Anything for Love

Chapter 5: The One Where It's Joey's Birthday

Joey's birthday was approaching, and Phoebe wanted to do something special for him. She talked to the others, but they all had other things to do.

"I can't Phoebs. The Olsen Twins are having a party, and they booked reservations at my restaurant. Can you believe it? Of all the places for them to want to eat, they want to eat at Chez Monica! This will put me on the map, Phoebs! If I give them a good dinning experience, they'll tell their friends, and they'll tell their friends, and—"

Phoebe cut Monica, of. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I understand. It just sucks that it has to be on Joey's birthday. Can't you call and ask them to reschedule?"

Monica shot her a look.

"Fine, pick two famous actresses over your friend of many years!" Phoebe snapped.

Monica smirked. "We can celebrate another day. Joey hates his birthdays anyway."

Chandler's excuse had been that their nanny was sick and he had no one to watch the twins for him. Ross and Monica's parents were at dinner and the symphony with friends that night and couldn't watch them either.

Rachel had a deadline she had to make. There was a shipment that needed taken care of, and blah, blah, blah, was all Phoebe really heard. She would be working most of the night.

Ross was away at a paleontologist convention, which Phoebe couldn't even believe they had, let alone that people would want to go to one.

So, it was just her and Joey. Not that she minded, but it saddened her a little. So much had changed in three years. They used to all do everything together. Never would the rest of the gang have missed one of their birthdays—especially not a big number birthday! Now that Monica and Chandler had kids, and Rachel and Ross had Emma, things were different. It was all about the kids and their careers now. It felt like they were all grown up, but she and Joey had stayed kids, so to speak. Phoebe had thought she was going to have a family and become "grown up" too, but all that had gone to hell when Mike cheated on her, and when she couldn't get pregnant.

Phoebe sighed. Life really sucked sometimes, but she wasn't about to let it keep her down. She was hoping that dinner with Joey on his birthday would help cheer her up. She was sure it would. After all, spending time with Joey always cheered her up.

Joey was in his dressing room when his cell phone rang.

"Tribbiani here." He smiled when he heard Alex on the other end. "Hey. Long time no talk to." It was kind of weird for him. They had gone from being engaged, or sort of engaged, to now almost being strangers again. They hadn't really kept in touch much since he had moved back to New York.

"Hi! How's the city going?" Alex asked. "I see you got a new gig."

Joey grinned. "Yeah, it's on a new soap opera called Love and Freedom, as I'm sure you heard. I've only been there for a few days, but so far I feel like it's going great! I really love it."

"Did you find a place of your own yet?"

"Na, but I'm looking. I just have to decide if I want a house or an apartment."

"If I were you, I'd go for a house. Why pay rent when it could be going toward a mortgage?"

Joey nodded. "That's what my financial advisor said to me."

"He's right. Look, I have to talk to you about something. I know it's extremely late notice, but I was wondering, are you doing anything for your birthday tomorrow?"

Joey smiled. "You remembered by birthday!"

"Well, duh! We were engaged for a period of time. That would be pretty crappy of me to forget it. You remember mine, don't you?"

Joey swallowed hard. "I, uh…. I'm not good with dates. I'm sorry!"

Alex laughed. "You're the same old Joey, I see. It's May ninth."

"Oh! May ninth! That's right. Sorry," Joey said, embarrassed.

"It's fine, Joey, really. Look, I am going to be in New York tomorrow. Are you free for dinner by some miracle? Or do you already have plans?"

"I don't have plans. No one even mentioned my upcoming birthday to me, so I guess I'm wide open. You know how I hate birthdays anyway."

"Maybe that's why you couldn't remember when mine was," Alex quipped.

"I meant that I hate my birthdays, but yeah. We'll go with that!" Joey said with a grin.

"How about a nice, quiet little restaurant where we won't be disturbed? Do you know of a place?" Alex asked him.

"How about Cavilari's?" Joey suggested. "It's a nice Italian restraint. It had great food, and it's a cozy little place."

"Great! I'll look up the address and meet you there at say six?"

"What time do you come in? I can pick you up and take you there."

"No need. I have some running around to do first. I'll meet you inside at six on the nose. Don't be late."

"I'll try not to," Joey promised.

Alex laughed. "It's a deal. And Joey?"

"Yes?"

"I can't wait to see you again."

Joey smiled. "Same here."

They hung up, and then Joey got the knock on the door indicating they needed him back on set.

With a sigh, he headed back out to set, wondering what Alex wanted to talk about.

Phoebe called Joey that night when she knew he would be back from work. "So, I was thinking that you and I could go out to dinner together for your birthday tomorrow night. Unfortunately, it will be just the two of us. Monica has the Olsen Twins dining at her restaurant tomorrow of all nights, so she can't come. Chandler has to stay home with the twins because the nanny is sick. Ross, as you know is still away at his snooze convention, and Rachel is working on a deadline. I swear our friends have become such bores."

Joey instantly felt bad, but he had already said yes to Alex. Besides, he was curious what she had to talk to him about. "I'm sorry, Phoebes, but I already have plans."

"Doing what?" Phoebe couldn't believe it. Now even the birthday boy himself couldn't make it to his birthday dinner?

"Alex called me this morning. She is going to be in town and wants to do dinner to discuss something with me. We're doing dinner at Cavilari's at six. I'd invite you to come along, but since she invited me, and she has to talk to me about something, I don't want to be rude by bringing someone else along."

"Well, what does she want to talk to you about?" Phoebe asked, instantly jealous.

Joey shrugged. "Heck if I know. I guess I'll find out tonight."

"Do you think she wants to get back together?" Phoebe asked, biting a nail.

"I don't know. I suppose maybe. I hadn't even thought of that." Joey doubted it, but then again, he was Joey Tribbiani. Anything was possible. He had that effect on women.

"Do you want to get back with her?" Phoebe asked, feeling sick to her stomach suddenly.

"Hold on, Phoebs. My agent is on the other line. I have to take it."

Joey switched over to the other line.

"Joey, it's Charlie. How interested are you in going back to Lose Angeles to film a movie?"

Joey grinned. "Depends on the movie."

Charlie then told him all about the movie. Joey would be starring opposite Chris Rock. It was a comedy movie that sounded pretty good.

"I'll have them fax you over the script," Charlie said.

"Have them send it to The Plaza," Joey said. "They'll bring it right up to me."

"Will do."

They chatted briefly, and then Joey got back on the line with Phoebe. "Sorry about that, Phoebs. That was my agent. He may have a part for me in a new comedy movie with Chris Rock!"

"Really? Cool! Does it film here in New York?" Phoebe asked, excited for another thing to tie Joey to New York.

"No, it films in LA. Ugh! Chandler's on the other line now. Look, I'm sorry about dinner tomorrow. I have to work all day; otherwise we could do something during the day. Tonight, I have calls to make, then errands to run. How about the day after my birthday?"

"That's fine." Phoebe didn't even try to hide the disappointment in her voice. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Sounds good. I'm sorry again, Phoebes. You know I hate to dissapoint you. Have a good night, Phoebes."

"Thanks, Joey. You too."

Joey switched over to talk to Chandler then, oblivious to the depth of Phoebe's disappointment.

Phoebe wanted to cry. Joey was possibly getting back together with Alex. He had never answered her question on whether or not he wanted to get back with Alex. Judging from the way that he was spending his birthday with her on a day's notice, she had a strong feeling he might want to. After all, he and Alex had been engaged before. Now, with this movie offer in Los Angeles, and no prospect of a permanent place to live in New York, she could see the writing on the wall. Joey was going to leave her again, and then she would surely be all alone.

Phoebe plopped herself down onto her couch and sighed. She thought of Mike. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to still be friends with him after he had cheated on her. He hadn't been very sympathetic about her not being able to get pregnant with him either. Still, their marriage hadn't been all bad. He hadn't been abusive. He was still cordial to her for the most part aside from occasional fights…. She didn't think she could ever be with him again romantically, but, now that she was losing Joey, she was starting to miss Mike. It wasn't necessarily in a romantic way. She just missed his friendship. On a whim, she decided to call him up.

He answered on the fourth ring. "Phoebe, what's up?" He didn't sound overly friendly, but he didn't sound annoyed either.

"Hi, Mike. I was just thinking about you. I know our marriage was a bad idea, but I'm finding myself missing our friendship."

Mike was silent for a moment. "I guess I kind of miss it too sometimes."

"Do you think maybe we could get together tomorrow at say six? We can have dinner, and just talk. It might be good for us so that we don't end on a completely sour note," Phoebe suggested. "Maybe Cavilari's?" Okay, so a part of her wanted to spy on Joey and Alex. She maybe even wanted to try to make Joey a little jealous. Still, she really did miss Mike. She just saw this as multi-tasking. She could go there and accomplish three things. She could find out what Alex wanted, She could see if Joey showed any signs of jealousy when he saw her with her ex, and she could maybe repair a little of the damage with Mike so that they could end up on civil terms.

To her surprise, Mike sounded friendlier now. "Sure! I'd like that. Would you like me to pick you up, or do you want to just meet there?"

"Let's just meet there. I've missed you, Mike."

"I've missed you too. I'll see you tonight, Phoebe. I do think we need to talk."

"Me too." Phoebe smiled. "See you at six."

"Six it is."

They hung up, and then Phoebe sighed again. She wondered if Mike wanted to get back together. She didn't trust him after his cheating, but it would be nice to have him begging her to take him back; for him to see what a terrible mistake he had made in cheating on her.

Phoebe got up off the couch and put her coat and boots on. She then grabbed her bag. She needed to go shopping since tonight she had not only one, but two people to impress. Joey and Mike wouldn't know what hit them!

Joey was actually right on time for once. He guessed his curiosity got the best of him.

Alex was also right on time. She hugged him tightly. "Man I've really missed you!" she said before kissing his cheek.

He smiled at her and kissed her cheek in return. "I've really missed you too. How have you been?"

"I've been all right," she said not sounding either happy or sad.

The host seated them, and then took off, and they looked over their menus. They ordered their drinks right away. Joey Tribbiani always got served promptly everywhere he went now that he was becoming a household name. Restaurants everywhere knew of his eating habits, and therefore they loved when he came to eat at their restaurant.

"You look great!" He nodded toward her outfit. She had on a pretty black and white blouse that fit her tightly and was really low-cut. She also work tight black leather pants and black chunky healed ankle boots. "Though I don't know how you don't fall on the ice in those." He nodded toward her boots.

She laughed. "I'm lucky it isn't that icy out now. I guess I'm too used to Los Angeles Weather. I didn't really factor in the snow when I put this outfit together."

Their red wine came, and she took a sip. "Happy Birthday by the way! Wow, the big 40!" Alex whistled. "You're getting old!"

"I am not! I am young and handsome!" Joey said defensively.

Alex laughed. "Relax! I was only teasing."

"I think God compromised with me. I still have to have birthdays, but I also still get to stay looking young." Joey said proudly.

Alex nodded. "That you do! So, are you seeing anyone?" She took another sip of wine.

Joey shrugged. "Not really. I've been with other women since you, if that's what you're asking. As far as having a current girlfriend, I do not have one." Though, he kind of wished he did.

No sooner had Joey thought that he wished he did, did Phoebe walk in wearing a royal purple dress cut down the middle that nearly made him choke on the wine he had just sipped. It was cut even lower than Alex's blouse, which was cut pretty low. Phoebe wore the stilettoes to match, and a pretty silver necklace with a purple gem that dangled down into her cleavage.

"Do you know her, or are you just gawking?" Alex asked with a smirk.

Joey looked back at her and blushed. "She's a friend."

Alex nodded toward her. "Cute guy she's with." She smirked.

Joey looked back and was shocked to see Mike right behind her. He was wearing dark washed jeans with a tan dress shirt over a dark blue t-shirt. He wore sneakers. He was way under dressed, and Phoebe was way over dressed.

Phoebe caught him staring, smiled and waved, then turned her attention back to Mike. Mike helped her into her chair, and she smiled adoringly at Mike.

"Do you find him cute too?" Alex teased.

Joey turned his attention back to Alex and made a face. "Don't be disgusting!"

Alex laughed. "You're mister touchy tonight."

"I'm sorry. I guess I just really hate birthdays even more than I thought."

"Well, don't. It means God gave you another year of life!" Alex said.

Joey nodded. "That is true."

They looked over their menus, and ordered, and then once the waiter had gone again, Alex reached across the table and put her hands over Joey's. "Have you ever thought about getting back together with me?"

Joey suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. "Sometimes. Why? Have you thought of getting back together with me?"

Alex smiled and nodded. "Uh huh! Many times." She sipped her wine again.

Joey sipped his as well. He didn't know how to respond to that.

Phoebe wanted to hurl when she saw Alex. She had only seen pictures of her before. She even was prettier in person, which Phoebe found herself loathing. The way her blouse was cut so low… Her pants looked painted on, and her ankle boots had heels. In January? It was ridiculous!

Mike smirked. "Why are you staring at Joey's date?"

Phoebe turned her attention to him. "I just can't believe she would dress so winter-inappropriate; that's all. That blouse is so low cut, and those heels are not meant for snow."

"Seriously?" Mike nodded toward her own outfit. "Says the woman who is wearing an even lower cut dress and four-inch stiletto heels."

"Point taken," Phoebe said, "I just wanted to look nice for dinner."

"You do. You look very nice. Just as I'm sure she wanted to look nice for Joey," Mike said reasonably.

"That's the problem," Phoebe said under her breath.

"What?" Mike asked.

Phoebe sipped her ice water. "Nothing. Nothing at all." She felt her blood burn as she saw Alex taking Joey's hands in her own. "The slut." She muttered. She had been worried that Alex would want to get back together with Joey, and apparently, she was right.

Mike either didn't hear her call Alex a slut. It was either that or he pretended not to.

Phoebe set her water glass down hard on the table, so hard the water slushed onto the table cloth. "Oops!" Phoebe said loud enough to break Joey's attention away from Alex to look at her. They were a few yards away from each other, but they still had a clear view of each other's table. "My bad." Phoebe took her napkin and sopped up the water that had splashed onto the table. She then looked over at Mike. "I'm so glad you could make it tonight. Thank you for agreeing to have dinner with me at such late notice." She batted her eyelashes at him and smiled.

Mike shrugged. "No problem. I had nothing else to do anyway, and I figured you were right; that we needed to talk."

Phoebe took a page out of Alex's book and rubbed his hands that were on the table. "Well, I appreciate it anyway, and yes, I agree, we should talk."

What the heck are you doing Phoebe? Joey silently asked. Surely she couldn't be considering going back with Mike! He cheated on her! In his book, that was inexcusable. He had half a mind to get up and punch Mike out, but he didn't want to make a scene. Besides, he didn't know if he could take Mike on or not. Though, the more he watched Phoebe gushing over Mike, the more he wanted to try.

"Joey, I thought we were having a conversation here," Alex said, sounding a little annoyed.

Joey turned his attention back to her. "I'm sorry. What was it you were saying?"

"That I've thought many times about us getting back together," Alex repeated.

"I have too from time to time," Joey admitted. "Though, I haven't really thought about it lately."

Alex nodded in understanding. She nodded towards Phoebe. "Because of her."

Joey looked back. Phoebe was having a conversation with Mike. She was looking at him intently as he spoke. He looked back at Alex. "What makes you think I like her?"

Alex took his hands in hers again. "Because I have a brain, Joey. You're hardly paying any attention to me, but since the moment she walked in, you've been staring back at her. Also, I can tell the guy she is with really burns you up!"

Joey sighed. "He was her ex-husband and he cheated on her. I just don't want to see my friend get hurt again."

Alex smirked. "Nice try, but I'm not buying it. That may be partly true, but it's not the full reason it bothers you so much, and you know it!"

Joey looked down at the table. "Fair enough." He then looked back up at Alex. "Is wanting us to get back together the reason why you came to see me?"

Alex nodded. "Partly. I see now, it's not meant to be—not when your heart clearly belongs to someone else now."

Joey nodded. "You and I were never really good for each other, Alex. We're both too stubborn, and too commitment phobic."

"I think it was just the fact that deep down we were more in love with the idea of being in love with each other than we actually were in love with each other. If we had really loved each other and wanted to be together, we wouldn't have both kept making up excuses to not set a wedding date yet," Alex reasoned.

Joey nodded. "It sounds to me like you've grown up! You're even smarter than you were before."

Alex smiled, and pat Joey's hand. "I can see the same goes for you."

"I'm sorry, Alex," Joey apologized sheepishly. "You came all the way down here for nothing I guess."

Alex shook her head. "Not for nothing! I still got to see you gain, and at least now I know, right? Anyway, I'm actually kind of relieved."

Joey looked at her in confusion. "Huh?"

Alex explained. "I've actually met someone too. I really am in love with him. His name is EJ Franklin. He is a British lawyer. We met in court one day. He has asked me to marry him and move to London with him. I'm going to take the test and work to get my British Law degree. It doesn't take long, and I'm really excited for the change. I think a change of scenery will do me well. I just didn't want to say yes to marrying him until you and I fully closed our chapter. I wondered if I still had feelings for you, and if you had them for me. Now that I know you love someone else, I feel free. I feel excited that I can be with EJ guilt-free now. I guess it turns out any romantic feelings I had for you really are gone now after all."

"I'm glad I could clear that up for you," Joey said. He felt a little hurt, but he knew that was just his ego talking. The truth was, he was happy for Alex. Now that his heart had fallen for Phoebe, he felt nothing but friendship for Alex. "I really wish you the best of luck, Alex. Congratulations. I'm happy for you, and hope this works out for the both of you."

Alex smiled. "Thank you."

"Don't you take crap from him! You make sure he treats you right!" Joey warned.

Alex smiled. "I will. Don't you worry. Good luck with you and your friend too. What's her name?

"Phoebe," Joey answered.

"Thee Phoebe? I remember you talking about her. You called her so much I used to get jealous."

Joey grinned. "Really?""

Alex nodded. "Totally! I think you two would be great together."

"Unless she goes back with Mike," Joey grumbled.

Alex sipped her wine and shook her head. "Fight for her, Joey! All women like to be fought for. Anyway, I don't think you have to worry too much. Her conversation with her ex doesn't look like it's going too well." She nodded toward Phoebe and Mike's table, and Joey looked.

Phoebe meanwhile, was having a similar conversation with Mike that wasn't going quite as well as she had hoped it would.

"What are you doing here with me, Phoebe?" Mike asked her.

"What do you mean? I told you. I was missing our friendship, and just thought it might be nice to get together as friends and have dinner together like old times. I don't want us to be at odds with each other. There was a time when we were close," Phoebe explained.

Mike sighed. "I'll always cherish our time together, but those days are over, Phoebe. There is no going back to them."

Phoebe was a little hurt. "Well, we can at least be friends, can't we? We're both adults here."

"I don't think you're going to want to be friends when you hear what I have to say," Mike said to her.

Phoebe felt the dread form in the pit of her stomach. "Dare I ask?"

"Kayla is pregnant," Mike said in one blow. Kayla was the eighteen-year-old he had cheated on Phoebe with.

Phoebe felt like he had just told her he had poisoned her water. "Say what?"

"Kayla and I are going to have a baby together, and I've asked her to marry me. Yours and my divorce will be final in a couple of weeks, and I want to marry her. I'm in love with her, Phoebe. I have a passion with her that frankly, I never had with you."

"Ouch!" Phoebe said, hurt.

Mike looked her in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Phoebe. I'm just being honest. I loved you, and being married to you was great at first. But let's be real. We married too soon. Joey meets me by calling out my name randomly, and then I go on a date with you and we marry shortly after. Come on. It was a bad idea from the beginning!"

"It didn't feel like a bad idea when we were together. I really loved you!" Phoebe said quietly, trying not to cry.

Mike squeezed her hands. "I loved you too, but I realize now, it just wasn't enough. I don't think you loved me either because you didn't work any harder than I did at fixing our marriage."

"I'm not the one who cheated!" Phoebe snapped, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"I wouldn't have cheated if I was happy in our marriage," Mike said softly. He sighed. "Phoebe, look. I know I was a piece of trash for cheating on you. I should have talked to you about how I was feeling first."

"Yes, you were, and you should have!" Phoebe agreed.

"I'll neve forgive myself for hurting you. I never meant to. As with all things, it just kind of happened," Mike explained.

"How is she pregnant anyway? You could never get me pregnant! That was part of our problem!" Phoebe said. "Are you sure it's even yours?"

Mike nodded. "I trust her, but knowing my concerns about being able to get a woman pregnant, she agreed to a paternity test to prove to me that the baby is indeed mine. She didn't even get angry about it. In fact, she offered to get one. I didn't even ask her to. The baby is without a doubt mine."

"I just don't understand it!" Phoebe said.

"I guess the problem lies with you and not me," Mike said.

Phoebe glared at him. "I can't believe you just said that," she said with tears streaming down her eyes then.

Mike placed a hand over her shoulder. "I wasn't trying to be mean, Phoebe. It's just a fact that you should know for future reference." He shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe you can conceive and it's just the rare occurrence where we we're just two people who weren't genetically able to conceive together. The doctors said that that's what it could be."

"I don't think I want to have dinner together anymore," Phoebe said quietly. She was suddenly depressed.

Mike nodded. "I figured as much. That's what I meant when I said we couldn't be friends. It just won't work given the circumstances." He stood up and placed a hand over her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Phoebe. I really am."

"Please just go," Phoebe whispered. "Please."

Mike gave her one last apologetic look, and then left as the tears streamed down Phoebe's face like raindrops on a window sill.