PART THREE IS HERE... THANKS FOR THE FEEDBACK, REVIEWER-PEOPLE! C'MON EVERYONE... JOIN THE RANKS... REVIEWING IS FUN! ANYWAY... MOVING RIGHT ALONG... HERE'S THE NEXT PART OF "A LOVE AGAINST ALL ODDS." BY THE WAY, I HOPE EVERYONE ENJOYED THE WEDDING!! (AND I'LL TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SAY, A LA JANICE, "OH... MY... GAWD.")

"So, both of you, how was the Delaneys' party?" Jack asked the next morning as the Gellers sat down to breakfast.
"Oh, wonderful," Monica said dryly as she buttered a piece of toast.
"It was quite good, actually," Ross answered. "Almost everyone was there."
"Yes, well, I wouldn't expect less of a party thrown by Charlotte Delaney," Judy commented. As Nora served scrambled eggs onto everyone's plate, Jack turned to Chandler, who was getting a glass of water from the sink.
"Thank you again for collecting Monica last night, Chandler."
"Oh, it's no problem, sir. None at all." As Jack returned to his breakfast, Chandler stole a glance at Monica, who was in turn looking shyly at him, a small smile playing on her lips. He grinned in return, gazing at her for a moment before reluctantly tearing his eyes away from her beautiful face. As he emptied his glass and rinsed it in the sink, he heard Jack speak up once again.
"So, Chandler." He turned, drying his hands on a dishtowel.
"Yes, sir?"
"I've been having some problems with the drainage on the land, and John told me that you managed to dig a trench that helped his irrigation tremendously. Do you think you could find a way to do the same here?" After a thoughtful moment, Chandler nodded slowly.
"Yes, sir, I think I could do that. Your property is quite a bit like Mr. Delaney's, in fact, so I think that the same type of idea would probably work quite well."
"Ah. Thank you, that would be great." Chandler nodded again and returned the dishtowel to the kitchen counter as he quickly kissed his mother on the cheek. He stole one more furtive glance at Monica before he exited and, when he noted that no one else was paying attention, he winked at her quickly and grinned. She smiled back as he left, quickly sobering as she noticed her father looking at her and she suddenly became very interested in her breakfast plate.

As he dug methodically, Chandler allowed his mind to return to the events of the night before. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and his heart was one of emotions. While there was absolutely no doubt that he was glad about what happened, he couldn't help the feelings of apprehension and the notion that, sooner or later, it would all blow up. Monica was a Geller, and he most certainly was not of such status. Girls like her married men like Peter Becker ... not once had he heard of a situation like theirs ending happily. He remembered how ardently she had declared that she wouldn't ever marry Peter Becker, but, sadly, Chandler knew that she had little if any say in such a matter. Monica would marry more or less who her parents told her to marry, and her wishes would be ignored. He sighed, frustrated, and wiped the sweat from his brow as he leaned against his shovel for a momentary breather. Regardless of the fact that he knew that he had no real chance with Monica, he couldn't help the hope that lingered from the kiss they had shared. Kissing her had simply felt right, and it had felt as though all of the passion that he knew was in him had suddenly been freed. He picked up the shovel once more and continued digging, feeling his muscles aching slightly. He wondered if there was any way that the situation could end happily; after all, he was fairly certain that he was falling head over heels in love with Monica Geller and, while he told himself that it was foolish to do so, he couldn't help hoping for the chance to make her happy.

"Hello." Chandler grinned as he saw the increasingly familiar sight of Monica's face on the other side of his door, illuminated by the lantern she held.
"Need a new book?" he asked as he noticed that she had one tucked under her arm. She nodded and his smile widened as he held the door open for her.
"Have you read this one before?" she asked as she extended her book toward him.
"The Iliad," he read. "Actually, no." She smiled. "Thank you." She nodded and he indicated toward his bookshelf. After she had found one that she liked, she turned to face him once again, her smile teasing him as the gentle glow of the lantern flame danced across her delicate features. He took a step toward her, almost as though a force had pulled him in closer. She smiled and dropped her gaze as she shyly stared at her hands. He took another step toward her and gently lifted her chin. As clear blue matched clear blue, he broke the silence that occupied the space between them. "Do you even realize what's happened?" She simply looked at him intently, waiting for him to continue. He sighed and paused as he gently caressed her cheek. "I'm in love with you." She smiled, a smile of happiness, relief, and warmth.
"I'm in love with you, too," she replied in a whisper, and he let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and smiled. "We're in trouble now." He merely nodded and leaned in to kiss her. She almost sighed as their lips met and she felt his strong arms wrap gently around her. It was almost as though her life was stagnant when they were apart, but in the moment their lips touched, the world offered a new and exciting dimension. Nothing had ever felt so right to her as kissing him, and she found that she could quite easily lose herself in those kisses and in the safety and comfort that his arms provided. She reluctantly broke the kiss and gazed up at him. She pecked him once more on the mouth and smiled timidly. "Goodnight, Chandler," she whispered.
"'Night, Mon," he answered as he watched her leave his room. He sighed and sat down on his bed, his hands on his knees and his head in his hands. "Good God, what have I gotten myself into?"

As she crept through the kitchen on her way toward the stairs, Monica paused momentarily and cast a glance around, feeling as though she were being watched. Seeing no one, she sighed and shivered slightly as she made her way toward the stairs. She'd hardly ever sneaked around, and doing so was starting to make her paranoid.

Chandler looked up, surprised, when he heard a timid knock on his door. He figured it was Monica and wondered what she wanted. He momentarily imagined her spending the night with him, and immediately scolded himself for thinking of her in such a manner. Monica was a lady and, despite the strong feelings that he now knew they had for each other, he wouldn't allow himself to disrespect her in any way. "Mom?" He frowned in surprise and confusion when he saw Nora standing on the other side of his door. "Is everything okay?" He silenced when he noticed her looking at him sternly. "What did I do?" She entered his room and closed the door quietly behind her.
"What do you think you're doing?" Chandler stared at her, baffled.
"What?" She sighed and sat on the edge of his bed.
"Sweetheart, what's going on with you and Miss Geller?" Chandler snorted.
"Nothing, I barely see the woman except at breakfast and when she sends me to get something from the market. Why?" Nora sighed.
"No, not MRS. Geller. MISS Geller." Chandler's expression changed as he registered what she meant.
"Oh, you mean Moni-- MISS Geller. I get it. Uh, what do you mean, 'What's going on?'"
"I mean why did I just see her leaving your bedroom in the dead of night? Son, tell me that you're not... not with the daughter of the man we WORK for..."
"Mother." Chandler cut her off and held up his hand. "She was here for a book."
"A book?"
"Yes, a book. We trade books."
"Ah." Nora nodded, but looked at him closely as she remained silent for a moment. "And that's all you're doing with her?" Chandler avoided her gaze as he tried to find a way to avoid telling her the truth without lying to her. He'd never lied to his mother in his life, and he knew that she could read him like a book. "Chandler..." He looked up, recognizing the motherly tone of voice she was using, and the sheepish look on his face more or less gave him away.
"I love her," he said quietly after a moment. "I'm in love with her." Nora sighed as he sat next to her on his bed.
"Look, sweetheart, I know she's beautiful, and she's rich, but you know as well as I do--"
"It's not like that," Chandler interrupted. "I love her, and she loves me back." Before Nora could interrupt, he continued. "And I don't love her because she's beautiful and rich. I mean sure, she is beautiful, and I know it and I love that about her, but she's so much more than that. She's smart, and she's passionate, and she's... well, she's everything. And this isn't just some admiration from afar. She loves me, too." Nora looked at him skeptically.
"What makes you think that?"
"Because she told me so," he replied defensively. "I love her and she loves me." Nora sighed again.
"Chandler, I realize how serious this is to you, apparently, but try and be realistic here. You know as well as I do that there are certain things that just don't happen. People like us don't marry people like them. It just doesn't happen."
"Just because it doesn't isn't to say that it can't," he retorted. Nora put her hand to her son's cheek and looked at him sadly.
"Sweetheart, you've got a good heart, and any girl would be lucky to have you. But it's just a fact of life that people don't... inter-marry. I don't want you to think that I'm trying to tell you who to love, but I do want you to remain realistic about your life. I don't want you to get hurt, and I don't want there to be trouble."
"I know Mom. Don't worry, I'll be fine. Everything will be fine."
"Chandler, listen to me. I don't know how long this has been going on, or even exactly WHAT is going on, but please... just stop whatever it is. Nothing good can come of it."
"Something good already has," he replied, gazing at his bedside lantern. "I'm in love." Nora stared at her son's profile as she felt the helplessness of a mother whose son has found the ability and the determination to lead his own life and to think for himself. She sighed as she rose, knowing all too well that her son's newfound "love" would undoubtedly lead to nothing less than disaster.

"Chandler?" Monica opened the door slightly to let him in her room so that her parents wouldn't hear them whispering in the hallway.
"Hi," he said softly.
"Everything okay?"
"Oh, yeah, everything's fine. I just... well, I didn't think you would have fallen asleep quite yet, so I thought I'd ask... I'm going to go for one of my nighttime walks, and I just wanted to ask if you'd care to join me." She was silent for a moment before a smile broke out across her face.
"Really?" He grinned.
"Really."
"Yes, of course, I'd love to. Let me just change and I'll meet you outside, all right?" Chandler nodded and quickly and quietly left her room, tiptoeing down the stairs and silently stepping outside the front door. After a few minutes, he heard a rustling noise from above him and he squinted into the darkness, not quite believing what he saw. There, making her way down a rather large tree, was Monica Geller. Proper, refined, classy Monica Geller was shimmying her way down an oak tree with the skill of a chimpanzee. She effortlessly dropped to the ground a few feet away from him and absentmindedly smoothed the front of her frock. When she noticed him staring at her, the surprised expression on his face, she grinned mischievously at him and nodded toward the gate at the edge of their property. He wordlessly followed her until they were off her father's land.
"I can't believe I just saw that."
"What?" she asked innocently, her blue eyes shining in the moonlight.
"You just... you actually climbed down a tree. In the dead of night."
"Yes, well, I couldn't very well just walk out the front door and expect to be able to walk right back in, could I? This way I don't have to worry about someone being up when we get back. I can simply climb back in my window and no one will ever have to know I was gone." Chandler simply shook his head, knowing that anything he said would be dismissed.
"Anywhere in particular that you want to go?" he asked, facing forward. After a momentary pause, Monica looked at him shyly.
"Take me back to the place we went last time?" He looked at her for a moment, almost as though he were determining whether or not she deserved to have her request fulfilled. He then sighed and shrugged nonchalantly.
"I suppose I could do that," he said, forcing himself not to smile. "I mean, it gets kind of boring after awhile... all the girls I take there every week..." He trailed off as she spun to face him, and his solemn expression was becoming harder and harder to maintain.
"Chandler Bing--" she began, trying to harness her jealousy but failing miserably.
"I'm only teasing, Mon," he said gently. He watched in amusement as her enraged expression gave way to a meek one. She turned haughtily and took a few steps away from him before she felt his hand take hold of hers as he fell in step beside her.
They walked in silence to the spot he'd shown her last time and as the warm June breeze washed over them, Monica sighed. She gazed out over the dark water, loving the freedom she felt at being out after dark with Chandler. She suddenly turned to face him, her expression a mix of curiosity, jealousy, and timidity.
"Chandler?"
"Yes?" She was thoughtfully silent for a moment before she continued.
"HAVE you ever brought other girls here?" He forced himself to suppress the grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth as he turned to face her. He remained silent, knowing that it was torturing her. He found that he almost liked the fact that she was jealous.
"Envious?"
"No," she retorted hotly. "Curious."
"Monica--"
"All right, I'm jealous. Okay? I just want to know what I'm up against, is that really such an unreasonable demand?"
"No."
"Thank you."
"No, I mean no."
"No?"
"No. I've never brought other girls here. I've never brought anyone here. Except you." Monica couldn't help the smile that spread as a surge of satisfaction and relief took over her.
"Really?" He grinned back, loving the way she was making him feel -- wanted.
"Really." She sighed, contented, and she looked down at her fingers that were laced together with his. After a thoughtful silence, he spoke again. "Monica?"
"Hm?"
"I uh..." He stammered as he tried to articulate the thoughts that occupied his mind and paused, taking a deep breath. "Look, there's something that I want to say to you, and I'm going to mess it up, but just let me get it all out, okay?" She looked into his eyes, a nervous feeling taking over her. She simply nodded, waiting for him to continue. "Okay, um... look, I know that we're in some trouble here. I know that what we're doing is wrong, and I know that you know it as well, and yet I can't help myself. When I'm around you, it's like I lose touch with reality because you transport me to this... other place where all I can think about is you. And I don't want you to think..." He paused and sighed, raking his hand through his hair. Monica smiled absently as she noticed his endearing habit, but sobered when he spoke once again. "Basically, what I'm saying is... we come from two different worlds. You're used to people like Peter Becker treating you like... well, treating you how you deserve to be treated. I just want you to know that... I realize that I don't treat you like those types of men treat you, but I want you to know that it doesn't mean that I don't respect you. I do, I respect you, and I want to treat you like a lady, the way you deserve to be treated. I just... I don't exactly know how to treat you like that because I can't exactly show up at one of your parties and discuss Dickens and Thoreau and expect people to be okay with it--" He was cut off by a deep kiss, a kiss that pleasantly surprised him. She pulled away quickly and looked into his eyes firmly.
"If I liked the way they treated me, I'd be with one of them. But I'm not. I'm with you. I love the way you treat me, and I love the way you make me feel. They don't make me feel like a lady, they make me feel like an ornament... something that exists only to stand in the background and make them look that little bit better. I don't want that. I want you." Surprised at her outburst, Chandler stroked her cheek softly, as if touching her would convince him further. She looked into his eyes, concerned. "Okay?" He nodded slowly and kissed her gently.
"I just... I was just worried that you'd think I was treating you... improperly. I mean, it's just not really right... my stealing you away from your room in the dead of night, kissing you by a river... it sounds like something out of a book, not real life." She placed her hands on his cheeks reassuringly.
"All my life I've wanted to be a character in a book." She smiled and he grinned, his worries fading slightly as he kissed her again. She pulled away suddenly and looked at him, an impish grin on her face. "How warm do you think it is?" Chandler frowned slightly, wondering where her question was leading.
"I don't know," he said, looking at the sky. "About seventy-five?" She smiled again.
"What about the water?" His eyes narrowed as he registered what she was implying.
"Probably about sixty-five by now, why?" She grinned.
"I haven't swam in a river since I was five."
"Okay," he said uneasily. "Let's leave it that way." Taking her for a walk at night was one thing... allowing her to swim in a river was quite another, and even he wasn't naive enough to think it was acceptable.
"Come on, Chandler, don't you think it would be fun?" He stared at her curiously. Her concerns regarding her proper upbringing seemed to have flown out the window, and while he loved her wild spirit, he couldn't help the apprehension that lurked in the back of his mind.
"Fun, yes. Smart, no."
"Since when do we do the smart thing?" she asked quietly. She looked at him carefully, suddenly nervous. Recognizing her apprehension, he smiled.
"Good point. There, uh... is a problem, though." She raised her eyebrows questioningly. "We're somewhat lacking in the swimwear department. Neither of us have suits."
"We can improvise," she said with a smile. "Turn your back for a moment." He did as he was told, his mind racing, his heart pounding. After a few moments, she told him to turn and as he did so his eyes widened. He thought he'd been surprised when she clambered down a tree, but seeing her swimming in a river in nothing more than her white cotton underdress almost threw him into shock.
As she treaded water, Monica felt her whole body shaking, more with nerves than cold. The water was actually quite warm, and she knew that the risks she was taking were what caused her to tremble. Two short months ago she would have been horrified at the thought of swimming in a river, let alone swimming in a river half-clothed at night with a man. Still, despite the fears and the nagging doubts that gnawed at her consciousness, her heart had taken control and her brain was in the backseat for once. She watched nervously as Chandler stared at her and then slowly removed his pants and shirt, leaving him in only his shorts. Her mind momentarily flickered to the night she'd helped him clean the scratch on his back and she'd seen him without his shirt. He stared at her uncertainly as he stood on the bank, not wanting to do anything that would make her uncomfortable. She waved him in, and he waded in slowly, getting closer to her with each step. After a few more paces he was up to his chest in the water and was a short five feet away from her. She smiled at him, and he recognized it as the smile he'd come to know even better in the past hour -- it was the smile, he realized, that she wore when she was truly happy. The smile that took over when she threw aside the restraints that had confined her since she was old enough to understand what was "proper." He grinned back, suddenly forgetting the anxiety that had clouded his mind since she'd suggested the swim. He took two more steps so that they were close enough to be touching, yet they remained apart. He looked into her eyes and found himself falling even more in love with her when he saw the new and uncontrolled blaze within them. He reached up and gently tucked behind her ear a damp strand of hair that had fallen from her bun. At his touch she shivered slightly. The thrill of being so close to him and in such a precarious and new situation took over her and she was suddenly struck shy. He smiled as he recognized the timidity return, if only slightly, and he leaned in to kiss her. The increasingly familiar feel of his lips against hers both comforted her and further thrilled her, and she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back. As they remained in the tight embrace, the kiss deepened and Monica felt a new sensation taking over her. While they had kissed a number of times, it was suddenly more passionate and more intense. She felt his tongue gently tracing her lips, and yet another rush washed over her as she parted her lips and welcomed the new sensation of his tongue exploring her mouth. Never in her life had she experienced something so powerful and as she kissed him back she knew that her love for him would either save her or kill her.

"Where have you been?" Monica jumped as the lights suddenly brightened her room. She stared at the figure by the light switch as she guiltily lowered herself from her windowsill. Her mother's irate voice had sent a chill down her spine and she stood by the window silently, wondering what on earth she could come up with to hide the truth. "I said WHERE have you BEEN?"
"I went for a walk," she said meekly.
"A WALK?" her mother repeated, incredulously. "It's two o'clock in the morning!" Monica remained silent, knowing that nothing she could say would possibly help the situation. "And I suppose the fact that Chandler just walked in the front door is merely a coincidence?" Monica's head snapped up and Judy's mouth returned to the straight line it had been when she'd first demanded an explanation. "What do you think you are DOING? What will people SAY? He's the hired HELP, for God's sake!"
"I don't care what people say!" Monica cried, suddenly infuriated. "And he's not just 'the hired help!'"
"It's a good thing you'll be married off by the end of the year," Judy said coldly. "I can't deal with this for much longer. I will NOT have you disrespecting me like this."
"I will NOT marry Peter Becker," Monica said icily. Judy snorted.
"Oh, Monica, when will you realize that this is for your own good?"
"Marrying someone I don't love can NEVER be for my own good," she said.
"Love isn't an option," Judy said coldly.
"Oh, yes it is," she said angrily, suddenly not caring how angry her mother got. "I found it, and there's no way I'm letting it go. I refuse to be in a cold and loveless marriage like yours. You can't take away what I've found." Judy's face hardened and she glared at her daughter.
"Well, we'll just see about that, won't we? You think you love this poor boy? I forbid you to see him, and as far as I'm concerned, he's fired. You had better learn to deal with disappointment because there's no way he'll be hired in this town or in any other nearby once they hear what a rogue he is. We were going to let you wait to be married until the end of the year, but as far as I'm concerned, Peter Becker can take you whenever he wants you. And he wants you now." With that, she stormed out. As soon as she had shut the door, Monica collapsed onto her bed, sobbing and feeling her former happiness turning rapidly into a sharp and desperate feeling of helplessness and heartache. She knew that her mother meant what she said about marrying her to Peter Becker soon, and she also knew that what her mother wanted, her mother got.

THE COMPLICATIONS CONTINUE IN PART FOUR, COMING SOON! PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! UPDATES TO MY OTHER FICS ARE ALSO IN THE WORKS! THANKS FOR READING... AND PLEASE JUST LEAVE A FEW LITTLE WORDS IN THE BOX BELOW. :-) THANKS!!!