♡

THE ONE WHERE SECRETS COME OUT.
EPISODE TWENTY-ONE.

♡

Like usual, the sofa the friends sat at in the coffee house was squished with Chandler, Zara, Monica and Phoebe sitting together. Joey and Ross took the spare seats at the side and then Rachel was busy working.

"Tell him!" Monica cried out.

Phoebe joined the cries as Rachel protested.

Zara, however, hid behind her coffee mug, having heard about Rachel's dreams that morning.

"Tell me what?" Chandler asked, confused.

"Look at you," said Monica. "You won't even look at them."

"Them?" Chandler caught, becoming concerned as Zara knew where his mind was heading. Since Rachel had recently discovered their secret, the two were fearful that Rachel wouldn't stay quiet. "Come on, tell me," continued Chandler, more awkwardly. "I could use with another reason why women won't look at me."

"All right, all right," Rachel decided.

Zara looked up, almost afraid that her face gave her away as Rachel avoided her gaze.

"Last night," Rachel started. "I had a dream that, um, you, Zara and I were, uh..."

"Doing it on this table," Phoebe finished, pointing at the coffee table.

Suddenly, Joey was rather interested in his magazine as he sniggered.

Both Chandler and Zara knew why this dream had come about.

"Wow," said Chandler, shocked.

"Excellent dream score," Joey told him, enjoying this far too much.

"Why, why..." Ross joined in. "Why would you dream that?"

Rachel shrugged as Zara could tell that she was trying her hardest not to look at the two who were secretly sleeping together. For once, Zara found that staying silent was for the best.

"More importantly: was I any good?"

"Oh, honey," Zara couldn't help but tease as her head turned, offering Chandler a smirk. "You are brave to ask that question when I'm involved," then her eyes snapped to Joey. "Don't you dare comment on this."

In response, Joey rose his hands in surrender.

"Well," said Rachel. "You were... there."

"Just there?" Chandler questioned, unhappily.

"You helped," Rachel added. "Just, Zara knew what she was doing..."

All eyes fell on Zara, who shrugged. "I'm simply a woman of many talents."

"Dude," Joey whispered to Chandler. "You were still there."

"It was a dream," Chandler reminded him.

Ross let out a forced laugh. "I love it when we share."

Then, he abruptly stood up, heading to the counter with Chandler deciding to follow him. Zara couldn't help but find his reaction over the top and funny.

Though, as the day continued, and Zara had pulled out her old laptop to work, Chandler had ended up sitting on the coffee table with his legs stretched out. Zara couldn't help but roll her eyes at him with a hidden smile.

"Hello, Rachel," Chandler greeted her while she worked.

Rachel scoffed. "Get off."

Chandler found his way next to Zara again, peeking over her shoulder as she typed.

"Oh, give me," said Phoebe, reaching for the pencil that Joey had. "Can you see me operating a drill press?"

"I don't know," Joey answered. "What are you wearing?"

"Pheebs, why would you want to operate a drill press?" Ross questioned.

"Just for some short-term work. You know, till I get back some of my massage clients."

"Pirates again?" Chandler asked, standing.

"No," said Phoebe. "Nothing like that. I'm just such a dummy. I taught this massage yourself at home workshop. And they are."

"Hey, hey, Chan — she could work for you."

"Thanks, Joey. That's a good idea."

"I could," Phoebe announced, loudly. "I could do it! What is it?"

"Well, my secretary will be out for a couple of weeks," said Chandler, perching on the edge of the sofa. "She's having one of her boobs reduced. It's a whole big boob story."

"I could be a secretary," Phoebe declared.

"But you know what, Pheebs, I don't know if it's your kind of thing because, uh... it involves a lot of being normal...for a large portion of the day."

"I could do that," Phoebe insisted.

Rachel perched on the other end of the sofa as a beeper went off.

"What are you playing with?" Rachel asked Ross.

"Oh, it's my new beeper."

"Why the hell does a palaeontologist need a beeper?" Joey asked.

"Is it for dinosaur emergencies?" Monica guessed. "Help! Come quick! They're still extinct!"

"No," Ross spoke over their laughter. "It's for when Carol goes into labour. She can get me wherever I am. All she has to do is dial 55-JIMBO."

"A cool phone number and a possible name for the kid," Chandler commented.

"All right," said Monica, standing. "I'll see you guys later."

"Off to see young Ethan?" Rachel questioned.

"Oh, young Ethan," Zara teased with a matching grin.

"Thank you," Monica told them.

"How young is young Ethan?" Joey asked. "Young?"

"He's...our age."

"When we were...?"

Monica paused, looking back at Chandler. "Okay, he's a senior in college."

Zara pressed her lips together to stop herself from saying anything she would regret.

"And this man-child has no problem with how old you are?" Chandler asked.

"No, of course not," said Monica. "It's not even an issue 'cause I told him I was twenty-two."

"What?"

"Oh, I can't pass for twenty-two?"

"Maybe twenty-five, twenty-six," Phoebe said.

"I am twenty-six," Monica reminded her.

"There you go," said Phoebe.

♡

Zara could not believe that the one dream Rachel had, had turned into multiple dreams. Of course, upon catching news on more, Chandler was rather eager to find out what happened.

"Come on," said Chandler. "You told me about your last dream!"

"No! Forget it!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Why not?" Chandler questioned. "Was I doing something particularly...saucy?"

"Chandler, you were most likely watching us again," Zara told him.

Rachel looked amused. "All right, fine," the words caused Chandler to fidget as he listened. "Well, you see, Joey was there too."

The image that came to mind was enough to make even Zara squirm.

Joey closed his magazine, sitting on the coffee table. "All right."

Ross stood up. "Was there, uh..." Then he chuckled before continuing. "Anybody...anybody else there?"

"Other than Zara," Rachel answered. "No."

"You sure?" Ross questioned. "Nobody handing out mints or anything?"

"No, it was just the four of us."

"Did you want to be there Ross?" Zara queried, raising her eyebrows at him.

"What...uh, no," and then he sat down.

"So, tell me," said Joey, enjoying this far too much. "So, was it like you and Chandler and then Zara and me, and then we'll swap? Or was it you, me, Zara, and Chandler."

At the mention of Zara and Joey, Chandler's head turned too quickly to face his friend. Though, Joey's words were more helpful in covering up the two.

Rachel, though, laughed.

"Oh," Zara joined her laughter. "Was it me and you again, Rach?"

Instead, Rachel patted Chandler's leg. "You know what?"

"What?" The two men chimed together.

"There were times when it wasn't even me and Zara."

Those words caused the two to slowly take in what Rachel was implying. Then, finally realising, they let out a laugh as they faced each other with the horror finally setting in. It was Joey who sprang back from Chandler, suddenly realising how close they were.

"That is so sweet," Phoebe told them, wrapping her arms around the two. "You guys."

Rachel, though, leaned closer to Zara as she whispered: "you have competition."

But fortunately, Monica came back home as Joey returned to his seat. They all greeted Monica back from her run.

"Mon, Ethan called again," Rachel informed her.

"By again, Rachel means a few times," Zara added.

Their comments were met with no response.

"Mon?" All eyes watched her walk towards her bedroom, completely oblivious. "Mon!"

Hearing them, Monica removed her headphones. "What?"

"Ethan called again," Rachel told her.

"Oh," said Monica.

"You're not seeing him anymore?" Ross asked.

"No," Monica answered. "You know, sometimes things don't work out."

"And this has nothing to do with the fact that he needs a note to get out of gym?" Chandler questioned.

Feeling Monica's gaze on Zara and Rachel, the two were quick to slip into defence.

"You know I can keep a secret," Zara reminded her friend.

"I did not say anything," Rachel promised. "I swear. He stopped by."

"Next time you talk to him," Joey started. "Can you ask him which one the strongest Power Ranger is?"

"Oh, yeah," said Ross before laughing with everyone.

Monica's laugh wasn't quite in tune with theirs.

"Oh, my life is just so amusing," Monica said. "Can we drop it now?"

Of course, the three guys could not drop it as they had to take the Power Rangers joke too far with Zara rolling her eyes at them. And she was sleeping with one of them.

Monica disappeared into her bedroom with Phoebe suddenly standing. "Oh, I got to go," she announced. "Woah. Oh, head rush. One more and then I have to go," and then she stood up again with a smile. "Cool."

"Where you going?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, I got a birthday party with some work people."

Chandler stood. "Work people?" Then he walked towards her, clearly offended. "Nobody told me."

Zara's tooth sunk into her bottom lip, knowing Chandler had been upset that nobody at his work liked him. That night, Zara had wrapped her arms around him and reassured him that she liked Boss Bing.

"No, I know," said Phoebe. "That's part of the whole them-not-liking-you extravaganza."

"You know what, I don't get this," Chandler decided. "A month ago, these people were my friends, you know. Just because I'm in charge, doesn't mean I'm a different person."

"Well, then you should come," Phoebe suggested. "You know, just hang out with them. Let them see what a great guy you still are. But only if you bring your girlfriend."

Zara froze at that, feeling Rachel stiffen next to her too.

Chandler laughed awkwardly. "G-Girlfriend?"

"Oh, please," Phoebe said. "I know."

"You know what?" Chandler questioned, fearful for the answer as much as Zara was.

"Chandler has a girlfriend?" Rachel questioned; voice far too high.

"Yeah," Phoebe told them. "There's talk that Chandler spends his lunches with an attractive woman that he's been seeing."

Joey joined in with the laughter. "I think I would know if Chandler had a girlfriend."

Zara scoffed. "Sounds like just office gossip."

"Oh, no, she's real," Phoebe decided.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time Chandler's imagined a girlfriend," Ross commented.

"I don't have a girlfriend," Chandler told them — mainly Phoebe.

"Okay, okay," said Phoebe. "Clearly, she's important if you don't want to share her with us yet."

"How do you know?" Chandler asked.

"By the look on your face," Phoebe answered, but she was smiling as if she was happy for him. "Now, are you coming or not?"

"Okay..." Chandler decided, feeling as if he didn't have a choice. "But it's just me coming."

"Yes, yes," said Phoebe, reaching for the door handle. "Oh, but can we not go together? I don't want to be the geek who invited the boss, you know."

As the two leave, Zara twisted back around, meeting Joey's watchful gaze for a moment.

The secrets were now piling up, so how much longer could they keep this up?

That night, though, Zara had been hanging out with Joey while Chandler was out. It was strange, where the two had not spent much time alone together, but it was far easier than Zara had ever imagined. They were alike in more ways than she had thought: a shared liking for horror books (though, Joey always ended up terrified); they both enjoyed over-the-top action films; and ordering food in with a couple of beers or sodas.

"Huh," said Chandler, having opened the front door as he returned from his night out. "Look at the two of you getting on."

"I know, it's a miracle," Zara told him, head turning to face him with a joyful smile. "We have not argued once."

"That truly is a miracle then," Chandler said.

"Hey, we are friends," Joey pointed out, but his eyes slid to Zara. "Aren't we?"

"I don't want to give you the satisfaction of saying yes," Zara informed him.

"I think that's the closest you'll get to a yes, Joe," Chandler told his friend, patting him on the shoulder.

"Do your work colleagues like you now?" Zara asked.

"Yeah, I actually think so," said Chandler, starting to smile brightly. "It was a really good night."

"I'm glad," Zara told him.

"What are you going to do about Phoebe?" Joey asked. "Surely, she'll figure it out."

"That depends if anyone knows Zara's name," Chandler said. "I've never introduced her to anyone, we've just been seen together..."

"Yeah, you really think that'll stop Phoebe from figuring it all out?"

"She won't believe it's me from a description," Zara said.

Joey chuckled at that. "I think she could."

"What do you mean?" Zara asked.

"Joey's right," Chandler realised. "You...well, you are one of a kind."

"And we all figured out that Chandler had a crush on you," Joey added.

"Wait, you did?" Chandler questioned.

"Yeah, it was obvious," Joey said. "Like really obvious."

"All right, I get it," Chandler frowned.

"Oh, Chandler," Zara teased him, reaching up from where she sat as the tips of her fingers found his. Maybe Zara had been blind at the start, but she was still very wrapped up in her heartbreak to notice anything.

"Why don't you just tell Phoebe?" Joey suggested.

"We don't want anyone to know, Joe," Chandler reminded him.

"But all the secrets are so tiring," Joey complained.

"Maybe soon," Zara suggested. "When we're ready."

As, already, Zara was being seen as Chandler's girlfriend and she wasn't quite ready to accept that label. Between them, their own thing was going perfect without any unnecessary pressures.

When she caught Chandler's stare, and saw his smile, she knew that he felt the same way too.

♡

EPISODE TWENTY-TWO

♡

The day had finally come: Carol was in labour.

For the friends, they had accompanied Ross to the hospital in support. Zara was rather excited for him, though Ross himself was panicking.

"She's not here," Ross told them, frantically. "She's not here yet. She's having my baby and she's not here yet."

"I'm sure everything's fine," Monica reassured him. "Has her water broken yet?"

"I don't know," Ross answered. "But when I spoke to her, she said she'd already passed the mucus plug. What?"

Across from Zara, Joey was gagging. "Do we have to know about that?"

"Joey, what are you gonna do when you have a baby?" Monica asked him.

"I'm gonna be in the waiting room, handing out cigars."

"Yes, Joey's made arrangements to have his baby in a movie from the '50s," said Chandler.

"The poor woman, whoever she is," Zara muttered.

"I don't believe this," Ross returned. "I mean, she could be giving birth in the cab."

"Oh, Ross, relax," Rachel told him. "It's probably like two dollars for the first contraction and then fifty cents for each additional contact..." Sensing everyone's gaze, she stopped laughing. "What, it's okay when Chandler does it?"

"You have to pick your moments," Chandler advised her.

"Hi," Phoebe rushed in. "Did I miss it? Did I miss it?"

"No, she's not even here yet."

"What's with the guitar?" Monica asked.

"Well, I thought we might be here for a while," Phoebe answered. "So, you know, things might get musical."

"Oh my God!" Ross finally spotted Carol, who looked far more excited than she was in pain. "Where the hell have you been?"

"We stopped at the gift shop," Carol explained. "I was looking at stuffed animals and Susan wanted a Chunky."

"Oh, Susan wanted a Chunky," Ross sounded stressed. "You're having a baby! Okay? A baby! You don't stop for Chunky's!"

"I used to have that bumper sticker," Chandler said with Ross letting out a laugh as Chandler turned back to Rachel. "You see what I mean?"

With night descending, the friends ended up forced into having the hospital machine filtered coffee. Zara yawned, wishing she had brought her laptop now to write while they waited. At one point, she had even fallen asleep with her head rolling onto Chandler's shoulder.

Rachel had leant over the chair, tapping Chandler's free shoulder. "You are looking a little too cosy."

Chandler hushed her. "Monica and Phoebe might hear you."

Rachel's mouth fell open. "Joey knows too?"

"Joey knows what?" Joey asked.

Zara stirred, waking up, where she was completely oblivious to what was going on.

"Is the baby here?" Zara asked.

"No," said Chandler. "I need more coffee. Do you want some, Zara?"

Zara smiled in answer, nodding tiredly.

As daylight broke, Phoebe entertained them with a song as Ross joined them. The song wasn't rather pleasant for new parents as Zara pressed her lips together tightly. Ross eventually stood, making it evident that he was leaving notes in her mug.

"Thanks, Ross!"

"Yeah," said Ross. "I'm paying you to stop. Okay?"

Phoebe smiled. "Okay."

"Oh, look, twins," Phoebe then pointed out to a new mother with her babies. "Oh, hi guys. Oh, cute. Cute."

"No fair," Monica complained. "I don't even have one! How come they get two?"

"You'll get one," Chandler reassured her.

"Oh, yeah," said Monica. "When?"

"Alright, I'll tell you what," Chandler decided. "When we're forty if neither of us are married, what do you say you and I get together and have one?"

Zara's eyebrows pinched together, trying to figure out if she could see Chandler even married or with kids. While Zara knew she wanted that at some point (and she wanted quite a few kids if she could afford it), she wasn't what Chandler wanted — not that they were in a relationship with a promised future.

"Why won't I be married when I'm forty?" Monica questioned.

"Oh, oh, no," Chandler realised his mistake. "I just meant hypothetically."

"Okay, hypothetically," Monica corrected. "Why won't I be married when I'm forty?"

"You've dug yourself a grave with this one," Zara told him, patting his knee.

"No, no, no," said Chandler.

"No, no, what is it? Seriously?" Monica questioned. "Is there something fundamentally unmarriable about me?"

"Uh, uh..."

Zara should say something, but she was enjoying the horrified expression on Chandler's face.

"Well?"

"Dear God!" Chandler said. "This parachute is a knapsack."

As if he had a parachute, he fidgeted for it, rolling off the back of the chair with Zara leaning backwards out of his way. Why, again, was she attracted to this man?

"Mon, don't listen to him," Zara reassured her friend. "You don't need a backup plan as you'll be happily married with kids by forty."

"You really think so?" Monica asked.

"I know so," Zara promised.

But, then, Rachel had returned from home, having changed into a black dress. Seeing what she had changed into, Zara let out a laugh.

"Hey," Rachel greeted them.

"Ooh! Look at you, dressy-dress!" Phoebe grinned.

"Did you go home and change?" Monica questioned with Chandler joining them again, interested.

"Yeah, well it's an important day," said Rachel. "I want to look nice. Um, had Dr Franzblau been by?

"No, I haven't seen him," Monica said.

"Well, where is he?" Rachel demanded. "He is supposed to be here."

"Why, are you looking for him?" Zara asked, smirking.

"No," Rachel decided. "What if the baby needs him?"

"Rachel, what's the deal with you and doctors anyway?" Chandler asked, walking towards her. "Is like your father a doctor?"

"Yeah, why?"

Chandler shrugged. "No reason."

Then, he turned, giving them a look that suggested he defiantly had a reason. Zara couldn't resist herself as she walked towards Chandler with the friends having split for a moment. Standing close to him, she spoke so quietly: "if you think Rachel likes doctors because her father is one, then my type must be questionable indeed."

"I imagine your father is not a doctor," Chandler replied, becoming curious as Zara never spoke about her birth parents, or very rarely brought up her child.

She was starting to open up, so if there was a time to mention her father, then this would be a perfect time.

"The man who conceived me," said Zara. "Is in prison for life for murdering a man."

Chandler's mouth parted in shock, eyes widening.

But Zara simply smiled. "Luckily, murderers are not my type, or are you hiding something from me?"

Perhaps it was not the best way to break the news, but Zara would rather it be something to laugh about than to have a pitiful conversation. Yet, now, she could see that the humour had dried up in Chandler, so she sighed.

And if Chandler was not making a joke, then that was really saying a lot.

"Let's go for a walk," Zara suggested.

Outside the hospital, the sun was starting to rise in the sky, in a reminder that Zara was exhausted. Now, however, she was full of regret but realised that maybe she should tell at least one person in her life.

"Zara," Chandler's fingers caught her hand, causing her to look back at him. "You don't have to say anything else."

"Yeah, well I figured that probably wasn't as funny for you as it was for me," Zara told him. "Sorry."

"You're apologising for using humour to hide trauma?" Chandler laughed.

Zara smiled at that, realising that maybe they were alike in a few ways.

"I've never told anyone the truth," said Zara, instead. "I don't know why as I'm not embarrassed, but maybe I'm ashamed more than anything. Maybe I don't want to be seen differently, so please..."

"You are still Zara," Chandler reassured her. "Nothing could change that."

Once before had she thought about telling Derek, but he would have seen her with different eyes — she would have ended up being fragile to him.

"I only found out when I was a teenager," Zara started. "I suppose I was desperate like every other foster kid to find where they came from in the belief that their parents would want them back. My social worker warned me that it was best that I did not know, but I didn't listen, of course. I found my records, saw the names, and then researched them."

"Were you with someone when you found out?" Chandler asked, keeping hold of her hand.

"No," answered Zara, forcing a smile. "I was at the local library, reading an archive of the story in the New York Times. The night it all happened... my mother was pregnant with me, searching for money for their next high. It was a store robbery gone wrong, where my father killed an innocent man, but the police caught them leaving."

"Oh, Zara..." Chandler sympathised.

"My father got life, but my mother pleaded that she was forced to help, so managed to get a deal if she confessed," said Zara. "She's probably free now."

"Did you ever meet them?"

"I thought about it," Zara confessed. "But they are nothing to do with me."

Because of them, Zara had been born addicted to the very drugs that had corrupted her parents and led them to a life behind bars. How could she face them?

Chandler, though, pulled Zara into a hug with his arms wrapping tightly around her. His lips pressed against her head in a tender way as Zara found herself hiding a smile against his chest.

"Thank you for telling me," Chandler said. "You are incredible, you know that?"

"It must be true if you keep telling me that," Zara laughed.

Chandler pulled back, looking at her. "I'm serious, Zar. You didn't have to tell me that, but I'm glad that you did. And if it helps, make all the jokes you want"

Zara smiled, relieved, but then her eyes narrowed at Chandler. "You can't tell anyone."

"Funnily enough," said Chandler. "We're strangely good at keeping secrets."

"I don't know about that," Zara told him.

"I bet no one has noticed we are missing."

"Well, since we're missing, shouldn't we make use of this time?"

Chandler laughed. "What do you have in mind?"

"Oh, I'm sure there's an empty room in this hospital."

Then, she stood up on her tiptoes, meeting Chandler's lips with her own.

♡

Afterwards, Chandler had headed back up to their friends as Zara sought the fresh air again. Chandler gave her some space, knowing that the day had become overwhelming for Zara. Plus, the two not returning together will stop Rachel or Joey from accidentally exposing them.

By fresh air, Zara meant she had bought a pair of cigarettes as she smoked a couple outside.

Though, when she finally returned upstairs, she found everyone in the delivery room.

Carol looked disappointed to see her as Zara couldn't blame her when this seemed intrusive.

"Where are they?" Carol cried.

Oh, Ross, Susan and Phoebe were missing.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon," Monica reassured her.

"Yeah, honey, they wouldn't miss this," Rachel added.

"Relax, you're only at nine centimetres," Joey said. "And the baby's at zero station."

Chandler looked over to Joey. "Hey, you are really frightening me."

"What the hell is going on?" Zara demanded.

Carol, however, screamed as her fingers clutched onto Chandler's top, pulling him towards her.

"Somebody wanna help me?" Chandler pleaded. "Trying to rip my heart out." Finally, she let him go as Chandler checked himself. "Uh, that's great. Anybody see a nipple?"

"Alright," the doctor said. "Ten centimetres. Here we go."

"Alright, honey, time to start pushing."

"But they're not here yet!"

"I'm sorry, I can't tell the baby to wait for them."

"I'll go look for them," Zara offered, starting to feel a little queasy herself.

While she wanted children, the thought of delivering a baby was enough to cause her delay in having them. Seeing Carol in pain made Zara feel sick, so she was quick to leave.

Though, she felt useless, so she did start looking for Ross and Susan, not wanting them to miss the birth of their child. But apparently, Zara had missed them as she found her friends, claiming that Ross and Susan returned last minute.

Upon finding them again, Monica sniffed Zara, frowning as she had caught the scent of smoke. "You've been smoking."

"No," Zara lied.

Monica didn't believe her, but she looked more concerned than anything. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Zara reassured, forcing a smile.

Of course, Chandler's gaze was on her, but he didn't say anything. As she looked up, she could see that he cared about her. Zara hoped that her smile was enough to tell him that she didn't regret telling him.

And then, not long later, they were returning to the delivery room to meet Ross' son for the first time.

"Hi," Monica greeted quietly. "Can we come in?"

"Yeah, come on," Ross encouraged. "Come on."

They entered with Zara's hand covering her heart in pure delight to see the tiny newborn in Carol's arms. He was so tiny, so precious, and born into a family full of so much love.

"I know, I know," said Ross as he picked up his son. "Everybody, there's someone I'd like you to meet," the baby started crying in response. "Yeah. This is Ben."

"Oh, Ben," Zara cooed along with the others.

"Ben this is everybody," Ross introduced.

"Susan, he looks just like you," Phoebe pointed out.

"Thanks," Susan replied, awkwardly.

"Oh, God," said Rachel. "I can't believe one of us actually has one of these."

"I know," Chandler agreed. "I still am one of these."

"Ross?" Monica questioned.

"Yeah?"

"Can I?"

Zara felt her heart expand as she watched Monica hold her nephew for the first time.

♡

EPISODE TWENTY-FOUR

♡

It was truly baby fever as Ross was showing his friends pictures of his son.

"There's little Ben nodding off," Ross told them, holding the picture out.

"Oh, look Aunt Monica's little boy," cooed Monica.

"Oh, look," Phoebe laughed. "He's got Ross's haircut."

"Oh, let me see!" Rachel reached for the photo, leaning over Ross. "Oh, God, isn't he just the sweetest thing? You must just want to kiss him all over."

"That would be nice," Ross commented.

Chandler scoffed, causing Zara to look up from the photos she was looking at.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing," said Chandler, quickly. "Just a little extra air in my mouth."

Then he repeated the scoff before heading towards the counter.

"Hey, Chan," Joey called out to him. "Can you help me out here? I promise I'll pay you back."

"Oh, right, yeah, okay," said Chandler. "Including the waffles last week, you now owe me...seventeen jillion dollars."

"I will, really," Joey insisted. "I will pay you back this time."

Chandler sighed, pulling out his wallet. "And where's this money coming from?"

"I'm helping out at the NYU med school with some research," Joey announced.

"What kind of research?" Ross asked, pointing out that Joey had not been quiet.

"Just, you know, science."

"Science," said Ross. "Yeah, I think I've heard of that."

But, of course, it only made the more intrigued.

"Joey," Zara encouraged. "What research are you taking part in?"

"It's a fertility study," Joey told them.

Zara, along with everyone else, laughed.

"Oh, Joey," Monica said. "Please tell me you're only donating your time."

Joey's reaction told them it defiantly was not his time. "Oh, come on you guys. It's not that big a deal. Really. I just go down there every other day and make my contribution to the project," they started to nod, struggling to not laugh. "Hey, hey, but at the end of two weeks, I get seven-hundred dollars."

"Wow," said Phoebe. "You're going to be making money hand over fist."

Zara couldn't help but chuckle at that.

♡

They were throwing a barbeque for Rachel's birthday on a Friday night, but Zara had been late home from work. Already, she had missed decorating the apartment, and the guys were out back starting up the barbeque.

"What shall I do?" Zara asked Monica, once she returned from her bedroom.

"Cut the potatoes," Monica did not hesitate to give Zara a job.

Pulling out a chair, Zara started to cut up the potatoes most likely for the salad. Monica was seasoning the meat while Phoebe was cutting up the tomatoes.

The front door opened with Ross arriving.

"Hey," Phoebe greeted. "How long did you think this barbeque was going to last?"

Ross dropped the bag. "I'm going to China."

"Geez, you say one thing..."

Monica stood up. "You're going to China?"

"Yeah, it's for the museum," Ross told them. "Someone found a bone. We want the bone, but they don't want us to have the bone. So, I'm going over there to try and persuade them to give us...It's a whole big bone thing," no one had anything to say to that. "Anyway, I'm going to be gone for like a week, so if you want to reach me, you can't. So, here's my itinerary."

Monica took the paper, reading it.

"Um, here's a picture of me," Ross offered.

"Ross, it's a week," Zara snorted a laugh.

"Oh, let me see," Phoebe said.

Ignoring Zara, Ross continued: "can you take it to Carol's every now and then and show it to Ben so he doesn't forget me?"

"Yeah," Monia promised.

Phoebe held up Ross' picture in front of her face. "Hi, Ben, I'm your father. I am the head!" Then, she looked up, seeing their reactions. "All right, this barbecue's going to be very fun."

"Very fun," said Zara. "Once we start drinking."

"Hey, is Rachel here?" Ross questioned. "I wanted to wish her a happy birthday before I left."

"Oh, no," Monica told him. "She's out having drinks with Carl."

Ross sighed. "Hey, who's Carl?"

"You know that guy she met at the coffee house?"

"No."

"You see, there's this guy she met..."

"At the coffee house, right."

"So you do know who he is," Phoebe realised.

"Okay," Ross decided after. "I'm going to go say goodbye to the guys."

"Oh, hey, tell them that bone story," Phoebe suggested.

"Yeah, Ross," said Zara. "Tell them that you're gonna go searching in China for a big bone."

♡

Zara could not believe that she was meeting the girl that Joey was currently seeing.

The night had descended with Zara on her third beer, enjoying the night so far, but this new girl was so boring. 

"Anyway," said Melanie — Joey's date, who was sitting on his lap. "That's when me and my friend started this whole fruit basket business. We call ourselves 'the three basketeers.'"

"Like the three musketeers, only with fruit," Joey explained.

"No way," Zara gasped, sarcastically.

"Okay," Monica stood up. "How does everybody like their burgers?"

They moved to the sitting area as Monica spoke to Joey. Zara brought her beer with her, grinning brightly in excitement to see Rachel open her present.

"Okay," said Rachel as Monica and Joey joined. "I'm guessing this is from..."

Zara struggled to keep her mouth shut upon seeing a fruit basket.

"Well, thank you, Melanie," Rachel told her.

"Okay, this one right here is from me," Chandler said, pushing the gift bag towards Rachel.

"Okay, it's light," said Rachel, picking the present up as she then rattled it. "It rattles. It's...travel scrabble."

Chandler looked so pleased with himself that was adorable.

"Wow," Rachel responded. "Thank you."

But Rachel passed it back to Chandler, moving on to her next present as Chandler held the board game close to his chest.

"This one's from Joey," Rachel realised, still smiling. "It feels like a book," then she opened it, proving herself right. "And it's a book."

"Oh, it's Dr. Seuss!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"That book got me through some tough times," Joey told her.

Zara simply shook her head at him.

"There is a little child inside this man," Melanie said.

"Yes," said Chandler. "The doctors say if they remove it, he'll die."

Rachel was then opening Zara's as her attention remained on Rachel, eager to see her reaction for the lacy black dress that Zara had thought Rachel would like. Opening it, Rachel's facial expression didn't change as she saw the dress.

"Oh, I like it," said Rachel.

"You do?" Zara questioned, suspicious that she would return it.

"I do, I do," Rachel reassured.

But she was already reaching for another present.

"Who's this from?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, that's Ross'," Chandler told her.

They watched as Rachel opened the present, revealing a box that she then lifted the lid to reveal a brooch. 

"Oh my God," Rachel responded, shocked. "He remembered."

"Remembered what?" Phoebe asked.

"It was like months ago," said Rachel. "We were walking by this antique store, and I saw this pin in the window. I told him it was just like the one my grandmother had when I was a little girl. Oh, I can't believe he remembered."

"Well, sure," Chandler said, holding his present up. "But can you play it on a plane?"

"It's so pretty," Phoebe commented. "This must have cost him a fortune."

"I can't believe he did this," Monica said.

Zara scoffed. "Really?"

"Come on," Chandler slipped up too. "Remember back in college when he fell in love with Carol and bought her that ridiculously expensive crystal duck?"

"What did you just say?" Rachel questioned.

Zara's eyes were round, staring at Chandler as he processed what he had just shared.

Clearing his throat, Chandler tried to figure out how he was supposed to recover himself. "Crystal duck."

"No," Rachel denied. "No, no. The, um... the love part?"

Chandler's mouth opened as words tumbled out, but he couldn't put them together.

Rachel was in shock. "Oh my God."

Monica placed a hand on Rachel's back.

"Oh, no, no, no, no," Chandler panicked.

"That's good," Joey advised. "Just keep rubbing your head. That will turn back time."

For Rachel, there was no going back as she started to spiral. This included her pacing about the area, muttering how unbelievable it was over and over again.

"I know," Phoebe agreed. "This is really, really huge."

"No, it's not," Chandler told them. "It's small. It's tiny. It's petite. It's wee."

"Chandler, the damage has been done," Zara said, gently.

"Uh-uh," Phoebe denied, standing. "I don't think any of our lives are ever going to be the same ever again."

Zara's heart stopped at that, unable to look at Chandler. If they were already acting like this over Ross, then how would they react to Zara and Chandler?

"Is there a mute button on this woman?" Chandler questioned.

"I think this is so great," Monica said. "I mean, you and Ross! Did you have any idea?"

"No," Rachel answered. "None. I mean, my first night at the city he mentioned something about asking me out, but nothing ever happened, so I just..." then she sat down next to Joey. "I mean, what else did he say? Does he want to go out with me?"

"Well, given that he's desperately in love with you, he probably wouldn't mind getting a cup of coffee or something," Joey replied.

"Ross?" Rachel responded. "All this time?"

And then she stood.

"Well, I've got to talk to him," Rachel decided.

"Hey, he's in China," Chandler pointed out.

"The country," Joey added.

"No, wait," Monica held up Ross's itinerary. "His flight doesn't leave for another forty-five more minutes." 

"What about the time difference?" Chandler questioned.

"From here to the airport?"

"Yes!" Chandler cried out. "You're never going to make it."

"Well, I'm gonna have to try," Rachel decided.

"What will you say to him?" Monica asked.

"I-I-I don't know," Rachel realised, heading towards the front door.

"Well, then, maybe you shouldn't go," Chandler suggested.

"He's right," Joey cut in. "Cause if you're just gonna break his heart, then that's the kind of thing that can wait..."

"Yeah," Monica agreed. "But if it's good news, tell him now."

"Are you sure about this?" Zara questioned, standing with the rest of them.

"I don't know," said Rachel, far too frantic to think straight, but her eyes landed on Zara. "I mean, it worked out for you and Chandler, so maybe it'll work for us."

Zara's eyes popped wide at that, feeling all eyes land on her as she froze.

"I've just got to talk to him," Rachel carried on spiralling, obliviously. "I'll see you later."

The front door closed behind her as Zara realised that she had stopped breathing since Rachel had spilt their secrets. Zara couldn't even look at Chandler, who was as silent as she was.

"Oh my God," said Phoebe, putting the pieces together. "Of course, dark-haired, always wears a leather jacket, a teacher; Chandler's secret girlfriend is Zara."

Chandler's laugh sounded far too fake. "What?"

Zara tried to laugh too, but it didn't sound right. "Me and Chandler?"

Trying to be brave, Zara faced her friends, watching as Monica's head darted between Chandler and Zara, who were fortunately not standing together. It was Joey, though, who gave them away as he stared too harshly at the floor, staying silent.

"It's true," Monica realised, holding her hands close to her chest. "Oh my God, I could cry."

"Is this serious?" Phoebe asked.

Zara finally met Chandler's gaze, unknowing what to say. This was what they had both feared: not just their friend's reactions, but the labels that would be placed on them — and the pressure.

But Chandler braved a smile, walking towards Zara as his hands found her waist, pulling her towards him with a kiss that was to answer all their questions. Zara couldn't help but kiss him back, knowing that if their secret was exposed, then they might as well claim the moment.

And, after, Phoebe and Monica were both smiling, yet still in complete disbelief.

"Surprise," Chandler told them, keeping an arm around Zara.

"We're together," Zara confirmed, finding herself talking to Chandler more than their friends.

Together, but happily in their own way.

And, for a while, it felt like they could stay that way without the heartbreak.

♡

And that's the end of part 1!! Chandler and Zara are so unaware that they're in love!! I'm excited for them to be together around everyone, but there is a lot to come in season 2.

Any predictions??