Well, shit. So much for trying to update every week...

"Ready in 5!"

I stand there getting my nose powdered as a man wearing all black, carrying a clipboard and speaking into one of those very expensive aviation headsets, hurries by.

I've done this a dozen times but it doesn't defeat the butterflies from taking off. It's a mixture of both excitement and nervousness as they escort me to curtain. Once I'm in place the man next to me wearing exactly the same uniform as the one guy who rushed by not even 20 seconds ago, speaks into his mic "Ms. Geller at curtain."

I feel like I'm getting ready for my Broadway debut. There are so many people around, making sure everything is in order before showtime; I haven't even seen the host yet.

Looking down, I observe my outfit one final time. For a minute there I thought I was wearing a whole other outfit.

I spent 2 hours this morning trying to figure out what to wear. Did I want to wear an attention-getting outfit that consist of a red shirt tucked into a pair of high-wasted, pleated trousers, paired with a quilted shoulder clutch and pointed-toe pumps? Or did I want to go another direction and wear a white suit jacket paired with a flared bottom blouse with a sequined collar and white shortened pleated trousers? Perhaps I could go elegant wearing a black-blue suit with a matching white and blue polka-dot shirt underneath, accessorized by a slim nude belt that matched my strappy nude heels. Then of course I had the option of an innocent school girl look with a warm floral dress that ended above the knee that had angel sleeves down to my elbows, and heel boots to match. But I'm sure the media will look at them as stripper boots.

However, none of those seemed fitting as I went with a simple form fitting red slacks that stopped just before my ankles were my nude pointed heels covered my toes. My white silk shirt that was loose around my chest had a few buttons done. And because I get cold easily, I grabbed my light grey wool suit jacket to wear over my silk dress shirt. With the sleeves pulled up to my elbows my white shirt poked through at the cuffs completing my outfit.

My thoughts are interrupted as I hear a loud speaker click on.

"She stared in Love Before Sunset and you know her as America's most beautiful woman." A hand pushes me slightly forward at the exact moment my name is being shouted through the room "Monica Geller!"

For a moment my hearing is impaired by all the cheering. I give a little wave as I walk out and see all the happy faces in the crowd. And I wonder to myself, how many of the 250 audience members don't know who I am?

Sliding that thought to the back of my mind, I smile wide just as I go in to hug Ellen before finally sitting down. Running my hands along the armrest of the chair, I wave once again to the standing crowd as they quiet down.

"You look very nice today." She begins just as I cross one leg over the other.

"Thank you!" I look down at the outfit I settled on "It took me about 3 hours to get ready. So, I'm glad you approve." I joke. I was never good at the whole interview thing. I find it uneasy to talk about myself.

"You could wear a bag and I wouldn't mind." She assures me.

Chuckling, I shift in my seat "You should have told me that before I plugged in the curling iron." I tease "Oh, by the way, I love what you did to the dressing rooms." My eyes widen, appreciating the mints that were placed in the bathroom

"Thank...you?" She looks around not too sure what I mean.

"The breath mints." I clue her in, softly.

She nods "Well, I like my guest to have fresh breath when they come out."

I laugh and continue to suck on the fresh candy.

"So lets talk about something..."

"Yes! Lets." I smile, clapping my hands together.

"I hear you're the IT girl. The hottest women in Hollywood."

"I am?" I blush "That's a pretty heavy title to take on."

"Yeah, well this photo-shoot speaks for itself." Ellen reaches over and picks up a Rolling Stones magazine featuring me on the cover half naked.

"Oh dear!" I blush as I look away and watch the crowds reaction as they all holler and whistle.

"You're gorgeous by the way! You've got sheets wrapped around you and you're lying there all ashamed like you've got something to hide-" She examines

"I do, Ellen!" I laugh motioning to my body "This!" Looking back at the photo I explain my feelings about this shoot "I honestly was terrified about it. I didn't want it to happen. I kept asking if we could try some with clothes, but they kept saying that this was what the people wanted to see!" I shook my head, not able to avert my eyes "I had some words with my publicist afterwards."

"So you didn't know it was going to be this kind of shoot?" She asks, setting the magazine back down.

"Not exactly, I mean, I had an idea. But I just thought maybe a bikini or something." I admit "I'm just the type of girl that likes to hide behind a little more fabric, that's all-"

"Well you have a sheet-" She comments getting everyone to laugh.

I shrug with a smile.

"Alright we have to take a break, more from Monica when we come back!" She announces to the camera before leaning in so I can hear her over the crowd.

I enjoy interviews 95% of the time. The other 5% is me paranoid I'm going to say something wrong that may offend my fan base. Ellen is pretty good at making sure her guest feel comfortable, though. As long as she doesn't scare me I think I'll leave here on good terms.

We lean back in our chairs and Andy's hand goes up as he counts down from 3 before pointing at us.

"Welcome back, we're here with Monica Geller." She turns towards me "Now Monica, I found something interesting." She eyes me and for a moment I'm nervous about what she could possibly have found that she feels the need to bring it up.

"Oh gosh..." I mumble and scan the crowd as they let out a soft laugh. "You know, every time you find something interesting it doesn't bold well for me. I'm sweating just thinking about what you have to say."

"Are you nervous?" She questions "Do you have something to hide?"

Avoiding eye contact, I shake my head and play with a loose thread on my jacket.

"No, it's nothing bad." She tells me as she grabs a stack of cards from her side table "I just have a few unanswered questions I need solved for my blog." She jokes, getting her glasses.

I sit up straighter and chuckle "Okay."

"First of all, who is this?"

She points to the monitor as a very familiar clip pops up of Chandler and I at a Met's game. I gasp, unable to hide the grin as I lean forward "Oh my gosh, where did you find that?"

"I have my connections." She straightens her glasses

I nod, still looking at the photo of us on the Kiss Cam "That was actually our first date." I can't believe how young I look there. I must have been in college at the time.

"You two look pretty cozy for a first date."

I nod, but don't answer as I move my eyes from the monitor to Ellen.

She moves the card to the back of the pile in her hands before asking another curious question. "When's the wedding?"

I laugh out loud and lean back in my chair "So you're the one that started that rumor." I confront and she smiles before writing something down on the card.

"That's right, you weren't suppose to know that." She mutters softly but loud enough for everyone to hear.

Rolling my eyes, I glance over the crowd who lets a laugh loose.

"So, what does he do?"

"He's a teacher." I say simply

"Awww!"

I can't help but smile at the affection towards his career. Chandler was always one with the kids. Honestly, I think he'd take a bullet for a kid he just met. There is no doubt in my mind there is a house full of little Chandlers in his future.

"Which grade does he teach?"

Then it dawns on me... "I'm not sure." I'm instantly filled with regret. Why didn't I ask him about his job when I visited home, how selfish am I? I guess there wasn't much room for questions as we were basically arguing the entire time.

"You're not sure?" Her eyes go wide as she looks at me and the guilt-o-meter goes skyrocket.

"No!" I blush, my hands finding my face "Oh my God I'm so embarrassed! I should know this..." Shaking my head I try to recall any conversation we might have had about his job "I know it's little kids..." I comment "But that's it-"

"Well I guess we're gonna have to call him and find out." I watch as she reaches down to grab her cord phone but before she can begin dialing, she stops herself. "You know what..." I wait as she pauses "I'm not going to be able to sense the chemistry over the phone. Why don't we bring him out." Her eyes go from mine to the doorway behind me.

My heart starts to race as the crowd erupts in cheer while the giant sliding doors open at once and he walks out.

I stand on wobbly knees as two men hurry out with an extra chair. I don't know how to react; I want to throw my arms around him, but I also want to slap him from yelling at me a few nights ago.

Before I can do either or, he walks into Ellen's opened arms for a hug. "Thanks for coming." She smiles, breaking away

"Thanks for having me." He returns the acknowledgment before turning towards me.

I'm still shell shocked seeing him standing in front of me that I don't know how to respond.

"Hi, Mon." He can't say much else as the same man with the clipboard from earlier comes out to fix him up with a mic.

"Hey." It's soft, but at least something came out. I'm practically speechless as questions fly around my head. How? When? Who?

Most of my questions are one-worded.

The crowd continues to erupt in applause as Chandler and I sit down. Ellen waits for the audience to quiet down and take their seats before asking her questions. "So, Chandler-" She starts and his smile slowly fades, not too sure what crazy question she might ask. "How are you doing? You flight just got in, right?"

"Yeah!" Chandlers eyes widen "I think I landed about 20 minutes ago." He fills us in and now I understand why he is panting. "Your uber really knows his way around traffic."

Ellen chuckles "I'm glad or else you wouldn't be sitting with us right now." She glanced back at me "You saved Monica from an embarrassing situation."

My face turns light pink as Chandler turns towards me "Since when have you ever been in an embarrassing situation?"

I swallow the uncomfortable lump in my throat "Since I couldn't remember which class you taught."

He chuckles and I release the breath from my lungs; relieved he isn't offended. "I'm working with 2nd graders." He smiles, turning back towards Ellen "The rugrats that could one day be my president."

"Aw..." She gushes "Teach them while they're still cute-" She jokes, causing the audience to laugh "I'm kidding." She taps his knee for assurance "I heard from a little bird that you like to dress up everyday, is that right?" She questions

"Well, it's kind of mandatory that every teacher wear formal attire." Chandler plays along but knows exactly what she's getting at.

Ellen chuckles "I mean like costumes."

Chandler nods with a smile "Yeah, I love to entertain and it certainly makes learning more fun." He starts to explain as he sits back a little further, getting comfortable in his seat "Ever since I was young I've had an interest in all different kinds of hats. And instead of having them sit in my Hope Chest to gather dust, I decided to wear a different hat every day." He looks back towards the monitor "I brought a few pictures..." He says just as his photographs are displayed on the big screen. "There I am!" He smiles as the world sees his pizza shaped hat atop his head and one of his students pretending to bite it. "My buddy took that picture." I watch as his smile gets wider the longer he eyes the photo. Another one appears, this one has most of his students gathered around, all wearing a different hat: a firefighter, a graduation cap, a hard hat, pirate, joker, there even looks to be a helicopter hat in the mix. "Anyway," Finally turning back to Ellen, Chandler finishes his story "My kids love to see all the crazy hats I've accumulated over the years, so it's become kind of a thing."

"That's amazing!" Ellen is still marveling over the pictures he brought before they disappear "I actually got you a little something that you could put in your classroom..."

"Really?" Chandler looks stunned as Ellen looks behind us at a guy bringing out a baby blue hat rack with twenty more different hats on them, one of them of Ellen's face. "Oh my gosh!" He stands up, first to hug the host, then to inspect his expanded collection "That's amazing, I love it! Thank you!" I stand up and follow Chandler's lead so I don't look awkward by myself.

"Try this one on..." I take one off the hook and hand it to Chandler. The rainbow clown hair pokes through the top of the tall hat and I laugh as Chandler places it gently on his perfectly combed hair.

Ellen points to the camera "More with Monica Geller when we come back!" She shouts and the DJ starts up a tune.

I watch as Ellen joins us while Chandler continues to examine his gift. "I love this one." He takes it off the rack and traces the edges with his fingers "I'll be sure to wear it Monday, my kids are going to be so excited!"

"I'm glad." She smiles, "Whenever you're done looking at them Andy will bring it backstage until the show is over. Then he'll help you carry it to your car." She informs him.

He nods "Well I can look at them the rest of my life. If it's easier, I can help Andy take them-"

"Chandler." I chuckle, resting my hand on his shoulder and stealing a glance towards Ellen "You're the guest," I carefully grab the hat from his head before running my fingers through his hair to remove the hat head he created. "You don't always have to be so helpful."

"Sorry," He apologizes but I'm not sure what for "I guess it's just in my human nature."

And that's why I love you...I have to bite my tongue before what I'm thinking slips.

Ellen receives a signal from Andy and I'm assuming we are coming back from commercial.

"Alright, Andy's going to take that back for you." Ellen informs us before leading us back over to the chairs just as music plays and she brings the audience back.

"Welcome back, before the break we got to know Chandler a little more but we don't know his exact connection to Monica Geller." She turns towards me with a grin. "Care to explain how you two met?"

"Um..." Chandler and I look at each other with that familiar feeling in the pit of our stomachs. "College." I say simply.

Chandler smiles and continues; breaking eye contact as he looks back at Ellen "She actually punched me the first time we met-" He stretches the truth a little bit. I'm sure he's doing it only to mess with me.

"I did not!" I gasp

"Yes she did...right here." He points to his cheek with wide eyes.

I rub his cheek with my thumb, hoping to heal the hurt I've created. But I'm sure I've healed it several different times, over and over and over again...

"I even have a scar to prove it."

Rolling my eyes, I retrieve my hand "You got that scar from that stupid dirt bike you and Ross found in an alleyway behind your house."

"Okay that may be true." He confesses "She didn't punch me."

Ellen smiles "So you guys met in college. Did you have classes together or..."

I shake my head "No, we had two very different career paths. We actually met through my brother." I look over at Chandler "But Chandler didn't bring up the courage to ask me out until a few months later." I pause "He was pretty shy."

Chandler shrugs "I think any guy would be shy around you." He mumbles

"Aww..." The audience gushes

"Well aren't you two the cutest." Ellen chimes in

"I'm afraid we just might be." Chandler chuckles nervously as his face flushed a bright pink and he adjusts in his seat.

"I expect an invitation to the wedding." She comments but neither of us respond "I wanna thank you both for coming," She turns to the camera "I also wanna thank Rita Willis, and Debra Lissing! Be kind to one another, bye bye now."

The audience erupts in applause as we all stand and exchange hugs.

I enjoy interviews about 100% of the time. Marveling over at Chandler, I smile.

As long as I have him by my side everything is worth it.

AN:

When you write this chapter wearing a baseball cap the entire time... #INSPIRATION