A Beautiful New York Morning
Joey quietly opened the door to the apartment and was immediately assailed by the aroma of bacon, eggs and pancakes over the sweet smell of syrup. His stomach growled in appreciation, one of the plus sides of having a bona fide cook for a roommate. He looked around and was both disappointed and relieved to find the apartment empty; even though he had just come back from Ross's, Joey wasn't really sure if he was up to seeing his sister just yet.
He went back to his room, took a shower and got properly dressed for another day of job hunting. His character on Days had just 'killed' when the car he was driving went over a cliff, and it meant that Joey had to look for something else. He wasn't worried though, no one ever really dies on soap operas and sooner or later he would miraculously turn up after being saved from death by some rich lonely widow. Joey fiddled around the refrigerator, hoping Monica at least saved him some breakfast, and was rewarded by a stack of pancakes.
He wondered where the two of them were, Rosie and his roommate, and for a moment felt a twinge of anxiety for not being able to keep tabs on his sister. But then, she was with Monica and he could trust his friend to take care of her. That sent a tiny frown over his brow and Joey wondered where it came from but before he could spend another moment worrying about it, a message beeped on the answering machine.
"Hey dude, where the hell are you? I got a role for an autistic busboy on this new show coming up and I know it's just perfect for you"
The raspy, cigarette choked voice of his agent grated on his ears but Joey picked up the phone just in the nick of time.
"Hey I'm here, I'm good for the role. They kicked me off Days"
He held the phone from his ear as she proceeded to chew him out, and then give him the directions to the casting place for the show. Joey forgot to finish his breakfast in his haste to leave the apartment.
Monica dragged in a lungful of cool 'clean' air and expelled it out in a sigh of contentment. She turned to the woman walking beside her and noticed Rose's raised eyebrow.
"What, never seen a New Yorker that likes mornings?"
The latter chuckled softly and started to say something, but was interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone. Monica started and reached into the pocket of her oversized jacket.
"Hello"
A female voice breathlessly replied from the other end and she instantly recognized its owner.
"You get your behind here right now lady, I've got a breeding female on the rampage in my hands"
From the tone of her voice, Monica could tell that Rachel was nearing her desperation point. She winced slightly when another female voice yelled loudly in the background "Where the hell is that broccoli pizza I ordered" and wondered whether it wouldn't just be safer to try evading this task.
"Okay, I take it Phoebe isn't feeling too enthusiastic about Lamaze?"
Rachel scoffed audibly into the phone and she winced again.
"How about you get here and see for yourself. Seriously if she weren't carrying three, I'd kill her myself right now."
"Alright, all right I'm on my way"
She hung up and gave Rose an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, that was another of friends thoughtfully reminding me where I'm supposed to be. Phoebe decided to be surrogate mother to her brother's kids and you know how they get in the third trimester. Rachel would just as well kill her as take care of her"
Rose's eyes widened at that bit of information
"Rachel, you mean the Rachel?"
Monica raised an eyebrow contemplatively
"Yeah, it's the same Rache last time I checked, why?"
"It's just that Joey's told me a lot about Rachel. He calls her hot"
Rose did an uncanny impersonation of her brother, bulging eyes and all, and suddenly Monica was struck by how much both siblings looked alike.
"Well I guess you could say she's hot, the guys think so anyway. They've all had a crush on her at one time or another, especially my brother."
She remembered the fateful day her friend burst into their favorite haunt, garbed in all the frills of a bridal gown and dragging her train behind. Of course Joey would tell his sister about Rachel, considering he was closer to her than the other girls. Sometimes Monica wondered whether there was a promise of romance between them, but then she'd remember Rachel's deep-rooted crush on her brother. Now if only he would hurry up and make up his mind about what he really wants.
She grinned at Rose and steered her across the street, toward an apartment complex.
"Why don't we go on up and meet the other girls?"
The other woman smiled with delight and Monica got a feeling of satisfaction at finally succeeding in getting her mind off the spat with Joey.