Always,
10
INTRODUCTION: Part 10 of 13, as most of you know... :) Not too much to tell,
this part brings the story a bit more forward than the last part did, though.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the "Friends" characters.
Monica groaned in pain and waited for the contraction to end. Chandler slowly
stroke her neck and held her hand. He felt like he was caught in hell, it was
devastating to see Monica in such pain when she was so sick.
"There…" he mumbled and stroke her forehead instead of her neck.
"You're doing great, Monica."
Monica felt the contraction fade out and felt relieved. But she knew the relief
wouldn't last for long. He had been in labour for five hours by now, and the
doctors were speeding the process up, using a new method they'd discovered the
year before. She looked at the glass wall, or more correctly at the people on
the other side. Her parents were there as well as Phoebe and her husband Tim,
Joey, Rachel and Ross. Regina was at home with Dana, and she hadn't been told
that her mother was in labour. Chandler didn't want her to worry.
"You doing okay?" Chandler asked Monica. "Do you need
anything?"
"A healthy body" Monica tried to joke, but she knew it wasn't funny.
"It won't be too much longer now, my darling" Chandler told her and
kissed her on the top of her head.
"That's correct…" the obstetrician that had been called in mumbled.
"Nine centimeters. Not much longer now, Monica."
"Doctor, how am I doing?" Monica asked, feeling very weak. "Will
I be able to do this?"
"I don't think we need to have a c-section done on you" the doctor
mumbled. He seemed to always mumble when he spoke. "But you're probably
gonna feel like hell once it's over."
"Thank you, how encouraging" Chandler hissed, annoyed.
"And the baby?" Monica asked, now with a lot of concern in her voice.
"Is my baby okay?"
"So far, yeah" the doctor mumbled.
"And will he or she survive?"
"How should I know?" the doctor mumbled. "We're going to have to
wait and see. But we're not giving up on your child straight off. And believe
me Monica, I have delivered children much more premature than just two months.
And I haven't lost a baby yet."
Monica smiled, content with the answer. She couldn't back out of labour now,
and knowing that her baby would most likely survive made her feel confident.
She looked up at her husband who was eyeing her with eyes full of worry.
"Sweetie…" he said. "Are you really sure you're doing okay?
You're not feeling sick or anything?"
Monica had a terrible head ache, and her arm hurt very much around the area
where she had the tumor. But she shook her head. Chandler knew that she only
meant that she wasn't too sick to be able to handle it.
*
Out in the outside room Phoebe was nervously pacing around.
"What on earth is TAKING so long?" she asked no one. "This isn't
good for her, she's looking to pale!"
"Phoebe relax" Tim said, putting his hands on her shoulders and
making her stop pacing. "It's labour, okay? And of course it's going to be
hard on her. What else did you expect? But the only doctor in there right now
is the obstetrician, it can't be that serious if her other doctor isn't
there."
Phoebe calmed down a bit and sat down on one of the five chairs in the room.
Monica's parents were in two of the others, and Joey was in another one. Rachel
and Ross were both too stressed to be able to sit down.
"Looks like she's having another contraction" Rachel said and started
biting her finger nails. "Gosh this is so horrible… I have never felt so
freaked out in my entire life… Not even when she was dead for a few minutes the
last time she was sick."
"I thought that was a lot worse than this…" Joey said. "I was in
the room with her just a minute before she… well, died. It was so intense and
so real to me."
"I think this is worse anyhow" Rachel said. "Because now we know
she's in a lot of pain, and that she's really sick. Not a good
combination."
"Chandler looks pretty weary…" Judy commented. "Poor man, this
isn't easy for him either."
"You can tell he's scared…" Rachel mumbled. "Because he didn't
freak out or anything when Regina was born. He was more calm than I'd ever seen
him before in my life! Now he's looking like he's afraid she'll die if she
closes her eyes!"
"He still seems to manage to make her laugh" Ross said with a smile,
seeing Monica laugh slightly to a comment from Chandler. "That's good. She
needs some cheering up."
"I'm gonna go call Dana and see how Regina's doing" Jack said and
rose from his chair. "I feel like I need to get out of here for a
while."
*
Monica saw her father rise and leave and she smiled slightly. She was happy
that her parents were there, even if they technically weren't in the room with
her. The doctors wanted only Chandler to be in there with her, since the room
was pretty small and there would be a large crew of doctors once the actual
delivery started.
She gave Chandler a weak smile. She was getting weaker by the minute, each
contraction took lots of her energy away. She made up her mind to try and keep
as still as she could, to save her strength.
She considered reaching up and stroking Chandler's cheek, but decided not to
since that would be a larger movement. Her smile got a little bit bigger when
Chandler met her eyes and weakly smiled back at her. Looking at him now made
her full of love and full of hope. Everything was going to work out okay now.
The baby would be born hopefully by the end of the hour, and then she would
only have to take care of herself. The treatment would start the next day,
giving her one night to rest first. And once the treatment started she would be
able to recover, and then come home to her husband and her two children.
Chandler leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. He looked deep into her eyes for a
few seconds, and then carefully kissed her with his tongue. He saw an even
wider smile on her face when he pulled back. But he also saw how weak she was
getting.
He wrinkled his forehead in thought just as she got another contraction. He
gently leaned her forward and rubbed the small of her back, but his mind was
elsewhere. When the contraction ended he leaned her back again, and then rose
from his chair. He went over to the doctor.
"Doctor," he said in a low voice, "this is taking too much out
of her. Look how weak she is. Wouldn't a caesarian surgery be better?"
"I don't know how well informed you are when it comes to cancer," the
doctor mumbled, "but no, that would not be better."
"Why not?"
"Cancer patients heal wounds very slowly. A cut can take days. Just
imagine how long it would take for her to heal after a caesarian. And the longer
it takes for a wound to heal, the bigger the risks for infection. And an
infection at this stage might very well kill her."
Chandler sighed and went back to Monica's side. She was looking ready to drift
off to sleep in any minute. Chandler put his arm around her and felt her relax
a little. Then she fell asleep. Although he was relieved that she was getting
rest, Chandler couldn't help feeling a bit worried that she wouldn't wake up
again. But three minutes later she got another contraction and woke up.
"Just try to take it easy, Mon…" Chandler said, hoping he sounded
calm. He hated every minute of this. What he wanted most of all was to leave,
to go somewhere else, somewhere where he didn't have to see and hear how the
woman he loved was in so much pain. It had been tough when Regina was born, but
now Monica was so sick and that made it all so much worse.
"This will all be over soon, my love…" he whispered to her, not
knowing if he was talking about the contraction, the birth or the disease.
Either way it didn't matter, and he hoped that it would be true in all three
cases.
Monica relaxed a little after the contraction and tried to go back to sleep. It
wasn't as easy as she'd expected though. She was starting to get an endorphin
rush, keeping her awake more efficiently than a cup of black coffee or a walk
in a cold windy night.
"Chandler I'm tired…" she whispered.
"Yes darling, I know you are" Chandler said softly. "But just a
little longer, okay? It can't be long now, you'll be having this baby in no time."
"I hope you're right…"
"Of course I'm right. When was the last time I was wrong?"
"Ten minutes ago when you said it would stop snowing."
Chandler looked out the window at the snowstorm that had just begun. He had a
sarcastic smile on his lips.
"Well you have to admit that if not else, you can at least listen to my
predictions for pure entertainment" he said. "Apparently they never
come true."
*
Fifteen minutes later the others watched through the glass wall when Monica
started to push. She was practically sitting up and had Chandler's arm around
her shoulders. He was talking to her but they couldn't hear what he was saying.
The small room was filled with doctors and with equipment to help save the
baby's life.
"Not long now…" Phoebe muttered to herself, more nervous than she'd
ever been. Not even when she'd given birth to the triplets had she felt this
nervous and anxious.
"Can't this just be over soon?" Rachel said in frustration and turned
her head away from the scene on the other side of the wall. She soon returned
to looking at it though.
Jack and Judy were standing together right behind Rachel, looking at their
daughter and son-in-law through the wall. They could hear through the wall how
the obstetrician in a loud voice told Monica to focus and to push.
"I hope poor Monica has got the strength to do this" Judy said.
"What a blessing that she's not having twins."
"Damn it, how long is this going to take?" Joey said and watched as
another midwife started talking to Monica.
*
Monica had her eyes closed in the intense pain and she could feel how the
doctor was pulling the baby out of her once the head was out. But she didn't
feel one bit relieved. This was the worst part of it all, waiting to hear if
the baby would scream or not. If it's lunges were developed enough.
She was too weak to cry, but she came awfully close when she heard a weak cry
from the baby. She opened her eyes but couldn't focus them at first. All she
could see was a fuzzy blur. Chandler kissed her lovingly on the top of her head
and she could feel him giving her shoulders a squeeze. Then she managed to
blink her vision back.
Her first thought was that he was bigger than she'd expected. Her son wasn't as
big as a normal child born after nine months, but he wasn't as tiny as she had
thought he would be. But his cry was weak, although somehow determined.
Chandler was looking at the baby as well, with a large smile on his face.
Monica had gotten her wish, they had a little son. He turned Monica's head
towards him and lovingly kissed her, not really noticing how weak she was.
*
From the other side of the wall Monica's family and friends saw Chandler rise
and leave her side, and they all had wide smiles of relief in their faces.
"Well, she did it…" Rachel stated, sounding proud and very emotional.
"Monica did it… And judging by the looks on their faces the baby is
okay."
All seven of them were trying their best to catch a glimpse of the baby, or
Monica, but both were blocked by a crowd of doctors and midwifes. The doctor
who had followed Monica throughout her disease so far was the only doctor they
recognized. And of course the obstetrician.
They could every now and then catch a glimpse of Chandler, who was standing
with his back turned to them, looking at the baby as two of the doctors checked
it's vitals. The room was organized chaos.
*
Chandler carefully held his son who was wrapped in a blue blanket. He smiled
big and walked over to the glass wall, so that the people on the other side
could see. He could see that Phoebe, Rachel and Joey had tears in their eyes
and that Monica's mother wasn't far from that state either. Chandler leaned
down and kissed his son on the forehead, then he walked over to Monica and sat
down on her bedside. Her eyes were closed and he wondered if she'd fallen
asleep.
"Monica, honey? Open your eyes. Open your eyes and meet your new
son…" he whispered to her.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked first at Chandler, then at the baby. She
smiled lovingly at the infant in her husband's arms. Chandler carefully placed
the baby in her arms. She was lying down again, and able to hold the baby even
though she was weak. The baby was sobbing lightly, but the warm blanket had
made him cry a lot less.
"God, he's so beautiful…" Monica whispered, gently letting her
fingertips trace along the baby's cheeks.
"And he's just fine, Monica" Chandler said with a voice filled of
love. "He doesn't seem to be in any immediate danger, and it's thanks to
you."
He kissed her lovingly on the forehead.
Monica looked up at the doctor standing closest to her.
"Can I nurse him?" she asked.
"Sure…" the doctor said. "Go ahead. You're not on any medication
at the moment, and I think it would be good for him…"
*
"Oh look…" Rachel said. "She's feeding him!"
"She seems to be doing just fine" Tim said with a smile and gave
Phoebe a hug. "See? I told you not to worry so much."
"I can't believe our daughter has a son…" Jack said to Judy.
"It makes me feel old" Judy said, and then laughed slightly.
"I am so relieved…" Joey stated, and sank down on a chair. "Now
the baby is born and seems to be healthy, and Monica can get her treatment.
Everything is going to work out just okay now!"
The others smiled and hoped he was right. They all felt emotionally drained. It
had been a tough afternoon, especially for Monica and Chandler, but for their
family and friends as well. Now everybody felt as if the hardest part was over.
The baby was born, and seemingly healthy, so from hereon by things could only
go in one direction, better. Monica would get better soon and their nights of
worry would be over.
*
An hour later Chandler and Monica were all alone. The doctors had taken their
son with them, trying their best to make sure he wouldn't die. He was still not
home free.
Monica was sleeping, completely exhausted. Chandler couldn't stop watching her,
and decided to call over his cell phone to tell Regina that she'd become a
sister.
Dana answered when he called, and he asked to speak with his daughter.
"Daddy?" he heard Regina say when she took the phone.
"Hi, pumpkin."
"Why is everyone not here?" Regina asked, not understanding why
everyone had taken off in such a rush a few hours later.
"They're on their way home" Chandler told her. "And I have got
some news for you."
"What news?"
"Mommy gave birth today. You've got a little brother, Gina."
Regina was quiet for about ten seconds.
"What?" she then asked.
"Honey you're a big sister now… with a tiny little brother who's only an
hour old."
He talked to her for a few more minutes and then spoke to Dana for a minute.
Then he hung up and put the phone on Monica's nightstand. Then he got on the
bed next to her. She woke up and grunted, a bit surprised. Chandler urged her
gently to scoot over and she did, giving him a little more room. Then he put
his arm around her and fell asleep together with her.
*
The next day Monica was a bit better. She had just had her first chemotherapy
and that made her feel pretty ill, but she wasn't tired at least. She was
holding her little boy in her arms, unable to take her eyes off him. Then
Chandler entered with Regina in his arms.
"Mommy!" Regina cried, not having seen her mother for a few days.
Monica forced herself to look up at her instead of at the baby.
"Hi there, honey" she said with a weak smile.
Chandler sat down on the chair next to the bed, with Regina in his arms.
"Say hello to your brother" Monica said, and lifted the boy up
slightly so that her daughter could take a closer look.
"He's bald" Regina said.
Monica couldn't help but to laugh slightly.
"Don't worry, he will get hair."
"We should get him a wig" Regina suggested. "A blonde one.
Nobody's blonde in this family."
Chandler chuckled slightly.
"We're not getting him a wig, Regina. He's gonna get hair soon."
"Why doesn't he have hair now?"
"Some babies are born bald" Monica explained.
"Well I sure wasn't!" Regina decided.
"No, that's true" Chandler said.
He stayed for an hour and then took Regina home again. He felt torn, not really
knowing where to be. Regina needed a parent at home with her, but Monica needed
his support at the hospital when she was going through the treatment. And he
wanted to be able to spend as much time around the baby as possible.
*
Chandler sat by Monica's bedside a week after the baby had been born. Their son
was already much stronger, and the doctors were full of confidence that he
would survive. Chandler couldn't get enough of holding him.
"Mommy's probably going to wake up any minute now!" he told his son.
"And she is going to be so happy to see you here when she does." He
kissed the baby on the forehead. "You are such an odd baby, a week ago I
would gladly have risked your life to save your mother's but as soon as I held
you in my arms I knew I would do anything to help you survive. I didn't really
feel that way before you were born."
The baby looked at him and wrinkled his face as if he was going to cry. Instead
he yawned, opening his hands while he did. Then he clenched his hands into
fists and closed his eyes, falling asleep.
"Looks like I'm the only awake person in the room" Chandler said to
no one. "What a blast, now I get to talk to myself instead of to another
person."
A few minutes later Monica woke up, with a distant look in her eyes at first.
"Hey" Chandler said.
Monica turned her head slowly to look at him, and smiled lovingly. Seeing him
with their son in his arms made her feel extremely happy. She had almost
worried he wouldn't love their baby based on some of the things he had said in
the past two months, but when she looked at him now she knew she wouldn't have
to worry. It was obvious that he adored the child.
"Unfortunately this little one is too tired to take part in today's family
gathering" Chandler said. "So you're going to have to get by with
just me."
Monica smiled.
"Well that's not too bad… Come here, Chandler."
He leaned closer so she could give him a kiss. Then he smiled lovingly at her
and leaned back again.
"You can hold him in a while, I just… I just want to hold him a bit longer
first" he said.
"I don't mind watching you hold him" Monica said. "The two boys
I love the most… Not such a bad thing to see."
Chandler gave a little laugh.
"Now you know how I feel when I see you and Regina."
"What are the doctors saying, is he doing okay?" she asked, sounding
worried.
"Oh yeah" Chandler said. "They think he's going to be just fine.
They can't guarantee it of course, but he's growing bigger and he's eating okay
and everything…"
Monica looked a bit sad.
"I wish I could nurse him…" she said.
"Well, I'm sorry honey, but you can't" Chandler said. "You know
you can't. Your milk might have traces of the medication and it might kill
him."
"Yeah, I know" Monica said with a sad nod. "But it just feels so
strange… Kinda' like I'm not really his mother, you know? When I have to feed
him with a bottle."
"Well you are his real mother" Chandler said. "What you have
done for him is more than most mothers ever do for their children, and all this
before he was even born."
"Thank you…" Monica said, appreciating the compliment.
"So how do you feel, honey?" Chandler asked.
"Bad" Monica admitted. "I've got such a headache, I just want to
throw up and my arm is hurting so bad…"
Chandler looked at her sadly.
"Just don't give up, sweetheart" he said. "You've come this far,
and now you've got no one else to think about than yourself. You're going to
get through this without any doubt. And soon you'll be at home with me and our
two babies."
"Chandler what are we going to name him?" Monica asked.
"Well, I guess Virgil is out of the question…"
"I hope you were kidding with even bringing the name up again" Monica
said.
"Actually no, but whatever…"
"What else do you think we should name him?" Monica asked.
"I'm happy with whatever you suggest."
"No honey, I wanna hear YOUR suggestions."
"Oh I don't know…" Chandler said. "Something a bit more original
perhaps… What do you think?"
Monica sighed.
"I'm not gonna get any suggestions out of you, am I?" she asked.
"What, I was just asking. Anyway, how about…" Chandler thought for a
second. "Okay, honestly Monica, I have no suggestions. I've had so much to
do and to think about lately that I haven't pondered over names. How about
Jason?"
"No…" Monica said. "I wanna stay clear of the mythology thing.
Phoebe's been filling my ears about the goddess of sleep, Hyphnos. I've had
enough of it."
She shook her head to try to stay awake. She was so tired almost all the time
now, and it annoyed her that she sometimes fell asleep in the middle of
sentences.
"You okay there?" Chandler asked. "You can go to sleep if you
want. I'll stay until you wake up, you know I will."
"Yes sweetie, I know… But I don't want to sleep. I want to name our
son."
"He'll still be here when you wake up" Chandler said with a smile.
"Well, maybe not in here, but he won't leave the hospital. And there's
plenty of time to name him."
"I know, but for a week now we've just been calling him 'baby' or 'our
little boy' or 'our son'… I want to call him by a real name."
"Well, Chandler Jr. is taken…" Chandler jokingly said. "And I
wouldn't suggest Ross or Joey because the one we don't pick would get
mad."
"If it had been a girl we could have named her Phoebe, since she named one
of the triplets after you…" Monica pondered. "And Rachel as a middle
name."
"So much for no mythology names" Chandler said with a smile.
"And I'm really sorry Mrs. Bing, but I accidentally gave you a son instead
of a daughter…"
Monica smiled lovingly.
"And I am very thankful… I've wanted a son forever. To at least have one
son and one daughter. And I probably won't be able to have any more
children."
"Oh believe me Mrs. Bing, getting you pregnant again is definitely out of
the question" Chandler said.
"Two 'Mrs. Bing' in one minute, that's more than usual…" Monica said
with a weak smile.
"Whatever," Chandler said, "but this pregnancy has caused me
more gray hairs than anything else probably will, and I'm not going to go
through anything like this ever again."
"What would be the odds?"
"Couldn't care less about odds" Chandler said. "Not after all
that talk about the small odds of you getting sick again."
"So…" Monica said, not wanting to talk about her cancer. "What
are we going to name him, Chandler?"
"I dunno… Name him after some famous chef. That's what my mom did with me.
She was writing her first book when I was born and wanted to have good luck
with her career. So she named me after Raymond Chandler."
"And your dad didn't have a say in it?"
"Sure… But he probably thought Raymond Chandler was hot or
something…"
Monica chuckled slightly but then had to close her eyes. Chandler looked up and
noticed that she'd fallen asleep.
She woke up again twenty minutes later and was happy to see that Chandler still
had the baby in his arms.
"Did you figure out any good names while I was asleep?" she asked.
"Yeah. We should name him Defoe after Daniel Defoe."
Monica sighed at his sarcasm, but couldn't help to smile slightly.
"Defoe Bing sounds like The Fool Bing" she said.
She closed her eyes hard again and tried to fight the pain she felt in her arm
and her head. In many ways it was easier to just sleep all the time, that way
she didn't have to feel all the pain. But she preferred to sleep when somebody
else than Chandler was there. She didn't want to miss a second she had together
with him.
"Did you dream anything nice?" Chandler asked.
"I don't think I even got to REM sleep…" Monica said. "So no, I
didn't dream anything nice… not that I know of, anyway."
"Well welcome to the way I sleep" Chandler said. "I can't
remember the last time I remembered a dream." Then he chuckled.
"Maybe we could name him Michael after the singer in REM!"
"Chandler don't make yourself sound anymore stupid than you are…"
Monica said, with affection in her voice. "It doesn't suit you very well.
But what about Gabriel?"
"Oh, I see what you're doing…" Chandler said, pretending to be
annoyed. "You're just going for another archangel than the one I
suggested!"
"You didn't suggest we'd name him after one."
"Yeah, but still…" Chandler said, then laughed. "Okay, seriously
though… Gabriel sounds nice."
"I know. That's why I suggested it" Monica said. "Chandler can I
hold him?"
Chandler reached over and placed the infant in her arms. She looked at the baby
lovingly.
"So are we agreed, then?" she asked. "Are we naming him
Gabriel?"
"I guess so…" Chandler said. "Gabriel Bing. Wow, he's got the
perfect name to make a Hollywood career with" he added jokingly.
Monica ignored his comment and smiled at the baby in her arms. Gabriel wasn't
the name she'd had in mind originally, but when she thought about it she liked
it better than her first idea. And it wasn't too common, either.
Chandler smiled and rose to get the camera he'd brought. He took a picture of
the two, then put the camera back in his coat pocket. He then moved the chair a
bit further down, so that he was sitting by Monica's waist and not her head. He
took her hand and kissed it. They both looked up when Monica's doctor entered
the room with a grim face.
"Oh hi" Chandler said. "Guess what? We just gave our son a
name."
"Nice" the doctor said, obviously not interested. "May I have a
word with the two of you?"
"Yeah, go ahead and talk" Chandler said.
"Monica… How do you feel?" the doctor asked.
"Good, I suppose" Monica said. "My arm really hurts, though… And
so does my head… And I'm actually quite tired and all, plus the side effects
from the treatment. So I guess I'm not feeling good, after all…"
"Chandler maybe you ought to take the baby" the doctor suggested.
"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt THAT bad…" Monica said.
"So what do you think, doctor?" Chandler asked. "About Monica's
condition? Is she doing any better?"
"No" the doctor said straight out.
Chandler and Monica shared a confused look. Then they looked at the doctor.
"God, there's never any easy ways to say this…"
"To say what?" Chandler said, slightly panicked.
"You're gonna have to amputate the arm, aren't you?" Monica said, her
eyes tearing.
"Monica the cancer has spread" the doctor said.
"We know" Chandler said. "You… told us before she had the
baby…"
"No, I mean it has spread even further. And in your current condition,
after labour and all, there's really nothing we can do…"
"What… are you telling us here?" Monica asked.
"We waited too long…" the doctor said, sounding genuinely sad.
"The cancer had gone too far and there's no way your body can fight it in
it's current condition…"
"But you…" Chandler said, not able to take in what he was hearing.
"You told us her chances were GOOD! You told us you would induce labour
before she reached that point!"
"We didn't know that the cancer had spread even further" the doctor
said. "And there is nothing we can do now."
"How long have I got?" Monica asked, not really comprehending yet
either.
"Hard to say. If we keep you in treatment you'll live longer… But it's
only a matter of days or weeks."
"Then give me the treatment" Monica said.
The doctor nodded and looked at them for a few seconds.
"I am really sorry…" he said, knowing it was a lame thing to say. It
had been his responsibility to save her life and now he had to tell them he had
failed. He turned around and left, knowing that they probably wanted to be
alone.
Monica was in shock. She just couldn't believe it. It was impossible. Somehow
she had always believed she was invincible. Like everyone else she'd never thought
anything like this could happen to her.
Chandler had crossed his arms in front of him on her bed, and how he leaned
forward and buried his face. Monica realized that he was crying quietly, but
frustratingly. Her own eyes teared when she saw him shiver slightly with his
sobs. She hadn't seen him cry for years and to se him do so now was what made
her feel the worst. She was in a state of shock and couldn't believe that she
was dying. But he apparently could. He'd almost been expecting it earlier on.
"Damn you" she heard him whisper through his sobs. "Damn you,
damn you, damn you, damn you…"
She started to cry as well. She had let him down. She had promised him that she
wouldn't take the pregnancy so far that her own life was in a great risk. And
now she was dying because she had waited for too long. She had let him down and
now he had to pay the price. No matter how much she feared death she felt more
sorry for him in this moment because she knew he had decades ahead of him with
two children and a dead wife. She remembered how she'd felt when she hadn't
gotten to see him for three days. She had felt terrible, and yet she'd known
she would get to see him eventually. He would have to go on feeling the same
way only a thousand times more intense, and with the knowledge that he wouldn't
ever get to see her again.
Little Gabriel started crying as well. Monica had for a second forgotten he was
even there. She started to cry even more, realizing that she wouldn't ever get
to see him grow up and she would never get to know him. And she wouldn't get to
be there when Regina got older either. She only had a few weeks. Her son would
never remember her, and she wasn't even sure her daughter would.
Chandler finally looked up, pulling himself together but unable to stop crying
once he'd started.
"Oh Chandler…" Monica said through her tears, unable to tell him how
sorry she was and at the moment unable to take care of the baby and make him
stop crying.
Chandler reached in and grabbed his son, lifting him over to his own arms and
tried to make him stop cry.
"Easy now, Gabriel…" he said quietly with tears still falling down
his cheeks. "Don't you worry… I won't let you down. I won't let you down
any more than your mother did."
Monica realized when he said that that now she understood what Chandler had
been saying before, that he didn't seem to believe anymore. That she would let
her children down by dying on them. Now Chandler seemed to think otherwise, but
Monica didn't.
"Don't you worry either, Monica…" Chandler said in a whisper.
"I'll love him for the both of us." He looked down at the baby who
stopped crying. "I will love you just as much as mommy and I love each
other."
So please review and let me know what you think... weather it's good comments
or bad... and I appologize if this part was a bit mushy...