After Ross mistakenly says Rachel's name instead of Emily's at the altar, she runs off and goes into hiding. Monica and Chandler, desperate to hook up again, are unable to find a suitable place. Rachel debates whether she should confront Ross about her feelings. Ross goes to the airport hoping Emily will show up so they can go on their honeymoon. He runs into Rachel who is on standby for a flight home. When it appears Emily is not coming, Ross persuades Rachel to go with him instead. Emily shows up at the airport, but seeing Rachel getting on the plane, she runs off again with Ross chasing after her. Rachel, waiting for Ross to board the plane, ends up going to Greece alone.

Rachel returns from Greece, telling Ross she had a great time but is actually livid that he abandoned her on the plane. Ross attempts to reconcile with Emily who refuses to speak to him. Rachel wants Monica to make all her romance decisions, but ultimately ignores her. Once back home, Monica and Chandler are caught kissing, so Chandler kisses all the girls to cover up their budding relationship. Phoebe feels left out when the other friends talk non-stop about their London trip. Feeling guilty over this, the gang plans a weekend trip to Atlantic City, but just as they are about to leave, Phoebe's water breaks, so instead they head to the hospital.

In an attempt to get over Ross, Rachel asks out two male nurses for her and Monica. This causes friction between Monica and Chandler, with Chandler reacting as if he does not care. In the delivery room, Phoebe frets about her Fonzie-obsessed doctor. Joey, who they think is only experiencing sympathy pain from Phoebe's labor, is diagnosed with kidney stones and admitted to the hospital. After giving birth to Frank and Alice's triplets: Frank Jr. Jr, Leslie, and Chandler, Phoebe has difficulty giving them up.

Chandler starts behaving rather arrogantly after learning Monica thinks he is the best sex she has ever had. Phoebe does her best to find a selfless good deed. Ross finally contacts Emily to try and work things out. She agrees to come to New York, but only if Ross agrees never to see Rachel. Joey lands a job on a PBS telethon, much to Phoebe's disapproval, who believes there is no such thing as a selfless good deed.

Ross tells Rachel that Emily does not want him to see her anymore. Rachel then worries she will be phased out of the group entirely, much like Chandler's old roommate, Kip, and seeks advice from Phoebe. Monica and Chandler sneak away for a weekend together and end up fighting. Joey eventually figures out the truth about their relationship, though they swear him to secrecy.

Phoebe's mother sends her a fur coat, causing her to rethink her views. Emily's demands on Ross become more unreasonable, annoying his friends, and causing him to make a huge decision about his marriage. Monica and Rachel encounter what they think is a yeti man in the storage room leading to them fogging him with bug spray. Joey later explains that they fogged Danny, who just moved into their building. Rachel and Monica go to his apartment to apologize for fogging him, though he brushes them off.

Rachel tries acting aloof with Danny, despite liking him. Phoebe begins dating Larry, a health inspector, but the friends are annoyed when he shuts down all their favorite restaurants after eating there. When Emily's cousin evicts Ross from the apartment he sublets to him, Joey and Chandler invite him to move in with them; his personal habits soon prove annoying.

Monica cooks Thanksgiving dinner. After, everyone shared stories of their worst-ever Thanksgivings: Chandler learned of his parents' divorce; Joey got a raw turkey stuck on his head; newly-thin, teen-aged Monica accidentally cut off the tip of Chandler's toe with a sharp knife after he called her fat the previous year.

Phoebe takes a literature course and regrets bringing Rachel, who does not take the class seriously. Joey tires of covering up Monica and Chandler's secret relationship. After creating a big fuss when Ross discovers that someone at work ate his sandwich, he is forced to take time off from work to deal with his anger issues after his marriage ends. Monica and Chandler silently beg Joey to maintain their secret after the other friends notice strange goings-on and think Joey is a pervert. Joey agrees but only by claiming that all the odd behavior is because he and Monica slept together in London, humiliating Monica.

During his sabbatical, a bored Ross encourages Joey to write his own screenplay, ultimately causing friction between Chandler and Ross. Phoebe becomes overly aggressive collecting money for the poor in the run-up to Christmas. Monica sets Rachel up on a date with Danny, but Rachel quickly loses interest after Danny and his sister act overly affectionate with one another.

The gang makes New Year resolutions: Rachel promises to stop gossiping; Monica tries to take more pictures of the group and be less fastidious; Phoebe wants to pilot a commercial aircraft; Joey wants to learn the guitar; Chandler must stop making jokes; and Ross wants to try something new each day. Phoebe's attempt to teach Joey the guitar ends badly. Ross encounters a problem when he wears a new pair of leather pants on a first date. Rachel receives a shock when she picks up the phone and overhears a conversation between Monica and Chandler.

Monica is dismayed by how Chandler kisses up to his boss at work. Rachel tries to get Monica to confess her secret about Chandler, but Monica is unwilling to confide anything. Ross learns Emily is engaged again, and has a one-night stand with someone the group is all too familiar with, Janice. Later, Janice breaks up with Ross, unable to stand his perpetual whining. Ross asks Chandler to forgive him for sleeping with his ex, believing it breaks a friendship rule. Chandler is amused, but realizes he can leverage that in case Ross becomes upset when he eventually finds out about him and Monica.

Phoebe's grandmother dies, and she is shocked when her father, Frank, comes to the funeral. Wanting to know more about him, she arranges an encounter without revealing her identity. Joey wants to look stylish for an upcoming audition, so Rachel helps out, styling him with a "man's bag" as an accessory. Joey loves the bag, but everyone else considers it a purse. Monica is upset that Chandler dislikes her massages, which he finds extremely painful.

Ross applies for Ugly Naked Guy's apartment when he moves out, only to find there is fierce competition. While viewing the apartment with Ross and Rachel, Phoebe happens to see Monica and Chandler through the window, having sex. Joey is relieved that everyone except Ross finally knows and he no longer has to pretend, but Rachel and Phoebe want to have some fun by forcing them into confessing. Rachel suggests Ross strike up an acquaintance with Ugly Naked Guy by finding similar interests to win his apartment, causing Ross to employ an extreme method. Chandler and Monica finally confess they love each other, but want to keep it secret from Ross a while longer...but Ross soon finds out, causing another emotional outburst in front of his boss who just cleared him to return to work.

Ross is initially furious upon learning about Chandler and Monica, but quickly comes round when he learns they are serious about each other. Joey dates a girl (Soleil Moon Frye) who likes playfully punching him. Ross gets off on the wrong foot with his new neighbors when he reasonably declines contributing a large sum towards the retiring superintendent's retirement party. Chandler and Monica have problems with their relationship after everyone jokes about marriage. Monica is upset that Chandler refuses to consider marriage, and he becomes so worried about losing her that he hastily proposes. Monica turns him down, saying she only wants him to be open to getting married one day, and that they are not ready yet.

Phoebe finds a police badge at the coffeehouse and has fun pretending to be a cop – until she pulls it on the owner, a cop named Gary (Michael Rapaport). He later asks her out for dinner. Ross buys a new couch, but refuses to pay the huge delivery charge. Ross soon wishes he had paid the fee as he and Rachel struggle to get the couch up to his apartment. Joey is upset after having a romantic dream about Monica. However, Monica assures him it is only because he wants a serious relationship similar to Monica and Chandler's.

Rachel interviews with Ralph Lauren and accidentally kisses her interviewer and prospective boss – Mr. Zelner. Monica wants to prove that she and Chandler are a hotter couple than Phoebe and her new boyfriend, Gary. Joey flirts with a girl who lives across the street in Ross' building. When he goes to meet her, he cannot find her apartment and continually ends up at Ross' door, having miscalculated the floor number. Eventually Monica helps him find the apartment only to find Ross in the girls apartment (with whom the girl met Ross earlier and goes out with him).

Rachel attempts smoking to feel more included at work with her boss and co-worker. Joey auditions for a soup commercial with Ben playing his son. When the director pairs Ben with another father, Joey is left in the uncomfortable position of competing with his friend's son. Monica and Phoebe plan Rachel's birthday party, but when Monica takes over, leaving Phoebe in charge of only cups and ice, Phoebe goes all out.

Rachel secretly helps out Ross after he botches flirting with the pizza delivery girl. Joey invites his grandmother over to watch his role on Law & Order – but when his part has been cut, he quickly improvises his own two-minute role and sneaks in the video for everyone to watch. Monica asks Phoebe for a pair of earrings she loaned her, but Phoebe lent them to Rachel, who lost one.

The boys go on a ride-along with Phoebe's cop boyfriend, Gary. Mistaking a car backfiring for the sound of gunshots, Joey throws himself onto Ross, attempting to protect his meatball sandwich. Chandler then thinks Joey cares more about Ross than him. Meanwhile, while borrowing margarita ingredients from Ross' apartment, Rachel overhears Emily leaving a message saying she is having doubts about going through with her wedding and wants Ross to consider them getting back together. When Rachel accidentally deletes the message, she agonizes over telling Ross.

Phoebe freaks out after learning Gary is planning to ask her to move in with him, which she is not ready for. Phoebe reluctantly agrees to move in, however the relationship quickly ends when Gary shoots a bird tweeting outside the bedroom window. Rachel buys a hairless Sphynx cat for $1,000 but quickly regrets her purchase when everyone mocks it and the cat continually hisses at and scratches her. She eventually unloads the creature on Gunther, making a profit. Ross and Joey pass time by tossing a ball back and forth, and subsequently try to see how long they can go without dropping the ball. Monica joins in, then Chandler, who is called a 'Dropper', joins in.

Joey lands a role in an independent movie, then borrows Phoebe's taxicab to drive to the Las Vegas location. Chandler rides along but learns that Joey will not get paid unless the movie is successful. He remarks that he does not think the movie will be Joey's big break. Furious, Joey kicks Chandler out, stranding him on the George Washington Bridge. Chandler later phones Joey and apologizes, though Joey does not tell Chandler that he was right. Production has been cancelled because of low-cost of funds forcing Joey to get a job at Caesars Palace as a gladiator. Meanwhile, Rachel has an eye infection but resists using the prescribed eye drops; Phoebe is angry at Ross and refuses to make up, leaving it to Ross to figure out what he did, only to discover Phoebe dreamed it.

Monica has lunch with Richard but does not tell Chandler, who eventually finds out, ruining their anniversary. The gang goes to Las Vegas to visit Joey. Monica, Chandler, and Phoebe find him working at Caesar's Palace while his movie is shut down. Ross sees Rachel naked through his apartment window, mistaking it as an invitation to "the physical act of love". On the plane to Vegas, Ross and Rachel needle each other; he draws a mustache on her with a marker pen while she is asleep. In Vegas, Ross and Rachel get drunk. Joey discovers his "identical hand twin" that he believes is a money-making opportunity to fund his movie. Phoebe feuds with a slots "lurker" and gets ejected from the casino, though she returns as "Regina Phalange". Chandler and Monica decide to get married. At the wedding chapel, Ross and Rachel drunkenly stumble out of the chapel ahead of them.