I promise she will tell him soon. For now, I hope you enjoy this chapter. And sorry in advance if Ross is slightly OOC, I find it really hard to write him.
It was a typical Wednesday morning. Everyone was gathered at apartment 20, eating breakfast and talking before leaving for work. Two weeks had passed since Monica discovered she was pregnant, but she hadn't yet found the opportunity to tell her friends about it. Monica knew she was trying to avoid the conversation she would need to have with Chandler, but she couldn't yet find the courage to talk to him about it.
"Hey, Mon. Can you please add some bacon to my eggs?" Joey asked when Monica started to scramble some eggs for him.
"Sure, no problem," She answered, picking the bacon from the fridge.
Monica put the bacon on the pan to fry, but as soon as it started to fry, the smell of the bacon made her nauseous.
"Oh god!" She screamed as she ran to the bathroom. Why did she have to suddenly develop an aversion to bacon smell?
A few minutes later, she felt someone enter the bathroom and kneeling on the floor beside her.
"Honey? Are you alright?" She recognized Rachel's concerned voice.
Instantly, she looked up, glad it was Rachel and not anyone else in the group.
"They're all worried about you. You just ran as fast as you could out of nowhere…"
"It was the bacon," Monica explained. "Of all the things, my stupid pregnant brain decided to feel sick to the smell of bacon. And, of course, it had to be in front of everyone."
Rachel picked up a towel for Monica to finish cleaning herself.
"I think you should tell them. They're all worried about what's wrong with you. Everyone is here now, and they would be relieved to know nothing bad happened right now."
"I don't know if I can…"
"It's okay if you don't want to tell right now. But you will have to tell everyone soon, honey." Rachel said, wrapping her arms around Monica in a tight hug.
"Let's finish breakfast? Although I'm not really hungry." Monica suggested.
Still supported by her best friend's grip on her shoulders, she left the bathroom, only to be met with four sets of worried eyes.
"Are you okay? You suddenly bolted to the bathroom, and we didn't know what had gotten into you," Ross asked.
"I'm fine, guys, really," Monica started. "It was just…ahm…" She tried to make up an excuse when she felt Rachel's gaze on her.
Rachel was right. She would need to tell their friends at some point, and everyone was gathered at her apartment at that moment. Guess she would need to talk to Chandler on another occasion.
"Okay. I have something to tell you," Monica started before losing the courage.
"What is it? Are you okay? Are you sick?" Her brother asked, even more worried than before.
For a second, Monica looked around at her friend's face, lingering on Chandler, and saw an encouraging smile on Rachel's face. And before she could back on her decision, she took a deep breath and spoke.
"I'm pregnant."
The room was silent for two seconds.
"You what?!" Ross asked with a shocked expression.
"Oh my god!" Phoebe exclaimed
"Wait a minute!" Joey exclaimed. "Who's the father? I don't remember you having a boyfriend." Of course, Joey had to bring the question she most dreaded to answer.
"It's a guy from work. But I don't want to talk about it right now," Monica used the same lie she'd used on Rachel, hoping it would also work on the rest of her friends.
"Have you told him already?" Phoebe asked.
"Actually, no. I still have to think about what I will say."
"Why didn't you tell him, and why haven't you told us about it sooner?" Ross asked. "Did he take advantage of you? Because if that's the case, I will break his…"
"Stop it, Ross," Monica interrupted. "It's nothing like that. He didn't take advantage of me; it's a complicated situation. But I'm happy about this baby."
"Is that for real?" Ross asked in a softer tone.
"Yes, Ross. It is," Monica declared.
"Then, congratulations, Mon!" Ross ran to hug her.
"Yeah! Congratulations. I'm so happy for you!" Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Rachel joined the hug right after.
Monica shed tears of happiness. She felt loved and supported by her friends. She'd never expected them to take the news so well. Well… her brother didn't at first, but he accepted it faster than Monica had expected. For a moment, she let herself feel the joy that emanated from the group, forgetting one of the friends who seemed to be so happy for her was actually the father of her baby.
Speaking of which…
"So… When are we meeting this guy?" Ross asked. "I need to know who the father of my future nephew or niece is."
"Soon. After I tell Him, is that okay?" Monica said, not wanting to go into details.
"Sure. Mon," Ross said, truly happy for Monica.
The group came apart from the hug, and everyone returned to breakfast until everyone left for work except for Monica.
She had to tell Chandler about the baby before she got lost in her fantasy. The sooner he rejected her and ran away, perhaps the sooner she would forget about all her naïve hopes that he could feel the same and would change his commitment-phobic personality because of the baby.
Monica came home earlier that day. She started to feel nauseous at the smell of the fried food at the dinner and took the rest of the day off. No one was in her apartment yet, and she knew Joey had an audition that afternoon. Seeing her opportunity, Monica crossed the hall, hoping Chandler would be there. She sighed in relief when the doorknob turned, opening the door. And, as she'd assumed, Chandler was in there, sitting on his barcalounger, playing video games.
"Hey," She greeted apprehensively.
Hearing her voice, Chandler immediately turned to her.
"Hey!" He greeted back. "What's up?"
Closing the door behind her, Monica took a step forward.
"I need to talk to you,"
"Sure. About what?"
She felt nervous, but it was now or never.
"About the baby."
"Okay. I'm not an expert in that matter, but if you think I can be even the tiniest bit helpful, then I'm glad to help you," Chandler said, patting the spot next to him on the chair for Monica to sit.
She did as he silently told her to and sat close to him in the way-too-small-for-two-people chair. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and Monica allowed herself to lean comfortably against him, just like they were used to. Before speaking, she took a deep breath, but his scent reached her nostrils, clouding her thoughts. The mixture of the laundry detergent from his shirt and his fresh, minty body wash felt comforting. And although it smelled stronger due to her new hyper-sensibility, it didn't make her nauseous. Contrarily, Monica felt like she could stand there, smelling him forever.
And immediately, her mind went back to that night. She could remember vividly the feeling of his skin against hers, of being held by him. The heat of his body against hers felt hotter than before, and her heart started to beat faster, the intensity of the sensations making her dizzy.
"So, what do you want to talk to me about?" Chandler broke Monica out of her trance.
Monica shook her head, trying to recollect her thoughts.
"It's about the father of the baby..." She started.
"What about him?" Chandler asked with a confused expression. "Is he someone I know? Does he know already?"
"Does he know what?" Joey's voice interrupted their conversation. Of course, he had to choose that moment to get home.
"Nothing." "The father of Monica's baby," They both answered simultaneously.
Joey looked at his two friends with a raised eyebrow.
"You told him? How did it go?" Joey asked curiously. "I'm glad I don't do the serious relationship stuff. That way, those situations don't happen to me," He added.
"We're not… we're not in a relationship. Only slept once together," Monica blurted before she could process what she was saying in front of her friends.
"Ohh. Then, I would hate to be in that guy's shoes," Joey said, taking his sandwich from the brown paper bag.
"Yeah. If something like that happened to me, I would freak out and probably run away and never see the girl again," Chandler added nonchalantly.
It was as if a stone had dropped on top of Monica, dragging its weight through her body. He couldn't know, could he? What if he'd figured it out just now when Monica said the 'only sleeping together once' part?
She looked at Chandler but couldn't find any real fear in his eyes. Just a hint of his usual self-depreciative humor. How was he supposed to figure it was him? He didn't know how many guys Monica had slept with after that night, so it seemed obvious he wouldn't immediately think about him. But the relief that crossed her mind was brief.
"I… Guess you guys are not that helpful after all," She said, getting up from her position on Chandler's chair.
Immediately, she ran home, taking a deep breath to not lose her self-control and start crying. It seemed like it was the only reaction she could have lately. Stupid hormones.
As soon as she stepped inside the purple apartment, Monica took a bottle of water from the fridge, taking a big gulp to calm herself down.
"What happened, Mon?" Rachel's voice scared her. When had she gotten home?
"And don't say nothing. You just came running from the guy's apartment looking like you've seen a ghost!" She added before Monica could dismiss the situation.
Monica didn't want to tell Rachel the truth yet. But it would feel good to talk about what happened with someone. She sat in one of the chairs of the kitchen table.
"I was at the boy's talking about telling the baby's father about it. And they both said they would run away from the girl if it was with them. What if the father runs away from me when I tell him?"
"You're really worried about it? You can't imagine the worst-case scenarios based on the guy's opinions. Joey doesn't want a serious relationship, and Chandler is… Well,... He's Chandler, the definition of commitment-phobic," Rachel tried to comfort Monica, unaware that she was making it worse.
"And if it does happen, it's like I told you before. Forget about that guy; we'll help you in any way you need."
"I can't do that, Rachel," Monica stated, taking another gulp of her half-drank water bottle.
"What? Why?" Rachel asked. "And don't answer again with 'It's complicated'!"
Monica knew Rachel was right. She was worried about her, and Monica wasn't giving any reason for her worries and doubts.
"Fine. Because since we slept together, I started to have feelings for this guy. And now, since I learned about the baby, those feelings are only getting stronger. And I can't imagine my life without him as my friend…" Monica finally admitted it to Rachel, although she was careful to not say who 'the guy' was.
"Then, talk to him. If this guy slept with you, he must feel the same, right?"
"I don't think so. Because if he does feel the same, why is he acting like our only night together never happened?"
"I don't know, Mon. But must talk to this guy," Was Rachel's answer.
Maybe Rachel was right. But she couldn't do it now, not after what happened just a few minutes earlier. She would find the courage to face the situation. But not that day.