Chapter 3 - Continued on from previous chapter

Ross opened the door; Rachel's hand was on his back comfortingly. He saw 2 faces staring at him from the couch.

"Daddddddy" yelled Emma, clambering off the couch and running a Ross, throwing herself at his legs.

Ross bent over and picked her up into his arms, straightening back up and looking at Jemma on the couch.

"Hi Jemma" he said softly.

Now he'd seen her, he knew that this wasn't some joke. This little girl did have his nose; She had the same puppy dog eyes as him. She was his.

"Hello" she said

She stared at him shyly, this was the first ever glimpse of her father and he was nothing like the man she had been picturing ever since her Mom told her about him.

There were a few moments of silence until Emma spoke up "Jemma has Blinky"

Rachel pulled Emma out of Ross' arms "Naptime for you my Darling, You were up too early this morning"

"No, No, No" cried Emma "No Nap"

She struggled to get out of Rachel's arms and back into Ross'

"I'll be back in a second," said Rachel, heading through to Emma's bedroom with her wailing in her arms.

Ross and Jemma were in silence for another few moments, until Jemma got up off the couch, She walked over to Ross & hesitantly wrapped her arms around his waist. Ross was in shock for a second but then felt himself put his arms around this child, and hug her close.

Rachel came back out into the lounge room after settling Emma, stopping in her tracks as she saw Ross and Jemma hugging; She turned around and went back into the master bedroom.

(Time Lapse)

Rachel was sitting in an armchair in their bedroom when Ross came in. He sat down on the bed opposite her in silence. Rachel stared at him

"Where's Jemma?" she asked

"She's asleep," said Ross "She was up at 4am this morning to travel and she just fell asleep on the couch"

"So.." said Rachel, prompting Ross to speak

"She's mine," said Ross in disbelief "She's so like me it isn't funny. I really do believe that she's my daughter"

He held up the envelope that Jemma had been clutching, with the letter from Chloe "I guess all will be revealed in this letter then"

"Open it," said Rachel. She came and sat down next to him on the bed, Her arm around his waist.

Ross opened the envelope; His hands were trembling slightly as he unfolded the letter. He began to read aloud

Dear Ross,
It's been a long time hasn't it? I suppose now you're reading this, you're in a state of shock, probably not believing what's going on but it's true. Jemma is your daughter, I gave birth to her 9 months after we were together, there is no question about who her father is; I hadn't been with anyone else in months. You can choose to believe what you want to, but inclosed is a copy of her birth certificate, with your name on it, the dates all add up if you want to try and figure it out, I wouldn't lie about something like this, and if you look at Jemma, She does look like you. I didn't know you that well but I think I know that you would never abandon someone that is yours. You are probably wondering why I didn't tell you about her, why after 10 years, the daughter you never knew you had has shown up on your doorstep, The truth is I can't do it anymore, I have raised Jemma from a baby to a little girl with practically nothing, She never had what she deserves with me, I tried to give her the life she deserves but things didn't work out so well and I can't bear to look at her anymore, and know that she deserves so much better. I began dabbling in drugs when Jemma was 4, just in moderation but it turned into something much ore, a problem I have been trying to overcome for years. My drug problem has been a major factor in the way I raised Jemma, I fell into a lifestyle that I shouldn't have and now I just can't get out of it, I am going to Australia to sort myself out, my boyfriend Robert also has a drug problem and we believe together we can overcome it, Once we are away from the temptations that overtook our lives at home. Jemma knows nothing about my problems, I told her I was going to Australia with Robert just to get away from it all but the truth is I hope this time away will make me sort myself out, Get it together and hopefully turn me into someone better, A better mother and person. You are probably thinking "Yeah right Chloe" but it's all true. Please Ross, Don't abandon Jemma because she has no one else, I do trust that you will be there for her because I no longer can be until my life is back on track. I don't have any numbers for where I'll be; all I know is that Robert & me will be in Victoria, Australia. Robert has been there before, He said that it is a beautiful state; We just want to be as far away from Chicago as possible, half a world away in fact. Believe me when I say that I do love my daughter Ross but I just feel this is best, I want Jemma to be safe and happy. Please look after her; She needs you in her life.....Sincerely, Chloe Matthews

Ross finished reading, and rubbed his temples wearily. He couldn't believe how someone could have a drug problem and still manage to bring up such a mature little girl for 10 years. He expected Jemma to have all sorts of problems, being raised in a drug-addicted family; maybe some of these problems would come to the surface.

"Wow" said Rachel; She took in a deep breath "That was an intense letter"

"How can I have another child, Just like that" said Ross "How could she not tell me about her 10 years ago when she was born?? Would I have ever found out about Jemma if Chloe hadn't of become addicted to drugs?"

"I don't know..." said Rachel "God, what are we going to do?"

"What else can we do?" said Ross "We're going to welcome Jemma into our home, into our lives I guess"

"What?" said Rachel

"She's my child, I have to look after her" said Ross "I believe Chloe and I want to be there for Jemma"

"I understand Ross," said Rachel "But where are we going to put her? There is no space here, where is she going to sleep? We can't afford to have 2 new children, there's going to be a new baby in 2 months in case you forgot"

"I know that Rachel, but we're just going to have to deal with it" said Ross "She can sleep in Emma's room or something, Or in the Nursery until the baby gets here.I'll work more, We'll manage"

"Right because right now, When I am about to pop, I really need you away from home more.In 3 months when I'm struggling to look after 2 kids & a newborn baby, I don't need you here to help me" said Rachel "You working more is the last thing we need"

"What would you like me to do Rachel?" asked Ross "Turn her away, send her on her own in New York City to be mugged or murdered? Please don't make this anymore harder then it's already going to be"

"I'm not trying to make it harder" said Rachel defensively "I'm the one thinking logically"

"Oh and I'm not?" asked Ross "I am doing the decent thing here, This girl has come out of nowhere and I'm going to be there, I'm going to be her father..I think after not being there for the past 10 years it's the least I can do.. I need you to be supportive of me, if you can't do that, then I think we're in trouble"

"Don't start with that crap Ross," said Rachel "You know I will be supportive, there's just some things I will need to deal with if she's going to be in our lives from now on"

"Like what?" asked Ross

"Do you think I want to look at Jemma everyday and see Chloe in her?" said Rachel "Jemma just reminds me of what you did, how you cheated on me and how you broke my heart. All I will be able to think about when I look at her is your infidelity, I don't know if I can deal with that right now...I had forgiven and I had forgotten but seeing this child, conceived when you were in a relationship with me, It brings it all back, All the hurt I felt, All the pain, the sadness"

She paused for a moment, willing the tears that were threatening to flow to not show themselves "I'm sorry"

"Rachel" said Ross gently. He put his arms around her and pulled her close "I didn't really even think about how this would make you feel, I'm sorry"

"I can deal with it" said Rachel "I mean, I surprised myself earlier when Jemma began to cry and I gave her a hug, Motherly instincts came to the surface but I'm not sure that's how it's always going to be. I am not her mother, Her mother is someone I hate, and I do hate Chloe Ross, I hate her for tempting you away from me, I hate her for being involved in ruining our relationship, Chloe is someone I thought I'd never have to deal with again in my life and now, Here she is again"

"It's in the past Rach," said Ross "Look at where we are now, we're going to be married, we have one beautiful little girl and another baby on the way. We're back in love.It all worked out in the end didn't it. Chloe was a mistake that I made, and now like it or not, A part of her is back in our lives again, this has to be dealt with"

Rachel nodded "I can deal with it, I'll work on it.I want to be here for you"

"We're in this together," said Ross "Wether or not we like it"

"I know," said Rachel "I'm sorry for being stupid, It's probably hormones or something"

"It's ok," said Ross "You have a right to be hesitant about involving Jemma in our lives, It's going to be a big adjustment for all of us, Emma included so I do understand now where you're coming from"

"So we have another member in the family then?" said Rachel "For the time being anyway"

"It looks like it," said Ross "Monica and the others are going to be so surprised"

"They won't believe it at first" said Rachel "It's going to take awhile to get used too"

"We need to make some arrangements I guess," said Ross "Get Jemma enrolled in school, I'm guessing she's been going to school in Chicago, She's probably in the 4th grade or something??"

"Probably" said Rachel "Do you think that she's going to be messed up? Considering her upbringing?"

"Possibly" said Ross "Who knows what or who she had encountered, giving Chloe's problem and situation..Imagine the type of people Chloe probably hung around with, Drug addicts, Dealers." He shook his head "God"

"I guess we can expect some problems then" said Rachel

"Probably" said Ross "We'll deal with them if they ever come up. For now I want to get to know my daughter, Make sure she knows that she has a home here, That she isn't alone in this strange city"

"She seems brave," said Rachel "Brave & Mature, albeit a little lonely and sad"

"I want to get to know her," said Ross "Find out how her life has been so far, Find out her personality.Find out if she likes Palaeontology"

"You wish," said Rachel as she stood up, holding onto her back "I'm so uncomfortable, Juliana keeps kicking me in the bladder"

"Veto Juliana" said Ross immediately. He stood up and touched her stomach, which was huge considering she was only 30 weeks "My baby isn't going to be called Juliana"

"FINE" said Rachel "I gotta pee again"

She waddled over to the ensuite, and closed the door behind her.

Ross read the letter over again, making sure he read every single line twice over. He wondered if Chloe was going to come back, She said she was but wether she did or not was a different story...Surely no mother would abandon her daughter for good?

He wondered how this was all going to work out? Would Jemma be a child with every problem under the sun or would she be his dream daughter??

He knew there were going to be some troubles, He had no idea how long Jemma was going to be with them but there were things that needed to be taken care of. He wondered how they were going to handle this financially? Another mouth to feed, another back to cloth, another child who needed to be kept happy. He knew he had no need to worry about Emma accepting Jemma, She loved anyone who was nice to her and it seemed they had already bonded over teddy bears a little. Monica, Chandler, Phoebe and Joey would all be supportive as they always were..Monica and Chandler's twins would probably love another cousin.

Rachel was another worry, He knew she needed no extra stress in her life at the moment, She was already uncomfortable and grumpy being pregnant, He didn't want her to worry herself or the baby with how they were going to cope with everything but he worried about how was she going to act around Jemma?? He knew she wouldn't be unkind to her or treat her badly but sometimes all it takes is silence or a look to hurt a child's feelings. He only hoped she could work through her issues and accept Jemma into the family, because that's what needed to be done.

Jemma would become a part of their family for the time being and he hoped that she would be loved just as much as Emma was by everyone and just as much as their unborn baby already was. He knew it wasn't going to be easy but nothing in life ever comes easy, He had another daughter now and he was going to love her, No questions asked, He was going to be the father that Jemma had been deprived off over the last 10 years, He could feel himself beginning to love her already!!

AN: Sorry there wasn't much Jemma in this chapter, I just wanted to get Ross and Rachel's feelings dealt with, There will be more Jemma in Chapter 4.