That Worked Out Well. Margarita?

"Wait! Monica! Seriously, you're leaving?"

"Uh, yeah! I want to get back to those photos that are now a mess all over the table thanks to you, and I do not want to be a part of dealing with Ross after he hears that Emily is looking for him. You shouldn't want to do that either."

"Ugh! You are unbelievable!"

"Well, I don't want any part of this. Come home when you're ready to have a drink." And with that, Monica left Ross' apartment. Huffing and muttering to herself the entire way out of the door.

Rachel was beside herself. Out of everybody in the entire group, Monica is always the voice of reason, or at the very least, she is the one who takes charge when it comes to meddling in each other's lives. Now, she seems willing to take off, drink a margarita or two, return to her project at home, and never tell her brother that Emily called. "Unbelievable!"

Rachel could not shake off the fact that it felt wrong to hide this from him. Honestly, it felt like something Rachel would have done back when she was still in love with Ross. One of those crazy, hair-brained schemes that Monica would no doubt have talked her out of doing. The one person Rachel could always count on to protect her from her own worst impulses, now seems like she could not be bothered. Forcing Rachel to act like the adult in the room, or more accurately, the adult in her own life. Rachel had been denying it for months, but things between her and Monica are changing. And she isn't sure she likes this new world that she finds herself living in. A world where she has to make all her choices on her own, without the nagging and persistent counsel of her best friend.

This is not the first time that this has happened. The day of Ross' wedding, when Rachel wanted to see if he thought saying her name meant anything more than just a gaffe, Monica initially blew her off before imploring her to let it go. Then, a week later, when she wanted to tell Ross she was still in love with him, Monica threw her hands up and left instead of fighting with her until Rachel would finally relent. When she thought Danny's sister was some other girl he was dating "and..ewww!" she just gave her a quick pep talk and then scurried back to her room. And now Monica is doing the same thing tonight. Instead of taking the reins and digging in her heels as she tries to steer a stubborn Rachel in the right direction, she is walking away.

This is not how tonight was supposed to go, with them on opposing sides. It was supposed to be a return to normalcy. It was supposed to be a return to their routine. It was supposed to be two best friends finally having a night together, like they used to.

Initially, everything appeared to be going as planned thanks to Gary arranging the ride-along with Ross, Joey and Chandler. Monica and Rachel were finally going to have a real girls' night. A classic, all-night hang-out, just the two of them, for the first time since London. The first time since Chandler.

It wasn't until she was on her way home from work that Rachel realized it has almost been an entire year since the last time they did this. Just Monica and Rachel, spending time together, apart from the rest of the group. Sure, there were moments; an hour here or there, but an actual girls' night? Where they would share some wine, watch a terribly sappy movie that they had already seen a dozen times and talk. Really talk.

They could talk all night about everything and anything during these one-on-one sessions. They might start with gossiping about everyone else in the group, catching each other up with the latest antics one of their friends. Maybe talk about some guy one of them was interested in, possibly share some new beauty tip or fashion advice or a book recommendation. Listen to each other as they unburdened themselves from all the stress of their jobs or the pressure that they both would regularly receive from their parents. That would then give way to a long conversation about exactly where they were in their own lives. And then on to the topic that they would talk about for most of the time, the future.

It was the one thing Monica and Rachel shared in common more than anything else; that overwhelming feeling that they were somehow behind every other woman in the world when it came to the milestones in their lives. If it wasn't about the lack of a boyfriend or at times, their crappy job, it would be about how close they were to thirty with no real plan. Their ability to bond over feeling like they were stuck in the same rut of bad dates as they watched yet another childhood friend get married, or have a baby was the only thing keeping her sane at times.

More important than simply having someone who understood you on that level was the fact that they were also each other's biggest cheerleader. Assuaging each other's fears, raising each other's spirits, while reassuring themselves that everything they wanted will happen for them one day. But now, with Chandler and Monica together, not only have they missed out on girls' night, but Monica wasn't even in the same head-space anymore. Monica had hit one of her milestones, leaving Rachel behind.

It wasn't all Chandler's fault; if Rachel knew they were seeing each other from the start, she might have made girls' night a priority instead of chasing after Danny or working late nights at her job. But she didn't. She just always assumed that these nights would last forever. That Monica would always be there. Now that they finally had one of these nights together, it has proven to be a disaster.

Initially, Rachel thought they would fall back into their old routine. She even grabbed two of Monica's favorite movies from the rental place down the street. Maybe they'd make some drinks, order some food, and, certainly most of all, talk. No distractions, no Chandler coming home from work, no Joey looking for a slice of pizza, no Ross moping about his lack of a job; just the two of them, Monica and Rachel, together again.

Yet, when Rachel first walked into the apartment, her plans for a classic girl's night dampened when she saw Monica sorting through thousands of photos. What a fun way to spend the evening, organizing pictures. She should have known. That is who Monica is; someone who was trying to cram as much into her one night without her boyfriend as she possibly could. It wasn't good enough just to hang out with Rachel, she also had to cross one or two of her many outstanding projects off the list.

Rachel knew what they needed. They needed drinks. Then, Monica would loosen up and maybe shelve this photo organizing for another time. Let Chandler sit here with her and sort through all those pictures. He gets to be with her all the time; this is Rachel's only night, and there is so much to talk about. Her new job, Phoebe's new boyfriend, the cute guy she just ran into at the video store, maybe even more details about Monica's relationship with Chandler.

Unfortunately, she had to suggest Margaritas. She had to be in Ross' apartment. She had to hear that damned message, and she had to accidentally erase it. Now she doesn't know what to do, and Monica; her rock, her guiding light, her annoying conscience, is not really interested in being any of those things anymore. At least, not with the same amount of vigor Rachel was accustomed to.

It wasn't like this with the other men Monica dated. Both Richard and Pete spent enough time away due to their jobs, that they could still do their girls' night once a week. Not Chandler though, he is always around. He was always around even before they started dating. He lives across the hall for heaven's sake. Not only did he always come around, but Monica always expected him to. Neither of them even hinting to the other that they should have some space. It makes Rachel wonder who exactly is Monica's best friend after all.

Maybe it was Rachel's turn to find a new best friend. Maybe Rachel would need to make her own decisions from now on. Well, who are her friends? There was Ross and Joey. They were immediately out. With Ross there's too much complicated history, and with Joey, there's too many overt come-ons. Phoebe could have been an option, but not only is she a little too quirky for Rachel's tastes, she is also dating someone.

"Who needs a best friend anyway?" She could get a pet. Another dog maybe? Man's (and woman's) best friend. Maybe even a dog like LaPooh. Although dogs are a lot of work. You have to walk them, pick up after them, carry that heavy bag of dog food up five flights of stairs. No, dog was not a good idea.

Maybe a cat? She loved the cat her grandma used to have when she was a child. They are pretty self-reliant. You feed them from tiny, dainty cans and throw out their used kitty litter. That doesn't sound too hard to Rachel. The cat could sit in Rachel's lap and listen to everything she would normally tell Monica, and just purr against her leg. Having a cat in the apartment would probably drive Monica a little crazy, but that's what she gets for shirking her responsibilities and forcing Rachel to deal with this whole Ross and Emily mess on her own.

Maybe, she should talk to Monica instead of doing something so passive-aggressive like buying a pet. Instead, have the uncomfortable conversation about feeling left behind now that she is dating Chandler. Tell the truth. That's the whole reason she is here waiting for Ross to come home. To tell him the truth. Her entire history with Ross is littered with miscommunication, poor judgment, and white lies. All the conflict it would cause, forcing resentment to bubble up like bile until they could no longer stomach it and lash out at each other. If there is one thing she has seen with Monica and Chandler that she admires, it is that they don't fight, they talk.

Rachel is knocked out of her reverie once she hears the phone ring. "Please be Emily, please be Emily, please be…"

"Rachel! Pick up! It's me!"

Rachel picks up the phone, expecting Monica to give her one more chance to leave before Ross comes home, or maybe to apologize and let her know she is doing the right thing. Something to resolve the tension she feels about their friendship. She brings the receiver up to her lips. "What's up?"

"Can you see if he has any chips and salsa and bring it back when you're done over there? I'm getting a little munchy."

"Oh, that's it. I'm definitely getting a cat."