Starbucks was crowded, and hot.

Monica managed to snag one stool at the far end of the barista counter by the window, the only place to sit in the whole coffee shop. He handed her the bags they had. She snatched them out of his hand without a word and sat down, glaring at him.

Chandler was now standing in a line at least 20 people deep watching his wife as she reorganized their three packages into one bag. That one action alone alerted Chandler to how upset she was. He sighed and shifted his gaze to the menu overhead. He tried to think of a way out of the confrontation looming before him. Saying "nothing happened" more than likely wouldn't be enough, even though it was the truth. He glanced at the customers in front of him. Well, he thought, at least he'd have a while to think about what he was going to say to his clearly peeved wife.

After sitting the now one package below her feet Monica had nothing to do but wait, and wonder. She was numb to the noise and crowd around her. Her mind was racing. What HAD happened in Tulsa last year? Did he come home because he missed her or because the temptation of the beauty queen was too great? How great? At least he'd come home, she thought to herself. But it had been so romantic when he swept into their apartment last Christmas. It had touched her more than he ever knew. She didn't even care that he quit his job. He did it for her, for them, or so she thought. But now maybe he'd done it because of HER.

If Chandler hadn't been so nervous just then, introducing her to Wendy, she may not have thought too much of it. But he was. And there was no mistaking Wendy's interest in her husband. She'd seen enough women look at Chandler that way to know lust when she saw it. He was much less insecure than he used to be, but his own self-deprecating humor, and the constant jokes from their friends, convinced him that he was less attractive then he was. But she knew that wasn't the case. He was a very handsome man and she'd stared down more than one woman she'd seen check him out. He was oblivious to it, which was part of his charm, and part of the reason she never once questioned he would ever cheat on her.

The thought of him with another woman made her shiver and literally made her heart ache. She wrapped her arms around herself and sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. They had never had a jealous relationship - certainly not like Ross and Rachel's had been over the years. He wasn't fond of Richard, of course, but she knew that he knew her heart belonged to only him. And she knew his heart was hers. She watched him now reading the labels on the coffee bean bags while he made his way to the front of the line. She tried to relax a little, and brace herself for the conversation ahead.

Chandler finally got their order in hand and squeezed his way through to where Monica was sitting. Having nowhere to sit himself, he leaned against the window and he handed her the coffee.

"Thanks," she murmured. He gave her a small smile.

She cleared her throat.

"So…that was Wendy, the beauty queen?" she said as she fiddled with the lid on her coffee, not looking up at him.

He took a deep breath.

"Yes, that was Wendy," he acknowledged. "She came in second…"

"Chandler…" she said, shooting him a warning look.

Too soon to joke, he thought. So noted.

A silence fell between them.

"Monica, nothing happened."

She shook her head.

"That's not true and you know it," she said, looking up at him.

"What?!" he said. For the first time Chandler was starting to get angry. How could she ever think he would cheat on her?

"You were as nervous as a school boy just now!" she said, her emotions starting to get the best of her again, keeping herself in check only because they were in a crowded, public place. "And she looked like she could devour you whole!"

"Mon…"

"I mean she's gorgeous. You were gone, alone with her far away," she said, beginning to ramble, all her fears coming to the surface. "You never told me about her, and…"

"Monica," he said more forcefully, taking her free hand in his. She stopped talking, looking down at her coffee again. He glanced at the older gentleman sitting on the stool next to his wife who had obviously overheard their conversation, He gave Chandler a sympathetic smile, and motioned for him to take his seat. Chandler nodded and muttered a "thank you" as he sat down. Monica turned to face him, and he realized that whatever scenario she concocted in her imagination would be much worse than what actually happened.

"OK," he started nervously. "Yes…OK…something did happen."

She felt the blood drain from her face as her heart slammed against her chest, but she didn't say a word.

He ran his hand through his hair. Just get it out, he told himself.

"When…when we hung up after talking last Christmas she…she picked up that the conversation had been…tense," he painfully explained. "I told her that you thought something might…ah…might…happen between her and me. And, well, we were alone in the conference room and she…she…ah…grabbed my tie, started to back me up against the wall, and asked me if it would be so bad if it did."

Slut - that was the only word that came immediately to Monica's mind. Her heart was hammering in her ears. If she ever saw that woman again she would so kick her ass!

She swallowed hard, looking at Chandler, and asked, her voice thick with emotion. "And…?"

He looked at her like she'd lost her mind.

"And? And?! I told her no!" he said a little more loudly then he should have. She immediately looked away. He sighed and gently touched her chin with his fingertips and encouraged her to look at him.

When she finally turned to him again he continued softly," I told her I was happily married."

He took both her hands in his. "I told her my wife was beautiful and smart and that what we had was pretty great so nothing was ever going to happen between us."

She blinked back tears she didn't know had formed in her eyes and let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She gave him a small, relieved smile.

"So…she wasn't the reason you came home?" she asked softly.

He thought about that for a moment before answering.

"No…and, yes."

She looked at him, confused. He chuckled slightly, his lopsided grin coming across his face.

"Ironically, it was something she said and nothing she did that made it clear to me what I had to do," he said, his eyes shining at her. "She said 'if what you have with your wife is so great, then why are you spending Christmas with me?' And I didn't have an answer. I just….I knew I was done missing you. I knew it was time to come home."

The love she felt for him right then threatened to make her jump her husband right in the middle of the crowded Starbucks. Instead she squeezed his hands and looked into his eyes, nearly in tears and speechless.

He squeezed her hands in response, searching her face, knowing that telling her what happened was exactly what he had needed to do.

"Mon, Tulsa seems like an entire lifetime ago to me," he said. "It was like one long, bad dream that I've tried to forget about, honestly. Seeing Wendy surprised me and I never expected that I'd be introducing you two, but it was like seeing a bad part of the past. I hated leaving you every week, I hated that job, I hated the stress it created in…so many ways…"

They both knew the other was thinking about their inability to conceive during that tense time.

"And now," he said, smiling, stroking her cheek. "I'm with you, working at a job I love, shopping at Christmas for our baby. Our future is the only thing, only thing, that I can see. And I love it, Mon. I love you."

"I know, oh…" Her voice caught in her throat. She reached over to hug him, then softly kissed him, a tear escaping her eye. "Chandler, I know. I love you too, you will never know how much. I know. I'm sorry I got…upset. I know, I know there was no reason to."

"I probably should have told you…" he started.

"No," she shook her head, placing a finger on his lips. "I trust you, always. Let's, let's just drop this and go home. I'm sorry."

They smiled at each other and stood up to leave. He grabbed their bag and a thought struck him. He chuckled to himself.

"What?' she asked with a smile.

"Oh, it's…ah…" he said, unsure whether he should mention it since they seemed to have moved past the tension, but he was pretty sure she would appreciate it.

"You know what my first thought was when Wendy came onto me?" he asked.

"Um…do I want to know?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as they made their way out the door.

"She had stolen this ham - it's a long story," he said, with a wave of his hand. "But my first thought wasn't 'what is she doing?' my first thought was 'you're getting ham on my only tie.'"

Monica burst out laughing.

"Oh my God!" she said, smiling up at him, hugging him as they walked along the sidewalk. "You really are mine!"

He smiled down at her. "That I am, babe. That I am."