A/N: CamilleCM, Babatomyfriends, Oldreruns, matteney, mariellecardd, Lilkat1234, Writergurl30, dancer cherrybug, RicardianScholar Clark-Weasley, Guest1, and Guest2 – thank you so, so, so much for your wonderful reviews.

Lizard – it was so awesome to see your name in my inbox after so many years! Thank you for coming back to this fic. Your review made my day! From your comment (about wanting to see more of C&M's future), I have a feeling that you'll enjoy the rest of the fic too :)

This chapter is just pure mush. And it comes with a 'High T' warning. It does feature quite a bit of sexual content, but hopefully, nothing with which a seasoned FF reader would be uncomfortable.

WendyCR72 – thank you for the impeccable beta-ing!

Forever and a Day

Chapter 16

By the time Monica's appointment for the 6-week postpartum check-up arrived, Erica gave her parents one seven-hour stretch of sleep every night, consistently. They felt like new human beings and developed a greater appreciation for sleep in life.

On the day of the appointment, they left their daughter with Phoebe and Joey, who both had the day off, and headed to Dr. Nelson's clinic, hand-in-hand.

"Hello, you two!" The doctor smiled widely as the couple entered her office. "You both look well," she commented, gesturing for them to take their seats. "How is parenthood treating you?"

"Oh, it's been kicking our butts," Chandler smiled, looking at Monica, "but in the best possible way butts can get kicked."

"Believe me, I hear a lot of variations of that answer in this office," the doctor laughed and then nodded kindly, "but I can promise you, it's also one of the most rewarding experiences you'll ever have."

"We are beginning to get that," Monica agreed, smiling.

Dr. Nelson smiled back briefly before her tone turned businesslike. "All right, Monica, why don't you hop up on the examination table. We are going to check how your stitches have healed and then we're going to quickly get your Pap smear done."

"Okay." Monica headed to the table as Dr. Nelson followed her right behind and pulled the screen closed.

Chandler looked around, thinking back to how his whole life had changed in this room almost one year ago. He had felt so terrified then, like his entire existence was falling apart. He closed his eyes and pictured Erica's baby blue eyes and sleepy, newborn smiles. Now, he just couldn't imagine his life without his daughter in it.

The women returned much quicker than he expected. As Monica retook her seat beside him, Dr. Nelson sat down, flipping Monica's file open.

"So, Monica," she looked up from her notes after jotting something down in it. "I'm happy to tell you that your stitches have completely healed..." She tapped her pen twice on the table as she seemed to think for a moment. "And your lochia has stopped as well?"

"Yes," Monica nodded.

"That's good. That means you can start getting back to your usual, pre-delivery routine slowly. Exercise, swimming, taking baths," she paused to think again, "sex too," she added, matter-of-factly. "Since you are breastfeeding, intercourse may be painful at first, but that should start getting better with time."

Chandler glanced at Monica. She had her eyes trained on the doctor, but he could still see her neck and cheek tingeing pink.

They had talked about their wedding and future and their life together with their daughter, but sex was the one topic that they both had consciously decided not to venture into in any serious capacity.

They had made out like a pair of randy teenagers when Monica had been pregnant, but it never went past that. After Erica was born, they didn't find much time for making out. Sure, there were some deep kisses and lingering looks, but he had trained himself to not think about anything more, at least not until they got past the near future.

It had been over ten months since he'd last had sex (he knew that was true for her as well). He wouldn't lie, it was frustrating at times, but he honestly didn't have any complaints. He hoped that they would reach that point in their relationship sometime in the future, but he was not in any hurry. He was not in this for the sex.

"Are you planning on having another child?" inquired Dr. Nelson.

"Oh God," this time Monica turned to look at him with a smile, answering for them both. "Not any time soon."

"I understand," the doctor nodded. "So let's talk birth control then. There's condom, of course. Then there are IUDs-"

"I was thinking Depo-Provera," Monica interrupted quietly but firmly.

Chandler looked at her with the surprised realization that she had actually given this some thought. Again, she refused to look at him.

The doctor considered this for a minute and nodded again. "That sounds good. It won't mess with breastfeeding and you can get your first shot today."

"Perfect," Monica nodded, finally meeting Chandler's questioning gaze and giving him a minuscule shrug.

"Okay then," the doctor made another note in Monica's file, "so I will tell Nurse Cathy to give you the shot before you leave. And make sure to book another appointment for the next one in thirteen weeks' time."

"Will do," Monica nodded.

They left the clinic once Monica got the birth control shot. He kissed her lightly as they came out of the building and adjusted the grip on his briefcase. "All right, I gotta head to work. Love you."

She reached for his tie and tugged it lightly to pull him close again. "I love you, too." She gave him a soft, lingering kiss and readjusted his tie when she pulled back.

He could see she wanted to say something. Her eyes held the promise of a talk to come. He said the words for her. "We'll talk tonight, yeah?" he smiled. "Give Erica a kiss for me."

"Okay," she smiled back tenderly and waved him goodbye. He watched her walk away for a moment before starting his own walk toward work.

~.~

When he came home that evening, they fell into the practiced routine that they had cultivated in the past couple of weeks - spending time with Erica, followed by bath and bedtime for her, and then a quiet dinner.

He sensed her nervousness all through the evening, which in turn unnerved him. He had felt a bit uneasy all morning, after the appointment. On introspection, he figured out what was bothering him. The fact that she had felt the need to get the shot, without ever talking to him about it, made him wonder if she had somehow felt pressurized to bring sex into the equation.

He had seen her push a baby out of her body. At this point in her life, Erica was just an extension of her mother - a cute, screaming, extra limb that Monica would have to carry around for quite some time. He fully understood that Monica might want her body to herself at least until Erica grew up a bit more.

He had waited for ten months. What difference did a few more months make in the grand scheme of things? After all, they were going to spend the rest of their lives together.

Once Erica had slept and they'd had dinner, they slowly and silently cleared out the table together, feeling the minutes drag on. And once they were done, she excused herself to the bathroom, and he headed to the bedroom. When she came back a few minutes later, she seemed even more fidgety than she had been, to begin with.

"So..." she said hesitantly, getting into bed with him.

"So," he raised an eyebrow and rose to a sitting position. When she was close enough to touch, he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, watching her lightly smile down at her clasped hands.

"So... " She met his eyes and waited a long second before she continued. "I think we need to talk about the elephant in the room."

'The horny elephant?' his brain snickered immaturely, but he ignored that and nodded. "The thing that we never talk about?" he asked instead.

"Yes," she smiled, "the horny elephant."

They had known each other for almost ten years and had spent the entirety of the previous year practically as a couple. She just knew him scarily well.

The tension broken, he widely grinned back.

"Chandler, I realize-" she started, turning to face him fully, but he stopped her.

"Can I go first?" he asked, taking her hands in his and continued when she nodded. "Look, Monica, I... I want you. I want to be with you," he nodded, looking into her eyes. "But I don't want to rush you into something that you may not be ready for."

"Chandler..." she trailed off, at a loss for words.

"I realize you might need some time to yourself- to have your body to yourself." He smiled, "And I also realize that Erica is not making any of this easier."

Of all the ways she had imagined this conversation to proceed, this was not one. She remembered that he used to make a lot of playful sexual comments when she had gotten pregnant. But once they became a couple, once the possibility of sex became very real, he had stopped making such insinuations. She had always wondered why, but now it all made sense.

"So, you take all the time that you need," he continued, raising her hands to his lips. He gently brushed his lips over her knuckles, "Because I am not going anywhere."

He hadn't gotten his hair cut since a month before Erica's birth. The slightly longer hair made him appear more young; boyish. But he looked at her with such serious eyes.

She pulled her hands from his to run her fingers through his hair, her path starting at his forehead and ending at his nape, and she gently pulled him toward her. "Chandler," she repeated softly, through staggered breath.

She remembered them making love all those months ago and the memory still induced a heady rush of desire. His touch and kisses were something that she often dreamed about. But once they'd fallen into the comfortable rhythm of an almost platonic relationship, it had been hard to make the first move.

She had had the excuse of an uncomfortable pregnancy then, and now too, she had her own reservations when it came to sex.

She still carried a good ten pounds of pregnancy weight. Her once-flat and firm stomach was now softly rounded, and motherhood had also blessed her previously unmarred breasts and abdomen with flaming, red stretch marks.

She just did not feel attractive.

The warmth in his eyes told her that he didn't and wouldn't care about any of that. He just loved her, flaws and all.

His love for her was something that she never took lightly, but she felt the intensity of her own love for him to be overwhelming. Out of that very intensity also arose another feeling, a feeling that she had denied herself for a long time now.

Setting all her fears and doubts aside, she admitted the truth to herself - she had never wanted anyone as much as she wanted him at that moment. She needed him with every fiber of her being and did not wish to deny this feeling anymore.

"Are you done talking?" Her eyes glazed and exquisitely blue in the dim glow of moonlight, she set her gaze on his lips as she spoke.

His stomach instantly clenched, and his heart dully, painfully thudded against his ribs.

He knew that look. It felt like a lifetime ago, but he still remembered that look.

"Yeah," he nodded, his own fingers lifting the delicate curve of her chin toward him.

"Good." She brought his lips to hers, effectively concluding the conversation.

She parted her lips beneath his as his tongue sought hers. He kissed her warm and slow, until she felt dizzy, until it took her breath away. When he moved his lips to her jawline and then to her neck, clutching at her waist tightly, she laid down on the bed and pulled him on top.

His lips reached the base of her throat and his fingers rose to touch the topmost button on her nightshirt, tentatively. Then he paused and pulled back, his hand lingering on her sternum.

His breath came short and rapid, and she could feel his arousal against her abdomen, but he still paused, looking at her uncertainly.

She gazed back into his eyes for a moment before she shook her head lightly. She didn't have words to convey how much she needed this; how much she needed him. She just leaned up to kiss him again, whispering, "Please." When she pulled his shirt up and over his head, he snapped out of his hesitancy, and his fingers started their work on her top.

When they were both naked and she lay bare beneath him, he flitted his palm across her skin, from her breast till her belly, his eyes following its path.

Ever since she'd lost all that weight as a teenager, she'd never been uncomfortable in her own skin until now. Under his intense gaze, she felt an incredible urge to hide her body from him.

His thumb traced one tiny, pink stretch mark, just below the shadow of her navel. He stroked it tenderly and looked up at her in awe. "God, you are beautiful," he whispered, reverent.

She pulled him back to her and crashed her lips onto his. He returned her kiss with a longing and hunger that he had kept at bay for so long.

This time, they weren't drunk, and this time, it wasn't a mistake.

This time, it was right. Just right.

When he pushed into her – slow at first, and then abrupt and swift – she shut her eyes tightly from the sting of pain, a gasp escaping her lips.

He stilled and looked at her, concerned. "Are you okay?" he whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead. "We can stop if-"

"Yes, yes, I'm okay," she cut him off, nodding, "I'm okay." Her fingers grasped at the soft, short hair at his nape, urging him to move. "Don't stop," she pleaded.

Just before he obliged, he kissed her lips softly and murmured, "I love you."

It took a few seconds for the pain to diminish. Once it did, the feeling of safeness that enveloped her gave way to something more wonderful and powerful and all-consuming. And then she felt a surge of euphoric pleasure that ended her coherent thoughts.

His arms gave out and he dropped on top of her, crushing her to him.

Feeling her entire body pulsate against him, she whispered breathlessly against his ear, "I missed you."

The words tumbled out before she could even process them. They had done this only once before and her statement made no sense, even to her, but she felt a need to keep repeating it.

She framed his face with her hands and brought his lips to hers once more. "Oh God, I missed you."

He understood though. He caught her palm in his and pressed a kiss at its center and nodded. "I missed you, too."

~.~

For the amount of sex that they had in the months that followed, Monica realized that the fact that she didn't accidentally wind up pregnant again was a testament to the efficacy of modern-day, reproductive prophylactics. Breastfeeding had postponed the unavoidable return of her menstruation, which, she knew, also helped their case.

Even after their talk the previous month, they still fought with each other from time to time – an inevitability resulting from living in such close proximity, while nurturing a relatively new relationship - but they learned how to resolve their issues within the day and learned how to move on.

Erica had mastered the skill of smiling and gave her parents generous, toothless grins that made all the effort that they put into parenting worth it in an instant.

They laughed with and loved each other beyond all else. Life went by in a hazy, happy blur.

~.~

When Erica was a few days shy of four months, they discontinued her reflux medication on Dr. Levy's advice. To Chandler and Monica's absolute delight, she started sleeping through the night on her own, a few days later. The day Erica turned four months, Monica baked a tiny cake to celebrate both milestones.

Once they put the baby to bed, they carried the cake, a glass of wine for him, and a glass of sparkling grape juice for her, out to the balcony and settled down on the blanket that he'd laid down earlier in the evening.

"To surviving four months of parenthood," he clinked his glass to hers, grinning.

"To surviving four months of parenting the sweetest baby ever," she corrected him, smiling.

"That she absolutely is," he nodded, taking a sip of his wine. "A sip?" he extended his glass to her, but she shook her head, deciding instead to sample the cake.

He watched as her eyes closed, and she moaned, licking her lips, "Oh my goodness, I'm a brilliant chef!"

He grinned again at her utter lack of humility and leaned in to kiss her lips, tasting the chocolate. "Yes, you are," he agreed.

She handed him his fork and nodded for him to join in as well. He took the fork from her and they ate the cake in silence, their forks clinking from time to time.

"Thank you for doing this with me," he said after several seconds of silence.

"For doing what?" She moved the now-empty plate to the side and scooted closer to him.

"This," he motioned to the space between them. "Everything."

She smiled softly, threading her fingers through his. "Always."

The night air felt humid and warm, as if it was about to rain. She turned from him to look at the half-crescent moon gracing the sky.

He traced one finger over the elegant contour of her cheekbone and spoke again. "I've been relearning my nursery rhymes." When she looked at him bemused, he added, "For Erica."

"That's sweet," she smiled widely.

"Skidamarink never made sense to me when I was little," he continued.

"Skidamarink?" She raised a confused eyebrow, having no idea where he was going with this.

"You know," he shrugged, as if it was obvious. "I love you in the morning and in the afternoon, I love you in the evening and underneath the moon," he sang to her softly. "It never made sense to me," he shook his head. "My parents didn't have a good marriage, and I just did not understand how anyone could love anyone that much." He paused for a moment, the look in his eyes making her heart lurch oddly. "It makes sense now."

He pulled himself up to kneel on one knee in front of her and took a small, dark blue box from his pant pocket. He flipped it open and held it to her.

"Oh my God." Her hands flew to her face as she looked at the ring, its sapphires and diamond sparkling under the moonlight. She didn't think she would ever get used to Chandler proposing to her, however many times he did it. "Oh my God," she repeated.

"Monica," he started and then chuckled nervously. "I don't remember it being this nerve-racking the first time around." His smile fell. He took a deep breath and continued. "Mon, you make me happier than I ever thought I could be. And if you let me, I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you feel the same way."

She felt tears on her cheeks and tried to wipe them away, nodding even before he asked the question.

"Monica, I'm asking you again..." He took the ring out of the box and held it in his fingers, holding it closer to her. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" She laughed through the tears as he slipped the ring onto her finger. "Oh my God, yes," she nodded again, pulling him in for a kiss.

"I love you so much," he murmured in her ear when they pulled apart, pressing a kiss there.

There was nothing else in life that she believed with as much certainty as that statement. "I love you, too," she whispered back before meeting his lips again.

~.~.~

A/N: I see that some wonderful, wonderful fics have been published in this fandom during my inactive years. I am slowly getting through those fics, one chapter at a time, and I hope I'll be caught up with everything in a few months' time.

As for this chapter, I realized that not using Chandler's original proposal speech in the fic would be a criminal waste, because it's a thing of absolute beauty.

Thank you so much for reading this chapter! Will be back soon with the epilogue :)