Me again.
Thanks for the reviews, you guys are really cool!
Where we left off...
The Pact, Part Four
Chandler spotted his friends immediately, and flashed a small smile as he headed toward the couch.
"Hey, everyone came," he said, though not sounding the lease bit surprised.
"Yeah," Ross replied, "Whatcha got there, Chandler?" Ross realized immediately that the way he phrased his question
left it wide open for Chandler to line up a number of sarcastic remarks.
To everyone's surprise, no jokes came.
"This is my daughter, Elaina," Chandler replied simply, as he sat down and shifted his daughter in his arms.
The groups smiled, eagerly waiting for the child to wake up.
"She'll probably be asleep for a while," Chandler explained, "She was awake through the entire flight."
Monica looked at Chandler while he talked, and noticed that he looked exhausted. Chandler caught Monica staring,
and smiled weakly.
"Chandler, uh, I am sorry that I have been so bad about keeping in touch," Joey said.
"I know you are busy, Joe," Chandler replied, though the tension and controlled strain was evident in his voice.
"Yeah," Joey said, and looked at the others.
Ross picked up on the tension, and decided to change the subject.
"So, where are you living now?"
"Philadelphia," Chandler said quietly.
"Do you like it?" Pheobe asked.
"No," Chandler said bluntly.
It was then that Rachel picked up on the strange shift in the group dynamic. Chandler had not made one joke
since he came in. She had been silently wishing he would, simply because there was so much tension
between her and Ross. Before she could ask Chandler anything else, Emily returned from the bathroom.
"Chandler, this is my wife, Emily. Sweetie, this is Chandler, and his daughter, Elaina."
"Hi," Chandler replied, surprised to see Ross with someone besides Rachel.
"Hello," Emily said, taking a seat next to Ross.
Chandler didn't realize that significant others were coming to the reunion. So he took it upon himself to
ask Monica about her significant other.
"So, Mon, where's Richard?" Chandler tried hiding the bitterness in his voice.
"We're divorced," Monica said quietly.
It was then that Chandler noticed that Monica was not wearing her wedding ring. Chandler suddenly became
very aware of the gold band encompassing his left ring finger.
"Speaking of significant others," Ross said, looking at Chandler intently.
Chandler swallowed hard, knowing that his friends were more than curious. Since his mysterious disappearence
almost nine years ago, he had become the group anomily.
1997
Chandler watched Monica and Richard exchange vows, a plastic smile plastered onto his face.
Up until this moment, he never really accepted that any of this was real. He wanted Monica to be happy, and he
knew that he was not capable making her happy. He also knew that Richard was exactly what Monica wanted.
He sighed heavily, and kept reminding himself, that his feelings were unrequited, and that he wasn't really in love with
her, he just had a crush on her.
1998
It took five months before Chandler really started to feel normal again. He never could explain his strange moods and
his inactive social life to his friends. In fact, he found that it was best just to avoid everyone. Ross and Rachel
were so happy it made him ill, and Joey was wrapped up in some play he was in, and the two women he was dating simultaniously.
Chandler had grown so used to spending time alone, that he almost forgot how to act around people.
That was when it happened.
Sometimes it only takes one small thing to start a dramatic chain of events. Chandler went into work on a rainy Monday,
only to discover that the company was bankrupt, and that he, and most of middle management, had been laid off.
Chandler took the lay-off remarkably well. He simply gathered his belongings, and left quietly.
When he got back to the apartment, he realized that he had no desire to stay anymore. He wouldn't admit it back then, but
Monica's marriage had hit him hard, and he was actually avoiding his friends because he didn't want to hear how happy she was.
Even though he really wanted her to be happy.
So, he quietly packed his bags, and bought a plane ticket on the first flight out of New York.
That flight took him to Philadelphia.
2007
These were the memories that Chandler had been filtering through in his head. Out loud he said to the group:
"I guess I was unhappy. Then I got laid off, and I had nothing going on. Everyone else was so busy. I got a job in
Philadelphia, and I took it," the white lies came out almost too easily.
"But you didn't even say goodbye." Pheobe said.
"I didn't want to go. And I knew that if I saw you guys, you could easily talk me out of it." he said truthfully.
Before anyone could reply, Elaina stirred. She sat up, and looked around at the group of strangers.
Monica was surprised to see how much she looked like Chandler. She definitely had his eyes.
Elaina blinked furiously, and looked up at her Dad, who nodded and smiled. Chandler picked Elaina up,
an sat her down on the couch next to him. He then crouched down in front of her.
"Can you say hello?" Chandler said softly, while moving his hands slowly in front of her.
"What the hell is he doing?" Joey asked quietly.
"Sign language," Pheobe said, never taking her eyes off of father and daughter.
Elaina looked around at the group again, then signed something back to Chandler.
Chandler simply nodded, and fumbled around in his bag, and pulled out a bottle of water.
He handed it to Elaina, then sat back up on the couch.
2003
The wedding was small, and short. Chandler and Rebecca had only know each other for a year and a half,
but getting married felt right. And, for the first year, the marriage thrived. Chandler had gotten a
job at a local publishing company, and was getting into writing again. Rebecca was a CPA, and brought
in more than half of their combined income. They bought a house just outside of Philadelphia, and
made plans to start a family. Rebecca got pregnant only a few weeks later, but suffered a miscarriage
during the first trimester. She was never the same after that, and she and Chandler fought constantly.
2007
"Amazingly enough, Rebecca had managed to get pregnant again, and this time, everything seemed fine.
Elaina was born two weeks early, and was seemingly perfect and healthy." Chandler watched Elaina as
she studied each of his friends silently, while intermitantely taking sips of her water.
"When she was about a month old, we noticed that she wasn't really responding to anyone. We took her to
the doctor, and they discovered that she couldn't hear." Chandler sighed. "Rebecca flipped. She was under
pressure to get back to work, and she and I were still not getting along. She couldn't handle it. So, one day
she walked out the door, and she never came back."
The group looked at Chandler, shocked by his story. It seemed as though all of them had lost so much.
Elaina tugged on her father's sleeve, and he looked down at her. She signed something, and he nodded.
"She's hungry," Chandler informed them.
"Me too!" Joey said.
"Shocking," Ross said sarcastically, and the group laughed. They were beginning to loosen up, a bit.
"Let's go upstairs, and I can cook something," Monica suggested.
"Ooooh, I'd love some Monica Food!" Rachel said.
The group stood, and gathered their things. It was almost like old times.
Almost.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
uuuuuuh, This one is...uuuh....lemme know, cuz i dunno if i like it.
Thanks for the reviews, you guys are really cool!
Where we left off...
The Pact, Part Four
Chandler spotted his friends immediately, and flashed a small smile as he headed toward the couch.
"Hey, everyone came," he said, though not sounding the lease bit surprised.
"Yeah," Ross replied, "Whatcha got there, Chandler?" Ross realized immediately that the way he phrased his question
left it wide open for Chandler to line up a number of sarcastic remarks.
To everyone's surprise, no jokes came.
"This is my daughter, Elaina," Chandler replied simply, as he sat down and shifted his daughter in his arms.
The groups smiled, eagerly waiting for the child to wake up.
"She'll probably be asleep for a while," Chandler explained, "She was awake through the entire flight."
Monica looked at Chandler while he talked, and noticed that he looked exhausted. Chandler caught Monica staring,
and smiled weakly.
"Chandler, uh, I am sorry that I have been so bad about keeping in touch," Joey said.
"I know you are busy, Joe," Chandler replied, though the tension and controlled strain was evident in his voice.
"Yeah," Joey said, and looked at the others.
Ross picked up on the tension, and decided to change the subject.
"So, where are you living now?"
"Philadelphia," Chandler said quietly.
"Do you like it?" Pheobe asked.
"No," Chandler said bluntly.
It was then that Rachel picked up on the strange shift in the group dynamic. Chandler had not made one joke
since he came in. She had been silently wishing he would, simply because there was so much tension
between her and Ross. Before she could ask Chandler anything else, Emily returned from the bathroom.
"Chandler, this is my wife, Emily. Sweetie, this is Chandler, and his daughter, Elaina."
"Hi," Chandler replied, surprised to see Ross with someone besides Rachel.
"Hello," Emily said, taking a seat next to Ross.
Chandler didn't realize that significant others were coming to the reunion. So he took it upon himself to
ask Monica about her significant other.
"So, Mon, where's Richard?" Chandler tried hiding the bitterness in his voice.
"We're divorced," Monica said quietly.
It was then that Chandler noticed that Monica was not wearing her wedding ring. Chandler suddenly became
very aware of the gold band encompassing his left ring finger.
"Speaking of significant others," Ross said, looking at Chandler intently.
Chandler swallowed hard, knowing that his friends were more than curious. Since his mysterious disappearence
almost nine years ago, he had become the group anomily.
1997
Chandler watched Monica and Richard exchange vows, a plastic smile plastered onto his face.
Up until this moment, he never really accepted that any of this was real. He wanted Monica to be happy, and he
knew that he was not capable making her happy. He also knew that Richard was exactly what Monica wanted.
He sighed heavily, and kept reminding himself, that his feelings were unrequited, and that he wasn't really in love with
her, he just had a crush on her.
1998
It took five months before Chandler really started to feel normal again. He never could explain his strange moods and
his inactive social life to his friends. In fact, he found that it was best just to avoid everyone. Ross and Rachel
were so happy it made him ill, and Joey was wrapped up in some play he was in, and the two women he was dating simultaniously.
Chandler had grown so used to spending time alone, that he almost forgot how to act around people.
That was when it happened.
Sometimes it only takes one small thing to start a dramatic chain of events. Chandler went into work on a rainy Monday,
only to discover that the company was bankrupt, and that he, and most of middle management, had been laid off.
Chandler took the lay-off remarkably well. He simply gathered his belongings, and left quietly.
When he got back to the apartment, he realized that he had no desire to stay anymore. He wouldn't admit it back then, but
Monica's marriage had hit him hard, and he was actually avoiding his friends because he didn't want to hear how happy she was.
Even though he really wanted her to be happy.
So, he quietly packed his bags, and bought a plane ticket on the first flight out of New York.
That flight took him to Philadelphia.
2007
These were the memories that Chandler had been filtering through in his head. Out loud he said to the group:
"I guess I was unhappy. Then I got laid off, and I had nothing going on. Everyone else was so busy. I got a job in
Philadelphia, and I took it," the white lies came out almost too easily.
"But you didn't even say goodbye." Pheobe said.
"I didn't want to go. And I knew that if I saw you guys, you could easily talk me out of it." he said truthfully.
Before anyone could reply, Elaina stirred. She sat up, and looked around at the group of strangers.
Monica was surprised to see how much she looked like Chandler. She definitely had his eyes.
Elaina blinked furiously, and looked up at her Dad, who nodded and smiled. Chandler picked Elaina up,
an sat her down on the couch next to him. He then crouched down in front of her.
"Can you say hello?" Chandler said softly, while moving his hands slowly in front of her.
"What the hell is he doing?" Joey asked quietly.
"Sign language," Pheobe said, never taking her eyes off of father and daughter.
Elaina looked around at the group again, then signed something back to Chandler.
Chandler simply nodded, and fumbled around in his bag, and pulled out a bottle of water.
He handed it to Elaina, then sat back up on the couch.
2003
The wedding was small, and short. Chandler and Rebecca had only know each other for a year and a half,
but getting married felt right. And, for the first year, the marriage thrived. Chandler had gotten a
job at a local publishing company, and was getting into writing again. Rebecca was a CPA, and brought
in more than half of their combined income. They bought a house just outside of Philadelphia, and
made plans to start a family. Rebecca got pregnant only a few weeks later, but suffered a miscarriage
during the first trimester. She was never the same after that, and she and Chandler fought constantly.
2007
"Amazingly enough, Rebecca had managed to get pregnant again, and this time, everything seemed fine.
Elaina was born two weeks early, and was seemingly perfect and healthy." Chandler watched Elaina as
she studied each of his friends silently, while intermitantely taking sips of her water.
"When she was about a month old, we noticed that she wasn't really responding to anyone. We took her to
the doctor, and they discovered that she couldn't hear." Chandler sighed. "Rebecca flipped. She was under
pressure to get back to work, and she and I were still not getting along. She couldn't handle it. So, one day
she walked out the door, and she never came back."
The group looked at Chandler, shocked by his story. It seemed as though all of them had lost so much.
Elaina tugged on her father's sleeve, and he looked down at her. She signed something, and he nodded.
"She's hungry," Chandler informed them.
"Me too!" Joey said.
"Shocking," Ross said sarcastically, and the group laughed. They were beginning to loosen up, a bit.
"Let's go upstairs, and I can cook something," Monica suggested.
"Ooooh, I'd love some Monica Food!" Rachel said.
The group stood, and gathered their things. It was almost like old times.
Almost.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
uuuuuuh, This one is...uuuh....lemme know, cuz i dunno if i like it.
