This Song fic is based on the song used in TOW All the Other Ones…one of my favorites Hobestaank's The Reason.
These characters are the property of BKC Productions
He got into the cab as they left the puzzled man standing there. Poor guy, didn't know that this wasn't a NYC cab. Phoebe put her foot on the gas and put the car into high gear. They were going to need all the speed they could to make it to the airport in time.
What would he say? It was only everything he should have said so many times. When he said her name in London. When she gave birth to his daughter, when she first found out about Paris. And now true to form, he was trying to do it before it was too late and she was out of his life.
I'm not a perfect person
There's many things I wish I didn't do.
But I continue learning.
I never meant to do those things to you.
And so I have to say before I go …
That I just want you to know
I've found a reason for me…to change who I used to be .
A reason to start over new…
And the reason is you.
One name. One woman. Rachel. She was only the dream he had since he was fifteen years old. So close and yet so many time oh so far away. Ross watched as the familiar skyline passed through the windows.
"Toll booth." screamed Phoebe.
Change was the accurate word for what she had done. She had gone from a spoiled little rich girl to the woman she was today.
"Are you kidding , I'm trained for nothing."she yelled her first day in the city. With her new family helping her cut up her credit cards, she made her first step into the big world.
"Welcome to the real world.It sucks . You're going to love it." Monica told her.
He would have loved her anyway. But he so admired what she had become. She was now a fashion executive who was on her way to Paris. There was only one problem that he realized, he was still in love with her.
"I want to be with her." Ross declared.
"Yeah you are." urged his buddy Joey.
Him and Phoebe took off out the door. He was a man with a mission and they were almost to the airport. His hands got clammy and the sweat poured off his forehead. From the windshield, you could see the airport departure terminal.
Getting out of the cab, Ross looked up into the sky and saw the jet flying over. God, he hoped that wasn't her. They still had time.
I'm sorry that I hurt you
It' something I must live with every day.
And all the pain I put you through..I wish I could take it all away.
And be the one who catches all your tears….
Running through the airport, a thousand things flashed through Ross' mind. The most significant was her face. He had seen her face a million times . He had watched her laugh in Vegas, he had seen a tear shed in London, and he seen her face wracked with pain on the night that changed their lives. The night to be forever known as "the break."
After purchasing a ticket, Ross and Phoebe ran to the gate in the hope they weren't too late. He looked at the monitor and there was no Paris flight. After a sad confirmation, he merely said the words…JFK.
Newark…an hour a away. He wanted to give up, but Phoebe believed in them.
"Don't worry , it'll happen. She's your lobster." she said a long time ago.
Back in the cab. As they flew down the expressway, he checked his watch.
"Phoebe we're never going to make it." he moaned.
She had a determined look in her eye as she dialed Rachel's cell. "Here." she said as she handed it to Ross.
"I am not doing this over the phone." he said thrusting it back to her.
"Rachel , you have to get off the plane. There is something wrong with the left philangie." Phoebe tried to explain.
Rachel tried to understand what Phoebe was saying , but now her words got everyone panicky and confused. Soon everyone was leaving the plane, for fear of a catastrophe. Throwing her hands up in the air, she rose from her seat and joined her fellow passengers.
As she stood waiting, Rachel was excited , yet scared. Happy yet sad . She was leaving her old life like she did ten years before . Escaping from the safe cocoon of her father and Barry. But this time was she really escaping ? Was it so bad? Yet one name kept echoing in her mind…Ross.
I'm not a perfect person
I never meant to do those things to you.
And so I have to say before I go. That I just want you to know .
I've found a reason for me…to change who I used to be.
"Rachel, Rachel Green?" he cried out.
"RACHEL!" Phoebe bellowed.
Rachel turned her head and saw them standing there. Phoebe pushed him toward her and said "You're on."
Rachel had never been more scared as she was when he took her hand and led her away from the people. "The thing is, Stay, I am so in love with you. Do not get on this plane." She looked into those deep chocolate eyes that she had stared into on many a night. He was sincere. "Please don't go." he sighed.
She did the one thing that she had done ten years ago. She ran. "They are waiting for me. I can't do this right now. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." she said as she dropped her hand and headed toward the plane's door.
"I really thought she'd stay." Ross said as he put his head on Phoebe's shoulder and tears poured from his eyes. They walked out the same entrances, yet something was different. She was gone.
I'm sorry that I hurt you .
It's something I must live with every day. And all the pain I put you through ..I wish I could take it all away.
As Rachel sat in her seat, she was so upset. She didn't want the memory of last night , to be scarred by how she was to him. Last night , was a celebration . Ten years of loving, of fighting, of babies, of weddings, It all came down to their last night of love.
Love? That must have been why she couldn't say goodbye. Everyone else was just a friend, but he was so much more. He was her best friend, her biggest fan, and the father of her baby. The plane was preparing for take off. It had to be now. She had to stop being in denial and tell him she loved him too.
She took out her cell phone and said Ross, hi. It's me. I just got back on the plane. And I just feel awful. That is so not how I wanted things to end with us. It's just that I wasn't expecting to see you, and all of a sudden you're there and saying these things... And... And now I'm just sitting here and thinking of all the stuff I should have said, and I didn't. I mean, I didn't even get to tell you that I love you too. Because of course I do. I love you. I love you. I love you. What am I doing? I love you! Oh, I've gotta see you. I've gotta get off this plane.
She could do better than this. "Miss I've got to get off this plane." Rachel begged. She would go back and tell him.
"Sit down." the stewardess ordered.
She was determined to get off this flight. Finally the flight attendant complied with her wishes and let her off. Rolling her luggage to the terminal, she jumped in a cab.
"Manhattan, Greenwich Village, Corner of Bedford and Grove." she said as the cab began it's long journey back to NYC."
That I just want you to know
I've found a reason for me…to change who I used to be.
A new feeling came over Rachel Karen Green. A feeling of hope . Hope for the future. There was a reason to stay and yet it was there all along. He shared his oreo, kissed her a million times, broke her heart, yet it always led back to him.
They would make a life and their daughter would make them a real family. She could always get another job. Love was the most important thing of all. It all seemed so ironic, she ran out on a man to become more independent ten years ago. Now she was giving it all up, her dream job, for another man. The man who would always be there for her and always love her.
The cab pulled up to the curb and she dragged her bag out. She handed the driver a tip and went up the stairs. Looking across the street , she could still she Monica and Chandler up and walking their new little babies.
Dejected and hurt , he sat on the couch and threw his keys on the table. As if by force of habit, he checked his machine. He was quite pleased to hear the next voice.
She could hear her own voice from the hallway. This was it, home.
As he grabbed the machine and screamed. "Did she get off the plane?
Did she get off the plane?" , a little feminine voice rolled her bag into the doorway. "I got off the plane." she said with the biggest smile.
He promised her this was it. No more games, no more denial and no more being stupid. She said this is where I want to be. They hugged and then their lips met in the most passionate kiss that two lovers could have.
A reason to start over new….and the reason is you.