"And if your heart should ache, remember me. And if your heart should break....."
****
"So, Chandler, how did all of this happen?" Pheobe asked the question that had been on everyone's mind for seven years.
Chandler looked at his friends, and tried his best to put it all together;
Seven Years Earlier
"Do you just expect me to pick up and leave my life?" Monica yelled, feeling herself start to spin out of control.
"It's just and interview Monica, please calm down."
"When were you going to tell me about this?"
"I JUST told you!"
"No, I heard it from the guy who called here, confirming your flight."
Chandler covered his face with his hands, struggling to stay calm. He wasn't really intending on moving to San Francisco,
but he felt like the opportunity to look at another company was too good to just pass up. He was hoping Monica would understand that.
But as she continued to rant, and Chandler was finding it more and more difficult to keep his cool.
Monica wasn't really sure why she was so upset. She seemed to be saying things that didn't make any sense. But more than anything,
she hated being wrong. So she continued.
"You know what Chandler? Just go. Go to San Francisco. And stay there! I don't care, I really don't." What the hell was she saying?
She was shocked by her own words. And judging by Chandler's reaction, so was he. He didn't respond verbally. Instead, he turned on his heel,
grabbed his bag, and walked out the door.
Monica sat down, and buried her face in her hands. She felt horrible. She knew that she needed to apologize.
She hoped that Chandler would call her soon.
*
Chandler landed at SFO several hours later. He went straight to his hotel and checked in. Everything Monica said to him before he left
continued to ring in in his ears. He sighed heavily, and decided that he and Monica would have to talk when he returned. He pulled out his
information packet and resume, and decided to concentrate on his upcoming interview. He read up on the history of the company
and looked up the name of the person he would be interviwing with. Jason Parker. He committed the name to memory, then closed up his
folder and went to sleep.
The following morning, Chandler woke up early and took his time getting ready. He wanted to be as relaxed as possible.
He decided to walk to his interview. He looked at the map, and estimated that it would be about a 20 minute walk.
As he walked down Market Street, he took in the cool San Francisco morning air. It was a beautiful morning, and he watched as the world
around him began waking up. He started going through the information he'd read about the night before in his mind.
As he turned the corner, he came upon a small group of men. He tried walking around, but one of the men mirrored his movement.
"Excuse me," he said, as he tried again to get around the large man.
"You got any money?" The man asked menacingly.
"No," Chandler lied, his eyes darting from the man in front of him to the three standing around him.
It was then that he felt a hand on his shoulder. He tried to yell, but his cry was stifled when the man in front of him
punched him on the gut, knocking the wind out of him. He doubled over in pain, and struggled to stay on his feet. The men dragged
Chandler into a nearby ally, and threw him against a brick wall. The three-on-one fight wasn't much of a fight at all. Minutes later,
the three men had Chandler's wallet, watch, wedding ring and briefcase, and Chandler was lying unconscious in a pool of blood.
*
Three days went by, and still no word from Chandler. Monica was beginning to get worried. No matter how big their fights were,
they never went more than a day without speaking. And Chandler was supposed to be back yesterday. She was starting to wonder
if he'd taken her words to heart. She decided to phone the hotel. She needed him to know that she didn't mean what she said.
*
One week after Chandler left for San Francisco, Monica received a call from the hotel. They were shipping Chandler's bags back to her,
because he had not returned to the hotel. The manager, upon questioning his staff, found that no one at the hotel had seen or heard
from her husband since the day after he'd checked into the hotel. Monica thanked the hotel manager, and placed the phone down on the coffee table.
She sank down onto the couch and stared at the phone, hoping that Chandler would call soon. Where could he be?
*
Anne picked up the chart, and flipped through the patient's history. No name, no contact information, no medical history.
She sighed, and looked over the unconscious mystery man. She was actually surprised he was still alive. A street cleaner had
found him a week and a half ago. When they brought him into the ER, he was almost diagnosed DOA. But he fought for his life,
and, miraculously enough, continued to hold on. She wondered who he was. Suddenly, the patient stirred, and for the first time
since his arrival, showed signs of life. He opened his eyes slowly, and looked up at her.
"Well, hello there," she said softly.
"Wh-where am I?" the stranger groaned.
"St. Mary's Medical Center. You know, you gave us quite a scare."
"What happened?"
"We, or rather, the SFPD, were hoping that you could tell us. Can you tell me your name?"
The stranger paused, furrowing his brow as if he were trying to remember something.
"I...don't know."
Anne closed his eyes, as her heart sank. She was afraid of that.
*
Over the next three days, Anne watched, while doctor after doctor came in, trying to help the John Doe regain his memory.
At the end of the fourth day, she came in at the end of her shift, to check on him. He was sitting up in his bed,
staring out the window, a blank expression on his bruised face. His dinner sat in fron of him, untouched.
"Not hungry?" she asked.
"Hi Anne. No, not really."
"Any breakthroughs today?"
"Actually, yes," he said, pointing at his chart.
Anne picked up the chart, and looked over the patient information.
"Jason Parker. Well, it's nice to meet you Jason."
"Nice to meet you."
"You don't seem very enthused about this breakthrough."
"I know, and I can't explain it. It's like, something isn't right. I don't know, maybe it's the pain medication," Jason laughed.
"Right, well, we'll just have to fix that," Anne joked.
"I just hope that I can regain all of my memories," Jason sighed.
"You experienced quite a trauma...I think you just need time."
"I hope you're right."
"Me too," Anne said to herself.
*
Ross walked into his little sister's apartment, and was happy to see that she was at least out of her bedroom.
She was sittling on the window seat, watching the rain fall.
"Hey Mon," Ross said softly, putting down the food that he'd brought her.
"Hey."
"How are ya feeling?"
"Same. Lost, sad, mad...you name the emotion, and I've felt it today."
"Mon, maybe it's time to accept that he is not coming back. You need to move on."
Monica looked at her brother menacingly.
"He's coming home. I am not giving up. And I can't believe that you just EXPECT me to move on!"
"Mon, calm down..."
"Just, get away from me Ross, please."
Ross dropped his head, and walked slowly out of the apartment. He felt horrible. Monica was going through hell, and there
was nothing anyone could do about it. Except Chandler. Where the hell was he? He was going to kick his ass the next time he
saw him. Or, maybe he'd have Joey kick his ass. Whatever, he hated him for doing this to Monica.
*
Two weeks later, Jason was released from the hospital. After the initial breakthrough, he had had no luck regaining his memory.
He walked out onto the busy San Francisco street, and had no idea what to do next. The hospital had given him some reference information
for a job, and an apartment. He decided that he'd better try to get his life together, even if it wasn't his own.
*
The days turned into weeks, the weeks into months, and the months, into years.
3 years had passed since Chandler left, but for Monica, it was as if she was stuck in some kind
of time warp. No matter how hard they tried, her friends could not get her to move on.
Their lives were constantly changing, and they wanted Monica to be a part of that.
They were running out of ideas.
*
Jason saw her at the lunch counter at SRO, Standing Room Only. it was a popular eatery in San Francisco's financial district, and one
that Jason frequented. He was able to make eye contact with the pretty brunette, and she smiled warmly.
"Hi," was all he could muster up the courage to say.
"Hi," She replied.
"I'm Chelsea," she said, after a long, and somewhat embarrassing silence.
"Jason."
"It's nice to meet you Jason."
*
It had been five years. Five years, and Monica still couldn't bring herself to go on a date.
She knew that her marriage was basically over. But this nagging feeling she had, this feeling that wouldn't go away,
kept her from taking that next crucial step in the healing process. She hated herself for loving Chandler so much,
and hated him for leaving her. She hated feeling this way. but she didn't know what else to do.
Rachel and Ross had stopped by with pizza, and they sat in the kitchen, talking quietly. They seemed to be closer than
ever, and it occured to Monica that they could be dating again, and she wouldn't have known it, she was so wrapped up in
her own miserable world. She looked up when she saw Joey and Pheobe come in. They both looked like they'd seen a ghost.
They whispered something to Ross and Rachel, and the four of them made their way to Monica.
"What's going on?" Monica asked calmly, though her heart was racing.
"It's um, Chandler." Joey stammered.
"He's here?" Monica said, her face lighting up for the forst time in ages.
"Not exactly. He is here, but it's not him."
"Joey," Rachel said, "You are not making any sense."
"He lost his memory or something. He has NO idea who we are. I ran into him purely by accident."
"He doesn't know any of us?" Monica said, tears welling up in her eyes.
"No. I ran into him and....Mon he has a girlfriend. He doesn't even know that he's married."
Monica swallowed hard. "I want to see him anyway."
"Mon," Ross protested, "It's not even really him."
"I want to see him."
*
(2008)
"This story is unbelievable," Pheobe said.
"It's like what happened to this chick Valarie on DOOL," Joey chimned in, "Except that it turned out she was actually a man named Bruce, and..."
"What?" Ross said.
"I can hardly believe any of it myself," Chandler said. "I feel like I have lost so much." He looked at Monica longingly.
Ross picked up on the hint, and stood up. "I think we should get going."
The others also noticed the tension between Chandler and Monica, and they slowly made their way out of the apartment.
When the door closed, Chandler turned and looked at Monica.
"I don't even know where to begin."
"Me either."
"I...should probably get baby Monica home," he said quietly.
"Okay. Chandler?"
"Yeah."
"I never gave up hope that you'd come back."
"I know."
"Where do we go from here?"
"I don't know. I feel like I am walking into a theatre halfway through a movie. Everything is the same, and yet it's so..."
"You've been through a lot Chandler, maybe we should just..."
"You've been through a lot too, Mon. Man, if only I hadn't taken that trip..."
"This isn't you're fault. And besides, if none of this woulda happened you wouldn't have your daughter."
"I hate myself for hurting you."
"Chandler," Monica took her ex-husband's hands in hers, "I don't blame you. I only blame those bastards that did this to you."
Chandler closed his eyes, but it didn't stop the tears from flowing down his face.
"Whatever we have ahead of us, Chandler, we can get through it together."
"I'm counting on that," Chandler whispered, "you are my strength Monica."
Now Monica was crying too. "And you are mine."
"Two Hearts"
No stars in the sky
The night seems so dark around you
You won't say a word
And wonder why no one's found you
Waiting for love
Praying for love again
Love's a heavy weight
Give it to me, don't hesitate
Love's a heavy thing
Heavy for one heart to bring me your love
Give me your love again
It's not your fault
One heart can never win
It takes
Two hearts
Two hearts just to hold love
Two hearts
Two hearts just to hold your love
Your love
And if your heart should ache
Remember me
And if your heart should break
Two hearts
Two hearts they can mend it
Heartache
Heartaches can be ended by love
By love
Love's a heavy weight
Give to me don't hesitate
Love's a heavy thing
And heavy for one heart to bring me your love
Give me your love again
It's not too late
One heart can never win
It takes two hearts
Two hearts just to hold love
Two hearts
Two hearts just to hold your love
Your love
*
Chandler and Monica stood in the center of the room, staring into each others eyes, drawing on each others' strength.
Chandler thought about everything that had happened, and was surprised and elated that he still felt the same love and
devotion for Monica that he did the day they were married. He hoped she felt the same way.
"Monica," Chandler said softly, "I want to marry you."
"Are you re-proposing?"
"I am."
"Well, I want to marry you too."
Chandler smiled. He was getting his life back. He closed his eyes, and held Monica in his arms. He could now see clearly
every detail of the day they had first been married. He was standing in the center of a beautiful room, surrounded by friends
and family. And the love of his life, dressed in white, walked toward him. It wasn't a dream. It was the best day of his life.
"Two Hearts" words and music by Chris Isaak, from the 1993 cd "San Francisco Days"
REVIEW!!!!!!
****
"So, Chandler, how did all of this happen?" Pheobe asked the question that had been on everyone's mind for seven years.
Chandler looked at his friends, and tried his best to put it all together;
Seven Years Earlier
"Do you just expect me to pick up and leave my life?" Monica yelled, feeling herself start to spin out of control.
"It's just and interview Monica, please calm down."
"When were you going to tell me about this?"
"I JUST told you!"
"No, I heard it from the guy who called here, confirming your flight."
Chandler covered his face with his hands, struggling to stay calm. He wasn't really intending on moving to San Francisco,
but he felt like the opportunity to look at another company was too good to just pass up. He was hoping Monica would understand that.
But as she continued to rant, and Chandler was finding it more and more difficult to keep his cool.
Monica wasn't really sure why she was so upset. She seemed to be saying things that didn't make any sense. But more than anything,
she hated being wrong. So she continued.
"You know what Chandler? Just go. Go to San Francisco. And stay there! I don't care, I really don't." What the hell was she saying?
She was shocked by her own words. And judging by Chandler's reaction, so was he. He didn't respond verbally. Instead, he turned on his heel,
grabbed his bag, and walked out the door.
Monica sat down, and buried her face in her hands. She felt horrible. She knew that she needed to apologize.
She hoped that Chandler would call her soon.
*
Chandler landed at SFO several hours later. He went straight to his hotel and checked in. Everything Monica said to him before he left
continued to ring in in his ears. He sighed heavily, and decided that he and Monica would have to talk when he returned. He pulled out his
information packet and resume, and decided to concentrate on his upcoming interview. He read up on the history of the company
and looked up the name of the person he would be interviwing with. Jason Parker. He committed the name to memory, then closed up his
folder and went to sleep.
The following morning, Chandler woke up early and took his time getting ready. He wanted to be as relaxed as possible.
He decided to walk to his interview. He looked at the map, and estimated that it would be about a 20 minute walk.
As he walked down Market Street, he took in the cool San Francisco morning air. It was a beautiful morning, and he watched as the world
around him began waking up. He started going through the information he'd read about the night before in his mind.
As he turned the corner, he came upon a small group of men. He tried walking around, but one of the men mirrored his movement.
"Excuse me," he said, as he tried again to get around the large man.
"You got any money?" The man asked menacingly.
"No," Chandler lied, his eyes darting from the man in front of him to the three standing around him.
It was then that he felt a hand on his shoulder. He tried to yell, but his cry was stifled when the man in front of him
punched him on the gut, knocking the wind out of him. He doubled over in pain, and struggled to stay on his feet. The men dragged
Chandler into a nearby ally, and threw him against a brick wall. The three-on-one fight wasn't much of a fight at all. Minutes later,
the three men had Chandler's wallet, watch, wedding ring and briefcase, and Chandler was lying unconscious in a pool of blood.
*
Three days went by, and still no word from Chandler. Monica was beginning to get worried. No matter how big their fights were,
they never went more than a day without speaking. And Chandler was supposed to be back yesterday. She was starting to wonder
if he'd taken her words to heart. She decided to phone the hotel. She needed him to know that she didn't mean what she said.
*
One week after Chandler left for San Francisco, Monica received a call from the hotel. They were shipping Chandler's bags back to her,
because he had not returned to the hotel. The manager, upon questioning his staff, found that no one at the hotel had seen or heard
from her husband since the day after he'd checked into the hotel. Monica thanked the hotel manager, and placed the phone down on the coffee table.
She sank down onto the couch and stared at the phone, hoping that Chandler would call soon. Where could he be?
*
Anne picked up the chart, and flipped through the patient's history. No name, no contact information, no medical history.
She sighed, and looked over the unconscious mystery man. She was actually surprised he was still alive. A street cleaner had
found him a week and a half ago. When they brought him into the ER, he was almost diagnosed DOA. But he fought for his life,
and, miraculously enough, continued to hold on. She wondered who he was. Suddenly, the patient stirred, and for the first time
since his arrival, showed signs of life. He opened his eyes slowly, and looked up at her.
"Well, hello there," she said softly.
"Wh-where am I?" the stranger groaned.
"St. Mary's Medical Center. You know, you gave us quite a scare."
"What happened?"
"We, or rather, the SFPD, were hoping that you could tell us. Can you tell me your name?"
The stranger paused, furrowing his brow as if he were trying to remember something.
"I...don't know."
Anne closed his eyes, as her heart sank. She was afraid of that.
*
Over the next three days, Anne watched, while doctor after doctor came in, trying to help the John Doe regain his memory.
At the end of the fourth day, she came in at the end of her shift, to check on him. He was sitting up in his bed,
staring out the window, a blank expression on his bruised face. His dinner sat in fron of him, untouched.
"Not hungry?" she asked.
"Hi Anne. No, not really."
"Any breakthroughs today?"
"Actually, yes," he said, pointing at his chart.
Anne picked up the chart, and looked over the patient information.
"Jason Parker. Well, it's nice to meet you Jason."
"Nice to meet you."
"You don't seem very enthused about this breakthrough."
"I know, and I can't explain it. It's like, something isn't right. I don't know, maybe it's the pain medication," Jason laughed.
"Right, well, we'll just have to fix that," Anne joked.
"I just hope that I can regain all of my memories," Jason sighed.
"You experienced quite a trauma...I think you just need time."
"I hope you're right."
"Me too," Anne said to herself.
*
Ross walked into his little sister's apartment, and was happy to see that she was at least out of her bedroom.
She was sittling on the window seat, watching the rain fall.
"Hey Mon," Ross said softly, putting down the food that he'd brought her.
"Hey."
"How are ya feeling?"
"Same. Lost, sad, mad...you name the emotion, and I've felt it today."
"Mon, maybe it's time to accept that he is not coming back. You need to move on."
Monica looked at her brother menacingly.
"He's coming home. I am not giving up. And I can't believe that you just EXPECT me to move on!"
"Mon, calm down..."
"Just, get away from me Ross, please."
Ross dropped his head, and walked slowly out of the apartment. He felt horrible. Monica was going through hell, and there
was nothing anyone could do about it. Except Chandler. Where the hell was he? He was going to kick his ass the next time he
saw him. Or, maybe he'd have Joey kick his ass. Whatever, he hated him for doing this to Monica.
*
Two weeks later, Jason was released from the hospital. After the initial breakthrough, he had had no luck regaining his memory.
He walked out onto the busy San Francisco street, and had no idea what to do next. The hospital had given him some reference information
for a job, and an apartment. He decided that he'd better try to get his life together, even if it wasn't his own.
*
The days turned into weeks, the weeks into months, and the months, into years.
3 years had passed since Chandler left, but for Monica, it was as if she was stuck in some kind
of time warp. No matter how hard they tried, her friends could not get her to move on.
Their lives were constantly changing, and they wanted Monica to be a part of that.
They were running out of ideas.
*
Jason saw her at the lunch counter at SRO, Standing Room Only. it was a popular eatery in San Francisco's financial district, and one
that Jason frequented. He was able to make eye contact with the pretty brunette, and she smiled warmly.
"Hi," was all he could muster up the courage to say.
"Hi," She replied.
"I'm Chelsea," she said, after a long, and somewhat embarrassing silence.
"Jason."
"It's nice to meet you Jason."
*
It had been five years. Five years, and Monica still couldn't bring herself to go on a date.
She knew that her marriage was basically over. But this nagging feeling she had, this feeling that wouldn't go away,
kept her from taking that next crucial step in the healing process. She hated herself for loving Chandler so much,
and hated him for leaving her. She hated feeling this way. but she didn't know what else to do.
Rachel and Ross had stopped by with pizza, and they sat in the kitchen, talking quietly. They seemed to be closer than
ever, and it occured to Monica that they could be dating again, and she wouldn't have known it, she was so wrapped up in
her own miserable world. She looked up when she saw Joey and Pheobe come in. They both looked like they'd seen a ghost.
They whispered something to Ross and Rachel, and the four of them made their way to Monica.
"What's going on?" Monica asked calmly, though her heart was racing.
"It's um, Chandler." Joey stammered.
"He's here?" Monica said, her face lighting up for the forst time in ages.
"Not exactly. He is here, but it's not him."
"Joey," Rachel said, "You are not making any sense."
"He lost his memory or something. He has NO idea who we are. I ran into him purely by accident."
"He doesn't know any of us?" Monica said, tears welling up in her eyes.
"No. I ran into him and....Mon he has a girlfriend. He doesn't even know that he's married."
Monica swallowed hard. "I want to see him anyway."
"Mon," Ross protested, "It's not even really him."
"I want to see him."
*
(2008)
"This story is unbelievable," Pheobe said.
"It's like what happened to this chick Valarie on DOOL," Joey chimned in, "Except that it turned out she was actually a man named Bruce, and..."
"What?" Ross said.
"I can hardly believe any of it myself," Chandler said. "I feel like I have lost so much." He looked at Monica longingly.
Ross picked up on the hint, and stood up. "I think we should get going."
The others also noticed the tension between Chandler and Monica, and they slowly made their way out of the apartment.
When the door closed, Chandler turned and looked at Monica.
"I don't even know where to begin."
"Me either."
"I...should probably get baby Monica home," he said quietly.
"Okay. Chandler?"
"Yeah."
"I never gave up hope that you'd come back."
"I know."
"Where do we go from here?"
"I don't know. I feel like I am walking into a theatre halfway through a movie. Everything is the same, and yet it's so..."
"You've been through a lot Chandler, maybe we should just..."
"You've been through a lot too, Mon. Man, if only I hadn't taken that trip..."
"This isn't you're fault. And besides, if none of this woulda happened you wouldn't have your daughter."
"I hate myself for hurting you."
"Chandler," Monica took her ex-husband's hands in hers, "I don't blame you. I only blame those bastards that did this to you."
Chandler closed his eyes, but it didn't stop the tears from flowing down his face.
"Whatever we have ahead of us, Chandler, we can get through it together."
"I'm counting on that," Chandler whispered, "you are my strength Monica."
Now Monica was crying too. "And you are mine."
"Two Hearts"
No stars in the sky
The night seems so dark around you
You won't say a word
And wonder why no one's found you
Waiting for love
Praying for love again
Love's a heavy weight
Give it to me, don't hesitate
Love's a heavy thing
Heavy for one heart to bring me your love
Give me your love again
It's not your fault
One heart can never win
It takes
Two hearts
Two hearts just to hold love
Two hearts
Two hearts just to hold your love
Your love
And if your heart should ache
Remember me
And if your heart should break
Two hearts
Two hearts they can mend it
Heartache
Heartaches can be ended by love
By love
Love's a heavy weight
Give to me don't hesitate
Love's a heavy thing
And heavy for one heart to bring me your love
Give me your love again
It's not too late
One heart can never win
It takes two hearts
Two hearts just to hold love
Two hearts
Two hearts just to hold your love
Your love
*
Chandler and Monica stood in the center of the room, staring into each others eyes, drawing on each others' strength.
Chandler thought about everything that had happened, and was surprised and elated that he still felt the same love and
devotion for Monica that he did the day they were married. He hoped she felt the same way.
"Monica," Chandler said softly, "I want to marry you."
"Are you re-proposing?"
"I am."
"Well, I want to marry you too."
Chandler smiled. He was getting his life back. He closed his eyes, and held Monica in his arms. He could now see clearly
every detail of the day they had first been married. He was standing in the center of a beautiful room, surrounded by friends
and family. And the love of his life, dressed in white, walked toward him. It wasn't a dream. It was the best day of his life.
"Two Hearts" words and music by Chris Isaak, from the 1993 cd "San Francisco Days"
REVIEW!!!!!!
