Part 9

They talked all night... about the past, present and the future. Ross was reclined on the lounge chair in the gazebo with his arms wrapped around Rachel who was leaning on his chest. They both watched the sky lighten until dawn arrived with their fingers were laced together. Ross occasionally leaned in and kissed her head, while Rachel would look up and give him a peck on the lips. It was as if nothing bad happened within the past 13 years of their relationship... as if they were the only two people in the world, so in love.

Rachel gazed up at Ross with a look of passion. He smiled at her and kissed her nose, "Yeah?"

"Nothing, I'm just checking if you're real."

Ross hugged her tighter.

He smelled the familiar coconut scent of her hair and began kissing her hair until her neck.

Rachel loved that feeling... and Ross knew that. She finally closed her eyes and enjoyed the time being. Although, a few moments later, she sat up and turned to Ross.

"What?" he suddenly asked.

Rachel started to frown, "Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Rach-"

"Yes you do! So technically, you're cheating on her... with me!"

Ross shook his head, "Rach, I broke up with her two days ago. So TECHNICALLY, I'm not cheating on anyone," he smiled.

"You broke up with her already?"

Ross nodded.

"Wow... talk about being prepared!" she joked. After giving him a kiss, she leaned on Ross' chest again and laced her fingers with his. They stayed that way until the sun came up. Neither of them wanted to let go... they wanted that moment to last a lifetime.

Mattie entered Justin's room with a huge grin on his face. Justin, disturbed by his brother who kept on passing by in front of him, began to wonder what was up. "Will you stop?" he said as he paused his video game.

"I know something you don't know!" he teased.

Justin rolled his eyes... his brother was pestering him again. "Let me guess, you have no plans of telling me?"

Mattie shook his head and smiled even more, "I'll give you a clue. My birthday wish was granted!"

Justin began to think... he remembered Mattie bugging him one day about his birthday wish because it never came true, but he didn't pay attention. "Is it something big?" he asked.

"Reeeaaaallllyyy big!" Mattie deepened his voice.

"Did dad buy you something big?"

"Nope!"

"Mom?"

"Nu-uh!"

"Is Emma living with either of our grandparents forever?"

Mattie shook his head and said, "Nah... I'll wish for that on Christmas!"

"Did Gramps Green give you the dog you wanted?"

"Nope. That's my next birthday wish."

Annoyed, Justin resumed his video game.

"Come on!" Mattie complained, "What's the biggest, best thing that can happen that will rock your world?"

"A lot," Justin said, uninterested.

"Fine. What's the biggest, best thing that can happen to you, me and Emma?"

Justin paused his Play Station 2 again. Slowly, he looked at his brother who was waiting for an answer. His eyes grew wider as he asked, "Are mom and dad back together?"

Mattie simply smiled and said, "Yup!"

Justin's reaction was unexplainable.

He looked like he just saw a ghost, his palms were sweating, and his knees were trembling. "Yeah right? How did you know?" he screamed.

"Because daddy was here last night, Anita said so."

Calming down and annoyed, Justin resumed his game, "It doesn't mean that just because dad was here, they're back together!"

"But we weren't here! Dad doesn't come here when mom's left alone."

"They could've talked!"

"About getting back together!" Mattie pushed.

"Get over it, Matt. It's never gonna happen!"

"But it was my birthday wish... I always get my birthday wish."

"Cause mom asks me what they are all the time just so she and dad can give it to you. Unfortunately, this is something they can't give."

Saddened by his brother's remark, Mattie plopped down the bed... "If my wish comes true this time, you better give me your Magic card collection."

"Matt, I'd also give you my new mountain bike if you want," he chuckled.

"But if in five years, they're still separated, then you better buy me the scooter I want!"

Confident with his decision, Mattie stood up and offered his hand, "Deal!"

Accepting his hand, Justin mischievously grinned, "Deal! You are SO gonna lose!"

Meanwhile, Rachel woke up and found Emma at the foot of her bed. "Good morning sweetie," she greeted.

"Mommy, it's already two o'clock," Emma replied, "Aren't we gonna leave yet?"

Rachel rose from the bed, recalling that they had a trip to New York. "What?" she glanced at her watch and saw the time- it was 2:15, they had an hour and 15 minutes to get to the plane.

Taking a commercial flight was her idea, because she didn't want to bother Ross about the jet weeks ago. "Are you packed?"

Emma nodded and jumped off the bed, "Are we still leaving?"

"Yeah honey, go tell your brothers to get ready. Mommy's just gonna change."

Emma excitedly ran out of the room and screamed her brothers' names.

Rachel was panicking... she hadn't packed yet. Immediately, she got the phone and called her assistant. "Hello? Karen, can you please check if there's a later flight to New York this afternoon? Yeah, I just woke up!" Karen placed her on hold. She nervously played with the cord of the phone. "Fully booked? All flights? I don't mind being seated in the economy class..." Rachel waited for her assistant's answer. "Damn, never mind. I don't think I can make it in an hour."

She began to think of an alternative, "Hold on, can you check if there's a pilot available for today?" She was screwed. If she didn't make it to New York that day, she'll never hear the end of it from Sandra. It was Sandra's birthday the next day and they were booked to fly to New York that day since weeks before. "Oh right... No, don't call my mom. If she calls, tell her we're on our way. I'll just- ugh, I'll fly the freaking plane if I have to! Okay, thanks."

Her mobile rang as soon as she closed the phone. "Hello?"

Ross just woke up. He rubbed his eyes while speaking to Rachel, "Hey honey. I just wanna say goodbye!"

Rachel scratched her head and plopped down on the bed, "Hi. I'm still at home! No, I didn't wake up... it leaves in an hour and the rest of the flights are fully booked."

Ross began to chuckle, "Did you forget about it?"

Rachel smiled amidst her frustration, "Yes. Apparently you literally swept me away!"

"Why don't you take the jet?" he waited for her response, "No pilots? Why?"

"Karen said Mortimer's on leave... and James has this policy that you have to inform him at least a day before. But I HAVE to go to New York. Mom probably had the driver wait in the airport since this morning- she's too psyched to see the kids."

"I'll take you there," Ross suggested, finally getting up from the bed.

"What? No honey, it's okay. I'll just take the ship or something! Is there a warp tunnel to New York?"

Ross smiled at Rachel's lame joke, "Get ready. Meet me in the plane in an hour and thirty."

"Ross-"before she could stop him, he hung up on her. Rachel knew Ross' flying lessons would come in handy one day...

"Daddy's coming?" Emma exclaimed on the car ride to the plane's garage.

Rachel looked at her kids and nodded... they were all so excited.

"Is he gonna stay in nana's house?" Mattie asked.

"I don't know sweetie, it's up to him!"

Mattie started nudging Justin, "Ha! I am SO gonna win!" he whispered.

Justin rolled his eyes, refusing to show Mattie how excited he was. It was their first plane ride again altogether. They used to go on trips when Ross and Rachel were still married, and they had so much fun- that was something he missed.

When they arrived, Ross was already in the plane. He was dressed in a pilot's uniform, trying to mock Rachel. His idea worked because his appearance was definitely a turn on. Rachel couldn't remove her eyes off him while they were boarding the plane.

"All set?" he asked, looking at them from the cockpit.

It was a luxurious jet... they had sofas and a mini bar in the middle. The kids occupied the seats in front of the television- they were thrilled and couldn't wait for their favorite movie to play- 'Finding Nemo'. Anita and one of Rachel's personal assistants, Grace, sat behind them. Ross had no choice but to ask Rachel to be his co-captain... not that he was against the idea of being with her... she just had no knowledge on flying.

He closed the door of the cockpit after getting a thumbs-up sign from his children, and Rachel still couldn't stop staring at him.

"What?" he asked, finally noticing her gaze.

"Nothing," she replied.

Ross smiled and kissed her cheek.

Rachel froze as she felt the plane move, "Ross, are you sure you know how to fly this alone?"

"Rachel, I've been flying this thing by myself for more than two years. I wouldn't suggest it if I couldn't." he replied.

She smiled and said, "Okay, okay. Thanks honey." She then resumed fantasizing over her pilot.

Rachel never realized how essential the 'auto-pilot' mode was in an airplane until that day. Ross focused on the skies but his lips remained glued to Rachel's. It was a long flight, but neither of them realized that until Emma came in complaining about her brothers.

"Stop!" she immediately backed away when she heard a knock from the door.

Ross opened it and found Emma in tears, "What's wrong sweetie?"

"Mattie and Justin don't wanna watch Barbie Swanlake. It's unfair- they each watched their favorite movies already!"

Rachel sat Emma on her lap, "It's okay."

"No it's not," she sighed, "Are we there yet? I'm hungry!"

"Ems, Anita brought food," Rachel tucked her daughter's hair behind her ears.

"They finished it already. And they don't want to share with me the last bag of Doritos!"

Ross and Rachel looked at each other. Rachel stood up and accompanied her daughter to the passengers' seats. Justin and Mattie were busy watching Star Wars, a movie Emma despised.

"Hey guys, would you like to share the last bag of Doritos with Emma?" she asked.

Justin raised the empty bag of Doritos, "All done!"

"Mom!" Emma cried in exasperation, being the only girl wasn't easy at all.

"Are we near yet?" Mattie asked.

"I suppose, give it another hour or so."

By then, Emma was throwing a tantrum... she was hungry, pissed off and tired. Luckily, Rachel found the very last bag of chips behind a few bags to calm her down. "Okay Jus and Matt, this bag is for Emma and I don't care if she doesn't share it with the both of you."

After a taxing hour, the plane finally landed. It was late already, and they were all exhausted.

"Honey, are you staying over?" Rachel asked, while Ross was configuring the controls of the plane.

Ross thought about that the whole time... should he join Rachel and her family? Or should he go back to Los Angeles? He decided the latter since it was too early in their relationship for him to take chances of spending a vacation with Rachel. "I think I should head back."

She understood his decision, but his kids would certainly be upset by that... and besides, it was too late for him to fly back. "Oh... can you at least spend the night? It's 11pm. Are you taking a commercial flight?"

Ross nodded, "I'll just have someone sent to take you guys home."

"Stay for a night," she pleaded.

"Honey, I'd love to but..."

"Okay, no physical contact or whatsoever, I promise! You don't even have to look at me. If you don't want to talk to me, it's fine. Just stay because you're too tired!"

No, they were not just talking about sex- that hardly entered his mind... he didn't want to spoil anything so they made it clear that they would wait... but a mere kiss can send him flying to the moon... and he was scared one thing might lead to another. He finally agreed to her request, but he made it clear that he'd be out as soon as he woke up the next day.

On the other hand, Rachel was very grateful to have Ross around... he always made sure security was tight wherever they were. There were bodyguards surrounding the private airport as soon as they landed. He didn't want them and their kids to be smothered with camera flashes... and he definitely didn't want to deal with the rumors that would spring from those pictures.

Sandra was surprised to see Ross with them. She used to loathe the guy for what he did to Rachel, but after hearing her daughter's cries, she kept advising her to get back together with him. Unfortunately, Rachel told her they were just friends... they didn't want anyone to know... not just yet.

"Ross, why don't you stay for the weekend? There's a party tomorrow, I'm sure Amy and Jill would love to see you around once more."

Ross politely smiled, "I'd love to but I've got a lot to do."

Emma, half-asleep in his father's arms, hugged him tight and whispered, "stay daddy."

"I'll see you in LA, baby. You'll be with me when mommy leaves," he comfortingly replied.

"But, but that's still long," she complained, "I want you to be with us now."

Rachel sadly looked at Ross.

Behind them, Mattie and Justin were contemplating with the issue themselves. "See? They're not back together!" Justin quietly commented.

Mattie was losing hope; he had the whole thing planned when he thought Ross was gonna be with them. He figured, if his dad and his mom spent a little more 'alone time' together, he might win his bet and inherit the collector's cards he'd been bugging his brother about for the past year.

After tucking the kids to bed, Rachel passed by the guestroom Ross was in. "Hi!" she greeted, spotting him emerging form the bathroom wearing his boxers.

"Hey! Bear with me, I only brought a set of extra clothes... and this is all I have for sleeping," he smiled.

Rachel looked around and immediately shut the door behind her. Her old room was a corridor away, and she figured, she might as well bid him goodnight before traveling that far. "I don't mind," she jokingly said, checking him out from head to toe.

Ross approached her and whispered, "No physical contact- that was our deal."

Rachel pouted and gazed up at him, "I went here for a goodnight kiss... is that part of the deal?"

He nodded his head, grabbing the robe on the armchair to cover himself, "Yeah."

"Fine," she replied.

Ross could see her baby doll nighties underneath the silk robe she was wearing, but he had to fight that drastic temptation. "This is torture," he commented.

"Then I should go," moving from her position. Ross grabbed her hand and made her stop, "Wait."

Rachel grinned at him; she knew he couldn't resist it. "Celibacy isn't funny," he seriously remarked.

"Yeah but remember what we talked about? The longer we hold out, the better. It's part of not 'rushing into things?'"

"If I kiss you, do you promise to leave right away so that I won't have to deal with its punishment after?" he asked.

Rachel smiled and hugged him; "Okay..."

He embraced her tight, kissed her forehead, her nose, and then finally her lips. She felt his warm body pressed against hers and his soft lips lingering all over her face. She enjoyed it, and her body was aching for more... she hadn't had sex since they broke up, and her hormones were driving her crazy.

Ross slowly moved from her lips, to her chin then down to her neck- the place where Rachel losses control over her mind. Upon hearing her deep breaths, Ross stopped. "See? This is why we shouldn't engage in any physical contact. We're not even making out yet," he said.

Rachel had a desperate look on her face; she didn't think she wouldn't be able to take it. "Ugh! Damn, this is hard," she revealed. "Goodnight?"

Ross laughed at her; she was trying her best not to lose it. He was fortunate not to be in the same state as Rachel, if not, he could've lost it too. "Goodnight," he said kissing her on the lips. Rachel didn't want to break the kiss, but before things got hotter, Ross did. "I love you," he said before closing the door.

"I love you too," she replied, blowing him a kiss.

The next day, Ross left before he could even say goodbye to his family.

"So far, so good!" Ross responded to his curious friend.

Joey missed his bachelor buddy, he was thankful Rachel was out of the country to film. Ross felt the complete opposite; he missed her badly. He wanted to visit her many times, but they both avoided another bunch of rumors to deal with. For them, people who were never out of the limelight, out-of-this world issues were frequent dilemmas... monthly, if not weekly- their names were in tabloids connected to such horrendous rumors.

"How long have you been dating?"

"Almost 6 months."

"Have you slept together?" his mischievously grinned.

"Joe, I will not discuss my sex life with you."

"Why not? We do that all the time!"

"It's different now, I'm with Rachel."

Joey nodded, "You haven't slept with her yet, have you?"

"Joe, I told you-" finally giving up, "Okay no we haven't slept together and it's killing me! I'm as cold as ice now."

"I knew it!" Joey exclaimed, "You're too agitated to seem like a person with an active sex life."

Ross shot him a look, "Thanks Joe. The thing is... when I'm with her, I get all worked up. Sometimes I don't even know why we're considering not having sex for as long as we could!"

"Maybe she doesn't fancy you that way."

"Oh believe me, she gets more worked up than I do. I just have to be the strong man, you know?"

"No I don't," Joey simply said.

"Not to have sex with the woman you love? That's torture!"

"Not to have sex at all? Now THAT'S torture!" Joey corrected Ross.

"Can you PLEASE change the topic?" Chandler commented, looking up from the television. They forgot he was with them... apparently, his wife caught him smoking and punished him for 3 weeks of no sex.

"Sorry Chan!" Ross exclaimed.

Rachel's been filming for over a month. Despite her rare visits back home, she hasn't seen Ross and barely heard from him because of her tight schedule. This time, she felt good about everything. Her inhibitions and insecurities were gone. 'Maybe taking things slow really does work,' she thought. To her surprise, she didn't even bother asking Ross where he was and whom he was with.

"Hi honey, I'll be home in a few days!" she gladly said on the phone and listened to his voice, "Yeah, I'm actually done already. There's no flight available until then. No airline can hold our reservation now, we're too many. They don't want me to leave ahead either!" She wrinkled her forehead as Ross mentioned the word 'surprise,' "What? Which window? Okay, hold on."

She opened the curtains and confusedly looked out the window, "What balloon? Where? How would you know!"

She searched for a big balloon amidst the crowd below her hotel. Suddenly, she saw a big red balloon being held by a man in black, "Wait- how did you know there was a balloon downstairs? Yes it was red! You're freaking me out Ross! Did you hire him? Are there cameras outside trying to get a scoop in here? Am I on TV?"

A knock from the door…

"Hold on, there's someone at the door." With that, she approached the door caution because she was alone... her assistant left her to go shopping... besides, Hong Kong had great things to shop for. She asked, "Who is it?"

"Room service," the man said. "Madam, your friend wanted me to personally deliver this to you," he added.

Rachel peeked through the hole and opened the door to a bellboy holding a package.

"He said it had something important inside and that it is important that I give it to you."

Rachel accepted the package. She knew the bellboy, he assisted them all throughout their stay. She closed the door and talked to Ross again, "I have a package. N o, it came from someone I can trust so I'm sure it's not bad. Okay, I'll open it to check."

She opened the package, only to find a thick envelop inside. "It's an envelope. Honey, it's too thick to be a check, and too thin to be cash!" she joked. She got a knife and unsealed the thick brown envelope... but before she could look at its contents, she heard the doorbell again. "Honey, hold on. The guy must've forgotten to make me sign this package... or something"

"Who is it?" she asked the door.

"Madam, you have another package here. I think it came with that."

She began emptying the contents of the envelope before opening the door and found two plane tickets. Even more confused, she considered accepting the other package first hoping to find a clue from whom they were. She turned the knob and found a different man in black behind the door, holding a cell phone... it was Ross, with a red balloon on his hand and a dozen of white lilies on the other.

Rachel was in shock, she didn't expect him to come at all.

"What- What are you doing here?" she managed to say.

"And hello to you too," he sarcastically replied.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't expect and- and-"she began to cry.

"Hey." Ross smiled, "come here, I missed you." They hugged for the longest time upon closing the door.

"Seriously, what are you doing here?" she tearfully asked.

"I haven't seen you in a month. And besides, I wanted to surprise you for our sixth month anniversary!"

Rachel hugely grinned at him and kissed him on the lips. "Wow..."

"So, are you ready to come home with me?"

"That's what the tickets are for?"

"Yeah..."

She finally opened it and read its contents, "Honey, I can't leave tomorrow. I told you, they want me to leave with them in case we've got some scenes to shoot-"

"I handled that. You're free to go!" he said.

Rachel smiled and kissed him once more, "You're too good to be true!"

He released the balloon and laid down the lilies on the counter. He began his usual way of kissing... he started kissing her head, her nose, and then her lips. But before she could respond, he backed away, "Okay, I don't wanna go through this again. It's painful, you know!"

Rachel smiled at him and ran her hands on his chest, "It would be unfair if I don't reward you for your surprise, Ross…" and teasingly smiled, "But if you prefer that we don't, then that's fine with me."

Ross shot her a look. He immediately grabbed her face and kissed her on the lips. He longed for it, and so did she. Finally, after 6 months of controlling their passion and intimacy, no bars were holding them back. Rachel closed her eyes as she felt Ross' lips tingling her neck. She couldn't help it- it was a highly charged erogenous point in her body. He guided his hands from her neck, to her arms, to her back, then down to her behind... he sent Rachel to cloud 9... He moved from her neck down to her chest, while Rachel kept her eyes closed, savoring the moment.

She couldn't take it, even that act was making her climax. She gazed at him and whispered, "Honey, please stop teasing me. Let's just go to the room."

And with that, he smiled and carried her to the bedroom...

"Come here!" Mattie pulled Justin and went down the stairs. They sneaked through some bushes of their vast garden and quietly tiptoed to the gazebo. Justin couldn't believe his eyes; his parents were together, asleep beside each other. Just like before, Ross reclined on the lounge chair and Rachel leaned on his chest with their fingers were entwined.

"How did you know they were here?" Justin whispered.

"I was looking for my rabbit... theeen I saw them. Should we wake them up?" asked he.

Justin shook his head, "I don't think so!"

They both smiled at the sight of their parents, yet it seemed like a fairytale to them. It was something impossible... they wanted to believe what they saw but they were scared it wouldn't be what it looked like.

Justin couldn't blink, 'maybe it's a figment of my imagination. It might disappear if I close my eyes,' he thought.

Mattie was happy, and even happier cause he won the bet. And still, they couldn't contain themselves, but were afraid to move. Finally, after admiring the scene, they happily left.

An hour later, Rachel woke up and by then, the sun was brightly shining. She looked around and saw Ross hugging her from behind. She turned around, caressed his face and kissed him on the lips. Seeing no reaction from him, she began to plant many small kisses around his face. Ross felt Rachel's lips roaming around his face and gently opened his eyes. He found Rachel gazing at him.

"Hmmmm..." he groaned.

Rachel smiled but frowned when she felt something on the edge of the couch... it was a picture, a picture that wasn't there the night before. She sat up and took a look... it was a Polaroid of them asleep just moments before... her eyes grew wide.

"What?" Ross asked.

"They know!" she exclaimed.