You're pregnant.

The words hung in the space between the doctor and Monica for a couple moments before Monica actually heard them.

She stared wide-eyed at Dr. Cleves. She was wrong, she wasn't going to like this practice at all.

"Excuse me?" she said when she could finally find her voice.

"You're going to have a baby, Monica," Dr. Cleves said, again, a look of concern now crossing her face.

"That's impossible," Monica said, springing to her feet and getting a little angry with her. "You have to have the wrong chart. I, we…we can't…"

"I…" Dr. Cleves started, looking into the paperwork again. "No, not wrong. Your urine sample was positive for pregnancy."

"Then you must have someone else's sample," Monica shot back at her.

Dr. Cleves walked over to the door and opened it, asking for Tracey to come in.

Monica leaned back against the table, her head beginning to spin.

"Can we have Mrs. Bing retake the urine sample please," she asked the nurse. "And we need to draw some blood."

Tracey nodded and walked back out the door.

"Monica, obviously, this is a…surprise…"

"Surprise?" Monica mocked her, her eyes filling with tears. "I can't…we can't. My…my husband has low motility and I have an…an inhospitable…environment. We've haven't used birth control in eight years! This is…it's…I'm sorry, it's just impossible…"

"OK, OK," Dr. Cleves said, patting Monica's arm. "We'll test again, OK? The blood test will take longer but we'll know the results of the new urine test right away."

"Yeah," Monica said, sitting shakily back up on the table. "Yeah, OK."

She started to tremble and tried to clear her head. It had to be some colossal mistake. She'd had no symptoms. She was fatigued, sure, but she had a demanding full-time job, was a PTA mom to twins, shuttled the kids to theater, gymnastics, hockey - hell, every woman she knew was tired all the time. She didn't remember being nauseated, she couldn't think of anything…

Or could she? There were a few days she didn't want Chandler near her when her breasts were very sore. They always ached at a certain time of the month, but that one time had been intense. But, it was gone in a few days and she forgot about it.

Then there was the sex, which was always good with her husband, but lately had been out-of-this-world amazing...

"I…" she looked at the doctor, calmer now, but still very reluctant to let her mind or her heart open doors she'd dead-bolted shut long ago.

The nurse came in and took her blood then gave her another cup. Monica went back to the bathroom, praying she had enough left to do the test.

Then she went back into the exam room and waited - alone.

She pulled her phone out of her purse with shaking hands, ready to call Chandler. But, to say what? No, she needed to be sure of…something…before she called him.

She clenched and unclenched her fists, she bit her nails. She stared at the clock and paced intermittently. She didn't feel like she'd taken one breath the entire time she waited.

Monica gasped as Dr. Cleves came back into the exam room, Tracey following behind. Both had smiles on their faces.

She sat heavily on the chair opposite the exam table.

"Really?" she whispered, tears filling her eyes once again, arms finally falling in a cradling position across her stomach.

"Really," Dr. Cleves said, "congratulations."

"How…how?" Monica said through her tears, still completely in shock. "After all this time…"

Dr. Cleves rolled over the stool from the other end of the room and took Monica's hand.

"Our bodies…change as we get older," she said softly. "It could be a result of that or…it really could be a miracle. I've seen enough of those to believe that some things truly defy explanation…"

Monica just stared at her, beginning to cry.

"I just, I can't believe it," she half-sobbed, half-laughed. "I have to tell…oh my God. He'll be…he'll be…"

And she cried harder, picturing Chandler's face. He would be so, so happy.

"I'm going to have Tracey see if we can set up an ultrasound for you this afternoon," Dr. Cleves said, handing her a tissue, "and I will talk to Dr. Long about taking you on as an OB patient."

She stood and Monica stood with her.

"Now, I think you have some people you need to talk to," Dr. Cleves said. "It was nice to meet you Monica."

"It was nice meeting you, too," Monica said, laughing now and wiping her eyes. "You have no idea!"

The doctor smiled and left the room while Monica started to get dressed, feeling like she was floating.

She was pregnant. Pregnant!

She was going to have a baby…their own little baby. One with her eyes and Chandler's smile…oh my…

She sat again, only half dressed, and looked down at her flat stomach.

"Hi there, Little One," she said in barely a whisper, voice full of awe and thick with tears, hand covering her belly. "We've been waiting for you."

###

Meet me at the bench outside your building in 20 minutes?

Chandler frowned at Monica's text and looked at the time. It was 10:55. It was too early for lunch and he had an office full of people.

Done already? He texted back.

Yes

"OK," he said to his team, sending an "OK" reply on his phone and putting it on his desk. "Let's wrap this up. I've got another…meeting to get to in 20 minutes."

Chandler had worked his way up to senior copywriter and was now in charge of five other employees. They were one of the top three writing teams in the agency. The pressure could be pretty intense, but he loved it. He loved having a job he was passionate about, and it rounded out his life completely.

Sometimes when he had a rare spare second or two he would sit on the bench at Jack's hockey practice or on a little stool in the rec center to watch Erica try gymnastics, and he couldn't believe this was his life; yet it was the life he'd always wanted, never knowing until he was living it just how much.

Great job, incredible kids - sensational wife. Drop-dead gorgeous, sensational wife who was still as madly in love with him as he was with her. He tried really hard to never forget that he had it all - that he was really living the dream - despite that tiny part of the old Chandler that was sure one day it would all go away.

And so he started to worry as he grabbed his long winter coat and walked out of his office almost 20 minutes later. Monica had a short appointment and was being very vague. A dozen little fears trickled through his mind as he gave a short wave to the building security guard in the lobby and pushed open the door.

###

Monica caught sight of him as he turned the corner from his building and made his way onto the crowded sidewalk toward the bench. He always stood out in a crowd, she thought, and not just because she loved him. She'd always thought he could move with effortless grace when he didn't think anyone was watching, and even from far away she could see his blue eyes scanning through the throngs of people.

His eyes, she decided at that moment. She wanted this baby to have his eyes.

She folded and unfolded her gloved hands as she sat down and waited for him. For years she'd played out in her head how she wanted this moment to happen, but she hadn't thought of this moment for so long she almost didn't know what to say.

He gently smiled at her as he came closer, and it amazed her that after being in love with this man for more than 12 years her heart could still skip a beat when that slow smile broke across his face. She smiled back and Chandler relaxed a little. The smile didn't look forced. Actually, she looked…radiant.

"Hey, babe," he said, kissing her cheek and sitting down next to her when she didn't get up from the bench. There was worry in his face. "Did…your... appointment go OK?"

"Yes."

"OK," he said, taking her hand and grinning a little. "I'm gonna need more than one-word answers, Mon. What's going on?"

He watched as her eyes filled with tears - anxiety flooding back into his heart.

"Monica…" he took both her hands, searching her face. "What's wrong?"

She wanted to freeze time as she looked into his concerned eyes, wanting desperately to remember this moment for the rest of her life. She took a deep breath.

"Chandler," she started, her voice catching in her throat. She squeezed his hands.

"You…" she breathed, studying his face through her tears, "you are going to be a Daddy again."

Her radiant smile returned.

"I'm pregnant."

She held her breath as she watched the myriad of emotions crossing his face. His lips moved fast, in that way they did when he wasn't sure what to say but was trying desperately to figure it out. She grinned, looking adoringly at him, then her breath caught as she watched his bottom lip quiver.

"Are…are you…serious?" he asked, his voice low and shaking, his eyes bright.

She nodded vigorously, tears now spilling from her eyes.

"H…how? When?" he whispered, his heart pounding in his ears, feeling like he couldn't breathe. "W…What?!"

"I know!" she said, now laughing and crying all at once. "I know! I didn't believe it either."

"What?" he said again, confusion remaining on his face. "Are you sure…I mean…sure, sure?!"

"Yes," she laughed, "we're going to have a baby!"

"Oh my God!" he jumped up, smiling finally and pulling her with him. "Oh my God! And you're sure…they're sure, everybody's sure?!"

"Everybody's sure," she nodded, her face starting to hurt from the never-ending smile. "I made them test me twice!"

"Oh, I bet you did!" he said, laughing with her now with tears in his eyes. Then he pulled her to him tight. "Oh, baby, oh, baby…we're gonna have a baby!"

She squeezed him hard and let out a little hiccup as she laughed and cried against him, a few passersby smiling at the euphoric couple.

"After…all these years…I never…" he whispered into her hair as his breath caught.

She looked up at him, not knowing what to say, but knowing the unabashed joy he was looking at her with now would remain in her heart forever.

"I know," she mouthed then leaned up to kiss him. He whimpered just a little as he kissed her back, then leaned his forehead to hers, taking her hands and holding them against his chest.

"How…" he closed his eyes and briefly shook his head against hers, not believing he was actually going to be able to ask this question. "How far along are you?"

"I don't know yet," she said, pulling back a little, "I…we have an ultrasound…"

"God, I can't believe this…" he interrupted, voice shaking again.

"I know…I know," she whispered, just as much in awe. She cupped his face, shaking her head as a new batch of tears sprang to her eyes. "At 1:10…I have to be at school at 3…"

They both looked at each other then, thinking the exact same thing.

"How excited do you think they'll be?" Monica grinned.

"Oh, honey, they'll be insane," Chandler chuckled. "Christmas, Hanukkah and a new brother or sister? Could there be any more excitement?"

She giggled, then furrowed her brow and frowned a little.

"What about your pitch this afternoon?"

Chandler shook his head.

"Wild horses, Mon," he said, grinning at her as he smoothed down her hair and ran his hands along the sides of her face. "Wild horses couldn't keep me away from that ultrasound. I'll talk to Steve."

"Will you tell him?"

"I want to," he said, then added as he looked at the pensive expression on her face. "Maybe not?"

"Maybe not," she said, concern clouding her features. "Maybe not until we know how far along I am and that everything…that everything's OK. Maybe we shouldn't say anything to anyone…"

He ran his hands along her arms and looked into her worried eyes.

He smiled as she put her arms around his neck, relaxing into his embrace.

"Everything is going to be OK," he said softly, confidently. "If one of my lazy guys actually decided to set up camp, he ain't movin'."

She giggled again, her eyes never leaving his.

He inched his hands from the place they rested on her hips closer to the middle of her stomach and gripped his long fingers a little tighter around her coat.

"This kiddo is the luckiest baby in the world to have you for a Mommy."

"And you for a Daddy," she whispered, brushing her nose against his, smiling.

"And the Dynamic Duo as their big sibs," he grinned. "What a ride…"

She closed her eyes and breathed him in, standing on her tip toes and leaning her cheek against his as she whispered in his ear.

"I can't wait…"

NOTE: Thanks so much for your reviews! :)