The One Where They Make It, Chapter Thirteen
"I'll Be Home For Christmas"
~New York City~
"Chandler!" Monica yelled from the living room. Chandler sighed and set down his guitar, before heading into the living room for the sixth time in thirty minutes.
"Yes, my love?" Chandler strolled into the living room from the practice room Monica had set up for him.
"I can't reach the top of the tree," Monica stood in front of the fully decorated Christmas tree, with a sparkling gold tree topper in her hand.
Chandler shook his head and laughed, before taking the big aluminum star from her.
"Well, if you are this helpless at seven months, I shudder to think what you'll be like in February," Chandler laughed.
"You can make all the wise cracks you want when you have a person growing inside of you," Monica grumbled.
"Grr, touchy, touchy babe!" Chandler said, as he placed the star on top of the tree.
"I can't believe you are complaining about doing this one little thing. I mean, I decorated the entire tree," Monica whined.
"Well first of all," Chandler said, as he walked behind Monica and wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands on her swollen belly, "I was kidding. You know I'd do anything for you. And secondly, you did not decorate this entire tree. You called me in here every five minutes to help put on decorations that were either too high, or too low for you."
"But--"
"And," Chandler interrupted, "I did put the lights on."
"Okay, fine. But don't you think it woulda been easier if you woulda stayed out here and helped me in the first place?" Monica batted her eyes dramatically.
"Yes, but then, what would you have to complain about?"
****
"Rach, let's go!" Ross pulled his wool overcoat on, and straightened his bow tie on his tuxedo.
"Coming, coming," Rachel scurried out of the bedroom, wearing a floor-length red sequined gown, and her long brown hair pulled up onto her head, with large curls framing her face.
"Wow," Ross exclaimed.
"You like what you see, cowboy?" Rachel purred.
Ross nodded, and tried his best not to literally drool.
"Well, the faster we get to this benefit, the faster we can get back," Rachel said seductively.
"Maybe we don't need to go," Ross said, "Screw the kids."
"Well, there's a good way to get yourself arrested," Rachel shook her head.
"Wait, Rach," Ross said, as she headed for the door.
"What?"
"Are you gonna wear those earrings with that dress?" Ross said, pointing to Rachel's ears.
"Um, yeah," Rachel said, as she felt herself becoming angry. What the hell was this about?
"Well, I was thinking, you should maybe wear these instead," Ross pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket.
"What?" Rachel's eyes lit up, as she took the box from Ross. She opened it, to find a pair of beautiful diamond and ruby earrings, sparkling in the light.
"Ross! These are gorgeous!" Rachel said enthusiastically, as she kissed him on the lips and cheek.
"Merry Christmas sweetheart," he said.
****
"Okay, I am gonna go get the rest of that stuff, and make a couple of calls. I should be back well before dinner," Chandler said casually, as he pulled his baseball cap low over his face.
"Okay. Hey, can you pick up some mint chocolate chip ice cream on your way back?" Monica said
"I just bought you some prailines and cream--did you already finish that?"
"Are you arguing with the pregnant woman?"
"Not at all," Chandler laughed, and kissed Monica on the nose, as he headed out the door.
*
Chandler keyed into his downtown apartment, and walked in. It was strange, he no longer really felt at home here anymore. He spent more time at Monica's these days, looking after her and the baby-to-be. He laughed to himself, as he noted that most of his stuff seemed to be over at Monica's as well.
"Maybe I should just move in there," Chandler said to himself. It wasn't a bad idea. With the baby on the way, he was going to want to be as close as possible. Chandler decided that he'd better talk to Monica about it. He walked into his room, and flipped on the light. His eyes scanned the room, as he tried to remember why he had come over in the first place. Oh, right, candles. He knew he had them...somewhere. His eyes fell onto his bed, and a small box that sat on it. Where did that come from? The box was gold, and was decorated with a large red bow. Chandler smiled, and realized that it must be the work of Monica. He pulled off the ribbon, and opened the box, excitedly. He pulled out what appeared to be some kind of rag doll. Chandler looked at the doll, then noticed that the doll was dressed just like him. Weird. As he turned the doll over, he saw that there were several silver needles protruding from the doll's back. Chandler dropped the doll, realizing what it was. He looked at the voodoo doll suspiciously, then peered around the room, wondering if the person who had put the doll on his bed was still in the apartment. The idea that someone who wanted him dead had been in his home made Chandler physically ill. He walked to the telephone to call the police, and saw that there was a note sitting on top of the phone. Chandler cautiously picked up the note, and unfolded it.
"Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down," Chandler read aloud. "What the hell was that supposed to mean?" It was then that Chandler heard the popping. He ran out into the living room, and saw that the front door and wall of his apartment was completely engulfed in flames.
*
"Hey guys," Monica said, as Joey and Phoebe walked into the apartment.
"Hey Mon, sorry we're late. We would have been here sooner but...did you know that there is a whole bunch of paprazzi outside of your building?" Joey asked.
"Oh, Joey, I'm sorry, I should have told you to use the side enterance. They have been out there ever since the pregnancy rumour was 'confirmed' by MTV," Monica said, taking Joey and Phoebe's coats.
"Where's Chandler?"
"At his apartment, picking up a few things. He should be back any minute," Monica said.
"Well, he'd better hurry, 'cause that storm is getting worse," Phoebe said.
"Good, maybe it'll scare off some of those photographers," Monica laughed, as she walked toward the window.
*
Downstairs, the wind and snow began to pick up, and several of the photographers had decided that frostbite and hypothermia were just not worth it. They began to pack up and leave, hoping that either Monica or Chandler would make an appearance tomorrow. As the crowd of paparazzi cleared, a dedicated fan found herself alone on the frozen sidewalk. She peered up into the apartment window on the second floor, and saw a pregnant woman appear in front of it. It was Monica. The woman on the street watched Monica, as she looked out into the night. She thought carefully about ways to get Monica out of the picture, so that she could have Chandler all to herself. After all, they were meant to be together.
Forever.
****
Black plumes of smoke began to fill the apartment rapidly, as Chandler made his way toward the bedroom. He pulled on his bedroom window, intending to use his fire escape. The window wouldn't budge, and Chandler noted that it had been painted shut. Whomever it was that had done this had obviously planned it well. Chandler grabbed a towel from his bathroom, and wrapped it around his arm, punching through the thick glass. He kicked out the remaining shards of glass, and threw the note into the box with the doll, before jumping throught the window, and onto the fire escape. He turned to see the fire spreading into his bedroom, burning at at alarming rate. He made his way down the fire escape, and saw that the majority of his building had been evacuated, and the fire department was screaming down the street. He jumped onto the ground, and slipped into an alley, hoping to escape the inevitable presence of the media. As he caught his breath, he bagan to cough uncontrollably, and realized that he needed to get out of the cold night air. He closed his eyes, and took one last deep breath, before bowing his head, and making his way to the nearest subway station.
****
"Can we go yet?" Ross whispered into Rachel's ear, as they walked toward the bar.
"A few more minutes, honey," Rachel said, scanning the room.
"Are you still looking for Brad Pitt?" Ross asked, jealously tinging his voice.
"What? No!" Rachel said, as she scanned the room some more.
"Then what are you doing?"
"Just looking. There are a lot of celebrities here that I haven't met yet," Rachel said.
"I'm all the celebrity you need, babe," Ross joked.
"Besides, it's not like I'm gonna hit on Brad Pitt, or anything. He's married to that skinny actress," Rachel said.
"I knew it!" Ross said, a little too loudly.
"Ross, I was kidding," Rachel said, smiling. "Let's get outta here."
*
Ross and Rachel got into the limosine, and Ross instructed the limo driver where to go.
"Where are we going?" Rachel asked, when she noted that Ross hadn't given the driver his or her address.
"I need to drop this off at Chandler's," Ross said, pulling a set of papers out of his jacket pocket.
"What is it?"
"Just some legal crap we had to sign. I was supposed to get it to him, like two days ago, and he called me this morning to tell me that he needed it ASAP, so I just figured we could stop there on the way home."
Suddenly, the limo slowed, and came to a stop almost a block away from Chandler's building.
"What's going on?" Ross asked the driver.
"Looks like the block is cut off, Mr. Geller. That building is on fire."
Ross peered out the windshield of the limo, then sat back and opened the car door.
"Ross, what are you doing?" Rachel said, as he stepped out of the car.
"It's Chandler's building," Ross said, and jogged toward the building.
"Oh my God," Rachel said, and picked up the car phone.
****
"So, are you gonna buy the house?" Monica asked, as she and Phoebe finished preparing dinner.
"I think so. I really love it, and Joey seems genuinly excited about it. He said that the security system needs to be updated, but otherwise, he loves it. He is really concerned about security, especially since the FBI never found out who did all that stuff to the band," Phoebe said.
"Well, I can't wait to see it. As for security, things seemed to have cooled down a bit since they stopped touring. Hopefully, we'll find out who did all this soon, though."
"Mon, the food smells gooood," Joey called from the living room.
"Is that a hint?" Monica laughed.
"Yeah! Where the hell is Chandler! I wanna eat!"
"Good question. He's been gone for two hours. Maybe I should call him," Monica reached for the phone, but it rang before she had a chance to pick it up.
"Oh, spooky," Phoebe laughed.
"Hello?" Monica answered on the second ring.
"Mon, it's Rachel," came the voice on the other end of the phone.
"Oh, hey Rach, how was the benefit?"
"It was great! Uh, Mon, is Chandler there?"
"No, he went back to his apartment to get some stuff we needed for dinner, why?"
"So, you haven't heard from him since he left?"
"No. What's going on, Rach?"
"It's just...okay, maybe he's on his way back to your place, but, Ross and I were driving by his building, and the thing is-"
"What?"
"Mon, the whole building is on fire. Ross went to get more information, but--wait, Mon, Ross is back,"
"Oh my God," Monica was beginning to panic, as she listened to Ross and Rachel fumble with the phone.
"What's up, Mon?" Joey asked.
"Chandler's building is on fire," Monica said quickly, then heard Ross come on the phone, "Ross? Did you find him?"
"No, but the firefighter I talked to said that they haven't found anyone. Maybe he wasn't there."
"I'm coming down there," Monica said.
"No, you are not, Monica. The smoke is bad for the baby. Just stay there, and we'll see what we can find."
"Okay, but you call me the second you know anything."
"I will, Mon, try to stay calm, okay?"
Monica closed her eyes. She was anything but calm.
****
Chandler sat on the subway, trying to recover from his latest coughing fit. He was used to getting stared at on those rare occasions when he used the subway, but tonight, people were giving him a rather strange look. He'd finally realized that it was because his hands, clothes and face were totally black, covered in soot. His arm where he had climbed through the window had blood on it as well, and Chandler chuckled at the thoughts that must be running through these people's heads. The subway slowed, and Chandler looked up at the sign on the tiled station wall. Two more stops, and he'd be home. The subway started up again, and began moving through the darkened tunnel. Suddenly, the subway came to a grinding halt, as all of the lights in the car went out. The driver said something that was completely indecypherable over the loudspeaker, and Chandler sighed, as he sat in pitch blackness.
"Could things get any worse?" Chandler thought aloud. Suddenly, as if on cue, he began coughing again.
****
"Okay," Ross said, getting back into the limo, "they don't think anyone was in the building, but they think the fire originated in Chandler's apartment," Ross sighed heavily. He decided that it would be best to keep that last bit of information from his sister until they'd found Chandler. The last thing she needed was to put more stress on the baby.
"What do you want to do?" Rachel asked.
"I guess we should go over to Monica's" Ross sighed, "There's not much we can do here."
****
Twenty minutes after it had stopped, the subway started up again, crawling ever so slowly toward the next station. The train managed to make it to the station, and it was evacuated. Chandler made his way up the steps and out of the station, only to be met with a fierce wind, and an icy storm. He pulled his coat up around his ears, and made his way down the street, as the storm seemed to grow heavier with each step. This was shaping up to be one hell of a Christmas, Chandler thought, as he made his way onto the block where Monica lived. He rushed into her building, and shook the snow and cold off of him, before making his way upstairs to her apartment.
****
Joey, Phoebe, Monica, Ross and Rachel sat in silence, as the wind hit the windows with full force, causing them to rattle furiously. Joey looked up, and opened his mouth to say something, then decided against it. Suddenly, Chandler came flying through the door, coughing, once again.
"Chandler! Thank God! Are you okay?" Monica and the others rushed to greet him.
"This has only been the worst day of my life," Chandler grumbled, as he set the box on the kitchen table, and pulled off his soiled coat and hat.
"Oh, sweetie," Monica hugged Chandler before he could protest, and when she pulled away, he pointed to the black soot that now covered her arms, belly and face.
"It was worth it," Monica laughed.
"Dude, what's in the box?" Joey asked.
"It's a voodoo doll and a suspicious note that need to be taken to the cops," Chandler said, opening the box.
"They were in your apartment?" Ross asked.
"Yeah. I found them right before my place was torched," Chandler sighed.
"I'm sorry, Chandler," Rachel said.
"Eh, I was thinking about just moving in here anyway," Chandler grinned at Monica.
"Oh, ya think so, huh? Well, maybe I don't wanna live with a Rock star," Monica joked.
"Well, maybe you don't have a choice."
Monica laughed, and covered the box, before setting it aside. "Go take a shower, so we can eat dinner, Rock star."
"Yeah, baybee!" Joey yelled, sitting down at the kitchen table.
Chandler made his way into the bathroom, shaking his head. He rubbed his soar throat, and made a mental note to go see a doctor about his smoke inhalation. But tonight, he was just going to enjoy some peace and quiet, and the company of his best friends, in his new home.
~*~
More to come...
Happy Holidays everyone!!
"I'll Be Home For Christmas"
~New York City~
"Chandler!" Monica yelled from the living room. Chandler sighed and set down his guitar, before heading into the living room for the sixth time in thirty minutes.
"Yes, my love?" Chandler strolled into the living room from the practice room Monica had set up for him.
"I can't reach the top of the tree," Monica stood in front of the fully decorated Christmas tree, with a sparkling gold tree topper in her hand.
Chandler shook his head and laughed, before taking the big aluminum star from her.
"Well, if you are this helpless at seven months, I shudder to think what you'll be like in February," Chandler laughed.
"You can make all the wise cracks you want when you have a person growing inside of you," Monica grumbled.
"Grr, touchy, touchy babe!" Chandler said, as he placed the star on top of the tree.
"I can't believe you are complaining about doing this one little thing. I mean, I decorated the entire tree," Monica whined.
"Well first of all," Chandler said, as he walked behind Monica and wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands on her swollen belly, "I was kidding. You know I'd do anything for you. And secondly, you did not decorate this entire tree. You called me in here every five minutes to help put on decorations that were either too high, or too low for you."
"But--"
"And," Chandler interrupted, "I did put the lights on."
"Okay, fine. But don't you think it woulda been easier if you woulda stayed out here and helped me in the first place?" Monica batted her eyes dramatically.
"Yes, but then, what would you have to complain about?"
****
"Rach, let's go!" Ross pulled his wool overcoat on, and straightened his bow tie on his tuxedo.
"Coming, coming," Rachel scurried out of the bedroom, wearing a floor-length red sequined gown, and her long brown hair pulled up onto her head, with large curls framing her face.
"Wow," Ross exclaimed.
"You like what you see, cowboy?" Rachel purred.
Ross nodded, and tried his best not to literally drool.
"Well, the faster we get to this benefit, the faster we can get back," Rachel said seductively.
"Maybe we don't need to go," Ross said, "Screw the kids."
"Well, there's a good way to get yourself arrested," Rachel shook her head.
"Wait, Rach," Ross said, as she headed for the door.
"What?"
"Are you gonna wear those earrings with that dress?" Ross said, pointing to Rachel's ears.
"Um, yeah," Rachel said, as she felt herself becoming angry. What the hell was this about?
"Well, I was thinking, you should maybe wear these instead," Ross pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket.
"What?" Rachel's eyes lit up, as she took the box from Ross. She opened it, to find a pair of beautiful diamond and ruby earrings, sparkling in the light.
"Ross! These are gorgeous!" Rachel said enthusiastically, as she kissed him on the lips and cheek.
"Merry Christmas sweetheart," he said.
****
"Okay, I am gonna go get the rest of that stuff, and make a couple of calls. I should be back well before dinner," Chandler said casually, as he pulled his baseball cap low over his face.
"Okay. Hey, can you pick up some mint chocolate chip ice cream on your way back?" Monica said
"I just bought you some prailines and cream--did you already finish that?"
"Are you arguing with the pregnant woman?"
"Not at all," Chandler laughed, and kissed Monica on the nose, as he headed out the door.
*
Chandler keyed into his downtown apartment, and walked in. It was strange, he no longer really felt at home here anymore. He spent more time at Monica's these days, looking after her and the baby-to-be. He laughed to himself, as he noted that most of his stuff seemed to be over at Monica's as well.
"Maybe I should just move in there," Chandler said to himself. It wasn't a bad idea. With the baby on the way, he was going to want to be as close as possible. Chandler decided that he'd better talk to Monica about it. He walked into his room, and flipped on the light. His eyes scanned the room, as he tried to remember why he had come over in the first place. Oh, right, candles. He knew he had them...somewhere. His eyes fell onto his bed, and a small box that sat on it. Where did that come from? The box was gold, and was decorated with a large red bow. Chandler smiled, and realized that it must be the work of Monica. He pulled off the ribbon, and opened the box, excitedly. He pulled out what appeared to be some kind of rag doll. Chandler looked at the doll, then noticed that the doll was dressed just like him. Weird. As he turned the doll over, he saw that there were several silver needles protruding from the doll's back. Chandler dropped the doll, realizing what it was. He looked at the voodoo doll suspiciously, then peered around the room, wondering if the person who had put the doll on his bed was still in the apartment. The idea that someone who wanted him dead had been in his home made Chandler physically ill. He walked to the telephone to call the police, and saw that there was a note sitting on top of the phone. Chandler cautiously picked up the note, and unfolded it.
"Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down," Chandler read aloud. "What the hell was that supposed to mean?" It was then that Chandler heard the popping. He ran out into the living room, and saw that the front door and wall of his apartment was completely engulfed in flames.
*
"Hey guys," Monica said, as Joey and Phoebe walked into the apartment.
"Hey Mon, sorry we're late. We would have been here sooner but...did you know that there is a whole bunch of paprazzi outside of your building?" Joey asked.
"Oh, Joey, I'm sorry, I should have told you to use the side enterance. They have been out there ever since the pregnancy rumour was 'confirmed' by MTV," Monica said, taking Joey and Phoebe's coats.
"Where's Chandler?"
"At his apartment, picking up a few things. He should be back any minute," Monica said.
"Well, he'd better hurry, 'cause that storm is getting worse," Phoebe said.
"Good, maybe it'll scare off some of those photographers," Monica laughed, as she walked toward the window.
*
Downstairs, the wind and snow began to pick up, and several of the photographers had decided that frostbite and hypothermia were just not worth it. They began to pack up and leave, hoping that either Monica or Chandler would make an appearance tomorrow. As the crowd of paparazzi cleared, a dedicated fan found herself alone on the frozen sidewalk. She peered up into the apartment window on the second floor, and saw a pregnant woman appear in front of it. It was Monica. The woman on the street watched Monica, as she looked out into the night. She thought carefully about ways to get Monica out of the picture, so that she could have Chandler all to herself. After all, they were meant to be together.
Forever.
****
Black plumes of smoke began to fill the apartment rapidly, as Chandler made his way toward the bedroom. He pulled on his bedroom window, intending to use his fire escape. The window wouldn't budge, and Chandler noted that it had been painted shut. Whomever it was that had done this had obviously planned it well. Chandler grabbed a towel from his bathroom, and wrapped it around his arm, punching through the thick glass. He kicked out the remaining shards of glass, and threw the note into the box with the doll, before jumping throught the window, and onto the fire escape. He turned to see the fire spreading into his bedroom, burning at at alarming rate. He made his way down the fire escape, and saw that the majority of his building had been evacuated, and the fire department was screaming down the street. He jumped onto the ground, and slipped into an alley, hoping to escape the inevitable presence of the media. As he caught his breath, he bagan to cough uncontrollably, and realized that he needed to get out of the cold night air. He closed his eyes, and took one last deep breath, before bowing his head, and making his way to the nearest subway station.
****
"Can we go yet?" Ross whispered into Rachel's ear, as they walked toward the bar.
"A few more minutes, honey," Rachel said, scanning the room.
"Are you still looking for Brad Pitt?" Ross asked, jealously tinging his voice.
"What? No!" Rachel said, as she scanned the room some more.
"Then what are you doing?"
"Just looking. There are a lot of celebrities here that I haven't met yet," Rachel said.
"I'm all the celebrity you need, babe," Ross joked.
"Besides, it's not like I'm gonna hit on Brad Pitt, or anything. He's married to that skinny actress," Rachel said.
"I knew it!" Ross said, a little too loudly.
"Ross, I was kidding," Rachel said, smiling. "Let's get outta here."
*
Ross and Rachel got into the limosine, and Ross instructed the limo driver where to go.
"Where are we going?" Rachel asked, when she noted that Ross hadn't given the driver his or her address.
"I need to drop this off at Chandler's," Ross said, pulling a set of papers out of his jacket pocket.
"What is it?"
"Just some legal crap we had to sign. I was supposed to get it to him, like two days ago, and he called me this morning to tell me that he needed it ASAP, so I just figured we could stop there on the way home."
Suddenly, the limo slowed, and came to a stop almost a block away from Chandler's building.
"What's going on?" Ross asked the driver.
"Looks like the block is cut off, Mr. Geller. That building is on fire."
Ross peered out the windshield of the limo, then sat back and opened the car door.
"Ross, what are you doing?" Rachel said, as he stepped out of the car.
"It's Chandler's building," Ross said, and jogged toward the building.
"Oh my God," Rachel said, and picked up the car phone.
****
"So, are you gonna buy the house?" Monica asked, as she and Phoebe finished preparing dinner.
"I think so. I really love it, and Joey seems genuinly excited about it. He said that the security system needs to be updated, but otherwise, he loves it. He is really concerned about security, especially since the FBI never found out who did all that stuff to the band," Phoebe said.
"Well, I can't wait to see it. As for security, things seemed to have cooled down a bit since they stopped touring. Hopefully, we'll find out who did all this soon, though."
"Mon, the food smells gooood," Joey called from the living room.
"Is that a hint?" Monica laughed.
"Yeah! Where the hell is Chandler! I wanna eat!"
"Good question. He's been gone for two hours. Maybe I should call him," Monica reached for the phone, but it rang before she had a chance to pick it up.
"Oh, spooky," Phoebe laughed.
"Hello?" Monica answered on the second ring.
"Mon, it's Rachel," came the voice on the other end of the phone.
"Oh, hey Rach, how was the benefit?"
"It was great! Uh, Mon, is Chandler there?"
"No, he went back to his apartment to get some stuff we needed for dinner, why?"
"So, you haven't heard from him since he left?"
"No. What's going on, Rach?"
"It's just...okay, maybe he's on his way back to your place, but, Ross and I were driving by his building, and the thing is-"
"What?"
"Mon, the whole building is on fire. Ross went to get more information, but--wait, Mon, Ross is back,"
"Oh my God," Monica was beginning to panic, as she listened to Ross and Rachel fumble with the phone.
"What's up, Mon?" Joey asked.
"Chandler's building is on fire," Monica said quickly, then heard Ross come on the phone, "Ross? Did you find him?"
"No, but the firefighter I talked to said that they haven't found anyone. Maybe he wasn't there."
"I'm coming down there," Monica said.
"No, you are not, Monica. The smoke is bad for the baby. Just stay there, and we'll see what we can find."
"Okay, but you call me the second you know anything."
"I will, Mon, try to stay calm, okay?"
Monica closed her eyes. She was anything but calm.
****
Chandler sat on the subway, trying to recover from his latest coughing fit. He was used to getting stared at on those rare occasions when he used the subway, but tonight, people were giving him a rather strange look. He'd finally realized that it was because his hands, clothes and face were totally black, covered in soot. His arm where he had climbed through the window had blood on it as well, and Chandler chuckled at the thoughts that must be running through these people's heads. The subway slowed, and Chandler looked up at the sign on the tiled station wall. Two more stops, and he'd be home. The subway started up again, and began moving through the darkened tunnel. Suddenly, the subway came to a grinding halt, as all of the lights in the car went out. The driver said something that was completely indecypherable over the loudspeaker, and Chandler sighed, as he sat in pitch blackness.
"Could things get any worse?" Chandler thought aloud. Suddenly, as if on cue, he began coughing again.
****
"Okay," Ross said, getting back into the limo, "they don't think anyone was in the building, but they think the fire originated in Chandler's apartment," Ross sighed heavily. He decided that it would be best to keep that last bit of information from his sister until they'd found Chandler. The last thing she needed was to put more stress on the baby.
"What do you want to do?" Rachel asked.
"I guess we should go over to Monica's" Ross sighed, "There's not much we can do here."
****
Twenty minutes after it had stopped, the subway started up again, crawling ever so slowly toward the next station. The train managed to make it to the station, and it was evacuated. Chandler made his way up the steps and out of the station, only to be met with a fierce wind, and an icy storm. He pulled his coat up around his ears, and made his way down the street, as the storm seemed to grow heavier with each step. This was shaping up to be one hell of a Christmas, Chandler thought, as he made his way onto the block where Monica lived. He rushed into her building, and shook the snow and cold off of him, before making his way upstairs to her apartment.
****
Joey, Phoebe, Monica, Ross and Rachel sat in silence, as the wind hit the windows with full force, causing them to rattle furiously. Joey looked up, and opened his mouth to say something, then decided against it. Suddenly, Chandler came flying through the door, coughing, once again.
"Chandler! Thank God! Are you okay?" Monica and the others rushed to greet him.
"This has only been the worst day of my life," Chandler grumbled, as he set the box on the kitchen table, and pulled off his soiled coat and hat.
"Oh, sweetie," Monica hugged Chandler before he could protest, and when she pulled away, he pointed to the black soot that now covered her arms, belly and face.
"It was worth it," Monica laughed.
"Dude, what's in the box?" Joey asked.
"It's a voodoo doll and a suspicious note that need to be taken to the cops," Chandler said, opening the box.
"They were in your apartment?" Ross asked.
"Yeah. I found them right before my place was torched," Chandler sighed.
"I'm sorry, Chandler," Rachel said.
"Eh, I was thinking about just moving in here anyway," Chandler grinned at Monica.
"Oh, ya think so, huh? Well, maybe I don't wanna live with a Rock star," Monica joked.
"Well, maybe you don't have a choice."
Monica laughed, and covered the box, before setting it aside. "Go take a shower, so we can eat dinner, Rock star."
"Yeah, baybee!" Joey yelled, sitting down at the kitchen table.
Chandler made his way into the bathroom, shaking his head. He rubbed his soar throat, and made a mental note to go see a doctor about his smoke inhalation. But tonight, he was just going to enjoy some peace and quiet, and the company of his best friends, in his new home.
~*~
More to come...
Happy Holidays everyone!!