Note : Flashbacks will be in italic. Enjoy! :)

Chapter 7

'One Step Closer'

Another two months had passed and not even one of their friends knew that they were together. Ross and Rachel were getting really great at keeping the gang under the radar and the pair weren't that much careful either. They were getting bolder by days, sneaking kisses when they hung out together and their friends' attention wasn't focused on them, holding hand when they were hanging out at the coffee shop, having sex with the door unlocked.

Maybe this was luck or maybe they were better at hiding this than Chandler and Monica did, nonetheless, after seven months of keeping it secret from the rest of the gang, no one suspected a thing.

They were literally attached to the hips, but yet their friends didn't seem to notice it or raised questions about it either. Monica and Chandler were probably swamped as the wedding was getting near. Joey was too nonchalant about everything going on around him and Rachel was usually already home by the time Joey woke up in the morning, so maybe he didn't even realize that Rachel hadn't spent a night in their apartment since almost two months ago. Meanwhile, Phoebe.. well, she actually joined a real book club and it had been keeping her busy lately.

"Mmm…" Rachel's moan filled the entire apartment as she let Ross place kisses throughout her sensitive skin.

Tonight was one of those rare nights where Ross and Rachel could do literally anything they wanted in her apartment without the fear of being caught. Monica and Chandler were out to have dinner with Chandler's mom and they wouldn't come back until midnight. Joey had a date with his co-star, so he won't come home at all tonight. Meanwhile, Phoebe had gone to this real book club Rachel had introduced her to and said something about going straight home afterwards. Everyone was busy tonight and it meant Rachel could have her own apartment for themselves.

She had a really bad day at work and was more than ready to spend the night curled in her bed and do nothing at all. But to her surprise, when Rachel came home tonight, Ross was already here, waiting for her with dinner he picked up from her favorite Italian place, a soft smile plastered on his face as he opened his arms for her. She immediately sobbed as she saw him there and ran straight into his arms, letting him soothe and comfort her as they hugged.

They had eaten their dinner and Rachel ranted to him the whole time about her bad day. He just sat there, listening attentively to her and did exactly what she needed him to do. Feeling better after venting her frustration out, they moved to the couch and cuddled as they watched TV.

Some time during the movie, Rachel noticed his hand slowly moving from its original place in her waist to her breasts and one thing led to another, now she was half-naked on the couch with Ross hovering on top of her.

"God, you're so beautiful.." He murmured softly against her lips as he brought his lips back to hers.

She looked intensely into his darkened eyes and felt her heart burst with so much love she possessed over this man. "I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled before ducking his lips down to kiss her fiercely.

They were so caught up in the heat of the moment that they failed to hear the door open and the sound of someone entering the apartment.

"Oh! My eyes! My eyes!"

Ross and Rachel suddenly heard a loud screech, and they quickly scrambled away from each other, frantically looking for something to cover their half-naked body. He tossed her a pair of his t-shirt and she wore it in a second.

"Phoebe!" Rachel shrieked, her eyes wide - mortified. "What are you doing here?!"

"I'm here to pick up the book I left the other day. Are you guys dressed?" Phoebe asked, her back still facing them. "Please tell me you're dressed."

"We are dressed." Ross said as he wore his sweater.

"Oh, thank god." Phoebe sighed, finally turning around to face the pair.

Ross and Rachel looked at each other, knowing that they wouldn't get away with this - not when they were caught red-handed. Ross offered Rachel a smile, silently letting her know that it'd be okay. She nodded back, approached him, and grabbed his hand for support. They looked at their intertwined hands before Ross decided to speak up.

"Pheebs.." Ross began as he noticed Phoebe's eyes were wide as she stared at their intertwined hands. "Rachel and I, uh.. we're-"

"You guys are sleeping together!" Phoebe gasped. "I can't believe it! How long has this been happening?" She then looked at Rachel. "-and Rachel Karen Green, why are you not telling me this?"

Rachel swallowed. "We're not sleeping together. Well, we do sleep together, but it's not just that.."

"We're together." Ross interjected. "Rachel and I, we got back together a couple months ago." He explained, purposely leaving the details of their relationship months before that.

"Yeah." Rachel's lips slowly curved into a smile as she heard the confidence in his voice. "We're together."

Phoebe stared at them, her face slowly broke into a smile and out of sudden, Ross and Rachel almost stumbled backwards after Phoebe came barreling into them, engulfing them into a tight hug.

"This is so amazing!" Phoebe shrieked joyously. "I know you guys are meant to be! I'm so happy for you two!"

"Aw, thanks honey.." Rachel smiled, hugging her best friend and feeling relaxed after knowing they got one of the friend's support. "We're so happy too."

"I'm so going to sing at your wedding!" Phoebe clapped ecstatically.

Ross gulped as he and Rachel shared a nervous glance. "We're not getting married yet, Pheebs. We barely got back together."

"I know." Phoebe nodded, a grin still plastered on her face. "-but I also know that you guys will definitely get married this time."

"Pheebs.." Rachel murmured, sounding a little choke up by the faith their friend had in them.

"Thanks, Pheebs. When we do get engaged, you'll be the first one to know." Ross promised, squeezing Rachel's hands.

"Okay and I should start writing a song for your wedding soon." Phoebe nodded. "-maybe something about lobster.. and claws. Oh, and maybe Monica can help me this time and maybe we can ask Joey to…"

Rachel's eyes went wide and she looked at Ross pleadingly. Phoebe was the biggest supporter of their relationship, so with her knowing this, it wasn't a big deal. But the rest of the gang.. Well, they're great friends to them, but Ross and Rachel weren't ready to reveal their entire relationship to them. They were comfortable this way.

"Uh, Pheebs.." Ross started, unsure where to begin. "We've been keeping this relationship a secret and we're not planning to tell anyone soon."

"What?" Phoebe looked at Ross, puzzled.

"Oh, honey.. We're sorry, but you can't tell Joey, Monica, or even anyone about us.."

"Why?"

"-because the last time it didn't end well.." Rachel quickly glanced toward Ross, not wanting to hurt his feelings. To her surprise, he didn't look hurt at all, instead he offered her a nod. "We just want to bask in the novelty of us before adding other people to our equations."

"We don't want to worry about other people's opinion and expectation over us just yet." Ross explained simply. "We just want to be together."

He linked his arms around Rachel's waist, bringing her closer to him, and then he kissed her temples – earning him a big smile from his girlfriend.

Phoebe looked at Ross and then to Rachel's face. They looked really happy and relaxed, Phoebe couldn't help but to agree at their request.

"Alright, fine." Phoebe sighed. "-but I'm still singing at your wedding and you better pay me a lot of money."

"Don't worry, Pheebs. Ross will make sure you'll get a big paycheck." Rachel giggled as she noticed his wide-eyes.

He shook his head and then laughed, knowing he'd give her the moon if that was what Rachel was asking.

"So, now.. Do you wanna join us for a movie, Pheebs?" Rachel asked.

"Uhm, no. I have a date tonight."

"A date?" Rachel gasped. "With who? That guy from the book club?"

"Yes, Mike Hannigan." Phoebe grinned. "Actually he's downstairs.. I'm meeting him for dinner soon."

"Then what are you still doing here?" Rachel asked with a smile. "Go, he's waiting for you."

"I'll go and leave you two lovebirds alone." Phoebe stepped closer and gave the couple another round of hugs. "I mean it guys, I'm so happy for you two."

"Thanks, Pheebs. That means a lot to us." Ross said.

"Now go and have fun on your date!" Rachel smiled, leaning her head over to Ross' shoulder as they walked Phoebe to the door. "-and don't forget to tell me everything about it tomorrow."

"I'm expecting the same from you, Rachel Green."

"Meet me at lunch tomorrow?" Rachel proposed. "-I'll tell you everything."

"Well, maybe not everything." Ross laughed nervously.

"Of course." Rachel nodded, but sent a discreet wink to Phoebe.

Phoebe winked back. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, and once again, congratulations."

"Thanks, Pheebs. Bye."

"Bye!"

"I saw that." Ross murmured, kissing her as he closed the door.

"Saw what?" Rachel peeled herself away from him, walking toward the fridge to grab a can of diet coke. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Rachel.. You can't seriously tell Phoebe everything." Ross groaned, not wanting Phoebe to know in detail about what they were doing behind the closed doors.

"We're girls, we talk about everything."

"You can't do that."

"Really?" Rachel raised her eyebrow playfully, placing her drink to the counter as she walked in front of him. "What are you going to do about it, huh?"

"This." Ross groaned and suddenly Rachel let out a big yelp as he carried her to the room.

"Ross!" She shrieked, kicking her legs frantically over the air. "Don't drop me!"

"Well then stop moving so much!" Ross laughed, kicking the bedroom door open with his leg.

The sound of their laughter echoed throughout the apartment as Ross dropped Rachel carefully over her bed, straddling her.

"Now… where were we?"

Rachel smiled softly as she ran her finger over the delicate material of her wedding dress. This dress was probably the only real thing when it came to her engagement with Barry. She remembered the first time she tried this dress and suddenly tears streamed down through her cheeks, knowing it by heart that this was in fact the dress. So, she kept it. Even after almost eight years, she still kept this dress hidden in her closet.

The last time she had taken this dress out was that day where she, Phoebe, and Monica were all wearing the wedding dresses to make them feel better about themselves. She was so heartbroken at the time, seeing the man she had loved marrying another woman.

Those periods of time were the hardest months of her life. Looking at him, at Ross proposing to a woman he barely knew.. She couldn't even begin to describe her feelings that time.

Rachel shook those thoughts away.

She didn't need to dwell on the past, she needed to focus on the future, on what she had with Ross at the moment.

Their relationship was going on strong. Even though the relationship started with sexual purposes, it didn't mean that their relationship wasn't strong enough. They actually communicated this time around. They stopped beating around the bushes and instead of trying to hide their feelings to each other, they talked. They talked and they also listened.

In hindsight, maybe the break up was meant to happen.

All this time away from each other had proven to be perfect for them. They grew as individuals in a way they probably never could if they were still together. Unlike before, they were now ready for such a serious relationship.

That was why Rachel was now standing in her wedding dress as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

After three months of dating, the topic of marriage never came. They did say that this was it, they both knew this was forever, but they never got into a great detail about what exactly they wanted for their future.

What she wanted was obvious.

She wanted to marry him.

She wanted to build a home with him.

She wanted to have his children.

She wanted a lifetime with him.

She wanted all that, but at the same time she was petrified. She was scared to bring this up to Ross, scared that maybe it was too soon or that he didn't want the same thing as she did. Rationally she knew better, Ross Geller would marry her in a second if she ever asked. Hell, he'd probably dragged her to the city hall to get married today if that's what she truly wanted.

Ross Geller loved being married, so really.. She didn't know why she was so nervous about it.

"Rach! I brought dinner!" Suddenly, the door of her bedroom opened and Rachel let out a gasp, scrambling to cover her dress with anything, but it was too late, he had already seen her.

Ross dropped the bag of what looked like their dinner to the floor. He stood there with his mouth agape and his eyes wide. He had seen her in this wedding dress before, but you'd think he had never seen it before.

"Ross…" Rachel breathed, her throat suddenly felt dry and she felt herself panicking inside.

Did she screw it? Did she scare him away like the way she did with Joshua?

Ross swallowed, looking at her from her head to toe, and then back to her face again. When his chocolate met her blue one, he let out a smile.

"You're breathtaking.." He breathed, stepping closer than now he was standing before her. He then raised his right hand, gently running his finger through her cheeks, his eyes were wet from unshed tears. "I… Oh, god. You really are so beautiful.."

"Ross.." She whimpered, not expecting him to say those sweet things to her.

"I'm so confused right now." He laughed softly. "-but god.." He shook his head in disbelief, a smile playing on his lips. "You're gorgeous. Is this that wedding dress?"

"Yeah.." She murmured softly, her cheeks flushed from all his compliments. "I uh, I went with Monica to get her wedding dress altered and I don't know, I just came home and suddenly.. this.." She motioned toward her dress-cladded body.

"I've seen you in this dress before, but I forgot how beautiful you look in a wedding dress." He smiled softly, wiping the tears on his eyes. "If this is how I reacted when I caught you today, I can't imagine how much tears I'm going to shed on our wedding day." He laughed softly and suddenly her heart stopped.

"Y-you.." She breathed. "You think about our wedding day?"

"Of course." Ross frowned, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You don't?"

"No, I do." Rachel answered almost immediately and then she blushed as she realized how eager she might've sounded.

"Rach.." Ross smiled, taking her hand into his. "I know we haven't talked much about what we planned for our future, but marrying you has always been my plan."

"Even when we first dated?" Rachel found herself asking.

"I believe it's the only thought I have ever since you kissed me that night after we watched the prom video." Ross laughed. "I meant it, Rach. This is it. You're it. I want everything with you, the whole package. I want to get married, have kids with you, and build a house with you."

"Scarsdale?" She asked, referring to his plan for the future many years ago, a future once she thought never would've come true after they broke up..

"Anywhere." Ross shrugged. "We can live in a box, or in a high rise apartment in Upstate New York, as long as it's with you.. I'm always in.."

She blushed.

"That's super cheesy, even for you." She nudged his chest playfully. "- and maybe not in a box.. Where are we going to put our kids in?"

Ross was not going to ignore how his heart was beating so fast at the mention of their future kids. He couldn't wait for it, for her belly to get big as she carried his child, holding her hand in the delivery room as she brought their baby to the world, holding their new born baby that looked exactly like the love of his life.. God, he couldn't wait for her to be the mother of their children.

"Kids?" He asked as he led her to sit on his lap. "Do you still want three kids?"

"Y-yeah." She replied, suddenly feeling bashful. "I grew up with two siblings and believe it or not, as awful as my sisters are sometimes, I love them. But I also know that we also already have Ben, so I totally get it if you thought three more is too much."

His heart swelled when he heard her use the word 'we' when she referred to his son. She might believe she was not great with children, but Ross fully believed that one day she was going to be a really great mom for their kids.

"If it was up to me, we probably ended up with ten kids." Ross said half-jokingly.

She rolled her eyes, albeit smiling. "The only way we're going to have more than three kids is if you figure out how to carry the other seven in your body."

"I think three is a great number." Ross said in all seriousness.

"Four with Ben."

"Four with Ben." Ross echoed with a smile.

"I can't believe we're talking about kids." Rachel giggled. "We barely got back together."

"I think it's something we should talk about, considering we know we're going to head that way anyway.."

"Yeah, you're right." She squeezed his hand lightly and smiled. "-but no kids before we got married. My dad is going to kill you if we're having kids out of wedlock."

Ross swallowed hard when he was thinking about how scary Dr. Green would be if he had accidentally impregnated one of his precious little girls.

"That's why we're using everything we could to prevent that." Ross nodded. "I don't want your dad to kill me."

"Relax.. I won't let him." She giggled when noticed the tense on his body. "I'm going to miss you too much."

Rachel sat at the edge of her bathtub, staring at the small object in her hand - thanking god that she was alone in her apartment at the moment.

She was late.

She was a week late and that never happened before.

She had a sinking feeling to what this all meant, especially as she recalled the incident about a month ago after she and Ross made love.

Ross had come back from the bathroom after cleaning himself up and as soon as she saw him there, she noticed that his face was stricken with panic, immediately alarming her.

She knew then, without him having to say it out loud. She knew, but she needed to hear it herself. So, she asked him.

"Ross.. It's broken isn't it?"

He just stood there, nodding. His face ridden with guilt, but she beckoned him to come over and as he sat in front of her on the bed, she smiled.

"I took the pill, every day, diligently." Rachel explained calmly. "We use condoms for extra protection and sometimes they fail us."

"I should've checked. I was so turned on that I forgot to check."

"You couldn't have known, Ross." Rachel sighed. "These things happened, that's why I'm taking the pill."

He just stayed there in silence, avoiding her gaze. She then sighed, placing her finger on his chin and forcing him to look at her.

"Let's not think about it tonight, alright?"

He nodded.

"Come here, lay with me." She patted the empty side of the bed. "Let's not worry over something that might've not happened anyway. We'll cross the bridge when it's need to be crossed."

"When do you get so wise?" He shook his head, chuckling slightly as he climbed into bed and spooned her.

"You know, I should make you sleep on the sofa just for that comment."

"Wow, we're not even married yet and you already kicked me out of our room."

Rachel might not show it to him, but on the inside, her heart jumped when she heard him refer to his room as 'ours'. But again, she had spent so many nights in his apartment, she couldn't remember the last time she spent a night in her own bed. So maybe, they needed to make their relationship known to the rest of the friends and then taking this relationship into the next step, moving in together.

"Hush, you." She laughed softly, pressing her back into his chest as she intertwined their hands together and rested them on her stomach. "I just calmed you down from your mini freak-out. Is this how you thank me?"

"I'm sorry." He apologized, kissing her bare shoulder and rested his chin there – his breath tickling her.

"For what?" She murmured.

"For freaking out." He replied. "I should've been the one who calmed you down, not the other way around."

"Hey, none of that." She turned her body around so that she was now facing him. "We're a couple, Ross. That means sometimes I freak out and you calm me down. And sometimes it's my turn to do the same for you. We're in this together, you have my back and I have yours too." She smiled softly, stroking his cheeks.

Ross leaned in, kissing her forehead and then bringing her head to rest on his chest.

"I love you, Rachel Green. I love you so much."

"I know." She murmured quietly into his chest, giving it a kiss. "I love you too."

"-and no matter what happens, I'll be there. I have your back and I promise I'm not going anywhere."

Instead of answering him with words, she squeezed her arms around him a little tighter and together, they fell asleep.

Time's up.

This was it, all or nothing.

Rachel inhaled a deep breath, bracing herself for the result. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked closely to the lines shown in the pregnancy test.

Pregnant.

She was pregnant.

She shouldn't be so nervous, because the other day they talked about the future they both wanted and they saw children in them. He wanted to have kids with her, well, somewhere in the far future, but still. He would be happy, even when this wasn't what they had planned. Even when they skipped a few steps.

She kept watching the stick in her hand as if she was watching and waiting for the result to somewhat change, but it never changed.

Two lines.

Two very prominent lines.

She was pregnant.

She was pregnant with his child.

Suddenly the reality hit her like a lightning bolt, a few tears managed to escape from her eyes as her breath hitched and suddenly her palm was grazing her stomach – the spot where their baby was now growing.

"Hey, baby.. I-it's me. It's mommy.." Rachel murmured quietly, her voice sounding so emotional when she referred to herself as 'mommy'.

Keeping her right palm across her still flat stomach, she brought her other hands to her eyes, brushing her own tears away. The corner of her lips twitched into a smile as she imagined a little boy or girl wiggling out of Ross' arms and then running straight into her arms.

They were going to be a family.

"I know we didn't plan for you and that you're a surprise, but I already love you." She sniffled. "-and soon when I tell daddy, he'll love you too. Now, mommy just has to find a way to tell your dad, because I have a feeling he's going to freak out." Rachel laughed softly, her eyes teary from happy tears. "I have no idea how I'm going to do this, how we're going to do this. But I promise you, no matter what, you will be our number one priority."

A/N

This story will remain AU, so that means things are going to be different from the show. Can you guess what's the twist?