"The Why"

Show: Friends

Genre: Romance

Rated: K+ some minor cursing, references to sex…nothing that is worse than on the show ;)

Pairing(s): Ross/Rachel

Summary: When Rachel is in her eighth month of pregnancy, she realizes she still has feelings for Ross. Does he feel the same, and how do the other four feel about this delicate situation?

Author's Note: Rachel is eight months pregnant (in the eighth season) with Ross' child. AU fic, un-betaed. Also, I seriously couldn't think of a title for this at all.

AN 2: I have no idea if Emma had godparents, so…:whistles: Thank you for all the reviews- I really appreciate it, and keep 'em coming:::wink:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with "Friends"…… except for Chandler. Just kidding…though I sure wish I did…

To the Chick and the Duck- they don't get enough dedications, I swear.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 2

"Hey, Pheebs!" Rachel greeted Phoebe as she entered Central Perk. Her blonde friend's head spun around.

"Oh, it's just you."

Rachel sat next to her on the couch, "Yeah, it's me, were you expecting someone?"

"Oh, no one of importance," Phoebe said brightly. She then glared up at the ceiling, muttering, "And you said something interesting was going to happen…"

"Hey…can I…talk to you about something?"

Phoebe's looked back to Rachel, "If it's about that box next to Joey's bed, I don't know anything about it!"

Rachel raised her eyebrows, "No- no, it's not that…but let's get back to that later," she added.

"Then what is it?"

"Well, you know how Ross and I are having this baby together?" Rachel began carefully. Before she could continue, however, Phoebe interrupted.

"I know what you're going to say," Phoebe said with a smile, taking a sip of her coffee.

"You- you do?"

"Yes, and I'd be happy to."

"Happy to…happy to what?" Rachel asked, thoroughly confused.

"Be your baby's godmother."

Rachel rubbed for forehead. She'd been hoping against hope that Phoebe had known that Rachel was falling in love with Ross and would talk to him for her- but since when did she live in a perfect world? "Honey, no, that's not what I was going to say." Seeing Phoebe's slightly hurt look, she added, "I mean…we're not sure about godparents yet."

Phoebe brightened up again, "Oh! Then what is it?"

Rachel felt somewhat ashamed at Phoebe's hope at becoming a godmother; Ross and Rachel had already agreed on Monica and Chandler to be the godparents. "Well, you know how me and Ross have always been…you know… kind of rocky in our relationship?"

"Sure," Phoebe nodded, "'We were on a break!' 'No we weren't!'"

"Yeah, exactly…and you know how he fell in love with me when he was, like, 15, and everyone always said we were perfect for each other?"

Phoebe slowly nodded.

"And, so, I was thinking…we're having this baby together, and there has got to be a reason I got pregnant-"

Phoebe snorted, "If you think the reason you got pregnant because he was in love with you since he was 15, I think you might want to learn about a little something called 'sex'."

Rachel shot Phoebe and exasperated look.

"Or you could continue what you were going to say," said Phoebe, glancing up at the ceiling again as she drank her coffee.

"OK, ready?"

Phoebe rolled her eyes, impatient, "Say it already!"

"I think I'm in love with Ross."

These words had two effects. Phoebe sprayed coffee all over the table and she gasped for breath. A crash came from the counter- Gunther had dropped a tray of plates and mugs in horror and was now staring at Rachel.

"You- you- you what?" Phoebe exclaimed, putting her coffee on the table and gaping at Rachel in disbelief, "But I thought you were over him!"

"So what if I was? He'll want to start things up again, right? I mean, it's the right thing to do, and why wouldn't he want to?"

"Uh, I don't know, maybe he's not in love with you!"

Rachel brushed her hair out of her face and said fearfully, clutching her chest, "He's not?"

Phoebe looked concernedly at her friend, "No, I'm not saying he's not…but do you really want to face the consequences if he reacts weird to it? You could really hurt your friendship, and the baby…"

Rachel sank back into the couch. She sighed, "You know, maybe you're right…"

"Of course I'm right! It's Ross; if you tell him he'll either totally freak out or want to marry you!"

Rachel frowned for a moment, and then sat up, "You know, that wouldn't be bad-"

"You can't marry Ross!" Phoebe cried out.

"If he feels the same, why not?"

"Then you leave me with Joey!"

"Wait, so you picked Chandler over Joey?"

"Chandler has money and Monica is always talking about how good the sex is!"

"Oh, please, Monica boasted about how high her body fat was when we were in middle school!"

"Really-"

"Can we focus on my problem?" Rachel asked irritably. Phoebe nodded and Rachel continued, "OK, so I'm still in love with Ross. Both you and Monica think that I shouldn't tell him because it might screw up our friendship, and the baby's future. But I think I should tell him because there's a very good chance that he wants to start things up again."

Rachel stood as Phoebe finished off her coffee, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go back to my place, I need to think," Rachel sighed. Phoebe raised an eyebrow and Rachel added, "I'm not going to tell Ross!"

"Good," Phoebe nodded as Rachel walked out of Central Perk.

"Not yet, at least!" Rachel called as the door closed.

Phoebe banged on the table, "Damn that Green!" she glared up at the ceiling, "Well, it was interesting, I'll give you that much…"

Gunther came rushing over, "Is she going to tell him?"

"I don't know, why?"

Gunther threw down the empty tray he was carrying and stomped back behind the counter, fuming.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Anyway, there's Chapter 2…I don't think I wrote Phoebe well, though…one moment she's kooky, the next she's rather bitchy, and it's hard for me to write that…:sigh:…please review, it makes my day!