A/N: So you see that I've changed my penname… Yeah, the extra 'y' in 'Cindyy' irked me to no end. And also, for the sake of simplicity, uniformity, and reader preference, I've changed the alignment in all my 'fics from centered to left.

This story is dedicated to three people who've encouraged me through all my series - gAnGsTa GaBbY lOvEs JoKeR, Emily J, and Veridissima. You've no idea how much your reviews mean to me. Thank you for the continuous support! :)

Of Life and Love

Chapter 1

"I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once."

-John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

~.~Air~.~

"I thought I'd lost you forever," Chandler murmurs against her hair.

Monica holds him tightly. 'Wonderful Tonight' plays in the background, but they are no longer aware of it. They stand still in the middle of their living room, with the candlelight casting a yellow glow on the walls. The walls shimmer in the light, looking almost kaleidoscopic through her tear-filled eyes. She brushes her lips against his. "I am sorry." She shakes her head, allowing the tears to fall.

She is sorry for the heartache that she'd caused him, caused them. She is sorry for nearly letting him go. She is sorry for almost letting them down.

She draws back and meets his eyes, the same blue eyes that she'd fell in love with, now shining with tears. "I love you," she murmurs, her gaze holding his. She'd said these three words to him a million time, but for some strange reason, they've always seemed insufficient to encompass what she feels for him. "So much," she whispers, her voice cracking as she says it.

His lips curve into a small smile, the smile that is meant for her and her alone. In that moment, she knows that nothing in the past matters. In that moment, she knows he loves her as much as she loves him, even without him saying so. But that doesn't deter him.

His hand moves from the small of her back to her face. He wipes her tears away even as he smiles through his own. His other hand removes her arms from around his neck and brings her fingers to his lips. He kisses her knuckle, just below the finger onto which he'd just slipped a ring. "I love you, too." His own tears tumble down his cheeks, but he doesn't bother to brush them off. "So much."

She stands on her toes again and kisses him on the lips. She suddenly feels short of air, but as long as she is in his arms, everything would be alright. As imperative as it was for living, she could live without it.

He is her air.

~.~

~.~Baby~.~

He holds the cigarette to his lips, watching the smoke as it fills the dark black night around him. This is his fresh air. He holds the cigarette tightly in between his fingers. This is the sixth finger he never had.

The doctor's words resonate in his brain. The chances of you and Monica conceiving a child together is very, very low. He exhales a puff of smoke.

It is unfair. It is all unfair.

At first, it'd been only for the sake of Monica. He hadn't been that keen on having a baby. But as days passed, the idea of a baby, their baby, became easier to imagine, more exciting to think of and made him as happy as it made her.

It would have been their baby, a part of him and her.

But life had its own plan, and it did not include their happiness.

She had told him that she felt sleepy and had went to bed, but as he sits now in the balcony, in the middle of the night, he knows she is still awake, eyes closed, tears seeping through the corners of her closed eyelids.

He takes a deep drag and holds it in for a moment.

He had promised Monica that he wouldn't smoke. But he had promised her that he would always keep her happy, too, and he had failed in that respect. So what difference did this make?

"It's not good for your sperm count, y'know?"

He turns his head as he hears her voice. She looks tired and haggard. Her hair looks mussed from bed. Her eyes are red-rimmed.

"Says who?" He stubs the cigarette out, watching her as she sits beside him.

She shrugs, leaning her head on his shoulder. He holds her close, and he feels her tremble against him a few seconds later.

Nothing he could ever say can ease her grief. So he allows her to cry on his shoulder, his own throat burning with tears that he cannot shed, not with her beside him.

He speaks when she finally runs out of tears. "I am going to get us through this."

His voice holds a quiet determination that she had never heard from him, but in this moment of despair, nothing comforts her. She nods against his chest, not quite believing him.

"I will get us through this, Mon," he repeats, the conviction in his voice unwavering. "You know, right?"

She pulls back from his embrace and looks up at him. One look at his confident face fills her with a sense of safeness. She nods again, breathing through the pain in her heart. "I know."

~.~

~.~Crave~.~

She craves his touch, she craves his kisses.

She craves him.

Her brother sleeps outside his bedroom and they both know that she has to leave before the sun rises. She should have left fifteen minutes back.

She tries to rise from the bed now, kissing him slowly for one last time. She sits up on the bed, only to be pulled back by him, against him.

"Don't go," he whispers, holding her tightly.

The smile on his lips and the pleading look in his eyes almost convince her. She forgets about Ross for a moment and allows him to pull her closer to him as he moves forward to kiss her.

Then she hears the boxes being moved around, and someone muttering about how heavy they are. Her brother is awake.

She pulls back abruptly, holding the sheets to her chest. "We cannot do this now, Chandler," she admonishes him, searching for her clothes on the floor quickly.

But he smiles at her calmly, and gets hold of her arm.

Her eyes widen in surprise when he pulls her back down next to him, moving on top of her, pinning her beneath him.

"Chandler, I really, really don't thi-" she starts, but he cuts her off with a kiss.

He pulls back leisurely a few moments later. "But, Mon, it's probably just Joey."

On any other day, she'd have tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but now she lies beneath him, enjoying the warmth of his skin. She wonders about the sensibility of her action, but she doesn't care. Not when this feels this right. "I think we both know it's Ross." She hooks her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

"Ok." He nods, grinning. "But we both also know that you cannot leave as long as he's still outside, awake." He brushes her hair from her face and strokes her cheek.

It's their very own rendition of 'Baby, it's Cold Outside', a daily morning ritual. She would have usually thought of a good plan to get herself out of his apartment, but today, she feels the urge to stay in his embrace.

She knows why. Only, she cannot tell him.

"Touché," she whispers back, tilting his chin as she leans in to kiss him.

He obliges happily. Unknown to her, he feels the same urge and he knows exactly why.

He craves her, too.

~.~

~.~Daniel~.~

He watches as his wife sleeps, tired from all the painful hours that she'd spent in trying to bring their son into the world. She deserves it, he concludes, as he glances down at his son in his arms.

The little boy looks up at him with bright blue eyes, staring straight into his, rarely blinking. Chandler chuckles as the baby yawns slowly and contently before resuming the staring contest.

They hadn't decided on a name yet. They had been too careful not to get their hopes up. The fear of losing the baby had kept them from getting too attached, and that included not picking a name before the baby was born. They hadn't even known the sex of the baby.

But as he holds his son now, he knows that he would even give his own life to protect his baby. He feels the same sense of happiness and protectiveness that he'd felt when he'd first held Jack and Erica. He knows he'd never let anything hurt his children.

There is a knock on the door, and Phoebe enters a moment later, carrying his firstborns. The twins, who are now a year old, run towards their father as Phoebe places them on the ground. "They want to see their brother," she says, her voice hushed, and leaves out the door, smiling.

"Da!" exclaims Erica, lifting her hands up for him to lift her.

He laughs as he stands up, moving towards the bassinet near Monica's bed. He places the baby in it, watching him yawn again. He then bends down to lift Erica and Jack, each in one arm. They climb into their dad's arms eagerly.

He brings them near the bassinet, watching the looks on their face – curiosity on Jack's, fascination on Erica's. He points with his finger, at the baby. "That's your baby brother," he tells them, wondering whether they can understand. "Baby brother," he whispers again, suddenly feeling nostalgic. He had thought this day would never come.

"Bubby," Jack repeats with a self-assured nod.

Chandler laughs again. "That's right. It's a baby."

"Daniel."

He turns to see Monica, now half-sitting on the hospital bed. He smiles at her widely. "What?"

"It's their baby brother Daniel," she explains, smiling back.

He looks at her, knowing that he had never seen Monica look happier. He feels like his own heart is about to burst.

He realizes that his heart is beating only for these four in the room.

Life wasn't so cruel, after all.

~.~.~

A/N: Okay, I think you can now see where I am taking this. This is more like ABC's of Mondler love.

26 is a very weird number. You can either divide it into two parts, each containing 13 segments, or into 13 parts, each containing 2 segments, neither of which are my preference. So I'll be doing about four or five segments per chapter, which means that the series would be around 6 chapters long.

So, how do you like this so far? Should I continue?