Chapter Text
Chandler: (To his children) Look around, you guys. This was your first home. And it was a happy place, filled with love and laughter. But more important, because of rent control, it was a frigging steal.
(Chandler and Monica put Erica and Jack in their stroller.)
Phoebe: Hey, do you realize that, at one time or another, we all lived in this apartment?
Monica: Oh, yeah. That's true.
Ross: Uh, I haven't.
Monica: What about that summer during college that you lived with Grandma and you tried to make it as a dancer?
Ross: Do you realize we almost made it 10 years without that coming up?
Monica: Oh, honey, I forgot. I promised Treeger that we'd leave our keys.
Chandler: Oh, okay.
(Chandler and Monica walk over to the kitchen counter and leave the keys. The other four take out their keys and leave them too).
Season 10, Episode 17 (The Last One)
It was back to business as usual at the Bing house. Chandler had been tested at the hospital and the results had come back negative, confirming that he still had no brain damage and could resume his usual activities. He was happy to return to work. His first act upon returning to work was one that contrasted with his personality, but which he felt obliged to do. Indeed, he had never done this action in any job where he had been a boss: he had fired an employee. It had become impossible for him to work in the same office as Melissa. Before the accident she had already annoyed him, but since her little circus with Monica in the yard of his own house, anger had made him overtake the nice Chandler who did not want to be hated. He had been careful, however, as usual and had asked his own boss's permission, Chad. Since Chad was friends with Monica as well, he had given Chandler his blessing to fire her on the spot. The scene had played out as if he were outside himself. He had sat down and put his feet up on his desk and asked that Melissa be sent to his office. Of course, Chandler Bing's return had been all over the place and everyone had come to welcome him back, but Melissa had remained silent. Here Chandler was not considered a weirdo, because they were all a little weird in their own way. From the moment Chandler arrived ten years ago, he had perfectly integrated into this group and moved up the ladder quickly, just as he had done when he was a statistician. A quiet knocking was heard and Chandler glanced at the photo of his family that sat on his desk. With the coldest voice he allowed Melissa to enter.
"I'm glad you're back. You–," Melissa began.
"I don't want to hear it."
Chandler surprised himself by the dry tone and the unsympathetic way in which he had just forbidden her to speak. Anyone would describe him as a strange man, but a funny one, patient, very friendly, never raising his voice or getting angry. But no one had attacked his Monica as this person had dared to do in front of him and his friends. Melissa lost her smile and when she arrived to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of Chandler's desk, he snapped his fingers to signal that it wasn't necessary.
"You don't have to sit down because you're not staying anyway. You're going to give me the enormous pleasure of clearing out your desk and leaving this company for good. Don't you dare make any trouble. If it goes well, you'll get a generous severance check and even a letter of recommendation that says you're a good publicist who works well with others. There will be no mention in that letter of the fact that you are a despicable human being who thinks that her youth and face can get her anything she wants. Now you know the way out," he said, looking away from her and pretending to get back to work.
Melissa didn't dare open her mouth. She wasn't a bad person, but she was the kind of person who thought she could take or demand anything she wanted, even if the man she wanted had no interest in her. She truly believed that her beauty and youth would overcome Chandler Bing's resistance. As soon as she was gone, he began to tremble as he exhaled all the air he had in his lungs before calling Monica.
"It is done, I fired her."
"Oh my poor darling, how do you feel?" consoled Monica, knowing that he didn't like to be bossy at work.
"I'm fine, but wow, I've never done that before. At least not like this. But I did what I had to do and Chad agreed with me."
"I'll never understand you, I guess. You're more bossy with the kids than I ever thought possible, but at work you have a hard time managing your teams."
"It's not the same level of involvement, honey. Here I don't care if people don't listen to me, as long as the work gets done. They can shit on their desks for all I care."
The return to work had then continued as if he had not been away for six months. The projects were interesting and the division of clients between the different teams was going smoothly. When the holidays came, Chandler and Monica decided to spend Christmas in New York with their children at their old house, which Ross now lived in. Joey and his daughter had traveled from Los Angeles to join them, as well as Phoebe, Mike and their daughters. Rachel spent a lot of time at the house, getting close to her daughter's father, not rushing into anything, figuring that time would do its work if there were things to do. Celebrating Christmas together brought feelings of nostalgia. They hadn't celebrated Christmas together much since they all had children. They took advantage of the presence of each other to the fullest. They laughed, confided in each other, hugged each other, hoping to make up for lost time. When it was time to leave, Ross told Chandler and Monica that they were the ones who were going to host them all in less than a week for New Year's Eve. Monica thought this last minute invitation was a little odd, but since she loved to entertain people she liked at her home, she decided to give it a try. She now preferred the warmth of Florida to the coldness of New York.
By the time December 31 came around, Monica had everything set up in the house. The pool had been cleaned so that the children could play in it with Joey and Chandler. The two tables were already set up with all the cutlery. They just had to wait for their friends. For the past few years, they had been celebrating New Year's Eve with their friends in Florida, but this year, with the accident, Chandler's amnesia and the return to normalcy, she wanted to celebrate the new year with her best friends. Next year, she thought, she could mix the two groups so they could all get to know each other.
Chandler sat in the living room, his beer in his hand, watching Daniel and Jack play on the Playstation, while Erica was reading on the floor between her father and brothers. Elizabeth was glued to her daddy, playing with her tablet. Her family was what Monica loved most in the world and she was proud of it. She had never regretted her choice of husband and father for her children. She had never dreamed to be so happy. Everything she had with Chandler and the children was beyond anything she had ever hoped for. When their friends' rental cars finally arrived, Chandler stood up and took the last sip of his beer and headed to the kitchen to put the empty bottle away.
Everyone entered and the hubbub of greetings echoed throughout the house. Monica noticed that each of her friends had identical gift boxes in their hands, but she didn't ask any questions, happy to see her friends again. She had found their week-long separation long, just as it had been in the past. The meal was spent in laughter and lively discussion. Ben had been unable to attend, but he had called his godfather and godmother earlier in the day to wish them a Happy New Year.
When the meal was over, all the young people, whether they were 19 like Emma or 10 like Elizabeth, went downstairs to the basement, leaving their parents together as always. Joey took the opportunity to tell them that he had met a woman and that he thought he was in love. What made him even happier was that his daughter seemed to like him a lot. He also told them how Katherine seemed to have mellowed out about going out late at night, much to his delight. At one point in the evening, Ross cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.
"The last few months have been pretty overwhelming. We've all, I mean the four of us who don't live here, taken some time to time to think things through, and we've come to the conclusion that we're not going to let eight months go by before we all get together again. So."
Ross handed his gift to his sister, nodding to Chandler that the gift was for him as well. True to her habits, Monica had already torn the wrapping paper before Chandler could get next to her. When she opened the little box, she found a sheet of paper. It was the listing of a house for sale. Chandler frowned as he looked at Ross without understanding.
"What's this?" asked Monica, confused.
"It's my new house. Emma starts at the University of Florida in September and I told her she should get used to running into me at her school! I was hired as a teacher there," Ross explained.
"What!" exclaimed Monica, unsure.
Chandler didn't have time to open his mouth because Phoebe threw his gift at him.
"Spare us your humor and open this present", ordered Phoebe.
Also in the package was a listing for a house to sell. Before Chandler and Monica could say a word, Phoebe spoke up.
"The house is on the street right behind yours. The girls are all excited about going to the same school as Daniel and Elizabeth."
"Pheebs–," Chandler began.
Joey interrupted him by putting his gift in his hand while Rachel put hers in Monica's. It was a feat that the kids hadn't sold their surprise! The couple exchanged a glance and with trembling hands, they opened the last gifts. There was, for Chandler, a listing for a house and for Monica, a listing for an apartment.
"Who's better than Jack and Erica to calm my rebellious daughter? She'll see them every day at school," Joey said with a shaky smile.
"My transfer to the Florida office is coming up in the next few months," added Rachel.
"What does that mean," Monica asked emotionally.
"It means that Chandler's accident made us understand something that took us a long time to understand: you two are the essence of this group, the core that holds us together. There can be no Monica without Chandler. If we had lost you, it would not only have been Monica who would have been devastated," Rachel said, addressing Chandler in particular. "Seeing each other every eight months when our schedules permit is unacceptable. Maybe we all emulated Ross and had children. We may have become more mature like Chandler, but your move to Florida ten years ago was already a big grief. Experiencing all the emotions we've gone through together in the last few weeks has made us realize that we miss our days at Central Perk. We miss coming into your house to come and eat or spend our evenings. We all have kids, but they can't hang out like they should to honor our friendship. So we all decided that since you are in Florida, we would move there too," Rachel said.
"Oh My! But your jobs?" Monica questioned.
"What about our jobs? I'm a masseuse, I can do it anywhere and Mike already has contacts in Florida for music contracts. With year-round warm weather, he'll get more contracts," Phoebe explained.
"As for me, I can live anywhere. I'll move around depending on the role I get. And Florida is close to New York so Kath can see her mother," Joey continued.
"Ralph Lauren has an office here. All I had to do was ask for a transfer," Rachel said.
"The same way I was able to get a position at the university near you," Ross concluded.
Monica brought her hand to her mouth while Chandler took her in his arms, both visibly moved. The group was about to be reunited again and for good. The crack that had been created after Chandler and Monica's departure for Westchester when they were all in their thirties had been sealed. Now they were all back together in their fifties. Rachel suggested that they conclude this gift exchange with a photo of the reunited group. This photo would join their group photos in their twenties that Monica had posted on her front wall.