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At the medical center.
"Stop overthinking it. Come with me," Adam said, clapping Joey on the shoulder.
"Where to?" Joey asked.
"To meet your son," Adam replied with a playful grin. "If you end up proposing successfully, you won't just be your daughter's dad—you'll be this boy's dad too. It's a big deal, so you've gotta meet him before you make any serious decisions, right?" 😏
"Yeah, fair point," Joey nodded.
In the neonatal ICU.
"Which one? Which one?" Joey peered through the glass, buzzing with excitement. He pointed at the cutest baby he could spot. "Adam, is it him?"
"Nope," Adam said, holding back a laugh.
Joey clearly had no clue about Noelle's boyfriend situation. He pointed at a few more adorable babies, but Adam shot each guess down with a merciless shake of his head.
"I give up. Just tell me already," Joey said, losing the energy to keep guessing. With so many kids in there, how was he supposed to know which one it was? 😅
"Alright, brace yourself," Adam said, turning serious. "Follow my finger—that's your future baby boy!"
"…" Joey followed Adam's point, and his jaw dropped. He blinked, then turned back to Adam with that classic Joey sideways smirk. "You're messing with me, right?"
"I wish I was," Adam said with a shrug.
"But… how am I supposed to answer his questions later?" Joey whined, mimicking his future stepson. "'Daddy, Daddy, why don't me and my sister look alike? One's Black, one's white!'"
"Easy peasy," Adam waved it off. "If it comes to that, just tell him when his mom was pregnant with him and his sister, she ate too much ice cream. First chocolate, then vanilla. Problem solved!" 🍦
"Stop joking around," Joey groaned. "Would that even work?"
"It'll probably fool him until he's six," Adam said, deadpan. "After that, up to ten, you can say it's one of those mysteries kids don't get—like their homework. Keeps 'em guessing."
"And after ten?" Joey pressed.
"Even simpler," Adam laughed. "If he's still asking at that point, just shut it down. Say, 'Stop asking, kid, 'cause that question's tied to discrimination. Whoever asks it is a racist!' Boom—problem gone for good!" 😎
"Huh… that's actually kinda smart," Joey said, eyes lighting up. "You think it'll stick?"
"Trust me," Adam grinned. "It's field-tested. You know Barney Stinson, right? Your arch-nemesis? He's got an African-American brother, James, and their mom fed them that line growing up. They still swear they're blood brothers—never doubted it once."
"What?!" Joey yelped, whipping his head back to stare at the African-American baby behind the glass. "No way! I am not raising a Barney Stinson! And my daughter's not having a brother like that!" 😱
"That's why I said think it over," Adam said, seizing the moment. "This proposal thing? I'm calling an intervention. We need to sit down and talk this out with everyone."
He wasn't sold on Noelle at all. The friend group had such a solid vibe—there was no way he'd let some random, scheming, cheating chick swoop in and mess it up. And honestly, this wasn't even his fault for穿越-ing and causing a butterfly effect. This was fate (or the writers). This was life.
In his past life, the Friends writers had apologized—tears and all—for not including an African-American character in the main six, even a decade after the show ended. Then there were rumors of a reunion reboot. Put those two together, and you've got a clear red line: this time, they'd have to add a key Black character.
In the Friends crew: Monica and Chandler adopted two white kids and were living happily in the suburbs. Ross and Rachel had Emma and were finally back together—fan-favorite ending. Phoebe found Mike, making everyone who'd rooted for her sigh in relief. Those five? Not the best fit for a major Black character introduction.
That left Joey, the only one still single by the end.
So how do you bring it in? A love interest? They'd tried that with Joey and Ross's shared Black girlfriend—didn't exactly hit the mark. What's more "correct" than Joey accidentally becoming the dad to an African-American boy and pouring his heart into it? Add in the once-in-a-century twist of twins from two uteruses, some juicy drama, conflict, heartfelt resolution, and a warm, fuzzy payoff—talk about a gimmick with legs! 😲
If the writers had real-life inspiration and poured genuine emotion into it, it could touch a lot of hearts. Emmm. Maybe. Or it'd just get roasted to death. But that's comedy—making everyone crack up like crazy, right? 😂
So no, Adam couldn't take the blame for this butterfly effect turning Joey into the ultimate step-up legend. Joey was doomed to this plot twist either way. Single, no steady partner, never married—sorry, bud, this one's on you.
"Okay, enough about that for now," Adam said, patting a mopey Joey on the back with a smile. "Let's head to the ward. I promised Noelle you'd be there when she wakes up—I can't break my word."
After dropping Joey off at the ward and making sure he'd stay put, Adam stepped out.
"Chandler," Adam called, dialing him up and filling him in. "Monica's due for another checkup soon anyway. Bring her over—we'll do that first, then sit Joey down for a proper talk."
"Sounds good," Chandler agreed without hesitation. Joey's life choices mattered to him too.
Adam shot off calls to Ross, Rachel, and Phoebe next.
"What the heck?!" Monica exclaimed when she waddled in, belly out, with Chandler fussing over her like a nervous wreck. She spotted Adam and let out a shocked yelp. "I thought I was the second one in our group to get pregnant. How'd Joey zoom past me in the blink of an eye?!" 😳
"Nah, relax," Adam said, laughing. "Joey's daughter is only 26 weeks along, and you're at 30. You're still number two! No way a single guy like Joey's jumping the line over you."
"Phew, good," Monica said, rubbing her belly with a smug grin. "Hear that, son? You're gonna be the big brother of the crew—the first boy!"
"Monica!" Ross, who'd just rushed in, overheard and bugged out. "What do you mean 'first boy'? Did you forget Ben? Ben's the first, hello!" 😡
Monica froze.
"Don't jump on her!" Adam shot back at Ross. "She's pregnant—memory slips are normal. Plus, she's not wrong. Ben's your kid, sure, but you're barely around him. How often do you even see him? It's fair he doesn't count in our little circle."
Ross: "…"
So which one of us is the real brother here?
(End of Chapter)