In L.A., Chandler checked into the same hotel as Joey, then came to his room and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Joey asked from inside.

Chandler spoke nervously. "It's me."

"Who--" but then Joey recognized the voice he hadn't heard in over a month. He peered through the peep-hole and couldn't believe his eyes. "Chandler?"

He opened the door, and Chandler sprang on him with a hug. "Joey!" Chandler clung to him as if he never wanted to let go.

Stunned and confused, Joey pulled Chandler into his room and shut the door. "What are you doing here, Chandler?"

"Finding you! I--Wow, you did grow a beard." He touched Joey's whiskers tentatively.

Joey nodded and noticed the stink on Chandler. "And you've been smoking," he frowned disapprovingly.

Chandler shrugged. "It was a long month."

Joey grunted and just sat down with Chandler on the bed. "You came all this way from New York? How did you find me?"

"I hired a detective."

"A detective? What are you wasting your money for?"

"It's my money! What did you expect me to do after you left like that, with nothing but a note?" He hit Joey on the shoulder.

Joey backed away defensively. "Hey, I needed to be on my own. I thought you'd understand that."

"Well, I don't! How could you just leave and not even say where you went? How could you abandon me like that?"

"You? It wasn't you I was leaving--"

"I know!" Chandler turned away with hurt. Staring at his feet, he shook his head and whispered resentfully, "I'm not Rachel. I'm not important."

Joey was puzzled by his reaction, until he remembered the ride-along incident a few years ago, when Joey had apparently dived to save Ross instead of Chandler; Chandler had felt jealous and snubbed.

Joey put an arm around him. "Look, Chandler, you know you're my best friend. You always will be. If I could have gone without leaving you, I would have."

Chandler pouted miserably. "Why did you have to leave at all?"

"You know, because of Rachel. I couldn't take knowing that she was with Ross now, and I realized that it would better for the whole group if I left. It's like when Kip broke up with Monica, you know? He got phased out of the group, so that means I should go too. I just thought making a quick, clean break would hurt less than getting phased out."

"But I wouldn't let them phase you out, Joe! I'd get Rachel to go--"

"No, Chandler. Then she and Ross would have to leave. I can't do that to you guys."

"I don't care if I never see Rachel again."

"Well, Monica would care! And she'd care about Ross, her brother. And Emma."

"What about what I want? What about you and me, Joey?" He swallowed. "I--I thought we were gonna always be together."

Joey nodded sadly. "I know. I'm sorry." He squeezed Chandler's shoulder and offered, "Look, maybe when things settle down, and I get to working again, you can come visit me sometimes."

"Sometimes!" Chandler scoffed, knowing how rare it would be that he could fly out to L.A. It would get even worse once the baby was born. "Just come back to New York, Joe. Please!"

"No, you guys can all live without me--"

"Not me! I can't!"

Joey blinked, having never seen Chandler get so emotional. "No, don't say that. I mean, yeah, it's tough right now, but it's like when you first moved out, or when you had to commute to Tulsa all the time. You've got Monica and everybody, and soon you'll be busy with your baby too. You'll get used to it."

"No, I won't! I don't want to. I just, I want everything to go back to the way it was."

"I know, but it can't." Joey shrugged. "The gang had to break up eventually, you know. I'm just starting it."

There was a silence, and Chandler knew how right Joey was. Their group of six were lucky to have lasted even this long.

Chandler said quietly, "It--it isn't fair. Why does Rachel get to do whatever she wants and other people suffer? It's not like," he swallowed, "it's not like you and me were dating, and broke up."

Joey looked rather amused by that hypothetical scenario. "Huh. Can you imagine that? You and me?"

Chandler said nothing.

Getting serious again, Joey sighed and tried to be firm. "I know it sucks, Chandler, but it's for the best."

"No!" Chandler moaned. "It's the worst--the worst thing that could ever happen! I hate this! I--" Unable to hold back anymore, he started to cry.

Joey was shocked. "Hey, hey!" He hugged Chandler close and tried to soothe him. "It's okay. Shh. Calm down."

After Chandler's tears subsided, Joey rubbed his back comfortingly and said, "I hate this too, Chandler. I miss you, and I hate knowing that I'm not gonna be there when your kid's born. I really wanted to see that."

Chandler clung to him. "Then come home with me. Please!"

Joey shook his head. "No, I'm staying here."

"Why! Why do you have to be so far away?"

"Because I wanna make a fresh start."

"But you can do that in New York! It's a big city. Just get another apartment further away, or stay with your family for a while. You'd never have to see Ross or Rachel, I swear."

"No, it's not just that, Chandler. I need some time alone to think, and move on, and figure out what's wrong with me."

"Nothing's wrong with you."

"Then why am I not good enough for Rachel, huh? Or Charlie? I can't believe I've lost two women to Ross! And there's been other girls that I liked and thought about getting serious with, but they left me too. Like Erin and Kathy. And Kate--remember Kate? She went to L.A. for some job, right when we were starting to fall in love. I always wondered what would've happened if she'd stayed, like Phoebe wondered about her scientist guy, David."

"So, so you're trying to find Kate?" Chandler asked, watching his eyes.

Joey shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. After I figure out my problem, though. I mean, I know part of it is probably how many girls I've slept with. Nobody thinks that I can settle down for good, no matter what I do or say. I just think that if I start over in L.A., where I don't have a reputation already, maybe I could find some woman who'll give me a chance."

Chandler sighed in defeat. "Yeah, that--that makes sense."

Joey was glad that he understood. "So I'm staying here, okay?"

"Okay." Chandler swallowed sadly and hugged him close again. "I'm gonna miss you!"

"I'll miss you too."

Chandler didn't want to let go. "Would it--would it be all right if I call you?"

Joey nodded. "Sure. Yeah, maybe I could use your advice about how to keep a girl."

"I guess." Chandler frowned, already depressed at the thought of going home to Monica. But he wanted Joey to be happy. He really did.

Joey sat back and asked, "Hey, what do you think of my beard, Chandler? Do you think it makes me look mature and serious?"

Chandler shrugged and touched it again. "It's... different. I just, I never thought you needed to change anything, Joe. If a girl is gonna love you, it should be for who you are, you know?"

Joey nodded. "I know. I'm not gonna change everything about me. I just, I wanna try new things for a while. Like when you had that goatee. Remember?"

"Yeah."

"Plus, it's just easier not shaving all the time, and it keeps people from recognizing me."

"Is that why you're using a fake name?"

Joey nodded. "Yeah, I didn't want fans bugging me for autographs, or those gossip reporters finding me before I was ready to go on auditions again. Have you seen how they all say that I quit Days of Our Lives because I wanted to go work on my movie career? I thought I'd spite them for a bit."

"Oh."

Joey looked remorseful as he remembered all the gossip reports that he'd seen on those entertainment news programs. "Hey, can you tell everybody back home that I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly? I didn't realize that those reporters would keep trying to interview you guys for hints about where I went."

Chandler shrugged. "Phoebe liked being mysterious about your disappearance, and it gave us something to do besides worry about you."

"You were really worried?" Joey asked.

"Yeah," Chandler nodded. "We miss you, Joey. We love you."

Joey squeezed Chandler's shoulder and said, "Same here."

Chandler got up from the bed. "I guess I'll go back to my room now."

"Your room? You're staying here?"

"Yeah, I'm in room 420. I guess now that I've talked to you, I'll catch a flight back to New York tomorrow."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess you can't stay too long. It was good to see you again."

"Yeah, um, same here." Chandler looked longingly at Joey before he turned toward the door.

"Wait," Joey stopped him. "What's the rush? You came all this way, you know, and maybe we could hang out tonight."

"Really?" Chandler looked hopeful.

"Sure. Have you had dinner yet? We could order something."

"Okay." Chandler came back and sat down on the bed again.