Healing wounds, Fading scars
Hey everyone, this is the first proper fic I have written and posted on-line. I posted the first chapter of another story on but never got round to writing anymore but ive written all of this one and over half way through editing it and typing it out.
This starts, as Rachel is about to move back in with Joey in series nine after she and Ross argue about Gavin and Rachel giving her phone number to the guy in the bar.
Unfortunately they don't belong to me.
Chapter 1Rachel looked at the door of apartment 19 and gave a sad sigh before knocking on it, after a couple of seconds the door opened to reveal Joey, "Hey Rach, what's up?"
"Can me and Emma live with you for a while?" Joey looked shocked and ushered Rachel who was carrying a sleeping Emma into the apartment.
"Of course you can, you know you're always welcome at Joey's!"
"Thanks Joey," replied Rachel quietly. Joey guessed something big must of happened between Ross and Rachel, because last he had heard they were getting on great. The look of disappointment and annoyance on Rachel's face was also a big clue.
"Are you gonna tell me what this is about? I thought you and Ross were getting on really well."
Rachel sighed and sat on the couch before she began to speak.
"Honestly so did I, but we got into a fight and I realised I couldn't live there any longer…" Rachel paused, she knew Joey was expecting more of an explanation but she wasn't sure what to say. "…at my party last night, I kissed Gavin, a guy from work out on the balcony and Ross saw it from our apartment – I, we got into a fight about it and then he started going on about guys from bars calling which really confused me coz I didn't think this guy I'd given my number to had called but it turns out Ross hid the message from me. So I got mad and told him I couldn't live there anymore."
Joey slowly absorbed all of this and the only response he could come up with was "Oh!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Rachel defensively.
"Look Rach, you and Emma are welcome to stay here as long as you want but you have to remember that I'm friends with Ross as well, I don't want to be caught in the middle you know? And I don't want to take sides but why did you kiss Gavin and give your number to a random guy in a bar? I thought that after Emma was born you and Ross were gonna get back together, I mean didn't you both admit to having feelings for one another at the hospital?"
Rachel looked down, "yeah, but me saying yeah to your none proposal came up and nothing happened after that. I just don't know what to think or do anymore, I guess I was just flattered that someone was interested in me even though I was a single mother, I didn't stop to think about consequences."
"Well maybe time apart is exactly what you guys need to think things though and finally decide what you want, but I think what ever decision you come to, be it that you get back together or remain as friends it has to come from you and Ross. This time the rest of us can't get involved, we just seem to complicate things."
Rachel gave Joey a weak smile and hugged him, "thanks Joe, you're the best and we both really appreciate you letting us stay here."
"Ah, I couldn't let you go homeless now could I? Besides that's what friends are for."
Over in his apartment, Ross was feeling frustrated and very angry with himself. He couldn't believe that he had let things get so bad between him and Rachel. In fact he wasn't even sure how they had got like this, Rachel and Emma living in a different apartment. After Emma was born things were meant to improve between the two of them, he had even hoped that they would get back together as he was sure Rachel still had some feelings for him. As always though, things had turned out completely different, he was living alone and wasn't even sure what it was that he felt for Rachel anymore. His feelings for her often varied, he had always loved her although sometimes it was hard to tell if it was just platonic love or true romantic love. There were even times when he had disliked her because he was angry, hurt or jealous although that feeling didn't usually last long. Now, however it was like he didn't or couldn't feel anything for her, as if he was completely numb when it came to her. As he drank his beer and sank back onto he couch, Ross decided that maybe it was a good thing that they were going to be living apart as it would give him time on his own to think things over and figure out how he felt and what he actually wanted. He knew that even after their argument, Rachel would still let him see Emma whenever he wanted and although things between them would be awkward at first, after a week things would be back to 'normal'. Which meant that they would get on with their separate lives, being friends and ignoring whatever feelings they had for the other. Exactly as they had done between their break-up and conceiving Emma.
As Ross predicted, things between Ross and Rachel were awkward for a couple of days but the uneasy silences and conversations soon passed and the following week things seemed to be back to normal. Ross and Rachel both appeared to have pushed the issues to the backs of their minds as they tried to concentrate on raising Emma, who they both so obviously adored, to the best of their abilities. However, the rest of the gang could tell that neither of them were truly at ease with the situation, but none of them said anything to either Ross or Rachel because they all agreed with Joey that this time they to figure it out for themselves. This didn't stop them all from wishing that they would get back together however, because just like strangers in the street they could all see what Ross and Rachel couldn't, that they loved each other and along with Emma they were a perfect family.
Life went on as usual for the gang for the following three months or so. They all continued to hang out at Central Perk or Chandler and Monica's as often as they could, although the amount of time they spent together was slowly beginning to decrease and their conversations had changed somewhat to those they had when they started hanging out together. Both signs that they were no longer a group of single twenty-something's with very little responsibilities. Ross and Rachel now had Emma to raise and jobs they loved, both of which took up a good amount of their time, Monica and Chandler were married and trying to start a family, Phoebe had recently moved in with her fiancé, Mike and Joey was very busy filming Days of Our Lives as well as several guest appearance roles, after being nominated for a couple of awards. He had also started seriously dating Allie, one of his co-stars on DOOL. Rachel had made the decision when she moved out of Ross's apartment that she wasn't going to date anyone until she had figured out her feelings for Ross and what type of relationship she wanted with him as she thought it would just make her decision harder, especially if she meet someone she really liked. Also she figured that it wouldn't really be fair to whomever she was dating if she was thinking about Ross all the time. Ross on the other hand had decided that it wouldn't hurt to date and that somehow it might actually help him figure out what it was he wanted with Rachel. As a result of this he had been out on dates with several women over the past three months, including Megan who he had been on 5 or 6 dates with over the past 3 weeks.
I hoped you like it so far, it gets more interesting as it goes on. Will post next chapter tomorrow probably.