through the pain which was beginning to last longer and longer with every contraction. She turned her head to look at him when the pain slowly ebbed away. "Remind me to never have sex with you again."

"You see, that might be a problem for me in the future," he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as she glared at him. "But I think I can argue with that later."

Their friends entered the room a few minutes later.

"Hey, how are you doing? We came as soon as we heard." Ross looked at his sister sympathetically. "Oh, I also called mom and dad. They're on their way."

"I'm okay, I guess." Monica nodded, already exhausted. "I'm dilated four centimeters."

"Just four?" Ross frowned, giving her the 'Oh, poor you' look. When Chandler glared at him, his expression changed. "Four! That's great!"

"Yeah," Monica mumbled, her fingers finding her back. "My back hurts, Chandler." She sounded like she was about to cry.

The other four nodded at him and left the room, leaving him to tend to her.

"Ah..." she groaned when he started to rub her back again.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do," he said, the desperation in his voice evident. "We're going to ignore the pain. We're going to forget that it exists. We're-"

"Chandler," she shook her head, "stop talking."

"Okay," he nodded, relieved.

~.~

Seven hours. That's how long it took for the 'Just six centimeters' to be achieved.

They had taken her to the delivery room some half an hour ago. Dr. Nelson, two nurses, and Chandler were standing around her, and all she heard was them chorusing either 'Push!' or 'Don't push!'. If they couldn't make up their minds, how the hell was she supposed to?

She was no longer aware of the time. All she was aware of was the excruciating and ever-present pain. She could no longer differentiate the pain from the sense of normalcy; pain was constant.

Chandler held one leg under her knee, while a nurse held the other.

A searing pain coursed through her abdomen and all of a sudden, nothing else mattered anymore. Not modesty, not femininity. She panted and sweated, emitting guttural cries from deep within her throat. Just when she thought she might pass out from the pain, she felt him say something against her ear.

"Breathe, Mon."

Then she remembered to breathe.

"I can't do this anymore, Chandler." She shook her head, realizing only when his fingers wiped her tears that she was crying. "I would rather die than do this. Just get him out somehow. I don't care how. Please ask them to do a c-section, Chandler. Please?" she begged even though she knew there was no point in doing it. Drowning in this infinite sea of pain, it just felt good to cry.

"Please don't say that..." he pleaded back. "You absolutely can do this," he said, pushing a drenched lock of hair from her face. "I know you can. You're doing great. I'm so proud of you, you know?"

Just then, she felt it. The primal urge to bear down and push; the one that she'd always heard about. She went with her instincts.

"The baby's crowning! Yes, I can see a head-ful of hair!" the doctor exclaimed. "Would you like to see, Mr. Bing?"

Chandler stared at the doctor, dumbfounded. "I, uh... I," he stuttered, his heart beating wildly.

"It's the birth of your baby," the doctor smiled. "You might regret it later if you missed it now."

He loosened his grip on Monica's hand, glancing at her. She didn't seem to notice. Her eyes were tightly shut, the expression on her face revealing an immense concentration that he had never seen in anyone before. He joined the doctor at Monica's feet.

Abundant dark hair, wet and matted at the top of the head - he stared at it, unable to move.

They'd indeed made a baby together.

The head stayed that way before it went back inside Monica's body.

Dr. Nelson groaned in frustration. "Monica, you need to push harder. It's just a matter of few minutes now. Just take a deep breath and push harder."

Her eyes had opened and through her blurred vision, she looked at Chandler, who was looking at her in amazement, his eyes shining. He held out his hand for her to grasp, mouthing, "I love you."

She closed her eyes again, clutching his hand tightly, channeling all her strength into trying to bring their baby into the world.

For some strange reason, her brain thought this was the perfect moment to remind her about the one time that she and Chandler had made love. She found it vaguely amusing that this was very similar to their lovemaking.

She remembered being drenched in sweat. She remembered trying to achieve that one moment of satisfaction.

He had murmured words of adoration in her ear that night too, and she had forgotten how to breathe, even back then.

A thin wail resonated through the room and she remembered how that night had been as beautiful as this one, too.

A minute later, she heard the doctor say, "Congratulations, it's a beautiful baby girl!"

~.~

As the little girl continued to cry, so did her parents.

"Would you like to cut the cord?" the doctor asked Chandler, pushing the scissors into his hands. Before he could reply, she held up the baby as the nurse helped him sever the only remaining physical bond between mother and daughter.

"Where is she?" Monica's anxious voice hitched with tears. When the doctor lifted the baby for her to see, she held out her arms.

"We haven't cleaned her yet, but here you go." The doctor placed the baby in her arms, moving away as Chandler came forward.

Her eyes still tightly shut, the baby wailed, conveying her displeasure at being suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar environment. Her parents scrutinized her features.

"She's perfect," Monica smiled at Chandler, tears of joy and relief flooding down her cheeks. "Isn't she perfect?"

"Of course she is," he whispered back in astonishment, unable to take his eyes off of his daughter.

The little girl opened her eyes, her wail turning into tiny whimpers. She had found the warmth that she'd sought in the arms of her mother.

"Hey," Monica smiled at her baby, "what took you so long?" The baby stared back at her, baby-blue eyes, unblinking.

Monica looked up at Chandler, smiling. "She has your blue eyes."

~.~

They had moved Monica and the baby to a private room. The baby girl, who didn't have a name yet, had been cleaned, fed, and was now lying in her glass bassinet, wide awake and oblivious to the hullabaloo about her.

"She looks so beautiful!" Rachel gushed, looking at her honorary niece. "I mean, look at all that hair! And those eyes..." She turned to Monica. "If I ever get pregnant, tell me what you ate."

"I think it has gotta do more with the sperm, Rach." Joey grinned lewdly, but backed off when Ross glared at him.

"I can't believe my baby sister actually has a baby of her own," Ross smiled at Monica fondly. "Although I'm sometimes reminded that it's with my best friend," he glared at Chandler for a second, but smiled again. "I have a niece!"

"And she's lucky to have you as her uncle!" Chandler patted his back, rolling his eyes when he smiled proudly.

"Have you guys decided on a name yet?" asked Phoebe.

Joey followed it up with another question. "Have you guys decided on a godfather yet?"

The new parents ignored Joey's question. "No, Pheebs. We're kinda stuck between Emma and Erica," Monica said.

"Emma!" Rachel exclaimed. "Oh, that's such a beautiful name…"

"Yeah, but we like Erica just as much," shrugged Chandler.

"If that's the case, then you take Erica and I'll take Emma." Rachel looked at them like a kid in a candy store.

Monica tilted her head to one side. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't have a baby, let alone a baby girl."

"I know, but I'd like to have some options when I do. Please? Pretty please?"

Monica smiled, turning to look at Chandler. "We do like Erica."

"Erica Geller-Bing." He stared at his daughter, then at Monica. "That sounds good," he smiled.

"Yeah. So, Erica it is," she grinned back.

~.~

"I'm so proud of you, honey." Judy kissed her daughter's forehead before she left the room with her husband.

Monica stared at the closed door, then at Chandler. "I've wanted her to tell me that ever since I was a little girl. If all I had to do was have a baby, I'd have done something drastic in high school."

Chandler laughed, sitting down beside her on the bed. "I actually am really proud of you." He pecked her forehead. "And I'm glad you didn't do anything drastic in high school."

"And I love you, too," she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him on the lips. "Sorry I didn't say it back before. I was kinda busy," she grinned.

"I know, that's okay," he smiled back.

Following a knock on the door, a nurse entered, carrying Erica. "Your daughter is hungry," she smiled at the couple, handing the baby to Monica. "You remember, right? Wait until she opens her mouth wide. Press her belly against yours, and align her nose with your nipple. That will get her to latch on when she feeds," she told as Monica undid her blouse. "She did well the first time, I don't think she would have any problem now. Let's see."

As she lifted Erica against her, the baby instinctively scrambled for her breast, the little mouth latching onto her nipple and starting to suckle.

"Not bad," the nurse observed. "Always make sure that the baby's latch is good, all right? You'd both get better at it with practice." She stood there for a few seconds, then looked at Monica, smiling. "I'll come back for her later."

Chandler's fingers stroked his baby's head. "She does have a lot of hair," he murmured, running a finger along one tiny, red ear.

"Yeah," she murmured back.

"Do you realize that we've both excelled at the art of baby making?" he smiled at her impishly.

"I do," she grinned.

"Maybe we could make another one when we're married," he said slowly.

She glanced at him, surprised. Was he trying to tell her something? "Maybe." She broke his gaze, looking down at the baby again.

The hint of red on her cheeks was the only clue that he had to the fact that she had caught his drift.

The baby's suckling was the only sound and even that was gradually slowing down. They both kept resolutely staring at Erica as she drifted off to sleep.

Monica laid the baby on her lap and buttoned up her blouse again.

"I don't have a ring," he said after one minute of absolute silence.

"What?"

"I don't have a ring. I don't have a speech prepared. All I know is, Mon, I want to ask you, will you marry me?"

She sat still, stunned, her heart pounding in her chest.

"I never used to dream about my future, Monica," he continued. "I never believed in love until that night happened, until you happened. Now, every night I close my eyes, I dream about my future." He took her hands in his. "There's not one single dream of mine that doesn't revolve entirely around you. I cannot imagine my life without you," he shook his head, "without our baby. I cannot imagine my life without us as a family."

"Chandler-"

He interrupted her. "And if that's not enough, I'm madly, clumsily, shamelessly, agonizingly in love with you, Monica." He leaned forward, leaning his forehead against hers, nudging her nose with his. "Marry me."

She closed the tiny gap between their lips and pulled back a second later. "No knock-knock jokes at the altar?"

"I promise," he nodded, their foreheads still connected.

"Then, yes," she nodded back, before their lips met again.

She had been wrong. They could afford to dream about 'forever. In fact, this was her forever.

~.~.~

A/N:I had to Google so much information about pregnancy and childbirth (and some things I wish I hadn't seen) for this fic, so very extensively, that my head hurts right now. So yeah... it'd be nice to hear your opinion of this chapter.

If this is going to be the end, I wish to thank everyone who has ever reviewed this story. I just want to tell you all that every word that you've said has made me smile at some point in the last 8-9 months :) Thank you for that!

My special thanks to – Veridissima, dancer cherrybug, gAnGsTa GaBbY lOvEs JoKeR, Emily J, Lizard, CC, MatTeneyMoNdlerLoVer and Shyfighter. I appreciate every single moment that you guys spent on reading and reviewing this story. And also to my 'Biggest Fan' (I have a biggest fan! :D), thank you! Your review stroked my ego really well ;D

Once again, thanks to one and all!