IN LOVE

Happiness was bursting like a wave over him. It wasn't possible to be so happy. He looked at the woman in front of him- the woman who, just a few minutes ago, he had kissed- Rachel. The only woman to capture his heart; the only woman he had ever fallen in love with.

The unexpected had happened. Sure, he'd dreamed about it. But to have her actually say it – it was a hundred times sweeter than any dream. To have her say she had feelings for him… nothing had ever given him more joy.

"Joey?"

"Huh?"

"Are you okay? You seem dazed." Rachel was concerned.

"I just can't believe it. I mean, you and me...we're, well, you know, together."

She smiled. It was so amazing that a day ago she had never even considered Joey as anything more than a friend. And now... she knew he was so much more than that. Something she had always known deep inside... something that surfaced only when she was faced with the fear that she would lose him.

He kissed her once again. Heaven was feeling her lips on his- knowing that they were together.



Chandler came rushing out of the bedroom to pick up the ringing phone.

"Hello."

He was greeted with a loud "HELP!"

"Chandler, we're in jail. They won't believe that the paw made us take the bike. We didn't steal it..." Phoebe was yelling.

Chandler's eyes were wide. He listened for a few minutes and then gave up. He couldn't understand anything. With a curt "I'll be there soon", he hung up.

He went towards the balcony. "Joey! Rach! I've got to go out. This group needs a chaperone. Can't leave you guys alone for a minu..." he broke off, a look of disbelief forming on his face. Joey had an idiotic grin on his face. Rachel was looking slightly uncomfortable. She wasn't sure what Chandler's reaction to their kissing would be.

He grinned. "This is really great and I need to know what the hell led to it but I got to bail Pheebs and Ross out of jail." He gave a thumbs-up sign and left.

Joey and Rachel stared at each other and then ran into Monica's room.

"What are they doing in jail?" Joey demanded.

Monica was startled. "Who?"

"Phoebe and Ross."

"They're in jail?"

"Well, you're not much use."



* At the police station *

Chandler had just arrived. He met Ross and got the details from him.

He took a deep breath and approached the person whose bike it was. He was standing next to the arresting officer, both with grim looks on their faces. He got the man alone.

A long and confusing hour later, he realized the man was being firm. He insisted on them spending at least a night in jail so they would learn a lesson. (A/N: I don't know if that's possible but lets just assume for this fanfic it is) Any more explaining on Chandler's part would probably result in him being thrown out of the window.



* Chandler and Monica's apartment *

Rachel was lying on Joey's lap. She was thinking how right this felt- being with Joey. 'I bet no one thought we would get together.'

"Do you wanna go see a movie tomorrow, Rach?"

"A date?" she questioned.

He grinned. "Yeah. Wow! Our first date. I cant believe I'm gonna be dating Rachel Greene."

She smiled and pulled his head down. "You're going to get plenty more," she whispered and kissed him.

The phone rang. Rachel answered.

"Hello?"

"May I speak to Ms. Phoebe Buffay?"

"I'm sorry she isn't here. Can I take a message?"

"Just tell her that Rohan called. I have something very important to tell her. I'll call again soon." He hung up.

She stared at the phone. He sounded desperate to speak to Phoebe. Hope she got here soon.

"So who was it?"

"Some guy named Rohan. He wanted to speak to Phoebe."

He wasn't really listening. He had just thought of something. "Rachel, what about the others? What about...Ross?"

She sighed. "I don't think I can face Ross yet, Joey. Couldn't we keep this as our little secret for a while?"

He frowned. He already went through this whole secret thing with Chandler and Monica and he didn't want to do the same again. But then, this was Ross they were talking about. Ross had been so sure that Rachel was his lobster. Their break up had devastated him but he claimed to have gotten over it. What if he hadn't? What if he still loved Rachel? He held her hand. "Whenever you're ready Rachel."

The door suddenly burst open. Chandler walked in. Joey looked behind him. He was alone.

"Where're Ross and Phoebe?

"In jail. They won't get out till tomorrow."

Rachel took a sharp intake of breath. "This is the paw's fault, right?"

"Well," Chandler paused. "Phoebe seems to think so. Ross isn't sure but I think he does have a uncomfortable feeling that it is related."

He stared at their interlinked hands. "So wanna tell me about this?"

Joey followed his gaze and beamed. "I finally told her."

Rachel swallowed her fear. After all, its not like they were hurt. They were just in jail. Her worrying about it wasn't going to help them. Better to just revel in her newfound happiness. She gave a wide smile. "Well, we've decided to get together."

"Aww! That's great, kids!"

Suddenly there was loud persistent knocking on the door. Chandler opened it.  A guy hurried in.

"Where's Phoebe Buffay? "

"Well, she's a bit occupied at the moment. And you are...?"

"I'm Rohan. " Blank looks from the others. " I called earlier. I couldn't wait any longer. I am the original owner of the paw." He saw Joey's cast. "So you did make a wish? You have not used it all? I'm not too late?"

"So you're the one responsible for running me off my feet all day. You owe me a new pair of sneakers," Chandler said.

"So how did you know where to find Phoebe?" Rachel wasn't sure what it was but she was uneasy. She had a premonition that something dreadful was going to happen.

"I have been searching for it ever since my brother stole it from me, 10 years ago. It's already ruined the lives of too many. I finally found the husband of the last owner. He said he had given it to Phoebe. I got her address from her place of work."

"Ruined the lives of too many?" Joey asked.

"I thought the last guy was the owner." Chandler said at the same time.

"His wife was the owner. She made her wishes and... passed on." His gaze rested on the shocked faces of the Rachel and Chandler and the very confused face of Joey.

"Passed on where?" inquired Joey.

"To the other side." Joey still did not understand.

"Where's that?"

Chandler decided to intervene. "She died."

"Oh." Then understanding dawned on Joey. "Oh my god. But we made wishes..."

Rachel felt faint. Die? 4 of them had made wishes. Were they going to die? This wasn't happening. It was a joke. Any second he was going to say he was joking. She willed him to say that.

But he wasn't. He was serious. This was her worst nightmare come true. She turned to Joey. He was frowning. He wasn't sure if he had to believe him. He felt Rachel's eyes on him. He held her close and kissed the top of her head. She hugged him tighter.

Chandler was sitting on the couch staring straight ahead. He snapped out of his trance. "When do we ... you know?"

"The end of the day."

"What?! That's 2 hours away." He stared at his hands. "I'm going to... to die in ...2 hours. I've got to tell Monica." He got up and sat back down again. "I don't think a dying man should walk that far."

"Did you use all the wishes?" Rohan was fraught with anxiety.

Rachel shook her head. "We have one more."

"Thank god!"

Joey was annoyed. "Why? Do you want to make a wish for yourself?"

He groaned. "No. I need to talk to the one who didn't make the wish. Alone."

Rachel stepped forward. She pointed to Monica's room and asked him to follow her.

In Monica's room, Rohan explained the situation. Monica was appalled.

"The only way to prevent this grim outcome is for either one of you to make a sacrifice."

Rachel was apprehensive. "What kind of...?"

"Give up anything which has caused you joy today."

"Well, considering that I've been in bed all day with a bandaged foot, I really didn't get much joy today. What about you, Rachel?"

Tears sprang to Rachel's eyes. This wasn't fair. How could fate deal such a cruel blow to her? Just when she had found bliss, it was going to be snatched away from her.

Rohan watched the sorrow spread over Rachel's face. The paw was going to bring misery in one more life.



Thanks for the reviews. I just love them all. I had originally intended to finish the story in this chapter, but it was a little too long so I split it up. I'll post the other part soon. In the meantime please review!