Hey my lovelies!
First, I would like to give a huge shoutout to Matteney! She has been so wonderful in her reviews and then tweeted such nice things about this story! She's one of the greatest around here, so go show her some love too!
Speaking of Twitter, I've jumped on that bandwagon! Come follow me! crokkk2
Funny (well, not so funny because it caused me a slight heart palpitation at the time, but all good...) story for you guys. I fell asleep at my computer (that's almost nightly) andddd it fell off my bed (that's fairly high off the ground, mind you) in the middle of the night WHAM! I couldn't even look at it. I just KNEW it the screen was shattered. So, the next morning I finally picked up and low and behold, there was a giant crack down the middle of it. But, never fear, I had a screen protector on it! So THAT'S what was cracked, and not my too expensive to fix MacBook. *phew* A new screen protector is already in place, just FYI.
Mondler isn't the only thing that gets my heart pumping...ha!
Anyway, thanks a million to all the reviewers. I wish I could explain how happy they make me, because they really do. I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter, it's one of my favorites (naturally). :)
And away we go!
Saturday, May 1, 1999, 6:34 AM
Chandler opened his eyes, then shut them again quickly. His head pounded as he extracted his hand from Monica's grip and lifted it to press his fingers against his eyes. He groaned softly and tried to open his eyes again, this time slower.
Daylight began to make its way into the room as the sun rose slowly. He moved his head and squinted his eyes in the direction of the hallway, towards his mother's room. He looked around and listened for any movement but didn't hear anything but Monica breathing softly beside him. It was still dark and silent through most of the house, and he was glad.
Not only did he not want the moment ruined between him and the beauty sleeping next to him, but he knew his mom needed to rest after the impossibly long day they had yesterday.
He rubbed his eyes again and let out a soft groan, this was going to be a long day too. Not only was he going to have to figure out funeral plans with his mother for his Nanna that he loved so much, but he also knew he'd be battling this hangover most of the day. And, not to mention, Monica was heading home, without him, and he really didn't want her to go.
He smiled as a small, soft snore escaped her lips. God, he could do this all day. Watching her sleep was more satisfying than most anything else. He wanted to run his hands all over her body, but he knew he wouldn't want to stop without getting to really taste her this time and they needed to get up and get out of the living room.
She had turned to lay on her right side, so her back was to him. He pulled down the throw that was wrapped around her and leaned down and kissed her shoulder lightly, "Mon," he called softly.
She didn't stir.
He smiled and gently moved her hair and pressed his lips to the back of her neck, "Mon," he called again, but didn't move his lips from her skin.
A grin spread across his face a when a small moan escaped her lips. She turned just slightly so that her face pointed towards the ceiling. She hadn't opened her eyes.
"Good morning," he said softly, then leaned down and kissed her cheek.
He wished he could read her mind all the time, but particularly now. He wanted to know if she thought sex with him was a mistake. God, he hoped not.
But they had been drinking, and she was only trying to comfort him. He had a million questions he wanted to ask her, but he knew that now probably wasn't the time. His hangover headache was pounding, and he knew she probably had a gnarly one too.
She still didn't open her eyes, and he smirked at her. God, she was so freaking adorable.
"Monica," he whispered again softly, then leaned down further and kissed her neck. He smiled against her skin when she moved her head over to allow him to continue but made no effort to open her eyes or do anything else. "We need to get up honey," he murmured against her skin.
She grunted softly and finally turned her head back toward him, then slowly opened her eyes, "Good morning," she mumbled, then put her hand on her forehead and rubbed it.
"Headache?" He asked, brushing a piece of hair from her face.
"Yeah," she responded and pulled the blanket further up her body. He moved the blanket again and kissed her shoulder.
"We gotta get up," he said.
She groaned, "No we don't."
He smirked at her again, "Unfortunately, we do."
She took in a deep breath and turned all the way on her back, "Why?"
"Because my mother will be up soon, and you've got a flight to catch in about 3 hours."
He was right, she knew he was right. They needed to get up from the couch, get cleaned up, and head upstairs. He didn't want his mom to ask him questions about him, them, and she understood that. Her Mom would be the same way.
She made herself open her eyes again, and she found him staring at her. She smiled shyly, "Hi," she said to him.
He cupped her face, "Hi," he said unnecessarily.
"What's on your mind?"
He thought that was obvious, "You," he said, and leaned down closer to her.
"Oh yeah?" She said with a grin.
"Mmmhmm," he murmured, then pressed a quick kiss to her lips.
"What about me?" She asked.
He sighed and brushed his thumb against her cheek, "Lots of things," he started, then swallowed nervously, "I guess I'm mostly wondering if you thought last night was a mistake."
She studied his eyes for a second and found a look of worry that she didn't see there before. She slowly shook her head, "No, I don't think that," she said softly.
He looked away from her and nodded as relief ran through his entire body, "Well, good then," he replied.
She licked her lips, "It was unexpected, though."
He nodded, "Yeah, it was," he agreed. He let the corner of his mouth pull up into a smile and looked away from her again. He occupied his hand that wasn't underneath her with the corner of the pillow, "we should probably talk about...things."
She nodded, "Yeah, we should."
He nodded too, then met her eyes, "Later?" He asked.
"Yes," she agreed, "later is good, when we're alone and maybe not so hungover," She looked away from him and sighed, then placed a hand on his bare arm, "Are things going to be," she stopped and sighed, "awkward between us?"
He met her eyes again and shook his head, a smirk on his lips, "They won't be. They're not."
She licked her lips, "Good," she said to him and moved her hand to his chest, then scratched her nails gently against his skin. "I didn't want that."
"Me either," he said, and they shared a smile as he leaned down and pressed another kiss to her lips, then moved his hand from her face to rub his own. "I need a shower," he groaned, "and some coffee, and some pain relievers," he added.
She chuckled slightly, "Yes to all of that." She leaned up, kissed his cheek, and stood from the couch, completely unabashed as she moved her naked body around. He watched her, mesmerized, as she quickly picked up their clothes.
He eventually snapped out of the trance she unknowingly had on him and stood from the couch too.
She passed him his things and he slipped on his underwear, wanting to have something on at least until he got upstairs. She had put her underwear on too and her oversized t-shirt, and man, he found that look incredibly sexy.
He picked up their drinking glasses and moved them into the kitchen sink. After throwing the empty scotch bottle away, he smiled as she fixed the pillows on the couch.
She smiled at him as she met him at the bottom of the stairs. He moved his pile of clothes from his right to his left so that he could take her hand as they climbed the stairs. She smiled at him again, "See you in a little while," she whispered, then kissed his cheek and started to walk into her room.
"Okay," he whispered back, but didn't let go of her hand, "Mon, I…"
"Hey," she interrupted, "we're gonna talk later, okay?"
He nodded back at her, then stepped closer, "I just wanted to say thanks, you know, for being there for me."
She cocked an eyebrow up at him, and he felt a blush burn his face, "No, I mean…"
"I know what you mean," she said, a small smile on her face, "and I'm glad I was here with you too."
He squeezed her hand, "It meant a lot to me," he said softly, "all of it."
She nodded and leaned over to press a kiss against his cheek again, "I'll see you in a little while," she whispered, then he finally let her go as she disappeared into the guest room.
He stared at the door for a few seconds, then moved down the hall and into the bathroom. He closed the door and leaned against it, shutting his eyes as he did so.
He had so much on his swirling, headache-filled mind.
But mostly her.
Chandler stopped with her when they reached her gate at the airport, then passed her the overnight bag, "Thank you," she said with a smile. He nodded at her and stuck his hands in his pockets, "When will you be home?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "Probably Thursday, or Friday."
She swallowed, "Okay."
"Is someone picking you up from the airport?" He asked.
She nodded, "Ross and his new girlfriend," she said with a chuckle.
"You mean next wife? He's so ready to get married again." He looked down at the floor and chuckled a little.
"I don't get that," she said and shook her head, "you would think after his first marriage that he would be more like you."
He furrowed his eyebrows together, "More like me?"
"Yeah, terrified." She chuckled again, but he didn't. He didn't want her to think about him like that anymore.
Chandler swallowed and ran a hand through his hair, "Uh, well," he started, but Monica's flight number and information were called over the intercom to begin boarding, so he didn't finish his thought.
She looked up at the speaker and then down at her ticket, "So I should go, um, board."
He nodded, "Yeah." She pressed her lips together, and he took his hand out of his pocket and hooked his pinkie finger with hers. He didn't want to let her leave without saying what was weighing heavily on his mind.
They hadn't had a chance to talk about the night before. After he showered, she took one too, and they didn't have any time without his mother present after that, not even on the ride to the airport. His Mom told them that she had some errands to run anyway and would just ride with them. She was out in the car waiting on him.
"Hey, um, listen. I don't want to be the source of the gossip ring with the other 4 of them while I'm gone, and I'm already going to be the subject because of Nanna, so if you and I could just keep what happened with us, between us..."
"I know," she said, then interlaced the rest of their fingers, "it's just between us."
He smiled at her, "And we haven't gotten a chance to talk about it ourselves," he added softly.
She squeezed his hand, "We will talk Chandler, I promise. Just worry about being with your mom now, okay? Don't worry about this," she gestured between them.
They paused again when the next group was called to board the aircraft. He took a step closer to her, "So, we're okay, right?"
Monica sat her bag down on the floor next to her, then cupped his cheek with her free hand, "We're good, Chandler. Me and you, we'll always be good."
He swallowed and swore that if they were alone at that moment, he would've told her he loved her. He took in a shaky breath, "Okay." Man, he really didn't want her to leave.
He dropped her hand and wrapped his arms around her so that he could pull her into a tight hug, "Thank you, for everything. I don't know what I would've done without you." He backed up from her just a bit, "My Grandmother was a happy woman when she finally got to meet my wife."
She grinned at him, "I'm glad I could help."
"I don't know how to thank you," he replied.
She shook her head, "There's no need to thank me," she paused and looked away from him for just a second, "I only wish I could have got to know her more."
"She would've liked that too." He sighed as the airline worker called boarding for the flight yet again. "I guess you really have to go now," he added softly.
"I wish I could stay, but…"
"I know, you've got to work," he told her, "unless you just want to quit, and you know, stay here."
She grinned at him just a little, "If only I could," she started, "this little town is so quaint and just what I love."
He smiled and gained enough courage to place a hand under her chin to guide her mouth to his. The kiss was simple, but still incredibly sweet. They shared a smile and he leaned down and picked up her bag for her, "I'll see you in a few days."
She nodded, squeezed his hand as she passed him, and jogged over to the ticket booth. She looked back at him one more time before she walked into the tunnel.
He smiled and gave her a little wave.
He stood in the window and watched until he couldn't see the plane anymore in the sky.
Now, all he had to do was work out what he was going to say, and how he was going to say it. He hoped he could convince her that he was over this scared of commitment thing.
He didn't feel scared anymore.
Monica hugged her brother and Emily, an English woman that he'd met because Rachel didn't want to go out with her boss's niece. They told her all about Emily's airport adventure and getting soaking wet and then being a bit of a bitch before Ross caught up with her.
She listened when they talked all about their dates so far, and she could tell that Ross was already smitten with her. She smiled to herself when she thought of Chandler's statement earlier. This may very well be her brother's second wife.
The trio walked into apartment 20 and Monica sat down her bag. She headed straight for the medicine cabinet in the kitchen to get some medicine for her headache.
Rachel walked in then, "Oh, hey Mon," she said.
Monica finished sipping on the water that she hoped would help the pain relievers get to work quicker, "Hey," she said to Rachel. Her roommate hugged her and sat down at the table with Ross and Emily.
"How's Chandler holding up?" Rachel asked.
She nodded, "He's okay. He's sad, but he's trying to be strong for his mom."
"It was so sad to hear that news when you called," Ross agreed, "what happened to her?"
Monica sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "She had a stroke." She picked at her fingers for a second, then ran a hand through her hair before she continued, "She also had one a couple of years ago, but she recovered. This one, though, this one was a major one."
The three other people at the table displayed a look of sadness for Chandler, "Did he even get to say goodbye?" Rachel asked.
Monica shook her head, "No, she was gone by the time we got to the hospital. Chandler and I were on the way to go skiing when he got the call." She let a smile come across her face, "But he told me that the last thing she said to him was that she loved him, and the last thing he said to her was that he loved her too. I think that's pretty great."
"I liked his grandmother," Ross said, "I know Chandler really loved her."
Monica nodded, "He did, and she seemed like an amazing woman," she agreed, "and I think she's the reason Chandler is who he is."
Rachel lifted an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
Monica turned her head, "What?"
"What do you mean that she's the reason?"
"Chandler is kind, and generous, and caring, and…" she stopped and glanced up at Rachel, who had a cat-ate-the canary look on her face. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear nervously as she continued, "He told me stories of his childhood, and I can tell how much she influenced a lot of his decisions and what made him into the guy he is now."
Rachel lifted an eyebrow at her, but Monica turned and looked away. She didn't need this judgment from her roommate. She could tell she was calculating things and she didn't want to deal with questions she was sure she would eventually be asked.
"How did the wife thing go?" Ross asked.
Monica nodded, and hoped she was hiding the blush that crept onto her face, "It went fine," she said with a shrug, "I think we pulled it off. Chandler and I came up with a pretty good 'love story' so she bought it. She loved Chandler, though, my gosh, she just gushed over him. She was very sweet to me too."
"She was great," Ross agreed, "I met her in college."
"Chandler, of course, was beating himself up a bit that he didn't see her very much and he made up the being married thing. But we talked a lot last night and I think I got that thought out of his head, or I hope I did, anyway. I told him to try to remember how good of a relationship he had with her, and that she wanted him to be happy." Monica told them. She suddenly shivered as she thought about the rest of last night with Chandler. She could feel Rachel's eyes on her again and the hair stood up on the back of her neck.
Ross put his hand on top of his sister's, "He was probably really glad you were with him."
Monica pressed her lips together, then nodded, "Yeah, I guess he was. I don't like to see him sad like that," she answered, then cleared her throat, "well, none of you guys."
"Are you and Chandler together?" Emily asked.
The other three people in the room chuckled at the new person, "No, no. We're just friends. Best friends." Monica told her.
Emily nodded but furrowed her eyebrows together when Monica looked away. It sure didn't seem like they were 'just friends'.
Monica glanced at Rachel quickly and looked away, her elbows on the table as she rubbed her temples, "I think I'm going to lay down," she mumbled.
"Oh, do you have jet lag?" Emily asked, "I sure am familiar with that feeling."
Monica smiled at her, "A little," she said, "but also a headache. It was a long, tiring day yesterday." She began to walk across the apartment to her bedroom, "I'll get up in a little while," she waved as she walked in, then closed the door most of the way, but the door was stopped by Rachel, who had gotten up and followed her.
She wrapped an arm around Monica's shoulders, "Are you okay?"
Monica looked over at her, "Yeah, I'm fine. Like I said, headache," she chuckled nervously, "why do you ask?"
Rachel shrugged her shoulders as she crossed her arms, "You seem like something else is on your mind."
She swallowed and looked away, "No, I'm fine. I'm sad for Chandler and tired. But I'm fine." Rachel sat down Monica lifted an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything as she began to unpack her clothes from the trip.
"So, what do you think of Emily?" Rachel asked, then sat down on Monica's bed, "Bit of a pushy bitch, don't you think?"
Monica looked over at her roommate, "What? No. She's nice. And Ross seems to like her."
"What? Come on, Mon! They don't even know each other." Rachel went into a rant about Emily and Ross and how she didn't mean for them to become a couple and she can't believe they were spending all this time together and she wanted to know how much money Emily had spent on traveling back and forth and on…and on…and on.
Meanwhile, Monica's mind was on Chandler.
"I mean, I don't love Ross, you know, I don't. But I mean, really? Some English chick he doesn't even really know? Do you ever see them working out? How would they ever work out?" She stopped and expected her friend to agree with her, but Monica just folded a t-shirt and put it in a drawer. "Mon?" She called.
"Hm?" Monica replied, distracted.
"Did you hear me?"
Monica tried desperately to recall anything that Rachel had just said but couldn't come up with a word of it. She pinched the bridge of her nose, "Um, no I didn't, sorry. What did you say?"
"Seriously, what is wrong with you?" Rachel asked.
Monica shook her head softly, "Nothing, Rach. I'm fine," she sighed, "I am," she assured, "I just really want to lay down, okay? So could you just…" She motioned with her hands towards the door.
"Did something happen with you and Chandler?" Rachel questioned, her eyes narrowed just slightly.
Monica chuckled nervously but didn't look at her. She knew Rachel suspected something from the questions she got from her in the kitchen. Her high school friend had a knack for these things, and Monica really needed to get better at lying.
"No, nothing happened. We drank a little too much last night," she said carefully, "and now I have a headache, so if you could please…"
"You drank a little too much and then what happened?" Rachel asked, her eyebrows raised.
Monica rolled her eyes and shook her now pounding head, "What are you talking about?"
"I don't know, you seem...odd. Something is different."
"Well, nothing is different," Monica assured her, "we drank, and he told me stories about his grandmother."
Rachel put up her hands and took a step towards the door, "Fine, I'll go," she turned her head back towards Monica, "but I still think something else happened."
Monica rolled her eyes, "Bye Rach," she said and motioned with her hands for Rachel to leave her room again.
She woke a couple of hours later, stretched in her bed, and rubbed her face with both hands. She smiled to herself as she thought of the dream she just had.
It was about Chandler. Particularly, about Chandler's hands.
And his mouth.
On her body.
She licked her lips, shook her head, and sighed, "Stop it, Monica," she said to herself. Honestly, she had no idea what he was thinking about when it came to their new…whatever this was.
And, if she knew Chandler, he wouldn't want any sort of permanent thing with her. He wasn't the 'let's date' type of guy, and he probably wanted to just forget about the whole thing and continue being friends. That's what he wanted to talk to her about, she was sure of it.
Maybe, if she asked him, he'd agree to a sort of…friends with benefits type of thing. Because not only was he a good kisser, but the man was also a fantastic lover.
Her eyes grew big, and she chuckled in disbelief at herself. God, what was wrong with her? She didn't ever want that before, and if anybody had ever asked her if they could be 'friends with benefits', she would've laughed in their face.
She'd never had anything like that though, someone that she could talk to about anything, but then also someone who could make her feel like that as he made love to her. She shivered when chill bumps covered her entire body.
"Let it go," she said to herself. There was nothing she could do about it right now anyway; he was a long way away from her and he said they would talk when he got back.
The smell of a Joey's special filled her nostrils and her stomach growled. She hadn't had a thing to eat all day and it was time to fill that void. Perhaps, as an added bonus, it would help with the hangover too.
She stood from her bed and walked out of her room. After a hug from Joey and Phoebe, she happily bit down on a slice of cheese pizza and smiled contently.
"So, when is Chandler getting back?" Joey asked after Phoebe had asked about Chandler and how he was doing.
"Um, I think Thursday," Monica replied. Her friends weren't making the task of not thinking about him any easier.
Thursday. Four more days until she saw him again.
She lifted the pizza to her mouth again and took another bite, hopefully hiding her apparent Chandler-on-the-brain face from Rachel.
She stood from her seat at the table to get away from Rachel's narrowing eyes and just as she headed into the living room, there was a knock on her apartment door.
She put down her paper plate and opened the door. A small gasp escaped her mouth at the person standing on the other side.
"Hi Monica," he said, a slight smile on his face.
She looked into the eyes staring back at her and cleared her throat before she spoke, "Hi Richard."