Ch.6: Old Lovers Meet Again

Author's Note: Ha! I fooled you. (Does victory dance, probably a few steps of a Greek zeimbekiko, which might please Jennifer Aniston. I will come right out and say, I can dance a great deal better than Chandler, but then just about anybody could, I think – not one of his talents).

Only one reviewer got the answer right, and two more thought of it as a possibility. No, I love Janice dearly, but she is definitely in Chandler's past now – as you will see.

The part of Kathy was played by Paget Brewster, and my description reflects a cheerful photograph of her that can be found in many image collections. (And in case anyone doesn't know, Charlie Wheeler was played by Aisha Tyler, an attractive Afro-American almost as tall as David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry).

Thanks again for all the splendid reviews.

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Although she had grown her hair to her shoulders and was wearinga very stylish cowboy-style hat, there was no mistaking the woman: it was Kathy. Phoebe was very keen to know how she had got back together with Chandler, which she evidently had, but there were more important things right now …

Monica and Rachel were now both hugging Joey, repeating his name and seeming to be crying a little. Phoebe held her arms wide for Chandler, beaming at him. He grinned back and walked into them, while Ross banged him on the back, smiling broadly and saying, "It's great to see you, dude!"

Phoebe felt surprisingly emotional as she hugged Chandler. It was really good to see him looking so well, not exactly lean, but fit, his face slightly bronzed and lacking the rather worried look that Phoebe remembered.

Then Ross moved to Joey and Rachel to Chandler, while Monica and Phoebe greeted Kathy. Phoebe noticed that Kathy looked surprised at being given a quite warm hug by Monica.

"Hey, Kathy!" Phoebe said, and Rachel echoed her, as they moved over to give Kathy the standard hug and air kiss in their turn.

And then everyone noticed that Monica and Chandler had not hugged or anything like it, but were looking at each other rather uncertainly. A silence fell. To Phoebe, they did not look hostile, but neither did they seem at all easy. She felt worried: this was where it might all go wrong.

"Hi Chandler," Monica said in a neutral voice. "You're looking good."

"Hi," he responded, equally neutrally, with a hesitant smile, "so are you." He looked around. "So are all of you, in fact. You guys remember Kathy?"

"Sure we do," said Phoebe, smiling at Kathy. "I guess you're dating again."

Chandler glanced at Monica and seemed to take courage from the fact that her face showed nothing but friendly interest.

"We sure are," he said emphatically.

"Well, let's hear all about it, then," said Rachel, smiling.

Chandler said, "Well, we met again in LA," sounding suddenly animated.

"It's all thanks to Joey," said Kathy eagerly. "We were on the same set for a TV show, just minor parts, you know, and" – she giggled – "he came on to me. He'd forgotten who I was, I think."

As Ross and others snickered, Joey grinned and made a throwaway gesture. "I was not expecting to see you there, that's why I didn't recognise you – and you changed your hairstyle, too. It was good to see someone I knew from the old days."

"So we got talking, and of course we talked about Chandler," said Kathy. "By then, I had quite got over being mad at him. In fact, I felt rather ashamed that I went off and slept with that actor just to get back at him. He deserved better than that."

"Well, I was worse, acting all immature and crazy jealous," said Chandler, smiling at her.

"Anyway, Joey told me about meeting her, and that she wasn't still mad at me, and would I like to see her again? And I had mainly good memories, so I said, sure,"

"And when we met at Joey's place, next time Chandler was visiting him, I found I was pleased to see him – " said Kathy.

"And I was really pleased to see her," said Chandler eagerly. "So, we had a long talk and made up."

"It's very good to hear that you're back with Chandler, Kathy," Monica said a little shyly. "It makes me feel, he's in good hands."

"Thank you," said Kathy demurely.

Chandler smiled more relaxedly at Monica and seemed about to say something, but all this time Ross had looked eager to speak, and now he broke in.

"Guys," he said, looking particularly at Chandler and Joey, "I'd like you to meet my fiancée, Charlie Wheeler." He grinned. "She's another dinosaur freak."

"Wow!" said Joey, grinning warmly as he held out a hand to shake. "You're even hotter than Julie, the first dinosaur freak Ross dated."

"Joey!" cried Monica and Rachel in reproof, virtually simultaneously, in such a clear reminiscence of the past that Phoebe choked up and had to find a tissue.

"Some things never change," Chandler observed. "You know, I think I'd be disappointed if Joey ever changed."

"So would a lot of women in LA," Kathy observed slyly. "He's quite popular there, you know."

They all laughed, and began to sit down again, the newcomers finding more chairs.

"Don't worry, I know all about Julie," said Charlie, grinning vividly. "In fact, I first heard about what Ross was like as a person from her." She glanced at him rather mischievously. "But that was when she'd calmed down a bit."

"You met Julie?" said Joey, looking perplexed.

"Sure," said Charlie. "It was at a conference. That's when all we dinosaur freaks get together, you know." She flashed him another grin. "Ross was giving a paper, and I asked Julie if she knew what he was really like, because he was this big star, you know – "

"Hold it!" said Joey, looking more puzzled than ever. "Ross is a star?"

"In the dinosaur world, yeah," said Charlie patiently. "But of course, outside it, not a lot of people have heard of him."

"Oh, shoot!" said Rachel, seeming quite distressed. "And if you hadn't taken me to the hospital, Ross, you would have been on TV and been famous."

"But that was my fault, for running into you," said Monica.

"No," said Phoebe contritely, "it was mine, for suggesting all you guys at the diner went around on roller skates. But how was I to know you couldn't skate!"

"It doesn't matter, any of it," said Ross. "That's all in the past now. What matters is that I am well respected among my peers, and" – he grinned at Charlie – "that I have got engaged to the hottest of them all."

Chandler cocked an eye at Rachel, and seemed surprised to see that she was smiling. He leaned over and muttered, "You're okay with this?"

"Sure," she said breezily. "Our bonus night really was the end, you know. But I'm so sorry it led on to your breakup."

"If it hadn't been that, it would have been something else," he murmured. Then he noticed Gunther, who had been serving other customers, hovering by them.

"Gunther!" he said excitedly, beaming at him. "This really is like old times. I'll take a large regular. Kathy, what'll you have?"

While Kathy was interrogating Gunther about specials, Phoebe took the opportunity to murmur to Chandler that they had been bringing Gunther up to speed on his breakup with Monica.

"The poor guy just saw us disappearing, one after the other, and he cared," she said lightly. "He said, he liked having us around, though I guess what he really meant was, he liked having Rachel around. Anyway, it seemed only fair to, like, explain the mystery. And Charlie needs to know this stuff too. There's a lot Ross doesn't seem to have told her."

"Uh … how do I come out, in the explanation?" he said guardedly.

"Not too badly," she said, smiling at him. "I gave what I think was a, like, balanced account of the way you and Monica ended it. The last thing up was her breakdown, and she was telling us how that had happened."

His face took on an expression of alarm. "She had a breakdown?"

"Uh huh," Phoebe confirmed. "You didn't know? But it doesn't matter, because she seems fine now. One good result is that her relationship with her mom is a whole lot better."

Chandler grunted and nodded, but he still looked very unhappy. Monica had begun an animated conversation with Charlie, and he started trying to catch her attention. She noticed.

"Yes, Chandler?" she said, in a more obviously friendly voice.

"You, you had a breakdown," he stammered. "I never heard."

Joey smacked his forehead. "I knew there was something I hadn't passed on. Sorry, dude." He looked at Chandler apologetically. "But all I heard was the bare fact, from Phoebe." He gazed earnestly at Monica. "You're okay now?"

"Pretty much," she said. "I'm still having therapy regularly, but I feel so much better." She grinned. "I've lost so many of my old hangups, you wouldn't recognise me."

Chandler was still looking extremely uneasy. "Was … was it …" he began, but then seemed to choke up as she looked at him, seriously but not severely.

"No, Chandler," she said in quite a gentle voice, "it wasn't just that, and, anyway, you shouldn't feel guilty about that, because I was more to blame for our breakup than you were, much more. I've been wanting to say sorry, so here it is: I'm sorry for those things I said." Her voice, so composed until this point, seemed just a little shaky. "I seem to remember saying at the time, I was mad." She pulled a face. "I was mad clear through, and when you're feeling like that, you say stuff just to hurt, you know?"

"I know," he said, his voice sounding warmer. "Well, you had some cause. Looking back, I can see that I was behaving rather jerkishly, and I'm sorry for that."

"But I really shouldn't have shut you out so much," she said earnestly. "But there it is – that was control-freak Monica at her worst. I tried to push it all aside, all the …" she paused for a moment and swallowed, "all the pain and, and regret, and lose myself in my work, but of course that wasn't the answer. I finally broke down when I got this feeling, quite suddenly, that I'd lost control of my life, that I'd let myself throw it all away, everything I cared about. It was … the most godawful feeling."

His face showed great sympathy. "But you're okay now?" he said, looking at her anxiously. "You are over it all?"

"Yeah, I am," she said, giving him her full smile. "I'm over it all." She emphasised the last word slightly.

"So, you don't … mind?" He gestured at Kathy in a helpless sort of way.

She shook her head. "I'm dating too," she said. "A guy called Don – he's in the food importing business. He and I have so much in common."

"How very appropriate," Chandler said, leaning back and suddenly looking and sounding much more relaxed. He seemed to think for a moment. "I'll just bet he likes those foreign cheeses you used to go on about."

Monica laughed, and several others smiled or snickered. "Yes," she said cheerfully, "he imports a lot of cheese. I tell you, I've put on weight since I met him!"

"But you're looking so good," Kathy protested. "I can't believe all that was like four years ago."

"I needed to put on weight," said Monica seriously. "I had gotten too thin. But I know, out there in Hollywood they're always putting on the pressure to be thin – are you getting that?"

"There's only a limited amount I can do," said Kathy, "and my agent has accepted that. But, yeah, I get a little pressure."

Monica nodded. "I hear you're enjoying your work," she said to Chandler.

He nodded excitedly. "Yes, that's something I guess I have to thank you for – you made me take a long look at my life and decide it really was time to find work that I would get some satisfaction and respect from." He smiled at her. "At the time, I didn't see it – I was, um, feeling rather bitter."

She looked sympathetic. "Understandable. I'm so sorry I put you through all that, but – maybe it showed us, before it was too late, that we weren't truly suited."

He sighed and nodded again. "I think we have to accept that. But I'd like it if we could be friends again."

"So would I," she said softly, her eyes bright. Suddenly her expression turned impish. "When we broke up – you didn't get in touch with Janice, did you?"

There was some subdued snickering, and Chandler nearly choked on his coffee. When he recovered it was obvious that he was trying to control laughter. "No way! Hey, you know what she muttered in my ear, when you had come up with that lie to get rid of her and we were saying goodbye?"

"No, what?" said Monica, leaning forward eagerly.

"She said, 'Call me when this goes in the pooper'!" Chandler said, finally giving up and breaking into a real roar of laughter right after the last word. All those who knew Janice of old joined in, Monica as loudly as any of them.

"I'm still surprised you didn't, though," said Phoebe. "I thought you were hard-wired for it."

Chandler shook his head, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief. "No, that was really all over, and her performance that night simply put the lid on it."

"You know, I ran into Janice, not long after I … walked out," said Rachel.

"Ooh, tell us, tell us!" said Phoebe excitedly. "Where?"

"It was at that manicure place, where I took Chandler and she showed up, and he had to go off toYemen to shake her," said Rachel. "I was feeling kind of blue, so I thought I'd treat myself. And you know what? If you'd called her, I doubt you'd have gotten a very encouraging reply."

"How's that?" said Joey, who like all of them, even Charlie, Kathy, and Gunther, was showing considerable interest.

"Well," said Rachel quite seriously, "she was pleased to see me, and she asked how the wedding plans were going, and I didn't want to go into it all, so I just said, fine, and she said, maybe I could pass on something to you, Chandler." Her lips twitched, as if she was trying not to grin.

"Which was?" said Chandler, raising his eyebrows and leaning forward in a parody of curiosity.

"She had to go to some clinic because she had adult acne," said Rachel, "and she met this guy. She was really excited about him, because he was so obviously hot for her, and they were now dating steadily. She was very serious about it. She even said, in that overjoky way of hers that was so irritating, that she could see a marriage on the horizon."

This was met with some fairly raucous expressions of derision and disbelief from Joey, Monica, and Chandler, although Ross simply smiled and shook his head.

"No, truly," Rachel said earnestly. "And I guessed the reason why, from something she said." She paused and looked at them, now grinning openly.

"Well, spit it out, girl!" said Charlie impatiently. "Don't keep us hanging!"

Rachel made a slight bursting noise as she tried to suppress a laugh. "The poor guy is really rather deaf!" She broke down into helpless giggles.

The burst of laughter that followed this revelation surpassed all previous ones.

"Oh man!" said Chandler, wiping his eyes again. "Still, it's good to know that Janice has someone who can appreciate the good side of her, and likely won't pick up on much of the bad."

Amid renewed chuckles and snickers, Monica, now looking even more relaxed and happy than before, turned to Joey. "So, Joey, how are things going? You getting good parts?"

Joey shrugged. "I don't do so badly, but I haven't hit the big time. I don't think I will, now."

"Oh Joey, that's too bad," said Rachel sympathetically.

"It's okay, Rach," said Joey quite cheerfully. "I can see, better than in New York, that there's a level I just can't reach. But I'm doing all right. I don't have to borrow from Chandler, anyway."

There was more laughter at this sally, even from Charlie, who had evidently been told all about Joey by Ross.

"And nobody puts any pressure on me to be thin," he added, "though if it looks like I've been eating too many subs and sandwiches and stuff, my agent does drop a comment. I go to the gym from time to time."

"Yeah, right," said Kathy with heavy irony. "When Chandler joins up with you, from what he says it sounds like you spend most of the time trying to date any good-looking chicks that show up."

There was further laughter, and Joey spread his hands, grinning broadly. "What do you expect? There's so many good-looking girls in Hollywood and all around there." He shook his head. "The only problem is, they're all trying to get into TV, or the movies, and they think, because I actually get parts, I have lots of influence."

"And I'll bet you don't tell them different!" cried Monica joyfully, leaning across to slap him on the knee. Phoebe felt a glow of pleasure at seeing how much Monica was getting out of this. It was worth any amount of therapy, she thought.

"I guess you'd be bound to run into actors you knew from New York," said Rachel. Her expression became mischievous. "Did you meet any more of your old dates?"

Joey's reaction was unexpected. He looked uneasy. "Well, yeah, I did, but, well …" He glanced at Phoebe, seeming embarrassed.

Phoebe knew what he was referring to. "It's okay, Joey," she said easily. "It's no big deal, though I haven't told anyone else yet. Ursula – my twin sister, who Joey dated for a short time," she explained to Charlie, "she went to LA. She did porn work, among other things, and she thought she could get better work in LA, and wouldn't have to be a waitress and like that."

"And did she?" said Monica, looking interested.

Phoebe shrugged. "It's hard to say. When she writes, which isn't often – "

"Hold on!" cried Chandler, looking very interested. "She writes you? Have you finally reconciled, then?"

"Is that your news?" Monica said at the same moment in an excited way.

"Well," Phoebe began slowly, but before she could go further, a rather loud British voice cried, "I don't believe it! You're all still here!"

They turned as one to see Emily standing just inside the door, grinning at them with a knowing look in her eye. "But I see the group has grown a bit," she added.

Ross drew an audible breath. His friends looked towards him with somewhat nervous anticipation: would Ross lose it? But all he did was to say, in a tone that suggested nothing more than weary forbearance, "Emily! What are you doing here?"