A/N: *cricket sounds* Hey guys! Are you still there? Wow, it's been four months since I wrote something. How I've missed it! As I have mentioned before, I worked on my thesis and I'll have you know that it worked out very well! So, yay! :D I'm still gonna busy though with the practicum phase of my degree program but I'll do my best to write as much as I can. Anyway, I promised to write updates on my stories by the latter part of August so here it is. Been working on Memories of You and TOW The Secret Admirer and we'll get to them soon as well ;) Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews of my stories! :)

So here it is, been awhile since I wrote so it probably sucks. Still hope you like it, though. :)

"Hello Ross, it's Monica. We're here at the hospital. Daniel just had an attack... No, good thing he's fine for now but he has to get surgery soon...Yes, please tell Mom and Dad...I don't know when we'll be out but I think we'll still be here until Monday...Okay, I'll wait for you...Love you too."

Monica hung up the phone and took a deep breath before grabbing some food and water for herself and Chandler. As she opened the door to Daniel's room the sight before her. Chandler fell asleep on Daniel's side with his face on crossed arms and one hand holding his son's own. She slowly crept inside the room and took her place on the corner sofa; not wanting to disrupt the moment before her.

"No Daddy, please don't leave me again..." Chandler woke to a start at Daniel's soft cries. "Sshhh Daniel, calm down now, Daddy's here and I won't leave you anymore. I promise."
The boy carefully opened his eyes, afraid that his nightmare is playing tricks on him. "Daddy! You're still here..." He hugged his father tight feeling relieved.
"Where's Mommy?" He asked his father. "I'm right here, honey." Monica reassured his son. Daniel fell asleep soon after taking his medicine.

"I'll just go to the bathroom." Chandler excused himself. When Chandler came back, he saw Monica sitting outside the room. "Hey." He started. "Hi." She replied back. "So..." He continued. "Listen uh...Chandler, I just would like to thank you for all the help you did today." She finally said with a small smile. "It's really nothing. Anything for my son." He smiled back. "Yeah, that's what I'm most grateful for - you being calm about all this. It really means a lot that you want a part in his life."

"No, it really means a lot that you are willing to let me be a part of his life, Mon." He said. "You deserve to, I'm sorry." She said, feeling guilty.

"Hey, you should probably go home; take a shower, get a rest. You had a long day." Monica suggested. "Oh no, it's really fine. I promised Daniel I won't leave, anyway." The truth was, he's exhausted. The minute he got off the plane, he headed for Monica's apartment. And if Monica hadn't offered him a sandwich earlier, he would have never eaten. He was so worried about his son that he can't get himself to take a breather.

Besides, "home" means a hotel room with a large lonely bed and a cold shower. He would rather be with Daniel and Monica. God, how he wanted to talk to Monica seriously and set everything straight. But nothing matters more than Daniel now, and he'll wait. "Please Chandler, I insist." Monica said. "Okay, I'll be back first thing in the morning. Good night." "Good night, Chandler." She waved him goodbye and headed back to Daniel's room to sleep.

As promised, Chandler went back early in the morning. He didn't have much sleep last night, because he was so eager to see Daniel again. He opened the door to find Monica arranging the get-well-soon cards and basket of fruits by the end table. She seemed to enjoy it so well. Same old Monica; he smiled. He knocked on the open door to make his presence known. "Good morning, Monica." He greeted her. "Good morning, Chandler." She glanced at her watch. "And I see you really meant you'll be here first thing in the morning." It was 6 AM and the Chandler she knew usually wasn't the early riser. Well, I promised and I wanted to be here when Daniel wakes up. Were you alone here all night? I told you I could stay." He said. "No, Ross came by last night but he had to leave because he got Ben. And my parents were here too, they'll come back around 9." Monica explained.

There were a few moments of silence before Chandler started again. "If you don't mind me asking, do your parents know about us? I mean, do they know about me being Daniel's dad?" He asked carefully. "Yes, they know and don't worry they're not mad at you." Monica simply said. Chandler held a sigh of relief. Truth be told, he was scared of encountering Monica's parents given their situation.

After a few routine tests, Daniel was finally cleared to go home in the afternoon. He has regained his strength and is feeling much better. When Monica's parents arrived, they greeted Chandler and told him that they were thankful for his help. They explained that their situation wasn't ideal but they respect their daughter's decisions and will just be there to support her. "I only ask you one thing Chandler; don't break Daniel's heart. I know you promised that you'll be there for him and we're counting on you keeping your word. Even though you just met, he loves you very much. Monica made sure that he knew you." Jack said firmly.

Chandler insisted on settling their bills and even offered to drive them home. Jack and Judy brought some of Monica's stuff with them as they left early. Knowing that he would stay for a while in New York, Chandler requested to rent a car so he could travel easily. The child seat at the back row of the car came as a surprise to Monica. "Wow, someone's ready. How did you even manage when you just got here two days ago?" Monica said, slightly amused by how eager Chandler is as a father. "I made some requests here and there. Anyway, if I want to be a good dad, this is one of those little ways and I plan to do it right." He smiled. "Okay Daniel, let's keep you settled." Chandler said as he carried down to his seat. "Okay, Daddy." Daniel replied with a huge grin. Monica wanted to cry looking at the son and father. She regrets not letting Daniel have this opportunity earlier and she's truly happy for having one.

"Daddy, where are we going?" Daniel asked his father. "We're getting you home buddy so you can rest well." Chandler replied as he looked over his son through the front mirror. "Oh, but can we go to the park first Daddy? Please? I was gonna go and play with Ben but I fell asleep. Please, Daddy?" The little boy begged his father. Monica who was keeping quiet turned to her son. "Honey, I think Daddy is tired so he needs to rest too. You can go with him next time, right, Chandler?" Daniel wasn't certainly pleased, shown by the small pout forming on his face. "Oh Mon, but I think we can go now. In fact, we're almost there." After a few blocks, they finally parked their car at Central Park. "Yay, Daddy! We can play, Mommy? Please?" Daniel asked excitedly. "Yes, but don't go far and don't tire yourself." Chandler volunteered to look after him and Monica settled on the bench while drinking a bottle of water.

"What's wrong, Daniel?" Chandler asked when he noticed that Daniel stopped playing. "I want to go on the monkey bars but I can't reach them." The boy said with a shrug. Chandler lowered himself and offered to carry his son. He carefully held the boy to the top bar. "Okay Daniel, you can play now. I'll hold you." Daniel giggled with delight. "Thanks Daddy!" From Monica's view she could see the perfect picture of the father and son.

After the monkey bars, Daniel wanted to ride the seesaw and his parents much obliged. Chandler was the doting father, spoiling his son and doing his requests. Daniel sat with Monica on one side and Chandler stayed on the opposite one. "Daddy, you look funny." Daniel laughed and Monica joined him. Chandler was struggling to keep his balance. The seesaw sure wasn't built for six-feet children. "Why, thank you Daniel." Chandler said.

"Daddy, can I have a piggy back ride?" Daniel tugged on his father's shirt. They were eating corn dogs. "Of course, as soon as we finish our snacks." Chandler ruffled his son's hair. "Are you sure, Chandler? You look tired already." Monica was genuinely worried. She also thought that Chandler was doing more than enough daddy duty for the day. "It's perfectly fine, Mon. Just a little workout - and what do you mean by tired? I've never been more energized in my life!" Chandler replied gleefully. "Okay, all aboard!" Chandler said, patting his back. "Mon, wanna go for a walk?" Monica agreed and they walked towards the pond. Chandler was his playful self and ran around chasing his son.

"Daddy, let's feed the ducks!" The child was already grabbing some of the bread they bought and threw it to the water. "Let me keep your back dry first, Dane." Monica wiped Daniel's back and placed a towel behind his shirt. She then looked over Chandler who was huffing as he drank water. "Hey Chandler, you got sweat all over your face." She grabbed a new towel and gently wiped the beads of sweat forming on Chandler's face." Chandler stopped drinking and kept his gaze on Monica. Both seemed lost in the moment, not exchanging words but relishing the small contact. He was about to take Monica's hand when they Daniel's voice snapped them back. "Daddy? Mommy?"

Meanwhile...

"You were right, Chandler Bing is in fact in Central Perk with a woman and a little boy." The first man said while the other was busy taking pictures.

"Yeah, I got pictures of him carrying the kid. Wonder if it's his?" The second man replied. "Wait a minute, this woman's familiar." He said as he zoomed further his camera. "That's Monica Geller! The celebrity chef who just suddenly left a few years ago?"

"Oh yeah! Weren't they like best friends before? And wow, they look so...domesticated."

"This is solid press, Chet! This story will be blowing up the headlines tomorrow. Big bucks, man!"

After the trip to the pond, they finally called it a day and Chandler drove them home as planned. Daniel was asleep so Chandler carried him to the apartment. "Thank you for today, Monica. I sure hope this is not the last time." Chandler said as Monica led him to the front door. "No really Chandler, thank you. And yes, you can come visit Daniel any time." She replied. "I know we talked about this already but I just wanna make sure. About Daniel, please let me help you with his surgery. I'll do everything I can to get him well as soon as possible." He said. "I know you'll insist even if I told you it's too much of a burden for you, so okay. You can help Daniel and again, thank you." She replied calmly. "This means so much, Mon. I'll keep in touch. I'll visit Daniel tomorrow."

"Good night, Chandler." She waved him goodbye. "Good night, Mon." He said as he headed back to the car. "But wait-" He called back. "Listen, I really want to talk to you. I mean...about everything. As soon as Daniel gets better, please Mon? Can we talk?" He asked her, guilt washing over his face. "I guess. We'll see..." Monica said. She knows that she does want to, but there's a part of her that's too scared to face the ghost of the past five years. "Okay, thanks again, Mon. I'll go now."

The next day, Monica woke up to constant knocking on her door and continuous beeps on her phone. She first checked on Daniel and found the boy still sleeping peacefully, to her relief. "I'm coming!" Monica said as she got a robe and quickly washed her face. "Is there a problem, Mrs. Adelman?" She asked the 50-something landlady who lives on the fifth floor. "Didn't you hear the commotion outside? A lot of press people are looking for you! They'd been snapping pictures of the building, asking me where you are. You know I don't mind the free advertisement; we still got 3 units left but-" Monica cut her off. "Oh my God! This is bad! How did they even find me? Oh no, Daniel. I can't let them harass my son!" Monica spiraled on.

"But wait a minute, Monica. I didn't know you were famous! You'd been hanging out with Chandler Bing? And him and your son is pretty close, too. So, what's the deal?" The woman asked enthusiastically. She then showed Monica the day's tabloid with a picture of Chandler carrying Daniel and her smiling at them on the cover page. The headlines read: "Happy Family? "I'm sorry Ms. Adelman but I believe your asking me a very personal question I'm sure you saw that I have so much to deal with now, so please leave now and goodbye. We'll also be moving out soon." She said as she quickly closed the door. She checked her phone and a number of friends were bombarding her with questions about the incident. There were also many calls from her parents and Ross. She looked over the window and true enough, about fifteen paparazzi were looking up the building. "There she is!"The people said simultaneously and this prompted Monica to lock the windows shut.

She picked up her phone and dialed Chandler's number. "Pick up. Pick up. Pick up."

"Hello?" A sleepy voice answered.

"Yes, what the hell is happening?!"

A/N: Little cliffhanger ;) Thank you for reading! Please leave me a review if you can. :)