Phase Three

Chapter 12: The Consequences

~.~

Sorry for a bit of a delay with this part…moving really sucks, especially during the school year!!! However, I am sitting out on my ginormous balcony with my puppy while I'm writing this, listening to the cars on the highway about half a block away, waiting for the beautiful view of the sunset we get here in-between the buildings. So, moving sucks, but a new, awesome apartment is worth it!

~.~

Monica came down the stairs from her apartment, planning on hanging out at Central Perk while she waited for Rachel to get home. She had taken the day off, not sure how Rachel was doing since she hadn't talked to her since the night of Ross's wedding. And, in all honestly, she wanted to talk to Rachel about what had happened in London with Chandler and how awkward everything was right now, just needing to get it off her chest. As soon as she opened the door and headed down the street, though, she saw Chandler getting out of a cab. What was Chandler doing home in the middle of the day? It was too late for lunch, but too early to be home for the night.

And then Rachel stepped out as well, taking his hand, Chandler grabbing her bag with his free hand. Monica froze, watching the two, who were obviously flirting. And then Rachel leaning up against him. And Chandler kissing Rachel. Monica's heart sank. More kissing. Talking. Flirting. Monica's hand flew up to her mouth, realization setting in. This wasn't new. This was something that had been going on.

"Oh my god," Monica whispered out loud, turning quickly and heading back to her apartment.

~.~

Chandler continued grinning as he practically ran up the stairs to their apartments, trying Rachel's door first, which he was pleasantly surprised to find already unlocked. However, his smile faded completely when he saw Monica leaning up against the counter in the kitchen, arms crossed, eyes red. When she met his eye, he immediately knew that she knew, but had no idea what to say to that.

"You're off work really early?" Chandler finally offered, quietly.

"I took off after the lunch shift to see Rachel when she got home," Monica replied, wiping at her eyes. She shook her head as he walked closer. "Don't."

"Mon-"

"Don't 'Mon,' me," Monica moved away from him.

"You weren't supposed to find out like this-"

"Oh, really? Is that why you two were making out right outside Central Perk, where none of us ever go?" Monica snapped back. "Asshole," she pushed against his chest when he unsuccessfully tried to move closer to her again. "So, what the hell is that? How long has that been going on? Did you cheat on her with me? God, Chandler, what is wrong with you!"

"It's not like that, okay," Chandler tried to explain, but she again cut him off.

"Then what is it like?" Monica crossed her arms. "Oh my god, what happened, that night after Ross's wedding? What did I walk in on?"

"Oh my god, just let me talk!" Chandler finally yelled back. "I'm finding that's my biggest problem. For all that I talk, I never really say anything. So, please, just let me talk," he finished, quieter, and Monica nodded silently. "It's been going on since right after Kathy," he started, and Monica's eyes widened.

"So, when I said you guys were spending so much time together," Monica whispered, and Chandler nodded. "Then why did you lie to me? Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I-I don't know. We were trying really hard not to be together, but it just…didn't work."

"So, what, you did cheat on her with me?"

"No! No, we broke up before London. Pretty much because I'm a complete asshole, but you know that. Maybe you guys can talk about that when she gets back," he unsuccessfully attempted a joke.

"Then what was I?" Monica asked, again wiping the tears from her eyes before they could fall. "I thought we had something. I thought, I always thought," she trailed off, trying to stop crying. "I always thought…there was something here," she motioned between the two of them.

"Me, too," Chandler answered honestly. "I was always just waiting for something to happen. I always thought there were so many times when we could've…" he trailed off, not wanting to make it worse. "But, less than a year ago, you shot me down…"

"At the beach? I thought you were just messing around.

"Probably about 80 percent messing around, 20 percent serious," Chandler joked, but then sighed. "Sorry, I'm not trying to put this on you, and, I know, it probably makes it harder to hear that I always thought something would happen with us, too. And, god, you have to understand, I never saw this thing with Rachel coming, and we tried really, really hard to stop it, but," he paused, taking a deep breath, "I love her." Monica nodded, no longer attempting to cover the fact that she was crying. "I never, never meant to hurt you, Monica," he said softly, and she finally let him move closer without moving away. "I would never do that to you. You're the last person in the world I'd want to hurt."

"I know," Monica nodded, wiping the tears from her cheek.

"I'm so, so sorry, Mon," he continued, stepping forward to hug her, and she let him, pulling back slowly after a couple of seconds. "I'm sorry," Chandler repeated quietly, almost pleading, and Monica again only nodded. He had been prepared for Angry Monica when she found out. Sad Monica he had not been prepared for. He'd gotten used to fixing her broken heart when it came to other guys throughout the years, but what the hell was he supposed to do when he was the one standing there stomping all over her heart?

"Hey, I got you coffee, too!" Rachel giddily came into the apartment, setting the two cups on the counter before removing her jacket. "Gunther was acting really," she turned around, stopping suddenly at the scene in the living room, "weird," she finished in a whisper, making eye contact with Monica.

~.~

"Hey Gunther," Ross greeted Gunther as he walked up to the counter, having just passed Rachel as she left with two coffees. He had only asked her briefly about Greece, deciding that since she was leaving with two coffees and seemed to be in a hurry, she must have somewhere to be. "Just a black coffee to go."

"I don't know how you do it," Gunther mumbled, shaking his head.

"Do what?" Ross asked slowly, confused. "Drink black coffee?"

"Watch her date other guys," Gunther said, nodding towards the door Rachel had just walked out, before turning his back to get Ross his coffee.

"Well, we broke up, like, two years ago, and I just got married, so," Ross shrugged, pulling out his wallet as Gunther handed him the cup. "I think it's safe to say we're allowed to see other people…."

"Yea, but watching her with one of your friends? Isn't that weird?" Gunther asked, reaching for the money Ross was handing him.

"Wait, what?" Ross grabbed his hand back, still holding onto the money.

"Rachel and…god, the tall one. I always get Chandler and Joey mixed up," Gunther explained.

"Rachel isn't dating Chandler," Ross laughed, again handing the money to Gunther.

"Well, pretty sure they broke up for a while, but I just saw them out there," he pointed out the window. "Definitely back together," he nodded, handing Ross his change. Ross didn't take it, though, staring back in disbelief. Rachel had two coffees in her hand. Who was she in a hurry to go see? If her plane from Greece had landed less than an hour ago, how was she back without a suitcase already?

Unless…

"Keep it," Ross shook his head, motioning for Gunther to keep the change, before running out the door and up to Rachel's apartment, forgetting his coffee on the counter in the rush to find out if Gunther really did know what he was talking about.

~.~

"Mon, I'm so, so sorry," Rachel started slowly, walking over to Monica. "I'm so sorry. God, I don't even know what else to say…"

Monica nodded, fighting the tears in her eyes. "It's okay. I mean, I love both of you," she looked back and forth from Rachel to Chandler. "I want both of you to be happy…"

"Ohmygodyou'reabiggerpersonthanme," Rachel choked out in a high-pitched squeal as she moved forward to hug her, just as quickly as she spoke, now also fighting tears.

"Wellyou'remybestfriend," Monica replied in the same high-pitched squeal, and Chandler looked back and forth between the two girls, not sure how they were understanding each other.

"You'remybestfriendtoo," Rachel pulled back from the hug, still holding onto her hands. "I'm still sorry," she replied slower, having taken a breath to calm down.

"I'm sorry, too-"

"Chandler!" Ross burst through the door, cutting Monica off and causing all three of them to jump. "Do you have something to tell me, Chandler?!" Ross again yelled, running after Chandler, who attempted to move away from the girls, but only made it as far as the kitchen before Ross had him cornered by the sink.

"I-I," he stuttered, not sure what exactly Ross had found out about.

"What is with all of the yelling?" Joey asked, running into the apartment from across the hall. "Oo-oh, did Ross find out about you and Monica?" Joey asked Chandler, slightly quieter, but still loud enough that everyone heard him.

"Wait, what?" Ross asked, looking at Joey. "Wait, so you're dating Monica, not Rachel?" he turned back to Chandler.

"No?" Chandler replied, not sure how to answer that.

"Wait, Joe, how do you know about that?" Monica asked Joey, not too thrilled that everyone had somehow found out about the night they had both promised not to tell anyone about.

"Well, I came back to our hotel room the night before the wedding and saw you two sleeping there, so I just left, and figured you guys would tell us if you wanted us to know. But, if it's all out in the open now…"

"You slept with my sister at my wedding," Ross turned back to Chandler, who nodded. "Wait, but you answered 'no' to my last question," he paused, and Chandler didn't respond. "So, you slept with my sister at my wedding, and you're dating my ex-girlfriend, and the timeline of all of these events overlaps?"

"Technically," Chandler finally choked out, and a second later, he felt Ross's fist hit his eye, and he stumbled backwards, grabbing for the kitchen counter as Ross stormed out of the apartment. "I probably deserved that from someone," he mumbled, grabbing at his eye and wondering when Ross had learned how to hit like that.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Rachel asked, rushing towards him, Monica grabbing an ice pack out of the freezer.

"Du-ude, when did Ross learn how to punch?" Joey asked, moving forward as well.

"I should-I should go talk to him," Rachel said, and Chandler nodded, now holding the ice pack to his eye as he sat down at the kitchen table. Monica had walked away, going into her room to answer the ringing phone, glad for the excuse to leave the room.

"Dude, so you slept with Monica and Rachel?" Joey asked as he sat beside Chandler, and Chandler nodded with a sigh. "I so underestimated you, man," he laughed, slapping him on the shoulder. "But, seriously, Monica and Rachel? Rachel and Monica?" he asked again. "Rachel," he held up his left hand, "and Monica?" he held up his right. "What about…" he trailed off, putting his two hands together as he nodded with a grin. "If ya know what I mean?"

"No, Joe!"

"Well, neither girl seems to hate you now, so, dude, I would so try-"

"No," Chandler cut him off.

"It's worth a shot-"

"No!"

"Phoebe's in labor!" Monica ran out of her room, phone in hand. "She just beeped in on my call. She's on her way to the hospital. We need to go!" she hung the phone up, rushing over to the boys, who had yet to move. "Come on, people, move, move!"

"Right, because the cab ride to the hospital will surely take longer than the hours of labor she is about to go through," Chandler quipped, momentarily removing the ice pack from his already swelling eye.

Monica paused, turning to face him as she crossed her arms. "So, do you want two black eyes, or are you good with the one?"

"I'm good with the one," Chandler nodded as he stood up from the table, grabbing at Joey's elbow in an attempt to get him up as well before following behind Monica as she walked out the door.

"Twenty bucks says she hits harder than Ross anyway," Joey whispered, laughing.

Chandler nodded, whispering back, "Oh yea, definitely."

~.~

Um, if this chapter seems unsatisfying, it's because I had intended to have the next chapter and this one be one part, so a lot more actually gets resolved, but school and work and moving haven't left me much time to write (although I have a lot planned in my head), so I wanted to post something, and this seemed like a fairly logical place to stop. Hopefully I'll have the next part up soon, but I'm not making any promises.

Also, okay, so I kinda stole a joke from Matthew Perry at the end there. He was on the Kevin Pollak chat show a few months back, and people can ask 5 questions via twitter, and one person asked him Monica or Rachel. He answered Monica without even thinking, and then Kevin asked if that was him answering or Chandler. And Matthew was like, yea, I think that just feels like it should be my answer since she was my wife….but I think we both know the real answer to that question is both, at the same time. Cracked me up, haha, and I've been dying to have an insinuation of that since then. :) Just thought I'd share.

Anywho, review, please and thanks! :) I'll have the next part up as soon as I can! We're, like, two chapters away from being done. How exciting is that?!?!