"And that's why it's called a "semi" circle," Phoebe said with confidence as she and Joey made the final turn on the landing toward his apartment.

"Oh…" Joey responded with a look of confused understanding. It was Monday night and they were getting ready to order a pizza and hang out until he had to head back to the "Days" set and Phoebe left to meet a couple massage clients.

Joey dug out his key and went to unlock the door when he realized it was already unlocked. He and Phoebe looked at the each other before he slowly made his way inside.

And there, sitting on his couch in the partial darkness of the shaded windows, was Chandler.

In sweatpants.

"Chandler…dude?" Joey said, as Phoebe turned on a light. They hurried over to the couch.

"Oh, hey," Chandler said, after a moment, as if just noticing that someone else was in the room. His eyes looked glassy.

"Chandler, what's wrong?" Phoebe asked, stroking his arm. "Are you OK? Why are you here?"

"In sweatpants…" Joey said, beginning to really get worried.

His best friend looked like he hadn't slept - he definitely hadn't shaved for a couple days.

"Oh, Kathy and I broke up," Chandler said in a matter-of-fact way, as if it had to have been the most obvious thing in the world to have happened.

"What?!" Phoebe said, looking from Chandler to Joey.

It was honestly the last thing either of them had expected - Chandler and Kathy had seemed happy.

"How?" Joey asked, confused. "Why?"

Chandler who had been staring straight ahead turned then and looked at Joey. The hurt in his eyes was obvious.

When he didn't say anything Phoebe started to speak, but then they heard the Gellers talking in the hallway having just come home from work. Phoebe stood and walked out the door.

Joey took the half-empty beer bottle out of Chandler's hand.

"I'm gonna get you some water and order a Joey Special," he said. Chandler just nodded.

"Guys…" Phoebe said when she saw Ross and Rachel outside their apartment door.

"Hey Pheebs," Rachel said, as Ross unlocked the door. She could tell something was going on by the look on Phoebe's face. "What's up?"

Ross, obviously anxious to get inside, shot his wife a panicked look as he opened the door.

"We gotta get ready for dinner with that museum board member, Rach," he said, tapping his foot.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I know, shush!" She turned her attention back to Phoebe. "Pheebs?"

"Chandler's at Joey's," she said, trying to keep her voice down. "In sweatpants."

Rachel gasped and Ross turned his head, fully engaged now in the seriousness of the situation.

"He and Kathy broke up," Phoebe said sadly.

"What?" Ross said just as Rachel said "no!"

"Oh God," Rachel whispered as she brushed past Phoebe and into Joey's apartment, Ross and Phoebe on her heels.

Joey was ordering food when they entered. Rachel quickly sat beside Chandler.

"Honey…" she said, as she took one of his hands in hers. He looked at her but didn't say anything.

Ross clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm so sorry, man."

"What happened?" Rachel asked, looking into his face.

A small, bitter smile came to his lips.

"The inevitable, Rach," he said, flatly, looking at her. "Just the inevitable."

On the other side of town Richard was in his study and Monica was cleaning up the dinner dishes.

They'd just finished another tense meal together.

She was not at all thrilled about the prospect of moving to Arizona, even part time, and had let him know it on Saturday when they drove home from her parents' house.

He had listened but hadn't let the subject drop. They'd been tiptoeing around each other ever since.

Finally it was added to the list of important topics they would discuss once they "got past the wedding" - his favorite phrase of late. Near the top of that list was another touchy subject - when they were going to start a family of their own.

She was drying the last of the plates and thinking of the "list" when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Mon?"

"Hey, Joey," she said with a smile.

Joey cast a nervous glance at the bathroom door of Ross and Rachel's apartment. They had all moved over to Apartment 20 when the pizza came. He knew he only had a couple minutes before Chandler would come out.

"Hey, I'm sorry to bug you…ah…listen, can you come over to Ross and Rachel's…right now?"

Noting his tone, she frowned. "What's wrong, Joe?"

"Chandler's here and I don't want to leave him alone," he said.

Monica's heart started to speed up.

"What's wrong, Joey?" she repeated, worry in her voice.

"He…he and Kathy broke up (he heard Monica gasp). Phoebe had clients and Ross and Rachel had to leave for some museum dinner," he said in a rush. "It's almost 8 and I have to get back to 'Days' tonight, but I don't want to leave him here by himself."

He paused for just a moment before adding.

"He needs you, Mon."

She closed her eyes and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.

"I'm coming," she said, taking off her yellow dish gloves as her eyes darted around the kitchen for her purse. "I'm leaving right now. Please stay with him until I get there, Joey. Please."

He let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, thank you," he said. "Yeah, I'll be here."

"OK, bye," she said. Then she hit the off button without waiting for a reply and hurried into Richard's study.

He looked up at her and knew something must have happened.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Chandler and Kathy broke up," she said, a little breathlessly. "That was Joey. He…he asked me to come over. Chandler's not … taking it too well."

He studied her for a moment. Her face was flushed and she already had one foot out the door, looking ready to take off at any moment.

"Of course," he said, standing up and walking over to her. He kissed her on top of the head. "I'm really sorry to hear that."

She half-smiled, half-grimaced and murmured "Me, too."

He followed her into the living room and watched as she grabbed her purse and made her way out the door without so much as a parting glance.

He went back to his study, pulled a cigar out of his desk drawer and lit it up. He watched as the puffs of smoke made slow circles toward the ceiling.

"Hey," Joey said as he climbed out the window to the balcony, YooHoo in hand. He had just taken a quick shower in his apartment. When he came back to Ross and Rachel's he panicked when he thought Chandler had left. Instead he found him sitting on a lawn chair outside.

Joey put his back against the balcony half-wall, facing Chandler and handed the bottle to him. He noticed that his friend looked a little better. A little food, and no alcohol for a few hours, had helped.

"Thanks," Chandler said quietly. "Joey, you don't have to babysit me, I know you gotta get to back to work."

"I know, I know, I'll leave," he said pensively, looking down at his shoes, and added, "um…as soon as Monica gets here."

Chandler shot him a look.

"Joey…" he said with a heavy sigh. "Man, I told you not to bother her. She's got enough going on right now, she doesn't need my crap."

"She's your friend, Chandler," Joey said. "I think she'd be pissed if we didn't call her."

Chandler slumped back on the chair, opened his YooHoo and took a swig, an unsettled look on his face.

The front door to the apartment flew open and Monica walked in. Joey spotted her through the big window.

"There she is," Joey said, moving toward the open window to go back inside.

Chandler remained seated, closed his eyes and swallowed hard.

NOTE: This is the first chapter title taken from a song - "Smoke Rings in the Dark" is a 15 year-old song by American country artist Gary Allan. It's one of my favorites from him and I've always loved the imagery in the song. The first couple verses, especially, reflect Richard and Chandler here I think. And, yeah, I can't wait to get some of the next chapters up so I wanted to post this one today. Told ya I was on a roll :)