Chandler carried his suitcase toward the front door.

"Well, I'm off to Tulsa, so if your Maitre D. friend has any funny Oklahoma jokes, tell him to e-mail me at ."

Monica stood from the kitchen table and intercepted him, twisting her wedding rings. "Chandler, you know he's no threat to you, right?"

"Yeah, sure." he shot back. "Some guy comes along who is better at my thing than I am, and that's no threat to me."

She took his hand. "Don't you see by now? I choose you every time. Joey always gets the girl, and I chose you. That male nurse was really interested, but I chose you. Richard practically handed himself to me on a silver platter. I chose you. I still choose you, and I will choose you for the rest of my life."

He smiled at her. "You're right. I knew I was blowing this out of proportion. And yet I never get tired of hearing that I'm the top pick of one of the world's most beautiful women."

She laughed, a genuine laugh, with no trace of pity.

He wet his lips and continued. "You know, no one in my life has ever loved me the way you do. My parents were self-absorbed to the point of neglect. My friends had their own lives and their own issues, on top of the fact that I kept them at arm's length. Girlfriends never lasted long, and never seemed to eager to use the L word. And then there was you. We got together and for the first time in my life, I felt like I really and truly mattered to someone else. You made me a priority. You went out of your way to do things just for my health and happiness, and I learned to count on that. It amazed me then and it still amazes me now."

He looked down, not trusting his voice anymore after watching Monica's eyes grow brighter. She pulled him into a fierce hug.

"I'm more selfish than you give me credit for." came her muffled voice. "Your happiness is my happiness."

He tightened his arms around her and breathed in her scent, the scent of home, the home he would have to leave right now if he wanted to catch his flight.

They pulled apart just enough to kiss and lean their foreheads together.

"I should go." he said reluctantly.

She gave him a watery smile. "I'll be waiting for you."

He smiled back broadly, his own eyes more than a little wet.

With one last kiss, he took his suitcase and left, newly refortified to face the world.