※

"You can't do this to us, Monica. That's treachery!" Mia complained as Monica denied to reveal whom she was going on a date with. "There's nothing to tell, he's just some guy I work with!" she remained persistent, being surrounded by the friends, minus one.

"C'mon, you're going out with the guy! There's gotta be something wrong with him!" Joey pitched in, sitting in a chair next to the sofa. Mia and he shared a fist bump at that.

Seated on the arm of the sofa, Chandler inquired, "So does he have a hump? A hump and a hairpiece?" much to everyone else's amusement.

"Wait, does he eat chalk?" Phoebe asked, making them all stare at her in bemusement. "Just, 'cause, I don't want her to go through what I went through with Carl- eh.." she clarified. Mia shook her head at that.

"Does he at least have good teeth?" Mia inquired this time. "Why the teeth?" Chandler asked. "It's all a girl needs to know about a guy." she replied and they all agreed with her. "Right." Joey responded.

Trying to fan out their questions, Monica spoke up. "Okay, everybody relax. This is not even a date. It's just two people going out to dinner and- not having sex." she explained.

"Sounds like a date to me." Chandler quipped. But soon the topic diverted to something else.

"Alright, so I'm back in high school, I'm standing in the middle of the cafeteria, and I realize I am totally naked." Chandler began describing his dream.

Perching herself onto the arm of the couch chair, Mia handed a cup of coffee to Joey. "Oh, yeah. Had that dream." they all agreed in unison, letting Chandler continue. "Then I look down, and I realize there's a phone... there."

While the rest of them understood- well, all except Joey, cause he dared to ask, "Instead of...?" "What else?" Mia asked, looking at him out of disbelief at his confusion.

"Never had that dream." he confirmed, taking a sip of his coffee. "No." Phoebe agreed while Mia shook her head for the same. Dismissing their disapproval, Chandler continued, "Well anyways, all of a sudden, the phone starts to ring."

"And who was calling? The disabled human services?" said Mia.

"Wow, Mia, you're so funny." he playfully sneered at her while she wore that smug smile. "But to answer your doubt, no. It turns out it's my mother, which is very-very weird, because- she never calls me!" he continued.

※

It wasn't long until Ross showed up with his dampened self. Literally. "Hi.." he said, mortified, holding his umbrella.

Apparently, today was the day Carol, his ex-wife, moved out. Four years into their marriage, she had realized she was a lesbian. Poor Ross.

Ross sudden voice telling Phoebe to stop cleansing his aura broke Mia out of her train of thoughts. "I'll be fine, alright? Really, everyone. I hope she'll be very happy." he said with a tone of calm.

Looking at him, Monica added, "No you don't." "No I don't, to hell with her, she left me!" he rebuked. "And you never knew she was a lesbian..." Joey commented, earning a soft side nudge from Mia.

"No!! Okay?! Why does everyone keep fixating on that? She didn't know, how should I know?" Ross huffed. Mia walked over and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "It's okay, buddy. Now we all know. And there's nothing wrong with that."

"Sometimes I wish I was a lesbian..." Chandler spoke up out of nowhere. They all stared at him. "Did I say that out loud?" he asked upon realization.

Wanting to uplift his spirits, Joey decided to speak up. "Alright Ross, look. You're feeling a lot of pain right now. You're angry. You're hurting. Can I tell you what the answer is?"

"Not strip joints." Mia muttered.

"Strip joints! C'mon, you're single! Have some hormones!" he celebrated. Rejecting the idea, Ross shook his head. "I don't want to be single, okay? I just... I just- I just wanna be married again!" he said aloud.

As if the universe were listening; there walked in a bride in her white gown, though thoroughly soaked, but holding a tensed expression as if she searched for someone in the coffee house.

"And I just want a million dollars!" Chandler said loudly, extending his hands as if expecting money to rain at his way. "Ask me too, that'll work." Mia snickered at Chandler and he slumped.

But somehow, Monica knew the soaked bride. "Rachel?!" she asked and the not so blonde woman turned and her face lit up with recognition.

"Oh God, Monica hi! Thank God! I just went to your building and you weren't there and then this guy with a big hammer said you might be here and you are, you are!" Rachel said, coming over at her way.

After ordering a cup of decaffeinated coffee for Rachel, Monica turned to the rest of the gang. "Okay, everybody, this is Rachel, another Lincoln High survivor." she introduced them to her.

"This is everybody, this is Chandler, and Phoebe, and Joey, and Meera, but we call her Mia, and- you remember my brother Ross?" Monica said to Rachel.

Recognizing him, Rachel went up to give Ross a hug but suddenly, his umbrella opened and she decided against it, sitting on the sofa. They all gathered around her, hearing out how she became a runaway bride.

※

Later, the gang and Rachel were sitting in Monica's apartment, watching a Spanish telenovela while the bride talked on the phone.

"Now I'm guessing that he bought her the big pipe organ, and she's really not happy about it." Monica said, guessing what was happening on the show as two women were fighting on the TV screen.

"Ooh, she should not be wearing those pants." Chandler added, none of them listening to Rachel's conversation yet. "Well, I'm sure that matters to her when her husband is cheating with the 23 year old neighbor." Mia added, watching with interest.

"How do you know?" Ross asked. "What else could it be?" she shrugged.

"I say push her down the stairs." Joey said and they watched as the two women began to bicker and began pushing each other at the top of the stairs. Cheering on for one of the women to push the other, they watched with anticipation until it finally happened.

They all clapped like shameless grown ups, who loved investing their weekends on soap operas.

But it was Rachel's voice that finally took them all out of the euphoria of watching TV. "C'mon Daddy, listen to me! It's like, it's like, all of my life, everyone has always told me, 'You're a shoe! You're a shoe, you're a shoe, you're a shoe!'." she berated.

"And today I just stopped and I said, 'What if I don't wanna be a shoe? What if I wanna be a- a purse, y'know? Or a- or a hat! No, I'm not saying I want you to buy me a hat, I'm saying I am a ha- It's a metaphor, Daddy!" she continued to argue.

Ross turned to the friends. "You can see where he'd have trouble." he commented. "My exact thoughts." Mia added.

"Well maybe I'll just stay here with Monica." Rachel said and they all turned to face Monica, who cowered a little with sympathy for her best friend who didn't even invite her to the wedding she herself ran out from.

"Well, I guess we've established who's staying here with Monica..." the brunette added.

It took time for the girls to try calm Rachel from the weight of the reality. Well, that was until Rachel turned okay just as Phoebe began to butcherly sing a version of 'My Favorite Things' from The Sound of Music.

Grinning as she walked up to Mia, Chandler and Joey, who were in the kitchen, "I helped!" said Phoebe. Mia gave her a proud smile out of kindness, while she stirred the spoon in the cup of hot chocolate she was preparing for Rachel.

Joey tried to dip his finger to taste but Mia instinctively put it away from him, knowing his habits due to being roommates with him and Chandler.

"Okay, look, this is probably for the best, y'know? Independence. Taking control of your life." Monica said to cheer her up. "Yeah, the whole 'hat' thing.." Mia added as she placed the hot chocolate on the table.

Joey walked up and leaned against the table. "And hey, you need anything, you can always come to Joey. Me and Chandler live across the hall. And he's away a lot." he said with his tone of seduction, putting his hand on Rachel's shoulder.

"Joey, stop hitting on her! It's her wedding day!" Monica scolded him and he pulled back. "What, like there's a rule or something?" he complained, backing up next to Mia. "Can I get that hot chocolate too?" he asked her quietly.

"Sure, sweetie." she nodded and he instantly smiled like a puppy. The buzzer sounded at the door, which Chandler attended to. "Please don't do that again, it's a horrible sound." he said into the intercom.

Turns out it was Paul. Monica's date, Paul..

"Buzz him in!" Monica said with excitement. "Who's Paul?" Joey asked, putting his arm onto Mia's shoulder. "Paul the Wine Guy, Paul?" Ross questioned with a hint of excitement. "Maybe.."

"Shut up! He finally asked you out." Mia cheered. "Wait. Your 'not a real date' tonight is with Paul the Wine Guy?" Joey said at the same time. "He finally asked you out?" Ross asked, standing up. "Yes!" Monica said happily.

"Ooh, this is a Dear Diary moment." Chandler said dramatically for the feel of the joke.

"Rach, wait, I can cancel..." Monica said worriedly. "Please, no, go, that'd be fine!" she let her and Monica turned to Ross. "Are, are you okay? I mean, do you want me to stay?"

"That'd be good..." Ross said sadly. "Really?" Monica asked, believing his play. "No, go on! It's Paul the Wine Guy!" he cheered her on.

Soon enough Paul was at the door and everyone, who already knew him, pretended as if not to know him. To play it cool. Rachel turned to Mia. "So what's his deal? Does he sell it, drink it, or complain a lot?" she asked quietly.

"Actually, he does tha-- we're not too sure either." Mia told her, defeatedly, and Rachel shrugged, not caring of it either, just happy for Monica. She got up, walking over to the couch as Ross followed for a quick chat with her.

Feeling her butt vibrate, Mia jumped suddenly, scaring her roommates. Chandler clutched at his imaginary pearls. "That was my beeper." she clarified, taking it out of her back pocket.

"On a Sunday?" Joey asked. Mia was actually Dr. Meera Khanna. Though a pediatric dentist with her own clinic, she also worked as an emergency dentist at the Bellevue Hospital. "Yeah.." Mia sighed but reluctantly went to their apartment to use the phone.

Meanwhile, Ross was talking to Rachel, offering her to join him and the boys to assemble the new furniture for him, since Carol got it all in the divorce settlement, all except the apartment.

Mia returned to them, now holding her bag. "It's the hospital. I'm gonna have to go." she told Joey and Chandler. "What about helping Ross? We don't wanna be stuck with Debby Downer." Chandler asked.

"Sorry, pizza's on me." she said, leaving them some money for it. "Alright, take care." Joey said and Mia left, closing the door. Chandler turned to him, "So just two of us working cause we know Ross won't.."

"Hey Pheebs, you wanna help?" Joey asked, hopefully. "Oh, I wish I could, but I don't want to." Phoebe replied.

※

The next morning, Joey and Chandler sat for breakfast at Monica's since Mia wasn't back from the hospital to be there make breakfast in their apartment. Rachel was making them coffee today.

"Isn't this amazing? I mean, I have never made coffee before in my entire life." she said with a proud smile. "That is amazing." Chandler said as he accepted the coffee in his cup. "Congratulations." Joey added, accepting his as well.

The runaway bride of yesterday smiled at their supportive compliments and turned to make them breakfast.

"Listen, while you're on a roll, if you feel like you gotta make like a Western omelet or something-" Joey requested, just as he and Chandler took a taste of it and grimaced before pouring it into the plant pot on the table.

"Although actually I'm really not that hungry..." he added to correct his choice. No long after, Monica and Paul walked out of Monica's room, much to their shocks that the 'date' did end up in her bed.

"That wasn't a real date?! What the hell do you do on a real date?" Chandler asked sarcastically after Monica saw Paul out till the door with a sweet kiss. "Shut up, and put my table back." she told the three.

Just then, Mia opened the door, walking in. "Hey guys. I'd kill for a coffee." she announced. Rachel proudly handed her. "Oh, you made this?" Mia asked, taking a big sip. "Yeah, it's my first time." Rachel responded, with a proud smile.

"Pretty good for first try." Mia said with a spontaneous nod and just as Rachel turned her back to her, "Pass me the milk!" she quietly hissed to the boys and Joey handed her a glass of it, drinking it over the bad coffee.

"Was that Paul outside?" she asked them. "Apparently having sex on first dinner isn't a real date." Rachel responded with a smug smile. "Maybe that's what Joey's doing wrong all this time." said Chandler, making a joke at Joey's expense.

"Hey!" Joey cast him an offended look while Rachel and Mia snickered. Getting up from his chair, Chandler announced, "All right, kids, I gotta get to work. If I don't input those numbers,... it doesn't make much of a difference."

Joey nodded too, joining Mia to head back to their apartment. "So, like, you guys all have jobs?" Rachel asked. "Yeah, we all have jobs. See, that's how we buy stuff." Monica answered.

"Without money, we're nothing." Mia added philosophically. "So what do you guys do?" Rachel asked.

"I'm a dentist. I work pediatric mostly but emergency makes more money" Mia said with a smile. "Yeah, and I'm an actor." Joey said.

"Wow! Would I have seen you in anything?" Rachel said with instant awe. " I doubt it. Mostly regional work."

"Oh wait, wait, unless you happened to catch the Reruns' production of Pinocchio." Monica spoke up. "'Look, Geppetto, I'm a real live boy.'" Chandler said the line. "I will not take this abuse." Joey claimed, walking to the door holding it open.

Mia chuckled, knowing what was about to happen. "You're right, I'm sorry." Chandler said before he burst into song and danced out of the door singing, "Once I was a wooden boy, a little wooden boy..." right before Joey went chasing after him.

"See ya ladies later." Mia said closing the door, preparing breakfast soon after for her and Joey in their shared apartment.

※

It was late in the afternoon as the gang, minus Rachel, sat in their spot at the Central Perk while Monica told them what Paul lied to her and all the other women he'd been out with. "What a dick!" Mia scoffed, just as Monica finished talking.

"You think it was a line?" she asked them. "Of course it was a line!" Joey told her. "Why?! Why? Why, why would anybody do something like that?" she complained, feeling like an idiot.

Ross leaned closer before saying, "I assume we're looking for an answer more sophisticated than 'to get you into bed'.", making Monica groan. "Is it me? Is it like I have some sort of beacon that only dogs and men with severe emotional problems can hear?"

Phoebe had enough of it. "All right, c'mere, gimme your feet." she told Monica and began massaging them for her. "I just thought he was nice, y'know?" Poor Monica. Mia rubbed her back comfortingly.

"It's okay, Mon. You're not the first one to fall for that. I'm sure he scammed many perfect women before you." Mia consoled her. "You're just saying that.." Monica sighed, not believing it.

"No really, if I see him again, I'll be sure to make him trip and break his nose." Mia promised casually. Monica smiled at that a little, until Joey began to snicker to himself while still sat on the arm of the sofa.

He then burst out laughing. "I can't believe you didn't know it was a line!" Mia pushed him off the sofa for Monica. "Just like that." she added to her friend, making the heartbroken brunette chuckle a little.

"Guess what?" Rachel walked in, holding her shopping bag with a cheery expression. "You got a job?" Monica asked. "Are you kidding? I'm trained for nothing! I was laughed out of twelve interviews today." she answered without any worry.

Meanwhile Mia helped up Joey, muttering a soft 'sorry' to him to which he replied with 'you owe me hot chocolate'. They could shake on that.

"And yet you're surprisingly upbeat." Chandler commented. "You would be too if you found John and David boots on sale, fifty percent off!" Rachel chirped.

"Huh, that's kinda cool." Mia said, peeking into Rachel's bag to see the pretty boots. "They're my new 'I don't need a job, I don't need my parents, I've got great boots' boots!"

Monica nodded with a knowing look. "How'd you pay for them?" she asked. "Uh, credit card."

"And who pays for that?" she asked again and at that, Rachel cowered. "Um... my... father."

※

They were all in Monica's kitchen as Rachel had all her credit cards on the table along with a pair of scissors. "Oh God, come on you guys, is this really necessary? I mean, I can stop charging anytime I want." Rachel protested.

"C'mon, you can't live off your parents your whole life." Monica made it clear. "I know that. That's why I was getting married." Rachel said with a frown.

That was pretty much the opposite of what Mia believed in. She especially moved out from her parent's house in a neighborhood of Indian community there, just so she could get away from the whole marriage scene.

"Give her a break, it's hard being on your own for the first time." Phoebe spoke up. "Thank you." Rachel said.

"You're welcome. I remember when I first came to this city. I was fourteen. My mom had just killed herself and my step-dad was back in prison, and I got here, and I didn't know anybody. And I ended up living with this albino guy who was, like, cleaning windshields outside port authority, and then he killed himself, and then I found aromatherapy. So believe me, I know exactly how you feel." Phoebe explained with a supportive and optimistic smile.

All of them looked at her with a pause, thinking of how much she had endured. "Pheebs, you're my darling." Mia said softly, rubbing her back softly and Phoebe smiled.

"Alright, you ready?" Monica asked, turning back to Rachel. "I don't think so." Rachel said with unease.

"C'mon, cut. Cut, cut, cut-" Ross started the cheer and they all joined in chanting "Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut.."

Finally Rachel cut one of the cards and the friends cheered for her while she cut the rest of those cards. "Welcome to the real world! It sucks. You're gonna love it!" said Monica.

A/N: First episode done! Excited to start this book and a few things I'd like to specify- Mia's real name is Meera Khanna, she's Indian, but non-resident since I'll have her having moved to the United States since she was young with her family and she's roommates with Joey and Chandler.

Do comment and vote guys!