The One Where Eddie Comes Back, a friends fanfic

"Bwahah" He reeled in fear.

He was standing outside of the tall building that Chandler called work. Chandler ducked back in. His boss was just coming off the elevator.

"Chandler! I thought you left already." He said with a hand on the shoulder. "You forget something."

"No. Uh! Could you walk me out?"

His boss curiously agreed. When they had stepped back outside there was no sighting of him.

"Are you okay?" His concern genuine. Chandler told him. Chandler considered telling him nothing, for he didn't want his problems to be his companies, but he worried that might be beyond his control. He spilled everything to his boss. His boss's solution, to have security escort him in and out of the building until this thing gets resolved.

A week went by like this. Security was even dispatched a time or two to chase down shadows. But the sightings weren't just limited to his work. Chandler would spot Eddie, at the store, on the streets, outside the coffee house and even still across the street from their apartment building.

Chandler became more on edge and neurotic, at times jumping at his friends. He tried to talk to his friends about it but as much as he loved them, they had their own problems. They'd come back with some quip then change the subject to talk about Ross and Rachel's relations, or Phoebe's phsychic premonitions which never turned out anything tangible, or Joey's financial struggles.

He found himself after a week and a half of this finally going to the police. He felt guilt for it. He wasn't sure if sending this whack job to prison was the best thing. Unfortunately, that was a fruitless quest anyways.

"Has he threatened you in any way?" Of course, the answer was no. Eddie never approached him to say anything.

"But he's everywhere." He tried to express. "Outside my work, home, where I get my coffee. Where I shop for food."

"Have you considered a restraining order?" Then they explained how a restraining order worked and how without one, there was nothing they could do unless he was an immediate threat at the time.

Without other recourse, he went down to the courthouse to file one. He made it through security just as the windows were closing.

"No. I thought the courthouse doesn't close until 5."

"It doesn't. But the clerks office closes at 4."

"What's the point in that?"

"Courts are still in session."

"I need to file a restraining order."

"Trouble with the missis?" Chandler gave the rail thin security guard a cross look.

"I can give you the docs you could drop them off anytime. We even have a drop box out there if the courthouse is closed."

"I was hoping to get one today."

"Sorry, even if that was an emergency restraining order, it still might not be seen by a judge for three days more. Non emergency R/O's much longer than that. Even still there was a chance he would not grant it. If he did it would only be temporary, until the next court date where both parties would go before the judge and plead their case."

That means Eddie would have to be properly served. That came with its own complications. No one knows where he is unless he's spotted and even then, he's a fleeting shadow. If he did serve him with a stay away order would that excite him? Wake the monster.

Docs in hand, he left the courthouse unsettled. That night he stared at those docs and went through them. So many questions dwelled on whether there has ever been violence or threats of violence. Would he be doing the right thing if he tried to stop him? Eddie was just sick. Right?

He thought of one more thing and came up with an idea.

It took the rest of that night and even well into the next day before he discovered the answer he sought which was where she lived.

He found himself outside her door. He knocked. She opened but the chain was on the door, so it only opened so far.

"Hi."

"Tilly?"

"Yes. How can I help you?" She had an accent that suggested Russian or Ukraine. Eddie never mentioned that.

"My names Chandler Bing. I have some questions." He could hardly get the words out before she was shutting the door on him. "Wait."

"I don't want to talk about him."

"About who? How'd you know I came here to talk about him?"

"I'm not stupid. You're his roommate. He's mentioned you."

"He has?" They were talking through the door now. "He's mentioned you to." She opened up.

"Go away."

"I just want answers."

"I gave him all the answers he wanted. Problem is, he doesn't remember any of them. You can go back and tell him, this counts as harassment. Now go away before I call the cops."

"Wait, I'm not here for him." But before he could finish, she opened the door and said one more thing.

"You're his friend? My advice is to get as far away from him while you still can." She said closing the door on him again.

"I'm trying but he won't go away." She stopped. Then shut the door. Chandler let out a sigh.

The chain rattled on the lock. The door swung wide and she stood aside.

"He seemed like a nice guy, at first." They talked over warm tea she had brewed for him. I never would have suspected. I invited him into my home. We even lived with each other for a short while. That was a mistake. That's when I would start to notice. The things he did before that I thought were cute were becoming scary. Like before he would come to my house and make me breakfast. He would forget things. I just thought he was absent minded. But then I realized he was forgetting things, like having lapses in memory and to make up for that he would make up these stories to fill in."

"Yes. He told my friends I took him to Vegas."

"You didn't take him to Vegas? I knew that story was too good to be true."

"He started watching me sleep."

"Me too."

"Sometimes it seemed like he was trying to poison me. Like there was one time there was bleach out on the counter. I could smell it strong like it was coming from the food. When I asked him about it, he denied that it was even there. Like I wasn't seeing it on the counter."

"I kicked him out of my house. Told him it wasn't working out."

"But he didn't go away."

"No. At first, he would act like it never happened. Like I didn't kick him out. I had my gym buddy come over and threaten him not to come back. Well, that got through to him that we weren't flat mates. But then he started accusing me of cheating. He continued to come over. His behavior got erratic. It wasn't too long after that that he started to talk about you."

"What would he say?"

"How great you were. How better off he was. Now I'm thinking, if he's so better off why won't he go away? Then he'd start supplicating. Begging me to take him back."

"We were never particularly close. He'd spent most of his time in his room. Or just, out. I guess now I know where he was going."

"I was seeing him everywhere. At work, at the gym, the laundromat, my favorite restaurant. All of my normal spots he would be there. I would talk to people about him; friends, family, coworkers. I got mixed responses. Some thought it was romantic what he was doing. That I didn't understand the heart of a man. My closest friends had genuine concern when I told them about all he was doing. But over time even they got bored with it. Like, the more I'd bring him up the less they wanted to listen. They started to treat me like I was the crazy one. Paranoid. Delusional. He'd never show himself to them. And he never came straight out and threatened me. They thought I was being dramatic."

"What did you do?"

"I got a restraining order."

"Did it help?"

"No. He'd still show up. By the time the police would get here, he was nowhere to be found. Until the next time. I stopped going out as often. Never at night. My work escorts me in and out of the building. They are great like that but even they are getting exasperated."

"How did you make it stop?"

"I didn't. It just stopped on its own. A couple of weeks ago."

"Wait. A couple of weeks ago. That's when I kicked him out. He was doing the same stuff to me. All the things you just mentioned, the food, the watching me sleep and what is up with the fish?"

"Which one? He's gone through so many of them while he was here and not all were real. One time it was a lego."

"Well, the worst he got with me was a Pepperidge farm."

"A what?"

"A fish cracker." She chuckled. "You like that."

"I'm sorry to laugh. It's just good to hear that I'm not the only one going through this."

"Thanks."

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that someone else out there knows that I'm not the crazy one."

"No. You're not the crazy one."

"Listen, you seem like a nice guy. I'm sorry this is happening to you."

"Yeah, why couldn't it be some big tough guy that could bash his face in."

"He wouldn't mess with a guy like that."

"Thanks."

"Oh. You're sweet. That's all I meant to say."

"So are you." She smiled. "So, what do we do?"

"There isn't much we can do."

"We can set a trap for him." She turned to look.

"Listen. You file that restraining order."

"But you said…"

"And when you go down there to make your case, I will be there."

"You would do this after he's stopped harassing you? Wouldn't that be inviting trouble back in."

"I will do this for you. Two stories are better than one. We will do this together."

"Thanks."

"Maybe there's hope after all."

He walked out of the apartment building with a sense of peace. No real answer on how to solve this thing but just as she felt, having someone who shares this experience with says something and if nothing else maybe she's right. Maybe having that says something in the eyes of the law. He was even smiling for the first time in weeks. That was until he looked up and saw him across the street. He stared at him for a while and Chandler went cold.

Eddi shook his head disappointedly. Then he realized where it was, he was watching him come out from and after he'd already had to deny those accusations weeks ago when she was still just a name. How was he going to explain this?

"Oh no." Were the only words he could express before Eddie turned off up the street. Chandler took step to chase him down and explain everything just to get him to understand. But what was he going to tell him? The truth? The truth wasn't much better. Some lie? Some fantastical lie that Eddie probably wasn't going to believe anyways. Why would he do that? Why would he put himself in a position where he would have to talk to him? His home was the other direction so that's where Chandler went, letting Eddie walk away.

Walking up the steps to his floor he changed his direction from his room to theirs. Only Monica was in there. Rubber gloves on her hand as she was wiping down her table.

"Welp! I'm going to die!" He announced before leaving her alone. Of course, at those words she was going to chase after. He didn't know why he was being so dramatic. Not that he didn't genuinely fear for his safety but even he knew that that action was just a call for attention. He wanted to be in the comforts of his own apartment, but he didn't want to be alone. Joey, he knew was at work on some acting gig.

"What do you mean, you're going to die? What happened?" Rachel was just coming into the hall from the stairs. Hearing Monica's question, she gasped and dropped her Macys bags. "What happened? Did something happen?"

"No. Nothing happened." He went into his apartment and dropped into his recliner.

"You said something happened. What happened?" This was what he was waiting for. He leaned forward and starting with the police station, which Rachel asked, "Do you really think it's that bad?" Then the courthouse. To which Monica asked, "Do you really think he should go to prison?" To which he responded, "I mean no. But I want it to stop, I just don't know how. I had second thoughts. I didn't go through with it. I took the paperwork with me and instead I decided to track her down. I wanted to get the opinion of someone who really knew him."

"How'd that work out?"

"Well, it turns out she didn't know him much better than I did. He was doing all the same stuff with her, even following her around when she finally got him to leave."

"How did she get it to stop."

"She didn't. I did. He stopped following her around when he found someone new." He gestured himself.

"Oh?" Rachel responded. Monica just grimaced. "So, what are you going to do?"

"Well, she thinks I should file the restraining order. She said she'll testify for me."

"You're going to do it?"

"I have to now. He found me. When I stepped out of the building, he was there across the street. He saw me come out. He already thought I and her were. If he didn't want to kill me before, now he's going to."

"Tomorrow. First thing in the morning." They had done something then that was so sweet he didn't expect it. They'd both agreed to skip work and go with him.

That night he filled out the tedious packet.

He didn't go into work that morning. He called off half the day. He was going to the courthouse first, then work. He did take the opportunity and sleep in a little longer than he was used to on the weekdays. I mean why not? It wasn't everyday he got to sleep in when he was supposed to be at work. It was 9 o'clock in the morning when he drudged his body to the coffee pot. He gave himself until 10 to be out of the flat. That'll get him to the courthouse by 11:00 He'd be done by noon. Have lunch, be into work by 1:00. Joey had left for work, so it was weird when he heard him coming through the door. Turning at the rotation of the door handle, it was not his flatmate he saw.

"Eddie."

"We have to talk."

"Chandler." Rachel was coming in. "You were supposed to be up hours ago." But she could hardly get out her statement when she was being ushered back out and the door was shut in her face and locked amidst Chandlers call out for help. Rachel stumped on the other side thought about what just happened. Was that Eddie? She knocked to get him to open up.

"We're busy!" Came the reply.

"Monica." She was cleaning up after breakfast which they had both expected Chandler to join them for. "Eddie is there."

"What?"

"Eddie is in his apartment."

"What? Well get him out."

"I can't the doors locked." They both went across the hall banging on the door now.

"Open up." They shouted.

"We're talking! Can't a guy get some peace around here?" He shouted back.

"What's going on here?" A woman asked joining them in the hall. She didn't live on their floor so who was she to them? "I'm looking for Chenandler Bing's apartment."

"Well, he's here." Rachel thumbed the door behind her before adjusting her waist.

"I think he might be in trouble."

"What makes you say that?"

"There's a guy that we both know."

"Eddie." Monica filled in to let her know they were caught up to that point.

"Yes. Well, he knows we were together yesterday. Not like that. Oh, but Eddie thinks so. He's come to confront him."

"Well, how dangerous is he?"

"He was pretty heated yesterday. He said he wouldn't hit a girl, though it seemed at times he wanted to. He convinced himself that it were all his fault. That he was the one to blame and he was the one that needed to pay."

"Wh-what does that mean?"

"I don't know. But I think we need to tell him."

Rachel went right back to pounding but Monica stopped her. Something in his tone told her that it might have been dangerous for them to push him like this. She went right back inside and grabbed her phone.

"Come in with us." They take her to their apartment.

"Hello?"

"Ross. He's here." Of course, Ross who's in the middle of giving a dinosaur lecture to a middle school tour group had no idea who 'he' was. Covering his ear and turning from the adult escorts.

"What?" He asked.

"He's here. Eddie, he's in Chandler's apartment."

"Where's Chandler? Does he know?"

"He's in there with him."

"Well get in there."

"I can't Eddie's locked us out."

"I'm on my way." They were both about to hang up the phone when Ross called her attention. "Oh, and Monica. Call the police. I'll be right there."

"I got to go." He said after hanging up the phone, leaving the group standing stunned. Luckily Juanita knew enough to direct them onward.

Monica stood with the phone in her hand staring down at it. Call the police? It seemed like such a bold move. Calling the police wasn't something they did. It wasn't something they ever needed to do. Was this one of those moments? Chandler wouldn't be in there alone with Eddie if he felt like he had a choice. If he felt free to leave, then he would have been out of there by this time. Monica started to punch the numbers.

"Wh- what are you doing? Who are you calling this time? Is it Joey?" Rachel asked. Yes. Joey would need to know, that would be her next call.

The address was the first thing she said into the phone at the request of the operator. The way she spoke the emergency into the phone told Rachel her answer and she understood.

What's going on?" Joey asks seeing the policemen in the hall and now in the open room of the girl's apartment. "Come in, come in." They pull him in. "We've been trying to reach you. Chandler's in there. He's stuck in the room with Eddie."

"What?" Joey looked back as if he was going to charge right back over if Monica wasn't still holding onto him. Ross and Phoebe were in the sofa area. Phoebe sitting with her fist into her lips. Ross pacing before her as if he wasn't sure what to do with himself. Are there anymore surprise guest we should be expecting?" The scene commander asks.

"No. This is it. This is Chandler's roommate."

A word from the author.

This is my first Friends flick. I know this is a huge cliffhanger but I thought this was a good place to stop. Not sure if I'm going to continue this one. I suppose I'll leave it up to the readers to decide if they want more. Let me know what you think and if you want me to continue. Oh, and please be kind.