Phoebe and Rachel were still staring at Chandler, who had frozen in place,
then back to Monica who's jaw had dropped.

"Excuse me, but do you live here?" Monica finally asked, shoving away her
aprehension.

"No," Phoebe and Rachel grumbled.

"Then why are you here?" Monica demanded, folding her arms across her chest.

"We were hungry. Besides, I always come here around this time," Phoebe said
in explination.

"Why did Chandler just come out of your bedroom?" Rachel asked.

"I had a bad dream and he comforted me. I guess we just fell asleep," Monica
lied, hating herself for doing so. Now was the perfect time to just say that
her and Chandler were now together; that Chandler was still with her even
though she was going to have his baby. Yes, that's right, commitment freaked
Chandler.

"That's right," Chandler agreed, admiring Monica for thinking so fast. "It
was that she . . . had her baby on this football field, all right? And she
was using the baby *as a football*--"

"Shut up," Monica told Chandler. "You're just making it worse."

"Right," Chandler said. He clapped his hands together. "So, I'm gonna take
a shower."

"Good for you," Phoebe encouraged.

"Ugh," Monica said from her spot in front of the fridge. "I was weighing
myself last night and I've gained seven pounds so far."

"Really?" Phoebe asked, amazed. "It doesn't show at all!"

Monica turned to the side and pushed her shirt up so that Phoebe could see
the slightly round bump growing out of her. "I've been wearing big T-shirts."

"Oh! Oh! If you need any maternity clothes I have some!" Phoebe exclaimed,
sounding excited that she'd be able to help.

"Wow, thanks, Pheebs. That'd be great," Monica sighed. She sat down suddenly.
"I can't stand anymore, it's killing me. Can you guys just have cereal for
breakfast, I-I need to lay down."

"Sure, honey," Rachel said, concern dripping in her voice. She stood and
helped her friend back into the bedroom and into the bed. "You lay here and
go back to sleep."

"I'm exhausted," Monica murmered, her eyelids falling heavily upon her blue
eyes. "So . . ." she yawned, then laughed. "I can't believe how tired I am.
Well, I did stay up pretty late and then me and Chandler were . . . talking
. . . until around one thirty. Do you think you could call in sick for me?"

"Whatever you need," Rachel said, patting Monica on the back and standing to
go back into the living room.

Phoebe was pouring milk into two bowls just as Rachel and Joey came into
the apartment.

Phoebe sighed and went to the cabinet for another bowl. "How's Monica doing?"

"Exhausted, as quoted from her," Rachel said, smiling and letting out a
breath. "I guess all of us are cautious because of what happened a couple of
months ago."

"How far along is she now?" Joey asked as he sat at the table and started
digging into his cereal.

"I don't know," Rachel said, sitting down as well. Chandler decided to come
out of the bathroom then and she asked him, "How far along is Monica?"

"Four months," Chandler answered automatically. "Where is she, by the way?"

"She felt really tired so she went back to bed," Rachel answered. "Which
reminds me . . . I'm supposed to call in sick for her."

"Is she all right?" Chandler asked, alarmed.

"Relax," Rachel said, giving him a look. "She's just exhausted from staying
up until two a.m. talking to you. And then she had that nightmare . . . my
God, how much sleep did she get last night?"

"I'm gonna fix her some breakfast," Chandler decided, moving towards the
fridge to pull out an egg carton and some sausage and bacon. "By the time
it's done she should be awake, right?"

"If you want I can stay here all day and take care of her," Phoebe offered.
"I mean, I don't have a client until noon and Joey can take over after that."

"You got it," Joey agreed, milk dripping down his chin.

Everybody paused to stare at him, then went back to talking.

"That'd be great, thanks, Pheebs," Chandler said. "And if anything happens,
you call me straight away."

"Paranoid."

"And I have a reason to be," Chandler answered. "That baby is fragile. If
she goes into the hospital again I could lose it or, more importantly, her."

"Five more months," Phoebe said encouragingly.

"And then I'm gonna be a daddy," Chandler said, awe in his voice. "For the
rest of my life."

"Have you agreed on a name yet?"

"No," Chandler sighed. "We spent half the night trying to come up with one
we both agreed on but it's impossible."

"Did you mention The Hulk?" Joey asked, giving Chandler a wink.

Chandler gave Joey a frustrated look. "Dude, I thought you wanted that name
for your baby."

"Oh, yeah," Joey said, remembering. He glared at Chandler. "You can't name
the baby The Hulk! I called it."

"Believe me, Joe, you have no worries in that department," Chandler assured
him.

"What do you want to name it?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know." He paused. "Maybe this is why we're having a communication
problem."

"Maybe."

Chandler smiled to himself as he began to put the now-done breakfast onto
a plate and Phoebe handed him a tray. Rachel poured a glass of juice to
complete the meal.

"Thanks, you guys," Chandler said as he carried the tray into the bedroom
and disappeared for a moment.

"Hey, honey," Chandler murmered, setting the tray on top of Monica and
nudging her slightly. She groaned and opened her eyes.

"What's this?"

"You need to eat to keep up your strength. Just take a few bites at least,
you can go back to bed when you're done," Chandler said, helping her to sit
up.

"Wow, this is *so* sweet," Monica said in amazement. She reached up and
kissed Chandler lightly on the lips. "You're wonderful, you know that?"

"I try. Now eat," Chandler commanded. But he kissed Monica softly again in
contrast to the harshness of his voice.

* * * * *

Phoebe had been watching TV for the most part of the day; checking in on a
sleeping Monica every once in a while. It was around lunchtime that Monica
finally came out on her own.

"Hey, Pheebs," Monica greeted sleepily, looking a little surprised to see
her. "I'm a little hungry."

"It is eleven-thirty. Which reminds me, Joey should be coming over soon,"
Phoebe said, standing up and stretching.

"Why?"

"Chandler wanted us to watch over you today," Phoebe answered.

Monica smiled, feeling happy that Chandler worried so much about her and the
baby. "He's a sweetie, isn't he?" she asked a little dreamily.

"Whatever," Phoebe said, giving Monica a strange look. "I have an appointment
at twelve, so I'm gonna go get Joey to come over."

"That's okay, I can take care of myself," Monica answered.

The phone rang suddenly and Monica picked up the cordless. "Hello?"

"Mon, you're up," Chandler said, surprised. "I was actually calling to check
up on you. You didn't look good at all this morning."

"Thanks," Monica snorted. She laughed. "Don't worry. I was just tired. Maybe
we shouldn't stay up so late making those owl noises, huh?"

Chandler laughed. "I just want to spend all day talking to you," he finally
said, sighing in a contented way.

"Mmmm, me too, baby," Monica murmered.

"Monica, I have to go," Phoebe said, pointing to the door. Monica nodded her
release and Phoebe left in a hurry.

"Honey, on your way home do you think you could get me some more mint Oreo
ice cream?" Monica asked as she saw the empty spot where her ice cream
usually went.

"Sure," Chandler answered. "Wow, we sound like a real couple, don't we?"

"We are one," Monica pointed out. She paused. "Right?"

"Yeah. Just a normal couple." He thought about it. "That doesn't tell their
best friends they're dating."

"I still like the name Sebestian," Monica said, changing the subject.

"Mon, have you *seen* The Little Mermaid? I just don't want my boy to grow
up to be a red crab."

"Chandler, I'm not even going to go into the ways that that's not ever going
to happen, okay?" Monica said, laughing. "All right, let's move on to girls.
I like the name Claire."

"I like the name Haley."

"Fawna."

"I think of a fawn and that just does not work for me."

"You know what, we have five months. Let's not think about this now."

"You're absolutely right," Chandler agreed quickly.

"Can you get off work early? I really miss you," Monica said coyly.

Chandler groaned. "I'll try and be there in about half an hour. Sound okay?"

* * * * *

"Have you guys noticed anything strange about Monica and Chandler lately?"
Joey asked as everyone but the two being talked about was sipping coffee at
Central Perk.

"They like each other," Phoebe said immediately.

Ross made a scoffing noise. "No they do not. I mean, *come on*. This is
Monica, my little sister. And *Chandler*."

"You have a point," Rachel said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Um, Ross, are you second guessing my phsycic abilities?" Phoebe asked in a
sugary sweet tone.

"No!" Ross said very quickly, shaking his head. "Of course not, Phoebe. We
all know that you're phsycic." He gave Joey and Rachel a 'whatever' look and
they rolled their eyes at him.

"But, I mean, Chandler is, like, this guy that gets freaked out about
everything commitment-related, right?" Rachel pointed out. "And now here he
is living with Monica and knowing she's having his baby and actually being
happy about it. That's not normal Chandler behavior."

"What makes you think Monica would ever go for him?" Ross asked a little
defensively. "I mean, my sister is way above his league."

"She did sleep with him in London," Joey said.

"She was drunk," Ross said evenly. "They both were."

"Yes, but Monica and I were talking and . . . well . . ." Rachel paused. "The
only reason she's not getting together with Chandler is that it's too
complicated. But she admitted that if there were no complications at all
she'd be with him."

Ross looked shocked at this new information. "M-Monica said this? *My sister*
said this?"

"Well, he *is* the father of her child," Phoebe said thoughtfully. "Maybe
that's the only reason she wants him."

"She doesn't want him!" Ross said a little too loudly. Everybody in the shop
turned to stare, but the group ignored them.

"No, the way Monica described it . . ." Rachel paused for dramatic effect.
"Even *I'd* sleep with Chandler. I mean, according to her he was really
passionate and he knew how to push all the right buttons. And he was the
best she'd ever had in bed apparently."

"*Chandler*?" Joey asked, shocked. He shook his head in pity. "What kind of
guys has Monica been dating if *Chandler* is the best?"

"Fun Bobby seemed to be a lot of fun," Phoebe commented with a wry smile as
she took a gulp out of her big cappachino mug. "If you know what I mean."

"Oh, I know what you mean," Joey said with a dirty giggle as he winked at
Phoebe.

"Shut up," Rachel said, hitting Joey but not Phoebe since she was too far
away.

"I had a talk with Chandler a couple of months ago," Joey said suddenly, as
though he'd just remembered. "I told him that Monica obviously had feelings
for him or she would never have slept with him in the first place." He
thought about it. "Yeah, I can't remember much, but that was the basic
outline of what I said."

"It's true," Rachel said. "I mean, I've known Monica since we were little
kids and she would never sleep with a guy she didn't have feelings for
unless she was drunk."

"Which she was!" Ross pointed out, sounding a little bit mad.

"Oh, Ross, drop it," Rachel snapped. "Everybody knows that they weren't as
drunk as you're talking about. If you're drunk then you wouldn't remember
what happened and Monica told me all the details. She may have had a little
bit to drink, but not enough to effect anything dramatically."

Ross stayed silent. Then gave Rachel the finger without giving the finger.
Rachel returned the gesture.

* * * * *

A week or two later, Rachel was watching Monica walk around the apartment,
humming and smiling giddily.

Finally, getting tired of it, Rachel snapped the book she'd been reading
shut to question her friend. "All right, spill."

Monica gave Rachel an incredulous look. "Spill? Where?" she started looking
around for the stain.

"Monica, you're pathetic," Rachel said in an affectionate way. "I didn't mean
literally. Something is up in the Monica love department. Are you finally
realizing that you and Chandler need to cut the crap and recognize your
feelings for each other?"

Monica gave Rachel a blank look. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You. Chandler. Sexual tension."

Monica did a fake laugh and put the duster she'd been using down on the
table. "Chandler? And me? We may live together but there's nothing between
us."

"Right," Rachel said doubtfully, raising her eyebrows at Monica.

Monica sighed heavily and sat down, looking suddenly exhausted and weary.

"Are you all right?" Rachel asked, worry kicking into her system as Monica
held her head in her hand.

"Yeah," Monica said slowly, taking a deep breath. She let it out slowly, then
forced a smile. "Perfect."

"Monica, what's wrong?" Rachel asked worriedly.

"Nothing. Just don't tell Chandler, he'll freak," Monica said, soudning as
if she was confiding a secret to Rachel. "Lately it's been hurting me a lot.
I don't know why, but suddenly I'll get these intense pains in my midsection.
The doctor said they're all right and normal under my circumstances, but I'm
worried. What if something happens to my baby?"

Rachel hugged Monica tightly. "I don't think anything will, honey. You and
that baby have been through enough already."

"What if, because of me, because of what I did three months ago, my baby
gets its cord wrapped around its neck and is paralyzed for life? Or retarded?
I'm sorry, maybe these are petty things to think about, but I can't help
thinking about them."

"Maybe you should talk to Chandler about this," Rachel said, hugging her
best friend even tighter. "He seems to be the only one that can reassure
you lately." She paused, trying to figure out how to go about saying what she
wanted to say. "You two have gotten really close since you announced your
pregnancy."

"Yeah, well, having a baby usually brings two people closer together," Monica
said, annoyed.

"For *friends* you and Chandler are awfully close," Rachel tried again.

"I suppose so," Monica said reluctantly with a shrug.

Right then, Chandler came through the door. "Hey, honey, I'm home," he
called. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Rachel, not expecting her there.
"Hi, Rach."

"Hi, Chandler," Rachel said, standing. "Thanks for the talk, Mon. I'm gonna
get going."

"Bye," Monica called as Rachel shut the door behind her.

Chandler came over to the couch and sat beside Monica. He gave her a quick
kiss on the lips.

"Chandler, can we talk?" Monica asked, sighing.

"Sure, baby," Chandler murmered, putting a soothing arm around her shoulders
as he realized that what she wanted to say wasn't easy.

"Dr. Vale said that I'm going through just fine," Monica started a little
uneasily. "But I'm worried. What if, because I was a complete dumbass and
decided to have a one night stand with some random guy to cheer me up, my
baby is affected for life? What if it's cord gets wrapped around its neck,
*because of my mistake*, and is paralyzed for life or-or mentally retarded?"

Chandler didn't know how to answer that. "Mon, you don't need to worry.
Whatever happens, happens. Everything happens for a reason, and if our baby
has complications, then so be it. It won't change anything."

"It will change," Monica insisted. "I'll have to live the rest of my life
with guilt because I know that it's my fault."

"Then you'll be wasting a lot of years," Chandler said. "You can't let guilt
get in the way of things. It's not your fault. You didn't know you were
pregnant."

"I did know. I felt it, deep down inside of me. But I just tossed the feeling
to the side, thinking that it was just a flicker of hope."

Chandler held Monica against his chest and just ran a hand over her hair in
a soothing motion. He hadn't expected her to worry so much about this and he
had no idea *why* she had suddenly started in on it.

"Mon, honey, why are you asking all of these questions now?" Chandler asked
curiously.

Monica sighed heavily against his chest. "Don't freak out, sweetie, but I've
been having a lot of those intense pains lately. I talked to Dr. Vale about
it, but she says it's normal for me. I just got worried that maybe the
problem runs a little deeper."

Chandler kissed her hair and just enjoyed holding her. "It's okay, Monica.
No matter what happens our baby will have two parents who love him very
much."