Trigger warning in place for this chapter near the end.
Weeks Later
Monica was sitting in the familiar chair waiting for her ultrasound. Chandler was examining the room curiously. He reached for one of the model uteruses on the shelf, peering at it.
"Put that back," Monica hissed. "It's not a toy."
"But it's made from plastic," Chandler objected. "Toys are plastic."
"Chandler!"
He put it back quickly. Monica sighed.
"I'm sorry," she said. Her emotions were already all over the map, and she got a little more snappy than she liked.
"It's lunch with your Mom after that's upsetting you, isn't it?" Chandler asked.
"Right," Monica nodded. She had told her parents about being engaged, but she hadn't told them about the baby yet. She didn't know why. Ross was going out of his mind with being unable to tell them. Maybe that was part of why. Torturing her brother was a little fun.
"She'll be so happy."
"I know, I know," Monica nodded. "I just don't want her to take over, you know? Or give me so much advice that I feel I have to take it."
"Good morning," the doctor, Dr. Michaels, said as he came in. "How are we today?"
"Cranky," Monica answered truthfully. Dr. Michaels chuckled.
"I would be astounded if you told me you were perfectly fine," he admitted. He started setting up the ultrasound. Monica was excited to see their baby for the first time. She was almost nine weeks pregnant according to Dr. Michaels.
"Oh, that's cold," she said nervously as he put the goop on her belly. Chandler was standing beside her now, holding her hand. He was just as excited.
"Okay," Dr. Michaels said, moving the wand around. "Here is your baby..." He trailed off, peering at the screen. Monica felt panic.
"What? What's wrong?" she asked. She gripped Chandler's hand so hard her ring dug into his skin. He bit back his cry of pain.
"Very interesting," Dr. Michaels said. He switched some dials, and suddenly there was a sound whooshing in the room.
"That's the heartbeat," Monica said, feeling incredibly relieved. Her baby was alive!
"Wait," Chandler said, hearing something. Dr. Michaels turned and smiled at them both.
"Congratulations," he said. "You guys are having twins!"
Monica and Chandler both froze as though they had been blasted by a stun gun. There was a distinct pattern of two whooshing sounds now, which proved the doctor was indeed correct. There were two babies in there.
"Twins," Chandler said faintly.
"Twins?" Monica asked. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. There are definitely two babies in there," Dr. Michaels chuckled. "I'll give you guys a moment." He left them alone in the room, and Chandler went to the screen. There were two peanut shaped object in Monica's uterus, there was no denying that.
"Twins," Monica breathed.
"Oh my God," Chandler said.
"You're not freaking out are you?" Monica asked, worried. He turned to face her. There was a bit of panic on his face, but he eventually smiled.
"No," he shook his head. "I'm just...shocked."
"I know! Me too," Monica agreed. She went from not being able to have any babies to having twins. She really was a medical marvel.
"Wow," Chandler said, going to kiss her. "I have miracle sperm!"
"If anyone has a miracle anything, it's me with my miracle uterus," Monica corrected. He grinned again.
"You're right," he nodded.
They held each other and listened to their babies' heart beats until the doctor returned, took some photos for them, and sent them on their way.
Ross & Rachel
"Mum, Mum, Mum," Daniel was chanting. He had finally started talking. It was his first birthday in a week. Rachel was in planning mode. She knew he was only turning one and wouldn't remember anything, but it was still important to her.
"Yes, my baby boy?" she asked, going to pick him up. He planted a big, wet kiss on her cheek. "Awww, thank you!"
"Mum, Mum, Mum," he said again, grinning. She loved his smile. She was relieved to be feeling better and not having so many sad moments anymore. She set Daniel in his high chair and set to making him some lunch.
She had returned to work part time, which her boss was fine with. Rachel sometimes wondered about just being a stay at home mother and having a bunch more kids. She knew Ross would be thrilled at the idea of having more children. She discovered she really loved being a mother, and Daniel was one of her biggest joys. She loved Ben too, and she knew he'd probably like a sister.
"Okay," she said, sitting down and preparing to feed Daniel. "Here we go."
Yes, she greatly enjoyed the domestic life, a lot more than she ever thought she would.
Central Perk
Chandler found Joey and Phoebe at the coffeehouse after leaving Monica to have her lunch with Judy. They had made the agreement that she was going to tell her mother, and Chandler could tell whoever he wanted. He had told a few complete strangers on the street that he was having twins, a huge grin on his face as he did so, and he got some "congratulations" in return as well as a few funny looks.
"Hello, children!" he shouted, bouncing in. Both Joey and Phoebe looked at him.
"What are you so excited about?" Joey asked, taking a swig of his water.
"Monica and I are having...wait for it...twins!"
Joey spewed his water everywhere.
"Twins?!" he exclaimed.
"Oh! Oh, that's so exciting!" Phoebe clapped her hands.
"I know!" Chandler shouted, pumping his fists.
"Wow," Joey said. "Twins. Will they be conjoined?" He had a worried look on his face.
"No, Joe, they're not," Chandler answered. "Not all twins are conjoined, you know."
"I know," Joey said defensively. He ate his cookie then to save himself from saying something else foolish.
"So, how are you gonna squeeze twins into that apartment?" Phoebe asked, bringing down Chandler's high.
"Um, with some butter and a prayer?" he countered.
"No, seriously," Phoebe said. "They can share a room for a bit, but when they get older, they'll need their own rooms."
"Right," Chandler nodded. He had not thought of this. He knew for sure Monica had not thought of this because she would have already told him about it. He sat down heavily, thinking.
"I don't want you guys to move," Joey whined. "Who will I steal...I mean, borrow food from?"
"You could let one twin live with us!" Phoebe exclaimed.
"Erm, no. I don't think Mon would go for that," Chandler shook his head. "Sorry."
"Think of it as like a permanent kind of babysitting," Phoebe urged.
"Still no."
He sat there thinking hard. What would they do? They couldn't stay there. Phoebe was right. He felt a little bit of anxiety pop up again. What were they going to do?
Monica & Judy
"So," Judy said, sipping her tea. "When is the wedding?"
"Next spring?" Monica answered as a question.
"So far away? Haven't you two already been married before? Why the long wait?"
"Just...because."
"Because why?"
"All right, all right," Monica said. "Here's why." She took in a deep breath and exhaled shakily. "I'm having a baby."
Judy sat there shell shocked for a moment. Then it was as though the news finally hit her because she was suddenly beaming and clapping her hands.
"Oh! You are?! Oh my! Monica, I'm just...oh..." she said, getting into a dither. "I thought you couldn't...?"
"Apparently I can because I did get pregnant."
"Oh..."
"It gets better," Monica said, a smile forming now.
"How?"
"I'm having twins."
"Twins?! Two grandbabies?! Oh my..." Judy said, feeling a bit faint from excitement. "When are you due?"
"February."
Judy got up and went around to hug Monica tightly to the point she was almost choking her.
"I'm so happy," she cried. Monica patted her mother's arms with another smile.
"Me too," she agreed.
"Wait, how are you going to live in that small apartment with twins?" Judy asked. Monica stopped short, realizing her mother was right.
"I...I don't know," Monica admitted.
"You'll have to get a bigger place."
"I guess we will." Leaving Nana's apartment just seemed wrong, though, but Monica knew she couldn't stay there with twins. There wasn't enough room. She wondered if Chandler had realized this yet.
"Well, you've got months to figure it out," Judy said warmly. "Everyone is going to be so thrilled!"
She hugged Monica again, who was already starting to worry about how fast those months were going to go by.
Phoebe & Joey
"Our friends are all gonna have babies," Joey commented, looking at Phoebe. "Do you want a baby too?"
"All in good time, my love," Phoebe said, grabbing his chin and pulling him in for a kiss.
"All right," he grinned.
"Besides, we have lots to do before we have a baby."
"Like what?"
"I'll make a list."
"Okay!"
Joey liked children, but the thought of having his own kind of scared him. He didn't know why. But, it was a long way off, so he wasn't going to worry about it.
Monica & Chandler
"We can't raise twins here!" both Monica and Chandler said at the same time as soon as they saw each other later that day in the apartment.
"Oh, so you did realize," Chandler said.
"Mom pointed it out."
"Phoebe pointed it out to me."
"We will have to move," Monica said, wringing her hands. "I love this apartment."
"I do too, but we have to also be practical."
"I know."
They stood there looking at their home and knew that sometimes you have to let things go in order to find new things that were just as good.
"So, what do we do?" Chandler asked, looking at her.
"Rent a bigger apartment?" Monica countered, laughing a little now. Chandler was thoughtful suddenly.
"What if we bought a house?" he countered. Monica stared at him.
"A house?" she repeated.
"Yea? I mean, it's better for kids to have a yard to play in anyway, and I can afford it. We can afford it," he corrected himself.
"A house," Monica echoed again. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea.
"I know it's a big change..."
"It's a good change," Monica cut him off, putting her hand on his arm. "A change I wanna do with you." She suddenly didn't feel as anxious. The thought of buying a place that was theirs felt really good to her suddenly.
"Okay," he grinned. "I'll start looking."
"Okay!"
They were having twins and buying a house. They really were growing up, weren't they?
A Week Later
Rachel was putting the candles on the cake while everyone else was talking in the living room and laughing. Daniel loved being the center of attention. She couldn't wait for his cousins to arrive so he had someone to play with when they got older. She was still so surprised that Monica was having twins, but she was so happy for her friend. It did make her miss being pregnant, though.
"Okay!" she called. She had lit the candles and was walking into the room. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday," and Daniel clapped his hands gleefully. She set the cake down in front of him, and Monica took pictures. Rachel kissed Daniel's forehead and blew the candles out for him. Ben was eager to get his piece, but he stood patiently, waiting. Daniel got his to mash his hands into, and Rachel gave Ben his next. Monica helped her serve up the rest once the cake was back in the kitchen.
"You doing okay?" Rachel asked her.
"Yea. I mean, the morning sickness sucks, but otherwise I'm feeling okay."
"Have you and Chandler started looking at houses?"
"We are looking in the paper, but nothing has come up yet."
"What about your parents' house?"
"They're fixing it up for you guys," Monica reminded her. "And I'm okay with that. I'd rather a different place anyway."
"Right," Rachel nodded.
"Have you guys made your decision if you're moving there yet?"
"You know, I keep thinking about it. I...I really want to have more kids," Rachel said. "And the more I think about that, the more I realize we need a bigger place, and I'm okay with working part time after if Ross is okay with commuting."
"It sounds like you've made up your mind," Monica noted.
"I think I have," Rachel agreed. "But not quite."
"Ookay."
"I'll figure it out soon," Rachel promised. Monica just smiled and patted her shoulder.
They rejoined everyone in the living room, and the sounds of eating took over anything else. Rachel smiled at Ross from across the room. She would have that conversation with him and soon.
Weeks Later
September 11, 2001
It started as any other day. Chandler kissed Monica and went to work. He was dreading the bunch of meetings he was being forced to attend at the World Trade Center. He didn't know why they chose him of all people. He just dealt with numbers. They could find any other Numbers Guy to go do that. He had almost called in sick, but Monica encouraged him to go as she said she wanted to just have a day to herself. He couldn't deny his pregnant wife of four months her wish.
Ross
He was teaching a class when pounding footsteps outside his room happened, and his door was flung open.
"We're under attack!" a voice shrieked. Ross stopped talking mid-sentence, and he felt horror suddenly. What did that mean?
His class erupted in panic.
"Stay calm!" he shouted, feeling so not calm himself. "Everyone, stay calm! I'm going to find out what is going on."
He surged out of the room and found all the professors crammed in the teacher's lounge, eyes glued to the television.
"Oh my God," Ross said as he saw the smoke and people screaming and running. "What happened?"
"A plane," someone said. "It just...it went through the building."
Ross stared in utter horror before reaching for his phone to call Rachel.
Rachel
"Honey! Are you okay?!" Rachel cried, answering her phone. She was already watching the news. One of her friends had called her to let her know.
"I'm fine," Ross replied. "Where are you?"
"Home."
"Good. Stay there."
"Are you coming?"
"Yes. I'll be there soon."
"I love you," Rachel cried.
"I love you too," he said back, his voice thick with emotion. They hung up, and Rachel hugged Daniel to her tightly, watching everything unfold on the TV before her. She cursed herself for not making up her mind fast enough and having that conversation with Ross about wanting more kids and moving to his old house. She had meant to, but something always came up or else she didn't know how to bring it up. What if something had happened to Ross? She couldn't bear the thought. She certainly knew how to bring it up to him now. She cried as she kept watching the news.
Joey
He was running. He had been at an audition close by, and when everything started, he had never felt so scared. Crowds were surging around him, also running. The fear and panic was immense, and Joey did his best not to be consumed by it as well.
"Phoebe," he kept saying. "Gotta get to Phoebe."
He turned around at one point to see what was going on, and he felt even more terror. Black smoke was everywhere. People were everywhere. There was screaming.
"Who would do this?" he asked. He turned and kept running.
Phoebe & Monica
"Monica!" Phoebe screamed, pounding on Monica's door. Phoebe Sr. had called her, worried, which alerted her to what was even going on. It was whipped open, and Monica was standing there sobbing. Phoebe went inside and immediately hugged her friend.
"Oh my God," Monica kept saying. "Oh my GOD!"
"Where is everyone?" Phoebe demanded. She knew Joey was at an audition, but she couldn't remember where. They moved to sit in front of the TV, and Monica's eyes were glued on the faces in the crowd when it was shown.
"Phoebe!" Joey shouted, his footsteps pounding.
"In here!" Phoebe shouted back. He burst into the apartment and went to hug her tightly.
"Thank God," he said. He hugged Monica next.
"Where's Chandler?" he asked.
Monica burst into tears all over again, pointing at the screen. Phoebe and Joey looked at each other.
"Wh-what are you saying?" Phoebe asked.
"He had a meeting there today," Monica answered in a whisper. She had never felt so sick in her life. Joey paled, and Phoebe covered her mouth with her hands.
"He what?" Joey asked. "Why is he there?! He doesn't work there!"
"I made him go," Monica went on, still in a whisper. "He didn't want to go to work, and I made him go."
"Mon, you had no idea this would happen," Phoebe said, grabbing a hold of Monica tightly. "He's fine. I know it. I'd feel it if he died. I know I would. Don't stress until you know for sure. It's not good for the babies."
Monica put her hand on her baby bump absently. She wanted Phoebe to be right, but she couldn't get a hold of Chandler on his phone. It was all she could do to not collapse. This was when Ross and Rachel came inside with Daniel.
"Oh my God, you guys," Rachel said, hugging them all. Ross did too. Carol had picked up Ben from school immediately, which had relieved both of them that he was okay.
"Where's Chandler?" Ross asked. Phoebe pulled them both aside to fill them in. Rachel started crying again, and Ross felt intense fear inside of him.
They all looked at Monica, knowing that if something happened to Chandler, she'd never recover.
Chandler
He had left his meeting early. He had missed the elevator, so he had decided to take the stairs since he was only 20 floors up and he wanted to think. He came across a woman going down as well.
"You must really like exercise," he joked as he caught up to her. She laughed.
"It's a good cardio workout," she agreed. "And you?"
"I bailed on a meeting," Chandler replied. "They didn't really need me anyway. I got my donut." He waved it at her to show her, making her laugh again. Then he noticed she was in a uniform.
"Police?" he asked. "You're not gonna arrest me for deserting work, are you?"
"No!" she laughed. "Arresting someone playing hooky isn't exactly in my job description."
"What are you doing here anyway?"
"Just dropped my husband his lunch off," she replied. "I love him, but he is so forgetful sometimes." They kept walking, their shoes thumping on the stairs.
"I'm Chandler," he said conversationally.
"Gemma," she replied.
"Gemma? That's interesting."
"My mother called me her Little Gem all the time," Gemma said. "Then Dad started calling me Gemma, so the nickname stuck. My name is really Erica. I just prefer Gemma."
"I don't have a cool nickname," Chandler said.
"Chandler is still a cool name," Gemma smiled.
"Not cool enough to name one of our twins that," Chandler said. "But I do have a namesake already, so I can't complain."
"You're expecting? Congratulations!"
"Yea. Twins! My fiancée and I are thrilled."
"Good for you! I wish you all the best."
"Thanks. We're looking at houses now since our apartment is too small."
"I know the perfect neighborhood to live in," Gemma said. She told him, and he bobbed his head, getting excited. He would mention it to their realtor. He was about to thank her when the building shook.
"Whoa!" he shouted, lurching forward. He managed to catch the railing, and Gemma did as well. "What just happened?!"
Gemma was listening as her police radio on her shoulder went off after a moment. The voice shouting over it said that the North Tower of the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane. They were guessing it was around the 90th floor. Chandler felt a slug to his gut. Would his coworkers be okay?
"Come on," she ordered. "You gotta get out of here."
They still had ten flights to go, and Chandler had never run so fast in his life. Other people were in the stairwell by now, and they were all pushing and trying to get out as fast as they could.
"Keep calm!" Gemma shouted. "It's gonna be all right! Just evacuate quickly and safely!"
Chandler did not envy her job in that moment. He also knew she was probably lying about everything going to be okay, but why add more panic? They passed a woman sitting on the stairs shaking and sobbing. Gemma stopped, and Chandler did too. He didn't know why. He just didn't want to be separated from Gemma for some reason. He felt safe with her.
"Hey," Gemma said. "You're okay. Come on." She went to pull the woman to her feet.
"I'm so scared," the woman sobbed. "I'm so scared!"
"You'll be all right. Please keep moving," Gemma said. The woman was like a robot as they surged forward again.
When they reached the street, it was chaos everywhere. Chandler felt terrified. Gemma was shouting to other policemen who had now arrived.
"Gemma!" he shouted. She turned to see him and rushed over, grabbing his shoulders.
"Go home," she ordered. "Go home to your fiancée and those wonderful babies of yours. Now!"
Chandler said nothing as she released him and raced back inside. He realized she was going in to save more people. He stumbled through the crowd.
Monica. He had to get to Monica.
Monica's Apartment
They couldn't look away from the TV. Monica felt even more sick as time went on. When her door opened and Chandler stood there, she screamed with relief and ran to him. He grabbed her tightly and started to cry himself. It became a group hug then, and Chandler had never felt so relieved to see his friends.
"Mom and Dad are okay," Monica told him once they stopped squeezing each other to death. "Everyone else's families are okay. We just...we can't believe this."
"I know," Chandler said. She noticed his face was a bit black from dirt.
"You were there," she said. "You got out."
"Yea," he said absently.
Rachel shrieked at this moment, and they all looked to see the North Tower collapse. Chandler felt his chest restrict. Gemma had probably still been there evacuating and helping. If he hadn't left his meeting...if they had been on a higher floor...
He sank onto the couch, feeling empty inside. Gemma's smiling face flashed in his mind.
He said nothing, though. He didn't even know what to say. They all sat together, holding each other, as they watched the horror on TV continue to play out before them.
Later-Ross & Rachel
They had come home somber. It had been an extremely emotional day. Rachel put Daniel to bed, and she joined Ross in the bedroom where they did their night routine almost mechanically. She had her toothbrush in her mouth when she looked at Ross sitting on the edge of the bed looking lost. She finished and joined him, taking his hand in hers as she sat down beside him.
"Ross," she said. He looked at her.
"What if something had happened to one of us? Or our families?" he asked.
"But we're safe."
"I know, but I just...I keep thinking about..." he trailed off. She knew what he meant. She couldn't get the images out of her head either. She felt the tears come again as she pictured those poor people jumping hand in hand. They had families and friends...she felt so devastated for them all. It also gave her the urgency to say what she needed to say.
"Ross," she said again after a moment, her voice thick with emotion. "I want more kids."
"You do?" he said, looking at her again.
"Yes. Very much. I've been meaning to talk to you sooner, but something always came up. What happened today just really showed me how fast things can change, and thinking of how it could have been you up there..." she trailed off. She cleared her throat and kept going. "I want to move to your old house. I want to have a bunch of kids. I want it all."
"Oh, Rach," he said, pulling her into his arms. They held each other for a long time.
Monica & Chandler
They didn't say a word as they went to bed. Both knew what the other was thinking, that Chandler might not have made it home that day. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if he hadn't. He tried to stop thinking about it.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too."
He put his arms around her and his hands on the babies. Next month they would find out the gender of their babies, but Chandler already knew they were having a boy and a girl. It was just his gut feeling. They had been discussing baby names, and they had picked Jack for a boy after Monica's father.
"What about Gemma?" he asked.
"Hm?" Monica said, turning her head to look at him.
"For a girl? Gemma?"
Monica thought about it. She liked it.
"I like it," she said out loud. "Where did you hear that one?"
"It was the lady officer who helped me get out of the building today. She said her name was Erica, but she went by her nickname, Gemma."
"I like both."
"Gemma Erica Bing," Chandler said. "Has a good ring to it."
"It does."
"Jack Charles Bing and Gemma Erica Bing," Monica sighed. Chandler wasn't sure why he had chosen his father's name, but it just seemed to fit. He had been thinking about his father lately, especially after today. He thought about reaching out to him, but he didn't know what that would look like. He decided to leave thinking about it for another day.
Chandler buried his face into her neck. It was as though the babies were already there. He hoped they hadn't been affected by Monica's stress. They'd talk to her doctor about it.
"You said she helped you get out?" Monica said after a moment.
"Yea."
"So...do you think...?"
"I think she was still in there, yes," Chandler answered.
"Oh my God."
"I know. She wasn't leaving without saving the others, though. Her husband was also in there."
"I'm sorry," Monica said, not knowing what else to say. She felt terrible about it all. She hugged him again. Chandler felt the tears burn his eyes once more. He suspected it would be a while before that stopped.
Phoebe & Joey
They couldn't fall asleep. They were holding onto each other so tightly as though afraid the other would disappear.
"I don't understand how someone could do this," Joey said again. His mind still couldn't make sense of any of it.
"I don't know," Phoebe said tearfully.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too."
"I really wanna travel," he blurted out. He had learned that day that one minute you were there and the next gone, so don't waste it. Phoebe turned so that she was facing him, surprise on her expression.
"You do?"
"Yea. I loved being on our honeymoon. It could be the thing we do before we have kids, you know? Travel the world. I will be getting a good paycheck from that movie I filmed, and I'm getting paid well being on Days. We can do it."
"I'd like that."
"After Monica and Chandler's wedding?"
"Yes. Let's do it."
"I can sublet the apartment while we're away."
"Okay!"
He kissed her, feeling a little bit excited but still really sad for what had taken place that day. It had given him a different perspective on life, though. He just wished he couldn't have gotten it in a better way.
December 2001
New York was still recovering from the attack, but life had started to move forward again slowly. None of the friends would forget that day, though, or what could have happened if Chandler had been on a higher floor.
Chandler couldn't stop thinking about Gemma. He still had nightmares, especially ones where he hadn't gotten out. Monica had suggested he talk to a therapist, but he had declined. He didn't want to talk to a stranger about his problems.
He was currently looking at Monica, and she was rubbing her belly while reading.
"Let's get married," he said. She put her book down and looked at him.
"What?" she asked.
"Now. Why wait til after the babies are born?"
"I am so glad you said it first," Monica said with relief. "Because I want the exact same thing. I don't want to go another second without being married to you, not after what almost happened."
"Let's do it close to Christmas," he suggested. "A Christmas wedding."
"The greens, reds, golds, and silvers will be gorgeous," Monica nodded her head excitedly.
"Your dress?" Chandler asked. She waved her hand.
"It can be altered. I don't care. It's not about the dress anyway."
"Okay," he said, growing excited for the first time in a long time. "Okay! We're doing this!"
"We're doing this!" Monica cried happily. He went to hug her awkwardly. The baby bump was quite large now. Twins had that effect. Chandler tried not to feel the twinge of guilt he got every so often for still being alive when so many others didn't make it. Maybe he should talk to someone. His thoughts were interrupted by Monica kissing him happily.
They were getting married.