AN:  Wow, I thought people may have given up on this J  Thank you SO much for all the reviews.  They definitely inspire me to write faster!  And to those of you extremely um, upset with me right about now… RELAX!!  The best is yet to come!

            It had been a month since he'd kissed her.  That was the only thought running through his mind while he watched her brush his daughter's hair, trying unsuccessfully to keep Faith, who was getting pretty good at the whole walking thing, to stay still. 

          "Faith, stop.  One more second, come here," Monica said, exasperated, pulling the almost-toddler back into her lap and struggling with the little barettes that held her honey blonde hair back. 

          "Mon, want.  Want," Faith said, twisting to look at her captor.

          "Want what?  Chandler, she's really mastered the concept of "want", but we may have to teach her to express herself a little further," Monica said with a laugh.  Chandler brought himself back to real time and joined in with a laugh of his own. 

          "Don't you have to go to work?  I'll take care of this," Chandler offered, reaching down and picking up Faith, hair finally pulled back.

          "Yeah, actually I do.  But I wanted to talk to you about something first, and I really hope it's not weird."

          "Okay… what's up?" he asked, setting Faith in her high chair with toast and jelly.

          "Well, it's about Joey's play, on Friday.  I sort of have a… friend, coming with me," she said uncomfortably.  Chandler froze, hovering over Faith as he set her up, then turned around slowly.

          "A friend like you and I are friends?" he asked, trying to keep all sarcasm out of his voice, because it was a valid question.

          "No.  Actually… not really a friend at all.  His name is Steve.  He works with Rachel," she said. 

          "Blind date?" he asked, still trying to gauge the situation.

          "We've met.  It's not really a date," she tried.  He looked at her pointedly.

          "If it wasn't a date, we wouldn't be talking about it, would we?"

          "I guess not," she agreed after a pause.  "It's just, we've been doing really well, with everything, and I don't want this to be a problem.  It's not, is it?  Because, if it is-"

          "No, no, it's not a problem.  Not at all.  Actually… I might have a date for the play, too," Chandler lied.  Monica looked at him, surprised.

          "Really?  Oh.  Well, then, that works out perfectly, I guess.  Were you… ever going to tell me about her?"

          "What?  Yeah, of course I was, I was waiting for the right… time?" he tried, accompanied by a classic Chandler face contortion.

          "Okay.  Well, I guess I'll just meet her Friday, then," Monica concluded, grabbing her bag and heading for the door.  Was that a hint of jealousy in her voice?

          "Bye," he offered.

          "Bye!" she responded sunnily.  Nope, it wasn't.

          'He "might have a date too"?  Might?  What the hell was that about?', Monica thought obsessively for the six hundreth time that day at work.  Saying that you might have a date implied that there was someone you'd been thinking about for a while, someone in mind who you might ask.  Was she someone from work, she wondered absently, mentally kicking herself for allowing these slightly jealous thoughts to take over her entire day.  So what if he has a date?  Who cares?  So did she.  And Brian was really, really nice, and cute, and he seemed smart.  And he seemed mature and together.  Yeah, she could definitely tell they were good for eachother.  Wait… was his name Brian or Ryan?  Whatever.

          Later that day, Monica and Joey were talking in the kitchen while she made dinner. 

          "What kind of salad is that?  Because I don't like green things," Joey asked anxiously, looking over her shoulder.

          "Yours is separate," she said, rolling her eyes and gesturing to the small bowl of tomatoes, onions, peppers and mushrooms she had put aside for Joey's non-green salad.

          "Okay.  Phew," he said, in all seriousness.

          "Yeah, you may have actually had to eat something… green!" Monica teased, tossing the salad.

          "I know.  Close call."  She smiled.

          "Hey Joe…" she began, then changed her mind.

          "What?"

          "Never mind.  Nothing."

          "No, really, come on… what?" he urged her, taking a piece of the bread she was slicing.

          "Well, it's no big deal, I was just wondering if you knew anything about this date Chandler has for your play."

          Joey scoffed.  "Date?  Chandler?  Yeah right."

          "He told me he was probably bringing a date… you haven't heard anything about it?"

          "Nope.  I can't believe he didn't tell me.  Weird."

          "Yeah.  So… do you think she's someone from work, or what?"

          Joey eyed Monica suspiciously.  "Why?"

          "I don't know, just curious I guess," she said casually, shrugging.

          "Okay.  Because, I mean, Rachel told me you're bringing someone, so you really can't-"

          "Be jealous or upset or catty, I know, I know.  It's not that," he looked at her, unconvinced.  "It's not!"

          "Okay."

          "Okay."

          "So, who's your date?" Joey asked, teasingly.  Monica tensed.

          "Just… some guy from Rachel's work.  Brian.  Ryan!  Why do I keep doing that?" she asked herself incredulously.

          "You two have met before?"

          "Yeah, a few months ago, when I was with… well, when I was whatever, with Chandler."

          "Ah, yes, when you were "whatever" with him," Joey mocked.

          "Shut up," Monica replied good naturedly, swatting him with her dishtowel.  He paused, opened his mouth, and closed it.  Then started again.

          "Can I ask… is this guy why you're not "whatever" with him now?"

          "What?  Joey.  No.  You think I was cheating on him?"

          "Not cheating, it woulnd't have been cheating.  I was just wondering if you stopped being whatever with Chandler so you could be whatever with Brian."

          "Ryan.  And the answer to your question is absolutely not.  If that were true, why would I have waited a month?" she asked, hand on one hip.

          "True," Joey agreed.  "Sorry."

          "It's okay," she said quietly.  "It… it just didn't work, Joey."  Her eyes welled with tears.  He went around the counter and gathered her in his arms.

          "I know.  It's okay, Mon.  I know."

          She composed herself and they seperated, making more small talk and pretending as if their previous conversation hadn't occurred at all.

          The week passed quickly, everyone busy with their jobs and personal responsiblities.  On Friday night, the group had planned to go out to dinner before Joey's stage debut (minus Joey himself, who had to be at the theater and hour earlier).  So Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Carol, Monica and Ryan and Chandler and his date, Lucy from marketing, sat at the table at Café Blue, one of the city's newest hot spots, as they ate their meals.

          "So, Ryan… what do you do, again?" Ross asked politely.

          "I'm vice president of sales at Bloomingdales," he answered.  Phoebe elbowed Monica discreetly, hissing "discount" so that only she could hear.  Monica kicked her in the ankle.

          "Bloomingdales, huh?" Chandler asked condescendingly.  Rachel jumped in before it could get awkward.

          "Yeah, Ryan actually had a lot to do with me getting hired."

          "That's great," Chandler muttered.  Monica stared at him.

          "Lucy.  How did you and Chandler meet?" she asked briskly.

          "Well, actually, earlier this week-"

          "We got to talking about how we'd known eachother for a while and thought it was about time we got together outside of work," Chandler cut in quickly.  Lucy looked confused for a minute, but covered well.

          "Yeah.  That's pretty much it," she said.  Monica forced a smile and excused herself.

          "Is… she okay?" Ryan asked the group of friends, confusion washing over his features.  Chandler stared down, suddenly fascinated by his napkin ring.

          "She's fine," Rachel assured him.  "Right?" 

          "Yeah, you know what?  I'll go check on her, make sure she's feeling all right," Carol added, leaving the table. 

          Carol caught up to Monica at the payphones, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed and her hand to her head.  She touched her shoulder.

          "Monica?  Are you all right?" she asked.

          "Yes, I'm fine… thanks Carol."

          "Are you sure?" she asked, unconvinced.

          "Yes.  You really don't have to worry, I'm fine," Monica tried again, smoothing the ruffled hem of her red skirt.

          "It's Chandler," Carol persisted.

          "Carol, please.  I don't want to do this right now," she pleaded.

          "You can talk to me, I'm your sister-in-law!" Carol pleaded right back.  Monica paused.

          "I know I can talk to you," she said, sighing.  "I guess I'm just not ready for this."

          "For Ryan, or for Lucy?" Carol asked with a wry smile.

          "I guess I thought I was ready for Ryan before there was a Lucy," Monica admitted.  "It's just weird."

          "Weird is an appropriate word.  But… I mean, you ended it, Mon.  You have to… I don't know how to say this without upsetting  you."

          "Say it.  I promise I won't get upset," Monica urged.

          "You ended it.  You have to let him… move on," she finished, giving her arm a consoling squeeze.

          "I know.  I know I'm being unfair, and I'm not trying to be.  I don't want to be with Chandler… I just don't want Lucy to be.  Is that terrible or what?" Monica smiled ruefully.

          "I'd say it's natural," Carol said.  "It's going to take a while, Monica.  But I think you're doing the right thing, jumping back out there.  Ryan seems really nice."

          "Yeah, you're right.  He does."

          "So, let's go back to the table, get through dinner, suffer through another one of Joey's mind-numbing performances, and then you can end this warped double date and move on from there." 

          Monica smiled gratefully.  "Thank you," she said sincerely.

          "Any time."  The two made their way back to the table.

          In the days following the "warped double date", Monica became more and more convinced that Carol was right; she just needed to get back out there.  She had lunch with Ryan and enjoyed herself, even though she wasn't letting herself admit that she was enjoying herself as a friend would enjoy another's company and nothing more.  After two kisses on the cheek, and one botched hand holding attempt, she decided it was time for a real, one-on-one, get dressed up and go out date.  She informed Chandler of her plans for Friday night on Wednesday, to make sure he didn't need her for Faith, and his response was "Oh.  Okay.  I'm taking Faith to my mom's that night because Joey and I have hockey tickets."  It was Friday, and they hadn't spoken beyond "have you changed her?", "pass the milk", or "this letter came for you" since.  Monica wasn't happy about it, but she decided it was just natural awkwardness that would pass with time.

          The date went surprisingly well.  Monica and Ryan seemed to have pretty good chemistry, he laughed at all the right places and they shared a sense of humor and taste for chocolate desserts.  He walked her home, and when he went in for the goodnight kiss, she shocked herself by letting him follow through.  The kiss was… really weird, but not entirely bad weird.  Different weird, she decided. 

          "I had a really good time tonight," Ryan told her genuinely after they parted.

          "So did I.  Thanks for everything."  He checked his watch         

          "It's only ten," she said after consulting hers.  "Do you want to come up for coffee?" she asked.  Might as well make the most of this whole moving on experience.  He looked hesitant.

          "I would love to…"

          "But…?" she asked.

          "But, I get a feeling your roomate hates me," he concluded.  "Just a weird vibe at dinner the other night."  She sighed.

          "Chandler… he's kind of protective, I guess," she half-lied.  He was protective.  But that wasn't why he hated Ryan. "And besides, he's not home."

          "Okay, because it sort of felt like ex-boyfriend tension, I'm going to come right out and say it," Ryan told her.  Monica shifted uncomfortably, her fingers twisting a stray lock of hair.

          "Chandler and I… had something once, but I'm not even sure what it was, and it's over, and honestly I really don't want to talk about it, so-"

          "Okay.  Coffee," Ryan said, silencing her with a smile.

          "Coffee," she echoed.  'Way to sidestep that landmine, Mon,' she thought sarcastically to herself.

          "That's weird, the door's unlocked," Monica mused after climbing the stairs with Ryan.  They entered the apartment.

          "Chandler?" Monica called out hesitantly, taking Ryan's coat and hanging it on the door.  Chandler emerged from Faith's bedroom, greeting Monica and giving Ryan that weird "guy upwards head nod" thing.

          "What are you doing here, I thought you were going to the game?" Monica asked.

          "Faith got sick, so I stayed here with her."

          "Faith's your daughter, right?" Ryan asked, his voice overly friendly.  His question was left unanswered as Monica went into panic mode.

          "Sick?  What do you mean sick?  Does she have a fever?"

          "She did, it went down, it's only about 99 now," Chandler told her.

          "She probably caught what Ross had… I told him to stay away from her," Monica said frustratedly.  "Did you give her-"

          "The amoxocillyn left over from last time, yeah, that helped.  She's fine now, Monica, really, I just got her to sleep," he assured her.  He noticed Ryan's uncomfortable expression.  "Anyway, I'm wiped, so I'm going to go to bed too.  Have a good night," he told them both, and disappeared into his bedroom.

          Monica turned to Ryan and smiled.  "Sorry about that," she said, handing him a mug of coffee and leading him to the couch.

          "It's okay… Great apartment," he complimented.  She shrugged.

          "I used to live across the hall, it's a lot nicer," she joked.  "I moved in to help Chandler with the baby," she explained. 

          "Faith," he added. 

          "Yeah, Faith.  She's great, you'll have to meet her when she's in better health," she said with a chuckle.

          "Yeah, I'd like that," he said quietly, leaning in slowly.  Monica's pulse quickened, not with anticipation, but with anxiety at the fact that she was about to be kissing someone with Chandler one thin door away.  She didn't have much to worry about, however, because two seconds into the tense kiss, Faith began screaming at the top of her lungs.  Chandler came out of his room just as the two broke apart.

          "I'm sorry," he said apologetically, rushing to the refrigerator and grabbing Faith's medicine.  Monica smiled awkwardly. 

          "No problem," she said. Chandler went back into his and Faith's room and closed the door.  Ryan, undeterred, tried the kiss again, but she started talking to distract him.

          "So, where did you grow up?" she asked, above Faith's cries.

          "Um… a little town about two hours upstate," he answered.  "And you?"

          "Long Island.  With my brother, Ross, who you met.  Any siblings?" she said, a little too loudly.

          "I have two sisters," he said. 

          "Older or younger?" she asked, desperate to keep the conversation moving.

          "Charlotte's older and Hanna's younger."  Faith's cries became more shrill, above Chandler's failed attempts at soothing her.  Monica sighed.

          "Ryan, I'm really sorry about this," she said.

          "Don't worry about it," he told her.  "I understand.  She's not your kid," he said jokingly.  And that was the moment Faith decided to start screaming for her.  Cries of "Mon", easily mistaken for "Mom", resonated through the apartment.  He looked at her quizzically.

          "She's not, right?" he asked.  She exhaled with a short laugh.

          "No. She's saying Mon, not Mom," she explained, standing.  "I'll be one second."  He nodded unhappily.

          She entered the bedroom and closed the door behind her.  Chandler was frantically rubbing Faith's back and trying to get her to quiet down.

          "What's wrong?" Monica asked, frustrated.

          "Nothing, I'm sorry," Chandler apologized.

          "Mon!  Mon!  Mon, want!" Faith cried.

          "Here," Monica said, reaching for the baby.  Chandler pulled her away.

          "It's fine, I have it under control.  Go back to your date," he said, practically spitting the word out.

          "You obviously don't have it under control," Monica argued, above Faith's ever increasing cries that got louder when she almost had Monica and then was denied.  He sighed and handed her over.  Monica sat down on the floor and rocked the baby gently.

          "Shh, sweetie, it's okay.  You don't feel well, I know, I know.  And it stinks.  But we're here.  We love you.  It's okay," Monica said soothingly.  Soon Faith's shrieks became whimpers which gave way to hiccups, and she was asleep.  Monica placed her gently in her crib.

          "Thank you," Chandler said quietly.  "She wanted you and I just wasn't going to cut it for her."

          "It's fine," Monica said.  "Chandler, I never would have had him in if I thought you were-"

          "I know.  It's okay.  I'm really okay with it," he said, lying through his teeth and they both knew it.  "I'm gonna go to bed.  Night Mon," he said.  She left and closed the door.

          Ryan had his coat on and was waiting by the front door.

          "Where are you going?" she asked.  "She's asleep."

          "Yeah… look, Monica, you're great, and I have a lot of fun with you, but… I don't' think this is going to work out," he said.

          "Oh.  Okay…"

          "You have kind of a full plate right now… what with the jealous ex-whatever slash roomate and his child that screams your name when she's sick… that's like, real life stuff.  And I'm just… not looking for real life stuff right now, I guess," he explained.

          "I understand," she said.  And she did.  She kissed him on the cheek.  "Thank you again, for tonight."

          "Take care," he told her.  And that was that.

          Chandler poked his head through the door as she collapsed on the couch.

          "I heard the door shut," he explained.  "What happened?"

          "Nothing," she said.  "My life is too 'real life' for him right now."  He sat down next to her.

          "I'm sorry," he said.  She looked at him, unconvinced, then let out a short laugh.

          "You are not," she said.  He smiled.

          "You're right.  I'm not," he admitted.  "I'm trying to be, though."

          "I know you are," she said.  "So, how about you?  How's Lucy?"  He looked at her uncomfortably.

          "Okay, well, the thing is… Lucy is like, really shallow and I don't like her at all.  Even as a friend," he said.

          "But you guys were friends for-"

          "Yeah, that was a lie.  She went along with it.  I met her last week," he said, embarassed.  She rolled her eyes.

          "I know, pathetic," he said.

          "No, actually… I was just thinking about how ridiculously jealous I got over some fictitious candidate for a girlfriend that you fed me," she admitted.

          "Really?  You were jealous?"

          "No," she said.  "Yes.  Totally."

          "Huh."

          "What's that… what's that, 'huh', what is that?" she asked.

          "Nothing, it's just… I guess neither one of us was ready to date," he said.

          "Ready for the other one to date, you mean," she said smiling.

          "That too," he said.  They looked into one another's eyes almost longingly.  Chandler broke the moment abruptly by standing up.  If that went on a second longer, he would have kissed her.

          "Well, I'm beat.  Night Mon," he said, ruffling her hair.

          "Goodnight," she told him, standing and heading to her own bedroom.  Their doors shut simultaneously.

Patience is a virtue, I'm telling you all that once more.  Not much more to go, a chapter or two, then I'm done!  The more you review the sooner I post the next chapter, so get to it.