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Tree House

He couldn't believe it, his Dad was dead. How can he be dead before Chandler had chance to make up his mind? Why did he have to die now?

He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, hoping it would stop the tears falling from his eyes.

The imagine of his father's body slumping to floor in the coffee flashed before his eyes, causing him to open them again.

Yesterday's events ran through his mind, his father's pleading forgiveness, him shouting at him, his conversation with his mother…

He used his sleeve to dry his eyes when he heard someone walking up behind him.

"Hey…" Joey said, softly.

"Hey…" Chandler forced a smile before looking back to the tree, deep in thoughts. "Y'know what I think?"

"What?" Joey asked, concerned.

"I think we should build a tree-house for Robbie…"

"Ermm, sure…" Joey said, unsure, frowning slightly. "Are you okay?"

"I always wanted one when I was a kid…" He ignored his question and let out a small laugh, "I use to just sit on one of branches instead…"

"Look, maybe we should go inside and talk about this…" Joey placed a hand gently on his arm, pulling him lightly back towards the house.

"I use to sit there when things got a bit to much…it was quiet and you could everything from the top.." Chandler once again carried on, shrugging off Joey's hand.

"Come on, Man…" Joey tried again.

Chandler hadn't ignored him on purpose, he just didn't hear him. All he could hear was the sounds of his parents' argument when he was a kid whilst he sat amongst the leaves on the biggest tree in the garden; hoping he wouldn't be found.

That's what he wanted now, he wanted to get away and not be found.

Joey could do nothing but watch as Chandler jumped up and grabbed hold of the lowest branch on the tree, pulling himself up.

"Dude, what you doing?!" Joey called up to him as he got higher and higher. He sighed and followed in suit, knowing it was the only way he would be able to talk to Chandler.

"You really like it up here?" Joey asked, once he reached where Chandler had stopped.

"You okay?" Chandler replied, slightly amused by his best friend's breathless and panicky state.

"I'm not to fond of heights…" He muttered, closing his eyes tightly once he glanced down. He gripped onto Chandler with one hand whilst the other held onto tree as he manoeuvred himself to seat on the branch next to him.

"Why you up here then?!"

"Because I'm worried about you!" Joey stated, taking breaths, trying to get his heartbeat to slow.

"I'm fine…" Chandler said, staring ahead.

"No, you're not." Joey shook his head. "Its alright to cry you know…"

"I don't know what you're talking about…" Chandler said quietly, picking at the bark.

"I saw you wiping your eyes when I came out…" Joey told him.

"But I shouldn't be crying over him!"

"Chandler, he was your Father!" Joey pointed out.

"I don't have the right you cry over him…" He said quietly, his voice cracking slightly.

"You have every right!" Joey suddenly forgot his fears of height, he was just glad chandler was talking to him.

Chandler fell silent, his eyes scanning over the garden. He could see right into the kitchen window from his position. He swallowed as he watched the scene, his mother still sat at the table, staring into her coffee cup. Monica stood by the oven, preparing breakfast; even from where he was he could see her biting her lip with worry. He noticed that Ross and Phoebe had now arrived and were helping Rachel keep Robbie occupied but it wasn't working, he was sat looking around wondering what was going on.

He slowly turned to Joey, his eyes burning with tears.

"I told him I hated him…" He admitted, not aware of the tears the slide down his face.

"What?"

"Before he collapsed…I said I hated him."

"Oh, man…I'm sure he didn't believe you…" Joey tried to assure him, "He knew you didn't mean it."

"But I did…" He said, quietly, hanging his head slightly in shame as tears silently fell from his eyes.

Joey opened his mouth to reply but found he didn't know what to say. Tears pricked in his eyes as he saw his best friend break down in front of him. He placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping it would help.

"I hate him for making me confused!" Chandler suddenly look back up, "I hate that I love him yet hate him at the same time!"

"I'm sorry, Man…" Joey said, purely for the lack of nothing else to say.

"How is that even possible?!" Chandler asked.

"I don't know…" Joey replied, "I wish I did."

"So do I…" He muttered, he sighed and then shook his head, "Come on, let's go get something to eat."

"Okay…" Joey agreed. "You going to alright?"

"Yeah…I think so.." Chandler told him quietly.

"Good… now, how the hell do we get from here?!" Joey looked down the ground, terrified.

"Jump?" Chandler suggested, giving him a light push, not hard enough to make him fall just enough to scare him.

"DUDE!!" Joey yelped, wrapping both his arms around Chandler for safety.

"Just slowly lower yourself down…" He advised, laughing slightly as he placed his feet on the branch just below them.

Joey frowned as he watched Chandler lower himself down the tree with no problem.

"Now, your turn…" Chandler looked back up at him once he was on the ground.

Joey closed his eyes again, muttering a pray under his breath and tried to reach the branch with his feet. Just before he touched it, he lost his nerve and moved back to where he was before.

"I can't do it…" He told Chandler.

Chandler laughed and shook his head; this was just what he needed to take him mind off everything.

"If you don't then you don't get no breakfast…" Chandler said knowing using food to bribe him down was the best option.

Joey thought it over for a minute before attempting again but he couldn't do it.

"Alright, I'll bring you some toast back or something…" Chandler shrugged, walking towards the house.

"Chandler? You can't leave me here!" Joey panicked, gripping onto the tree tightly. "DUDE!!"

Joey watched him walk into the house, up to Monica and then drag here into the sitting room.

"He'll be back…" He predicted, not once loosening his grasp before repeating it again, this not time not so sure.

"Hey, Man…" Ross was the first person to notice Chandler enters the kitchen.

"Hey…" He gave him a small smile, "Mon, can I talk to you?"

"Yeah, sure," She said, following him out of the kitchen.

"I'm sorry…" He said once she closed the door behind her.

"What for?" She frowned.

"For walking out."

"Oh, Honey…I understand…don't worry about that." She hugged him.

"Thanks," He mumbled.

"How are you feeling?" She pulled away slightly, looking at concerned.

"Numb.." He let out a breath, running a hand through his hair.

"I think that's understandable…" She nodded.

"I don't know how I'm meant to feel, Mon…" He told her, trying to hold onto his emotions, he didn't want to break down in front of her like he did with Joey.

"I know but everything is going to get easier…" Monica hugged him again, "I promise they will…"

Chandler nodded silently, if anyone else had said it he wouldn't have believed them but it was Monica, he trusted her.

He pulled back, giving her a smile and then he took her hand and led her back into the kitchen.

Whilst she moved back towards the oven again, Chandler sat down next to his Mom, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

She looked up at him, sadly, managing to give him a smile.

Everyone was silent as they ate, even Robbie, who didn't have a clue what was going on.

"Erm, where's Joey?" Rachel asked, looking around the table.

"Sat in the tree…" Chandler said as if it was most natural thing in the world.

"Why?"

"He's stuck…"

"How the hell did he get stuck up a tree!?" Ross asked.

"He's afraid of height…" He smiled slightly, picturing Joey's face when he thought he was going to fall. "He followed me up there…"

"And why were you up there?" Phoebe looked confused at him.

"I was looking to see if it was good enough to build a tree house.." he told him.

"A tree house! Cool!!" Robbie exclaimed.

"Is a tree house safe?" Monica asked.

"Ever kid should have a tree house…" Nora added before Chandler could say anything. She smiled at him slightly, sending a silent message. She remembered when Chandler was younger, he begged and pleaded for years to have one but she never let him.

Monica shrugged, deciding not to worry about and went back to what she was doing.

Joey looked at his watch; Chandler had been gone 45 minutes. He sighed and tried once again and once more, he failed.

"Chandler!!" He cried out, holding on to the tree for dear life, "Anyone!! Help!! Chandler?!"

XxXxX

Four days later, Chandler stood in front of the mirror looking at his reflection. He tried to straighten out his black tie but his hands were shaking too much. Today was the day of his Dad's funeral, he was glad that it was being held in New York and not Vegas where most of his Father's friends were from.

He hadn't talked much about how he felt, he was still confused about how he should be feeling but the way he saw it was that there was no way he would be able to change that now that his Dad was dead. He decided to forget about it and move on, enjoy his life with his family. He thought he was doing the right thing.

He sighed in frustration as his tie fell to the floor.

"Here, let me…" Monica came up behind and picked it.

"Thanks.." He said, trying to get himself to relax.

Neither of them spoke as she fixed his tie, there was nothing to be said… all Chandler needed was to know that she was there.

"There you go…" She stepped back once she was done.

"I don't know what I would do without you…" He said, looking back to the mirror.

She smiled in reply and held out her hand, "You ready.. Everyone's downstairs."

He nodded and slowly took her, letting her lead him out. They walked into the sitting room, hand in hand… Chandler holding tightly, not sure if he would be able to do it if she let go.

"How you holding up, Man?" Ross asked, once he saw them.

"I'm okay…" He nodded, he really appreciated that they were all there. He knew they were only going to help him through it.

"Okay, then lets go…" Joey handed him, his jacket.

"Thanks, Man…" Chandler gave him a small smile when he noticed the bruise still visible on his forehead where he fell out the tree. He was really gratefully; Joey had been a great help to him over the last few days.

"No problem." Joey winked back at him, as they all headed for the door.

XxXxX

Chandler watched the coffin being lowered into the ground as the Priest read a passage out of the bible. He stood in between Monica and his Mom, while the gang stood slightly behind them. There wasn't a single tear in his eyes as watched the coffin disappear into the ground. He listened to people already him, crying… He glanced to the group stood opposite him; they obviously had worked with Charles, if the drag clothes they were wearing were anything to go by. When one of them looked over at him, he quickly advert his eyes away. He began to feel guilty, it seemed like he was the only there who wasn't crying and he was his son. He looked down to the ground when he saw that there were a few silent tears running down his Mom's face, even Monica had a tear in her eyes.

He watched as a few people step forward to take a handful of earth and then let the soil fall onto the coffin as they said their last goodbyes.

He's heart increased when his Mom stepped forward and do the same. He looked at the soil that he was offered. He could feel everyone's eyes on him as he stared at the dirt, all of them wondering what his reaction would be.

He reached out a shaking hand and grasped the earth, closing his fist tightly around it. He swallowed hard and took a long breath. It was nearly a minute before he finally moved forward and he slowly extended his arm so his closed fist was above the grave. His fingers uncurled and he released the earth, letting it fall down onto the golden nameplate that was labelled with his father's name.

As soon as he heard it hit the coffin, tears welled in his eyes and all his mixed emotions came back. He raked his fingers through his hair, taking deep breaths, hoping to keep control.

He felt Monica slip her arms around him and he pulled her closer, closing his eyes. He didn't know how long they stood there but once he pulled back he noticed that everyone else had moved away from the grave and were heading towards the exit.

"You okay, Man?" Joey asked, coming over to them.

"Yeah, lets go home…" He said quietly.

The others nodded and followed him out when they were stopped by a man.

"Hi, are you Chandler?" He asked.

"Yeah…"

"This is not how I wanted to meet you for the first time…" The man smiled sadly. "I was a good friend of your father's a few years ago…my name's Terry…"

Chandler stared shocked at the man, who his father chose over him 6 years ago. Anger boiled inside him, he hates this man, and if it weren't for him then none of this would be happening. He was the reason Chandler didn't know how felt for his own father.

He looked down at the hand that was held out to him and thought it urge to hit guy. He glared at him again before pushing past him and carried on walking, he didn't want to cause a scene, not today.

"Chandler, wait up!" Monica called as they all ran to keep up with him.

"Are you okay?" Ross asked, "Who was that?"

"No one…" Chandler told him, slowing down slightly, "I just wanna go home."

XxXxX

Chandler looked around, recognising that he was in the house that he grew up in. He frowned as he walked down the stairs, looking for someone who could tell him how and why he was there.

"Hello?" He called out; his voice echoed around the huge house, "Mom?"

There was no reply, he carried on searching. When he entered the sitting room, he saw a man with their back towards him.

Before he could say anything to him, he turned around.

"Da…Dad?" He stuttered, backing away slightly when he saw his father.

"You didn't even cry…" Charles glared at him, "at your own Dad's funeral and you didn't even cry!!"

"I'm sor..sorry…"

"Its all your fault!"

"My fault?!" He questioned.

"It was you who shouted at me! You caused me to have a heart attack…You're the reason, I'm dead!!" Charles accused, walking towards him.

"No..no…no…!" Chandler backed away until he hit a wall.

"You killed me!!" Charles got closer to him.

"I'm sorry…" Chandler said, quickly in fear.

"It's to late to be sorry!" Charles snarled, bringing his hand back, slapping him across the face.

"Please…I'm sorry…please…" He pleaded, as slide down the wall, covering his head with his arms, trying to protect him from the slaps, punch and kicks that rained down on him.

"NO..Please…." Chandler shot upright, breath heavily and panic shook through his body. It seemed like he frozen, as he struggled to calm down.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him jump.

"Chandler?"

He realised it was Monica, as she sat up next to him. Her hand rubbing his back reassuringly.

"It's okay…it was just a dream…" She soothed, moving closer to him. Once he didn't responded and continued to shake in fear, she leaned up and cover his face in soft, gentle kisses.

"It was just a dream…" Monica whispered, as he slowly calmed down. "You're okay…"

Chandler nodded slightly, before lying back down, pulling her with him. She could hear his heartbeat decrease as she lay her head on his chest, while he held her tight.

Once she was sure he was going to be okay and that he was asleep, allowed herself to close her eyes.

Chandler heard Monica sigh and mumble something in her sleep; he moved closer to her and opened his eyes. His eyes, shiny with tears as he thought about what had just happened.

TBC

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