A/N I'm sorry this update has taken a little longer than usual (it probably didn't help that I distracted myself by writing a whole other fic!).
I always knew that I would find writing wedding stuff tricky and I've definitely been procrastinating, but I'm nearly there now! I reckon one more chapter after this? Maybe two?
Thank you to everybody who is still reading and to those of you who have left some truly lovely comments, it really means a lot!
"My God, I feel like I've traveled back in time when I look at this little face!" Nora declared with an expression of aching adoration as she gazed at her beaming grandson, who was perched on her lap, a chubby hand just inches away from being able to grab a fistful of her long, platinum blonde hair.
"You are just the double of your daddy, Little Man! You really are!" she told him, dipping her head to plant a kiss on top of his downy fair head.
Monica smiled fondly as she approached with a damp cloth, ready to wipe a smear of some unknown substance from Jack's face. The baby was recovering from a mild cold, he was teething, and was also very much enjoying the exciting foray into solid foods, meaning that there was a general stickiness about him that caused Monica to feel uncontrollably nervous when she saw him so close to Nora's perfectly coiffured hair extensions and expensive-looking cashmere sweater.
Jack was at an age where the mere sight of his mother's face ignited a desperate desire to be in her arms, and despite his displeasure at being cleaned up he immediately began to strain towards Monica; but Nora lifted him deftly into the air by his armpits to distract him and subtly angled him away, hopeful that she might allay Jack's grumbles and prolong their cuddle.
"Where is your daddy anyway?" Nora queried as she suddenly noticed her son's absence.
"He was just making a call in the bedroom" Monica told her brightly "He shouldn't be long".
"How's the wedding planning going?" Nora asked.
Her tone was congenial, but the question was delivered far too quickly for her future daughter-in-law's comfort.
Monica felt her head spin around conspicuously fast, momentarily concerned that Nora had somehow discovered that Chandler was in fact on the phone with the wedding venue in Connecticut, with whom the two of them had begun to tentatively plan their top-secret elopement.
As she examined Nora's face for traces of knowing, Monica concluded that the pertinent timing of her query had been purely coincidental, and so she responded with a breezy smile "Well, we're still in the very early stages really."
"You know that I'll help you kids out any way that I can, Monica," Nora told her seriously, "I know Chandler's too stubborn to ask, but I don't want you to feel like you can't come to me if you need anything. Weddings are an expensive business..."
"Although not as expensive as divorce" she added sardonically.
"Thanks, Nora." The gratitude in her voice was genuine, but Monica hoped that the guilt that tainted her smile was not as visually apparent as it felt, as she shifted her weight uneasily and wrung her hands behind her back.
Nora shook her head wistfully as she smoothed Jack's hair with gentle fingers, watching as the little boy gnawed happily on a teething ring.
"I still can't believe it. My boy: A father and a husband. I just can't tell you how happy I am for him. And how relieved! I always worried that growing up around Charles and I might have put him off relationships and family life completely; I honestly thought he'd wind up a perpetual bachelor. Seeing the two of you at the end of that aisle is going to be the happiest moment of my life."
Her pale blue eyes met Monica's with sincerity, and more than a shred of remorse, "And it's all thanks to you, Honey; The way he is around you and Jack... He certainly didn't see that kind of love and stability modeled at home."
Monica swallowed hard, not quite knowing how to respond and suddenly desperate for her fiancé to return to the room.
"I'm just going to see where Chandler has disappeared to" she said with mild fluster, as she made for the bedroom, leaving Nora to coo over her grandson in peace.
As she dashed into the bedroom she let out a gasp when she almost crashed straight into Chandler, who was approaching the doorway from the other side; but before she could speak he took the opportunity to grab her by the waist and pull her into a breathtakingly unexpected kiss, kicking the door closed behind her and drawing her body flush against his.
She let out a mewl of surprise as his lips caressed hers insistently, before moving their way slowly and amorously to the warmth of her neck.
The unanticipated sensation of the humid scorch of his breath against her pulse point caused Monica to release an involuntary groan of satisfaction, before she eventually summoned the resolve to plant a steadying hand on his shoulder, panting, "Chandler! Your mom!"
He drew back from her immediately and remarked with a sarcastic grimace, "The words every guy wants to hear when he's trying to make out with his girlfriend. Just throw a bucket of cold water over me next time..."
Monica hissed back "She's right the other side of this door with our son! What got you so fired up anyway?"
A smirk broke across her face as she leaned into him, giving a conciliatory pinch of his buttock and adding, "Enjoyable as it was..."
"Well, I guess I'm a little excited, that's all." he told her "I just got off the phone with the wedding planner at Golden Oaks, and made us an appointment to go view the place tomorrow! And, they had a cancellation, so they have a date available for us next month if we decide we want to go ahead!"
Chandler's face melted into a wide grin of glee that Monica attempted to return with matching enthusiasm, but there was no disguising the fragment of anxiety that he expertly discerned in her eyes.
"What is it?" he asked, almost warningly, desperately hoping that her commitment to their intimate wedding was not beginning to waiver.
"I don't know... do you think we're doing the right thing with this whole elopement idea? I'm worried that everyone is going to get all upset when they find out we got married without them..."
"It's not about them, Mon!" Chandler insisted vehemently, "And they'll understand!...Eventually..."
"Your mom just said that watching you get married will be the happiest moment of her life..." Monica told him with an uneasy sigh
"Oh, she says all kinds of things," Chandler dismissed.
"It's not just her. Phoebe asked me yesterday if she could perform a song that she wrote for us at our wedding, and I know Joey's already started working on a speech..." she said with an anxious shake of her head.
"Some might call that back-to-back lucky escapes," Chandler pointed out before pleading, "Let's just go see the place...huh? If you don't like it, we'll rethink it all".
He twirled a lock of her hair between his fingers as he coaxed "Come on... me and you? A little secret road trip? It'll be fun..."
Monica gazed pensively into his beseeching eyes before nodding her agreement. "OK. What shall we do with Jack? Shall I see if Ross or Rachel can take him for the day?"
"No! We'll just take him with us," Chandler pronounced cheerfully, "It'll do him good to get some clean country air into those polluted little city lungs of his."
"Don't say that!" Monica instantly scolded, swiping at his arm, her eyes simultaneously mournful and forbidding.
Chandler inwardly conceded that he should have known better than to joke about such matters, given that Monica's growing desire to seek leafier new pastures in which to raise their son was becoming ever more apparent, with increasingly frequent complaints about the trials and tribulations of navigating stairwells, chaotic streets and the urban grime of the subway with a small child in tow.
"Where shall we tell everyone we're going?" Chandler's eyes were positively dancing with delight at the prospect of arranging their clandestine day trip.
Monica raised a cynical eyebrow and narrowed her eyes, "Should I be worried that my future husband seems to get such a big kick out of lying to everyone and planning illicit liaisons?"
"I only wanna be illicit with you" he assured her with a gentle smirk, using the weight of his body to push her back up against the door, dipping his head to plant a series of lustful kisses along her collarbone.
She returned a quiet moan of yearning frustration as she whispered his name admonishingly against his ear.
"I know, I know. My mom" he grumbled despondently, as they reluctantly released each other from their mutually grasping embrace.
If Chandler had found Monica's military-level commitment to preparation and organization a little galling before parenthood, nothing could have readied him for her inordinate level of efficiency when it came to ensuring that provision had been made for their son's every possible requirement, in any given eventuality.
The car was packed to the rafters with an assortment of pram attachments; mountains of fresh diapers; medicine for any unforseen fevers; bags full of snacks and toys; and spare sets of clothes appropriate for a variety of weather conditions, most of which were highly unlikely to come to pass on this pleasantly mild and unextreme early September day.
Chandler was short of both breath and patience by the time they had made the multiple required trips up and down the stairs from the apartment to their vehicle, grumbling quietly and pointlessly to himself that they appeared to have packed enough stuff for a month overseas, rather than for a day out in Connecticut.
However, when Jack was all strapped into his baby seat and they were finally ready to depart, excitement took over and all was quickly forgiven.
As Monica slid into the passenger seat; her smile radiant and her summery cotton dress hitching up to expose an attractively sun-kissed thigh; Chandler eyed her admiringly, his mind drifting dreamily back to the equally secretive trip the two of them had taken to Atlantic City some twelve months previously.
He shot her a smouldering grin as he recalled those tentative first steps they had made towards reigniting the lingering sparks of London, and how when they were finally alone in that hotel room, those sparks had flared so readily into a full blown inferno of passion.
Memories of that weekend never failed to provoke an electrifying thrill down his spine.
But of course, Jack had been a barely perceptible swell in his mother's belly back then, and a far less troublesome travel companion than he would go on to prove himself to be today.
The drive to Golden Oaks had looked non-intimidating and straightforward enough on a map, but despite having taken great care to plan their journey around Jack's feeding and sleeping schedule, their generally smiley and easy-going little boy seemed keen to let his parents know that he was anything but predictable.
He remained wide awake and vociferously furious for the entirety of the two hour drive, and his unconcealed rage inevitably began to cause ructions between his tense parents.
Initially irritable whimpers had eventually given way to the kind of inconsolable wails that tore at Monica's heart, compelling her to remove her seat belt, against Chandler's advice, and clamber inelegantly into the backseat hoping that she might soothe their miserable son.
Unfortunately, his mother's proximity served only to exacerbate Jack's despair, as he was completely unable to understand why she was failing to rectify to his obvious desire to be removed from the incarceration of his safety seat.
The little boy's anguish proved contagious, and it was not long before Monica joined her son in bombarding Chandler with repeated angry requests to find somewhere appropriate to stop the car.
Chandler, however, was in both the literal and figurative driving seat on this occasion; and working on the assumption that multiple stops would simply prolong the agony of the journey, he argued that the best course of action would be to forge on to their final destination as quickly as possible; and he stubbornly resisted their pleas.
By the time their tires crunched along the tree-lined driveway of the idyllic country retreat, to be welcomed with a wave and a serene smile from Nicola, the wedding co-ordinator, the atmosphere in the car crackled with animosity and Chandler imagined that he and Monica must appear less like two besotted lovers planning a romantic elopement, and more like a pair of world-weary sparring partners seeking last-ditch mediation.
As they emerged from the vehicle and followed Nicola towards the Reception Lodge, Chandler braved a wary glance towards his fiancée, but gone were the soft and sultry smiles that had reminded him of that wonderful weekend in Atlantic City: Instead, Monica returned an icy glare, her lips set in a decidedly haughty pout as she hoisted Jack to her hip, smoothed his fluffy blonde hair, and wiped a rogue tear from his flushed cheek. Chandler grimaced and felt slightly alarmed to note that their baby's huge blue eyes seemed to be regarding him with matching reproach.
However, just as soon as Nicola began to guide the trio around the picturesque tranquility of the venue, the lungfuls of clean air, the calming sounds of leaves rustling in the end of summer breeze, and the gentle trill of birdsong allowed the fraught New Yorkers to decompress and put the horrors of the car journey behind them; and they were soon back to their loving and harmonious best.
Overwrought and thoroughly exhausted, Jack drifted off into an angelic slumber the moment Monica cocooned him in his pram, enabling her and Chandler to devote their full attention to exploring the various luxuriously designed, yet pleasantly rustic log cabins, and the spectacularly scenic open spaces that would be available to them to celebrate their intimate wedding.
Being suddenly able to picture their wedding day so vividly, caused a delicious surge of mutual excitement and a return of their shared starry-eyed grins.
Nicola meticulously explained the intricacies of the venue before leaving Monica and Chandler alone, encouraging them to wander the site at their leisure, in order to allow themselves to get a feel for the place and decide whether it suited their requirements.
After a companionable, arm-in-arm saunter around the periphery of the lake, the family came to rest in the tree-sheltered area at the water's edge, where wedding ceremonies were held.
Chandler parked the pram in the cool dappled shade of the gnarled old oak, beneath which he and Monica could potentially be exchanging their marriage vows in a matter of weeks.
"It really is so beautiful here," Monica enthused, as she lowered her body to perch on the edge of the sun-bleached wooden veranda that overlooked the lake, kicking off her sandals and taking a moment to enjoy the glorious sensation of pushing her toes through the summer-scorched grass; her lips curving into a smile of pure enchantment as her cobalt eyes followed a family of water birds sailing gracefully through the reeds.
"It's just so peaceful! And I love the log cabin! Staying over here is going to feel like we get a mini honeymoon as well as a wedding!"
Her eyes twinkled with excitement as she gazed up at Chandler with a pixie-like beam.
He grinned back indulgently as he sat down at her side, delighted to see that Monica seemed as captivated by it all as he was.
"So you like it?" he checked, almost rhetorically, "You can imagine us getting married here? "
"I really can," she told him blissfully, resting her contented head against his shoulder. "It's perfect".
After the trauma of the car journey, neither needed to verbalize their mutual desire to make the most of the fact that Jack was still fast asleep, by pausing in this secluded idyll to savor a rare moment of peace in each other's company.
Chandler wrapped an arm around Monica's shoulders and she reached up to capture his hand, threading her fingers intimately through his; they leaned into each other, stretching out their legs to bask luxuriantly in both the residual warmth that radiated from the decking and the continuing gentle rays of the afternoon sun.
"Where do you think we should go when we eventually get around to our real honeymoon?" he wondered dreamily, placing a mellow kiss against her temple.
The couple had decided that attempting a distant or lengthy vacation with a baby in tow was far too ambitious a feat to consider; and today's tempestuous trip had certainly reiterated that judgement; but until Jack was a little older they were equally unwilling to contemplate leaving him with friends or relatives for more than a night, concluding that their only real option was to postpone their honeymoon until a later date.
"I don't know" Monica mused lazily, stretching her arms and giving a relaxed yawn "Somewhere hot, maybe? With a nice beach..."
"Not London then?" Chandler proposed with a smile; but his brow furrowed when he noticed that Monica suddenly looked a little uncomfortable.
"Would you like to go back to London?" she countered lightly.
"Yeah, for sure! " he gave a wistful smile "One day. Doesn't have to be for our honeymoon though, if you want to avoid the rain."
He eyed her curiously as he felt the tiniest twitch of unease in her body.
"What's wrong?" he asked, poking the tip of her nose affectionately, a little disconcerted by the sudden shift in her demeanor, "I was kinda under the impression that London was a happy place for the two of us?"
She tucked her knees up against her chest as she met his eyes and trailed her delicate fingers down his cheek.
"Of course it is," she told him softly, "London was... magical."
She turned to gaze out over the lake, a glance of a frown bothering her forehead as she admitted quietly, "It's just that when I think about London, I can't help thinking about being apart from you when we got back from London. "
She looked down sadly, her eyelashes brushing her cheeks, "I know we've been over it a million times, and I know we've moved way beyond all of that stuff now, but I still wish I'd just been brave enough to cross the hall to your apartment, and be honest with you the minute we arrived home in New York. We wasted precious time...and I guess I'll always regret that."
Chandler drew her closer as his thoughtful gaze moved to parallel hers, over the glassy serenity of the motionless water.
"I wish I'd been brave enough to cross the hall too. I so nearly did," he told her honestly before giving a philosophical shrug, "But when I look back on our friendship, me and you had so many near misses over the years. There's no point in having regrets."
Monica's gaze moved back from the lake to observe him with interest as he spoke.
"Do you remember all those years ago, when you were so sad about Phoebe moving out, and you needed a hug? And you were just wearing a tiny little fluffy towel? I can still remember how you felt in my arms and I sometimes wish I'd just done what a part of me wanted to do, and just leaned in and kissed you, right there and then...I often wondered what would have happened if I had..."
A coy smile tugged at Monica's lips as her mind drifted back, contemplating how different things might have been if the comfort she had drawn from that embrace had been allowed to escalate.
"Then, at other times, I think about that beach house in Montauk, and what might have happened if I'd been able to convince you that I really was good boyfriend material..." Chandler continued.
A hint of sadness swelled briefly in Monica's eyes at the now unfathomable idea that she had ever doubted their romantic compatibility, but Chandler's face dissolved into a wolfish grin as he continued his reminiscence.
"And do you remember that time you drew me that sexy little diagram, and gave me a "tutorial" on female anatomy? I often wish I had just dragged you away to your bedroom, and asked you for a practical demonstration instead... I still think about that one quite a lot actually..."
Monica raised her eyebrows as she examined his face, her nose crinkling as a wide smile of amusement crept across her lips.
Chandler paused for a moment, his eyes clouding over and becoming serious once more.
"The point is Mon, we've known each other and cared about each other for such a long time... It's like the Butterfly Effect, I guess: It feels like there were hundreds of little moments throughout our friendship when one or other of us might have gotten brave enough, or drunk enough to have made one tiny little change that could have brought us together sooner.
So the way I look at it; it doesn't really matter where, or when, or how it finally happened. The important thing is, I can imagine a thousand parallel universes, where we took those opportunities, and got together in a different way; but I can't imagine a single one where we didn't find each other at all. This was always going to happen eventually."
His arm squeezed her tightly against his chest and he smiled down at her.
"Me and you... we were written in the stars. We were always meant to be. I just know it."
Monica tilted her chin towards him and coaxed him into a kiss of intense tenderness.
"God, I love you" she whispered, resting her forehead against his for a moment so that she could lose herself momentarily in the turquoise depths of his eyes.
When she eventually drew back, a wry smile pulled at her lips as she told him "You should probably know that I'm expecting big things from your wedding vows, now that I know you're capable of coming up with profound stuff like that though."
Chandler smirked as he cupped her face in his hands and drew her into another ardent kiss.
"It's funny to think that in just a few weeks, this will be a special place for us too", he told her, the excitement that twinkled in his eyes inducing an poignant ache in Monica's heart: She did not think she could ever have imagined a universe in which Chandler Bing would appear so unreservedly enthusiastic about a wedding.
"I think it already is," she replied, brushing a wayward strand of chestnut hair from his forehead and promising "And we'll go back to London one day. No matter what else, that night is something I will never, ever regret".
Chandler was unloading the final consignment of unused baby paraphernalia from the car when he spotted Ross loping down Bedford Street towards him.
Chandler beckoned him over and took the opportunity to burden him with a changing bag and a stuffed toy dog before the two of them climbed the stairs to Apartment 20, where Monica was unsuccessfully attempting to spoon mashed butternut squash into Jack's resistant lips.
"Your son is being a terror," Monica informed her fiancé with a look of amusement, encouraging him towards the table to observe Jack's antics.
The baby was apparently engaged in a game of lulling his mother into a false sense of security; watching with wide innocent eyes and sweetly parted lips as she loaded up his small plastic spoon with the vegetable puree; locking his gaze with hers as he anticipated the spoon's approach only to whip his head away at the last minute, dissolving into raucous chuckles as he did so.
"Just look how hilarious he thinks is!" Monica laughed with indulgent exasperation, "I wonder who he gets that from..."
Chandler's face dissolved into an appreciative grin of mischief that was a carbon copy of Jack's, as he proudly admired what he considered to be evidence of his son's innate sense of comic timing.
He crouched down to blow a raspberry at the nape of Jack's neck; largely because it was the only part of him not encrusted with butternut squash; and told him in sing-song parentese "You are so naughty! And funny! And gross! And cute!"
Jack twisted round in his chair, squealing with excitement as he grabbed at his father with gloopy, orange hands.
"Yeah, he definitely takes after you," Ross told Chandler with an arch smile as he watched his nephew's entertaining hijinks, "Monica would have demolished that entire bowl and probably taken the spoon with it when she was a kid."
Monica shot her brother a sarcastic scowl and flicked out a leg to land a light kick of scolding against his shin, before relinquishing control of the baby spoon to Chandler, who had taken a seat at the table to find out if he might fare any better at delivering the meal to their son.
Monica noticed that Ross seemed to be contemplating their familial interaction with a hint of wistfulness and she began to examine his face curiously.
"I uh... I saw Joey today" Ross mentioned, with cautious nonchalance.
"Yeah? Is he OK?" Chandler's reply was blithe and conversational, engrossed as he was in his butternut squash challenge, but Monica regarded her brother's solemn brown eyes with concern, as she stood at the sink wiping her hands.
"Yeah" Ross continued "He was reading me a little of the speech he's started writing for your wedding".
Chandler and Monica exchanged a brief but loaded glance.
"So have you uh... officially asked him to be your best man yet?" Ross shuffled an uncomfortable toe against the floor as he spoke.
Chandler paused for a moment, thoughtfully stirring Jack's bowl of puree, before telling his friend in a low voice "No, I haven't. I haven't even thought about any of that stuff really..."
"You should." Ross said quietly, "Ask Joey, I mean. I know it's an awkward decision for you, but the more I've thought about it, I don't want you to feel like you have to ask me to be your best man, just because you were mine."
His earnest eyes moved regretfully between his best friend and his sister "I know I wasn't exactly... supportive... when I first found out about the two of you...I know I said some awful things."
"Ross..." Monica began to object, her face etched with guilt as she shared another distressed glance with Chandler.
"It's OK! I guess I'm just trying to say, I don't want you guys to feel guilty about picking Joey. You should pick Joey. He deserves it."
Chandler opened his mouth to speak but Ross pressed on, "But I just want to say, seeing the way you two are together? I feel like such an idiot for ever doubting you. You guys are like.. the perfect little family... and the best parents... and I just want you to know that I'm so proud of you both".
Chandler dared a glance towards Monica, who was regarding her brother with distinctly watery eyes.
"Thanks man, that means a lot" Chandler told him with gruff sincerity.
"And I can't wait to see you getting married. My best friend and my little sister..."
The wobble in Monica's chin as she approached Ross for a hug caused a wrench in Chandler's heart; and he breathed a sigh of relief when the sound of voices echoing in the hallway signaled the hopefully distracting arrival of Phoebe, Rachel and Joey.
As the trio filed into the room Rachel's eyes went straight to Jack, who beamed back at her as she dashed to his side asking "Where's my favorite baby? Did you have a fun day out with Mommy and Daddy? Did you go in the car?"
"Oh he loved the car," Chandler responded with a sarcastic grimace.
As she got closer to the baby however, she balked at his begrimed appearance and told him "Aunt Rachel wants to kiss you so bad! But you're so messy she's not gonna!"
"You know, the food is supposed to go inside the baby's mouth, Chandler." Phoebe chided sarcastically as she smiled down at the orange-tinged child.
"Feel free to show me how it's done." Chandler took the opportunity to pass the spoon to his friend in ceremonial fashion, standing to allow Phoebe to take his seat next to Jack, as he moved towards his pensive fiancée, placing a comforting hand against the small of her back.
"Hey Mon," Rachel approached excitedly, "Have you had a chance to think about your color scheme for the wedding yet?"
As Monica's brow instantly began to crumple in despair Rachel threw up her hands "No pressure, OK! I'm only asking because a girl from work told me about a bridal store in Brooklyn that's closing down, and she said they have some incredible bridesmaids' dresses that are so discounted they are practically giving them away. I wondered if you, me, Jack and Phoebe might head over there one day this week? There's a great Japanese place nearby too, so we could have lunch? Make a day of it?"
Chandler squeezed Monica's waist as she replied weakly, "That sounds really nice"
"Ooh that sounds like so much fun!" Phoebe interjected with a grin, as she gave Jack's face a cursory wipe with a cloth, "Can the bridesmaids' dresses not be green? I always think that color drains me a little..."
"Are you kidding? Green would be great! Green looks so good on you!" Rachel assuaged, "And on me..."
"I haven't really thought about it" Monica muttered stiffly, a hint of panic flaring in her eyes as she suddenly decided she needed an escape route "I'll be back in a second... I just need to uh... find... something..."
Rachel's confused eyes followed as Monica stumbled hurriedly towards her bedroom.
"She needs painkillers for a headache, " Chandler excused, "Jack was a total pain in the ass in the car, it's been a long day."
Phoebe shot Chandler a look of outrage on Jack's behalf, covering the baby's ears with her hands lest he understand his father's accusation and take offense.
Chandler ignored her disapproval, asking her , "Are you OK to keep feeding him while I check on Mon?"
His question seemed somewhat unnecessary, since he was already following in Monica's wake, but still, Phoebe nodded her compliance.
He found Monica sitting at the end of the bed, chewing anxiously at a fingernail, her eyes large and forlorn.
As soon as he closed the bedroom door, Chandler knew what was coming.
"We can't do this" she told him in a sorrowful whisper, "We can't lie to them, Chandler, I'm so sorry. I know it was me who suggested that we should elope; and I know how much you loved Golden Oaks; and I know that it's our wedding and it should be about us... but those guys; they kind of are "us". It just feels really wrong to keep it all from them...I'm so sorry..."
"It's alright," he told her quietly as he sat at her side, looking more than a little dejected, "I actually kind of agree with you. I felt terrible when Ross was saying all that stuff before. I don't feel right about it either."
They sat together in subdued silence for a moment, both of their minds drifting back to the tranquil and intimate perfection of their secluded lakeside haven.
"I really loved that venue, though. When we were sitting together by the water today, I could really imagine us saying our vows there. I could picture it all so clearly, you know?" Chandler complained with a disappointed sigh, "Damn Ross and his stupid, sad, puppy-dog eyes!"
"Well, I'll speak to Nicola-"
Monica was desperate to find a way to extinguish the sadness she could see in his face, but Chandler interrupted her with a pessimistic sigh.
"Mon, they don't do bigger weddings there. She was super clear about that. It's elopements only."
Monica's face was full of remorse and as Chandler looked back into her mournful blue gaze he admonished jokingly, "Look at you! You're even worse than Ross! Man, you Gellers have me wrapped around your fingers! You just walk all over me."
"I'm sorry" she whispered again, pressing a kiss against his shoulder.
"So what now? "Plan A"? Spend all of our money on some fancy hotel wedding where I can spend the day a bag of nerves, sweating profusely in front of all of the cousins you haven't seen in decades?" Chandler proposed gloomily, "Or Plan B? Save some cash and book a rec center, so that Rachel can spend the day crying into a vat of Phoebe's homemade vegetarian chili?"
Monica gave a morose chuckle before wrapping her arms tenderly around his neck. "No Sweetie. I swear there will be a Plan C. I really want you to feel excited about it all again; just leave it with me OK? I promise I'll think of something".
She brought her fingers to his cheek and guided his lips gently towards hers.
"See there you go again, working the Geller magic. You know just how to get around me don't you?" he told her between her peppering of soft kisses.
"Well I hope that's a little different to how Ross does it?" she checked, and the two shared a wry smirk before she assured him, "There's no way we're going to have a wedding you're uncomfortable with Chandler, I promise."