Thank you, thank you all so much. I love the reviews. Ok I know I said I'd post this fast. But I deleted it by mistake. (Yeah I know dumb thing to do) Anyway here's the last chapter.

Disclaimer: well I don't own any Friends but I do own Rohan and Todd. Isn't that great!

SACRIFICE

Rohan handed the paw to Rachel. She took it gingerly. How could something so small cause so much damage? Why did it have to come into their lives? It had caused nothing but trouble. But no, that wasn't quite right. The paw brought her Joey and her together, if only for a few hours. And now she was being asked to let go of that joy.

Rohan asked her if she was ready to wish for the sacrifice. Monica looked on in confusion. What were they talking about? What happiness had Rachel had today? She glanced at Rachel, searching for some sort of a clue.

Rachel gave a weak smile. "Joey and I decided we wanted more than …friendship"

"Oh my god! Congratulations! This is so great!" She was ecstatic. Then she saw the heartbreak in Rachel's eyes. It hit her. Rachel was going to give up her love to save their friends' lives. She gasped. "Oh no! Rachel, I… I'm so sorry."

Rachel wiped away a tear. She turned to Rohan. "I need to go out for a few minutes… just to say… goodbye."

He nodded. She stumbled out of the room. Joey was on the couch with Chandler. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up. He looked at her enquiringly.

"Joey, no matter what happens today, I want you to know that…I love you. I know I didn't say it before, but it's so true." She tried to smile and ruffled his hair.

He was bewildered. She appeared to be upset. What was going on in there? "I love you too." He put a finger under a chin and tilted her face up. She was crying. "Wha…?"

She kissed him. Knowing that this would be their last kiss broke her heart. She wasn't ready to give this up. Damn it, she was happy, happier than she had been in a long time.

Maybe she shouldn't wish … but then she saw, in her mind's eye, Chandler, Ross, Phoebe and Joey lying motionless. Lifeless. How could she ever live with herself, knowing that she was responsible for their demise? She alone had the power to save them and she was having second thoughts? How could she be so self-centered? So what if she spent the rest of her life in desolation? So what if she was going to live a life without her Joey? She was going to, for once, be selfless.

She pulled away from him. And turned away from him, forever.

She ran to Monica's room, grabbed the paw and wished her happiness away.

****

"Rachel. Rach. Wake up." She opened her eyes and found herself staring into Joey's eyes. Didn't the wish work? What was going on?

She looked around. She was on the couch in Monica's apt. Joey was looking at her, concern etched on his face. Why was he staring at her like that?

Chandler's face came into view. "Well so sleepyhead's finally up! God, we were getting worried. We couldn't even you wake you up!"

Rachel's eyes widened. Was it just a dream? Did the paw never exist? Rohan? She got off the couch, her hopes raised. Then, her eyes focused on Joey's cast. It wasn't a dream. "What happened to your hand?"

Joey stared at her in disbelief. "I slipped in the bathroom. Don't you remember?"

"Um… was this after I went in?"

"No you weren't even in the apartment. I don't know where you were, actually."

She heaved a sigh. So, that was it then. She felt her eyes start to water. "I gotta go."

She walked to the door.

"Wait!" She turned expectantly. Joey threw the paw at her. "Could you throw this out? We've already finished the 4 wishes. And I don't think anyone wants to even look at it again."

She nodded. So no one even remembered that there were originally 5 wishes. Why was she the only one who could recall that? Life would have been so much easier if she could forget it too. This was just plain torture.

"What's up, Joe? You look puzzled."

Joey was staring at the door Rachel had walked through. He shook his head. "I don't why... But I feel like I've lost something. Something valuable."

* Three years later *

"And that's how you score a goal. Its really important that you learn the basics of foosball." Chandler grinned at the infant.

Monica rolled her eyes. Her husband turned out to be more of a baby lover than anyone had expected. He loved taking care of Katy. She walked to their bedroom. Well, actually, everyone did. Ever since Katy had come into their lives, their lives were filled with sunshine. Katy had so many people doting on her- herself, her nutty husband, Phoebe, Ross, Joey, Todd and, of course, her mom, Rachel.

At that moment, Ross burst in. He had a box in his hands. "I got it." He opened the box to reveal a chocolate cake.

"Why don't we taste it now, just to be sure it isn't spoiled?" Phoebe was eyeing the cake ravenously.

"Hold on there! Mon, I need to hide the cake!" He rushed into the bedroom, holding the cake.

Monica was looking at a photo. "That was an unbelievable day, Ross."

He peered over her shoulder. "Yeah it still has a surreal feel to it."

* Flashback *

Two years ago, when Rachel changed. How she became so depressed. How nothing seemed to cheer her up. She wouldn't tell them the reason for her despondence. They decided even if it were a pregnancy related thing, they'd do her best to cheer her up. It seemed hopeless. The more they tried, the more distressed she seemed to get.

Joey was with her, one day, when suddenly she broke down sobbing. He held her and whispered reassurances.

She pulled away, " Don't you see - it's never going to be okay. I'm always going to have this numbness- this emptiness." She got up and left.

That outburst just gave Joey even more resolve to break her depression. He was always with her after that. He spent most of his time with her, trying to bring a smile back to her face. Slowly, Rachel's eyes lost their darkness.

They knew she was okay when she smiled at a dumb joke of Chandler's. Joey looked at her with such pride; Rachel had pulled through. He always knew she was too strong to be down forever.

They didn't stop hanging around. They were the best of friends. It was very unusual to not see them together, that is, until after Rachel gave birth to Katy. She met Todd at the hospital. He swept her off her feet. He didn't even mind that she had just become a mother. He loved her and adored Katy.

When he showed them the engagement ring, they were all so happy for Rachel. He took her to the restaurant that Valentine's Day. When he got down on one knee, she was shocked. Her eyes started to water.

And that's when the unexpected happened. Ross, Joey and Monica rushed in. Ross yelled stop. He apologized to Todd. He looked Rachel in the eye and asked her if she loved Todd. She was bewildered. She glanced at Todd. She told everyone later that she realized she'd be ruining his life. She could never love him as much as he loved her and he deserved so much better.

She whispered, "I'm sorry, Todd."

He was brokenhearted. She sighed, "I care too much for you to let you marry someone who doesn't love you."

Todd leaned back on the chair. He knew she was doing this only because she cared but he was unable to make that thought cheer him up.

"I thought I'd lost you for good. I love you, Rachel. I can't believe I was such an idiot to believe that I could see you married to Todd. I convinced myself that I was happy for you. But I was hurting inside." He looked at the floor, refusing to meet her eyes. He was certain he was going to be shot down.

She was astounded. He loved her? But that wasn't supposed to happen. They were over. But…

She stood up. And kissed him. "I love you, too, Joey."

* Present day *

Ross smiled. Todd had still remained friends with them. Ross knew what he had gone through. He knew because he went through the same. It had nearly broken Ross' heart when he realized Joey loved her. But he knew that he had to let go. He may have loved her but… she had moved on, it was time he did too. He knew that he had to go to that restaurant to find out if there was chance that his best friend's feelings were reciprocated. He was sincerely happy to learn that she did.

Monica sniffed. Things had turned out so great. Who would have thought that Joey and Rachel would fall in love? But they did and they were so happy together.

"We better get back out there and help out before Joey and Rachel get back from their dinner date," Ross said as he walked out.

She strolled to the door. Her gaze drifted to the photo, one last time, before she shut the door. It was taken by Todd, exactly a year ago. The six, well seven- Katy too- all looked so happy. Especially Rachel and Joey. Well, that was only natural. After all, it was their wedding day.

It's over. Wow! It was really great writing this. And to those who thought that, in this fic, Joey and Rachel wouldn't get together, well… true love always triumphs!

Review please!!!!!