"Yea.. yeah, I reached just an hour before" Ross was talking to Judy. "Of course Mom, I bought him a gift"

"Yeah Rachel helped me pick out a men's cologne"

"So where's Dad?"

"Oh okay.. I gotta go, Mom. Joey is waiting for me in the Basketball court"

"Bye. Take care" He hung up, put his phone on silent and kept in the drawer.

(...)

Joey and Ross came back to Ross and Chandler's room to hang out, drowned in their sweat after a 5 hour long practice. It was because Ross was late by a day. Ross tossed a can of soda to his friend on the bean bag, while he plopped down on his bed.

"When's Chandler going to be here?" Joey asked, opening his can.

"Tomorrow"

"Mind if I crash down on his bed for tonight? Gandalf is still in Ohio, after his little party"

"Sure. You could grab a sleeping bag and sleep in here, if he does not come back tomorrow. I'm sure Chan won't mind"

"Thanks, Man. So.. how's it going with Rachel?"

Ross almost choked on his soda after hearing this question. "Dude.. I was just being polite. Jeez" Joey said rolling his eyes.

Shit, Ross cursed in his mind. He was supposed to call her when he reached. He quickly got up, got his phone out and saw 13 missed calls and 5 messages from Rachel.

"Excuse me" He went out of his room and dialed her number. He heard 3 rings before he heard yelling "Where the hell have you been? I'm here worried sick about you and you didn't even have the decency to call me to let me know you have reached safely"

Ross was shocked at Rachel's outburst. Sure he thought she'd be worried, but to this extent? Boy was he in trouble. His thoughts did not allow him to speak, so Rachel continued. "Great. Now you won't even speak to me. You promise me you will call me every day and you forget that on the very first day, Ross"

Rachel was fuming at the moment. She was really mad at him this time. "Sweetie" All it took to forget her anger was his voice. It melted her heart whenever he called her that. "I'm so sorry I forgot to call you. The thing is.. this is new to me. I mean.. I called my Mom but.. I never had a girlfriend.. you know.. who cared about me as much as you do. Plus.. I was getting late for my practice, just came back. I'm sorry" He said sweetly.

"Alright. You know I can't stay mad at you for long" Ross knew she was pouting, he smiled with relief that she didn't stretch this topic.

"Now will you please let me hear that magic laugh of yours?" Ross asked her. She didn't even answer him but Ross could hear her chuckle.

Ross was on his study, writing something on sheet of paper. Suddenly the door opens and enters Chandler.

"Look it's the guy formerly known as my best friend" Chandler said. Ross got up to hug his room mate. But Chandler stepped back. "You sure you hug strangers?" This earned him a playful punch from Ross on the stomach.

"Have you had a recent batch of sarcasm today?" Ross smirked, taking one of his bags.

"Well.. I thought my humour was dying down.. that's why you are becoming distant" Chandler answered, only half-jokingly. Ross chuckled.

"I'm damn serious. You didn't even tell me you were coming back. I heard it from Monica" Chandler explained.

"I forgot to mention it, dude. I'm sorry" Ross said.

"Hmm.. so how was New Jersey?" Chandler asked with curiosity.

"Oh it was great. Rachel's sisters are weird but her parents were so cool the whole time I was there. Dr Greene made some cracks on me but they were all in good humour. So.. all in all it was, yeah.. great" Ross said smiling. Chandler patted him on the back to appreciate him. "Hey.. why don't you freshen up and then we could go out? Joey told me about some party he was invited to"

"Yeah.. sure" Chandler started towards the bathroom when he noticed Ross folded a paper and put it in his pocket.

"What's that?"

"What? It's nothing"

"Come on Ross. You can tell me.. what is it?"

"Okay.. Don't make fun of me" Ross said handing the piece of paper to his friend. Chandler opened the fold with a confused expression. Once he started reading it, his lips curled upwards.

"Wow, Man. This is really good. Did you write it?"

"Yeah.. I mean.. we needed a new song for our band, right? So I got to writing.. and.. umm.. all I could think was Rachel so.. she kinda became the inspiration for this one" Ross said embarrassed.

"This is so gonna earn you brownie points from Rach"

"Yeah? But before we use it for our band, I want to play it for her, in private"

"Of course" Chandler agreed, completely understanding his friend's state of mind. He was so in love with Rachel. He's never been this happy, not even with Carol, he thought.

Rachel was in her bedroom, lying on her stomach, drawing some sketches for her assignment when she heard her sister yelling "Ray Ray.. you gotta see this" Rachel ignored, thinking it must be another one of their pranks. After a few minutes, Sandra entered her room. She looked up to see her mother smiling down at her.

"What's up, Mom?" She kept her pencil down and sat straight.

"We thought you might wanna see this" She said, handing her a photo.

It was a candid shot of her and Ross', when they had their little moment in the private, at Leonard Greene's birthday party. They both were smiling, looking into each other's eyes, and Ross had his lips on her wrist. Funny, they never realised they got clicked. We look great together, she thought.

"It's a beautiful picture. You both look wonderful together" Rachel smiled, still looking at the picture.

"Pretty intense looks you have. Anything serious, dear?" Sandra asked.

"Nu-uh" Rachel looked up to see her mother and shook her head. "Just some doubts Ross had"

"Okay.. you need an empty frame for this picture?" Sandra did not want to push the topic if Rachel didn't describe the kind of doubts.

"That'd be great. Thanks, Mom"

The next day at the Greene's, the doorbell rung and Sandra opened the door to a tall, blonde, hippie kinda looking girl.

"Good afternoon, Mrs Greene. Is Rachel here?"

"Hello, dear. She's upstairs in her room"

"Thankyou" She made her way to Rachel's room. She opened the door to see Rachel sleeping in a sitting position with a book in her hand. She also spotted the new frame on her other side table. Out of curiosity, she picked it up and observed it closely. She smiled, thinking there was a lot to talk about. She kept it back and kneeled down on the bed, started shaking Rachel by her arm.

"Rach.. get up" No answer. "Get up.. get up" Still no answer. "If you don't get up, I won't do your Shakespeare paper due this Monday"

Rachel's eyes shot open. She was met by a grinning. "Hey Pheebs.. how was your trip?" Rachel finally straightened up, rubbing the sleep off her eyes.

"Well.. my grandma and her boyfriend had fun.. and that's pretty much it"

Rachel chuckled and they hugged. Phoebe Buffay was her room mate at Yale. She lived in the village with her grandmother. Though they were pursuing different courses, they still had some common subjects. Inspite of Phoebe's quirkiness and Rachel's little self-centeredness, they became best of friends.

"You could have told me you were gonna visit, I'd have prepared something for ya" Rachel offered.

"After the trifle incident last year, no thanks" Phoebe said. Rachel invited Phoebe at her place to celebrate Thankgiving with them last year.

"Hey.. I'm getting better. I learned to make Lasagne in these holidays" Rachel argued.

"I thought you were visiting your cousin in Long Island. Did you take some cooking classes there?" Phoebe asked.

Rachel started to say how Monica taught her, but quickly shut her mouth, thinking.. to tell her about Monica, she would have to tell her about Ross, and that would take a while.

"Pheebs, there's a lot we need to talk about. Let's go out for some drinks, what do you say?" Rachel said patting her on her thigh.

"Does this 'A lot' have something to do with this guy in the picture?" Phoebe asked pointing towards the picture frame. Rachel looked back to where she was directing. And then she just smiled.

Phoebe noticed her reaction. "You're so smitten"

"Wha- No.. I'm not" Rachel defended.

"Ofcourse you are. You're so the Smitten kitten!" Phoebe teased.

(...)

"That's some story" Phoebe commented after hearing the story of Ross and Rachel.

Rachel was smiling ear to ear. She was so happy Phoebe was back and now she could confide the details about her relationship to her. She took a sip of her Long Island Iced Tea.

"So you learned to make lasagne from his sister, huh?" Phoebe asked a little annoyed by her friend. Rachel mentioned about Monica a lot while telling her about Ross.

"Well.. yeah.. we spent a lot of time together when Ross was out with Chandler, who is her boyfriend and also, Ross' room mate"

"Hmmmmm... Can I say something, Rachel?" Phoebe said seriously.

"Yeah.. sure"

"I've been to your place so many times, each time you were with someone else.. never ever did you keep a framed picture of any one of them. That says a lot, you know.. I have never seen you this happy" Phoebe was really happy for her friend.

"That's cos I have never been this happy, Pheebs. Those guys never gave me a reason to keep their picture on my side table. Ross earned that spot on our very first date, I guess"

"Really?"

"Yeah.. I mean.. you know.." Rachel wanted to explain it correctly to her friend. Her eyes wandered around the club and came back to her "Pheebs, when we kissed for the very first time, I felt like I could not kiss anybody else in the future"

"Aww.. I'm so happy for you" Phoebe leaned in for a hug.

"Thanks. He's an amazing guy. Really.. and our relationship.. It's like the thing.. when-when you wanna scream on the top of your lungs to show it off, you know... but at the same time you want to hide it from the entire world to prevent it from getting jinxed" Rachel tried to explain.

"Alright.. alright.. what you just said went above my head" Rachel smiled at Phoebe's comment.

A week passed by and it was the day when Rachel was going back to Yale. It had also been a week since she last saw Ross. Both missed each other terribly, but found peace in the fact that they were still in each other's lives. They made sure to talk to each other about anything and everything before going to bed.

Rachel was in her car driving, on her way to Yale, when she heard her phone ringing. She could see it was Ross, so she pulled over to the side of the road to talk to him.

"Hi honey"

"Hey sweetie. How are you?"

"Good" She said. "I'm actually on my way to the college. You?"

"Uhh.." He looked at his watch and continued "I have Geology in 10 minutes" Ross groaned. Rachel laughed. He was not amused. "I'm gonna ignore that you're laughing on my misery. I'm missing you, sweetie. When can we meet?" Ross was almost whining.

"I miss you too, baby. I guess we'll have to wait for another 4-5 days. Most of my papers are due this week. I'm sorry" She looked down at the steering wheel.

"No, Rach. You don't need to apologise. I completely understand" Ross assured her.

"Thanks" She said with a faint smile.

"So.. next saturday?" Ross asked expectantly.

"Yeah.. sounds perfect"

"Great.. I have a surprise for you"

"Goodie. You know how much I love surprises" Rachel got so excited.

"That's why I planned it. But.. you have to come down to NYU for that" He bargained.

"Is it so?" Rachel asked cocking her eyebrow.

"I'm afraid it is" Ross said slowly.

"Alright.. I'll drive down to your dorm after lunch. Then we can spend the day together and you can give me your surprise whenever you feel like"

"Sounds cool. I'll let you continue your journey now. Drive safe"

"I will. Bye"

"Make sure to call me when you reach. Love you"

"Will do. Love you too" She hung up.

It was already friday night. Chandler was out with Monica on a date. Ross was in his room, tuning his guitar, for the next day. He heard a knock on his door. He kept the guitar on his bed, got up and opened to see a soaking wet Rachel standing with the biggest smile in front of him. "Wha- How come yo- I mean.. Wow"

"Ross.. I know you're shocked. But let me first come in, its freezing out here" Rachel said smiling. Ross mentally kicked himself before opening the door wider to let her come in. Her eyes wandered around the room. It didn't take her long to spot which was Ross' bed as its side table had a framed picture of her.

"When did you take this?" Rachel asked, walking over to his bed and picking up the frame.

"At the Annual Geller Barbeque Brunch. You looked so beautiful in that sundress" Ross said coming closer, standing just behind her, her ears could feel his breathe giving chills to her body. She knew she was cold by the rain, but she realised it was Ross who could make her feel that way. She turned around to look at him. Before they could even hug, let alone kiss, Rachel sneezed. This made both of them break into laughter.

"I'll bring you a towel" Ross walked away from her to the bathroom. He came, handed her the towel. After a few seconds, he said to her. "Now would you tell me.."

"Well.. I just wanted to surprise you by coming in a day earlier. But obviously, I didn't see the weather forecast and got wet while looking for your door" She explained, while putting her wet overcoat on the floor.

"How did you know which one was mine?"

"Well.. I did have to call Monica who in turn had to ask Chandler for the exact location"

"You never cease to amaze me, Rach" He walked closer to her and hugged her tightly. His head rested on her shoulder while hers on his. "God.. I missed you" They closed their eyes, to feel the moment.

"I missed you too, so much Ross. But I really think you should get off me. I don't want you to get a cold" Rachel tried to pull away, but failed because of her small size compared to Ross.

"Do you really think I would stay away from you when I'm seeing you almost after two weeks? Just because you're wet and I could get a cold?" He finally pulled away to look into her eyes, keeping his hands on her shoulders.

Her hands slid from his back to his front, upto his chest and finally settled on his cheeks, softly caressing him. "I love you"

Ross could not resist his urges longer. He leaned in to kiss her, a little too forcefully, that they backed away a bit, because of imbalance. It was not passion or lust, it was love and longing for each other. For the next two minutes, they were kissing continuously. Ross finally pulled away to gain some breath. Rachel was literally left breathless. She was heaving. He put her somewhat dishelved, wet hair behind her ears with both his hands. "You are irresistable when you're wet" He whispered in her ear, sending chills down her spine. He kissed her on the forehead and walked away to his cupboard. He picked out one of his sweatshirts tossing it to her, so that she didn't feel too cold. While she was wearing it, he switched on the coffee maker, thinking she could use a cup right now. He turned around to see her in his sweatshirt. She couldn't be more beautiful to him. She was in his sweatshirt, for crying out loud. He smiled. "Are you ready for the surprise?"

"Now?" Rachel was confused.

"Whenever you're ready"

She couldn't help but smile back at him. "Sure"

He walked towards her and took her hand. He led her to his bed while he picked the guitar and sat on Chandler's bed. He fixated his eyes onto hers and started striking some chords.

"I can only give you love

That lasts forever

And a promise to be near

Each time you call

And the only heart I own

For you and you alone

That's all"

Rachel was touched by his gesture. She loved him even more, if it was even possible. She knew he meant every word of the song. Oh God.. did he write the song? For me? She thought.

"All I have are these arms

To enfold you Just go with it

And a love time can never destroy"

At this moment, Rachel was fully crying the tears of happiness and satisfaction. She quickly wiped them off and got up to sit right next to him. She started to kiss his neck. Ross had to fight his urges to not react to her advances. He had to finish the song for her.

"if you're wondering what I'm asking

In return, dear

You'll be glad to know

That my demands are small

Say it's me that you'll adore

For now... and ev-"

He stopped playing while Rachel continued to shower him with her kisses all over his face.

"If you keep doing that, it will be hard to finish the song" He said in a nervous chuckle.

"That's the idea" She said in between her kisses.

"Am I that bad?" He asked a little hurt.

She stopped her actions to look at him, took the guitar and kept it on Chandler's bed. She positioned herself on his lap and caressed his cheeks. She tilted her head and gazed into his eyes "You're that good" And they kissed again. Until..

"I don't think it's a good idea to do it in here. Chan could come back any second" Ross said breathless, still had his hands on her wrists.

"I don't think so. He knows I'm here. He would know better than to walk in on us" Rachel replied in a serious tone. Nothing could stop them right now. They were in love and they loved the feeling of being in love.

(...)

It was almost 1 in the morning. They lazily laid on Ross' bed, in each other's arms. It was a queen sized bed, but that didn't matter. Rachel lifted her body to look into his eyes. She took support from her elbows and rested them on his chest. "Did you write the song?"

"Yeah"

"For me?"

"For you" He kissed her on the forehead. "Did you like it?"

"I loved it. I didn't know you played the guitar" Rachel realised.

"Well.. Chan and I have this band called 'Way, No Way'.. Guess who's the lead guitarist!" He said with a goofy grin.

"Really?" Ross nodded. She lifted herself and crossed one of her legs to his other side, positioned herself on his thighs. She bent down so that their faces were just centimetres apart. "So you're a rockstar! When can I have an autograph?" Rachel pouted.

"Oh.. you can have more than just the autograph!" With that he rolled them over to be on top of her. The room filled with Rachel's giggle.

It was 7 in the morning and Ross' alarm clock started to buzz. Rachel groaned in frustration. She was definitely not a morning person. She patted Ross on his chest to switch off whatever it was that disturbed her sleep. Ross did as he was signaled to.

As he got off the bed, he put on his boxers and a t-shirt. Then he saw her small body laying on his bed. She curled up to the side when he got out of the bed, and hugged the blanket, thinking it was him. He continued to just look at her. He thought she was so beautiful, inside and out. How could someone as beautiful as her even want to be with an average looking guy like him? Boy was he thankful, he was allowed to see her, talk to her, touch her, kiss her and make love to her. Yes... from the first time they did it on the yacht, it was never sex, it was love.. because it was Rachel. God, I love her!

Amidst the train of his thoughts, Rachel opened her eyes, unable to go back to sleep. She lifted up her face a little and saw him staring at her figure. Suddenly she became very aware that she was naked. But she liked the look on his face, it was hungry yet decent. "Like what you see?"

"Huh?" He was still in a haze.

"I hope you do not stare at any other girls like that" She said teasingly, grabbing her top and putting it on.

"No one out there is as beautiful as you are" He said lovingly. She got out of the bed, walked over to him and kissed him full. "Good morning" Because it was never too late for that.

"Morning" He kissed her forehead.

"It's nice to see your face first thing in the morning" Rachel said sweetly, playing with his earlobe. Ross smiled. And then his smile transitioned to a mischievous look. "Wanna join me for a shower?"

Rachel gasped lightly at how forward he was being. She thought for a moment to come with an equally playful reply. "That's a possibility.. I mean.. we must save water"

Since they had the whole day to spend with each other, they decided to go out for brunch, a movie and then for a double date with Chandler and Monica at a local club in the evening.

The two couples sat in a booth, Ross and Rachel on one side and Chandler and Monica on the other side. The music was loud, the smell of alcohol was dripping from the breath of each and every person in the club.

"I'm so happy you called us for a double date, Rach" said Monica.

Rachel smiled. "I did promise I won't forget you Mon" She kept her hand over hers and gave it a squeeze.

"I'm sorry.. Are you two out on a date?" Chandler commented sarcastically. Everybody broke into fits of laughter.

Ross took his drink in one hand "A toast please" The other three also raised their glasses. "all four of us.." Ross intertwined his fingers with Rachel "together.. just hanging.. To love" And then he kissed her on the corner of her mouth, a little too forcefully for a public place. It was visible Ross was getting drunk, but Rachel liked the wild, drunk Ross. They kissed..

"We are going to excuse ourselves for a dance while you do that" Monica said smiling.

"This is good" Rachel said. "Thank you Ross.. you have not only given me my first stable relationship but.." She looked at Chandler and Monica on the dance floor "but also two great friends, especially Monica" She kissed him on the cheek. They kept looking at each other for a few moments until a slow, romantic song was playing on the dance floor "Let's go dance"

They walked hand in hand towards the dance floor. Ross' hands found Rachel's waist while hers found his neck. They were swinging to the music slowly, keeping their gazes fixated on each other. "I remember when we first danced together. We had just met. And today we-"

"We're in love" Rachel finished for him.

"We are?" Ross asked smiling.

"Are we not?" Rachel asked concerned.

"No.. I mean.. we just confessed we loved each other on the yacht. There was not any mention of us being in love, right?"

"Wow, Ross.. I didn't know guys noticed these kinda things"

"I'm sorry I'm not a typical guy"

"Oh no... You're not.. You're the greatest guy ever" Ross smiled at this. "So.. are we in love?" Rachel came back to the topic.

"I know I am"

"Good" And then they kissed, oblivious to the existence of the whole world, let alone their presence. They broke apart and smiled at each other. The song switched to a rock music and all of a sudden, that hit Ross like a hammer on the head. "Wanna get out of here?"

"What about Mon and Chandler?"

"They're keeping themselves busy" He pointed to the booth where both of them were making out.

"Alright" Rachel said smiling.

(...)

They were walking on the streets of New York City. They both hugged each other by the waist while her hand was clinging on to the collar of his overcoat, and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

An idea hit Ross, he grabbed Rachel's hand tightly and started running. "Ross.. what happened? Why are you running?" Ross didn't answer. "Ross.. tell me.."

Rachel gave up. "Ross you're making me run in heels. You better have a good reason" She warned.

After a minute or two, they entered the Central Park. Ross turned around to look at Rachel who was frustrated with all the running. He put a strand of her hair behind her ear and caressed her face. "We had our first date here. Under the blanket of stars, remember?"

Her expression softened at his words. "Of course I do. We had chinese take out up on that hill"

Ross smiled, remembering how they laughed endlessly that night. "Come on"

They headed towards the spot and laid on their backs, with Rachel's head on Ross' stomach, making a T-shape. Ross had one hand behind his head and the other was on Rachel's stomach while Rachel played with it. They both just kept staring at the sky for a few minutes. Every now and then, Ross would "You know Ross.. When we were kids, Daddy would take us out to the mountains.. for camping.. where we could see so many bright stars, almost ten times in number than we can see from here, or back at home"

"That must have been beautiful" He commented, imagining the sky in his mind.

"It was. And so peaceful, you know. That was what kept me grounded" She confessed.

"What do you mean?" Ross asked.

"Uhh.. when I was little, I used to think everything was just a demand away, you know.. I mean.. I just had to say it to Daddy and he would get it for me. That was how all of us were raised, Ross. I-I felt like the princess who could have anything and everything. But whenever we went to the mountains.. I used to look at the stars.. and get reminded of the fact that there is so much which is beyond my reach" She explained.

Ross stroked her stomach to let her know he appreciated her thought.

"Not for these stars, I think I would have been a completely, self-involved bitch just like my sisters" She muttered. This earned her a chuckle from him.

"I'm sure they'll come to their own. It might take time but.. they're your sisters, Rach. They have a wonderful idol to look upto" Ross said.

"I hope so"

"I want to thank you, Rachel" Ross said. Rachel turned her head to look at him questioningly. He continued. "For sharing a glimpse of your childhood with me. It makes me feel so special that you chose me to share this particular moment. Thank you"

"I'm also happy that I chose you, Ross" She turned her head and continued to look at the sky. A shooting star came into their view of the already beautiful sky. This made Rachel excited and she got a little jumpy. "Ross.. Ross.. look there's a shooting star. Let's wish for something" She said, patting on his hand, which was still pressed between hers. She had her eyes closed.

"But you already came true"

She opened her eyes at his sweet words. She turned again to find him smiling his innocent smile and his chocolate brown eyes staring at her with so much love. She rolled herself so that their faces were closer and rested her weight on her elbows on the grass. She leaned in to kiss him.