Rachel had gotten Ross back to his room, and now she sat on the edge of the bed with him in her arms. His back was pressed against her chest and he clutched her arms tightly with his own. Rachel didn't have to see him to know that his eyes were still red from crying.

Despite the cold and empty feeling within him, Ross felt familiarly safe and secure being held by Rachel. Although they had a complicated history, he knew there would always be a unique and special intimacy between the two of them.

Ross closed his eyes and sighed, just taking comfort in Rachel's warmth and her gentle hand stroking his arm. Out of nowhere, a random picture of Rachel came into his head. Her hair and face were drenched in sweat and she appeared tired, but undoubtedly radiant. She looked up at him, her eyes glowing with happiness and a grin splitting her face. Then Ross noticed the bundle in her arms...

Ross's eyes flew opened and stared ahead in disbelief. The image he had just seen could not have been real. Rachel would have told him if she had had a child, especially if it had been his. It must have been some dream meant to throw him off, which made him more frustrated. It was bad enough that all he had for indicators of his past were short, incomplete scenes that came and went. Now he was receiving vivid images that weren't even real. Tears stung his eyes, but he forced himself to calm down not wanting to let Rachel see him fall apart again.

However, Rachel wasn't oblivious. "Are you okay?" she asked, sliding her hand into one of his. Ross shook his head, knowing there was no use in hiding it. Everything around him was falling apart, and at the moment he wasn't sure what was left for him.

"No," he choked out. "And I don't think I ever will be. I mean, not only is the past half decade of my life lost to me, but now they are five more years in which my son could still be alive." The words were followed by uncontainable sobs. Rachel gently turned Ross around and he cried into her shirt. She softly stroked his back and head, while rocking him back and forth in her arms.

"Shh, I know, sweetie," she whispered. "And Ross, you don't have to believe me right now, honey, but things will get better. I promise they will."

"No, I don't know if I can believe you, Rachel," he answered brokenly. "As much as I appreciate you being here, I don't think anything can be done to make things okay again. My son's dead, I can't remember the most recent years of my life, and....and I keep getting these strange visions...it's just so frustrating, Rach!"

"Oh, God, of course it is, honey. And I honestly wish more than anything that there was something I could do. You're my best friend and I care for you so much. I know things are going to be hard like you've never experienced them before, but please, let me be there in anyway I can." Ross couldn't answer, he just held onto Rachel and continued crying. "Oh, I know it's hard, shh, I really do. And I'm here for you. That's all I'm really trying to say."

She continued to hold him for the next few minutes, allowing him all the release he needed. Then he lifted his head slightly but didn't look at her.

"Can I tell you about one of these strange visions?"

"Of course. I'd love it if you did."

"Well, um, this is going to sound awkward, but I saw you lying in a hospital bed holding a baby. It looked like you had just given birth, and I had this feeling that it was my baby too." Ross wasn't sure how he had expected Rachel to react, but he hadn't imagined that her response would be silence. Feeling wary, he slowly looked up to find her expression one of shock and her mouth hanging open.

"What? I-is it true?" Ross felt numb and light-headed all of a sudden. Rachel swallowed and finally found her voice.

"Yes, honey. It's true. You and I- we have a daughter."

For a moment, Ross stared at her and then gradually resumed gazing down. He was positively speechless as well as stunned that Rachel had kept this from him. However, instead of words of anger and hurt, wracking sobs escaped him and he buried his face in his hands.

"Oh my God. I-I'm a hor-horrible father..." he sobbed, feeling tremendously lost, even as he felt Rachel's arms envelop him once again.

"No, no, don't say that, sweetie. This is my fault, I should have told you from the very start. But what with Ben and all I-"

Ross interrupted her. "Th-that's exactly it!" Came his voice, muffled by her shoulder. "First my son dies because of me, and then I can't even remember my own daughter. Now what kind of father is that?"

"Ross, what happened to Ben was not your fault. Why would you think that?" She asked in a gentle, soothing tone.

"He was coming to visit me! How could it not be my fault?"

Rachel took Ross's head gently but firmly between her hands and forced him to make eye contact with her. "You listen to me. You are not to blame for a bunch of underage teenagers driving irresponsibly. They chose to drink and get in a car, and it's them, only them, who has to pay the consequences. Ben and Carol were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. You had nothing to do with it. Do you understand me? Nothing." The expression in Rachel's eyes was fiercely compelling. But they softened and the grip on Ross's head relaxed as she continued. "I understand why you feel that way, Ross. You're grieving and feeling vulnerable, and blaming yourself tends to make a person feel less powerless, like they have control. But, please, don't do this to yourself, honey. You have enough to deal with right now, and I will not let you take responsibility for either accident." When Ross didn't answer, she kept going. "Ross, you are a wonderful parent, better than me in several ways, and always have been. Emma loves you and I couldn't be more grateful that you are her father. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine for not telling you. You absolutely deserved to know."

After a long pause, Ross finally spoke.

"So...what happened? Were we together? Are we really still married? Or did it just happen?"

"It was a one night stand. It wasn't planned, but we decided to keep it. And I'm glad we did. You'll love her, Ross. She's almost two years old, and already beautiful."

For the first time since Rachel could remember, Ross genuinely smiled. "That I can believe. She's part you." Rachel returned the smile and lovingly stroked one side of his face.

"You too. Her best features are yours, I swear."

For a moment, time stood still as the two of them gazed into one another's eyes. Ross, starting to feel uncomfortable, broke the trance by looking down. Rachel's lips formed a grim line. A completely different topic was yet to be discussed and revealed, but Rachel decided it would be best to take it one step at a time, and stayed quiet.

"Do you feel better now?" she asked, taking Ross's other hand. He looked back at her, and, pretty much able to find the answer in his expression, she pulled him against her in a hug.

"Yes, a little I guess. Thanks, Rach."

"Oh, sweetie, any time. Remember that." Ross sighed.

"I know. I just wished that Emma could have grown up to know her big brother."

"Aw, me too, honey. He was so good with her. She would have loved him." Rachel held him close, never wanting to let go. After having seen Ross in so much pain, she was happy that she had eased even a little bit of it. That was all she could do for now.