I know there was a bit of a detour from Mondler relationship stuff, but these two chapters make up for it. Thank you to my dedicated readers for still following my story. It means so much that you are still enjoying what I'm writing and sticking with me when I haven't been updating as much. I'm so excited for you all to read these chapters! It unveils a plot plan I have had ever since I started writing this story back in 2017.
Happy reading!
A Few Weeks Later
Rachel found Ross's note saying the Dean of his school had an emergency and that Carol was dropping Ben off that morning. She stretched and walked to check on Daniel, who was still sleeping. It was quiet, which she was grateful for. Things had been going well since Daniel was born, and Rachel felt relieved she hadn't experienced the post partum depression she had been talked to about. When she opened the fridge to find there was no milk for her cereal, though, she felt herself well up with tears.
Maybe she was a little depressed.
"Pull it together, Rachel," she told herself firmly. She couldn't be depressed. She had Ross and Ben. She had her friends and her family. She had Daniel, who was a miracle child in her eyes since she had miscarried her first baby. There was nothing to be sad about.
Well, she missed her job. She missed being able to go do things without worrying about a baby or a child. She kind of missed having her own life. Was that normal?
Knocking on her door made her go and answer it.
"Good morning," Carol smiled. Ben bounded past her into the apartment. "He's all set." She handed Rachel his bag.
"Thanks," Rachel nodded. Carol tilted her head, surveying her.
"You okay?"
"I'm, uh...just a little blue today," Rachel admitted.
"I see. Just a regular kind of blue or post baby blues?" Carol asked.
"I'm not sure to be honest."
"I went through a small spell of that after Ben," Carol confided. "It lifts after a bit. The key is to try and do things that make you laugh or things that make you feel better. Talking to others also helps."
"It's not like I regret having him," Rachel launched into it. "I don't. I love him so much. I just...I wish maybe we had waited a little before having a baby."
"Having those thoughts doesn't mean you don't want Daniel," Carol assured her. "Maybe you should let him get babysat here and there to give yourself a break. Have you done anything on your own since he was born?"
"Aside from when you watched him a little while ago? Um, no," Rachel shook her head. "I just assumed I had to stay with him all the time."
"Oh, Rachel," Carol said with a small laugh. "You poor thing. Look, if you want, I can watch him for you for a few hours when Ross is at work sometime."
"That would be great," Rachel said, feeling relieved. "I mean, I can ask Monica too. Or Phoebe."
"I know, but I don't mind helping either," Carol said, reaching to squeeze Rachel's shoulder. "I'd help out today, but I have a meeting."
"It's okay. We're good here," Rachel smiled finally. Carol gave a small wave goodbye and left, and Rachel turned to see Ben standing there. She wondered how much he had heard.
"Let's do something fun," he suggested. Maybe he had heard a little.
"Okay."
"You decide," Ben said. "Whatever you want to do."
"Hmm," Rachel mused. She was realizing she was having one of those rare moments of being alone with Ben. "What do you know about practical jokes?"
"Nothing," Ben shook his head. "What are they?"
"Oh my," Rachel said. "Come here, grasshopper. You've got a lot to learn."
Her day suddenly got a bit cheerier.
Monica's Apartment
Monica looked up as Joey and Phoebe came inside. Chandler was procrastinating and putting off going to work, so he was sitting beside her. He was hoping Joey wasn't going to go on again about his character on Days of Our Lives. He had been awakened from his coma and given a brain transplant, which Ross had argued as ridiculous, but the viewers of the show seemed to love it. Joey had taken over a female character's persona, and he had talked nonstop about it for the past week, much to everyone's annoyance.
"What's wrong?" Monica asked, seeing Phoebe's expression.
"All ministers suck," she sighed, sitting down. Joey instantly headed to raid the fridge.
"Why?"
"Well, Reverend Spitter probably gave me every single germ he's ever had," Phoebe explained. "He kept hitting us in the eyes."
"Oh my," Monica said, getting a visual.
"And Reverend Know it All acted like it was his wedding and kept telling us what our ceremony was going to be like," Phoebe went on. "I give up."
"Tell her about the last reverend," Joey urged, his mouth full of Monica's leftover cake now.
"Oh, yea," Phoebe said. "We decided to try a female minister, and the woman was practically undressing Joey with her eyes the entire time we were talking."
Chandler and Monica turned to look at Joey, who was grinning.
"Yea she was," Joey commented.
"Joe, you're getting married. Being joyful about getting checked out will earn you a spot on the couch at night," Chandler warned.
"Oh," Joey frowned, realizing Chandler was right.
"Could one of you guys do it?" Phoebe asked then. Monica and Chandler both stared at her.
"What?" Monica asked.
"Yea! One of my other friends did it, and it's totally legal."
"Then get them to do it," Monica suggested.
"No! I want one of you guys to do it," Phoebe insisted. Both Chandler and Monica opened their mouths.
"Not it!" Monica said quickly, beating Chandler by a fraction of a second.
"Damn it," Chandler muttered.
"What? You don't want the honor of marrying us?" Joey asked, a little hurt.
"I'm terrible in front of a crowd," Chandler said. "I get all choked up..." He started choking up just thinking about it.
"It's just my family, you guys, and some of Phoebe's friends and her mom," Joey said. "No big deal."
"No big deal!" Chandler exclaimed, yanking at his shirt collar. "Kind of is a big deal."
"It would really mean so much to us," Phoebe said, giving him her pleading eyes.
"I'll...I'll think about it," Chandler said.
"Thank you, thank you!" Phoebe cried, clapping her hands. Chandler held out his hands, worried.
"I didn't say yes. I said I'll think about it," he clarified.
"That's a precursor to yes," Phoebe shrugged. "Come on, Joey. We gotta go cake testing."
"Oooohhh cake!" Joey said, rubbing his hands together.
"You just ate cake," Monica pointed out.
"Your cake, not fancy cake."
"You're saying my cake isn't fancy?" Monica asked. Phoebe tugged on Joey's arm. She knew a Monica Moment when she saw one.
"Of course your cake is fancy," Phoebe said, pulling Joey out the door. "He meant Nancy."
"Nancy?"
"Yea. Nancy is the baker. Nancy's cake. Talk to you later!" Phoebe called, shutting the door firmly behind them.
"Nancy's cake," Monica muttered. She looked at Chandler. "You really think Nancy's cake is better than mine?"
"I never said anything about any cake," Chandler said firmly. He was not going to get into trouble for something he didn't even say."I gotta go to work now." He got up, planted a kiss on the top of her head, and hurried out the door.
Rachel & Ross
She realized too late the monster she had unleashed in Ben. He kept coming up with more and more ideas, and Rachel found herself going along with them because she needed the laugh and because she was bored. Daniel woke up after a while, and she made sure he was pampered and amusing himself with toys while Ben ran around setting up jokes for when Ross got home. He was their only target, really.
"Okay," Ben said once he was done. "This is gonna be great."
Rachel smiled when Ross came through the door.
"Hey, guys," he grinned. "How was your day?" He came over and gave Rachel a quick kiss before doing the same for both boys' heads.
"It was good," Rachel answered. She hadn't told Ross about her feelings of sadness that came and went periodically. She didn't want to worry him.
"Hey, Dad," Ben said. "I bet you can't run this quarter in a straight line down your face." He held out a quarter, and Ross looked at him curiously.
"Well," he said. "I'd like to think that with my education, I could do a simple task like that." He did it successfully and handed the quarter back to Ben, giving Rachel a "come on" expression. She bit her cheeks, stopping herself from laughing. Ross said nothing else as he went to use the bathroom. She and Ben shared a look and a smirk. It didn't take long.
"What the hell?!" Ross shouted. "Rachel!"
Ben giggled.
"Dad said a swear," he whispered.
"He might say a few swears today," Rachel replied. Ross came out looking angry.
"Why was there saran wrap on the toilet?" he demanded.
"I don't know," Rachel answered innocently.
"Rachel," Ross said, a warning in his tone.
"Okay, I may have told Ben about practical jokes."
"Rachel! I hate practical jokes!" Ross exclaimed. She noticed then that he had taken his socks off, which made her burst into a fit of giggles knowing he had probably stepped in his own urine. The black line down his face wasn't helping either.
"It's not funny," Ross said, angry now. "Ben? What else did she teach you?"
Ben held up the quarter in response, and Ross stared at it.
"I don't get it," he said. He looked at Rachel, who was hiding her mouth behind her hand. He went to the mirror then, realizing there was obviously something on his face.
"Oh, come on!" he exclaimed. Rachel and Ben started to laugh together now. Ross stormed back over to them, and they stopped suddenly.
"I'm sorry," Ben said, a little afraid now.
"Is that it?" Ross asked.
"There are a few others," Rachel admitted.
"Fix them. Now. And Ben, you're going to clean the bathroom as the consequence for doing this joke," Ross instructed.
"Oh, Ross. Isn't that a bit much?"
"You do it then."
"Well...I mean...you're right. The boy should have consequences for behavior," Rachel managed to say around her spluttering.
"No more jokes," Ross told her, pointing at her. "You know how I feel about them. I was tormented in Junior High all the time by them."
"Oh, right," Rachel said. "'I will be revenged!' I remember."
"Yea," Ross huffed. "Not funny."
"I'm sorry, Dad," Ben said as they walked to the bathroom together. Rachel felt a little bad, but she also still felt amused from it all. The practical joker in her would never die.
...
A little later, Ross found Rachel sitting on their bed and wiping at her eyes. She was crying again for some reason. He sat down beside her.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "I didn't make you clean the bathroom."
"It's not that," she answered.
"Well, then what is it?"
"Ross, I've been feeling a little bit sad lately. I don't know why. I think it's just everything hitting me. Today was the first time I didn't think about anything sad. I'm sorry it came at the cost of torturing you," she finished.
"Rach, why didn't you tell me?" Ross asked.
"I didn't want you to worry. I'll be okay. Carol has offered to give me some time off from Daniel here and there."
"If you need time for yourself, please let me know. I can watch the kids too," Ross said.
"I know."
"Do you want to talk to someone? A professional?"
"No. I'll be okay. I promise," she said, giving him a small smile now. "But if it gets worse, I will talk to someone."
"Okay."
He put his arm around her and pulled her in to kiss the top of her head. She rested her head on his chest then, feeling better. Ross was thinking, and he suddenly got the best idea ever.
Chandler & Phoebe
Chandler looked up from his work when Phoebe came into his office. He had been avoiding her, and he knew she knew he was avoiding her.
"I'm still thinking," he said. "Do not rush me."
She sat down in the chair on the opposite side of his desk and crossed her legs. Chandler felt a little unnerved as she sat there staring at him in silence for five minutes.
"What?" he asked, unable to help himself.
"Do you remember when all of this started?" she asked. "With me and Joey?" He tilted his head at her.
"Well...yea," he nodded. "Sure. You were crazy about Joey, and I found out about it."
"Exactly! You and I have been in this together since the beginning, and I just really wanted it to end with you marrying us," Phoebe said, her voice full of emotion now.
"Aww, Phoebs," Chandler said, feeling emotion hit his chest too.
"If anyone should send us off on our forever journey, it's you," she finished. "So...please?"
"How can I say no to that now?" Chandler asked, reaching for tissue to dab at his eyes. "All right. I'll be your minister. I'll get ordained."
"Thank you, Chandler," Phoebe smiled. He handed her a tissue too, and she wiped her eyes.
"How did cake tasting go?" he asked when they had regained their composure.
"Joey is still there," Phoebe answered, sighing. "I think this is the hardest decision he's ever made."
Chandler laughed because he knew it was true.
"I've got a bit of a headache, so I'm going to go home," Phoebe said after they finished laughing.
"Okay."
Chandler smiled to himself when he was alone. They didn't have those sweet, serious moments too often, but when they did occur, he always felt good after.
Ross & Rachel
"Okay, I'm here," Rachel said, coming out to the kitchen. She had put Daniel down for his nap, and Ben had asked her to come taste what he and Ross had been cooking for dinner.
"Smells good," she commented, seeing Ross standing at the counter and chopping something. Suddenly, he screamed and gripped his hand, his baby finger severed. He held it up, showing her the blood running down his knuckle.
"Oh my God! OH MY GOD!" she screamed. "ROSS!"
He started to laugh then, which confused her. He popped up his pinky finger, revealing that it wasn't cut off and that it was ketchup on his hand. Ben was laughing now too, and Rachel wanted to throttle the both of them. She went to grab the ketchup bottle, and when Ross tried to protest, she squeezed it all over his shirt and face before slamming it down and storming off. When she was alone, though, she started to laugh.
It had been a pretty good joke.
A Week Later
"I just can't decide," Joey was complaining as he sat in front of all 12 appetizers. Rachel, Daniel, Monica, Chandler, and Phoebe were in Monica's apartment as well, and Phoebe was giving Joey a look.
"We can't have them all," she said. "You have to decide."
"This is worse than the cake tasting," Joey whined. "Why are you torturing me? I thought you loved me?"
"Who said you can't torture someone you love?" Phoebe countered. Joey's face showed his brain was working overtime to figure this out.
"Anyway," Rachel said. "Phoebs, do you have a dress yet?"
"I'm going later today. Oh! You should come too!" Phoebe exclaimed.
"I thought I was invited when that time came," Rachel said, confused.
"You are," Phoebe nodded.
"Okay," Monica said, looking over her papers on the table. "We're almost there, Phoebe. This wedding is coming together quite nicely!"
"Carol has offered to babysit, so I am baby free for this wedding now," Rachel said. Carol had taken Daniel for an afternoon in the past week to give Rachel a break too, which had been nice. Daniel was a lot more active now since he was eight months old.
"Ba, ba, ba, ba," Daniel babbled now, banging his fists on the table. Rachel adjusted him so he wasn't digging into her so much. He reached for some of the appetizers, and soon he and Joey had food on their faces.
"Oh! You can be a bridesmaid!" Phoebe exclaimed. "That's perfect! It was going to be Ross and Frank Jr. versus Monica."
"Didn't any of Joey's sisters want to be in the wedding?" Rachel asked, confused.
"No," Phoebe shook her head. "They said they preferred watching than being in it."
"Oh."
Phoebe didn't admit that Joey's sisters didn't really talk to her or spend time with her. They thought she was a bizarre human being and limited their contact with her. It kind of made her sad, but she knew it was their loss. At least Joey's parents talked to her and found her amusing.
"We gotta just have all 15," Joey said then.
"We only had 12..." Phoebe trailed off.
"Oh, I came up with three more," he answered.
"I got this," Chandler said then. "You girls go get a dress."
"He has to make up his mind. This caterer is heavily sought after. If we don't nail something down, he'll dump us," Phoebe warned.
"I don't think it's nailing something down that's the problem," Chandler gestured as Joey continued to feast.
Phoebe didn't reply as she headed for the door. Monica followed, and Rachel was behind her after wiping off Daniel's face and hands from all stickiness. She was excited to see what dress Phoebe was going to find.
...
Rachel held onto Daniel tightly as he kept trying to grab at the dresses, and the owner was giving her dirty looks. Clearly the woman wasn't a baby person. Phoebe was getting dressed, leaving Monica and Rachel sitting side by side alone.
"Are you and Chandler going to get married?" she asked then.
"I...I don't know," Monica answered. "It hasn't come up."
"Really?"
"I know how panicked he gets about babies and marriage...I am waiting for the right time to talk about it," Monica said.
"So you want to get married?"
"Hell, yea!" Monica said emphatically.
Rachel laughed, making Daniel laugh along with her, when Phoebe came out. Both women gasped.
"Oh, that's the dress," Monica said.
"So beautiful," Rachel added.
Phoebe turned in a slow circle. The dress was halter top style and fitted with a little bit of a train.
"Yea? I think so too!" Phoebe said giddily.
"This place is so pricy, though," Monica said.
"Agreed," a woman said, who was observing them. "And you look stunning. If we were friends, I'd be bawling."
"Well, I'm Phoebe Buffay, go ahead and start bawling," Phoebe joked. The woman smiled.
"Megan Bailey, and you're right, it's crazy expensive in here."
"That's why I'm going to Kleinman's in Brooklyn and getting their discount rate in two days."
"That's very smart. Thanks for the tip!" Megan said. "When are you getting married?"
"May 15th," Phoebe answered.
"I'm July 25th," Megan said. "So exciting! Who's your caterer?"
"Jacques," Phoebe replied.
"Oh he is sooo good," Megan said.
"Too good. My fiancé is having trouble choosing which appetizer he wants," Phoebe laughed.
"Well, I should get going. Happy dress shopping," Megan said, leaving them.
Rachel spied the owner glaring at them all even more now after overhearing they were going elsewhere to buy the dress, and she nudged Monica.
"Maybe we should go," she suggested. "Before we're annihilated by the lady's fire over there."
"You're right," Monica agreed. "Come on, Phoebs. We should get going."
The owner glared at them all right up until they left her store.
Two Days Later
Joey was holding Daniel, his arms outstretched, and looking at him. Chandler watched, unsure of what was happening. Ross was making a snack in the kitchen.
"Ah, damn it," Joey said, lowering Daniel.
"What? You realized you can't read minds?" Chandler asked.
"I blinked," Joey replied.
"You what?"
"This baby doesn't blink," Joey said, turning Daniel to show Chandler. "Like ever." It was then Chandler realized Joey had been having a staring contest with Daniel. Some things never ceased to amaze him when it came to Joey.
"What? Of course he blinks," Ross scoffed. He went over to join them, and he observed Daniel carefully. After a few moments, he grew concerned.
"He doesn't," he said, a little worried.
"He just did," Chandler pointed. "Stop worrying."
Ross felt relieved. He was always worried about his kids having some kind of medical issue.
"I've narrowed it down to four appetizers," Joey said then. "That's good, right?"
"It has to be three."
"Dammit! Come on," Joey complained.
"Let's just blindfold you, and you point to the one you're getting rid of and call it a day," Chandler suggested.
"I'll do anything. This is too hard."
"Here," Ross said, pulling out a blindfold from his pocket. Both Chandler and Joey stared at him.
"Do you just always have one on you?" Chandler asked.
"What? Oh, no. I was surprising Ben with a fort the other day, and I just tucked this into my pocket and forgot about it until now," Ross answered.
Chandler thought that was a too well crafted response, but he didn't argue it. He was putting it on Joey now, who had set Daniel down on the couch. The baby was clapping his hands eagerly.
This was going to be interesting.
Phoebe, Monica, & Rachel
"I brought whistles," Monica said, handing them out. "You find the dress, you blow the whistle, got it?"
"Brilliant," Phoebe grinned, taking hers. She blew into it, making everyone glare at her as they covered their ears.
"What are you doing?" Monica asked.
"Just making sure it worked."
Monica bit back her response. It really was amusing how much Phoebe and Joey were alike sometimes.
"Go, go, go!" Monica shouted as the doors of the building were opened. They split up, and Monica hunted for the dress hard. Rachel panicked and hid underneath a dress rack because all the crazy women were getting to her. She blew on her whistle, and Phoebe found her.
"We have to keep going!" Phoebe urged, pulling Rachel along.
"I got it!" Monica shouted. They hurried to see her sitting on Megan with the dress held up high in her hand.
"What happened?" Rachel asked.
"Little Miss Toots here thought she was getting your dress," Monica said haughtily. "She thought wrong."
"Get off of me," Megan ordered. Monica did so reluctantly, handing the dress to Phoebe.
"Why?" Phoebe asked Megan. "You knew I loved this dress. What is wrong with you?"
Megan straightened her jacket and left without answering.
"Bitch," Rachel muttered. "Can we please get out of here before I have a panic attack?!"
All the bodies and shouting was making her feel dizzy and tight in the chest.
"You guys go. I'll buy this," Phoebe gestured.
"I'm coming with you. You need a bodyguard apparently," Monica said. "Rach, go out for some air."
"Okay," Rachel agreed, hurrying to the door. She caught sight of Megan driving away, and she did not like the look of the smile that was on the woman's face as she passed her.
Later
Joey had finished telling Phoebe that he had narrowed it down to three appetizers by doing the blindfold game with Ross and Chandler. It had taken him ten tries to finally make a final decision about what he wanted because he kept changing his mind, and that was when Ross finally just threw out one of the four in exasperation.
"So you can call Jacques and confirm he's doing our wedding and what we want," Joey finished.
"Great," Phoebe smiled. She went to answer the phone then, and somehow the Megan girl from the bridal store was on the other line. She cursed herself for giving out her last name then.
"What?" Joey asked after Phoebe had hung up. She didn't answer and instead went over to Monica's.
"What happened?" Monica asked after seeing her face.
"Megan booked Jacque for an event on the same day as our wedding and won't cancel it unless I give her my wedding dress."
"What a sadistic bitch!" Monica exclaimed. "What are you gonna do?"
"Joey loves that food too much. His mother went through all the trouble getting Jacques to interview us for the wedding, so I have to go with him. She can have my dress."
"Aw, Phoebs..."
"It's okay. It's just a dress," Phoebe said. She was still feeling angry inside, though. She went back to her apartment and called Megan back. She was, however, formulating a plan.
"Meet me at Central Park in an hour," Phoebe said gruffly before hanging up again.
"Where are you going?" Joey asked as she left again. He felt so confused.
...
Phoebe got off the phone with Jacques, who apologized for the confusion of having another event on the same day as their wedding. She booked him officially and gave him the list of appetizers they wanted. She made sure he knew he wasn't to cancel their wedding no matter what happened, that he needed to call her number to confirm anything if anyone tried to claim they were her canceling his services. He had been very confused, but he agreed.
"Looks like you met your match," Megan said, approaching her at the bench now. Phoebe's hands rested on the box in her lap.
"Well, you win some, you lose some," Phoebe shrugged. She stood up and left the box on the bench, moving to leave.
"Better luck next time," Megan called after her. Phoebe smiled to herself as she walked away, heading for the waiting cab.
She heard the scream just before she shut the cab door.
...
"You did what?!" Monica asked, astonished.
"I gave her Boris," Phoebe answered.
"W-Who is Boris?" Monica questioned.
"A piece of art I had made," Phoebe replied. It was Gladys's husband. She had separated them because she knew Gladys had wanted a divorce for a while now.
"I don't want to know," Monica said. Phoebe knew that one day, Gladys would set up camp in Monica's apartment. She just didn't know it yet. Phoebe was saving that as a surprise.
"So you got your caterer and your dress," Monica said then. "You're very crafty, Phoebe Buffay."
"I was a secret agent in my previous life," Phoebe grinned. Monica didn't respond, just lifted a brow warily.
"Your big day is almost here," she said instead.
"It is. Hard to believe."
"You nervous?"
"A little, but it's also very exciting."
"Good," Monica smiled.
"I should go explain all of this to Joey," Phoebe gestured. "He has no idea what just happened."
"Okay. See you later."
"Bye."
Monica was left standing alone in her kitchen. She wondered what it would feel like to marry Chandler. She got a little excited just thinking about it. She wondered if he felt the same way.
A Week Later
"I have a problem," Ross said, coming into Central Perk and finding Chandler sitting there with Rachel and Daniel.
"What's wrong, honey?" Rachel asked.
"One of my students just told me they were in love with me," Ross answered. Chandler looked up from the magazine he had been reading, raising an eye brow at Ross.
"What?" Rachel said tightly.
"Yea! He was all like, 'Uh, I failed your class cos I love you,'" Ross said, imitating the student, facial expression and all.
"He?" Chandler asked, catching it even though Ross had said it as quickly as he could. This caused Rachel to start laughing.
"It's not funny!" Ross exclaimed, frustrated. "Last year it was Elizabeth and now this?! I've obviously got some sexy professor vibe going on."
"Yea, you do," Rachel said, reaching to play with his tie.
"I don't know how to turn it off," Ross whined, looking at Chandler for help.
"Try keeping your hands to yourself?" Chandler suggested.
"I do!"
"Don't give anyone direct eye contact."
"You know I don't really do that," Ross pointed out, reminding him of the whole glasses scenario they had a few weeks ago.
"And you talk about really boring things?"
"Paleontology is not boring," Ross objected. Chandler mimicked snoring loudly at this. Ross glared at him until he stopped.
"Then I don't know," Chandler admitted. "It beats the hell out of me why anyone would find you attractive."
"Hey!" Rachel said, feigning outrage.
"You're not helping," Chandler said. "Nerdy professor and hot girl...how does that happen?"
"You obviously have never seen Beauty and the Beast," Ross sniffed.
"I said nerd not monster," Chandler reminded him.
"I'm going to have to deal with this," Ross said, ignoring Chandler now and focusing solely on Rachel.
"Just be gentle about it. Let them down easy."
"I'm not used to being the one to do that," Ross confessed.
"Just remember what made you feel good about yourself when getting shot down and use that," Rachel suggested.
"That's brilliant," Ross said, kissing her. "I'll see you later."
"Seriously," Chandler said when he was gone. "How did you two work?"
"He's not nerdy in bed," Rachel replied, to which Chandler immediately covered his ears and making Rachel laugh.
Joey & Phoebe
"Guess what, guess what, guess what?!" Joey chanted, skidding into their apartment and nearly hitting the counter and going right over it head first.
"What?" Phoebe asked, a little startled by his sudden entrance.
"I'm nominated for an award!" Joey exclaimed, raising both of his fists in the air over his head.
"Oh my God! Really?!"
"Yes!" Joey shouted, starting to jump up and down.
"Oh, that's so exciting!" Phoebe cried. She started to jump with him, and they grabbed each other's arms and started jumping in sync.
"Hey," Monica said, coming in then. "Whoa, what's going on in here?"
"Joey's nominated for an award!"
"Oh! Soap Opera Digest award?" Monica asked.
"Nope! A Soapie!"
"A what?" Monica questioned, confused.
"A Soapie!"
"You know, the third most prestigious soap opera award ever made," Phoebe chimed in.
"That's why I'm marrying you," Joey said, hugging her with one arm tightly then.
"Oh please," Phoebe said, patting his chest. "We both know it's for my looks."
"That too," Joey agreed.
"I hope it's more than just that," Monica said, feeling a little worried.
"The Connection too, Monica," Phoebe said. "Keep up."
"Right," Monica nodded. She didn't ask what that was. "So when is your award ceremony?"
"Tomorrow night."
"I'm so happy for you," Monica said, smiling.
"I gotta practice my award receiving speech!" Joey said, racing to the bedroom.
"He does know he might not win, right?" Monica asked Phoebe.
"Oh, give him five minutes before you crush his dreams," Phoebe replied. Monica just nodded before going back to her apartment.
Chandler
He was wandering around the street aimlessly, avoiding work again. He really did have to figure out why he hated his job so much, but for now, he just walked. He soon passed a jewelry store, and he halted to a stop in front of the window slowly. His brain was chewing on something, and before he knew it, he was stepping inside the store.
"Can I help you?" the owner asked instantly.
"Give me a minute to even look at what's in here before asking me that," Chandler answered. The owner bowed his head and left him alone. Chandler always wondered why sales people leaped on a person before they even got a chance to browse. How can they help when the shopper doesn't even know what they want yet? It was like when a dentist asks you questions when they're up to their elbows in your mouth. Did these people not learn when a good time to talk was? Chandler's mind was going down a rabbit hole now, so he brought it back to the present.
He peered through the glass at all the shiny, pretty rings. He could picture something like that on Monica's finger. His mind went back to when they had gotten married in Vegas. He wanted their next wedding to be a lot more prestigious than that. He sensed the owner hovering in front of him now, and he looked up to find the beaming face a mere foot from his own.
He took a step back.
"Find anything you fancy?" the owner asked. Chandler could see his name tag said "Doug."
"Not yet, Doug," he answered.
"Thinking of proposing? Or an anniversary gift?"
"Proposal."
"Ah," Doug said knowingly. "Come over here." He led Chandler to a different display where even prettier rings were.
"Wow," Chandler said.
"Have a looksie and let me know what you think," Doug said, leaving him alone for a moment. Chandler stared at the rings, imagining Monica's response when she saw any one of them. It made him feel emotional inside at the thought. He cleared his throat, which made Doug reappear in an instant.
"Well? Thoughts?" he prompted, leaning his elbows on the display case, resting his chin on his hands, and looking at Chandler.
Chandler was looking at one ring in particular. It screamed Monica out of all the other rings. They hadn't talked about marriage, but didn't that ruin the element of a proposal surprise? He wasn't sure what he was doing, but he knew he wanted to be with Monica. Phoebe and Joey's wedding had been making it be on his mind a lot, and he didn't want to steal their thunder or anything, which was why he was going to wait until after their wedding to ask Monica. His heart started to pound furiously as his brain registered what he was doing right now.
"That one," he said, pointing. Doug nodded, a slow smile growing on his face.
"You have very good taste," he commented, reaching to pull it out for Chandler. When Chandler held it in his hand, he just knew it was Monica's ring.
"Wow," Chandler said.
"This ring is from the 1920s. It's a one and a half carat diamond with sapphires on either side," Doug explained.
"How much?" Chandler asked.
"For you? 8,000," Doug answered.
"7,500," Chandler tried. Doug smiled, but he wasn't annoyed.
"Deal," he said. He took the ring and went to prepare it. Chandler's hands were shaking from excitement as he stood by the register, waiting to pay. He was going to ask Monica to marry him. Holy crap.
"There we go," Doug said, handing him the wrapped box and taking Chandler's credit card.
"Thank you," Chandler said.
"Best of luck to you," Doug smiled, handing his card back. Chandler walked out of there feeling like he was on cloud nine.
Two Days Later-Ross & Rachel
"Okay," Ross said. "So I did what you said."
"And?" Rachel asked.
"He laughed at me," Ross answered, sounding hurt.
"I'm sorry," Rachel said. "Are you feeling rejected by this guy's rejection of your rejection?"
"Um, no," Ross answered, trying to wrap his head around what she had just said.
"Good, cos you had me concerned for a moment there," Rachel said.
"I like women!" Ross said, annoyed. "Despite what people have been writing on the back of the chairs."
"What?" Rachel asked.
"Nothing."
Rachel wasn't sure what to say next, but she did feel another laugh coming. Ross's class sounded like a bunch of hooligans to her.
"It turned out that he just made it up," Ross sighed.
"He what? Why?"
"He thought it would work, which it did. I only figured it out when a second guy claimed he loved me," Ross explained. Rachel couldn't help it. She started to laugh.
"I'm sorry," she gasped through her laughter. "I just...wow!"
"People shouldn't play with other people's feelings like that," Ross said, crossing his arms.
"Come here," Rachel said, pulling him into a hug then since he was all wounded like. "It's okay." He rested his head on her shoulder as she patted his back.
Joey & Phoebe
The award ceremony hadn't gone the way Joey had wanted it to. He had lost, and he had started yelling and cursing until Phoebe started making out with him on TV to get the attention off of his fit. Then he accepted an award on the behalf of another actress, and Phoebe was looking at this award currently sitting on their kitchen counter and wondering how it got there.
"Look at the award I won," Joey said, gesturing. He was grinning.
"You can't keep that," Phoebe argued.
"I tried delivering it to her, and she threw it away!" Joey replied indignantly. "Who throws away a Soapie award?!"
"You're an actor, Joey, not an actress," Phoebe pointed out. "It doesn't make sense."
"I'm playing a guy with a woman's brain in my head," Joey said. "That makes me half an actress."
Phoebe thought about it for a second.
"You're right," she agreed. "Well, then congratulations!"
"Thank you!" Joey cried. He picked up the award and hugged it, cradling it fondly in his arms. It was a great day.
Rachel & Monica
They were sitting in Monica's apartment. Ross had Daniel and Ben. Since their talk about her feelings of sadness, he had been offering her some down time more often. Rachel accepted of course. She was feeling better, though. She did not cry as much anymore, and she was grateful for that.
"Is it just me or is Chandler acting odd?" Monica asked, breaking into Rachel's thoughts.
"In what way?"
"I don't know. It's weird. I'll catch him looking at me, and then he'll run from the room. I swear he's crying when he leaves," she said.
"That is odd," Rachel frowned.
"You don't think he's going to break up with me, do you?" Monica asked, worried.
"No," Rachel said, shaking her head. He wouldn't...would he? She thought hard. What else would explain the crying and running away, though?
"Should I ask him?"
"No, no," Rachel shook her head. "Don't. There has to be another reason."
"You're right," Monica nodded. "There has to be."
Rachel suddenly had a strange thought of just what it could be, but she kept it to herself. She'd ask Chandler the next time she got him alone.
If it was what she suspected, then Monica was going to be very excited.