Then
Chapter 8: The Way You Look Tonight
Ongoing apology: If I ever misspell Erica as Ericka, it's because that's how my best friend spells her name. I've tried to catch it every time, but…just incase one sneaks in there…
And also, sorry I haven't focused much on Monica; I'm just more of a Chandler writer. I'll try to make it a little more even, though :)
_._._
"Erica! Jack!" Monica yelled out the front door, into the seemingly never-ending rain. It had been raining all week. "What are you guys doing out here, you're soaked!" she pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her head, stepping out onto the porch. "Where is your dad?" she added, since Chandler was supposed to be watching them. The two pointed to their father, also playing in the rain with Phoebe.
"Mommy!" Phoebe exclaimed, seeing her mother outside now as well. "Come play with us," she ran up to her, pulling on her arm. "Chandler, what are you doing? You're all going to catch a cold out here!" she stood, firmly planted to her spot beneath the overhang, not about to get wet.
"Well, then we'll all have to just call in sick tomorrow and stay here and watch movies all day," he grinned, to which Monica gave him a look.
"Come on, Mom," Phoebe again pulled at her arm.
"Yea, come on, Mom," Chandler repeated as Erica ran up behind him, splashing him with the water from the puddle at his feet. Chandler laughed, grabbing her and spinning in circles with her in the rain.
Monica smiled. It was tempting…
"Mommy, please?" Phoebe repeated, sticking out her bottom lip. "Spin with me in the rain?"
Monica sighed, giving in. "Fine, but only for five minutes, and then we're all going inside and having hot chocolate and changing!" Phoebe grinned in victory, then held her arms out to be picked up. Monica did so, spinning with her in the rain.
_._._
"Mon, Mon, Mon," Chandler came running into their bedroom, Phoebe in his arms. Monica was sitting on their bed, working at her computer.
"What, what's wrong?!" she slammed the laptop closed, jumping to her feet and rushing over to the baby.
"Nothing's wrong," he grinned. "Watch," he smiled down at the little girl, taking her hand in his. "Who am I, Phoebs?" he pointed at himself.
"Da!" she grinned in delight.
"Da! Did you hear that!" Chandler literally jumped up and down. "She said her first word. I'm her first word!"
Monica laughed, kissing Phoebe, and then kissing him. Both Jack and Erica had said "mama" first, and she knew that, though he would never admit it, it had bothered him to no end.
"Wait, did you leave two two-year-olds downstairs alone? With the markers they were using?" Monica raised her eyebrows, taking Phoebe from his arms.
"Shit," Chandler immediately turned to leave the room.
"Language!" she yelled after him, since the twins had started repeating everything that was said around them.
"Sorry," he yelled in reply, already halfway down the stairs.
"Da," Phoebe again repeated, looking quite proud of herself.
"That's right, Da," Monica returned her smile. "You're a daddy's girl, aren't you?"
"Da!" she repeated, and Monica laughed.
"What about Ma," Monica tried to persuade her. "Can you say Ma? Mama?"
"Da!" she again repeated, and Monica couldn't help but smile, hugging the little girl closer.
"I guess I'll let your daddy enjoy his moment…"
_._._
"Down, down, down," Phoebe wiggled. "I'm dizzy!" she laughed as Monica let her go, and she stumbled for a moment from the spinning.
"Can I cut in here?" Monica asked, Chandler still spinning with Erica in circles, and Erica squealing each time he suddenly changed directions.
"What's that mean?" Erica wrinkled her forehead.
"It means, you go try to splash your brother," Chandler set her down, and Erica happily did so, immediately taking off in Jack's direction. "Hey, you," Chandler wrapped his arms around her, giving her a quick kiss.
"Hey," she replied, letting him lead her as they began to dance in the rain.
"Some day," he whispered, leaning his head against hers. "When I'm awfully low, when the world is cold, I will feel aglow just thinking of you," he continued to whisper. "And the way you look tonight…" he trailed off.
"Is that it?" Monica pulled back, looking at him, smiling.
"That's the only verse I can ever remember," he admitted with a laugh. "Though, as your favorite song, I should really commit the rest to memory sometime, huh?"
"Probably," she whispered, enjoying his warmth, barely even noticing the rain around them. "Hey, know what this reminds me of?" she pulled back slightly, and Chandler nodded.
"The time in college that Ross got us locked out of your parents house and we were all three stuck out in the rain?"
"Yea. My parents trusted leaving him in charge of their house while they were out of town, and, god, why were we even all outside?" she looked up at Chandler.
"No idea," he shrugged. "But he was yelling at you, soaking wet from the rain, pissed, because it was somehow all your fault, and he didn't want your parents to get mad, but they would obviously find out if he went to a neighbor for a key…"
"And you just started dancing in the rain, completely ridiculously, being all Chandler," she laughed at the memory.
"Which made him even more mad," he added.
"Definitely. And he was just dying for me to be on his side, and to yell at you for that as well," Monica laughed.
"And, instead, you danced with me in the rain," he grinned at her.
"And, instead, I danced with you in the rain," she nodded in agreement, still smiling at the memory of their college-aged selves, dancing in the middle of the street in the pouring rain as Ross yelled and yelled.
"If I'd only been smarter then," he kissed her again.
"Eww!" Jack and Ericka both cried out at the sight of their parents kissing.
"Well, then, don't look at it," Chandler made a playful face at them, and they both ran towards the house as their parents started kissing again.
"Well, I like watching you guys kiss," Phoebe stated as they pulled apart, walking towards the house as well.
"And why is that, Phoebs?" Chandler asked, and the little girl just smiled back at them.
"Because it's beautiful."
_._._
(The Way You Look Tonight, Frank Sinatra)
to
be
continued….
_._._
Seriously, writing mush always makes me grin like an idiot at my computer screen, haha. Anyway, the next two weeks are crazy busy for me at school, plus I got another job, and I found a grad student to most probably do research for, so…yea. I'll try to remember to take time to write every once in a while. It's pretty therapeutic for me. Like, I didn't really have time to do this, but it definitely took my mind off of my test, which is good, because my head was about to explode. And exploding heads are no good for anyone.
Also, I have two new series in the works. Trying to decide which one to work on the most seriously first, though…maybe I'll try to end this one first. Maybe. We'll see. Just an inside look in my brain…
Anyway, review, please and thanks :)