This chapter jumps back in time a little, to show a few incidents prior to Joey dating Janine. See episodes 608 and 610, the holiday episodes from that year. I realize that in episode 620, Monica used the excuse that she was allergic to the birds, but let's say that she hasn't come up with that lie yet. I'm going to have her use that excuse later in this story, so for now, just stick with her reaction here.

Chandler tried to make excuses for Monica. She could be rather shrill sometimes, and bossy, and even scary, but he did his best to think of her obsessive quirks as charming and lovable. She was simply passionate about things. She was no more annoying than Ross could be sometimes, or the others, and at least he got to have great sex with her.

"We're in love," Chandler told himself. "She's high maintenance, but I like maintaining her. I'm neurotic too, and we work together."

Unfortunately, there were times when the excuses weren't enough. When her behavior was completely beyond his ability to comprehend, let alone love.

This past Thanksgiving, for example, Chandler had learned that Monica had never told her parents about their relationship. They had been dating for over a year, and now they were even living together, but she never saw fit to mention any of this to the Gellers. How could Monica do that? Judy Geller was always criticizing her daughter for not having a boyfriend, but instead of mentioning her serious relationship with Chandler, Monica had preferred to keep mum all year.

Sure, Monica had explained to Chandler that her parents hated him for some reason, but shouldn't she stand by the man she loved? Monica hadn't let their shock and disapproval affect her relationship with Richard, after all, and she hadn't kept their affair a secret for long, either. Why couldn't she at least ask her parents why they hated Chandler? Why couldn't she tell Chandler how they felt before and let him figure out how to win them over? She just kept it all a secret and didn't even give him a whole day's warning about the Gellers coming to dinner, let alone that they hated him.

Even worse than that, Monica had asked Chandler to pretend they weren't together that night. She wasn't going to tell her parents when they arrived; she was just going to get through dinner and hope that they wouldn't suspect anything.

It was Chandler who said that he'd figure out some way to be charming. "I will make them fall in love with me, and then we'll tell them." Monica didn't like Chandler being a suck-up at his office, but it would come in handy tonight if he could suck up like crazy.

But Monica seriously doubted his ability to win them over, and it sapped all his confidence. What was so wrong with him? Why wasn't he good enough for Monica's parents? So Chandler went across the hall to ask Ross whether what Monica said was true. But both Joey and Ross were busy with a Playstation game, and they only half paid attention to him. Apparently the Gellers did hate him, and nobody cared about that but him.

Chandler returned to the other apartment to sulk, while Monica got started on dinner. She was having Rachel and Phoebe come over later to help, and in the meantime, the TV was tuned to the parade for him, but it was small comfort.

Great! Another lousy Thanksgiving in the works. He felt very hurt by the whole situation, and by his friends' apathy. It made him feel unworthy and unwanted, like all those times before London that Monica had turned him down and said he wasn't boyfriend material. Was Chandler such a loser that Monica was too ashamed to admit they were together? She had wanted to keep their affair a secret for months after London. At first she said, "We don't want to make a big deal about it." Then the excuse was, "We're so bad at relationships. Maybe it's going so good with us because we're still a secret." Chandler had gone along because he was worried about how Ross would react, and the sneaking around made things exciting.

But maybe Monica had pressed for secrecy so much because she really wanted to avoid telling her parents. Chandler hadn't told his parents about Monica, either, but that was because he didn't share anything with his parents anymore; they had always found countless ways to embarrass or neglect him while he was growing up, and he wanted to keep them as far from his adult life as he could. Chandler had already stopped keeping in touch with his dad in Vegas, and though Mrs. Bing had stopped by for a visit once, she generally stayed away from New York, and he was glad of that. For Chandler, it was his parents who weren't good enough for Monica, not the other way around.

So as soon as Jack and Judy Geller arrived for dinner, Chandler did his best to suck up and be charming, trying to prove to Monica that he was good enough for her parents. But between Chandler's nervousness and his bruised confidence, he could only manage to come off as a goofy idiot.

The Gellers even thought that Chandler might be stoned, which bewildered him, until Ross pulled him aside and confessed that he once smoked pot and blamed it on Chandler. Monica and Chandler insisted that he confess and fix things, but Ross hesitated so much that Monica blurted out the truth for him. That prompted both the siblings to betray other secrets to their parents, and soon nearly everyone was shouting out confessions.

Mr. and Mrs. Geller were shocked and overwhelmed, but they praised Chandler for putting up with Ross and Monica through it all. Jack Geller even hugged him, which made Chandler feel so much better. Maybe this was a pretty good Thanksgiving after all.

Chandler went to bed happy that night and put aside his earlier insecurities and doubts. Yes, Monica had been wrong to keep things a secret for so long, but he decided that he could forgive and forget. He should just enjoy their relationship and be happy.

But then, another ugly incident occurred. While Monica was at the pre-taping for the Dick Clark New Year's show, Phoebe and Rachel convinced Chandler to help them search for Monica's Christmas presents for them.

Phoebe even brought the chick and the duck over to help them search, but it was actually Rachel who discovered the secret stash of presents underneath the window seat. But Chandler had second thoughts, and out of guilt, he convinced them to not open the presents and put them back.

Unfortunately, Monica abruptly came home. She jumped to conclusions and let slip that she got Chandler a water purifier for Christmas.

Chandler was quite disappointed, but before anyone could explain things, Monica noticed that the chick and the duck were in her apartment.

She quickly lost her temper. "Chandler! Why did you bring these birds over here?"

"I didn't. Phoebe did."

"Well, get them out of here! They're smelly and dirty and I don't want them near my kitchen. I cook there!"

Chandler apologized, but was surprised by her harshness. He joked, "Trust me, Mon, they've seen enough of the Cooking Channel to know that they should stay away from kitchens."

She rolled her eyes and huffed, then motioned for Phoebe and Rachel to help her put all the presents away. Chandler went over to the birds and tried to lead them back across the hall, but the birds wouldn't go. They seemed to understand that Monica had insulted them, and wanted to retaliate. The duck quacked and waddled over to Chandler's barcalounger, as if to claim his right to be there, while the rooster went over to one of Monica's tables and started to peck at the wooden leg.

"Oh, no no no!" Chandler rushed to stop the rooster from damaging the furniture, but Monica heard his exclamation.

"What's going on?" She turned around.

"Nothing! Nothing!" Chandler picked up the rooster in his arms and tried to shoo the duck to follow them out the door.

"What happened?" Monica remained suspicious. "Did they poop on my rug?"

The duck wouldn't cooperate, and Chandler's hands were full with the struggling chicken. "No, everything's fine."

"Chandler!"

"It's all good! Bye." He put the rooster into the hallway, then shut the door and came back to retrieve the duck. The birds were used to being put into the hallway for punishment, and hopefully, whenever Joey and Janine came home, they'd let the birds inside with them.

Chandler had a difficult time rounding up the duck because it kept flapping its wings vigorously and scurrying away so that Chandler couldn't get a good grasp on him.

"Chandler!" Monica scowled at the ridiculousness of her boyfriend chasing the duck around the living room. "He's getting feathers everywhere!"

"I'm sorry! He's just overexcited I guess."

Chandler finally caught the duck and ejected him outside with the rooster, but Monica was still mad because of the mess. She went around cleaning up the feathers and also searched for any sign that the birds had pooped or peed on her rug.

Chandler was terrified that she would notice the peck marks on her table leg. Maybe he should retreat outside as well.

Fuming, Monica glared at both Chandler and Phoebe. "Let's make this clear, okay? From now on, those birds are banned from here. You hear me? Banned!"

Phoebe tried to explain, "But I just brought them because--"

"I don't care why!" Monica interrupted. "Just don't do it again. No exceptions! Not even for holidays, or special occasions, or me being at work. Those birds belong on a farm anyway, not in a city apartment. Right, Rachel?"

Rachel nodded, but couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for Chandler. Monica seemed as dead serious about this matter as she was about moving the phone pen.

Chandler spoke sheepishly, "Yeah, I promise the birds won't come over again, Mon. I'll, I'll talk to Joey about it too. And Ross."

Just then, Ross came in, breaking the tension in the room. "Did somebody mention my name?" he asked excitedly. "Oh, Monica, did you tell them about us doing the routine at the show? Did ya, huh?" The conversation then changed to the taping of Dick Clark show, and everyone was finally able to relax again.