Chapter 2

"The Calm before the Storm"

Note :The conversations written in italic were the conversations they had in the past.

Everything happened in a flash. It was almost as if she wasn't even herself in these past few days. She'd only remember part of it, it was hectic. There was something that she remembered as clear as water. It was the look on everyone that had haunted her. Everyone was obviously devastated by the event, however Carol's parents whose were against the whole idea of Carol being a lesbian- which was also why they didn't even attend the wedding years ago, were so devastated.

Being a mother herself, she couldn't even begin to imagine how it must've felt to bury your own kid. Only the thought of it was enough to send chills down to her spine.

The look on Carol's parents were different from Susan's parents, they weren't only mourning for the death of their daughter, but they also showed remorse for shutting their daughter away because of the sexual preference she had chosen.

Judy and Jack were also at the funeral. Even though they knew how much Carol had hurt their son, they couldn't help but feel sad and devastated. After all, Carol was their daughter-in-law at some point in their life.

And lastly, little Ben, Rachel didn't even have the heart to see the look on that little boy. He was both taken aback by the whole incident and heartbroken at the death of his moms, the two people he was closest with.

Everyone was crowding the little boy, as if the little boy was an amusing show to watch, much to Ross' annoyance. The whole thing was already overwhelming for the seven years old and being crowded by their relatives didn't even make it better. Ross had asked Monica for a favor to keep Ben away from their nosy relatives, in which Monica did the job really well. One look from Monica and they all stepped back. She could be scary sometimes.

Meanwhile, through all the ceremony, Rachel was there beside Ross the whole time, supporting him, helping with everything she could, whilst balancing her role as a new mom to their new born daughter. These past few days had been exhausting for them, but for her, it wasn't helping for the funeral that made it all hard, being there for him was the hardest thing of all. He was being so tough on the outside, obviously for his son, but she saw right through him. The look on his eyes broke her heart into pieces. He was shocked. He was lost. He was confused. She'd caught him staring blankly a lot. One time she even caught him crying in the middle of the night. It was the night after the funeral, back at their apartment.

It had been decided almost immediately that Ben would stay with Ross from now on. To make it official, Ross had contacted his lawyer to deal with the whole paperworks needed. Ben would share a room with Ross temporarily, until they could make better new sleeping arrangements. Rachel had offered to move out from the apartment so that Ben could have his own room, but Ross had insisted for her to stay, claiming it would be better for Ben to be with his sister.

Maybe it would cheer him up, Ross said to her.

Rachel eventually agreed with him, but still they needed to come up with new sleeping arrangements and soon.

Rachel was feeling thirsty that night and it was past midnight. After checking on Emma, who was sleeping soundly on her crib, she tucked her in and made her way to the kitchen. She tiptoed carefully, not wanting to wake her baby up. Leaving the door of her room cracked open slightly, she sighed in relief. As she made her way back into the room after relieving her thirst, she heard soft whimpers coming from a corner in the living room. She turned over and found his figure sitting in the dark in one of the armchairs near the window.

He was crying.

Ross barely cried. She probably had witnessed him cry a few times before.

But never like this.

The only time he had cried this bad was probably the time they broke up almost six years ago. The revelation caught her off guard for a few seconds. Had it been that long?

She called his name softly as she made her way to him, "Ross.."

He quickly wiped his tears away, hoping that she wouldn't catch him crying.

He then brought his head to face her, "Hey.. What are you doing up at this hour?"

She smiled weakly as she showed him a glass of water she had brought, "To get some water."

"Oh. Okay." He looked down again, not knowing what else to say.

Though it was dark that time, she could see his tear stained face on him, it broke her heart every time.

She sat at the apothecary table as she placed her glass down and rested one of her hands on his knee, "Hey.." She said softly. "You okay?"

He looked up to her and for the first time in this whole week he let his guard down in front of her. One look for her was enough for him to finally let the wall he had built broken down. Tears started to stream down from his eyes uncontrollably which quickly triggered hers. She pulled him into an embrace, soothing him by rubbing his back up and down.

"Rach.." He said softly. "I don't know what to do." He paused as he looked at her in the saddest way she had ever seen. Her heart broke seeing him in that state. "I- I.. I don't know how to deal with this."

"Shhh.. It's okay, Ross.. It's okay.. It's going to be okay.." She whispered words to him over and over. "You are not alone in this. We've got your back. We're going to figure things out together. Okay?"

She could feel him nodding and she whispered, "I'm here, Ross.. It's okay.."

She was his confidant and he was hers.

Despite their messy break up, they somehow managed to be best friends, and it was something that they both cherished. Being in each other's arms somehow gave them new strength. It was so familiar, so peaceful, and it felt like home. It felt right. If only things weren't as complicated as they made it look like, they'd be a great couple. The bond the two ex-lovers shared was unbelievably strong and undeniable.

After a few minutes, he finally gained his senses back. Her pajama top was soaked in his tears and so did his, but they didn't even notice it.

He pulled away and chuckled lightly, "Another minute on your shoulder and I will fall asleep like a baby." He said half-jokingly.

She smiled, it was really nice to see him smiling like that again.

She took his hands into her, rested it on her knee, and tapped it a few times, "Feeling better?"

He shrugged, "A little bit." She smiled. "Hey, Rach.." He started as he stroked her hands. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being there for me these past few days." He paused. "Gosh, I don't even have time to help you with Emma. How's she?"

She smiled at the mention of their daughter's name. The old Rachel who was afraid of babies was long gone. Meet the new Rachel, the dedicated new mother who'd do literally anything for her daughter.

She squeezed his hands, "Glad I could help." He smiled thankfully. "As for Emma, she's been an angel these past few days. She eats and sleeps very well. Oh, and I got a lot of help from Monica. She is more than happy to help. Don't worry about it. You know how much she loves her niece, right?"

He nodded, still smiling. "Yeah. She is great with Emma, doesn't she?"

"She does." She said softly.

Her eyes wandered and she found him looking straight into her eyes. For a brief moment, they were caught in their infamous stare. The look on his face was so familiar. It was the look that usually led into something more.

Into a kiss.

He slowly leaned in, only leaving a few inches between their faces.

As she could start to feel his hot breath against her face, she swallowed hard. Only God knew how much she missed being kissed by him.

Luckily her sense quickly stepped in. He was fragile, she couldn't take advantage of his vulnerability. She just couldn't. It just wasn't right.

She pulled away and cleared her throat. "I think I should go to sleep. It's late." She said as she stood up and took her the glass of water with her.

She took a last glance at him before she left the living room. She could've sworn he was disappointed by it, but still she had to be the one who was being rational about the whole thing. If they wanted to start things up again, they had to do it for the right reason. She was convinced that she made the right choice. Something that clearly Ross disagreed with, judging by the look on his face.

"Okay." He mumbled.

She sighed before she said her good night, "Good night, Ross." She said softly.

"Good night." He whispered back.

She closed the door to her room, leaned in against it, and sighed.

She put her hands on her chest and she could feel her heart pounding like crazy. She then buried her hands on her face as a part of herself regretted the decision she just made.

She made the right decision, right?

...

The next morning, Rachel was woken up by a soft wailing coming from the crib. She yawned and walked toward the source of the noise.

"Hey, look who's up." She cooed at Emma. "Looks like someone's diaper needs a change, huh?"

She carefully put Emma on the changing table and changed her diaper. After changing the diaper, she put her to lay down on her bed and she laid next to her as she started to feed her. With one of her free arms she brushed her daughter's head softly as the baby started to fall back into sleep.

She watched her baby sleep and smiled. This little angel has brought a lot of happiness in her life lately. She never would've thought she could love someone so much like the way she loved her daughter. She loved Emma even way before she met her, before she was even born. That day she found out that she was pregnant, she fell in love with her with all of her heart. That same day, she vowed to protect and to love her unborn baby with all of her might.

"I love you so much, baby girl.." She whispered to Emma's ear and gave her a kiss.

A few moments later, she fell asleep next to her daughter.

About an hour later she woke up and found another side of her bed empty. She was about to freak out when the door suddenly opened, revealing Ross with Emma in his arms.

She sighed in relief.

"God. I thought she fell down from the bed or something." Rachel said as soon as she laid her eyes on Ross and Emma.

Ross let out a soft chuckle, "Yeah. She can't even lift up her head yet, but she surely can jump off the bed." He said sarcastically which earned him an unpleasant look from her.

"Anyway.. She was crying, so I took her." He began. "I don't want to disturb your sleeping, so I didn't wake you up."

Rachel sighed and let out a small smile. After all she was thankful for another extra hour of sleep she desperately needed lately.

"Thanks." She said softly.

"No problem." He said as he put Emma back into her crib.

"Do you have to go to work today?" Rachel asked as they watched their daughter.

Ross sighed and nodded. "That's what I'm about to ask you a favor for."

Rachel raised her eyebrows, curious. "What favor do you need from me?"

"Monica and I talked last night. We think it is best for Ben to stay at home for another week before sending him back to school." He sighed, frustrated. "But there's one problem. I have to go to work today. I wish I could stay home, but with the midterm exams coming up, I'm afraid I can't take another day off."

"It's okay, Ross." She smiled, knowing where this conversation led to. "I can take care of Ben. I mean what's so hard about taking care of a seven years old? I've done that before, remember?"

He chuckled a bit, remembering the last time Rachel had babysat Ben, "No more practical jokes." He warned her.

She joined him in a laugh, "Oh, don't worry. Since now I'm living with you guys, I'd be glad not to be a victim of my own jokes."

He smiled at her as he took her hands into his and squeezed it. "Thank you."

She reciprocated his smile, "Don't worry about him. I'll take care of him." She reassured him.

He nodded and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead.

She blushed.

A kiss on her forehead was a simple gesture she didn't usually think about, but after what happened last night, it gave butterflies on her stomach.

...

At lunch time, Rachel together with Ben and Emma in her stroller walked inside Monica and Chandler's apartment. Rachel hadn't had time to prepare lunch with the two children occupying her nonstop, so Monica offered to make lunch for them.

"Hey you guys.." Monica greeted with a smile. "How's my little nephew and niece doing?"

"Ben here said he was hungry and Emma is napping." Rachel said as she hung her jacket over.

Monica approached Ben and bent down, "You're hungry?"

Ben nodded and grinned, "I'm starving!"

Monica and Rachel shared a knowing smile and giggled. It looked like Ben had been adjusting to his new life better than they thought. At least he was still the same playful and happy kid he was known for.

Or that was what they thought.

"Why don't you watch some TV while I prepare your lunch?" Monica suggested.

"Okay!" Ben replied and he sat down on the couch, turning on his favorite cartoon.

Rachel put the stroller near the dining table and after checking on Emma, she joined Monica in the kitchen.

"So, how's everything?" Monica asked carefully, making sure Ben wouldn't hear their conversation.

Rachel averted her attention from Monica, to Ben, and then back to Monica again. She sighed as she remembered last night's event.

For a few moments she stayed silent, reliving last night's event where Ross broke down in front of her. And of course that kiss that almost happened.

She unconsciously touched her lips.

"Rach?" Monica called her name which brought her back from her short reverie.

"Uhm, yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Rachel tried to brush it off, which earned a weird look from Monica. She wanted to talk to Monica about last night, but she didn't want to burden her with another problem when they should be focusing on Ben.

"What were you asking?"

"About Ben?"

"Oh, right. I'm sorry." Rachel started. "Well, as you can see, Ben is doing surprisingly well with all of these. But we're worry if it is only going to last for a few moments." She paused remembering another conversation she had shared with Ross this morning regarding Ben's condition.

"... It looks like it didn't even affect him at all. He didn't even cry at the funeral. It scares me, Rach." Ross confided in her that morning.

"Maybe that's how he deals with his grief." She paused. "People cope with their grief in different ways, you know.." She tried to reassure him and herself that nothing was wrong with Ben.

"God." Ross sighed exasperatedly. "I hope you're right." He said. "But maybe, just in case, I should take him to a child psychiatrist or something. What do you think?"

She paused for a few seconds, thinking about the idea.

"Maybe it's a good idea. We definitely need an opinion from a professional." She started. "I can call my dad and ask for a great child psychiatrist recommendation, if you want. I think he is good friends with one of them."

He smiled thankfully at her, "I think that will be great. Thank you so much, Rach."

She squeezed his hands, "It's okay. I'll let you know if I have the name."

"Ross is thinking about taking him to a child psychiatrist. Just to make sure he's okay." Rachel said.

Monica nodded, agreeing with her brother's choice. "I think that is a great idea." She took a glance at her nephew.

Carol and Susan's death was so sudden, it surely affected a lot of people. But for Ben, it was on a different level. That little boy had spent most of his life with the two women. Losing a mom was hard enough, but the thing was, he was there when it happened. It must've scarred him in one way and another.

Monica was so worried because of it. She was worried about how the accident may affect Ben's psychology. She was worried it would break him at some point and that was the last thing they wanted.

"He's going to be okay, right, Mon?" Rachel asked as they both stared at the little boy, who was now engrossed at some cartoon he stumbled upon on the TV.

Monica nodded, somehow feeling confident. They were not going to let it happen to Ben. Not under their watch.

"He's going to be okay." She paused. "Ben is a strong boy."

Rachel nodded along, gaining a new batch of faith.

Monica finished preparing sandwiches and called Ben, "Ben, sweetie." She called. "Lunch is ready. Let's eat."

Notes

I'm so thankful for the positive reviews. I'll try to post an update once a week or once every two weeks. It depends.

I agree with most of you who said that Ben was kind of neglected in the later season and that was why I wrote this. I wanted to explore Ben's interaction around Emma and Rachel more.

Anyway, I just saw the friends reunion and I just had to post this chapter today. I mean, they reenacted one of my favorite Ross and Rachel's scene and it literally gave me chills. And for those who already watched it, I think we all knew the reason why that scene was so magical.

And again, thank you for reading and please tell me what you think. See you soon.