At the medical center.
Adam was personally doing an ultrasound for Monica.
"Where is it? Where? Why can't I see anything?"
Monica craned her neck toward the screen but only ended up staring at a whole lot of nothing.
"Does that mean I'm not pregnant?"
Chandler asked nervously.
"Don't worry, she's definitely pregnant," Adam said with a grin, pointing at a tiny dot on the screen. "That right there is the embryo!"
"That's it?"
Monica sounded unsure, her emotions all over the place.
"I can't really make it out," Phoebe chimed in. "But it's gotta be it. Remember Ross's son Ben's ultrasound pic? It was like this too—we searched forever and still couldn't find it."
"Exactly," Adam confirmed with a nod. "Right now, it's less than 2 centimeters."
"But why can't we hear a heartbeat?"
Chandler asked, still on edge.
"Dude, it's way too early for that," Adam laughed. "At 30 to 40 days, it's just a gestational sac. At 40 to 50 days, the embryo starts forming. And it's only around 50 to 60 days—about two months in—that you can hear the heartbeat. Monica just found out super early, that's all."
"So how big is my baby right now?"
Monica pressed, eager for answers.
"No one knows for sure," Adam teased. "You two have been going at it like rabbits every day—could've happened any time! We can only guesstimate based on the last day of your period."
"Hahaha!"
Everyone burst out laughing at that.
Normal people don't usually go at it every single day unless they're in that honeymoon phase. The whole "seven times a night" thing? Yeah, that's just a fantasy—most folks can't keep up! So when there's a bit of a gap between sessions, it's easier to pinpoint when conception happened.
Hmmm.
Sometimes you could even figure out if the neighbor climbed over the fence, so to speak.
Of course, as knowledge about biology spread, people got craftier. Figuring out if the neighbor did sneak over became trickier. A sneaky pro could totally play it smart—make sure both the husband and the neighbor get equal action, no one left out. Go ahead and calculate all you want—if something's off, it's on you!
Unless the neighbor's genes are so obvious that people start pointing fingers and the husband ends up demanding a paternity test, it's a secret that could stay buried forever.
Take Ted's romantic mom and the oh-so-charming Uncle Ted next door—there's a story or two there…
"So it's been almost 40 days," Monica calculated. "In about two weeks, I'll hear the heartbeat!" 😊
"Yup," Adam nodded.
Then he started going over a list of things to watch out for.
"I've gotta call Joey and the gang—spread the good news!"
Phoebe couldn't hold it in anymore and started dialing up friends and family.
"Awesome!"
"I'm gonna be an uncle (or aunt) again!"
That was Ross and Rachel, super excited.
"My boy's all grown up! I'm proud of you!"
Joey, being Joey, was over the moon.
"Tell Adam thanks for me!"
That was Chandler's mom, Nora.
"Fingers crossed it's a girl!"
Chandler's dad, Helena, chimed in.
"Never thought our Monica would get here one day!"
Monica's parents were all sentimental.
After the whirlwind of calls, Chandler took Monica home. From now on, Monica was the VIP—treated like a precious panda. Chandler couldn't wipe the grin off his face—except for that one weirdly loaded "congrats" from his dad, Helena.
Not only did they have a kid on the way, but they'd also get a nice long break. Hmmm. At least the first three months would be chill. With one month already down, they had two more to take it easy.
Everything felt perfect.
Thanksgiving night wrapped up early, and everyone headed home.
Adam walked down the street, Juno on his left, Peggy on his right, and Karen next to Juno. The four of them strolled side by side.
"So," Juno said with a smirk, "seeing all your friends tying the knot and popping out babies—does it make you wanna jump on the bandwagon?"
"Nah," Adam shook his head. "They're all in their thirties. I'm barely past twenty—totally different vibe."
"What about you, Peggy?" Juno leaned over to peek at her.
"Me?" Peggy blinked, then shook her head. "Not interested."
She'd just hit adulthood, and her career was in full swing—no room for baby thoughts yet. Then she glanced at Adam, Juno, and Karen. "What about you guys?"
"I've thought about it," Juno said with a laugh. "Adam knows—back in high school, I used to wonder what it'd be like to get pregnant and have a kid. Sounds kinda fun, right?"
"…"
Adam's mouth twitched. This topic gave him a weird vibe. He shot a look at Karen, but she just stared blankly ahead. When she caught him looking, she silently pulled her hoodie up over her head.
Yup.
Juno and Karen loved their hoodies. Even though it wasn't a red one today, that move made Adam's heart skip a beat.
Uh-oh. That's a murder vibe! 😬
"What about now?" Peggy asked, curious.
"Now…" Juno dragged out the word, grinning. "I still think about it sometimes, but there's no rush. Like Adam said, we're only in our early twenties—plenty of time."
"You and Karen?" Peggy glanced at the stone-faced Karen. "Adoption, maybe?"
"We'll see," Juno said lightly. "Having our own would be cool, though. I think that patient Adam saw last time is a solid example."
"Ahem!"
Under the three girls' stares, Adam coughed awkwardly and forced a laugh. "It's not that great… Why are we even talking about this? It's like we're about to pop out kids right now. Guess this stuff really is contagious, huh? Haha!"
His awkward laugh was way too loud.
It drew some stares. People glanced around, scoping out the hot guy and pretty girls, half-expecting to spot a camera crew. Filming random scenes on the streets of New York? Totally normal.
"Let's go!"
Adam bolted ahead with an exaggerated sprint.
"Childish!"
"Dork!"
"Boring!"
Peggy, Juno, and Karen ignored him, strolling along at their own pace, chatting casually.
"Phew."
From around the corner, Adam watched them—Juno in the middle, Peggy and Karen on either side, walking and talking like it was no big deal. He let out a long breath.
"This Juno…" he muttered to himself, half-annoyed. "What's she playing at?"
That patient Juno mentioned? The one who bought Joey's "gold" and got pregnant at the same time as her bestie—planning to raise a pair of half-siblings as one big happy family.
"No way, right?"
Adam's mind flashed back to that drunken night he still couldn't piece together.
He still had no clue what went down. But now, he couldn't help but wonder…
"Nah!"
He shook it off. "Juno's too sneaky. She's probably just messing with me, trying to make me paranoid so she can get back at me for Heather's sake."
Yup.
No way he'd fall for it!
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