This is my take on the night after the "I Love You" from TOW Everyone Finds Out. It is also a part of the contest of the Merge! Thread on Friends-Board–to write a song-fic dealing with one of two songs. I chose "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys, and I've included the lyrics below.I made up the book, and the quiz the "psychologist" gives. I am not a psychologist myself...all the questions were made merely to support my story. Also, I rated this story PG-13 due to some ideas that are presented here...not for any crude language or actions, really. It could probably get away with a PG rating, but just to be on the safe side I rated it PG-13. It's probably no worse than anything actually mentioned or talked about at length on the actual show. Thanks!
God Only Knows by The Beach Boys
I may not always love you God only knows what I'd be without you If you should ever leave me
But long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
I'll make you so sure about it
Though life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me
God only knows what I'd be without you God only knows what I'd be without you If you should ever leave me God only knows what I'd be without you
Well life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows...
What I'd Be
Laying in Chandler's arms, reveling in the afterglow of their love making session, Monica sighed contentedly and snuggled a little closer, hugging Chandler tightly across his chest. Chandler responded to Monica' snuggling by tightening his own arm that lay across her lower back, and whispering into her hair, "I love you."
Monica's lips curved into a smile, loving the sound of those words from his lips. She closed her eyes, savoring for the moment the timbre of his voice and the depth of emotion the words supplied. She replied with a contentedly sleepy, "Love you, too."
Chandler exhaled a laugh and tickled Monica's ribs lightly. "How many times have we said that to one another since earlier tonight? 50? 100? 3,000?"
Monica laughed, shaking her head. "Doesn't matter, really. I don't think we could say it enough."
Chandler's chest hitched under her cheek, and Monica liked that she could have that effect on him. They lay in their tight embrace for a few moments, and just as she was beginning to drift off to sleep a huge growl from Chandler's stomach awoke her instantly. "Chandler?" She asked, struggling up to look into his slightly red face, "Was that your stomach?"
"No," Chandler said, "it was my ass."
Monica almost smiled in spite of herself. "I can see that our confession of love hasn't softened your propensity for sarcasm."
Chandler grinned. "It hasn't softened other things, either."
Monica's eyes grew round and she smacked at Chandler's arm with her hand. "I can't believe you just said that. And here I was willing to get up, out of my nice warm bed, to go and feed you."
Chandler grabbed her hand and kissed it, before leaning over and kissing Monica on the lips. He began to speak against her lips, "I'm sorry, Mon, for talking about my bodily functions while in bed with you. Please feed me. I love you."
Monica grinned, kissing him back, before pulling away, laughing as his stomach began to growl again. She pulled away and stood, throwing his boxers and a tee-shirt to him. "You'd better put those on...Rachel's home and though she may know about us...I doubt she'd like to see it first hand."
"Oh, I don't know," Chandler said, pulling his shirt over his head, and following Monica out of her bedroom door, "I've seen her eyeing me before."
"Oh, yeah?" Monica asked, walking to the cabinet and pulling out a bag of microwave popcorn, "When?"
Chandler pretended to be deep in thought. "Whenever I bend over?" He asked, rubbing his chin.
Monica nodded. "Well, then, I can't blame her."
She put the popcorn in the microwave and then walked to the refrigerator to pull out a Yoo-Hoo for Chandler and a bottled water for herself. She put them on the table and took a minute to tie the belt on her short, purple robe, before picking them up and moving over to the couch where Chandler sat. She placed the drinks carefully on the coasters on the table in front of them and briefly leaned her head on his shoulder. The beep signifying the end of the popcorn's popping time sounded and she rose, running a hand through Chandler's hair before heading into the kitchen. As she placed the popcorn into a bowl and salted it, she heard Chandler turn on the television and begin to flip channels.
She wondered back, handing him the bowl of popcorn as she settled comfortably at his side. She idly chewed on her popcorn as she looked to see what he was watching, an old episode of Star Trek. She made a noise in the back of her throat and he immediately changed the channel, eliciting a kiss on the cheek from her. He flipped through all the channels twice, coming finally to rest on a late night talk show.
True to form with most late, late shows, the guest that night was not a new celebrity, but rather a psychologist hocking her new book entitled, What I'd Be: A Guide to Understanding Your Impact on Your Lover's Life. The psychologist, a pretty blonde woman in her mid-50's named Dr. Werner, was just saying that she was going to give the studio and at home audience a quiz so that they may understand their own impact on their lover's life.
Monica squealed at this, standing to grab a pad of paper and a pen so that she and Chandler could take the quiz together. She quickly drew a line down the center of the paper she held and wrote each of their names at the top. She sat, crossed legged, on the edge of the couch, poised to write their answers to Dr. Werner's questions. Chandler smiled indulgently, leaning forward to kiss the back of her neck, before settling in to answer the questions himself.
The psychologist was speaking, again, on the TV. "Well, Bob," she addressed the host, "I'm only going to read 3 of the questions–what other reason would people have to buy the book if I read them all?" Dr. Werner chuckled at her own joke, but quickly became sober as she noticed the studio audience hadn't responded. She hastened on to her questions. "Okay, then. Question 1. Do you and your mate have any in common friends?"
Monica didn't even look up as she wrote a big "YES–ALL" in both her and Chandler's column. Chandler grinned, and thought that while it was certainly good to have friends in common, that those same friends could possibly compromise a relationship–why else would he and Monica have kept their affair secret for so long? Chandler only looked up to realize that he had missed Dr. Werner's explanation of why in common friends would help or hinder a relationship. He looked to Monica's face, held at rapt attention. He smiled and listened for the next question.
"All right. Question 2, then. Do you and your mate enjoy any activities–other than in the bedroom, that is–together?"
Monica frowned, furrowing her brow. Chandler leaned forward and grabbed the pen from her, above her protests, and wrote "PLAYING TENNIS, THOUGH SHE'S A SORE LOSER", "HANGING OUT AT THE COFFEE SHOP", "ATTENDING SWING CONCERTS", and "ORGANIZING HER LINGERIE DRAWER". Off Monica's look he said, "What? I do a lot of reorganizing when I rummage around in there. I generally move the bras to the back, and the thongs to the front, don't I?" Monica seemed to smile in spite of herself, but quickly took her pad of paper and pen back as Dr. Werner prepared to give her last question.
"Okay, one last question folks. "Imagine what you'd be, who you'd be, if you did not meet/or "click" with your mate." The studio audience was full of the murmurs of the lovers in the audience as they discussed what or where they'd be without one another, as the host cut to a commercial break. As an annoyingly loud ad for a local "singles line" popped up, Monica and Chandler were left pondering this question.
Monica was the first to react, looking up at Chandler and giving him a lingering kiss on the lips, before looking down to her paper and writing, "Without Chandler, I'd be alone. I'd be in a world where laughter held little meaning, and love even less."
Chandler smiled at that, re-reading the lines she had written several times, before smiling fondly at her and reaching for the pad of paper. He thought for a moment before writing, "God only knows what I'd be without Monica."
Monica's grin told him that he had written the right thing. The pad of paper was discarded carelessly to the coffee table as Chandler stood, lifting Monica into his arms. The click of her bedroom door was barely audible to the other occupant of the apartment, who had risen to use the bathroom at that late hour. She wondered out of her bedroom, frowning as she noticed the television was on, and a pad of paper and a pen sat precariously on the edge of Monica's generally spotless coffee table. Rachel turned off the TV and picked up the pad of paper, reading it quickly. She smiled and looked towards Monica's bedroom door, knowing that Chandler was in there with her best friend.
Rachel grinned as she headed towards the bathroom, and in her mind was only one thought. Could she find a copy of the Beach Boy's song for Monica and Chandler, and would they play it at their wedding?
end.