Remember English is not my native language, I hope the translation is correct, I check it, but sometimes I miss some incorrect, sorry.

I repeat, I am not the owner of the characters, I only rely on them for the sheer pleasure of practice writing stories without any economic interest, and these two characters inspire me.

Chapter 2: Doesn't Appear

Chandler didn't sleep all night, and Ross barely slept.

In the morning they went to the police headquarters, but they had no news, they had searched until the power went out, and this morning they had started again in another sector.

"Ross, we're going to make posters with her photo, there must be a printing press around here, someone must have seen it" say Chandler

When they had the posters in their hands, they began to paste them on the lighting columns and asked the merchants to put them in their windows.

Lieutenant Bronson told them that they had communicated with 25% of those attending the congress, but none of them had her present. Four Burlington neighbors had even attended, but none had had any interaction with Ms. Bing.

"Chandler, why don't we look in the nearest cities? Maybe she decided to go to one of them and had a mishap, we can take the posters and stick them up," Ross asked.

It seemed like an excellent idea to Chandler, his brain was so clouded that he couldn't think or have ideas, this one from Ross seemed perfect.

They rented a car and began little by little to explore nearby towns, they decided to go to two or three a day, Essex, Colchester, Richmond, St. George, Jericho, Charlotte, Williston, Sheibum and several others, all within 20 to 30 miles from Burlington

They talked to the inhabitants, they left brochures with the search, but nothing appeared. As they traveled from one town to the other, they kept watch on the side of the road in case they found any indication, but there was nothing either.

The police continued the search, however, there was no news.

It had been almost 12 days since Chandler and Ross had arrived in Burlington, and Lieutenant Bronson advised them to return to NY, he assure them that they will continue searching and tracking, but they needed to return home, be with their families, stay in Burlington was not going to deliver.

Lieutenant Bronson assured them, and made a personal commitment, that he would not stop looking.

Ross ended up convincing Chandler that the lieutenant was right, there were no traces and no matter how much they stayed, he couldn't do much more.

"Chandler, I understand your desperation, your need to be here, it's also mine, but you have to think about Erika and Jack, they need you, they can't lose both of their parents, you have to be there for them, their mom can't it is, therefore, you have to be with them to help them understand"

Chandler ended up giving in, and they returned to NY.

The environment there was not the best, Jack had a decompensation and they had to admit him, it did not come close to being a heart attack, they had to put two stents on him, Judy was devastated, and while she tried to stay strong and hopeful in front of Jack, she cried through the corners -

Rachel and Phoebe were not only devastated by his missing friend, they were also worried and scared for Chandler's physical and mental health, they knew that this blow would sink him, Monica was everything to him. -

A few days before the return of the brothers-in-law, Joey had arrived from Los Angeles to try to support his friend, although he did not know how he was going to do it, this would destroy his brother.

While Chandler remained silent, his eyes on his hands or space, lifeless, Ross told them everything the police were doing and everything they had done.

Now we just have to wait.

The next two weeks Chandler's mood and character was a slide, going from total silence, from indifference to the children, to scolding and yelling at them for nothing.

The children were sad, fearful, they did not understand why their mother did not come back and why their father treated them like this.

In addition, Chandler every other weekend traveled alone or with Ross or Joey to Burlington to check on the investigations, since he thought his constant presence would not let them forget the case, and also returned, for the umpteenth time, to tour the surroundings and towns leaving new posters, hundreds of posters.

Phoebe decided to intervene, although at the beginning of their friendship she had always been less empathetic towards Chandler, over the years their friendship had grown stronger and softened.

Phoebe asked Rachel to come with her, and together they showed up at Chandler's house.

Chandler was in a bad mood those days and he was surprised to see his friends, and with a bad tone he told them "What are you doing here, why do you come..."

Then Phoebe spoke up, "Chandler, we're all devastated by what's happening, we all love Monica."

Chandler made an annoyed face, not wanting to hear the obvious.

Phoebe continued without giving importance to Chandler's attitude... "And even if you don't believe it, we all know what you're going through, we all know how much you love Monica, we know that she is the center of your life, and that this situation is killing you... in life"

"But not even your anger with fucking destiny…. nor living in uncertainty…. which is maddening… they must be feelings that affect your children…"

"Jack and Erika are only 3 years old, they don't know what happened to their mother, and their father is so angry that it surely leads them to think that what is happening is their fault"

Chandler looked up and met her eyes, for the first time since they'd arrived.

"How many times have you told us about the pain you felt as a child when you thought that your parents' divorce was your fault…"

"Chandler, I know it's difficult, we all understand it, and maybe our unconditional support isn't enough to help you, you need to go to the doctor, you're getting thinner, you barely eat and you can't keep what you eat, you don't sleep, and when you do you have nightmares, we know because Joey hears you scream…. If you continue like this you are going to get seriously ill and the ones who are going to be left without a mom and dad are Jack and Erika, I know you love them as much as you love Monica, no matter how devastated you are, you cannot afford to abandon them."

Chandler began to cry silently, his tears drenching his cheeks...

"Phoebe, I don't know how to stop this pain from coming out of my pores, I need her, I'm terrified to think if she's suffering, if someone is hurting her, I can't stop thinking about it, and I hate myself for not being able to help her" Chandler said through tears.

"Chandler, none of us can help Monica, wherever she is, but we can help you and your kids, you need Monica and they need their dad. I don't expect you to have a cheerful dad by their side like before, but rather a loving, attentive dad who shows them at all times that he loves them no matter what."

Chandler was silent, as the tears continued down his cheeks... "I thought I could handle this alone, as I always did when something hurt me, but this pain, this anguish, this uncertainty is millions of times worse than anything that has happened before, Phoebe you are right, I have to do something to achieve some peace in my head, I have an obligation to be able to be together with the kids, I adore them, I do not want to hurt them, but my despair is such that I do not think normally "

"We know Chandler, we just want to help you think and try to look beyond us for help"

Chandler went to a doctor, they did physical studies and tests and prescribed some medications to calm his anxiety and relax his stomach.

He decided to go to a counselor, he did not want a therapy that would go back to past pain, he needed tools to cope with the current situation.

Anyway, he kept traveling every other Saturday, he couldn't stop doing it, he needed it, he felt that in that city he was closer to Monica

The months went by, the kids were in Kindergarten, and Chandler hired a baby sister to keep them company while he was at work…. Little by little, the counselor led him to have some peace. -

When Thanksgiving came around, Chandler asked Rachel to take the children to spend that holiday with them, he wasn't going anywhere, he had nothing to be thankful for, but he also didn't want the children to miss that holiday and be with their cousins.

They all tried to convince him that he should also meet with them, they explained that it was not a day for celebrations for them either, they would only meet for the children, but nothing beat him. He was left home alone watching family videos while tears ran down his cheeks. -

For Christmas they managed to get him to go with the children, since everyone told him to do it for them, that they would be happy with the gifts. But for New Year's Eve he decided that the three of them should stay at home, after dinner and bath he put the children to bed and went downstairs to the living room to read a book. When 12 o'clock was done, he went up to the children's bedroom, gave each one a kiss on the forehead, told them happy dreams and went to sleep, the year that was ending was the worst of his life, and the one that was beginning looked like it would be the same.

With winter in Vermont, Chandler reduced his trips to one a month, but he stayed Saturday and Sunday, driving between icy roads, the different towns and leaving posters of her. In all those towns they already knew him, and all the neighbors felt sorry for that man who did not stop looking for his wife.