Authors Note: I cannot tell you enough how much I need to get reviews! I was planning on adding this chapter Thursday, but I had writers block! Please leave your suggestions, please! I love all of the messages that you leave in the reviews and I greatly appreciate the people who have been reviewing! Thanks a lot!  Oh, and this may sound funny, but I do not know what the name of the hat that Sadie's going to be wearing here, we just call it Fisherman's hats in our town, but here's a picture, so you get the idea of how it looks , it's the white one.

Chapter 8

The city air felt good on his face.  It was nice to get out of the stifling apartment.  When he was California, Chandler missed the city life, but now more than ever he missed his quiet suburban town.  Life in the suburbs were much more tight-knit.  Everybody in the town knew everybody else, and that could never happen in a city as huge as New York.  He could not wait until he returned home.  Seeing Ross and Rachel again was amazing, but seeing Monica had been terrible. 

Chandler had dressed Sadie up in a white jumper with a baby blue shirt underneath because he planned on going to a nice restaurant.  He was going to make the best of this trip because he was planning on never coming back.

"Daddy, where are we going?" Sadie questioned.  Her big brown eyes were wide, taking in all of the sights and sounds of the city.

Chandler looked at his daughter who had her hands tightly wrapped around his neck.  Manhattan terrified her. "We're goin…" Chandler stopped short when he bumped into a slightly shorter dark-haired gentleman, "Sorry." Chandler instantly apologized.

"Watch where you're…" The man snapped angrily, but the expression of anger changed on his face changed when his eyes recognized who was standing before him. "Oh my God! Chandler?" he gasped.

Silence.  Chandler squinted as he tried to remember who the man was.  Confusion instantly transformed into much deeper emotions when Chandler became aware of who the person before him was.  "Daddy, who is dat?" Sadie asked.  Chandler did answer her either.  He continued walked. 

The Italian gentleman grabbed Chandler's arm, forcing him to swiftly turn around. "Can't we talk?" He asked him with pleading eyes.

Uncomfortable silence fell upon them.  The bustling city seemed to stop.  As it awaited Chandler's response, it felt as if only the three of them were alive.  Chandler licked his lips and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.  Sadie leaned her head on Chandler's shoulder.  The man did not speak, he did not move.  "Fine." Chandler let out after what seemed like hours, in a breath of air. 

They walked over to the diner and entered, sitting themselves at the nearest table.  None of them spoke until the waitress came over and ordered their drinks.

"Is she your daughter?" the man asked as he watched Sadie play with her hat.  She was so quiet for a toddler and she was incredibly adorable.

Chandler smiled slightly. "Yea." Chandler responded, placing a loving hand on Sadie's shoulder.  "But let's not get into chit chat, Joey." Chandler snapped, he did not have to raise his voice, because the tone of it was bitter. 

Joey blinked.  He knew that Chandler was holding back his anger because his child was there to witness the confrontation.  "You have every right to be upset." Joey kept calm and rational.  He never expected that Chandler would actually talk to him, and while Chandler was sitting in front of him, Joey had no intention of further pissing him off.  "I am truly sorry for what happened, and I know that Monica is too."

"Can you just tell me why?" Chandler asked and for an instant, he looked directly into Joey's eyes, quickly looking away.  Chandler fumbled with his napkin, twirling it around in his hand due to nervousness.

Joey sighed.  He knew that this question was going to come up, but he thought that he could have prolonged it a bit more.  "It happened so fast, and it was so long ago…" Joey trailed off at the sight of waitress.  Both estranged friends watched as she placed their drinks in front of them and a coloring book in front of Sadie.  After taking their orders she left, leaving them once again to a dreadfully uncomfortable conversation. "When I am came into the apartment…" Joey continued, recalling the whole incident from his perspective, leaving some parts out because they were not meant for the ears of little children. "I'm so sorry." Joey sincerely apologized when he was finished retelling the events.

Chandler shut his eyes; he would not let himself cry, not again, not when Sadie was sitting next to him.   "I do not know what to say." Chandler gasped.

"You should say, it's ok, daddy!" Sadie cheerfully spoke up, never taking her attention away from her coloring. 

Smiling, Chandler ran his finger lovingly through one of Sadie's pigtails.  "It's not that easy, sweetie." Chandler sighed, wishing that it were that simple.  He wanted to forgive Joey, but it was extremely difficult to forget about everything.

Sadie continued to color, moving the red crayon back and forth.  "Daddy!" Sadie squealed, "I dink you need to say dat!" Joey chuckled at the little girl's logic.  If only things could be as easy as they were when they were children.

Chandler sighed, he swirled his straw around in a circle.  "Joey…" Chandler's voice did not contain the same bitterness as it did before, "I don't think that our friendship will ever be the same.  You betrayed me." Chandler paused for a moment, "But I have grown up tremendously since I left, and those five years made me understand things that I did not know back then.  I don't think that I will ever forget what you have done to me, but I can try to forgive."