Listen to Your Heart – Chapter Six

xx

Chandler was the first to abandon any thoughts that his past might create potential problems between him and Monica. Up until today he had been certain he wasn't ready for another relationship, but opening up to Monica had made him realize that his memories of Mary Angela no longer haunted him. Sure there were some bad memories tied up with her name, but there were also good ones. He was sure he was ready to move on. Monica's openness, willingness to listen and heartfelt responses had only made him more certain that she was exactly the woman he needed to help him move past his divorce.

He watched as she stared at the ring still on the floor of her apartment sadly, wondering if the last couple hours may have backfired on him. The experience had been perfect, both cathartic and comforting at once. It scared him slightly to think it, but he hadn't felt that close to anyone since Angie. The way Monica was acting, he had the distinct feeling that she was regretting everything that had happened between them. What he had perceived as the development of a bond between them, she had probably thought of as unleashing an emotional mess in her apartment

He stared at the back of her head, determined to right what he had messed up. Finally, after what felt like hours, Monica met his eyes. Chandler recognized the worry and nervousness in them immediately. Though it pained him to think she was upset because of him, he was also secretly pleased he could read her so easily.

"Monica," he stated, "I know what you're thinking… but don't. Okay? Trust me when I say I am over Mary Angela. I – I know it may seem like I'm not, especially with the way I was acting earlier, but, God, that's so not it. I'd – I'd never really talked about all those things, with anyone before and so it was all kind of bottled up, and came pouring out in one big mess… and I reall-"

Chandler was silenced, when Monica placed a finger to his lips, "It's easy for you to say that… but I was here, Chandler. I've never seen anyone so emotional. There's still something there, you can't talk like that about someone and not care about them. You just can't. I really care about you, I do, I'm just worried. I don't want to put my heart on the line and let myself fall in love with you, only to find you're still in love with your ex-wife."

Chandler shook his head smiling slightly, "I know it sounds stupid or crazy, maybe both, but I'm not. I haven't been for a long time. You helped me realize that, today. I was holding onto my memories, scared of what would happen if I let go. I'm not anymore. I know Mary Angela will always be a part of my life, I'll always have my memories, both good and bad, but I'm just not in love with her anymore. The only person I want to be with right now is you. Only you."

The beginnings of a smile were forming around the corner of her lips, "I want to believe you. God, I so want to. But how can you be sure? Look, maybe it's for best that you go." Chandler looked like he wanted to argue, but Monica shook her head, continuing anyway, "We both need some time and distance to clear our heads and make an unbiased decision about how we feel, without what happened today clouding our minds."

"Look," he suggested, "you don't have to decide right now, but know that I'm ready to move on… with you. I don't need any time to make my decision. We shared something unbelievable today," Chandler admitted, "and I'm not just talking about that kiss." They both smiled. "Feel free to take as long as you need to decide what you want to happen between us, if anything. I'll be waiting."

He stood up, and paused for a moment, before leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. Feeling suddenly brave, he leaned to kiss her gently on the corner of her mouth, as well. Not risking looking at her expression after he had done so, for fear of what it might tell him, he strode purposefully towards the exit, closing the door softly behind him.

xx

"I'm telling you, Joe," Chandler argued, leaning against the barstool in his best friend and former brother-in-law's apartment, "She seemed really torn. I think I could have totally messed this up!"

Joey smirked, sitting on the stool next to him. "Well you did break the dating rules, you know! No life stories before the second date," he explained knowledgeably, before looking up thoughtfully, "Though in your case you might be better off waiting until date fourteen in the future…"

"Gee, thanks, Joey," Chandler spouted sarcastically, "I know I can always count on you, for reassurance."

"You're welcome!" Joey smiled, earnestly, not catching Chandler's sarcasm. Chandler rolled his eyes, and flopped down on the counter in front of him, "What I am gonna do?" he groaned, "I cannot fall in love with this woman, only to get my heart broken! Again!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Joey exclaimed, "In love? Since when are you in 'in love' with her?"

Chandler scoffed, irritably, "I don't know if I am! It sounds stupid, but I think I might've started falling last week, and then earlier, well... she was so great, Joe! She held me and stroked my hair and for once I didn't feel like a huge idiot for being hung up on Angie. And best of all, I realized I'm actually not hung up on her anymore," he scoffed again, "Figures the day I get over Angie, I'd fall flat on my face in love with another one of them. Women suck."

"Hey, slow down there, bud," Joey butted in, "I'm not going to let you revert into Phase One. If you even think of breaking out your sweat pants, I'll kill you myself. Besides, speak for yourself, I happen to like women." He grinned deviously.

Chandler looked distracted. "Yes, yes, I'm very pleased for you. Tell me, is there a secret to not turning women off you like you have the plague? I think I seem to have inherited that particular gift," he moped, sarcastically.

Joey stared at him sternly, "I don't think that's the problem here, dude. Rachel said Monica was totally into you after dinner last week. Said she like, wouldn't shut up about you, for days. You can't just turn that kind of thing off with a little moaning about your life. You said Monica kissed you after you talked, right? She couldn't have been that turned off. Trust me, if a chick doesn't like you, no way is she gonna make out with you."

Chandler seemed determined to make the worst of the situation. "She probably felt sorry for me," he grumbled.

"Dude, you're so not listening," Joey argued, "You shoulda heard what Rachel said Monica told her. No way is that the case."

Chandler looked a little more upbeat, "That good? At the risk of sounding like a 13-year-old girl… what'd she say about me?"

Breathless from all their kissing, Rachel smiled briefly at Joey, before allowing him to pull her toward him again. For the last half an hour they had been lounging on his couch, her lying on top of him, alternating between kissing and talking, just comfortable being around one another, reveling in the nearness of the other.

"Mmm," she moaned as they finally broke apart minutes later, "You're good at that."

Joey grinned, though he'd heard that particular compliment dozens of times before, it never got old, "I aim to please," he explained.

Rachel just grinned back for a moment, before abruptly changing the topic. "Hey, have you talked to Chandler since Friday?"

Joey looked put out, staring at his girlfriend pointedly, "Rach, I wish I could say you were good at you know, 'stuff,' too, but putting the mental image of Chandler into my mind is so not helping."

Rachel swatted him playfully. "I don't think you need much help in that department," she teased with an arched eyebrow. Joey smirked. Though a lot of jokes whizzed right over his head, he was surprisingly intuitive when it came to sex. "Anyway," Rachel continued, "I was only asking, because he and Monica seemed to really hit it off at dinner. I was wondering if he said anything about her."

Joey shook his head sadly, hugging Rachel tightly as she laid her head against his chest, "No. He hasn't said anything about her. He hasn't really been in a good mood, at all, come to think of it," Joey scrunched up his face as he tried to remember Chandler's demeanor the last couple of days, "He seemed kinda mopey actually. He only really puts up a happy face for Michelle."

Rachel looked a little shocked, "Really? Monica's going nuts over him! It's really sweet, actually. She thinks they're soulmates. She said he was adorable and sweet and funny and… Well, there were a lot of 'ands.' God, you should have heard her, you'd think she was set to marry the guy or something! She actually told me that she thinks 'he's the one.' Isn't that sweet?"

Joey grinned, looking a little starry eyed, as his romantic side peeked out, "Really? That's so cute. Chandler's lucky! Monica's really hot!" Rachel slapped him again, looking mildly offended, but Joey quickly rectified his statement before Rachel could voice her frustration, "Not as hot as you, though!" Rachel kissed him in her appreciation, running a finger down his cheek.

Joey grinned crassly, "I'm happy for my boy! He so needs this! You know it's been nearly three years for him? I don't know how he does it!"

Chandler interrupted, offended, "Dude, you told her about my sex life!?"

Joey stared at him for a moment, clueless as to what he had done wrong. "What?"

Chandler rolled his eyes, opting to ignore what Joey had blabbed, "Nevermind. So, she actually said that? You're not just saying that to make me feel better about Monica?"

Joey looked at Chandler like he was crazy for a moment, "Dude, I couldn't act well enough to get a spot in a 'Noodle Soup' commercial, and you think I came up with this on the spot? Let's not get carried away here."

Chandler smirked, "It was a 'Soup' commercial, Joe." Joey only scowled sourly in response.

"I hope you're right about Monica, though," Chandler sighed, "God, I hope you're right. I know I told her I was cool with her taking as long as she needed to decide, but, as it turns out, waiting sucks."

Joey nodded eagerly in agreement, willing to forgive Chandler for his earlier misgivings, "I know! One time I had to wait in the line at Burger King for twenty minutes! It was torture."

Chandler couldn't help but laugh in response. "So you know how I feel, then," he managed with a straight face. Looking sulkily at the ceiling, he scowled, "This sucks."

Joey looked at him helpfully. "Well you can always ask Rachel for help. She so wants you guys together!" he divulged, eager to share, if it might make his best friend feel better, "She has a plan and everythi…" Joey trailed off, seeing the look on Chandler's face.

"What!" Chandler screeched, "What do you mean 'she has a plan?'" Joey cowered in response, looking sorry for ever sharing that tidbit.

"Oh crap," Joey muttered to himself, suddenly remembering what Rachel had told him: "Whatever you do, don't tell Chandler about the plan. Secrecy is key."

'So much for that,' he thought. Pretending he hadn't heard Chandler's shouted question, Joey moved towards the fridge, taking his time searching within it, pretending to grab something from the fridge to avoid Chandler's stares.

"Joey!" Chandler snipped, "I know what you're doing!"

Joey peeked out from the safety of the fridge cautiously, "What do you mean?" he questioned in his most innocent voice, coincidentally sounding even more guilty than before, "I was getting something to eat!" he snatched a random item from the fridge, holding it up triumphantly.

Chandler looked at him, amused, "You eat cheese strings? I thought you kept those over here for Michelle." Joey looked at the food he'd picked up, glaring at Chandler and ripping one of the individually wrapped pieces of cheese from the bunch, before tearing it open defiantly. Joey grinned inwardly, pleased that his food tactic had worked in diverting Chandler's attention.

"No, I love cheese strings! They're so much fun! You get to eat and have fun! I taught Michelle how to make a cowboy," Joey explained, realizing that in trying to cover one thing up he had inadvertently revealed another. He looked a little embarrassed, but that didn't stop him from tearing and twisting at his cheese, creating an image with it, before showing it to Chandler proudly. "Look what I can do!"

Chandler stared at it for a moment before he realized what it was, looking less than impressed with Joey's cheese creation, "You better not have showed that one to Michelle!" Catching the steely expression in Chandler's eyes, Joey was quick to defend himself, "Of course not! I do have some standards, ya know!"

Chandler smirked at him, "Right, this coming from the guy who makes," he hesitated, gesturing to Joey's cheese creation, "well, that, with a child's snack." Joey smiled slightly guiltily before shrugging.

A short silence fell, before Chandler asked, a little venom returning to his voice, "So… what plan?"

"Oh crap," Joey muttered, a second time, seriously having believed that he had successfully diverted Chandler's attention elsewhere. Seeing Chandler's hard stare was not easing, Joey sighed, deciding relenting was his best option. At least he'd live until he saw Rachel again…

"Joey," Rachel giggled. "I can't believe you'd say that! Don't you think it's romantic? You know, that he's holding out for the right person, since your sister left him? Maybe, you know, a certain brunette I happen to know and live with?" she hinted strongly, so that even Joey, as oblivious as he was, would catch her meaning.

Joey shrugged, a smile creeping onto his face, "You really want him and Monica together, don't you?"

Rachel nodded, running a hand through his hair. "I think they could be so cute together. Almost as cute as us," she kissed his nose, "He's exactly what she needs and vice versa. I'm not sure exactly what happened between them, I've not quite broken Monica on that yet, but they're both obviously hung up on one another. I'm pretty sure from the way that she's acting that he broke it off, though. I bet he's avoiding her because he's afraid of facing his feelings for her," she mused," but if they could just see one another again, I know everything would fall into place."

Joey looked at her a little dumbfounded, "How do you mean?"

Rachel's voice took on a dreamily quality, as she stared off into space, "It'd be so romantic. Their eyes would meet across the room, and their faces would break into big smiles, when they realized that destiny had brought them together. They'd walk slowly towards one another, too caught up in each other to notice anyone around them, and then, when they finally reached one another, they'd hug, and that would turn into a passionate but tender kiss, and they'd realize that–"

"Uh, Rach," Joey interjected, helpfully, "You know this hasn't actually happened, right?"

She looked at him, crossly, for interrupting her daydream about her matchmaking skills, "I know that! But wouldn't it be cool, if it did?" she hinted, adding when she saw Joey remained clueless to her implication, "Maybe, we should make it happen?"

Joey nodded, impressed with the idea, especially if it meant Chandler would stop sulking around and being such a killjoy, "How do we get them together, though? Chandler's always moping around now! He doesn't wanna do anything fun anymore! He won't even play foosball with me," Joey pouted.

Rachel paused in her thinking for a moment, "Hmm. Well, Monica said he works in the big office building across the street from her restaurant. She's been looking out for him among the guys who eat there for lunch everyday."

Joey nearly choked on his glee, "Yeah, the 'Weenies'! Chandler told me that story! He's been avoiding there, though."

Rachel looked upset, "What! You said he hadn't mentioned her when I asked!"

Joey shrugged, uncomfortable under her stare, "He hasn't!" he whined, "He just said that the restaurant people came up with that name and that he thought it was a bad idea to go to lunch with the 'Weenies'" he giggled, "again, because it would be awkward. He didn't say it was because he was avoiding her. I thought he just didn't wanna be called a weenie."

Rachel was quiet for a few seconds, a thoughtful look on her face, before she burst into a smile, announcing, "Okay, I've got plan, but I'm gonna need your help!"

"Yeah?" Chandler asked, in anticipation, as Joey finally got to the part in the story he was most interested in, "So what was the plan?"

Joey frowned at him. "What? You expect me to remember everything she says? Rachel talks a lot, you know!" he pouted.

"Well seeing as you were supposed to be involved in this great plan," Chandler drawled, "I would think you would at least remember it!"

Joey shrugged. "I remember I was supposed to pretend to be hungry and complain about it to you until you agreed to buy lunch for me," he supplied, looking at Chandler hopefully, clearly expecting praise for remembering his part.

Chandler just scowled at him in response. "Joey, that doesn't even make any sense! How would that get Monica and I to meet up again and 'fall in love with one another'?" Chandler asked, confused. "Besides, how is that any different from what you do every day?"

"Well," Joey considered, before smiling cheekily, "someone was actually telling me to do it, for a change. Why do you care so much about the plan, anyway?!"

"Well, seeing as you and Rachel were trying to run my love life for me through this clever little plan of yours, I think I have a personal interest in the matter."

"Dude," Joey complained irritably, "weren't you listening? This is Rachel's plan! I don't know anything. Don't blame me." Chandler rolled his eyes, for what he was sure was the twentieth time that day. He loved Joey, but the guy sure was frustrating…

Joey suddenly snapped his fingers. "Oh! I remember something else Rachel said!" Chandler stared at him plainly, not expecting much.

"–and Jenny Welsh from Marketing got dumped by her boyfriend last week," Rachel gossiped, "because they ran into her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend on the subway, and she was totally jealous of them being all cuddly, but now she's got another boyf–" Joey yawned, as he tuned out Rachel's seemingly never-ending stream of gossip, pulling her close to him, content to simply lay there with her warm weight pressing comfortably on top of him, as they cuddled on the couch.

A few minutes later, Joey was roused from his near slumber, as Rachel questioned him impatiently, "Joey? Joey! Are you listening to me? What was the last thing I said?" she challenged.

Joey looked up, a deer caught in headlights expression on his face, before venturing a guess, cautiously, "Uhmm… Jenny Welsh is a slut?"

Rachel, scoffed at him, muttering, "Lucky guess." Joey sighed in relief. "Anyway," she continued, "It seems like everyone has someone now. Well, except Monica. But we're going to fix that," she grinned, nudging Joey, who seemed dangerously close to tuning her gossiping out again.

"Yep," Joey agreed. "With the plan," he said, making sure his voice sounded ominous as he spoke the words 'the plan.'

"Yes," Rachel agreed, happily, "You are being such a good sport about this! I'm so glad you're my boyfriend." Muttering under her breath, she snipped, "Ross would have never gone along with this."

"You are so gonna be rewarded for this!" She declared.

A huge carnal smile engulfed Joey's face, "Yeah?" he questioned.

Rachel nodded, seductively, reaching down to kiss his lips, her hair falling in her face as she did so. Joey briefly considered that she'd never looked more beautiful, before his thoughts were overtaken by more pleasurable endeavors. His well-trained fingers swiftly found the buttons on Rachel's blouse, unbuttoning them as quickly as he could manage without seeming overeager. Within the minute her shirt was whipped onto the floor next to the couch. Her bra was quick to follow. Joey's hands roamed her body enthusiastically, and she returned his embrace with equal passion, as her hands reached for the zipper on his pants. She–

"Dude," Chandler interrupted, "how'd we go from talking about my problem with Monica, to you talking about having sex with Rachel?"

Joey ignored him, whining, "Dude, you didn't even let me get to the good part!" He smiled crudely, as images of Rachel in various states of undress floated through his mind, opening his mouth to speak again.

"No, no," Chandler stopped him, "that's okay. I think I've learned enough about you and Rachel today to last me clean through the rest of my life."

Joey huffed, a little miffed that his best friend wasn't willing to listen to his story, "But, dude, Rachel is so hot!"

Chandler gave that thought brief consideration before shaking his head, suddenly looking a little alarmed, "I think you and Rachel are great, and I'm happy for you guys, I swear. Just… please tell me you're not messing around, with her, okay, Joe? She's – She's Monica's best friend. I don't want Monica hating me. If she hated me…"

"Look, no worries, buddy," Joey assured him, "Rachel and I are serious. I haven't felt this way since Kate! We're cool. I know I mess around a lot, but Rachel's different than the girls I usually go for. She's hot, but she's cool, too. She's smart and funny and she doesn't think I'm stupid or tell me I'm wasting my life being an actor. She's totally into it! She even reads lines with me," Joey explained gleefully.

"That's awesome," Chandler agreed, genuinely happy for him. However his mind was on other things, "What am I gonna do?" he questioned Joey, banging his head on the countertop, "She's gotta think I'm insane."

xx

In the four hours since she'd asked Chandler to leave, Monica had cleaned her entire apartment, to try and settle her mind. Vacuuming the throw rugs hadn't made her feel any better. Neither had scrubbing the toilet. Even sorting out Rachel's 200 pairs of boots hadn't helped. She hadn't been able to think of anything but Chandler and the decision he'd left her to make. Half an hour ago, she'd given up on cleaning and taken to lazing on the couch, staring off into space as she finally allowing the thoughts to engulf her, trying to reach some kind of decision.

Monica sat up, startled, looking towards the door, from her position laying on the couch, as her roommate entered the apartment. Rachel immediately knew something was wrong, and rushed towards her.

"What's the matter, honey?" she questioned, sympathetically, as she sat down on the table across from her, "Did Chandler leave again?"

"No," Monica mumbled in reply, "I told him to leave."

Rachel seemed shocked. "What! Are you crazy? Why would you tell the guy you've been obsessing over for a week to leave!?"

Monica shrugged. "I just thought it might be better if we had some space from one another, before we made a decision about us. He wants us to be together. I thought I did, too. But he said some things that made me think and now I feel more confused than ever."

Rachel nodded sympathetically. She had a feeling she knew what was bothering Monica. She broached the topic carefully, "He told you about Mary Angela, huh?"

Monica's head shot up angrily. Her attention pulled away from where she had been absently tracing the patterns on the throw pillows, "You knew about that, too! Do you tell me anything any more?"

Rachel looked at her sheepishly, "Joey told me," she said guiltily, "but I didn't think it was my place to say anything. I considered telling you, for like a second, but I wasn't sure what to say. You needed to talk to Chandler about it, not me."

Monica sighed, leaning her head back against the couch. "We did. Talk, I mean. But, God Rach, I don't know what to do! I really, really like him," she admitted, "God, he's so sweet, and I know he could be perfect for me, if I let him… but he's got so much baggage! You should have seen how emotional he got talking about it!"

"Well, hun," Rachel smiled at her, motioning for Monica to scoot over, so she could take a seat next to her on the couch. "Joey said Chandler's never really talked about her leaving before," she explained, "After keeping silent that long, he's bound to get a little emotional. But what's important is that he did share this with you. He could have just as easily shut you out. But he made the effort. With you. Obviously he's feeling something for you."

"Yeah," Monica relented. "I guess. But what if he changes his mind later?" she wondered, her eyes wet, "What if he decides that he isn't over her? Or that I'm not the right person for him to be moving on with? I already feel so drawn to him, I don't want to fall further only to get my heart broken."

Rachel stroked a piece of her hair out of her face comfortingly, "Relationships end sometimes, hun, you deal with it and you move on. You'll never know if you don't take that chance though."

Monica sighed and nodded, "I guess. He said he was definitely over her, and that he cared about me, a lot. He made it clear he wanted to be with me. But…"

Rachel looked at her perplexed, "But…?"

Monica took a deep breath, feeling guilty for her next thoughts, even before she voiced them, "But it's not just about him being able to move on! He's a father! … he already has a child! She's amazing, don't get me wrong. I just – I'm not sure if I want to be part of a ready-made family. I don't know if I want to date someone who already has that responsibility! Imagine the strain that could put on a relationship!"

Rachel waved her concerns off, swiping at the air, as if she were literally pushing them aside, "Single parents have relationships all the time! Besides," she pointed out rationally, "Richard had kids."

Monica eyes darkened as her mind went to their breakup. She nodded reluctantly, "Yeah, but that was different. His kids were already grown up. Anyway," she muttered, "look how that turned out! He decided he'd already had kids and didn't want any more with me! I want to have my own kids and experience being pregnant. I didn't settle with Richard, and I won't settle with Chandler, either. I need the white picket fence."

Rachel looked at her sternly. "Chandler isn't Richard, Mon! Richard was old!"

Monica glared at her, spitting sarcastically, "Yeah, thanks!"

"Sorry, sorry. But my point is Richard and Chandler are different people! What makes you think they're going to act the same way?"

"I don't know," Monica replied, meekly, "but what if he does decides he doesn't want kids with me?"

"Did Chandler ever specifically say he didn't want any more kids?" Rachel questioned her roommate.

"No," Monica answered, reluctantly.

"Then that's not going to happen," Rachel insisted, "Based on what you've said, Chandler's obviously crazy about you. He's willing to get over his fears for you. If he knew how much this meant to you, he wouldn't take that opportunity away from you. You were born to be a 'Mommy.' We all see it, Mon. Besides, have you seen that man with his daughter? He loves her so much. He wants more kids, Mon. Trust me on this one."

Surprised, Monica stared at her, "You've seen him with Michelle?"

Rachel nodded, "Yeah, I went 'round to Joey's to hang out, and they were there. They were so cute together. We played hungry hungry hippos with her for a bit," she grinned, "at Joey's insistence. He seemed to enjoy it more than she did."

A smile spread across Monica's face. "Yeah, she's so adorable. I hope my kids are that cute. Chandler has done such a great job with her, too. She's so smart! She held an actual conversation with me! Hard to believe she's only three…" Rachel nodded in agreement.

"I'm not sure I want to be a stepmother, though," Monica added, "Having a step daughter was never a part of my dream family."

"Mon, what are you talking about? You love kids! And did you just hear yourself a minute ago? You spent five minutes with her, and you're already in love with that little girl!"

"What if she ends up hating me, though? I don't want her to feel like I'm trying to replace her mother. You know how it is! When your parents broke up, and your Dad started dating that new woman, you hated her for keeping your parents apart! I don't want to be that woman. I can't replace Michelle's mother, and I don't want her to hate me for trying!"

Rachel nearly choked on her laugher when she realized what the real source of the problem was, "This isn't about how you feel about her at all! It's about how she's going to feel about you! You want her to like you!"

When Monica looked down guiltily, Rachel knew she had guessed right. "She's three, Mon, she's not going to hate you. She probably doesn't even remember her mother! She going to love you for you."

Monica still seemed unsure. "But what if down the line-"

"No," Rachel interrupted, "You'll be the only mother she's ever known. And Mon, you'll be a damn good one, too. You're a natural mother."

"Why does this have to be so complicated?!" Monica complained.

"It's not. You're just making out to be that way. It's actually very simple. You like Chandler. Chandler likes you. Michelle is going to love you, and you'll all live happily ever after! What's so complicated about that?"

"Well when stories start with 'once upon a time' and end in 'happily ever after' they never seem complicated, Rach!" Monica mocked her friend's romantic vision, "This isn't a fairytale! What if Michelle doesn't like me? I could just as easily become the wicked stepmother!"

"Not going to happen!" Rachel asserted, "This insecurity is not a reason to blow him off! Think of it this way: if there was no Michelle, only an ex-wife, would you be so hesitant?"

"No," came Monica's whispered reply, "I'd want to at least try."

"Then you have your answer," Rachel explained, "Chandler and Michelle may come as a package deal, but you're gonna be all the more loved for it. They're both going to adore you as much as you do them."

Monica considered Rachel's words for a few moments, allowing them to sink in, before she nodded in agreement, "You're absolutely right, Rach," she agreed, grinning and hugging her in thanks for her help, "I think I need to talk to Chandler…"

xx

Yay, another new chapter :)

I hope the little bit of Rachel/Joey in here will meet the satisfaction of all of those who've been wanting to see more of them. More goodness for both couples is on the way :)

Sorry it's taken me a bit longer than usual to get this up and posted. I've been busy with coursework, swamped with several assignments due each day the last week. As a huge procrastinator that didn't work out so well for me :P Anyway, now with the weekend, I'm back on track, free to continue writing more fun stuff. This is the last chapter I have pre-written, so from now on chapters may be coming a little bit slower, depending on how long it takes me to get around to writing, and then actually complete the chapter. Thankfully, I have a good friend who has promised to be on my ass and make sure I actually do get around to it, preferably sooner than later :P

As always, feedback motivates me, too, so I'd love to hear what you have to say about this chapter or any suggestions for future chapters in a review :)