AN: I know that it's been such a long time since I updated this, but life gets in the way when all you want to do is sit down and write all day every day. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter. I had a little difficulty making sure that it came out just right, so I hope that you like it. PLZ R&R!

Disclaimer: See first chapter.


Chapter 17

The next several days went fast and before long it was Friday already. Joey's first game was Friday night, so they were all leaving as soon as it was over and taking a plane to Jersey so that they would get there and have time to start on some of the decorations. They were able to get the rest of the plans finalized before that night so everything would be taken care of for the ceremony in the morning.

Joey emerged from the locker room and rushed over to the group of them waiting for him near the exit gate.

"We should just make our flight if we go now," Charles told them as they all went out to the cars and pulled out of the high school parking lot before the traffic from the game started.

"You played great tonight Joey." Monica smiled at him. "I don't really follow football, but you were great."

"Thanks, I'm just glad that you all came." he smiled back at her as they reached the airport and they all climbed out and grabbed their luggage and carry-ons.

They made it across the airport terminal and got through security in record time. They all found their seats and finally relaxed. Monica smiled as the last few people arrived as they were getting ready to shut the door.

"You were able to talk mom and dad into letting you stay out all weekend?" she smiled at her brother as he followed Carol and her parents down the aisle to their seats.

"I told them that Carol invited me to a family friend's wedding."

"That's technically true," Chandler told him as he put the barf bag near Monica-just in case- as the plane slowly ascended into the air.


It only took a little more than an hour for them to arrive in New Jersey. It probably would've been cheaper to just drive there, but this way they had more time to set up for the ceremony tomorrow. They all reached the beach house and Charles cranked up the heat.

"Everyone else is ten minutes away. They should be here in a bit." Terry told them as they all went to unload their things.

"What's the rest of your family like?" Phoebe asked as they all met back downstairs and started going through all the decorations and deciding what went where.

"They're great," Chandler told them. "It's just-"

"What?"

"My dad's parents are in denial about everything."

"What do you mean?"

"They don't acknowledge my dad's lifestyle. In their world, Terry is just the guy who lives with us."

"Whoa," Joey mumbled.

"They love my dad and they didn't want to be cut off from us after I was removed from my mom's care. But they also don't agree with his lifestyle, so they just pretend that nothing is going on."

"Got it,"

"So what about Terry's family? Did they get invited?" Monica asked.

"Yeah, they're coming. And they're the complete opposite of my dad's family. They're thankful that he's settled down and has a family."

"Incoming twin tornadoes!" Charles called.

"Uh-oh," Chandler saw the door open. "You guys better watch out."

"Why?"

"Chandler!" they saw two blond heads before Chandler was plowed down and they started wrestling with him.

"James and Jenna!" a tall guy came into them. "Give Chandler some breathing room."

"They sure have a lot of energy," Monica saw Chandler wriggle free.

"You should see them when we try to get them into bed each night," he looked at her. "I'm Max, Chandler's uncle. Charles is my brother."

"I'm Monica,"

"The blushing bride," he smiled at her. "Just so you know, you have a long night of interrogations ahead of you, but I'll try to help you out as much as I can."

"Thanks,"

"I'm sure Chandler has told you about his grandparents."

"Briefly."

"They may pretend, but I don't. As long as my brother is happy that's all that matters."

"Love is love."

"Exactly," Max smiled at her. "You ready to meet the rest of the clan? Doesn't matter if you're not cause here they all come."

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Monica said as Chandler came over to her to try to help her with all the meet n' greets.

Monica spent the next half hour or so meeting all of Chandler's expanded family as Chandler and his uncle tried to keep them all at bay. There were a few snide comments about the circumstances in which this marriage was taking place, but for the most part everyone was very welcoming and accepting of her.

They got most of the decorations organized; they would set it all up in the morning. Chandler took all his cousins down to the basement where all the games and toys were and everyone else followed.

"Mon," Ross pulled her aside. "I know this was your decision, and I'm sorry to bring this up now, but are you absolutely sure that this is the right thing to do now?"

"Look over there," Monica gestured to where Chandler was with his cousins.

They had pulled out the sit n' spins and Chandler, James, and Jenna were having a contest to see who could last the longest on them. Everyone burst into laughter as Chandler slid off his intentionally and feigned dizziness.

"I may not know what's going to happen, but I can tell that he's going to be a good father." Monica looked at her brother. "We're doing this."

"Everyone should get to bed," Charles came down to them. "We have to start early tomorrow. We have a lot to do."

They all cleaned up the basement and climbed the stairs and went off to their assigned rooms. Chandler set up sleeping bags for his cousins and they all drifted off to sleep.


Everyone was awoken at the crack of dawn the next morning so they could get everything set up in time. They had a quick breakfast and started to set everything up in a frenzy. Adalee called a local beauty salon and a few of the workers came to give the bridal party facials, manicures, and pedicures. The photographer arrived and started taking pictures as everyone started getting ready for the big moment.

Phoebe and Carol double-checked to make sure that everything was set for both the ceremony and the reception before heading back up to see if Monica was almost ready.

"You look amazing," Phoebe told her as Adalee helped with the finishing touches.

"Really?" Monica looked at them.

"Definitely," Carol told her as she stuck some Baby's Breath through the top of her hair.

"I just hope that I don't lose my breakfast." Monica told them.

"It's time," Charles popped his head in the room. "Are you ready?"

"As we'll ever be," Adalee told him. "I'll go find my seat."

Monica started out of the room with the others as they lined up just before the patio doors. Terry slid the door open as quiet music started up and Phoebe then Carol started the walk down the aisle.

"Are you ready?" Ross came up behind them.

"I thought you were up front with Chandler." Monica looked at him.

"Someone in the family needs to walk you down the aisle."

"Thank you," she smiled at him.

Charles and Terry went to go find their seats as Chandler's cousins, James and Jenna, the ring bearer and flower girl, started down the aisle before Ross and Monica started their walk down the aisle as well. Monica was nervous as all of Chandler's relatives stared at her until she saw Chandler waiting for her at the end of the aisle with a huge smile on his face.


Monica and Chandler stood on the deck just a few yards away from the beach house as the photographer snapped pictures. The rest of the bridal party was standing nearby for whatever pictures they were needed for.

"All right," the photographer announced. "Just a few more right here on the beach and then you all can go into the reception."

Everyone gathered on the beach surrounding Monica and Chandler as the photographer continued to snap pictures at the different group combinations. Finally, they were dismissed and everyone headed to the side of the house where the tables and tents were set up for all the guests.

"Ooh, a chocolate fountain," Phoebe and Joey went to stand in line for the food. "I am in heaven."

"How are you doing?" Chandler looked at Monica as they went to the table nearby where the band was setting up.

"So far, so good." She told him. "But I barely have any food in my stomach right now."

"Well you need to eat something." He told her.

"I will," she assured him as the rest of the bridal party joined them at their table.

"Here," Ross placed a plate of vegetables with dip and a small bowl of salad near her. "I didn't see you grab any food. You need to eat."

"That's what I just told her." Chandler said. "Now eat."

"Ok, I'm eating." Monica pulled the dishes towards her.

Charles and Terry sat with their families as they watched the table of teenagers talking and joking around. From a distance, they all looked like they were just attending a school dance.

"What's on your mind?" Terry looked over at him.

"Did we do the right thing?" Charles glanced at him. "By making them get married?"

"It was their decision," Terry reminded him. "We may have suggested it, but they made the final decision. They have a better chance this way."

"I know,"

"Will the bride and groom please move to the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife?" the DJ announced and Chandler stood as he took Monica's hand and led her out onto the dance floor.

"You need to help me with this," Chandler whispered. "You know I have two left feet."

"No one will know," she told him as they started swaying to the slow song as everyone else watched on.

The first song ended and everyone else slowly filtered onto the dance floor. Charles took Monica's hand for a dance and she smiled at him.

"Every bride needs a father-daughter dance." He told her.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I know you're not fully on-board with all of this, so thank you for being so supportive and helping us."

"I've thought of you as a daughter for months," he told her. "Today we just made it official."

"My turn bro," Charles' brother Max approached them and Charles allowed him to cut in. "Well you survived your first family gathering. You handled yourself well."

"Thank you," Monica smiled at him.

"It gets easier the more you're around them," he pulled an envelope out of his suit jacket. "Here's a little something to get you guys started, and there's a little surprise for you too."

Monica opened the envelope and saw a light blue card with a couple bills tucked inside and a picture of a boy holding two babies.

"Is this Chandler?" she looked up at him.

"That's the day that James and Jenna were born." Max explained to her. "He had been living with Charles and Terry full time for only a couple of months. He hadn't talked or smiled in all that time; until that day when I placed the twins in his arms."

"Really?" she looked at ten-year-old Chandler in the picture, smiling from ear-to-ear that seemed to light up his entire face.

"The rest of the family may have doubts about your guys' ability to handle marriage and parenthood at this point in your life," he said. "But at the moment this picture was taken, I knew that someday he would be an amazing dad. He just needed the right person to make the journey with him."

"Thank you," she smiled as Chandler returned to her side.

"Hey," Chandler smiled at her. "Uncle Max spoiling us already?"

"Just a little something to get you started," Max told at his nephew. "I better go make sure that your cousins are staying out of trouble."

"Good luck with that," Chandler told him as he walked away. "I got a few envelopes too. All of them have money in them."

"He also gave me this," Monica showed him the photo. "He said that it was his first clue that you would be a great father someday."

"When I was ten?" he looked skeptical.

"He's one of our biggest supporters," she told him as they started dancing again and she laid her head against his chest.


The guests started to disperse around two in the morning and everyone started cleaning up everything from the ceremony and reception. Chandler and Monica were only getting one day for their honeymoon. They were supposed to get on a plane tomorrow afternoon so they had enough time to get some sleep before school on Monday.

"Don't be late for the plane tomorrow," Charles told them and they nodded as Chandler closed the door behind everyone.

Everyone else left as soon as they finished cleaning everything up. Chandler and Monica changed out of their wedding attire and collapsed onto the bed of the main bedroom.

"It's finally over," Chandler sighed. "I can only handle so much of my extended family at one time."

"At least they all came," Monica told him.

"Are you upset that we couldn't invite your family?" he looked at her.

"A little," she sighed. "I always imagined my dad walking me down the aisle. I'm glad Ross was able to do it though. I just imagined it so different."

"I know," he held her. "But we got through it together. That's got to be a sign that we'll be able to handle everything, don't you think?"

"It's a start, I think." She smiled at him. "Do you mind if we sleep now and just have our mini honeymoon tomorrow?"

"Sure," he reached over to turn out the light and they quickly drifted off to sleep.


AN: So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. I will be starting on the next chapter within a couple days when I have a day off. On a side note, I can't believe that it's snowing in Ohio already! I am so not looking forward to the horrible Winter that's been predicted to happen. End of rant. Anyway, PLZ R&R!