Lavander Precious **********************

Disclaimers: I do not own FRIENDS or any such material. Summary: Set somewhere after Emma's 4th birthday. Pheobe and Rachel have a big fight and don't speak to each other for weeks. Something big happens to Chandler and Monica, that is not good at all, and something happens to Rachel. This is the Prequel to "What We Left Behind".

~The Beginning~

"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday dear Emma.." sang Joey, his voice cracking. Chandler silently laughed and put his hand over Monica's shoulder. Rachel patted the blonde haired wide eyed little girl that stood before a birthday cake.

"C'mon Emma, make a widdle wish." cooed Rachel to Emma. Emma looked at her blankly and raised her eyebrows. "Okay, just blow the candles." suggested Ross. Emma blew out one candle and Ross's wife Jenna blew out the rest.

"Where could James be?" asked Pheobe to Rachel, who was eating a peice of cake. James was Pheobe's husband. "I am not sure, Pheebs." said Rachel, trying not to look guilty as Pheobe looked out into the hall for any sight of James.

Chandler was playing the piano that was in Jenna and Ross's room, and Monica was drinking something. Rachel stiffened and finally went to the guestroom. She opened it and closed it.

"James?" she whispered, as she saw him, sitting down on the bed.

"You better go out the window and ring the bell as if nothing happend, or else Pheobe will find out." hissed Rachel, and kissed him one last time on the forehead. She felt a fresh surge of guilt and passion.

"There's nothing else to find out." said a voice behind them. Rachel's eyes were welled with tears. She knew Pheobe's voice anywhere.

Rachel turned around to see Pheobe, standing there, with shock in her eyes, but a simple frown.She seemed very calm. "Go out there and act nice. I don't want anything to wreck Emma this time." said Pheobe, going out of the room.

James sighed. "Oh god." said Rachel.

"What do we do?" asked James.

"I don't know. I don't know. Just, I'll go out first, acting as if nothing happend, and you just go out there and pretened to have just camed alright?" said Rachel, a worried and nervous expression in her voice.

Rachel left the guestroom and saw Pheobe, who was cutting oranges for Emma roughly.

"Pheebs, please." was all Rachel could say to her as a sob caught in her throat.

"Yes, Rach? Do you want an orange?" asked Pheobe casually, but there was no mistaking as her voice tightened.

"Look, we didn't do anything." said Rach.

"Does that explain his pants on the floor?" asked Pheobe through grinded teeth as she gave Emma a slice. "I don't want to talk about this right now." said Pheobe.

Rachel backed off, and looked around her. Everyone was having fun, laughing. How could this secret affair ruin her life?

"I-please Pheobe!" Rachel found herself screaming. James had just entered the room. Everyone looked at her, and Monica told Emma to be a good little girl and go outside before backing away.

"YOU KNEW!" screamed Pheobe to Monica, who was near to tears.

Pheobe turned to Rachel with a knife in her hands, orange juice dripping form the point.

Rachel backed away slowly.

Ross, Joey and Chandler watched intently.

"YOU TOLD MONICA! BEFORE YOU TOLD ME! HOW COULD YOU RACHEL! SLEEP WITH JAMES THAT BASTARD!" Pheobe screamed, throwing the knife so hard that the knife smashed the window. Joey and Ross seemed shocked, and Chandler had his mouth open.

Jenna simply was hunched up in a corner, trying to breathe. She had asthma.

James put his arm around Rachel's shoulder, trying to look courageous, but Pheobe had murder in her eyes and Rachel felt as if she was going to cry.

"YES PHEOBE I DID! I DID ALRIGHT!I AM IN LOVE WITH HIM!James loves me,Pheobe."

"But I love him!"

"Sweetie, I am sorry! It just wasn't meant to be!"

"He's my husband!"

"I am your best friend!"

"If you were, you wouldn't be doing this..."

"If YOU were, you would understand."

"Fine! Date your loser boyfriend. But don't come crying back to me when he dumps you!"

"That won't happen."

"Thats what you think!" said Pheobe, kicking Rachel so hard on the hip that Rachel fell over.

Pheobe looked as shocked as anybody else. Pheobe was about to say sorry but one hurt look to James, and she walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her. "James, You take care of Rach, I'll get Pheebs, and Chandler, please get Emma will you?" asked Monica as she ran out the door.

Chandler nodded silently and followed her as James tried to make Rachel stand up.

~The One Where Everything Happens~

"I couldn't catch her. Pheobe had already gotten a cab." said Monica, sitting on the couch with Rachel who was in pain. James,Joey and Ross were buying ice and calling docters and Chandler still had not come with Emma, but Monica did not pay attention to that.

"Er!" screamed Rachel as Monica tried to rub her hip.

"Dont! My ribs are probably broken!" screamed Rachel, crying into the cushion.

As Monica stroked Rachel's hair, she began to feel sleepy, so she put a blanket over Rachel (because she couldn't carry Rachel) and entered the guest bedroom, lying down there. She fell into a deep sleep and woke up, it was almost midnight and walked into Jenna and Ross's room. They were both asleep in their clothes, and Monica thought they probably fell asleep the same time she did.

Monica had an extremely aching headache as she looked at Rachel in the dark living room, sleeping on the couch, an ice pack lay dripping next to her. Monica sighed and then realised something.

Where was Chandler? Joey was sleeping in an impossible position on one of the chairs next to Rachel, but Chandler was not in the bathroom or anything. Monica began to get worried and then suddenly, she went into Emma's room. Emma was not there. "RACHEL!" she screamed, her eyes closed in terror.

~All The Hurting Begins~

Rachel limped hurridly into the room where Monica had screamed, extreme pain went through her veins and she started bleeding, but she didn't care. If something had happend Monica, well...she didn't want to lose two of her best friends. "What!" Rachel screamed, holding on to Monica.

Monica pointed to the empty bed wordlessly. "Oh My GOD! OH MY GOD! ROSS!" Rachel screamed, and got out of balance and hit her head.

When Ross didn't answer, Monica went to the room, leaving Rachel there, suffering in pain. As Monica dragged Ross into the room, she started breathing hard, hiperventalating.

When Monica told Ross, Ross put Rachel into Emma's bed, and preceded to call the police. Instead, the police called them.

Monica didn't know what was going on as she lay next to Rachel on the bed, trying not to breathe as she heard a faint ring of the phone from the room. She heard Ross pick it up and scream loudly into the phone before hanging up. He went into the room, tears rolling down his eyes. "Okay, Mon, you get Rach to the hospital. I am going to get Chandler."

"What? Why?" asked Monica, trying not to suffocate herself right this moment. "Chandler's in the police station." Ross explained, breathing hard himself. "What?" was all that Monica could strangle out. "WHERES EMMA!" shouted Rachel.

"Chandler doesn't know." said Ross trying to be calm, but it was obvious that he wanted to murder somebody right now. "GO!" Ross called to Monica before getting his coat and entering the dark cold hall. Monica dragged Rachel up and carried her as far she could down the stairs and into the cool air of the streets. After they had gotten a ride from a night cab driver, Monica entered Rachel into the hospital.

~Tommorrow Came~

Monica got up, and realised she was sleeping in a very rough hard chair, which sat next to Rachel, who was in the hospital bed, a bandage over her head, and a cast that covered her hip and her legs, who was tenderly sleeping.

Monica's striking headache came through again after remembering yesterday's events. Her heart sank and she bit her lip. After she had gotten Rachel to the hospital, Ross had called her and told her not to worry, but they couldn't find Emma. And when Ross told Monica to hold on the line while Chandler talked to her.

"What the fuck happend?" she had screamed into the phone. What Chandler replied, Monica could only hold on to the words, "drunk" "almost raped her" "police caught me" "i didn't know what i was doing." before Monica slammed the phone down so hard that Rachel opened her eyes immediatly.

"MON?" Rachel asked, observing her surrondings and getting worried. Monica collapsed on Rachel, ignoring Rachel's cry of pain, sobbing. "Mon, please-" gasped Rachel in a choking voice. Monica got off, crying into her pillow.

"Monica?" Rachel cried, hugging her.

"Where's Emma? Where's Chan?" asked Rachel in such a voice as if she didn't want to know. Monica didn't answer.

~Loss Of Everything And Seperation (three months later)~

"Here." said Monica, giving Rachel some cocoa.

"I still can't believe Jennie fired you. You were such a good fashion designer." said Monica, shaking her head. "Umhmm. So, any calls from James?" asked Rachel, looking at Monica hopefully. Monica just sighed and said. "Sorry sweetie."

Rachel nodded but felt pain pang through her. Ever since James had left her, she couldn't just go back to Pheobe now.

"Any word of Emma?" said Monica.

Rachel shook her head, crying. Stop, she thought to herself. She had enough of that. She looked into Mon's eyes and then looked away. How could Monica stand all this? Monica was divorced! Her husband had gotten drunk and almost raped an innocent teenager while losing track of his neice, which was her child! How could this happen? Rachel wished she could kill Chandler, because it was all of his fault.

Now Chandler was somewhere where none of them knew. The others had not been present, so it was as if they'd never had been friends. Rachel got up. "Tommorrow's a job interveiw." she said, getting her coat on.

"Thanks for visiting." said Monica.

"I wouldn't leave you alone." said Rachel, trying to smile a little. Monica nodded. Rachel went out the door, and felt something in her pocket. It was the present that Pheobe had given Emma. Rachel looked at it. It was a small peice of a sewed decoration. It was a little square of silk, that was lavander all over, and it had tiny yellow butterflies sewed into it. Rachel bit her lip as she ran her fingers through the soft smooth material. Rachel sighed and put it into her pocket once again, thinking of all she had lost.