By now Ross had calmed down, but kept his head against Rachel's chest, listening to the soothing rhythm of her heartbeat.

"Are you all right?" she gently asked, moving her hands up and down his back.

Ross shook his head, not saying anything. He concentrated really hard to see if he could recall anything in his life that had occurred between 1999 and 2004, but absolutely no avail. Tears of frustration slid down both of his cheeks.

Rachel saw them and brushed them away with her fingers. "Ross, honey, don't cry. I promised you that you weren't alone, and I'm gonna help you. We can start right now. What's that last thing you can remember happening?"

"Umm...Uh, well, Emily was getting married and had called me, but you convinced me not to call her back. I had just gone on a ride-along with Chandler and Joey in Gary's cop car."

Rachel paused for a minute as she tried to recall that night five years ago. Then it came back to her. "Right, and you had a 'near-death' experience when that car back- fired."

"Exactly!"

Rachel chuckled silently at remembering how fanatically determined he had been to live life to the fullest, scaring all of his friends. But he had been happy, and that was what had been important. She wished more than anything that she could make him feel that way again.

"Rach?" Ross asked, lifting his head before she went on.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Would you mind just giving me a scenario of what's been going on till now? Maybe it will trigger something inside my head."

"Of course I wouldn't mind," she said smiling, and squeezing his hand. "I'm willing to try anything that will help you." Again, she had to stop to think. "Okay, well a few days after that, we all went to Vegas for Mon and Chandler's one year anniversary. Actually you and I stayed behind for a day and we flew together. We had a hell of a time playing a series of shenanigans on each other for the entire flight."

"Really? What did we do?"

"Well, it all got started when I had been walking around...well, naked in my apartment. You saw me and were convinced that I was enticing you to get you to engage in 'the physical act of love', as you called it, with me. To get back at me, you screamed on the plane, very deafeningly I might add, something like 'Forget it, lady! I'm not gonna have sex with you in the bathroom!' Yea, everyone around us got a kick out of that. Then, I 'accidentally' spilled water on your pants." She paused to laugh a little, relieved when she saw that Ross was smiling to.

"Well, the killer was when you drew a mustache and beard on my face while I was asleep. I wasn't too amused when Phoebe told me and I realized I had been walking around in public like that, but it was a good one. Anyways, I refused to leave my room and made you stay with me, where we got drunk and laid bets. After a while that got old, and you agreed to let me draw cat whiskers on your face, and we went down together like that. Then, well one thing went to another and..." She wasn't sure if she should finish, but he had a right to know how out of hand things had gotten that weekend.

"Well, we stumbled into a chapel and got married." Ross expression was so shocked, that it just then truly hit her how much of his life he had lost according to his recollection.

"What? We- we got married? Are we still?"

"Oh, no, no, we-"Ross cut her off. "I got divorced again, didn't I?"

"Yes, but honey, it's okay, it was just a mistake, it shouldn't count. Well, actually, we ended up staying married a lot longer than you did to Emily, not to the extent of my knowledge however."

"We did? Why?"

"Well, you didn't want three failed marriages, just like you don't want now. You simply didn't get an annulment, but told me you did. When I found out, I came to NYU while you were giving a lecture, and I'll say I scared a flock of students."

"Wow. I'm sorry, Rach."

"Oh, no, no, honey, don't be sorry, I understand perfectly well why you did it. I only wish you had told me, that's why I was upset. But it's okay, I don't want you to be distressed about it. It's something that we can laugh at now."

Suddenly Ross' eyes widened. "Oh my God."

"What? What is it?" Rachel questioned, worried.

"Was I by chance speaking with a British accent?"

"Yes! Yes, you were. That was hysterical. You were nervous about giving the lecture, and that was how it came out."

"Oh, thank God. I was scared that I had married Emily again."

Rachel laughed out loud. "I can assure you, none of us would have let that happen."

She paused, and then became excited. "How did you know that? Are you starting to remember something?"

"Well, it seems to just be a piece of something. I mean, because the next thing after that, I see you burst through the doors, looking mad, and that's it."

"Yup. That was it." Rachel put her arm around him. "See, you're right. Talking about it must be helping."

He sighed. "I guess so. Can we keep going?"

Rachel smiled and affectionately smoothed his hair back. "Of course. Are you ready to hear about the time you dated a student in your class?"

Back in the waiting room, the rest of the gang hadn't spoken much, although Rachel had been in there for a while.

Mike broke the silence and turned to his wife. "Wow, if he thinks it's 1999, he's not going to remember who I am, is he?"

Phoebe took his hand. "Probably not, honey. Although I would be surprised."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you're so cute."

"Oh, I know that, but I doubt Ross thinks of me in the same intimate way that you do, Pheebs."

"Oh, you don't know Ross well enough yet."

Everyone turned and looked at her oddly, but didn't think much of it. It was Phoebe, and that was more than enough of an explanation.