Author's Note: I thought more of you would be upset with the cliffhanger, but no one was really upset at all. I'm honestly kind of scared to post this chapter. It feels like we've been building to this moment since the beginning, and I don't want this chapter to be a disappointment. Also let me know if you want to join the discord server. It's really fun!

December2009

"No…" It was the only thing Monica could say.

"Mon, we need to go to the hospital." Chandler said.

"It's not…" Monica tried. "I'm not in labor. I can't be in labor. Not right now. It's too early!"

"What's going on?" Nora asked as she walked into the living room. She immediately stopped when she saw the puddle at Monica's feet. "Oh, I'm going to have to start coming over more often. There's so much excitement around here!"

"Mom!" Chandler warned.

"I'm not in labor," Monica said again. "It's just Braxton-Hicks!"

"Well what do you call that!" Chandler said as he pointed to the puddle on the floor.

"I don't know!" Monica said. "But it's too early! I just started the third trimester. We haven't gone to any of the classes yet! We don't even have a name picked out! We're not ready! I'm not ready!"

"Hey," Chandler said to her softly. He reached out and pulled her into him. "If anyone is ready, then it's you. But we need to go to the hospital."

"What about the twins?"

"I can watch them." Nora said. "You two head over to the hospital."

"Okay," Monica took a shaky breath as Chandler slowly pulled away from her.

"I'll go grab the hospital bag," Chandler said.

"And you said packing the hospital bag this early was a bad idea." Monica mumbled.

Jack and Erica apparently heard the commotion and came downstairs.

"What's going on?" Erica asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"Your baby sister might be coming," Nora said.

"Why would the baby come now?" Jack said. "Doesn't she know that we're sleeping?"

"We don't know if she's coming now," Monica was still in denial at this point. "We just have to go see the doctor so she can on check her."

"Nora is going to stay with you both right now, okay?" Chandler said.

"We can't go with you?" Jack asked.

"I'm sorry, buddy." Chandler said. "But we need you two to stay here." He pulled them both into a hug. "We'll make sure to keep everyone updated." He placed the bag on his shoulder. "Mon, are you ready?"

"Almost," Monica said as she tried to lean over with a towel she had grabbed from the kitchen so she could clean the puddle on the floor.

"W-what are you doing?" Chandler asked.

"Cleaning this mess, obviously!"

"Monica!"

"What? I'm not going to leave this all over the floor before we leave. Who knows when we will get back? And what if it stains?"

"Just-just get in the car!" Chandler shouted and nearly dragged her out of the house.

They were admitted into the hospital and told that yes, Monica's water did break, and no, those were not Braxton-Hicks contractions, they were real contractions.

"But," Monica started. "But it's too early. I followed all of the doctor's orders. And we haven't had any problems at any previous appointments. I took all of the prenatal vitamins, I would regularly check my blood pressure at home to make sure I wasn't developing pre-eclampsia, I made sure that I followed the proper diet, I did everything right!" At that moment, another contraction hit and she doubled over in pain. Oh…oh that one really hurt!

"Just because the baby is coming early doesn't mean you did anything wrong," one of the nurses said once the pain finally stopped. "Sometimes the baby just decides that they're ready to come."

"So she likes to be early?" Chandler asked and then looked towards Monica. "Yup, that's definitely your kid."

"So what do we do now?"

"So right now we're waiting for Dr. Carter, she will be able to talk about the next steps."

"So here's the situation," Dr. Carter explained once she arrived. "You water broke about 8 weeks early. And that does increase risks of infection for both you and the baby, so we want to limit cervical checks and basically anything that could risk exposure."

"I just can't believe this," Chandler said and ran his hand through his hair. "I mean she's eight weeks early? Could she-"

"If you say could she be any earlier I am kicking you out of this room!" Monica exclaimed right as another contraction hit her. Chandler rushed over to her and she grabbed onto his hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Ow, ow!" Chandler shouted as he pulled his hand away. "That really hurt!"

Monica didn't say anything. Just turned her head very slowly and stared at him, thinking that this might be the day where she actually kills him.

Chandler seemed to realize what he just said and placed his hand in front of her. "You can just break it if you want."

She thought about it as she squeezed his hand again. Only for a moment, but she still thought about it.

It was basically a waiting game at this point. They couldn't check how far along she was as they didn't want to risk exposure to any infections, but they also didn't want to rush the delivery as the baby would be premature. So they both sat in the hospital room, as Monica's contractions became stronger and stronger over the next few hours.

Monica squeezed tightly onto Chandler's hand as a really bad contraction hit.

"Honey," Chandler said softly. "Maybe we should have someone check."

"No!" Monica exclaimed. "I don't want to risk anything!"

"Please just let them check to see if you're far enough along for an epidural. Or so they can give you something to help with the pain."

"I don't need an epidural," Monica said as tears were streaming down her face. "I can handle the pain."

"Honey," Chandler said again. "Please just reconsider it. No one is going to think that you couldn't handle the pain. Please it's killing me watching you go through this. Everyone here knows how strong you are."

Monica had sworn throughout the entire pregnancy that she didn't need the epidural. That she could handle the contractions. That she could fight through the pain. But god, this really hurt.

"Okay," she said softly.

"Okay," Chandler said back to her and kissed her forehead.

By the time one of the nurses came in to check on her, the contractions were getting worse and worse, and Monica was writhing in pain.

"Look I know we're not supposed to be doing cervical checks, but please can someone check her?" Chandler asked. "She's miserable right now."

The nurse nodded and put on her gloves as she sat down, asking Monica to spread her legs. Her eyes suddenly widened as she looked in between Monica's legs.

"So we're not going to be able to do the epidural," she said quickly as she stood up.

"What? Why not?"

"Because I can see the baby crowning right now."

"What?" Chandler asked as he walked over to the nurse and looked for himself. "OH MY GOD THAT'S HER HEAD!"

"What do I do?" Monica cried out.

"Just take a deep breath for me honey," the nurse said as she contacted Dr. Carter. "You're doing great."

The room was suddenly filled with doctors and nurses. If Monica wasn't in so much pain, she would be embarrassed at how many people were staring in between her legs. But god, she didn't care anymore. Anything to make the pain stop. The only thing that kept her sane was holding tightly onto Chandler's hand.

"You're doing so great." He said to her as he brushed her hair off of her face. "You're almost there, I promise."

"I can't!" she cried out as the contraction finally passed. "I can't do it anymore!"

"Yes you can," Chandler said. "Just a little bit more and she'll be here. You've got this."

"I love you," she said as she placed her hand on his cheek.

"I love you, too." He kissed the palm of her hand.

As the next contraction hit, Monica pushed with all of her might, screaming so loudly that she was convinced that the entire hospital could hear her. Then, right before the sun rose, Monica pushed her daughter out into the world. There was a sudden sense of relief as the pain finally subsided. She was so tired.

"She's here!" She heard Chandler say. "She's so tiny."

Monica found the strength to lift her head and see the tiny bundle. She barely had time to brush her lips against her daughter's head before the nurse began to take her away.

"Wait," Monica panicked. It was just like the nightmare all over again. "Wait where are you taking her?"

"We're hearing some fluid in her lungs," one of the doctors said. "Her breaths are a little shallow and we need to bring her to the NICU."

Monica tried to sit up but she was so exhausted that she nearly collapsed back onto the bed.

"Mon?" Chandler asked in a panic as he held onto her.

"Look," Dr. Carter said. "I know you want to see her, I promise we wouldn't be taking her away unless we needed to."

"But…but," Monica tried but the words were stuck in her throat. She didn't even get to hold her. She leaned her head onto Chandler's shoulder. She grabbed onto his hand again. Clutching tightly onto it like a lifeline as they waited for news about their daughter. She felt him brush his lips against her temple. He held her so gently, like she was a piece of glass, like she was about to shatter into a million pieces. Everything seemed to pass in the blur. She delivered the placenta easily and then different nurses would walk by to check her vitals, throwing out numbers and phrases that she really couldn't follow. She didn't care anymore at this point. She just wanted to see her daughter. It felt like she was sitting there for hours waiting for news. She felt numb. She felt…empty. All those moments she had read about where she got to hold her baby, have skin-to-skin contact, the golden hour. It felt like everything had been ripped away from her.

Dr. Carter came back to update them and told them that there was a large amount of fluid present in their baby's lungs, which was why they needed to take her away so quickly. She also said that the baby had underdeveloped lungs, which was very common in a premature baby, but that she would need to stay in the NICU until her lungs had developed more. The rational part of Monica's brain understood that they needed to move their daughter so quickly but the irrational part was still having a hard time accepting it.

"But when can I see her?" Monica asked.

"We can have someone bring a wheelchair up and we can bring you to the NICU right now."

"I don't need a wheelchair," Monica said as she tried to stand up…and nearly collapsed to the floor. Luckily, Chandler was there to catch her. "Okay, maybe I'll take the wheelchair."

A nurse came up a few minutes later and brought her and Chandler to the NICU. She nearly burst into tears when she saw her daughter. She was so tiny. Only 4 pounds and fast asleep with a bunch of wires attached to her.

"C-can I hold her?" Monica asked.

"Of course," one of the nurses said. "She's a real quick learner too. Her breathing improved significantly over the past 20 minutes."

Monica stayed in the wheelchair as the nurse placed her daughter into her arms.

"Hi there, little bunny," Monica said. "I'm your mom."

The little bundle began to stir.

"She recognizes your voice," Chandler smiled as he leaned over her. "Hey there, I'm Chandler, nice to finally meet you." He moved his arm like he was going to shake her hand and used his pinkie finger to brush her hand. Their daughter reached out and grabbed onto his pinkie.

"Looks like she knows you as well." Monica said.

"She's so strong," Chandler said. "Just like her mom."

She held onto her for as long as she could, while Chandler called everyone. She could hear Jack and Erica screaming from the phone.

"WHEN CAN WE COME SEE HER?"

"As soon as we can find a way to get you both here," Chandler said as he pulled the phone away from his ear. Monica laughed at him.

"BUT HOW LONG WILL THAT BE?"

"It will probably take a couple of hours," Chandler said.

"Ugh, could that be any longer?" Erica whined. Monica rolled her eyes as Chandler beamed.

"Nana said that she would call a taxi and ride with us," Jack said.

"Nana?" Chandler looked confused. "Wait, do you mean my mom? She's okay with you two calling her Nana?"

"She said that she tolerates it," Erica said.

"Yeah but we don't really know what that word actually means," Jack added.

He then called Ross and Rachel which led to him getting an earful from Rachel.

"I can't believe this!" Rachel shouted. "The baby is already here! And you didn't call earlier!"

"It all happened so fast Rach." Chandler said. "We were in such a state of shock that we didn't even think to call anyone." He then handed the phone to Monica. "She wants to talk to you."

"Hello?" Monica said as she took the phone.

"Mon, what happened?" Rachel asked.

"I thought I was having Braxton-Hicks contractions last night. Turns out I was actually going into labor."

"Two months early?"

"Yeah. This little one was ready to come out I guess."

"Oh, honey I'm so happy. And everything is okay?"

"So far it's the normal premature baby stuff. At first it was really scary because she was having trouble breathing on her own, but now she's doing really well. She'll probably have to stay in the NICU for the next few weeks."

She spends some more time on the phone with Rachel so that Chandler gets a chance to hold her. He was so gentle with her as he held her close to his chest. She said goodbye to Rachel before deciding to call Phoebe with her own phone, while Chandler called Joey.

"Hey Pheebs," Monica said.

"Oh my god you had the baby!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"H-how did you know that?" Monica asked. "Did Rachel tell you already?"

"No I just had this really weird feeling last night." Phoebe said. "I kept thinking 'Either Monica is about to have her baby or Joey lost his keys again.' And I was right!"

"Yeah, you were," Monica shook her head. She never understood how Phoebe's brain worked.

"How are you both doing?"

"Exhausted but so, so happy." Monica explained the whole story again. Phoebe said that she would come visit later in the afternoon when Ross and Rachel came to visit. After she hung up the phone, she turned to Chandler.

"What did Joey say?" she asked.

"He's super excited that's she's here," Chandler said. "He also mentioned that he lost his keys again."

Nora dropped the twins off and they rushed towards Monica. She hugged them both tightly as they climbed onto the bed.

"Where is she?" Erica asked.

"She's in a place called the NICU," Monica explained. "It's where little babies go when they need some extra help from the doctors and nurses."

"Here, we'll go take you to see her," Chandler said.

The five of them walked over to the NICU, where Jack and Erica looked through the glass and over the bassinet where their sister was lying.

"She's so tiny," Jack said. "Were we that small?"

"Not that small," Chandler said. They continued to watch her sleep.

"She doesn't really do very much," Erica said.

"Babies don't do very much in the beginning," Monica said. "They sleep, they eat, they cry…that's about it."

"When can we take her home?" Erica asked.

"We're not sure yet. She'll have to stay here for a little while until she's a little bigger."

Nora ended up having to leave so that she could catch her flight. Monica, Chandler, and the twins headed back to Monica's hospital room, where Jack and Erica proceeded to ask a million questions.

"What does that machine do?"

"What do those numbers mean?"

"Is it supposed to make that noise?"

Monica and Chandler tried to answer all their questions and updated their families while waiting for their friends to arrive.

Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, and Joey came by later to visit. Rachel immediately burst into tears as soon as she saw the littlest Bing.

"That's the tiniest baby I've ever seen," she sobbed.

"I can't believe she's here," Ross said as he hugged Monica. "I'm so happy for you both."

"So what are you gonna name her?" Joey asked. "I'm just saying Josephine has a nice ring to it."

"Well," Monica said. "We hadn't actually decided on a name yet."

"You weren't prepared for a name?" Phoebe asked. "Who are you and what have you done with Monica Geller?"

"I know, I've been slipping recently." Monica said. "In our defense, we both thought we had two more months to decide."

"Well…uh," Chandler rubbed the back of his head. "I had actually thought of a name."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I was going to talk to you about it once we got through with Christmas but then…" he stopped and pointed to the little baby. "She had other plans I guess."

"So what's the name then?" Ross asked.

"It better not be some stupid joke," Monica said.

"It's not," Chandler said and the rest of the gang glared at him. "I mean it! I actually really thought about this."

"So what is it, then?" Phoebe asked.

"Well," Chandler turned to Monica. "Remember when you said had the names Daniel and Emma picked out when you were younger."

"Yeah," Monica said. "You remember that?"

"Yeah, honestly I thought that you were going to give that name to Jack." Chandler said.

"Wait! My name was almost Daniel?" Jack asked.

"We had a couple names in mind," Monica told him. "But once I saw your face, I knew you were a Jack."

"Good, I like being a Jack."

"What was almost my name?" Erica asked.

"You were always Erica," Chandler said.

"What does this have to do with the new baby's name?" Rachel asked.

"So I was thinking," Chandler said. "Since the name Emma is already taken. I started thinking about the name Danielle. And calling her Dani for short."

"Danielle Bing," Monica tried out the name. "Dani Bing. I like it."

"Oooh, Dani Bing." Phoebe said. "That's a pretty good name. Not as good as Regina Phalange but let's be honest, nothing is as good as Regina Phalange."

They all remained in the hospital room until visitor hours were over. Dr. Carter wanted Monica to stay for another night to make sure there were no other issues. Chandler refused to leave her and said that he would stay. Ross and Rachel offered to watch Jack and Erica for the night.

"There's this great new documentary that just came out about the African safari." Ross said. "I think it would be really interesting to watch!"

Jack and Erica just stared at him, blinking slowly.

"Or…" Rachel said. "We could watch Lion King?"

"Yay! Lion King!" the twins exclaimed. Ross simply hung his head in defeat. Monica hugged the twins tightly before everyone headed out for the evening.

Monica stared at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. She heard Chandler moving on the small couch, trying to get comfortable.

"Are you asleep?" She heard him ask.

"No," she said. "D-do you think she's okay?"

"Yeah," he said. "I do."

"But she's so tiny!"

"Well…so are you," Chandler said.

"I am not!" Monica said defensively.

"I could pick you up and carry you around in my pocket."

"Come here," Monica said.

"What?"

"I said, come here," Monica said again.

Chandler slowly walked over towards her. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him onto the hospital bed.

"I don't think I'm allowed to do this," he said.

"I don't care," Monica said as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her head into his chest. They fell asleep on the small hospital bed, exhausted but grateful that their daughter was here.

Danielle Bing, the littlest Bing.

Author's Note: I hope everyone likes the name.