Here it is... the update... this time it took me only a week, not 6 months =)... so YAY! me... lol

Thank you ALL for your wonderful replies (to this fic and to the other one I posted last week, wich won't be updated, cause it was just THAT scene... there's no way of writting the finale any other way), I know I've said it a thousand times, but I love reading what you think

About this chapter I had to split it, cause it was TOO long... so next chapter will be also setted in the past and not in the present like it should....

One last thing... you know this characters doesn't belong to me (man how I'd LOVE to have a Ross for myself... but ayway)

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----Overcoming the loneliness – Ch 8 (7 years ago)----

"Ready to go?" asked Monica, coming out from the bathroom in the apartment her brother shared with Chandler.
"Sure" replied Ross. They were going to the airport to wait for Rachel's arrival. Ross was nervous. Rachel's father was going to be there. He wanted to kiss her, hug her and never let her go, but he was going to be there. Ross didn't want Rachel to have problems with her father because of him, as he didn't want him to come in between them either.
"It's gonna be ok Ross" said Monica, knowing what was going through her brother's mind
"I'm not sure Mon, that guy really hates my guts"
"It can't be that bad. Beside for all he knows you are my brother and you're driving me there"
"I just hate this, you know? She's my girlfriend. It's bad enough that I have to spend 10 months without her, now I can't kiss her cause her father's going to be there"
"I know it's hard sweety, but what else can you do?"
"I don't know… I'll figure it out on the way there" he said standing up from the couch. "Let's go, I don't wanna get there after him"

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Monica and Ross arrived to the airport before Dr Green. Rachel was going to stay at Monica's that night, Ross was going to be there, so Monica knew she'd be lucky of she got to talk to her friend for a few seconds. It was ok though, she loved to see Ross and Rachel together, they were so cute and in love, she couldn't help but feel a little bit jealous. She wanted to love and be loved the way Ross loved Rachel, with all his soul. She had been a witness of his love and devotion for her the last 10 months. Not once she had caught him eyeing someone else, and knew he had called Rachel everyday like he had promised. "I just can't imagine my life without her. Even if is just her voice" he had confessed her once.
Carol, who was still good friends with Monica, had once told her that Ross and Rachel's relationship worked just because they saw each other two months a year, that it wouldn't survive 365 days, cause the passion and the longing would be gone by the 4th month. "You are just jealous" Monica had told her a bit pissed off "their relationship works cause they are mean to be, and you're gonna have to learn to live with that" she had added yelling before walking out on her.

"Look who's here already!" Monica heard Rachel's father saying from behind. She looked sympathetically at her brother before greeting Leonard Green back
"Hello Dr Green"
"Hello dear" he said before looking at Ross "and you?" he asked roughly
"I'm Rachel's friend" replied Ross quickly, giving the impression he had rehearsed that line a thousand times
"Of course you are" said Dr Green sarcastically
"Great!!" exclaimed Monica, trying to break the tension "we are all here. Rachel's the only one missing"

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Rachel came down the plane so fast that she almost tripped twice. She was really excited about seeing Ross again, she had missed him SO much and had a lot of things to tell him.
She ran through the boarding area and the luggage place, sure her daddy would pick her suitcases later. Her daddy. She had completely forgotten about him, he still didn't know about her and Ross, and to avoid any problems she wanted to keep it that way.

Rachel stepped in the place where her dad and her friends were waiting for her almost five minutes after getting down the plane. The first thing she spotted were Ross's eyes looking straight into hers, like he'd known she was going to be there at that exact time. She smiled at him and waved a little. He left up his right hand and smiled widely, wanting desperately to run to her, take her in his arms and sweep her off her feet, kissing her 'till both of them were out of breath. But Leonard's eyes were fixed on their interaction, so he decided to stay still

"Princess!!" Dr Green said as he met his daughter and hugged her deeply. "How was your flight sweety?"
"Fine daddy… long though" she replied, still looking at Ross, who was standing next to Monica 10 feet away from where she was
"Look who's here with me" said Leonard as they broke the hug.

Monica was now the one running and hugging her tight, catching her off guard, making her take a few steps back not to fall. Rachel was already used to her friend's affection. Monica was always so sweet.
"I missed you SO much!" confessed Monica "I have so much things to tell you"
"I missed you too sweety" replied Rachel, feeling a bit guilty. She hadn't really thought much about her all year, her mind pretty much wondered in the thought of Ross and that talk she'd had the previews summer with Monica, the night before she came back to London. Still, she thought, that wasn't a reason not to miss her friend; she just missed her boyfriend more than anything.

Once they broke the hug, Rachel stood in front of Ross and smiled once again, wanting really badly to jump into his arms. The hot weather had started a little bit sooner that year and he had already gained a sexy tan. His hair was shorter and he was using it spiked. His strong arms were calling her and his lips longing to kiss her, as hers longed to kiss him. But she needed to remain strong.

"Hi Ross" she greeted without getting much closer to him
"Hi… hi Rach" replied Ross with his voice sounding like he hadn't used it in years.
"How are you? How was school this year?" she asked nonchalant, trying to sound breeze.
"Great, heavy though" he answered. Truth was, he had buried himself in work, taking more classes than he should, not to think about her so much. He looked down, the eye contact was driving him crazy.
"And how's Carol?" she asked with a mischievous look on her face.
Ross's facial expression changed suddenly at the sound of Carol's name slipping from Rachel's lips. He couldn't understand what she was trying to do. Was that a joke? Cause it wasn't funny.
He lifted his head, searching for Monica, who was standing behind Rachel's father, trying to tell him to carry on.
Not sure of been doing the right thing, he answered: "She's uhmmmm… she's… fine". After seeing Rachel's smile was intact, he smiled again too

"Ok kids, we are going to take off. Rachel still has a lot to unpack and prepare her things for tonight"
"Yeah guys… I wanna take a shower too. It was great seeing you two… I'll see you tonight… Mon" said Rachel
"You betcha. I'll pick you up at 9"
"Bye Ross… it was good seeing you. Say 'hi' to your girlfriend for me, would you?"
"Sure… I'll tell her" he replied smiling
"I love you" she muttered, without her father noticed
"I love you too" he muttered back smiling widely

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Ross and Monica had been waiting for Rachel for over 20 minutes, it always took her ages to get ready. They both knew it anyway.
"Mon… can I ask you something?" Ross said once he made sure Rachel's father wouldn't hear him
"Sure, what?"
"Why did Rachel ask me about Carol today?" he asked very serious
Monica couldn't help but laugh, she had been waiting for this question all day. "That's an easy one dummy!! Dr Green" she said in a whisper "she had to give him the impression there was nothing going between you two, cause you sure forgot about it the minute you saw her…" she added poking him on the shoulder playfully
"What? What are you talking about? I didn't do anything… I held myself together!" he protested
"Ross… you were practically drooling over her"
Monica noticed as Ross's cheeks turned some kind of red "I couldn't help it, she looked so beautiful"
"You are SO in love, it's sooo cute!!" said Monica smiling

That moment Rachel and her father walked into the living room. Ross walked towards them and grabbed Rachel's bag as a reflex. Dr Green looked at him suspiciously look, but Ross didn't catch it. Rachel, somehow, did. She knew her father didn't like Ross, she knew he didn't want her to be with him and she was scared. Scared of not having her father's blessing and his trust. Scared of having to choose one day between her dad and her boyfriend. Scared of not choosing her father.
"Have a nice time at Monica's" said Leonard kissing his daughter's forehead. "I'm on my way to the hospital. I could have driven you there" he added as he looked at Ross, which made him really uncomfortable.
"It's ok daddy, you can't be late, plus Ross is an excellent driver"

Once Dr Green was out of sight, Ross and Rachel smiled to each other and finally, after months of waiting, they kissed. This kiss was so deep, so intense, sweet and yet rough that gave Monica the impression they were trying to make up for the last 10 months apart.

"Hey! Tongue buddies!! We have to go!!" she said after watching her friend and her brother making out long enough she was starting to feel jealous
Ross and Rachel broke the kiss but still held each other closely, just looking into each other's eyes.
"I missed you" he said, breaking the dominating silence that ruled over both of them
"I missed you too" she replied, unable to actually put into words how much she had really missed him. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before letting go of his embrace
"Let's go" said Rachel, getting in the back sit of the car
Ross looked at Monica with pleading eyes. She let go a sigh followed by a silence. "Get in there with your girlfriend… I'll drive"

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Rachel hadn't noticed the car had stopped moving if it wasn't for Monica yelling at them from outside the car. She was on cloud number nine, everytime Ross looked at her she felt that way. It was just magic. The minute she felt his lips meeting her she forgot about all the things in her mind, there was nothing more and no one else than them in the world. He always made her feel that way. It made her feel special, it made her feel complete. It made her feel like she wasn't going to be alone anymore. It made her feel loved.
When they finally stepped out the car, Rachel felt Mrs Geller hugging her sweetly before greeting her son with a kiss on the check. Judy Geller had always been very affectionate with Rachel, some times even more than with her own daughter. "That girl has sad eyes" she had told her husband a couple of times. Truth to be told, she loved the way she makes her son feel, she loved seeing him that happy when he was with her. And even though they were still very young, she was happy that they had found each other so early in life, pretty much like her and Jack Geller. She knew that was real and everlasting love.
"Monica, dear, why don't you take Rachel's bag to your room?"
"Yes mom" replied Monica taking Rachel's bag, starting to feel a little bit annoyed and ignored by everyone
"I have a nice welcome dinner for you dear" said Judy Geller as they entered to the house "your other friend is already here. You know, the weird one" she added before leaving for the kitchen just as Chandler came out to welcome Rachel as well.

After dinner was over, the 4 of them stayed in the living room catching up, just hanging out. Rachel had missed this so much, just spending some time with her friends, kissing her boyfriend, talking about everything and nothing at all. Listening to Chandler's lame jokes and Ross's boring stories about dinosaurs. Laughing at how Chandler always managed to get on Monica's nerves for not using a coaster 'till the point he ended up throwing her a little bit of what he was drinking, making her get even madder as she chased him around the room go get back at him. Rachel smiled. When she was there, she was home.

"A kiss for your thoughts" said Ross as they were left alone in the room when Chandler ran into the kitchen as he got away from Monica
"I was just thinking how much I missed this, how much I missed being home… I hate being away from you guys for so long"
"Yeah, I hate it too" he replied caressing her hand "But I'd hate even more not having you at all" they crossed fingers and he press his lips against her hand "I think I'd die without you" he added, looking at her sweetly
She hugged him and kissed him sweetly on the lips. He was so cheesy, she thought, but that was actually one of the things she loved the most about him "I've got you some good news then"
"Really?" he said interested
She nodded. "But let's wait for Monica and Chandler, I want them to know too"

"Guys" Rachel called them out "Mon, can you try to kill him later? I have something to tell you and it's kind of huge".
Chandler entered the room with a satisfied look on his face "I'm too fast for her"
"I tripped, YOU MADE ME TRIP!!" she protested "IT WASN'T FAIR!!! YOU'RE NOT FASTER THAN I AM BING!!! LET ME SHOW YOU, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!!" said Monica, her voice all high and squeaky.
Rachel laughed at her friend even more. "Mon… please… I REALLY want to tell you guys something!!"
"Ok… speak fast Green… I still have to kick this guy's ass" Monica was still breathing heavily, her energy on top.
"Ok… thank you… well… you know since highschool is over and everything, well… uhmmmm… the deal I had with my mom was that I could come over here every summer but then I had to go back to school over there…. Well… what I'm trying to say… is that… well… you know… this whole deal thing…" rambled Rachel for a few minutes
"YOU ARE KILLING ME!!" yelled Monica
Rachel smiled. "I'm getting there Mon… relax". She could see in Ross's eyes he already knew where this was going. His eyes were sparkling and his smile was so big and huge she could have started kissing him and forgetting about what she was about to say. "So… long story short…. I'm moving to New York!!" she finally confessed.

Monica jumped and hugged Chandler, kissing him on the cheek, leaving him speechless. Ross stood up and hugged Rachel tight, kissing the top of her head, smelling her hair in the verge of tears. "Thank you" he said softly, not sure of she had listened to him. "welcome home sweety"

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Monica knocked on Rachel's door a few times before the maid opened the door, greeting her with a warm smile.

"Hello Rosa… is Rachel home?" she asked
"Yes señorita Monica, niña Rachel is in her room" replied the woman
"Thank you" she replied smiling sweetly at her, before going to Rachel's room

"Hey Rach" she greeted her friend, who was reading a book lying on her bed
"Hey Mon". Rachel left her eyes away from the book to give her friend a look and a forced smile Monica didn't catch.
"Where's Ross?" asked Monica "I thought you were going to be with him since your dad is not home"
"Yeah… he was… but he had to go" Rachel replied, hiding her face behind the book once again "He had this thing at the University, and I can't take any more of those dead things he likes" she added, forcing a smile again
"Yeah, that's what you get for dating a geek" joked Monica. Rachel only smiled, giving Monica the impression there was something bothering her friend, something she was not telling her. "Is everything ok hun? You seem different"
"Nothing hun… it's just that I was really into this book"
"Really? What is it about?" asked Monica interested
Rachel closed the book and looked at the back cover. "An Egyptian family… I think"
"I can see you were REALLY into the book" said sarcastically Monica "Come on Rach, I know something's bothering you… I know you better than this"
"Nothing Mon… really… I mean… there's something, but I don't feel like talking about it". Rachel placed the book in her nightstand and made room in her bed so Monica could sit right next to her
"Ok, then maybe a good news will lift your mood"
"That would be really good". Rachel sat, hugging her legs as she placed her chin on top of her knees.
"I'm moving to the city!!" she said cheered
"Really? That's great hun!! Where?"
"To my grandma's apartment. Since I'm going to go to college here too my parents thought it was unnecessary to pay for the dorms and stuff, and since my brother would be living across the hall, they had no problem with it" she was really excited, Rachel could tell. "Finally I'll be out of my parents house… and now you'll have an excuse if you want to stay over at Ross's. you can always tell your dad you're staying at my place" Monica added with a mischievous smile, winkling to her friend.
Monica had touched her weak point. "Staying at Ross's? I don't see that happening any time soon"
"Really? Why not?... I mean… last year you told me he was the one you wanted to sleep with, remember? What is holding you back now? You know he didn't cheat on you. You know he's crazy about you and you're staying here… so why not?" Monica was concerned. In her mind, not that she liked to pictured it, Ross and Rachel were already having sex. Actually, the revelation of Rachel not wanting to stay at Ross's caught her off guard, it just didn't make sense
"I don't know Mon" replied simply Rachel as she stood up from her bed and started to wonder around her room for a while, her mind elsewhere, her mind on Ross. "Actually I do… we kind of had 'the talk' yesterday, and well… it didn't end up well" she confessed. She had said herself she didn't want to talk about it, specially not with Monica, this was something she had to work out with Ross, there was no need to put his sister in between, but she desperately needed her friend to talk to.
"What do you mean?" asked Monica confused
"We got into a huge fight" replied Rachel, feeling slowly how here eyes started to water.
"A fight? You guys? Why?" asked Monica concerned. She had never known of Ross and Rachel fighting before. She could see Rachel was a wreck even though she was trying to hide it. This was just killing her, Monica thought.

Rachel wondered around her room a little bit more before stopping by the window, looking at the park under her, the hundred of people, the hundred of lifes, the hundred of dreams and probably the hundred of disappointments like the one she had lived the day before. 'I should have seen it coming' she said to herself over and over again. It was so obvious. After all, he was still a guy.

"Come on sweety, tell me what happened" insisted sweetly Monica
"He slept with her" replied Rachel, almost in a whisper, too afraid to hear it coming from her own mouth
"With her? With whom? With Carol?"
Rachel nodded, the tears already falling. Monica just hugged her as she hugged her back. "Please tell me he did it when they were together" she said closing her eyes, not even wanting to think about what would happen if it was the other way around.
Rachel nodded again as Monica left out a small relief sigh
"I just always thought it was gonna be the first time for both of us, you know… but Ross doesn't seem to understand that's important for me". Rachel looked down, feeling kind of silly putting down in words what she had been feeling what she had felt since Ross and told her he wasn't virgin the afternoon before.
"Rach… sweety… if you think about it… it's not such a big deal, I mean… most of the guys aren't virgin… and…"
"That's not the point Monica!!!" interrupted Rachel, getting pissed, as she resumed her wondered around. "The thing is, he did it with HER… probably if it had been some other girl he met before we did, it would have been ok, but it was her, the lead character of all my nightmares Monica. He was having sex with her while I was in London, thinking he was missing me as much as I was missing him. Thinking he hadn't meant what he said. Thinking he was thinking about me!"
"But he was Rachel!!"
"Right, when? While he was fucking her?... that's romantic!!" Rachel said letting go a sarcastic laugh
"Rach, would you cut him some slack? He dumped her for you, didn't he? He spent 10 months away from you and didn't even talked to her once. Rachel I know my brother, and he loves you. But you have to understand some times guys doesn't think with their heads, that's most of the time actually, specially when there's a naked woman in front of them. Ok… so he had sex with her… but there's a whole world of difference between having sex and making love Rachel"
"Stop talking like you are the master in this kind of things!!" Rachel interrupted Monica again. "You are as virgin as I am".
Monica looked at her friend hurt, feeling how her eyes filled with tears. "I wish I was" she replied softly
"What?!" asked Rachel shocked
"Brian… and I regret it every single day… he wasn't the right guy… he didn't love me nor he cared about me" she wiped her tears and looked at Rachel straight into the eyes, grabbing her by the shoulders. "But you have the perfect guy in front of you, willing to wait for you, to spend 10 months without seeing you and you want to throw that away just cause he had sex once before? Come on Rachel!!... who cares if he slept with Carol, that's in the past… she's in the past. He's still the same guy"
"Mon… I… I… didn't know…. You and Brian… why didn't you tell me?"
"I guess I was ashamed of myself. It was a mistake, and it was horrible… I guess I just wanted to erase that one thing out" Monica sited on Rachel's bed and grabbed a pillow "You're the only one who knows anyway"
Rachel sited next to her and grabbed her right hand "It's ok sweety… it will get better… for both of us" she said smiling weakly. "You still have Chandler anyway" she joked.
Monica laugh. "Yeah, right… and you have Ross… don't try to push him away over something that, when you think about it, is not a big deal"
"I still don't know Mon… it's hard… very hard"
"Just think about it Rach… I just don't want you to make a mistake… that's all"

TO BE CONTINUED....

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That's if for now... I want to post the next chapter tomorrow... but I can't promise you anything...although I can tell you it will be up this weekend... it's already written it, I just have to type it... and it's... let's say more "juici".... lol

Please, remember to REVIEW... pretty please... I just LOVE them