New update! I have written this in a couple of hours so there may be a few mistakes. I hope it's still good enough for you to keep on reading.

CHAPTER 4

"Did you get to speak to your boss?" Ross asked as Rachel returned to their table. After a three-hour cab drive to Denver they had decided to stop for lunch at a shopping mall in the outskirts of the city.

"Yes, they gave me the week off." She smiled broadly.

"Great!"

"Yeah…too bad I'm gonna spend it on the damn road." She complained.

"Did you tell them you were stranded in Colorado?"

"Yeah right, as if they'd believed such a thing. I told them my father was in the hospital and I had to take care of him."

"Good" Rachel frowned. "-that they bought it I mean, not your father being sick part." Ross clarified. Rachel motioned her hand in a 'forget it' way and moved her eyes to the map Ross had spread on the table.

"So, have you figured out how we can get out of here?"

"Sort of, take a look." Ross grabbed the map and showed her the line he had drawn across it. "There are about two thousand miles between Denver and New York. If we rent a car and drive non-stop we can make it home in a day and a half."

"But that's exhausting. Besides, you drive like an old lady; it will take us a lot longer than that."

"That is so not true."

"You get tickets for driving too slow, Ross."

"It's not my fault the police can't appreciate my efficient driving."

"Why don't we just take a plane and end this torture right here?" Rachel sighed, looking at the long drawn line that kept her away from home.

"Now you're willing to pay for a plane ticket?"

"I just wanna get home…I wanna take a loooooong bubble bath and sleep on my clean, comfy bed. I miss my bed." She pouted.

"Alright, but you should know the cheapest ticket is six hundred dollars." She cleared her throat.

"So, two days by car, huh? I think I can bear that."

"Good, if we leave now, we may be home Thursday afternoon."

"Okay, we'll leave as soon as we are done shopping." Ross rolled his eyes.

"Do we really need to?" Rachel shot him a stare. "Alright, meet you here in….fifteen minutes?"

"Make that two hours."

"What!"

"We are in a shopping mall; there are dozens of stores to check out!"

"Rach, you only need a couple of t-shirts and pants to make it home, not clothes for the entire season."

"Alright…One hour?" Ross sighed.

"Okay, but if you take more than an hour I swear I'll leave without you!"

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"Pheebs, slow down! we're never gonna find them."

"But they must around here; they only left an hour before we did."

"But who knows which direction they followed, for all we know they may have driven to an airport and taken a flight."

"I don't think so, plus I have a gut feeling we are very close to them. I can feel it."

"Are you sure it's not hunger? because I feel kinda weird myself." He said rubbing his stomach.

"I have snacks in my purse, grab them."

"Aw, thanks!" Joey cheerfully picked up Phoebe's purse and pulled out a bag of chips. He was about to put a handful of chips into his mouth when he perceived Phoebe's sad expression on her face. "Phoebe, they will be fine, they're adults; they will find their way home."

"That's not what I'm worried about, I just don't want them to think I'm a bad person. Oh my god…they're gonna cut me out of their lives, aren't they?"

"No they won't, I'm sure they will understand everything once you explain what really happened."

"That's if they give me the chance to speak."

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"See? Right on time." Rachel smiled proudly. Ross on the other hand gazed dumbfounded at the countless bags she was carrying.

"You didn't want to buy a plane ticket but you just left half of this mall's stores without stock?"

"This is money well invested, do not compare."

"If you say so…Can we leave now?"

"Sure, let's go." They initiated their way towards the exit but Rachel soon stopped in her tracks. "Oh wait! there is a boutique I haven't seen!" Ross rolled his eyes annoyed. "Five more minutes, please?" She begged.

"You don't need a cocktail dress, Rach."

"What do you know, plus I have a work event next week and I still haven't anything to wear, maybe the dress I'm looking for is right here, please?" she pouted, knowing Ross could never say no to her when she did that.

"Alright…only five minutes." He threatened with his index finger.

"Promised." Ross grabbed her multiple bags and observed her walk away until she disappeared into the boutique. Tired, he took seat at a nearby bench; he leaned back and rested his head on the wall as he closed his eyes. Almost immediately sleep washed over him. He had hardly managed to sleep the previous night. It had been forever since he last had the chance to share his bed with Rachel -actually they had shared one a few days back, but he was too drunk to enjoy the moment-. However, last night was a different story. He was widely aware of her presence and for some reason he could not find himself to give in to slumber. It wasn't until five in the morning that he finally surrendered and by nine they were already on the road.

"Excuse me, sir?" a feminine voice brought him back to reality.

"That will be 99.95 dollars." Rachel handed the cashier her credit card and smiled delighted with her purchase. "Thank you for shopping with us, have a nice day." Rachel responded with a 'thank you' and left the establishment.

She stood still outside the boutique as her eyes searched for Ross. She finally spotted him sitting on a bench, surrounded by her bags and a woman. "Who the hell is that?" She found herself hissing. She carefully observed the strange –and attractive- woman. She was sitting close to Ross, talking to him rather animatedly and a hint of jealousy arose in her. She took a deep breath and firmly made her way towards them.

"Honey, I'm done, we can go now." She said before slowly and sensually leaning over and planting a kiss on Ross' lips. Ross gave her a look of rather astonishment as she pulled away. "Hi," She then said to the woman as if she had just noticed her. The stranger mumbled a shy "hi" in return.

"Oh sorry." Ross cleared his throat as he stood up, followed by the unknown woman. "Jenna this is Rachel, my…" He trailed off, still perplexed by Rachel's move.

"Wife." Rachel quickly added. "Nice to meet you," Rachel extended her hand, which the woman politely shook with a smile. "If you'd excuse us, my husband and I have a very long ride to go on with." Rachel said as she affectionately stroked Ross' arm.

"Sure, I…gotta go too." Jenna said turning to Ross with a smile. "Nice meeting you Ross and thank you."

"No thanks needed, nice meeting you too." They said goodbye to each other and the woman walked away. Ross and Rachel stood in complete silence for a few seconds, until Ross' stare upon her started to make her feel uncomfortable.

"So, let's go!" she said with a clap of hands and started to walk towards the exit.

"mmh Rach, what was that all about?" He asked confused as he tried to keep up with her fast pace.

"Oh sorry, but there is no time for picking up women." He let out a soft chuckle.

"Picking up? She just wanted to know what time it was."

"And your name too, apparently." He tried to make eye contact with her, find out what was going on but she avoided his gaze.

"She guessed I was form New York and we held a brief conversation; it's what most kind people do, you know."

"She was totally flirting with you, Ross." He frowned.

"A…are you jealous? Or what's going on here?" Rachel stopped walking and looked at him as if bothered by his question.

"no I'm not, it's just that…I don't think it's the right time to be flirting with random ladies. We have to head home." She lied since she herself didn't even know what had come over her.

"And the kiss?" Rachel held her breath.

"I-I…had to make it believable that we were a couple." She said with a tilt of her head, trying to conceal her nervousness. "besides…technically it wasn't wrong because we are still married." She pointed out. Ross raised an eyebrow in a query way.

"Now, we're a real married couple?" He said in a chuckle.

"It was simply to shoo that woman away."

"So, according to that rule…I can kiss you whenever I want, right? since we are still married." Rachel damned herself silently. Why did she have to do anything! She was unconsciously getting herself into too much trouble.

"I guess so…?" she try to say as nonchalantly as possible. "But remember, we are getting divorced so…it may not be well-received." She quickly added with a challenging smile and resumed her way towards their rented car.

"I may take the risk." Ross murmured into her ear, sending chills down her spine.

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"You know, when we move in together, can I get a gumball machine?" Chandler asked, thrilled that he had made the decision to move in with Monica and he didn't feel anxious about it.

"Of course! Joey wouldn't let you have one?"

"No. When it comes to sweets, he's surprisingly strict."

"Hey, have you figured out a way to tell him you're moving out?"

"No, but they're not back yet so I still have some time find a proper way to rip his heart out" he stressed the last words.

"Do you think he'll take it that bad?"

"That bad? One time we had to throw out a photo of us that he had accidentally torn and he was depressed for like a week!"

"Really?" Monica laughed at his friend's absurdity.

"He is a sentimental young boy." He said with adoration. "Have you thought about how you're gonna tell Rachel?" He asked as he stroked his girlfriend's hair.

"No, but I think it's best if we tell them right away, as soon as they cross that door we will drop the boom."

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Rachel opened her eyes slowly as she stretched on her seat.

"Hello Sleepyhead" Ross muttered.

"Hi" she smiled. Her voice was a little hoarse. How long had she been asleep? She asked herself.

"Are we home yet?" She joked as she rubbed her eyes.

"Nope, but getting closer."

"How long have I been sleeping for?"

"Five straight hours."

"What!" she exclaimed shocked. "Actually, I can tell by the pain in my neck. Ouch!" she brought her hands to her shoulders and carefully massaged her tense muscles.

"Where are we exactly?" She asked a little later.

"Somewhere in Iowa."

"mmmh I have no idea where that is, anyway…can we make a stop? I need to use the restroom and I want to change, I've been in these clothes for two days and I feel so dirty." She said with disgust.

"Okay, I think there is one a couple of miles ahead."

After a short stop they resumed their way to New York City. The sky was clear and the moonlight illuminated their dark surroundings. Everything seemed to go well, except for their usual arguments about who would drive the car.

"Will you let me take the wheel some time?" Rachel asked one more time.

"But you already did…"

"Yeah, for like an hour."

"because you almost crashed us against a truck!"

"Blame the guy who kept distracting me with 'Hey, look at that view!' 'oh wow, did you see that deer?!" She reproached him.

"I'm sorry, it's not that often that I get to travel across the country." He answered, mimicking her tone.

"C'mon let me!"

"no!"

"Pleaseee,"

"I'm sorry but no, you're a threat on the road and I don't want to have a heart-attack at the age of 30." Ross concluded and turned on the radio so as to let her know the discussion was over. Rachel folded her arms in anger. An hour went by in complete silence. Rachel was getting exasperated, she needed to do something or else she would die of boredom.

"Oh look! A turtle just passed us by, how adorable." Rachel commented with sarcasm. Ross ignored her remark and kept his eyes fixed on the road. Rachel exhaled feeling a little annoyed. "C'mon Ross, let me drive!" He was about to say something but a yawn got in the way.

"See? You're tired and need to rest; let me drive, I promise I will not speed up this time." Ross hesitated for a moment but eventually gave up since he wasn't sure he could stay awake much longer.

"Alright…"

"YAY!"

"But! If you excess the speed limit I…w-we will not get a divorce!" He threatened. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"O-kay"

Ross pulled up to a side of the road and reluctantly let Rachel take the driver's seat. She smiled widely as she started the car and began to drive.

"Do I dare to get some sleep?"

"Of course, I will be careful Ross, don't be such a paranoid."

"Okay, if you want anything just wake me up." Rachel nodded while Ross tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in and closed his eyes. He was almost slipping into slumber when suddenly Rachel's voice startled him.

"Oh no, no, no, Oh no, no no, What's happening?!"

"What!" Ross exclaimed half-asleep.

"The car is making a really weird noise…I'm pushing the accelerator but it doesn't seem to be working." The car came to halt and smoke started to emanate from the engine.

"This can't be happening." He said in incredulity.

"Seriously, what else can go wrong?"

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Let me know if you liked it! thanks :)