Epilogue

Chandler was pacing again, now wearing a path into the linoleum of the delivery ward in this hospital. Behind him, he could feel Joey also pacing, following along his same path line; turning in an about-face at the end of the hall to traverse back up the opposite direction, Chandler watched as Joey also turned back, the backpack sling shifting across his shoulders. The precious cargo made a face at Chandler; he just grinned and stuck his tongue out.

A nurse suddenly emerged from one door, glancing up and down the hallway.

"…. Mr. Bing?"

Chandler immediately abandoned his pacing to all but lunge for the nurse. Joey was right behind him – hell, nearly crashed into him.

"Yes? How is she?"

The nurse smiled. "Your wife is fully dilated. We are about to start pushing. She's been asking for you…."

Chandler didn't need to be told twice. He propelled himself forward past the nurse and charged down the next corridor, Joey pelting after him, the length of the actor's stride making him do almost high knees, what with the added weight across his back.

The men burst into the delivery room to find Monica, her feet in stirrups and her stomach out to her feet. Her blue eyes immediately zeroed in on one of them and her face collapsed into relief.

"Chandler….."

Chandler was over at her bed in seconds, his mouth fusing to hers.

"I'm….. Mmmm… I'm sorry…." Monica wept emotionally, as Chandler finished kissing her. His lips peppered away at her tears. "I didn't…. want to leave you….. I didn't want to…."

"You didn't," Chandler promised. "And you won't. You won't do anything but welcome our baby."

"Our baby…." Monica had a dreamy expression wash over her, only for it to be ruined by her gritting of teeth as another contraction bore down. "Oh, my God, it's really happening…"

"Da-Da?" A little voice piped up. "Why Mama hurt?"

Joey glanced back over his shoulder at his toddler son. "It's OK, buddy. Mommy is just working really hard cause she and Uncle Chandler are about to have your little brother!"

The birth of Monica and Joey's twins had gone smoothly a couple of years ago. Monica had eventually decided to renegotiate the family law agreement she had drawn up and granted Joey input, access and shared custody of their twins. Joey had been grateful and by all accounts, had proven himself to be an able father. He was now working two side jobs, including a stint at Central Perk, while still auditioning for an acting gig here and there when he could.

When the babies were nearing their first birthday, Chandler had asked Monica to marry him. She, of course, had happily accepted. The engagement had been a whirlwind, yet Monica had still managed to organize a small and intimate ballroom wedding while raising a pair of infants. Joey had been thrilled for his friends, his best friend and the mother of his children; he'd been all too happy to marry the couple in his role as officiant.

Some months back, Chandler and Monica had been overjoyed to discover that she was pregnant again. "And we didn't even have to go to a sperm bank!" Chandler had cracked, more than once. To which Joey would often reply, with a smile, how he didn't have to rub it in.

Chandler gamely allowed his wife to crush his hand all she liked as she bore down and began pushing. At least he could be proud of not fainting when the going got rough: when Joey Francis Tribbiani III had been born, followed by his sister Estelle (yes, Monica had named her daughter after Joey's agent!), Joey Jr. had fainted.

At long last, Monica flopped back into the pillows in exhaustion, listening to the cries of her son. Her and Chandler's son. They had a son!

"It's a boy," the doctor announced through the haze.

Monica turned and beamed at her husband, tired but happy. They touched lips chastely in congratulations.

"Daniel Chandler," she murmured. She had decided on the name months ago.

"All right, Mrs. Geller-Bing, just relax for now: the other one will be along in a moment…"

Chandler and Monica shared a startled look, long ago having achieved the intimacy of married couples who could carry on whole conversations with no words. The new mother turned her head on a slow swivel.

"I'm sorry…. Who will be along in a what now?!"

The doctor glanced up from where he remained stationed between her spread legs. "The second one. Your daughter. She should be out soon."

Monica turned to her husband in a panic. Chandler's jaw dropped. "Twins again?!" he squeaked.

Joey just stood there laughing.

It took Chandler a moment before he managed to calm himself enough that he came around to the idea. "Well, if that doesn't beat all…. You know, I always envisioned myself having four kids…."

"Really?" Monica grunted, as she prepared to bear down and push once more. "You thought about that? Having four kids?"

"Yeah! A boy. Twin girls and another boy." Monica lifted an eyebrow at him. "Hey, so they didn't shake out quite in that order – we still hit the magic number!"

Monica moaned through another contraction. "What else did you think about?" she ground out.

"Well…. stuff like…. where we'd live. A small place outside the city where our kids could learn to ride their bikes and stuff… and, you know, we could have a cat… that had a bell on its collar and we could hear it every time it ran through the little kitty door…." Chandler's musings nearly pitched into a yelp as Monica almost broke his fingers. OK. No cat, then. Even while in the pangs of labor, however, she seemed to be fighting off a smirk of amusement.

"…. Course, we'd have an apartment over the garage where Joey could grow old…." (Joey grinned giddily at this, endorsing the plan).

Finally, there was another piercing cry of an infant and Monica settled back into the bedclothes, staring in wonder at their daughter. She and Chandler had a daughter! "Emma…." She moaned with love, reaching for the small bundle so her baby girl could join her brother at their mother's breast. As she began to nurse them, Monica set aside the thrilling terror at how in the hell she was going to raise two sets of twins born from two different fathers in favor of gazing adoringly into her husband's eyes, letting his confident smile, his blue eyes which were now glowing with admiration at her, calm her.

"…. You know what….?" she murmured. "…. I want everything you just said…" She beamed and craned her face up to kiss him tenderly. "I want a blended family. Our family."

Chandler grinned back and husband and wife embraced and kissed. The moment was broken up to make room for Joey, as he drifted over in excited wonder to introduce his own twins to their little half-siblings.