Chapter 6: Unexpected Developments

Author's Note: Cress deserves credit for ideas on why Pete might give up trying to be Ultimate Fighting Champion.

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Repeated from last chapter to set the scene:

(The telephone rings when Monica is alone in the apartment)

"Monica," said a familiar voice, slightly indistinct. "Are you still interested in being head chef in my restaurant? This isn't a bribe to get you back. I just think, after interviewing others, that you might be perfect for the job."

"Pete!" she cried. "How are you?"

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"Well, I'm making good progress," said Pete, still in a slightly indistinct voice. "The hairline fracture's healed up and the bruises are almost gone. But the rotator cuff tear is going to take some time, even if I don't have surgery."

To Monica's ear he sounded definitely depressed. "That's gonna set back your training program," she said, trying to sound sympathetic.

Pete gave a bitter laugh. "Well, that is all over."

"Over?" Monica repeated in amazement. "But didn't you say to me, you had to do this?" She began to feel mad. "I begged you to give it up, but you wouldn't!"

"I know," said Pete in the same depressed voice. "But things have come up …"

"Like what?" said Monica, sympathetic in spite of herself. He sounded so sad.

"Well, first off, my mom also begged me to stop," he said. "She said, she saw me getting myself killed and, well, I've always been the apple of her eye. I have a brother, but he's a dropout and she doesn't care for him much any more." He sighed. "But that's not all. I found out that one of my vice-presidents was trying to turn the board of directors against me, claiming I'd lost my marbles, and that even if I hadn't I was being distracted by this and not paying enough attention to the business." He sighed again. "I didn't want to throw away everything I've worked for. So," his voice became stronger, "I went right back in and bounced that vice-president back on his butt. I'm back in control of the company, no one disputes it, and it made me feel good for a while, but …"

After a short silence, Monica said, as gently as she could, "But … you hate having to give up your dream?"

"I should have known you'd sympathise!" he said, sounding more lively. "That's it, exactly. Look, can we meet? I … well, I haven't dated anyone since we broke up, what with my injuries and the company business. But this wouldn't be a date, exactly, just a chance for me to talk to someone who, who once cared about me."

"Pete, I still care!" she cried, knowing this to be true. Talking to him was reviving all sorts of feelings that she had tried hard to bury. "Of course I'll meet with you. Anywhere special you want to meet?"

"I'll drop by Central Perk," he said. "I'd like to see the gang and find out how they're all doing – like, how's that oddball Chandler?"

"He's not an oddball!" said Monica hotly. "You be nice about my friends or I won't meet with you after all!"

"You got it," he said. "I apologise. I'll be there around six, if that's okay, and we can talk about the restaurant too."

"Okay," said Monica and hung up, feeling excited all of a sudden. In fact, she felt so excited that she had to tell somebody, and before she knew it she was calling Rachel at work.

When Rachel began announcing herself and her department, Monica broke in. "Rach, it's me. Can we talk?"

"Yeah, Joanna's at a meeting," said Rachel. "What's new?"

"Guess who called me just now?" said Monica excitedly.

"You ring me at work to ask that?" said Rachel in an amused tone. "I have no idea."

"Pete Becker!" cried Monica triumphantly. "He wanted me to reconsider the job of chef at his restaurant, but that's not the best part – he's given up the Ultimate Fighting crap."

"No, really?" said Rachel with some excitement. "Mon, are you getting interested in him again?"

"Well," said Monica, "I've agreed to meet him. He's coming to Central Perk tonight. He sounded so down," she added in a softer voice.

"So, it's off with the new and on with the old?" said Rachel in a Chandler-like way.

Monica was a little irritated by Rachel's rather sarcastic tone, but admitted to herself that her friend had reason to be just a little mad with her.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," she said penitently. "I know this must seem ungrateful of me, after you so generously offered to stand aside and not encourage Chandler. But, but … Pete and I only broke up a few weeks ago, and I still have feelings for him. It didn't look like I was going to get anywhere with Chandler very fast, either," she added rather despondently.

"No," said Rachel with more sympathy. "That's certainly how it looked. Then you won't object if I do encourage Chandler now?"

This brought Monica up short. Hearing Pete's voice and the prospect of meeting him again had brought him to the forefront of her mind, but that did not mean she'd lost all interest in Chandler.

"Sweetie, I know this is a lot to ask," she said pleadingly, "but could you hold off for just a bit longer? I mean, I don't know how I'm really going to feel about Pete until I'm with him."

"But you just said, you didn't think you were gonna get anywhere with Chandler," Rachel objected.

"Yeah, but," Monica said, and then stopped. It was so hard to put into words. "I don't know that for sure yet," she said finally. "I've managed to make it up with him, at least I think so. I just … don't want to give up on him altogether so fast." She paused. "God, I know this sounds really selfish, but … please?"

There was a silence and Monica tensed. Then Rachel chuckled, and she relaxed.

"O-kay," said Rachel in an exaggerated voice of resignation. "It's not like I'd be doing anything differently from the way I was with Chandler this morning, anyway. I'll hold off for a while longer. But I'm gonna want special payback for this."

"Anything within reason," said Monica lightly. "I am so grateful, sweetie. I love you."

"Oh oh, here comes Joanna back from her meeting," Rachel muttered, "and she's giving me the evil eye. I'll see you after work."

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Chandler found concentrating on his work even harder than usual. His mind kept slipping away to the kiss that he had shared with Rachel. It had been a wonderful kiss, and her subsequent behaviour had given him cause for real hope that she might be willing to go out with him. But then it had all gone wrong, because she chose to demonstrate loyalty to Monica, and this morning she was acting as if nothing had ever happened between them. Granted, she had been slightly drunk when she kissed him, and might be regretting it, although her friendliness did not suggest that.

He sighed. Monica had kissed him even more passionately. Why couldn't he get interested in her the way she now seemed to want him to? He felt a little guilty, realising that in a way he had led her on, by making such a big deal out of not being considered boyfriend material. Maybe Joey was right, and they were all so like brothers and sisters that they couldn't usually think of each other that way. But Monica was clearly able to think of him in that way, and Ross had been easily able to think like that about Rachel. There was an explanation for that, at least, his long prior crush on her. Maybe also it was easier because she had joined the group long after all the others had become close, and maybe that was why he felt attracted to her too. He smiled as he remembered what a picture she had made, kneeling beside Phoebe in her bikini, devastatingly attractive but totally unconscious of it as she concentrated on Phoebe's jellyfish sting. It would be a cold day in hell before he forgot that.

His mouth firmed. He was not going to let this go easily. He would go to Central Perk at lunchtime and hope to see her. He would not come on too strong, but he would make it clear that he was intererested. He couldn't believe she had totally lost the interest that she had shown only the previous night. Rather, he suspected, she was suppressing it out of a misguided sense of loyalty to Monica. He should talk with Monica and get things straight.

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Monica was first to arrive in Central Perk around lunchtime. In fact she had gone early, as she often did nowadays, for want of anything else to do. Gunther was behind the counter as usual. He actually blushed a little as she approached.

"I hope we didn't freak you out last night," she said lightly, having decided that this was the best approach.

His smile seemed a little forced. "No, I felt … privileged."

She smiled. "You know, Gunther, Rachel did feel bad about it. I mean, we were just fooling around, but she wouldn't have done it if she'd known how big a crush you had on her."

"And if she hadn't been a little bit drunk," said Gunther, smiling in a more relaxed way. "It's okay, Monica. It took me a while, last night, but I've … come to terms with it, finally. Her second kiss," he smiled dreamily, "I shall always treasure that, and it showed that she has a good heart. I have sometimes been uncertain of that."

Monica felt definite relief. "You're being a good guy about this," she said, "so I'll let you in on some private stuff. She's sort of interested in Chandler, but so am I, as you might have noticed – "

"It wasn't hard to spot," he interpolated with a definite grin.

Monica pulled a face. "I am so dumb and obvious sometimes. Well, she's letting me have a clear run, but things have gotten kinda complicated, because Pete's come back into my life. He's coming here this evening."

"Pete?" queried Gunther, looking puzzled for a moment. "Ah yes, the computer king."

Monica nodded. "So," she went on, "just because Rachel isn't showing an interest in Chandler doesn't mean she's not actually interested. She's agreed to wait a while, to see how things pan out between me and Pete."

"Seems like Rachel's doing a lot for you," Gunther commented rather drily.

"Yes, bless her," said Monica softly. None knew better than she how well Rachel was behaving. Then she grinned. "But don't worry, she's getting some compensation for it all. I'm gonna go on doing all the apartment stuff without complaining that she isn't doing any."

Gunther laughed a laugh of genuine amusement. "Yeah, she's not good at the domestic stuff, is she? I have to say, it's a relief in some ways not having her as a waitress. I mean, I loved having her around, you know, but she could drive me crazy, the way she just didn't seem to care about not doing things, or getting them wrong."

"Me too," said Monica sympathetically, and they shared a moment of complete understanding.

Then Gunther, who had been leaning forward in a confidential way, stood up straight. "This has been good," he said, now looking just a trifle embarrassed, "and I appreciate your confiding in me, but now I really ought to get back to work."

Monica took her coffee to the couch, thinking what a strange guy Gunther was – nice, when you got talking to him, but definitely strange.

Next to arrive was Joey, looking discontented. Monica let him tell her how he had done so well at an audition for an Italian cab driver, but the dumb casting director still hadn't picked him, saying he didn't convince as a cab driver or an Italian.

"I mean, hell, isn't my name enough for him?" Joey fumed.

"That's too bad, Joey," said Phoebe sympathetically. She had arrived while he was telling the story. "Maybe you should call yourself Salvatore or Vittorio." She rolled the names around her mouth appreciatively.

"Why not go the whole hog and call yourself Vito Corleone?" said Monica mischievously.

They had a laugh over that, and then Chandler arrived. He got himself a coffee and sat down beside Monica.

"We have to talk," he said quietly. "Away from these airheads, if possible."

"Okay, Chandler," she said, swallowing a lump that had unaccountably appeared in her throat. "Let's go to that table over there."

Phoebe shushed Joey when he began making some pointed comment, and looked sympathetically at Monica.

"So, what's on your mind, Chandler?" Monica said, disguising her apprehension over what was coming in a light tone.

"Look, I know I have kept bringing up this thing about you considering me boyfriend material," he said, "and I'm sorry if it's given you the wrong idea. Mon, you're like a sister to me, and all the dearer because I never had a sister. But I just don't see you as a possible girlfriend. It was my pride that was hurt, that you should seem to consider it a joke that I could conceivably be your boyfriend."

Monica sat for a moment, made temporarily speechless by the suddenness and apparent finality of it. "You … did say you'd be my backup if we were unmarried at forty," she eventually said, rather hesitantly.

"That was just … horsing around and being friendly," he said. "For heaven's sake, Monica, there's no way someone as attractive and smart and sweet as you could still be unmarried at forty."

"You tell my mother that," she said, trying to stifle a sob. She didn't want it to be like this.

"Oh hell, now I've upset you," he said in chagrin. "I'm really sorry, Monica. To be honest, if I had no one else in mind, I would be tempted to … see where we might go with it, though it would probably be a mistake. But … I do have someone else in mind."

"Rachel," Monica breathed.

He nodded. "Suddenly, she seems so attractive to me."

"Well, well, that's okay, Chandler," said Monica, her voice rising. "Because you know what? Someone else has come back into my life, and maybe I don't want you after all." She jumped up and stormed out of Central Perk, not looking back. Chandler stared after her, stunned.

"What was that about, dude?" said Joey as Chandler slowly returned to sit with him and Phoebe.

Chandler sighed. "I told her, trying to be as nice about it as possible, that I wasn't interested, because I am interested in Rachel. She didn't take it well. But" – he frowned – "she said someone else had come back into her life anyway. Who do you suppose that could be? Richard?"

Gunther came over. He looked at Chandler sympathetically. "You told her you weren't interested, I guess."

"What do you know about it?" said Chandler in a hostile manner.

"Quite a lot," said Gunther calmly. "She told me before you came in what was going on, to explain parts of last night, though a lot of it was obvious. Anyway, if you're wondering who the mystery man who's come back into her life is – I heard what she said, I think everyone in the shop did – then I can tell you: it's Pete Becker."

"Oh my God!" said Phoebe in amazement. "Then has he stopped fighting, or something?"

"She didn't tell me that," said Gunther. "He's coming in this evening, so you can find out then. Well, just thought I'd bring you up to date." He wandered away to collect some empty mugs and plates.

Chandler, Joey and Phoebe looked at each other, struggling to absorb this new development. Then Ross and Bonnie arrived, and had to be brought up to date themselves. But, to Chandler's disappointment, Rachel did not show up that lunchtime.

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Endnote: That seems a good place to stop. Plenty more to come, as you can imagine, but it's going to need thinking out, and I am short of time. Oh, and before you write to tell me how badly Monica is behaving, just remember that she is under a lot of emotional stress, and that almost everybody does or can behave badly in such a situation. Okay, she is, or was, trying not to commit herself, but I feel this is a plausible short-term response. Nobody said the Friends had to weigh up their behaviour and responses rationally and always make the best decisions.