A/N

Double update coming right up! I don't know if anyone is still interested in this story, but here you go...

I hope enjoy them! :)

Chapter 16

"Friends"

Rachel had just come back from a long day at work when she heard bad news regarding her best friends, Monica and Chandler.

Monica and Chandler just came back from the fertility clinic after they tried to have a baby for almost a year but kept failing. After running a few tests, the doctor declared that it was hard for the couple to conceive a child naturally due to several issues they had. The news didn't only break Monica and Chandler's heart, but also all the rest of the gang.

She had known Monica since they were still little kids, Rachel always knew how much Monica wanted to become a mother and hearing the news, her heart ached for them. Hell, Monica even knew her kids' names since she was fourteen, which one of them was Emma's name she kindly let Rachel use.

It was until now she realized how lucky she was for being able to conceive and gave birth to Emma. She knew Monica probably deserved to become a mother more than anyone she knew, including herself. Monica would be an awesome mom, she was sure of that.

She recognized the look on Monica's face whenever Emma and Ben were around. Monica wanted what she had. A little jealous perhaps, just like Rachel did when Chandler proposed to Monica almost two years ago. She was happy for them, but she was jealous because Monica had what she always wanted, meanwhile she was nowhere near that. She didn't even have a boyfriend at that time. But now, the table had turned and Rachel knew better this time it was much harder than what she had been going through.

Monica and Chandler had been trying to have kids for quite a while now, but in Rachel's case, it only took her just a one night stand, a broken condom, and boom. She was pregnant.

Nevertheless, Rachel knew how agonizing it must've felt for the couple right now, especially for Monica, who wanted to become a mother more than anything in this world. Thus, she was determined to do whatever she could do to make her best friend feel better, even just a little bit. She would be there for her just like she always did for her all of these years.

Knowing it probably wasn't the best idea to bring along the kids with her, she asked Ross to take care of the kids for the night.

She kissed Emma and Ben goodbye. Somehow today she felt like she wanted to be around their kids more than ever, hugging them and kissing them, showing how grateful she was for having them in her life. But again, it wasn't her priority at the moment.

"Hey, you're alright?" Ross asked as he hugged her from behind whilst she stood by the doorframe watching Ben and Emma playing together.

She rested her hands on top of his that were resting in her stomach and gently rubbed it.

"I don't know. I mean.." She paused, trying to gather words to describe her feelings right now. "-look at them." She said, referring to their kids. "They're so beautiful and today I just feel like.. We're so lucky, you know?"

"I know." He nodded and replied softly, joining them as they both stared at the kids.

Though neither of his kids were exactly planned, Ross couldn't imagine his life without them on it. Not even once he regretted having them even when the situation wasn't in his best interest at the time. He was in the middle of a divorce when he found out Carol was pregnant with Ben. And when Rachel got pregnant with Emma, they weren't even in a relationship.

Some people might find the situation very unconventional and it wasn't exactly the best situation to have children, but not even once he had a thought on bailing on his children just because it was hard and unconventional. That was why when Rachel told him she was pregnant, he was stunned not because he wasn't ready for the responsibility nor because he refused to be a part of their unborn child's life, but because the situation was so shocking, it baffled him. It was like history repeating itself and it took him a moment to snap out of it and get himself together.

None of his children were planned, but he wouldn't have it another way. Both of them were his entire world alongside the woman standing in front of him right now.

She turned around to face him with her teary eyes and he gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"You're gonna be okay, tonight?" He asked as he brushed a strand of her hair aside.

She enveloped him into a hug and rested her cheeks against his chest.

"I can't even begin to imagine how she must've felt right now." She said softly.

"I know. I can't either." He started. "But she needs you, Rach." He said softly. "She needs her best friend right now."

"I know." She sighed, looking him straight in the eyes. "I just don't know what to say in this situation."

"Well, sometimes all you have to do is to be there for someone and it's enough."

Truth to be told, Ross didn't know either how or what to do with the news. It was devastating news and he felt bad for his sister and his best friend, but in times like this he knew Monica probably needed her girlfriends more than him or even her husband.

"Alright." She took a deep breath. "I guess I'll see you guys in the morning." She said with a small smile after saying goodbye to their kids and him.

She was about to leave the apartment when he called her name.

"Rach?"

"Yeah?"

He smiled. "Thank you."

He was glad at times like this Monica had Rachel as her best friend. This was the Rachel he had fallen in love with the first time when he was fifteen. Not the 'Rachel Green', the famous cheerleader from Long Island, but Rachel, his sister's best friend. Someone so famous but had the biggest heart he had ever seen. Someone who was willing to be best friends with Monica even though she was fat and not famous.

Rachel wasn't afraid of getting bullied for being friends with Monica. She even defended Monica when someone tried to bully her. That was the Rachel he fell in love with and today he had the privilege to witness that once again.

She returned his smile and nodded before closing their apartment door behind them.

After she left, Ross joined the kids in the living room and he silently thanked God for letting him have this family. He wasn't a religious type of guy, but she was right. They were lucky to have these two wonderful kids in their life.

But as his mind averted to his little sister, his heart ached for her and he sighed heavily.

This was going to be hard for them, he thought.

Rachel, joined by Phoebe, made their way to apartment 20 with a couple bottles of wine in their hands. Today, the girls would spend the night with Monica as Chandler had suggested. They all thought it would be best for the situation, so tonight Chandler would spend the night at Joey's, just across the hall.

As soon as they arrived, they were greeted by Chandler.

Both of the women gave a sympathetic smile to the man.

Though Monica was their biggest concern at the moment, they knew how upsetting must be the news for Chandler. Not only was he told that he couldn't have kids of his own, he had to witness his wife's heart broken into pieces by the news.

Rachel put down the wine and her purse and immediately gave him a hug which was soon joined by Phoebe.

"Where's she?" Phoebe asked after giving Chandler a hug.

Half an hour later, Chandler left the apartment, leaving the three women in the living room. They all had their pajamas on and they sat together on the white couch, watching some random TV show aimlessly.

At one point, Monica began to tell them everything, including the diagnosis the doctor gave them. Rachel could see tears almost escaping from all of their eyes as they listened to Monica.

"Do you guys consider your options?" Phoebe asked. "Like a surrogate or a sperm donor?"

Phoebe once helped her brother to conceive his and his wife's triplets, so she understood the options they got when a couple couldn't conceive a child naturally. She was familiar with the procedures.

Monica kept her head down, fiddled with her fingers. She shook her head. "No, we don't want that. I mean-" She paused as her eyes were getting teary. Rachel saw this and rubbed her friend's back soothingly. ".. I don't think I can see someone else carrying my child, you know?"

Both Rachel and Phoebe nodded. They understood how hard it would be for Monica as they knew how bad she wanted to experience a pregnancy. Even during their pregnancy, Monica's eyes always beamed whenever they were around and her face glowed up seeing the bumps on her friends' stomach.

"What about an adoption?" Rachel asked.

"Oh! That's right." Phoebe said. "A friend of mine adopted their children, I can introduce them to you guys if you have something to ask."

An adoption was the only option left for the couple and they both already decided to give it a try. But adopting a child wasn't easy. There was a lot of paperwork and requirements for them to fill in order to be granted in adopting children.

"Chandler and I agree on that option." Monica started and averted her attention to Phoebe. "-and Phoebe, I think we can meet your friends, if it's okay with them."

Phoebe smiled. "Sure, I'll give them a call."

As the mood was getting better, the three friends spent their entire night together, watching some TV shows, drinking wine, dancing, and eventually each of them fell asleep in the living room.

At midnight, Rachel woke up, wanting to relieve her bladder. As she stood up, she found Monica and Chandler in the balcony with their arms linked into each other, facing the night sky.

She watched the couple for a few moments.

She didn't see it coming the first time she heard about Chandler and Monica's relationship. But nowadays, she could see how perfect this couple was. She never saw Monica this happy with anyone other than Chandler and vice versa. They were both such a lovely couple, she even envied them sometimes.

Not wanting to disturb their moments, she went back to sleep.

That night, she missed her family more than ever. It was true they were literally just a few steps away from her, yet she couldn't help but miss the three of them.

"Guess what?" Ross suddenly barged into the coffee house with a huge smile on his face whilst the rest of the gang were there during lunch break as usual.

"Dinosaurs died a million years ago?" Chandler said sarcastically, earning the infamous Geller middle finger from Ross.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"They picked me as a keynote speaker for a national Paleontology seminar!" Ross said with the biggest smile on his face.

This was something he was really proud of. Being chosen as a keynote speaker for a national seminar was a big deal for Ross' career and this was probably the first good news after a while for the gang, so he couldn't wait any longer to share it with them.

Rachel quickly stood up and gave him a hug. "Honey, that's great news!" She said with a big smile on her face. "I'm so proud of you."

"Wait. That's not all." He said. "The seminar is in Barbados." Rachel frowned a bit, did it mean she had to be apart from him for at least a few days? "And all of you are coming!"

As soon as those words slipped from his mouth, her heart filled with joy. She could already pictured herself tanning with her bikini on and having a romantic getaway with him. How perfect was that?

"Really?" She asked like a little kid.

"Uh-huh." He pulled a few cards from his bag and handed it to each of them. "I even got you all the passes to my seminar. It's gonna be great."

After a while they all sat down and Rachel sat on Ross' lap on the armchair.

"What about the kids?" She asked.

"Don't worry." He smiled. "My parents will take care of them. I called them earlier today."

She smiled knowing this would be their first trip as a couple in years. Just the two of them on a tropical island. How romantic.

"Hey." She called him softly as she stared into his gorgeous hazel eyes. "I'm so proud of you, you know?"

"Yeah." He smiled shyly. "I never thought this is finally happening."

This was a great achievement in Ross' career. There were many great paleontologists out there that were probably much better than him in terms of academic achievements, so being chosen out of all those people he personally admired was an honor for him. Maybe this would lead him to get his tenure or even a grant one day.

"You deserve it, Ross. I know how hard you work." She smiled and rubbed his cheeks gently. "I'm so so proud of you." She repeated.

When it came to his career, Ross took things seriously and Rachel found that sexy and very attractive of him.

He smiled thankfully. "I'm just glad you're going to be there with me." He took her hand and kissed it.

Her presence meant a lot to him. He wanted her to witness one of the huge steps in his career. He wanted her support.

"You're going to do a great job." She smiled. "I know you will."

"Thanks, that means a lot to me."

The couple's attention was divided after they heard Monica yelling at Joey.

"Joey, no!" Monica said loudly. "You can't bring a shovel into an airplane."

"But I want to dig a hole." Joey whined.

"Hey, maybe you can borrow Ben's plastic shovel." Chandler chipped in.

Monica gave her husband a glare. "Don't encourage him!"

"That's a great idea!" Joey let out a huge smile and Monica sighed, defeated.

Ross and Rachel shared a knowing look.

Maybe this trip was a great idea not only for them, but also for Monica and Chandler. This could help them to get their mind away from the bad news they had just received a couple days ago.

"Girls.." Rachel stood up and smiled, gaining both Monica and Phoebe's attention. "Let's go shopping."