♡

THE ONE WHERE ZARA'S HAPPY.
EPISODE FIVE.

♡

Autumn had arrived with the start of the academic year busy for Zara again. A new class of Kindgarten's meant a promise of exhaustion, but Zara was excited to take on the new kids to see them grow.

Zara was now in the living room, focusing on writing her book before going out with Chandler. Everyone was in the apartment, distracting Zara, but she was not bothered.

"I'm at Monica's," said Ross while on the phone with Julie. "Yeah, yeah, everybody's here." Then, he turned, facing his friends. "Hey, everybody, say hi to Julie in New Mexico."

Ross held up the phone as there was a chorus of greetings from them all.

"Hi, Julie," Rachel mumbled sarcastically after.

Joey nudged her in response as Chandler sat down next to Zara.

"What?" Rachel questioned.

"You're living up to your last name right now, Rachel," Zara told her, finding Rachel's jealously amusing, but she still felt for her friend.

If Chandler and Zara weren't together and she saw him move on, then she would be exactly the same (though she would not let anyone know).

"Okay," said Chandler quickly. "While Ross is on the phone everybody owes me fifty-one bucks for his birthday."

Around them, everyone didn't look thrilled at that with Zara's eyes falling down to her laptop, finding the conversation about money awkward. It was something that she learnt not to talk about at a very young age; if those around you knew you had money, then you were simply a target. Now, she just couldn't bring herself to talk about money openly, knowing that everyone came from different backgrounds with it.

"Is there any chance that you're rounding up?" Phoebe asked. "You know, like from, like, twenty?"

"I'm gonna go get my jacket," Zara announced, forcing a smile at Chandler. "Then we can get going, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Chandler replied, eyes briefly landing on Zara in confusion, but in worry too.

Ignoring the conversation about money, Zara headed to her bedroom, where she closed the door behind herself for a moment. Zara picked up her black leather jacket, and quickly put on red lipstick.

As she left her bedroom, Chandler was standing with the two saying farewell to the rest of their friends. He wrapped his arm around Zara, where the two then walked down the stairs.

"Zara, is everything okay?" Chandler asked.

"Yeah," said Zara. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"You kind of tensed up back there when I brought up the cost for Ross' birthday," Chandler had noticed with Zara's eyes falling to the ground. "And then you fled."

"It's nothing," Zara insisted.

"I can tell it's something," Chandler said. "Look, if you're struggling with money, then I can cover your share."

Zara tried not to flinch at that as she paused walking, feeling Chandler's arm pull away as he looked at her. They had made it outside as Zara shoved her hands into her leather jacket, hating the conversation.

"I'm okay with money," Zara confessed. "I just don't like talking about it."

"Oh," Chandler realised. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Zara told him.

Zara became distracted, spotting Monica walking home with a grin so bright that her friend couldn't possibly be missed. As Monica saw the two, she came rushing over, clearly eager to tell them something.

"Oh my God," said Monica. "You won't believe it!"

"What?" Zara questioned.

"The head lunch chef at my work was fired!" Monica announced.

"Is this good or bad?" Chandler asked. "By your reaction, this seems like a good thing."

"They gave me the job!" Monica exclaimed. "And they made me head of purchasing!"

There was a cry of delight from Zara as she pulled her friend into her hug. "That's amazing, Mon," Zara told her. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Yeah, seriously," Chandler added. "We should celebrate."

Some arrangements were briefly made before Chandler and Zara finally left, heading out for the late afternoon as they had planned.

♡

The following night, they ended up heading out for dinner to celebrate Monica's success. All seven of them had attended, wanting to be there to celebrate.

"Okay, okay," said Ross as he clinked his glass, making a toast, where they all rose their glasses in preparation. "Here is to my sister, the newly appointed head lunch chef."

"Who is also in charge of purchasing," Monica added.

"Newly pointed head lunch chef also in charge of purchasing," Ross corrected his speech.

"Who has her own little desk when Ronald's not there," Monica piped up again.

"Uh, lunch chef purchasing her own desk when Ronald's not there," continued Ross. "Here's to my little sister..."

"Oh, oh, wait!" Monica said. "And I got a beeper!"

"Oh cool!" Everyone responded.

The beeper was handed around with everyone intrigued and happy for Monica.

"That's fine," said Ross. "I'll just wait."

"Oh, sorry," Monica's hand touched her brother's shoulder.

Again, they all held up their glasses.

"Monica," finished Ross.

They all cheer at that as their glasses clinked together.

"Are we ready to order?" The waiter asked.

"Oh, we haven't even looked yet," Rachel replied.

"Oh, well when you do, just let me know," said the waiter. "I'll be right over there on the edge of my seat."

The waiter vanished, leaving everyone silent at his words. Zara picked up her menu, leaning towards Chandler as she was eager to see what he was having before she made her decision. It was a little fancy for Zara, where there was no burger for her to order.

"Honey, just go for the steak," Chandler told her.

Zara's nose crinkled in amusement. "Did you just call me honey, Bing?"

Chandler's eyes widened in panic. "I guess I did."

Zara supposed that he picked it up from herself, where she had picked it up from Monica over the last year of living with her friend again. It was sweet but very domestic, so Zara ended up reaching for her wine glass as she took a long sip.

"Do I dare ask?" The waiter returned.

"Yes, I'll start," Monica offered, stating her order for the waiter.

"That sounds great," Ross decided. "Same for me."

"Oh, there's pizza," Zara noticed.

Joey heard, grinning at that. "That's what I'm getting too."

Everyone ordered after that with Zara noticing that Rachel and Phoebe's orders were on the smaller side. Zara would offer to pay for them, but she knew it always came with shame when someone else covered your costs, so she stayed quiet, ignoring the obvious.

"I will have the cajun catfish," Chandler finished up after Zara had ordered.

"Anything else?" The waiter asked.

"Yes, how about a verse of killing me softly?" Chandler suggested, but the waiter did not laugh. "You're going to sneeze in my fish, aren't you?"

As their meal went on, the tension eased up for a moment with everyone enjoying being out together. For Zara, her pizza had been missing the grease of a usual takeaway shop, but she had pleasantly enjoyed her meal. Joey had still been hungry, hoping to finish up Zara's, but she never let a bite go to waste.

"Plus tip, divided by seven," Ross calculated the bill with Zara feeling uneasy, wanting to quickly pay and be done. "Okay, everyone owes 28 bucks."

Zara pulled out her purse, searching for the cash.

"What, um, everyone?" Rachel questioned.

"Oh," said Ross. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Thank you," Joey replied.

"It's Monica's big night," Ross finished. "Monica shouldn't pay."

Monica smiled, touched. "Thank you."

"So six of us is...33.50 apiece."

"No," Phoebe responded. "Huh-uh, no way. Sorry, not gonna happen."

"Whoa, whoa," said Chandler, trying to make a joke out of the situation. "Prom night flashback."

"Hey, I'm gonna go to the restroom," Zara announced, excusing herself as her eyes fell on Chandler, handing him her purse. "Pay whatever I owe for me."

Chandler looked torn, wanting to follow, but knowing he couldn't. To stick to her words, Zara had headed to the restrooms, lingering in there for a moment as she waited for the bill to settle. Usually, nothing like this happened, where they just paid and left, but it was just an uncomfortable situation for Zara.

As she left, Zara headed to the bar in the back of the restaurant to get herself a drink. Though, she realised that Chandler had her purse as she cursed under her breath, making things worse for herself.

"I'll pay for that drink," said a familiar voice that caused Zara's body to tense.

Her eyes had popped wide, recognising the scent as the man stepped forward, showing his bank card to the waiter as he paid for Zara's beer. Zara wished to simply just vanish more than anything at that moment.

As her heart pounded, Zara's expression vanished into a poker face, head turning as her eyes fell on Derek for the first time in just over a year. Those green eyes had an amused glint to them with a smirk on his face as he studied Zara. His hair was longer, ends curling slightly in a style that Zara adored.

And he even had his leather jacket on, uncaring about the dress code.

"Derek," Zara greeted a little coldly.

"Zara Ellison," said Derek, enchanted with regret for a moment. "Look at you."

"I didn't need you to pay for my drink," Zara snapped at him.

"Oh, yeah?" Derek challenged. "Then why didn't you?"

"My boyfriend has my purse," Zara confessed.

"Boyfriend, huh?"

"Yeah," Zara answered, taking a sip of her drink. "Goodbye, Derek."

"Is that all you have to say?" Derek asked.

"What do you want me to say?" Zara demanded.

"No, how are you doing or I missed you?"

"Missing you would be a lie," Zara replied. "And, quite honestly, I don't care to know how you're doing."

Though, deep down, Zara wanted to hear that his life had fallen apart since he had decided to break up with Zara. Maybe she wanted to be smug and rub it in his face, but Zara was trying to move on.

So, Zara took one last sip of the beer, sliding it along the bar towards Derek. The contents sploshed, spilling slightly, as Derek's eyebrows rose.

"Keep it," Zara told him. "It seems you need it more than I do."

Derek laughed. "What makes you think that?"

"You're alone at a bar, searching for one lost soul to take home," Zara told him. "So, enjoy, Derek, as this is what you wanted, right?"

"You were once that one lost girl," Derek reminded her.

"Maybe I was," Zara admitted. "But I'm doing so much better now."

Zara could tell that Derek did not like to hear that; he wanted to be the one to fix those who were lost and broken. Then, when they were fixed, he ended up bored, simply just to throw them away, breaking them all over again. Zara had foolishly fallen for him, believing she had been the one, but now her eyes were wide open.

"Have a good night," Zara told him.

Then, with that, she walked away, feeling like maybe she was finally letting Derek go too. Maybe Zara did deserve someone who treated her right — who understood her.

Chandler found Zara, eyes falling on her as she left the bar area, where he was holding her coat and bag with a sweet smile on his face.

"Hey," said Chandler. "I was worried..."

Zara kissed him before she took her coat.

"Where'd you go?" Chandler asked.

"To the restroom," Zara confessed, but she didn't want to keep things from him. "Then, I needed a drink, so I went to the bar and bumped into someone."

Chandler offered Zara his hand, where the two walked towards the exit of the restaurant with their friends waiting outside. "Anyone I know?"

"No one you should meet," Zara told him. "It was Derek."

Outside, Chandler froze at that, facial expressions becoming stony and panicked. "Your, uh... ex, Derek?"

Zara told her boyfriend, not wanting to have secrets between them. Ahead, the rest of their friends had gotten a cab together, leaving the couple to make their own way back as they sensed something had changed.

"So, this is good, right?" Chandler summarised.

"Yeah, it's good," said Zara, smiling at him. "Stop worrying, Chandler. Maybe Derek broke my heart, but... he's the one that's here alone tonight when I get to go home with you."

Chandler perked up at that. "Well, perhaps I should go back in there and thank Derek. If he hadn't broken your heart, then you never would have moved in with Monica."

"So I'm collateral damage to us being together?" Zara questioned.

"No," Chandler quickly denied. "I meant that maybe it was meant to be."

"I know what you meant," Zara reassured him.

Reaching up on her tiptoes, Zara kissed Chandler again, finding happiness that she truly did not want to lose.

♡

Zara woke up the following morning to Chandler's arms around her waist and his lips pressed against her shoulder. Smiling, Zara's body twisted, capturing his lips with her hand cupping his neck.

"Good morning to you too," Chandler replied.

"Five more minutes," Zara decided.

Chandler chuckled at that. "I thought you wanted to get up to write."

"Yeah, I did," said Zara with a sigh.

"We can still have five minutes," Chandler reassured her, allowing Zara to turn to cuddle up to him. "Uh, I wanted to talk about last night."

"What, with Derek?" Zara questioned, frowning. "I already told you—"

"Not Derek," Chander said. "You disappear every time money comes up."

"I don't disappear every time," Zara insisted, becoming defensive. "I told you, I just don't like talking about money."

"But it's okay, Zara," said Chandler. "We didn't realise that Rachel, Joey, and Phoebe had different finances from us, so we've spoken about it, and we'll keep it in mind now. I get why you don't like talking about money."

"No, you don't," Zara insisted, sitting up as she kept the covers wrapped around her body, looking down at Chandler. "Maybe you had troubles with money growing up or whenever in life, but... you've never grown up with nothing, Chandler. Each foster home I went to was a gamble; most of the time, I was lucky just to get a bed."

Chandler sat up, hands falling to her waist. "Zara, I'm sorry."

"When I was younger, I stole because I had no money," Zara continued. "I promised myself that I would never have to worry about money when I was older, so I worked hard. Talking about money just makes me feel really small, Chandler."

"Hey, I get it," Chandler said. "Sorry, I didn't quite realise before."

"Don't apologise," Zara told him again, relieved to know that he had grown up differently (though, his childhood had different issues). "It's better you don't realise, right? It doesn't really matter now anyway as my financial situation is a lot better."

Chandler smiled at that. "I probably say this a lot, but I'm proud of you."

"I'm proud of you too," Zara told him.

"Oh, yeah?" Chandler questioned. "What have I done?"

"You're here with me," said Zara. "Did you think you'd be where we are now a year ago?"

Hearing that, Chandler laughed. "A year ago, I thought it would be a miracle to you even liking me back."

"And now here we are," Zara reminded him.

Later that day, Zara had settled on the armchair as Chandler had left for most of the day. Surprisingly, it had been Rachel, who was curious about Zara's writing as she perched on the arm of the chair, reading through chapters that Zara had printed.

"Oh," said Rachel. "This is gonna make me cry. Please tell me Ruby's adopted by the end."

"Not in this book," Zara confessed, knowing her end. "It's gonna end with Ruby being banished for her birth parents being villains, so she'll be heading to the school for villains in the next book while those who care for her fight to get her home."

Rachel gasped at that. "No! I thought you decided against that end!"

"Evil, isn't it?" Joey complained.

Zara laughed at that. "It wouldn't be a series if I had a happy ending now."

The front door opened then with Chandler, Ross, and Monica entering. In her hands, Monica held a bag as the three greeted everyone before standing up front with nervous, excited smiles on their faces. Closing her laptop, Zara braced herself for the unknown.

"What's in the bag?" Chandler questioned, though he likely knew.

At that, Zara rose her eyebrows at him.

"I don't know, Chandler," Monica replied. "Let's take a look."

"I'm suddenly back in class," Zara mumbled with the awkwardly forced script-like talk that was going on.

"Uh, it's like a skit," Phoebe added.

"Why, it's dinner for six!" Monica announced, starting to pull the items from the bag. "Six steaks and an eggplant for Phoebe."

Chandler and Ross cheered at that while the others all smiled.

"Yeah, we switched meat suppliers at work," Monica told them. "And the new guys gave me the steaks as sort of a thank you."

"But, wait, there's more," Ross added. "Hey, Chandler, what is in that envelope?"

Chandler held up the envelope. "By the way, this didn't seem so dorky out in the hall."

"The fact you practised this is dorky," Zara told him.

"Come on," said Ross impatiently.

Opening the envelope, Chandler held tickets. "Why, it's seven tickets to Hootie and the Blowfish."

Zara tried her hardest not to flinch at the announcement, knowing it wouldn't go down well. Knowing where the conversation was heading next, Zara wanted to flee again. This time, she settled on opening her laptop again, trying to distract her mind rather than just running.

As expected, there was no joy or celebration from the other three, where Zara would have felt exactly the same. Already, she knew Chandler had bought her ticket, which she didn't like, but Zara would most likely pay for the drinks or the food for them that night.

"The Blowfish," Chandler encouraged.

"Babe, stop," Zara told him.

"It's on us, all right?" Monica tried, thinking the money was the issue. "So, don't worry. This is...our treat."

"So... thank you," Phoebe replied, feeling awkward.

Ross scoffed. "Could you be less enthused?"

"Look, it's a nice gesture," said Joey. "It is, but it just feels like..."

"Like?" Monica questioned.

"Charity," Joey finished.

"Charity?" Monica repeated.

"We're just trying to do a nice thing here," Ross insisted.

"Yeah, but Ross, you have to understand," said Rachel. "Your nice thing makes us feel about this big."

To make her point, Rachel had imitated how small she felt.

"Actually," said Phoebe, pinching Rachel's fingers closer together. "It makes us feel that big."

"What?" Ross questioned. "I don't...I don't understand. I mean, it's like we can't win with you guys."

Chandler's eyes were on Zara, realising his mistake. After their conversation from the morning, Chandler understood the money differences a little better.

"We should have spoken to you first before getting the tickets," Chandler confessed.

"Well, yeah," Rachel replied. "That would have been better."

"This is not our fault," Ross told Chandler before turning to the three. "Maybe this is just how you feel."

"Oh..." Joey stood. "Now you're telling us how we feel."

"Okay, you see," said Rachel, standing up too. "We never should have talked about this to begin with."

Again, this was why Zara avoided conversations like this.

"All right, I'm going to pass on the concert," Phoebe decided. "'Cause I'm just not in a very Hootie place right now."

"Me neither," Rachel added.

"Me too," said Joey.

"Guys, we bought the tickets," Monica reminded them.

"Then you'll have extra seats, you know," said Phoebe, putting her jacket on. "For all your tiaras and stuff."

"Why did you look at me when you said that?" Chandler questioned.

Phoebe sighed, rolling her eyes.

Zara, however, was trying to tune it all out as she focused on writing.

"So, I guess now we can't go," Monica realised.

"What? Come on, you can do what you want to do," Rachel told them. "What, we always have to do everything together?"

"You know, what?" Monica replied. "You're right."

"Fine," said Phoebe.

"Fine," Ross repeated.

"Fine!" Joey concluded.

"All right," Monica decided, heading towards the door. "We're gonna go."

Behind Ross and Monica, the front door closed.

"This," said Zara with her eyes focused on Chandler. "Is why I avoid talking about money."

Then, Monica came back into the apartment again, appearing a little embarrassed. "It's not for another six hours," she informed them. "We're going to go then."

♡

That night, Zara had gone to the concert, but it felt wrong with the three missing seats next to them. Zara had wanted to bail, though she didn't want to let Ross down either.

"You know what," said Monica, staring at the empty seats. "I'm not going to be able to enjoy this."

"Yeah, I know," Ross agreed. "It's my birthday. We all should be here."

"So, let's go," Chandler decided.

They stood up to go but found themselves pausing as the lights flickered out and the crowds rose. The concert started with Zara's eyes falling on the stage.

"Well, maybe we should stay for one song," Ross suggested.

"Yeah, I mean, it'd be rude to them for us to leave now," Chandler said.

"You know, the guys are probably having a great time," Monica said.

"I hope so," Zara added.

Chandler's hand fell on her back, offering Zara a small, reassuring smile. Though, seeing Ross having fun made Zara feel better as she found herself enjoying the night in the end. By the time the lights came back on a couple of hours later, she was grinning.

"That was amazing!" Monica exclaimed.

"Amazing!" Ross agreed.

"I guess they weren't so bad," Zara said, though the band still wasn't her thing.

"I can't believe the guys missed this!" Chandler added.

"What guys?" Ross questioned before remembering. "Oh, yeah."

With that, they started getting ready to leave with Zara picking up her leather jacket. Before leaving, a random man stopped and approached Monica.

"Excuse me?" The man spoke. "You're Monica Geller, aren't you?"

"Do I know you?" Monica questioned.

"You used to be my babysitter," the man told her.

Zara's eyes widened at that, looking at Chandler. Were they that old?

"Oh my God," Monica realised. "Little Stevie Fisher? How have you been?"

"Good, good," said Stevie. "I'm a lawyer now."

"Yikes," Zara whispered. "We must be getting old."

"Don't remind me," Chandler murmured back.

"You can't be a lawyer," said Monica. "You're eight."

"Well, listen, it was nice to see you," Stevie said. "I got to run backstage."

"Wait," Monica grabbed his arm. "Backstage?"

"Oh yeah," Stevie told her. "My firm represents the band."

"Ross."

"Chandler."

"Zara."

They were quick to shake Stevie's hands, eager to get access backstage.

"You guys want to meet the group?" Stevie offered.

"Yeah, we do," they all agreed.

"Come on," Stevie encouraged but they didn't need to be told twice.

The following morning, Zara really needed a coffee. As Zara entered the coffee house, she greeted everyone before heading to the counter to order coffee for everyone. Gunther was eager to take Zara's order as she offered him a friendly smile.

"I can't believe it!" Phoebe exclaimed after a while, moving closer to Zara, who tried not to run away from the arguing again. "I can't believe this! I'm sitting at home just trying to guess Joey's fingers, and...and you guys are out like, partying and having fun and, you know, all 'hey blowfish, suck on my neck'."

Honestly, it was tiring more than anything now.

Maybe it was the party too that left Zara feeling tired — it had gotten a little out of hand and crazy, but Chandler and Zara had left early.

"Look, don't blame us," Ross argued. "You guys could have been there."

"Oh, what," said Rachel. "As part of your poor friend's outreach program?"

"Enough," Zara snapped. "Seriously. Look, guys, I'm sorry that you were left out last night, but the tickets had been brought and Ross wanted to go for his birthday," then her eyes fell on the other three, who were ignorant sometimes to others with money problems. "Next time, just talk and then this can be avoided. Christ, and you guys wondered why I never mentioned when my birthday was."

With that, Zara placed the two mugs on the coffee table that spilt, only angering her more. Letting out a huff, she was happy to see that her extra, extra chocolate sprinkles had survived.

There was silence after Zara's small outburst until Monica's beeper went off.

"Great, it's work," Monica realised with Ross handing her the phone before she headed to a private table to make her call.

"Look, guys, I am sorry," Chandler apologised, meaning it. "I didn't realise before, okay? It's just... sometimes, we like to do stuff that costs a little more."

"Oh, and you feel like we hold you back?" Joey realised.

"Yes," Chandler announced before realising how it sounded. "No!"

The bickering started as Zara rolled her eyes, giving up. Opening her laptop, she tuned the group out as she tried to focus on her writing, ignoring the bitter feeling that had awoken deep inside her.

"Leon, Leon, wait," Monica panicked on the phone. "Shh. Guys. Wait, I don't understand. Those steaks were just a gift from the meat vendor. That was not a kickback. I mean, I'll just replace them and we can forget the whole thing."

Zara looked over, feeling her heart drop for her friend.

"What corporate policy?" Monica questioned as Ross approached her, placing a hand on Monica's back. "No...Yeah. Okay." Then, she hung up the phone, struggling not to cry. "I just got fired."

Everyone gasped at that, hurrying to comfort Monica. A waiter placed a coffee and a muffin in front of Monica.

"Here's your check," said the waitress, oblivious to the mood. "That'll be $4.12."

"Let me get that," Joey offered before he turned to both Chandler and Zara. "You got five bucks?"

Chandler took the check, knowing he'd always be there to help his friends.

♡

EPISODE SIX.

♡

"Hello, hello," said Zara quickly, coming through the front door of her apartment. "I'm here! Where is the baby?"

That morning, she had been out with friends from work doing some shopping. It was rare that Ben visited, and while Zara preferred children to babies, she still had a soft spot for them.

"Sleeping," Ross told her.

"No," Zara frowned. "I rushed back so quickly for him."

"Huh," said Chandler. "Not the competition I was expecting."

Zara smiled, entering the kitchen as she popped a kiss on her boyfriend's cheek. "I always see you, Chandler."

Then, with that, Zara dropped off her bags in her bedroom with the promise to show Monica later. Heading back into the kitchen, Zara pulled out her laptop and she plugged the charger in, sitting down at the table. Spotting a spare sandwich on a plate, she helped herself.

"Hey!" Joey protested.

"Joey, that was mine," Ross reminded him.

"Yeah, but I tagged it as you were clearly not gonna eat it," Joey complained.

"Snooze you lose," Zara told him.

Monica came over to join them, placing a drink on the table for Chandler. "Don't eat the pie, Zara."

Noticing it, Zara eyed the pie as Chandler pulled the dish further away from her.

"Oh, hey, Mon," said Chandler, holding the basketball that he had close to her as Joey mimicked the sound of crying. Pulling the ball away, Joey stopped crying again.

"Goo! Goo! Goo!" Joey limited a baby before he started crying again as the ball moved closer to Monica.

"What is wrong with you both?" Zara questioned.

"That is so funny," said Monica. "Let me see that."

Taking the basketball, Monica threw the ball out of the window which silenced the two. Zara was still confused, eyeing the three as she waited for someone to explain, but Ross had gulped, making a funny noise.

"You okay, Ross?" Joey asked.

"I don't know," Ross confessed, repeating the noise. "What was in this pie?"

"I don't know," Monica answered. "Butter and eggs and flour and lime and kiwi..."

Hearing that, Zara's eyes popped wide as they were focused on Ross.

"Kiwi?" Ross cut her off. "Kiwi? You said it was a key lime pie."

"No, I didn't," said Monica. "I said kiwi lime. That's what makes it so special."

"That's what's going to kill me," Ross told her, pointing to the pie. "I'm allergic to kiwi."

"No, you're not," Monica replied. "Zara's the one that's allergic to kiwi. You're allergic to lobster and peanuts and..."

Ross made a choking noise.

"Mon, Ross is allergic too," Zara reminded her. "I remember as that's literally one of the first conversations we had at college."

It had been awkward with the two being from different worlds, so Monica had broke the silence when they had first met, talking about what food she liked, and Zara had blurted out about her allergies. Then, the awkwardness returned as Monica had mentioned her brother being allergic too before Zara had stated she had no family.

"Oh my God," Monica realised as Ross made a funny sound again.

"It's definitely getting worse," said Ross, struggling to speak.

"Okay, okay," Monica panicked, rushing to her brother as her hands fell on his shoulder. "Is your tongue swelling up?"

"Either that or my mouth is getting smaller."

"All right, get your coat," Monica decided. "We're going to the hospital."

"Will he be okay?" Joey stood too, starting to panic.

"Yeah, he needs a shot," Monica explained.

"Oh, you know, you know," said Ross, sitting down again. "Actually, it's getting better. It is. Let's not go. Anyone up for Scrabble?"

"Jacket now," Monica told him.

"Ross, go, or I will drag you to the hospital," Zara stated.

"But what about Ben?" Ross questioned, standing again as he gave in. "We can't bring a baby to the hospital."

"We'll watch him," Joey insisted.

Ross didn't look thrilled about that. "I don't think so."

"I wll be here," Zara reassured Ross.

"Okay," Ross was happier about that. "If you take him for his walk, bring his hat. There's milk in the fridge and diapers in the bag."

"Ross, I've got this," Zara told him.

Ross pointed at Zara. "And don't touch the pie."

His speech ended up gibberish as both Ross and Monica headed towards the door. It was Joey who was closing the door behind them.

"Consider it done!" Joey shouted.

"You understood that?" Chandler questioned.

"Yeah," said Joey. "My uncle Sal has a really big tongue."

"Is he the one with the beautiful wife?" Chandler asked.

Zara had thought she was babysitting one baby, but she never imagined how much hard work Joey and Chandler would be too. It had been Joey who had insisted on overpacking for their walk, literally wanting to take everything just in case.

"Enough," Zara told him. "Joey, we're just going for a walk."

"Well, what do I know?" Joey questioned.

Zara sighed. "Right, you can be in charge of pushing the pushchair," then she turned to her boyfriend, passing him the changing bag while little Ben was in Zara's arms. "You will guard this bag."

"With my life," Chandler promised.

Finally, they were leaving the apartment with Zara excited, cooing at the baby. Zara had made sure that Ben had his white hat on, keeping his head warm from the autumn chill.

"Okay, so here's the plan," Joey insisted as they walked. "It's a known fact that women love babies. Women love guys who love babies. It's the whole sensitive thing."

"Here we go," Zara rolled her eyes.

"I'm thinking, for today, Ben is your child," Joey grinned as the two simply frowned at him. "And I'm Uncle Joey. Aim him at that pack of babes over there. Maybe one of them will break away."

"Joey, I'm not using Ben like that for you," Zara told him.

Joey sighed. "Chandler?"

Zara shook her head in disapproval as Chandler took Ben into his arms, leaving Zara with the large changing bag. Awkwardly, Chandler pointed Ben toward the group of attractive women.

"When I said I'd be your wingman, I didn't have this in mind," Chandler confessed.

"Oh, wait," said Joey. "Forget them. We got one — hard left. Quick, now give me the baby."

"No," Zara decided. "You're not holding the baby for this, Joey."

Joey let out another sigh at that.

"Hello," the woman approached them with a pretty smile. "And who is this little cutie pie?"

"My son Ben," said Chandler with a fake smile. "Apparently."

"You want to smell him?" Joey questioned.

"I assume we're talking about the baby," the woman replied.

"Oh, yeah," Joey reassured her as Zara tried not to cringe. "He's got that great baby smell. Get a whiff of his head."

Removing his hat, the woman smelt Ben's blonde hair.

"I think my uterus just skipped a beat."

Zara laughed at that. "That's how I feel every day, but one's enough, right, honey?"

"More than enough," Chandler insisted.

"Oh, he's yours, that's so sweet," said the woman before her eyes fell on Joey. "And where do you fit in with all this?"

"Joey's just our spare on the side," Chandler answered.

"Oh," the woman's eyes widened at that, taking it seriously. "I see."

Zara couldn't help but laugh as the woman hurried away, thinking the three were together with a baby. The end result didn't please Joey, who was scowling.

"Come on, side piece," Zara told him. "Maybe you'll get lucky a second time."

"If not, then you have us," Chandler added, laughing with Zara.

Though, for poor Joey, he wasn't having as much luck with the women as he had thought. Sometime later, Ben was back in his pushchair with Zara pushing him, enjoying the time with the baby.

"Taxi! Taxi!" Chandler called out with it being time to go.

"Hey, hey," said Joey, spotting a woman in a leopard print jacket. "Look at that talent."

Even Zara had to admit she was certainly attractive.

"Just practising," Chandler told the taxi driver. "You're good. Carry on."

They hurried after the bus with Zara giving in this time, curious to see how it would go for Joey. Fortunately, the two girls liked the baby with the woman in the leopard print, leaning over Joey to see Ben.

"Hey, you," she cooed. "He's just adorable."

"He gets that from his mom," Chandler said.

"I don't know," said Zara, trying to get involved more this time. "I think it might be his Uncle Joey being around that makes him so cute."

Joey was happy with that.

"So, what are you guys out doing today?" The blonde asked.

"Oh, we're not out," Joey was quick to say. "No, no. Joey is no side piece." The two girls smiled at that, clearly clueless as Zara had to look away to hide her amusement. "I'm just a single, heterosexual man, hanging with my godson and his parents. Doing usual straight guy stuff."

"You done?" Chandler questioned.

"Yeah," Joey decided.

"Oh," the woman said. "There's our stop."

"Get out of here?" Joey replied. "This is our stop."

"You guys live around here, too?" The blonde questioned.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, sure," Joey insisted, ignoring the looks that both Chandler and Zara were giving him. "We live in the building by the...sidewalk."

"You know it?" Chandler asked.

"Hey, since we're neighbours," Joey started. "What do you say, we get together for a drink?"

Zara noticed that Ben's binky had fallen out of the pushchair as she reached down to get it, adjusting the bag under the pushchair so that nothing else would fall out. By the time Zara had sat back up again, she was alone on the bus.

Out of the window, Chandler and Joey had both spotted them with their mouths wide open.

Zara had simply glared at them, watching their faces pale.

♡

Back at the apartment, Zara was sitting on the sofa with Ben, playing with him. The front door had opened not long after, where both Chandler and Joey hurried in a little breathlessly.

"You made it back!" Joey exclaimed.

"Well, of course, I did," Zara replied. "I know how to get the bus home."

"Zara," said Chandler. "I'm so, so sorry."

Zara simply shrugged. "I'm glad to see you both ran back for me."

"Chandler was scared you would kill him," Joey said.

"Joey, that was you," Chandler insisted.

Zara rose her eyebrows at her boyfriend. "So, you're not scared of me?"

"Oh, I'm terrified," Chandler promised. "You're at your scariest with a baby in your arms."

And Zara knew he was being serious. The thought of one day having a baby herself was terrifying, something Zara couldn't imagine, but wanted. Deep down, Zara knew she wanted a massive family full of so much chaos and love.

But that was far from her mind right now.

Right now, Zara was at the happiest her life could possibly be — and she wasn't talking about just Chandler. Zara had somehow managed to surround herself with friends for life, she was close to finishing her first book, and had found a way to open her heart again.

Chandler sat down on the sofa next to her, wrapping an arm around her.

"You know, it's kind of like you left me for those other women," Zara told him, messing with him more than anything.

"I'd have to be a fool to leave you for anyone else," Chandler confessed.

Zara turned her head, smiling at that. "You're getting soppy, Chandler."

"I've always been soppy around you," Chandler reminded her, fingers moving to play with her straight strands of hair. "Even when it terrified me."

"You know," said Zara. "I'd be a fool to lose you."

Chandler smiled at that. "Look at you, getting soppy now."

"I blame you," Zara insisted.

So, you're not angry?" Chandler questioned, hopeful.

"No, Chandler, I'm not," she reassured him. "You didn't leave me on purpose."

"What about me?" Joey questioned.

"You're forgiven too, Joey," Zara said.

♡

Look at me go with another update! Maybe I'm just too obsessed with Chandler and Zara or I'm excited for the drama to begin! Lots of foreshadowing in this chapter and Derek will be back!