"No. A break from us."

The words hit him so hard he almost collapsed to the ground. "A br- A what?!" He said turning to her.

Rachel just stared at him as if now just realizing what she said. The moment she said the words, she started having second thoughts. "A break?" This time she said it without the same firm tone of voice as the last time she spoke.

Ross could only stare back. He was still shocked from the sudden turn of events the night of their anniversary had taken. He turned his eyes away from her blue ones and stared at the sofa behind her for what felt like hours.

"You want a break?" He repeated with disbelief and pain.

"I—" By now Rachel was regretting her words and wanted nothing more than to take it back. However, her pride kept her from saying anymore and she just looked down at her feet.

She realized that the coat Ross was holding fell to the floor but she doubted that he noticed or cared about it right now.

It was quiet between the two for only a painful minute that felt like hours. They both finally lifted their gaze at the same time and stared into each other's soul.

Ross's eyes were shining and before long a tear started making its way down his cheek. He finally realized the magnitude of the moment. If he didn't fix this now, there was a chance they would get hurt like hell. He tried coming up with the right words because he was in a very delicate position. He stepped forward and very slowly and carefully took Rachel's hand in both of his. He was relieved she didn't pull away.

"Okay, I'm sorry." Rachel's silence urged him to continue. "I had no right to barge into your office like that. I should have listened to you and let you finish your work. You were only trying to prove to your boss and to everyone else that you are not the same girl who was about to make the mistake of marrying a stable man that offered you no excitement, no happiness. I also shouldn't have brought Mark into this. That was stupid of me." Rachel let out a soft laugh that told him she completely agreed with his stupidity. "The truth is, I missed you Rach. I barely got to see you and to me, Mark was the only logical explanation to you drifting away from me. I know how dumb and selfish that sounds but I keep seeing you and him and all I wonder is 'What am I doing with her? They look so good together.' I always fear that there will be a day when you get to your senses and come up with the same epiphany I did. It's stupid but it's honestly one of my biggest fears Rach. Losing you because I can't be good enough for you." Ross took a much needed pause because of the weight of that statement he was carrying was finally lifted off his shoulders. He was still staring at Rachel and notice she too was starting to cry. He didn't let that discourage him to continue.

"You also don't have to prove anything to me or anyone, Rach. Anyone who knows you will know that you are not the same spoiled, lost girl you were when you arrived with that soaked wedding dress. You're this strong, independent woman who struggled through the real world with the help of her friends, and that's okay, Rach. Asking for help from us, from me is okay. I know who you are, Rachel, and I'm so proud of you, even if I don't show it a lot." Ross finished his speech and let out a breath he was holding. He was still holding Rachel's hands in his but he didn't realize that he was taking slow steps toward her, leaving them with their breaths mixing.

Rachel was openly crying now and couldn't say anything else, so she wrapped her arms around Ross's torso and pressed her cheek against his chest. She felt Ross's arms slowly engulf her and she felt so safe and loved that she almost forgot why she wanted to take a break. Hearing his heartbeat, she found the courage to speak.

"I don't want to take a break." It was such a small voice that made Ross fall in love with this woman even more. He let out a big sigh of relief and embraced his girlfriend tighter.

Rachel giggled at his reaction and hugged him tighter. They stood their in their own little bubble, not caring for the outside world at the moment. Finally, Rachel pulled away enough to look at Ross's dark brown eyes and spoke. "I know your sorry and I forgive you. But Ross, you have to understand that this is the start of my dream job and that I will have days or maybe weeks that I will work late. I so want to be like you. You have a job that you are so passionate about that when I see you I think 'I want that'" Rachel paused and noticed Ross raise an eyebrow. "Okay maybe not exactly like dinosaurs and rocks. But I want the same passion you have for your career. The way you speak about dinosaurs is so inspiring, even if me and the guys tease you about it. I could see that you don't really care about what others think." Rachel finished her own speech and waited for Ross to react.

"Wow. I didn't know you looked at me that way." Rachel looked at his eyes and chuckled that he could be so smart, yet so clueless. Ross noticed this and playfully furrowed his eyebrows. "Hey! It wasn't like you showed it. Like you said, you and the guys always mocked me about it."

"We probably won't stop mocking you about it Ross." She said with a sly smirk and Ross playfully rolled his eyes. "But that doesn't mean that I don't love that about you. It's actually one of the reasons I fell in love with you." Ross smiled and finally leaned in and kissed her for the first time that day. It was a soft and quick kiss, but it was everything they both needed.

"I love you." He was leaning his forehead against her's and his eyes were closed.

Rachel's smile grew. She couldn't believe that he sometimes couldn't see how happy he made her. He was the most important person to her, and he didn't understand that. But that was one of the main problems of their relationship, communication. They were both sometimes stupid enough to keep secrets from each other. Rachel knew they both had to work on that, but today was not the day. They were both exhausted with the events of that night that they didn't have enough strength to discuss another significant topic. Instead, she chose to enjoy the rest of their anniversary.

"I love you too."

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I know it was a cheesy ending. I am very new to this writing fan fiction thing, so feedback will be appreciated ;)