Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with "Friends"
"Phoebe what the hell happened? How did you get from New York to Scotland?" Phoebe stared at Emily for what seemed like an eternity, trying desperately to think of a lie. There was no way she was telling her the truth. "We had a huge fight" Phoebe hung her head in shame, she hated lying at the best of times, but it was made worse by the fact she actually liked Emily. "How bad can a fight be?" Emily was shocked; it wasn't like them to argue. "Very, I just had to get away from it all for a while. Clear my head" Emily nodded in recognition, she fully understood about needing to run away from bad situations. "So why did you come to Scotland? Do you have family here Pheebs?" I don't even have family in America she screamed in her head. No, we were in London for one of Joeys plays. I got on the first bus out, and now im here!" "Do you have to go back to London to catch your flight back to New York?" Phoebe felt her stomach flip at the thought. "Ross has my plane ticket!" she squealed "Its ok Phoebe, calm down, I will call him and tell him to leave it at the airport for you." Emily reached for the phone and then down to her address book to look up his cell number. "NO!" Phoebe screamed so loud it made Emily drop the phone in shock. "Ok Phoebe, what the hell is really going on here!" Emily looked mad. Phoebe couldn't keep her tears under control and she blurted the truth out, leaving Emily in shocked silence. The only thing she could do was cuddle Phoebe tightly to her, which she welcomed with open arms.

"Emily, what the hell am I going to do? I am so screwed up" Emily wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm going to take to back to my apartment, I think you need a good sleep." Emily walked a zombie-like Phoebe from her office, and stopped beside her secretary "Maureen, can you cancel my morning appointments please. I will be back for my 11 o'clock."
They arrived at Emily's apartment in little over 15 minutes. Once inside Emily showed Phoebe into the bathroom and looked out fresh clothes for her from Phoebe's suitcase. Phoebe quickly changed and sat down next to Emily on her couch. She placed her hands nervously on her lap and stared into the distance, unsure what to say. "Phoebe, do you want to go back to London?" Emily spoke gently so she didn't upset her. Emily was expecting Phoebe to scream at her again, but instead she was shocked to see her only shake her head. "I can't Emily, you have to understand that this is what I have to do. I know you probably think im some kind of bitch for doing what I've done." Emily shook her head. "This is the only way I know how to do things. And I just feel after I've cleared my head too much water will have passed under the bridge for things to be sorted. I know everyone is going to be mad at me, and time will just make it worse. Its not the healer people think. As much as that hurts to think about it, I just have to resign myself to that fact." Phoebe was shaking as she spoke, trying not to let her emotions get the better of her.

"Ok Phoebe, if that's what you want then I have to respect that." Phoebe was amazed at how supportive Emily was being. She half expected her to want nothing to do with it all, especially after what had happened with her and Ross.

"Phoebe what do you plan to do in Scotland? Are you going to look for work? An apartment? Are you going to go back to the states?" Emily's questioning made Phoebe sit up and think. What am I going to do? She wondered. She hadn't thought that far ahead, but she knew she would have to. She had very little money left and no plane ticket back to America. she doubted she could even afford another one. Panic set through her. "Im stuck in Scotland" she repeated it over and over again, causing Emily to try and calm her down. "Phoebe, I have a holiday house in France, I've been subletting it over the winter, but it's been free for the last 6 weeks. Would you like to go over there and stay for a bit?" Phoebe couldn't believe what she was hearing. France? A holiday home? Should she accept? "Emily, im not sure, I mean, I don't know anyone in France," Emily cut her off. "You didn't know anyone in Scotland either until an hour ago" Phoebe pondered what she had just said for a moment. It was true, she didn't know anyone here, and France wasn't going to be different. "Are you sure?" Phoebe wanted to make sure Emily had meant what she said before she got her hopes up. "Of course im sure, anyway, you would be doing me a huge favour. Its laying empty and I would feel much safer knowing someone I trusted was looking after it." Phoebe smiled and squeezed Emily's hand. "Thank you, you don't know how much help you have been to me!"

Emily didn't say anything. She just smiled along with Phoebe, proud that she was able to help in such a small way. "Would you mind if I went for a little nap? I didn't get much of a sleep on the bus."

"Sure, ill show to my room" Both stood up and Phoebe followed Emily. "Help yourself to anything while im not here, treat this place as your own you hear?" Phoebe nodded, "Ok," Phoebe lay on the bed and tried to get comfortable, but it was hard, everything was so different to what she was used to. Emily sat next to her a moment, making sure she was ok. "I have to get back to work now, are you going to be ok here on your own?" Emily was still gravely concerned for her, even although she seemed to have calmed down a lot. "Uh huh, I just need this sleep" Emily took that as a hint for her to leave. She smiled and patted Phoebe gently on the side. "I'll see you when I get home, then we can sort out the arrangements for France," Phoebe had her eyes shut and didn't answer. Emily stared at her for a moment, realising she was asleep. She noted how peaceful she looked as she stood quietly and walked to the door, shutting it softly behind her. She stood in her living room for a while just thinking. "I wonder if I should call Ross?" She thought it through and shook her head; she couldn't betray Phoebes trust, even if she was slightly concerned for her welfare. She walked over to the door and lifted her jacket and keys. She stopped and looked down at the phone. She dropped her belongings and reached into her bag for her address book. "Rail timetable hotline, Robert house, Rotary Club," she flicked through the pages. "Ahh, Ross, Ross house, nope, Ross Cell! That's the one," She leaned down and began to dial the number. it was ringing.

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Thanks again to everyone who has been reviewing. Im keeping writing for you guys :o) I'll have chapter 11 up in the next few hours, im already half way through it :o)