Then
Epilogue: Then They Do
In memory of "Ace" :)
~.~
"Papa, Papa, Papa!" Little Aiden attempted to run out the front door to Chandler, who was sitting on the front porch, waiting for the rest of the Bing clan to arrive. In his arms was a pile of scrapbooks stacked so high he couldn't see over them, and he nearly tripped on his way over to Chandler. "Daddy says these have pictures of him when he was little and you when you weren't really old!"
Chandler laughed at the tact that was lost on his six-year-old grandson. "They sure do!" He smiled at the little boy, scooping him up onto his lap, setting the books on the bench next to them.
"This one first!" Aiden grabbed one of the scrapbooks, opening it to a page in the middle. "You put the words with the pictures," he explained, looking up at Chandler, playing a familiar game. When they went to read a book, Chandler often told him 'You put the words with the pictures,' meaning it was his turn to make up the story instead of reading the book to him. Chandler just smiled at the first picture he opened it to: little Jack, Erica, and Phoebe sitting on top of a bunk bed in a bright yellow bedroom, all three grinning mischievously.
~.~
"Ten little monkeys jumping on the bed," Phoebe sang, attempting to jump of the top bunk of her and Erica's brand new bunk bed, "One fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said," she paused, waiting for Erica to finish the rhyme.
"No more monkeys jumpin' on the bed," Erica jumped as well, shaking her finger at Phoebe as if scolding her.
"Nine little monkeys jumping on the bed," Phoebe continued, stopping when Jack walked in.
"I wanna play, too!" He climbed up the ladder, and both girls shrugged, continuing to jump as he joined in.
"One fell off and bumped his head," Phoebe continued. "Mama called the doctor and the doctor said-"
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" Chandler entered the room, startling the three, who sat down, immediately stopping jumping. "What do you guys think you're doing?" He crossed his arms, and received three innocent gazes in return.
"Jumping on the bed?" Jack offered meekly, and Chandler had to put in a lot of effort to keep a straight face.
"Are you supposed to be jumping on the bed?" Chandler continued.
"No?" Phoebe whispered. "Because we might fall off and bump our head?" she continued in the same sing-song voice she had been using earlier. Chandler again fought to contain his amusement at his children since they were supposed to be being punished.
"Yes, or worse," Chandler shifted his gaze across the three.
"We're sorry," Erica offered, the other two nodding in agreement, and he smiled this time.
"Thank you for apologizing," he said before walking towards the door. "Now, no more monkeys jumping on the bed, or monkeys will be in bed right after dinner." Off the whines he got in return to his threat, he turned back around, and the three stopped whining.
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed," Phoebe again sang, and Chandler fought to contain his laughter at the sad intonation of her voice.
"Okay, now come down for dinner," he added, grinning as he turned around, trying to gauge how mad Monica would be at the situation, and if she would find it as adorable and amusing as he had…
~.~
"Daddy never lets me jump on the bed!" Aiden exclaimed, protesting the unfairness of the situation. "How come he got to and I don't! When I have kids, they can jump on lots of beds!"
Chandler laughed, turning to the next page, but Aiden flipped through a few more to the last page in the first book.
"This one now," he pointed to the picture a picture of Chandler and the three kids at the beach, grey sky behind them, all of them looking incredibly unhappy. Chandler again laughed; that hadn't been their best trip to the beach.
~.~
"But, Mo-om, I have to pe-eeee!" Phoebe bounced up and down.
"Phoebs, we just got your swimsuit back on." Monica looked down as they walked out of the house
"Mommy, I have to go now," her eyes widened dramatically, and Monica motioned for Chandler to get the other two kids into the car as she took Phoebe back inside.
"Uh, Dad?" Jack looked up at the sky, sunny only hours earlier, that now looked rather ominous.
"I know," Chandler sighed. "Your mom insists it's not going to rain, though. The weather forecast said 85 and sunny today, and she refuses to believe it's going to rain and ruin our trip."
"But it's all cloudy and chilly," Erica wrapped her arms around herself before climbing into the car.
"I know," Chandler nodded. "Ice cream on the way home, though, even if it rains and ruins everything?" he offered, receiving two fierce head nods.
"Okay, let's go!" Monica exclaimed as she and Phoebe got into the car.
"Mommy, can we still go swimming if it rains?" Phoebe asked, seeing the dark clouds and few sprinkles on the windshield. Chandler snickered as Phoebe brought up what he had been saying all morning. Monica just sighed, still not about to give in.
"Honey, it's not going to rain!"
Three hours later, after getting rained on three separate times, and after countless whining, refusing to swim, and three grumpy children huddled in towels, Monica finally gave in, realizing the weather had, in fact, defeated her on this occasion.
"Fine," she looked at the three children, and Chandler who had now joined them, wrapped in his own two towels in an attempt to warm up. "But, we're taking a picture first," she grabbed her camera, to which she received four groans, but no actual protest as she took only one picture before giving in and packing up to head back to the car.
~.~
"Well, that kinda stinks!" Aiden exclaimed, and Chandler nodded in agreement. "I had to take swim lessons last year, and it was cold and rainy one day, and we still had to swim," he nodded at Chandler. "It was cold and I got lots of goosebumps," he continued, now moving on to another photo album. "Oh, this one!" Chandler laughed at the picture of the three kids in the backseat of the car, Phoebe giving a cheesy, fake smile, and both Erica and Jack had their arms folded across their chests, not happy.
~.~
"Are we there yet?" Jack sighed, looking out the window.
"Not quite," Chandler replied, glancing at him in the rearview mirror.
"You just asked that," Erica said slowly, looking at her brother.
"Did not," he shook his head.
"Did too," Erica sighed, grabbing the headphones and mp3 player in front of her.
"Did. Not," Jack grumbled back, yanking the headphones out of her ears. "And, those are mine. You lost yours."
"And you let me borrow them," she said through gritted teeth, trying to grab them back.
"And, now I'm taking them back," he held his arm out so the headphones were out of Erica's reach, now in Phoebe's face.
"Hey!" she swatted his arm away. "You messed up my drawing!"
"Don't hit me," Jack glared at his younger sister.
"Stop fighting!" Monica warned, turning to face them. "Now!"
"He started it!" both girls said in unison, pointing at Jack.
"Did not!" he retaliated.
"Did too!"
"What did I just say?" Monica again shot them a warning look.
"But they started it, not me," he whined.
"Stop whining, and stop fighting, or you're all going to bed as soon as we get there." Monica turned back to the front.
"But, why?" Jack again crossed his arms, obviously pouting.
"Because she said so," Phoebe whispered, leaning towards her brother, knowing very well that the answer for "why" to their parents was always "because I said so."
Monica glanced at Chandler, smiling, but stifling the urge to laugh at Phoebe's remark.
~.~
"Mmmm," Jack flipped though a few more albums. "Oh, do this one next!" This album was obviously from years later, and Chandler laughed at the picture of Phoebe, arms crossed, and her Prom date, smiling nervously.
~.~
"Mo-om," Phoebe crossed her arms. "We have twenty pictures from me getting ready, twenty from me walking down the stairs, twenty from putting on his boutonniere and my corsage, and twenty more just standing here. And we're still going to Jessica's house for pictures," she grumbled, looking sternly at her mother. "Dad, help!"
Monica and Phoebe looked at Chandler who was leaning against the couch, arms crossed. "What?"
"Dad!"
"Chandler!"
"Hey, yea, we're gonna take off now," Phoebe grabbed her date's arm. "We'll meet you at Jessica's in an hour. Go focus your attention on the other two," she motioned upstairs, where Erica was still getting ready, and Jack had yet to start getting ready.
"What's your problem?" Monica turned to Chandler after the couple had left.
"I don't like him," he nodded towards the car they could still see out the window.
"And why not?"
"Because," he trailed off. "Because!"
"Chandler, it's not like she hasn't been out with boys before."
"I know, but this is different," he sighed. "This is prom, and I was a 17-year-old guy once, so I know what a 17-year-old guy is thinking on prom night."
"You didn't freak out about Erica going to prom last year with Jeremy," Monica pointed out, starting to head upstairs to check on the other two, and possibly take more pictures.
"Yes, but I already knew and liked Jeremy, and trusted him as much as a 17-year-old boy can be trusted," he followed her. "This…Troy-"
"Trevor," Monica corrected.
"Whatever. I don't know him. I don't like him. I don't trust him."
Monica just laughed, shaking her head. "It's cute when you do the protective Dad thing," she nudged him, and he scowled at her in return. Monica just laughed, knocking on Erica's door as Chandler headed down the hall towards Jack's room.
~.~
"What do 17-year-old boys think about on prom night?" Aiden looked up, not understanding. "What is a prom night?"
Chandler laughed. "I'll tell ya in about ten years. Pick another one," he tapped on the book, and Aiden continued flipping through the pages.
"Hi, Gramma!" Aiden exclaimed when Monica sat down beside them. "Papa is telling me stories about when Daddy was little and he wasn't really old!"
"Oh yea?" Monica laughed, taking part of the scrapbook as Aiden moved so he was between them.
"Yep!" he nodded, pointing at another photo. "That one!" He pointed to one of Phoebe in her cap and gown at high school graduation, Erica and Jack on both sides of her, all three of them laughing.
~.~
"What's wrong, Phoebs?" Monica asked, moving the tassel on her cap to the left side, watching her fidget nervously in her gown. Chandler, Erica, and Jack had already taken their seats, leaving Mom alone with the soon-to-be graduate.
"I dunno," she sighed. "It's just…I feel like kinda a failure at high school," she again sighed. "I'm not Miss 4.5 GPA, Planning on Going to Med School like Erica, and I'm not Mister Popular Funny-Guy who Everyone Knows like Jack was," she sighed, looking at the crowd of her classmates streaming into the auditorium.
"Of course not," Monica rubbed her shoulder, reassuringly. "You're you, not them!"
"Yea, but I just feel like I was such a nobody. No one's gonna remember anything about me…"
"Phoebe!"
"Phoebs, c'mon!"
Monica nodded towards her group of friends. "They don't seem to think you're nobody or that you're someone to forget." Phoebe shrugged. "Go take pictures with your friends," she nudged her. "Cry a little, toss your cap," she smiled when Phoebe smiled. "I'm gonna go sit with everyone else. Go enjoy you're day; someday, you're gonna miss this," Monica nodded at Phoebe's scoff. "Love you, baby," she kissed her cheek before Phoebe ran over to her group of friends, all of them showing off their cute shoes, since that was the only visible part of their outfit.
"Which one is she?" Erica asked as the graduates started to enter.
"You shared a room with her for 17 years and you can't tell which one is your sister?" Jack laughed, prompting his sister to hit him with the ceremony program in her hand.
"Shut up, they all look the same in their caps and gowns," she went back to watching. "Oh, I see her. Phoebe!" she yelled, waving when her sister turned around. "Ha!' she turned to Jack, who just shrugged.
"Are there any words to 'Pomp and Circumstance?'" Chandler asked, looking down at the program.
Jack shrugged. "What does that even mean? Pomp and Circumstance. So proper."
"It's from Othello," Erica replied, not looking at them. "Farewell the neighing steed, and the shrill trump/ The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife/ The Royal banner, and all quality/ Pride, Pomp, and Circumstance of glorious war," she quoted. Chandler and Jack shot each other confused looks, both shrugging.
"Right," Jack nodded, looking back to the crowd to see whom else he could recognize.
Monica smiled when Chandler squeezed her hand, looking away from the stage as the first speaker walked up. "They're all grown up," she whispered, tears in her eyes, and he nodded, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "Now what?"
"Well," Chandler grinned, "I know one thing we can do once they're all out of the house…"
"Chandler!"
Chandler just laughed, giving her hand another squeeze, turning his attention back to the stage. They were all grown up now…
~.~
"Papa, what did you want to do in the house after Aunt Phoebe gradu-tated?" Aiden asked, prompting laughs from both of his grandparents.
"You know how I said I'll tell you about what a prom night is in ten years?" Chandler asked, and Aiden nodded. "I'll tell you about it then."
That answer seemed to placate Aiden, who grabbed the next book, flipping through the pages. "That one!"
"Aiden, that's you as a baby."
"I know," he grinned. "That one!" he again pointed, but grinned and jumped up when a car pulled up. "Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Erica!" he yelled, running towards the driveway.
"Hey, little man," Phoebe grabbed him as she got out of the car, carrying him back up to the porch. "Look what I found wandering around," she held him tight, not letting him squirm down.
"Huh, looks like an Aiden," Erica poked his stomach as she joined them, and he giggled. "I think I've heard of those."
"Down, down, down," he wiggled in her arms as Erica and Phoebe greeted their parents. "I wanna see more old pictures!"
"Oh, put those away," Phoebe shook her head, closing the open album on top.
"Your brother and Melissa are inside," Monica nodded towards the door. "We'll be in, in just a second," she added, and the girls walked through the door. "Okay, one more, Aiden," she instructed as he picked another book up. A loose picture floated out of it, falling to the ground. Leaning down to pick it up, he wrinkled his forehead.
"Who's that?"
"That's us," Chandler laughed, taking the other photo from him.
"How old is that?"
"Pretty old," Monica nodded, smiling at Chandler. "When we were in college."
"Like Aunt Erica?"
"Yea, but we didn't go for as long like her, since she is going to be a doctor," Monica explained, looking at the picture. She never could quite place exactly when the picture was taken, but Carol had come across it years ago, and thought they would like to have it. It was obviously candid, since neither of them was looking at the camera, but rather at each other. She recognized the look on Chandler's face in it, and would bet they had been playfully arguing about something when it was taken.
"I'm gonna go inside," Aiden hopped down, running inside, screen door slamming shut behind him.
"He's getting too big," Monica shook her head. "He's gonna grow up on us, too, isn't he?"
"I'm afraid so," Chandler nodded in agreement. "Those three need to work on making us some more grandkids so we have some to replace him with when he gets older." The words weren't even all out of his mouth before Monica smacked at his hand. Chandler just grinned, taking her hand and squeezing it. "Then they'll all just grow up, too, I suppose, " he added, looking at the sun that was starting to set in the sky.
"That's how it works," Monica sighed, squeezing his hand back. "Love you."
Chandler grinned, turning to face her, positive that even after all of those years, he still seemed to love her more and more every day. When they had dated, he would have said that wasn't possible, but then they got married, and after spending time apart when he worked in Tulsa, he realized he did, in fact, love her ever more. And then when they found out they might never have a child on their own, but they got through it, he loved her just a bit more. And the day Erica and Jack were born, a bit more. And then more and more and more from then as he saw her as their mother. And then he thought his love had to top out when Phoebe was born, but, no, still kept on going. Every once in a while, he'd think about it, and every time he thought about it, he realized that he did, in fact, love her even more than the last. Despite fights and bad days, and even a few bad years, the feeling never, ever decreased. Only increased.
Chandler leaned in, kissing her on the cheek, as he glanced through the living room window at their family, gathered around talking, no doubt waiting for them to join them inside. He smiled. Yes, he missed more than anything, when the kids were little and ran around at home, but, really, they had all gotten what parents can only hope for their children. They were all healthy and happy and successful. And with each passing year, even though it was another year's worth of memories to miss, it was also another year's worth of love to add.
Turning back towards the sunset, he smiled, giving Monica's hand another affectionate squeeze. "Love you, too, Mon."
~.~
I look over at their pictures,
Sittin' in their frames.
I see them as babies:
I guess that'll never change.
You pray all their lives,
That someday they will find happiness.
Then they do, and that's how it is.
It's just quiet in the mornin',
Can't believe how much you miss,
All they do and all they did.
You want all the dreams they dreamed of to come true:
Then they do….
"Then They Do," Trace Adkins
~.~
There ya have it. Not quite as good as I had hoped, but…what can ya do. I have a need to have a definite ending to all of my fics, so at least now it's done. Was it sweet enough that you want to puke? Because I kinda do. Like, seriously, that was too sweet and corny for my taste, and I wrote it, ha!
And a special thanks to the kids I nanny for, though they will never see this…they were the basis for the Bing kids, so without them, this whole thing would have been super boring :) So, yea, I know not many people review last chapters, since there is no need to beg for it to be continued, but please do still :) Now, on to a new series! I'm thinking either some Randler, or else something that will make you cry…..hm….