True Love Really Doesn't Run Smoothly
Part 10: Easy Way To Cry
Disclaimer: If I owned them, would I really waste my time sitting at my computer, letting my leg go dead and listening to Brandy?
A/N: Just a small note: what happens at the end of this chapter may seem weird, but I will explain it properly next chapter. Don't leave weird reviews saying it's weird. But leave reviews! I'm confused as to the popularity of this story.
The chapter title and lyrics in the chapter are from the David Gray song Easy Way To Cry.
I also kinda stole a couple of Dr.Drake's lines from TOW Rachel's Dream, but that hadn't happened yet, and it's a different context. Plus, Joey says them, not Drake.
Dedication: To Pie, 'cause I love her. And she edited this. ;)
*****
And as I watch you leave I stand
Inside my house of straw
And everywhere I go I find
Things recollecting to my mind
How right it all could be
Could be
*****
Joey almost crashed into the wall as he veered around the corner of the building, vaulting up the stairs towards the apartment.
"Rachel!" he yelled desperately.
Turning another corner, Phoebe's apartment door came into view. Joey shuddered to halt in front of it, and rammed hard against it with his fist.
"Rachel!" he shouted.
He heard movement inside, and stood back slightly. Phoebe's head appeared around the door, just above the latch fastened to the door.
"She doesn't want to see you," said Phoebe quickly, and slammed the door shut quickly.
Joey fought the tears burning at the corners of his eyes, and kicked the door with his foot.
"Rachel! Please, don't do this!"
*****
On the other side of the door, Rachel sobbed silently into her hands. Phoebe moved away from the door and put a comforting arm around her friend.
"Rachel! It's not worth this! Please, Rachel!"
Rachel burst out into a fresh flood of tears, stuffing her head into her knees so he wouldn't hear her.
Phoebe looked uncomfortably at the door and then at Rachel. She hated being in the middle of this.
"Rachel," she said quietly, "Are you sure it's worth this? I mean, look at the state of you," she said, indicating Rachel's tear stained face and trousers.
Rachel looked up, tears glistening in her eyes. "I can't. I can't live with knowing that I let another untrustworthy man back into me. I let Ross back in, at the beach, and look what happened with that... Joey betrayed me. He kissed her. I don't think I can forgive him," she said, putting her head back into her hands.
"Rachel!" yelled Joey. "Please! I need you! I- I can't live without you," he said, quieter, his voice cracking.
She wailed uncontrollably, sobbing harder.
Joey hit the door again. "Rachel! I love you! I didn't kiss her! Please!"
Rachel sobbed into her knees, and then looked up, tears still flying down her cheeks. "Why can't I believe you?" she said as loud as she could.
The battering stopped. "Please," said Joey, more quietly. "Why would I do that? I- I love you," he said, and they heard him start to cry.
Rachel let the tears run down her cheeks. "Joey, please, don't do this to me," she said quietly, looking at the floor.
They heard Joey lean back against the door. "Well, if it hurts so much, why are you doing it?" he asked softly.
Rachel touched one of the tears on her cheek, and looked at it as it melted on her hand. "I don't have a choice."
"Yes, you do. I'm the one who doesn't have a choice, because... because I can't stop loving you."
Rachel cried even more at that. "I can't, Joey. It's too hard."
Joey cried more. "Come to the door for a minute," he said, wiping his eyes.
Rachel got up, forgetting that Phoebe was there, and walked to the door. "Why?" she asked quietly.
"Open it," he said, ignoring the question.
"But the chain's on," said Rachel.
"Leave it," he said immediately. "Just open it."
Rachel did so, looking confused. "Now what?"
"Put your back to the door, and put your hand through it."
Rachel slowly extended her hand backwards, slowly catching on. She gasped softly when Joey's hand touched hers, and enveloped it in his own.
"What are you doing?" she whispered.
"Holding your hand," he answered simply.
She smiled, letting the tears run down her cheeks as she leant against the door, clutching Joey's hand.
And he cried too.
*****
"Monica, please, go to the doctor," said Chandler through the door.
"I'm fine," she answered, but proved herself wrong immediately as Chandler heard her vomit into the toilet again.
Chandler grimaced, and pushed open the bathroom door. "Monica, I am going to book you an appointment, okay? You need to see a doctor."
"It's just some bad food," insisted Monica. "I'll be fine."
Chandler shook his head. "No, Monica, you're going to the doctor." He walked out and took the phone from the in-table. He tapped in the number and held the phone to his ear. "Yes, this is Chandler Bing... I'd like to book an appointment for my wife, Monica.... this afternoon, preferably. 3:00? That's fine. Yes, I'll make sure she's there. Okay, thank you." He put the phone down again. "3 o'clock, Monica!" he yelled.
"I don't need-" she said, and vomited again.
Chandler sighed. "Are you sure you wanna go to Phoebe's today? You're not well," he said concernedly.
Monica sat up. "I have to go. Someone needs to cheer up those gloomy guts over there."
"I'll go," offered Chandler.
"What, and give some of your 'great advice'? Isn't it your advice that led Rachel to do this anyway?"
Chandler swallowed. "Yeah.... you go."
Monica smiled. "Thank you," she said, before vomiting again.
*****
Ross groaned as a knock came upon the door. He pushed himself up to answer it, knocking his coat onto the floor.
He pulled the door open, and smiled weakly when he saw Carol standing there.
"Hey," he said. "Why are you here?"
She smiled, and walked in. "I talked to Monica, and she told me what's going on with you."
Ross looked at the floor. "Oh."
"Ross, this isn't going to help you!" she exclaimed, hanging her coat up. "What good is moping going to do? You moped over Rachel for over a year, and what good did that do you? It wasn't you who told Rachel, it was Chandler. What are you going to do, wait for Chandler to fix things? He's the worst at everything!" She sat down next to a dazed Ross. "Ross, if you want Phoebe, you're gonna have to do something yourself."
Ross stared at her. "Like- like what?"
Carol waved her arms about. "I don't know! Buy her presents! Give her flowers! Let her win at a poker game!" she said desperately, remembering an incident she had heard about years ago.
Ross' dazed face suddenly lit up, and he sat forward. "What?" he said.
Carol looked confused. "What?"
"What was the last thing you said?"
Carol frowned. "Erm.... let her win at a poker game?"
Ross smiled. "Thanks, Carol," he said. "This was fun." He walked into his bedroom, leaving a rather confused Carol on the couch.
*****
Chandler knocked lightly on the door of #19 before entering. Joey swung around in his chair, a bowl of cereal in his hand.
"Hey," he said, swinging back to the TV.
Chandler smiled. "What are you doing?" he asked.
Joey shrugged. "Just watching cartoons... eating breakfast..."
"It's two o'clock in the afternoon, Joe."
Joey frowned. "What?" He looked at the clock. "Aw, man, I missed Die Hard!"
Chandler smiled. "Joey, why aren't you at work?"
Joey shrugged. "I called in sick."
"Why?"
Joey looked at him. "'Cause I'm sick."
"What's wrong with you?" asked Chandler.
"Stomach ache," answered Joey flatly.
Chandler crossed his arms. "You expect me to believe that?" he said scornfully.
"You don't have to believe me, but that's the truth," said Joey, staring intently at the TV.
Chandler knelt down next to Joey, pulled the remote out of his fingers, and turned off the television. "Joey," he said, "I know this time is hard for you, and I know you miss Rachel..... but you have to pull yourself together. You have to stay up, you have to go to work, or you'll lose your job, and then everything in your life will just drop."
Joey stared at him. "I can't live without her, Chandler. She IS my life." he felt tears burning at his eyes again.
"I know," said Chandler, smiling ruefully. "I know how hard it must be. When I thought I'd lost Monica to Richard, I felt like... I felt awful. But you have to let her go, if that's what she wants. And you need to keep the rest of your life, or you'll just be in an even worse position. We're all here for you, you know that, man?" he said, smiling.
Joey smiled weakly. "I know. And I'll try. It's just.... I miss her. I miss her so much."
*****
Chandler turned the corner, driving a little faster than he should be, and sped down the road to the doctor's, driving into the first available space at the back of the building.
"Late, late, late," he murmured to himself, walking quickly around to the front of the building. As he neared the turn in the path, he heard shouting, and frowned, speeding up to a run as he turned the corner.
In the front bay of the hospital lay an ambulance, and a crowd had gathered in front of the hospital doors. Chandler ran over, and asked a woman standing nearby, "What's going on?"
She looked around. "I don't know. There's some sort of emergency with a patient, and we could hear the screams from out here. We're waiting for them to bring her out."
Chandler stood up as tall as he could to see over people's heads. He heard someone at the front yell "They're coming!"
Chandler was confused as to why there was such a crowd, but he kept his tall stance and watched as the ambulance backed out, carrying a stretcher. The screams the woman had talked of became louder, and Chandler saw a woman moving painfully upon the stretcher.
His eyes widened when he realised who it was. "Monica!" he yelled in horror.
She looked over at him, pain on every inch of her face, and she disappeared into the ambulance. Chandler fought his way through the crowd, yelling "Monica!" at the top of his voice.
The doors of the ambulance were beginning to close as Chandler got through. He shouted at them, but they frowned and shut the doors. Chandler yelled at them as the ambulance drove off, sirens wailing.
Chandler stood stunned in the middle of the bay, scared for his wife's life.
Part 10: Easy Way To Cry
Disclaimer: If I owned them, would I really waste my time sitting at my computer, letting my leg go dead and listening to Brandy?
A/N: Just a small note: what happens at the end of this chapter may seem weird, but I will explain it properly next chapter. Don't leave weird reviews saying it's weird. But leave reviews! I'm confused as to the popularity of this story.
The chapter title and lyrics in the chapter are from the David Gray song Easy Way To Cry.
I also kinda stole a couple of Dr.Drake's lines from TOW Rachel's Dream, but that hadn't happened yet, and it's a different context. Plus, Joey says them, not Drake.
Dedication: To Pie, 'cause I love her. And she edited this. ;)
*****
And as I watch you leave I stand
Inside my house of straw
And everywhere I go I find
Things recollecting to my mind
How right it all could be
Could be
*****
Joey almost crashed into the wall as he veered around the corner of the building, vaulting up the stairs towards the apartment.
"Rachel!" he yelled desperately.
Turning another corner, Phoebe's apartment door came into view. Joey shuddered to halt in front of it, and rammed hard against it with his fist.
"Rachel!" he shouted.
He heard movement inside, and stood back slightly. Phoebe's head appeared around the door, just above the latch fastened to the door.
"She doesn't want to see you," said Phoebe quickly, and slammed the door shut quickly.
Joey fought the tears burning at the corners of his eyes, and kicked the door with his foot.
"Rachel! Please, don't do this!"
*****
On the other side of the door, Rachel sobbed silently into her hands. Phoebe moved away from the door and put a comforting arm around her friend.
"Rachel! It's not worth this! Please, Rachel!"
Rachel burst out into a fresh flood of tears, stuffing her head into her knees so he wouldn't hear her.
Phoebe looked uncomfortably at the door and then at Rachel. She hated being in the middle of this.
"Rachel," she said quietly, "Are you sure it's worth this? I mean, look at the state of you," she said, indicating Rachel's tear stained face and trousers.
Rachel looked up, tears glistening in her eyes. "I can't. I can't live with knowing that I let another untrustworthy man back into me. I let Ross back in, at the beach, and look what happened with that... Joey betrayed me. He kissed her. I don't think I can forgive him," she said, putting her head back into her hands.
"Rachel!" yelled Joey. "Please! I need you! I- I can't live without you," he said, quieter, his voice cracking.
She wailed uncontrollably, sobbing harder.
Joey hit the door again. "Rachel! I love you! I didn't kiss her! Please!"
Rachel sobbed into her knees, and then looked up, tears still flying down her cheeks. "Why can't I believe you?" she said as loud as she could.
The battering stopped. "Please," said Joey, more quietly. "Why would I do that? I- I love you," he said, and they heard him start to cry.
Rachel let the tears run down her cheeks. "Joey, please, don't do this to me," she said quietly, looking at the floor.
They heard Joey lean back against the door. "Well, if it hurts so much, why are you doing it?" he asked softly.
Rachel touched one of the tears on her cheek, and looked at it as it melted on her hand. "I don't have a choice."
"Yes, you do. I'm the one who doesn't have a choice, because... because I can't stop loving you."
Rachel cried even more at that. "I can't, Joey. It's too hard."
Joey cried more. "Come to the door for a minute," he said, wiping his eyes.
Rachel got up, forgetting that Phoebe was there, and walked to the door. "Why?" she asked quietly.
"Open it," he said, ignoring the question.
"But the chain's on," said Rachel.
"Leave it," he said immediately. "Just open it."
Rachel did so, looking confused. "Now what?"
"Put your back to the door, and put your hand through it."
Rachel slowly extended her hand backwards, slowly catching on. She gasped softly when Joey's hand touched hers, and enveloped it in his own.
"What are you doing?" she whispered.
"Holding your hand," he answered simply.
She smiled, letting the tears run down her cheeks as she leant against the door, clutching Joey's hand.
And he cried too.
*****
"Monica, please, go to the doctor," said Chandler through the door.
"I'm fine," she answered, but proved herself wrong immediately as Chandler heard her vomit into the toilet again.
Chandler grimaced, and pushed open the bathroom door. "Monica, I am going to book you an appointment, okay? You need to see a doctor."
"It's just some bad food," insisted Monica. "I'll be fine."
Chandler shook his head. "No, Monica, you're going to the doctor." He walked out and took the phone from the in-table. He tapped in the number and held the phone to his ear. "Yes, this is Chandler Bing... I'd like to book an appointment for my wife, Monica.... this afternoon, preferably. 3:00? That's fine. Yes, I'll make sure she's there. Okay, thank you." He put the phone down again. "3 o'clock, Monica!" he yelled.
"I don't need-" she said, and vomited again.
Chandler sighed. "Are you sure you wanna go to Phoebe's today? You're not well," he said concernedly.
Monica sat up. "I have to go. Someone needs to cheer up those gloomy guts over there."
"I'll go," offered Chandler.
"What, and give some of your 'great advice'? Isn't it your advice that led Rachel to do this anyway?"
Chandler swallowed. "Yeah.... you go."
Monica smiled. "Thank you," she said, before vomiting again.
*****
Ross groaned as a knock came upon the door. He pushed himself up to answer it, knocking his coat onto the floor.
He pulled the door open, and smiled weakly when he saw Carol standing there.
"Hey," he said. "Why are you here?"
She smiled, and walked in. "I talked to Monica, and she told me what's going on with you."
Ross looked at the floor. "Oh."
"Ross, this isn't going to help you!" she exclaimed, hanging her coat up. "What good is moping going to do? You moped over Rachel for over a year, and what good did that do you? It wasn't you who told Rachel, it was Chandler. What are you going to do, wait for Chandler to fix things? He's the worst at everything!" She sat down next to a dazed Ross. "Ross, if you want Phoebe, you're gonna have to do something yourself."
Ross stared at her. "Like- like what?"
Carol waved her arms about. "I don't know! Buy her presents! Give her flowers! Let her win at a poker game!" she said desperately, remembering an incident she had heard about years ago.
Ross' dazed face suddenly lit up, and he sat forward. "What?" he said.
Carol looked confused. "What?"
"What was the last thing you said?"
Carol frowned. "Erm.... let her win at a poker game?"
Ross smiled. "Thanks, Carol," he said. "This was fun." He walked into his bedroom, leaving a rather confused Carol on the couch.
*****
Chandler knocked lightly on the door of #19 before entering. Joey swung around in his chair, a bowl of cereal in his hand.
"Hey," he said, swinging back to the TV.
Chandler smiled. "What are you doing?" he asked.
Joey shrugged. "Just watching cartoons... eating breakfast..."
"It's two o'clock in the afternoon, Joe."
Joey frowned. "What?" He looked at the clock. "Aw, man, I missed Die Hard!"
Chandler smiled. "Joey, why aren't you at work?"
Joey shrugged. "I called in sick."
"Why?"
Joey looked at him. "'Cause I'm sick."
"What's wrong with you?" asked Chandler.
"Stomach ache," answered Joey flatly.
Chandler crossed his arms. "You expect me to believe that?" he said scornfully.
"You don't have to believe me, but that's the truth," said Joey, staring intently at the TV.
Chandler knelt down next to Joey, pulled the remote out of his fingers, and turned off the television. "Joey," he said, "I know this time is hard for you, and I know you miss Rachel..... but you have to pull yourself together. You have to stay up, you have to go to work, or you'll lose your job, and then everything in your life will just drop."
Joey stared at him. "I can't live without her, Chandler. She IS my life." he felt tears burning at his eyes again.
"I know," said Chandler, smiling ruefully. "I know how hard it must be. When I thought I'd lost Monica to Richard, I felt like... I felt awful. But you have to let her go, if that's what she wants. And you need to keep the rest of your life, or you'll just be in an even worse position. We're all here for you, you know that, man?" he said, smiling.
Joey smiled weakly. "I know. And I'll try. It's just.... I miss her. I miss her so much."
*****
Chandler turned the corner, driving a little faster than he should be, and sped down the road to the doctor's, driving into the first available space at the back of the building.
"Late, late, late," he murmured to himself, walking quickly around to the front of the building. As he neared the turn in the path, he heard shouting, and frowned, speeding up to a run as he turned the corner.
In the front bay of the hospital lay an ambulance, and a crowd had gathered in front of the hospital doors. Chandler ran over, and asked a woman standing nearby, "What's going on?"
She looked around. "I don't know. There's some sort of emergency with a patient, and we could hear the screams from out here. We're waiting for them to bring her out."
Chandler stood up as tall as he could to see over people's heads. He heard someone at the front yell "They're coming!"
Chandler was confused as to why there was such a crowd, but he kept his tall stance and watched as the ambulance backed out, carrying a stretcher. The screams the woman had talked of became louder, and Chandler saw a woman moving painfully upon the stretcher.
His eyes widened when he realised who it was. "Monica!" he yelled in horror.
She looked over at him, pain on every inch of her face, and she disappeared into the ambulance. Chandler fought his way through the crowd, yelling "Monica!" at the top of his voice.
The doors of the ambulance were beginning to close as Chandler got through. He shouted at them, but they frowned and shut the doors. Chandler yelled at them as the ambulance drove off, sirens wailing.
Chandler stood stunned in the middle of the bay, scared for his wife's life.