Chapter 3
Author's Note: Another little disclaimer, while I typically like to keep my stories as authentic as possible, my knowledge on hospitals and coma treatment is extremely limited. I'm pretty much making this up as I go as long as it kind of makes sense so I'd like to apologize in advance if I get any medical treatment/terms wrong.
Three months later…
All was quiet in the silent hospital room. The afternoon sun shone through the small window, landing on the unmoving body lying in the bed. A small beep sounded every so often from the machinery, sending constant updates to the hospital's system files as it monitored his vitals and blood.
A moment later, the door cracked open and in walked a young woman, flowers in her hand and heels tapping the floor as she entered. She stared at the lifeless body, hoping for any signs of change that may have happened but sighed in disappointment when she saw none. She turned around and closed the door before walking over to the bedside.
"Hi, it's me," Rachel said softly, looking at Ross peaceful face as he slept. "Sorry I didn't come yesterday night or this morning. Ralph Lauren has me attending these boring meetings where we don't even talk about fashion."
She stared at him again, spending the time to just enjoy the silence with him, even though she knew he couldn't do the same. Today marked the third month he's been in the hospital and she's made it routine to always come by and visit him. On a normal day, she'd come by in the morning before work, again afterwards, and a final time just to say good night to him. She always spoke to him as if he wasn't in a coma. It just felt so natural for her to do so and it helped the pain knowing that she could still talk to him, even though he wouldn't respond.
"I brought you some flowers," She said, holding out the bouquet of lilies she had brought with her and placing it in the vast next to his bedside. "I know lilies aren't your favourite, they're mine, but you never seemed to have a problem with them. Think of it as a way to remember me by."
Rachel took a seat on the chair next to the bed and grabbed his left hand, gently stroking it as she placed it on top of her own. Long has the full-body casts and slings been removed as by this time, most of his major injuries have been healed. If it weren't for the IV therapy, he would look like someone who was merely taking a quiet nap. Even his hair and face has been properly cut and shaven, curtsey of Monica and Phoebe when they had visited a few days ago. If anything, he actually looked quiet handsome with his new look.
Sighing, she reached over and gently stroked his small stubble chin, looking at him with loving, yet sympathetic eyes. She wanted so badly to wake up, for it to turn out that he was just sleeping and isn't really in a coma. She closed her eyes, praying that maybe a miracle would happen but when they reopened, she saw that none of her wishes had come true. Sighing again, she stopped caressing his face and went back to his hand, squeezing it tight for her own strength.
"So I went to a bar yesterday night after my meeting," she started, chuckling nervously at the memory. "I was actually hit on by another buzzed guy but I decided to go with your advice and stay away from him. Good thing I did because he fainted a few minutes later and they had to carry him out…"
She tilted her head to the side as if waiting for a response, but of course, she didn't get any. She shook her head and laughed again, this time with more of a sad tone than anything.
"Even when you're not around, you're still looking out for me…" Her voice broke down a bit as a painful memory entered her mind. She shifted her gaze back onto his sleeping form, pulling back tears as she played that memory through her head.
"…I miss you…" She kind of blurted out softly before a single tear rolled down her face.
She thought back to the memory that has been haunting her for the past few days. It had been about two weeks ago when she was over at Monica's and the phone rang. After a brief conversation with whoever was on the line, she had turned back to her with a shocked and scared look. Apparently it she had just talked with one of the doctors at the hospital and he had explained that aside from his physical injuries, there has yet to be any progress on Ross' coma or his mental status. He had also warned that if as the third month of his recuperation came around and he still doesn't show any signs of change, they may consider pulling the plug as it is extremely costly to keep him on life support and eventually, the insurance company will stop paying for his treatment.
At this, Rachel had burst into tears, violently shaking Monica by the shoulders and practically yelling at her to not go with it. She would go all the way with this, regardless of how long it took, and if necessary, she would even pull out her own money just to keep him on life support. She would not allow his sacrifice to go to a waste and would do anything for the hospital to continue treating him if they chose to pull the plug. She would even go to her daddy for help, knowing all too well about his disliking to him, but she was determined to not lose him.
Even so, the thought of pulling the plug scared her immensely as she would be losing the most important person in her life, and as each day goes by without any improvement to his condition, the higher the chance of receiving the dreadful phone call, and that was what scared her.
She wouldn't let it happen, no, couldn't let it happen. Not after everything he's done for her. Not after she realised her true feelings towards him. She just couldn't let it happen…
"Wake up Ross, please… you have to…" she begged softly as she reached over and cupped his face in her hands. "I can't live without you, I just can't. These three months have been the worst three months of my life… please… I need to hear your voice… I need to look into those eyes… I love you Ross; you can't leave me without knowing that I love you…"
With more tears streaming down her face, she buried her head onto his chest and sobbed quietly, knowing that each passing day may be her last with him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding onto him tightly and never wanting to let go. Minutes passed, maybe even an hour before the tears finally stopped coming and she just lay on the bed with him. She felt comfortable and safe, she felt at home.
Knowing that she couldn't stay all night, even though she desperately wanted to, she eventually forced herself up and wiped her face with a tissue. She stood up and looked at him, sadness and regret being the most substantial emotions at the moment. Silently, she looked around the room to make sure they were alone before leaning in and placing a gently kiss on his lips. She allowed her lips to linger on his, enjoying the short sensation of love being transferred from her to him before slowly pulling away. She sensually stroked his cheek with the pad of her thumb, staring at his closed eyelids and hoping that they may pop open to reveal the eyes she's longed for too long.
"I love you... please come back to me," she whispered silently before sadly straightening back up. She grabbed her things from the chair and looked at him again, her eyes longing for his but once again coming to a disappointment.
She sighed and headed for the door, looking back one more time to take in the scene before her. She knew she'd be back tomorrow morning, and maybe even tonight if nothing comes up, but every time she leaves the room, she feels like she leaves behind a part of herself. Now, it was coming to the end and one day, she may come into the room and no longer find him resting there, and just the thought of that made her want to stay here with him and never leave.
She shut her eyes and squeezed out a single tear, allowing it to trickle down her cheek before falling to the ground. Using the sleeve of her arm, she wiped away the wet trail it had left, clearing the moisture from her eyes, and prepared to leave the hospital room. She took a deep breath, regained her composure and headed for the door.
But as her hand touched the door know, she heard something that made her heart stop.
It was a groan. A soft, almost inaudible groan, but a groan nonetheless, and more importantly, a groan that did not come from her mouth.
Shocked, excited, and maybe even a little scared, Rachel hesitated from turning around, thinking that maybe her imagination was playing a cruel joke on her, however when she heard another soft groan, she knew that her wishes have been answered.
Spinning around, she began to cry, seeing his eyes flutter open and his head turn around to look at his surroundings.
"Oh my God," She said in a gasp, covering her mouth with her hands and tears of happiness, joy, and relief falling from her face. She couldn't believe it. It was him. It was really him. He was awake, he was moving, he was breathing. It was a miracle, and yet, it was a reality and she couldn't be more overjoyed.
And then, their eyes met.
…
First, there was darkness.
Then, there was light.
As his eyes slowly opened, the world hit him all at once. Light shone into his eyes, momentarily blinding him and piercing the three-month shroud of darkness that has resided there. His body felt weak, almost frail-like, his arms and legs feeling as if they weighed hundreds of pounds and his spine sending unusual waves of slight pain. The back of his head throbbed and he groaned as he tried to adjust to the feelings of his body.
He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, letting everything settle in before opening them back up, blinking a few times to get used to the sunlight from a nearby window. He let out another groan as he brought a hand to his face, his thoughts still jumbled up and waiting until they all settle down. There was a ringing in his ears, deafening him as he tried to concentrate on making the headache stop but as moments passed by, he gave up and brought his hand back down.
As soon as his hand touched the sheets, he flinched; startled at the soft material he was covered in. All of a sudden, reality hit him all at once and a million questions filled his thoughts. What happened? Where was he? Who was he?
His memories were nothing more than a jumbled jigsaw puzzle. His eyes wandered the room, hoping to get an answer for all his questions. He noticed the white counters, the laid out medical tools, and was even startled to see himself hooked up to a machine via tubes that ran into his veins.
After another moment of looking around, he determined that he was in a hospital. Yes, a hospital: a place where you go when you get injured. He didn't know how he knew that, he just knew. He didn't question his existing knowledge of the subject, but instead questioned the new questions that had arisen. Why was he in a hospital? Was he injured in some way? What had happened to him?
Then, as his eyes continued to wander across the room, they landed on something that literally took his breath away. A woman, no, the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, stood in front of his bed. Her beauty was indescribable, like an angel sent down from the heavens. Her long dirty blonde strands of hair glistened in the sunlight. Her figure, amazingly curved and fit, gave her that hour glass look and made his heart start pounding inside of his chest. Her eyes, like two breathtaking seas of blue locked onto his as he could do nothing but stare back at this incredibly gorgeous woman in front of him.
He noticed the tears sliding down her cheek and her hands covering her mouth and he wondered why she was crying. He hoped he had done nothing to upset her as he would never do anything to hurt someone as beautiful as her, yet the look in her eyes suggested that they weren't tears of pain but rather tears of happiness. Had he known her before? Or maybe she knew him from somewhere. As his eyes looked her over again, he began to feel a sense of familiarity but his memories came up as a blank. He knew that he knew this woman from somewhere, but from where?
He watched this beautiful unknown woman as she first cried a little more, and then began to run around the room. The ringing in his ears cleared for a moment to hear her open the door and yell out into the hallway, screaming something on the lines of "DOCTOR, DOCTOR!" and "HE'S AWAKE!" She then proceeded to rapidly removing her cell phone from her purse, carelessly throwing it onto the counter as she punched a number and held the phone up to her ear. A moment later, she began yelling into the phone with tears still streaming down her face but with a huge smile on her face. He smiled back, seeing that this gorgeous woman was happy and was extremely surprised when she launched herself onto him and pulled him into a tight hug.
"It's really you… I missed you so much…" she cried happily into his shoulder as he just awkwardly looked down at the woman who has thrown herself onto him. He couldn't help but smell her luscious hair, the scent of fresh coconut filing his nostrils as another feeling of familiarity overcame him. Who was this woman? Who was he? If he wasn't so shocked from everything that's been going on, he'd probably be asking this woman for some answers but as he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her small body, a feeling inside of him told him that he had longed for this.
Moments passed and judging by the continuous flow of tears into his shoulders, the unknown woman in his arms didn't seem to want go any time soon. He gently patted her back, not quite sure of what else to do and also because of the weakness in his arms, the only thing he could do.
Another minute went by and all of a sudden, the door swung open and a single male doctor walked in, his initial expression showing that he was startled at the scene before him but smiled warmly soon afterwards. The doctor slowly walked over to the side of the bed, not wanting to disturb the embrace but not having to wait too long as the woman sensed his presence and pulled herself off of him. She looked him in the eyes one more time, coving her mouth with her hands as she stood up and headed back to her spot at the foot of his bed. He didn't know why but now that he wasn't holding her, he felt the feeling of loss but shook it off soon after when the doctor pulled up a chair and sat down next to him.
"So it's true, you have woken up." The doctor smiled as he grabbed a clipboard. "How are you feeling Ross?"
Ross. That was his name. It did sound familiar and felt like something he would call himself. Ross…
"I, uh, I got this throbbing pain in the back of my head," he responded, rubbing his hand along the area. The doctor took a look and wrote something down on the clipboard and proceeded to ask if there was anything else that felt different. Aside from the weakness he felt all over, Ross just shook his head and the doctor wrote that down too.
"Well if you're experiencing a headache, you might have hit your head hard to cause that obscurity. Aside from that, the weakness is normal as you haven't been up and about for about three months now."
Three months? He asked himself. Had he really been out for that long?
"Anyways, I'm Doctor Telemann; the doctor who has been looking after you since you were first transferred here." The doctor introduced with a friendly smile. "Do you remember your name?"
"Yeah, uh… Ross," he answered and Doctor Telemann gave him a strange look.
"Did you actually remember that or did you just remember what a called you a moment ago?"
"A little bit of both," he answered truthfully. The doctor's smile faded slightly.
"Do you remember your last name?"
"I think so… Ross… Ross… Ross Gellar! Yeah, I'm Ross Gellar!"
Doctor Telemann merely nodded. "Yes, that's correct. You do seem to remember your basic information but with a little trouble," he wrote down on the clipboard. "Do you know what city you live in?"
"New York."
"State and country?"
"Manhattan, United States."
The doctor's smile returned as he continued. "Do you recall your occupation?"
"I'm a paleontologist working as a college professor at NYU." He had no idea how he knew this but it all just seemed to leave his mouth off of instinct. Judging by the look on the doctor's face, he guessed that he was saying the right stuff. At least he was learning a bit about himself while he was at it.
"Excellent. Now do you know where you are now?"
"In a hospital."
"And do you know why you are here?"
"I-…" he cut himself off, realising that he did not know the answer to that. He tried to search his memories, hoping to find something kind of reminisce that may help him remember how he came to wake up here, but try as he might, he just couldn't remember anything. "No, I… I don't' remember how I got here or why I'm here." He answered truthfully and immediately regretted it as he saw Doctor Telemann frown. When he looked over to the beautiful woman who had been watching the whole scene play out, he was surprised to see a worried expression replace her once happy and joyful one.
The doctor scribbled something onto the clipboard and then began flipping through some pages. He wrote something else down and turned to him with a curious, yet also worried look.
"Ross, are you sure you don't remember anything?" he asked with a serious tone.
"No."
"Well, what was the last thing you remember?"
Ross thought for a moment. "I… I really don't know. Everything's so messed up, it's hard to put an order to it."
Doctor Telemann flipped through the pages again before turning to him and looking him right in the eye.
"Ross, are you married?"
"No."
"Have you ever been married?"
He paused. "No, I don't think so."
Ross noticed Doctor Telemann turn to Rachel who shared the same worried and scared look. She had long since stopped crying but he could tell that as he kept answering these questions wrong, her eyes began to moisten.
"What about family members? Do you remember who you had living with you while growing up?"
"Of course, I had a mother, a father, and… and, uh… I think I had a sibling. A sister?" he answered, practically asking the last bit. The doctor nodded and scribbled something down.
"That's correct. Do you remember their names?"
"Uh… um… Mr. and Mrs. Gellar?" he responded, not being able to remember them. Why couldn't he remember his own parents names?
"Oh no…" Doctor Telemann silently gasped and quickly wrote something down on the clipboard. Ross looked over to the woman who had now come closer and was standing next to the doctor. Her eyes were wet and a tear slid down her face as she looked over his shoulder at what he was writing. Was he the one who was causing her to cry?
"Ross, what is your sister's legal name?" the doctor asked and in urgent and hasty tone. He felt the pair of eyes on him which only made him feel pressured and nervous. Was it a trick question? Maybe she was married, which was why he was asking for her "legal" name. Or maybe it was just a way to express the question differently. Ross thought long and hard but after a few minutes, he really couldn't think of anything.
"No." he reluctantly answered and the woman stifled a gasp. Doctor Telemann's eyes widened and hastily wrote something down before turning his chair slightly and pointing at the woman.
"Do you remember who this is?" he asked and Ross could tell this was pretty much a last ditch effort of a question.
He looked at the woman long and hard, determined to try to put a name to that face. She was beautiful, extremely beautiful. He truly believed that she could be one of the most beautiful woman on the planet. Everything was perfect about her and he so wished that he could remember who she was. He locked eyes with her and tried to search them for an answer, however after a moment, she realised what he was doing and began crying again, only this time, they were not tears of happiness.
No, don't cry. Please don't cry. He begged sub-consciously. He hated to see this utterly gorgeous woman cry, and yet here she was, an angel of a person bawling her eyes out because he couldn't remember her name. Why couldn't he remember who she was? She felt so familiar. He had even felt the connection they shared during their embrace so he knew that they had a relationship that went further from just knowing each other. However as much as he tried and as much as he wanted to remember, none of his memories gave him any indication of who she was or his history with her.
"Ross? Who is this woman?" Doctor Telemann repeated but he knew he already had his answer.
Ross shifted his gaze back to the woman, his eyes telling her that he was sorry but the rest of him telling her he just couldn't remember, and knowing this, she trembled in tears and looked at him with devastated eyes.
"I don't know…"
…
The double doors to the hospital burst open, startling everyone inside as four adults ran in, scrambling and practically trampling over each other. And just like three months ago, the four of them charged to the front desk, yelling and shouting over each other as the nurse at the counter just backed away with widened eyes.
Funnily enough, this was the same nurse that had dealt with them a few months ago and as soon as she noticed it was the same group of people, she cleared her throat and raised her hand, quieting all four of them down in a surprisingly commanding fashion. She smiled, motioning towards a sign sitting on the counter that read "This Is A Hospital" and saw the four embarrassed looks on each of their faces as they too remembered her using those exact words. Then, without giving a second look, she pointed with her other hand at an opposite direction and the four friends followed her gaze.
Their eyes led to an empty sitting area, that is, empty all except one seat. And in that seat sat a familiar little figure, bent over trembling and sobbing openly into her hands. Realising who it was, the four of them rushed over quickly, bending down and surrounding her in an effort to comfort her.
"Rachel we got your call," Monica said in a worried look as she rubbed her friend's back. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
"Oh Monica, its terrible…" Rachel bawled and threw herself into Monica's arms. Startled, she embraced the hug, knowing Rachel only ever gets this affectionate when something was bothering her. "...He's awake…"
All of a sudden, the sound of cheering and whooping was heard and the two girls looked over to see Joey, Chandler, and Phoebe hugging and giving each other high-fives. However, they're celebration seemed to only make things worse as Rachel cried even harder.
"Wait, I thought it was a good thing that he woke up." Joey commented, unsure of why Rachel was crying so hard.
Monica cast him a look before setting Rachel down on one of the chairs. "Honey, you need to tell us what's wrong." She stated, rubbing her arms to calm her down.
"It's… it's Ross… he doesn't remember me…" she managed to say through her sobs. Monica seemed a little taken back at the revelation, sitting down across from her as her mind thought about what this might mean.
"He doesn't remember you?" Monica asked bewildered as the others also sat down to comfort Rachel's trembling form.
"N-n-no. He… he looked at me and couldn't remember me…" she explained. "He can't remember you either. He can't remember any of us!"
Chandler rubbed her back as Phoebe and Joey shot each other worried glances. Monica meanwhile sat in silence, fearing the worst for her brother's state of mind. How he could he forget her, his sister? Nonetheless Rachel, the woman he's been fantasising about for his entire life. It was at this moment that Doctor Telemann appeared from the emergency room, looking over multiple sheets of paper with a very solemn look on his face.
"Doctor! Doctor!" Rachel called out when she saw him, running to him and almost tripping and falling. "Please tell me you found what's wrong with him. Please!" she begged while blinking away salty tears.
Doctor Telemann looked down and placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Rachel, you may want to take a seat for this." She reluctantly agreed and sat back down in her original seat as the doctor noticed the others there as well. "Thank God you are all here."
"Well Rachel called us and told us it was an emergency," Monica explained. "Is my brother going to be ok?"
The doctor took a deep breath and immediately gave away that there was something. "Well that would be a matter of opinion. I have good news and bad news…"
"Good news first," Phoebe jumped in, receiving odd looks from everyone. "What? With all the negative energy around we could use something to cheer us up."
"Alright, well the good news is Ross has made a complete recovery. All his injuries are completely healed and he is healthy as he will ever be… physically…"
"Physically?" Chandler questioned.
"Yes. I guess this is where I lead into the bad news." Doctor Telemann took a moment to breath and looked each and every one of them in the eyes. "I'm sorry but Ross is suffering from a severe case of amnesia."
Monica gasped and felt tears well up in her eyes as well. Rachel buried her face in her hands while sobbing and the others merely sat there, shocked from the news they have just received.
"Allow me to explain," he continued, knowing that he had to continue regardless of how dire the situation was. He held up an x-ray of a brain and pointed to a specific area near the middle. "This is a CT scan of Ross' brain we had taken a few moments ago. Right here is where most long-term memories are stored, an area we doctors call the limbic system. Luckily, not the entire system has been damaged."
"Luckily," Monica repeated sarcastically and Chandler knew that his fiancée has just snapped. "My brother can't even remember his own sister and you're giving me a 'luckily'?!"
"Please, you have to calm down Monica. The truth is, your brother was very lucky that nothing else was damaged or else he would not be remembering a lot more than that." Doctor Telemann explained as Chandler held onto Monica's hands to avoid another sudden outburst. "You see, Ross' amnesia has not led him to forget everything. He seems to have a little bit of trouble remembering basic human functions and knowledge, as well as the accident that brought him to the hospital, but these are all normal in severe cases of amnesia."
Then his expression softened a bit as he went on. "However, there is an area that is very concerning to us currently. This little area of the limbic system is called the hippocampus and its function is to store long-term memories linked to emotions. We have reason to believe that when Ross fractured his skull, something hard must have shaken his brain and disrupted the nerves inside the hippocampus. As a result, Ross has forgotten most, if not all people and actions linked to the sentiment of 'love'. This obscurity may have been caused by a sudden display of this emotion prior to his loss of consciousness."
"Th-that's me…" Rachel whispered out loud, crying softly as her tearful eyes looked upwards. "He loved me… he protected me… he kept me safe during the crash. It's because of me he can't remember any of you… it's because of me he can't remember…me…"
"Don't be so hard on yourself Rachel," Chandler soothed, although technically, what Rachel was saying was true. "You can't keep beating yourself up because of this. We'll get through this together and he needs all of us, including you, to be strong for him."
She sniffled and leaned over to cry into his shoulder. "When did you get to be so sentimental?"
"Hey, I'm not all about laughs and jokes," he answered, lightening up the mood and releasing a little bit of tension.
"I am truly sorry," Doctor Telemann sympathized with not only his words but his eyes. "If it is any consolation, Ross should be heading home today as there is nothing we can further do for him. Like Chandler has said, the state of his mentality rests in your hands now. I understand you five are the closest individuals in his life and only through you will he be able to regain those memories back."
"Thank you doctor," Monica said, wiping away her own tears and giving a weak smile. She felt Chandler squeeze her hand, telling her he was there for her as well, and she squeezed back.
"Anytime, however there is something I must address. Take Ross' hand and introduce him back to those who he may have forgotten, but you mustn't lay it on him all at once. The combination of shock and unknown knowledge may overload his brain and could risk his memories to never return. Things such as his son or even the meaning of love can be extremely dangerous so I warn you now; you have to approach these topics subtly."
He received a nod from everyone but Rachel, who looked away and squeezed out a few more tears from her eyes. Surprisingly, Doctor Telemann placed his clipboard on a nearby chair, squatting down to her level and placing his hands on her knees to get her attention. He looked her straight in the eyes, showing his sympathy without words as if he were about to explain to little girl that her pet has died.
"Rachel, I understand how hard this must be for you," he started. "I've seen you come in here daily, three times a day, just to visit him and talk with him even though you knew he wouldn't respond. I can tell that you care for him deeply and I've seen the look in your eyes when you see him. You are in love, and I know this because I had the same look as you did when my wife was in the hospital."
Rachel's tears slowed and he grabbed her hand, giving it an assuring squeeze.
"If you love him as much as I know you do, then you have to be strong for him. In fact, you have to be stronger than anyone else here. I know it will be tough not showing him your affection but what you can do is guide him and help him remember. You have to be the shoulder he leans on and when the time comes, he'll remember you too, ok?"
She nodded slyly, understanding that what the doctor was saying was true, and wiped away her tears to show that she could be strong. She would be strong. For him.
"He should be back in his room by now," the doctor announced standing up. "I suggest you all to go and introduce yourselves. He's free to go at anytime and I'll mail over the reports once they're analysed."
Doctor Telemann left as the five friends made their way towards Ross' room. As they nervously approached the hospital door, they all wondered how they would be able to hide multiple different things from him as he recovers. They wouldn't be able to act the same around him, at least until he regained his memories of the past events. For now, their main focus was to help him and hopefully, he would come around soon.
Chandler reached for the door knob but all of a sudden, Joey grabbed his arm to stop him. "Wait guys, I just thought of something."
"Well that's new," Chandler quipped, rubbing his arm where Joey had unnecessarily squeezed. Monica gave him a little shove and turned her attention to Joey.
"No I'm serious. When we bring Ross home, do you think it's a smart idea to let him live alone?"
"That's a good point," Phoebe pointed out. "So what do we do?"
"Well, I one of us is going to have to move in with him." Chandler replied.
Monica raised an eyebrow. "What? We're just going to lie and say that one of us has been living with him?"
"It's not like he can remember anything," he shrugged. "Now which one of us is-"
"I'll do it," Rachel said, stepping forward.
"Rach, honey, I know that you want to help him as much as you can right now but are you sure that it would be smart if you lived with him?" Monica questioned with a concerning look.
Rachel shook her head at the question. "Please…I need to do this," she begged with large, teary eyes.
"Alright then. Are you guys ok with this?"
The other three nodded, not wishing to start an argument or sadden Rachel any further. She has been through enough for one day.
A moment later, the door opened and they walked into the lit-up room slowly. Ross was sitting on the berth, dressed in normal clothes now and cautiously attempting to stand with his new cane. He had been given it to help him walk until his muscles can redevelop as they have not exercised at all for the past three months.
Sensing the presence of others in the room, Ross turned around and was surprised to see so many people watching him. He raised an inquisitive eyebrow, wondering who these people were until he spotted the familiar woman trailing behind them. His expression softened, almost into a relief.
"You came back," he said to Rachel who walked towards him slowly.
"Yeah, um, I had to take a call," she lied, swallowing the lump in her throat and holding back tears. It pained her to talk to him knowing that he couldn't remember who she was. "I-I want to introduce you to some people."
Ross turned his head to look at the other people as they introduced themselves one by one.
"I'm your friend Phoebe Buffay and I'm a freelance masseuse."
"I'm Joey Tribbiani, an actor and one of your best friends."
"I'm Chandler Bing. We've been best friends since college."
Finally Monica stepped forward, taking his hands and looking him in the eyes. "Ross it's me, Monica. I'm your sister."
Ross' eyes widened slightly, looking over the woman in front of him. "You're my sister?" Monica nodded and he couldn't help but smile, making her smile too as she let out a small laugh of relief.
"And what about you? Did I know you too?" he directed his question to the beautiful woman he had met when he had woken up. She shuffled on her feet, running her hand up her arm before locking eyes with him. Being this close to her, he couldn't help but get lost in those beautiful blue eyes but also noticed them tear up a bit as they stared at each other.
"I'm…" she tried to differentiate the words that she needed to say with the words she wanted to say. Her eyes shifted to the ground for a moment before looking back up and locking with his.
"I'm your roommate, Rachel Green. I-I've known you since high school and… and you're my…
…best friend."
…
Rachel helped him to the large brown door, placing the key in its slot and swinging the door open to reveal the dark apartment. She flicked on the light switch near the doorway then moved back to help him walk, draping his arm across his shoulder.
"So this is our apartment?" Ross asked, looking around.
Our apartment is what he said. The thought of them sharing a roof together made her smile but only for a moment as she remembered that she was lying. Oh how she wished things were different.
"Oh, uh yeah, this is it," she quickly responded, helping him to the couch.
"So how long have you been living here for?"
Damn it Ross, why are you asking so many questions! She thought to herself.
"Um, actually not for too long," she nervously replied, thinking of a way to answer this question. She's never been the beset liar. "You, um, offered me a place to stay before the accident but I decided not to move in until you woke up. I guess I should start bringing my stuff over from my other place."
"Well I could use the company, especially from someone like you," he admitted and she couldn't help but fall head over heels in love with him. Even when he wasn't himself, he was still the sweet and flattering person she had known since high school.
Their eyes locked again and she felt a spark between them. Her heart began beating repeatedly and she craved for those soft lips to touch hers. The room seemed to spin for her and she felt as though they were the only two beings in the world. Naturally, she began leaning towards him, eyes staring into each other until she closed them and waited for something magical to happen.
"We should get some sleep," he said, breaking her trance and making her sit-up suddenly.
"What?" was all she could say, still trying to recover from whatever just happened.
"It's getting late and you were beginning to close your eyes. The doctor told me to get some rest as well so I think I'm going to go to bed."
Rachel sub-consciously kicked herself up, both embarrassed and ashamed at what she almost did. Had she no self-control over her emotions? He obviously didn't want to kiss her, nonetheless even know what the word "kiss" means. She shook her head, beating herself up and turning away so he wouldn't see her intense blushing.
"R-right, yeah, you're right." She stuttered, avoiding eye-contact with him.
She watched as he slowly got up from the couch, using his cane to help him towards the bedroom. He didn't seem to notice her strange acting and she was quite grateful that he didn't.
"Goodnight, uh…"
"Rachel."
"Right, goodnight Rachel," he corrected, locking eyes with her one more time before disappearing into the bedroom.
She waited a few more moments to make sure that he wasn't there before letting out a deep sigh of relief. She could feel the familiar butterflies in her stomach and that last look they shared definitely didn't help her control how she felt towards him. Half of her wanted to so badly run in there and fall into his arms while the other half fought her urges and reminded her that telling him the truth could make her lose him forever.
She sighed again; this time a more saddened one and slumped onto the couch, feeling a single tear trickle down her cheek.
Life was a lot more difficult than she thought.
…
Author's Notes: Thank you so much to those who reviewed last time. This is a longer chapter as the others won't be long. Things will start to lighten up a bit and right now, I have a lot of ways to approach Ross' memory loss. I guess you'll just have to wait and see what happens now.