A/N - Greetings from Germany and the US! We decided to team up for this fun little JenVid two-shot! Hope you enjoy!

- Julie3281G and LobsterLove89, your favorite Jenvid/Roschel writers :)

"Too bright...too early..."

This was all David could think when he felt the first rays of the late morning sun through his window hit the side of his face that didn't stick to the pillow. Even without opening his eyes, his head was pounding. He had passed out on top of his bed, unable to even remove his shoes, let alone his clothes. His mouth was sticky and dry, and the taste of last night's booze still lingered in his mouth. He forced his mind to begin puzzling together his reality.

He was definitely in his own bed, and fully dressed.

Opening his eyes, he could see his house keys lying on the ground right next to him, so he had obviously let himself in.

God, did he drive last night?

Then he saw what resembled a cab bill crumpled next to the key.

Phew.

He obviously had been too drunk to even take off his clothes, but he wasn't yet able to to recall why. He peeled his face off the pillow as he attempted to sit up.

Wow, not a good idea!

But he had to at one point, as he really needed to pee, and his remaining sanity told him that a glass of water and maybe an Aspirin would help him return to the living. So he did exactly that, in exactly that order, before falling back on the bed, waiting for the painkiller to kick in. It still failed to occur to him what the hell happened last night, but he knew that fortunately he was off work today.

There was a set party last night...and it had obviously escalated. The reason was lost to him though. He knew that he normally was not one to get drunk, let alone to the point where he couldn't remember anything. He thought that maybe freshening himself up could help him, so he grabbed some clothes, and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and take a shower.

When he stepped out in his sweats (who was he kidding, he was not going anywhere anytime soon in this state!), with his hair still wet, he heard a beep from the right pocket of his jacket that was lying on the table. He pulled his phone out and saw that he had an incoming text from Matt.

"Hey Mr Aniston! Call me when you feel like yourself again!"

"What the hell?" he thought, just as a memory hit him.

Jen, Lisa, and Courteney were chatting with Jen's new boyfriend, none other than Brad Pitt.

Now he started to remember the last night.

This could not be true - it could not be happening. He had heard that she was set up on a date with him, but then again, she always had guys lined up, and nothing had ever come from them. And she sure as hell never had one of them drop her off at work in the morning (most likely after spending the night), and come to set and meet her friends. Seeing them together, he sensed a vibe - like this could actually be a thing. He noticed a sparkle in her eye. The way she looked at him, the way she touched him - it like a blow to the gut.

He could barely begin to comprehend all of his feelings.

He felt sad, because he came to the realization that this relationship he hoped to have with her one day might not ever happen. He felt joy, simply because he knew he always would if she was happy. But he also felt betrayed. Because they had decided not to take this thing between them anywhere as long as they were on the show. That, for him, had always implied that it could happen after the show ended. Hope was all he had to hold on to at that point, so he clung to it tightly.

Sure, this had been going for much longer than they had anticipated. They had used their characters as an outlet for their feelings in the meantime, which was better than nothing. And now, while he was casually seeing women without letting it get too serious, she seemed be to moving on now.

Looking at them together, Brad sure was a guy to sweep a girl off her feet with his good looks and movie star charm. But he hadn't thought she'd be one to ever fall for it.

He was frozen in place, looking at the group, unable to speak. As they noticed him, he began walking towards them, knowing he had no other choice now.

"Try to play it cool" he thought.

"David, hey! Brad, this is my friend David. David, this is Brad" Jen introduced them, looking sheepishly at the guy.

Faking a smile, he shook his hand, making the small talk he felt obligated to give him. He noticed her smile at Brad as she grazed his arm. He winced. She used to look at him that way. Each movement shot a new jolt of pain to his heart, making him barely able to hear the words of the conversation. All he could recall was that Brad had to leave soon, but would be back to attend the party they had planned that night for one of the production assistant's 30th birthday.

Fuck.

Somehow he had managed to get through a day of rehearsals without anybody noticing his heartbreak. Fortunately, in this episode, he had minimal scenes with Jen, so he at least could stay clear of facing her directly.

When they were done for the day, it took him a while to muster up the courage to leave his dressing room. The gang was already abuzz. He saw Matt, talking to a few of the writers, and decided it was okay to join them. On his way over, he walked by a table filled with drinks. Reaching for a beer, his hand froze mid-air, suddenly realizing the need for something stronger. He grabbed a plastic cup and a bottle of tequila, as he filled it up to about 2 fingers.

He saw Jen, smiling happily, with Brad's arm around her waist, talking to someone he could only see the back of. He brought the cup to his lips, swallowing the booze in one swig. With the bottle still in his hand, he filled the cup up to about half way, before putting it down just as quick. As a comforting warmth spread through his stomach, he continued his way over to his friend.

"Man, are you alright? You seem odd today?" Matt asked him.

"Yeah, just had a bad night's sleep" he said, sticking to their agreement not to let their feelings get in the way.

Taking another sip of his drink, he felt a dizzy feeling spreading through his system. When David C's husband, Jeffrey, joined their conversation, he felt himself relax already. He took another sip from his cup. It tasted awful, but it did the trick. He didn't know how much time had passed, or how much he had to drink, but he knew it was too much. The party had really picked up by now. People were dancing, and he was one of them, trying to keep his balance, when Jen walked up to him, smiling.

So he still had it in him - she still cared about him. She had not completely forgotten about him.

When she was close enough he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, slurring, "Hey Honey..."

"Hi you! Someone is more than a little tipsy" she said, poking his chest with her finger.

"Where is the Fella?"

"Had to leave - busy day tomorrow. What's the matter with you?"

He held her tight, rocking to the music, burying his face in her hair.

"I love you, you know."

"And I love you."

"NO, I mean I love you as my wife"

She slightly tensed in his arms before starting to chuckle slightly, after deciding that he could not have been serious.

Just in that moment, Kevin approached them, wanting to ask Jen a question. When she distanced herself enough to talk to Kevin, he pulled her back into him, slurring at Kevin.

"Kev, you know what? Jen's my wife!"

Kevin laughed. "WOW, you are wasted, man!"

"NO! I am serious! I LOVE my wifey", he replied, kissing Jen's hair.

The ringing of his phone pulled him out of his trance.

"OH FUCK! Please. This can't be true", he thought, grabbing his cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Schwimmer, it's Matt. I just wanted to make sure that you are still alive!"

"Yeah, I'm not great, but I'm alive."

"What the hell did you drink last night?"

"Started with tequila, but after that... no idea. Please tell me that I did not tell Kevin that Jen and I are married!"

"Dude, not only Kevin! You said that to basically everybody. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry.

At some point, you were going so overboard that Lisa and I called you a cab, gave them your address, and told the driver to make sure you got inside your house. Neither of us were able to drive, so...hey, maybe I should warn you...everybody found you so hilarious and now they want to use it as a bit for the show..."

"Oh god!"

"Yeah. They were planning a Vegas trip at the end of the season, and they think it would be funny to have Ross and Rachel get married while they are drunk."

"Wow... this is the world's worst hangover."

"You bet, bro, you bet. Do you need anything? I can come over if you want."

He was wide awake by now, but his head was pounding like crazy. He needed time to process this - alone.

"Thanks Matt, but I think I am going to head back to bed."

"Alright, call me if you need anything!"

"I will, buddy, thanks again! Bye."

"Bye."

He put the phone back on the table. He had never felt this humiliated in his life. When he looked back at the phone he could see another message, this time from her.

"Hey hope you are alright. Let's just forget about last night, happens to the best of us. XOXO J."

Wow. He had never felt lower in his whole life. While they were the best of friends, he had always considered her so much more. And he knew that she used to feel the same. He was always sure that one day, when this was over, he would knock on her door, take her in his arms and never let her go again. He had just considered them to be on a break, and all other people that crossed their path would just be a way to pass time. And somehow, he had expected her to feel the same, while stealing the tender moments on the show the writers granted Ross and Rachel.

When he saw her with Brad, he realized that she did not - at least not anymore. And that had caused him to slip. Slip so bad that he nearly broke his neck. He had made the biggest fool out of himself, and he had humiliated her in the process. And yet, she still consoled him and told him that they were okay. And really, could he blame her, when all she did was meet a guy she liked and fall for him, not knowing if anything would ever happen between them? Could he really expect her to stick to this unwritten contract forever? He had no right to ask that of her. Maybe she was making the only right and healthy decision here. Wasn't this what you were supposed to do instead of being hung up on the mere possibility of something happening somewhere down the road? What kind of friend would he be if he disguised her for that? What kind of friend would not want their friend to be happy? He had made a fool of himself, and he decided to never let that happen again. He would get his act together, try and be happy for her, and follow her example - for his own sake and the sake of their friendship. It would be hard and it would hurt, but he had to wake up and face reality. He wasn't sure where this would take him, but he would be fine as long as she was happy and got the life she deserved.

It was time to let her go.

He typed his reply to her: "Hi! Don't worry I will be fine!.Thx for understanding! See you soon."

He put down his phone as he laid down in bed and called it a day.

Tomorrow would be a fresh start.