Chapter XXIV
The One Where Phoebe Have A Baby
This year Emma started her preschool. After months of searching for the best preschool in Manhattans area, they finally found the one. It's located just a few blocks away from their apartment and it's one of the finest preschool around the neighborhood. Ross and Rachel didn't hesitate to spend money on their children's education. Today was her first day at preschool. Rachel and Ross has been busy preparing for this day. Well actually, Ross was busy preparing and Rachel was busy crying. She couldn't believe her daughter is about to start entering school and she couldn't help but cry as she looked at her baby growing up so fast.
Meanwhile, Emma was thrilled to finally be able to go to preschool. She's always been a social butterfly, she love talking to people and wasn't shy to meet new people. Probably something she picked it up from her mom, Rachel.
Since it was Emma's first day at school, they decided to drop her off together. As they walking toward the preschool from their car, Rachel started to cry.
"Sweetie, you need to stop crying." Ross said as he held Emma's hand in one hand and wrapped his other hand around Rachel's waist.
"I know. I'm sorry. It's just. She's growing up so fast. It feels like just yesterday when I held her for the first time in my arms." Rachel muttered in her cries as she rested her head on his shoulder
"I know.. It's okay.." He tried to soothe her as he gently brushed her hair.
Suddenly a familiar voice called them.
A voice anyone would recognize.
"Rachel! Ross! A woman called
Rachel and Ross turned around and found Janice slightly running toward them with her son, Aaron.
"Oh my gosh. No...no.." Ross mumbled to himself
"She's everywhere, isn't she? It's like impossible to avoid her." Rachel said to Ross
"I know! Okay she's coming. Just smile." Ross whispered to her as he put his best fake smile
"Janice!" Ross greeted her.
"I cannot believe our kids went to a same preschool." Janice said
"Tell me about it." Rachel said as she left a fake giggle
"So, I heard you guys are married. I gotta tell you Janice is upset for not getting invited." Janice said
"I'm so sorry. It was a small wedding, only a few closest friends and family were invited." Ross explained
"It was a small wedding, but it was beautiful. We had it at the top of a cliff in Hawaii on sunset." Rachel quickly added, bragged about her lavish wedding.
"Aww. I'm so happy for you two. I always knew you two would end up together." Janice said as she grabbed both of Rachel and Ross's hands.
"Aww.. That is so sweet honey, thanks." Rachel said
"And I have to congratulate you guys for the pregnancy. I see Ross couldn't wait no more, isn't he? Ahahahaha" Janice laughed in her infamous way of laughing.
Ross could've sworn her laughter sounds exactly like Spongebob's, Emma's favorite cartoon character.
They both laughed awkwardly
"Thank you Janice." Ross said as he put a fake smile on his face
"It's look like my Aaron and his future bride are going to spend a lot of time together. Look at them. Aren't they're so cute together?" Janice said as she looked over Aaron and Emma who were playing together while their parents talked.
Rachel and Ross just stood there and laughed awkwardly as they didn't want to make a comment about it. I mean having Janice as their in law is something they want to consider.
"Alright, we better hurry or unless they will be late on their first day. We don't want to be late on our first day aren't we, Emma?" Ross said as she picked up Emma and held her in his arms.
"It's nice to see you, Janice." Rachel said and gave her a hug
They both walked quickly inside the school leaving Janice behind.
"And that's it. We're going to see her on everyday now." Ross whispered to Rachel
"Is it too late to change Emma's school?" Rachel suggested as she wrinkled her nose.
"I guess, besides this one is the best one." Ross replied
"Well then we just have to deal with it." Rachel sighed
...
February 2nd, 2005
It's been a few weeks since The Green-Geller family had their weekend gateway in Vermont. It turned out, going to a trip together was a great choice, because it made them forget about their problems and focusing themselves on what they have, their family. The past few weeks at work have been a hell for the couple. Their coworkers were gossiping behind them all the time. But these days, it got a lot better as people stop eyeing them or stop whispering whenever they walked pass by them. Ross and Rachel started to made peace with it and choose to ignore them instead.
Now it's about 6AM in New York. Ross woke up by a gentle touch on his head.
"Hi.." Rachel smiled at Ross as she woke him up.
"Hi..you.." he smiled back
"What time is it? Why are you up so early?" He asked her as he sat down and rested his back against the headboard.
"It's 6 AM, and we gotta go at 6.45"
"Why so early?"
"Because we have to go to the hospital.."
Before she finished her words Ross jumped out the bed startling her.
"Why? Why are you in hurry?" She looked at him, confused
"Because you're giving birth?" He looked puzzled
"Ross... my due date is still in three months." Rachel chuckled
"Oh right..." Ross then sat down next to her.
"So? Who's in hospital? Is everything okay?" He asked, concerned
"No, everything is fine. Well, perfect actually. Phoebe gave birth to her daughter this morning around five. So I figured, we can drop by before going to work, if you're okay?"
"Really? That is great. Of course we can drop by. Okay, I'll get ready."
He kissed her and then went to take a shower.
Around 7 AM, Ross, Rachel, and Emma arrived at the hospital. They have to take Emma because Emma's preschool wasn't open until eight. As they walked into Phoebe's room, everyone was there except Joey. Rachel quickly walked over the happy couple and their newborn.
"Oh my gosh. She's so cute. Can I hold her?" Rachel said as she offered her hands.
"Sure. Here she is." Mike handed baby Lily to Rachel's arms.
"Congratulations you two." Ross gave Phoebe a kiss and Mike a hug.
"She's so tiny.. Look at those hands. I've forgotten how small a newborn baby is." Rachel said as she held the Lily's hand with her finger.
"Look at that Emma, isn't she's so cute?" Ross asked Emma as he pointed at Lily.
"Daddy, Emma want one." Emma said and then pouted.
Rachel and Ross shared a knowing look and immidiately smiled.
"Don't worry, Ems. You'll get yours soon." Phoebe said to her
"That's right sweetie, we just need to wait a little bit longer." Rachel said to Emma.
"Okay, mommy." Emma said sweetly which made everyone in the room smiled.
"I'm so happy for you two. Congratulations you guys." Rachel said as she handed baby Lily back to Phoebe
"So, Pheebs, how was it having birth to your baby?" Monica asked
"Well, first, it is hurt like hell. I completely forgot how hurtful it is to pushing someone out of your vagina." Phoebe said
"But then I saw he. I mean look at her. She's mine and she's so beautiful." She added
"She's so gorgeous." Mike said
Ross then came closer to Rachel and placed his free arms around her waist.
"I couldn't wait to see ours." Ross said to her, then kissed her in her forehead
"Me too." Rachel smiled back at him
...
After a while, Rachel, Ross, and Emma left. When they were walking in the hallway, a familiar face appeared, it was Joey. Rachel haven't seen or spoken to Joey since the last time he visited their house, meanwhile Ross also haven't seen or spoken to him since the day they were fighting. Joey approached them slowly.
"Uncle Joey!" Emma screamed in joy while running toward him.
"Hi, Emma Weema. Look at you. You're getting a lot cuter than the last time I saw you." Joey said as he gave her a hug and then gently stroked her hair.
"Hi Rach.. Hi Ross." He lightly smiled
Ross slightly smiled at him but doesn't bother to say a word to him.
"Hi, Joe.. It's been a while since I saw you. I didn't know you're in town." Rachel smiled at him
"Yeah, I have to shoot some stuff, and I figured I could drop by to see Phoebe." Joey explained.
"Well, we just went in. Lily is so cute. She got Phoebe's eye and Mike's hair." Rachel explained it to him excitedly.
"Uh, Rach. I think we're better get going now." Ross interrupted.
"Uhm, actually.. Rach. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Joey asked
"Joe, I don't think-"
Before Ross could finish his words, Rachel stopped him by grabbing his hands and slightly shook her head at him.
"Give me five minutes and just wait in the car. Can you please do that for me?" Rachel said to Ross
Ross is still mad at him but decided to respect Rachel's choice, so he nodded.
"Alright sweetie, say bye bye to Unle Joey." Rachel said to Emma.
"Bye bye Uncle Joey. Emma miss you a lot." Emma gave Joey a hug.
"Bye bye Ems. I will miss you a lot too." Joey smiled and gave Emma a kiss on her cheeks.
Ross and Emma then walked into their car and left Rachel and Joey alone.
"So, Rach.. I guess what I'm trying to say is..." Joey paused a bit as he took a deep breath and continued, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for causing you troubles. I didn't mean any of this. But I truly am sorry. I'm sorry I made you cry. I shouldn't do that to you, and to Ross. I'm so sorry."
"Look Joey, it is fine." She smiled
"How could you say that easily? I heard from Monica they called you a 'horny bitch' at works and they were gossiping about you all the time. How can you say it is fine? It's not fine. You should be yelling at me right now."
"You know what Joey? It's fine, because you are my best friend and I love you. So what? People make mistakes all the time. I make mistakes all the time." Rachel waited a beat before she continued, "Look, honestly, I was upset the first time I found out about the article and I'm not gonna lie to you, being talked behind my back by my coworkers is hurting me. But, Joey.. You didn't mean any of those. I know you wouldn't do that to us. So please stop apologizing to me."
Rachel then gave him a hug.
"Thank you so much" Joey sobbed
"It's fine. Don't worry about me, okay? And I'm sorry I yelled at you the other day."
"Look, you deserve to yell at me. In fact you deserve to kick me in the ball. Uh, on second thought, maybe not there." He then shook his head before he continued, "My point is you out of all people don't need to be sorry for that. Okay?"
"Okay, thank you." She smiled at him
"Okay.. and Rach.. What about Ross?"
"Uhm, about Ross. I think it's best for the two of you to figure it out by yourself. I'm sorry, I just don't want to be in the middle of it. As much as I hate to choose side, I will have to be on Ross' side. I mean Ross is now my husband, I'll be in his side, and I cannot do that to you. So, I think it's better if the two of you work it out by your own. Just apologize to him sincerely."
"But I did!" He whined
"Then show him. Show him how sorry you are. It's Ross, he'll come around."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Just give him some time. Okay?" Rachel said and Joey nodded.
"Alright, I'm so sorry, but I gotta go to work now. And Joey.."
"Yeah?"
"Can you please call Emma? She's been missing her Uncle Joey a lot lately."
"Okay, I'll give her a call. Thank you so much, Rach."
"It's okay, honey. I'm glad we talk."
Rachel then gave Joey a big hug and left.
Joey finally feeling slightly relieved after talking and apologizing to Rachel. The past few months have been a hell for him. Instead of finally enjoying his success, he constantly worried about Rachel and Ross. Well, mostly Rachel. The least thing you wanted to do is to see a person you love suffers, and that is exactly why he understood how mad Ross is at him, because deep down he's also mad at himself for letting Rachel got hurt.
No matter how complicated things are, he knew he still have to deal with Ross. After all, he's one of his best friends, he cannot let it destroy their friendship. If he has to be honest, he wanted to hug him and apologize to him sincerely right that moment, but he is still hurting from the words Ross said the last time they met, and he is not sure if he's ready to face Ross anytime soon.
After Rachel and Ross dropped Emma off at her daycare, they drove to their workplaces.
Ross has been quite after he met Joey in the hallway. He was happy this morning, but seeing Joey in that hallway triggered his anger. He cannot just forgive Joey for whatever happened, even though he knew Joey didn't mean it. Because he saw how much Rachel has been suffering the past few weeks, and he couldn't stand it.
Rachel may look tough and tried to ignore it, but he knew she was hurting inside. I mean, what kind of husband wouldn't be upset and mad when someone made the entire office calls his wife a 'horny bitch'. Any sane man would be angry, and we're talking about Ross. Ross loves Rachel so much he would do anything to make her happy. So, when someone hurts her, whether it's intentional or not, it drove him over the edge. Only God know how much he wanted to punch Joey in the face. But he cannot lose it, because he knew it would upset Rachel even more and that's the least thing he wanted to do to her.
"Ross.." Rachel called him softly
He said nothing as he couldn't hear a thing she said while he lost in his thoughts
Rachel then called him once more, this time louder.
"Ross?"
He then snapped out from his thoughts.
"Yes?"
"Are you okay? You haven't said a word since we left the hospital." Rachel placed her hands on his thighs and stroked it gently
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." He then gave her a forceful smile and gently stroked her hair with his right hand.
"You sure? Should we just skip work and go somewhere?" She suggested
"And get fired?" He chuckled
"I'm serious Ross.." she whined
"Alright, I'm sorry. It's fine. I'll be fine." He said as he smiled at her
"Okay, if you said so."
They were both arrived at Rachel's office, and Ross pulled their car over.
"So, here we are. See you tonight." He kissed her
"See you, thanks for dropping me off. I love you." She smiled at him
"I love you too. Okay you better go now, I'm going to be late."
"Alright, bye."
Rachel then got off from their car and walked inside her office.
For a moment, Ross just sat there as he watched Rachel entered the building.
"You got to pull yourself together, Ross. You cannot lose it in front of her." He mumbled to himself.
...
Later that night, around 8.30 pm.
Ross was feeling awful for the entire day. He couldn't stop feeling angry after he saw Joey that morning. But, as soon as he opened their apartment's door, his anger suddenly vanished and he was smiling brightly.
As soon as he opened the door he could see the lights were off, and instead candles are being lighted up everywhere. The dining table is set with flowers, candles, and dinner while romantic music was playing in the background. The best thing was Rachel. Rachel was standing in front of him with her perfectly long straightened dark blonde hair, wearing a gorgeous red spaghetti strap dress with a slits on the side, exposing her bare thighs and a matching high heels. Wrapping her gorgeous neck was a necklace Ross bought her for the Christmas present. Ross could've sworn every time she saw Rachel dressing up his heart would skip a beat. Even when she's seven months pregnant, she's still looks breathtaking, making him mesmerized by her.
Rachel prepared a romantic candle light dinner for the both of them. She wanted to cheer him up, and it looked like her plans works perfectly as she saw the smile on his face.
"Surprise!" Rachel screamed in joy.
"What did you? When did you?" Ross shuttered
"You cook?" He asked as he raised his eyebrows
"Of course not. I wouldn't want to poison us or anything."
They both chuckled
"I ask Monica for a favor. So? Do you like it?" She asked as she walked over him
"I love it, thank you so much." Ross pulled her closer and kissed her.
"Okay, let's eat. I'm starving. Uhm, do you want some wine?"
He then raised his eyebrows
"For you. These days it's hard for me to forget that I'm pregnant with this huge bump in my belly." She explained
"Alright, one of your finest wine, please.." He smiled
"Coming right up." She said as she poured the wine inside his glass.
They were both finished their meals and then cuddling in the couch.
Ross placed his arms around her waist and gently brushed her hairs while she rested her head on his chest.
"Thank you so much for preparing this for me." He said
"You're welcome." she said as she held her chin up and looked at him in the eyes.
Their eyes locked for a few seconds, and then Ross started to kiss her passionately.
Soon he found himself laying on top of her as they continue kissing and his hands started to reach the zipper on her dress trying to take it off.
"Ross. Not in here. We're going to wake Emma up." Rachel stopped him
Ross then nodded as he stood up and picked her up bridal style.
She cannot help but squealed.
"Ross, I'm heavy! Put me down, I'm scared." She said as she lightly tapped his chest
"And I've been working out." He smiled proudly
"So, you're a paleontologist who worked out. That makes you Indiana Jones." She smirked as she gently ran her fingers into his chest.
"Wow. You're gonna get yourself a treat." Ross said as he quickly walked inside their bedroom and locked the door.