Thanks for the reviews so far. I'm finding this fic very difficult to write, compared to my other two, especially as I've never really thought of a C/R coupling before. It's good though. I like a challenge. I hope you're enjoying this fic, it's probably slightly more in-depth than my others. Again, I'll try not to rush this one, so it'll stick around for a while. Lilian xxx
"When will they be here?" Phoebe asked Joey quietly, as they sat in his apartment. Ross was in the bathroom, and hadn't really spoken to the others since the news of Monica's death had reached them.
"His plane landed about an hour ago," Joey said. "I'm guessing pretty soon. They've probably got a lot to talk about. Chandler will be devastated."
Phoebe nodded, trying to understand how Chandler would be feeling. She knew that if she was in his position she'd be very confused. "He still loved her, didn't he?" she said sadly. Not waiting for an answer, thinking of it as a hypothetical question, she sighed, before murmuring "Poor Chandler."
They heard movement from the bathroom and looked towards the door as Ross wandered out, seemingly in a daze. "You've run out of toothpaste, Joe," Ross said, as if lack of toothpaste was the only thing he should be worrying about.
Joey was confused. "Why are you looking at my supply of toothpaste, Ross?" he asked worriedly.
"Well, no one else seems to care. It's the kind of thing that..." Ross stopped, looking tired all of a sudden. "The kind of thing that Monica would worry about," he finished, before sitting down next to Phoebe. She turned to look at Joey, biting her lip. "Maybe he'll feel better when Chandler comes home," she mouthed at him.
Joey shrugged, not getting what Phoebe was saying. Phoebe sighed loudly and gave up. She missed Chandler, especially now. Chandler was the only one who ever teased her, which she enjoyed, and the only one who even tried to understand her problems that she had. Ross would tease her, but in a not-so-friendly way, and Joey just didn't even understand what she was saying. Chandler made her laugh. Joey made her laugh, but in a different way. She missed Chandler's wittiness, his ability to make anyone smile no matter what was wrong, though, she thought to herself, it would take a miracle to get Ross to smile. And Chandler would be pretty depressed himself.
She got up to make herself some coffee and as she did, there was a knock at the door. Surprised, Phoebe went to answer it, as no one ever knocked at the door. Other friends they had, had learnt to just walk in. If someone was in, the door would be unlocked.
"Who is it?" she called before opening the door. Not hearing an answer, she shrugged and went to open it. She paused for a second, then smiled widely as she saw her friend who she hadn't seen for over two years.
"Chandler!" she squealed and hugged him, as he dropped his suitcase and hugged her back.
She looked up, her arms still round him, and saw Rachel standing behind him. It was obvious that she had been crying, as her eyes were red, but she smiled weakly at Phoebe and picked up Chandlers suitcase for him. He turned to get it himself, saw she already had it, shrugged and entered the apartment.
"Hey man!" Joey called from the couch. "How's it going?"
Chandler tried not to smile at Joey's question, which seemed a little wrong in the circumstances. "I'm ok Joe," he said, and then looked at Ross, a little worried. "Hi Ross," he said gently.
Ross looked up, seeming to only just notice him, and stood up to give him a hug. "Chandler," he said, trying to be enthusiastic. "Good to see you."
Chandler looked from person to person, and gave a small smile to Rachel, trying to reassure her that he wasn't mad at her. He was just a little annoyed that if it wasn't for her, all this might not have happened. He just wanted to think about Monica on the ride home, as he hadn't really let himself think about her, and a part of him hated Rachel for those few minutes. There was something about her, and he wasn't sure what, but he knew he didn't want to let himself grow too close to her.
Rachel felt a wave of relief rush through her. She had seen the smile, and she felt reassured. Chandler didn't hate her. He was just confused as to how he felt. Finding out that the woman he loved might not have had to die was probably a horrible thing to realise, and he was confused of how to feel about Rachel. That's all it was. She smiled to herself, and tried to cheer people up.
"Shall we go to the coffee house?" she suggested, not knowing what people's feelings on it would be. It might bring up painful memories, but Chandler and Joey seemed enthusiastic about this idea. Phoebe nodded in agreement. Ross shrugged, but got up, as if to join them.
"I think that's a good idea," Chandler admitted. "I miss Gunther," he joked.
"Ahh, and he's got a new worker with him now. Someone called... Cookie?" Phoebe asked innocently. Rachel grinned. "Her name's Candy," she told Chandler. "She's got a brain the size of a pea, but she seems to be able to serve coffee better than I ever did."
"And legs that go on for... Never mind," Joey finished, seeing the glares from Phoebe and Rachel. Chandler grinned, feeling at home already. For the first time, he wondered whether moving to Tulsa had been the right decision for him. His friends seemed ready to welcome him back, and it felt right. And now Monica wasn't around...
He felt guilty suddenly. He wasn't sure how he felt about her now, but he was sure he would work it out on the day of the funeral. Rachel had mentioned quietly, when they were nearing the appartments, that the funeral was in a weeks time, and Chandler had grunted in reply. He tried not to think about it.
"So, shall we go?" Ross asked impatiently. Phoebe noted happily that Ross seemed to have cheered up since seeing his best friend.
"Yes, lets," Chandler said. "I can sort out my stuff when we return... incidentally, where am I staying?"
"Well, as your stuff's here, you can stay here," Joey said. "The couch pulls out into a bed, so..."
Chandler nodded. "OK," he said.
"Rachel did offer to go and stay with Ross while you were here, but she can't really move all of Emma's stuff. Believe me, she's gonna need it all," Joey said, still amazed at how much food and how many diapers Emma got through.
"Emma!" Chandler exclaimed. "I haven't seen her for... well, since she was born. How is she?"
"She's asleep in my room at the moment," Rachel said. "She's 30 months old now, and she's so big! You'll be surprised," Rachel said. "We'd better go get her Ross, I'm not leaving her on her own."
Ross nodded. His whole face seemed so much brighter now that Chandler had arrived. "Do you want the pram?" he asked.
"No, it's only downstairs, I can carry her," Rachel said. "She can walk a little bit now, but not enough. She needs carrying more often than not," she informed Chandler.
She went into the bedroom to get her daughter, and when she brought her out Chandler gasped. Emma was so beautiful, and she had grown, Rachel was right. He couldn't believe that this little girl with short blonde hair was the tiny baby he had seen just weeks before he left New York.
"Rachel... she's gorgeous," Chandler said, in awe. "She's... she's got your nose," he said, winking at her. Rachel smiled. "Original or new-and-improved?" she asked.
"Oh, original, of course," he said, and waved idiotically at Emma. "Hey Emma, I'm your..." He paused, not really knowing who he was. In a way, he was her almost-uncle, but he didn't know whether he should call himself an uncle.
"It's your Uncle Chandler, Emz," Ross said quickly, sensing Chandlers discomfort. Chandler smiled at him thankfully, and Rachel offered Emma to him to hold. Chandler was a little worried, not having much experience with children, but took Emma from Rachel and found he was quite comfortable holding her. Joey and Phoebe felt a little bit emotional. Now Chandler was home, their lives felt more normal again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"We've really missed you Chandler," Ross said honestly, as they both stood at the counter to order some coffee. "Are you planning to move back?" He knew that perhaps it was a silly question to ask, but the four of them had all secretly wondered it.
Chandler turned to look at Ross, with sadness in his eyes. "You know what, Ross?" he said. "I knew that someone would ask me that if I came to visit. And I dreaded it. I was happy in Tulsa, and I didn't want to be asked, or forced, to move back-"
"No one's forcing you to move back-"
"But," continued Chandler, interrupting Ross's interruption, "Now I'm back... I dunno. It feels right, coming home now, but I have friends in Tulsa, and... I dunno. It's confusing. I'll really have to give it some thought. My work has given me a really nice holiday. In the two years I've worked there I've never used up my holiday time-4 weeks a year-and so they've kinda given it to me in one lump sum. They probably feel sorry for me."
"Well, that's good," Ross said eagerly. He really wanted Chandler to move back. They'd been friends for so long, and he really missed him. The rest of their group hadn't split up or moved away, and Ross thought it was an ideal time to move back, when he needed his friends the most.
Chandler nodded, and opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by a tall blonde waitress at the counter. "Hey Ross," she said, having learnt the names of the four friends already. "Haven't seen you for a few days. Something happened?"
Ross looked distraught suddenly. He'd managed to erase from his mind what had happened but now it all came flooding back. "Yeah... my sister, she died," Ross said, stuttering a little.
Gunther was standing nearby and saw Chandler, and what appeared to be a crying Ross. He rushed over to say hi to Chandler, and fought the urge to ask where he had been. "You ok Ross?" he asked, worried.
Chandler realised Ross wasn't going to be able to say much, so spoke for him. "Yeah, Monica died a few days ago," he explained. Gunther looked horrified. "Ross's sister," Chandler explained to the blonde waitress.
"And your fiancée... Chandler I'm so sorry," Gunther said.
"Yeh, well, that didn't last long. She left me at the wedding," Chandler said. Gunther nodded, already knowing this.
"I'm sorry," Gunther said sadly. Relations with the four friends hadn't been so good in the past couple of years. Whenever they did come in, they all sat in a quiet trance, sipping their coffee and not talking to anyone other than each other. Gunther didn't know what had happened, apart from that Monica had left Chandler. He had guessed that Chandler had moved away, but wasn't sure.
Ross tried to calm down. Chandler looked at the woman he presumed was Candy, and smiled. "Five coffees please," he said, and then guided Ross back to "their" couch, in the coffee house, where they had always sat for the past ten years.
"You saw Candy, huh?" Joey asked Chandler. Chandler nodded.
"Yeh, she seemed nice enough," Chandler replied, but didn't say anything else. She was a very attractive young girl. He guessed she was about 20, possibly 21, and he could see what Joey meant about her legs. But he forgot about her for a few minutes as he dealt with Ross. When she brought their drinks over, Rachel sorted them out as Chandler was comforting his friend.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Is your friend ok?" Candy asked Chandler sympathetically. A couple of hours had passed and everyone except Chandler had gone upstairs. Chandler said he wanted to hang around and see a few other people who he knew, and who he hadn't seen for a while.
"Yeh. He's going through a tough time, you know, what with his sister dying," Chandler said, and realised how stupid he sounded as soon as the sentence had left his mouth. He shrugged, smiling at her. He didn't think she was stupid. From what she'd said to him that day, she seemed very intelligent.
"And what about you? You were in love with her," Candy said, not one to shy away from the truth. She was quite blunt, and Chandler admired that. So many people were a little nervous around him when Monica left him, and didn't really know what to say that wouldn't upset him. It was strange, but he could almost see himself in Candy. He preferred to be blunt and honest, and clear cut.
"Yeah, I was," he said sadly. "But she let me down. She didn't love me. Well," he corrected himself. "She thought she didn't love me. It seems towards the end, she was wondering whether she'd made the right choice, leaving me."
"I don't know how anyone could leave you," Candy said sweetly. "You seem so nice, and I've only just met you."
Chandler was flattered. "Thanks," he said, after a moments silence. "You've boosted my self-confidence somewhat."
"That's what I'm here for," Candy joked. "Now maybe you'll buy more coffee."
"And maybe you'll work, instead of chatting up the customers," Gunther commented as he walked past. Candy blushed, but Chandler grinned. "I have kind of taken up your time," he said.
"Wait," she said, as Chandler prepared to leave. "Could I... would you mind if we met up sometime? I... I'm not usually like this, but, I really like you."
Chandler was stunned, and not completely sure that he had head right. "Excuse me?" he asked.
"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," Candy said, going even more red.
"No, no, you didn't, I just wasn't sure I heard you correctly," he explained. "That would be great. Why don't I take your number or..."
"Sure," Candy said, smiling widely. She wrote it down for him on a napkin, and he smiled, before turning to go and see his friends. He saw Rachel standing in the doorway. She'd come downstairs to look for him, and had heard part of his conversation with the waitress. "Hey Rache. OK?" he asked.
"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine," she said, in a slight daze as he walked past her, and she followed him back upstairs. "What were you talking to Candy about?"
Chandler turned as they walked, still smiling. "She seemed to like me. She's asked if we can meet up sometime," he told her proudly.
Rachel nodded. "That's, that's great," she said, but she sounded unsure. Chandler noted it, and stopped for a minute. "What's wrong with that?"
Rachel shrugged. "Well, you know, it's just... a little sudden, I guess." She saw the look in Chandler's eye, and decided to carry on regardless. "I just... I just thought that cos Monica's funeral is next week, I just thought you wouldn't be..."
Chandler felt quite angry. "Rachel, she left me for another guy two years ago! I haven't dated since. I think I've left it long enough, don't you? I mean, it's not as if someone I was with has just died. We broke up ages ago," he repeated, and Rachel realised she'd angered him for the second time that day.
"Look, Chandler, I didn't mean to be like that, I think it's a great-"
Chandler coughed, interrupting her. "OK, Rache, I'm sorry. You were just worried I guess. Look, it's no big deal. I've just agreed to meet up with her, ok?"
Rachel nodded. "OK," she said, but with sadness tinting her voice. He hugged her before walking off, leaving her standing alone. She couldn't tell him the real reason why she was upset. It wasn't right. Not yet anyway.
Hey, how was that? I'm trying really hard with this fic, but please, if you have any problems with it, tell me and I will correct them, or try to work on them. I know this is kinda slow right now, but if I wasn't slow then I'd be going too fast, and we don't want that... anyway, please review! xXx