TOW Emily Returns
Ross and Rachel had quickly settled into a routine after she had changed her mind and gotten off the plane. They had found a larger flat, Rachel had found a new job and they were getting used to seeing themselves as a family.
There had been a lot of changes, with Monica and Chandler moving to the suburbs, Phoebe and Mike making another move, and Joey going away. Ross had also started finding that he needed to spend more time at work, and after his initial resistance to this idea, found that this worked well too. The trouble was, he was running out of things to say to Rachel, and much of the time that she had was taken up with Emma. Which was fine, but he didn't feel very necessary at home. Emma looked to Rachel first, that was only natural.
Professor Slattery, the head of the department had called him in to his office one day and said,
I'm going to need your help in supervising the foreign PhD student.' Ross had known for some time that there would be a PhD student on exchange for six months from Cambridge, but he hadn't had much interest. PhD students came and went, and because he had no direct involvement with them, they didn't register. His teaching responsibilities for the undergraduates — even now there was a huge pile of marking from the first years. He didn't look forward to that. Some of them had probably spelt dinosaur, dinosore.
At the news that he would be needed for the PhD student, his attention was piqued. PhD students, like Masters students and other graduate students, could sometimes be of assistance in projects. Sometimes you could even have a decent professional conversation with them. If he was going to be asked to help out with the student, then he might be able to get some benefits, even if he or she was only going to be around for six months.
Professor Slattery said,
I'm going to be away lot over the next year, and I'd just like to make sure someone keeps an eye on this one.'
Why's that?' Ross asked.
We have the makings of a good exchange program, as I'm sure you're aware. Our students get treated very well in Cambridge, and I'd like to make sure that their students get treated well here. Cambridge could send their students to many other places — I'm hoping to make sure that as far as the East Coast goes, this is their choice.'
Okay,' Ross said.
I've put her in the room next to yours. She's arriving this afternoon. Be nice, show her around and then let her get on with it.'
Sure,' Ross said, wondering what this PhD student was called and what she was studying. Professor Slattery was not a details man.
Nearing his office, he almost crashed into a young woman on her way out of the room next door. Someone clearing out that office probably, Ross thought, and then did a double take. It couldn't possibly be — what was she doing here? Emily?
She was staring back at him.
You,' Ross stared. What are you doing here?' His ex wife from a disastrous, short live marriage, whom he had thought he would never see again. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her face was thinner than it used to be.
I'm the PhD student from Cambridge.'
You're supposed to come this afternoon,' Ross said. Or not at all, preferably. How could she possibly be the PhD student from Cambridge? This had to be some very odd practical joke.
No-one's ever complained about me being early before,' Emily said.
How did you get to do a PhD?'
I'm not stupid Ross,' Emily said, eyes narrowing.
Yes but how — you didn't have a degree or anything,' Ross asked. She had just been flitting around from job to job, jobs that hadn't required any kind of formal qualification. Jobs that hadn't interested her much — although in the short time they'd known each other, they hadn't been talking about her career prospects.
Well I got a degree, did honours and then enrolled in the PhD.'
And why did you come here?' he demanded.
Well my PhD involves a comparison between new and old world dinosaurs so I wanted to go on exchange. Professor Shaw decided that I should come here, since Professor Slattery is also interested in old and new comparisons.'
I didn't choose to come to this particular university, that was Prof Shaw's choice,' Emily said pointedly.
Did you know I was here?'
Yes. I didn't think they'd put me next door to you though. Still, I don't expect we'll need to have much to do with each other.' She turned back into the somewhat bare office she'd been allotted. Annoyed, Ross said,
Think again. I'm sharing supervision of you.' She wheeled around.
I don't like it any more than you do,' Ross said. She looked at him in horror for a while and then said,
Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I'll be replicating the methods I used in Cambridge — it's all worked out. You won't really need to supervise me all that much. Or at all really.' She closed the door on him.