The Key, Chapter Two

Finding The Past Means Losing The Future



"What happened?" Chelsea asked. They were sitting in a taxi, making their way back to their hotel.

"I...I'm not sure." Jason whispered, his mind still reeling.

"Why did that guy hit you? Did you say something to him?"


Jason turned and looked at Chelsea intently. Tears welled up in his eyes.
"I think...I think he knows me. I know him...somehow."


Chelsea's heart pounded furiously. The moment she'd always feared was here. Jason had found the key he'd been searching for.

"He's from your past?"

"I think so."
Chelsea didn't know what to say. She knew that Jason wanted to find out where he was from, but she was afraid that if, no, when he found it, he would leave her.
The rest of the taxi ride was spent in silence.

That night, Jason had the same dream he'd had every night for months. The large room, the woman in white, the people.
He turned and was shocked to see the stranger from the coffee shop standing next to him. But he wasn't angry. He looked at Jason with love and pride in his eyes.
Jason awoke with a start. Had the stranger always been in his dream? Or was he there because of the incident that took place that night?
He didn't understand what the dream meant, and now he was more confused than ever before. One thing was for sure; he had to see that stranger again.

~*~

Joey lay in bed, unable to sleep. He was haunted by what had happened tonight. Had he made a mistake? Did he really strike a complete stranger
for no reason? Should he tell someone? He sighed heavily. He needed to talk to someone; it was eating him up inside.
He rolled out of bed, and padded over to the kitchen. He dialed Phoebe's number.

~*~

The next morning, Chelsea headed off to her interview at the museum. Jason had the day to himself, and he knew exactly what he
was going to do. He was going back to the coffee shop.

An hour later, Jason found himself standing at the door of the coffee shop. He wasn't quite sure why he was hesitating.  It wasn't the fear of being hit again. He wasn't sure what it was. He sighed heavily and opened the door.


The coffee shop still had a very familiar atmosphere. He couldn't shake the feeling of deja vu. He walked toward the counter.
He turned and saw the stranger from the night before sitting on a large orange sofa. He wasn't alone. He was talking to a pretty blonde woman. Jason's heart raced. He wasn't sure whether or not he should interrupt what appeared to be an intense conversation.

Joey looked up, and saw Jason standing at the counter. Jason quickly diverted his eyes when Joey looked up.

"Jason is here," Joey said, nodding his head in the direction of the counter.

"What?" Phoebe swung her head around. Her jaw nearly hit the floor when she saw him.

"Oh my God," Phoebe said, "He looks just like..."

"I know," Joey said.

"Should we talk to him?"

"I have to," Joey replied, "I need to apologize for last night."
Jason felt himself tense up as the stranger approached him. He wanted to be ready for anything.

"I'm not gonna hit you," the stranger said, "I came to apologize."

"Oh."

"My name is Joey."

"Jason."

They shook hands, as the blonde approached.

"This is Phoebe."

"Hi."

"Hi, I'm Jason."

"Anyway," Joey said, "I, uh, wanted to say I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else..."

"Who did you think I was?"

"Oh, it's not important."

"It is to me," Jason said slowly. "That's um, that's why I came back."

"What?" Phoebe asked.


Jason wasn't sure what he was doing, but he knew he had to continue.


"I lost my memory, about five years ago. I have no idea who I actually am. But when I saw how you reacted to me last night...I mean, it was so, er, unusual...I guess I just thought you could help."
Joey couldn't believe what he was hearing. Memory loss? It couldn't be. It was like some strange storyline on DOOL.  But the timeline fit perfectly. Five years. Joey couldn't believe it had been so long.


"This is going to sound really stupid," Jason said, laughing slightly, "but...what's my name?"

Phoebe looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Your name," Joey whispered, "is Chandler."

~*~

Joey and Phoebe listened, while Jason explained what had happened to him, and where he had been for the past five years.

"You should meet the others," Joey said suddenly.

"Now?"

"If you can."

"Okay," Jason said hesitantly, "Let's go."

Jason was again overcome with a feeling of deja vu when he followed Joey into the building adjacent to the coffee shop.  He stood in the hallway between two apartments, unsure about what he should do next. Joey and Phoebe had entered one of the apartments, presumably to warn the so-called "others" about him. He wondered what they were thinking.  He wondered who the "others" were. His questions were about to be answered. He hoped that meeting these people would help trigger memories from his past to emerge. Joey opened the door, and motioned for him to come in.
He walked in to a large, airy apartment. It, too felt familiar. There were three new strangers standing in front of him: The man looked angry, and a little sad, and the two women had both been crying.


Joey stepped forward. "This is Rachel, and Ross, and Monica."

"Hi."


None of them spoke. Jason suddenly felt extremely self-conscious.
"Um, I guess you know me, kind of," he laughed stiffly, "do you mind telling me a bit about you?"

"Do you think it will help you?" Rachel asked.

"I hope so," Jason said. "I wanna know what my life was like before...uh, before."

"Joey and Ross are your best friends," Phoebe said slowly.

"And Rachel and Phoebe are your friends too," Joey continued, "and...."

"Monica isn't my friend?" He looked at the dark-haired beauty. She hadn't looked at him once since he came in.

"She is your best friend too," Joey said. "She's your wife."


Jason's smile faded, and his heart felt like it was going to explode. His mind started reeling, and his lower lip trembled.

"Wha-what?"


Before anyone could respond, Jason's cell phone rang, causing everyone to jump.
"Hello? Ch-Chelsea...uh, hi honey."

"Hey baby. Where are you?"

"I, uh...I'm in Central Park," Jason silently hoped that these people wouldn't reveal his lie.

"How was the interview?"

"It was great! They loved my work!"

"Oh, sweetheart, that's great!" It took all of Jason's energy to concentrate on the conversation with Chelsea. He was still in shock. He was married? It was all too surreal.

"Let's go celebrate!" Chelsea broke into Jason's thoughts.

"Okay, I uh...I'll be there in about 40 minutes, okay?"

"Okay! I love you!"

"I love you too. Bye."

"Bye baby."


Jason hung up the phone, still trying to figure out what to say to this group of strangers. And he was married to one of them.  He didn't even know her. Yet she was his wife.

"Monica," Jason said softly, "I'm so sorry."


Monica looked at Jason for the first time that night. She was stunning. But in her eyes he could see a dark cloud looming.  A cloud that, undoubtedly, he had a lot to do with.

"It's not your fault Chandler," she whispered.

Jason winced. Was that really his name? It seemed so unfamiliar. He suddenly felt the uncontrollable urge to leave.

"I...I have to go...but I will be back....I need to, um...go."

Jason hurried out of the apartment, and had to stop in the hallway to catch his breath. How was he going to explain this to Chelsea?

~*~


Monica stood in the center of a room that was spinning. She could hear Ross and Rachel talking to her, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. Hearing Chandler tell someone else that he loved them broke her heart. She felt nauseous. She sat down on the sofa, and cursed herself when she felt tears running down her cheeks. She had told herself that she wouldn't ever cry over Chandler Bing again. But she was so confused. Was he going to divorce her? Would he get his memory back?  She closed her eyes, and blocked out the voices of her concerned friends. She wasn't sure she would survive losing Chandler again.


AN: Okay, guys tell me what you think. Don't worry, the story of how Chandler ended up with amnesia will be explained...ya just gotta keep reading!
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