Disclaimer: I don't own Friends, or any of the storylines, characters etc.

(Name) indicates a change in POV, and ### indicates the passing of time. :)

"Leaving so soon?" Chandler turned towards the voice mumbling from under the blanket and sighed. It wasn't that he wanted to leave, but it was 6:30am, the time he always got up to leave. Originally, he had left at 5:30, but every morning she asked for just 5 minutes more.

And how could he refuse her?

He slowly turned over to face her. Monica Geller. Even now, at 6.35am, she looked beautiful. The strands of her short black hair were spread all over her pillow; her sleepy eyes were looking up at him; and that smile. This smile was his favourite. That early morning little smile, with the corners of her mouth slightly upturned as if she was smiling at some private joke between them, reserved for him and him alone. It was a shy little smile that begged him to stay with her for just a little while longer.

Chandler knew that this woman was the love of his life. He still wasn't exactly sure when this epiphany had hit him, but he knew that it was the best thing to ever happen to him. But he hadn't told her yet. He was waiting for the right moment; terrified that she wouldn't return his feelings and his world would come crashing down around him. Being with her was like floating through the sky, weightless, no limits. The world revolved around them, and as long as they had each other, nothing could stop them.

Chandler gently kissed her forehead and replied, "It's 6:45am. If I stay any longer, Rachel will catch me leaving."

He heard a muffled groan and he sighed again, running his fingers through his hair. "Mon, you know I don't want to leave."

Her head emerged from beneath the duvet. "I know, but it doesn't change anything... you know I don't want you to go."

His heart skipped a beat. They had been dating for about 8 months now, but he still got chills when she told him that she wanted him to stay with her. Never before had anyone made him feel so loved, so wanted, so needed. He grinned, and she smiled back at him, before pushing him off the bed. His smile faded, and he stood up, pulling on his pants and t-shirt. He looked at his watch. 6:50 am. Rachel's alarm would go off at 7am and he needed to be out of the apartment before that.

He quickly kissed Monica, whispered, "I'll call you on your lunch break," and disappeared out the door. He heard Rachel's alarm begin to ring as he left the apartment and told himself they would be more careful tomorrow.

###

Chandler looked at the pile of paperwork on his desk with disgust. He had worked hard all morning, waiting for 1 pm so he could call Monica and hear the sound of her voice. He missed her.

He laughed at himself. Before he had started dating Monica, he would have thought guys who missed their girlfriends after only a few hours were pathetic. But he understood now. He missed her laugh, her smile, how she felt in his arms; everything.

He was getting ready to leave for lunch when his secretary arrived with a large stack of paperwork which had to be filled in by this evening. It was days like this that made Chandler hate his job. He took the top sheet from the pile, skimmed through it, then threw it aside. He told his secretary he was taking lunch, then disappeared outside to call Monica.

He typed in the number slowly, wishing he'd remembered gloves and a coat. It was a freezing cold February day. He held the phone to his ear, balancing it on his shoulder as he rubbed his hands together repeatedly to keep them warm. Suddenly, he heard a loud, "Hey! Pick that up! Don't make me come over there mister!", at the end of the line and his day seemed better somehow, even though it didn't sound like hers was going well. "Hey Mon. Everything going okay?"

"No, everything is AWFUL. The restaurant is packed, two of the other chefs and a waitress called in sick so we're really understaffed, and a critic sent back his chicken because it 'wasn't tender enough'! I mean, my chicken is amazing! You've tasted my chicken." She paused for a minute, clearly waiting for Chandler to respond.

He quickly replied, "I'm sorry Mon, your chicken is amazing."

"I know right? It... Jack, the critic is looking bored, bring him some wine on the house!" she yelled at the unfortunate waiter standing at the kitchen door. "This is a disaster. Look, I'm sorry Chandler, I have to go." Her voice softened. "I'll talk to you later, okay sweetie?"

Chandler smiled. "Sure honey. I'll be home around 6, ok?"

"I probably won't be home until 7. It's going to be a long day. I have to go. Bye, sweetie."

(Monica)

Monica hung up the phone and went back to the kitchen and noticed that it was completely empty.

She was confused. Where had everyone gone? She looked out into the dining area to see and saw everyone making a run for the door. She suddenly felt warm, and as she went to take off her sweater she saw it; out of the corner of her eye, a huge flame billowing in the back of the dining room, spreading quickly. She turned and sprinted towards the back door of the restaurant, praying nobody was hurt. When she reached for the handle, and she realized it was locked. Feeling momentarily panicked, she tried to calm herself as she ran at the door. Her strength was rapidly depleting as the oxygen in her lungs was replaced by smoke, but she made a final push at the door, saw a flash of sunlight, and collapsed.

####

(Chandler)

Chandler hummed as he quickly walked home. It was 6:15, and he could not wait to see Monica.

He entered her apartment and yelled, "Honey, I'm home!"

He smiled and threw his bag on the couch, waiting for someone to appear. When nobody appeared or replied, he checked the rooms and realized they were all empty. Realizing that Monica was still at work and Rachel was probably with Ross or Phoebe, he went across to Joey's and found that empty too.

Maybe they're at the coffee house, he thought to himself. He quickly changed out of his suit and went down to Central Perk.

When he arrived, he noticed no one was in their usual spot. He went up to the counter and ordered a latte.

"Gunther, have you seen Phoebe or Rachel or anyone?" He asked.

Gunther looked surprised. "Sure, Rachel was here about an hour ago with Phoebe and Joey, but then Rachel got a phone call and they left in a hurry. She looked really worried, so I offered her a muffin. She smiled at me..." He smiled oddly to himself, and Chandler looked at him oddly in return. They all knew Gunther had a crush on Rachel but it still made them feel uncomfortable when he brought it up.

"Anyways," Gunther continued, "I haven't seen them since. Sounded like something bad had happened." He handed Chandler his latte and turned to another customer, leaving Chandler to wonder where everyone was and why nobody had called him. He dialled Ross's phone and but got no answer, so he tried Rachel. No answer there either. He tried Phoebe and Joey, no answer. Chandler was now very worried and figured that Monica would forgive him for ringing her at work. He called her phone 3 times before it picked up.

"Mon, hey, I'm sorry that I'm calling-"

"This is Alex Smith of the New York City Fire Department. Can I ask who's calling?"

Chandler's heart missed a beat. What had happened to Monica?

"Hello, this is Chandler Bing, Monica Geller's boyfriend. Where she is she?" he asked frantically.

"Sir, please calm-"

"Is she alright? What happened?"

He was panicking. He honestly didn't know what he would do if something happened to her.

"Sir, please calm yourself. I believe Ms. Geller is in a stable condition-"

"STABLE CONDITION? What happened? Is she in the hospital? Tell me what's going on!" Chandler yelled.

"Sir, I believe that Miss Geller is fine, although I wasn't actually at the scene myself-", the fireman replied.

"So you don't actually know ANYTHING?" Chandler yelled.

Chandler was still yelling when his phone beeped to tell him he had another call coming in. He took a deep breath and said, "I have another call, goodbye." The fireman clearly knew nothing about Monica. He clicked into the other call and heard the voice of Ross on the other end.

"Chandler, where are you? Monica just woke up, she's looking for you!"

Chandler couldn't believe it.

"Well considering I only just heard that something had happened about 5 minutes ago, I'm standing inside Central Perk wondering why none of my friends called me before now! Even Gunther knew something had happened! I should be one of the first to know, but instead I've spent the last 20 minutes wondering what was going on and yelling at some fireman who's about as clueless as I am!" Chandler yelled.

"Chandler, relax man! We only just realized that nobody had called you - I called Rachel when I heard, thinking you'd be with them at the coffee house, and she thought I had called you. Easy mistake. Just get to hospital and I'll explain everything when you get here, okay?"

Chandler sighed angrily. "I'm on my way." He hung up on Ross, then went outside and hailed a taxi.

"Hospital, as fast as you can," he said to the driver. He slumped in his seat and wondered what on earth had happened, and prayed she was okay. Ross had sounded pretty calm on the phone, so surely she was okay. Ross was usually a panicker if anything was even slightly wrong.

He wondered if Ross had called their parents. He knew that eventually Monica's mother would bring up the topic of Monica's love life, and he wasn't in any mood to watch Monica tell everyone that she still had no boyfriend. He knew it was ridiculous, but it still hurt. He wanted to tell the gang but he knew she wasn't ready. He wouldn't pressure her, though, because he knew she would tell everyone when she was ready.

Chandler sighed and sat back, wishing the driver would drive faster.

A/N: Reviews, good or bad, are much appreciated. Thank you! :)