Title: The Open Road
Author: Kaitlyn
Summary: "I got some beer and the highway's free, and I got you and, baby, you got me."
Rating: PG-13
Note: I'm using a pot line very similar to that used at the end of Season 6 to get Monica to propose to Chandler. I am aware that that story and mine are strikingly similar, so you don't have to tell me :-) It's just that I realized my story needed SOME sort of conflict, and that situation seemed appropriate as any, so here we all are! My version is admittedly less climactic, but it will have to suffice. I hope you still enjoy it!
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"She has fancy clothes and diamond rings
She has men who'll give her anything she wants
but they don't see
That what she wants is me
Oh and I want her so
I'll never let her go
She knows that I'd give all that I got to give
All that I want
All that I live
to make Candy mine
Tonight"
The alarm clock crooned with the rejuvenated, raspy lyrics of Bruce Springsteen's "Candy's Room", causing the sleeping lovers to stir in their feathery cocoon. Rachel lifted her head heavily from sleep and confusion, and stared with contempt at the flashing red 7:00 am. Ross must have set it out of habit. Frustrated and tired, she let her head fall back to his chest, lightly slapping his bicep as a signal to shut the irritating electronic intruder off.
After flinging a haphazard hand to the end table and nearly knocking the whole damn clock off, he wrapped both arms around her and playfully flipped them over so that his head was then resting on her chest. He kissed her collarbone and allowed his eyes to flutter shut again. A smile tugged on the corners of her lips as she ran her hands over his smooth back. A soft moan escaped her just before she grabbed the comforter and threw it up over their heads, enveloping them in a secret down refuge. At this, Ross scooted up her body and laid his head just beside hers on the pillow, grinning widely and goofily.
"Mmm, let's just stay here today. What do you say?" He punctuated his offer by placing soft butterfly kisses just below her ear.
"I think they would notice if we never came out of our room."
"If you find the cardboard and Sharpie, I'll make the 'Gone Fishing' sign," he joked. He was tempting her yet some more, having looped his finger underneath the waistband of her underwear (her sole garment) and begun tracing small circles over her skin there. She giggled and kissed his nose. He loved it when she did that.
"Okay, okay, another hour. I bet Monica's already up- you know how she can't sleep past 6:30."
"Just try growing up with that. You couldn't get me out of bed with a hand grenade. Meanwhile, she's downstairs making pancakes at the crack of dawn." This anecdote brought memories of their high school experiences flooding back to Rachel. One particular instance plagued Rachel the most.
"Hey Ross," she inquired.
"Hmm?" He was laying with his head on her chest again, and she could tell that he was well on his way back to sleep.
"Remember when you were going to take me to the prom?" This got his attention. He didn't move his head, but she could feel his eyelashes flutter open against her skin, and he cleared his throat in that nervous way that she knew so well.
"Yeah...What about it?" She glanced down at the top of his head, his messy hair tickling her nose. She smiled, not really knowing why she had brought it up. It comforter her in a strange way to have some acknowledgement that he had always truly loved her...and so unconditionally.
"Nothing, I don't know. Just...that was very sweet." He smiled- she could feel it. His lips brushed lightly against her skin. It was not quite a kiss, but very intentional.
"Don't mention it." He perked his head up and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before plopping his head back down once more. "Now, how about you quit your yapping so we can get another hour of shut-eye before the big day." She tangled her fingers through his, where they lay limp against her thigh, and shut her eyes.
Big day, indeed.
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At around noon, everyone was eating a late breakfast out on the back porch. Joey had not emerged from his room until moments before, and Monica had just gotten back and showered from her morning run on the beach. The table was set with fruit, cereal and bagels, since Monica's absence had left Ross and Chandler in charge of making the food. The air was rich with the smell of the salty ocean and dozens of people had already set up camp for the day out on the sandy beach below them. Kites were flying, children were laughing, and the dying notes of some nondescript beach music could be faintly heard in the distance. It was a truly magnificent day.
"What do you say we go shopping today?" Monica offered, finishing her bowl of fruit.
"Hey, that rhymed!" chimed Phoebe, smiling at her insightfulness.
"That's be great! There are so many cute little beach shops out on the promenade!" Rachel declared, excitedly. Not surprisingly, none of the guys had expressed much of an interest. After a few reluctant, barely-agreements, everyone got ready for a day of touristy shopping on the boardwalk.
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The boardwalk had been more crowded than initially expected. It's quaint storefronts were crowded with the rushed tourists and gangs of local surfer teens. Something between elevator music and beach music played over the speakers, and the sun glared intensely down on the gang of 6, who made their way unnoticed through the thick crowd.
"You know, it really is a shame when these beach shops just roll over and die from lack of business," Chandler offered, sarcastically.
"I don't know about you guys, but I could go for some ice cream right about now. This sun's getting to me. I'm starting to see colleges!" Joey whined.
"Don't you mean collages?" Chandler corrected.
"That's what I said! Are we getting ice cream or not?"
They made their way into a small, Mom & Pop style ice cream shop. The girls waited in line with everyone's order while the guys reserved a small booth near the back of the shop. Once alone, Chandler and Joey began questioning Ross.
"So, how's the anniversary going so far?" Chandler asked.
"It's good, and you know what else? I'm really glad you guys all decided to come with us! At first, you know, I was afraid that we might not get to do any of the anniversary type stuff that I was looking forward to, but it's been even better than I'd expected!" Chandler perked up, intrigued by the revelation.
"Really? So, what type of 'stuff' are we talking about here?"
"Well, like last night, Rachel dressed up in this black nighty thing and set this whole, like, stargazing thing up on the beach! It was really great. We just sat out there talking the whole night."
"What?" Joey asked, deadpan. "No sex?"
"No, no, there was sex. It's just that, with Rachel, that's not the most important thing, you know? Like, she really opened up about her childhood at one point. She's so great just to talk to, and..."
"Okay, okay, yeah...but back to the sex. Now, what was that like?" Joey flashed an interested grin, which earned him nothing but irritated looks from both Ross and Chandler. At that point, their guy talk was silenced by Phoebe's sudden emergence at the table.
"Oh, hey, Joey, what did you want again? Pistachio?" Joey nodded and smiled. Once Phoebe had returned to her place in line, the guys proceeded with their chat.
"So what do you have planned for tonight?" Chandler asked.
"Actually, um, that's something I've been meaning to talk to you guys about. I wanted to run an idea by you..."
"Wait, Ross, this isn't what I think it is, is it?" Joey's face perked up.
"That depends, Joey. What do you think it is?"
"You're not going to ask her to marry you, are you?" Chandler turned his attention to Ross as well, somewhat surprised that Joey had actually made the connection.
"Well...yeah. I'd been planning on it for some time now, and I mean, what could be better? We're at the beach, it's out 4-year anniversary...perfect timing, right?"
"That's great, man! Have you thought about how you're going to do it?"
"Yeah, I thought about maybe asking her to take a walk with me down to the peer. Then, when we get there, I would have this whole candlelit picnic set up. After we ate, uh, that's when I thought I'd pop the question."
"Wow, that sounds great! Have you thought have how you're going to hide it, though?" Joey asked.
"Hide it? What do you mean?"
"Well, I mean, Rachel's pretty smart. Don't you think she'll catch on if you ask her to take a walk down to this candlelit picnic on the beach on your 4-year-anniversary?"
"I guess I hadn't thought about that."
"Yeah, well start thinking, man. Joey's got a point. You're going to have to find a way to subtly convince her that marriage is the further thing from your mind." Just then, the girls returned to the table with 6 cones of ice cream.
"What were you guys talking about?" Rachel asked, handing Ross' cone to him across the table. Ross answered nervously.
"Uh, nothing. We were just talking about, um..."
"Chandler's fear of commitment!" Chandler flashed Joey a glare, relieved that the comment had been casual enough as to only lured a smile from Monica.
"You guys want to walk while we eat? There's this really nice jewelry store that we passed back there and I wanted to check it out." Rachel offered. Ross' eyes widened and he shot Chandler and sideways glance.
"Jewelry? Uh, do you really need any more jewelry?" This earned him a blank stare.
"Yeah," Chandler piped in. "You know, you guys really wear too much jewelry as it is! I say, play it natural from now on! No more jewelry!"
"What's gotten into you guys? You're acting more 'deer in the headlights' than normal." Monica detected.
"Uh, nothing! Forget we mentioned anything! Let's go check out that jewelry!" Chandler faked a forced enthusiasm.
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Once back at the house, everyone retired to their separate quarters for the afternoon. Alone in their room, Rachel questioned Ross about the guys' unusual behavior in the ice cream shop.
"Hey honey, what was wrong with you and Chandler today? You both seemed really nervous about something." He had hoped that she hadn't noticed.
"Oh, you know, it was nothing. We were just being weird, I guess." He tried to shake it off, but she wasn't buying it.
"No, no, tell me what it was. There was definitely something up." Seizing the opportunity, he decided to go in for the kill.
"I guess it was just that old fear of commitment rearing it's ugly head! You know, Chandler and I have sort of been sweating it out for the past few months. I was afraid that being up here for our anniversary was going to put some crazy ideas about marriage in your head!" Suddenly regretting his words, he tried to play them off with a joking grin, but even the boyish smile was not enough to soften the blow of his harshness. He could already see the tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Great.
"Oh, I see." Dammit, he had really done it now. He began back-peddling ferociously.
"No, no, that's not exactly what I meant. I didn't mean that I didn't WANT to marry you, just that, you know-" She cut him off.
"No, I get it, Ross. I'm reading you loud and clear! What, just because we've been dating for 4 years, you think I might actually consider getting married? I mean, how CRAZY must I have to be to ever think something like that?!" She was losing it- her composure, her sanity. You name it, and it was unraveling inside her faster than the human eye could detect.
"Rachel, no, I didn't mean that! Of course I've thought about marry you, it's just that-" She cut him off again. She never let him finish a sentence when she was really riled up. Not that he deserved to.
"It's just that what? What is it, Ross? Four years not long enough to know that the relationship's going somewhere? Or maybe you think I'm going to turn out to be a lesbian like Carol!" That was a low blow. He deserved it, though. He deserved all of it.
"You know what, maybe this was a mistake! Maybe we shouldn't have come here. I knew this weekend was going too well to be true! Maybe we should just pack up our stuff and..." He grabbed her arm.
"No! Rachel, dammit, please listen to me! I didn't mean that! I didn't mean any of it!" The tears were flowing freely down her cheeks, but at least she had stopped yelling and was actually listening to him.
"Then what DID you mean, Ross?"
"Look, I don't know what I was thinking. I was talking to Chandler and Joey and we got this crazy idea that if I didn't tell you those things then you might figure out what I really had planned. I wanted it to be a surprise, but I guess I just ended up screwing it up even worse this way...figures." Feeling like an idiot, Ross sat down on the end of the bed, folding his hands in his lap and hanging his head. Rachel sat down calmly beside him.
"What are you talking about?" He looked up to meet her gaze. Thought perhaps dramatically inappropriate for the situation, he smiled. Though perhaps even more inappropriate, she smiled back.
"Well, this wasn't how I had planned it, but..." Sensing for the first time what he was really about to say, Rachel's face lit up. He hesitated in continuing, so she grabbed his hand and squeezed it in reassurance. Keeping her hand held tightly in his, he knelt down on one knee at the foot of the bed. He paused for a moment, deliberating upon with just the perfect words, only to realize that they did not exist.
"Rachel, I'm not going to try and come up with something to say in this moment that'll knock you off your feet. There is no combination of just the perfect words that I could ever speak to you to make you understand just how badly I want to be with you for the rest of my life. There's no mirror for me to hold up that will ever let you see yourself the way I see you- so beautifully flawed yet perfect, all at once. All I know is that I'm not going to mess this up. For maybe the first time in my life, I'm just going to do what feels right. Rachel Karen Green..."
Her heart stopped.
"Will you marry me?"
Author: Kaitlyn
Summary: "I got some beer and the highway's free, and I got you and, baby, you got me."
Rating: PG-13
Note: I'm using a pot line very similar to that used at the end of Season 6 to get Monica to propose to Chandler. I am aware that that story and mine are strikingly similar, so you don't have to tell me :-) It's just that I realized my story needed SOME sort of conflict, and that situation seemed appropriate as any, so here we all are! My version is admittedly less climactic, but it will have to suffice. I hope you still enjoy it!
**********************************************************************************
"She has fancy clothes and diamond rings
She has men who'll give her anything she wants
but they don't see
That what she wants is me
Oh and I want her so
I'll never let her go
She knows that I'd give all that I got to give
All that I want
All that I live
to make Candy mine
Tonight"
The alarm clock crooned with the rejuvenated, raspy lyrics of Bruce Springsteen's "Candy's Room", causing the sleeping lovers to stir in their feathery cocoon. Rachel lifted her head heavily from sleep and confusion, and stared with contempt at the flashing red 7:00 am. Ross must have set it out of habit. Frustrated and tired, she let her head fall back to his chest, lightly slapping his bicep as a signal to shut the irritating electronic intruder off.
After flinging a haphazard hand to the end table and nearly knocking the whole damn clock off, he wrapped both arms around her and playfully flipped them over so that his head was then resting on her chest. He kissed her collarbone and allowed his eyes to flutter shut again. A smile tugged on the corners of her lips as she ran her hands over his smooth back. A soft moan escaped her just before she grabbed the comforter and threw it up over their heads, enveloping them in a secret down refuge. At this, Ross scooted up her body and laid his head just beside hers on the pillow, grinning widely and goofily.
"Mmm, let's just stay here today. What do you say?" He punctuated his offer by placing soft butterfly kisses just below her ear.
"I think they would notice if we never came out of our room."
"If you find the cardboard and Sharpie, I'll make the 'Gone Fishing' sign," he joked. He was tempting her yet some more, having looped his finger underneath the waistband of her underwear (her sole garment) and begun tracing small circles over her skin there. She giggled and kissed his nose. He loved it when she did that.
"Okay, okay, another hour. I bet Monica's already up- you know how she can't sleep past 6:30."
"Just try growing up with that. You couldn't get me out of bed with a hand grenade. Meanwhile, she's downstairs making pancakes at the crack of dawn." This anecdote brought memories of their high school experiences flooding back to Rachel. One particular instance plagued Rachel the most.
"Hey Ross," she inquired.
"Hmm?" He was laying with his head on her chest again, and she could tell that he was well on his way back to sleep.
"Remember when you were going to take me to the prom?" This got his attention. He didn't move his head, but she could feel his eyelashes flutter open against her skin, and he cleared his throat in that nervous way that she knew so well.
"Yeah...What about it?" She glanced down at the top of his head, his messy hair tickling her nose. She smiled, not really knowing why she had brought it up. It comforter her in a strange way to have some acknowledgement that he had always truly loved her...and so unconditionally.
"Nothing, I don't know. Just...that was very sweet." He smiled- she could feel it. His lips brushed lightly against her skin. It was not quite a kiss, but very intentional.
"Don't mention it." He perked his head up and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before plopping his head back down once more. "Now, how about you quit your yapping so we can get another hour of shut-eye before the big day." She tangled her fingers through his, where they lay limp against her thigh, and shut her eyes.
Big day, indeed.
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At around noon, everyone was eating a late breakfast out on the back porch. Joey had not emerged from his room until moments before, and Monica had just gotten back and showered from her morning run on the beach. The table was set with fruit, cereal and bagels, since Monica's absence had left Ross and Chandler in charge of making the food. The air was rich with the smell of the salty ocean and dozens of people had already set up camp for the day out on the sandy beach below them. Kites were flying, children were laughing, and the dying notes of some nondescript beach music could be faintly heard in the distance. It was a truly magnificent day.
"What do you say we go shopping today?" Monica offered, finishing her bowl of fruit.
"Hey, that rhymed!" chimed Phoebe, smiling at her insightfulness.
"That's be great! There are so many cute little beach shops out on the promenade!" Rachel declared, excitedly. Not surprisingly, none of the guys had expressed much of an interest. After a few reluctant, barely-agreements, everyone got ready for a day of touristy shopping on the boardwalk.
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The boardwalk had been more crowded than initially expected. It's quaint storefronts were crowded with the rushed tourists and gangs of local surfer teens. Something between elevator music and beach music played over the speakers, and the sun glared intensely down on the gang of 6, who made their way unnoticed through the thick crowd.
"You know, it really is a shame when these beach shops just roll over and die from lack of business," Chandler offered, sarcastically.
"I don't know about you guys, but I could go for some ice cream right about now. This sun's getting to me. I'm starting to see colleges!" Joey whined.
"Don't you mean collages?" Chandler corrected.
"That's what I said! Are we getting ice cream or not?"
They made their way into a small, Mom & Pop style ice cream shop. The girls waited in line with everyone's order while the guys reserved a small booth near the back of the shop. Once alone, Chandler and Joey began questioning Ross.
"So, how's the anniversary going so far?" Chandler asked.
"It's good, and you know what else? I'm really glad you guys all decided to come with us! At first, you know, I was afraid that we might not get to do any of the anniversary type stuff that I was looking forward to, but it's been even better than I'd expected!" Chandler perked up, intrigued by the revelation.
"Really? So, what type of 'stuff' are we talking about here?"
"Well, like last night, Rachel dressed up in this black nighty thing and set this whole, like, stargazing thing up on the beach! It was really great. We just sat out there talking the whole night."
"What?" Joey asked, deadpan. "No sex?"
"No, no, there was sex. It's just that, with Rachel, that's not the most important thing, you know? Like, she really opened up about her childhood at one point. She's so great just to talk to, and..."
"Okay, okay, yeah...but back to the sex. Now, what was that like?" Joey flashed an interested grin, which earned him nothing but irritated looks from both Ross and Chandler. At that point, their guy talk was silenced by Phoebe's sudden emergence at the table.
"Oh, hey, Joey, what did you want again? Pistachio?" Joey nodded and smiled. Once Phoebe had returned to her place in line, the guys proceeded with their chat.
"So what do you have planned for tonight?" Chandler asked.
"Actually, um, that's something I've been meaning to talk to you guys about. I wanted to run an idea by you..."
"Wait, Ross, this isn't what I think it is, is it?" Joey's face perked up.
"That depends, Joey. What do you think it is?"
"You're not going to ask her to marry you, are you?" Chandler turned his attention to Ross as well, somewhat surprised that Joey had actually made the connection.
"Well...yeah. I'd been planning on it for some time now, and I mean, what could be better? We're at the beach, it's out 4-year anniversary...perfect timing, right?"
"That's great, man! Have you thought about how you're going to do it?"
"Yeah, I thought about maybe asking her to take a walk with me down to the peer. Then, when we get there, I would have this whole candlelit picnic set up. After we ate, uh, that's when I thought I'd pop the question."
"Wow, that sounds great! Have you thought have how you're going to hide it, though?" Joey asked.
"Hide it? What do you mean?"
"Well, I mean, Rachel's pretty smart. Don't you think she'll catch on if you ask her to take a walk down to this candlelit picnic on the beach on your 4-year-anniversary?"
"I guess I hadn't thought about that."
"Yeah, well start thinking, man. Joey's got a point. You're going to have to find a way to subtly convince her that marriage is the further thing from your mind." Just then, the girls returned to the table with 6 cones of ice cream.
"What were you guys talking about?" Rachel asked, handing Ross' cone to him across the table. Ross answered nervously.
"Uh, nothing. We were just talking about, um..."
"Chandler's fear of commitment!" Chandler flashed Joey a glare, relieved that the comment had been casual enough as to only lured a smile from Monica.
"You guys want to walk while we eat? There's this really nice jewelry store that we passed back there and I wanted to check it out." Rachel offered. Ross' eyes widened and he shot Chandler and sideways glance.
"Jewelry? Uh, do you really need any more jewelry?" This earned him a blank stare.
"Yeah," Chandler piped in. "You know, you guys really wear too much jewelry as it is! I say, play it natural from now on! No more jewelry!"
"What's gotten into you guys? You're acting more 'deer in the headlights' than normal." Monica detected.
"Uh, nothing! Forget we mentioned anything! Let's go check out that jewelry!" Chandler faked a forced enthusiasm.
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Once back at the house, everyone retired to their separate quarters for the afternoon. Alone in their room, Rachel questioned Ross about the guys' unusual behavior in the ice cream shop.
"Hey honey, what was wrong with you and Chandler today? You both seemed really nervous about something." He had hoped that she hadn't noticed.
"Oh, you know, it was nothing. We were just being weird, I guess." He tried to shake it off, but she wasn't buying it.
"No, no, tell me what it was. There was definitely something up." Seizing the opportunity, he decided to go in for the kill.
"I guess it was just that old fear of commitment rearing it's ugly head! You know, Chandler and I have sort of been sweating it out for the past few months. I was afraid that being up here for our anniversary was going to put some crazy ideas about marriage in your head!" Suddenly regretting his words, he tried to play them off with a joking grin, but even the boyish smile was not enough to soften the blow of his harshness. He could already see the tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Great.
"Oh, I see." Dammit, he had really done it now. He began back-peddling ferociously.
"No, no, that's not exactly what I meant. I didn't mean that I didn't WANT to marry you, just that, you know-" She cut him off.
"No, I get it, Ross. I'm reading you loud and clear! What, just because we've been dating for 4 years, you think I might actually consider getting married? I mean, how CRAZY must I have to be to ever think something like that?!" She was losing it- her composure, her sanity. You name it, and it was unraveling inside her faster than the human eye could detect.
"Rachel, no, I didn't mean that! Of course I've thought about marry you, it's just that-" She cut him off again. She never let him finish a sentence when she was really riled up. Not that he deserved to.
"It's just that what? What is it, Ross? Four years not long enough to know that the relationship's going somewhere? Or maybe you think I'm going to turn out to be a lesbian like Carol!" That was a low blow. He deserved it, though. He deserved all of it.
"You know what, maybe this was a mistake! Maybe we shouldn't have come here. I knew this weekend was going too well to be true! Maybe we should just pack up our stuff and..." He grabbed her arm.
"No! Rachel, dammit, please listen to me! I didn't mean that! I didn't mean any of it!" The tears were flowing freely down her cheeks, but at least she had stopped yelling and was actually listening to him.
"Then what DID you mean, Ross?"
"Look, I don't know what I was thinking. I was talking to Chandler and Joey and we got this crazy idea that if I didn't tell you those things then you might figure out what I really had planned. I wanted it to be a surprise, but I guess I just ended up screwing it up even worse this way...figures." Feeling like an idiot, Ross sat down on the end of the bed, folding his hands in his lap and hanging his head. Rachel sat down calmly beside him.
"What are you talking about?" He looked up to meet her gaze. Thought perhaps dramatically inappropriate for the situation, he smiled. Though perhaps even more inappropriate, she smiled back.
"Well, this wasn't how I had planned it, but..." Sensing for the first time what he was really about to say, Rachel's face lit up. He hesitated in continuing, so she grabbed his hand and squeezed it in reassurance. Keeping her hand held tightly in his, he knelt down on one knee at the foot of the bed. He paused for a moment, deliberating upon with just the perfect words, only to realize that they did not exist.
"Rachel, I'm not going to try and come up with something to say in this moment that'll knock you off your feet. There is no combination of just the perfect words that I could ever speak to you to make you understand just how badly I want to be with you for the rest of my life. There's no mirror for me to hold up that will ever let you see yourself the way I see you- so beautifully flawed yet perfect, all at once. All I know is that I'm not going to mess this up. For maybe the first time in my life, I'm just going to do what feels right. Rachel Karen Green..."
Her heart stopped.
"Will you marry me?"
