Where there is smoke there is usually fire. The fire didn't destroy the apartment but it did enough. Phoebe and Rachel were homeless. It would take some time before it would be habitable again.

"Everything's ruined!" yelled a despondent Phoebe.

"We're homeless! Where are we going to live?" replied an equally dejected Rachel.

Ross considered the different alternatives. The group of six occupied four different apartments, now down to three; he considered how this would all play out. He interjected …

"Ladies, let's try to salvage as many of your things as possible and then head over to Monica and Chandler's. We can discuss your sleeping arrangements there, OK? Relax, you are not alone. You have friends and we are not going to let you go homeless!"

Reluctantly agreeing, Phoebe and Rachel salvaged as much as they could. Loaded with clothes, jewelry and toiletries the trio headed over to Grove Street. Entering through the front door, the trio dropped their loads on the floor, much to Monica's chagrin.

"What's all this? Why do you three feel the need to annoy me sometimes? Why, why do those clothes smell like smoke?"

Ross was the only one with any strength left to reply. "There was a fire at Phoebe and Rachel's. The place is trashed but at least they are safe. The stuff on the floor is pretty much all they have left."

"Oh my God! I'm so glad that no one was hurt!" Replied a concerned Monica. "You are both are welcome to stay here tonight. Tomorrow we can try to salvage more of your things and see if we can wash the smell out of your clothes."

"Thanks Monica but Rachel and I need to make some long term plans. We will be without our apartment for some time. We will need to arrange for some long term accommodations." Replied Phoebe.

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Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. For the group of friends it would be anything but restful. With her usual abundance of energy Monica brought her court to order.

"OK. We need to take care of Phoebe and Rachel. Chandler and I have a guest bedroom so we can take in one of them. Joey, what about you and Janine? Can you take in anybody?

"Sure." replied Joey. "The couch is free."

At this point Chandler chose to interject, much to Ross's chagrin. "What about Ross? He has a beautiful two-bedroom apartment."

Ross knew his place would be considered as a potential shelter. He was getting nervous. He wanted so badly for Rachel to stay with him. After all, they were married. He was resigned to the fact that it might be too soon or it might never happen at all. He wanted her to stay not because she had too, but because she wanted to. Monica too was getting nervous. She was the only one who knew about Ross and Rachel's marriage. She glanced over to Rachel to try to decipher her thoughts while at that same moment Ross was staring at his wife, trying to do the same.

"You are both welcome to stay at my place as long as you need to. Consider it your home. So which one of you will be staying with me?"

At that, Ross decided to extricate himself from the situation and grab a cold beer out of the fridge. He would let girls decide the sleeping arrangements and adjust accordingly.

After a few minutes Monica approached him with the news. "Ross, we decided that it would probably be best if Phoebe stayed at your place for now. Are you OK with that?"

"Of course Monica, Phoebe's like a sister to me. I'll be glad to have her stay. Can you imagine how devastated she and Rachel must feel about losing their place?"

Inwardly he was disappointed. He would get over it. At that Ross inconspicuously sought out Rachel, wanting to ensure that she was alright with things …

"Hey, how are you?"

"Hey, I'm alright I guess. I'm still recovering from losing our place and our clothes and …"

"Rachel, please put things in perspective. Your apartment will be repaired. Your clothes can be replaced, but Phoebe and yourself are irreplaceable. You are priceless. Thank God that you and Phoebe weren't hurt in the fire. Can you imagine how your friends, how I would have been devastated if you or Phoebe had been hurt?"

"I guess I was lucky that we were out on a date." She replied.

"I guess so. How do you feel about the sleeping arrangements?" He asked.

"Ross, don't think for a minute that I didn't want to stay at your place but I think it's for the best, at least for now anyway. I just want to keep our secret. And don't think for a minute that I don't trust you with Phoebe. I'm alright with it."

A slight smile came to Ross's face. If she was happy then he was too. "I'm glad to hear that. I just want to let you know how I feel about the whole situation since you never asked me." He said in a hushed tone.

The look on Rachel's face changed from happy to one of concern. She had not even considered how he would feel about this, about having to share his apartment with Phoebe. "I'm sorry, I didn't think to ask …" she replied. She was worried that he might be getting upset.

"Honestly, I would be thrilled for you to stay with me. The first thing that came to my mind when we found out about the fire and the damage it did to your stuff was to run to you, to hold you, to comfort you. All I wanted to do was rescue you. But then I realized that you are Rachel, a grown and independent woman who does not need rescuing. Phoebe and I will get along fine, but I wish it were you."

Phoebe moved into Ross's guest bedroom and got settled in without incident. It didn't take long; she only had a few things to her name. A few weeks later found the girls enjoying a coffee at Central Perk:

"So Mon, how is it going with Chandler? Asked Phoebe.

"It's going great! Living together has brought us closer together. I have a good feeling about us."

"How's it going with Rachel living with the two of you?"

"Rachel's been no bother, she's been the perfect guest." Replied Monica.

"And how is it living with Ross?" asked Monica.

The question tweaked Rachel's interest. Her husband was living with another woman. She was curious.

"You know, I had my reservations about living with him, with his tendency to be a neat freak and all but it's actually been wonderful. He let's me do whatever I want. He never complains about things and you'll never believe what he did for me last week."

She peered over her cup, totally focused on Phoebe's lips. "What, what did he do for you?" she thought. She trusted him and it was Phoebe after all, but what had he done that had left such an impression on her? Rachel momentarily took her eyes off of Phoebe to look at Monica, who's eyes were transfixed on hers.

"What, what did he do? Asked Rachel.

"The morning after I moved in I woke up to the most marvelous aromas. Ross had made me this fantastic breakfast, it tasted so good. Afterwards, we were sitting by the couch enjoying some coffee and I joked about all the weird fossils he has about the apartment. Afterwards I left the apartment; I had a few massage clients that day so I was gone for a few hours. When I got back they were all gone."

"What was gone, Phoebe?" asked a curious Rachel.

"All of the fossils, every single one of them. In a period of a few hours he had removed all of them and redecorated the room … just to suit me!"

"He what?" replied an envious Monica. She was being upstaged as a host by her big brother. She didn't like it.

Ignoring Monica, Rachel sat back into the couch. It was Phoebe after all but she was jealous. He had done all that, given up his prized fossils for another woman. She looked over at Monica and interjected …

"So Phoebe, I was thinking that we might switch apartments in a few weeks, so that Monica and Ross don't get tired of us … you know."

Phoebe raised her head and looked at Rachel, surprised. "I don't know … I mean Ross and I are getting along so well. I, I've never had it so good. I don't know why Ross would ask me to leave. You understand Monica I would just love to stay with you …"

"I understand." Replied Monica, unconvincingly.

"Hey Rachel, movie night is this Friday over at our place. Don't forget. It's our choice as to which movie to see. What do you want to rent?"

The weekend came quickly. It was movie night. Ross had gone all out. He had ordered out a variety of foods and had set up quite a spread. He was excited. She was coming. He was going to get to spend time with her. A knock came at the door. His anticipation rose …

"Hey Rach, come on in. So, what are we watching tonight?"

"I rented The Green Mile. I hope you like it."

"That's great. I heard that it was considered one of the 10 best movies last year. Give me the tape and go grab some food. I ordered out. Phoebe's in the kitchen getting the wine."

The trio sat on Ross's leather couch watching the movie. Phoebe and Ross sat at opposite ends while Rachel was seated between them. With the lights turned down Ross and Rachel moved closer together and they held hands discretely, trying not to tip off Phoebe. During the picture Phoebe excused herself to go to the bathroom. Upon her return she saw it, it was unmistakable. The closeness, the hand holding. They were a couple. It was as if her eyes had been closed and now they were opened. "What am I doing here?" she thought. As she approached she noticed the pair try to distance themselves and release their grip. She knew what she had to do.

"Good morning!" Announced Phoebe as she entered apartment 19.

"Good morning to you." Replied a reluctant Monica, trying to rid the cobwebs of slumber from her mind.

"Where's Rachel?" asked Phoebe.

"She's still asleep. I guess she didn't get back 'till late from your movie night. What did you see and how did it go?"

"It was great, we watched The Green Mile."

"Oh, I love that movie."

"Would you like to borrow it? It's not due back to the rental store until tomorrow."

"Sure, Chandler and I would love to watch it. Thanks Pheebs. So, how is it going with you and Ross?

"Oh, OK I guess. I was thinking of what Rachel said the other day about switching apartments so that you and Ross don't get tired of us. I think that it might be a good idea for us to switch apartments … if you wouldn't mind taking me in.

She was awake and she had her ear to the door. She had heard what Phoebe had said and her curiosity was getting the best of her. She opened her bedroom door. "Good Morning." She said, trying to convince the others that she had just awakened.

"Good morning." they replied. Monica then interjected.

"So Phoebe, you were talking about moving out of Ross's place?" asked Monica.

The girls glanced over at Rachel to observe her response. When she gave none they knew that she had been listening from her bedroom. She was busted.

"I heard you from my bedroom. I'm sorry that I eavesdropped on your conversation. Phoebe, why do you want to move out of Ross's place? You said you liked it there so much."

"Rachel, I think you know why I have to move out. It's not that I want to but that I have to. Ross has been the perfect roommate. Heck, I spilled some wine on his apothecary table the other day and he didn't even get upset. He told me not to worry about it."

"So then why are you leaving?" Asked Monica.

Phoebe glanced over at her friend, trying for some form of confirmation that she knew.

"It's OK Phoebe, Monica knows."

"Last night, I , I saw you and Ross, you know. You were sitting so close and holding hands. If I didn't know any better I would think that you were dating. You looked so happy; like it was in the past. I've always said you two were lobsters. Now I firmly believe it."

With tears in her eyes Rachel replied. "Phoebe, Ross and I are married. We never got divorced. When Ross began to change I decided not to sign the papers. I wanted to take it slow and give us another chance. He has said so many wonderful things in the last few months and he has backed them up with his actions. He has had a number of opportunities to be with other women and he has been faithful to me ..."

The weight of holding her emotions inside was getting too great for her to bear. Her friends could tell. They approached Rachel and lead her to the kitchen table where they sat her down, giving her some coffee and tissues to dry here eyes. She continued …

"… and I love him so very much. I love him so much it hurts. It hurts to think about the time we have lost. If I had not gotten so involved with work then he would not have felt so alone, so abandoned. He would not have cheated on me. We've lost almost three years. We could have been married. We could have had children by now!"

"Rach, it's alright." Replied Monica. "You can't go back but you have today and possibly tomorrow. Does my brother know how you feel?"

"He knows that I care about him but not much else. I've been so very careful to say as little as possible to him about my feelings. I have never stopped loving him; it's trusting him that has been my problem. I am the way you see me because I am protecting myself from getting hurt again. I know I'm being so damned selfish but I was hurt so badly when we broke up. I don't think I would survive another."

"So what are you going to do? Keep your marriage secret forever?"

"No, I know we can't do that. It's just so damned hard. If Ross would just be possessive and controlling like he was before it would be so easy, but your brother has been so good to me and when he …"

At that moment Rachel pulled a small piece of folded paper from the pocket of her robe. The paper had been folded so many times that it easily fit into her petite hands.

"… does things like this it makes me love him all the so much more."

"What, what is that?" the girls asked.

"Here, take it." Replied Rachel as she handed the paper to them.

It took them a moment to unfold the paper. Written inside was a poem. It could have been written to anyone, but he had meant it for her.

"To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing our true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams before the crowd is to risk loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try at all is to risk failure.

But to risk we must, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

The man, the woman, who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing."

"He gave me that last night. He says he loves me and that he wants the best for me. He told me that he would wait for me but I know he can't wait forever. Ross has never had a problem finding a girlfriend. Now look at him! Whenever we go out he always has women after him. He'll find someone else!"

"Rachel, you need to talk to him. You need to open up a bit and tell him your feelings. What about moving in with him? Phoebe doesn't want to come between you …"

"I trust Phoebe and Ross; she's not coming between us."

"What did you just say?" enquired Monica. "You just said that you trust Ross."

"I, I meant that I trust Ross when it comes to Phoebe. He would never cheat on me with Phoebe."

"Rachel, it seems like you have some decisions to make. How do you think Ross would feel about you living with him?" Asked Monica.

"I, I don't know. I guess he would be alright with it. Our relationship since Vegas has been pretty much one-sided. He told me that he loves me and that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. He even told me that he had found the one that his heart loved …me."

Small tears had formed in the girl's eyes. They had never heard such an expression of love said so eloquently. They were happy for her but a little envious. The three of them hugged, comforting themselves, strengthening the bonds between them. It was quiet and peaceful until the door slammed open.

"Monica! … there you are. So you've heard?"

The girls broke their embrace and stared at Ross. Monica was the first to speak.

"Heard what?"

"I thought that you had already heard about Dad. Isn't that why you were all crying and hugging?"

Monica glanced at her girlfriends and quickly recovered. "Sure, so … so what's wrong with Dad?"

"Mom called this morning. Dad had a mild heart attack. He's in the hospital. He's doing well. They ran some tests and found that he needs a quadruple bi-pass. He goes into surgery tomorrow. Damn his high cholesterol!"

"Are you going to the hospital?"

"I was hoping to leave within the hour. Get dressed, I'll wait for you."

At that Monica bolted to the bedroom. Rachel rose from the table and approached Ross, gently touching his hand.

"Do you want me to go with you?" she asked.

"No, it's OK. He'll be in the hospital for a week or so after the surgery so there will be plenty of time to visit. Why don't you just relax and take it easy. Take care of yourself … you're everything to me."

"I know and I will. I need to talk to you about something when you get back.

"I'll call you when I get back to my apartment."

As the last word left his mouth his sister flew out of her bedroom, grabbed her brother by the hand and rushed out the door.

8