Chapter 5 Part 4

 [Author's Note: as people should realise, some of what happens in Series 4 happens in this version of events, and some does not, so there is no point in complaining, 'But that's not what happened in Episode xx …' If it's not referred to here, it didn't happen.

This is another place I can respond to reviews. Thanks for the latest two; but may I point out that I've done Ross and Phoebe, in TOW All the Reversals, and I also got Joey and Janice together in that, but off-stage, as it were. To do them within the Friends format will be difficult, but, okay, I'll think about it]

'Well, I can't ever remember being eager to see who Ross's new girlfriend was before,' said Rachel to Julie, grinning.

Julie smiled back at her, hoping that it did not look strained. Ever since the fateful morning when she had revealed her feelings for Rachel, and Rachel had seemed rather receptive, she had been hoping to take things further. But Rachel, while behaving in an extremely sweet and friendly way towards her, had seemingly forgotten what she had said about the possibility of this going somewhere, and had given no other sign that she was interested in pursuing it. Julie had not found the nerve or the opportunity to push her on this yet, but it was making her increasingly frustrated.

'That's very good, if you can feel like that about it,' she found the wit to remark.

'Well, of course, I've barely seen Ross for some time,' said Rachel, 'and certainly not with another woman since you – and you weren't showing all that much interest in him!' She dug Julie in the ribs and winked at her. 'I don't know how I'll react, honestly. But having you here is a great help.'

Oh yeah, tell me about it, said Julie to herself. It seemed like her role in life was becoming to give Rachel the emotional support of knowing that someone loved her, without getting anything in return except a few smiles. Rachel could get that from Gunther, although, to give Rachel her due, she had not encouraged Gunther, except to behave in a more thoughtful way towards him.

'There she is!' cried Phoebe, who had been keeping her eyes on the window. 'And, oh my! She looks tough.'

Into Central Perk with Ross came a tall woman, almost as tall as Ross himself, with a rangy but well-shaped figure, an attractive, rather tanned and experienced-looking face, short wavy brown hair, arresting dark brown eyes, and a very self-confident air. She wore a short-sleeved khaki shirt and light tan slacks. It only needed a hat and whip to make her the complete female Indiana Jones.

'Hi everybody!' said Ross animatedly. 'This is Diana Featherstone, who has a temporary job at the Museum for a spell, to help us in sorting out some new accessions.' He began to introduce them, coming to Rachel and Julie last of all.

'Julie?' said Diana, her attention suddenly focussing; previously she had been nodding and smiling and saying 'Hi' a bit distractedly, as if trying to keep track of who everybody was. 'Julie Wong?' It became clear then that she was British, though she had evidently lived in the States long enough to say 'Hi' with an American intonation.

'Why, yes,' said Ross. 'Sorry, we know each other so well that we don't use surnames much.'

'Julie Wong!' said Diana excitedly, moving forward and stretching a hand out. 'I'm so pleased to meet you.' When Julie took her hand, Diana shook it vigorously. 'I must tell you how much I admire your work.' Suddenly the self-confident air had vanished, to be replaced by a starstruck look.

'Why, thank you,' said Julie, seeming dazed.

'You're everything I want to be,' said Diana breathlessly. 'I haven't done half of what you have, although I'm a year older.' She turned to Ross. 'You don't mind if I carry off Miss Wong to talk for a while? I can't pass up this golden opportunity.' She looked pleadingly at Julie. 'That is, if you don't mind. I'd love to talk to you. You were my hero when I was a postgraduate in Oxford.'

Julie smiled broadly. 'No, let's go talk digs and dinosaurs where we won't bore the others rigid,' she said. 'Which was your college in Oxford? I spent a year there as an undergraduate.'

Chatting animatedly, they moved away to an empty table. Ross looked after them with an air of slight perplexity, then turned to the others, grinning. 'Isn't she great?'

Hastily they all turned from observing Julie and Diana together and agreed. 'Not your usual style, Ross,' Chandler commented.

'She's been around,' Ross agreed. 'But it's true, Julie has done a lot more. She just doesn't look the adventurous type.'

He sat down in the place that Julie had left, and smiled at Rachel. 'Thanks for your message,' he said. 'That was very … mature of you. Frankly, I was a bit surprised.'

'Well, I like to think I've grown up a little,' said Rachel lightly. 'So, you've found another dinosaur-lover? It makes sense, when you think about it.'

'She's so amazing,' said Ross enthusiastically. 'She knows an awful lot, so that her compliments about my work are not just brown-nosing – she can be critical too – and she has a great sense of fun.' He smiled as if in reminiscence.

'Hey hey hey,' said Joey insinuatingly. 'Is she hot, Ross?'

The others looked at him in appalled disbelief and groaned 'Joey!' in unison.

'What?' he said in surprise.

'Joey, you don't ask things like that about other people's girlfriends,' said Monica.

'I do,' Joey protested.

'Joe, you say them about your own girlfriends,' Chandler pointed out. 'We never ask you stuff like that.'

Joey subsided, looking a bit sulky.

'So, what's with you, anyway, Rachel?' said Ross, settling back. 'How's the job going? Heard from Mark?' His tone was not mocking, for once; it sounded as if he really wanted to know.

Rachel told him of recent developments: how she had put in for a post and had been totally undermined at the interview by her boss Joanna, because she wanted to keep her as an assistant; how when she had spoken of quitting Joanna had offered to create an executive post specially for her; and how it had all come to nothing when Joanna was killed in a road accident before getting the job set up.

Ross's face had expressed anger and sympathy by turns. 'Gee, Rach, that really is too bad,' he said at the end, 'though I will say this: a boss who could act like that would not be good to work for.'

'No,' Rachel admitted, gratified that he felt for her, 'but it would have been a promotion. Now they've closed the whole department down and I have this job as a personal shopper, which is not very fulfilling, and I don't see how I'm going to make much progress from there at the moment.'

Ross's expression became even more sympathetic. 'One damn thing after another,' he commented. 'I must say, you seem fairly cheerful, despite it all. Are you, um, seeing anybody nice?'

She shook her head. 'But Julie is the most amazing friend,' she said. 'I shall always be glad you made it up with her and brought her in here.'

'Yes,' he said, sounding a little strained, 'and now she seems to have made another friend.' Frowning a little, he looked over at the table where Julie and Diana sat. Diana was gazing raptly at Julie as the latter was telling some story. If that isn't infatuation, I don't know what is, Rachel thought. Scratch another of Ross's girlfriends.

'Talk about hero worship!' she said aloud. 'I never realised Julie had such a reputation.'

'Well, to be honest, neither did I,' he said, then looked at his watch. 'My God, we're late for our reservation!' He jumped up and rushed over to the table. After some hasty exchanges, he seemed to shrug and agree to something, and when they left, Julie went with them, waving goodbye to Rachel with a smile.

Rachel tried to identify the emotions that she was feeling. Hurt, yes, that Julie should just go off like that and leave her alone. Jealousy? In a way, yes, because Julie must be interested in this Diana woman to be willing to go to dinner with them, which appeared to be what was happening. But was she also a little relieved? She had to admit to herself that she was. After considerable agonising she had reached the conclusion that the love that she felt for Julie was not the kind of love that led to the bedroom; she had been strongly regretting giving her the impression that she might be willing to go that way, and wondering how to tell her. If Julie were to get seriously interested in Diana, which did not look impossible, then everything could be resolved.

Over the next days, Rachel saw progressively less of Julie, who began apologising more and more often for being unable to make a date to have coffee, lunch, drinks, dinner, go window-shopping, watch a movie, or just hang out in the apartment, because she had something else planned. When they did see each other, Julie seemed a little uneasy, and Rachel felt the lack of that special something that had been apparent before. She also had a tendency to go off into what were evidently pleasant daydreams, because she would be smiling, but she would never explain these; and sometimes when she was leaving she radiated a curious air of excitement, rather like that of someone about to go on a date. Rachel also noticed how Ross and Diana did not come into Central Perk very often after their first visit together, and never when Julie was there. Ross came in on his own more often, but he generally looked as if there were something on his mind, and he was rather short when anyone asked him how things were going with Diana. Rachel talked about this with Monica and Phoebe, and they agreed that things could not be going well; but Rachel did not reveal what she suspected was going on, which would have been to 'out' Julie, as she had effectively promised not to do. But she was more and more convinced that something was going on between Julie and Diana, though it was not clear precisely what.

Then one day, when it was near the end of work at Bloomingdale's, Julie came in and asked Mr. Waltham, Rachel's boss, if she might talk to Rachel on a serious matter. A rather remote and uptight but basically kind-hearted Britisher, Mr. Waltham said that Rachel could leave a few minutes early. Julie greeted Rachel cheerfully enough, but Rachel sensed strain.

It was not until they were outside and walking down the street that Julie spoke. 'Can we go somewhere private? I've got something to say.'

'Sure,' said Rachel, pretty sure now that she knew what was coming. 'There's a place with booths a block or two down, where I've been sometimes for a quick bite at lunchtime.'

When they entered it was not very crowded, and Julie led them to a part where no one was sitting near. They ordered coffees, and then Julie looked across at Rachel.

'This is going to sound pretty strange, after all I've said,' she began, 'but – '

'You've got interested in Diana,' Rachel said.

Julie looked shocked. 'You know? Who else knows?'

'I didn't know,' said Rachel calmly, 'not until now. I only guessed, because I have information that no one else among us has, as far as I know, which is that you are bi, and so I could see something going on that I don't think anyone else even suspects, except maybe Ross. But we are all agreed it's not going well with Diana.'

'Yes, Ross,' said Julie unhappily. 'He's going to take this very hard. But the fact is, Rachel, we're soulmates, Diana and I. We have so much in common – more than Ross and I, more than you and I. And you can't imagine how flattering it is for a small person like me to have such a large and impressive-seeming person treat you as her obvious superior and want to be your disciple. I know, I thought' – she swallowed – 'I thought I was in love with you, and perhaps if we had gone further I would have been, though maybe it was just a very intense crush. But you've never said anything, or given the impression that you wanted to go further than we did when you stayed at my place. So am I right in thinking you never did feel the same for me?'

Rachel nodded and reached out to pat her hand. 'I'm very fond of you, Julie,' she said, 'very, very fond – but when I've thought about kissing you seriously or going further, I just couldn't imagine it. The idea didn't disgust me, but it didn't excite me at all. So I wish you happiness with Diana, with all my heart, and I hope we can stay friends, though I don't suppose we can meet in Central Perk.'

Julie heaved a long sigh of relief, and seemed to relax. 'Thank God! I feel bad enough about Ross. I'd hate to think I was letting you down as well.' She looked at Rachel. 'Do you think … if Ross were free, could you be interested in him again? It would be an ideal solution.'

'It doesn't work like that, Julie,' said Rachel, slightly nettled. 'Feelings for Ross are not like a dress I can just get out of a wardrobe and put on whenever I feel like it. And we went on the wake in the first place because we thought it was clear that he didn't care for me like that any more.'

'Oh yeah,' said Julie. 'Sorry, that was a dumb thing to say. But could you try to be especially kind to him, at least? He's going to be very down.'

'I've dropped the habit of sniping at him,' said Rachel. 'And I will feel sorry for him, so I don't think there'll be a problem. But it may be difficult. He will probably be very bitter about you, you know.'

Julie sighed and looked anguished. 'I know, I know! But I can't walk away from this. Even if I did, Diana wouldn't go back to him – so there would be three unhappy people instead of one.'

'Has she told him?' Rachel asked.

'She's doing it now, I hope,' said Julie. 'I would have preferred to do this days ago, but for someone who comes on like she does, she is very nervous about things like that. I knew she was in love with me long before she would admit to it, and she told me it took all her courage even to ask to talk with me that first time. That tough act is largely a front, really.'

'Well, I hope it works out for you both,' said Rachel, finishing her coffee. 'And don't worry too much about Ross. We form quite a good support system, we friends. Um … can I mention that you had feelings for me?'

'I don't see that it can do any harm,' said Julie after a moment's thought. 'Conceivably, it might even help. You're right that I can't go back to Central Perk, at least not while any of you are there, unless it's only you, so there's no chance of anyone feeling embarrassed about knowing this. Now I must go and see how Diana got on. I'll be in touch. And don't worry about the check; I'll cover it. Thanks for being so supportive.'

She hurried away, leaving Rachel with her thoughts and feelings. She did not feel bad, really; she had been expecting this, and it was not as if she had broken up with a lover. But she had to admit, she did feel sad for Ross. She decided that she must try to cheer him up as much as possible. The first thing was to get home and bring Monica in on it, if she didn't already know.

When she got to the apartment it was to find Ross on the couch, sobbing on Monica's shoulder, while a clearly moved Phoebe looked at them, an occasional tear trickling slowly down her cheeks.

'Oh my God, Ross honey!' she cried, and threw herself onto the couch behind him, desperate to give him some comfort. But even as she did so she knew that the spark was gone. She wanted to comfort him as her very good friend, but definitely not as someone whom she wanted to be her lover again.

'You know?' said Monica.

'Julie's been talking to me,' said Rachel.

'Yeah, you've been pretty close, these last weeks,' said Phoebe. 'But could you imagine anything like this?'

Now was the moment, Rachel thought. It might even distract Ross from his misery. 'Um, yes,' she said. 'I've been suspecting it for a while. You see, I know Julie's bi. She had a crush on me before.'

Ross raised his head to look at her, his expression a mixture of unhappiness and accusation. 'You? Julie had a crush on you?'

'I'm afraid so,' said Rachel. 'I had been suspecting it, and got her to admit it the morning after the wake, when I had slept it off in her apartment and she was looking after me.'

Ross looked mystified.

'We, we held a wake for what I thought was the death of any chance I might have to get back with you,' said Rachel, trying to look at him steadily. 'A few weeks ago, that was all I wanted.'

 'But now …' he prompted, sitting up and looking at her intently.

She sighed. 'I'm sorry, Ross. Now it's really gone. You are a friend, a dear friend – but nothing more. Knowing that Julie had feelings for me actually helped me to get over you. But in the end, I couldn't return her feelings the way she wanted.'

'Wow,' said Ross. 'That's … extraordinary.' He looked thoughtful. 'Do you think she made nice to me, to get to see you again?'

Rachel nodded. 'I know it. She said that she had kidded herself into thinking she wanted some revenge on me, but deep down it was because she had been attracted to me – and it got worse once she started hanging out with us. Yes, I'm afraid she did use you as a bit of a patsy.'

'I wouldn't have minded that so much,' said Ross darkly, 'but to take away my girlfriend! A lot of people are going to find that rather funny.'

'I'm sure just as many will feel sorry for you, as we do,' said Rachel.

He smiled a little, looking slightly more cheerful. 'Thanks, Rachel. You know, it's just as well you are over me – and you really are telling the truth, this time?'

She nodded. 'Yes, Ross.'

'That's good, because I just couldn't get that feeling back. I knew you were coming on to me, and I tried very hard to feel a response, but I really couldn't, and it hurt. I'm glad you are where I am now. So, we're just friends with a history.'

'I'm sure we're not the first,' said Rachel, smiling at him. 'Say, do you want to have a wake for your relationship with Diana? I'll come along, if you do. It did me a lot of good, though not as much as Julie telling me she loved me, to be honest. I'm afraid we can't run to that.'

'I should come along too,' said Phoebe. 'The wake was my idea first, so I ought to get in on all wakes.'

As so often, Ross vacillated. 'Well, I don't know, you guys …'

'Aw, come on, Ross,' said Monica bracingly. 'You have the perfect excuse to tie one on. It's bound to beat sitting around your apartment glooming. And just think: if you have a hangover, the pain of it will override any bad feelings about Diana.'

'That's a Chandler kind of joke,' said Ross, looking at her reproachfully. Then he gave a sort of lopsided grin. 'But I have to admit, I'm tempted, though it would be nice if we could get Chandler along, and Joey too.'

'Sure!' said Rachel emphatically. 'We'll be the Six Musketeers! All for one, and one for all! I'll go see if they're in.'

As luck would have it, Chandler had just got in, and was chatting with Joey. They responded cautiously to Rachel's idea.

'Come on, you guys,' she said. 'Ross is our buddy. We have a duty to get him through this.'

'Wouldn't it be better if you just got back together with him?' said Joey.

'No, Joey, the time for that is past,' Rachel told him gently. 'Neither of us feels like that any more. If you want a further inducement – when I did this we ended up at a strip club, though we didn't stay very long.'

Joey's face lit up. 'Hey, why didn't you say? But I hope you intend that we do stay long, this time.'

'No guarantees,' said Rachel cheerfully, 'but I don't have any objections, personally.'

Before long the six of them were following the path that Rachel had followed with her friends – the Irish bar, the karaoke bar, and the strip club. Ross became increasingly cheerful – he was not too hard to persuade to try his hand at karaoke, giving a surprisingly good rendition of The Urban Spaceman, and he was ready to enter into the spirit of things at the strip club. When they finally saw him back to his apartment at two in the morning, he threw his arms around Rachel and thanked her for suggesting the idea for the the best evening he had spent in a long time; but it was, as Rachel recognised, the gesture of a friend.

'We still have to find him another girlfriend,' said Monica as she walked back with Rachel. 'I'm sorry that you two are definitely over – you were so great together.'

'Yeah, but we are over,' said Rachel, gently but firmly. 'I just hope Ross does not lose all confidence with women because of this.'

'I don't think he will,' said Monica. 'You have to hand it to the guy, he does manage to keep bouncing back. And despite everything I think he'll be better than he was a few months ago, when you had broken up the second time.'

Rachel coughed to indicate that she would prefer not to talk about that. 'I'll see if there's anyone around Bloomingdale's who looks promising,' she said, 'and you look around at Alessandro's.'

'Huh!' went Monica. 'Being my brother would be no recommendation at all to any of them. But I'll see what I can do.'

Not so very much later, Mr. Waltham asked Rachel if she would be willing to accompany his niece Emily, on a visit from London, to the opera. By this time she was trying to get a very cute man to whom she was acting as personal shopper, Joshua Bergen, to take an interest in her, and was rather irritated at this distraction, but she found it politic to agree and met her at the apartment. Emily was in a bad mood, made worse by the appalling weather, but Rachel thought there was a possibility here. She had contrived to get Ross on hand and introduce Emily to him; to her pleasure, she saw them take to each other right away. When she suggested that Ross go to the opera with Emily instead of her, neither objected, and a romance between them developed quickly, moving a great deal faster than her own rather stop-and-start affair with Joshua. After finding it increasingly hard to part from each other, they got engaged when they had known each other less than two months.

Although a bit worried that they had got this far this fast, Rachel was genuinely pleased for Ross, and gladly accepted an invitation to attend the wedding. Almost everything that could go wrong did go wrong – the very building where Emily had been wanting to hold the ceremony was in the process of being demolished – but in the end the wedding took place more or less as planned, and Rachel returned to New York feeling hopeful that Ross was now settled in a marriage that he wanted, and also determined to move things along with Joshua if she possibly could.

(But that's another story! I bet no one expected this ending; neither did I when I started :) If you want more of this timeline, you'll have to provide it yourselves)