"Chandler, have you seen my eye lash curler?" Monica called from the
bathroom.
"Yes dear, I thought it would be fun to commit torture on, uh, down there," Chandler retorted sarcastically and paused, since Monica did not respond he stuttered, "Uh, er, no, I haven't seen it. Sorry."
Monica chuckled and continued digging through every cabinet and bag in the bathroom, "We aren't leaving until I find it!"
"Come on Mon!" Chandler groaned, "You're taking longer than Rachel! Aren't you supposed to be neurotic and organized?"
"Chandler Bing! I WILL leave you behind!" Monica warned.
"Sorry babe," Chandler hurried to the bedroom and stood behind Monica, looking slightly helpless.
"Look in the cabinet over the toilet," Monica instructed as she dug through her makeup bag.
Chandler could barely suppress a chuckle, the 6 of them were planning on going camping for the next 4 days and Monica was not terribly thrilled and was stressing over every minor detail, on the floor barely an inch from Monica's left foot was her missing eyelash curler. Not having the heart to point it out to her, Chandler nonchalantly reached his foot out and kicked the curler closer to him. He leaned over and picked it up.
"Found it Mon," Chandler announced proudly.
"Where?" Monica said, the stressed look on her face almost disappearing.
"It was way up here," Chandler touched the top of the cabinet.
"Oh," Monica nodded, calming down greatly, "Thanks." She placed the metal device in her bag.
"Are we ready?" Chandler wondered.
"Stop nagging me," Monica snapped, "No one's even here for us."
"I'm sorry," Chandler apologized, "You look beautiful."
"Thank you," Monica smiled and wrapped her arms around Chandler's neck, "I love you."
"I love you too babe," Chandler kissed her softly; glad that he'd manage to divert her attention from the upcoming camping trip.
"Okay, let me go put my flannel shirt on and then we'll be ready," Monica said, stepping away from Chandler and into the living room.
"Good," Chandler said as he took a seat at the kitchen table.
"Are you ready?" Joey entered the room with a big grin on his face.
"Almost," Chandler answered, "Monica's changing."
"Oh, can I go in?" Joey wondered.
"That's my wife you're talking about," Chandler scolded.
"Sorry," Joey apologized.
"I'm ready," Monica emerged from the room, she was wearing a red plaid- flannel shirt over a white camisole and jeans and hiking boots.
"Good," Chandler smiled and grabbed one of the 2 backpacks that belonged to him and Monica.
"Let's go," She turned to Joey, "Are you going to go in our taxi?"
"Yeah," Joey nodded enthusiastically.
"Great," Monica said half sarcastically, not looking forward to this camping trip and the thought of riding with Joey and a meatball sandwich for several hours was not appealing.
"It'll be okay," Chandler whispered in Monica's ear after reading her mind.
Monica grinned at Chandler as she slung the other backpack over her shoulder. Chandler enlaced his fingers in hers as they followed Joey out of the apartment, Monica making sure to lock it behind them.
When they arrived in Central Perk Ross and Rachel were sitting together on the couch fighting over whether or not Rachel could call Judy to check on Emma and Phoebe was practicing "outdoorsy" songs on her guitar. Joey hurried over to them and began talking animatedly, although no one was really listening to them.
"Hey Mon," Rachel turned her attention from Ross.
"Hey Rach," Monica smiled, "Did you bring bug repellent?"
"Yes," Rachel smiled proudly, "I found some that smells like Ralph Lauren 'Romance'!"
"Really?" Monica wondered excitedly.
"I'll show you when we get there," Rachel promised, "It's great."
"Well, we should probably be going," Ross announced and stood up stealthily removing Rachel's cell phone from her backpack and placing it in his pocket.
"I think Joey's riding with us, are you 3 taking a cab together?" Monica asked.
"Sure," Rachel nodded, "Do you guys just want to meet up at the rangers cabin there?"
"That's what we were planning, see you in an hour," Chandler explained as the 6 of them filed out of Central Perk and Chandler and Ross went about hailing cabs.
Finally, 2 cabs were stalled at the side of the street and Chandler threw their backpacks in the trunk and crawled in, Joey on his left and Monica on his right.
"This is going to be fun," Chandler placed a reassuring hand on Monica's thigh.
"I hope so," Monica shrugged, "I'm not an outdoorsy person."
"I know," Chandler grinned, "But even Rachel hasn't complained."
"That's just because she's more worried about leaving her daughter," Monica explained, "Once we get there and she realizes she going to sleep within an inch of dirt she'll be like me."
Chandler just chuckled and kissed Monica softly on the cheek. He loved her so much, and the little crinkle in her brow from worrying made her even more attractive. After 15 minutes the smell drifting from Joey's bag of meatball sandwiches was driving Chandler crazy and he turned slightly and wrapped his arms around Monica
~*~
"There should be a clearing just around this bend," Ross pointed ahead.
"Thank god!" Rachel groaned, "We've been walking for-"
"10 minutes," Chandler answered sharply, "Nothing near a shopping trip!"
"Chandler!" Monica slapped him on his shoulder, "Be nice!'
"Sorry," Chandler rolled his eyes as they stopped in a clearing.
"Joey, will you help me and Ross set up the tents?" Chandler asked.
Phoebe sat Indian-style in the middle of the clearing with her guitar in hand and began strumming tunes. Rachel looked around apprehensively and sighed, "This is so gross!"
"I know!" Monica looked around, "I bet there are bugs all over."
Chandler chuckled at his wife's banter, "Hey Mon, it's going to get chilly tonight. Why don't you and Rach go looking for some dry wood?"
Monica raised her eyebrows at Rachel, "Ugh."
"Please Mon," Chandler begged, "It'll give us more time together tonight."
Monica rolled her eyes, "Rachel, do you have your bug repellent?"
Rachel dropped her pack on the ground and dug through it quickly and her hand emerged holding a bottle of bug spray, "here, smell."
Monica sprayed herself and inhaled slightly, "Better that what it usually smells like."
Rachel chuckled and sprayed herself, "You going to come Pheebs?"
"Nah, I'm just going to stay here and play on my guitar," Phoebe declined the invitation.
"Okay," Monica shrugged and turned to Chandler, "Where would you suggest we go?"
"Just around the bend up there," Chandler pointed to the path, "There should be a clearing, or if not anywhere along the path should have dry wood."
"Uh, okay," Monica said warily, "I'm sure we'll find some."
Rachel slung her backpack over her shoulder, "Let's go Mon."
Monica nodded and walked from the clearing to the path, Rachel followed behind and hurried to catch up. It wasn't long before the two girls were out of sight of the campsite.
"So, where's this clearing Chandler was talking about?" Rachel wondered looking around.
"How am I supposed to know?" Monica shrugged slapping a fly that had landed on her arm.
Rachel finally stopped and brushed sweat from her forehead, "Let's just get some wood from the side of the path and head back."
Monica nodded and walked several feet kneeling and scooping up what she deemed as usable wood. She suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet turn into an incline and after a few feet she was standing at a narrow brook. The scene was breathtaking, it looked like a picture straight from the Ralph Lauren catalog.
"Hey Rach! Come see this," Monica called.
Rachel, who was on the other side of the past pretending to be useful turned and hurried towards Monica's voice, "I'm coming." She bounded across the path.
"Look," Monica pointed to the beautiful picture that was in front of her.
"Wow," Rachel breathed, "This would be really romantic."
Monica nodded in agreement and the two friends stood admiring the view for some time. Finally, when Monica noted that much time had passed and that the other 4 would be wondering where they were she suggested that they get the wood they'd set out for and return to the campsite. It took them 10 minutes to find enough wood; they both secretly knew that they would be teased because they weren't carrying much.
"Okay," Rachel walked to Monica, "Where's the path?"
"Uh," Monica thought for a moment, "Er," She turned around.
"You lost the path?" Rachel accused.
"I didn't lose the path!" Monica argued, her tension mounting, "Well, moss always grows on the, um, north side of trees-"
"It does not!" Rachel shook her head, "It grows on the west."
"Oh," Monica shrugged, "Well, what direction is the campsite?"
"How am I supposed to know?" Rachel asked defensively.
"Come on, Follow me," Monica motioned with her hand and they wandered about the woods before reaching the brook again.
"Monica, the sun is setting," Rachel whined, "Let's go back."
"I'm trying to!" Monica snapped in response.
~*~
Chandler checked his watch for what must have been the millionth time, "They should be back by now."
"Chandler, you've told me that," Ross groaned.
"Aren't you worried?" Chandler snapped, "That's my wife out there!"
"Chandler, they are two self-sufficient adults," Ross argued.
"Did you just call Rachel Green self-sufficient?" Chandler snapped.
"Would you 2 just shut up and stop bickering?" Joey screamed.
"Sorry," Chandler said.
"Rachel and Monica are lost on Hanukah," Phoebe began singing.
"It's not Hanukah!" Ross and Chandler yelled in unison, "Shut up!"
Phoebe looked at them for several moments, "I see I'm not wanted," She stormed off to the tent she was sharing with Rachel.
"What's her problem?" Chandler asked naively.
Chandler began pacing the length of he campsite constantly checking his watch. He knew he shouldn't have sent Monica and Rachel out into the woods alone, even an imbecile would know better than that. He silently cursed himself and when he looked into the sky and realized the day was slowly changing to night.
"Ross, we should go look for them."
Ross watched Chandler for several moments, "Yeah, we should."
"I wanna help!" Joey grinned.
"Joe, why don't you stay here? We need someone to watch for the girls if they come up the path," Ross suggested, "You'll be a huge help."
Joey nodded.
Chandler feverishly dug through his pack, in search of the flashlight he'd instructed Monica to pack. He reached the flashlight and next to it was his cell phone. Monica had made him pack it for emergencies and he'd totally forgotten it was there.
He withdrew it from the pack and dialed the number for Rachel's phone.
"Do you hear that?" Chandler said excitedly, "They're really close."
"Uh, Chandler," Ross held the phone out to his friend, "I have Rachel's cell."
"What are you doing with her phone?" Chandler snapped.
"She kept wanting to call Emma, so I took it from her," Ross said sheepishly.
"God dammit Ross!" Chandler cursed loudly.
"Chandler! Chill out," Ross yelled, "Let's concentrate on what we need to do, find Monica and Rachel."
Chandler nodded, taking deep breaths. He held the black round flashlight in his hand and turned to Ross. They stepped out onto the path and started in the direction the girls had taken.
~*~
"It's getting cold," Monica wrapped her arms around her body, "Do you have a jacket?"
"In my pack, but we should really keep going," Rachel explained, "I'm sure the campsite is just over that hill."
"Hill?" Monica inquired, "We never went over any hill Rachel."
"Oh," Rachel said and turned around.
"We're lost," Monica said simply.
"Yeah," Rachel said nervously, "I don't like camping."
Monica stood still in the middle of the path, Chandler being the only thing on her mind. She watched Rachel pretend to calculate exactly where they should turn. Truth was, neither of them knew what they were doing, and that scared Monica.
She dropped the wood she was holding and rubbed her tear full eyes. She looked harshly at Rachel, although she didn't really see her friend, she saw Chandler standing there, waiting for her to run into his arms.
~*~
Chandler sent the long beam of the flashlight ahead of him, "Monica! Rachel." He called.
"Rach!" Ross hollered, "Mon?"
Ross turned to Chandler, "Chan, it's late."
"I know! They've been missing almost 5 hours," Chandler snapped, "We have to be close."
Ross shook his head, "Okay, let's head back. Maybe we'll see them on the way."
"I'm not going back to our tent until I have Monica with me," Chandler insisted.
"Okay," Ross sighed in desperation, "Let's head off the path over that way."
"What's over there?" Chandler wondered.
"Their obviously not on the path," Ross rolled his eyes, "Let's try over there."
"No, let's just go a little bit up this way," Chandler insisted.
Ross shrugged and continued his trek off the path. Chandler sighed and finally followed. He was almost ready to catch his friend when Ross squealed and fell from sight.
"Ross? What's wrong?" Chandler hurried ahead and stood next to his friend.
"I just stepped in this stream," Ross shrugged as he shone his flashlight around.
Chandler nodded and extended his hand to help Ross step up to dry land, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, my right leg is kind of soaked, though," Ross complained.
"Good," Chandler grinned, relieved, "Let's keep looking."
"Can we go back to the campsite so I can change my pants?" Ross requested, "It's not comfortable, and my socks are wet too!"
Chandler glanced around, wishing Monica would step out from one of the trees and tell them that it was all a joke. When he realized that Monica wasn't anywhere near he conceded with a sigh, "Okay, as long as we can look for them afterwards."
"I swear," Ross held his right hand in the air, "Can we go now?"
Chandler and Ross trekked back up the path to the campsite where Phoebe and Joey were sitting in Phoebe's tent waiting for the return of their 4 friends. When Chandler and Ross were the only ones that came into sight the 2 exchanged questioning glances and hurried to meet them.
"Where are Rach and Mon?" Phoebe wondered, "And why are your pants wet, Ross?"
"We still can't find them," Chandler shrugged dejectedly.
"What do you mean?" Joey accused, "How can you not find them?"
"Why are your pants wet, Ross?" Phoebe repeated.
"I fell in a brook," Ross answered, "We came back so I could change," Ross turned and disappeared into the tent.
"I can't believe they are gone," Chandler whispered, more to himself than anyone.
"I know," Joey patted his friend on his shoulder.
~*~
"This isn't funny anymore Rachel," Monica said, her voice full with tears.
"I know!" Rachel snapped.
"We should have never gone on this damn trip! I knew it was a bad idea!" Monica accused.
"You think I want to be out here in the middle of the woods?" Rachel argued, "Sleeping an inch from dirt mind you!"
Monica sighed and stood still, looking around. The light of the moon provided little vision and Monica silently scolded herself for not remembering to bring a flashlight along. However, it wasn't the darkness that worried her. It was the feeling of emptiness, the feeling that Chandler wasn't there.
"Why don't we just sleep against this tree?" Rachel suggested, "We aren't getting anywhere in the dark."
"No," Monica insisted, "We have to get back."
"Monica," Rachel grabbed her friend by the shoulder, "That isn't going to get us anywhere except more lost. And you know that."
"I guess, I am really tried," Monica conceded.
"Here, we can sit on one of Ross' sweat shirts," Rachel pulled the gray jacket from her backpack and spread it on the ground.
Monica quickly checked the tree for bugs and sat Indian style next to Rachel.
"Where's your blanket?" Monica wondered.
"Uh, my sleeping bag's back at the camp," Rachel offered.
"What about food, I'm hungry," Monica inquired, "What about like some dried bananas?"
"Food? Why would I pack food? We already have some to eat at the camp," Rachel gave Monica a quizzical look.
"You're kidding me aren't you?" Monica stressed, "How can you not pack food? We're gonna die! Goddamit Rachel!"
"Don't blame me! It's not my fault the organizer didn't bring her backpack," Rachel mocked.
Monica didn't respond and leaned back against the tree. Although she didn't fall asleep, an ingenious thought came to her as she lay there awake.
"Rach," Monica asked quietly, Rachel's eyes were closed.
"What Mon?" Rachel groaned.
"Why don't we just use your cell?" Monica suggested.
"My cell phone!" Rachel grinned and grabbed her bag.
Monica helped Rachel remove almost every item of clothing from her bag, however, the cell phone seemed to be missing. Rachel whimpered slightly and stared at Monica.
"Where the hell is it?" Monica looked accusingly, "Did you bring anything?"
"I did," Rachel pleaded, "I know I did! It's in here somewhere!"
"Well, obviously it's not," Monica said simply.
"I must have dropped it in the woods," Rachel said and glanced out into the darkness, "We have to find it."
"You can't be counted on for anything, can you?" Monica mocked.
"Don't go there with me Monica!" Rachel snapped, "You're the one who thinks that moss grows on the north side of the tree!"
Monica rolled her eyes, "At least I'm trying to get us unlost."
"What makes you think I want us to be here?" Rachel argued.
"You haven't made much of an effort to pack anything to help!" Monica snapped.
"Well, I'm not the only one with a pack," Rachel snapped, but with little enthusiasm, it was a horrible argument.
"Let's just find your damn phone!" Monica told her.
"Let's do that," Rachel agreed and then commented under her breath, "I miss Ross."
"What was that?" Monica wondered as they started back to the path.
"Nothing, I just said I can't wait to get back and see the other four," Rachel lied.
"Okay," Monica nodded, "I never thought I'd want Chandler to wrap his arms around me and hold me forever this much."
"Yeah," Rachel shrugged not paying it much mind until she saw the tears glistening in her friend's eyes, "Oh," She opened her arms to let Monica cry on her shoulder.
Monica cried into Rachel's shoulder for several minutes. She finally straightened up and wiped her eyes.
~*~
Chandler refused to admit that he was done with the seemingly never-ending hunt for his wife and friend. Well, at least for the night. It was 3 in the morning and his eyelids surely had weights attached to them.
"Okay, I am going back to camp," Ross said simply, "I'm tired!"
"No," Chandler protested, trying to stifle a yawn, "I'm not going to bed without Monica."
"Then I'll rephrase this, I'm going to back to camp so I can sleep," Ross said simply, "You do whatever you feel like."
Chandler sighed grudgingly as they headed back to camp. Ross climbed into the tent he was sharing with Joey but Chandler didn't make any move towards his tent. He watched Ross disappear before sprawling out on the ground and staring up at the sky.
With his pointer finger extended he began to trace figures in the sky. First, just the constellations he knew, but those were few. Ordinary objects began to appear before his very eyes, there was an umbrella and next to it, a dragon. After he'd found common objects like those chef's hats and skillets began to appear, all reminding him of Monica. He wiped a few tears from his eyes and sat up.
~*~
"Rachel," Monica finally inquired, "Are you absolutely positive you brought your cell phone with you?"
"Monica," Rachel answered, "Have you ever seen me leave home without my cell phone?"
"You make a good point," Monica shrugged as her eyes scanned the ground, "It's really hard to see with only the moon."
"Yeah, I know," Rachel agreed, "But we have to find it. That thing is my life."
Monica chuckled, "Let's keep searching then."
The two girls searched for several more minutes when Rachel finally paused and leaned against a tree, "I'm so tired."
"Me too," Monica agreed as she tried to stifle a yawn.
"This tree looks good, and not too buggy," Rachel inspected it closely, "Here's a sweatshirt of Ross's to sit on."
Monica caught the gray hoodie and spread it out on the ground beneath her. Rachel did they same and they lay on opposite sides on the tree and both were sleeping soundly only a few moments later.
~*~
"Ross! Wake up!" Chandler barged into his friend's tent, "Let's go look for them."
"It can't be morning already!" Ross groaned.
"Come on!" Chandler snapped, "Don't be lazy. I want to see my wife."
"Give me 10 minutes, are we going to eat?" Ross told him as he unzipped his sleeping bag.
"Come on!" Chandler urged as he stood outside the tent with his arms folded across his chest.
"Chandler Bing!" Ross exclaimed as he crawled from the tent.
"What?" Chandler wondered innocently.
"It's barely morning!" Ross snapped, "The sun is just over the horizon! It's not much brighter than when we went to bed."
"Please Ross," Chandler begged.
"Well, if I'm already up," Ross rolled his eyes.
"Let's go," Chandler urged as he grabbed a granola bar from his pack.
"Hand me one of those," Ross instructed.
"Here," Chandler tossed it into Ross' hand.
Ross unwrapped the snack and bit into it, "Hey, did Joey ever come to sleep with you?" He asked, with his mouth full.
"Nope, he never came to bed," Chandler shrugged.
"I wonder where he is," Ross voiced aloud.
"He probably didn't want to disturb us so he stayed in the girls tent," Chandler answered.
"I doubt Phoebe would allow that," Chandler answered, as they stood there pondering the thought for a moment it finally it him, "Unless..."
"Phoebe and Joey did it!" Ross exclaimed.
"Shh," Chandler scolded as he tiptoed over to the tent.
He slowly and almost silently unzipped the flap to it and peeked inside. Inside Phoebe's sleeping bag were both Joey and Phoebe, cuddled up together, asleep. Chandler motioned for Ross to see and they both stifled chuckles as they stepped away.
"Phoebe and Joey did it!" Ross exclaimed for the second time.
Chandler laughed, "Wow," He sighed, "Let's go. We probably shouldn't disturb them."
Ross nodded in agreement as they continued on the walk. They continued searching, for almost an hour.
"God, searching for these girls is impossible!" Ross whined.
"Shut up, we're going to find them soon," Chandler said. He walked a few more steps before tripping and landing on his knees.
"Are you okay?" Ross wondered, but his attention quickly turned to what had tripped his friend, Rachel's feet.
"What was that?" Rachel mumbled in her sleep before falling back asleep.
Chandler stood and brushed off his pants, a giant grin on his face.
"We did it!" Ross held his hand up for a high-five.
"She's so beautiful," Chandler ignored his friend's hand and watched his wife, "God, I missed her."
Ross rolled his eyes, "Are those my jackets their sitting on?"
"Monica," Chandler ignored Ross and whispered in her ear.
Monica pushed him away and continued to sleep.
"Come on babe," Chandler planted a soft kiss on her lips.
"Chandler?" Monica wondered as she gained consciousness.
"That's me," Chandler answered with a grin.
"It's you," Monica wrapped her arms firmly around his neck and planted a passionate kiss on his lips.
"I'm so glad we found you," Chandler whispered to her as he helped her stand up.
"Rach, wake up and get off my sweatshirt," Ross instructed, shaking Rachel.
"What?" Rachel woke up, "Oh, hey Ross. Monica! They found us."
"I know," Monica and Chandler walked around the tree with their hands enlaced together.
~*~
"You, what?" Rachel gaped at Ross in a disgusted shock once they'd al arrived back at camp.
"I, uh, sorta took your cell phone," Ross admitted, "But, it was so you couldn't call Emma!"
"I cannot believe you!" Rachel punched his chest, "I hate you Ross Gellar!"
Chandler placed a firm hand on Rachel's shoulder and guided her away, "Whoa, Rach."
"Here," Ross handed her the cell phone, in a sign of apology, "You can call and talk to Emma for as long as you like."
"That's right!" Rachel snarled as she snatched the phone from his hand and stormed to her tent. She opened the flap and emitted a shriek as soon as she'd peered inside.
"What?" Monica hurried to her side.
"Phoebe and Joey did it!" Rachel exclaimed.
"What?" Phoebe crawled from the tent, buttoning her shirt.
"You and Joey did it!" Monica accused as Rachel helped Phoebe fix the buttons she'd done in the wrong order.
"Well, duh!" Phoebe shrugged, "I've been predicting this forever!"
"Well, we never thought you'd actually do it!" Chandler answered, "It's a bit of a shock. I mean, you and Joey did it!"
As Joey crawled out of the tent Monica began laughing heartily. When she noticed the confused looks on her friends faces she ventured an explanation, "Well, I find it funny that we've all sort of 'coupled off', especially since most of us could barely stand each other when we first met."
The other 5 began to grin at the irony.
"Wait," Joey paused, "Ross and Rachel aren't together."
"No, but they did hook up for a while," Monica answered, "And they have Emma."
Chandler shrugged in Joey's direction and they all seemed to accept the fact with a nod. Ross stood in contemplation, his mind obviously working a mile a minute. He looked at each person, obviously counting.
"If Joey and Phoebe are together, and obviously Chandler and Monica are," Ross paused, "Then that leaves one tent for both me and Rachel..."
"We have a child together Ross, we can sleep in separate sleeping bags." Rachel reminded him, "We just have to be adult about it."
Everyone nodded and Monica yawned, "I've had a big day. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I didn't get much sleep last night."
After a moment's recollection of the night before, they all realized that the previous night had not been one full of sleep and fatigue was really setting in. With a nod of consensus they all made their way to bed.
Chandler placed his hand supportively on the small of Monica's back. Monica turned her head slightly to accept a quick kiss. Chandler grinned as they crawled into their tent. "I'll never let you go, Monica. In the span of things you weren't gone very long, at all. But, I never want to spend a night without you again."
"And I'll never make you," Monica promised as they both changed into pajamas and snuggled together in the double sleeping back.
Rachel called Monica's name from outside the zipped sleeping back. Monica kissed Chandler's cheek as she scooted out of his arms and unlocked it, "Hey Rach."
"Sorry to interrupt you guys, but I was wondering if you had some sweatpants, Mon? It's kind of cold and I only brought some cotton yoga pants," Rachel explained.
"Just a sec," Monica crawled back into the tent and dug through her backpack before emerging with some red and blue soccer pants, "Here honey."
"Thanks a mill," Rachel gave Monica a quick peck on the cheek as she hurried back to the tent.
"Ross, get out and wait for me to change," Rachel instructed as she stood outside the tent.
"Come on Rachel, I won't look, I've seen you naked a million times," Ross argued, "I don't want to get out of bed."
"Ross!"
From her tone, Ross knew not to mess with Rachel. He complied, slipping on some tennis shoes so he could stand on the ground. Ross glared at her as he waited for her to crawl in.
"You can come on in," Rachel called from her position in her sleeping bag.
Ross smiled as he zipped the tent behind him, "You look bushed."
"Well, I just spent what felt like the longest night of my life being lost, can you blame me for being tired?" Rachel asked.
Ross dug in his backpack and grabbed a flashlight, so he could see her face, "I don't blame you."
Rachel smiled as she propped herself up, "Thanks for looking for me."
"I couldn't imagine being without you, you're my best friend," Ross reached across and brushed a hair from in front of her eyes.
"Do you really mean that?" Rachel wondered.
"Well, that and I'm not sure I could raise Emma all on my own, I'm sure I'd screw up," Ross teased.
"No, you'd do fine, she'd just have no fashion sense."
"Hey!" Ross exclaimed.
"Sorry," Rachel chuckled.
Ross listened to her laughter; something about it was just so magical. Even as he was doing it, he knew it was wrong, but some force was drawing him to her. Rachel was taken aback when she felt Ross' lips pressed against hers.
When he felt her jump Ross pulled away, "I'm sorry. That was crazy!"
Rachel took several shallow breaths, her mind racing. "No," She leaned in for another.
~*~
"You two are quite a sight," Phoebe teased at the pregnant Monica and Rachel who were walking into the apartment.
"Don't start with me Pheebs!" Monica placed her hand on her stomach that had been growing for 6 months.
Rachel glared at her, "Mon? Do you have any pickles?"
Monica shrugged as she plopped down on the couch and elevated her feet, "Don't make me get them! My ankles are like 50 million times their normal size!"
Ross, Chandler and Joey came running in at that time still sweating and smiling from their earlier game of tennis. Chandler and Ross kissed each of the pregnant women as Joey took a seat next to his fiancé.
"You're too skinny, you make me sick," Monica griped, looking at Chandler's legs.
"Nice to know that I'm loved," Chandler took the water bottle Ross was handing him.
"Ross are you going to shower before you pick Emma up from nursery school?" Rachel wondered as she glanced at his sweat soaked body.
"If I have time." Ross shrugged.
"Hey you guys, you know what I was thinking?" Joey voiced aloud.
"Hmm?" They all turned to look at him.
"We haven't been camping in like forever, what has it been? 6 months?" Joey wondered.
"6 long months of morning sickness," Rachel grumbled, glaring at a grinning Ross.
"We should go again!" Joey grinned, "We had so much fun!"
"No, you had fun," Monica corrected, "I got lost, and pregnant."
Joey rolled his eyes, "You guys aren't any fun."
"I think I'm going to go down to Central Perk and get a coffee, anyone want anything?" Phoebe offered.
"No, decaf sucks," Rachel grumbled.
Ross chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm with Rachel," Monica agreed.
"I'll go with you Pheebs," Joey offered as he led her out of the room.
"Wait a sec you guys," Ross instructed the couple who was standing in the doorway.
"What?" Phoebe propped her hand on her hip as she shut the door.
Ross shrugged off their disapproving faces as he dug into his pocket and went down on one knee in front of Rachel, "Rachel, honey, I love you. You're the mother of Emma, and this little guy," He placed his hand on her stomach. "I'm not sure I could live if you didn't promise that for the rest of our lives you will be the woman I wake up next to every morning."
Rachel's breath caught in her throat. She was frozen, tears were stinging her eyes and rolling down her cheek, but her hand didn't move to wipe them away. Ross' eyes remained focused on her face, his stomach tightening into a knot.
Finally, Monica's shrieks broke the pregnant pause, "Yes! She will marry you, how could she say no to a proposal like that? Rachel, say yes or I'm going to."
"But he's your-"Joey tried to interject but Chandler raised his hand to silence his friend.
Rachel finally breathed and she let out a soft laugh, "Yes, of course I'll marry you."
"Oh yea this is so exciting!" Monica exclaimed, getting up from the couch as fast as she could to hug the already embracing Ross and Rachel. Joey exclaimed in happiness and ran over to join the hug followed by Chandler and Phoebe.
"Yes dear, I thought it would be fun to commit torture on, uh, down there," Chandler retorted sarcastically and paused, since Monica did not respond he stuttered, "Uh, er, no, I haven't seen it. Sorry."
Monica chuckled and continued digging through every cabinet and bag in the bathroom, "We aren't leaving until I find it!"
"Come on Mon!" Chandler groaned, "You're taking longer than Rachel! Aren't you supposed to be neurotic and organized?"
"Chandler Bing! I WILL leave you behind!" Monica warned.
"Sorry babe," Chandler hurried to the bedroom and stood behind Monica, looking slightly helpless.
"Look in the cabinet over the toilet," Monica instructed as she dug through her makeup bag.
Chandler could barely suppress a chuckle, the 6 of them were planning on going camping for the next 4 days and Monica was not terribly thrilled and was stressing over every minor detail, on the floor barely an inch from Monica's left foot was her missing eyelash curler. Not having the heart to point it out to her, Chandler nonchalantly reached his foot out and kicked the curler closer to him. He leaned over and picked it up.
"Found it Mon," Chandler announced proudly.
"Where?" Monica said, the stressed look on her face almost disappearing.
"It was way up here," Chandler touched the top of the cabinet.
"Oh," Monica nodded, calming down greatly, "Thanks." She placed the metal device in her bag.
"Are we ready?" Chandler wondered.
"Stop nagging me," Monica snapped, "No one's even here for us."
"I'm sorry," Chandler apologized, "You look beautiful."
"Thank you," Monica smiled and wrapped her arms around Chandler's neck, "I love you."
"I love you too babe," Chandler kissed her softly; glad that he'd manage to divert her attention from the upcoming camping trip.
"Okay, let me go put my flannel shirt on and then we'll be ready," Monica said, stepping away from Chandler and into the living room.
"Good," Chandler said as he took a seat at the kitchen table.
"Are you ready?" Joey entered the room with a big grin on his face.
"Almost," Chandler answered, "Monica's changing."
"Oh, can I go in?" Joey wondered.
"That's my wife you're talking about," Chandler scolded.
"Sorry," Joey apologized.
"I'm ready," Monica emerged from the room, she was wearing a red plaid- flannel shirt over a white camisole and jeans and hiking boots.
"Good," Chandler smiled and grabbed one of the 2 backpacks that belonged to him and Monica.
"Let's go," She turned to Joey, "Are you going to go in our taxi?"
"Yeah," Joey nodded enthusiastically.
"Great," Monica said half sarcastically, not looking forward to this camping trip and the thought of riding with Joey and a meatball sandwich for several hours was not appealing.
"It'll be okay," Chandler whispered in Monica's ear after reading her mind.
Monica grinned at Chandler as she slung the other backpack over her shoulder. Chandler enlaced his fingers in hers as they followed Joey out of the apartment, Monica making sure to lock it behind them.
When they arrived in Central Perk Ross and Rachel were sitting together on the couch fighting over whether or not Rachel could call Judy to check on Emma and Phoebe was practicing "outdoorsy" songs on her guitar. Joey hurried over to them and began talking animatedly, although no one was really listening to them.
"Hey Mon," Rachel turned her attention from Ross.
"Hey Rach," Monica smiled, "Did you bring bug repellent?"
"Yes," Rachel smiled proudly, "I found some that smells like Ralph Lauren 'Romance'!"
"Really?" Monica wondered excitedly.
"I'll show you when we get there," Rachel promised, "It's great."
"Well, we should probably be going," Ross announced and stood up stealthily removing Rachel's cell phone from her backpack and placing it in his pocket.
"I think Joey's riding with us, are you 3 taking a cab together?" Monica asked.
"Sure," Rachel nodded, "Do you guys just want to meet up at the rangers cabin there?"
"That's what we were planning, see you in an hour," Chandler explained as the 6 of them filed out of Central Perk and Chandler and Ross went about hailing cabs.
Finally, 2 cabs were stalled at the side of the street and Chandler threw their backpacks in the trunk and crawled in, Joey on his left and Monica on his right.
"This is going to be fun," Chandler placed a reassuring hand on Monica's thigh.
"I hope so," Monica shrugged, "I'm not an outdoorsy person."
"I know," Chandler grinned, "But even Rachel hasn't complained."
"That's just because she's more worried about leaving her daughter," Monica explained, "Once we get there and she realizes she going to sleep within an inch of dirt she'll be like me."
Chandler just chuckled and kissed Monica softly on the cheek. He loved her so much, and the little crinkle in her brow from worrying made her even more attractive. After 15 minutes the smell drifting from Joey's bag of meatball sandwiches was driving Chandler crazy and he turned slightly and wrapped his arms around Monica
~*~
"There should be a clearing just around this bend," Ross pointed ahead.
"Thank god!" Rachel groaned, "We've been walking for-"
"10 minutes," Chandler answered sharply, "Nothing near a shopping trip!"
"Chandler!" Monica slapped him on his shoulder, "Be nice!'
"Sorry," Chandler rolled his eyes as they stopped in a clearing.
"Joey, will you help me and Ross set up the tents?" Chandler asked.
Phoebe sat Indian-style in the middle of the clearing with her guitar in hand and began strumming tunes. Rachel looked around apprehensively and sighed, "This is so gross!"
"I know!" Monica looked around, "I bet there are bugs all over."
Chandler chuckled at his wife's banter, "Hey Mon, it's going to get chilly tonight. Why don't you and Rach go looking for some dry wood?"
Monica raised her eyebrows at Rachel, "Ugh."
"Please Mon," Chandler begged, "It'll give us more time together tonight."
Monica rolled her eyes, "Rachel, do you have your bug repellent?"
Rachel dropped her pack on the ground and dug through it quickly and her hand emerged holding a bottle of bug spray, "here, smell."
Monica sprayed herself and inhaled slightly, "Better that what it usually smells like."
Rachel chuckled and sprayed herself, "You going to come Pheebs?"
"Nah, I'm just going to stay here and play on my guitar," Phoebe declined the invitation.
"Okay," Monica shrugged and turned to Chandler, "Where would you suggest we go?"
"Just around the bend up there," Chandler pointed to the path, "There should be a clearing, or if not anywhere along the path should have dry wood."
"Uh, okay," Monica said warily, "I'm sure we'll find some."
Rachel slung her backpack over her shoulder, "Let's go Mon."
Monica nodded and walked from the clearing to the path, Rachel followed behind and hurried to catch up. It wasn't long before the two girls were out of sight of the campsite.
"So, where's this clearing Chandler was talking about?" Rachel wondered looking around.
"How am I supposed to know?" Monica shrugged slapping a fly that had landed on her arm.
Rachel finally stopped and brushed sweat from her forehead, "Let's just get some wood from the side of the path and head back."
Monica nodded and walked several feet kneeling and scooping up what she deemed as usable wood. She suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet turn into an incline and after a few feet she was standing at a narrow brook. The scene was breathtaking, it looked like a picture straight from the Ralph Lauren catalog.
"Hey Rach! Come see this," Monica called.
Rachel, who was on the other side of the past pretending to be useful turned and hurried towards Monica's voice, "I'm coming." She bounded across the path.
"Look," Monica pointed to the beautiful picture that was in front of her.
"Wow," Rachel breathed, "This would be really romantic."
Monica nodded in agreement and the two friends stood admiring the view for some time. Finally, when Monica noted that much time had passed and that the other 4 would be wondering where they were she suggested that they get the wood they'd set out for and return to the campsite. It took them 10 minutes to find enough wood; they both secretly knew that they would be teased because they weren't carrying much.
"Okay," Rachel walked to Monica, "Where's the path?"
"Uh," Monica thought for a moment, "Er," She turned around.
"You lost the path?" Rachel accused.
"I didn't lose the path!" Monica argued, her tension mounting, "Well, moss always grows on the, um, north side of trees-"
"It does not!" Rachel shook her head, "It grows on the west."
"Oh," Monica shrugged, "Well, what direction is the campsite?"
"How am I supposed to know?" Rachel asked defensively.
"Come on, Follow me," Monica motioned with her hand and they wandered about the woods before reaching the brook again.
"Monica, the sun is setting," Rachel whined, "Let's go back."
"I'm trying to!" Monica snapped in response.
~*~
Chandler checked his watch for what must have been the millionth time, "They should be back by now."
"Chandler, you've told me that," Ross groaned.
"Aren't you worried?" Chandler snapped, "That's my wife out there!"
"Chandler, they are two self-sufficient adults," Ross argued.
"Did you just call Rachel Green self-sufficient?" Chandler snapped.
"Would you 2 just shut up and stop bickering?" Joey screamed.
"Sorry," Chandler said.
"Rachel and Monica are lost on Hanukah," Phoebe began singing.
"It's not Hanukah!" Ross and Chandler yelled in unison, "Shut up!"
Phoebe looked at them for several moments, "I see I'm not wanted," She stormed off to the tent she was sharing with Rachel.
"What's her problem?" Chandler asked naively.
Chandler began pacing the length of he campsite constantly checking his watch. He knew he shouldn't have sent Monica and Rachel out into the woods alone, even an imbecile would know better than that. He silently cursed himself and when he looked into the sky and realized the day was slowly changing to night.
"Ross, we should go look for them."
Ross watched Chandler for several moments, "Yeah, we should."
"I wanna help!" Joey grinned.
"Joe, why don't you stay here? We need someone to watch for the girls if they come up the path," Ross suggested, "You'll be a huge help."
Joey nodded.
Chandler feverishly dug through his pack, in search of the flashlight he'd instructed Monica to pack. He reached the flashlight and next to it was his cell phone. Monica had made him pack it for emergencies and he'd totally forgotten it was there.
He withdrew it from the pack and dialed the number for Rachel's phone.
"Do you hear that?" Chandler said excitedly, "They're really close."
"Uh, Chandler," Ross held the phone out to his friend, "I have Rachel's cell."
"What are you doing with her phone?" Chandler snapped.
"She kept wanting to call Emma, so I took it from her," Ross said sheepishly.
"God dammit Ross!" Chandler cursed loudly.
"Chandler! Chill out," Ross yelled, "Let's concentrate on what we need to do, find Monica and Rachel."
Chandler nodded, taking deep breaths. He held the black round flashlight in his hand and turned to Ross. They stepped out onto the path and started in the direction the girls had taken.
~*~
"It's getting cold," Monica wrapped her arms around her body, "Do you have a jacket?"
"In my pack, but we should really keep going," Rachel explained, "I'm sure the campsite is just over that hill."
"Hill?" Monica inquired, "We never went over any hill Rachel."
"Oh," Rachel said and turned around.
"We're lost," Monica said simply.
"Yeah," Rachel said nervously, "I don't like camping."
Monica stood still in the middle of the path, Chandler being the only thing on her mind. She watched Rachel pretend to calculate exactly where they should turn. Truth was, neither of them knew what they were doing, and that scared Monica.
She dropped the wood she was holding and rubbed her tear full eyes. She looked harshly at Rachel, although she didn't really see her friend, she saw Chandler standing there, waiting for her to run into his arms.
~*~
Chandler sent the long beam of the flashlight ahead of him, "Monica! Rachel." He called.
"Rach!" Ross hollered, "Mon?"
Ross turned to Chandler, "Chan, it's late."
"I know! They've been missing almost 5 hours," Chandler snapped, "We have to be close."
Ross shook his head, "Okay, let's head back. Maybe we'll see them on the way."
"I'm not going back to our tent until I have Monica with me," Chandler insisted.
"Okay," Ross sighed in desperation, "Let's head off the path over that way."
"What's over there?" Chandler wondered.
"Their obviously not on the path," Ross rolled his eyes, "Let's try over there."
"No, let's just go a little bit up this way," Chandler insisted.
Ross shrugged and continued his trek off the path. Chandler sighed and finally followed. He was almost ready to catch his friend when Ross squealed and fell from sight.
"Ross? What's wrong?" Chandler hurried ahead and stood next to his friend.
"I just stepped in this stream," Ross shrugged as he shone his flashlight around.
Chandler nodded and extended his hand to help Ross step up to dry land, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, my right leg is kind of soaked, though," Ross complained.
"Good," Chandler grinned, relieved, "Let's keep looking."
"Can we go back to the campsite so I can change my pants?" Ross requested, "It's not comfortable, and my socks are wet too!"
Chandler glanced around, wishing Monica would step out from one of the trees and tell them that it was all a joke. When he realized that Monica wasn't anywhere near he conceded with a sigh, "Okay, as long as we can look for them afterwards."
"I swear," Ross held his right hand in the air, "Can we go now?"
Chandler and Ross trekked back up the path to the campsite where Phoebe and Joey were sitting in Phoebe's tent waiting for the return of their 4 friends. When Chandler and Ross were the only ones that came into sight the 2 exchanged questioning glances and hurried to meet them.
"Where are Rach and Mon?" Phoebe wondered, "And why are your pants wet, Ross?"
"We still can't find them," Chandler shrugged dejectedly.
"What do you mean?" Joey accused, "How can you not find them?"
"Why are your pants wet, Ross?" Phoebe repeated.
"I fell in a brook," Ross answered, "We came back so I could change," Ross turned and disappeared into the tent.
"I can't believe they are gone," Chandler whispered, more to himself than anyone.
"I know," Joey patted his friend on his shoulder.
~*~
"This isn't funny anymore Rachel," Monica said, her voice full with tears.
"I know!" Rachel snapped.
"We should have never gone on this damn trip! I knew it was a bad idea!" Monica accused.
"You think I want to be out here in the middle of the woods?" Rachel argued, "Sleeping an inch from dirt mind you!"
Monica sighed and stood still, looking around. The light of the moon provided little vision and Monica silently scolded herself for not remembering to bring a flashlight along. However, it wasn't the darkness that worried her. It was the feeling of emptiness, the feeling that Chandler wasn't there.
"Why don't we just sleep against this tree?" Rachel suggested, "We aren't getting anywhere in the dark."
"No," Monica insisted, "We have to get back."
"Monica," Rachel grabbed her friend by the shoulder, "That isn't going to get us anywhere except more lost. And you know that."
"I guess, I am really tried," Monica conceded.
"Here, we can sit on one of Ross' sweat shirts," Rachel pulled the gray jacket from her backpack and spread it on the ground.
Monica quickly checked the tree for bugs and sat Indian style next to Rachel.
"Where's your blanket?" Monica wondered.
"Uh, my sleeping bag's back at the camp," Rachel offered.
"What about food, I'm hungry," Monica inquired, "What about like some dried bananas?"
"Food? Why would I pack food? We already have some to eat at the camp," Rachel gave Monica a quizzical look.
"You're kidding me aren't you?" Monica stressed, "How can you not pack food? We're gonna die! Goddamit Rachel!"
"Don't blame me! It's not my fault the organizer didn't bring her backpack," Rachel mocked.
Monica didn't respond and leaned back against the tree. Although she didn't fall asleep, an ingenious thought came to her as she lay there awake.
"Rach," Monica asked quietly, Rachel's eyes were closed.
"What Mon?" Rachel groaned.
"Why don't we just use your cell?" Monica suggested.
"My cell phone!" Rachel grinned and grabbed her bag.
Monica helped Rachel remove almost every item of clothing from her bag, however, the cell phone seemed to be missing. Rachel whimpered slightly and stared at Monica.
"Where the hell is it?" Monica looked accusingly, "Did you bring anything?"
"I did," Rachel pleaded, "I know I did! It's in here somewhere!"
"Well, obviously it's not," Monica said simply.
"I must have dropped it in the woods," Rachel said and glanced out into the darkness, "We have to find it."
"You can't be counted on for anything, can you?" Monica mocked.
"Don't go there with me Monica!" Rachel snapped, "You're the one who thinks that moss grows on the north side of the tree!"
Monica rolled her eyes, "At least I'm trying to get us unlost."
"What makes you think I want us to be here?" Rachel argued.
"You haven't made much of an effort to pack anything to help!" Monica snapped.
"Well, I'm not the only one with a pack," Rachel snapped, but with little enthusiasm, it was a horrible argument.
"Let's just find your damn phone!" Monica told her.
"Let's do that," Rachel agreed and then commented under her breath, "I miss Ross."
"What was that?" Monica wondered as they started back to the path.
"Nothing, I just said I can't wait to get back and see the other four," Rachel lied.
"Okay," Monica nodded, "I never thought I'd want Chandler to wrap his arms around me and hold me forever this much."
"Yeah," Rachel shrugged not paying it much mind until she saw the tears glistening in her friend's eyes, "Oh," She opened her arms to let Monica cry on her shoulder.
Monica cried into Rachel's shoulder for several minutes. She finally straightened up and wiped her eyes.
~*~
Chandler refused to admit that he was done with the seemingly never-ending hunt for his wife and friend. Well, at least for the night. It was 3 in the morning and his eyelids surely had weights attached to them.
"Okay, I am going back to camp," Ross said simply, "I'm tired!"
"No," Chandler protested, trying to stifle a yawn, "I'm not going to bed without Monica."
"Then I'll rephrase this, I'm going to back to camp so I can sleep," Ross said simply, "You do whatever you feel like."
Chandler sighed grudgingly as they headed back to camp. Ross climbed into the tent he was sharing with Joey but Chandler didn't make any move towards his tent. He watched Ross disappear before sprawling out on the ground and staring up at the sky.
With his pointer finger extended he began to trace figures in the sky. First, just the constellations he knew, but those were few. Ordinary objects began to appear before his very eyes, there was an umbrella and next to it, a dragon. After he'd found common objects like those chef's hats and skillets began to appear, all reminding him of Monica. He wiped a few tears from his eyes and sat up.
~*~
"Rachel," Monica finally inquired, "Are you absolutely positive you brought your cell phone with you?"
"Monica," Rachel answered, "Have you ever seen me leave home without my cell phone?"
"You make a good point," Monica shrugged as her eyes scanned the ground, "It's really hard to see with only the moon."
"Yeah, I know," Rachel agreed, "But we have to find it. That thing is my life."
Monica chuckled, "Let's keep searching then."
The two girls searched for several more minutes when Rachel finally paused and leaned against a tree, "I'm so tired."
"Me too," Monica agreed as she tried to stifle a yawn.
"This tree looks good, and not too buggy," Rachel inspected it closely, "Here's a sweatshirt of Ross's to sit on."
Monica caught the gray hoodie and spread it out on the ground beneath her. Rachel did they same and they lay on opposite sides on the tree and both were sleeping soundly only a few moments later.
~*~
"Ross! Wake up!" Chandler barged into his friend's tent, "Let's go look for them."
"It can't be morning already!" Ross groaned.
"Come on!" Chandler snapped, "Don't be lazy. I want to see my wife."
"Give me 10 minutes, are we going to eat?" Ross told him as he unzipped his sleeping bag.
"Come on!" Chandler urged as he stood outside the tent with his arms folded across his chest.
"Chandler Bing!" Ross exclaimed as he crawled from the tent.
"What?" Chandler wondered innocently.
"It's barely morning!" Ross snapped, "The sun is just over the horizon! It's not much brighter than when we went to bed."
"Please Ross," Chandler begged.
"Well, if I'm already up," Ross rolled his eyes.
"Let's go," Chandler urged as he grabbed a granola bar from his pack.
"Hand me one of those," Ross instructed.
"Here," Chandler tossed it into Ross' hand.
Ross unwrapped the snack and bit into it, "Hey, did Joey ever come to sleep with you?" He asked, with his mouth full.
"Nope, he never came to bed," Chandler shrugged.
"I wonder where he is," Ross voiced aloud.
"He probably didn't want to disturb us so he stayed in the girls tent," Chandler answered.
"I doubt Phoebe would allow that," Chandler answered, as they stood there pondering the thought for a moment it finally it him, "Unless..."
"Phoebe and Joey did it!" Ross exclaimed.
"Shh," Chandler scolded as he tiptoed over to the tent.
He slowly and almost silently unzipped the flap to it and peeked inside. Inside Phoebe's sleeping bag were both Joey and Phoebe, cuddled up together, asleep. Chandler motioned for Ross to see and they both stifled chuckles as they stepped away.
"Phoebe and Joey did it!" Ross exclaimed for the second time.
Chandler laughed, "Wow," He sighed, "Let's go. We probably shouldn't disturb them."
Ross nodded in agreement as they continued on the walk. They continued searching, for almost an hour.
"God, searching for these girls is impossible!" Ross whined.
"Shut up, we're going to find them soon," Chandler said. He walked a few more steps before tripping and landing on his knees.
"Are you okay?" Ross wondered, but his attention quickly turned to what had tripped his friend, Rachel's feet.
"What was that?" Rachel mumbled in her sleep before falling back asleep.
Chandler stood and brushed off his pants, a giant grin on his face.
"We did it!" Ross held his hand up for a high-five.
"She's so beautiful," Chandler ignored his friend's hand and watched his wife, "God, I missed her."
Ross rolled his eyes, "Are those my jackets their sitting on?"
"Monica," Chandler ignored Ross and whispered in her ear.
Monica pushed him away and continued to sleep.
"Come on babe," Chandler planted a soft kiss on her lips.
"Chandler?" Monica wondered as she gained consciousness.
"That's me," Chandler answered with a grin.
"It's you," Monica wrapped her arms firmly around his neck and planted a passionate kiss on his lips.
"I'm so glad we found you," Chandler whispered to her as he helped her stand up.
"Rach, wake up and get off my sweatshirt," Ross instructed, shaking Rachel.
"What?" Rachel woke up, "Oh, hey Ross. Monica! They found us."
"I know," Monica and Chandler walked around the tree with their hands enlaced together.
~*~
"You, what?" Rachel gaped at Ross in a disgusted shock once they'd al arrived back at camp.
"I, uh, sorta took your cell phone," Ross admitted, "But, it was so you couldn't call Emma!"
"I cannot believe you!" Rachel punched his chest, "I hate you Ross Gellar!"
Chandler placed a firm hand on Rachel's shoulder and guided her away, "Whoa, Rach."
"Here," Ross handed her the cell phone, in a sign of apology, "You can call and talk to Emma for as long as you like."
"That's right!" Rachel snarled as she snatched the phone from his hand and stormed to her tent. She opened the flap and emitted a shriek as soon as she'd peered inside.
"What?" Monica hurried to her side.
"Phoebe and Joey did it!" Rachel exclaimed.
"What?" Phoebe crawled from the tent, buttoning her shirt.
"You and Joey did it!" Monica accused as Rachel helped Phoebe fix the buttons she'd done in the wrong order.
"Well, duh!" Phoebe shrugged, "I've been predicting this forever!"
"Well, we never thought you'd actually do it!" Chandler answered, "It's a bit of a shock. I mean, you and Joey did it!"
As Joey crawled out of the tent Monica began laughing heartily. When she noticed the confused looks on her friends faces she ventured an explanation, "Well, I find it funny that we've all sort of 'coupled off', especially since most of us could barely stand each other when we first met."
The other 5 began to grin at the irony.
"Wait," Joey paused, "Ross and Rachel aren't together."
"No, but they did hook up for a while," Monica answered, "And they have Emma."
Chandler shrugged in Joey's direction and they all seemed to accept the fact with a nod. Ross stood in contemplation, his mind obviously working a mile a minute. He looked at each person, obviously counting.
"If Joey and Phoebe are together, and obviously Chandler and Monica are," Ross paused, "Then that leaves one tent for both me and Rachel..."
"We have a child together Ross, we can sleep in separate sleeping bags." Rachel reminded him, "We just have to be adult about it."
Everyone nodded and Monica yawned, "I've had a big day. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I didn't get much sleep last night."
After a moment's recollection of the night before, they all realized that the previous night had not been one full of sleep and fatigue was really setting in. With a nod of consensus they all made their way to bed.
Chandler placed his hand supportively on the small of Monica's back. Monica turned her head slightly to accept a quick kiss. Chandler grinned as they crawled into their tent. "I'll never let you go, Monica. In the span of things you weren't gone very long, at all. But, I never want to spend a night without you again."
"And I'll never make you," Monica promised as they both changed into pajamas and snuggled together in the double sleeping back.
Rachel called Monica's name from outside the zipped sleeping back. Monica kissed Chandler's cheek as she scooted out of his arms and unlocked it, "Hey Rach."
"Sorry to interrupt you guys, but I was wondering if you had some sweatpants, Mon? It's kind of cold and I only brought some cotton yoga pants," Rachel explained.
"Just a sec," Monica crawled back into the tent and dug through her backpack before emerging with some red and blue soccer pants, "Here honey."
"Thanks a mill," Rachel gave Monica a quick peck on the cheek as she hurried back to the tent.
"Ross, get out and wait for me to change," Rachel instructed as she stood outside the tent.
"Come on Rachel, I won't look, I've seen you naked a million times," Ross argued, "I don't want to get out of bed."
"Ross!"
From her tone, Ross knew not to mess with Rachel. He complied, slipping on some tennis shoes so he could stand on the ground. Ross glared at her as he waited for her to crawl in.
"You can come on in," Rachel called from her position in her sleeping bag.
Ross smiled as he zipped the tent behind him, "You look bushed."
"Well, I just spent what felt like the longest night of my life being lost, can you blame me for being tired?" Rachel asked.
Ross dug in his backpack and grabbed a flashlight, so he could see her face, "I don't blame you."
Rachel smiled as she propped herself up, "Thanks for looking for me."
"I couldn't imagine being without you, you're my best friend," Ross reached across and brushed a hair from in front of her eyes.
"Do you really mean that?" Rachel wondered.
"Well, that and I'm not sure I could raise Emma all on my own, I'm sure I'd screw up," Ross teased.
"No, you'd do fine, she'd just have no fashion sense."
"Hey!" Ross exclaimed.
"Sorry," Rachel chuckled.
Ross listened to her laughter; something about it was just so magical. Even as he was doing it, he knew it was wrong, but some force was drawing him to her. Rachel was taken aback when she felt Ross' lips pressed against hers.
When he felt her jump Ross pulled away, "I'm sorry. That was crazy!"
Rachel took several shallow breaths, her mind racing. "No," She leaned in for another.
~*~
"You two are quite a sight," Phoebe teased at the pregnant Monica and Rachel who were walking into the apartment.
"Don't start with me Pheebs!" Monica placed her hand on her stomach that had been growing for 6 months.
Rachel glared at her, "Mon? Do you have any pickles?"
Monica shrugged as she plopped down on the couch and elevated her feet, "Don't make me get them! My ankles are like 50 million times their normal size!"
Ross, Chandler and Joey came running in at that time still sweating and smiling from their earlier game of tennis. Chandler and Ross kissed each of the pregnant women as Joey took a seat next to his fiancé.
"You're too skinny, you make me sick," Monica griped, looking at Chandler's legs.
"Nice to know that I'm loved," Chandler took the water bottle Ross was handing him.
"Ross are you going to shower before you pick Emma up from nursery school?" Rachel wondered as she glanced at his sweat soaked body.
"If I have time." Ross shrugged.
"Hey you guys, you know what I was thinking?" Joey voiced aloud.
"Hmm?" They all turned to look at him.
"We haven't been camping in like forever, what has it been? 6 months?" Joey wondered.
"6 long months of morning sickness," Rachel grumbled, glaring at a grinning Ross.
"We should go again!" Joey grinned, "We had so much fun!"
"No, you had fun," Monica corrected, "I got lost, and pregnant."
Joey rolled his eyes, "You guys aren't any fun."
"I think I'm going to go down to Central Perk and get a coffee, anyone want anything?" Phoebe offered.
"No, decaf sucks," Rachel grumbled.
Ross chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm with Rachel," Monica agreed.
"I'll go with you Pheebs," Joey offered as he led her out of the room.
"Wait a sec you guys," Ross instructed the couple who was standing in the doorway.
"What?" Phoebe propped her hand on her hip as she shut the door.
Ross shrugged off their disapproving faces as he dug into his pocket and went down on one knee in front of Rachel, "Rachel, honey, I love you. You're the mother of Emma, and this little guy," He placed his hand on her stomach. "I'm not sure I could live if you didn't promise that for the rest of our lives you will be the woman I wake up next to every morning."
Rachel's breath caught in her throat. She was frozen, tears were stinging her eyes and rolling down her cheek, but her hand didn't move to wipe them away. Ross' eyes remained focused on her face, his stomach tightening into a knot.
Finally, Monica's shrieks broke the pregnant pause, "Yes! She will marry you, how could she say no to a proposal like that? Rachel, say yes or I'm going to."
"But he's your-"Joey tried to interject but Chandler raised his hand to silence his friend.
Rachel finally breathed and she let out a soft laugh, "Yes, of course I'll marry you."
"Oh yea this is so exciting!" Monica exclaimed, getting up from the couch as fast as she could to hug the already embracing Ross and Rachel. Joey exclaimed in happiness and ran over to join the hug followed by Chandler and Phoebe.