A/N: Just to let everyone know, this is the one chapter I was unsure if it would fall under PG or PG-13. It's not bad or anything; there is just a small portion with violence. Just a warning. Hope everyone is enjoying so far.



Monica awoke to find herself in a fetal position, clutching a pillow. At first she was disoriented, but as soon as she forced her eyes to focus, she saw her suitcase come into view, and her surroundings came crashing down around her. She remembered where she was and she remembered her breakdown the night before, as well as the dream. She shuddered at the thought of what she knew would have happened in her dream, had she not woken up. She shook her head and forced all negative thoughts out of her head. This was a new day and she was not going to allow herself to be as terrified as she was the day before.

Monica picked herself up and stumbled over to the bathroom to take a shower. Not long after she got in, her mind won the battle and the memories came flooding into her head.

"Monica, this is Mark. Mark, this is Monica," Rachel said with a smile. She was glad she had finally been able to get Monica out of the apartment. She had been so depressed for so long. She deserved this.

"Hi," Monica said timidly, offering Mark her hand.

"Hello, Monica. How are you?" Mark asked, warmly, shaking her hand. Rachel smiled. Mark had been lightly briefed about what had happened with Chandler, so he knew to take things slow. She was sure Monica was going to be fine. She smiled and excused herself.

A couple hours later, Rachel finally heard the door open. She turned around from her spot on the couch to see Monica walk in the door. She seemed lost in her own thought.

"Hey Mon!" Rachel said a little too loudly. She was very excited for her best friend. "How was the date?"

Monica jumped. "My God Rachel. You scared the hell out of me. What are you doing here?" she asked, avoiding the question.

"Waiting for you to get home," she answered quickly. "Now answer my question."

"It was .okay," Monica answered, unsure.

"Good okay, or bad okay?" Rachel asked.

"I don't really know."

Rachel was confused. "Do you like him or not?" she demanded.

"Well," Monica started, trying to explain this to Rachel. "He seemed really nice and everything, but there was just something about him that I can't put my finger on."

"Something like what?"

"I don't know. He just gave me this weird, uncomfortable feeling."

"You know what, Honey?" Rachel asked, sure she knew what the problem was.

"What?" Monica asked.

"I think I know what it is." Rachel paused and took a deep breath. She knew she had to approach this topic lightly and tread softly. "I think the problem is that you are comparing him too much to Chandler." Monica tried to cut in, but Rachel didn't let her. "I know how much you loved him, Mon, but you have to accept that he is gone. Mark doesn't need to replace Chandler, but he would be good to have around. Oh, Mon, come here," Rachel said, pulling Monica into a hug when she saw that she was crying.

"It's just so hard," Monica said through her tears. "I miss him so much."

"I know you do, Honey. I know you do, but he wants you to be happy, okay?" Monica nodded. "Now, when are you two going to go out again?"

This continued for just over a month. Rachel was ecstatic that she had finally helped Monica be happy, and Monica kept going out with Mark, to keep Rachel off her back. She still got that feeling that she just couldn't describe. Mark seemed to be a good guy. He was very patient with her and had not tried to push her into anything she didn't want. She had not even allowed him to do anymore to her that a simple peck on the cheek and he still seemed to like her. That is until one day.

Monica arrived home from work to find Mark waiting by her door. It startled her to see him there, but she smiled and invited him in. He seemed different. She was very careful not to get to close to him, as he seemed edgy. She watched as he watched her place the mail down on the counter and check the messages. Finally, she had had enough and asked him what was up.

"Hey Mark," she started. "Is everything okay?"

"Is everything okay," He repeated. Then he laughed. "NO! Everything is not okay! I have been the patient, happy boyfriend for a whole freakin' month. And where has it gotten me? Nowhere! You won't even let me touch you, for crying out loud!"

Monica was taken aback for a moment then she responded. "Mark, I told you from the beginning. If you want out, the door is open." Monica was actually relieved that their relationship was over, she was never totally comfortable with him, but she was wrong. He didn't leave.

Instead he walked confidently over to he. Monica stood up confidently, on the inside she was terrified, not knowing what he was going to do. He stood there staring down at her for a few seconds, almost challenging her. She didn't back down. Then, before she could do anything, he hit her. Backhanded her across the face. Hard. She fell. He laughed.

Monica lay there in shock, the situation not making sense to her. Had Mark just hit her? Suddenly he grabbed her arm and forced her to her feet. She winced at the angle her arm was in, which only made him twist harder.

"Now you listen to me," He said commandingly. "You and me are going to go out tonight and you are going to act happy."

He stormed over to the fridge and pulled a bag of corn out of the freezer. He stormed back over to Monica and pushed it up against her already swelling face. They both heard the door open. Rachel walked in.

"Oh my God," she said when she saw Mark holding the icepack up against Monica's face. "What happened?"

Before Monica could respond, Mark did. "Monica fell coming up the stairs." He said, in a concerned voice to Rachel. He then whispered quietly into Monica's ear. "If you say anything, I will kill you."

This was only the beginning for the abuse. For the next month, Mark force Monica to do many things she was not ready to do. She put on a brave front for her friends; afraid of what Mark would do if she told anyone. She was relieved, but startled that she could fool her friends so easily. Lucky for Monica, Mark had not yet tried to sleep with her, which Monica was very glad for, as she did not know what she would do if confronted with the situation. She was soon faced with the problem.

By sheer will alone, Monica forced her mind back to the present. She was crying again and did nothing to stop the tears. She didn't even have the energy to wipe them off her face. She pulled herself out of the shower and put on a robe. She then walked out of the bathroom and hesitantly approached her suitcase. Carefully, Monica pulled out the package she had been afraid to open, until now. She knew she had to do this.

She sat on the edge of her bed, holding the package for 30 minutes before she had enough willpower built up to open it. She found herself staring down at an object she recognized, even after all these years. Chandler's wallet.

Monica took a deep breath and opened it. She sifted through his cards and smiled slightly when she found his gym card. She still remembered his inability to 'quit the gym.' She then began searching through the bill fold part, looking for anything that would give her a reason or even a clue to his disappearance. Just as she was giving up, she came across a small folded picture of her and Chandler. She began to cry again when she saw it.

She and Chandler had gotten their picture taken in one of those little booths, often found in malls. It had been very cramped and just before the flash went off, Chandler had hit his elbow on the wall. They had both cracked up and the camera went off before they could stop. That had been a good day. Monica wished she could go back to when her life was that simple.

Her thoughts were cut off by the sound of the phone. It took Monica a moment to realize what it was, but she soon picked it up and said hello.

"Hi," it was her boss. He sounded excited. "Monica? It's you right Monica?"

Monica sighed and smiled. He was definitely excited. Even though he had a confident, mature exterior, Monica knew he could get as excited as a little kid at Christmas, even from little things. It was one of the things that she liked about him and it made her comfortable with him. "Yes, it's me. What's up?"

"What's up? What's up?!" He repeated, then continued. "You'll never guess. I am so happy. You know why? Because they picked us! The company picked us!"

It took Monica a moment to realize what he was talking about. She had forgotten why she was even here and she had spent so much time being so scared that she had forgotten what this meant for her boss. She was glad. He deserved it. "Oh, that's great, Sir." Monica said, and she meant it.

"Anyway," he said, calming down slightly. "We have to meet with the team, this afternoon, so we are going to meet in the lobby in one hour, kay?"

"Okay," Monica answered and he hung up. It concerned her slightly that she would have to meet the team, but she knew it was only about a dozen people, and she had survived the previous day. Something in her gave her the strength and determination to put on a happy face and decide to be happy and confident today.

* * * * *

A couple hours later Monica found herself in line with her colleagues, about to shake hands with all of the team they would be catering to. She took a deep breath and reached up to touch the ring. She nodded slightly as an assurance to herself that she would be okay. She came to the first person in line.

She looked up, made eye contact, smiled and shook his hand. She then looked down, took a deep breath and moved to the next person. This continued for 4 or 5 people. At the sixth person in line she looked up and gasped. She was speechless. All she could do was stare up at his very familiar face, with his unmistakable, deep blue eyes and sandy brown hair. All she could say was.

"Chandler." then she collapsed.