Rachel entered the fifth floor waiting room to find the rest of the gang,
Mike, and the twins the only other occupants.
"Hi," she said breathlessly. "How is he? Please tell me, I thought I was going to have a heart attack on the way over."
"Oh my God, Rach, what are you doing here? And how did you find out we were here?" Phoebe exclaimed, ignoring the question.
Rachel sat down by her and tried to catch her breath.
"Okay, let me explain. I know y'all probably know about what happened and think me horrible and selfish at the moment, and don't worry if you do, I feel the same way right now. Anyways, almost immediately before take-off, I realized I could never survive a six-hour flight overseas without resolving this. It wasn't until I got off the plane and you guys were already gone that I comprehended how much I've always loved Ross, and never stopped. I felt so awful, and called, but he didn't pick up. When I got home, he wasn't there and then I called Mon and Chandler's place, and when again no one picked up, I thought it was strange, so I went over and found the note you left for Pheebs and Mike. I feel so guilty, and I need to see him, is he gonna be okay?"
Everyone looked at one another, and then back at Rachel.
"What? Guys, you're scaring me, please say something."
Finally, Chandler cleared his throat. "Rach, Ross was run over by a bus and hit so hard, they were sure he may never wake up. But he regained consciousness just as we got here, and they're doing a CAT scan on him right now, which is why we're not in there with him at the moment."
"Oh, thank God. But why'd they have to do a CAT scan?"
"Because he has amnesia," Monica replied. "And they want to find out the extent of its severeness."
Rachel gasped. "Oh my God, this is all my fault, isn't it?"
"No, Rachel, it's not, but I'm not going to lie, he took it really bad." Phoebe said.
"How bad?" She asked, feeling the guilt expand within her.
"He cried the whole way home, and immediately went to his apartment when he got home. He must have left sometime after."
"Oh, on, I feel so awful. If only I had called earlier then he would have picked up and none of this would have happened. And now he's hurt physically too..." A nauseating thought suddenly occurred to her. "Oh my God, he has amnesia. He's not going to remember tonight, is he?"
"Most likely not," Monica affirmed, shaking her head.
"Should I tell him anyway?"
"No, Rach, we don't know what he'll remember and have forgotten. All we can do tonight is be there for him. Hopefully-and these are the doctor's words-he will recall older memories first, and then more recent memories, until almost all memory is recovered." Joey stated.
"Oh, I hope so. I love him so much, I don't know what I would have done if...if..." she couldn't finish the sentence.
"Let's not think that way," Mike quickly put in. Everyone nodded and muttered in agreement.
Just then, a white-coated doctor emerged, walking toward the group. On instinct Rachel stood up and approached him.
"Are you Ross Geller's doctor?" she asked in a panicky voice.
"Yes I am," he replied, reaching out his hand. "Doctor Reynolds."
Tentatively, Rachel shook his hand, a little harder than she meant to. "Is he okay? Please tell me, is his amnesia bad?"
"Well, I asked him some questions. He knows his full name, address, phone number, and family members, which is a good sign. However, when I asked him what year it was, he said 1999, and he thinks he's still thirty. I think it would be less threatening if you people, as his friends, confronted him. He doesn't know anything yet, so I suggest you be gentle."
Rachel nodded, swallowing hard. "Can we see him now?"
Dr. Reynolds nodded. "Yea, he's actually in the third room on the right."
"Thank you, Dr. Reynolds, again," Rachel heard Monica say. She felt her friends' hand on her shoulder.
"Maybe one of us should go at first. It can't be easy to hear devastating news with an audience." Monica suggested
"That's a good idea," Joey agreed, and immediately stared at Rachel, along with everyone else. Rachel began to feel extremely uneasy.
"I don't know," she said nervously. "I'm not great at confrontation likes these, and what if I say the wrong thing and hurt him all over again?"
"Rachel," Monica said gently. "You love him, don't you?" Rachel nodded, shocked that she would think otherwise. "Then the best way to let him know is by being there for him from the very start. Pretty soon, he'll already know and you won't have to convince him. You'll do fine."
Rachel nodded, but was still unsure. "You're right, of course. But I feel bad, because you're his sister, and you're not so madly in love with him that you can't see straight at the moment."
"No, it's okay. Go, I trust you," Monica replied, nudging her friends toward the door. She gave the gang a brief weak smile, and walked down the hallway.
Rachel paused at Ross' door, took a deep breath, and then cautiously turned the knob. She saw Ross laying in the bed, his eyes closed. Wondering if he was asleep, she quietly approached his bedside, and gently touched his shoulder.
"Ross?" she whispered softly. He flinched at her touch and then opened his eyes, smiling weakly at her. She smiled back, but her insides quivered. He really didn't remember.
"Hey you. How are you feeling?" Rachel moved her hand from his shoulder and slipped it into his.
He shrugged. "Like a bus ran over me. And I don't remember being brought here."
The irony of his statement caused the hairs on Rachel's skin to rise. "How does your head feel?" she asked, speculating the best way to approach the truth of the situation.
"Fine now, because they pumped me full of pain medication. I'm hoping it lasts long." Suddenly he became upset. "Rach, have they told you what's really wrong with me? I woke up with the worst hell of a headache, and they didn't even give me a reason for performing a CAT scan on me. All my doctor said was that it was a head injury from getting hit by a bus. But I feel like they know something more and aren't telling me."
Rachel gulped. She hadn't seen this coming. She took a deep breath and then placed her other hand on theirs', squeezing his comfortingly.
"Honey, I do. And you deserve to know, so I'm just going to come out and say this." And she was about to, but no words came out, she just stared into Ross' eyes, which were full of childlike panic and question.
"Rach?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. This is just hard. I've never been good at confrontations like these." She apologized.
"Okay, now you're really scaring me,"
She took a deep breath. "Honey, you were hit so hard by the bus, that you lost some of your memory." She felt his hand tremble, and she squeezed it harder.
"You mean, I have amnesia?" He asked, sounding confused and scared.
The vulnerable pain in his voice tugged at Rachel's heartstrings. "Yes, I'm so sorry, sweetie. But don't worry, your memory will most likely come back, and you won't be alone at all along the way." Rachel quickly said, feeling helpless as she looked at him, unsure of how else to comfort him.
Ross was staring off into space, his dark eyes slowly filling with tears. The fact that this was the second time she was making him cry in one night made Rachel feel remorseful all over again.
"Oh, sweetie, come here," she whispered, sliding her arms around him and enfolding him in a hug. "Shh, it's going to be all right."
"How can you say that?" he asked through sobs. "I'm in a completely different age from the rest of you, and I don't even remember how I got here. What year is it even?"
"It's 2004."
"Oh my god," he said, starting to cry harder. "that's five years from what I think it is. Why did this happen to me? I've lost five years of my life, and I don't know when or if it's ever going to come back."
"Oh, sweetie, I know. I know this is hard, and you didn't deserve this. But I'll be here for you, I promise, you're not alone." Rachel whispered.
"Hi," she said breathlessly. "How is he? Please tell me, I thought I was going to have a heart attack on the way over."
"Oh my God, Rach, what are you doing here? And how did you find out we were here?" Phoebe exclaimed, ignoring the question.
Rachel sat down by her and tried to catch her breath.
"Okay, let me explain. I know y'all probably know about what happened and think me horrible and selfish at the moment, and don't worry if you do, I feel the same way right now. Anyways, almost immediately before take-off, I realized I could never survive a six-hour flight overseas without resolving this. It wasn't until I got off the plane and you guys were already gone that I comprehended how much I've always loved Ross, and never stopped. I felt so awful, and called, but he didn't pick up. When I got home, he wasn't there and then I called Mon and Chandler's place, and when again no one picked up, I thought it was strange, so I went over and found the note you left for Pheebs and Mike. I feel so guilty, and I need to see him, is he gonna be okay?"
Everyone looked at one another, and then back at Rachel.
"What? Guys, you're scaring me, please say something."
Finally, Chandler cleared his throat. "Rach, Ross was run over by a bus and hit so hard, they were sure he may never wake up. But he regained consciousness just as we got here, and they're doing a CAT scan on him right now, which is why we're not in there with him at the moment."
"Oh, thank God. But why'd they have to do a CAT scan?"
"Because he has amnesia," Monica replied. "And they want to find out the extent of its severeness."
Rachel gasped. "Oh my God, this is all my fault, isn't it?"
"No, Rachel, it's not, but I'm not going to lie, he took it really bad." Phoebe said.
"How bad?" She asked, feeling the guilt expand within her.
"He cried the whole way home, and immediately went to his apartment when he got home. He must have left sometime after."
"Oh, on, I feel so awful. If only I had called earlier then he would have picked up and none of this would have happened. And now he's hurt physically too..." A nauseating thought suddenly occurred to her. "Oh my God, he has amnesia. He's not going to remember tonight, is he?"
"Most likely not," Monica affirmed, shaking her head.
"Should I tell him anyway?"
"No, Rach, we don't know what he'll remember and have forgotten. All we can do tonight is be there for him. Hopefully-and these are the doctor's words-he will recall older memories first, and then more recent memories, until almost all memory is recovered." Joey stated.
"Oh, I hope so. I love him so much, I don't know what I would have done if...if..." she couldn't finish the sentence.
"Let's not think that way," Mike quickly put in. Everyone nodded and muttered in agreement.
Just then, a white-coated doctor emerged, walking toward the group. On instinct Rachel stood up and approached him.
"Are you Ross Geller's doctor?" she asked in a panicky voice.
"Yes I am," he replied, reaching out his hand. "Doctor Reynolds."
Tentatively, Rachel shook his hand, a little harder than she meant to. "Is he okay? Please tell me, is his amnesia bad?"
"Well, I asked him some questions. He knows his full name, address, phone number, and family members, which is a good sign. However, when I asked him what year it was, he said 1999, and he thinks he's still thirty. I think it would be less threatening if you people, as his friends, confronted him. He doesn't know anything yet, so I suggest you be gentle."
Rachel nodded, swallowing hard. "Can we see him now?"
Dr. Reynolds nodded. "Yea, he's actually in the third room on the right."
"Thank you, Dr. Reynolds, again," Rachel heard Monica say. She felt her friends' hand on her shoulder.
"Maybe one of us should go at first. It can't be easy to hear devastating news with an audience." Monica suggested
"That's a good idea," Joey agreed, and immediately stared at Rachel, along with everyone else. Rachel began to feel extremely uneasy.
"I don't know," she said nervously. "I'm not great at confrontation likes these, and what if I say the wrong thing and hurt him all over again?"
"Rachel," Monica said gently. "You love him, don't you?" Rachel nodded, shocked that she would think otherwise. "Then the best way to let him know is by being there for him from the very start. Pretty soon, he'll already know and you won't have to convince him. You'll do fine."
Rachel nodded, but was still unsure. "You're right, of course. But I feel bad, because you're his sister, and you're not so madly in love with him that you can't see straight at the moment."
"No, it's okay. Go, I trust you," Monica replied, nudging her friends toward the door. She gave the gang a brief weak smile, and walked down the hallway.
Rachel paused at Ross' door, took a deep breath, and then cautiously turned the knob. She saw Ross laying in the bed, his eyes closed. Wondering if he was asleep, she quietly approached his bedside, and gently touched his shoulder.
"Ross?" she whispered softly. He flinched at her touch and then opened his eyes, smiling weakly at her. She smiled back, but her insides quivered. He really didn't remember.
"Hey you. How are you feeling?" Rachel moved her hand from his shoulder and slipped it into his.
He shrugged. "Like a bus ran over me. And I don't remember being brought here."
The irony of his statement caused the hairs on Rachel's skin to rise. "How does your head feel?" she asked, speculating the best way to approach the truth of the situation.
"Fine now, because they pumped me full of pain medication. I'm hoping it lasts long." Suddenly he became upset. "Rach, have they told you what's really wrong with me? I woke up with the worst hell of a headache, and they didn't even give me a reason for performing a CAT scan on me. All my doctor said was that it was a head injury from getting hit by a bus. But I feel like they know something more and aren't telling me."
Rachel gulped. She hadn't seen this coming. She took a deep breath and then placed her other hand on theirs', squeezing his comfortingly.
"Honey, I do. And you deserve to know, so I'm just going to come out and say this." And she was about to, but no words came out, she just stared into Ross' eyes, which were full of childlike panic and question.
"Rach?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. This is just hard. I've never been good at confrontations like these." She apologized.
"Okay, now you're really scaring me,"
She took a deep breath. "Honey, you were hit so hard by the bus, that you lost some of your memory." She felt his hand tremble, and she squeezed it harder.
"You mean, I have amnesia?" He asked, sounding confused and scared.
The vulnerable pain in his voice tugged at Rachel's heartstrings. "Yes, I'm so sorry, sweetie. But don't worry, your memory will most likely come back, and you won't be alone at all along the way." Rachel quickly said, feeling helpless as she looked at him, unsure of how else to comfort him.
Ross was staring off into space, his dark eyes slowly filling with tears. The fact that this was the second time she was making him cry in one night made Rachel feel remorseful all over again.
"Oh, sweetie, come here," she whispered, sliding her arms around him and enfolding him in a hug. "Shh, it's going to be all right."
"How can you say that?" he asked through sobs. "I'm in a completely different age from the rest of you, and I don't even remember how I got here. What year is it even?"
"It's 2004."
"Oh my god," he said, starting to cry harder. "that's five years from what I think it is. Why did this happen to me? I've lost five years of my life, and I don't know when or if it's ever going to come back."
"Oh, sweetie, I know. I know this is hard, and you didn't deserve this. But I'll be here for you, I promise, you're not alone." Rachel whispered.