[Change of plans. Despite the lack of reviews, I'm continuing the story because I had an inspiration. Rather than Joey returning to New York on his own, I've decided to reunite the guys in a different way.]
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Phoebe got home from the hospital just in time for Christmas, and soon another New Year's passed. Chandler spent all of Joey's birthday wondering how Joey was doing in L.A. Did Joey suffer through relapses like Chandler did? It sounded that way, from what Phoebe told him of their phone conversation. But maybe Phoebe didn't recall Joey's exact words correctly, or maybe there was no hint of loneliness and misery in his voice, like there had been on the balcony two years ago.
"How exactly did he sound?" Chandler asked her one day in private, trying not to show how important Phoebe's answer was to him.
Phoebe thought about it. "I think he was distracted or upset about something. It seemed like something was wrong, but I'm not really sure. Joey doesn't open up to me anymore. That's why I thought you should talk to him. Maybe he'd confide in you."
Chandler nodded. "Yeah, but I guess he didn't feel comfortable discussing it yet. Pheebs, could you, could you give me his number again? I might call him this weekend or something."
"Sure."
Chandler kept Joey's phone number in his wallet for weeks afterward, unable to find the strength to call Joey. What would Chandler say to him? "Do you still love me? Do you want to come home? It's not too late. We could figure something out. We could see if Monica wants to go back to Richard, or have Phoebe dig up that British soulmate guy. I miss you, Joe. I still think about you. I saw your movie and I imagined you kissing me again. I don't think I should keep lying to Monica anymore."
But what if Joey didn't love him like that anymore? It had been two years, after all. Longer than it took Joey to get over Rachel. What if Joey replied, "Chandler, I'm just busy with work and stressed out because this girl I've been seeing wants me to meet her parents. This relationship thing is harder than I thought." Maybe that was the only reason why he sounded distracted and upset to Phoebe.
One evening, Chandler was so preoccupied by his conflicted feelings that he barely heard Monica's farewell before she left for the restaurant. Chandler babysat Daniel in the living room and brooded sadly on whether he could bring himself to leave his son, even if Joey still loved him.
Chandler was still trying to argue himself into throwing Joey's number away, when there was a knock at the door. With a sigh, he got up to answer it and found Phoebe in the hallway.
"Hi! Frannie and I are here for our play date." Phoebe was carrying her infant and a bag full of baby stuff.
"Oh, uh, come in." Chandler welcomed her inside, and realized that Monica had reminded him of this play date on her way out the door.
Phoebe came in and set down her bag on the couch. Then she brought Frannie over to meet little Daniel Bing, who was preoccupied with his blankie at present.
Sitting down with them, Chandler tried to collect his thoughts and make conversation. "So, uh, Pheebs, how are you doing now that you're back from maternity leave?"
"Great! That's one of the good things about working at that massage chain--the health benefits, and the job security." Phoebe smiled and played with the babies. "Your boy is so cute! You know what I was thinking the other day? What if my daughter and your son grew up and got married? They'd be Frannie and Danny Bing!"
Chandler laughed weakly, trying to be as cheerful as she was. "Is that why you named her that? Other than it being your grandmother's name?"
Phoebe smiled. "Well, I was also kind of naming her after Joey too. Joey Francis Tribbiani, you know. We would have gone with Josephine, but that was too long and Frances would kill two birds with one stone." Remembering something, Phoebe suddenly asked, "Oh, hey, did you call Joey yet? What did he say?"
Chandler winced and struggled for some explanation. "I, um, I--haven't called him."
She looked surprised. "Really? Why not?"
"It's just," he stared at his feet, "it's just... been so long."
"But you're best friends. You should find out what's bothering him."
"I-I don't know. Maybe it's none of our business. Maybe we're not friends anymore. I mean, if he didn't want to talk to me at the hospital, why bother now?"
Phoebe stared at Chandler, trying to figure him out. "Look, I know Joey hasn't kept in touch, but maybe he just needs a nudge from the right person. Maybe he needs you to reach out, make him feel that he's still loved."
Chandler choked and got up from the couch, starting to pace around the room. He wanted desperately to tell her everything, to just talk with somebody for once instead of having to suffer through his relapses alone.
Phoebe watched Chandler wringing his hands and frowned. "What's wrong? How come Joey only called me after he moved to L.A.? He should have called you, if anybody."
Chandler finally sat down on a chair, not facing her. He looked down at his hands and whispered, "Phoebe, you--you always said that me and Monica would divorce someday, didn't you? You predicted we'd split in ten years?"
She nodded and corrected him, "Before your ninth anniversary."
"Do you really believe that?"
She shrugged. "Well, I predict a lot of things about the future, and so does my psychic, but sometimes they don't work out quite as I expected. Like the lottery, when we should have got that $10,000 winning ticket. I have my off days too, and it's just harder seeing into the future than seeing into, like, past lives and stuff."
Chandler stroked his son's head and asked softly, "If--if Monica and I divorce, will our son be screwed up? As bad as me?"
Phoebe watched his face closely. "You mean how you used to be before Monica? When you were afraid of commitment and broke up with all those girls for dumb reasons?"
He nodded and swallowed. "And will he hate me? Like I hated my father? And will he never speak to me or write or call? Will he and Monica never forgive me?"
Phoebe noticed that Chandler assumed that the divorce would be his fault. She said honestly, "Well, I didn't see that part of the future. Mostly it's about us, not our kids. They don't have enough aura to read yet."
Chandler frowned and hugged Daniel to him, looking desperate and miserable.
Phoebe sensed that he was holding something back, something to do with Joey. Realizing, she spoke encouragingly, "Or who knows, maybe Daniel will turn out like Ben did, happy and well-adjusted."
Chandler remembered saying something similar to Joey, on that long ago Christmas night. "That--that would only work if we divorce before Daniel gets much older. Before he's aware enough to be traumatized."
They both knew he was drawing from his own childhood experience, especially his parents' shocking announcement during Thanksgiving dinner. It was the root of Chandler's smoking and his using humor as a defense mechanism and his problems with commitment.
Phoebe agreed. "Right. So maybe you need to get a move on, Buster."
Chandler looked up and blinked at her, wondering if she knew somehow. Meanwhile, Daniel squirmed in his father's lap, then crawled over to take his blankie back from Frannie.
Phoebe moved the babies to a play pen and tossed them some toys to share, or fight over, then she returned to the couch to continue their serious talk. "Something happened didn't it? You and Joey were acting strange before and after he left."
Chandler swallowed, struggled for his voice, and then suddenly broke down. Phoebe hugged him close and he confessed falteringly, "I--That Christmas--we, we were on the balcony. It, it wasn't about Rachel, it was... He kissed me, and I wanted--he said he couldn't break up our family. He said--he left me. How could he leave me?"
"You guys should have said something to us."
He calmed somewhat and shook his head. "I couldn't. Not on Christmas. Not like my parents did on Thanksgiving. I was going to, after, but Joey wanted to pretend it never happened. He said it was just the moment, and I'll get over him, and I belong with Monica..."
Phoebe sighed and tsked. "Joey, Joey, Joey! He can be so stubborn sometimes. I guess he was afraid of another Ross-Rachel mess."
Chandler nodded and laid his head on Phoebe's shoulder, glad that she seemed sympathetic to him. "What do I do?"
"Well, it's been two years now. Do you love him?"
He nodded. "But I don't know if he still loves me. Or if he'd just push me away again, say that it was wrong no matter what he felt."
Phoebe said, "Well, we'll have to fix that, won't we? The nerve of him! Trying to fight destiny. Free will only goes so far."
Chandler sat back and felt better, but then he glanced at the babies playing and frowned at his wedding ring with guilt. "What about Monica? I don't want to hurt her."
"Don't worry, leave that to me. I already found Monica's soulmate once. Let me just dig up Don's number again."
"You really think he's her soulmate?"
"Sure! It's even her lifelong fantasy, you know? Meet a person from a strange land, fall in love, and spend the rest of your lives together. See, how she got mixed up was that you and she were IN a strange land when you were in London, but you weren't FROM there."
Chandler asked, "Are you sure Mon will be okay? I mean, she's gonna be mad and hurt, no matter what guy you--"
"Not if we do it right!" Phoebe insisted. "Besides, haven't you seen the way that Monica keeps flirting with guys lately and sometimes forgets you exist? If I can get her to see that she'd be happier with someone else, then this divorce can be mutual, and she might not object to shared custody of Danny."
"Daniel," Chandler corrected, then frowned apologetically. "Sorry. It's just, Monica always wants to call him that."
Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, and that's just one way that she's become more anal and controlling than ever. It's to compensate for not being able to control her wandering eye."
Chandler pondered that, and Phoebe got up to dig her black book out of her purse.
"I know for sure that I kept Don's info." She beckoned to Chandler, "Come on, we've got a plan to put together! Then you and Monica can go back to being just friends, like you were meant to be."
to be continued...
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Phoebe got home from the hospital just in time for Christmas, and soon another New Year's passed. Chandler spent all of Joey's birthday wondering how Joey was doing in L.A. Did Joey suffer through relapses like Chandler did? It sounded that way, from what Phoebe told him of their phone conversation. But maybe Phoebe didn't recall Joey's exact words correctly, or maybe there was no hint of loneliness and misery in his voice, like there had been on the balcony two years ago.
"How exactly did he sound?" Chandler asked her one day in private, trying not to show how important Phoebe's answer was to him.
Phoebe thought about it. "I think he was distracted or upset about something. It seemed like something was wrong, but I'm not really sure. Joey doesn't open up to me anymore. That's why I thought you should talk to him. Maybe he'd confide in you."
Chandler nodded. "Yeah, but I guess he didn't feel comfortable discussing it yet. Pheebs, could you, could you give me his number again? I might call him this weekend or something."
"Sure."
Chandler kept Joey's phone number in his wallet for weeks afterward, unable to find the strength to call Joey. What would Chandler say to him? "Do you still love me? Do you want to come home? It's not too late. We could figure something out. We could see if Monica wants to go back to Richard, or have Phoebe dig up that British soulmate guy. I miss you, Joe. I still think about you. I saw your movie and I imagined you kissing me again. I don't think I should keep lying to Monica anymore."
But what if Joey didn't love him like that anymore? It had been two years, after all. Longer than it took Joey to get over Rachel. What if Joey replied, "Chandler, I'm just busy with work and stressed out because this girl I've been seeing wants me to meet her parents. This relationship thing is harder than I thought." Maybe that was the only reason why he sounded distracted and upset to Phoebe.
One evening, Chandler was so preoccupied by his conflicted feelings that he barely heard Monica's farewell before she left for the restaurant. Chandler babysat Daniel in the living room and brooded sadly on whether he could bring himself to leave his son, even if Joey still loved him.
Chandler was still trying to argue himself into throwing Joey's number away, when there was a knock at the door. With a sigh, he got up to answer it and found Phoebe in the hallway.
"Hi! Frannie and I are here for our play date." Phoebe was carrying her infant and a bag full of baby stuff.
"Oh, uh, come in." Chandler welcomed her inside, and realized that Monica had reminded him of this play date on her way out the door.
Phoebe came in and set down her bag on the couch. Then she brought Frannie over to meet little Daniel Bing, who was preoccupied with his blankie at present.
Sitting down with them, Chandler tried to collect his thoughts and make conversation. "So, uh, Pheebs, how are you doing now that you're back from maternity leave?"
"Great! That's one of the good things about working at that massage chain--the health benefits, and the job security." Phoebe smiled and played with the babies. "Your boy is so cute! You know what I was thinking the other day? What if my daughter and your son grew up and got married? They'd be Frannie and Danny Bing!"
Chandler laughed weakly, trying to be as cheerful as she was. "Is that why you named her that? Other than it being your grandmother's name?"
Phoebe smiled. "Well, I was also kind of naming her after Joey too. Joey Francis Tribbiani, you know. We would have gone with Josephine, but that was too long and Frances would kill two birds with one stone." Remembering something, Phoebe suddenly asked, "Oh, hey, did you call Joey yet? What did he say?"
Chandler winced and struggled for some explanation. "I, um, I--haven't called him."
She looked surprised. "Really? Why not?"
"It's just," he stared at his feet, "it's just... been so long."
"But you're best friends. You should find out what's bothering him."
"I-I don't know. Maybe it's none of our business. Maybe we're not friends anymore. I mean, if he didn't want to talk to me at the hospital, why bother now?"
Phoebe stared at Chandler, trying to figure him out. "Look, I know Joey hasn't kept in touch, but maybe he just needs a nudge from the right person. Maybe he needs you to reach out, make him feel that he's still loved."
Chandler choked and got up from the couch, starting to pace around the room. He wanted desperately to tell her everything, to just talk with somebody for once instead of having to suffer through his relapses alone.
Phoebe watched Chandler wringing his hands and frowned. "What's wrong? How come Joey only called me after he moved to L.A.? He should have called you, if anybody."
Chandler finally sat down on a chair, not facing her. He looked down at his hands and whispered, "Phoebe, you--you always said that me and Monica would divorce someday, didn't you? You predicted we'd split in ten years?"
She nodded and corrected him, "Before your ninth anniversary."
"Do you really believe that?"
She shrugged. "Well, I predict a lot of things about the future, and so does my psychic, but sometimes they don't work out quite as I expected. Like the lottery, when we should have got that $10,000 winning ticket. I have my off days too, and it's just harder seeing into the future than seeing into, like, past lives and stuff."
Chandler stroked his son's head and asked softly, "If--if Monica and I divorce, will our son be screwed up? As bad as me?"
Phoebe watched his face closely. "You mean how you used to be before Monica? When you were afraid of commitment and broke up with all those girls for dumb reasons?"
He nodded and swallowed. "And will he hate me? Like I hated my father? And will he never speak to me or write or call? Will he and Monica never forgive me?"
Phoebe noticed that Chandler assumed that the divorce would be his fault. She said honestly, "Well, I didn't see that part of the future. Mostly it's about us, not our kids. They don't have enough aura to read yet."
Chandler frowned and hugged Daniel to him, looking desperate and miserable.
Phoebe sensed that he was holding something back, something to do with Joey. Realizing, she spoke encouragingly, "Or who knows, maybe Daniel will turn out like Ben did, happy and well-adjusted."
Chandler remembered saying something similar to Joey, on that long ago Christmas night. "That--that would only work if we divorce before Daniel gets much older. Before he's aware enough to be traumatized."
They both knew he was drawing from his own childhood experience, especially his parents' shocking announcement during Thanksgiving dinner. It was the root of Chandler's smoking and his using humor as a defense mechanism and his problems with commitment.
Phoebe agreed. "Right. So maybe you need to get a move on, Buster."
Chandler looked up and blinked at her, wondering if she knew somehow. Meanwhile, Daniel squirmed in his father's lap, then crawled over to take his blankie back from Frannie.
Phoebe moved the babies to a play pen and tossed them some toys to share, or fight over, then she returned to the couch to continue their serious talk. "Something happened didn't it? You and Joey were acting strange before and after he left."
Chandler swallowed, struggled for his voice, and then suddenly broke down. Phoebe hugged him close and he confessed falteringly, "I--That Christmas--we, we were on the balcony. It, it wasn't about Rachel, it was... He kissed me, and I wanted--he said he couldn't break up our family. He said--he left me. How could he leave me?"
"You guys should have said something to us."
He calmed somewhat and shook his head. "I couldn't. Not on Christmas. Not like my parents did on Thanksgiving. I was going to, after, but Joey wanted to pretend it never happened. He said it was just the moment, and I'll get over him, and I belong with Monica..."
Phoebe sighed and tsked. "Joey, Joey, Joey! He can be so stubborn sometimes. I guess he was afraid of another Ross-Rachel mess."
Chandler nodded and laid his head on Phoebe's shoulder, glad that she seemed sympathetic to him. "What do I do?"
"Well, it's been two years now. Do you love him?"
He nodded. "But I don't know if he still loves me. Or if he'd just push me away again, say that it was wrong no matter what he felt."
Phoebe said, "Well, we'll have to fix that, won't we? The nerve of him! Trying to fight destiny. Free will only goes so far."
Chandler sat back and felt better, but then he glanced at the babies playing and frowned at his wedding ring with guilt. "What about Monica? I don't want to hurt her."
"Don't worry, leave that to me. I already found Monica's soulmate once. Let me just dig up Don's number again."
"You really think he's her soulmate?"
"Sure! It's even her lifelong fantasy, you know? Meet a person from a strange land, fall in love, and spend the rest of your lives together. See, how she got mixed up was that you and she were IN a strange land when you were in London, but you weren't FROM there."
Chandler asked, "Are you sure Mon will be okay? I mean, she's gonna be mad and hurt, no matter what guy you--"
"Not if we do it right!" Phoebe insisted. "Besides, haven't you seen the way that Monica keeps flirting with guys lately and sometimes forgets you exist? If I can get her to see that she'd be happier with someone else, then this divorce can be mutual, and she might not object to shared custody of Danny."
"Daniel," Chandler corrected, then frowned apologetically. "Sorry. It's just, Monica always wants to call him that."
Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, and that's just one way that she's become more anal and controlling than ever. It's to compensate for not being able to control her wandering eye."
Chandler pondered that, and Phoebe got up to dig her black book out of her purse.
"I know for sure that I kept Don's info." She beckoned to Chandler, "Come on, we've got a plan to put together! Then you and Monica can go back to being just friends, like you were meant to be."
to be continued...