A/N: This story takes place in the tenth season after Ross/Charlie broke up and Rachel and Joey broke up, but before the whole Paris fiasco.

And the obligatory disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained in this story. Friends and all characters contained therein are property of Bright/Kauffman/Crane. All copyrights and/or trademarks of Warner Brothers and/or NBC are assumed to be honored as well. The only thing herein belonging to me is the story.

New Years Dilemma

Possibilities

Another long year was over and a new one was just ready to begin, but instead of being happy Ross was anything but that. Monica was getting ready to have her annual New Years bash and it made Ross assess his life in more ways then one.

He pondered what he had to be grateful for. A secure job that he loved, nice apartment, great friends, loving family, but the only people he had that were really his to appreciate and love were his two wonderful children. Ben and Emma. Of course in his situation the way they were being brought up wasn't in a convenient ordinary situation like most people. Instead they were with two different beautiful women who he had loved and still held loving feelings towards, but were now just simply friends. Carol and Rachel.

Carol had been the love of his life, for so he had thought at the time. They were young and comfortable, but most importantly they loved each other. So they got married. He thought he had started a good life with her until the day she decided she didn't want to be married to a man anymore because of her new found lesbianism and her lover Susan. Sure Ross was crushed, but he had no choice but to move on.

Then came the news that Carol was pregnant with his baby, but as Carol put it he could be as involved as he wanted, but was ultimately going to become a father no matter what. So of course he chose to be involved with his son Ben's life, and he helped raise him with Carol and Susan. But deep down some part of Ross wished that he didn't have to always drop him off and pick him up like a piece of luggage. He didn't make the choice to change his lifestyle so why should he have to suffer the pain? Ross didn't hold resentment towards Carol, but it did depress him from time to time, especially around New Years.

Then there was Rachel. Correction, there had always been Rachel, even before Carol. When Ross was a geek in high school, and now that he had a Ph-D and was a well-respected paleontologist, not to mention his looks had changed over the years quite greatly for the better. There would always be Rachel because no matter what happened in their past their lives had always managed to be inextricably intertwined with one another's, like it was beyond their own will but one who's they could not see. Fate.

How do you begin to summarize and explain a history of memories that were up and down, high and low, joyous and heart wrenching? I don't think it can be captured in words, but its obvious there's no need for them when all you need to know is in a beautiful little girl that symbolizes of everything they had been through over the years. Emma. When Rachel gave birth there was a moment that everything stopped and all that mattered was that they both had each other. Ross sighed. If only it were still that simple.

Another reason he dreaded New Year's was that every one of his friends always arrived with a date to Monica's party. While he on the other hand had to go out and look for one, while most of the gang didn't because they were already happily married. Monica had Chandler. Phoebe had Mike. Joey had the entire remaining NYC female population. And Rachel always managed to find someone great because hey, lets face it she was Rachel and she was beautiful.

Ross had a crazy idea that maybe since they both had to drop off Emma at Sandra Greene's before Monica's party they could just go together. And after midnight they would have to leave to go pick her up again because Sandra had a party early the next day that by the time they got back to her house it may be too late and dangerous to travel home again and they might just have to stay there over night together.

Oh the possibilities of the New Year made Ross's mood change to a brighter one. He smiled as he was lost in thought.