:sweet reviews! Thank you! Keep them coming, it makes me want to write the next parts straight away.:
TOW The Reunion
PART SIX
The delicious smells of bacon and toast woke Monica from her troubled sleep. Her neck ached from the hard surface of the chair, but that was forgotten when she saw Chandler in the kitchen making breakfast. "Wow…" she murmured sleepily, "I see L.A has taught you something!"
Chandler looked up and grinned. "It's only a bit of bacon and toasted bread," he said modestly. He brought a large plate of food and a jug of juice. "Enjoy!" he said, gesturing to his culinary efforts.
Monica took a bite of some bacon and chewed thoughtfully. She noticed Chandler looking at her hopefully and decided to play with him. "It's…ok." She said cautiously. Chandler's face fell and Monica tried to hide a grin.
"Just ok?" he asked, disappointed.
Monica laughed. "It's delicious!" she giggled, reassuring him.
Chandler rolled his eyes. "You got me." He admitted.
"This is really good Chandler." Monica continued, grabbing some more food. "I haven't had anyone make me breakfast in a while." She admitted.
"Well, I'll make sure I do it more often!" Chandler announced. He grabbed some food for himself and the two sat silently for a while, eating the remainders.
"Chandler…um…did you sleep on this chair all night with me?" Monica asked, glancing at him quickly and then turning back to her food.
Chandler smiled awkwardly. "Yes, was that ok?" he asked worriedly.
"Oh that was fine with me…" Monica answered hurriedly, smiling. "But it's becoming a habit isn't it?" she blushed a little.
"Yes…" Chandler said hesitantly. He gazed into Monica's eyes and swallowed hard. Monica reached for his hand, and he squeezed it gently. "Mon…I…I'm always here for you, you know that right?" he asked.
Monica nodded. "I know." She said quietly. The two continued to look at each other, never letting go of the other's hands.
The phone started to ring.
"I'll get that!" Chandler exclaimed, tearing his eyes and hand away and grabbing the phone. "Hello?"
"Um…hi Chandler." Chandler realised it was Rachel.
"Hey Rach," he greeted, trying not to look at Monica's shocked reaction. "How are you?"
"I'm fine." Rachel replied. "Um…is Monica there?"
"Er…yes she is. Wait a sec…" he covered the mouth piece with one hand and turned to Monica. "Um…Mon? It's Rachel."
"So I hear." Monica said stiffly.
"Do you want to talk to her?"
Monica hesitated for a couple of seconds before nodding and gesturing for the phone. Chandler handed it to her and stood watching, biting his nails nervously.
"Listen Monica, I…I think we should talk, don't you think?" Rachel asked nervously.
"What about?" Monica asked bluntly.
"About us…our friendship."
"I think you ended our friendship four years ago Rachel." Monica snipped.
"Please Mon," Rachel pleaded, "I've missed you so much. At least let me come round to your apartment for just a little while and then if you don't want to see me anymore, that's ok."
Monica sighed. She had missed Rachel's friendship over the past few years. She yearned for the closeness they had shared during college, and the laughter and fun that came with it. "Ok…" she relented, "You can come round this afternoon. I'm not working today."
"Great!" Rachel breathed a sigh of relief down the phone, "I'll come round at 4. See you then!"
"See you," Monica said, hanging up.
"Well?" Chandler asked hopefully, "Have you two sorted things out?"
"Not yet," Monica replied, smiling a little, "Maybe soon."
****
After Rachel left the hotel room for Monica's, Ross fell back on his bed his mind filled with worry. He knew getting close with Rachel was becoming a problem. No matter what the state of the marriage was, Rachel was still married to Barry, and he lived in China…with a girlfriend who had no idea what was going on. He realised he hadn't called Julie since arriving in New York and it had been nearly a week. Before, he had not gone a day without calling.
Now Rachel was back, even more beautiful than he had ever remembered seeing before. Another thought hit him…what if all of this was all in his imagination and she didn't feel the say way about him as he did about her? No, that wasn't possible, he had seen the bond developing between them over the past week.
Ross realised he needed someone to talk to. In situations like these, he usually turned to Kip. He found relationships easier to talk about with Kip rather than Chandler, who had a rather bachelor lifestyle at the time and wasn't too concerned about commitment.
Now, Kip was gone, so Ross had no one to turn to but Chandler. He just hoped that he understood what he was going through.
Half an hour later, Ross met Chandler at Central Park and they walked around for a while. To his surprise, Chandler was the first to bring up the subject of relationships.
"Have you ever been in love Ross?" Chandler asked, turning towards him.
"Well…I guess I'm in love with Julie…kinda." Ross said cautiously.
"Whoa!" Chandler exclaimed, turning towards him, "Who is Julie?"
"Haven't I told you about her yet?" Ross asked in surprise.
"No…"
"She lives in China, but was raised here in New York." Ross explained, "She's really pretty and she's a palaeontologist…like me." He smiled proudly.
"Is it serious?"
"Well…yeah," Ross replied hesitantly, "We've been going out for a year now."
"Wow…" Chandler murmured. "I guess that is love."
Chandler wasn't usually the type to start a conversation about relationships. Ross hadn't hoped for this…he was relying on pouring his heart out to Chandler about his complicated feelings for Rachel. He had a feeling that Chandler had something on his mind.
"Is something wrong Chandler?" Ross asked, concerned.
Chandler turned to him with a look of apprehension on his face. "I think I'm in love." He admitted.
"Wow! Who with?" Ross exclaimed, immediately forgetting about his own love life. For Chandler to have loving feelings for someone was, to Ross, a historical event.
"I'd rather not say." Chandler said uncomfortably. "Let's just say that I'm in love with someone…or at least I think I am… and leave it at that. Now, I know you didn't drag me out here for nothing so what's up? What's the problem?"
"I think I have feelings for Rachel." Ross admitted.
"Well, I so did not know that!" Chandler quipped, grinning. "Come on, spill. Tell me the details."
****
Chandler felt better after his talk with Ross. Helping Ross with his love life made him take his mind off his own frustrating feelings for Monica. He walked through the streets back to the apartment, realising that once again he was walking towards to the alleyway where Phoebe lived.
"Hi!" Phoebe called excitedly. She was sitting on a blanket in her little box, playing her guitar.
Chandler smiled at Phoebe and stood in front of her. "Hi," he greeted, "How's it going?"
Phoebe shrugged. "Ok." She replied. She sneezed a few times and pulled a dirty tissue from her pocket.
"You don't look ok," Chandler said worriedly. He knelt down and peered at Phoebe's face. It looked pale and he could see the dark circles under her eyes.
"I'm fine…really…ACHOO!" Phoebe burst out, blowing her nose.
"No you're not." Chandler put a hand to Phoebe's forehead and immediately withdrew it, realising how hot she felt. "You've got a fever!" He exclaimed. "You should be inside a warm room."
"I'll be ok." Phoebe insisted, "I've had colds before."
"You'll catch pneumonia," Chandler said worriedly. "I think you should come back to my place for a while."
"No." Phoebe said firmly, "I'll be ok."
"You will not be ok." Chandler burst out, "You've got a high temperature. I'm not leaving you out here like this. You're coming home with me."
"But…but you hardly know me." Phoebe protested. She sneezed again.
"You saved my friend from being attacked. That's all I need to know." Chandler smiled.
Phoebe slowly stood up. "Well if you're sure," she said uncertainly.
"I'm sure." Chandler insisted, "Collect your things now and come home with me. Monica will be pleased to see you again."
"How's it going with her?" Phoebe asked, picking up her guitar and a bag with her clothes in.
"What do you mean?" Chandler asked uncomfortably as they walked out of the alleyway.
"I hate it when people answer a question with a question." Phoebe grumbled, "I mean have you confessed your undying love for her yet?"
"Not yet," Chandler mumbled. He frowned, "How did you work that out? You've just met me!"
"I just have that feeling." Phoebe shrugged, "You should tell her as soon as possible!"
"It's not that easy," Chandler protested, "We've been friends for a long time. I don't want to screw up what we already have."
"Friends a long time…" Phoebe commented thoughtfully, "Sounds like you're soul mates." She smiled knowingly at Chandler.
"You sound like Kip talking like that." Chandler said, grinning.
"Who's Kip?"
"Just an old friend," Chandler murmured.
~~~~Flashback 1988 College, Kip's 20th birthday party~~~~
"I just want to say a few words," Kip said drunkenly. He staggered to the stage and grabbed the microphone off the singer of a band that had just arrived.
"He is so hammered," Chandler whispered to Monica, Ross and Rachel. "It's not wise for him to be up there!"
"Oh leave it," Ross laughed, "Let's watch him make a fool of himself."
"Right." Kip tapped the microphone. "Is this thing on? Ok…um first I want to thank the two gorgeous ladies who organised this little gig for me." He stopped and winked at Monica and Rachel, who waved cheerfully at him.
"Secondly, I want to thank my buddies Chandler and Ross for spiking my drinks all night!" Kip raised his glass of punch at the crowd, who laughed.
"Lastly, I want everyone to give a cheer to my favourite unofficial couple in the whole world…Monica and Chandler!" the crowd burst into laughter and cheered. Monica and Chandler rolled their eyes at Kip and grinned at him, shaking their heads.
"Oh come on you guys!" Kip yelled good-naturedly, "Everyone knows you're meant to be!" he grinned, "Have a dance on me!" he gestured to the band to start playing music. He leaped off the stage and ran over to Chandler and Monica. "Start dancing!"
"Ok, ok." Monica rolled her eyes and smiled at her friend. "But only because it's you." she turned to Chandler and smiled. He smiled back and took her hand, leading her to the middle of the dance floor. They wrapped their arms around each other and moved slowly to the music.
"Aww…" Kip said, giving the pair a wave.
"I'm beginning to worry about you Kip!" Chandler called, grinning.
"I'm just pointing out the obvious Chandler!" Kip yelled back. He turned to Ross and Rachel. "Tell them it's obvious!" he ordered.
Rachel giggled and gave Kip a hug. "I think it's obvious you're very drunk Kip." She told him.
"They're soul mates." Kip insisted.
"You're just too much!" Monica giggled as she continued to dance with Chandler.
~~~~~~~Present~~~~
"Sounds like he was a great friend." Phoebe commented.
"Yes he was," Chandler said wistfully, "He was unique."
END OF PART SIX:check out for more soon! Don't worry Joey fans; he will be back in this story very shortly! Lol: