While I will allow my fic to stand without
introduction, I have to take this time to thank Ashlee for her assistance.
Luckily, she puts up with my nit pickiness over every little sentence. Thanks
for listening, Ash!
TOW the Path
Chandler hung
up the phone and practically fell into the kitchen chair. His eyes locked on the phone as his mind
tried to focus on what he had just heard.
Monica had put their names in at the museum for their wedding. Their wedding. His and Monica's. Monica
and him. Married. The stunned expression left Chandler's face
to be replaced by a smile. Then the
smile broadened and, jumping off the chair, Chandler laughed. Monica wanted to get married. To him.
Of course, he had known that Monica wanted to get married…some day. What he hadn't known was when they would be
ready. He had assumed that, like all
the other steps of their relationship, when the time came everything would just
fall into place. That there would be a
sign. Well, if this wasn't a sign, he didn't
know what was. Monica had put their
name in for a wedding. Sure, the museum
lady had told him that usually it took a couple of years before a time was
available, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that Monica was thinking
about marriage, about being married to him, right now.
Right
now. Chandler walked over to his
recliner and sat down automatically pulling on the lever to elevate his
feet. Marriage wasn't something to rush
into. They had both agreed on that
after the Vegas incident. But it had
been almost a year since Vegas, a year since he had moved in. Chandler looked around the room. It hadn't changed much; a few of Rachel's
things gone and a few of his scattered around the room. Except for his chair, it might as well be
that he didn't live there at all. Yet
it felt like home to him. His and
Monica's home. In fact, he was proud of
their home; proud that Monica kept it all looking so good and proud that he
helped her. Chandler's first real home
had been with Joey in their place, but even that hadn't felt as right as it did
here. His life was complete. He thought
of Joey as his brother and Monica as his…wife.
They were a family, in all but name.
He wanted it to be official. He
wanted Monica to be his family, his wife.
Chandler
walked down the street, his hands in his pockets, a huge smile on his
face. He was on his way to a jewelry
store. He didn't know a thing about
engagement rings but he was certain the store would have something he could
read.
I wonder how much an engagement
ring costs? I know I'm supposed to
spend two months salary. Is that before
or after taxes? Better make it before. I wonder if that will be enough? I want a big ring. A big, big ring.
Something that won't be missed.
So everyone knows Monica is engaged.
I wonder if anyone has hit on her since we've been dating? I'm sure someone has. She is so hot.
Chandler thought about the previous
night. He had had a lousy day at work
and was an hour late getting home. As
soon as he walked in the door Monica had made him feel better. She hadn't done anything special. Just welcomed him home and told him she had
set aside dinner for them until he got home.
But once again she made him feel like the luckiest man alive. Chandler realized that when he was at work
he looked forward to going home. Not
because he hated his job but because he wanted to be with Monica. At their place. Their home. That was the
difference. Apartment 20 may not look
much different than it did a year ago, but it was different. It was his home. It was their home.
Smiling to himself, Chandler entered the jewelry store.
A half hour later Chandler returned
to the apartment. Monica still wasn't
home. He sat at the kitchen table and
started looking through the brochures.
He had never known there were so many different types of engagement
rings. This would take some serious
thinking. He had never before and would
never again buy anything as important as this.
Deciding to retire to the "thinking" room, Chandler gathered up the
brochures and headed to the bathroom.
If Monica came home, he didn't want her to see them. Half way through the second brochure, he
heard the front door open and close.
Panicked, he tried to find a place to hide all the brochures. Where could he hide them?
"Monica?" Opening the door, Phoebe came in just as Chandler was shoving the
brochures in the hamper.
"Phoebe!"
"Oh Chandler! I'm so sorry." Phoebe turned around quickly.
"What are you doing?" Chandler
asked indignantly.
"I was looking for Monica. I'm sorry."
Phoebe was blushing a little, but was glad that Chandler couldn't see
her. He would make fun of her in front
of the rest if he saw her blushing, even at the expense of himself.
Keeping his patience firmly in
hand, Chandler asked, "Could you leave please?"
"Oh, sorry, sorry." Phoebe left, closing the door behind
her. Sighing, Chandler gathered the
brochures, pulled up his pants and shoved them in his back pocket. Maybe Phoebe hadn't seen them.
"Chandler, what were you doing in
there?" Phoebe asked.
"If you can't guess I don't think I
want to explain it to you."
"No, no, not that." She was blushing again, but so was he. "What were you looking at?"
"Looking at? Looking at?
I wasn't looking at anything, nothing at all." Damn! She had seen. Now what?
"Yes, you were. What's going on?"
Chandler knew he would have to
tell. He was never able to keep other
people's secrets, let alone one of his own.
"OK, but don't tell anyone. It's
a big, big secret."
"Oh, sounds intriguing. I must know the Big Secret." Phoebe put her hand over her heart and
raised the other. "I promise not to
tell the Big Secret."
Chandler pulled the brochures out
of his pocket. "I'm going to ask Monica
to marry me."
"Oh Chandler. That's wonderful and about time too. We were beginning to wonder how much longer
it was going to be and if you would crack before Monica."
"Crack?"
"We figured if you didn't break
down and ask soon Monica would get tired of waiting and ask you."
Chandler grinned. "Then I'm glad I beat her to it. Seriously Pheebs. I want this to be a surprise and if too many of us know, Mon is
sure to find out."
"I won't tell anyone. It will be nice to be the first one to know
for once."
"Thanks. Now you had better go. Monica
will be here any second and she may get suspicious if she sees us talking."
"Why would she get suspicious?"
Phoebe asked.
"Because the museum called and left
a message saying that it was available for our wedding."
"Oh no!"
"Yeah, and I would like to see the
place so I was wondering if you could call and set up an appointment for me."
"Oh yeah! I get to be a part of the Big Secret. I'll do it!" Phoebe
picked up the phone and began to dial.
"Uh, Pheebs?" Chandler makes a go away gesture at her.
"Oh right, sorry. I'll just go down to Central Perk and call
from there."
Chandler sat down heavily in the
kitchen chair. He shoved the brochures
back into his pocket. Monica could be
home any second. Leaning back in the
chair, he let his eyes wander around the room as he tried to calm himself
down. Monica would know something was
up if she came in with him so on edge.
If he was going to surprise her, he had to act normal. But how could he act normal knowing that he
was about to propose? As his eyes passed
over the phone, an idea formed in his mind.
He wouldn't have to act normal.
He could act strangely, and
she wouldn't be in the least suspicious.
The message from the museum was the key. When he heard the rattle of the doorknob, he blanked his expression
as best he could.
"Hi, honey." Monica smiled at
Chandler, happy to be home.
Chandler repressed the smile that
threatened to break out and got up out of the chair. He had to get out of there.
He wasn't ready to face Monica with a straight face. "See you later."
"What? I bought groceries, I was
going to make you dinner." Monica
looked so confused that his smile threatened to surface again.
"Well next time ask!" Was she suspicious? Did he sound freaked out? He had forgotten to erase the message on the
answering machine in his excitement.
When Monica heard it, she would think she understood why he was so
upset. Once again, being lazy had paid
off. "Or at least wait for me to
ask!" Slamming the door behind him,
Chandler's grin escaped at last, along with a chuckle. The stunned look on her face had been
priceless. Walking down the hall, he
wondered what his wedding day would be like.
Imagining Monica in a wedding dress, he headed to Central Perk to meet
up with Phoebe.
"It's perfect." Chandler looked
around the room. No wonder Monica had
signed up to have their wedding here.
"I can see it now the ceremony will take place under this big beautiful
arch and the aisle will go right here."
Chandler's sweeping arms drew out the lines of the imagined
wedding.
Heldi raised her eyebrows and shook
her head. That was not what she would
have done, but it was exactly what that loudmouthed woman had wanted. "They deserve each other," she mumbled to
herself.
Lying in
bed, Chandler tried to calm himself down.
So he hadn't been able to propose that night. So Richard has shown up and ruined everything. So what?
He had a plan that would prevent Monica from figuring out what he was
about to do. Everything was going to be
fine. Right? If that were true, then why couldn't he get rid of the feeling
that he had blown his chance? Snuggling
closer to Monica, Chandler sought the comfort only she gave him.
Feeling
Chandler snuggling close to her Monica tried to forget about what had happened
at the restaurant. She had been
surprised to see Richard but even more surprised by how she had felt. Seeing Richard had reminded her how close
she had once come to her dream of a family.
Reminded her of how badly she wanted that dream. She had cut things off with Richard when it
became apparent that he could not or would not give her what she wanted –
children. She had been with Chandler
for two years now and she loved him with all of her heart. But would he give her
what she wanted? She knew he would happily
spend the rest of his life with her; but what about children? Would her relationship with Chandler end the
same as her relationship with Richard?
Snuggling closer to Chandler, Monica sought the comfort only he gave
her.
Chandler
smiled and leaned back into the couch at Central Perk. The plan was going along smoothly. Monica would be completely surprised when he
popped the question. He didn't know
what he had been so worried about.
As Monica
left the pizza shop, she felt like crying.
She couldn't understand what was going on. First, Chandler had brought up how unnecessary marriage was at
Central Perk and now...what was he doing to her? Didn't he know how confused she was? No. Of course he didn't
know. She hadn't told him about
Richard's proposal. Maybe she
should. Maybe if he knew about Richard
he wouldn't be talking crazy. Maybe she
should remind him about how she felt about marriage; how important it was to
her. Or maybe she should talk to
Richard about it. He had understood how
important family was to her. Maybe that
would help her sort things out in her mind, make things clear. Because right now, nothing was clear.
Monica's
mind was awhirl as she left Richard's apartment. She still wasn't sure why she had gone there in the first
place. Chandler had been acting so
strange lately. What was wrong with
him? A few nights ago they had been in
bed talking about the future and today he had told her he never wanted to get
married. She didn't care what Joey
said, something had changed, but what?
Once again Monica reviewed the past few days. Nothing out of the ordinary had occurred except the phone call
from the museum. However, now that she
thought about it, that is when Chandler started his strange behavior. He had told her then that he was fine with
that situation. He said he understood
that she hadn't meant to pressure him.
Had he lied to her? Did he feel
she was trying to pressure him and this was his way of rebelling against the
pressure? No, Monica didn't believe
that. Chandler had meant it when he had
told her he was not going to freak out.
She was sure of that. Monica
thought about the night they had met Richard; the night that had eventually led
her to see him today. She thought that
Chandler had been acting particularly strange that night. As if he had something important on his mind
that he wanted to tell her. But he had
never got the chance because she had called Richard over. Why had she done that? Because she had been afraid of what Chandler
was going to say. He had seemed very
nervous and Monica knew he got like that whenever he had something to say that
was bad. Chandler hated hurting
people's feelings so he avoided such conversations as long as possible. She didn't want to hear what he was going to
say; she had been sure it was going to be bad.
But how bad was it? Surely he
didn't want to end things, not over such a silly misunderstanding. Did he?
Maybe he had realized he would never want to get married. That is what he had said at the pizzeria. Maybe the whole "pig story" had been his way
of trying to approach the subject.
Monica shivered, but it had nothing to do with the weather.
She and
Chandler had almost gotten married in Vegas.
When they got back they had both decided the time wasn't right. But ever since the night Chandler had asked
to move in they had spoken about marriage.
Not every night, but the longer they had been together the more
frequently it was brought up and she wasn't always the one to bring it up. He was always so casual about it too, as
though it was assumed that they would be getting married. As if he had already asked. Monica paused and thought about that. Chandler behaved as if they were already
engaged. So why did he freak out over
the museum thing?
She was back
where she had started. Her arguments
went in circles. Because Chandler's
behavior made no sense and you can't make sense of nonsense. I'm just going to have to talk to him, come
straight out and ask. Face whatever the
problem is and deal with it. But
please, oh please, don't let it be that he doesn't want me anymore.
Standing
before the door to her apartment, Monica gathered the courage to go in and face
Chandler. Taking one last deep breath,
she reached for the handle and opened the door. Walking in, she was almost jumped on by Joey.
"Monica! Where have you been? Did Chandler find you? Were you at Richard's? Did he..."
Monica jumped in when Joey paused to take a breath.
"Joey, Joey
slow down! Did you just ask if Chandler
find me?" Find me? Why would Chandler be looking for me?
"Yeah, I
told him about Richard and…"
"You did
what?!? Joey, what did he say? What did he do? Joey, I…" Tears started
down Monica's cheeks as she imagined what Chandler must be going through. If he knew Richard has proposed and he
suspected she was with Richard… If he
thought that he must think she had decided to leave him for Richard. Suddenly Monica thought she knew why
Chandler had been acting so strangely.
He was worried about Richard.
"Monica. Monica.
Monica!" Monica cleared her mind
and looked into Joey's worried face.
"You didn't accept Richard's proposal, did you? You aren't leaving Chandler, are you? Because Monica, I don't know if he would
want me to tell you this, but I have to.
Chandler wants to marry you. He
was going to propose the night Richard showed up. Monica, tell me you didn't say yes to Richard."
"He was
going to propose that night?" The words
came out in a whisper from Monica's tear stained face. "Oh no, no, no." Monica lowered her head in her hands and began to cry
harder. What had she done? She had thought she had understood why
Chandler had been acting so strangely, but now she knew for sure. He had decided to marry her and she had
turned away from him and toward Richard in her confusion. Why had she done that?
"Monica? Chandler loves you. He loves you more than anything. Please tell me you are not about to break
his heart. Tell me you didn't pick
Richard."
"No
Joey. I didn't pick Richard. I love Chandler with all my heart. But I'm afraid I've hurt him so much."
"That's
great." Joey grinned at her. "Then all we need to do is wait here for
Chandler to come home. When he does you
can tell him you love him, he'll ask you to marry him and everything will be
fine."
"No Joey,
that's not enough. He knows I went to
Richard and he's going to doubt me. No,
this calls for something big." Monica
thought for a second. "Joey, go get
every candle you have in your apartment and bring it over."
"What are
you going to do?" Joey was glad that
Monica wasn't going to leave Chandler.
He knew that Chandler would have been devastated if Monica left
him. It would have made the Ross and
Rachel mess seem like a day at the beach in comparison. Except this time, he knew he would blame
Monica and Monica alone. He knew how
much Chandler loved Monica, and he would not have been able to forgive Monica
for breaking his best friend's heart.
"I'm going
to show Chandler that I want to marry him just as much as he wants to marry
me." Monica was relieved. She had been worried that she had blown her
chance of happiness with Chandler. Now
she knew she hadn't.
"How are
you going to do that?"
"I'm going
to propose." Chandler had to know that
Richard was the farthest thing from her mind.
What better way to do that than to let him know that he was the most
important person in her life; the number one thing on her mind?
"Do you
have a ring too?" Joey was just
confused now. How could both Monica and
Chandler propose?
"Joe, just
go get the candles." Monica began to
pull all of her candles out of the candle drawer and began to plan exactly how
she would place them in the room.
Everything had to be perfect.
Chandler deserved only the best and that was exactly what she would give
him. Her best.
Between
Joey and Monica they managed to flood the apartment with candlelight.
"OK Joey,
you know what you are supposed to do, right?"
"Yeah, I
wait to hear Chandler coming up the stairs and distract him long enough for you
to get into position."
"Good, now
don't scare him too much but make sure he doesn't suspect anything either. I want this to be a surprise."
Joey
grinned. "I'm sure he'll be surprised."
Monica
smiled back. The time had come. She was
about to get everything she had ever dreamed of. A perfect wedding. A
perfect man. The outcome was
certain. She just had to ask.
As Chandler
walked up the stairs to Richard's apartment, he tried to think of what he was
going to say. What could he say? If Monica were there… Please, let Monica not be there. Let this just be another one of his stupid
mistakes. But what if she were? This is one time he wasn't going to back
down. He would to fight for her; fight
for them.
Chandler
flew out of Richard's apartment, taking the stairs two and three at a
time. He ran to the subway and jumped
aboard. Reality slowly sunk in as he
waited for the sub to reach his station.
Monica said she had to think things through. What if she decided she wanted Richard? What if she decided she wanted a successful, good looking,
mature, responsible man instead of a fumbling fool? What if she realized how much better Richard was and how good her
life would be with him? No, Monica
loved him, any thinking she had to do would lead her to the conclusion that
they were meant to be together. They
had been walking down the same path together since London and that had not
changed. He would find her, he would
propose, she would say yes. It was that
simple. Undeterred by his momentary
doubts, Chandler hurried to his apartment building and took the stairs once at
a time. The outcome was certain. He just had to ask.