Joey soon recovered from his cold, and so did the duck. The vet outlined a few options to keep the duck from getting away again. They could have the duck's wings clipped by the vet or a pet groomer, so long as they kept doing it whenever the flight feathers grew back. But if they couldn't remember to maintain the duck's wings, then they could either keep him locked in a cage when outdoors, or else fit him with a harness and leash.

Chandler repeated all this information to Joey, who appreciated his help. It was nice that Chandler still acted like the birds were his pets too. They discussed the options and made the decision together.

Having ensured the duck's safety, Joey now became concerned about boat safety in general, now that he'd learned that accidents could happen even while docked in the marina.

In the cabin, Chandler helped Joey check through a list of supplies.

"Blankets?" Chandler asked.

"Yep," Joey opened the cabinet in which he'd stuffed some blankets.

Chandler continued down the list, while Joey confirmed the location of each item. "Extra clothes? Life vests? First aid kit? Extra pet food? Okay, that's it, Joey."

"Good," Joey looked pleased. "That means all I have to do now is return these towels to Amber." He opened another cabinet and pulled out the towels, freshly cleaned and dried by Monica.

Chandler glimpsed something else inside the cabinet. "Hey, you brought sleeping bags?"

"Yeah," Joey answered. "There's no room for a bed in here."

"Ah," Chandler smirked knowingly, "you mean for all the hot dates you'll be bringing here." He got a wistful look in his eyes. "I'll bet that Amber can really rock the boat!"

Joey grinned. "I just hope she doesn't want to go sailing anywhere."

Chandler laughed. "Yeah, I guess people aren't getting the idea yet that this boat is permanently docked. But if she knows how to sail, she could teach you, and maybe she'll be nicer about it than Rachel."

"Yeah, that would be cool! I'll go ask her." Joey started to leave with the towels, but then he turned back at the door. "Hey, Chandler, what are you doing tonight? You wanna camp out with me?"

"Camp out?"

"Yeah, I didn't bring those sleeping bags just for dates. I want you guys to stay over sometimes. What do you say?"

"You mean out here on the docks? All night?"

"Come on, it'll be fun. We can lie on the deck and look at the stars. I mean, we haven't been camping since that time that we used those inflatable sheep for pillows. Remember?" The inflatable sheep came from Rachel's Halloween costume of Little Bo Peep.

"Yeah, I remember. I still think it was a bear that I heard."

Joey laughed. "Well, let's camp out here, and I promise there won't be any bears. Or sharks."

"Very funny," Chandler rolled his eyes. "But aren't there, aren't there any... um, rats that come out on the docks at night?"

Joey shrugged, "I don't think so. We can just stay inside the cabin and lock the door if you want. You can still see the stars through the windows."

Chandler thought about it, but finally shook his head. "No, um, I-I couldn't stay tonight anyway. Monica wants to go over the budget for the wedding, since I'm paying for it and everything."

"Oh. Okay." Joey shrugged and went to return the towels.

***

On another evening hanging out on the sailboat, Chandler raised his beer to toast Joey. "Congratulations on returning to *Days of Our Lives*."

Joey clinked their beers together and smiled. "Thanks, Chandler." The whole gang had already congratulated Joey for reprising the role of Dr. Drake Ramoray, but this private toast felt good too.

This time, Chandler didn't even make any snide jokes about Joey's character being in a coma. He just suggested, "Hey, if you make nice to the writers, they might have Drake miraculously wake up."

"Yeah, I'll try that," Joey said. "I could have played Stryker Ramoray instead, if not for my big fat mouth."

"Oh, ho! Trust me, everybody has trouble knowing when to shut up sometimes." Chandler was thinking in particular of all the embarrassing secrets that he, Monica, and Ross had unwisely divulged to each other recently.

"I guess so."

"So how was it, camping out here alone?"

"I wasn't alone. Amber was with me."

"Oh." Chandler imagined what that night was like.

Joey smiled wickedly. "I'll tell you about it, if you tell me what it's like with Monica."

Chandler blushed and shook his head. "You know I can't do that, Joe."

Joey shrugged. "Worth a shot." He leaned back and changed the subject. "Maybe I can invite the whole gang here some night and have a party. Are you and Monica gonna have an engagement party?"

"No, we're not."

"Oh." Then Joey sat up excitedly. "I know! We can have your bachelor party here. How many people do you think we could fit on the boat?"

Chandler frowned and cleared his throat nervously. "Um, listen, about that--I'm not having a bachelor party."

"What?!" Joey was shocked. "You gotta have a bachelor party!"

"No, I can't. Monica and I have talked about it, and we agreed it's a silly tradition--"

"It's a great tradition! If she's afraid there's going to be strippers, then I'll--" No, he couldn't really promise not to have strippers. "Well, she can have her own party with strippers!"

"No, she promised not to have a bachelorette party either. Really, Joey, I'm fine with it. I mean, you threw a party already for Ross, and I don't need one too--"

Joey sulked. "That was just Ross's party. I was gonna throw you a better party than that."

"Really?"

"Sure! With no museum geeks, or poker, or Zima. Just lots of drinking and stripping."

Chandler smiled, but tried to be firm. "That would have been nice, but--"

"No, no! No buts! Listen, Monica doesn't even have to know. We'll have a secret party. Just you, me, and the stripper."

"Why not Ross?"

"Because if Monica questioned him, he'd wimp out and rat on us." Joey shrugged. "Besides, Ross isn't your best man. I am, right?"

Chandler thought quickly. Originally, he had intended to have two best men, like Ross had done for his wedding to Emily. But Ross had ticked Chandler off with his prank, and with the recent sharing of secrets. Plus, Chandler had always felt so much closer to Joey. So he made a choice. "Of course you're my best man, Joe."

"Yeah, baby!" Joey hugged him happily.

Chandler smiled but pulled back. "But wait, I have to figure out how to tell Ross. He'll be hurt that I didn't pick him, you know?"

"I know," Joey said. "He's gonna be your brother-in-law, too."

"Yeah," Chandler sighed and pondered it. "And I've known him since college... and he made that whole big deal that I've been his best man twice, but he's never been mine."

"That's his fault for getting married so many times!" Joey joked.

Chandler chuckled, but still worried a little. "It's not that big a snub, is it? Making him my groomsman instead of best man? He's not going to get all resentful, is he?"

After a pause, Joey grudgingly said, "Okay, you can ask him to be best man too."

Chandler looked up with surprise. "Really? You don't mind sharing again?"

Joey shrugged, "Nah, we shouldn't hurt his feelings. But just between us, I'm your *best* best man, right?"

"Right." Chandler smiled and hugged Joey again. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Chandler was still touched by Joey's generosity. "Maybe I've had too many beers, but I could--I could almost kiss you."

Joey chuckled. "See, this is why everybody thinks you're gay."

Chandler laughed too and pulled out of his arms. "No more beer for me." He put down his beer and started to get up. "We better head back home now."