AN: For those of you who've been asking…yes, I will be continuing Age of Aquarius, One For The Road, and even (gulp) Wild Horses…unfortunately, it's gonna be a little longer…sorry!!
On the bright side, this one is almost done!
The Theory
Chapter XII
And the light has come
Bringing warmth to my cold heart
Breathing life into my battered soul
And he loves me
And I am home.
(Original Poetry, ©2002, SFGrl)
~Three Weeks Later~
Monica sighed sadly, as she stared up at the rapidly graying skies…a promise that rain would be following soon.
"Great," she muttered irritably, as she gathered her things. She wasn't sure what they were going to do now, but she may as well take all the food she'd spent so much time preparing. She piled everything into a couple of bags, then pulled on her long rain jacket and grabbed an umbrella (just in case).
The subway station was crowded, and smelled of stale garbage and urine. Monica pushed her way through the sweaty crowd, toward the center of the humid station. She descended the stairs for the Number 14 train, and made her way toward the front end of the platform, before plopping the bags onto the ground.
"Hey, baby, what's in the bag?" a large, menacing looking drunk began stumbling toward her.
Monica ignored the man, turning a cold shoulder and pulling her jacket tight around her neck.
"Oh, c'mon, baby," the man slurred, his dirty yellow hair hanging loosely in his bloated face.
"Leave me alone," Monica said loudly.
The man moved closer, and Monica tensed, and picked up her bags to move. To her relief, at that moment, the train began its approach into the station. Monica relaxed her shoulders, and walked further down the platform, and away from the drunk. She stole a small glance over her shoulder, and was relieved to see that the man seemed to have lost interest; he was now climbing onto a wooded bench, sleep becoming his new priority.
The train rattled through the stations, and Monica stared blankly out the window. Her thoughts lingered on Chandler; she hadn't seen him in a week, and the last time she had seen him, Joey and Phoebe had been with them. Sighing heavily, she wondered where the relationship (if there really was a relationship) was headed. The train pulled to a stop at her station, and she stood and gathered her bags. It was only when she moved to leave that she realized that she had been sitting in gum.
Growling with frustration, she stalked up the steps of the station, and down the three long city blocks toward Chandler's building. When she was about a block and a half away, the clouds finally let go, and the rain began pelting her. She looked at her hands, and only then did she realize that she'd left her umbrella on the train.
She stumbled in a half-run toward Chandler's building, her nerves frazzled and her head throbbing. As she fell through the large glass main doors, she nearly collided with a well-dressed, snooty looking couple that was preparing to leave. The woman looked Monica up and down, and snickered slightly, while the man ignored her completely.
She shook her head, and walked into the waiting elevator. The doors closed, and in the reflective brass-plated doors, Monica caught a glimpse of her appearance. She looked like a drowned rat, with her flat, sopping wet hair, and streaked mascara. Before she could do any kind of damage control, the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. Monica stumbled out of the elevator, and stood in front of Chandler's apartment door. She was about to knock, when the door swung open, and a young, petite blonde woman giggled, as she turned to leave.
"Oh! Uh, hello," the woman said, her green eyes wide with surprise.
Monica said nothing; she simply glared at the woman until the woman became so uncomfortable that she stepped around Monica to get into the hallway.
"Um, bye Chandler, thank you!" the woman said gaily, then bounced down the hall.
"Mon…what happened?" Chandler tried hard to stifle his chuckle.
Monica glared at Chandler, then shoved her way into his apartment, dropping the bags on the floor as she came in.
"Maybe you were too preoccupied to notice that it's raining outside!" Monica yelled.
"Whoa, Mon, calm down, what's the matter?" Chandler asked, utterly confused.
"Who was that…that, woman?" Monica's face was turning crimson; if she were a cartoon character, steam would have been shooting from her ears, and a train whistle would be blowing.
"She's no one," Chandler said, his face turning red. His eyes dropped to the floor, telling Monica that he was lying.
"Oh, really?" Monica spat coldly.
"Mon, trust me, okay?" Chandler's voice was shaky, and only fueled Monica's anger.
"Then tell me who she is!" Monica screeched.
"What is wrong with you?" Chandler spat angrily.
"Me? I woke up planning a picnic in the park, only to discover that it was about to rain…then I get…accosted by some drunk guy in the subway, I sit in gum, and get caught in the rain because I left my favorite umbrella on the train. Then, to top it all off, I find a beautiful, young, blonde with the man I love, when he knew I was coming over, meaning that he must have wanted me to see her!" Monica was rambling now, and Chandler stood next to her, his arms folded, and a bemused look on his face.
"Monica, are you even listening to yourself?"
"What?" Monica felt tears form in her eyes, as the stress of the day finally started to take its toll.
"Mon, the woman is the landlord's wife. She had to come to get the rest of my rent because I inadvertently bounced my rent check. Yes, I didn't want to tell you, because frankly, it's a little embarrassing," Chandler smiled.
Monica took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. What was she thinking? She could have really screwed things up just now, had Chandler decided to take her paranoid rant seriously. She was walking a thin line, and she hated it. She opened her eyes, and saw that Chandler was wearing a concerned expression on his face.
"Are you okay? That guy didn't hurt you, did he?"
"No, I'm…I'm fine. I'm sorry, Chandler, I do trust you, I just—" Monica sighed, and looked out the window longingly.
"Okay, look," Chandler, said suddenly, grasping Monica's hand in his, "I want you, to go into the bathroom, and get into the bath. I'll get you some dry clothes, and we will do our best to salvage what's left of the day, okay?"
Monica nodded numbly, suddenly too weak and tired to argue.
Chandler led her into the bathroom, and drew up a bath, as she shrugged out of her wet clothes. He took her clothes, and left the bathroom, smiling and kissing her on her cold nose as he left. Monica stepped into the warm, inviting bubble bath, and sighed, as she sunk into the tub. She closed her eyes, and let the day drift away from her.
She wasn't sure how long she sat like that, but she was jolted awake when she felt a draft from the door being opened. She looked up, but no one was there. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement, and looking down, she saw Chandler's cat, sauntering into the bathroom, and scratching at her litter box.
"Hi there, Holly," Monica smiled, and looked up, as Chandler poked his head in, and dropped a pile of clothes, and a large green towel onto the counter. He disappeared wordlessly, a mischievous glint lining his eyes. Monica giggled, and pulled herself out of the tub. She wrapped the warm, fluffy towel around her, and drained the tub. She smiled; as she climbed into a set of Chandler's gray sweat pants, and his favorite blue NYU sweatshirt. Both were way too large for her, but she had never felt more at home. She breathed in his scent, her grin broadening—there was nowhere else she wanted to be.
Opening the bathroom door, she was surprised at how quickly the sky had darkened. The storm was raging full force now, and Monica found herself counting her blessings that she had made it here before the storm had really hit. She wandered into the living room, her heart fluttering at the sight before her; the picnic she'd prepared was laid out fully, on the floor in front of the fireplace, where a large fire was blazing.
"Feel better," Chandler smiled, as he walked into the living room from his bedroom.
"About a million times better—thank you," Monica smiled, and walked slowly toward the blanket.
"Well, I'll take your clothes down to be washed later…but the good news is that the gum came off of your jacket relatively easily," Chandler grinned proudly, and approached Monica slowly.
Stunned, Monica shook her head, no longer able to keep her tears in check.
"What? What'd I do?" Chandler's eyes widened.
Monica looked at Chandler, and smiled through her tears.
"You…you keep doing all these great things for me…and all I do is keep proving to you that I'm not worthy of it all," Monica sobbed.
"Oh, Mon," Chandler pulled Monica toward him, and rubbed her back soothingly, "you didn't do anything…everyone has bad days! Look I promise you, that I will screw up a lot more in the months to come…if there's one thing I excel at, it's screwing up a good thing."
"I love you," Monica said into Chandler's chest.
"I—"Chandler paused, just short of saying what he longed to…but could not bring himself to, just yet.
"I know," he whispered, and held her tightly the sound of torrential rain filling the night.