AN: Here's the next chapter. Wow this is a lot longer than I originally expected. Well, I don't have much to say today so ENJOY!
Phoebe excitedly followed Ross up the stairs to Chandler's apartment. She didn't know what exactly was going on, but Ross had called her early that morning to say he had a surprise for her. Phoebe had hurriedly explained everything to Mike, said goodbye to Holly and Anna, and had taken off for Ross' apartment. On arrival she had found Emma and Alyssa playing with their stuffed animals on the floor. Alyssa had excitedly shown her the new stuffed pony that her father had given her. Phoebe smiled. Although it had been difficult, Chandler had become a wonderful father.
Phoebe had immediately noticed Ross acting weird, and not his usual weird, a new kind of weird for him. He couldn't seem to stop smiling and he was practically bouncing off the walls.
Phoebe finally made it to the right floor, to find Ross waiting for her. He had excitedly run ahead of her a few floors back. She rolled her eyes at him and walked towards the door. She then paused and looked at him quizzically.
"Okay Ross, what's going on?" She asked.
"Just open the door," Ross replied smiling widely.
"Okay," Phoebe said, giving him a weird look. What was going on? What could have made Ross get so excited?
Phoebe sighed and opened the door. She was stunned at what she saw. She couldn't believe her eyes. There, right in front of her, were her two best friends who she hadn't seen in five and a half years.
Chandler, Monica, Rachel and Alyssa were seated around the kitchen table, having breakfast. Wait a minute, Phoebe thought, how can Alyssa be here if she was just at Ross'?
Before Phoebe had a chance to think about anything else, Monica and Rachel looked up and immediately rushed towards her. They didn't slow down as they threw their arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug.
Phoebe was in total and complete shock. "I thought you were dead!" She exclaimed.
"We thought you were dead." Came her reply. She wasn't sure if Monica or Rachel said it, but it didn't matter to her. She was so happy to see her friends alive that she broke down and started to cry. Rachel and Monica seemed to follow suit and soon the three of them were clutching onto each other for dear life, each with tears streaming down their cheeks.
Phoebe felt emotion after emotion rush out of her: the guilt for being the only one left alive, the sadness of loosing her best friends, the sense of betrayal for having to tell the rest of her friends that they were dead and last, the sense of unbelievable happiness at having them back again.
Phoebe didn't know how long they stayed like that, not moving, just crying together, but eventually she ended the hug, tears still forming in her eyes.
"Where the hell have you been?" She asked.
"It's a long story," Monica told her.
"A very long story," Rachel added.
It was then that Phoebe noticed the little girl, who looked exactly like her 'niece' Alyssa, staring at her in bewilderment.
Monica noticed the confusion in her eyes and walked over to the girl.
"Phoebe, I'd like you to meet my daughter, our daughter," she corrected her self, motioning towards Chandler, "Samantha. Samantha, I'd like you to meet your Aunt Phoebe."
Phoebe stared at Monica for a few seconds before realization set in. She smiled. "So I'm not the only one who has given birth to multiple babies at the same time I see," she said, jokingly.
"No, I guess not," Monica said laughing slightly.
Samantha watched as her mother and Aunt excitedly hugged a woman that her Uncle had brought in the door. She had never seen her mother act like this and she wasn't sure what to do. She glanced up at her father, who she saw had a tear running down his cheek. He looked down at her and smiled. She liked this man. He wasn't like any other man she had ever met. She now understood what her mother had meant when she said he was one of the good ones. Her mother soon came over and introduced her to the woman, calling her Aunt Phoebe. Samantha smiled, she liked her Aunt Rachel, so having another aunt wouldn't be bad. She immediately liked the woman. Both her Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Ross joined them at the table while her mother and Aunt Rachel told them the story. Samantha sighed. She had heard it many times and she still didn't understand it. She hoped she would someday. She watched all the people at the table. Phoebe seemed shocked at what had happened to them, and both her father and Uncle Ross seemed upset, even though they had both heard the story. She watched her Uncle Ross for a while. She wasn't sure how much she could trust him. He seemed nice so far, but he was still a man, and with them you never really know.
Rachel sat on the window ledge in Joey's apartment, thinking of the events of the past couple days. Joey wasn't home. He was filming a movie in Chicago and was expected home in the next week. He still hadn't been told about Rachel and Monica, but the gang had suggested she stay in his apartment, as Chandler Monica, Alyssa and Samantha were working on becoming a family and she didn't feel comfortable staying with Ross. Emma didn't understand who she was and Kelly seemed threatened by her presence. Rachel didn't want to upset Ross' life, so she opted to stay at Joey's. She had had a long talk with Ross, and they decided not to tell Emma that Rachel was her mother until she was older, as she was still young and they didn't want to confuse her. It was in Emma's best interest.
Rachel smiled as she thought about Monica and her situation. It had been better than either of the, had hoped. After explaining the circumstances to Alyssa, she had seemed to understand and although she was still a little hesitant about having a mother, she was overjoyed about having a sister. Samantha had immediately been accepted and for the first time in her life, had a friend her own age. Samantha was also adapting well to her new situation. They hadn't taken her out much, as they didn't want to overdo anything, but she was now comfortable eating at a table and sleeping in a bed. She had even started to understand the television and had learned many games from Alyssa and Emma, who she had met a couple times as well. Rachel was glad that Samantha had been given a chance to have a childhood. To add to the goodness, everything seemed to be going in the right direction for Monica and Chandler. Both were very willing and eager to work on getting their relationship back to where it had been, and were very slowly doing so. They didn't want to rush anything, as not to scare either child who were used to very different things. Monica was still sleeping on the floor next to Samantha, but Samantha could now go to bed without Monica there at first. Monica would wait a couple hours before going to bed herself. She hoped than eventually Samantha would remember next to nothing of her previous life.
Rachel sighed as she thought back to her own life. Although she was happy for her friend, she was very jealous. She didn't know what she was going to do with her life. Her own daughter didn't know who she was, she had no man waiting for her and she didn't even know where she was going to live when Joey got back, or where she would work. She decided that she would visit her old office the next day and see if they had any positions open. With that thought, Rachel stood up and went to bed.
The next day, Rachel very nervously approached her old building. She knew her old business associates had been told she had died and she was nervous as to what they would think when they saw her. She took a deep breath and pushed her way through the heavy revolving doors. As she entered the front room she glanced around, noting a few small changes, but nothing major. It almost made her feel like she hadn't been MIA for the past five and a half years.
Rachel glanced at the employees standing behind the long desk on the opposite side of the room and recognized one of the women. She had changed her hair color, and had put on a few pounds, but she could still recognize her. Rachel searched her mind for the name. Rebecca, she told herself. Rebecca had started working there just before The Trip, but Rachel had stopped to talk to her many times, and the two had fast become friends. Rachel took a deep breath and made her approach.
"Just one moment and I'll be right with you," Rebecca said as Rachel reached the desk. Rebecca said goodbye into the phone and looked up at Rachel. "How can I help…" she trailed off as she recognized Rachel's face, "you." She finished.
Rachel stood there, not sure of what to say.
"I'm sorry," Rebecca said. "You'll have to excuse me. I just thought you were someone else, someone I knew a long time ago-"
Rachel cut her off. "No, it is me."
"Rachel?"
Rachel nodded. "In the flesh."
"Oh my God, I thought you were dead!"
"It seemed that was a popular belief."
"What happened?"
"Well…" Rachel proceeded to tell her the whole story.
"Wow! That's…I mean… that's unbelievable. I never thought that kinda thing happened in real life."
"Yeah, me neither, but apparently it does."
A couple hours later Rachel stepped confidently out the door, a smile on her face. After seeing all her old coworkers again and many explanations as to where she had been for the past five and a half years, they had offered her a job. She would start on Monday. It was perfect, similar to her old job. Rachel smiled. One part of her complicated life sorted out. She continued smiling all the way home. She practically bounced up the stairs and through the door of Joey's apartment, without a second thought. So she didn't expect it when she walked right in the door, right into Joey.
AN: Well, it's not very long, but this is a good place to end this chapter. Don't worry, I'll have the next chapter up soon. I tried to right this from a couple different perspectives, especially Samantha, and I'm not sure if it made sense. Please let me know what you think and be brutally honest. Thanks!