Chapter 13

The sun came up. It was a new day.

Rachel woke up and found her daughter snuggled next to her. She kissed her head, "I love you." She then stood up from the bed, thinking she was still asleep. She took a robe from the chair and wrapped it around herself.

But Emma turned and looked up at her, "Mommy?"

"Hey," she chuckled, "I thought you were still sleeping!"

"Are we going back to Paris?" she asked.

"Who told you?" her facial expression immediately changed.

Emma shook her head, "No one."

"Ems," Rachel warned and sat next to her daughter.

"I heard you talking to Auntie Pheobes on the phone."

Rachel panicked. "I don't know, sweetie. Don't you miss your friends there?"

"A bit," Emma cocked her eyebrow, "but my daddy's here."

She smiled at her little angel and kissed her forehead, "I know. Daddy is here."

Seconds passed. Emma looked up at her mom who was swallowed in thought, looking out the window, and tugged her sleeve, "Mommy, were you and daddy married?"

"Who told you that?" her daughter's question got her full attention.

"Auntie Phoebes!"

She rolled her eyes… Rachel knew that leaving Emma with her Aunt Phoebe wasn't safe. "What else did she say?"

Emma sat up and thought, "She said something about lobsters with claws." She explained showing her mommy the claws with her fingers.

Rachel chuckled, remembering the many years Phoebe pushed that issue.

"So were you?"

She forgot to mention to her daughter that yes, they were irresponsible enough to get married in a shotgun chapel in Vegas, extremely drunk and doodled. "Um…" she began.

"So were you?" Emma repeated.

"Honey, your daddy and I are two crazy people!" Rachel nervously chuckled. "When we went to Vegas a long, long time ago, we thought it would be funny to get married and so we did!"

"Why didn't you stay married?"

"Because… because…" she couldn't find an appropriate answer.

"Because daddy's stupid and he made a lot of mistakes," Ross continued, entering her room.

"Daddy, you're here!" Emma bolted up, almost jumping to Ross.

Rachel was surprised, "You're early. How'd- How'd you get in?"

He chuckled, "I have a key, remember?"

"Oh."

"I'm sorry- your door was open and I heard you two talking. I thought it would be okay to come in."

"Sure," she grinned, "I was just getting this little girl ready for you." She looked at Emma, "Sweetie, it's time for you to take a bath."

Emma shook her head and pouted, "I don't want to."

"Emma, you can't leave with daddy if-"

"Then I won't leave," she cut her mom. "Daddy and I will stay here instead!"

Ross chuckled nervously, "Baby, you know Aunt Catherine's gonna be with us in the park, right?" She nodded. "Then you have to get ready soon."

"But I don't wanna go!" she whined.

"Emma, please?" Rachel demanded.

Emma frowned and wiggled down from her dad's embrace. "Fine."

Rachel sighed and stood up from the bed. Ross watched her. That was all he had been doing recently… watching her. For a reason he didn't know, Rachel was avoiding him. He wanted to ask her why, but they were never given a chance to be alone anymore.

"Rach," he attempted, gathering his courage now that Emma had left the room.

"Yeah?" she answered without even looking at him.

"Can I ask you something?"

She stopped and felt her heart beat faster. Oh no, she thought. "Sure."

"Are you mad at me or something?" he sat on the bed, hoping that she'd finally look at him.

Yet she didn't… Rachel continued to fix the room, gathering all her dirty clothes, opening and closing her cabinets just to seem busy. "No."

"Then why are you being like this?"

"Being like what?" she stopped.

"This. You're avoiding me."

"No I'm not," she faced him.

"Yes you are."

"Ross, if I was then I wouldn't be in the same room as you." She raised her voice.

Ross frowned, "Okay, never mind. I'll check on Emma." He stood up and left the room.

Rachel heavily sighed and collapsed on the bed, holding back her tears.

Ross sat on the couch and waited for Emma to finish dressing up. She wanted to choose her own clothes, knowing her father had no knowledge in feminine fashion.

He wondered what troubled Rachel… it was so evident to him that she had been avoiding him for months. Every time he tried to talk to her, it was hopeless. It never resulted to anything.

Maybe she's moving on, he thought. If she was, how would he feel? It only felt right that she should, considering he was engaged to someone else. But he could leave Catherine for her, his heart knew that. The only thing that was stopping him was Rachel. Since she came back, her actions had been reminding him that leaving her would be wrong. She showed no effort that things would work out between them.

Was it guilt of ruining another one of Ross' relationships? Why? he asked himself. It happened one too many times, why would she be guilty now? How different would Catherine be from Julie, or Bonnie, or Emily, or even Mona? The topic of him and Rachel… why was it always so confusing?

And now, with the way she was acting… it confused him even more! He didn't know if she was still leaving. However, if she was, Ross wouldn't know what to do. He didn't want her to leave that was sure…

"I'm done!" Emma woke him up from his thoughts. She pranced around like a princess with her purple dress and white cardigan.

"You look beautiful, sweetie." He grinned at her. Thank God I have Emma, he thought, admiring his bundle of joy who, he said once, was 'all Rachel.'

Emma widely smiled and entered Rachel's room, "I'll ask mommy to fix my hair since you don't know how."

He chuckled, glaring at his daughter. Emma definitely was Rachel's daughter. Like her mother, Emma keeps Ross away from fashion, style and everything else that had to do with women and beauty antics.

He could hear them talking inside the room- Rachel reminding Emma that she should behave and not to give him and Catherine a hard time. He could also hear Emma whining, asking Rachel to come along. Finally, after a few minutes of eternity, they came out of the room.

Emma was wearing a frown, while Rachel had a sympathetic look on her face. "Sorry we took long," she apologized to Ross.

"It's fine," he smiled at them both, "Are you ready?"

Emma nodded and looked up at Rachel, "Will I see you in Central Perk?"

Rachel sighed and knelt down to her daughter, "Yes I'll be there, I promise."

Emma only spends the whole day with her parents on weekends because they work. Time was precious. "And then can we watch a movie with daddy?"

Rachel looked at Ross, "Sweetie, ask you dad."

Emma looked at him with her puppy dog eyes and pleaded, "Please?"

He smiled, "Okay."

"Yay!" Emma smiled and hugged her mom, "Bye mommy."

Ross chuckled and took Emma's hand, "Bye Rach! See you."

Rachel stood up and bid them farewell. She didn't know how she could tear them apart again, but she had to. Her transfer back to Paris was nearing its approval yet Ross still didn't know she was going to leave.

"Joey called," Phoebe mentioned, seated on the couch of Central Perk.

"What did he say?" Rachel asked, carefully holding her coffee mug, about to sit on the arm chair.

"He just congratulated me on the baby!"

Rachel nearly dropped her mug, "Baby!"

"Oh crap," she said under her breath. "I am with child!" she squealed.

Rachel, on the other hand, stared at her, "And when were you planning to tell me?"

"Today, that's why I invited you for coffee!" Phoebe replied with much enthusiasm.

"Phoebe, I just saw you in the Laundromat before coming here. So technically, I invited you."

"Okay but isn't it great? I'm having a baby!"

Rachel gave up. Phoebe was simply Phoebe. "I know sweetie. How far along are you?"

"Ten weeks!"

"You are over two months and you didn't bother to call and tell me?"

"I'm sorry," she whined, "I forgot… I thought I already told you when I told Monica."

"Monica knows?" Rachel could kill her.

"Fighting is bad for my baby," Phoebe said, "So can you please put this fight on hold for seven more months!"

"Okay, okay. Who else knows?"

"Just Monica!"

"You said Joey knew?"

"And Joey," Phoebe added.

"What about Chandler?"

"And Chandler."

"Ross?"

"And-" Phoebe paused in thought, "No, Ross doesn't know!"

"Ross doesn't know what?" Ross came from behind with Emma.

"Mommy!" the little girl ran to Rachel.

"Hi sweetie," Rachel kissed Emma. "That Phoebe's pregnant!"

"What?" Ross stood in shock.

Phoebe smiled at Ross, "I know! Isn't it great?"

"Aw, congratulations Phoebes!" he gave her a hug.

Phoebe gave Rachel a look and she rolled her eyes in return.

"Hey, I knew that! Emma butted in, grinning at her mommy. "Auntie Phoebes said she'll name the baby after her mouse, Sofia!"

"Okay you know what," Phoebe stood avoiding Rachel's evil glare, "I should leave. Bye guys!" She stood up and left.

"Bye Phoebes!" Ross waved.

"I cannot believe she didn't tell me!" Rachel bickered.

"Tell you what?" Ross shot her a quizzical look.

"That she was pregnant!"

"I uh- I actually found out about it a week ago."

"What?" Rachel frowned.

"Um, I bumped into Mike in the Laundromat."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Anyway, so what are we watching?"

Emma looked at her father, "Daddy wants to watch War of the Worlds… but I wanna watch Herbie! So you decide mommy!"

"Let's see, a car that's alive versus Martians? Tough choice!"

Emma pouted and pleaded to Rachel, "Mommy please?"

Rachel smiled at her then looked at Ross, who was also using his puppy eyes to get his way.

"Mommy please?" he copied Emma.

"What is this, Sophie's choice?" Rachel joked but neither was amused. "Okay, okay… I choose Herbie!"

"Herbie?" Ross retorted while Emma squealed.

"Better luck next time daddy!" Emma teased.

"Or maybe I could get a dog for my seventh birthday?" Emma cutely smiled at her parents and wrinkled her nose. She's been wanting to get a dog since she and Rachel arrived New York.

"How about you go to your room and change to your pajamas?" Rachel suggested, having just arrived from their movie.

Emma sighed and sadly looked down the ground, "Okay, okay."

Ross and Rachel watched their little girl concentrate on the floor with her pouted lips trembling. She was obviously begging her parents to get what she wanted by trying to look so adorable. She knew how to catch their attention… but she had been doing it for so long that it hardly worked anymore.

"Emma?" Ross tried his best not to laugh.

Emma looked up and pretended to tear, "Yeah daddy?"

"You hang out with your mommy too much," Ross started laughing.

"Hey!" Rachel whined.

"Oh please, you do that all the time!" Ross shot back.

Emma turned around and headed for her room, giving up on her childish parents.

"See what you did?" Rachel glared at Ross.

"I didn't do anything," he replied, leaning on the kitchen counter.

Rachel opened the refrigerator and took a can of Diet Coke, "Want some?"

"No thanks," Ross said, looking at her intently. There he was again, watching her and her every language her body made. "Rach?"

"Yeah?" she asked, closing the ref. She sensed the sudden tension … the kind of tension that only arose when Emma was nowhere to be found.

"About this morning, I'm sorry. It's just that…" he paused and turned away his glare, "it's just that lately, you seem to have been avoiding me. Did I do anything wrong?"

"No." They both stayed silent.

"Then what?"

"I just think it's better this way."

"How is it better? You hardly even stayed in a room with me for more than five minutes without Emma."

"Ross. It's much easier if I just stay away."

He scoffed, "I don't get you."

"Ross, you're engaged already. You're getting married. This is my way of moving on. You have to live your life with Catherine, Ross… And I want to live my life too. We just have to accept that things have changed between us… and we can't get through life without making sacrifices."

It seemed like she was speaking in a different language. He didn't understand her… he couldn't because he gazed at her, and her eyes told him she was lying. He stepped closer and closed his eyes; then he took her face, softly placing his lips on hers. He felt that buried feeling once more when she kissed him back.

Slowly, she tangoed with his tongue as it entered her mouth. It felt so good. The passion, the desire, the heat that invigorated their senses was so strong.

Yet it wasn't strong enough…

Rachel opened her eyes and pushed him away after realizing what she had done. Mental images of Catherine pleading on her couch flashed in her head. She covered her mouth and closed her eyes.

Ross stood still. He was baffled with both happiness and pain. Happiness for kissing him back… and pain for pushing him away with much force and guilt.

Rachel looked down. "I think you should leave," she spoke so soft it was nearly inaudible.

"Rach-"

"Leave," she demanded raising her voice.

He pressed his lips together and slowly nodded, grabbing his coat on the counter before exiting the apartment. He sat down on the step outside the apartment and drowned himself in thought. At that moment, he would do anything to have that seven seconds once more and hold onto it forever.

He knew what he had to do, he just had to figure out a way how.

A door away, Rachel got the handset and dialed a number. She waited a while until another voice came to the receiver.

"Monica?" she began to cry, "I'm going back to Paris."

All the drama... and more to come:) Reviews:)