Disclaimer: Not mine, but we've already established this…

A/N: As always, thanks for the reviews. There's sexual content in this chapter, but it's not vulgar or graphic – at least, I don't think it's that bad (but just in case, I upped the rating to R – or M, whichever one you're comfortable with). But if it's too much, let me know…

"Seventh"

12:37 A.M. read the clock on the wall.

Technically, it was already May 7th and their anniversary was over – yet they both knew that it was far from over, but it was more like they were just getting started.

Ross turned off the television as the credits rolled. He gently tapped Rachel on the shoulder, indicating it was time to go to bed, but she didn't want to get up.

"Rach, look at this," Ross said, holding a present behind his back, tossing the small box.

"You didn't," she delayed. "Ross, you know you didn't have to buy this."

An exquisite white gold necklace along with a matching anklet, which were something Rachel had her eye on when she, Emma and Ross while shopping for Jack and Erica's gifts. Obviously, Ross – like the time he bought her that pin in the window or when Carol longed for that crystal duck – noticed. He could be pretty cheap when it came to other stuff. However, when it came to the loves of his life, he tended to splurge and spoil them.

Rachel ran into his arms, giddy like a kid during Christmas as she planted a huge kisses on both of his cheeks then lips. He carried her in his arms, which caused her to giggle slightly.

Ross allowed her to shift her body so face him and now where she'd position herself to face him – a leg in each of his arms. Situating his hands around her curvy ass, she tightly wrapped her left arm around him while her free arm tousled his hair as she felt the warmth of his kisses salivate her neck. He struggled to make it into their room, but when he finally did, there'd be nothing and no one to stop them – like she said earlier, "…no interruptions."

XXX

He pressed her up against one of their bedroom walls, so she couldn't escape – not that she'd want to. Which wall exactly? Yeah, he could care less about that at this point. Everything had gotten blurry for the both of them… fast. She raised her arms, so he could remove her shirt, revealing her bare and rounded breasts. Next, she began unbuttoning his collared shirt and unfastened the shirt from his pants, tossing the shirt onto the ground. Ross, she muffled into his mouth as she felt his increasing hard-on on her waist, neither breaking the kiss.

Before she unbuckled the belt and took off his pants, he removed the condoms conveniently placed in his pocket and placed the edge of the unopened ones in his mouth. Between them, all that was left were his boxers and her pajama bottoms. He let her down gently, so he could be more capable of the "daunting" task of undoing her pajamas, smiling when she had gone commando.

She slid his boxers off him and helped him with the condom. She found her back brushing up against the wall again with her legs wrapped around his abdomen, eliciting a slight moan as he entered her. Almost engulfing each other in a kiss, she ran her hands on his back, then settling her hands on his ass as he pushed freely in and out of her while kneading her breasts with his hands.

Like she said the night of Monica and Chandler's engagement when Monica had thought they had stolen her thunder, she remembered his how effective his hands were, which almost always managed to send shivers down her spine.

"Oh God, Ross," she yelled unintelligibly into his mouth and became more coherent as their mouths separated, now placing his lips on and taking a mouthful of her left breast. His hands straightened and pinned her arms up against the wall, "Ross!"

Hearing her repeatedly moan his name, Ross spurred on as he continued to thrust in and out. He felt her and his muscles tense as she finally reached climax – as he followed shortly after her. Still attached to each other, he twirled her so that she was no longer on the wall, but so that they crashed onto the bed…

XXX

No one could make her feel this way: not Barry, Paolo, Joshua, Danny, Tag, Paul, Pete, Chip, etc. Nobody could, except him – the guy who currently had her sandwiched between him and their bed. Hell, the craziest place she'd ever done it in her years with Barry was at the foot of the bed. While it was nothing but hot with Paolo, most of the sex was contained within a bedroom. But that first time with Ross was so much exhilarating than all the times in her previous twenty-six years combined. The thrill of being caught at the museum plastered a broad smile every time she'd thought about it. Sure, they might have scarred a bunch of children, but they had to learn about "the birds and the bees" sometime…

It was an intimidating task (for any guy not named Ross) to live up to. Sure, she'd have fun with whatever guy she was currently with. With anyone else, it was just fucking, nothing more and nothing less – which was why ended it with Joey so abruptly: she could never use Joey like that. It was never this intense or this pleasurable as it was with Ross. He was like the drug that gave her the ultimate high. When they were together, they fit like the last adjacent pieces of a complicated puzzle.

If she had known that the geeky Ross would've been better at the overall "stuff" than Chip, she never would've hooked up with the asshole jock. Maybe it did pay off to be a "nerd" – after all, Ross studied every single contour and curve of her face and body, knowing well what pleased her and what didn't, etc. Who wouldn't after 479 times?

And before him, whoever would have thought toes would be such a big deal?

XXX

1:13 A.M.

Still on top of her, he rested his head on her shoulder, half-asleep and half-awake. The blankets covered the both of them as their breathing and heartbeats finding its way back to normal.

"Sweetie, wake up," Rachel enticingly whispered in his ear, feeling his breath on her neck, "I love you, Ross."

"I love you, too, Rach," he replied, now fully awake.

They both knew they didn't have much free time to do this uncontrollably with Emma around, so whenever they could, Ross and Rachel took advantage of whatever time they had alone to themselves. Of course, they still had sex, but they had to be more discreet about it. Without Emma in the room next door, there just weren't many inhibitions left – both wanting and needing each other.

"Hey," he cleared his throat, brushing the strands of her long hair from her eyes – something he wasn't too fond of though since they covered her delicate and gorgeous face.

"You've got to do something about your hair," he teased as he kissed her, planting a trail of kisses on her neck, sticking his tongue in her ear, working his way to her lips, down her breasts to her flat stomach – all of which did wonders for her. He licked the beads of sweat materializing on her body. The taste of her literally intoxicated him.

Before proceeding, he saw the little heart tattoo on her hip that she had gotten exclusively for him those years ago. Draping her legs on his shoulders, she moaned loudly as he inserted his fingers in her, driving her up the wall – and all the way to cloud 9, wherever that was. She clutched the bed sheets firmly as he rotated between his fingers and his tongue fluttered in and out of her.

She could no longer contain herself. Another thing she had endeared about Ross: his ability to almost always put her needs first over his, whether it was with sex, advice about (almost) anything and everything, or the certain times when they weren't together where she'd become slightly jealous – and he wouldn't continue to date her (Jill and Katie, to name a few).

Sure, Monica may have been her best friend when they were younger (and still are friends now), but the past few years, her best friends would have to be Phoebe, Joey or Ross.

She arched her back, giving him better access while her hands roamed freely through Ross's now disheveled hair. She bit her bottom lip to prevent from screaming out loud. Sure, Emma wasn't in her room, but they had to be considerate for the other residents in his apartment building – or across the street.

Yeah, that didn't work.

More out of pleasure than pain, "fucking shit, Ross" was one of the things she shouted articulately before grabbing the nearest pillow to scream into, which didn't block out all of her screaming as he continued to tease her. Her blue eyes flickered constantly.

If she hadn't been trembling before, she definitely was now…

XXX

The alarm clock resonated through the walls… before someone hit the snooze button.

7:41 A.M.

Forty-one minutes later than they would normally wake-up, but today was Saturday and neither had work. So, it was a moot point.

After awhile, they lost count, but it was definitely in the ballpark of the 480th and 487th time. At the time, she seemed both shocked and impressed that he – or anyone for that matter – would keep count.

She bent her head and right arm on his chest and he wrapped his left arm protectively around her, their legs intertwined.

The sunshine threatened to break its way into their bedroom, beginning yet another new day – number 366 since getting off the plane, to be exact. The last time they had gone through a one-year anniversary: they'd had another fight about her working and Mark, which was followed by a painful break-up. Luckily, they had both gotten past that several months ago.

Rachel's eyes opened, looking up at the man next to her – apparently, Ross had already been watching her sleep for the past few minutes.

She grinned widely before they said their almost habitual "hey you" to each other. It'd become their little thing that they started at the beginning of their relationship – and that phrase caught on with the rest of the group.

"Last night was amazing, babe," she mentioned. "It was…"

"Perfect?" he finished the sentence for her, she nodded. This time he didn't need Sex for Dummies.

They sat in bed and hands interlocked, "Um, Rach, what time are we picking up Emma?"

"After getting something to eat, I guess," she suggested before dialing her mother's number on her cell to check up on Emma. "Hey mom, how's Emma? That's good…"

XXX

It was an incredibly nice day outside. Plus, the weather was finally starting to warm up and actually feel like summer.

Dressed casually, Ross and Rachel decided to go for a little walk around the neighborhood. She wore a pair of pink sunglasses, shielding her eyes from the sun's bright rays. Threading her arm around his, she leaned into him as he planted a kiss on the top of her head. Walking into the coffee house which had been a second home to them, they saw the platinum-blond man serving coffee as usual.

"Gunther, two cups of coffee and a couple of blueberry muffins to go," Rachel requested, still suspicious as to whether he had gotten over his crush. "Wow, Ross, we haven't been here in ages…"

"I know, it's just… different without Monica and Chandler around," Ross added, holding back the urge to kiss Rachel in front of Gunther. He still felt Gunther hated him for being with Rachel, so he didn't want to add to that.

"Thanks Gunther," she reacted as the blond-haired man handed her the cups of coffee in a tray and the white bag with blueberry muffins.

As the two exited Central Perk, Gunther watched Rachel saunter off with Ross…

"I swear I know he hates me," Ross presumed as they headed back to their apartment.

"Yeah, he does," she jokingly mocked, "but honestly, who cares, Ross? I don't love Gunther that way, you know that, hon."

After getting back to their apartment, they'd taken a shower together to save time – and water.

XXX

Rachel walked out of the shower, covering herself with a towel – she looked for an outfit to wear to her niece and nephew's first birthday party. "Ross, sweetie – are we doing that thing we planned for Emma's birthday?"

He concurred, "Yeah, it's still pushed back a couple weeks, right?"

Ross walked up to her, put his hands on her waist and feeling his heavy breathing on her neck, "Ross, we can't do this right now. We'll never be able to get anything finished…"

Normally, Rachel wouldn't say no to Ross, but she promised to Monica that they would make it on time. "Yeah, you're right," he agreed.

About an hour later, Rachel walked out in a black buttoned-up shirt, pink-colored skirt (which stopped a bit after her knees) and a pair of black, strappy, heel shoes. The skirt showed off Rachel's best assets: her stunning, silky-smooth legs. Ross donned on a pink-long sleeved shirt (although Ross had rolled up the sleeves) buttoned up to the second to the last one, a tie that was nonchalantly tied, black pants, and a black pair of Adidas.

Informal, yet somewhat formal was the attire…

"Honey, could you put this on?" Rachel handed him the necklace he had given her as she turned her back so he could clasp the necklace on her.

"It's beautiful," Ross declare while putting his arms on her hips with her back still to his front. "Just like you – even more beautiful on you, Rach, if that's even possible."

Tears of happiness were threatening to burst from her eyes. Rachel had always been an emotional person – and this time was obviously no different. Now facing him, she praised him through subdued tears, "God, Ross, I honestly don't know what I've done to deserve such an incredible guy like you."

He'd always find the right words to say. "Because you're a wonderful mother, astonishing daughter, understanding and helpful sister – granted your sisters can grate at times," he paused, drawing a small snicker from her, "a supportive and loyal friend, but most importantly, the greatest girlfriend a guy could ever have, want or need. But we really have to pick up Emma."

XXX

5:30 P.M.

"So, Emma – were you a good little girl for grandma?" Rachel cooed at her daughter as Ross watched the mother-daughter interaction from afar. He chuckled when Emma had shown the hundred dollar bill at her mom.

"How did the anniversary go, tiger?" the tall, pregnant blonde woman asked.

"Pheebs, it was indescribable," Ross answered. "So, how far is the pregnancy?"

"5 months," she chatted, "At least, I'm past the Evander Holyfield stage – so, no proposals?"

Damn, Ross thought. It wasn't like he wasn't thinking about it. Of course, he was – longer than anyone could have imagined. But he was still in the planning the intricate details phase of how he would propose. He'd done the conventional down-on-one-knee with Carol, the spontaneous give-her-your-ridiculous-earring with Emily – and now Rachel, it had to be different. He couldn't do the planetarium proposal anymore since Rachel already knew about that one. At this point, Rachel would probably accept anything so long as he said those five words, "Nope, not yet, Phoebe."

"You know, she'd probably say yes – no matter how you propose, Ross," she advised.

"I know, but still, I want something that we could eventually tell Emma will be able to tell her kids, who'll tell their kids, I'd go on – but you get my point," Ross divulged. "I've had a major crush on her since I was fifteen, but I think I've loved her since the day she came running into Central Perk."

"Whatever you do," Phoebe hesitated, "Just don't let her propose – most embarrassing thing of my life, Ross…"

XXX

A black limousine pulled up in front of the Westchester home. Joey Tribbiani and a mob of people – okay, Michael, Gina, Alex, and Sarah don't really count as a mob – exited the vehicle, particularly Joey who was excited to see his friends for the first time since moving out to Los Angeles. "Which house is it again?" Michael asked. "Calm down, Uncle Joe."

As they entered the home (wow, still not locking the doors, Joey thought), several people were already there: Jack and Judy Geller, some of Monica's Javu coworkers and their kids, Charles and Nora Bing and their respective lovers, a few other Geller and Bing relatives to name a few.

Emma ran to him as he scooped her up, chuckling, "How you doin', Jo-ey?"

"Wow, you're getting so big now, Em," he laughed. "You taking good care of original Hugsy? New Hugsy's no fun in Los Angeles…"

Monica and Chandler saw Joey and greeted him, "Mon. Chan. You know my sister, Gina – this is her son, Michael," he stopped briefly to catch his breath, "These are my neighbors, Alex and Sarah. And this is my girlfriend, Sarah."

"So, where are the twins?"

They all exchanged their hellos while Monica nudged her husband who was apparently gawking at Sarah, "Wasn't staring – just…"

"Okay Bing, don't worry. I believe you," Monica said before heading back into the kitchen. "The twins are down for a little nap. They didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

An hour or two passed. Everyone chattered. Even Charles and Nora managed to put their differences aside for the sake of their grandchildren.

Chandler had gone around of people taking pictures with the digital camera he had gotten Monica for Christmas – one of her new hobbies since the Resolutions a few years ago was to take more pictures and this would be the best way to do that.

The guys gathered around the television to watch some of the basketball playoffs. Sarah sat comfortably on Joey's lap as he focused on the one thing: Ra... y Allen of the Sonics hitting the three-point shot from the corner over Sacramento's Brad Miller.

"Stupid Knicks," Joey said to Chandler, "they'll never make the playoffs although it was funny when the Lakers didn't make it."

"Joe!" Rachel shrieked as they hugged, scaring half the people at the party, "How have you been, you big prime-time television star?"

"I've been great," he noted. The following sentence caught Rachel slightly ajar as if she'd been punched in the stomach, why she didn't know yet… "This is my girlfriend, Sarah."

"Rachel Green," she introduced.

XXX

"So, Rach, how was your anniversary," her friend of almost thirty years asked, looking at the hand if there was something new that might not have been there before.

Rachel smiled, "Mon, you're brother is…"

"You know, he's still my brother," Monica quipped, "So, if you're going for anything explicit, let's pass on that."

"No, Mon – anyways, he noticed how much I wanted this necklace and this anklet when we were shopping for the twins," she pointed to the respective items. "It's the best anniversary I could have asked for…"

"So, did he propose?" Monica inquired.

There it was. Why it bothered her when Joey had said he had a girlfriend. It wasn't that she had any romantic feelings for Joey because, honestly, she didn't. It was how she and Ross had dated for more than a year, twice now – and they hadn't been the slightest bit engaged while he proposed to Emily after six weeks… she thought to herself.

"Mon, you know – I love your brother more than any guy I've been with and it's reciprocated," she divulged. "I don't think we need a ring to symbolize our love…"

"Aw, my little girl's all grown up," Monica teased.

"Don't get me wrong, I'd take one if he had one," she resumed. "But it doesn't matter – as long as we're together, you know? There's no way we're messing this up."

"Well, so far, so good."

And they continued to chat for another hours about anything – and everything. Something they really hadn't done in quite some time.

XXX

Ross and Chandler joined in with Joey and Mike as they conversed and downed a couple of beers, still watching the game on television. The Sonics were about to close out the series against the Kings. Something they hadn't done in about a year – after Joey left for California.

Rachel nudged Ross, so she could talk to him…

"Hey, hon, what's up?" Ross questioned as they walked out into the house's backyard.

"Ross…" she thought about how she should phrase this, but bluntly asked, "When exactly are you going to propose?"

Shocked, Ross stammered, "Um, Rach – I don't think this is the, um, best place to talk about it."

Seeing his stunned demeanor, "Relax, sweetie. I'm not expecting a proposal right now, but I was shocked when Joey had a girlfriend… and it seems like we've dated for one year twice now – that we're 'stuck' in the same place, never being able to get over the hump, and you proposed to Emily after knowing for a much shorter time than we dated…" as she trailed off to the point where she was rambling.

"Rach, you're babbling," he taunted lightheartedly. "Anyways, I can attest to this, seeing as how I've waited almost twenty years so we would be together, but some things are just worth waiting for…"

Ross and Rachel, deciding to reinsert back into the world that surrounded them, walked back into the house as they heard everyone inside singing "Happy Birthday" to the twins.

There it was. Out in the open between them – now all that was left is for Ross to concoct a plan that he would use as a proposal.

Why the hell was it so difficult for these words to come out of his mouth when it was Rachel, but so simple when he was proposing to (and divorcing) everyone else?

XXX

A/N II: I really had a complicated time fitting Chandler and Monica (and everyone else, not named Ross and Rachel) into the story, but it's not really about them, so yeah. One more chapter though.