A/N: Nope, still don't own 'em! They still belong to Bright, Kauffman, Crane, and NBC.
~*~
Chapter One
The next morning was a difficult one for Rachel. Waking up in her bedroom, alone...all of the memories of what they
had together surrounding her like a thick fog. A thick, emotional fog that she couldn't see through. She lay there, staring
at the ceiling, thinking about the past year. What went wrong? Should she have really called that break? Her stomach lurched.
She was going to be sick. She ran into the bathroom and slammed the door.
Despite Monica's insistence that she not go into work, Rachel took a long, hot shower and got dressed. She didn't
put any makeup on, because she knew she would cry it off. A little loose powder and some chapstick were all she required
for the day. She ran a brush through her hair, grabbed her briefcase, and walked out the door to hail a cab.
Entering the office she and Sophie shared, a wave of nausea swept over Rachel. This is where it all started, she
thought to herself. This is when it all started to go downhill. She gently set her briefcase and her purse down on her desk,
then sat down herself and began to check her messages. Sophie looked up at her and Rachel managed a small smile. Sophie frowned,
and after she got off of the phone with her client, she walked over and sat in front of Rachel on her desk.
"God, what happened?" Sophie asked, genuine concern in her voice. Rachel shook her head. Regaling Sophie of the
previous night's events would just send her into an downward emotional spiral and she wouldn't be able to get any work done.
"What do you mean?" Rachel replied, pasting on that fake smile again. It didn't fool Sophie.
"Well, excuse me for being rude, but, you look like hell," Sophie said. "Did someone die?" Not someone, Rachel thought,
something. Rachel shook her head.
"No, not exactly." She fiddled with the speakerphone on her desk, playing back the messages on her voicemail. She sighed.
"It...it's Ross. We kind of...broke up." She took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears from coming. Don't do this, she scolded
herself. It's not worth it, be stronger than this. Sophie placed a comforting hand on Rachel's shoulder.
"God," she said. "I'm - I'm so, so, sorry, Rach. If there's anything I can do.." Rachel nodded and patted Sophie's
hand.
"I'll let you know," she said. She deleted the message from Joanna, saying
she was going to be an hour or so late, and deleted the message from the Ralph Lauren office in LA. Then she heard it. Ross.
She inhaled sharply at the sound of his voice.
"Uh, hi Rach," the message began. "Look, I know we agreed not to talk, but I just, I had to call you, I had to hear
your voice. I.." Rachel couldn't take it any more. She quickly deleted the message and broke down, the tears flowing freely.
Sophie hugged Rachel, trying to comfort her. Rachel's tears soaked Sophie's shirt, as she cried and tried desperately to catch
her breath. Every time she breathed in, she cried harder. Sophie grabbed her briefcase and purse with one hand, and helped Rachel
to the break room with the other. Sitting her down in a chair, Sophie kneeled in front of her friend.
"Rachel, you can't work today," she said. "Not like this. You need to go home." Rachel simply nodded, as she was crying
so hard she couldn't speak. "Is there someone I can call to come get you?" Rachel nodded, took a scrap of paper out of her purse,
and, with a shaky hand, scribbled the name and phone number of one of her friends.
Chandler's intercom on his desk buzzed. He sighed. I've not even been here thirty minutes, he thought, and already
someone's calling me! The intercom buzzed a second time. Aggravated, he slammed his finger down on the button.
"Yes, Helen?" he said, obviously annoyed.
"There's a Sophie on line two for you," came the monotone voice of his secretary. Sophie? he thought. Who's Sophie?
Surely I've not dated a Sophie...Janice...Ginger...nope. No Sophie. He looked over at the phone and saw line two light up.
"Thank you, Helen," he said, releasing his finger from the button. He picked up the phone and pressed the button
for line two. "Chandler Bing."
"Hi, Chandler, this is Sophie," the soft voice on the other end said. "I work with Rachel at Ralph Lauren." At the
mention of Rachel's name, his heart skipped a beat. For three years now, he'd been infatuated with her, though she saw him
as nothing more than a friend. He didn't pursue anything early on, because Ross, his best friend, was in love with her. He
nearly broke down at the sight of her asleep on the couch the previous night, her face tear-stained, her breathing shallow.
Chandler had wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and hold her, to tell her everything would be okay..."Hello?"
Sophie said. "Are you still there?" Chandler shook his head and cleared his throat. Why he was still having these thoughts
of her was beyond him. She was one of his best friends and he should not be thinking of her this way.
"Yes, I'm still here. Is something wrong with Rachel?" he asked, concern in his voice.
"Well, yes," Sophie said. "She came into work today, and told me about what happened between her and Ross last night.
And everything was fine, until she heard a message he had left on her voicemail. She's really upset, so I took her to the
break room and asked her if there was anyone I could call to come get her. She gave me your number." She gave her my number?
Chandler thought, the ghost of a smile on his lips. Out of everyone, she gave my number. Wow. He turned his attention back
to the phone.
"Does she want me to come get her now?" Chandler asked, trying to rid his voice of the sheer joy that last bit of
information he had received.
"Yes," Sophie replied. "She keeps asking me where you are. Are you able to come now?" Chandler nearly jumped out of
his chair, before realizing he was still connected to the phone.
"Uh, yeah, yeah I'll be there in a few minutes. I'm just across the street," Chandler replied. "Tell her I'll be there
as soon as I can."
"Thanks, Chandler. You're a good friend," Sophie said, and hung up. Chandler nearly threw the phone onto its base
before grabbing his jacket and keys and heading out of his office, locking the door behind him.
"Helen, I'm going home for the day, something's come up," he said to his secretary, who simply nodded at him from behind
her magazine. Chandler dashed to the elevators.
Five minutes later, Chandler was on the ground floor of the Ralph Lauren building. He got in the elevator and pressed
the button for the 25th floor, where her office was located. When it got to the 25th floor, he stepped out of the elevator and
took a deep breath, trying to contain himself. He slowly walked into Rachel's office and saw Sophie sitting at her desk, on the
telephone. At the sight of him, she hung up from her call and led him into the break room.
Rachel was sitting at the table, her head in her arms, crying softly. Sophie left Chandler with her, and ran back into
the office, where the phone was ringing off the hook. Quietly, he set his briefcase down on the floor beside the table, pulled
up a chair, and sat down next to her. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Rachel?" he asked. She sniffed, took a breath, and lifted her head, smiling a bit at the sight of her friend. Chandler
lifted his other hand and gently wiped the tears off of her cheek. "You okay?" She scoffed.
"Oh, I'm great," she said. "Just great." She started crying again. Chandler wrapped his arms around her and pulled her
to him, letting her sob into his jacket, the hot tears soaking his collar. He breathed in the scent of her vanilla shampoo, and
pulled her closer, stroking her hair.
"Rachel," he began, "It's going to be okay. I promise. Ross is so not worth all of this grief, you know?" She nodded as
the tears continued to flow. "I'm here for you, if you want to talk about it, or if you just want someone to cry on. You know that?"
She nodded again. Chandler pressed a soft kiss onto the top of her head, then sat back so he could look at her. "You want me
to take you home?" She sniffed and wiped her face.
"No, I can't go home," she said. "Monica told me not to go to work today, and if I show up, looking like this, she'll
rub it in my face, about how she was right." Chandler shook his head.
"She wouldn't do that," he said, knowing full well that Rachel was right.
"Oh, yes she would," Rachel said. "Could, um..could we go back to your place for awhile?"
"Sure, Rach," Chandler said. "Anything you want." Rachel smiled a little.
"Can we stop for ice cream?" Chandler had to laugh.
"Of course," Chandler said, standing up and offering her his hand, pulling her up as well. "What's better for you at
nine in the morning than ice cream?" She bent over to pick up her briefcase and her purse, and let him lead her out of the building
and onto the sidewalk, where he hailed a cab.
~*~
A/N: So I know that that wasn't very good, and certainly not r-rated material, but you'll have to bear with me. That's all I can
ask. Review please, give me some suggestions for the next chapter, when they're at Chandler's apartment... ;)
~*~
Chapter One
The next morning was a difficult one for Rachel. Waking up in her bedroom, alone...all of the memories of what they
had together surrounding her like a thick fog. A thick, emotional fog that she couldn't see through. She lay there, staring
at the ceiling, thinking about the past year. What went wrong? Should she have really called that break? Her stomach lurched.
She was going to be sick. She ran into the bathroom and slammed the door.
Despite Monica's insistence that she not go into work, Rachel took a long, hot shower and got dressed. She didn't
put any makeup on, because she knew she would cry it off. A little loose powder and some chapstick were all she required
for the day. She ran a brush through her hair, grabbed her briefcase, and walked out the door to hail a cab.
Entering the office she and Sophie shared, a wave of nausea swept over Rachel. This is where it all started, she
thought to herself. This is when it all started to go downhill. She gently set her briefcase and her purse down on her desk,
then sat down herself and began to check her messages. Sophie looked up at her and Rachel managed a small smile. Sophie frowned,
and after she got off of the phone with her client, she walked over and sat in front of Rachel on her desk.
"God, what happened?" Sophie asked, genuine concern in her voice. Rachel shook her head. Regaling Sophie of the
previous night's events would just send her into an downward emotional spiral and she wouldn't be able to get any work done.
"What do you mean?" Rachel replied, pasting on that fake smile again. It didn't fool Sophie.
"Well, excuse me for being rude, but, you look like hell," Sophie said. "Did someone die?" Not someone, Rachel thought,
something. Rachel shook her head.
"No, not exactly." She fiddled with the speakerphone on her desk, playing back the messages on her voicemail. She sighed.
"It...it's Ross. We kind of...broke up." She took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears from coming. Don't do this, she scolded
herself. It's not worth it, be stronger than this. Sophie placed a comforting hand on Rachel's shoulder.
"God," she said. "I'm - I'm so, so, sorry, Rach. If there's anything I can do.." Rachel nodded and patted Sophie's
hand.
"I'll let you know," she said. She deleted the message from Joanna, saying
she was going to be an hour or so late, and deleted the message from the Ralph Lauren office in LA. Then she heard it. Ross.
She inhaled sharply at the sound of his voice.
"Uh, hi Rach," the message began. "Look, I know we agreed not to talk, but I just, I had to call you, I had to hear
your voice. I.." Rachel couldn't take it any more. She quickly deleted the message and broke down, the tears flowing freely.
Sophie hugged Rachel, trying to comfort her. Rachel's tears soaked Sophie's shirt, as she cried and tried desperately to catch
her breath. Every time she breathed in, she cried harder. Sophie grabbed her briefcase and purse with one hand, and helped Rachel
to the break room with the other. Sitting her down in a chair, Sophie kneeled in front of her friend.
"Rachel, you can't work today," she said. "Not like this. You need to go home." Rachel simply nodded, as she was crying
so hard she couldn't speak. "Is there someone I can call to come get you?" Rachel nodded, took a scrap of paper out of her purse,
and, with a shaky hand, scribbled the name and phone number of one of her friends.
Chandler's intercom on his desk buzzed. He sighed. I've not even been here thirty minutes, he thought, and already
someone's calling me! The intercom buzzed a second time. Aggravated, he slammed his finger down on the button.
"Yes, Helen?" he said, obviously annoyed.
"There's a Sophie on line two for you," came the monotone voice of his secretary. Sophie? he thought. Who's Sophie?
Surely I've not dated a Sophie...Janice...Ginger...nope. No Sophie. He looked over at the phone and saw line two light up.
"Thank you, Helen," he said, releasing his finger from the button. He picked up the phone and pressed the button
for line two. "Chandler Bing."
"Hi, Chandler, this is Sophie," the soft voice on the other end said. "I work with Rachel at Ralph Lauren." At the
mention of Rachel's name, his heart skipped a beat. For three years now, he'd been infatuated with her, though she saw him
as nothing more than a friend. He didn't pursue anything early on, because Ross, his best friend, was in love with her. He
nearly broke down at the sight of her asleep on the couch the previous night, her face tear-stained, her breathing shallow.
Chandler had wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and hold her, to tell her everything would be okay..."Hello?"
Sophie said. "Are you still there?" Chandler shook his head and cleared his throat. Why he was still having these thoughts
of her was beyond him. She was one of his best friends and he should not be thinking of her this way.
"Yes, I'm still here. Is something wrong with Rachel?" he asked, concern in his voice.
"Well, yes," Sophie said. "She came into work today, and told me about what happened between her and Ross last night.
And everything was fine, until she heard a message he had left on her voicemail. She's really upset, so I took her to the
break room and asked her if there was anyone I could call to come get her. She gave me your number." She gave her my number?
Chandler thought, the ghost of a smile on his lips. Out of everyone, she gave my number. Wow. He turned his attention back
to the phone.
"Does she want me to come get her now?" Chandler asked, trying to rid his voice of the sheer joy that last bit of
information he had received.
"Yes," Sophie replied. "She keeps asking me where you are. Are you able to come now?" Chandler nearly jumped out of
his chair, before realizing he was still connected to the phone.
"Uh, yeah, yeah I'll be there in a few minutes. I'm just across the street," Chandler replied. "Tell her I'll be there
as soon as I can."
"Thanks, Chandler. You're a good friend," Sophie said, and hung up. Chandler nearly threw the phone onto its base
before grabbing his jacket and keys and heading out of his office, locking the door behind him.
"Helen, I'm going home for the day, something's come up," he said to his secretary, who simply nodded at him from behind
her magazine. Chandler dashed to the elevators.
Five minutes later, Chandler was on the ground floor of the Ralph Lauren building. He got in the elevator and pressed
the button for the 25th floor, where her office was located. When it got to the 25th floor, he stepped out of the elevator and
took a deep breath, trying to contain himself. He slowly walked into Rachel's office and saw Sophie sitting at her desk, on the
telephone. At the sight of him, she hung up from her call and led him into the break room.
Rachel was sitting at the table, her head in her arms, crying softly. Sophie left Chandler with her, and ran back into
the office, where the phone was ringing off the hook. Quietly, he set his briefcase down on the floor beside the table, pulled
up a chair, and sat down next to her. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Rachel?" he asked. She sniffed, took a breath, and lifted her head, smiling a bit at the sight of her friend. Chandler
lifted his other hand and gently wiped the tears off of her cheek. "You okay?" She scoffed.
"Oh, I'm great," she said. "Just great." She started crying again. Chandler wrapped his arms around her and pulled her
to him, letting her sob into his jacket, the hot tears soaking his collar. He breathed in the scent of her vanilla shampoo, and
pulled her closer, stroking her hair.
"Rachel," he began, "It's going to be okay. I promise. Ross is so not worth all of this grief, you know?" She nodded as
the tears continued to flow. "I'm here for you, if you want to talk about it, or if you just want someone to cry on. You know that?"
She nodded again. Chandler pressed a soft kiss onto the top of her head, then sat back so he could look at her. "You want me
to take you home?" She sniffed and wiped her face.
"No, I can't go home," she said. "Monica told me not to go to work today, and if I show up, looking like this, she'll
rub it in my face, about how she was right." Chandler shook his head.
"She wouldn't do that," he said, knowing full well that Rachel was right.
"Oh, yes she would," Rachel said. "Could, um..could we go back to your place for awhile?"
"Sure, Rach," Chandler said. "Anything you want." Rachel smiled a little.
"Can we stop for ice cream?" Chandler had to laugh.
"Of course," Chandler said, standing up and offering her his hand, pulling her up as well. "What's better for you at
nine in the morning than ice cream?" She bent over to pick up her briefcase and her purse, and let him lead her out of the building
and onto the sidewalk, where he hailed a cab.
~*~
A/N: So I know that that wasn't very good, and certainly not r-rated material, but you'll have to bear with me. That's all I can
ask. Review please, give me some suggestions for the next chapter, when they're at Chandler's apartment... ;)