CHAPTER ONE

It was May. It was sunny. Rachel Greene pulled open the apartment curtains and looked out at the New York street outside her and Ross's windows.

But this morning was different for her. And as she gazed at the diamond ring glinting on her finger, she felt a euphoric sense of excitement – she was getting married. To Ross. Who to tell first? Her bubbling excitement couldn't stay inside for long.

She would tell Pheobe and Joey at the coffee house later. She'd call Monica and Chandler afterwards.

She sat down at the table just as Ross sleepily stumbled in from the bedroom. 'Hey, honey. Shall I make breakfast?'

Grinning, Rachel gave a, 'Yes please!' and went back to staring out of the window.

Ross sat down with the food a few minutes later and reached for his new fiancé's hand. She took it.

'I don't want to sound big headed, but ... you can't deny, I did well on that ring!' he exclaimed. Rachel laughed.

'I'm afraid I'll have to agree with you,' she said. 'Do you want to call Monica and Chandler?'

'We'll do that later. I'm sure Chandler will have plenty of sarcastic jokes about my fourth wedding up his sleeve,' sighed Ross, rolling his eyes. 'We can both tell Phoebe and Joey on my way to work.'

'I'll pick up Emma from your parents' place,' said Rachel.

'I'll tell Ben on my way home from work,' said Ross.

Rachel sighed happily. 'This all seems ... so ... surreal!'

'Well, I can assure you that it's definitely real,' grinned Ross. 'Come on, eat breakfast, then we can tell everyone.'

Half an hour later, they were ready to go. Rachel practically skipped across the street on the way to the coffee house.

When they arrived, Pheobe and Joey were sat on the sofa drinking coffee already. Gunther was busy scrubbing the worktop.

'Guess what?' squealed Rachel.

'What?' asked Phoebe and Joey, in unison.

'We're getting married!' Ross told them ecstatically.

'Finally!' Phoebe practically screamed. 'Wow! This is great!' She hugged Rachel.

'Congratulations, guys! This is amazing!' grinned Joey happily, clapping Ross on the back

Gunther had stopped scrubbing and stormed into the kitchens. A few seconds later, they heard an almighty crash of plates and cups.

'Well, anyway, I should get to work,' said Ross. He kissed Rachel goodbye and left.

As soon as he was gone, Rachel ordered a coffee and sat down.

'I can't believe you two are finally getting married!' exclaimed Joey.

'You better believe it – it took them twelve years! Although remember when you two got married while you were drunk,' said Pheobe, almost reminiscently.

Joey laughed, and Rachel took a sip of coffee.

'So, who's gonna be in the wedding?' asked Joey enthusiastically.

'Well, all six of us, hopefully! Although Emma's going to be something, and Ross might want Ben in the wedding too,' replied Rachel.

'How did he propose?' asked Phoebe eagerly.

'He just did it simply over dinner. Although he did a thing about how we've been through a lot over the years – with a lot of dinosaur references I didn't understand, of course – and I said yes!'

'So romantic,' Pheobe sighed.

'I feel left out already! Everyone's either married, or getting married!' said Joey, folding his arms.

'Don't worry, Joe. You're a great guy, you'll find someone,' Rachel soothed.

They finished their coffees, and then Joey left to go to a department store he worked at and Pheobe went to work.

Rachel decided she'd go to Ross's parents' place to pick up Emma and tell them the good news. It was always nerve-wracking, going to the Gellers, but all in all, they weren't going to take the engagement badly.

And with that, she set off for her future parents-in-laws' house.