Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story. They all belong to Bright, Kauffman, and Crane, who are by the way geniuses! ;)
A/N: This chapter was SO long, that I had to split it up into two parts. I want to have this done before Christmas, so I had to post this chapter now. It would take me too long to type. So this is the first part. Rachel is mainly featured in it. I really wanted to post this as one, but it would get too long, and then people probably wouldn't read it. But I really like the second part. It gets good, trust me! Let me know what you think!
Chapter Three
Driving down the lonley roads, a feeling of depression came over Rachel. 'Well, here it is again,' she thought. 'Here is my depressing life. I should have at least said goodbye. That was the best Christmas I ever had,'she thought sadly.
That night, she arrived in New York. The lights were just starting to turn on, and the city became alive. She parked her car in an almost empty parking garage and gathered her belongings. Her arms were completley full as she was walking down the streets of New York. In her hands, she held a map that was supposed to get her to the apartment building she would be staying in. It was cheap and run-down, but better than nothing.
After walking for five minutes, she was relieved to see the building up ahead. 'Almost there,'she thought. It was a good thing, too. She wasn't in a very good area and people on the streets were starting to make remarks at her.
'Wooo-woo!' exclaimed a homeless man with no teeth. 'I'd like to get a piece of that!'
Rachel picked up her pace. The building was nearer now. In the distance, she heard a gunshot go off, dogs bark, and glass break. The skies were filled with smog. She began running now, hardly able to see where she was going. She was almost there. She still ran, and looked to the side where the apartment complex stood. On it hung a sign that read, 'Closed for Renovation'.
Rachel groaned, but kept running. She didn't want to be in this neighborhood any longer. What she didn't notice was that there was someone in front of her. She accidentaly ran smack dab into a tall, pretty, blond, woman wearing a Santa Claus outfit.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Rachel.
"That's ok," said the woman.
Rachel bent down to pick up her numerous bags, suprised to see that the woman bent down to help her, holding her red velvety hat on top of her head.
"I'm Phoebe Buffay. You're not from around here, are you?" she asked.
"No," replied Rachel. "How'd you know?"
"Well, your outfit, and all these bags do say a lot. Plus, the look on your face as you walked down the street."
Rachel sighed. "You guessed it. I'm from California. San Diego, to be exact. I just drove across the country to find out that the apartment building where I was supposed to live is closed." She gestured to the building that was nearly in front of them.
"Oh, that sucks." Phoebe's face lit up. "Hey, you can live with me!"
Rachel backed away. "Excuse me?"
"Oh, no. I'm not crazy! I'm just looking for a roomate. Rachel, we'd be great roomates!"
A weird look came across Rachel's face. "Phoebe, I never told you my name..."
"Oh, well some people say I have this gift. I know things that certain people don't. A sixth sense, if you will. Plus, you look like a Rachel."
"All right..."
"So, would you like a place to stay?"
Rachel stopped gathering her things. New York was going to be interesting, she could tell. But should she just move in with some strange woman in a Santa Claus suit? 'This is kind of strange,' she thought. But as she looked into Phoebe's eyes, she felt that she could be trusted. There was a vibrant blue sparkle in them. The sunny smile that glowed on her face seemed to light up the dim alley. Rachel realized that she was staring this woman down, and blushed.
"So?" questioned Phoebe. "Do you need a place to stay? I promise that I'm not like some kind of kook. I mean, I don't have like a criminal record or anything. Well, there was that one time that I got arrested for having sex in the public library, but that was totally different, I promise! And I went out with the cop that tried to arrest me, so the record is clear. We sorta worked out a deal, y'know?"
Phoebe noticed that Rachel's eyes were slowly growing wider and wider. "Oh great, now you think that I'm floopy! Or worse, crazy!"
Rachel smiled. Phoebe had a way of moving her hands about wildly as she spoke. She clearly was the exact definiton of floopy, yet she had some very likable qualities. Plus, where else was she going to stay? Certinaly not on the streets! "Sure," said Rachel. "Thank you so much. I'll be forever grateful, Phoebe. I'm not sure I fully introduced myself. I'm Rachel Green. It's nice to meet you." She extended her hand out.
Phobe shook it. "Nice to meet you properly, Rachel. And of course I'd give you a place to stay! What else is the spirit of Christmas for?" she asked, gesturing to her outfit.
Rachel looked at the outfit inquisitivley. "Is that just your clothes or..." Her voice trailed off in question.
"Oh, this old thing? I wear it everyday," Phoebe answered with a serious air about her.
Rachel began to look worried and raised her eyebrows. "Every day?"
"Well, every day since December 1st. I work part time as a department store Santa Claus around the holidays. Now that Christmas is over, so is this little gig. Too bad Christmas is over. Such a happy time of year..."
"Yeah," Rachel remembered sadly and softly to herself. "It's over."
"Are you okay?" wondered Phoebe.
Rachel put on her mask immeaditly. "Of course! I'm just happy that you don't really wear that every day...y'know, I thought that you-"
"No, no," Phoebe interrupted. "I'm not Santa Claus."
Rachel smiled. "I didn't think that you were Santa. I just thought that you enjoyed wearing it for some reason."
Phoebe laughed a rather infectous laugh. "No, it's not exactly something I put on to get a sick pleasure out of."
Rachel looked relieved, but only for a split second. A horn honked in the distance and the squealing of brakes could be heard. Rachel jumped, and grabbed her bags.
"So, I think we'd better get out of here," began Rachel. "That didn't exactly sound good."
"Yeah, you're right. Here, let me help you with some of those." Phoebe picked up two of the bulging suitcases strapped with belts in order to hold all the clothing inside. "My God Rachel, what do you have in here? Bricks?"
"Not exactly. I want to work in fashion design, so I have a lot of clothes. I call them my little 'experiments.' I love clothes like you wouldn't believe."
"I'll say," commented Phoebe noticing the four bags Rachel held.
Rachel let out a small chuckle. "You have no idea..."
The long dark alleys loomed ahead. "So, how do we get out of here?" asked Rachel in anticipation. Her surroundings were so unlike warm sunny California, and Rachel longed to be in the sun. She had changed out of her warm jacket earlier, and was now dressed in capris, flip flops, and a blue jean jacket. She was very aware that the outside held freezing temperatures.
Phoebe noticed her companion's unseasonal attire. "Let's hail a cab. Taxi?!"
A yellow cab with a black stripe on the side pulled up to the curb within seconds. "Wow," breathed Rachel. "It's like magic!"
Phoebe threw her the bags into the back and motioned for Rachel to get in the cab. "Oh Rachel," she laughed. "You have so much to learn!"
The cab drive glanced back at his passengers. He was missing most of his teeth, had a scar that mangled half of his face, and was wearing an eyepatch over the eye that was not covered by his greasy thin hair. He noticed that his cab had recently aquired a girl that looked like she belonged on Baywatch and one who was dressed in a Santa suit. He turned around and sighed. "Hey, I'm not here to judge," he thought. After all, in New York City, who was?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Monica Bing took one final glance over her apartment. Tonight was her annual New Years Eve part, and everything needed to be perfect. Monica's definition of perfect was no mistakes, clean, everything in order, and everyone had to be having a good time, regardless of anything else. The walls gleamed, the decorations announcing the coming of the New Year hung effortlessly over the doorway, and pristine champagne glasses sparkled. When Monica seemed to be pleased with the setting, she called out to her husband who was taking much too long getting dressed. "Chandler?! Where are you? The guests will start arriving in ten minutes!"
A young man with sandy brown hair, clear blue eyes, and a charming smile entered the living room. He was fumbling with his tie. "Sweetie, can you help me with my suit? I don't see why I have to wear this damn tie, anyway. It's so uncomfort-wow..." His voice trailed off when he caught his first glimpse of his wife of two years all decked out to welcome in the New Year in a tight fitting, slinky, low cut, black dress. "You look...wow."
She smiled, revealing a set of pearly white teeth. Her lush dark hair cascaded around her face in waves. Her striking dark blue eyes rimmed with lashes sparkled. "Thanks," she said lovingly. "You don't look so bad yourself." She started to fix his tie. "Now why you can't put on a tie the right way is beyond me, but I love you anyways."
"That's good to know," he said jokingly. She gave his tie a final tug, and pulled him down on the couch on top of her. "Honey," he began, "I thought the guests were going to arrive soon."
She sighed and began to move lower. "But Chandler, this is the last time we'll have sex this year. Doesn't that make you sad?"
He was finding it hard to concentrate. "Ah, we have five minutes."
"That's more than enough time. Pants off, Bing!"
He glanced around and pretended to reluctantly give in, yet the speed in which he removed his pants was astonishing. "Alright, if you insist!"
Four minutes later, a frazzled, red faced Monica and Chandler were in the middle of all the action, when the heard the door knob turn.
"Pants back on! Pants back on!" Monica began to yell in a shrill, high pitched voice.
She ran towards the front door, smoothed her hair and dress down, made sure Chandler looked presentable and opened the door. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was only Phoebe, her old roomate and best friend. "Hey Pheebs," Monica said. "Come on in."
Phoebe entered, wearing an outrageously bright colored flowing tye dyed robe with bangly bracelets, rings on every finger, and a large necklace. "Hi everyone!"
Chandler walked towards the door, his hair a mess and suit rumpled."Hey Pheebs. I like your, um, outfit."
Phoebe smiled gleefully and looked him up and down. "Thanks, funnyman. I like your rumpled suit and sticking up hair. Did Monica pull the old, 'This is the last time we're gonna do it this year?' thing again?"
Chandler looked towards the ground, embarrassed. "Yeah."
"Dude, she gets you every time with that one!" Phoebe exclaimed.
He continued to look down, but tried to smooth out his suit and hair this time. Monica was equally embarrassed. "Phoebe," she managed to stutter out, "aren't you going to introduce us to your new roomate? This isn't exactly the way to behave in front of a guest.
Phoebe laughed and looked over at Rachel who was wearing a short red dress that contrasted beautifully with her silky blond hair. "Guys, this is Rachel Green. Rach, this is Chandler and Monica."
Rachel smiled sweetly and rather shyly. "Hi, it's nice to meet you. Your place is so lovley."
Monica imeaditly took a liking to her. "Thanks!" she exclaimed with a big smile. She went over to Rachel, and grabbed her hand. "Let me show you the rest of the place."
Rachel grinned back at Phoebe, and allowed herself to be pulled away by Monica, who was talking million miles an hour on topics that ranged from cooking to, strangely enough, high school. Phoebe smiled. She and Rachel were getting along so well. They had even found space for Rachel's massive wardrobe. She was glad that Monica seemed to take a liking to Rachel.
Just then, an extremely attractive Italian looking man came sauntering through the door wearing black pants and a Hawaiian shirt. "Hey Chandler. Hey Pheebs."
"Hey Joey," Chandler and Phoebe replied.
"Joe," began Chandler, "what's up with the shirt?"
Joey turned bright red. "It was a present from my grandmother. I'd rather not talk about it right now. So, where is the new hot roomate?"
"Joey!" exclaimed Phoebe.
"Well you said she was hot on the phone!" said Joey in a rather high voice.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What was that?" Rachel wondered aloud to Monica. Monica had been in the midst of giving the grand tour when Joey made his appearance known.
Monica laughed. "That would be Joey Tribbiani, he lives across the hall. He's Chandler's best friend. He's not all that bright, but you gotta love him."
"When you say 'not all that bright', do you mean mentally ill?" wondered Rachel.
"Oh God no! He has the brains, but seems to focus his attention on things important to him. Say, women...and sandwiches..."
Cries of Joey asking where the sandwiches were could be heard in the guest room where Monica and Rachel were. Rachel nodded. "I think I know what you mean!"
"I'm so happy there's another girl in the group now. Do you think you'll be in town for long?" asked Monica.
"I hope so. I need to find a job next week. Like a temporary one until I can get the one I want for good. I'd like to work in fashion."
"Cool! I'm a chef." Monica announced proudly.
Rachel smiled. She loved it when people got proud of the simple things in life. Such as the time she was building a snowman and Ross was so proud in the end. She sighed sadly, remembering that day. Others would think she was crazy, but it was a special day. A special, special day...
"Rachel, are you ok?" asked Monica.
She snapped out of it. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just glad I'm here too. I never had any close friends back in San Diego. Phoebe is so lucky. She has all these close friends." Rachel started to get emotional. She was talking about Phoebe and her friends, yet only one person was on her mind. Ross. "I just look at her and think that she's so lucky. I've always been so lonley and never had that."
"Aw, honey." Monica moved closer to Rachel and put her arm around her. "You have us now."
Rachel suddenly realized that she was crying in front of a girl she just met. "I'm so sorry. I just felt like I could open up to you. I don't know why."
Monica sighed. "Well, in high school I was fat. I guess that made people want to talk to me about their problems more."
Rachel looked up and sniffed. "Really? You're gorgeous now!"
"Thanks, you are too."
"Aww..."
They hugged and laughed. "This is ridiculous," said Monica. "I just met you and we're both on the verge of tears!"
Rachel smiled. "I bet this means we'll be very good friends."
Monica smiled back. "I know. I have that same feeling, too."
They hugged again, and Phoebe walked in. She groaned. "Come on you two, get a room!"
Monica looked confused. "But Pheebs, we're in a room. We're just hugging. It's not like we're lesbians or anything."
At the mention of lesbians, Joey raced into the room, with Chandler following close behind. "Lesbians? Where? The new girl's a lesbian?!"
Rachel laughed. 'So this was Joey,' she thought. She looked around at the four friends. 'They seem like such a nice group,' she thought. But something was missing. Monica had Chandler, and by the way Joey had his hands wrapped possessivley around Phoebe's waist, she had a sneaking suspicion that they were somewhat of an item. So there was Monica and Chandler. Joey and Phoebe. Rachel and...'Who?' she wondered. The name Ross kept popping into her mind. 'Ross is gone. You left him, you idiot! You were scared of commitment so you left the one man you ever really felt something for. So what if you only knew him two days! You felt something and so did he. And now you don't know where he is and he probably thinks you didn't like him.'
Chandler said something funny, and the other three laughed. They all seemed so happy with one another. Rachel wondered if she would ever find that happiness that the four others had.
Phoebe noticed Rachel's eyes misting up as she gazed into the distance, making it seem like she was trying to see into the future.
"Rach, are you ok?" Phoebe asked concernedly.
Rachel immeaditly responded with a yes, but that offset look in her eyes told the truth. The truth was that she wasn't.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Two Months Later...
Rachel was in the bathroom of the apartment she shared with Phoebe, and for the fifth time in the past few weeks, she had called into work sick. She hoped that they didn't fire her, but she had a feeling as long as the white haired man worked in the coffee shop, her job was safe. She felt very naseous and dizzy. The world was blurred before her eyes, making it very difficult for Rachel to find what she was looking for in the medicine cabinet. When she finally felt her hand close over a small stick, she breathed a sigh of relief. She had found what she was looking for. Ten minutes later, her worst fear and sneaking suspicion was confirmed. There was no mistaking it. Rachel held it up towards the light, making sure it was right. There was no denying it now. The tell all little stick read one word: positive.
So...what did you think? Good, bad, just ok? If you have any suggestions, they are welcome. I know how this is going to end, but if anyone has any suggestions on what to do in the meantime, please let me know. I really like reviews. They make my day. :) Comments, questions, flames, reviews...they are all welcome. Ok, flames aren't welcome but constructive criticism is ok. ;) Just click the little button that says review!
A/N: This chapter was SO long, that I had to split it up into two parts. I want to have this done before Christmas, so I had to post this chapter now. It would take me too long to type. So this is the first part. Rachel is mainly featured in it. I really wanted to post this as one, but it would get too long, and then people probably wouldn't read it. But I really like the second part. It gets good, trust me! Let me know what you think!
Chapter Three
Driving down the lonley roads, a feeling of depression came over Rachel. 'Well, here it is again,' she thought. 'Here is my depressing life. I should have at least said goodbye. That was the best Christmas I ever had,'she thought sadly.
That night, she arrived in New York. The lights were just starting to turn on, and the city became alive. She parked her car in an almost empty parking garage and gathered her belongings. Her arms were completley full as she was walking down the streets of New York. In her hands, she held a map that was supposed to get her to the apartment building she would be staying in. It was cheap and run-down, but better than nothing.
After walking for five minutes, she was relieved to see the building up ahead. 'Almost there,'she thought. It was a good thing, too. She wasn't in a very good area and people on the streets were starting to make remarks at her.
'Wooo-woo!' exclaimed a homeless man with no teeth. 'I'd like to get a piece of that!'
Rachel picked up her pace. The building was nearer now. In the distance, she heard a gunshot go off, dogs bark, and glass break. The skies were filled with smog. She began running now, hardly able to see where she was going. She was almost there. She still ran, and looked to the side where the apartment complex stood. On it hung a sign that read, 'Closed for Renovation'.
Rachel groaned, but kept running. She didn't want to be in this neighborhood any longer. What she didn't notice was that there was someone in front of her. She accidentaly ran smack dab into a tall, pretty, blond, woman wearing a Santa Claus outfit.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Rachel.
"That's ok," said the woman.
Rachel bent down to pick up her numerous bags, suprised to see that the woman bent down to help her, holding her red velvety hat on top of her head.
"I'm Phoebe Buffay. You're not from around here, are you?" she asked.
"No," replied Rachel. "How'd you know?"
"Well, your outfit, and all these bags do say a lot. Plus, the look on your face as you walked down the street."
Rachel sighed. "You guessed it. I'm from California. San Diego, to be exact. I just drove across the country to find out that the apartment building where I was supposed to live is closed." She gestured to the building that was nearly in front of them.
"Oh, that sucks." Phoebe's face lit up. "Hey, you can live with me!"
Rachel backed away. "Excuse me?"
"Oh, no. I'm not crazy! I'm just looking for a roomate. Rachel, we'd be great roomates!"
A weird look came across Rachel's face. "Phoebe, I never told you my name..."
"Oh, well some people say I have this gift. I know things that certain people don't. A sixth sense, if you will. Plus, you look like a Rachel."
"All right..."
"So, would you like a place to stay?"
Rachel stopped gathering her things. New York was going to be interesting, she could tell. But should she just move in with some strange woman in a Santa Claus suit? 'This is kind of strange,' she thought. But as she looked into Phoebe's eyes, she felt that she could be trusted. There was a vibrant blue sparkle in them. The sunny smile that glowed on her face seemed to light up the dim alley. Rachel realized that she was staring this woman down, and blushed.
"So?" questioned Phoebe. "Do you need a place to stay? I promise that I'm not like some kind of kook. I mean, I don't have like a criminal record or anything. Well, there was that one time that I got arrested for having sex in the public library, but that was totally different, I promise! And I went out with the cop that tried to arrest me, so the record is clear. We sorta worked out a deal, y'know?"
Phoebe noticed that Rachel's eyes were slowly growing wider and wider. "Oh great, now you think that I'm floopy! Or worse, crazy!"
Rachel smiled. Phoebe had a way of moving her hands about wildly as she spoke. She clearly was the exact definiton of floopy, yet she had some very likable qualities. Plus, where else was she going to stay? Certinaly not on the streets! "Sure," said Rachel. "Thank you so much. I'll be forever grateful, Phoebe. I'm not sure I fully introduced myself. I'm Rachel Green. It's nice to meet you." She extended her hand out.
Phobe shook it. "Nice to meet you properly, Rachel. And of course I'd give you a place to stay! What else is the spirit of Christmas for?" she asked, gesturing to her outfit.
Rachel looked at the outfit inquisitivley. "Is that just your clothes or..." Her voice trailed off in question.
"Oh, this old thing? I wear it everyday," Phoebe answered with a serious air about her.
Rachel began to look worried and raised her eyebrows. "Every day?"
"Well, every day since December 1st. I work part time as a department store Santa Claus around the holidays. Now that Christmas is over, so is this little gig. Too bad Christmas is over. Such a happy time of year..."
"Yeah," Rachel remembered sadly and softly to herself. "It's over."
"Are you okay?" wondered Phoebe.
Rachel put on her mask immeaditly. "Of course! I'm just happy that you don't really wear that every day...y'know, I thought that you-"
"No, no," Phoebe interrupted. "I'm not Santa Claus."
Rachel smiled. "I didn't think that you were Santa. I just thought that you enjoyed wearing it for some reason."
Phoebe laughed a rather infectous laugh. "No, it's not exactly something I put on to get a sick pleasure out of."
Rachel looked relieved, but only for a split second. A horn honked in the distance and the squealing of brakes could be heard. Rachel jumped, and grabbed her bags.
"So, I think we'd better get out of here," began Rachel. "That didn't exactly sound good."
"Yeah, you're right. Here, let me help you with some of those." Phoebe picked up two of the bulging suitcases strapped with belts in order to hold all the clothing inside. "My God Rachel, what do you have in here? Bricks?"
"Not exactly. I want to work in fashion design, so I have a lot of clothes. I call them my little 'experiments.' I love clothes like you wouldn't believe."
"I'll say," commented Phoebe noticing the four bags Rachel held.
Rachel let out a small chuckle. "You have no idea..."
The long dark alleys loomed ahead. "So, how do we get out of here?" asked Rachel in anticipation. Her surroundings were so unlike warm sunny California, and Rachel longed to be in the sun. She had changed out of her warm jacket earlier, and was now dressed in capris, flip flops, and a blue jean jacket. She was very aware that the outside held freezing temperatures.
Phoebe noticed her companion's unseasonal attire. "Let's hail a cab. Taxi?!"
A yellow cab with a black stripe on the side pulled up to the curb within seconds. "Wow," breathed Rachel. "It's like magic!"
Phoebe threw her the bags into the back and motioned for Rachel to get in the cab. "Oh Rachel," she laughed. "You have so much to learn!"
The cab drive glanced back at his passengers. He was missing most of his teeth, had a scar that mangled half of his face, and was wearing an eyepatch over the eye that was not covered by his greasy thin hair. He noticed that his cab had recently aquired a girl that looked like she belonged on Baywatch and one who was dressed in a Santa suit. He turned around and sighed. "Hey, I'm not here to judge," he thought. After all, in New York City, who was?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Monica Bing took one final glance over her apartment. Tonight was her annual New Years Eve part, and everything needed to be perfect. Monica's definition of perfect was no mistakes, clean, everything in order, and everyone had to be having a good time, regardless of anything else. The walls gleamed, the decorations announcing the coming of the New Year hung effortlessly over the doorway, and pristine champagne glasses sparkled. When Monica seemed to be pleased with the setting, she called out to her husband who was taking much too long getting dressed. "Chandler?! Where are you? The guests will start arriving in ten minutes!"
A young man with sandy brown hair, clear blue eyes, and a charming smile entered the living room. He was fumbling with his tie. "Sweetie, can you help me with my suit? I don't see why I have to wear this damn tie, anyway. It's so uncomfort-wow..." His voice trailed off when he caught his first glimpse of his wife of two years all decked out to welcome in the New Year in a tight fitting, slinky, low cut, black dress. "You look...wow."
She smiled, revealing a set of pearly white teeth. Her lush dark hair cascaded around her face in waves. Her striking dark blue eyes rimmed with lashes sparkled. "Thanks," she said lovingly. "You don't look so bad yourself." She started to fix his tie. "Now why you can't put on a tie the right way is beyond me, but I love you anyways."
"That's good to know," he said jokingly. She gave his tie a final tug, and pulled him down on the couch on top of her. "Honey," he began, "I thought the guests were going to arrive soon."
She sighed and began to move lower. "But Chandler, this is the last time we'll have sex this year. Doesn't that make you sad?"
He was finding it hard to concentrate. "Ah, we have five minutes."
"That's more than enough time. Pants off, Bing!"
He glanced around and pretended to reluctantly give in, yet the speed in which he removed his pants was astonishing. "Alright, if you insist!"
Four minutes later, a frazzled, red faced Monica and Chandler were in the middle of all the action, when the heard the door knob turn.
"Pants back on! Pants back on!" Monica began to yell in a shrill, high pitched voice.
She ran towards the front door, smoothed her hair and dress down, made sure Chandler looked presentable and opened the door. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was only Phoebe, her old roomate and best friend. "Hey Pheebs," Monica said. "Come on in."
Phoebe entered, wearing an outrageously bright colored flowing tye dyed robe with bangly bracelets, rings on every finger, and a large necklace. "Hi everyone!"
Chandler walked towards the door, his hair a mess and suit rumpled."Hey Pheebs. I like your, um, outfit."
Phoebe smiled gleefully and looked him up and down. "Thanks, funnyman. I like your rumpled suit and sticking up hair. Did Monica pull the old, 'This is the last time we're gonna do it this year?' thing again?"
Chandler looked towards the ground, embarrassed. "Yeah."
"Dude, she gets you every time with that one!" Phoebe exclaimed.
He continued to look down, but tried to smooth out his suit and hair this time. Monica was equally embarrassed. "Phoebe," she managed to stutter out, "aren't you going to introduce us to your new roomate? This isn't exactly the way to behave in front of a guest.
Phoebe laughed and looked over at Rachel who was wearing a short red dress that contrasted beautifully with her silky blond hair. "Guys, this is Rachel Green. Rach, this is Chandler and Monica."
Rachel smiled sweetly and rather shyly. "Hi, it's nice to meet you. Your place is so lovley."
Monica imeaditly took a liking to her. "Thanks!" she exclaimed with a big smile. She went over to Rachel, and grabbed her hand. "Let me show you the rest of the place."
Rachel grinned back at Phoebe, and allowed herself to be pulled away by Monica, who was talking million miles an hour on topics that ranged from cooking to, strangely enough, high school. Phoebe smiled. She and Rachel were getting along so well. They had even found space for Rachel's massive wardrobe. She was glad that Monica seemed to take a liking to Rachel.
Just then, an extremely attractive Italian looking man came sauntering through the door wearing black pants and a Hawaiian shirt. "Hey Chandler. Hey Pheebs."
"Hey Joey," Chandler and Phoebe replied.
"Joe," began Chandler, "what's up with the shirt?"
Joey turned bright red. "It was a present from my grandmother. I'd rather not talk about it right now. So, where is the new hot roomate?"
"Joey!" exclaimed Phoebe.
"Well you said she was hot on the phone!" said Joey in a rather high voice.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What was that?" Rachel wondered aloud to Monica. Monica had been in the midst of giving the grand tour when Joey made his appearance known.
Monica laughed. "That would be Joey Tribbiani, he lives across the hall. He's Chandler's best friend. He's not all that bright, but you gotta love him."
"When you say 'not all that bright', do you mean mentally ill?" wondered Rachel.
"Oh God no! He has the brains, but seems to focus his attention on things important to him. Say, women...and sandwiches..."
Cries of Joey asking where the sandwiches were could be heard in the guest room where Monica and Rachel were. Rachel nodded. "I think I know what you mean!"
"I'm so happy there's another girl in the group now. Do you think you'll be in town for long?" asked Monica.
"I hope so. I need to find a job next week. Like a temporary one until I can get the one I want for good. I'd like to work in fashion."
"Cool! I'm a chef." Monica announced proudly.
Rachel smiled. She loved it when people got proud of the simple things in life. Such as the time she was building a snowman and Ross was so proud in the end. She sighed sadly, remembering that day. Others would think she was crazy, but it was a special day. A special, special day...
"Rachel, are you ok?" asked Monica.
She snapped out of it. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just glad I'm here too. I never had any close friends back in San Diego. Phoebe is so lucky. She has all these close friends." Rachel started to get emotional. She was talking about Phoebe and her friends, yet only one person was on her mind. Ross. "I just look at her and think that she's so lucky. I've always been so lonley and never had that."
"Aw, honey." Monica moved closer to Rachel and put her arm around her. "You have us now."
Rachel suddenly realized that she was crying in front of a girl she just met. "I'm so sorry. I just felt like I could open up to you. I don't know why."
Monica sighed. "Well, in high school I was fat. I guess that made people want to talk to me about their problems more."
Rachel looked up and sniffed. "Really? You're gorgeous now!"
"Thanks, you are too."
"Aww..."
They hugged and laughed. "This is ridiculous," said Monica. "I just met you and we're both on the verge of tears!"
Rachel smiled. "I bet this means we'll be very good friends."
Monica smiled back. "I know. I have that same feeling, too."
They hugged again, and Phoebe walked in. She groaned. "Come on you two, get a room!"
Monica looked confused. "But Pheebs, we're in a room. We're just hugging. It's not like we're lesbians or anything."
At the mention of lesbians, Joey raced into the room, with Chandler following close behind. "Lesbians? Where? The new girl's a lesbian?!"
Rachel laughed. 'So this was Joey,' she thought. She looked around at the four friends. 'They seem like such a nice group,' she thought. But something was missing. Monica had Chandler, and by the way Joey had his hands wrapped possessivley around Phoebe's waist, she had a sneaking suspicion that they were somewhat of an item. So there was Monica and Chandler. Joey and Phoebe. Rachel and...'Who?' she wondered. The name Ross kept popping into her mind. 'Ross is gone. You left him, you idiot! You were scared of commitment so you left the one man you ever really felt something for. So what if you only knew him two days! You felt something and so did he. And now you don't know where he is and he probably thinks you didn't like him.'
Chandler said something funny, and the other three laughed. They all seemed so happy with one another. Rachel wondered if she would ever find that happiness that the four others had.
Phoebe noticed Rachel's eyes misting up as she gazed into the distance, making it seem like she was trying to see into the future.
"Rach, are you ok?" Phoebe asked concernedly.
Rachel immeaditly responded with a yes, but that offset look in her eyes told the truth. The truth was that she wasn't.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Two Months Later...
Rachel was in the bathroom of the apartment she shared with Phoebe, and for the fifth time in the past few weeks, she had called into work sick. She hoped that they didn't fire her, but she had a feeling as long as the white haired man worked in the coffee shop, her job was safe. She felt very naseous and dizzy. The world was blurred before her eyes, making it very difficult for Rachel to find what she was looking for in the medicine cabinet. When she finally felt her hand close over a small stick, she breathed a sigh of relief. She had found what she was looking for. Ten minutes later, her worst fear and sneaking suspicion was confirmed. There was no mistaking it. Rachel held it up towards the light, making sure it was right. There was no denying it now. The tell all little stick read one word: positive.
So...what did you think? Good, bad, just ok? If you have any suggestions, they are welcome. I know how this is going to end, but if anyone has any suggestions on what to do in the meantime, please let me know. I really like reviews. They make my day. :) Comments, questions, flames, reviews...they are all welcome. Ok, flames aren't welcome but constructive criticism is ok. ;) Just click the little button that says review!