AN: Thank you for the kind reviews, I really appreciate it.
And if you haven't already read my one-shot, Full Circle, I would love for you to read and review it. :)
Don't forget to review this chapter, as we wind down to the end of this story. There will only be one more chapter after this one, sadly.
Disclaimer: The characters from Friends do not belong to me
Ross stood there paralyzed by Leonard's beyond-angry stare.
Rachel's father was a scary man, and his expression frightened Ross to the very core. Leonard's glasses only enhanced the wild look in his eyes. His nostrils flared and the veins in his forehead were enlarged.
Leonard had never looked so intimidating to Ross, but then again Ross had never seen him this angry.
Meanwhile, Rachel sat on Ross' bed with Ben. She tried to hold back the tears that pooled in her eyes for Ben's sake; she didn't want him to see she was upset.
After hearing Leonard yell, Ben became quite disturbed. Rachel hadn't even noticed how affected he was until after she picked him up to bring him with her to Ross' room. She had been so caught up in the tension of their heated argument.
Rachel just held Ben close to her chest, both her arms holding him consolingly. She slowly rocked him as his little body shook with sobs. Rachel hated that Ben had to witness the whole event. But, being in Rachel's arms seemed to calm him down quite a bit.
Rachel couldn't hear any sounds coming from outside the bedroom. But, she wasn't sure if it was because she had closed the door or because her father left; she hoped it was the latter. She didn't want to face her father again, not today at least.
Ben was soothed after a while and he fell asleep in Rachel's soothing embrace. She decided to put him in his crib.
Rachel half expected to still hear her father's voice or Ross' voice when she entered the hall. But the apartment was silent. However, Rachel knew something was going on; the air was still thick with tension. Rachel was concerned, but she didn't want to check the living room and risk facing her father again, if he was still there.
After a few minutes Leonard had calmed down, to some extent, and he began looking less intense. Ross nervously and awkwardly stood in the hallway against the wall opposite his door. His path into his apartment was blocked by Rachel's father. Ross tried to focus his attention on anything but Leonard.
Leonard exhaled an irritated sigh. The whole time after Rachel left he had been waiting for her to come back and he was also waiting for Ross to respond. When neither of his expectations happened, he made the decision to leave.
Without saying another word he turned and began walking down the hall.
Suddenly a moment of bravery took over Ross' judgement. Before his mind could comprehend what he was doing, he was running after Doctor Green.
"Wait! Doctor Green," Ross called as he got closer to Rachel's father. They were far down the hallway now. Leonard stopped and slowly turned back around.
Leonard's eyes bored into him with annoyance, Ross' throat became dry when he saw his face.
"Yes?" Leonard questioned, treating Ross like he was being a waste of his time. Ross' mind went blank, and he quickly began losing his nerve. But he swallowed hard and cleared his throat before saying his first thought.
"I wanted to, um, ask you if you heard Barry's side of the story," Ross said. Leonard crossed his arms, waiting for him to continue. "Barry cheated on Rachel," Ross said, truthfully.
"What?" Leonard shouted, irritated by Ross.
"Barry cheated on Rachel," Ross stated more confidently. He began to feel better, now that he had gotten his first thought off his chest.
"How do you know that?" Leonard criticized.
"Rachel told me," Ross said as he braced himself for Leonard to yell. But, surprisingly, he just looked shocked.
"Barry didn't tell me that," Leonard said slowly. Ross was thrilled that he actually seemed hurt instead of angry. Maybe his cold, hard exterior had a soft spot after all.
"I think Barry failed to tell you a lot of things. Like how he forbid Rachel from going out because he was worried she would ruin their reputation. Rachel was stuck inside day in and day out all alone," Ross explained. Leonard absorbed this information for a while before speaking again.
"Why are you telling me these things?" Leonard asked, curiously eyeing Ross' face.
"I want you to know these things. And Rachel is too scared to tell you the complete truth on her own," Ross replied, seriously.
"What are you getting at?" Leonard asked confusedly.
"Doctor Green, I don't want you to be mad at me. You're wasting your energy by being angry with me. I was there for Rachel when she needed to get away from the terrible marriage she was in. I helped her when Barry didn't seem to care. So if you're going to be mad at someone be mad at him," Ross stated, his temper rising. Leonard watched him intently.
Ross braced himself for Leonard's response. But the anger Leonard had been filled with all evening never came.
"Ross I'm… I'm sorry about how I treated you before. I guess I was just trying to make my little girl happy, but I ended up doing the exact opposite. I realize now how awful Barry was to Rachel, I'm really glad you were there for her," Leonard explained honestly. Ross had to stop his jaw from dropping, he was speechless.
"Thank you," Ross replied, astonishment clearly in his voice.
"Why did you take her in Ross?" Leonard asked.
"She called me and told me she had nowhere to stay," Ross said. But Leonard could tell there was something more behind his reason.
"Do you love her?" Leonard asked bluntly. Ross debated over how to respond, but in the end he decided to be truthful.
"I do, sir," Ross responded, he glanced down at the floor preparing himself for the outburst that would surely hit him any moment.
But, to Ross' surprise, Leonard smiled. He then placed a hand on Ross' shoulder, which caused Ross to look up at him.
"I don't have a problem with that Ross. As long as you take care of her. I was wrong about you; you're a great guy. Sticking up for my daughter against her unpleasant, old father," Leonard laughed. Ross smiled back at him.
"Thank you. And I promise you, I will take care of her," Ross said. Leonard held out his hand for Ross to shake. Ross gladly shook it.
"I'll talk to you soon," Leonard said, before he let go of Ross' hand and left.
"Goodbye Doctor Green," Ross responded. "Thanks for believing me."
"No, thank you Doctor Geller," Leonard said with a wink, before he turned and walked away.
Ross felt delight fill his entire body. He had actually found Leonard Green's soft side, and not only that but he gotten his approval too. Ross knew there was only one thing left to do. So he marched back to his apartment, on a mission.
Ross strode into his bedroom, where he was certain Rachel would be. Sure enough she was on his bed. She was sitting in a ball with her arms wrapped around her folded legs. She was panic stricken when Ross took a long time to come inside.
"Are you okay?" Ross asked softly.
"Am I okay? Are you okay?" Rachel asked, knowing how harsh her father was to him.
"I'm fine," Ross replied.
"Ross, can I talk to you for a second?" Rachel asked, worriedly.
"Sure," Ross replied, he leaned against the doorframe.
"Please. Come take a seat," Rachel said as she patted a spot beside her on the bed. Ross climbed on the bed, but he sat cross-legged across from her. "Listen I'm really sorry about my father yelling at you. He's just mad at me for getting divorced and he's trying to find someone to take his anger out on."
"It's okay. After you left I talked to him," Ross responded.
"Wow. What happened?" Rachel said cringing.
"I told him the truth about what Barry had been doing to you," Ross explained.
"What?" Rachel asked confused by what she was hearing.
"I told him that Barry wouldn't let you out of the house, and that you felt trapped," Ross explained shyly.
"Ross, why would you do that? My father could have killed you," Rachel almost shouted, concerned for him.
"I wanted him to know the truth. He ended up apologising," Ross explained.
"Ross, that's probably the kindest thing anyone's ever done for me. Well, besides you taking me in. Thank you," Rachel said, she gazed at Ross with tears in her eyes.
"Do you think you made the right choice divorcing Barry? Because, I mean, your father was mad," Ross stated.
"I don't regret it at all because I've found friends that appreciate me. I never would have had that with Barry," Rachel explained. "I love it here, with you."
"I love it here with you too," Ross said. Then a thought dawned on him, "Is Ben in bed?"
"Yeah. He was really upset by my father's yelling, so I calmed him down. He fell asleep in my arms," Rachel explained.
"Was he good for you today?" Ross asked.
"He was incredible," Rachel responded, thinking about how he hugged her in the park. "I took him to the playground," Rachel mentioned.
"Thank you for looking after him. You're really great with him, you know," Ross admitted. Rachel smiled.
"No, thank you Ross. That means a lot to me," Rachel said. "All of this means a lot to me. You welcomed me into your home, you introduced me to your wonderful friends and you trust me with your son. I can't stress how much I look forward to being your roommate."
"You're already an amazing roommate, Rach," Ross commented.
"Ross," Rachel whispered, feeling moved by his words. She was about to say more, when she froze. "I have to go to the washroom, but I'll be right back." With that Rachel hopped off the bed and sauntered into the bathroom.
Ross inhaled deeply, gathering some courage to say what was on his mind. He knew this was the moment to tell her how he truly felt. He was ready to put everything on the line and tell her about his feelings.
He didn't have to think for twice about whether or not it was the right time to speak the truth. He knew that this was right for them. He didn't care if he jeopardised their roommate situation, it was important that she knew how he felt.
Rachel re-entered the bedroom. Ross had a strange look on his face. He looked serious and even a little nervous. Rachel sat back in her spot on the bed, against the headboard.
"Is something wrong Ross?" Rachel asked, hesitantly.
"Rachel, can I tell you about something that's been on my mind for a while now," Ross said with a serious tone to his voice.
Ross reached across the distance between them. He took both of Rachel's hands in his own. Rachel immediately got butterflies in her stomach as she realized what was happening.
"Rachel. I don't want to mess up our roommate situation, but I can't help it. I'm in love with you and-" Ross began to confess, before Rachel interrupted him.
"-you want to know if I feel the same," Rachel finished, with tears in her eyes.
"How did you know I was going to say that?" Ross asked. He was using the words his friend had told him to say, how did Rachel know the rest of his thought?
Then it hit him. It suddenly all made sense; it all came together.
Rachel was the woman he was emailing.
She wanted to feel appreciated in a life she didn't fit into. She divorced her husband, which Ross recalled in her last email, she mentioned was named Barry. She was living with a high school friend, her father was angry with her. All of it added up.
"It's me," Rachel said with a smile.
"All this time we've been talking to each other?" Ross asked. All Rachel could manage was nodding since she was in tears of joy. "When did you find out?"
"Before I sent you my last email. I told you to do those things so I would know for sure it was you," Rachel explained.
"So the woman I'm in love with is the one I've trusted with my deepest secrets, and opened my heart to and also who been in love with since high school," Ross stated.
"I still can't believe you loved me back then," Rachel asked.
"I've had a crush on you since the ninth grade," Ross stated. Rachel smiled at him.
"Did you really mean all those things you said about your roommate in the last email?" Rachel asked randomly, with a smile.
"I certainly did," Ross answered. "Rach, you're beautiful, you have a big heart and most of all I admire how courageous you are."
"Ross you are the nicest man I've ever met. Everything you do, everything you say captivates me. I love you so much," Rachel replied.
Before either of them could take another breath they were in each other's arms locked in a passionate kiss. Ross pulled Rachel across the mattress and encircled her waist with his arms, pulling her against his chest. Rachel put her arms around the back of his neck. Their lips moved against each other's as they enjoyed the emotion of the moment.
They had to pull away breathlessly. They both smiled as they caught their breath.
Ross rested his hands on her waist, slowly rubbing his hands in slow strokes on her sides. Rachel sighed against as his fingers raised goose bumps on her skin. Rachel's noises made his heart pound. He soon returned to kiss her with hunger, their lips moved in perfect harmony like they were meant to do this all along.
Feeling Rachel's soft lips against his own sent Ross to an epiphany. He was finally with Rachel Green after all these years; all the years of waiting for her to notice him, the years of countless fantasies and undying adoration.
"I love you, Rachel," Ross impulsively whispered when they parted slightly. This sent chills up Rachel's spine.
"I love you too," Rachel answered in a whispering voice. Ross kissed her slowly, before he gazed into her eyes. Her blue eyes were filled with glistening tears of joy.
"This is it alright, this is where our future begins," Ross stated.
"Ross our future began when fate brought us together," Rachel said confidently. Ross smiled before he kissed her lips once more.
But their moment was interrupted by Ben's wails from the next room. Ross and Rachel both stopped what they were doing. Ross pulled away from Rachel and sighed.
"I'll be right back," He said softly. Then he kissed her lovingly one last time before carefully climbing off of the bed. Rachel smiled as she watched him leave.
For once in her life she felt completely satisfied with where she was.
She had only been living with Ross for a week and she already felt more loved than two years of marriage to Barry.
This was where she belonged. She just couldn't believe Ross was the one she had been talking to the whole time. But she couldn't have asked for a better man to want to be by her side.
Rachel took a big step when she left Barry, and even though she didn't know what events would happen in the future she knew she'd be safe with Ross. They had trusted each other the entire time without having a clue that their history was so much deeper than just their emails.
They were meant to be together, meant to help each other find courage and strength. From the moment they very first met, to when Ross' text happened to be sent to Rachel. To when they met in the elevator, to when Ross took Rachel in.
They were proof that fate truly exists.
