She got off the plane. She actually got off the plane.
It hadn't really sunk in until now, until minutes later, when Ross and Rachel were still standing there, holding desperately onto each other. Her thin arms were wrapped around his neck, her head on its familiar spot on his chest. His arms were wrapped around her small body, holding her as close to him as was possible.
They were never letting go now. This was it.
"I never want to move," Rachel whispered. They were rocking slowly on the spot, enjoying the comfort of each other, and the quiet peacefulness that hung in the room.
Ross kissed her neck, before pulling her back slightly so he could see her face. "Could we move to the couch?"
She smiled. They partially separated, keeping their hands firmly locked, as they made their way over to the couch. He laid down, and she moved so her head was resting on his chest. His arm wrapped around her, rubbing small circles on her back.
"Thank you Ross."
Rachel moved her head so she was able to see him, and her blue eyes met his dark brown ones. They looked at each other for a moment, before Ross leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Why?"
"I wanted this. I seriously wanted this so much, but I never would have done anything. If you hadn't shown up, and said those things, I would never have tried anything with you. Because I was scared, and I didn't want to think about where this would go again... but now I know for sure, this is where I want to be." Tears came to her eyes, but he whipped them away. "So thank you. And... I'm sorry – for not getting off the plane right away..."
Ross laughed, and squeezed her slightly. "Yeah, I thought I had actually lost you... I thought you were actually gone." Rachel frowned. Another tear starting falling, and Ross noticing, kissed it away before meeting her lips in a sweet kiss. He pulled back, saying, "But that doesn't matter anymore. Because you are here now."
Rachel put her head back down on his chest. Ross started playing with her hair, running his hand through the smooth, golden strands.
They laid there in the comfortable silence, neither feeling the need to do or say anything in this moment. This was different than all the other times that the two of them had made up: every time they kissed, it always led to the bedroom. This time, however, they were content in just being with each other, enjoying the feeling of finally being together again.
"They don't know, do they?" Rachel said suddenly, mumbling the words into his shirt. "They think I'm on my way to Paris."
"Yeah, I guess so."
Rachel sat up a bit, still resting her head on his chest. "How should we tell them?" She smiled.
Ross seemed to think about it for a moment, before answering.
"Monica and Chandler are moving out tomorrow, and I said I'd be there. So I guess I could show up with, you know, a special guest."
Rachel laughed, which made Ross smile hugely. He loved that sound. And he loved making that sound come out of her mouth. Her laugh was something that would always cheer him up, and the last few days, one of the many thoughts running through his head was the fact that he would never really hear the beautiful sound again.
They fell back into the comfortable silence they had been in before. However, Rachel spoke up again.
"Could we go to your bed?" Rachel asked, yawning as she said it. Ross looked out the window, and saw that it was dark out. The clock beside the couch also read 10:50 pm. Somehow, the two of them had spent almost 4 hours, just laying next to each other, barely saying a word. And yet it felt amazing, this moment they had together.
"Is it not comfortable here?" Ross asked.
"No, it is! It's just..." Rachel paused, blushing slightly. "I've never really slept in your bed before –"
"Of course you have –"
"No, I mean, of course I've slept with you on the bed, but... I've never spent the night, just, sleeping! And it looks really comfy!" Rachel whined. Ross smiled, and sat up.
Standing up, and taking her hand, Ross said, "Come on, let's go to bed."