Challenge Being Miles Away: Chapter 5
Disclaimer:
Not making money? True
Character's belong to me? Nope
Doing this for fun and pure enjoyment? Definitely
Bottom line: Don't sue me!
Ross never thought that he would see a haunting look of anger and obvious disappointment on the face of his daughter. You promised! You lie to me! I don't like you anymore!. Those words from his baby girl plagued his mind as he downed a bottle of beer in the kitchen. So what if it was too early for one? He needed it and found it to be a bit of ease on his mind.
Once morning came after getting the call from the night before, Ross told Emma that he had to go away for a couple of days because of an emergency at work and she obviously didn't take it that well. She was throwing a surprising tantrum and stormed off to her bedroom.
Seeing that his bottle is empty, he stood up and rinsed the bottle to put it on the side for recycling. He sat down and opened a pink photo album that he took earlier from the living room. Ross flipped through the pages with a smile growing each time he turned over a page. He didn't realize that they had that much pictures of Emma and estimated that Rachel must've been through countless of exposures, documenting almost every move or gesture of their daughter.
Ross stopped at a page and stared at a particular picture for a while.
"I love that picture too."
Ross sat with his back against the door that he didn't notice that Rachel been leaning on the side of the door frame for a while. With Ross' back still facing her, she placed her hands on his shoulder and kissed him on his right cheek.
"She was so happy when I dipped her feet whenever a wave would run up the shore." Ross said in a nostalgic tone.
Rachel smiled as she remembered the time when Ross and herself went to the Geller's beach house for a weekend. Jack and Judy wanted Ross and Rachel to bring recently turned a year-old Emma since they didn't get the chance to see her during the birthday party. Monica and Chandler was also invited, but they immediately declined the offer. Something about beaches triggered some memories that they wish were forgotten and although it has been years since that happened, they prefer not to reminisce about that vacation ever again.
"Did you hear her earlier? Man, she's really upset over me leaving." Ross took a deep breath and sighed.
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Ross. She'll get over it." Rachel started to massage his shoulders as Ross closed the album.
"I called the airlines and got on the same flight as Ben." Ross informed.
"So, you'll be leaving in three days." Rachel ask, confirming if what she heard is correct.
"Looks like it."
Rachel stopped massaging his shoulders and pulled a chair next to him.
"You shouldn't have persuaded me to take this job." Rachel said out of the blue. "This wouldn't be going on if we were still in New York."
Ross shook his head. "No Rach, not this again. Remember, you wanted to take the job and I was the reason that made you not want to go." Ross took her hand. "You owe it to yourself."
Rachel stood up and paced around the room. "Maybe I do, but right now looks like it's not the right time. I should quit right now and head back to New York with you."
"No!" Curiously peeking through a crack in the door, Emma yelled out as she ran through the door and into her mothers arms. "Don't do it!"
Rachel held her daughter in her arms and raised an eye brow. "You don't want mommy to quit her job?"
Emma slowly nodded.
"Why?" Rachel questioned, wondering what her reason would be.
"Greens don't quit!" Emma commanded.
Rachel smiled widely as she giggled at her daughter. She's definitely like her, alright. "You're right missy, we don't."
Ross continued sitting on the chair as he watched the interaction between mother and daughter. He didn't know what to do or say, so he remained as an observer. A part of him was hesitant to speak to his daughter because he had no clue the state of emotion that she was feeling at the moment. She could be playing the cool front towards her mother, but could pull a total one-eighty on him.
Rachel put Emma down and Ross took a deep breath. He took one step towards his daughter before kneeling on his right knee down in order to be face-to-face with her. "Are you still upset with me Ems?" Ross asked.
No words were needed, her actions said it all.
She just stood there, arms crossed and still had a look of betrayal on her face. Ross found it freaky that her death-glare face was a striking familiarity that belong of Rachel's.
"You promise." Emma pointed out, obvious that she's still not fine about Ross leaving even if it's for a couple of days. "You said you stay long time."
"I am, but there something going on back at home that I need to resolve." Ross tried to reason.
"What is it?" Emma face softened a bit as she curiously asked.
Ross shrugged. "I don't know sweetie, but it sounds very serious."
"You in trouble? Been a bad boy and need spankings?"
Ross couldn't help but chuckled at his daughter's latest question. "I hope not."
Emma pondered for a while before jumping and hanging onto Ross. Ross started to loosen up and was relieved while he continued to hold her into his arms.
"I not mad anymore." Emma said as she kissed his cheek. "But very sad you leaving."
Ross broke the hug to look at her but kept his arms around her small body. "Sweetie, it's only for a few days, I promise."
"Can I come with you?" Emma begged, using her puppy-eye look that she obviously inherited from her father. "I be a good girl."
Ross didn't know how to answer that so he looked at Rachel. Rachel wasn't expecting that request and didn't want to answer it right away. She knew that it was something to be discussed between herself and Ross.
"Honey, go and play with your toys in the living room with Ben." Rachel said. "Mommy and Daddy will have to talk about it and we'll let you know when we make a decision."
Emma nodded and exited the kitchen. Ross returned to the seat he was sitting in earlier and Rachel sat across from him.
"What are we going to do?"
It was a bright and sunny summer day in New York. Everyone seemed to embrace the sunny weather, but Ross thought that it was entirely contradicting with the way he was feeling about being back there earlier than he had planned. He looked around at the familiar buildings of his neighborhood and knew that he was two blocks away from his apartment as he sat in the back seat of a taxi. He yawned and stretched his body the best he could, careful not to wake up the little girl whose head is on his lap.
Looked like Emma got her request. Ross was a little bit unsure on what to do, but Rachel thought that it was something that she could grant her. Rachel saw it as no problem since she would be busy at work for the next coming week due to a fashion show to promote the summer line that was coming out. Things would be hectic at work and knowing that she wouldn't have to worry about Emma because she could be working long hours, she found it as a perfect solution.
The cab stopped in front of Ross' apartment complex and Ross carried Emma before sliding out of the car. The cab driver already pulled out Ross' black duffel bag and a back pack from the trunk and Ross paid him. The cab sped off as Ross searched his pockets for his keys.
"Need help?" A voice asked from behind and Ross knew who it was.
Turning around he smiled and nodded. "That'll be nice. Thanks Joey."
Joey smiled. "No problem. Kind of looked like your hands are full at the moment."
Joey carried the duffel bag and backpack as they made there way to Ross' apartment. Once they reached the apartment, Ross decided to temporarily place Emma on his bed since he needed to get the spare room ready.
When Ross got back in the living room, Joey remained standing by the door and unsure where to put the bags. Ross knew what he was thinking as he saw Joey looking around the place.
"Just put it down, I'll put it away later." Ross requested.
Joey nodded and did what he was told. "Weren't you suppose to stay there during the whole summer?" He curiously asked. "The summer isn't over yet, is it?"
Ross shook his head and chucked. "No Joey. I got something going on at work."
Joey quizzically raised a brow. "And they needed you to come to New York to fix it?"
Ross smacked his lips and nodded.
Joey noticed that he wasn't too pleased about the whole thing, so he decided to change the subject. "So anyway, Mon wants us to get over to her place tomorrow for dinner. She would be pretty surprised that you're here and with Emma too."
Ross nodded. "Sounds good."
"Want to catch a ride with Pheebs and Mike."
Ross shook head, quickly declining the offer. "No way. I'm not taking a seat in the death cab if Phoebe is driving."
Joey chuckled. "I'm sure we can get Mike to drive."
"Oh, we better."
Joey nodded. "Well I better go and let you take a sleep. You must be pretty jet lagged. Want me to join you on the couch?" Joey joked.
Ross wasn't smiling and Joey took it as his cue to get out of there. "And I'm off."
Ross slightly smiled. "Thanks again Joey."
Joey waved goodbye and exited the door. Ross scratched his head and headed towards his bedroom. He was pretty jet lagged and decided that setting up the other room could be put on hold for now.
Sitting at the dining table with her laptop on, Rachel found it to be too quiet and peaceful for her taste. She has gotten accustomed to having Emma run in and politely ask for her breakfast at that exact time. Not that morning though, Emma was thousands of miles away from her mother for the first time ever.
She looked at her laptop and realized that she's finished typing up that marketing report. She saved her document on a flash drive and closed the word processing application. An instant message window popped out on her screen and she's thrilled to see that it's from Ross.
Hey sweetie, can't sleep? It must be 1:30 a.m. in New York. Rachel typed
Yeah. Kind of got the whole paranoia, uneasiness, and being scared out of my mind going on over here.
Any ideas on what's going on?
None...They better be giving me an award, a car, or a million dollars!
Rachel chuckled. LOL
So what've you been doing? Ross typed.
Just finished typing something for work. Sooo don't feel like going today.
Me too...Don't want to head on the campus later today.
Rachel sadly smiled as she looked at her watch.
I really hate to end this but I have to head to work already. Call me after your meeting, okay.
Sure, I'll talk to you later. Love you.
Rachel smiled widely Love you too. Bye...
Rachel sadly logged off and shut down her laptop. She wished that she could call in sick that day but knew it was impossible.
The fashion show was ten days away and she can already feel the pressure of setting things off with a bang. The coming show was very important to the company and Rachel knew that she needed to be on the job. Meetings to strategize the new line was grueling and she started to question why she was offered and took the job. She was a merchandiser at Ralph Lauren and now she's a marketing assistant at Louie Vuitton. How she got that job and a great pay to go with that? She would never know. All she knew was that she had the natural knack for it and she wasn't fired yet, so that had to be a good thing!
Her cell phone started to ring and she knew that it was work already.
A shrill scream traveled through the room and Ross jolted up immediately. He looked to his left side where he last placed his sleeping daughter and noticed that her sleeping body is not there anymore. Worst case scenario ran through his head as he ran to the living room.
He frantically searched around the living room and when he looked at the his front door, he noticed that it was wide open. Ross cursed and ran out, looking left and right to see if he could find anything. Ross called out Emma's name but got no response. He was now freaking out and searched frantically for his little girl. Rachel would definitely killed him if something happened to her.
How the hell could she have gotten out of the apartment anyways? As Ross can remember, she couldn't even turn a door knob. He seen her attempt to do so but she could never get it. What a perfect time for her to figure out now.
Ross ran back to his apartment and started to dial 911 frantically. Just as the operator answered, Ross canceled his request as a huge wave of relief washed over him when he saw Emma in the arms of his sister.
Ross ran up to them and took Emma, hugging tightly. "I thought I lost you for a while."
Monica looked at him quizzically. "Why would you think that?"
"I heard a girl's scream and I thought that it was Emma. I ran out in the living room and the door was open. I called for her in the halls and got no response."
"Sorry Ross." Monica apologetic. "I entered the apartment with the spare key you gave me and I saw Emma walk out of your room. I squealed in surprised and she shushed me, telling me that you were sleeping. With Emma in my arms, we headed towards the stairway after we heard the scream and the cries. A little girl fell down and we were the first to attend her. She was crying in pain and I could see that her arm was broken, so I went outside to use my cell since I had no reception in the building. I noticed an ambulance nearby and spotted the paramedics who were at Central Perk. That's probably when you were calling out for Emma." Monica started to rub his arms. "I'm sorry I put you through this worry."
Ross shook his head. "Nah, I'm all paranoid anyway." He tried to joke.
Monica smiled. "So what're you doing today."
"One thing for sure, taking care of business."
"Okay, want me to watch Emma while you do your thing?"
Ross smiled at the offer. "Thanks Mon."
"No problem, you're coming to dinner right?"
Ross nodded. "Yeah, Joey told me about it. The meeting with definitely be done by supper."
"What time is your meeting?"
Ross looked at his watch. "In an hour."
"Well, I just stopped by to see for myself if Joey was right and now I'll let you be."
Ross nodded and turned his attention to Emma. "Ems, your going with Aunt Monica for a little while and Daddy will see you soon."
"I go with aunt Moni?" Emma asked.
"Yes sweetie."
Emma shrugged her shoulders. "Okay. See babies?"
"Of course sweetie." Monica answered.
Emma cheered as she reached out for her Aunt "Moni". Ross and Rachel always tried to teach her how to say Monica's name correctly, but she always referred her to Moni. So Moni it was for Monica. Ross gave Monica a backpack of stuff for Emma and kissed Emma on the forehead.
"Be good for aunt Mon okay?"
Emma smiled and nodded excitedly. She always wanted to see her baby cousins that she heard so much about but something always prevented it from happening. It was either Emma was sleeping, her parents couldn't take her, or she wasn't allowed to see them because they were sleeping.
They bid a final farewell and Monica and Emma were off. Ross watched the door closed shut and he started to head towards the kitchen, to make a much needed cup of coffee.
Rachel entered her bedroom, entirely worn out and lazy to do anything else as she collapsed on her bed. She looked at the direction of her clock and read that it was 6:05 pm. She would've called Ross but knew that he was probably at his meeting because she remember him saying something about a noon meeting. Her cell phone ringed and she sat up, searching in her purse to look for it. She pulled it out of her purse and looked at her caller ID, smiling widely as she answered.
"Hey Mon. What's going on?" Rachel happily greeted.
"Hey Rach, somebody wanted to call and say hi."
Rachel listened as she heard Monica in the background and a recognizable giggle. "Hello? Who am I talking too?" Rachel played around. She knew that it was her daughter.
"Hi Mommy!" Emma yelled. "I at Aunt Moni and Unkie Chandy's."
Rachel smiled as she heard her daughter's own nicknames for Monica and Chandler. Chandler wasn't too thrilled about it, but played along with it anyways.
"Really? Are you being a good girl?"
"Yes mommy."
"Good girl. Can mommy talk to aunt Monica now?"
"Okay. Love you."
Rachel smiled widely. "Love you too baby girl."
Rachel got off her bed and headed towards the kitchen to search for something to eat.
"She's just too cute, isn't she." Monica gushed as she got the phone back.
"I know, maybe too much though."
Rachel knows first hand that her daughters cuteness could be too dangerous for her or even Ross. She could just use that to persuade her parents to get whatever she had her eye on. Ross always joked that she was so much like her and Rachel would always deny it, but lately, she's been kind of seeing it for herself.
"So how was Ross when you saw him?" Rachel curiously asked.
"Besides the fact that I gave him quite a scare for a while, he seemed to be coping. He looked tired. He must've got only a couple of hours of sleep last night." Monica truthfully replied.
"I'm not surprised. He was shocked when he got the phone call. He had no idea what was going on and I could tell that he wasn't pleased about coming back home because of it."
"I'm sure he was." Monica heard enough about the whole thing with Ross and she knew that Rachel was on the same page as her, so she decided to change the subject. "Hey, so how was that dinner of yours?"
Rachel grinned as she started to replay the events in her head. She sat on a chair and happily told her best-friend a night that she would definitely never forget.
Ross frantically paced around the outside of the conference room. Time was almost approaching and Ross felt as if he had to gather his mentality before entering the room. He didn't know what to expect and hoped that it wasn't too serious.
What a stupid question, he thought to himself. Why else would it not be serious if they didn't want to tell me over the freakin' phone!
Ross thought that when he got tenured not too long ago, he was set there for life. Now there he was, scared out of his mind that he may lose his job and would be forced to find another. Ross stopped pacing as a thought dropped on him.
Would it be so bad if I did? Ross asked himself. The part of Ross that needed complete security and control in his life was screaming 'hell yeah'. Ross would practically jump on that train right away at the moment, but this time, he was listening to that tiny part of him that said no. He was now coming to a realization that it may not be as bad as he thought that it could be. Possibly could be beneficiary for him. There was only one way of finding out.
Ross took a glance at his watch and he knew that it was time. Taking his final stride, he inhaled deeply and turned the knob.
Not too much to say but I ask to please review readers. Spring break has already started for me and I had to jump back on the train since I didn't write anything last week. Thanks again you guys!
