1 Year, 6 Months Later…

With a heavy sigh, Chandler squeezed his fist tighter together as he knocked on the door, his heart was surely about to beat out of his chest and land on the concrete ground below him.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking around the outside of the house as he waited for the door to open. He hadn't been here in a long time, since his senior year in college, he guessed. He smiled as he remembered those days.

God, he was such an idiot back then.

The door finally opened and he smiled at the person on the other side, "hi, Mrs. Geller-um, Judy, how are you?" he asked somewhat awkwardly.

"Chandler!" She opened the door wider, "come in, come in." Chandler nodded and walked passed her and she held the door open, looking outside, "Is Monica not with you?"

"Uh, no, she's at home." Chandler winced, "I actually wanted to talk to you and Mr. Geller, if I could."

Judy smiled, closing the door and then hitting him lightly on the arm, "Chandler, how many times have we told you to call us Jack and Judy? You've known us for years, please."

He chuckled softly and ran a hand through his hair, "sorry, I uh, forget sometimes."

She laughed and walked ahead of him into the living room, "have a seat," she told him and then went back over to the staircase, looking up and yelling loudly, "Jack, come down. The boy who hates Thanksgiving is here."

Chandler laughed as she walked back into the living room, "I was just thinking about that. It feels like that was a million years ago." He looked around the living room, not much had changed around here at all from his college days.

Judy chuckled, "can I get you anything to drink?"

Chandler shook his head, "no, no thanks. I'm okay."

Jack came around the corner shortly after, "Chandler my boy!"

"Hey Jack," Chandler said, standing to shake his hand and then sitting back down. Jack sat down next to Judy, across from him. It felt a bit like a judging panel.

"So, where's Monica? Is she working?" The older man asked, looking around for his daughter for a second before he returned his focus to Chandler.

He shook his head, he knew it was probably weird for them that he was here without their daughter, "no, um, she's at home. She doesn't know I'm here, actually."

"What's going on, Chandler? Are you and Monica having problems? Did you have a fight?" Jack asked, concern now all over his face.

Chandler chuckled nervously, "no, nothing like that. Everything is great, better than great..." He rubbed his hands together, "I um, the reason I came over was to…" he sighed. This was harder than he thought it was going to be. If he couldn't ask them, how the hell would he be able to ask Monica?

"You're making me nervous, dear. Is Monica okay?" Judy asked.

"Monica is fantastic," he replied, smiling just thinking about her. He took in a shaky breath, deciding to just spit it out, "this may be a little old fashioned of me, and I don't even know if people still do this, but I came over to ask your permission to um," he ran a hand through his hair again, this was hard, "to marry your daughter." His eyes looked up from his shoes, now flicking back and forth between the two people sitting across from them. Their expressions were impossible to read. His heart was about to beat out of his chest again, he wasn't positive that the pair of them couldn't hear it beating even from across the room.

"Well, I-" Jack started, looking over at Judy, and then back over at Chandler again, "I wasn't expecting that," he said.

Chandler didn't know what to say. He hadn't really planned to do this either, until during casual conversation Ross had mentioned that Jack said Pete never came and asked for his permission to marry his daughter, and that was the reason it didn't work out between them. And while he didn't really believe that the reason Monica didn't go through the marriage with Pete had anything to do with him not asking Jack's permission, he wanted to do the right thing. It was gentlemanly of him, and his own mother said she thought it was a great idea. Now he wasn't so sure.

Judy was quiet for too long, and that wasn't helping Chandler's nervous state, "don't you think it's a little soon?" She finally asked.

He actually laughed at that, "uh, well, no, not really. We've known each other for over ten years. We've been friends for years, and we've been dating for a year and a half."

She gave him a skeptical look as a reply, "maybe so, but you didn't even like her for a long time. You called her fat."

Chandler slammed his eyes shut as the expected ripple of pain shot through him. He hated that he did that. He wished he could go back in time and take it back, but he couldn't, and he hated that it kept getting brought up with the Gellers. "I know," he finally replied, "but that was so long ago, and I was truly an idiot then. I didn't realize what a wonderful person she was. I know that now."

Jack nodded, "she is wonderful. But she was engaged to another man not too long ago. You can't forget that."

Chandler shook his head, "She uh," he had to clear his throat, "she knows that was a mistake," he said softly. He had known this would come up and was prepared. "I love her so much. So much that it actually hurts and I know she loves me too, and I think that if I ask her to marry me…" he trailed off.

"You think she'll say yes?" Judy asked, her tone and facial expression still impossible.

Chandler bit his bottom lip for a second, "yeah, I really do." He made himself look up at the two of them and frowned when he saw them looking at each other, "you don't?"

"Monica is pretty hard to predict," Jack said slowly, "she's just like her mother in that way." Judy hit him on the arm as he continued, "are you sure you're ready to get married, Chandler? Because if I remember correctly you told us one time that you didn't ever want to get married, that committing your life to one person was crazy and that you'd always be single."

He rubbed his forehead with his thumb and forefinger, frustrated that they were stuck in the past, "that was years ago, I also used to think WHAM would last forever. The point is I'm so different now and I'm positive that I want this. I want to marry Monica, I want to wake up next to her every day, I want to fall asleep next to her every night, I want to be in her life for the rest of my days. The thought of not committing to her, of not marrying her...that's the scary thought now. I can't picture not spending my life with her...I don't want to picture that."

Judy sighed, "Chandler," she started, "I'm only wary of this because if she doesn't accept it will put such a strain on your relationship, possibly even end it. Monica is my only daughter, and I know I'm tough on her sometimes, but I love her to pieces, and I don't want to see her hurt again. She went through a lot with that whole Pete ordeal."

Chandler nodded, "I know that she did," he said softly, he had been there every step of the way, "but I'm not going to hurt her or pressure her into anything."

Judy threw a look over to her husband who nodded subtly and took over the questioning,"you were going to let her marry Pete, am I right?" he asked softly.

He blinked, not expecting to be asked that. He looked down at his shoes again, as he remembered that horrible time, before he collected himself and nodded to them, "yes." That's all he could say.

"You were going to let her marry Pete despite how you felt about her?" Jack continued.

Chandler sighed, "yes." He made himself look up, both pairs of eyes intently on him, questioning his answers, "I thought she loved Pete," he started to explain, "I thought she was happy, and she never gave me any indication that she wasn't, not until the rehearsal dinner. I wasn't going to tell her that I was head over heels in love with her when she was happy as she seemed to be."

Judy nodded only a little, "so, you were going to watch the woman you love marry another man? I'm confused. Why wouldn't you tell her how you felt when she got engaged? Or before she even got with Pete?"

Chandler groaned, this was harder than he thought it was going to be. "By the time I realized that what I felt for her was more than a crush, she was already pretty serious with Pete." He nervously played with his hands, "it wasn't about me," he finally continued, "if she was happy, and if it was him that she wanted, how I felt didn't matter. Her happiness was all I wanted. It still is. It will always be my top priority."

Jack let a smile spread across his face, "I have to admit," he started, "I've never seen my daughter happier since she's been in a relationship with you. Not with Pete, not even with Richard."

Chandler bit back a grin, "I've never been happier either. She's the best thing to ever happen to me."

Jack and Judy looked at each other, obviously having a silent conversation that Chandler didn't understand. He bit his bottom lip, waiting on one of them to say something.

"Alright." Judy finally said.

Chandler's eyes grew, and he watched as they both nodded slightly, "you can ask her to marry you," Jack added.

He let out a long sigh of relief, he felt as if he just sat through an interrogation, "thank you," he finally managed to say, resisting the urge to get up and jump up and down with happiness.

Jack and Judy stood from the couch, Judy reaching up to hug him and Jack shaking his hand, "just take care of her," Jack said softly, "she's our little Harmonica."

Chandler nodded and followed them as they walked him to the front door, "I will," he promised, "thank you so much. I'll call you guys in a couple of weeks."

"Good luck, Chandler!"

"Thank you," he offered them a final smile before turning to walk down the path.

They both smiled at him, nodding as he walked down the sidewalk.

"He really loves her," Judy said to her husband, looking up at him as he stood behind her.

"Yeah he does." Jack said smiling, "It's hard to believe that she's getting married," he said, chuckling a little, "for real this time."

"To the right man," Judy grinned.

Two weeks later, Chandler groaned, turning over and pressing the snooze button on the blaring alarm clock. He threw his arm over the woman next to him, but she was already awake, moving closer into his chest. He leaned down and kissed her forehead contentedly, closing his eyes and ignoring the fact that he needed to get up for work.

He wondered if she had fallen back asleep, her dark hair all over the pillow, her face nuzzled into his chest, her breathing calm and relaxed. He couldn't think of a more perfect sight and a soft smile touched his lips.

He moved his hand up to rub the bare skin on Monica's back. He hated to wake her, but if they didn't get up soon they'd be late, "Mon?" He called to her softly, but she only snuggled into him further. He grinned to himself, leaning down and pressing his lips to her shoulder, letting them linger there for a long moment, "Monica, honey," he said, kissing her skin again, "come on, wake up." She groaned in protest but moved her head so it was pointing up at him, still not opening her eyes. She made another cute noise and he brushed a few pieces of hair out of her face, "good morning."

She made her sleepy eyes open to look into his, "hey."

He smiled at her usual grumpy demeanor in the morning. Pre-coffee Monica was always a fun sight, "you can't go back to sleep," he reminded her gently as he saw her closing her eyes, "you're gonna have an apartment full of hungry people wanting breakfast soon."

"Just five more minutes," she mumbled, snuggling closer into him, trying to prevent his escape too.

He chuckled, tightening his hold on her. They could waste a few more minutes together. He grinned recalling the reason she was so tired...it had been a damn good night.

Time passed too quickly and before he knew it the snooze alarm started and they both groaned in protest.

"Come on," he sighed, starting to free himself from her tight grasp. "We've gotta get up, otherwise I'll have to impose a 'no sex on a school night' rule."

She chuckled deeply, rolling onto her side to watch him as he stood up. She got a great view of his perfect buttocks as he stretched and hunted for his boxers, causing her to sigh contently. Sadly, he pulled up his boxers and threw on a t shirt. "I don't think either of us would survive that," she pointed out as he shrugged on his robe.

"True," he chuckled, turning to see she had made no effort to move. "Come on, don't make me take drastic measures."

She smirked, yawning again, "just try, Bing."

"I might," he said confidently, smiling as he thought that hopefully someday soon, she might also be a 'Bing', "but I'm pretty sure I just heard Joey come in. Now he's hungry and there's no food cooking so he'll probably try and fend for himself...and yesterday he mentioned something about wanting pancakes. Just think of a hungry Joey loose in your kitchen with eggs and flour and syrup and…

"You don't play fair," she grumbled as she sat up quickly and climbed out of her bed

"I know," he grinned, holding out her dressing gown for her, helping her on with it and placing a kiss to the side of her neck.

"Thank you," she murmured, leaning back in his embrace for a moment before stepping away and starting to make the smiled, it was a sight he'd seen hundreds of times by now, but it was one of her quirks that he just loved. Hell, he loved most of her little eccentric habits, but watching her make the bed, he learned a while ago to never try and help, just seemed so intimate and domestic.

"I'll go start the coffee," he said, walking over to share one last kiss before he left the room.

As expected there was no Joey or anyone for that matter and he grinned as he started the machine. He glanced at his watch, wishing he had time to eat breakfast in his sleepwear, make it feel like a weekend, but he didn't, so he headed across the hall.

Showered, shaved, and dressed in suitable work attire, Chandler left his bedroom, nodding to Joey who sat waiting for him on a barstool, "hey man," he greeted.

"Hey," Joey smiled excitedly rubbing his hands together, "so you all ready for your big dinner?"

"Well, I was planning on having breakfast and lunch first," he quipped and Joey rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm ready. Are you? You remember what you have to do, where to be?"

"Chandler, I'm an actor, my job is remembering where to stand and what to say."

"Right," Chandler nodded, unconvinced, "so what else have you got planned for today?"

"Nothing much," Joey shrugged.

Chandler waited, raising an eyebrow...then waited some more.

"What?" Joey finally picked up on the not so subtle look.

"You have an audition today…" Joey frowned, he clearly had nothing. "You remember, you were all excited last week. It's for some commercial about biscuits."

"Oooh right!" Joey clicked his fingers, "thanks for reminding me, man. Phew, can't believe I almost forgot."

He just shook his head in disbelief, following his friend into the girls' apartment.

Monica grinned as her boyfriend and his roommate entered the apartment, "good morning."

Joey grinned back at her, all of his teeth showing in his mega-watt smile, "it's a very good morning, isn't it, Mo-ni-ca?"

Monica furrowed her eyebrows together, flipping the last pancake and reaching up to get plates out of the cabinet, "what?"

Chandler rolled his eyes at the back of Joey's head, "ignore him. He's still a little drunk from last night, aren't you, Joe?" He said his name through clenched teeth, his tone threatening.

Joey chuckled and moved over to the table, sitting down in one of the chairs.

Monica sat the stack of pancakes down in the middle of the table, then handed them empty plates and forks, "eat up. I'm going to go get changed."

Chandler smiled at her and squeezed her arm for a thank you as she passed him and went into her bedroom. As soon as the door closed, Chandler leaned over and whacked the Italian on the arm, "dude!"

"Ow!" Joey said, dropping his fork and grabbing his arm, "what was that for?"

"That was not playing it cool."

Joey rubbed his hurt arm as they turned when Rachel emerged from her bedroom, grinning as she spotted the two men at the kitchen table. She looked around the living room for any sign of Monica, then hurried over to the table, "Oh my god, I'm like, so excited!"

"Shhh." Chandler said, "Look, guys, I told you because I wanted you all to be there, but I don't want this ruined so you've all gotta chill out, okay? It's got to be a normal day."

Joey and Rachel both nodded, understanding, and then the door swung open to reveal Ross and Phoebe. They both walked over to Chandler, grabbing his arm, his shoulder.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. They were killing him.

"Are you ready? Did you like practice in front of your mirror?" Phoebe asked excitedly.

"Practice what?" Monica asked, walking across the living room towards the group at the table. Each of them turned towards her, panicked. Monica was confused again, "what's going on?"

Chandler stood and walked away from his four doofus friends, grabbing Monica's hands, "well, I didn't want to tell you until I was sure, but, I um, I'm up for a big promotion at work. I've got to interview for it. It's a pretty big deal."

Monica's face split into a grin, "oh, honey, that's great!" She pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tightly for a second, pulling back from him only a little, still holding his hands with hers, "but why didn't you tell me? I could've helped you practice."

He chuckled nervously, "well, I um, I wanted to surprise you."

"Oh," she said, a little disappointment in her voice.

"I'm sorry babe, you know how I get nervous about these kind of things and I didn't mean to tell them, but they overheard me on the phone...while you were at work."

She nodded slowly, understanding, "oh, okay, when is your interview?"

He squeezed her hands, "uh, it's um, today."

She grinned, her thumbs stroking, "you're going to do great!"

He smiled back at her, "you think?"

"No, I know! If you put your mind towards something, I know you can get what you want."

He chuckled lowly, "I sure hope so."

Monica grinned again and nodded at him, leaning up to give him a quick kiss before heading around him to the table. Chandler followed, sending a death glare towards each of them.

Chandler finished his pancakes quickly, wiping his mouth and placing his plate in the sink, "I've gotta get to work," he told them, "thanks for breakfast babe." He leaned down and gave her a kiss, letting his lips linger there for a second. He backed up from her, cupping her face, "I'll see you tonight?"

She smiled at him, nodding, "yeah, dinner at 7, right?"

"Yes." Chandler said to her, kissing her again, "I love you."

Monica smiled bigger. She adored this man, and she loved how they now said that to each other with such ease, in front of everyone, anytime one of them left the other. It was a habit she'd never get tired of, "I love you, too." She said, watching him as he walked around her and headed towards the door, briefcase in hand.

"Bye guys," Chandler said to the rest of his friends, the door shutting behind him moments later.

Rachel sighed happily, "you guys are so cute that it makes me sick."

"Yeah, you're like some old married couple." Ross added, laughing to himself at his own joke.

Monica threw him a look and smiled a little as she took some bacon and sausages off the grill, piling them onto a plate in front of Joey, "things are so great between us. I love him and he loves me, but I'm pretty sure marriage is a long way off!" She chuckled a little.

The gang shared an amused look between them.

"Why, uh, do you say that, Mon?" Rachel tried to bite back her smile, if only she knew!

Monica frowned a little picking up on their odd behavior.

"Because it's Chandler," she shrugged easily. "I love him to bits but he's never been the biggest fan of commitment." She frowned at their looks, "guys, c'mon, you know Chandler! Our relationship is stronger than ever, and I hope that as time goes by he'll get less scared by the whole idea. The important thing is that we're together- I'm not going to try and rush him into marriage."

"So if he asked you right now…?"

"I'd jump at the chance," she confirmed as if it was obvious, "of course I would, but come on, we aren't even living together. Pigs have a better chance of flying than Chandler dropping onto one knee any time soon."

"You're probably right," Phoebe said quickly, a little worried they were stepping onto dangerous ground. Chandler would actually kill them if they let his plans slip. She winced, kicking Joey under the table as he waved the bacon on the end of his fork through the air making an airplane sound.

"So, I told him….Chandler? Are you listening to me?"

His head shot up, meeting her amused eyes from across the restaurant table, "what?"

"What's with you tonight? she asked, her smile softening the words. "Are you alright? Are you worried about whether or not you got the promotion? Or are you still tired from last night?" Her eyes darkened slightly at the memory, "because we can always skip dessert and head back early? Maybe catch some tv or something?"

"No!" he protested a little too loudly, looking nervously at his watch, "no, it's too early to head back yet. I'm fine, really I am. And skip dessert? What madness is this?"

She smiled, reaching out to take his hands across the table, staring at him a moment, "you know I love you, right?"

He smiled back, his heart skipping a beat. He didn't think he'd ever get tired of hearing her say that.

"I love you too," he promised, his hands caressing hers. "You're incredible. Did I mention how beautiful you look tonight?"

She blushed slightly, "thank you."

"Though in fairness you look beautiful most nights...and most mornings, I love waking up beside you every morning," he confessed.

"Me too," she smiled, taking a deep breath, "which is why I was wondering...and you can totally say no if you don't want to..." Chandler frowned, at her nervous babble, "see I was thinking maybe it's time to, that our relationship is...but I don't want to rush you…"

Chandler's frown deepened. She wasn't, no she couldn't be...proposing? No, that was his job. Had her parents told her and she decided he was taking too long? "Monica?" he gently prompted her to get to the point.

"Right, ok, see I was wondering if you wanted to….move in with me. I know it's a really big step and if it's too fast or anything I totally understand and I don't want to rush you or pressure you or-"

"Mon," he interrupted her for a second time. He smiled at her nervous rambling. Add that to the long list of reasons he loved her, "I'd love to."

"See I just thought that we might be ready to...wait did you say 'yes'?"

"Yep," he grinned, trying not to laugh as he took in her shocked expression. Smiling, he reached over, gently placing a finger under her chin and pushed up to close her gaping mouth.

"Really?" the shock had worn off and a wide smile rapidly spread across her face. "Really?" she was getting louder, her eyes alive and sparkling. She was up out of her seat in seconds, coming around his side of the booth. Her hands cupped his amused face, "oh my god!" she looked like she was going to cry. "We're, we're gonna move in together? This is huge."

"Looks like it," his laugh was cut off by her lips pressing firmly to his.

When she pulled back Chandler couldn't help but smile, she was so happy, so excited over moving in together. How was she going to react to his proposal? Part of him wanted to forget the big plan and just propose to her right here, right now. Just desperate to see those blue eyes stay as lit up as they currently were.

"This is so exciting!" she beamed, her cheeks starting to hurt. "We're going to live with each other."

"Yeah, we are," he smiled back, thrilled that there was no doubt niggling in any corner of his occasionally insecure and scary mind. It was just more proof that he'd found the one. Proof that he was meant to spend his life with her and no one else. He suddenly felt a rush of love for this woman go through him and he needed to kiss her, sealing his lips to hers again.

As the kiss ended he smiled at her again. The waitress chose that moment to clear the table and ask if they wanted to see the dessert menu.

"Yes please," Chandler nodded to her.

"Can't we just head home?" Monica whispered as the woman disappeared to fetch the requested menus.

He tried to glance at his watch without her noticing. Still too early.

"I want to treat you to dessert. To celebrate!"

"We can celebrate at home," she whispered and he swallowed hard. He needed to stay strong.

"I-I want dessert."

"We have some whipped cream in the fridge," she purred and it almost undid him.

"Here are your menus," the waitress smiled as she handed them each a laminated sheet and walked away.

"Thank you," Chandler murmured, trying to ignore Monica's hand running up and down the front of his shirt. "Quit it," he ordered, not really mad. "I need to focus on the menu."

"You don't need a menu," she whispered, her lips pressing a few butterfly kisses along his jaw, to his cheek and moving to his sensitive ear, "whipped cream and me."

He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to move out of her tempting embrace.

"T-that sounds great, but maybe that can be for dessert number 2 because right now I really have a craving for apple pie."

She frowned at him, trying to work out if he was being serious, "you're choosing apple pie over sex?

"Noooo," he protested, "I want both."

She was still frowning at him, "you seriously want apple pie now?"

"Please? I've had a craving," he tried his puppy dog look and as predicted she caved.

"Fine, one slice and make it quick

With apple pie consumed and paid for, the couple made it out onto the sidewalk. His arm automatically going over her shoulders and pulling her to him.

"Fancy walking the long way back? It's nice out," Chandler suggested.

"But the sooner we get back the sooner we can get to putting that cream to good use."

"As tempting as that sounds, I think I need a bit of time for my meal to go down. Come on, a nice slow, gentle walk. More of 'us' time."

She relented, "okay. Sounds nice." They stayed in their embrace, taking a leisurely pace as they strolled towards Central park. She relaxed into his embrace, replaying the conversation from dinner. She couldn't believe he wanted to move in with her. That he had agreed so readily. She loved this man so much it was painful at times.

They walked slowly, taking in the view and updating each other on news of each of their friends. Monica was laughing at something Joey said yesterday when they came around the corner, facing the Loeb Boathouse. "The boathouse is so beautiful this time of year."

"Let's go in there," Chandler said, "I want to see the lake from the view inside."

Monica looked at him, confused, "we've eaten in there a thousand times. You've seen it."

He shrugged a shoulder, "not at night, come on, please?" He stuck his bottom lip out in a slight pout and she couldn't resist laughing at him and giving in.

"Fine," they headed towards the building. "Wow, look at all the lights," Monica said, pointing up to the trees surrounding the building, "must be a special occasion or something."

"Must be," he commented.

They walked towards the end of the restaurant, where an arch was set up with rose petals all over the floor, lights on all around, "Oh my," Monica said in awe, "There's gonna be a wedding tomorrow. This is beautiful."

Chandler smiled and stepped up to her slowly, "yes, you are."

She turned around, smiling at him, "that's so sweet," she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him.

He moved back from her a little and cleared his throat, breathing deep to try and slow down his rapid heart rate, "This isn't for a wedding," he said softly and she brought her eyes up to his again.

"What do you mean?"

He smiled down at her, squeezing her hands, "this is for you."

She looked around the room, "wh-what are you-" she had to take a breath, "what are you talking about?" Chandler dropped her hands and reached in his pants pocket, pulling out a small, black velvet box before getting down on one knee.

Her mouth fell open and she covered it with one of her hands, in shock, watching him carefully, "Mon I-" he tried to regulate his breathing again, "I was always afraid of this moment. I was afraid to fall in love, to commit my life to one woman." He grabbed her hand, with his free one, the need to touch her too great, "but then I met you. And everything changed. I'm not afraid anymore." He swallowed, "You're my very best friend, the greatest thing in my life, and I want to spend the rest of my days next to you," he let go of her hand so that he could open the box, he smiled at her, "Monica, will you marry me?"

She raised her hand to wipe the tears from her face, "yes, of course I will." He placed the diamond and sapphire ring onto her finger, standing and grabbing her, placing a slow, passionate kiss on her lips.

"I love you," he said to her, holding her to his body as tight as he could before diving into another kiss.

When they broke, he lifted his hands to wipe her tears of happiness again, "oh my god, Chandler," she said to him, her voice broken as she spoke, "it's beautiful."

He squeezed her arm, leaning down, kissing her forehead, "I'm so ecstatic you said yes," he locked his hands behind her, "I'm so happy right now."

Monica looked up from staring at her new ring, and smile "I love you."

Chandler smiled as the silence in the rest of the room was broken by the applause of Ross, Joey, Phoebe, Rachel, and Jack and Judy. Monica laughed in surprise finally letting go of Chandler, moving over to accept the hugs of her friends and parents.

"You did it, man!" Joey said, patting Chandler's back excitedly, "how do you feel?

Chandler smiled, "well, she said yes," he glanced over at her, but then looked back at Joey, "so I'm pretty damn relieved."

Ross gave him a hug, "you're going to be my brother, dude."

He chuckled, patting Ross on the back, "yeah."

The girls came over to him, hugging him tightly at once, "Chandler, that ring?" Rachel started, fanning herself a little, "it's perfect."

He ran a hand through his hair, "you think? Does she like it?"

Phoebe scoffed, "Does she? If she doesn't that baby is mine."

"Oh Chandler," Judy said, walking over from hugging Monica, "all of this was so romantic and sweet. I can't get over the fact that you planned all of this without Monica knowing." She gave him a hug, "congratulations."

"Thank you," Chandler said, and shook Jack's hand immediately after.

"Welcome to the family, son," Jack said, "you did a great job."

Chandler smiled, nodding his head, accepting the praise from his soon to be father-in-law, "thanks."

After everyone had their celebratory champagne and went their separate ways for the night, Chandler and Monica laid in bed, his arms around her tightly.

Monica held her left hand up, the small amount of moonlight in the room catching on the diamond, making it sparkle, "it's so beautiful." She said softly.

He leaned down and placed his lips on her shoulder and she could feel him smile, "I know it's not-"

She held up her right hand, "don't even finish that sentence." She didn't want any comparisons to her last engagement ring. This ring was just so much more her. "It's perfect, Chandler, it really is and I love the sapphires."

"I'm glad you like it," he grinned, his hand capturing hers, his thumb brushing her ring finger. He'd known it was the perfect ring when he'd seen, it but on her it looked so much more amazing than it had nestled amongst the velvet in the box. "It even has Rachel's approval," he joked, but with a hint of pride.

She chuckled, "and that's not easy. Especially not with jewelry."

He chuckled too, unable to resist pulling her closer to him and placing another kiss on her shoulder. Both had matching huge smiles which neither could quite shake off.

"Chandler?"

"Hmm?" he asked curious, picking up instantly her slightly uncertain tone.

"Do you, uh," she swallowed, her fingers tracing patterns on his chest, "do you know what sort of wedding you want? I mean I know us girls dream about it but have you already planned anything or have your heart set on something?"

"No," he frowned slightly, not sure yet where this was going, "I never really even thought of marriage until Mr Heckles died; even then it was just the need to find someone I could love enough to want to marry, never the actual wedding. When we got together I knew that I wanted to spend my life with you, and picking out the ring and planning the proposal was kinda neat, but beyond that?" he shrugged a little, praying he was giving her the right answer, "no, not really. Picturing you in a white dress as you walk down the aisle is as close as I've come...why?"

"It's just, I don't really want a huge wedding," she said quietly, "I know that's what everyone will expect but I kinda already had that, well nearly had that, but it wasn't what I thought it'd be, it wasn't personal it was just expensive and stressful. I want ours to be different to that, I want this to be us...unless you want a big wedding because I can-"

"Hey," he interrupted her, rolling onto his side and encouraging her to do the same so he could see her face. "The wedding bit isn't the important part for me, I just wanna be married to you, ok? We can go elope if that's what you want? Or Vegas? We could do Vegas?" She chuckled, shaking her head as she placed a finger to his smiling lips."No Vegas?" he guessed.

"No," she laughed, "I was more thinking something small but beautiful. Something elegant and intimate with our close family and friends. Would that be ok?"

"Are you kidding?" he grinned, his hand cupping a cheek, "I would love that. No weird distance relatives or people you pretend to like, or people you feel you have to invite."

Monica closed her eyes a moment, savouring the feel of his hand on her face. She felt him move slightly and a moment later his lips were on hers. She sighed happily into the kiss, this man was simply perfect. And he was all hers, forever.

"You know," he said as they pulled apart, his eyes on hers as his fingers lightly traced through her hair, "it's hard for me to believe this reality," he was speaking barely above a whisper, "a couple of years ago I thought I'd never get to even hug you again," he squeezed his eyes shut at the thought; remembering the pain and anguish he'd suffered then, "and now I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I just..."

She sighed, "nothing would've stopped me from hugging you," she said honestly, her eyes were shining with unshed tears, "I'm just so happy I get to spend the rest of my life with you, Chandler."

They mutually leaned in again, sharing a sweet kiss and he leaned his forehead against hers, "promise me something," he whispered.

"Hm?" She replied, her hand cupping his face.

"Promise me you'll never leave. That we can always work out whatever the problem is." She looked into his eyes through the darkness, and found them serious and full of concern.

"You don't have to worry about that," she said, rubbing his cheek with her thumb, the slight stubble causing her fingers to tingle.

He smiled at her, "good, thank you," he kissed her nose, "because I feel like I've finally got something right. And I don't want anything to mess that up."

"Nothing will," she promised, moving in to kiss him tenderly, "this is my happily ever after, Chandler, I never wanna lose this."

He stared into her eyes, unable to express with words everything he was feeling right now. So many emotions were coursing through him and overwhelming him; as cliched as it was, he couldn't remember ever feeling this happy and loved. Closing his eyes he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly to him; he just prayed she was feeling all this too.

He knew it would take a long time to sink in. That he'd probably have to remind himself every single day that he was actually engaged to Monica Geller, but he was more than okay with that.

Finally, despite everything, life was looking up for the both of them.

"Make love to me Chandler," she whispered softly.

He immediately complied, wanting to be as close and connected to her as possible. He started to kiss her, trying to put everything he was feeling for her into the kiss as his hands started to caress her perfect body.

His lips released hers to start trailing little butterfly kisses along her neck, searching for that certain spot, giving it plenty of attention when he found it.

"I love you so much," he heard her sigh.

He pulled away a moment to look into her eyes, "I love you too, Monica," he promised, "so damn much."

Their lips crashed together; he could feel her hands all over his body creating all kind of sensations. He returned the favor, loving her rich laugh as he touched a ticklish spot.

God, this was amazing, she was amazing. He vowed to spend every day reminding her of that. Vowed to cherish her and treat her how she truly deserved.

It had been a hell of a journey for the two of them, but it had turned out more than okay in the end. This really was what dreams were made of.

Okay guys, this is it! Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts for all the fantastic reviews, follows and favorites! We've really enjoyed writing this together and are chatting up some new ideas! We'll see you next time. ;)