Ross walked into Rachel's room to see her laying flat on a hospital bed with her arms pulled straight out, a blood pressure cuff on one and an IV and bracelet on the other plus a Pulse ox rested on her ring finger. Rachel also donned an oxygen mask on her face as well.
"Ross." Rachel said through her oxygen mask.
"What is it?" Ross asked.
"This is all my fault. Had the itch not happened, I wouldn't be here and that person would still be alive." Rachel said.
"It's not your fault honey. You can't control when an itch is going to occur. I'm sure the family of the driver you hit will understand." Ross said.
After that, the family of the dead driver walked into Rachel's room.
"Hi! I heard you rear-ended our daughter today. I'm not mad at you nor am I asking for your insurance info as you can't control when an itch is going to happen and when it does., you just get compelled to scratch it right then and there. I get it! I've had that experience before as well. I am a founder of an anti itch company so I'm going to give you a beta supply of our best anti itch cream. Let me know of any side effects and how it works at this number." said the girl's father.
"Thank you. I'll be sure to put this on before any car rides and let you know how it works and also of the side effects as well." Rachel said.
"Your welcome." The guy said before he walked out.
"Hey Ross? Can me and Rachel have a few minutes please?" Monica asked.
"Yeah sure, go on ahead." Ross said.
"How are you feeling Rachel? And what is that thing on your face?" Monica asked.
"Weak and tired. I have a broken arm but it will heal without surgery. The thing on my face is my oxygen mask. They gave it to me to help with my breathing." Rachel explained.
"I bet. Glad you don't need surgery. That's what that clear thing on your face is. I had no idea it did all that. So, is the broken arm it then?" Monica said.
"Well, they did say that there was a chance something else could happen so they're keeping me for a few days just to be safe." Rachel explained.
"Ah ok." Monica said.
After a while Monica leaves with Ross staying behind however, a crisis is about to unfold.
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
"RACHEL!? RACHEL!?" Ross yelled.
Rachel was straining for every breath but couldn't do it. Rachel had a collapsed lung and had to be placed on life support as her oxygen saturation wasn't good. Ross was finally allowed to see his wife in the ICU but broke down over the site he saw as Rachel had many tubes and wires coming from her body. Rachel had multiple IV's in her arm, a blood pressure cuff, a pulse ox and a tube coming from her mouth which was keeping Rachel alive.
"Hi Ross. We'll be lucky if Rachel gets extubated tomorrow but my hunch is she will need to remain on the ventilator for the rest of the week until she can breathe on her own. She will probably wake up tomorrow but will probably be agitated due to the tube down her throat. All you can really do is comfort her and let her know that you love her although she won't be able to talk for the time being." the doctor said.
"Ok. I'll make note of these." Ross said.
Afterwords, the doctor left and Ross pulled up a chair and sat next to his unconscious wife Rachel and began stroking her hair.
"I love you Rachel." Ross said as he was stroking her hair.
The next day Rachel woke up but was very agitated by the tube coming out of her mouth and her inability to talk. Ross reassured Rachel that everything would be all right before placing a kiss on her forehead.
"Everything's gonna be all right Rachel. You'll do just fine." Ross said as he planted a kiss on Rachel's forehead.
Rachel wanted to respond to the kiss but couldn't due to the tube in her throat preventing her from talking so she shed a tear. Rachel was allowed to be extubated on Monday. The doctor asked Rachel some questions but all she was able to do was nod to them. After showing that she could breathe on her own, Rachel had the breathing tube removed and was placed on an oxygen mask. Rachel felt relieved that she could speak again.
"Hey Ross? I had this strangest dream that I was in the hospital and that I couldn't talk. You were there along with Monica." explained Rachel.
"That wasn't a dream! It was real." explained Ross.
"What happened?" Rachel wondered.
"You had a collapsed lung and had to be placed on life support to stabilize your breathing. You also became very agitated when you woke up." Ross explained.
"I remember that and I also remember having a tube coming out of my mouth as well." Rachel said.
"Yep. That was your breathing tube. It was there to help you breathe. It also prevented you from talking which aggravated you." Ross said.
"That explains why I couldn't talk." Rachel said.
"Yep." said Ross.
"Hi Rachel. How are you feeling?" The doctor said.
"Good!" Exclaimed Rachel.
"That's great. You should be able to go home tomorrow Rachel." the doctor said.
"Great!" Rachel exclaimed.
The next day, Rachel Green was released from the hospital and Joey, Chandler and Phoebe returned from their respective trips as well.