"Ross, oh god. What's going on?!" Monica yelled.
Ross signaled Monica with his index finger to stay quiet.
"What happened?" Ross asked now and listened to the answer the person on Chandler's phone gave him. "Ok…ok. Thank you. We'll be there ASAP." Ross cut the connection and put his phone back into his pocket slowly. Even though it only took him a few seconds Monica couldn't wait any longer.
"Ross!" she screamed. "Who was that and where is Chandler?!"
"Mon, please calm down. That was someone at the hospital. Apparently Chandler was in an accident or something. We have to go down there for more information." Ross told them.
Monica jumped up pulling Joey with her.
"What are we waiting for then? Let's go, let's go, let's GO!"
The three of them stormed into the hospital. After an agonizing long cab ride their patience was almost none existent.
"We are looking for Chandler Bing." Ross addressed the woman behind the admission desk.
"Hello to you too." She said but when she saw the looks wavering between annoyance, worry and panic the three people in front of her were throwing in her direction she hurriedly concentrated on her computer trying to find the person in question.
"Chandler Bing…Bing…oh, here he is. He is still in the OR." She said. "Looks like he needs lots of patching up surgery." She mumbled to herself but Ross heard her and prayed that Monica hadn't.
"Where can we go to wait for him? And I would like to talk to a doctor soon." Ross tried not to think about what happened to Chandler or else he would probably lose it. He wanted to be strong for Monica who by now was clutching desperately at Joey. They were both crying.
"Ok, I'll get you someone who will take you up to the OR waiting rooms and a doctor will come there to talk to you shortly." She told Ross. "Oh wait, am I right if I presume you are family?" She added.
"Yes. I'm his brother-in-law, that's his wife and his best friend." Ross pointed at Monica and Joey.
A few minutes later a nurse came and led them to a private waiting room and told them she would check if one of the doctors operating Chandler had time to talk to them.
They sat there nearly ten minutes trying not to think about what's happening when they were all startled by Ross' cell phone.
"I don't think you are allowed to leave that turned on in here." Monica stated with an emotionless voice. Ross shot her a look before answering.
"Hello…oh, Rachel…I forgot to call you and Phoebe…We're at the hospital…It's Chandler…We don't know yet…just…Rachel…just come down here. Oh, and could you tell Phoebe too?...Yeah, 2nd floor waiting room 4…Ok, bye." Ross shut off his phone after finishing the call. "Rachel is getting Phoebe and then they'll come here as fast as they can."
Monica nodded in recognition then put her head back on Joey's shoulder. She didn't know why but suddenly she felt sleepy. She blamed the worries of the last couple hours for her exhaustion and willed her thoughts to something happier. But that just made her feel worse because all her good memories included Chandler and it was the same with her future. Just that morning she had thought about it and she realized that she couldn't wait for the rest of her life. It all looked so perfect.
Perfect husband – even if the others especially Phoebe still couldn't believe Chandler could be perfect for her he was. Maybe it was her inability to put her feelings for Chandler into words that made others doubt her love sometimes. But it didn't matter to Monica and Chandler because they both knew what they meant to each other.
Perfect house – even though leaving her friends a few hours behind put a small damper on it she was 100% sure they did the right thing in buying it. Every time she pictured the house in her head she saw her future children playing happily in the large backyard. And as Ross had put it when they showed him the house a couple weeks ago, it was close enough for their parents to baby-sit but not so close that they would come over all the time.
Perfect children – because she knew that regardless if Erica gave birth to a boy or a girl the kid would be loved very much by her and by Chandler.
Monica's mind snapped back into the present and she realized that her whole future was unclear again. She could get the happy ever after she always dreamed of or it could all be taken away any moment.
Just as she started weeping again Phoebe and Rachel rushed through the glass door. When they saw the condition Monica was in they hurried right over to her. Phoebe sat down on her right side wrapping her arm around Monica's shoulder just above Joey's. Rachel kneeled down in front of her crying friend and used her left hand to rub Monica's leg in a calming manor. They both thought the worst had come true.
"What happened, Mon? Did you hear anything yet?" Rachel asked.
Just when Ross wanted to answer since Monica couldn't get her sobs under control he saw a doctor appear on the other side of the glass door. He turned towards the door but dreaded the man stepping inside the waiting room. He was sure the look on the medic's face couldn't mean good news. But before he could even think about anything to save them all from the assumedly bad news the doctor entered the room and took the few steps over to the friends.
Rachel stood up and turned around when she heard the door open behind her back and took a step aside to allow the surgeon to face the whole group.
"Mrs. Bing?" the young doctor automatically addressed Monica who just nodded her head not trusting her voice. "I'm sorry but…" The man in scrubs started, only to be getting interrupted by Monica.
"No." she whispered. "No, no, no." She shook her head not wanting to hear what she knew was coming. She buried her head at Joey's shoulder, clawing at his shirt to relieve some of her agony.
"I'm sorry." He started again, gulping down the knot in his throat. He knew that he'd have to bring news like this to bereaved a lot more often in his professional life to come. But this was only the second time for him and it still hurt him to see the grief on the faces of the patient's loved ones.
"We really did everything we could. But the injuries were just too severe." He said all the things doctors were taught to say in situations like that. But the prepared words didn't make the delivering any easier.
Joey heard the words the doctor said through some kind of fog and felt a huge pressure in his chest when they finally made sense to him. He looked down at Monica and the indescribable pain he saw on her face confirmed that he had actually heard the doctor right.
The five friends stood in front of the doctor, all of them openly crying because of their loss. Rachel and Phoebe were clutching each other trying to give and take the much needed support to handle the horrible news. Monica and Joey were standing side by side their arms thrown around the others shoulder trying to control their sobs. Ross was holding on to Monica's right hand still not able to comprehend the fact that Chandler was dead, that his brother-in-law would never again make fun of him. Of his love for dinosaurs…his inability to stay with a woman long before driving her away or…proposing. Ross was hit with the reality of his friends death and what it meant for all of them and he couldn't hold it together any longer. He freed his hand from Monica's tight grasp and sank down in the nearest chair. Bowing his head to rest it in his hands he started to cry like he never did before in his life.
The doctor wouldn't be able to stand the sight of the mourning people much longer so he hurried to say what he still needed to tell them. He hoped he could go back to his relatively safe work routine where he did his best to save his patients life trying not to get emotionally involved.
"If you want to say goodbye you can go see him now in operating room 4." He said and rushed out of the waiting room.
The friends stayed a few minutes in their places trying to compose themselves a little. They didn't know what to do until Monica broke Joey's hug.
"I want to go alone to say goodbye." She whispered, her voice sore from all the crying. The others just nodded and watched her go out of the room and turn left to follow the hallway to the OR's.
Monica felt like the corridor would go on forever but maybe that was just because she dreaded what lay at the end of her way. But even though the way seemed endless and no matter how much she feared what awaited her when she finished her walk she reached the door to the room where she knew Chandler's now lifeless body rested.
She took a deep breath and pushed the swing door open with both of her outstretched hands. As soon as she stood in the half-lit room all her strength left her and she couldn't bring herself to step closer to the operating table. It stood a few yards in front of her but she couldn't bring her eyes to focus on the body on top of the table. Her view roamed all over the room catching unimportant details to keep her mind from confirming Chandler's death.
She saw that someone had already cleaned the room cursorily. She registered the respirator, used just a few minutes ago, was already rolled back to its obvious usual place at the wall. Then she realized that the machine was used to try to save her husband and she couldn't take it any longer to be in that room without looking at him. She had to see his face for a last time. So she willed her legs to move the few steps till she stood beside the table.
She was afraid that she wouldn't even recognize him because of the accident. She didn't know where exactly Chandler's injuries were but suddenly she had an image of an unidentifiable bloody body in her mind and a new sob coursed through her.
She shook her head to get rid of the picture and took a deep breath. After a few seconds she pulled together enough willpower to look down at the love of her life.
"Oh my god." She whimpered.
TBC...
AN: Thanks for all the fantastic reviews, guys. They are always very welcome. So please review this chapter too and maybe the next part will be posted as fast as this one. Fast for me anyway. ;-)