~* Hello all! Thanks so very much for reviewing. This is the second part, and the song is by Avril Lavigne. I thought it fit, so I used it. Oh, and my opening night for the play was Friday night which is why I haven't gotten it up until now. But I hope you enjoy, AND REVIEW!!!!! *~
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I mean, literally I own nothing. I have like three cents to my name. So do you really think I own these characters or the song? Use your head people.
She set the coffee mug on the table and moved to the window. She checked her watch for what felt like the thousandth time. How long ago had she called him? The only light filling the room was the fire that blazed behind her. She thought about what she was going to say to him. They hadn't talked in awhile....well, longer than awhile. They hadn't talked in over a year. She was amazed that he had agreed to come there and talk to her. She didn't know if she would go to him. Of course I would, she thought to herself. I would travel to the ends of the earth if he asked me to. Maybe that was one of the reasons her marriage had failed. Richard certainly didn't like to play second fiddle to anyone. He had boasted over the fact that he had, in an essence, won her. The night of her wedding Chandler had come to her. He had begged her to reconsider, to think about what she was doing marrying Richard.
"I have!" She had yelled at him. "What do you want me to do? Call off the wedding simply because something, somewhere down the line, at some point, may possibly if everything goes right, work out between us?"
"Now that you've said it out loud, it doesn't sound as good as it had in my head," Chandler had said shaking his head. "I can't lose you." Monica had looked up at him, tears were stinging in her eyes.
"You can't lose something that you never had," she said softly. Now, four years later, she sat watching the snow fall and waiting for him to come to her. He had dropped everything. He had dropped everything in the middle of the night, to come to her. She pulled the blanket around her and stepped onto the porch to listen for an approaching car. The wind stung her face and the bitter cold nipped at her skin. But she didn't move. She strained to listen if he was coming. He was coming, wasn't he? What if had just told me that he was coming? What if he's still angry with me? She shook her head as if to displace the thoughts and waited for Chandler to come save the day.
I'm standing on a bridge
I'm waiting in the dark
I thought that you'd be here by now
There's nothing but the rain
No footsteps on the ground
I'm listening but there's no sound
Chandler raced up through the dark snowy woods to Monica's cabin. Actually, Monica and Richard's cabin, but if her phone call proved to be correct, then they were no longer a they. His hands gripped the steering wheel as he navigated the curvy, icy roads. All he could think about was trying to get to her. Get to Monica. Get to her and help her. She needs help, and he would help her. He would. He couldn't believe how angry with her he had been over the past four years. It was stupid, really. She hadn't done anything wrong. She had gotten married, she was entitled to that. She thought Richard was the one, she thought that he was going to take care of her. Chandler had missed his opportunity. What had she said to him?
"You can't lose something that you never had." That was it. That was what she had whispered that night before her wedding. And she was right. He had never had her, so how could he lose her? But he did. That next day he had swallowed his pride and watched her marry another man.
"Thank you for coming," she had said taking his hand and kissing his cheek at the wedding. She had looked beautiful.
"I wouldn't be anywhere but here," he had told her.
"It means a lot to me, Chandler. You are after all one of my best friends," she gave him a small smile.
"Yeah." He didn't know what to say, so he had just leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Make sure he treats you right." But he hadn't. No that wasn't fair, Richard had been a protective and providing husband. He just hadn't given her what she wanted. She wasn't happy. He wasn't happy. They weren't happy. And so Chandler was driving up to see her, to comfort her, to save her, to win her.
Isn't anyone trying to find me?
Won't somebody come take me home?
It's a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
She heard the car pull up and she flew to the door and tore it open. Chandler stepped out of the car and she ran to him.
"Chandler." He reached out his arms. She fit so perfectly into his arms. It was as if he had always meant to hold her. She wasn't so much another person as much as an extension of himself.
"Are you okay?" He asked pulled away and holding her so that he could study her face.
"I'm better now that you're here," she said. "God, that sounded so cliche."
"It's fine," he told her and hugged her again. "Let's go inside and talk."
"Okay. Chandler?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for coming here. Thanks for rushing here to see me. I needed this. I needed....well....I needed you. Tonight, I just needed you here with me." Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. Funny, she had thought that she had cried herself out.
"Then I'm glad I came," Chandler said wrapping an arm around her and leading her to the house.
"So am I." She flipped on the lights.
"No, leave them off," Chandler said setting his coat on the hook. "The fireplace provides enough light." Monica nodded and hit the light switch again. Darkness and shadows crept into the room. She moved to the chair by the fireplace and sat down with her leg curled underneath her. He moved towards her and sat in the chair opposite.
"Let's talk then," Monica said clearing her throat.
"Why don't you start from the beginning and tell me what happened."
"With Richard?"
"Yes, with Richard. When did things start to go wrong?" She sighed. When had things been okay? It was hard to remember.
"I don't know. I guess it wasn't good from the beginning." Chandler didn't know that. Why hadn't he known that? He should have known that she was having problems.
"I didn't know."
"No one knew." She shook her head. "We didn't want anyone to know."
"Why?"
"Because. So many people told me not to marry him. You weren't the only one your know?"
"Really? Who else?"
"Joey, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, and my dad. My mother was just happy that I was getting married."
"I didn't that either."
"Yeah, well, the general consensus was that I should say no. That I should have broken it off."
"But you couldn't?"
"Of course not. I did love him Chandler. Despite whatever else has happened, that hasn't changed. I loved him then and a part of me still loves him now." He took a deep breath.
"But?" He waited for the next part. He waited for her to tell him why she couldn't stay married to the man.
"Chandler, there's a lot about me no one knows."
"That's not true," Chandler said shaking his head.
"Really?"
"Yes. We all are a part of everyone else's business."
"Did you know that I had a miscarriage?"
Won't you take me by the hand?
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are
But I....I'm with you
I'm with you
I'm looking for a place
Searching for a face
Chandler was taken aback by this last statement.
"You had a miscarriage? When? How did we not know about it?" His mind reeled.
"I don't know. We didn't tell anyone," she shrugged. She was trying to play it off, but it wasn't working. He could see the tears, and she couldn't fight them. They fell fast and furiously.
"Oh God, Mon. I didn't know. I'm sorry."
"It was a year and a half ago. The baby would be almost six months old by now," she shuddered from the tears. "After that, well, things got worse." Chandler reached over and took her hand in his.
"What happened?"
"I was depressed, and Richard...he...hadn't really been that happy about me being pregnant, and I blamed him on not being supportive and then we...everything spiraled out of control. Until I didn't know how to stop blaming him for things, and he didn't know what to say to me to make things better. Not that saying anything would have made things better, but...still. We stopped talking and we began to avoid seeing each other. And this weekend was supposed to be it. Either we got ourselves together, or we called the quits."
"And you called the quits."
"If I hadn't done it first, then he would have done it." She was quiet and thought about this for a moment. "I guess things never turn out the way you want them too, huh?"
"No, I suppose they don't," Chandler replied softly. Things certainly hadn't worked out the way that he had wanted them. She was supposed to be his. In a perfect world, they were married. Richard had never happened. Her marriage had never happened.
"I'm sorry to do this to you, I'm sure that this is the last thing that you wanted to do tonight."
"Don't worry about it. It's fine," he squeezed her hand. "So go on, tell me more. Tell me what happened tonight."
"We got into a fight. We called each other names, and we said things that we didn't mean, and he grabbed his coat and ran out. I grabbed my coat and ran after him and we, we said that we had had enough. I had to get off. I was done." She shivered partly from the cold and partly from the words. He got up and picked up the blanket that had been wrapped around her. He handed it to her and she smiled gratefully and wrapped it around herself.
"Thanks," she said.
"No problem."
"Chandler?"
"Hmm?"
"Where have you been the past year? Why haven't you called?" Because I couldn't stand to hear your voice without breaking down? Because when you called I realized everything that I was missing. Because it hurt to talk to you? His mind raced and he tried to form a coherent thought.
"I don't know," he finally said.
Is anybody here I know
Cause nothing's going right
And everything's a mess
And no one likes to be alone
Isn't anybody trying to find me?
Won't somebody come and take me home
It's a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
"I'm going to make some coffee," she said after awhile. They had been sitting talking about nothing and everything for over an hour.
"Okay," he leaned back against the chair.
"Do you want some?" She called from the kitchen.
"Yeah, sure," he called back. He heard her get the coffee pot and fill it up with water. Everything had come out during the hour. The way he felt about her and the way that his heart had broken when she had said " I do." She confessed that she had always had somewhat of a crush on him.
"Really?"
"Sure. You're kind of cute, you know," she had teased. He grinned.
"Well, I always thought so." She now reappeared with the two cups of coffee in her hand. She handed one to him and as she did so she yawned.
"Tired?" He asked.
"Me? No, I'm fi...." she was cut off halfway by another yawn. "Okay, maybe a little. What time is it?"
"Five-thirty."
"I guess I'm exhausted," she admitted.
"Why don't you go to bed?"
"Aren't you tired?"
"I'll just take a quick nap on the couch," Chandler said.
"I don't think that I can be in there alone," she said softly glancing at the staircase leading to the bedroom.
"Then I'll come up with you," Chandler said.
"Will you stay there, with me?"
"I will do whatever you would like me to do," Chandler told her and set down his cup and stood up and took her had and hauled her to her feet. She went up the small, spiral staircase that led to the landing where her and Richard's bedroom was. She flicked on the light and went into the adjacent bathroom to change. When she was done, she reappeared and climbed into the bed. Chandler took his shoes off and sat down in the chair next to the bed.
"No," Monica said patting the bed next to her. "Here." He obliged and climbed in next to her and tucked the blanket all around her.
"Goodnight Mon," he said.
"Night," she mumbled before drifting off to sleep.
Won't you take me by the hand
take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are
But I...I'm with you, I'm with you
Oh why is everything so confusing
Maybe I'm just out of my mind
Yeah, yeah, yeah
When she woke up the next morning, she felt strong arms around her. She opened her eyes and rolled over to face Chandler. She smiled. He was so cute when he slept. She yawned and looked at the clock. It was noon. He opened one eye and grinned at her.
"Hey you," he whispered.
"Hey yourself," she said smiling. She at up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I'm going to go make breakfast, do you want some?"
"Sure," he said as he rubbed the last remnants of sleep from his eyes.
"What do you want?"
"Anything."
"All right, anything coming right up," Monica grinned and left the room. He heard her footsteps on the stairs. Chandler dressed and made his way down the staircase. She was humming to herself in the kitchen. He followed the sound and found her there busy making eggs and bacon.
"I could smell that all the way upstairs," he told her. "Smells really good."
"Oh, and you think that you're getting some?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"I'm not?" She giggled.
"Of course you are. Can you hand me the milk?" He leaned over to get the milk as she leaned to pick up a towel and their faces met inches apart. He could feel her warm breath on his cheek. He did the first thing that went into his mind. He kissed her.
It's a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
Won't you take me by the hand
take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are
But I...I'm with you
I'm with you
The milk dropped onto the ceramic floor and she ignored the mess that spilled out.
"Chandler, I...." she stopped and kissed him back. Then she abruptly pulled back. "I'm still married...and I just...."
"I understand. Let me help you clean up this milk," he said straightening up and grabbing a mop and sweeping up the spilled milk. What was that saying? It's no use crying over spilled milk? Well, there was no use crying over this either. Is it was time that she needed, then he would give her time. That would be the end of that.
"It's almost ready," Monica said softly.
"Okay."
"Can you grab two plates and glasses?"
"Sure." He set the table for her and grabbed a seat as she placed the plate of eggs and bacon on the table. She went back into the kitchen and grabbed a carton of orange juice and set it next to the eggs. The sat in silence not talking, just eating. Chandler felt someone should break the uncomfortable silence that surrounded them.
"Chandler?" So it was Monica who broke it instead.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry about before....I just...."
"Don't worry about it."
"It's too soon."
"I know."
"You sure?"
"Positive, Monica don't worry about it."
"Okay," the silence reigned again as Monica took a bite of her breakfast and Chandler took a drink from his cup.
"I should go make coffee," she said trying to lighten the conversation and atmosphere. "Everyone knows that I can't make it through an entire day without some in my bloodstream. I swear that my blood is half coffee." Chandler managed a small laugh.
"Monica?"
"Hmm?"
"Is just that it's too soon? I mean..." He trailed off and could no longer look at her.
"Yes, it's just that it's too soon," she said reaching across the table and taking his hand.
"So it's not...."
"You're fine. It's too soon."
"Okay."
"Okay." The silence resumed again and this time Monica made no attempt to make small talk.
Take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are
But I...I'm with you
"Are you coming back to the city with me?" Chandler asked as they cleaned up the kitchen.
"I think that I'll stay here until Monday," Monica said shrugging. "The restaurant doesn't need me until then anyways, so...."
"Okay."
"I'll be fine up here," she assured him.
"Sure?" She nodded. "Well, then I'll just grab my coat. If you need anything, you call, understand?" She nodded again. He reached for his coat and she couldn't take it. A internal battle was waging in her head. Don't let him leave. Stop him from going. You can't, you only asked Richard for the divorce yesterday.
"Chandler? I..." She walked to him and kissed him square on the mouth. He looked at her stunned. "I can't let you leave without you knowing that when the time is right I fully intend on seeing if you and me can work."
"Really?" He felt so stupid saying it, but his mind was racing and it was the only coherent thought he could manage.
"Really."
"Oh good." Again with the stupid thoughts. Look what she did to him. They were interrupted by the sound of a car on the gravel driveway.
"Who could that be?" She asked making her way to the window to peer out. "Oh my God."
"What?" Chandler asked. "Who is it?" Monica swallowed hard and started to bite her nails. This was just what she needed.
"Richard."
Take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are
But I...I'm with you
I'm with you
I'm with you
~* Did you like my rhyme last fic? I thought that it was pretty slick. But if you're really great, leave me a review and tell me how I rate. Okay, I'm done. That was fun. Oh God, it's so hard to stop. My play went fantastically and I'm so sad that it's done. So make me feel better and review!*~