Peter and Phoebe sat on the couch talking with the gang. Actually the whole friends gang wasn’t there. Chandler and Monica weren’t there. Joey sat in an easy chair while Ross and Rachel sat at a table. Its been months since Karen had seen the duo so she didn't know whether or not they were either on or off right now. For years Ross and Rachel and Ross were either together or apart. From the way they sat at the moment, she thought they weren’t together.
But right now that wasn’t the couple that had her attention. Peter and Phoebe were chatty and smiled a lot. They held hands. It was almost like she hadn't left. To look at them you would have no idea they only knew each other for a few days, you’d swear they knew each other their whole lives and then some.
Peter was explaining to the guys why they were there.
"Chea and Micky, you guys didn't have a chance to meet them, set us on a scavenger hunt." He didn't mention the part about the time gadget. Phoebe and Chandler were the only ones who knew, with the possible exception of Monica.
"Scavenger hunt. That sounds like fun. But why just the two of you?" Rachel asked.
"Uh." Mike stammered.
"Well its more like a challenge." Karen said. "I think our other two friends were too busy."
Mike nodded. He never thought about why it was just the three of them. Then it occurred to him, they decided on just the three so they could test the newer time gadget made by Micky. He had made the newer one out of old radio parts. Two teams might have gone on the hunt but it was decided to have the spare one on hand for emergencies. So far there were no foreseeable ones.
"Mike would you like another cup of coffee?" Karen asked looping her arm through the Texans arm.
"Sure." Mike said.
They both got up and went to the counter.
"How do they make coffee that tastes like chocolate?" He mused. "Nice save by the way."
"Thanks." Karen said. She looked at the two blondes on the couch. "How much longer do you think we should stay?"
"I dunno. A few more minutes might be nice. Ross offered to treat us all to dinner." Mike said.
"That'll be fun. I'm starving anyway." Karen said. "Micky is staying over so often at our place its starting to affect our food supply."
Mike chuckled at that. The door to the cafe opened and closed.
"Karen!" Karen heard her name from across the room. She turned and looked. It was Chandler Bing. "Chandler!" She smiled and went to him. They shared a brief hug and a kiss on the cheek. Monica was with him. She was hanging up her coat.
"How are you?" Chandler asked.
"Fine." She said. "And you?"
"Fine." He said. They stared at each other for a few minutes. Mike approached from the back.
"Hey Mike. Nesmith isn’t it?" Chandler asked extending his hand.
"That’s right." He said.
"We're sorta together now." Karen said. The sorta struck Mike kinda weird.
"I thought we were a lot further along than 'sorta'." He thought to himself.
Monica looked on from the side.
"This is Monica Geller. You didn't get a chance to meet before." Chandler said.
"Hi," Monica said shaking his hand.
"Ma'am." Mike politely.
"She’s my fiancée now." Chandler said while Monica displayed her diamond ring proudly.
"Wow." Karen said, clearly floored by the news. It had only been a few months since they "breakup" but it still seemed to be a little too soon. Then again she had to remind herself some sitcom worlds move faster than others do.
"Congratulations." Mike said.
"Thanks." Chandler said. They joined the group at the table. Chandler greeted Peter again and sat next to him.
Mike took Karen by the hand and brought her outside.
"What was that?" He asked.
"I know." Karen said. "That was more than just a little weird."
"Yeah." Mike said. "We thought about how Peter and Phoebe might react to seeing each other again, but we forgot to take into account on what you would do if you saw Chandler again."
"True." Karen said. "I bet you're thinking all kinds of crazy things right now. Is she not totally over him? Look at the way she reacted to the ring..."
"You looked like you could be knocked over by a feather." Mike agreed.
"Hmm." Karen said. "I think it was the shock of the news. I mean its so soon..." She said. She got sort of a weird look from Mike. "Mike? Whets wrong? You don't think I still feel something for him?"
"I'm sorry. It's just that I hadn’t had a girl in a long time." He sighed and sat down. "To tell you the truth I thought we would never come back here and he would be just a distant memory. Out of sight and out of mind. But I guess not."
"Mike." Karen sat down next to him. "I am completely over him."
"I'm not so sure." He grumbled.
"Okay. Then think about this; we have had the time gadget all this time. If I was even remotely interested in Chandler Bing, don't you think I would have come back a long time ago?" Mike thought for a moment. He reluctantly shook his head. "See?" She hugged him. "I want you." She said. "Are we okay now?" She asked him with a smile.
He looked up at her. He returned her smile. "Okay."
"Great." Karen said. "We'll have dinner then we can move onto whatever world is next."
Later
Dinner at "Le Francois Place" was a great success. The food was great and the company was even better. The gang slowly broke up after Ross paid the check.
Peter and Phoebe walked along the city streets. Chandler and Monica bid Karen and Mike good night and headed for their place. Joey and Ross and Rachel went to the movies. It was only the four as they walked and talked about the city.
"This is a great city sometimes." Karen said. "If I could afford it. I've always wanted to live in the village."
"I've always wanted to go back to Texas someday." Mike said. "Save some prairie chickens." He said mentioning his great cause.
"We could always gone on a short trip after the hunt is over." Karen said. "Speaking of which, we ought to get going."
Mike and Karen walked over to the blonde couple. He was pointing at something.
"If you look at this star, you could see all the way back to our place." He said to her.
"Neat." Phoebe smiled.
"Hey guys." Karen said. "We gotta go."
Peter looked at Phoebe. "Phoebe and I have something to tell you."
"What?" Mike and Karen asked.
1967
Micky was bringing another orange juice out to Chea on the couch when the burst of light came into the middle of the living room. Chea checked her watch.
"Are they back this soon?" Chea asked. "By my count they have only done two shows."
Karen and Mike appeared out of the light. No Peter though.
"Whets up?" Micky asked.
"Yeah, where’s Peter?" Chea asked.
"Uh." Karen thought. "Do you want to tell them?"
Mike shook his head. "I think you should." He said as Brianna and Davy came in from the pool.
"Whets going on mate?" Davy asked.
"It's Peter." Karen said. "We have a little problem."
"What kind of problem would you have with Peter?" Brianna laughed.
"Peter doesn’t want to come home from 'Friends-world'." Karen said. "He wants to stay with Phoebe."
The gang looked at each other in shock.
"Is this the end of the Monkees?" Micky asked.
