Chapter 6: Ross and Chloe

[Author's Note: a little something that occurred to me. Obviously, it takes place in Series 3 (so e.g. Joey's character fits that time, and not more recent developments).

I may return to Triangle next, since so many people have at least checked it out (and are continuing to look at True Love and Where A Kiss Can Lead), or continue the Wild West saga. Any views that are not simply abusive are welcome]

It was four weeks since the Big Breakup, and the atmosphere had definitely lightened. To the relief of the others, Ross and Rachel were always polite, and even capable of ribbing each other like in the pre-relationship days, though their comments were often rather barbed. The air was not quite free of tension, but attention was focussed more on Joey's new play and his obsession with Kate the lead actress, Monica's frustration over her inability to be truly attracted to Pete, the millionaire who was dating her, and other such absorbing matters.

One Saturday morning most of the gang were sitting around in Central Perk, considering how to spend the day, when a new arrival made both Joey and Chandler, who were looking in the direction of the door, sit up in surprise. It was Chloe, the hot girl from the copy shop. She was not dressed as revealingly as when they had last seen her. She flashed them a brief smile and came over. Seen close, she seemed stressed.

'I'm looking for Ross,' she said, 'but he's not at his apartment and I don't see him here.'

Joey and Chandler looked at each other. What should they do? The decision was taken out of their hands when Monica spoke up.

'I'm Ross's sister Monica. What do you want with him, and who are you anyway?'

Chloe blushed. 'I, um, it's a very personal matter.'

Monica's eyes narrowed, and she looked across at Joey and Chandler. Seeing the question in her eyes, Chandler leaned over and hissed, 'This is Chloe.'

'Chloe?' Monica repeated loudly in a very surprised voice, making Rachel, who was flipping through a magazine, sit bolt upright and focus a very intent glance on Chloe, her expression darkening.

'What do you want with Ross?' Monica repeated, looking rather fierce. 'Haven't you screwed up his life enough?'

Chloe looked stricken. 'I, I …' she began, then ground to a halt as she perceived Rachel's burning glare. 'Y-you must be Rachel,' she stammered.

'I am,' said Rachel, 'and I should be very interested in an answer to Monica's question.'

Chloe looked to the men as if for help, but Joey only stared back at her blankly, while Chandler spread his hands and tried to look sympathetic.

'Sorry, but I think you'll have to say,' he said.

Chloe looked very unhappy. 'I must find him,' she said desperately. She returned her gaze to Monica. 'You see … I, I think … I'm' – her voice dropped – 'pregnant.'

All four of the friends gasped. Rachel was quickest to react. 'And of course it's his,' she said bitterly, 'I don't think.'

Chloe gasped in outrage. 'Why, why should you think that?' she said. 'You know nothing about me.'

'Enough to know that you slept with him at the drop of a hat,' Rachel riposted fiercely, 'and boasted about it afterwards.'

A deep flush stained Chloe's cheeks. 'It wasn't … boasting,' she said. 'I just … told Isaac where I'd been, and why. So, so … you found out?'

'Isaac told his sister, and she told Gunther, and he told me,' said Rachel. Suddenly her voice trembled. 'Why did you sleep with him anyway? I think I have a right to know.'

Chloe sighed. 'I, I liked him, and I was sorry for him. He was so down. If you could have seen him, you'd have felt sorry for him too. But please believe me, I wasn't trying to take him away from you; I didn't even know about you, then. It was only later I heard that he thought you had broken up for good. '

'Oh God!' Rachel wailed. 'Why did he have to believe that?' She burst into tears. Monica put her arms round her and glared at Chloe.

'She was getting over it,' she hissed. 'So, anyway, how do you know it's his?'

Chloe stuck her chin out. 'Because, whether you believe me or not, I hadn't been with anyone else before my period was due.'

'But Ross would have taken precautions,' Monica objected.

'He did,' said Chloe, 'but, well, this was one time they didn't work. I have to admit, I was relying on him.'

'What about before you went with Ross?' Joe put in suddenly. 'You could have been pregnant already.'

Chloe lost her temper. 'Why does everyone think I'm some kind of slut? I don't sleep around. Ross was the only guy I slept with last month, I swear.' She looked down and fidgeted a little. 'I, um, had broken up with a guy three months ago.'

Monica felt a touch of sympathy. She turned to Rachel, who had quietened down and was wiping her eyes. 'Rachel, I think we'd better talk to her,' she said softly. 'She seems on the level.'

Rachel nodded apathetically.

'Sit down, Chloe,' said Monica, not unkindly. 'Ross is out of town this week on some museum thing. Now, I'm guessing, you want to go through with it?'

Chloe smiled gratefully as she sat down. 'I couldn't kill a little baby, so I guess I'll have to. But it's what happens afterwards that I need to talk over with Ross.'

'So, you don't want to keep it?' Monica pursued. An idea was forming in her mind.

'I just don't know,' Chloe said. 'It's so soon to make that kind of decision. But I do need to know what Ross thinks.'

Rachel looked at her balefully. 'You're hoping he'll get together with you?'

'Look, I just don't know,' Chloe repeated. Then her face showed sudden realisation. 'You didn't get together again, did you? You broke up. But …' Her voice trailed away as Rachel's face showed intense pain.

'For God's sake don't say they were on a break,' said Chandler, trying to lighten the atmosphere. 'It'll bring me out in hives.'

Chloe's mouth twitched in an involuntary smile. 'All right, I won't, but why?'

'It's Ross's eternal excuse,' said Rachel, with an angry half-sob. 'But I never meant him to think that.' She glared at Chloe again. 'Did you put that idea into his head – that it was okay to sleep with you, because he was on a break?'

'No,' said Chloe firmly. 'It took me quite a while to get the whole story out of him.' Her face changed as she remembered something. 'He rang you, didn't he, and there was another guy there.' There was a trace of accusation in her voice.

'There was never anything between me and Mark,' said Rachel hotly. 'It was all in Ross's head. Mark had come round because he was concerned for me as a friend.'

Chloe shook her head. 'Bad decision. Not as bad as the one I made, the way it turns out, but still …'

'I don't have to take any criticism from you!' cried Rachel, jumping up. 'I'm going back to the apartment,' she informed Monica, and stormed off.

'She's really taking it hard,' said Chloe sympathetically, looking after Rachel. 'I guess she loved him a lot, huh?'

'She did, and I think she still does,' said Monica. 'But please don't repeat that. Well, Chloe, since you're going to be mother of a nephew or niece of mine, tell me something about yourself, like your full name, and where you come from, and everything. Do you want a coffee?'

Chandler felt surprise at Monica's sudden geniality. He looked at Joey, who also showed puzzlement. 'What's she being so nice to Chloe for?' he whispered to Chandler, who could only shrug.

Monica discovered that Chloe was twenty-three years old, her surname was Farrell, she came from Albany, and she had first taken a job in photocopying to help pay her way through college. When she graduated she had stuck with it because it interested her. Monica soon discovered that Chloe and Ross shared a capacity to be boring about their work: Chloe was really enthusiastic about the minutiae of photocopying, and Monica noticed Joey's and Chandler's eyes glaze over with boredom as Chloe held forth. She guessed that they had heard the story about "Rossing it" before. Overall, Chloe seemed a fairly simple, goodhearted girl, who was relaxed about sexual behaviour but not a real out-for-kicks type, though she liked New York "because there was so much going on". She seemed genuinely sorry that her fling with Ross had caused the breakup with Rachel. Monica wondered if she might suit Ross, but she rather thought not. She seemed almost as unintellectual as Rachel, whom Ross had loved in spite of her lack of interest in his work.

-----

To Rachel's disgust, Chloe came round to Central Perk fairly often after that, announcing on one such occasion that the pregnancy had been confirmed. Rachel sat as far away from her as possible, and would only speak to her with great reluctance, although privately she accepted the assessment of Monica and Phoebe, that there was not an ounce of harm in her – Phoebe even suggested that she was slightly dumb. But Rachel had deep suspicions of her intentions towards Ross, which were not allayed by Monica's assurance that she did not think Ross would want a relationship with her. It did nothing for Rachel's peace of mind that the others became fairly friendly towards Chloe as they got to know her better. She was not surprised that Joey began to show signs that he was interested, for there was no denying that Chloe was an attractive girl; but, unfortunately from Rachel's point of view, Chloe made no attempt to encourage him.

Ross came to Central Perk directly from the airport, to find Chloe sitting with his friends, to his considerable surprise. Jumping up to hug him, Monica muttered, 'She's pregnant, and I believe her, it has to be yours.'

'Oh my God!' said Ross, sitting down heavily and looking with a wild surmise at Chloe. 'How, how could this have happened?'

'Condoms are not a hundred per cent safe,' said Joey. 'Maybe yours was old, or frayed some way.'

'I, um, think … maybe when we … you know, went on …' Chloe began.

'Too much information!' Rachel cried, putting her fingers in her ears.

Ross sighed deeply. 'Okay, well, it's done – and you're going to keep it?'

'I'm going to give birth,' said Chloe, 'but we need to decide everything else.'

'I certainly don't want the baby given away for adoption, or something like that,' said Ross firmly. 'But I guess you would need quite a lot of support to bring it up.'

'I'm not sure I want to be a single mother,' said Chloe, looking at him rather soulfully. The implication, that she would like to be with him, was clear.

'Oh, ah, yes,' said Ross, darting a harried glance at Rachel. 'Well, look, I guess we should go talk about this on our own.'

'Before you go,' said Monica, 'I want to suggest one option. I could adopt the baby, or at least bring him up for you, and you would both have all the visiting rights you wanted.'

Everyone looked at her in surprise. She stuck out her chin and looked determined. 'You all know how much I want a baby.'

'I'll … have to think about that,' said Chloe, 'but anyway, Ross, let's go and talk.'

'Come back to my apartment,' said Ross. 'I need to unpack and freshen up.'

'Sure,' said Chloe, beaming.

'I knew it,' said Rachel despondently after they'd gone. 'She's after him.'

'Well, sweetie, you must admit, it would be the best solution for her,' said Monica, 'but I don't see it happening, myself.'

'Me neither,' said Phoebe emphatically. 'Ross must know he can do better, even if he marries one of those museum geeks.'

But Rachel refused to be encouraged. She went into a deep depression for the rest of the day, and that evening told Monica of her conviction that Chloe had got pregnant deliberately to ensnare Ross. All Monica's attempts to reason her out of this failed, and when Rachel went to bed she slept very badly, as Monica perceived from her bloodshot eyes and drawn face the following morning.

'Sweetie, you've got to stop tearing yourself up over this,' she said. 'Likely Ross won't want any kind of long term relationship with her.'

'Until I hear it from his, or her, own lips I can't be easy,' Rachel said unhappily. 'I know I'm probably obsessing over nothing, but I can't help it.'

'You want him back,' said Monica. It was a statement, not a question.

Rachel burst into tears. 'Yes,' she choked out between sobs. Monica was still comforting her when Phoebe arrived.

'Got the Ross blues, has she?' said Phoebe knowledgeably. 'Don't worry, Rachel, he could never take that little bimbo seriously.'

'But, but this baby links him to her,' said Rachel miserably. 'And it distracts him. How can I compete with someone who's carrying his baby, especially when I can't even look like I'm competing?'

Even optimistic Phoebe could not come up with an easy answer to this, and she and Monica could only counsel patience and being nice to Ross. Rachel did her best over the next few days, but it was very hard to see Chloe sitting next to Ross in Central Perk and talking to him intimately. It seemed pretty evident to her that they had gone to bed together again, and soon she found that she could barely stand to look at them.

Then one day, some two weeks since Chloe had entered their lives, Rachel entered Central Perk to find her sitting on her own, staring into space and looking as gloomy as Rachel felt. Curious, she asked if anything was the matter.

Chloe turned a face of woe towards her. Heaving a deep sigh, she said, 'He doesn't want me. I promised him I would be the best wife I could to him, I'd do everything he wanted, but' – she gave a little sob – 'that wasn't enough.'

Feeling an enormous sense of relief, but also, to her surprise, some sympathy, Rachel asked one of the questions that had been plaguing her. 'Do you love him?'

Chloe's answering expression was so anguished that she instantly cried, 'No no, forget it, I shouldn't have asked.'

'You have a right, I guess,' said Chloe heavily. 'I didn't love him like you did, maybe, but I did have feelings for him – quite strong feelings. I wouldn't have gone to bed with him otherwise.'

Rachel nodded and looked encouraging.

'It isn't easy, you know,' Chloe burst out. 'Seeing this guy you like coming in every two or three days, and he just sees you as a, a person to do his copying. So, when I saw a chance I went for it.' She gave a little sob. 'And it was all for nothing, except now I'll have this permanent reminder.' She burst into tears.

Now feeling really sympathetic, Rachel went to sit beside her and patted her on the shoulder. Chloe looked at her in surprise.

'I'd have done the same, I think,' Rachel said, 'if I had a crush on a guy who came in here when I was waitressing, and he broke it off with his girlfriend. I do sympathise, Chloe.'

'Oh, thank you, thank you!' Chloe cried. 'I've been feeling so guilty …' Her face crumpled, and she began to cry really hard. Hardly knowing she was doing it, Rachel opened her arms and Chloe collapsed into them. Rachel almost felt like an elder sister comforting a younger one who had been disappointed in love.

Being able to let her feelings out fully seemed to be good for Chloe. She stopped crying quite soon and looked at Rachel with clear admiration.

'It's very big of you, to be so kind,' she said. 'Is, is there anything I can do for you in exchange?'

Rachel sighed. 'I don't know whether you could handle it.'

Chloe looked puzzled for a moment; then her face cleared. 'You want to know what he was like, that night, don't you?'

Rachel nodded. 'How he seemed to you, what he said … I don't need to know what he did.'

Chloe giggled. 'We could compare notes.' Then her face went serious. 'I'm sorry … you want him back, don't you?'

Rachel nodded, temporarily unable to speak. 'I, I was so close to forgiving him when we broke up,' she faltered finally. 'So … close.' Then she broke down and put her face in her hands, and it was Chloe's turn to hug and comfort her.

'It's my belief he loves you still,' she said softly. 'I always got this feeling, there was someone else there, someone in his mind, and who could it be but you?'

'Oh Chloe!' Rachel cried, embracing her fiercely. 'You couldn't have said anything that would make me like you more. Oh, if I can hope … Here, let me get you a coffee. We both need something after all this emotion.'

Chloe beamed at her. 'I'd love a coffee.'

Monica, Chandler and Joey were considerably surprised when they entered Central Perk to find Rachel, Chloe and Phoebe all conversing as easily as if they had been friends for years. Soon, they learned that Chloe had told Rachel everything she could remember about Ross's behaviour on the fatal night and the morning after. They now seemed on very good terms, and were bonding further through Rachel's ability to carry on an animated discussion of the kind of fashion that Chloe was interested in, which went on for so long that everyone else became thoroughly bored and greeted Ross's arrival as a welcome distraction.

He looked at Rachel and Chloe with unease as well as surprise. 'Ganging up on me?' he found the wit to remark.

'It would serve you right if they did,' said Phoebe spiritedly. 'You, you heartless dinosaur-lover, you!'

'Ah, now, come on, Pheebs,' said Rachel. 'Be fair. Ross isn't heartless. His problem is too much heart – he has such strong feelings that he can't handle them sometimes, and so he goes and does something stupid. I've done it too, like that one time with Paolo.' She tried to give Ross as sympathetic and friendly a look as possible.

'Hmph, easy for you to say when you're in love with him,' said Phoebe. Then she put her hand to her mouth and looked at Rachel, eyes popping in consternation. 'Were in love with him, I mean,' she corrected hastily.

Rachel felt as if her cheeks were glowing red. She dared not catch Ross's eye, though she could feel him looking at her.

'So, Joey, how's the play coming along?' said Monica hastily.

With an almost audible sigh of relief the group turned to this innocuous topic.

-----

Thereafter Rachel and Chloe got along very well, and had more than one heart-to-heart chat, and everyone would have been totally relaxed about the situation, except that Joey quickly realised that whatever had been between Ross and Chloe was completely over. Breaking the supposed rule about not dating his friends' ex-girlfriends, he immediately began to make overt advances to Chloe, undeterred by her lack of response. This became so irritating to Ross, among others, that one time when they were in Central Perk but Chloe was not, he told Joey to lay off.

Joey did not take this well. 'Just because she's carrying your baby, that doesn't mean you have any say over who dates her,' he said.

'Joey, can't you see, she doesn't want you,' said Ross with an air of strained patience. 'She probably doesn't want anybody at the moment. In the early stages, women often feel like that.'

'Hey, listen to Mister Experienced!' Joey jeered. 'You weren't even living with Carol when she was pregnant.'

'He's right, Joey,' said Rachel firmly. 'Chloe doesn't want you.'

'Oh, and how would you know?' said Joey defensively. 'Does she tell you all her secrets?'

'Pretty much,' Rachel replied calmly. 'We're friends now, or hadn't you noticed? She often feels queasy, and you constantly hitting on her doesn't help.'

Joey subsided sulkily, while Ross sent Rachel a grateful glance. Later, when Joey had gone to a rehearsal and only the two of them were there, he said, 'I'm very happy that you and Chloe are friends now, Rachel. I know it shouldn't, but it kinda makes me feel … better about what I did.'

Rachel smiled at him, and decided the time was ripe to make a move. 'I can make you feel even better than that. She admitted to me, she came on to you that night, because she had a crush on you, and you were vulnerable, I can see that now. I … oh, let's forget whether we were on a break or not!'

His eyes lit up. 'Rachel, does that mean … you've forgiven me?'

She tried to keep her voice steady. 'Yes, Ross, I've forgiven you.'

'Then, then … might we, can we date again?' he stammered, his eyes full of blazing eagerness.

'Ross,' she said from the heart, 'I'd love to date again.'

He swept her into his arms, but as she was eagerly anticipating his kiss she felt him tense.

'Oh God,' he groaned, 'what are we going to do about Chloe?'

'She won't mind,' said Rachel. 'She knows I want to get back together with you.'

'But she's carrying my baby,' said Ross. 'I can't walk away from that.'

'I don't want you to,' said Rachel. 'But that doesn't mean we can't date, does it?'

'No,' said Ross, bending to kiss her at last, 'I guess it doesn't.'

-----

Some seven months later, Rachel was holding one of Chloe's hands and assuring her that she was doing fine. To everyone's surprise, including her own, she had fiercely overridden all opposition from hospital staff and insisted upon being with Chloe during the birth, which began a week before the expected date, when Ross was away at a conference. This was a natural sequel to her having accompanied Chloe to many of her birthing classes, claiming that it would be good practice for her in time to come, and thereby taking much of the pressure off Ross, who was profoundly grateful. He had proposed to her only a month after they had started dating again, and it had been agreed between the three of them that they could wait to see how Chloe felt about the baby before any final decision, but that they all had a right to an interest in her. They knew it would be a girl and had already chosen the names Julia Rachel, the latter at Chloe's insistence. She had said to Rachel, when they were discussing names in Central Perk, that she was like the sister she had never had, to which Rachel replied that Chloe meant a lot more to her now than her real sisters. Monica and Phoebe had then pretended to throw up and everyone had had a good laugh, but Rachel had meant it. She had become very fond of Chloe, finding her simplicity something of a relief from Monica's obsessive neatness and control freakery and Phoebe's occasional manic weirdness.

A scream from Chloe recalled Rachel, reminiscing on these lines, to her present surroundings. Quickly she took a look.

'The baby's head is visible,' she cried in excitement. 'Give it a good one next time, Chloe!' She squeezed her hand.

Chloe tried to smile through her grimace of effort. 'It's … so hard,' she panted.

'Yell!' Rachel urged. 'It helps the pushing down motion. Yell out your feelings about anything at all.'

'I hate Joey!' Chloe yelled instantly, then, in time to the contractions, 'Just because I was pregnant … he thought I was easy … I'd go with anyone!' The last word came out as a scream.

'Here she comes, here she comes!' cried Rachel, jumping up and down in excitement. 'One more yell!'

'Joey is a m**********r!' Chloe screamed at the top of her voice, and with the effort that she put into that, the baby's hips and legs came through and Julia Rachel Farrell was born. Shortly she was placed in Chloe's arms.

Tears trickling down her cheeks, Chloe looked at her, then up at Rachel. 'Now I see her, I want to keep her,' she said softly. 'I know it will make life difficult for Ross, but – '

'You leave Ross to me,' Rachel interrupted firmly. 'Of course you must keep her; you're her mother.' She bent down and kissed the baby's head. 'I'll be her aunt Rachel.'

'No, you'll be her second mom,' said Chloe. The tears came faster. 'I'll never forget what you've done for us, Rachel, and you bet I'll tell Julia what we owe you, when she's older.'

Rachel felt a few tears trickle down her own cheeks. 'Chloe, I'm glad to have had the chance to do it. I admit, it's made me feel a better person.'

Just then Ross, who had been alerted by phone, came charging in. 'Where is she, where is she?' he cried.

As he admired his new daughter, Rachel told him that Chloe wanted to keep her. He nodded, looking resigned.

'I'll do my best to help,' he said, 'though it will mean a hefty bite out of my income. We, um, may have to postpone starting a family of our own, Rach.'

'That's okay,' said Rachel easily. 'For one thing, Julia will be almost like having a family, and for another… this will give me a great incentive to work hard and get promoted.'

He nodded. 'You won't get any argument from me there.' Suddenly he grinned. 'I'll need all the help I can get, though luckily Carol and Susan don't ask for much financial help with Ben.'

'Can we come see the baby?' said Monica eagerly, peering round the door.

'Sure, come in,' called Chloe.

As Monica cradled Julia, Rachel quietly told her of Chloe's decision. Monica heaved a sigh, but nodded and smiled. 'I guess there's no alternative to having one of my own. At least I have a niece now as well as a nephew.'

'Oh, isn't she cute?' said Phoebe, peering over Monica's shoulder. 'Ross, you father the best children.' She dug him in the ribs. 'Maybe you'd give me one.'

Ross grinned in mixed pride and embarrassment. As Monica took Julia back to Chloe, followed by the others, Joey sidled over to Rachel.

'I didn't catch it clearly,' he muttered, 'but it sounded like Chloe was yelling something about me.'

Rachel looked at him. He seemed troubled. 'Don't worry about it, Joey,' she said soothingly. 'They say women shout all kinds of things when they're in labour. It needn't mean anything.'

His face cleared. 'So, anyway … she's gonna keep it?'

'She's going to keep her,' Rachel corrected. 'Yes, which means Chloe will be around a lot of the time. So, Joey,' she tried to look as severe as possible, 'don't try to date her. She really doesn't want you, take it from me, so just suck it up. You've got to learn to handle rejection.'

Joey frowned, then nodded and shrugged. 'Okay. Well, it's her loss.' He wandered over to look at Julia.

Rachel looked after him with an amused expression, shaking her head. She felt that she had matured a lot through having to deal with the whole Chloe situation, but there were times when she wondered what could possibly have a similar effect on Joey. Then Ross came over.

'Rachel,' he said warmly, 'I don't know what to say. You've been so great about Chloe the whole way through, and now you were here for her when I couldn't be.'

'Believe me, I was hostile at first,' said Rachel, 'even if you didn't notice. But we're good friends now. She's a sweet girl and will probably make a great mother.'

More faces appeared round the door. 'We've brought Ben to see his new sister,' said Carol, beaming.

'Come in, come in,' said Ross jovially. As he led Carol and Ben to the bedside, Susan drew Rachel aside.

'What's going to happen?' she asked.

'Chloe's keeping her,' said Rachel, wondering how many more times she'd have to say it, 'but we're going to give her all the help we can.'

Susan nodded. 'I admire you, Rachel; you've really grown. I hope Ross recognises what he's getting in you.'

'I hope so too,' said Rachel, 'and I have reason to believe he does. This has been good for both of us.'

Susan cocked her head. 'Better for him – he wanted you back.'

'Oh, but I wanted him back too,' said Rachel, 'and this time I think he's ready to treat me as an equal. Come see Julia.'

They joined the press around the bedside in time to hear Ben proclaim that babies were yucky, to everyone's amusement.

'One day you'll think differently,' said Rachel, tousling his hair. 'Everyone's capable of changing their mind.'