The buzzing sound woke her up from the peaceful nap she was taking with them. Feeling the comfort of his arms around her made her smile and snuggle even closer to him. She was face to face with her baby and she could see that the little girl also had a small smile on her face while sleeping. They were both where they belonged.

After she finished cleaning the dishes from their late lunch and tidying up the kitchen, she went to check on Ross and Emma and found them in the most beautiful way: Emma splattered over her father's chest and Ross with his arms around her, both sound asleep.

At that moment she couldn't resist, the pull was too strong and the opportunity too great to ignore. So, she took her shoes off, moved Ross' left arm away from their daughter and got into bed with them.

In the days they had shared the apartment she had never had the courage to do it whenever the opportunity presented itself. Whenever she'd see them lying on the couch, she'd usually just observe them, thankful that her child had such a caring and wonderful father.

Her only companion was the feeling of longing for something she really wanted but could never have.

That was then, right now she was bold enough to tuck herself in his arms and pretend for a little while.

That was what they deserved, what Emma deserved, wasn't it? A family. They had been through so much, had so many ups and downs, that she felt they deserved the normality, the peace and quiet, the dream to finally become a reality.

Once again the buzzing sound. She slowly removed herself from his arms so she wouldn't wake him up and started looking for the source of the noise. It was coming from his coat, so she reached his pocket to find his cell phone ringing with an income call from Linda.

She kept looking at the screen, trying to remember if he had ever mentioned the name. Who was Linda? He hadn't said anything about a new girlfriend on their daily chats over the phone. Who was she?

She didn't want to jump to conclusions but as she read the new income message she couldn't help but do just that.

Are you still on for tomorrow? You haven't confirmed.
Linda

As she put the phone back down and made her way to the door her thoughts started swirling in her head. She soon crossed the short distance to her living room and as she sat on the sofa in an effort to gather her thoughts she felt a knot in the pit of her stomach, the same sinking feeling whenever he found someone new.

God, it was happening all over again. Couldn't a girl catch a break just once in her life?

But... how come he didn't tell her?

They had never been this close. They hadn't been together in years but since her move to Paris it seemed like they were even more connected than before. Her chest constricted thinking of all the late night talks they had shared, if felt like she had a piece of home with her. He had always been her comfort person, even more so since she turned her life upside down, if it was possible.

It felt like that last night together had bonded them in a different way. She closed her eyes remembering that fateful night, what started with her yelling at him with her goodbye speech had ended up with the both of them sharing the most special moment in bed. She usually made fun of him for his sappy talk, but she had to admit: that night they had definitely made love, it was not just sex and they both knew it. There was still a powerful spark of energy between them.

And boy, did they put those sparkles to work!

After sharing a tender good morning kiss the day after, they had spent it with just the three of them and she often caught him staring at her with his mind far far away. She asked him what he was thinking about, but he never said anything.

She knew he wanted to say something. And because of that she kept waiting till the last minute for him to say something, anything, to stop her from getting on that cab. She almost turned around a million times but again, he never said anything.

It was sad to think that their love life was filled with almosts and with missed opportunities.

It was still early enough that the daylight was still out. Even if the sun would be setting soon. She was still on her sofa and as she had time to absorb the possibility of him moving on she knew she couldn't fault him for living his life. It was wrong to expect him to wait for her, to put his life on hold for her when they never even spoke about it. She knew that!

It didn't hurt any less to think about it though.

She wiped the few tears that escaped from her eyes and got up to grab some water. And as she slowly took a sip from her glass she tried to analyse if what she longed for was having a boyfriend, a companion or if she, in fact, missed having him, specifically, as her boyfriend.

She thought back to when they were a couple, to the way he would always wake her up with a light kiss on the lips and a beautiful smile on his face. You deserve to be with someone who appreciates you, you know, and who gets how funny and sweet and amazing and adorable and sexy you are, you know? Someone who wakes up every morning thinking 'OMG I'm with Rachel!' And that's exactly how he made her feel every single day until Mark showed up.

He always paid attention to what she was saying, he never made her feel silly for being spoiled and too much into fashion. He constantly planned things for them to do, taking into consideration what she liked and didn't like - he learned the lesson after their first date. He made her feel special and cherished and still did to this day.

She had a few boyfriends after they broke up but they were never on par with him. He set the bar so high, becoming the benchmark, that he made it impossible for others to reach it. Joshua, Danny, Paul, Tag and even Joey, each one had something intriguing about them but there was always something missing in the relationship. Or too much in a relationship in Danny's case.

Ross was the perfect boyfriend until he wasn't.

She knew that he was more than his jealousy, she knew that his insecurity came out because of the fear of losing her. It didn't justify his actions in any way but it made her realize that both of them were not ready for the magnitude of their feelings and of their relationship. It was too much too soon and they were too young to live a love like that. He projected it by becoming insecure and jealous, she projected it by focusing her attention on something else, her work. They needed to grow individually first.

Well, here they were, almost 10 years later and both grown up enough to take on the responsibility of raising their daughter and taking care of each other. But, had they missed their chance once again? Had they grown in separate ways too far from each other making it impossible to cross paths again?

From the corner of her eyes she saw him entering the kitchen space with their daughter in his arms, both with adorable sleepy faces.

"Hi, mama", he said to her, waving Emma's hand as if she was the one saying it.

"Hi, mama", her daughter said, extending her arms towards her to be picked up.

Rachel laughed at her little girl. At 18 months old she had more words on her vocabulary now and could form a few sentences, but she still just babbled her own language most of the time practicing her speaking skills, having full-on conversations in gibberish.

"Hi, love. Did you have a good nap with daddy?" She kissed her on the forehead and watched her daughter get distracted with her necklace.

"Hey, Rach. How long have you been up?"

Oh, so he did see her in there with them.

"Not long. I felt thirsty and came here for a glass of water." Upon hearing the word water, her daughter looked up and started pointing towards the counter, asking for her sippy cup. "You're thirsty too, baby girl?"

After being given the cup Emma started getting fussy so Rachel carefully set her down on the floor and watched as she walked away, happy to put her little legs to use.

"I barely get to hold her nowadays, she's always walking around like the independent little woman that she is."

"She's growing up so fast", he said as his eyes followed his daughter.

His phone buzzed again and this time he picked it from his pocket and started typing something. She figured it must have been Linda again. Well, Linda could suck it, he was here with them and she wanted his undivided attention.

"So", she started saying to get his attention back, "we still have a few more hours until the sun is down, do you want to go for a walk, get to know the surroundings a bit?

As he put his phone back he gave her a smile, which she noted was something he did more often now.

"Sure, is there a park nearby? We should probably wear the little one down or she will be filled with energy tonight"

"Good idea." She smiled back then turned to her daughter. "Emma! Do you want to go out with mommy and daddy?" The excited little screams were all the answers they needed.


The outing had been a great idea. As they walked with a delighted Emma in between them holding her parents hands, Rachel had had the opportunity to show him her little discoveries around her neighborhood.

"I swear they have the best food here, Ross. Also, the pastries? Oh, out of this world. They taste so good I feel like crying every time I taste something." She looked to her right "There's Le Bateau, a great restaurant I found last week. We should go there some time, you'll love the food.

Oh there's a really good cafe right there" She pointed ahead. "Of course, it's not Central Perk but the coffee is really good. Don't tell Gunther I said that"

She said laughing but stopped when she saw Ross' face fall.

"I'll try, but it won't be too hard. I barely go there anymore"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, with Monica and Chandler living so far away, with Phoebe married and you moving here, it's usually just me and Joey. And it's not the same with just the two of us, so we just hang at his place or go somewhere else."

Her face fell and sadness took over her. Wow, in these three months of being in France she barely had time to think about what she left behind. She knew it would be weird without Monica and Chandler living across the hall, but she never thought things would change this much.

"Don't be sad, Rach. It's ok, we mostly hang out at Monica's now. We go there every Sunday to be with each other and have lunch together."

"No wonder Joey was feeling so bummed about all the changes happening at once. God, I feel awful just thinking about it."

"Well, I don't know if I should be sharing this but Joey told me he's thinking about moving to L.A. so it'll change even more I guess."

As she pictured Ross all alone in the coffee house, tears started to spill out of her eyes.

"He hasn't told anyone yet so, please, don't share this with the others." He said, not noticing the tears running down her cheeks.

She managed to turn away and dry her eyes and soon they were at the park. It was a beautiful day out so there were groups of people scattered all around the grass, some chatting, others laughing or laying down enjoying the sun.

They found a place for them to sit and Ross promptly grabbed Emma's toys so she could distract herself while they relaxed.

"How is Monica? I mean, we talk every week but she's always in a hurry nowadays with the babies and all."

"She's good. Barely slept since the babies arrived but she and Chandler are navigating their way through the first year like real champs", he then looked at her with tenderness in his eyes. "Just like you did with Emma."

She dropped her head to hide the blush she was sure was on her face right now.

"Well, I had you to help me with everything."

"Yeah, but when you went back to Joey's you did everything by yourself and you did great, Rach. That's all I'm saying."

"Thank you, Ross."

She should have stayed. She should have stayed after that big fight they had because of Gavin and they should have talked it through like adults instead of fighting like teenagers, she shouldn't have gone back to Joey's. She often wondered if they would still be living together, co-parenting Emma like they were doing in those first months. It had been so much easier with him by her side, they had shared every chore, every sleepless night, every change of diper.

She should have stayed.

They talked some more, they played with Emma. Ross even chased her, prompting delightful little screams. They enjoyed each other's company and even the silence was comforting.

"Rach?" He seemed to have been calling her name for a while.

"Yeah?"

"The sun is setting, should we get going?"

"Sure, let's head back."

Upon their arrival at her place, Ross' dad mode was activated, as if reading Rachel's thoughts from before. He took charge of Emma's bath time while Rachel prepared her meal. It warmed her heart to know that they still understood each other, that they still knew how to do this dance.

They both fell right back into that domestic bliss.

That night made her feel like when they were living together all over again. The three of them in their own little world.

In less than two hours the both of them had managed to feed their daughter, change her into her pajamas and put her to sleep. Do you mind if I put her down to sleep? I miss having these little moments with her. That had been him when they realized Emma was closing her eyes and almost falling asleep while they played with her.

The same ritual was repeated with themselves a little while later. They took their turns taking a shower, they were both fed and changed into their pajamas a little while later. They were both exhausted from the day.

After saying their goodnights, Rachel headed for her bedroom. Her bed felt empty, too big for just one person. She debated on reading a book or just going to sleep, but decided to turn off her bedside lamp and wait for sleep to take over. But no such luck, she kept rolling from one side to the other on her bed, her mind going back to that text message: "Are you still on for tomorrow? You haven't confirmed."

Ugh, it was none of her business.

A while later she was still wide awake. As she turned once again she decided to get something to drink, she was tired of rolling around.

She quietly made her way to the fridge, the room still dark so she wouldn't wake Ross or Emma. After taking the first sip from the orange juice she had chosen, she went to sit on the couch and let her mind wonder. She hated the fact that she was still thinking about this and that the message made her feel so worked up.

Maybe it was because she saw their chance of trying something again crumbling right in front of her. Or maybe because she had lost a part of her the day they had broken-up and had never gotten it back. And she wanted it back, damn it!

Her mind was swirling with thoughts as she looked down the street when she heard him.

"Rach, is everything ok? Why are you still up?"

That soothing voice of his had always been her undoing. Always.

"Ross… who's Linda?"


Hi guys, here's the new chapter. I've been sitting with this chapter for a few days, I was not sure if it was what I wanted but I decided to let go and publish it anyway. I'm still on fluff mode so I decided to skip the tension and just go with it.

I hope you enjoyed it. Oh, also, I changed in previous chapters the word preschool to daycare because this was the word I intended to use from the beginning but just forgot because English is not my first language so, my bad lol