Chandler knew he'd never forget where he was when that phone call came in. He was sitting in his recliner, with the chick nestled up in the crook of his arm and Baywatch was on the television. He was alone in the apartment, Joey was out at yet another audition and all his friends were either shopping (rachel and phoebe) or at work (monica)
Chandler wasn't really watching Baywatch, it was just on the tv, he was really thinking about Kathy. Chandler closed his eyes and tried to picture her in one of those suits, running down the beach..he would be there cheering her on, "Run Kathy Run, for landsakes Run!!" His daydreaming came to an abrupt end with the muffled ringing of the phone, somewhere in the apartment. Chandler scrambled out of the chair, thinking it was Kathy.
Chandler eventually located the phone in the freezer, no doubt Joey's doing. He answered the phone, out of breath, "hello?" All he heard on the other end was heavy breathing, "hello?!" he said again louder, hoping it wasn't Joey making a prank call. "oh hello" said the voice, it was male, but not a voice Chandler recognized. The man on the other end told Chandler something he had hoped to never hear.
When the call ended Chandler, not knowing what to do, placed the phone back in the freezer. He slumped down in his chair and both the duck and the chick came over to him. Chandler looked down at the two birds and with sorrow evident on his face said to them, "well guys, she's dead, the only woman I've ever loved is dead. What do I do now?" The duck waddled away and into Joey's room. A minute or two later, it returned with something in it's beak.
The duck waddled up to Chandler again. Chandler looked down and pulled the object away from the duck. It was a pic of Monica in nothing more than a string bikini. Chandler briefly wondered why Joey had this picture but then realized what he had to do. He had to call Monica.
Within 15 minutes, Monica came rushing through the door. She saw Chandler sitting in his chair, no expression on his face and his hands limp beside him. Mon's maternal instincts took over and she rushed to hug and console him. "Oh sweetie" she cooed softly as she hugged Chandler tightly. Chandler simply made a strangled noise.
Monica helped Chandler up out of his chair and steered him towards the door. Chandler protested, but Monica insisted. "I'll go there", said Chandler, "only if you come with me" Monica nodded and the two headed off down the hall to the street.
Outside, they hailed a taxi like only those native New Yorkers can and told the driver where to go. The driver got a pained expression on his face as Monica gave him the address. "I was there myself a week ago" he said, "it's a horrible place that no one should have to go to" Monica nodded and gently suggested to him that he should use the gas peddle.
The taxi carrying Monica and Chandler pulled up outside a large, stone building with giant glass doors. Chandler stepped out and numbly stared at the place. He couldn't make himself go in there, there was no way. But Monica, being strong for her small stature, grabbed his arm and dragged him up the steps.
Chandler's business in the building took little more than 10 minutes. Monica never left his side and for that Chandler was grateful. A taxi took them back to the old familiar building. The walk up the steps was slow and painful for Chandler when they arrived at the top Monica guided him to his own apartment. Chandler balked at the door and said to Monica, "would you mind if I stayed in your apartment for a while? Mine is kind of full of memories" Monica nodded and the two walked in.
Rachel was home when they walked in, she was sitting on the couch watching Baywatch. Chandler winced visibley when he saw the program. Rachel turned around to face them, her long blonde hair batting the couch. "Hey Chandler" she said, "why the long face?" Chandler got a pained look on his face and bolted for the bathroom. "Way to go Rach" chided Monica. Rachel looked nothing but hurt and confused, "what did I do" she asked.
Monica related the story back to her, leaving out the gory details Chandler had failed to spare her of. Rachel gasped and put her face in her hands. "Oh..my..god" she said slowly, not meaning to sound like Janice, but it's impossible to say that phrase without sounding like her. Monica nodded and hugged Rachel. "Do only us three know?" asked Rachel. Again Monica nodded. Rachel began to cry and so did Monica.
A while later, Monica realized that Chandler was still in her bathroom. She went up to the door and knocked. There was no reply. She knocked again, this time more forcefully. Still no reply. Afraid that Chandler had done something stupid in there, Monica summoned all her strength and kicked the door down (who knew that Monica was a martial arts expert..) Chandler, who was sitting on the toilet obviously using it, glanced up as the door fell in. Monica's face flushed a bit as she noticed Chandler. "uhm..sorry" she mummbled. "I would ask you to close the door" said Chandler, "but I see that it's currently unavailable" Monica backed out of the bathroom apolagizing profusly.
Monica made her way to her room, garnering a quizzical look from Rachel who had watched the spectacle from the couch. Monica mummbled something like "Never did like the door much anyways" and closed her bedroom door. Chandler emerged from the bathroom rougly 2 minutes later and headed for Mon's room.
Without knocking Chandler opened her door. Monica was laying on the bed and picking at a fuzz ball on her duvet. Monica looked up at him, "sorry about the bathroom" she said, "you weren't responding and I was worried" Chandler almost smiled, "dont' worry about it" he said, "that doesn't bother me. The fact that you can kick down a door is what bothers me" Monica laughed.
"I just want to thank you for coming with me today" Chandler said, "this isn't going to be easy" Monica nodded. Chandler continued, "I really did love Kathy you know" Again, Monica nodded. Chandler proceded to pour out his feelings to Monica, knowing that he could trust her completely.
By the time Chandler was through, both were sitting on the bed, propped up against the headboard hugging each other and crying with a box of tissues between them. Chandler looked at Monica, "You remember back at the beach in Montauk?" Monica snuffled and nodded. Chandler closed his eyes and drew Monica closer.