Love is...

-Author's Note: I'm still working on 'Flip Flop' don't worry, but I just got an idea for this, and I decided to write it. I don't really know where I'm gonna go with it...so you'll find out as I do. I do know, however, that this fic is set in season 4 after Rachel got demoted, although, some things are different that you will discover along the way. This is an alternate beginning for Ross and Rachel; so essentially, it is an alternate relationship all together. Please leave me a review and tell me what you think, I'm also open to suggestions...ENJOY!
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Love. An incredibly powerful word. But what does it mean? Textbooks and dictionaries define love as a deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person; but to those who have felt it, it means something more. Something so powerful and extraordinary that there are barely words to describe it, but I'm going to try.

Love is when you meet someone and one look into their eyes, or the touch of their skin against yours, tells you that you are going to be with that person every single day until the day you die. Love is when you can sit for hours looking at each other and not utter a single word because you know that the silence in the room is saying everything. Love is when there are moments in your life that you are so happy that you could stand on the rooftop of the tallest building, or stand on the peak of the highest mountain and scream until your lungs can no longer breathe, and it still wouldn't capture what you were feeling inside.

Love is being in a crowded place when you catch that person's eye and suddenly you are the only people left on Earth. The only people that matter in that moment. Love is spontaneity – not knowing or caring what happens next, just as long as you are with that special person. When you are with that person, all is right in the world. There are no wars, no crimes...all that is important is what's going on in the moment, your moment.

But as true or untrue these definitions may be, there is more. One definition that is probably more accurate than all others. That one definition, that universal truth, that love...was Ross Geller and Rachel Green.

No two people were more perfect for each other than Ross was to Rachel, and Rachel was to Ross. They were the couple that everyone strived to be. You could also say, I guess, that not only were they the definition of love, they were the definition of perfection. They were incomplete without each other. If Ross was to try to function without Rachel, it would be like a body trying to work with no heart, it just wasn't possible. And the same goes for Rachel. They just could not bear the thought of survival without the other at their side. It would be like a puzzle with a missing piece, a movie with no end, it was...the impossibility of a life without love...
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Rachel was working at Bloomingdale's. She had just been demoted to personal shopper after her department had been eliminated. She was disappointed and frustrated, sure. But she still made a decent living, and she had nothing to complain about. She lived with Monica Geller, her best friend from high school.

Monica's brother, Ross, had moved out to California after he graduated from high school to pursue a career in paleontology. Over the period of ten years since he left, everyone kind of lost touch with Ross, to the point where no one had seen or heard from him in over five years.

Rachel had almost married an orthodontist by the name of Dr. Barry Farber, but realized last minute that she hadn't really loved him. Not, at least, in the sense that was described earlier. She was never "in" love with Barry. She was more in love with the idea of Barry, you know, the Ph. D, the money...basically being able to live the life she had before. So, she left him at the altar and went into the city where she found her old best friend, Monica.

Monica was very kind to Rachel, opening her heart and home to her long lost friend. Monica also provided Rachel with a whole new group of friends. A very interesting group of people, indeed. There was Chandler, a very sarcastic person who seemed to have a joke for everything, funny or not; Joey, an oversexed struggling actor with the mindset and mental capacity of a child no older than ten; and Phoebe, a kooky hippie girl that cleansed aura's, lived on the streets at the age of fourteen, and used words like 'floopy'. All of them took an immediate liking to Rachel, and before long, she was one of them.

It had now been four years since she made the difficult transition, with help from the gang, from spoiled daddy's girl to a hard working woman. They helped her every step of the way and she was forever indebted to them for it.
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Ross, after moving to California, got a Ph. D in Paleontology from UCLA, had gotten married, divorced, and fathered a child. A little boy, now about four years old, whom Ross and his lesbian ex-wife's partner decided to name Ben. Ross was happy with the way his life had turned out, despite the handful of unexpected twists and turns along the way. Although he knew how much he had hurt his family when he decided to move clear across the country, he had no regrets. He'd been out on the west coast for just about ten years now, and for six of those years, he hadn't seen or spoken to any of his friends and family back in New York. That was hard for him, but he had learned to cope.

He had been really busy the last few years with his work. He had gotten two promotions and was now the head of the paleontology department of UCLA. That didn't leave him much time for his son, but whenever he did have time, he made sure it was memorable. Plus, it's not like Ben didn't have anyone...he had Carol, Ross's ex-wife, and Susan, Carol's partner. Ross knew that they provided well for his son, so he didn't worry. He was happy.

This morning, Ross had been called to the office of the dean of UCLA. He was quite confused, he didn't think he could get promoted any higher, and he was almost positive that he wasn't getting fired. Ross entered the office and the dean stood up to shake his hand.

"Good morning, Ross. How are you?" the dean asked.

"I'm very well, thank you sir. How are you?"

"Fine, I'm fine." Ross nodded. "I bet you're wondering why I have called you here." Ross just looked at the dean, urging him to continue. "We've received word from the Museum of Natural History in New York that they are looking for someone to head up their paleontology department." Ross's eyes grew wide but he didn't say a word, not wanting to interrupt his boss, and not wanting to prolong the suspense he was stewing in. Was this going where he thought it was? "The first name that came to my mind was yours." Ross's jaw dropped.

"Uh – wow. Um, thank you sir."

"Now before you start thanking me, and definitely before you make a decision about this position, you should know more about it." Ross nodded. "You'd basically be doing the same thing you're doing here, however, the pay is much better. You'd be making $125, 000 a year." Ross's eyes widened once again. He couldn't say anything if he wanted to. "The museum is providing a fully furnished apartment in Greenwich Village, and they're providing a car if you would like one." Ross sat there completely still, he couldn't move his muscles, he was stuck. "Now, you must realize that this is a permanent position, so you'd be leaving California for good. And unless you took your son with you, you'd be leaving him behind as well."

Ross's heart sank. That was a major downside. He would have to leave Ben behind if he took this job. But he couldn't take Ben away from his mommies. As much as he was going to miss his son, this was an offer of a lifetime. He could arrange for his son to visit a few times a year, and he could come back every once and a while....

"So, what do you day, Dr. Geller? Are you going to take it?"

Ross looked up and smiled. "Yes, sir. Thank you very much."

The men stood up and shook hands once again. "Great, you have to be there in two weeks so get packing! Let me know if you need anything." Ross headed for the door.

"I will. Thank you again, sir." Ross left the office and stopped just outside the door, shaking his head and massaging his temples. He was moving...to New York. He was going back home to his family - after ten years, he was going back to New York. He didn't expect it, but he felt very excited. He didn't realize how much he missed that place until he knew he was going back.

Ross went home and begun packing and as he was putting a framed picture of himself, Monica, and Rachel in bubble wrap, a thought entered his mind. Should he call and tell them he was moving back? 'No, they probably hate me. Six years—and I haven't spoken to them once. They don't even know about Ben. They won't want to talk to me.', he thought. He just put the frame into a box and continued packing, never giving the issue another thought.
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Two weeks had gone by and Ross was at the airport getting ready to board his plane to New York. He was knelt down in front of a little boy who had tears streaming down his face.

"Daddy, please don't leave me." Ben pleaded. This broke Ross's heart in two, but this was something that he had to do.

"I'm sorry Ben, but daddy loves you very much and I promise I'm gonna come back and visit you whenever I can, and you can come visit me whenever you want, okay?" the little boy nodded and Ross kissed the top of his head before standing up and kissing Carol on the cheek. "Bye guys." They waved and he turned around and walked away toward the gate, turning back one more time to wave goodbye before getting on the plane.
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About a week later, Ross was settled in his apartment. There were only a couple of boxes left scattered around. The first week had been rough. He had to call the museum and request that he start later than expected because all of his work clothes had gotten lost in transit and he had no idea when they would turn up.

He walked into Bloomingdale's and walked up to the customer service desk, requesting a personal shopper. He could never pick out a good suit, he had always needed help when it came to fashion. He was directed to a dressing room area where a woman was running from rack to rack apparently looking for something. The customer service representative cleared her throat, "Ahem, Rachel, you have a new client." Rachel turned around and Ross's jaw dropped in surprise.

"Oh my God! Rachel? Rachel Green?" Rachel was confused. Who was this person? How did he know her? 'He looks good, whoever he is,' Rachel thought.

"Uh – yeah. Do you mind telling me how you know me?" Ross was kind of taken aback when Rachel didn't recognize him.

"It's me, Ross. Ross Geller? Monica's brother?"

"Oh my God! Ross?! It's so good to see you!" Rachel ran up to him and hugged him, squeezing him tight. She pulled back, keeping her hands on his arms, taking notice of the muscle she felt beneath them. She looked at his face and smiled, "God, you look so different!"

Ross laughed, "Good different...I hope..."

Rachel snapped out of the trance that she was in, "No, yeah! Don't get me wrong, being in California did you good! You look great!" Rachel looked down, embarrassed as Ross raised his eyebrows, obviously more than a little surprised by her enthusiasm.

"Well thanks. You look great too, but I must say, you haven't changed a bit. You're still every bit as beautiful as you were when I left." Rachel smiled, remembering the crush that he had on her when they were in high school. She wondered if maybe a little part of him hadn't gotten over that yet.

"Hey, I was just about to take my break, do you want to grab a cup of coffee and, you know, catch up? I know a great place around the corner...?" Rachel said hopefully. She really wanted to get to know the "new Ross" and possibly find out why he was back in New York after all of this time.

"Sure that'd be great!"
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Rachel took Ross to Central Perk, but to her disappointment, none of the guys were there. She went up to the counter to get their coffee's while Ross sat on the orange couch. When Rachel returned, they exchanged smiles and she sat down. Rachel playfully slapped his knee, "So how've you been? What are you doing back in New York?"

Ross took a deep breath, "Well, I've been great. I have a four year old son, Ben, with my lesbian ex-wife-" Rachel started laughing, "You haven't changed a bit, have you?"

Rachel calmed herself down and put her hand on his arm, "I'm sorry, I just did not see that one coming. Go ahead, I'm really sorry."

Ross chuckled, "Anyway, I had to leave him back in California with Carol and Susan because I got a job offer over here that I couldn't refuse. So...I'm here. Indefinitely."

"That's great," Rachel smiled. "Monica will be so happy to hear that."

Ross's face lit up, "You still talk to Monica?"

Rachel laughed; she seemed to have forgotten how much Ross didn't know. "Yeah, I've been living with her for four years!"

Ross looked down and started playing with his hands, getting very nervous. "So...she's not mad at me or anything? For, you know, not calling or anything the past few years...?"

Rachel placed her hand on Ross's knee and looked at him comfortingly. "No sweetie, she could never be mad at you! She was sad when you didn't call, but I mean, you're her brother Ross. She'll always love you – no matter what."

Ross smiled. That made him feel a lot better. He and Rachel talked for about an hour before she looked at the time and realized how late she was. "Oh, God, I have to go. It was so great seeing you again, Ross." She hugged Ross and kissed him on the cheek. Then Ross did something he probably wouldn't have done under normal circumstances.

"Hey Rach, how about um...well would you want to....I mean, do you think we could..." Rachel raised her eyebrows expectantly. "Okay, would you want to go on a date with me tomorrow night?"

Rachel smiled at him, "I would really love that."

"Great, I'll pick you up tomorrow at seven then?"

"Sure, just let my give you the address and the phone number just in case you get lost." Rachel wrote all of the information down on a napkin and kissed Ross on the cheek one more time before exiting the coffeehouse, with a very shocked Ross staring after her. He was going on a date. But this wasn't just any date...this was Rachel Green.

-Author's Note: Please Review this, I love reading them. I'm open to any suggestions about my writing or about the story's plot. I hope you enjoyed it...more to come soon!