Epilogue
"Ooooh, I'm excited about the next interview," Oprah commented as she giddily smiled in front of the camera. "I thought this opportunity would be impossible, but it's not!" she said, making the audience chuckle. "Okay... We've watched our next guests for the past 15 years. Their lives became a source of entertainment because of fame and fortune. We've seen them together and apart... but what amazes me is the friendship made them survive all those years... here are two of America's most loved celebrities- Ross Geller and Rachel Green!"
Ross came in holding Rachel's hand, wearing a brown long sleeved shirt with denim jeans; while Rachel wore khaki pants and a figure-hugging top. Both looked amazingly gorgeous, and the audience shouted and screamed their names... all they could do were to smile and wave at them. Oprah gave them both kisses on their cheeks and ushered them to the couch. They waited a while for the audience to settle and be quiet.
"Shhhh…" Oprah joked, putting her index finger on her mouth. She finally turned to the glamorous couple beside her and began, "How are you Ross?"
"I've been okay, so far." Ross replied, smiling from ear to ear.
"It's a very rare opportunity to actually have them both here," she said to the audience and turned back to Rachel, "What about you, Rachel? How have you been?"
"Good," she said, smiling as well.
"Okay, you two better stop smiling. For those of you who don't know, Ross and Rachel just came from their honeymoon- I'm sorry, their SECOND honeymoon." The audience cheered in excitement. "Years ago, I interviewed Ross and asked him about his first year of marriage... Take a look at this," Oprah said, pointing to the screen behind her.
A much younger Ross is seen in the screen with a much younger Oprah in front of him.
"Ross Geller, you are actually married… a few years ago, I remember seeing you in those teen movies." Ross chuckled. "But I certainly enjoyed your last epic film with Johnny Depp. So how is married life with Rachel Green so far? How long has it been?"
Ross crossed his legs and grinned, "A year and a half. It's been perfect... Everyday, I wake up and find Rachel next to me and I can't thank God enough for that."
"Aw," Oprah replied. "Do you have plans of having kids yet?"
"There's no rush, actually."
"Are you still in that honeymoon stage? You know, getting to 'know' each other...?"
Ross hugely grinned then nodded, "I guess you can say 'honeymoon stage.' Just thinking about it makes me wanna go home!" Ross' smitten answer made the audience roar with laughter and applause.
Paused.
"That was a very straight-forward answer!" Oprah commented after watching the past interview.
"I know!" Rachel added, blushing as well.
"I'll ask you again, Ross- how is it being married to Rachel again so far?" Ross longingly looked at his wife who was waiting for an answer, "I still can't thank God enough for rewarding her to me."
Touched with his sweet words, Rachel smiled and squeezed his hand.
"Do you wanna go home now?" Oprah joked and the audience roared with laughter. Oprah then faced the camera and announced, "We'll be pausing for a short break but when we get back, I'll be asking them how they ended up marrying each other, the second time around."
Ross and Rachel smiled at each other... Oprah began a low-keyed conversation with them while waiting for the director's cue that they were on-air again.
"We're on in five! Four! Three! Two!" and the director silently motioned 'one.'
"Welcome back! I'm here with the 'golden couple,' Ross and Rachel. You both have to answer this question, how did this happen? The last time I interviewed Rachel was I think, three years ago and this was what she said," and pointed again to the screen.
Rachel was seated on the same couch on the screen, yet she looked a bit more haggard and stressed.
"Everything that happened to me is basically part of life and it's inevitable... and I learned a lot- one is that not everything will turn out as planned. Another is that, love is not the only requirement in a relationship- there's trust, friendship, patience, understanding, and a whole lot of other stuff."
"Have you regretted anything?"
"No- not at all... if things didn't turn out this way, then I wouldn't have my kids. And besides, Ross and I are good friends now. He's always there when the kids need him- and there's nothing more I would want than that."
Paused.
"Okay- that was so long ago!" Rachel commented.
"You said that there was nothing more you would want than Ross being there for the kids. Now how did your mentality simply change to there's nothing more you would want than Ross being there for YOU and the kids?"
Ross and Rachel laughed, accompanied by the audience.
"I never really left Rachel alone," Ross began, "She and my kids were my number one priority."
"Is it true you never seriously dated anyone?"
Ross smiled and looked at Rachel. Rachel smiled back at him replied, "Yeah he didn't... I think everything just fell into place. We never really realized how we still felt for each other after our separation, then one day, it just surfaced."
"How did you keep everything from everyone else? I, for one, had no idea that you two were getting back together until I saw some photos of you together in Italy- I think almost a year ago?"
"We had tons of escape routes, disguises and switch of plans. It wasn't easy," Rachel replied.
"I guess after living with the public for years, you learn techniques to avoid them just so you can live your life?" Ross added.
"Very true!" Oprah said, "Especially now- you two are always in the tabloids!"
"I know- it's like we have an ever- watchful eye following us!" Rachel remarked.
"How are your kids handling it?"
"They hate it, but they're learning!" she replied.
"What's the most ridiculous rumor you've heard about yourself? Ross?"
"The worst would be... Ah- there was this headliner that Rach and I separated because I was gay and I had an affair with my brother-in-law cause there were pictures of us hugging. Then in that same issue, they had my picture with a fan and the article was entitled, 'The truth about Ross and Rachel's break-up: Confessions of Roberta.' Wasn't that weird?" They laughed.
"What about you, Rachel?" Oprah asked.
"I've had a lot! I remember reading this article back when Ross and I were still dating that my nose was fake… But the worst ever would be this issue that said two of my kids weren't Ross' and they had this whole sequencing of events to prove that they weren't and it was complete nonsense!"
"How do you handle them now?"
"We've had our share of absurd fights over them. As much as possible, we try to ignore them," Rachel answered. "It's hard though, and Ross and I can attest to that!"
"People forget sometimes that we're real people too, living our lives like every person in this planet. We have feelings. And like every relationship, we have our ups and downs- not like a fairytale with a happy ending all the time," Ross said.
"And what sucks is that they want us to be together when we're apart- and apart when we're together. I mean, make up your minds!" Rachel added.
"I remember you saying that it's hard living in the fishbowl," Oprah said to Ross.
He nodded and replied, "It still is very hard. We just love our jobs too much!"
Oprah turned to the camera, "We'll be right back!"
After a few minutes or so of having a quiet conversation which amused the audience, Oprah turned back to the camera, "We're back," then to Ross and Rachel, "Rachel, what was the sweetest thing Ross had ever said to you?"
"Oh, Ross has a way with words," Rachel replied, "I can't just limit it to one… the way he says 'I love you' already sends chills down my spine. I mean, he has this look and I just melt!"
"How do you say 'I love you?'" Oprah asked Ross.
The audience was going wild. They couldn't contain themselves- they were clapping, shouting and laughing.
"'I love you?'" he said in an upbeat tone, laughing as well.
"Seriously?"
"I can't do it here!" he snickered.
Oprah smiled and turned to Ross, "Okay never mind. And you, Ross- any sweet words from Rachel?"
"Her vow," he replied.
"What was her vow?"
"On our second one wedding," he laughed, "all she said was 'Ross, I love you and... I forgive you.'"
"That was it?" Oprah asked.
"That was all I needed and had been waiting for!" Ross replied.
"Awwww! You DO have a way with words!" Oprah said, gaining cheers from the audience, "You two got married secretly, months after you started dating..."
"Actually, it was more than a year- we kept our relationship for several months," Rachel revealed.
"Wow! How did your kids react when they found out?"
"They were shocked and happy... but they were very scared! They didn't want to go through the pain of separation again." Ross replied.
"How did you convince them that everything would be okay?"
"Well, we couldn't promise them that everything would be okay... we just promised that we would try our best for everything to be okay," he added.
"How did Ross propose to you? I heard it was in Paris? Am I right?"
Rachel grinned then began, "He had this whole thing prepared in the Eiffel Tower, and it surprised me because we were only there for two days. Then after we had dinner, he took me to the top."
"I had a violinist play one of our wedding songs," Ross added.
"What song was that?" Oprah asked.
"All I ask of You' from Phantom of the Opera."
"I love that song!" Oprah cooed on Ross' reply, "Go on, tell me more!"
"Then he asked me to marry him!" Rachel continued.
"it's like a movie! Did you say yes right away?"
"No she didn't," Ross replied, "And she had to see me cry. She shook her head and told me it was too soon, and that she wasn't sure about things... after seeing me cry, she took it back and told me it was just a joke!"
"I wanted to know what he'd do if I said 'no,' and when he started crying, I knew it was a bad joke!" the couple explained with enthusiasm.
Oprah laughed along with the crowd; then she looked at the camera again, "We'll pause for a break, and when we get back- we'll know how different love is the second time around!"
After a brief pause, they continued with the interview. "So, how is it different this time around? Can you actually tell it's different from before?"
"One thing I can point out is that Ross and I changed as persons. We make time for each other now, and lessened our work load."
"Is that why you decided to just have a recurring guest role in your sitcom?"
Rachel nodded, "One of the reasons why..."
"What about you, Ross? After grabbing that Oscar in your last movie, you seem to have stopped your continuous movie productions. Do you have plans of stepping out of the limelight?"
Ross shook his head, "I'm actually directing now- I'm taking things one step at a time."
"Is there more trust now in your relationship?"
"I'd say so," Rachel chuckled.
"You know what, before we end this lovely interview, I just want to say that I'm left amazed here how you two were able to work things out because it's not really common for separated people to decide one day that they still love each other and reconcile... especially for you both- with all the media, the tabloids, paparazzi, everything!"
Ross looked at Rachel then at Oprah, "If you know you can make it work, then you'd do anything to make it work... even though it seems impossible. What happened between us was a very important in our relationship. It enabled us to grow individually, and realize what it takes to make it last. We learned a lot!"
Oprah stared at him, astonished, "You two have perfectly defined the true meaning of being the Golden Couple."
Ross and Rachel looked at each other and smiled.
"Ross and Rachel, thank you very much for..."
Then the screen turned black.
Ross, laid on the bed, turned off the television. He looked at Rachel, who was leaning on his chest, and kissed the top of her head.
Rachel smiled and looked up at him, "So, have we defined the true meaning of being the 'Golden Couple?'"
Sweetly, Ross cupped her face and leaned in for a passionate kiss, "I don't know... but we surely proved to them what gold is made of!"
Rachel grinned and leaned in for another kiss. Ross slowly turned her over, him being on top of her, and began kissing her from the lips down to her neck. Rachel moaned and smiled while enjoying her husband's way of pleasing her.
"I love you," she whispered while nibbling on his ear lobe.
Ross paused and smirked at her... his stomach was filled with butterflies and she never failed to make him feel that way. "I love you too," he simply replied.
Once more, their lips touched... things were getting hotter and hotter until...
"Mommy? Daddy?"
From behind the door, faint footsteps can be heard. Ross stopped what he was doing and had a look of dissatisfaction.
He looked at Rachel who couldn't help but giggle and said, "And you wanted four?"
Ross gave her a long, passionate kiss, which left her breathless and aching for more, and stood up.
Rachel, with an annoyed look on her face, said to him, "You are so unfair!"
Ross mischievously grinned and slowly opened the door. Emma, Justin and Mattie stood along with their pillows and a DVD of Shrek 2. "Can we sleep here?" Emma politely asked.
Ross looked back at Rachel, who sat up and nodded, and said, "Sure honey."
The three kids ran to the big bed and situated themselves beside Rachel, leaving a small space for Ross at the side. Ross plugged in the DVD and forced himself to fit on the bed. Altogether as one family, they happily watched the movie...
THE END!