Joey's agonizing cries could be heard all the way outside as more gun shots went off. Ross jerked roughly away from the cop who had restrained him when Joey had rushed back in. He took off full flight, determined to get in there.

"Ross! Come back here!" Rachel yelled in a panic.

Ross paid her no heed. He ran on, reaching the door within a few seconds. He threw caution to the wind, something that he had done more times in the past day than he had in his entire life, and burst through the door. He was terrified at what he might find, but at the same time desperate to know.

"Joey?" his harsh voice echoed throughout the area as he stumbled through the opening. Two pairs of hands grabbed him roughly and yanked him backwards. He fought them.

"Joey!" he shouted again. It took him a moment to focus, and the sight that greeted him made him sag into the grip of the men holding him. Tears flowed freely down his face.

Joey was seated in the middle of the floor with Chandler fully against him, his head laying on Joey's chest in a tight embrace. The last bullet luckily missed him, but behind them laid another corpse. The bullet had not only hit the criminal, it had been fatal. The drama was over.

Heavy sobs racked Chandler's shaking body, and Joey tried to stifle his own tears as he held on to Chandler with all of his strength. He looked up to see Ross, and his anguished features softened.

Realizing that he was not a threat, the cops let Ross go. He pitched forward, but managed to stay on his feet, and skidded to the ground beside his friend.

Joey sighed in relief. The extra pair of arms was exactly what he needed. They sat together for a moment, and then Joey noticed the paramedics that were flooding the room. Before they reached him, Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe darted into the room. Monica grabbed on to Chandler.

"Are you all right?" She realized what a stupid question that was as soon as she said it.

Chandler didn't respond. Now that he had calmed himself, the inevitable exhaustion had begun to set in. He was losing consciousness as his eyes began to flutter. He wasn't in pain, he was numb again to everything. His mind began to wonder into a delirious state. The only thing he knew was that Joey was alive and sitting next to him and that he was never letting go. He succumbed to the blackness that slowly surrounded him, but his hold on Joey remained strong.

"We have to get him out of here," said Monica when he didn't respond.

We're going to get you out of here and to a hospital, ok?" a paramedic said to Joey.

"Chandler first." Joey said as he looked down at the man who seemed to be holding on to him for dear life.

"I know." The paramedics gently, but quickly, peeled Chandler off of Joey and placed him on a stretcher. "I think he needs to be airlifted, he'll never make it, he's just lost so much blood and especially with that major accident a few blocks away. Joey looked up frightened as he overheard their words and watched as they rushed Chandler away.

"They're taking care of him. They're taking care of both of you. It's going to be all right. Got that?" he wasn't sure who said that but he took their words for it.

"I got it."

Joey too was then put on a stretcher. The blood loss and the overwhelming exhaustion that flooded him could not longer be ignored. He gave into it. The last thing he heard before he passed out was the soothing voices of his friends.

"You're going to be all right. We'll meet you at the hospital. Everything's going to be all right now."

---

Three Days Later

"We've got him on fluids, and we've bandaged the wounds. He's recovering from the surgeries now just fine. When he came in he had lost a lot of blood so he received blood transfusions. The bullet wound in his shoulder luckily did not cause any major problems, nor did the one to his thigh for the most part. He also received a nasty cut on his lower leg from a knife that was stitched up; that has a minor infection but nothing serious. He has some fractured ribs and a minor concussion, but there's nothing we can really do for them. He's resting comfortably now but still hasn't woken up yet. He should within the next day though, once the anesthesia wears off."

"So he's all right?" Ross asked. The urgency in his voice made the doctor smile.

"Yes. He just needs lots of rest. I'd like to keep him for a few more days for observation, but physically he'll be fine."

"Physically?" Ross asked suspiciously. "What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said. Physically he's going to be just fine. I do recommend that they both see a psychiatrist once or twice, or more if they need to. They went through a hell of an ordeal, and it would be beneficial for them to receive some counseling. There's no telling what effects a trauma like this might have."

The four of them exchanged glances.

"I see," Ross said slowly. "What about Joey?"

"He is also resting comfortably. I'm going to keep him for another night just to be safe. He's going to have trouble walking and moving in general for a couple of days. He got lucky though, if the bullet hadn't hit his hip, it would have ripped right through him. He probably wouldn't have survived that."

All four of them breathed a general sigh of relief.

"What do you advise we do for them when we get home?" Rachel asked, "Should we talk to them about it, or should we just act normal and let them come to us?"

"Well, I'd say that the sooner they get back to their normal lives the better. You have to be the judge on that, and see how they are coping with all of this. Let them come to you at first, but keep an eye out for unusual behavior. They'll probably want to talk to each other alone too, since they suffered through this together. I don't think you have anything to worry about though, you all seem so close, I mean none of you have left since they got here." he said with a laugh and then continued. "Uh, I'd say that in a week they should go back to work, unless their mental condition says otherwise, there is no reason why they can't get back to their normal lives."

"I think we can do that. I hope they'll be ok." said Monica

"I think they will. Most of the people I take care of have nothing close to the amount of support these two seem to have."

The doctor left them and they all decided to see how Joey was.

--

The next morning, Chandler finally woke up to four sets of anxious, yet relieved, eyes. He smiled as he looked up at his friends. "Hey guys." Tears streamed down their faces, but they were tears of joy. He looked around at his surroundings unsure of where he was for a moment. He then realized he was in a hospital. He was safe.

"It's so good to see your eyes," said Monica as she ran her hand through his hair and kissed his forehead.

Rachel took his hand and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I don't know really, I'm tired." he said truthfully as he thought about why he was in the hospital to begin with. At that moment all his memories from the other night came flooding back to him. The pain, the terror, the fear, guns, blood, and death. He shot up into a sitting position, his eyes wide, body tense. Nausea overwhelmed him as his sight became dizzy. "Joey. Where's Joey? Is he ok?" he asked desperately.

The four people around him, scared by his sudden outburst and brought to tears by his concern soothed him with words. They were glad that they could give him a good answer to his questions.

"He's fine, Chandler. Don't you worry about him, he's in better shape than you." said Phoebe as he took his other hand. They eased him back down to the bed so he was no longer sitting up as he breathed in a sigh of relief. He was starting to fall asleep again, but as he did he looked up at the four faces staring back down at him through half shut eyes.

"I never thought I'd see you all again," he said in a whispered voice that seemed to be somewhat to himself, "I love you guys."

"We love you to."

The four of them remained by his side as he fell asleep, Rachel and Phoebe still holding his hands, Ross and Monica still gazing down at him from the sides of his bed. They didn't care that he couldn't stay awake and talk, they were happy enough to see their friend alive and well. Something they all thought at one point, they'd never get to do again.

The Next Day

The early morning sun came through Joey's window as he woke up in his hospital room. He was getting released today. He found Ross and Rachel sitting by his bedside asleep in each others arms. He smiled as he saw the content look on their faces. He didn't want to wake them up, but he needed their help to get out of bed. He wanted to get out here as soon as possible so he could go see Chandler.

"Ross, Rachel. Guys, wake up." he called out.

"Hey Joey, morning, how are you feeling?" asked Rachel as she and Ross slowly woke up and stretched out their backs since they fell asleep in an uncomfortable position.

"I'm great," he said. He wasn't great, he was ok, but he wanted to get out of there to see Chandler. "Can you help me out of here and get me my clothes?" he asked them.

"Woah, what's the rush? Let's get a nurse in here first." said Ross.

A nurse and his doctor came in one final time to give him a checkup to make sure everything was ok before he left. They reminded him and the other two on how to take care of his wounds, and how long he should stay away from physical activity so everything could heal. Once they were gone, the three of them slowly walked over to Chandler's room where Monica and Phoebe were still sleeping. Chandler, however, was awake.

He cracked a small smile as he saw the door open and the three of them walk in. His eyes found Joey's from across the room. They would never look at each other the same again. They were no longer best friends, or "brothers," they were each others saviors.

"Hey Chandler, you just wake up?" asked Rachel.

His eyes were still on Joey's, who still stood and stared back at him. "Uh, no I've been up for awhile. Well.. a half hour." he said with a small laugh and he finally broke his gaze with Joey and turned to her. Phoebe and Monica began to wake as they heard voices.

"That's a lot longer than yesterday," she said coming over to him, "You look a lot better too."

"Well thanks, I try. I thought this new hospital gown perfectly accented my sleek figure." he joked.

Everyone gave a nervous laugh. It was nice to hear him joke. It was familiar and normal and relieving. They all feared deep down that normalcy between the six of them would never be achieved. They all sat and talked and joked about absolutely nothing for awhile. Awkward silences frequently filled the room. They all avoided the topic that was on their mind, and withheld the questions they really wanted answers too. During the conversation, Joey remained quiet, only chiming in at certain times with a word or two. He was glad that the six of them were together again, but he needed to talk to Chandler alone. He leaned over to Ross who was sitting next to him.

"Hey Ross, can you make some excuse to get everyone out of here, I need to talk to Chandler alone for a bit."

"Oh sure Joey." he said, " Hey uh guys, you want to go down to the cafeteria and grab some coffee?"

They got the hint by the look in Ross's and Joey's faces and exited the room.

"Hey."

"Hey." said Joey, "How are you?"

"I feel fine, I get out of here in two days I think."

Joey smiled, he knew that Chandler knew that he had purposely avoided answering the question. "That's great, but I asked, 'how are you?' not 'how do you feel?' There's a difference."

Chandler sobered. "I know. I'm trying not to think about it. I don't want to remember it."

Joey took his hand, "I know, me too." A silence erupted between them. Not an awkward or tense one, but a calm, content silence as they sat together holding each other's hand.

Chandler looked out not really starring at anything as he eventually began to talk. "There were six of us in there at the beginning Joe, and only the two of us came out. Do you believe that? We could have easily been the hostages that didn't." He shook his head, and shuddered at the horrific memories. "We saw four people die. Do you know how horrible that is?"

"I know, but it's nothing compared to when I thought you were dead." said Joey as he began to swell up at the memory. "God that was so awful, all I wanted to do was die."

"I'm sorry," Chandler said softly. He placed his other hand on Joey's which was already entwined with his own. "I'm so sorry."

"Sorry for what Chandler? You saved me, you saved me a million times over. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

"I think that's mutual Joe. God I wanted to kill him so badly after he shot you. I wanted to do more than just kill him." said Chandler in a passive, reminiscing voice with a hint of bitterness. He looked over at Joey, "I would have killed him if you hadn't come back." he paused as he continued to look out into space. "I can't believe you came back."

"You can't?" asked Joey quietly in a hurt, surprised voice.

Chandler didn't answer his question and continued on. "When we were in there, it was while you thought I was.. I was dead. I heard what you said." Chandler looked down now at where their hands were touching.

Joey looked confused as he tried to think. He had said a lot of things during that time, and waited for Chandler to continue.

"I heard you say that you loved me." said Chandler as a tear trickled down his face. "I thought that maybe I was dreaming it, but then I felt you kiss my forehead, and knew it wasn't a dream. And when opened my eyes, sure enough, there you were."

"Chandler.. I." Joey began but he was cut off.

"I didn't have much time to think about it then, or afterwards, but I just remember the feeling I had at that moment..." he trailed off lost in the memory of that moment. He had never felt more loved in his life than he had in that moment. Joey waited anxiously for what he was going to say next, he wasn't sure where Chandler was going with this but he hoped it was good. He really did love him.

"I love you." said Chandler quietly. "I've always loved you as a friend, I just.. I never thought of you any other way. I mean you're my best friend, you were always the one there for me... and I remember seeing them hurt you and all I wanted to do was be there for you and help you and I couldn't.. I couldn't.." he stopped talking and wiped away the tears streaming down his face with his free hand but Joey stopped him. He took Chandler's hand in his own as he used his thumb to wipe away his tears. "You have always been there for me Chandler, even when you thought you weren't."

Their eyes met. They both saw the same pain and suffering latched in them along with the same longing. Both of them knew what they wanted as they tensely stayed in their current embrace. The horrific night that they both managed to survive was fresh in their minds, the images of the other broken and beaten, the desperate attempts to save each other, the pain and the agony of watching each other suffer as they suffered themselves had all manifested into the immeasurable and hopeless need they felt for the other. They both knew that no one they knew would ever understand what they went through, but knowing that they had each other was enough for them. The emotions inside of them could no longer be contained as Joey leaned towards him and brushed Chandler's jaw with his fingers, as he gently pressed his lips against Chandler's. Chandler returned the kiss, parting his lips as it gradually grew more intense and passionate. Sensations flowed through them both as warmth creped down from their lips and spread tingling sparks that traveled straight down to their toes. They finally separated as Joey slowly sat back down, both slightly out of breath, as they looked at each other lovingly. They were still holding hands as they passed the time talking, just happy to be in each others company, knowing that they other was safe. As time wore on, Chandler eventually grew tired and fell back to sleep. Joey remained where he sat, looking down at his friend. Even now Chandler's face was deathly pale and cuts and bruises still blemished his face, but to Joey he was beautiful.

-----

The things that take place in this chapter are how I feel everything would end up. I'm sorry if this is not what you wanted to happen, but well.. it's my story. Please don't send me reviews that say what I did between the relationships was wrong.. if you want.. pretend like it didn't happen. Anyway, this will be the last chapter so please review and tell me what you thought of the story as a whole.