Chandler played with the boarding pass in his hand, trying to steal a glance at Monica whenever he thought Joey wasn't looking. The three of them sat in uncomfortable silence at the airport gate, waiting to board their plane. Joey sat in the middle, a deliberate move to keep Chandler and Monica apart.

Chandler allowed himself another quick look at Monica. They had only had a brief conversation the night before–she told him Rachel was staying in her room, effectively canceling their plans. It was probably for the best; Chandler would have had a difficult time getting away from Joey anyway, but he was disappointed all the same.

Despite traveling together, they had barely spoken today either. Like an overprotective guard dog, Joey never strayed more than a few feet from Chandler, so they had been limited to meaningless small talk.

"So, where is everyone sitting?" Monica asked, breaking the silence. "I'm in 47C."

"48B," said Joey.

"47D," said Chandler. "Looks like I'm next to you, Monica," he added with a smile, which he was glad to see she returned.

"We should trade!" said Joey, shoving his own boarding pass in Chandler's face. "I'm sure you'd rather sit in 48B."

"No, thank you," said Chandler, pushing Joey's pass away with a single pointer finger, "I think I'll stay in 47D."

"What about you?" Joey asked, appealing to Monica. "You could trade with me. You don't really want to sit next to him, do you?" he asked with a gesture to Chandler.

"I'm good where I am, Joey," she said politely.

"48B is a prime seat!" Joey insisted, turning back to Chandler.

"No thanks," Chandler said firmly, ending the conversation. Joey had been trying to keep him and Monica apart all morning, but this time there was nothing he could do.

"Fine," Joey muttered, and the three fell back into silence.

"I have to use the bathroom," Joey announced after a few minutes. "Will you come with me, Chandler?"

"What are we, girls?" Chandler snorted. "Go on your own."

"I think it's best if you come with," Joey said firmly.

"I think it's best if I stay here with Monica," Chandler countered.

Joey leaned closer to Chandler. "Look, I didn't want to say anything in front of Monica," Joey muttered, "but I need a little… help with something."

"What on earth do you need my help with in the bathroom?" Chandler asked quietly, leaning a little further away from Joey. Monica was now giving the two of them a weird look.

"It's kind of personal," Joey told him with a glance at Monica. "I'll tell you when we get there."

Chandler was not looking forward to finding out about Joey's personal bathroom problem, but he obliged. "Alright fine," he sighed, standing up. "Let's go."

Chandler was relieved to find the men's bathroom empty when they got there.

"What's going on?" he asked Joey. "Is everything alright?"

"You've gotta switch seats with me!" Joey insisted.

"You dragged me all the way here for that?" Chandler asked, exasperated. "I told you, I'm not switching seats. I'm going to sit next to Monica. I think I can handle being around her by myself for a couple hours."

"Yeah right, Bossa Nova," Joey scoffed, folding his arms.

"First of all, I think you mean Casanova," Chandler corrected him. "And second, it's a plane. What could possibly happen?"

"You clearly don't know what I've gotten up to on planes," Joey said with a self-satisfied smirk. "But really, you don't want to sit next to Monica."

"Why not?"

"You're going to be sitting next to her, alone, for six hours. She's going to want to talk about what happened."

"So?"

Joey sighed, like it should have been obvious for Chandler to connect the dots. "If you're going to break things off with her, do you really want to do it when you're miles above the ocean and your only escape is a parachute?"

"Eeggghh!" Chandler grimaced, taking a step back. Joey: 1; Monica: 0. "Alright, alright," he conceded, shoving his boarding pass toward Joey. "Trade with me! Please trade with me!"

"That's what I thought," said Joey triumphantly, snatching Chandler's ticket.

– –

"Chandler, where are you going?" Monica asked as he shuffled past her in the thin airplane aisle. "We're in this row."

"Change of plans," Chandler muttered, not meeting her eye. "You're sitting with Joey now."

"Oh," said Monica, and he thought she sounded disappointed.

"I wanted to sit with you," Chandler told her hastily. "It's just that… Joey likes to sit toward the front of the plane. Even one row makes a difference to him. It's… it's this whole big thing."

"Okay," said Monica, not meeting his eye. "Then… I'll see you when we land, I guess."

"Yeah," said Chandler halfheartedly, dreading the conversation they'd have to have when they arrived.

He flopped into his seat. At least he could see Monica from here. He could spend the plane ride staring at the back of her head, fantasizing about how things could have played out if they had gotten together sooner, or if she weren't Ross's sister, or if God hadn't cursed him to be so damn unlucky in love.

That's probably what he'd be doing for the rest of his life anyway.

Monica breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out of the cab and back onto the New York street in front of her building. After a six hour flight sitting next to Joey and a painfully awkward cab ride back, she was happy to be home.

She still didn't know why Chandler had changed his mind about sitting next to her. She certainly didn't buy his story about Joey needing to sit closer to the front, and she suspected the real reason had to do with their situationship. In fact, it felt like Chandler had been avoiding her all day.

The three friends walked in silence up the stairs to their apartments. "Do you two want to say hi to Phoebe?" Monica asked before they parted.

The boys agreed and followed her through the door.

"Phoebe!" everyone chorused as they entered Monica's apartment. Monica, Rachel, and Chandler surrounded her with a hug.

"You're back!" exclaimed Phoebe. "Good! I don't want to miss anything else."

"I'm going to go say hi to the chick and the duck," Joey said, excusing himself from the apartment.

"Me too!" said Phoebe.

"Are you coming, Chandler?" Joey asked.

"In a minute," said Chandler, looking at Monica.

"Good luck," Joey muttered, giving Chandler a pat on the shoulder before he and Phoebe left.

Good luck? Monica didn't know what he meant by that. It could go either way. She only hoped that she and Chandler were on the same page. At least he wasn't avoiding her anymore.

"Do you want to sit down?" she asked.

"Sure," said Chandler, and they made their way over to the couch, where they sat on opposite ends. Monica scooted herself slightly closer to him, but he didn't reciprocate.

"So… how are you?" said Chandler awkwardly.

"I'm good," Monica said with a nervous laugh. "You?"

Chandler looked away and didn't answer.

She was starting to get the impression they were not on the same page.

"So… about London," he said finally. "I… I think maybe it's best if we don't do that again. Just… just leave it at what it was."

"Oh," said Monica, looking down at her hands.

"Not to say it wasn't great!" Chandler said quickly. "I'm just worried about what it might do to our friendship if things don't work out."

"Yeah," said Monica quietly, wondering if she should tell him what Rachel had told her, if she had any shot at changing his mind.

"And–and then there's the whole thing with Ross," Chandler continued, talking faster now. "He was really upset by the whole thing, and as his friend, I really shouldn't be thinking of you that way in the first place…"

Monica looked up sharply. "Why do you say that?"

"It's a thing," Chandler insisted. "Guys aren't supposed to date their friends' exes, or girls they're interested in, or their relatives."

"So you're telling me you actually agree with Ross's nonsense?" Monica asked, a new edge creeping into her tone.

"Well… yeah?" Chandler said uncertainly, now squirming uncomfortably on his corner of the couch. "Why shouldn't I?"

"Do you even realize how hypocritical Ross is being?" Monica stood and started pacing the room. "Do you think Ross asked for my permission before sleeping with Rachel? Why does he think that he's allowed to sleep with my best friend, but I'm not allowed to sleep with his?"

"Um… I don't know?" Chandler glanced behind him at the door, perhaps trying to assess how fast he could cover the distance.

"Ross does not get to decide who I do or do not date. Does he thinks he owns me because he's my older brother?" Monica shouted. "Do you think Ross owns me? What year is it, Chandler? Do you want to buy me from him for a goat and five chickens?"

"What? No!" Chandler exclaimed, now standing up to meet her at eye level. "I don't–I don't want to buy you. I just didn't want to make Ross upset or uncomfortable, that's all! And anyway, I only have one chicken to offer."

Monica rolled her eyes at his little joke. Then she sighed and fell back on the couch. "I know," she muttered. "I know you're just trying to be a good friend to Ross, but… what about me? What about you? What would you want, if there weren't all these extra complications?"

Chandler ran a hand through his hair, not answering right away. Finally, he sat down on the couch next to Monica. This time, he was close enough that she could feel his breath on her face.

It was late when Chandler finally returned to his own apartment to unpack. The sun had long since set, and Chandler was hoping Joey would have retired to bed by this time. He'd prefer to delay any conversation with his roommate until tomorrow, after he would have time to figure out what he'd say.

No such luck. Chandler found Joey watching Baywatch in the dim light. When Chandler opened the door, Joey stood up and muted the television.

"Man, you were gone a long time," Joey said, switching on the light. "How did it go? Was it bad? Did she yell at you?"

"Uh… a little," Chandler answered, running his hand through his hair.

"Is everything okay now?" Joey asked anxiously. "Are you going to be able to be friends again?"

"Something like that," Chandler replied, not looking at Joey as he wheeled his suitcase back to his room.

"That must have been a rough conversation," Joey commented as Chandler pushed past him. "You look awful. Your hair is a mess."

"It's just been a long day," said Chandler, making a quick attempt to smooth his hair down with one hand. He stopped at his door and turned around to tell Joey, "I'm going to unpack and head to bed."

"You missed a button on your shirt," Joey observed. "Did you come all the way back from London like that? Dude, that's pretty embarrass–" Joey broke off and widened his eyes. "Wait a minute."

He stepped closer to Chandler until they were standing barely two inches apart. Joey scrutinized him for a moment.

"Joe, what are you–" Chandler asked as Joey leaned forward and started sniffing his neck.

Joey stepped back with a gasp. "That's Monica's perfume!" he exclaimed. "You didn't break up with her! You had sex!"

Chandler gritted his teeth in frustration. He'd been so close to making it back to his bedroom, but he supposed Joey had to find out sometime.

"Alright, yeah, we did!" Chandler admitted. "But so what? So what if we want to be together? Why is that a bad thing?"

"We went over this!" Joey moaned. "You could end up like Ross and Rachel! And what about Ross? Monica is his sister–"

"I know it's complicated, but we're going to work it out!" Chandler insisted. "Besides, Monica isn't just someone's sister to me. She's Monica–"

"Oh, so I suppose Mary Angela was just 'someone's sister' to you?" Joey shot back.

"No no no, that's not what I meant–" Chandler backpedaled quickly, but too late. Joey was crossing his arms, a familiar anger burning in his eyes.

"Because she's not," Joey growled. "Mary Angela is a unique individual, even if that's not how you see her."

Fix this fix this fix this fix this, shouted Chandler's inner voice.

"Of course she is!" Chandler said frantically. "I'm sure she's very kind and intelligent–"

"Intelligent!" Joey exclaimed. "You don't know her at all!"

With that, Joey stormed to his room and slammed the door.

When Rachel impulse-purchased her one-way ticket to London, she hadn't even considered how she'd get home. She had shared an uncomfortably quiet cab with Monica, Chandler, and Joey to the airport, but they had to part ways once they arrived. Now Rachel was on standby for a flight back to New York–she couldn't afford another last-minute ticket.

She had been at the airport for hours. Yet another flight had taken off without space for her, and she was making her way to the next possible flight when she heard her name.

"Rach?"

She turned around to see Ross sitting alone in a sea of empty chairs.

"Oh… hi," Rachel said cautiously. They hadn't really spoken since before his wedding, and he wasn't exactly happy with her then.

Ross stood up. They stared at each other silently for a few moments before Rachel found the courage to speak.

"So… did you ever find Emily?"

"No," Ross said dejectedly, sitting down again. "I looked everywhere, and her relatives won't tell me where she is. We're supposed to be leaving for our honeymoon now, but it looks like she's not going to show up."

Rachel wasn't sure what to say to that. Part of her felt bad seeing Ross so upset; she wanted to comfort him and tell him it would all be okay, but another part of her felt a glimmer of glee at hearing that Emily wasn't speaking to Ross.

He looked back up at Rachel. "How could you do this to me, Rachel? You got all in my head, and now my marriage might be over before it's even started."

"Hey, I just wanted you to have all the information!" Rachel said defensively. "It's not my fault you said the wrong name at the altar."

"I just feel like you're always messing with my head," said Ross, putting his head in his hands. "Why would you break up with me–twice–if you still want to be with me? You know that breaking up means I get to move on, right? I finally found someone else I want to be with, and I just…" he sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I want Emily to come back. I need her to forgive me for this."

Enough about Emily! Rachel wanted to shout. He had barely known Emily for two months. He had been in love with Rachel for two years. Couldn't he see that? Maybe he would start to, now that Emily wasn't around. Maybe all he really needed was some time…

"All ticketed passengers for flight 10-66 to Athens should now be on board," the loudspeaker droned.

"I guess that's that," Ross said in defeat.

"You know what?" Rachel said suddenly, an idea creeping into her mind. "I think you should go."

"What?"

"Yeah. I think you should go by yourself. Get some distance."

"I don't know," Ross murmured, looking toward the gate.

"You should," Rachel reiterated. "You've had a really rough time. You need some time to clear your head. Think things out. This could be a really good chance for that."

Ross considered this for a moment. "I could do that," he said finally. "It might be good for me."

"Last call," the loudspeaker repeated.

"Well, you'd better get going then!" Rachel told him quickly, grabbing his hand and ushering him toward the plane. "They'll be closing the gate soon."

"Okay," Ross said, more firmly this time. "Okay, I will."

It was at that moment that Rachel spotted Emily in the distance, navigating her way through a thick crowd of travelers. Damn! That bitch actually showed up! This was so unfair!

A small voice in Rachel's head told her this was good, that Ross deserved a chance to talk and make up with the woman who was now his wife, but she pushed it away. She had been so close, so close, to getting Ross on the plane.

But Ross hadn't spotted Emily yet. Emily hadn't spotted them. If Ross got on the plane right now, it would be like neither of them were ever here. And surely he did need some time to think, right…?

"See you later! Have a nice trip!" Rachel was nearly shoving Ross onto the plane at this point. "Bon voyage!" she shouted, watching him walk down the jetway.

The flight attendant closed the door behind him.

Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. She'd bought herself a week. Now, time to get a plane ticket home.

She turned around to find herself face-to-face with a furious Emily.