Disclaimer – I don't own friends or Joey, I just wrote this story.

Chapter Seven –

Joey moved his hand along to the next phrase etched into the white marble. He brushed his fingers over each individual letter slowly and deliberately. As he did so the tears, which he had been holding in for so long, began to dribble down his face. He was finally letting go. As his finger reached the last letter he looked over the phrase once more and remembered the day in which his perfect reality became no more than a memory, a dream.

Joey awoke to loud music bursting from his CD player on the floor below. Turning over he noted that the other side of the bed was empty. Not something which was an unusual occurrence since the birth of his son, a year and a half ago.

Walking down the stairs he couldn't help but laugh at the sight that met his eyes. His wife was in his shorts and a tank top, dancing in front of their son with a spoon full of cereal, trying to make him laugh enough to get him to open his mouth for her.

Joey couldn't help but stand back and admire the way she moved her hips to the music. It was entrancing. She was playing Good Riddance by Green Day, her all time favorite song, and Cole's favorite as well.

"So take the photographs and still friends in your mind…" she sang out, but was cut off by a bright flash.

"Sorry Hails but you just look too cute," Joey said with a smirk, putting the camera down.

She simply smiled at him and droned out the last line of the song "It's something unpredictable but in the end is right, I hope you had the time of your life."

"You really weren't born to be a singer were you," Joey said, and quickly ducked as a shoe came flying in his direction. Cole giggled hysterically at his parent's antics.

"I'm just going to get ready for work then, big day today," he said while pulling a face at Cole.

"You do that," said Hailey coldly, speaking for the first time.

"Yeah big day on the set today. I'm getting naked with some really hot woman." Joey quickly moved to the right as the other shoe to that pair sailed past his left ear.

He was just about up the stairs when a loud scream caused him to pivot and hurtle back down in the other direction. The sight he saw caused him to let out another loud laugh. Hailey was standing on top of the bench, looking down horrified at a spider on the floor.

"Jees Hails, its tiny, just kill it," said Joey.

"I would but all my shoes are over there," she said, pointing to where Joey was standing.

"And whose fault is that?" asked Joey with a smirk.

"Yours!" she exclaimed. "You know better than to insult my singing."

"Oh so it's my fault your terrible?"

"Watch it Tribbiani, or I might just have to take some of your toys away from you," she said, raising her eyebrows, as if challenging him.

"You don't have any of my… Wait you mean…" His eyes took in her body, indecision playing across his features, as she smiled at him evilly.

Swiftly, he turned and picked up a shoe, walked promptly over to the spider and smacked it until it curled up into a little dead ball. He then looked up at Hailey and opened his arms to her.

"My hero," she stated in a mock dramatic voice as she jumped down into his arms.

"I'll never tell you you can't sing again," he promised.

"We both know that's not true," she laughed.

"Well not this week then."

"It's Friday Joey," she exclaimed. He simply shrugged and cut off any more retorts by kissing her hungrily on the mouth.

"Oh really please, there's a child in the room," exclaimed Alex as she walked through the front door.

"Yeah you guys, get a room," Gina said as she followed Alex to the couch.

Everyone turned to look at Gina, but she shrugged off the accusations they were throwing at her.

"They're going to take Cole for the day. Trisha's busy and I have to go do this photo shoot," Hailey said.

Joey went to Cole and pulled him out of his highchair.

"Dada!" exclaimed the boy, clapping his hands. "Momma," he then said, trying to lunge across to where she stood.

"Whoa, you trying to make me drop you tiger?" said Joey as he cooed at his son. "You're going to have fun with Aunt Gina and Aunt Alex today while mommy and daddy are at work ok."

Cole nodded as if he understood what his dad was talking about.

"Here," said Joey, picking up a brown bunny off the ground and passing him to Cole, "You have to stop dropping Stroopy everywhere."

Hailey then took the boy from him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Go get ready. You have to leave in fifteen minutes. Albert is getting annoyed at you because you keep showing up late. You know he had the nerve to ring and tell me off for it last night. Seemed to think that I was the cause. Well I told him and he won't do it again. Only thing is I don't think I'll ever be invited back onto your show," Hailey ranted.

"Calm down, I'm going."

"You're whipped," Gina laughed as he walked by her. He didn't retort, just smiled.

When he came back down the stairs he had just enough time to kiss Cole goodbye before Gina and Alex were out the door with him. He walked to the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his wife's middle and gently kissed the sweet spot on her neck.

"Mmm Joe, you gotta get going," Hailey mumbled out.

"I don't have to, I can be late. Albert won't ring again if he met your angry side," he whispered huskily.

"You still gotta go." She moaned as Joey bit her ear. "The girls are taking Cole tonight. We have the apartment to ourselves for a couple of hours. Go and I'll make it up to you tonight all right. Just don't be late because I might have some very important news."

"Late for this? I'll be early girlie."

"Well Gina's got a thing this afternoon so she's coming by to pick him up at six," she stated.

"I'll be home at four." With that he picked Hailey up and placed her on the counter. Her legs wrapped around him and he pushed himself up against her, kissing her one last time. A minute later he was out the door, calling over his shoulder, "You've got flower on your cheek, just so you know. Well," he licked his lip, "at least you did. Love you."

"Love you too," called Hailey as he retreated out the door.

At five past four he walked through the apartment door once again. He expected to find Hailey and Cole in it but it was empty.

"Hails? You home?" he called. But got no answer.

Shrugging it off, he moved to the answering machine and saw that that there was a message. He was just about to play it when the phone rang, and he instead, answered it.

"Hello?"

"Is this Joey Tribbiani I'm speaking to?"

"Yeah, who's this?"

"Mr. Tribbiani I'm Terry from L.A Central Hospital. I'm sorry to tell you but there's been an accident. Your wife's car was hit by another this afternoon. We're doing all we can for her, but I'm terribly sorry to tell you, we lost the child…" The line went dead.

He had hung up, unable to hear any more. His body was numb. He dropped the phone. It landed in a loud clatter on the floor, breaking. He stumbled forward and pushed open the door to his baby's room. Everything was as he had left it that morning. Nightclothes were strewn haphazardly on the change table. A dirty diaper sat rolled up, waiting to be thrown out, amongst them. The cots bedclothes were still messed up. Crayons littered the small work desk that he and Hailey had gotten him for his birthday. A half finished scribble of what he had claimed to be a fire truck lay amongst them. The room didn't know that the child that occupied its space was gone. It simply waited for the boys return.

"Dada." He could still hear his baby's voice projecting through the room.

"Dada." Suddenly he was brought out of his numbness by a weight slamming into his leg. He looked down and saw a head of white blonde hair. The head turned up and his wife's blue eyes swam into his own. The boy smiled at him and Hailey's dimpled cheek was revealed.

"Cole!" Joey slid down the wall and clung onto the boy. "They said you were gone." His tears were making the boy's shirt wet. He hadn't even realized he was crying.

"You alright Joe?" He looked up and saw Gina looking at him oddly. "Hailey was supposed to pick Cole up hours ago but I guess she thought I was supposed to drop him off because she never showed. Where is she?"

"Hailey," Joey moaned. He scooped up his son, not ready to let go of the boy he thought he had lost and bolted out of the apartment. Gina, startled, ran behind and jumped into the car with him.

He sped to the hospital. Later he would wonder how he managed to get there without crashing but at that moment his only concern was Hailey.

He ran into the emergency ward, Gina close behind, Cole in his grasp.

"Mr. Tribbiani?"

"Where's my wife?" he asked anxiously. "Where is she?"

"Mrs. Tribbiani has sustained some serious internal injuries. We need to operate on her as soon as possible but first we need your signature." The women presented a clip bored to him and he signed it without giving a second thought.

"Would you like to see her before she goes in." Joey nodded mutely. "We just have to ask that you leave the child here. It would hurt him to see her like this."

He handed Cole to Gina who was staring at him in horror and followed the doctor into one of the rooms.

"Hailey," he moaned as he went to her side.

"Joe," she rasped, he voice was soft, almost to soft to be heard.

"Baby I'm right here, right beside you. You're going to be fine all right. You're too strong for a thing like this to hurt you."

"It is hurting Joey, so much."

"Hailey listen to me," he said, taking her hand and sobbing into it, "You're going to be fine, you're going to back at home getting angry with me for leaving the milk out in no time alright. You're my angel baby and the other angels up there; they're going to protect you ok. You're going to be fine." He lent down and left a lingering kiss on her forehead. A moment later the doctor walked in and wheeled her away.

For the next hour Joey paced the waiting room. Gina was sitting with a sound asleep Cole on her lap. Joey couldn't sit. If he sat he would think. He would think of the worst and that was something he couldn't bare. So instead, he paced. Back and forth, rhythmically. Carefully keeping his mind blank except for a picture of a blonde haired, blue eyed women with smiling white teeth and a dimpled right cheek.

Finally his pacing was interrupted. The doctor was walking down the hall. There was something in that walk that told Joey all he needed to know. It wasn't purposeful, but rather, hesitant. The doctor didn't want to be walking towards them. That was enough for Joey to know what happened. He looked into the ladies eyes and slid down the wall, tears pouring out of his eyes as he did so. In only a second Gina was beside him, cradling him, telling him everything would be ok. She placed his son in his arms and helped him. Together they existed the hospital. They fought their way through a stream of photographers and wound up back at his car. He walked away from his dead wife. He walked into a world that he wished he could leave.

He blinked and he was back at his apartment. Gina walked him through the door and sat he and Cole on the lounge and then left, presumably to break the news to Alex. His eyes caught sight of a red flash. It was the answering machine.

Numbly he reached out and pressed the play button. As he did so he heard the door open. He could feel Alex's eyes on him, and Gina's too.

Her voice filled his ears. She had been the one to leave the message.

"Joe I'm pregnant!" he voice rang out. "We're going to have another baby. Can you believe that? I was going to wait to tonight to tell you but I'm terrible at waiting, you know that. Now I think this means that we have to take that house we were looking at. I know the apartment has memories but we will make new ones in the house. I better go before the machine cuts me off. Can't wait to see you. Love you baby."

And then she was gone. Abruptly Joey stood, grabbed the machine and threw it across the room. It smashed against the kitchen counter. The counter that only eight hours ago she had stood on top of, blackmailing him into killing the spider, that he had sat her atop of, kissing her feverishly, making plans for this night which they were supposed to be spending alone together.

He felt two small arms encircle him and looked down at his newly awoken son.

"Dada, why sad? Where Momma?" asked the boy. And to that he had no answer. How was he supposed to explain to this child that he would never see his mother again.

It was a year ago to the day that those events had transpired. That day had been the worst day of his life. He had lost the love of his life after only almost two years of marriage.

Still kneeling in the grass, he looked down at the white marble one last time.

Hailey Cole Tribianni

20th June 1974 –14th March 2004

Loving Wife, Loving Mother

Rest In Peace My Angel

She had wanted to be buried in New York, next to her parents and Joey was never one to deny her anything she wanted so he had flown her body over, even if it was far to far away for him to be able to visit every day.

Leaning forward, Joey kissed the inscription of her name and uttered two words he had never before managed to say.

"Goodbye Hailey." He let out a deep sob. "I'll see you again one day, but for now I have to raise our son. I promise to judge the girls just like you would have done. I'll love you forever my angel, I'll see you soon."

And with that he walked away. Back through the tangled grass and back under the tall billowing trees. He walked back to the world, ready to live again. He was going to live for his son, and for his wife, the blonde haired, blue-eyed woman with smiling white teeth and a dimpled right cheek, the woman that would kill him for not living.