Chapter XVI
"The One With Phoebe's Baby Shower"
A couple weeks later, Rachel and Monica threw Phoebe a baby shower at Monica's Westchester home. While the moms will spend their day at the baby's shower, the dads, Mike, Ross and Chandler were going to bring their kids, Emma and the twins to the park.
It took almost an hour to reach Monica's house from Ross and Rachel's apartment. One of the reason why they didn't want to move to the suburbs area yet, they hate the commute. It is not practical, especially when they both work around Manhattans. Ross drove their SUV that they bought shortly after they got back together. Rachel was sitting next to him, looking for a CD to play, while Emma was sleeping at her car seat. Ross always enjoys riding car with his family. He casually took a peek at their daughter sleeping soundly through the driver's mirror and he couldn't help but smiled brightly. Ross is a hopeless romantic when it's comes to his family. He'd put their framed pictures all around the house and of course at his office at NYU. Another side of him that Rachel is crazy about.
Rachel saw Ross peeking at their daughter and smiling like a fool and she decided to tease him, "Hey, mister. Keep your eyes on the road please."
Ross giggled and teased her back, "Are you jealous?"
She chuckled.
"You're so in love with your daughter." She said as she smiling at him
"It's because she reminds me of someone."
"And who's that?" She raised her eyebrows
"You." He slightly took a look at her and smiled
"Oh my gosh. That's so cheesy! It gives me goosebumps." She showed him her arms to proof a point.
He giggled as he stretched his right arm and playfully messed her hair up.
"Hey! It took me hours to perfect this hair!" She quickly whined
"Ssss. You'll wake her up." He hushed her and then he giggled.
He surely loves to tease Rachel at every chance.
Soon after, they arrived at Monica's place. Rachel took out Phoebe's present from the trunk, while Ross held sleeping Emma on his arms. They walked toward the door and then she rang the bell. Soon after, Monica answered the door and let them in.
"Is Phoebe here yet?" Rachel asked
"Yes, she's in the kitchen looking for something to eat." Monica replied
"Then I'll go to the kitchen too. I'm starving." Rachel said
"But you just ate like an hour ago." Ross confused
"I'm eating for two Ross." Rachel replied, slightly annoyed.
"Okay, I'm sorry." Ross avoided her glare.
As soon as Rachel left, Monica teased her brother, "Wow, you really scared of her. Didn't you, Ross?"
"Well you know how she can be really scary during her pregnancy." Ross replied as he looked at her in the eyes with the 'you know what I mean' look on his face.
She laughed at her brother's silly face.
"Anyway, is Chandler and Mike ready?" Ross decided to ask after he scanned the room.
"I think so. I'll go get them." Monica walked over the twins' room to get Chandler and Mike.
Ross walked into the kitchen to say goodbye to Rachel. Rachel was eating cookies with Phoebe. He walked over and kissed Rachel's lips.
"I'll leave in five minutes. Do you want me to get something on the way back?" Ross asked Rachel
"I'm good. Just don't you ever leave Emma alone. Watch her every move." Rachel demanded him
"She's going to be fine. Playground isn't a dangerous place for kids. See, it's BUILD for kids." Ross replied with a chuckle.
"Ross! I'm serious. Don't you remember what happened the last time we took Emma on a playground?" Rachel asked him.
"What happened?" Phoebe asked curiously
"Some kid on the swing knocked Ross' face off with his foot." Rachel explained which caused Phoebe to giggle and Ross embarrassed.
"Okay, you got a point. I'll watch her like a hawk. Don't worry." Ross said as he planted a kiss on the top of her head.
"I think you guys haven't thanked me for this." Phoebe demanded as she made a circle with her fingers directed to them. She was referring to the time she helped Ross chased Rachel to the airport which eventually lead them to this moment.
"I know. We owe you big time." Ross thanked her
"Well I hope that big time spelled as C-R-I-B." Phoebe replied with a grin on her face.
"What? You want us to buy you a baby crib?" He protested
"Come on Ross. Don't be so cheap!" Rachel commented sarcastically.
"That's cost like hundreds!" He whined
"Well that's nothing compared to what you got. I mean you got this." Rachel pointed her finger at herself before she continued, "And this." She pointed her fingers at her baby's bump.
"A couple hundred bucks is nothing." Rachel explained
"Fineee.." He finally gave up.
"Yay! I expected it to be delivered by the end of the week." Phoebe winked at Ross.
"And Rach.. You should teach me how to do that." Phoebe added
"Do what?" Rachel puzzled
"Convince him." Phoebe pointed to Ross, smiling.
"That my friend, I sadly cannot teach you." Rachel smiled wickedly.
"Oh my God, you guys are so mean." He sulked and left the room.
Both of them giggled.
...
Monica has this idea on combining Phoebe's and Rachel's baby shower together, but quickly rejected by both sides. She was in charged on most of the preparation for the baby's shower including the food, cupcakes, and the decorations. Meanwhile, Rachel was in charge on invitation. There weren't many people invited to the shower. Only the three of them and about six of Phoebe's masseuse colleagues.
The party went smoothly, though without a stripper, Phoebe would call it 'boring'. Even though it was Phoebe's baby shower and she insisted on having a stripper over, Monica wouldn't let her. Monica would call it 'inappropriate' to have a stripper over in such event and she would never let a stripper entered her new house. Those days were long gone.
As the shower almost over, it is time for Phoebe to open her presents. There was this huge pile of presents in the middle of the living room. Phoebe was super excited. She, of course, opened the biggest one first. It's from Mike's parents who sadly, or should I say, thankfully, couldn't join the shower. Even though Mike's mom doesn't really like Phoebe, she was still thrilled to finally have a granddaughter of their own. So they went all the way for the present. It was the latest edition of a branded baby stroller, which quickly envied by Rachel. Though Phoebe doesn't like the idea of mass produce products, she would gladly accept this.
"So this is from me and Ross. I got it when we were shopping at Rodeo Drive a couple weeks ago." Rachel explained it to her as she personally handed her their present.
"Thank you Rach. I'm so excited!" Phoebe yelled joyfully
She quickly opened the presents and found a couple baby dresses. As expected, you can't doubt Rachel's taste in fashion.
"This is so cute! Thank you so much." Phoebe gave Rachel a hug.
"You're welcome honey.." Rachel smiled brightly as she was relieved Phoebe love her presents.
Phoebe has this unique style that the gang aware of, so getting her a present is quite tricky. Especially after what happened the last time they threw her a baby's shower for her brother's triplets. It was a disaster.
"Open mine! Open mine!" Monica squealed ecstatically as she handed her the present.
Phoebe opened the present and found a customized baby onesies set with the baby name on it, 'Lily'.
"Wait, look! It has my mom name on it! What a coincidence!" Phoebe screamed in joy
"Uh.. Pheebs, we personally customized that. " Monica tried to explain it to her.
"Well, now you ruined the fun." Phoebe sighed and Monica rolled her eyes in annoyance.
Typical Phoebe Buffay.
Phoebe then opened all of her remaining presents and thankfully, she was happy with most of it. The guests had left, leaving the three of them behind. The dads haven't come home yet, so they decided to watch TV together. As Monica was flipping through the channel, they stumbled upon Joey's interview in a talk show.
"Hey it's my friend, Joey!" Phoebe screamed excitedly.
"Oh, yeah! It's Joey!" Rachel yelled
"Wow I cannot believe that's our friend Joey, who used to live across the hall and eat all of our food." Monica stared at the TV in awe.
"These days the only time I can look at Joey without have to worry about anything, is through TV." Rachel said with a sad voice
Monica gave her friend a rub in the back.
"Ross still mad at him isn't he?" Phoebe asked
"Not only mad Pheebs. I don't think I can even say his name in front of him anymore." Rachel explained.
"I mean how this could be happening to me twice?! The last time was awkward enough, we couldn't even have a normal conversation for weeks. But this time is a lot worse. I mean, I'm married to Ross." Rachel eyes started to get teary as she leaned her head to Monica's shoulder.
Monica then gently stroked her hair, tried to soothe her.
"I'm sure Ross will come around." Monica tried to cheer her up
"Well if you guys know Ross. I don't think he'll forget this easily. I mean it took YEARS for him to finally drop the 'we were on a break' thing to rest." Phoebe replied
Rachel burst into tears as soon as Phoebe said that.
Damn hormones. Rachel cursed under her breath.
"It's okay..We will find a way." Monica reassured her.
...
The boys arrived at the park near Chandler's place. There weren't a lot of people on that park that day. There were only a few people sitting on the bench and walking their dogs.
As soon as they arrived they headed to the playground. The only kid who can actually enjoy the playground is Emma. The twins weren't old enough to ride anything, so, they were sleeping on their strollers. Ross as he had promised to his wife, followed Emma everywhere. It's not an easy job to follow a fully energized toddler around the playground. Chandler and Mike enjoyed watching Ross struggled as they sat at the nearest bench. They would laugh at Ross who couldn't catch up to her daughter speed or fell while trying to catch her.
"That is next year you." Mike chuckled as he pointed at Chandler's
"Oh my God and I have two of those!" Chandler was clearly horrified only by thought of it.
"Well, you soon will have to experience sleep deprivation. Ha-ha!" Chandler mocked Mike
"Oh Gosh. I better start sleeping early before I have no more chances." Mike sighed
"But let me tell you. It was all worth it." Chandler smiled at him as he tapped his shoulder
About fifteen minutes later, Ross came back with Emma. He was drenched in sweats and it looked like his soul just left his body.
"Hey..guys.." Ross was panting, trying to catch a breath. "I think I need to lay down." Ross said.
"Geez Ross, you smell.. " Chandler complained
"YOU THINK?" Ross snapped at him
"Okay let me hold her." Mike reached his hands as he offered to help him with Emma.
"Thank you" Ross gladly handed her daughter over him.
"Okay let me rest a bit." Ross then sat on the bench and relaxed his body.
Ross slightly regretted the idea of bringing Emma to the playground. But, he was glad he did it anyway, because Emma was having so much fun playing outside for the first time in a while. He felt like they didn't give her enough attention these days, due to their busy schedule at works and Rachel's pregnancy. So today he tried his best to spend a quality time with her daughter. And after he gained his energy back, he finally stood up.
"Okay let's go for another round." Ross picked Emma up from Mike and took her back to the playground.
...
Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe were watching TV when the boys came back home.
Chandler put the sleeping twins into their room as Monica followed them behind to help him. Meanwhile Mike and Phoebe went home because they have some stuff to take care of.
Ross put Emma down in the living room, changed the channel to a cartoon, and immediately laid down on the couch with his head rested on Rachel's lap and closed his eyes.
She noticed how tired he was and began to stroke his hair gently.
"Wow you need to take a shower." Rachel teased him
"Well, you have to help me with that, I have no energy left in my body." Ross slightly smirked
"Ross!" She's quickly hit his arms, embarrassed.
"So, how was Emma?" Rachel changed the subject
"Well. Let me tell you, ma'am. She's not easy."
"Well, I figured that out like years ago." Rachel replied and they both giggled
"Ross.. Seriously, how was she?" She asked him again
"She was so happy. She can't stop running around, going up and down the slide. It's hard to keep up with her. We shouldn't give her sweets like ever again. I'm so tired, I think I'm going to die." He joked as he playfully act dead.
She hit his stomach lightly and giggled.
"You better prepare yourself, soon we'll have two of those." She said as she pointed at Emma's
"I can handle them just fine. I just need you to recharge my energy." He grinned
"Are you trying to score?" She raised her eyebrows
"Because if you are, it's not working." She added
"Well it didn't hurt to try." He chuckled
Soon after, Ross started to fall asleep.
Emma saw her parents on the couch and went after them.
"Mommy. I want an apple." Emma asked as she started pulling Rachel's arm.
Unable to move, Rachel asked Emma to go over Chandler for some help.
"I tell you what. You go to the twins' room and asked Uncle Chandler for an apple. He has this yummiest apple in the world." She explained it to her daughter.
"Okay" Emma smile and joyfully walk toward the room.
"What is Emma doing to you" She mumbled to herself as she watched Ross sleep. She turned the TV off, let him sleep on her lap, and rested her eyes. About half an hour later, a noise coming from the door startled her. Soon after, the door was opened and Joey walked inside.
...
Rachel was startled, unsure how to react. She wanted to avoid him, but she couldn't move because Ross was still sleeping on her laps. Joey, on the other side, as soon as he saw Rachel and Ross, immediately regret his choice of coming back to New York without a notice.
Monica and Chandler gave him a spare key for him to use. He also has a room upstairs where he put all his belongings. As soon as Rachel and Ross moved from their apartment across the street earlier this year, Joey decided to move in with Monica and Chandler, until after he moved to California a few months back. But, he still left some stuff at their place, so he can use it whenever he is in town.
It was not the first time he came to their house without a notice, but maybe next time a call wouldn't hurt. He clearly didn't expect to see Ross and Rachel in Monica's place that day. Moreover seeing Ross slept peacefully on Rachel's lap.
As they awkwardly stare at each other, Rachel finally tried to break up the silence.
"Hi Joe. Mon didn't tell me you would come." Rachel greeted her. She was trying really hard to act normal around him. She secretly cursed Monica for not telling her before.
"Well.. Uhm, I didn't exactly tell them I would come over. Uh.. I need to get some stuff. Uhm.. Upstairs. Where's Monica?" Joey asked.
"She's inside, putting the twins to bed." She replied
Before he had a chance to get out from this awkward situation, Emma saw Joey and immediately screamed while running towards him. For a split second, Rachel can only wish her daughter screaming wouldn't wake Ross up. Because that, going to make the situation a lot worse than it already does.
"Uncle Joey!" Emma screamed in joy.
Joey picked her up and gave her a kiss on her cheeks.
"Hi Em. I miss you so much." Joey replied as he started to gently stroked Emma's hair.
Well of course as they expected, Emma's screaming woke Ross up. But somehow Ross still hasn't noticed Joey's presence as he casually woke up smiling at his wife.
"Thank you for being the comfiest pillow in the world." Ross said as he slightly tilted his head facing her and give a kiss to her bumps.
Unsure how to react, Rachel gave him a smile and stroked his hair gently.
Well, that doesn't last long as Emma started to yell at his dad.
"Daddy look! Uncle Joey is here!" Emma smiled brightly at his dad. Unknowingly what happened between their parents and her favorite uncle, Uncle Joey.
"Hi Ross." Joey greeted him with the most awkward smile ever.
"Oh, hi." Ross sat up from Rachel's lap and sat next to her. He didn't expect to wake up and find Joey in the room. If he has known before, he wouldn't even want to come visit.
Just in time, Monica and Chandler walked into the living room. Their face turned weird in seconds as soon as they saw them.
"Uh oh.." Chandler blurted
Monica gave him a nudge, then she greeted and hugged Joey, "Hi Joe, I didn't know you are in town."
"Well, I was in town for a filming and I figured I stopped by to give you guys a surprise." Joey explained as he smiled awkwardly.
"Well it was one hell of a surprise, didn't it?" Chandler blurted, earned him a punch in his stomach from his wife.
"Aaa www!" Chandler screamed
Monica cleared her throat as she asked them to join them for dinner.
"Since we all here let's eat the dinner together." Monica proposed
"Actually Mon, I think we're gonna pass." Rachel replied as she knew Ross would be extremely uncomfortable around Joey.
"I thought you are starving?" Monica asked her
Rachel stared at Monica silently hoping she would understand what she actually meant.
"Actually I have some papers to grade and needed to be done today. We can just stop by and grab dinner on our way back home." Ross explained as he offered Rachel his hand and help her to stand up.
"Okay, then I'll grab my stuff at the kitchen." Rachel said and left the room.
Ross walked toward Joey and offered his arm.
"Hmm, Joe? Emma." Ross explained his gesture
"Oh.. sorry." Joey gave Emma away to Ross.
"Okay Emma let's say bye-bye to Jack and Erica." Ross took her daughter to the twins' room.
Chandler walked toward Joey and gave him a pat on his back, "Are you okay man?"
"Yeah I'm fine. I'm sorry. I'll definitely give you a heads up next time I'm visiting." Joey slightly smiled at them.
Rachel and Ross walked back into the living room as they said their goodbye. Rachel kissed Monica and Chandler, and Ross also gave his sister a kiss then said their goodbye. But since Rachel didn't think a kiss or a hug would be appropriate at this moment, she only waved her hands to Joey.
"I guess, I'll see you around, Joe." Rachel said as she waved her hands and smiled.
Ross didn't say a thing and they left Chandler and Monica's house.
On their way back they grabbed a quick dinner and drove back home. Throughout the ride Ross didn't say a thing. Rachel was concerned about him and she didn't want things to get awkward between them, so she started to sing.
Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl
With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down there
As soon as she started to sing Ross was smiling brightly and started to sing together with her.
She would merengue and do the cha-cha
And while she tried to be a star
Tony always tended bar
Across the crowded floor, they worked from eight till four
They were young and they had each other
Who could ask for more?
As the song hit its chorus, they started to sing louder while smiling at each other. Emma was also very happy and she started clapping.
At the copa, Copacabana
The hottest spot north of Havana
At the copa, Copacabana
Music and passion were always the fashion
At the copa they fell in love
They started to giggled and he stretched his right arm and stroked her hair.
"We would make a great duet." He joked
"I bet we will." She chuckled
"Ross, You remember that day at Barry and Mindy's wedding?" The time where I wore that hideous bridesmaid dress?" She chuckled as she reminiscing the past.
"Of course! What is wrong with that dress?! Chandler couldn't stop making fun of you." He giggled
"Well, I still don't understand why I would voluntarily wear that." She explained and continued, "I was really glad you were there for me that day, or unless I might going to make a fool out of myself. Thank you so much for being there with me and stood up for me." She said as she looked at him and carefully stroked his hair.
"You're welcome." He slightly glanced at her and then smiled.
Just like that everything went back to normal between the couple.
...
The song I used is of course, Copacabana (At the Copa) from Barry Manilow from season 2 episode 24, "The One with Barry and Mindy's Wedding". It was hilarious and I really love Roschel's sweet interaction on that episode.