Chandler grinned, his eyes lighting up excitedly, "we're here."

Monica looked out of the window and bit back a grin, "a theme park? Really?"

"Not just any theme park," his smile widened, "They have New York's largest rollercoaster. It has loops and sudden drops and everything!"

"Don't we like need a kid with us or something?" she teased.

"Well, I'm a big kid, doesn't that count?" he laughed, jumping out of the cab and holding out an outstretched hand. With a giggle she took it and let him pull her out. She looked up at the large gates as Chandler quickly paid the driver. He then took a couple of steps so he was behind her before sliding his arm around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder, "so?" he asked, "what do you think?"

"I'm surprised," she confessed, her hands coming to rest on top of his where they were settled on her stomach, "I wasn't expecting this at all! But I think it'll be fun, lots of fun; I haven't been to one of these places in years."

He placed a kiss on the side of her head, delighted with her response, "I figured it would be fun to get away from reality for a while and just enjoy ourselves. I would have taken you to Disney so you could yell at Donald Duck about his middle name but we would have to have gone for at least a couple of days and well, I figured our friends might have noticed we were gone. So I thought this place would be a good alternative and I can sneak you back home before you turn into a pumpkin and anyone notices."

"A perfect plan," she chuckled, "who knew you could be so sneaky?"

"One of my many hidden talents Ms. Geller," he grinned in response.

She raised her eyebrows at that, since she'd recently found a secret talent of his that she truly enjoyed, and couldn't wait for him to display it again. She bit her bottom lip in anticipation for their next kiss.

They stared at each other for a moment, his eyes dropped to her lips as if he could sense her thoughts. Eventually, he cleared his throat and offered her a cute little smile. "Come on," he finally stepped away, his hand finding hers and tugging her along.

Monica happily followed as instructed, joining the queues at admission. She understood why he brought her here; he was right, she needed to escape. She needed something to do. Something to get her mind off of Pete and the wedding that didn't happen and all the people she let down. Something to make her move on from Pete and to stop pushing down her obvious feelings about the man in front of her...who was bouncing with excitement...maybe he'd brought them here partly for himself too she concluded with a smile.

The queue moved quick and before she knew it they were through the turnstile and into the park. It was loud and exciting with a buzz in the air that just crackled. A vast contrast to the silent apartment she thought she'd be spending the day in. She loved it!

"So where do you wanna go first?" Chandler asked, unfolding the park map."I don't mind," she chuckled, loving this light-hearted boyish side of him. It had always been there, but she hadn't seen it much in the last six months. Maybe today was about healing both of them.

"Well, it's split over 4 zones."

"Zones?"

"Uh huh," he said excitedly, his eyes still on the colorful bit of paper. "this place is bigger than I thought, oh there's a water zone."

His excited blue eyes lifted to hers and she couldn't help but let out a laugh at his total enthusiasm. She couldn't remember seeing them so alive recently.

"So, where to first?" Monica asked with a wide grin.

"This is meant to be your treat," he pointed out, "what do you wanna go on?"

"How about something gentle first, you know, like a warm up, before we hit any of the scary stuff?" she suggested.

"Ok, sure," he shrugged casually, "anything in mind?"

She studied the brightly colored map for a moment before a grin came to her face, "yep," she grabbed his hand and started walking.

"You're not gonna tell me?" he asked amused as she dragged him along the yellow tarmac path which weirdly reminded him of the wizard of oz.

"Nope," she chuckled, "where would the fun be in that?"

He couldn't help but laugh, he was loving seeing her like this. Just relaxed and enjoying herself. He was so pleased that his plan was working already. His joy faltered somewhat as they came to a stop in front of her chosen ride.

"No way!" He deadpanned.

"Come on, you wuss," she teased, her white teeth showing.

"Wuss?" he questioned, "I'm not protesting because I'm scared! I'm protesting because it's...well, it's the teacups! Do you know what will happen to my reputation? They might take away my penis badge."

"No-one will find out," she promised chuckling, "this is my day right? I used to love the teacups ride. Please?"

Chandler looked down at her, her eyes sparkling, her teeth chewing her lip as she awaited his decision. How could he say no to that?

"Fine," he finally stated with an exaggerated sigh, "but on two conditions," she nodded, "I get to pick the next ride, and no one ever hears about this," he gestured to the incredibly unmanly ride in front of them.

"Thank you!" she grinned, pulling him into a hug.

"Would you please stop looking at that?" Chandler mock-groused over his burger.

"But it's cute," she laughed, looking down at the keyring in her hand once again.

Who would have known that the teacups would have had an official photo opportunity point; one that had an automatic camera that took your photo which you could buy after the ride. And of course she had insisted they buy the keyring version.

"It's not cute," he protested, "why couldn't we have gotten one from the rollercoaster. That would have been so much better...more manly."

"Because," she smiled, holding out the keyring for him to inspect, "it makes you look cute too. The fact that you'd take me on the teacups and that you even posed for the photo making a little heart from your hands whilst kissing my cheek...it's really sweet."

"God," he groaned, "sweet is so much worse than cute. I only did that pose because I didn't think you were actually going to buy it."

"I couldn't resist," she insisted finishing off her french fries. "So where to after lunch?"

"We should probably let our food go down for a bit. We could have a walk through the garden bit or the monorail track would be gentle."

She nodded in agreement and they finished off their food before leisurely strolling hand in hand to the section of the park which had the monorail.

"Wait look," Chandler grinned, tugging her in the direction of the games stalls he spotted. "I've gotta win you something."

"You don't have to do that!" she smiled, letting herself get dragged along.

"It's tradition," he protested.

"Only if it's a date," she pointed out and he paused, turning to look at her.

"Sorry," he swallowed, "is it too much? Cause I don't-"

"Chandler," she placed a finger to his lips, "it's all fine, better than fine. I'm having the best day and the best time with you. I know we aren't ready to date, and that my mind's all over the place right now, but I do know I'm liking this thing between us."

"Me too," he admitted with a cute, relieved smile.

"Good," she pulled him closer and their lips met. It was starting to feel weird how natural this all felt. How right it felt to hold his hand and kiss him and imagine this was a date...the first of many.

Eventually, they pulled apart and smiled at each other, "so," he cleared his throat, "are you gonna let me win you something at least?"

"You can try Bing," she chuckled, "but I think I'd be more likely to win you something."

"Challenge accepted, Geller," he grinned, a glint in his eyes; he should have figured her competitive nature would cause them to go down this route. "So choose the arena," he gestured around the various game stalls and machines.

"That one," she pointed towards to water guns, before practically running towards the stall, leaving Chandler smiling fondly and shaking his head. It was hard to believe that this time last week he thought he'd never have anything to laugh at again, yet here they were. He still didn't know what he'd done to deserve this twist of fate but he welcomed it, god, he cherished it.

"Move it, Bing!"

He chuckled, casually walking over to the stall and taking the empty seat next to her.

"So," he asked, scanning the game, "what do we have to do?" he had no doubt that she'd already read and memorized the rules.

"You have to aim the water gun at the targets," she gestured at brightly painted cut outs, "and you have to see how many you can knockdown in 60 seconds." She looked at him excitedly before raising her bright red gun ready.

He loved her enthusiasm over the most stupid little things. He dug in his pants pockets and located the required change handing it over to the disinterested teenager running the stall. The luminous numbers started to countdown from 3 then a buzzer sounded and they were away, jets of water spraying onto the intended targets.

It didn't take long for Chandler to realize that he sucked at this game. Glancing over at Monica's he could see she only had 1 target left versus his 6.

"Yes! Victory!" She gloated as her final target succumbed to the water stream, her eyes sparkling, "And with time to spare."

He looked at her and did what any man would...pointed his water gun directly at her and pulled the trigger, laughing at her indignant cry. A moment later the buzzer sounded and the water shut off.

"Chandler!" she protested as he tried to reign in his laughter but he failed miserably.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist," he chuckled, trying to pull her into a hug. She resisted. "Come on, let's just say we're even for the whole pictionary incident," he suggested with a shrug and she narrowed her eyes at him, although she allowed him to pull her into a hug. "It's only a little bit of water- it will dry out. It's not like you look like you're in a wet t shirt contest...which you'd totally win…" his mind drifted off thinking about it and she elbowed his ribs, hard.

"Hey!" she protested, "focus."

"Oh I was," he teased, laughing at the mock-glare she sent his way, "alright, alright I'm sorry."

She smiled, grabbing his hand, about to suggest they go find the monorail when they were stopped by the kid at the stall.

"Want your prize lady?"

Her eyes lit up and Chandler resisted rolling his and good naturedly went and stood behind her and she perused the stalls' offerings.

"Any preference?" she teased, "I did win it for you, after all."

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Want a cuddly bear?" she continued to poke fun at him, "or that fluffy unicorn is cute."

"Bite me," he grumbled and she laughed, knowing he was only playing around.

"I'll take that one," she pointed to the toy car, "there," she handed it to Chandler, "you'll look all manly carrying it around and you even have something to entertain Joey with later."

He continued to mock glare at her and she shoved the toy car at his chest and took his hand, leading him to the next ride.

Several hours later...

Monica held Chandler's right hand with her left and held an ice cream cone in her right. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had this much fun. She hadn't had a single healthy item to eat since the spinach in her eggs this morning at breakfast, and she hadn't ever felt this exhilarated, this excited to be away from...well, everything. A day away and Chandler is what her soul needed.

"Thanks for my ice cream," she said, looking up at him.

He grinned at her, dropping her hand and wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her up next to him. "You don't have to thank me," he said softly, "I told you that this is your day. I just want you to be happy."

She felt like a little kid who had gotten exactly what she wanted on her birthday. She held up the sweet treat in front of him, "try it. It's homemade and delicious." He leaned his head forward and when he did, she shoved it into his nose. She went into a fit of giggles as he began wiping the sticky substance off of his face with his hand, "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist," she said, just as he did earlier for the water gun incident. She was bent over, laughing, trying to stop. She finally did as they stepped out of the path next to the fence of the park, "aw, here. I have a napkin."

"Very funny," he mumbled, taking the paper from her and wiping his face.

She stepped in front of him, smiling as she put her hands on top of his, stopping his movement. "Give it back, I'll get the rest," she said, reaching for the napkin again. She took it from him and got the remaining ice cream off of his face. She threw the napkin and the last bit of the cone in the trash, turning back to him, gripping his forearms, "I'm sorry," she said, noticing his frown, "don't be mad at me."

He tried to fight the smile that came over his lips, but they both knew he wouldn't, couldn't stay mad at her long, "fine," he finally said, "but you owe me one."

She narrowed her eyes just a little and smiled as she leaned forward, kissing his cheek, then his other cheek, then placed her lips on top of his, letting them linger there for a gentle, sweet kiss. He moved his hands from her waist to grip her hips, smiling at her, "yeah, you're forgiven." Chuckling again, she leaned into his arms, hugging him tightly. He held her for a while until she backed up from him, looking into his eyes. "Are you tired?"

She took in a deep breath, "not really." Truthfully, she was tired. But she didn't want the night to end.

"There's fireworks right before the park closes, if you feel like staying."

Monica smiled, "sounds great."

He kissed her forehead and stood up straight, grabbing her hand as they walked to the open space of the park reserved for concerts and fireworks. "There's no picnic tables left, do you want to stand?"

She squeezed his hand, "I'm fine with the grass."

He smiled and led her to an empty space, sitting down first. He sat so that she she could sit in between his legs. She leaned back into his torso and he wrapped his arms around her. She sighed as that ridiculously perfect feeling washed over her.

There were people all around them, but it seemed like they were the only two people in the whole world. They talked about everything while they waited on the fireworks to start: about their friends, about the lunch with her parents, his parents, his work, way back when he'd had Thanksgivings with her family, just...everything.

God, it was so easy with him.

They both turned their heads when they heard a voice that was closer to them, right next to them, "I don't mean to bother you," an older woman said, "but I just wanted to say that you two are a very beautiful couple."

Both of them smiled, and Chandler hoped that one day soon that statement would be true, but for now, they were just friends. But to the rest of the world, as he sat here with his arms around her, he realized they probably did look like a couple.

He loved it, he loved her. And sitting here like this, talking nonsense, holding her, wasn't helping him to remember that they needed to take things slow, and that she was the one setting the pace for them. He was falling deeper and deeper into her.

He was about to answer the lady, but Monica did first, "thank you," he found himself nodding along, part of him thrilled that she hadn't corrected her.

"We're here with our grandkids," the woman continued, "and I have been watching you since you sat down. That sounds a little creepy, but you two remind me so much of me and my Walter." She waved behind her at the older man and two young boys who waved back at her, "We've been married for 53 years," she said, "and while not every second has been perfect, I wouldn't change a thing. I wish I would've married him the first time he asked me." The three of them chuckled.

"That's great," Chandler said, squeezing Monica's arm, "I hope I can make her as happy as your husband makes you."

Monica looked up at him, smiling, as their new friend continued, "I hope so too. Oh, I'll leave you alone now, I just wanted to tell you that." She bent over and patted Chandler's shoulder, "take care."

"Thanks." Chandler called as she walked back over to her family. He looked down at Monica, who was already looking back up at him. He winced, realizing she probably felt a little weird about what he'd said, "sorry," he said softly, "did I push it too far?"

She shook her head and leaned up, pressing a soft kiss to his lips, "no," she smiled, "it was very sweet."

He grinned, "I meant it," he promised sincerely, tightening his hold on her.

The lights in the park went out as the crowd cheered, the fireworks were about to start. They watched the display quietly, enjoying the different colors and explosions going off in the sky above them.

She jumped at a particularly loud bang and Chandler couldn't help but shift his gaze onto the side of her face. She was smiling in awe as the flashes lit up her face. A look of innocent wonder. She was truly beautiful.

"Aren't they amazing?" she asked, turning her head slightly, angling to look at him.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, "yeah," he wet his lips, "yeah, really amazing."

She held his gaze for a moment longer, letting the mutual shift in their relationship settle between them. Then smiling brightly at him she turned back to the display. With a soft sigh and a tug of a smile on his lips he returned his attention to the fireworks.

About an hour later, they were sitting in a cab again, his arm around her shoulders, her hands held both of his. She dropped them and sat up straight, turning towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled him down, kissing him passionately.

She only moved back when she ran out of air, leaning her forehead on his, "thank you for today," she whispered, cupping his face, "it was perfect." She remembered back to this morning, when she'd thought she had a day of loneliness stretched out in front of her. She'd been dreading it.

He smiled, "you're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it." He kissed her again, and again, wanting to get extra in before they weren't alone anymore. To memorize the feel of her lips, her taste.

Without question, he'd quit his job and take her anywhere she wanted to go every single day, just so he could spend time with her.

He couldn't get enough.