I don't own them.

"Joe...Joey, it's this way."

Carefully, Chandler reached out towards Joey, trying not to get upset when he flinched away from his touch. The doctor had said that after the kind of things Joey had been through, it would be amazing if he let anyone touch him for a few days.

Sighing, Chandler led the way into the apartment. It was still devoid of furniture, though Chandler knew that the police were working to see if they could track down whoever stole their stuff. Chandler didn't really care about the things had been taken. He just wanted to kill the people who had hurt his best friend.

A soft quack followed immediately by a chirp alerted them to the presence of the chick and the duck. Chandler looked down at them, surprising himself by how much he was glad they were alright. Behind him, Joey let out a soft scream.

Turning, Chandler saw him pressed up against the refrigerator (apparently it was too conspicuous to steal) looking down at the animals as if they were lions instead of birds. "It's okay Joey, they won't hurt you?"

Joey looked at him, fear mixing with relief as he asked, "Are you sure."

"Positive." Chandler picked up the duck and held it against him, ignoring its attempts to get free. He stroked it, watching as Joey tentatively stuck out a finger and touched the duck on the head. Then he doubled over in pain.

Dropping the duck on the floor, Chandler led Joey to his room where there was still a bed. "You okay Joe?" he asked, knowing full well that his friend was nowhere near a hundred percent yet. "You want to lie down for a while?"

Joey shook his head, biting his lower lip to keep from showing his pain. "I'm...I'm okay. I'm hungry, though." He cocked his head to one side, thinking, before saying slowly, "I'm always hungry."

"Yeah, you are." Chandler agreed smiling. "C'mere. I think Ross dropped off some stuff." He walked into the kitchen, Joey trialing him, and started rummaging through a brown bag full of groceries.

Joey leaned on the counter. His hair still hadn't grown back, and the bandage on his head stood out exceptionally white against his tanned skin. Chandler noticed that his knuckles were turning white where he gripped the counter. He was in more pain then he was letting on. "Ross...he was at the hospital. With a girl."

Chandler nodded, extracting a jar of mayonnaise, a loaf of bread, and a few pounds of lunch meat. "Yeah, that was Monica. She's Ross's sister."

"Oh." Joey watched as Chandler spread the mayonnaise thick over two slices of bread. "So...I live here with you."

"Yeah, remember? I told you that at the hospital." Chandler patiently put four slices of roast beef on the bread. "We've been living here for a while."

"Okay." Joey accepted the offered sandwich but didn't bite into it. "So...you're not going to leave me, are you?"

Chandler tried to swallow past the lump that was building in his throat. "No, Joey. I won't leave you. I promise."

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