Chapter 1: OK, So We're Doing This

Chandler glanced back at his intended bride-to-be as he finished filing their paperwork with the receptionist at this little chapel in Vegas. Monica smiled back at him radiantly, her cheeks pink and flush with excitement.

"You sure you want to do this, honey?"

He was heartened when Monica's grin only broadened. "Of course I'm sure! I've never loved anyone as much as I love you."

Chandler grinned back softly. "Believe me…. I feel the same…."

The receptionist nodded to the couple. "The minister should be ready for you momentarily." She shook her head, tssking. "Funny….. you're the second Geller who has come in tonight…."

Monica paused, eyebrow cocking. "Wait – what did you say?"

"There was a couple here not thirty minutes ago where one of their names was Geller." The receptionist checked the registry. "Geller-Green wedding….. Not sure whether it was the bride or the groom going by that name…."

Monica sucked in a breath. "He's my brother!"

The receptionist stole a glance at Chandler and raised an eyebrow.

Monica huffed and shook her head. "No, not him! The groom from the previous wedding! Ross Geller – that's my brother!"

The receptionist eyed Monica curiously. "Well, honey, I already like you better than him. Unless you hold your liquor really well, you are obviously more sober than that goober was! He and his bride were both plastered off their asses!"

Monica went white. "Why didn't you stop them?!" she demanded of the receptionist.

"Sweetheart – this is Vegas. What happens here stays here, and all that. Do you know how many newlyweds I've seen drunk, high or running a temperature?" She turned away, scoffing.

Chandler and Monica glanced at each other, each of them biting their lip. Suddenly, they were having second thoughts about whether it was wise for them to leap into marriage like this.

Just then, the door leading to the restrooms opened and who should emerge but Joey.

"Man, I needed that!" he declared in reference to his bathroom break. He nodded to the receptionist with a wink before glancing about the vestibule of this chapel. "They left without me?!... That's messed up!"

Monica and Chandler dashed forward. "Joey! Were you here with Ross and Rachel?"

Joey nodded. "Yeah. Ross left this really weird message for me and Pheebs on my hotel answering machine, asking us to come and meet them here! They got married! Left about fifteen minutes ago."

"And you went along with it?" Chandler demanded.

Joey frowned, haplessly shrugging. "I'm not about to miss my friends getting married, even if they are drunk! I just wish they would have waited while I was taking a shit."

"Lovely," Monica pursed her lips, her brain spinning. "Is Phoebe at least with them?"

"Last time I looked…." Joey glanced between the pair suspiciously. "What are you guys doing here? Unless Ross phoned you too and you just got here late?"

For all of a moment, Monica was tempted to latch onto this and say Yes, except it would not have been a very good lie. From their reaction, it was clear they hadn't known about the wedding of her brother to her best friend. So the only option left was the truth.

Monica now made an impulsive decision – the kind that her doppelganger who had stolen her identity some years back would have praised her for. Reaching for Chandler's hand, she clasped it in her own and stared up at him with fierce resolve. "Come on, Bing. Let's go get hitched."

Joey's jaw dropped. "What?! Don't tell me you're drunk too!"

Monica glowered at him witheringly. "Do I look drunk?" Joey warily shook his head No. Chandler was staring at his lover, his mouth open in both shock and admiration. He hadn't expected her to stay the course, not after this news. "Monica….."

"Chandler: I want to be your wife. I want us to be married. I want to be with you forever." She searched his face. "Do you want that too?"

"Well, I don't exactly fancy being anyone's wife…." (She rolled her eyes at him). "…. But being your husband…." He gazed at her smolderingly. "Nothing will make me happier."

"Excellent." Monica nodded firmly, turning back to the chapel.

"Monica!" Joey called. "…. Don't do this because you think that Ross has upstaged you. That's no reason to rush into marriage. It's not a competition."

For someone of Joey's denseness, this observation was rather astute, and Chandler now studied his bride-to-be curiously. From the way her expression flickered, he wondered if her competitive nature was exactly what was driving her to march down that aisle.

"It's not about that." She was lying, Chandler knew it, but if this was truly what she wanted, he wasn't about to stop her. Her resolve seemed firm and, whatever her motivations notwithstanding, at least she was of sounder mind than Ross and Rachel had been. He grinned gently, looping his arm through hers.

"OK, then. Let's get married."

Joey's eyes bulged as he began to realize just what he was being roped into: for the second time in one night, two of his best friends were essentially eloping with each other. For the second time in a year, as far as this couple was concerned, he – as a witness – would be asked to keep a secret regarding their relationship. It had been agony to keep his mouth shut after London. Keeping his mouth shut after Vegas? Well. Joey didn't think he could stand the stress.

"Guys, no! No, no, no….." Joey pleaded, following Chandler and Monica into the chapel and up the aisle. He tried to ignore how his objections were more about himself than about their happiness. No matter how the marriage started, he had to admit Chandler and Monica's stood a better chance of surviving than Ross and Rachel's did.

If Monica had ever thought about her wedding, she would have pictured a quaint little church, with her friends and family as witness, while she wore a white dress of lace. She never, in her wildest dreams, would have expected to be wed in a Vegas chapel, in a blue sweatshirt that read Caesar's Palace. But she was here, and at the moment, she could think of nothing she would rather do than marry Chandler, the man she loved. The love of her life, and he had been so for close to a year.

Tonight wasn't the year anniversary of their first kiss and first time together in London, but it was close. Right now, all Monica wanted was to sanctify that love, if Chandler would have her.

Behind her, Joey was scuttling into a front pew, looking leery. The minister glanced between the intended couple, checking the paperwork.

"Huh. Another Geller…." He mused.

"We know," Monica clipped, her tone suggesting impatience.

The minister moved on. "Dearly beloved: we are gathered here today….."

They reached the vows part. Chandler seemed solemn as he took Monica's hands in his.

"Monica…. Before you, I had….. very little life. Over the past year, whenever you've looked at me, I've finally felt like I'm somebody. You….. make me happier than I ever thought I could be. I promise you: I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you feel the same way." Monica beamed at him wetly, through tears.

As she started her vows, her voice seemed breathless, yet weighted by the knowledge of her words and their significance. "When I first found you, a year ago, I had only been seeking comfort. And instead, I found everything I have been looking for my whole life. You are my future, and I only want to live my life with you: my prince. My soulmate. My friend. I love you. It may seem inadequate compared to your wonderful words, but I love." Taking a deep breath, Monica smiled helplessly and stated firmly, "I love my husband."

"Chandler Bing, do you take this woman to be your wife?"

Chandler gazed with deep, deep love at his bride. "Yeah. I do."

"Monica Geller, do you take this man to be your husband?"

Monica shook her head with a giddy, soft smile. "Yes, I do…" she whispered.

"I now pronounce this couple husband and wife. You may kiss," the minister prompted.

As Chandler and Monica leaned in, their embrace was filled with more pathos and solemnity than this gaudy chapel could have conjured up. When their lips met, the kiss was tender, a part of it seeming almost furtive. A stolen kiss, to seal a union that was being made in secret. Or almost total secrecy.

Trembling, Monica slid into Chandler's arms and the couple embraced, though the kiss did not deepen. It remained soft, feather-light, and when they finally broke apart, Monica felt her eyes flutter open.

Linking arms with her…. her husband (Monica couldn't believe it as she glanced at Chandler: he was her husband!), Monica and Chandler headed back up the aisle, Joey dithering in their wake.

Out in the vestibule, Monica searched her heart for any signs of regret for what they had done. She found none, turning into Chandler with a beaming smile as she reached up to kiss him gently again.

Joey smiled weakly as he stepped in to embrace each of them. "Congratulations."

"Joe? You won't tell anyone before we do…. will you?" Monica pleaded.

Joey threw up his hands. "Couldn't even if I wanted to!"

Giggling, Monica gave him a firm peck on the cheek.

It was late when the three finally arrived back at Caesar's Palace, taking the elevator up to their floor. In the hallway, Chandler suddenly started.

"Wait:" he glanced to Monica with concern. "We don't have any rings! How will people know what we are to each other?"

Joey threw up his hands again. "I thought you didn't want anyone to know!"

"Not right now! But eventually…. We will…." Chandler searched Monica's face. "What do we do?"

"We can always buy wedding bands once we get back to New York," Monica offered up.

"OK…." Chandler nodded. "And until then…. I've got an idea."

He fished around in his pocket, pulling out the pair of red die. Seeing Monica's eyes expand in understanding, he flushed. "I should….. probably give these back to the casino…"

"Don't you dare!" Monica admonished in a fierce whisper, even as she beamed sentimentally.

Reverently, Chandler handed her one of the die while he took the other. Then he motioned to Joey. "You wouldn't happen to have a piece of string?"

"What am I, a Michael's craft store?" Joey groused, but he groped about in his pockets, eventually coming up with a long piece of string. Chandler accepted it from him gratefully, before breaking the string in half and then tying each half tightly around one dice. He slipped the one necklace about his neck before bestowing the other on Monica. The red die dangled directly over her heart. Monica smiled softly, tenderly thumbing the die.

"It's a four…." She whispered, glancing up lovingly into Chandler's face. Chandler looked: four dots now stared up at him from where the die dangled before Monica's breast. He beamed back at his wife (she was his wife!), his happiness so unconstrained that he now swept her off her feet and gathered into his arms.

Monica let out a shriek of surprise. "Chandler, put me down! What are you doing?..." Though from the way her eyes sparkled, she appeared secretly pleased.

"Just following tradition," Chandler murmured. He glanced back at Joey almost absently. "Thanks for being our witness, Joe."

"Yeah, yeah…." Joey waved them off, padding down the hall and grumbling.

Monica had to use her key card to open the door, and Chandler kicked the door in, carrying his bride grandly across the threshold. The door rattled closed behind them, and only then, in the privacy of what was now their honeymoon suite, did Monica kiss her husband soundly.

"Poor Joey," she murmured when they broke apart. "The hours he's probably spent covering for us."

"He'll be covering for two couples now, unless Rache and your brother come to their senses after a massive hangover!" Chandler pointed out.

"Hmm," Monica demurred. "Maybe they won't. I know I'm not." Beaming, she kissed him again. "Now: take me to bed, my love."

"Your wish is my command, Mrs. Bing." Chandler now deposited her gently on the bed, clambering on top of Monica as they began kissing frenetically. Arching her back, Monica whispered into his mouth:

"Say my new name again….."

Chandler chuckled. "Mrs. Bing." Abruptly, he pulled back from the kiss, looking thoughtful.

"What…..?" Monica chuckled.

"….. Unless….. well….. what name do you want to take?"

She blinked. "Yours, of course! We're married….!"

"What if you hyphenated it?" Chandler suggested. "Monica Bing doesn't roll of the tongue the same way as Monica Geller."

Monica considered this. True, married names probably took some time to get used to, but just the same…. Chandler was right.

She grinned. "Then Mrs. Monica Geller-Bing I shall be."

Chandler giggled boyishly. "I think that sounds perfect." And he leaned in to kiss her again.

The kiss quickly deepened, the newlywed couple peeling back each other's clothes as they took to their marriage bed.

They spent hours and hours of their wedding night consummating their marriage, making love.