Danny felt a bit as if he'd drunk a six pack of Red Bull. Full of energy, but completely sick to his stomach. His leg was bouncing incessantly and he could feel Katie's eyes on him but couldn't bring himself to stop. Ross was glancing at him every couple of minutes through the rearview mirror and he was tempted to ask him to stop, but didn't want to break the tense silence that had engulfed the car. Instead Danny closed his eyes and rested his forehead on the cool glass of the window. He tried to remember as much as he could about Monica and Chandler. Their voices, their smiles. Anything. The same thought kept running through his head.

Everything will be ok when I see them.

Of course he didn't know that, but it was the only thing he could think of to try calm himself down. His heart rate tripled as the car pulled off the motorway and into smaller, busier streets. He knew they were close. The car eventually turned off onto to a high street. As they passed little clothes shops, and diners with bar stools lined up against the window his eyes scanned over every shop, every restaurant to see if he could recognise anything. Dread filled his stomach when nothing looked familiar.

The car slowed as they turned off the high street and made their way through a maze of quiet suburban streets. Danny was so nervous now he felt sick. His breath was coming in short, sharp gasps.

He checked himself in the rearview mirror and winced. God he looked terrible. Drawn, ash-white face with rough, red raw patches on the cheeks. He wanted to ask Ross to put the air-con up, but the more nervous he got the less able he felt to say anything at all.

He knew that it was illogical to be this nervous anyway, Ross seemed confident enough that he was Matthew to bring him to Westchester. But horrible what ifs kept running through his head. What if they didn't believe him? What if he had been wrong? What if they wanted nothing to do with him?

Katie must've noticed his face go even paler because she nudged him gently with her arm. "Hey. You okay Dan?"

Danny nodded, unable to speak. Katie smiled sympathetically and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "It'll be fine Danny, don't worry."

He smiled, but was sure it probably came out as more of a grimace.

With a crunch of gears Ross stopped the car. As he switched of the engine there was a deafening silence. Danny could feel the blood pounding in his ears.

"Here we are" Ross said.

Danny sat glued to his seat as Ross got out. He opened the back door and Danny slid out slowly, somehow forcing his legs to moved to stand on the pavement. He looked up at the house. It was big- bigger than his one at home, with a large, neatly mown front lawn. The tree towards the front of the garden was golden leaved, and glittered in the midday sun. A sense of familiarity washed over him that he knew had nothing to do with the countless videos and photos he had seen of this house. This house had once been home.

He stood, his hands shaking and stared at the brick path that led to the front door. He heard footsteps that were too heavy to be Katie's walk up behind him, and Ross placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Come on" He said gently and led Danny up the path.

The path was only ten or so metres long, but it seemed to stretch on for eternity. The magnitude of what was about to happen hit Danny like a tonne of bricks, and he couldn't stop himself trembling even more violently. Ross must have noticed because he gave Danny's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He shot one last look over his shoulder at Katie before Ross reached up and rang the doorbell.

The door opened immediately, the woman must have been waiting on the other side.

The first thing that Danny noticed was how tired she looked. It wasn't the kind of tired that needed a good nights sleep, but the kind that was ever-present. It was a tiredness that was an ingrained part of a life that wasn't lived, but survived, endured.

Ross hadn't been lying, one look at her face and Danny knew this woman had been to hell and back.

Her hair hung limply to her shoulder blades. It was dark brown, almost black, but a few grey hairs were visible at the roots. The small amount of makeup she wore failed to cover up the fine wrinkles on her forehead and around her eyes and mouth. Her eyes were what caught Danny's attention. They were the eyes of someone much older than herself, tired eyes. But they were so familiar. So familiar. It was like looking into a mirror. The shape, the colour, the way they sloped up ever so slightly on the sides. Everything.

And in that moment they held so much emotion. Confusion, fear but most evidently hope. Danny was sure his eyes held a similar mix.

"Matthew" she breathed, so quietly Danny couldn't be sure he hadn't imagined it. She cleared her throat. "I'll go…just…I'll get Chandler"

Her eyes finally tore away from Danny's face and she walked quickly towards the back of the house. Ross still had a grip on Danny's shoulder and led him into a cosy living room. Danny looked over the numerous photos that decorated the walls. Most of them were of two people, a girl and a boy, with light brown, almost blond hair and brown eyes. The pictures showed them together and apart, as they grew from chubby little babies to tall, good looking young adults. There was the odd wedding photo in the mix. And a couple of old photos of a smiling group of six in a room with purple walls. The rest of the photos were of a brown haired, blue eyed little boy. Him.

The biggest photo hung over the mantelpiece. The smiling blue eyed toddler was sat in between the two brown eyed children. A parent was on either side of them. The whole family looked carefree, happy. Completely unaware their world was soon to be shattered.

Ross gently pushed Danny down into and armchair and let go of his shoulder.

"I'm just gonna go get them" He walked off in the same direction as Monica and left Danny and Katie alone. Katie perched on the arm of the chair and looked at Danny.

"Everything will be fine Dan" She said quietly, sounding like a mother comforting a child. "Stop worrying so much. You could see it in her face. She knew exactly who you were."

Danny looked up at her and nodded in thanks. Still too nervous to talk. Katie smiled and Danny knew she understood. The pair winced as they heard low, angry voices from the next room. Danny was terrified.

Ross finally strode in, followed by a dark haired middle aged man. Monica and another man walked in last. Danny briefly wondered where they all came from before deciding it wasn't important. He rested his eyes on the couple near the back of the group. Monica and Chandler Bing.

"Is that him?" Chandler said, walking over to Danny. He gripped his shoulder bringing Danny's eyes to him. There was something almost desperate in his eyes. "Who are you?" He shook Danny's shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

The woman put her hand over his. "It's Matthew, Chandler," She breathed, just loud enough for everyone else in the room to hear her. "I really think it is"

There was a beat of silence at her words before pandemonium broke out. Everyone in the room started talking at once. Chandler began shouting at Monica, completely ignoring Danny.

"This isn't him Monica. It can't be. He's not just going to walk in—"

"It is, he has." Monica cried, tears falling down her face. Chandler's face softened slightly as he moved his hand from Danny's shoulder to wipe a tear from his wife's face.

"Stop it Mon, stop it. I can't take it if its not him, I can't cope." He said in an almost broken whisper.

Monica clutched at his arm "Look at him Chandler, look at him. He looks just like you."

The man didn't seem to hear her: "I can't take this, Mon," He repeated, his face twisted in agony. "I can't lose him again"

Danny's heart was hammering. Whatever he'd imagined finding his birth family would be like, it wasn't like this. He didn't want to be there anymore. But his legs felt rooted to the spot. He shot a helpless look at Katie who tried to smile comfortingly, but she couldn't quite hide the uncertainty in her eyes. The volume in the room started to rise even more.

"Please stop shouting," Danny said. But the words were drowned out in the voices that surrounded him.

And then a deep voice boomed over all the others. "QUIET"

Everyone spun round.

"Ross" the dark haired man began.

'No Joey" He replied "I think perhaps everyone should calm down and listen to Daniel."

Danny shot him a grateful look and swallowed nervously, he could feel everyone's curious eyes burning into him and shrunk back a fraction. Clearly noticing his distress, he felt Katie give his hand a reassuring squeeze before he swallowed nervously and took a deep breath.

"Ummm…Well it started with a school project we had to do, we had to find and research the case of a missing child and then present it. It started when a girl from our school went missing like forty years-" Katie cleared her throat and gave him a pointed look, telling him without saying anything he was rambling. He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, tousling it even further. "Anyway not important… we had to find the case of a missing child, so I just typed in Daniel..I wasn't really thinking…and I stumbled on the profile of Matthew Daniel Bing" He looked up at Monica and noticed a lone, renegade tear fall down her cheek at the mention of her son. "And the picture of this little boy came up. He looked exactly like me when I was around that age. I've got pictures if you want to see. And then I saw how he went missing in September 2012. I was adopted at the beginning of December that year. And from there things just started to fall into place. We spent hours and hours finding out all we could about the case, and things just kept adding up. It all made sense. It all fit. Katie found the video of you appealing for Matthew, and you just looked so…familiar, I didn't know why. But I was convinced then that I was Matthew. So we kept going, researching the case, trying to find anything that might contradict any vague things I could remember, or the timeline we'd put together, but nothing ever did."

Danny paused for a moment, trying to collect his muddled thoughts, before he resumed his story. He talked in as much detail about everything he could, about his memories from before he was adopted, which were now becoming slightly less hazy. He talked about how he had an American accent when he was adopted and about how he had always wanted to find his birth parents. He went on to describe how he and Katie had slowly built a profile of Matthew Bing, and how they decided that they had to go to New York. He talked until his throat was dry and his voice hoarse. This was his only chance to really prove to them he was Matthew Bing, and he would be damned if he let this opportunity go to waste.

Once or twice, someone made a noise as though about to say something, but he would keep talking, because it was easier to keep going now that he had started. It was even a relief; he felt as if a giant lead weight was being lifted from his shoulders.

He was met with silence when he finished his story, but was grateful to see that the looks of anger and disbelief had changed to something softer, more thoughtful.

"You…you said you had memories of before you were adopted" the blue eyed man- Chandler- said, resting his curious eyes on Danny. "What were they?"

"None of them were ever anything concrete, anything very fixed. They all were like flashes of things, certain images that just stuck in my head that I could never explain. The only real sort of…clear, memory I have is playing outside a house. I waved to a…woman on the front porch." Danny paused, before deciding that he wouldn't mention he thought the woman on the porch all those years ago was the very same woman standing by the TV, her crystal blue eyes boring into him. "I don't really remember what happened then. But I remember a man coming out of the van and then…pain…I don't remember anything after that."

There was a collective gasp at his words, they had clearly all made the connection between his story and Matthew's kidnapping.

"Anything else?" Chandler asked softly. Danny could see a glimmer of hope in his eyes, something that hadn't been there five minutes previous.

"This isn't a memory as such, but when I was six or seven I fell out a tree and smacked my head, knocked myself out for a good eight or nine hours. When I woke up in hospital I kept asking mum who Matthew was." He missed the momentary flash of pain that came across Monica's face at the mention of his mother. "She had no idea, freaked her out to be honest. I guess she thought he was someone who I met at school or something. I let it go eventually. I actually forgot about it until now"

Silence met his words and Danny ran a hand through his hair. He looked across the room and made eye contact with Chandler and found himself unable to look away, trapped in his gaze. Something came across Chandler's face. Shock? Excitement? Disbelief? Danny couldn't quite tell. Chandler turned his head towards his wife and looked into her eyes for a moment, then back at Danny again. He cleared his throat, everyone in the room's eyes now on him. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Your eyes" He started, his voice and body trembling. "Your eyes are the exact same colour as my wife's. The exact same. Same colour, same shape. Just like my son's were." He took a shaky breath before continuing, tears now streaming down his face. "A person ages, they change, their face changes, their body changes. But the eyes, the eyes never change. Ever. They don't age." He stopped and took a step closer to Danny, studying him for a second, and taking a deep breath.

"Matthew," He breathed, and closed the gap between them, pulling Danny into his arms. Danny could feel his tears soaking into his shirt as Chandler's strong arms, his father's strong arms wrapped around him for the first time since he was three years old. He let out a watery laugh, unable to keep his own tears at bay. In an instant a smaller pair of arms wrapped around him, and he felt a kiss being pressed into his hair.

"Matthew" She sobbed, sinking down to her knees and bringing her husband and son with her. "Oh my sweet baby boy. We found you, we found you. You're safe. You're home." She stopped, unable to continue as a fresh wave of tears cascaded down her face.

The three of them sobbed into each other's shoulders, completely oblivious to the warm smiles and disbelieving laughter being shared by three people around them.

Monica was the first to stand up, and Chandler and Danny followed. She wiped her watery eyes with her sleeve and gently took Danny's face in her hands, studying it.

"Oh sweetie" she whispered with a sob "You're safe, you're home" She pulled him into another hug and Danny looked up at Chandler, who was watching the scene with watery eyes.

The second Monica released Danny from the hug he was pulled into a unfamiliar pair of strong arms. He let out a small 'oomph' as the man lifted him off the floor with the power of it.

"I missed you little man" He said tearfully.

"Joe you're crushing him" Danny heard Chandler say. The man immediately loosened his grip on Danny, but didn't let go. He looked up at the stranger and felt the same sense of familiarity wash over him as he did when he first saw Ross.

"What happened to you?" Joey asked, finally releasing him from the bone crushing hug and looking him in the eyes. Danny hesitated, not quite sure where to start. He looked at Katie, who had moved to the corner of the room, looking on at the scene with a soft smile. Following his gaze it was only then that the rest of the group seemed to remember Katie was even there. They all made polite yet hurried introductions and focussed back on Danny.

Danny didn't know what to say. A small part of him couldn't believe he was here. Couldn't believe they had accepted him so easily.

"So…" He had to ask "So you believe me?"

"Oh sweetie" Monica breathed. She had Danny back in her arms almost immediately. "I knew…I knew from the second I saw you, you are my son." She released him and gently cupped his face, forcing two pairs of identical blue eyes to meet. The corners of Danny's mouth raised ever so slightly.

"We'll have to do a DNA test" Chandler said. "But I think we know what the results are going to be."

Danny smiled and Chandler pulled him into his arms. He relaxed almost immediately, relieved they believed him, and had accepted him so easily.

Ross smiled at the scene and cleared his throat. "Dan has a bunch of photos you'll want to see"

Danny nodded and Chandler released him. He smiled in thanks as Katie passed him the iPad.

"Are you guys hungry? Thirsty?" Monica asked. She stood and walked towards the back of the house. Joey followed immediately and Chandler and Ross shared a knowing look.

"Joey loves food" Chandler explained, rolling his eyes. "He eats more than Mon, the twins and I do put together"

"The twins?" Danny asked. Chandler looked upset for a moment but quickly smiled to cover it up.

"Jack and Erica" He said, pointing to a picture of the pair sitting on a side table. "They're at college now. They'll be thrilled when we tell them you're home. They missed their little brother."

Chandler looked away from Danny and he could tell he was on the brink of tears.

"Come on" He said, his voice trembling ever so slightly. "Let's go join your mom."

Danny nodded and followed him into a large kitchen. It was similar to his at home. Large and impeccable ordered. But unlike his one at home this one was warm and welcoming. It looked lived in. The counters were clear except for a few machines that Danny couldn't begin guess what they did. He guessed someone in this house was a keen chef.

Chandler indicated he join Joey at the kitchen table as Monica placed a plate of cookies in front of them and sat down. Chandler sat next to her, opposite Katie and Danny. Ross took the remaining seat opposite Joey.

"This is the oldest one I've got" Danny said, holding out the iPad. Judging by Ross' quiet exclamation of surprise it wasn't one he had seen.

"Oh my god" Monica covered her mouth with her hands and Danny could see tears in her eyes. Chandler and Joey gasped. "How old were you here?"

"Three. That was Christmas 2012, must have been a week or two after I was adopted."

"Matthew" Monica breathed, running a finger over the picture on the screen. They stared at it for a long moment before swiping to the next photo. Danny craned his neck to get a better view. It was taken on Danny's first day of school. He was standing outside his front door with a nervous little smile on his face, dressed in his tiny blue school uniform.

"You were so cute" Monica laughed, wiping away a tear. Chandler flicked to the next photo. The adults spent a minute or two studying every photo, asking Danny questions which he tried his best to answer.

"You have a dog?" Chandler asked, looking at a photo of a beaming eight year old Danny holding a squirming puppy.

"Yeah. He's called Gatsby and he's like ten times that size now."

Chandler grinned "Gatsby like the great Gatsby?"

"Exactly. Mum got him for me when she started lecturing abroad more. Something to keep me company."

Chandler, Ross and Joey nodded but Monica looked concerned.

"Does she lecture abroad often?"

Danny shrugged. "Depends, usually once every two months. It doesn't really bother me."

Monica nodded but didn't look as if she believed him. She looked at Danny who couldn't help but squirm under her gaze. He reached over to flick to the next photo to try change her focus. Monica studied Danny for another moment before deciding he wasn't going to say anything more and brought her attention back onto the photos. She smiled at the image.

"I was six in that photo" He said before anyone could ask. "We were on holiday in the South of France"

The adults all nodded and studied the photo with soft smiles. In it Danny was sitting by a large sandcastle in only swimming trunks.

"You've got the birthmark." Chandler murmured under his breath, Danny nodded even through he was sure Chandler was talking to himself. He flicked to the next photo. It was taken on the same holiday. Danny was sitting next to his mother on a deck chair, both of them sipping on a drink. He briefly wondered who had taken the photo but Monica's question interrupted him.

"That's your mom?" Monica asked. She winced as if the word 'mom' pained her.

Danny nodded. "Yep that's mum. She was lecturing at NYU today, which is actually how we ran into Ross"

Ross laughed quietly to himself, bringing everyone's eyes to him. "And by 'ran into Ross' he literally means run into me. He's stronger than he looks. Knocked me over and sent my papers flying all over the corridor"

The others laughed at the image while Kate and Danny shuffled their feet guilty. Neither could quite hide the small mischievous grins that appeared however.

"Sorry" They mumbled.

Ross rolled his eyes while Chandler grinned and picked up the iPad to flick to the next picture. Danny continued to explain as much as he could about each picture. They scrolled through dozens of photos until eventually they reached the last photo in the album. It was an old one, Danny couldn't have been older than five. He was looking up at the camera with his signature cheeky grin. A tall, gangly man with blond hair and stormy grey eyes towered above Danny. He was smiling, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Who's that?" Chandler asked. His face held a curious expression that Danny couldn't place.

Danny ran an hand through his hair. "That was my father"

"Was?" Monica asked, looking up at Danny. Chandler kept his eyes fixed on the photo.

"He…um…he walked out when I was five. I haven't seen or heard from him since"

"I'm sorry" Monica said, looking genuinely upset. Chandler said nothing, still fixated on the photo. Danny saw Monica nudge him under the table. He looked up at her with the same curious expression on his face as earlier. Monica's eyebrows furrowed.

"What's wrong?"

Everyone was looking at Chandler now with a mix of concern and confusion. Dread filled Danny's stomach. What had his father done for Chandler react like this?

"I've…I've seen that face before." He got up from the table and ran upstairs, leaving a bewildered group behind him. They sat in silence until Chandler came down two minutes later with a file in his hand.

"I knew I recognised him" He said to himself. He retook his seat and flipped to the first page. "It was in the box of evidence and documents the police gave us."

Monica looked alarmed. Chandler flipped the file around and pointed to a picture. Danny's eyebrows raised when he saw I was a picture of his father.

"That's your father?" Chandler asked. The room was silent as Danny nodded.

"Yeah that's…that's him." Questions exploded in Danny's head like fireworks. What had his father done? He must have been involved somehow in the kidnapping for him to be investigated by the police. Anger flooded through him. How could he? How could this man take him away from Monica and Chandler and then leave before Danny even turned six. He frowned as he looked over the file.

"That's him but it says here his name is Simon Vesper"

Chandler nodded with a frown. "And?"

"My father was called John Haddigan"

I am so sorry that took so long to update! Thank you all for your patience. I'm going to try update quicker next time but my life is crazy busy at the moment.

Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it

ChocoholiclikeLupin x