Forms
AN: OK, basically this is a Ross/Rachel pairing, set nine years after the finale. Hope you enjoy!
Rachel stared at the leafs of paper in front of her, pulling her hair behind her ears and tying it loosely with a bobble that had been resting on her wrist. The papers were spread out on the coffee table, the leaflets and forms being aligned in a perfect line. She smiled despite her current situation. She had picked up a few organization skills from her best friend, Monica Geller.
She gazed down at the forms in front of her, hovering her pen over each box that it showed, but still didn't make any final decisions. How could she? If she ticked one box, her and her family's life would most certainly take a turn for the worst. And if she ticked the other, it could give a small solution, but still couldn't make any promises of an antidote. She tapped her pen on her lip before sighing again, placing it down on the table. She leaned back in her chair, looking out of the window. Rain glided down it, the wind blowing rubbish and leaves into the glass, perfect, she thought. The perfect weather to match the perfect mood. Depressing.
She grunted as she pulled herself off the settee, making her way over to her daughters room. Well, her and her husbands daughters room. Ross – the love of her life – had finally proposed to her, making her feelings of love for him even stronger than what they had ever been. The memory of that day when he had gotten down on one knee, pulling a black , velvet box out with a rose, replayed time and time again in her mind, and she couldn't help but smile. A year after Monica and Chandler had moved to Westchester, he had taken her on what had seemed like an ordinary date, but when she discovered it was to the planetarium, she knew it was far from normal. It had been exactly like he had planned out, and she could play the events along in her head as it happened. A few years before that, he had told her and many more people of how he planned to propose to her, actually using it in the near future.
She leaned against the wall, smiling as she watched her daughter, Emma – now ten years old - leaning over yet another book. She had taken that from her father; her love for reading. All things that would get her far in life, she had taken off of Ross. In fact, Rachel sometimes wondered if she had taken anything off of her. But, most people would make a remark of how she was her mother's double, which, for Emma, wouldn't be that bad. With her fathers intelligence and her mothers stunning looks, she would hardly ever be lonely.
Emma looked up at her mother and smiled as she sat down next to her. "Hey, mum." she said as Rachel wrapped an arm around her daughter, holding her close. Emma responded warmly to her, cuddling her mum before turning back to the book she was reading. "What are you reading, sweetie?" Rachel asked her.
"Heidi." she smiled, turning the book over for Rachel to see.
"I thought you were too old to be reading this?" she chuckled.
"Well, I'm not too old. And it brings memories back. Y'know, of me and dad." she said, trying to disguise the lump in her throat.
Rachel kissed the top of her head, sighing as she let the arm wrapped around her daughter fall to the bed. She slapped her thigh lightly, getting up and making her way over to the door before Emma stopped her, "Mum, is dad...is he alright?" she asked, the tears starting to stroll down her face. Rachel sniffed as she walked back over to the bed, sitting down and holding her daughter in a warm embrace, "Don't cry, Em. He's still hanging in there." But, who was she convincing? She didn't know what was going to happen in the future, and she certainly wasn't helping her daughter by crying. Rachel pulled away, wiping her eyes and cheeks, trying to hide her worries with a smile, "Right, you better get ready for school." she got up and headed for the door, waiting for her daughter to interrupt her movements. When there was no objection, she continued out and into the living room, wanting to get started on the forms. She sighed again, as a knocking came to the door, getting up and walking over, opening the door only to reveal Chandler. He smiled at her as she held the door open for him, gesturing for him to enter, not that he needed an invitation. She looked down into his arms, where a square dish with a foil covering lay. Noticing her questioning look, he gave it to her, making his way over to the kitchen and sitting down, "Merry Christmas, I got you....foil"
"I'm guessing this is from Monica?" she smiled sitting down.
"Either that, or she has an evil twin. Yep, evil twin, trying to fatten you and Emma up so she can gobble you up."
The phone rang and Rachel got up, grabbing it from the dresser beside the couch. After her conversation, Rachel knocked on Emma's door, before grabbing her bag and coat. "That was Monica, heat it at 190 for half an hour and it's ready." she chuckled. Monica had gotten better at predicting Chandler over their years of marriage together.
Chandler got up, standing in front of Rachel so she couldn't get passed him, "Rach, are you sure you're OK? With everything that's going on..." he asked, placing his hands on either of her shoulders. Rachel set her gaze away from his eyes, knowing that if he even got the slightest glimpse of her own, he could tell that she was lying. That's what over two decades knowing Chandler Bing did to you. "I'm fine. I just need to get Emma to school." she sighed
"OK, bye Rach. I'll give Monica your thanks." he smiled, making his way out of the apartment. Rachel turned around, slightly gazing back at the papers before looking up as Emma came out of her room, ready for school. "Just coming." she said cheerily, walking out of the open door.
Rachel looked back at the table again, sighing and then exiting the apartment, closing and locking the door behind her. Lying on the coffee table, were forms for the hospital. At the top, it stated Patient: Ross Geller. Then scanning down the page, there were two boxes: Operation or no operation. This is what Rachel couldn't decide between. But either further down the page, were the words that could strike fear into anybody: Tumor, cancerous.
AN; So, what do you think? Love it or hate it?
Read and review, please! Oh, and I'm sorry for all those Ross/Rachel fans out there, but I seem to writ an awful lot of tragedy between them.