ATTENTION: I have posted four chapters at the same time. Please read ch. 47, 48, and 49 before reading this one. Thank you.

February 14, 2002

Monica came into the apartment that afternoon to find the shades drawn and candles lit everywhere. She put her hand over her heart, genuinely surprised.

"Happy Valentine's Day," Chandler smiled. He was standing in the middle of the room holding a box of chocolates.

"You are too sweet," she said, going to hug and kiss him as best as she could. Her belly was very large now. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"I know you aren't up to much, so I ordered in dinner and picked out a romantic comedy to watch," Chandler said, getting her settled on the couch.

"Thank you," Monica smiled at him. She felt the ripple of pain go through her again, and she stifled her groan. This had been happening since she woke up that morning, but she hadn't said anything. She was pretty sure she was just having Braxton Hicks contractions. Her due date wasn't until next week.

"You okay?" Chandler asking, noticing she didn't look well.

"I'm all right. Just tired," she added. She had been packing up their apartment most of the day and had gone over to help manage a crisis at Ross and Rachel's. They were finishing up packing and getting ready to move. They were two weeks behind schedule due to some delay on Jack and Judy's end. The place they were moving to had something come up that needed to be dealt with.

Rachel hadn't been wrong when she said she was terrible at packing. Monica had to keep on her or else chaos would ensue constantly. Ben had helped as best as he could, but he and Joey kept putting bubble wrap on their heads and trying to see if it would stop things from hurting them. It had driven Ross mad, and he had separated them, which had caused pouting from both Joey and Ben. They had finally gotten everything in the truck, though, and were spending one last night in the apartment before moving to the house. Monica had come from there to find her Valentine's surprise, and it had made her day.

Chandler put on the movie, and Monica snuggled into him. About halfway into the film, the pain got so unbearable she couldn't help but make a noise.

"Okay," he said, pausing the movie and looking at her. "What's up?"

"I think I'm in labor," she said through her pain. She looked up at him.

"What?!"

"I thought it was Braxton Hicks all day."

"You've been doing this all day?!" Chandler yelped. "How far apart are you now?"

"Um, five minutes?"

"Holy crap!" Chandler cried, jumping to his feet. "Monica! We have to go to the hospital!"

"Yea, I think so too," Monica agreed, reaching for his hands. He pulled her up and went to grab their "go" bag. Chandler had rented a van to help with moving their own things to their new house, which they had finally gotten the keys for a week before. He went to put the car seats in the van while Monica slowly made her way to the street.

"Here, here, here," Chandler said, hurrying to help her into the van. She was breathing hard now. He got into the driver's side and pulled out onto the road. They made it to the hospital in record time. Monica had to give Chandler points for being a fast driver when he had to be. He was Mr. Turtle any other time.

"Okay," he said, helping Monica out of the van. They made their way to the receptionist, who took one look at Monica and handed her a clipboard to get her signed in. Chandler went to call the others while they waited for Monica to be taken in.

"You doing okay?" he asked, knowing she was nervous.

"I...I suddenly don't feel ready," she said. "Why don't I feel ready?"

"It's just nerves. You're more than ready. I know because you made me ready with you," Chandler added. They had read so many books and gone over so many different things during the pregnancy. He felt confident.

"What if they don't like us?" Monica asked, fearful.

"The babies?! They're gonna love us," Chandler answered, smoothing her hair back. "What's not to like? I'm funny, and you can cook."

"Chandler..."

"In all seriousness," Chandler went on. "Our children will love us because we will love them, and we will do everything we can for them to make them have a good life."

"Okay," she nodded. They finally called her back and got her set up in a private room. Chandler was helping her breathe when the others showed up. Rachel was about five months pregnant at this point. She was given the chair to sit in.

"This is exciting!" Phoebe cried, rubbing Monica's shoulder. "You're gonna do great."

"Any chance you're gonna change your mind and name the boy Joey?" Joey asked hopefully.

"Sorry, Joe," Chandler shook his head. Jack and Judy were on their way, and Jack was excited to have a namesake.

"I'm going to have cousins!" Ben exclaimed. Ross and Rachel had brought him because Carol had plans for Valentine's Day with Susan. Daniel was sleeping in his stroller beside Rachel. He was well over a year and a half now. To Rachel, it seemed like yesterday she was in the hospital bed getting ready to give birth.

"Yes, you are," Monica nodded. She winced as another contraction came on.

"How about we go find something in the vending machine, huh?" Ross asked Ben, knowing Monica wouldn't want her nephew to see her in pain. He took the stroller with Daniel in it too, leaving the others with Monica.

"And you thought this day wouldn't come," Joey commented.

"I knew it was coming," Monica said, confused.

"Oh. Don't they usually say when you're waiting for something it feels like it'll never come? I felt that way waiting for my Alicia Mae to come."

"Don't compare a doll to a baby," Monica said through gritted teeth.

"Yea, or else I'll bring out Gladys again," Phoebe threatened. Joey's eyes widened. Phoebe had brought that piece of artwork over and tormented him with it for nights, pretending to come and steal his legs. He hadn't liked it at all.

The doctor came in, and he shooed everyone out except Chandler. It was noted that Monica had been in labor all day and was pretty much ready for delivery. Chandler was shocked that Monica had ignored it all day, but she insisted she had been certain they weren't real contractions. She had also been too busy with packing to pay attention to the time between them.

When it came time to push, Monica felt scared.

"You got this," Chandler said, his face next to hers. "You're doing wonderful, Mon. You got this."

She pushed and pushed. She heard the squalling of a newborn after a few moments, and she started to cry as she watched them take her little baby boy to get him cleaned up. Then it was time to push again, and Monica felt like she was going to be torn in half. All her breathing exercises went out the window no matter how often Chandler reminded her to do it.

"There we go," the doctor smiled triumphantly, holding up the little baby girl. "We're all done, Monica. You did very well. You can rest now."

Monica's head fell back onto the pillow. She was exhausted, but she still wanted to hold her children. After they were checked over and deemed healthy, Chandler was handed the boy, and Monica was handed the girl. Then they were left alone for a bit.

"Wow," Chandler said, looking at his son. "I'm speechless."

"Me too," Monica whispered.

"Jack Charles Bing," he said, looking at her as he rocked his son.

"And Gemma Erica Bing," she replied, touching her daughter's nose gently with her finger. Gemma looked up at her solemnly. Her little gem. She wasn't fussing like her brother was, who was also her little gem. They both were. Perfect little gems.

"Can we come in?" Rachel asked, her head sticking through the door. "The doctor told us it was a success."

"Come in," Chandler gestured with his head. Ross and Rachel came with Joey and Ben. Phoebe had offered to stay with Daniel and switch out with someone when it was her turn to go in.

"They're so little," Ben breathed, looking at them.

"They are," Ross agreed. He had his hand on his son's shoulder. They grew up too fast.

"Where did you get the name Gemma?" Rachel asked. Chandler and Monica shared a look, and that was when Chandler shared the story about the police officer who had saved his life.

"She'd be honored," Ross commented, wiping a tear from his eye.

"I hope so," Chandler nodded. Looking at his daughter, he could tell she had the same amount of bravery as her namesake had.

"Can I come in now?" Phoebe asked. Rachel traded off, and Phoebe came in to coo at and hold the babies.

Then they were told to leave, and Monica was left to rest for a while. Her last thoughts before she fell asleep were how much she couldn't wait to be home with their babies.

Ross & Rachel

"Our last night here," Ross commented as they climbed into bed. Rachel put her arm over his chest and her other arm around her belly.

"Feels kind of weird," she said.

"I know."

"We made the right choice, right?"

"Of course. Where would we put our new baby? In the dining room?" Ross asked, joking.

"You're right."

It was finally happening. They were moving. Monica and Chandler were moving very soon too. Of course Monica had everything mostly packed. She was better at that than Rachel was. No doubt they would move in faster now that they had the babies. They thought they had one more week, but Monica had said they weren't necessarily going to wait that whole week anyway. Having the babies early gave them a reason to move quicker. Rachel smiled just thinking about Jack and Gemma. They looked like Monica and Chandler, that was for sure.

"I can see it now," Ross said, breaking into her thoughts. "Sunday morning. You and I in bed with the paper, and our kids come running and fight over the science section."

Rachel held back her chuckle.

"It's a good image," she nodded. A really good image. She never thought she'd have something like this, and she was so happy she did.

"We did it," Ross said to her then, giving her a kiss. "We have created a wonderful life together, Rachel Green."

"You mean Rachel Geller."

"Yes," he smiled. "I like that much better. Rachel Geller."

She smiled back and kissed him again.

He was right. They had created such a wonderful life together. She wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Joey & Phoebe

"Are you excited for Italy?" Phoebe asked. They were lying in bed together after having some fun, of course.

"Yes," Joey nodded. "Five days, baby!"

Phoebe said something in Italian, making his eyebrows fly up.

"That sounded so sexy," he said. "What did you say?"

"I said, 'Don't forget your passport,'" she answered. She had been practising Italian for a while now ever since they decided to go. She was getting rather good at it.

"Wow. Italian language makes everything sound beautiful and sexy," Joey grinned. "I love it!"

"And I love you," Phoebe said, kissing him firmly. "It feels like yesterday I was standing in the rain feeling confused and awkward about what to do with my feelings for you."

"Why were you standing in the rain?" Joey asked, frowning.

"I was already walking when it started raining," Phoebe explained.

"Oh."

"I feel bad leaving when the twins are just little," she went on.

"We'll be back before their first birthday," Joey reminded her.

"I know, but it feels like we're abandoning them."

"They'll sleep for most of it anyway," Joey reasoned. "Like Daniel did his first year. He's finally gotten interesting!"

"I guess you're right."

"We don't have to go," Joey said, looking at her. "If you really don't want to."

"No! I want to. I'm just dithering," Phoebe sighed. Then she smiled. "I wanna do this adventure with you. Then I wanna have babies with you."

"All right," Joey grinned again. She snuggled into him, and they fell asleep together, holding one another.

Three Days Later

"That is the last box," Joey huffed. Monica was standing in the kitchen with Gemma in her arms. Jack was in his carrier, sleeping. He slept more than his sister did apparently. Chandler, Ross, Rachel, and Phoebe were there too.

"I'm so glad we did most of the packing before the babies were born," Monica said. Chandler nodded. They were all set to leave and head to their new house.

"I'm going to miss this place," Rachel commented, walking around and looking at it.

"Look around, Gemma," Monica said. "This technically was your first home."

"She's so sweet," Rachel said, smiling.

"Are you guys packed?" Monica asked Phoebe.

"Oh yes. We leave for our trip in a few days. We have someone coming to sublet while we're gone," Phoebe answered. They had found the perfect person, an elderly man who kept to himself and was very neat and tidy.

"I guess we should leave our keys," Monica said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out hers, setting it on the counter. Everyone else followed suit.

"End of an era," Ross commented.

"But a beginning of a new one," Monica replied. They all nodded and smiled at each other. She put Gemma into the stroller and put Jack in the front section. They piled out, leaving Chandler and Monica to be the last ones to leave. They looked around one last time, and Monica gave a small sigh.

"Onward and upward?" she said to Chandler.

"Absolutely," he nodded. She gave him one last kiss in their apartment, remembering every single kiss they had shared there, and then they walked out together, closing the door behind them.

"Anyone wanna grab a coffee?" Ross asked.

"Sure," Chandler answered. "Know any good places?"

They all disappeared down the stairs together, off to start their new journeys in life. But they would do them together.

That's what friends do.

The End

Wow! After two and a half years, I've finally completed this story. It feels amazing. I'm sorry it took me so long, but hopefully it was worth the wait.

Thank you to those who followed, favorited, and reviewed.

Cheers :)