Hey you guys.. you know, the thought of Emily did enter my mind while writing about the phonecall but I watched the beginning of season 5 recently and remembered how I hate Emily.. sorry, but its true. Before I'm a writer (that too an amateur one), I'm a Ross and Rachel shipper (that too a die-hard one). I apologise if you didn't like it, but this is what it is. And as long as the plot development is concerned, this is overall a happy fic, so just enjoy reading and keep reviewing. It is always great to read what you think and I'll be happy to justify my thoughts.
The next day, the doorbell rung at the Gellar's. Judy opened to see Carol standing shyly. It was the first time Carol had come to their house since she and Ross broke up. Judy smiled. She didn't have anything against that girl. And anyway, her son was ten times happier with Rachel than he was with Carol, she had witnessed this by his behaviour. "Hey Mrs Geller"
"Hi Carol. Its been a long time, isn't it?"
"Yes it has. And.. I'm really sorry for what happened" Carol said with sorrow.
"Oh Dear.. it's completely fine. It turned out well for everybody, didn't it?" Judy said smiling, thinking about Ross and Rachel. Carol was confused. But she smiled back. "Uhh.. where's Ross? We're supposed to do an assignment"
"He must be upstairs in his room. Why don't you make yourself at home and I'll go call him" Judy said politely, leaving Carol in the living room all by herself.
Meanwhile.. the doorbell rung again. Sensing nobody at their house was downstairs, she thought she must answer the door. She opened the door to see a dark brown haired girl. Carol didn't know who that was. That girl, on the other hand, knew who had opened the door. She was here for a reason. It was not like she didn't trust Ross, but he was her boyfriend and she loved him, these were the reasons she was here.
"Hi. May I help you?" Carol asked politely.
"Oh you must be Carol. I'm Rachel" Rachel introduced herself.
"Uhh.. ho-how.. do you know me?" Carol asked perplexed by Rachel's chirpy tone.
"Oh heyyy.. You're here!" Ross said from behind. Though he meant Carol, but he was shocked and surprised to see Rachel as well. Carol turned around to look at him. Rachel smiled when she saw Ross."Hey you" He went past Carol and hugged her. "Hey sweetie. What are you doing here?" He asked while breaking away from their hug.
"Oh you know.. didn't really have anything planned for today, thought I could come over and spend time with Mon while you do your assignment" She made faces while saying that. Ross laughed. He turned around, still standing next to Rachel with his hand on her waist. "Carol, this is Rachel" He looked down at her lovingly and continued. "My girlfriend"
"Oh.. wow.. good to meet you" Carol said offering her hand. Rachel smiled and gladly accepted. "Likewise"
"Alright honey.. please go and finish your assignment so that we can go someplace nice for a date" Rachel said sweetly.
"As you say" Ross said bowing down to her. "You're staying for lunch, though?"
"Oh yeah.. Monica and I.. we are gonna make lasagne" Rachel said, clapping her hands with excitement.
"Whoa.. tell us now.. will it be safe to eat it?" Ross asked. Rachel hit him playfully on the arm. "I'll be with Mon" She made her way to Monica's bedroom. Ross kept smiling like an idiot until Carol spoke.
"I'm happy for you, Ross" She said truly meaning those words. She never wanted to hurt him. He was such a sweet guy. She was sure they would never have broken up if she wouldn't have been a lesbian.
"Yeah?"
"Yes. I've seen you after our break up. It was not a good sight. And now.. it is much better even than when we were together" Carol said.
"It really is. She is so special" Ross had a dreamy look.
"So tell me.. how did you meet her?" Carol asked with curiosity about her ex - boyfriend's love life.
"Well.. there's this bar at the 5th avenue where..." Ross started telling his and Rachel's story.
Meanwhile, in Monica's bedroom, she was painting her toe nails. She and Rachel were talking about Ross and Carol. Rachel had a look of shock on her face. "So they dated for five months?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah. It was going quite well. And we loved Carol, she was a part of family. But then, you know.." She trailed off, looking at her toe from a distance.
"So how did she break this news to him?" Rachel asked.
"I don't know the details but... from what Chandler told me, it was emotional but not hurting.. you know. Ross was thankful that he didn't have to know from anyone else, that she came out of the closet" Monica said while closing the nail polish bottle. Monica stood from the bed to keep the bottle back in its place.
"Oh" After a few moments.. Rachel spoke. "Mon?" Monica turned around when she heard the concern in her friend's voice. "Yeah"
"Was he in love with her?" Rachel asked. Her expression was hard to read.
Monica came and sat infront of Rachel. "Does it matter to you, Rach?" Rachel shook her head. "I just want to know, that's all"
"From what I saw.. he liked her. A lot. It could have turned into love" Monica said, hoping this would not bother Rachel much. Rachel started to look down at her hands.
"Hey.. come on.. let's go make lasagne! I'll even let you have my recipe" Monica tried to cheer her up. And she succeeded. Because Rachel smiled "Yes you give that to me. Ross has always praised it"
"Fine. Come on now"
"...that is how her father finally permitted her to stay here longer" Ross sighed happily. "And here we are..."
"Wow Ross.. seems like you two are very much in love. Just over a month, and so much has already happened. I just hope she sees the real you" Carol chose her words carefully.
"Oh no.. she's not shallow, Carol. She has a big heart. She's so much more than just a pretty face" His tone was confident and sweet.
"That's good to hear. And now I know why your Mom said it turned out well for everybody"
Ross smiled. "Oh shoot. Let's start with our assignment, we'll talk more at lunch. You'll even get time to bond with Rachel"
"Yeah.. she seems nice"
In the kitchen, Monica asked Rachel to spread the lasagne sheets. "You know Mon, I don't know the C of cooking. Thanks for teaching me SOME thing"
"Oh I'm sure you'll catch up. I know I wouldn't be cooking all these things if I was not in a culinary school"
"Maybe. Okay.. all done" Rachel said triumphantly.
Monica walked to her from what she was doing and looked. "See.. You're not that bad"
"Yeah well tell my mom that. She thinks I couldn't cook even if my life depended on it" Both girls broke into fits of laughter.
In the living room, Ross and Carol heard their voices and had an amused look on their face. "We must finish it off with an equation cos that always fetch extra marks" Carol continued after a while.
Ross was still looking towards the direction of the kitchen. "Oh Ross.. Don't show me this longing for Rachel" Ross turned when he heard Carol speaking. "She is just a wall away. Wanna go see her, don't ya?"
Ross smiled shyly. "No let's just get this over with"
"Oh come on. It's almost done. I'll add the equation I was telling you about afterwards. Let's go"
When Ross and Carol entered the kitchen, Rachel was standing infront of the oven watching the lasagne in complete awe. She had eaten lasagne many times but it was the first time she was actually seeing how it was made. Ross put his finger on his lip to signal Monica to keep quiet. He went behind Rachel and put his hands over her eyes from behind. She got startled at first but then she touched the hands. Only Ross, she thought. She smiled. "I see you completed your assignment well before time" She said taking his hands from his eyes and turning around.
"I do need to take you out you know" He said sweetly. "And I will even reward you for not disturbing me in between my work" He whispered in her ear, making sure it was not noticed.
"O yeah?" She was leaning towards him to kiss him when the oven bell rung 'ting' and they pulled away.
"Okay you two love birds.. Get out of my way and let me take the lasagne out. Chandler will be here any minute"
"Oh great Chandler's coming too. Didn't see him for a long while" Carol chirped in.
"Umm.. I'll go to the bathroom before that" Ross kissed Rachel's cheek and left.
Rachel kept looking at the door with a look of longing and desire even when he was gone. Carol noticed it. "He is a nice guy, isn't he?" She said breaking Rachel from her trance.
"Huh.. oh.. yeah.. yes he really is. The sweetest guy" Rachel said smiling.
"I see he's happy too. Thank you for that Rachel. I never wanted to hurt him. I'm sure he told you about us" Rachel nodded. "Well I just hope the best for you two" Carol said from her heart. "He deserves this happiness.. and so do you."
"Thanks Carol. That's real nice of you to say that. You won't believe me, but I was a little jealous when Ross told me he was meeting you today cos.. you know.. you being his ex and everything bu-"
"Oh you don't have to worry about anything. I'm not going to change my choices anymore. I know what I want now" Carol interrupted.
"Yeah I know that. And thank you cos that has played a big part in mine and Ross' relationship, you know what I mean" Rachel said with a big smile on her face. She even walked over to hug Carol that took her off guard but she nonetheless obliged. They broke their hug when they heard the door bell. "It must be Chandler. I'll get it" Rachel said running out from the kitchen.
Rachel opened the door. "Hello there little one" Chandler said. Rachel laughed. She knew why he said that. Rachel was not wearing heels today and that made her look shorter than usual.
"Monica.. the class clown is here" She yelled while walking back.
Before Monica could come, Chandler spotted Carol. "Oh hey Carol. Didn't know you were coming"
"Well Ross and I had to do an assignment so... how have you been?" She asked hugging him.
"Just great. It's nice to see you. I don't see you much in college"
"Hi honey" said Monica coming from her parent's bedroom.
"Hey sweetie" Chandler said sweetly. Before he could kiss her, he saw Judy coming out of her room. "Well well.. Chandler is here too. How nice! It's like a little party today, isn't it?" Everybody just smiled.
"Where's Ross?" Judy asked when she saw her son missing. "He'll be down any minute" Rachel said.
"Lets all settle down then" Judy and Monica said in the exact same tone. Rachel, Chandler and Carol laughed. They were soon joined by Ross at the table. They ate, they talked, they laughed and had a perfect lunch together. There was no awkwardness between Rachel and Carol that Rachel had thought there would be. She actually liked Carol. She could see why Ross was with her. She was his type. Even more than Rachel was. But Ross loved Rachel now and that's what mattered.
"Thankyou for an amazing lunch, Mrs Gellar. And Monica, the lasagne was too good" Carol said. Monica smiled.
"I'll take your leave now. Goodbye everyone"
"Monica.. I see why Ross loves your lasagne so much. It tastes heavenly" Rachel said.
"Well you did help me today" Monica said with modesty.
"Oh she did, did she?" Ross said turning to look at Rachel.
"Indeed I did" Rachel said in the same way.
"Oh God Rachel.. was Ross not enough to kill us with his stupid grammar that you are also ganging up with him now?" Chandler said sarcastically. Ross shot him a look. Rachel and Monica laughed.
"Okay kids.. I'm done here. I'm going to take a nap"
"Bye Mrs Geller" Chandler and Rachel said in unison, both knowing they won't be here when she wakes up. Judy smiled and walked towards her room.
"How about we catch a movie, sweetie? What do you say?" Ross asked Rachel, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
"I say.. let's do that" Rachel agreed happily.
"Alright then.. what are you guys gonna do?" Ross turned to Monica and Chandler. They both looked at each other. After a few moments, Chandler decided to speak. "Well.. I'm just not in the mood to step out today" He turned to Monica. "How about we stay at home?"
"Yeah.. even I'm a little tired"
"So we still have 10 minutes before the movie starts. You wanna grab something to eat?" Ross asked Rachel after buying the tickets.
"No.. I'm pretty much full. Let's just go inside" Rachel said.
"Alright" Ross held her hand and led her into the theatre.
They got corner seats in the movie hall. It was a sassy romantic film. Ofcourse Ross was not a big fan of those films but Rachel loved these kind of films and he could not say no to her. Moreover, with these kind of films came romantic scenes which eventually led to little romantic escapades between the two. He kept his hand behind her head over her shoulder and almost instantly, she tilted her head towards his shoulder. This is life, he thought. He couldn't be happier.
A little into the movie - A romantic scene was playing. Ross thought to have a little fun with his girlfriend. So he decided to whisper the actor's dialogues in her ear.
"I don't know what I would do without you" Rachel smiled.
"I'll bring the moon for you. You just have to ask" Rachel could not wipe that smile off her face. Although she knew he was just repeating the dialogues, but the sincerity with which he was speaking, she could tell he meant every word.
"You're the last piece to the puzzle which is my life"
"You are the centre of my universe" The actor spoke.
"Well.. see.. you ARE my whole universe" Rachel quickly glanced at Ross when he changed the dialogue this time. He had a goofy smile on his face. She brought her hand on his cheek and kissed him on the lips. "I love you" He brought his other hand over hers on his cheek and kissed the fingertips.
"Honey, can we get an ice cream before heading home?" Rachel and Ross were coming out of the theatre hand in hand after the movie ended. "Of course sweetie. The ice cream parlour was not that far from the theatre so Ross let his car in the theatre parking.
They were in the queue waiting for their turn when Ross saw that the tables were getting full. "Would you get the ice cream while I save us a table?" Ross asked her sweetly. "Sure"
Ross was sitting on the table. Rachel came in no time. "Here's your orange and chocolate sundae" She kept the cup infront of him. He tasted it. "Hmmm.. just how I like it. Here.. have some" He fed it to her. "Wow.. it tastes yum"
"You wanna have some of mine?" Rachel asked with her mouth full. Ross chuckled and said "Sure" He took some with his own spoon. "Hey this is nice. How come I never had this flavour? Wanna switch?"
"Okay" Rachel just wanted to have ice cream. She loved all the flavours.
"Its so tasty. What is this flavour anyway?" He asked taking in a spoon full of it.
"Kiwi-lime sundae" Rachel said. Ross stopped his spoon midway and looked at Rachel, worried. "What?"
"Kiwi-lime. What.. what's wrong?" Rachel asked perplexed, seeing the facial expression of Ross.
"I'm allergic to kiwi" Ross said.
"What happens when you have some?" Rachel asked concerned.
"My tongue fwell (my tongue swells)" Kiwi was definitely having its effect on Ross and Rachel was worried sick. She got up from where she was sitting and came to Ross. "Sweetie, is it happening now? Is your tongue swelling?"
"Either zat ow my mouth iz getting -fmallew (Either that or my mouth is getting smaller)"
"Oh God.. I'm so sorry, Ross. I didn't know you were allergic to kiwi. I would have never offered that to you" Rachel was almost crying. She knew these allergies could be very harmful if not treated immediately. "No, Ii iz not yow fault. I fould have azked you about the flavow. Let juft go to a hofpital (No, it is not your fault. I should have asked you about the flavour. Lets just go to a hospital)" Rachel could not believe he forgot about his allergy and he was consoling her. "Okay.. Come on. I'll drive"
They reached the hospital. Rachel banged on the reception desk when she saw there was nobody to help her. "Is somebody here?"
"Yes Madam. How can I help you?" She heard a middle aged woman walking from her behind and stopped at her desk.
"My friend..." She pointed towards Ross. "kiwi in his ice cream.. mistake.. allergic.. tongue swelling" Rachel did her best to explain the situation. The woman looked over at Ross who had a weird expression on his face.
"I'll call the doctor immediately. Please fill this form" She handed her the board and a pen.
"Oh God.. Oh God please help me" She frantically started to fill the details for Ross. Even though Ross was in pain, he couldn't help but notice how much she cared for him.
"Here.. Can we see the Doctor now, please?" Rachel asked the receptionist returning her the form.
Inside the ward, Ross was sitting on the stool waiting for his Doctor. Rachel was behind him massaging his shoulders. "Does it hurt, honey?" She asked. Though it did hurt him, Ross knew better than to tell that to Rachel. She was already feeling so bad about the whole incident. "Not weally.. juft one tot and it will be back to now-mal (Not really. Just one shot and it will be back to normal)" He assured her in slurred speech.
An old aged man wearing a white coat comes in. "Alright.. so you must be... Ross Geller. I'm Dr Letterman"
"That's him, Doc. Kiwi allergy" Rachel informed.
"Oh yes I'm aware of the situation"
"Will he be alright?" Rachel asked the Doctor.
"Of course. Let me give him a shot"
The doctor gets the syringe ready. The moment Rachel sees how big is the needle, she glances at Ross with a painful expression. Ross chuckled. "Fweetie.. You acting like you awe gonna get a tot (Sweetie, you're acting like you are gonna a shot)"
"Yeah well.. it will cause you pain, wouldn't it?" Rachel argued. Ross just smiled. "It'll be alw-ight" (It will be alright)
"You wanna hold my hand?" Rachel asked sweetly, offering him her hand. "Auwaz" He said. (Always)
"Are we ready now?" The doctor asked. Rachel pulled his sleeve for him and held his hand again. "Okay... just a matter of few seconds.. and.. done!"
"You have to stay here until you get your speech back to normal" The doctor said while writing on his paperwork.
"How much time for that, Doc?" Rachel asked.
"About half an hour. Don't worry, he'll be just fine" With that he walked out of the ward. Rachel came infront of Ross and leaned towards his face. She kept her hands on his chest and started to move them up and down.
"Honeeey.. are you alright?" Rachel asked in her typical way. "Better" Ross answered sheepishly.
"You gave me a scare there" Rachel said in a serious tone. "I won't awgue wiv tat. I could haf died if we weve late (I won't argue with that. I could have died if we were late)" Ross said half-joking. Rachel looked down.
"Hey" He kept his finger below her chin and lifted her face so she could look him in the eyes "I'm otay (I'm okay)" Rachel shot him a look hearing his still slurred speech. "Well.. not compleefely buf I will be (Well.. not completely but I will be)" This got a chuckle from Rachel.
"You know.. I can fink of fumthing how you can make it upto me" Rachel smiled knowing his intentions. She leaned towards him and kissed him with all her might. She was being so very emotional at that moment. She put each and every one of her emotions in that kiss to let him know how important he was to her. She was so worried about him that she didn't even get to think what she would have done if something happened to him. Well love will do that to you, it will make you selfless for that one person. After what seemed like eternity, she pulled away but kept her forehead against his. He had his hands on her wrists while hers encircled his neck. "Hmmmphh.. well that was one hell of a kiss" Rachel laughed and gave him another quick peck. "Kiss. Kiss. Hey I got my S' back" Ross said triumphantly.
"That was fast" Rachel said.
"Maybe I just needed some Rachel lovin" Ross said seductively looking straight into her eyes before leaning in to kiss the corner of her mouth.
Ross stopped the car infront of Jessica's house. "Today was interesting han?" He said with a chuckle.
"It sure was" Rachel grabbed his hand. "Listen.. I'm sorry for feeding you kiwi"
"Hey. I'm fine. Just get that out of your head" He kissed her hand to reassure her. "And... umm.. I'm also allergic to lobster and peanuts. Just for your future reference" Ross said embarrassed.
"Really?" He nodded. "Wow" Rachel said more to herself that to Ross. "What?"
"Ross... could we BE more opposite?" She said with a chuckle. "Why's that?"
"The three things you're allergic to.. are the three of my favourite things" She said shaking her head.
"Oh" Ross looked at the steering wheel. He turned to her. "But hey.. someone wise once said.. Opposites attract" This earned him a smile from his girl and a kiss on the cheek.
"I guess they do"