Don't get discouraged by this long disclaimer!

I read some stories about this thing (which – let's be clear – doesn't exist) called « TiMER ». Apparently it's from a movie : a TiMER is a display that CAN be (it's everyone's choice) implanted to the wrist and it counts down to the day that the person who has it will meet his or her soulmate IF the soulmate also has a TiMER, otherwise theirs would be blank.

The TiMER reaches zero at midnight before the day you'll met your soulmate, and the next day when you'll meet both TiMERs will beep at the same time.

I hope I made that clear... Anyway, I just wanted to use this to start a new Mondler story :)

The first chapter is set during season 2, when Chandler is scared he'll end up alone in The One Where Heckles Dies and the next ones will be during season 4 (yeah yeah I know, again S4... but I needed Kathy!).

Chapter 1 : Discovering TiMER

It's been four days since Mr. Heckles died and Chandler was still depressed and anxious. Sure, Monica and Rachel tried to reassure him, and it felt good at the time, but he dated Allison from his work last night and despite her being nice and funny, it didn't end well since he told her there would not be a second date. He couldn't help but being obsessed with her big head all the dinner : was he that shallow? Man, he WOULD die alone! If only he could know what the future had in store for him... He would have an answer, good or bad, but he would know.

How can I know my future? Phoebe surely knows a psychic... Great, now I'm as crazy as her! Maybe I should stop at the pet shop on my way to the apartment, choosing a first snake...

Entering apartment 20, he was relieved to see that only Phoebe and Monica were there, cooking... well, Monica was cooking, Phoebe was sitting at the table, talking about how the spirit of Mr. Heckles visited her last night. He made eye contact with Monica and raised his eyebrows, hearing Phoebe's words. Monica smiled at him and asked : "Did Mr. Heckles stepped by your place too, Chandler?"

"Oh! Yeah, yeah... but when he saw how I looked like naked, he vanished... I guess that's when he went to your place, Pheebs..."

Monica laughed lightly but Phoebe rolled her eyes and smiled, looking smug : "If only you knew..."

Chandler choose to ignore that remark and sat down in front of her, turning his back to Monica : "Anyway... Phoebe, I'm glad you're here, I wanted to ask you something... ah... special..."

He paused, looking down at the table, searching for his words, and Phoebe said, wincing : "Chandler... I'm flattered but you're not my kind of guy."

Chandler's eyes went back to look at Phoebe, and he had his mouth half open, startled. After a few seconds, he closed his mouth, pinching his lips together, and smiled : "No... not that, Phoebe..."

"Oh! Good then, I'm listening!"

Chandler was embarrassed, he exhaled and ran his left hand through his hair, wincing, before finding the courage to go on : "It's... hem... for a coworker. See, he doesn't know what to do with his job anymore, and... ha... he wants to know what might happen if he quits : will he be able to find a new job quickly? Soooooooo... The thing is... he asked me if I knew a psychic – and I don't! – but I thought you might..."

"Oh yeah!" Phoebe interrupted him enthusiastically, her face lightening up. "He definitely should go to see Joanna, she's one of the best!"

"Yeah?" Chandler asked, doubtful.

"Absolutely ! She DID tell me last time that somebody I knew was gonna die – even though she told me he would be attacked by an alien send by planet XY05... but anyway, Mr. Heckles died so, see, she was right! And who knows what really killed him..." she concluded mysteriously before getting up, searching for a paper and a pen to write the phone number of her psychic. Chandler turned his head and looked at Monica worriedly. She put her right hand on his shoulder with a smile : "Don't be surprised if your coworker ends up telling you he'll become a six-armed surgeon for butterflies or something like that."

Chandler laughed and took Phoebe's piece of paper.

Two days later, Chandler was in front of the door of this psychic. He hesitated before entering, pacing nervously on the sidewalk. He looked around him, checking if there wasn't someone he knew in sight. Finally, he opened the door. A woman was sitting behind a desk, reading, and she got up seeing him : "Hello, may I help you?"

"Yes... I... I have an appointment. Chandler Bing."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Joanna. Follow me."

After shaking her hand, Chandler followed her in a small, cosy room, with only four chairs, a couch and a table.

He sat down on a chair and Joanna took place in front of him, before asking him why he was there. He didn't bother telling her his insecurities, he went straight to the point and explained he was anxious to know if he would find love, someday.

Joanna closed her eyes and started breathing really slowly and deeply. Chandler was confused : he was expecting cards, crystal ball, tea leaves... but not nothing! He didn't know if he should talk or not, and opted for the silence. Joanna's hands rested on the table and her eyes were closed, but they sometimes fluttered, and her eyebrows were moving. Plus, Joanna's face was wincing in what seemed an incontrolled way. Chandler was very tensed and uncomfortable in this silence, alone with Joanna : what the hell was this woman doing?

Finally, after a few minutes, Joanna smiled and opened her eyes. She simply said : "I saw a woman."

Chandler's heart skipped a beat : "Wh- Wh- Really? How was she? When will I meet her?"

Joanna shook her head : "I'm afraid I can't give you these informations, you'll have to wait and see it yourself when it'll happen. You may not know, but I spent a lot of energy for you today. I couldn't see more than you happy, married with a woman. I couldn't see her face."

Chandler gulped and hold his head with his right hand, his elbow resting on the table : "Wow... married? Really? Wow..."

Joanna got up and told Chandler she know needed a rest, he paid her and she laid down on the couch, letting him exiting the building by himself. Once in the street, he stayed a few minutes motionless, recovering from what he was just told. Married? Slowly, he started to walk. He stopped by to buy a newspaper and entered a calm Central Perk to read it. None of his friends were here and he was quite relieved : he still needed some time to process what this psychic had told him.

Something on page 11 drew his attention. "When will you find love ?" was the title, and yet the article was classified on the new technologies category. TiMER. A strange new device that can tell you when you'll meet your soulmate... but only if your soulmate also has the device on his/her left wrist. At the end of the article, there was an address in New York. Chandler wrote it down and put the piece of paper in his pocket. He was interested but needed some time to think about that : his friend would have questions, if they saw this thing on his wrist. Could he hid it ?

***** THREE MONTHS LATER *****

After his desastrous date with Susie, Chandler was back in his appartment. The first thing he did was to put on some clothes, and then he opened the drawer where he was stowing his underwears. Hidden there was the piece of paper with the address of the centre where you could get one of those TiMER things. His mind was now set : in order to avoid other desillusions and humiliations like tonight, he had to know when the day would come.

Five days later, he was in a waiting room on the seventh floor of a big and modern building. Chandler had difficulties to stay calm on his chair, his hands were moist and he couldn't stop wiping them on his jeans. His legs were incontrollably shaking and he could hear his heart beating hard. Finally, a man in a white blouse ("Was he a real doctor?" Chandler asked himself) said his name. Chandler jumped on his feet and followed him in a room that looked like a doctor's practice.

The man in front of him didn't ask any questions, he went straight to the point : "So, I need a written autorization to install the display on your wrist. Don't worry, it's not painful at all, and if you don't want it anymore, you can come back here and get it removed. Please, complete and sign the autorization here."

Once the document was filled, Chandler was invited to climb on the examining table. The installation was very quick, a minute or so, and Chander was very anxious when the screen started to blink. So, this was it. He was about to know.

But to his disappointment the screen went back to blank again. Chandler was confused : "It didn't work?" The man smiled : "It worked, you saw it blinking. But remember : your soulmate has to wear the same device. If the screen is blank, that means he or she doesn't have one yet."

He? Man, that was the lesbian wedding all over again... Chandler sighed and asked for a clarification : "So... when she'll get one, I'll have the count down, right?"

"Exactly", the man nodded. "Remember : we're only at the beginning of our project, more and more people will wear it in the months and years to come."

Suddenly, Chandler thought about Janice. What if she was the one? He already met her! "And... let's say I've already met my soulmate. When she'll get one, how would I know?"

The TiMER guy answered : "You'll both have a 0 on your count down."

After making sure he could hide his display under a watch on his left wrist, Chandler left the building.

The first few days, Chandler would look at his display numerous times in the day, but the screen remained blank. As the weeks passed, Chandler looked less and less at his display, he only did when he was meeting a new girl he was attracted to. But maybe she was his soulmate but didn't have the device? All these questions were wearing him out and he decided it would be better if he looked less at his display.

Okay I know this chapter kinda sucks because there is a lot of Chandler by himself, and he's a bit depressed so that's not funny, but I promise there will be more and more interaction (and of course with Monica) in the next chapters.