Heyyy.. How you doin'?
***DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY CHARACTERS OR MAIN STORYLINES***
I'm going to try my best to post as much as possible! Feel free to request anything!
"Welcome to the real world. It sucks! You're gonna love it."
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Joey POV
Shortly before Phoebe had the triplets, we were preparing to go on a trip to Atlantic City. Then after that, babies starting comin' out of her and we couldn't go. So now that she's already had the babies, we went to Atlantic City for the weekend. We had an awesome time! So much happened I couldn't even begin to explain!
Before we got on the road to go home, we stopped at this amazing pizza/sub place for lunch.
Most everybody just had pizza and an appetizer. I decided to dig in. Hey, this place was great! I got a killer foot-long meatball sub, a meat lovers pizza, some mozzarella sticks, and some other bread stuff that Monica made me try that was actually pretty good.
We all sat there for a moment in food comas before we paid for the food and left.
We stopped to get gas, dessert, and drinks, then got on the interstate in Phoebe's cab. I ate a ice cream thingy I got and settled down for a nap. It was only 2-4 hours drive depending on traffic. But we were in New York and New Jersey in the afternoon, so it was definitely gonna be quite the ride. Eventually, the swaying of the car put me to sleep.
Chandler POV
I don't know how in the hell we smushed in this cab but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be. Even though I was squished between Monica, Rachel, and Joey, I still managed to find myself dozing off.
I cleared my throat, sitting up, "So, uh, how long till Manhattan, Pheebs?" She leans back in her seat while watching the road, "What did ya say?" She said yelling slightly because of the front windows that won't roll up. "How. Long. Till. Home?" I said louder and slower so she could understand. "Well I heard someone say something about a car accident up here, so probably about 3 hours or so.." she said trailing off after something on the road caught her attention for a second. "Okay." I said loudly, nodding my head.
Rachel and Monica were over there looking at pictures they took this weekend and also a magazine Rachel picked up at the gas station. Ross was doing a crossword and Joey was next to me passed out asleep. I noticed his forehead was a little sweaty, but I figure that's just because it's hotter out today than usual this year.
I sighed and decided to take a nap too, I lied my head back on the seat and began dozing.
Monica POV
We ended up taking some cute pictures this weekend. Especially at the beach with everybody! We finally got through all the pictures and then I just looked over Rach's shoulder at a magazine she bought.
I felt a sudden shift of weight in the seats beside me, which squished me more. "Ow! Hey guys, can ya scoot over more? I'm a tiny woman!" I look over to see them both asleep, except Joey looked a little pale and sweaty. "Uh, hey Rach?" She reads the last sentence she's on and looks over, "Yeah Mon?"
"Does Joey look okay to you? Like a pale green or somethin?" I look over from Joey to Rachel. "Yeah.. he doesn't look that great." She says raising her eyebrow. "Maybe the heat is getting to him?" I said out of curiosity.
Rachel POV
I nodded, "Yeah maybe it is, Mon." I lean up closer to Phoebe's seat, "Hey Pheebs, does the A/C work? Joey doesn't look so good.." I said looking back over at him, she shook her head, "No, unfortunately, it doesn't work."
I sighed a little, "Alright, I was just curious. Maybe he's just a little hot and that's all.
Chandler POV
I was napping somewhat soundly when I suddenly felt something heavy move beside me. I woke up and looked over to see Joey wrapping his arms around his stomach, not to mention he was literally soaked with sweat and turning a sickly, pale color. I cleared my throat and sat up, "Hey guys, um, Joey doesn't look so good.."
Joey POV
I was sleeping good for the first few moments of the road trip but then I started to feel really hot and not how I would prefer to "feel hot". My stomach was cramping and rumbling and I could feel sweat roll down my back.
I heard Chandler's voice beside me and someone said something else. That was when I woke up. I woke up and wrapped my arms around my aching stomach, leaning over into the door.
Chandler put a hand on my back, "Hey big guy, you all good?" I shook my head and swallowed, afraid to speak. I felt really nauseous and my head spun with my stomach. "I-I think I ate...ate too much.." the thought of food made me more nauseated. "..or ate something b-bad." I said burping a little.
Monica POV
"Well none of us had a sandwich earlier. Except for you Joe.." I said sympathetically. He shook his head, "please don't mention f-food." He said putting his fist to his mouth.
Phoebe shot a glance back towards the backseat every minute and Ross was trying to find a bag or something for emergencies.
Joey POV
As we went down the interstate, my head spun more which made my stomach churn even more. "O-Over..p-pull over.." I said swallowing hard repeatedly with my hand covering my mouth.
I heard Chandler yell to Phoebe, "Pheebs, pull over like right now!"
I felt the car jerk over and that's when I hung my head out the window. Finally the car stopped and I stumbled out of the car in a rush, Monica and Chandler following close. Ross got out and found a bottle of water in the trunk and Phoebe and Rachel stood back in case their help was needed.
Which was recommended for Rachel because she didn't do good with puke. I violently retched, bringing up a round of sick onto the grass below me. I felt tears sting my eyes as my head spun and my stomach rolled. I felt myself losing balance and then felt two pairs of strong arms behind me. Ross and Chandler grabbed me just before I fell and lowered me to the grass in a cleaner area. "Hey man, you're gonna be fine, we got ya." I heard Ross say slowly, stretching out his arm to hand me a napkin.
I looked up and nodded, grabbing the napkin and coughing into it.
Ross POV
Chandler and I stood next to Joey making sure he didn't stumble. I wonder what could make him this sick, this fast. I looked over to Chandler and Monica and whispered, "you think it could be food poisoning?"
Monica nodded immediately and rubbed his back soothingly. Chandler nodded also, "Yeah definitely, he did have a lot and the rest of us didn't have the "S-U-B" that he had." He said spelling out the word sub so it wouldn't make it worse for Joey to think about.
I walked back to the cab and sat in the passenger seat. "Poor Joey.." I said with a sigh, in which Rachel and Phoebe both nodded.
Monica POV
I rubbed Joey's back soothingly, trying to calm him during and in-between bouts of vomiting. "Hey Joe, you're gonna be alright. We're here for ya.." I said trying to comfy him. "You think you're done, big guy?" I asked with concern clearly in my voice.
Joey POV
I couldn't feel anything except the aching in my head and stomach and the nausea. I heard Mon ask me if I was done and I have to admit I hesitated for a good minute. I was still so nauseous but the concrete underneath me hurt my ass and made everything else worse. I nodded, "yeah but m'gonna need a bucket or a bag for later.." I said trailing off as the cramps in my stomach got worse.
I moaned and clutched my stomach tightly, while tears slid down my cheeks in a constant stream.
Before I knew it, Monica and chandler had picked me up and halfway carried me back to the cab. They sat me down in the backseat and Monica handed me a sick bag. She knelt in front of me holding a water bottle, "Hey Joe, can you rinse your mouth out and spit? Don't drink it though."
I nodded my head slowly and did what was asked if me. I can't believe I got food poisoning from that stupid sandwich! But I was in too much pain to be mad. Not to mention, how much I ate at the restaurant didn't help at all either. It just made everything worse.
Chandler POV
I sat beside Joey where I was before and soon after, everyone else joined back in the car to keep on going down the road. I wrapped my arm around my sick best friend beside me and kept an eye on him.
He gripped that trash bag so tight, his knuckles were turning white. Evidently, he still felt nauseous because we barely made it 8 miles before he lurched forward gagging into the bag, bringing up another round of what was in his stomach.
I held him and rubbed his back soothingly when I heard phoebe say something from the front, "I'm going to try to take a faster detour to home. We need to get him back to Manhattan or everything is going to get considerably worse if he does have food poisoning from that place."
"Yeah I agree," I heard Ross, Monica, and I say in unison. Joey vomited a few more times before collapsing into a fitful sleep across my lap. I tied that bag off and Ross handed me a new one from the front. I held it close to his head, just in case, and rubbed circles along his stomach.
Years ago, when he first moved in, he came down with the stomach flu and his mom told me that massaging his stomach and chicken soup would always make him feel better. So that's exactly what I'm going to get Monica to help with when we're home.
Phoebe POV
I felt so bad for Joey, I hated that one of my best friends felt sick. Especially after such a great weekend and all it took was a sandwich to ruin it. I glanced back every now and then to check on everything the rest of the way back to Manhattan.
Thankfully, I found a good detour and we ended up back home an hour earlier.
Ross POV
We parked outside the coffee house for now to get everything out and Joey upstairs. Chandler, Monica, and I handled Joey while Phoebe and Rachel brought all the bags up to Mon's apartment for now.
We walked Joey up the stairs carefully as he gripped the trash bag in his hands. We got to the door and his eyes widened. "I need to go!" He said urgently. His stomach let out a low rumble and next thing I knew, he ran past us and into the bathroom.
I'm assuming this was why phoebe took a detour, his stomach was going to be all out of sorts for awhile. So better here than on the road or in a motel.
Joey POV
I hated that my friends had to see me like this. I wasn't that embarrassed around Chandler or Monica because they seen me throughout that one time I had a stomach bug.
That was the worst ever!
I finished in my bathroom and walked out into the living room weakly, holding onto anything I could grab. "That was terrible..." I said with a hand on my stomach.
Chandler walked up slowly, "I'm sorry big guy, let's get you to the couch." Chandler instantly walked up to me and put his arm around me to help lead me to the couch.
I laid down and buried my head into the pillow.
Chandler POV
I got Joey on the couch and then I grabbed a trash can from the kitchen, I put it by his head on the floor and sat beside him. "Hey Mon, do you mind making some chicken soup for later? I'm going to sit here with him." She looked over and nodded with a smile, "Of course! No vegetables right?" I nodded, "yeah, vegetables make it worse." I said softly while rubbing his back soothingly. She headed across the hall and got busy.
Joey POV
I dozed in and out of sleep for at least an hour before I felt my stomach start cramping worse. I curled up into a ball and whimpered.
I felt the couch move and then heard Chandler, "Hey big guy, how're ya feeling?" He said gently. I shook my head, "Not so good. My stomach is killin me. It hurts so bad and it's making me queasy.." I said gagging into my hand. I reached for the trash can and sat up quickly. I hovered over the trash can swallowing hard and trying not to be sick.
I felt a hand on my back and someone talking to me in a calm voice. I assumed it was Chandler. My stomach rolled which made me gag. After that, all hell broke loose. I believe I threw up everything I've eaten. Chandler held me steady and rubbed my back soothingly.
After I was done, I leaned back and moaned, holding my belly. Chandler got up and took care of my mess. I felt so embarrassed and guilty that my best friend had to deal with me.. and with food poisoning too..
Chandler POV
After I cleaned up, I stayed with Joe, making sure he was okay. I know he felt bad about everything, I could tell. He's my best friend though, there is literally nothing I can think of that I wouldn't do for him. I sat down on the couch beside him, "Would you like some water, Joe?"
Joey shook his head, "No, maybe later.. but definitely not now. I can't even think about eating or drinking anything without feeling sick.." he said weakly.
I sat back on the couch and motioned him to lay his head on my leg. "Come on big guy.." I said softly.
Joey POV
I looked at him with puppy dog eyes and laid my head down. I felt so terrible and so spoiled. I was the only boy in the family. I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep.
After a minute or two, I felt a hand run through my hair soothingly. That eventually put me to sleep for awhile.
I was still sick for one more day but with Chandler's help, everything was so much easier.