A/N After almost 6 months on here, I have finally worked out how to reply to reviews (apart from guest reviews), so hopefully some of you will have received those! Also a huge thank you to guest reviewers SardinianReader, Anna and Revisora for your continuing encouragement - I really appreciate you all taking the time to leave such unbelievably kind comments.

This update is pretty long. The final scene was originally going to be the beginning of the next chapter, but I know you're all getting a bit sick of my cliffhangers now, and this one would have felt particularly mean!

Thank you for reading!


"Look I'm really sorry Estelle, but it was an emergency and there was no way I could leave. Please could you just pass on my apologies and if any of them can reschedule me, I would really appreciate it."

Monica stood in the doorway of Chandler's bedroom, listening to Joey's conversation with his agent. "You should have gone to your auditions" she muttered, casting a remorseful glance in his direction as he hung up the phone.

Her feelings of guilt for causing Joey to miss his auditions paled into insignificance, however, when compared to the knot of self-punishment that had been twisting in her stomach since Chandler had vanished, distressed, from the apartment almost two hours ago.

Monica was feeling terrible about having dismissed out of hand Chandler's obvious upset at Ross's accusation that he had taken advantage of her; insinuating that he had swooped in, and cajoled her into a relationship when she was at her lowest ebb.

For Monica, it was all very simple: Ross's assertion was so far removed from how their love had actually unfolded; Chandler's gentle and empathetic support had been so perfect, so chaste, so unwavering; it was patently obvious to her that the assumptions her brother and Rachel had made about their relationship were nothing short of ludicrous. So preposterous, in fact, that they rolled off Monica like water from a duck's back.

Unfortunately, she now understood that Chandler was unable to share her confidence. The compassionate sensitivity he had demonstrated towards Monica throughout her recovery was a clear indication of just how acutely aware and concerned he was about her mental state, which meant that Ross's words able to cut deep enough to make him question his own motives, and his behavior towards her.

After ten years of close friendship, Monica was also highly conscious of Chandler's many deep-rooted insecurities: He had always struggled to see himself as being worthy of a loving and committed relationship, so it should not have come as a huge surprise to her that Ross's allegations could have fed his inner-most fears, that the only reason Monica could possibly have fallen for him was because she was vulnerable and confused.

The fact that he had no clue as to what a rare gift of a human he actually was, that he had no idea how unbelievably lucky she felt to have him, made Monica's heart physically ache. She silently vowed to herself that one day, she would succeed in making Chandler see himself through her eyes.

"Did he give any clue as to where he was going? What exactly did he say when he left?" She began pacing the room nervously, her agitated fingers picking furiously at the skin around her thumbnails.

"He didn't say where he was going Mon, he just took off" Joey told her softly.

"I'm worried about him, I think Ross really got under his skin. Did you at least manage to convince him that what he said was ridiculous?" she implored.

Joey looked down shame-faced. "Not exactly" he replied in a low voice.

Monica stopped pacing and turned to eye him, disconcerted. "What did you say to him?"

"I just said that I understood where Ross was coming from.. And he got pretty upset about it.. " Joey started to explain.

"Well of course he did!" Monica fumed in disbelief, "Ross told him he was as bad as Pete! How could you possibly agree with him Joey? You know Chandler would never do anything to hurt me, or anybody else for that matter! You're supposed to be his best friend!"

"I am! And I'm also your friend", he reminded her, "And I didn't agree with Ross, I just told Chandler that I hoped you were both sure about what you're doing! Things are pretty intense right now and nobody wants to see either of you rushing into anything and getting hurt."

Monica shook her head and let out a loud sigh of frustration. "I'm not some stupid kid who doesn't know her own mind! And I'm not crazy! I know exactly how I feel. I love him Joey! I love him more than I've ever loved anybody in my whole life!"

Joey regarded her gently, "Well then I hope it all works out for you guys, Mon. I really do. You know I'll always support you. Both of you."

Despite feeling a wave of gratitude at his much needed words of encouragement, Monica was too overwrought to offer even the smallest of smiles.

"What did he say Joey?" she exhaled desperately.

"He said he thought maybe Ross was right... " Joey admitted, clearing his throat awkwardly, and looking away from the pained expression on Monica's face "He thought perhaps he'd let his feelings for you affect his judgement...and that he had made things worse for you... I did try to tell him that's not what I'd meant... "

Monica ran her hands across her face. She felt nauseated; the confirmation that Chandler had bought into her brother's unseemly accusation made her frantic with worry.

"I need to speak to him! I can't stay here." She managed to declare, her now ragged breath catching in her throat.

She grabbed one of Chandler's discarded sweaters from the back of the couch and pulled it over her head, her brow furrowing in anguish and tears of yearning springing to her eyes as she inhaled the familiar and comforting scent of his laundry powder combined with his cologne.

"Mon, wait" Joey pleaded anxiously, "Where are you gonna go?"

"I don't know!" she yelled back "But I need to find him and convince him he's not the monster everyone has made him think he is! I don't know what I'm going to do Joey, but I sure as hell can't keep sitting around here doing nothing!"

"Well then I'll come with you!" Joey offered desperately "Or I could get Rachel?"

"No!" Monica told him vehemently, "Just keep him here if he comes home".


Pete and Lucy were sitting in the window of a coffee house just down the street from Javu. The siblings had taken to meeting here to discuss restaurant related business since Pete's bail conditions prevented him from entering the premises. His laptop was open in front of him as the two had been dissecting projections for the month ahead.

Lucy took a sip of her coffee and regarded her brother hesitantly, "And what about... everything else?" she asked, "Any news about the trial?"

Pete gave a dismissive shrug "Not particularly" he told her "They're still trying to pin down Bing's ex. If we can get her to spill a few beans, we're home and dry. She always hated Monica, so I think there's a pretty good chance she will."

"Good judge of character then." Lucy remarked with a bitter grimace, "Aside from dating that moron Bing in the first place, of course"

Pete smirked in agreement.

He took a swig of his drink, gazing absentmindedly out of the window onto the street, when a distant, diminutive figure standing on the corner near to the restaurant caught his eye. The person was casually clad in sweatpants and an oversized basketball sweater that swamped their frame. They were tugging anxiously at the baseball cap that obscured most of their face, their body shifting awkwardly as they glanced around the street. To any unwittingly onlooker this person would blend into the background and most likely be mistaken for a teenage boy hanging around waiting for a friend. But not by Pete. Pete would recognize this person anywhere.

Lucy followed his intent gaze with interest, arching an inquisitive eyebrow as she inquired, "Everything OK?"

Pete continued to stare out of the window telling her, "I think we need to get the restaurant windows cleaned. They're looking a little grimy."

Lucy, appraised the frontage with a doubtful frown, "Yeah OK. I'll call someone tomorrow" she told him, "Are we done here?"

Pete nodded without shifting his gaze from the street "Are you headed home now?"

"Yeah..." Lucy replied, her eyes narrowing a little, unsettled and intrigued by her brother's behavior. "I'm just going to freshen up and then I'll go." she told him, stuffing paperwork and her diary into her bag. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

He finally turned to meet her face with a smile that did not quite reach his calculating eyes, "See you tomorrow Luce. Thanks for your help. " he told her, his gaze following her as she disappeared towards the back of the crowded coffee shop, shooting a final curious glance back at him over her shoulder.

Pete turned back to towards the window, his lip curling as he watched the object of his fascination move closer towards the restaurant door now, their hand fumbling in their pocket.

He looked down at his laptop and hurriedly logged into the restaurant security system. A list of all security cameras and alarms appeared on his screen. He smirked to himself as he hit "disable" on every, last one.


Monica's eyes welled up with emotion as she stared wistfully at her glass-fronted restaurant for the first time in months. This place had represented the pinnacle of her career, the reward for years of hard work and her largest source of pride. She felt a pang of longing, as she recalled the heady mixture of nerves and excitement she had experienced as she prepared for the restaurant's opening night; the giddy jubilation of cracking open a bottle of champagne to share with her chef, Ignacio, and Restaurant Manager, Lisa, after that first triumphant evening; the euphoric thrill of reading five star review after five star review in the papers the following morning. It all seemed like a lifetime ago now; in fact, it felt as if it had all happened to a different person.

She fidgeted anxiously with the black baseball cap she had hastily bought from a tourist-trap street vendor in order to preserve her anonymity, pulling the peak down low to hide a larger portion of her face. She had to keep reminding herself that she didn't actually need to hide. It was Pete that was forbidden from entering Javu. She was suspected of no crime, had no bail conditions imposed upon her, and was free to go wherever she liked.

It certainly did not feel that way now, however, as she lurked nervously outside the restaurant, fumbling shiftily with the keys in her pocket, terrified of bumping into any of her staff, but mainly of coming face to face with Lucy.

Her first port of call after leaving Joey's, had been Chandler's office. She was desperate to seek him out, and sick with worry, but unfortunately her fears had not been allayed by visiting his place of work: The haughty and highly-coiffured receptionist had observed Monica's disheveled and anguished appearance with poorly disguised distaste, before informing her superciliously, that Mr Bing had called in sick that morning.

Monica had stumbled, embarrassed, from the building, at a total loss as to where else to look for him. She knew that Chandler was unlikely to be licking his wounds in any of their usual haunts, given the manner in which their friends had turned on him following the brutal exposure of their relationship.

A lump formed in Monica's throat. The trial she had spent months agonizing over was on the brink of falling to pieces, and now the man who had supported and loved her through it all, the man she adored with every fiber of her being, had vanished after being apparently convinced that he was wrong to have embarked upon a relationship with her. The very idea that he could be questioning the validity of their love caused Monica's chest to constrict in panic.

"I need him".

She recalled speaking those words to Rachel, when they had argued last week. The moment they had fallen from her lips she knew exactly how her friend would misinterpret them. She knew that Rachel would immediately equate her "need" with weakness, vulnerability and dependency.

Monica was an emotionally intelligent woman who well understood her friend's thought process, and she could have forgiven Rachel, and indeed Ross, for querying her capacity to make sense of her own emotions, given the horrific events of this year. What she found inexcusable was the repugnant insinuation that Chandler had somehow designed or cultivated her reliance upon him in order to coax her into his bed. It was unfathomable to Monica that anybody who knew Chandler, even just a little, could ever believe him to be capable of such manipulation.

In any case, the need of which Monica spoke, had nothing to do with desperation or coercion: Her need for Chandler was visceral and it was pure, emerging from the magical discovery that the best friend that she had cared so deeply for, for so many years, could actually be the missing other half that she had been searching for her entire adult life: That one special personality that complimented and enhanced her own to perfection. And as the weeks rolled by Monica became ever more convinced that was exactly what Chandler was to her: He knew instinctively how to calm one of her fiery outbursts with a few soothing words; he could ground her immediately with a gentle joke at her expense; he could make her feel like the most important and beautiful person in the world with one adoring glance or an affectionate ruffle of her hair.

And she could do the same for him: boosting his self-worth when she knew he felt unlovable; calmly rationalizing him out of his neurotic propensity to panic.

He needed her too.

Monica's mind drifted wistfully back to the beginning of their day: Her eyelids had fluttered open to reveal Chandler's peaceful, still-fast-asleep face resting on the pillow next to hers. As she had leaned forward to place the gentlest of kisses on his eyelashes, she could not help but marvel at how this man had transformed her first moments of wakefulness every single day: For far too long, she would wake from her fretful attempts at sleep with a terrified gasp, an awful surge of dread flooding the pit of her stomach, memories of Pete and thoughts of the trial invading her mind.

Now, each morning, as she woke and re-entered a state of awareness, her first feelings were of satisfaction; she felt safe in the knowledge that the man she loved was there at her side. Knowing Chandler was near brought a lightness to her heart, and an immense smile to her face. Not only was she comforted by his presence, she was just so excited to spend time with him.

This morning, as they had made love, enveloped in the fragrant steam of the shower, piping hot water cascading over their skin and drowning out the sounds of the rest of the world, Chandler had pressed his forehead tenderly against hers, locking their eyes together as they simultaneously came undone, allowing each to experience the other's ecstatic fervor as powerfully as their own. Monica had almost wept, completely overwhelmed by the strength and depth of the emotions that had engulfed her.

But five minutes later they were back to teasing, giggling, jostling each other out of the way of the mirror, whipping playfully at each other's legs with towels. She had never dreamed that a romantic relationship could be concurrently so intensely fulfilling and so much fun.

Neither could she quite believe that the universe would be so cruel as to puncture her bliss so spectacularly, so soon.

She felt another stab of yearning pain in her heart, and this time it was so potent it caused her to physically wince and swallow a sob.

She had left Chandler's office, not knowing what to do, completely overcome by feelings of powerlessness and impotence. It was a desire for action and a need for control that had led her here.

Sofia.

That was why she was here. The ex-girlfriend that Lucy had once implied may also have been subject to an attack at Pete's hands, represented Monica's last hope for a successful trial.

With Kathy threatening to throw her support behind Pete, Monica knew that she would require a miracle to make her case stick. She wasn't even particularly sure that an accusation from a second woman would be enough at this point, but Sofia really was the final unused weapon in Monica's arsenal, and was therefore an avenue she suddenly felt it was absolutely imperative to explore.

She shot a jittery glance at her watch. She had a good hour before Ignacio and the kitchen staff would arrive to prepare for evening service. Plenty of time to find something. Except she didn't even know what she was looking for. Maybe a staff file that could give her a surname or a phone number or an address? Perhaps a traceable financial record that provided proof of a pay-off? Her mind was chaotic and panicked but she hoped that when she got inside the office and away from the noise of the street, her methodical streak would kick in, and she might uncover something, anything, that could offer her even the faintest of hopes that she could still face Pete in court.

Before she inserted her key into the lock of the heavy glass restaurant door, she took a moment to breath deeply, reciting the alarm code that she knew she would need to disable the security system, a few times under her breath. She finally stole her way through the door and closed it quickly behind herself. She headed instinctively towards the alarm, before noticing the absence of the usual warning beep that indicated that the system was active. She froze and inhaled sharply. Could somebody already be inside the building? She stood quietly for a moment, barely breathing and listening hard, until she felt confident that she was alone and could safely assume that the alarm must have been left switched off in error, before locking the restaurant door securely behind her.

She made her way swiftly to the office area, which was located at the rear of the building. The office comprised of just two work stations: Ignacio and Lisa shared the first desk, located to the right of the door and surrounded by storage space; the second was slightly more spacious and far less cluttered, located on a mezzanine, accessed by a metal staircase. This was the work area that had been shared by Monica and Pete, and latterly, she supposed, by Lucy.

Monica made her way up the staircase, flinching at the sound of her footsteps against the metal, despite being alone in the building. She scanned the familiar space and took a seat at the desk ready to fire up the computer, her eyes flickering as she scoured her memory for all of the passwords she knew she would require in order to access the various systems she intended to search. Just as she was beginning to settle into the task at hand she heard the door to the office click open on the floor below and her heart was immediately in her mouth. It was most likely Ignacio or Lisa, she told herself calmly, reminding herself, once again, that this was her office and she had every right to to be in here.

She rose hesitantly from the desk and swallowed hard, praying that the visitor was not Pete's sister.

"Hello...?" she called, as confidently as she could. If it was Lucy, she knew she could afford to reveal not a hint of weakness.

She licked her lips in nervous anticipation as she heard the sound of anonymous feet hitting metal, as the caller began to climb the stairs towards her.

Her eyes widened in terrified disbelief and she felt her breath leave her body as the face that had tortured her nightmares for so many months emerged, grinning unpleasantly back at her from the top of the staircase. Her knees would almost certainly have buckled beneath her if it was not for the fact that her entire body was completely paralyzed with fear.

"Hi Honey!" Pete greeted with faux effusiveness, a malevolent grin on his face.

Monica felt like her throat had entirely closed up, and she found herself unable to take a breath, much less form a sound.

"Well?" he smirked, "What is it you're looking for? Anything I can help you with?"

Monica's eyes glanced involuntarily around the room, searching desperately for the escape route she knew did not exist.

Pete smiled in satisfaction as he reveled in her palpable fear.

His eyes narrowed as they raked up and down her body before letting out a laugh "I gotta say honey, you look like shit! When I heard Bing had broken up with Kathy I assumed you'd be absolutely glowing! What's the matter? Life with that clown not all it was cracked up to be? I could have told you that." he remarked sardonically.

"Great news for Kathy though," he continued, "I always thought she was pretty spicy, that Kathy. Way too good for that moron, that's for sure. I'm guessing that's what got you spooked enough to come here? You think Kathy might want to join "The Dark Side", now she's rid of him? I'm sure she's got a few tales to tell about the two of you." he sneered.

Monica was still unable to form a single word as she stared mutely back the face that had haunted her nightmares for so long.

She thought she heard the door below click again, and she let out a gasp, desperate to hear Ignacio or Lisa's voice. Pete paused for a moment too, but the torturous silence that ensued soon allowed him to continue.

"But that doesn't explain why you're snooping around on my computer..." he mused, exaggeratedly tapping his lips with his finger.

He took a step closer to her before grinning and snapping manically "Let me guess again!"

"I know! ... I think you're here to find out more about another one of my cheating exes! " he smiled contemptuously, "My sources tell me you've had your lawyer sniffing around trying to find out more about the lovely Sofia..."

The panic in Monica's eyes all but confirmed his suspicion and he gave a self-satisfied smirk. "Well good luck finding out anything about that nut job!" he laughed "That one went even crazier than you! Last I heard she was living in some hippy commune in Eastern Europe."

His eyes narrowed as he continued tauntingly, "You know what? She might be more demented than you, and she might not have gone to the cops, but she did at least have the sense to take my money."

A cruel grimace spread across his face as he told her, "And surprisingly, she put up twice the fight you did..."

It brought him pleasure to see her brow twitch in pain as she swallowed hard.

"And I always thought you would be a feisty one..." he tutted, "You disappointed me, Monica" he leered.

"You're disgusting." She finally managed to croak.

"Well I guess we'll see who everyone is most disgusted by after the trial" he replied philosophically "My guess is that everyone will be most disgusted by the lying gold-digger, whose case gets laughed out of court."

"You must know by now how easy it will be for me to convince the jury, Monica? Especially when Kathy confirms that you've been in bed with that moron all along. Man, I still cannot fathom how a waste of space like him managed to get one woman to lose her head over him, let alone two!" he said with a mirthless laugh.

"Kathy won't help you." Monica gulped unconvincingly, "And Chandler is twice the man you are. You're not even fit to breathe the same air as him."

Pete chuckled darkly.

"Whatever, Honey," he smirked " I always knew I was right about you and that cretin. I always knew you were up to something: It was written all over your faces. And that, is what's going to win me this case. You need to realize, that the most believable lies are the ones that stray least from the truth. And my account will be incredibly believable to everyone, because it is 98% true. The only tiny little part I have to leave out is the part where things got a little... out of hand between the two of us..."

"Out of hand?" Monica breathed incredulously, her voice quivering "You know what you did! And you know what you are."

"You know you drove me to it." He told her with a frown.

"And anyway, it doesn't matter what you or I know," he shrugged his shoulders "It's what the jury think they know that counts"

"Everyone is going to know about you, Pete!" She shot back at him, "And even if the jury get it wrong and you don't go to jail... Some of this will stick to you. "There's no smoke without a fire": That's what everyone will say: potential business acquaintances, potential girlfriends. They will all think it."

Monica noted a hint of shock in his eyes as she spoke, and the knowledge that she had hit a nerve inspired a small surge of bravery.

"You know what? Even if Kathy does "join the dark side" and even if I lose this case, if I can make just one other woman think twice about going near you by giving you this reputation, it will have made it worthwhile going to the police and putting myself through all of this."

She had not even considered this before, and the thought gave her more strength than she could ever have imagined. "My speaking out will make people think twice about you Pete. No matter what the outcome." She nodded confidently to herself.

"And what about you?" he countered angrily, visibly rattled by her words, "Who the hell do you think will want to touch a mental bitch like you after all of this?"

It was Monica's turn to smirk "Oh, I think we both know exactly who will want to touch me, don't we Pete?" She could not resist but add, "In fact, maybe he already is... "

Pete's eyes glowed with rage as he shook his head and snarled "Slut" under his breath.

During their last devastating encounter, Pete had taken full advantage of the element of surprise: Until that night, Monica had held him in genuinely high esteem and had never believed him capable of such atrocity. Bitter experience had taught her better than that now of course, and this time it seemed that Pete was the one to have underestimated her. He had mistakenly assumed that his actions would have destroyed her confidence, shattered her wit and dampened the fire in her soul; never in a million years would he have expected her to say something so deliberately provocative, and the discomposure she observed in his eyes sent a thrill down Monica's spine.

Pete was on the back-foot.

Monica was on an adrenaline-fueled roll now, channeling months of terror and hurt into simmering rage. She could feel the fragility his despicable actions had imposed upon her transforming from that of an injured bird, to that of a ticking bomb. She suddenly wanted to antagonize him, to enrage him, to make him lose control.

"I don't think Kathy will "join the dark side" anyway" she shrugged, as she stood a little taller, her voice steady and even, her eyes dangerous, "And if she doesn't, I don't think there's any way you'll win this trial, Pete. Because, you see, my account is 98% true as well..." her lips curled a little as she enjoyed watching his eyes flicker in confusion.

She met his hateful gaze with steel as she told him sweetly, "The only tiny little part I have to leave out, is the part where I pictured his face every single time I fucked you."

Every muscle in her body tensed as she delivered the coarsely worded taunt that she knew would jar his arrogance and incense him to his core.

Pete shook his head, and exhaled loudly, his nostrils paling as they flared.

"You really are asking for round two aren't you," he snarled through gritted teeth and he suddenly rushed towards her.

But this time she had predicted what was coming and the world suddenly seemed to turn in slow-motion.

This time she was ready.

Before Pete could get close enough to lay his hands on her, Monica took a step towards him and used all of the strength she could muster to raise a sharp, unexpected knee to his groin.

Pete may have been at least 50 pounds heavier than Monica, but her strike was enough to make him double-over briefly, buying her enough time to fly past him and propel herself down the staircase to make a desperate run for the door.

She had no idea if he was in pursuit, because she never looked back.