At your side

AN: I'm writing this story because of a fanfic contest on FB. I love Monica and Chandler, therefore decided to take part in the Merge contest, even though I don't usually write fanfiction. This revolves around The One in Vegas, but different of course. How would things have gone if Chandler had really left instead of just making a dramatic scene?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything even remotely related to Friends or any of the actors.

He felt his eyes weaken and closed them for a short moment before opening them again, frustrated that he couldn't fight the urge to sleep. He'd been awake for nearly 24 hours now and this second flight of the day was getting to him. He looked around and saw that there were many empty seats until his gaze saw the seat next to him. She wasn't there.

Of course she's not there, you left her there, he thought, mentally slapping himself again.

He was still sure he'd done the right thing, but her not being there was painful nonetheless. Checking his watch for the millionth time that night, the plane would be flying over New York soon and he would be home. Home...he'd always found it a funny thing to say. When he was younger, he'd never really had a home, never found his place in the crazy circus act that was his family. But as he grew older, he'd found a good rythym to live by and he had his 5 best friends, who meant so much to him.

And then there was Monica...She'd been his best friend for so many years and then that one night in London changed all of it. It changed the way he looked at her, it changed the way he felt about "real" relationships, it changed his fear of commitment but most of all, it had changed him. Never having experienced something so right before, he was starting to get convinced they were soulmates, meant to be best friends and then fall in love. How could it not be destined? When she was at his side, there was nothing he couldn't do and he felt happier than ever.

This trip to Las Vegas was supposed to be the most amazing and romantic thing for both of them. And the fact that everyone had suddenly decided to join them, even though it was their anniversary, hadn't been able to put away the huge grin that was plastered on his face all the time. It would've been a great weekend...only it had ended short. With Chandler leaving Las Vegas and Monica behind about 4 hours ago.

And for what? he thought bitterly. A stupid fight over her stupid ex-boyfriend.

The fight had been pretty big. It had started on the plane, continued in the hotel and resulted in Chandler being up in their room the entire time, sulking. He knew he shouldn't have cared so much about the lunch date she'd had with him. He wished he hadn't found out about it from Phoebe though, Monica should've told him. But that doesn't change the fact that he probably would've been upset either way. Monica just didn't understand, this wasn't any ex-boyfriend they were talking about, it was Richard for crying out loud.

Richard...the man who'd stolen Monica's heart even when no one had seen it coming. Ignoring all the disapproving looks and the big age difference, they'd stayed together for awhile and Chandler had never seen Monica happier than when she was with him. Or more depressed when they broke up. She could've had lunch with Pete, Ethan, Paul the stupid wine guy for all he cared...but Richard? And the fact that she didn't tell him had only confirmed his doubts even more.

He woke up from his reverie when he felt the plane touch the ground and everyone started to take their bags and coats from the overhead compartments. He sighed upon realising there'd be no one waiting to welcome him home except an empty apartment. Walking over to baggage claim, he wondered what Monica would be doing right now. He'd left with her tugging on his sleeve, insisting that they talk this through, because it was too silly to fight over. But he hadn't listened to anything she said and left anyway.

She reached over to find her purse and paid the cab driver before struggling to get her bags out of the car. It had started to rain and the city was still covered in darkness at this early hour, she didn't see many people walking around. She entered her apartment building and climbed the flights of stairs until she stood in front of his door. She didn't even look at her apartment first, didn't think about leaving her bags there or freshen up a bit, she just entered his apartment and stopped at his closed door. She could hear him snoring slightly in his sleep but gave a faint knock before going in anyway.

He was sprawled about as if he'd gotten home, dropped everything and then himself on the bed and that was it. Monica smiled when she thought that it was probably exactly what he had done. He looked so peaceful that she almost caved and went back to her apartment, but instead, she sat herself down on the side of the bed so that she was now facing him. His lips were parted and his face looked a little tear-stained, though she wasn't sure. She was completely overcome with a guilty feeling for putting him through this mess. It shouldn't have been this way, over stupid Richard who didn't even mean anything to her anymore. Not since Chandler had proven to her that it could be so much better.

I should've really said this to him before I let him leave Vegas, she thought while touching his soft hair.

She noticed he was still wearing his clothes, and she fought the impulse to clean up in his room where everything was thrown about in messy piles. He must've been exhausted as was she. It had been a long day...so it was time to call it a night. She started carressing his cheek until she felt him stir and saw his eyes flutter. She took a deep breath and smiled at him.

"Monica?" he mumbled, entirely oblivious to where they were. Las Vegas, New York, somewhere in between...he didn't know anymore. He tried to sit up and felt his body disagreeing for not being granted enough rest. Rubbing his eyes, he learned that he hadn't been dreaming, she was still sitting there in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned with a husky voice.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" She turned her head to meet his gaze and saw the hurt in his eyes. "You honestly didn't expect me to stay in Las Vegas and party up while you were on your way back home right?" She twisted the ring on her right hand, around and around...she always did when she was nervous and it didn't go unnoticed by Chandler.

"Look," she continued, "I just thought that we needed to get this over with, talk it through. I was hoping we could've done that in Vegas, but you'd obviously made up your mind." She paused for a second while she looked at her hands again. "So I raced back inside and upstairs to our room to pack my bag...but I was too late to catch the same flight you were on, so I had to wait 3 hours for the next one."

"Oh...right" God he hated this, now he didn't even know what to say anymore? "Look, Monica...I didn't really mean to leave like that. Well...I did, but I act on impulse, so maybe I didn't really think it through completely before...making a dramatic scene and possibly a fool of myself." He laughed a little uncomfortably before putting his doubts on the table.

She took his hands in hers and, encouraged by the fact that he wasn't pulling back, continued: "Before you apologize for running out like that or something...I want to say that I'm sorry. I should have never..." She was cut off by Chandler.

"No, I shouldn't have freaked out like that, I could've actually tried an adult approach but...I shouldn't have forbidden you to never see Richard again. That was kind of a stupid thing to say in the heat of the moment. You know I hate fighting, especially with you."

"Chandler...I was going to say I was sorry for lying to you. I should've told you the truth and said that I had lunch with him, because it really isn't a big deal. So I don't even know why I lied about it in the first place. I knew you'd be upset, although your worries are unfounded. But I'm not sorry for actually having lunch with him."

Chandler released her hands and looked the other way, but she turned him back around and forced him to look at her. She put her hands on his knees, squeezing them a little.

"Listen to me. I'm not sorry... because I'm not going to turn my back and pretend I don't know him when I see him. I still treat Richard with respect and maybe even...as a friend. You need to know that that's it. Sweetie, why can't you see that?" Her blue eyes sparkled as she awaited his answer, her concern evident in her voice.

Chandler sighed and ran a hand through his hair that was already messed up from tossing and turning in his sleep. He swallowed and looked up.

"Because it's Richard, Mon." He said, barily over a whisper. "It's the guy you fell head over heels in love with, the guy you broke up with only because he didn't want any more children, the guy that haunted your mind for the following three months until you got back together briefly. It's not just me getting jealous over some guy...it's me getting jealous over the love of your life." He looked at his hands again, afraid to hear what her next words would be. There was a long pause before the words left her mouth.

"Chandler...the love of my life...is sitting in front of me." He raised his head at this remark and he could actually feel something tremble deep inside of him. He chose to ignore it for the time being and let her go on a little more. "Do you have any idea how glad I am that me and Richard broke up? Because it would've gone wrong eventually anyway, it wouldn't have worked out between us. And I would've never been depressed in London about never getting married and I wouldn't...I wouldn't have fallen in love with you." She removed her right hand from his and placed it over his heart. "My best friend...the love of my life."

Chandler couldn't stop the huge grin from spreading accross his face anymore. His eyes lit up like a little kid that heard the ice cream truck and raced outside.

"Really?" He asked, still smiling at her.

"Of course, sweetie. You never need to have doubts about that again, I can assure you." She cupped his face and leaned in closer. "I'm not going anywhere," she smiled.

Their lips met in a soft but passionate kiss. Chandler tried to lay all his feelings in that one moment, but could never succeed in showing how much he loved her. He pulled away and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Suddenly, he jumped off the bed excitedly as he remembered something and opened his closet. He took out a small plastic bag and handed it over to Monica while he sat cross legged on the bed again.

She laughed at his behaviour and looked at him questioningly. "What's this?"

"It's your anniversary present, what else would it be? Since I was senseless enough to forget it in the first place...no better time than the present to give it to you." He smiled and took the bag from her to remove a long small black box. "Open it."

She turned it around first and inspected it but then started laughing when she saw how eager he was to see her reaction. She lifted up the lid to reveal a beautiful necklace. Her mouth dropped open and she slowly took it out, careful as if she was afraid that it would break. It was a sterling silver one that had a little miniature parchment hanging on the end. The parchment had four little white diamonds on either side and they were shining brightly. She held it in the light a little bit more and saw that it was engraved. From the upper left corner to the right down corner she could make out something that was spelled diagonally. It read: C&M.

A few tears came rolling down her cheeks as she looked up to see him staring at her, smiling sweetly. "I don't know what to say...this is...perfect. It's perfect Chandler."

He kissed her quickly before taking the necklace from her and putting it around her neck. "It looks brilliant on you. I knew the moment I saw it that this was the right gift." He put his arms around her. "I love you."

She turned around so she was facing him and hugged him close to her, never wanting to let go. "I love you so much and thank you for this." She pulled back and smiled at him. "You know, this turned out to be a pretty good anniversary after all."

She laid her head on his chest and he kissed the top of it. "I'm so glad you're here."

Monica smiled. "I knew everything would be okay. As long as you're at my side, we'll be able to have anything we set our minds to."

"Oh really? And how come you're so sure of that?" he inquired.

She sat up straight again and looked at him while raising one of her eyebrows. She smiled. "Because I'm Monica...and I always have my way."