A Tale of Two Cities:
The Windy City
Ok, here's the deal. This fic takes place about one month before Chandler and Monica's wedding. But with one slight difference. After Ross and Rachel got the divorce in Season 6, with Phoebe's revelation that he was still in love with her, he could no longer handle being in New York City. So he left. He didn't ell anyone he was leaving for good. He just told them he was going on a short-term project. But he never returned. And he didn't keep in contact with the gang.
Setting: Chicago Airport
Thank God she thought to herself. She hated flying so much. She also was glad to get away from New York for a while. Monica had been driving her crazy. This Fashion Convention she had to go to for Ralph Lauren would be a good break. She looked around the airport and made her way to baggage claim. She was tired, and just wanted to get to the hotel. It would be a long week. She had to attend four different seminars, which left her a lot of time to see the sites. But what sites were there in Chicago. And the fact that she knew nobody here made it even harder. Well Ralph Lauren had put her up in a very nice hotel, so that was the first place she wanted to go. She got her luggage and made her way outside the airport to catch a cab. It was a nice day out. She wondered why it was called the "Windy City" Oh well hopefully the weather stayed nice for her stay. She got a cab and headed off to her hotel.
He sat there staring at his drink. Once again he found himself at this bar waiting for his Boss. For some reason his Boss loved the atmosphere of the Chicago Plaza Lounge. He hated it. So many people running around. He didn't like to be around people. He liked to be alone. That's why he did what he did. Running the Department of Paleontology and Ancient Civilizations at one of the most prestigious museums in the United States was a awesome dream for him. A dream come true you could say. He got to enjoy a nice luxurious life. He also got to travel the world to dig sites everywhere. His life was still empty. Once he moved here, he never made friends. He couldn't replace his old life, his old friends. Hell he thought to himself in the past Year and a half he has only had maybe five dates. Of course one of the girls he started to get serious with, and after about three months he couldn't handle the relationship anymore. He felt like he was doing something wrong. So he broke it off. Why did he always feel he had to keep himself secluded. He glanced around the bar again, finally seeing his boss. "Hey Mr. Templeton, what did you need?" he asked. "Well I have a proposition for you, Dr. Geller." Ross's boss replied.
The cab ride didn't take long. She was surprised at how extravagant the Chicago Plaza Hotel was. She hastily paid the cab driver and got her luggage. She was making her way through the lobby to the receptionist. After checking in she got a bellboy to help her with her luggage and made her way to her room. She relaxed on her bed finally happy with the fact to be able to just stretch out. She closed her eyes and felt at peace. All of a sudden she heard a shrill ringing. Snapping awake from her daze, she reached for her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She answered it with an unhappy grunt "Rachel Green here, what can I do for you?" Through the phone she could hear her best friend's voice "hey Rach, I was just checking in on you making sure ya got their alright!" "I'm good Monica, I was actually just gonna head down to the bar and get a drink and unwind. I am so excited about this seminar." With that, the two ladies said their good- byes. Rachel got about and headed down to the bar. It was so nice to be away from New York she thought to herself. She had such good memories their, but then again she had some bad. Some bad memories that she was reminded of almost everyday.
Ross had just finished his conversation with his boss. He was quite unsure how to take what his boss just laid on him. His life was never going to be the same. He was just happy to have the next week of vacation to think about it. He was still tired from just getting back from Peru and escavating some ancient ruins. They weren't dinosaur bones, but none the less still an exciting experience. He finished his drink and started to make his way out of the lounge. He was quite prepared to head home to his empty house. Its weird though he, still couldn't see it as his "home." He always thought if he had bought a house, it was to raise a family. But he got the house cheap and with a bonus from a very successful dig last year it was easy enough to pay off all at once. Lost in his own day dream he didn't see the woman in front of him just entering the bar. He collided straight into her sending her to the floor. Ross felt horrible he bent down and offered his had. "I am so sorry Miss, let me help you up" he said with a voice filled of embarrassment.
Rachel was quite shocked when she had just entered the bar, and she was already on her butt. A tall man dressed in a long trench coat wasn't even paying attention to where he was going. But he offered his hand to help her up and she accepted reluctantly. She heard him speak and answered quite annoyed, "Well you should be, you really need to watch where the hell you are going!" she responded as she looked up. "Oh my god.Ross is that you" She felt her heart sink at first and then beat with excitement. One of her best friends stood in front of her. A friend she had not seen in nearly two years she thought to herself. At first she was happy to see him, but then remembered how he left with out so much as a good-bye. She became furious. "Well Ross do you have anything to say for yourself.like where the hell have you been. Why the hell haven't you called." She was now standing straight in front of him. She knew it was him. She would recognize him anywhere. For she saw him every night in her dreams.
Ross stood there. He had no idea what to say, what to do. Should he run, should he lie? His head had no words. He had always hoped he would see her again. But always dreaded this moment. He could see hurt in her eyes. He knew that once again he was the cause of that hurt. But at a second glance, he wondered, could he dare was their love there. In her eyes still.after all these years. It couldn't be though she didn't love him when he left New York, how could she love him now. All these thoughts are rushing through his mind. Finally he spoke, "hey Rach.been long time huh." It was all he could say. He had no explanations. He had excuses. Just "hey Rach.been long time huh."
She looked at him, she stared into his eyes. She could see fear their. Fear of her yelling, fear of her anger. He spoke to her, his voice his sweet voice. She sensed his nervousness. All of a sudden, it made no matter to her why he was gone, where he has been. All she cared about was she was seeing him again. She let her anger go. She just wanted to.no she thought, she just needed to hug again. For it has been a long time. She approached him, and open her arms to him. She longed for him to come to her, to hold her, like he had down so many times in the past. And he did. He took her into his arms, and she felt that warmth, that warmth that she had missed for far to long. It completed her she thought to her self. They hugged for a couple minutes, neither knowing what to say. Finally she broke the hug and looked into his eyes. She took his head and lead him to the bar. They sat there for hours talking. She explained why she was in Chicago, as he went on about his job here. Ross listened intently to her as she spoke of the gang. His friends that he could never replace. He felt a pain in his heart as he heard about his sister's engagement. To his best friend Chandler no less. She talked of Pheobe. Sweet, sweet Pheobe. Told him stories of Joey. How he missed his friends. After a couple hours Rachel knew she needed to sleep Ross, of course escorted her to her room. He gave her his phone number and told her to call him if she got lonely in during the week she was there. And with that they shared another hug, a longer hug then the first one. And he walked away.
He went outside the hotel and made his way through the parking lot. He climbed into his SUV, and began his drive home. He had been content here in Chicago these past couple years. Not truly happy, but content. But this night, this night he felt happy. For the first time in years he was happy. All because of that woman. Rachel Green. The woman he ran from. That's when his heart sank. He was still in Chicago, and she was just visiting. How would he handle her leaving. Why did he give her his number. Could he spend the week with her, and then go back to his empty lonely life. He would have to after all, his life was in Chicago now, all New York had for him was emptiness. Emptiness and pain.
She could not believe it, after all this time she saw him again. It was nice, and comfortable. But yet how, how and why? She came here to Chicago to leave some bad memories behind. Not exactly bad memories, but the overwhelming jealousy she felt for Monica. She loved Monica like a sister. And once a long time ago she thought she could be her sister. She thought she would marry Ross. And New York held so many memories of Ross. She thought to escape those thoughts, come to Chicago and not be reminded of him for a while. A week at least, but her first night here, and she was not only confronted with memories of Ross, but him. Ross in person. It was painful at first, but after they started talking, it felt right, it felt good. It felt like it was meant to be. With those thoughts she drifted off to sleep.
The next day she spent thinking of Ross. She tried to focus on the seminar, and she felt that she was doing a fair job. But still she thought to himself, what was he doing, did he really want to call her. After the seminar finished she returned to her suite at the hotel. She did up her report for the day, and looked at the clock, it was late. But she had the next two days off, before the next part of the seminar. What would she do, she asked herself. She glanced across the room and her eyes fell to the piece of paper with Ross's phone number. She dialed it, and waited for him to pick up, she was just about to hang up when she heard a voice on the other end. "Hello." the voice spoke. Her voice once again became shy, now it was her turn to be nervous."Hey Ross.it's Rachel, I was just calling because you're the only person I know here in Chicago.and well I have the next." she was cut off when she heard a slight chuckle on the other end. "And since you have the next two days off before your next seminar you were wondering if I could show you the splendid sights of this city?" Ross replied. He had been mentally preparing for this phone call all day.
The next two days were wonderful. Ross took Rachel to the shore of lake Michigan. She now got why it was called the Windy City. Everyone once in awhile a gust of wind were fly by and spray nice freezing water onto them and their picnic. She could not believe how much Ross had changed. He seemed so distant at times, but yet at other times, he would be so attentive. She joked with him while they were driving, she would laugh because of how much his driving skill had changed. He used to be so cautious, but now he was forceful and offensive on the road. He told her, after two weeks in rush hour, you gotta change the way you drive or else by the time you made it to work, it was time to go home. After the first day was over he again escorted her to her suite. This time after they had said there good-byes, Rachel hugged him and broke it, but before closing the door she leant up and kissed his cheek. The next morning Ross really surprised Rachel, when she exited the hotel lobby looking for Ross's SUV, she instead found him leaning up against a motorcycle. She gave him a strange look, and he shrugged his shoulder's and replied "Just thought you'd want to meet my baby, I did tell you once I always wanted a Harley, didn't I?" She looked at him weirdly, as he handed her a helmet. He smiled his dorky smile that always made something inside of her feel funny. She laughed and said "You really know how to ride this thing?" Ross drove her around for hours on his "hog." He showed her the few sites that Chicago was known for, he took her out to dinner at a nice little diner. And eventually gave her a tour of his house. It looked just like his apartment she thought. She stood in the living room glancing around at all the dinosaur bones and other knick knacks until her eyes fell upon a shelf, she walked up to it and saw pictures of the gang. She also noticed a picture of herself and Ross, taken so long ago, she let out a happy sigh as she realized he still thought of her. Then she noticed a picture of Ben and him. But it wasn't a picture of what Ben looked like before he left. It looked like a picture of Ben from a couple months ago. She picked it up and went to Ross. She found him in the kitchen holding two glasses of wine. He paused for a second as he studied her face then glanced at the picture she had.he was about to speak until she said "Ross when was the last time you were in New York?" He didn't know how to respond. Then he figured the best way would be to tell the truth.
"Well Rach, umm the last time I was In New York was before my last expedition, about 2 months ago." He said, as he looked at her obviously wondering why he hadn't called them when he was there. So he continued, "you see Rachel, I fly into New York every 3-4 months. Just for a couple days and I spend it with Ben. I know your wondering why I left.." he said as he handed her a glass of wine, she sat at a stool near the kitchen counter and look at him, signaling him to continue, so anxious to know why he left. "After we got divorced I a.I realized that I couldn't be happy in New York, I needed to change my whole life. And that involved you guys. But I couldn't leave Ben out of it, so I made a point to stop in and see Ben when ever I could. I don't really talk to Carol so much and Susan either when I'm there, I just spend it with Ben. They understand that Carol is a part of my past that hurts me, and they understand that I only come back to see Ben. And they accepted that, but I knew you guys wouldn't. And now here in Chicago, I am content. Heck Ben was even here six months ago. I am so sorry if I hurt you again, I just.it was to hard to keep living my life in New York. I'm sorry."
She knew he was, she was still hurt by the fact that he had left, and what hurt her even more was the revelation, that the past two days were so wonderful. It felt as if they had never been apart. She got up, and walked to him she hugged him tight and just whispered in his ear."it's just.that I have missed you so much, and don't worry, your forgiven.for.everything." Tears began to flow down both of there faces and they just hugged. Eventually Ross took her back to her suite, they parted at her door, after sharing a small kiss on the lips. A friendly kiss, but each could feel something more there.
The next couple days were hectic for Rachel. She was now juggling two seminars and time with Ross. The end of the week was approaching. The time where she was suppose to say Good-Bye. But she didn't want to. She wanted to get as much out of this stay in Chicago as she could. Ross had taken her to the opera, he had taken her to the movies, at out to the clubs. She enjoyed another wonderful day on the back of Ross's motorcycle. The final day came, Rachel had finished all her work there, and would be boarding a plane to New York in the morning. Ross had asked her to accompany him to the fanciest restaurant in Chicago. And she of course agreed happily.
That night came, she was dressed in the most beautiful dress she could find. She of course had to go out and by a whole new outfit, she had not brought anything with her to Chicago for such a nice. Ross came to her room, he noticed she was already packed, a small frown came to his face, but was replaced by a huge smile when she walked out of the bathroom. Rachel instantly noticed how nice Ross looked. She forgot how sexy and sophisticated he could look. She even found herself smiling at his hair. How she missed his use of hair gel. The way it made his hair so crunchy when she would rub her fingers through it. The night was wonderful they walked arm and arm everywhere. They danced, and they dined. They enjoyed desert. As they left the restaurant Ross wrapped his arm around Rachel and she leaned her head into his shoulder. It felt so good, so wonderful, so right.and so perfect. She didn't want this night to end, she looked up at him, and shyly asked "Can we take this back to your place."
They awoke the next morning, Ross first and he just stared at Rachel. Their she was, with him again. For the first time in years he felt happy. He felt truly happy. Rachel began to stir.she looked up at him and spoke those words she used to speak so often, "Hey you." he of course responded, "I can't believe I am waking up next to you again" Now it dawned on them, he had to take her to the airport in a couple hours. There it was again, that pain, that emptiness they both have been living with. She just held him tighter, and he returned it. They stared locked together each not wanting to let they other go. They both had spent the night in heaven/ Each one knowing exactly how to make the other happy. And now they were forced to say good-bye. Last night had felt so right, and today felt so wrong. Not many words were spoke. Not until Rachel was ready to board her plane. She looked at Ross, and said the only thing she know to say. She told him something, something she knew he didn't want to hear. "You should come back to New York, for Chandler and Monica's wedding.I'm not dating anyone, so be my guest.it would mean a lot to them"
He didn't want to go back to New York. This good-bye was to painful the way it was. How would he handle another one. He looked at her, knowing what she wanted to hear. But unable to say it, "I'll try he spoke softly, but don't tell them about me in case I can't make it." It was the best he could do, and once she kissed him, one of the most passionate kisses ever, he knew she understood. And that she would respect his wishes. He then was forced to watch her board the plane. That emptiness back in full force, if not worse then what it once was. Before this week he was content in Chicago. This past week he was happy in Chicago. And now, and now he realized that Chicago would never be the same for him. The "Windy City" had change. A gentle breeze brought back something to him he thought he had lost. And as quick as that breeze had brought it, it was taken away by a forceful gust. The "Windy City" would never be his home.
Ok, here's the deal. This fic takes place about one month before Chandler and Monica's wedding. But with one slight difference. After Ross and Rachel got the divorce in Season 6, with Phoebe's revelation that he was still in love with her, he could no longer handle being in New York City. So he left. He didn't ell anyone he was leaving for good. He just told them he was going on a short-term project. But he never returned. And he didn't keep in contact with the gang.
Setting: Chicago Airport
Thank God she thought to herself. She hated flying so much. She also was glad to get away from New York for a while. Monica had been driving her crazy. This Fashion Convention she had to go to for Ralph Lauren would be a good break. She looked around the airport and made her way to baggage claim. She was tired, and just wanted to get to the hotel. It would be a long week. She had to attend four different seminars, which left her a lot of time to see the sites. But what sites were there in Chicago. And the fact that she knew nobody here made it even harder. Well Ralph Lauren had put her up in a very nice hotel, so that was the first place she wanted to go. She got her luggage and made her way outside the airport to catch a cab. It was a nice day out. She wondered why it was called the "Windy City" Oh well hopefully the weather stayed nice for her stay. She got a cab and headed off to her hotel.
He sat there staring at his drink. Once again he found himself at this bar waiting for his Boss. For some reason his Boss loved the atmosphere of the Chicago Plaza Lounge. He hated it. So many people running around. He didn't like to be around people. He liked to be alone. That's why he did what he did. Running the Department of Paleontology and Ancient Civilizations at one of the most prestigious museums in the United States was a awesome dream for him. A dream come true you could say. He got to enjoy a nice luxurious life. He also got to travel the world to dig sites everywhere. His life was still empty. Once he moved here, he never made friends. He couldn't replace his old life, his old friends. Hell he thought to himself in the past Year and a half he has only had maybe five dates. Of course one of the girls he started to get serious with, and after about three months he couldn't handle the relationship anymore. He felt like he was doing something wrong. So he broke it off. Why did he always feel he had to keep himself secluded. He glanced around the bar again, finally seeing his boss. "Hey Mr. Templeton, what did you need?" he asked. "Well I have a proposition for you, Dr. Geller." Ross's boss replied.
The cab ride didn't take long. She was surprised at how extravagant the Chicago Plaza Hotel was. She hastily paid the cab driver and got her luggage. She was making her way through the lobby to the receptionist. After checking in she got a bellboy to help her with her luggage and made her way to her room. She relaxed on her bed finally happy with the fact to be able to just stretch out. She closed her eyes and felt at peace. All of a sudden she heard a shrill ringing. Snapping awake from her daze, she reached for her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She answered it with an unhappy grunt "Rachel Green here, what can I do for you?" Through the phone she could hear her best friend's voice "hey Rach, I was just checking in on you making sure ya got their alright!" "I'm good Monica, I was actually just gonna head down to the bar and get a drink and unwind. I am so excited about this seminar." With that, the two ladies said their good- byes. Rachel got about and headed down to the bar. It was so nice to be away from New York she thought to herself. She had such good memories their, but then again she had some bad. Some bad memories that she was reminded of almost everyday.
Ross had just finished his conversation with his boss. He was quite unsure how to take what his boss just laid on him. His life was never going to be the same. He was just happy to have the next week of vacation to think about it. He was still tired from just getting back from Peru and escavating some ancient ruins. They weren't dinosaur bones, but none the less still an exciting experience. He finished his drink and started to make his way out of the lounge. He was quite prepared to head home to his empty house. Its weird though he, still couldn't see it as his "home." He always thought if he had bought a house, it was to raise a family. But he got the house cheap and with a bonus from a very successful dig last year it was easy enough to pay off all at once. Lost in his own day dream he didn't see the woman in front of him just entering the bar. He collided straight into her sending her to the floor. Ross felt horrible he bent down and offered his had. "I am so sorry Miss, let me help you up" he said with a voice filled of embarrassment.
Rachel was quite shocked when she had just entered the bar, and she was already on her butt. A tall man dressed in a long trench coat wasn't even paying attention to where he was going. But he offered his hand to help her up and she accepted reluctantly. She heard him speak and answered quite annoyed, "Well you should be, you really need to watch where the hell you are going!" she responded as she looked up. "Oh my god.Ross is that you" She felt her heart sink at first and then beat with excitement. One of her best friends stood in front of her. A friend she had not seen in nearly two years she thought to herself. At first she was happy to see him, but then remembered how he left with out so much as a good-bye. She became furious. "Well Ross do you have anything to say for yourself.like where the hell have you been. Why the hell haven't you called." She was now standing straight in front of him. She knew it was him. She would recognize him anywhere. For she saw him every night in her dreams.
Ross stood there. He had no idea what to say, what to do. Should he run, should he lie? His head had no words. He had always hoped he would see her again. But always dreaded this moment. He could see hurt in her eyes. He knew that once again he was the cause of that hurt. But at a second glance, he wondered, could he dare was their love there. In her eyes still.after all these years. It couldn't be though she didn't love him when he left New York, how could she love him now. All these thoughts are rushing through his mind. Finally he spoke, "hey Rach.been long time huh." It was all he could say. He had no explanations. He had excuses. Just "hey Rach.been long time huh."
She looked at him, she stared into his eyes. She could see fear their. Fear of her yelling, fear of her anger. He spoke to her, his voice his sweet voice. She sensed his nervousness. All of a sudden, it made no matter to her why he was gone, where he has been. All she cared about was she was seeing him again. She let her anger go. She just wanted to.no she thought, she just needed to hug again. For it has been a long time. She approached him, and open her arms to him. She longed for him to come to her, to hold her, like he had down so many times in the past. And he did. He took her into his arms, and she felt that warmth, that warmth that she had missed for far to long. It completed her she thought to her self. They hugged for a couple minutes, neither knowing what to say. Finally she broke the hug and looked into his eyes. She took his head and lead him to the bar. They sat there for hours talking. She explained why she was in Chicago, as he went on about his job here. Ross listened intently to her as she spoke of the gang. His friends that he could never replace. He felt a pain in his heart as he heard about his sister's engagement. To his best friend Chandler no less. She talked of Pheobe. Sweet, sweet Pheobe. Told him stories of Joey. How he missed his friends. After a couple hours Rachel knew she needed to sleep Ross, of course escorted her to her room. He gave her his phone number and told her to call him if she got lonely in during the week she was there. And with that they shared another hug, a longer hug then the first one. And he walked away.
He went outside the hotel and made his way through the parking lot. He climbed into his SUV, and began his drive home. He had been content here in Chicago these past couple years. Not truly happy, but content. But this night, this night he felt happy. For the first time in years he was happy. All because of that woman. Rachel Green. The woman he ran from. That's when his heart sank. He was still in Chicago, and she was just visiting. How would he handle her leaving. Why did he give her his number. Could he spend the week with her, and then go back to his empty lonely life. He would have to after all, his life was in Chicago now, all New York had for him was emptiness. Emptiness and pain.
She could not believe it, after all this time she saw him again. It was nice, and comfortable. But yet how, how and why? She came here to Chicago to leave some bad memories behind. Not exactly bad memories, but the overwhelming jealousy she felt for Monica. She loved Monica like a sister. And once a long time ago she thought she could be her sister. She thought she would marry Ross. And New York held so many memories of Ross. She thought to escape those thoughts, come to Chicago and not be reminded of him for a while. A week at least, but her first night here, and she was not only confronted with memories of Ross, but him. Ross in person. It was painful at first, but after they started talking, it felt right, it felt good. It felt like it was meant to be. With those thoughts she drifted off to sleep.
The next day she spent thinking of Ross. She tried to focus on the seminar, and she felt that she was doing a fair job. But still she thought to himself, what was he doing, did he really want to call her. After the seminar finished she returned to her suite at the hotel. She did up her report for the day, and looked at the clock, it was late. But she had the next two days off, before the next part of the seminar. What would she do, she asked herself. She glanced across the room and her eyes fell to the piece of paper with Ross's phone number. She dialed it, and waited for him to pick up, she was just about to hang up when she heard a voice on the other end. "Hello." the voice spoke. Her voice once again became shy, now it was her turn to be nervous."Hey Ross.it's Rachel, I was just calling because you're the only person I know here in Chicago.and well I have the next." she was cut off when she heard a slight chuckle on the other end. "And since you have the next two days off before your next seminar you were wondering if I could show you the splendid sights of this city?" Ross replied. He had been mentally preparing for this phone call all day.
The next two days were wonderful. Ross took Rachel to the shore of lake Michigan. She now got why it was called the Windy City. Everyone once in awhile a gust of wind were fly by and spray nice freezing water onto them and their picnic. She could not believe how much Ross had changed. He seemed so distant at times, but yet at other times, he would be so attentive. She joked with him while they were driving, she would laugh because of how much his driving skill had changed. He used to be so cautious, but now he was forceful and offensive on the road. He told her, after two weeks in rush hour, you gotta change the way you drive or else by the time you made it to work, it was time to go home. After the first day was over he again escorted her to her suite. This time after they had said there good-byes, Rachel hugged him and broke it, but before closing the door she leant up and kissed his cheek. The next morning Ross really surprised Rachel, when she exited the hotel lobby looking for Ross's SUV, she instead found him leaning up against a motorcycle. She gave him a strange look, and he shrugged his shoulder's and replied "Just thought you'd want to meet my baby, I did tell you once I always wanted a Harley, didn't I?" She looked at him weirdly, as he handed her a helmet. He smiled his dorky smile that always made something inside of her feel funny. She laughed and said "You really know how to ride this thing?" Ross drove her around for hours on his "hog." He showed her the few sites that Chicago was known for, he took her out to dinner at a nice little diner. And eventually gave her a tour of his house. It looked just like his apartment she thought. She stood in the living room glancing around at all the dinosaur bones and other knick knacks until her eyes fell upon a shelf, she walked up to it and saw pictures of the gang. She also noticed a picture of herself and Ross, taken so long ago, she let out a happy sigh as she realized he still thought of her. Then she noticed a picture of Ben and him. But it wasn't a picture of what Ben looked like before he left. It looked like a picture of Ben from a couple months ago. She picked it up and went to Ross. She found him in the kitchen holding two glasses of wine. He paused for a second as he studied her face then glanced at the picture she had.he was about to speak until she said "Ross when was the last time you were in New York?" He didn't know how to respond. Then he figured the best way would be to tell the truth.
"Well Rach, umm the last time I was In New York was before my last expedition, about 2 months ago." He said, as he looked at her obviously wondering why he hadn't called them when he was there. So he continued, "you see Rachel, I fly into New York every 3-4 months. Just for a couple days and I spend it with Ben. I know your wondering why I left.." he said as he handed her a glass of wine, she sat at a stool near the kitchen counter and look at him, signaling him to continue, so anxious to know why he left. "After we got divorced I a.I realized that I couldn't be happy in New York, I needed to change my whole life. And that involved you guys. But I couldn't leave Ben out of it, so I made a point to stop in and see Ben when ever I could. I don't really talk to Carol so much and Susan either when I'm there, I just spend it with Ben. They understand that Carol is a part of my past that hurts me, and they understand that I only come back to see Ben. And they accepted that, but I knew you guys wouldn't. And now here in Chicago, I am content. Heck Ben was even here six months ago. I am so sorry if I hurt you again, I just.it was to hard to keep living my life in New York. I'm sorry."
She knew he was, she was still hurt by the fact that he had left, and what hurt her even more was the revelation, that the past two days were so wonderful. It felt as if they had never been apart. She got up, and walked to him she hugged him tight and just whispered in his ear."it's just.that I have missed you so much, and don't worry, your forgiven.for.everything." Tears began to flow down both of there faces and they just hugged. Eventually Ross took her back to her suite, they parted at her door, after sharing a small kiss on the lips. A friendly kiss, but each could feel something more there.
The next couple days were hectic for Rachel. She was now juggling two seminars and time with Ross. The end of the week was approaching. The time where she was suppose to say Good-Bye. But she didn't want to. She wanted to get as much out of this stay in Chicago as she could. Ross had taken her to the opera, he had taken her to the movies, at out to the clubs. She enjoyed another wonderful day on the back of Ross's motorcycle. The final day came, Rachel had finished all her work there, and would be boarding a plane to New York in the morning. Ross had asked her to accompany him to the fanciest restaurant in Chicago. And she of course agreed happily.
That night came, she was dressed in the most beautiful dress she could find. She of course had to go out and by a whole new outfit, she had not brought anything with her to Chicago for such a nice. Ross came to her room, he noticed she was already packed, a small frown came to his face, but was replaced by a huge smile when she walked out of the bathroom. Rachel instantly noticed how nice Ross looked. She forgot how sexy and sophisticated he could look. She even found herself smiling at his hair. How she missed his use of hair gel. The way it made his hair so crunchy when she would rub her fingers through it. The night was wonderful they walked arm and arm everywhere. They danced, and they dined. They enjoyed desert. As they left the restaurant Ross wrapped his arm around Rachel and she leaned her head into his shoulder. It felt so good, so wonderful, so right.and so perfect. She didn't want this night to end, she looked up at him, and shyly asked "Can we take this back to your place."
They awoke the next morning, Ross first and he just stared at Rachel. Their she was, with him again. For the first time in years he felt happy. He felt truly happy. Rachel began to stir.she looked up at him and spoke those words she used to speak so often, "Hey you." he of course responded, "I can't believe I am waking up next to you again" Now it dawned on them, he had to take her to the airport in a couple hours. There it was again, that pain, that emptiness they both have been living with. She just held him tighter, and he returned it. They stared locked together each not wanting to let they other go. They both had spent the night in heaven/ Each one knowing exactly how to make the other happy. And now they were forced to say good-bye. Last night had felt so right, and today felt so wrong. Not many words were spoke. Not until Rachel was ready to board her plane. She looked at Ross, and said the only thing she know to say. She told him something, something she knew he didn't want to hear. "You should come back to New York, for Chandler and Monica's wedding.I'm not dating anyone, so be my guest.it would mean a lot to them"
He didn't want to go back to New York. This good-bye was to painful the way it was. How would he handle another one. He looked at her, knowing what she wanted to hear. But unable to say it, "I'll try he spoke softly, but don't tell them about me in case I can't make it." It was the best he could do, and once she kissed him, one of the most passionate kisses ever, he knew she understood. And that she would respect his wishes. He then was forced to watch her board the plane. That emptiness back in full force, if not worse then what it once was. Before this week he was content in Chicago. This past week he was happy in Chicago. And now, and now he realized that Chicago would never be the same for him. The "Windy City" had change. A gentle breeze brought back something to him he thought he had lost. And as quick as that breeze had brought it, it was taken away by a forceful gust. The "Windy City" would never be his home.