:so I guess it's time to update this…lol sorry I had a bit of a writers block with it and I just wasn't happy. I've had a few requests though to get it finished so, here are the wishes granted six months on! My god, has it really been six months since touching this story? PLEASE review and don't give up, because this isn't really over by a long shot!:

TOW The Reunion

Part 13

"Do you want something to drink?" Rachel asked quietly as Joey collapsed on one of the beds in their hotel room.

When Joey didn't respond, Rachel sighed and shrugged. "Well, I'm going to," she told him, picking up the phone. "Hello, is this room service?" she asked, "Can I have a bottle of scotch please?" she glanced at Joey's surprised face and turned away again, concentrating on the person she was talking to, "Two glasses…uh-huh yeah, that's no problem. Thank you."

She hung and up and sat down on Joey's bed. "They said they will be a few minutes," she explained, "Apparently there is a wedding party on tonight and all the staff are a bit busy."

Joey shrugged and stared up at the ceiling.

"Joey, please talk to me," she said desperately, "you're not the only friend of Kip's grieving here."

Joey looked at Rachel angrily. "Grieving?" he asked, his voice choking with emotion, "Have you ever watched your best friend die? I'm more than grieving, believe you me…I'm angry, frustrated, upset…and guilty."

"Joey what happened that night was not your fault," Rachel said firmly, "You did everything you could to stop Kip from getting into that car. He should have listened to you."

"I still left him alone though, didn't I?" Joey asked sadly.

"You panicked," Rachel said shrugging, "You still took the initiative to call the ambulance…there was nothing you could do after that. From what you told us, Kip was too injured to survive anyway."

"I still should've stuck around," Joey insisted, the tears rolling down his cheeks, "Kip needed a friend...and I let him down…and to let his parents think he stole that car was unforgivable."

"Yes, well, tomorrow morning we're going to sort that out," Rachel assured him. She shook her head at the horror spreading across Joey's face. "I know it will be scary…and you might get arrested…but it's the right thing to do."

"Will…will you come with me to see the cops?" Joey whispered, sitting up, "I don't think I could go through it all by myself."

Rachel wrapped her arms around Joey's shoulders and nodded, "All of us will come with you tomorrow," she assured him, "Chandler, Monica…"

"Ross won't," Joey said bitterly, turning away, "He hates me for what I did."

Rachel sighed, "That was just Ross being Ross at the heat of the moment. Emotions were running high…he'll calm down eventually."

"You all seem such cool people," Joey told her, smiling, "Kip was always talking about you all."

"Yeah, Kip was a good friend," Rachel said wistfully.

Joey studied her face. "Apart from when he was talking about Chandler and Monica being a 'couple', Kip talked about you more than anybody," he told her awkwardly, "Were you two close?"

Rachel smiled at Joey sadly. "Yeah," she said quietly, "If I hadn't been so vain and married Barry… Kip and I could've been something more…" she paused and gazed into space a second before shaking her head, clearing her mind of what could have been. Still the memories came back…

~~~flashback Rachel's 21st Birthday party~~~~

"So, Rachel, how are things going between you and Barry?" Kip asked, walking over to her at the corner of the room.

Rachel shrugged and smiled, "Ok…I guess." She said cautiously.

"You 'guess'?" Kip asked her, concern spreading across his face, "I thought you guys just got engaged!"

"Yeah but…" Rachel stopped and looked away for a second before staring back at Kip. "Have you ever been in love Kip?" she asked.

Kip chuckled a little and smiled at her, "No…I don't think so." He said thoughtfully, "I always think if you're in love, you know you're in love…I just haven't had that feeling yet."

"What is that feeling though?" Rachel asked desperately, "Please tell me."

Kip looked at her with an expression of dismay across his face and shook his head. "You don't know until you have it," he told her helplessly. He grinned a little, "Anyway, why are you asking me for? You should know the answer to this question already! You love Barry."

"That's just the thing…I don't think I do," Rachel admitted quietly, "I thought being in love was going to be different to what I've got now with Barry."

"Rachel…are you trying to tell me you're not happy?" Kip asked, troubled.

"Yes," Rachel said tearfully, "I'm not happy. When I was a little girl I had all these fantasies of what being in love was going to be about. Love is about looking at someone with longing…you want to be with that person right at that moment, and you don't care how it'll happen just as long as it does."

She stopped and smiled sheepishly at Kip, who was nodding at her with encouragement.

Rachel continued to stare at the expression on Kip's face. His look at that very moment was the look she had just been talking about. His eyes were studying her intensely…softly. He leaned in to her and as she decided to respond to his advances and move in closer to his body, she felt a hand clap down firmly on her shoulder. She jumped in fright and turned around to see a rather drunk Chandler grinning at her cheerfully.

"Heey Ray-ray!" he slurred, "Happy Birthday!"

"You already said that man," Kip growled at him.

"Ohh…" Chandler looked at him, confused. "Did I?" he grinned. He shrugged his shoulders and ambled on, "Monica? Where are ya, you sexy thing?!"

"Always knew he had a crush on that woman," Kip said quietly, smiling at Rachel uncomfortably.

"Maybe you're right," Rachel commented, avoiding his eyes.

"Listen…um…sorry about what happened just then," Kip said to her, "Here you were needing a friend and I tried to make a move you! Stupid Michael Kip Granger!" he banged his forehead with his fist.

"There's…there's no need to be sorry," Rachel whispered, "I haven't had anyone look at me like that for a long time."

"Yeah well," Kip shrugged sheepishly, "I guess all that talk of being in love must have affected my brain somehow." He straightened up and started to walk away, "Maybe I'll see you later," he told her, smiling as he walked across the room to rescue a girl from Chandler's drunken advances.

"Maybe," Rachel sighed. "Well done Rachel," she grumbled, downing her glass of wine in one go.

~~~present~~~

"Wow…" Joey did a low whistle, "You and Kip were…in love?"

"I wouldn't say 'in love' exactly," Rachel said to him uncomfortably, "but let's just say that party wasn't the first time something almost happened between us."

"Go on…" Joey nodded encouragingly, gesturing for her to continue.

"It's just…we always danced together at the campus parties, we were always there for each other when the other was upset, you know? We had the same opinions on every subject we could think of; our dreams and ambitions of the future bounced off each other like fireworks…"

"Sounds great," Joey said quietly, looking down at his hands.

"Then I met Barry and I had this stupid idea that I wouldn't get better security than him. My mother was pressuring me to meet someone with money…someone 'successful'…someone who was…"

"Not Kip," Joey finished, nodding at her sympathetically.

"When Barry proposed, I didn't really have a choice. My father 'advised' me to say yes."

"You mean he forced you?" Joey asked, shocked.

"Not 'forced' me exactly," Rachel argued, "I valued my father's opinion more than anybody's. I thought he was right. I would grow to love Barry, I kept telling myself." She stopped and wiped the tears away from her face.

"But you really wanted Kip, right?" Joey asked.

"Kip was like forbidden territory," Rachel said, smiling, "He was everything Barry wasn't…and my parents didn't like that."

"So, what happened when you married Barry? Was Kip upset?"

"He didn't show that he cared, but I know he did. I broke his heart the day I said I was marrying Barry. I think it's why he kind of went crazy with this 'living for life' stuff. If he couldn't have me, then he was just going to go on a path of self destruction and look like he didn't care about anything."

"That's…that's why Kip drives drunk," Joey realised, "It's why he said it 'keeps him alive'…it's what kept him through the day."

"Joey, you thought Kip had a happy, fulfilled life just before he died," Rachel said to him, "but the truth is…he didn't have a life at that point."

****

"Chandler…that was incredible," Monica said to him happily as they came to a rest, getting breath.

Chandler nodded slowly and rearranged their bed sheets. "I love you so much," he said, kissing her slowly and longingly. "I want to be with you always."

Monica stroked his cheek, "Me too," she told him sincerely.

"Marry me," Chandler said passionately, looking into her eyes.

Monica widened her eyes. "What?" she whispered.

"Marry me," Chandler repeated, "I want to be with you forever. I love you so much. I…I want to grow old with you…have kids, worry over stupid things like the bills and how much is our house going to cost. I want you."

Tears filled Monica's eyes, "Do you really mean that?" she said to him.

Chandler nodded, "If Kip dying has taught me one thing and it's that life is too short for waiting for something to happen. Why wait for the thing you want when you already have it?"

"I love you," Monica said tearfully. "Yes…yes I'll marry you."

Chandler smiled softly and wrapped his arms around her. They held each other tight, as though they were both afraid that if they let go one of them would disappear forever.

"Oh god," Chandler murmured, suddenly smiling cheekily.

"What?" Monica asked, amused by the expression on his face.

"Well, it's only Phoebe who knows that we're together just like this," Chandler said, gesturing between them, "What is everybody going to say when we tell them we're going to get married?"

Monica giggled, "Ross will blow a fuse!"

"He'll be out for the kill," Chandler realised, grinning.

"He'll try to stop us."

"Just let him try!" they both said together indignantly, giggling as they dived under the covers.

End of Part 13

:I do sincerely apologise for the long delay, but I'm newly inspired. Please review! And I'll be getting Second Chance Chapter Four up soon too!: