Chapter 8

"Ocean of Stars"

Ross was fiddling nervously in his office, trying to come up with a perfect plan for their 'first date'. Their date at the planetarium set a higher bar for him. It was an important and historical night for the two of them, even after more than six years they still cherished it in their memories. It was the night they had shared their first night together. The night he realized he never wanted to let her off from his arms. The night he realized, she really was the one.

Even though he knew, she didn't really mind if they'd just simply had dinner as long as she was with him, still, he wanted to make this date special with no work or other kind of interruptions coming in between them. He wanted this date just about the two of them. So here he was, sitting at his office in the broad daylight, looking blankly at the ceiling, worrying about their 'first date' instead of his upcoming lectures.

Ross was usually a romantic type of guy. He loved setting up romantic dates and stuff, but somehow this time he had no plan. Not even a single plan had crossed his mind. He sighed heavily as he realized he might need someone's help for this. It had to be someone he could trust not to spoil things for Rachel and it had to be someone he was comfortable with. Someone who knew women, someone who knew Rachel better than anyone beside him.

One person had crossed his mind.

He picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Hello?" He began. "No, nothing's wrong. But I'm gonna need your help." He paused. "It's about Rachel." He said to a voice in another line. "Okay, I'll see you at lunch. Bye." He said before he hung up his phone.

Later that day, Ross was sitting alone at his table in a restaurant nearby, waiting for someone. She was late. They were supposed to meet at 12.00 pm and she was fifteen minutes late. He groggily took a glance at his watch and then he sipped on a glass of water while he nervously waited for her to come. He didn't have much time to spare today because he had a class to attend in an hour and as each second passed, he was getting impatient.

He finally sighed in relief right after he saw her walking toward him. He quickly gave her a hug and a kiss on her cheeks before they sat down.

"I'm so sorry. I have to drop off something for Chandler first." She explained.

"It's okay, Mon. Thanks for coming." He said with a smile. "Let's order." He motioned the waitress to come and they both ordered their lunch.

"So.." Monica began. "What is it that you've wanted to ask me? Is everything okay between you and Rachel?" Monica asked as they waited for their food, a hint of worry was there.

Ross smiled reassuringly. It was only a few days since they got back together and Monica already knew about them. He wasn't surprised though, of course she knew. He knew Rachel told Monica and Phoebe literally everything. Like everything. It was something he had learnt in a bad way since the 'Princess Leia' accident. He had to shake his head, trying to forget the embarrassing conversation he had with Phoebe that day.

"So, you know about us." Ross stated matter-of-factly, confirming his suspicion.

Monica smiled and nodded. "Uh-hmm. Rachel told me everything the other day." She said and then patted his hand gently. "I have to say, I'm so happy for you guys."

"Thank you." Ross smiled at his sister's words. "We're very happy too."

"Try not to mess this up again, okay?"

"I will do everything in my power not to."

"Great." Monica flashed him another smile. "So, what is it? What do you need from me?"

"Uhm, did Rachel tell you that we're going for a date this Friday?"

"Uh-hmm. You have no idea how excited she is." Monica began to explain as she remembered the happiness on her friend's face the day she told her about their date. "Actually, I'll help her to pick up a new dress later."

Ross couldn't help but smile hearing her revelation. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who was nervous but yet feeling excited at the same time about their date. Unknowingly, they were building up with anticipation for their date. After all, this date would be the start of their rekindled relationship and hopefully, the beginning of the rest of their lives together.

"Please don't say anything to her about today." Ross pleaded. "I just want to give her a surprise."

"Okay." Monica nodded. "Spill it."

"Okay. I know it may sound stupid, but I don't know what to do." Ross confessed. "Our date is in two days and I haven't booked any reservation or anything at all. And now I'm freaking out!"

Monica couldn't lie, planning a surprise and keeping it as a secret was what she loved to do. She loved planning things, especially when it involved people she loved, in this case, her brother and her best friend.

"Okay, calm down. We got this." Monica said confidently. "What about a romantic dinner? I can set it up for you in my restaurant if you want."

"Uh, I don't know. We've done that plenty of time before." He started. "I mean we've been through a lot this year and tonight I want to make it just about the two of us. You know?"

He was right. They went through a lot this year and they deserved a quality time together.

"Alright then.." Monica pondered for a few moments. "How about this. I can take care of Emma and Ben and then you two could spend a night out just the two of you." She suggested and he began to get interested in her plan.

A night out didn't sound bad after all. He thought.

"What about Vermont?" Monica suggested. "Chandler told me about this awesome cabin before."

"I don't know about that." Ross said. "We can't leave the kids for too long. At least not yet. Maybe in a few months, but not anytime soon."

Ben was still healing from his trauma, Ross couldn't leave him for too long. He didn't have the heart to. Meanwhile, Rachel would end up worrying about both Ben and Emma instead of enjoying their stay. Knowing how Rachel had behaved during Phoebe's birthday a couple weeks ago, Ross was sure about that.

"Well, okay then. Maybe some place within the city." Monica began. "Do you have a place that's so special for both of you?" She asked after a while. "The place that reminds you of the good times you two shared."

Ross racked his brain for a moment, trying to recall all the dates he had been into with Rachel. One particular place popped out in his mind, it instantly sent a huge smile on his face.

He had just the perfect idea for their date.

Seeing his smile, Monica said. "Start from there."

"Thank you so much!" Ross quickly pulled her into a hug. "You're the best."

"I know!" Monica squealed in joy like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

...

Rachel was so nervous about today. Today was her first date with Ross after their break up. Yes, they did sleep together a couple times after they broke up, but her last date with him was probably before their first break up.

How long had that been? More than six years ago?

She was out shopping until late at night with Monica a couple days ago and she ended up bringing home three dresses and a pair of new shoes with her. Just like him, she wanted tonight to be special too.

Her last date with any other men would be the one with Joey during her pregnancy and it did go well until sometime later he confessed his feelings for her. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't been on a proper date in a while and she was more nervous than ever.

Ross would be the first man she dated in two years.

Not only that, Ross also didn't tell her what or where they were going today. She didn't know if he would take them to a fancy restaurant or for a movie. Therefore, she didn't know what to wear.

Rachel came home after dropping off their kids at Monica's and quickly took a shower. Monica had offered to babysit the kids for the night, allowing themselves for a quality time of their own. Though they hadn't told Ben about them getting back together, somehow the boy didn't ask them anything about it and she was relieved because of that.

Usually, with Ross and Rachel, it was very easy to tell whether they were getting back together or not. Every time they were together, they'd literally be in each other's arms as much as they could. They were pretty much inseparable. However, not this time around. This time, the couple did their best to hide their relationship from Ben, not wanting to tell the boy about them, yet. Not until a few months at least. They wanted to try to make things work between them before involving Ben in the middle of it. It was their mutual agreement. It was for the best.

So, they'd secretly met after the kids fell asleep. Cuddling, making out, talking, and laughing together on the sofa in the living room, but be as quiet as possible, not wanting to wake their kids up. It was a hard task to stay quiet, especially for Rachel. She was a loud person to begin with, but whenever she was with Ross, it was very hard for her to contain her laugh. She was genuinely happy whenever he was around.

After a shower she needed, she put on her white robe, dried her damped hair with a towel, and straightened it to perfection. Just in time, she heard a noise coming out from the front door. She quickly went toward the front door, knowing he was home.

"Hey.." He greeted her as soon as he laid his eyes on her.

She enveloped him into a hug and gave him a kiss. "Hey, you.."

"Can you please tell me where we are going?" Rachel pleaded as they broke their kiss. "I have no idea what to wear."

He chuckled. "Well, I don't mind if you're going to wear this." He pointed at her robe.

"Ha! Very funny." She scoffed and crossed her arms on her chest, pulling the bath robe tighter around her body. "I'm not kidding, Ross. I even bought three different dresses just for tonight."

He let out another chuckle before giving her a kiss on her forehead. "Wear anything you want. There's going to be no one except the two of us on where we are about to go." He explained.

"Really?"

"Really."

She let out a smile. It looked like he had planned this night thoroughly. "Okay, I'll go get ready."

About half an hour later, Rachel emerged from her room wearing a stunning strapless black dress. Feeling her presence, Ross turned his body around in her direction and he was stunned, mesmerized by her beauty. Even with sweatpants and a plain old t-shirt, he already found her beautiful. But whenever he saw her dressing up like today, it literally took his breath away, he really had a hard time coming up with coherent words to express the way she looked tonight.

"Y-you look. Uhm.." He stammered. "Wow."

She smiled and blushed under his praise. He had this ability to make her feel special and so beautiful about herself.

"Well, thank you." She said. "You don't look so bad yourself."

"Well, I tried my best." He chuckled before he came closer and gave her a soft kiss on her lips. "You look so gorgeous." He murmured. "Ready?"

She nodded and replied, "Yes."

...

They had borrowed Monica's Porsche for the night, with Ross behind the steer wheel as they promised Monica. Rachel wasn't going to complain though, as much as she enjoyed driving a car, tonight it wasn't about that. She wanted to be pampered for the night, it was something she hadn't had the privilege for a while now, juggling between her work and taking care of their kids.

After they were driving for a while, Ross took something out from his pocket and handed it to her. "Now, I need you to wear this."

Rachel frowned as she inspected the item he was handing her. It was a blindfold.

"Do I really have to?" She hated the fact that she couldn't see anything and somehow it made her restless.

"Uh-huh. Just for a while." He promised.

Not wanting to ruin their night with a fight over a small thing, she complied. "Alright, fine." She said as she wore the blindfold.

"Are we there yet?" She asked after half an hour. She didn't know where they were going, but it looked like they were driving out from the city, judging by how quiet the roads were.

"We're almost there." He said, reassuring her.

About fifteen minutes later, Rachel could feel the car was being pulled over before it stopped.

"Can I take my blindfold off now?" She asked impatiently.

"Just give me five more minutes." Ross started unbuckling his seatbelt. "Wait here." He said after he gave her a kiss. He then hopped off the car before she could say anything.

Rachel's patience almost hit her limit. She couldn't see her watch, so she couldn't tell the time, but she was sure it was more than five minutes now. She decided to take a peek and opened her blindfold slightly.

Her side of the door suddenly opened, startling her, and making her jolted from her seat.

"Oh, no nono. No peeking." He quickly warned her.

"Jesus Christ!" She yelped as she brought her hands into her chest. "You're scaring me!"

He chuckled and she was nothing but amused. Seeing her frown, he quickly cleared his throat. "Alright, are you ready?"

She sighed and nodded. "You bet."

He led her out of the car carefully, making sure she didn't trip. They stopped at some point and he let go off her hand.

Feeling his hands were slipping away from her, she began to panic. "Ross! I swear to God, if you leave me in this pla-"

Before she could finish her words, she felt a gentle kiss on her lips. Knowing it was definitely his, her lips began to curve into a smile.

"I'd never leave you. I promise." He whispered into her ears which quickly sent chills down to her spine. "You ready?" He asked and she nodded.

Carefully, Ross took off her blindfold.

She opened her eyes slowly, blinking a few times, trying to adjust her vision. After a few seconds, she gained her full vision and she immediately gasped as she inspected her surroundings.

He wasn't kidding when he said there was no one beside them in this place. The place was secluded and it explained the commute they needed to get here. They were in some kind of woods, surrounded by big trees. There was a silver airstream trailer parked with a wooden deck in front of it.

Illuminating the whole place was a few strains of light bulbs tied in poles surrounding the deck. Sitting on the deck were a red checkered blanket, a picnic basket, a bottle of their favorite red wine complete with two wine glasses, candles, and some romantic music playing on a stereo.

After she took time to absorb it all, she turned her head around to face him and found him grinning at her nervously with a bouquet of white lilies on his hand. She smiled at him as her eyes were getting misty. She was moved by his efforts.

When did he have the time to prepare all of these? She wondered.

"For you." He said with a smile as he handed her the lilies.

She took it and smelled it. "Thank you." She murmured before giving him a kiss.

After they broke their kiss, he took her hand and led them to sit at the blanket. He then opened a bottle of wine and poured them their drinks.

"So, what do you think?" He asked as he handed her a glass of wine. "I know this is not the planetarium. But, hey, we can see real stars from here. I brought along my telescope with me."

Actually, he did try to book the planetarium, but they didn't let him. After their 'naked' incident involving a group of kids and a nun, he wasn't allowed to host another event for his personal matters. That, and the sandwich accident a few years later which eventually caused him to lose his job at the museum. So yeah, it was a solid no. Didn't hurt to try, though.

Luckily, when he confided in one of his coworkers about this problem, his fellow NYU professor was kind enough to lend him his private property along with the trailer. He decorated and prepared everything earlier that day, making sure he didn't miss anything in particular.

So, here they were. Just the two of them where no one or anything would come in between them.

"I love it." She said as she gave him a warm smile. "Thank you so much."

It had been a while since she experienced this. It had been a while since someone made a huge effort just to try to impress her. And she was glad that person was Ross. He just somehow made it more special.

"Glad you like it." He sweetly smiled back to her as he tucked a strand of her hair aside. "Because they wouldn't allow me to come near the planetarium after the sandwich incident." He added half-jokingly.

She let out a chuckle and shook her head. "Oh yeah. I remember that." She began. "Your coworkers even gave you a nickname after that. What was it again?" She asked as she tried to remember it.

"Mad Ross." He replied softly, somewhat feeling ashamed for some reason.

That night he wished Rachel wasn't there to witness one of the darkest points of his life. Having two failed marriages had taken a toll on him and he was a huge mess back then. But then, he remembered how glad he was having her by his side at that time as his best friend. It helped him heal without her knowing. He was grateful to be able to call her his best friend and now his girlfriend.

"Oh, right." She started. "You were pretty messed up back then."

"Well, what can you say? Two failed marriages before the age of 30 did that to me." He commented nonchalantly.

She let out a sympathetic smile. Only then it dawned on her that maybe that was the reason why he refused to divorce her after their drunken marriage in Vegas? She knew he disliked the idea of getting another divorces, but she didn't know it hit him this hard.

"Aww, honey.." She pulled him into a hug. "Now I understand why you made a huge fuss over our divorce."

"That and the fact that I was still in love with you."

Her smile vanished as soon as he said those words. She didn't know he was still in love with her during their divorces. Why didn't he tell her? Would it be different for them if he did tell her? She wondered.

He didn't realize his slip of tongue until he saw her change of expression. He took his hand into her, not wanting this to ruin their mood. "It didn't matter now." He began. "What matters is now. You and me, right now. That's all that mattered."

She sighed and smiled faintly. "What would you think is gonna happen if we stayed married back then?"

"I honestly have no idea. But, if I could turn back time, I'll divorced you once again." He confessed.

It was something he had come to realize sometimes after their divorce. For whatever reason he felt it was right to stay married to Rachel, it was wrong. She deserved so much more than a drunken marriage in Vegas. She deserved the romance, she deserved a heartfelt proposal, she deserved everything by the book and beyond that. And he intended to give her just that in the future.

Her smile was disappearing from her face and it didn't go unnoticed by him. He was flustered by it, thinking he might have just ruined their mood again.

He quickly stroked her hands gently, doing damage control. "It's not that I don't want to be with you. It was just not right. You know?" He said and she finally smiled faintly and nodded. "Besides, despite all that Emma was born and I like where we are right now."

She had to agree with him on this. After all their marriage would start for a wrong reason and that wasn't how she pictured her marriage life would be. She wanted to marry someone, to marry him for the right reason. Not because they were drunk or because she was pregnant, but because they were madly in love with each other and a marriage would be the testament of their love.

"You're right." She said. "It wouldn't be right."

"I know." He murmured before planting a kiss on her forehead.

She sighed and rested her head on his chest as they laid down under the stars.

"Tell me about the stars." She said softly.

He smiled. "See that one?" He pointed at one random direction across the night sky. "That's Ursa Major."

She looked up at him. "Really?"

He shook his head and shrugged. "I have no idea." She smiled and then playfully slapped his chest.

"It's so beautiful." She murmured as she stared back into the sky.

He stared at her instead and he smiled. "It is."

It wasn't just the sky that was beautiful to him. It was her.

Lately, he woke up every morning with a huge smile on his face, feeling grateful for all the blessings he had received. He had Ben, Emma, and now he had her as his girlfriend. He had her back on his arms again and it felt good, really good.

She diverted her attention back to her boyfriend and caught him staring at her. He showered her with so much love as they gazed into each other's eyes lovingly, when her blue met his chocolate and it felt like they were no one else but them in this world.

"So, this is a private place, huh?" She asked after a while. "No one will come and disturb us?" She added a seductive smile after.

Knowing her intention, he flipped her over so that now she was underneath him. "The whole five acres are ours for the night." He whispered seductively into her ears.

She trailed her fingers over his face, trying to memorize every part of him. "Well then, let's make it count."

He smiled before leaning in and kissed her lips. Their kiss turned into a passionate one as their hands traveled all over each other's body. She opened up her mouth, letting his tongue in and it locked with hers in such a synchronized dance.

That night, they made love under an ocean full of stars for the first time in years.

The difference from then was that now they were sure this was the right thing to do. They didn't do it just because they were both driven by their hormones, but because they loved each other. There was no insecurity, no questioning each other's love, and no thinking about the consequences they had to deal with in the morning.

Tonight was all about them and the love they had shared together.

Tonight was their night.

The night that marked their new beginning.

"I love you." She whispered as she leaned her back into his chest.

He tightened his arm around her middle and gave her shoulder a kiss. "I love you too."

A/N

I had this idea originally for a one shot, I even wrote everything already. But then I decided to use it on this story instead since I was running out of ideas.

Oh and as you may have noticed it, I put another reference to the series. This time involving their infamous first night at the planetarium which I'm sure you all are familiar with. Oh well, what can I say? I just can't help it. They were so sweet together in that episode.

So, this was it. Their 'first date' after so many years. I hope you all like it.

See you guys soon! :)