AN: So this is a one-shot that takes place on Thanksgiving as you can probably tell from the title. This idea just came to me one night. Leave me some reviews and tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I own no one. They all belong to Bright/Kauffman/Crane.

Summary: This is a one-shot. Chandler gets sick on Thanksgiving and Monica forces him to go to the hospital. Then everyone ends up at the hospital so they can still spend Thanksgiving together.

Chandler Bing slowly walked up the steps to his apartment and finally walked in and lay down on the couch. He was sound asleep within minutes.

The door opened a few hours later and Monica came in and saw Phoebe and Joey sitting in the chairs watching the TV with the volume on low.

"Hey. Why is the volume so low?" she asked them.

"Chandler's sleeping on the couch." Phoebe told her. "We tried waking him."

"Do you know how long he's been home?" she went to the couch and saw Chandler facing the back of the couch sound asleep.

"I think he came home after lunch sometime." Joey told her.

"Honey," Monica softly shook Chandler and he turned over and saw her. "Hey. What are you doing home so soon?"

"They sent me home." he said softly. "They don't want me working when I'm sick."

"You do feel a little warm." she felt his forehead. "How do you feel right now?"

"I'm just tired." he said softly as he turned back over and faced the back of the couch again. "I'm just going to sleep."

"Ok." she left him alone and joined Phoebe and Joey in watching TV.

"I hope he's better by tomorrow." Joey said. "It wouldn't be fair for him to be sick on Thanksgiving."

"He doesn't like Thanksgiving anyway." Phoebe said.

"But still-to be sick on a holiday."

A few hours later, Phoebe and Joey left and Monica woke Chandler long enough to help him to their bedroom and helped him into bed. She cleaned up a little bit then joined Chandler in bed.

In the middle of the night, Chandler started a coughing fit. Monica stirred a little, but remained asleep. He slowly climbed out of bed and went to get a drink of water. He was still coughing when he finished the glass of water. He didn't want to keep Monica up all night, so he made up a bed for himself on the couch and lay down.

Monica awoke around eight o'clock and saw Chandler's side of the bed empty. She climbed out of bed and walked out to the living room and saw Chandler lying on the couch in the middle of a coughing fit. She went to sit beside him as he finally stopped.

"How long have you been out here?" she looked at him.

"A few hours." he took a breath. "I didn't want to keep you awake with all my coughing."

"That doesn't matter. I would've stayed up with you."

"I think I should lay down." he slowly lay back on the couch.

"I'll make you some chicken soup." she told him.

"You have Thanksgiving dinner to prepare." he mumbled.

"I can still make you some soup while I do that."

"Ok." he said softly as she went into the kitchen.

A couple hours later, the other four had shown up. Joey and Ross were sitting in the living room watching a football game as Chandler lay half asleep on the couch. Rachel and Phoebe were helping Monica prepare the feast while trying not to get in her way at the same time.

"How is Chandler doing today?" Phoebe asked.

"He's been having coughing fits."

"Has he eaten anything yet today?"

"I made him some soup. He ate almost half of it."

Chandler sat up on the couch as he started another coughing fit. Joey and Ross turned from the game to watch him.

"Dude, are you all right?" Joey went to try to help him.

"No." he managed to get out as he kept up the fit.

Monica looked up from what she was doing as she heard Chandler start to cough again. She watched as both Joey and Ross leapt up from where they were sitting as Chandler bolted to the bathroom.

"What happened?" Monica went to the couch.

"He just started coughing up blood." Joey told her.

"We'll clean it up." Ross told her. "Go see to Chandler."

Monica briefly knocked on the bathroom door before going in. She saw Chandler bent over the sink with his hands resting on either side as he coughed and a red substance spilled out of his mouth.

"Chandler," she went to him and rubbed his back and he gasped as he tried to take breaths between his coughs.

"It hurts, Mon." he finally managed to get out as he stopped coughing very briefly.

"Where does it hurt?"

"My throat." he said softly. "It hurts to swallow or whenever I cough."

"I'm taking you to the hospital. No arguments." she told him firmly as she took a wash cloth and cleaned all the blood off his face and hands.

"No arguments here." he said softly as she led him out of the bathroom.

"Ok. I'm taking Chandler to the hospital." Monica told the others as she grabbed her purse. "You all stay here and I'll call you when I know what's wrong with him."

"We'll finish making the dinner." Rachel told her. "Just go."

Monica helped Chandler into a cab and told the driver to take them to the hospital. The cab pulled up to the emergency room entrance and Monica helped Chandler walk into the entrance. She left him sitting in a chair as she went to the front desk. A nurse spotted her and came over to her.

"Can I help you?" she asked her.

"I hope so." Monica sighed. "I know you're probably very busy with other patients today. But my husband is sick. And he started coughing up blood about twenty minutes ago."

"I'll page a doctor." the nurse told her as she reached under the counter and handed her a plastic container. "Just in case he coughs up anymore blood."

"Thank you." Monica took it from her and went back to Chandler, who was lying across three plastic chairs.

"Did she say how long it will be?" Chandler moaned as he looked up at her.

"She's paging the doctor." she sat down beside him and let him rest his head on her lap as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Are you feeling any better at all?"

"Not really." he said softly.

"Just hang in there. The doctor should be out soon."

Fifteen minutes had gone by already and no doctor had been out to see them yet. Chandler was sleeping soundly as he started moaning in his sleep. Monica slowly rubbed his back as she saw a doctor coming out to them.

"Mrs. Bing, I presume?" he asked.

"Yes." she softly shook Chandler. "Honey, wake up. The doctor is here."

"What?" his eyes slowly opened and spotted the doctor standing before them.

"I understand you've been coughing up blood." Chandler nodded as he slowly sat up. "How long have you been sick?"

"Yesterday morning, I think." he mumbled. "It started with a head cold."

"He also started having coughing fits during the night." Monica told the doctor.

"And how long ago did you start coughing up blood?" the doctor wrote in a chart.

"About an hour ago."

"Ok. I think we should get you into an exam room." Monica helped Chandler slowly stand and they followed the doctor into a private room. "Now is there anything else wrong?"

"My throat has been hurting very bad since I started the coughing fits." Chandler said. "It hurts to swallow or whenever I have to cough."

"Let's see what your temperature is." he stuck a thermometer in his mouth and waited about thirty seconds until it beeped. "103. I think we should admit you."

"What's wrong with him?" Monica asked.

"I'm not sure yet. He could be dehydrated. We'll monitor him overnight."

"Ok."

Monica waited while they got Chandler settled into a room. He got changed into a hospital gown and lay back on the bed as a nurse got an IV hooked up to his left hand.

"I'm going to go call the others." Monica told him. "Are you going to be ok by yourself for a little bit?"
"I'll be fine. Go ahead." he told her and she walked out of his room to go find a pay phone.

The others were gathered in the living room waiting for any word from Monica about Chandler. All the food was already prepared and was being kept warm in the oven. The phone started to ring and Phoebe snatched it up.

"Mon, how's Chandler doing? That sucks. Do you want us to come down? We can bring the food with us so it's still like Thanksgiving. Ok. We'll see you in awhile." she hung up the phone and saw the others looking at her.

"So how is he?" Joey asked.

"They admitted him because his temperature is at 103. I told Monica we'd bring the food down with us so it could at least feel a little bit like a real Thanksgiving."

"Ok. Let's go." they started to pack up all the food in paper bags and headed out the door.

Monica walked back into Chandler's room and saw him with the remote in his hand as he flipped through the channels on the TV. She also saw that either the nurse or the doctor had added a tube in his nose.

"Hey. I brought you some ice chips." she handed him the cup. "The nurse said it might help your throat."

"Thanks." he took the cup from her.

"I called the others. They're all on their way. And they're bringing all the food with them."

"Sounds great." he put an ice chip in his mouth. "Actually, my throat does feel a little better."

"Good." she smiled as they heard a knock on the door and they watched as their four friends came in with their arms full of bags of Thanksgiving food. "Hey. That was fast."

"How are you feeling, Chandler?" Rachel set her bag down and went to his bed.

"A little better." he smiled at all of them. "But they're going to feed me through an IV because my throat hurts too much whenever I swallow."

"The nurse said maybe." Monica told them. "It depends how you're doing in a few hours."

"Well, do you want to try eating something?" Joey brought a plate over to him. "It's not a lot."

"Maybe just some chicken." he took the plate and slowly started eating as everyone else got some food, too.

"At least you look a little better." Ross said.

"I still don't have much of an appetite." He mumbled as he pushed the food away. "I'm starting to feel weird again."

"Uh-oh." Monica put her food down and went to him. "What's the matter? What's wrong?"

"I think it's the smell of all the food." he said softly.

"You guys, get the food out of the room now." Monica looked at the others. "It's making him sick."

"Got it." They packed it all back up. "I think there's a private room down the hall where we can put this stuff in."

"Let's go." Ross grabbed the last bag and rushed out of the room behind the others.

"Better, honey?" Monica looked at Chandler.

"Not really." He said softly. "I need-"

"Here." Monica grabbed the trash can and he started coughing up blood again. "You're going to be ok."

"It hurts. It really hurts." Chandler mumbled.

"What hurts?"

"Everything. My throat. My stomach."

"How are we doing in here?" the doctor came in. "One of your friends told the nurse that he started coughing up the blood again."

"He tried eating, but he got sick again." Monica told him.

"I think we should get you set up with a feeding tube, Mr. Bing." The doctor scribbled in his chart as Chandler started throwing up again.

"Is there anything you can do to get him to stop coughing up the blood?" Monica asked as she watched Chandler continue to heave.

"Unfortunately, all we can do is give him some stronger antibiotics. But we're not sure if they'll work or not." He closed the chart and started out of the room. "A nurse will come in a little bit and put in that feeding tube."

"Thank you." Monica went to Chandler and held him as he finally ceased his vomiting. "Are you ok?"

"For now." He whispered. "Just keep all food away from me."

"You got it." She kissed his cheek. "I'm going to go give the others an update. I'll be back in five minutes."

"Ok." He watched her leave and lay down on his side.

The other four were in a small private room pacing around it as they waited for Monica to come and give them any news on Chandler.

"Mon," Rachel spotted her coming into the room. "How is he? Is he feeling better?"

"He stopped throwing up for now." She told them. "They're going to put in a feeding tube and give him some stronger antibiotics."

"How's he doing?" Joey asked.

"He's ok. He doesn't want any kind of food anywhere near him, though." She sighed. "I'd better get back to him."

Monica walked back into Chandler's room and saw a nurse putting another IV in. Chandler looked at her and tried to give her a smile.

"I've already changed his medicine to a higher dosage." The nurse told her as she sat beside his bed. "And I just gave him a food supplement to get some nutrients into him."

"Thank you." Monica told her.

"I'd stay alert for anything out of the ordinary. I just checked his temperature again. It went up a half a degree. We don't want it to get too high. I gave him a cooling blanket, too."

"I'll keep an eye on him." She assured her as she watched her walk out. "How do you feel, honey?"

"I'm ok." He said softly as she ran her hand through his hair. "I just feel a little weird."

"It's probably all the medication. And your fever."

"Yeah." His eyes slowly closed and he was sound asleep.

"Just sleep now, sweetie." She whispered as she leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I'll be back soon."

She walked out of his room and went back to the room where their friends were. They all looked up as they ate the feast that had turned cold.

"How is he, Mon?" Phoebe asked.

"He's asleep finally." she said. "The nurse said his temperature went up a half a degree. So we need to keep an eye on him. Watch out for anything out of the ordinary."

"Are you hungry?" Ross offered her a plate. "It's cold now, but-"

"I'd love something." She sat with them at the small table and started to eat.

A little while later, they all walked back into Chandler's room and saw him still sleeping. Monica went to the bed and softly shook him.

"Honey, we're all back." she said softly.

"'m tired." He whispered.

"Just sleep." She told him. "We'll be here when you wake up."

"Ok." He mumbled as they all sat around his bed.

They had only been sitting beside his bed for ten minutes when Chandler started coughing again. Only this time it was more intense than all the other times. Monica grabbed the trash can and went to him and held it before him. Joey helped him sit up because he was too weak to do it himself as he started throwing up again. Ross rushed out of the room to get the doctor as Phoebe and Rachel just watched.

"How are we doing, Mr. Bing?" the doctor came in with Ross.

"I don't think he can answer you right now, doc." Joey told him.

"He fell asleep for awhile." Monica told him. "He awoke and just started coughing, and then he started throwing up."

"I did get the test results back." The doctor told them. "And it appears that he's contracted a virus somehow."

"How could he have caught it?"

"There's no way to know for sure. But there is nothing to worry about. It should pass out of his system in a few days." He put Chandler's chart down and took out an ear thermometer to take his temperature again. "But he's going to get worse before he gets better."

"What's his temperature?" Monica asked as Chandler finally stopped throwing up and collapsed back on the hospital bed.

"It's at 104 right now." He sighed. "We'll keep him as comfortable as we can and hopefully the antibiotics will help get the virus out of his system as soon as possible."

"Thank you." Monica told him as he left the room and she took Chandler's hand in hers. "Honey, can you hear me?"

He slowly turned his head to look at her, but he was too weak to talk. His eyes looked very bloodshot as he glanced at the others crowded around his bed.

"It's ok. You don't have to talk. Just rest." She smiled down at him as his eyes slowly closed.

For the next several days, they all took turns staying with Chandler while the others would go back to their homes and rest up. Except for Monica, who refused to leave his side for even a minute. He would come to every so often, but all he spoke was gibberish, so they disregarded everything he said to them. Monica kept dampening a cloth with cold water and applying it to his forehead to try to give him a little relief. He would always scream out her name in his sleep, so she didn't leave his side for an instant.

Chandler slowly resurfaced and slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a few times to let his eyes adjust to the bright light. He slowly looked around and saw Monica and Rachel sleeping in a couple chairs by his bed.

"Monica," he took her hand and shook her. She slowly awoke and looked around and smiled at Chandler.

"Honey? Are you really awake?" she went to him as Rachel woke up as well.

"Yeah. Why?"

"You've been really out of it the past few days."

"How long have I been out?" he asked.

"Almost a week." Rachel told him.

"You're serious?"

"You contracted a virus somehow. But they think the virus is out of your system now." Monica told him.

"So I'm going to be ok?"

"You should be."

"I'll go call the others." Rachel told them. "And let the doctor know that you're finally awake."

"Thanks, Rach." Monica told her as she walked out of the room.

"Have I really been asleep for a week?" Chandler looked at Monica.

"You were in and out. You kind of scared me."

"What do you mean?"
"You kept yelling my name. I felt so bad that I couldn't help you."

"I'm sure you were trying to help me as much as you could."

"I'm just glad that you're all right now." She ran her fingers through his hair. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He smiled at her.

"Mr. Bing," the doctor came in. "It's good to see you awake."

"That means I can go home now, right?"

"I understand that you're anxious," he smiled at him. "But we're going to run a couple tests just to make sure that the virus is out of your system."

"And then I can go home?"

"If your test results come back ok."

"Good." He sighed.

"But you're still to take it easy when you get home. Bed rest, plenty of fluids,"

"I understand."

"And I'll be there to keep an eye on him." Monica assured him.

"I'll be back in a little bit to check on you." the doctor left the room and Monica sat beside Chandler on the bed.

"You're almost out of here." She told him.

A couple hours later, Chandler received a clean bill of health. Monica helped him into the wheelchair that the nurse provided them because he was still unsteady. Monica pushed him to the elevator and they took it down to the lobby where all their friends were waiting for them.

"I bet it feels good to get out of here." Phoebe told him.

"Yes, it does." He smiled at them.

"We need to stop at the pharmacy before we go home," Monica told them as they all went outside and hailed a couple cabs. "Then you need to rest once we get home."

"Yes, Dr. Monica." He mumbled as he laid his head against the back of the seat in the cab.

Monica smiled at him as they pulled away from the hospital and made their way back to the apartment.

THE END

AN: So what'd you all think? Leave me some reviews.