:wow my story is developing way beyond what I had originally predicted! Keep reviewing; it's a reassurance whether the story is going well or not. To reviewer who mentioned about body temperatures, I'm sorry but I haven't got a clue about it! lol Here is part ten!

TOW The Reunion PART TEN Three days later…

Monica pulled the thermometer out of Phoebe's mouth and inspected it. To her immense relief the fever was starting to go down. She smiled at her new friend, who was staring at her with sleepy eyes.

"The soup and bed rest is doing its job," Monica told her, "You can get up now."

Phoebe sighed. "Good," she said irritably, "I'm sick of this bed."

Monica laughed, "Now I have a feeling that's the Phoebe I met!" she said.

She grew silent, wanting to say something else but not quite daring. Phoebe gazed at her curiously. "What is it Monica?" she asked.

Monica looked at Phoebe in amazement, "How did you do that?" she asked, laughing.

"What?" Phoebe wrinkled her forehead in confusion.

"You were just able to tell that something was bothering me," Monica explained.

"It's a gift I guess," Phoebe replied, shrugging her shoulders. She pulled herself up into a sitting position and stared at Monica. "What is bothering you?" she asked.

"Well I was just wondering…when you're feeling healthy again…you're not really going to go back to the streets are you?" Monica asked worriedly.

Phoebe's eyes widened in surprise, "Of course I am!" she exclaimed, "I can't stay here all the time, there's no room. It's your apartment and you're sleeping on the couch for crying out loud!"

"I don't mind that!" Monica protested, "It's very comfortable."

" 'For several months' comfortable?" Phoebe asked doubtfully.

"It'll give you time to get a place for yourself," Monica tried to persuade her, "I really don't mind you being here."

"Oh but I think you do," Phoebe commented slyly. She smiled knowingly at Monica.

"What are you talking about?" Monica asked Phoebe slowly, avoiding her eyes.

Phoebe sighed. "I'm been stuck in here with a fever so high I might as well be in Nevada but..." She paused and glanced at Monica, who was turning slightly red in the face, "but it doesn't mean I'm completely out of it. I can still understand what is going on around me…or at least hear what is going on." She chuckled slightly at Monica's embarrassed face. Seeing that she wasn't going to get a response, Phoebe rolled her eyes again. "Come on Mon, admit it!" she said in frustration.

Monica widened her eyes and blushed deeper. "How did you know?" she asked in amazement.

"About what?" Phoebe asked, smirking.

Monica growled in frustration, "You just said you knew about Chandler and I!" she exclaimed.

"Actually, I didn't say that at all," Phoebe corrected, "I said I could hear what was going on." She smiled.

Monica looked at Phoebe in horror, "You little sneak!" she exclaimed.

Phoebe giggled, "At least I got you to admit it!" she said.

Monica smiled and shook her head, "So, you didn't actually know?" she asked.

"Oh I kind of knew," Phoebe corrected, "It was a guess really. I've been noticing some strange behaviour over the past few days. Lots of creeping around in the night, strange…noises." She looked meaningfully at Monica and grinned.

Monica flushed, "Are we that loud?" she asked, embarrassed.

"Well, let's just say he must be good for you to keep calling out his name like that!" Phoebe exclaimed, looking at her mischievously.

"Oh god…" Monica moaned, burying her head in her hands.

"Erotic passion I must say…" Phoebe murmured. She giggled, "So…?" she asked.

"So, what?" Monica asked.

"So, is he good?" Phoebe asked impatiently.

Monica sighed and smiled dreamily. "Oh yes." She replied.

"Wow…is he a good kisser?" Phoebe continued.

"The best." Monica confirmed.

"I knew it…he seemed the type to be a good kisser." Phoebe nodded. "Is he romantic?" she asked.

"He has this thing where he looks into my eyes before he kisses me." Monica answered dreamily. She stared into space for a few seconds and Phoebe snapped her fingers in her face.

"Monica! Earth calling Monica!" Phoebe shouted.

Monica's head snapped round at Phoebe's grinning face. "Sorry," she said sheepishly.

"That's ok. I wish I had a cute, romantic guy to dream about." Phoebe teased.

"You won't tell anyone will you?" Monica asked worriedly, "We don't want anyone to know yet."

"Who am I going to tell?" Phoebe laughed, "I don't know any of your friends."

"Well, when you meet my brother Ross, whatever you do don't tell him!"

"Aahh the protective brother." Phoebe said knowingly.

"He can get annoying sometimes." Monica admitted.

"Who gets annoying sometimes?" a voice by the bedroom door asked, "I hope you're not talking about me!" Chandler's head peeked in.

"Hey Chandler!" Phoebe exclaimed. She winked at Monica.

"Hey Pheebs, you look healthier," Chandler greeted grinning at her. He glanced at Monica and smiled at her softy. "Hey Mon." he said. He turned away quickly and looked at Phoebe nervously.

"It's ok Chandler I know." Phoebe told him, smiling.

"You…you know?" Chandler asked in shock, glancing at Monica. He turned back to Phoebe, who started grinning. "You know."

"Yes, so I'm going to get up and go for a long bath so you two can be alone for a while." She winked at the two of them and rolled out of bed. "Have fun!" she added, walking out of the room.

"Oh she knows." Chandler said, rolling his eyes and smiling at Monica.

"Yes I think she does." Monica said tenderly, walking closer to Chandler and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She kissed him softly on the lips and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Wow I've only been to the store to get some milk!" Chandler whispered, "Am I that addictive?"

"Shut up and kiss me!" Monica ordered, smiling mischievously.

"Yes sir!" Chandler quipped, leaning in to start kissing her feverishly.

******

Joey walked into Estella's office and stood in front of her, waiting impatiently for her to hang up on the phone. He had been back in L.A for a day and already he hated it. It just brought back too many memories.

"Yes I realise dressing up like a dinosaur isn't exactly Broadway but that's all I've got to offer for you!" Estella said irritably down the phone, "I'll see you later!" she slammed down the phone. She smiled when she saw Joey. "Joey darling! Sit down!" she gestured to a crooked, ancient chair.

Joey sat down and nervously looked at his agent. What he was about to tell Estella would not get a positive reaction and he was scared to death.

"So, Joey, how are you?" Estella asked enthusiastically, "How was New York?"

How was New York? Joey could have gone on forever how 'New York was' but he didn't have the courage or the stability of his nerves to get into the details of his emotional visit. He got to the point. "I'm here to say that I'm quitting." He told her bluntly, waiting for the reaction.

"Quitting?" Estella asked, looking confused.

"I'm quitting Days Of Our Lives," Joey explained, "I've had enough. I want out."

"But…but Joey you can't be serious!" Estella exclaimed, astounded.

"I'm deadly serious," Joey said darkly, "I'm ending the contract. Tell the producers I'm sorry, but I just can't do it anymore." He stood up to leave.

"What do you mean…you can't do it anymore?!" Estella demanded, "You can't just leave! You're cast as one of the main characters on the show! For you to suddenly not be in the scenes anymore would be unbelievable…even for a soap opera!"

"I don't care." Joey retorted, "They can do what they like. They can write that I went on some big safari trip and got killed by a lion. I don't care." He walked to the door, "Goodbye Estella." He said quietly.

"Joey you walk out of that door and you don't come back!" Estella threatened.

"I wasn't planning to come back." Joey replied coolly. He walked out of the door and never looked back. He left the building and sighed deeply. That was it – his career was over, but he didn't care anymore. He didn't about anything at that moment…and he doubted he ever would again. He walked down the street and shoved his hands in his pockets. His fingers grazed against a crumpled up piece of paper and he pulled it out. It was the paper that Rachel had given him with her number on it. He saw a phone booth up ahead and, on impulse, he ran over to it and started to type in the digits.

After a couple of seconds of ringing, someone answered the phone. "Rachel? Is that you?!" a male voice blurted out. It was the same man that had answered the phone the last time.

Joey cleared his throat, "Um…no," he replied, "But…but I need to speak to her."

"Well she isn't here." The man said bitterly. "I'm Barry Farbar. Who are you and how do you know my wife?" he demanded suddenly.

"I'm Joey," Joey answered, "I'm a friend of hers and I really need to speak to her."

"Look I have no idea where she is right now. Go and see those friends of hers." Joey heard the buzz of the phone. Barry had hung up on him.

"Friends?" Joey murmured, confused. Then his eyes widened. The friends that Kip knew…but how would he track them down? He snapped his fingers and started to run to the nearest hotel that he could find. Finding one he regularly visited for it's bar and fancy food, he walked in and went up to the desk. "Do you have a national telephone directory back there?" he asked the female receptionist, trying to use his showbiz charm.

A few minutes later Joey was back in the phone booth with the phone directory in his hand. He flipped through the pages before finally stopping at the 'B' section. He ran his finger down the page. "Bing…Bing," he murmured, studying the list of names. He stopped at three 'Bings'. "Craig Bing…no…Charles Bing…no…Chandler M. Bing…YES!" he punched his fist in the air and started to dial the number. "He lives here in L.A." he murmured, recognising the area code. The phone rang for a while before someone finally answered.

"Hello?" a male voice asked.

"Um…hi is this Mr Chandler Bing?" Joey asked politely.

"No, I'm sorry but Mr Bing doesn't live at this number anymore." The man said apologetically, "He rented this apartment out to me a couple of weeks ago."

"Oh," Joey muttered, disappointed. "Do you know where he moved to?"

"Um…I think he said something about going back to the place where he grew up." The man replied.

"Where's that?" Joey asked. "Do you have his address?"

"I'm sorry but I don't think I should tell you that." The man said regretfully, "You could be anyone."

"I'm…I'm an old friend." Joey said desperately. "I really need to speak to him."

"Ok, ok." The man sighed in defeat, "He's gone to New York, and that's all I'm telling you."

"Thank you very much," Joey said gratefully; "I understand that you don't want to tell me anymore than that. Goodbye!" he hung up and chewed his nails nervously. Joey knew that Chandler could be anywhere in New York, so now he was at a dead end with nowhere to go. "Unless…" he muttered to himself, flipping through the directory again. He stopped at the 'G' section. "Monica Geller!" he exclaimed triumphantly, seeing the name. He dialled the number and waited for someone to answer. It rang and rang and rang…he was just about to replace the receiver when someone finally answered.

"Hello?!" a female voice burst out breathlessly.

"Um…hi," Joey greeted, surprised at the abruptness of the woman. "Is this Miss Monica Geller?"

"Um…yes, yes it is." The woman confirmed quickly, "Who…who is this?"

Joey could sense that Monica seemed distracted so he got straight to the point. "I know you probably don't believe me, but this is Joey Tribbiani."

"Oh…um…wow…right," Monica said, sounding surprised, "Hold on a sec…" Joey waited impatiently for Monica to come back to the phone. He could hear another voice in the background and the faint sounds of Monica saying, "It really is…I recognise his voice…I know…god yes I know it's…it's…wow stop doing that I need to concentrate, you…you know I can't concentrate when you're doing that…I can't ask him to call back…" there was a loud giggle.

Joey rolled his eyes and pulled his ear away from the phone for a second. He had a feeling what was happening on the other end. Monica obviously had company. Normally, he would have been amused by it all but he just wasn't in the mood for it.

"Hello this is Chandler Bing," a voice said wearily down the phone, "If this really is Joey Tribbiani then it is nice to speak to you…again. Thanks once again for paying for my parking ticket. If it isn't you then please stop the crap and get off the phone right now because I'm quite…busy…at the moment and not in the mood for childish games at this point."

Joey widened his eyes in surprise. He couldn't believe his luck. Of all the people Monica was with it was Chandler…and it was the same guy he met the previous week. "It really is Joey Tribbiani," he confirmed, "I paid for your parking ticket outside that hotel in the village. You were pretty desperate to show the parking attendant the large pile of notes in your wallet…" he chuckled softly.

"Ok…wow…" Chandler replied, "What…what can I do to help?"

"I…I knew Kip," Joey said quietly. "We were roommates before he died."

"What?!" Chandler and Monica yelled down the phone together.

"Yeah and… um… I really want to speak to people he knew," Joey continued, "Like you two."

"Ok…um…where are you right now?" Chandler asked.

"Back in L.A," Joey answered, "But…but I can come to New York if you like. I just need to know where you live."

"Ok…um…here is the address."

Joey noted down the address on the crumpled up piece of paper that Rachel had given him, told Chandler that he would see him soon and hung up. He walked out of the phone booth and down the street. Joey hoped meeting Chandler and Monica would help ease the pain…and the guilt…that he suffered as the days...and the weeks… went by since that night.

~~~~~~~L.A just over four weeks ago~~~~~

"You look wonderful tonight." Kip sang drunkenly as he and Joey drove down the road.

Joey glanced at Kip and grinned. "Why do you keep singing that?" he asked.

"Oh the Chan-Chan-man and Mon always used to dance to it," Kip slurred airily, "They were meant to be."

"Uh huh…" Joey murmured, "Did they date each other?"

"No…but they should be!" Kip yelled, banging the wheel with his fist and bursting into laughter.

"Yeah, ok Kip!" Joey humoured him, laughing.

"Oh but it's true," Kip protested, taking his eyes off the road to stare at Joey.

"Kip, face the road!" Joey panicked.

Kip snapped his head forward again and laughed. "Relax Joey, we're fine." He tried to assure him, "Anyway, back to Chandler and Monica…they were so into each other back then…they were inseparable…I sometimes saw them looking at each other kind of…funny." He laughed, "You know what I mean, don't ya?"

"Yeah I think so…that look of 'I want you?'"

"Yes, that's it!" Kip shouted, punching his fist in the air, "That's exactly it! That… yearning and longing for each other kind of thing…" he turned to face Joey for a second. "Hey, let's go faster!" he suggested, accelerating the car to go quicker.

"Kip…slow down!" Joey yelled.

~~~~~Present~~~~

"Idiot…" Joey muttered, "We were too drunk…just too drunk."

*****

"So, Joey really knew your friend?" Julie asked Monica and Chandler in surprise. She and Ross were having dinner at Monica and Chandler's later that same day. She turned to Ross, "You didn't say anything honey!" she exclaimed.

Ross shrugged, "I didn't know…none of knew." He explained. He shook his head in disbelief. "To think Kip was roommates with that guy is just unbelievable!" he added.

"I know," Chandler agreed, "I didn't even know Kip was going to Chicago after graduation!"

"Well we shall see what Joey says when we meet him." Monica commented, eating her meal.

"Well I can't wait to meet him!" Phoebe said excitedly. Her cold gone, Phoebe was now able to eat dinner with the rest of the gang and had finally met Ross who was treating her like an old friend.

"Hey…um…have you guys heard from Rachel?" Ross asked Monica and Chandler.

Monica and Chandler exchanged glances and shook their heads. "Why?" Chandler asked, "Has she not called you since she left?"

Julie glanced at Ross in confusion. "Who is Rachel?" she asked him.

"Another friend from college," Ross explained, "She was here a few days ago but then she went back to Florida."

"That's a pity," Julie said regretfully, "I really wanted to meet all of your friends."

"Well Rachel is married and has a busy life now," Chandler explained.

"I hope she's ok," Monica said worriedly, "I wished she had called."

"Why don't you call her?" Phoebe suggested, "Why wait around for her when you can make things happen!"

"Not a bad idea," Monica agreed, standing up from the table and walking over to the phone. She dialled the number and waited for someone to answer.

"I'm sure she's ok," Chandler told her, "Rachel has always gone her own way. I bet she's lying on a beach right now oblivious to our worries."

"Hello…is that you Barry?" Monica asked over the phone stiffly, "It's Monica. I was just wondering if…she's not? I see. No she's not with me. Uh huh…ok. Bye." She hung up the phone and chewed her fingernails nervously.

"What is it Mon?" Ross asked worriedly.

"Barry hasn't seen Rachel in three days. They had some sort of fight and Rachel stormed out of the house with all of her bags. He doesn't have any idea where she is!" Monica paced around the room in anxiety.

"Why isn't he going out there looking for her?!" Ross demanded in annoyance, "She could be lying dead in a alleyway for all he cares!"

"Now wait a sec…alleyways are not all that bad!" Phoebe protested, "The one I lived in was very comfy and safe…most of the time." She glanced at Monica who sent looks back to her warning not to say anything about the attack in the presence of Ross.

"God…I wonder where she is?" Chandler murmured.

******

"I'm so worried about Rachel," Monica told Chandler later in bed. Now that Phoebe knew about the couple, there was no need for Monica to sneak from the couch to Chandler's bed all the time. "I'm sure she's ok," Chandler soothed, stroking her hair. Monica looked at him and smiled.

"What would I do without you?" she asked.

"You'd be lying alone in bed with the electricity cut off," Chandler joked. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly.

"If you don't mind, can you just hold me tonight?" Monica asked him, "I just want to sleep with you tonight." she looked at him worriedly.

Chandler smiled and kissed her again. "Of course I can just hold you!" he whispered, "I'm not just here to make love to you. I'd be just happy being with you like this all the time…well most of the time anyway." He laughed a little and smiled at her suggestively.

Monica looked at him in surprise, "You're the sweetest, most romantic guy I have ever met." She told him tenderly.

"You're the most amazing woman I have ever met," Chandler said back seriously, "I think I lo…" he stopped and flushed a little.

Monica looked into his eyes, "I know," she whispered, "I think I do too."

They lay in each other's arms for a while before falling asleep.

END OF PART TEN

:more coming soon…what did happen that night in L.A? Don't you just LOVE mysteries? Lol please review: