Sorry, it took so long to update!! Thank you all for the review! Keep them coming!!
Enjoy!!
Just Like The Old Days
Chandler watched Monica sleeping; he gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and continued to stare down at her. He thought back over the day, his friends finding out, Monica comforting him, letting him comfort her.
He heard a noise outside in the living room, he gently kissed Monica on the forehead and carefully got up, leaving the room trying not to disturb his wife or children.
"Joe?" He asked, when he saw his best friend sat on the couch in the dark. "What you doing?"
"Just thinking…" He shrugged.
Chandler sighed and moved to sit next to him. "You okay?"
"Why did this have to happen?" Joey asked. "Why to you? What did you do?"
"I don't know, Joe…" He muttered, looking at his hands. "I don't think all those years of smoking helped."
"But you gave up!"
"Yeah but not properly…I use to smoke every now and then…" He admitted. "It wasn't until the twins came that I stopped all together."
They both fell silent, not knowing what else to say. They looked up when someone came down the stairs.
"I thought I heard voices…" Ross whispered when he saw them.
"Hey man…" Chandler smiled at him slightly. "Can't sleep?"
"Nope…" He dropped down on the other side of Joey and silence was regained.
"Lets get out of here…" Chandler said, breaking the silence after a few minutes.
"What?" Ross frowned. "And go where?"
"I dunno…" Chandler shrugged. "The beach?"
"It's 1 o'clock in the morning!" Joey stated.
"So? Remember when we lived together and we use to go to the all night diner?"
"Oh yeah…" Joey smiled at the memory, wondering how he forgot about it.
"What about that time I was staying with you guys and we went and played football in the park at like 3am!" Ross added.
"Yeah, Chandler throw the ball at my head because I nearly let it slip that he was secretly dating Monica…" Joey glared at his friend for a moment.
"That was what all that about?" Ross laughed.
"See, we had a great time!" Chandler grinned. "Lets go back to be 20somethings with nothing to worry about…just for tonight."
"Yeah, okay!" Joey agreed.
"Let's do it!" Ross stood up.
They all headed back into the room, to carefully get changed before meeting back in the living room.
"Come on, let's get out of here before the girls wake up." Ross hissed at Joey, who was searching for something.
"Okay, okay…I'm coming…" He whispered back before pulling out a bag causing a load of stuff crash down to the floor. "Oops…"
"Quick, lets go!" Chandler stated and they all ran for the door. They continued to run until they were out of the complex, laughing all the way.
"So, what's in the bag, Joe?" Chandler questioned as their pace slowed to walking.
"Oh you know…the normal stuff.." He shrugged. "Football, Frisbee, tennis ball, a bowl, lighter fluid…"
"What?!" Ross cut him off.
"What? You really think you guys could visit without me and Chandler having one game of fireball?" Joey looked at him as if he was crazy.
Ross turned to Chandler, who was grinning at him. "Just be glad he doesn't wanna play ultimatum fireball."
Ross watched them as they both walked towards the beach, he sighed and shook his head before following. He smiled as he caught up with them; it seemed just like the old days.
After a few games of fireball, the three of them throw the football to each other. They all avoided talking about Chandler being ill, even though both Joey and Ross really wanted know how bad it was. Chandler could tell they wanted to but he couldn't manage to talk to them about it yet.
30 minutes later, they dropped to the sand looking out at the ocean. Chandler glanced at his best friends, either side of him. The night playing games and just hanging help him a lot, he made him feel better and helped stop him from worrying so much.
"Y'know, I guess fireball wasn't to bad…" Ross said, at an attempt to break the silence.
"Ross Geller admitting he was wrong about something?" Joey asked in mock shock.
"Hey! I'm not that bad!"
"Yeah, whatever, Ross…" Both Chandler and Joey laughed.
Silence took over them again but this time it was comfortable. They sat and watched the sun rising, silently.
Ross laughed slightly, shaking his head.
"What?" Chandler questioned.
"Well, it's just we snuck out from our friends and families so we can go back to being bachelors for one night and we end up watching the sunrise like a bunch of girls."
"Yeah, but look how pretty it looks!" Joey stated, waiting a few seconds before continuing. "And I've been thinking…"
"Annnnd here comes all the sentimental stuff…" Ross chuckled, lying down on the sand.
Joey glared at him. "I want to come back to New York for a bit…."
"What?" Chandler frowned. "You serious?"
"Yes, Chandler I promised you earlier that I was going to help you through this…"
"I know but you don't have to move to do that."
"I want to…" He stated. "Plus, it's only temporary…I've been given some time off the show anyway…apparently I'm a security risk…"
"Joe, are you sure about this?" Chandler asked.
"Yes, I want to be with you and the others…" He told him. "I want to be there for you."
"Thank you…" Chandler replied. "I really appreciate it."
"It's the least I can do…"
Ross slowly sat back up; sharing a look with Joey before asking the question they had all been waiting for to come up.
"So, umm…how bad is this?"
Chandler eyes were fixed on the sunrise ahead him; he couldn't bring himself to look at them.
"I don't know…" He whispered.
"You don't know?" Joey repeated.
"They've done tests…" He shrugged. "They've just got the results back."
"Maybe it was a mistake…" Joey said. "Maybe you don't have cancer."
"No, there's no mistake…"
"You said earlier about smoking?" Joey reminded him. "Is that the cause of it?"
"Is it lung cancer?" Ross questioned, knowing it was one of the most commonly known cancer for smokers.
"No…no it isn't…" Chandler shrugged to find the words. "It's in my stomach."
"Stomach cancer?"
"Yeah, the doctor said it's very rare for someone like me to get it…" He explained. "Apparently it common for people in their 60s and 70s…."
"So what caused it?!" Ross asked.
"Don't know." Chandler shrugged. "Said I was unlucky."
"But something can be done…can't it?" Joey inquired, desperation in his voice.
Chandler sighed and rubbed his eyes, he wanted to tell them that it would all be okay, that he'll be able to survive it but he was so scared that he would be wrong.
"Once it was diagnosed, I was sent for this examination called a Endoscopy…They put this tube thingy, down my throat to take some kind of pictures of my stomach and they got some cell samples too…." He told them, trying to find the right words so they'd both understand. "The results came back yesterday…. they'll be able to tell what stage its at."
"How many stages are there?" Ross said, letting the information he was given sink. He wanted to know as much as he could about what was happening to Chandler so he'd be able to help him.
"I think about 5 or 6..."
"And then they'll be able to tell you how bad it is?"
"Yep…" Was all Chandler could say in reply, desperately trying hold onto his emotions.
"Why didn't you tell us soon?!" Joey asked frustrated that his best friend had been through this alone.
"I don't know…"
"Yes, you did…" Ross stated. "Stop pushing us away."
"It's…." Chandler started but suddenly stopped, taking a deep breath. "It's hurt."
"We understand that." Ross placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah, we're here to help you through this." Joey added. "But you've got to let us."
"I wanted to be normal…" He mumbled.
"What you talking about?!" Ross frowned. "You are normal."
Chandler shook his head, slightly and closed his eyes. "No, not like I was before."
"Chandler, things will be different now but that doesn't mean that you've changed…" Ross said softly.
"I don't want things to change…" He replied weakly.
Joey and Ross looked at each other, helplessly. What was they meant to say to him? How could they make something so terrible, seem okay?
"You can't do this on your own."
"I know but I just wanted one week…just to remember."
"Remember what?" Joey frowned.
"Remember the old times…" Chandler explained. "I could go back and they might tell me that after a simple operation it will all be over….or they could tell me there's nothing they can do…"
"Chandler you can't think…" Joey started but Ross, shook his head slightly, signalling to let Chandler finish.
"In a few months, all this might be forgotten…" Chandler's eyes were transfixed on the sky. "Or I could be suffering somewhere, in pain…who knows what I'll remember."
"You're scared of what's going to happen…" Ross muttered.
"I'm childhood was rubbish…ever since I moved into apartment 19, my life was pretty good…." Chandler said slowly. "When I got with Monica, when we got married, had the twins… my life was amazing…I want to remember that part not everyone being sympathetic and trying to do everything for me."
"It wouldn't be like that."
"You say now…but when the times comes…" Chandler's voice trailed off.
Silence took over them once again and Chandler was glad about it, he wasn't sure how much he could handle.
Ross sighed; he knew the conversation was over. He knew Chandler wasn't going to open up anymore but he was glad that he had trusted them enough to say what had said.
"Look, why don't we head back…" Ross suggested. "The girls might be up."
"And then we're in a lot of trouble…" Joey stated.
"Never bothered you two before…" Ross shrugged, a small smile on his face.
Chandler looked at him, slowly a smile forming on his face. "Thanks, Guys….I'm really glad we did this."
"I'm glad you let us in…" Ross replied.
"Yeah and if you need us to do anything we will…" Joey promised. "If you wanna talk, we're here…wanna play some fireball, we're here…"
"Thanks, Joe."
"Come on, let's go…" Ross stood up, brushing the sand on his jeans.
The three of them walked back to Joey's apartment, talking about the things they done in past but they all knew their lives were never going to be the same again.
TBC
There ya go…man, it was weird writing Ross being nice and supportive, lol!! Anyway, please review and let me know what you think!!
