Ok ok so I lied. I promised a quicker update. I have no excuse…well I do but there are way too many to enumerate. So without further ado, here's the next chapter.

Oh yeah, before I forget, I do not own any of these characters.

This chapter is continuing the flashback.

The Wedding

Rachel looked around the apartment. It was… well, it was a bit of a mess. On one side of the room were huge posters of 'Welcome home, Emma' and on the other side… someone had started putting up a banner congratulating them on their engagement. But they hadn't finished. One end of the banner was taped to the wall. The other end was trailing on the floor. Balloons were scattered around the room and what looked like a cake was splattered on the ground. And…Joey was on the couch, with his head in his hands.

She went up to him and nudged him. He woke up with a start. "Rach…? What are you doing back so soon? I thought you wouldn't be back till tonight."

"Well, there was a change in plan. What happened to this place?"

"I…I wanted to congratulate you on your engagement." Joey looked down at the ground. It was one thing volunteering to decorate the place…but he didn't expect to be here when she came back. This was just too hard. He had started decorating when a wave of sadness overtook him. His vision blurred and he had dropped the cake.

Rachel smiled. "That is so sweet, hon."

He groaned inwardly. Just the sight of her smile was enough to make him go weak in the knees. He stood up abruptly.

"I have to go."

She stared at his retreating back. Joey was so distant lately. He hardly ever visited the hospital. That was one of the reasons she decided it would be better to come back early from the hospital. She didn't imagine Joey would be at her place. But she still couldn't speak to him. She sighed. She had to find out what was wrong.

****

A couple of days later, it was still the same. Joey seemed to go out of his way to avoid both Ross and Rachel.

Rachel was poring over wedding books, when Joey walked in. He took one long look at her and swirled around to leave. He had to get out of there. Seeing her with all those books tore his heart apart. He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Rachel.

"What's wrong, Joey?"

"Nothing. I'm a bit busy, Rachel"

She seemed upset. She made a visible effort to smile and held out an envelope. "I wanted you to be the first."

He tore open the envelope. The wedding invitation. Why did she have to do this to him? He whispered thanks and ran out of there. This was getting impossible.

Rachel couldn't take it anymore. She finally told Monica, who brushed it aside. She persisted and finally Monica agreed to talk to Joey.

****

Monica grimaced as she approached Joey's apartment. She couldn't believe she had agreed to do this.

"Joey? We need to talk."

****

Joey frowned. He was going over to Rachel's apartment. He hadn't realized his behavior was so obvious. 'I guess I have to apologize to her. I'll make up some excuse like an audition or something…'

He was so deep in thought that he hadn't realized he had walked straight into the bedroom until he heard a scream. Looking up he saw Ross and Jill!

Ross shot out of bed. "Joey, this isn't what it looks like…"

"It looks like you're in bed with your fiancé's sister."

"Well maybe it looks somewhat like that but you have to understand…"

Jill sauntered out of the room wearing Ross' shirt. She winked at Joey and mouthed 'call me'. He made a disgusted sound. How could the younger sister be such a slut while the elder was an angel?

Ross moaned. Joey turned his attention to Ross. He was going to kill Ross. How dare he do this to Rachel again? Ross was sitting on the bed. He looked up at Joey. "She doesn't love me. She doesn't look at me the same way, she used to. She doesn't seem to have any time for me anymore."

Joey was surprised. Ross had feelings of inadequacy? He sat down next to Ross. "You think that gives you the right to cheat on her?"

Ross slowly shook his head. "I love her so much, I can't think straight anymore. I guess I needed someone to make me feel… special."

Joey was so mad. Ross didn't deserve Rachel. But Rachel loved him. He would sacrifice everything to make her happy and if she needed Ross… Joey sighed. He couldn't believe he was going to say this, "She does love you. Any fool can see it in her eyes when she looks at you, talks about you. For god's sake, Ross, she just gave birth to a baby. Naturally she has to give a lot of time to the kid."

Ross nodded. Joey was right. He was acting like a spoilt brat.

Joey continued, "Its up to you if you wanna tell her. I… I'm not going to. But talk to her. If you do anything to hurt her, I swear you'll regret it for the rest of your life. I'll hunt you down and you'll wish for me to kill you" With that he walked out of the room. He could hear Ross calling Rachel on her cell.

****

"This is the most beautiful wedding," Monica sobbed. Chandler rolled his eyes. It hadn't even started and Monica was already crying. He saw Joey rushing in. Chandler gave him a thumbs-up. He didn't understand why Ross had changed the best man. Till last week, he was the best man. And then out of the blue, Ross named Joey best man. Chandler was a little hurt. He heard the strains of music start. He got up.

Joey gasped. Rachel looked gorgeous. The ceremony started. Joey couldn't take his eyes off her. She was positively glowing.

He dragged his thoughts away from Rachel. Father Curtis' voice droned on. "…Speak now or forever hold his peace."

Ross looked around. Rachel didn't even turn.

Joey frowned. No one should have to depend on someone else so much for happiness. Suddenly he decided this was wrong. He didn't want her to marry Ross. Ross had already cheated on her twice. She deserved so much better.

" I object."

There was pin drop silence.

Joey saw Ross turn. He swung a punch at Joey. Joey blocked it and dived at him. Rachel threw herself in front of Ross. Joey gazed into Rachel's eyes. It jolted him to his senses. He knew then that it didn't matter what he thought. Rachel was so deeply in love with Ross.

Joey reached out and touched her cheek. She stared at him, confused. He slowly walked to the door. Without a backward glance, he opened it and stepped out.

Well that's it for now. I have this exam coming up soon. So wish me luck. Please R & R!