The One with the Plan
This takes place after TOW the Flashback. Monica has the apartment to herself, while Chandler and Joey live together.
Monica was sitting on the couch watching television. She had eaten dinner almost three hours ago, alone. That was surprising; ever since Phoebe had left Chandler had come over every night for dinner; usually with his new roommate Joey in tow. Monica turned around on the couch when she heard the door open. She almost laughed at the sight that met her eyes. Chandler was standing there; obviously having just gotten home from work. His suit looked like he had slept in it and he had a large stain on his shirt, pants and tie. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he slammed the door shut.
"I hate my life." Chandler shoved his hands in his pockets and began pacing around the kitchen.
"What happened to you?" Monica asked.
"The computer crashed which meant I had to re-type two weeks of data before noon. Then at lunch the waitress dropped my food right in my lap. When I got back to work, I was told that the data I had spent the morning imputing had been erased when the computers were 'fixed.'" Chandler put the word in quotes with his fingers. "So I spent the rest of the day re-entering the numbers a third time. I have to go back to work early tomorrow morning to do all the work that should have been done today. But, on the bright side, I get to come home to my new roommate."
"Joey is not that bad." Monica wondered what Chandler would have thought of his new roommate if he knew that Joey had stripped in front of her, thinking they were going to have sex, on the day he moved in.
"You don't know the half of it. Now I have a roommate that bring home a new girl every night. I have to listen to them 'enjoying each others company'. I don't think I've had a good night's sleep since he moved in. The worse part is that I have to hear what I am missing."
"You are not the only one without a relationship Chandler."
"Who said anything about a relationship? I just want to 'enjoy someone's company.'" That was not completely true, but Chandler rarely admitted to himself that he wanted more, let alone told anyone else.
"Face it Chandler, you are not the love 'em and leave 'em type." He thought he was fooling people with his attitude but he wore his heart on his sleeve and Monica had lived across the hall from Chandler too long not to know that he couldn't 'just' sleep with a girl, no matter how afraid of commitment he was.
"Thanks…I think." Chandler smiled and sat down next to Monica. "Sorry, sometimes it feels as if my life is going nowhere."
"I know exactly what you mean. I feel that way sometimes myself."
"You, Mon? But you know exactly what you want. You have a plan."
Monica laid her head back on the couch and smiled up at the ceiling. "Maybe I do."
"Maybe? Come on...tell me your plan." Chandler did his best not to laugh at how happy Monica looked right then. "You know you want to."
Monica looked over at Chandler to see if he was teasing her. She could tell that he was, at least a little. But she also saw that he would listen to her and that he would not judge. Chandler was the only person in her life with whom she could be serious without being afraid. Ross, just like her parents, judged her every action. She couldn't be serious with Phoebe; she loved her but Phoebe was just not grounded enough for serious talk. So Monica decided that she would talk to Chandler about her Plan; just to see what he thought.
"I want my own restaurant, something small, but elegant. I want two children, a boy and a girl."
"Which one are you going to have first?" Monica was the most organized person he knew. Chandler did not know how she was able to do it. He couldn't even manage to get to work on time two days in a row. "She an impressive woman," he thought to himself.
"The girl. I don't want her to go through what I went through with Ross." Monica tried to say that without bitterness, but Chandler heard it anyway. It always made him angry to think about what she went through as a kid.
"What else?" he prompted her, hoping she would forget her pain and focus back on her dreams.
"Most important I want a husband. Someone who treats me like the most important person in the world. Someone who loves me as much as I love him."
"I'm sure you'll get everything you want." Monica was surprised at how confident he sounded when he said it. What made him so sure?
"How can you be so sure?"
"How can I be sure? Just look at you Monica…you're hot."
"Who taught you to lie so well, Chandler Bing?"
"Liar? Are you calling me a liar? I would have you know Monica Geller that I am absolutely serious when I say you are so hot I'm sweating from being this close to you." She didn't get it. Chandler could tell that Monica had no idea that he was flirting with her. Was he doing it wrong? She just doesn't look at me in 'that' way at all. What is wrong with me?
Monica laughed. "OK, OK. You win. I am hot."
Chandler laughed back. "What? Am I hearing things? Are you actually admitting to being wrong about something?"
"No. I am not admitting to being wrong. I am just saying that you are right. I am hot." Chandler was so funny sometimes. Monica could almost believe that he was flirting with her, but she knew better.
"Thank goodness we cleared that up." Chandler smiled at Monica to let her know he was just teasing her. He knew that his sarcasm was sometimes misunderstood.
"But being hot won't get me what I want. I want a guy to love me for more than my looks. I want him to love me for being, well, for being me." Monica knew she was wishing for a lot; but if you didn't dream big, what was the point of dreaming at all?
For being smart, funny, kind, generous and so many other great qualities. Chandler knew all about the things that would make the guy who got Monica the luckiest guy he knew. He would have been jealous of that guy but he didn't want what Monica did and he knew it would never work between them. Oh, but wouldn't it have been fun while it lasted.
"Monica, look at me." Monica turned to face Chandler on the couch. He took both of her hands in his own and forced her eyes to look into his. Blue eyes met blue eyes in a look that was meant to reassure. "Listen, Mon. I promise you that you will get everything you ever wanted. Trust me."
Monica wanted to ask Chandler how he could be so sure but looking into his eyes she found all her doubts vanishing. She didn't know why but when he said it she believed him. She smiled at him. "If you say so."
"I do. Now stop your worrying. Don't forget that this was my bad day, not yours." Chandler realized he was still holding on to Monica's hands and hastily let go.
"Sorry. I didn't want to steal your bad day away from you." Monica smiled up at Chandler. Here he was trying to cheer her up when his day had been so lousy.
"I'll forgive you if you give me a hug." Chandler gave her an innocent grin.
"That sounds fair." Monica leaned over and gave Chandler a hug. He was such a sweet guy. She was lucky to have him as a friend. She didn't know what she would have done without him. Laugh a lot less, that was for sure.
"I'd better go now. I have to be up early to get back to my wonderful job." Chandler was pleased with himself. He liked being able to cheer Mon up. He thought she always deserved to be happy. She was too good of a person to be miserable like he was all the time.
"I'm sorry I wasn't able to make you feel better."
"That's not true. I feel much better. Thanks Mon." He didn't know what he would have done without her. Laugh a lot less, that was for sure.
"Anytime Chandler. I mean that. After all, you always know where to find me."