Title: The Open Road
Author: Kaitlyn
Summary: "I've got some beer and the highway's free, and I got you and baby you got me."
Rating: PG-13
Note: Now that the story will be taking place back in New York, the title may seemingly no longer apply. I suggest that everyone use their less literal mind, though, and look for the metaphorical meaning, now. :-)
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The next day, everyone packed up their suitcases and said goodbye to the beautiful palace of a beach house that they'd called home for the past 3 days. After lunch, they piled into the car and made the trip back to Manhattan. Arriving just a little before sunset, they silently understood that they'd probably had enough of one another for one weekend, so they all retired to their separate quarters.
Ross and Rachel arrived back at their apartment and began the long and tedious process of unpacking. More accurately, Rachel began to unpack while Ross merely removed a few items from the bags, got sidetracked, and ended up leaving Rachel to actually put everything in it's place while he watched television or made dinner. The apartment was one big muddle of dirty clothes, half-packed suitcases, and random miscellaneous items that had undoubtedly never really fit in anywhere. Rachel was currently folding a basket of clean clothes while Ross sat on the couch in front of her watching some documentary on the discovery channel. He muted it and turned sideways on the couch to he could see her.
"So, is this what married life's going to be like for us, Rach?" he asked, not even attempting to conceal the huge smile on his face. She cocked an annoyed yet playful eyebrow at him, not pausing her folding.
"If we're lucky. Maybe we'll even make it into the Guinness Book." He looked confused.
"Huh?" She didn't miss a beat or even stop look up.
"Shortest recorded marriage." He chuckled and threw both around her middle, pulling her over the top of the couch and into his arms. This solicited a giggly squeal, but hardly a protest. Instead, she allowed him this opportunity to bask in the newly discovered level of their relationship.
Sitting with his back against the couch's arm, he held her between his legs, her back to his chest. They sat in silence for a moment, feeling and hearing nothing but the pounding of each other's hearts. He slid his hands down the lengths of her arms, stopping at her hands to study her ring-finger. He whispered softy against her ear.
"Do you like it?" She smiled, touched and amused that he would even ask that. She loved how unpredictable their time together was. They could go from laughing and squealing to the most intimate of moments in nanoseconds. A first "I love you" came to mind.
"Of course I do. It's from you."
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The next weekend, the girls congregated in Monica and Chandler's apartment all day, beginning preparations for the wedding. Ross had agreed to let Rachel (and subsequently, Monica and Phoebe) have total control over the ceremony and reception. In his words "I've already done that whole thing once. It's your turn". Plus, deep down, he knew how much it meant to her. He didn't want to take that away, especially when he didn't really care either way.
Rachel pushed an arrant strand of hair back behind her ear that had fallen down from her loose bun, slightly exasperatedly. They'd been going through bridal magazines for early 3 hours, and she hadn't found even one that she'd liked.
"Ugh, why is this so hard? What, did all the good designers like wait for me to announce my engagement before discontinuing their wedding dress lines?" Monica grabbed the book that Rachel had just slammed down on the kitchen table.
"Look, Rach, it's not that bad."
"Oh, that's easy for you to say! You're not the one who's going to have to get married in a halter top and Capri pants just to stay in style with the season!"
"You know, if you went with my suggestion, you wouldn't be having this problem," Phoebe chimed in. Rachel replied with one of her patented 'over the top hand gesticulation' comebacks.
"Oh, will you stop it with the naked wedding? I already walked down the aisle once with my ass hanging out, I'm not going to do it again!"
"Hey, did you see this one?" Monica slid the catalog across the table to Rachel, pointing to a picture in the bottom right corner. Immediately, Rachel's mouth flew open.
"Oh my God, Mon, I can't believe I missed this! It's gorgeous!" She grabbed the book, enthusiastically. It was a strapless Allison Blake dress, with fine pearl beading and made from ivory Thai silk. It was the perfect combination of tradition and style. It was unique but tasteful, and she couldn't help but imagine herself in it.
"And look, it's only $800! God, you know, things sure have changed in the past few years." Phoebe's eyes nearly bugged out of her head.
"$800? Rachel, are you crazy? You don't have that kind of money to spend!" Rachel made a face that could only be described as "duh", turning her attention back to the catalog.
"Of course I don't! That's why it's a good thing I'm not the one paying for the wedding!"
"Oh, that's right. I forgot about 'Daddy' and the tree full of money growing out of his ass. So I guess not THAT much has changed." Phoebe quipped, getting up to put her empty coffee mug in the sink. Rachel just smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, well, let's just hope that tree still decides to drop some of it's money for this wedding once Daddy finds out it's with Ross." Monica offered a disbelieving scoff.
"Oh, come on. Your dad doesn't really hate Ross that much!" Rachel put the catalog down, staring dead-pan at Monica. "...Does he?"
"Well, that's what I always tell Ross...but I don't know. I'm actually kind of worried he's going to have a problem with it." Phoebe staked her claim to her chair again, rejoining the other two girls at the table.
"Really? Do you think he actually wouldn't support it?" Rachel shrugged, looking somewhat legitimately worried.
"No, no, he would. At the end of the day, Daddy knows how much Ross loves me. Maybe what's even more important, he knows how much I love Ross. They might not see eye-to-eye all the time, but he would never try to prevent me from marrying him."
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Back at Joey's apartment, the guys were eating pizza and playing Playstation 2. They were coincidentally also talking about the wedding. Predictably enough, however, they had managed to add their own testosterone-induced spin to the conversation.
"So she gets the wedding and you get the honeymoon?" Joey asked, only half paying attention. His eyes were glued to the TV screen. Ross made a face like this was just now occurring to him.
"Well, we hadn't really talked about it, but that sounds like something I could definitely go for!"
"I'm telling you man, that's the way to play it. If you get to decide, where are you guys going to go?" Joey asked. Ross paused the game at this point in order to gather his own thoughts, but he consequently forced Joey to stop his game, as well.
"I don't know. What do you guys think?" Joey dropped the Playstation controller, throwing Ross a "how obvious is it?" look.
"Come on, DEFINITELY the Bahamas! You have to think practically here, Ross. Hot weather and beaches equals little clothing and lots of indoor activities, if you know what I'm talking about." Chandler chimed in for this one.
"Yeah, man, someplace hot is the only way to go. Remember how Monica and I took that trip to Barbados last year?"
"Okay, so I'm thinking that I don't really want to hear you finish that sentence," Ross offered, disgustedly. He turned to Joey.
"So, really? The Bahamas?" Joey nodded, adding a "definitely" for extra emphasis.
"And remember, dude...We want DETAILS when you get back!" Ross rolled his eyes, getting up and crossing the room to the front door. He walked across the hallway and entered Monica and Chandler's apartment. At his entrance, Rachel quickly rushed over to him with the catalogue in hand.
"Ross! Tell me what you think of this dress! Isn't it perfect!?" He took the magazine from her and gave the dress she was pointing at a good once-over. It WAS beautiful, though he didn't know much about fashion. He put a hand on the small of her back and kissed her forehead in approval.
"Yeah, it's great. You guys are handling all this stuff though, right? I don't have to like try and pretend I know which flower arrangement will look best with the bridesmaid's dresses, do I?" All the girls smiled at his obvious naivety to and near fear of all things "girly".
"No, sweety, we're going to handle all of that. I just wanted to know what you thought." After a pause. "Hey, I was wondering, do you want to be there when I tell my father that we're getting married?" Ross starred at her, blankly.
"Hmm, well, let's see. Would you want to be there when an eighteen wheeler transfer truck slammed into a cement highway median and cascaded down a ravine?"
"Oh, come on, that's not the same thing at all!" Ross held his blank stare.
"Are you sure?" Surprisingly, Rachel took this harshly. She looked legitimately upset, turning away from Ross coldly.
"Fine, don't be there when I tell my father that I'm marrying the love of my life DESPITE his wishes because I KNOW we're meant for each other. No big deal." Feeling badly at his previous sarcasm and levity towards the obvious sensitive subject, and not wishing to stir anything up, he went to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her into an embrace.
"No, I'm sorry, you're right. I'll be there." I can hardly wait, he thought.
End Chapter 6. To Be Continued in Chapter 7.
Author: Kaitlyn
Summary: "I've got some beer and the highway's free, and I got you and baby you got me."
Rating: PG-13
Note: Now that the story will be taking place back in New York, the title may seemingly no longer apply. I suggest that everyone use their less literal mind, though, and look for the metaphorical meaning, now. :-)
**********************************************************************************
The next day, everyone packed up their suitcases and said goodbye to the beautiful palace of a beach house that they'd called home for the past 3 days. After lunch, they piled into the car and made the trip back to Manhattan. Arriving just a little before sunset, they silently understood that they'd probably had enough of one another for one weekend, so they all retired to their separate quarters.
Ross and Rachel arrived back at their apartment and began the long and tedious process of unpacking. More accurately, Rachel began to unpack while Ross merely removed a few items from the bags, got sidetracked, and ended up leaving Rachel to actually put everything in it's place while he watched television or made dinner. The apartment was one big muddle of dirty clothes, half-packed suitcases, and random miscellaneous items that had undoubtedly never really fit in anywhere. Rachel was currently folding a basket of clean clothes while Ross sat on the couch in front of her watching some documentary on the discovery channel. He muted it and turned sideways on the couch to he could see her.
"So, is this what married life's going to be like for us, Rach?" he asked, not even attempting to conceal the huge smile on his face. She cocked an annoyed yet playful eyebrow at him, not pausing her folding.
"If we're lucky. Maybe we'll even make it into the Guinness Book." He looked confused.
"Huh?" She didn't miss a beat or even stop look up.
"Shortest recorded marriage." He chuckled and threw both around her middle, pulling her over the top of the couch and into his arms. This solicited a giggly squeal, but hardly a protest. Instead, she allowed him this opportunity to bask in the newly discovered level of their relationship.
Sitting with his back against the couch's arm, he held her between his legs, her back to his chest. They sat in silence for a moment, feeling and hearing nothing but the pounding of each other's hearts. He slid his hands down the lengths of her arms, stopping at her hands to study her ring-finger. He whispered softy against her ear.
"Do you like it?" She smiled, touched and amused that he would even ask that. She loved how unpredictable their time together was. They could go from laughing and squealing to the most intimate of moments in nanoseconds. A first "I love you" came to mind.
"Of course I do. It's from you."
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The next weekend, the girls congregated in Monica and Chandler's apartment all day, beginning preparations for the wedding. Ross had agreed to let Rachel (and subsequently, Monica and Phoebe) have total control over the ceremony and reception. In his words "I've already done that whole thing once. It's your turn". Plus, deep down, he knew how much it meant to her. He didn't want to take that away, especially when he didn't really care either way.
Rachel pushed an arrant strand of hair back behind her ear that had fallen down from her loose bun, slightly exasperatedly. They'd been going through bridal magazines for early 3 hours, and she hadn't found even one that she'd liked.
"Ugh, why is this so hard? What, did all the good designers like wait for me to announce my engagement before discontinuing their wedding dress lines?" Monica grabbed the book that Rachel had just slammed down on the kitchen table.
"Look, Rach, it's not that bad."
"Oh, that's easy for you to say! You're not the one who's going to have to get married in a halter top and Capri pants just to stay in style with the season!"
"You know, if you went with my suggestion, you wouldn't be having this problem," Phoebe chimed in. Rachel replied with one of her patented 'over the top hand gesticulation' comebacks.
"Oh, will you stop it with the naked wedding? I already walked down the aisle once with my ass hanging out, I'm not going to do it again!"
"Hey, did you see this one?" Monica slid the catalog across the table to Rachel, pointing to a picture in the bottom right corner. Immediately, Rachel's mouth flew open.
"Oh my God, Mon, I can't believe I missed this! It's gorgeous!" She grabbed the book, enthusiastically. It was a strapless Allison Blake dress, with fine pearl beading and made from ivory Thai silk. It was the perfect combination of tradition and style. It was unique but tasteful, and she couldn't help but imagine herself in it.
"And look, it's only $800! God, you know, things sure have changed in the past few years." Phoebe's eyes nearly bugged out of her head.
"$800? Rachel, are you crazy? You don't have that kind of money to spend!" Rachel made a face that could only be described as "duh", turning her attention back to the catalog.
"Of course I don't! That's why it's a good thing I'm not the one paying for the wedding!"
"Oh, that's right. I forgot about 'Daddy' and the tree full of money growing out of his ass. So I guess not THAT much has changed." Phoebe quipped, getting up to put her empty coffee mug in the sink. Rachel just smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, well, let's just hope that tree still decides to drop some of it's money for this wedding once Daddy finds out it's with Ross." Monica offered a disbelieving scoff.
"Oh, come on. Your dad doesn't really hate Ross that much!" Rachel put the catalog down, staring dead-pan at Monica. "...Does he?"
"Well, that's what I always tell Ross...but I don't know. I'm actually kind of worried he's going to have a problem with it." Phoebe staked her claim to her chair again, rejoining the other two girls at the table.
"Really? Do you think he actually wouldn't support it?" Rachel shrugged, looking somewhat legitimately worried.
"No, no, he would. At the end of the day, Daddy knows how much Ross loves me. Maybe what's even more important, he knows how much I love Ross. They might not see eye-to-eye all the time, but he would never try to prevent me from marrying him."
*****************************************************************************
Back at Joey's apartment, the guys were eating pizza and playing Playstation 2. They were coincidentally also talking about the wedding. Predictably enough, however, they had managed to add their own testosterone-induced spin to the conversation.
"So she gets the wedding and you get the honeymoon?" Joey asked, only half paying attention. His eyes were glued to the TV screen. Ross made a face like this was just now occurring to him.
"Well, we hadn't really talked about it, but that sounds like something I could definitely go for!"
"I'm telling you man, that's the way to play it. If you get to decide, where are you guys going to go?" Joey asked. Ross paused the game at this point in order to gather his own thoughts, but he consequently forced Joey to stop his game, as well.
"I don't know. What do you guys think?" Joey dropped the Playstation controller, throwing Ross a "how obvious is it?" look.
"Come on, DEFINITELY the Bahamas! You have to think practically here, Ross. Hot weather and beaches equals little clothing and lots of indoor activities, if you know what I'm talking about." Chandler chimed in for this one.
"Yeah, man, someplace hot is the only way to go. Remember how Monica and I took that trip to Barbados last year?"
"Okay, so I'm thinking that I don't really want to hear you finish that sentence," Ross offered, disgustedly. He turned to Joey.
"So, really? The Bahamas?" Joey nodded, adding a "definitely" for extra emphasis.
"And remember, dude...We want DETAILS when you get back!" Ross rolled his eyes, getting up and crossing the room to the front door. He walked across the hallway and entered Monica and Chandler's apartment. At his entrance, Rachel quickly rushed over to him with the catalogue in hand.
"Ross! Tell me what you think of this dress! Isn't it perfect!?" He took the magazine from her and gave the dress she was pointing at a good once-over. It WAS beautiful, though he didn't know much about fashion. He put a hand on the small of her back and kissed her forehead in approval.
"Yeah, it's great. You guys are handling all this stuff though, right? I don't have to like try and pretend I know which flower arrangement will look best with the bridesmaid's dresses, do I?" All the girls smiled at his obvious naivety to and near fear of all things "girly".
"No, sweety, we're going to handle all of that. I just wanted to know what you thought." After a pause. "Hey, I was wondering, do you want to be there when I tell my father that we're getting married?" Ross starred at her, blankly.
"Hmm, well, let's see. Would you want to be there when an eighteen wheeler transfer truck slammed into a cement highway median and cascaded down a ravine?"
"Oh, come on, that's not the same thing at all!" Ross held his blank stare.
"Are you sure?" Surprisingly, Rachel took this harshly. She looked legitimately upset, turning away from Ross coldly.
"Fine, don't be there when I tell my father that I'm marrying the love of my life DESPITE his wishes because I KNOW we're meant for each other. No big deal." Feeling badly at his previous sarcasm and levity towards the obvious sensitive subject, and not wishing to stir anything up, he went to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her into an embrace.
"No, I'm sorry, you're right. I'll be there." I can hardly wait, he thought.
End Chapter 6. To Be Continued in Chapter 7.
