June 24, 2011

Author's Note: Lobsters dead ahead! Thanks to everyone that reviewed – greatly appreciated! And to those of you who haven't – please review! (No pressure!) :P

I don't own the Friends characters.

X. ~TOW Ross and Rachel reminisce

Wednesday, January 6, 2027 – (Ross' POV)

"Honey! Are you home?" Rachel's voice reverberates throughout the house, followed by a slam of the door and the sound of the locking mechanism.

"I am in the study!" I call out.

My hands are putting together a miniature skeletal model for the flying dinosaur, pterosaur (in layman's terms, it is known as the pterodactyl, but that is scientifically inaccurate) for my research presentation that I need to give next week for a potential research grant. Delicate, slender pieces of replica pterosaur bones litter the desk in front of me, and I work diligently with string and glue to put the parts together (it's so frustrating!).

Rachel comes into the study just as I finish putting together one leg of the dinosaur (my god! that took at least an hour!). I stand up to walk over to her and give her a huge hug and a kiss.

"I see you've been busy," Rachel notices the mess of bones on the table.

"Yes, I am exhausted from attempting to put this model together." I reply, rubbing my eyes.

"Oh sweetie! Come take a break with me." (A break with her!)

Rachel grabs my hands and guides me to the master bedroom. (None of our kids are home – Andrew is hanging out at Monica and Chandler's again and Emma has long moved out.)

Our room is a shade of dark green, and many pictures adorn the furniture and walls. Rachel drags me onto the bed and we kiss.

"Are you happy?" I ask Rachel. (We have learned many years ago that it was good to have regular conversations about our relationship to prevent the "we were on a break" situation.)

"Yes, quite happy, Ross. I love our house – it's so close to Monica and Chandler's and Mike and Phoebe's, but not too close so we can have alone time once in a while. I love that our kids are on their way to becoming independent – and will not learn the hard way like I did. And I love you." She whispers.

"I love you too." I reply simply.

She looks at me and she asks, "What was your happiest moment, ever?"

I look at her, and I smile. I know exactly what my happiest moment was.

~Friday, November 18, 2005 – Flashback~

Rachel slams the door with unusual force and she storms into the apartment.

"Oh my god, Rach! What happened to you?" I ask (she looks like a mess!)

"Ugh, it's that client of mine. He's frustrating me to no end. He demands this, he demands that and changes his mind like thirty minutes later!" She fumes.

"Come here!" I motion over to her. (This does not bode well for my plans tonight.)

She walks over and sits on my lap, and I gently massage her shoulders. Her anger dissipates gradually, and her tense body relaxes against me. I kiss her cheek.

"Weren't we supposed to be going somewhere tonight?" She whispers in my ear.

"Yeah, but we can cancel if you don't want to go." I reply back. (Please don't say you don't want to go!)

"Well, I guess we could go. No point staying at home and being angry." She sighs. (I breathe a sigh of relief.)

"Should I dress fancy?" (Oh no, fancy takes at least one hour of preparation!)

"Casual will do." I reply quickly.

"But you are all fancy!" She points to the suit that I am wearing. (Quick Ross, think of something!)

"Trust me, casual is good."

Rachel walks away to her room to get ready.

*One hour later*

We are a good five minutes' walk away from the museum I used to work at. I pull out a green blindfold from my pocket and gently tie it over Rachel's eyes.

"Ross, what are you doing?" She asks.

"It's a surprise." (Blindfold put on! Check!)

"Tell me!" She whines.

"Nuh uh! It's a surprise." I reply insistently.

I lead her to the museum and we enter through a backdoor (I have it all prearranged with a good friend of mine who still works here.) and I lead her to the amphitheatre that we had our first date in. Bouquets of red roses and white lilies are scattered throughout the room and on the podium (lecture area of the room) there is a green sheet spread out. The only light that illuminates the room are candles placed in strategic intervals, as well as candles placed artistically on the sheet.

I lead her down the stairs and sit her down. Dinner has already been set out.

"You can remove your blindfold now, Rach." I tell her. (I hope she likes it! I had to bend quite a few arms and legs for this to happen.)

I watch as Rachel removes the scrap of cloth around her head and she gasps as she takes in the surroundings around her. At that moment, the amphitheatre's artificial night sky is switched on, with its stars twinkling and soft music plays from the speakers.

"Do you like it?" I ask tentatively. (Please say yes!)

"Oh my god! This is beautiful! Oh Ross..." She looks at me with adoring eyes. (Check! The surprise part of the plan has been accomplished!)

We start dinner, and I see that Rachel has realized how hungry she is. Dinner featured chicken and some other dishes, but I reserve my focus on Rachel. I observe how her hair moves when she eats, the animated expression on her face when she converses and how graceful all her movements are. She is the girl that I have been dreaming of ever since I was a teenager, and I can't believe that I am about to take the plunge tonight.

We finish eating and I stand up, and help her to rise. We slowly dance to the music that has been softly accompanying us all night. (This is even better than I thought it was going to be!)

Before we know it, we are both lying back down on the green sheet and we are holding hands.

"You see, that's the Ursa Major, right over there," I explain, tracing the constellation with my finger.

"It's the Great Bear, isn't it?" Rachel asks.

"Yeah, it is." I reply.

"And that's the Ursa minor," Rachel points towards a cluster of stars. "And here's Draco and Pegasus," (Oh wow, she knows a lot about constellations!)

"You seem to know a lot about stars, Rach," I reply with a surprised tone.

"My father and I used to watch the stars when we were little. He told me all about them." She sniffs and has a rather nostalgic expression on her face. (Her father passed a few months ago. I curse myself for reminding her of him.)

I pat her comfortingly on the back. She sniffs some more. I brush away her tears with my hand.

I wait for her to calm down.

"Rach, I brought you here tonight for a reason... I wanted to ask you a question..."

She looks at me in confusion, but comprehension soon dawns and she looks surprised. I bend down on one knee.

"Rachel Karen Green, you taught me what love was, and I stupidly let you go – and it took me seven years to realize my mistake and to realize that I still love you."

She grows teary-eyed again.

"Will you marry me?" I ask. (You'd think that proposing gets easier with practice, but it sure doesn't!)

Rachel is speechless. (Come on, please say yes Rach, please!)

"Yes." She whispers.

Wordlessly, I remove the diamond platinum ring that I had in my pocket and place it on her finger. She wraps me in a fierce embrace and we sway gently to the music. (We will never be on a break again.)

~End Flashback~

"Figures you would pick the most emotional day of my life." Rachel jokes.

"Well, that was the day that I knew that our forever would begin," I reply.

"I never knew that a day can go from the crappiest day of my life, to one of the happiest days of my life so quickly!"

Rachel has a huge smile on her face.

"So tell me Ross, which one out of your four weddings was your favourite?" (I hope she's kidding! Gulp!)

Late Evening – (Chandler's POV)

"Mon! Do you remember Ross and Rachel's wedding?"

I am flipping through a rather old but sturdy photo album looking at memories from decades ago. (Has it really been this long?)

"Which one? The first one, or the last one?" She replies jokingly.

"The final one. Looks like the fourth time was the charm, wasn't it?" I reply back.

"Sure looks like it. It's been twenty years since they got married." Monica sighs.

~Friday, April 21, 2006 – Flashback~

"So, do you think this one will last?" Monica asks.

"Well, considering they said the right names, knowing that neither of them is gay and neither of them is drunk, I would say that the odds of survival for this marriage are great." I quip.

"Odds of survival?" Joey puzzles.

"Rachel and Ross are lobsters! Course they are going to last!" Phoebe exclaims.

Mike rolls his eyes.

We are sitting at the dining tables at Ross and Rachel's reception and are currently watching Ross and Rachel dance. (Damn Ross and his not-slippery shoes!)

"They look so happy." Joey observes. (Joey's right, they look happier than I've ever seen them.)

"They do. I am surprised that Ross waited a year and a half to propose to Rachel." Monica remarks. (Me too; we all thought that he would propose like right away, I mean he IS Ross.)

"Well, he probably wanted to do everything properly this time around. He doesn't want a fourth divorce on his hands." I reply. (His divorce lawyer probably just lost his best customer today.)

"Oh yeah, definitely." Monica replies. "By the way, where are Erica and Jack?"

"With your dad, when I last saw them," I have a slightly worried expression on my face. (Monica mirrors my expression.)

"There they are!" Phoebe points to the mass of dancers on the dance floor. (I release a sigh of relief.)

Monica's dad is dancing with both Jack and Erica. (I look at Monica and she smiles at me in return.)

"Why don't we join them?" Phoebe grabs Mike by the hand and drags him out to the floor. Monica looks at me expectantly and I stand up and offer her my arm. We turn to follow Mike and Phoebe.

"Guys, don't leave me alone here! Actually never mind!" Joey runs off to flirt with a pretty girl at the next table. (Typical Joey!)

*A while later*

Rachel and I are standing at the dessert table. We each have a fork in our hand.

We are both staring at the circular confection of perfection. Creamy and perfect in every way. (Our mouths are both watering, and Rachel has a bit of drool under her lower lip.)

"Are you sure this is the right one? The exact one?" (Just making sure.)

"Yeah, Mama's Little Bakery, Chicago, Illinois, right?"

"That's the one!" I exclaim excitedly. (Oh, boy! It's been years since we had our slices of heaven...)

"Oh, good!" Rachel replies happily while eying the cake with anticipation.

"On the count of three?" (It looks so good.)

Rachel nods.

"Three, two, one... GO!"

We both dig in. It is just as delicious as we remembered it. Rachel makes little moans of pleasure every time she takes a bite. (Holy crap, the cheesecake's got orgasmic powers!)

Rachel and I are shoving the cheesecake down our throats as quickly as possible (while taking time to savour the perfectly cheesy flavour, there's no words to describe it!) since we never divided portions.

"Dude! You've got cheesecake!" A familiar voice breaks us out of our cheesecake-induced euphoria.

Rachel and I shoot dismayed looks at each other. (We wanted the cheesecake for ourselves!)

"You wanna run for it?" I mouth to Rachel.

She nods briefly. I pick up the cheesecake and we run for it. (Not caring that everyone probably thinks the best man and the bride have gone absolutely bananas.)

*A few minutes later*

Crap! Rachel trips over the stairs (damn those high heels) and falls on me. The cheesecake flies out of my hands and onto the floor.

"Rachel!" I cry out in dismay. (NOO! Not the cake!)

"Oh my god! I am so sorry, Chandler!" She looks distraught.

We look at the cheesecake on the ground, and we watch as Joey calmly walks over to the cheesecake mess on the floor. He pulls a fork out of one of his pockets and digs in (licking and smacking his fork after every heavenly bite).

Rachel and I look at each other and shrug. We walk over to Joey and join him, with our forks. (Just like old times...)

*An hour later*

"So, are you guys leaving soon?" Monica asks Ross and Rachel.

"Yeah, we are going to have one more dance, then I am going to toss my bouquet and on to the wedding night!" Rachel replies excitedly.

"Wait you guys! I have your wedding present! I will go get it!" Phoebe speaks ecstatically.

Phoebe runs out of the reception hall. She comes back shortly with a Styrofoam box that is open at the top and tied with huge purple and pink ribbons. She settles the box on the ground. We all peer in.

Inside are two lobsters, submerged under water. (Oh Phoebs!)

~End Flashback~

"Well, that was a hell of a wedding." I reminisce.

"So that's what you were doing while I was dancing with Ross! Eating cheesecake?" Monica exclaims.

"That was some cheesecake! Just ask Rachel and Joey! By the way, I hear Chicago is a great place to visit at this time of the year!" (One can always hope, right?)