Chandler could hear footsteps behind him as he ran out of the hall and into the lobby. He spotted the door to the stairwell closing and made a run for it. He swung open the door and stopped. He had two choices; he could go up or he could go down.
"What the hell do I choose?" Chandler muttered to himself. He was about to go up when a small, almost undetectable noise caught his attention and he immediately went running down the stairs. He eventually found Monica collapsed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs; tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Hey, sweetie," he said softly as he slowly approached her broken form. "Are-are you okay?"
Monica said nothing, only cried harder as he sat down and gently pulled her into his arms.
"Hey, it's gonna be okay," Chandler said gently, kissing the top of her head. He paused for a moment. "I'm sorry," he finally whispered quietly.
Monica lifted her head slightly. "Why are you sorry?" She asked, timidly.
Chandler shook his head, mentally scolding himself. "I invited him. I didn't realize he was your brother. I didn't know. I'm so sorry."
Monica laughed slightly and leaned her head back down against Chandler's chest. "It's not your fault, Chandler. Don't worry I don't blame you at all. I was just…I don't know, in shock I guess. But I guess it had to happen sooner or later."
"I'm still sorry," Chandler said, planting a kiss on Monica's forehead. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
"Are you okay?" Chandler asked gently.
Monica sighed and nodded. "I've had dreams where something like this happens, you know, I bump into one of them. It was better than I thought it was going to be."
Chandler nodded and took a breath. "What do you want to do now?"
Monica shook her head. "I'm not sure."
"I could ask him to leave," Chandler offered.
Monica seemed to hesitate for a moment. "No, I couldn't ask you to do that. You invited him for a reason. He was a good friend of yours, right?"
"Right," Chandler said, agreeing. "He was a good friend, but I haven't seen him in years and compared to you he means almost nothing to me. I don't want you to be uncomfortable."
Monica smiled and turned slightly to face Chandler. "You are so good to me."
Chandler smiled and shrugged. "I do what I can," he said, a small smile playing on his face. "So, what do you want to do?"
Monica took a deep breath. "I want to talk to him."
"Really?" Chandler said, taken aback. "Are you sure?"
Monica nodded. "I want to hear what he has to say and we can take it from there."
"Sounds good."
"Can you be there with me when I talk to him?" Monica asked, loosing eye contact, going back to being timid.
Chandler smiled. "Of course."
They made their way back up the stairs and were about to go back out the door when footsteps rang out from above. They paused as the footsteps came down the last flight of stairs towards them and Ross and Rachel came into view. Rachel seemed to slow slightly at the sudden appearance of her former best friend, however Ross didn't even slow down as he reached the landing and flew towards his sister. In his and Rachel's frantic search for Monica he had realized he didn't care about why she ran away. He just wanted to have his sister back.
Monica jumped slightly as Ross rushed towards her, but had no time to get out of the way as he reached her and pulled her into a tight hug. Monica only hesitated for a moment before relaxing in the embrace.
"Oh, God, Monica," Ross said through tears, still holding on closely to his long lost sister. "Where the hell did you go? I missed you so much."
"Really?" Monica asked quietly, now crying as well.
"Of course, Monica. We all missed you." Ross looked up and motioned silently to Rachel, who quickly joined the hug as well.
"Monica, me missed you so much," she repeated.
Monica almost lost herself in tears. So many emotions were rushing through her head. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to revel in the feeling of being with these two people who she had lost so many years ago. After a few moments Rachel pulled back slightly and broke the silence.
"Why did you leave?" She whispered, pain evident in her voice.
The words rang through Monica's voice and she realized what she was doing. She was with the people who had hurt her so much. Monica immediately tensed and jumped back, away from Ross and Rachel. Ross reached out to grab her arm, confused written in his expression, but Monica pulled her arm away and jumped back even further, standing by Chandler for protection.
"Monica, what's going on?" Ross asked, stepping forward again.
Monica countered by stepping back, so she was still beside Chandler, but a step behind. Chandler reached out for her hand, trying to give her his full support and when Ross went for Monica the third time, Chandler stepped in front of her, blocking Ross' path to her.
"I think she's made it pretty clear that she doesn't want you near her," Chandler said, trying to stay calm. Inside he had no idea what was going on and had no idea what to do. The only thing that was making sense in his mind was that he had to be there for his new wife, no matter what.
Ross appeared surprised by Chandler's action. "Get out of my way, man," Ross said, trying to keep his voice light. "That's my sister. I have the right to talk to her."
Chandler's laugh was almost cynical. "And she's my wife," he said, looking Ross right in the eye. "And you haven't been her brother for a very long time. You weren't there when she needed you, when she needed support. You didn't want her around anymore…" Chandler trailed off, shaking his head. He looked down for a second, before looking straight into Ross' eyes, "you have no right to call her your sister. Not after all you did."
Ross was left speechless. He watched as Monica lost her current fight with tears and broke down once again. Chandler turned to pull her into a tight hug, rocking her gently back and forth. Ross had no idea what to do or say. What had Chandler meant about him not being there. He had spent the past three years searching for her. He hadn't done anything wrong. She had taken off and never come back.
Rachel watched Chandler comfort her former best friend. Although she wasn't sure why Monica had left in the first place, or whether or not she really wanted to get to know her again, but she could tell that there was more to this story then she was previously aware of. She could tell Monica was hurting. Rachel stepped forward and quietly approached Monica and Chandler. She touched Monica's shoulder gently and felt Monica jump at the touch. Chandler gave her a warning look, but she motioned that it was okay.
She cleared her throat. "Monica, honey, I, uh, don't know why any of this happened, why you left, but I really missed you. We all did. And I want to get to know you again. I want to be your friend again."
Chandler felt Monica jump slightly and opened his eyes to see the girl who had come with Ross, whom he assumed to be Rachel, standing behind Monica. He immediately warned her not to try anything with his eyes, but trusted her when she motioned that it was okay. He felt Monica go still as Rachel said her little speech and held his breath while he waited for her reaction. He somehow trusted this woman, even though they had never exchanged a word. Ross, on the other hand, he was unsure about. Sure, the two of them used to be close, but that move from Ross, pressuring Monica, sent him over the edge. He wouldn't let anyone do anything to harm her, not if he could help it.
Monica pulled back form Chandler and turned to face Rachel, still keeping her back pressed up against Chandler for support. "What do you mean you don't know why I left?" She asked in a small voice.
Rachel was taken aback. She half-smiled. "Cause you disappeared, honey. I got back and you were gone. No one knew where you went."
Monica couldn't say anything. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, no sound coming out.
Ross took this opportunity to step forward, his hands up in front of him, as if declaring peace for the present time. "We didn't know where you went, Monica. We were really worried about you."
"But you didn't want me," Monica whispered almost silently.
"What?" Both Ross and Rachel asked simultaneously.
Monica shook her head slightly, fighting back tears. She nodded to herself and looked up, at both Ross and Rachel. "I left because I was told to, and don't try to pretend that's not what you wanted for my sake. I'm over hurting. I don't need the aggravation anymore. I'm starting over and the past is behind me."
"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, who asked you to leave?"
"Mom," was all Monica said, losing Ross' gaze. She looked down to her feet, once more feeling the shame of being such a disappointment to her family. She wished for the millionth time that she could have been better.
"What!" Ross asked. "She said you two had a fight and you took off. She said you stole some money and jewelry and she didn't hear from you again. We searched for you for so long, but you were no where to be found."
"I didn't take anything," Monica said, looking up. "Only a bag of my own stuff. And we didn't fight. She sent me out to get some groceries and when I got home she told me I had an hour to get out. She said…she said…"
"What? What did she say?"
Monica sighed, once again averting all eye contact. "She told me I was no longer her daughter. She said I was an accident, that none of you wanted me around anymore. So, I left."
Ross shook his head. "She wouldn't do something like that. She couldn't."
Monica snorted slightly. "Well, believe it."
Ross stuttered for a few seconds. "But, why would she do that?"
Monica shrugged. "I don't know. Wait, do mean you really didn't know why I left? You didn't want me to leave?"
Ross shook his head. "Of course not, Monica. You're my sister. I love you. I never wanted you to leave. I missed you. I really did."
"We all did," Rachel said. She stepped forward, pulling Monica into a hug. Ross soon joined and the three of them stood there for a good couple minutes before finally breaking apart.
Ross noticed Chandler standing to the side looking awkward. He offered a smile and stepped forward, holding out his hand. "No hard feelings about before?"
Chandler smiled and shook his hand. "Of course not."
Monica's head was reeling as they made there way up the flight of stairs to Monica and Chandler room for the night. They had a lot to talk about and about an hour before they were to be picked up for photos. Monica allowed herself a small smile. Things were looking up.