Beyond Friends Episode Forty Four "Hot Stuff"
Guest Stars-
Courteney Cox as Monica
David Schwimmer as Ross
Bruce Willis as Wesley (phone call)
"Food Glorious Food"
Chandler awoke to the sound of loud pounding at the front door. He crept to the door of his bedroom and looked out. He turned to see if Rachel had emerged from her room to get the door, like she always does.
"Don't get up, I'll get it." He muttered as he walked to the door. He swung it slowly open. It was Monica, wearing her entire Chef uniform.
"Hello little girl. Halloween is next month." He said as cherfully as he could.
Monica responded by pulling his shirt collar down, bringing his face to her level.
"Chandler, I NEED you." She said clearly out of breath.
"Ok. I'll get rid of Ross and Rachel and we can..."
"I need her too." She said coming on in.
"Why don't you come in." He said dryly. "Uh, is there something I should know about?"
"Just a sec." Monica said bursting into Rachels room wihtout knocking. She just as quickly came out. "Why didn't you tell me Ross was here?" She asked angrily, and a bit embarressedly.
"I did!" Chandler said as Ross and Rachel came out with her big flower comforter wrapped around them.
"I didn't see a thing." Monica sputtered. "Not to say its just a thing. I didn't see anything."
"Thats ok Mon." Ross said.
"What do you want?" Rachel asked. She looked at Chandler who gave her his best "What?" expression.
"I need help." Monica said.
"That goes without saying." Ross said.
"The restaurants opening day is today. I had to find a lot of workers at the last minute. I found out that an immigration official is having dinner out there. I go back to the kitchen and all my staff was gone! Expect for a little old lady, who I don't remember hiring in the first place." Monica said.
"Ok. That brings up to now." Chandler said to her. "What do you want with us."
"I was hoping if it was possible, that you could come down and help me out until the people I sent for from the Temp agency can come." Monica said.
"I dunno." Rachel said. "What if Joey can't let me go for one day."
"Joeys a real slave driver." Chandler said.
"I can't do it Mon." Ross said trying to leave, then he remembered where he was. "I gotta get dressed and to the museum."
"Oh." Monica said looking down.
"I'll help." Chandler said. "And I'm sure Joey will let Rachel help as well."
"Really?" Rachel asked. "How are you gonna accomplish this?"
"He owes me a favor. Actually this is one of many things he owes me." Chandler explained.
"Two hours tops." Monica said. "It won't take that long isn a city where a lot of people can't wait to work for me."
"Ok." Chandler said. "Give us half an hour and we will be there."
"But Chandler...." Rachel started.
"We will be there." He said as Ross dragged Rachel inside her room.
"Thanks Chandler." Monica said hugging him.
"I'm just hoping we don't do something we regret." He said.
"What?"
"Nevermind."
Few minutes later
Ross and Rachel said their quick goodbyes. Quick meaning 15 minutes. Meanwhile Chandler had been on the horn taking care of the matters of the day. Getting out of work to help Monica ought to be a cinch, he had thought as he rang up Wesleys home phone number. Chandler hoped he was still at home.
Wesley heard the phone. He opened one eye and rolled over to grab it off his night stand.
"No one I like calls me this early." He said quietly.
"It's Chandler. I need to ask a favor of you." He said while Rachel closed the front door. He glanced at her and Rachel had a smile for the ages on her face. That was one hell of a goodbye.
"The Favor office doesnt open till 8:00 weekdays, 10:00 weekends and closed on holidays." Wesley said as he grudgingly started to wake up. "What can I do you for."
"I need you to cover for me at the big stock meeting for today." Chandler said while getting a drink of orange juice.
"But this is YOUR meeting. YOU organized it and you been waiting for it for weeks. You also bought a lifetime supply of zantac worrying about it." Wesley explained.
"I know that! But Monica needs my help today." Chandler said while Rachel waited by the door in her old favorite waitressing dress from Central Perk. "So can you please cover?"
"I'll do you one better. I'll postpone it till Monday." Wesley said.
"Thanks."
"Well you have to anyway, half the big wigs are out of town and will be mondo peed off if they miss any of your famous wheeling and dealing. Don't worry." Wesley said now sitting on his bed.
"Thanks." Chandler said hanging up. Her turned to Rachel. "Ready to go?"
"Joey said I can go as long as I have underlined his script for today." Rachel explained. "I used Ross's cell phone."
"Did you do that?"
"He had one line." Rachel shrugged. "I'm good to go."
"All right." Chandler said. "Do you know what to do when we get there?"
"Yeah." Rachel said as they left.
"Good. Then tell me on the way." Chandler said as they locked the door and headed for Monicas new restaurant.
Monica met Rachel and Chandler at the back door to the restaurant. She had arranged them to meet back there because she didnt want to have her new patrons see. It doesn't give a very good first impression when you have to admit all your restaurant staff were in danger of taking the first slow boat back to China. Or whereever.
"I'm so glad you guys are here. It's almost the lunchtime rush." Monica explained while she escorted them in. Monica had done a wonderful job in redecorating the eatery but they had no chance to go into the main dining room and browse. They were here for a reason.
"We're glad to help." Rachel said hugging Monica. "What can we do?"
"We are in luck. The temp agency has already managed to send over two chefs and a two waitresses. And they are magnificant!. More will come later, but I still need you two. " Monica said. "So all I have for you to stay in here and make hour de'ouvres." Monica heard somone call her name. "Be right back. I love you guys!" Monica took off in a flurry of white.
"Is it too late to call Joey back?" Rachel wondered aloud.
"I think so." Chandler said. "Well we're here, now what."
"We have to wait for Monica to coem back and give us our orders." Rachel said. "Here she comes."
Monica carried a stack of trays and some rolled up dough stuff. "I'm soooo sorry I can't get you something else to do. But this is the most important job here. Well next to chef anyway, and the waitress, and the table boy....you get the picture. I need these pigs in a blanket in their blanket. Can you do that? I gotta go! I'm like a chicken with my head cut off I'm so busy. And I LOVE it." Monica left again.
Chandler and Rachel looked at each other, then at the trays.
"I missed my calling, I was really meant to throw luke warm pigs in a blanket." Chandler said as he grabbed one and wrapped it.
"You did that wrong!" Rachel objected.
"What?"
"You are supposed to wrap it like this," Rachel showed him, "then the piggy doesn't fall out."
"What if I want to do it this way." Chandler did his piggy the same way. Rachel rolled his eyes.
"This way definately not your calling, you are still doing it wrong." Rachel looked up, one of the chefs was staring at her. "What are you looking at?"
The chef looked back down.
"Let me have that." Rachel said suddenly getting fed up. She seized hold of Chandlers pig and grabbed a blanket.
"Give that back."
"Ha!"
"Ok, you want it so bad, have some more." Chandler said grabbing a handful. He threw the handful at her. She screamed as the pigs hit her. Some stuck to her hair.
"Oh yea, well have all the blankets you want!" She took the blankets and threw them at him.
Then all out war began. Chandler and Rachel picked up any food they found on the counter and flung it at each other. Rachel picked up a bowl of marinara sauce but then slipped and dumped it on herself. Chandler stopped to laugh but he also was felled by the sauce. They tried to get up again. The chefs screamed something italian and left. Chandler and Rachel continued started to slip and slide then they fell on top of each other.
Chandler sat up and looked down. Rachel was a marinara covered mess.
"Wow, you would go with breadsticks about now." Chandler remarked as they heard someone enter. The person cleared their throat.
It was Monica.
"Hi Monica!" Rachel said sitting up. "You gotta try the pasta, its el dente' tonight."
Monica shook her head and left.
Chandler came out of the bathroom.
"I can't believe Monica fired us." He said as he was drying his hair.
"We didn't even work for her." Rachel agreed.
"But you gotta admit we were pretty childish in there."
"More you than me." Rachel said pointing her finger at Chandler.
"Actually I thought it was the other way around." Chandler countered.
"Was not!"
"Was too!"
"Was not!" Rachel shook her head. "Let's stop, whenever we argue, food is bound to get involved."
"Well, that one time anyway."
"Do you want something to eat?" Rachel rose. "I gotta get out of this robe. We ought to go out to eat."
"Good idea. I hear this new italian place is lovely." Chandler said heading to his own room. Rachel gave him a look. "Or maybe not."
