A/N: Happy December! I love December. It's my favorite. It's so... merry! We even sang Christmas carols in Spanish! I love the Christmas season! Damn Becca got SNOW today... I wish it snowed here. If anyone has any snow to send me, I would greatly appreciate it. I'll send you some sand from - OH MY GOD! - the exact spot where "The O.C." is filmed! *gags* I have never watched The O.C. but everyone I know worships it. It's filmed in the city next to mine... which is NOT that close to Orange County. But this is a ridiculous tangent so onwards...

Disclaimer: I do, by the way, own Becca. Oh, and I own this:

My friend: hey what are enemas?

Me: however shall i explain it?

I really, really worry about my friends sometimes.

CHAPTER 6 - Forgetting

Monica peeked stealthily out through the peephole. When she made sure no one was coming, she opened the door, slipped outside, and ran barefoot across the hall. She opened the door to the apartment across from hers and hurried to the bedroom.

Chandler was perched on his bed reading the newspaper, his glasses sitting jauntily on the end of his nose. He looked up and smiled as he saw her standing there, closing the door gently behind her.

"Will Joey be home soon?" she asked, praying he wouldn't be.

"Not for a while," Chandler replied. Without another word, Monica leapt forward and cupped his face in her hands, kissing him hungrily. He pulled her legs onto the bed, and his arms roamed her back. Within moments he was fumbling with her bra strap and she was unbuttoning his shirt.

It had been three weeks since Phoebe had given birth to the triplets, three weeks since the day their torrid love affair has began. They were quickly mastering the art of secrecy and lying; one would sneak to the other's bedroom late at night or early in the morning, or in the afternoon. They'd even done it in the mop closet at Central Perk.

Monica was in the middle of unbuckling Chandler's belt when a door opened outside the room. They both froze as Joey's voice rang out, "Chandler, are you home?" He started to walk across the kitchen and living room.

"Get over there, over there!" Chandler hissed, shoving Monica to the side of the bed. She rolled off and flattened herself on the floor. Chandler wrapped a robe around himself just as the door opened.

"Hey, man, what are you doing?" Joey asked.

"Nothing, nothing at all, just sitting here by myself reading the paper," Chandler said in a high voice. Monica couldn't breathe, but she was sure Joey would hear her heart thumping.

This is not good, not good, not good...

"Okay, um, do you want to go down to the coffeehouse?" Joey asked.

"No, I'm think I'm okay, actually," Chandler said.

"'Kay, then, see you - what's this? Dude, is this a bra?"

Oh no.

"What?" Chandler asked. "Oh! Oh that! Well, yes, that is a bra, it's, um... I don't know how it got there! I was going to ask you about it..." He trailed off.

"Oh, uh, yeah, that might have been from the other day... the duck had an accident in my bedroom so I sorta brought Christine in here... I changed the sheets though, don't worry," Joey said quickly. Monica squirmed in disgust. "So I'll just take this and then - uh, see you," he said, closing the door. Monica stayed behind the bed until she heard Joey leave the apartment.

"So, Joey's got your bra," Chandler said grimly.

*****************

"How many blueberries do you think are in this muffin?" Phoebe asked, holding a blueberry muffin up to the light. Monica sipped her coffee and shrugged. She glanced at Chandler, who had been tapping his foot impatiently for the past five minutes.

"I don't know - hey, why don't you go ask Gunther?" Chandler suggested.

"That's a good idea, he's a food man," Phoebe said as she stood up, leaving Monica and Chandler alone on the couch.

"So are you coming over tonight?" Chandler asked as soon as Phoebe was out of earshot.

"I don't think so," Monica mumbled.

"Why not?"

"I'm kind of going out with Pete," she said, averting her eyes as his face fell.

"Oh." Chandler's voice was heavy with disappointment.

"I'm sorry - "

"Don't worry about it," Chandler said quickly. "No big deal." He stared off into space. Monica sighed. She wasn't only cheating on Pete - now she felt like she was cheating on Chandler.

"I'll try to come over when I get home, okay?" Monica said, trying desperately to wipe the crushed look off Chandler's face.

"Yeah, that'd be cool," Chandler said casually. "If you have time."

I wish I had all the time for you, Monica thought sadly.

**************

A sharp wind blew through the street, ruffling Monica's hair and sending a chill down her spine. Pete put his arm around her without a word, and she relaxed into his embrace. They walked silently for a few minutes, glancing in brightly lit shop windows. The aroma of Grey's Papaya hot dogs surrounded Monica, who was hungry after eating a miniscule fish that had cost so much, Monica was sure it must have been straight from Prince William's fish tank.

Pete kissed the side of Monica's head softly, and she smiled. These were the moments she loved. This was why she was in a relationship - the comfort, the warmth, the simplicity. She knew Pete would go to the ends of the Earth for her.

They continued to walk down the street, crowded despite the later hour. As they passed Tiffany's, Monica's eyes roved over the jewelry displayed. Right in the middle was a large diamond ring. "Oh," Monica uttered softly.

"What?" Pete asked.

"Oh, nothing, it's just - that ring is gorgeous," she said, pointing.

"You wanna try it on?"

Monica looked at him in shock. "Can you do that?"

"Sure, come on." He grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.

"Oh, I don't know - " Monica stammered as Pete led her up to the counter.

"Hello, my girlfriend would like to try on the ring in the display case," Pete said matter-of-factly to the woman working. "The big one."

The woman nodded and took a key from her pocket. She opened the case and took the ring out. "This is called a princess cut one-stone engagement ring. The diamond is a one-of-kind." She handed the ring to Monica, who slipped it on her finger. It was a perfect fit. Monica moved her hand around, looking at it from different angles.

"This is the kind of ring I want when I get engaged," she said quietly, not noticing that Pete was listening.

When the woman told her the price, Monica's jaw dropped. "Who-a."

"It looks great on you, Mon," Pete said over her shoulder. She turned around and smiled at him. He kissed her gently on the lips.

A few minutes later, they left store. Pete called for his chauffeur, and minutes later, he came and whisked them off to Pete's apartment. As they rode away, Monica stared out the window furtively.

"What's the matter?" Pete asked.

"I just - I feel like I'm forgetting something," she said, furrowing her brow.

"Well, if you can't remember, it must not be very important," Pete said sensibly.

"Yeah," Monica said. '"Yeah, you're right."

A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews help me along... thanks! Luv 2 all!

*Yen*