At A Bar in Buffalo:
Rachel sat at a bar drinking her beer and eating a cheeseburger. She was miserable as the past few months were awful. She enjoyed her time at her project at her job. But the truth was that she missed her kids and her husband back in New York. Also, as much as Buffalo was a great city she did not like the cold weather and snow. She had never seen so much snow in her life it just kept falling and it made for tough driving. Maybe she could go on vacation here with her family in the summer. She was going home in a few days anyway so she had that to look forward to.
At that moment Pam walked over
"Hey Rachel, how's it going?" Pam said as she sat down and started eating her chicken wings
"It's good Pam, looking forward to going back to New York to see everyone, I have not seen anyone in months and talking over the phone is nice but it " Rachel admitted "It's been a tough few months of deadlines, little sleep and stress. It will be nice to go home and rest up"
"I hear ya, its been pretty hectic" Pam agreed with Rachel. "Anyway, I have to go pack after. See you around" She said while walking up to pay the bill
Later that night:
"Okay everyone our plan is ready! Everyone get to your battle stations" Monica hollered to the group of six friends
"Sheesh Mon, it's just a surprise party not a battle star galactic or Star Wars space battle" Chandler teased
"Well treat it like one" Monica smiled back "I know you are a big fan of both" she teased back sarcastically
"Okay here is the plan. We are going to have this party then head down to Central Perk for a coffee where Joey will meet us. Then Ross and Rachel are going to find tickets to a special dinner together at my restaurant"
"Sounds good Mon, but do I have to meet them downstairs? I don't want to miss out on any cake" Joey sighed
"It's okay Joey, I will give you a piece so you won't miss anything" Chandler comforted him while handing him a piece of cake.
"Okay, so my job is to make Rachel happy and try to bring back the spark?" Ross said
"Yeah and don't screw it up" Monica gave him a glare to make sure it sunk in
Ring, Ring
"Hello"
"Ross its me, I am pulled over on the side of the highway 87 south just outside of Albany. It is a blizzard out here on the roads and my 99 Corolla just shut down, not sure if it is from the cold or if I ran out of gas, anyway I won't be able to make it home tonight. I called a tow truck but it could be hours. I am just going to get a hotel" Rachel said frustrated
"Okay Rach, let me know once you checked into the hotel if you are okay, okay?" Ross said
"Yeah, I will. I'll try to see you tomorrow. Love you," Rachel said.
"Love you too, Rach,"
On Interstate 87 south:
"Just great...I'm going to stay here for the night instead with my family...gah, I hope the tow truck shows up soon. But with all this stupid snow that could take hours!" Rachel sighed and hit her steering wheel in frustration. She turned on her hazard lights, hoping to attract someone.
An hour had passed by when Rachel got frustrated and started to get out of her car to clear the snow. At that moment, a car pulled over and a man stepped out.
"Hi ma'am, is everything okay? My name's Trevor. I was just on my way home and saw your car pulled over. I am a mechanic. I'd be happy to take a look at your car for you,"
"Oh, thank you!" Rachel smiled, happy someone was here
As Trevor took a look at her car, Rachel paced back and forth in an attempt to keep the blood from freezing in her veins.
"It just looks like it needs a jump start; I got some cables. Just let me go back to my car to grab them," Trevor announced, ad Rachel breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that it wasn't serious.
Trevor gave the engine jump start and told Rachel to turn the car on once he put the cables back. The Corolla started up with ease.
"Thanks again, Trevor. You have no idea how much you helped out. I don't know how to say how much I appreciate it," Rachel beamed and threw her arms around Trevor in a gesture of gratitude. Trevor apparently didn't see it as a gesture of gratitude, because before Rachel could pull her car door open, he spun her around and crashed his lips into hers. Rachel jerked away, shocked, but managed to say, "I'm married,"
"I'm not surprised. A pretty little thing like you's bound to have already been snatched up. Don't worry about thanking me, miss. Happy holidays, and have a safe ride home," Trevor's cheeks were still red of embarrassment as he pulled away.
On the way home Rachel tried to not have a mental breakdown. Her hands were trembling against the wheel the entire time. Driving into the city was all a blur. She barely even remembered calling Ross. She walked up into the apartment ready to just say hi to everyone and get some alone time, but when she opened the door -
"SURPRISE!" Everyone shouted as confetti and streamers blew around the room.
"Hey, Rach!" Ross ran up to her and gave a hug and a peck on the cheek, "Surprise! I -we're- so glad that you could make it. But, for now, I have a reservation for a fancy pants dinner for two. And we can have cake when we get back, although Joey's working pretty hard on that frosting...I really missed you, Rachel. I can't believe it's been three months!"
"I missed you too, Ross. You have no idea. I guess I'll just go get dressed and we can head on out," Rachel said, smiling to herself at the prospect of finally having some normalcy with Ross -with her husband.
At Dinner:
"That was a great dinner. I don't know about you, but that was the best fettuccine alfredo I've had in a long time," Rachel said.
"Yeah, my chicken parmesan was really good too . I guess I'll have to let Monica know that her cooking was good all along," Ross teased. He noticed the music playing, and the other couples swaying to the beat and turned to Rachel dramatically, "May I have this dance, milady?"
As they danced, the words of Pat Benatar's We Belong started playing:
"Many times I tried to tell you
Many times I cried alone
Always I'm surprised how well you cut my feelings to the bone
Don't want to leave you really
I've invested too much time to give you up that easy
To the doubts that complicate your mind
We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder
We belong to the sound of the words we've both fallen under
Whatever we deny or embrace for worse or for better
We belong, we belong, we belong together"
"This has been a great evening, Rachel, I don't think I have laughed this much or enjoyed a night like this in such a long time. I missed talking about old memories -like when we sang Baby got Back to Emma," Ross said, beaming with genuine happiness as he danced.
"Yeah, it's been great," Rachel agreed. As Ross pulled her in. Rachel allowed a tear or two to slip.
How am I going to tell Ross about everything? Things are just starting to turn around with us... Rachel did more worrying than dancing that night.