The Storm(The One Where They Make It, Part Six)
~Several miles outside of New York City~
The car collided with the tree, and the sounds of squealing rubber, broken glass, and the crushing
and twisting of metal filled the night air. The truck that hit the Porche never stopped, and the
road was now deserted for miles, both ways. Joey pulled himself out of the muddy ditch, his head
throbbing from hitting the ground so hard. He had managed to jump out of the car well before it hit
the tree, which was lucky, because from the way the tiny automobile was wrapped around the trunk of the towering pine, he would not have survived. He looked around the vacant field, his eyes trying
desperatly to adjust to the darkness. He heard a moan, about 10 yards to the left, so he turned
and walked slowly through the mud. The giant hail was hitting him hard in the face, forcing him
to walk hunched over, his hand blocking the hail from his eyes.
"Pheobe?"
"Joey?"
"Are you okay?"
"I think my leg is broken," she moaned.
Joey pulled Pheobe out of the dirt, and turned her over. Other than a small cut above her eye, she looked okay. He tried to look at her leg, but she squealed in pain.
"Sorry," he mumbled, and tried to pick her up.
"We gotta try to find some shelter," he said.
Joey stood up, and, with Pheobe in his arms, attempted to make his way back to the road.
~Greenwich Village~
Monica handed Chandler a mug full of steaming hot cocoa.
"Thanks," he said softly.
"Sure," she replied, as they made their way back to the sofa.
"So, Monica," Chandler started, "I have been meaning to ask you..."
"Ask me what?"
"Well," Chandler swallowed hard, and set down his mug on a coaster. "You have been acting a little...I dunno, strange lately, and I was thinking that maybe you were mad at me or something."
Monica looked at Chandler, her eyes wide, and her jaw dropped. Chandler wasn't sure how to read that reaction, so he instinctively tried to talk his way out of his situation.
"I...I mean, maybe you are just stressed out, or, um, I mean, I know that you have a lot going on, and, um..."
Monica was in shock. She wasn't even listening to Chandler's incomprehensible ramblings. Not only did Chandler think she was acting weird, he thought that she was angry with him! Slowly, she built up her courage, and decided that it was now or never.
"Chandler, shut up," she said, and Chandler immediatly closed his mouth. She looked at him for a minute, and began to feel all of her courage drain from her body. She took a deep breath and looked deep into his sky blue eyes.
"Chandler, I know I have been acting weird, but I can explain. See, a few months ago I realized..."
But before Monica could finish her sentence, Ross came flying through the front door.
"Mooooon," he whined.
"Ross? What's um, what's wrong?"
Ross wandered over to the chair in the center of the living room, and sighed heavily.
"Chandler? What are you doin here?"
"I got stuck in the storm. What's wrong?"
"I blew it with Rachel. She hates me. I saw her in her apartment, looking all happy with her Kevin," Ross spat out Kevin's name as though it was the worst word he'd ever used.
"Then I went to my apartment, but I was so lonely...so I came across the street so that Monica could make me some food," Ross looked up and gave Monica his best puppy-dog eyes.
"Fine," Monica grumbled, shooting Chandler an apologetic look.
"Well, how is the storm? Maybe I can make it home." Chandler wondered.
"It's still coming down, but not as heavily as it was," Ross said, as Monica handed him a mug of cocoa.
"You're probably better off staying here," Monica said, trying to hide her desperation.
Chandler looked at Monica and smiled. She was busy putting together some food for Ross, and Ross was busy whining about losing Rachel. Chandler wondered how any of them would ever get by without Monica.
**
"Joey, I'm so cold," Pheobe mumbled, as Joey made his way up to the street.
"I know, baby, I am sorry. Just a little longer, I promise."
Suddenly, headlights appeared in the road ahead. Joey put Pheobe down, steadying her with one arm. He used the other to flag down the SUV.
It worked. The truck pulled over, and the driver unlocked the passenger side door. Joey opened the back door, and placed Pheobe in the back seat.
"Thank you so, so much," Joey said, "Some jerk ran us off the road earlier."
"Joey? Joey Tribbiani?" The voice was familiar, but Joey couldn't place it. He looked up slowly.
"Janice." He said flatly.
"Janice? Abby's friend, right?" Pheobe said, finally realizing where she knew the woman from.
"Wow, small world," Janice said, laughing obnoxiously.
Joey put on a fake smile, and hopped into the front of the truck.
"Wow, I guess we owe ya one, huh?"
Janice nodded silently. She knew exactly what she wanted from Joey.
**
Rachel and Kevin sat in the living room, staring silently at one another.
"So, you must really love your job," Kevin said quietly.
"I do. I'm sorry, Kevin, I just...I'm not ready to make that kind of sacrifice."
"Well, I guess that's all there is to say," Kevin said sadly, and stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"I...I can't stay here Rachel."
"But the weather...it's so bad. Kevin please, just wait out the storm with me."
"I'll be fine. I just want to leave."
With that, Kevin pulled on his coat and walked out of Rachel's apartment...and out of her life.
"Well," Rachel said to herself, "there ya go." She wiped the persistant tears from her eyes and
walked to the window she was staring out of earlier. She sighed heavily. She needed to talk to
someone. She picked up the phone, and dialled.
**
"So...what are you guys doin'?" Ross said sadly.
"Um, we...we were gonna watch a movie!" Monica said.
"Yeah, Monica was just about to start a video," Chandler chimed in.
Chandler turns on the tv, and hits the play button.
"Isn't this 'Leaving Las Vegas'?" Ross asked.
"Yeah, I don't think we were gonna watch this one, were we?" Chandler said, quickly stopping the
film and turning off the tv.
"So..." Monica said, breaking an uncomfortable silence.
"I think the storm is letting up. I'm gonna take off," Chandler said.
"You don't have to," Monica said, trying to keep her voice calm.
Meanwhile, Ross' cell phone began to ring.
"Hello?" he said into the receiver. "Rachel?"
"Hey. I was...uh, I tried your apartment, but you weren't there."
"Yeah, I am at Monica's."
"Oh. Um, I guess we can talk later."
"No, no, we aren't doing anything. What's up?" Ross waved goodbye to Monica and Chandler
and headed out the door. Chandler gave him a quick thumbs up, then turned to Monica.
"So, what were you gonna tell me earlier?" he asked.
"Huh? Oh, that. I just..." Monica had lost all of the courage she had built up earlier that
evening. She tried desperately to come up with some plausable answer.
"Mon?"
"I, uh, realized that I am taking on too much work. I am thinking about taking on an assistant."
"That sounds like a good idea," Chandler nodded.
"But I wanted to make sure that it was okay with you, you know...it is your money."
"Mon, if you need help, you need help. I am sure that Ross and Joey won't have a problem with it."
"Okay," Monica sighed, relieved that Chandler bought her lie.
"So...you wanna watch a movie?" Chandler asked, as he plopped back down on the sofa.
"Sure," Monica said, "But not 'Leaving Las Vegas'!"
Monica thumbed through her DVD collection. "How about 'The Perfect Storm'?"
"Sounds perfect," Chandler laughed.
**
"So, uh, Janice," Joey said, "How are ya?"
"Oh, fine," Janice said, her voice nearly as fake as her fingernails.
"Um, what have you been up to?"
"Well, I was on my way to my cousin's cabin...but then I picked up a stranded celebrity on the
side of the road," Janice said, then let loose an incredibly annoying nasal laugh.
"So," she said, "How's Chandler?"
"He's uh...he's good."
Janice smiled. "Are you guys gonna be doing any more shows soon?"
"I, uh, I dunno."
Janice pulled into Beth Israel Hospital, and began to get out of the car.
"You know, Janice, you, uh, you don't have to stay. You can just drop us off and head back
up to your cousin's cabin," Joey said as sweetly as he could.
"Oh, no, I want to make sure my friend Pheobe is okay!" she replied with a saccherine-filled voice.
"Right," Joey said, knowing full well that she was hoping he would call Chandler.
**
Monica was cuddled up against Chandler, fast asleep. She had managed to make it through about
15 minutes of the movie, before dozing off. Chandler noticed this, once he realized she was no
longer laughing at his George Clooney jokes. He watched her as she slept, and smiled. Even
in her sleep, Monica looked stressed out. He thought that the idea of her taking on an assistant
was a good one. Monica mumbled, and pulled the blanket closer to her. She turned, and pulled
herself closer to Chandler. He laughed slightly, and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her
on the forehead, and continued watching the movie.
Monica mumbled again, but this time, her words were more coherent.
"I love you."
Chandler looked down at Monica, his eyes wide. Her eyes were still closed, so she was
obviously dreaming. But was the statement directed at him? He stared straight ahead, though
his mind was no longer on the movie before him. He began to replay some of the odd encounters
he'd had with Monica recently, and the conversation they were having that night, before being
interrupted by Ross. Chandler began to put two and two together, and suddenly decided that he
needed to talk to Monica. He shut off the tv, and shook Monica gently.
"Monica, wake up."
"Hmmm?"
"I...I need to talk to you."
"Wha? Is the movie over?"
"Um, yeah. Listen Mon, what were you gonna tell me tonight, before Ross came in?"
Monica sat up. Her heart started to race. He had believed her earlier. What had changed his mind?
"I...I told you."
"No, I think it was something else. Mon, what's going on."
Monica swallowed hard. Her throat was unbelievable dry, and her stomach was jumping around
like a caffinated three-year old.
"It's nothing," she managed to whisper, as she carefully studied the intricate patterns of her blanket.
"Mon, look at me."
Monica shook her head.
"Monica," Chandler's voice was barely above a whisper. He placed his index finger under her chin
and pulled her face up. Her eyes were trying desperatly to avoid his, but he moved his head, and
caught her gaze.
"What's going on?"
Monica didn't answer. She couldn't. Her voice had been taken from her by her rapidly beating heart.
She was convinced that Chandler could hear her heart as clearly as she could hear it.
Chandler looked into Monica's eyes, and managed to get the answer he had been seeking. He smiled
broadly, and leaned toward Monica. His smile faded, and he pulled her towards him. Their lips
touched briefly, as Chandler hesitated, then, sensing no resistance from Monica, pulled her into
a deep, passionate kiss.
The kiss sent shivers up Monica's spine. She leaned into him, and ran her hands through his hair.
Chandler suddenly pulled away, and looked at Monica, studying her expression closely.
"I love you too," he whispered, and kissed her once more.
The shrill ring of the phone broke through the haze of the moment, causing both Chandler and Monica to jump.
"Let it ring," Chandler mumbled, and began to nibble on Monica's neck.
"Okay," Monica moaned, and pulled Chandler on top of her.
The machine picked up, and soon, Joey's voice filled the apartment.
"Hey, Mon, it's Joey. I just thought I should tell ya...uh, a truck ran me and Pheobe off the
road tonight."
Monica and Chandler suddenly stopped making out, and both sat up to listen to the message.
"We are both okay, but my car is definitly not alright. Uh, we are at Beth Israel Hospital,
and I think they'll let us out by morning. And, uh..." Joey's voice dropped to a whisper, "We
were picked up by Janice...she won't freakin' leave! She's been asking about Chandler all night.
I think you should warn him." With that, Joey hung up the phone.
"I have to go down there," Monica said, adjusting her blouse and grabbing her shoes.
"I'm coming with you," Chandler said, putting his shoes back on.
"NO!" Monica said, a little too loudly, "If Janice is still there..."
"I'll thank her kindly for picking up our friends," Chandler said simply, and grabbed Monica
around the waist. She gasped as he pulled her toward him and kissed her hard on the lips.
"It's gonna be okay." he whispered.
Monica smiled. "Okay."
Chandler helped Monica with her coat, then put on his own. He grabbed Monica's hand, and
headed out the door, into the fading storm.
***
~Several miles outside of New York City~
The car collided with the tree, and the sounds of squealing rubber, broken glass, and the crushing
and twisting of metal filled the night air. The truck that hit the Porche never stopped, and the
road was now deserted for miles, both ways. Joey pulled himself out of the muddy ditch, his head
throbbing from hitting the ground so hard. He had managed to jump out of the car well before it hit
the tree, which was lucky, because from the way the tiny automobile was wrapped around the trunk of the towering pine, he would not have survived. He looked around the vacant field, his eyes trying
desperatly to adjust to the darkness. He heard a moan, about 10 yards to the left, so he turned
and walked slowly through the mud. The giant hail was hitting him hard in the face, forcing him
to walk hunched over, his hand blocking the hail from his eyes.
"Pheobe?"
"Joey?"
"Are you okay?"
"I think my leg is broken," she moaned.
Joey pulled Pheobe out of the dirt, and turned her over. Other than a small cut above her eye, she looked okay. He tried to look at her leg, but she squealed in pain.
"Sorry," he mumbled, and tried to pick her up.
"We gotta try to find some shelter," he said.
Joey stood up, and, with Pheobe in his arms, attempted to make his way back to the road.
~Greenwich Village~
Monica handed Chandler a mug full of steaming hot cocoa.
"Thanks," he said softly.
"Sure," she replied, as they made their way back to the sofa.
"So, Monica," Chandler started, "I have been meaning to ask you..."
"Ask me what?"
"Well," Chandler swallowed hard, and set down his mug on a coaster. "You have been acting a little...I dunno, strange lately, and I was thinking that maybe you were mad at me or something."
Monica looked at Chandler, her eyes wide, and her jaw dropped. Chandler wasn't sure how to read that reaction, so he instinctively tried to talk his way out of his situation.
"I...I mean, maybe you are just stressed out, or, um, I mean, I know that you have a lot going on, and, um..."
Monica was in shock. She wasn't even listening to Chandler's incomprehensible ramblings. Not only did Chandler think she was acting weird, he thought that she was angry with him! Slowly, she built up her courage, and decided that it was now or never.
"Chandler, shut up," she said, and Chandler immediatly closed his mouth. She looked at him for a minute, and began to feel all of her courage drain from her body. She took a deep breath and looked deep into his sky blue eyes.
"Chandler, I know I have been acting weird, but I can explain. See, a few months ago I realized..."
But before Monica could finish her sentence, Ross came flying through the front door.
"Mooooon," he whined.
"Ross? What's um, what's wrong?"
Ross wandered over to the chair in the center of the living room, and sighed heavily.
"Chandler? What are you doin here?"
"I got stuck in the storm. What's wrong?"
"I blew it with Rachel. She hates me. I saw her in her apartment, looking all happy with her Kevin," Ross spat out Kevin's name as though it was the worst word he'd ever used.
"Then I went to my apartment, but I was so lonely...so I came across the street so that Monica could make me some food," Ross looked up and gave Monica his best puppy-dog eyes.
"Fine," Monica grumbled, shooting Chandler an apologetic look.
"Well, how is the storm? Maybe I can make it home." Chandler wondered.
"It's still coming down, but not as heavily as it was," Ross said, as Monica handed him a mug of cocoa.
"You're probably better off staying here," Monica said, trying to hide her desperation.
Chandler looked at Monica and smiled. She was busy putting together some food for Ross, and Ross was busy whining about losing Rachel. Chandler wondered how any of them would ever get by without Monica.
**
"Joey, I'm so cold," Pheobe mumbled, as Joey made his way up to the street.
"I know, baby, I am sorry. Just a little longer, I promise."
Suddenly, headlights appeared in the road ahead. Joey put Pheobe down, steadying her with one arm. He used the other to flag down the SUV.
It worked. The truck pulled over, and the driver unlocked the passenger side door. Joey opened the back door, and placed Pheobe in the back seat.
"Thank you so, so much," Joey said, "Some jerk ran us off the road earlier."
"Joey? Joey Tribbiani?" The voice was familiar, but Joey couldn't place it. He looked up slowly.
"Janice." He said flatly.
"Janice? Abby's friend, right?" Pheobe said, finally realizing where she knew the woman from.
"Wow, small world," Janice said, laughing obnoxiously.
Joey put on a fake smile, and hopped into the front of the truck.
"Wow, I guess we owe ya one, huh?"
Janice nodded silently. She knew exactly what she wanted from Joey.
**
Rachel and Kevin sat in the living room, staring silently at one another.
"So, you must really love your job," Kevin said quietly.
"I do. I'm sorry, Kevin, I just...I'm not ready to make that kind of sacrifice."
"Well, I guess that's all there is to say," Kevin said sadly, and stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"I...I can't stay here Rachel."
"But the weather...it's so bad. Kevin please, just wait out the storm with me."
"I'll be fine. I just want to leave."
With that, Kevin pulled on his coat and walked out of Rachel's apartment...and out of her life.
"Well," Rachel said to herself, "there ya go." She wiped the persistant tears from her eyes and
walked to the window she was staring out of earlier. She sighed heavily. She needed to talk to
someone. She picked up the phone, and dialled.
**
"So...what are you guys doin'?" Ross said sadly.
"Um, we...we were gonna watch a movie!" Monica said.
"Yeah, Monica was just about to start a video," Chandler chimed in.
Chandler turns on the tv, and hits the play button.
"Isn't this 'Leaving Las Vegas'?" Ross asked.
"Yeah, I don't think we were gonna watch this one, were we?" Chandler said, quickly stopping the
film and turning off the tv.
"So..." Monica said, breaking an uncomfortable silence.
"I think the storm is letting up. I'm gonna take off," Chandler said.
"You don't have to," Monica said, trying to keep her voice calm.
Meanwhile, Ross' cell phone began to ring.
"Hello?" he said into the receiver. "Rachel?"
"Hey. I was...uh, I tried your apartment, but you weren't there."
"Yeah, I am at Monica's."
"Oh. Um, I guess we can talk later."
"No, no, we aren't doing anything. What's up?" Ross waved goodbye to Monica and Chandler
and headed out the door. Chandler gave him a quick thumbs up, then turned to Monica.
"So, what were you gonna tell me earlier?" he asked.
"Huh? Oh, that. I just..." Monica had lost all of the courage she had built up earlier that
evening. She tried desperately to come up with some plausable answer.
"Mon?"
"I, uh, realized that I am taking on too much work. I am thinking about taking on an assistant."
"That sounds like a good idea," Chandler nodded.
"But I wanted to make sure that it was okay with you, you know...it is your money."
"Mon, if you need help, you need help. I am sure that Ross and Joey won't have a problem with it."
"Okay," Monica sighed, relieved that Chandler bought her lie.
"So...you wanna watch a movie?" Chandler asked, as he plopped back down on the sofa.
"Sure," Monica said, "But not 'Leaving Las Vegas'!"
Monica thumbed through her DVD collection. "How about 'The Perfect Storm'?"
"Sounds perfect," Chandler laughed.
**
"So, uh, Janice," Joey said, "How are ya?"
"Oh, fine," Janice said, her voice nearly as fake as her fingernails.
"Um, what have you been up to?"
"Well, I was on my way to my cousin's cabin...but then I picked up a stranded celebrity on the
side of the road," Janice said, then let loose an incredibly annoying nasal laugh.
"So," she said, "How's Chandler?"
"He's uh...he's good."
Janice smiled. "Are you guys gonna be doing any more shows soon?"
"I, uh, I dunno."
Janice pulled into Beth Israel Hospital, and began to get out of the car.
"You know, Janice, you, uh, you don't have to stay. You can just drop us off and head back
up to your cousin's cabin," Joey said as sweetly as he could.
"Oh, no, I want to make sure my friend Pheobe is okay!" she replied with a saccherine-filled voice.
"Right," Joey said, knowing full well that she was hoping he would call Chandler.
**
Monica was cuddled up against Chandler, fast asleep. She had managed to make it through about
15 minutes of the movie, before dozing off. Chandler noticed this, once he realized she was no
longer laughing at his George Clooney jokes. He watched her as she slept, and smiled. Even
in her sleep, Monica looked stressed out. He thought that the idea of her taking on an assistant
was a good one. Monica mumbled, and pulled the blanket closer to her. She turned, and pulled
herself closer to Chandler. He laughed slightly, and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her
on the forehead, and continued watching the movie.
Monica mumbled again, but this time, her words were more coherent.
"I love you."
Chandler looked down at Monica, his eyes wide. Her eyes were still closed, so she was
obviously dreaming. But was the statement directed at him? He stared straight ahead, though
his mind was no longer on the movie before him. He began to replay some of the odd encounters
he'd had with Monica recently, and the conversation they were having that night, before being
interrupted by Ross. Chandler began to put two and two together, and suddenly decided that he
needed to talk to Monica. He shut off the tv, and shook Monica gently.
"Monica, wake up."
"Hmmm?"
"I...I need to talk to you."
"Wha? Is the movie over?"
"Um, yeah. Listen Mon, what were you gonna tell me tonight, before Ross came in?"
Monica sat up. Her heart started to race. He had believed her earlier. What had changed his mind?
"I...I told you."
"No, I think it was something else. Mon, what's going on."
Monica swallowed hard. Her throat was unbelievable dry, and her stomach was jumping around
like a caffinated three-year old.
"It's nothing," she managed to whisper, as she carefully studied the intricate patterns of her blanket.
"Mon, look at me."
Monica shook her head.
"Monica," Chandler's voice was barely above a whisper. He placed his index finger under her chin
and pulled her face up. Her eyes were trying desperatly to avoid his, but he moved his head, and
caught her gaze.
"What's going on?"
Monica didn't answer. She couldn't. Her voice had been taken from her by her rapidly beating heart.
She was convinced that Chandler could hear her heart as clearly as she could hear it.
Chandler looked into Monica's eyes, and managed to get the answer he had been seeking. He smiled
broadly, and leaned toward Monica. His smile faded, and he pulled her towards him. Their lips
touched briefly, as Chandler hesitated, then, sensing no resistance from Monica, pulled her into
a deep, passionate kiss.
The kiss sent shivers up Monica's spine. She leaned into him, and ran her hands through his hair.
Chandler suddenly pulled away, and looked at Monica, studying her expression closely.
"I love you too," he whispered, and kissed her once more.
The shrill ring of the phone broke through the haze of the moment, causing both Chandler and Monica to jump.
"Let it ring," Chandler mumbled, and began to nibble on Monica's neck.
"Okay," Monica moaned, and pulled Chandler on top of her.
The machine picked up, and soon, Joey's voice filled the apartment.
"Hey, Mon, it's Joey. I just thought I should tell ya...uh, a truck ran me and Pheobe off the
road tonight."
Monica and Chandler suddenly stopped making out, and both sat up to listen to the message.
"We are both okay, but my car is definitly not alright. Uh, we are at Beth Israel Hospital,
and I think they'll let us out by morning. And, uh..." Joey's voice dropped to a whisper, "We
were picked up by Janice...she won't freakin' leave! She's been asking about Chandler all night.
I think you should warn him." With that, Joey hung up the phone.
"I have to go down there," Monica said, adjusting her blouse and grabbing her shoes.
"I'm coming with you," Chandler said, putting his shoes back on.
"NO!" Monica said, a little too loudly, "If Janice is still there..."
"I'll thank her kindly for picking up our friends," Chandler said simply, and grabbed Monica
around the waist. She gasped as he pulled her toward him and kissed her hard on the lips.
"It's gonna be okay." he whispered.
Monica smiled. "Okay."
Chandler helped Monica with her coat, then put on his own. He grabbed Monica's hand, and
headed out the door, into the fading storm.
***