Thank you for all the reviews! Keep them coming!!

Chandlers-girl04: You are if it was hard writing all these stories at the same time. Well, yeah it can be at time….I think all of the ones I'm working on at the moment are quite depressing and angst-y so yeah it can be hard! But I'm going to start a series with happy and funny things happening in it to help me out a bit!!

Anyway!! Here's the next part!!

Enjoy!!!

Tense Atmosphere

Chandler suddenly realised what was going on and pulled away, looking down at the bedcover, knowing she was looking at him questionable.

"This can't happen, Mon…" He said quietly after a few seconds of silence.

"What?"

"We can't do this…" He finally looked up at her. "You love Richard, I know you do…"

"Yeah…" She nodded, feeling a stab of guilt as she thought about her boyfriend. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me…"

"I'm sorry too…" He replied. "I shouldn't have let it happen."

"So, we're still friends then?" She questioned, warily.

"Of course!" He tried to give her a reassuring smile. "Lets just get some sleep, yeah?"

"Yeah…" She forced a smile back.

"Okay, night…" He kissed the top of her head in a friendly way before flicking off the switch and moving over to the other side of the bed. Letting her decided whether to stay there or go back to her own bed.

Monica glanced at him through the darkness, wondering if she should say or do anything. She decided against both, she should just there and try to get some sleep. If she moved back to her own bed then he would think she was feeling awkward around him, she didn't want that. He was her best friend.

Chandler felt her pull the quilt tighter around her as she moved around slightly to get more comfortable but he reminded still, keeping his eyes closed. If they needed to talk about it, it would be better off in the morning once they've both had chance to sleep and to think.

An hour later, neither of them was asleep but silence was still hung over the room. Monica watched him, wondering if he was asleep or not. Her mind drifted back to earlier; he had broken the kiss because of Richard. She thought about how he had entered her mind before she kissed Chandler back but continued anyway. Now she questioning why that was. She really thought she loved Richard, they use to have a good relationship but lately they had been arguing a lot. Which made her spend more time with her friends and as most of them had busy lives it would normally end up being just her and Chandler, sitting up till late, watching movies and eating ice cream.

Richard actually had accused her about having feeling for Chandler but she just laughed and told that he was just a friend, a really good friend but nothing more. Ever since then, she had looked at him differently. When she first meet him during college and for a while after he just moved in, she had a tiny crush on him but that went away after a bit and they became best friends. Now all those feelings were coming back and she didn't know why. Maybe it was because her relationship with Richard was going through a rough patch and he was always there to comfort her. Maybe it was because he was upset about Kip's death and she wanted to comfort him. Or maybe it was because she really did have feeling for him. She sighed quietly in frustration and rolled over to face the other way, deciding to get some sleep.

Chandler let his eyes flutter open when he felt her turn over, he looked at the window watching as the rain pelted down against the window, sliding down it like a mini waterfall.

XxXxX

The next morning, they both silently got ready and left the hotel, speaking to a minimum.

"Uh, it's just down this road…" Chandler told her, breaking the silence they had been in for the last hour.

"Oh, okay…" She glanced at him before looking out the window. Her mouth dropped open when she saw how big the houses on the street where. Most of them had at least two expensive and flash cars parked in their driveway.

"What's wrong?" Chandler asked, slightly amused by her expression. "I thought you knew my parents were rich."

"Well, yeah…" She stuttered slightly. "But I never thought you use to live like this…"

Chandler frowned. "How did you think I lived?"

"I dunno….nothing like this…"

"Oh, okay…" He laughed lightly as he pulled into a driveway.

"So, this is your house?" She questioned looking at it in astonishment.

"Yeps, home sweet home." He said sarcastically before getting out of the car. "Come on, let's get in."

They grabbed their bags and headed towards the house. Chandler noticed a few curtains moving from the houses across the street as his neighbours watched them curiously. He waved at them all before opening the door and pushing Monica inside quickly.

She was about to ask what was going on but was amazed by the side of the house more then she was at the outside.

"Wow…" She murmured as she looked around the hallway. The ceiling was high and the floor had polished wooden floorboards. There was a huge staircase with a small mahogany desk at the bottom.

"Impressed?" He asked, teasingly.

"Well, yeah…just look around…" She replied.

He rolled his eyes jokingly. "Come on, I'll give you a tour then I need to go out."

"Go out?" Monica questioned, looking at him.

"Well, yeah…I uh, I told Sarah that I would stop by when I arrived…" He explained. "Hey, you should come and meet her."

"What? No…no can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because it would be weird and awkward…."

"Mon, Kip never told her about what happened between you guys…" He assured her.

"What?"

"Well, she knew the two of you were dating but he never told her how it ended…" Chandler informed her.

"Oh…"

"Look, Mon, you don't have to come if you think it'll be uncomfortable…" He told her. "But just so that you know, Kip held anything against you or any of the others."

"Really?" She asked, surprised.

"Yeah…" He nodded. "He regretted how it all ended and wished he had tried to talk to you about instead of just leaving but I guess everyone just moved and got on with life."

"Yeah, I guess we did…" She said thoughtfully. "Y'know what, I'll come with you."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I mean Kip and I were friends before we got together…" She stated. "And our relationship was good until the end…"

"Okay, great…" He smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem…" She returned his smile.

XxXxX

After Chandler had give her the tour of the house and they had unpacked their stuff, they headed for Kip's house. It wasn't far so they decided to walk.

"So, what's she like?" Monica asked, breaking the silence as they walked side by side.

"Sarah?" Chandler looked at her. "She's really nice, she's a really good friend."

"Oh yeah? How did you all meet then?"

"During High School…" Chandler shrugged. "She and Kip dated for a couple of years."

"I thought you went to an all boys school…" Monica frowned slightly.

"Yeah, we did but she went to the all girl's school down the road from us…" He explained. "Our schools joined up from time to time, like they would be our cheerleaders and stuff…we even had our prom together."

"Oh right…"

"Yeah…" He said quietly, looking at her for a minute before continuing. "He never meant to hurt you, Mon…He really did care about you but he knew it wasn't fair on either of you if you stayed together…"

"I know…" She gave him a small smile. "I feel really bad about the way I treated him…"

"Oh, Mon…don't worry about that." He reached out and squeezed her hand. "He never held a grudge or anything."

"I guess but that doesn't make much of a difference…" She sighed, stood still. "I mean, like you said before he was your best friend and he moved anyway because of us lot."

"He would have left anyway." Chandler shook his head slightly and stopped walking to.

"Yeah but you hardly got to see him…"

"Actually…" He interrupted, quietly. "I uh, I saw him quite a lot."

"What?"

"Well, I came and stayed with them for a day or two about every 6 months…" He averted his eyes.

"Really?" She questioned. "Why didn't say anything?"

"I dunno…" He shrugged. "I didn't know if you would understand."

"Chandler, that's crazy, he was your best friend…" She told him. "Of course we would have understood."

"Yeah, you're probably right but at the time I just couldn't be doing with any of the arguments or anything…" He sighed. "Saying I was going on a business trip was just easier."

"Yeah, I guess…" She said thoughtfully. "I mean, we were pretty mad at him when he left and both me and Ross can be quite stubborn."

Chandler smirked slightly. "Only quite?"

"Hey, watch it, Bing…" She replied but also smiling.

"Alright, sorry…" He held up his hands in mock defence. "Thanks…"

"What for?"

"For understanding…"

"No problem…" She flashed in a smile; both of them looked into each other's eyes.

"So…uh…we should probably keep walking…" Chandler said after a few seconds but made no attempt to move himself.

"Yeah…" Monica replied quietly but then realised she was staring at him and turned to carry on walking. "So, uh… is there far to go?"

"Oh, no…not really…" Chandler started to walk to.

"Okay…" She nodded, looking down at the ground as they walked.

Chandler glanced at her a few times as they continued to walk in silence, wondering what he could do make the tense atmosphere that had settled over them disappear.

"So, uh…when was the last time you was here?" Monica asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh about 5 months ago…when…." He suddenly stopped and closed his eyes. "Oh god."

"What?" Monica frowned. "What is it?"

"I came out just after Ellie was born…" He explained, sadly. "He's got kids Mon and they've just lost their Dad…what am I going to say to them?"

"Oh…. I didn't know…I didn't realise he had kids…" Monica stuttered. "How many?"

"Two boys and a girl…" He told her. "Nick, who's just turned 6.… Zack who's 3 and baby Ellie…She's not even going to remember her Dad is she?"

Monica didn't say anything, wasn't sure what she could say, knowing there was nothing really that would comfort him.

"I'm sorry, Chandler…" She whispered.

"He didn't deserve this…" He claimed. "He had a family and he was happy, it shouldn't have happened to him!"

"I know…" She rubbed his arm, consolingly.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly. "Come on, it's only around the corner."

"Okay…" She nodded and started to follow him. "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah…yeah I think I will…" He nodded but it was uncertain.

The silence took over them again but this time it was comfortable and neither of them felt as though they needed to break it so just continued without speaking. Monica looked around at the house; they were smaller then the ones on Chandler's street but still quite big.

Chandler stopped and looked at her before he walked up a garden path, which Monica assumed it must belong to Kip and his family. She shifted from one foot to the other nervously as Chandler fished out a key and let himself in.

"Hello?" He called out once he had closed the door behind them. No answered but the sound of small footsteps running towards them was heard and it wasn't long before a small boy appeared, beaming widely.

"Chandler!!!!!" He exclaimed and Monica was surprised to see Chandler knell down on the floor with his arms open, letting the boy run into his arms. She hadn't seen him around children, except Ben but she had always predicted that he would be quite nervous around them which was why she was so shocked about how easy he seemed around the little boy.

"Hey, Zack!" Chandler said after a while, standing up with him in his arms. "How you been?"

"Good…" Zack nodded and then grinned at him. "Did you bring me any presents?"

The comment made both Chandler and Monica laughed slightly.

"Sorry, buddy…I didn't have chance…" Chandler apologized. "But how about we go to the park later and after get some ice cream?"

"Will you push me on the swings really high?"

"Higher then the tree tops!" Chandler grinned at him.

"Cool!!"

Monica laughed again quietly, which caused Chandler to glance at her quickly.

"Hey, Zack…I want you to meet someone…" He turned around so Zack and he was facing her. "This is Monica…"

Zack looked at her curiously for a moment. "Are you Chandler's girlfriend?"

"No…" Monica giggled again. "No, we're just friends…"

"Oh, okay…" He shrugged and stuck out his hand. "I'm Zack?"

"Nice to meet you, Zack…" She gently took his hand, sharing a smile with Chandler.

"Its just Zack…don't call me Zachary…" He stated, his noised scrunched up. "I don't like being called Zachary."

"That's because you only get called it when you're in trouble…" Chandler told him, tickling, causing him to laugh and wriggle around.

Monica watched them with a smile on her face, amazed at how good Chandler was with him.

"Were you my Daddy's friend too?" Zack's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Uh, yeah…yeah he was…" Monica nodded.

"A lot of my Daddy's friends are coming around to see us…" He told them but then looked at Chandler. "But he's not here anymore."

"I know, buddy…" Chandler said sadly. "So, uh…where's everyone else?"

"Mommy is talking to Grandma in the kitchen…" Zack told him.

"Come on, then…just Zack…" Chandler set him down on the floor. "Let's go and find them."

"Okay!" Zack grinned before sprinting off again, leaving the pair to follow.

"Hey…" Monica reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him. "You okay?"

"Yeah…" He nodded, giving her a small smile of thanks before they headed off into the kitchen.

TBC

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