okay well, i am exhausted after writing this! It took forever, and parts of it were quite difficult, but i soldiered on. I'm like the energizer bunny, i just keep going! I know that people love long chapters, so ya'all are gonna love this one! It's like 1000 words longer than any of my other ones, so please enjoy! I will hopefully get a new chapter up by tomorrow, but maybe later cause i may have a bit of trouble writing the next chapter. I gotta do some research on some...stuff! So please read and enjoy, and KEEP REVIEWING!

I dont own friends/actors/characters but i do bow down to the wonder of Matthew Langford Perry, and bathe in his greatness


Ross walked quickly to the door of Apartment 20, yawning loudly. He hadn't slept much the night before, instead choosing to worry about Chandler. Well, he hadn't chosen to, he hadn't had much of a choice. His brain did whatever it wanted to; he was merely just an observer.

Ross had acted calm throughout this whole ordeal, but underneath it all, he was terrified to his very core. He had known Chandler for years, and it scared him that his oldest friend was going through something this horrific.

His friend's were putting on a brave front, but Ross knew that it upset them just as much; possibly more so for Joey and Rachel. That confused him. Joey being that upset he could understand, but Chandler and Rachel had never been as close as the two roommates. They had been close, yes, but never that close. It was only recently that things had started to change between the two. Ross had a feeling he knew why, and the thought saddened him.

He and Rachel had broken up a while ago, and on some level Ross knew that they would never get back together again. But every now and then he wondered if that was entirely true. He knew he still loved Rachel; he always would. He knew that, on some level, Rachel would always love him too. She showed that every now and then. But now she seemed to have feelings for Chandler.

Ross could understand that; she and Chandler had similar interests then her and Ross. They connected in a different way then Ross and Rachel ever had. And Ross knew that Chandler had never once bored Rachel while talking about something he was interested in. Ross, on the other hand, had once put Rachel to sleep by talking about a part of a dinosaur's skeletal structure.

He could also understand the sudden interest. Chandler was hurting, and Rachel wanted to make it stop; to take care of him. She obviously cared about him a lot.

"Ross?" Ross blinked at the sound of his name being called. The object of his thoughts was standing in the doorway, staring at him. "You okay? You were just standing there, staring into space." Ross let out a short laugh, the one he did when he was nervous or embarrassed.

"Yeah, I'm fine Rach, I was just thinking," he told her. She nodded, glancing over his shoulder towards Apartment 19. "I was just heading in to see you and Mon."

"Oh, well, I'm going to check on Chandler, but Monica is in there, making breakfast," Rachel informed him.

"Hi Ross!" Monica's voice called from inside.

"Hi Mon!" Ross called back, smiling. Rachel grinned, once again looking over his shoulder.

"So, you're going to check on Chandler?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, I need to know if he had another dream. I thought I heard something last night, but I wasn't sure. I was going to go check on him, but I thought I might be overreacting slightly," she laughed. "I'm sure Joey would have heard him, and plus I'm not so sure Chandler would appreciate waking up with me on his bed if there wasn't a problem." Ross frowned at that statement. Not because of the words, but because of the way she said it. She sounded like she wanted Chandler to wake up to find her on his bed. Or possibly in. Ross frown grew deeper. She loved him, he thought dejectedly. She loved Chandler, and she had moved on, away from Ross. He now knew that it would never happen. He and Rachel were never going to happen again. It was time for him to also move on. He loved Rachel, but if he couldn't have her, he wanted her to be happy. And he wanted Chandler to be happy.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind waking up with you there," Ross said, a sad smile spreading across his face. Rachel laughed, running her hand through her hair nervously.

"You think?" she said softly.

"Yeah." Rachel studied his face carefully for a moment.

"Would you be okay with that?" she asked gently. Ross smiled.

"Yeah, I would," he whispered. Rachel nodded, smiling slightly. "I'm giving you my blessing, not that you need it. I don't own you after all. You do whatever makes you happy."

"That means the world to me Ross," Rachel murmured. Ross nodded.

"I know." Rachel smiled at him, then reached up and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Enjoy breakfast," she commanded, a bright smile on her face. He grinned back, watching her walk past and enter Apartment 19. He had just given up on Rachel; the love of his life. And it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. His smile grew wider as he entered the girls' apartment, the smell of bacon wafting in the air.

Rachel crossed the dark apartment carefully, being as quiet as possible. It was still early, and she knew that it was likely that neither Joey nor Chandler were up. If Joey had been telling the truth about the audition, maybe, but Rachel was pretty sure that had been a lie. She stepped up to Chandler's room and peeked inside. What she saw was something that she wasn't expecting.

Joey was sitting back against the wall, his eyes shut. Lying against his chest, arms gently wrapped around him, was Chandler. Rachel moved forward, a small frown on her face. There was dried blood underneath Chandler's nose and on Joey's shirt, and as she got closer, she could see a light bruise on Joey's cheek. Judging from what she was seeing, last night hadn't gone to well. Rachel's foot found a squeaky floorboard, one that she had forgotten about from when she and Monica had reluctantly lived here. The sudden noise caused Joey's eye's to flutter open, but thankfully Chandler's remained closed.

"Hey Rach," Joey whispered.

"Hey," she whispered back. "What's going on?"

"Dream," Joey answered needlessly. Rachel had already guessed that. "He was truly terrified this time Rach; crying and shaking for half the night. He only fell asleep about an hour ago." Rachel's heart sank at his words.

"They're getting worse?" she asked softly. Joey nodded. Rachel bit her lip to keep from cursing loudly, and took a few deep breaths. "Jesus Joe, what if they never stop?" she said tearfully. Joey sighed.

"I don't know," he murmured. "But I don't think he will be able to take much more of this. He was in so much pain; it was physically hurting him. He was clinging to me as if his life depended on it." Joey looked down at the still figure in his arms, and Rachel caught the flash of anguish on his face. Joey was hurting just as much as she was; possibly even more. The two boys had been closer for a lot longer then she and Chandler had. "He told me to lie to him Rach. To tell him that everything was gonna be okay. I did that, but what if everything is never okay?"

"Joe, I don't know what to say," Rachel answered truthfully. Joey nodded, then yawned. "How much sleep have you had?"

"None," Joey admitted. "I couldn't sleep before Chandler had the dream, and I was only dozing when you came in." Rachel nodded.

"Why don't you go lie down in your bed?" she suggested. "See if you can get some sleep. I'll man the station here." Joey smirked at her choice of words. He was glad that they could still make jokes. "And maybe change your shirt. The blood isn't very becoming."

"Yeah…I don't know why he keeps getting blood noses, "Joey murmured. "We'll have to ask Dr Mackenzie." Rachel nodded, and watched as Joey carefully slid out from underneath Chandler. Her heart broke as Joey gently untangled Chandler's hand from his shirt. Chandler had been grasping Joey's top like a child would to a parents after a scary dream. It occurred to her once more just how vulnerable Chandler was at the moment. Joey lay Chandler down flat on the bed, then turned to Rachel.

"Night Rach," Joey said softly, walking past her and out the door. "Well, morning really."

"Sweet dreams," Rachel called after him.

"We can only hope." Rachel frowned at Joey's words as she settled down on the bed. She ran her hand across Chandler's forehead, then reached down and grasped his hand gently. Chandler instinctively wrapped his fingers around hers, unconsciously moving closer to her. Rachel sighed. Sweet dreams.

They could only hope.

Chandler opened his eyes slowly two hours later, squinting in the late morning sun. He gazed up at Rachel, a bewildered look on his face. Rachel smiled at his confusion.

"You're not the person I fell asleep next to," Chandler muttered, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Although you are much more attractive." Rachel laughed gently, a light blush spreading across her cheeks.

"I'm going to tell Joey you said that," she teased. Chandler smiled slightly, sitting up.

"I'm sure he agrees with me; he's not that vain," he joked back. Rachel laughed again.

"I suppose he told you what happened last night?" Chandler asked softly after a moment's silence. Rachel smiled grimly, then nodded.

"Yeah, he did," she murmured. Chandler sighed.

"I feel so weak; so defenceless," he muttered. "I just couldn't stop crying or shaking. That isn't very manly huh?"

"Chandler, no one expects you to be manly; now or any other time," she joked gently. Chandler smirked.

"I know that, but I just wish I could be, you know? I feel so pathetic sometimes," he murmured. Rachel shook her head violently.

"You're not pathetic Chandler," she insisted.

"I know that too; I just feel that way sometimes. I mean, God, I spent half the night crying and clinging to Joey like he was my life support! And I hit him! I can't believe that!"

"Joey doesn't care about that, he just wants you to be okay," Rachel whispered. "I'm sure you didn't hurt him on purpose." Chandler nodded.

"Yeah, he was trying to wake me up," Chandler paused, rubbing his face. "I know that Joey would never be ashamed of me, and that I am lucky that it was him. I don't think Ross or Phoebe would have treated me so gently."

"I'm sure they would have Chan; we all would have," Rachel said softly. "We all love you, and we want to help. Nobody expects you to be strong. We don't care if you are a mess; with what you are going through, you deserve to have a few crying spells."

Chandler nodded, staring down at their hands, intertwined once again. "I'm hungry," he said suddenly. Rachel grinned, glancing at the clock.

"Well, Monica doesn't have to go to work for three more hours; what do you say we go over there? I'm sure she wouldn't mind fixing you some late breakfast. Or early lunch, whichever you choose to call it."

"We'll call it brunch," Chandler said decisively. Rachel nodded and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Come on you, let's get you fed!" she pulled Chandler out of the bed and towards the door.

"Uh Rach? Can I get dressed first?" Rachel glanced at Chandler to find him clad in just boxers and a shirt.

"Yeah, good idea. I'll wait outside." She stepped out into the living room, closing the once broken door behind her. A smile spread across her face. Although the day had started off badly, with Chandler having another horrible dream, she had a feeling that it would be a good day. She was determined that it would be a good day. She was going to do whatever she could to make Chandler happy.

It was going to be a good day, she was sure of it.

An hour and a half later they were sitting on Monica and Rachel's couch, watching, to no one's surprise, Die Hard. Chandler was sitting between Joey and Rachel; leaning slightly on Joey, while Rachel leaned against him. Brunch had been enjoyable, and everyone seemed to be in good spirits; even Chandler. Joey was in high spirits as well, although he had only slept for an hour. He had still been worried about Chandler, but had managed to rest a bit. Seeing Chandler now, as happy as he had been for a while, made Joey happy too. He was sure that was why everyone else was happy. Things were starting to look up, Joey thought, turning away from Bruce Willis to look at his best friend. Chandler had his eyes closed tightly, his face scrunched up in pain. Joey's heart sank. Things had been going so well.

"You okay?" Joey asked gently. Chandler opened his eyes and glanced at his friend.

"Yeah, just another headache," he muttered, closing his eyes once again. He could feel Rachel and Monica's eyes boring into him, joining Joeys. "I'm fine."

Rachel sighed next to him. They were back to fine, she thought. She glanced at Monica, who immediately picked up the remote and switched that movie off. Chandler opened his eyes and stared at the blank screen.

"Is that better?" Rachel asked gently. Chandler nodded.

"Yeah, a bit," he mumbled. His three friends exchanged a worried glance between them. They should have picked something else to watch; something with less things blowing up. Rachel's gaze grew critical as she looked at Joey. He had chosen the movie. Joey shrugged defensively in response. Chandler had wanted to watch it as well, he thought to himself. Monica rolled her eyes at the two, and leaned forward.

"There's some aspirin in the bathroom. I can get it if you like?" she suggested. Chandler smiled.

"Thanks, but I can get it. I'm not a complete invalid, you know," he joked, standing up slowly. Joey smirked.

"Then why do you act that way?" Joey shot back, grinning suddenly. Chandler laughed lightly.

"Very funny," he said dryly, making his way to the bathroom. Rachel had watched the exchange, at first apprehensive about Joey's behaviour. But once Chandler had laughed, her apprehension had turned into amusement. She was glad that Chandler could still laugh at his own expense. Things really did seem like they were getting back to normal. She had noticed today, when Ross had been here, that he and the others hadn't been tiptoeing around Chandler as much. She wasn't sure how Phoebe would treat him; Phoebe hadn't been by today. But Rachel was sure that Chandler was thankful for the slight sense of normalcy.

Rachel glanced over at Chandler. He still looked a bit pale and shaken up, but that was understandable from the lack of sleep, dreams and headaches. Not to mention the annoying blood noses that accompanied the dreams. Rachel caught Chandler's eye as her went to close the bathroom door, and they exchanged a smile. The door closed and Chandler was gone, but Rachel still found herself smiling.

Monica watched the scene, smiling as well. She had come to accept Rachel and Chandler's bond, just as Ross had done. The siblings had talked earlier that day, and they had both decided to move on. Monica knew it would be hard, but she also knew that she was grateful that Rachel was the one stealing Chandler's heart. Better her than some random woman, or slut as Monica would most likely call her. Or Janice, she thought with a shudder. Yes, she much preferred Rachel with Chandler. At least she knew that Rachel would take care of him.

Monica reached over and grasped Rachel's hand gently. Rachel smiled back, squeezing her hand. Joey watched, a smile spreading across his face.

"Now kiss her," he urged.

"Joey!" the girls exclaimed at the same time. Joey laughed, but his laughter was cut short by a loud crash. The three once again exchanged worried looks before leaping to their feet and rushing to the bathroom.

"Chandler!" Rachel called frantically as they ran.

"Chan?" Joey shouted. They reached the door and Rachel pushed it open.

"Oh my god," she shrieked, rushing forward.

"Joey, call an ambulance!" Monica ordered. "Now!"

Joey nodded in horror, rushing off as Rachel bent down next to Chandler's convulsing body. His eyes were straight ahead, unseeing.

"Oh my god, Monica," Rachel whimpered. "What's happening?"

"He's having a seizure," Monica explained tearfully.

"What do we do?" Rachel watched as Monica wracked her brain for the answer. She had learnt what to do a long time ago

"We just ride it out," she remembered suddenly, and reached behind her. "Here."

Rachel took the toilet brush from Monica, her eyes quizzical. "Put this between his teeth. So he doesn't bite his tongue."

"A toilet brush!" Rachel shrieked.

"It's the only thing I could find!"

Rachel gently reached over with shaking hands and put the brush into Chandler's mouth, careful to keep the brush part away from his lips. She then sat back, afraid to touch him, and started to cry. Monica wrapped her arms around Rachel, and Rachel noticed that she was crying as well. A sob escaped Rachel's lips as she stared at Chandler's seizing body.

She had never been this scared in her entire life.