Dying (part 2)

"Chandler! Chandler! Honey, wake up." Chandler was being shaken awake.

"Monica!" he gasped, and hugged her tightly. She looked at him, confused.

"What’s the matter honey? Why are you crying?" she wiped his tears away.

"Am I?" he asked, dazed. Was he dreaming now, or had he dreamed her dying? "This is real right?" he asked, not letting go of her until he was sure she was real.

"Yeah, this is real. Why? Did you have a bad dream?" she asked as if he was a child.

"Yeah, an awfull one. I dreamt you died," Chandler said, still not over the shock of his nightmare.

"Oh honey, its okay, its just a bad dream. I’m here, I’m alive. Its okay," Monica soothed him, stroking his cheek gently.

"Thank God," he said emotionally. "I don’t think I could live if I lost you."

"I couldn’t live if I lost you," she replied.

 

All day Chandler tried to keep Monica in his sight. He wanted to be sure his dream hadn’t been a premonition, so he never let her go any further than the bathroom without him. At first she thought it was sweet, and found it cute when he jumped up every time she stood up to stop the kids breaking something, or to get a cup of coffee. But after a while, his constant trailing after her everywhere started to annoy her.

"Stop following me!" she shouted eventually, after he followed her around the room as she chased after their daughter Leanne.

"Mon, I’m sorry but I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you," he explained. Monica sat him down and took his hands in hers.

"Chandler, nothing bad is going to happen. And even if it was, it wouldn’t be while I’m trying to stop Leanne spilling black currant juice on the carpet. You gotta relax a little," she told him.

Chandler was a little hurt by her not understanding, but he did make an effort to be more discreet as he followed her, watching as she moved around the room instead of following right behind her. Monica knew he was still tracking her every move, but she didn’t snap at him again, because she could see how much his nightmare had affected him.

That night Chandler fell asleep with his arm around Monica, determind to protect her from anything that might hurt her. Monica appreciated the protected feeling he gave her, but still thought he was over reacting.

The next day Chandler and Monica went to take out money for the weekend in Florida they had been planning for the last few months. Chandler was clutching tightly to Monica’s arm.

They were in the line, only three people in front of them, two behind them. Monica was impatient at having to wait, but this time, Chandler was too. He just wanted to get out of there and get Monica home. Joey was babysitting the kids and Chandler didn’t really trust him, although he had babysat them dozens of times before. Monica sighed impatiently. Chandler touched her arm to try and calm her down.

Just as the person at the front of the line moved away and the line shuffled forward, the double doors at the entrance were flung open and about half a dozen men wearing standard bank robber black balaclavas. They were all armed.

"Move away from the desk," one of them commanded in a thick Yankee accent.

Several women screamed. Chandler was relieved Moncia wasn’t one of them. He didn’t need her panicking, he was panicking enough already. The crowd of people at the busy New York City bank backed away towards the walls.

One of the bank people pressed an emergancy alert button. The robber who had spoken saw her out of the corner of his eye and turned his gun on her.

"That was a very stupid thing to do," he said. Then he shot her. This time Monica was one of the women who screamed. Chandler probably would have screamed too if he had been alone, but having Monica with him made him feel he had to be brave for her sake. Monica clung to his arm as if her life depended on it.

"Anyone else wanna be stupid?" the man asked the room in general. No one answered him. "Good."

"Oh God Chandler," monica whispered. He put his arm around her and hugged her tightly. To his horror, one of the men with a gun turned to him. It wasn’t the one who ahd shot the bank worker, but he was just as threatening.

"Shut up!" he shouted at Monica. She whimpered and pressed herself even closer to Chandler. "I said, shut up!" he shouted in her face. She screamed. She couldn’t help it. The masked robber pressed his gun against her stomach and shot her. She screamed hoarsely and crumpled in Chandler’s arms. The robber grinned and walked away.

Chandler fell to his knees with Monica. She was crying and obviously in pain. He leaned against the wall and pulled monica into his lap. Her hands clutched at her stomach, from which blood was spurting at an alarming rate.

Chandler sobbed as he held her. She was dying. He knew that. She had lost too much blood not to die. But that didn’t make it any easier for him. She was crying. The sound hurt Chandler more than anything else ever could have. He felt her blood soaking into his clothes and he was terrified. He ignored the bank robbers and the other people in the room, it was as if they didn’t exist.

"I love you Mon," he said softly in her ear. She was in too much pain to answer him, but she lifted her head to look at him and although there was pain in her eyes it couldn’t eclipse the love for him.

The robbers got their money. The police arrived. The ambulance arrived, obviously having been told about the gunshots. Eventually, the robbers let some of their hostages go. Chandler didn’t move. He didn’t even notcie as the others left. Monica had his undivided attention. He held her, covered with her blood, as she died.