Thank you for all the reviews, they really inspire me to write much quicker.

Dreem- ahhh but if everyone read the stupid summary!

Rachelgreengeller- ok, you totally rock, but I didn't say Rachel didn't want Ross. Maybe you shouldn't read this chapter.

Laura369- Thanks, and fluff does rock! Drama is very good, I love depressing, shoot-me-now stories…but fluff makes me smile!

Fashion hottie- Kill the tree! Sorry Richard fans… (if there are any)

I'm going to try and reply to reviewers, it makes me feel happy….

I've been debating whether or not to start another fic (I had a vague idea for a Chandler/Rachel friendship fluffy fic), but I think I've devoted myself to this one… I love delving into the psyche of the characters, and death and love are the perfect scenarios to explore the best and worst of people. Sometimes, death brings out the best in someone; they let go of grudges and improve themselves because they realize they only have a certain amount of time. In this story, so far, death has brought out the worst, especially in the character of Chandler. You might know that I love Chandler dearly and that (I think) I understand him well. A lot of the focus is on him (though the R/R shippers and Joey fans needn't worry, they'll be in there just as much), and a lot of the destruction of the fabulous six is because of him. I'm not blaming him or anything, just saying that death, in this story, so far, has brought out the worst in our Bing-A-Ling… but remember, love often goes hand-in-hand with death (scarily enough), and people change.

Please don't hate Joey at all. I love him a lot, and I did what I had to do to keep it on the same level of depression. Mondler and R/R forever!

Enjoy! (Again, this is un-betaed, so sorry for any mistakes, I just hate editing my work!)

Chapter 4

Joey headed back to the waiting room where Richard still sat, checking his watch every few moments, tapping his foot, looking around impatiently. Joey sat across from him, "Where did Monica go?"

"To talk to Chandler," Richard replied with a sigh.

Joey sat straighter in his chair; he hadn't known Chandler was still at the hospital, "About what?"

Richard looked him in the eye, "You want the truth?"

"Sure."

"I have no idea."

"Do you know where they are?"

"Nope."

"Probably in a closet," Joey chuckled, despite the horrible situations occurring around him.

Richard sat straighter and leaned in, "What do you mean by that?"

Joey shrugged, "Just making a joke that maybe they were doing the same thing they did in London."

"In… London?"

Joey was about to reply when his eyes went wide and he clapped a hand over his mouth. He slowly pulled it down, "I don't think I was supposed to tell you about that."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chandler sat back down on the bench and stared at the pack of cigarettes in his hands, turning them over and over until he could stall no more, "I guess I'm… I'm happy for you."

"You are?" she said uncertainly.

"Yeah," he said quietly. Then a little louder, "Yeah. Who else knows?"

"Just me and Richard. And you."

"And me," he murmured, staring instead at his feet.

Monica looked concernedly at him, "You sure you're not…"

She wasn't quite sure what she was going to say; there were so many conflicting emotions Chandler could be having at this moment that it was impossible to say all of them in one word.

But he understood, and looked up at her, "Yeah, I'm sure… I'm not…" a word seemed stuck in the back of his throat, but he finally pushed it forward, "jealous or anything… I'm seeing someone right now…it's kind of serious."

Monica raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

Chandler shrugged, "Just someone I met on the plane to Philly, Samantha Romfold."

"How serious?" These words of Monica's seemed just as stuck in her throat as Chandler's 'jealous' had been.

"We're living together," he said shortly.

"Oh…" her voice trailed off and there was silence once more. Finally, she said, "Hey… I'm sorry about… yelling at you before. In the waiting room"

"It's OK, I deserved it. Plus, I shouted back at you."

"No, you didn't deserve it. We've all been acting weird since…"

Chandler nodded and put the cigarettes back in his coat pocket, staring ahead into the street where pedestrians walked by, clutching umbrellas, and cars stood in an immobile line of traffic, "Since."

"It's been a long time."

He shrugged, "Not that long. Only nine months."

"A lot's happened."

He looked away from the street and spun to face her, "Too much."

"Chandler…" she began, then stared ahead at the street he had been watching so closely moments before. He continued to watch her until she finished her thought, "Sorry about…putting out your cigarette and yelling."

He smiled thinly, "I deserved it."

"You know, you keep saying that. It's getting a little annoying," she said with a smile.

"Well, I'm glad to know I'm pissing off a pregnant woman," he said, and she saw a spark in his eyes for the first time in nine months- the spark of the quirky, funny, compassionate man he had once been, the man that she missed so much. The last time she'd seen that spark… she looked away as she remembered London.

"Let's go back inside," she said quietly, and then stood. He followed her into the building, momentarily happy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, Joe," Chandler greeted Joey, who was still sitting, rather in shock, in the waiting room. Richard had disappeared and Ross was no where to be seen. Monica had gone to the bathroom.

Chandler sat across from Joey, snapping his fingers in front of his ex-roommate, "Joey!"

Joey shook out of his trance, "What?"

"Why are you spacing out?"

Joey looked away from Chandler and instead focused his eyes on his shoes, "I kind of let it slip to Richard that you and Monica… you know… in London…"

Chandler's mouth dropped open, "No way!"

"I know, I know, it just slipped! I was thinking about the accident, and you and Monica fighting, and the baby, and Ross and Rachel-"

"Ross and Rachel?" Chandler asked wonderingly.

"I overheard them talking… or yelling," Joey added, "Rach was telling Ross that he wasn't dependable… and then I asked him what he wanted for her. He just said he wanted her to be happy… Chandler… I've thought about…"

He paused to look around the waiting room as though the numerous people sleeping or reading dull magazines cared about what he said next in a low whisper, "I've been thinking… Ross wants her happy, right? And she wants someone dependable…"

Chandler's head dropped into his hands and he made a strange moaning noise. He finally looked up again, "Are you saying you want to propose…?"

"Ross said he wanted her to be happy."

"Ross doesn't know what the hell he wants, especially when it comes to Rachel!" Chandler hissed.

"Dude, like you would know, hanging out in Philadelphia-"

"For my job!"

Joey raised his hands in surrender, "I'm not getting in a fight with you, you already yelled at Monica today."

"She yelled at me too!" Chandler said angrily. He stood and picked up his coat, "I don't know why I bothered to come."

"Rachel's in labor, at least stay for her!"

"No! I'm obviously not wanted here, and I don't want to be here, so I'm just going to go home. Monica's pregnant, you want to marry Rachel while she's having Ross's kid, Phoebe's dead, Ross is a two-time divorcee who's having a kid with his ex-girlfriend, and Richard's a frigging TREE! You can all obviously thrive in your ridiculously twisted lives without me, so I'M LEAVING!"

Chandler was on his feet, shouting in the waiting room. The dull magazines were back on their tables and every eye in the room was on him. He took a deep breath and thought sadly of that small moment of happiness after he had talked to Monica. It had been a glimmer of hope that maybe they could all piece their lives back together. But that bubble of joy had burst and he was striding out of the hospital, not looking back at the mess he was leaving behind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Monica walked out of the bathroom, wiping her wet hands on her pants. What kind of a bathroom doesn't have paper towels? She thought irritably.

Someone brushed by her, muttering something about having to leave. She looked up and saw it was Chandler, who was walking quickly to the elevator. He slowed as he reached the elevator and turned back to face the still Monica. He smiled rather sadly at her, entered the elevator, and disappeared.

"Mon?"

Monica turned around to face Richard.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(Several Hours Later)

"Well, Ms. Green, you have a little baby girl," the doctor said, and handed the baby, wrapped in blankets, to Rachel. Her problems with Ross, the death of Phoebe, Chandler's distance from them for eight months… all disappeared when she looked down into the tiny pink face she held in her arms.

The door opened and Joey entered, "Um… can I have a private moment with her…?" he asked the doctor. She nodded and exited the room, closing the door. Joey walked farther into the room, and looked at the baby in amazement, "Wow… she's beautiful."

"I know," Rachel sighed.

"So… what did you name her?" Joey asked. Then he added, "I'm guessing it's a her?"

"Yeah, she is…" Rachel looked at the baby for a few moments, and then looked up at Joey, "Phoebe."

"What?" It was surprising how hard it was to get that one word out.

"I… I named her 'Phoebe'."

Joey looked down at the baby again and smiled, "She's a Phoebe."

"Yeah…" Rachel trailed off and both looked in wonder at the child. Finally, she looked back up at Joey, "Where's everyone else?"

Joey looked down, then back at Rachel, his smile gone and a sad, faraway look on his face, "Chandler left, Monica and Richard are fighting, and I don't know where Ross is."

Rachel sighed and turned back to little Phoebe, "I thought… I thought that at least Monica would be here when I gave birth… she's my best friend… And Ross, this is his daughter… Chandler… stupid Chandler hasn't visited for three months, he should have been here, he should have… Phoebe… Phoebe should have been here…"

"But she is," Joey said softly, moving closer to the mother and child. He touched Rachel's hand that was supporting Phoebe, "She's right here."

A single tear ran down Rachel cheek, "Joey… thank you for being… being here when everyone else…"

Several more tears.

"Everyone else… they're not here… I thought I'd have them forever and ever, but now you're the only one here, the only one who cared enough to let go of everything for just one day… Joey…"

Joey was now leaning in towards Rachel. She was still crying, but was now looking into his dark eyes. Slowly, he leaned in more, the voice in the back of his head saying, no, don't do it… but he was so close…

An instant later, his lips were touching hers, and she was kissing him back.

I will make you happy, he promised. That's what Ross wants. You to be happy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Another one," Ross mumbled. The bartender glanced worriedly at him for an instant, and then handed him another shot glass filled with some unidentifiable amber liquid. Ross drained it and clunked the glass down again. Suddenly, he found himself talking to the old man, "You know, my kid was born today. And I wasn't there. Yeah, I'm having a kid with this woman who I fell in love with in high school, then we dated for a while, and then we broke up… We conceived a kid while we were on a trip that was supposed to be my honeymoon with someone else… I don't know what to do."

The bartender stared at him for a moment, then glanced around the near-empty pub and pulled up a stool. "Go on," he said roughly, sticking a toothpick between his teeth.

"So that's Rachel. Then about the same day we conceived, my other friend, Phoebe, died in a car crash. So about a month after that, my best friend, Chandler, moves to Philadelphia. Same day Rachel told me she was pregnant… anyway, Monica-"

"Who's Monica?"

"Little sister and one of my best friends. So anyway, Monica gets married to this ex-boyfriend of hers as soon as she gets back from London. So the next eight months go by, crappiest time of my life… today, baby's born. And I wasn't even there. She can't depend on me, so I didn't know what to do… I just want her to be happy, you know?"

The bartender's toothpick had fallen out of his mouth. After a moment, he said, "'Nother shot?"

Ross nodded, then stopped- the nodding was causing a loud banging in his head.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There you are, Chapter 4. I was actually hoping to get to the "ten years later" part this chapter, but I wrote it and it worked this way, so probably next chapter. Please review, you know how much I love you when you do that… plus, lots of frozen raspberries to the best reviewer who bashes Richard!