Chapter takes place after the wedding. Well, not really wedding...

Chapter 5 Comfort

"Now what?" Phoebe repeated. It was two hours after the wedding and she still couldn't stop crying. She was sad and upset about everything and she didn't actually find it fair.

"You're going to be just fine," Monica told Phoebe. "We love you and we're your best friends."

"George is like a better friend than Joey now," Phoebe sighed. "What do you think I'm going to do about Joey? How will it be for the both of us to be in the same room together? We never will be able to be together."

"Maybe you'll just have to be friends now," George suggested.

"I wish that you were my boyfriend, George. Monica and you are perfect and I know that you wouldn't run away if you got married to Monica," Phoebe sighed.

"I wouldn't be able to," George whispered, getting ready to kiss Monica. "She's too perfect."

As the two of them kissed Phoebe turned away in annoyance, but Ross walked up to her. "Hey," he said.

"Hi," Phoebe grumbled.

"Don't sound that way," Ross told Phoebe. "Of course Joey will feel bad and then maybe he'll want to make it up to you and then you'll become good friends and maybe you can start over."

"I don't think so," Phoebe sighed. "I wanted to be with him. I really did, except he didn't want to be with me. I spent three days writing my vow to him and now he just deserted the wedding."

Ross gave Phoebe a hug. "He didn't desert you. I just think that he didn't find it right so he decided that you guys shouldn't be married."

"I guess that you're right," Phoebe replied. "Thanks, Ross."

"I think that you should just rip off the band aid. Tell him and let it be over with."

Phoebe laughed for the first time all day. "You got that saying from me. Now I am going to rip off the band aid once we get home. And you know what, I think that I'm going to go on my honeymoon by myself."

"You're just as bad as Barry. He went on Rachel's honeymoon, you know, Pheebs. Except this will be good for you," Ross added quickly.

"Yeah, and I want you to come."

"What? You want me to come? I can't, Rachel will break up with me if I do," Ross said.

"Then bring Rachel along too," Phoebe said.

"No," Ross replied taking a deep breath. "Chandler doesn't need to be with Janice so I think that you should bring Chandler. The two of you will have a great time and I think that it's going to be good for you."

"Thanks." Phoebe and Ross hugged again.

"Look at those two," Rachel snapped angrily. "He's hidden too much from me. What else is he hiding from me? He hasn't even proposed to me and I want him to. I want to get married. I don't feel as though our relationship is going anywhere anymore. He should just go on the honeymoon with Phoebe."

"You can't really mean that," Monica gasped. "That's like giving up something."

"Yeah," Chandler agreed walking up. "Do you really mean it?"

"Yes," Rachel said. "Maybe he'll learn some new things when he comes back and one of them will be to learn how to move a relationship forward. We've been together for three and a half years, but I feel like he's hiding so much."

"Really?" Monica asked. "I feel like he tells you a lot."

"I don't think that he tells me enough," Rachel sighed. "I've told him everything, but I know that he's hiding a ridiculous amount of things from me. He just won't admit it."

Rachel walked over to Ross and tapped him.

"Yeah?" Ross demanded.

"I want you to go on Phoebe's honeymoon without me. I don't want to come along." Rachel glared at Ross and Ross backed away.

"What are you talking about?" Ross was shocked. "I can't just go on their honeymoon without you."

"I want you to," Rachel said. "I want you to go and leave me behind. I'm sick of it. I don't like you hiding so much from me and everything that you're hiding from me is too much. Just go on."

Phoebe took Ross's hands. "Come."

"I'm a betrayal now," Ross sighed. "Except I'll be traveling on your honeymoon in a week. I'll come along."

"Of course," Phoebe said. "Except if you change your mind I'll just ask Chandler to come along."

"Okay." Ross walked away from Phoebe, but still felt like he was betraying the girl that he loved the most. Rachel Green.

One week later

"Okay, bye! See you in two weeks!" Ross and Phoebe were saying their good byes to the group.

"Have fun!" Joey called out.

He didn't look Phoebe in the eye. The two of them hadn't spoken to each other alone in weeks.

"We'll try to," Phoebe said.

"Okay," Joey agreed.

Ross walked past Rachel and Rachel didn't try to hug or kiss him. Monica turned to face Rachel slowly and Monica hissed, "I thought that you were going to try and be nice to each other."

"I can't," Rachel hissed back. "I can't be nice to the man who thinks that he knows it all."

"He doesn't know it all and you know that. He knows it too." Monica glared at Rachel.

"Sorry," Rachel added, "Except I don't know what I'm going to do about it."

"Alright," Monica said. "Call him once he arrives in Barbados."

"They're so lucky to have a Barbados honeymoon," Rachel sighed. "I'm glad that I didn't go along, but I want to go. I want to go to Barbados."

"Well you're not going," Chandler replied overhearing. "Neither am I. I would be, though and I wouldn't be with Janice anymore."

Monica looked confused. "Except I thought that you liked being with Janice. I thought that you found her lovable and you weren't going to break up with her."

"I'm going to," Chandler grouched. "I was going to today, but now that they're leaving I can't and if I was going along without her she'd know that I didn't love her, because I was going on someone else's honeymoon and I wasn't bringing her along."

"Sorry about that," Rachel added. "I guess that it's my fault."

"No, it's not," Chandler sighed. "I know that Ross needs to learn some new things and he gets to do that on this trip. I think that it's good for him."

"Good for him?" Joey even sounded shocked as he looked over.

"Bye!" Ross called out. "See you later in two weeks."

Rachel knew that Ross was calling to her, but she just turned around, tears now in her eyes and disappeared into her room. Ross never even saw her face, but she suspected that Ross understood her pain.

What pain has he ever been in? Rachel wondered and deep down Rachel knew that Ross had kept his love for her for ten years and that was worse pain. Except she wanted Ross to love her, not to go on Phoebe's honeymoon.

"Wow," Joey said from outside Rachel's bedroom as soon as Ross and Phoebe had left. "I can't believe that Ross is actually doing this. That should be me."

"Except you didn't even marry her and she's pregnant!" Chandler told him.

"I know, but I didn't think that I was ready for a marriage anymore and I felt weird about it." Joey ducked his head with embarrassment, but no one noticed.

"They're going to have fun and they're going to come back tan, but who cares? They're going to enjoy it and maybe Rachel will have forgotten about it by then." Monica shrugged.

"That's never going to happen," Joey pointed out.

"I know," Monica sighed. "Except I wish that the world could just become happy. With love and no hurt in it."