First of all, sorry about the delay, I've got a lot of work lately and it's not easy to find the time to write :(

Thank you everyone for the reviews, I hope you'll like the ending of the story (it's not this chapter, but the next I think).

Chapter 14 : Talking To Rachel

I open the door and Chandler is sitting on the counter. He heard the last yellings and whispers : "That's a lot of noise. Let's get in the bathroom, I'm not sure Joey is fully asleep." I follow him and once he had closed the door I quickly tell him everything : "Rachel knows ! She keeps asking me tons of questions ! She's watching me for a while now, she doesn't believe anything I say, and she knows Chad doesn't exist, and she knows it's you, and I can't find enough lies because she has so many good points, and..."

Chandler puts his hands on my shoulders : "Monica, breathe !" I catch my breath and he hugs me. I suddenly feel better, in his arms I feel so safe, like nothing else matters. Just the two of us. He kisses my hair : "Seeing you panicking, I take it you didn't tell her."

I grimace : "No... She just... She... Figured it out. I don't know how. Maybe we're too close." He smiles and looks me in the eyes, stroking my back to calm me down : "Hey, that's okay Mon. I know we wanted to keep it secret for some time, but if only Rachel knows... I can live with it." I snort : "It's Rachel ! We'd better pray she doesn't yell it on the roof by midnight !" He laughs : "We'll tape her mouth !" I laugh and raise my head to kiss him.

"So... Do you want me to come with you ?" He's so sweet, so supportive. I can't resist and kiss him again.

I stroke his hair : "Yeah, just... I'll go first, okay ? Stay on the hall, I'll call you."

We kiss one more time and I go back to my apartment.

Rachel is waiting for me, unhappy. She's up and her arms are crossed. "What the hell was that ?" she asks angrily. I'm stepping forward to her, my hands in front of me, trying to calm her down : "Okay Rach, I can explain." She points her finger at me, still furious : "Don't you lie to me !"

I reply : "I won't. First, I'm sorry I lied to you. It was hard, believe me, but I had to. Come on, how would have you reacted if I had revealed you something big like that a few days ago ?" Rachel's eyes are growing bigger and it seems like she can't believe it : "So... I'm right ?" Um. Maybe she wasn't THAT sure, then. I test her one last time : "Right about what ?" It's crazy how sure of her she sounds when she says this beautiful sentence : "That you and Chandler are together." I want to smile. Yeah. We're together. We're a couple. That's so... Great.

But I don't smile to her and I choose my words carefully : "I didn't totally lie to you : I have a new boyfriend, and he's really sweet and a great kisser. But... He... I..." Rachel is looking at me expectantly and I need Chandler by my side : "You know what... Let me get him." I open the front door and notice Rachel is trying to see who's behind. But Chandler is out of her sight, he's sit down on a stair. I go grab his hand and immediately feel stronger. "Come on, let's shock Rachel", I tell him, and he laughs.

When we enter the apartment, holding hands, Rachel opens his jaw in surprise and puts her hands on her head : "OH MY GOD !"

I don't know what to say so I opt for something that'll lighten the mood : "Here's my boyfriend. Rachel, this is Chandler. Chandler, Rachel." Rachel doesn't move, she's still in the same position, astonished. Chandler extends his free hands like he would like to shake hers : "Hello Rachel, nice to meet you."

I didn't think it was possible, but Rachel eyes are growing even bigger : "THAT'S HUUUUUUUUUUGE !" Chandler looks down at his crotch and replies : "Thanks". I can't help but burst into laughter. At any another time, I would probably have rolled my eyes, but for now, there's so much tension that I think it's funny.

That brings Rachel back to reality : "Oh yeah, it's definitely Chandler..." He smiles proudly and I lean against his arm, squeezing his hand in mine. Rachel can't take her eyes off us and shakes her head in disblief : "But... How ? When ? How come ? Who initiated this ? Are you serious ?" I close the door of our apartment and motion to Rachel to sit down. She chooses the couch, so Chandler and I sit down next to each other on the coffee table. I talk first : "We're really serious, yes. We have feelings for some time now but eventually found out rencently that we have never told each other what we felt deep down. I'm the one who asked him out. And BELIEVE ME I had to convince him !" Chandler chuckles and passes one arm around my shoulders : "I didn't think an amazing woman like Monica would want me..." and he kisses me on the forehead. I slap his knee playfully : "Shut up. You're great. I'm the one who didn't think you'd want me."

Rachel puts his hands on her temples, trying to deal with what we just admitted : "I can't believe it ! I mean... I thought Monica was acting weird, and the more I was watching you the more I assumed that you two being together was the best explanation to everything, but... I kept telling myself : you're wrong Rachel, that can be it. Monica and Chandler ? Oh my God, Ross is gonna freak out !" I feel Chandler getting tensed and say to Rachel : "By the way, Rach... Please, please, do not tell anyone for now. We'll tell them, but we still need some time to ourselves, quietly."

Rachel now looks directly at me : "Are you asking me to keep it secret ?"

"Yes, please !"

She hesitates : "Oh my God, it's so huge..."

Chandler and I look at her with puppy eyes, praying with our hands. It works, but she doesn't seem happy about this : "Okay, fine..."

I hug her : "Thank you Rachel, thank you so much, it's very important for us..."

After the hug, she again points her finger at me : "You better tell me everything now that I know !"

Hearing that, Chandler winces. I giggle and kiss him : "You have nothing to worry about..." Rachel is watching us : "Unbelievable... I just saw Monica and Chandler kissing." Chandler seems hurt : "What ? Are you suggesting it was awful ?" I'm a bit worried because I know Rachel can be mean and hurtful without realizing it, but she only shakes her hands and admits : "No, no. I must say... And I'm the first surprised... Seeing you, like that... You look good together." I'm relieved, and my eyes meet Chandler's as I say : "Yeah, we do." We kiss a bit longer this time and say good night.

As soon as Chandler has closed the front door, Rachel claps her hands : "Okay, I'm listening !" I own her some secrets, she's my best friend. Plus, I'm very happy to be able to gush about Chandler to someone. I want everyone to know he's amazing, I've been thinking and I realized we make fun of him and his love life too often. He's a great catch, and I can't wait to tell Rachel.

I'm still sitting in front of her : "Well, you already know he's a great kisser..."

With her thumb, Rachel shows the door my boyfriend just closed, skeptical : "Chandler ?"

I smile lovingly : "Oh yeah ! Gentle but passionnate at the same time... And in the bedroom... Um... Last night... That was the best sex I ever had."

For the second time tonight, Rachel's jaw drops in shock : "B-B-Bet...Bet... Better than Richard ?"

I nod : "Oh yeah, definitely ! Plus, I feel so good with him ! We can talk about absolutely everything, because that's what we've done for the past 8 years as friends. I have a blind faith in him, seriously, he's the most trustable man I've ever known."

Rachel seems to contemplate what I just said. I continue to convince her : "And he's so sweet... He always tries to please me, to make me happy. Of course you also know he can make me laugh, he can make all of us laugh." I tell her about our first date and she remarks : "Aaaawwwwww, that's so romantic !" Are there tears I see in her eyes ? She probably wants to hid it because she suddenly hugs me : "I'm so happy for you, Mon..."

After a pause she resumes : "And... You heard what he said at the coffee house... He's in love. Do you feel the same way ?" I smile : "I can't keep that out of my mind these last two days : I love him, yes. I didn't expect to be so sure so quickly but, when I think about it, it's been a while since I first discovered my feelings, and I've known him for so long... I know him perfectly." This time, there are little tears rolling down my friend's cheeks : "Aww, that's so beautiful. You're gonna be so happy together, I'm sure. You're right. We all see a funny friend and often forget how great he is once he stops the jokes, you're right. You saw it." She's going to make me cry too ! We hug once again.

TBC...

For those who have recognized, yes I took the idea of the "That's huge" / "Thanks" part from the bloopers of season 10, Matthew Perry made me laugh with his reply when I first saw it ^^

I liked the choice of Joey being the first one to know in the show, but I always thought Rachel could easily have been the first one to notice something was up, hence my choice.

Like I said, next chapter will probably be the last. Be patient though, because I don't know yet when I'll have enough time to write it. And I want a nice ending :)