When their plane finally approached New York and started the slow descent to JFK airport, Chandler mentally crossed off the option of more sex with Monica and sighed deeply. They had left international waters. London was behind them, was over. Over and done with. The 'Not-in-New-York-Rule' was now firmly enforced. There was nothing he could do about it.

Next to him Joey squirmed in his seat and craned his head trying to catch sight of a familiar landmark through the window across the aisle and the next row – of the Twin Towers probably, or the Empire State Building or even his favorite sandwich place, for all Chandler knew. He nearly upset the tray that still held the three mini bottles that Chandler had recklessly ordered when Joey had started pouring out all his worries and troubles about being a bad actor to him and just wouldn't leave off. The booze hadn't helped really, only given him a slight buzz. And a heartburn.

Chandler risked a short glance over the back of his seat. Monica was in her seat, very prim and upright, already belted in. He couldn't read her expression, it could be pensive, or bored or maybe even a little sad. She was always so controlled it was hard to tell. He couldn't believe that this was the same woman who had waited half an hour at the toilets for him so they could have one last quickie before New York. If only Joey … but it was no use.

Just when he decided a little wave or wink might be in order, the intercom crackled and the captain announced their ETA, the current weather conditions and the time. Monica immediately looked at her watch and then took it off and changed the time, with a faintly pleased smile. Chandler knew that she loved doing things like that, loved to feel efficient and exact all the time. It probably wouldn't occur to her that resetting her watch meant that she too had left London time behind for good. Or maybe she had resigned herself to it now, abandoned all hope for one more little continuation of their fling. It would be so like her to close the chapter, draw the line, never look back. Maybe she wasn't even all that sad about it. Maybe she was even relieved.

Chandler turned around again. He still couldn't make up his mind whether he himself should be sad or relieved that it was over. Yes, it had been great, unbelievably exhilarating and so much fun. Even in his wildest dreams he had never imagined that something like this could happen. And yes, it had been awkward too, with some – okay, quite a few – cringe-worthy moments. Like when Joey had nearly surprised them and jumped to that erroneous, but still horribly embarrassing conclusion about what he was doing in bed with the TV off. And Ross barging into the room in the morning – thank God he had just woken up and managed to pull the covers over Monica, before her brother could see her. And facing Monica afterwards when Ross had left. No matter how great that night had been, right then it had all felt so stupid and pathetic. And wrong. Plus there had been that crazy persistent fear that they had been found out, that everybody already knew about them and was horrified – or worse, laughed at them. It took him ages to get things into perspective again. So they had sex, okay, no big deal. It wasn't the end of the world. And by the time the wedding ceremony started, he had pretty much rationalized it. And when it turned out that Monica was thinking pretty much along his lines too and wasn't averse to a little extension of their London affair, things had definitely looked up again. True, it had been rather frustrating not to find a place where they could have a go at it without being disturbed, but it had been so much fun too. And the most amazing thing about it was that he and Monica had been so much of a mind, so much in tune. No matter what happened, she had played along with an enthusiasm that was exhilarating and quite breathtaking. Chandler grinned to himself. That was the Gellers for you, they always gave everything and you had to struggle to keep up. Maybe he should consider himself lucky to have gotten off so lightly.

Whatever, it was over now. Over and done with.

Was it? A voice in his head suddenly spoke up. Can't we still consider it? I mean, dude, this is about sex! Really great sex! And there could be more! You only have to want it!

The voice belonged to guy #1. Chandler almost groaned aloud. It had been a while since the two guys in his head had gotten into an argument. The last time had been when he fell for Kathy while she was still Joey's girlfriend, and look how that turned out – those six hours in that damn box had not even been the worst.

Forget it, said guy #2. It's over. Finished. You should look forward. You should be glad it didn't really damage your friendship. Now you have to think about how to behave around her so the others won't notice. Think about how to be just friends again. Try to forget it ever happened. She will want it that way. See if she doesn't.

But it had been so good. They had "agreed" so well, so blindly, every single time, and it had felt so incredibly great. He had wanted it to never end. Oh yes, one more time would have been sooo good …

One more time … one more time … one more time … ooooohoooohoooh … guy #1 sneered aping a song that Chandler couldn't place, where the singer apparently was down on his knees begging. What was it, something to do with Miami Vice? No… ah, yes, Phil Collins. It was called 'One more Night' though. But he'd settle for one more time.

Get a grip! You can have it, you just have to want it! Of course Monica will want it too, and you won't need to beg her! You just have to give her a reason that's good enough!

Guy #2 scoffed. You think? Do you not know Monica? You can't just have sex with her again! She will think it's serious, and then she will be hurt. And then you can't be friends anymore and the group will be destroyed. Because of you. Is that worth it? Is it?

The seat-belt lights went ping. The plane kept sinking as they approached the airport. Chandler closed his seat-belt, had to open it again to assist Joey to put on his and pick up his half eaten sandwich that had fallen from his lap, and finally managed to buckle up just before touchdown. Then came the cruise along the roll-way, the stop and the usual confusion when everybody got out of their seats at once and bumped into each other in the aisles. Chandler held Joey back, grinning at Monica, who – naturally - had kept serenely to her seat. When the plane had emptied somewhat they got up, collected their stuff and went to the exits. Once out of the plane Monica immediately took the lead and almost ran down the tunnel to customs. Then there was the enervating wait at the baggage claims, where they once again had to keep Joey from climbing on the belt, then the ritual of the security barrier, which Monica once again triumphantly cleared without setting it off and the customs officer who took one disgusted look at Joey's duffel and waved them through. Finally they were in the hall. Joey craned his head looking for someone familiar at the arrivals and failed.

"Where's Phoebe? I thought she'd pick us up!"

"Joey!" Monica rolled her eyes. "She's over 8 months pregnant, with triplets, she won't even fit behind the wheel anymore. How can you expect her to come here? It's much too exhausting for her."

Finally they secured a cab, after Monica and Joey had argued about the English money he had kept ('how can it be so much? What do you mean, I can't pay with it? Its money, isn't it?') and Monica fussed that her bag would get dirty in the trunk. Apart from some standard jokes to defuse the tension Chandler kept quiet most of the time. In his head guy #1 and guy #2 were still going at it. One more time or no more time? Was it worth it? Could he risk it? Would Monica even agree? He stole a look at her while Joey swapped stories with the cabdriver and felt that guy #1 had a point. It would be worth the risk. So much. That thin red summer dress looked so hot on her, and he was pretty sure she was wearing no bra … And of course, it had to be at that exact moment that she look around and catch him looking at her breasts. For one hot moment their eyes met and Chandler felt himself blushing furiously. Before he looked away, he noticed however that she had blushed too and that comforted him a little.

It took them over an hour to Manhattan, partly because Joey insisted that they stop at one of his favorite sandwich places, to pick up what he called his dinner. When Chandler pointed out that it was just 2 hours past noon, he got indignant.

"What do you mean? It's 7 p.m. on my watch! That means dinner!"

"Joey! You haven't changed your watch yet?! It's 2 p.m. here! Look!" Monica held out her wrist. Joey's jaw dropped. "But it was noon when we left London!"

"Wow, it's like time travel!" said Chandler absentmindedly – he wasn't on his best form. The two guys in his head had again picked up where they left off.

In the end Monica changed Joey's watch for him and changed some of his English money too, after berating him for having spent so much.

"What on earth did you buy that cost so much?"

"I dunno … strawberries? I think they cost the most."

"Don't forget the hat" Chandler put in. "You gave the guy far too much for it."

Joey pouted and then pointed an accusing finger.

"How come you remember so much of it? You fell into the flower stand!"

"You did what?!" And of course Monica had to hear the whole story while Chandler sat by fuming.

He loved Joey. They were the best roommates ever. Without Joey his life would be utter misery, just daily boring work routine and lonely evenings. Joey had turned his life around and he was really grateful. But sometimes … Sometimes his buddy was really hard to take.

After Joey's sandwich(es) had been secured they finally arrived at Bedford Street. Home again. There was the familiar building. They got out of the cab and retrieved their luggage, then they climbed up the stairs. Chandler and Joey just shoved their luggage into the kitchen of no. 19 before they all stormed into no. 20 together where Phoebe, cheerfully balancing a bowl of Muesli on her huge belly, welcomed them enthusiastically. All at once Chandler felt relieved. It was over, nothing could possibly happen anymore. Definitely. Not with the others around, not here in the familiar kitchen. It simply had no place here. Already London started to feel like a dream to him. Now Phoebe hugged them and cheered and then started to tell them off.

"You had meat!" she glared at Joey who could only shrug sheepishly. And then "You had sex!" at Monica and Chandler. Monica stared in shock and Chandler's jaw dropped. How was that possible?! How could she know? Granted she was weird like that, but still ..?

"No, we didn't!" he protested. Deny it, deny it, whatever happens … But Phoebe had dismissed him already.

"I know you didn't. I'm talking about Monica." Chandler pretended to be hurt while he was secretly relieved. And for once fiercely glad that Phoebe never really took him serious.

"Phoebe I did not have sex!" Monica exclaimed, very earnest and self-righteous. It didn't look very convincing, but seemed to work on Phoebe at least.

"This pregnancy is throwing me all off!" she complained. "AND making me fat." Chandler started breathing again.

And then Joey wanted to check on the chick and the duck, and Phoebe decided all at once that she had to leave, and the door closed behind them … and suddenly, for the first time since they stormed into the Honeymoon Suite in London, Monica and Chandler were alone with each other. Finally alone – but too late.

They looked at each other and found they couldn't meet each other's eyes. Monica chuckled nervously.

"Well … we certainly are alone ..." she said conversationally. He could tell how nervous she was. His mind went blank. Even guy #1 and guy #2 had fallen silent.

"Yes … good thing we had that 'Not-in-New-York-Rule'" he exclaimed and then wanted to kick himself. Whywhywhy say that of all things? He didn't want to remind her of the Rule! Or did he? Did she want to be reminded?

Cheeks flaming Chandler went to the fridge just to give himself something to do. He took out an apple and threw it from one hand to the other, of course almost dropping it. At least it calmed him a little and he could face her again. Oh boy, she had taken of her jacket. Her shoulders were bare, except for those thin straps … and definitely no bra.

"Right. And since we're on that subject …" Here it comes, he thought. Friendship is more important, the group comes first, let's forget it ever happened – oh, did something happen? Haha …

".. um, I just wanted to tell you that – uh, well, I was going through a really hard time in London, what with my brother getting married and that guy thinking I was Ross's mother …"

Chandler grinned broadly. "Right." Yeah, right, that idiotic hammered guy, who would never ever know how grateful Chandler was to him, for all times. He deserved a medal. At least.

".. well, anyway, I – that night meant a lot to me. I guess I'm just trying to say thanks."

And she smiled at him, looking so sweet. It hadn't been quite what he had expected and as always, when he didn't have time to think about what to say, what he said came from his heart, not his brain.

"Oh. You know, that night meant a lot to me too. And it wasn't because I was in a bad place or anything, it just meant a lot to me, because …"

What exactly? How could he express it? The miraculousness of it, that nothing remotely like it had ever happened to him before? The two guys were silent. Naturally. Except that guy #1 did make a halfhearted suggestion.

".. you're really hot!" he blurted out. And wanted to kick himself again. But wait, she seemed to like it. At least she smiled.

"Is that okay?" At this she laughed outright.

"That's okay." She really seemed amused and also somehow relieved … and happy. In the back of his mind Chandler suddenly realized that more than anything else he wanted her to be happy.

"And I'm cute too." That was guy #1, fishing for compliments. He desperately needed her to confirm that she still liked him. That everything was just like before. That nothing had been spoiled or even threatened. Everything was okay.

"And you're cute too!" she confirmed, still laughing and held out her arms to him for a hug. Just a friendly meaningless hug.

"Thank you …!" Chandler hugged her briefly, taking care not to draw her too close and letting go almost immediately. Still he caught a little of her scent, her body warmth, the feel of her … Suddenly he desperately needed to get away from all this, get some peace and quiet, get a chance to think about everything. Or forget.

"All right. I gotta go unpack." Another smile. Just play it cool man.

"Okay." They high-fived and he went to the door. Monica remained standing where she was and all of a sudden Chandler needed to see her face, to make sure he hadn't been mistaken about her. Was she really cheerful again, or had it all been fake, for his sake? Already in the door he turned once more and threw her a smile.

"Bye." And she was still standing there, watching him, looking … how? Amused? Wistful? Glad to be alone? Or not? He closed the door behind him and went into no. 19. The apartment was quiet. The door to Joey's room was closed and the awful sounds emanating from it told Chandler that Joey's jet-lag had finally caught up with his overdue naptime and that his roommate would probably be out cold until next morning at least. He was on his own. He noticed that he still held the apple and put it on the foosball table.

Guy #1 hesitantly cleared his throat.

DUUU-UUUDDE! Hello? Did you see how she looked at you just now? She still wants it! Think! Just one stupid reason, that's all it needs, and you can do it again!

But the Rule – began guy #2.

Screw the Rule! Rules can be broken. Rules are meant to be broken. Dude, you just need a reason, how hard can that be?! It's easy! 'International waters' was soo lame and yet good enough for her…?!

Chandler's mind raced. He swallowed. Remembered her scent. That she wore no bra. Her face when he looked back.

Two seconds later he strode through the door of no. 20 again. Part of him expected her to be gone from the kitchen, in her room unpacking or the bathroom. But glory be, praised be all the saints, she still stood there, as if … as if she hadn't been able to give up either. As if she wanted him to come back. And now – a reason, please god, just any stupid reason … Oh alright.

"I'm still on London time, does that count?!"

He saw her eyes light up. Oh sweet good lord.

"Oohh that counts!" Firmly and decisively, lending weight to it and making it true.

"OH GOOOOD .." It was like a huge weight had been lifted from him. He wanted to dance and sing, but of course there was no time. So guy #1 did the dance for him in his head while he pulled Monica close. She threw her arms around him and as they kissed he could have sworn a long and loud cheer was raised that wouldn't stop.

.

.

A/N: Yes, this is very late, but since it seems to me that a lot of people didn't realize that the two guys in Chandler's head are actually taken from the series - he talks about them in TOW the Butt and I just elaborated on them a little more - so I decided to add that info here. Better late than never :-)