The Past for Rachel and Joey:
Part Six of 'Twists of Fate and Bad Luck'
August 2006
Joey stayed in the room at the end of the hall. Four year old Janie ran into his room, she yelled, "Hey!"
Joey was laying on the bed, watching television, "What's up?" he asked her. It was 6:30 at night.
"Mommy's coming and she looks worried," Janie warned, before she ran out of the room.
Joey sat up and Rachel entered the room, with large curlers in her hair, wearing only a skirt, her bra and one shoe, "Joey, get dressed."
Joey frowned, looking down at his grey sweats and blue t-shirt, "I am, Rach."
Rachel threw up her arms in frustration, "Get on a suit, right now! I've been invited to this fashion thingy and I just looked at my invitation again, and it says 'Rachel Green Plus Guest'. If I don't bring a date, I'll look really sad. They'll think 'There goes that old-single mother, just walking around all old and mother-like!'"
Joey stood up, not quite understanding her, "What about Janie?"
Rachel smiled, pulling a suit out of his closet, "Mrs. Larkin from next door is coming over; I've already asked her."
"Is there anything I can do to get out of this?" Joey asked.
Rachel grinned, handing him the suit, "Nope."
Rachel and Joey walked up to the door of the house, happily joking about one of Rachel's fellow employees.
"I think I saw her go back to the bar at least seven times," Rachel giggled.
"She sure was wasted. I think she thought I was her husband at one point," Joey smiled, "Or she was just really turned on by my good looks."
Rachel laughed, "Sure, Joe." Rachel kept giggling, she had drunk a few herself. She looked up, "I think it's raining."
"Well, let's get inside, then," Joey told her, opening the door.
Rachel smiled, "You always take such good care of us, Joey. Why?"
"'Cause I like to," Joey told her, grinning, and followed her in the house.
Mrs. Larkin walked to the door when she heard them enter, "Did you enjoy your evening? Janie's fast asleep."
"It was great," Rachel told her, "Thanks for staying with Janie," she said, pleasantly. "Come over for coffee tomorrow around three-thirty," she told her.
Mrs. Larkin nodded, "Oh, that'll be nice, dear." She looked from Joey to Rachel, "You two really make a cute couple."
Joey and Rachel looked at each other and laughed, "No, we're not together," Joey told her.
Mrs. Larkin frowned, "Well you should be. Your generation always was a bit oblivious to everything." She picked up her coat and walked out the door, "I'll talk to you tomorrow, dear. Bye!"
Rachel shivered, "It's cold." She walked up the stairs and Joey followed her; he started to walk towards his room.
Rachel paused at her door and watched him, "Joe, will you come and get that big blanket from the top shelf of my closet?"
Joey smiled, "Of course I will." He walked into her room behind her and went straight to the closet. Rachel followed him and stood behind him. He pulled down the blanket and set it in her arms.
She stared at him for a moment, "Thank you."
He nervously stared back, "Rach, you're a little drunk, go to bed. I've got to go to bed, too."
Rachel ignored him, moving closer to Joey, "No, stay here for a minute." She thought for a moment, "We should check on Janie."
Joey nodded, "Yeah."
They continued to stare at each other. Rachel moved closer and pressed her lips against his. She stepped back after a moment.
"Can I do that again?" She asked.
Joey nodded and she dropped the blanket and kissed him again.
Rachel woke up the next morning and heard the television on in the living room. She looked around her room quickly, realising she was alone. She pulled on her robe.
In the living room, Janie and Joey sat on the floor playing Nintendo. Rachel smiled and exhaustedly looked at the clock on the VCR. 8:36am. Janie giggled and looked at her mom, "I'm winning!"
Rachel grinned and looked to Joey, who stood up, uncertain, "I'll be back in a minute, Janie." He walked into the kitchen and Rachel followed.
"So, last night we kissed," Rachel stated, picking up a coffee cup.
Joey nodded, "That was it. Nothing more than a kiss."
Rachel nodded, "I was a little drunk."
"I'm sorry about it, I know you must regret it," Joey said, picking up the coffee pot and pouring some into her cup.
"This works," Rachel told him.
"What?" Joey asked, looking around.
"Us," Rachel told him, "You and me, with Janie."
"May I remind you of three plane tickets that sit in the drawer upstairs?" Joey said. Rachel diverted her eyes away from his. Joey continued, "Rach, we said 15 months, then we'd go back. I finished that independent movie, and now there's no reason to stay. You can transfer back to the New York office."
"But, I don't want to go back," Rachel argued.
"Because of Ross," Joey stated.
"No," Rachel told him. "Because Ross didn't care enough. He had too many problems."
Joey threw up his arms, "Rach, I'm not a Ross replacement!"
"I don't want you to be," Rachel yelled, "I want you to be Joey. And as Joey, I want you to stay here and love us, as your family."
Joey sighed, then put his hand out, Rachel placed her hand in his, "Family? That's a little hard for me to deal with."
"Please," Rachel said. She unhappily folded her arms, "We can go back if you want."
Joey shook his head, "We'll stay here. I'm only doing this because you're hot, you know that, right Rach?"
Rachel hit his arm, angrily, "Joey!" But her face slowly turned back to a smile and she laughed.
May 2009
Janie walked into her Mom's room, Rachel was sitting on the bed, tears streaming down her face. For a seven year old she was pretty smart.
"When's Joey coming back?" Janie asked, standing in the doorway.
"Maybe never," Rachel told her, wiping her eyes with a tissue.
"I didn't drink any of the beer, really, Mom," Janie told her.
Rachel laughed, "It's not the beer, honey."
Janie crawled into the big chair in Rachel's room, "Mom, where's my daddy?"
Rachel quickly looked at her, shocked, "Daddy?"
Janie nodded, "Well, I was at Chrissie's and her mom said to me, 'your mom and dad are really nice people.' And I told her that Joey wasn't my dad, he was just this guy who lives with us all the time. She didn't really say anything else, then. I mean, I have a Daddy right?"
Rachel sighed, "Of course you do, he lives in New York with your half brother."
Janie's eyes went wide, "Brother? Cool! I mean Allison hates her brother, but he's like really mean and plays with racing cars all the time."
"He's fourteen," Rachel told her, "Ben."
"I've always wanted a brother," Janie told her, jumping out of her chair.
"Since when?" Rachel asked.
Janie folded her arms, "Since forever."
"Janie, honey, you'll have another brother or maybe a sister, soon," Rachel told her, looking to her stomach.
Janie jumped up and down, "This is so 'citing! How?"
"Mommy's pregnant," Rachel told her, "Joey's going to be the baby's daddy."
Janie stopped jumping, "Can I see my Daddy?" The doorbell rang, Janie ran out of the room, "That's Chrissie! I can't wait to tell her I have a brother!" She ran down the stairs and Rachel heard the door open.
Rachel stood up, and walked to the front door, Chrissie and her mother stood on the other side of it, "Have fun," was all Rachel could say, "You'll be back in a few hours, right?" Janie nodded and ran to Chrissie's van.
Chrissie's mom chatted with Rachel for a moment, until Rachel said, "Excuse me, I have to make a call."
Rachel walked hurriedly to the phone and dialed a number she hadn't dialed in years. It rang three times before Chandler's voice came through the phone, "Hi, you've reached Monica, Chandler, Ellie and Taylor, we're not around to take the call, but you can leave a message for us and we'll return it as soon as we can. Thanks!"
Rachel heard the beep and paused before saying, "Monica, its Rachel. I'm just calling to see how everyone is. You probably don't want to talk to me, but I'll call back in a bit. I heard the message and I'm guessing Ellie and Taylor are your kids. Congratulations." She quickly hung up. Then she dialed another number.
"Hello?" Joey said answering his phone. He waited for a moment, Rachel froze, unable to speak. Joey realised who it was, "Rachel?"
Rachel quietly spoke, "Yeah."
"What's up?" Joey asked.
"I was just checking to see if you are okay," Rachel lied. She wanted him to break down, apologize, tell her he was coming home that very second. Tell her that everything was okay.
"I'm fine, you?" Joey was at work on the set. "And Janie?"
"Okay, we're fine," Rachel lied again.
Joey hesitantly said, "Rach, are you okay? Do you want me to come back? You kicked me out for being too immature, remember?"
Rachel quickly spoke, "No. We're fine." She hung up. She sat down at the kitchen table and ignored the phone ringing. She glanced to the caller ID: 'Joey - Cell'. She waited for it to stop ringing and she picked it up, dialling Monica's number again.
This time there was an answer, "Hello?" Monica answered.
Rachel was so relieved to hear her voice, "Monica?"
She heard Monica gasp, and reply, "Oh My God, Rachel, are you okay?"
Rachel sighed in relief, "You're not mad." She wiped a tear from her eye.
"Rachel, no, I've been so worried," Monica told her.
Rachel thought for a moment, "You and Chandler have kids?"
"Yeah, a boy and a girl," Monica said, "What made you call?"
"Well," Rachel tried to fight the tears, "I need help, and I don't have any good girl friends around here."
Monica sounded shaken, "Okay. What do you need?"
"Umm, I've been dating this guy for like two years now, and he's a pretty good friend, he lives with us, I just kicked him out because he tried to give Janie beer," Rachel told her. She chose not to tell her that it was Joey.
Monica giggled, unaware, "Sounds charming. How is Janie?"
"She's great," Rachel told her, then continued, "So, I kicked him out, like a week ago, then I found out I'm pregnant."
Monica sounded happy for her, "Do you love him?"
Rachel knew the answer, but she was embarrassed, "Yeah. I think so."
Monica told her, "Then get him back there, tell him you love him and you need him there, and that you're pregnant."
Rachel grinned, happy to have advice from someone she missed so much, "Thanks."
"How's Joey?" Monica asked.
Rachel quickly said, worried, "He's fine, I haven't seen him a few days. Look, Mon, I'm sorry, but I've got to go." Rachel got nervous that if she told Monica anything else, Monica would come out to California, which would be fine, but Rachel didn't want to see Ross, especially now she was pregnant with Joey's child. She unplugged the phone in case Monica had traced the number some how.
Rachel sat on the couch for two hours, thinking about her past, when the door opened. Joey walked in, "I've been trying to call for hours! I got worried!"
Rachel got up and walked over to him, she lightly put her hands on his face and kissed him, then she said, "Will you come back and stay?"
Joey nodded, "Of course. I'm sorry, Rach."
"Me too," she told him. "I've got news. News you may or may not like."
"New job?" Joey asked.
Rachel stepped back, "Bigger. There might be someone else living here soon. Beside you, Janie and me."
"We're getting a dog?" Joey asked.
"No," Rachel smiled.
"I don't catch your drift, Rach, I'm not very bright," Joey told her, staring at her blankly.
"In nine months," Rachel hinted. Joey continued looking at her confused.
The door opened and Janie walked in, "Joey! You're home!"
Joey hugged Janie, "Yeah, for good."
She giggled, "I've got to go find my Barbie, Chrissie says it's uglier than hers, but she's wrong." She started to walk up the stairs, when she turned around and said, "Isn't it exciting about the new brother or sister?" She rushed up the stairs.
Joey slowly turned around and looked at Rachel, "Is she saying-?" Rachel nodded, worried. Joey looked down, "Oh my God!"
"What do you think?" Rachel asked.
"That I need a beer," Joey told her. Then he looked back to Rachel and said, "This is so incredible!" He pulled her into a hug.
Rachel sighed, relieved, "Thank God, you're okay."
"Okay? I'm great!" Joey told her. He saw the phone was laying on the couch, "Who were you calling?"
"Oh, a survey-guy called," Rachel lied. She pulled him back into the hug.
November 2011
Joey sat in on the bench in the playground, waiting for Janie and Rachel to exit Janie's school. He was holding onto his daughter, Kayla, who was seated on his lap. She was two and giggling all the time.
Joey started talking to her, "How's my favourite daughter?"
Kayla hung onto Joey's shirt, "Let's play."
"In a minute, Mom and Janie will be out in a second," he told her, touching her little nose.
Janie and Rachel walked out the doors. Rachel had been volunteering at school for the day. Janie pointed, "Joey and Kayla are here!"
Rachel smiled when she saw them, they walked over to the bench, "What are you two doing here?"
"Picking you up for an after school snack," Joey told her.
Rachel kissed Kayla's head, "What are we having?"
She giggled and shouted, "I want pizza!"
Rachel rolled her eyes, and looked at Joey, "You have this kid brainwashed!"
December 2012
Janie had been awake since 7am, but Joey and her Mom were still asleep. It was now 9:30. They had been out late last night. Kayla was sitting in front of the television watching cartoons. Janie was in the kitchen pouring herself some Cheerio's.
She yelled to Kayla, "Want some cereal?"
Kayla yelled back, "Yeah."
Janie was excited, today she was going to her friend's birthday party and they were going to a water park. The phone rang and she ran to answer it, in case it was one of her friends. And so it wouldn't wake Joey or her Mom, "Hello?" She casually said.
"Is this Rachel Green's house?" A young male voice asked.
"Yeah, why?" Janie asked, confused.
"I used to know her, when she lived in New York," the voice stated.
Janie shrugged, "How old are you?"
"Seventeen," the man said.
"You must have been like my age when you knew her," Janie told him.
"Wait, is this Janie?" The voice asked.
Janie froze, "How do you know me?"
"I'm Ben," he told her, quickly.
Janie sat down at the table, "As in my brother Ben?"
"I guess so," Ben said. "Look, I've been looking for this number so my dad could find out how you guys were. I was too scared to tell him that I got a hold of it, so I called."
"Your dad?" Janie was shaking, "As in my dad?"
"Right," Ben hesitantly said. "Is Rachel home?"
"She's asleep," Janie told him.
"Well, tell me what life is like for you guys," Ben asked.
"Well, I have this other sister, Kayla, she's a brat, but she's cute, and we live in this really nice white house," Janie told him.
"Is your mom married?" Ben questioned.
"No," Janie stated.
"Boyfriend?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, Joey, he's Kayla's dad, he's awesome," Janie told him, smiling.
"As in Joey Tribianni?" Ben hastily stated.
"Right," Janie frowned.
"My dad is going to be so upset," Ben said.
"What? Why?" Janie asked.
"I really shouldn't have called," Ben hurriedly said, "Please don't tell Rachel."
Janie frowned, "Wait, why?" Ben hung up and Janie stared at the phone.
Janie walked into the living room and Kayla scowled, "Where's breakfast?" Janie ignored her and walked straight to the basement and turned on the computer. There had to be some way to get plane tickets to New York online. She'd seen Joey do it when they all went to Florida the summer before.
Part Six of 'Twists of Fate and Bad Luck'
August 2006
Joey stayed in the room at the end of the hall. Four year old Janie ran into his room, she yelled, "Hey!"
Joey was laying on the bed, watching television, "What's up?" he asked her. It was 6:30 at night.
"Mommy's coming and she looks worried," Janie warned, before she ran out of the room.
Joey sat up and Rachel entered the room, with large curlers in her hair, wearing only a skirt, her bra and one shoe, "Joey, get dressed."
Joey frowned, looking down at his grey sweats and blue t-shirt, "I am, Rach."
Rachel threw up her arms in frustration, "Get on a suit, right now! I've been invited to this fashion thingy and I just looked at my invitation again, and it says 'Rachel Green Plus Guest'. If I don't bring a date, I'll look really sad. They'll think 'There goes that old-single mother, just walking around all old and mother-like!'"
Joey stood up, not quite understanding her, "What about Janie?"
Rachel smiled, pulling a suit out of his closet, "Mrs. Larkin from next door is coming over; I've already asked her."
"Is there anything I can do to get out of this?" Joey asked.
Rachel grinned, handing him the suit, "Nope."
Rachel and Joey walked up to the door of the house, happily joking about one of Rachel's fellow employees.
"I think I saw her go back to the bar at least seven times," Rachel giggled.
"She sure was wasted. I think she thought I was her husband at one point," Joey smiled, "Or she was just really turned on by my good looks."
Rachel laughed, "Sure, Joe." Rachel kept giggling, she had drunk a few herself. She looked up, "I think it's raining."
"Well, let's get inside, then," Joey told her, opening the door.
Rachel smiled, "You always take such good care of us, Joey. Why?"
"'Cause I like to," Joey told her, grinning, and followed her in the house.
Mrs. Larkin walked to the door when she heard them enter, "Did you enjoy your evening? Janie's fast asleep."
"It was great," Rachel told her, "Thanks for staying with Janie," she said, pleasantly. "Come over for coffee tomorrow around three-thirty," she told her.
Mrs. Larkin nodded, "Oh, that'll be nice, dear." She looked from Joey to Rachel, "You two really make a cute couple."
Joey and Rachel looked at each other and laughed, "No, we're not together," Joey told her.
Mrs. Larkin frowned, "Well you should be. Your generation always was a bit oblivious to everything." She picked up her coat and walked out the door, "I'll talk to you tomorrow, dear. Bye!"
Rachel shivered, "It's cold." She walked up the stairs and Joey followed her; he started to walk towards his room.
Rachel paused at her door and watched him, "Joe, will you come and get that big blanket from the top shelf of my closet?"
Joey smiled, "Of course I will." He walked into her room behind her and went straight to the closet. Rachel followed him and stood behind him. He pulled down the blanket and set it in her arms.
She stared at him for a moment, "Thank you."
He nervously stared back, "Rach, you're a little drunk, go to bed. I've got to go to bed, too."
Rachel ignored him, moving closer to Joey, "No, stay here for a minute." She thought for a moment, "We should check on Janie."
Joey nodded, "Yeah."
They continued to stare at each other. Rachel moved closer and pressed her lips against his. She stepped back after a moment.
"Can I do that again?" She asked.
Joey nodded and she dropped the blanket and kissed him again.
Rachel woke up the next morning and heard the television on in the living room. She looked around her room quickly, realising she was alone. She pulled on her robe.
In the living room, Janie and Joey sat on the floor playing Nintendo. Rachel smiled and exhaustedly looked at the clock on the VCR. 8:36am. Janie giggled and looked at her mom, "I'm winning!"
Rachel grinned and looked to Joey, who stood up, uncertain, "I'll be back in a minute, Janie." He walked into the kitchen and Rachel followed.
"So, last night we kissed," Rachel stated, picking up a coffee cup.
Joey nodded, "That was it. Nothing more than a kiss."
Rachel nodded, "I was a little drunk."
"I'm sorry about it, I know you must regret it," Joey said, picking up the coffee pot and pouring some into her cup.
"This works," Rachel told him.
"What?" Joey asked, looking around.
"Us," Rachel told him, "You and me, with Janie."
"May I remind you of three plane tickets that sit in the drawer upstairs?" Joey said. Rachel diverted her eyes away from his. Joey continued, "Rach, we said 15 months, then we'd go back. I finished that independent movie, and now there's no reason to stay. You can transfer back to the New York office."
"But, I don't want to go back," Rachel argued.
"Because of Ross," Joey stated.
"No," Rachel told him. "Because Ross didn't care enough. He had too many problems."
Joey threw up his arms, "Rach, I'm not a Ross replacement!"
"I don't want you to be," Rachel yelled, "I want you to be Joey. And as Joey, I want you to stay here and love us, as your family."
Joey sighed, then put his hand out, Rachel placed her hand in his, "Family? That's a little hard for me to deal with."
"Please," Rachel said. She unhappily folded her arms, "We can go back if you want."
Joey shook his head, "We'll stay here. I'm only doing this because you're hot, you know that, right Rach?"
Rachel hit his arm, angrily, "Joey!" But her face slowly turned back to a smile and she laughed.
May 2009
Janie walked into her Mom's room, Rachel was sitting on the bed, tears streaming down her face. For a seven year old she was pretty smart.
"When's Joey coming back?" Janie asked, standing in the doorway.
"Maybe never," Rachel told her, wiping her eyes with a tissue.
"I didn't drink any of the beer, really, Mom," Janie told her.
Rachel laughed, "It's not the beer, honey."
Janie crawled into the big chair in Rachel's room, "Mom, where's my daddy?"
Rachel quickly looked at her, shocked, "Daddy?"
Janie nodded, "Well, I was at Chrissie's and her mom said to me, 'your mom and dad are really nice people.' And I told her that Joey wasn't my dad, he was just this guy who lives with us all the time. She didn't really say anything else, then. I mean, I have a Daddy right?"
Rachel sighed, "Of course you do, he lives in New York with your half brother."
Janie's eyes went wide, "Brother? Cool! I mean Allison hates her brother, but he's like really mean and plays with racing cars all the time."
"He's fourteen," Rachel told her, "Ben."
"I've always wanted a brother," Janie told her, jumping out of her chair.
"Since when?" Rachel asked.
Janie folded her arms, "Since forever."
"Janie, honey, you'll have another brother or maybe a sister, soon," Rachel told her, looking to her stomach.
Janie jumped up and down, "This is so 'citing! How?"
"Mommy's pregnant," Rachel told her, "Joey's going to be the baby's daddy."
Janie stopped jumping, "Can I see my Daddy?" The doorbell rang, Janie ran out of the room, "That's Chrissie! I can't wait to tell her I have a brother!" She ran down the stairs and Rachel heard the door open.
Rachel stood up, and walked to the front door, Chrissie and her mother stood on the other side of it, "Have fun," was all Rachel could say, "You'll be back in a few hours, right?" Janie nodded and ran to Chrissie's van.
Chrissie's mom chatted with Rachel for a moment, until Rachel said, "Excuse me, I have to make a call."
Rachel walked hurriedly to the phone and dialed a number she hadn't dialed in years. It rang three times before Chandler's voice came through the phone, "Hi, you've reached Monica, Chandler, Ellie and Taylor, we're not around to take the call, but you can leave a message for us and we'll return it as soon as we can. Thanks!"
Rachel heard the beep and paused before saying, "Monica, its Rachel. I'm just calling to see how everyone is. You probably don't want to talk to me, but I'll call back in a bit. I heard the message and I'm guessing Ellie and Taylor are your kids. Congratulations." She quickly hung up. Then she dialed another number.
"Hello?" Joey said answering his phone. He waited for a moment, Rachel froze, unable to speak. Joey realised who it was, "Rachel?"
Rachel quietly spoke, "Yeah."
"What's up?" Joey asked.
"I was just checking to see if you are okay," Rachel lied. She wanted him to break down, apologize, tell her he was coming home that very second. Tell her that everything was okay.
"I'm fine, you?" Joey was at work on the set. "And Janie?"
"Okay, we're fine," Rachel lied again.
Joey hesitantly said, "Rach, are you okay? Do you want me to come back? You kicked me out for being too immature, remember?"
Rachel quickly spoke, "No. We're fine." She hung up. She sat down at the kitchen table and ignored the phone ringing. She glanced to the caller ID: 'Joey - Cell'. She waited for it to stop ringing and she picked it up, dialling Monica's number again.
This time there was an answer, "Hello?" Monica answered.
Rachel was so relieved to hear her voice, "Monica?"
She heard Monica gasp, and reply, "Oh My God, Rachel, are you okay?"
Rachel sighed in relief, "You're not mad." She wiped a tear from her eye.
"Rachel, no, I've been so worried," Monica told her.
Rachel thought for a moment, "You and Chandler have kids?"
"Yeah, a boy and a girl," Monica said, "What made you call?"
"Well," Rachel tried to fight the tears, "I need help, and I don't have any good girl friends around here."
Monica sounded shaken, "Okay. What do you need?"
"Umm, I've been dating this guy for like two years now, and he's a pretty good friend, he lives with us, I just kicked him out because he tried to give Janie beer," Rachel told her. She chose not to tell her that it was Joey.
Monica giggled, unaware, "Sounds charming. How is Janie?"
"She's great," Rachel told her, then continued, "So, I kicked him out, like a week ago, then I found out I'm pregnant."
Monica sounded happy for her, "Do you love him?"
Rachel knew the answer, but she was embarrassed, "Yeah. I think so."
Monica told her, "Then get him back there, tell him you love him and you need him there, and that you're pregnant."
Rachel grinned, happy to have advice from someone she missed so much, "Thanks."
"How's Joey?" Monica asked.
Rachel quickly said, worried, "He's fine, I haven't seen him a few days. Look, Mon, I'm sorry, but I've got to go." Rachel got nervous that if she told Monica anything else, Monica would come out to California, which would be fine, but Rachel didn't want to see Ross, especially now she was pregnant with Joey's child. She unplugged the phone in case Monica had traced the number some how.
Rachel sat on the couch for two hours, thinking about her past, when the door opened. Joey walked in, "I've been trying to call for hours! I got worried!"
Rachel got up and walked over to him, she lightly put her hands on his face and kissed him, then she said, "Will you come back and stay?"
Joey nodded, "Of course. I'm sorry, Rach."
"Me too," she told him. "I've got news. News you may or may not like."
"New job?" Joey asked.
Rachel stepped back, "Bigger. There might be someone else living here soon. Beside you, Janie and me."
"We're getting a dog?" Joey asked.
"No," Rachel smiled.
"I don't catch your drift, Rach, I'm not very bright," Joey told her, staring at her blankly.
"In nine months," Rachel hinted. Joey continued looking at her confused.
The door opened and Janie walked in, "Joey! You're home!"
Joey hugged Janie, "Yeah, for good."
She giggled, "I've got to go find my Barbie, Chrissie says it's uglier than hers, but she's wrong." She started to walk up the stairs, when she turned around and said, "Isn't it exciting about the new brother or sister?" She rushed up the stairs.
Joey slowly turned around and looked at Rachel, "Is she saying-?" Rachel nodded, worried. Joey looked down, "Oh my God!"
"What do you think?" Rachel asked.
"That I need a beer," Joey told her. Then he looked back to Rachel and said, "This is so incredible!" He pulled her into a hug.
Rachel sighed, relieved, "Thank God, you're okay."
"Okay? I'm great!" Joey told her. He saw the phone was laying on the couch, "Who were you calling?"
"Oh, a survey-guy called," Rachel lied. She pulled him back into the hug.
November 2011
Joey sat in on the bench in the playground, waiting for Janie and Rachel to exit Janie's school. He was holding onto his daughter, Kayla, who was seated on his lap. She was two and giggling all the time.
Joey started talking to her, "How's my favourite daughter?"
Kayla hung onto Joey's shirt, "Let's play."
"In a minute, Mom and Janie will be out in a second," he told her, touching her little nose.
Janie and Rachel walked out the doors. Rachel had been volunteering at school for the day. Janie pointed, "Joey and Kayla are here!"
Rachel smiled when she saw them, they walked over to the bench, "What are you two doing here?"
"Picking you up for an after school snack," Joey told her.
Rachel kissed Kayla's head, "What are we having?"
She giggled and shouted, "I want pizza!"
Rachel rolled her eyes, and looked at Joey, "You have this kid brainwashed!"
December 2012
Janie had been awake since 7am, but Joey and her Mom were still asleep. It was now 9:30. They had been out late last night. Kayla was sitting in front of the television watching cartoons. Janie was in the kitchen pouring herself some Cheerio's.
She yelled to Kayla, "Want some cereal?"
Kayla yelled back, "Yeah."
Janie was excited, today she was going to her friend's birthday party and they were going to a water park. The phone rang and she ran to answer it, in case it was one of her friends. And so it wouldn't wake Joey or her Mom, "Hello?" She casually said.
"Is this Rachel Green's house?" A young male voice asked.
"Yeah, why?" Janie asked, confused.
"I used to know her, when she lived in New York," the voice stated.
Janie shrugged, "How old are you?"
"Seventeen," the man said.
"You must have been like my age when you knew her," Janie told him.
"Wait, is this Janie?" The voice asked.
Janie froze, "How do you know me?"
"I'm Ben," he told her, quickly.
Janie sat down at the table, "As in my brother Ben?"
"I guess so," Ben said. "Look, I've been looking for this number so my dad could find out how you guys were. I was too scared to tell him that I got a hold of it, so I called."
"Your dad?" Janie was shaking, "As in my dad?"
"Right," Ben hesitantly said. "Is Rachel home?"
"She's asleep," Janie told him.
"Well, tell me what life is like for you guys," Ben asked.
"Well, I have this other sister, Kayla, she's a brat, but she's cute, and we live in this really nice white house," Janie told him.
"Is your mom married?" Ben questioned.
"No," Janie stated.
"Boyfriend?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, Joey, he's Kayla's dad, he's awesome," Janie told him, smiling.
"As in Joey Tribianni?" Ben hastily stated.
"Right," Janie frowned.
"My dad is going to be so upset," Ben said.
"What? Why?" Janie asked.
"I really shouldn't have called," Ben hurriedly said, "Please don't tell Rachel."
Janie frowned, "Wait, why?" Ben hung up and Janie stared at the phone.
Janie walked into the living room and Kayla scowled, "Where's breakfast?" Janie ignored her and walked straight to the basement and turned on the computer. There had to be some way to get plane tickets to New York online. She'd seen Joey do it when they all went to Florida the summer before.