Challenge Being Miles Away: Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Never got a dime doing this and the purpose of this story is to do it for the pure fun of killing time.


Ross looked over at his daughter and noticed that she's quieter than usual. He thought that she was just tired from their fun-filled day but she's hardly said a word unless she was spoken too. Both kids begged to go to Disneyland in Paris and in the end result, only one kid is satisfied? That just didn't add up since both kids had about the equal amount of time to go to the things that they wanted to see.

Ben wanted to ride on the Space Mountain with his dad, but Ross quickly shot down that idea. Rachel was laughing hysterically and Ross knew who informed her about his incident. Ross should've known that Rachel would've found out since her and his sister practically tell each other everything. He just had to make a mental note to spill about Monica's secrets as well.

He looked over at Rachel and she knew what he was thinking. Emma wasn't being a talkative little tot and Ross wondered why she had the sudden change in mood. She was her usual-self the day before and when she woke up, she's been acting the same way she's been earlier in the day. Rachel asked what was wrong with her earlier and Emma would put on her best face and kiss her to reassure that nothing was wrong. Rachel bought it at the time and dismissed all of the suspicions, but now, she knew for sure that something is bothering her.

It was almost her time to take a bath and Rachel knew that's when she can have some alone time with her daughter. She'll do what she can to crack her and try to get to the bottom of this.


Ross tried to continue to read, but he seemed to be too preoccupied with something to concentrate. He looked over at Ben and saw that he's seriously playing his Gameboy. Ross guessed that he was playing Super Mario World or he wouldn't be so focus just to play a game. He thought about not interrupting Ben but he had to ask him one question that's been irking him throughout dinner.

"Ben" Ross called out.

"Yeah Dad?" Ben replied, not taking his eyes of the screen.

"I have to ask you something very important."

"Can it wait?" Ben asked, unaware of the importance.

"No, it can't. Pause that game, it'll be there after I'm done talking to you."

Ben was at the final stage and had to beat Bowser to pass the whole thing. He would've asked him to wait but decided to pause it for his own sake because by the tone of his father's voice, he knew that it was something urgent and serious. After pausing the game, he turned his attention fully on his father and wondered what's up.

"Did I do something bad, Dad?" Ben asked, hoping that he wasn't in trouble for something because he doesn't recall doing anything bad.

"That depends son." Ross plainly responded.

His father had a serious face that had Ben scared out of his mind. His mind began to spin as he tried to figure out what he did and frantically find a way to apologize for whatever trouble he got himself into. He took a gulp and tried to prepare himself for what was about to come his way.

"Do you know why Emma's been acting differently today?" Ross asked, concerned.

Ben shook his head in defense. "I didn't do or say anything to her, I promise." Ben tried to convince his father and he didn't know if Ross bought it.

Ross still has the same look on his face as he tried to figure it out. Ben stared straight in Ross' eyes when he answered and Ross knew that he was telling the truth.

"It's alright Ben. I believe you." Ross said, trying to assure his freaked out son.

Ben didn't know whether to be scared or relieved. He could've just said that as a tactic to get his guard down and attack him when he wasn't prepared.

Noticing his tenseness and apprehensiveness to relax, Ross assured him again and Ben slowly started to believe what his father said was telling the truth.

"Do you know what's been bothering your sister lately?"

Ben shrugged. "Sorry, Dad. I'm clueless like you."

Ross nodded, satisfied with his son's cooperation. "You can go back to playing your game."

Ben started to play again and Ross sighed, laying completely down on the couch, trying to think of the possibilities for Emma's recent behavior.


The aroma of Loreal Kids shampoo filled the room after a soothing shower. Emma yawned as she's sitting in the middle of her mother's bed, wearing her favorite blue teddy bear pj's. Rachel noticed Emma's yawn as she was sitting behind her and brushing her hair. She figured that she must be tired after that promised day of fun for the kids and knew that it wouldn't be too long before she fell asleep.

Rachel finished brushing her hair and Emma started to crawl towards the end of the bed.

"Emma, hold on. Mommy needs to talk to you." Rachel said.

Emma turned around and crawled back towards her mother. She sat down, facing Rachel, waiting to know what about .

"Yes Mommy?" Emma innocently asked.

"Is something wrong sweetie?" Rachel concernedly asked.

"What do you mean?" Emma replied, keeping up with the act.

"Why were you quiet today?"

Emma shrugged. "Don't know what you talkin' 'bout."

Rachel raised her eye brow, not buying her daughter's answer. "Really." She asked questionably.

Emma definitely kept her front and nodded. "Yes Mommy."

Rachel stared at her straight in her eyes, hardly blinking and trying to read what's really going on. Emma didn't know what her mother was doing but the explanation for her unusual behavior was eating her alive. Emma looked down and a tear dropped down on the bed. Rachel's mothering instincts instantly kicked in. She protectively wrapped her arms around her daughter and rubbed her back, feeling confused and yet sad for the poor girl.

"Aww Sweetie, what's wrong? Did you break something and was too afraid to tell me? I won't get too mad...I'm not your Aunt Monica." Rachel tried to joke, but Emma was still sniffling.

"Please Ems, tell me what's wrong?" Rachel pleaded.

Emma pulled away from the hug and wiped her eyes. "Can I see Daddy please?"

Rachel confusedly nodded. "Sure."

Rachel was somewhat thrown off by her request but of course decided to obey it. She kissed Emma forehead and went to get Ross.

Ross stared blankly at the screen, as Rachel entered the living room. She doesn't know if his mind was preoccupied or if he's just lost at the show he's watching because it's all in French. She noticed that Ben's not on the La-Z Boy and wondered where he could've gone.

"Ross, where's Ben?" Rachel asked.

Snapping out of his daze, he turned his attention to Rachel. "Uh...He's in the shower."

Rachel nodded

"Is Emma in her room?" Ross asked, noticing that she's not with Rachel and automatically presumed that because he's been lost in space for a while.

"Your daughter wants to see you." Rachel flatly pointed out

Ross started to get a bit worried with the tone of Rachel's voice and didn't know what to expect. "What's wrong?" Ross asked concerned.

Rachel shrugged. "I don't know. When I asked her, she was trying to act like she didn't know at first, but after I stared in her eyes, she started to cry. I tried again to ask her what was wrong and she asked me to call you. I'm worried about her, Ross."

Ross stood up and grabbed her hand. "I know you are, so am I, but it's probably nothing. She's just two years old." Ross tried to reason.

"Mommy, Daddy?" Emma called out from her mother's room.

"We're coming." Rachel answered. "What do you think is wrong?" Rachel asked Ross, hoping that he would sort of have a sense because he was pretty good in figuring out that type of stuff.

Ross shrugged. "Don't know, but let's find out."

Ross and Rachel took a deep breath as they started to walk towards the bedroom with Rachel leading and Ross' hand on her shoulder. They entered the room and see that Emma is in the middle, snuggling underneath the bed cover. Ross and Rachel looked at each other before they separated, sitting on different sides of the bed. Rachel started to stroke Emma's hair and Ross decided to initiate the talk.

"Now that Daddy's here, will you tell us what's wrong?"

Emma looked at her father and slowly nodded. She didn't want to believe that it could be true, but she just had to let her father and her mother know about it.

"I'm scared. Daddy not gonna see me no more." Emma told truthfully.

"Oh baby girl, why do you think that?" Ross asked, curious where she got that idea. He looked at Rachel and she got the same expression on her face as Ross, confusion.

"I dreamt it and dreams come true." Emma innocently answered.

Ross and Rachel couldn't help but chuckle at that statement.

"Of course they do sweetie, " Rachel started to explain, "But in this case, it's different."

Emma looked at her mother with a little ray of hope. "How?"

"Well..." Rachel stammered before looking at Ross for help.

"You're right Ems, dreams do come true." Ross stepped in. "You see, dreams has more than one meaning. The dreams that can come true are your aspirations or things that you want to accomplish in your life. The dreams that you have while you're sleeping are harmless and your mind is what makes it up. See the differences?"

Emma just sat there, confused, not understanding one bit of what her father just said. "So dreams do come true?" Emma asked, trying to see if that part is true.

"Of course it does, Emma." Rachel answered. "My dream came true."

"What was your dream Mommy?" Emma curiously asked as she put her chin in the palm of her hands.

"I always wanted to work for a big fashion company. After working my way up, here I am today, living my dream. " Rachel smiled widely as she thought about the things that she accomplished in her life.

"I'm also living in my dream." Ross added.

"With dinos?" Emma surprisingly asked.

Ross nodded and proudly smiled. "Uh-huh. I was always fascinated with dinosaurs as a young kid and I knew that I wanted to be a Paleontologist."

Emma smiled at the stories that she just heard from her mom and dad. A flash of the dream creped back into her mind and her face drooped back to being sad.

"What's with the long face?" Rachel asked as she saw Emma's facial expression change again.

"Daddy's still gonna leave." Emma sadly pointed out.

"Look sweetie," Ross started, "Daddy can't promise you that I'll never go away because right now, it's not possible. I still live in New York and my job is still there."

"Then quit and be with me and mommy!" Emma suggested, raising her voice.

Ross couldn't believe his daughter's sudden outburst. "Tell you what, I promise you that I'll be here all summer. Do you know how long it is?" Ross paused and Emma shook her head. "It's about three months. We've still have a lot of time together and there's nothing better than spending it with you. Baby girl, I know it's not much right now, but it'll have to do."

Emma nodded, accepting the fact that there's nothing more she can do. She pulled the covers completely off her body and stood up, wrapping her arms around her father's neck for a hug. Ross wrapped his arms around his little girl, rubbing her back and enjoying this little moment with her.

"Love you Daddy." Emma whispered before kissing his cheek.

Ross' heart always melted when he heard those three little words from his daughter. Sure he heard it before, but when she just said it at that time, it somehow felt different to him. Her words struck directly to his heart and made him feel warmer inside.

Ross and Emma finally broke that hug that seemed like an eternity.

"Bedtime for you missy." Rachel ordered as she saw Emma yawning.

"But it's only this much." Emma pleaded as she raised up seven fingers to tell the time.

Rachel shook her head. "Nope, it's this much," Rachel lifted one more of Emma's finger, "I'm sure that you're tired after being out all day today and not having your nap this afternoon."

"Okay." She turned to Ross. "Good night Daddy." Emma said as she got her goodnight hug and kiss from her father.

"Sweet dreams Baby Girl."

Rachel picked up Emma and Ross watched them as they walk out of the bedroom. That was an interesting conversation. Ross thought.

Ross knew that when he gave Rachel the opportunity to go, not only she was involved but so was their daughter. He thought that she would be too young to be having a problem of separation and didn't think that this would've been an issue. He guessed that it was because back in New York, even though Rachel and himself didn't live in the same place, it would be no problem for Ross to see Emma because he would literally be across the street.

Speaking of home, he realized that he forgot to check his answer machine back at his apartment to see if he had any important messages. He would usually check it everyday, but he forgot to check on it for the past three days. He picked up his cell and dialed the number to his apartment. Listening, he heard that he had four new messages.

He got one from his mother, wondering where he was and telling him to call her as soon as he got the message. He found a pad and paper and wrote down a note reminding him to call his mother ASAP. Ross heard the beep and recognize the caller of the next message. Ross shook his head as he heard Joey asking him if he would want to watch the Yankees versus the Red Sox game that night with him since Chandler couldn't make it. It wasn't until long after that he heard the next message was Joey again, apologizing and telling him to forget about the game because he remembered that he's not even in town. Ross chuckled, saying to himself "Typical Joey."

The voice of the next caller had a serious tone and Ross knew off the bat that it was from work. The message was short but brief enough for Ross to get the gist of it. He felt a bit unease with the message and hoped that it wasn't that serious. He dialed the number to the head of the Paleontology department and wondered what's going on.


Rachel quietly exited Emma's room as soon as Emma quickly fell asleep after dropping her on her bed. She walked towards the kitchen and entered through the swinging door for a drink of water. Upon entering the room, she noticed Ben sitting on the dining table, drinking a glass filled with juice.

"Hey Ben." Rachel greeted as she grabbed a bottle of water and sat next to Ben at the table.

Ben didn't say anything immediately and was pondering on a question that he just have. He didn't know how to approach the subject and wondered what the answer would be.

Rachel noticed the quietness of Ben and saw the thinking look on his face. "Hey Ben, what are you thinking about?"

"Just stuff." Ben cooly answered.

"Well if you want somebody to talk to, I'm here."

Ben just nodded. Rachel took couple sips of her water before putting the bottle back in the refrigerator and pushing the door open.

"Aunt Rachel, wait." Ben called out. "There's something I have to ask you."

Rachel smiled. "Sure."

Rachel walked towards the table, sitting in her spot she was in previously.

"What's on your mind kiddo?" Rachel asked, watching his facial expression turn into shyness and awkwardness.

"I don't know how to ask this but..." Ben trailed, trying to gather up his thoughts. "Well, since you and my dad are dating again, is going to move here to be with you?"

Rachel was thrown off by Ben's question that she stayed silent for about a good ten seconds and didn't respond immediately. She was about to say something but Ben continued to talk.

"Don't get me wrong because I'm happy for the both of you, but I just have to know. I would want to spend as much time with him before he goes."

There, he said it and he have to admit that he felt better getting it out. He looked over at Rachel and noticed that she had a sympathetic smile on her face.

"Oh, Ben. I don't know what to tell you, but right now, we're not going to live together and your father isn't going to move."

Rachel paused to see the expression on his face and could see that he relaxed a bit.

"Who knows, maybe we will someday but sweetie, we just started dating again and it's too quick to even consider that."

That caught Bens attention again. "If you do, would you live here?"

Rachel shrugged. "Who knows, it could be here. Would it be so bad if it was?" She curiously asked.

Ben looked down and shook his head. "It would get a bit getting used to the fact that he wouldn't be minutes away if I wanted to go out with him, but it wouldn't be too bad if he did. I just want my dad to be happy and you're the reason why he is." Ben said truthfully.

Sweet kid, just like his father. Rachel thought. "Thanks Ben."

Rachel reached out and Ben gave in to the hug. Ben broke the hug and bid her goodnight. Rachel returned it back and remained sitting as Ben exited the kitchen.

Oh, what a day. First Emma asked about the situation with her father and Ben just did it now. Yup, she definitely had to tell Ross about this.


Ross just sat on the bed, shocked and confused. He couldn't understand what was going on back in New York with his work and he was worried about the whole thing. Serious allegations, emergency meeting scheduled to talk about the situation plagued his mind and Ross couldn't understand what the heck was going on. He didn't know how Rachel would react when he have to tell her that he has to abruptly leave for a couple of days to discuss the matter and hoped that she would still be there to support him if worse comes to worst.

Rachel entered the bedroom after that sweet talk with Ben and doesn't notice Ross' worrisome face in the beginning. She kissed him on the lips and sat on the bed, getting ready to tell him about Ben's question.

"Oh Ross, you wouldn't believed what Ben just asked me now." Rachel started to ramble while Ross was still in his own world. "Can you believe it that Ben asked me if you were going to live here? Don't get me wrong, I would love to live with you, but only when we feel that we're ready. I mean, come on, we haven't even made a month and it'll just be too soon if we did move in together. Don't you think?"

Rachel finally looked at Ross' face and didn't like what she was seeing. He'd been quiet during her whole rambling session and she didn't know what he was thinking. She started to get scared and afraid to ask what was going on.

"Ross, tell me. Did something happen back home?" At this point her mind was spinning with bad scenarios that started to get her all freaked.

Ross looked at her, with his face expression looking like a deer caught in the headlights. "Yeah and it looks like I have to get back immediately."

"You? Don't you mean we? Whatever it is, I'm coming with you." Rachel confusedly asked.

If it was something about the gang, she would definitely make the trip there. Screw work right now, her friends are what's important.

Ross shook her head. "No, just me."

"No Ross!" Rachel yelled. She didn't know exactly what the heck was going on but she wasn't about to stay home while one of her friends was in trouble. "If something's happening with the gang, I'm coming with you, end of story."

"Rach, it isn't about the gang." Ross told truthfully.

"Then what is it about?" Rachel was downright confused at this point and didn't know why Ross wasn't telling her about what's going on.

Ross took a deep breath and looked at her straight in the eyes. "It's about me."


Ahh...(scratching head) yeah, so there it is. Confused? Well, welcome to the world of confusion and it looks like you'll have to wait until the next chapter to know what the heck is going on (wink, wink). Feel free to speculate.

Yeah I know, I'm terrible with updates. I've gotten e-mails asking if and when I was going to update my story and I came up with a way to no keep you in the dark any longer. I've seen some other authors do this, so I shall do it too. Look at my profile and I shall give you wonderful readers the 411 on my situation. What I can tell you though is that I have written up to chapter six. Yay me! Kinda stuck on chapter seven though :(

Oh well, what can you do about that damn writers block.

Anyway, all I'm asking is to leave a review and I can't thank enough to the people who drops a review. Special thanks to Kerop10588 for getting me to sit down and get back into the swing of things. Thanks again for your patience :D