Monica opened the door to their apartment and she and her daughter walked in. They had the greatest day! They went to the Mall and they shopped for hours, then they had lunch. After lunch, they went to the carnival and had a lot of fun and last, they went to Central Perk, their favorite coffee shop. And now they were really exhausted.

'Mum, I think I'm going to go to sleep. I'm really tired! And tomorrow I have o get up early to catch up with my homework.' Madeline said, fighting huge yawns as she spoke.

'Okay. Sleep tight, Mad!' She gave her daughter a kiss. Then she added:

'And thanks again for today! I had a blast!'

'It was my pleasure, mum. And I had a great time, too. So, good night and don't stay up too late, young lady!' she said, sounding serious.

Monica burst out laughing. 'Okay, I won't! I'll be a good girl! 'Night!'

''Night!' her daughter said, laughing on the way to her bedroom.

Monica yawned. She was very sleepy. But she wanted to check her e-mail before she went to bed. She was dying to know if Chandler had answered. She didn't really expect a reply because it was just this morning when she sent him her e-mail, but still, somewhere deep in her heart she hoped...

She opened her e-mail account. And there it was again. Her heart started pounding hard against her chest. She opened it and was surprised to see only a few words:

Dear Monica,

PLEASE, please, bore me with your story! I want to know everything that I have missed from your life! Tell me the story of your life...

Yours truly,

The Chan-Chan Man!

She gave a short laugh. "The Chan-Chan Man" was her nickname for him. She would always call him that, especially when he was depressed and she tried to cheer him up. She didn't know why exactly, but this nickname always made him feel better about himself...

Such a short e-mail... Monica thought. So little words, but still so sweet… You could tell that he really cared about her.

Slowly at first, Monica started typing. But once the message was started, it was hard to stop. Her hands were moving very fast on the keyboard. She poured her heart and soul in this e-mail, telling her long lost friend about "the story of her life", as he called it.

After finishing, she felt somewhat relieved. She had taken a load of her chest. She didn't really have any true friends here, in New York, so basically nobody knew just how screwed-up her life used to be. And it was wonderful to talk to someone you trusted. Even though she hadn't seen him in fourteen years and even though e-mailing couldn't really be considered as an actual 'talk', she felt the connection between her and Chandler.

Just as she had clicked the 'Send' button, there was a knock on the door. She looked at her watch. It was 11 PM. Who could it be this late at night? She walked to the door and looked out her peephole. She didn't believe her eyes! Slowly, she opened the door and faced a pair of brown, tired, eyes. She was shocked...

'Ross? What are you doing here?' she asked her eyes wide in surprise.

She looked at her brother up and down. He was obviously exhausted. She hadn't seen him in years. Their lives took separate ways years ago. While she went to study at a college in Boston he decided NYU was better for him. But after he graduated college he met an English woman named Emily Waltham. They got married very soon and he moved to London. Monica had only seen him during college at 2 or 3 Thanksgivings but, after that, they drifted apart. Sure, they would send out cards and e-mails on special occasions like Christmas or birthdays, but that was it.

'Yeah, I know it's very late, Mon, but I didn't really have anywhere else to go... I haven't talked to my old college buddies in decades and I knew where you lived and... I'm so sorry to bother you...'

'No, it's ok, really, you are not bothering me!' Monica answered quickly. 'Come on in' she said and she led him to the couch.

'I'll make you some tea or something...'

'Ugh, tea! I HATE tea! I'm tired of tea! I never thought that you could get tired of drinking tea but apparently, after you live in England for a while, it will happen!'

Monica was a bit taken aback by his negative reaction to tea. After all, it was just a drink. She figured that something bad must have happened between him and Emily that made him fly across the ocean. She sat down next to him on the couch.

'Ross, what's wrong? What happened? You look exhausted...'

A little sparkle in Ross's eyes appeared. It was a tear.

'Ugh... it's me and Emily... I think we're getting a divorce...'

Monica pulled her brother in a hug. She could feel that he was shivering.

'I'm so sorry' she whispered.

They stayed like this for about 15 minutes until Monica slightly pulled away to see her brother's teary eyes.

'What happened? Why are you getting a divorce? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I just thought talking about it would make it easier.'

'Yeah, I guess you're right...' Ross murmured. 'Well, I came home from the museum early and I caught her... She was in bed with one of her tough rugby-playing mates... And that's it. That's the whole story. I stormed out of the house, went to the airport and bought a ticket to New York - the only place that felt close to home because you are living in it.'

'Aww...again, I'm so sorry that things didn't work out but I'm really glad you came here. You are free to stay as long as you want. I'll give you my room and I'll sleep on the couch...'

'No, no' Ross interrupted her. 'I can't stay here. You have a family of your own. I mean you have Madeline. What would she say if she would wake up to find a total stranger in her house? No, I'm going to get a room at a hotel or something.'

'No, I insist. You can't stay all by yourself in a hotel room now! And Mad will be totally fine with it. She loves visitors - we don't have many people come here often. And plus, she will be happy to get to know her uncle! So, please, please, stay here... For me?' Monica said with pleading eyes.

'Okay, okay. I'll stay. But just for tonight. First thing tomorrow morning I'm going to check in a hotel. Because I doubt that I will be returning to London any time soon...' he said giving a short laugh.

Monica hugged him again and then made his bed in her room. After saying 'good night' she plopped herself on the couch and immediately fell asleep.