Anything for Love
Chapter 17: The One with Phoebe's Secret
Phoebe woke up feeling so sick it made her run to the bathroom and throw up. She had dreamed all night of Joey and Summer. In her dream Joey and Summer had gotten married and then had sex in Phoebe's bed, all the while laughing at her when she walked in on them.
She flushed the toilet and wiped her mouth. She then brushed her teeth and felt a little better, but still not great. She knew it had to be the stress. She couldn't believe another man had cheated on her. She had told herself that Joey had changed for her, but she should have listened to Rachel and Monica when they warned her that he was always going to be a womanizer. Now she had gotten hurt, and it was all her fault for not listening to them in the first place.
She sighed. She had a lot of calls to make to call off the wedding. She called the church and cancelled there first, and then she called her mother, brother, and finally Ursula. She figured she would let Joey tell all his guests the bad news.
"I never liked him anyway. It's just as well," Ursula said to her when she called her to tell her the wedding was off.
"You dated him once," Phoebe reminded her.
"What can I say? I was bored." Ursula snorted. "The dude ate more in one day than I eat in a week! How is he not five hundred pounds?"
"Well, I'm sorry you can't be my maid of honor after all," Phoebe grumbled.
"It's okay. Honestly, I was thinking of bailing anyway. My new guy got him and me a great deal to spend a week in Miami. It was the same weekend as your wedding, and I wanted to go there more. Now I can," Ursula said simply.
"I'm so happy for you," Phoebe said sarcastically.
"Thanks! At least my life doesn't suck even if yours does. Well, bye then." Ursula hung up abruptly.
Phoebe looked at the phone and shook her head, and then hung up. The thing was, that was just Ursula for you. She knew her sister meant no malice toward her. It was just Ursula being, well, Ursula.
Phoebe quickly called the florist and caterer, and finally the photographer before going back to bed. She still felt off, and she had cancelled her appointments again the night before. Eventually she would go back to work, but for now, she just didn't have it in her.
Joey by then had already told his friends that had been invited to the wedding that the wedding was off. All he had left to do was tell his parents. His siblings knew, but they had told him it was up to him to tell the rents.
Joey's mother picked up and Joey mentally kicked himself. He would have rather have had told his father and let his father pass it on to her. He knew how much his mother was looking forward to finally seeing her baby get married. Things hadn't worked out with Alex, but she was hoping they would with Phoebe.
"That's such a shame! I really liked Phoebe! She was a little flightily, but then again, so are you," his mother said in disappointment when he told her the bad news.
"Gee, thanks, Ma," Joey said.
"You know what I mean! She was a nice girl. I thought she was good for you. What happened?" Mama Tribbiani asked.
Joey sighed. "I really don't want to get into it."
"Joseph Tribbiani, no keeping secrets from your mother. Did she cheat on you?"
"No, Ma. She thinks I cheated on her."
"Oh my gosh. Were those tabloids right about you and that Summer girl?"
Joey rolled his eyes. "No, Ma! Why does everyone think so little of me?"
"I don't think little of you. I just know that you used to love the ladies so much that I could never keep track of who you were dating," his mother said simply.
"Yeah, well, I'm not that same guy anymore. I grew up and I changed. I fell in love with Phoebe and I would never cheat on her, Ma. You know how these tabloids are. Especially in Hollywood. They ruin your life by twisting stories just to make a buck. They ruined things for me and Phoebe with their lies."
"Did you try explaining to her what happened? That it really wasn't what it looked like?" Mama Tribbiani asked.
Joey sighed. "I did, and she still doesn't believe me. I can't be with a woman who doesn't believe me."
"Well, I can't say I blame her. Those pictures were pretty damning. And judging from your past history…." Joey's mother trailed off.
"Ma!" Joey complained.
"I'm not saying, I'm just saying." Joey's mother sighed. "Look, if you really love her then fight for her. Sometimes actions speak louder than words, as the old cliché goes. If she doesn't believe your words, then show her with your actions. If you love her that much, then don't let it go down the drain over this one thing. Work it out."
Joey was silent for a moment. "I'll think about it," he said. He was still hurt that Phoebe hadn't believed him. As his best friend and fiancé, she should have! "I've been busy with the movie anyway."
"Don't get so busy that she doubts your love for her. I know the movie is important, but if you love Phoebe that much she should be more important to you. Don't lose her over a dumb movie. Money disappears eventually, but a good love like the love you have with Phoebe never should. That's all I'm going to say on the matter. And while we're on the subject of you being busy, remember to make time to come down and see your mother more often, why don't ya?"
Joey smiled. "I will, Ma, soon. I promise."
"Good! I love you, Joey."
"I love you too, Ma. Tell Dad I said hello."
"Tell him yourself!"
Joey's mother put his father on, and after they talked a few minutes, she came back on to talk to him again for another minute before they said goodbye and hung up.
Joey sighed. His mother made a good point, but he wasn't quite sure he was ready to forgive Phoebe just yet. After all, his mother didn't know about the private investigator. To Joey, that was the ultimate betrayal of trust, and he couldn't get over that just yet. In fact, he didn't know if he ever could.
Two weeks later, and Phoebe was worried. She felt nauseous all the time, and she hadn't had her period in a long time. She hadn't thought about it because she was so stressed, but now that she thought about it, she realized she hadn't had it in two months! She knew she couldn't be pregnant. She never got pregnant with Mike no matter how hard they had tried. Still, she had all the symptoms of a pregnancy.
She finally was giving massages again, and at the end of her work day, she left the apartment to pick up some Chinese takeout and also get a pregnancy test at the pharmacy next door just for the heck of it.
Once her mission was accomplished, she headed back to the apartment, took the test, and then tried to forget about the test and just enjoy her dinner while watching Jeopardy.
Monica called her right after Jeopardy just to talk and see how she was doing, and they chatted for an hour.
"Have you spoken to Joey?" Monica asked.
"Not since our blow up," Phoebe replied.
"Well, screw him for not fighting for you! That jerk is probably screwing that tramp right now!" Monica grumbled.
"Yeah, you're really not helping, Mon," Phoebe snapped."
Monica's anger subsided. "Sorry. I got a little carried away." She sighed. "I know I'm being unfair. Joey is my friend too. I suppose I should give him the benefit of the doubt. Who knows? Maybe he is telling the truth. It's just hard for me to believe he is with all that evidence. Not to mention the fact that he is a womanizer, and Summer is one of the hottest women in the world according to those stupid pervert magazines Chandler reads and thinks I don't know about."
"Yeah, you're still not helping," Phoebe said.
"Sorry! You know me. It's a force of habit, being cynical." Monica's tone softened. "You know, maybe he really is telling the truth. His story seems far fetched, but it also seems too far fetched to be made up. I have to admit, he really did seem to love you. Even before you two dated, he always seemed more concerned about you than about Rachel or me."
"So, you think he's telling the truth and he really didn't cheat?" Phoebe asked. She wanted others to believe it. Monica was always so cynical. If she believed that Joey was telling the truth, then Phoebe felt she could be more inclined herself to believe him. So badly she wanted to believe him!
Again, Monica sighed. "Honestly, Phoebe, I really don't know what to believe. You know him better than any of us do, except for maybe Chandler or Ross, and they both swear up and down he keeps telling them the same story he told you."
"Well, at least his story is consistent. Do they believe him?" Phoebe asked.
Chandler agrees with whatever he thinks I think. He knows better than to disagree with me. So, we're both still torn. Chandler loves Joey, but he also knows better than any of us what a womanizer he used to be. Whether or not Joey still is a womanizer is hard to know with him having been in LA for a few years, and with him being back in LA now. Hollywood does seem to change some people."
"And what do Ross and Rachel believe?" Phoebe asked.
"Rachel keeps telling me that we need to find a way to get you and Joey talking again. So, I am led to believe that she believes Joey. Ross seems to agree with her. He says he really doesn't think Joey would cheat, and if he did, he wouldn't be the type to lie about it—not to you. Has Joey ever lied to you?" Monica asked.
"No, he hasn't. When he does, he always tells me the truth shortly after. He doesn't like lying to me," Phoebe said quietly.
"Maybe that's your answer then," Monica said simply.
"I don't know. Maybe you're right. Maybe LA did change him. Being away from me, and him being so close to a hot woman like Summer… Who knows? Maybe old habits die hard." Phoebe suddenly felt tired. She was tired and stressed from worrying about this so much, and frankly, she still didn't know what to believe. "I need to go lie down now. This whole thing is just stressing me out."
"All right. Try to get some sleep and not worry about it too much, all right?" Monica asked.
"Easier said than done," Phoebe muttered.
They said their goodnights and hung up.
Phoebe fed Prince Harry and gave him fresh water, and then turned off the lights and headed back to her bedroom. She went to the bathroom first, and then saw the test on the bathroom counter. She had forgotten all about it with Monica's call.
She went over to the test and picked it up knowing that one line meant not pregnant, and two lines meant she was pregnant.
She looked at it and had to sit down when she saw the two lines. According to the test, she was pregnant.
Could it be? Could her dream of having a child finally be coming true after all these years of trying to conceive but failing to? Should she even dare to dream?
She had bought an extra text just in case she either did the first one wrong or she simply wanted to double check the result. So, she took that one too, and waited the time she was supposed to wait. When that one too came out positive, she didn't know how she felt. A part of her was thrilled, but another part of her was sad since she and Joey were currently not together anymore.
"What a fine time you chose to finally get pregnant!" Phoebe snapped at herself in the mirror. "Calm down. You don't even know if you are or not. These tests aren't always a hundred percent accurate," she said to herself. Tomorrow she would go to the doctor and get a blood test to find out for sure, she told herself.
She got ready for bed, turned out the lights, and then lie in bed, her mind racing too much to fall asleep just yet. If she was pregnant, Joey or no Joey, there was no way she was getting rid of this baby. She just hoped that if she were pregnant, her body would allow her to carry it to term.
As she closed her eyes and started to finally drift off to sleep a half hour later, she smiled. No matter how mad she was at Joey, she kind of liked the idea of having his baby. But she tried not to get her hopes up. If it was meant to be, she figured, it would be. Seeing as she could never conceive with Mike, deep down, she didn't really think she was pregnant. On the off chance that she was pregnant, she highly doubted it would last full term. Still, the thought of having Joey's baby was nice even if they were broken up. It was the last thought she had before drifting off to sleep.
The next day, Joey had an interview with some of the cast to do for The Late Show, and he really didn't feel like going. He was bummed about Phoebe. It was all he could do to remember his lines when filming the movie and to do his job decently. He was a mess. He hated not talking to Phoebe. He hated even worse that they weren't together anymore. He wanted to forgive her for not believing him, but he just wasn't ready to do so. It had really stung when he found out she had hired a private investigator. If it had been any one other than Phoebe, he could have gotten over it, but Phoebe was his best friend. He and Phoebe were so close for so many years, and yet she still didn't believe him. He could handle that from any one else in their group of friends, but not from Phoebe.
The show taped in the afternoon even though it aired late at night.
He showed up right on time, knowing it was expected of him in this business no matter how down he might be feeling.
He put on a happy face and sat in the chairs with three other cast mates. Of course they sat him next to Summer since their characters were an item.
When it came time for the interview, of course he and Summer were asked if the rumors of them dating were true.
They looked at each other and blushed as they laughed.
"Oo, it looks like there might just be some truth to those rumors!" the host replied with a grin.
"We're just friends!" Joey said quickly. The last thing he needed was for Phoebe to have even more ammo against him.
"Since when do friends kiss like this?" the host asked, pulling up a picture of him and Summer kissing on the street. It was the one Phoebe had seen in one of the tabloid magazines.
Again, both Joey and Summer blushed.
"We're really close friends, but it's not like the magazine was implying," Summer said simply.
"So, you're not really dating, but you're just friends with benefits," the host teased.
"Just be glad you don't have the rom next door. I have to hear them go at it every night!" George Clooney teased.
Joey's face grew bright red. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked.
"It's okay, Joey. No one blames either of you. You're both great looking people!" George said. "At least now that your fiancé's out of the picture you two can enjoy it without the guilt!"
"Stop spreading lies!" Joey snapped.
"Uh oh. It looks like George his a nerve. Lucky for both of them, we're out of time." The host quickly concluded the interview and they went to commercial.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Man?" Joey asked, jumping out of his seat once they had gone to commercial.
George stood up and held his hands up in defense. "Hold on there, buddy, I was just having some fun."
"Well I didn't find it very fun. My fiancé already thinks I'm cheating on her with Summer. If she sees this interview, she's really going to think I am!" Joey snapped.
"What do you care anyway? You're broken up already, aren't you? Anyway, if she doesn't trust you, then she obviously isn't the woman for you anyway," George said with a shrug.
"You had no right!" Joey snapped. "No right at all!"
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I was just joking around! It's going to be good press for our movie. You know mow much people love a good scandal," George said simply.
"Yeah, well the next time you want a scandal, leave me out of it! Thanks to you I may never be able to patch things up with my fiancé, and this time, I wouldn't blame her!" Joey was so angry he wanted to cry.
"I'm sorry," George said quietly, his head hung low. He looked at Joey. "Really, I am. I'm stupid sometimes. I don't think before I joke."
"It's fine," Joey muttered. He looked to the host. "Are we through here?"
The host nodded. "You're free to leave. Thank you for coming on here. I'm sorry for the sour turn it took."
"Yeah, me too," Joey grumbled before heading out to go to his apartment. He was so ready for this stupid movie to be over with! It wasn't even fun anymore. He could hardly wait for it to be over.
He sighed, and collapsed down onto his couch when he got home. He replayed the interview in his mind, and sighed. Only one good thing came out of it, he thought. At least now he knew, that as angry and disappointed as he still was at Phoebe, he wanted her back. He just hoped that George hadn't just inadvertently ruined his chances. To Joey's dismay, he realized that George may have done just that.
That same morning, Phoebe cancelled her morning massages and headed for the doctor's office, grateful that her doctor was willing to get her right in.
"I'm afraid to get my hopes up," Phoebe said to him.
Doctor Weston, her doctor, smiled. "Have you had any missed periods?"
"Two, but I just figured it was stress. I have a lot going on currently in my personal life," Phoebe reasoned.
"Well, let's get your blood tested and we'll see if your at home tests were correct. You never know, this could be the time you finally become a mother!" For her sake, Dr. Weston hoped she was pregnant. He knew how much having a child meant to her, and he had felt bad every time she got a negative test. He had felt even worse when he had found out it had cost hers and her husband's marriage. Not that he knew for sure that that was the reason why they broke up, but he was taking a guess. He had seen many couples split due to infertility in his line of work.
The technician came in and took her blood, and then it was a waiting game.
She waited for a half hour before the doctor came back in.
He smiled. "Congratulations, Phoebe! You're finally going to be a mother!"
Phoebe was shocked. She didn't know what to think. "Really? Wow."
"I'd like you to see your OBGYN right away to make sure that everything is running smoothly," Dr. Weston said.
Phoebe instantly felt a pit of dread in her stomach. "I could miscarriage, couldn't I?"
Doctor Weston nodded. "You could, but so could any woman expecting a child. You're still fairly young. I don't see any reason why you should have a problem now that you're pregnant, but even so, it's always good to be safe. I'm going to prescribe you some prenatal vitamins now, and I would like you to call your OBGYN right away."
Phoebe nodded.
"It the father still in the picture?" He knew she was dating some famous actor, but he hadn't heard anything about them in a while. His wife was big on celebrity gossip, and hadn't mentioned them as of late.
"We're kind of having a falling out, but I still want this baby if that's what you're thinking," Phoebe said, absent-mindedly placing her hands over her stomach.
Doctor Weston smiled. "I'm merely a nosy doctor. I think my wife is rubbing off on me. She makes it a practice to know everything about everybody she knows."
"Well, I'm glad she doesn't know me then," Phoebe quipped. "No offense."
Doctor Weston laughed. "None taken! I'm sure you're not the only one who doesn't wish to be gossiped about!" He smiled and winked at her.
Moments later, they parted ways, and Phoebe called her OBGYN on her cell phone. She got an appointment that would be in a few days. She was nervous, but hoped that this would be the time she would finally become a mother. It may have not been the most ideal time, but she didn't mind. Though, having Joey's baby made her miss Joey even more than she did already.
She started to wonder if maybe she had misjudged the situation after all. Deep in her heart of hearts she didn't really think Joey would cheat on her. Maybe she was just letting Monica and Rachel get to her. After all, since coming back from California in December, Joey hadn't shown any signs of being a womanizer. He especially hadn't since dating her.
Phoebe sighed. She missed him so badly. Maybe it was time to call him. She had to think about it. If she did call him, however, she just hope he would be willing to take her call.
That night, Phoebe sat down in bed and decided to watch The Late Show. She knew Joey was going to be on it, and she thought that if she saw him, even if only on TV, she might know better whether or not she was ready to call him.
She watched the show, but had to wait a while, for he and his co-workers were on toward the end of the show. Finally, they came on.
Her heart beat a little faster at the sight of him. He really was handsome, she thought. And charming. She wondered why it had taken so many years to think of him in that way.
She laughed at things he said in the interview, and soon she found herself ready to call him. However, no sooner had she thought of calling him did they ask him about Summer. And then the more she watched and listened, the more she started to feel the dread in her stomach. And then George spoke.
"Just be glad you don't have the room next door. I have to hear them go at it every night!"
She watched as Joey's face turned bright red. Summer was blushing too.
She watched and listened as Joey insisted it was lies, but George remained adamant that it was the truth.
"At least now that your fiancé's out of the picture you two can enjoy it without the guilt!"
Phoebe wanted to throw up upon hearing George's words. If any one would know the truth, Phoebe figured, it would be one of Joey's friends who worked closely with him.
The interview concluded and Phoebe turned the TV off in disgust. Well, that was that! She most certainly would not call Joey, and as far as she was concerned, she wasn't even sure she wanted to tell him about the baby! She wasn't sure she wanted the baby to grow up with a cheater and a liar as a father!
Joey called Phoebe that night after debating back and forth whether or not to call her. He knew it would be late for her, but she tended to be a night owl, and he couldn't wait any longer.
Surprisingly, she picked up. "What?" She snapped.
"Did you see The Late Show?" He hoped she was still angry from before, and not because she had new reason to be.
"What do you think? Well, at least now I know the truth!" Phoebe snapped.
"No, you don't!" Joey insisted. "George is full of crap! He just said it to be a jerk! He thought it would be funny to try to start something and get viewers. You know scandals sell!"
"He sounded pretty sincere to me! And you and Summer seemed pretty close. I saw you guys blushing and smiling at each other!" Phoebe snapped.
"For the last time, we are just friends, Phoebe! I shouldn't have to convince you! I'm your fiancé!" Joey reminded her.
"You were my fiancé. We broke up."
"Only a month ago. Have you fallen out of love with me already?" Joey asked, sounding hurt.
"I'm actually seeing someone knew now. I don't think what you and I had was love, Joey. We were more in love with the idea of being in love," Phoebe said. She hadn't planned on the lie, but now all she wanted to do was hurt him as he had hurt her.
"It was love, and you know it!" Joey snapped.
"Not for me. As I said, I've been seeing someone else and it's made me see what love really is," Phoebe said, grateful that Joey was naïve, and likely to believe it.
"This is new to me. You must have started dating him right after we broke up," Joey said, the hurt clear in his voice.
"I did. He is one of my clients and he was very sympathetic to me when you and I broke up. He was there for me when I needed someone," Phoebe explained/lied."
"I bet he was," Joey said bitterly.
"Well, I'm tired. I have to get up early tomorrow. Besides, I really have nothing more to say to you. Goodbye, Joey."
"So that's it then. That's how you want to end it?" Joey asked.
"You're the reason it ended, Joey; not me." With that, Phoebe hung up.
Joey looked at the phone in surprise. She had never hung up on him before.
He slammed the phone down and cursed. How could she be seeing someone else already? Had she really meant what she said and his and her love had meant nothing to her? Had she really gotten over him so quickly? Maybe she really hadn't loved him.
With a sigh, Joey headed to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of scotch. He didn't think he could cope without one.
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