Pushing through the door of Central Perk the following day on lunch hour, Monica spotted Rachel sitting alone on the couch and flipping through the latest issue of Vogue.

"Hey, Rach," she called, hurrying over and dropping into the armchair. "I missed you this morning; you'd already left for work by the time I got out of the shower. How's your mom?"

Rachel closed her magazine, smiling. "She's good. Um, actually she's dating again."

"Oh?" Monica asked cautiously, wondering if this were a good thing.

"Yeah, my sister has been telling her for months that she needs to 'get back out there' so she finally set her up with a guy who goes to her gym. He's a few years younger than my mom but she seems okay with it. Actually, she's much happier than she's been in a long time."

"That's great," Monica said, smiling. "So did you meet him?"

"Yeah, we all went out to lunch yesterday." Rachel began to tick off on her fingers. "He's a doctor, he's funny and SO polite, and he looks a little like Cary Grant."

"Wow. How come you guys never set ME up with a guy like that?" Monica joked.

Rachel smiled and started to say something, then looked up at Monica abruptly. "Oh, heeey," she drawled. "Speaking of. Who's this guy you went out with last night? Phoebs told me you were really nervous about it. Ralph something?"

"Uh, Ralph from work," Monica said quickly.

"Okay, that's cryptic," Rachel commented.

Monica sighed. She and Chandler had agreed to tell their friends about their relationship, but they'd also decided to keep it private for just a few days. Hence, Ralph lived on.

"He's just a guy that asked me out. I mean, how often does that happen anymore? Of course I went."

"You're so full of it, Mon."

"What?"

"Come ON. You went so far as to raid my closet. You never do that. And you were out really late last night; I was asleep long before you got home. You must have been having a good time."

Monica made a noncommittal noise, examining her fingers.

"So… when do we get to meet him?" Rachel asked expectantly.

"How do you even know I'm seeing him again?" Monica challenged.

Rachel stared at her for a long moment, then shook her head, smiling knowingly. "Where'd he take you last night?"

"Sorrentino's," Monica said reluctantly.

"Ooh, pricey. Then where'd you go?"

Monica sat back, crossing her arms. "Central Park."

Rachel grinned triumphantly. "A moonlit stroll, perhaps?"

"No, we went there to pick up trash for a community service project," Monica replied, deadpan. Chandler would have been proud. "Yes, a 'moonlit stroll'. What's your point?"

"Nothing," Rachel said, still grinning. "Sounds very romantic."

Monica shrugged, staring at her lap but unable to keep a tiny smile off her face. "It was average."

Rachel laughed. "Oh, please. Are those roses on the kitchen table from him?"

"Nope. They're for you, from Treeger."

"Monica." Rachel shook her head. "You know I'm gonna meet this guy sooner or later, so you may as well spill now."

Monica took a deep breath. "If I tell you you'll meet him by the end of the week, will you drop it?"

Her friend studied her quizzically for a moment. "You promise we'll get to meet him?" she finally asked.

"Cross my heart."

Rachel pursed her lips, then blew out her breath in an impatient sigh. "Fine," she muttered.

Monica sat back with relief. "Thanks, Rach," she said. Then, in an effort to change the subject, "Oh, hey… guess who I ran into at the bank a few minutes ago?"

"Who?"

"Chip Matthews. From high school."

Rachel seemed to perk up, all thoughts of Monica's mystery guy flying out of her head. "Are you serious? How is he?"

Monica shrugged. "He's looking good. He kept trying to strike up a conversation with me, and then he gave me his number."

"He gave YOU his number?"

Monica glared at her. "Yeah, so?"

"Nothing. So… did you tell him we were roommates?"

"Yeah. He said to tell you 'hello'."

Rachel looked indignant. "What a jerk."

"What?"

"Come on! 'Hello'? That's it? Do you not remember what he did to me at our senior prom?"

"Um…"

"He ditched me and I couldn't find him for two hours. He was having sex with Amy Welch!"

Monica bit her lip. "Yeah, I guess he was kind of a jerk."

"Huh! He was a TOTAL jerk." Rachel was quiet for a moment. "Can I have his number?"

"Rachel!"

"Well, it's not like you're going to call him! You're all hung up on this Ralph guy."

"You just said he was a jerk!"

"I know, I know." She sighed. "I guess I just want to move past this whole thing with Ross and get on with my life."

Monica gave her an understanding look. "Okay, I guess you can have his number," she said reluctantly. "Just… don't get involved with him again, okay?"

"Eh, don't worry. I'll probably just use him for sex."

"That's much better," Monica muttered, digging into her purse and taking out the scrap of paper with Chip's number scrawled across it. She handed it to Rachel, who looked downright smug.

"Hey," came a familiar voice, and Monica looked up to see Chandler crossing the room toward the counter. He caught her eye and gave her a wide smile.

"Hey," Monica echoed, unable to keep from smiling back. Rachel pocketed the scrap of paper and then turned greet Chandler.

"Hey you," she said cheerfully.

"You're back!" Chandler noted, ordering quickly and then sitting down at the little table across from Monica. "How was your weekend?"

"It was nice," Rachel said. "Mom and I hung out, did girl stuff. And I got to meet her boyfriend."

Chandler raised his eyebrows. "Nice guy?"

"Totally," Rachel confirmed.

"He's a Cary Grant look-alike and a DOCTOR," Monica added pointedly, smiling.

"Ahh." Chandler crossed ankle over knee, looking amused. "Like mother, like daughter?"

Rachel gave him the Ross finger, and Monica hid her smirk behind her hand.

"Okay, Mr. Quippy," Rachel said, "what are you so happy about? It's Monday morning, you've been in here almost a minute, and we've yet to hear one complaint about how much your job sucks."

Chandler accepted his coffee from Gunther, nodding his thanks. "My job does suck," he said. "My secretary is a drunk, half the office still thinks I'm gay, and I'm underpaid. Oh, and my white-out ran out around nine o'clock. There, you happy?"

"See, now it feels like a Monday," Rachel said.

"I've got some white-out," Monica announced, opening her purse and digging around inside.

"In your purse?" Chandler asked.

"You never know when it'll come in handy," Monica said defensively. She located the bottle and shook it to make sure it wasn't empty, then handed it to him. "And see, it has."

"Well, thanks," Chandler said, still looking dubious as he pocketed the white-out. "What else you got in there?"

"Hm…" Monica peered inside. "Wallet, keys, mace, two pens, a compact mirror, chapstick, breath mints, stamps, and Kleenex. Oh, and… sand." Frowning, she shook the purse and watched the little grains slide from side to side.

"Sand? From the beach house?" Rachel asked.

"Mmhmm. I gotta clean this out."

"I'm still finding sand in my shoes," Chandler volunteered. "And, uh… other places." He shifted in his seat.

Rachel held up a hand. "Whoa, too much information." She glanced at her watch. "Oh, wow, it's a quarter after twelve already. Hey, you guys want to grab lunch at the deli down the street?"

"Sure," Monica said, and Chandler nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I'm just going to use the restroom real quick." She stood up and grabbed her purse, muttering something like, "before Ross shows up" under her breath and heading toward the bathrooms.

Chandler cleared his throat as they watched Rachel disappear into back hallway. Monica smiled uncertainly, acknowledging the awkward moment.

"So… I hear you had a big date last night," Chandler said finally.

Monica bit her lip, amused. "Yeah, I did."

"Have a good time?"

She lifted her head, smirking. "I guess so. He took me to Sorrentino's."

"Wow! He sounds like a stand-up guy with expensive taste and inimitable class," Chandler said enthusiastically.

Monica held back a laugh. "He tries."

"Good-looking, too," Chandler continued, to which she rolled her eyes. "So, are you gonna see him again?"

"Hm… maybe," Monica teased. "He asked me out for dinner tomorrow night, and since I have nothing better to do… I guess I may as well go. Free meal, you know."

"Ah." He nodded. "Maybe a free movie, too?"

Monica considered. "Yeah, maybe. The new Julia Roberts one looks good."

Chandler made a face, coughing "chick flick" into his hand.

"Or we'll compromise when we get there. He doesn't have the best taste in movies, but since he did pay for the meal last night, I suppose I owe him one. Of course… I'm not sure how much of the movie we'll really be watching, anyway," she added innocently.

Chandler looked intrigued, but before he could say anything, the bell on the door jingled as Phoebe walked into the coffee house.

"Hi, you guys," she said, spotting them.

"Hey Phoebs," Monica answered. "We're going to go get some lunch, want to come?"

"Sure," Phoebe said. "Oh, but I have to be back by seven; I'm performing today."

"Most restaurants will prepare the food for us, Phoebs, we don't have to go out and forage for it," Chandler said wryly, standing up and tossing a couple dollar bills on the table. "I'm thinking the time constraints won't be a problem."

"Yeah, I know, that was just my hint for you guys to show up here tonight and listen to me sing," Phoebe explained.

"Phoebe, we spend over half our lives here. If we ever AREN'T here on a week night, I'd be surprised," Monica said, getting to her feet. Chandler nodded in agreement.

"Okay, you guys ready… oh, hi Phoebs! You coming with us?" Rachel reappeared from the bathroom, perfectly groomed.

"Yeah! Hey, so since you weren't here yesterday, I have to tell you about my Montauk idea. Do you think you'll be free next weekend?"

Rachel and Phoebe hurried out the door ahead of them, already deep in conversation, and Chandler took the opportunity to grab Monica's arm, holding her back. "Hey, I have something for you," he said. "Actually, um, I was going to wait till tomorrow night to give it to you, but I guess I'll just do it now." As he spoke, he escorted her toward the door.

"Oh, yeah? What is it?" Monica asked warily.

Chandler reached into his pocket and drew out two rectangular pieces of paper, one of which he handed to her. She glanced down at it in confusion as he held open the door, following her out of the coffee house.

"It's a… ticket?" she asked. "A ticket to a Yankees game?"

He nodded. "You and me, next Saturday afternoon. I know you're not really into baseball, but I'll teach ya to love it, I swear. Joey can't go, he's got a big date lined up, and Ross is… embarrassing to take to games, so I figured you and I could go. My boss offered these tickets to me last Friday and I turned him down, cause I didn't have anyone I could take… but this morning they were still up for grabs, so I figured, why not? We could maybe make a day of it. What do you think?"

Monica squinted into the distance, considering. Thousands of screaming Yankee fans, hot dogs and beer, and one humid August afternoon. It wasn't exactly her thing, but then again, the last few days had been filled with 'firsts'… no harm in one more. Besides, it did sound like it might be fun.

She looked up at him, smiling. "You've got yourself a date… but only if I can wear your cap."

--

AN: Why the baseball? Well, I love baseball, I love the Yankees, and I'm the author, lol. Plus, I thought it would be a cute thing for Chandler to do. Um… I'm probably going to be skipping forward in time a little bit now, so don't expect this to go on ad infinitum (ad nauseam?). I'm attempting to follow the season four plots to some extent, but obviously there will be slight (and sometimes large) changes. This one is a bit rushed… I apologize for that. Thanks for the feedback, you guys are too kind!