Thanks m4manju , you're my star you know.. Thanks for the lovely review. I hope to keep it realistic and different from other fics at the same time. Please everybody, Read and Review.. cos its nice to read how you guys find my work. Constuctive criticism is always welcomed. Thankyou!

It was around 10 in the night when the three guys reached Long Island. Joey and Chandler were gonna stay at Ross' to avoid late night driving. They were both sound asleep on the sleeping bags in Ross' bedroom. Ross didn't really feel like sleeping so he was in the living room thinking about.. No guesses there, right?

His cell phone vibrated on his lap startling him. Thank God I put it on vibrate or else everyone would be awake, he thought.

He saw the caller was Rachel and kept looking at the screen for a few seconds before finally accepting the call. "Hello?"

"Hi Ross. I hope you were not asleep"

"No no.. What's up?"

"Uhh.. Nothing I just wanted to talk to you. Umm.. when did you get back?"

"Around 10. So what did you want to say to me?" Ross asked curiously.

"Not like this. Will you come over?"

"What? Rachel it's like 1 in the morning"

"I know but.. I really need to see you to talk to you. Please, Ross" Rachel literally begged.

"Alright. I'll be there in about 10 minutes" Ross gave in to her wish.

"Great. Don't ring the bell. I'll leave the door open. Just come on up to my room"

"Okay" He hung up.

What could possibly be the matter?, he thought. 'I'll just have to go over there to get the answer, don't I?' He quietly grabbed the car keys and left.

Ross was at Jessica's place in no time. He did what Rachel told him, went upstairs and stood infront of the room for a while, thinking what he was gonna say to her. Should he apologise? No.. let's see what she has to say. With that he entered the room. Rachel was laying on her bed. It was dark but he could see her clearly as the moon light from the window was shining on Rachel's face. Her eyes were closed. She looked so beautiful at that moment.

Feeling his presence, Rachel got up and walked towards him. She hugged him standing on her tip toes. Her chin rested on his shoulder and her hands were behind his neck. Ross didn't respond at first but could not resist her after missing her for 3 days. So he finally hugged her back resting his hands on her waist.

They stood like that for what seemed like eternity. Ross pulled away to look at her. There was a hint of tears on her face. He moved his hands to her shoulders. "What's the matter?" Ross wiped the stray tear from her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

"Ross.. I thought about what you said on the phone. I'm sorry. I really am. I like you so much. But I can't help but to feel a bit afraid of my feelings for you. This IS going too fast. It's just that.. I don't wanna hurt either of us when I have to go back to New Jersey"

"Rach.. Don't be afraid. If your heart tells you this is right, just go with it. Let me tell you.. I missed you like crazy in these three days. I was asked out by a lot of girls but I knew you were waiting for me over here. I mean.. THIS... is not just a summer fling, is it?" Ross said putting a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Oh God no.. Ross. No, it's not a summer fling. It's so much more than that" Rachel answered quickly

"What is really bothering you? If going back to New Jersey is what it is.. then we could have a long distance relationship, right? We'll make that extra little effort" Ross suggested.

"Would you really be okay with that?" Rachel asked.

"Rachel.. at least you would still be in my life" Ross explained kissing her forehead. Rachel looked at him lovingly and smiled. He was an amazingly understanding person.

"I wanted to ask you something" She asked after a few moments passed. Ross remained silent which was a cue for her to continue. "Can I be your girlfriend, Ross?" Rachel's eyes were hopeful. Ross smiled and nodded his head before leaning in to kiss her on the lips this time. He didn't know he missed her lips so much before he actually kissed them again. They were so soft, so smooth. And they were Rachel's. The kiss was not passionate but more of a soft brushing up of lips to let each other know that this was real. They were now in a relationship.

They both broke the moment when the lightening struck at the window making a loud sound. Rachel looked at him afraid and hugged him with all her might, never wanting to let go. Ross closed his eyes feeling her presence in his arms. Suddenly his eyes shot open when another lightening struck. It was pouring cats and dogs. His eyes went to the wall clock. He saw it was 2 already. He broke away from her. "I think I should go now. It's late"

"Umm.. would you mind staying over here? I mean.. it's raining heavily and you don't want to catch cold now, do you?"

Ross thought about it. He smiled at her. "On one condition- you will wake me up before 6 so that I can go back home without creating a fuss over there"

Rachel laughed. "Arghhh.. You know I'm a late sleeper. That is so not fair. But alright if that's what it takes to make you stay" Rachel gave him a peck on the lips.

"Come on" She grabbed his hand and took him to the bed.

"Uhh.. let me just leave a text for Chan. I don't want any of them to be wondering where I am"

He kept the phone on the side table got into bed. They didn't do anything wild. They just lay on her bed with Rachel hugging him in the middle and her head resting on his chest. His hands continuously stroked her hair.

It was almost 6 in the morning when Ross woke up. He felt something covering up his face. He opened his eyes to see multiple strands of blonde hair. Then he remembered the events of last night. Very slowly, he removed Rachel's hair so as to not wake her up. He moved her face to her side of pillow and kept looking at her. She slept peacefully, laying on her side with her lips parted. How could God make someone so beautiful? And even if he did, how did this girl choose him to be her boyfriend?

He was truly mesmerised by her. Not able to resist, he bent and planted a kiss on her lips. Suddenly, he felt her reacting to it. It was no longer an innocent peck but very much passionate than he originally had thought it to be. Their moment ended when the alarm started to buzz.

"Good morning" Ross kissed her on the nose. Rachel just smiled. She was feeling so happy to see his face first thing in the morning. She straigtened up a bit. "I can't believe I'm waking up next to you"

"I know.. It's pretty unbelievable"

"I had the best sleep in months. Listening to your heartbeat felt so amazingly peaceful" Rachel kept her hand on his chest.

They kept looking at each other in one of those infamous Ross and Rachel stares.

"Hey.. I didn't notice it when I got here but.. uhh where is Jessica? I mean.. Don't think I'm complaining but umm.. wondering"

Rachel laughed at his sudden realisation. "Oh she only gave me the idea to call you over in the night so that we could spend our day together without any fights or you know, intense talks" Rachel explained.

"That sounds.. umm.. perfect" Ross kissed her hand when he got a look at his wrist watch. "Ooh.. I should head back. I must get out of here before your uncle or aunt finds me. I'll call you after breakfast to fix up our date" Ross said while getting up from the bed.

"Sure. Umm.. Ross?" "Yeah"

"Come over to pick me up. I'll introduce you to Uncle James and Aunt Lisa"

"Really?" Rachel nodded. This meant so much to Ross. He kneeled on the bed to give her a quick peck on the lips. "See ya" With that he was gone.

Rachel kept looking at the door for a few minutes after Ross left. She felt content. She was happy that they cleared their doubts last night. Ross was her boyfriend now, and that thought alone brought a huge smile on her face. She plopped back down on the bed and sighed happily, going back to sleep.

It was the same evening. Ross was driving his car to pick Rachel up. He was gonna take her for a dinner at Sorentino's. He already had the Oriental Lilies, her favourite flowers. He reached the place and rung the bell, more nervous than before as he was gonna meet Rachel's uncle and aunt. This was a big moment as they WILL definitely tell Rachel's father about him.

The door was opened by Jessica who greeted Ross with a handshake and invited him into the living room where her dad was seated. On their way, they saw Rachel coming down the stairs.

"Hey you" Rachel said with a big smile.

"These are for you" Ross kissed her cheek.

"God Ross.. Don't you think you're spoiling her too much?" Jessica spoke eyeing the bouquet. Rachel gasped. She was going to say something but Ross immediately spoke. "Well.. She deserves every bit of it"

She turned to him, completely touched by his words, to find him already looking at her with his puppy dog eyes. "Thank you. I love them" She leaned in to kiss him softly. They pulled away and Rachel grabbed his hand.

They entered the living room. Rachel cleared her throat. "Uncle James? I'd like you to meet somebody"

James closed his newspaper and looked at his niece who was accompanied by a guy.

"This is Ross Geller, my boyfriend" Rachel said proudly. She loved saying that.

"Er.. Good Evening, Sir" Ross offered him his hand. James being a welcoming person, smiled and shook his hand.

"Where are you from, Ross?" James inquired.

"I'm from Long Island, Sir. I'm majoring in Paleontology at NYU

"Good"

Rachel saw they were getting warmed up so she went upstairs to do some last minute touch-up. After a while, James spoke up. "So.. What are your plans with our Rachel?"

Ross was a little taken aback. He chuckled to hide his usual nervousness. "I-I really like her, Sir. But umm.. we have decided to take it slow as we know each other for like two weeks"

"Hmmm-hmm" James crossed his arms. "Rachel is like my own daughter, Son. Do take care of her" He said firmly.

"Of course, Sir" Ross assured.

"Good... Uh.. I met your sister the other day. Monica, is it?" Ross nodded. "She's a good girl"

"Yea she is" Ross said. James could see he was a little scared.

"Don't worry, kid. I'm gonna take it easy on you cos I know Leo is gonna give you a hard time. You see, he's so protective about his daughters, especially Rachel. She's like his Princess"

"That she is, by all means" Ross agreed with pure admiration. He was thinking about Rachel's beauty, her eyes, her hair, her heart. Oh.. Her heart.

Ross' thoughts were soon stopped by Rachel's voice. "Ahemm ahem.. Am I interrupting anything?" Neither heard Rachel coming in.

"Uhh.. No, I was just telling Ross about your dad"

"Oh Uncle James.. Trying to scare him away, are you?" She joked holding Ross' arm.

Everybody laughed. "Shall we go now?" Rachel looked up at Ross. He nodded. He turned to look at James. "It was nice meeting you, Sir"

"You too. I would have loved for you to meet Lisa but she is out shopping for groceries"

"Chill Uncle James. This is not gonna be the last time he's here"

"Alright! Have fun, kids. Bring her home by midnight" James warned playfully.

"Certainly" Ross held Rachel's hand and they started to walk.

"Bye Jessica" Rachel yelled and they were off.

Ross and Rachel were in the car. Rachel was playing with Ross' right hand which was free at the moment. Suddenly, she realised she didn't know where they were going so she turned to look at him. "Hey.. you didn't tell me where we are going!" She exclaimed.

"Oh.. That would be a surprise but we are gonna make a stop at the Museum first"

"Why the Museum?" Rachel asked clearly not happy with that idea. She knew Ross loved them and she respected that but she couldn't help the change of tone in her voice.

"Yea.. I got a call in the afternoon. They said I needed to come down over there for some emergency" Ross rolled his eyes.

"But it's a part time job. Does this come under your agreement?" Ross smiled seeing her whining like a child.

"Sweetie, it does. I'm sorry"

"Alright" Rachel gave in. She was going to be with Ross. That will make it better, she thought.

She has no idea what's gonna hit her, Ross thought.

"And we're here!" Ross said excitedly.

"God... you ARE a geek!" Rachel said playfully. Ross just looked at her clearly not amused while she just laughed.

They were walking hand-in-hand in the corridors of the Museum. When they neared a dinosaur exhibit, Ross started to tell her about the extinct animal.

"You know, it's 65 million years old specimen of a tyrannosaurous. It was the first dinosaur to-"

Rachel was looking at him with admiringly. She didn't even listen to half of the things he said. But the way he was speaking about the dinosaurs, it was too adorable, she thought. That was one of the many things she loved about him, his passion for the littlest of things. Of course, Dinosaurs were a big part of HIS life.

"-So that's why they became extinct"

"Uh huh" That was all Rachel could say.

"Umm.. Are you gonna be okay here alone? I'm just gonna go in there for my work. Call me if I don't come back in ten minutes" Ross said pointing towards a large double door.

"Don't take too long. I'll miss you" Ross' heart melted at her words. There was so much innocence in them.

Fifteen minutes had passed and Ross was still doing his work. Rachel was getting frustrated now. She decided to call him but he didn't answer. "Arghhhh Ross!"

'Should I go in there?' She thought

"Lets just peep in through the door whats happening", she mumbled to herself.

Rachel walked down to the door and knocked. When no answer came, she opened it a little. She pushed it a bit more to get a good look at the room. She gasped. Ross was nowhere to be seen but the ceiling was filled with stars. She walked inside the room and stood in the middle taking in the beauty of the stars.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her waist from behind. It was Ross. "Do you like it?" He whispered in her ear. She kept her hand over his and nodded, still mesmerised. She turned around to look at him. He gave her another bouquet this time of Roses. She gladly accepted and smelled them

"Ross.. what is all this for?" She asked smiling.

"Look up!" He said softly. She did what she was told and what she saw left her spellbound. The stars re-arranged to form a sentence.

'THANK YOU FOR BEING MY GIRLFRIEND'

Her eyes immediately filled with tears. She considered herself as the luckiest girl in the world. And the reason was standing right infront of her. Finally, she looked at that reason. She was smiling and a tear fell down her cheek. Ross kissed her there and tasted her tear. She immediately kept the bouquet on the nearest seat and pulled him through the collar of his shirt to press her lips to his. His hands instantly found her waist. She moved her hands at the back of his head, feeling his short, crunchy hair and finally settled on his neck. In no time, her tongue was begging to enter his mouth, to which he gladly accepted. Carried away by the moment, Ross left a trail of kisses from her jawbone to her neck. Rachel moaned and tilted her head to feel more of his lips.

This was soon turning into a steamy make out session. They came back to their senses when Ross' phone rung and they quickly pulled away. They both were left breathless by the kiss.

Ross saw Joey's name flashing so he picked up. He gained his breath and spoke "Hey Jo, whats up?" Meanwhile, Rachel was reminiscing about what just happened.

"Uh..I had two extra tickets for the Knicks game tomorrow. I was wondering if you would like to come. Chandler is, too"

Ross made a face. "Is that it? You're calling me to ask this when you know I'm on a DATE!?" He emphasised on date and Rachel got startled.

"Uh yea.. It skipped my mind and then I suddenly remembered, but it was too late because you picked it up. I'm sorry" Joey did not want to see the Red Ross when he saw him the next time. Ross' look softened a bit, thinking he was getting angry at his friend for no reason.

"Oo-kay.. I'll talk to you later" Joey said after a few moments, when he didn't hear Ross say anything.

"Yaa.. and hey, don't give that ticket to anyone else!" Ross warned him playfully.

"You got it" Joey said in his signature style.

Ross kept the phone in his pocket and looked at Rachel who was staring past him. "Rach?" No answer. "Rachel?"

He shook her shoulders. "Rachel, sweetie?"

"Huh.. yea?"

Ross chuckled. "Are you alright? You seemed a bit out of it"

"Oh yeaa... Yeah I'm perfectly fine" Rachel said reassuring him.

Suddenly, Ross' look turned to a serious one. "Listen.. umm.. I didn't mean to do what I did. I guess I just got a little carried away. I'm sorry" Ross hung his head down, thinking that this becomes a big deal when it comes to girls.

"God Ross.. No.. It was both of us, not only you. But let's just take it slow, you know" Ross nodded. She continued, "And if it makes you feel any better, that felt good. It was so spontaneous" Rachel kept her hand on his cheek.

Hearing this, Ross' face lit up. "It really was" Ross said playing with the bangs of her hair.

They were lost in each other's eyes when Rachel's stomach growled. They laughed. Rachel stopped and cleared her throat. "So... is the dinner still on? Cos I'm starving!"

"Of course. Let's go" He grabbed her hand and they were out of the Planetarium.

They were seated on a table at Sorentino's. The waiter had just served their food. They said 'thankyous' and Rachel started. "Ross.. I really appreciate what you did for me in the Museum. But.. I just can't understand why you did that?"

Ross smiled. "Last night when you asked me to be your boyfriend, I was really happy. But I felt.. guilty... cos I should've been the one to ask that to you. So I.. I just wanted to make up for that"

"This is not fair" Ross got perplexed at her words. Rachel continued to explain "I've been coming to Long Island almost every year in the summers and I have JUST found you. It's not fair"

Ross smiled sweetly at her and they went back to eating. Ross wanted to have a dessert too but Rachel was almost full so she suggested they order one and she'll have some. When he ordered a Blueberry Cheesecake, she couldn't help but wonder.. Was it a coincidence that he ordered it? Did he love it like she did? Did he know she loved it that's why he ordered it? Whatever it was, she thought that this was fate. Meeting Ross was fate. She couldn't wait to see what was in the future.

She was lost in her thoughts when the waiter brought their dessert and Ross snapped his fingers in front of his eyes to break her from the daze.

"What's up with you, today? You keep zoning out" Ross inquired.

"Uhh nothing. I was just thinking something"

"Something I should know, Watson?" Ross joked.

Rachel chuckled. "Nothing as of now, Mr Holmes"

Ross cut the cheesecake with his fork and brought it infront of her mouth to let her have the first bite which she gladly accepted. When he had a bite himself, he spread the blueberry all over his mouth. Seeing this, Rachel chuckled.

"What? What's so funny?" He asked oblivious.

"Nothing, you just got something here" She said pointing to her own mouth.

"Oh" He took a napkin to wipe it off but he spread it even more instead.

Rachel chuckled harder. "Here, let me get it for ya" She took a napkin and got up to reach his mouth across the table.

Their faces were mere inches apart. Ross was mesmerised. She was doing it with sheer concentration. Feeling his eyes on her, she looked into them. Here it was again, the infamous stare that lasted for about ten seconds before Ross turned his face towards her fist as she was holding a napkin and kissed her knuckles. He looked back at her and she was still in a daze. He leaned in to kiss her softly. She jerked away.

"Ross... we're at a public place" Rachel said while looking down and playing with her hair like she does when she is nervous.

Ross laughed when she blushed. After a few seconds, he stopped and said "I don't believe I told you how beautiful you look tonight"

Rachel blushed even more. "Stop it, Ross.. You're embarrassing me!"

"What? I can't even compliment my own girlfriend!?" He complained. Then he realised what he said and smiled. "God I loved saying that" Rachel smiled at him. She knew what he meant.

It was still not Rachel's curfew time. They were walking on the streets of New York hand-in-hand. Both of them wanted to spend as much time together as they could. They didn't talk much. They didn't feel the need. Every now and then, Ross would stroke the back of her hand with his thumb. This made her heart flutter. Rachel's mind suddenly went to the Museum. When they kissed this particular time, the feel of his lips on her neck was like Heaven. He made her toes curled. She had made out with so many guys before. Never ever a guy could do THAT to her. But then.. those guys were not Ross.

"This is good" Ross broke the comfortable silence. Rachel looked up at him. "Me.. You.. Us. Alone. I feel good" Ross explained.

"Me too" Ross kissed her forehead. Rachel snaked her hands around his arm and put her head on his shoulder. They continued walking like that until Rachel spotted a fountain. "Wow.. Look at that, Ross. It's such a beautiful fountain" She said pointing towards it.

"Not more than you" Ross said softly. Rachel smiled.

Wise men say, only fools rush in But I can't help falling in love with you

"Come on. Let's go" She dragged him along. When they reached, Rachel took her stilettos off and kept in a corner. She sat on the marble with her legs half dipped in water. Ross kept looking at her and soon joined when she turned back at him with a look saying 'Would you come here already?'

Shall I stay, would it be a sin If I can't help falling in love with you

Ross got in and started splashing the water on her. She tried her best to defend the attack. Both were smiling endlessly. Rachel wanted her revenge so she pretended that she was hurt and her eyes could not open. Ross.. being a caring guy, stopped and came to her. He blew in her eyes so that she could feel better. Rachel kept looking at him while he did that.

Like a river flows, surely to the sea Darling so it goes Some things.. are meant to be Take my hand, take my whole life too For I can't help falling in love with you

Suddenly she remembered her trick and started laughing. She splashed a lot of water on him. She looked so adorable to Ross at this point of time. He stood still, not even wanting to defend her splashes. He felt content just looking at her in her most childish manner. He was happy. For the first time in his life, Ross Geller was feeling what others called as Love.

For I... can't... help... falling in Love... with... You...