Author's Note: Wow, life's been a bit hectic the past month or so with finals, the holidays, and other stuff. I've actually had this chapter done since Thanksgiving, but wasn't happy with it. I've made some revisions, but still not that happy with it. The end should be coming up though, possibly two or three more chapters (excluding this one) with an epilogue… maybe. I do have an idea for another fiction, but I'll wait until I'm at least done with this one (BTW, I suck at multi-tasking). On with the story… (Oh, yeah… it's a given I don't own anything from the show and all that other standard stuff. They belong to Bright, Kaufman, and Crane.).

Four

"Wow, even Paris doesn't have enough stores," a frustrated Rachel complained with her shopping bags in tow, oblivious to her slight Freudian slip when she had done the same to take her mind off Ross and Emily's wedding. Rachel walked over to where she had thrown the Ross box; the contents remained scattered on the floor, but she decided to pick them up and place them inside the box. It wasn't a gesture of moving on. No, it was anything but that – it was more of her being tired of the constant "negativity" around her, tired of the thoughts about him, his words at the airport, and everything else about him. It hurt her too much, more than every single one of her other relationships, if not more than all those relationships combined. Every instinct in her body was telling her to call Ross and talk to him. At least, assure him that it wasn't because she didn't love him. Because of course, she did – granted she wouldn't admit that unless someone brought it out of her. Say something, anything really. It just couldn't end the way it did.

Instead, she called her mother to check up on Emma. "Mom, how's Emma? Is my little angel being a good girl for her grandmother?"

Sandra replied, "Oh, hi, Rachel! Yeah, she hasn't been that much of a fuss. In fact, Emma's been great, except she's been moving around a lot and it's hard for me to keep up with her."

For quite possibly the first time while in Paris, Rachel managed a smile, "Wow, she's going to be so much more independent than I was. I'm just hoping she doesn't end up being spoiled like me."

"Well, it's going to be tough, especially if your father and Ross keep buying her these toys," her mother informed.

Just then, Rachel felt a slight pang in her heart and her smile quickly faded, "Oh, did, um, Ross visit her?"

"Yeah, he stopped by after work, dropped off some toys to keep hopefully her preoccupied for the flight. He's told me about how much he's going to miss his little girl. And surprisingly, the toys aren't of the dinosaur variety," Sandra paused, sensing something was wrong by the silence on the other end. "Is something wrong, Rachel?"

"Oh. No, it's nothing," Rachel lied.

"I'm your mother, dear. I can sense when something is wrong and when you're lying to me – call it mother's intuition. You'll be doing the same for Emma sooner than you think," her mother told. Trying to lighten the mood, she jokingly added, "Is it Ross? Did he cheat on you again?"

"No, mom, it's not that. I'm still in love with him," Rachel revealed through stifled sobs, the joke about Ross cheating struck a chord with her. "What if" haunted her thoughts again. What if he hadn't slept with Chloe, would they still have been together? Would he still have continued to be so jealous of Mark? Would they have been married with more children? Would they have a home in Scarsdale?

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Sandra interrupted.

"I mean, he came to Newark to tell me that he still loved me and that he didn't want me to go to Paris before my flight, but I left anyway. I didn't know how to deal with it at the time. It wasn't until the plane took off and thought about it that I realized that I love him too," Rachel confessed. "I actually had to think about whether he loved me. I've been in denial about it all along. And everything here in Paris feels wrong or constantly reminds me of Ross. However, it's still a great opportunity that I don't want to pass up that easily. He'd been supportive about the job, too. I thought he was over me when he let me go. The thing is if the situations were reversed, I don't think he would have given up a job for me… would he? I just don't know what to do, mom."

"Well, you should call him, tell him what you just told me, and at least, let him know that you love him too," her mother advised. "I'm sure, he'll be glad to hear that you love him too."

"Yeah, but I'm afraid of what he'll do, what he'll say or if he'll even want to talk to me," Rachel reasoned. "I hated seeing him ache like that, and knowing full well that I was the one causing it. I'm the one who can fix it or leave it as is. It just seems that whenever we do try to get things to work out and get so close, we manage to mess things up. Hell, I love Ross so much, but I'm afraid of hurting him or myself again. Honestly, he's the only guy I've truly loved – more than all the guys I've been with."

Rachel felt slightly better about letting all of this off her chest.

"Well, Rachel. You have to tell him this," Sandra advised. "That was always the problem between your father and I. We were both incredibly stubborn. Hell, we were never able to fix our problems instead we would just blame the other and go on as nothing was wrong. He'd always focus his attention on his work and his damn boat… and you, sweetie – you were always his favorite. I think he cared more about you than me. However, you're situation with Ross; it's still fixable. He truly does love you even when he won't admit it to himself."

Suddenly, it clicked with Rachel. In terms of her relationship with Ross, she had been like her father, immensely focused on work. It was her escape of sorts from Ross when he had been jealous of Mark. Sure, it had been mostly Ross's fault for Chloe, but she hadn't realized that she had been, at least, part of the reason for their break-up – or maybe she had known, but didn't want to admit it because she used to think nothing could ever be her fault. Her "best" example of handling a relationship was from her parents, running away and pin all the responsibility on the other person. That night they fought about Gavin and "Bill from the bar" – rather than working out their problems, she ran to the other person she could trust most, not to mention the closest and most available place: Joey's apartment. Worse, she had known exactly why Ross hid the message – he loved her or at least, had some feelings for her. It wasn't rocket science. At that moment, she felt that she couldn't trust him if he were going to be hiding her messages. Who knew what else he could've been keeping from her? It's not too late, right, Rachel thought, but snidely added, well, maybe not after this... But she had to think positively.

"Rachel?" Her mom called, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, sorry… thanks, mom," Rachel said, feeling the need to call her ex, yet still not sure of what to say. Rachel's mom had to leave since Emma had awoken from her nap. She called Ross, wanting to hear his voice, but all she got was his answering machine. Eventually, she gave up and left him a message. After, she felt confident that this time things were going to work out between her and Ross. Her conversation made her more determined that things were going to end much better than they did at Newark. More importantly, things were going to end much better than they did over seven years ago. They were finally going to get the closure that they had deserved and earned. Hopefully, any and all obstacles they'd come across, they face together… no matter how unoriginal it sounded. After all, they'd been through a lot more than most married couples.

XXX

For the last time, Monica arrived at the place she called home over the past twelve or so years – Apartment 20. Tomorrow would be the day she and Chandler would be moving into their new home in Westchester. She also regretted that that best friend wouldn't be able to see her move into that new home. Yet, all she could think about was the stuff she had told her brother about Rachel. She felt like she had betrayed her best friend, but relieved that she stuck up for her brother. She had a feeling Ross would've gone after Rachel anyways. Sometimes, the man can be too obsessed over Rachel, she thought.

She opened the door, finding that Chandler was the only one left, and seeing him hold Erica and talking baby gibberish to her. "You've come a long way, Bing."

"So, how did it go?" her husband inquired.

"You know, I'm not sure if he wanted to talk about it yet, so I'm going to wait until he tells you guys," Monica replied firmly, wanting to respect her brother's privacy. "But he's torn."

"You want even better news?" Chandler noted sarcastically, obviously. "Joey says he's leaving for and moving out to California. He says his new agent got him a gig on some really violent cop show."

"JOEY!" Monica yelled, followed by her putting a hand over her mouth, hoping that she hadn't woken up Jack. A few seconds later, Joey came bursting into the room, somewhat out of breath.

"What?" he asked.

"Joey, weren't you the one complaining about Rachel leaving for Paris? Or didn't you make a scene about Chandler and me moving out to the suburbs? Now, you're moving too. And Ross, he'll be left all alone."

"Well, it's good for my career," he replied, sounding rehearsed. "I mean, it's going to be weird not seeing you guys everyday, but when you guys move out to Westchester, I won't be able to see you or Chandler everyday anyways, so why not do something good for my career? I mean, I can't play Dr. Drake Ramoray forever." With that, Joey left Monica and Chandler's apartment.

"Yeah," Monica stated, hoping she hadn't given away too much information and casually changing the topic. "So, did the twins create any problems while packing?"

"Nah, they were great. Jack has been out like a log for most of the night, but Erica wasn't able to sleep until you came in. You know what that means though, Jack's going to be all night tonight," Chandler informed.

"Where's Phoebe?" Monica asked.

"She had to get back to Mike. You know, they are trying to start their family," Chandler teased. "Besides, he was getting lonely… or something. But she did say she would be helping us tomorrow. Wow, can you believe it? We're actually moving."

Something bothered Monica about Chandler's last statement. "Yeah," she affirmed. Family, she deliberated. Chandler and I are moving to Westchester. Phoebe and Mike are trying to start one. Joey would be in California with his sister. Ross won't have that if he doesn't go after Rachel. Immediately, she felt even guiltier about thinking bad things about Rachel, much less articulating them out loud. Maybe it would've justified if she had said she didn't feel the same way about Ross, she stated, almost trying to justify her actions, but I don't know how she feels about.

XXX

He had no idea that it had been pretty late after his talk with Monica, but he walked around The Village anyways. He had nowhere to go in particular, just not home yet. Monica can't be right, right? He pondered. One of the many things Ross hated: second-guessing himself and his decisions. He knew Monica meant well, but he wasn't quite sure what to make of their conversation – whether it had been a good or bad idea to talk to her. He felt that he should do what was in his heart, but he still needed some sort of confirmation from another friend namely about his dream that he had a couple nights ago. More likely, he needed to talk to someone about his impending decision. He walked up to one of her ex-boyfriend's – no matter how long they went out – apartment.

Apartment 19.

Looking at his watch, Ross felt it was more appropriate to knock, hoping Joey would still be awake. He felt ridiculous about knocking seeing as how he'd barged into both apartments on several occasions without second thought.

"Hey, Joe," he mentioned.

"Dude, you're the second Geller to wake me up tonight," causing Ross to shoot him a glare. "Wow, you and Monica do have that same 'I'm going to kill you' look. Oh, I mean. It's really late. So, how'd your chat with Monica go?"

"I don't know," Ross answered truthfully. "I mean, I thought about going to Paris and visiting her and Emma would be a good thing, you know?" Joey nodded. "But Monica's made me think about all the shitty things that Rachel has done over the past ten years. Regardless, I still do love her, but I need another person to talk to – to 'weigh all my options'" he informed, using the air quotes. "Monica's also saying that she doesn't think I should go for it, but she would also love it if we did get back together."

"Wow," Joey mumbled. "I think you should go for it, man. You love her and you always have. You freaked out pretty bad when you found out about us," causing Ross to wince. "Rachel and I probably wouldn't have worked out," Joey said, somewhere between a lie and truth, "especially after she hit me in that area," which drew a subdued chuckled from Ross. "And I can guarantee you that my feelings for her are completely gone. Besides, there are going to be so many hot girls out there in California. Or at least, on that O.C. show."

"What? You're moving to California?" Ross questioned.

"Yeah, man. I need to further my whole acting career. There's nothing left here for me to do in New York," Joey noticed the change in his friend's demeanor and changed topics. "I mean, you were incredibly supportive when I told you I had feelings for Rachel – both times, you know after the initial shock, and this is my way of repaying you. You've been a great friend even after the mess that I created, including the whole proposal. Plus, it'd be pretty cool to be a minister for all my friend's weddings, right?"

"Yeah," Ross agreed and quipped, "I've done something even the great Joseph Tribbiani couldn't do. And I thought it was pretty bad when she laughed after our first date." Yet, something had bothered him about Joey mentioning his move to California, which occurred in his dream. He felt it was a kind of premonition, if you will, but ignored it.

Joey added, "Geller, you're lucky you bruise like a peach… and have incredibly slow reflexes. So, you were planning on going to Paris to surprise her?"

"Moving actually," Ross corrected. "That's why I'm confused. I don't want to leave you guys, but I also don't want to leave the things the way they were with Rachel."

"What about Ben? Or about you're whole 'ten-year' thing?" Joey reminded, attempting the air quotes.

"Well, he's in pretty good hands with Carol and Susan. Plus, Rachel had said that they were going to make any accommodations for us which I'm assuming includes Ben," Ross planned. Resisting the urge to fix Joey's "ten-year" mistake, he suggested not necessarily thinking things through, "As for tenure, I could always find a job in Paris, right? Besides, it's almost summer vacation anyways."

"Yeah," Joey chimed excitedly, "Go after her – and Emma, too. You deserve this after the hot lesbian – I mean, Carol, that evil Emily and the drunken wedding that you hid from Rachel."

Ross felt slightly more confident after his chat with Monica, but slightly confused. He had been given conflicting advice. The fact that Joey hadn't been able to have sex with Rachel didn't hurt things either. He still felt like he should go, but something was holding him back. Maybe she didn't feel the same way anymore, which could've been the reason she left.

XXX

Ross finally got home to his apartment. He had a pretty long day ahead of him tomorrow, helping Monica and Chandler move, but also make up the finals for his classes. He was pretty resolute on quitting his job for Emma and Rachel. After all, it was just a job like he had told Rachel in the fight during their anniversary. Now, it was time for him to follow through on what he had said several years ago.

Entering his apartment, he saw the blinking red light on his answering machine, checked his message. It was her. "Ross. Hi, it's me. I'm sorry about the way I ended things. It's just when you and Phoebe came, it was just too much to handle at that moment, but I…" Mysteriously, the message had cut off, which left Ross wondering as to what else could have been on the rest of the message.