Hi there I really, really love your reviews, it makes it all worth it in the end. Not that I don't like to write this, but it's nice to know it's appreciated ;p.
Disclaimer: I don own Friends, but I do own all ten series on DVD.
What Love Can Do
Chapter 8.
"Are you ready for today, honey?" Monica asked, brushing her daughters hair away from her face, when she walked past her.
"Hmm-mm" Erica chewed her pancake with eager.
"Does it taste ok?" Monica asked, looking directly at Jack.
He nodded, "Yes, mom. Thank you"
"Good boy" Monica said, sitting down at the table as well.
"Where's dad?" Erica asked.
"He's at the couch" Monica answered, nodding her head towards the living room, "But let him sleep, I think he's tired"
"Why is he sleeping at the couch?" Erica continued her third degree. She was such a curious kid.
"He came home late last night and I think he didn't want to wake us" Monica said, trying not to let her irritation show. She hated when they asked questions all the time, it was so annoying. She had such a short temper these days.
Jack decided to join his sister, "Where was he that late at night?"
"He was at aunt Rachel's"
"Why?"
"Because she was sad"
"Why was aunt Rachel sad?" Erica then asked.
"Could you please be quiet for a minute!" Monica exclaimed.
Jack and Erica looked at her with big eyes. Then they pushed their chairs back and left the room.
Monica tried to stop them; "Kids, I didn't mean that…"
She trailed off.
It was too late now, anyway.
The harm was done.
--
"Emma, sweetheart?" Rachel whispered, kissing her daughters hair, "I'm going for a run for about an hour. If you wake up you can watch TV and when I get back we'll eat breakfast, okay?"
Emma looked with groggy eyes at her mother, "Yeah, mommy. Have fun"
"I love you"
"Love you too"
Rachel closed the door behind her and slipped into her running shoes. She had already changed clothes.
She went outside and jumped a few times to get her blood running, then she sighed and looked down the street. She wasn't in the mood for a run but she knew she'd feel better about herself after.
She decided what way she'd take and begun.
--
"Well good morning Ross, how are we feeling today?" nurse Jones asked and padded his stomach, "Any bad headache, or has it gone away?"
Ross looked at her with an angry look, "Do you have to be annoying?"
"Yes, certainly sir" she answered, "It's my job to annoy lonely men in their 40's when they're hospitalised. A lot of them don't get any visitors, just like you"
"Hey!" Ross exclaimed, "I do get visitors! I get visitors all the time!"
"Oh, then I must remember incorrectly" nurse Jones smiled, "'Cause I cant recall that your fiancé stepped by yesterday?"
"I don't have a fiancé!" Ross yelled.
"Oh, but you do have a daughter, and she didn't step by either"
"She's only 6! Her mother has to bring her!"
"Then why do you keep throwing her out?"
Ross just looked at her.
Why did she have to be right?
--
After about a half hour of trying to apologize to her daughter, Monica had finally convinced her to go with her to the mal anyway.
Chandler had waved them away, wishing they'd be able to get along just that one day.
It was probably too good to be true.
He had left Jack with cartoons, and was now sitting in his office, thinking about what happened the night before.
She had tried to kiss him, but why?
Was she lonely? Was she in love with him? Did she need him the way she always told him she did?
He didn't know, and honestly, he wanted to.
He should probably call her.
But he was too afraid.
What if she told him she wanted him, and took back all the sorry's she'd said the night before? What if she wanted him to leave Monica?
Would he be able to say no?
Honestly?
No.
No, he wouldn't.
He was having so much more fun with Rachel than he had had with Monica in a long time, and just that kiss they'd shared had done more to him than sex had done for a long time.
Him and Monica weren't even making love anymore. They were just fucking. When they actually got their act together and did it, which wasn't often.
He was just a little insecure right now.
If Ross had indeed broken things up with Rachel and didn't love her anymore, things would be okay.
But before he could do anything, he'd have to talk to Ross.
To figure out where he stood.
Before he could even have these thoughts, he really needed to know that. And when he did know that, it would somehow, still be wrong.
--
Rachel found Emma in front of the TV.
"Aunt Phoebe called" she said.
"Oh" Rachel threw a package on the couch.
"What's that?" Emma asked, curiously taking it up.
"It's a caller ID" Rachel said, "I was running, and suddenly felt the urge to buy one, so I did"
"What are we gonna use it for?" Emma asked.
"It's… Um, it's when someone's calling, then you can see who it is, and you can decide if you will answer or not"
"Like when dad wish he didn't pick up the phone because grandpa Green called?"
"Exactly!" Rachel laughed, "So that's when, the next time aunt Phoebe is calling, you can see it, and then don't pick up"
"Why wouldn't I pick up?"
"Because I don't talk to aunt Phoebe anymore" Rachel whispered, "Are you hungry?"
"Um, yeah!" Emma smiled, swallowing the information her mom had just given her.
They went into the kitchen and purred some cereal into two plates, and went into the living room to sit in front of the TV.
"What are we gonna do today, mommy?" Emma asked.
"I don't know" Rachel said, "What do you suggest?"
"We could go visit daddy!"
"Hmm, no honey…" Rachel said, "Sorry, but he doesn't want me to go there. We could just stay home and play? Or maybe we could visit grandma…"
"How about we visit Jack and Erica?" Emma asked.
"Nah… That's not such a good idea" Rachel said, thinking about what happened between her and Chandler yesterday, "Monica and I are kinda not talking to each other, soo…"
"You are not talking to Monica, you're not talking to Phoebe, and you don't see dad" Emma said, "What do you do?"
"Talk to you!" Rachel exclaimed and started to tickle her.
"Nooo, mommy!" Emma giggled, "Mommy, stop it!"
--
When Monica and Erica came home, they had nothing with them.
"What happened?" Chandler asked, "I thought you were going shopping?"
"We were" Monica said, "But the stuff Erica wanted was too expensive!"
"You could at least have bought me one skirt?" Erica asked.
"No" Monica said, "I think it's stupid to waste money on stuff like that, when the warm shirt, which is better at winter than a skirt is, is there too!"
"I hate you!" Erica cried, and then she ran up the stairs.
"Well then" Chandler said, "I'm gonna go now"
"Go where?"
"To pick up Joey?" Chandler said, "Remember? Our Italian friend who's an actor? You called him, he's here around 8.?"
"Yes, yes" Monica said, "Go, I'll see you"
"Yeah, I bet you will" Chandler said and left the house.
He got in to his car, and started the long way to the airport.
He couldn't believe she hadn't bought her one thing? One itsy-bitsy tiny thing?
It was too much.
She'd promised she'd be better than this! That she'd tone it down, that she'd be with them because they were them and not because it was her kids.
She'd promised!
Chandler however, had now to realize, that his wish wasn't coming true.
He doubted it ever would.
--
He'd only waiting for around 5 minutes, when Joey came towards him, struggling with his luggage.
"Hi buddy!" Chandler exclaimed, and they embraced each other.
"Hey, good to see you man" Joey mumbled, padding his back, "What's this big mess Monica explained?"
Chandler broke apart and looked at his friend, "It's a big mess. I think we should head a bar before going home, you should know everything!"
"Okay, do you know one?"
"Yeah, there is this place…" Chandler begun, "I've been coming there sometimes for awhile now, it is great"
"Okay" Joey smiled, "Let's sort this big mess out…"
--
Phoebe looked at the picture from Central Park, taken around 8 years ago at Monica's 29th birthday.
Monica was lying against Chandler's chest on their blanket, lovingly drinking wine.
Chandler was admiring his girlfriend, probably pondering over when he was gonna propose.
Joey was eating a big ice cream, he'd bought , and he had it all over his shirt and face.
Rachel, who was sharing a blanket with him, was trying to wipe it away with a napkin, though Joey was protesting.
Ross was sitting at his blanket. He was trying to tell them a story (probably about dinosaurs, who knew? Phoebe couldn't remember what he'd told them) , but none of them were really listening. He, however, had chosen to ignore that fact, and had just kept on talking.
Phoebe, herself, had taken pictures, while thinking about her friends, and how much she loved them…
1999
"…and that's why, as I told professor Guggleheim, Jurassic Park couldn't have happened" Ross finished.
"Guggleheim?" Chandler laughed, "Is that even illegal to be named that?"
"Oh, stop it, Chandler!" Monica laughed, sipping her wine again.
"No, Joey!" Rachel's voice interrupted them, "Stay still! I have to clean you, I cant been seen with you looking that way""C'mon, Rach" Joey laughed, "I'm not done with my ice cream yet, I'll just get messy again. You can clean me later"
"Do you really think I believe you'll let me?" Rachel asked.
"You need a kid, Rach" Phoebe said, chipping in.
"Excuse me?"
"Just the way you're taking care of our Joey" Phoebe smiled, "Just like he's some little boy and you're his mother. You really need to have a child soon"
"Come on!" Rachel giggled, "Me? With a baby? That'll end in disaster!"
"You should give yourself some more credit Rach" Chandler smiled, "I think you'll make a wonderful mother someday"
"Really?" Rachel placed a hand on her heart, "Thank you honey, I'm so honoured!"
"Joe, give me a smile?" Phoebe asked, and then she clicked away at her camera.
"Phoebe!" Monica said, "How can you take a picture of him looking that way? Is that really how we want to remember my 29th birthday? As Joey looking messy?"
"I'm just trying to catch the moment!" Phoebe reasoned, clicking at Monica just when she took a sip of her wine again.
"Great" she mumbled, "Now I look like an alcoholic"
Rachel suddenly broke their talk up because she was giggling. They turned around to find Joey tickling her, getting ice all over her shirt.
When she had laughed, she suddenly saw herself, "Look what you did, Joey!" she exclaimed, but she really didn't sound that mad. She just took a napkin a got the ice off herself.
"But then he said to me, that it could be true" Ross tried again, to get them to listen, "And then we got into this whole discussion about it. Now I'm taking it up on our discussion-group this Monday"
"Well, that's great, Ross" Chandler said, trying to hold in the laughter.
Ross continued his dinosaur story, but Phoebe's eyes caught an elderly couple walking towards them. She got up and stopped them, "Excuse me?"
"Yes?"
"Would you mind taking a picture of me and my friends?" Phoebe asked, "We should all be in it?"
"Yes, of course" the man smiled, "Sit down ms."
Phoebe smiled and sat down next to them. They hadn't really noticed the elderly couple, because they were all so busy doing their own things.
Joey was eating ice cream again.
Rachel was busy with her napkin.
Monica laid her head against Chandler's chest with her eyes closed, and Chandler was looking at her.
Ross was going on and on about dinosaurs.
Phoebe looked at the man with a glint in her eye.
This picture would hold such memories one day.
--
Now, Phoebe was holding the old picture in her shaking hands, while her tears kept coming.
Back then, they'd been so young and innocent.
They hadn't known what life was going to bring them.
She couldn't believe they were ending up in such a terrible way.
She couldn't believe that their friendship was slowly breaking up and that they'd soon be without one another.
Because she had never, ever, imagined that she would have to live without one of them.
She had never imagined that things could go this wrong for them.
She had never imagined that things could be like they were now.
She had never imagined.
Okay, finally I got this written. I hope you liked it. There didn't happen so many things, but it was Joey's arrival. The next chapter should be here soon and move things forward. Remember to leave me a review, because you know I love them. Thanks, Stessa ;p
