AN: Sorry this took so long, I've been easily sidetracked lately. Anyway, here's the epilogue – feels like I've spent more time trying to write this than the whole rest of the story!
Six months later…
"Monica!" Chandler impatiently glanced at his watch again, then at the closed door to their bedroom. "Honey, come on! We're gonna be late."
"I'm coming, Chandler, hold on!" A moment later, Monica stepped out of the bedroom, still putting on her earrings. Chandler's mouth dropped open as he took in her appearance. He glanced down at his own simple khakis and dress shirt, then back at Monica with a frown.
"Where are you going?"
Monica shot him a startled glance and shrugged. "Same place you are. Why?"
"Are you trying to pick up the doctor?" Chandler asked her sarcastically, still incredulous. She looked like she was heading out for a night on the town – an expensive night on the town. He wasn't even wearing a tie.
"Of course not…what's wrong with you? I just want to look nice."
"Monica, it's our last session with our marriage counselor, not the Emmys."
"I know…" Monica was avoiding his eyes, and Chandler stifled a laugh when he recognized the look on her face.
"Sweetie, I seriously doubt that anyone in the office is going to care that we've made it through our self-prescribed dose of therapy. Except maybe Grant, and that's just because he's going to miss the extra money in his pocket. What do you think they're going to do, throw a party?"
Monica shrugged and reached for her jacket.
"Of course I don't think they'll throw us a party. But they might do a… sort of graduation…thing."
Chandler smiled at his anything-but-subtle wife and slipped his arms lovingly around her waist.
"I don't think you can "graduate" from counseling, Mon. Besides, I've seen pictures. You didn't dress like that for your high school or college graduation."
"Okay, fine. I'll go change." Monica pouted as she turned to go back to their bedroom, but Chandler caught her hand and pulled her back to him.
"Nah, don't change. You look beautiful, and I want everyone to know that you're mine." Monica smiled softly as Chandler kissed her on the nose. "Besides, we're already late…and I wouldn't mind seeing Grant's face when you walk into his office. I'll take great pleasure in reminding him that you're there with me for marriage counseling."
"You just like to gloat, you big baby," Monica teased as she rolled her eyes and kissed him.
"Hey, it's not my fault that you love me. But as long as you do, I might as well rub it in to every other man in the city."
Monica rolled her eyes again, but gave him a pleased smile before she headed out the door without him. He caught up to her quickly and grabbed her hand as they walked down the stairs and out to Monica's Porsche. Chandler didn't miss the looks Monica was getting as she put on her sunglasses and slid into the driver's seat, but he just smiled. They could look all they wanted. He'd never felt more secure in his marriage.
"It's hard to believe it's only been six months," he commented quietly, resting his arm on the back of her headrest and gently tickling the back of her neck with his fingers as she pulled out into traffic. Monica glanced at him with a wry smile and squeezed his knee affectionately.
"It does seem like we're a lifetime away from that night, doesn't it?"
"Yeah…I'm proud of us, though."
"I'm proud of us, too. I'm starting to think the whole thing was harder on our friends than it was on us."
Chandler laughed softly as he remembered their friends' reaction to the news that they had hit a rough patch. Ross had glared at him for days on end, not seeming to care that they were already on their way to reconciliation. Phoebe had started reading their horoscopes to them every day, though it was always more than obvious that she was doctoring them to promise only love and happiness and never any discord. Rachel had shamelessly encouraged Emma to tell her aunt and uncle how much she loved them and to compliment them on everything from how pretty they looked in their wedding pictures to how much fun she had with them – together. In the meantime, Rachel herself had grown strangely nostalgic, reliving countless memories from years past – all of them somehow related to Chandler and Monica's relationship and how great and happy they were together.
And Joey…with Rachel and Phoebe's help, he had plotted countless schemes to give them romantic time together – setting up candlelight dinners so they could relax together when they got home, planning trips for the group that turned into trips for Chandler and Monica when the rest of the group suddenly had conflicts, sending Monica roses at the restaurant with a card claiming they were from Chandler… Chandler and Monica had accepted all of it good naturedly, and had even teased their friends that they were acting like children who wanted their parents to get back together. But in actuality, they didn't mind too much. It was nice to know their friends cared so much about their relationship.
Sometimes, however, their well-meaning friends just made things worse…
Flashback – a few weeks after C&M's anniversary.
"Monica, don't you think we should talk about it before we make a decision?"
"We're talking about it now."
"But you already said yes! I thought we agreed to take some time and just concentrate on us for awhile."
"Chandler, if you're that upset about it I can tell them I changed my mind."
Chandler shook his head as he opened the door to their apartment and they walked in, oblivious to the fact that Joey and Phoebe were standing in front of the window, staring down at Ross and Rachel's apartment. They both turned around quickly when Chandler and Monica walked in, ready to explain, but Chandler and Monica didn't even look their way.
"You shouldn't have told them yes in the first place."
"It's my job, Chandler. I can't just ignore it."
"But you don't have to do this new restaurant thing. It's not like they're going to fire you if you tell them it's not a good time for you to start a new project."
"Fine, I'll tell them I can't do it. Will that make you happy?"
"No, it won't. I don't want to be the big, bad husband that tells my wife she can't do something."
"Well, Chandler, that's what you're doing."
"I didn't say you couldn't do it!" Chandler said, exasperated. "I just said I wish you had talked to me about it first. Isn't that what we said we would do? Talk about things?"
"Stop it!" Joey interrupted loudly, and Monica and Chandler turned toward him, surprised to find two of their friends standing in the corner, both looking upset. "Quit fighting!"
"Joey, Phoebs?" Chandler questioned, and looked around the apartment to make sure they had entered the right one. "Do you know you don't live here?"
"Yeah…" Joey admitted, sheepish. "We're playing hide and seek with Ross and Rachel and we were watching to see if they were hiding in Ross's apartment."
"Hide and Seek? Please tell me you're playing with Emma."
"No," Phoebe stated matter-of-factly. "Emma's sleeping over at Carol and Susan's. Something about quality time with Ben."
Chandler shook his head, questions plaguing him in abundance. Why were Ben and Emma with Carol and Susan and not with their mutual parent – Ross? Why on earth were four adults nearing forty playing hide and seek, without the benefit of blaming it on a four-year-old? And even worse, cheating? And why, oh why, hadn't he and Monica learned by now to start locking their door?
He asked none of them. Instead, he glanced at Monica, who just shrugged.
"Okay…" Chandler conceded reluctantly, knowing that trying to get them to elaborate would be futile. They might get legitimate – though reluctant - answers from Ross and Rachel, but Phoebe and Joey would just talk them in circles, thinking they were making perfect sense the whole time. The two culprits shared a quick look of relief that they had gotten off so easy. Chandler and Monica had been a little weird about people being in their apartment since they found out the truth about what happened to their door while they were on their honeymoon. Joey and Phoebe had never known why they got so upset – the new door looked exactly like the old one.
"Hey, Joe, why don't you guys go find Ross and Rachel. Chandler and I have some things to talk about."
Joey's alarm rapidly returned, and he shook his head violently.
"No! If we leave, you'll keep fighting!"
"We weren't fighting, Joey. Just…discussing."
"You were fighting. We heard you!" Joey's pouted like a pro, his gaze slightly accusatory. "Tell us what's wrong, and we'll help."
"We weren't fighting," Chandler snapped, more sharply than he had intended.
"Don't talk to him like that," Monica admonished him. "He's only trying to help."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that our problems were public knowledge."
"Problems? So now this is a problem? If I recall correctly, you're the one that told Joey all about our problems."
"So now it's all my fault, is it? That's typical."
"YES! It's all your fault. Everything is your fault. That is exactly what I said, and it's certainly what I meant," Monica told him, her voice dripping sarcasm.
"STOP!" Joey finally cried, near tears. Phoebe just looked shocked, and a little embarrassed. "Stop it. I'm sorry. Just don't fight. Please."
Chandler looked from Joey to Monica and back again, feeling guilty. But this was precisely the reason they didn't like to discuss serious issues in front of their friends.
"It's okay, Joey. We're sorry, too. Look, why don't you guys just give us some time alone. We'll work it out. I promise."
"No fighting?" Joey asked hopefully.
"No fighting," Monica assured him, elbowing Chandler to prompt his agreement.
"No fighting."
"Okay," Joey relented, relieved. He and Phoebe left together, and Monica collapsed onto the couch, looking up at Chandler.
"That was uncalled for."
"Well, I can't help it. This is our business. They don't have to know everything about our lives."
"He's just trying to help, Chandler. They all are. You don't complain when they fix us a fancy dinner and leave us alone for the night."
"I know. I just…I'd rather them not know."
"That we're fighting? All couples fight, Chandler."
"But we're not exactly "all couples" right now, Mon. We're "the couple that almost got divorced". To them, at least. We know that these little fights are nothing major, that's they're just natural, but they all seem to think that one sarcastic comment means we're just going to give up. I feel like I'm living under a microscope."
"Me too," Monica admitted, looking down at her hands. "But they mean well."
"Maybe they do, but sometimes they just make it worse. Like tonight. One minute we're having a relatively civil conversation and the next we're screaming at each other, and it has nothing to do with what we were originally fi- um, discussing. I don't want to be walking on eggshells, constantly looking to see if somebody's around so we don't say something that isn't happy and lovey-dovey in front of them."
"Maybe we should just talk to them. They all know what's going on. Maybe if we told them to just give us some space…and not to blow things out of proportion… they'll understand. They just want us to be happy – we both know that."
"I know they do…" Chandler sighed. "I should probably go apologize to Joey."
"Yes, you should. Both of us should. But I'm sure he would rather us work this out now than go looking for him."
Chandler paused, then sat down next to Monica. "I don't remember what we're supposed to be working out."
Monica smiled. A few weeks ago, they would have been dragging fights out and holding grudges for days. Amazing how "I love you" and some real communication can change everything… Now, the whole thing seemed trivial and stupid.
"Well…we were talking about the fact that I agreed to be a consultant on the menu for the new restaurant without talking to you about it first," she reminded him quietly, smiling slightly when she realized she had no fear of his response. At long, long last, they were starting to become Monica and Chandler again.
"Oh…yeah." Chandler paused for a minute, realizing how selfish he had been. It was just too easy to get upset about the little things when they had been training themselves to do it for so long. "Listen, I think you should do it. It's a great opportunity, and it's not like you'll be working double shifts. It's just a few hours a week, right? We'll still have plenty of time together."
"Are you sure?"
Chandler nodded and smiled at her as he reached for her hands and lifted one to his lips. "I'm sure. I never want to hold you back. I'm sorry I got so upset."
"But I should have talked to you before I accepted."
"You were just excited. I understand."
Monica smiled and whispered a soft "thank you" as she leaned in to kiss him. She was happy that their little squabble had been resolved so easily. For the past few weeks, she had been scared that every disagreement would blow up in their faces. It was easy to say you were going to talk things out, but doing it was often an entirely different story. Their marriage was still shaky, but it was getting better by the day.
"Maybe we should thank Joey for jumping in," she murmured, listening contentedly to his heartbeat as her head rested against his chest.
"I wouldn't go that far. Knowing Joey, he'll take that as permission to wire the whole apartment so he can come rushing in at the first sign of trouble."
Monica sat up and gave him an amused smile. "Don't you think that's a little out of Joey's league?"
"He had four lines as an FBI agent in a movie three years ago. He'll think he's qualified."
End FlashbackDr. Grant Evans greeted them as they walked into his office and motioned for them to sit down as he took and final gulp of coffee and sat down with them.
"It seems like just yesterday, you two were walking in here looking absolutely terrified. And now, here you are, ready to go out into the world without my guiding hand," Grant lamented, playing the role of a parent bidding their child goodbye outside college dorm.
Chandler glanced at Monica, who just smiled.
"We were terrified. But we have to admit, you made us feel right at home."
"Well, that happens. Especially when it takes a couple three sessions just to tell me how they met and fell in love."
"We warned you it was complicated."
"That you did. I just didn't believe you. But I was rooting for the two of you the whole time. I'm glad you've worked everything out."
"Yeah," Monica agreed, squeezing Chandler's hand. "We've come a long way since you first met us."
Flashback – The First Counseling Session (Have you figured out that this is a "flashback" epilogue?)
"Mr. and Mrs. Bing?"
Chandler stood up as their names were read from the clipboard. Monica stood up, too, a little calmer than her husband, but still nervous. Chandler extended his hand, hoping it wasn't shaking too much.
"I'm Chandler Bing. This is my wife, Monica."
"Grant Evans. Call me Grant, please. I might be a doctor, but I hate being called one." (AN: I know counselors aren't necessarily doctors, but this one is. I figured…New York…probably most of those people are doctors.)
Chandler nodded, starting to feel a little more comfortable. They followed Grant into his office, glancing around before sitting down next to each other on the couch. Grant noted their choice – his office was arranged so that his desk was facing a semi-circle of two armchairs and a couch, arranged so that the couple would be facing him no matter where they sat - and his first observation of any couple was whether they chose to sit together or apart. It was always promising when a couple seeking counseling sat down next to each other. Grant took a seat in one of the armchairs, and glanced at the folder that held the scant information he knew about them already.
"So, you two have been married five years?"
Chandler nodded, not sure if he should elaborate – and what to say if he did. So he just sat there silently, gripping Monica's hand.
"Well, I usually like to get some 'history' first, just so I can kind of relate. Why don't you tell me how you met?"
"Well…" Monica began, frantically thinking backwards and trying to find the beginning. "Chandler was my brother Ross's college roommate…"
"Make yourself comfortable, Grant," Chandler advised him sagely. "This could take a while…"
End Flashback
"Well, it might have taken you a long time to tell me your story, but by the time we actually got around to discussing what made you seek counseling, we were all comfortable together, and I felt like I really knew you."
"You might have been comfortable, Doc," Chandler informed him, using Grant's nickname. "But we weren't. We didn't even want to talk about our problems with each other, much less with a 'marriage counselor'."
Flashback
"So…on your wedding day, you found out that the maid-of-honor was pregnant with the best man's child. The maid-of-honor being Monica's best friend and ex-wife of the best man, who is Monica's brother and Chandler's best friend."
"Yeah…except we didn't know Ross was the father until later and Chandler thought Phoebe was the one that was pregnant until the next day."
"Uh huh."
"It was a regular soap opera for awhile," Chandler admitted. "And it just got worse when Joey fell in love with Rachel."
Grant's eyes widened and he shook his head. "Don't blame you for finding it hard to concentrate on yourselves. Sounds like you were just supporting characters in a Greek tragedy."
"Well…we didn't have a lot of time alone, that's for sure. But everything was fine for awhile."
"When did you start having problems?"
Chandler glanced at Monica, who was suddenly silent. Obviously, she was designating him to answer this one.
"Well…"
(AN: I'm going to skip this, since you already heard all of it when Chandler explained it to Joey.)
"…So I told her I would give her a divorce if that's what she wanted," Chandler said, his voice almost breaking as he remembered how heartbroken he had been at that moment.
"But it wasn't what I wanted," Monica managed to sob. "I wanted him. I felt so horrible for ever making him think that I didn't."
Grant cleared his throat, more affected by their story and their obvious emotions than he had been in a while. At first, it had been hard for him to listen to stories of happy marriages gone bad, but he had conditioned himself to remain emotionally unattached. With this couple, however, he was finding it a bit hard. "So you told each other how you felt and decided to stay together?"
Chandler and Monica nodded together, looking at each other and smiling slightly.
"Yeah. And that brings us to now."
"Are you happy now?"
"For the most part," Monica answered honestly after a brief pause. "We're still fighting more than we used to, but they're just little fights."
"Are you talking to each other?"
They both nodded.
"About what you did at work today, or about how you feel about the past, the future…?"
"Both," Chandler answered, looking at Monica, who nodded her agreement. "But we talk more about how good the lasagna is than we do about our almost-divorce."
"That's natural. And it's why you're here. Now, I want to talk a little more about the job Chandler was offered. Chandler, were you excited about the job?"
"No, I didn't even want to take it. New York is our home. All of our friends and our family is there – well, Monica's family anyway."
"So why didn't you just say no and leave it at that?"
"Because…well, I at least wanted to talk about it with Monica. It would have meant a lot more money, even though that wasn't terribly important. And I would never make such a big decision without at least giving her a chance to have her say."
"You didn't want to go either, did you Monica?"
Monica shook her head slowly. "No…for all of those reasons. And, well, we'd already had periods where things weren't so great between us. I was afraid that a big move like that would not be good for our marriage. Not to mention that big promotions usually mean lots more hours. I didn't want him to be away from home all the time. I already felt like we didn't have enough time together."
"You never told me that," Chandler commented quietly, gazing at her.
"I was afraid you'd think I was being selfish."
"So instead you just told me it wasn't an option?"
"It just came out, Chandler. I didn't mean to sound so harsh. It was already out of my mouth before I had time to think about it. And then you threatened to go without me…I got defensive. You scared me."
"I didn't mean it. You know I would never go anywhere without you."
"I know," Monica assured him. "I even knew it then, but in the heat of the moment…"
"Mon, I have to know. Did you ever think that I wasn't putting my whole heart into having a baby?"
"No. I – I can't believe I even said that. I know you were just as upset as I was when we didn't get pregnant. I…I guess I just wanted to hurt you like you hurt me by saying you'd go to Jacksonville without me."
"You did hurt me. I felt like you were blaming me." That was a surprise, even to Chandler. He'd never put that feeling into words, even in his own head.
"Oh, sweetie. Of course I wasn't blaming you. It just wasn't the time for a baby. It wasn't your fault…and it wasn't mine," she finished quietly, her tone telling both Chandler and Grant without a doubt that she had thought it was – probably for years.
They all sat silently for a few minutes, contemplating this. After a dramatic pause, Grant closed his folder and stood up.
"I'm going to get some coffee. I'll see you guys next week."
End Flashback
"Did we ever tell you that we talked all night after that session?" Monica asked Grant. "About everything… We were exhausted the next morning, but we finally knew for sure that we were going to be okay."
"I could tell. The next you came in, both of you were smiling and so enthusiastic. I knew the rest of my job was going to be easy. And now," Grant shut the file on his desk dramatically and swung his feet down to the floor. He looked toward his favorite clients and shook his head sadly. "My job is over. Consider yourselves graduates of the Grant Evans School of Happy Marriages."
Monica flashed Chandler a smile as they stood up together, and Chandler grinned back at her. It wasn't exactly a ceremony, but he had said "graduates".
"Thanks, Grant," Chandler said as he shook Grant's hand.
"My pleasure. Give me a call if you need anything, okay?"
"We will," Monica promised, giving Grant a quick hug. He had become more of a friend than a counselor over the past months – a friend they paid, Chandler always pointed out sarcastically.
After bidding Grant a final farewell, Chandler and Monica made their way out of the office and down the hallway. As the elevator door closed behind them, leaving them alone, Chandler pulled his wife into his arms and kissed her tenderly.
"Well, Mrs. Bing, since you're all dressed up already, how 'bout I take you out to celebrate the fact that the medical community has told us that we're going to live happily ever after?"
Monica smiled at him as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I have no objection."
"Good. We have reservations at Olivier's in half an hour."
Monica gave him a quick kiss, then stepped away as the doors opened and they walked out into the lobby. They quickly decided to leave the car where it was and walk the few blocks to the restaurant – after Chandler made sure the shoes she was wearing were not so uncomfortable that he would end up carrying her piggyback.
They arrived at the restaurant right on time, and were ushered to their table. After they sat down, ordered wine, and finally decided on their entrées, Chandler reached across the table and took one of Monica's hands in his.
"I have a surprise for you."
Monica raised her eyebrows suspiciously, though her smile revealed that she was really just curious.
"What kind of surprise?"
Chandler grinned at her and reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out two brochure-like books and slapping them down on the table in front of Monica. She picked the top one up, glancing at the front curiously before her eyes widened. She glanced at Chandler, who was watching her with an excited grin, and opened it slowly. She gasped as she read the ticket and looked back at Chandler.
"This is a plane ticket to Paris."
"I know. One for you, one for me."
Monica looked at the plane ticket in her hands and back at Chandler.
"Honey, this is wonderful, but…?" She let the question trail off, hoping Chandler would offer some explanation. He just smiled and removed the ticket from her hand – laying it on the table with its match – then leaned in to kiss her forehead.
"Well, you know how Rachel keeps saying we're acting more like newlyweds now than we did when we first got married?"
Monica nodded with a knowing smile, but her eyes stayed locked on his.
"Well…I thought a second honeymoon would be a good idea. It'll give us some time to be alone, and… well, since we're kind of starting over, I thought it could sort of 'reaffirm' our marriage. I got the idea months ago, but I wanted to wait until everything was good between us again. And we are good. We're really good." Chandler paused and smiled as his wife, who was giving him that sentimental smile that he loved. "And since we've finished our counseling now, it kind of seems like the signal of our new beginning, you know?"
Monica nodded, her eyes shining. "That's exactly what I was thinking."
Chandler gave her a light kiss on the lips, then continued in a low voice. "When we first got engaged, we talked about a honeymoon in Paris, but then we decided to do the typical "tropical paradise" thing. I thought…maybe you'd still like to have a honeymoon in Paris. The "City of Love" seems like an awfully good place for us to be right now."
Monica reached up to caress his cheek, then let her hand slide through his hair as she gave him a long kiss.
"That sounds absolutely wonderful."
Chandler smiled, obviously pleased with himself. "And I thought – since we'll be in the general vicinity already – that we could stop in London for a night. Just to relive certain memories."
"Yeah…those are good memories. Who would've thought…" she teased him.
Chandler started to kiss her again, then looked around at all the people sharing the room with them. "I kinda wish we were already in Europe," he whispered to her.
"Well, babe, we leave in…" Monica picked up the tickets and glanced at the date. "Three weeks." She smiled and squeezed his hand. "In the meantime, we can practice…"
Chandler smiled seductively and lightly ran his hand over her thigh, just as the waiter appeared, their plates in hand. Chandler glanced at Monica, who was looking at him.
"To go?"
"Yeah, good idea," Monica assured him hurriedly.
Chandler nodded to the waiter, anxious to leave the restaurant. "Two to-go boxes please. And bring us our check." Seeing the confused look on the waiter's face, Chandler shrugged. "We're going to Paris."
Monica laughed as the waiter turned back around, taking their plates with him, and leaned over to kiss Chandler.
"I love you, sweetheart."
Chandler smiled and leaned his forehead against hers.
"I love you, too. And I can't wait to start the rest of our lives together." (AN: I can't remember the exact words he used when they were coming back from their honeymoon, outside the door? Anyway, referring to that.)
"Hmm…the good thing about Paris is that there are no seashell necklaces."
"Don't worry. Remember that hat Joey found in London? I can still find plenty of ways to embarrass you."
"I guess I'll have to keep you in the hotel room the whole time."
"Is that a threat or a promise?"