[For those who thought that Joey's love for Kate came out of nowhere, here is some reminder of what their romance was all about.
(And yes, I DO know that events moved quite fast in the first few chapters of this story, with so many characters having sudden realizations of their feelings. The rushed couple-swapping was deliberate, though; I never usually go at that breakneck pace in my other stories. It's just that I've noticed how the Friends writers can also resort to hasty, unrealistic plots on the show--such as Ross proposing to Emily after knowing her for *six weeks* and planning the ceremony in only a month, purely for the convenience of having a London wedding for the season finale.)
To me, Joey's development of feelings for Kate (over the weeks of rehearsals for their play) was far more convincing than anything in the Joey/Rachel storyline, and I'd like to think that he's just revisiting and expanding on these old feelings instead of abruptly having a new, hopeless love for a different person entirely.]
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Joey went to pick up Kate from the airport, and he surprised her at the gate with a bouquet.
"Oh, flowers!" She kissed him and hugged him close. "You're so sweet."
Joey lingered in her arms, then said cheerfully, "Come on, let's get your bags." After stopping at baggage claim, they got into a cab and headed back to Joey's apartment. He couldn't wait to have her at home with him. Thank goodness that Rachel had moved in with Ross at such a good time.
"Are you sure it's not too soon for me to move in?" Kate asked as they came upstairs with her luggage. "I mean, we just got back together, Joey, and I could stay with some friends, like I did last time I was in New York."
Joey had missed her so much, though, and he insisted, "No, no, I want you as close as possible." He put his arm around her and gestured at Monica and Chandler's door. "Besides, it's easier for you to meet all my friends."
She shrugged and knew how much Joey wanted to include her in his group. "Okay, you talked me into it."
"Great!"
After Joey let them inside the apartment and set down her bags, Kate looked around for a vase and noticed the birds in the living room.
She gasped. "Oh! You still have these guys? Hi there!" She put down the bouquet on the counter and came over to kneel by the birds, who greeted her with curious clucks and quacks. "Hey, I thought the chick was a she?"
Joey smiled and put the flowers into a vase. "Well, he turned out to be a rooster. I guess me and Chandler were wrong to name him Yasmine."
Kate laughed and said, "I remember that you used to come to the theatre all the time with stories about how the duck was picking on the chick because of its size, and he had to have a time-out in the hallway." She pet the rooster and said to him, "I guess you don't have that problem any more, huh?"
Joey watched them happily, having been unsure whether Kate would really bond with the birds, or would hate them the way that Monica and Rachel did. So Joey joined the group on the floor and asked Kate, "You like them, huh?"
"Yeah." She chuckled as the duck stretched out his neck and wings to show off his bigger size, while the rooster crowed and scratched at the floor to assert that he was the head bird and more worthy of attention.
Joey smiled and gave her a handful of bird feed to offer them. "Fighting over you already! They must like you."
Kate shrugged. "At least I make a good first impression with somebody you know! Are you sure Chandler's not gonna follow us around and be suspicious whenever I do anything that's even a little bit bitchy?"
"I'm sure." Joey pulled her close and kissed her affectionately. "I talked to him about the whole thing, and he promised to be nice. It's just, you know, he wasn't used to me getting all emotional and upset about a girl, 'cause I'm always the one dumping girls and not caring about it." Joey was perfectly honest with Kate about his womanizing ways; since their first all-night conversation, they had learned to talk openly about everything with each other. (It was understood, of course, that they would both try to reform themselves in order to be together.)
Kate asked, "He's really protective, isn't he? Even though he knows you've broken plenty of hearts yourself?"
"Yeah, I know!" Joey nodded at the irony. "I've had so much sex that he kind of tunes it out, I guess; it's just, since I never really liked a girl before you, he thought of me as lost and out of my depth. Which I guess I was."
"I was pretty lost too. You were the first guy I liked who wasn't like Marshall--you know, some arrogant, over-intellectual jerk. I couldn't help wanting you and sleeping with you, but then I thought it had to be a mistake. You weren't my type at all."
Joey nodded and remembered. "Yeah, after you stayed with Marshall, Chandler kept telling me that I was better off without somebody as snobby as you, and I should give up trying to impress you. But I was so crazy about you that I wouldn't listen to him. Then you and me had that great talk after opening night, but you left for L.A. the next night, so Chandler thought that you only raised my hopes again just to crush me and leave me."
"I didn't mean to do that!"
"I know. That's just the way he saw it back then. He said that I was naïve, and you were only nice to me that one night because I was making you feel better after those awful reviews."
"Oh, sweetie!" She kissed him apologetically.
Joey nuzzled her neck and said, "I like you calling me 'sweetie'." He liked this feeling of have a girlfriend now, one who meant something to him and who would hopefully stay this time so he could enjoy this feeling of connection and closeness.
Kate sighed. "Boy, the way Chandler describes it, I do sound like a real bitch! I'm sorry I didn't treat you better, Joey; I should have given us a chance while we had time. It's just, I was younger then, and dumb, and pretentious, you know?"
"You're not dumb," Joey interrupted. "You're smarter than anybody--maybe even Ross."
She smiled and shook her head. "Not about dinosaurs, I'm sure! No, I mean, I was so... so know-it-all and blind. I kept trusting that Marshall knew what he was doing 'cause he was so over the top with his genius attitude. I was sure that *Boxing Day* would be my big break, and I just ignored the weird spaceship ending that made no sense. I thought it was some kind of symbolism or something that I didn't get." She laughed at herself. "Boy, those opening night reviews sure woke me up!"
Joey shrugged, for he still had fond memories of the review that said "Mr. Tribbiani is not the worst thing in this production."
Kate stroked his hair fondly. "And you were so great, Joey! Nothing like Marshall. He dumped me after the bad reviews, but you walked me home and said all these nice, wonderful things. You were just so perfect."
"Perfect?" Joey was skeptical. He'd been called a lot of things--most of them synonyms for dumb or slutty--but never perfect.
She nodded and smiled, laying her head against Joey's shoulder. "You are, Joey. Trust me, I've met all kinds of phoneys and Marshalls in L.A. They made me wish that I'd stayed here with you. Remember how we got so drunk that night and never even had sex 'cause it was so great just talking and learning all about your sisters and your Dad's mistress and everything. It was the second best night of my life."
"What was the best?"
"Seeing you again in Barbados."
He smiled and kissed her warmly.
The birds had finished eating the bird feed and were now noisily pecking at and investigating Kate's luggage.
"Oh, we better get those!" Joey and Kate got up to grab the bags.
As Joey helped her take the bags to his room, he asked her, "Hey, Kate, you wouldn't mind living with the birds, would you? 'Cause they don't have to stay here, if you think you can't stand the rooster crowing in the morning or whatever."
She glanced at him. "Oh no, that's all right, Joey. I don't want you to get rid of these guys for me. If I had any problem like that, I could get used to it or go stay at another apartment."
"No, no!" Joey said, "It's no problem, 'cause they're just visiting right now. They haven't really lived in the apartment for a while."
"Really? Why not?"
Joey shrugged. "Well it started out because Rachel was pregnant, you know, and she got sick whenever the birds were around, so I had them stay on my sailboat for a while. Then Rach moved back in with Ross for about a year, but sometimes she would come by and still couldn't stand the smell if I even had the birds over here for a bath. (Actually, I think it was also because she and Monica have always been irritated by the birds; they once tried to bet us into getting rid of the birds.)"
"Oh, my!" Kate's eyes widened. "And I thought they were your friends!"
Joey nodded. "I know! But me and Chandler sure showed them! I'll tell you the story some other time. Anyway, when Rach moved back here after a big fight with Ross, she didn't think it was safe having the birds around Emma, so I've been paying this guy who keeps pigeons on the roof to take care of them lately. I just wanted to have the chick and the duck meet you right now, but if you don't mind it, maybe they could stay this time."
"Oh, I don't mind at all," Kate said. "I'll bet these poor birds have had enough of moving around so much, and they don't need another woman coming in and complaining about them. They're adorable, just like you."
Joey smiled and kissed her lovingly, then they went to unpack.
(And yes, I DO know that events moved quite fast in the first few chapters of this story, with so many characters having sudden realizations of their feelings. The rushed couple-swapping was deliberate, though; I never usually go at that breakneck pace in my other stories. It's just that I've noticed how the Friends writers can also resort to hasty, unrealistic plots on the show--such as Ross proposing to Emily after knowing her for *six weeks* and planning the ceremony in only a month, purely for the convenience of having a London wedding for the season finale.)
To me, Joey's development of feelings for Kate (over the weeks of rehearsals for their play) was far more convincing than anything in the Joey/Rachel storyline, and I'd like to think that he's just revisiting and expanding on these old feelings instead of abruptly having a new, hopeless love for a different person entirely.]
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Joey went to pick up Kate from the airport, and he surprised her at the gate with a bouquet.
"Oh, flowers!" She kissed him and hugged him close. "You're so sweet."
Joey lingered in her arms, then said cheerfully, "Come on, let's get your bags." After stopping at baggage claim, they got into a cab and headed back to Joey's apartment. He couldn't wait to have her at home with him. Thank goodness that Rachel had moved in with Ross at such a good time.
"Are you sure it's not too soon for me to move in?" Kate asked as they came upstairs with her luggage. "I mean, we just got back together, Joey, and I could stay with some friends, like I did last time I was in New York."
Joey had missed her so much, though, and he insisted, "No, no, I want you as close as possible." He put his arm around her and gestured at Monica and Chandler's door. "Besides, it's easier for you to meet all my friends."
She shrugged and knew how much Joey wanted to include her in his group. "Okay, you talked me into it."
"Great!"
After Joey let them inside the apartment and set down her bags, Kate looked around for a vase and noticed the birds in the living room.
She gasped. "Oh! You still have these guys? Hi there!" She put down the bouquet on the counter and came over to kneel by the birds, who greeted her with curious clucks and quacks. "Hey, I thought the chick was a she?"
Joey smiled and put the flowers into a vase. "Well, he turned out to be a rooster. I guess me and Chandler were wrong to name him Yasmine."
Kate laughed and said, "I remember that you used to come to the theatre all the time with stories about how the duck was picking on the chick because of its size, and he had to have a time-out in the hallway." She pet the rooster and said to him, "I guess you don't have that problem any more, huh?"
Joey watched them happily, having been unsure whether Kate would really bond with the birds, or would hate them the way that Monica and Rachel did. So Joey joined the group on the floor and asked Kate, "You like them, huh?"
"Yeah." She chuckled as the duck stretched out his neck and wings to show off his bigger size, while the rooster crowed and scratched at the floor to assert that he was the head bird and more worthy of attention.
Joey smiled and gave her a handful of bird feed to offer them. "Fighting over you already! They must like you."
Kate shrugged. "At least I make a good first impression with somebody you know! Are you sure Chandler's not gonna follow us around and be suspicious whenever I do anything that's even a little bit bitchy?"
"I'm sure." Joey pulled her close and kissed her affectionately. "I talked to him about the whole thing, and he promised to be nice. It's just, you know, he wasn't used to me getting all emotional and upset about a girl, 'cause I'm always the one dumping girls and not caring about it." Joey was perfectly honest with Kate about his womanizing ways; since their first all-night conversation, they had learned to talk openly about everything with each other. (It was understood, of course, that they would both try to reform themselves in order to be together.)
Kate asked, "He's really protective, isn't he? Even though he knows you've broken plenty of hearts yourself?"
"Yeah, I know!" Joey nodded at the irony. "I've had so much sex that he kind of tunes it out, I guess; it's just, since I never really liked a girl before you, he thought of me as lost and out of my depth. Which I guess I was."
"I was pretty lost too. You were the first guy I liked who wasn't like Marshall--you know, some arrogant, over-intellectual jerk. I couldn't help wanting you and sleeping with you, but then I thought it had to be a mistake. You weren't my type at all."
Joey nodded and remembered. "Yeah, after you stayed with Marshall, Chandler kept telling me that I was better off without somebody as snobby as you, and I should give up trying to impress you. But I was so crazy about you that I wouldn't listen to him. Then you and me had that great talk after opening night, but you left for L.A. the next night, so Chandler thought that you only raised my hopes again just to crush me and leave me."
"I didn't mean to do that!"
"I know. That's just the way he saw it back then. He said that I was naïve, and you were only nice to me that one night because I was making you feel better after those awful reviews."
"Oh, sweetie!" She kissed him apologetically.
Joey nuzzled her neck and said, "I like you calling me 'sweetie'." He liked this feeling of have a girlfriend now, one who meant something to him and who would hopefully stay this time so he could enjoy this feeling of connection and closeness.
Kate sighed. "Boy, the way Chandler describes it, I do sound like a real bitch! I'm sorry I didn't treat you better, Joey; I should have given us a chance while we had time. It's just, I was younger then, and dumb, and pretentious, you know?"
"You're not dumb," Joey interrupted. "You're smarter than anybody--maybe even Ross."
She smiled and shook her head. "Not about dinosaurs, I'm sure! No, I mean, I was so... so know-it-all and blind. I kept trusting that Marshall knew what he was doing 'cause he was so over the top with his genius attitude. I was sure that *Boxing Day* would be my big break, and I just ignored the weird spaceship ending that made no sense. I thought it was some kind of symbolism or something that I didn't get." She laughed at herself. "Boy, those opening night reviews sure woke me up!"
Joey shrugged, for he still had fond memories of the review that said "Mr. Tribbiani is not the worst thing in this production."
Kate stroked his hair fondly. "And you were so great, Joey! Nothing like Marshall. He dumped me after the bad reviews, but you walked me home and said all these nice, wonderful things. You were just so perfect."
"Perfect?" Joey was skeptical. He'd been called a lot of things--most of them synonyms for dumb or slutty--but never perfect.
She nodded and smiled, laying her head against Joey's shoulder. "You are, Joey. Trust me, I've met all kinds of phoneys and Marshalls in L.A. They made me wish that I'd stayed here with you. Remember how we got so drunk that night and never even had sex 'cause it was so great just talking and learning all about your sisters and your Dad's mistress and everything. It was the second best night of my life."
"What was the best?"
"Seeing you again in Barbados."
He smiled and kissed her warmly.
The birds had finished eating the bird feed and were now noisily pecking at and investigating Kate's luggage.
"Oh, we better get those!" Joey and Kate got up to grab the bags.
As Joey helped her take the bags to his room, he asked her, "Hey, Kate, you wouldn't mind living with the birds, would you? 'Cause they don't have to stay here, if you think you can't stand the rooster crowing in the morning or whatever."
She glanced at him. "Oh no, that's all right, Joey. I don't want you to get rid of these guys for me. If I had any problem like that, I could get used to it or go stay at another apartment."
"No, no!" Joey said, "It's no problem, 'cause they're just visiting right now. They haven't really lived in the apartment for a while."
"Really? Why not?"
Joey shrugged. "Well it started out because Rachel was pregnant, you know, and she got sick whenever the birds were around, so I had them stay on my sailboat for a while. Then Rach moved back in with Ross for about a year, but sometimes she would come by and still couldn't stand the smell if I even had the birds over here for a bath. (Actually, I think it was also because she and Monica have always been irritated by the birds; they once tried to bet us into getting rid of the birds.)"
"Oh, my!" Kate's eyes widened. "And I thought they were your friends!"
Joey nodded. "I know! But me and Chandler sure showed them! I'll tell you the story some other time. Anyway, when Rach moved back here after a big fight with Ross, she didn't think it was safe having the birds around Emma, so I've been paying this guy who keeps pigeons on the roof to take care of them lately. I just wanted to have the chick and the duck meet you right now, but if you don't mind it, maybe they could stay this time."
"Oh, I don't mind at all," Kate said. "I'll bet these poor birds have had enough of moving around so much, and they don't need another woman coming in and complaining about them. They're adorable, just like you."
Joey smiled and kissed her lovingly, then they went to unpack.