A/N - Again, thanks for your reviews. This chapter is titled "A Good Night," so I don't think it will be too depressing... Please let me know what you think.

The Gift

Chapter Seven - A Good Night

A few days later, Monica and Chandler had their second date. Chandler purposefully avoided the restaurant that they had been to on their first date, as well as Central Park. He took her to a movie and dinner, then walked her home.

"I had a great time tonight," Monica said quietly to Chandler while they stood right inside the door of her apartment.

"So did I," he replied in a whisper. "Monica, I really want to kiss you right now," he added.

"Then kiss me," she smiled up at him and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. He leaned in to place a tender kiss on her lips, then they both pulled away to look at each other. "Kiss me again," Monica whispered. He leaned in again and kissed her softly at first, then more passionately as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"I should go," he said once the kiss was over.

"You don't have to. You can stay for a little longer," Monica replied.

"No I can't. I have to go," he responded with a grin. "If I don't go now, I don't think I'll be able to go later."

"Okay," she said quietly. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah," he said and kissed her once more. "Good night, Monica."

"Good night, Chandler."

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"Hey," Joey said when he heard the door open behind him. He was sitting in his chair, watching some sort of movie on television.

"Hey," Chandler responded as he walked over and took a seat in his own chair.

"How'd the date go?" Joey asked with a mischievous grin on his face.

"It went really well," Chandler smiled back at him. "But nothing happened, if that's what you're thinking. What am I saying? I know that's what you're thinking."

"Not even a kiss?" Joey asked, shocked.

"Well... Yeah. We kissed. But that was it."

Joey became serious for a minute and asked his next question. "So, how are you two doing? With everything that happened, I mean. I know I don't ask about it a lot, but I just don't know what to say."

"That's okay, man," Chandler assured him. "We're pretty good. It still hurts, but... We have to move on, you know? Monica's had it a lot harder than I have. I can still tell that she thinks about it a lot. I do, too, but it was different for her."

"I understand... I'm just glad you guys are doing this. You make a good couple. And with me and Phoebe, that means we're all paired up."

"Whoa. You and Phoebe? You've got to be kidding me," Chandler responded. This was definitely news to him.

"Uh oh. I wasn't supposed to say anything to you guys!" Joey said and stood up, beginning to pace back and forth in front of the television. "Phoebe's gonna kill me!"

"So you're really dating Phoebe?" Chandler asked. Joey stopped and nodded. "When did this happen?"

"A few months ago. We figured it was about time," he grinned.

"So... Are you guys just fooling around, or is this really something?"

"Fooling around? I wouldn't do that to Pheebs," Joey said sincerely. "This is really serious. I think I'm in love with her."

"That's great, Joe," Chandler smiled at him. "So, am I the only one that knows?"

"Yeah... Except for Ross," he added. "And Rachel."

"Is that all?" Chandler laughed. "How about Monica?"

"No. We were planning on telling you guys, too, but then... Well, you know what happened. We didn't want to say anything while you guys were dealing with everything."

"I appreciate that, Joey, but we would have been happy for you. You didn't have to hide it from us."

"I know you would've been happy, but we didn't want to throw that at you. You guys had way too much to worry about."

Chandler simply smiled, thinking about how lucky the six of them were to have each other. "I think I'm gonna go to bed. Night, Joe."

"Yeah. Good night."

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Ring! Ring!

The phone in Monica's apartment started ringing just minutes after she'd said good night to Chandler. "I'm coming," she said as she walked over to pick up the phone. "Hello?"

"Monica, it's Rach," the voice on the phone answered.

"Hey, Rach. Perfect timing," Monica said as she walked over to the window to look across the street. She saw Rachel standing by her own window, just as Monica had suspected, with baby Rebecca in her arms. She waved and Rachel waved back with a guilty look on her face.

"Sorry. I just had to see how things went," Rachel said as she watched Monica sit down by the window. "Besides, I was up with Rebecca, and I just happened to see your light come on, so I thought I'd give you a call."

"Sure," Monica smiled to herself. "So, go ahead. Ask away."

"You know me too well," Rachel laughed quietly. "Just tell me what happened. Where'd you go? What did you do? Did you have a good time?"

"Well... We went to a movie, then had dinner at this really nice restaurant. I can't remember the name of it, but we'll have to go there for lunch sometime. It was the most delicious meal I've had since -"

"Okay, Mon. I don't need to know about what was on the menu. The important thing is whether or not you guys did anything...special," she grinned.

"We did. We went out on a date and had a really good time," Monica answered simply.

"Oh, come on! Did he kiss you?" she asked excitedly.

"Did who kiss whom?" Ross asked sleepily as he stumbled into the living room.

"Nothing, honey. Just go back to bed," Rachel replied.

Ross walked over to the window and looked out to see Monica waving at him. "Oh. You're getting the gossip on her date with Chandler, huh?" he asked. Rachel nodded. "I don't wanna know right now. Tell me in the morning," he said as he yawned and took the sleeping baby from Rachel. "Good night," he said and kissed his wife's forehead. "Night, Mon," he said into the phone before walking back to the bedroom.

"Okay, he's gone," Rachel said once Ross had shut the bedroom door. "So, did he kiss you or not?"

"Yes, he kissed me," Monica smiled, recalling the kisses they had shared just moments ago. "It was wonderful... But, you know, we've kissed before."

"You have?!" Rachel yelled, shocked.

"Hey! We're tryin' to sleep in here!" Ross called from the bedroom. His shouts were immediately followed by the sound of Rebecca's crying.

"Calm down, Rach. It's no big deal. I thought I told you this already."

"No. I definitely would have remembered that," Rachel replied, much more quietly this time. "When did it happen?"

"Well, it was right after we tried the in vitro for the first time and I didn't get pregnant. Phoebe had suggested that we try it on our own, and -"

"You didn't!" Rachel yelled again.

"Rach!" Ross shouted from the bedroom.

"Sorry, honey," she replied, then went back to her conversation with Monica. "You guys slept together?"

"No!" Monica answered. "We were going to, but I just couldn't do it. But we did kiss. That was nice, too, but I think tonight's kiss was better. I was really ready for it this time."

"So, who initiated it that first time?" Rachel asked curiously.

"Me."

"Are you serious? Wow."

"I know," Monica replied quietly.

"How about tonight? Who initiated the kiss tonight?"

"Well, he told me that he wanted to kiss me, and I told him to do it. That one was just a quick little kiss - and it was nice - but I told him to kiss me again, and that one was...wow," Monica sighed.

"That's wonderful," Rachel said dreamily. "I'm so happy for you guys. Now we're all paired up. It's nice, isn't it?"

"Who's all paired up?" Monica asked, confused.

"The six of us. Me and Ross, you and Chandler, and Joey and Phoebe."

"Joey and Phoebe?! When did that happen?!" It was Monica's turn to be surprised.

"Oh, a few months ago. I wasn't supposed to tell you," Rachel sighed. "They should know not to trust me with a secret for more than a day or two."

"A day or two? I'm surprised if you make it a couple of hours without spilling the beans about everything you know," Monica laughed lightly. "But that's great. About Joey and Phoebe, I mean. I'll have to have her fill me in tomorrow. By the way, why weren't you supposed to tell me? Who else knows?"

"Well... Everybody, except for you and Chandler. We didn't want to bother you guys with that kind of news while you were still dealing with..."

"The miscarriage," Monica finished, the sadness in her voice obvious. "That was really thoughtful, but I could have handled it. I'm happy for them. I would have been happy for them then, too."

"I know, Mon," Rachel said quietly. "But they just didn't want to throw that in your face with all you were going through. You guys had it really rough for awhile there. We were all worried about you, you know."

"Yeah... But we're doing better now. There's nothing we can do to change it, so it's just got to stay in the past. We've got the future to think about," Monica said, beginning to brighten up a little. "And thanks to you guys, each day becomes just a little easier to face."

Rachel smiled. "Well, we'll always be around," she promised. "I guess I should let you get to bed. You've got a sweet dream or two all ready for tonight," she grinned.

"Yeah. Finally," Monica replied, wiping a single tear from her cheek. "Thanks, Rach."

"No problem, honey," she answered and waved through the window again when Monica looked up. "Good night."

"Good night."

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A/N - I hope you liked this chapter. It was a little happier, I hope... I know that the Joey and Phoebe thing might be a bit of a stretch for those who don't like the idea of having all six of them paired up, but I like the idea. Please let me know what you thought about the chapter...