A/N: "The hills are alive with the sound - OF music." I watched like 20 episodes on Friday 'cause I stayed home - jeeze, for being sick, I had a great time. Did anyone else see the cast on Oprah? That was soo funny! So funny, I don't even know what to say about it. Jen cried a thousand times, and Matty was hilarious. As usual.

Sorry this chapter took so long, my computer is a bitch! But thanks for reading. This chapter is a little longer to make up for it :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing here... but I do own Becca! Yes, yes I do. Don't even try to argue. I also own... HER PRESENT! Muahahaha! Love ya monkey bunny! I mean... buddy....

CHAPTER 5 - Aching

"I'm getting married today!"

Monica's eyes popped open. What the...

"Yeah you are!"

Oh, shit.

"I'm getting married today! A-whoo-hoo!"

Monica heard a door close, and then just her own heart pounding. Although she'd just woken up, she felt unbearably hot - stifled and suffocated by the cheap hotel-room blanket. Her face burned and her body tingled as the previous night came back to her. She stayed burrowed under the comforters, heat radiating from her body and Chandler's, until Chandler coughed.

She stuck her head out from the blanket. Early-morning light filtered in through the window. A sharp coolness bit at her nose and cheeks. Monica turned her head slowly to face Chandler, who had the blanket pulled up almost to his shoulders. She was suddenly very aware that under this millimeter-thick blanket, they were both naked. Naked and inches apart and closer than they'd ever been before.

Neither of them spoke for a second. Finally, Chandler said, "So..."

"I'm gonna get dressed," Monica finally mumbled, looking away from him.

"Oh, okay. Uh, yeah, that's a good idea. I'll just, uh, close my eyes, then," Chandler stammered. Slowly Monica extracted herself from the bedding and stepped out, covering her chest protectively, although she knew Chandler's eyes were closed.

It's not like he didn't see them last night, she thought miserably. Them and quite a bit more. She pulled her panties off the television antennae.

They'd slept together. Passionately, gently, strangely, comfortably, they had committed an act that was so wrong and so right that Monica's heart, mind, and body had never felt so tangled and confused. Quickly, she dressed, as if clothing herself speedily would take back last night.

"So, um, I'm gonna go," she said as she fished one of her shoes out from under the bed.

"Don't you think we should talk?" Chandler said.

Monica stood up to find him staring at her with an unexplainable look in his eyes. Her heart jumped. Chandler... she had slept with Chandler. Part of her wanted so badly to crawl back into his arms and kiss him again, just like last night, when she had let everything go.

But it would never work. It would never, ever work and Monica knew it.

"There's nothing to talk about," she said quietly. "Because this never happened." Monica turned quickly away from the hurt on Chandler's face.

"But - Monica, you said yourself, you felt something - "

"I said it never happened!" she said, more sharply than she had planned.

"Okay," Chandler said after a long pause. Monica swallowed hard and, without another word, left the room.

***********

Monica stood in the small entryway to the church, glancing out the window furtively. Joey had gotten a distressed call from Phoebe earlier saying that Rachel was on her way to London to stop the wedding, and Monica was attempting to head her off at the door.

After making sure her roommate was no where in sight, she slumped against the wall. She rubbed her temples and sighed, guilt spreading through her. She'd cheated on Pete. She knew this instinctively, knew this was where her guilt was coming from. Monica was disgusted with herself. She'd never had a cheating personality. She never thought she would be the kind of person to cheat so ruthlessly, especially on someone as wonderful as Pete. She really liked Pete - hell, maybe she was even falling in love with him.

But somehow - for some reason - all Monica could think about was Chandler. Chandler's amazing smile; his body; the look on his face as she'd left his room earlier that morning -

The door swung open. Monica jumped and looked up to see Chandler gently closing the door to the church behind him.

"Did you find her?" she asked as soon as she had found her voice.

"No, Joey's watching the other entrance. Listen," Chandler said, lowering his voice. "I know you said we didn't need to talk, but we do. Last night was - "

"Really stupid," Monica interjected hastily. "I - I was drunk out of my mind, I didn't even know who you were..."

"You didn't seem very drunk," Chandler said. "And I've seen you drunk."

Monica blushed. "Well, maybe I wasn't showing it. But that's not the point. Look, it doesn't matter what happened - all that matters is we can't even do it again, we can't even speak of it again. I have - I have something really amazing with Pete, and I screwed up, but I would really appreciate it if you left me to deal with it."

"I don't know if I can," Chandler whispered. He reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Monica shivered, her body moving toward his on it's own accord. She reached out to him, everything in her aching to touch him.

Chandler's eyes suddenly widened and he pulled away. "So your hair's fine now, it was just that one piece sticking up there..." he said in a husky voice, his eyes darting behind Monica. All at once, Monica realized what was going on. She turned around, expecting to see a wedding guest standing behind her, and was shocked to see none other than Pete Becker, grinning from ear to ear.

"P-Pete?" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I took a break from the press conference," he said, leaning over and kissing her. "I realized I had to come. I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner." He kissed her again, longer this time. When he released her, Monica saw Chandler standing against the wall, looking slightly green. Shame filled every crevice of her body.

"I'm - I'm so glad you came," Monica finally stuttered, looking up at Pete. She smiled as warmly as possible. "We should go inside, the ceremony will be starting soon." She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside without a backwards glance.

"Monica?"

Monica sighed, pulled her headphones off, and looked up into Chandler's wide blue eyes. Overhead, the seatbelt sign had just dinged off, and the captain had announced that passengers were now free to roam about the cabin, something Monica had been dreading. She knew that the moment Chandler could get up and talk to her, he would. In fact, he'd been trying to talk to her since the afternoon before, at the wedding. Until now, she had succeeded in escaping. But at 32,000 feet and with 4 hours in a metal tube ahead of them, she was trapped.

"Hmm?" she asked, pretending to be puzzled when she knew full well why Chandler had disturbed her.

"We need to talk," he said. He nodded towards the bathroom pointedly. She shook her head. He nodded again. She shook her head again. He reached down and pinched her, and with a final nod, stalked toward the bathroom.

A quick glance around confirmed to Monica that Joey was asleep a row up. Furtively, she stood up and hurried towards the tiny bathroom. She knocked once and opened it.

Chandler had already squeezed himself into the tiny space, and with Monica jammed into it, it was a tight fit. Even with Chandler perched on the sink, their bodies were much too close for Monica's comfort.

"Is this really necessary?" she sighed.

"Yes," Chandler said seriously. "Monica, you can't just walk away like nothing happened. We has sex - "

"Shhh!" Monica hissed, staring around as if someone was there to hear. "Shh. I know what we did, there's no need to broadcast it to British Air Flight 77." As she reached up, her arm grazed Chandlers', and she pulled it back quickly. Electricity crackled between them.

"Chandler," she said in a low voice. "I'm with Pete. What happened the other night was - was a mistake. And we can never talk about it again."

"I was a mistake?" Chandler asked, sounding so hurt that Monica's heart tightened in her chest.

"No - I mean, yes, it's just that - God, Chandler, you're making it worse! It's fucking hard enough, can't you just leave it alone! Can't we both just go on like it never happened?" Frustrated tears stung Monica's eyes. Chandler reached up and cupped her face in his hands. He leaned forward and her lips brushed against his.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I can't leave it alone - "

"Excuse me! Excuse me!"

Someone was banging on the door about three inches from Monica's ear. She jumped away, losing her balance and falling into Chandler's arms.

"Federal regulations state that only one person can occupy a lavatory at a time!" There was a sudden clicking, and the door to the bathroom opened. A furious-looking flight attendant stood in the doorway, a line of people standing behind her. They all looked in with interest, giggling.

"We were just - " she stammered.

"Please return to your seats," the flight attendant said coolly. Burning with shame, Monica hurried back to her seat, with Chandler right behind her. She almost collapsed with relief as she saw that Joey was still fast asleep in his seat.

Monica drained her coffee, glancing tiredly around the crowded maternity ward. She sighed. She thought she'd gotten over her baby fever, but with Phoebe's brother's triplets just hours from birth and all these babies around her, Monica was pretty depressed.

"Another coffee, miss?" Chandler stood over her, a flimsy Styrofoam cup in each hand.

"Why, thank you," Monica said, taking one. "How much do I owe you?"

"Just a few minutes of your time," Chandler said, plopping down next to her.

She groaned. "Chandler, I told you - "

"I know what you told me. It was a mistake. You were drunk, you were depressed, it can never be spoken of again, good-bye. Does that sum it up?"

"Pretty much."

"Okay. Now can I tell you one thing? What we did in London - well, I don't think it was just because we were in London."

"What wasn't just because you were in London?" Rachel asked from behind, her voice playful.

"We had too many fish and chips," Chandler said, jumping up. Monica rolled her eyes. "Yes, I think Monica and I really like fish and chips. Mon, wanna go see if they have any in the cafeteria?" He pointed down the hallway adjacent to them.

"I... whatever," Monica groaned, following Chandler and leaving a perplexed Rachel in the hospital chair.

"Great story," Monica spat as they turned a corner. "Could that have been any more lame?"

"What did you want me to say?" Chandler asked.

"It was your idea to have this little conversation right there in the open," Monica shot back. Suddenly Chandler grabbed the knob of a door labeled "custodian", turned it, and pulled Monica inside. "What the hell?" she gasped, stumbling in among the brooms and buckets.

"We're finishing this right now," Chandler said, crossing his arms. "I'm not really a stand-up guy, but I'm taking a stand. I want you to look me in the eye and say that London meant absolutely nothing to you."

Monica's mouth opened but no words came out. She couldn't have spoken if she'd even known what she wanted to say.

And then he kissed her. He leaned forward and really kissed her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a tight embrace. Heat shot through her body, radiating from his lips. She ran her hands through his hair, wanting him closer, needing him with her body and heart. When she finally came up for air, she breathed, "This can never go anywhere."

"Uh huh," Chandler said, gasping for breath.

"No one can ever know about it." His hands ran over her body, distracting her.

"Mmhmm," he agreed, and then their lips met again. As Monica fell against the wall, his body pressing into hers, she knew that this was how it was supposed to be.

A/N: Thanks for reading! In a world where I have three tests tomorrow, just knowing someone out there cares is wonderful! Now please review nicely or I'll send Chandler's evil twin Chuck after you.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

*Yen*