AN: Another update for all of you. Hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

Disclaimer: See earlier chapters.

Chapter 24

Chandler returned to the high school after spending the last few hours browsing through cars. Chandler had gotten a few ideas for the car he wanted to trade in for, and Monica had decided on a car with a decent monthly payment that she could afford. Chandler had left while Terry was finalizing some details with the owner of the dealership.

Chandler went to the locker room and changed into his practice jersey and started out towards the field.

"Hey Bing, how's the wife?" Richardson mocked as he ran past him.

"Fine, thank you for asking." Chandler stated, making the rest of his teammates stopped to look at him.

"So it's true?"

"You actually got married?"

"About a month ago," Chandler responded.

"Why?" Richardson asked.

"Because we wanted to show each other how much we mean to each other,"

"That's enough, break it up!" the coach came out to them. "Everyone, head on out for a scrimmage. Bing, hang back for a minute."

Chandler went to the coach as the rest of his teammates ran out onto the field. Chandler sat down on the bench as the coach motioned him to.

"So what's going on?" the coach sat beside him.

"What do you mean?"

"Are the rumors true? Did you and Monica Gellar really get married?"

"Yes," Chandler told him. "And it's Monica Bing now."

"Then I need to ask, is there something else going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is there another reason why you two decided to get married while still in high school? Other than because you love each other?"

"I choose not to answer that right now,"

"I respect that. Just know that if there's ever anything that you would like to get off your chest, I'm here. And it will be one hundred percent confidential. No one will ever find out about any of it from me."

"Thanks Coach," Chandler got up and ran to join his teammates for the scrimmage.

Chandler got done with practice and started home. He reached his house and started inside, deciding to bypass the kitchen when he heard Joey and Phoebe conversing with Terry as he made that night's supper. Instead he went upstairs and headed straight for his room. He dropped his things on the floor and just collapsed back onto the bed.

"Hey," he looked over and saw Monica coming out of the bathroom.

"Hey," he sat up. "Did you get sick?"

"No," she smiled at him. "Still no morning sickness yet. Hopefully, that will continue."

"Good," he sighed as he lay back against the pillow.

"So what's going on with you?" she sat beside him on the bed.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been in a funk since before we left the doctor's office,"

"You noticed?"

"Only because I know you so well," she smiled at him. "So what's going on?"

"I'm not really sure,"

"Well I know it has nothing to do with being at the appointment with me like Terry suggested," she stated. "I heard you guys talking in the hall while I was changing back into my clothes."

"No, I was glad that I was at that appointment,"

"You were giddy," Monica corrected him. "You were smiling ear to ear. You looked like that creepy killer clown from that scary movie."

"You mean IT?" he looked at her. "You think I looked like Pennywise?"

"Your smile stretched across your whole face just like his."

"As well as the Grinch. You couldn't say I looked like him?"

"Seriously," Monica took his hand. "What's going on? Why are you in this funk?"

"I don't know,"

"Yes you do," she stated firmly. "I know you're upset. You just need to let it out. Don't keep it bottled up. You can't let it fester inside of you until it explodes."

"Fine," Chandler sat up again. "I'm mad at my dad. Happy now?"

"Why are you mad at your dad?"

Carol stopped by Chandler's house after school like she said she would. She let herself in and found that Joey had just gotten home from practice. He was in the kitchen with Phoebe and Terry.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Come on in," Terry smiled over at her as he heated something up over the stove.

"Where's Charles?" Carol asked them.

"He's still at work,"

"Still?" Carol glanced at Joey and Phoebe, who nodded.

"He didn't go to the appointment with them," Phoebe told her softly.

"He's going to explode on them soon," Carol said.

"Sooner rather than later," Joey told her.

"What do you mean?"

"Chandler got home from practice a few minutes ago. He saw us in here, but he went straight upstairs. I think Monica's talking with him."

"Hey," Ross came in. "What's going on?"

"Charles didn't go to the appointment today," Carol told him softly.

"Did Terry?"

"Yep,"

"Oh," Ross sighed. "Where's Chandler? I saw his car outside."

"I believe that your sister is talking to him upstairs,"

"Or they could be doing something else," Joey added.

"Must you?" Phoebe smacked him. "Her brother is right there?"

"What?" he looked at them.

"Nevermind," they all looked up as the door to the garage opened.

"I'm home," Charles announced.

"Now he shows up," Carol mumbled.

"Calm down," Ross hissed. "It's not your direct issue. It's Chandler's. I know you two always have each others' backs-"

"Damn right we do," Carol stated.

"Let him handle it how he wants to."

"Fine,"

"Supper is just about ready," Terry turned off the burners. "Can someone go get Chandler and Monica?"

"I'll do it," Ross started out of the room.

"No need, I'm here." Monica came into them. "Chandler has requested that he be allowed to eat in his room tonight."

"What?" Charles and Terry stopped and looked at her. "Is he ok?"

"Why wouldn't things be ok?" Monica looked at them.

"There's only been a few times where he wanted to eat in his room," Terry told her.

"He only makes that request if he's upset about something," Charles added. "So what happened?"

"Are you seriously asking that question?" Monica glared at them.

"What?"

"So you know that he's upset if he wants to eat in his room, but you can't tell that he's upset when you're in the same room as him?"

"It's about to go down," Joey stated.

"You guys know what's going on?" Monica looked at her brother and her friends.

"We knew something was bothering him,"

"We noticed the last few weeks," Phoebe added.

"So are you guys going to tell us why he's upset?" Terry asked them.

"Where were you today?" Monica looked at Charles. "I thought you said you were going to try to make it there today. How hard did you even try?"

"This is about me?" Charles looked at all of them. "We had inventory."

"You sure do inventory a lot," Phoebe stated.

"What is going on?" Terry asked the room.

"We've all noticed the tension for weeks," Joey told him.

"I've noticed it for longer than that," Carol said.

"How much longer?" Monica asked.

"Well it obviously started around the time that you guys found out that you were pregnant. Charles seemed to calm down a little after we helped you get out of your parents' house. He wasn't entirely happy about the marriage."

"Of course I wasn't," Charles interrupted them. "But I also wasn't on board with Chandler paying child support and being in debt before he graduated high school."

"The bottom line is, you screwed up today," Monica stated firmly. "This may be the hormones and it might not. Chandler really wanted you there for the appointment and you weren't there."

"You messed up big time," Carol added.

"I knew there was something off with him today," Terry spoke up. "I thought it was because he was uncomfortable being at that kind of appointment. But that can't be it because he was beaming by the end of it."

"Another clue is that when he got home from practice, he bypassed the kitchen where everyone was and went straight to our room," Monica told them. "Ever since we all moved in, he spends most of his time with all of us. He loves that this house isn't so quiet and empty anymore."

"Did he say anything when he got to your room?" Terry looked at her.

"I made him talk to me and he kind of unloaded. He said a lot, but one thing kind of stuck out to me, which I agreed with."

"What was that?" Charles asked.

"If my dad can take off work for three or more hours to watch me play in a game, why can't he take off just one hour to be able to get a glimpse of his first grandchild?"

Charles felt as if he had been punched in the gut repeatedly. Chandler actually thought that he cared more about his athletic career rather than his child. Though in hindsight, he could see why he thought that.

"It's not totally your fault," Terry assured him. "It's how the dynamic of the house has been ever since he came to live with us. You dealt with the club and the profits. I ran the household, which included Chandler's well-being."

"You were the only one to get through to him after he woke up from his coma," Charles said. "He cowered away from me every time I approached him. The doctors and nurses had the same result."

"That's because he didn't know me. The last memory he had of you was when you and his mom would fight. He associated you with anger. As for the doctors and nurses, his experience was that they wouldn't help him. We later found out that his mom would lie to the emergency room doctors about how he got all those marks on him."

"I better go talk to him," Charles sighed deeply.

"Not yet," Terry stopped him. "You know it takes him time to calm himself down. I'll leave him a plate outside the room and you can talk to him in a little while."

"Fine," Charles watched Terry make up a plate and head upstairs with it.

Everyone else decided to set the table and they all sat down as Terry came back down and he and Charles went to get the rest.

"Hey," Joey looked at Monica. "Does he still have those marks?"

"Not all of them," she told him. "There are a few scars that didn't go away. For the most part, he healed up from all of it."

"I can't even-" Phoebe started, but then stopped when Charles and Terry came back into the room.

AN: So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. Next chapter will be Chandler and Charles starting to talk. PLZ R&R!