Monica made her way to the kitchen and caught sight of Chandler asleep on the couch. She rarely saw him so still. She stopped and with a slight smile bent down beside him, taking in how sweet and innocent he looked. He chose that moment to open his eyes and freak, effectively breaking the spell. They each jumped back with a yelp.
"Why must everybody watch me sleep?" he bellowed. "There will be no more watching me sleep! No more! Watching!"
"I wa-" Monica began
"Huh!" Chandler cut her off.
"Okay, clearly you have issues." said Monica, catching her breath and meeting his glare with one of her own. "I know that wasn't about me." she added.
"It was about you a little bit." he muttered.
She narrowed her eyes and looked at him more closely. "When was the last time you really slept?"
"I don't know." he grouched. "Eddie told me he watches me sleep and suddenly it's like all the sleep I've gotten since he moved in doesn't count anymore. It was all tainted. I let a psycho move in with me." he concluded, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Yeah, you did." Monica agreed. She moved toward him, gently pushing him back on to the pillow and pulling up the blanket. "You'd better make the most of tonight."
She saw his eyes flick to the door and guessed his thoughts. "Chandler, he isn't coming here. And look at that. You locked the door when you came in."
Suddenly he sat up and gestured toward his apartment. "My key! I have a spare key! It's over there! He has the key!"
She soothed him back down. "That's if he even thinks of coming over here, and if he adds up you might have a key, and if he finds that huge stash of random keys you have, and if he decides it's worth it to sift through all of them, and if he actually finds the right one before morning. Doesn't sound very likely to me. I think you're safe here."
He looked almost convinced. "Hey!" he said with sudden enthusiasm, propping up on his elbow. "If I have a nightmare, can I sleep in your bed?"
Monica tried and failed to keep the smile from her face. "Dream on." she said as she tucked him in for the third time. "Now close your eyes, and picture a beautiful beach, full of women in red bathing suits, running...and running...and running."
"Mmm," he murmured with a smile. "Always running. Goodnight Mon."
She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. "Goodnight Chandler." She was gratified to see him still once more and quietly padded back to her room, completely forgetting why she was awake in the first place.
Neither Chandler nor Monica noticed the door to the second bedroom softly closing. Rachel had awakened to all the screaming, fully intending to add some yells of her own until she was arrested by the scene playing before her. She was always amazed by Monica's ability to shift seamlessly into mother hen mode. She was equally amazed when Chandler seemed to eat it up. Rachel's indignation evaporated as she watched the two of them. She had the feeling she was spying on something intensely intimate, yet she couldn't look away. It struck her that they were cute together, in a completely platonic sort of way, of course. Monica had Richard, and Chandler was, well, Chandler. Yet, somehow watching their unguarded moment of trust and care made Rachel feel better about the world. She crawled back into bed, feeling grateful for good friends.