joey's Guestbook

Phoebe couldn't help but laugh at his pizza joke. Joey always did know how to make her laugh, even with the corniest of jokes. Finally, after taking a couple of deep breaths Phoebe began to speak to him. "Sorry about that. I guess I must have hit the disconnect button," she said trying not to let her voice sound cracked or nervous, though she knew she was failing at both. "Anyway, nothing is wrong, per say," she told him and then went on speaking. "I'm just sitting at the café alone and I thought maybe if you weren't busy, you could come and we could have some coffee and a sandwich and maybe talk," she told him with a smile she knew he couldn't see but hoped he could feel. "And for the record, I know I can talk to you about anything," she told him still using that warm tone she had. But then she paused, giving Joey a chance to speak and in his voice, Phoebe heard something that she had never heard before, which gave her pause for a moment before finally going on. "I'll understand if you are busy, but I thought with Laura being gone and Monica and Chandler being parents and Ross too busy being paranoid," she told him as she paused once again so that Joey could say his thoughts. It was then that he brought up the idea of them and that he had been thinking about their friendship. And for a moment, Phoebe found that she couldn't speak or breathe for the moment.

But finally, with a smile on her face, Phoebe began to speak, though she did have that nervousness in her voice. "Oh really?" she asked him to start off. "I hope its all good things," she said with a nervous chuckle. Phoebe then went silent for a few minutes and then she began to speak to Joey seriously, though the warm and playful tone was still there. "To be honest Joey," she started and then went on before she lost her nerve. "I have been thinking about us too. And I think there's somethings we should talk about," she added knee deep in the water as she continued speaking. She looked down at the ground for a few minutes and back up, "There's something that I really have been meaning to tell you," she said now too far out to turn back. "I just don't know how well you are going to take what I have to say," she told him as she thought for a moment on what she was telling him and then quickly went on. "And for the record," she said with her warm and loving smile now back on her face. "What I have to say, isn't a bad thing, but it is serious," she told him. Then Phoebe cleared her throat and went on. "So, are you going to come and join me at the café or did I already scare you away before we even start talking?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Maybe, though I'm not writing your acceptance speech yet for any awards," she said with a chuckle and then went on speaking about just how many babies Laura was really carrying. "Don't worry, you'll get your medium rare steak with potatoes meal even if you are wrong, which you are," she said playfully as she getting one more quick shot in there as she started to get serious again. She couldn't help but chuckle when Joey threatened to come to Nevada with a sandwich and a stern look on his face if Eric didn't take care of her. "Joey, I'm just picturing you with a sandwich and a stern look fainting the moment that Eric walked up to you and gave you his stern look," she told him. "You know, he is over 6 feet tall and over 300 pounds of muscle, so I wouldn't worry about me branding you as so much as Eric giving you a new face," she said laughing. But then Laura got serious again as she talked about everyone having their back. "Thanks Joey, and I know my family knows this, and I want you to know it too, that no matter what is going on in my life, I will always have your back too," she told him already on the verge of tears, though fought hard to keep them back as she went on speaking. "Don't worry, sometimes the scariest things turn out to be the best things," she told Joey and after they talked for a little while longer, they finally hung up from each other.

Meanwhile, while Laura was back seeing the doctor, Phoebe was sitting at the café by herself. She knew that Monica and Chandler had Emma and Ross had Ben. She also knew that Laura was still in Nevada and honestly didn't know if she was coming back ever, so that just left her, except she knew that Joey wasn't doing anything or at least wondered if he was doing anything. So, after getting herself some coffee and a sandwich, she pulled out her phone and went to her contacts and down to Joey's name and just sat there looking at it. There was so much she wanted to tell him and yet she was scared to because she was afraid that he might now feel the same way as she did. Though she also knew that if she didn't try and let Joey know how she felt, Finally, after ten minutes of just starring at Joey's name, she finally hit the green call button and waited. At first she got the busy single, so she hung up and put her phone down, determined not to do that again. But after a little while and a few sips from her coffee and a few bites of her sandwich, she was ready to try again to call Joey. And after emptying her mouth from everything, she cleaned her hands with a napkin and picked up her phone and once again went to her contacts and went down to Joey's name and once more hit the green call button. This time though she could hear ringing instead of a busy tone. And as she waited for Joey to answer, Phoebe could feel the nerves start to knot up and even though she wanted to hang up, she continued to wait for him to answer.

Laura couldn't help but smile as she listened to Joey. And for once, she knew he was right about her not being lost. She was right where she needed to be and that was with Eric and the little one that was growing inside of her. Once Joey took time to pause to watch an important play on the TV, Laura then took the opportunity to speak to him. "Joey, you are absolutely right. I am where I need to be, which is with Eric and this little one or little ones as you seem to think," she said with a chuckle mixed with a tone of relief as she went listening to Joey speaking once more. She couldn't believe that this was the same Joey that earlier she called an idiot. When he was done speaking, Laura began to speak once more with a genuine smile on her face that even though Joey couldn't see it, she knew he knew it was there. "Joey, what you just said means the world to me. I take back what I said earlier about you being an idiot," she told him. "In fact, what you said about me not being lost and that I'm doing an amazing job really means a lot to me," she told him. "You have really grown up and matured in the time we have been talking," she added still having that genuine smile on her face. Laura chuckled as she went onto discuss the baby or babies that were growing inside her. "Joey, honey, this isn't TV. The chances of having multi-babies is low, though I will admit it's not total impossible," she said as she thought about it for a few minutes and then went on speaking to him.

"But I will tell you what," she said. "I'm going to get an ultrasound done before I lay down for a bit," she told him. "And I will send you a picture of the ultrasound and prove that I'm carrying one baby," she told him. "But if....and this is a big if," she went on to say with a playful and yet serious tone. "Then when you get here, I'll cook you up the biggest and juiciest steak this side of Nevada, though it will be hard to keep Eric away from it, but I can do it," she said with a smirk. "Deal?" she asked him as she then moved onto Eric and the sandwich. "And thanks. It was a conversation I had with Ross and yea, my mind went totally dead when I told you that," she said laughing, knowing that Joey would understand as silence fell over the phone. She knew he was thinking about what she had said about him and Phoebe. Finally, it was Laura that broke the silence and began to speak to him again. "Joey, listen to me," she started. "Love is worth it. Yes, there is that chance that it may not work out, but it's still worth it," she told Joey. "Besides, she knows you like a book and you know her the same way," she added. "And yes, we started off as friends and found out that we loved each other more than life itself," she added and then paused. When Laura heard Joey say that he might take the risk, Laura couldn't help but smile, even though once again Joey couldn't see it. But in the back of her mind, she just hoped that she wasn't pushing too hard for Joey to do something that he wasn't ready for. Laura let out a sigh and then began to chuckle as what Joey's reply was to her branding him, though she finally let out a laugh as she began to speak to him.

"Yes, I know and that's what makes it so funny," she said as she continued to laugh. "And in answer to your question, yes I did threaten to brand you," she said playfully as she went on. "Then again, since you are way too pretty to be branded by me, I think I'll let Eric do it, just for fun," she said laughing and then getting really serious as she was feeling just how tired she was. "And I'm going to rest as soon as I get the ultrasound," she told Joey. "I just want to make sure the baby is doing okay, despite me going on little to no sleep," she told Joey. "So, you don't have to worry about me not getting rest, because I promise you I will," she told him as she felt a yawn coming on and before she knew it, she was already yawning. Once she finished yawning, she began to speak to him again. "Sorry about that, guess the tiredness is catching up to me, especially with me being pregnant," she added and then went on. "And thank you Joey, I will do that, and you know you can call me anytime you want, for any reason," she told him with a smile. "And don't worry about Eric, he's a very understanding guy. And do make sure your jokes are funny," she added. "Some of them well....," she started to say and then paused for a few minutes and then went on speaking. "Though if you did bring him a sandwich, that would definitely be a good way to impress him, though I think he likes my sandwiches better," she said with a chuckle mixed with a bragging tone of voice. "But anyway," she said as she began to yawn again. "I will talk to you later. And be on the lookout for that ultrasound photo, I told you about," she said with a snicker as they were saying their last goodbyes before getting off the phone.

"The defense is probably set up so they can rush the other team's quarterback and take him down," she said with a smile on her face. "They may even try to get a touchback, depending on the yardage," she added as she then went back to what they were talking about, which was more than football, though she couldn't help but chuckle at some of the things he was saying, knowing that it wasn't meant to be funny, but Joey always had a way of making serious things funny. Finally, she began to speak to Joey in a warm and thankful tone. "I know and you are completely right about everything. I am fighting so hard with him and I'm never going to give up on him or our love," she told Joey. "It's just everything is taking its toll at the moment, and I feel lost," she said. "As crazy as it sounds, I feel absolutely lost," she confessed to Joey as she fought hard to keep the tears from falling. Laura went silent for a little bit as she placed her hand on her stomach and gently rubbed it as a smile came on her face. "You're right, he's fighting so hard for not only me but for this little baby as well, and yes, I'm still saying I'm only having one baby," she said laughing.

"But anyway, you don't have to worry about Eric. He's as gentle as a newborn lamb. Besides, I got something that would work even better than a sandwich, though he might take the sandwich afterwards," she said laughing leaving Joey to make up his own mind about what she was talking about. Then Laura went quiet for a few minutes as if she was deep in thought. "You know I only want what's best for you, Joey, and I know that Phoebe is the best thing for you," she added. "So, don't be scared to take that risk, after all, Eric and I started off as best friends and look what it turned into," she told him honestly. Then she got playful again. "Besides, if you don't tell her soon, when you get down here, I'm gonna brand you and make you my bitch," she said laughing as the exhaustion was starting to take over a little bit. "But anyway, thanks for letting me get a lot of things off my chest, Joey. And believe me, I will be calling more often, if for nothing else to bug you about Pheobe," she said chuckling and yet had a soft tone to her voice. It was like she slowly falling asleep on the phone. "And bring your best jokes," she told him. "Eric loves jokes and loves to laugh. That's one way to stay on his good side," she added.

When Joey brought up the fact that Laura was having four babies at once, she couldn't help but chuckle, knowing that he was only half-way paying attention. "Joey, you idiot," she said playfully. "I didn't say I was having four babies. I said one baby," she added, not knowing Joey was actually right. "Please tell me that you aren't watching a football game while we are talking?" she asked him, knowing that he probably was. Laura just shook her head with a tiring chuckle in her voice. "Anyway, thank you Joey. And yes, he's fighting awfully hard to stay for me, and I know he will fight even harder when I tell him about the baby," she said as she smiled at what Joey said about finding her person. "That I did, and I know he found his person in me," she added now smiling a little bit. "You should see the way his face lights up whenever I am near him. He gets this big smile on his face to the point that you can see his dimples on his cheeks," she added as she drifted off for a few minutes, letting the line go dead for a while. Laura was deep in thought about what Joey said about love making people stronger than they are. And for a few minutes, she actually let her guard down and let some hope slip in, at least until she snapped back into reality and everything came flooding back again.

Laura then went back to speaking on the reality of everything that was going on. And once again her voice had that tired and worried tone to it. "I do hate seeing him like that because I know there is nothing I can really do but sit by his side and hold his hand," she told him and then went on speaking, letting everything she had bottled up just come out. "I mean I know he's so tired of fighting," she told him as tears started to sting her eyes. "Am I being too selfish on wanting him to live?" she asked Joey as more of her emotions were coming out. "Maybe I should let him go so that he can finally rest and have the peace that I know he needs," she said now letting a few tears come down before wiping them away and clearing her throat to where she sounded stronger than she was. "Anyway, I would love for you to meet him. He's a fun guy to be around and he's easy to get along with, at least, until you mess with his family," she told him. "And if you ever mess with me in front of him," she started. "Then I would suggest you get your affairs in order because you will see a side of him that is not normal," she said laughing as she then moving on to Joey and his life.

She couldn't help but chuckle as she listened to him talk about his ups and downs struggles with being an actor. "Aww, well keep on giving it your all," she told Joey. "Because I know there is a part out there that is meant for only you and then the world will really know who Joey Tribianne really is," she said with what sounded like a positive tone in her voice. "Just don't forget us little people when you do make it to Hollywood and become a huge success," she told him as she then went on to talk about Phoebe, even though she knew he didn't want to. "Joey! The longer you wait to tell her, the more time you are losing to be with her," she told him sound sterner than ever. "Look, you and Phoebe are a lot like Eric and me," she said. "On one hand, you have this great friendship that you cherish but on the other hand, you can't help but wonder if there really is something special there," she said. "But the only way you are going to know is if you bite the bullet and tell her how you truly feel," she told him. "Worst case, you two stay friends, but I have a feeling that there is something there between the two of you and it's more than just friendship," she told him as they got back on the subject of her.

"And yes, I know we were talking about me and everything I'm going through at the moment," she told him. "But I didn't want to be rude and not ask about you and your struggles," she added with a soft chuckle. Laura couldn't help but smile when she hears the rest of what Joey had to tell her. "Thank you so much Joey. I know I'm not alone and you also know I will call you anytime that I need to talk or just need to find someone to call an idiot," she said playfully and then got serious again. "And thank you for saying that I am family to you because you are family to me too," she told him. "You are that crazy brother who is smarter than anyone gives you credit for and yet still has idiotic tendency," she said with a chuckle and knowing that he knew what she was saying wasn't to hurt him but was more of a compliment than anything. "But no matter how you act or what you do in life, I will always love you like that brother," she added, now smiling even though he couldn't see it.