Adultery, Part6
INTRODUCTION: Part 6. Pretty much concentrates on Chandler's trial, and the outcome of it.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the "Friends" characters, they belong to NBC.
After eight weeks of interrogation and pre-trial, Todd called Chandler up and told him that he had gotten scheduled for a trial. It wasn't going to be one of those big style TV things with a jury and all that, it was just going to be Chandler, Todd and the DA. And of course the judge and whoever came to listen, plus the witnesses that the DA planned on using to prove that Chandler had done something illegal.
Chandler felt nauseous when he woke up on the morning of the trial. Monica was asleep next to him and he didn't want to wake her up, so he got out of bed carefully and went to their bathroom to take a shower. After two minutes in the shower Monica had woken up, and she joined him in the shower. There was nothing sexual about it, just the comfort of being together. Neither of them were in the mood for sex anyway, not when they both knew he could be found guilty and sent to prison. Todd had told him that he was looking at 9 months of prison if he was found guilty, and even though it was a lot better than getting more than a year, it felt like way too long. Monica had found out earlier that week that she was four weeks pregnant, but she hadn't told him yet. She knew he wouldn't be there for the birth if Todd didn't manage to save him from this, and she didn't want him to have to think about that. If he did get sent away she would make sure to sleep with him the last night before he had to go, and then she would claim that she had gotten pregnant on that night and would give birth just about a week after Chandler got back. And when the baby was born sooner than that, she would just claim it was premature. She didn't want Chandler to sit at a prison for nine months, knowing that he wouldn't get to be there for the birth of his second child.
They got out of the shower and got dressed. Monica woke Lukas up and got him dressed. Nigel came over ten minutes later to pick the boy up, he was going to stay with Rachel and Nigel during the days until the trial was over. Rachel was going to be there during the trials though, she wanted to show Chandler that he had her support.
*
Chandler walked in to the small courtroom where his nearest future would be determined. His entire future even. Who would hire someone who'd been in prison for insider trading?
Monica was right next to him with her arm under his. She looked around and saw Todd speaking to the DA, and a few people who had come to watch. Some of them were law students, others were just the typical vultures who loved to see people being sent away to prison. Their friends were there as well, Phoebe and Joey were seated together on one bench and Ross was right behind them together with Monica's parents. Rachel was on the other side together with Chandler's now former boss Doug. Chandler appreciated the support from his former boss, knowing that Doug hadn't had any part in having him fired.
Chandler knew that they were only waiting for him to be able to begin. He walked up to where the two lawyers were standing and then turned to Monica. They kissed and hugged, then Monica walked back and sat down with Joey and Phoebe. She felt numb and she realized in relief that sitting next to Joey didn't make her feel any different from sitting next to anyone else in her friendship crowd.
The first part of the trial was a lot of legal talk that bored Monica. She wished they could just get right to the point and stop dragging it out. But after over an hour and a half without anything really important being said, the judge banged his club and told everyone to be back in ten minutes.
'He's probably just as bored as the rest of us…' Monica thought to herself, and rose from her seat. She walked up to Chandler together with Phoebe and Joey, and gave Chandler a hug.
"You're doing okay so far…" she whispered.
"I'm not doing anything right now. Nobody is. They're just talking about this and that legal paragraph. Why can't they just get right down to the point, the judge must know all of these paragraphs after all!"
Monica hugged him tighter. She felt a little nauseous and knew she had to eat something. But she didn't want to leave Chandler at the moment, so she turned and asked Phoebe to go get her a sandwich.
"Chandler…" she said, and kissed him on the cheek. "Listen, it's better that they do everything slowly and precisely. No mistakes, no mix-ups. The more careful they are, the better your chances are."
Chandler nodded and kissed her on the forehead with a sigh. He pulled her into another hug and slowly rocked back and forth with her. He looked up and met Joey's eyes. Joey looked away after a second, as if seeing something he didn't want to see, or didn't feel clarified to see.
Phoebe returned with Monica's sandwich and the judge got back just as she finished it. She gave Chandler one last hug, then went back to her seat. This time she sat down with Joey to her right and Phoebe to her left.
The judge began talking about this and that legal prospect, then the DA finally seemed to get started with what they were really there for. Monica looked over and noticed that Doug was gone. She wondered why, then realized that Todd might want to use him as a character witness and it would in that case be best if Doug didn't hear the other testimonies. She sighed heavily and sank back in her seat. She could see how tense Chandler's shoulders were.
The questioning went pretty slow until one of the cops, Detective Jakes, gave his testimony providing what they had found that would qualify as evidence. Jakes told the DA that Chandler's motive had been good old-fashioned greed, and that he had thought he would get away with it since he didn't actually need the money. It sounded very loose in Monica's ears, and she heard Todd object.
"The defendant bought the stocks for his wife who works at the restaurant, not to earn money from them" he pointed out.
The DA smiled slyly.
"That does not prove that he is not guiltily. Especially not since his wife was his accomplice."
"WHAT?" Monica exclaimed and came close to flying to her feet.
Chandler turned and gave her and angry look, telling her to be quiet, and the judge banged his club. She couldn't believe what a weird accusation the DA had come with. She felt Phoebe shiver next to her and she felt like shivering herself. Then she heard a weird noise from Phoebe and turned to look at her. Phoebe was shaking and covering her mouth with her hand. She was getting tears in her eyes. Monica all of a sudden realized that she was laughing. She elbowed her in the side.
"Hey!" she said hushed.
"I'm sorry" Phoebe got out, and started to laugh as quietly as she could. "But this is just too amusing… It's pathetic! You an accomplice? They're just making stuff up out of thin air, trying to be Perry Mason or something… It's pure comedy this whole thing…"
Monica shook her head. She realized what Phoebe meant. It was insane, this whole thing felt like a parody of a real trial. She had absolutely nothing to do with any stocks being bought, other than the fact that they were bought for her. She listened to the DA explain how she had found out through work that the stocks would hit the market soon, and that they would be worth a lot of money. Even in Monica's ears it sounded very loosely based and taken out of the air. But that didn't stop her from feeling scared and uncomfortable.
She felt Joey put his arm around her and pull her closer, offering support. She got the most support from knowing that there was nothing about it other than friendship. It had nothing to do with their affair, it was just Joey being there for her as a friend. It felt like the first sign that he wanted to save their friendship.
*
Two days later the trial was coming to it's end. Monica was starting to feel a bit more hopeful. Todd had made it pretty clear that Monica had nothing at all to do with the stocks other than that Chandler had bought them for her, but she hadn't known he'd bought them. Once that was stated, and proven, the DA's case lost credibility. Todd told Monica and Chandler that he couldn't even understand why the DA had thrown in such an accusation in the first place, but it had turned out pretty fortunate for Chandler. At least Todd thought so.
Sitting in the courtroom waiting for the judge to announce the verdict felt like the worst part of the entire trial. Chandler sat by Todd, knowing that his future was at stake right now. He didn't dare to think he would end up in prison and he didn't dare to hope he would be freed of the charges.
Monica sat right behind him together with her parents. Rachel and Ross sat right behind her and Joey and Phoebe were further back. Chandler couldn't see them since they sat behind him, but knowing that they were there was comforting.
Finally the judge showed up again and sat down, banging the club absentmindedly. He seemed preoccupied with something else, and it drove Monica crazy. He was about to determine her husband's future, how could he sit there thinking about totally irrelevant things?
She had expected him to announce the verdict right away. Instead he began a monologue that seemed endless, it was as if he was repeating all the facts that had been mentioned earlier. Even the two lawyers seemed a little bored, and Monica could only imagine how Chandler must be feeling. Monica thought it was cruel to drag this out, it would be much better to just get the whole thing over with.
Finally the judge asked Chandler to rise. Chandler, Monica and their friends all felt a tight knot in their stomachs. This was it.
After a few more minutes of the judge talking about different matters in this case, he finally got to the point.
When Chandler heard the words 'not guilty' he let out a sigh of relief and sank back to sitting. Monica threw herself forward and put her arms around his shoulders from behind, giving him a kiss on the cheek, and she could see Ross giving Rachel a hug in the corner of her eye.
As soon as the judge declared that the court was dismissed, Chandler and Monica simultaneously rose and Chandler turned to face her. They met in a deep kiss and then Rachel and Ross hugged them from behind after getting over to them. Joey and Phoebe soon joined them and Monica and Chandler ended the kiss and just hugged instead. It was all over now. They could put it all behind them.
*
Monica fell back on the couch, with Chandler kissing her feverishly. He lay on top of her on the couch and kissed her with hunger, desire, relief and a dozen other emotions. She could barely catch her breath between the kisses, but she was as eager as he was. They had won today, they wouldn't have to be apart. Monica saw this as a new beginning for them, she could be all he needed now again, and give herself only to him.
Chandler had only felt such a relief once before in his entire life. That relief had been when he had thought Monica had left, and then walked into their apartment to find her waiting for him, with so many candles lit he couldn't even count them. This time it was a different relief, though. That had been relief over getting the woman he wanted, this time it was over freedom.
They ended up upstairs in their bedroom, making love for the first time in over a week. Afterwards Monica rested her head on his chest and felt his arms around her. He wasn't strong, but his arms felt strong anyway when they rested around her. It made her feel safe and secure.
"I am so thankful that this is all behind us now…" she whispered. "I would have missed you like crazy. I know I'm selfish, you would have to go through a whole lot more than me, but I would still hardly know how to get by."
"I am so relieved that Lukas won't have to be ashamed of me" Chandler told her. "That's been the only thing on my mind ever since this stupid trial began. What he would think of me. What he would have to go through. He's five years old, and having a dad in prison can't be easy at that age. Not that it's easy at any age, but… well, you know what I mean… And I was thinking about if the other kids would tease him. Something like that would follow him for years. He would probably get to hear about it for years, probably all the way up to college…"
"I don't think it would be that bad" Monica calmly objected. "For one thing I wouldn't let him think for even a second that his father is a bad man. And having a father who's done time for something like this isn't like having a father who's done time for serious crimes."
"Well I'm still glad I won't have to be away from him for nine months…"
"So am I. And I'm glad you won't have to be away from me."
She decided to tell him now that she was pregnant. It was as good time as any, and now he would definitely get to be there when the baby was born.
She turned around in his arms so that she lay on her stomach on top of him. He smiled at her and stroke some hair away from her cheeks. Then he stroke the hair on her shoulders and back.
"I have something to tell you" she said. "Something serious."
Chandler just nodded. He had been expecting it. He knew she had been keeping something from him, and he might as well find out about it right now.
"I'm pregnant" she said, unable to keep a smile from her face.
He stared at her for a second. This wasn't what he had expected at all. Then he felt happy. He hadn't thought about weather or not they should give Lukas a sibling, but he would love to have another child in the family.
"You couldn't have given me any better news than this…" he said and kissed her lovingly.
"I didn't want to say anything before we knew the verdict" Monica told him. "Because if you had been found guilty you would have missed the baby's birth. I didn't want you to have to sit in prison for eight months, knowing that you would miss it. And then for one month knowing you had a baby you'd never seen."
"Well it sure would be a surprise once I got out…" Chandler said, slightly quippy.
"If they found you guilty I was going to make sure that we had sex your last night before you had to leave… And then I would just be able to tell you that I had gotten pregnant at that occasion, and that you would be out just in time for me to go into labour. And then when I had the baby sooner I would just say it was premature."
"Why not just tell me the truth?" Chandler asked, curious.
"Because I didn't want you to spend eight months knowing you would miss it, like I just said" Monica said. "It would be a small lie anyway, and it would probably save you some tough emotions… I don't think you'd want to sit in a cell for eight months, knowing that I would go through labour without you being there."
Chandler nodded. Then he kissed her again.
"Well thankfully enough, I won't have to miss it. I'm a free man again. And my wife just told me I'm becoming a father again. Things couldn't possibly be any better right now…"
He kissed her once again, and then rolled her over so that he was on top. He made love to her and then fell asleep with his head by her heart, listening to her heartbeats and letting them rock him to sleep.
*
Joey rose to open the door. He was surprised to see Phoebe on the other side of it, he hadn't expected her to come by.
"Hi Phoebs… What's up?"
Phoebe walked inside and took her coat off.
"Dave and I are getting a divorce."
"Oh… Wow, I'm so sorry Phoebs!"
"It's okay…"
Phoebe walked into the living room. Joey still lived in the same apartment that he'd shared with Chandler and later Rachel.
"Did he end it or did you?" Joey asked. "Or was it mutual?"
"I… don't know really. I think it's been over for months. Even years. It was over, but then I got pregnant and we wanted to give it a second chance. For Melissa's sake. But we just couldn't pretend anymore, we filed for divorce last month… But we didn't tell anyone."
"Why not Phoebs?"
"Well we figured it wasn't the time. Not with Chandler's arrest and everything!"
"So…" Joey said. "What are you going to do now?"
"I don't know. But I came here because there's something I've got to talk to you about."
Joey felt a lump in his throat. He hoped she didn't sense what had been going on between him and Monica. But Phoebe had something completely different on her mind.
"One of the reasons it all ended…" she said and walked closer. "Was that… that… Joey I… kind of have feelings for you."
Joey stared at her, shocked.
"I haven't been able to tell you… Not as long as Dave and I have been working on our relationship… But now I think you need to know."
Joey didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do. He sighed and decided that he owed her to be completely honest with her.
"Phoebe…" he said. "You are an amazing woman. I hope Dave knows what he's loosing. But I… Phoebe I…"
"I haven't seen you lately except for together with Monica and Chandler" Phoebe said. "And you've been acting a bit strange, and I've sensed some sort of love there…"
"Phoebe I'm really sorry, but the love isn't for you" Joey said, hating himself in that moment. But he loved her too much as a friend and respected her too much to give her any false hope. "I… I'm in love with someone. Someone I can't have. She's married, and I know her husband. I met her through her husband. And she's pretty much as far from divorce as she can be. I know I can't have her Phoebs, but I want her anyway… And I can't really try and fall in love with you while I haven't gotten over these feelings for her."
Phoebe nodded, and tried to hold back her tears. She had been almost certain that Joey felt something for her too. There had always been a connection between them, but now she realized that it had just been friendship and nothing else. Chandler had been Monica's, Ross had somehow been Rachel's, so it had only been with Joey that she had been able to see something romantic in it. But now she realized that he hadn't felt it the same way as she had.
"This woman, she must be very special" she said and looked away.
"She is. Believe me, she is." He smiled slightly. "I know you would like her."
"Joey…" Phoebe said, looking up at him. "Can we please just forget that I said anything today? Could we please just be friends again?"
Joey nodded and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Phoebe went past him, got her coat and left, not able to hold back her tears any longer.
Please review.The series is almost finished now, although there'll probably be more than just two parts after this one... It depends on how I manage to wrap things up... :-) But let me know if you have any pointers...
INTRODUCTION: Part 6. Pretty much concentrates on Chandler's trial, and the outcome of it.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the "Friends" characters, they belong to NBC.
After eight weeks of interrogation and pre-trial, Todd called Chandler up and told him that he had gotten scheduled for a trial. It wasn't going to be one of those big style TV things with a jury and all that, it was just going to be Chandler, Todd and the DA. And of course the judge and whoever came to listen, plus the witnesses that the DA planned on using to prove that Chandler had done something illegal.
Chandler felt nauseous when he woke up on the morning of the trial. Monica was asleep next to him and he didn't want to wake her up, so he got out of bed carefully and went to their bathroom to take a shower. After two minutes in the shower Monica had woken up, and she joined him in the shower. There was nothing sexual about it, just the comfort of being together. Neither of them were in the mood for sex anyway, not when they both knew he could be found guilty and sent to prison. Todd had told him that he was looking at 9 months of prison if he was found guilty, and even though it was a lot better than getting more than a year, it felt like way too long. Monica had found out earlier that week that she was four weeks pregnant, but she hadn't told him yet. She knew he wouldn't be there for the birth if Todd didn't manage to save him from this, and she didn't want him to have to think about that. If he did get sent away she would make sure to sleep with him the last night before he had to go, and then she would claim that she had gotten pregnant on that night and would give birth just about a week after Chandler got back. And when the baby was born sooner than that, she would just claim it was premature. She didn't want Chandler to sit at a prison for nine months, knowing that he wouldn't get to be there for the birth of his second child.
They got out of the shower and got dressed. Monica woke Lukas up and got him dressed. Nigel came over ten minutes later to pick the boy up, he was going to stay with Rachel and Nigel during the days until the trial was over. Rachel was going to be there during the trials though, she wanted to show Chandler that he had her support.
*
Chandler walked in to the small courtroom where his nearest future would be determined. His entire future even. Who would hire someone who'd been in prison for insider trading?
Monica was right next to him with her arm under his. She looked around and saw Todd speaking to the DA, and a few people who had come to watch. Some of them were law students, others were just the typical vultures who loved to see people being sent away to prison. Their friends were there as well, Phoebe and Joey were seated together on one bench and Ross was right behind them together with Monica's parents. Rachel was on the other side together with Chandler's now former boss Doug. Chandler appreciated the support from his former boss, knowing that Doug hadn't had any part in having him fired.
Chandler knew that they were only waiting for him to be able to begin. He walked up to where the two lawyers were standing and then turned to Monica. They kissed and hugged, then Monica walked back and sat down with Joey and Phoebe. She felt numb and she realized in relief that sitting next to Joey didn't make her feel any different from sitting next to anyone else in her friendship crowd.
The first part of the trial was a lot of legal talk that bored Monica. She wished they could just get right to the point and stop dragging it out. But after over an hour and a half without anything really important being said, the judge banged his club and told everyone to be back in ten minutes.
'He's probably just as bored as the rest of us…' Monica thought to herself, and rose from her seat. She walked up to Chandler together with Phoebe and Joey, and gave Chandler a hug.
"You're doing okay so far…" she whispered.
"I'm not doing anything right now. Nobody is. They're just talking about this and that legal paragraph. Why can't they just get right down to the point, the judge must know all of these paragraphs after all!"
Monica hugged him tighter. She felt a little nauseous and knew she had to eat something. But she didn't want to leave Chandler at the moment, so she turned and asked Phoebe to go get her a sandwich.
"Chandler…" she said, and kissed him on the cheek. "Listen, it's better that they do everything slowly and precisely. No mistakes, no mix-ups. The more careful they are, the better your chances are."
Chandler nodded and kissed her on the forehead with a sigh. He pulled her into another hug and slowly rocked back and forth with her. He looked up and met Joey's eyes. Joey looked away after a second, as if seeing something he didn't want to see, or didn't feel clarified to see.
Phoebe returned with Monica's sandwich and the judge got back just as she finished it. She gave Chandler one last hug, then went back to her seat. This time she sat down with Joey to her right and Phoebe to her left.
The judge began talking about this and that legal prospect, then the DA finally seemed to get started with what they were really there for. Monica looked over and noticed that Doug was gone. She wondered why, then realized that Todd might want to use him as a character witness and it would in that case be best if Doug didn't hear the other testimonies. She sighed heavily and sank back in her seat. She could see how tense Chandler's shoulders were.
The questioning went pretty slow until one of the cops, Detective Jakes, gave his testimony providing what they had found that would qualify as evidence. Jakes told the DA that Chandler's motive had been good old-fashioned greed, and that he had thought he would get away with it since he didn't actually need the money. It sounded very loose in Monica's ears, and she heard Todd object.
"The defendant bought the stocks for his wife who works at the restaurant, not to earn money from them" he pointed out.
The DA smiled slyly.
"That does not prove that he is not guiltily. Especially not since his wife was his accomplice."
"WHAT?" Monica exclaimed and came close to flying to her feet.
Chandler turned and gave her and angry look, telling her to be quiet, and the judge banged his club. She couldn't believe what a weird accusation the DA had come with. She felt Phoebe shiver next to her and she felt like shivering herself. Then she heard a weird noise from Phoebe and turned to look at her. Phoebe was shaking and covering her mouth with her hand. She was getting tears in her eyes. Monica all of a sudden realized that she was laughing. She elbowed her in the side.
"Hey!" she said hushed.
"I'm sorry" Phoebe got out, and started to laugh as quietly as she could. "But this is just too amusing… It's pathetic! You an accomplice? They're just making stuff up out of thin air, trying to be Perry Mason or something… It's pure comedy this whole thing…"
Monica shook her head. She realized what Phoebe meant. It was insane, this whole thing felt like a parody of a real trial. She had absolutely nothing to do with any stocks being bought, other than the fact that they were bought for her. She listened to the DA explain how she had found out through work that the stocks would hit the market soon, and that they would be worth a lot of money. Even in Monica's ears it sounded very loosely based and taken out of the air. But that didn't stop her from feeling scared and uncomfortable.
She felt Joey put his arm around her and pull her closer, offering support. She got the most support from knowing that there was nothing about it other than friendship. It had nothing to do with their affair, it was just Joey being there for her as a friend. It felt like the first sign that he wanted to save their friendship.
*
Two days later the trial was coming to it's end. Monica was starting to feel a bit more hopeful. Todd had made it pretty clear that Monica had nothing at all to do with the stocks other than that Chandler had bought them for her, but she hadn't known he'd bought them. Once that was stated, and proven, the DA's case lost credibility. Todd told Monica and Chandler that he couldn't even understand why the DA had thrown in such an accusation in the first place, but it had turned out pretty fortunate for Chandler. At least Todd thought so.
Sitting in the courtroom waiting for the judge to announce the verdict felt like the worst part of the entire trial. Chandler sat by Todd, knowing that his future was at stake right now. He didn't dare to think he would end up in prison and he didn't dare to hope he would be freed of the charges.
Monica sat right behind him together with her parents. Rachel and Ross sat right behind her and Joey and Phoebe were further back. Chandler couldn't see them since they sat behind him, but knowing that they were there was comforting.
Finally the judge showed up again and sat down, banging the club absentmindedly. He seemed preoccupied with something else, and it drove Monica crazy. He was about to determine her husband's future, how could he sit there thinking about totally irrelevant things?
She had expected him to announce the verdict right away. Instead he began a monologue that seemed endless, it was as if he was repeating all the facts that had been mentioned earlier. Even the two lawyers seemed a little bored, and Monica could only imagine how Chandler must be feeling. Monica thought it was cruel to drag this out, it would be much better to just get the whole thing over with.
Finally the judge asked Chandler to rise. Chandler, Monica and their friends all felt a tight knot in their stomachs. This was it.
After a few more minutes of the judge talking about different matters in this case, he finally got to the point.
When Chandler heard the words 'not guilty' he let out a sigh of relief and sank back to sitting. Monica threw herself forward and put her arms around his shoulders from behind, giving him a kiss on the cheek, and she could see Ross giving Rachel a hug in the corner of her eye.
As soon as the judge declared that the court was dismissed, Chandler and Monica simultaneously rose and Chandler turned to face her. They met in a deep kiss and then Rachel and Ross hugged them from behind after getting over to them. Joey and Phoebe soon joined them and Monica and Chandler ended the kiss and just hugged instead. It was all over now. They could put it all behind them.
*
Monica fell back on the couch, with Chandler kissing her feverishly. He lay on top of her on the couch and kissed her with hunger, desire, relief and a dozen other emotions. She could barely catch her breath between the kisses, but she was as eager as he was. They had won today, they wouldn't have to be apart. Monica saw this as a new beginning for them, she could be all he needed now again, and give herself only to him.
Chandler had only felt such a relief once before in his entire life. That relief had been when he had thought Monica had left, and then walked into their apartment to find her waiting for him, with so many candles lit he couldn't even count them. This time it was a different relief, though. That had been relief over getting the woman he wanted, this time it was over freedom.
They ended up upstairs in their bedroom, making love for the first time in over a week. Afterwards Monica rested her head on his chest and felt his arms around her. He wasn't strong, but his arms felt strong anyway when they rested around her. It made her feel safe and secure.
"I am so thankful that this is all behind us now…" she whispered. "I would have missed you like crazy. I know I'm selfish, you would have to go through a whole lot more than me, but I would still hardly know how to get by."
"I am so relieved that Lukas won't have to be ashamed of me" Chandler told her. "That's been the only thing on my mind ever since this stupid trial began. What he would think of me. What he would have to go through. He's five years old, and having a dad in prison can't be easy at that age. Not that it's easy at any age, but… well, you know what I mean… And I was thinking about if the other kids would tease him. Something like that would follow him for years. He would probably get to hear about it for years, probably all the way up to college…"
"I don't think it would be that bad" Monica calmly objected. "For one thing I wouldn't let him think for even a second that his father is a bad man. And having a father who's done time for something like this isn't like having a father who's done time for serious crimes."
"Well I'm still glad I won't have to be away from him for nine months…"
"So am I. And I'm glad you won't have to be away from me."
She decided to tell him now that she was pregnant. It was as good time as any, and now he would definitely get to be there when the baby was born.
She turned around in his arms so that she lay on her stomach on top of him. He smiled at her and stroke some hair away from her cheeks. Then he stroke the hair on her shoulders and back.
"I have something to tell you" she said. "Something serious."
Chandler just nodded. He had been expecting it. He knew she had been keeping something from him, and he might as well find out about it right now.
"I'm pregnant" she said, unable to keep a smile from her face.
He stared at her for a second. This wasn't what he had expected at all. Then he felt happy. He hadn't thought about weather or not they should give Lukas a sibling, but he would love to have another child in the family.
"You couldn't have given me any better news than this…" he said and kissed her lovingly.
"I didn't want to say anything before we knew the verdict" Monica told him. "Because if you had been found guilty you would have missed the baby's birth. I didn't want you to have to sit in prison for eight months, knowing that you would miss it. And then for one month knowing you had a baby you'd never seen."
"Well it sure would be a surprise once I got out…" Chandler said, slightly quippy.
"If they found you guilty I was going to make sure that we had sex your last night before you had to leave… And then I would just be able to tell you that I had gotten pregnant at that occasion, and that you would be out just in time for me to go into labour. And then when I had the baby sooner I would just say it was premature."
"Why not just tell me the truth?" Chandler asked, curious.
"Because I didn't want you to spend eight months knowing you would miss it, like I just said" Monica said. "It would be a small lie anyway, and it would probably save you some tough emotions… I don't think you'd want to sit in a cell for eight months, knowing that I would go through labour without you being there."
Chandler nodded. Then he kissed her again.
"Well thankfully enough, I won't have to miss it. I'm a free man again. And my wife just told me I'm becoming a father again. Things couldn't possibly be any better right now…"
He kissed her once again, and then rolled her over so that he was on top. He made love to her and then fell asleep with his head by her heart, listening to her heartbeats and letting them rock him to sleep.
*
Joey rose to open the door. He was surprised to see Phoebe on the other side of it, he hadn't expected her to come by.
"Hi Phoebs… What's up?"
Phoebe walked inside and took her coat off.
"Dave and I are getting a divorce."
"Oh… Wow, I'm so sorry Phoebs!"
"It's okay…"
Phoebe walked into the living room. Joey still lived in the same apartment that he'd shared with Chandler and later Rachel.
"Did he end it or did you?" Joey asked. "Or was it mutual?"
"I… don't know really. I think it's been over for months. Even years. It was over, but then I got pregnant and we wanted to give it a second chance. For Melissa's sake. But we just couldn't pretend anymore, we filed for divorce last month… But we didn't tell anyone."
"Why not Phoebs?"
"Well we figured it wasn't the time. Not with Chandler's arrest and everything!"
"So…" Joey said. "What are you going to do now?"
"I don't know. But I came here because there's something I've got to talk to you about."
Joey felt a lump in his throat. He hoped she didn't sense what had been going on between him and Monica. But Phoebe had something completely different on her mind.
"One of the reasons it all ended…" she said and walked closer. "Was that… that… Joey I… kind of have feelings for you."
Joey stared at her, shocked.
"I haven't been able to tell you… Not as long as Dave and I have been working on our relationship… But now I think you need to know."
Joey didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do. He sighed and decided that he owed her to be completely honest with her.
"Phoebe…" he said. "You are an amazing woman. I hope Dave knows what he's loosing. But I… Phoebe I…"
"I haven't seen you lately except for together with Monica and Chandler" Phoebe said. "And you've been acting a bit strange, and I've sensed some sort of love there…"
"Phoebe I'm really sorry, but the love isn't for you" Joey said, hating himself in that moment. But he loved her too much as a friend and respected her too much to give her any false hope. "I… I'm in love with someone. Someone I can't have. She's married, and I know her husband. I met her through her husband. And she's pretty much as far from divorce as she can be. I know I can't have her Phoebs, but I want her anyway… And I can't really try and fall in love with you while I haven't gotten over these feelings for her."
Phoebe nodded, and tried to hold back her tears. She had been almost certain that Joey felt something for her too. There had always been a connection between them, but now she realized that it had just been friendship and nothing else. Chandler had been Monica's, Ross had somehow been Rachel's, so it had only been with Joey that she had been able to see something romantic in it. But now she realized that he hadn't felt it the same way as she had.
"This woman, she must be very special" she said and looked away.
"She is. Believe me, she is." He smiled slightly. "I know you would like her."
"Joey…" Phoebe said, looking up at him. "Can we please just forget that I said anything today? Could we please just be friends again?"
Joey nodded and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Phoebe went past him, got her coat and left, not able to hold back her tears any longer.
Please review.The series is almost finished now, although there'll probably be more than just two parts after this one... It depends on how I manage to wrap things up... :-) But let me know if you have any pointers...