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Disclaimer: The characters from Friends do not belong to me.


Ross stood in the middle of an exhibit he was setting up at the Museum of Natural History. He had had a very long day but he needed to finish assembling this Stone Age display, it was getting quite late. Ross was moving a fake rock into position when one of his colleagues walked in.

"Dr. Geller, George told me to give this to you to put in this exhibit," Ross' co-worker said. The short, balding man stood there in his white lab coat with a black, faux fur rug in his hands. Ross took the rug from his colleague. As he ran a hand over it he got caught in a daydream. The man decided Ross was acting odd and quickly left.

As Ross held the rug he recalled the time he had taken Rachel to the museum a couple of years ago. He couldn't get the feeling of the first time they had made love, on a rug just like this one, out of his thoughts. Lately everything Ross did reminded him of Rachel, he couldn't get her off his mind.

Ross had continued to date Emily which had turned out to be a decent relationship. He and Emily were having a lot of fun together, but it was a complicated relationship as well. Emily still lived in England and flew out to New York every few days to see Ross. Emily provided the love and attention he needed as he got over the fact that he and Rachel would never be together again.

Even though Ross knew this relationship with Emily was complex he decided he was doing the right thing: he was trying his best to move on. Getting over Rachel was turning out to be much harder than he had anticipated, but she was with Joshua now, he knew he had to forget about her.

Ross ran his hands through the shaggy fabric as he pondered why all of a sudden the ending of his relationship with Rachel was bothering him. A few weeks ago, when he and Emily began dating, he had moved on from Rachel. He was in a place where he could be happy that she had found someone else, because he had found someone else as well.

It was that conversation from a few weeks ago that was resistant to fade from his memory. Rachel's expression, her encouragement and her words did not sit well with him.

Suddenly there was a tap on the glass. Ross looked up to see Emily, which snapped him out of his thoughts. He saw how happy she was to see him and promised himself to stop thinking about Rachel; that relationship was over. He told himself he had to move on and just make dating Emily work, because Rachel had surely forgotten about him.

…..

Rachel returned home from work to find her answering machine blinking that there was a new message. Rachel put her purse on the counter and then she hit the play button on the machine.

"Hi Rachel, it's Joshua. We need to talk, so meet me at Central Perk at 6. See you," Joshua's voice said in the message. Rachel turned around and left the apartment, it was 5:51 already.

As Rachel walked down the stairs in her apartment building she became very nervous. Whenever someone says "we need to talk" it's usually not a good sign.

Rachel reached the doors of the coffee house and walked inside. She spotted Joshua right away; he was sitting on the orange couch drinking a cup of coffee. Rachel took a deep breath to try and calm down before walking around the couch to sit next to her boyfriend.

"Hey," Rachel said timidly, as she sat down on the soft couch cushion.

"Hi Rachel," Joshua greeted. He quickly gave her a peck on the lips.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" Rachel asked, bursting with anticipation. She played with a strand of her hair nervously. They had only been dating for a few weeks; did he want to break up? Joshua put his mug down on the coffee table and gently took both of Rachel's hands in his.

"I wanted to tell you that I like where our relationship is going… and I know it might be a little fast, since we've only been dating for a little over a month, but I wanted to ask if you would like to move in with me," Joshua said softly. Rachel was shocked, she was preparing for the worst.

However, was moving in with Joshua too soon? Then a thought crossed her mind: Could she forget about her feelings for Ross? Living with Joshua meant that this was a committed, serious relationship. She didn't know how she felt yet; maybe this wasn't a good idea.

Having said that, the same thought came to mind that had motivated her to begin dating Joshua: Ross had moved on and she had to too. In fact Ross was in a serious relationship, she felt like she should be in one as well. She had to prove to him that she was over him, they had to be equal.

"I'd love to live with you Joshua!" Rachel exclaimed as she pulled him into a hug. As she looked over his shoulder, out the window, she noticed Ross and Emily walking towards Central Perk. Ross must have just finished work, she thought, he was carrying a black briefcase. She pulled out of the hug and linked her fingers with Joshua's.

Ross and Emily walked in the double doors. Emily held onto his arm as they walked in. Ross saw Rachel and Joshua, so he led Emily over to them.

"Hi, you two!" Rachel greeted, beaming at them.

"Hi," Ross and Emily both replied. Ross sat down in the green chair and Emily sat on the arm of the chair.

"What's new?" Ross questioned. Rachel looked at Joshua and he gave her a slight nod.

"Well… Joshua and I are going to move in together!" Rachel said excitedly.

A pang of sadness rippled through Ross. She was moving in with him? So soon?

"That's great, congratulations," Ross answered trying to do his best to fake happiness. "If you want any help moving your things…" Ross continued, trying his best to be nice. I have to let her move on, she's happy, he said to himself to stop from revealing how much he disliked this idea.

"That would be very helpful. Thank you," Rachel said. It hurt Rachel to see that Ross wasn't saddened by their news. He really must have forgotten about her, normally he would be jealous.

If only she knew the thoughts that were going through his head.

…..

A few days later…

All of the friends helped Rachel move her things from her apartment to Joshua's. Everyone helped move boxes except for Phoebe, who was pregnant. Phoebe took over the job of supervisor, telling people where to put things. Even Emily helped out by carrying some boxes.

Rachel and Joshua's new apartment wasn't too far away, which meant they could all continue to spend time together at Central Perk and Monica's apartment.

Ross decided to carry two boxes at a time up the stairs to make this process faster. The less time he spent here the better. He still wasn't comfortable with this situation. The thought of Rachel and Joshua living in the same apartment, sharing the same bed made him upset. He wanted to be happy for them, but there was always a nagging voice in the back of his head telling him this is what he could have had with Rachel.

Ross could barely see where he was going, but he made it safely up the staircase to the apartment on the fifth floor. Phoebe took a look at the boxes and read that they were labeled bedroom.

Ross walked into what would now be Rachel and Joshua's bedroom. As he ambled towards the closet he hit his shin on a wooden chest at the end of the bed. The top box, which he had been balancing on the other, slid off and landed at his feet on the floor.

Ross sighed in frustration. Then he put the second box down on the bed and rubbed his, certainly bruised, shin. After the stinging in his leg subsided he got on his knees. He flipped the box off its side so it was upright again and put the spilled contents of the box back in it. This uncovered what looked like a t-shirt.

He unfolded it and recognised it as his old "Frankie Says Relax" shirt. Ross held the shirt up wondering why Rachel still had it. Without warning a few crumpled papers and an envelope fell out of the folded shirt. Ross looked closer and saw the envelope had his name on the front.

Ross was too curious and decided to open it. He skimmed over it and then he looked at the other papers. The page in the envelope was a final copy of an unsent letter, intended to go to him. He guessed the crumpled papers were rough drafts. Before he could read them he heard footsteps coming towards the bedroom.

Ross hastily put the shirt and rough drafts of the letter back into the box, but he shoved the letter in the envelope into his pocket. He needed to know what it said. He came to the conclusion that he would read it and then return it to Rachel. She would never know it was missing; all the other letters were still there, she wouldn't notice.

"Ross what's taking you so long?" Monica asked, an annoyed tone to her voice. She stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

"I dropped a box after I hit my leg on there," Ross said pointing to the chest that had bruised his shin.

"Well, now we're behind schedule. According to my plan we should have all the boxes upstairs by now. Now hurry up and go back downstairs to grab some more boxes," Monica instructed. Ross rolled his eyes at Monica being… Monica.

…..

It was getting late but, everything was finally unpacked and in its place. The friends began to leave Rachel and Joshua's apartment. Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe had already left; Ross stood in the doorway as Emily put on her coat.

"Ross, Emily, thanks for helping out tonight," Joshua said, uncomfortably trying to make small talk. Rachel was in the bedroom which meant Joshua had to, awkwardly, say goodbye to Ross and Emily. He didn't know Rachel's friends very well, making this conversation unnerving.

"Anytime," was all Ross replied. Joshua got the impression that Ross was not very fond of him. But soon he thought of an idea that might get him on Ross' good side.

"I've been thinking… why don't we go on a double date sometime? It would be fun for me and Rachel to spend time with another couple. What do you think?" Joshua asked apprehensively.

Rachel entered the living room from her bedroom after hearing everything Joshua had said. She went and stood by Joshua's side, wondering what Ross' answer would be.

Ross thought for a moment. He looked quickly at Rachel, and then back at the floor. The way Joshua was now wrapping his arm around Rachel's shoulders made him jealous. Maybe spending time seeing how happy she was with Joshua would help him get over her. He made an impulsive decision.

"That sounds like fun," Ross replied, and then he turned to Emily. "What do you think?"

"I'd love to spend time with you guys," Emily responded, biting her tongue. She didn't like Rachel very much, but she knew she should make an effort for Ross.

"How about next weekend?" Joshua suggested.

"Sure… anyways we'd better get going…" Ross said.

"Okay, see you later," Joshua replied. He extended his hand for both Ross and Emily to shake. Emily turned and walked out the door, ignoring Rachel's outstretched hand. Ross debated whether or not to hug Rachel. Deciding it wasn't a good idea he shook her hand, uncomfortably. Then he followed Emily out the door.

As Ross and Emily walked down the hallway, hand in hand, he wondered if he had made the right choice. This double date was going to be strange with the way Emily was acting towards Rachel, and the fact that he had never been on a double date with Rachel where they were just friends.

But, Ross knew that if he rejected the offer it wouldn't be moving on, would it? He had no choice, but to go on this date and prove to Rachel he had moved on.

…..

The next day Rachel stopped by the coffee house. She spotted Monica and Phoebe inside and was glad they were there; she needed to talk to someone.

"Hey Rach," Monica greeted as Rachel sat on the orange couch between her two best friends.

"You don't look good, is something wrong? Is it about living with Joshua?" Phoebe asked.

"No I like living with Joshua so far. It's just… last night, after you guys left, Ross and Emily stayed behind for a few minutes. When I was out of the room Joshua asked them if they wanted to go on a double date with us. I just don't know if I'm okay with this," Rachel explained.

"I think it's a bad idea," Monica said, concerned. "You and Ross are just getting used to dating other people, I think it's too soon."

"I don't think it will be bad," Phoebe said, Monica shot her an angry glare, but Phoebe ignored her. "You and Ross are friends. Didn't you agree to be happy for each other? He's moved on and you've moved on, you're over him aren't you?" Phoebe asked.

"Yes," Rachel answered quickly. "I guess it shouldn't be a problem."

"Then there's your answer. It's nothing to worry about," Phoebe said, enthusiastically.

Phoebe was jumping for joy on the inside. She could tell that Rachel still liked Ross. The look in her eyes and her quick answer gave her away.

Phoebe remembered back to the night of Emily's fake party where Ross glanced longingly at the door. Not to mention how he became defensive when she asked about Rachel, the same way Rachel had become defensive a second ago. She knew Ross was still in love and now she knew Rachel was too.

Maybe this date would be good for them. Ross and Rachel would feel jealous of each other and eventually one of them would let their feelings slip. Soon her lobsters would be back together, she could just feel it.