Author's Note: Thanks again for the reviews. You all get pudding skin singles. Most unfortunately, however, this isn't a fun, light-hearted fic. Well, not unfortunately for me, seeing as I like writing depressing things, but for people looking for an amusing little tale of the wonderful Mondler and R/R love, it's not happening. Not that I'm saying that Mondler and R/R WON'T happen, but this isn't a fun fic. At least not for the characters. So if you're looking for a fun fic read "Bored"…that was actually supposed to be longer, but I decided not to…gahh whatever.

I think I've got to explain the behavior of certain characters…the death of Phoebe is incredibly important to the story. The other five are confused and definitely not acting themselves Chandler moving to Philly, Ross debating whether or not to stay in Rachel's life, Monica rashly giving up Chandler for Richard (she may have said no eventually if Phoebe had been alive), and all of this will be important to future plots. So enjoy the depressing tale!

Chapter 3

"Rach…"

"Well, which is it?" she snapped.

Ross stood and walked to the counter so that he was facing her and said quietly, "I'm not…I don't know."

Rachel's mouth fell open, "What do you mean, 'I don't know'! This is our baby!" her voice softened, "Ross…you've got to be there…I need someone."

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"Are you really sure you want to move out?"

Rachel turned to Monica, who was packing clothes into boxes while looking concernedly at her friend, "Yeah…yeah, I am. If Ross isn't sure that he wants to be a daddy, then I…I really can't live with him."

"So you're moving in with Joey?"

"Yeah, and he can't pay the rent on his own, so it's good for everyone."

"Oh. Yeah, just great," Monica replied quietly, taping a full box, "I'm done."

"So, how are things with you and Richard?"

"Fine. Things are fine. My life is fine."

Rachel frowned at her, "You OK?"

"No, I'm not. Does that really surprise you?"

Rachel shook her head, "I don't think any of us are, hun."

Monica sighed and leaned against the bed, closing her eyes. "Things are never going to be the same," she murmured. Rachel nodded silently even though Monica's eyes were shut and sat next to her, closing her eyes also.

"Mon?"

"Yeah?"

"I miss Phoebe."

Monica smiled and a small tear trickled down her cheek, "Me too."

"And I'm going to miss Chandler."

"Me too."

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Chandler took his briefcase out of the overhead compartment and boarded off the plane, Samantha behind him. When they got inside the airport, he asked, "So…where are you headed?"

"Actually, my apartment's about a mile from here."

"I'm here, at least for the time being," he said, showing her a piece of paper.

She smiled as she saw the address, "Marshel Street! I'm about five blocks from there."

"Great!" he said, smiling back, "Maybe you can show me where the hell it is?"

"Sure, we can share a taxi."

"Sounds good," he replied, and she led the way to baggage claim. He followed behind her, trying not to think about a certain married woman.

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(Approximately Eight Months Later)

"Chandler! Where the hell have you been!"

"Rush hour!" he said in reply to Monica's rather rude greeting. They both ran through the doors of the hospital soaking wet- it was raining buckets, "Stupid Rachel has to have her baby in the middle of rush hour!"

They jumped into an elevator and Monica punched in the 'up' button, "I've been waiting outside for nearly an hour, I thought you were here in New York on business!"

"I was, I was…the meeting was just at the farthest place from the hospital, it went late, traffic, and- hey, we're here!"

They ran out of the elevator though the maternity ward, nearly running into a doctor, and burst through a door where Rachel was sitting on a bed, face scrunched up in pain from a contraction. After a few moments, she threw her head back onto a pillow, muttering to herself.

Chandler took a look around the room. Joey was standing next to the bed, looking down concernedly. Ross was to Joey's left and several feet back, his arms crossed. Richard was on the other side of the bed. All four looked up at the two new arrivals.

"Dude, what took you so long?" Joey asked Chandler.

"Rush hour, traffic, late meeting," Chandler panted, getting his breath back from the sudden sprint through the hospital.

"Hey, do you guys mind if I talk to Rachel alone for a bit?" Ross asked. Rachel looked up at him, confused, and the other three nodded and left the room. He pulled over a chair and seemed to be thinking for a moment.

"You know, I've got a baby coming out of my vagina any time now, so you might want to start talking," she snapped.

He sighed, "Okay then… I was thinking about how you said you needed someone a while ago… I just want you to know that I'll be here for you."

"Ross, what is your problem? I said that eight months ago, and for eight months you've been debating whether or not to stay in my life. I…I don't know if I want someone who isn't sure if he loves me and the baby to stay close…"

"What are you saying?"

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"I'm hungry," Joey complained as he sat, facing Chandler.

"Then go eat," Chandler snapped.

"Jeez, get grumpy," Monica muttered.

"What did you say?" Chandler said, turning to Monica.

"Nothing," Monica said, crossing her arms and staring straight ahead at Richard.

"No, no, you said something."

"C'mon you two…" Richard began to interrupt, but Chandler and Monica had already started.

"What the hell do you care what I said, it's not like you return our calls all the time or email us!" she shouted.

"I'm busy!" he shouted back.

"Too busy for your friends!"

Chandler jumped up, "Maybe I've got new friends!"

"Well, thank god, 'cause we're sick of you!"

"Uh, Mon-" Joey began, but Chandler was already walking away.

After a few minutes of silence, Joey got up, "I'm going to…go look for a…vending machine…"

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"Ross, I'm not ready to go through that pain again!"

Ross was about to shout back, but she had another contraction. He grabbed her hand as her face screwed up in pain, but she smacked it away, grabbing the bed instead.

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Joey walked by Rachel's room, and frowned as he heard raised voices. He stopped by the door to listen- after all, it wasn't exactly eavesdropping if you were yelling loud enough for anyone to hear.

"Rach, I'm telling you I can do this! I'll be there for you and the baby!" Ross's voice shouted.

"Ross, I can't believe you! I can't TRUST you to stay by me! I need someone who's DEPENDABLE, and you DON'T fit that description!" she yelled back.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

There was a moment of silence in which Joey ran his fingers through his hair. What the hell was happening to his once-tight-knit group of friends?

"What…what does this mean?" Ross asked, his voice much quieter.

"I- I don't know, Ross, I don't know," Rachel moaned, and before either of them could say anything more, a doctor rushed into the room.

"How is everything?" she asked.

"Oh, just swell-" Rachel began cynically, and then yelled out in pain as another contraction came along.

"OK, I think you're ready!" the doctor said.

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Joey jumped back as they rushed Rachel to the delivery room. Ross slowly walked out of the private room they'd just been in, his hands in his pockets.

"Hey," Ross greeted Joey in the same depressed voice he had used about five years ago when Rachel had first come to live with Monica.

"Dude, I heard…everything… what are you gonna do?"

Ross sighed and closed the door, leaning against it as he talked to Joey, "I really don't know… she doesn't trust me to be there for her, and who can blame her? I've been so horrible these last eight months…"

"Come on, Ross, no one's been themselves since…since it."

"I know, but that's no reason for me to act like this!" he paused for a moment, as though debating whether or not to say something; finally, he said quietly, "Phoebe wouldn't have wanted this to happen."

Looks of gloom settled on both the men's faces as they leaned against the white-washed walls of the hospital. Joey watched Ross shift restlessly, and he turned back on his own thoughts. Ross was right; what would Phoebe said if she could see this? He was sure that having his friend back would solve all problems; for one, things would not have been so awkward between the five of them. Even eight months after her death, the friendship between the people Joey had once thought inseparable was quickly disintegrating to monthly phone calls instead of the twice-a-day hangout at Central Perk. He was sure that Phoebe would have known about the Monica-Chandler incident; he believed her nearly psychic. This whole business with Ross and Rachel could have been glossed over easier with one of her "lobster" jokes…

Yes, all in all, Joey believed that if his friend was still among them, they'd still be as they were before London, before Greece, before the car crash…

He stood up a little straighter, thinking; what would Phoebe do?

She'd make Ross and Rachel happy, he thought. She'd try to fix this mess.

"Ross…" he started, turning to his friend.

"Yeah?" Ross sighed.

"What do you want for Rachel?"

Ross shrugged, "To be happy, I guess. I thought… I thought she'd be happy with me, but that's not what she wants… I just hope she finds someone dependable who she loves."

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"Cigarettes, huh? You haven't pulled that one in a while."

Chandler glanced at Monica, who was standing just outside the door of the hospital. The rain had stopped and now there was the drip-drip-drip of water falling from the roof. He said nothing and let out another puff of smoke, staring down back at his feet.

Monica walked over to the bench he was sitting at, "Can I sit here?"

"No one's stopping you."

Monica rolled her eyes and sat next to him. After a few minutes and several puffs later, Chandler finally said, "So, do you have something to say, or did you just come out here for the…" he looked at his cigarette, "fresh…air…?"

Monica turned to him, snatched the cigarette out of his hand, threw it on the ground, and mashed it with her foot in one motion. Chandler raised his eyebrows.

"Um…"

"It's a disgusting habit," she snapped, "And I can't have you smoking around me anyway. Otherwise, I wouldn't care. Go kill your lungs, you deserve it, you self-righteous son-of-a-bitch who left just because he felt uncomfortable."

Chandler was speechless for a good two minutes, in which he stared at Monica in slight shock. When he finally got his voice back, he managed to say, "What do you mean I can't…smoke around…you…?"

Monica fidgeted on the bench, "I'm pregnant…" then she added hastily, knowing how peculiar Chandler could get, "with Richard, not…someone else."

Chandler's eyes widened and he fumbled inside his coat pocket for a moment, hastily lit a cigarette, then jumped up and threw the cigarette on the ground, smashing it with his toe, shouting (apparently at the cigarette), "No! No smoking!"

After a moment in which he stood, staring at the cigarette, Monica asked awkwardly, "So… how do you…feel about…this…?"

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Lalalala…what, I'm singing! Oh, sorry…but there's Chapter 3. I think probably half a chapter to a chapter more of this "approximately nine months later" stuff, and then we'll get to the "ten years later" stuff… the good stuff, in my opinion. Don't give up on this story, the good 'ships are on their way.

So please review and I'll try to update soon. I'm going on vacation from the 5th to the 9th, so I don't know how often I'll be able to write, but I shall try.