Thanks for all of the encouraging reviews, especially seeing that I have no idea where the hell I am going with this. Oh well, LOL.
*****
Haunted, Chapter Four
"Life, Death, Family, Friendship"
~2013~
So, lemme get this straight," Phoebe said, as she, Monica and Chandler sat in Central Perk, "You left because you thought we were all dead, and we all thought you were dead because you were gone?"
"Basically," Chandler had to laugh at how stupid it all sounded.
"This is the weirdest thing I've ever heard," Monica shook her head.
"It's like a 'Three's Company' episode from hell," Chandler laughed.
"We have to call the others," Phoebe sais excitedly.
"Wh-what should we tell them?" Chandler asked.
"Well, Ross and Rachel kind of already know...since I called them after that weird encounter we had last week."
"Wait, what encounter?" Monica asked.
"We ran into each other," Chandler said, "but at the time, I thought Phoebe was Ursula."
"And I thought I was seeing a ghost," Phoebe laughed.
"Oh. Wow. Well, we gotta call Joey. He is gonna freak out!"
"Don't tell him I'm here yet. I wanna see his face," Chandler grinned. Before the girls could reply, Chandler's cell phone rang. "Hello?" Chandler shot Phoebe and Monica an apologetic glance.
"Oh, hi honey. Yeah, I'm fine, but, uh, well...it's hard to explain over the phone. No, I don't think I will be home for dinner. Yes, I promise, everything is fine. It has to do with my old friends from the Villiage. I swear, I'll explain when I get home. Okay, kiss the kids for me. I love you too. Bye." Chandler hung up the phone and sighed. He wanted to tell Erin everything, but he wanted to see his old friends more. He didn't know what that meant.
"Was that your wife?" Phoebe asked.
"Yeah. Erin. I uh, met her when I was living in California."
"How many kids do you have?" Monica asked.
"Four. Two boys, two girls."
"Wow. Chandler Bing, married with children," Phoebe laughed.
"Yeah, it is a minor miracle, I suppose," Chandler laughed, all the while trying to decypher the strange look on Monica's face. "What, uh, what about you guys?"
"I'm not married," Phoebe replied, "but I have been seeing scientist-guy David again. He's back from Minsk," Phoebe grinned like an excited child.
"What about you, Mon?"
"I, uh, I was married. It didn't last. But I do have a daughter. Christine," Monica smiled.
"Where is she?"
"With her Dad."
"Ah," Chandler nodded.
***
~1998~
"Monica? What happened? Are you okay?" Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and Joey came flying back to New York after receiving a frantic, disjointed phone call from Monica. She told them that she was at her parents house, so the four friends went straight over to the Geller's.
"You guys had better sit down," a remarkably calmer Monica was sitting in an overstuffed arm chair, wrapped in a thin blanket. Dark circles under her eyes indicated her lack of sleep.
"What happened, Mon? Did you and Chandler have a fight?" Rachel asked.
At the mention of her boyfriend and best friend's name, Monica melted into another fit of sobs, prompting her father Jack to re-enter the living room.
"Dad, what's going on?" Ross asked, his voice shaky.
"I don't know all the details Ross, but apparently there was some sort of gas leak in your sister's building," Jack looked at the others sadly.
"It's gone," Monica interrupted, wiping her eyes and nose with the sleeve of her shirt, "The whole building is gone-and Chandler's gone too," she whispered.
The group stood silently for a minute, absorbing everything that Monica had just said.
"What do you mean gone? He-he left?" Joey tried desperately to cling to a naive hope that he had misunderstood Monica.
"He's dead." Monica's words fell onto the room like a dark cloud.
Joey felt his entire world collapse. He had never lost anyone this close to him before, and he wasn't sure how to handle it. The one person that he would have gone to in this situation was the one who was gone. He looked at everyone in the room, the innocence of youth and invincibility melting from his eyes in an instant. He would never be the same.
***
~2013~
Joey hung up the phone, his brow furrowing in confusion. Phoebe was insistant that he come out to Manhattan as soon as possible. He wondered what was so important. He walked into the living room, where his wife Carrie was sitting, relaxing after having just put the kids to bed.
"Hey, babe, I gotta go out to the city for a bit," he said.
Carrie opened his eyes and peered at Joey. "What? Why?"
"I don't know, actually. Phoebe said it was urgent."
"Weird. Give me a call when you can," Carrie said.
"Will do, babe," Joey said, kissing Carrie and heading out to the subway station.
*
Joey approached Central Perk slowly, unsure about going inside. He hadn't been anywhere near the coffee place since Chandler was killed. Joey wondered why Phoebe had insisted that he meet her here. She was fully aware how much he hated this neighborhood. After the apartment building was redone, none of the gang moved back into it. Joey had moved in with Ross for a while, and Monica and Rachel moved in with Phoebe. But things were never like they were when they lived here. The five of them rarely hung out after the fire, and when they did, it was usually just two or three of them. They eventually parted ways, but kept in contact through the years, more through weddings and births and things of that nature. Joey shook the memories from his head, and tentatively entered the coffee house. Phoebe was waiting for him on the sofa.
"Hey, Pheebs," Joey said quietly, and sat down next to his old friend.
"Hey Joey!" Phoebe said, unable to contain her smile.
"What's going on? Did David propose or something?"
"No, better."
"Better than the love of your life asking you to marry you." Joey stated flatly.
"Yep. You are never gonna guess who Monica and I ran into today."
"Who did you run into?"
"Well, first, I have to tell you something."
"Phoebe, what the hell is going on?"
"Chandler's alive."
"What?"
"HE thought WE were all killed in the fire. He moved to California!"
"This is...what? Where is he?" Joey babbled excitedly.
"Behind you, man," Joey turned to see Chandler standing behind him, his hands shoved into his pockets and a lopsided grin on his face.
"Chandler?" Joey almost couldn't believe his eyes. It had taken him years to get over Chandler's death. And now here he was, standing in front of him, alive and healthy. Alive. Joey stood, frozen in shock, his eyes as wide as a child's on Christmas morning.
"It's good to see you too, man," Chandler laughed, and pulled Joey into a hug.
Joey recovered from his temporary shock, and picked Chandler up, bouncing him around like a rag doll.
"Okay, dude, okay!" Chandler said, and Joey put him down.
"How did this happen? Where have you been? Did you call Ross? He is gonna be shocked!"
"Joey, calm down. Ross and Rachel know, they are driving down tomorrow."
"Oh! Well, you gotta come out and meet my kids! I, uh, named one of my sons Chandler," Joey said proudly.
"Really? Well, I guess you'll have to come meet your namesake too then," Chandler laughed.
"My what?"
"Good to see nothing's changed," Chandler laughed. "My son Joey," Chandler explained.
"Oh," Joey said. His eyes lit up when he actually caught on, "OH!"
Chandler laughed and shook his head. It was like the best dream he'd ever had.
Or maybe it was that he was waking up from the worst nightmare of his life.
**
Following his reunion with Joey, Phoebe and Monica, Chandler headed home, and filled in Erin on the great news.
"Wow. Chandler, that's unbelievable," Erin said, still reeling from the story.
"I know. Isn't it weird that they thought I was the one who died?"
"Yeah," Erin laughed. Her mind still reeling from the news, Erin wondered how this strange twist in events would affect their perfect little world. Erin had never known Chandler before the fire, and, from the time she'd met him, he had always had the deaths of his friends hanging over him. Now that he had been reunited with his past, she wondered how it would affect their future. Chandler had once told her that Monica was the love of his life, and he was haunted by the fact that he never got to tell her. Erin was okay with that, because, as far as they knew at the time, Monica was no longer alive. Before she got pregnant with Rachel, Erin had often wondered if she would have to spend her life competing with a ghost. But then Rachel was born, and Chandler became a dedicated husband and father, his past seemingly behind him.
The fact that Monica, the love that Chandler had lost, was alive, healthy, and, according to Chandler, divorced, Erin wondered;
Could she compete with the real thing?
****
AN: Crap, this is gonna be another long one, isn't it?
*****
Haunted, Chapter Four
"Life, Death, Family, Friendship"
~2013~
So, lemme get this straight," Phoebe said, as she, Monica and Chandler sat in Central Perk, "You left because you thought we were all dead, and we all thought you were dead because you were gone?"
"Basically," Chandler had to laugh at how stupid it all sounded.
"This is the weirdest thing I've ever heard," Monica shook her head.
"It's like a 'Three's Company' episode from hell," Chandler laughed.
"We have to call the others," Phoebe sais excitedly.
"Wh-what should we tell them?" Chandler asked.
"Well, Ross and Rachel kind of already know...since I called them after that weird encounter we had last week."
"Wait, what encounter?" Monica asked.
"We ran into each other," Chandler said, "but at the time, I thought Phoebe was Ursula."
"And I thought I was seeing a ghost," Phoebe laughed.
"Oh. Wow. Well, we gotta call Joey. He is gonna freak out!"
"Don't tell him I'm here yet. I wanna see his face," Chandler grinned. Before the girls could reply, Chandler's cell phone rang. "Hello?" Chandler shot Phoebe and Monica an apologetic glance.
"Oh, hi honey. Yeah, I'm fine, but, uh, well...it's hard to explain over the phone. No, I don't think I will be home for dinner. Yes, I promise, everything is fine. It has to do with my old friends from the Villiage. I swear, I'll explain when I get home. Okay, kiss the kids for me. I love you too. Bye." Chandler hung up the phone and sighed. He wanted to tell Erin everything, but he wanted to see his old friends more. He didn't know what that meant.
"Was that your wife?" Phoebe asked.
"Yeah. Erin. I uh, met her when I was living in California."
"How many kids do you have?" Monica asked.
"Four. Two boys, two girls."
"Wow. Chandler Bing, married with children," Phoebe laughed.
"Yeah, it is a minor miracle, I suppose," Chandler laughed, all the while trying to decypher the strange look on Monica's face. "What, uh, what about you guys?"
"I'm not married," Phoebe replied, "but I have been seeing scientist-guy David again. He's back from Minsk," Phoebe grinned like an excited child.
"What about you, Mon?"
"I, uh, I was married. It didn't last. But I do have a daughter. Christine," Monica smiled.
"Where is she?"
"With her Dad."
"Ah," Chandler nodded.
***
~1998~
"Monica? What happened? Are you okay?" Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and Joey came flying back to New York after receiving a frantic, disjointed phone call from Monica. She told them that she was at her parents house, so the four friends went straight over to the Geller's.
"You guys had better sit down," a remarkably calmer Monica was sitting in an overstuffed arm chair, wrapped in a thin blanket. Dark circles under her eyes indicated her lack of sleep.
"What happened, Mon? Did you and Chandler have a fight?" Rachel asked.
At the mention of her boyfriend and best friend's name, Monica melted into another fit of sobs, prompting her father Jack to re-enter the living room.
"Dad, what's going on?" Ross asked, his voice shaky.
"I don't know all the details Ross, but apparently there was some sort of gas leak in your sister's building," Jack looked at the others sadly.
"It's gone," Monica interrupted, wiping her eyes and nose with the sleeve of her shirt, "The whole building is gone-and Chandler's gone too," she whispered.
The group stood silently for a minute, absorbing everything that Monica had just said.
"What do you mean gone? He-he left?" Joey tried desperately to cling to a naive hope that he had misunderstood Monica.
"He's dead." Monica's words fell onto the room like a dark cloud.
Joey felt his entire world collapse. He had never lost anyone this close to him before, and he wasn't sure how to handle it. The one person that he would have gone to in this situation was the one who was gone. He looked at everyone in the room, the innocence of youth and invincibility melting from his eyes in an instant. He would never be the same.
***
~2013~
Joey hung up the phone, his brow furrowing in confusion. Phoebe was insistant that he come out to Manhattan as soon as possible. He wondered what was so important. He walked into the living room, where his wife Carrie was sitting, relaxing after having just put the kids to bed.
"Hey, babe, I gotta go out to the city for a bit," he said.
Carrie opened his eyes and peered at Joey. "What? Why?"
"I don't know, actually. Phoebe said it was urgent."
"Weird. Give me a call when you can," Carrie said.
"Will do, babe," Joey said, kissing Carrie and heading out to the subway station.
*
Joey approached Central Perk slowly, unsure about going inside. He hadn't been anywhere near the coffee place since Chandler was killed. Joey wondered why Phoebe had insisted that he meet her here. She was fully aware how much he hated this neighborhood. After the apartment building was redone, none of the gang moved back into it. Joey had moved in with Ross for a while, and Monica and Rachel moved in with Phoebe. But things were never like they were when they lived here. The five of them rarely hung out after the fire, and when they did, it was usually just two or three of them. They eventually parted ways, but kept in contact through the years, more through weddings and births and things of that nature. Joey shook the memories from his head, and tentatively entered the coffee house. Phoebe was waiting for him on the sofa.
"Hey, Pheebs," Joey said quietly, and sat down next to his old friend.
"Hey Joey!" Phoebe said, unable to contain her smile.
"What's going on? Did David propose or something?"
"No, better."
"Better than the love of your life asking you to marry you." Joey stated flatly.
"Yep. You are never gonna guess who Monica and I ran into today."
"Who did you run into?"
"Well, first, I have to tell you something."
"Phoebe, what the hell is going on?"
"Chandler's alive."
"What?"
"HE thought WE were all killed in the fire. He moved to California!"
"This is...what? Where is he?" Joey babbled excitedly.
"Behind you, man," Joey turned to see Chandler standing behind him, his hands shoved into his pockets and a lopsided grin on his face.
"Chandler?" Joey almost couldn't believe his eyes. It had taken him years to get over Chandler's death. And now here he was, standing in front of him, alive and healthy. Alive. Joey stood, frozen in shock, his eyes as wide as a child's on Christmas morning.
"It's good to see you too, man," Chandler laughed, and pulled Joey into a hug.
Joey recovered from his temporary shock, and picked Chandler up, bouncing him around like a rag doll.
"Okay, dude, okay!" Chandler said, and Joey put him down.
"How did this happen? Where have you been? Did you call Ross? He is gonna be shocked!"
"Joey, calm down. Ross and Rachel know, they are driving down tomorrow."
"Oh! Well, you gotta come out and meet my kids! I, uh, named one of my sons Chandler," Joey said proudly.
"Really? Well, I guess you'll have to come meet your namesake too then," Chandler laughed.
"My what?"
"Good to see nothing's changed," Chandler laughed. "My son Joey," Chandler explained.
"Oh," Joey said. His eyes lit up when he actually caught on, "OH!"
Chandler laughed and shook his head. It was like the best dream he'd ever had.
Or maybe it was that he was waking up from the worst nightmare of his life.
**
Following his reunion with Joey, Phoebe and Monica, Chandler headed home, and filled in Erin on the great news.
"Wow. Chandler, that's unbelievable," Erin said, still reeling from the story.
"I know. Isn't it weird that they thought I was the one who died?"
"Yeah," Erin laughed. Her mind still reeling from the news, Erin wondered how this strange twist in events would affect their perfect little world. Erin had never known Chandler before the fire, and, from the time she'd met him, he had always had the deaths of his friends hanging over him. Now that he had been reunited with his past, she wondered how it would affect their future. Chandler had once told her that Monica was the love of his life, and he was haunted by the fact that he never got to tell her. Erin was okay with that, because, as far as they knew at the time, Monica was no longer alive. Before she got pregnant with Rachel, Erin had often wondered if she would have to spend her life competing with a ghost. But then Rachel was born, and Chandler became a dedicated husband and father, his past seemingly behind him.
The fact that Monica, the love that Chandler had lost, was alive, healthy, and, according to Chandler, divorced, Erin wondered;
Could she compete with the real thing?
****
AN: Crap, this is gonna be another long one, isn't it?