Rachel sat there looking at Ross while the train slightly shook them side to side. He had this grin on his face that said it all. He caught her watching and squeezed her hand.

"So you were really going home?" he asked.

"I just figured I'd wrecked everything and wanted to get out of the city as fast as I could," Rachel shrugged. "How did you find me?"

"Monica. I was with Julie surrounded by cats, and she kept saying 'Pick one. Pick one, Ross,' and it just kept bouncing in my brain that you had feelings for me. It was something I'd wanted ever since high school, and I stood there looking at Julie, but all I could think about was you. In my books, you're not with the right person if you're wishing they were someone else."

"Was she really mad?" Rachel asked, wincing a little.

"She was upset. I didn't give her time to be mad. I explained that I was sorry, that I had made a mistake. I tried to make her see that me staying with her would only end up with her getting hurt," Ross finished.

"Did she understand?"

"I don't know. I kind of thought she was going to throw the cat she was holding at me, so I ran," Ross laughed nervously.

"So you just left her there?" Rachel asked. "Poor Julie."

"I thought you hated Julie?" Ross asked.

"Well, yea, but no girl deserves to be ditched like that," Rachel replied.

"So what, you want me to go talk to her again? I don't think she'll receive me well," Ross said.

"No, just don't ever do that with me," Rachel warned.

"I don't ever plan to," Ross smiled. He kissed her hand. She smiled back. A piece of her felt a little pleased that Ross had ditched Julie like that. She wouldn't admit it out loud. She wondered how Perfect Julie felt after finding out she wasn't so perfect after all?

Later

Ross and Rachel walked into Monica's apartment hand in hand. Phoebe was there with Monica, and she saw them first.

"Are you...?" she asked. They both nodded.

"Oh my God!" Monica screeched. She threw herself at them both, hugging them tightly. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Me too!" Phoebe cried, joining the group hug.

"So glad you all knew about how she felt and didn't tell me," Ross said to them.

"It doesn't matter now because it all worked out," Monica dismissed him.

"We heard the screeching," Chandler said, coming in with Joey. "Good news?"

"Yes! Look!" Phoebe said, pointing at their conjoined hands excitedly. "He's her lobster!" Everyone gave each other a small glance at this. They weren't sure what she meant, but half the time they didn't really know what she was talking about anyway.

"It's about time," Joey told them, figuring it was best to just move the conversation along. "Good for you guys." Chandler stood there watching as both Ross and Rachel gave each other that look that new couples gave each other. He swallowed. He wanted to have that kind of look with Monica. He glanced over at her, and he saw that she was so happy she was almost crying.

"We have you to thank, Chandler," Rachel said.

"Huh?" Chandler grunted, being brought back to the present.

"Yea," Ross said. "If you hadn't blown it and told Rachel, I'd probably still be with the wrong girl."

"Ah, well, you're welcome," Chandler said. Phoebe knew how he was feeling. She couldn't understand why he didn't just get over his fear of commitment and tell Monica how he felt about her. Then again, she was one to talk. She peeked at Joey, who was up to his knuckles in Monica's pickle jar swishing his fingers around trying to get the best one. He really was a big kid.

"We're gonna go get some coffee," Rachel said to the group. "We'll see you later."

"Bye!" Monica called after them.

"I have an audition to get to," Joey said. He licked his fingers clean. "Wish me luck!"

"Good luck," Phoebe said.

"Well, that's enough excitement for me for one day," Chandler said. Monica picked up on his low mood. She wondered what was wrong.

"Me too," Phoebe said, following Chandler. "Bye, Mon!" She pulled the door shut behind her and chased after Chandler before he closed his door.

"What's with you?" she asked. "She totally knew something was wrong."

"I feel so stuck," Chandler said.

"Just tell her!" Phoebe said, smacking him.

"Ow!" he yelped, rubbing his arm. "I'll tell her when you tell Joey." She paused, knowing that wasn't going to happen.

"Well played, Bing," Phoebe said. "Well played."

"Stop harassing me about it," Chandler went on. "It's not going to happen."

"Okay fine," Phoebe said. "Be miserable forever."

"I could say the same to you," he pointed out. She huffed and left. He sat there tapping his fingers on the counter before getting an idea. He flipped open his laptop and started typing.

Reasons to tell Monica how I feel: I'm crazy about her. She's amazing. She's my best friend. We'd have great sex.

Reasons not to tell Monica how I feel: I'm a loser. I can't commit. Babies terrify me. Marriage makes me feel like I'm suffocating. I'm not good enough for her.

He stopped typing. This was ridiculous. He clicked his laptop shut. A list was not going to make him decide whether or not he should tell her how he felt about her. He sighed and went to his room. He needed to think.

The Next Day

"I got a job!" Monica said excitedly. The gang was at the coffee house relaxing when she came bursting in.

"That's great, Mon!" Ross said.

"What is it?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm making mockolate," she said, trying not to wince. She needed them to be her lab rats after all and try her samples.

"Sounds like you're mocking chocolate," Chandler joked. "They might not like that."

"They can toughen up," Monica replied.

"Well, I think it's great," Rachel said. Ross was beside her with his arm around her, and she was in seventh heaven.

"Sign me up for tasting," Joey said, winking.

"You bet," Monica said. Sucker, she thought.

Later

"I can't believe you got me to put this in my mouth," Rachel said, spitting out the dessert. Phoebe muttered something about how this was what evil tasted like.

"If I wanted to be poisoned, I would have called the Exterminator," Chandler said, horking it back out into his hand.

"It's definitely not chocolate," Ross said, choking.

"I like it," Joey said, chewing greedily and reaching for more.

"It's really that bad?" Monica asked. She tasted some and spat it out so hard and fast that it hit Chandler square on the face.

"I think that answers your question," Chandler said, wiping it off. He tried not to think about how Monica's spit was just on his cheek.

"Guys, what am I going to do? I have to pretend to like this stuff in order to keep my job," Monica moaned.

"What if you disguised real chocolate as mockolate?" Phoebe suggested.

"I think he'd notice," Monica said. She sighed. "This sucks."

"Sucks and blows," Chandler commented.

"What?" Monica asked.

"Nothing," he muttered.

"Can I eat it?" Joey asked.

"Knock yourself out," Monica agreed. He took it all and tucked in. She went over to her couch and flopped down.

"Don't let it bring you down," Phoebe said. "Something better will come along."

"God, I hope so," Monica replied. If she didn't have a proper job by Christmas, she was going to go mental.

Christmas Eve

"Damn it!" Monica shouted. Another batch of her cookies had come back stepped on and rejected. Didn't anyone appreciate hard labor over an oven anymore? Or was it all about money?

"Uh oh," Ross said, standing there with the radiator knob in his hand.
"What did you do?" Monica demanded.

"It came off," Ross said.

"No shit Sherlock," Monica growled.

"I'll call Treeger," Rachel said. She went to the other room to make the call.

"We'll just call it a theme party," Monica said, referring to their gathering that night.

"Ah yes. Welcome to the sun," Ross said sarcastically.

"Hey, you're the one who broke it," Monica said angrily.

"He said he can't get the part until Tuesday," Rachel said coming back.

"That's perfect," Monica muttered. No job, no boyfriend, no nothing. This was turning out to be the worst Christmas ever.

"Rach, why don't we get out of Monica's way," Ross suggested.

"Do you need us for anything?" Rachel asked.

"Oh just to help me prep for this party tonight," Monica replied. Rachel looked at her with a look that said she didn't really want to.

"What do you want me to do?" Rachel asked instead.

"Just go," Monica hurled at her. Rachel obliged. She didn't like being around Monica when she was all snarly and mad. She took Ross' hand and they went down to the coffee house to escape.

Phoebe, Chandler, and Joey

The day had started off great. Phoebe was living her life happily, and then it all came crashing down. Now, instead of playing at the Perk or helping Monica prep for her party, she was sitting here in her grandmother's cab staring at a house where the person inside could change everything in her life as she knew it. She had two goons in the back trying to convince her to go inside while a mad dog was jumping up and down barking like crazy and snarling at them.

"Why is this so hard?" Phoebe asked. They were sitting outside of her father's house. Joey and Chandler were in the back of the cab, unsure whether or not to answer. They had been there for hours trying to get her to go in. Chandler couldn't figure it out. Phoebe had found out earlier that day that her grandmother had been hiding her father's real picture, and she didn't know if she wanted to go in and see him or not. He guessed the guy did abandon them after all, so that would be a drawback. He thought about his father. At least he knew the guy well before he left the family for the pool boy.

"Maybe you're just afraid that he won't turn out to be the great dad you've imagined him to be," Joey suggested.

"I think you're right," she said, turning to look at him gratefully. "Will you judge me if I just drive away?"

"Not at all," Chandler told her. He was getting cold and tired anyway. He had wanted to get Monica the best Christmas gift to cheer her up, but now he was out of time. He was wracking his brain to come up with an idea.

"We can try again another day," Joey reassured her. Phoebe nodded to herself more than to him, and put the cab in gear and drove away. She'd meet him another day. She was all right with that.

Monica-Christmas Day

Honestly, how did she not know she could have turned off the radiator from underneath? She was supposed to be smart. For Joey to know that and not her, it was embarrassing. It was Christmas morning, and she was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling. She didn't want to do it. She had no money to get many gifts this year. She didn't want to go to her parents' place and listen to how she was failing at everything in life while Ross had it all. She heard stirring in Rachel's room. Rachel was so lucky. She had Ross, and she could wake up knowing that she was loved and that everything was okay. Monica winced at herself, remembering. Rachel did lose a baby after all, so that made Monica feel like a horrible person for even being jealous of Rachel. She sighed again. She just wanted a boyfriend to hold her in the morning and tell her it was all going to be okay. She cracked open the pop she traded Ross for last night. She wished she could get crappy gifts like Chandler and Joey and have everyone be fine with it. She finally got out of bed and headed for the kitchen. She spotted an object on the table and went to examine it further. It was an origami swan, and it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. It had different shades of grey mixed into it. There was also a note, which she picked up to read.

Monica, sorry for the lousy gift. I hope this one is better. Chandler

Chandler had made this?! She picked it up and examined it further. She had no idea he was capable of making such delicate things.

"Merry Christmas," Chandler said, coming in at that moment. She looked up at him, smiling.

"Merry Christmas. Chandler, this is beautiful," she said.

"Ah, well, you know," Chandler rambled. He blushed a little.

"Best gift I've ever gotten," she told him. She went over to hug him and kiss him on the cheek. He enjoyed the closeness and felt cold when she released him. He watched her examine it as she walked to her room, still smiling. He grinned to himself because within the folds of paper he had written Monica, I love you, and she'd never see it, but he felt it was still a way of telling her about his feelings whether she saw it or not.

Joey & Phoebe

He had gone down to the coffee house while Chandler went to Monica's on Christmas morning. Joey knew Gunther kept the place open because he didn't really have any family, so he wanted those without family to not be alone. It was empty save for Phoebe when he got there. He noticed right away that she was sad.

"Hey," Joey said, sitting down beside her. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just sad," she said. "Do you need a reason?"

"I guess not," he agreed. "I thought maybe it was about your dad. Can I help?"

"Not if you can bring my mother back to life," she sighed. "I really miss her today, and thinking about my dad makes me think about her."

"I could give it a shot," Joey said, thinking about it.

"That's why I love you," Phoebe said, not thinking. Joey looked at her curiously.

"What?" he asked.

"In a totally friend almost brother-like way," she said quickly. His face relaxed.

"Aww Phoebs, I love you too," he said, hugging her. She felt her heart twist. If she hadn't covered it up, he would have been freaked out. She saw that now. It made her feel even sadder. It made it that she couldn't even enjoy his hug properly.

"Coffee's on me," Joey said, getting up. Phoebe wiped her eyes, watching him. She really needed to move on.

Christmas Night

"That was horrible," Monica groaned as she, Ross and Rachel entered her apartment.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it," Ross reassured her.

"Oh yea, and how else am I supposed to take her, 'Monica, darling, are you gay?' comment?" Monica demanded.

"Well, I don't know," Ross admitted.

"I just haven't felt like dating," Monica said.

"Liar," Rachel laughed.

"Okay! So I'm a loser," Monica corrected herself. "Can we just go to bed?"

"All right," Ross said. He pulled Rachel in for a goodbye kiss. "I'll see you later?"

"Yea," Rachel said, smiling. When Ross left, she stood there holding herself and grinning like an idiot.

"You guys not...?" Monica asked, gesturing.

"Oh no. We decided to wait, take things slow," Rachel said. "I think it's for the best right now."

"Ah," Monica said. Rachel waved goodnight to her, heading to her room. Monica sat down with a thud and toyed with her phone. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to give him a call. She dialed.

"Hey, Bobby? Yea, it's Monica. I'm good, how are you? That's great. Listen, I know we broke up and all but...oh...yea? I'm glad you feel the same way. Yes, let's get together. Great! See you then." She hung up the phone, smiling. Sometimes you just had to be the instigator. Chandler turned away from the door. He had planned on asking her how her dinner went and maybe get the nerve up to ask her on a date, but after hearing her on the phone with Fun Bobby, he decided it was best to just leave her alone. He went back to his room alone and tried hard to not think about her.

Two Weeks Later

"Anyone else need a picking up before I go?" Fun Bobby asked, laughing and setting Joey down. Joey was standing there grinning like an idiot. Chandler didn't raise his hand. He disliked the guy a little right now. He had done very well to not be around much when they were together. He could still hear them across the hall though. It sickened him. He turned away when Monica kissed Fun Bobby goodbye at the door. Joey left right after to check his messages. He kept saying something about big news that could happen.

"I think this could work this time," Monica said after, smiling. "We're going to a cabin for our two week anniversary." Chandler wanted to hurl.

"Hey, so why did we go through so much wine?" Phoebe asked, looking at the empty five bottles. The gang tallied up how much they had drank, coming to the realization that Bobby had drank three bottles by himself.

"So he drank a lot last night," Monica said defensively.

"He always has a drink in his hand," Ross pointed out.

"Yea, and his stories always involve booze," Phoebe added.

"Lay off will you?" Monica snarked. She went back to her room to get away from them. Who were they to judge? She was finally happy after months of misery, so they should cut her some slack. She would wait in here until they left.

"You guys, you guys!" Joey shouted, flinging the door open with a crash and galloping into the living room. Monica couldn't help it, she had to see what was so exciting.

"What's up, Joe?" Chandler asked, arms crossed.

"I got an audition the Days of Our Lives soap! I'm gonna be on Days of Our Lives!" Joey kept shouting.

"Hold up, you got an audition. That isn't a definite," Ross pointed out.

"You would ruin it for me wouldn't you?" Joey asked, affronted.

"Sorry, man. Just being realistic," Ross shrugged. Rachel swatted him.

"Be nice to him," she said. "He's really excited."

"I just don't want him to get his hopes up," Ross explained. Joey wasn't even listening anymore.

"That's great, Joe!" Monica said, clapping her hands. Maybe this would take the heat off of Fun Bobby's drinking problem.

"Can I go to the audition and watch?" Phoebe asked. This surprised them.

"Yea, I guess. Why not?" Joey said. She jumped up and down, excited. "Hurry up, though. It's in half an hour."

"Oh! Let's go then!" Phoebe cried, pulling on his hand. They left together.

After the Audition

"You were brilliant," Phoebe said, hugging Joey. He looked embarrassed. He wasn't used to having his friends watching him do an audition. He noticed the casting woman that had been watching and taking notes giving him a look that he knew very well.

"Gosh, Phoebs," he said, shrugging her off. He didn't want the woman to think he was with her.

"What?" Phoebe asked. She turned to look. "Oh." She knew what was happening.

"Good work, Joey," the woman said, coming over to him. "I'm Lori."

"Nice to meet you," Joey said, smiling.

"You were very good. You've got a callback for Thursday," Lori told him. She winked at him. Joey laughed nervously.

"I think she was coming on to you," Phoebe said, watching her leave.

"You think?" Joey asked. "What the hell am I going to do? I can't sleep with someone to get a part!"

"Relax," Phoebe said, rubbing his shoulders. "You won't have to. I'm sure it was purely personal interest not about getting the part."

"I hope so. Come on, I have to go see Estelle," Joey said. They walked to Estelle's office together. When they walked in, she was on the phone with another client discussing a dead bird and how it was killing their act.

"Hello darling," she said to Joey, hanging up and smiling at him. "How did it go?"

"Pretty well," Joey said. "I got a callback for Thursday."

"Oh, he's being modest," Phoebe gushed. "He was brilliant!"

"Okay, stop it," Joey said, holding his hand out to stifle her enthusiasm.

"I'm ecstatic," Estelle said, giving a small grin at him. She stamped out her cigarette vigorously.

"One thing though," Joey went on. "I think the casting lady wants me to sleep with her. I get the feeling it would help me get the part."

"Let me have a looksie," Estelle said. She picked up the phone and called Lori herself. Both Joey and Phoebe watched as she nodded and "uh huhed" on the phone.

"Yup," she said, hanging up. "You're gonna have to sleep with her. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to eat my lunch." She swiveled in her chair to turn her back on them. Joey tugged at Phoebe's sleeve to encourage her to leave before she said anything he'd regret later.

"I don't believe this!" Phoebe shouted once they were in the hall. She was outraged.

"It's fine," Joey said. "I expected it. A big part like that...you don't just get it handed to you."

"It's so...dirty," Phoebe said. "I wouldn't feel very good about myself if I told you you had to sleep with me in order to get something."

"Well," Joey scoffed. "You wouldn't ask me to sleep with you to begin with anyway." Phoebe blushed scarlet. She turned her face before he could see. He honestly had no idea.

"Thanks for coming today," he said to her, oblivious. "Wanna get a coffee?" She nodded. Anything to get the subject off of having sex with him.

Later

Monica stared after Fun Bobby, or Dull Bobby as Chandler had taken to calling him now, as he walked out of the cafe. She had no idea that alcohol was what made Bobby fun. If she heard another story about how a hardware store wasn't open after midnight, she might have a stroke, or an aneurysm, whichever came first. She deeply regretted asking him to quit drinking now. Stupid Phoebe and her stupid observation!

"All work and no play makes Bobby a dull boy," Chandler said, flicking his newspaper. She turned to give him a glare.

"Shut up," she growled.

"Oh I'm sorry," he said. "Am I wrong?"

"It's not like I can break up with him now," Monica complained. "I'm the one who made him stop drinking."

"Then make him start drinking again if you can't stand him being stone cold dull," Chandler laughed.

"Ugh! Why did I listen to any of you?" Monica shouted, getting up and marching outside. Chandler felt bad, but not too terribly bad. He didn't like her being with Bobby anyway. The guy was a loser.

"Hey," Phoebe said sadly, plopping down next to him.

"Why so glum, chum?" Chandler asked.

"Joey has to sleep with a casting lady to get the part on Days," Phoebe explained. "I think he's going to do it."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Phoebs," Chandler said, patting her arm. "But I thought you had moved on?"

"I did! I have! I'm...working on it," she finished. She sighed heavily. "I really need to let this whole Joey thing go."

"It'll happen with time," Chandler reassured her.

"I hope you're right," she replied.

Monica's Apartment-Later

Monica shut the door behind her feeling like she'd been sucker punched. Everyone was staring at her.

"He broke up with me," Monica said, referring to Bobby. "He said I have a drinking problem." She started laughing hysterically at this. The only reason she had started drinking more was because he was so damn boring!

"I'm sorry, Mon," Rachel said, hugging her.

"Eh, it's all right. I'm better off," Monica shrugged. Chandler felt a sense of triumph. He knew Bobby wasn't good enough for her.

"Guess what?!" Joey asked, running in. They all turned to him. "I told the casting lady I wouldn't sleep with her to get the part, and she offered me an even bigger part instead!"

"That's great!" Ross cried, clapping for him.

"Congrats, Joe!" Chandler added. Phoebe beamed at him. She knew he'd do the right thing.

"You are looking at Dr. Drake Ramoray, recurring character for four episodes!" he exclaimed. He gave the thumbs up with both hands excitedly.

"Woohoo!" Monica cheered.

"All right," Joey said. "I've gotta go shower now." He left, leaving the others understanding his meaning. Phoebe's heart sank. Chandler patted her leg covertly in attempts to make her feel better.

"All right," Rachel said, getting up. "Ross and I are going on our date now. See you all later!" She smiled as Ross took her hand and they walked out together. Monica felt slightly envious. She wished she could have a nice guy for once. She briefly glanced over at Chandler, seeing that he was already looking at her. He looked away quickly, and she wondered if he was thinking the same thing. She went into her room wondering if he was thinking about her in that way. The way he was looking at her just felt so much more intense than normal.

A Month Later

Quite a few things happened over the past few weeks. Monica discovered she could cater events while Chandler learned a valuable lesson about thinking he could escape the repercussions of humiliating people after many years. Susie had sure shown him, and he was still feeling embarrassed about the whole thing. Phoebe had discovered a talent in singing songs to little kids about the truth. Joey had escaped a psychotic stalker and earned a spot on a movie set as a dead guy in a body bag. His Days gigs were going very well too. So much so that he spent a lot of money furnishing their apartment. Ross and Rachel's relationship was deepening further, and it was making Chandler look at himself with careful scrutiny about why he couldn't change his mind about marriage and babies. He had dabbled with the idea of telling Monica, but like before, he always chickened out. He wondered if she suspected his feelings. She was careful not to be alone with him for long. It could also be because she knew about what he had done to Susie in the fourth grade. No woman would, or should, like him after that anyway despite the fact he was just a kid when he did it.

"Okay, you guys have got to get out of those chairs!" Phoebe said, coming into Joey and Chandler's apartment. She stood in front of the TV.

"Hey, whoa, oh!" Joey and Chandler shouted at her.

"What is so important that you can't even...oh! Xanadu!"

"She's one of us now," Joey said, high fiving Chandler.

"Stop ordering food and sending it to my place!" Monica yelled, coming in with their pizzas. She held it just out of reach over Chandler's shoulder.

"Aw come on, lighten up," Chandler whined. "If you sat in this chair you'd totally get it."

"Then let me sit in it," Monica challenged.

"No. Now isn't a good time for me," Chandler replied. He jumped up in his seat and snatched the pizza box from her. It was then he noticed she was all dressed up.

"Hot date tonight?" Joey asked, noticing also. Phoebe swallowed hard. She had forgotten to warn Chandler about the James Bond doctor.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Monica said.

"Who?" Chandler asked. She blushed.

"Yea, who?" Joey echoed.

"Just a guy," she muttered. She turned and left. She didn't want to tell them just yet that her date was 20 years her senior. When she left, Chandler turned to Phoebe.

"Did you know about this?" he asked.

"Um...kind of," Phoebe said, wincing.

"What's the big deal? So Monica has a date," Joey said.

"It's not a big deal," Chandler argued. "I just wondered why our dear friend held out on us so we couldn't tease Monica with it."

"She was crafty," Phoebe nodded, referring to herself. Joey went back to the TV, his attention lost on the topic. Chandler sat there stewing. Whoever it was, Monica really went all out for him. He couldn't remember the last time she had dressed up so nice for a date. Phoebe squeezed his hand to show she was there for him. He gave a ghost of a smile in return. He should have expected this. He didn't make his move. It was his own fault.

Ross & Rachel

"These stars are beautiful," Rachel whispered. She was snuggled up next to Ross, watching the fake solar system swirl above them. This was their big night. They had agreed when they first started dating to take things slowly, so the subject of sex wasn't broached until a couple of days ago. She had felt badly for laughing at him when he tried to touch her butt, but the whole thing was still hard to believe sometimes, that they were more than friends now and that type of behavior was okay.

"They're not as beautiful as you," Ross murmured into her ear.

"I'm glad we waited," she said.

"Me too," Ross agreed.

"It just...it all was overwhelming, but now I think I'm ready," she said.

"Really?" he asked. "No more laughing?"

"This time, it's not funny," she said. She turned and kissed him. The kiss led up to more, and then things just happened on their own. Nothing felt awkward or funny. It felt perfectly right.

Monica

She tried not to think about the look on Chandler's face when he saw he dressed up. Why should she? Chandler was her best friend. He certainly wasn't interested in her, and he never gave any indication that he was, had he? She shook her head. She was on a date with Richard Burke. Richard was amazing, sexy, sophisticated. Dinner had gone well, and they were now back at her apartment.

"Are we crazy?" Richard asked her after they had stopped laughing about his grandkids.

"I...I don't know. Are we?" Monica countered nervously.

"21 years difference is a lot," Richard said, nodding. He looked at her sadly.

"You're right. Man, this sucks," Monica said. And blows. She almost chuckled, thinking about Chandler's add on to that phrase.

"Well, I guess..." Richard said, opening his arms for a hug. It started out innocent enough, but then it turned into more. Without verbalizing it, they made the decision that even though it was crazy, it didn't matter. There was a sudden knock on the door.

"Delivery!" a voice called.

"I'm going to kill them," Monica growled, flinging the door open and taking the food. She stomped over to the boys' apartment, throwing the door open.

"Enough is enough!" she yelled at them. "Get off your own damn asses and get your own damn food!" She dropped the bag onto Chandler's lap, making him yelp in pain. As she stormed off, he noticed Richard standing in her doorway laughing and pulling her inside. His heart twisted. His attempt at diversion went south. She was gonna do it with the doctor anyway. Phoebe had filled him in about Richard when Joey had caved and went to the bathroom. She had left hours earlier. He'd been sitting there stewing about it ever since.

"Hey, you gonna share or what?" Joey asked, bringing him back to the present moment. He passed the bag to Joey, not hungry suddenly. He focused on the TV and tried not to think about what Monica was doing across the hall.