Chandler was standing there alone in his apartment. The aftermath of Joey having moved out left a silence that was ringing in his ears. He was really gone. Joey had really left. Chandler felt unsure of what to do next. The soft tap at his door made him turn around.

"You okay?" Monica asked, coming in. She had decided to come back and check on him since everyone else was going with Joey to help him set up at his new place. Chandler stared at her for a moment. He wanted to say no, he wasn't okay. His best friend moved out and the girl he was crazy about was seeing a giant, mustached doctor.

"I'm fine," he said instead.

"I'm not buying that," Monica said, crossing the space between them and pulling him into a hug. Somehow, this made it all worse.

"Hey, thanks, but seriously, I'm fine," he said, pulling away from her. She stood there looking hurt. He went over to his chair and sat down.

"Well, if you need to talk, I'm across the hall," she told him, pointing.

"That'll be hard since you'll be doing the doctor all the time," Chandler muttered bitterly.

"Excuse me?" Monica asked, getting angry now.

"I'm saying you'll be very busy," Chandler replied, louder.

"You know what, Chandler? I came back to be with you because I knew how hurt you'd be, but I don't need to take this abuse," Monica snapped. She spun on her heel and stormed out. Chandler cringed at the slamming of the door. He had effectively damaged two friendships in one day. That had to be a new record.

Later

"How could he just say that to me?" Monica demanded. She was pacing the apartment while Rachel sat on the couch watching nervously. "It's not like he ever told me he liked me. Chandler does not like me!"

"Do you like him?" Rachel asked tentatively. The glare she received was worthy of a trophy kill.

"Absolutely not!" Monica snarled. "I like Richard. I'm with Richard. Chandler is...Chandler. Even if I did like him, it would never work because he is terrified of commitment!"

"So that's a no..." Rachel trailed off.

"Yes it's a no!" Monica exploded. "Have I thought about it the odd time? Sure, but who doesn't think about a potential boyfriend when they're surrounded by members of the opposite sex?"

"So you've thought about being with Joey too?" Rachel asked, curious. Monica blushed.

"Twice," she admitted. "But it's stupid! They're my friends. You don't cross that line if it's not going to work."

"So you think I shouldn't have gone for it with Ross," Rachel pointed out.

"No! No, no! I didn't meant that. You guys are different. Your relationship started with those feelings, especially from Ross. He never saw you as just a friend. He always had that crush, those feelings."

"But I didn't," Rachel said. "I always saw him as a friend. I crossed that line. You're saying you should never do that."

"Oh, don't listen to me," Monica said, feeling frantic now. "I'm just babbling. I'm mad. And anyway, you and Ross are gonna make it. You are meant to be together. Chandler and I...not so much. I don't get why he's so mad at me being with Richard, and if it's because he has feelings for me, then he should have just said so."

"Hmm," Rachel said. She had no intention of breaking up with Ross. She was admittedly enjoying the panic in Monica's face as she thought she had ended their relationship.

"Don't leave Ross," Monica begged.

"I'm not," Rachel laughed. She couldn't do that to her friend for long.

"Thank God," Monica groaned. She flopped down on the chair finally.

"Chandler is upset because Joey left," Rachel started. "I doubt he said what he said to you because he likes you. Chandler says the oddest things on a good day."

"You're right," Monica agreed. "He is lashing out at everyone right now. I'll give him some space." Rachel nodded. It was a ridiculous idea that Chandler would like Monica. They were in no way compatible to begin with. At least, that's what it seemed like.

The Next Day

Rachel was too busy focusing on the pie in the man's hood to listen to Phoebe's exciting story about Smelly Cat being produced properly. When the man got up to leave, she yanked on Ross' arm.

"Oh please, if you care for me at all, you'll get the pie out of that guy's hood!" she begged.

"The what out of where?" Ross asked, confused.

"Pie in the hood, pie in the hood!" she chanted, pointing. Ross bounded over and pulled the pie out. The man turned to look at him.

"Dude?!" the guy exclaimed.

"I hide desserts in people's clothing to see if they notice. 50 points for me!" Ross said, laughing awkwardly. "They don't let me out of the hospital very much." The guy turned and quickly walked out of the cafe. Ross doubted very much he would return.

"What do I do with this?" he asked Rachel, holding up the pie.

"Dibs!" Joey called, smacking Ross' hand to make the pie go up into the air so he could nab it.

"Well that's taken care of," Ross commented. He went to clean his hands off.

"Hee hee!" Phoebe was exclaiming. She was super excited. If her song was made into an album, then things would start to really look up for her singing career. She looked up to see Chandler standing outside looking in. She almost waved to him, but he turned swiftly and walked away. She felt puzzled, but then she remembered that Joey had moved out. Chandler was still sore from that. She didn't know the reason was because of his argument with Monica before. He wasn't ready to face her yet.

"I have to get to work," Ross said, kissing Rachel. "I'll see everyone later."

"Bye!" Rachel called. She went back to work herself.

"I'm meeting Richard for lunch," Monica said, getting up.

"Oooh have fun," Phoebe called after her. Monica smiled in return.

"I think I made a mistake," Joey said suddenly once it was just the two of them.

"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked.

"I shouldn't have moved out."

"But, I thought you wanted to live on your own?" she asked.

"I did! But then, I was talking to Chandler earlier..."

"Oh, you were?"

"Yea. I realized I missed him, and I missed doing things together with him. Me leaving really hurt him though. What am I going to do?" he asked her.

"Well," Phoebe started. "I don't know."

"Should I just go see him?" Joey asked.

"Yea, do that," she nodded. He nodded back.

"I'll see you later," he said, patting her arm. "And congratulations again."

"Thanks," she said. She hoped Chandler would want to talk to him since he couldn't even come inside after seeing him there.

Chandler

Eddie was unpacking when Joey showed up. Chandler could tell Joey was confused at the scene before him.

"W-what's going on?" Joey asked.

"Hi, I'm Eddie," Eddie said, shaking Joey's hand. Joey stared at his hand after. Then he looked at Chandler.

"I bumped into Eddie in the grocery store, and he mentioned he needed a place to stay, so I offered my spare room," Chandler explained, shrugging.

"Spare room? My room's the spare room now?" Joey demanded.

"Well, you left, so that makes it...spare," Chandler replied.

"You want your moose hat?" Eddie asked, handing it to Joey. Joey snatched it from him.

"So...so this is really it then," Joey said.

"I guess it is," Chandler nodded.

"All right," Joey said, putting on his hat. He started to leave when Chandler called out.

"When did ya start using mousse in your hair?" Chandler asked, smirking. Eddie burst into peals of odd sounding giggles. Joey snorted.

"This guy is hilarious!" Eddie gasped, holding his side.

"Yea, he sure is," Joey agreed. Then he walked out the door. He stood in the hallway and held the hat in his hands. Chandler had the hunter's hat in his room. They used to put them on and chase each other around the apartment building pretending to do a moose hunt. Joey felt the ache suddenly, and he wished extra hard that he hadn't left. He passed Monica in the hall. He barely noticed her. She looked at him, concerned, but then shrugged it off. She knocked.

"Hey," Chander said, coming out. "What's up?"

"I just want to apologize for getting angry at you last night," Monica said. "You were upset..."

"It's okay. I'm sorry for saying what I said too. I was just bitter," Chandler offered. "I really do appreciate you being there for me."

"It's what friends are for," Monica smiled.

"Of course," Chandler said.

"Do you have someone in there?" Monica asked, hearing noises through the door.

"Oh yea. That's Eddie, my new roommate," Chandler said.

"Oh. Oh! That's why...nevermind," Monica finished. She didn't want Chandler to know how upset Joey was when he had left.

"Yea, so I should get back in there," Chandler said, gesturing.

"Okay. Have fun," Monica said. She went back into her apartment wondering how poor Joey was going to recover from that surprise.

The Next Day

"We gotta do something about those two," Rachel said to Richard. They were sitting at the kitchen table watching Ross and Monica bicker and squabble over a television show the other wanted to watch.

"Hmm," Richard mused. "I think it's a little funny. I mean, I've seen it more frequently than you have since I watched them grow up."

"Yes, but I live here," Rachel argued. "You get to leave."

"True," Richard nodded. "What do you propose we do?"

"I don't know," Rachel said, getting up, "but this has to stop." She went over to the two of them and grabbed the remote from them. Richard went over to join her.

"All right!" she said loudly, getting Ross and Monica's attention. "That's enough! I can't take it anymore! You two are worse than a room full of puppies! All you do is make noise and want all the attention on you!"

"Are you calling me a puppy?" Ross asked, cutting in.

"Shush!" Rachel ordered, snapping her fingers. Ross obeyed. Richard snickered quietly to himself.

"What do you want us to do?" Monica asked. "I can kill him if you'd like, but you'll have to give me an alibi."

"We want you to figure out how to get along," Rachel told her. "So sit there and nobody gets to watch any TV or do anything else until you figure it out! Got it?"

"But..."

"Richard, back me up here," Rachel said.

"Do what your mother says," Richard grunted, hiding a smirk.

"Oh thanks," Rachel said sarcastically.

"Okay, okay," Monica said. "We'll sort it out." Satisfied, Rachel left with the remote with Richard following like an obedient spouse.

"So what do we do?" Ross asked.

"You could start with knocking off the practical jokes," Monica answered.

"Oh. I thought we were having fun," Ross said, confused. "Like when we were kids."

"Maybe you are. Ross, I hated you when I was a kid," Monica told him. He looked taken aback.

"Really?"

"Yes! You were so mean! I couldn't wait to grow up and get away from you, and now you're here all the time. I can't take it much longer," she finished.

"I...I'm sorry, Mon," Ross said, genuinely sorry. "I had no idea. Look, I'll start having Rachel over at my place more often and let you have some peace."

"Thank you," Monica responded gratefully. They hugged.

"Can we have the remote back now?" Ross asked Rachel. She threw it at him.

"You wanna watch Entertainment Tonight?" he asked Monica.

"Nah. I'm gonna go out with Richard," she replied. She tousled his hair and got up to collect Richard for their date.

"Good job," Richard said, kissing her.

"Thanks...Daddy," she said in a sly, sexy tone.

"Oohhh!" Richard replied. "That's hot." He winked at Rachel as they went out the door. Rachel shuddered a little to herself. She didn't want to think about what they were going to do.

A Week Later

Phoebe had discovered that her producer had used someone else's voice to sing her song, and she felt badly that the woman had been considered "too ugly" for the camera. It turned her off of recording, and she was simply happy to sing her songs in the Perk. She had left Chandler's apartment a few hours ago after encouraging him to bond with Eddie. She was sitting there when Monica burst in.

"Joey's character has been killed off!" Monica cried. "We gotta go see him!"

"What?!" Phoebe asked.

"Yea, we're all going. Come on!" she called, going out the door again. Phoebe followed. This couldn't be good for Joey.

Joey

Joey was sitting in his apartment miserable when the pounding on his door started. He sighed. He knew he couldn't hide his character death for long. Damn television anyway.

"Joey! Open up!" Ross called.

"We want to support you," Phoebe added.

"And I have to pee!" Monica threw in. Joey got up and opened the door, giving Monica a look. She muttered a "sorry" and ran to his bathroom.

"We're so sorry, man," Chandler said, trying to pat his back. Joey sat there with crossed arms.

"Why did they do this?" Ross asked.

"I stupidly said in an article that I wrote some of my own lines," Joey answered reluctantly.

"Ohhh," Ross said, getting it.

"We're here for you," Phoebe said. She took his hand in hers. He gave her a grateful smile, which made her feel warm inside.

"Let's go get a pizza," Chandler suggested. Joey's eyes lit up.

"With those little bacon pieces?" he asked.

"Sure," Chandler nodded. They went out together, everyone surrounding Joey and taking turns hugging him. Joey had to admit, he had a great bunch of friends.

Later

"You guys are the best," Joey said. It was just Phoebe left now. They had come back to his apartment and feasted on pizza while telling stories about their childhoods. Phoebe was feeling warmer and more comfortable sitting there beside Joey. She wasn't the only one who had a beer too many. Joey was feeling good too.

"We care about you," Phoebe replied.

"I appreciate you," Joey said. They sat there looking at each other. Phoebe wondered what he was thinking. He was looking at her intensely.

"Are you going to ask Chandler if you can move back?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I will."

"Good," she said. The silence was deafening almost.

"You ever think there's a person out there for you that's waiting to be found?" Joey asked. Phoebe's heart fluttered. Why was he asking this?

"Uh huh," she replied.

"I thought I had that with Sidney, but she turned out to be like all the other girls," Joey said. His guard was way down. He wasn't sure why he was even talking to Phoebe about this.

"She was a bitch," Phoebe agreed, nodding.

"I just wish I could trust, you know? Why is that so hard?"

"Because trust equals being vulnerable," she reasoned. "Being vulnerable equals being exposed to potential hurt."

"Do you trust?" Joey asked. He found himself leaning closer to her as the conversation deepened.

"Not as much as I should," she whispered. He looked at her still.

"Maybe we're supposed to be together," he said softly.

"I...I dunno," she stammered. Was he really saying this right now? Should she pinch herself? Was it a dream?

"You have a pretty nose," he said, touching it softly. She shivered.

"Uh huh," she nodded. Then he was kissing her. It was incredible and breathtaking and intense all in one. Phoebe felt it was much better than before, and this time he knew it was her. The kiss intensified, and Phoebe wondered if they were going to actually go all the way tonight. Then suddenly, Joey stopped.

"Oh my God," he said, clutching his head. "What am I doing? Phoebs, I'm so sorry. So, so sorry. I'm...I'm messed up, and I took it all out on you. I got confused. I should have never..."

"It's okay," Phoebe cut him off. His words sliced her like a knife deep into her core. Of course he wouldn't mean it. Of course he was just upset. She should have known better.

"No, it's not okay," Joey said. "I...I didn't meant to hurt you."

"You didn't," she replied. "We're drunk! It happened. It's fine. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" he asked as she stood up.

"Yes! Yea. I'm a friend helping a friend. Nothing more. I gotta go," she said. Joey tried to call out to stop her, but she ignored him. He sat there feeling horrified with himself, but the hardest part was, he had really loved kissing her.

The Next Day

"Oh, sweet Lord," Chandler was saying. He was at Monica's after having been woken up by Eddie staring at him last night. "He is getting creepier and creepier. Last week, he said I slept with his ex and killed his fish! The guy has lost his marbles, if he had any to start with."

"So he's eccentric," Monica shrugged.

"Nahuh nahuh! Not just eccentric. He's serial killer eccentric! He has gone on a fruit dehydrating rampage! He had a goldfish cracker as our fish. He doesn't remember me asking him to move out! He's insane!" Chandler shouted, getting worked up again.

"Okay, calm down," Monica said. "We'll get him out. Joey needs a place to stay, so just pretend he never left. Use Eddie's game against himself."

"You are brilliant," Chandler said. "I could just kiss you!"
"Well, don't," Monica said, blushing.

"Right. Richard," Chandler replied. "I'm off!" He ran out the door, excited with his new plan.

"Chandler," Phoebe said, catching him in the hall. "I need to talk to you."

"Not now, Phoebs, I gotta get Joey," Chandler said.

"It's about Joey," she finished. He halted in his tracks.

"Oh? Did you tell him?"

"Not...not exactly, but we kissed last night..."

"You kissed?!" Chandler yelped. "What?!"

"He started it. He was so down and lonely and upset, and then he took it back. He said he made a mistake. Chandler, what am I going to do?!" she asked, getting hysterical.

"Okay, okay, breathe," Chandler said. "Breathe. We'll figure it out."

"He's looking for me," she said. "He wants to talk. What do I even say? We were practically drunk!"

"Just...hear him out. Maybe you should just tell him," Chandler suggested.

"No way! Not after that. He made it clear kissing me was a mistake. I will not jeopardize our friendship."

"Will there be a friendship if you are stuck in love with him and he's not aware?" Chandler asked. "Think about it."

"You're not helping," Phoebe complained.

"Okay look, just talk to him. I have to get Eddie out of my apartment first though," Chandler said. He took off, leaving Phoebe standing there feeling despair.

Later

Joey and Chandler reveled in their victory. Eddie was gone for good. While Chandler was dancing around the apartment, Joey slipped out to find Phoebe. He had been trying to talk to her all day, but she was avoiding him. He felt badly for hurting her. He had no idea what had come over him last night. He went to the cafe, and luckily, there she was.

"Phoebs," he said, sitting beside her. She made to get up. "Don't go! I need to talk to you."

"If it's about last night, don't worry about it," she replied.

"It is, but I am worried about it. You're my best friend. I had no right to do that and then take it back. I just want to make sure you're okay. I don't want to lose you," Joey finished. Phoebe looked at him seriously.

"Joey, I'm fine. I get it. You were vulnerable and I was comforting to you, so you went with it. I appreciate that you stopped it before you got into things further and then decided to take it back. That would have hurt even worse. You made a mistake. I forgive you. I was just as vulnerable as you. We didn't go all the way. Could you imagine if we had?" she asked, laughing. "How awkward!"

"I guess you're right in a way. I did stop before it got farther," Joey nodded, scratching his head. "I just feel bad I kissed you at all and stirred it up."

"You stirred nothing," Phoebe lied. "I promise."

"You're sure?" he asked.

"Yes! Now stop. We're just friends. Let's just move on, okay?" she suggested.

"Okay," he said.

"I have to get some things for my grandmother," she said. "I'll see you later okay?"

"Yea," Joey echoed. He watched her leave. Chandler came in just then.

"Dude! You abandoned the party! What are you doing?" Chandler asked.

"I had to talk to Phoebe," Joey said.

"Oh. That badly?"

"Yea. Chandler, I kissed her last night," Joey confessed. Chandler acted surprised.

"Really?" he asked, sitting down.

"Yea. Then I stopped it. I think I hurt her. She says she's fine, but I don't believe her," Joey sighed.

"If she says she's fine, then she's fine. She's Phoebe. She's tough," Chandler babbled. No way was he going to give away another crush.

"Here's the thing, Chandler," Joey said, sitting up straighter and leaning in closer. "I think I might possibly like Phoebe."

"Y-you what? What now? W-w-what?" Chandler spewed. Joey nodded seriously.

"What am I gonna do? She's not into me at all, she just said so. We're just friends. She said that. I can't bring it up now! Not after telling her I didn't mean the kiss," Joey groaned. Chandler stared at him in disbelief. Were his friends really that daft?

"Well, what do you think you should do?" Chandler asked.

"I should just leave it," Joey said. "This will pass. I think I like her because of that kiss. I was drunk. It was stupid. These feelings will go away."

"Oh my God," Chandler said. This was Phoebe's argument all over again but now it was with Joey. This was insane!

"I know! It's stupid. Thanks, man," Joey said, clapping his arm. "I can't tell her I like her then discover it was just something that wasn't real."

"Uh huh," Chandler said absently. Joey left him sitting there, and he felt like he was in some crazy movie where the plot just kept twisting and twisting and nobody went anywhere.

A Week Later

"Old Yeller dies?" Phoebe asked in disbelief. "No! No way!" She turned away from the television, horrified.

"You didn't know?" Monica asked, stunned.

"No! Mom always turned the TV off right before...ohhhh," Phoebe said, getting it.

"Oh," Richard said. He looked at Monica.

"I don't believe this!" Phoebe shouted. She whirled around and fled.

"Should we go after her?" Rachel asked.

"I don't think so," Ross said. "She has been extra emotional lately, and she doesn't like answering me when I ask."

"Okay," Monica said, getting up. "That's enough tears for now."

"Hello people," Chandler said, entering the apartment. Joey was behind him. "We have a dilemma."

"Two times two equals four because that's just the way it is," Monica said seriously. Chandler gave her a look.

"Not that dilemma," Joey said. Monica looked at him in a "you're kidding, right?" kind of way.

"Yea, we have an extra ticket to the Knicks, and it's between the poker and the killer breath," Joey finished.

"Take Richard," Monica answered. "He loves the Knicks."

"Oohh," Joey said. Chandler refrained from answering. Take Richard? Spend time with the guy he hated cos he was dating the girl he liked?

"What?" Monica asked.

"I dunno. It's just, what if you guys break up and we're still friends with him?" Joey asked.

"We aren't breaking up," Monica retorted. "Why would we break up?"

"Right. Look, we'll get back to you on that," Joey said.

"He has a Jag. He might take you in it," Monica said, looking at her nails.

"What do we do?" Joey asked Chandler in a whisper.

"Oh I don't know. If we ask now, it'll look like we want to just ride in the cool car," Chandler replied.

"Got it," Joey said. He turned to Monica. "We'll take him if he takes us in the car."

"Idiot," Chandler muttered.

Ross & Rachel

Rachel felt like the cafe was muffled. She had just heard Ross explain to her how he had their whole life planned out. She was waiting for herself to freak out, but oddly enough, it wasn't happening.

"Rach? Hello? You in there?" Ross asked. She snapped back to reality.

"Y-yea. Wow, Ross you...you certainly have...thought all this out," Rachel stuttered.

"I'm sorry. I think about this kind of stuff," Ross said.

"You sure did."

"Are you okay?"

"Yea. I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine," Ross pointed out. He took Ben back from her gently.

"I am. I really am. I'm waiting to freak out, and it's not coming. You really see us in the future?" she asked, curious.
"Yea. I mean, of course not for a while yet, but I mean, it's you. And me. It's us. I love you," Ross said.

"Oh, Ross," Rachel said, covering her face with her hands.

"What?" he asked.

"That's the first time you've said that to me," she pointed out.

"Huh," Ross said.

"I love you too," she said. "I do. And yes, I want a future with you someday. I want to take our time getting there, though, because I left Barry for planning out our whole life without my input."

"You will certainly have input," Ross said. She kissed him gently.

"I'm glad," she said. Ben tugged at her hair, giggling. She laughed. It had been hard for a while being around Ben without thinking about her lost baby, but it was slowly getting better. There were still days where she would break down thinking about it, but they were fewer than before. She thought of her baby every day, though. That wouldn't change. She looked at Ross, and she knew that she would definitely try again for a baby with him because this time it would be planned, and they would be together.

Phoebe

Being around Joey was harder now. She refrained from being with the group as much as possible. She avoided Joey altogether. If he thought she wasn't fine, let him. She really wasn't. She spent most of her time crying. Now she was watching all the movies her mother shut off, and it was making her even more depressed. There was a knock on her door, and she hesitated to answer.

"It's me," Chandler said.

"It's open," she replied. He came in and went over to sit beside her.

"I can't believe it. Bambi's mother dies. This sucks," Phoebe said, tossing the remote onto the floor.

"Are you okay?" Chandler asked. "Since Joey's...incident?"

"No, Chandler. I'm not okay. Do you know what it's like to pine after someone for almost a year and then have them blow you off?"

"I do, actually, but that's not the point," Chandler said.

"You didn't get to kiss Monica," Phoebe pointed out. "So you don't really know."

"Okay fine," Chandler said. "Moving on. What are you gonna do?" He felt bad. He knew that Joey was experiencing feelings for Phoebe, but until he knew Joey was serious, he didn't want to tell her and get her hopes up. He only hoped that Joey would eventually tell her himself.

"I know I have to figure this out," Phoebe said. "I just can't right now."

"Well, we're all worried about you," Chandler replied.

"Thanks," Phoebe said, giving a rueful smile. She appreciated her friends. She just didn't want to be around Joey right now. It was too hard. When Chandler left, she put in another movie. She needed the distraction desperately, and hating her mother for ruining her childhood was a good place to start.