The One With The Truth About Santa

By: Jana~

Chapter Three

***

--There'd been no word in over an hour, and Monica ran out of busy work as she waited for someone to call, or check in. Hugging herself, she paced the apartment, replaying the fight between her and Chandler over and over in her mind.

He didn't seem ill, when he spoke to her, and he definitely didn't appear to be joking. He actually seemed hurt, when she yelled at him, and she wanted more than anything, just to understand what had happened. To understand why Chandler said what he did.

Turning to pace in the opposite direction, she nearly tripped over her own feet, stopping abruptly, letting out a scream as she saw a man she didn't know standing before her.

"Don't be afraid, Monica," he said, his tone soft and untroubled by her reaction to him.

"Who are you?" she shrieked.

"I'm a friend of Chandler's." He was the absolute opposite of her, completely calm.

"How did you get in here, without me hearing you?" she asked, anger and fear rolling up into a ball of emotion that caused her heart to race. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry I frightened you," he apologized. "I came to talk to you."

"Why?" she challenged him. "Where's Chandler?"

"He's very busy," was his answer. "He misses you."

"Misses me?" she asked, surprised. "He's the one that left! Besides, he's only been gone a few hours."

The smile that crossed his face instantly told her that it wasn't that simple. "I don't like games," she warned, "And that's what this feels like."

"I assure you," he said, his confidence clearly discernible, "This is not a game. Not everything beyond your realm of understanding is a game. Just because you haven't seen it," he added with a knowing grin, "Doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

After a moment's pause, he produced from his pocket, a breathtaking snowflake pendant, made of white gold, attached to a white gold chain. In the center of the snowflake, was a diamond.

"Chandler wanted you to have this," he said to her, and she took it cautiously from his outstretched hand. "If you need to see him, wear it around your neck, and rub the pendant."

"Can't I just call him?" she asked, tearing her gaze from the stunning necklace she now held.

"There are no phones, where he is," he explained.

"Where is he?" she asked, disbelieving. "Middle of BFE?"

"Um, no, actually," he smirked as he corrected, "About 5,900 miles North." Her eyes narrowed on him as she stared back, but he moved on without concern. "Rub the snowflake pendant," he reiterated, "And Chandler will appear."

Before she could respond, the front door flew open, her friends and brother entering, and she turned to face them as she exclaimed, "Guys, this guy knows where Chandler-"

She stopped abruptly when she turned to point at the man she had just been talking to, and saw that he was no longer there.

"Um, Mon," Rachel asked, "What guy?"

She spun around, several times, looking for the man that had been standing in her livingroom mere seconds ago, looking confused.

"He was just here," Monica said with a scowl. "He didn't pass you on the way out?"

"No one passed us," Phoebe said, concerned for her friend.

They weren't sure what was going on, but just to be on the safe side, Ross and Joey started looking in all the rooms for any sign of someone as Rachel and Phoebe encouraged Monica to sit. She was shaking.

"What happened?" Phoebe asked, her hand on Monica's knee in support.

"I don't exactly know," Monica answered unevenly. "I was pacing, waiting for you guys to call, and I turned around, and there he was!"

"No one's here," Ross informed, walking out of Rachel's old room, then gave Joey an upnod as he returned from the balcony. "Well?"

Joey shook his head. "Doesn't look like anyone used the fire escape or anything," he reported, then joined the girls and Ross at the couch.

"What did this guy look like?" Ross asked.

"Can you describe him?" Rachel added, trying to be helpful. "Did he give you a name?"

"He didn't give his name, he only said that he was a friend of Chandler's. He was short," she described him, "Maybe a little more than five feet tall, with dark curly hair and…" She trailed off as she remembered.

"And what, Mon?" Rachel asked, showing support, hoping to encourage her to continue.

"He gave me this," Monica finished her previous sentence, holding out her hand.

Rachel gasped at the exquisite piece of jewelry, as Phoebe and Joey both muttered in amazement.

Unimpressed, Ross immediately snatched the necklace and started examining it. "Why did he give you this?"

"He said that it was a gift, from Chandler." Her tone showed the strain she was feeling.

With a heavy sigh, Ross handed the necklace back to his sister. "What kind of game is he playing?"

"Can I see the necklace?" Phoebe asked, and Monica passed it down to her.

"When I see him again," Ross added angrily, "I'm gonna kick his ass!"

"Now, wait," Joey spoke up in Chandler's defense, "Maybe this is some sort of plan or something, ya'know? Like when he tried to propose, but screwed it all up? Shouldn't we wait and see what's up before we start hating him?"

"I don't hate him," Monica stated sadly, "I just want to know what's going on."

When the tear trickled down her face, Rachel put her arm around her consolingly. "I'm sure there's an explanation for all this. He loves you! He would never do anything to knowingly hurt you."

Joey readily agreed, but Ross, who was still holding onto his anger, just shook his head and looked away.

Gently, Phoebe touched Monica's leg, gaining her attention. "This necklace," she whispered, "Isn't an ordinary necklace."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ross asked, and all eyes fell to Phoebe.

"I don't know what," she prefaced, "But there is something very significant about this piece of jewelry. I'm getting a definite vibe off it," she added, to which Ross scoffed.

"Ok, Phoebe, with all due respect to your weird beliefs, this isn't helping the situation."

"Just you calling her beliefs 'weird' is showing a lack of respect, Ross," Rachel pointed out, and he huffed in response.

"I'm trying to be realistic here, ok? There's no, magical necklace! Chandler isn't Santa Claus, for crying out loud! And, I'm sorry, but I doubt the man is setting this up because he's planning some sort of grand gesture or whatever. I think he got scared and is running," he added, angrily.

When Monica started to cry, Rachel tightened her grip slightly, pulling her into a hug. "That's just great, Ross. Maybe later you can go kill some Smurfs."

"Smurfs aren't real-" Ross stopped the comeback abruptly when he saw the glare Rachel and Phoebe wore. "Fine, I'm the jerk here. Whatever."

"We're not calling you a jerk," Rachel told him, to which Phoebe added, "But, and with all due respect, we do think you're a little closed-minded."

"Oh, ok," he shot back sarcastically. "Chandler is Santa Claus! Yeah! He rides around every December 24th, in a sled pulled by reindeer, that can fly, mind you, and delivers presents to a billion kids all over the world!"

"And that necklace," he continued his mocking, "It is magical! Yep! When you rub it, Chandler will suddenly appear, as if by magic! And he'll-"

He stopped rambling when he heard the gasp and saw the look on Monica's face. "What?" he asked, confused.

"I didn't tell you that," Monica announced. "I remember clearly omitting it, because I knew you would scoff."

"What did you omit?" Phoebe asked.

"The guy, he said that if I rubbed the pendant, Chandler would appear."

"This is ridiculous," Ross spat, then snagged the necklace from his sister's hand. "I'm going to disprove this once and for all!" With nary a pause, he began to rub the pendant, and all in the room subconsciously held their breath as they awaited what would happen next.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Ok, so, I went to a taping of Will & Grace last night (Dec 9th), and Sean Hayes, the actor who plays Jack, kissed my cheek! And when I told him I love him (calmly, breezily, not like a screaming raving fan or anything), he said, "I love you, too!"

It was very cool!

Anyway, so, please review!

MTLBYAKY