Author's Note: So just a reminder that if you want to join the discord, then you have to send me a message with your username. If you send a message as a guest, then I won't be able to reply to it. You can also send me a message on tumblr (blue-and-browneyes.). But I won't be able to send the link if you send as anonymous message. Thanks again for sticking with it.
June 2010
"Alright, bathing suits?" Monica asked.
"Check!" Jack said.
"Goggles?"
"Check!" Erica added.
"Sunscreen?"
"Check!"
"Please, tell me you're almost done?" Chandler sighed.
"We have to double check and make sure we're not forgetting anything," Monica said. "You should be used to this by now."
Chandler just rolled his eyes and picked up his suitcase. "Well I'm going to put my suitcase in the car."
Monica watched as he walked out the front door. "Don't listen to him, kids. When he realizes that he forgot his sunglasses, he'll be upset that he didn't use the check method."
"But where are his sunglasses?" Jack asked.
Monica pulled the sunglasses out of her pocket. "Right here."
"Are you gonna tell him?" Erica asked.
"We'll let him figure it out on his own," Monica said as she grabbed one of the bags and headed out to the front door.
After all of the bags were placed in the trunk and all of the kids were placed in their car seats, Monica slid into the driver's seat while Chandler finished buckling Dani's seat belt.
"I swear these things keep getting more and more confusing." Chandler said as he finally got the buckles in place. He then climbed into the passenger seat. "Okay so we are going to be in the car for a long time so before we leave, does anyone have to use the bathroom?"
Jack and Erica both shook their heads.
"Great," Monica said. So let's get going then. Seat belts?"
"Check!" Both of the twins said. Chandler just rubbed at his temples as Monica turned on the car.
After many, many bathroom breaks and after Monica thought that she might go insane if she had to listen to any more Jonas Brothers; they finally arrived at Montauk. They rented a small house near the beach. Monica let the twins explore the house while she and Chandler started working on the luggage.
"I just don't get how there's so much baby stuff," Chandler said as he picked up another bag. "She's only like 16 pounds and most of the stuff we brought is for her."
"Well," Monica said. "We didn't get to travel very much when the twins were babies. So I wanted to make sure that we would have everything that we would need just in case."
"Of course you did," Chandler sighed as he brought the bags inside the house.
"Wow," Monica said as she entered through the doorway. "This place looks great!"
"Yeah," Chandler said. "And we don't have to deal with a bunch of sand on the floor this time."
"I know!" Monica exclaimed.
They started moving things into the bedroom when Jack and Erica ran into the room. They said that they saw something outside in the backyard and wanted to show their parents. Chandler grabbed Dani while Monica followed the twins to the backyard.
"What's that?" Jack asked and pointed his finger.
"Oh that's a firepit," Monica explained. "It's a place where you can make a small fire and cook different things."
"Like what?" Erica asked.
"Lots of people will cook things like hot dogs or smores."
"Can we make smores?"
"Sure," Monica said. "We can go to the store and get all the supplies that we need for tonight."
Luckily, the drive to the grocery store didn't take too long and Monica was able to get everything that they would need for smores. Once she made it back to the house, it was starting to get close to dinner time. The twins were more excited about smores than dinner. Monica made burgers for everyone and they all ate while they watched the sunset. Once everyone had finished eating and after Dani had gone to bed, she started working on making a small fire.
"Okay," Monica said once the fire had started. "Now it's really important to make sure you don't get too close. And Erica, we should probably put your hair up. And make sure you don't stand in the same direction as the wind. And also…"
"Monica," Chandler interrupted her and handed her a skewer. "It'll be fine. Now go make your smore."
Monica huffed as she took the skewer from his hand. She showed Jack and Erica how to use the skewer and then placed her marshmallow over the open flame. She very slowly rotated the marshmallow, making sure that each side was toasted perfectly to a golden brown.
"Any day, Mon." Chandler said.
"This takes time, Chandler." Monica said as she examined the marshmallow. "I have to make sure that each side has been toasted properly." She then toasted both Jack and Erica's marshmallows before assembling the smores for everyone. Jack and Erica were happily munching on their smores while Monica handed Chandler the skewer.
Chandler took the skewer and grabbed a marshmallow and Monica watched in horror as he placed the skewer directly into the open flame.
"What are you doing?" she gasped.
"Making a smore," Chandler said. "You know, the main reason we used the firepit in the first place."
"But it's going to burn!"
"I know," Chandler said. "That's the point."
Monica stood there shocked as Chandler pulled the skewer out from the fire and popped the burnt marshmallow into his mouth. "You want me to make you one?" he grinned at her.
"No!" Monica took the skewer out of his hand. "You have lost skewer privileges until you learn how to toast a marshmallow correctly!"
"I didn't realize that there was a correct way to toast a marshmallow," Chandler said.
"Well, there is," Monica said as she pointed the skewer at him. Before Chandler could respond Jack and Erica were asking if they could have more smores. Erica said that she wanted extra chocolate this time.
"No problem," Monica said. "Two more smores, made the correct way, coming right up!"
Chandler just rolled his eyes while Monica grabbed more marshmallows.
Monica woke up early the next morning to get everything ready for the beach trip. She needed to make sure that she had enough sunscreen for the kids. She also wanted to make sure that she brought enough beach toys for everyone. The last thing she needed was Jack and Erica fighting over who got to use the shovel. After she finished packing, she spent most of the morning chasing Jack and Erica around with a bottle of sunscreen.
"No, no, no!" Erica demanded. "I don't want to put on sunscreen!"
"I know, honey." Monica sighed. "I don't like it either. But I need to make sure that you don't get sunburned."
"But it feels weird!" Jack exclaimed as Monica rubbed the sunscreen on his arms.
"I know it feels weird," Monica said. "But the sooner we put on sunscreen, then the sooner we get to go to the beach!"
"Fine…" the twins whined as they finished putting on the sunscreen.
Monica then turned her attention to Dani. She grabbed the swim diaper, swim shirt, sunglasses, hat, and baby sunscreen. Dani did fine with the swim diaper and the swim shirt but she started getting fussy when Monica was putting sunscreen on her. It didn't matter how old you were, no one ever liked putting on sunscreen.
They eventually made their way to the beach. Monica set up the towels while Chandler worked on the umbrella. Monica stood at the edge of the water with the twins while they splashed around. The water was too cold to go swimming in, but she could still put her feet in the water. She watched them play around, chasing the waves and then running back. After they both tired themselves out, Monica and the twins headed back to the towels where Chandler and Dani were sitting underneath the umbrella. Monica watched as Dani was starting to get fussy again and smacked Chandler on the chest with her hand.
"What's wrong?" Monica asked.
"She's mad at me because I won't let her eat the sand," Chandler sighed. "Which apparently makes me a terrible father."
"I think she's just starting to get cranky," she said. "Here let me hold her for a bit."
Monica sat down next to him and placed Dani in her lap. The two of them watched Jack and Erica play in the sand.
"Alright," Chandler said. "So there's a nuclear holocaust. I'm the last man on earth…would you go out with me?"
"Excuse me?" Monica asked.
"I never got a clear answer from you the last time I asked you this question on the beach," Chandler explained. "So I thought that I would ask you again this time."
Monica just laughed. "Chandler, we are married. We have three kids together."
"But still," Chandler said. "Last time you just gave me shrug."
"Okay," Monica laughed again. "If the world was ending and you were the last man on earth, I would go out with you. Even if you didn't have any canned goods."
"Wow, no canned goods?" Chandler said. "You must really like me then!"
"Don't push it!" Monica said and she poked him in the chest with her finger.
They spent a little bit more time at the beach before heading back to the house for lunch. Monica made sandwiches for everyone while Chandler put Dani down for a nap.
"Did you two have fun at the beach?" Monica asked.
"Yup!" the twins nodded.
"What do you want to do this afternoon?"
"Could we go to the pool?" Jack asked.
"Sounds like a great idea, Jacky."
Once Dani had finished her nap and once Monica forced everyone to put on more sunscreen, they headed back over to the nearby pool. Luckily, the pool was empty. So they had the whole area to themselves. Monica had signed the twins up for swim lessons last summer, but she wasn't sure how well they would do at a different pool. Especially since this pool had a diving board.
"CANNON BALL!" Erica screamed as she launched herself off the diving board.
"Alright," Monica mumbled. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Erica had no issues with the diving board."
Monica watched as Erica swam over to Chandler, who then helped her to the ladder. She immediately climbed out and headed right back to the diving board. Jack watched from the side of the pool; his face filled with concern.
"Come on, Jacky!" Erica said as she climbed up the ladder again. "It's really fun!"
"B-but it's so high," Jack said quietly.
"Honey, you don't have to do it if you don't want to," Monica said.
"Here, I have an idea," Chandler said as he swam to the side of the pool. "You can jump from the edge of the pool and I'll catch you. Okay?"
"Okay," Jack said slowly and stood up. He placed his feet at the edge and looked over to Chandler and gave him a quick nod. Jack took a deep breath and jumped into Chandler's arms.
"Great job, buddy!" Chandler said. "Now, was that scary?"
"No," Jack shook his head. "That was fun."
"Okay," Chandler said. "So what if we do the exact same thing, except this time you'll jump from the diving board instead?"
Jack thought about it for a few seconds before nodding slowly. He climbed up the ladder and walked over to the diving board. Monica watched as Jack walked to the edge of the diving board and looked out into the pool. He took another deep breath before jumping into the pool. Chandler caught him and Jack was so excited that he immediately swam over to the side of the pool and rushed back over to the diving board again. The rest of the afternoon was spent with Jack and Erica jumping off of the diving board while Monica watched from the side with Dani.
"Okay," Chandler said out of breath as he reached the side of the pool. "I think it's time for a break."
"But why?" Erica asked.
"Yeah, we're not tired," Jack said.
"Well, I am!" Chandler replied.
"Your dad is right," Monica said. "We should start to head back soon. It's getting late."
Chandler sighed in relief as the twins complained. Monica promised them that they would come back to the pool tomorrow as she grabbed towels for everyone.
The rest of the trip passed in a blur. They spent most of their days either at the beach or at the pool. It was so much fun watching the twins explore the beach every day. But she would be lying if she said that she wasn't exhausted. But it was their last night at the beach. After all of the kids were asleep, Chandler and Monica made another fire using the firepit and finished toasting the rest of the marshmallows. It really was the perfect way to end the trip, even if Chandler was burning the marshmallows on purpose.
"I'm so tired," he said as he popped the marshmallow into his mouth.
"Me too," Monica said. "I thought vacations were supposed to be relaxing."
"I guess it's different when you have kids." He said.
"They're already asking when we can come back," Monica said.
"Maybe we could make this a yearly tradition."
"I think that's a great idea," Monica said. She then tilted her head back and looked at the sky. "Oh my god! There are so many stars! You never see anything like this at home."
"You're right," Chandler said as he looked up with her.
"Oh, it's so beautiful," Monica said.
"Yeah…" Chandler said. Monica turned her head and saw that he was no longer looking at the sky but looking at her instead. His eyes quickly darted to her lips and he pulled her into a long kiss that made her head swim. His lips were sticky and sweet from the marshmallows. She had to eventually pull away to catch her breath while Chandler kissed her neck.
"W-we should head back inside," she finally found her voice while he kissed her collarbone. Her hands shook as she put out the fire. They both stumbled back into the bedroom, fumbling with their clothes. Chandler placed his mouth of every inch of skin he could reach. Thankfully, Monica remembered to pack condoms and grabbed one from the bedside table. She watched as Chandler rolled the condom onto his length and then climbed into his lap. Their bodies intertwined while the rest of the world faded away.
Author's Note: There will be two chapters left after this and I am definitely not freaking out over that (I am totally freaking out over it).
