Trama

Joey has a dream about Monica and becomes convinced he is in love with her. Meanwhile, Phoebe finds a police badge in Central Perk, and Ross tries to get his new sofa into his apartment.

After Joey saw Monica and Chandler doing a crossword together, he dreams about non-sexual closeness with her; they stop him moving out, and suggest their relationship probably looks so appealing because it started as friendship; so Joey transfers his interest to Rachel, who isn't interested. Phoebe finds a wallet with NYPD badge at Central Perk; after Chandler points out playing cop with real people is a serious crime, she decides to bring it to the police station, but pulls it a last time on her way- to the real cop, Gary. Ross buys a couch, refuses to pay almost as much for delivery just three blocks, but can't manage getting it up the staircase with Rachel; Chandler as third man just gets caught, the couch gets it even worse. Everyone is scared when Gary shows up, but he only wants to take Phoebe out.—KGF Vissers

In the teaser, Chandler and Monica cuddle while cooperating on a crossword puzzle, which Joey finds cute. That night, however, he dreams that he was doing the crossword puzzle with Monica, leading him to wonder if he finds her attractive. This is exacerbated when, at Central Perk the next morning, Monica is found wearing his sweatshirt as opposed to Chandler's, and later when Monica asks him to taste her cooking, leading to him confessing about his dreams. A bit of honest discussion between the three of them reveals that Joey is not really attracted to Monica, but rather to the intimacy and friendship she shares with Chandler. He wishes he has the same in some of his relationships, as he has never had that before.

The two explain that this is because they were friends first before they started dating. Equipped with this new philosophy, he first tries to get on Rachel's good side (he greets her with a trademark "How you Doin"), on the grounds that they are already friends (But since Joey saw Rachel first he started hitting on her), but she advises him to strike up a friendship with a woman and then pursue a relationship (not by hitting on his existing friends). Joey tries to do this, but when meeting a woman to strike up a friendship (he realizes that he has a great pick up line), he ends up in a threesome with her and her roommate.

While digging beneath a Central Perk chair cushion for spare change, Phoebe uncovers a policeman's badge. Though she promises to return it, she finds using it far more entertaining, exploiting her new-found power to force a smoking bystander to apologize to a tree on which she snubbed out a cigarette. When she begins threatening her friends with arrest, she realizes she has gone too far, but before she can return it, she tries to force an illegally-parked man to move his car. He turns out to be a policeman as well, and is unimpressed when she claims to be an undercover cop from the 57th district of Manhattan. When Phoebe knows she has been busted, she throws the badge at him and runs away. This fellow, Gary (Michael Rapaport), turns out to be the owner of the badge, but when he arrives at Monica's apartment to arrest her, he asks her out on a date instead. He found Phoebe's fingerprints on his badge, and found her records, and Monica's apartment was listed as her last known address.

Rachel is helping Ross shop for a new couch. After he finds one he likes, he forgoes delivery charges (which cost as much as the new couch) by having her help him carry it the three blocks to his apartment (he also fends off a condescending salesman (who insinuates that Ross couldn't possibly have dated Rachel) by proclaiming that he and Rachel have had sex 298 times, leaving Rachel incredulous as to how he kept count). Getting it up a narrow stairwell proves more problematic, and after Rachel gets help from Chandler (Pivot, pivot, pivot) (Ross wanted Joey, and the next best thing would have been Monica), the three attempt to manhandle the couch up the stairs, only to get it stuck between landings. The couch ends up cut in half after Rachel accidentally pulls the fire alarm and Ross' neighbors have to walk over the couch. Ross then attempts to return it and receives store credit in the amount of four dollars.