Chapter # 8
A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long, but my English ISU was due this week and it took me forever. I hope to finish soon and hopefully start another story, I just need an idea. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
Jason adjusted his tie for the millionth time in the last 5 minutes. He was nervous. He was about to meet his old friends for the first time. Monica had told him that the six of them had once been very close. He was nervous as to how they would accept him as he was now. How much did Monica tell them about his situation? Had she even told them that they were together? How would he know if she told them.
The feeling of weight on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts. He turned his head and found Monica standing beside him. She gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"You looked lost in thought," she said with a small smile. "You okay?"
"Yup. Good. Great. Yup. Uh hu. Good."
"Nervous," Monica asked smiling at the look on Jason's face.
"Little bit," he said holding his thumb and finger up, about half an inch apart.
Monica smiled warmly at him. "You'll be fine. Trust me."
Jason opened his mouth, about to argue when he saw the look on Monica's face. He took a deep breath and ordered his nerves to calm down. She was right. He would be fine. He could trust her. He nodded. He was ready. Monica stepped back, allowing him to see past her. He saw four people standing there, awkwardly. They seemed to be just as apprehensive as he was. He attempted a smile. They smiled back. If it wasn't for the awkwardness of the situation, Jason would have laughed.
After a short pause, One of the women stepped forward, a warm smile on her face. She had long blonde hair, and a very unique outfit. She stepped up to him and offered him her hand, which he shook.
"Hi Ch.Jason. Good to see-meet you.again." She stuttered through her greeting. "I'm Phoebe. . I'm really glad your home, I mean back, cause this probably doesn't feel like home to you, because, well y'know. But, it is .. your home, I mean." Phoebe stopped, realizing she was babbling. "This is stupid. It shouldn't be so awkward." She pulled Jason into a hug.
"Whoever you are now, we're still your friends and we love you. We really missed you, and we're glad your back. It will be weird for us to call you Jason, but we'll get used to it. You're still the same person."
Jason felt his eyes getting a little misty. It amazed him that these people, who were strangers to him, would accept him so readily. "Thank- you," he said, simply.
Jason was then introduced to Rachel, Ross and Joey. Everyone seemed to be really nice. The six of them sat down for dinner. Monica sat beside Jason and moved her chair slightly closer to him while doing so. It did not go unnoticed, but no one said anything.
"So," Ross started. "How do you like living in Canada?"
"It's okay, I guess, but it never felt right, y'know? As soon as I landed in New York, I got this feeling.like I was home, or something. It's very familiar. It's good to be back, even if I don't remember." Jason finished and reached across the table for Monica's hand. Their eyes met for a moment and she smiled at him. She was glad everything was going so well. He was beginning to calm down. Monica was glad Phoebe had broken the ice, in her own unique way. It seemed to put everyone at ease.
"How long are you here for?" Joey asked, hesitantly.
"Well," Jason started. "Hopefully indefinitely. After my team finishes and goes back to Toronto, I'm staying to help run the new office."
"So you're moving back here?" Rachel exclaimed. "That's great!" Rachel had been worrying for the past hour that when Jason moved back to Toronto, Monica would go with him. She could see how happy they were together. It amazed her that Monica could be so strong. To love him, even though he remembered nothing of their previous relationship. It occurred to her that they truly were meant for each other. Chandler/Jason had some sort of control over Monica. Before he had disappeared, Chandler had been able to calm her down when she freaked out over the little things, and now, as Jason, he had restored her sense of self-confidence, of self-esteem. Rachel knew Monica was not her original self again, as she had seen the way Monica reacted when a stranger bumped into her by accident on the walk to the restaurant, but she hadn't broken down, and she recovered quickly. A stranger wouldn't have known anything had been wrong. The thing that got Rachel the most was the fact that the light had returned to Monica's eyes. For the past year and a half Monica's eyes had been dull and lifeless, like she had no reason to be happy, or hopeful, but now, her eyes shown with a new sense of hope. Her change over the last two months was like night and day.
* * * * *
3 MONTHS LATER.
Monica opened the door to her and Jason's apartment with a smile on her face. She dropped the mail off on the table and hit the play button on the answering machine. Following a message from her mom there was a message from Jason.
"Hey Sweetie. How's your day been? Sorry I didn't call you at lunch, I was in a meeting all day. Are we still on for tonight? I'll meet you at the restaurant at 6. kay? If I'm a couple minutes late, don't worry, I'll be there. Love you. Bye."
Monica smiled. She felt so lucky. Her life was finally falling back into place. She was with the man she loved, she felt safe in public again, well mostly safe in public again. Monica began humming to herself as she sorted through the mail and went to get changed. Her thoughts wondered back to a recent conversation she had had with Rachel. Rachel had asked about Jason's memory and Monica had been taken aback. She had almost forgotten that he had lost his memory. It was weird to her that she had let it slip her mind. It was like it wasn't important to her anymore. She loved him for who he was, not who he had been. At five-thirty, Monica applied finishing touches to her make up and was ready to go. She was wearing a simple, but elegant dress and was wearing her hair down, lightly curled. Monica took a deep breath and walked out the door.
Half an hour later, Monica sighed and glanced, again, at her watch. It was 6 o' clock. Jason had said in his message that he might be late. She sighed once more and took a sip of her drink. She hoped he would hurry, She was beginning to become uncomfortable being alone in a room filled with people. Her thoughts were interrupted.
"Monica! Long time no see. How have you been?"
At the familiar voice, Monica looked up to see a face she hadn't seen in four years.
"Richard. Hi."
"Can I sit down?"
"Uh," Monica started, glancing around the room for Jason. "Sure."
"So, what are you doing sitting all alone in a fancy reaturant?"
"Oh, I'm waiting for Jason."
"Jason?" Richard asked. "What happened to Chandler?"
"Oh, well that's kinda a long story."
"I have time."
* * * * *
Jason glanced at his watch as he hurried down the street to the restaurant he was to meet Monica at. It was just after six as he entered the front doors. His eyes quickly located Monica in the crowd. He noticed she was talking to another man. He could only see the back of his head, but he was slightly upset by the fact that the man was sitting very close to Monica and Monica seemed at little uncomfortable at this.
Jason hurried across the floor, trying not to call attention to himself as he approached the table. He looped around so he would come up face to face with the strange man. He stopped at the table and cleared his throat. Both heads came up.
"Hey sweetie," Monica greeted him. "I just bumped into -"
"Richard." Jason said, looking at Richard. "I haven't seen you for some time."
"Okay, now I'm confused," Richard said, looking at Monica. "I thought you said you were waiting for a guy named Jason?"
It was then that both Monica and Jason realized what had happened. They looked at each other in shock.
Jason was in shock. "Oh my God, Mon, I remember. I remember! Monica, I remember." He was getting very excited.
"Oh my God, Sweetie, that's great." Monica jumped up and threw her arms around his neck.
Richard sat there, very confused, as the couple celebrated. He had been happy to see Monica, he still missed her, but watching the couple, it been apparent that she was truly happy with Chandler.
* * * * *
Monica and Chandler arrived home to find their friends in their apartment, hanging out, as usual. They had ended up having dinner with Richard, after explaining the situation. It seemed only fitting as he was the reason Chandler had gotten his memory back. Richard had been the biggest threat in Chandler's life before his memory loss, and it took a threat that big to twig something in his mind. After remembering one thing, he remembered everything. It amazed him now that he could have forgotten it all in the first place. He remembered his childhood, he remembered growing up, college, moving into New York, his friends, London, everything.
"Guys, guess what?" Monica exclaimed, excitedly.
"What?" Phoebe asked.
Monica looked at Chandler.
Chandler smiled. "Do you guys remember the time when we went to Vegas and Ross and Rachel got really drunk and got married?"
Everyone nodded, and Ross and Rachel rolled their eyes.
"Well," he started. "So do I."
It took a few moments to sink in, but the gang reacted ecstatically. They all jumped up and congratulated him, as well as asked him many question, which began to get annoying to Chandler.
"Okay, enough! You're starting to bug me!"
"Sorry," everyone said. Soon after everyone took off, after congratulating him one last time.
It left only Monica and Chandler. Monica stepped over to him and he pulled her into a hug. She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, savoring the moment. She loved him so much.
"I love you, Mon," he whispered quietly, reading her thoughts.
"I love you, too,..What do I call you now?"
"I don't know," Chandler said. "What ever you want."
"You know what? I really don't think it matters what your name is, it's who you are. And I don't mean this in a sappy way, but it's true. It doesn't matter where you live, or what you do, or what your name is, it only matters to me that you are you. Y'know?"
"I know," Chandler said, nodding. "I feel the same way about you. You know that right."
"I know."
Chandler pulled her close again and put his hand on the back of her head, pulling her into a long, passionate kiss. He tried to put into the kiss what he could not express with words. He realized what he had said was very true. It didn't matter who you were with as long as you loved them. And he loved Monica. She had loved him as two people and as those two people, he had loved her. He knew right then, with out a second thought, that he would spend the rest of his life with her.
"Hey Mon," he started.
"What?" she asked, her voice filled with emotion.
"You know that ring you wear around your neck?"
She nodded, not sure where this was going.
"Do you think you could maybe, where it on your finger again?"
Monica smiled and nodded, trying to hold back tears. Her life was back together again. She pulled herself closer to Chandler, and again closed her eyes. She felt his arms close around her back and he sighed. She listened to his heart beat as they stood there like that, not moving, neither of them wanting to break the silence. This was where she belonged.
A/N: Well, that's it. Hope you liked it. It was hard to write the last chapter, I had trouble making all of my ideas come together. Anyway, I hope you liked it. I probably won't write an epilogue, but with enough demand for it I may consider. Hopefully I'll have a new story up soon. I have an idea for a storyline, but I don't really know where it would go. Thanks for reading.
A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long, but my English ISU was due this week and it took me forever. I hope to finish soon and hopefully start another story, I just need an idea. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
Jason adjusted his tie for the millionth time in the last 5 minutes. He was nervous. He was about to meet his old friends for the first time. Monica had told him that the six of them had once been very close. He was nervous as to how they would accept him as he was now. How much did Monica tell them about his situation? Had she even told them that they were together? How would he know if she told them.
The feeling of weight on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts. He turned his head and found Monica standing beside him. She gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"You looked lost in thought," she said with a small smile. "You okay?"
"Yup. Good. Great. Yup. Uh hu. Good."
"Nervous," Monica asked smiling at the look on Jason's face.
"Little bit," he said holding his thumb and finger up, about half an inch apart.
Monica smiled warmly at him. "You'll be fine. Trust me."
Jason opened his mouth, about to argue when he saw the look on Monica's face. He took a deep breath and ordered his nerves to calm down. She was right. He would be fine. He could trust her. He nodded. He was ready. Monica stepped back, allowing him to see past her. He saw four people standing there, awkwardly. They seemed to be just as apprehensive as he was. He attempted a smile. They smiled back. If it wasn't for the awkwardness of the situation, Jason would have laughed.
After a short pause, One of the women stepped forward, a warm smile on her face. She had long blonde hair, and a very unique outfit. She stepped up to him and offered him her hand, which he shook.
"Hi Ch.Jason. Good to see-meet you.again." She stuttered through her greeting. "I'm Phoebe. . I'm really glad your home, I mean back, cause this probably doesn't feel like home to you, because, well y'know. But, it is .. your home, I mean." Phoebe stopped, realizing she was babbling. "This is stupid. It shouldn't be so awkward." She pulled Jason into a hug.
"Whoever you are now, we're still your friends and we love you. We really missed you, and we're glad your back. It will be weird for us to call you Jason, but we'll get used to it. You're still the same person."
Jason felt his eyes getting a little misty. It amazed him that these people, who were strangers to him, would accept him so readily. "Thank- you," he said, simply.
Jason was then introduced to Rachel, Ross and Joey. Everyone seemed to be really nice. The six of them sat down for dinner. Monica sat beside Jason and moved her chair slightly closer to him while doing so. It did not go unnoticed, but no one said anything.
"So," Ross started. "How do you like living in Canada?"
"It's okay, I guess, but it never felt right, y'know? As soon as I landed in New York, I got this feeling.like I was home, or something. It's very familiar. It's good to be back, even if I don't remember." Jason finished and reached across the table for Monica's hand. Their eyes met for a moment and she smiled at him. She was glad everything was going so well. He was beginning to calm down. Monica was glad Phoebe had broken the ice, in her own unique way. It seemed to put everyone at ease.
"How long are you here for?" Joey asked, hesitantly.
"Well," Jason started. "Hopefully indefinitely. After my team finishes and goes back to Toronto, I'm staying to help run the new office."
"So you're moving back here?" Rachel exclaimed. "That's great!" Rachel had been worrying for the past hour that when Jason moved back to Toronto, Monica would go with him. She could see how happy they were together. It amazed her that Monica could be so strong. To love him, even though he remembered nothing of their previous relationship. It occurred to her that they truly were meant for each other. Chandler/Jason had some sort of control over Monica. Before he had disappeared, Chandler had been able to calm her down when she freaked out over the little things, and now, as Jason, he had restored her sense of self-confidence, of self-esteem. Rachel knew Monica was not her original self again, as she had seen the way Monica reacted when a stranger bumped into her by accident on the walk to the restaurant, but she hadn't broken down, and she recovered quickly. A stranger wouldn't have known anything had been wrong. The thing that got Rachel the most was the fact that the light had returned to Monica's eyes. For the past year and a half Monica's eyes had been dull and lifeless, like she had no reason to be happy, or hopeful, but now, her eyes shown with a new sense of hope. Her change over the last two months was like night and day.
* * * * *
3 MONTHS LATER.
Monica opened the door to her and Jason's apartment with a smile on her face. She dropped the mail off on the table and hit the play button on the answering machine. Following a message from her mom there was a message from Jason.
"Hey Sweetie. How's your day been? Sorry I didn't call you at lunch, I was in a meeting all day. Are we still on for tonight? I'll meet you at the restaurant at 6. kay? If I'm a couple minutes late, don't worry, I'll be there. Love you. Bye."
Monica smiled. She felt so lucky. Her life was finally falling back into place. She was with the man she loved, she felt safe in public again, well mostly safe in public again. Monica began humming to herself as she sorted through the mail and went to get changed. Her thoughts wondered back to a recent conversation she had had with Rachel. Rachel had asked about Jason's memory and Monica had been taken aback. She had almost forgotten that he had lost his memory. It was weird to her that she had let it slip her mind. It was like it wasn't important to her anymore. She loved him for who he was, not who he had been. At five-thirty, Monica applied finishing touches to her make up and was ready to go. She was wearing a simple, but elegant dress and was wearing her hair down, lightly curled. Monica took a deep breath and walked out the door.
Half an hour later, Monica sighed and glanced, again, at her watch. It was 6 o' clock. Jason had said in his message that he might be late. She sighed once more and took a sip of her drink. She hoped he would hurry, She was beginning to become uncomfortable being alone in a room filled with people. Her thoughts were interrupted.
"Monica! Long time no see. How have you been?"
At the familiar voice, Monica looked up to see a face she hadn't seen in four years.
"Richard. Hi."
"Can I sit down?"
"Uh," Monica started, glancing around the room for Jason. "Sure."
"So, what are you doing sitting all alone in a fancy reaturant?"
"Oh, I'm waiting for Jason."
"Jason?" Richard asked. "What happened to Chandler?"
"Oh, well that's kinda a long story."
"I have time."
* * * * *
Jason glanced at his watch as he hurried down the street to the restaurant he was to meet Monica at. It was just after six as he entered the front doors. His eyes quickly located Monica in the crowd. He noticed she was talking to another man. He could only see the back of his head, but he was slightly upset by the fact that the man was sitting very close to Monica and Monica seemed at little uncomfortable at this.
Jason hurried across the floor, trying not to call attention to himself as he approached the table. He looped around so he would come up face to face with the strange man. He stopped at the table and cleared his throat. Both heads came up.
"Hey sweetie," Monica greeted him. "I just bumped into -"
"Richard." Jason said, looking at Richard. "I haven't seen you for some time."
"Okay, now I'm confused," Richard said, looking at Monica. "I thought you said you were waiting for a guy named Jason?"
It was then that both Monica and Jason realized what had happened. They looked at each other in shock.
Jason was in shock. "Oh my God, Mon, I remember. I remember! Monica, I remember." He was getting very excited.
"Oh my God, Sweetie, that's great." Monica jumped up and threw her arms around his neck.
Richard sat there, very confused, as the couple celebrated. He had been happy to see Monica, he still missed her, but watching the couple, it been apparent that she was truly happy with Chandler.
* * * * *
Monica and Chandler arrived home to find their friends in their apartment, hanging out, as usual. They had ended up having dinner with Richard, after explaining the situation. It seemed only fitting as he was the reason Chandler had gotten his memory back. Richard had been the biggest threat in Chandler's life before his memory loss, and it took a threat that big to twig something in his mind. After remembering one thing, he remembered everything. It amazed him now that he could have forgotten it all in the first place. He remembered his childhood, he remembered growing up, college, moving into New York, his friends, London, everything.
"Guys, guess what?" Monica exclaimed, excitedly.
"What?" Phoebe asked.
Monica looked at Chandler.
Chandler smiled. "Do you guys remember the time when we went to Vegas and Ross and Rachel got really drunk and got married?"
Everyone nodded, and Ross and Rachel rolled their eyes.
"Well," he started. "So do I."
It took a few moments to sink in, but the gang reacted ecstatically. They all jumped up and congratulated him, as well as asked him many question, which began to get annoying to Chandler.
"Okay, enough! You're starting to bug me!"
"Sorry," everyone said. Soon after everyone took off, after congratulating him one last time.
It left only Monica and Chandler. Monica stepped over to him and he pulled her into a hug. She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, savoring the moment. She loved him so much.
"I love you, Mon," he whispered quietly, reading her thoughts.
"I love you, too,..What do I call you now?"
"I don't know," Chandler said. "What ever you want."
"You know what? I really don't think it matters what your name is, it's who you are. And I don't mean this in a sappy way, but it's true. It doesn't matter where you live, or what you do, or what your name is, it only matters to me that you are you. Y'know?"
"I know," Chandler said, nodding. "I feel the same way about you. You know that right."
"I know."
Chandler pulled her close again and put his hand on the back of her head, pulling her into a long, passionate kiss. He tried to put into the kiss what he could not express with words. He realized what he had said was very true. It didn't matter who you were with as long as you loved them. And he loved Monica. She had loved him as two people and as those two people, he had loved her. He knew right then, with out a second thought, that he would spend the rest of his life with her.
"Hey Mon," he started.
"What?" she asked, her voice filled with emotion.
"You know that ring you wear around your neck?"
She nodded, not sure where this was going.
"Do you think you could maybe, where it on your finger again?"
Monica smiled and nodded, trying to hold back tears. Her life was back together again. She pulled herself closer to Chandler, and again closed her eyes. She felt his arms close around her back and he sighed. She listened to his heart beat as they stood there like that, not moving, neither of them wanting to break the silence. This was where she belonged.
A/N: Well, that's it. Hope you liked it. It was hard to write the last chapter, I had trouble making all of my ideas come together. Anyway, I hope you liked it. I probably won't write an epilogue, but with enough demand for it I may consider. Hopefully I'll have a new story up soon. I have an idea for a storyline, but I don't really know where it would go. Thanks for reading.