A/N - First of all, thank you for your reviews. I wasn't expecting that many for the first chapter, so thanks. As for this chapter... I'm using the name Emily for Monica's daughter, just because I like the name. In this story, Emily - as in Ross' second wife Emily - never existed, and Emma doesn't exist either, so there shouldn't be any confusion. Anyway... Here's chapter two. And, believe me, things will get much more interesting as we go...

==========

There You Are

Chapter Two

Ring! Ring!

Monica quickly picked up the phone, hoping that the ringing hadn't woken Emily. "Hello?"

"Is this Monica?" the man asked.

"Yes, it is. Who is this?" she asked as she bent over to pick up a few toys that were scattered across the living room floor.

"This is Chandler, from the coffeehouse a few days ago."

She put the toys down on the table and sat on the couch. "Oh, hi," she said.

"Hi," he chuckled. "Um... I was just wondering if you might like to have coffee or something sometime."

"Well, I, um... I don't know if I can," she replied hesitantly. He seemed like such a nice guy, but she was too afraid that he was going to bail as soon as he found out that she was a single mother with a three year old daughter.

"Oh." He sounded disappointed. "Well, if you can't, you can't. I -"

"You know what?" she interrupted. "Coffee would be great. How about Central Perk tonight?"

"That would be great," he smiled. "Six o'clock?"

"Yeah, that'll be fine," she responded. "I guess I'll see you then."

"Yeah... See you tonight," he replied before hanging up the phone.

"Mommy," Emily yawned, rubbing her eyes with her fists as she entered the living room.

"Hey, sweetie," Monica smiled, putting down the phone and walking over to pick up her daughter. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Uh huh," she yawned. "Mommy?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we go to the park?"

"No, honey, not today. Listen. I'm gonna call Uncle Ross and Aunt Rachel to see if they can stay with you tonight, okay?"

"Why, Mommy?"

"Sweetie, Mommy's got to take care of something tonight."

==========

Monica walked into Central Perk at six o'clock sharp that evening, and found Chandler sitting at a table in the back. He smiled when he saw her and she smiled back at him as she walked over to join him.

"Hi," he said as he stood to greet her and pull out her chair.

"Hi... Thank you," she smiled and took the chair he offered her.

"So... How've you been?" he asked as he took his seat again.

"Oh, fine, thanks," Monica replied. "How about you? Did you enjoy that 'night in' the other night?" she smiled.

"Oh, that," he laughed. "Yeah, actually. I spent the night with the television."

She laughed. "I know all about those nights," she smiled.

"Oh, come on. A beautiful woman like you spending nights in front of the television? You must have guys taking you out night after night."

"If only it were that simple," Monica smiled slightly. "I don't think I've been on a real date in months," she said, trying to think back. "Yeah, the last time I went out with someone, my friend, Rachel, set me up with a guy she works with. It didn't work out so well."

"I should probably say I'm sorry to hear that, but if it had worked out with him, you wouldn't be here with me right now," he smiled.

"You know, that's right," she smiled back at him. "So... What do you do?" she asked.

"I'm a data processor, actually. Kind of boring, but it pays the bills. How about you?"

"I'm a chef at Allessandro's."

"Wow. Great," he smiled. "I've been there a lot. Great food."

"Thanks," she replied. "Listen, Chandler. I think there's something you should know."

"Sure. What is it?" he asked curiously.

"Well..." She paused, wondering if she should tell him the truth. If she told him about Emily now, there was no way he was going to stick around to get to know her. But if she didn't tell him now, she'd be wasting her time with him. The second he found out, he'd be gone. And she was sick of being hurt. "I don't think you and I should be seeing each other."

"Oh," he said after letting it sink in for a second.

He definitely sounded hurt. "I'm sorry, but, trust me, you'd only be setting yourself up for disaster. You seem like a really nice guy, and I don't want to drag you through something as complicated as my life."

"Monica, I understand if you don't want to see me. I just thought that we really seemed to hit it off the other day. I thought there might be something here."

"I know... But if we start dating, we're only going to end up getting hurt, and I don't want to do that to you - or myself. And I thought I should tell you in person."

"I understand," he said, not really understanding at all. "Well, thanks for coming."

"Thanks for understanding," she smiled slightly before turning to leave.

==========

"No, Emily, we're not buying those," Monica said, taking the cookies that the little girl had somehow managed to grab from the shelf and returning them to their spot. "Sweetie, Mommy needs to finish her grocery shopping soon, so please stop grabbing everything you see," she said as she pushed her cart around the corner and into the next aisle where she accidentally bumped into someone.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized quickly before even looking to see who she had hit.

"It's fine," he responded, looking at her. "Monica?"

"Chandler," she said quietly.

"Hi."

"Hi," she answered, a bit flustered. She hadn't expected to ever see him again.

"Mommy, who is Chandler?" Emily asked curiously looking at the man her mother was talking to.

Chandler looked shocked. He hadn't noticed the little girl until she spoke up.

"Honey, Chandler is my friend." She looked back to Chandler and smiled slightly. "Chandler, this is my daughter, Emily."

Once he had gotten over the initial shock of discovering that Monica had a child, Chandler looked at the little girl who was eyeing him curiously and took her hand to shake it. "Hi, Emily. I'm Chandler."

"Hi," she giggled.

"You know something? You're just as pretty as your mommy," he smiled.

The little girl giggled and turned to bury her head in her mother's chest.

"Don't be shy," Monica said, brushing Emily's hair with her hand. She looked back up at Chandler. "I wanted to tell you, but -"

"It's okay. I understand," he interrupted. "Do you think you might want to reconsider seeing each other again? I think this might be some kind of sign," he smiled. Normally he'd probably run away screaming if he found out that the woman he was interested in was a single mom. But, this time, something was different. There was something special about Monica. And he wanted a chance to find out what it was.

"You think so?"

He nodded. "Dinner, maybe?" he asked. "Whenever you're free."

"Tomorrow night is good, I guess." Even if nothing came from seeing him again, she felt that she at least owed him an explanation. Maybe not the long, drawn out version, but something. Besides, he seemed different from the other men she'd been out with since Emily had been born. He seemed genuinely interested in her.

"Can I meet you at Central Perk at six thirty? We can go somewhere for dinner from there."

"That's fine," she answered. "I'll see you then," she said, then looked back down at her daughter. "Say goodbye to Chandler."

"Bye," she said shyly, barely looking up from her mother.

"Bye, you," he said, then watched as Monica and her little girl walked away.

==========

A/N - I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought.