::: chapter 6 :::
Rachel was finishing applying her make up on, leaning closer to the mirror as she checked her eyes one last time. It was her first time out with Ross -or anyone!- since little Emma was born. Well, actually, way before that! She was excited about it and having been able to fit in one of her old dresses sure brightened up her mood even more. She had been dieting a little since the birth and by now you could easily tell the difference. "Thank God for t.v. gym shows", she thought. Judy Geller, Ross' mom, had come from Long Island just to take care of her granddaughter. They hadn't told her anything about their dating, but you could say she knew someone was up, so she came right away. "Anything to help those two!"
"Rachel, you ready?", Ross asked from the other side of the door, knocking a bit unpatient. "We gotta leave soon if we wanna come back early for Emma", he added. "I'll be right out, Ross" she replied, still taking her time. Her hair was down, with a few golden curls, and her make up was very light. Rachel was always sophisticated, but never the slutty type of girl. Her dress was a very simple and yet beautiful black one, nothing too under or over dressed, they were just going to have dinner in an italian place near by with Monica and Chandler.
"Okay, ready to go", she said to herself, opening a drawer and shoving all of her make up products in there, except for the lipstick she was using, which she put in her tiny handbag. "Wow", Ross murmured as she came out of the bathroom. She smiled and just passed by him, going right into Emma's bedroom. He slowly turned around to look after her, being careful for his mom not to notice it. "So what time are you two coming back?", Judy asked. "Oh, probably very early, you know, because of Emma. We won't take long" "Take your time, dear, I'm not dense when it comes to babies, so you shouldn't be worried about that", she commented. "Oh, it's not Emma we're worried about", he answered with a smile.
"It's Geller, Ross Geller. We're meeting Chandler Bing", Ross said to the host at the restaurant once they arrived. "They're already waiting for you, sir. Follow me", he said as he entered the table area with Ross and Rachel following, hands linked on each other's. "Finally", Monica said to them, shooting them a look. "Blame her", Ross said, pointing to Rachel, as both sat down on the table. "Oh no, not me this time, Emma", Rachel defended herself. "Wow, so now you can use that excuse everytime you take too long getting dressed too?" Chandler joked. Ross chuckled "Aparently". Rachel shoot them a look, but ignored.
The waiter approached them with a menu and soon their orders were taken and they were free to chat as much as they wanted. At first there was no surprise on the topics they reached: stuff concerning Emma, Monica's wished pregnancy, relationships... a documentary on new fossils found in South Africa, the advances of technology, the new spring collection and how long the food was taking to arrive here and there! It felt really good for the four of them not having to be with people they didn't know well to be with another couple. So they weren't there just as friends, or just as couples, and that just felt much more right than any other time they went out together before.
"Hey, isn't that Joey over there with that girl?", Ross pointed up. Rachel quickly looked a few tables away and realised it was Kate, same girl who she and Monica had run into a week earlier when they were shopping. Monica instantly turned to look at Rachel and she just looked away, as if she didn't care. Ross also looked at Rachel with a smile, realising that if Joey was on a date then it meant they could finally come clean with the whole thing and it would all be okay again. However, he got disapointed at her look, he knew her too well for her to try to cover the fact that it did upset her a little. "What?", he asked her privately. "Nothing", she answered forcing a smile. He looked down and then away from her.
She looked back at Joey and Kate, hurt. She didn't know her truly feelings for Joey just yet, but I can tell you in advace it wasn't love. The reason why she was so broken hearted was because he was indeed cheating on her after all, they were engaged. If she loved him just as much as she thought he loved her, there it would be, she would be cheated on bad again. "What is it about me that make all men who seem to love me cheat on me?", she thought to herself. Then she turned to look at Ross and remembered the whole story with Chloe on their anniversary. He also cheated on her... It could happen again, right? Joey's betrayal hit her in that aspect, it showed her maybe she still wasn't really over the incident with Ross which happened so long ago. And, besides, it also hurt because Joey was someone she respected and trusted. She couldn't complain much about him though, she was doing the very same thing to him with Ross. But still, in those times you just seem to go blind and totally selfish.
"Hm, do you think we should ask them to join us?", Chandler proposed, unsurely. They all looked at each other, also unsure about it. "Isn't it risky? I mean, you, me, Ross and Rachel out to dinner together? It's gonna get kinda obvious", Monica said. "We can't go out as a group of friends? Says who?", Chandler said. Monica sighed, "It's up to you". Ross and Rachel looked at each other and she disserted, "I don't think that's such a good idea". Chandler thought about it for a second, he would have never thought they'd be in a situation like that, refusing to take one of their best friends in their table. However, he figured he wasn't on the position to have much of an opinion there, the problem didn't quite concern him, so he just let it go. "We can just tell them we didn't see them. If they see us they'll come and say hi", Rachel added.
"Sounds like a plan", Chandler said, accepting the fact he shouldn't show his frustration. Things after that though got kinda awkward. The food arrived soon after that and it took them a while to regaing the rythim of the conversation. The whole deal with Joey and Chloe was still bothering Rachel, but she decided to try hard to put those things aside to let herself enjoy her night out. Ross was still suspecious at Rachel's reaction, he knew something was bothering her and he feared deeply she had realised she had feelings for Joey. He remembered all the times she realised her feelings for him once he was with someone else, so maybe it had happened with Joey aswell. Differently from Rachel, he couldn't push that thought aside no matter how hard he tried.
"Should we call to check on Emma?", Rachel asked in a stern voice, softly stroking Ross' tigh. He looked at her and smiled a little, like that simple gesture gave him a little more confidence on Rachel's love for him. "She's fine, Rach, don't worry. If anything happens mom's gonna call us and I doubt she will have to", he replied comfortingly. "Just relax", he finished. "Alright, I will", she said with a smile. After that things got a little better for them and the conversation flew better again. But, since Joey was still there after all, their loving gestures to each other were reduced to holding hands, stroking each other's tighs, both under the table, and a sweet smile or look here and there.
After dinner was over both couples decided to walk their way home and left the restaurant quietly enough not to get Joey's atention. He seemed so concentrated on his pizza though that it would be really hard for them to get his atention even if they really wanted!
The streets of New York weren't so cold, but Rachel's dress was revealing enough to get her a bit chilly. Ross noticed and wrapped his jacket around her shoulders, finally being able to plant a kiss on her forehead and then on her lips. Monica and Chandler were very happy at they were seeing. As mentioned before, it felt good for them to hang out with their best friends after all. And besides, more than anyone, both had seen Ross and Rachel's struggles over the years, their on and off relationship and the emotional consequences it had brought, so they were happy to see them making it work and being happy together again. Ross and Rachel were different now, they were much more mature, therefore their relationship would most likely suceed this time.
"Ever thought one day the four of us would be here, like this?", Monica asked with a smile, her arms wrapped around her husband's waist. They all smiled at each other, it was a funny question. Certainly neither of them ever thought this would happen, in the past. First because no one would ever imagine Monica and Chandler together. Second, well, Ross and Rachel at some point seemed to have given up on their relationship for good. But against all odds there they were, all of them. "So you think Phoebe and Joey will ever hook up?", Chandler joked.
The mention of Joey's name once again brought the memory of Chloe back to Rachel's mind, and she suddenly became aware of her arms around the man who once hurt her so. Back then she hated him so much, for ruining their love, their happiness. With time it kinda faded away, they became friends again and nothing was said about it anymore. But if it happened again, who could asure her she wouldn't end up just as hurt as before- maybe even more? God, she could be really insecure when it came to Ross. Mostly because she had never loved or needed anyone as much as him and that thought really scared her.
When they reached both apartments -one across from the other-, they said their goodbyes and went on separate ways. It didn't take Ross and Rachel too long to reach their floor. They had to let go of each other to face his mom again and before they opened the door they share one last kiss. "Oh, hi kids, you're back already?", Judy Geller said, turning the t.v. off. "Yeah, mom, as I said we just went out for some pizza with Monica and Chandler", Ross explained. "How's Emma?", Rachel asked anxiously. "She's fine, she was a good baby. Dirty diaper here and there, nothing I couldn't handle. She's so adorable" Rachel smiled proudly and looked at her watch "Alright then, I'll go check to see if she's awake to feed her before I go to bed. Thank you, Judy" "Not a problem, Rachel, always glad to be with my granddaughter".
Rachel was on the rocking chair with Emma when Judy entered to say goodbye. Rachel had thought she was going to spend the night in, but Judy said something about an early party on the next day and how her husband Jack was there to pick her up already, so she left. Soon Ross was in there too and they had some small talk while Rachel finished feeding Emma. Once she was done, both set the baby on her crib and left the nursery.
"So, did you have fun tonight?", Ross asked her when they sat down on the couch. She thought about it for a second and then replied naturally "Of course". He smiled at her and she laid down on the couch, with her head on his lap. She closed her eyes and relaxed a little, he stroked her hair tenderly. Both thought about the earlier events and all that went through their heads, wondering if they should bring it up. Ross took the first step and decided to take a more optimistic approach "So, I guess now we can come clean with Joey, huh?"
Rachel opened her eyes and looked at him, trying to hide the fact that it bothered her talking about it. "Yeah, I- I guess" "Are you, are you not okay with this?", he asked catiously. "Yes, of course I am okay with this. Why wouldn't I be?" she answered, still kinda nervous. He got even more upset, he hated the fact he knew it when she was lying sometimes. "What is it? Are you jealous?" She got up from his lap shooting him a look. "I told you I'm perfectly okay with this, Ross! Would you stop it! Are you jealous?" she asked upset. "Yes, yes I am!", he answered. Even though both were getting upset, they kept their tone down because of the baby.
"What?" She absolutely hated it when he was so jealous of her, it was one of the factors that started tearing up their relationship when they were together before. She couldn't understand why he felt like that, it was almost a sickness. "Ross, don't you trust me? Even after all these years, I can't believe you don't trust me! If I wanted to be with someone else then I wouldn't be with you, I don't cheat, okay?", she said. He looked at her hurt, really upset. "Is this a backfire to me??" he asked. "You take it as you want, Ross, my conscience is clean. Now excuse me, I'm gonna go rest now 'cause it'll be much better than discussion this with you. Goodnight", she said coldly before she left to her room.
Even though their fights weren't as agressive as they were before, they somehow hurt even more. Every word seemed to suit their truthful value and there was no such thing as saying things they didn't mean, they actually seemed to look for even more meanings between every line. So everything they said was taken seriously and weighed a lot on their mind, neither of them could sleep right. Specially that night, when the gohst of the past came back to haunt their dreams, in every meaning those words could have.
End of chapter 6