~The One With Mike's Birthday (Part 2)~
Forty minutes later, everyone was eating their desserts and discussing Elizabeth Warren. "I don't think that's her." Ross said. Phoebe agreed with him. "I think she's just a look alike." Mike was curious. "Who is this Janice you all keep talking about?" "She's someone I used to date." Chandler answered him. "People this is nuts." Monica exclaimed. "That is her I'm telling you! Once again, I have to be the voice of reason. I'll be back." She stood up and walked away from the table before anyone could say anything to her. Walking up to the hostess, Monica smiled and said, "Um excuse me, hi. I was wondering if I could possibly talk to Elizabeth." "Elizabeth? The singer?" the hostess asked. "Yes. How can I talk to her?" Monica asked. "I'm sorry. But no one is allowed backstage." The hostess replied. Monica thought for a few a minute. "I know. But I think she used to be a friend of mine a long time ago. My friends say that she wasn't. Could I talk to her to see if I'm right?" The hostess shook her head no. "Again, I'm sorry. But no one is allowed backstage." Monica smiled. "Listen, I understand your rules but this is really important. I could settle our disagreement it if I could get backstage." The hostess started to say something and Monica got annoyed. "Don't make me tell everyone here that your restaurant served me a meal with a dead rat in it!" The hostess eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare to do that!" "Oh no?" Monica chided. In a high shrilly voice, she yelled, "EVERYONE? EXCUSE ME…..EVERYONE?" The hostess tried to shush her but Monica only got louder. "THIS RESTAURANT JUST….." The hostess stopped her in mid rant. "OK! I give up. Just please stop yelling. You can go back there but please be on your best behavior." Monica smiled and looked around the room again. Everyone, including her friends, were staring at her. "…..SERVED ME THE BEST BAKED ALASKA I'VE EVER HAD! AND THAT'S SAYING A LOT!….I'M A CHEF MYSELF!" She finished yelling. The hostess quickly grabbed Monica by her arm and led her through the dinning area. When Monica passed by her friends, she smiled and gave them a thumb up. They all pretended they didn't know her. When she was out of ear shot, Chandler said, "Who was that crazy lady?"
Once they were backstage, they saw Elizabeth leaning back against a wall. Her eyes were closed. "Are you ok Beth?" the hostess asked. "No." Elizabeth said. "I'm frustrated because I can not find one good piano player in this city. None of them are what I'm looking for." Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked at the hostess. "You see that stack of papers on the desk Holly? They are all resumes. I called all of those people and had them play for me. The only good player is a 16 year old girl but I just got the message that she can't work the week nights because of school. So, I'm back to square one. And no one is there. I guess I just have to keep singing to recorded music." Elizabeth noticed Monica. "Monica Geller! It has been WAY too long! How have you been?" Holly looked at both of them and said, "Well I'm not one to stand in the way of old friends. I will get back to my station." Monica thanked her as she walked away. Making sure she was completely gone, she turned back around and faced Elizabeth. "Hello Janice." she said. In that familiar, nasally voice, Janice said, "How are you?" "So, like always, I was right." Monica said. "You ARE Janice!" Janice's old, loud laugh escaped from her throat. To Monica's ears, it only got worse with time. "Ut oh. I forgot, Elizabeth doesn't laugh that way. And she's not nasally either. " Janice said. So she regained her composure and chuckled softly. But she quickly went back to her normal voice. "You haven't changed a bit Monica. So tell me, are you taking good care of my Bing-a-ling?" Before Monica could answer her, Janice muttered, "Elizabeth doesn't talk like that either Janice." Monica looked at her with curiosity. "Yes…..yes I am. So…why are you now a blonde Elizabeth Warren? I mean, you're Janice. You have dark hair. And you don't sing." In Elizabeth's voice, Janice answered her. "I didn't know I could until a year or so ago. I thought I should reinvent myself to go along with my voice. So I did. Blonde hair, new name, new talking voice and there you go. Janice has a look a like. Elizabeth is my grandmother's name while Warren is my mother's maiden name. So, enough about me. How's the gang all doing? I saw you all while I was singing. Joey is even hotter than he was the last time I saw him and Ross's hair doesn't look as greasy as it used to." And her old laugh escaped from her throat again. "Shoot! I need to control that." She said. Monica was getting really confused by her odd behavior. Just as she was going to ask her is she was feeling alright, Janice turned and walked over to the desk. She picked up the stack of papers that she pointed out to Holly. "In the trash these go." And again, she used Elizabeth's voice. She threw them away and walked back over to Monica. Monica couldn't resist asking her if she felt alright. Janice smiled softly. "Other than being frustrated because of not having a good piano player, sure. Why?" "Oh, no reason." Monica said. Monica studied her for a few moments when Mike suddenly popped into her head. "You say you need a good piano player? Well, my friend Mike is the best. He loves playing the piano, is looking for a job and the best part is that he's an adult." Janice walked back over to her. "Really? Well tell him to come here tomorrow at 2pm if he can. If he can't, tell him to call here and ask to speak to Elizabeth. We can arrange another time then." Monica could tell she almost slipped back into Janice's voice. "Great!" She said. "Thank you so much!" Janice smiled back at her and said, "Under one condition." "You name it." Monica said. Janice suddenly turned serious. "You don't tell the rest of the gang who I am ok?" Monica looked at her. "Why?" "Just don't let them know….please?" Janice asked. Monica was really confused by now so she just nodded her head in agreement. "Well, it was good seeing you again….…I think. And you are one heck of a singer," She turned around and walked away. Janice waved bye to her and walked over to her makeup table. She sat down and looked in the mirror. Staring at her own reflection, she said, "It's ok. Once she hears why you're acting like this, she will understand."
Monica returned to the table and everyone looked at her. "You went backstage Mon?" Rachel asked. "Yea. I saw Elizabeth." Monica answered. "Well?" Chandler asked. Monica fidgeted in her seat. "Well what?" she said, "Did you talk to her?" Chandler asked. "Not really." she answered. "Why not?" Ross asked. "She was upset. She's looking for a piano player to play for her while she performs and she hasn't found anyone yet." Then Monica looked at Mike. "So, I told her about you and she wants to see you tomorrow at 2pm for an interview." Mike's mouth dropped open. "You got me an interview with her?" he asked. "Yep!" Monica answered. Mike's eyes widened and Phoebe smiled. "Thank you Monica!" He said. "Does this make up for Chandler forgetting to bring your cake tonight?" She asked him. Chandler exhaled and Mike smirked. Ross looked at his watch. "I hate to be a jerk but Mike? Do you want to open mine and Rachel's gift now?" "I have to leave in a few minutes. I have a meeting first thing tomorrow." "Yea." Rachel said, "He's my ride. We also have to go pick Emma up soon." Mike smiled. "You guys come on. You didn't have to get me anything. Although, I was expecting a cake from Monica tonight." "Blame Chandler." She said. "Love you too hon." Chandler said. Rachel handed Mike her and Ross' gift. "You know what you're getting from me" Phoebe said when he looked at her. Joey grinned. "Yea baby! The gift that keeps giving!" Everyone looked at him. "Hey I got him a card. Here it is." He handed Mike his card. Mike smiled and started opening up his presents.
After saying bye to their friends, Mike and Phoebe arrived back at their apartment. As soon as Phoebe shut their door, Mike grabbed her and kissed her tenderly. "You were right." He said. Phoebe smiled. "I know….about what?" "Quote. I'm telling you this is going to be the best night. Something great is going to happen. End quote. Does that sound familiar?" He asked. She laughed. "Did I ever tell you how sexy you are repeating stuff I've said?" "Oh?" He asked. "Try this on for size. Quote, 'And this is just a start of what's to come tonight. End quote." She growled at him sexily. Phoebe put her arms around his neck and said, "It's still your birthday. Now, let's continue celebrating." She took her arms down and together they walked to back to their bedroom.
Mike woke up smiling the next day. He couldn't wait to interview with Elizabeth. It was 11am but Mike had already exercised, took a shower, studied some of his music sheets, fixed breakfast and set the counter for breakfast. When Phoebe woke up and made her way to the kitchen, he was practically bouncing off the walls. "Good morning!" He said to her after he gave her a quick kiss. Phoebe yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Look at you. You're in a great mood." Mike grinned. "Yes I am M'lady. Now, would you be so kind as to sit down in this chair?" He pulled out a chair and Phoebe sat down as he pushed the chair closer to the counter. "Would M'Lady like some royal orange juice with her royal pancakes this morning?" Phoebe started to laugh. "Well, I always knew I was royalty. But I didn't know my food was. Yes. Princess Bananna Hammock would like royal orange juice with her royal pancakes." Mike prepared a plate of pancakes for her and sat it down in front of her. Then he brought her a small glass of orange juice. "I am so happy! If I get this job, it means I will have a steady income doing what I love to do." he said and sat down across from her. Phoebe took a bite of her pancakes. "I know you will get it." "How do you know that?" He asked. "Because my grandmother's spirit came to me in my dream last night. She said that you would get the job and she said that we…" Phoebe stopped talking and immediately took another bite of her pancakes. "We what?" He asked. Phoebe took another bite of her pancakes and deliberately chewed slowly so she could buy time. After a few moments, she took a long, slow sip of her orange juice. "She said that we should wear each other's underwear today. It'll bring you good luck and it'll give me a feeling I've never felt before." Mike didn't know what to say to her so all he said was, "Yea. Thanks but I think I will do my best wearing my underwear." She looked at him. "Alright. But don't say she didn't tell you if you don't get the job." Mike looked at the clock on the wall. "Oh I gotta go. I have to pick Monica up because she's going with me today." He walked around the counter and gave Phoebe a quick kiss. "Mmmmmmm. Blueberry syrup. My favorite." And out the door he went. Phoebe waited a few minutes after he left to say, "She actually said that we are going to have a girl."
A couple hours later, Phoebe was sick as a dog. The she loved the pancakes but the baby didn't. She didn't know which was stronger, the baby's dislike of her breakfast this morning or the fact that she was just so tired from being sick. "Man I don't remember being this bad when I was pregnant with the triplets." She thought. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was 1pm. "Mike is going to be gone for a while so I'll take a nap." She thought. So, she headed back to their bedroom and sat down on their bed. Grabbing the alarm clock, she set it to go off at 3:30pm. She returned it back to the nightstand and went to sleep.
After the audition, Mike took Monica back to Javu and then headed home. But, he made a few stops first. He walked into the apartment and sat down on the couch, without saying a word. Phoebe was sitting at the counter making out bills. "Hey! Did you get the job? When do you start?" Mike didn't say anything to her. He got off the couch and walked out the door. "Oh great." Phoebe said out loud. "Another job he didn't get." And just then, Mike came busting through the door with a dozen long stemmed pink roses in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. "Gee, I'd actually like to see your reaction if you got the job." She said to him." Mike walked over to her and put the roses and wine on the counter. "I GOT THE JOB!" Phoebe jumped out of the chair. "YES! I'm so happy for you!" She hugged him and he said, "I'm happy for me too!" Holding hands, he and Phoebe walked over to the couch. He sat down and she sat on his lap. "You know, I have to admit that you were right." He said. "Last night was the best night ever! Plus, as of today, I now have a steady job doing what I love! Life can not get any better." Phoebe jumped off his lap and ran to their bathroom. "Except for that." He said. Mike got up and followed her into the bathroom. He stood in the doorway while she was sick. After she started feeling better, Phoebe stood up and walked over to the sink. "Honey, you have got to go to the doctor. And, you are not going to tell me no or get out of it because I will make the appointment myself and I will take you there." He said as he was watching her. She finished cleaning herself up and said, "No. I'm not going." Mike got angry. "You are going! I've had it. There is something wrong and it's not getting any better." Phoebe looked at him and very softly she said, "Mike, I did go. I went last week. Now to me, there's nothing wrong. But I'm not sure if you will feel the same." He walked over to her. "What is it?" Phoebe hesitated. "I'm…." "You're what?" He asked. "I'm…pregnant." She said. Mike's mouth dropped open. "You're pregnant?" She nodded her head and Mike hugged her. "YES! I'M GOING TO BE A FATHER! Thank you thank you thank you!" He kissed her, over and over again. She laughed. "You know, you did have a little something to do with it." Mike smiled. "Oh yea. I thank myself as well!" Phoebe chuckled and he picked her up off her feet. Leaning her head against his chest, she said, "So, you really are ok with this? I mean, it's not something we can return if you don't like it." He carried her out into the living room and gently sat her down on the couch. Sitting down next to her, he said, "Phoebe. Of course I am ok with it! Why would you think I'm not? I just can't wait to hold him or her. By the way, how much longer do we have to wait?" Phoebe smiled. "About 7 more months." "Well, I just can't wait!" He put his arm around her and she snuggled closer to him. "You knew since last week you are pregnant and you didn't tell me?" He asked. "Uh huh." She said. "Why?" he asked. Phoebe moved away from him. "Because you were down about not having a steady job and money. I was afraid if I told you that we're having a baby that you'd force yourself to be a lawyer again. I didn't want you to do that." Mike smiled and cupped her chin. "Phoebe Buffay, don't you know me by now? I would have loved hearing that no matter how I was feeling." She snuggled up against him again. "Life is truly wonderful!" Mike thought to himself.