CHAPTER ELEVEN: SURPRISES
Rachel felt unusually sluggish that morning. She went through the routine of getting herself and her 3-year old ready for the day, but it was taking her longer than usual. She could hear Ross already in the kitchen, and felt her love for him grow a little bit. He was a sweetheart. It was like he knew the day was not going to be a good one for her, and as if on cue, had started breakfast.
Emma was standing on her bed letting Rachel fix her and talking non-stop the way she had since she discovered the spoken language. Rachel usually had fun with their little "conversations" in the morning about the lives of the Sesame Street and other important characters, but today it was an ordeal.
"There you go, baby" Rachel finished dressing her with fake enthusiasm. What was wrong with her? "Want daddy to give you some breakfast?"
Emma nodded her agreement before wrapping her arms around Rachel's neck.
"I love you mommy" she said against Rachel's neck. "I'm gonna miss you today"
Those innocently-spoken words brought unexpected tears to Rachel's eyes. She hugged her daughter tightly, kissed her and sent her to the kitchen with Ross, before she could see the tears.
Rachel quickly straightened out Emma's room and joined her and Ross for breakfast. Emma was telling Ross another one of her stories and he was doing a good job of seeming interested. He winked at Rachel as she sat down with a sigh to drink her coffee. Her weak smile in response to his wink made him frown a little.
Taking advantage of Emma's concentration on her cereal, he said to Rachel: "You ok? You seem off."
"You know, I feel it too. I don't know what it is, but one minute I feel like crying, the next I'm annoyed, restless, I don't know"
"Maybe you should go see your doctor"
"And what am I supposed to say to her 'doctor, my life overwhelms me, give me a pill'?" She said in mild annoyance.
With a tender look on his face, he told her: "How about 'I think I'm pregnant'?"
Rachel froze and a myriad of emotions washed over her face. Finally, she broke into a smile and with tears in her eyes she went over to Ross and hugged him tightly. That thought hadn't even crossed her mind, but it made perfect sense. All of a sudden, the sluggishness was gone and she felt like screaming with joy.
"Oh my God" she said hugging Ross. "Oh my God"
"I know" he said quietly, holding her "Just go make sure. Then we can celebrate"
"What made you think of that? That hadn't even occurred to me!" She said leaving his embrace to look at him with surprise.
"I don't know. You've been on top of the world one minute and sad the next for the better part of 2 weeks, and you weren't even aware of it"
"I'm sorry" she said sincerely. "Work has been hectic and you know what? I wished we'd gone to L.A. with Phoebe to see Joey. It would have made a nice little vacation"
"I know, Rache, but I couldn't get out of that conference thing. One of the down sides of having tenure, and you couldn't either, the down side of having a job"
Rachel rolled her eyes and playfully hit Ross's arm, before turning to kiss Emma's head.
"Almost done, sweetie? We gotta go"
"Look daddy" Emma said showing Ross the empty bowl "I was a good girl. I finished all my cereal"
"Yes, darling. You were. Let's go brush your teeth so you and mommy can go" then turning to Rachel. "Don't forget to make your appointment with the doctor"
Rachel was already looking for the number in their address book and getting ready to call and they shared a smile. A nice feeling of contentedness filled her. This was so much different than last time. She felt safe. She hadn't been alone when she was pregnant with Emma, but she was single and she hadn't known how Ross was going to react to her news. Now, it seemed like both of them were looking forward to this. They were in a good place in their relationship and giving Emma a brother or sister was something that although neither had discussed she felt they both wanted.
The 7-year gap between Emma and Ben was just too big. Rachel knew Ben loved Emma, but his interests were just too different. Soon Ben would become a teenager and Emma's adoring attention would no longer amuse him quite so much. This was a wonderful surprise! Maybe now they could seriously talk about getting out of the city, about getting a house, about getting married.
