"This is the life, man."

I look over at Joey, amused, as he stretches out on one of the Adirondack chairs on our back porch. "Really? The suburbs are the life? Never thought I'd hear you say that."

"Hey. Just because I didn't want you guys to move out here doesn't mean it's not pretty." He shuffles his foot for a moment, avoiding my eyes. "And I think it's much more 'Chandler and Monica' than the apartment ever was."

The corner of my mouth turns up in a smile. "Thanks, Joe. It means a lot that you'd say that."

He takes a sip of his lemonade and makes a face at me. "Though the fact that we're drinking this on your back porch instead of beer…"

I shrug, not concerned. "Monica can't drink it, so I'm not drinking it. And if neither of us are drinking it, there's no point in keeping it in the house. You're welcome to go to the store and get your own if you want."

Joey snorts and takes another sip of his lemonade, making no face this time. He looks over his shoulder at the house for a moment. "Hey, how's Monica' doing?" he asks softly.

"She's pregnant, not an axe-murderer. You can ask her yourself, you know."

"I know, it's just…" He lowers his voice even further, and I lean forward to hear him. "I remember how cranky Phoebe and Rachel were when they were this pregnant, and I don't want to set her off."

"I don't think she's anywhere near as bad as those two were. She has moments, but she has a person growing inside of her, so I think she has every right to get cranky from time to time. I just try to hold her hand and let her know that I'm here for her."

"You guys are sick, man. Can't you just have a normal relationship?"

That actually makes me laugh. "'Normal'? You mean the kind of relationship other people have where they blame each other for everything, never talk about their problems, turn hostile and bitter toward each other, don't trust each other, and wind up breaking up all because they didn't try to just love each other? Gee—where can I sign up?"

Joey throws his hands up in surrender. "Excuse me. I forgot you two have the perfect marriage."

I roll my eyes. "Our marriage isn't perfect." Joey gives me a look, and I stop to consider it. True—nothing is perfect, and I'd hate to jinx it, but I think what Monica and I have is about as close to perfect as a relationship could be. We love each other. We always have. We've always been able to talk to each other, and even when we have spots where we don't, we don't let situations fester to the boiling point. We just love being around each other—and, again, we always have. Even when we were just friends, she was usually the person I could talk to about whatever was bothering me, the one who could cheer me up, and vice versa. A grin spreads across my face as I look up at Joey. "But it's pretty damn close, isn't it?"

"Look who's up!" I turn to the back door when I hear Monica's voice, and smile when I see that she has each twin by the hand, both slowly toddling with their mother. I hop up to open the screen door for her and she gently steers the kids outside.

A look of wonder and delight spreads over Joey's face. "Oh, my God! Look at you two! Jack, when did you learn how to walk?"

"A few weeks after their birthday," Monica answers as I close the door behind her, leaning over to kiss her temple. "We think he got tired of watching Erica do it, so one day he just pulled himself up and started walking. Barely stumbled. Erica's still a little faster than he is, but he doesn't seem too worried." She lets go of their hands and kneels down next to them. "Can you say hi to your uncle Joey?"

The words have barely left Monica's mouth before Erica hustles as quickly as she can across the porch to her uncle. If possible, Joey's smile gets wider and he holds out his hands to her, scooping her up as she reaches him. "How's my little Erica Jo?"

"Hi!" she exclaims happily as he settles her on his lap.

Joey gasps, looking at us in excitement. "She talks now?"

"They both do, actually," I tell him, taking hold of Monica's arm to help her stand. I hold out my hand for Jack, who suddenly looks shy. "Come here, buddy." He takes my hand and I lead him over to Joey.

"They're both growing so much," Monica adds. "You really don't see them enough, Joey."

"I know, I know." He looks appropriately irritated with himself as he pulls Erica in for a hug. "I'm just back and forth across the country so much now…"

"We're happy for you," I tell him. "Seriously—you've waited a long time to get this much work. We just miss you." I pick up Jack and put him on Joey's lap, and Joey draws him in for a hug as well.

"How's Jack doin'?" he asks my son, who giggles as he gets tickled by his uncle. "I miss you guys, too. So much. Nothing's the same without you across the hall."

Monica holds her hand out behind her, her hand landing on the arm of one of the patio chairs. I grab her other arm, easing her into a seated position; she smiles up at me gratefully. "Need anything?" I ask, stroking her hair away from her face.

She thinks about it for a moment before shaking her head. "Unless you can move my bladder, I'm good." She looks over at Joey and shrugs. "The baby is constantly pressed on my bladder now, so I always feel like I have to pee."

Joey wrinkles his nose. "Fun."

She shrugs. "Eh. Could be worse."

"How?"

Monica raises an eyebrow and glances over at me; I shrug and sit down on the arm of her chair. "You got me there, Joe."

Jack twists his body to face us, his arms reaching out. "Mama."

Joey's eyes grow wide, and he practically bounces with excitement. "Oh, my God! He can say 'mama'?"

As of yet, neither of us have grown tired of hearing our babies speak; it still makes my heart melt. "They both can," I tell him. "But it was Jack's first word."

Jack's little face scrunches up, and he strains against Joey's arm. "Mama!"

Joey moves to stand up, but Monica shakes her head at him. "Just put him down. He needs to learn that he can't always be carried."

He looks impressed at Monica's willpower and sets Jack on the porch. Jack pauses for a moment before collapsing to his knees and crawling over to us. A moment later, he's hauling himself up on Monica's leg, reaching for her. "Mama?" His little voice sounds so distressed. I don't understand how she's not melting into a puddle of goo.

Instead, she holds out her hands over the arm of her chair. "Over here, Jack." He whines a little, but Monica waits. Finally, he caves and edges over to her waiting hands. With more ease than one would expect from a woman as far along in her pregnancy as she is, she pulls him up, resting him on her stomach. Immediately, he buries his head in her neck, his hand fisting into her hair.

"Is he okay?" Joey asks, concerned. "I didn't scare him, did I?"

"No, he's okay," she answers, stroking his back gently. "You always get grumpy when you wake up from a nap, don't you, Jack?"

I reach over and smooth down his soft hair. "Erica can pop right up out of bed, ready to go. She hardly naps most of the time; we still make her lie down and hope for the best, but she's like the Energizer Bunny. Jack's more like…a diesel engine. It can take him a while to get warmed up, but once he does, he can run for a long time."

"But he likes to sort of cuddle himself awake. He'll be good to go in a few minutes."

Erica suddenly blows a raspberry, spraying all over Joey's face. Joey looks at her, pretending to be shocked, and Erica giggles wildly. "Oh, really?" he asks her, tickling her sides. "Oh, really!"

"If you make her pee all over the place," I warn him, "you get to clean it up."

Joey's head perks up at that, the tickles slowing. "How about we just sit here and talk, then?" He pulls Erica against his chest, though she refuses to sit. She's nosy and needs to be part of the action. "So what else can they say?"

"Well, Erica can say 'mama' and 'dada.' She says 'hi,' as you now know. She says—"

Monica pokes my leg, stopping me. "We don't count those as words, remember? If you get her started with either of those right now, I will kill you."

"What words?" Joey asks, confused.

"Well, the one you've been hearing her say for months, which is adorable but once she starts in on it, it never ends. The other one is…the opposite of 'yes'."

Fortunately, Joey catches on quickly for once. "Gotcha." He gives her a little jostle and she starts to make a little "ahhh" noise that goes up and down as she does. "What else does Jack say?"

"He's big on 'mama'—"

"Can't blame him there," Joey interrupts, winking at Monica. She shakes her head and rolls her eyes, and Jack's head perks at up at the sound of his name.

I give Joey a look, even though I'm pretty sure he's just kidding. "Anyway, he also says 'bye,' and he's started saying 'nana,' though we're pretty sure he means 'banana' and not his grandmother."

"No 'dada'?"

Monica pats my arm sympathetically and answers for me. "Not yet. I'm pretty sure he's holding out on purpose. It's like everything else Jack does—we know he could do it if he wanted to, it's just a matter of him deciding it's the right time. I think he's saving it for a special occasion. Father's Day is coming up, after all."

Joey turns Erica in his lap so she's facing him. She reaches out with both hands, patting his face. "Erica—can you say 'Joey'?"

She leans her face in close to him, grinning. "Eeeee."

"Joey."

"Dohboo."

"Joey."

"Ahhhbah."

"She really loves you," Monica says suddenly.

"Of course she does; she's named after me, isn't she?"

I look down at my wife and see her smiling. "Yeah. Yeah, she is."

"Hey, I don't know if I ever really said it, but thank you for that. It really means a lot to me."

I give Monica's shoulders a little squeeze as she leans her head against my side. "Well, you mean a lot to us, man. You covered for us for all those months, you officiated our wedding; the least we could do was help pass along your family name."

Joey smiles at us and stands, swooping our daughter through the air in slow, gentle arcs. Jack perks up, watching his sister and uncle with great interest.

"That's Jack's favorite game, Uncle Joey," Monica says, turning Jack so he can watch more easily. He leans forward and claps his hands, eyes wide with interest.

"Don't you worry, big guy. You're next." He twirls Erica around a bit more, Monica cringing most of the time. She knows the kids like it, and she trusts me not to hurt them, but she just isn't particularly fond of watching it. "Coming in for a landing!" He hurries over to me, passing off my laughing daughter. He turns to Jack, who's already holding his arms out.

"You're too easy, sweetie," Monica tells him, kissing his head, before handing him off to Joey. Jack laughs as he gets his turn swooping around in circles, and she just shakes her head. I see Erica scrunch up her face as she bounces up and down, stretching out a hand and whining, eager for another turn. Monica gives me a look, already knowing I'm about to cave in to Erica's demands and take her for another ride.

I settle for tapping my leg up and down, jostling Erica; she's considerably less than amused. "Mommy's right, Erica. You've had your turn."

Joey stops swooping Jack, shaking his head as he sits down. "Your uncle Joey's gonna throw up, Jack."

"You okay over there, Joe?"

He shakes his head again and smiles at my son. "That was fun, wasn't it Jack?"

Jack smiles at him, a spit bubble popping out of his mouth, before he flings himself forward, pressing his forehead against Joey's chest, and Joey wraps his arms around the baby, hugging him. "Aww, your kids are so cute. I can't wait to meet the next one."

"You are going to be able to stay local when it's closer to my due date, right, Joey? Because we really want you to be able to meet the baby when it's born." Monica rubs her belly, frowning a little.

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it. I already told Days that I'd need a little bit of time then." He rubs Jack's back for a minute before asking, "How you been feeling, Mon?"

"Tired. Cranky. Hormonal. But on the whole, I feel really good. The baby is healthy, I'm healthy, that's all that really matters."

"Does the baby kick you a lot?"

"Not as much anymore. It moves around a lot, trying to get comfortable, but it spends most of its time sleeping for now."

Joey nods in approval. "My kind of baby. Ooooh!" He stands up suddenly, passing Jack off to Monica before heading into the house. "I've got something for them!" he calls over his shoulder.

"Joey, you didn't have to do that," I answer, getting nothing in response. I sigh and lift Erica, turning her to face me. "Your uncle is a silly guy, isn't he?"

Her hand stretches out to me, landing on my nose. "Dada."

"Yes, baby girl. I'm Dada." I kiss her forehead, looking at Monica out of the corner of my eye. I can see her smiling. It definitely hasn't gotten old hearing them talk.

Joey appears in the doorway, grinning from ear to ear, a gift bag in his hand. "Look what I got!" He plants himself on the deck at our feet, opening the bag and pulling out two tiny stuffed penguins. "Mini Hugsies!"

"Awwww," Monica exclaims. "Where did you get those?"

"Oh, I can't say. But aren't they great? Look, look!" He holds up one penguin, turning it around in a slow circle. "They're baby-proof! There's no buttons, the scarf is built into Hugsy, it's all safe."

Jack's hands reach out for the toy; Joey passes it off and the beak immediately goes into Jack's mouth. He passes the other one to Erica, who grabs it by the fin and shakes it around.

"This is so sweet. Thank you, Uncle Joey," Monica says, looking back and forth between the twins, both enamored with their new toys. "They'll thank you later."

He reaches in the bag again, pulling out another one. "This one's for the baby. Now, they'll all have a little bit of their uncle Joey with them all the time."

Monica's eyes fill with tears and she presses her face against the back of Jack's head. I clear my throat and reach my hand out to Joey. "Thanks, dude. This was really great of you." He reaches his hand out to me and we wiggle our fingers against each other for a second.

"As long as they know big Hugsy is off limits, there'll be no problem."

Monica scoffs and sniffles at the same time, shaking her head. "You got it, Joey."