Hi everyone!
This is technically my second story, but I felt that I needed to write something more personal. Mondler is my favorite couple, their love story is not the main storyline in this story. It's the one between Monica and her mother. Relationships between a mother and a daughter can be a delicate subject and I hope I can touch on that in a respectful way. Mondler will become a factor as their relationship changes throughout the series and his feedback and love will mean more than the others and soon more than her mother's.
Every chapter will be from a different episode where I've felt Judy Geller made her daughter insecure or doubt herself.
The one with the sonogram at the end.
Monica stood in the kitchen cleaning up after her parents' visit. She sighed when she cleaned the kitchen counter and thought about her evening. She had prepared everything from fluffing the pillows to her mother's standard to preparing food that she knew her parents would like. Ever since she and Ross were kids she had learnt a way she could see her parents and especially her mother with her head high. She knew she couldn't succeed every time, and this time was one of them. Ross had news and when her brother had news she knew her mother would listen and she could easily sit through those family dinners.
Rachel was engaged and her brother was about to have a baby. She knew the glance she got from her mother would pierce through her eyes and she knew she had those thoughts herself. When will that happen to her? Why was it so easy for Rachel and Ross? Monica knew Barry wasn't the right man for Rachel and she left him for a reason, but he proposed to Rachel. A man wanted to be engaged to Rachel.
Monica remembered seeing Rachel almost a year ago at central perk when she had seen the engagement ring on her finger. Today the beautiful ring was in the lasagna she had carefully prepared for her parents visit.
She knew her friends meant well, Monica had done her best to clean and prepare food that wouldn't give her mother a reason to complain. Monica had prepared the white top her mother had got her and black classic pants, she had her hair down and blow dried it the way her mother had told her she liked. Her job as a sous chef didn't allow her to wear nail polish, but she did want to hide the fact she still bit her nails. Thankfully Rachel lent her a light pink coloured nail polish and helped her finish the lasagna. Monica had carefully watched Rachel place the ingredients to her standard, that Rachel had dropped her giant engagement ring wasn't part of the plan. So instead of saving herself from her mother's remarks on her nails Monica had to change her whole meal.
By the end of the evening Jack and Judy Geller had left apartment 20 and Ross decided on calling Carol to tell her he would come along to the sonogram. After all, he wanted to be a father. Rachel was about to finish her shift at the coffeeshop and Monica knew she would join the gang to end the evening. Monica knocked on the door to apartment 19 and saw Joey and Chandler about to leave for the coffeeshop.
"How do they do it? How did they turn Ross's story about Carol to me?" Monica looked at Chandler after telling him about her evening with her parents. "Do you think she forgot to mention I'm not married?"
"I'm sure she didn't forget," Chandler nodded towards her.
The three of them joined the others at Central Perk as Rachel closed the café for the night. Monica watched her 5 best friends, she was so happy. It's been five of them a long time and adding Rachel to the group felt so natural. Even since Ross met Carol and before Joey and Phoebe became her and Chandler's separate roommates she and Chandler got really close. She considered him as her best friend, sure Rachel is her best friend. But Chandler is Chandler, he was there when Ross married Carol and her mother wouldn't stop commenting how her bridesmaid dress fit her. Chandler was there when Judy called her which always ended with her wiping off a tear from her eyes. As Monica layed down at the orange couch she felt so happy that she can consider 5 people her best friends.
I will update as I write and come up with good episodes to use. Feedback and episode suggestions are welcome :) I have prepared a list with episodes i've thought of myself but I can easily have forgotten moments YOU are thinking of.
Thanks!