The One After LA
A Friends Fan Fiction
Notes: This story is set in Spring 2006 after the end of the Joey spin off. Since this show never had a series finale for Season 2 . I had a few theories about what happened to him after the end of this series. Read on and find out.
It was mild March day in Los Angeles. Easter was around the corner. All of Joey's acting contracts in California were ending soon and he had no idea what he was going to do next. No other job prospects were on the horizons for him. His cell phone buzzed with an international number. He smiled knowing that it was Rachel and Emma calling.
"Hi Uncle Joey Happy Easter!" Emma squealed.
"Hi Honey Happy Easter to you too. Was the Easter bunny good to you?"
" Yes he was. I got a stuffed animal and a Cadbury Egg. . When are you coming back to Paris to visit? I really miss you."
Joey's heart broke,. He really missed Rachel and Emma. The long distance had been hard for him because prior to moving to LA he had been in Paris helping Rachel with taking care of Emma and had not dated anyone for two years. He was hoping to propose to Rachel the next time they saw each other."
"I'm hoping to come visit soon. Can I talk to Mommy?":
"Yes.:
"Hi sweetheart,: Rachel said.
:Hey Rach.".": Joey said The last time he had seen Emma and Rachel was two years before when her job at Louis Vittoun first started.
". How have you been?"
Joey sighed. "All my acting jobs have ended here and nothing new seems to be coming my way. I'm pretty depressed."
"Is your house in California on the market?:
"It will be pretty soon."
"Do you want to come back here and stay with us for awhile?"
Joey's face lit up. " You know I would love that. I miss you guys so much.
Chan and Mon also have that room above their garage for me I'll probably move in there eventually too."
"I saw a job listing here that would be perfect for you."
Joey's eyes lit up/ "Really? What is it?
"Remember when you taught Intro to Acting?"
" I do."
"There's a similar job at the adult education center."
""Great. When do I start?"
"Fall semester starts August 30th. Emma and I can come to New York after 4th of July to pick you up!"
"Have you talked to Phoebe lately?"
"No, I haven't, have you?"
Rachel let out a sigh. "Yeah, I have, I guess her marriage to Mike did not work out as anticipated. They are getting divorced."
"What? That's so surprising,"
"Yeah, I know. David is back from abroad so there's a possibility they might get back together."
"What is it?"
"Well Phoebe mentioned to me awhile ago that you guys agreed that you would get married to each other if you were not married by the time you were thirty five and that you shook on it. Do you still have feelings for her?"
Joey was shocked. "When did she say that to you?"
"Before she married Mike."
Joey was silent.
"Joey are you there?" Rachel asked.
"
Joey cleared his throat. " Yeah, I'm still here. I might still have feelings for her, yeah. Do you think she still has feelings for me?"
" She mentioned that she might."
Joey let out a low whistle. "Oh my god."
Rachel sighed. "This makes things even more complicated between us."
"Yeah, it does. I will have to give Phoebe a you mad at me Rach?"
Rachel sighed. "No, I don't think this should impact our relationship."
Joey decided to change the subject. " Are you able to come out here to help me with moving my stuff?"
"Yeah. we can come down in a few weeks. Do you have a lot of stuff to take?""
"I was thinking of shipping some of it to Chan and Mon's but still need to talk to them about it."
"How about you work things out with them and me and Emma will come to their place to pick you up?"
"Sounds like a good plan to me."
The call waiting indicator beeped.
"As luck would have it that's Chan on the other line. Can I call you back?:
"Of course."
"Hey Man, happy Easter. How's it going?" Chandler's voice came through the phone.
"Not great. All my acting jobs have ended and I have nothing new coming in."
"You know that you've got a place to stay here right?" Chandler asked.
"Of course. That's what I wanted to talk to you about Can I stay with you guys for a few months? Rachel and Emma are picking me up in mid July to move me back to Paris for my new teaching job."
Chandler let out a low whistle/ "Shouldn't you start looking for other jobs i n the meantime Joe?"
"I'm going to help with Rachel with raising Emma for a little while. I'll be in Paris for a few months. I'll be back at the end of the summer."
"Aren't you and Rachel together though?"
"No, not technically. We never got married."
"Are you going to propose?"
"Umm.. yeah... got something to work through."
"What do you mean?"
Rachel told me that Phoebe told her awhile ago that she has feelings for me. She and Mike just got divorced. David is back in town?"
Chandler let out a whistle. "Could this be anymore confusing?"
"It absolutely couldn't be"
"Have you spoken to Phoebe yet?"
"No, but I think we really need to talk to each other soon.
"How soon can you fly here?"
"Probably by the end of next week."
"I'll pick you up at the airport. The kids really can't wait to see you again. They miss their Uncle Joey."
"I can't wait to see you guys again. I've really missed you all. To be honest as much as I've loved working out here I've felt never felt more lonely."
"We've missed you too man. Can't wait to see you,"
A week and a half later Chandler met Joey at the airport with Jack and Erica in tow.
"Uncle Joey!" they squealed.
Joey got down on one knee and opened his arms. I can't believe how much I've missed you two. You are getting so big!:
Jack and Erica squeezed their uncle tightly. "We missed you too. We're happy you're home." Erica said.
Joey's heart was so full. "I'm happy to be home too. he whispered.
Once they good back to the house Monica met them at the door.
"Hi honey, welcome home. We're so happy you're back." Monica kissed Joey's cheek.
Joey had tears in his eyes. "I'm happy to be back."
"Jack ,Erica do you want to take Uncle Joey upstairs to his room so he can unpack?" Monica asked.
The two children nodded. "Okay,Mommy. Come on Uncle Joey let's go!"
Monica noticed that Joey was quiet throughout dinner and as they were cleaning up she patted his shoulder. " You look so sad. I thought you were happy to be back."
"Oh don't get me wrong. I've missed you guys so much and I'm happy to be back."
Monica looked at her friend with concern. "You can tell me anything."
"Can we go upstairs? I don't want the kids to see me like this."
Monica nodded. They went upstairs to Monica and Chandler's bedroom and Monica shut the door behind them."
Joey sat down on Monica and Chandler's bed and started to cry.
Monica was shocked at this sudden outburst of emotion. She gently took Joey's hand.
"Joey what's going on? I've never seen you act like this."
"I've been depressed for so long Monica. My acting career is washed up. Rachel found me a job in Paris but it doesn't start until August. I need something else in the mean time."
Monica wrapped Joey in a strong hug. " Chandler and I will help you out."
" I still owe Chan a whole bunch of money from when we lived about Central Perk.
Monica squeezed her friend's hand gently/ "Honey, you are under no obligation to pay him back right away. Don't worry about it."
Joey nodded. "Okay. My relationships are a mess too."
"They are?"
Joey nodded. " I think I'm going to propose to Rachel."
Monica looked at Joey excitedly. "That's great news Joey!"
"No, it's not that great."
"What do you mean? You can move to Paris full time to live with Rachel and Emma. Isn't that what you want? You two have been together for two years and I know that the long distance has been hard for you and Rachel."
"It gets worse."
"What do you mean?"
Phoebe has feelings for me and I have feelings for her too"
Monica exhaled.
"Joe, I talked to Phoebe while Chandler was picking you up at the airport. She is overwhelmed right now between her relationship issues and the divorce. Have you heard that David is back in town?"
"I have and I know Phoebe has feelings for him too."
"I think that you all need to figure out this complication love triangle and figuuring out child custody for Emma, Mike Jr and Ivy."
There was silence for about ten minutes.
"I hope it's all right that I told Phoebe I was going to set up an appointment with Dr. Weinburg for you all."
Joey let out a sigh of relief . "Thank you Monica. This will really help out. When will the appointment be? "
3:45pm on Monday/
"Sounds great."
Monica pulled Joey into another hug. "Chandler and I love you so much Joey We will always be here for you.\
"I love you too Monica. Joey kissed Monica's cheek gently.
There was a soft knock at the door.
"Who is it?" Monica asked
"It's Erica Mommy."
"Come in sweetheart."
"Hi Uncle Joey. Why are you so sad?"
"Uncle Joey is sad about work and his relationships with Aunt Rachel and Aunt Phoebe. It's a bit complicated to explain." Monica said
Mommy, I wanted to ask Uncle Joey if he is sad about Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Mike divorcing.
Joey shrugged. "I am sad sweetheart but Aunt Phoebe and I made a promise that we'd get married if we were both single when we were 30 and not with anyone we'd get married."
" I thought you were going to marry Aunt Rachel and move to Paris or are you on break with her like Uncle Ross is?"
Monica groaned. "Oh my god."
Joey squeezed his niece's hand gently/. " I am hoping to propose to Aunt Rachel but I feel a little guilty that I won't be able to keep ,my promise to Aunt Phoebe."
"So you're not on a break.?"
Joey chuckled. "You are too young to understand what that means .. We'll explain it to you in a few years okay?"
Erica nodded seriously. "Okay Uncle Joey. Can I ask another question?"
Monica and Joey nodded.
Tears suddenly appeared at the edges of Erica's eyes.
"Why is Uncle Ross so angry all the time? Doesn't he love us?"
Joey and Monica looked at each other.
"Come to Mommy honey." Monica whispered.
Erica sat next to her mother on the bed and Monica put her arms around her daughter pulling her closer to her.
"Of course Uncle Ross loves you your brother and Emma Erica. You shouldn't doubt that.
"But we do Mommy... all the time. What makes him so angry? I am so afraid of him."
Monica hugged her daughter close to her. "We don't know honey That's why we're not going to see him until he gets things under control. Daddy and I would hate it if Uncle Ross got so angry that he would hurt you or Jack."."
Did Carol and Susan move to London with Ben because Uncle Ross has trouble managing his anger?"
Monica's eyes met her daughter's sadly. "Absolutely, I miss Ben so much sweetheart."
:"I didn't even get to meet him before they moved away."
Joey smiled. "If you ever come to visit Aunt Rachel me and Emma in Paris I promise you we''ll try to see if to work something out with Carol and Susan so you can meet Ben okay Erica?"
Erica smiled through her tears. "That would be so fun Uncle Joey."
Monica rocked her daughter back and forth ."I love you sweetheart," she whispered.
"I love you too Mommy."
Joey rubbed his niece's back gently. "Daddy, Mommy and I promise that everything will be okay."
"Okay Uncle Joey/
"I love you princess."
Erica leaned over and kissed Joey's cheek softly. :"I love you too Uncle Joey."