Head Over Heels

Two: Night Whispers

Stars shining bright above you

Night breezes seem to whisper 'I love you'

Birds singing in a sycamore tree

Dream a little dream of me

"I don't want to get up."

"Mmmm, we have to get up.  It's only…Thursday."

"Just a little longer."

"Chandler…"

"Oh, come on, sweetie, just a little longer…please?"

"I can't.  I have to go."

"Caitlin—"

"I'm sorry."

"Caitlin!"

"Daddy?"

Chandler opened his eyes shot upright, his eyes searching the darkened room frantically.  He fumbled for the small table lamp.  Flipping it on, he saw Isabelle, standing at the foot of his bed, her eyes wide and her arms clutching her worn brown teddy bear nervously.

"Daddy, whath wong?"

"N-nothing, sweetie, everything's fine.  What are you doing out of bed?"

"I had a bad dweam," Isabelle muttered, her cinnamon brown curls hanging lifelessly in her round face.

"Aw, honey, come here," Chandler extended his arms, and Isabelle jumped onto the bed, and into her father's waiting arms, "Do you want to sleep here?"

She nodded wordlessly, and Chandler smiled.  He pulled the blankets around her, and she snuggled into his arms as he turned out the light.

"Iz, are you excited about tomorrow?" Chandler whispered softly.

Isabelle looked up at Chandler, her eyes shining.

"Tomorrow we move to our new home!" she exclaimed.

"Yep," Chandler laughed.

They had been in New York for almost a month, but had spent most of it staying in a hotel.  Chandler had been determined to find the perfect apartment, in a decent neighborhood, with a good elementary school (Isabelle started Kindergarten in two months) and not far from his office.  He'd finally found one, in Greenwich Village, and had signed the lease over the weekend. 

"Daddy, can you sing my song?" Isabelle yawned, and Chandler felt his throat constrict.

Her song.  He knew the words, but Caitlin had always been the one to sing it to Isabelle.  He looked down at his daughter, already fading into unconsciousness, and he sighed.

"Of course I will, honey," Chandler whispered, and closed his eyes.  Just as he knew she would be, Caitlin was there; smiling at him softly, silently telling him that everything was going to be okay.  In his head, he could hear her voice, soft as velvet, caressing his broken heart, soothing his worn soul.  His soft singing eventually lulled Isabelle to sleep, but for Chandler, the song only reminded him of what once was, and so, as they did every night, his memories of Caitlin, and of the life he lost, provided him with yet another sleepless night.

Stars shining bright above you

Night breezes seem to whisper I love you

Birds singing in the sycamore tree

Dream a little dream of me

Say nighty-night and kiss me

Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me

While I'm alone and blue as can be

Dream a little dream of me…

"I was thinking we could go see that new Sandra Bullock movie," Rachel smiled, as Ross set down her cup of coffee late the next evening.

""Eh, I don't really like her that much," Ross whined, and took a sip of coffee, "What about that car chase movie…what's it called?"

"Well if you don't know the name of it, then we aren't going to see it!  Besides, it's my turn to pick the movie, and I don't want to see some stupid action flick!"

"Hey, I'll have you know that Die Hard is a modern-day masterpiece!" Ross argued.

"He's right, you know," an unfamiliar voice broke in, and both Ross and Rachel turned toward the stranger.  Rachel's frown melted into a smile, and she stood up quickly.

"Joshua!  It's nice to see you again!" Rachel gushed (a little too enthusiastically).

"Hi Rachel," Joshua smiled, and took Rachel's hand, "I hope you weren't missing anything the other night."

Ross, who had also stood up and was now watching the exchange with overprotective envy, cleared his throat loudly.

"Oh, sorry, um, Joshua, this is Ross.  Ross, Joshua."

"Hey," Joshua smiled, and extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you," Ross muttered, then plastered on a fake smile, and snaked his arm around Rachel's waist possessively, "so, Josh, how do you know Rachel?"

"Um, it's Joshua, actually, and I, uh, found her wallet here the other day…"

"You lost your wallet again?" Ross asked exasperatedly.

"Do, not start with me, Ross!" Rachel glared, and pulled away from Ross stiffly.

"Um, I'm gonna go…it was nice seeing you again, Rachel.  And um, nice to meet you, Ross," Josh smiled uncomfortably, and made his way out of the coffeehouse.

"That was so embarrassing!" Rachel hissed, once Joshua was out of earshot.

"Yeah it was," Ross spat.

"I mean, you didn't need to be so rude, Ross," Rachel continued.

"I was not rude!  Just because I wasn't coming on to him like some people!"

"That was NOT flirting!"

"Yeah, whatever!"

"Okay, ya know what—I can't be around you when you're being like this!" Rachel fumed, and grabbed her purse.

"Like what? You were the one throwing yourself at a total stranger!"

"See, just like this: a jealous, over-protective jackass!"

"Hey Rach, don't forget to leave your wallet here for Joshua," Ross mocked, and Rachel stormed out of the coffeehouse.

After an hour of chasing her through tipped over boxes, and another forty-five minutes of reading, singing, and storytelling, Chandler was finally able to get Isabelle into bed.

And that was when the thumping started.

It wasn't really very rhythmic, and it wasn't getting any louder or softer.  It almost sounded like someone was kicking his front door.

Perplexed, Chandler crossed the room and opened the door, just as the offending foot was on it's way toward impact.

This time, instead of kicking the door, the woman kicked Chandler's shin.

"Oh!  Oh my God, I am so, so sorry!" the woman winced, and approached Chandler quickly, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Chandler smiled, "it's just my shin."

"God, I am so…I had no idea there were people living here," the woman explained.

"Oh, well—"

"I'm guessing from the boxes that you just moved in," the woman smiled guiltily, her eyes sparkling.  Chandler found herself drawn to the woman's openness and friendliness.

He found himself thinking that she was also drop-dead gorgeous…but in an instant, guilt crept in, and he had to fight to keep a cordial smile on his face.

"Yeah, um, just moved in today," Chandler managed to say, "I'm Chandler Bing."

"Hi, Chandler, I'm Rachel Green, your new, very loud neighbor," Rachel blushed, and shook Chandler's hand.

"So, Rachel…you wanna tell me about the kicking thing?" Chandler arched an eyebrow playfully.

"Oh…it's just Ross—my boyfriend.  Sometimes he can be a real jerk, ya know?"

"So, you were…pretending that my front door is Ross' face?"

"Kinda…the thing is, my roommate is Ross' sister, so I can't really vent about Ross to her.  As far as she knows, we're like this perfect couple.  So I come out here to vent.  But now that you're here, I'll go back to venting on the roof," Rachel laughed.

"So…if you're unhappy with Ross, why don't you break up with him?" Chandler leaned against his doorframe, and folded his arms in front of him.

"It's not that I don't love Ross…" Rachel sighed, "It's just that sometimes…the little things…they just drive me nuts!  And I know he loves me…and I certainly don't want to lose Monica…she's my best friend!"

"Maybe you should talk to Monica about it.  I'm sure she'd be happy to listen to your problems."

"Have you met Monica?" Rachel laughed.

"Um…no, actually," Chandler shrugged.

"Geez, Rach, how many guys have found your wallet?" Ross asked accusingly, as he made his way down the hallway.

Rachel glared at Ross, as Ross glared at Chandler.

"Ross, this is our new neighbor!" Rachel yelled, and put her hands on her hips.

"And what are you, the welcoming committee?" Ross replied, glaring at Rachel and ignoring Chandler's outstretched hand.

"Ross!" Rachel flushed, and shot Chandler a rueful glance.

"Look, I came here to apologize, but I—"

"Oh, don't do me any favors," Rachel spat.

"Daddy?"

Chandler, Ross and Rachel turned simultaneously, to see Isabelle standing in the open doorway, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Oh, Iz, honey, did we wake you up?" Chandler picked up his daughter, and ran his hand through her mussed hair slowly, he turned to the embarrassed couple proudly, "Ross, Rachel, this is my daughter Isabelle.  Can you say hi, Iz?" Chandler smiled softly, and Isabelle shook her head, before burying her face in Chandler's shoulder.

"Oh, Chandler, I am so sorry!  I didn't know—" Rachel bit her lip, and looked up at father and daughter guiltily.

"It's okay," Chandler smiled, "It was nice to meet you both," Chandler nodded, and began backing into the apartment.

"Chandler—I'm sorry too.  I had no right to—" Ross stuttered, his face beet red.

"Hey, it's okay," Chandler interrupted, as Isabelle began drifting off in his arms again, "I understand.  I'm sure I'll see you guys…in the hallway…soon," Chandler smiled, and closed the door hastily.  He shook his head, and carried Isabelle back into her bedroom.  Gently, he laid her down on her bed, and tucked her in.  She let out a deep sigh, and he smiled, and placed his hand on her cheek softly.

"I don't know about this place, Iz," he whispered, "the neighbors are a little bit crazy!"

Isabelle snorted in reply, and Chandler kissed her forehead, and left the room.

He walked into the living room, and heard the faint sounds of Rachel and Ross' muted argument.  Shaking his head, he flipped on his tiny, portable radio, and continued to unpack his boxes.

"You should probably unpack kitchen stuff…Izzy'll be hungry in the morning."

Chandler looked up, but was not startled by Caitlin's sudden appearance.  In his own mind, she was standing right before him, wearing the same stunning dress she'd worn the day she'd agreed to marry him.

"I'll just go get bagels," Chandler answered aloud, and continued to unpack.

"She hates bagels," Caitlin countered, and sat herself on a box marked "living room".

"No, you hate bagels.  She just doesn't like the cream cheese."

Caitlin laughed, a tender, lilting laugh that made Chandler's heart sing.

In his own mind, it never occurred to him that he was talking to the wall, and not his deceased wife. 

It never occurred to him that he might seem a little crazy.

All he knew is that it made him feel warm, and it made him feel loved.

And in this new apartment, in this new city, in the silence of night, he needed nothing more.