"How is he?" Monica asked as Joey walked through the kitchen.

"A little better, I think," Joey said, giving her a quick hug. "He ate dinner and…stopped drinking beer."

Monica nodded and glanced in the direction of the balcony.

"What happened?"

"Apparently she was with someone else when he got there," he whispered.

"She was cheating on him?" Monica whispered fiercely.

Joey nodded.

"Oh God…"

"Yeah," Joey said as he started to make his way out of the apartment.

She grabbed his arm.

"Thanks for calling me, Joey," she said.

"I know," he smiled sadly and then he left.

"Hey," she said as she climbed out onto the balcony. Dusk had fallen over the city, casting a soft orange glow on the nearby buildings.

He turned and looked at her, smiling a little.

"Sorry you were roped into my tale of woe," he said before taking another sip of YooHoo. "I told them not to bother you."

Choosing to ignore his last comment she smiled, relieved that he wasn't so far gone that he couldn't joke, at least a little bit.

She pulled up a lawn chair next to him and sat down.

"I'm sorry there is a 'tale of woe,'" she said. "What happened?"

He was quiet for a long moment.

"Me," he finally said. "I happened."

"What?"

He sighed.

"I…I pushed too hard…thought too much too fast," he said, looking out. "I…it did happen fast…."

Monica looked at him, confused.

"I don't understand, Chandler," she said softly.

"She didn't want what I thought she did," he said. "She wasn't…she didn't want to plan a future. Not with me, anyway…"

Monica was quiet, giving him time to explain. His head dropped and he looked down.

"She said she moved in with me because she needed a place to stay," he said, quietly, emphasizing the last words, his voice shaking just a bit.

She was taken aback.

"She said that?" Monica was incredulous. "She actually said those words?!"

"Yep," he said, setting the bottle on the floor, standing up and walking over to grip his hands on the balcony stone, trying to keep his emotions in check.

Damn, he thought.

He knew if he saw Monica he'd start telling her more than he told anyone else. And he wasn't sure he could keep himself from crying again if he did.

But he started talking anyway.

"I was waiting outside the backstage door," he said, quietly going into the details no one else knew. "She didn't see me. Then he, this guy Nick, came out and…"

She stood up and joined him by the balcony edge.

"They were together," he said, feeling the tears threatening. "I…we…I went to her hotel….room…and we…got into a fight."

She put her hand on his back as he took a deep breath.

"She said we were … moving too fast," he said, starting to gesture with his hands. "I told her what I wanted and she said it wasn't what she wanted and then…"

His voice caught and Monica thought she was going to cry.

"And then…" he took another breath. "I asked if it was because of that…guy…Nick...and...and that was it."

"Oh, Chandler," Monica said quietly, looking at his profile as he stared out. She could tell he was trying his best not to breakdown.

"I thought…" he started again, then shook his head. "Ah…doesn't matter. It wasn't what…I'm not what…who she wanted. It wasn't enough. I…I'm never enough."

She pulled his shoulder and turned him toward her to make him look her in the eyes. Tears were pooling in his and he was breathing hard, trying to hold them back.

In that moment she could have killed Kathy for putting him back in this place - where he was a couple years ago - where he believed he wasn't worthy, that he was going to die alone.

She cupped his face in her hands and, involuntarily, a single tear fell from her own eyes.

"You listen to me Chandler Bing," she whispered. "She is a fool for…hurting you. You…you were offering her the world…"

He tried to turn away, her gaze at him was too intense.

She held firm to his cheeks, trying to make him hear her.

"You are a wonderful man…and someday…" she said softly.

He scoffed, rolling his eyes a little.

"No…" he whispered.

"Yes…" she whispered.

"No…"

And she pulled him toward her and kissed him. It was a gentle kiss from a friend, intended to affirm to him that he was worthy of love.

She moved to break away and instead he crashed his lips back onto hers, pulling her to him - one hand in her hair holding her head, the other on her waist.

Somewhere in her brain she knew she should pull away, but blood started to pulsate rapidly through her body as his lips opened more and his tongue found hers.

And hers found his…and she pulled him closer.

She could feel his heart pounding hard in his chest as she pressed her body against him, her arms circling his neck.

Their lips were desperate, hungry to find each other.

Then as quickly as it began, Chandler abruptly pulled away, a look of panic on his face.

"Oh my God, Mon, I'm sorry…" he said breathlessly, stumbling slightly, putting the back of his hand to his lips.

It took her a moment to register what had happened and her face turned crimson.

Her heartbeat was going wild.

She looked up at him. His eyes were closed, a pained look on his face.

"No," she said, trying to catch her breath. "No…it was my fault…"

"Mon..." he took her hand and looked into her face. His eyes boring into hers. She stared back at him.

Then they heard the front door close.

"Chandler?" Rachel's voice called.

They looked at each other then took a step back away from one another.

"Out here, Rach," he called back, his eyes never leaving her face.

Rachel came to the window.

"Monica?" she said. "Hey."

Monica cleared her throat.

"H…hi," she said, not meeting Rachel's eyes.

"She…ah," Chandler stammered. "Joey called her…when, ah…he went back to work."

"Oh, good. Ross stopped to get us coffee, but he'll be up in a minute," Rachel said, totally unaware of the tension between her friends. She looked at Chandler. "We left kinda early. Are you OK?"

"Yeah," he said. "Yes, better."

He glanced at Monica. She gave him a small smile. He gently smiled back.

"I…I better go now," Monica said, making her way to the window and climbing through.

"OK," Rachel said, moving out of the way. "Chandler, please stay here tonight, OK? The guest room is all set up…"

He just nodded, still looking at Monica.

She glanced back at him as Rachel walked her to the door.

"He seems better?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, yeah I think so," Monica replied, her mind racing as fast as her heart.

Just then Ross entered with the coffee.

"Hey," he said.

"Ross, can you go down with her to get a cab? She's headed back home," Rachel said.

"Sure, just let me put the coffee down."

"I'll wait in the hall," Monica said.

She walked out to the hallway then leaned heavily back against the wall, closing her eyes.

She brought her fingers to her lips. She could still feel his kiss there.

And her heart was still racing.

And out on the balcony, as he slumped back onto the lawn chair, so was his.

He put both hands over his face.

"Dammit…" he shuttered.

NOTE: Thank you so much for your reviews! Strap in, it's gonna be a long ride ;)