If Love Is All We Have
~Chapter Two~
"Since You've Been Gone"
Monica awoke with a start, sweating profusely, and screaming Chandler's name. She opened her eyes, praying that it had all been a horrible dream. She looked over at Chandler's side of the bed-empty. She sighed, and pulled herself out of bed.
The hours since Chandler's strange disappearance had been surreal to say the least. Immediately after Chandler was abducted, Monica and her friends raced up to her apartment, and called the police. The police had arrived twenty minutes later, and Ross had explained everything. Monica's mind was in a whirl. She thought back to all that had happened that afternoon, trying to put together some clue as to what was going on. She mentally filtered through every detail, trying desperately to explain what had happened. Chandler had started acting strangely as soon as they'd returned from Central Perk. He was searching for something, and he was frantic. He refused to explain himself, and later explained that it was for her own safety. Chandler was afraid of something...or someone.
Fat, salty tears flowed down Monica's face, as she came to a horrible, but logical conclusion-she was never going to see Chandler again.
****
Ross glanced up toward Monica and Chandler's apartment, and could see his sister through the living room window.
She was cleaning, something she often did when she was anxious, or nervous, or upset. It had been two days since the abduction, and Ross wondered just how long Monica could wear the brave face. She had been remarkably strong through all of this, to the point where she was the one everyone else seemed to be going to for support.
Joey was a wreck, and Phoebe was doing what she could for him. But when it got to be too much, she often turned to Monica, more out of habit than anything else. Rachel had become distant, and unusually quiet, and Ross was very concerned about her as well. He pulled himself away from the window, and picked up the morning paper, and a cup of coffee. He sat down on the sofa, and began thumbing through the various sections of the paper. His eyes scanned each page, as he unconsciously searched for some kind of clue. His eyes, fell onto a familiar name, and his heart sank.
****
Joey opened the door, and quietly let Ross into the apartment. Ross was pale, and shaky, and he was sweating. Phoebe and Rachel were sitting on the sofa, talking quietly. Upon seeing Ross, they stopped, and stood up, a look of concern on their faces. Ross looked like he was going to pass out. The group led him to the couch, where he sat for a solid minute, doing and saying nothing. He finally looked up at his concerned friends, and, without a word, handed them the newspaper he had been reading. Phoebe took the paper, and scanned the page. She saw nothing unusual, so she turned the paper over, and looked at the page in front of her. Rachel peered over her shoulder, and Joey stood behind her. Their eyes fell into it simultaniously. Rachel gasped, and Joey collapsed onto Rosita(his chair).
"Ross, is this...it can't be right."
"I don't know how to explain it either, but...we have to tell Monica."
"Maybe we should verify this, or something. I mean, maybe it's not true," Rachel was reaching, desperately, for another explaination.
"Rach," Ross looked at her, and then watched, as she broke down.
Ross closed his eyes, in a futile attempt to rid himself of the pain he was feeling, and the pain he was about to inflict on his little sister. He stood up slowly, and walked across the hall. He walked in, and found Monica on the floor, scrubbing furiously.
"Monica," Ross said softly, as the others hovered in the doorway.
"Hey, Ross", Monica said, not looking up from her task.
"I...I need to talk to you," he said.
Monica looked up at Ross, not at all liking the tone of his voice. She pulled herself up to a kitchen chair, and faced Ross bravely.
Ross took a deep breath, and sighed. This was quite possibly, the hardest thing he'd ever had to do.
"Mon," Ross said, looking down at the table, "Chandler...he's, um..."
"Is he dead?" Monica asked, then turned to look at her other friends, who were all staring at the floor.
"Yes, he is," Ross whispered.
Monica sat back in her chair, unable to move or speak. So that was it, then. He was gone. She closed her eyes, as Ross stood up, and pulled her into a hug.
"I am so sorry, Mon," he said softly.
Monica pulled away from Ross, and ran into her room, slamming the door behind her.
****
Chandler stepped off of the small single-engine plane, and was escorted to the waiting vehicle. (AN; Oh, yeah, like I was actually gonna kill off Chandler! sheesh!!) His eyes were covered, and his arms were tied at the wrists, behind his back. After about 20 minutes in the car, he was pulled out, and led toward a large, stone-and-glass mansion.
Once inside, the men who had abducted him pulled off his blindfold, and pushed him down a narrow corridor, and into a large room. The room was dark, the only source of light coming through a large curtained window on Chandler's right. A large, oak desk sat at one end of the room, and a large, leather chair sat behind it. In front of the desk sat two smaller leather chairs. The two men pushed Chandler toward the desk.
"Would you stop pushing me!" Chandler yelled, pulling himself away from the men.
"Oh, toughguy, huh?" one of the men laughed.
Chandler shot the man a look, and moved in front of the desk. Suddenly, a door behind the desk opened, and a tall, grey-haired man walked in. He looked at Chandler, and took a seat behind the desk.
"Peter, it's been a long time." the man stated.
"Not nearly long enough," Chandler muttered.
"So, what do you go by now? Chandler Bing? Where the hell did you come up with that?"
"What was I supposed to use, Joe Smith?" Chandler asked.
The man behind the desk laughed. "Come on Peter, lossen up, huh?"
"Yeah, that's kinda hard to do with my hands tied behind my back, Frank."
"You're right," Frank said, and motioned to one of the other men, "Billy, untie the boy."
One of the large men came forward, and pulled the rope off of Chandler's wrists.
"What do you want, Frank?" Chandler asked, rubbing his sore wrists.
"You know what I want Peter. Why are you playing dumb?"
"You know I don't want anything to do with you. Why can't you just leave me alone?"
"You know I can't Peter." Frank said gravely.
****
"Monica?" Rachel tapped lightly on Monica's bedroom door. It had been two days since Ross had told Monica the news of Chandler's death. Monica was obviously upset, and Rachel was very concerned. To her surprise, Monica opened her bedroom door.
"Hey Rach," Monica said quietly. Her hair was matted and her eyes bloodshot. She was pale and shaky, and she looked like...well, she looked like someone who had lost the love of their life.
"Aw, honey," Rachel hugged her best friend tightly. Monica began to tremble, and felt the onslought of more tears.
"What am I going to do without him?" Monica wept into Rachel's shoulder.
"I don't know sweetie. I know he loved you very much. And we all loved him. And we all love you, and we are here for you, no matter what." Rachel stroked Monica's hair as she spoke, and fought back her own tears.
"Nothing is ever going to be the same," Monica whispered.
Rachel nodded silently, as her own tears made their way down her face. Monica was right. Everything was already so different with the group. Rachel never truely realized how much Chandler had meant to all of them, until now.
"I never even got to say goodbye," Monica said softly, as she pulled away from Rachel.
"I know," Rachel said, as her mind began whirling. Monica needed closure. They all needed closure.
Rachel stayed with Monica for three more hours, until Monica finally fell into an uncomfortable slumber on the sofa. Rachel made her way over to Ross', to talk with him about what was on her mind. She was surprised to find that Joey and Phoebe were already at Ross' by the time she got there.
"Hey, I'm glad you are all here," Rachel said.
"What's up Rach?" Ross asked.
"I was thinking...we need to do something about...you know," Rachel couldn't believe how difficult it was to articulate her thoughts.
"About Monica?" Ross asked.
"No, well, yes, kind of. I was just over there, and..."
"Did you talk to her?" Ross asked.
"Ross, let me finish! Yes, we talked for a couple of hours. She's just so heartbroken," Rachel shook her head.
The others nodded.
"She mentioned that she never really got to say goodbye to Chandler," Rachel felt another lump forming in her throat. She swallowed hard, and continued. "I was thinking that we need to have...I don't know, some kind of service."
"I was thinking the same thing, Rach," Ross said quietly.
"I don't want to talk about this right now," Joey said angrily, and stormed out of Ross' apartment.
"He's not taking this well," Phoebe said quietly, and ran after Joey.
Rachel sighed. This was definitely what everyone needed.
****
"Joey, wait!" Phoebe ran after Joey, who was making his way across the street. "Are you okay?"
"I'm sorry Pheebs, I just...I can't believe he's really gone!" Joey said, throwing his hands up.
"I know, Joey, neither can I," Phoebe took Joey's hand, as they walked toward Central Perk.
"I feel like I should do something, ya know? Like we should try to find him."
"Joey, there's really nothing any of us can do."
"But we don't even know who ran that obituary. *We* were Chandler's family. It shoulda been one of us."
Phoebe nodded. Everything about this was very strange. And everyone was so busy grieving, that they never stopped to think these things that Joey was saying. Maybe he was right. Maybe they needed to find answers.
The problem was, where do they begin?
****
Chandler sat alone in the bedroom that had been provided for him. The room was dark and, with the exception of a bed and a small dresser, it was totally empty. Chandler sat on the bed, staring up at the stars. He wondered what Monica was doing. Was she angry at him? Did she hate him? Was she sad? He sighed heavily, and thought about how great his life was, up until a few days ago. A knock on the door interrupted his reverie.
"Who is it?" Chandler called.
The door opened, and Frank popped his head in.
"Hey Peter," he said cheerily.
"It's Chandler, and what do you want, Frank?"
"Come on, we are going to be spending a lot of time together. You are gonna have to tone down the attitude." Frank said angrily.
"I can have all the attitude I want. You're holding me here against my will."
"Peter," Franks started.
"It's Chandler." he retorted.
"Fine, you want me to call you Chandler, you are gonna have to stop calling me Frank," he said, grinning.
"Fine, can I call you asshole?" Chandler asked honestly.
"Very funny."
Chandler laughed bitterly. "If you think I am calling you Dad, you are out of your mind."
"Why not? I am your father." Frank said.
"You ceased being my father a long time ago. I disowned you, remember?" Chandler stood up.
"You didn't disown me, you ran away. And you were not old enough to make any kind of decision like that."
"I made my decision, and I was happy with it. I was totally happy until a few days ago. Until you came back," Chandler sighed.
"You were only 13, you had no idea what you were giving up," Frank countered.
"I was old enough to know that I wanted nothing to do with this business, or you."
"I run a legitimate business, Peter." Frank said crossly.
"As a front for an illegal one," Chandler shot back.
"You don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about."
"I know what I saw 16 years ago," Chandler said knowingly.
"You only think you know. You don't know what was going on that night."
"Really? Well, why don't you enlighten me Frank. Please, I'd love to here your totally rational, legitimate excuse for shooting a man in the head!"
"You know what, we will continue this when YOU have calmed down," Frank yelled, and turned to leave.
"Yeah, and give you time to make up your story." Chandler muttered as Franks left the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh, man, what the heck is going on!!!! Well, leave a review, and take a guess. ;-)
~Chapter Two~
"Since You've Been Gone"
Monica awoke with a start, sweating profusely, and screaming Chandler's name. She opened her eyes, praying that it had all been a horrible dream. She looked over at Chandler's side of the bed-empty. She sighed, and pulled herself out of bed.
The hours since Chandler's strange disappearance had been surreal to say the least. Immediately after Chandler was abducted, Monica and her friends raced up to her apartment, and called the police. The police had arrived twenty minutes later, and Ross had explained everything. Monica's mind was in a whirl. She thought back to all that had happened that afternoon, trying to put together some clue as to what was going on. She mentally filtered through every detail, trying desperately to explain what had happened. Chandler had started acting strangely as soon as they'd returned from Central Perk. He was searching for something, and he was frantic. He refused to explain himself, and later explained that it was for her own safety. Chandler was afraid of something...or someone.
Fat, salty tears flowed down Monica's face, as she came to a horrible, but logical conclusion-she was never going to see Chandler again.
****
Ross glanced up toward Monica and Chandler's apartment, and could see his sister through the living room window.
She was cleaning, something she often did when she was anxious, or nervous, or upset. It had been two days since the abduction, and Ross wondered just how long Monica could wear the brave face. She had been remarkably strong through all of this, to the point where she was the one everyone else seemed to be going to for support.
Joey was a wreck, and Phoebe was doing what she could for him. But when it got to be too much, she often turned to Monica, more out of habit than anything else. Rachel had become distant, and unusually quiet, and Ross was very concerned about her as well. He pulled himself away from the window, and picked up the morning paper, and a cup of coffee. He sat down on the sofa, and began thumbing through the various sections of the paper. His eyes scanned each page, as he unconsciously searched for some kind of clue. His eyes, fell onto a familiar name, and his heart sank.
****
Joey opened the door, and quietly let Ross into the apartment. Ross was pale, and shaky, and he was sweating. Phoebe and Rachel were sitting on the sofa, talking quietly. Upon seeing Ross, they stopped, and stood up, a look of concern on their faces. Ross looked like he was going to pass out. The group led him to the couch, where he sat for a solid minute, doing and saying nothing. He finally looked up at his concerned friends, and, without a word, handed them the newspaper he had been reading. Phoebe took the paper, and scanned the page. She saw nothing unusual, so she turned the paper over, and looked at the page in front of her. Rachel peered over her shoulder, and Joey stood behind her. Their eyes fell into it simultaniously. Rachel gasped, and Joey collapsed onto Rosita(his chair).
"Ross, is this...it can't be right."
"I don't know how to explain it either, but...we have to tell Monica."
"Maybe we should verify this, or something. I mean, maybe it's not true," Rachel was reaching, desperately, for another explaination.
"Rach," Ross looked at her, and then watched, as she broke down.
Ross closed his eyes, in a futile attempt to rid himself of the pain he was feeling, and the pain he was about to inflict on his little sister. He stood up slowly, and walked across the hall. He walked in, and found Monica on the floor, scrubbing furiously.
"Monica," Ross said softly, as the others hovered in the doorway.
"Hey, Ross", Monica said, not looking up from her task.
"I...I need to talk to you," he said.
Monica looked up at Ross, not at all liking the tone of his voice. She pulled herself up to a kitchen chair, and faced Ross bravely.
Ross took a deep breath, and sighed. This was quite possibly, the hardest thing he'd ever had to do.
"Mon," Ross said, looking down at the table, "Chandler...he's, um..."
"Is he dead?" Monica asked, then turned to look at her other friends, who were all staring at the floor.
"Yes, he is," Ross whispered.
Monica sat back in her chair, unable to move or speak. So that was it, then. He was gone. She closed her eyes, as Ross stood up, and pulled her into a hug.
"I am so sorry, Mon," he said softly.
Monica pulled away from Ross, and ran into her room, slamming the door behind her.
****
Chandler stepped off of the small single-engine plane, and was escorted to the waiting vehicle. (AN; Oh, yeah, like I was actually gonna kill off Chandler! sheesh!!) His eyes were covered, and his arms were tied at the wrists, behind his back. After about 20 minutes in the car, he was pulled out, and led toward a large, stone-and-glass mansion.
Once inside, the men who had abducted him pulled off his blindfold, and pushed him down a narrow corridor, and into a large room. The room was dark, the only source of light coming through a large curtained window on Chandler's right. A large, oak desk sat at one end of the room, and a large, leather chair sat behind it. In front of the desk sat two smaller leather chairs. The two men pushed Chandler toward the desk.
"Would you stop pushing me!" Chandler yelled, pulling himself away from the men.
"Oh, toughguy, huh?" one of the men laughed.
Chandler shot the man a look, and moved in front of the desk. Suddenly, a door behind the desk opened, and a tall, grey-haired man walked in. He looked at Chandler, and took a seat behind the desk.
"Peter, it's been a long time." the man stated.
"Not nearly long enough," Chandler muttered.
"So, what do you go by now? Chandler Bing? Where the hell did you come up with that?"
"What was I supposed to use, Joe Smith?" Chandler asked.
The man behind the desk laughed. "Come on Peter, lossen up, huh?"
"Yeah, that's kinda hard to do with my hands tied behind my back, Frank."
"You're right," Frank said, and motioned to one of the other men, "Billy, untie the boy."
One of the large men came forward, and pulled the rope off of Chandler's wrists.
"What do you want, Frank?" Chandler asked, rubbing his sore wrists.
"You know what I want Peter. Why are you playing dumb?"
"You know I don't want anything to do with you. Why can't you just leave me alone?"
"You know I can't Peter." Frank said gravely.
****
"Monica?" Rachel tapped lightly on Monica's bedroom door. It had been two days since Ross had told Monica the news of Chandler's death. Monica was obviously upset, and Rachel was very concerned. To her surprise, Monica opened her bedroom door.
"Hey Rach," Monica said quietly. Her hair was matted and her eyes bloodshot. She was pale and shaky, and she looked like...well, she looked like someone who had lost the love of their life.
"Aw, honey," Rachel hugged her best friend tightly. Monica began to tremble, and felt the onslought of more tears.
"What am I going to do without him?" Monica wept into Rachel's shoulder.
"I don't know sweetie. I know he loved you very much. And we all loved him. And we all love you, and we are here for you, no matter what." Rachel stroked Monica's hair as she spoke, and fought back her own tears.
"Nothing is ever going to be the same," Monica whispered.
Rachel nodded silently, as her own tears made their way down her face. Monica was right. Everything was already so different with the group. Rachel never truely realized how much Chandler had meant to all of them, until now.
"I never even got to say goodbye," Monica said softly, as she pulled away from Rachel.
"I know," Rachel said, as her mind began whirling. Monica needed closure. They all needed closure.
Rachel stayed with Monica for three more hours, until Monica finally fell into an uncomfortable slumber on the sofa. Rachel made her way over to Ross', to talk with him about what was on her mind. She was surprised to find that Joey and Phoebe were already at Ross' by the time she got there.
"Hey, I'm glad you are all here," Rachel said.
"What's up Rach?" Ross asked.
"I was thinking...we need to do something about...you know," Rachel couldn't believe how difficult it was to articulate her thoughts.
"About Monica?" Ross asked.
"No, well, yes, kind of. I was just over there, and..."
"Did you talk to her?" Ross asked.
"Ross, let me finish! Yes, we talked for a couple of hours. She's just so heartbroken," Rachel shook her head.
The others nodded.
"She mentioned that she never really got to say goodbye to Chandler," Rachel felt another lump forming in her throat. She swallowed hard, and continued. "I was thinking that we need to have...I don't know, some kind of service."
"I was thinking the same thing, Rach," Ross said quietly.
"I don't want to talk about this right now," Joey said angrily, and stormed out of Ross' apartment.
"He's not taking this well," Phoebe said quietly, and ran after Joey.
Rachel sighed. This was definitely what everyone needed.
****
"Joey, wait!" Phoebe ran after Joey, who was making his way across the street. "Are you okay?"
"I'm sorry Pheebs, I just...I can't believe he's really gone!" Joey said, throwing his hands up.
"I know, Joey, neither can I," Phoebe took Joey's hand, as they walked toward Central Perk.
"I feel like I should do something, ya know? Like we should try to find him."
"Joey, there's really nothing any of us can do."
"But we don't even know who ran that obituary. *We* were Chandler's family. It shoulda been one of us."
Phoebe nodded. Everything about this was very strange. And everyone was so busy grieving, that they never stopped to think these things that Joey was saying. Maybe he was right. Maybe they needed to find answers.
The problem was, where do they begin?
****
Chandler sat alone in the bedroom that had been provided for him. The room was dark and, with the exception of a bed and a small dresser, it was totally empty. Chandler sat on the bed, staring up at the stars. He wondered what Monica was doing. Was she angry at him? Did she hate him? Was she sad? He sighed heavily, and thought about how great his life was, up until a few days ago. A knock on the door interrupted his reverie.
"Who is it?" Chandler called.
The door opened, and Frank popped his head in.
"Hey Peter," he said cheerily.
"It's Chandler, and what do you want, Frank?"
"Come on, we are going to be spending a lot of time together. You are gonna have to tone down the attitude." Frank said angrily.
"I can have all the attitude I want. You're holding me here against my will."
"Peter," Franks started.
"It's Chandler." he retorted.
"Fine, you want me to call you Chandler, you are gonna have to stop calling me Frank," he said, grinning.
"Fine, can I call you asshole?" Chandler asked honestly.
"Very funny."
Chandler laughed bitterly. "If you think I am calling you Dad, you are out of your mind."
"Why not? I am your father." Frank said.
"You ceased being my father a long time ago. I disowned you, remember?" Chandler stood up.
"You didn't disown me, you ran away. And you were not old enough to make any kind of decision like that."
"I made my decision, and I was happy with it. I was totally happy until a few days ago. Until you came back," Chandler sighed.
"You were only 13, you had no idea what you were giving up," Frank countered.
"I was old enough to know that I wanted nothing to do with this business, or you."
"I run a legitimate business, Peter." Frank said crossly.
"As a front for an illegal one," Chandler shot back.
"You don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about."
"I know what I saw 16 years ago," Chandler said knowingly.
"You only think you know. You don't know what was going on that night."
"Really? Well, why don't you enlighten me Frank. Please, I'd love to here your totally rational, legitimate excuse for shooting a man in the head!"
"You know what, we will continue this when YOU have calmed down," Frank yelled, and turned to leave.
"Yeah, and give you time to make up your story." Chandler muttered as Franks left the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh, man, what the heck is going on!!!! Well, leave a review, and take a guess. ;-)