Love is Chapter 7: Benny Boy and Motherly Love, a friends fanfic

Love is…

Author's Note: Well, I am quite sure that there are at least five people that I just made extremely happy with this update.  Yes, I am back – again. I bet you guys thought that I had completely forgotten about this fic, but nope. I love it, but it has been causing me some problems lately. This chapter was so damn hard to write. Mainly because it is SO important and I wanted to make sure that everyone, inside the story and out, was happy. So here it is. I'm hoping that from here on out it will be slightly easier to write these chapters… I hope you enjoy and please leave me a review when you're done and tell me what you thought! Happy Reading!

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Rachel woke with a start, stretching her stiff and sore muscles as best she could in a space as small and confined as an airplane seat. She blinked several times and shook her head, attempting to shake off a good three hours of deep, coma-like sleep. Turning her head, she found herself looking into the deep brown abyss of Ross's smiling eyes. He leaned in and kissed her tenderly before whispering, "Good morning, beautiful."

She smiled her signature Rachel-smile and yawned, resting her head on his shoulder. "Are we almost there?"

"We still have about an hour to go. We're over Arizona right now."

Rachel sighed and closed her eyes. Her stomach had been filled with butterflies nonstop for about two weeks. That's when she found out about this trip. Ross had planned everything as a surprise for her birthday and she was so excited… she couldn't wait. But she was still nervous as hell. Why? Because they were headed out to California – to meet Carol, Ben, and Susan, the people who, next to Ross of course, would probably come to be the most important people in her life. They were such a big part of Ross's life already and whatever was important to him affected her tremendously. Especially when it came to his son…

If all of my life I try and I try
Baby I could never show you
All this love I have inside
'Cause every day when we wake
I look deep into your eyes
I realize

Ross had booked a two bedroom villa at some fancy hotel for two whole weeks. He did this so that Ben could stay with them while they were visiting. It would give Ben and Rachel time to bond and time to get to know each other, which was very important considering the fact that Rachel was going to be a part of Ross's life for, well, for as long as she could be.

Ross had been waiting for this opportunity for months; the opportunity to introduce his son to the woman who, no doubt, was going to end up as his step-mother – sooner or later. It was so important, sort of like a seal of approval. He wanted to make sure Ben and Rachel got along before anything more serious and life-changing happened that would affect all of their lives.

Ross looked over at Rachel, watching her stare out the window. He saw the distant look in her eyes and smiled. She'd been a wreck about meeting Carol, Ben and Susan since she first found about the trip in the first place. She'd come home from work, laden with shopping bags from such stores as Toys 'R Us and FAO Schwartz, unloading each one of toy after toy, and going on about not knowing what to get. All, of course, while Ross just watched her and smiled. On days like that, which was most days, she would get so worked up that she'd sound a little too much like Monica for it to be healthy. That's when Ross would get up, walk across her apartment and envelope her in a hug so tender and loving that it almost made her cry. They'd just stand there, wrapped up in each other, feeling each other's heart beats while Ross whispered soothing things into her ear, assuring her that everything was going to be perfect, that Ben was going to love her and that she didn't have a thing to worry about. That would, of course, eventually lead to some small kisses, which would then lead to intense kisses, which would then lead them into her bedroom, where they would stay for hours even after making love just staring at each other, uttering sweet things when it seemed to be the right moment. The love that had been shared in the confines of those four walls was so much, so inexplicable, so perfect…

I could kiss you in the rain forever
Turn all of your pain to pleasure
Fill up all your days with sunlight
Make the passion last every night
Give you my every possession
Make you my only obsession
Climb up to the sky and pull down all the stars above
But I could never love you enough

Looking at her now, as she played with her fingers and sighed, his heart absolutely melted. She was so gorgeous it was unreal. He reached over and put his hand on her thigh, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze; just another one of the little things he did for her that held so much meaning. She looked over at him and smiled an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head. "I'm just so nervous."

"Don't be sorry, Rach. I know you're nervous, and you're entitled to be. Actually, I couldn't find it more adorable." Ross smiled shyly. He took one of her hands and kissed it softly.

Her heart danced as she felt his skin on hers and she looked at him, beaming with pride as he continued to kiss her hand, slowly making his way up to her wrist, up her arm… "I love you so much."

… Her shoulders, her neck, her jaw…

"I love you too."

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Putting the final touches on her makeup before they left, Rachel gave herself the final once-over and deemed herself presentable and ready to go. She put on her other earring and put a dab of her perfume behind her ears. Not bad, she thought.

She walked out of the bathroom and into the sprawling master bedroom of the lavish and no doubt ridiculously expensive villa, nearly killing herself on one of her suitcases that she had not gotten around to unpacking. It was only their first day; she still had plenty of time. Walking out into the kitchen, where Ross was waiting patiently, she took pleasure in seeing how quickly he'd lost his breath just after one quick glance in her direction. They were both dressed nicely, for they were taking Carol, Susan and Ben out to a nice dinner before taking Ben for two weeks. Rachel was in a tight lavender strapless dress, with a purse to match, of course, while Ross was attractively clad in a black suit with a pink shirt. He was wearing no tie, and the top two buttons of the shirt were undone. Rachel was quite swept away herself by his appearance, and who could blame her? He was looking downright hot!

After collectively picking their jaws up off the floor, Ross walked over to her and placed his hands around her waist, resting them on the small of her back. "You ready to go?" He whispered.

Taking a deep breath and softly closing her eyes for a brief second, Rachel smiled and said, "You bet. Let's go." Ross smiled kissing her forehead, reaching for her hand to lead her out of the apartment and to the car. (A/N: I'm sure reading the word "villa" gets annoying after so many times. I might just use "apartment" from now on…)

The introductions were somewhat awkward, partly because Rachel didn't really know how to act around a lesbian couple. But after a couple of minutes, she realized that their sexual preferences made them no different from anyone else, and the rest of the evening went by so quickly that Rachel was shocked when she looked casually at her watch and discovered that four hours had gone by.

Rachel thought that Carol and Susan were great. She could totally see why Carol and Ross had been together, while understanding at the same time why they couldn't have worked out even if Carol was straight. She was just too straight-laced. She didn't take any risks and she didn't have the spontaneity that Ross needed. Rachel really enjoyed herself, though. Conversation between the four adults flowed easily and she was thankful for that. Carol and Susan were very welcoming and even commented about how happy and perfect Ross and Rachel looked with each other.

And Ben… Ugh, that little boy could melt your heart in two seconds flat. He had Carol's blonde hair but he had Ross's eyes and he had Ross's mouth… All of his features just screamed "Gellar" at her. He was so sweet… He'd been brought up well, had good manners and kept himself occupied most of the time with a dinosaur stuffed animal. Shocking, I know. By the end of the evening, he was falling asleep in his chair.

After Ross paid the bill and everyone said their goodbyes, Rachel picked up a sleeping Ben to carry him to the car. All the way home, he slept in her lap, with his head resting on her shoulder. She was mesmerized by him. He had taken to her so easily, without hesitation. The whole ride home, she didn't even look at the scenery that was just outside the car windows. She paid no attention to the expensive stores on Rodeo Drive, didn't even see the massive mountains that painted such a beautiful picture in the distance. All of her attention was turned toward the beautiful creation she had in her arms. She never knew it was possible to love someone so much so soon, but she did, and it didn't scare her at all.

If I could have one wish it would just be this
That I could take you to my soul
And show you all the love there is
This never ending sea deep inside of me
There's no stopping it baby even if…

All the while when she was staring at Ben, Rachel didn't realize that Ross looked at her every chance he got in between watching the road out in front of him. He watched her stroke Ben's arm, watched her kiss the top of his head, and watched her smile as she touched each and every one of his fingernails. Until that point, he didn't think he could be any more in love with her, but now he realized. There was still so much more love for her left in him – so much more to show, so much more to give, so much more to say. Looking at her now, it almost brought tears to his eyes. Rachel with makeup on and in fancy clothes was beautiful. Rachel in sweatpants, no makeup, and cranky was gorgeous. But Rachel with a sleeping child in her arms, Ross's child, with overwhelming amounts of love and admiration in her eyes was almost too much to take. It was stunning, it was spectacular. It was absolutely amazing.

When they reached the hotel, Rachel carefully slid out of the car while Ross held the door open for her. Looking up at him, with Ben still in her arms, she looked into his eyes and smiled. It was a small smile, but with them, it said so much. She walked quietly into the apartment with Ross behind her, carrying Ben's suitcase. He stood in the doorway as she meticulously changed the boys' clothes, doing it ever-so-softly so as to not wake him up. Ross watched her every move, a smile on his face, in his eyes, in his heart. He could get used to this – tucking in a sleeping child every night. This, family, was something he'd been dreaming of for as long as he could remember and he smiled even more at the thought that now he was so close to that dream he could taste it. So close he could hold in his grasp.

Rachel smoothed Ben's hair and kissed his forehead, looking at him as she closed the door to his bedroom. She turned down the hall and went into her and Ross's room where he was beginning to change into his pajamas. She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, slipping one of her hands in between the buttons of his shirt and rubbing his stomach. "I love him Ross. I love him so much." She kissed between his shoulder blades and gave him a soft hug from behind.

Ross smiled as he turned around and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning back slightly to allow her to put her arms around his neck. He affectionately put his forehead up against hers and smiled. "You looked so gorgeous with him. It was perfect. I've never seen anything like it…"

Rachel could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. As Ross wiped away the ones that fell, she grabbed onto his hand and thrust herself up, catching his lips with hers so quickly that she took him by surprise. Soon, without fail, she was cupping his face in her hands as the kiss grew more and more intense, their lips moving in rhythmic circles and their tongues fighting so wildly within his mouth that they were using each other's strength to maintain balance. They slowly backed themselves up to the bed. They removed each article of clothing slowly and intimately, not allowing themselves to get too wild or desperate. Sex with them had never been about that. It had always been deliberate, giving them time to enjoy each others presence. It had also been about making love. It was never "just a quickie" because to them, it meant to much more than just a screw in the morning before work. There was always love, they could feel in every touch, every kiss, every caress. And while the things they did with each other in the bedroom wouldn't necessarily solicit a description like "intimate" or "caring", the way they did it, and the sensitive kind of neediness they exhibited always made it seem much more civilized than it normally would have been.

Ross was doing his typical trek down her body, spending a little time everywhere; making sure Rachel was completely satisfied. He looked into her eyes and smiled as he kissed her stomach and her belly-button, making her giggle. He loved that noise. And as his fingers tickled the waist of her panties, she took a deep, jagged breath and closed her eyes, ready for the start of the only thing that could truly capture the love that they had for one another. One more lasting, lingering kiss on her lips, and he entered her, sending her into that familiar world of satisfaction and ecstasy that would have her on cloud nine until they went to sleep again the next night.

No matter what I do
It's never as much as I want to
Baby it could never be enough

As he went in and out of her for what they both knew would probably be the last time tonight, Ross bent down and kissed her passionately, before whispering a breathy, "I love you…" and collapsing onto her naked, sweaty chest. They fell asleep like that, him on top of her, with her stroking his sweat-matted hair and him kissing her collarbone. As her eyelids became too heavy for her to keep open and her arm lost the will to move, she whispered, "I love you too," and moved past the dreamlike reality of making love to Ross, and into the dreamlike reality of peaceful slumber.

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Ross woke up to the bright orange rays of the sun in his face and reached for Rachel on the bed beside him only to find that she wasn't there. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stumbled into the bathroom where he washed his face and brushed his teeth amidst thoughts of Rachel and the glorious memories of the night before. Of how her and Ben had had such a strong connection; how beautiful it was to see Rachel taking care of his son, putting him to bed, and loving him like only a mother could love a child. It was amazing to him how she radiated that maternal love only hours after meeting her potential step-son. He could see, as soon as they were introduced, an immediate attraction and immediate bond that he was sure could never be broken. He walked out into the kitchen and came up behind Rachel who was making pancakes for Ben, giving her an open-mouthed kiss on the back of her neck causing her breath to catch in her throat, nearly making her drop the spatula she was holding.

Nervously giggling, she said, "Good morning to you too." Ross smiled and kissed her nose before turning to Ben, who was in the living room watching TV, and saying, "'Morning, buddy!"

Rachel smiled, watching as Ben jumped off the couch into Ross's arms screaming, "Good morning, daddy!" She put the pancakes on a plate, drowned them in syrup, fixed a bowl of cereal for Ross and put it all on the table, thinking all the while that she could see herself doing this. She could see herself being a mother to this beautiful little boy, helping to raise him to be a man just like his father, a man that any girl in her right mind would kill for. And as she sat down next to Ross at the table and felt his hand on her leg underneath, she smiled and looked at Ben, at the beginning of a brand new life.

But I could never love you enough…

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Author's Note: So that was the long overdue Chapter 7. How was it? Please leave a review to tell me if there's anything that you feel wasn't as good as it should have been. The song that I put in there is "Never Love You Enough" by Chely Wright and I used it because I think that it also captures the love that Rachel has found in Ben, also. I think it works well both ways. Plus, it sounds absolutely beautiful so listen to it if you ever get the chance… Don't forget to review! They make me sooo happy!