Well howdy! Here's a little post-season 10, extra mushy, plotless Mondler fic for ya'll. I just need to say a few things. First of all, I'm so sorry to the amazing and brilliant fanfic writer Monica-Bing. I know you just posted a fic with this topic recently and I'm very sorry to be posting it, too. (BTW, her fic is called In My Arms and it's brilliant, as always. If you haven't read it then, um, what are you waiting for? Close my fic and read it!) Secondly, this is actually a fanfic submission for two boards Ashlee's Chandler and Monica Message Board (at Ezboard.com) and the Chandler and Monica centered thread, Merge!, at Friends-Boards.com. If you haven't visited those boards yet, then I suggest you do because I love them. :) Also, I know this fic is slightly long, so I hope that's not a problem – I also hope it's not a problem for those of you who've been complaining that my 1,000 word chapters aren't long enough. :p Lastly, after that long ramble, I'm posting this fic at ffnet, as well, because I love you guys and wanted to give you some Chandler and Monica sap that hopefully, you'll enjoy. crosses toes Well, I guess I should shut up now.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, but - Yen! I thought of a birthday present you could get for me! I want Chandler! What? You can't – you can't do that? Liar! I see him in your closet! Give him to me! …And while your at it, I see Ron Weasley in there, too. You can't have both!!! (Hehe Ronione) Oh and I don't own the song Wonderful Tonight, as well, although I do own Eric Clapton's greatest hits CD, which is kinda like owning the song, in a way…
Chandler swung his feet off the bed and rubbed his eyes wearily as the cries filtered through the baby monitor sitting on the nightstand beside him. In the darkness, he felt around for the lamp, only to remember that they had not yet unpacked it. Frustrated, he was just about to get up and turn on the ceiling light, when he noticed Monica beside him. He could just barely make out her face by the moonlight that filtered in through the blinds, and she looked so peaceful. He didn't have the heart to wake her. Besides, the kick in the shin he'd just received spoke for itself – he was to take care of the babies alone.
He slid out of bed and bent down to rub his shin, before quickly heading out the bedroom door and down the hall. He entered the nursery and looked on helplessly. Both children, faces pink in distress, were wailing miserably from opposite sides of the room.
"What's wrong guys, huh?" he attempted fruitlessly as he leaned over Erica's crib and carefully picked her up, "Do you need a diaper change?" he lifted her up and sniffed, "Nope, not yet. Well, what is it? Come on, talk to your daddy," he sighed, "Okay, I know you're not supposed to be able to talk, but just this once please? I promise I won't tell anyone – not even your mommy."
However, even as he pleaded, the babies continued to cry. Chandler walked over to Jack's crib, with Erica nuzzled protectively against his chest. He leaned over and frowned. "Okay, okay," he muttered as he attempted to lift Jack with his free hand, "We can do this…" However, Chandler was unable to get a safe grip on his screaming son, "Okay, maybe we can't."
Chandler let out a sigh and looked around the room. It was the only room that had been unpacked so far. Monica had insisted upon setting the nursery up completely, even though Chandler complained that the babies wouldn't notice either way if the wall hanging of Winnie The Pooh went up or not. "It would've been more logical to set up our bedroom," Chandler muttered as he continued to survey the room.
The changing table stood between the two cribs, packed with enough diapers and baby wipes to change a whole city of diapers. If Chandler hadn't known better, he would have assumed Monica had known all along that they were going to be having twins. The crib on the far side had a mobile hanging from the ceiling above it, and a screaming Jack inside. Thankfully, Monica's mother had brought over an extra crib that her friend leant her earlier that day. Even though Monica had thought it would be comforting for the babies to sleep in the same crib for a while, Chandler had strongly opposed it, remembering a story he'd once heard about twins who had attempted to get married. "There's such a thing as being too close," he'd told Monica and, for once, she'd agreed.
Now, however, he couldn't help but wish they were in the same crib so that he could push it down the stairs to the kitchen or – something. Why didn't anyone teach him how to lift two babies at once?!
Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, he saw the baby carriage and a huge grin crept upon his face. "Of course!" he enthused, and he was almost certain that the babies had begun to wail even louder. Quickly but carefully he placed Erica inside before lifting Jack from his crib and placing him beside his sister.
"Your daddy's a genius," Chandler told them as he pushed the stroller down the hallway and toward the kitchen.
"A loud genius, is more like it," Monica mumbled as she walked up beside Chandler.
"You're awake? Sorry about that."
"Well, I don't know how anyone could sleep through that racket. Honestly Chandler, did you think the baby monitor only picked up baby's voices?"
"Sorry."
"Besides, I was getting worried. You were taking an awfully long time."
"Missed me?" he joked as they turned the corner and entered the kitchen.
"Well, I'm not used to sleeping without your snoring."
"Hey, I don't snore that loudly!"
Monica chucked as she began to warm up the formula. "Hopefully, they're crying 'cause they're hungry. You checked their diapers?""Well, I checked Erica's," he lifted Jack and sniffed in a similar fashion, "Nope, he still smells – well, tolerable."
Chandler lifted Erica from the stroller and cradled her in his arms again. Once the formula was ready, Monica lifted Jack and sat down with the baby lying on her lap, before she began to feed him. Chandler lifted the second bottle to Erica's mouth, watching as she immediately latched on.
"Well, they're not crying anymore."
"Nope."
They remained in silence, shocked by just how quiet the silence of the suburbs could be. The only sounds in the house were of the babies as they sucked furiously on their bottles. Once they finished and the babies were burped, Chandler began to wash out the bottles. He turned and marveled at the way Monica lifted the two infants into her arms and held them as if it was just as easy as holding one.
"Wow," he whispered, "You really are a born mother."
She blushed and looked down demurely at the babies, who were now relatively quiet, aside from their gurgles.
"You always have to be the best at everything, don't you?" he teased, "Even being a mother."
"That's not true!" she huffed.
Chandler stood next to her and brushed a stray stand of hair out of her eyes, before kissing her forehead. She smiled and, as he leaned forward, held out Erica for him to carry once more. Chandler cradled his daughter in his arms while she looked up at him with large, curious eyes. As they walked back toward the nursery, Chandler planted a soft kiss on his daughter's face. He blushed as he noticed Monica watching him intently, before averting his gaze to the hallway ahead of him.
Monica placed Jack back into his crib and leaned over it for a few moments, studying him as he stared up at the ceiling. She loved the way his arms and legs flared about, and she couldn't help but reach out and lightly grasp his tiny hand within hers. She bent down and kissed his head, marveling at how soft the skin felt against her lips.
However, on the other side of the room, as soon as Chandler put Erica down in her crib, she began to cry again. Chandler jumped slightly, started, before reaching down and lifting her again.
"No, no, don't cry! If you cry, you're gonna make your brother cry and if your brother cries –"
He paused when he realized Erica had ceased to cry. He looked toward Monica, puzzled, but she merely smirked in return.
"So you're a little trouble maker, huh?" he cooed, feigning admonishment with his free hand, "You just want to get your brother all riled up, don't ya?" Before Chandler could remove his hand, Erica had latched onto his pinky. Chandler stared down at her, momentarily so stunned that he was unable to do anything but blink. Slowly, he began to chuckle and looked toward Monica, who was fighting back tears. "She's got a strong grip," he whispered. He looked back down at Erica, "No, silly girl, I am not a nipple."
Monica placed a hand over her chest, as she watched her husband and daughter interact with one another. She had a feeling that this was the beginning of a strong bound between the two of them. She tore away her gaze and instead looked down at her son as he drifted off to sleep, and she could not thwart off the fond memories of her father teaching her how to ride her bike. It was then that she realized soon she would be making those types of memories for her own children, and she was filled with a sense of overwhelming anticipation.
She continued to watch her son as he drifted off, when she felt Chandler's hands rest on her shoulders. She turned to face him and smiled. He leaned his forehead against hers before returning the smile. Neither felt the need to use words, knowing fully well what was happening. They were a finally a family.
Monica turned back toward Jack, upon hearing him whimper slightly. However, he merely looked up at the ceiling, his chest rising and falling steadily with each breath.
"Is Erica asleep?" she finally managed.
"Yup."
Chandler leaned forward and kissed Jack on the cheek, before reaching out his hand and caressing the same spot he kissed. Before he could pull his hand away, he felt the familiar feeling and sighed; Jack was sucking on his finger. He looked up at Monica, completely floored, and she couldn't help but giggle at the look upon his face.
"Maybe I don't need to buy extra pacifiers after all," she joked.
"Haha," he responded and, after a minute, was able to remove his finger as Jack drifted off to sleep.
Monica returned to their bedroom with Chandler in tow, and immediately laid down on the bed. After a moment, she felt the bed weight shift and knew, without looking, that Chandler was lying on his back beside her. She turned and noticed his arm resting on the bed, with its palm resting upward. She reached out and placed her hand on top of his. He grasped her hand and squeezed it tightly for a moment, before loosening his grip slightly. She smiled and closed her eyes.
However, sleep did not come. She felt far too excited to sleep again. After all, they were in their new house with their children. This wasn't something that happened everyday in Monica's life – or ever, for that matter. Sleeping would only waste precious time. She looked at the clock and noticed it was midnight.
"Chandler?" she called through the silent darkness, "Are you awake?"
After a moment, he responded, "Yeah, are you?'
"What do you think?"
"Right. Can't sleep either?"
"Of course not."
He laughed and sat up, reaching for the television remote control that sat on the night table beside him. However, Monica leaned over and laid a hand upon his. He dropped the remote and turned toward her, propped up on his elbow.
"Yes? What can I do for ya?"
"Let's not watch TV."
"Okay."
"Let's do something else."
"Okay," he paused, "Like what?"
"I dunno…"
"If you're thinking of unpacking, then I'd rather just watch TV. Yes, I know the TV is propped up on boxes, and yes, I am fully aware of just how tacky that is, but it's midnight and I –"
"No, Chandler! I was hoping we could, ya know, talk."
"Talk? Sure? What about?"
"I dunno. Like back when we first starting dating and we were sneaking around…"
"Uhh, okay…" Chandler responded with raised eyebrows, before leaning over and kissing her.
"No!" Chandler jumped back, feigning fear, "I said talk like we did back then, not have sex like we did back then!"
"We talked back then?"
She smacked his arm, "Yes, we talked back then."
"You mean like phone sex?"
She sighed, exasperated, "No. Remember that time we stayed up all night just talking about our childhoods?" Chandler nodded and smiled, "It was amazing how much I didn't know about you, even after being friends for so long."
"I know," Chandler responded, placing his arm around her shoulder, "That was pretty great."
"Oh and remember," she laughed, "Remember that time we prank called everyone?"
He, too, began to chuckle at the memory. "That was great. To this day, Ross still thinks drunk Rosie O'Donnell called his house."
"Well, I do do a good drunk Rosie, don't ya think?"
She smiled and stuck her tongue out slightly, as he tightened his grip around her shoulders.
"Wanna do it again?"
"Yeah!" Monica enthused, turning on her side to pick up the phone, "Oh, but wait –"
"Hmm?"
"Rachel's there."
"So?"
"So that means we're either interrupting…something, or, worse, waking Rachel up."
"Ohhh. Yeah, not such a smart idea."
"Nope, definitely not."
They sat in silence for a moment, and then Chandler opened his mouth to ask a question, but was cut off when Monica began.
"Did you ever think we'd get here?"
He frowned in the darkness, "Yeah…of course. Why? You didn't?"
She began to play with a loose thread on their blanket, "I don't know, honestly. I mean I'd always dreamed of this day, but…"
"Not with me?"
"What? No! It was just, I don't know, I always thought it was just a dream, ya know? Sometimes you dream of these perfect things, but you sort of only dream because, in the pit of your stomach, there's this feeling that it's never going to be anything more than just a dream," he nodded slowly, "I guess that's how I've felt. I've been expecting it, but at the same time I've…not. It's weird."
"Well, it's here now, whether you like it or not."
"Yeah, but I do like it. No, I love it."
Chandler smiled, "How do you know? It's been one day."
"I know but – still."
"I know what you mean. It's really exciting. The funny thing is, I never thought I'd want this. But you made me see how much I do. You've broken the infamous Chandler Bing!"
She raised her eyebrows, "Infamous?"
"Yes, I had quite a reputation, back in my prime."
"In this world?"
He laughed, "Okay, fine. But, I wasn't exactly Father-of-the-year material."
"You are now."
"You're going to make me overconfident, babe."
"It's true."
Chandler smiled and rubbed her hand, "Not before you get mother-of-the-year."
"I know."
He laughed and shook his head. Suddenly, cries became audible and they both rose at the same time. They held eye contact for a moment, before heading out the door. As they walked down the hall, Chandler turned to Monica and smiled.
"I bet it's Erica starting it up again."
"Now, don't assume things, Chandler."
"You think it's her, too, don't ya?"
Monica didn't answer. Instead, together, they entered the nursery and tended to the crying babies. Monica lifted Erica and instantly frowned, "Okay, this time it's definitely a diaper situation."
Chandler laughed, silently thanking Jack for not needing his diaper changed. "Told ya it was Erica." Monica just shook her head in response, but Chandler could see traces of a smile. He calmed Jack down by rocking him back and forth in his arms, before placing him back into the crib. Then he came over to Monica and Erica, at the changing table.
"Need a hand?"
"No, I'm good," she answered distractedly.
"Okay then, I'm gonna use the bathroom. Some of us don't get the pleasure of having our diapers changed by you."
"Lucky for you," she muttered, but flashed him a quick smile before turning her attention back to the task at hand.
Chandler took one last look at Monica and Erica, before heading down the stairs. When he entered the living room, he turned on a lamp that was sitting on top of three boxes, stacked together. Then, he rummaged through one of the boxes marked "living room," until he found the CD he wanted. The stereo was sitting inside an otherwise empty entertainment unit, and he struggled to reach into the back and plug in the stereo. Once he did that, he pressed eject and placed the CD in. Then, quietly, he headed back upstairs into their bedroom, swiping the baby monitor from its original place on his night table. With that, he headed back downstairs, but on the way, his wife's voice caused him to stop in his place.
"Chandler, what are you doing?!" she came out into the hallway and placed her hands on her hips, "Don't mess up the system!"
Chandler glanced down the hall at the many, many unpacked boxes sitting in their living room, before turning back toward her, "What system?!"
Monica shook her head, and attempted to steal the baby monitor from him. It was too late in the night for games, as far as she was concerned. However, Chandler just smirked and raised the monitor high above her, so that she was unable to reach.
"Chandler, do you want to sleep out on the couch on our first night in the new house?" she asked irritably.
"No, but come with me…"
He took her hand, and she followed hesitantly. When he stopped in the middle of the living room, she scrutinized him with suspicious eyes. "If this is like your 'pull my finger thing', I'm really not in the mood –"
"No, no, you'll see."
Before Monica could respond, Chandler turned his back to her and pressed play on the stereo. The familiar music of Wonderful Tonight filled the room.
"You're gonna wake the babies!" she hissed.
"Mon, the music's really quiet," he approached her, "They won't hear a thing, I promise," She stared at him blankly so he opened his arms for her, "Are you waiting for an invitation? There's only one person for me to dance with, you know?"
Monica couldn't help the small smile that forced its way onto her lips, "What are you doing?"
"I want to dance."
"Since when do you ever want to dance?"
"I don't mind dancing," upon Monica's disbelieving chuckle, he continued, "Well, I don't mind dancing with you, especially if we're alone. That way, you're the only one who could make fun of me, but you're stuck with this dancer, so the joke's actually on you."
She moved closer to him, but remained separated, "It's almost 2 AM."
"And there's never been a better time to dance."
"We're in our pajamas."
"So?"
"My hair's a mess. I'm not even wearing a bra."
"Your hair looks beautiful and I've never minded when your breasts sagged before."
"That's not gonna get me to dance with you, you know," she deadpanned.
"I know, I'm sorry," he continued to grin as he closed the gap between them and placed his arms around her. After a moment, he felt her arms wrap around his neck and he sighed, contented, when she buried her face on his shoulder. "Remember the last time we danced to this song?"
"Mmhmm, it was our wedding night."
"Yup. And I remember you were wearing that really sexy pink negligee. Do you still have that?"
"Maybe," she mumbled against his shoulder, "Do you remember the first time we danced to this song?"
"Of course. Our engagement night," he paused, "Out of all those times, I think this one's my favorite."
She lifted her head from his shoulder, "Really?"
"Well, yeah. It's the first time I know for certain what's gonna happen. I mean when we got engaged, I knew we'd get married, but I didn't know what was going to come along the way. And wedding night, same deal. I knew I'd spend the rest of my life with you, but I didn't know what that'd be like."
She frowned, "You don't know what's gonna happen now."
"Yeah, I know," he replied sheepishly, "But I do know that I've never been more happy to not know what's gonna happen."
"You lost me."
"I mean we've got everything, Mon. We have our family, we have each other, we have our friends – so, yeah, I don't know what's gonna happen, but I do know that we love each other and that's the most important part. We've been through a lot together recently, but we've gotten through and it's only made us stronger," he felt her nod against his chest and he continued, "What else do we need to know?"
Monica looked up and smiled broadly at him, too touched for words. She felt his grip around her frame tighten and she took in a deep breath. He was totally and completely right. They could get through anything. "We're pretty amazing," she finally responded, "Aren't we?"
"We're the best."
Monica chuckled and kissed him deeply on the lips as the song ended. As if on cue, the babies began to cry again and Monica reluctantly separated herself from her husband's warm embrace. She began to walk up the stairs as Chandler turned off the stereo. She stopped at the top of the stairs and watched as he jogged toward her. She smiled and grabbed his hand. He smiled back and squeezed it reassuringly. No matter how many times they would have to wake up during the middle of the night, they both knew it would all be worth it. They were finally a family and, even after only one day, neither Chandler nor Monica could imagine life any other way.
A/N: Wee, I haven't written sap in a long time! That felt GOOD. I miss sap. Where's the sap?! Oh, that's where's the love, isn't it? Oh well. :p Yes, anyway, I'm hyped on cold medication and erm, procrastinating studying for my Physics and Spanish final exams tomorrow, so I should go. Thanks for reading! Please leave me a review if you are so inclined, and if my hyperness hasn't scared you off. ;p