This is a slightly AU Chandler & Monica story written for a contest at Merge! It is my version of TOT Could Have Been.
Disclaimer: I don't own them
TOW All the Alternate Thanksgivings
1987
It was a chilly autumn day, the leaves changing all different shades of red, orange and yellow helped to brighten up the city streets. NYU's normally busy campus was starting to empty out as students went home for the four day Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
For Chandler, ordinarily, this day would mean being all alone in a big house and eating leftovers. Chandler couldn't remember the last time he'd sat down to a normal Thanksgiving dinner. It had been years, at least since his parents bitter divorce when he was nine, and possibly even before that. His mom was always busy with her book tour, being a world famous novelist, and rarely made time for him anymore. And he hadn't spoken to his dad since the divorce. Chandler had heard rumors when he was younger that his dad had a whole other family, another wife and other children, but Chandler had stopped caring years ago.
This year would be different. His roommate Ross had kindly invited him to spend Thanksgiving with his family. Tired of always being alone on every holiday, Chandler said yes. Chandler was looking forward to a traditional Thanksgiving, with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and all the trimmings. He envied Ross, having a normal family and a normal upbringing. Even though Ross said he always fought with his sister growing up, at least he had a sister to fight with. As a kid, Chandler was always alone with his toys and the walls. If he was lucky, the maid might play with him for a little while, and that was only when his parents weren't around to yell at her for stopping her work to play with the child.
"Monica, please make sure you are well behaved tonight" Judy demanded of her daughter. "Your brother is going to be home today and he is bringing a guest and we want him to feel welcome." Judy had always been highly critical of her daughter. This had resulted in Monica developing self esteem issues and causing her to over eat and gain a tremendous amount of weight. Any time Monica wanted to fill the void inside caused by pain and loneliness, she ate. So at seventeen, Monica, a senior in high school, weighed one hundred and eighty pounds and was extremely insecure. She had no friends in school, Rachel Green, her one childhood friend, had moved to California before junior high. Even though Monica was a bright, straight A student, her brother had managed to obtain higher grades in high school and instead of being proud of her daughter, Judy always made sure to point out her short comings.
The doorbell rang at the Geller home. Jack and Judy were thrilled to see Ross again for the first time since he had gone away to school in the city. After breaking away from their hugs, Ross introduced his parents and his sister to his roommate. "Mom, Dad, Monica, this is Chandler, my roommate and best friend." "It's nice to meet you all, you have a lovely home" Chandler said. Jack shook Chandler's hand, he was quite impressed with the young man's grip. "Oh Mrs. Geller, I brought you these flowers" Chandler
remembered. "Why thank you, dear" Judy taking the flowers, she found the young man to be extremely charming, but then again, she wouldn't expect any less of a friend of Ross's. Monica was immediately smitten with her brother's roommate. With his fluffy brown hair and blazing blue eyes, he was easily the cutest guy she had ever met. If only he could be hers. She dreamed of the day when a guy like him would actually notice her.
A short while later everyone was seated for dinner. There must have been enough food to feed an army, and Chandler for one, was looking forward to stuffing himself with it. Chandler really liked the nice warm family commrodry, it was something he didn't experience growing up. "So Chandler, what is your major?" Jack asked. "I'm majoring in journalism, I want to be a writer" Chandler informed them. Jack and Judy were quite impressed. "I've found a great culinary school to apply to next year!" Monica spoke up. "Monica, nobody really wants to hear your story. What I really want to hear about is your brother's new girlfriend Carol" Judy condescendingly remarked to her daughter.
Chandler felt for Monica and the way her mother blatantly favored her brother. He knew what it was like to be ignored by a parent, even if his parents were never rude to him, they did act like he was invisible when they were around. "Actually, Mrs. Geller, if you don't mind, I would like to hear what Monica has to say." Monica smiled gratefully at Chandler. Inside her heart soared. Not only
was he drop dead gorgeous, he was a gentleman. He showed her respect, something none of her own family did. Finally she had found a motivation to lose the weight, to make Chandler fall in love with her.
1988
Chandler was once again spending Thanksgiving with the Gellers. Ross, aware of Monica's weight loss, and extremely overprotective of his little sister, saw to it that his best friend understood that his sister was off limits. Truth be told, Ross didn't think his friend was good enough for his sister. Chandler was a bit of a commitment phobe, he'd never been in a relationship that lasted more than a month. Ross didn't really like those odds around his sister. He was aware that since Monica had lost weight that guys were trying to take advantage of her left and right, he was also aware that his sister had something of a crush on Chandler, and if it were up to him, nothing would ever come of it.
Chandler immediately accepted it when Ross asked him to keep away from Monica. Though he didn't himself have any siblings, he understood Ross's concern for his sister, and he didn't want to add any more problems to his friend's already troubled life. Ross had been desperately in love with Carol. He had told Chandler that he thought she was the one, only to have her end up dumping him seemingly out of the blue for another woman. Ross had been so depressed after the breakup that he didn't go to any of his classes for almost a month and had briefly experimented with pot. Ross only cleaned up his act after the Dean of Students called Ross into his office one day and told him that he was in danger of failing out. Ross now had his life back on track, but Chandler knew how vulnerable and heartbroken his friend still was and didn't dream of making things worse for him. Chandler didn't anticipate keeping away from Monica to be any problem. Little did he know how wrong he was.
Ross and Chandler arrived on schedule at the Gellers. Jack and Judy warmly welcomed them. Monica, who was home from her first year at college and had lost sixty pounds in the previous year, chose that moment to enter from the kitchen with her friend Rachel. Rachel had moved back to New York for college, and even though they didn't have classes together, Monica and Rachel immediately resumed their friendship, and so Monica invited her to spend Thanksgiving with her family when she told her she wasn't going home to California this year. Upon seeing her, Chandler was taken aback by Monica's beauty. She was breathtaking. He had heard of her weight loss from Ross, but he had no idea...this was the same girl that he had met the previous year? He was completely transfixed by her.
He was barely aware of Judy speaking to him. "Chandler dear, you remember Monica?" Monica smiled shyly and Chandler wasn't sure if a handshake or a hug was appropriate in this moment. Before he could finish the thought however, Judy reached in front of Monica to grab Rachel who was on her other side and continued "and you must meet this sweet young thing, this is Monica's best friend Rachel. She's like the daughter I never had." Monica groaned inwardly at her mother's thoughtless comment as Rachel shook hands with Chandler.
Rachel then pulled Monica back into the kitchen, desperate to talk to her in private. "So that's your brother's roommate huh? Mon, I think I'm in love. Have you ever seen anyone like him? You have to help me, talk to Chandler for me, see if he's interested. Please? You're my best friend, if there was a guy you liked, I'd do it for you" Rachel begged. Monica felt like she was about to throw up as the words poured out of Rachel's mouth. Why exactly had she invited Rachel to spend Thanksgiving with her family again? At the moment Monica was finding it hard to remember. Sometimes Rachel could be so selfish. Rachel always got everything she wanted her entire life, and now she wanted Chandler. The one thing in the world that Monica wanted more than anything. How was she supposed to tell her now that this was the guy that she was crazy about, the guy that had inspired her to lose weight and change her life?
Monica did as she was asked. She walked up to Chandler and asked him if he might be interested in Rachel. Chandler's first thoughts were of disappointment. If she was asking on behalf of her friend, she mustn't have been interested in him herself. And Chandler was much more interested in Monica. Then he remembered his promise to Ross and tried to suppress those thoughts. He looked over at Rachel who was smiling brightly in his direction. She was definitely pretty in your stereotypical way. Hell, girls that pretty usually laughed in his face when he tried to strike up conversations with them at the college parties he dragged Ross to. Of course he was interested, he would have been a fool not to be. Rachel spent the next two hours talking Chandler's ear off about the fashion industry and all the latest designers. He felt like shooting his brains out.
Monica was depressed. Chandler appeared quite taken with Rachel. She stood in front of the open refrigerator contemplating eating an entire pie. All her hard work of the past year would be sabotaged, but at this moment, she really didn't care. Out of nowhere, Monica felt someone come up behind her and put their hands on her shoulders. She turned her head slightly. It was him. Chandler. The reason she was this depressed. "Mon is something the matter?" he asked concerned. "I was just thinking about how easy it would be to eat this entire pie." He looked skeptically at her "it does look good" he smiled brightly "but what could possibly be worth destroying everything you've accomplished?" She looked up at him "you really want to know?" "Yeah" he responded. "Okay, well the thing is there's this guy that I like, but he likes someone else." He looked directly into her eyes "Mon, you've come too far, achieved too much, to throw it all away, just because some guy is too stupid to see how beautiful you are." He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, all she could think was if he only knew.
1989
Monica was living in the city in an apartment that formerly belonged to her grandmother. Because she had a spare room, Monica found a roommate in one Phoebe Buffay, a licensed massage therapist. This year Phoebe was tagging along to the Geller's for
Thanksgiving.
As were Ross and Chandler. Ross always loved going home. Being around his parents did wonderful things for his ego. Chandler had a strange year. He had been set up on a disastrous blind date with a woman named Janice. After the date, Chandler tried to tell her that it wasn't going to work out. But apparently she didn't get the message. She kept calling him nonstop and following him around campus. On more than one occasion, Chandler had found her having broken into his and Ross's dorm room. Chandler was reluctantly forced to have a restraining order put out on the woman. The whole experience was quite bizarre to him. Chandler hadn't been so sure he was up to Thanksgiving at the Gellers after his experience last year, but Ross had assured him that Rachel wasn't going to be there. She was spending the holidays in California, so Chandler had to admit he was looking forward to seeing Monica again.
At the Gellers, Chandler thought World War III was about to erupt when Phoebe and Ross met. Quirky Phoebe spent much of the evening trying to get Ross to prove the existence of gravity. But somewhere between dinner anddesert, something odd happened; Phoebe and Ross started making out and they didn't stop. Turns out, Phoebe never actually had a formal education and was fascinated by Ross's knowledge, and Ross loved having someone who was so captivated with what he had to say. They made out for the rest of the
night and were inseparable from that point forward.
There on out, the four hung out together all the time. Ross and Phoebe were sickeningly in love, and Chandler and Monica had become the best of friends. They discovered they had a lot in common. Both had painful childhoods and issues with their parents. Chandler and Monica ended up spending more time hanging out with each other talking or watching movies than they did with their respective roommates.
1990
By Thanksgiving 1990, Ross and Phoebe had moved in together. Judy was less than thrilled to have her son "living in sin" and with that flighty girl of all people. But this was her perfect son, so Judy tried to act like she was as thrilled as possible to Ross's face. Alone with Monica, she told Monica it was all her fault. She blamed Monica for introducing them. Judy never really understood how Monica and Phoebe met in the first place and why they were friends. Monica ran outside in tears after her chat with her mother. Chandler followed and let her cry on his shoulder. "Mon, don't let her get to you, you're better than that" he told her. He held her in his arms for what felt like forever and let her cry. She felt safe in his arms, and wanted to stay there forever.
It was now May of 1991, Ross and Phoebe were engaged, and Chandler and Ross were graduating from NYU.
Chandler was looking for a place to live, so Monica suggested the apartment across from hers that happened to be vacant at the moment. Chandler immediately went down to Monica's building and filled out an application and got the apartment. Ross was happy now that Monica was living alone that Chandler, someone he trusted, would be so close by.
To help pay the rent, Chandler got a roommate, a struggling actor named Joey Tribianni. Joey and Chandler immediately hit it off and Joey became a part of the group. However, Joey was much better with the ladies than Chandler was, so Joey usually spent most nights out with a date, while Chandler and Monica were usually both home alone and hung out together. The two were extremely close, neither ever seemed to have a date and it didn't seem to bother them all that much. Joey noticed their closeness, but being new to the group and not particularly book smart, he just assumed they were together as a stranger who didn't know any better might, and always smiled when he saw them together, usually Chandler's arm was around Monica's arm on the couch, or he might be playfully helping her in the kitchen. Joey thought they were really sweet.
1991
Monica was hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year. It would be the first year her mom wasn't cooking Thanksgiving dinner and she was very nervous about what her mom would think. Everything had to be perfect. Joey and Chandler had come over early and were helping her set up. Well, mostly Chandler was helping. Joey had been told to set the table, but he refused to follow Monica's detailed instructions, and instead put things
wherever he felt like and Monica ended up having to re-fix everything herself.
After everything had been taken care of, Joey went back over to the guy's apartment for a break before dinner. Monica was tense and Chandler tried to reassure her. He put his hands on her shoulders gently rubbing them. "Don't worry Mon, everything's gonna be fine." Monica looked at him "What if it's not? What if she hates it?"she asked panic setting in. "She won't." he promised. "But you know my Mom, what she's like" Mon insisted. Chandler smiled at her "Even if she does, you still have me, Joey, Ross, Phoebe and your dad on your side. Everything will be okay." She knew he was right, he always had a way of making her feel better, no matter how upset she was. "Thank you Chandler." He hugged her and kissed her on the top of her head. "I'm going over to my apartment,
I'll be back in fifteen minutes." They high fived and she stood there smiling after he walked out the door.
A few minutes later, Jack, Judy, Ross and Phoebe arrived at Monica's. Jack was happy to see his little girl and to see her doing so well on her own. Judy hugged Monica but made sure to point out that she was disappointed that she was still single. Ross excitedly ran up to his sister grabbing Phoebe by the hand. "Mon, we eloped!" he exclaimed. "And we're expecting!" Phoebe added jumping up and down. "Well, congratulations!" Monica said enveloping her brother and her new sister-in-law in a hug.
Across the hall, Joey and Chandler had both cleaned up and were ready to come back over. But first, Joey wanted to talk to his best friend in private. "Chandler, I just want to let you know, I know that I have a reputation as a womanizer, but you're my best friend and I want you to know I would never go after your girlfriend." Chandler stared confused by the mention of a girlfriend. "Okay, thanks I think." Joey continued "I just wanted
to make sure we were clear." "Okay, so this is some hypothetical girlfriend that I may have?" Chandler questioned him. "No this is about your actual girlfriend" "I don't have a
girlfriend." "Yeah you do" Joey insisted. "I think I would know if I had a girlfriend" Chandler replied. "Monica is your girlfriend" Joey stated. "Monica? Monica! Monica?" Chandler shrieked in shock. "Yes Monica" Joey reiterated. "Monica's not my girlfriend" Chandler was walking around with his hands in his hair hysterical by this point. "She's not?" Joey asked confused. "NO!!!" Chandler was still stunned that Joey thought such a thing. "You're kidding me. I can't believe it. I was so sure you guys were a couple." Joey said somewhat distressed. "NO!!!" was Chandler's reply. "So you're not sleeping together?" Joey asked. "NO!!!" Chandler screamed. "Why not?" Joey questioned "Wha..." "Are you gay?" Joey asked. "NO!!!!!!! Why would you ask that?" Chandler asked frustrated. "Then why aren't you guys together?" Joey asked dumbfounded. "Monica's my best friend" Chandler stated softly "Woh.. hold on I thought I was your best friend!?" Joey asked upset. "Yes Joe, you're my best friend" Chandler reassured him. Visibly relieved Joey kept talking "Oh thank goodness, I started to panic there for a second. Okay, so about you and Monica, why aren't you together?" "It's too complicated, she's one of my best friends" Chandler answered hesitantly. "Chandler, you guys already act like a couple, you spend all of your time together, do you love her?" Joey simply asked. "What?" Chandler asked surprised. "Do you love her?" Joey repeated. Chandler's eyes lit up and he smiled "Yeah, I do. I love her so much, I'd do anything for her." Joey breaks out into a big goofy grin "Okay, so you've gotta go tell her!" "Joe, she's one of my best friends, I don't want to risk that" Chandler responded sadly "What if I tell her and I lose her friendship? I can't do that." Joey smiled. "Chandler, I may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but I've seen the way she looks at you. She loves you. The only way you're going to lose her is if you don't tell her. Now go tell her." "Now?" Chandler asked hesitantly. "Yeah, right now. Before you really lose your chance" Joey demanded. "Okay!" Chandler resolved.
Chandler ran across the hall to apartment 20 and barged in the door. "Mon, I really need to talk to you!" He looked around and saw that everyone had arrived. "Oh you're not alone, hello Gellers, Phoebe." "I'm a Geller too now!" Phoebe interrupted. "Mon I need to talk to you even if they are all here, before I lose my nerve." Chandler continued. Joey had snuck in behind Chandler, he didn't want to miss this, so he went and sat down by the Gellers. "What is it Chandler?" she looked at him questioningly "is everything okay?" "Okay, here it goes. Mon, please here me out. I know you're my best friend" he started saying , which caused Joey to immediately stand up "Chandler! We just went over this! I'm your best friend!" Joey exclaimed in a really whiney voice. Chandler somewhat frustrated at the interruption, turned to Joey "Yes, Joe, of course you're my best friend,
now sit down and don't talk!" "Okay, okay, you don't have to be so mean about it" Joey pouted. "Okay, as I was saying" Chandler continued "Monica, you are one of my best friends, and I don't want to do anything to ruin that or lose you, but I have to take this chance while I still have it. Okay, here goes, I'm in love with you Monica. I love you." He looked down at his shoes immediately regretting having said the words. She would hate him now and it was his fault for listening to Joey and telling her. Why couldn't he have left good enough alone, he was content being her friend, being near her all the time, was it worth losing that for the slight chance she might want more with him too? He should know better than to listen to Joey, of course Monica could do a thousand times better than him, she'd be crazy to return his feelings, but he could still hope for the next few seconds. Monica felt like she had butterflies in her stomach and her eyes began to well up with tears. She took her hand to Chandler's chin and made him look in her eyes. "I love you too Chandler" she replied. "I've been in love with you for so long." "Really?" he questioned happily. "Yeah" was her simple response as she nodded her head yes. He took his hands and wiped away the tears from her eyes, then wrapped his arms around
her neck. Her arms managed to find their way around his waist. A few seconds later, their lips met for the first time. The kiss was slow and tender at first with increasing passion.
The happy couple was oblivious to the audience surrounding them. Joey was as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning. Jack was happy that his little harmonica had finally found love, and he had always liked Chandler. Judy was happy, odds are Monica wouldn't end up an old maid now. Ross wasn't too thrilled at the idea of his best friend and his little sister, but Phoebe poked him in the side until he came around. Chandler and Monica continued kissing lost in their newfound love. It was a great Thanksgiving all-around.