AN: I know that it's been a few weeks since I've updated on any of my stories. Things have been a little crazy the last few weeks. I'm the proud new aunt of not one, but two nephews. Both my older sister and my younger step-sister had baby boys a couple weeks ago. Both on the same day. One was born in the morning, and one was born at night. So I have two nephews to spoil now as well as my sister's three girls that she already has. All that, plus I've finished up one of my school programs and have decided to enroll in another program. So I will still be busy, but now that I've been offered a paid week of vacation time at work, I think I'll make use of it this summer and spend that time trying to keep up with my stories.

Sorry for all the rambling, I just wanted to share all my awesome news with all of you guys.

Onto the story. PLZ R&R!

Disclaimer: See earlier chapters.

Chapter 5: TOW The Reconnect

(Follows TOW the blackout)

Chandler walked out of his office building and started down the street towards Monica's work. He walked in the back door and down the narrow hall that would lead him back to the kitchen. He ran into one of Monica's co-workers, Paula, who told him that Monica was on her way out.

"Hey, honey." Monica came out and he smiled at her as she greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.

"How was work?" he asked her as they walked back down the hall and outside.

"It was fine. I just want to get this done."

"Remind me again why we're doing our Christmas shopping now?" Chandler looked at her. "It's not even Thanksgiving yet. Halloween was barely a week ago."

"Because the more we get done now, the less we have to do when it gets closer."

"All right." they walked into the ATM and Chandler got out his bank card. "So how much do we need?"

"Here." Monica typed in a number.

"That much?"

"Yes." she stated firmly. "It's not all for the presents, though."

"Fine." Chandler sighed as she withdrew the money and he took back his bank card as they started to exit the ATM.

"What the-" Monica tried to push the door open as the lights flickered and they were bathed in darkness.

"Oh, man." Chandler attempted to jimmy it open as well.

"Where's Daniel tonight?" Monica looked at him.

"Ross is watching him at our place." he told her. "But Phoebe's performing tonight, so they probably took him to watch her."

"He's probably freaking out. We should try to call them."

"Already on it." Chandler took out his phone and checked the signal strength. "All right. I got a signal."

Monica watched him dial the number and tried to wait patiently as he tried to get through to someone.

Joey had Daniel in his arms as Ross let them all into Monica and Chandler's apartment. Daniel refused to be put down as they all searched for candles, matches and flashlights. The phone started to ring and Phoebe picked it up.

"Hey, Chandler." she greeted him. "We all just got here. He's a little shaken up. Sure. Your dad's on the phone, Scooter."

"Daddy?" Daniel took the phone and spoke into it.

"Hey, buddy." Chandler's voice greeted him. "How are you, kiddo?"

"I'm scared. It's too dark."

"I know it's scary, but you're going to be fine."

"Are you coming home soon?"

"Your mom and I are locked in somewhere. We won't be able to get there until the power comes back on. But you're going to be fine, ok?"

"Yeah. Is mommy there?"

"Hold on a moment." There was a muffled sound and Monica's voice came on.

"Hey, sweetie. I know it's scary right now, but all your uncles and aunts will stay with you the entire night."

"You really can't come home now?"

"I'm sorry. It's impossible for us to get out of here right now. But if you need us at all tonight, just have one of them call us, ok?"

"Ok, mommy."

"We love you, honey."

"I love you, mommy." Daniel handed the phone to Ross who spoke to Monica briefly and they both hung up.

"Hey. Don't you have a flashlight in your room, little man?" Joey attempted to put him down. "The Spider-Man one?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go get it." Joey took him into his room, followed by Phoebe who had a working flashlight in her hand.

"There it is." Daniel rushed to his dresser and grabbed it off the top.

"Ok. So we found some games we could play." Ross had a handful of board games in his arms. "We have Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly, or we could just play card games."

"Candy Land." Daniel said and Ross set it up on the coffee table, knowing that his nephew would want to play it.

Chandler sighed deeply as he leaned on the hard counter that was mounted on the wall in the corner. Monica was sitting on the floor under the ATM machine as she had a distant look on her face.

"How long do you think this blackout will last?" Chandler broke the silence.

"A while, from the looks of it." Monica looked over at him. "Hey. Talk to me."

"About what?" he went over and sat down beside her on the floor.

"We haven't talked-I mean, really talked-in a long time."

"Ok." He looked at her. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Do you have any regrets?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we had Daniel and got married so young. We both barely had enough time to enjoy our youth. Do you have any regrets about any of the decisions that were made back then?"

"No," Chandler shook his head. "I never really felt like I was part of a family. Then I met you, and I felt like we had an instant connection. I think all of it was meant to happen. If nothing else, to show me that this is where I'm meant to be."

"Really?" she smiled at him.

"Of course," he glanced at her. "Do you have any regrets?"

"Not exactly." She started. "I've always wanted a family for as far back as I can remember. But I was pretty young when I got pregnant with Daniel. I barely finished my first year of college. There were lots of things I could've done."

"So do you wish that everything hadn't happened the way it had?"

"No. I know there was a lot I had to sacrifice, but I'm so happy with how our lives are right now."

"Me, too." He took her in his arms and held her tightly.

"So let me ask you," she looked up at him. "Why do you want to have another baby so badly?"

"Oh. Well…"

"What? You can tell me."

"It's just that I didn't get to experience it from the beginning when you were pregnant with Daniel. Sure you showed me that binder with all the information, and you had that scrapbook that you made, but it wasn't the same as experiencing everything first-hand from the beginning."

"You're right. It's not the same." She agreed. "I'm just not sure if we're ready for it all yet. Sure Daniel is five now which means that he could probably handle it better, but I'd like us to have a more stable income and-"

"I get it, Mon. I really do. It's just as much fun discussing the prospect of having more kids than actually trying to make it happen."

"It is," Monica smiled as she gave him a deep kiss.

A few hours later, the lights came back on. Chandler and Monica got up off the floor as they adjusted their clothes. They smiled at each other as they walked out of the ATM and started down the street.

"The security is going to get an eyeful if they review that tape." Chandler smirked.

They reached their building and started up the stairs towards their apartment. They walked in and saw everyone trying to clean up the giant mess they had made in their absence.

"Hey. You're back." Phoebe spotted them.

"What happened to you guys?" Ross asked when he saw the state they were in.

"Nothing," Chandler dismissed him.

"No way." Joey looked at them in disbelief. "You did it in the ATM!"

"Shh!" Monica told him as Daniel came out of his bedroom.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Daniel ran to them and Chandler picked him up.

"Hey, buddy." Chandler looked at him. "Were you ok while we were gone?"

"We played Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders." He told them. "And Uncle Joey helped me make S'Mores with the candles."

"How many did you have?" Monica looked at Joey.

"Two, four at the most." Joey told her.

"Let's go brush your teeth," Monica started to take him into the bathroom. "Then it's time for you to go to bed. It's way past your bedtime."

"So?" Joey looked at Chandler as the bathroom door closed.

"What?" Chandler looked at him.

"Did you really do it in the ATM?"

"I'm not answering that." Chandler saw how close Ross was standing by him. "So who's the Italian guy with Rachel?"

"That's Paolo." Joey told him. "She met him in the building a couple hours ago. It's a long story. I'll tell you about it later."

"So how's he handling it?" Chandler gestured with his head where Ross was.

"Well-"

"Guys day tomorrow if I can get away?"

"Most likely."

"He's ready for his story, daddy." Monica came out of the bathroom with Daniel.

"Come on, buddy." Chandler took him into his room and sat on the bed as Daniel picked out a book and climbed up onto the bed.

Chandler closed Daniel's bedroom door behind him as he quietly walked out of his room and started to help everyone clean up the apartment. Monica was giving everyone orders as they reluctantly did as she asked. Chandler smiled at her as he started to throw out all the items that didn't make it from the refrigerator and freezer.

A few weeks later, Chandler was sleeping soundly one morning when he heard his bedroom door creak open. He turned over and smiled as he saw Daniel trying to climb up onto the bed.

"Morning, buddy." He rubbed his eyes.

"Daddy, I'm hungry." Daniel told him.

"Ok." He said slowly. "Why aren't you telling your mom this?"

"Mommy's not making breakfast."

"She's not?" he looked next to him and saw Monica's side empty. "Do you know where she is?"

"In the bathroom. She's been in there for a long time."

"I'll find out what's going on." Chandler climbed out of bed and took Daniel out to where Rachel was trying to find something to eat.

"Hey, Rach." Chandler took Daniel to her. "Can you get Daniel some breakfast? I need to find out what's going on with Monica."

"Sure." She smiled down at Daniel. "What would you like?"

"Captain Crunch." Daniel told her as Chandler went into the bathroom.

"Monica?" Chandler knocked on the bathroom door.

"Dammit," she cursed as he slowly walked in.

"What's going on?" he saw her trying to hide something and spotted the box on the counter. "You're taking a pregnancy test?"

"I was trying to." She told him. "But you scared me and I dropped it in the toilet."

"Why didn't you let me know what was going on?"

"I didn't want to get your hopes up if it turned out to be a false alarm."

"Is there a reason why you think you need to take a test?"

"Chandler, the night of the blackout-we didn't use protection. We got too caught up in the moment. Yes I'm on the pill, but nothing is one hundred percent."

"I'm aware of that. I meant are you having any warning signs that would make you think that you possibly could be?"

"I'm two weeks late. I'm never late. The last time I was late was when I got pregnant with Daniel. And I'm just not feeling right."

"Ok. So obviously that one is ruined." Chandler saw the test that had fallen in the toilet. "Do you have another one?"

"No. That was the only one I had."

"Ok. I'll run out and get another one."

"What about Daniel?" Monica gasped. "Oh my god. I never made breakfast."

"It's all right. Rachel got him some cereal. I'll see if she can watch him for a bit." He walked out of the bathroom and saw that Phoebe was there. He saw Daniel putting his empty cereal bowl in the sink as Rachel put everything away.

"Hey. Where's Monica?" Phoebe spotted him coming towards the kitchen.

"She's not feeling well. I have to go down to the drug store and get her something. Can one of you keep Daniel for a little bit?"

"I'd love to, but I have work in an hour." Rachel told him.

"I can keep Daniel for a few hours if you'd like." Phoebe told him. "I was actually going to ask if I could take him to the library for storytime."

"That'd be great. Thanks, Pheebs."

Chandler went to go get dressed real quick and came out as he grabbed his coat from by the door. He saw Daniel coming out of his room after he had dressed himself.

"Ok. I'm heading out. Be good for Aunt Phoebe, kiddo."

"I will," Daniel told him as they all walked out of the apartment.

Chandler was pacing the living room as he watched the door to the bathroom. It finally opened and Monica came out to join him.

"Well?" he asked her.

"It'll take a few minutes." She told him as they went to sit on the couch. "This is so nerve-wracking."

"I just want you to know that no matter what the test says, everything will be fine."

"I know," she smiled at him.

They were quiet for the next several minutes, both of them taking turns to look to see how much time was left.

"It's time." Monica told him.

"Ok." They both stood up and went into the bathroom.

Monica picked up the test and checked the box to see what the results meant. Chandler stood in the doorway as he waited for her to tell him whether or not their lives had changed.

"It's negative." Monica sighed. "I'm not pregnant."

"Thank god," Chandler breathed a sigh of relief.

"What?" Monica looked back at him. "I figured you'd want it to be positive."

"Well, I do. Eventually. Just not right now. We are so not ready to do this again."

"I agree." Monica smiled at him as they walked into the kitchen. "Now that all the drama is over, I am starving."

"Why don't we take advantage of Daniel not being here to steal food from us?"

"Ice cream for breakfast?" She smiled at him as he took the carton out of the freezer and got them two spoons.

Monica and Chandler were watching TV when the door opened and Daniel ran in followed by Phoebe. Monica got up and went to them as Phoebe set the bag of books on the table.

"Did you have fun with Aunt Phoebe today?" Monica picked him up.

"Yep." He announced. "Can I have mac and cheese for lunch?"

"With hotdogs?"

"Yes!" Monica put him down and he ran to his room.

"Do you want me to make it?" Chandler came in to them.

"No. That's ok. I got it."

"All right." Chandler went into Daniel's room as Phoebe followed Monica.

"So how are you feeling?" Phoebe asked her. "Chandler said you weren't feeling very well."

"I wasn't sick. I just had a little scare."

"Oh!" Phoebe realized what she was talking about. "So what happened?"

"Everything is fine. There's nothing to worry about."

"So are you relieved or disappointed?"

"Relieved. We both are."

"Chandler's relieved? I figured that he would be happy if it turned out that you were pregnant."

"We both want another child, just not right now. We're both happy and content with the way our life is right now." She smiled as she saw Chandler come out with Daniel and they set up a memory matching game on the coffee table.

AN: So what'd you all think? I'm going to try to work on all of my stories more. Anyway, PLZ R&R!