TO During the Reception
Summary: Monica confronts Chandler about his "take off" before the wedding.
A/N: I came up with this after reading through the script on a website (yeah, I'm a Friends dork). They show that Monica finds out that Chandler disappeared for a while, but they never addressed it afterwards. Warning: really short.
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Monica pulled her now-husband into a supply closet. While she had been pumping Rachel for information about the pregnancy, and enjoying being the center of attention in a crowded room, something had been bothering her. "What the hell was Joey talking about?" Monica demanded.
Chandler backed away. Years of experience told him never to be around Monica when she was angry. "This is the last thing you expect when your new wife yanks you into a supply closet!"
"'Takes off again'? 'Takes off again'?" Monica exclaimed.
"Oh, that," Chandler muttered. "Okay, you know how you were saying that you were proud of me since I didn't freak out?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, irony sucks."
"What?"
"See, after you said that," Chandler explained. "The phone rang, and that cute little outgoing message you made?"
Monica gasped. "Oh my God, I'm sorry, I should have known that would freak you out!"
"Yeah, well, it did, and I…spent last night in my office, using the Internet to try to prove I'm a Geller," Chandler informed her.
"Aw, honey," Monica wrapped him in a hug.
Chandler hugged her back, breathing a sigh of relief. "What got everyone so worried though, is…."
"What?" Monica asked, her arms still around his neck.
"I…I obviously didn't, but I thought…" Chandler stuttered, then continued. "See, I got so panicked that I actually thought the wedding wasn't going to happen…" Growing nervous as his wife's eyes darkened in anger, he cleared his throat. "…I left the guys a note, and they spent the night looking for me."
"I can't believe you!" Monica broke away from him, her arms folded across her chest. "Oh my God! And I had no idea! I can't believe they kept this from me! They are so dead…"
"They were only trying to spare your feelings," Chandler reminded her.
"I know but what if I had started getting ready, and then I found out, huh? I would have felt so stupid!"
"Actually, Phoebe told me you were already getting ready when we got back…" Chandler paused, mentally slapping himself. "I don't know why that was important!"
"Oh, that's what Rachel was going to tell me! 'For a second there, I thought the worst has happened.' God, I'm an idiot." She shook her head.
Chandler didn't even bother to try to understand that. "Look, I know you gotta be really pissed at me…"
"Well, yeah!" Monica exclaimed. "How could you do that? Or even think of breaking off the wedding just because of your stupid commitment issues!"
Chandler took another step back. "They're not stupid, okay? You don't know what it's like! I've been terrified of this day for months!"
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because of the reason I don't tell you a lot of stuff," Chandler admitted. "I'm afraid too. You scare me…a lot."
Monica put a hand on her hip. "Chandler, haven't you learned anything by now?"
"When your wife pulls you into a closet, don't go with her?" Chandler guessed.
"No!" Monica replied. "You have to share these things with me! We're husband and wife now, don't you get it?"
"But…"
"And I promise to not think you're stupid, no matter how stupid you sound," Monica assured him.
Chandler kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you. And in case it helps, I am so, so sorry, I'll do whatever I can to make it up to you."
Kissing him back, Monica grinned, "I'm sure I'll think of something."
"I'm sure you will."
The two kissed some more, then broke apart in shame when the door opened. Monica put her head in her hands. Her father was standing there, a confused look on his face.
Jack Geller stood in the doorway, looking around. "This isn't the bathroom."
"Hey, Mr. Geller…" Chandler tried to appear cool, then started twitching. "Can't…take…awkwardness…"