The airport was crowded, people running towards Ross and people brushing past him as they ran to their departure gate. Ross had enough time to walk slowly to his gate as he always made sure he was early when he was due to go somewhere, didnt make sense to him if he had to rush out. He was busy focusing on the plane journey as he hadnt been on one for years, and he knew the last time he was on one, he got into a bit of a panic. He had exactly an hour before he would be sat on the plane going to Paris, it was quite a long flight but he figured if Rachel did it on her own, so could he.
As he walked past the duty free, he considered going to buy something to drink to calm him down a bit, but the thought of alcohol becoming his new comfort made him feel even more depressed, he didnt know what he was becoming, and he didnt like to think either. He reached into his jacket pocket where he had some mints tucked away, he would just have to suck on them to keep his mind off things. Turning to alcohol was not the answer.
He couldnt adjust to the fact that in just a few hours he would be seeing Rachel and Emma, who he hadnt seen for 4 weeks, it didnt feel fair somehow that he would have to go home after just 4 days of seeing them again, then another month would go by again before he could see them again. He had promised to ring Rachel when he had arrived to the airport in Paris, he figured that she would get a cab there then meet him, he wondered if it would just be her who met him. She had said that she wanted to talk to him about something so maybe she would drop some bombshell on him as soon as they met up.
He eventually got to his departure lounge, where another dozen people were sat in the seating area either reading magazines or staring into space, some were even asleep on the floor which was understandable as it was only 6am in New York. He sat down on the chair, choosing carefully not to sit by the old man who seemed to be a little drunk, the smell would either repulse him or influence him to buy some of his own alcohol. Instead he sat next to a man who looked his own age, he looked a little lost, in his own world. 'Excuse me, is anybody sitting here?' Ross asked him politely before sitting down. The man shook his head, 'No...Go ahead'. He smiled before going back to his daze across the room. Ross smiled before sitting down, putting his luggage underneath his chair and making sure his tickets were still in his back pocket.
Ross looked across where a woman was sitting with her daughter and a man who seemed to be the husband, he would guess that the daughter was around Ben's age, she was sat colouring in her colouring book as her mother and father sat quarrelling over something, Ross tried not to stare but he took so much interest in this family that he couldnt help but look over. The parents were arguing quietly, the little girl was oblivious about their discussion as she remained on the floor colouring.
For some reason Ross saw a bit of himself in this man opposite, he seemed to be the guy who wouldnt admit he was wrong as his wife disagreed with whatever point he was making, Ross thought this couple reflected on his and Rachel's relationship, their opinions always clashed.
The couple went silent as they had obviously came to an agreement, Ross noticed that they were now both laughing at the situation and at themselves, it seemed a big joke to them as they put the disagreement behind them and shared a private kiss behind the womans magazine. Ross smiled. He had always thought that couples who shared so much opinions with eachother, were the best sort of couple. He and Rachel were like that, but maybe too opinionated with eachother, that was their problem. 'Going to see family?' The man next to him asked him, interupting Ross' thoughts ahout this couple ahead of him. He looked next to him to the man who had asked the question, 'Umm, I'm going to see my daughter and her mother...'. He told him.
The man nodded. 'I'm not always this nosey! Just tell me to shut up if you think I am...' He laughed.
'Oh no, Your not nosey...' Ross reasured him. 'Are you going to see family?' He asked.
The man shook his head. 'I wish...'. he sighed, 'I separated from my wife just a week ago, and I had nowhere else to go so I thought...Paris sounds nice' He told him.
Ross didnt know what to say, this man was brave. 'Wow, I gotta say...Your one hell of a guy to start a new life on your own' Ross told him.
'I guess your right, but my wife has made it clear to me that she doesnt want me anywhere near her or the children...'.
'What? Thats terrible...'. Ross said.
'Not really, you dont know the full story but I would probably bore you with it...'.He warned him.
Ross shook his head. 'No, go ahead...'. he smiled.
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Rachel finished bathing Emma and wrapped her in her towel, 'Nice and clean now Emma...' She smiled as she pulled the plug out of the bath,she adored the smell of the bathroom after she had gave Emma a bath, the smell remained on Emma's skin too. 'Dont you smell lovely...' Rachel told Emma as she smelt her neck. Emma squealed as Rachel began to tickle her. Sometimes she couldnt take in the fact that her daughter was growing up each day infront of her own eyes, everyday she would notice something new about her face or her character. Soon she would be 2 years old, then she would be going to nursery, then onto school.
'Daddy is coming to see us today Emma...' Rachel told her daughter as she walked into the next room to put her daughter on her changing mat. 'Dada!' Emma yelled, she knew who her father was and Rachel was so excited for her that she was going to see him today. 'Thats right Emma wemma, Daddy is coming!' Rachel confirmed to her again making her squeal again with excitement. She laid Emma down on the mat as she reached for Emma's clothes which were on the sofa, Rachel had especially got out the dress that Ross had picked out for Emma on her first birthday, with her shoes and socks to match. 'Your going to look like a little princess today Emma' Rachel smiled as Emma sat up on her own to reach over for Rachel's arm, she was at that stage where she wouldnt sit still now, and she was almost walking now which was good and bad, sometimes she would crawl away, Rachel had put locks on everything that she could get in, or anything that she could pull open. Sometimes Rachel would freeze as she watched Emma play on her own, she couldnt quite believe that this was the creation of her and Ross, she sometimes would reminded of Ross when she looked at Emma as she had the exact mouth and nose as his.
Rachel had been thinking all night about what she would say to Ross, but what she knew that no matter what, she would tell him that she did feel the same as he did even though she was a little scared about going back into their relationship, sometimes their relationship overwhelmed her so much that the thought of it being ruined once again terrified her, but she knew one thing for sure and that was that they were meant to be together whether she liked it or not, she just hoped he would forgive her for leaving it this long. Once Emma was ready, she placed her in her play pen. 'You sit there for a little while Emma while Mummy goes and gets herself ready ok sweetheart?' She said. Emma didnt seem to mind as she had already got her hands on Hugsy who was a little wet after being sucked on by Emma, she was also teething now too to any of her cuddly toys disadvantage and also Rachel's fingers.
Just as Rachel went into her bedroom, she heard the phone ringing. She checked her watch, it was much too early for it to be Ross as he wouldnt even be on the plane just yet, it could be Joshua she thought as he had offered to take her to the airport to meet Ross and she had accepted his offer aslong as Ross never knew anything about their string of dates over the past 2 weeks. She scurried to the phone with her hair now out of her towel, soaking wet.
'Hello' She answered, now sitting down on the sofa.
'Rach? Its Monica...'.
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Ross saw that it was almost time to board the plane, he had been so interested in what this man next to him had been telling him that he had totally lost track of time, 'You see, I have kind of been in the same situation as you have been...' Ross told him.
'You've cheated before?' the man asked him.
Ross nodded. 'Well, I'm not proud of it but yes, a long time ago and its something that was bad at the time but it learnt me a lot about the relationship I was in and if anything, it made me realise how much I loved her...'.
'Your girlfriend?'
'Well she was then, shes not now...'.
'Is this the girl you are going to see now then?' The man asked him.
'Yes' Ross laughed. 'Confusing isnt it?'.
The man laughed. 'We both have that in common but atleast you still have a chance by the sound of things...'.
'You would think wouldnt you, I mean...there is nothing stopping us getting back together but its not what she wants...'.
'How do you know for sure huh?'.
'Because she basically told me...I told her about my feelings when she left to go to Paris but she didnt feel the same so I had to accept that...'.
The man didnt say anything.
'You dont need me talking about this when obviously you are experiencing much worse, I'm sorry...' Ross apologised.
The man shook his head. 'Not at all, its just good to know that there is someone else who is kind of experiencing the same hurt...'
Ross laughed.
'I dont mean it that way...' The man corrected himself. 'But you know what I mean...'.
Ross nodded.
'Will flight 103 please go to the gate now please, the flight to Paris will shortly be departing...'. They heard somebody say on the tannoy.
'Looks like we have to go...' Ross said.
'Yes, and I just want to tell you one thing Ross...everything that you have told me, and its not that much...I just have a positive feeling about you and this Rachel girl...'.
Ross smiled. 'Thank you, Im hoping your right but to be honest, I'm not looking forward to seeing her now to be honest as she has found somebody...new'.
'Oh...'.
'But I'm not going to let it get in the way of my excitement of seeing my little girl Emma...' He beamed.
'I think you are in for a surprise Ross, she obviously feels the same way but she is afraid...this happened to me before me and my wife got married, we were the couple who were on and off all the time...but all of a sudden, we were on...'.
'So are you sure leaving for Paris is the best idea?' Ross asked him.
The man shrugged. 'I cant stay here because shes made it pretty clear that she never wants to see me again...'.
'It mightnt be my place to say, but...if you stayed in New York atleast, there may be still a chance with your wife...'.
'Oh I dont---'.
'If what youve told me is true, and you have all this history...then I think she will come around eventually, if you show her you love her and it will never happen again...she may forgive you'.
'I guess...'.
'I dont guess, I know...' Ross smiled as he patted the mans shoulder. 'I say you stay...keep some distance at first but who knows what may happen...'.
'I havent forgiven myself yet though, so I dont think she will ever forgive me...'.
'Youve hurt her, and thats probably the worst thing you could ever do to her, but thats what love is unfortunately about...people get hurt, but the love..if its strong enough, brings the people back together...'.
The man smiled. 'You speak some wise words Ross...and I really dont know why Rachel isnt with you right now...'.
Ross sighed. 'Me neither...'.
'This is the final call for flight 103...'.
Ross laughed. 'I better go, its your decision if you come or not...but you know what I think about the situation...even though I only met you an hour ago!' He laughed.
'I see a lot of myself in you Ross, but I hope you dont end up like I have right now...'.
'Hey, dont give up too easily...'.
'Good luck with Rachel...'.
Ross smiled. 'I take it your staying here then...'.
The man nodded. 'Looks like'.
Ross started to walk away, 'Nice meeting you...'.
The man started to walk the other way, both feeling inspired by the other. Ross felt somewhat at advantage now after hearing the mans situation, atleast Ross had nothing to come between him and Rachel, he hadnt cheated, she may have met someone new, but that didnt change anything. He gave the lady his ticket as he walked onto the plane, a small spring in his step. He felt as though the light had been shone on his situation, he just had to see Rachel now.
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