"I just don't think he should be alone on Thanksgiving," Joey said in Ross and Rachel's apartment a couple days later.

"I know" Rachel said, pacing a little. She knew she couldn't get out of her plans. Once Rachel's mother heard Monica wasn't going to be home for Thanksgiving she'd planned a holiday overnight for her and her daughters, and Rachel felt obligated to go.

"Why shouldn't he be alone on Thanksgiving?" Ross asked. "He hates Thanksgiving."

"I know," Joey shrugged. "Just, with Monica being gone…"

He stopped speaking at the curious looks on Rachel and Phoebe's faces, and the confused look on Ross's.

"Oh, yeah, we know, the whole 'parents' divorce' story," Phoebe said, with a wave of her hand, trying to deflect attention but making a mental note to ask Joey later what he knew about Monica and Chandler.

"And there was the year Monica cut off his toe," Ross nodded, nonchalantly pulling bottled water out of the fridge.

"What?!" Three sets of eyes turned to him, surprised.

"Yeah," he said, "you didn't know about that?"

"Oh, I forgot about that!" Rachel said, face turning a little red. She now remembered why Monica had been so mad at Chandler that year, and how awful she felt for having cut off his toe.

"It was just the tip," Ross shrugged as the apartment door opened.

"Hello, children," Chandler said, coming through the door.

They all were staring at his feet.

"What?!"

"So, you have half a toe, dude?" Joey asked. "How come I never noticed that?"

"Ah…the worst of all pilgrim holidays," Chandler said with a head nod. "Yet another reason to despise that day. I'm…glad I have a reason to boycott it this year…"

'Glad' wasn't really the right word. All things being equal he'd be happy to spend the day like the gang had the last couple years. But without Monica in New York, he'd just as soon ignore it altogether.

"Why don't you just come out to my parents' place tomorrow?" Joey said.

"Ah…no," Chandler said, massaging his jaw. "I don't think Mary-Alice wants to see me."

"I'm gonna go out to my Mom and Dad's with Ben after the parade," Ross offered. "You've been there before, I'm sure they'd be, um, OK with you coming again."

Chandler wasn't one-hundred percent comfortable around the Gellers to being with, and the thought of being at their house without Monica wasn't a pleasant one.

He shook his head. "Nah, thanks…"

"Oh, come with me to Frank and Alice's," Phoebe said, excitedly. "We'll outnumber the babies!"

"God, no!" Chandler said quickly. "I mean, thanks Pheebs, but I don't think so. Guys, listen, I'll be fine. This is great, actually, I'll have the day to myself, ya know, watch some football…"

"…you mean some Die Hard…" Rachel smirked.

"Maybe," he said, with a smile. "Thanks, really, but I'll be fine."

And, he thought to himself, I might be able to talk to Monica at some point, uninterrupted.

###

Her mind was still reeling.

Monica couldn't quite believe what transpired during her meeting with Turrico. Not only was he pleased with her work, but he'd been looking for someone to take the role of mentor for potential new chefs coming into the program. In another month he was bringing in a new class and he wanted her to be part of the recruitment team. She'd be traveling, recruiting her peers and some of the best young chefs in the world, and then whipping them into shape for the rigors of the academy cooking school.

Turrico had actually given her a couple days off to think about it. She was supposed to meet him at 8 a.m. Saturday with her answer. It was a permanent position and would be based in Florence…and four months ago she would have had to pinch herself to be convinced that such an unbelievable opportunity was hers for the taking.

But if she took it, she wouldn't be going back to New York. She would hardly ever be home and she'd almost never see her family or her friends…or Chandler.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by Kevin, who was sitting across from her at a little restaurant away from Florence. The view was the stunning, cascading Tuscan countryside by the coast, bathed in unseasonably warm November light. Red roofs lined the scene and it was breathtaking.

She'd been fiddling with the cloth napkin in front of her and hadn't said anything since the waiter took their order. He'd reached for her hand and she'd jerked back a little.

She looked at his surprised expression, his golden hair shining and his deep green eyes questioning her. He was an attractive man, but…

"It's too soon, isn't it?" Kevin said, taking his hand away. "V said it would be too soon."

"Yeah," Monica said quietly, putting her napkin and her hands in her lap, looking out over the rooftops surrounding her. "I'm sorry, Kevin."

He shook his head.

"So…you've never dated this guy, right?" he asked a little hesitantly. "I mean, you were just friends…"

Monica nodded.

"And you're here, far away from him…"

Monica swallowed heavily and nodded again.

"…and you could be here now for…a long time," Kevin continued. "I mean 'outta sight, outta mind,' right? You've got new horizons to conquer now."

She looked away from him, breathing in sharply.

"It's only been a few weeks, it's gonna get easier..."

"You would think, huh?" Monica said with a disbelieving chuckle and a deep exhale. She shook her head. "You would think, yeah, you're right. One, I never dated him. Two, I've known him forever and was never super attracted to him before. Three, he's always been, well, always was kinda immature. I mean he pretended to move to Yemen to get out of a relationship."

Kevin's eyebrows raised at that.

"Yeah," Monica said, more to herself than to him, "Getting over these…feelings…that have…surfaced…it should be easy. It should be a piece of cake. We're thousands of miles apart. He's not here and I am and I should just be able to...move on. It should be the simplest thing in the world but, nooo…"

"Monica…"

"It's just gotten harder," she said, chattering away, somehow once again on the verge of tears. "And now…now here I am. I have this incredible opportunity here. I'm on a nice date with a great, hot guy in the middle of this beautiful place and all I can think about, all I can think about, is how I wish he was here or I wish I was home. I don't know what to do, I just don't."

She leaned back in her chair, taking a deep breath.

"If I stay here," she whispered. "I could…I might, I could somehow lose him as a…friend, and if he…he falls…completely out of my life…"

She physically shook at the thought.

After a moment she blinked back her tears and looked sympathetically at Kevin, who looked a little shell-shocked.

"I'm so sorry," she said, trying to smile a little. "I know my emotional breakdown isn't exactly what you had in mind for this evening…"

He sighed and shrugged.

"You've got a lot going on, and Vanessa did try to warn me," he smiled. "Listen, you need to tell Mr. Blue Eyes about all this…"

"Oh, stop," she smiled a little. "It's bad enough when Vanessa calls him that."

"What's his name? Chuck, Chip…?"

"Chandler," she said, fully smiling now. He shook his head a little.

"Your whole face lights up just saying his name," he said, with a grin. "You need to tell him how you feel."

"Yeah, right," Monica scoffed.

"You do…"

"Tell him what? 'Guess what, Chandler, I'm in love with you but, ya know, I'm gonna be in Italy for the foreseeable future so, whatever…'," she mocked, with a wave of her hand. "Besides, he'd totally freak out. I mean, we talked the other day, only for a few minutes but it felt…it felt like…'us.' I don't want to ruin…'us' with…all this, which, by the way, I can't believe is happening…right now."

"Absence does make the heart grow fonder," he quipped.

"I thought you were all 'outta sight, outta mind'," she said with a smirk.

"I was when I thought I had a chance," he said, grinning at her as he laced his fingers across his stomach, accepting that the 'date' part of the evening was over. "Listen, you clearly love this guy. You want him in your life and you're obviously not getting over him. You should just tell him and let the cards fall where they may."

"He'll freak out."

"So?"

"So?!" she asked, mildly irritated. "Did you not hear what I just said? I can't lose him…"

"And what if you don't?" he interrupted. "What if he feels the same way?"

Monica just stared at him.

"What if he's walking around back in New York feeling the exact same way about you."

"I don't…" Monica said, completely flustered, having really never let herself have that thought before. "I mean, I guess there's a chance…"

"If I had someone as great and beautiful as you are, who I'd known forever, who was as in love with me as you are with him," he nodded, "I'd take a second to think about it, at least."

She blushed.

"But, he's dating that woman…"

"Oh," Kevin said, not privy to that information before. "Is it serious?"

"I…I don't know," she said, beginning to bite her fingernail, her mind churning. "I mean, it didn't sound that serious…"

"Then there's really nothing stopping you…"

"Yeah, right," she said, nervously still gnawing on her nails, "nothing - just an ocean, and the academy and a friendship that I can't lose and a broken heart, but, yeah, nothing…"

"You need to tell him…"

"But…"

"No 'buts,'" he said as the waiter brought their food to them. "Just…do it."

###

It was the night before Thanksgiving, and Joey and Rachel had already left for their respective holiday weekends. Phoebe had gone home and Ross had gone to pick up Ben for the night. Chandler had settled in with a cooler of beer and a pile of movies, including of course "Die Hard," when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

His face changed from one of mild curiosity to outright shock when he heard the voice at the other end of the line.

"You're kidding," Chandler said, dumbfounded. "I never expected to hear from you…"

###

"Hey," Vanessa said, poking her head into Monica's bedroom early the next morning.

"Hey," Monica said, rolling over and sitting up. "I guess you talked to Kevin."

"Yep," she said, walking over to Monica, her hands behind her back.

"Did you bring me some Twinkies?" Monica asked curiously. "I could really use a breakfast Twinkie."

"Nope." Vanessa sat down on the bed as Kevin followed her into the room.

"What's going on?" Monica asked as Vanessa handed her the item she'd been hiding.

"What's this?" Monica asked, reading it over. She looked sharply from Vanessa to Kevin. "A plane ticket to New York?!"

"It's Thanksgiving back home," Vanessa said quietly. Monica nodded. "Ya have two days off. You need to talk to Mr. Blue Eyes."

Monica looked at them both, tears in her eyes.

"I can't…" she whispered. "I can't believe you did this…"

Vanessa looked at Kevin, who was grinning. They'd gone in on the ticket together.

"You've done a lot for us, all of us," Vanessa said, tears in her own eyes. "I know you have to be back by Friday night, so it's a quick trip, but you…you said he hates Thanksgiving, right?"

Monica nodded, with a watery chuckle.

"Well, maybe now he won't," Vanessa said.

Monica shook her head.

"I don't …I don't even know what I'm gonna say to him," Monica said quietly, still stunned at their generosity.

"You have a whole plane ride to figure it out," Kevin said.

"How about 'I'm crazy about you, I can't stop thinking about you and I love you?'" Vanessa offered with a smile.

Monica beamed, then started, "but what if…"

"Enough with the 'buts,'" Kevin said, rolling his eyes from the doorway. "If he doesn't feel the same way then, then you've…we've only invested a plane ticket."

Monica shot him a panicked look.

"And," he stopped her, putting up his hand, "your friendship will survive, I'm sure…"

"But…but what if he does?" Monica whispered, letting herself feel hopeful about that possibility for the very first time. She looked at Vanessa.

"If he does," Vanessa said, smiling softly at her. "Then your hearts will figure out the rest."

Monica launched herself at her friend.

"Thank you," she said, tears rolling down her face. "Thank you so, so much, both of you."

"You're welcome," Vanessa said, squeezing her back and giggling. "Are you kiddin', honey, this is better than a soap opera! I can't wait for y'all to figure it out…"

"Your flight's in two hours," Kevin said with a chuckle. "You better get going!"

"He'll be so surprised when ya show up at his door," Vanessa said excitedly.

Monica smiled from ear-to-ear and jumped out of bed.

This was going to be the best Thanksgiving ever.

###

Chandler stepped off the bus and walked out the door of the station, scanning the parking lot.

He spotted her blond hair as she frantically waved at him, standing next to what looked to be a brand new Lexus.

The wind had picked up and he pulled his coat closer to him as he threw his bag over his shoulder.

He walked over to her and gave her a smile.

"Oh," she hugged him tight. "I'm so glad you came!"

"Who can pass up a Greyhound to Syracuse on the coldest Thanksgiving Day on record?" he said, grinning at her and kissing her cheek.

"I'm glad you made it before the weather hit," she said, as he threw his bag in the back seat.

He nodded. "It's way too early for this kinda winter."

"Sounds like it might be bad," she nodded, putting the car in reverse and pulling out of her parking space. "But you'll be all tucked-in upstate with me."

"Maybe I shoulda taken my chances with the nor'easter," he teased.

She playfully glared at him then took his hand.

"It's so good to see you, darling," she said, giving his hand a squeeze. "Happy Thanksgiving."

He grinned at her and squeezed her hand back.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Mom."

NOTE: I'd venture a guess that you didn't see that coming, huh? ) Thanks for your reviews! They are the best! This little beast has taken on a life of its own…be patient, it's gonna be kinda fun... :)