Truth Unknown (part 1)

Monica sat in the car outside the elementary school, waiting for her kids. The radio was on, playing an old song that she had always loved. She tapped her hands on the steering wheel in time to the music. She saw another mother that she knew, and waved.

"Hey Monica," the other woman said, walking over with her youngest child.

"Hi Jeanie. Hey cutie," she said tickling Jeanie's two year old daughter.

"Hi Mom," eight year old Beth said, running up to the car. "Hi Mrs Slater."

"Hi Beth, is Megan coming out?" Jeanie asked as Beth got in the back of the car.

"Uh huh."

"hey Mom," elevem year old Shay said, walking up to the car, trying to look cool.

"Hurry up Shay," Beth said.

"Okay okay, calm down," Shay said, also getting into the car.

"Bye Jeanie. Shay, put your seatbelt on," Monica said.

"Why? Because the ride home is gonna be a rollarcoaster ride through New York?" Shay said sarcastically, but she did as she was told anyway.

"Bye Monica. Bye you two," Jeanie called as Monica pulled away. Beth waved. she was friend's with Jeanie's elder daughter, Megan.

When the three of them arrived home, Chandler was already there, in the kitchen. They had only moved into the house about a year ago, but the kitchen was the room they had spent the most effort on to get it looking nice.

"Hey honey, how come you're home so early?" Monica asked, kissing him.

"Gross," Beth said, pouring herself an orange juice.

"Well, I have to work late tomorrow night, so Doug gave me the afternoon off," Chandler said.

"You have to work late AGAIN?" Shay whined.

"Sorry kiddo," Chandler said. "Hey, Mon, you know what my favourite way to spend a free afternoon is?" he said softly, kissing her more passionately than her hello kiss.

"One or two," she said smiling, when he broke the kiss.

"You guys are sick. I'm going over to Laura's," Shay said. "Beth, if I were you, I'd get outta here too. They're gonna get all soppy and stuff."

"Can I go to Megan's?" Beth asked.

"Sure honey. Shay, will you walk her?" Monica said.

"Aww, Mom!"

"Please honey."

"Fine. Come on Beth," Shay said, as the two girls left.

"All alone at last," Chandler said, kissing her again.

"I know. We never get any time alone anymore."

"Well, I know you probably think we should talk or something, but I have a different idea, that I think is much, much better."

"Cleaning the bathroom?" Monica teased.

"No, I think you know what I mean. And it has absolutely nothing to do with cleaning."

"Oh, sex," she said, as if she had only just realised what he was talking about.

"Yeah, sex. You know, that thing we do that we love, that made our kids, who now prevent us having sex as often as we'd like," Chandler reminded her.

"Oh yeah, now I remember."

"Are you sure? Maybe you need a demonstration," he said lifting her up onto the kitchen counter. Monica giggled.

The kids came home around dinner time, by which time Chandler and Monica had stopped fooling around, and had showered together and dressed again. Shay kept giving them weird looks. She was knew about sex, and the thought of her parents having sex completely disgusted her. Beth didn't really know much about it, so it didn't bother her so much.

"Chandler, how late are you gonna be home tomorrow night?" Monica asked during dinner.

"Um, about nine or ten. It depends on how stupid the people in my office are acting," he said. "Why?"

"Damn, its Shay's Open House at school tomorrow. I can't miss it," Monica said.

"Yes you can," Shay jumped in.

"Nice try. Seriously Chandler. Who's gonna watch the kids?"

"Okay, what time does this thing start?"

"Seven thirty. But you really don't have to go," Shay persisted.

"Yes I do honey. You think Phoebe would watch them?" she asked Chandler.

"Probably, why don't you call her after dinner?"

"Oh, unless she has plans with Karl?" Karl was Phoebe's husband.

"Well then Ross, or Rachel, or Joey will be able to watch them. Don't worry about it," Chandler assured his wife.

"Can Joey watch us again? That was real fun last time!" Beth said excitedly.

"Maybe Joey shouldn't watch them," Chandler corrected himself.

"Why does anyone have to watch us? Mom can stay home, then no one has to worry," Shay said.

"That is not an option," Chandler said firmly.

"Damn it," Shay cursed under her breath.

"We don't need a babysitter," Beth said.

"Yes you do," Monica said.

"Well if we do, how come Joey doesn't?" Shay asked. Chandler had to laugh at that.

"Because Joey is supposed to be an adult. And Uncle Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Mom and me, can't be bothered making sure someone is always watching him. See, we love you two much more than Joey, so we care enough to make sure you're not gonna eat three whole tubes of toothpaste and a jar of mayonanaise while we're out," Chandler said. Shay sighed.

"I hate when you do that," she complained.

"do what?"

"Pretend you're being mean coz you love us."

"Oh that old thing. I don't even have to think about that any more."

"Did Joey really eat that stuff?" Beth asked, fascinated.

"I don't want to know," Monica said, as Chandler opened his mouth, no doubt to go into it in more detail. He smiled innocently and closed his mouth.

The following day, Shay whined about her Mom going to Open house. It wasn't that her teachers were going to say bad things about her, because she was a pretty good student. She just hated having to sit through the whole thing. Her teacher last year had pretended to talk to her, which was just embarrasing. Her third grade teacher had insisted Shay tell her parents how she thought she was doing, before the teacher would tell them how she was really doing, which was even worse. Her second grade teacher had asked her to wait outside, which was okay, but boring. And she hadn't gone until then because she had been sick.

Beth didn't care about Open House, but she had gone in first grade and had spent the entire evening running around on a sugar high (Phoebe had given her sherbet) with her friends, annoying all the other parents and teachers, so Chandler and Monica had decided right then that she was staying home the following year.

This time, she had nagged so much, Monica had simply told her she didn't have to go if she didn't want to, just so Shay would shut up about it for five minutes. Chandler had arranged for Joey, who was still exactly the same as he had been fifteen years ago, to babysit that evening.

Joey arrived at seven o clock. Shay and Beth greeted him enthusiastically. Even though Shay maintained she was too old for a babysitter, she still liked Joey. He seemed so much like a kid himself, apart from when he told them about all the women he dated. Beth was begging Joey to tell them about his latest disasterous audition before Monica was even out of the door. She grinned at Joey, how smiled back then headed for the kitchen, Beth following. Shay waved at her mother, then slumped on the couch and started channel hopping.

The Open House went well. Monica chatted to another Mom, Helen Woodward, until it was her turn to go in and see the fifth grade teacher, Mr Abbot. He told her Shay was getting all B's and was friendly, got on well with the other kids in class, although she had a tendancy to talk in class. Monica sighed. She wouldnt' have admitted it, but she found Open House almost as boring as Shay did, she KNEW all this stuff! Either Shay had told her, or she had figured it out for herself.

After Mr Abbot was done, she went to see Mrs Berkley, Beth's second grade teacher. She was very small and thin. Monica regocnised her as the woman who had also taught Shay in second grade. Shay said there was a girl in her class who's Dad had been taught by mrs Berkley. Moncia wasn't sure whether she believed that or not, but Mrs Berkley sure looked old enough. She told Monica Beth was very quiet, but friendly enough and did well in arts and crafts, but hated math. 'Like Chandler,' Monica thought. Even though he worked with numbers all day every day, Chandler hated math.

An hour and a half after she had arrived, Monica was on her way out. She waved to a few other Mom's who she knew through their kids and went home. She had walked, which she didn't do when the kids were with her, because they got bored and whiney. But it was only fifteen minutes away, and Chandler had the car at work, so she had decided to walk rather than order a cab.

She was about halfway home when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Thinking it was another parent on their way home from Open House, Monica turned around. She didn't recognise the person who stood in front of her, but she had barely registered that fact before their hands where pushing her back. She tried to scream, but a gloved hand pressed over her mouth. They were near the children's park, and her attacker, which she supposed this was, pushed her towards the entrance. Once out of sight behind the bushes surrounding the small park, he pushed her to the ground. She tried to get up again, but was stopped by his weight coming heavily down on top of her. Monica tried to push him away, but he punched her hard. That stopped her struggles.

"I have a gun," he whispered, "I swear I'll kill you if you cause a problem." she was terrified now, trembling all over, hating him lying on top of her, not daring to move. Something dug into her back, sratching her where her blouse had worked its way upwards.

The man had his hand up her skirt now and Monica wanted to scream. She knew what he was about to do, but knew he meant what he said about killing her, so she lay as still as she could while he pushed her knee length shirt up to her waist and removed her panties. As he raped her, she closed her eyes and focused her attention on the pain of whatever was digging into her back rather than what this bastard was doing to her.

When he was finished, he got up and backed away. Monica was crying quietly, not wanting him to hear, but knowing he probably would anyway. He kicked her sharply in the ribs, then walked off, leaving her lying, half naked, on the muddy grass.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Please review. Oh, and I forgot to say at the beginning, but I don't own these characters.