This takes place four months after Soul Searching. Tina broke up with Chandler because she was unhappy with the way their relationship has been going. In the mean time, Chandler
and Monica are starting to realize that their feelings for one another are growing stronger. As Monica's feelings for Chandler intensifies, she becomes even more afraid. It's obvious
that there's more than just friendship between them, and that it's difficult for them maintain their feeling for each other.
 

Chandler rose from his bed at 5:30am. He had set his alarm for 6:30, but he couldn't sleep. He decided to just get up and start getting ready for the
trip. He was excited, just as the rest of the gang was. He couldn't wait until he was on that plane headed to California. His bags were sitting over by
his window. He gathered his things and went into his bathroom to take a shower. He usually showered pretty quickly, but today he decided to stay in
the shower a little longer. The water pouring over him relaxed him and he found himself not wanting to get out. He had plenty of time to kill, so he
could stay in as long as he wanted to.

Monica was checking to make sure that she had everything that she needed packed away, except for the outfit that she wanted to wear for the day.
She had just gotten out of the shower and dressed quickly. Even though it was now 6:00am, she still had plenty of time. Judy said that she would cook
breakfast for her and Ross. They all had to meet at Chandler's house. She was about to go in Ross's room to see if he was dressed, but when she got
to her door, she remembered that she had forgotten to pack her diary. She went back over to her bed, opened her lightest bag, got out her diary and
put it neatly in the bag.

Chandler had just finished getting dressed. In an hour, the gang would be showing up at his house. He sat on his bed and dialed Joey's phone number.

"Joey."

"Hey Chandler. You dressed?"

"Yeah, you?"

"No. I just got out of the shower."

"Oh, well, I'll let you get dressed and I''ll call you back."

"All right."

When Chandler hung up with Joey, he called Monica.

"Hey Bing."

"Hey Geller."

"What's going on?"

"Sitting here talking to you."

"Really?" Monica said grinning.

"I don't know. I think so." Chandler said jokingly.

"Are you psyched?"

"Yeah."

"Did you talk to Joey?"

"What is this, twenty questions?"

"No, it's how many questions I want to ask you."

"I see. I talked to him for about two seconds. He was getting dressed.

"Oh."

"Did you talk to Phoebe and Rachel?"

"Not yet."

"Oh."

Twenty minutes later, Ross came in and told Monica that breakfast was almost ready and closed the door.

"Well Chandler, I'm about to eat and we'll be over when we're done."

"All right."

Monica hung up with Chandler and went downstairs to eat. She and Ross sat at the table and ate their food quickly. Everyone was to meet at
Chandler's house at 7am and leave from there. When they were done eating, Ross went upstairs and carried his and Monica's luggage to the car.
Monica hugged Judy and Ross before they got into the car with Jack.

When Monica and Ross walked into Chandler's house, Phoebe, Rachel, and Joey were already there.

"What took you guys so long?" Rachel teased.

"Shut up Green." Monica said grinning.

"No Geller."

The butler went outside to pull the limo in front of the house. Once the limo was in front of the house, he began taking their luggage out.

"This is so cool. We get to ride in a limo to the airport." Phoebe said.

"Yeah, and we get to spend a week in the Hollywood Hills." Monica said.

"I'm SO ready to go." Rachel said.

Twenty minutes later, they were getting into the limo. Everyone was in the limo except Chandler. He was saying good-bye to Nora. After the hugs
and kisses Chandler exchanged with his mother, he got into the limo and they were off. On the way to LaGuardia airport, Joey was the only one
asleep. Chandler and Ross were talking to each other about sports, while the girls were engaging in their own conversion. It was a smooth ride there
with very little traffic, which was surprising.

The gang approached the gate with their carry on luggage. While the guys sat in their seats, the girls got in line along with Chandler. Once their
tickets were stamped, they went and sat down. Then Joey and Ross stood in line. It was now going on 9am and their flight wouldn't take off until
9:30. Monica was falling asleep on Chandler's shoulder. When Chandler put his arm around Monica, Phoebe and Rachel looked at each other and
then back at Chandler. He was talking to Joey and didn't notice. Ross was drifting off to sleep, but woke up when he heard them telling him that it
was time to board the plane.

Boarding the plane was a slow process, but twenty minutes later, they were finally seated with their luggage in the over head compartments.
Chandler and Monica were seated next to each other, Phoebe and Rachel were seated together in front of them, and Joey and Ross, were seated
next to each other across from Chandler and Monica.

"Excited yet?" Chandler asked.

"I've been excited since Joey first mentioned going to California."

"Not me." He said smiling.

"Yeah right."

An hour later, when Chandler got up to use the bathroom, Rachel sat in his seat next to Monica.

"Too bad your sitting across from your brother." Rachel said grinning.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about if you two wanted to get a little frisky, Ross is right there."

"Oh stop it Rach."

"Come on. You know you want to." Rachel teased.

"You SO do." Phoebe said looking back at them.

Monica laughed and shook her head. Phoebe turned back around and Rachel went to her seat when Chandler came back from the bathroom. Hours
later, Monica was asleep and Chandler found himself staring at her. He took his eyes away from her for a few seconds to look in Ross and Joey's
direction. When he saw that they were asleep also, he turned his attention back to Monica. He looked into her face as she slept and gently touched
her face with the back of his hand. He wanted to kiss her so badly. Watching Monica sleep, he realized that he wouldn't be able to control himself
around her much longer. They had been flirting for months, and he wanted so badly to hold her in his arms and not let her go.

When they arrived at the house, they were in awe. The place was not only huge, but it was beautiful. Joey's sister's fiance` Jerry, went to the airport
to pick them up and brought them back to the house. They each carried their own luggage up the house. There was a bunch of grass and trees
surrounding the house, and a lot of steps to walk up to get to the house. Once in the house they looked around them in amazement, including Joey.
He had never been to the house before. Seconds later, Joey's sister Mary Therese (not sure how to spell it, but you get the idea) came into the living
room.

"Joey!" She shouted.

"Hey sis." He said going over to hug her.

"I'm so glad you could all make it." She said to them when they broke the hug.

"You're house is so beautiful." Monica said.

"Thanks. I'll show you guys your rooms and I'll give you a tour of the house."

"Cool." Phoebe said.

Monica loved the house already. The living room was really big, with white leather furniture and marble floors. The table was unique. It was a
diamond shaped glass table that sat in front of the sofa. Two glass elephants sat on the table. They were shown to their rooms. The girls would share
a room together, and Chandler and Ross too. Joey had a room to himself. They enjoyed the tour of the house, especially Monica. She loved the way
the house was made. It was spacious. There were four bathrooms throughout the house. They were shown each one. The master bedroom was nice
and cozy looking with a peach rug, peach and white curtains, comforter and pillows. There was a small weight room located in the basement, along
with a pool table in the next room. They were also shown the small indoor tennis court which Chandler fell in love with, being the jock that he is.

Once she was finished giving them a tour of the house, they played tennis for a few hours. Afterwards, they all ate a nice dinner which Joey's sister
cooked. When they finished dinner, the girls stayed in the kitchen to help clean up, while the guys went sight seeing with Mary Therese's fiance`.

"This is the life." Phoebe said.

"I'll say." Monica commented.

"Yeah, I like it." Mary Therese said smiling.

When they were done helping her clean the kitchen, Phoebe and Rachel went back to the room. Monica went outside and stood on the deck. She
loved the view. She stood outside for a few hours enjoying the peace and quiet. It had gotten dark. She saw the guys coming up to the house. She
instantly became nervous when she saw Chandler. He smiled at her when he approached the deck. Joey and Ross went into the house along with
Jerry.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" Chandler asked.

"I was just doing some thinking."

"About me?" Chandler asked seriously.

"No."

Chandler gave her a look as if he didn't believe her. He then reached for the door like he was about to go in.

"You're going in already?"

"Why, you don't want me to?" He asked coming closing to her with his hands in his short pockets.

"I didn't say that." She said nervously.

Chandler and Monica eyes were locked on each other. He looked incredible standing in the moonlight inches away from her.

"You look so good." She said looking surprised at what she just said.

Chandler grinned at her. Her words were unexpected. He looked at her with her hand over her mouth.

"Thanks. " He said, removing her hand.

"Your welcome.'" She said feeling embarrassed.

"Well, I'm going in."

"Okay."

Chandler gave Monica a gentle hug that lasted longer that it should have. He broke the hug and leaned his forehead against hers. Her heart was
racing, and so was his. He was tired of trying to control himself around her. He wanted her, now.

"I want to kiss you." He whispered softly.

She closed her eyes at the sound of his voice. He then put his hands to her face and kissed her with as much passion as possible. While kissing her,
he slowly let his right hand slide around to the back of her neck. She held him tightly around his waist, not wanting to let go of him. They hadn't
kissed since New Year's Eve at his house, and she was just as nervous then, as she is now. She felt as if she would faint. They were standing in the
corner of the deck a little ways from the door. They broke the kiss after a while, and he stood there gazing at her and caressing her face.

"I love you." He said softly.

Monica felt as if her heart had dropped to her shoes. She didn't expect those three words to come out of his mouth. She looked into his eyes with a
surprised look on her face. She was speechless. He leaned in and kissed her again. This time with even more passion than he had the first time.
Monica cupped his face in her hands as he held her tightly against him. She could no longer resist him. She had tried, but found it rather difficult this
time. Her feelings for him was so overwhelming. Seconds later, her hands were running through his hair, and his hands slowly made their way to her
butt. She made a soft noise which caused him to pull her toward him even tighter.

Five minutes later, they broke they kiss. They stared into each other's eyes once again, with Monica touching his face this time.

"Well, I guess I'd better get in the house."

"All right."

On his way to the door, she got his attention.

"Chandler."

"Yeah." He answered turning around.

She slowly walked toward him and stood two inches in front of him.

"I love you too."

"You do?" He asked smiling.

"Yeah."

She took his hand in hers and leaned in to kiss him. They kissed lasted for a minute before she pulled back to look at him. They both smiled and
Chandler walked into the house slowly.

Later that night, Monica sat in the room she shared with Phoebe and Rachel by herself. She laid on her bed not being able to sleep. Her mind kept
racing back to the sweet kisses she and Chandler shared earlier on the deck. She still couldn't believe that he told her that he loved her. She was
also surprised that she had the courage to say it back. She couldn't hold back the smile that kept spreading across her face. She was glad that
Phoebe and Rachel weren't in the room. It felt good to be this mood without anyone around. She wanted to go into Chandler's room and finish the
kisses that they started on the deck. She knew that she couldn't, because he shared a room with Ross.

Chandler laid in bed thinking about what happening between him and Monica. He had never told a girl that he loved her before. It felt better than he
imagined it to feel. He felt that it was inevitable that something would happen between the two of them. There had always been a strong attraction
between them, and after his New Year's Eve party, they began to flirt with each other quite often. He couldn't help himself. For a while, he was
intimidated by Monica. It slowly passed, but he was still a little nervous around her. He hoped that the feelings they have for one another wouldn't
complicate their friendship. He told himself that he would just try to be her friend, but the more they spent time together, the more difficult it became
for him to control his feelings for her. He wished that he could go into her room and bring her back with him. Ross wasn't in the room with him. He sat
up, but then laid back down. The room was dark with the exception of the moon shinning through the window. As Chandler closed his eyes, he heard
the door open. He lifted his head up and saw that it was Monica. He smiled and went over to her.

"I just came to kiss you good night."

"I'm glad you did."

He held her around her waist and they kissed. The kiss last for a few seconds.

"I wish I could stay."

"Me to."

"I'll see you tomorrow." Monica said.

Chandler gave her a soft peck on the mouth and she left the room.
 
 
 

NEXT..........SO CLOSE