As Joey finished cooking, he glanced at the clock and realized that it was a quarter to eight already. "Oh, uh, I better go before Janice gets here."
"What? Oh, I guess so." Chandler frowned in disappointment, having forgotten for a moment that Joey hated Janice. He had hoped, especially after Joey forgave him for kissing Kathy, that no other girlfriend would ever come between them again, but apparently that was just wishful thinking.
While Joey hurried to clean up in the kitchen, Chandler went to finish setting the table. With the addition of a glass top and a tablecloth, the foosball table had been made more dining-friendly, and he added candles too to make it more romantic.
Joey grabbed his coat and started to leave. "Okay, um, have a good date. I gotta go--"
"Wait," Chandler asked. "Who are you gonna have dinner with, Joe?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I'll catch the gang maybe."
"But they might have already gone out by now. Um, here," he grabbed his credit card from his wallet, "take this."
"Really?" Chandler hadn't trusted him with his credit card in a while.
"Yeah, go ahead. Take some girl out if you want to. I don't mind. Go on."
Joey hesitantly took the card and put it in his pocket. "Uh, thanks."
"No, thank you!" Chandler hugged him close. "You really helped me tonight, even though you don't..." He glanced at his watch and let go. "I better not keep you. Bye, Joe."
"Bye," Joey said, closing the door and going down the stairs. But he ran into Janice coming upstairs, carrying her daughter and a folded up high chair.
"Hey, Joey!" She greeted him with her trademark laugh.
"Uh, hey," he grimaced and tried to get around her without seeming rude.
"Joey, would you be a doll and take Ruthie upstairs for me? These stairs are killer, and she's gotten so much heavier and squirmy lately. Here," she rather presumptuously handed Joey her daughter and the high chair. "Thanks. Now tell Chandler I'll be there soon. I just gotta go back downstairs and get her bag with her toys and stuff." Janice had left the bag with Gunther in Central Perk.
With a groan, Joey headed back upstairs, trying not to get mad at the fidgety toddler; she was just an innocent kid, and possibly unaware of how grating her mother was. "Ruthie, promise me you won't turn out like your mother," he muttered under his breath.
Joey knocked and waited for Chandler to open the door for him. Chandler came to the door rather excitedly and almost kissed him.
"Jan--uh, Joey!" he caught himself and jumped back in shock. "What are you doing with Ruthie?"
"Uh, I ran into Janice on the stairs. She had to go get a bag that she left downstairs."
"Oh. Well, thank you."
Joey shrugged dismissively. "So you wanna...?" He tried to hand Chandler the toddler, but Chandler backed away nervously.
"She's crying!" He looked scared to death of the toddler.
"Probably just missing her mother," Joey said, trying to hush her. "Can you take the chair at least?"
Chandler took the high chair from him, but looked at it with confusion. He went over to the foosball table and tried to figure out how to unfold the chair.
Joey came in, bouncing Ruthie to try to calm her down. "It's probably one of those levers--"
"Ow!" Chandler suddenly snapped the chair open but caught his finger in it. He started swearing as he tried to free himself.
Ruthie screamed too, and after being torn for a moment, Joey decided to put her down on a recliner so that he could rush over to assist Chandler.
"You okay?" Joey finally extricated his finger.
"No, I'm not okay! I just cursed in front the kid, and she's crying, and--" He stopped to suck on his injured finger.
Joey picked up Ruthie again and rocked her. "It's okay, Chandler. Janice is gonna be back in a second. Stop overreacting."
"I'm not!" Chandler put his hand in the ice with the bottle of wine. "This is a disaster. I knew I'd do something stupid. I just knew it!"
Janice arrived then with the bag of Ruthie's stuff. "Hey, Chandler, I'm here! Gosh, I'm so used to the elevators in my building." As she came over to kiss Chandler, she noticed his grimace. "What's wrong with your hand, sweetie?"
"I got caught in the high chair."
"Oh no! You didn't have to set that up. I was gonna do it. Are you okay?"
He shrugged and mumbled pathetically. Janice started to hug him, but then stopped to take Ruthie from Joey. "Shh, calm down, Ruthie. Joey's not scary. He's our friend."
Joey frowned and said, "Uh, I gotta go."
"Oh, well thanks, Joey. Maybe some night you can stick around and Ruthie can get to know her Uncle Joey better."
Joey didn't answer, simply faking a smile and leaving. He already knew that he'd be babysitting Ruthie this weekend, but he didn't want to think about the weekend yet. He just wanted to get away and pretend that Chandler wasn't still in love with her.
***
After Janice had calmed Ruthie and reassured Chandler that she forgave him for swearing, they all sat down and ate dinner together. Ruthie didn't really remember Chandler, but seemed to warm up to him after he made some silly faces for her.
Janice tasted the pasta and found it delicious. "Oh my God, this is to die for! Remind me to ask Joey for the recipe."
Chandler kept watching Ruthie chewing messily. "Wow, she doesn't even have all her teeth yet."
Janice laughed. "Yeah, I just have to is cut her food into pieces first, then she'll gobble it all up herself. You're such a big girl now, aren't you? Aren't you?"
"Well, I still like Mommy kissing my boo-boos," Chandler joked, offering his finger to her again.
She laughed out loud and started to kiss his hurt finger again.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. "Hey, it's Phoebe."
"Pheebs!" Chandler looked excited.
Janice gestured for him to shush and be discreet, then called out, "Come in, sweetie."
Phoebe entered with her guitar and smiled. "Is that Ruthie? Oh, she's so cute!"
"Thank you! Come and sit down," Janice said, looking around for another chair to pull over to the table. "Do you want to eat with us?"
"No, I couldn't. I get my morning sickness in the evenings--although I think it's slowly switching to the mornings now, which is good, 'cause that means I can come hang out with you guys now." She took hold of Janice's hand and looked at her adoringly.
"Oh, you poor thing!" Janice sympathized. "I can tell you some home remedies that helped me through the worst of my morning sickness, okay?"
"Okay," Phoebe answered brightly, and took a seat rather close to Janice. "So, um, Chandler said that you wanted to try singing a duet after all. Should we start with Smelly Cat, or maybe Ruthie would like to hear my Barnyard Animals song?"
Janice looked curious. "Oh, I don't think I've heard that Barnyard Animals song. Is it about the chick and the duck?"
"No, but oh! I should definitely write a song about them. What a great idea! It was, like, an Easter miracle how you guys saved them from dying at the animal shelter or the pet shop. It's like Smelly Cat, but with a happy ending!"
Chandler laughed and wondered what Joey would think of that. But then he sighed sadly, wishing that Joey was here with them. He didn't like realizing that maybe he'd never be able to hang out with both his best friend and his girlfriend at the same time. Why couldn't everybody get along?
After Janice and Phoebe sang a few songs together and played with Ruthie for a while, they moved into the living room.
Janice got out Ruthie's toys, including her new teddy bear, and got Chandler to play on the rug with her. Once Chandler was comfortable and having fun trying to interpret Ruthie's babbling speech, Janice discreetly pulled Phoebe aside and started talking to her in a quiet corner.
Chandler didn't have to wait long to know what Phoebe's answer was, for she suddenly jumped up and kissed Janice passionately. Chandler sat up and was very turned on by the sight.
Janice smiled and whispered a few further things, then put her arm around Phoebe and came back to the rug with her. "It's all set, honey. We'll do it this weekend, okay?"
"Okay," Chandler smiled and glanced at Phoebe gratefully.
Phoebe only had eyes for Janice, though. "Oh I can't wait! I had a premonition you were going to come back soon, Janice, and then Chandler mentioned you at the strip club, so I knew it was gonna happen. I'm so happy!" She hugged her tightly.
Janice laughed. "Well it's very nice to be wanted! Now the only thing is, I need a babysitter for the whole weekend. I know this other mother from the daycare who owes me some babysitting time, but I was wondering if your grandmother would like to take part of the weekend too, Pheebs."
Chandler interrupted, "Actually, I already asked Joey to babysit for us. We haven't asked Monica yet, but we were hoping that Joey could watch Ruthie over there this weekend."
"Oh, aren't you a honey-bunny?!" Janice kissed him lovingly. "That's perfect! That means I only have to go across the hall to check on Ruthie, and it saves us from having to explain to Joey any noises that are coming from your bedroom."
"Joey knows all about threesomes," Phoebe said, but then pondered it further. "But I guess it's better if he doesn't know. I don't want him blabbing about this to anybody else. I mean, he wouldn't let up when he thought Rachel and Mindy did stuff together."
"Rachel and Mindy?" Janice enquired curiously.
Phoebe and Chandler took turns explaining the story to Janice, and they all took turns playing with Ruthie until she got tired and fell asleep. Then Phoebe volunteered to help Janice pack up and go home to Chelsea. Chandler said goodbye to them and started to clean up, looking forward to the weekend already.
"What? Oh, I guess so." Chandler frowned in disappointment, having forgotten for a moment that Joey hated Janice. He had hoped, especially after Joey forgave him for kissing Kathy, that no other girlfriend would ever come between them again, but apparently that was just wishful thinking.
While Joey hurried to clean up in the kitchen, Chandler went to finish setting the table. With the addition of a glass top and a tablecloth, the foosball table had been made more dining-friendly, and he added candles too to make it more romantic.
Joey grabbed his coat and started to leave. "Okay, um, have a good date. I gotta go--"
"Wait," Chandler asked. "Who are you gonna have dinner with, Joe?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I'll catch the gang maybe."
"But they might have already gone out by now. Um, here," he grabbed his credit card from his wallet, "take this."
"Really?" Chandler hadn't trusted him with his credit card in a while.
"Yeah, go ahead. Take some girl out if you want to. I don't mind. Go on."
Joey hesitantly took the card and put it in his pocket. "Uh, thanks."
"No, thank you!" Chandler hugged him close. "You really helped me tonight, even though you don't..." He glanced at his watch and let go. "I better not keep you. Bye, Joe."
"Bye," Joey said, closing the door and going down the stairs. But he ran into Janice coming upstairs, carrying her daughter and a folded up high chair.
"Hey, Joey!" She greeted him with her trademark laugh.
"Uh, hey," he grimaced and tried to get around her without seeming rude.
"Joey, would you be a doll and take Ruthie upstairs for me? These stairs are killer, and she's gotten so much heavier and squirmy lately. Here," she rather presumptuously handed Joey her daughter and the high chair. "Thanks. Now tell Chandler I'll be there soon. I just gotta go back downstairs and get her bag with her toys and stuff." Janice had left the bag with Gunther in Central Perk.
With a groan, Joey headed back upstairs, trying not to get mad at the fidgety toddler; she was just an innocent kid, and possibly unaware of how grating her mother was. "Ruthie, promise me you won't turn out like your mother," he muttered under his breath.
Joey knocked and waited for Chandler to open the door for him. Chandler came to the door rather excitedly and almost kissed him.
"Jan--uh, Joey!" he caught himself and jumped back in shock. "What are you doing with Ruthie?"
"Uh, I ran into Janice on the stairs. She had to go get a bag that she left downstairs."
"Oh. Well, thank you."
Joey shrugged dismissively. "So you wanna...?" He tried to hand Chandler the toddler, but Chandler backed away nervously.
"She's crying!" He looked scared to death of the toddler.
"Probably just missing her mother," Joey said, trying to hush her. "Can you take the chair at least?"
Chandler took the high chair from him, but looked at it with confusion. He went over to the foosball table and tried to figure out how to unfold the chair.
Joey came in, bouncing Ruthie to try to calm her down. "It's probably one of those levers--"
"Ow!" Chandler suddenly snapped the chair open but caught his finger in it. He started swearing as he tried to free himself.
Ruthie screamed too, and after being torn for a moment, Joey decided to put her down on a recliner so that he could rush over to assist Chandler.
"You okay?" Joey finally extricated his finger.
"No, I'm not okay! I just cursed in front the kid, and she's crying, and--" He stopped to suck on his injured finger.
Joey picked up Ruthie again and rocked her. "It's okay, Chandler. Janice is gonna be back in a second. Stop overreacting."
"I'm not!" Chandler put his hand in the ice with the bottle of wine. "This is a disaster. I knew I'd do something stupid. I just knew it!"
Janice arrived then with the bag of Ruthie's stuff. "Hey, Chandler, I'm here! Gosh, I'm so used to the elevators in my building." As she came over to kiss Chandler, she noticed his grimace. "What's wrong with your hand, sweetie?"
"I got caught in the high chair."
"Oh no! You didn't have to set that up. I was gonna do it. Are you okay?"
He shrugged and mumbled pathetically. Janice started to hug him, but then stopped to take Ruthie from Joey. "Shh, calm down, Ruthie. Joey's not scary. He's our friend."
Joey frowned and said, "Uh, I gotta go."
"Oh, well thanks, Joey. Maybe some night you can stick around and Ruthie can get to know her Uncle Joey better."
Joey didn't answer, simply faking a smile and leaving. He already knew that he'd be babysitting Ruthie this weekend, but he didn't want to think about the weekend yet. He just wanted to get away and pretend that Chandler wasn't still in love with her.
***
After Janice had calmed Ruthie and reassured Chandler that she forgave him for swearing, they all sat down and ate dinner together. Ruthie didn't really remember Chandler, but seemed to warm up to him after he made some silly faces for her.
Janice tasted the pasta and found it delicious. "Oh my God, this is to die for! Remind me to ask Joey for the recipe."
Chandler kept watching Ruthie chewing messily. "Wow, she doesn't even have all her teeth yet."
Janice laughed. "Yeah, I just have to is cut her food into pieces first, then she'll gobble it all up herself. You're such a big girl now, aren't you? Aren't you?"
"Well, I still like Mommy kissing my boo-boos," Chandler joked, offering his finger to her again.
She laughed out loud and started to kiss his hurt finger again.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. "Hey, it's Phoebe."
"Pheebs!" Chandler looked excited.
Janice gestured for him to shush and be discreet, then called out, "Come in, sweetie."
Phoebe entered with her guitar and smiled. "Is that Ruthie? Oh, she's so cute!"
"Thank you! Come and sit down," Janice said, looking around for another chair to pull over to the table. "Do you want to eat with us?"
"No, I couldn't. I get my morning sickness in the evenings--although I think it's slowly switching to the mornings now, which is good, 'cause that means I can come hang out with you guys now." She took hold of Janice's hand and looked at her adoringly.
"Oh, you poor thing!" Janice sympathized. "I can tell you some home remedies that helped me through the worst of my morning sickness, okay?"
"Okay," Phoebe answered brightly, and took a seat rather close to Janice. "So, um, Chandler said that you wanted to try singing a duet after all. Should we start with Smelly Cat, or maybe Ruthie would like to hear my Barnyard Animals song?"
Janice looked curious. "Oh, I don't think I've heard that Barnyard Animals song. Is it about the chick and the duck?"
"No, but oh! I should definitely write a song about them. What a great idea! It was, like, an Easter miracle how you guys saved them from dying at the animal shelter or the pet shop. It's like Smelly Cat, but with a happy ending!"
Chandler laughed and wondered what Joey would think of that. But then he sighed sadly, wishing that Joey was here with them. He didn't like realizing that maybe he'd never be able to hang out with both his best friend and his girlfriend at the same time. Why couldn't everybody get along?
After Janice and Phoebe sang a few songs together and played with Ruthie for a while, they moved into the living room.
Janice got out Ruthie's toys, including her new teddy bear, and got Chandler to play on the rug with her. Once Chandler was comfortable and having fun trying to interpret Ruthie's babbling speech, Janice discreetly pulled Phoebe aside and started talking to her in a quiet corner.
Chandler didn't have to wait long to know what Phoebe's answer was, for she suddenly jumped up and kissed Janice passionately. Chandler sat up and was very turned on by the sight.
Janice smiled and whispered a few further things, then put her arm around Phoebe and came back to the rug with her. "It's all set, honey. We'll do it this weekend, okay?"
"Okay," Chandler smiled and glanced at Phoebe gratefully.
Phoebe only had eyes for Janice, though. "Oh I can't wait! I had a premonition you were going to come back soon, Janice, and then Chandler mentioned you at the strip club, so I knew it was gonna happen. I'm so happy!" She hugged her tightly.
Janice laughed. "Well it's very nice to be wanted! Now the only thing is, I need a babysitter for the whole weekend. I know this other mother from the daycare who owes me some babysitting time, but I was wondering if your grandmother would like to take part of the weekend too, Pheebs."
Chandler interrupted, "Actually, I already asked Joey to babysit for us. We haven't asked Monica yet, but we were hoping that Joey could watch Ruthie over there this weekend."
"Oh, aren't you a honey-bunny?!" Janice kissed him lovingly. "That's perfect! That means I only have to go across the hall to check on Ruthie, and it saves us from having to explain to Joey any noises that are coming from your bedroom."
"Joey knows all about threesomes," Phoebe said, but then pondered it further. "But I guess it's better if he doesn't know. I don't want him blabbing about this to anybody else. I mean, he wouldn't let up when he thought Rachel and Mindy did stuff together."
"Rachel and Mindy?" Janice enquired curiously.
Phoebe and Chandler took turns explaining the story to Janice, and they all took turns playing with Ruthie until she got tired and fell asleep. Then Phoebe volunteered to help Janice pack up and go home to Chelsea. Chandler said goodbye to them and started to clean up, looking forward to the weekend already.