Thanksgiving 2004

Chandler sat down on the edge of the couch and leaned forward while holding a somber gaze. He made sure to take a moment and look directly into each pair of eyes from his two person audience that were fixated back onto him. It had already reached the late morning and he was consumed by this overwhelming and fruitless trepidation about what this day was going to be like. He has been dreading its arrival ever since Monica told him that his mother was planning on coming for dinner. The same dinner that his father was also attending. Both of his parents appearing at the first Thanksgiving dinner in his new home. It was hard to believe this was happening. Chandler had spent most of his adult life making sure the three of them never spent another Thanksgiving together, and yet, as the clock inched its way closer to noon, he knew it was inevitable. Today was destined to go down in Bing family infamy.

Nora and Charles Bing, together again for Thanksgiving. It has been over twenty-five years since the last time the three of them had celebrated this holiday together. The holiday Chandler had found that he was growing to love again, despite himself. The one he had slowly let creep its way back into his life, thanks to the last ten years celebrating it with his wife and his friends. This rebooted holiday was now under threat of invasion from the two people who had sucked the joy out of it so many years ago.

He would be bouncing off the walls right now if he had not already started to quietly freak out ever since last week when he first heard about his mother's intended visit. He was actually quite surprised that it had not turned into a vintage Chandler Bing freak out, yet it was still noticeable enough to make Monica nervous. As today started to become a reality, and even though he told her he was ready to eat actual traditional Thanksgiving food for the first time in decades, she made sure to set up some back-up, break-glass-in-case of emergency dishes. Macaroni and cheese, tomato soup and even some frozen pizzas were on hand in case he reverted back into the man he was a decade ago, barely able to stand in the same room as a turkey and stuffing.

Chandler perched forward on the couch and leaned his elbows on his knees. He took a deep breath as he prepared himself to address the other two people in the room. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke. He wanted to make sure his words were carefully chosen. He needed to express his concerns about the upcoming holiday celebration succinctly. He knew that whatever he said, it had to be precise and above reproach. He looked down and inhaled deeply one more time before lifting his eyes back up to face his audience of two.

"Look. I know this is awkward, and I know that hearing something like this from me is the last thing you expected. We all know that I am not the one who gives the serious speeches and sets the tone or makes the rules. Believe me; no one is more surprised than I am that we are sitting here right now having this conversation. I know that spending Thanksgiving face-to-face isn't something you're probably ready for, but this is a big day for all of us; the first Thanksgiving in the new house. I really need the two of you to behave in a civilized manner. No snide comments, no passive-aggressive remarks, no taking shots at each other about the past. We just want to be able to have everyone here for a lovely meal without any problems. Also, if you two could not compete for attention from everyone that would be great. Nothing would embarrass me more than if I found you both vying for the favor of the same person at the same time tonight; trying to outdo each other and making everyone else at dinner uncomfortable in the process. So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?"

Jack and Erica looked up at him from their two Bumbo chairs; drool slick on their chins as they reached out and stretched their tiny fingers towards their father.

"Mmmfff. Gaaaa. Oooo. Fffffbbbtt!"

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

"Gah! Bah!"

"I'm going to need that in writing."

"Chandler!"

Chandler turned his head over his shoulder and found Monica standing in the entranceway of the living room. Her arms were folded and she wore a uniquely unamused expression that could only belong to her and that was usually reserved for him when he made a joke at the most inopportune of times.

She let out a huff and shook her head. "We have maybe an hour until my parents get here and we still need to set the table. What are you doing hiding out in here?"

"I'm avoiding reality. There's no chance my mother or father called to say they couldn't make it, is there?"

Monica exhaled out a chuckle. "No." She smiled as she playfully shook her head. "Come here." She sat down on the arm of the couch next to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his head down to rest on her chest. "Sweetie, you shouldn't stress out about this. Your father has been coming around a lot lately and that's been going great. Don't you think it is time for you and your mom to finally reconnect too?"

"It isn't reconnecting with me that I'm worried about. You saw them at the wedding. They can't last more than fifteen seconds without going at each other's throats. Instead of 'please pass the mashed potatoes' it'll be 'please don't tell the story about how you both slept with the same personal trainer'. Or worse, she'll bring some new boy toy, who will probably be shirtless by the way, and my Dad will change into a black strapless dress to try and seduce him."

Monica couldn't help her self and let loose with a loud laugh at his consternations. "I'm sure everything will be fine." She turned her attention towards Jack and Erica and smiled at them as she spoke in a sing-song voice. "Grandma and Grampa Bing will be too busy fawning over the two of you to get into any trouble. Won't they?"

Chandler allowed a skeptical look to fall over his face as he jabbed his chin in the direction of the twins. "You two better be extra cute today."

Monica rolled her eyes and lifted herself up off the arm of the couch. She held tight to Chandler's hand and pulled him up. "Okay. Let's go set that table. These two should be all right for a minute. We can watch them from the dining room."

Chandler took a step to follow her, but then abruptly stopped in his tracks and held them up from leaving the living room.

"You're actually going to let me help you this year?"

Monica paused for a moment and looked down. "No. I just need you to hold the box that has everything in it while I set the table. I'd let you help, but I'm afraid you could mess it up."

Chandler nodded and gestured for her to keep walking out of the room. "There it is."

Chandler closed the door to the twins' bedroom after successfully getting them down for an early nap. He and Monica had agreed that trying to get them to sleep a little before everyone showed up would probably decrease the chances of having to deal with two cranky babies all day. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he jerked his head towards the front door as he heard the doorbell ring. He furrowed his brow at the prospect of someone already showing up, since they were not expecting anyone for at least one more hour. Chandler knew that normally, when someone came this early to dinner at his house, it could only mean one thing; which Monica confirmed as she called to him from the kitchen.

"Sweetie. Can you get that? It's probably my parents."

Chandler smirked and softly mumbled to himself as he approached the front door. "Let the games begin."

He pulled the door open, expecting the familiar barrage of criticisms and candor from Jack and Judy Geller as they barged into the house, but instead, he was greeted by a tight and enthusiastic bear hug that practically lifted him off the ground.

"Hey buddy!"

"Joey?" Chandler tried to catch his breath as he smiled widely. His face beamed; genuinely surprised and ecstatic at Joey's arrival. He gave his old roommate a hearty slap on the back. "Oh my God! What? Why? How?"

The two men separated and Joey offered up a prideful smile as he picked up his duffel bag from the front stoop and stepped inside the house. "I have some time off between gigs and decided to come back to New York for the holidays. This way I could see you guys today and spend Christmas with my family. I didn't say anything 'cause I wanted to surprise you guys!"

"Oh man. Monica is going to be so happy you're here. And so angry that you didn't let her know so she could prepare twice as much food."

"Don't worry pal. I got that covered." Joey dropped his bag in front of Chandler and unzipped it. He pulled it open and displayed several tightly wrapped foot-long hero sandwiches inside. Chandler laughed as he and Joey shared another hug.

Chandler closed the front door and led Joey through the house towards the kitchen. "Come on. Monica is this way. I can't wait for her to see you're here."

The two men bounded down the hallway. Chandler pulled Joey back just as he was about to enter the kitchen, and kept him out of sight.

"Mon! Guess who's here!"

Monica blew a strand of hair from her face as she was washing some dishes in the sink. She looked up at Chandler and turned off the water. She spun around to face him as she wiped her hands dry on an apron that was tied around her waist. "Who?"

Chandler pushed Joey past the entrance and into the kitchen so he was now in full view. Monica's mouth opened wide in shock, but her face was soon overcome with a giddy smile as she clapped her hands together excitedly. "Oh my god!" She rushed over and wrapped her arms around Joey, giving him a tight hug. "What are you doing here?" She then pulled back and slapped him on the shoulder. "Why didn't you call to tell us you were going to be here? I only made a twenty-two-pound turkey for today! I am not properly prepared to feed a Tribbiani!"

"So, I filmed four episodes of this show where I play this guy who makes fake IDs and gives information about bad guys to the main character, who is this ex-CIA agent or something. I won't know if I get any more appearances until next summer, so my agent found me another job that I start shooting in January."

Chandler brought over two cups of coffee and placed one in front of Joey as he pulled out a chair and sat down next to him. "That sounds great Joe."

Joey took the mug in his hand and nodded enthusiastically. "That's not even the best part. This new show is on The Food Network. I get to travel all around California, visiting small, out of the way restaurants and food trucks and I eat there."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Apparently, the producer for the show saw me and my agent having lunch. I couldn't decide what to order. They had this really great breakfast platter with scrambled eggs and bacon and pancakes. Oh man. It is so good. But they also have this burger. It has three kinds of cheese on it. So, I ordered both. I guess they heard me describing all the food and thought I'd be perfect for the show!"

"You ate both?"

"Oh yeah. You know, I'm finding that people in L.A. are really surprised at how much I can eat."

Monica turned from the kitchen counter, she smirked and nodded at Chandler who stifled his own instinct to laugh. "Joe, that sounds great. Wow. I can't believe it is all finally happening for you."

"I know! It's only six episodes right now, but if they like it, it could get picked up for a whole season! There's only one problem."

Chandler chuckled to himself. "Let me guess, you stain too many shirts from wardrobe with marinara sauce?"

Joey looked at both Monica and Chandler with a sheepish grin on his face. "Well, yeah, that; plus, I met this girl while I was working on the show. She's incredible. She's an assistant director and we really hit it off."

Monica pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders. "That doesn't sound like a problem."

"Well, she's the producer's daughter."

Chandler sat back in his chair. "That could be a problem."

Monica rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Oh come on Joey!"

Chandler chuckled as he shook his head. "Joe. When will you learn; never screw where you eat!"

"I know! I know! And he is so overprotective. The last actor he hired who fooled around with his daughter got run out of town! He never worked in L.A. again!"

Monica walked over and put her hand on Joey's shoulder. "Joe. You know what you have to do. You can't see this girl if it means you could get blacklisted from Hollywood."

"I know. But Mon, you should see her. She's so smart, and nice and she's even went to school here in New York, so it's like I get to talk to someone from home. I mean, look guys, if this was just sex, I could stop at any time."

Monica and Chandler eyed him suspiciously.

Joey looked up at them, nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay. Maybe I couldn't stop if it was just the sex. But I swear. I really like this girl. I haven't felt like this about a girl since Rachel."

Both Monica and Chandler winced a bit at that confession.

"Sorry. I keep forgetting how that will never not be weird for you guys."

Monica smiled and rubbed Joey's shoulder reassuringly. "I'm sorry Joe. It sounds really complicated. What are you going to do?"

"Well, I thought that was where you guys could come in."

Chandler and Monica turned to each other and shared a puzzled look. Chandler nodded at her.

"I'll ask. How exactly do we come in?"

"Well. You guys did that whole secret relationship thing when you first got together. You guys snuck around behind everyone's back and took your time to make sure what you had was serious enough before everyone found out. Plus you were having sex all the time. So, I thought, maybe you could give me some pointers on how to do that. Then, me and her can figure out if this is the real thing and when her dad finds out, we won't just be doing it, we'll be a couple. You know, like you guys."

Monica allowed a sweet smile to spread across her lips as Chandler looked off to the side. He ran his fingers along his chin.

"Oddly enough. That kind of makes sense."

"So, will you guys help me?"

Monica walked over and sat on Chandler's lap. "Sure, Joey but, you have to realize. It might not work."

"Come on Mon. I'm an actor. This is what I do. I research a role and then I get the part."

Monica screwed up her face. "Joey, when have you ever done that?"

"Well, it's what other actors do."

Charles Bing arrived at Monica and Chandler's house resplendent in a pair of light tan chino pants, a pink, oversized bloused shirt, pink socks and a comfortable, sparkling clean pair of white sneakers. He had his hair styled back, giving it a slick look that blended the sheen of the gel with the streaks of silver in his hair. He was jovial and gregarious, speaking with a confidence of a man who felt at home in his son's house.

He had made himself comfortable in the den with Chandler and Joey, marveling at Joey's stories of L.A., Hollywood, sex and food. Chandler and Joey were both sipping at some beer while Charles had a glass of port wine. Monica walked in with a tray of cheese, olives and sliced meats, placing it down on the coffee table in front of them.

"Honey, I'm starting to get worried. My parents are never this late. I think we should try them on their cell."

"Okay. Look, I'll go upstairs and check on the twins and then I'll try them when I come back down. I'm sure they are fine." Chandler got up from the couch and looked back at Joey and his father. "You two will be okay for a few minutes, right?"

Charles smiled and pat Joey on the knee. "Of course, we will." He then turned to face Joey. "So, Joseph, how are you doing?"

A slightly nervous smile spread across Joey's lips. Chandler looked back and sighed as he slumped his shoulders. "Dad. Don't pick on Joey."

Charles laughed and pat Joey on the back. "Joseph, are you still straight?"

Joey nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Ever do drag? You have the hips for it. I think you'd look wonderful in a nice wrap dress."

Joey looked down at himself and started to inspect his waist. He nodded as a flattered expression washed over his face. "Well, I am known to be kind of a chameleon."

The two of them are startled out of their conversation when they hear the front door swing open wildly. Suddenly, Jack Geller barreled through the doorway with Judy Geller close behind him. Judy's hair was disheveled with strands sticking out, her make-up looked smudged and her collar was standing up on one side. Jack's shirt was untucked in the front and a few of his buttons were undone.

"Hello, anyone home?"

Upon hearing her father's voice, Monica sped out of the kitchen to greet them. "There you two are. We were starting to get worried."

Jack smiled and planted a quick kiss on Monica's cheek. "Sorry sweetheart. We, uh," he glanced over at Judy and then back to Monica. "We got held up in traffic."

Monica paused as she looked her parents up and down, measuring their appearance. "Why are you guys such a mess?"

Judy looked around the house and smiled. "Monica dear, everything looks absolutely wonderful. And is that the turkey I smell? Positively mouthwatering."

Jack laughed and leaned in to his wife. "Judy. That's the second time you said that today."

Judy slapped Jack on the arm. "Jack! Shhh!" She then focused her attention on her daughter. "Monica, we're just going to freshen up in the bathroom. It was a long, hard ride." Monica held a puzzled look on her face as she shook her head. She grabs her parent's coats and took them into the den to hang up in the closet. Jack and Judy made their way down the hall to the back of the house.

Joey looked up at Monica and smiled. "Hey, your parents are here! Looks like everything is okay."

"Yeah, but I'm a little worried about them. They were late, they look like a mess, my mom complimented me. I wonder if they're getting old."

Joey nodded for a moment and looked up into the corner of the room, a ponderous expression on his face. "Or they might have just had sex."

"What?"

"Messy, late, in a good mood. Those are clear signs that they had sex."

Charles nodded and allowed a salacious smile to form on his lips. "Ooo, how delicious." Monica shot the two of them a steely glare, which caused Charles to stammer. "Uh, I was talking about this cheese, obviously."

Monica folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at her father-in-law. "Obviously."

Charles snatched up a piece of cheese and shoved it in his mouth. "Mmm. Delicious."

Monica stared at him with a skeptical look on her face. "I thought you were lactose intolerant."

"Mmph. Not right now. Right now I am getting in trouble with Monica intolerant."

Chandler hustled down the stairs as Monica walked by on her way to the kitchen. He glanced at his father and Joey in the den and thought about joining them, but decided to instead follow his wife into the other room.

"The two little dictators are still out."

"Well, it'll be a pretty busy day for them, might as well let them sleep. Plus, my parents are probably doing it in our guest bathroom right now."

Chandler shuddered and then mimed shooting himself in the head. "What can I do for you? Anything I can help with?"

"No, we still have another hour for the turkey and then I'll heat everything else up. You can help me set up all the food later."

Chandler nodded and turned his head as he heard the doorbell ring. Joey jumped up to answer and both he and Monica winced as a cacophony of excited squeals and shouts came from the front of the house as Ross, Rachel and Joey celebrated their mini-reunion by the front door. Ross quickly excused himself and walked Emma into the kitchen to greet Monica and Chandler. Monica smiled widely, filled with excitement at seeing her niece and scurried over to embrace her. Before she could reach her, Ross puts up a finger and signaled for Monica to stand back. He knelt down next to his daughter and gently placed one hand on her back. He then pointed to his sister.

"Hey Emma, do you know who this is?"

Emma looked back and forth between the two Geller siblings with a mix of apprehension and shyness on her face. She lifted her hands and tried to cover her face.

"Come on shy girl. You can do it. Just like we practiced."

Emma looked back up and started to speak, so quietly that it was almost imperceptible.

"Aunt Mon'ca."

Monica clasped her hands together, raised them to her mouth and smiled. Her eyes began to shine as tears started to form around the edges.

Ross signaled again for Monica to wait as he tried to encourage his daughter. "You know you can do better than that. Let's try again. Who is that?"

Emma, now a little more confident puffed her chest out. "Aunt Montica"

Monica, unable to contain herself anymore, hurried down to the floor and squeezed Emma into a tight hug. "That's right! I'm Aunt Monica!"

Ross got up and looked over at Chandler. "She can do it better. She was saying 'Monica' during the car ride over here."

Monica gave Emma a kiss on her forehead. "Oh, this was perfect. I can be Aunt Montica for this little cutie anytime!"

Chandler nodded as a grin of anticipation started to spread on his lips. "Wow, that's great! So, uh, Emma, do you know who I am?"

Emma turned and looked at Chandler. She shook her head and buried it in Monica's neck as she hugged her tightly.

Chandler looked at Ross. "I guess she's still shy. Maybe she will say my name later."

Ross offered up a sheepish grin. "Well, she can't say your name yet."

Chandler rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and huffed.

Ross pursed his lips and adopted a slightly indignant tone at Chandler's reaction. "Uncle Chandler is hard for kids to say! Why couldn't you have a normal name like Mike or Phil?"

Emma turned from Monica and looked at Chandler one more time. She pointed at him and smiled. "Funk. Funkle. Funkie."

Monica smiled and covered her mouth again, almost melting at the adorable sounds that were coming from Emma. "That's right! Uncle!"

Emma smiled, spurred on by Monica's praise, pointed at Chandler again. "Funk. Funk. Funk."

Chandler threw his hands down exasperatedly. "Funk?"

Monica shot him a stern look. "Be nice Funk. She's trying."

Ross patted him on the back. "I guess maybe you should play some of that you music, white boy."

Chandler shook his head, "I was better off watching my dad try to flirt with Joey." He shuddered as he walked out of the kitchen and made his way back to the den.

Ross placed his coat on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. "Mon, can you watch Emma for a second? I'm just going to go to the bathroom quick."

Monica, her attention still focused on her niece; she was smiling at her while they brought their faces close and rubbed their noses together. "Sure."

Ross walked away and Monica's face suddenly went pale. She shot straight up. "Wait! Ross! Mom and dad…"

Before she could finish her warning, she was cut off by her brother's shrieks of horror.

"No! No! No! Mom! Dad! What is wrong with the two of you! There are children here!"

Monica entered the dining room and looked over the group of faces that were eagerly waiting for dinner to be served. She flashed a half-smile, but could not hide the dejected expression on her face as she slumped her shoulders and sat down next to Chandler. She glanced at the three empty table settings.

"Well, that was Phoebe. They're not going to make it. She is really tired and cramping today and they don't think she can make the drive." She looked over at Chandler and leaned into him, resting her head on his chest. "This is going to be our first Thanksgiving without her in such a long time."

Chandler put his arms around her and kissed her gently on the side of her head.

Joey groaned at the prospect of not being able to see his friends, but then perked up. "Ooo! I call their turkey!"

Rachel offered him a bemused look. "Joey, Phoebe doesn't eat turkey."

"Great. So not only does she not come out to see me when I'm back in New York, but she also doesn't leave me any turkey to eat?"

Monica sighed and exhaled out slowly. "Joey, I made plenty of food. I'm sure you'll get to eat extra turkey."

Joey smiled triumphantly at the thought of receiving extra food. "So, Pheebs is really pregnant, huh?"

Chandler slowly turned to face him. "Yeah Joe. We weren't sure when she told us, or when her stomach started to get really big, but now that she can't make it to dinner. I think something might be up."

Monica shook her head and glanced at her husband with admonishment in her eyes. "She'll be eight months tomorrow."

"Oh wow. I'm not going back to L.A. until after New Year's. Maybe I'll be here for the baby!"

Ross presented a plate of food to Emma. She turned it a few times as she inspected it suspiciously. "That would be great Joe. I know Phoebe would really love it if you were here when the baby was born."

Monica nodded but then looked back at the three empty seats and frowned a bit. "Okay, well, I wanted to wait until everyone was here, but now they aren't coming and we haven't heard from Nora yet, so, I guess we might as well start eating."

Charles shivered and then smiled. "Well, my ex-wife does love to make a grand entrance. I'm sure she will show up at the worst possible moment, ensuring that all eyes will be on her."

Chandler looked over at his father. "What about you? When I was twelve you celebrated Carnival by wearing a head dress that took three people to put on your head and a gown that had a six-foot train on the end of it. I had to walk around behind you and hold it up whenever we went somewhere."

"Well, son. That was Carnival! A celebration and special occasion."

"How special could it have been? We ate dinner at a pizza hut!"

Everyone at the table chuckled nervously as Charles shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I looked good."

Monica stood up. "Chandler, want to help me get the food in here so we can start eating?"

Joey jumped up out of his chair. "Yeah Chandler. Let's get the food so people can start eating!"

Chandler gestured for Joey to sit back down. "We got it Joe. Okay everyone. Dinner in five."

Suddenly Emma started to giggle and pointed at Chandler. "Funk! Funkie funk!"

Rachel smiled and nods as she kissed her daughter on the top of her head. "That's right Emma. That's funkie." She then looked at Chandler with a devilish grin. "That is never going to get old."

Chandler shook his head and mumbled in a mocking tone back at Rachel. He then turned and walked out of the dining room.

Once they both reached the kitchen, they began setting up some serving dishes. Chandler placed several of them on a large tray so he could carry them into the dining room. Monica made sure to inspect his work before she turned her attention to the kitchen counter so she could begin to carve the turkey. The doorbell rang, and both of them froze and looked at each other nervously.

"I'll get it."

Ross jumped up from his seat to answer the door.

Chandler craned his neck a bit, leaning his head in the direction of the front door and shuddered when he heard a familiar voice.

"Well, hello Ross. Don't you look handsome."

Ross could only offer back a shy smirk as he looked down. "Hi Mrs. Bing."

"Please. Call me Nora."

Charles swung his legs around in his seat so he could pivot and see his ex-wife as she walked in the front door. "I'm surprised she didn't say 'call me anytime'."

"Oh, is that who I think it is?"

Nora took off her coat and handed it to Ross, revealing a low-cut dress exposing an ample amount of her cleavage and a slit that went up her right leg, almost reaching the top of her thigh. Jack's eyes bulged a bit as he tries to keep from staring and Judy cuffed him in his ribs. Nora looked as if she is derived nourishment from the attention everyone was lavishing her with. She beamed as she entered the dining room. As she sat down, she glanced at Charles and scoffed.

"Charles dear? You look almost normal. I'm surprised. Where is your dress?"

Charles smirked as he looked her over. His eyes traveled up and down the length of her body as he studied her clothes. "That's funny. I was going to ask you the same thing. You know this is a family holiday, right? No some European sex club."

Chandler, hearing every word as he stood in the kitchen, closed his eyes tightly and let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh great. Mom is here. Now the fun can really start."

Monica put a reassuring hand on his arm and drew his attention to her. She looked him in the eye and smiled sweetly at him. She lifted herself up on her toes to gently kiss him on the cheek.

"Chandler, sweetie, calm down. It'll be okay. Even if it isn't okay, it'll be okay. This is what Thanksgiving is all about."

Chandler tilted his head sarcastically. "What? Dysfunction?"

Monica exhaled with a laugh. "Actually, yes. Look at what has already happened today. Joey is sleeping with his boss's daughter. Your dad hit on Joey. My parents were supposed to bring three pies and instead they brought two and an empty tray with some crust in it, which can only mean they used one of the pies while they were having sex on the side of the road somewhere. Ross walked in on my parents having sex in our bathroom, and your niece thinks your name is funk. This is what Thanksgiving is all about. Family. And family can be pretty messy, but this is our family and it is the only one we get. Now straighten up, put on your best face, and be prepared to throw one of our adorable babies at your parents if it gets really bad."

Chandler leaned over and kissed his wife on her forehead.

"Okay."

"Okay."

He pulled her in for one last hug. "I love you."

"I know."

They kissed again and for a moment, lost themselves in each other. The world around them became blurry as they fused together. IN this moment, it was only the two of them. No parents, no friends, no cranky babies or finicky children, just them. They lingered there for a bit and let their lips graze each other once more, it seemed nothing could break them out of this spell.

"Come on already! We're starving in here!"

Monica pulled back and giggled as she shook her head.

"Coming Joe."

Chandler shook his head and watched as his wife disentangled herself from him, grab a tray of food, and slowly walk out of the kitchen.

"Okay."

He followed suit, grabbing a tray, and followed her into the dining room, ready to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family and friends.