A Perfect Fit

Summary: They felt like nothing and no one could ever come between them. They were wrong.

Category: Angst /Romance; JR, some CM

Rating: M

A/N: Huge thanks to Exintaris for betareading and general encouragement. I wouldn't know what to do without you, honey.

A/N2: This is a JR story. So I guess one has to be interested in that pairing to want to read this story. Especially since it's not so much the 'getting there' I'm dealing with in this story, it's more the 'What might be the consequences?'.

Chapter 1 - TOW the surprise

"…and you won't believe how warm the water was, it was like in a hot tub."

The newly wed Bings had come home a day early from their honeymoon and were sitting with all their friends in their living room, telling stories about their holidays. They obviously had had a lot of fun and even met a nice married couple they wanted to have dinner with sometime.

"Aww, really? I am so jealous. I would have nothing against lying on a sunny beach instead of suffering through this dreadful weather we're having here," Rachel said dreamily.

"Come on, Rach, if it's cold, you're complaining, if it's warm, you're complaining too. You just don't know what you want."

This comment earned Ross a warning glare from Rachel, but she didn't remark on it further. Instead she turned to Monica.

"And how was the food?"

"Oh, don't ask. That was actually the not so great part of this vacation."

"That is so not true, Monica," Chandler retorted, "You're just way too picky."

"I'm not picky, I have a fine sense of taste."

"You're picky."

"I am no…"

"Hey guys," Phoebe exclaimed very loudly, bolting out of the bathroom holding something up.

"Look what I just found! Someone is having a BABY! Oh Monica, I am so happy for you two."

Everyone's gazes went to Chandler and Monica. Chandler looked terrified. Monica looked as if someone had just told her a very bad joke.

"I am not having a baby, Phoebe. What makes you say that?"

"Here, I found a positive pregnancy test in the trash."

"That is not mine."

"So then whose is it?"

All five pair of eyes suddenly fixed on the only remaining woman in the room, since it was obviously not Phoebe's.

Rachel had buried her face in her hands, shaking her head.

"Rach, what …" Ross started, but Rachel got up in a hurry and stormed out of the room.

Now everyone looked at Ross. Everyone but Joey, who just stared right ahead.

"Hey, why are you looking at me like that? I don't have anything …" Ross said defensively.

"Oh my God."

Joey's almost whispered words turned the friends' attention to him.

"Joey, do you know anything about that? I didn't even know Rachel had gone out with someone lately," Monica asked concerned and still shocked.

"Rachel, wait," Joey suddenly hollered, jumped up and headed for the door. When he was at the door he paused and turned around to his friends, smiling wistfully. "We're gonna have a baby."

……

No one said anything for the longest time.

Monica was the first one to get her wits back. "Phoebe, what exactly were you looking for in the trash?"

"Certainly not Rachel's pregnancy test, that's for sure."

"Why is Rachel throwing her pregnancy tests into our trash anyway?" asked Chandler.

This was something Phoebe had already figured out. "I suppose she hadn't wanted Joey to know, so she thought throwing it in her own trash would be too risky."

"Why would that be risky?" Monica cut in. "I don't think Joey would go through his own trash."

"Stranger things have happened," Chandler said with a face that indicated that he wouldn't put that past Joey.

"Just for the record," Phoebe stated, "if anyone ever gets pregnant again, please don't throw your pregnancy tests in my trash."

"I second that," Monica hurriedly agreed.

"Are we through with that?" Ross, who didn't even appear to be following the conversation at all, suddenly exploded. "Is anyone of you even going to comment on the fact that Joey apparently slept with Rachel? Or am I the last one to know that?"

Chandler looked over to Ross unfazed and answered, "Well, we thought we'd start with the easier questions and go from there. And no, we had no idea."

"Yeah, I certainly didn't see that one coming," Phoebe said with a nod. "She stole my backup. Ross, would you consider…"

Ross shot her a warning and very not amused glare.

"Next question would be why she was trying to hide it from Joey?" Chandler wondered.

"Probably because she already figured out that he is an irresponsible womanizer who might be good for having sex with him, but wouldn't be any good as a man to raise a child with."

Everyone looked in horror at Ross, who had said that in an unbelievably cold and cutting tone.

"Ross, we know that this isn't easy for you and we're trying to be understanding, but if you think you can say stuff like that under my roof, you'd better go right now."

Chandler looked at Monica appraisingly. He knew she was eloquent and he knew she was protective of her friends, but he'd never thought she would defend Joey against her older brother. Especially not when this meant giving up on the hope of Ross and Rachel ever being a couple again, which he knew she'd secretly wished for, because it pained her to see Ross pining away for Rachel like that.

"I love you," he blurted out.

"Aww Chandler, I love you too."

"Uhm guys, as long as you two are kissing, might I bring up the question of why we didn't notice that something was going on with those two?" Phoebe looked questioning at Ross who fumed quietly. "Anyone?"

"In retrospect, there were some things that did seem strange."

"What, Chandler?"

"Joey wasn't on a date for, like, two months. When I asked him about it he always told me he had so much stuff to do at work and it wore him out, but that didn't stop him before. And the door to their apartment was locked an awful lot. I haven't played a decent round of foosball with him in weeks."

"Yeah…" something seemed to have occurred to Monica. "Remember at our wedding, when we looked everywhere and couldn't find them and then they were suddenly back, all smiles and bright eyes? Or when we had our last movie night as singles and they both came too late because they had to work, but looked really happy about it?"

"Joey had his hands all over her the whole time during that movie," Ross remarked darkly.

"Yes, of course," Phoebe squealed. "There was that one time I came into the coffeehouse and they were there. They didn't even seem to notice me because they were so engrossed in their conversation. I almost had to yell at them to get their attention. Although I should have asked myself why Joey had his hand on Rachel's thigh. And when they noticed me, he drew his hand away as if he had burned it."

"And you didn't pick up on that, Phoebe?"

"Hey, it was Rachel and Joey, I would never have thought of that. Besides, didn't you tell me about that one time you went over to Joey's and Rachel was walking around half naked? She normally wouldn't do that when Joey is home. Why didn't you pick up on that, Chandler?"

"But…" Chandler started to defend himself, but stopped again as something seem to occur to him. "Yeah, you're right, Phoebe. It seemed a bit weird. Now that I think about it, I could've sworn it was Joey's shirt she was wearing. And when Joey came out of his room totally embarrassed, he wasn't even done getting into his pants. I can still remember that I thought how weird it was that she was walking around in only a man's shirt while Joey was having a girl over."

Phoebe and Monica were giggling uncontrollably. "You were so walking in on them doing it, Chandler. And you tell me I should've picked up on him touching her somewhat inappropriately?"

"They weren't doing it! Rachel came out of the bathroom, if you have to know."

"Probably just getting a new box of condoms," Phoebe said, still giggling.

"Which in the light of recent events might not have been the case," Chandler said, now chuckling too.

"I can't listen to this anymore!" Ross hollered and got up. "Is this only a joke for you? Because let me tell you, it isn't for me."

Monica's smile faltered immediately. "Ross, I'm sorry, I can't even imagine how you must feel right now. We were not trying to make fun of this, it just feels so unreal, so improbable. We're not gonna laugh about it anymore, okay?"

Ross just stared at his sister, seething. Phoebe appeared to be deep in thought.

"Don't you guys think that the two of them have looked really happy lately?"

Chandler weighed that thought for a while. "When you put it like that, yeah, I guess so. I mean, Joey is the sort of guy who always has a smile on his face, but in the weeks before our wedding, he seemed content and somehow centered, in that quietly happy sort of way."

"That is what I should have picked up on!" Monica exclaimed. "Rachel was glowing. She was always smiling to herself, and when I asked her about her secret boyfriend she told me I was being silly, but she always looked as if she was seconds away from telling me. If I hadn't been so wrapped up in the wedding, I would have found out she was with Joey."

"How long has this been going on?" asked Ross, who seemed to have calmed down a little.

"No idea, couldn't be more than two months, three at most, because I remember Joey being on a date about two and a half months ago."

"You guys really think he is serious about her?"

"Could be. When I asked him once why he stopped making jokes about me getting into wedlock, he said that when he found the right girl, he would want to get married too. I guess Joey Tribbiani settled down and we didn't even notice."

"Good God! They are supposedly together for two months, they didn't even bother to tell us and now we're talking marriage? I can't believe this is happening!"

"Will you calm down, Ross? Yeah, it sucks that they didn't tell us, but hey, who am I to talk. They're going to have a baby. And as hard as this must be for you, whatever happened between you two in the past, it isn't important anymore. Now it's them, and the child they're going to have. And we are their friends. We're not judging, or second guessing their decisions, we have to be supportive. So if you want to be a friend to them, be supportive. If not, just stay away from them and don't get in their way. This is nothing that should get messed up."

"I don't know, Monica. She is the love of my life. I can't just give her up."

"Stay away from them, Ross. Please, do me that one favor as a friend. Let them figure things out on their own. It seems like it's not all happiness for them, too. Don't make this harder on Rachel than it already is. Please."

After this speech from Chandler, Ross turned around and left the apartment without a word.

"He's really taking this hard," remarked Phoebe with a hint of compassion in her voice. "He always thought they were lobsters."

"We all thought that. Even Joey did."

"I wonder how they got together."

... and that you'll find out in the next chapter. Hope you liked it so far. Please leave a review.