Beyond Friends Episode Forty One "Thats What Friends Are For"
Guest Stars
Matt LeBlanc as Joey
Bruce Willis as Wesley
Demi Moore as Alison
Judge Reinhold as Eric
"With A Little Help From My Friends"
Chandler followed Rachel around the studio like a lost puppy looking for its mother. Rachel and Chandler were there to ask Joey for help in getting Alison David-Cooper a place to sing. Alison wanted to be a singer after quitting her job with the lieutenant govenor. Wesley, her better half, was not too happy about this but after some coaxing and some good bean casserole at the Rachel and Chandlers he came around.
"Why would Joey know anything about finding Alison a place to sing?" Chandler had asked Rachel on the crosstown bus taking Rachel to work that day. Chandler was gonna play hooky from work today. No one was gonna fire him, he was practically the boss.
"Joey has this much more business connections than we do, and we have nothing." Rachel explained. "All we can do is ask, the worst thing he can say is, guys I can't help you."
"I thought the worst thing was almost getting run ocver by this bus." Chandler said as they got off.
A few minutes later they found Joey at his spot in the cafeteria reading the days script. Joey looked up and saw the two.
"Hey!" Joey said and he waved. "Come on over, its leftover chilli day."
Chandler nudged Rachel. "Is it too late to leave?"
"Come on." Rachel pulled him along. Rachel sat down across from Joey.
"What can I do you for?" Joey asked. "Thats showbiz for what can I do for you?" Joey laughed at his own joke.
"Joey we have a favor to ask you." Rachel said and quickly explained the story while Chandler toyed with the skin that was on Joeys pudding cup.
"Sorry guys." Joey shook his head. "I can't help you."
"Oh no." Rachel moaned.
"But I can do this for you." Joey said while smacking his lips. "You should look for a club or something that offers an open mike night. There she can sing one or two songs. By the time shes done she will whether she can hack it or not."
"Really?" Chandler asked.
"Sure. A lot of people make it big in these small clubs." Joey said getting up. "I can't think of any just now but I'm sure there are a few."
"Thanks Joey." Rachel said turning to leave.
"Don't you work for me?" Joey asked. Rachel turned again.
"Yeah." She sighed. "What do you want me to do today."
"Ah, forget about it." Joey waved her on. "Go help this friend of yours. We can talk tomorrow."
"Thanks Joey!" Rachel said. She turned to Chandler. "Come on, you heard the man, lets go get Alison."
"Right." Chandler said and they left the cafe.
As soon as they left the cafe Rachel reached into her wicker bag and got out her cell phone.
"It'll be quicker to find her if I can reach Alison on her phone." Rachel said flipping it open. "I just hope she didn't get rid of it or else we're in deep doodoo."
"Doesn't she still have that apartment?" Chandler said.
"Yeah but she more likely went home with Wes last night so going there would be a waste of time." Rachel said hitting the speed dial. She waited for a second as the phone on the other end rang.
"Hello?" The voice said. Alison hadn't tossed out her phone after all.
"It's Rachel." She said.
"Oh hi Rache!" Alison said. "Have you had any luck?"
"Not really, my friend couldnt help but gave us some great advice. Do you know any places that would have an open mike night?"
"Sure!" Alison said. "Wes and I went to a lot of clubs when we were on our honeymoon. There is a really nice Coffee bar, they have open mike night tonight and karaoke tommorrow."
"Yea!" Rachel nodded. She remembered the place. It was where Rachel and Monica had seen Steve and Linda. Monica got to sing I Got You Babe with the clubs owner Eric. "I know where it is. You want to meet there tonight??"
"How does six sound to you?" Alison said. "I can't write an original song for the life of me so I will do covers of songs I already know and love." Alison said.
"Great. See you there." Rachel clicked the phone off. "That was nice and easy. Now you can go to work." She said looking at Chandler.
"Nah, its too late to go in." Chandler said. Rachel raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, I dont WANT to go to work."
"I didn't say a thing. Let's go. I want to call Ross and ask him if he wants to go to this thing." Rachel said as they went over to catch the next bus home.
Later
Rachel and Chandler arrived at the club around 6:00.
"So sorry Ross couldn't come to this." Chandler said as he opened the door for her.
"Thank you." Rachel said. "No, he had some dino thing to work on tonight. I swear to god, if he worked that much examining me..."
"Rachel!" Alison saw them. "So glad you were able to make it here tonight." Wesley waved from his spot. Chandler went over to talk to him.
"How are you?" Chandler asked.
"All right so far." Wesley said. "But I don't know how to feel about this. Am I waiting for her to succeed or crash and burn?"
"Ah." Chandler said. "Well just be there for her, that'll mean more than winning or losing at this."
Rachel sat with Alison.
"Are you nervous?" She asked Alison as the room started to fill up.
"Well, you know how you felt when you got your first kiss?" Alison asked.
"Yeah."
"Multiply that by 10 and you will have what I have right now."
"Ohh." Rachel asked. She turned her head as Eric got up near his usual podium.
"Ladies and Gentleman! Welcome to open mike night at the Karoke Kupp. Tonight we will have a funny man and a singer who is trying to make a start for herself here." He said smiling. "Let's give them a round of applause for being gutsy enough to just be here tonight. They've already made a big step in my humble opinion. First we will have the lady singer. But first the vocal stylings of Alison David-Cooper, she will sing a couple of her favorite songs. Give her a hand folks!"
Alison smiled nervously. "Here I go."
"Good luck." Rachel said as Chandler and Wesley joined her at the table.
"Hi!" She said into the mike. "First I will start with a fave Carly Simon song of mine." She grabbed the mike.
"Nobody does it better
Makes me feel sad for the rest.
Nobody does it half as good as you,
Baby, you're the best."
Rachel looked over at Chandler who smiled at her.
Alison continued.
"The way that you hold me, whenever you hold me.
There's some kind of magic inside you.
That keeps me from runnin' but just keep it comin'
How'd you learn to do the things you do?"
Rachel and Chandler turned to look at Wesley who seemed in awe of her as a singer. Rachel looked at him. Then she looked at Chandler. Chandler shoved a cocktail napkin at her. She read it briefly and nodded.
Alison sung.
"Baby you're the best.
Darlin' you're the best.
Darlin' you're the best.
Baby you're the best.
Baby you're the best."
Chandler met Rachel out by the bathroom door.
"She's really good." Rachel said. "Thats the good news." She said as Alison announced her next song would be "It's a heartache"
"Yeah, but the good news is that she is great." Chandler said. They looked at Wesley. "What's gonna happen now?"
"I don't know. I wish I could fast forward to the end of this song." Rachel said.
"I know." Chandler said. "Let's go sit down." He said after they lingered at the door to the bathroom for five minutes.
"I have an idea." Rachel said and went up to Alison."Alison. dedicate this next song to Wesley. Make him know you haven't forgotten when he has done for him."
"I was gonna do a nice Janis Joplin one..." she stopped when she got a look from Rachel. "But I can change that."
"Good." Rachel said. Alison went to her microphone again. Rachel sat down and looked at Chandler.
"Ok this song I want to dedicate to my husband Wesley, without him I would not be up here tonight." She said looking at him." Wesley blushed as the song started.
Alison started to sing.
"Do you remember when we met
That's the day I knew you were my pet
I want to tell you how much I love you"
"Come with me, my love
To the sea, the sea of love
I want to tell you how much I love you"
"Come with me, to the sea"
"Do you remember when we met
That's the day I knew you were my pet
I want to tell you how much I love you"
There was a short guitar solo
"Come with me, to the sea"
"Come with me, my love
To the sea, the sea of love
I want to tell you how much I love you"
Alison went to Wesley after the song ended and they embraced. Rachel smiled at Chandler and they walked out the door.
"That was great. She was a really good singer. But where is she gonna go now?" Rachel asked.
"I don't know. Skys the limit, or at least thats what they say." Chandler said.
"Rachel!" Alison caught up with the duo. "There was a producer in the audience tonight, he wants me to have the lead role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show broadway revival!" She squealed with joy.
"Try and say that three times fast." Chandler said.
"Thats great." Rachel said to Alison.
"I gotta go, study my lines!" Alison said giving Rachel a big hug. "Joy!" She said and ran off.
"Hey, do you know of the female lead actually sings in this thing shes doing?" Rachel asked Chandler.
"What makes you think I ever saw that?" Chandler asked incredulously. Rachel glared at him. "Theres a bit of singing for her part."
"Remind me to go see her." Rachel said as they turned for home.
"You know, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship." Chandler said as they walked into the dense fog.
"Thats it, I'm taking your Casablanca tape."
"Darn."
