A/n: Wow, my tenth chapter! I never thought I would make it this far! Thank you all for your incredible amount of support and positivity, I am enjoying this! Sorry if this one is a little shorter than the last few, it is mainly a discussion chapter.
The sun rose just above the horizon, casting its rays on the water as well as the island. The beams of light woke Rachel up first. She groaned, couldn't she sleep just a little longer? She groggily lifted her head, and the sunlight made her squint. She covered her eyes and propped herself onto her elbows. Pain shot up her spine and into her neck, making her wince. She assumed it was because of the awkward position she had slept in. She was used to a nice soft bed, but instead she was stuck with an uncomfortable, (far from pleasant) bed of sand. This island is like floating torture! Rachel thought to herself. She got up slowly, and stretched her back out.
Ross woke up next because he realized Rachel was no longer next to him. He blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the morning sunrise. In front of him, he took notice of Rachel, who was still grimacing from back pain. Seeing this, he shot up from the ground to her aid.
"Rach, are you alright, what happened?" Ross asked her, concerned.
Rachel flashed him a small smile. "I'm fine, just had a rough sleep." She assured him.
Joey blinked the sleep from his eyes and let out a loud yawn. "Mornin' you two." He said tiredly.
"Mornin' Joe!" Ross responded.
Joey brushed the sand from his clothes and shakily got to his feet. "Wh- Hey! Look you guys, I'm dry again!" Joey shrieked excitedly.
"Joe, if you weren't dry after a good 8 hours of sleep, we would have a problem!" Rachel said between giggles. Monica and Chandler woke up next. That left Phoebe, who was out like a light.
"Should we wake her?" Ross asked the group hesitantly.
"Nah, it's cute! Let her sleep, yesterday was pretty tough." Joey told Ross.
"No way! We've got a shelter to build!" Monica cut in forcefully.
Monica knelt down to sleeping Phoebe's level. "WAKE UP! COME ON SOLDIER, WE'VE GOT WORK TO DO!" Monica yelled into Phoebe's ear.
Phoebe shot up. "Sir, yes sir!" She responded, clearly playing along.
(Time Jump, they are all sitting in a circle eating a breakfast of mulberries).
"Ok, so what's the plan for today?" Phoebe asked.
"Well, I'm thinking," Monica started, "Maybe we should-"
Suddenly, Monica was cut off by Joey.
"Ack, son of a BITCH! This berry is sour as hell!" Joey yelled while spewing the berry everywhere, including right onto Chandler.
Chandler wiped the tiny pieces of mulberry from his face. "As much as I thoroughly enjoyed that refreshing berry shower you just gave me, you are bound to end up with a few bad berries, so for the next time, refrain from doing that again." Chandler replied, sarcastic as usual.
"I can do whatever I want! Have you forgotten? You lost the bet!" Joey said, smirking.
"I agreed to be at your service, I DIDN'T agree to having chewed up berries spit all over my face!" Chandler yelled.
Monica still hadn't given up on finishing what she had to say from earlier. Maybe if she spoke up now she would break up the argument. "ANYWAYS! I was thinking that Chandler, Joey and Ross could try to help me with the shelter today.
"Ooh, so that just leaves me and you Rach! What do you wanna do? Ah we could have so much fun!" Phoebe said giddily while clapping her hands.
Ross and Rachel shot each other a look from across the circle.
"Umm, Pheebs… Uh, Ross and I kinda had our own job to do today. I'm sorry honey…" Rachel told her gently.
"Yea, Mon I'm gonna have to take a raincheck." Ross told his sister.
"Uh alright… What are you two doing today anyways?" Monica asked, somewhat suspiciously.
Rachel's eyes widened as she nervously glanced at Ross for guidance. Ross gave her a look telling her that he would handle this one.
Ross cleared his throat. "Well we were thinking of getting some firewood, uh you know, to um, make a fire." He said, fumbling his words from nervousness. Would the others question him and Rachel? His heart was beating out of his chest.
"Oh ok! Great idea!" Monica responded, smiling. Ross and Rachel quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ok, so Phoebe, are you up for helping with the shelter?" Monica questioned her friend.
"Of course!" Phoebe said.
"Alright!" Monica said excitedly as she put down her bowl of mulberries. "Let's get right to it!"
Chandler smiled. It made him happy to see that Monica back to her old self. He knew she was still grieving on the inside, but that was just natural. She was handling the pain much better on the outside. He was so proud of her. He stood up, and went to join his fiancé and friends in a long day of shelter building.
A/N: Happy 10th chapter! Oh, and happy 30 reviews! Thank you for the support, it means a bunch! Ok, chapter 11 coming soon, reviews are appreciated ;)