A/N Thank you to everyone who is still reading and especially to those who took the time to leave such lovely comments.
I'm glad you enjoyed Atlantic City, I did too so I decided to keep them there a little while longer. But all good things must come to an end and I guess they have to face the music eventually...
Monica stretched out luxuriantly, enjoying the shaft of brilliant sunlight that spilled across the bed through the partially opened blinds, as it imparted a syrupy warmth on her bare skin. Chandler adjusted his own position in order to accommodate her stretch and pressed his lips tenderly against the smoothness of her shoulder, as she captured his hand in her own and began to toy gently with his fingers.
"You know, we haven't really done much talking or planning on this trip, like we said we would..." she acknowledged, with only the smallest hint of ruefulness.
"I know." replied Chandler "I planned this whole weekend away so we would have time to talk, and all you've been interested in doing is eating steak and getting inside my pants. You've been very irresponsible, Monica." he chided with a smirk.
She managed to twist her arm to reach behind them both and planted a resounding slap of admonishment on his rear, giggling at his loud squeal of surprise.
"We should probably get up, it's the middle of the afternoon." Monica gazed out of the window at the deep azure of the sky. It was another glorious day in Atlantic City, with only the faintest dappling of fluffy white clouds. "If I don't get any fresh air I won't sleep tonight."
"Would that be so terrible?" Chandler nudged her hair out of the way so that he could nuzzle her neck, knowing that he would be more than happy to languish in this hotel bed with her for every last one of the twenty hours that remained before they had to leave for New York, but he could sense that Monica was itching to get outside for a while so he did not press her too hard.
"It's such a beautiful day. And I really want ice cream" she said with yearning.
"OK. We'll get up," he grudgingly agreed, pulling himself into a seated position so that he could better admire her unabashed nakedness as she vacated the bed and began to neatly stack the empty plates that had collected on various surfaces from the room service they had ordered for both breakfast and lunch.
"Do you want to hit the shower first? Or shall I? " he asked
"No, you take way too long in there!" she scolded, before arching an eyebrow as she suggested, "In fact, it might be better if we go in together... Just so I can keep you in check..."
"Well that sounds like a sensible plan to me! We both know I can't be trusted." he concurred delightedly, pursuing her with eagerness as she sashayed towards the bathroom throwing him a mischievous grin.
As much as he would have been happy to have spent the entirety of their day in bed, Chandler had to admit that being out in public together, just another smitten couple on the bustling boardwalk, felt all kinds of wonderful. He loved being able to be openly affectionate with her; holding her hand, planting the occasional soft kiss on her lips; it all just felt so blissfully normal, and so very right.
"You know, I was starting to think that everybody in Atlantic City was unusually friendly, because people keep smiling at me," he told her after catching the amiable eye of a flamboyant elderly lady clad in a bright pink tracksuit and visor, "But I've just worked out it's because I'm walking around with the biggest grin on my face, like some loved up idiot."
He leaned over to press a kiss against her temple "That's what you do to me, Geller."
She wrapped an arm around his neck and rested her head against his shoulder, her own face alive with matching elation "I know. I'm the same. I don't ever want this weekend to end." she told him with a sigh.
His smile subdued a little when he contemplated their return to New York, he was already dreading having to hit the pause button on this feeling of liberation, and going back to concealing their impending parenthood from their friends. As exhilarating as the secrecy of the past few weeks had felt, Chandler knew that this delectable new development in their relationship was going to make subterfuge so much harder, and so very much more burdensome. The idea that he might have to plan any future liaison with Monica around the timetables of Joey and Rachel was more than a little galling, and he could not help but feel that the sooner everything was out in the open, the better.
Monica led him by the hand towards a vacant bench overlooking the ocean, which sparkled a vibrant turquoise in the brilliant mid-afternoon light. The two of them took a seat, basking in the gentle heat of the sun, as they set to work on the extravagant swirls of Italian ice cream they had bought from a family-run Gelateria that had been highly recommended to them by the hotel receptionist.
Monica edged her body close to his, allowing him to wrap an arm around her shoulder and it soon became apparent that her thought process had been tracking his own.
"What do you think we should do about telling everyone?" she asked as she took a pensive lick of her vividly green pistachio ice cream.
Chandler gave a long sigh. "I personally think we should just get it over and done with. I mean, we're on borrowed time bump wise, and as much as I'm dreading all of the questions and judgment, things will be so much easier when everything is out in the open. And let's be honest, I'm going to struggle to keep my hands off you.. " he leaned in to press an amorous kiss against her neck, as if to illustrate his point, distracting her so successfully that he was also able to dip his head to steal a mouthful of her ice cream in the process.
Monica gave an outraged chuckle and batted him away before offering her somewhat reluctant agreement to his suggestion that the time was right to announce their pregnancy.
"I don't think it will be that big a deal, Mon" he said reassuringly "I mean, I know they'll all be shocked at first, but I think it's only really Ross who is going to be... tricky." Chandler grimaced at the idea of having to break the news to his oldest friend that not only had he crossed a sacred line by getting involved with his sister, but that the breach of said line had resulted in an unplanned pregnancy.
"You'd think he would be the happiest of all." said Monica "I mean, he gets a new niece or nephew out of this! And you're his best friend! It should be a good thing that I'm having a child with somebody he actually likes. But you're right, he'll probably be all weird about the idea of us being together. Man, I hate that stupid "guy code" stuff. It's so ridiculous!"
She shook her head despairingly.
"Actually, didn't Ross once kiss your mom? Surely he owes you a bit of "guy code" forgiveness for that?" she suddenly remembered.
"That is a very good point" Chandler made a mental note to use that harrowing event to his advantage should the situation require it.
"He didn't get her pregnant though.." Monica pointed out, causing Chandler to wince in disgust.
"You've already broken "the rules" a million times anyway," a wry smile pulled at her lips as she began to tease him, "They probably won't even be surprised. First Joey's sister... then Kathy...and now this! What's wrong with you?"
"Oh! That's rich coming from the woman who tried to jump Joey's dad in the shower!" Chandler retorted, poking her in the ribs.
"Ew! God, please don't put that image back in my head!" Monica shuddered at the excruciating memory of inadvertently bursting in on Mr Tribbiani in all of his naked glory.
Chandler chuckled at her discomfort and planted a kiss on top of her head.
"So we're settled then? We'll just get back to New York and tell them all everything? Like ripping off a band-aid?"
"I guess so..." she agreed with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
"That way Ross can kick my ass, and then we can all just move on and get ready to meet this little guy. Or girl" he smiled, running a loving hand over her tummy, inwardly marveling that so much had changed between them in a matter of hours; only yesterday such an intimate gesture had seemed unthinkable.
She placed her hand over his and held it in place against her abdomen, feeling a surge of barely containable euphoria that she was finally able to share this experience with him in a way that felt uninhibited and complete; and as a result, her pregnancy suddenly felt exactly the way she had always dreamed it would. She leaned up to bring her ice cream cold lips to his for a lingering kiss.
"You know, you make me feel so lucky Chandler" she murmured softly, as she gazed deeply into his eyes, hoping desperately that he could feel the intensity with which she adored him.
"I'm pretty sure I'm the lucky one" he replied as he cupped her face in his hand and returned his lips to the chilled pistachio sweetness of hers once more, his spine tingling pleasantly at her unexpectedly profound declaration of affection.
She gave a sigh of contentment as she rested her head against his, allowing herself a second to enjoy the moment before she dragged her mind back to New York.
"And don't worry" she assured him with confidence, "No one is getting their ass kicked. I can handle Ross."
Chandler had woken first on their final morning in Atlantic City. He ran his fingers through his hair as he emerged sleepily from the bathroom, unsuccessfully attempting to smooth down a stubbornly wayward tuft. His gait was cautious, his body feeling sore, having been pleasantly ravaged by the unexpected athleticism of their weekend together. Tragically underused muscles were aching gloriously as he shuffled his way back towards the bed.
Knowing they had to leave this blissful bubble and head back to New York later that morning caused a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he could not prevent his lips from arching into a fond smile of amusement when he took in Monica's still-sleeping form: Her face was almost entirely obscured by a tousle of midnight hair, but for her lips, which Chandler could see were parted in exhausted relaxation; Her limbs were splayed at seemingly incongruous angles and intertwined with a twisted knot of sheets that barely concealed her nakedness. Her inelegant position gave the overall impression that she had somehow been dropped onto the bed from a great height and remained there exactly as she had landed.
He glanced towards the clock, noting that they had less than two hours before they needed to vacate the room, and he considered waking her before deciding swiftly that she looked so utterly and adorably spent, he should really leave her to rest undisturbed for as long as possible.
He slid discreetly back onto the bed beside her, trying hard not to disrupt her sleep, but could not resist peppering a few feather-light kisses down a strip of exposed pale skin on the side of her rib cage. She gave a soft moan of gratification as she stirred and shifted lazily on to her back, her hand moving to cradle the back of his head. He felt her fingertips thread gently though his hair to caress his scalp, encouraging his head towards her body.
He paused briefly to marvel at the barely perceptible swell of her abdomen, feeling a sudden and ferocious rush of love for the gift concealed within, as he planted a gentle kiss there too.
The heat of his breath and the softness of his lips against her sensitive skin caused Monica to release another throaty groan and with this she regained his full and undivided attention, and his commitment to letting her sleep began to dwindle.
He planted a series of increasingly wet kisses across her stomach from hipbone to hipbone, and then looked up into her face as her eyes fluttered open to meet his gaze. Desire twitched in his belly as he watched her pupils dilate lustfully the moment she reached wakefulness.
"Morning beautiful" he greeted her with a wolfish grin, before trailing his lips leisurely towards their final destination, causing her thighs to tense as she gave an audible gasp of rapturous surprise. He smiled in satisfaction against the velvet of her flesh as he felt her toes curl against his back and her fingers grip desperately at his hair, feeling relatively confident that she would not be too upset at being roused from her slumber, and absolving himself of any guilt with an internal pledge to let her sleep in the car.
"I'm sorry I woke you," he told her as he spooned his body around hers, enveloping her tightly in his arms "But we have to be out of this room by 11.00am"
She intertwined her fingers with his and smirked smugly "Well, I've had worse wake up calls."
"I wish we didn't have to leave though" she sighed, bringing his fingertips to her lips and kissing them softly.
"Yeah me too" he agreed, burying his face into her neck.
"Chandler, I know we said we would speak to the others when we got back.. but do you think we could leave it just a little longer before we tell everyone? Just a week or two?" she proposed with an anxious frown. "I'm really dreading all of the questions and the drama. Everything feels so perfect right now, and I just can't bring myself to ruin it."
"We can tell them whenever you want, Mon. I think you're hiding the Avocado Baby well enough right now. And my ass-kicking from Ross can probably wait."
"Don't" she shook her head and gave a sigh, it truly pained her that the idea of telling her family the most joyful news she had ever wanted to impart should instill such a feeling of dread, but she knew full well that the manner in which her baby had been conceived would provoke widespread disapproval amongst the Geller clan.
She moved her hand thoughtfully to her burgeoning bump.
"You know, I'm not actually sure how much of this is Avocado Baby and how much of it is steak and ice cream after this weekend.." she mused, trying hard to push all thoughts of Ross and her parents from her mind.
Chandler smirked "I'm pretty sure you worked off your steak and ice cream last night " he pointed out, before glancing once more towards the clock.
"We should really get up and pack" He declared decisively, giving her rear a motivating tap.
"Right now? But I think I still have a little more ice cream to work off..." she complained, shooting him a coquettish glance over her shoulder.
It felt like an astonishing reversal of roles that Chandler should be the one trying to galvanize her into packing, and the very idea that the promise of an extra half hour in bed with him was enough to inspire tardiness and rebellion in Monica Geller filled him with an enormous amount of self-satisfaction.
When she arched her back against him with languid purpose they could both feel his body's almost instantaneous reaction, and Monica flashed him a wicked smile.
"Really? Again?" he murmured against her neck "My God woman, I'm not a fairground ride."
She laughed and shot him a look of mock outrage as she wrestled herself free of his arms "Well fine! If you're going to complain about it.."
He grabbed her by the hips and dragged her back across the bed towards him, causing her to shriek in delight. "Get yourself back over here Geller. But be fast. We have 43 minutes and counting"
The couple shared a sense of melancholy as they dragged their luggage up the staircase of their building back home in New York. They paused halfway between their own floor and the floor below so that Chandler could hang back for a few minutes in order to allow Monica to arrive home from her imaginary culinary fair in apparent solitude.
Chandler regarded her shyly for a moment before telling her in a hoarse whisper "I had the best time with you this weekend Mon. I honestly never knew I could feel like this..."
She brought her fingers tenderly to his face "I feel the same" she murmured back " Thank you so much. For everything. It was just perfect".
They drew each other into a loving embrace, inhaling each other deeply, neither feeling ready to break away. Eventually the sound of somebody moving around on the floor below encouraged them apart and Monica continued on her way towards Apartment 20, glancing back towards him with a wistful smile as she turned the corner.
Chandler leaned back against the wall in order to give her the head start they had planned, but to his surprise she reappeared on the stairwell fairly quickly, beckoning him to join her.
She hurried him into her apartment, telling him with an excited smile "Rachel isn't home."
She had no idea where Rachel was, or how long she would be gone, so bringing him in here was a risk. But right now it was one she was more than willing to take.
"Are you locking me in?" he asked as she deftly secured the lock and chain.
"Yep" she admitted with a devilish smile "Is that OK?"
Chandler gave a grin and a shrug as he nodded his compliance.
"Just so I'm completely clear... that whole "Not in New York" rule. That's gone now right?" he asked huskily as he took a step towards her.
Her eyes were full of fire as she returned a smouldering smirk.
"Oh yeah, definitely" she breathed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and crashed her lips into his, before the two of them stumbled exuberantly towards her bedroom door.
Rachel glanced at Monica with a degree of wariness as she carefully placed a glass of juice on the coaster front of her, receiving nothing more than a decidedly surly "Thanks".
There was no mistaking the fact that her roommate's mood perfectly matched the dull, grey murkiness of the New York sky this morning.
Rachel considered asking her what was wrong, but thought better of it, for fear of being snapped at: There was something ominous lurking in those sullen blue eyes. Instead she turned to Chandler, who was sitting opposite Monica at the table and appeared to be regarding her with similar caution.
"Did you want juice?" she asked him.
"I'm good thanks Rach." he turned towards her with a smile.
Monica regarded him solemnly, feeling rather irritated that he was apparently far less bothered by the paltry amount of time they had managed to spend together this week than she was.
As Rachel busied herself returning various breakfast items to the refrigerator, Chandler leaned forward to place his hand on Monica's knee beneath the table, his eyes searching her somber face with inquiring concern.
After the dizzying perfection of their weekend in Atlantic City, the reality of being back in New York, working extra shifts to make up for the ones she had swapped in order to accommodate their weekend away, and being separated from Chandler by circumstance and annoyingly ever-present friends, had seen Monica's mood plummet into a pit.
This morning she felt particularly angry with herself: She had promised that last night she would set an alarm so that she might sneak over to Chandler's place to steal a few precious hours in his arms, but the exertion of the weekend followed by the extra shifts at work had rendered her physically exhausted, and she had apparently slept right through.
They finally found themselves alone for a moment when Rachel disappeared into her bedroom, and Chandler moved quickly to the chair next to Monica's running a concerned hand over her hair "Are you OK? I thought you were coming over last night?"
"I slept through my alarm" she hissed crossly, "Why didn't you come over here to see where I was?"
"I tried!" he assured her, "But the door was locked."
She let out a loud sigh of frustration.
"Tonight. I promise" Chandler pledged.
"And remember we have our check-up on Friday?" he reminded her with a smile, keen to lift her clearly low spirits, "I'm so excited to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time."
A smile tugged immediately at her lips.
Rachel ambled back into the room and rejoined them at the table, relieved to see that Monica's expression now appeared slightly less thunderous.
The subdued atmosphere in apartment 20 was instantly transformed with Joey's brisk arrival, as he entered the kitchen with a jubilant look of knowing plastered across his face. His three friends glanced up with interest, wondering what might have provoked this apparent air of self-congratulation.
He stopped in front of the table and smirked long and hard at Chandler, who eventually arched a questioning eyebrow, "You OK Joe?"
"Ooooh I'm fine Chandler. I'm great! But I'd rather talk about you. Tell me again about this conference of yours. Where was it again?" Joey's smug amusement was as unsettling as it was obvious.
Chandler cleared his throat and looked up to face his roommate directly, noting a fraction of a flinch from Monica in his peripheral vision.
"The conference was in Hartford" he confirmed coolly.
"That's weird." Joey tapped at his lip in an overly dramatic display of pensiveness, "Really weird, in fact. Because I just got off the phone with a hotel in Atlantic City who wanted me to let Mr Bing know they found some silver earrings in his room."
Chandler gulped hard as Rachel's head snapped round to look at him with excited intrigue. Monica stared down at the table and chewed apprehensively at her lip.
"Sounds like somebody's weekend ended up a little bit more exciting than just Finance Technology?" Rachel remarked as she exchanged a gleeful look with Joey.
"Come on! Spill! Who were you with in Atlantic City?" Joey probed "I know it wasn't Caitlin because she delivered my pizza on Saturday night."
Chandler's eyes met Monica's as she pressed her eyes closed and gave a yielding sigh. They both knew that the game was up. Monica gave him a barely perceptible nod which he returned. Rachel's eyes narrowed as she keenly observed their wordless communication.
"They are Monica's earrings." Chandler confirmed quietly.
Rachel brought her hands to her mouth as her eyes continued to dart between both of their faces.
"Why would you take Monica's earrings to Atlantic City?" Joey scoffed as he shook his head in bafflement.
"I was there too Joey." Monica clarified, her guilty eyes meeting Rachel's.
Joey gazed back at her in utter confusion.
"Hey guys!" the door flew open again and Phoebe announced her impeccably timed arrival.
"What is with the weird energy in here?" she frowned and batted at the apparently charged air with her hands, frowning as she observed the strangely tense expressions on the faces of her friends.
"What's going on?"
"Chandler and Monica went on a secret trip to Atlantic City together!" Joey told her, squinting in concentration, as his brain struggled to compute a conclusion.
"What?" Phoebe stared between them accusingly "You guys took a trip without us? You both knew how much I wanted to go to Atlantic City! I can't believe this! I mean, I know Joey and I have secret dinners from time to time, but we'd never pull a stunt like this! Shame on you both!"
Chandler and Monica exchanged a look of hopeless disbelief, never having foreseen that they would have to explain things in such simple terms to their friends, as it now appeared they might.
Fortunately, Rachel was somewhat more perceptive.
"I don't think that's what this is, Phoebe!" she said pointedly as she continued to stare at Monica "This is unbelievable! How long has this been going on?" she asked her in a shrill whisper.
"Oh my God!" Phoebe exclaimed as the penny finally dropped, "You two are doing it?"
Monica rolled her eyes as Joey let out a loud gasp of shock "You? And you?" he gestured frantically between the two of them.
Monica raked an uncomfortable hand through her hair before raising her palms in defeat and confirming calmly and authoritatively "Yes. It's true."
She looked back towards Rachel "It started in London..." she began
"In London?" their three friends chorused in incredulous union.
"But that was months ago!" Phoebe pointed out.
"So is this serious? I mean, are you in an actual relationship? Or is it just... " Rachel's nose wrinkled in mild distaste, finding the idea of Monica and Chandler engaging in some kind of lustfully-driven affair more than a little jarring.
Monica looked hesitantly towards Chandler. A relationship. They were yet to use that kind of terminology, and had not really sought to verbally define what had changed between the two of them in Atlantic City, but Monica figured that it was probably a little late to worry about provoking any latent fear of commitment in Chandler now that his child was growing in her womb.
"We are in a relationship." she confirmed with a tentative smile, relieved to see Chandler's face melt into an adoring grin as he took her hand in his.
The others exchanged thunderstruck glances, their mouths agape, unable to quite believe what they were witnessing.
"Wait a minute.. If you guys got together in London, what the hell was Dan? Some sort of elaborate cover story?" Rachel looked accusingly at Monica, her expression slightly appalled.
Chandler felt Monica flinch and she glanced shamefaced towards him before dropping her gaze to the floor "Dan was a mistake." she said quietly
"Monica and I didn't get together straight away," Chandler swiftly clarified, "We were both worried about ruining our friendship, so at first we decided to try to forget about what happened in London"
He gave Monica's hand a fond squeeze "But eventually we realized we couldn't..."
"Wow" said Phoebe with a shake of her head "I did not see this coming!"
"I think it's great! I'm really happy for you guys!" Joey enthused through his shock, moving towards Chandler to give him a hug.
"Thanks man" Chandler smiled softly, before turning apprehensively towards Monica "But that's not all we have to tell you..."
Monica stared deeply into his eyes drawing every ounce of strength she could from his encouraging gaze, before steeling herself to tell them "We're expecting a baby. I'm almost 16 weeks pregnant."
Their three friends were completely dumbstruck, their jaws practically hitting the floor as they absorbed Monica's words.
Monica's gaze remained firmly on Chandler, her eyes welling up with tears, as he smiled wistfully back at her, both feeling quite overwhelmed to have finally shared the precious news they had been holding so close to their hearts.
Phoebe was the first to react "Oh my God! That's so exciting!"
She dashed towards Monica who got to her feet to offer a warm embrace, allowing the tears she had been holding back to spill freely down her cheeks. Rachel and Joey wasted no time in joining Phoebe, offering congratulations and hugs, a plethora of baby related questions pouring from their lips at a rate far too overwhelming to be answerable.
"Guys," Chandler suddenly addressed them seriously, "Can I just say that Ross doesn't know anything about this yet, and we're a little worried about how he will react, so can you all be super careful not to say anything if you see him today? Just until we've had a chance to work out the best way to tell him?"
Monica shot him a grateful look as the others nodded their understanding reassurance.
"The best way to tell me what?"
Ross's arrival had gone completely unnoticed thanks to the joyful commotion in the room. An awkward silence descended upon the group and all eyes moved nervously towards the older Geller sibling, unsure of how much he had heard. Ross's own darkly quizzical gaze stayed resolutely locked upon the face of his best friend.