AN: Here's an update for all of you. Hopefully, you like how this story is coming along now. I updated one of my other stories Surviving The Storm Rewrite yesterday. So check out that one as well if you'd like. PLZ R&R!

Disclaimer: See earlier chapters.

Chapter 19: Some Good News

Chandler rolled over when his alarm clock screamed early one morning. He slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he thought about the busy day he had ahead of him. Today was the first day of classes for him; and Sophie's first day of preschool. He started to climb out of bed when the door opened and Sophie ran in.

"Daddy!" she jumped onto his lap.

"Good morning, Princess." He smiled at her. "You have a big day today."

"Preschool!" Sophie jumped up and tried to pull Chandler up. "Come on, daddy."

"Ok, I'm coming." He followed her out and took her into the kitchen and poured her a bowl of cereal. "Here we go."

Chandler hurried through his bowl of cereal as he made sure that Sophie had everything she would need for her first day of preschool and he rushed to get dressed. There was a knock on the door and he went to go see who it was as he held Sophie's book bag in his hands.

"Hey," he greeted Monica when he opened the door. "I thought maybe you were avoiding me."

"Not at all." She assured him. "I've been looking into getting a job the past few days, but no one wants to hire a pregnant girl."

"I'm sorry." He told her. "Come on in. We're just finishing breakfast. It's Sophie's first day of preschool."

"How exciting for you." She smiled at him. "Or are you going to cry when you have to leave her in the classroom?"

"I'm not sure." He walked back to Sophie and saw her just finishing her breakfast.

"Can we go yet, daddy?" she asked him.

"Uh, no." he told her. "You're still in your pajamas. Let's get you dressed."

Chandler took Sophie into her room and they emerged a few minutes later with Sophie in a long dress with a sweater over top of it, and her hair was in pigtails. Monica smiled at the pair of them as Chandler grabbed the camera off the top of the TV.

"You look very pretty in that dress." Monica told her.

"Thank you." Sophie twirled around in it.

"All right. Let me get a picture. Grandma will never let me forget it if I don't capture this moment." Chandler pointed the camera at her and started snapping away.

"Ok. I'll take some now." Monica took the camera from him. "Get together with your daughter so I can take your picture."

Chandler stood with Sophie as Monica started snapping away. After a few with Chandler, Sophie insisted on getting a couple taken with Monica. After all the pictures were taken, Chandler grabbed Sophie's book bag and they all walked out to Chandler's car and got in. Chandler insisted on Monica coming along so they could hang out together after he dropped Sophie off.

"So where is she going to preschool at?" Monica asked him as he drove them across town.

"It's at a church near the college." He told her. "It was the cheapest price I could find around here."

A few minutes later, Chandler pulled into the church parking lot and found a spot near the front doors. They all climbed out of the car and Chandler took Sophie's hand as they all walked in together.

"Here's my hook." Sophie pointed to an area on the wall as they all walked in; it had Sophie's picture taped above it.

Chandler helped her hang up her book bag with her jacket right above it and they all walked into the classroom. Sophie saw all the kids and suddenly got nervous. Chandler sensed her apprehension and tried to get her calm.

"Look, there's Davy." Chandler pointed to a boy at a nearby table. "Remember him from daycare?"

"Yeah." She said softly as Chandler led her to the table.

"How are we doing this morning?" one of the teachers came over to them. "Good morning, Sophie."

"She was fine until she saw all the kids." Chandler told her.

"That's completely understandable."

"Soph, you remember Ms. Lauren, don't you?" he knelt down by her.

"Yes." She said softly.

"Why don't we get you settled in right here?" Ms. Sue sat her at a table as Chandler slipped out of the room with Monica.

"Do you think she'll be all right?" Monica looked at him as they got back into his car. "Will you?"

"I think she'll be fine." He told her. "I'm not sure about me."

"So where are we going? Back to your place?"

"Actually, I need to go to the college bookstore." He told her. "I still haven't got my books and supplies yet."

"That actually works out for me. I need to check some things out there."

"You're finishing up your classes there, right?" he looked at her.

"Yes." She sighed. "And I heard there's some parenting classes being held there, along with some single parents support group."

"I'm in that group." He told her as they reached the NYU parking lot and made their way into the building. "I can take you there now if you want. There's always someone there in case one of the group needs someone to talk to."

"That'd be great actually." She followed him down a corridor on the bottom floor and into a room where there was a lady going through some files.

"Hey, Molly." Chandler greeted her.

"Hey, Chandler." She smiled at him. "Welcome back. What can I do for you?"

"This is my friend, Monica. She found out a few weeks ago that she was pregnant. I figured you could give her some materials."

"Of course. Come on in, Monica."

"Hello." Monica spoke up.

"I'm actually going to go get my books now." Chandler told them. "I'll meet you in the café after you're done here."

"Sure." Monica told him as he walked back out of the room.

Chandler quickly found all his books, found a couple hoodies for him and Sophie and went to pay for them. He put all his things down on a table in the café and started to sort through all his class materials as he heard someone call his name. He turned around and smiled as he saw Ross and Carol coming his way.

"Hey." He greeted them. "How was the honeymoon?"

"It was great." Carol smiled at him. "Then we come back and find out that you did a really moronic thing."

"So you talked to Monica." Chandler looked at him.

"No. There was a strange message waiting for us when we got in last night from my parents." Ross told him. "So we called Monica's to try to figure out what was going on. Phoebe answered and told us what happened."

"I don't know what happened. One minute your parents were putting down me and Sophie and belittling Monica, and the next I was telling them that I was the father of her baby."

"Well, it happened and it's over for now." Carol told them.

"Unfortunately, my parents aren't going to let this go." Ross told him. "Just prepare yourself."

"I'll be fine." Chandler told them.

"Hey, bro." Monica came up to them. "Welcome back."

"So things got interesting while we were gone." Carol went to her. "Sorry we weren't here to help you against them."

"It's ok." Monica assured them.

"What's all this?" Ross saw all the packets and folders that Monica set down on the table before them.

"I got it from the advisor of the support group for single parents." She told them.

"Oh, yeah. I got all the same information when I started going." Chandler watched her pack it all up in her bag. "It's overwhelming at first, but all those numbers and services will help you out a lot. Trust me."

"I hope so. I need all the help I can get right now." She sighed.

"Well, it's almost time to pick up Sophie from preschool." Chandler glanced at his watch. "I'm going to head over there. Want to come along, Monica? We were going to go out to lunch."

"Where at?"

"The only place I can afford right now. The pizza place."

"Sure, I'll come." She picked up her bag and started to follow him out.

"We'll meet you there in a little bit." Ross told them.

"What's the matter?" Carol looked at him as he watched his sister and Chandler walk out of the college.

"Is it my imagination, or did it look like they were starting to like each other?" he looked at her. "That's crazy, right? I mean, she's pregnant."

"Ross," Carol started. "I hate to break this to you, but I saw feelings start to pass between them from the moment they met."

"What?"

"Come on. Chandler was more upset than you were when she told us that she was going to Florida for college." She told him. "He kept pestering you at least three times a day about how she was doing while she was gone."

"But-"

"Ross, they're both adults. If something is going to happen somewhere down the road, then you have to live with that."

"How long do you think I got?" he asked softly.

"Hard to say, but he's helping her with the pregnancy. They're growing closer."

"Just great."

"Come on. Let's get some lunch." She pulled out the doors of the college and they got into his car.

Chandler was a little nervous about what he would find when he walked into Sophie's classroom to pick her up. Monica went in with him again and they peered around the corner to see what was going on. He spotted her sitting on the storytime carpet next to Davy, her friend from daycare. All the kids were sitting quietly as they listened to Ms. Lauren finish telling them a story.

"Hey, Chandler." He turned around and smiled when he saw Davy's mom.

"Hi." He smiled at her. "Monica, this is Shelly. She's Davy's mom. This is my friend Monica."

"Nice to meet you." Shelly smiled at her.

"She's waving us in." Monica told them and they all walked into the classroom.

"Daddy!" Sophie ran to him and he picked her up.

"Did you have fun?" he smiled at her.

"Yep." She slid out of his arms and pulled him over to a table. "Look. This is my table. It has my name."

Monica watched the exchange from the corner of the room as Sophie chatted his ear off and the teacher came over to them.

"She did very well once she warmed up." Ms. Lauren told him. "I think she'll be fine here."

"Thank you." Chandler smiled. "Let's get going, Sophie. We're going to lunch at my work."

"Yay!" she ran out into the hall to get her coat and book bag.

They all got back into Chandler's car and he pulled out of the parking lot and started the drive across town.

"Daddy, what's in that bag?" Sophie tried to reach the plastic bag that was on the other side of the back seat far away from her reach.

"I'll show you when we get to the shop." He told her. "And stay in your seat."

"Fine." She started to pout and Monica saw him roll his eyes.

"Drama Queen?" she asked him.

"Just a little." He told her.

They pulled up to the pizza shop and Chandler got Sophie out of her child seat as he grabbed the plastic bag and they all walked into the pizza shop. Monica spotted her brother and Carol already there and walked to him as Chandler spotted his boss and his wife standing near the counter.

"Bing, I didn't think you were working today." Tony greeted him.

"I'm not. We're just here for lunch."

"Sophie, that's a very pretty dress you're wearing." Beth smiled down at her.

"Thank you." She smiled shyly at her. "I went to preschool."

"You did? Come tell me all about it. I brought in some cookies for everyone. They're in the back."

"Don't give her too many!" Chandler called to her as they disappeared into the back of the shop.

"She didn't hear you." Tony told him as he went behind the counter. "So what'll you have for lunch?"

"Chicken chunks for Sophie, large pepperoni, order of cheese sticks, and a pitcher of cola."

"Just a salad for me," Monica came up to them. "And some fat free dressing."

"Welcome back, Monica." Todd came from the back. "When'd you get here?"

"A couple weeks ago." She told them. "I came back for Ross' wedding."

"Oh. How was the wedding? You never told us, Chandler."

"The wedding went fine. It was the reception where we ran into trouble."

"Daddy," Sophie came out with a chocolate chip cookie in each hand. "Can I have some change for the jukebox?"

"What do you say?"

"Please?" she looked up at him sweetly.

Chandler reached into his pocket and pulled out a few quarters and handed them to her.

"That's all you're getting. Ask Uncle Ross to help you." Chandler told her and she ran off as Chandler turned back to his co-workers.

"So how was school in Florida?" Tony looked at Monica. "You look like you got some sun out there."

"That's not all I came back with." She mumbled as she glanced at Chandler. "So you didn't tell them anything?"

"It's not my secret to tell." He told her.

"What's going on?" Beth came out to them.

"I'm pregnant." Monica told them all and they all looked at Chandler.

"I'm not the father," he sighed.

"I got pregnant before I came back." Monica told them. "The father isn't willing to help me out. However, Chandler moronically took responsibility for the baby in front of my parents."

"They were really laying into you." He told her. "I just wanted to shut them up."

"Unfortunately, they're not going to." Monica sighed.

"I'm prepared." Chandler told her.

"Are you ok?" Beth asked Monica. "Do you need anything?"

"Chandler's helping me out. He referred me to an OB-GYN, and he took me to meet the coordinator of the single parents support group that he's in." Monica told her. "But thank you, though."

"Well if you need anything, just let me know."

"Actually, would you happen to have any openings?" Monica looked at Tony. "I will take anything. I've been looking for a few weeks now, but no one wants to hire a pregnant girl."

"Actually, I have been meaning to put three people on the closings." Tony told her.

"Really?"

"You know she can't move that big mop bucket around." Chandler told him.

"I wouldn't make her mop. It would mostly be cleaning counters, sweeping, and doing dishes."

"I will take it." Monica smiled at him. "Every little bit can help right now. Thank you so much."

"Just show up tomorrow night around eight o'clock. Chandler can show you what to do."

"You got it." She smiled as she walked back to the table.

"So do you know anything about the father?" Todd asked Chandler.

"No. She won't tell anyone about him. From what I can gather, he's a big jerk."

"She'll get through this." Beth told them all. "She has a big support system."

"Here's your guys' order." Todd helped him take it to their table.

"Sophie, come on!" Chandler called as they all helped themselves. "I have my first class in an hour. We don't have much time."

"Can I see what's in the bag now?" Sophie started to eat her chicken.

"All right." Chandler started pulling the items out of the plastic bag. "I got you a new hooded sweat shirt, another cup, and a stuffed bear."

Sophie pulled the bear towards her and clutched it to her all throughout their meal. Monica smiled at the exchange as she felt a little bit of weight lift off her because of the job offer that Tony had given her. Things were starting to look up for her. Hopefully, this was just the beginning.

AN: So what'd you all think? PLZ R&R!