AN: Okay, so I went to bed last night before I finished this one, LOL. I just couldn't stay up anymore! Anyhoo, THANKS again for the great reviews!! I am really shocked at the popularity of this one, lol. On with the show…
The Theory
~Chapter IV~
Chandler stormed into his apartment, slamming the door as he entered. He grabbed the counter, steadying himself until his dizzy spell subsided. He wasn't quite sure what had just transpired, or why he was feeling so completely thrashed. Deciding that it was probably sleep deprivation, he wandered into his bedroom, and collapsed onto his bed. He was asleep within minutes.
They stood there, staring at the closed apartment door, for several minutes. They were stunned by Chandler's revelation, and none of them knew what to make of it. What they did know, was that they needed to do some major damage control, before Chandler disappeared from their lives completely.
For the next forty-five minutes, the group talked about what had happened, and what they could do to rectify the situation they now found themselves in. No one agreed on any one way to get through to Chandler, and after several unresolved arguments on the subject, Monica decided that she was just going to talk to him. She stood up, and without another word, marched over to Chandler and Joey's apartment.
The others followed tentatively, but stayed in the living room when Monica walked into Chandler's bedroom.
He was sprawled out on his bed; his sheets twisted around him, and his clothes crumpled. He had a strained expression, and a slight sheen of sweat on his face, and his body was jerking slightly. Feeling responsible for his current miserable state, Monica sat on the edge of his bed, and sighed deeply.
"I'm so sorry, Chandler," she whispered, and gingerly placed her hand on his cheek.
Her brow furrowed, and her hand moved to his forehead; Chandler was burning up. Perhaps that was why he was behaving so erratically earlier? He'd looked rather piqued when he'd come back to the apartment, but she'd ignored it because of the situation that they'd been in.
"Chandler?" Monica raised her voice slightly, and bit her lip in concern. When he didn't respond, she stood and left the room, and immediately swung into action.
"Joey, can you get me a cool, damp cloth?" Monica said in a hurried, stressed tone, as she headed out of the apartment, and into her own.
The others looked at each other quizzically, all wondering what a washcloth had to do with what was going on.
Monica returned minutes later, with a bottle of water and a thermometer.
"He's running a fever. I think he may have been outside in the cold all night," Monica reasoned, and headed back to the bedroom.
She sat down on the edge of his bed, and placed the thermometer in his mouth. A few seconds later, Joey emerged with the wet cloth, and handed it to Monica without a word. He stepped back, and watched as Monica gently patted Chandler's forehead and cheeks with the cloth, before laying it on his forehead for good. She and Joey watched him for a minute more, and then Monica pulled the thermometer from Chandler's mouth, and tipped it into the light. Squinting slightly, she read, then re-read the instrument, before sighing and dropping her hand into her lap.
"103," she muttered, and placed the back of her hand on Chandler's cheek.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Joey whispered hoarsely.
"Yeah, but we're gonna have to watch him," Monica sighed, and turned over the cloth.
"Maybe that's why he was—"Joey started.
"Maybe," Monica said sadly, "But I think that he really is upset. I don't want to upset him more while he's so sick, but we can't leave him alone," Monica reasoned aloud.
"What can we do?" Joey stifled a yawn.
"You guys try to get some sleep. I'll keep first watch," Monica whispered.
"Kay," Joey said, and shuffled out of the room to relay the information to the others.
An hour later, Monica, who was sat on the floor next to Chandler's bed, was fighting to keep her eyes open. Leaning her head against Chandler's nightstand, she allowed her eyes to close, and was soon drifting off to sleep.
Her restless sleep brought with it dark dreams. Her unconscious took her back to the 'experiment', but suddenly, she was seeing everything from Chandler's perspective. Her mind forwarded to the night Chandler had kissed her, and the revelation and fight that had ensued following it. She finally saw it—she understood. She saw the hopefulness that lined his eyes when he walked into that apartment, and the devastation that took residence in them when All Was Revealed. How had she missed it before? He'd walked in believing that she had feelings for him, and when he finally worked up the courage to act on his own feelings, she and the others had laughed, and told him it was a joke. She'd broken his heart, only hours after Kathy had done the same. It was too much to bear; Monica jolted back into consciousness, looking around frantically as reality came back to her. She wiped away the tears that had wet her cheeks moments earlier, and sat up on her knees to check on Chandler's condition. She placed her hand on his face, and noted that he seemed a bit cooler. She picked up the thermometer, shook it, at placed it in his mouth, before taking the cloth into the kitchen to re-wet it.
Monica walked into the living room, and was surprised to find that none of her friends had left the apartment. She'd assumed they would have all gone home to get some sleep, but no—they were still here; Ross and Rachel were curled up together on the yellow sofa, and Joey and Phoebe each had a recliner. Monica smiled, wondering if Joey realized that he could have slept in his own bed, just a few feet away. A small lump formed in her throat when she realized that he probably did realize it, but he wanted to stay close to the others. Shaking her head, she moved to the kitchen to wet the cloth.
She returned to Chandler's bedroom, and placed the cloth on his head, before running her hand through his matted hair. How could she have hurt him so badly, and not even realize it? She felt more tears threatening to fall, but she quickly shook them off, and pulled the thermometer out of Chandler's mouth. She squinted at it, surprised to see that it still registered a high fever: 102. At least it was going down a bit. She sighed, and sat down on the edge of Chandler's bed. Running her hands through his hair again, she bit her lip, and let her tears run unchecked down her face.
"I'm so sorry, sweetie. I had no idea…I finally understand though. I know why you were so upset. And I would be too, if it were me. But we love you, all of us. Please don't doubt that."
Chandler mumbled something indecipherable, and rolled to his side, his arm flopping across Monica's leg. Monica smiled, and re-placed the cloth on his head, before scooting down onto the bed with him, and wrapping her arms around him.
"Sleep well," she whispered, in his ear, before drifting into sleep herself.