Hi! :-) Thanks for your nice reviews. I appreciate them very much!! I thought of a little more, so I decided to add on to the scene. I'm still not exactly sure where I'm going with this, but if more comes to me, I'll post it. Sorry for the short scenes, but I'm trying to see if I can really write this and make it believable and enjoyable. :-)
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(Continuation of the scene in Heckles' apartment between Chandler and Monica.)
"That's just it, Mon. You can't help me. Not with this. No one can."
He looked down at her hands still on his leg, and with a wan smile, he removed them.
"I'd better go," he said, standing up. "I don't want the others to see me like this."
I didn't want you to see me like this either, he added silently.
"There must be something I can do," Monica said, following him closely out the door. "I can bake your favorite cookies, brownies, a cake or a pie. I can cook you a delicious seven-course meal. Whatever you want, Chandler. Just tell me, and I'll do it."
Chandler stopped. Despite how low he felt, Monica's generous spirit brought a small smile to his lips.
"You, more than anyone else, know that food doesn't solve anything."
"I know," she said, her tone slightly defensive because she felt so utterly helpless, "but you have to eat. Maybe one of my home-cooked meals will make you feel better. It couldn't hurt to try."
"I appreciate the offer," Chandler said, his voice sincere. "But I'm going to have to pass. Thanks again, Monica. You're a great friend."
And in that moment, as the two of them stood in the hallway between their apartments, the overwhelming truth hit Monica square in the eye. Why had she never realized it before? She didn't want to be friends with Chandler. No. What she wanted was to be more than friends with him. Much more. But in his current state of mind, could she convince him that maybe what, or rather whom, he needed in his life was standing right in front of him? And given what she knew about the way he thought his future was so bleak and without hope, was she willing to take the risk?