THE ONE WHERE RICHARD IS BACK

Author's Note: Guys! Your reviews really are amazing and encouraging and I love you all! If I could kiss you guys for the way you make me feel with your reviews I would! But we're on the internet and that's kind of hard. So I'm leaving for two weeks to go on vacation (cruise to Alaska and Seattle, how psyched am I?) anyways, since I can't update the 25th of July you guys just earned another full chapter!

Disclaimer: FRIENDS still isn't mine, although I think that if I break my piggy bank I'll be able to buy them NOT! Jajaja. Yeah well anyways, FRIENDS not mine, my story, idea's 100% mine. Enjoy! :)

CHAPTER 3

It was almost midnight when Monica and Chandler came to the realization that they were the last ones on the dance floor and that they had danced for almost four hours straight. During those four hours the formal dance that they had going on basically turned into Monica's head leaning on Chandler, their bodies pressed closed together, his hands on her hips, hers on his neck, the last song played, and Monica and Chandler still swayed to the beat, even when there was no music playing they just kept dancing, together as one.

"Mon?" Chandler asked.

"Yes Chandler?" She responded.

"Where is everybody?" Realization slowly kicked in, it was late and almost everyone was gone. Monica and Chandler were currently in the living room, and although they heard voices somewhere in the house they were completely alone in that room.

"You know, I don't know," Monica answered.

With that she grabbed his hand, and fingers intertwined she led him through the dinning room and into the kitchen where they found Ross, Rachel, Jack, and Judy sitting and laughing. Monica and Chandler entered, the door creaking behind them.

"Finally!" Ross exclaimed.

"Took you long enough." Rachel said in a slightly annoyed voice.

"Took exactly what long enough?" Monica countered.

"Took you lovebirds to realize the party had ended and stop dancing," said Jack.

Monica and Chandler looked at each other and shrugged. "Well why didn't anyone tell us?" Chandler asked in a quiet voice.

Rachel scoffed, "Believe me we tried, nothing worked!"

At this Monica and Chandler laughed, they turned to look at each other. Both Monica and Chandler's eyes showed a special love when they looked at each other, they showed years of love and memories. Their hands intertwined they said good night to everyone in the kitchen and set off in search of their kids so they could go home. When they went upstairs they were pleasantly surprised to find four sleeping children. Jack and Erica were on the same couch, each with their head on the armrest. Emma and Daniel were asleep too, Emma's arm draped protectively over her little brother as Daniel snore blissfully. Chandler made a motion with his hands indicating Monica grab Erica and that he'd carry Jack, together and soundlessly they lifted their kids off the couch and took them all the way to the car.

Once they were all inside Chandler turned on the car and headed off towards their house. There was a comfortable silence as Chandler drove them home, it seemed like the perfect hour, when they could all enjoy the little things.

When Chandler finally pulled up in their driveway it was already one in the morning and Monica had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. So quietly and carefully Chandler made three rounds from the car to the house, the first was to drop Jack in his room, the second was to carry Erica to hers. When Chandler set her down on her bed she stirred slightly.

"Daddy?" asked Erica, barely awake.

"Yes sweetie?" answered Chandler in what was a mere whisper.

"Is it morning yet daddy?" Erica pondered while she was still in that wonderful stage where you're stuck in a world in between your dreams and reality.

"No kiddo, go back to sleep, 'kay?"

"'Kay"

Chandler started to head out of the room when he heard Erica call for him.

"Daddy?" he heard.

"Yeah sweetie?"

"I love you"

"I love you too" and with that Chandler headed out of Erica's room, tears threatening to escape his eyes.

His third and last trip consisted of carrying his beautiful wife through the doorway and into their bed, it felt strangely similar to the time after Vegas when they thought everything was a sign to get married. Luckily in the end it had all worked out for them. He carried Monica up the stairs and into their bedroom where he gently laid her down on the bed. He went downstairs one last time to lock the front door and headed back up to his room. He laid down next to a sleeping Monica and fell asleep almost instantly.

Monica and Chandler woke up the next morning like they had been waking up for at least a year now, at the break of dawn, with both of their kids awake, energy filling their little five year old bodies and the idea to go jump on their parents bed. Chandler was the first of the two of them to wake at their kids jumping on their feet.

"Daddy wake up!" Erica kept saying.

"Maybe they need more jumping to wake up!" a laughing Jack said.

With that encouragement Erica jumped higher than ever before, accidentally hitting herself on the head with the ceiling. Erica started crying and with that both of her parents were suddenly awake and alert. Monica grabbed Erica and held her, Chandler grabbed Jack and brought him to a sitting position. Erica suddenly started laughing.

Chandler, worried as he was asked, "Are you okay sweetie? Does it hurt?"

"I'm fine daddy, it doesn't hurt too much" Erica answered him in between laughs.

"And why are you laughing kiddo?" inquired Monica.

Erica, finally catching her breath and slowing her laughter said, "Because me getting a bump on my head is what it took to wake you up today"

With that they all burst out laughing, when their laughter finally calmed Monica asked if anyone was hungry and three hands shot up into the air, Erica's, Jack's and Chandler's. They all went down and Monica made pancakes for everyone.

It had become a morning ritual. Monica would cook something delicious, Chandler would get the dishes, Erica the forks and Jack would get the knives. Erica would walk ahead of Jack, put the forks on the left side of all four seating places and Jack following close behind would put a knife in every place at the right side. When Monica finished cooking Chandler would hand her a plate as she served breakfast on it and handed it to a kid, once both kids were served she'd fill Chandler's plate and then her own, they'd walk over to the table, they'd sit down and they'd talk. They could talk for two hours straight and not notice time had gone by. They'd talk about everything and anything. Preschool, Jack and Erica's friends, who was being mean to whom, Monica and Chandler's jobs, everything. Every morning they did this and somehow they always had something to talk about, topics were never scarce.

This had become one of the things that Monica most appreciated and enjoyed, how their family dynamic worked so well and it could all be seen just at breakfast time. How her kids loved opening up to them. Monica always hated when breakfast time was over, but she always remembered that tomorrow morning it would all be the same and she was okay with that.

When breakfast was over Jack and Erica went to take a shower, Monica was so grateful they'd given each kid their own bathroom, she had really dreaded sharing a bathroom with Ross all those years. Chandler took this opportunity to take a shower himself and headed upstairs after having helped Monica wash the dishes, he kissed her on the cheek and headed upstairs. Monica then heard her phone ring from somewhere far away. She started following the noise until she found her phone in her purse at the coat hanger.

When she reached in her bag to get the phone it had been too late and she'd missed the call. Monica checked her phone anyways and saw that she had 24 missed calls, every single one of them from Richard. She opened her phone and found 13 text messages from him, all getting more desperate than the one before. She read them and re-read them and they made no sense.

Richard: I know you are not happy with him. I will save you from him. We will finally be together forever.

Richard: Monica answer my text!

Richard: Is he forbidding you from answering me?

Richard: Whenever you can get away answer me, I'll come get you, I'll rescue you.

Richard: Monica, please, let me be your knight in shining armor, let me save you from him.

Richard: I know he doesn't want us to meet, but our love is so intense we must.

Richard: Monica I love you, the passion in our love is consuming me as I know it is consuming you.

Richard: I miss you, I haven't seen you since the party which was two hours ago but I miss you Monica, I long for you, I miss you and the love that we share

Richard: Monica answer me!

Richard: Our love runs so deep we shouldn't ignore it!

Richard: Leave him. Just leave him. We can finally be together. Together you and me. Forever.

Richard: Can you imagine it? I can. I'm thinking of what it would be like just our undying love for each other for the rest of our lives.

Richard: Answer me and I will come get you that instant so we can runaway, elope and live together forever for the rest of our lives, just you and me Mon.

Monica stared at her phone. She had no words. How could he possibly do this? That bastard. That was all Monica could think of. She didn't even hear the door open and close. When she heard the footsteps it was too late and Richard was there. In the middle of her living room. Thankfully she had her phone in her hand, she dialed 911 and yelled for Chandler to come down.

Chandler was in their room, he'd just finished getting dressed when he heard Monica call out for him. It wasn't the normal "Chandler come here!" that he always got, it was a desperate one, he knew something was wrong. He grabbed the bat that he kept in their closet just in case anything were to happen and came running down. When he reached the last step he saw Richard there, just standing in the middle of his living room, in the corner he could see Monica, fighting back tears, a phone in her hand.

Chandler held the bat and started screaming at Richard, "The hell are you doing here Richard? Who even invited you in? Get the hell out of my house!"

Chandler got closer to Richard, bat in hand. Richard had never been one to flee, but seeing Chandler there and so protective even he was a bit scared, he turned to look at Monica and with a determined voice said, "I'll come for you," he then gestured towards Chandler, "he can't keep us separated much longer." With that Richard ran out of their living room through the front door.

Chandler, still with the bat in his hand headed towards his wife, she walked towards him and meeting in the middle they embraced. Monica finally let the tears of fear out and sobbed into Chandler's shoulder as he whispered repeatedly, "It's going to be okay. It's all going to be okay. We'll figure it out. It's going to be okay."

Author's Note: Wow. Intense chapter to write. Hope it was intense while reading. So I leave you with this question, what will Monica and Chandler do next? More importantly, to what lengths is Richard willing to go to get Monica back? 'Kay so happy summer guys! See you on the first or second of August! Happy reading! :)

-M