Chapter 11
Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with friends. (How bored am I typing that!) Again I'd like to say thanks to everyone who is reviewing. I love u all :o) I have lots of good twists coming up so please keep reading and reviewing :o) Oh and if anyone wants to chat, feel free to email at the address in my profile.

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Rachel was deep in sleep when she awoke unexpectedly. She could hear a phone ringing next to her. She looked up at Ross who was fast asleep, his head leaning against the cold window. "ROSS!" she hollered, trying to wake him as quickly as possible. He jumped and glanced at her, still dreaming. "What is it?" he said sleepily. "Your cell is ringing" Ross listened for a moment to the noise, still trying desperately to digest the information. "That's not my ring tone Rachel, that's yours!" "What? Oh my God so it is!" She jumped from her seat and began to fumble frantically in her bag in search of her phone. She pulled it out hurriedly and answered. "Hello? Yes? Rachel Greene speaking," Ross stared at her. Who was calling her at this time in the morning? He looked at his watch to confirm the time. It was 8am. It couldn't be anyone in America it was 2am there. He looked quizzically at her. "Yes, sure that's fine, yes I can do that, ok hold on let me get a pen." She mouthed over to Ross asking him if he had one. He opened his bag and handed her a yellow pencil, mouthing back "Its all I have" She grabbed it from him and began to write hysterically on the magazine that was next to her. "Ok thanks, that's great, see you soon" and at that she hung up. "Who was that?" Ross asked. "Oh just my boss at Ralph Lauren." "At 2 in the morning?" he looked puzzled Rachel cringed, she had forgotten about the time difference. "Yes, she forgot to tell me something before I left, and its really important."

Ross nodded, still not fully convinced.

Rachel knew he was suspicious so she tried to change the subject. "Are Mon and Chandler still asleep?" Ross shrugged and leaned forward to look at the seats in front. "I can't really see," he leaned further forward and nearly fell. Just at that Chandlers head appeared over the seat. "I'll save you the injury," he laughed. "Sleep well folks?" "You must be kidding, my neck feels like its been jumped on by ten sumo wrestlers!" Rachel moaned, rubbing the back of her neck forcefully. "Aw, that's a shame. I had a great sleep. Monica makes a pretty good pillow!" he laughed again. "Your lucky she didn't wake up and find you like that, she hates people laying their head on her!" Ross said seriously Chandler and Rachel stared at him looking for an explanation to his comment. "What? We used to go camping a lot! The tent was small and she took up a LOT of room" Ross tried to justify it.

Everyone started to laugh hysterically. It was the first time since yesterday they had allowed themselves to do so. The laughing ended abruptly with Monica waking up. "What did I miss?" The thought of Monica in the tent sent the 3 friends into fits of laughter again. Rachel doubled over trying to muffle her amusement. "I should have stayed asleep!" Monica was not amused.

Everyone tried to catch their breaths, the laughter having left them winded. They all settled down and sat in silence. Not sure what to say now. Joey stood up and broke the silence. "Hey guys, are we nearly there yet?" "I'm not sure, has anyone noticed where we are?" Monica looked at Chandler "I've just woken up," Chandler replied. "Us too," Rachel gestured towards Ross.

"Oh wait, there's a road sign," Ross stuck his head as close to the window as it would allow. "It says Glasgow 6 miles. We don't have long, 10 minutes at the most I'd imagine"

"We better start getting our stuff organised then!" Monica began to put her stuff back in her holdall. Everyone nodded and began to do the same. Joey sat at the edge of his seat; he hadn't unpacked anything when he got on the bus so he had nothing to do. He wondered what Phoebe was doing right now, he hoped she was missing him and regretting running away. He rested his head against the seat and watched Monica help Chandler with his packing. "They would make a cute couple," he thought. "Just like me and Phoebe would" His felt that familiar lump at the back of his throat. It was short lived as Ross shouted. "There's the station, we're here!"

~*~
Emily listened to the ringing stop and a woman began to speak. "I'm sorry, the cell phone you have called is switched off, please try again later." Emily replaced the handset and picked up her things for the second time. "Probably for the best" she agreed with herself as she let herself out of the apartment.

She walked into the busy street, stopping at the doorway to let people pass. She pushed past and stood on the sidewalk to wait on a cab to get her back to her office. She stood there for what seemed like an eternity before realising she would be quicker walking. She headed towards the station, picking up pace so she wouldn't be late for her appointment. She stopped and waited on the traffic lights changing so she could cross the road.

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Monica sat impatiently looking out of the window as the bus pulled along by the station. She wanted off as soon as possible. She was sick of sitting in the one position. The bus stopped at the traffic lights and Monica continued to look down on the street. She sat up abruptly and nudged Chandler in the ribs. "Hey, look, doesn't that look like Emily?" she whispered, not wanting Ross to hear. "It is Emily im sure," he whispered back. "God, lets just hope we don't bump into her while we are here, that's all we need!" "Yeah, could you imagine? That would be the icing on the cake for Rachel and Ross!" Monica looked at him slightly puzzled. "What do you mean?" "Didn't you hear them fighting last night? Geez Monica, the whole bus heard it." "You're kidding? Please say it wasn't that whole "We were on a break" crap again?" Monica rolled her eyes. "It would have been if Rachel hadn't stopped him!" "When are those two just going to realise they still love each other and get over it!" Chandler shrugged. "Beats me" The bus rolled into the station and everyone got out of his or her seats. "This is it guys." Ross said while ushering Rachel down the aisle. "Come on if we get the cases first then we can be first in the queue for the cabs" Monica flipped into controlling mode.

Outside they gathered their cases and headed in the same direction Phoebe had gone only hours before. "Ok, so we need to find a hotel, anyone have any suggestions?" Monica looked around at her friends' blank expressions. "So that's a no then!" "Lets just get in a cab and ask the driver to take us to the nearest one." Chandler suggested. "I'm pretty sure we passed a Marriott?" Rachel added. "Ok, well the Marriott it is then people?" Monica watched as everyone nodded. A taxi drove up just as Monica had finished talking. The unloaded their suitcases into the back and set off for the hotel.
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Phoebe opened her eyes and looked around the unfamiliar room. She lay for a while, taking in every aspect of it. She suddenly felt her stomach cramp. Sickness rose in her as she rushed towards the bathroom. It had 36 hours since she had eaten and her stomach was obviously having a hard time accepting this as she balked a few times. Nothing came up, which was no surprise to her. Her belly was empty after all.

She rested her back against the bath and stood up, heading to the kitchen to make her self some food. She wasn't in the least bit hungry, but she knew she had to eat to keep her strength up. She had a long few days ahead of her and needed all the energy she could get. She opened the wooden cupboard doors in search of anything she could snack on. As she opened the final cupboard she noticed a familiar picture tacked onto the inside of the door. It was all the gang, including Emily at her "Surprise going away party". Phoebe traced her finger over each of her friends, pretending she could feel them as she did. She let her hand drop and closed the door over again. She wasn't in the mood for eating anymore. She just wanted to get to France and away from this pain, start a new life.

The kitchen door opened unexpectedly and Phoebe span round fear in her eyes. "Ah, you're awake!" Emily smiled. "Emily!" Phoebe took a few sharp breaths. "You gave me a fright!" "Oh im sorry, i didn't mean too. I thought you were still asleep when I came in, that's why I was so quiet." Phoebe smiled, but still felt embarrassed that she was so jumpy. "I was just going to make something to eat, I was feeling a bit sick earlier."

"Are you ok? Would you like to see a Doctor?"

Phoebe laughed, now Emily was the one being melodramatic "No, its just hunger, honest." Emily joined in on the laughter. "Good, as long as your fine. Now I have a surprise for you." "Really?" Phoebe said, slightly curious. "Yes, I took a long lunch and I went out and bought you something." She ruffled in her bag and pulled out an envelope. She handed it to Phoebe, who stared at it for a while before opening it. "What is it?"

"Open it and see" Emily's grin was huge. "Emily!" Phoebe gasped. "You really didn't have to do this!" "The plane leave in 2 days, so it gives me time to show you the sights." Emily's smile remained on her face. Tears streamed down Phoebes cheeks, touched by Emily's generosity. "Come I'll show you the pictures on the apartment, you're going to love it!" She grabbed Phoebe's hand and led her to the living room.

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"Good Morning, how can I help you? Do you have reservations?" The Marriott's receptionist looked at the worn out looking people in front of him. Monica fiddled with her hair. "Not exactly. We were hoping you would have some vacancies."

The receptionist smiled. "Let me check the computer" He typed something into the system and looked back at Monica. "We only have 1 double room left, and a deluxe suite Ma'am" "How much is the suite?" Ross queried "The suite for 6 is £580 Sir" "What! That's nearly $900" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry Sir its all we have for today. If your staying more than one night im sure we would be able to put you all in separate rooms in a day or two." "Ross, lets just take it." Rachel sounded exhausted and slightly cranky. "Ok, but will you look and see about separate rooms for tomorrow and the next 6 or 7 days?" Ross enquired. "Not a problem Sir" and at that he began to look up the computer again as Ross searched in his wallet for his credit card. "I'll put the charge on my card and you guys can pay me back later." Ross handed over his visa and waited for it to be swiped. "I will be able to put you all in your own rooms tomorrow night, we have a convention leaving the hotel then. I sincerely apologise for the inconvenience." "Hey, don't worry about it, thanks for all you help" Ross said as he reached for the key. "Take the lift on your left and it will take you directly to your suite. Enjoy your stay at the Marriott," Everyone bar Rachel flashed the receptionist a smile. Her eyes widened in fear. Ross picked up on Rachel's nervousness and threw his arm around her and pulled her close into him. Neither said a word, but both felt reassured by the silence. He didn't let go of her until they were safely out of the elevator and into the room.

"Wow, look at this place!" Monica gushed. "Its pretty damn amazing!" Chandler looked as amazed as Monica. The room was as big as Monica and Chandler's apartments put together. The rooms looked Victoria, strewn with red velvet, candles and magnificent crystal chandeliers dangling from the ceiling. "It's like a palace," Rachel screamed as she headed in search of the bedrooms. "What do you think Joe?" Chandler tried to involve his once lively now silent friend. "Yeah, its nice!" Joey tried to sound as positive as he could muster. He was about to mention Phoebe when Ross interrupted him. "Hey does anyone fancy taking a walk around the block to check the place out?" "Sorry sweetie, im gonna stay here and unpack" Monica gave him a pitiful look. "Yeah same here man" Chandler answered. "Joey?" "Nah, im going to try and get a sleep so im fresh for when we look for Pheebs." "I'll go with you Ross. I could sure use the fresh air, that bus was so stuffy!" Rachel raced towards him, half skipping. "Ok so, no more takers?" Ross asked, making sure no one had changed their minds, but everyone shook their heads. "See you soon then." Him and Rachel walked towards the door. "Oh, does anyone want anything while we're out?" Rachel asked. "Hmm, could you get me a newspaper Rach?" "Sure Chandler, be back with it soon." Ross and Rachel exited, leaving the others to settle in.

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Phoebe closed the photo album and grinned. "Wow, it really is beautiful, im so looking forward to going now. I've never been out of America before, and suddenly I've been in England, Scotland and now im going to France, all in the one week!" Emily's heart broke for her; she was so innocent and sweet for someone who had so much hardship in their life.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" Emily suggested, trying to get Phoebe feeling less uncomfortable. "Sure, but not for long ok?" Phoebe wasn't sure why she felt so uneasy. There was no way she was going to bump into anyone else she knew, at least she hoped she wouldn't. "I need to get cigarettes, is there a newspaper vendor near?" "Yeah, there's one right on the corner."

"Great!" Phoebe answered, "Let me get my purse"
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Rachel held on to her hair as the cold wind blasted it, blowing it all over her face. "It's got so cold all of a sudden!" Rachel moaned. "We can go back if you like?" Ross seemed concerned. "No, im fine. Anyway, I have to get Chandler a paper. I'll be in the bad books if I don't." she laughed and Ross joined in. "Ok, lets go find a newspaper vendor." Ross put his arm around her. He took it as a good sign we she didn't reject his advance, but Rachel was thinking otherwise. She let her body tense as he put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "How am I going to tell him I'm leaving, for good?" she raised her eyes to the sky and prayed it would be as bad as what she imagined.
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"Can I have 20 Marlboro Lights Please?" Phoebe stood at the shops counter and waited as the shopkeeper reached behind him and picked up the pack of cigarettes. "That will be £4.80 please." Phoebe looked in her purse at the British money and tried to remember which coin was which. She could feel the mans eyes stare through her as she searched. The longer it took her the more she panicked. "I'm, I'm sorry, I haven't been in Britain long, im not too sure of the money. Could you help me?" Phoebe looked embarrassed. "Of course" the man reached over and took the exact money from Phoebes purse. "How long are you over from America for?" the clerk asked as he rung up the till. "Just 2 weeks. Im going back again in 2 days." Phoebe lied. She didn't want to get into the ins and outs of her situation with a man she had just met. "So where's home then?" he asked. Phoebe felt the tears sting her eyes; she didn't have a home anymore. "New York City" she stammered, wishing he would stop questioning her. "Nice place. I've been a few times over the last few years." "Yes, it is nice" she replied quietly. "Ok, well enjoy the rest of your stay in Scotland. Have a safe journey back" Phoebe held back her tears and nodded. "Thank you." She turned and ran out the shop as quickly as she could. Emily caught her outside as she ran into her arms, sobbing loudly. "Phoebe, what's wrong?" Emily looked scared. "Just take me home" Phoebe could hardly speak as Emily led her off back to the apartment.
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"Hey Rach look, there's a shop there!" Ross practically dragged her across the road. "Slow down, its not a race" As Ross entered the shop he let go of Rachel, who suddenly tripped over something on the ground. She felt her hands hit the wall as she tried to save herself from falling on her face. Ross ran back to help her up. She looked at the ground to see what she had kicked. "Someone must have dropped their cigarettes on the way out the shop," She bent down and picked up the pack of Marlboro Lights. "I'll take them back in and give them to the shopkeeper" Rachel said, following Ross in. "Sir?" Rachel tried to get the clerks attentions. "Yes Ma'am?" "I think someone dropped these cigarettes outside. I presumed they bought them here?" "Ahh, yes, the woman only left a few minutes ago. I'll keep them here in case she comes back for them." "Ok," Rachel placed them on the counter and went to turn to Ross but the shopkeeper began to speak again. "You know, its funny, she was American too. We don't get many Americans in here and you're the second one in 10 minutes." He laughed leaving Rachel and Ross feeling uncomfortable. "Next your gonna tell me your from New York City too" he continued laughing weirdly. "Yeah, we are from Manhattan." Rachel was shocked. "What was this woman like?" Ross butted in. "She was real pretty, long blonde hair, tall. She said she was going home to American in 2 days. Do you know her?" Ross pulled a photograph from his wallet. "Was this her?" he asked "That is she. You must be friends." Ross and Rachel raced from the shop without answering or buying anything, each trying to outrun each other back to the hotel.

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