AN: Sorry for the long hiatus, I've been busy with school and applying to college. But without further ado, here's Pete's chapter!
I don't know why I let my sister drag me to this Halloween party at her kids' school. Little kids run around hyped up on sugar from the array of sweets adorning the tables set up on the outskirts of the room. Somewhere, a baby is crying but it is partially muffled by the shouts and laughter of the countless other kids. I am Pete Becker, billionaire tech guy and yet I am spending my Friday night at an elementary school party. Sure, I love my niece and nephew and I always thought I would want to have kids, but nowadays I'm not so sure anymore. Kids take up a lot of time and energy that I need to devote to my company and future endeavors. Maybe I'll regret that decision one day, but right now I am happy with the way my life is going and I don't really want it to change.
"Erica stop running!" A vaguely familiar voice calls.
All of a sudden, someone little and blonde barrels into me at full speed, knocking the wind right out of me. She falls to the ground and her face contorts before she begins to cry. A man comes and scoops her into his arms, whispering softly and rocking her back and forth. The little girl's cries subside and the man turns around. I let out a small gasp when I see that it is Chandler Bing, Monica Geller's friend.
"I'm so sorry" he says looking up at me, his eyebrows furrowing as he realizes who I am, "Pete? Pete Becker? What are you doing here?" he asks.
"My sister's kids go here" I say sighing- I don't have the energy for small talk.
The little blonde girl starts to wiggle and bounce up and down in her father's arms.
"Daddy, put me down I want to play!"
"Okay little butt, but no more running or you won't be able to watch cartoons tomorrow"
The little girl gives him a completely baffled look.
"Don't give me that look, those are the rules. If you run anymore then you cannot watch cartoons tomorrow."
"Okay daddy," she replies, kissing him on the cheek and squirming down from his arms.
He watches the little girl leave, a soft smile on his lips.
"I'm so sorry again, Erica has enough energy for 5 of her!" he says with a tired but genuinely happy grin.
"You have kids?" I ask having trouble equating the Chandler I knew so briefly with the family man that stands before me.
"Yep I have 4, two boys and two girls."
"Wow 4 kids? When did you find the perfect girl?"
At that, his eyes soften and his smile grows that much larger.
"A while now. I've known her forever but we will be married for 12 years pretty soon."
"She must be someone special."
"Oh, she is" Chandler replies, his mind far away from the conversation and lost in the memories of his wife.
"Chandler, do you know where Erica went?" a female voice asks.
A woman appears next to Chandler, a little girl in her arms and two little boys standing next to her. She looks at me briefly and I inhale when I see it's Monica Geller.
"Monica?" I breathe.
"Pete, hi!" she says smiling at me before moving to give me a hug, "How are you?" she asks genuinely curious.
"I'm good, you?"
"I'm great, actually" suddenly she shakes her head slightly before turning to Chandler again, "Honey where's Erica, Danny doesn't feel so good and wants to go home. It's pretty late anyways and we should get these monsters to bed."
Chandler nods in agreement before responding, "She went that way" he points in the general direction the little girl went, "She probably is with Bella or Emma."
Monica puts the little girl in her arms down and heads off in the direction Chandler pointed to.
Chandler kneels down to the little boys height and asks, "Does your tummy hurt little man?"
"Yes daddy" the little boy nods meekly.
Chandler picks up his son who immediately rests his head on Chandler's shoulder and Chandler rubs circles on his back. The little boy looks exactly like Chandler with sandy brown hair and bright blue eyes. The little girl has Monica's raven hair and Chandler's eyes, just like her brother. The other boy has blonde hair and blue eyes, just like the other girl that disappeared.
I turn to Chandler and Monica's kids and say, "Hi, I am Pete"
The two children turn to Chandler who motions for them to go ahead and talk.
"Hi, I'm Jack and this is my sister Ellie. That's Danny" he says pointing to the boy in Chandler's arms, "He's sick from all the cookies and candy mommy told us not to eat but he ate them anyways. And I have a twin sister Erica who is with her friend and our cousin."
Chandler places his hands on the boys shoulder, "Slow down Jack, Pete can't keep up"
"Sorry" Jack says shyly, "Sometimes I talk a lot"
"That's okay, so do I sometimes" I reply, amused at the kid's honesty.
"I like to talk too!" Ellie pipes in.
"How old are you Ellie" I ask.
"I'm 5 and daddy says I am a big girl like Eri!" the little girl exclaims bouncing up and down.
"That's right munchkin, you are a big girl, just like Eri."
"Daddy" says Danny, "I don't feel well."
Chandler feels his forehead, "Yeah buddy, that's because you have a fever."
"No, I mean I have to throw up daddy" the boy says exasperated.
"Okay, hey Pete would you mind watching Jack and Ellie until Monica or I come back. I have to get this one to the bathroom, otherwise the janitor will have a fun time cleaning up"
"Yeah it's alright" I say wincing, not loving the idea of being left alone with two children.
"If Mon comes back, please tell her I took Danny to the bathroom?"
I nod and he turns to his children, "Be good and listen to Pete okay?"
"Okay daddy" they chorus.
With that, Chandler races off, his son's head resting against his shoulder.
"So kids, how are you?" I ask, mildly uncomfortable.
The kids look at me, then look at each other and then start laughing hysterically.
"What's so funny?" I ask.
"You're silly!" Ellie squeals, laughing harder.
Her laugh sounds just like Monica's, taking me back all those years ago when I sat at her section of the diner for weeks to get her attention. Monica walks over, a pouting Erica trailing behind. She looks around, mentally counts her kids and realizes that Chandler and Danny are missing.
"Pete, where did Chandler and Danny go?" she asks, her voice panic stricken.
"Chandler went to the bathroom with Danny because Danny felt like he was going to throw up"
She immediately sighs in relief while her face contorts with worry about her child, "oh, my poor baby"
"So Mon, how are you and Chandler doing?"
A smile lights up her face, "We are perfect!"
"When did you two get together?" I ask.
"We started dating around 8 years ago, and we'll be married 12 years this May" she smiles.
"Wow that long?"
"Yeah, that long" she sighs with happiness.
Chandler returns with Danny asleep in his arms. Monica immediately rushes over in full blown mommy mode.
"What happened?" she asks rubbing the child's back.
"Well after this one puked his guts out, he conked out on my chest."
Monica turns to her other three children and says, "Come on guy, let's go home, Danny is not feeling well," she turns to me and says, "it was nice seeing you again Pete, but we have to get this little guy home."
I nod in understanding and watch as the family weaves their way through the crowd. Chandler wraps his free arm around Monica, pressing a kiss to the side of her head, his other arm holding their sick son. The other three kids run around behind them, zig zagging through the crowd. Finally, the little family disappears from my sight, leaving me with nothing but my thoughts. Sure, sometimes I wish I hadn't tried to become the ultimate fighting champion, especially when I hear the clicking in my hip, but I have learned not to regret things that taught me lessons. Besides, it is evident that I didn't belong with Monica now that I realize I don't really want kids. But Monica, she was born to be a mother and I am happy she found someone to give that to her. I smile, getting some closure I didn't realize I needed before heading off in search of my own family and my very adorable niece and nephew.
AN: Up next, Janice! As always, let me know what you think!