A Month and a Half Later

Phoebe was sorting her mail when Joey came bursting into her apartment. He instantly grabbed her and kissed her hard, making her drop the mail she was holding.

"Oh, wow!" Phoebe said after. "Is it my birthday again? So soon?"

"I just talked to Estelle," Joey said, excited. He was vibrating so hard.

"Wait, let me guess," Phoebe said, putting her hand on his forehead. She gasped. "You got a lead in a movie?!"

"I GOT A LEAD IN A MOVIE!" Joey shouted at the same time, bouncing. Then he looked at her. "Wait, how did you know?"

"Oh, please," Phoebe dismissed. "I can't explain the psychic powers I have."

"You wanna know what it's about?" he asked, ignoring this.

"Sure!"

"Okay. It's called Shutter Speed, and it's about a couple who fall in love on a subway, but when I go to find her, this old lady answers and says Betsy has been dead for 10 years."

"I'm already hooked," Phoebe said encouragingly.

"And it's filmed in the desert of Vegas!" Joey cried. "I gotta call Chandler!"

"Wait, Chandler?" Phoebe asked.

"Yea. We've always wanted to do a road trip," Joey said.

"What about me?"

"Oh. Well, uh..."

"I'm just kidding," Phoebe snorted.

"Oh, thank God," Joey said, clutching his heart.

"Well, don't be mean about it," Phoebe chastised.

"Sorry. So, I can go with Chandler? You're okay with that?"

"Yes. You can use my grandmother's cab if you want."

"All right!" Joey fist pumped. He grabbed her phone to call Chandler. Phoebe just shook her head as he yelled and whooped to Chandler. She could hear Chandler's return whoops through the phone. She just shook her head, laughing.

Ross & Rachel

"Sweetie, you gotta go in and get your eye looked at. It's starting to look like a scene from a movie involving the undead," Ross winced. Rachel looked at him, her eye flickering and blinking at him.

"What?" she asked.

"Seriously, it looks bad. You gotta get it looked at."

"Ross, I'm terrified of eye doctors. You know this!"

"I know, but your eye is starting to terrify me. I'll go with you. It'll be fine."

"If this goes badly, you're the one who's gonna be the undead," Rachel warned.

"All right," Ross agreed, taking her hand and walking out the door.

Monica

She was folding laundry when Chandler burst into her apartment.

"Road trip, baby!" he shouted, pumping his fist.

"Road trip?" she asked, confused. She stopped folding midair.

"Joey got a part in a movie in Vegas! We're going down there together in Phoebe's cab."

"Oh, wow. Joey got a part in a movie?!" Monica asked. She was happy for him. He deserved a break in his career.

"Yea. Some chick flick," Chandler dismissed. "Hey, do you have that luggage wheelie thing?"

"Um, yea?"

"Can I borrow it? I don't want to take a bunch of shopping bags of clothes on the trip."

"It's in there," Monica said, pointing to her guest room. Chandler raced to get it. She laughed when he ran back out dragging it behind him. She hoped he would have a good time. She sighed as she one again thought about what it would be like to kiss him.

Ross

"Ah!" Rachel yelped, leaping back before Dr. Miller finished the countdown.

"You want me to hold her head?" Ross asked, moving behind her.

"No, no, that's fine," Dr. Miller replied.

"I can do this," Rachel said. "One more try." She leaned into the contraption, and Dr. Miller tried again only for her to jump back as though electrocuted.

"You know what? You're young. I doubt you have glaucoma," Dr. Miller said.

"Yay!" Rachel exclaimed. Taking the opportunity, Dr. Miller shone a light in her eye.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Rachel shrieked.

"You've got a small infection. Three drops a day and you should be good as new," Dr. Miller said.

"I don't put things in my eye," Rachel said.

"Well, then I'll see you in three months," Dr. Miller surmised.

"Okay!"

"For a glass eye fitting," Dr. Miller finished.

"Oh, just give me the damn drops!" Rachel growled, snatching them from him. She stormed out. Ross followed.

"It will make your eye better," he tried.

"Whose side are you on?" Rachel demanded.

"Your eye's," Ross replied.

"Oh ha ha," Rachel said sarcastically. She hated eye drops. She hated anything near her eyes. This was going to be hard.

A While Later

"Oh my God!" Rachel screeched as Monica and Phoebe held her down while Ross put the drops in her eyes. "You suck! All of you suck!"

"You're welcome, sweetie," Ross said, getting up. Monica and Phoebe got up as well, leaving Rachel lying on the floor like a wounded victim.

"Have you heard from Joey yet?" Monica asked. She really wanted to know about Chandler, but she left him out of it.

"Not yet," Phoebe answered. "That means they're having fun."

"Sure," Monica agreed.

"I wish they'd invited me," Ross grumbled. "I'm a guy too."

Monica's phone rang then, and she answered.

"Hey, Mon?"

"Chandler?" she asked.

"Yea. Um, can you come get me?"

"What? Where?"

"The George Washington Bridge."

"What?!"

"I'm borrowing some guy's phone. Can you please come get me?"

"I'll be right there."

"What's going on?" Ross asked when Monica hung up.

"No idea. Be back soon!" she called, shutting the door behind her hard. Ross and Phoebe looked at Rachel, who was still on the floor.

"Are we done with the drops now?" she asked.

"No," Ross snorted. She sighed in response.

Monica & Chandler

She found Chandler on the side of the road just past the bridge. She wasn't sure why he hadn't just called for a cab himself instead of asking her to come, but she didn't waste time thinking about it. She told the driver to stop, and Chandler got in.

"What happened?" she asked when he shut the door. They started to drive, and she waited for his reply.

"I stupidly told him this wasn't his big break," Chandler sighed.

"You what?" Monica asked.

"He was playing this stupid game where you say the first thing on your mind in response to something, and I said no, this movie wasn't his big break. Twice."

"Oh, Chandler."

"Yea, he's super pissed at me."

Monica bit her lip as he bent his head back and sighed in frustration.

"So what now?"

"Well, he's off on his own. I doubt he'll talk to me for a while. I guess I just wait it out."

Monica patted his leg, and they both looked down at her hand. She pulled it back, flushing.

"I'm sure he'll forgive you. I mean, he's Joey."

Chandler just nodded. Monica felt her hand burning from where she'd touched him. This entire crush situation was driving her insane.

A Week Later

"Phoebe, you gotta let me talk to him," Chandler said when Joey hung up again before he could get there.

"I'm sorry, Chandler. He's pretty upset with you still," Phoebe said. She had an inkling that there was something else wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on what exactly. She also missed Joey like crazy.

"Ugh. What do I have to do? Go down there and apologize in person?" Chandler asked.

"Yea!" Phoebe exclaimed enthusiastically, making Chandler jump back a little.

"Okay," he said.

"We'll all go!" she crowed. "Yes! It'll be fun!"

"What'll be fun?" Monica asked, coming into her apartment then. She was confused as to why Phoebe was hanging out there all the time, but she figured it had to do something with Joey being gone. She spent a lot of time with the birds, much to Monica's dismay. She hated those creatures crawling all over her clean floors.

"We're going to Vegas!" Phoebe screeched. Chandler wiggled a finger in his ear.

"I don't think the dogs down the street heard you," he commented. Phoebe didn't care. She bolted out and off to her apartment to pack.

"So, going to apologize in person, huh?" Monica asked.

"I guess so since he's not answering me," Chandler answered.

"All right. I'll go," Monica caved. "It should be fun."

"We better pack before Phoebe comes and does it for us," Chandler said, going back to his apartment. Monica hurried to grab her luggage. She was excited to go on a trip with Chandler. Vegas was exciting as well. Anything could happen.

Ross & Rachel

"Can you believe those guys?" Ross asked. Rachel looked up from her magazine. Her eye was completely healed by now, no thanks to everyone tackling her every couple of hours to give her the drops. Dr. Miller had been impressed when she came back with it cleared up.

"What?" she asked.

"They went to Vegas and didn't tell us," Ross complained. He sank onto the couch feeling desolate.

"Aw, honey, do you wanna go to Vegas?" Rachel asked.

"Yes! I wanna gamble some money, see some shows...do Vegas stuff, you know?"

"We can go," Rachel nodded. "Why not?"

"Really?"

"Sure! It'll be fun. It's the weekend. Let's go to Vegas," she smiled.

"Yes!" Ross fist pumped. He ran to pack. Rachel joined him after a while because she knew he'd only pack her underwear and lingerie, and she wanted to have some decent clothes to wear aside from that.

Vegas

Phoebe, Chandler, and Monica walked to the hotel they were going to be staying in when they saw Joey posing with a couple for a photo. He was dressed as a gladiator.

"Oh my," Monica said.

"Joey?" Phoebe asked. Joey caught sight of them and instinctively ducked, shielding his face with his arms. Phoebe marched over to him.

"Uh oh," Chandler said, recognizing her angry gait.

"Joseph Francis Tribbiani!" she shouted.

"Oohh she middle named him," Monica cringed. They watched, worried for Joey.

"Phoebe," Joey said. She stood in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"What are you doing?! Did you decide to just start a new career and never come home? Did you meet someone else? Are you lying to me?!" Phoebe demanded.

"Whoa, whoa," Joey said, holding his hands up. "I am not doing any of those things."

"Then why are you dressed as a gladiator and posing for photos instead of being a lead in a movie?!" Phoebe asked.

"They shut down the movie," Joey answered sadly. "They don't have the money. They said to hang around for a bit to wait and see if it would be brought back."

"Oh, Joey," Phoebe said. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I was ashamed," Joey replied. "Chandler was right. This was not my big break."

"Hey, don't pin this on me," Chandler said, holding up his hands.

"I'm not mad anymore," Joey told him. "It was stupid to get excited."

"No, it wasn't," Chandler reassured him. "You had every right to be excited. I shouldn't have been such a downer."

"Well, you were right..."

"Oh, stop," Monica cut in. "Joey, you could have told us."

"I know," Joey nodded, hanging his head.

"Look, we'll go check in. You two talk," Monica said, herding Chandler away. She looked back to see Phoebe and Joey hugging. She was glad Phoebe didn't stay mad at Joey.

Later

"Ugh, Joey is driving me nuts with the whole identical hand twin nonsense," Phoebe grumbled, sitting down beside Monica and Chandler at the bar.

"He'll get it out of his system," Monica assured her.

"Hey, you guys," Ross said, coming into view with Rachel.

"Oh, hey!" Monica cried. "Oh...right."

"Yea. Thanks for telling us you were coming here," Ross said, hurt.

"I meant to. We just...we were excited," Monica told him, wincing.

"We're here now," Rachel said, ordering a drink.

"I'm gonna put some money down," Ross said, giving her a kiss before going off to gamble.

"I need to find Joey before he gets arrested for harassment," Phoebe said. Rachel took her drink and followed after Ross, leaving Monica and Chandler alone once more.

"So," Chandler said.

"So," she nodded.

"Drink?" he asked.

"Sure," she answered. It might help her nerves. Tonight she was going to tell him how she felt.

Joey & Phoebe

Phoebe found Joey by himself sitting in a lounge area. He looked down.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he responded.

"It didn't work out?"

"No."

"I'm sorry."

"I feel like such a loser, Phoebe," Joey sighed. She took his hand in hers, making him look at her.

"You are not a loser, Joey," she told him. "If you're a loser, then I am too, so we're both losers in love."

"You are definitely not a loser," he argued.

"Then neither are you."

"I just...I want something to go right for my career, and nothing is. I feel like my life is going nowhere."

Phoebe played with his fingers in hers, and she got an idea.

"Hey, Joey?"

"Yea?"

"Let's get married."

"Um...what?" he asked, stunned.

"Yea? Why not? We've been dating for a while now. Let's get married!" she said, getting excited. Joey soon caught her excitement.

"Yea!" he agreed, jumping up. "Let's do it!"

"Okay, wait. We should get the stuff on the list," Phoebe said.

"What list?"

"You know, something blue, borrowed, old," she listed.

"Oh, right. Hey, I have a condom I got at 16," Joey said, reaching for his wallet.

"I don't need to see it. I believe you," she said, stopping him. "Okay, so blue and borrowed." They started walking around, spying a clothing store. Joey picked up a blue sweater.

"Here," he said. "Put it under your shirt."

"What?" Phoebe asked.

"We'll bring it back," he urged.

"Good thinking," Phoebe said, tucking it up under her shirt. She looked down at her "baby bump."

"Aww," Joey said, seeing it.

"One thing at a time," Phoebe warned. He took her hand then, and they went to find a chapel. Joey had to admit he was very nervous but also excited. Marrying Phoebe meant he was moving forward in his life, and he loved it.

Ross & Rachel

"Hey, Rach?" Ross said when she came out of the shower.

"Yea?"

"Phoebe called up and asked us to come down to the chapel."

"For what?"

"I dunno. I think we should go."

"Just give me a second," Rachel said, searching for her good dress. She quickly got dressed and put on some makeup. Ross was anxious by the door.

"You don't think Phoebe and Joey are getting married do you?" he asked.

"I could see her doing that. Joey too," Rachel answered. "They've been dating a while."

"Huh. I guess," Ross agreed. They hurried down there, and they found a shell shocked Joey and Phoebe standing by the entrance of the chapel.

"Oh my God, are you guys getting married?!" Rachel cried, hugging Phoebe.

"We...we were," she started.

"But we changed our minds," Joey said quickly.

"How come?" Ross asked.

"It just feels so...cheesy now," Phoebe replied. Ross and Rachel stood there feeling confused. Then they heard it. Everyone turned their heads to see Monica and Chandler coming out of the chapel stumbling and laughing. Chandler had "Mr. Geller" written on his forehead, and Monica was holding flowers.

"Oh my God," Ross said. Rachel covered her mouth with her hands.

"Yea," Phoebe agreed. "That's what we said."

"Wait, you didn't stop them?!" Ross exclaimed.

"It was already over when we got there. I don't know why they were so long coming out of there," Phoebe said. They all stared as Monica and Chandler disappeared into the crowd. No one knew what to say next.

Ahhh cliffhanger. So sorry. I'm sure you guys saw that coming. If not, then surprise! I will explore what happened between those two in the next chapter. Thanks for reading!