"David! What are you doing here?" Phoebe was delighted and amazed to see him.

He stammered in reply, "Well, I-I-I was gonna meet a, a friend for lunch, and, um..." He trailed off and got lost in the sheer thrill of her presence. The whole world seemed to disappear around them, and time stood still, even on this busy New York sidewalk. David sighed and smiled at her. "I-I just can't believe it's you, Phoebe. After all this time. I mean, I-I haven't seen you since... Barbados." There was a twinge of pain in his voice, and his smile faded then.

"I know," she said and frowned with remorse. "I'm sorry--"

He interrupted her and quickly dismissed the unpleasant incident with bravado. "Oh, that's--that's just water under the bridge now. It's just great to see you, you know. You look so beautiful..." Catching himself being too familiar, he cleared his throat and asked, "So are you, are you on your way to lunch too?"

She nodded and moved them out of the path of the oncoming pedestrians, so that they could talk by a quiet storefront, without having countless people bumping into them. "Um, yeah, I was gonna get some lunch at the veggie place a few blocks from here."

"With your friends?" Not likely Joey, though. "Or, um, with--with Mike?" David was painfully aware that she was married, though he tried to mask his feelings and be cheerful. He had read all about the wedding six months ago, because the local newspaper had reported how charming it was, to hold a wedding out in the streets, just after a blizzard. David saved the pictures, because she looked so lovely in her wedding dress, but he cut the groom right out of them. If only he could do that in real life.

Phoebe could sense David's pain, and she answered him quickly, "No, no, I'm eating by myself today. I'm--I'm actually on my way uptown to see a divorce lawyer." She watched his eyes to see his reaction to that news.

He looked up and peered at her closely, checking that she was serious. "R-really?"

"Yes. We're not living together anymore, and I'm--I'm gonna have to return this soon, I guess." She pointed to her wedding ring, and shrugged casually, trying to make clear to him that she was just wearing the ring out of habit now, not love. Then she stood closer to David and looked at him with a hopeful smile, wondering if he would tell her whether he was single too and available. Maybe they could start dating again, especially since he was living in New York permanently now.

David did long to hold her and kiss her again, but caution stopped him. If Phoebe had only chosen Mike over him once, it would be one thing, but she had picked Mike twice, and he was wary of having his heart broken again. So he kept his distance and just offered her his sympathy instead. "Oh. I'm--I'm so sorry, Phoebe. I hope you'll be all right."

She was disappointed, but held out hope that he was just being shy as usual. "Oh, I'll be fine. So, David, do you maybe want to get together for coffee sometime, and catch up?"

"Oh, um..." He didn't meet her eyes anymore, and cleared his throat nervously, then he glanced at his watch to rescue him. "Oh, I better not keep you from your appointment, Phoebe. And I-I-I have to meet my friend too, so I don't want to be late." Then he reached out to shake her hand goodbye. "It was good to see you."

Now Phoebe felt hurt and rejected. "I, um... yeah. Bye." She turned away from him and left, hiding her tears and not realizing that she was going in the wrong direction.

David watched her hurry into the crowd and felt terrible about upsetting her. He couldn't stand it, and followed after her. "Wait, Phoebe! Come back! I'm sorry. I didn't mean it!"

She kept walking away, thinking that he just saw her crying and felt sorry for her now.

"Phoebe, please! I love you!"

She turned around and stared at him, as did some passersby who overheard his shout. He realized what he had said out loud and blushed, backing away into an alley to hide. She followed him into the privacy and gloom, asking quietly, "Do you mean that?"

He gulped and looked at her with disbelief. Then he nodded and whispered, "Of course. Of course I do. Do you think just a year or so can make me stop loving you, Phoebe? When I was in love with you for ten years?" He felt rather sad. "When I was in Minsk, Max--you remember my friend Max?--he'd tell me that I ought to cheer up and stop moping around. That I should go hang out with the other physicists, or I should go on a double date with him and some Russian girls, or I should stop obsessing about you to the point where I saw your face even in a statue of Lenin. But I loved you, and I couldn't stop. Max told me that you had probably moved on already, and that if you really loved me too, then you would have tried to come visit me in Minsk, or something. I knew that he was probably right, because how could someone so wonderful like you stay single for long? But if I couldn't have you, I didn't want anybody else. I thought I'd just be one of those scientists who dedicate their whole lives to their work, you know, but secretly you'd be my muse, my inspiration."

Phoebe felt so flattered and touched that she had to grab a tissue from her purse. "I-I thought of you too, David. So many times. But I couldn't get a passport to visit you," she explained. "And I thought you said you were only going away for three years."

"I thought so too, at first." He kissed her hand and caressed her cheek. "When I came back to New York, the first time, I couldn't help thinking of you and remembering our time together. I mean, I didn't want to intrude on your life after so long, but I just wanted so much to see you again, and maybe hear you sing at the coffeehouse once more. And then you actually wanted to see me, and we had that great night, you know. I was so in love with you, more than ever."

She held him close and kissed him. "I love you too. Oh, I love you so much!"

He kissed her warmly and they embraced, leaning against the wall. David couldn't believe that it felt so good still, so new all over again. This was what he had been dreaming about for so long, even when he chose to humor Max by dating the occasional woman every now and then.

Phoebe met his eyes and asked him, "Why didn't you wanna see me then, when I asked you just now? Is it because of Mike? Is it 'cause I hurt you in Barbados?"

He sighed and nodded sadly. "Yeah. I-I was afraid that you weren't over Mike, Phoebe, and maybe you never would be. I didn't want to be just some rebound fling again."

"I'm so sorry!" she cried sincerely. "It was a mistake! I wish I had just accepted your proposal and told Mike he was too late."

"I wish you did too. But anyway, after I got back from Barbados, Max tried to get me over you for good by saying, 'See? I told you so. She didn't really love you after all, and she loves that other guy. It's been ten years, and you lost a toe to frostbite; it's time to wake up from the fantasy.'"

Phoebe got mad. "Oh! I could kick that guy's ass!"

David found himself laughing and smiling at her affectionately. He shrugged. "Max means well. He helped me return the ring and get a new job after that, and he's actually the one I'm meeting for lunch today."

"Oh." She grudgingly calmed down, but still felt resentful.

David kissed her again and asked, "So maybe we can meet for dinner tonight? And you can tell me more about your divorce, and we can catch up about everything else."

"Okay. Oh, wait! I-I might have to help babysit for my friends tonight. How about tomorrow instead?"

"All right." They made arrangements to have dinner together, then they kissed each other goodbye and parted ways, he to his friend Max, and she to her solo lunch.

At the vegetarian restaurant, Phoebe took out her cellphone and called Monica at home. She got the answering machine and became impatient. "Monica, pick up the phone for once! I just ran into David, my scientist guy, and if you don't answer, then I'll just have to tell all the details to Rachel first."

"Hello? Phoebe, I'm here."

"Mon! Hooray!"

"I'm sorry, I was just cleaning up after the babies again. So did you really see David? Where?"

"On the street, near my work. I was on my way to lunch, and bam! It was like fate." She then told Monica all that had happened, along with the fact that she was going to see a divorce lawyer next.

"Wow. What a day." However, Monica had to abruptly get off the phone, because the babies started crying again. "Oh, I gotta go. Good luck, Pheebs."

"Okay, thanks. Bye!"

---

The night before, when she came home from Massapequa, Monica had shown Chandler the check and had told him all about her father's suggestions for other ways that they could save money.

"Oh, that's nice," Chandler muttered, only half listening because he was rocking Jack and Erica, and trying not to think of Joey too.

Monica assumed that her husband was just tired from being alone with the babies all evening, and she continued excitedly, "And the best part is that we don't have to tell my mom about it. Dad said that he'd tell her the money and the beach house were just presents for us. That way, Mom won't lecture us and hold it over us that we owe them money."

"Great," he said, and still stared off into the distance, thinking of the check in his desk drawer at work.

"Oh, uh, just one more thing, Chandler." She knelt down in front of the rocking chair and stopped his rocking so that he'd be sure to pay attention. "Um, my dad wants us to do him a favor and rename Jack to something else."

Chandler blinked and wasn't sure that he'd heard her right. "What?"

She explained, "It's, um, it's an old Jewish custom that--that you shouldn't name a baby after a living relative."

"And you didn't know this?" He raised his eyebrow.

She shrugged and felt a little defensive. "Well, he didn't tell me until tonight! Anyway, it's not that much trouble, really, and since Dad's being so nice helping us out with the money, I think we should humor him, okay?" She patted Jack's head and spoke in baby talk, "So, honey, we just need to change your name to Daniel John--" But she frowned and didn't like the rhythm of the name. "Wait that doesn't sound good. Maybe Daniel Jonathan? Daniel Jack? No."

"Daniel Hemingway?" Chandler suggested. He still liked that name, even though he wasn't completely sold on renaming their son yet.

She just laughed at his suggestion dismissively. "No, not Hemingway! What kid is gonna want that big a name? And besides, that goes better with Bing. I wanna keep at least the J for my dad, anyway. Oh, I know! Daniel Joseph! That way, Joey will stop bugging us to name a kid after him. It's perfect. Oh, and it can be a way for you guys to make up, too!" She was pleased by her cleverness.

Chandler frowned and felt uncomfortable. "No. I-I told you, Mon, we're not making up."

"Oh, come on! He's your best friend. You're just mad at him for now."

Chandler insisted, "No I'm not! I'm not making up with him ever, and I'm not naming my son after him!" God, how difficult would it be to forget Joey, with his son carrying around that name?

"But--"

"No! It's over. For once, would you just do something that I want?!"

"Chandler!" she hissed in warning, but it was too late. His yelling woke up the babies, who began crying and squirming in his arms, so she took the twins from him. She couldn't understand Chandler's vehement reaction, and could only throw a scolding glare at him while she tried to comfort and quiet the infants.

Chandler just got up from the rocking chair and stormed out of the room. He went into Joey's empty bedroom again and shut the door, locking it. Then he lay down on the bed, shaking and feeling miserable. He smelled the sheets for the still lingering scent of Joey and actually felt grateful that Monica was too busy and overwhelmed at home to change the sheets in Joey's room as frequently and as the clean freak in her would have liked. He sighed Joey's name and closed his eyes, remembering the night they had laughed and wrestled together, in this bed.

Monica comforted the babies until they finally calmed and fell asleep again, then she went to check on Chandler. She knocked at the door, but he wouldn't answer her.

"Chandler, come on! It was just a fight about a loan. We're not in trouble anymore, and I've forgiven Joey now. Why can't you?"

She heard nothing but a faint whimpering inside. "How bad was that fight between you two? Did he say something mean? You know how childish and immature he can be sometimes, Chandler. But deep down, he loves you, just like you love him."

Now she heard him crying softly, but the door was locked, and she couldn't go inside. Damn. She knew she should have taken the lock off the door. Monica stood at the door, knocking for a while longer. She didn't feel like going and looking around the cluttered house for her tools, to take down the door, so she finally sighed and gave up, returning to the master bedroom to get some sleep. Chandler stayed in Joey's room all night.

---

In the morning, Chandler returned to the master bedroom to change his clothes and get ready for work. He tried not to wake up Monica, but she stirred and looked at him from the bed.

"Don't forget the check."

"What?" He jumped a little, having hoped that he could get through this morning without speaking to her.

"My dad's check." She pointed to it on the nightstand. "Remember? You have to deposit it in the bank today, so I can pay some bills for us."

"Oh. Okay." He pocketed the check, then stood in front of the mirror to adjust his necktie.

Monica hesitated for a moment, then asked him, "You still don't want to name him Daniel Joseph?"

Chandler's body tensed, and he grimaced in the mirror while tightening the knot of his tie.

She took the hint, and asked, "How about Daniel James? Or Daniel Jacob?"

He shrugged indifferently, then grabbed his jacket and muttered a hurried goodbye before leaving with his briefcase.

---

On his way to work, Chandler deposited the check as requested. Then he headed to the agency and drank a lot of coffee to make sure that he would be alert for the morning staff meeting. All day, he worked as diligently as he could in his cubicle, but he still kept thinking of the envelope in his desk drawer. The one that contained Joey's note and his check. Chandler knew that he was only supposed to keep it "just in case", but now that he and Monica didn't need the check anymore, he couldn't bring himself to get rid of it. He couldn't throw it away.

Chandler sneaked a peek at the envelope a few times, taking out its contents and intending to put them into the office shredder. But he wound up reading the letter again, and just put everything back into his drawer.

Late in the afternoon, Chandler stared at the envelope yet again, trying to get up the courage to at least shred the check, but this would mean that he had no justification to keep the letter either. Then his phone rang, and the receptionist told them that a visitor named Phoebe Buffay was here to see him. "Oh, uh, send her up." He hung up the phone and stashed the envelope back into his desk drawer.

Phoebe arrived, and he pulled over an extra chair to his cubicle. "Hi, Pheebs. What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"

She sat down. "Well, I took the afternoon off to see my divorce lawyer."

"Oh!" He had forgot about her divorce. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She even beamed and looked giddy. "I'm great, actually! I ran into David today!"

"David?"

"You know, my scientist guy who went to Minsk?"

"Oh, him."

"Yeah, it was great! We're having dinner tomorrow night. But anyway, never mind that now, because I came here to tell you something else."

"What?"
"Well, Joey's really been depressed lately. He's been moping around in his apartment and even sleeping in your old room."

Chandler gulped and apprehensively drew back in his chair.

She continued, "Something's definitely bothering him, a lot, but he won't talk to anyone about it, so we figured that maybe you could--"

"No!" He realized what she was asking him. "No, I-I don't wanna see him, Pheebs. I can't."

She looked confused. "You can't? Why? If you just don't have time, I can--"

"No, I don't wanna see him because... because we had a fight." He might as well use the same excuse he had given to Monica.

"What? When?"

"A couple of days ago. We're not speaking to each other anymore."

"Huh?" She was shocked, and wondered what could have happened. "Wait, what was this fight about?"

"I-I don't wanna talk about it here. Ask Monica. I gotta get back to work."

"But, Chandler--"

"Please leave." He shuffled the papers on his desk and tried to look busy.

Phoebe had an impulse to kick his ass, but she would probably get thrown out by security. Also, maybe it really was too personal an issue to be discussed here, among the cubicles. "Fine. Goodbye." She got up from the chair and left the office, determined to find out the truth some other way.

---

Outside, Phoebe was about to call Monica to find out more about this big fight, but her phone rang, and it was Joey in great distress, begging her to come to his apartment. "I don't know what to do!"

"Okay, I'm on my way."

"Hurry!" He sounded rather desperate.

So she hung up and caught the bus back to the Village. Maybe if she directly confronted him about his fight with Chandler, then he would tell her the whole truth at last, and she could get the friends speaking to each other again.

However, when she arrived at Joey's apartment, she learned that his current crisis had nothing to do with Chandler.

Joey told her, "I think I'm gonna get fired!"

"What?!"

He was frantic. "Today at the soap, I overheard some producers talking about how they wanna get rid of me because I look tired all the time, you know, and I'm late to work, and I don't have all my lines memorized." Taking care of the baby birds for the past three months had taken their toll on Joey, and it reflected on his performance. Until now, he thought that he'd managed to squeak by, given the lower acting standards on soap operas, but clearly he was wrong. "They're talking about either writing me out, or getting a new actor to play Drake. Oh man, I can't believe this, Phoebe!"

"Me neither! What did your agent say?"

Joey shrugged. "Well, he's gonna get me some auditions for TV shows, instead of just movies and commercials. But he said that I'd have to work really hard and maintain my looks better too. He even said that I should lose weight and get an eye lift so I'll look younger." Joey pouted. "I don't like this new guy, Pheebs. He's worse than Estelle."

Phoebe hugged him comfortingly. "Oh, don't listen to him, Joey! You still look good to me. It's just this shallow acting business, you know?"

"I guess," Joey sighed, but didn't feel very encouraged. Then he got an idea. "Hey, could you be my agent, Phoebe?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, remember that time you pretended to be my agent on the phone, and you got me all those great auditions?"

"Yeah, but then I had to give you all those rejections too."

"I know, but can you do it again, please? I know you'd be great, Pheebs, and I gotta get some regular work soon. I don't know what I'll do without my DOOL gig." Joey had baby birds to support after all, and he certainly didn't want the check that he had given Chandler to bounce.

"Oh, okay. I'll try to help out, but I can't guarantee anything, Joey. You should keep that other guy as your agent too, just in case."

"Okay, thanks!" He hugged her and felt relieved. "I trust you more than him, Pheebs, and besides, he's got lots of actors to get auditions for, not just me."

"Yeah. But listen, don't give up on your old job yet," Phoebe told him. "Maybe if you get some more sleep and rehearse your lines more, then those producers will change their minds about firing you, or at least let you stay a little longer."

"I'll try. It's just, the birds keep me up at night." And he missed Chandler too.

"Well, maybe I can babysit the birds more often, so you can get a full night's sleep. I can take them home with me tonight."

"You can? Great!"

Over dinner, they discussed what auditions Phoebe would get for Joey, and then they rehearsed his lines for tomorrow's show until he memorized them. She also put tea bags on his eyes to lessen the puffiness.

"There. You should do better tomorrow."

"I hope so. Thanks, Pheebs."

"You're welcome." Then she gathered up Chick Jr. and Duck Jr. into the pet carrier. "Come on guys! You're staying at Aunt Phoebe's place again!"

Joey saw them to the door and waved goodbye. "Goodnight!"

It was only after she left the building that Phoebe realized that she hadn't questioned Joey about his fight with Chandler. She decided to wait until tomorrow, since he needed his rest tonight, and could do without any stressful distractions from his job. She could also tell Joey about her encounter with David.

---

Alone at last, Joey got ready for bed and turned out the lights in the apartment. For the third night in a row, he decided to sleep in Chandler's old room instead of his own, and he set the alarm clock to make sure that he wouldn't be late for work tomorrow. Then Joey lay down and snuggled with Hugsy underneath the covers. He noticed how quiet and empty the place felt now, which made him feel lonely again. How strange, that he could feel homesick within his own home. Things just weren't the same without Chandler around.

Maybe Chandler would call him tomorrow. Joey hoped so and tried to fall asleep.

That night, he had a dream. It was ten years ago, on the night that Joey found out that his dad had a mistress. Dad and Ronni slept in the two bedrooms, while Joey and Chandler shared the old pull-out sofa.

In the darkness, Chandler reassured Joey that he was not going to be like his father someday. "Hey, you're not him. You're you. When they were all over you to go into your father's pipe-fitting business, did you cave?"

Joey answered, "No."

"No. You decided to go into the out-of-work actor business. Now that wasn't easy, but you did it! And I'd like to believe that when the right woman comes along, you will have the courage and the guts to say, 'No thanks, I'm married'."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. I really do."

Joey smiled and hugged him happily. "Thanks, Chandler."

Unlike in real life, Chandler didn't push Joey away and say "Get off!" this time. Instead, he just said, "You're welcome, Joe," and laughed good-naturedly. They embraced for a moment, and even began to playfully wrestle and tickle each other on the couch. Then, when they were breathless, their eyes met and they became rather quiet and serious. Joey kissed him, noticing how soft Chandler's lips were. Closing their eyes, they kissed each other more passionately, and Joey felt Chandler's fingers run through his hair again. The kisses tasted just as warm and wonderful as two nights ago, in real life.

And in that odd way of dreams, they were suddenly naked and making love, not caring that Joey's dad or Ronni might hear them. They were all alone, touching each other intimately, and Chandler let out many incoherent cries and moans that Joey had heard before, whenever Chandler had sex with a woman on the other side of the wall. It really turned Joey on, and he kissed Chandler's neck possessively. Soon Joey firmly got on top while Chandler wrapped his legs tightly around Joey's waist. He wanted Chandler so badly...

But then the alarm clock buzzed.

With an irritable groan, Joey slowly woke up and rubbed his eyes before he sat up. He shut off the insistent alarm, then looked around, confused and startled to find himself alone in Chandler's bedroom. Alone and aroused, with Hugsy fallen onto the floor. Then he remembered his dream and gasped. Whoa! He had an erotic dream about Chandler! Chandler!

Joey had regularly thought of Chandler's mom, Nora Tyler Bing, when he had sex, just because he found her hot, and Joey had sometimes thought of Chandler during sex as well, but as he had told Phoebe once, that was more of a distraction like baseball or sandwiches so that he wouldn't get too excited and lose control while in bed with a woman. But for Joey to actually have a dream about Chandler, and in such vivid detail--that was quite new and disturbing!

Joey gulped with panic and fear. He couldn't be gay! He just couldn't! Joey slept with tons of women after all. And yet, he had kissed Chandler in real life, just a few nights ago. Joey had kissed him, and now he wanted to have sex with him. "Oh God!" Joey got out of the bed and decided that he needed a cold shower, and fast.